drift away | j.p. + y.m. (yoonmin)

trente-trois

"We're really getting into the habit of staying here til it gets dark, aren't we?" Jimin giggled, cosily resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Well it gets dark at 5 o'clock. It's not exactly hard..." Yoongi mumbled coldly.

Since the beginning of the pair's early evening meeting, Jimin had been made well aware that Yoongi was not himself. Not only was he was barely able to look him in the eye, but whenever Jimin attempted to engage in conversation with him, he'd shoot back with a collection of either one word answers or sighs.

"You know what I mean." Jimin feistily replied.

In attempt to ease Yoongi's scowl into a smile, he gently flicked his shoulder and patiently awaited a response. Unusually, it was to no avail. Something had to have been wrong.

"Hey, how was that kid holding up? I didn't get to ask earlier, since I had another class." Jimin spoke again, hoping to at last to receive some sort of well-worded reply.

"He's fine now, I think. He was just a bit shaken up, you know? For a little guy like him it was probably a big shock to just freeze in the water like that." Yoongi hummed lifelessly, his gaze seemingly fixated on the distant tide sweeping back and forth.

Jimin was partly relieved, partly still concerned. He'd finally spoken, yet it definitely wasn't like him to say next to nothing and then everything at once - Yoongi was practically always calm and composed, his answers to questions concise and to the point. Either way, Jimin hopelessly persevered.

"Yeah, I bet it was. Poor kid. At least he's alright now, though." He smiled.

"Jimin?" Yoongi asked, out of nowhere.

"Hm?"

"Can you answer me honestly?" He questioned, sincerity in every word.

This was the Yoongi that Jimin knew so well.

"Yes..." Jimin replied, almost as if he were questioning too.

"That brought something back up for you, didn't it?"

Truthfully, it had. One glance at the boy flailing in the water, sorely clutching his leg inwards and Jimin couldn't help but remember. He was certain Yoongi had noticed his train of thought at the time too - he wasn't stupid. He hoped somewhere that he'd forget, but accepted nonetheless that he'd probably bring it up. Yoongi was inquisitive in that way, such was obvious the first time he'd brought the situation to Jimin.

"What do you mean?" He pondered aloud, trying his hardest to seem clueless.

"The boy, who got close to drowning?" Yoongi stood up seriously.

"I, um..."  Jimin followed.

"Something happened to you. In the ocean. That's why you're scared?"

His eyes glued to the sand below, he could only nod. He should've felt relieved, but for some reason, he didn't. Not in the slightest. Perhaps it was the coldness to Yoongi's eyes, or the way that he had asked it so directly that it was almost intimidating...

"It's just...I'm really embarrassed about it so I'd rather not..." He stammered, barely being able to string his words together.

This closely-held secret had been swirling around his mind for years on end - he couldn't just come out and explain everything without unearthing the pain that it held, too. Before he could even admit this, Yoongi hurled him into his arms at full speed, clutching him inwards as if he were never going to let go.

The hurt and the regret subsided, leaving only deep gratitude for the person holding him.

"It's fine. You know you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. Besides, it's okay to be scared, everybody is afraid of something." Yoongi whispered, subconsciously stroking the shorter boy's hair as he held him.

They stood for a few moments, completely still and submerged entirely in the comfort of  the silence, until a soft, muffled sound could be heard, getting increasingly louder alongside the sudden dampness of Yoongi's shoulder. A wave of clarity swept over him as he lifted Jimin's head to reveal a pair of rosy tear-ridden cheeks and watery eyes. He wasn't crying. He was sobbing.

"No, no, no... don't cry!" Yoongi panicked, hurriedly brushing the tears from his eyes, "Oh no, please Jimin-ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Nobody-" Jimin sniffed, his voice cracking slightly,"has ever said that to me before."

"Said what?" Yoongi softly asked.

"That it's-" He began, pausing to wipe a tear himself, "okay to be scared."

-

WOAH DRAMA
sorry this is lowkey short but hopefully the excess and probably unnecessary drama makes up for it??

song is obviously bts' 'spring day' bc it ruined me!!!!1!1!1!!!

thanks so much for reading, have a great day!
-sophie