You convinced Jungkook to break up years ago so he could pursue his lifelong baseball dream. Now he's back home, staring at you, and the little boy next to you who looks unmistakably like him.
-- genre: angst, fluff, smut; exes au, parents au (18+)
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"We're here."
The deep voice cuts through the numbness you feel, blowing life into your body that's chosen to block out the pain for now because you know after this, it's going to hurt a lot more.
You taste iron on your lips. You feel the sting in your eyes. You see the crescent nail marks on your palms. Then you slacken your jaw and try to breathe.
"You can cry, you know?" But Taehyung knows you won't. Not in front of him. Not in front of the man whose heart you're about to break.
Your best friend knows you, knows you'll only cry when you're alone - under the covers, in the shower, on your bedroom floor. You don't let anybody see you like that. It makes you feel like you don't have control, and control is the one thing you need to have right now.
"I will."
"You also don't have to do this."
But Taehyung also knows you still will. It's a decision you made on your own and he knows you well enough that nothing - no one - will make you change your mind.
"I need to."
He hums; it's a battle he won't win. So he exits the car, opens the passenger seat door, and pulls you out. "I'll be here when it's over."
When it's over. Over. That's what it'll be after this.
**
You ring the doorbell and hear the faint footsteps get louder. The door opens and joyful onyx eyes greet you, a contrast to your tired brown ones. He takes it for something else, perhaps stress, since he doesn't say anything about it.
Jungkook pulls you in a hug and you will yourself not to bask in his sweet scent, not to let his soft giggle on your neck and peck on your cheek and whisper of "I missed you" make you forget why you're here in the first place.
He tugs you inside the apartment, the one the team offered him because he couldn't abide by the university dorm's curfew, being that he trains too early and finishes too late. It had been a blessing to you both, as in the course of your over two years together, you'd taken advantage of the privacy and solitude it provided.
You can't imagine what it would give him after this.
"I'm sorry, I've been so busy. All these calls with the Dodgers' owner, then manager, then coach. You think they'd all just call at once but they're in different cities, I guess," he shrugs and turns to you. "They've been excited," he continues, his smile reaching his eyes.
It's never pained you until now.
"As they should," you try a smile. "They're lucky you signed."
He chuckles at this. He's always been amused at your oblivion with how these things work. He's lucky he even caught the eye of a scout, lucky they even paid attention, lucky that the LA Dodgers wanted to give him a shot with their AAA affiliate team in the minor league.
