Arranged | Jinkook ✓

Chapter 26.0

Seokjin was not Jimin.

And finally he understood that.

...

"Seokjin." His name played upon the wind, a weak, gentle sound that had him panicking. Had him pushing himself upwards, rapidly trying to wipe away the remnents of his shame with the back of his hand. Had him stumbled across the barren land, body practically colliding with the princes in his eagerness to return him to the darkness.

There were no wounds this time, just the itchy pink rash that seemed to form so quickly. And he pressed cool palms against the heated surface, hoping to cool it. To somehow relieve the discomfort he knew must be occuring.

"I'm sorry." It came out choked, broken in a way he hadn't intended for it too. Shifted and tried to mold his body so it's shadowed blocked the light. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to run from you. It's just -"

So much. Far too much for any one person.

Yet it made sense. Why he always felt so far removed from those particular memories. As though he were watching them happen to someone else instead of expriencing them.

And yet it had always been different with Jungkook. Perhaps it was simply that he longed to be in his presence so much that he forced himself past that particular mental block. Maybe his own heart simply couldn't stop it from happening.

Jimin had loved Taehyung.

He understood it. He did. Knew all of the reasons why. Couldn't blame him despite how hard he might have tried.

But Seokjin loved Jungkook.

Loved him in ways that didn't make sense. Loved him like he was the air surrounding him, filling his lungs and keeping him alive. Loved him like he was the actual other half of his own battered soul.

And that made then fundamentally different.

"How could he not love you?" The words slipped forth quietly, thumbs ghosting beneath each brilliantly colored eye, touch soft and gentle, fully aware of the burns that still remained. Everything within him just couldn't seem to understand. Couldn't force himself to wrap his mind around the concept of not loving Jungkook.

It felt as if he had loved him his entire life.

How could he not want this? These moments where it felt like their hearts connected? Where it felt as though they were breathing the same air? Filling each others lungs, giving of themselves until they became someone else. Until they were more each other than they were themselves.

He didn't understand. He would never understand.

Because it was so easy for him to love Jungkook. To fall for him every single time he looked into his eyes. To want to be within his presence. To want to feel those arms around him.

Arms that loved him.

His own fluttered closed, thick lashes pressing against his cheeks as he leaned in, tilting his head, nose nudging against the other's before their lips connected. It was so slow. Slow and deep and he felt it, sparking within his own core. The flame that danced within him responding to it's match.

Seokjin loved Jungkook.

Loved him now, in this moment, within the present and would into the future. Knew that this love was real, not something created from memories or left over emotions that had once belonged to another.

Seokjin loved Jungkook.

And he finally understood that.

...