VHope Fluffshots

[Un]Forgiven Pt 3

Charlie was pretty much glued to Taehyung while Hoseok was on a date with this guy named Jinhwan. She stayed in his lap the entire night as they watched The Lion King. It was their favorite; they knew every single word to every single song. Even though she wasn't old enough to start learning English at school, Charlie was very good at singing Disney songs and memorizing the subtitles, so they didn't need them anymore. Both of her parents were so proud of her, despite her memory and other health issues.

This was Hoseok's third date with Jinhwan; one each week. But it didn't really sit well with his daughter and past lover. "Appa?" Charlie asked as she looked up at her father. He grunted and looked down to her, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I don't like Daddy's boyfriend," she deadpanned. And Taehyung couldn't help but silently agree with his daughter; she was his reflection, after all. But he had to play Devil's Advocate for a minute. "Why not? He makes Daddy happy."

"Daddy's not happy with him. He's happier with me and you," she pointed out, but Taehyung frowned in confusion. "He's happy with Jinhwan like he is me and you, baby girl," he said, but earned another shake of the head in disapproval. "His eyes don't shine as bright with him as they do with us. His smile isn't... What's that word Daddy taught me the other day?" Her father hummed as he thought, then said, "Forced or genuine?" Charlie nodded after the second word. "That one! He isn't genuine with Jinhwan like he is with us."

Taehyung couldn't help but be surprised. How come he never noticed it before? Every time Hoseok came home from a date, he seemed to light up the minute Charlie greets him at the door. He even gave Taehyung a thoughtful smile that the younger man missed so much from him. And every time Hoseok said he had a date and asked him to stay with Charlie, he didn't seem very happy. Probably because he hated leaving their daughter, even if she was with her other biological parent.

At that thought, he lifted his daughter so that they were eye-level with each other and pecked her cheek. "Maybe because he hates leaving you, baby girl. He loves you so much," he said with a small smile. Charlie wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the peck on his cheek, pulling back with a pout on her face. "He hates leaving you, too. I heard him once say that he wished he could hug you like he used to. Appa, what happened?" she asked. And Taehyung was taken aback.

Hoseok wanted to hug him again? Hoseok still had feelings for him, after all this time? No. No way. He still hadn't forgiven him and he knew he wouldn't anytime soon. "Appa?" Charlie wiped her father's cheeks, which had been streaked with a few tears while he was lost in his thoughts. He smiled gratefully at her and shrugged. "Daddy doesn't love me anymore because I did something so mean to him. When I found out he was having you, I didn't take it like I should have. I panicked. But I'm trying to make him forgive me, baby girl. I'm trying," he explained, voice cracking with emotion by the end of it.

His daughter smiled and hugged him tight. "I love you, Appa, even if Daddy doesn't. I'll always love you," she said brightly and Taehyung chuckled at her. "And I love you always, baby girl. Forever and ever."

Hoseok came home around three in the morning. His chest and neck were littered with bruises and he looked exhausted. Unaware of the time, he frowned when Charlie didn't run into his arms like she did the other two times. All the lights were off except for one; the night-light in the kitchen, where a tall figure leaned against the counter. Once everything came into focus, he realized it was Taehyung; hands resting on the counter with a beer in between them.

The older man coughed and Taehyung looked up; tired eyes with shadows from lack of sleep underneath them, thick lips pulled into a tired pout that only deepened into a frown when he saw the state his past lover was in. "Still a 'third-date-fucker,' I see. Jesus, Hoseok." There was nothing happy about his tone at all and Hoseok furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Where's my baby?" He didn't get a verbal reply; just a gesture to the ceiling, where Charlie was tucked away safely in her bed upstairs.