before we meet again

coming back home

"I can't breathe!"

Jimin could barely speak through the strong arms wrapped around him.

His friend, who had looked much smaller than him when he left, is now over his height, doubling his body size.

"I missed you like crazy!" the young one whines.

Jimin smiles as he looks into Jungkook's shining eyes when they pull back, he has been had a strange but beautiful effect on Jimin. The sparkles in his eyes always made him feel at home.

"I missed you too, Kookie," Jimin says as he picks up his suitcase, which fell when his friend gave him a harsh hug.

"Your house has completely changed," he continues, and when he enters the door of the small but wealthy looking student type house, he is greeted by a clearly designed sitting group a few meters ahead, steps in that direction.

He feels how tired he is when he fully realizes that he is now at the end of his travel. He's not much of a jet lag person, but he can't claim that he doesn't have that feeling right now.

"What about me?" Jungkook asks, standing, running his hands through his long hair after waiting for Jimin to settle down on the seat, "Have I changed too?"

Jimin laughs aloud as he rests his head on the back of the seat, "No, you still look like my little bunny Kookie."

Jungkook also sits next to him on the sofa, rolling his eyes before speaking, "You and Taehyung are the only ones who still calling me bunn-" he suddenly realizes what he is saying and stops himself, averts his gaze from his friend, "I'm sorry. It hasn't been 5 minutes since you have been here and I mentioned his name like an idiot."

"No need to apologize, Kook," Jimin smiles understandingly, "I came back here aware of everything, I'm not running away from him after all."

"But,"

At first, Jungkook doesn't know how to continue his word, then he stops and looks at the soft face in front of him, the owner of the eyes that continue to shine despite every tear he shed on his own shoulder.

After all, it's Jimin. Sometimes it's his Hyung, sometimes it's his Jiminie, who's like his little brother curled up in his lap like a child. He didn't need to be afraid of his words because Jimin always knew he wanted the best for him.

"You were so upset when you left here, you can't say it wasn't because of him, and-"

Jungkook stops completing his sentence as he lowers his gaze to the hand on his knee, obviously Jimin doesn't want him to do that either.

"I can't blame him for my own feelings, Jungkook, we talked about this with you back then."

"I know, but everyone knew how much you cared for each other, what you had was like no one else's, not an easy thing to find and yet," Jungkook is shaking his head slowly as he speaks, as if years had passed and he still didn't quite understand what had happened and why their relationship had become the way it is, "He didn't do anything to fix you either, Hyung."

"Maybe we've looked at what we have from different angles," Jimin squints a little as the bitter sweet ache from the wound of the past, "Besides, I haven't given him much opportunity to see if he's going to want to fix things, you know, I-" I ran away.

Even though he didn't finish his sentence aloud, even though he never admitted it, and always showed his education for the reason he left, he and his friends knew what the truth was.

Jungkook lifts his gaze to him, with that cute timid pucker on his lips, "You're not secretly hating me because I still love him, are you?"

"Ah, Kookie!" Jimin stands up while laughing in a kind of ironic way and grabs one of the small pillows, pats him on the chest, "We're all still friends, why wouldn't you love him, don't talk nonsense!"

Jimin pushes Jungkook's legs stretched out on the coffee table in the middle with his knee and throws the pillow in his hand towards him as he passes by, the young one hugs the pillow with a laugh as he sinks into where he is sitting.

"What about you,"

Jimin pauses for a moment because of the words pouring out of Jungkook's mouth.

"How do you feel about him, Hyung?"

Jimin is aware that he can't lie to Jungkook, and although he understands his curiosity and concern, he doesn't have an answer that he can give.

He turns around and gives him a little smile anyway, hoping that it will be enough for him, that he'll understand that this is all he can do.

And Jimin leaves his question, which he asks in a tone full of compassion, hanging in the air.

He directs his weary steps towards the guest bathroom that he knows in a way feels like he had just left yesterday and came back today.

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