Come back to me [SOPE]

Chapter 4

Suga froze at the question, his breath catching in his throat. He couldn't respond. J-Hope's words stirred up a flood of memories, all tied to the man standing behind him. Their lives were intertwined, starting from childhood, and now those memories felt heavier than ever. J-Hope gently repeated, "Tell me, hyung. Did you find someone to hold you like this? Is he warm enough?" His tone wasn't angry, but there was a sadness beneath the surface, a quiet pain that came through with every word.

He continued, the vulnerability in his voice impossible to ignore. "Hyung, tell me you found the right hands to fill the spaces in yours. Have they held you gently? Tell me no one's ever hurt you, no one's ever forced you to do anything against your will. Just tell me you're safe and happy."

Each question broke something inside Suga. He stood there, his hands gripping J-Hope's arms, holding onto him without even realizing it. But words wouldn't come. Instead, silent tears fell. He tried to stop them, but J-Hope felt the tremor in Suga's body and turned him around, wrapping him in his arms.

Suga wept quietly in his embrace. It wasn't something he did often. He was always composed, never letting his emotions show. But with J-Hope, he didn't need to pretend. J-Hope had always been his safe space, the one person who could see through the walls Suga built around himself.

When the tears finally stopped, Suga pulled away, trying to compose himself. J-Hope reached up to wipe the remaining tears from his cheeks, but Suga stepped back, declining with a shake of his head. He washed his face in the sink, pulling himself together before turning to J-Hope, his voice firm, almost cold.

"It's better for both of us if we don't meet like this anymore," he said, avoiding J-Hope's eyes as he reached for his umbrella. "I should leave."

J-Hope's voice was quick, almost pleading. "It's still pouring outside, hyung."

Without looking back, Suga replied, "I'm not made of sugar to melt in the rain."

J-Hope let out a bitter laugh, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Is that it? You leave whenever you feel like it, just like always. Come and take what you want, then leave when it suits you. Never a thought for the one you left behind, huh? I should've known better than to expect anything different from you, hyung."

Suga froze, his patience snapping under the weight of J-Hope's words. He turned sharply, his eyes dark and fierce, his voice like a low growl. "One more word about me 'dumping' you, and I swear, you won't find your head where it belongs," he snapped, his tone venomous. "In case you've conveniently forgotten, you were the one who signed those divorce papers without a fight."

J-Hope's face hardened, his hurt mixing with frustration. "Yes, hyung. After you threw them in my face. After you made it clear I wasn't wanted in that relationship anymore."

Suga shot back, "Which, in the end, made us both better off, didn't it? Can you really argue otherwise?"

J-Hope's jaw clenched, his voice rising with the emotion he had been holding back. "Better off, huh? What are we talking about here, hyung? Our careers? Our bank accounts? Is that all that mattered to you? Is that what you consider 'better'?"

Suga's defenses rose. "You're still out there, being your usual sunshine self. You're growing in your career, you've got a life, a home, and a kitten you call family. How can you not see those as good things, J-Hope? You're thriving."

J-Hope's eyes softened, the frustration giving way to something deeper, something more vulnerable. "Do you really think we couldn't have had all that and still been together? That we couldn't have made it work?"

Suga pressed his lips together, the weight of J-Hope's question sinking into him. He didn't want to be here, standing in the storm of emotions they had long buried. The old wounds were reopening, and Suga knew that going down this path would only bring more pain. And he didn't want to hurt J-Hope any more than he already had.