Unlawfully His

Chapter 20 - Grievance

No one's POV:

The news of Jimin's death struck hard.

The Marine was such a popular figure in town and that prompted the local news to cover it. Jimin's family could hardly speak during the interview but they called the Marine's sacrifice 'a noble and brave one.'

However, despite Jimin dying defending what he loved, the pain of his loss was a deep cut. The wound caused by grief and heartache was one that would seemingly never stop bleeding.

That's what it felt like to Taehyung at least.

His world crashed down once Jeongguk told him the news. It was so difficult for the ravenet to tell Taehyung what had happened. Jimin was on the same mission as him and both of them were caught in an IED explosion. Jimin felt the full force of the powerful detonation and nothing could be done to help.

He died on impact.

The brunet just sobbed uncontrollably when he found out the devastating way his friend had died. Eventually, he became so tired that he fell asleep on top of his husband- collapsing from exhaustion.

He had just lost his best friend.

Forever.

The passing was so sudden and that made it so much worse. Taehyung had no time to prepare for Jimin no longer being in his life.

Taehyung cursed himself for being so oblivious and self-centred. If he hadn't been so caught up in his own world then maybe he would have realised that deployment could be something his best friend might not return from.

Maybe then he could have sent Jimin off with a bigger goodbye?

Jeongguk told him that it wasn't true- nothing would have prevented Jimin's death and Taehyung couldn't have been a better friend through the years.

The brunet eventually recovered from the shock after some time, however he wasn't his usual bubbly self. The change was obvious to everyone around him but the only thing that would make Taehyung better again would be Jimin returning.

Something that would never happen.

By the time the funeral came around, Jeongguk was allowed out of hospital for the first time. Although he was stuck in a wheelchair, the Marine was excited to leave the confines of the four walls of the hospital.

It couldn't be for a worse reason though.

Taehyung couldn't control his sobs when Jimin's coffin came into view. The American flag was draped gracefully over the rectangular, wooden box- a sign of Jimin's bravery and patriotism.

Jeongguk saw the way his husband's tears fell from his cheeks despite Taehyung desperately trying to wipe them away. The Marine gently lifted his hand from the armrest on the wheelchair to grasp the brunet's trembling hand.

Both male's looked at each other, grateful for the support at such a hard time in their lives. Taehyung looked down at Jeongguk and it seemed to calm him down slightly. His breathing evened out a bit and the tears stopped falling so frequently.

A series of gunshots were heard in the distance as members of the armed forces shot their rifles into the sky. Birds in nearby trees fled, afraid of the jarring noise. The squawks could be heard in the distance as another round was fired.

Finally, the last shot was heard as the gun salute ended. Each round made Taehyung jolt because he wasn't quite expecting the noise to be so loud and abrasive. Jeongguk just sat there motionlessly, unbothered by the loud noises.

The Marine was more than used to it.

The way Jeongguk just stared straight ahead irked Taehyung. The man must have seen terrible things in order to be so used to gunshots. In fact, it reminded Taehyung that therapy still needed to be arranged for his husband, now that he is officially out of hospital.

Eventually, the flag that was laying over Jimin's coffin was folded neatly by the military personnel. One of them went over to Jimin's immediate family and stood in front of Jimin's mother.

"On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Coast Guard, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service," The man stated before placing the coloured flag into the crying woman's arms.

After that, Jimin's coffin was gently lowered into the ground. Taehyung felt his heart shatter as reality fell into place.

His best friend was gone and he was never coming back.

People gradually began to disperse after wishing Jimin's family well. The two husbands stayed where they were for a little longer, just staring at the ground where the coffin was.

Taehyung lifted his head slightly to look at the various pictures of Jimin that were by the gravestone.

Each one made Taehyung's heart sink.

He looked so happy and bright. To think that that could all be taken away in a single second- by just one IED or bullet.

The first picture was Jimin's military picture. He was in the same uniform Jeongguk was currently in, a navy blue, white and red outfit with gold embroidery here and there. He looked so professional with a white cap tucked neatly under his arm as he stared directly into the camera with a soft smile.

The second picture was Jimin at his birthday party, blowing out the candles on his cake. In this photo, Jimin was absolutely brimming with happiness because he was surrounded by his fellow Marines. Jimin's eyes were barely visible as he smiled so widely.

Taehyung missed that beautiful smile already- it was a contagious smile that blossomed happiness into anyone that saw it. To say that Jimin brightened up a room was a severe understatement.

That showed in the third and final photo where Jimin was lifting up one of his cousins. The small boy looked about four or five and he was being held up in the air by Jimin, with the same adoring smile as his uncle.

It reminded Taehyung of when Jimin would sneak up behind him and make him guess who was there. Everytime it was so obvious that it was the Marine but Taehyung always played along anyway.

That was where the nicknames 'teeny' and 'tiny' came from. One time Taehyung replied "Is it someone short? Must be," and Jimin had never been so offended. The betrayal in his eyes was very clear so Jimin decided to seek revenge. Eventually Jimin came up with the name 'teeny' to call his best friend by and it stuck- for twelve years in fact.

Taehyung smiled at the memory but the stark realisation hit that he would never be able to call Jimin 'tiny' again.

Nor would Taehyung hear the insulting yet somehow endearing nickname 'teeny'. Jimin would never call him by that name again and it stung.

Jeongguk seemed to notice his husband crying as he squeezed Taehyung's hand even tighter, letting him know that he was there.

The ravenet wasn't doing much better either, he too had lost a good friend. One he was willing to fight and die for if need be. Naturally, Jeongguk tried to remain strong. It was in his blood to.

It is what he was trained to be like.

Show no emotion. Show no weakness. Show no mercy.

But right now, that just seemed impossible.

Jimin would be missed dearly- by everyone.

He was a great friend and an even better person.

"Goodbye tiny. I'll miss you," Taehyung whispered as he kissed two of his fingers and touched one of Jimin's photos with them.

A lone tear strayed down Jeongguk's face as he watched the scene unfold, broken by the sight of his husband in such remorse.

Neither could really believe that Jimin was actually gone. He was like a small candle in the wind- burning bright and strong.

However, all it took was a small puff of air to take away the fragile thing we call life.