Three Strikes - Chapter 4 part 1 - 3.1K (Patreon)

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Nightmares really do exist. In the form of a small boat and a rod, and the dumb expression of a fish who just got a hook through its lip.

It’s 6:30 and Jimin is in the middle of a lake, looking the ugliest he’s ever looked in his life, accompanied by a cheerful Jin and a quiet Yoongi. His only remedy is that he’s still drunk.

“Don’t look so sad when you’ve caught one! You have a talent Jimin-ah.”

Jimin looks at the one fish in his hand, then at the buckets of Jin and Yoongi, already filled with 5 to 6 unfortunate sea creatures. He looks up from under his fishing hat, gives Jin a blank stare. 

Jin just laughs, helps him get the fish off the hook to put it in his empty bucket. 

“I have a question.” Yoongi states, looking over his shoulder. He does that thing where he gives Jimin a one-over, and then can barely hide his amusement. “What are you being punished for?”

Jimin feels blood rush up his neck and he wants to come up with a lie, but Jin ruins that chance. 

“Getting boners around my brother.”

“Jin-hyung!”

“Sssh, you’re scaring the fish away.”

Jimin couldn’t care less about fish right now. He hides his face in his hands, groans in distress. He’s sure the little respect he earned from Yoongi is completely gone now. 

There’s only an unimpressed “ah” that makes Jimin feel even worse. Maybe it’s also that the world is spinning a little bit. 

“I thought you were going to try and talk to him.”

“I was.” Jimin sighs. “But then I had the amazing idea of hugging him goodnight.” 

Jin snorts, casting the line of his fishing rod again. “You get hard from hugging?”

Yoongi snickers at Jin’s comeback, and Jimin blushes profusely.

“No!”

“Sssh.”

“No I- I mean.” Jimin looks at the back of Jin’s head, then the back of Yoongi’s head, only now noticing that neither of them are wearing fishing gear. He’s the only one looking like a fucking idiot. “It wasn’t a normal hug hug, it was very long.” 

“Okay, don’t hug Jimin for longer than a second. Noted.”

Yoongi says, making Jin chuckle. 

“No- no it’s got nothing to do with that-“

“It’s alright Jimin, you’re just a sensitive guy.”

Jin says. Yoongi laughs soundlessly, but Jimin can still see his shoulders moving. 

This is unfair. 

“Fine. You two teaming up on me, how adorable.” 

He tries to make it awkward between them, but Yoongi hums in agreement.

“We are adorable, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, I’d say.”

Jin nods, not even looking, concentrated on his bobber. Honestly, they are made for each other. Jimin rolls his eyes to himself, but the movement makes him nauseous. 

Oh no, pleasant drunk is over. He’s entering sick mode. 

“You had three strikes right? So what else made you hard? Was it hand holding?”

Yoongi asks in the most monotone way. Jin is trying to keep it together, but he makes a choked sound in his throat and Jimin just clicks his tongue.

“Was Jeongguk showing some ankle?”

“Oh come on.”

Jin and Yoongi chuckle together like an old married couple. 

“Strike one was where he was putting on sunscreen.”

“Hyuuung.”

Jimin groans.

“Oh, but that’s not so bad, I think that happened to me once too.” 

Yoongi says, finally giving him some reassurance. 

He finally feels a little better about himself when Yoongi adds: 

“When I was 14.”

He just hangs his head in defeat.

————————-

They’re a few hours in, and Jimin’s bucket still only has that one fish in it, swimming around calmly as if it’s not entrapped in a circular prison. 

He feels like he’s in the same situation. Every time Yoongi or Jin asks him to hand them something and their hands touch he gets a “don’t get hard now” or a “watch out” or a “did  I just see it twitch?”

He threw a fit the first few times but now he’s too nauseous to even talk. His stomach twists and turns, the sour taste of puke burns his throat, threatening to come out. He tries to breathe evenly but he’s sweating, the summer sun is vicious. 

“By the way, I never did see what happened on that second strike. Care to enlighten us?”

Jin asks. 

Jimin feels blood drain from his face, more than nausea, he fears the moment these two find out about the valve. 

“I think I saw what happened.”

Yoongi says then, to Jimin’s horror. 

“They were inflating the floaties-“

“Please don’t.”

He begs. Yoongi gives him a look that resembles pity, but then he chuckles, his gums showing. 

“So it really was that?”

Jimin makes a pathetic noise. Jin is intrigued, not paying attention to his bobber anymore. Of course, he’s caught like 16 fish. Apparently that’s a sufficient number to participate in humiliating him.

“And then-“

“Yoongi wait. Jimin-ah, if you tell me yourself, I will drop you off on shore, and you can go home early.”

Jin promises. 

Jimin considers the two options. He can either sit here and bathe in shame while Yoongi tells the story, or he can tell it himself and finally leave this stupid boat behind. 

“Really?”

“Yes, you’re terrible at fishing anyway.”

Jimin pouts, looks at his cute little fish. He gives Yoongi a glance, and decides that he will not let that little gremlin speak.

“Fine.” He sighs, gathering the strength. “That time, we were inflating a floaty, and we were using the same inflation valve, so I could taste the inside of his mouth.”

Jin holds a straight face, but Yoongi is already laughing silently, eyes closed.

“And he.. said that I was blowing it well.”

Jimin finishes, unable to even look at either of them. Jin bursts out laughing, and that’s when Jimin’s stomach turns and he hangs over the boat just in time, spilling all the contents from the night before.

“Ah Jimin, how are we supposed to fish now?”

———————-

Jimin is finally ashore. Neither Jin or Yoongi believed his claim that he was just seasick. He could have gotten away with it, had the smell of piña colada not been that strong.

Without the car it’s half an hour walk. He hates to admit it but he’s kind of grateful he’s wearing a fishing hat, as it blocks some of the stinging sun. He’s feeling terrible, sweaty, and his stomach keeps growling. So when he gets home he goes immediately for the kitchen, opening the fridge to find some leftovers to eat. 

He finds a bowl of chicken wings from the night before, decides he doesn’t need them warm, he just needs something to cover that sour taste in his throat. 

It’s only when he’s munching on his third chicken wing that he casts a glance outside the window. Jeongguk is lying on his favourite pool chair in the late morning sun, a sight Jimin has become familiar with; phone in one hand, the other down his swimming trunks.

He stops chewing.

Jeongguk’s hand is.. 

Jimin watches the familiar movement, wrist flicking at a mild pace.

Oh fuck.

Heat spreads through his body, and he just stands there, frozen. 

Jeongguk watches his phone intently, while touching himself. He’s biting his lower lip, chest heaving with the uneven breaths he’s taking. His chest and stomach are covered in beads of sweat, glistening in the sun. 

Jimin’s throat runs dry, cock twitching in his fishing shorts. 

He looks around the room quickly, but there’s no hint of Jin behind any of the furniture. So then he turns back, a little unsure if he should make a noise to let Jeongguk know he’s here, or if he should just.. 

watch..

Jeongguk is panting softly, Jimin can hear it through the slightly open window. His hips move every now and then, a little jerk upwards, fucking into his hand. The pace increases and decreases, like he’s keeping himself on edge. 

Jimin’s ears are burning, cock hard against his stomach as he wonders what kind of porn Jeongguk is watching. It’s hard to see from this angle. 

He eyes the other window. From that angle, he could see Jeongguk’s phone screen. 

Moral compass talk to me.

It doesn’t. 

He tries to sneak over to the other window, but accidentally knocks the bowl of chicken wings off the counter. 

“Fuck!”

He curses, squatting down quickly to pick up the wings, blood rushing to his cheeks. Fuck fuck fuck. 

“Hyung?”

Jeongguk’s voice sounds a little alarmed as he steps into the room. Jimin doesn’t dare to make eye contact, just bites on his lip as he puts the wings back in the bowl. Jeongguk kneels down to help him. 

“You okay?”

Jeongguk asks. 

Jimin nods quickly, looks at Jeongguk’s right hand that’s touching the chicken wings that was just down his pants. If Jin can taste sink, then this is gonna be the worst experience of his life. 

“How long have you- uh.. did you- I thought you went fishing with Jin and Yoongi.”

Jimin bites his tongue, knows what the first two unfinished sentences were supposed to be. How long have you been here? Did you see me? 

He looks up, meets Jeongguk’s eyes. There’s a hint of panic in them, and Jimin tries his utmost best to not let it show that he saw.

“I was- I.. I just came back. Early.”

Jeongguk looks from one eye to the other, and then gradually turns red. Jimin knows he fucked up, he’s shit at hiding it. Cursed speech betrayed him again. 

“Hyung I.. sorry-“

“Sorry for what?”

Jimin asks, way too quickly, cheeks burning as he puts the last chicken wing in the bowl and stands up. He puts the bowl on the counter, gnaws nervously on his lower lip. 

Jeongguk stands up as well, tries to make eye contact but Jimin turns on the faucet and washes his hands to focus on literally anything else.

“I.. I didn’t know you were- I thought I was alone-“

“Jeongguk-ah just- don’t even mention it-“

“No but you saw.”

Jimin shakes his head, tries to get the image of Jeongguk touching himself out of his mind.

“It’s fine. You’re.. this is your house, I wasn’t supposed to get back early.”

“I’m not- I don’t usually.. I don’t do it outside like that-“

“I know, you don’t need to explain.”

“Hyung, I’m not a pervert, I just-“

“I didn’t say you were-“

“But you’re thinking it.”

“I’m not.”

If only Jeongguk knew what he was thinking instead. Jimin is still washing his hands, trying everything to not have to look at Jeongguk. His own cock is still semi-hard, and he wishes he could just evaporate. 

“Did you see my screen?”

Jeongguk asks then, his voice so small, like that’s the most embarrassing thing. Jimin is even more curious than before, and he curses mentally that he fucked up the opportunity to sneak a glance. 

“No, I just saw you.. uh..”

There’s a soft breath of relief from Jeongguk. 

“I’m sorry hyung, I didn’t know-“

“Really it’s fine, it’s my fault for being early.”

“No I- I shouldn’t have.. outside..”

“Well it’s your house and.. you can do it anywhere you want.”

Jimin has to ground himself. He can’t believe he’s talking about jerking off with Jeongguk. It feels so wrong, even though they’re both grown up, and Jeongguk is 24 years old now. It just feels a bit taboo. 

When he finally looks at Jeongguk, it’s even worse. He looks so guilty, eyes big, unsure. He seems to want to say something but ends up  just looking down in shame. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not gonna treat you any different.” 

He assures, which makes Jeongguk perk up a little. He just gives a small nod, but doesn’t walk away. 

Now this, this is just awkward. 

Talking about how he saw Jeongguk jerk off was terrible enough but this silence now is what really makes Jimin break down inside. His mind is completely blank, there’s nothing he can say to make this situation any better. 

“How- how was fishing?”

Jeongguk asks, probably to try and cover the last conversation. Jimin only gives a small nod, but his mind goes back to Jeongguk jerking off, and he has to take a deep breath. 

“Fine. Caught one. I puked.”

“Oh..” Jeongguk looks away. “you.. must really like fish if catching one makes you puke.”

Jimin blinks.

“No that.. that wasn’t related. I drank too much yesterday.”

“Oh.. right.”

Right. 

This is painful. 

“I just thought.. cause yesterday you asked me about sea creatures..”

“Right.” Jimin remembers that encounter. “I guess I care about them when I’m drunk.” 

“Mm.” Jeongguk nods, kicking his feet. “So you were.. very drunk then?”

“I mean.. I had like 10 piña coladas.. and that tequila shot.”

Shit, he shouldn’t have brought that up. 

Jeongguk looks down, eyes lingering on his lips for a second too long before they reach his eyes. 

Jimin feels heat flare up at his face, and he clears his throat.

“So I- I was very— yeah.”

There’s something that lingers in those dark brown eyes, but Jimin really can’t take a second longer with this conversation with that image of Jeongguk jerking off still in his mind, so he just excuses himself.

————————-

So that whole “I won’t treat you differently” thing was a lie. 

Jimin can’t stop thinking about Jeongguk with his hand down his pants, and everytime he sees him from the corner of his eye an alarm goes off in his mind. He’s so down bad that it physically hurts. (yes, his boners have increased. no, Jin hasn’t caught him yet, he thinks it might be for the best.)

It’s just that Jeongguk looked so good getting off, that all Jimin can think about is riding his cock on that stupid pool chair Jin cares so much about. And he‘s afraid of how obvious it is, which is why he can’t bring himself to talk to Jeongguk, he can’t approach him anymore. And Jeongguk doesn’t initiate any contact either. 

“What is going on between you and Jeongguk? I was having fun seeing you fail spectacularly at winning him over.”

Jin says when they’re on a walk along the boulevard. Jimin watches the sea in the distance, the way the sun hits the waves. 

“I caught him jerking off a few days ago and now I can’t look him in the eyes.” 

“That’s no reason to stop talking to someone Jimin-ah. I’m still talking to you after seeing your many boners.” 

Jimin feels blood rush up his neck and he gives Jin a glance. He looks like an idiot today, wearing a pink blouse with a tie, a straw hat and pilot glasses. Jimin can’t take him seriously. People are staring as they walk by. 

“I don’t get why I’m still talking to you when you’re dressed like this.”

Jin looks down at his outfit, back up at him. 

“You question my fashion sense?”

“Yes.”

“What if Taehyung picked this out for me?”

“Then Taehyung must be taking revenge for something you did.” 

Jin snickers at that, grabs his phone to look at himself. 

Jimin shakes his head, he could never be caught wearing that. It might be a 1000 degrees outside but he’ll still have some sense. Yes, his black blouse is Gucci, yes, his earrings are Chanel, yes, his sunglasses are Tom Ford, thank you.

“There you guys are!”

Jimin blinks at the familiar voice. When he looks up he finds Taehyung and Jeongguk standing there. They’re also wearing.. questionable clothes. 

“Sorry, Jimin took ages doing his hair.”

Jin says, which isn’t a lie, but Jimin still purses his lips, touching his hair a little self-consciously.

“You.. did your hair before going kayaking?”

Jimin blinks at Taehyung. 

“Oh right! We’re going kayaking Jimin-ah.”

Jin says, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Jimin is lost for words, looking at the three of them who have dressed up in - what looks like - their oldest, most disposable clothes. He looks down at his own gucci flip-flops, then at Jin.

“You told me we were going for lunch.”

“Well, yeah, after kayaking!”

The menacing smile on the man’s face tells Jimin he fully intended this. Jimin tries his best not to strangle him. 

“Oh my god you’re wearing all designer? What type of job do you have to be able to buy all this?”

Taehyung asks, gushing over his clothes. He grabs Jimin’s sunglasses to take a look at the brand name, gasping, then putting them on himself. 

“How do they look on me?”

Stunning. 

Jimin is about to say it when Jeongguk kind of wedges himself in between them, like a big puppy who can’t handle not being the center of attention. 

Usually Jimin would just pretend to not notice, but Taehyung and Jin are staring at Jeongguk, waiting for him to contribute to the conversation. The silence makes Jeongguk look up, all big-eyed and caught. 

Jin snorts, and Taehyung hides a grin behind his hand. Jimin just stands there and watches how Jeongguk’s ears slowly turn red. Before he can ask what’s going on, Taehyung hands him his glasses back, and Jin guides them to the docks.

There are two kayaks there, one is significantly smaller than the other, it looks like a tight squeeze. Jimin remembers it from when Jin and he used to kayak together, back then it looked way bigger. 

“Since we only have 2 kayaks, we’ll go in pairs.” Jin announces, holding up 4 strands of grass in his hand. “Shortest strands go in the small kayak together, biggest strands in the big kayak.”

Oh fuck. 

Jimin feels all the blood drain from his face because there’s only one good option here. Going with Taehyung means he has to deal with Jeongguk’s dark gloomy aura the whole day. Going with Jeongguk is gonna be fucking awkward. 

Please, Universe, save him. 

Taehyung picks the first strand, it’s considerably short. Jeongguk picks the next one, which is even shorter, if not the shortest. Jimin gets his hopes up when he picks the next one, but it’s even shorter. 

Panic rises in his chest as he looks up at Jin, who opens his hand and reveals the last strand, the longest one. 

“Alright, Jimin and Jeongguk in the small kayak, Taehyung and I will take the big one.”

Jimin knows it’s just a game of chance but it feels like Jin tempered with it. Especially cause he gives him that menacing smile before going to his kayak. He’s gonna make him pay for it, soon.

He gives Jeongguk a look then, who seems just as happy with this result. He looks down at the piece of grass in his hand, then at the kayak. 

“I’ll.. take the back then.”

Honestly, there isn’t much of a ‘back’ to begin with. It’s way too small to even be considered a kayak for 2

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