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"Shh, Shh." Jimin murmurs, running the soft pads of his fingers down Yoongi's cheeks and behind his ears, caressing, cradling the other boy's face in his palms. "It's okay, I've got you."
Yoongi makes a broken little sound like a whimper, a breath of voice behind his teeth. The collar hasn't yet begun to do its work, still sitting awkward and heavy around his throat, on the tension in his shoulders. Jimin can see the lines of tendons beneath the red leather, the shift at Yoongi's temples which means he's gritting his teeth, jaw set and muscles tight.
Yoongi is strong. It's a defining character trait, he goes through tough shit and comes out the other side still kicking, rolling with the punches. He doesn't let stuff get to him, he's always confident and competent and in control. He looks after all of them with a fierce protectiveness that makes Jimin feel safe, when Yoongi's there.
Jimin's the only one who he lets see anything else. The others might suspect, he thinks Seokjin at least is aware Yoongi isn't as tough as he makes out. But it's Jimin who sees the strain in the smiles Yoongi gives to the cameras and the PD-nims. It's Jimin who sneaks into the room when Yoongi locks himself away after several particularly gruelling days of being constantly socialised, constantly filmed, not a moment when they can let their masks slip and Yoongi's been Suga, been Agust D spitting fire for too many days in a row.
It's Jimin who Yoongi kneels for, bows his head and lets him fasten the collar around his neck even as Yoongi's hands curl into fists at his sides. It's a weakness he can't allow easily, a rest it's painful for him to take. Once when they'd been lying awake in the dark Yoongi'd whispered that it was like stepping into a bath too hot to touch, sitting there in water hot enough to scald whilst every nerve screams at you to get out, to save yourself from burning.
Yoongi kneels between Jimin's legs as he sits on the edge of the bed, stroking through Yoongi's hair and murmuring soft nonsense as all the harsh lines are gradually smoothed away, as Yoongi adjusts, forces himself to stay in the scalding water until he can bear it, until it heals more than it hurts. Jimin's fingers nearly tangle in the dry strands, but he runs gentle nails across Yoongi's scalp and feels the shiver run through the other boy.
When he's satisfied that Yoongi's still, eyes drifted closed, when his shoulders soften and head lies heavy and trusting in Jimin's hands, he speaks again. "Would you like to lie down?"
Yoongi nods wordlessly, and Jimin shifts back to lie against the headboard, pushing the pillows into a pile so that he can recline almost horizontal with his head propped up and chest a gentle slope. Opening his arms, he watches as Yoongi shuffles forward into the embrace, laying his head into the curve of Jimin's shoulder and sighing, a huff of breath that plays across Jimin's pecs like a soft breeze. They're almost completely naked, underwear the only thing they bother with; the nakedness is something they both enjoy, skin on skin contact a warmth and comfort that has nothing to do with sex. Jimin knows that some of the others probably think they're sleeping with each other in a more carnal sense but honestly there's nothing else he wants, nothing more intimate than Yoongi's heartbeat against his side, the brush of his hair under Jimin's fingers. The hot dampth of tears against his skin when Yoongi turns his face inwards, blocking out the soft light of the bedside lamp and hiding his weakness in Jimin's chest.
Nobody knows that Yoongi cries when they're alone, and Jimin doesn't mention it, lets Yoongi be vulnerable, tries to be trustworthy and safe so that Yoongi always has somewhere to turn. He doesn't know how to fight Yoongi's demons, doesn't know how to make the pain go away. All he can do is this, but in those rare moments when Yoongi is honest and open, usually when he's cried his fill but before he asks Jimin to take the collar off, Yoongi says that Jimin helps. That these little warm, dark, soft moments, where he doesn't have to be strong, doesn't have to protect himself or the group, are what keep him alive.
Someday, Jimin dreams, everything will be easier. Someday Yoongi won't hurt anymore and Jimin will be able to hold him in the daylight.
Running his fingers down the curve of Yoongi's spine and feelings the ridges of bone and soft skin underneath his palms, Jimin pulls Yoongi a little closer and listens as their hearts fall into beating as one.