Rain || Taekook

Epilogue

Hoseok's laugh lit up the room. Jungkook hadn't even said the joke that loud, but now the whole room was shaking with raucous, infectious cackling. Everyone else sitting on the couches in the common room couldn't help but laugh too.

Taehyung glowed. The rainy season was over, and everything felt right. Jimin sat on Yoongi's lap, leaning back and whispering to his boyfriend through a wide grin. Yoongi's hands rested on Jimin's hips. Engagement rings sparkled on both of their hands. Seokjin had an arm slung around Namjoon, and Namjoon had a rare smile on his lips. Hoseok singlehandedly kept the conversation alive, just like he always did. There was no trace of the previous animosity.

Seokjin and Taehyung had talked in private, and though things would never fully be the same, the two were able to be friends again. The group had taken Taehyung back, and they accepted Jungkook as well.

Looking at Jungkook, Taehyung felt his heart swell. The boy had come completely out of his shell in the past few weeks. His confidence has blossomed under Taehyung's protective wing, and he never stopped smiling. These days, Jungkook even smiled in his sleep. Gone was the boy that dashed through the rain to the library every day. Gone was the boy that made himself small and unnoticeable. This boy raised his face to the sunlight and spoke his mind. He was never afraid to grab Taehyung's wrist and pull him into the bedroom—or a public bathroom, or a broom closet, or once even outside behind a strip mall—, nor was he afraid to tell Taehyung every single thing that bothered him, or upset him, or made him happy. Jungkook had grown into himself. He had become who he was destined to be. One arm around the bright boy, Taehyung's free hand felt the lump in his pocket. Any moment now. He knew Jungkook would love the ring and wear it proudly. Sunlight streamed through the windows into the noisy room, and Taehyung reassured himself that he could do it. The noise lapsed briefly, and Taehyung pulled the velvety box out of his pocket. This was his chance.