Jimin never wanted to face up to the fact that he was forced into on multiple occasions.

His memory was hazy anyway, because on a couple of occasions he had deliberately sedated himself.

This confrontation was a little too much and too soon, and Taehyung was trying his best to ease Jimin into it. If neither of them comes clean, there will forever be a wall of unbreakable silence between them.

The smothering kisses between them were no fodder for candid talk, and Taehyung had reason to wonder if this new-found intimacy had started on impulse.

But Jimin’s eyes were dewy with devotion, and he took every opportunity to caress Taehyung’s face as if to leave a permanent mark on his memory. Taehyung took Jimin’s hand and nestled it snuggly between his palms. 

"Jimin ah... I'm sorry that I left you..."

"Don't be silly..." Jimin shook his head gently. "How many more apologies do I owe you then..."

"But you were suffering... I should have known better."

"Tae... You have nothing to do with it."

"Tell me then... I want to know. I don't want us to hide anymore."

"Talking doesn't make it better."

"Maybe not... but I wish I'd tried."

“What more is there to say… I’ve SHOWN you… I’ve shown you how he ed me good and kept me on a short leash so I'd keep crawling back to him… I’ve shown you how humiliating it is… Do you really think there are more words to describe that?”

Since they were already in a minefield, it didn’t matter that they were lighting their own fuses to avoid falling into unforeseen traps.

“I love you, Jimin…" Taehyung blurted out urgently, and Jimin blinked a tear away while dodging Taehyung's extended arms. Closing around thin air, Taehyung wrapped his arms around himself instead to ward off the bitter blow of being spurned.

"I really love you... and I thought... if I just showed up whenever you need me, you would understand me… But was it really enough?”

“I watched every god damn thing I love about you disappear, and to not do a single thing about it… It’s killing me…” Taehyung's eyes were glossy as he stumbled to the ground in slow surrender on half-bended knees.

“I don’t have a hero complex or whatever… I just—I’m the one that shows up yeah? That’s all I’m good for. I tried to be a friend and even that failed…”

Jimin’s eyes widened and it was unacceptable to him that Taehyung lowered himself like that.

"You listen to me..." Jimin drew a simmering breath and summoned attention from across the room with his steady glare trained on Taehyung. "Don't EVER talk like that. You hear me?"  

Jimin started to pace around the spot, not daring to approach Taehyung for fear that he'd lash out. He blamed himself for his dreadful incoherency, resulting from having suppressed his feelings for so long. But he owed Taehyung an honest confession, and nothing would stop him now.

"Everything I've done up till now was for my own selfish reasons... The people I hung out with... Jeon Jungkook... They didn't do as much damage to me as you think..."

Taehyung was stunned that Jimin was speaking so calmly, distancing himself as though it were a third person narrative.

"I knew people liked me… for making myself pretty… and then wasting it on something vile… I used that to get everything I want…  You’re no exception…”

Jimin threw a sideward glance at Taehyung who was rubbing his eyes with jittery hands, but he couldn’t offer any comfort until he was done. 

“It was easy at first… It’s my body and I chose to waste it…  It was okay if nobody loved me... I was an empty shell.” Jimin continued paying no heed to distress signals from Taehyung who shook his head furiously.

“Then for the first time, in that karaoke booth, you didn’t want to touch me… I was so afraid you despised me... I thought you gave up on me, because you saw how he used me..."

Jimin was breaking down in tears faster than he had counted on, and finally let Taehyung collect him in his arms like a precious delicate baby.

"You came back... just when I thought I lost everything... So don't you dare say I don't love yo—"

Taehyung cut Jimin off with an abrupt kiss that only broke off when they had to catch their breath, and he forbade Jimin’s tears from flowing although Jimin insisted those were happy tears.

Jimin used to believe that he didn't deserve happiness, and was too tainted and erse to be in a relationship that involved hugs and kisses and maybe drying one's tears too - but now someone cared enough to make sure he was taken care of instead of feeling him up all the time.

He took it for truth when Jungkook said they deserved each other because they were both damaged goods.

But Taehyung always put him first. 8 months ago when he woke up next to Jimin with his heart aching from being a stand-in for Jungkook, Jimin remembers how Taehyung had denied being hurt in favor of showing concern for him.

Jimin never thought he could be so loved by someone. 

And even if they were miles away from home with a meteor waiting to crash and burn... Safe and warm in the arms of Taehyung, Jimin felt like he was home.

[Author's Note]

Glad to finally mark this story as Complete. 

I hope it gave you the feelies. Because I write for the same reason. :)

And because Vmin is life.

I need a new story, but where do I start. 

Ps. This video of vmin hugging is super cute.