Sunshine

Chapter 4 ~puppies and misunderstandings~

It had been a few weeks since Jimin's confession, and to Tae's relief, Jimin didn't regret telling the others. Most of them still acted the same around him, but Hoseok seemed to be keeping his distance. Jimin hadn't noticed Hoseok's change in behaviour and Tae made it his business to keep it that way.
With a nervous tremble and sigh of frustration, Tae approached the basketball court after school had ended. He knew, of course, that he couldn't expect everyone to be as excepting of Jimin as he himself had been, but he been convinced that to his friends at least, Jimin's sexuality would change little of their opinions of him. It seemed especially strange that Hoseok would be the one with the issue considering when Jin and Namjoon had come out with their relationship, Hoseok had been the most supportive and the least surprised by it.
Yoongi and Hoseok were running laps around the court as they did every afternoon. They were on the last stretch when Tae stepped into their path, making them stop. Breathing heavily, Yoongi bent over to catch his breath, supporting most of his weight on his kees.  "What's up?" Hoseok asked, sensing some tension.
"What's going on with you, Hobi?" Tae responded flatly. Yoongi eyed them both and started to leave so they could have some privacy, but Tae stopped him, explains that he wanted him there so they knew how serious he was.
Hoseok frowned, and expressed his confusion. He had no idea what Tae had meant.
"I mean," Tae said beginning to lose patience, "what's your problem with my cousin." Tae folded his arms in front of his chest and Yoongi shuffled uncomfortably.
Avoiding eye contact,  Hoseok grabbed his water bottle off the bleachers and took a long drink before answering. "I don't have a problem." He said awkwardly adjusting his cap. Snatching the bottle from Hoseok's hand, Tae stifled the urge to throw it at him. Yoongi have a sidelong look at Hoseok and sat on the ground, wishing he could go home and sleep. He had noticed his friend's reluctance to be around Jimin, but had come to a very different conclusion than Tae. He had decided to leave the subject alone unless Hoseok brought it up himself. Yoongi was savage, blunt, a little cold and easily irritated, but he was not a meddler in other people's business, and no one could ever accuse him of being a bad friend. Despite most appearances, he did actually care about everyone, he just wasn't good at expressing himself and knew most of them well enough to leave certain things unsaid. He did however acknowledge Tae's right to feel angry.
Tae stared Hoseok down, willing him to explain himself truthfully. After a silence that dragged out too long and made everyone even more uncomfortable, Hoseok finally looked directly at Tae. "I don't have a problem with Jimin, okay?" He said. It was at this time Jimin and jungkook, who had been looking for Tae, spotted them talking and jogged over in time to hear his name. He approached the slower and could feel nervousness creeping up inside him as he saw Tae looking angry and Hoseok and Yoongi looking uncomfortable. Yoongi was the only one of the three to notice the arrival of Jimin and Jungkook.
Tae stared at Hoseok in disbelief, "Like hell you don't!" He snapped angrily. Grasping the situation, Jimin stopped and shared a worried look with Jungkook. Jungkook took Jimin's hand to lead him away, and Jimin would have gone with him if at that moment, Tae had not lost all control of his emotions and pushed Hoseok hard in the chest, forcing him backward. The unprepared Hoseok fell back, putting his arms behind him just in time to lessen the impact of the fall. Stunned, he stared at Tae as Yoongi got up quickly and stepped between them. Jimin and Jungkook ran forward and grabbed Tae's arms as he was getting ready to throw a punch. "You've got no idea what he's gone through, arsehole!" He yelled before realising who was holding him back. Mortified, Tae began to stammer false explanations to Jimin in order to try spare his feelings. Jimin, ignoring Tae, gave Hoseok an apologetic smile before letting go of his cousin and helping him to his feet.  Satisfied that there was to be no more violence, Yoongi spoke up for the first time. "This misunderstanding will be better cleared up once you've both calmed down." He looked into Tae's eyes as he spoke.
"Let's go." Jimin said taking Tae's hand and walking away with him and Jungkook.
Hoseok, not knowing what it was he was feeling, turned to Yoongi and said in a soft voice, "I really don't have a problem." Yoongi simply nodded and indicated that they should head home. He was determined to say nothing more on the subject until Hoseok had figured out for himself why he felt weird around Jimin. "Let's grab some burgers before going home. Im hungry." Yoongi wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, hoping that everything would be resolved  soon and life could return to being peaceful.
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Jimin found himself needing to go outside and clear his head after having listened to Tae ranting about Hoseok for the last hour. Lines like 'we don't need him,' 'You've done nothing wrong,' and 'Don't worry about it.' Were yelled at full volume at every chance he got. Jimin was glad his mother hadn't gotten home until Tae had left because that would have added a whole other level of stress.
He walked kind of slow, dragging his feet and letting his mind wonder. As he was walking over a footbridge that crosses over the river, he saw someone on the bank run and jump into the water. It was late evening and a chill was sweeping over the town, so Jimin knew it wasn't a pleasure swim. Pushing down panic, he ran the rest of the way across the bridge and down to the water's edge where he could be of assistance if necessary.
Concerned and surprised, he saw Hoseok emerge from the water and stumble onto the bank, before flopping down to catch his breath. Jimin crouched over him and spotted a small shivering ball of hair cradled into the nook of one of Hoseok's arms. Even though it was getting dark, Jimin could clearly see Hoseok, who had his eyes closed, was shivering too. "Hobi?" Jimin said, Hoseok's eyes opening at the sound of his voice. "Jimin." He responded unable to keep the surprise from his tone.
Jimin quickly took his coat off, and assisted Hoseok in taking his wet shirt off, before giving it to him. Hoseok accepted the help and coat thankfully, sighing a the warmth it gave him, and wrapping the hairball in one side of it.
"Can I see?" Jimin asked curiously, glad that he'd happened upon them, and equally as glad that he'd worn his oversized coat. Hoseok handed him the small thing and Jimin looked it over. His heart melted as he let out an "awwe". The cutest little puppy shivered and licked Jimin's fingers as if to say thank you.
Hoseok watched them, noting that the weird fluttery feeling he got around Jimin had returned. He could smell a clean and sweet smell on Jimin's coat and kicked himself mentally when his face grew hot for feeling like a creep sniffing another guy's clothes, and liking it. This would be another thing to relate to Yoongi later. Maybe this time Yoongi would agree with him and say that he really was weird after all. He had tried sniffing Yoongi once, who put up with it with a screwed up nose and squinted eyes. Even though he thought Yoongi smelt good, it didn't make him feel weird the way Jimin did.
In a way that Hoseok thought to be the most adorable thing he'd ever seen, Jimin giggled, "I think she likes me." And looked up at Hoseok who could feel his chest tighten. Mentally kicking himself again, he cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'd say she does... What should I do with her now? Mama's allergic." He responded. Jimin smiled at Hoseok calling his mother Mama. 'Cute' he thought to himself before thinking about what to do with the puppy. "Bring her to my place, my Ma will know what to do." He got up, handing the puppy back to Hoseok as he spoke. "Come on then." He said, giving the puppy a quick scratch on the head before setting off, leaving Hoseok no choice but to follow.
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Chapter 4 is done! I hope everyone is having a good time and not stressing too much over Christmas. Please look forward to chapter 5 in the next day or 2 where we figure out what to do with the puppy, and see if Tae and Hobi can make up. xoxo ~Theriese