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Lips still tingling, Namjoon slammed the front door shut behind him, cutting off the chatter and noise from the party, and stalked down the path to the sidewalk.“You should be more sociable. Go to parties. You’re wasting your youth,” he muttered to himself. “Great advice, Mom.”The evening had started out promising—a party at Hoseok’s place. Yoongi was there, and Taehyung. He’d always liked Jimin, and Jungkook seemed like a cool guy. Like, he knew people. He had friends, okay Mom? But sometimes, you put yourself out there, and you get fricking blindsided.“I should have just kept walking. Shouldn’t have stayed; shouldn’t have said anything.” He was closing the books on tonight, and never thinking about what happened ever again. He would just play dumb. At this point, he’d become an expert at it.He continued to stalk down the sidewalk at a brisk clip, eating the distance between the house party and home. Given it was currently about 2:00 a.m. in the morning, the streets were pretty quiet and deserted. Not that Namjoon would have noticed. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts, the end of the world could be happening, and he wouldn’t notice. “Like, God forbid I be rude and just leave or whatever. I mean, manners and all, right, Mom?”A movement up ahead caught his attention, and he saw someone ahead of him, staggering along the sidewalk. Weaving around madly, arms hanging limply by their side. Obviously, completely blitzed, out of their mind.“Great,” Namjoon breathed. Hopefully, he could maneuver past him quickly, with no interaction. Drunks at this time of night could be unpredictable.As Namjoon approached from behind, the drunk stumbled over his feet, caught his balance, but then promptly stumbled again, pitching forward and landing in a heap on the concrete.“Holy shit!” Namjoon yelped. The guy hadn’t put out so much as a hand to try and keep his face from grinding into the sidewalk. Namjoon sped over to the lump sprawled gracelessly on the sidewalk. “Are you okay, man? You bit some serious pavement.” He bent down beside the guy’s head, hoping he didn’t have to call for help or anything. “Please don’t be dead,” he whispered.The drunk thankfully lifted up his head and looked at Namjoon. The hair around his face was matted and stuck to a sickly pale, greyish forehead. He had sunken, filmy eyes and huge, dark circles around them. His nose was definitely pointing in a sideways direction, though, and his mouth looked kind of bloody. If Namjoon was being honest, he wasn’t smelling too great either.Namjoon winced. “Yowch, dude – that’s not looking good.” He waved his pointer finger in a circle at the guys’ face. “Uhhhh, do you need me to call an ambulance?”Suddenly, the man opened his mouth and growled. He lunged toward Namjoon’s foot, his teeth clanking against the steel toe of the Doc Martens Namjoon was wearing. Despite not being able to penetrate through the boot, he continued to gnaw away at the leather while making animal noises.“What the fuck!” Namjoon screeched and shook his foot loose. “Are you trying to bite me? What the fuck are you on, anyway?” He backed up and started jogging away, trying to put as much distance between them as quickly as he could.There is some crazy shit out there now, Namjoon thought as he ran. Drugs turning people into cannibals or something.As he unlocked the door to his house, he thought the least he could do is call the police, even just for the sake of anyone else who happened across that maniac. Namjoon dropped his keys on the coffee table and pulled out the phone to dial. As the call connected, he heard a sound he wasn’t used to hearing—a busy signal. He hung up and tried again, but same deal.“Whoa,” he exclaimed. “There must be some shit going down out there tonight.” Well, he’d tried.He slumped down on the couch and clicked on the TV, flipping around with the remote, looking for something to watch. He was too wired to go to sleep yet, with all that happened that night.
"Bachelor number 1, if you could take a girl anywhere in the world—"
“Ugh.”
"If you call right now, we’ll add in a special—"
“Nope!”
"—emergencies only. Police are advising everyone to lock—"
“Isn’t there anything good on?”
"The Force, Luke—use the Force!"
“Yas! Now we’re talking!” Namjoon dropped the remote and sunk further into the couch cushions, pulling a knitted throw over him. A while later, he fell fast asleep, with only his snoring and the faint sound of sirens in the distance to accompany the lullaby of lightsabers and starfighters filling the room.* * * * *
“Relax,” a sultry voice whispered in his ear. Lush lips began tracing a path starting at his his earlobe, down his neck. “It’s our little secret….” Namjoon was lost in sensation, willing to agree to anything so long as the lips never stopped. He clutched onto the wide shoulders hovering over him and raised his—
Loud generic dance music broke the spell as Namjoon was startled awake. Disoriented, he slapped at the coffee table in front of him without opening his eyes, looking for his phone. Once in hand, he could see what the display read.“Jimin?” He answered, puzzled.“Namjoon, it’s Taehyung.”“But this says it’s Jimin calling.” Namjoon said with confusion, still half asleep.“I’m using his phone. Listen, do you have Yoongi’s number?”“Yes,” Namjoon answered, and then stifled a yawn.“Okay, great. I need you to text it to Jimin’s phone.”“Don’t you have it already?” Namjoon stretched and then rubbed his face.Taehyung’s sigh was audible. “I don’t have my phone with me, and I don’t have it memorized. Could you please just send it to me.”“I don’t know. Yoongi swore he’d kill me if I gave his number out to anyone.” The fuzz was lifting from Namjoon’s brain, the mere thought of Yoongi’s wrath like a cold shower. “He’d be okay with it if you sent it to me, it’s all right.”“I don’t know. If he wanted you to have it, you’d have it already.” Yoongi didn’t mess around. Namjoon had no doubt that Yoongi would disembowel him if he felt justified to do so. Namjoon wanted to keep his bowels where they were currently located.“Oh my God, Namjoon! It’s an emergency, and I need to talk to Yoongi.” Taehyung yelled in his ear. Yelled in his ear after waking him up. “Okay, then— just tell Yoongi to call me on Jimin’s phone. And give him Jimin’s number in case he doesn’t have it. Can you do that for me?”“Of course I can do that. I’m not an idiot, you know,” Namjoon replied, offended. “Thanks, bud!” Taehyung chirped and hung up. Namjoon looked at the display blearily—11:30 a.m. He tossed the throw off him, stood up, and stretched again. The remaining fragments of his dream flashed through his mind before he brushed them away. Fuck, it had been a strange night, and there was Taehyung starting the morning off strange too. One thing he knew, he needed to pee, have a shower, and brush his teeth before he could even contemplate calling Yoongi. Taehyung was just going to have to cool his jets in the meantime.A half hour later, Namjoon was coiffed, moisturized, and smelling like a functional human being. So he pulled Yoongi’s name up in his contacts and waited for the call to connect.“This better be good. I’ve got no time for nonsense, Namjoon.” Yoongi was already impatient and he even hadn’t spoken yet. They were already off to a great start.“Taehyung called. From Jimin’s phone for some reason. He wanted your number, said it was an emergency.” Namjoon wandered over to the living room window to pull open the curtains and take a look outside. He noticed Old Man Birney had left his garage door open, but the car was gone. Weird, that guy was usually so anal about things like that.“Oh, an emergency, he said? No shit! We’re only talking total societal collapse here.” Namjoon watched as across the street the Kumars burst from their house and dove into their car. They quickly backed out of the driveway and, with a squeal of their tires, sped away.“—and now fucking zombies, like what kind of fairy-tale shit is this?” Normally, he let Yoongi’s paranoid rantings wash over him like water off a duck’s back; however, one word caught his attention.“Did you say ‘zombies’?” Namjoon interrupted. Yoongi couldn’t have meant—like the living dead, actual monsters? Had Yoongi finally made a mental break from reality?“Fuck, you moron. What rock have you been hiding under this morning? The city’s got a zombie problem, and it’s only getting worse from here. We’ve got to make an exodus, fast. Pack a bag—I’ll come around and get you.”“There was a guy last night, on my way home. He tried to bite my foot. Was that guy a zombie?” Namjoon gasped. “Joon,” Yoongi’s voice dropped in concern. “He bit you?”“Sort of, but I had my Docs on. It was just kind of strange and annoying.”“Are you sure? He didn’t break the skin? Scratch you?” “No,” Namjoon looked down at his foot. “There’s nothing, not even a bruise.”“Good,” Yoongi breathed out. “Okay, first thing’s first—give me Jimin’s number. I’ve got to talk to Taehyung. Then, I’m going to pick up Hobi and Jin, and come by for you so be ready. I don’t want to stick around long in case they try to lock down the city.”“Sure. One question—where are we going to go?”“To the bunker, of course.”Right. Yoongi’s underground bunker, somewhere many hours’ drive north. In the middle of nowhere, with nothing around. Isolation. Underground. Stuck. With people. Certain people.“Yoongi, are you sure about this? That it’s really as bad as you—”“I don’t have time to convince you. If you’re coming with us, be ready when I get there. And don’t forget anything useful you have on hand—food, water, medicine, anything like that.”With that, Yoongi hung up. Namjoon was suddenly acutely aware of how alone he was just then, how quiet the house was. But, like, zombies weren’t real? He took another peek out the window. Ms. Sanchez was standing out on her front lawn, her pink velour hoodie unzipped half-way down, showing off major cleavage per usual. Namjoon had been frightened on several occasions by her aggressive flirting, but today she just stood there quietly. She barely moved, other than to weave around a bit as though she were trying to keep her balance. Namjoon pressed his nose up against the glass, hoping to see a little clearer. Something seemed off about her. She was standing on the grass in her bare feet, and her hair was a crazy halo around her head, rather than neatly tied back with her usual headband. And she was holding something in her hand?His eyes widened, and he abruptly pulled away from the window, shutting the curtains. It was an arm. It was somebody’s arm. The neighbourhood maneater was holding another person’s arm in her hand.“Fuck!” he swore. He rushed to the front closet and pulled out a duffle bag and some shopping totes. “What do I have that’s useful in a zombie apocalypse?”A short time later, he had some clothes packed as well as whatever canned goods and things in the cupboards might be good to take. He pulled one last thing from the closet and strapped it on. As he did, his phone rang—Yoongi.“I’m pulling onto your street and we’ll be there in like a minute. Meet me outside. But keep cool—don’t draw attention to yourself, got it?”“Got it.” Namjoon hung up and grabbed the bags. He opened his front door and poked his head out cautiously. Ms. Sanchez and her arm were nowhere to be seen. He set the bags down on the grass so he could lock the door, but in his haste he dropped his keys.“Shit,” he groaned and bent down. As he grabbed his keys from the ground, he noticed scrapes on the leather of his right boot and a dull, matted substance over the toe. “Aw, man! Is that blood?” He pulled one of the handles of a shopping tote toward him so he could rub and polish the leather, inadvertently sending one of the cans inside rolling down the front walk. The roar of a motor announced Yoongi’s arrival—he just needed to get one last spot off the boot first.* * * * *Yoongi could not believe that all the years of planning and hard work were paying off in the form of a zombie plague. This was his time—this was it! He knew what people had been saying about him all this time, that he was weird, as though preparing to survive a doomsday scenario wasn’t a common-sense thing to do. Except now who was laughing—well, maybe not laughing if they’d been turned into zombies. But even better, the coup de grace, his beloved Hobi was in the seat beside him, having promised to do unspeakable things to his body once they got to the bunker. Not that Yoongi would hold him to an offer made in the face of mortal danger, but after months of trying, he was finally making some headway with the man of his dreams. He could face the end of civilization as he knew it, as long as he could feel the warmth of Hobi shining on him every day.But first, one last annoying thing to do, and he could get the heck out of this place. He sped down the street, making a sharp turn into Namjoon’s driveway. He could see the boy was at least outside already, but what the fuck was he doing?“What is that strapped on his back?” Hobi leaned toward him to peek out the driver’s side window.Yoongi could see two handles poking out from the sheath that crossed Namjoon’s back—one at his left shoulder and the other by his right hip. “I told him to pack useful stuff, not cosplay fantasy crap.” He rolled down his window. “Namjoon!”A flash of hot pink at the side of the house caught his eye. A woman in a velour tracksuit shuffled into view, crossing across the front of the house towards Namjoon. She was joined by two other recently undead. Yoongi opened his mouth to bellow a warning, but was cut short by a yelp coming from the backseat.“Yoongi!” Hobi screeched, practically sitting on the divider between the seats. “Outside!” Jin slid across the backseat to put as much distance as he could between him and the two zombies currently mashing their faces against the passenger side of the vehicle, scratching at the windows as if to get inside.“Shit!” Yoongi grabbed his gun and pressed the button to open the moon roof. He stood up on the seat and boosted himself up onto the roof of the car. He would have rather stayed inside, but it was the only way he’d have a clear shot without putting Hobi at risk. The zombies had turned their attention to him, clawing at the roof to grab hold of him. He aimed first at the forehead of one zombie—a former deliveryman from the looks of it—and quickly pulled the trigger. With a spray of blood, the first zombie went down so Yoongi aimed at the head of the second zombie before taking him out as well.He scrambled around on the roof to find Namjoon. To his horror, Namjoon was surrounded and backed up against the front door of his house, with nowhere to go. “Hobi, Jin!” he screamed. “Cover your eyes—don’t watch!” He didn’t want them seeing what was going to happen next to Namjoon. He aimed his gun at the group, but could not get a clear shot at any of the zombies without potentially hitting Namjoon as well. “Fuck!” he cried in frustration and rage. He thought maybe he should just shoot anyway. Even if he hit Joon, it might be a blessing compared to what the zombies would do to him. As he lifted his gun toward the group, one zombie suddenly pitched backwards onto the grass, with a second one to follow. Now with a clear view of Namjoon, Yoongi could see as he lifted his foot and kicked the third in the stomach, sending it soaring backwards as well. Namjoon straightened up and reached behind him to pull two swords from the sheath strapped to his back. Weapons in hand, he positioned himself into a defensive posture.“Holy shit, those are real fucking blades!” Yoongi exclaimed. “I hope to fuck he knows how to use them,” he muttered before yelling out at Namjoon. “Take the heads—take them clean off! It’s the only way to kill them, understand?” Namjoon gave a quick nod, before getting to work. As one zombie stumbled toward him, he placed both arms like an X in front of him and swung the swords in opposite directions, slicing through its neck from both sides. As the head dropped down to the ground and rolled, Namjoon quickly pivoted to where a second zombie lunged toward him. He swung and embedded one sword most of the way through its neck. As he struggled to pull the sword loose, Yoongi aimed his gun at the last zombie, the lady in the pink tracksuit, as she was pulling herself off the ground. His first shot missed, but his second met his mark and the mass of pink sprawled across the grass, unmoving. A head rolled across the lawn and bumped into her leg as Namjoon finished off the final threat.“Joon, quickly!” Yoongi called before sliding back into the car through the moon roof. “Everyone okay?” He looked around—Jin had his face pressed up against the window, while Hobi sat frozen in the passenger seat, his mouth wide open in shock and hands clutching his shirt. He scrambled across the console and tumbled into Yoongi’s arms.“Oh my God, I was so scared,” he moaned, clutching at Yoongi’s shoulders. “It’s okay,” Yoongi soothed. “Everyone’s safe.” He gave Hobi one last squeeze before resettling him back in the passenger seat. He turned slightly in his seat to look in the back. “Jin, slide over so Namjoon can get in that side.” Jin did as requested and moved across the backseat to sit behind Hobi. They all watched as Namjoon cleaned his swords on the pant leg of one of the zombie bodies, picked up his duffle bag and totes, and moved toward the car.Yoongi rolled down the window and folded his arms over the frame. “You did good, man.” Namjoon nodded wearily. The trunk popped open, and Yoongi pointed toward the back. “You can put all that stuff in there.” He motioned at Joon’s blood splattered coat. “And maybe that too.” After putting his things away, Namjoon opened the back door and piled in beside Jin, laying the sheath with his swords at his feet.“Okay, pulling out now. Let’s get moving before more company joins us.” Yoongi pulled out of the driveway and shot down the street.“Joonie, are you okay?” Jin asked Namjoon gently. “You’re looking kind of grey.”“I just cut off someone’s head,” Namjoon said calmly. “In fact, there were two heads. Two.”Yoongi glanced in the rearview mirror. “They weren’t people anymore. You were doing them a favour. I wouldn’t wish what’s happening on my worst enemy.”“Hmm,” Namjoon murmured, his fingers pulling at the fabric of his jeans. “Joonie,” Jin spoke softly. “Can I help you with your seatbelt?”Namjoon turned to Jin. “Why do you sound so far away?” His eyes glazed over as he slumped to the side. Jin caught his shoulders and gently laid Namjoon’s head in his lap. He ran his hands over Namjoon’s forehead. “He’s got blood on his face and hands. Do you have anything I can use to clean him up?”“Hobi, there’s some wet wipes in the glove compartment.” Yoongi gestured toward the compartment in front of Hoseok.Hobi raised a brow as he opened the clasp and found the package inside. “You keep wet wipes in your car?” He passed them back to Jin. “What exactly do you do in here?”“I eat in in here sometimes,” Yoongi protested. “They come in handy. Don’t be gross.”Jin pulled out a wipe and began stroking it over Namjoon’s skin, taking care to clean every bit of blood off him. When he was done, he began stroking his fingers through Namjoon’s hair. “God,” he whispered. “You were amazing.”* * * * *
The low throb of music became a loud blast as Namjoon exited the men’s room and made his way past the bar. He paused for a moment to remember where his friends were sitting, only to find an arm suddenly slung around his shoulders.
“Joonie,” Seokjin purred, sliding around front of him and pushing him backwards until he was backed up against the wall. “You look so good tonight.”
Namjoon’s brows climbed high on his forehead in surprise. He didn’t really know Seokjin all that well—they’d met through mutual friends, but they hadn’t really talked, just the two of them. It definitely seemed a step forward in their brief friendship to have Seokjin’s hands currently pawing their way through Namjoon’s hair.
On the other hand, Seokjin was undeniably gorgeous, and this wasn’t exactly an unwelcome development.
“Mmm, you smell good, too,” Seokjin breathed as he buried his nose in the hollow under Namjoon’s and his arms circled around Namjoon’s neck.
“Uh, it’s just my soap and, uh, I guess shampoo?” Namjoon offered awkwardly.
Seokjin straightened up and looked Namjoon in the eye. “Shut up,” he said before leaning forward and pressing his lips against Namjoon’s. And so they kissed, and continued to kiss, and then kissed some more. Namjoon’s hands crept around Seokjin’s waist and clung on for dear life. As his mouth opened up against Seokjin’s, things took a deeper, more heated turn.
While he still had at least one remaining working brain cell, Namjoon pulled away from Seokjin’s lips. “Um, have you maybe had a little too much to drink tonight?” He inquired gently, not really wanting to stop, but feeling as though he maybe shouldn’t take advantage of him either.
Seokjin pressed his finger against Namjoon’s lips and shushed him. “Didn’t I tell you to shut up?” Namjoon took that as a sign and pulled Seokjin in to continue making out.
An unknown amount of time passed as Namjoon drowned in long, deep, slow kisses, clouding his senses as everything faded except for the two of them. Until Seokjin pulled away after one last press of his lips.
“Oh Joonie,” he crooned as he smoothed down Namjoon’s hair, which had grown wild from Seokjin’s hands running through it. Namjoon peered at him questioningly, wondering what came next.
“This was wonderful,” Seokjin smiled. “But it never happened, understand?” Namjoon frowned, puzzled. Seokjin leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “If you tell anyone, I’ll just deny it.”
With that, Seokjin backed away, pausing to throw Namjoon an air kiss, before disappearing into the crowd and leaving Namjoon slumped against the wall in a daze.
* * * * *Technically, Namjoon wasn’t unconscious for that long. He could feel his head being lowered into Seokjin’s lap. He felt Seokjin cleaning his face and hands. He just needed a moment to deal, to hide out for a bit before he had to face reality again. So he kept his eyes closed and enjoyed the feel of Seokjin petting him while the other occupants of the car carried on their conversation.“You saved us again, Yoongi,” Hoseok sighed. “You were so cool and in-charge with your gun, taking on those zombies.”“Yeah?” Yoongi asked with a bit of pride in his voice.“Oh yeah,” Hoseok purred. Namjoon tried hard to keep his face as slack as possible, but he was a little surprised at the change in Hoseok’s demeanour toward Yoongi. He seemed much friendlier today, at least compared to how he’d been at the party the night before. Hoseok had all but run in the opposite direction any time Yoongi got near to him.“Speaking of which, once we clear the city, I’m hoping we can find some place with a hose so we can clean off your side of the car.” Yoongi said thoughtfully.“Yeah, I’m trying not to look that way or I might hurl.”“I still can’t get over Joon. Who knew he had it in him?” Yoongi marveled.“That was actually really upsetting to watch. I thought for sure he was toast.”“I know! And instead it was hack, slash, slice all over the place!”“Ugh, please don’t. It’s making me queasy, just thinking about it.” Hoseok said with disgust.“Sorry, sweet cheeks. It’s just when I saw him with that thing strapped on his back—I mean, it’s the fucking end of the world and he’s bringing his anime fetish gear with him.”“They were a gift from my uncle.” Namjoon still wasn’t quite ready to face the world yet, but damned if he was going to let that blasphemy stand unchallenged. “As you saw, they’re real. Not props, not a costume.” He pulled himself up from Seokjin’s lap and sat upright in his seat. “My uncle taught me how to use them. I’ve trained with him since I was a kid. I just never expected—”“Here,” Seokjin leaned over to pull out Namjoon’s seat belt. “Let me help you buckle up.” He pulled the belt across Namjoon’s torso and fastened it.Namjoon looked at Seokjin. “Thank you,” he said, finding himself in the confusing position of being grateful to Seokjin, of all people, for his kindness and care. The world was continually spinning itself around and upside-down, but at least Namjoon was strapped in now.* * * * *After a few hours of long, seemingly endless driving, Namjoon was pulled from his inner thoughts when Yoongi turned into what appeared to be straight bush. After clearing some initial scrub, the windshield revealed a somewhat cleared path, but not what Namjoon would call a road. Yoongi reduced the speed they were travelling at as they began working their way down the winding, bumpy pathway. It had been a fairly quiet trip for the most part. The atmosphere in the car was tense until they cleared the city limits. Yoongi had kept mainly to side streets where he could in order to avoid highways and major thoroughfares, presumably clogged with cars and panicky drivers. The farther they got away from the city, the fewer cars were travelling the roads along with them; for the last hour, they’d had no one else in sight. In the beginning they’d kept the radio on, in the hopes of getting any information on the situation, but as they drove farther north, they either lost the signal or stations had stopped broadcasting as channel after channel revealed nothing but static. It was almost tacitly agreed that no one was in the mood for music, so the interior of the car lapsed into silence as they all contemplated what might lie ahead for them.After another 20 minutes of stomach-churning riding through the bush, Yoongi finally pulled up to a rectangular, concrete building. Yoongi pulled out a remote from behind the driver’s visor and punched in a few numbers. The large door at the side of the building began pulling up automatically and Yoongi drove the car through. Namjoon peered through the window with curiosity. The space was completely empty with the exception of their car and a large metal door at the far end. “We’ll grab the stuff out of the back and head in,” Yoongi said as he hopped out of the car. Namjoon gladly followed, pausing for a moment to stretch and strap the sheath back on again. In the trunk, in addition to Namjoon’s bags, were more supplies from Yoongi, including a cooler. Between the four of them, they carted everything over to the doorway where Yoongi again punched in some numbers into a key pad. After a loud click, Yoongi pulled the door open to reveal another room. This one was also empty except for a service elevator and a round metal cover with a circular handle in the middle of the floor. “That’s a secondary entrance with stairs,” Yoongi explained as he gestured to the cover. “But we’ll use the elevator instead.” As they climbed into the elevator car and Yoongi pulled the doors shut, he further explained, “the entrances have electronic locks, but there are manual overrides and locks if need be. The doors and walls on this side of the garage are blast-proof.” After a short ride, they came to a stop and Yoongi opened the doors again to reveal another empty room with a metal door.“This is some secret covert operation you’ve got going here,” Namjoon observed. Yoongi punched some more numbers in and swung the last door open. “If you want to keep someone out, you’ve got to make sure they stay out. Anyway, here we are—home sweet home.”Hoseok peered cautiously through the doorway and his mouth dropped open in shock. “Holy shit, Yoongi. When you talked about a bunker, I wasn’t picturing this!” Seokjin stepped through the door and murmured his agreement. “If this weren’t, like, I don’t know how many feet below the ground, I’d swear we were in someone’s penthouse.”Namjoon could see Yoongi’s chest fairly puff out in pride, and rightly so. This was downright cozy for a bunker with recessed pot lights in the ceiling, artwork on the walls, and hardwood floors with plush rugs scattered everywhere. “If you’re going to hide out from society, do it in style,” Yoongi stated. “Just because it’s a bunker, doesn’t mean it has to be industrial and depressing. I wanted it to be a place I could imagine having to spend multiple years in.” He walked over to a nook area off the entryway where a computer was set up. “Take a load off in the living room. I just want to boot up the security system and make sure the cameras and everything are running okay. I would have expected Taehyung to get here before us, so I want to keep an eye out for him.”Namjoon wandered farther into his new living space. In front of him was a very large open area with a kitchen and a dining table on one side. Facing it was a sitting area, with comfortable couches and coffee tables, a stereo system, a TV with a DVD player, and a piano against one wall. Bookshelves lined another wall, filled with books, graphic novels, and board games.At the opposite end of where Namjoon was standing was a long hallway lined with doors, which he presumed led to bedrooms and other rooms. He flopped down on one of the couches and let out a breath. “This is unreal.”Hoseok sat gingerly on the couch facing him, Seokjin following him. “I think Yoongi is rich,” he whispered.“I should have known. All that talk about buying gold—I mean, who does that other than super villains.” Seokjin said in wonder.“Oh my God,” Namjoon expelled, the situation all of a sudden hitting him. “We’re talking about living underground. For an indefinite amount of time. What is happening?” He leaned forward with his face in his hands.“Don’t freak out,” Hoseok cried. “If you freak out, I will, too!”“No one is freaking out, understood?” Seokjin commanded, and then let out a yelp when a motor started whirring loudly from somewhere in the bunker. Hoseok fell off the couch, startled.“Okay,” Yoongi came out of the nook to where they were sitting. “Taehyung and the other two are here.” Soon, the interior door to the bunker opened to reveal Taehyung, Jimin, and Jungkook and the load of supplies they’d brought with them.“What took you so long. I was beginning to get concerned,” Yoongi greeted them.“We passed a gas station that was still selling, so we filled some tanks to take with us. We cleared them out of whatever underwear they had, too, along with some other stuff.” Taehyung dropped a plastic bag on the floor. “Luckily, we had enough cash on hand between the three of us. Though the clerk seemed like he was coming down with something—really pale and sweaty, to be honest. We probably could have gassed and dashed.”“Also, blood and guts are much harder to clean out of the front grill of a car once they’ve had a chance to dry,” Jungkook explained.“I hear that.” Yoongi nodded in solidarity.“I need to sit down,” Jimin brushed past the three standing and talking to collapse on the couch beside Namjoon. “Oh, I thought I was going to barf on the way in.”“You are a little green,” Seokjin observed. “Do you want some water?”“I think there’s some Coke in the cooler we brought. That might help settle his stomach.” Taehyung brought a can over to Jimin, popped it open, and sat down beside him, rubbing his back. “Here you go, angel.”Hoseok’s eyebrows rose in surprise before a devilish smile broke out over his face. “Oh, Jiminie angel—you poor thing!” Jimin glared at him over the can he was drinking from.Taehyung stood up and spread his arms wide. “Well, isn’t this place awesome?” he declared with glee. “Have you shown them around yet, Yoongs?”“No, I was trying to get—”“That’s ridiculous,” Taehyung interrupted. “Well, who wants a tour then?” He gestured at the group sitting down, as if to will them to rise. “We worked hard on this place, and I need to show off.”He stood in the centre of the room and pointed at the kitchen. “This is obviously the kitchen. We have a stove-top and an oven, in addition to a toaster, a slow cooker, a rice cooker, an Instant Pot, and a George Foreman grill.”“Oooh,” Seokjin peered around in interest.“Down there,” he gestured to an area beyond the nook, “there’s a gym room with some equipment, along with some workrooms and other space.” He then pointed the other way, past the kitchen to the long hallway where presumably bedrooms were located, and began to walk over, trusting the other would follow. There were three doors on one side of the hallway, two doors on the other, and one last door at the very end.“We have the capacity for ten people comfortably,” Yoongi explained. “There are four bedrooms, for two people each plus one of the couches folds out into a bed where two more could sleep.” Namjoon poked his head into one of the rooms—it was sparsely furnished, but there was a comfortable-looking queen-sized bed within.Taehyung propped himself up against the wall with one shoulder and stared at Jimin. “We’ll have to decide roommates at some point. It can get cold down here, so I just want to put it out there that I would make an excellent electric blanket.”Jimin shifted his eyes away from Taehyung and pointed down the hallway. “I’m hoping there is also a bathroom down here?”“Ah, yes,” Yoongi studiously avoided commenting on any weirdness. “There’s a toilet just off the living room, and down here is a full bathroom with shower. We’re hooked up to a well to supply the bathrooms and the kitchen, and there is a water recycling system installed. We should be fine for tonight, but I’d just like to do some testing before we start dealing with showers. It’s mostly been Tae and I here, so we’re more than tripling the load on the water system. I’d just like to be sure before we do.”Taehyung strided down to the very last door at the end. “And here is the best part, the warehouse,” he said, opening the door with a flourish.The group all piled inside an enormous room filled with floor-to-ceiling racks with shelves. Piled onto shelves were almost every conceivable household product and non-perishable food. A large deep freezer was plugged in by the doorway.“If you see over there,” Taehyung pointed at the far end of the room. “There’s the door to an alternate exit out of the bunker if we ever need it.”“Whoa,” Hoseok gasped in awe, looking around the warehouse. “Where’d you get all this stuff?”“Yoongi got into extreme couponing a while back,” Taehung explained. Yoongi nodded. “It gave me something to do during the winter, you know?” He pointed at a rack further in the room. “You see that over there, with the laundry detergent and cleaning stuff? I got all that for maybe $20 total. That was a good deal. I got gold stars on the message boards when they heard about that one.”Taehyung abruptly yawned and stretched his arms over his head with an exaggerated motion. “Wow, I don’t mind saying, I’m beat. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night, and that drive was a long one. I could do with a nap. Jimin?”Jimin looked at him, startled. “What?”“I need a snuggle buddy.”“What does that have to do with me?”“Jiminie, I can’t sleep without something to cuddle, and all my plushies and body pillows were left behind. I need you!” Taehyung pouted, and then tiptoed his fingers up Jimin’s chest. “Besides, I know you didn’t get any sleep either. And wouldn’t you like to lie down for a bit, close your eyes?” His voice dropped to seductive levels.Jimin was visibly wavering. “I am kind of tired,” he said. “And having a nap does sound kind of—”“Great!” Taehyung exclaimed. “Let’s go!” And he pulled Jimin into one of the nearby bedrooms and shut the door.“Okay, then. I’m going to check the radio and hook-up the short wave to see if I can get any kind of update.” Yoongi turned and disappeared down the hallway.Jungkook ran after him. “Can I come? I want to see.”Hoseok looked around the room again, taking it all in. “Well, I guess I’ll go deal with whatever is in the coolers. Unpack the other stuff out there.” He wandered out of the room as well, leaving just Seokjin and Namjoon left.Seokjin pointed his thumb towards the kitchen. “I’ll just, um, go help Hobi unpack.”Unsure what to do next, Namjoon watched him leave. * * * * *
Namjoon had spent the last half hour keeping a forlorn Jimin company while he polished off an entire platter of chips and dip himself. A drunk Hoseok all of a sudden rushed over and pulled Jimin away to the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the room, screeching “it’s Britney, bitch!” Namjoon saw his chance to escape.
He found Taehyung with Jungkook in the kitchen. “See you guys, I’m going to head out.”
“Say,” Taehyung leaned close. “What’s up with you and that tasty snack you were talking to?”
“Who, Jimin?” Namjoon queried. Taehyung nodded in encouragement. “He was just a little…” Namjoon side-eyed Jungkook for a moment. He chose his words carefully as to not expose Jimin’s crush. “We were just talking about stuff.”
“So there’s nothing going on between you two?” Taehyung narrowed his eyes as he pinned Namjoon with his gaze. Meanwhile, Jungkook tilted his head back to drink out of the can of beer he was holding, straightened up to peer deep into the bottom, only to tip back again once more.
“Uh, no. As far as I know, Jimin isn’t seeing anyone right now.” Namjoon shifted his eyes sideways to where Jungkook was pawing through a bag of potato chips, seemingly unconcerned with the topic of Jimin’s romantic status.
“In-teresting,” Taehyung cradled his fingers together in a villain’s pose. “I shall make my move then, before this night is over.”
“These are really good,” Jungkook shook the bag of chips and then checked out the label on the front. “I’ve never tried this flavour before.”
“Yeah, well, see you.” Namjoon waved a hand and moved along out of the kitchen. As he walked down the hall toward the front door, someone came up behind him, grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him into another room. The door shut behind him, as Namjoon turned around to find Seokjin leaning against the door handle, smiling.
“Oh, hey,” Namjoon mumbled. He turned to check out the room, hoping to avoid facing Seokjin.
“Joonie, you haven’t spoken to me all night,” Seokjin pouted. “You won’t even look at me now?”
“Why would you bother to notice what I’m doing,” Namjoon muttered. “Or even care?”
“Do you think I go around kissing just any guy like that?”
Namjoon glanced at Seokjin in confusion. “So you do remember, then? You were drunk and I thought—I thought that I was just there, convenient. I just assumed…like, it was a one-night only kind of deal, and you made it pretty clear,” he confessed.
“Oh, Joonie,” Seokjin cooed as he walked over and wrapped his arms around Namjoon’s neck. “Silly boy.”
Seokjin pressed his lips against Namjoon’s jaw, close to his ear and began peppering little kisses below his ear. He delicately took Namjoon’s earlobe between his teeth and began nibbling on it.
“Uh, Seokjin?” Namjoon gasped, as a hot flush began travelling through his body. “Maybe we shouldn’t—” Seokjin’s lips travelled farther down and attached themselves on the sensitive cord at the side of his neck. “I mean, I don’t know if—” Namjoon broke off with a moan.
“Oh, Joonie,” Seokjin purred. “You think too much. That might be the problem.” He tangled his fingers into Namjoon’s hair at the base of his neck and pulled his head closer. He gazed for a moment into Namjoon’s eyes, before closing them and placing their lips together in a kiss.
Namjoon was lost at that moment, and the only thing that mattered was the feel of Seokjin’s mouth against his. He was pushed backwards to rest against some piece of furniture—what, he didn’t know, didn’t care. He wrapped his arms around Seokjin’s waist, pulling them as close together as possible, as the kisses got deeper and hungrier.
An untold number of minutes and kisses later, Seokjin pulled back. He was panting slightly, his lips even redder and plumper than usual, his eyes heavy lidded and a bit glazed. “Damn, where have you been hiding all that fire?”
Namjoon’s pants were feeling tight, and he didn’t understand why Seokjin had stopped. He reached out to pull them back closer.
Seokjin scooted away with a laugh. “Ah, you’re so tempting. I can’t tell you how much, but we’ve been gone a while, and people are going to notice soon.”
The warm feelings enveloping Namjoon began to break up as cold suspicion rolled over him. He rubbed his hand across his chest; without the warmth of Seokjin’s body pressed against his, a chill was setting in.
Seokjin backed himself toward the door, holding a finger up to his lips. “Ssshh,” he whispered. “It’s our little secret—remember?”
He opened the door just enough to get through, pausing to blow Namjoon one last air kiss. He slipped through, but before he could close the door behind him, Namjoon rushed over and braced his hand against it, keeping it open.
“It’s like you’re playing some kind of game with me, but I don’t know the rules. Why are you messing with me? How is it fun for you when I’m nowhere in your league?”
With that, Namjoon pushed past Jin and sped down the hall toward escape.
* * * * *It was who knows what time in the night, but Namjoon wasn’t able to sleep. Everyone had piled onto the couches in the living room, unwilling to sleep separated in the bedrooms. Hoseok was curled up with Yoongi, Jungkook and Seokjin huddled together, and Taehyung and Jimin clinging to each other like an octopus hugging a koala. One by one, they’d all given in and nodded off, leaving Namjoon alone with his thoughts.What news they’d been able to get over the radio wasn’t good. Things were chaotic, people panicking. No one had any idea how this all would end, let alone when. They spent a lot of time that night talking about the lives they left behind and the people in it. Now that they were relatively safe, hidden in this massive underground bunker, reality was setting in—fear, confusion, sadness.What did it all mean? Where would their lives go from here? Namjoon had spent his life working at his goals with a clear path in mind ahead of him, and now he wasn’t sure what the future held and it was unsettling. He didn’t quite know what to do, or even if there was anything that he could or should be doing. He was at a loss. He was lucky that Yoongi had had a space for him here, but he didn’t know where his place was. What his purpose was, if he had any.Feeling restless, he tossed the blanket off him and stood up. Normally, he’d go for a walk, the fresh air and exercise helped him to clear his thoughts. That wasn’t really an option, though, so he wandered over to the gym room, figuring if all he could do was pace, at least he wasn’t going to disturb anyone there.He’d barely arrived when he heard someone pad down the hall behind him. He turned to see Seokjin standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry if I woke you,” he said. “I can’t sleep, but you should go back, get some rest. It’s been a long day.”“Are you sure you won’t come back? I don’t like leaving you alone,” Seokjin asked.“I can’t turn my mind off. I can’t stop thinking.” Namjoon confessed.“Oh, Joonie,” Seokjin softly said and walked over to where Namjoon was standing, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.Namjoon jerked away. “Please don’t. I can’t—”“Oh,” Seokjin exhaled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”“I can’t thank you enough for your help today.” Namjoon said sincerely. “I was so freaked out after what happened, and you were so nice to me. It meant a lot, but it doesn’t change how I feel.”He took a deep breath and forced himself to be truthful with Seokjin and tell it like it was. “I understand, really I do. Yoongi’s finally getting somewhere with Hoseok. And Jimin and Taehyung—well, I’ll be honest, I didn’t see that happening, but okay. I get it. No one wants to face the end of the world alone. But if you’re just looking for some kind of apocalyptic hook-up, I can’t do it. Not with you.” The truth was, Namjoon had been half in love with Seokjin from the night they met. Seokjin was gorgeous, true, but he was also funny and charming. He was so positive about things, and he laughed all the time. He was like a burst of sunshine for Namjoon, who felt so mired sometimes in all his musings on the meaning of life and his latest existential crisis. The first time they’d made out, he’d been crushed to think he’d been a convenient pair of lips. When it happened again, he’d felt like a fool. It would be so easy to give in and let stress and fear and hormones take them wherever, but that wasn’t what he wanted with Seokjin. He didn’t want to settle for scraps. He deserved more than that.“I thought you were going to die today,” Seokjin whispered. “When those zombies surrounded you, I thought I was going to have to watch you be devoured or torn apart. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t scream. I just felt frozen and empty.”Namjoon stayed quiet, letting Seokjin say what he had to say.“The whole day since Hobi and I woke up, it’s been so surreal. I’m not the bravest person to begin with, and this whole zombie thing—I’ve never been so afraid for my life before. I was terrified we wouldn’t make it through, that I was going to die. But when you pulled out those freaking swords, for the first time, I felt hope. Like we could survive this.” Seokjin smiled. “You just hacked your way through them like a hot knife through cold butter.”Namjoon felt a small tug at the corner of his lips as he fought a smile at that description. Seokjin took that as a sign of encouragement and reached out to grasp his hand.“I feel like the biggest idiot,” he continued. “What I did was so selfish. I do really like you, Namjoon,” he confessed. “I always have. I was just so invested in this idea of myself as this fun, flirty guy, and I wanted to avoid the drama of a relationship. I thought it would be sexy to be kind of elusive and have this secret thing between us. I didn’t once think about whether you felt the same way until you rightfully bitched me out last night. I’m sorry.” Seokjin looked down in contrition.Namjoon was silent for a few minutes, letting Seokjin’s words sink in. Giving himself some time to figure out how he felt. He appreciated Seokjin’s honesty and his apology. All he’d ever wanted was to feel special to someone who was becoming important to him.“I am comfortable saying, I’m a pretty serious guy.” Namjoon finally spoke. “Maybe too serious—you may feel like you’re hitting a brick wall with me. But, I think maybe we could balance each other out? I think maybe we could try anyway.”Seokjin beamed, a beautiful smile crossing over his face. “Can I give you a hug?” he asked.Namjoon held his arms out wide and Seokjin crowded in closer, wrapping his arms around Namjoon’s waist. “I’m really glad your uncle taught you sword fighting,” he whispered into Namjoon’s shoulder.Namjoon laughed. “I am, too,” he agreed.Seokjin raise his head to take in Namjoon’s smiling face. “I really, really like your dimple, too,” he said, laughing as Namjoon squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched his face in embarrassment. “You’re too cute,” he crooned.* * * * *Jungkook’s eyes drifted open, and he looked around the unfamiliar room with confusion. Tae lay on a couch across from him, arms and legs wound around his new body pillow, who was snoring softly into Tae’s chest. Yoongi was stretched out on another couch, spooning Hobi from behind.He felt weird—yesterday had been a really weird day. Tragic, too, now that he was remembering what happened to his beloved car. He hadn’t had much time to think before, but man, those zombies were some freaky nightmare stuff. One minute, he’d been sleeping off one too many beers after Hobi’s party, the next he was fighting with what used to be a person, with only a piece of cookware for defense. If he was going to make a movie about this whole thing, he could call it “Red Guts on a Black Road”, or maybe “The Cast-Iron Warrior”.His eye was caught by a painting on one of the walls of a window looking out to a forest of trees, done in a trompe l’oeil style—painted to appear realistic by Jungkook himself. Yoongi had artfully hung curtains around the “window” to add to the affect. He’d been commissioned by Yoongi to do a window painting in all of the rooms, but he’d only finished this one so far. He supposed he’d have time now to do the rest, and his painting supplies should still be in the storage room where he left them. He could do an apple orchard for Taehyung’s room, maybe, and a garden for Jin. He grinned as the idea came to him to add a big juicy bug somewhere on the window and see how long it took for Jin to notice and freak out. For himself, he would like an ocean view with the sun shining down on the water like diamonds scattered among the waves.He stood up and stretched, and then scratched his empty and now rumbling belly. “Food,” he murmured. Speaking of Jin—Jin would feed him, but there was no sign of him. He stumbled to the bathroom to make a quick pit stop, before roaming the hallway to search for Jin. No sign of him in any of the bedrooms, so he crossed past the domestic scene in the living room to head down the other hallway toward the gym. “Jin,” he whispered harshly. “Where are you?”“Jiiinnn,” he whined as he popped his head around the door frame to look inside the gym room, only to suddenly gasp in betrayal. “Not you two, too!”Jin lifted his head from Namjoon’s shoulders as they both turned their heads his way. Their backs were pressed against the wall, and Namjoon held Jin’s hand, playing with his fingers. “Aw man, this is like high school all over again. Am I the only one here not a slave to their hormones?” he cried.“We’re literally just talking,” Namjoon defended himself.“The workout room is a sacred space, and I won’t let you to defile it!”“Jungkook,” Jin said calmly. “What’s your problem?”“I’m hungry!” he whined.“Hmm.” Jin looked back at Namjoon. “What do you think, baby? Want some breakfast?” He caressed Namjoon’s jaw gently, as Namjoon closed his eyes and snuggled his face into the palm of Jin’s hands.“Yes,” Jungkook spoke up, hopefully. “Breakfast.”“Okay, okay,” Jin conceded, standing up and pulling on Namjoon’s arm to follow him. “Come on, Joonie,” he said. “I guess I need to feed my son.”“I don’t know about this,” Namjoon said. “You should have told me you had a kid before we decided to start dating.”“Ha ha,” Jungkook fake-laughed. “But seriously, I will call you ‘Dad’ or whatever you want as long as someone will make me breakfast.” Where food was concerned, his priorities were clear. It had always been this way, and he felt no shame about doing what had to be done to get what he wanted.“Your standards are shockingly low.” Namjoon shook his head, but still ended up following behind Jungkook and Jin as they travelled to the kitchen. By this time, the others had woken up and were stirring around. Jungkook peered over Jin’s shoulder as he rummaged around in the refrigerator. “I remember seeing some leftover stew and rice in someone’s containers. I can warm that up for now,” Jin decided.Taehyung , sporting a raging case of bed-head, pulled a coffee maker out from one of the cupboards. “I’ll get some coffee started. There’s also tea, if anyone wants it.”“Yes, please,” Jimin piped up, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. “I’ll set the table while things are warming up.”Yoongi turned on the short-wave radio and searched through channel after channel to find any new information. “—patrolling city limits. Military personnel have retreated from the downtown core. Currently, overrun by walking dead. It’s every man for them"—"Re-entry is forbidden; any attempts will be barred. Efforts have switched to constructing a barricade, though there are sporadic reports of undead outside city limits"—"do not engage zombies. Use defensive measures only where required. Avoid physical contact at all costs. Bites and scratches may seem minor, but—” Jungkook frowned at the seemingly endless reports of an increasingly hopeless situation.“Please,” Hobi spoke up. “Yoongi, please turn it off. I can’t take any more.” Yoongi nodded and switched off the radio. Taehyung passed him a cup of coffee. Jin placed bowls with warm rice and stew in the centre of the kitchen table, as Jungkook sat down along with the others and they began serving themselves. Silence fell over the group as they ate, broken only by the odd slurp from a mug or scrape of a fork on a plate. Now somewhat satisifed, Jungkook looked up from his empty plate (would it be rude and gross to lick it?) to see Namjoon tug at his ear self-consciously. “Ummm…I just wanted to say—I mean, I think—”Yoongi folded his arms on the table in front of him. “If there’s something you want to say, Joon, just say it.”“Okay,” Namjoon nodded. “None of knows what’s going to happen from here on out, but I don’t want to camp out here and hope that somehow everything’s going return to normal. The truth is, unless something drastically changes in the next couple of days, there may not be anything left for us to go back to.” Jungkook noticed a few of the others dropped their eyes down in dismay at the idea of that—their worst fears spoken out loud. “I don’t say this to be negative, but I do think we have to be realistic about our situation and start today how we mean to continue from now on. This is our home now, and we’re in this together. We’ll get through this together.” Namjoon paused for a moment. “I know you’re all feeling scared and helpless, because I am too. We can’t fix what’s happening outside, so let’s focus on us and this place. We each have a role to play here; let’s figure out what they are. We’ll all feel better knowing there is we can contribute.”Jungkook found himself nodding his head in agreement. He’d been restless since they got here. He didn’t want to think, he just wanted to do… something, anything.Namjoon gestured at Yoongi and Taehyung. “You guys know the systems in here, so it makes sense for you two to take charge of that.”“Oh,” Jungkook interjected. “I helped them sometimes. I’d like to learn more—if you can teach me, I can help with repairs and upkeep.”“Not to mention, with your muscles, you can do all the heavy-lifting,” Taehyung volunteered, poking at one of his biceps.“I like to cook,” Jin offered. “Also Hobi and I got pretty good at taking care of things around the house—fixing holes in the wall, furniture repair, simple plumbing stuff, things like that. I know how to sew, too.”“I’m happy to clean,” Hobi piped up. “It helps me feel less stressed when I can mop and scrub.”“I can take turns with Jin cooking,” Jimin raised his hand.“Jiminie can hunt!” Taehyung exclaimed. “He can get us fresh meat. He brought hunting rifles and everything.”“This is what I’m talking about.” Namjon smiled, dimples popping. “Why don’t we say for today, we try to get settled in and make sure everything is running properly, get unpacked and get bedrooms set up.”Yoongi nodded. “Good plan, Joon. Tae, Jungkook, and I will do a check of the water and electrical systems.”“I’d like to start an inventory of what we have in the way of fresh food plus everything that’s in the storage room. I want to know how long things will last before we need to think about Jimin maybe going hunting or if we need to find other sources of food.”“Yoongi and I have installed equipment for a hydroponic garden in one of the rooms down there,” Taehyung geatured down the gym hallway. “We never really got a chance to much with it. We have some books, and the seeds are ready to go.”“Hmm, if no one minds, I can take that on as a project. Depending on how things go out there, it might be a good idea for us to camp down here as much as we can without relying on an outside garden for food.” Namjoon rubbed his hands together, apparently pleased at the idea of a science project for him to immerse himself in.Jungkook was feeling a little bit brighter with the beginnings of a plan and some structure in place—a little bit less lost with some hope to cling on to.Jin looked at Jimin and Hobi. “So I guess that leaves us to set up the bedrooms and stuff.”Jimin side-eyed Taehyung before inquiring, “So, about the roommate situation.…”“Oh, please,” Jungkook snorted. “Like it hasn’t already been decided. Just put me in the room farthest away from all of you so I can sleep at night.”“You brat!” Jin cried. “Next time, make your own breakfast.”“Please, tell me somebody packed some earplugs.” Jungkook sighed.* * * * *
Five months later…
“Shoot—Owww!” Namjoon pulled his hand back sharply, a red gash prominent across the palm as blood began to well up.“Well, I guess these things might actually work. We almost caught ourselves a Namjoon.” Jungkook laughed.Namjoon shot him a dirty look as he searched for something to stop the flow of blood. They’d spent the afternoon putting together a few rabbit snares using some tree branches and metal wire. The instructions had seemed simple enough, but that wire was proving to be a bitch to cut and twist. At least for Namjoon; Jungkook, of course, didn’t seem to be having any trouble with it. As inept as Namjoon was proving to be at doing any sort of handy work, he still wanted to try and help out where he could.They were still a bit wary about making too much noise around the bunker and calling attention to themselves. While there had been no sightings of zombies nearby, things were still very uncertain in the outside world. So they’d decided to try trapping some rabbits to help supplement the fish Seokjin and Yoongi had been able to catch. There was a lake not far from the bunker, and Yoongi had stored a row boat in a shed on the property, so they’d taken it out a few times with some success. Depending on how things went, Jimin might be able to take his gun out for some bigger game in a few months’ time. “You know, why don’t you go take care of that—I can finish up what’s left.” Jungkook gestured at the mess on Namjoon’s hands.“If you’re sure….” Namjoon supposed from Jungkook’s quick jerk of his head and shooing gesture that was, indeed, sure. “Okay, maybe Seokjin can take a look and bandage it up.”Namjoon left the workroom, passing by the gym room which was currently empty. As he approached the open area, he could hear Jimin’s giggling floating down the hallway to greet him. “Tae no!” Smack! “That’s for dinner.” Jimin scolded. “Also, I can’t move with you on me like this.”“Please, Jiminie… just one more, please?” Taehyung begged. Sure enough, now that he could see clearly into the kitchen area, he found Jimin standing at the counter, with Taehyung behind him with his arms wrapped around Jimin’s waist, head propped on his shoulder.“Fine!” Taehyung released his grip as Jimin turned around with a raisin or something in his fingers. Taehyung opened his mouth wide, and Jimin popped the morsel inside. Taehyung rubbed his hands together and wriggled his body in apparent delight. “That’s all you get. I need to get this slow cooker going.”“Ummm,” Namjoon interrupted, and they both turned their heads his way. “Do either of you know where Seokjin is?” In sync, both sets of eyes dropped to his hand, red now bleeding through the paper towel he’d been using to blot.“In the storage room,” Jimin pointed down the hallway. Namjoon waved his good hand in thanks.“Jiminie,” Taehyung’s voice dropped down low. “Is it almost naptime yet?” Jimin giggled again.Down the hall, one room had the door shut, a sliver of light poking through the bottom of the doorway. Judging from the murmur of voices, it was Hoseok and Yoongi—surprising, as Yoongi often found some reason to putter around, fixing or improving something around the bunker each day. Hoseok must have convinced him to take the afternoon off.A muffled screech pierced through the silence in the hall. “You cheated!”“Nuh-uh,” Yoongi’s voice drifted through the closed door. “It’s not my fault you got stuck in Molasses Swamp. I got to Candy Castle first. I won fair and square.”“I can’t believe you’re cheating at Candyland!”“Strip Candyland. You know the rules, sweet cheeks—you have to take your pants off now.”The jingle of a belt buckle accompanied Hoseok’s annoyed “hmmph”, so he was clearly complying with “the rules”. Namjoon stifled a laugh as he continued down the hall to the storeroom.“Seokjin?” He called out once he got inside. “Babe, you in here?”“Over here!” Seokjin responded from far into the room. Namjoon wandered down the rows of shelves until he found Seokjin in front of a shelf full of canned vegetables. “Hey baby,” Seokjin greeted him, eyes still on the vegetables. “Just pulling out a few things for tomorrow.” He turned around with two cans of tomatoes in his hands, but immediately gasped with one glance at Namjoon’s hand. “Oh Joonie, what have you done to yourself.”He dropped the cans back on the shelf and pulled Namjoon back through the rows of shelves to where all the first aid supplies were kept.“Help,” Namjoon pouted cutely as Seokjin began pulling the things he needed out of the first aid bin.“You’re a menace,” Seokjin muttered and cut off a strip of cotton bandage.“Will you kiss it and make it better, too?” Seokjin briefly glared at his audacity, but then bent over his hand to start cleaning off the blood.After dabbing on some antibiotic ointment, Seokjin smoothed the clean white bandage over the cut and placed some tape over the edges. As a final touch, he cupped Namjoon’s hand in his and gently kissed his boo boo.“Ahhh, I feel better already.” Namjoon sighed. “What would I do without you?”“Probably die of gangrene poisoning or something.” Seokjin wound his arms around Namjoon’s neck. “Good thing you’ve got me.”Namjoon slid his hands under Seokjin’s shirt and scooted them up his back. “Mmm-hmmm,” he agreed and nosed the hollow under Seokjin’s ear.“Hey! I’ve told you guys before, no sexy shenanigans allowed in the storage room!” Jungkook stood in the doorway, arms akimbo, outraged.Namjoon looked at Seokjin and they both smiled; his eyes then flicked down to Seokjin’s lips. “Jungkook, you might want to close your eyes and cover your ears or whatever you need to do to protect your virtue. You’ve got about three seconds….” He leaned down toward Seokjin. “Two seconds….”His lips ever so slightly brushed against Seokjin’s, the warmth of their breaths mingling. “One….”