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Lava still courses through Taehyung's veins even as he sits on the cement block in the empty parking spot next to Jungkook's car. The constant gusts of April wind do little to subside his anger as he awaits his best friend using the restroom to drive him home. Even in his intoxicated state, although wearing off a bit, blurry images of Lucas' body pressed against yours flash through his mind and each time they do, he feels the urge to run back inside and bruise the man up even more. Whether you were enjoying the interaction or not had not even crossed his mind as he pummeled him, but taking into account your stance as he approached you, he takes a wild guess that you were not having fun.

The sight of the bulky security guard who escorted him out disrupts his thoughts. Teo peeks at the man seated unthreateningly on his occasional perimeter stroll and Taehyung sends him a small wave to which he returns a glare. He chuckles after he turns the corner, but suddenly realizes that is the third time he has seen Teo pass by meaning that Jungkook either had one too many buffalo wings or he forgot that he was his designated driver. Patting around his jacket for his phone, he swiftly takes it out, a small lilac box falling out as well in the process. He gasps before bending down and hastily stuffing it back in as he punches in his best friend's contact.

The line rings and his eyes idly glaze the almost empty parking lot on the side of Bang's. They fixate on a screen door in the back slam shut as a silhouette of someone emerges. He can see the head moving around, as if searching for somebody, but the lack of light and sobriety do little to help him make out the figure.

At least until the head looks at him

"Kookie Kookie Kookie pick up," he whisper yells as if the other man could hear him. He watches with wide eyes as the figure now starts towards him, prompting him to stand up. "H-Hey man chill. You can't walk up to a person like that-

You cross the threshold separating the restaurant from the parking lot, and step onto the gravel, allowing the fluorescent lights to illuminate your face and making Taehyung completely stop his sentence.

"Y/N?"

He grins but it falters when he realizes you don't stop walking, and with all your might you push him back.

"What the hell were you thinking!"

He trips on the block he was previously sitting on and grasps Jungkook's side mirror to steady himself. "What," he struggles to ask.

"I had that situation under control! I didn't need you to come save me!"

You push his chest again, this time completely making him fall. He grimaces when his back collides with the gravel. The sound almost makes you question whether you went too far but you fight it, too livid to entertain your guilt complex in the moment.

Slowly he stands up again, dusting off his jacket. "Under control?" He asks, agitated. "You call this," he mimics the position you were in before Lucas hit you with his hands out, "under control. I helped you-"

"I didn't need help! And considering how you acted, you are the last person I would ever ask for anything," you exasperate.

"Well tough shit, Y/N. Sorry I helped you even when you didn't ask for it, sorry I was just being a good samaritan-"

"You think punching the shit out of his face makes you a good samaritan?!" He shrugs and you groan. "You made a scene, it was exactly what I was trying to avoid, Taehyung. It made people leave."

He blinks at you in awe. "Y/N, you could've been fucking hit by a man and you're worried about customers leaving, listen to yourself. It's okay to admit you-"

"What do you care!" You scream, now recounting where all the anger towards him roots from. "Aren't I just like any other random girl you've fucked. Why do you all of a sudden care about what happens to me?"

He purses his lips, his dragon eyes of fury softening. His silence extinguishes your rage. He averts his gaze on you, allowing you to admire his golden skin tinted blue under the moonlight, his tiny silver hoops making an appearance.

"I didn't deserve that," you say, "and I think you know that."

"I know." His voice is almost a whisper.

"Then why didn't you bother to apologize," your voice slightly cracks and his eyes return to your face in a panic at the prospect of you crying. Reading his cautious expression, you try to blink away the tears you failed to notice brim your eyes. You clear your throat and turn to face Bang's in an effort to recuperate, "but it's okay because I had a feeling you would do something like this sooner or later. So maybe it's better that it ended like it did. I just came out here to scold you for hitting a customer so I'll just go-"

"I can't stop thinking about you." You stop in your tracks, back still turned to him.

"Cheesy," you retort, your serious tone juxtaposing your childish word.

"I've tried," he lets out a bitter chuckle. "Believe me I have. But I just can't. And I would literally give my pinky toe to understand why."

You fake scoff, "just your pinky toe?"

Finally meeting his face, you see him send you a small smile before shaking his head. "Fine, maybe my big toe too, don't like that one that much anyway."

You give a curt nod of approval and he continues. "And I know this will never erase what I said or how I acted but I'm so sorry, Y/N. And if you don't forgive me, I won't be surprised but at least let me still be part of your life because I miss you."

"I-I miss you too," is all you can seem to muster in this on the spot moment. "Who knew you were any good at apologies, asshole."

"I'm pretty sure I got this one from a movie," he shows a cheeky grin, testing the waters of your leniency with him at the moment. When you send a small smile back, every muscle he did not even know was tense relaxes. "I'm also getting tired of replaying the same memories of your smile, I would really like some new ones."

You roll your eyes and his heart skips a beat. "Friends?" He holds a hand out for you to shake. Apprehensively, you slip it into his and he slowly shakes it. "With benefits," he whispers and you yank your hand back out with a huff. He chuckles, "kidding, kidding. Come here." He tugs on your wrist as he pulls you into him but stops when you wince. Faintly, he notices a ring of red on it and his soft eyes are gone. "Y/N," he says with a stern voice and you look up, "the only thing stopping me from going in there and kicking his ass again is you hugging me. So I think, for the good of the world, you should."

"Smooth," you roll your eyes before wrapping your arms around his waist. You find comfort nuzzled in his chest, his sandalwood cologne putting you in a brief state of reverie. You hope that the voice in your mind warning you to triple the iron barricades around your heart subsides soon enough to trust that Taehyung will not hurt you with his words again. Maybe keeping him in your life will be an even bigger mistake, but what's life without a couple of those? You silently pray to whatever entity who brings itself to hear your sappy words, that you deciding to keep Kim Taehyung close to you will not backfire. And that the stars will align just enough to allow both of you to have many more moments with each other just like this one in your futures.

But right now, all you can do is relish this one.

And he resides in that same state as he breathes in the scent of your lavender shampoo, the entire world seeming to fade into nothing but the subtle buzz of cars passing by and blurry city lights. He wraps his arms tighter, savoring the feeling of your body pressed perfectly against his, the loose wisps of your hair tickling his chin, and your breath against his chest, not knowing when the next time he will find an intimacy that matches this ever again. And as much as he wants to drop to his knees and beg you to give him another chance, he knows this is right.

He has de-trailed a very special gecko. Now he has to let her grow back, and he can't get in the way of that.

"What's this?" You ask as you pat the outline of a box in his front jacket pocket, snapping him out of his trance.

"Oh yeah!" He remembers, quickly taking out the lilac box. "I got you something."

"You- you didn't have to-"

"Shush," he pinches your cheek and drops to one knee.

"Stop it," your brow furrows and he laughs as you panic at his stance.

"Yoongi told me I should've called you and he was right, I should have. So, thought I should try to apologize now but can you believe the liquor store across the street doesn't sell flowers?"

You shake your head as he continues, "so I was panicking until I saw one of those toy vending machines outside. Long story short, life gave me lemons and I made lemonade."

He cracks open the box as well as a grin and holds up a Tigger key chain.

"Why Tigger?" You ask with a smile as he places it in your hands carefully as if it were a diamond.

"I remember from the night we met you had a Winnie the Pooh key chain hanging from your mirror and thought he could use a friend. Just like I could use you," his eyes widen, "n-not use you like use you but like use you. As a friend." You giggle. "Shit, Y/N. I'm not even drunk anymore but it feels like it whenever I'm around you."

"I love it," you smile and only then does Taehyung realize that he has smiled more during your interaction than he has in the last three weeks without you.

Back inside the restaurant, Namjoon tends to a sore faced Lucas in the restroom.

"Do you want to go to a hospital?" He asks, gently pressing an ice pack to his swollen cheek. Lucas shakes his head, wincing at the minor movement. Jungkook strolls in, humming an incoherent tune. Namjoon watches as the man dances around each urinal, silently assessing which one he will decide to use. Jungkook whirls around and smiles at the sight of the two watching him strangely.

"You!" He runs towards Lucas who puts out his hands in a lame defense. Jungkook gives him tight hug, "thank you!"

"For what," Lucas replies in a strained voice.

"For letting Taehyung and Y/N get back together, duh!"

Namjoon drops the ice pack onto the quartz countertop with a clank. "What," he breathes out.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for that little fight Taehyung would've never gotten kicked out and Y/N would've never followed him out just so they can make up and be all lovey dovey outside." Jungkook wears a cheesy grin before directing his attention back to Lucas, "so thank you, pervert."

"Yeah, whatever," Lucas grumbles, "only explanation for her turning me down had to be because of that guy."

"Either way, I'm glad he's finally getting the happiness he deserves," Jungkook pipes, grimacing at the sight of the face of the wounded man.

Lucas scoffs, "deserves? He's already got a company and a fiancée. What else does he need?"

Namjoon narrows his eyes. "What do you mean he's got a fiancée?"

"Taehyung's fixed to marry another girl by the end of next month-"

"Key word being fixed as in not voluntarily," Jungkook cuts in.

"So, he's trying to get back with Y/N but he's planning to marry someone else?" Namjoon doesn't know whether to feel overjoyed or sorry or even nauseous at the roller coaster of emotions he's experienced tonight.

"Um, who are you if you don't mind me asking," Jungkook squints at the nosy man.

"Namjoon," he shoves the ice pack into Jungkook's hands whose mouth forms an O at the memory of the name in Taehyung's rant and darts out of the bathroom.

He marches through the kitchen, the sheer nature of his heavy stomps enough to interrupt Jin's aggressive chopping. Passing off his work to another chef, he dashes in the same direction of his younger brother and catches his arm just as he steps out the door.

"Whoa there monster, what's up with you?"

"She's going back to him and she can't because-"

"Because what?" Jin and Namjoon both see you embrace each other in the distance. Namjoon shakes his head.

"She can't let herself get hurt by him again." Jin narrows his eyes and recognizes just by his brother's tone that he's hiding something.

"Namjoon." His eyes perk up at the lack of nickname. "I don't know what angle you're playing at to get to Y/N-"

"But Jin I just heard-"

Jin raises his hand to stop him. "But please stop. I don't know why you're acting like this and frankly it's kind of desperate. What are you gonna do, walk over and tell her everything bad you've heard about him? And then what? She's gonna run into your arms and confess that it's actually you who she's been in love with the entire time?"

Namjoon smiles, "yeah-"

"No, Monster." Jin sighs, pulling his brother back a bit to help disguise his tall frame in the darkness. "Look, you really love Y/N?"

Namjoon's eyes cut to your figure for a beat and he nods.

"Then let her be happy. You heard it yourself how much she liked that guy and you saw how sad she's been the last couple of weeks. How we watched her leave work with a different guy every day. You couldn't stop her, and you know why?" He scans Namjoon's solemn expression. "Because believe it or not, Monster, you can't control everything around you and manipulate it to work out in your favor. That's not how life works. That's not love."

His eyes drop to his feet. Namjoon has always been successful in every aspect of his life because he's always strategically planned every detail to ensure nothing but that. And although no one doubts this methodical thinking, considering the now prosperous Bang's that once started as a building that people avoided, when it came to more personal relationships it has proven to not work out in his favor.

"Be there when she needs you." Jin says in a low voice, weary of the conflict in his brother's eyes. "Don't force something that isn't there."

And although Namjoon wants nothing more than to run over and punch the man himself for even thinking he could successfully waltz back into your life in a drunken stupor after the nasty things he said, he merely sighs in defeat. He sags his shoulders and without a single word, brushes past Jin and walks to his office where he slams the wooden door.

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Boyfriend material is back but y/n and Taehyung aren't ;(

the entire first half of this chapter i wrote right after i finished the last one, but the rest was really hard to write because i couldn't visualize it

but i did it 🤟🏽😎🤟🏽

p.s. DNA era Taehyung was such a blessing