(JIKOOK) Texting Story Snippets

Forgive

"Thank you for-"

"Don't." Taehyung's voice already sounds defeated. The two gather in Hoseok's backyard, choosing to occupy a small table and chairs. Taehyung sighs as he sits down and folds his arms again across his chest, leaning back into his rickety wooden seat. "Don't thank me. Just say it already."

Jimin ducks his head down immediately after taking his seat across the table. He feels nervous, a strange occurrence in Taehyung's presence. "Say what, TaeTae?"

"The same thing everyone says when they do something mean." The younger licks his lips to wet them, mostly stalling before he says anything more. He can feel the tension in the air between them already and it's uncomfortable. Everything about Jimin's posture, tone and mannerisms in this moment screams caution and it bothers Taehyung more than he'd like it to. "If you want to say, 'I'm sorry', that doesn't really require a talk, you could've just said that."

Jimin nods, taking note of the damage he's caused. Taehyung's demeanor is cold and defensive. He's shutting him out on the spot and he's making it completely obvious. "Listen." The smaller begins after a moment of silence. "I know that an apology isn't going to get me anywhere with you right now. I am sorry, Tae, but that's not all I have to say." He tries to explain his own approach to this conversation, but even after choosing his words carefully he feels the judgement rising in Taehyung's unwavering stare in his direction.

A petty scoff sounds from Taehyung's lips. Annoyance of the situation simmers hot in the pit of his belly, itching to transform into anger. "What else is there? Are you going to tell me why you left, because even if you do I can't promise to not stay mad."

Jimin doesn't say anything for a while. The darkening sky that surrounds them is filling with stars, a light breeze rustling bushes to fill in the silence between them. It's not meant to come easy, the slap of a hard truth. It hurts to admit that you damaged someone else, a friend, to save yourself from pain. "If you need me to tell you the truth, I can."

Taehyung looks down at the table, it's old wood splintering under his fingers. He lays his palms flat, letting them prick at his skin as he hums. With a small shake of his head, the boy mutters. "It's not even about that, Jimin. Not really, anyway." He doesn't have a good reason to hold back his feelings right now. In fact, he has a good reason as to why he should let them free. So he does that, because maybe the breeze that runs it's tingly fingers through his hair told him to. "I get it that you left because you felt like you had to, for whatever reason you kept from us, but it just pisses me off that you couldn't even let me know that you were going. You just left and everything you promised for that night was lost just like you." He winces as a splinter stabs into the tender flesh between two of his fingers. Pulling his hands back into his lap, Taehyung sighs again. "It sucked, okay?"

Everything gathers in Jimin's chest; his past decisions, the guilt that they require him to carry, the anger and fear that accompanies thoughts from what happened to him. It rushes back and consumes him, but Jimin squeezes his eyes shut and he listens to the whispers of the trees swaying slowly in the wind. His breaths hush, his heartbeat calms. Jimin breathes again, hands rolling against each other to fight his own anxiety. "I know, and that's why I want to-" He finally musters the momentum to speak, but the other interrupts.

"When you're missing, everyone can only think about you." Taehyung's voice sounds piercing in contrast to the quiet evening. His tone is serious, the deep husk of his voice making anger sound frighteningly natural. "The stress I'm already going through turns into anxiety because I have to think about the possibility of something happening to you. You made me stuck." The younger says pointedly. It's the first mention of concern he's voiced for Jimin in a while, but he means it. He's angry, but he can't ignore the relief of seeing the smaller seated across from him. "Stuck, because nobody is ever going to be able to see what I'm going through when you're gone. Here you are again, the center of attention as you get to deal with whatever the hell you could possibly be going through right now and I'm still waiting for you." Taehyung takes a deep breath, concern for Jimin the last thing it sounds like he possesses when he lowers his tone once again to ask, "Do you even care about me at all, Jimin?"