"jeonggukie? can i tell you something?" taehyung asks quietly, standing outside of jeongguk's dorm room door. taehyung had a big secret and they needed to tell somebody so badly. they needed to get it off his chest so so badly and they knew their boyfriend would listen.
"ah, come in, hyung!" jeongguk calls from his room, pausing the video game he was playing. he smiles warmly at his boyfriend, patting the space on the bed next to him. "come, sit down, hyung. what's up?"
jeongguk doesn't miss the way taehyung flinches when jeongguk speaks, a small frown replacing the warm smile on his face. "hey, what's wrong, hyung?"
taehyung inhales deeply, their heart beginning to beat even faster. they can feel their chest moving up and down faster than earlier. they blink, exhale and say, "jeongguk, you love me, right?"
jeongguk's eyes furrow in confusion. he looks deeply into taehyung's eyes, trying to see where this was all coming from. "of course, lovely. why?" oh no, jeongguk thinks. was he not affectionate enough with his boyfriend? did his boyfriend not believe jeongguk loved him?
"a-and you'll love me no matter what?"
"of course i will, hey, hyung, what's going on?" jeongguk asks, holding into taehyung's hand tightly.
taehyung's vision starts to blur and before they can say anything, they let out a soft sob, hands flying to cover their face. their body begins to shake as each sob erupts from their chest. "please promise y-you won't," they pause, slightly unable to breathe. "please promise me you won't hate me, jeongguk, please!"
"h-hyung," jeongguk whispers, tears filling his eyes. he absolutely hated it when his hyungs cried. especially when his boyfriend cried. jeongguk pulls taehyung close to his chest, holding him tightly as he cries. with one hand, he strokes his hair gently, soothingly. with the other hand, he rubs taehyungs back. "hyung, i swear on my life, i'll never ever hate you. i love you so, so much, taehyungie hyung, you have absolutely no idea how much i love you. please, tell me what's going on, baby. i can't help you if you don't let me know." jeongguk whispers softly, pressing a kiss to the top of taehyung's head.
the two of them stay like that for a little while, the only sounds in the room being taehyung's cries and jeongguk's quiet 'i love you's.
taehyung pulls away, unable to make eye contact with their boyfriend. they could have sworn they were ready to come out. earlier when they were standing in front of jeongguk's room, they swore they were ready to tell jeongguk. but suddenly, that braveness and that confidence was gone.
"i-i'm sorry, jeongguk. i'm just so, so fucking sc-scared. what if i tell you, a-and you decide you can't love me anymore? wh-what if you think i'm a freak?" they ask quietly through deep sniffs, unable to breathe properly.
"hey, no, baby boy, i swear to you, hyung, i swear i would never, ever think like that. not before, not now and not ever. i love you with everything i have, taehyungie. you're my absolutely everything, taehyung. i love you so, so much, hyung." jeongguk promises, worry starting to seep through his words as he sees the way taehyung flinches again.
what was it that taehyung was so afraid of saying?
taehyung inhales deeply again. then exhales. "i'm not a boy, jeonggukie, i'm nonbinary." taehyung says. they break down again, tears rolling down their cheeks at an extremely fast pace as another sob rips from inside of them. "i'm sorry-" they try and say but jeongguk cuts them off with a soft, gentle kiss to their lips.
jeongguk smiles warmly, taking taehyung's hands into his. he looks into taehyung's eyes and wipes at their cheeks, tears smearing all over their face. "taehyung, no, please don't apologise. i'm so, so proud of you for telling me, baby. i love you so, so much." jeongguk whispers into taehyung's ears before pulling them into a big hug.
"y-you really don't hate me? or think i'm a freak?" taehyung asks and it's oh, so heartbreaking, the way their voice is slightly muffled by jeongguk's shirt and it's so quiet and uncertain.
jeongguk shakes his head. "what pronouns do you use, lovely? and is your name still taehyung?"
taehyung releases a shaky breath. "i-i'd like to use they and them pronouns, jeonggukie. and also sometimes she and her pronouns. i think that'd make me feel nice. a-and yeah, taehyung is fine."
jeongguk pulls away from the hug to look deeply into taehyung's lovely brown eyes. "i love taehyung so, so much. they're so fucking incredible and i am so unbelievably proud of her. i really, really hope they know how much i love them, which is so, so much. she's so, so beautiful and they're the love and light of my life." jeongguk says softly.
taehyung's jaw drops. they can't believe what jeongguk just said. they crawl into jeongguk's lap tiredly, wrapping their arms around his neck and they hug him so, so tightly. "jeongguk, i love you. so much, so, so much. thank you. thank you so much, you're so nice to me." taehyung whispers, the last of their tears dropping onto jeongguk's white shirt.
"baby~" jeongguk cooes softly, rubbing taehyung's back. "i thought you were going to tell me you murdered someone, or something. baby, no matter who you are, or what you identify as, or what pronouns you use, or what name you have, or whatever, i'll always, always be proud of you and support you." jeongguk whispers, kissing the top of taehyung's head. "i'll also stop calling you hyung, if you would like me to."
taehyung nods their head, relief washing through their body. "i would really like that, jeongguk. thank you. do you think we could go to sleep now, and later on when i come out to everyone else, you could be there with me?"
jeongguk nods. "of course baby."
the two of them fall asleep together, cuddled up in jeongguk's bed.
everything would be okay.
