jimin's eyes flew open as stinging, cold water hit his face like a tsunami. he groped around, attempting to identify his surroundings. a warm hand encased his, spreading warmth across his frozen body. he could feel a sharp pain in the back of his head, and his memories rushed back to him.
"jimin," taehyung cried, squeezing the shorter's hand as his shoulders shook with sobs. he was shaking uncontrollably, his eyes wide in fear and remorse. "holy fuck, i thought i lost you. i'm so sorry. i'm so, so, sorry."
jimin responded by tightening his grip on taehyung's hand, still woozy from the sudden awakening. he glanced around; he quickly realized he was laying on taehyung's white, velvety bedsheets. jimin felt the back of his head, wincing softly as a wave of pain coursed through him.
"i'm sorry. i don't know what came over me. i just," jimin whispered, his voice ragged and hoarse. "it just broke my heart to see you kissing someone else."
"i know," taehyung whimpered and pressed a long kiss against jimin's lips in remorse. "don't apologize. you did nothing wrong. jungkook's gone now, don't worry."
jimin nodded thankfully. "i guess that's what the fortune teller meant by a best friend would betray us or something," he joked.
"now all we have to do is figure out what she meant by syrup being thick," taehyung responded with a quiet chuckle as he gave jimin's hand another squeeze.
"i promise," taehyung said, his voice trailing off as he let out another hushed sob. "i promise not to let anything like that to ever happen again. i love you too much to let you go."
"i love you, too." jimin patted the soft bed beside him, inviting taehyung to lay down with him. yeontan bounded into taehyung's bedroom, his tiny tail wagging as he clambered onto the bed. the small dog began to lick jimin's face, washing away his salty tears. jimin giggled and pulled the dog into a cozy hug. he wanted to do nothing at the moment than to sleep.
taehyung climbed the bed and rolled next to jimin. he carefully snaked his arms around jimin's back, pulling him closer to his chest. jimin nestled his head in the crook of taehyung's neck as he threw his leg over taehyung's, closing his eyes softly.
yeontan flopped down between them, cushioned between the couple. jimin could feel wet tears stream down his face as jimin's hair became a little moist since taehyung had begun to cry, too.
"please promise me you'll never run away like that again," taehyung sobbed, pushing his nose further into the shorter boy's hair. "please. finding you unconscious on the bathroom floor was terrifying."
"i promise," jimin whispered, placing a soft kiss on taehyung's jawline. "i promise."
taehyung nodded solemnly and threaded his hand through jimin's hair comfortingly. "you never told me that your parents abused you."
jimin let out a sad sigh. "yeah. i'm sorry i never told you earlier," he sniffled, his eyes puffy and red. "we used to be a typical, happy family. after i came out to them, they pretty much disowned me. they forced me to feed myself, to get my own money and clothes. all they gave me was a place to sleep," he confessed, tearing up at the thought.
taehyung gave jimin's forehead a soft kiss as he listened. taehyung felt his hands clutch jimin's shirt; his knuckles turned white in fury at the thought of someone hating jimin.
"i had a boyfriend at the time," jimin continued. "they forced me to break up with him. at first, my parents didn't do anything to me. but the my dad got sick of seeing my face. he started abusing me, verbally and physically. hoseok was my only friend. he comforted me, and when he moved out, i followed him because i couldn't take it anymore."
