>> vmin | side!junghope if you squint with a magnifying glass // fluff/very tiny bit of angst/even smaller bit of action/fantasy-slash-supernatural // capslock/sentence case // 14,069w // trigger: cussing, there's a part that could be considered slight gore/body horror i guess, there's like one sentence with ual references so watch out if that makes you uncomf // a/n: yo my bad for lying and not actually replying to comments when i said i would, i completely forgot when i woke up and then never got back on for like two weeks? until now so yeah. i'll be replying now though!
if anyone is wondering, i'm not doing any better and my living situation has gotten a lil worse and everything's a huge mess but i am managing :^)) thank you so much for the support every one, it really really means a lot to read all the nice messages everyone has been leaving, even if it was just "this was cute!" on a chapter
also this wasn't supposed to be so long, only 500+ or so, but.. then it just ran away from me and became kind of a safe place for me to come to and self-indulgent. it's also rushed in certain places but i tried to make it smooth and i feel like my style shifted three or so times throughout the length of this fic?? might just be me. but please enjoy!! i'm proud of this

With a scowl, Taehyung hurries down the hallway and roughly pushes passed people. He is not exactly in the mood to deal with the stupid today, having woken up on the wrong side of the bed and not enjoying having to go to school, these two things having made him moody already. He's managed to go two classes without seeing him at all today, and he can only pray he doesn't see him for the rest of the day. Taehyung hopes the stupid 's position on the School Council, paired with the fact that they had made a rule to only show themselves when needed (not including leaving and coming to the school), keeps him extra distracted today so he doesn't feel the stupid need to come bother Taehyung.

Though Taehyung knows luck isn't on his side when he hears squeals behind him and someone flips over him to land oh so gracefully in front of him, smirking widely. "TaeTae!"

" off, Park Jimin." Taehyung immediately spits, hugging his books to his chest and a few steps slower from running, keeping his gaze forward.

Jimin pouts playfully, turning to walk beside Taehyung with his back facing the direction they are going. "Aww, TaeTae, I thought we were buddies."

"Why in the world would I be friends with you?" Taehyung hisses, tossing a glare at Jimin, lips spread into another one of his annoying smirks.

"Well, for one, I'm hot." Jimin says, tone teasing and he bumps his shoulder against Taehyung's. "And if you were my friend, I could protect you from all the people at this school that want to kill you for being seen with me all the time."

"That's your fault!" Taehyung shouts, coming to a halt and turning to glare wide-eyed at Jimin. "Everyone here aside from Hoseok-hyung and Jeongguk want to kill me because I keep being seen with you, even though it's you that keeps clinging to me!"

"Oh, I know." Jimin giggles, hands stuffed into his front pockets and jumping up to float beside Taehyung, crossing his legs. "But I can assure you, it wasn't my plan to make everyone hate you. And they're just jealous because they want to be the ones around me; everyone here loves me."

A growl rumbles deep in Taehyung's chest, turning away to continue walking towards his class. The words 'everyone here loves me' echoes in Taehyung's head a few times; it makes him bitter how he can't even call Jimin cocky or full of himself because it's true. If you were to ask every student at this school if they loved Park Jimin, Taehyung has no doubt they would say yes.

Even now, people are glaring at Taehyung and whispering words of hate to themselves, wondering why Park Jimin would choose Kim Taehyung out of everyone here to try and be friends with; why Park Jimin would choose the one student that doesn't love him to try and be friends with.

When Taehyung sees Hoseok and Jeongguk talking to themselves outside of class, waiting for him, he turns on his heel to stare at Jimin. The redhead blinks a few times in surprise, dropping down onto his feet to keep himself from colliding with Taehyung.

"Don't you have School Council things to be doing?" Taehyung pops out a hip on instinct, looking Jimin over once. "Surely you have more important things to be doing than hang out with one of the boring humans at this school, especially with your position not only in the school, but in society. I bet anyone other than me would be glad to spend their day with you; go hang out with them."

Jimin blinks a few times before his stupid, famous smirk is back on his face and he chuckles a little. "Yeah, but I don't want to hang out with anyone else at this school, I want to hang out with you. And Seokjin would say I have more important things to be doing, but Seokjin is grouchy and goes by the rules and wants all the members of the Council to do what they're supposed to."

"Why?" Taehyung snaps. "Why me? You're a devil. Not just a devil, a high ranking devil because of your parents and strength. You can gather up a gang of devils, demons, exorcists, witches, and God knows what else to run the city. You can snap and everyone will be at your feet. But I'm just a human; I would get my kicked if I got cornered in an alley. Why do you want to hang out with me so bad?"

Jimin smiles, head cocking to the side and Taehyung has to keep himself from thinking he looks pretty with his red hair playing in his eyes, his stupid smirk not on his face for once. "Because you're the only person in this school, and city, that won't do what I say because of my status. You're the only one who seems to not like me for my status or looks, nor do you fear me, and I like that."

Taehyung jaw squares and he stares at Jimin before nodding slowly. "Right. Okay. Yeah. I'm sure other people hate you."

"No, I've been almost everywhere," Jimin chuckles. "And every person that knew me wanted to be on my arm, get in my pants, or would do whatever I said in fear of getting killed, their soul eaten, or get their life ruined. Plus you're pretty hot–"

"Right!" Taehyung straightens, face turning red, but in anger or embarrassment, Taehyung doesn't know. "This little chat has been fun, Park Jimin, and it's always such a ing pleasure talking to you, but my friends are waiting for me and I need to go to class. I'm sure Seokjin is very upset with you bailing, so you should get back. Goodbye, Park, and please stop stalking me like a ing creeper."

He gives Jimin a tight, close-lipped smile before turning on his heel and practically running over to Hoseok and Jeongguk. The pair look up when they see the blonde coming towards them, raising an eyebrow at his red face. "Jimin?" Jeongguk questions.

"He just won't leave me alone!" Taehyung whines, dropping his head onto Hoseok's shoulder and the exorcist grins, patting his head like he were a child.

"I think he's just got a little crush."

"Oh my God," Taehyung flinches away from Hoseok to hide behind Jeongguk, glaring at him over his shoulder. "There is no way in Hell Park Jimin has a crush on me. Even if he did, the feeling is definitely not mutual."

Jeongguk purses his lips a little, looking at Taehyung over his shoulder. "And why wouldn't Jimin like you?"

"I'm human!" Taehyung practically squeaks. "Why would a devil of his ranking like a plain, boring human like me? It still baffles me that you guys are my friends."

It's almost funny how Jeongguk and Hoseok roll their eyes in sync, looking back at Taehyung. "Jesus, Taehyung, you're not that bad." Jeongguk groans, glaring a little when Taehyung raises an eyebrow. "Yes, humans are one of the weakest creatures on this planet and yes, humans are the weakest in this school, but that doesn't mean it's impossible for someone that isn't human to like you. Look at us; Hoseokie is an exorcist and I'm a witch and we like you."

"You guys have threads of human code in you," Taehyung pouts a little, looking down at his feet. "Jimin literally doesn't have even a little bit of human in him because he's not. He can't like me."

"Jesus, Taehyung." Jeongguk rolls his eyes, deciding to stop the conversation and taking Taehyung by the arm, dragging him into the classroom and Hoseok following. Taehyung lets him drag him to his seat with a pout, sitting down and looking towards the board.

"TaeTae."

Taehyung jumps backwards with a shout, staring a Jimin with wide eyes (it's not really his fault he got scared, Jimin's upper body just suddenly came into view upside down like Jimin was floating by the ceiling as he waited for Taehyung to leave class). Jimin grins widely even as Taehyung glares at him and curves around him to continue walking down the hall, Hoseok and Jeongguk a few steps behind to watch them with amused gazes.

Jimin pouts playfully and flips to lay on his back, moving up to be beside Taehyung and looks over at him. "Aw, you're so cold, TaeTae."

"Park Jimin," Taehyung breathes, looking at him with wide eyes, one twitching in his irritation. "Leave me alone. Why don't you bother Hoseok-hyung? He doesn't love you."

Hoseok whines, raising a hand. "Excuse me? I don't want the entire school hating me. Plus if I was friends with Jimin, I would have to meet that Min Yoongi guy and he scares the out of me."

"Yoongi's all bark and no bite." Jimin giggles, spinning around onto his stomach and smiling at Taehyung. "And I don't wanna hang with Hoseok, I wanna hang with you. I thought I made that pretty clear earlier."

"But I don't want to hang with you." Taehyung growls at Jimin, tossing another glare his direction.

When Taehyung looks at Jimin, he swears he sees hurt in his eyes and he blinks in surprise, an apology on the tip of his tongue, but Jimin's famous smirk is back on his face. "You'll like me soon enough, TaeTae."

Taehyung stares at Jimin, trying to figure out if that flash of hurt was his mind or if it actually happened, but he quickly looks forward when Jimin wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at him staring so long. "Don't bet on it, Park."

Jimin giggles and lands back on his feet when they stop in front of the cafeteria, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "Whatever, TaeTae. But I better get; School Council stuff."

Taehyung holds his breath, watching Jimin walk away. He waits until he's certain Jimin is actually walking away, exhaling deeply and slumping. That proved to be a bad idea, Jimin turning on his heel and running back to him to kiss him on the cheek with a eating grin. Jeongguk and Hoseok blink in surprise and Taehyung's eyes widen, staring at Jimin's back.

He slowly raises a hand to his cheek, pauses, then blushes scarlet and scowls.

"Park Jimin, you !"

"Why do you insist on hanging out with Kim Taehyung so much?" Namjoon frowns at Jimin from where he's sitting on a couch by one of the large windows made of stained glass, reading glasses low on his nose and book in his hand. "He's just a human."

Jimin's eyes flicker up to look at Namjoon before looking back down at the cat that follows them around, running a hand down her back and scratching the base of her tail before jiggling the cat toy. "Just 'cause."

Namjoon's frown deepens, another forming between his eyebrows. "Jimin, what's so special about Kim Taehyung?"

"Why do you care so much?" Yoongi questions, feet propped up on the table and a beanie pulled down over his eyes, head leaned back against the chair. "Let Jimin do what he wants."

"I just want to make sure this Taehyung character isn't going get in the way of anything." Namjoon says, looking back down at his book.

Jimin frowns and looks up at Namjoon, hand stilling from where it was dragging the toy across the ground making the cat whine before lightly batting at his hand. "Don't get any funny ideas, Namjoon. Taehyung isn't going to get in the way of anything; plus, whom I hang out with isn't any of your business."

Namjoon doesn't respond this time, simply staring at the words typed and printed onto paper. Jimin's eyes narrow a little, watching Namjoon carefully.

"Namjoon." He calls, waiting until Namjoon looks up at him. "I'm being serious. Don't go near Taehyung. Okay?"

Namjoon stares at Jimin for a few seconds before looking back down at his book with a small 'fine'. Jimin waits a few more seconds before looking back down at the cat, continuing to play with her just as Seokjin walks into the room.

"TaeTae."

Taehyung groans loudly, shoulders curving down and slowly turning around to stare at Jimin, raising an eyebrow at seeing how Jimin's smile is slightly smaller than usual. "Jimin..?"

Jimin blinks in surprise before smiling his usual wide and bright smile. "I just wanted to tell you bye before you leave. And.. stay safe. Be careful."

Taehyung blinks slowly before nodding. "Yeah. Um. Bye.. Jimin."

Right before Taehyung turns around to leave with Jeongguk and Hoseok, the two trying to keep themselves from giggling, Jimin gently grabs Taehyung's wrist to keep him facing him and leans up to kiss his cheek. Taehyung blushes lightly and his eyes widen, staring down at Jimin, the devil smiling a little.

"Bye, TaeTae." Jimin's smile widens just a little before he turns on his heel and walks back towards the school.

Taehyung stares at the back of Jimin's head, taking a few seconds to blink then blinking a few more times. Hoseok and Jeongguk start giggling at Taehyung's side.

"Told you he likes you." Hoseok wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Taehyung blinks again, looking over at Hoseok. It takes a few seconds for what Hoseok said to process in Taehyung's brain, and he blushes brightly when it does. "H-He does not!" Taehyung practically shrieks, turning away and running out the gate.

Hoseok laughs and Jeongguk smirks, hands shoved into his pockets. "I think Taehyung has a little crush on Jimin, too."

"I do not!" Taehyung shouts over his shoulder, gripping the strap of his backpack a little tighter and glaring at the ground in embarrassment.

Taehyung walks to school the next day by himself and arrives late, Jeongguk and Hoseok forgetting to call him to wake him up in their hurry to get to school for important tests in their area (all Taehyung remembers is something about testing their magic and seeing how strong they've gotten since they entered the school).

When he carefully climbs over the entrance gate, he freezes upon landing on his feet. He's never really realized how creepy the school yard looks when there's nobody around, his lips nervously and looking around. He feels a little on guard, but he brushes it off as just paranoia about going to the same school as many non-humans so of course the air around the school would be strange and make humans on guard.

Taehyung slowly starts to walk towards the entrance of the school, eyes darting around and trying to spot anything out of place. The dry leaves crunch under his feet, making him twitch occasionally and curse himself for being so scared. The wind is cold today, blowing by every few moments or so and tugging everything that will comply in the direction it's going. Taehyung quietly curses under his breath, wishing the school yard wasn't so large so he can hurry up and get inside the building to run to class.

He his dry lips and stuffs his shaky hands into the pockets of his pants, slouching a little and deciding it would be better to attempt to keep his gaze on the ground. He's watching the brown, yellow and red leaves crumble under his shoes and flutter across the ground from the wind when he feels breathing on his neck.

Goosebumps form on Taehyung's skin and he quickly whips around to see whom it was, but he relaxes when he sees Jimin. He sighs and rolls his eyes. "Jimin, I'm already late, leave me alone."

Jimin doesn't respond, a large and creepy smirk forming on his lips. Taehyung raises an eyebrow and takes half a step back away from Jimin, his paranoia going up a few more bars. "J-Jimin..?"

Jimin takes a few steps closer to Taehyung, wide smirk still on his face, reaching out to grab the collar of Taehyung's jacket. Taehyung flinches a little at the grip, eyes wide and lips parted. "H-Hey, Jimin, stop ing around, I-I have to get to class."

"You're not going anywhere," a voice says behind them and the hairs on the back of Taehyung's neck stands up.

The voice sounds deep, scratchy, and inhuman and Taehyung thinks Hoseok said something about a species sounding like that, but when Taehyung turns around and sees Hoseok standing behind with a smile that shouldn't even be possible with how wide it is, Taehyung is starting to wonder if this is all just some nightmare.

Taehyung makes a noise deep in his throat that sounds like a whimper, turning so he's facing both Jimin and Hoseok, backing away a little quickly. His eyes flicker between Jimin and Hoseok, his fear and paranoia of the situation going up a bit more until his shoulders are in a straight line and his back is straight, clear signs of being uncomfortable. With both of their positions and their strength, they both could bring Taehyung amounts of pain he's never even dreamed of before and he really, really, doesn't like the thought of that.

"J-Jimin..? Ho-Hoseokie..?" Taehyung stutters, backing up a little more as they step towards him faster.

Taehyung gasps unintentionally when his back presses against a hard chest. Taehyung whimpers again and slowly turns his head, eyebrows pulling together when he sees Jeongguk standing there wearing a grin similar to Hoseok's and Jimin's.

This has to be some sort of nightmare, Taehyung thinks almost desperately, it has to be.

He yelps when Jeongguk grips his biceps to keep him from moving, fingers practically just bone with a thin layer of skin clinging to them, nails long and sharp like claws digging into his skin, holes ripped into his school jacket and dress shirt. Tears form in Taehyung's eyes from the pain, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip and squeezing one of his eyes shut. "J-Jeongguk, what the hell are y-you doing?"

Jimin is in front of Taehyung in a blink and Taehyung decides he's terrified; completely, utterly terrified as he gazes into Jimin's practically soulless eyes and impossibly wide smile. Then Jimin opens his mouth and Taehyung's eyes widen at the sight of rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth only stopping a few inches away from his throat. "Ji-Jimin, stop it!" He squeaks.

Jimin doesn't listen to him, however, and simply leans forward as Jeongguk moves one hand up to grab a fistful of Taehyung's hair to yank his head to the side. Taehyung whimpers loudly, trying his best to keep his gaze on Jimin as he leans forward more, mouth opening wider as if about to sink the sharp teeth into his neck.

"Colovariah," someone says loudly behind all of them and Taehyung almost starts crying because it sounds like Jimin, but Jimin is right in front of him and that's impossible.

But Hoseok, Jeongguk and Jimin all scream loudly, all sounding like screeching pterodactyls or birds, when they hear the word. Jimin immediately drops to the ground, legs kicking wildly and arms thrashing. Jeongguk's arms slam against his chest, fingers stretching out before curling into fists then stretching out again. Hoseok claws at his scalp, squatting down.

"Colovariah," the Jimin-sounding voice says again and someone places a gentle hand onto Taehyung's shoulder.

Taehyung doesn't seem to notice, staring down at three squirming around and screaming on the ground with wide eyes, body trembling.

The voice repeats it again, but louder this time and much harsher than before, and the three immediately stop moving and stop screaming, laying still on the ground with slack jaws and wide eyes staring off into the distance.

Taehyung continues staring down at them, hands clasped together against his chest. Another gentle hand rests on his other shoulder and he feels that one, jumping and whipping around. He squeaks when he sees another Jimin, stepping back quickly and tripping over Hoseok's body. He lands on his , whimpering at the spark of pain that shoots up his spine. Taehyung glances at Hoseok's face before looking back up at Jimin then quickly looks back at Hoseok; Hoseok doesn't look like Hoseok anymore. His skin was sagging off his face like he was wax and someone held a large flame to him then solidified him so the skin doesn't melt off completely, his skin is white (and not even clean white, a white that's been around for a while and has greyed from exposure and has a few darker and yellow-ish spots), and he was bald.

Taehyung screams at the sight, quickly backing up some more and looking over at the two other bodies, his breathing quickening when he sees they look the same. He quickly looks back up at Jimin and whimpers quietly when he makes eye-contact with him. "Pl-Please."

"Taehyung," Jimin raises his hands and speaks gently. "I'm the real Jimin, I promise. I'm not going to hurt you. I won't hurt you."

Taehyung doesn't seem to believe him though, tensing up when Jimin slowly steps closer to him. Jimin immediately stops when he sees Taehyung tense, waits a few seconds, then tries again. "Taehyung, I'm not going to hurt you. It's me, Jimin, the real one. These three," he slowly gestures to the three bodies on the floor. "Are Pawns; Pawns are the lowest rank among vampires and our," he gestures to himself, "world. Someone put a spell on them to make them look like the closest people to you. Someone was messing with you, Taehyung."

Jimin manages to get so close, he's standing in front of Taehyung, and gets down onto his knees, still holding his hands up to show he's not wielding any weapons.

Taehyung continues staring at Jimin; he doesn't seem completely convinced, but he doesn't look like he fears Jimin anymore and his breathing has slowed. Taehyung stares at Jimin, looking him over quickly before slowly reaching out to grab one of Jimin's hands. Jimin lets Taehyung do this, lets Taehyung inspect him hand to see if his fingers are thick like he remembers and his nails are the length he remembers.

They are, Taehyung thinks and almost starts crying. Taehyung slowly looks up at Jimin before moving a hand to his cheek, slowly lifting his upper lip with his thumb to see if his teeth are the pearly whites he remembers, if he still has the same fangs and slightly crooked front teeth. Jimin opens his mouth to make it easier, watching Taehyung with gentle eyes.

"Ji-Jimin.." Taehyung whispers when he realizes that this is Jimin. This is Park Jimin; this is the devil that has been clinging to him for months and months; this is the devil that gives him smiles and smirks, flirting and calling him TaeTae; this is the devil that has been trying to get him to be his friend.

Jimin offers Taehyung a small smile. "Yeah, it's me, TaeTae."

Taehyung stares up at Jimin before tears form in his eyes again and he shoots forward to bury his face into Jimin's chest, clinging onto his shirt. Jimin blinks in surprise before wrapping his arms around Taehyung's shoulders, holding him close. "You're okay, TaeTae.. you're okay."

Jimin's eyebrows pull together a little, his heart hurting at hearing Taehyung sob into his chest and feeling Taehyung's body trembling against him. Jimin sighs quietly, simply holding Taehyung close to his chest and one hand gently rubbing Taehyung's back. Jimin's eyes flicker around to see if anyone is around and he spots a crow sitting on a branch. The crow stares back at Jimin, its eyes swirling purple and blue, its pure black feathers glowing dark blue in the sun.

Jimin's eyes narrow into a glare and he frowns deeply, tightening his grip on Taehyung just a little. He sighs again, rubbing Taehyung's back again and looks back over at the crow, only to find that the bird had flown away.

"Taehyung, do you want to go home?" Jimin questions softly, leaning back a little to look down at Taehyung.

Taehyung sighs shakily, grip on Jimin's shirt still tight and body still shaking, but not as bad as before. "N-No, Jeongguk.. and Hoseok will worry if I don't show up.."

Jimin frowns a little, thinking that Taehyung should think about himself and not someone else especially considering the situation, but nods and stands up. Taehyung stands up as well, but his legs are still weak and shaky so he falls against Jimin's chest with a little yelp. Jimin's hands immediately go to Taehyung's shoulders, frown still on his face.

"Can you walk?" Jimin questions, rubbing Taehyung's shoulders gently.

Taehyung nods slightly, turning from Jimin to start walking towards the entrance of the school, but his knees give out and he falls forward. Jimin shoots forward and wraps his arms around Taehyung's waist from behind to keep him up. "You can't walk."

"I-I'm fine, Ji–" Taehyung starts off, but Jimin turns him to the side before picking him up bridal style. Taehyung squeaks loudly. "Ji-Jimin! Put me down!"

"No, you can't walk, so I'm going to carry you to class." Jimin simply says, walking towards the school entrance.

Taehyung flushes brightly, biting his bottom lip and glancing at the three bodies, quickly looking away when he sees them start to turn into dust and get blown away by the wind. He ducks his head to bury his face into Jimin's neck, tightly holding his jacket.

When Jimin arrives at Taehyung's class, everyone stares at the scene with wide eyes (though Hoseok and Jeongguk look a little smug). Everyone starts to whisper to themselves, spreading rumors and spitting venom towards Taehyung, watching as Jimin carries Taehyung over to his seat and sets him down. Jimin leans down to kiss the top of Taehyung's head, hand resting on the side of Taehyung's neck. "Take it easy, TaeTae."

Taehyung flushes a little, glancing around them and tensing up at all the whispering and glares, gaze eventually dropping to his desk. "O-Okay.."

Jimin smiles a little before turning to leave the classroom.

"Namjoon, I ing told you to stay away from Taehyung!" Jimin shouts after he's thrown the doors open to the School Council room.

Yoongi almost falls out of his chair, having been leaning back with his feet propped up on the table trying to sleep. Their cat jumps up onto her four paws, frantically looking around and her tail fluffing at the thought of a threat. Seokjin looks up at Jimin over the rim of his glasses, sitting at his desk reading over complaints.

Jimin storms over to Namjoon and slaps his book out of his hands, grabbing his collar and yanking him up. "What the did you do that for?!"

Namjoon doesn't seem very impacted by Jimin's actions, simply staring down at the younger devil. "I don't know what you're talking about, Jimin."

"Don't try to play dumb." Jimin growls, pushing Namjoon back onto the couch he was sitting on. "You ing sent Pawns after Taehyung and tried to turn him into one of them!"

"Jimin, calm down." Seokjin says, standing up from his chair and staring the two down. "Jimin, what happened?"

Jimin turns to Seokjin and points at Namjoon. "He attacked Taehyung!"

"Kim Taehyung? The human?" Seokjin questions, raising an eyebrow and staring at Jimin with the eyes he uses when he's trying to get information out of someone; the eyes that make people feel like he's staring into their soul, finding out all their secrets.

"Yes, that Kim Taehyung." Jimin huffs, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Namjoon. "He sent three Pawns after him, looking like me and Taehyung's best friends, and they attacked him."

"How do you know Namjoon did it?" Yoongi questions, feet propped on the table again, but not leaning back in his chair like before and hands clasped on his lap, staring over at the two.

"One of his damn crows were there watching everything." Jimin growls quietly, his fangs growing longer in his anger and eyes turning emerald green.

Seokjin's eyes narrow at Jimin before looking over at Namjoon, now standing with his gaze on the floor. "Namjoon. Is this true? Did you attack Kim Taehyung?"

Namjoon keeps his gaze on the floor and keeps his mouth shut before looking up at Seokjin. "I was testing him."

"For what?!" Jimin shouts, grabbing Namjoon's collar again and shaking him. "He's a human for s sake, what is there to test?!"

"Jimin!" Seokjin booms and Jimin immediately releases Namjoon, backing away a few steps and glaring at the ground.

Seokjin watches Jimin before sighing, rubbing his forehead to try and massage away the headache starting to claw at the backs of his eyes, a dull thumping in the back of his skull. "Namjoon. You've broken one of our rules. Every person that attends this school, no matter where they came from or what they are, is under the protection of our families. You went out on your own and attacked one of these people, simply because a member of the School Council has taken a liking to him."

Namjoon's gaze falls to the floor again and his shoulders curve down a little. Seokjin stares at him, gaze softening a little. "I understand if you were doing it out of fear that Jimin's liking to Kim Taehyung could distract Jimin from his job and status in this school, and maybe make a mistake. But that's not your job; that's mine. Only I can decide if we need to take action against any of the people in this school, or any of the members of the Council. Only I can decide if Kim Taehyung is a possible threat and can possibly distract Jimin from doing what he needs to do."

Seokjin pauses to inhale slowly then exhale, gaze still on Namjoon's tense figure. "Go home, Namjoon, and stay there for a week. Think about what you did, think about the reasons why you did it, and think about all the outcomes that could've come from it if Jimin had not been there to stop those Pawns. Maybe all you need is a break; when you come back, I expect only your best behavior and for you to only think about your job."

Namjoon sighs quietly and looks up at Seokjin, stares at him, then nods. "Yes, Seokjin."

Seokjin nods a little, watching Namjoon turn and start walking towards the door. "Apologize to Kim Taehyung on your way out."

Namjoon pauses, bites his lip, and nods again. "Yes, Seokjin."

Jimin and Seokjin watch Namjoon leave, Jimin's fangs only going back to normal and his eyes turning back to chocolate brown when Namjoon's out of sight. Jimin sighs quietly and walks over to a couch, sitting down onto it and running a hand through his red hair, frowning.

The entire classroom goes silent when someone knocks on the door and Namjoon shows up in the doorframe. People gasp and stare and squeal, trying to get his attention with sweet calls of his name, but he pays them no mind. "I apologize for interrupting, but I am carrying out an order from School Council President, Kim Seokjin." Namjoon says to the teacher, nodding a little to show respect.

Namjoon looks over at Taehyung and the human flinches, unconsciously chewing on his bottom lip. Namjoon keeps his gaze on Taehyung as he weaves around all the seats to get to him, stopping directly in front of his desk.

"First Jimin, now Namjoon?" Taehyung hears someone scoff and he tries to shrink in on himself a little, feeling small under Namjoon's intense gaze.

Namjoon stares at Taehyung for a few seconds, frown drawing deeper when he sees how on guard he is. Namjoon sighs through his nose before bending over into a bow, arms straight and fingers curled into fists. Taehyung blinks in surprise, leaning back in his chair in confusion. "Wh-Wha–"

"I apologize." Namjoon says, straightening and staring down at Taehyung. "Those Pawns that attacked you were under my control. I thought how much Jimin liked you would be dangerous to his position; I saw you as a threat and a distraction. I tried to have you removed and by doing that, I broke one of our most important rules. After speaking to Jimin and Seokjin, I see that I was in the wrong. I see how much Jimin truly cares for you. I apologize."

Taehyung stares up at Namjoon with wide eyes, blinking a few times. It's a lot of information to take in at once, each new fact causing its own set of thoughts Taehyung can't help but think, but Taehyung manages to process it all in less than a minute and nods slowly. "Y-You're.. forgiven.."

Namjoon smiles a little before turning around and following the path he took between the desks to get back to the front of the class, stopping to bow to the students and the teacher, then leaving the classroom.

When Namjoon is gone, everyone in the room turns to look at Taehyung with a wide variety of expressions. Hoseok and Jeongguk are the only main ones that seem worried though, leaning closer to him. "You were attacked by Pawns?" Jeongguk questions.

Taehyung blinks a few more times, looking over at Jeongguk and taking a few seconds to nod. "Y-Yeah.. but Jimin came before they did any real harm and helped me. It's why he was carrying me earlier, I was too shaken up to walk by myself."

"Are you okay?" Hoseok whispers, eyebrows pulled together.

Taehyung looks up at Hoseok and smiles, nodding. "Yeah.. Yeah, I'm fine, Hoseokie-hyung."

Hoseok studies Taehyung's expression before sighing, reaching out to pat the top of Taehyung's head before turning back around in his seat to face the board when the teacher calls everyone's attention back to them.

School is out for the day when Taehyung sees Jimin again, walking along the garden in the school yard and his face oddly blank, staring down into the pond the garden is around. Taehyung stops walking when he spots him, grip on his backpack straps tightening. Hoseok and Jeongguk stop when they notice Taehyung has, looking over at him in confusion. "Tae?" Hoseok asks, blinking when he notices Taehyung staring off somewhere before following his gaze.

Hoseok smirks a little when he realizes Taehyung is staring at Jimin, nudging the younger's shoulder with his own. "Maybe you should go talk to him, Tae. He looks a little sad so maybe you talking to him can cheer him up a little. Plus, he did save your life earlier."

Taehyung chews on his bottom lip, eyebrows drawn together a little. Taehyung does want to thank Jimin for saving him, but he also wants to be on the other side of world, far far away from Jimin; he was hardly able to focus on any of his classes, too busy thinking about why Taehyung was so happy to see Jimin when the devil saved him from those Pawns and why he had clung to him like Jimin was his life line, crying into his chest.

Taehyung flushes a little when he remembers how his heart skipped a beat when Jimin kissed the top of his head and told him to it easy earlier, biting down harder on his bottom lip. Jeongguk frowns a little and places a hand on Taehyung's shoulder.

"Hyung. Go talk to him."

Taehyung looks over at Jeongguk, a little surprised at the begging look Jeongguk is wearing. Taehyung sighs quietly, letting go of the straps so his hands are hanging by his hips. "Fine, fine, I'll go talk to Jimin. Go home without me."

Hoseok and Jeongguk smile and nod, giving Taehyung comforting pats on the shoulder before quickly leaving the school grounds.

Taehyung watches them leave before looking back over at Jimin, nervous butterflies flapping their wings inside his stomach. He takes a hesitant step forward, two more back, then four forward. Taehyung bites his bottom lip again before dragging his tongue over it, taking very tiny steps towards Jimin and stopping when he's about five steps away.

"J-Jimin." Taehyung calls out quietly, like he was still questioning if he actually wanted to talk to Jimin as he said his name.

Jimin stops walks and lifts his head, eyes widening a little when he sees Taehyung standing there. "Taehyung? Are you okay?"

Taehyung lifts his gaze to look into Jimin's eyes and bites his lip a little. It takes longer than it should for what Jimin said to process in Taehyung's brain, and he blushes a little when it does because he was holding awkward eye contact with Jimin as he was waiting. "O-Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

Jimin's eyebrows pull together, head tilting to the side. "Then.. why are you here? You don't like me."

Taehyung frowns a little, a strange emotion Taehyung doesn't know how to describe pulling at his heart. "Um," Taehyung shifts from one foot to another a few times before taking a few more steps closer to Jimin. "I wanted.. to thank you. For.. for earlier. For saving me."

Jimin blinks a few times before smiling, a tiny smile completely opposite to the usual wide and toothy smile he flashes at everyone. "You don't need to thank me, Taehyung. I would've saved anyone else in that situation that didn't deserve it."

Taehyung's frown deepens and he looks down at the ground, feeling a little sad that he isn't special and his eyes narrowing when he realizes it. He's supposed to hate Jimin, not feel sad that Jimin would have saved anyone else in the position he was in and not because Taehyung's special. Jimin notices how down Taehyung suddenly is, walking closer to the human and his head tilting to the side again. "Taehyung? What's wrong?"

Taehyung's eyes quickly shift up to Jimin's, the bit of sadness tugging his heartstrings tugging a little harder at Jimin not calling him TaeTae anymore. "N-Nothing's wrong, Jimin."

Jimin's eyebrows push together. "Taehyung–"

"Why don't you call me TaeTae anymore?" Taehyung asks, eyes widening when the words drop from his lips and slapping a hand over his mouth.

Jimin's mouth snaps shut and he blinks a few times in surprise. "Wh-What?"

"W-Why," Taehyung swallows, dropping his gaze to the ground so he doesn't have to see Jimin's expression, "don't you.. c-call me TaeTae anymore..?"

Jimin stares at Taehyung, mouth opening before closing then opening again. "Oh. Um. Why..?"

Taehyung bites his lip, shifting nervously on his feet and trying to decide how he wants to answer that question. "I-I don't know," he clasps his hands together in front of him, wringing his fingers. "I-It just.. I just d-don't like that.. you aren't calling me TaeTae.."

Jimin frowns in thought, staring at Taehyung. The younger shifts around a bit, feeling small under Jimin's gaze despite being taller. Taehyung chews his lip, shifting around as Jimin continues to stare at him for a full minute before smiling a little.

"I'm sorry. I'll continue calling you TaeTae. Is that what was bothering you?"

Taehyung continues chewing on his lip until it starts to hurt from being chewed raw, releasing it. Taehyung stares at the ground before lifting his gaze to look into Jimin's eyes. "Am I special to you, Jimin?"

Jimin blinks in surprise, eyes wide and back going straight. "What?"

Taehyung's face turns red, surprised and embarrassed he just asked such a question. He's supposed to hate Jimin, he's supposed to want to avoid Jimin, not want to be the center of Jimin's attention and want to be the only person that's special to the devil. Taehyung turns on his heel and quickly runs away from Jimin.

Taehyung leaves Jimin standing there surprised and confused, turning sharply once he's past the gate to run back to his house. Taehyung grips the straps tightly, face red and eyebrows pushed together. What the , Taehyung thinks, what the , what the , what the . Did he really ask Jimin if he was special to him? Did that conversation even happen? No. It definitely didn't happen.

"Yeah," Taehyung breathes as he slows down so he doesn't look insane to the people on the street. "It didn't happen. That was a hallucination. I imaged it all. I don't like Jimin. I hate Jimin. I don't care if I'm special to Jimin; I don't care if he would have saved anyone else in my position. Yeah."

Taehyung is still blushing and his mind is still a huge mess when he arrives home. When he lays down in his bed that night, he decides he'll just talk to Hoseok and Jeongguk tomorrow and see what they have to say.

"You so like him." Is the first thing that comes out of Hoseok's mouth when Taehyung is done telling him and Jeongguk everything that happened with Jimin.

Taehyung glares at Hoseok and slaps his shoulder. "I do not!" He hisses.

"Taehyung, you just told us you got sad when Jimin said he would've saved anyone else in your situation and when Jimin stopped calling you TaeTae. Then you asked him if you were special to him because of what he said when you thanked him." Hoseok smiles and places his chin in his hand, leaning against the table, chopsticks in his other hand. "These are pretty clear signs you have some form of feelings for Jimin other than hatred. Even if you don't know it yet."

Taehyung bites his bottom lip, looking down at his lunch he's barely touched. His eyebrows furrow a little in thought. Does he really like Jimin? Is Hoseok right?

"Hyung," Jeongguk says with a little giggle. "Hoseokie-hyung is usually right about this stuff. I can use an oslivis spell though; if you want to be completely sure."

"Jeongguk, I'm not a witch." Taehyung looks over at Jeongguk with a raised eyebrow, eyes narrowed a little. "I don't know what an oslivis spell is."

"Oh," Jeongguk blinks in surprise, leaning back a little. "It allows me to explore your thoughts, including the thoughts triggered by emotions that you can't control which can lead to finding out about emotions you didn't know you had because you either completely ignored those thoughts or didn't even know you had them because they're stuffed into the back of your head."

Taehyung's mouth opens, snaps shut, then opens again and eyes narrowing more. "No thanks, I'd prefer if you weren't in my mind. Who knows what you'd find to blackmail me."

Jeongguk chuckles a little. "Yeah, true," he pauses and blinks, looking over at Taehyung with an offended look. "Hey! Do you not trust me?"

Taehyung raises an eyebrow again, head tilting down a little. "Are you really asking me that?"

Jeongguk stares at Taehyung before looking away with a pout. Taehyung nods before looking back at his food with a frown. Hoseok watches all the emotions and thoughts run around in Taehyung's eyes and he sighs quietly. "Just think it over, Tae. If you find out you really do like Jimin, maybe go talk to him about it. It's pretty obvious Jimin likes you, so I don't think he would reject you, at least too bad."

Taehyung slumps, shoulders curving down and eyes flickering up to Hoseok's face. "Thanks for the confidence, hyung." His voice drips with sarcasm.

Hoseok rolls his eyes. "I'm being serious, Tae. Think about it and talk to him about it after. But I don't think avoiding him like you have been all day is really going to do anything."

Taehyung groans deeply, resting an elbow on the table and placing his hand over his face. "Avoiding Jimin is my best option right now. At least until I can figure this mess out."

"Tae," Hoseok's eyebrows pull together. "You've been trying to avoid Jimin almost since you started coming to this school. How are you going to successfully avoid him now?"

Taehyung opens his mouth and stares at Hoseok before snapping his mouth shut, looking off to the side and chewing his bottom lip in thought. Hoseok frowns and rolls his eyes, shaking his head a little. "You never think things through, do you?"

"Shut up." Taehyung hisses, shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth and chewing a little too quickly, his jaw getting a dull ache. He swallows and glares at Hoseok. "I'll think of something every time he shows up, I suppose."

"Yeah, because that works so well for you already." Hoseok rolls his eyes for the umpteenth time, but this time, he thinks they went all the way to Hell and back with how unbelievable Taehyung is being.

Taehyung shoots another glare at Hoseok and decides to talk to only Jeongguk for the rest of the lunch period, managing to forget about his struggle with that stupid Jimin as Jeongguk talks about all these new spells he's been able to try and how wonderful magic is (it makes Taehyung think about how it would be to be a witch or an exorist; someone that has their entire life surrounded by the beauty of magic, but then Taehyung remembers that it brings many more threats than being a normal human does he decides he's fine the way he is).

Only two weeks in does Taehyung actually start to feel guilty for ignoring Jimin (he's managed to get a pretty good strategy; either bolt into a run, going as fast as his legs can carry him, in the opposite direction, or shove any student close to him into Jimin's chest to let the devil deal with all of that and then bolt into a run in the opposite direction). Taehyung is a naturally gentle person, he can't even kill a fly without having thoughts if he just took away a child's mother or father or sibling later, so he starts to think that maybe he's hurting Jimin by ignoring him the way he has.

He needs to, though; he needs to ignore Jimin until he gets his emotions and thoughts figured out. Two weeks of laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, and doing nothing but thinking. The same questions every night; does he really like Jimin? How would dating Jimin feel? How would spending the rest of his life with Jimin feel? Would he like it, or hate it? Does he want to spend the rest of his life with Jimin? Why does he want to be special to Jimin? Why does he care that Jimin would have saved anyone else being attacked by Pawns?

Taehyung doesn't even have an answer to any of them; just 'I don't know's and 'maybe's. Taehyung likes straight answers to very important questions like these, so the fact that he doesn't have any is very enraging to the boy. What makes it even worse is that Taehyung has never been in love before, too busy finding the beauty in the world and caring for his family (though there was that one time when he was six where he thought a pretty black-billed magpie was his soulmate because the bird kept following him everywhere; he soon found out it was because of his food and he was heartbroken for three days), so he's not sure if these are natural things to feel when in love with someone.

Taehyung had asked around for advice, but people either ignored him completely or told him they'd give him levels of pain he's never felt before if he's thinking about dating Jimin, so that didn't work. Hoseok says Taehyung has to have some form of feelings for Jimin, and Jeongguk always agrees then adds 'I can always use that oslivis spell, though!' at the end, a wicked grin on his face like he wants to find material to blackmail Taehyung with.

A little more time, Taehyung decides. He just needs a little more time.

The guilt Taehyung was feeling gets stronger with each and every day that passes that he starts to tear up when he turns his back to Jimin and catches that flash of hurt in his eyes. He feels so unbelievably bad about ignoring Jimin the way he is, but he always tells himself it's because he's still not sure. He still doesn't know if he loves Jimin or not. He still doesn't understand why he wants to be special to Jimin, or why he wanted Jimin to tell him he saved him because Taehyung is special, or why his heart fluttered and he blushed when Jimin told him to take it easy and kissed the top of his head. He doesn't understand any of it yet so he can't be around Jimin until he does. He just can't.

"I don't think avoiding the poor guy until you figure out everything is a good idea." Hoseok says, leaning back in his chair and arms crossed over his chest.

Taehyung has his face pressed against his desk; it's been an entire month since he started avoiding Jimin, and he feels like a complete . "Hyuuung," Taehyung whines, tilting his face to the side so his cheek is against the desk and pouts at Hoseok. "Don't make me feel more guilty than I already do."

Hoseok shrugs, placing his chair back on all four legs and stares down at Taehyung with a raised eyebrow. "At least go up to him and tell him why you're ignoring him; he's been asking me if you're okay and if he's done something wrong."

"That's part of the problem!" Taehyung hisses, placing his hands over his face. "Jimin hasn't done a single ing thing wrong so I don't have any reason to hate him other than he's ing ignorant and stubborn. I can't even call him cocky because everything that comes out of his mouth is true!"

"Even the thing he's always saying about you liking him soon?" Jeongguk questions from behind Taehyung, little ty smirk on his face and chin in his hand.

Taehyung freezes and thinks over all the things that comes out of Jimin's mouth, and the devil has in fact said those words before. Several times. Taehyung blushes bright red and turns at his waist to glare wide-eyed at Jeongguk who only chuckles to himself like the little bastard he is. Hoseok can't help, but grin himself. "Jeongguk's right, Tae."

"You shut the hell up." Taehyung growls, dropping his head back onto his desk.

"Aw," Jeongguk reaches out and rubs the area between Taehyung's shoulder blades. "Why're you so mean suddenly, Tae?"

"You're all against me. You two, Jimin, Namjoon, the students, all of you." Taehyung groans, his breath bouncing off the desk and fanning over his face; it's hot and he's a little grateful for that as it's been extremely cold lately.

"You don't know if those Min Yoongi or Kim Seokjin guys are against you." Hoseok says, reaching out to pat the back of Taehyung's head in a half-hearted comforting manner. "And Namjoon apologized already."

"Min Yoongi and Kim Seokjin are in the School Council," Taehyung turns his head to glare at Hoseok. "They no doubt hate me because of how much attention Jimin has been giving me. And Seokjin ordered Namjoon to apologize, he could still hate me and want me dead."

"Don't be so negative," Hoseok rolls his eyes, slapping the back of Taehyung's head. "Look, I get your thoughts and emotions are all over the place over your newly discovered love for Jimin, but at least look at him or give him a smile. He's really hurt by how you've been avoiding him; you haven't noticed because you refuse to look at him, but he's been really sad lately. Got bags under his eyes and he hardly smiles anymore."

Taehyung frowns deeply, turning his head until his nose is pressed against the desk and closes his eyes. ". Great. Thanks Jung ing Hoseok, now I feel even more guilty."

Hoseok raises his hands in defense. "Hey, I'm not the one making a nice guy like Park Jimin feel like because I'm trying to get my own together."

"Hyung!" Taehyung whines, sitting up and glaring at Hoseok.

Hoseok simply shrugs and leans back in his chair, head leaning back against the top. "Whatever, Tae. You kids be quiet, I'm going to sleep until the damn slow teacher gets here. I stayed up way too late last night studying for the stupid Grimnals."

Jeongguk's eyes soften a little, relating to Hoseok's little struggle; probably every other witch and exorcist feels Hoseok's pain as they've all been studying for the Grimnals. He reaches over to Hoseok's hair, occasionally twirling a lock around his index finger. Hoseok smiles a little. "Thanks, Gguk."

Jeongguk simply hums, placing his chin in his other hand and looking down at his travel-sized book of basic spells to get a little more studying for the Grimnals in. Taehyung, on the other hand, is staring out the window with a deep frown, arms crossed over his chest. If Hoseok is correct and Jimin really has been really upset since he started avoiding him, then that probably means Jimin really likes him. Taehyung takes his bottom lip between his teeth and chews on it, eyebrows pulling together. The thought makes him blush a little, tilting his head down a bit so his chin is closer to his chest.

The thought of Jimin really liking him makes him want to throw himself at Jimin, hugging him close to his chest, and book a flight to the other side of the world to be very far away from him (ignoring the fact Jimin could just pop up if he knew where Taehyung was, of course). Taehyung's eyebrows pull together more. He definitely needs to do more thinking.

"Holy , I like Jimin." Taehyung suddenly shouts during a study session at Jeongguk's house, a month and a half having already passed after the first one. Hoseok jerks a little at the sudden shout as they were all in silence for a while, hand twitching up and pencil flying out of his grip. Jeongguk's eyes simply flicker up from his book to Taehyung sitting on his bed. "I ing like Jimin, are you ing kidding me?" Taehyung straightens against the pillows his back is propped on, pencil falling from his hand.

"Were you really thinking about your feelings towards Jimin instead of focusing on studying?" Jeongguk raises an eyebrow, shifting a little on his chair where he is currently sat cross-legged.

"Yes," Taehyung says without looking at Jeongguk, eyes wide and on the wall. His mouth falls open before closing a little so his lips are only parted not even half an inch, eyebrows pulling together in a confused manner. "Holy . I like Park goddamn Jimin. What the ?"

"Why are you so confused?" Hoseok rolls onto his back and sits up, staring at Taehyung.

"Because I like Jimin!" Taehyung squeaks, looking at Hoseok. "I always thought I hated him! For two whole years! Two, hyung! Plus I'm a simple human and Jimin's a devil, and not just any devil, one of the most powerful devils of this generation, how the hell is that going to work?"

"Well," Jeongguk raises a hand to adjust the glasses on his nose. "The will probably be extremely mind-blowing with all that strength and access to forbidden magic he has."

"Jeongguk!" Taehyung shouts, curling up a little around his text book and notebook. "Now is not the time to be thinking of such things, you scoundrel."

"Just sayin'." Jeongguk shrugs, going back to attempting to memorize sixth level spells and summonings.

"Well, now that you've figured out something we all already knew," Hoseok lays back down and rolls back onto his stomach, looking at his own book of sixth level spells and summonings, and writing down easy ways to remember them instead of looking like an idiot in front of the head of the coven protecting Seoul and the leader of the Grim Organization. "Why don't you talk to Jimin tomorrow and turn his frown upside down? I swear he's stopped eating or something and he only smiles when people ask him if he's okay."

Taehyung bites down on his bottom lip, looking down at his textbook and blankly staring at the words. "M-Maybe I'll do that.."

"You should." Hoseok sighs. "But I suppose do what you what when you feel like doing it."

Taehyung taps his pencil against his textbook, the deep and hollow-like noise a slightly calming noise that sends him into another wave of thoughts, but instead of trying to figure out if he likes Jimin or not, he's trying to figure out if he should face Jimin tomorrow at school or not.

He decides he'll just figure it out when the moment comes.

Taehyung expects to hear 'TaeTae!' as soon as he enters the school like usual, but then he remembers that the usual has become him turning around and darting away from Jimin. The thought makes him sad, a frown tugging his lips down. He stays beside Hoseok as they and Jeongguk walk towards their first class, Hoseok and Jeongguk having a deep conversation about their upcoming test, and Taehyung looking around to see if he can spot Jimin. The walk to their first class isn't very long, though, so he slumps a little in a defeated manner when they arrive and he hadn't spotted Jimin the entire five minute walk from the entrance to the class.

"Don't worry," Hoseok says and pats Taehyung's shoulder. "Jimin is a good student and arrives every day. You'll spot him eventually."

Taehyung looks up at Hoseok with sad and wide, child-like eyes and a sad frown on his lips. Hoseok frowns and his heart pulls a little at the expression; Taehyung is too nice to have such an expression on his features, too selfless and always prepared to give up his own well being for the happiness of others.

"You'll get to talk to him." Hoseok whispers, smiling a little and Taehyung attempts to return the gesture, but it just looks like a cringe more than anything.

Hoseok simply sighs and leads Taehyung to his seat, and Taehyung feels him and Jeongguk glance at him during the entire class (Taehyung wasn't able to focus for a second, too worried about Jimin and too busy thinking about how everything can go so very wrong).

When it's over, Taehyung immediately packs all of his stuff and walks out of the door, looking from side to side. He doesn't wait for Hoseok and Jeongguk, immediately running down one of the hallways and turning his head too quickly to get more than a few frames of each area he looks at. He starts to panic as he's running, worried Jimin has done something to hurt himself or talked to his father about bringing him back to the Other Realm because he didn't want to be here anymore.

"Taehyung!" Jeongguk shouts down the hallway, tapping into his old speed he used to have when he ran circles around his entire property as a kid (his parents said it was good to get the blood pumping and the magic laced in it activated, but now that he's older, he knows that was bull and his parents just wanted him moving) to reach Taehyung. He places a hand on Taehyung's shoulder, panting heavily.

"Jeongguk, I don't have time, I need to find Jimin." Taehyung says, voice coming out a little too quick and eyes darting around. "I-I need to make sure he's okay and he hasn't done something ing stupid like usual, I need to–"

"Taehyung." Jeongguk slaps Taehyung's shoulder lightly with a frown. "What's Jimin's favourite place to be when he wants to be alone?"

Taehyung stares at Jeongguk, eyebrows pulling together a little before his eyes widen. "The garden."

Jeongguk nods and lets go of Taehyung, moving out of the way. Taehyung gives Jeongguk a little smile in thanks before taking off down the hallway, pushing passed people with loud 'sorry's. It's rude and it makes him feel a little bad that he's just shoving people to the side and smashing his shoulder against other people's, but the only thing on his mind is finding Jimin and making sure he's okay and telling him he likes him.

Tears fill Taehyung's eyes at the thought of Jimin lacing a dagger with a spell that can damage a devil (he remembers Jeongguk saying something about needing dirt from where a devil took their first step in the Human Realm, their blood, and a little lock of their hair, and Taehyung knows Jimin can get that easy). He pushes himself to run even faster, and coming to a stop when he reaches the double doors of the entrance, almost slipping and falling onto the floor from how fast he was running. He throws open the doors, shutting them behind him before turning and letting his eyes run over the scene of the garden.

"Jimin," Taehyung whispers to himself, walking in a much slower pace towards the garden. His hands start shaking and his thighs tremble like his legs are about to give out as he gets closer and closer to the garden, looking over the large patch of flowers and water. It's pretty, a voice in the back of Taehyung's mind says. The large variety of flowers and a few bushes in a circle around a glistening pond home to six koi fish, a red bridge crossing over its length.

He understands why it's Jimin's favourite spot to be when he wants to think or be alone. He bites his lip when he spots Jimin laying on his back on the bridge, staring up at the blue sky. Taehyung quietly walks through the garden up to the bridge. "Ji-Jimin," he calls out quietly, taking slow and small steps onto the bridge.

Jimin immediately sits up and looks at Taehyung with wide eyes. Taehyung's heart breaks at the sight; Jimin's hair is messy and sticking in different directions like he didn't bother brushing it when he woke up when it's usually smooth, parted down the middle or his fringe in his eyes; his skin is paler than usual; bags are under his eyes. But his stomach twists and he feels sick when Jimin's face falls into a blank expression, standing up and walking passed Taehyung.

Tears form in Taehyung's eyes and his bottom lip trembles. "Jimin," he whispers, turning around and his eyelids fluttering a little from the tears when Jimin keeps walking. "Jimin, wait. Please."

"Weren't you ignoring me?" Jimin turns around and stares at Taehyung. "What do you want, Taehyung?"

Taehyung bites back at whimper at the use of his full name, a tear falling from his left eye. "Jimin. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't.. I didn't mean–"

"You ignore me for two months and a half, and all you say is sorry? That you didn't mean it?" Jimin stuffs his hands into his pockets with a light scoff. "Taehyung, you hate me; you've made that pretty clear and I got the message."

"N-No, no, I don't hate you, I don't." Taehyung shakes his head quickly and steps closer to Jimin, placing his hands on his shoulders to grip his shirt. Another tear falls from his eye. "I don't hate you, I promise."

A frown forms on Jimin's lips, back straight and shoulders in a straight line. "Taehyung, ever since I started trying to make you my friend, you hated me."

"Jimin," Taehyung whispers. "I've been ignoring you because I couldn't figure out if I liked you or not. And I do; I like you, Jimin. I like you so much, Jimin. I think I always have."

Jimin inhales slowly and raises his hands to grab Taehyung's own, trying to to pry his fingers off his shirt. "Don't, Taehyung. Don't try to play with me. I know you know I like you, don't mess with me like this."

"Listen to me!" Taehyung shakes Jimin slightly, eyes narrowing into a glare and inhaling sharply before exhaling shakily, bottom lip trembling. "I ing like you, Park Jimin! I have been ignoring you and avoiding you because I was confused and scared after I asked you if I was special to you or not. I've never experienced love before so I didn't know if wanting to be special to you and wanting you to call me TaeTae, and blushing when you kissed my head, and thinking you were attractive and stupidly pretty when your stupid red hair was in your eyes when your head was tilted to the side and you had a smile, and not minding having to spend the rest of my life with you was symptoms of being ing in love with you."

Jimin's eyes widen a little and Taehyung's hands are shaking in his own, tears streaming down his cheeks. Jimin stares at Taehyung before he bites his bottom lip, letting go of Taehyung's hands. Taehyung's eyes widen and he sobs quietly, eyebrows pulling together, taking this motion as a rejection. Jimin moves a hand up to grab Taehyung's chin, making him freeze immediately and gasp quietly.

Jimin leans up almost painfully slow until the tips of their noses are almost touching. He stares at Taehyung, tilting his head and closing the rest of the distance between them, closing his eyes. Taehyung's eyes widen even more and his grip on Jimin's shirt tightens, his mind becoming white noise. Taehyung is still shaking against Jimin, but he closes his eyes after he gets over the shock of being kissed by Park Jimin and presses back. Jimin moves his free arm down to wrap around Taehyung's waist and press him a little closer to support him, feeling how shaky he is and not wanting him to fall.

The kiss is slow and nice, Jimin moving his lips against Taehyung's slowly to not scare him and applying just enough pressure for Taehyung to know this isn't a dream. Jimin doesn't let it last for very long, though, pulling away after twelve seconds. When Jimin opens his eyes, Taehyung's are still shut and his lips are parted, cheeks flushed pink, and the sight makes Jimin smile a little.

Jimin is staring at Taehyung's eyelashes, pretty and soft against his golden skin, when Taehyung opens his eyes slowly and stares up at Jimin. Taehyung only holds eye-contact with Jimin for three seconds before the pretty blush on his cheeks burns brighter and he ducks his head in embarrassment. Jimin's smile widens and he takes his hand away from Taehyung's chin to wrap his arm around his waist along with his other arm, bringing Taehyung into his chest. Taehyung blinks in surprise before burying his face into Jimin's neck and exhaling slowly. "Jimin," he calls quietly.

"Hm?" Jimin hums, resting his chin on Taehyung's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "For.. for everything I put you through in the past few months. I was selfish. I was only thinking about myself and how I felt instead of how much I was hurting you in the process of figuring out everything."

Jimin's smile drops and he sighs, pulling back from the hug to look into Taehyung's eyes again. "TaeTae," he smiles a little when he sees a little sparkle of happiness in Taehyung's eyes at the nickname. "I won't lie and say it didn't hurt to have the person I care about the most completely avoiding me like I was an awful disease, but you came back to me in the end, right? You're standing here and you're okay, and you're not calling me an like usual or anything, so we're good."

Taehyung searches Jimin's eyes for a few more seconds, trying to spot any sign to show he's not okay and they're not good, any flicker in the deep sea of dark brown, before he smiles a little. He leans down, pauses for a few seconds, then presses a kiss to Jimin's cheek and presses his face to Jimin's neck in embarrassment.

Jimin blinks in surprise before chuckling quietly. "You're so cute." He coos, taking his hands from Taehyung completely and running one through his hair to work out all the knots.

Taehyung looks at Jimin with a little pout, bottom lip jutting out just a bit, watching Jimin's fingers work his hair. His pout drops and he giggles before he can catch himself when Jimin whines quietly at how hard it is to brush out of his hair without the assistance of a brush. Taehyung steps closer and swats away Jimin's hands to start untangling the knots and straightening the randomly placed strands for him. Jimin pouts childishly, crossing his arms over his chest, but letting Taehyung untangle his hair for him anyways.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Jimin says, looking up at Taehyung through his eyelashes, trying not to move his head too much.

Taehyung hums deep in his throat, eyes trained on the orange and black hair between his fingers (Jimin hadn't freshened up his dye in the two months and a half Taehyung ignored him, so the red faded to a brassy orange and his roots are showing heavily). "Shouldn't you be doing School Council things?"

Jimin rolls his eyes and punches Taehyung in the gut, but only hard enough to make Taehyung hunch over slightly and grunt. "Point taken," Taehyung says, a little breathless from the hit.

Jimin crosses his arms again, staring up at Taehyung as he waits for an answer. Taehyung looks down at Jimin and smiles. "I came looking for you."

Jimin's eyes widen just slightly and he feels a little heat travel to his cheeks, but he clears his throat and breaks eye-contact to look down. "I'm flattered you took time out of your busy schedule you usually stick to to come looking for a commoner like me, your Highness."

Taehyung sputters a little in surprise at Jimin's sentence, eyes widening and blushing brightly, accidentally ripping strands of hair out of Jimin's scalp. It doesn't bother Jimin much, but he whines at the dull sting in his scalp and the saliva now on his face to tease Taehyung. Taehyung's blush darkens and he backs up a little. "O-Oh, I'm sorry!" He squeaks.

He tugs his sleeve down to gently wipe his saliva off Jimin's nose, cheeks and forehead. He blinks in surprise at how soft Jimin's face is, getting distracted by it and running the pads of his fingers over Jimin's cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. Jimin stares up at Taehyung, blushing just slightly at how surprised and focused he looks. Taehyung gently runs his fingers down until his index finger reaches his lips, staring at them. He runs the pad of his thumb over Jimin's bottom lip slowly before pressing it to the middle of his lip. Jimin feels his blush darken a little, fighting the urge to bite his bottom lip like his instinct is telling him to so he doesn't accidentally bite Taehyung's thumb and bring it into his mouth and turn this into a completely different direction.

Taehyung feels himself lean down closer to Jimin, gaze completely fixed on Jimin's full lips. They are close enough to feel each other's breath fan across their faces when Taehyung's eyes shift up and immediately locks onto Jimin's fixed on his face. Taehyung slowly disappearing blush brightens to full force and he straightens his back, clearing his throat. He quickly wipes off the rest of his saliva off Jimin's face and smooths his hand over Jimin's hair to flatten it before backing up four steps, covering his face with his hands.

Jimin blinks a few times at how quickly everything just happened, staring at Taehyung's shy and vulnerable position before a large smile drags his lips upwards and curves his eyes into crescents. "Cute," he says, walking up to Taehyung and pressing a kiss to the back of each of Taehyung's hands. He raises his own hands to gently grab Taehyung's wrists to pull his hands away from his blushing face.

"Cute," Jimin repeats when he sees Taehyung's pout, leaning up to press a quick kiss to his lips and giggling when Taehyung whines as his blush only spreads down lower. "You're so cute. I'm so looking forward to all the ways I can embarrass you."

"Jiminie!" Taehyung whines, lightly stopping his foot.

Jimin's grin drops and his eyes widen. "What did you just call me?"

Taehyung's eyebrows pull together in confusion before his eyes widen in realization, biting his lip shyly. "Ji-Jiminie.. I'm sorry, it just slipped out.."

"No, no, I.." Jimin stares at Taehyung, a small smile tugging his lips before it widens to his trademark toothy smile. "I like it. You can call me Jiminie if you want."

Taehyung tilts his head down, chin dipping towards his chest, in embarrassment and looks up at Jimin through his eyelashes, a little shy smile on his face. "O-Okay.."

Jimin giggles and kisses the top of Taehyung's head. "So," he says, tilting his head to the side. "Kim Taehyung."

Taehyung's eyes widen and his back straightens immediately at the use of his full name, staring at Jimin. "Y-Yes?"

Jimin smiles softly and slides his hands from Taehyung's wrists to his hands, lacing their fingers together. "Will you be my boyfriend?"

Taehyung blinks a few times in surprise before he smiles widely, the one that spreads his lips into a rectangle and shows all his teeth. "Yes, I will be your boyfriend, Jiminie."

Jimin's smile widens and he steps closer, leaning up to kiss the tip of Taehyung's nose before brushing their noses together. Taehyung giggles shyly and ducks his head in embarrassment, his hair creating a curtain over his eyes. Jimin presses his forehead to Taehyung's lightly. "So, TaeTae," he says quietly, knowing Taehyung is listening by the little hum he did. "Ever wanted to know what it's like to fly?"

Taehyung's head snaps up immediately and his eyes widen in both surprise and slight fear. "W-Wha–"

Jimin turns around and uses his hold on Taehyung's hands to drag the boy towards the school.

"Ji-Jiminie!"

That's how they ended up on the roof of the school. You're not exactly supposed to be up there, but Jimin is part of the School Council and the Student Council both runs and owns the school, so Jimin can basically do what he wishes. Jimin is smiling wide at the long stretch of trees, buildings and roads that goes as far as the eye can see, whereas Taehyung is shivering from how much colder it is on the roof and the slight fear that he is going to be too heavy and they are both going to crash to the ground. Jimin spins on his heel to look at Taehyung. "Wanna fly?"

"Wh-What if I'm too heavy?" Taehyung questions, hesitantly walking over to the edge of the roof and eyes widening at how high up they are.

Jimin scoffs and rolls his eyes. "One, you underestimate my strength. Two, if you fall, I can either swoop down and grab you like those cheesy super hero movies or quickly place a flying spell on you."

A frown forms between Taehyung's eyebrows as he steps away from the edge, looking over at Jimin. Jimin's smile softens to a warmer, more kind one and steps up to Taehyung. "Do you trust me, TaeTae?"

Taehyung stares at Jimin, biting down on his bottom lip. He does, he does trust Jimin, but the thought of jumping off and immediately falling down to their (his; Jimin is immortal) death keeps replaying in his mind like that one scene in a gory horror movie that hits close to home or just sticks to you and replays at awful times. Taehyung searches Jimin's expression and only sees genuine love in his eyes, affection in his smile. Taehyung inhales, holds it for a few seconds, then exhales. "I do. I trust you."

Jimin's smile widens and Taehyung sees happiness flash in his eyes before he steps closer. "Get on my back, TaeTae. I promise I won't drop you; if I do, I promise I won't let you die or get hurt." He raises a hand to cup Taehyung's cheek. "I just got you back, I'm not going to let you be taken from me again."

Taehyung blushes a little and hides his eyes behind his bangs, chewing on his bottom lip. He takes Jimin's hand off his cheek and moves behind Jimin, placing his hands on his shoulders. Jimin squats down a little so it's easier for Taehyung when he jumps up to wrap his legs around his waist. Once satisfied with his hold on Jimin's waist, he slips his arms around Jimin's neck, but doesn't choke him.

"You ready?" Jimin asks, looking over his shoulder with a wide smile.

Taehyung bites his lip again before nodding, burying his face into Jimin's neck. The devil giggles and walks over to the edge of the roof. He pauses, giving Taehyung a few more seconds to try to relax, before stepping off the building. He doesn't need to, but he keeps moving one foot in front of the other as he floats in the air. Taehyung in through his mouth, eyebrows knitting together in confusion at feeling Jimin's legs still moving like he's walking.

Taehyung slowly lifts his head, taking a few seconds, to finally open his eyes. Two seconds after he opens his eyes, they suddenly start falling and Taehyung screams, placing his face back against Jimin's neck.

This is it, he's going to die, he's only going to be able to spend these last few seconds with Jimin and he can't even say goodbye or I love you or kiss him and Jimin–

Is laughing. They aren't falling anymore and Jimin is laughing, quiet pretty peels of laughter.

Taehyung blinks a few times before he lifts his head with a glare. " you, Park Jimin! What's wrong with you?! Why would you scare me like that?!"

Jimin continues laughing, bending over a little. "I-I'm sorry," he giggles for a few seconds. "I-I just had to. It was such a great opportunity and you were so on guard, I couldn't help myself. I told you I wouldn't let you fall or be hurt, you shouldn't worry so much."

Taehyung huffs and rolls his eyes, leaning down to press his cheek to the back of Jimin's shoulder to watch everything go by a little slowly. He bites his lip lightly. It's pretty, seeing everything from up here. They're not as high as they were because of Jimin's stupid prank so some leaves from high branches on trees brush against the bottoms of Jimin's shoes. The sun is still high in the sky so it's probably not any later than twelve, a pretty yellow-orange glow being cast over everything and shadows being cast on things not being kissed by the gentle streams of sunlight.

Taehyung lifts his head to look at everything a little easier, genuinely surprised by how pretty it is to see everything from a higher point of few than five feet and ten inches. Jimin slowly makes them go up higher until the treetops only look like big bushes from how high they are.

"Hey, Jimin?" Taehyung calls out quietly, resting his chin on Jimin's shoulder.

"Mm?" Jimin hums, looking over his shoulder at Taehyung.

"How do you think everyone is going to react to us dating?" Taehyung asks quietly, his words coming out a little slurred from his lips and jaw barely moving due to his lower jaw being pressed against Jimin's shoulder. "Like.. what do you think everyone is going to do to me..? Everyone wants you to themselves and really hate me.."

Jimin frowns and sighs quietly. "Well. I'm going to announce to the entire school you're my boyfriend so they don't think you're blackmailing me to be around you and kissing you and stuff. I'm going to say some things about how much I love you and don't want anyone to hurt you so some of them can back off when I or your friends aren't around. I'm going to be around you way more now, and your friends are usually always with you, so you'll have protection from people that want to hurt you there. Aaand I'll put a protection spell on you or ask Jeongguk to enchant a piece of jewelry to keep most of the spells and enchantments and such from actually doing anything to you."

Taehyung bites his lip lightly before nodding against Jimin's shoulder, pressing his face to his neck again. Jimin's thumbs lightly rub soothing circles into Taehyung's thighs. "You'll be okay, TaeTae. If anyone hurts you, just tell me, okay? I'll do something about it."

"Don't get into fights because of me, please." Taehyung whispers against Jimin's neck and his voice sounds much more raw–vulnerable–than he wanted, shaking a little and cracking in the middle of 'fights'. "I don't want to be the reason you get hurt anymore.."

Jimin's frown deepens and he sighs again. "Aright, alright. I won't get into fights. But I will talk to them about it."

"Okay," Taehyung replies quietly, pressing a little kiss to Jimin's neck in thanks for agreeing to no fights and turns his head a little to continue watching everything go by.

Eventually, Jimin's arms get tired so he moves until he's cross-legged and Taehyung has to sit on his lap, blushing bright, whilst Jimin is very pleased with the position and has his arms around Taehyung's hips; and eventually the sun is dipping behind the horizon from how long they've been simply flying through the sky and talking with each other or looking at how beautiful everything is.

(Hoseok and Jeongguk aren't surprised when Taehyung tells them he and Jimin are dating the next day, Jimin smiling bright by his side with an arm around Taehyung's shoulders. The rest of the school, however, is; extremely. Nobody boos or anything because Jimin is talking and no one talks when Park Jimin is talking; Taehyung immediately drags Jimin away when he's done to hide under the stairs, face bright red from the compliments Jimin fit into his sentences and tears in his eyes from the fear of what might happen to him now. Jimin simply held him close and kissed away his tears, soothing him with gentle touches and light caresses.

Namjoon, Seokjin and Yoongi aren't very surprised either, though; Namjoon tenses a little at the sight of Taehyung and looks away from him, refusing to make eye contact with him until Taehyung walked up to him with a smile. "I was being serious when I said I forgive you, Namjoon." He had said, holding out his hand towards him. "Can we be friends?"

Namjoon seemed a little shy and surprised Taehyung had forgave him for trying to kill him, but grabbed his hand with a smile and said yes anyways. Seokjin nags at Jimin to not let this relationship get into the way of his job, and Taehyung giggles at Namjoon's side at how much of a mother he sounds like. Yoongi had simply grunted out a "hi, name's Yoongi, welcome to the family or some " before falling back asleep on the chair with his paperwork all around the floor and desk by his feet with their cat curled up on his lap.

People do try to gang up on Taehyung and beat him up, but Jimin, Jeongguk or Hoseok is usually there to stop it; the necklace Jeongguk laced with a protection spell had protected him from most non-physical attacks, though a few seventh or eighth level spells had been placed on Taehyung and Jimin ran around like his head was cut off to figure out how to break it every time, tears running down his face and shouting until his throat was raw. Despite all this though, they manage. And they're happy.)

if anyone noticed this was inspired by the anime Dance with Devils, u my pal.