CW // Toxic relationship, domestic violence

"Joon-hyung, have you seen my keys?" Taehyung asked as he entered the living room, knowing he would find Namjoon in there.

Namjoon didn't answer, comfortable on the couch with a book in his hands. He heard Taehyung's question. He just didn't care to answer it.

"Joon-hyung." Making his way to the couch, Taehyung stood directly in front of Namjoon and tapped his foot impatiently. "Joon!"

Finally looking up at his short-tempered boyfriend, Namjoon kept his calm facade. "What?"

"Where are my keys?!" Taehyung's patience ran thin way too quickly nowadays. He completely blamed Namjoon for that.

"Your keys? What, they're not by the door?" Namjoon watched as Taehyung's face was turning red with anger, the same anger he loved to trigger almost daily.

Clenching his hands into fists by his sides, Taehyung was very sick of his boyfriend's pretence. "You know they're not by the door! Where did you put them?!"

Namjoon simply shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't touch your keys," he lied. "It's not my fault you lost them again."

At the accusation of losing his keys, which he knew he didn't, Taehyung raised his hand in an offensive position and watched his boyfriend flinch. "I know I left my keys by the door! Now tell me where they are! You're going to make me late for work!"

He was about to give another nonchalant response, but as soon as he shrugged his shoulders, Namjoon felt a hard slap across his face. He closed his book and moved a hand up to the struck cheek. This wasn't the first time Taehyung had hit him, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. "What are you going to do? Beat the answer out of me?"

"If I have to, yeah!" Snatching the book from Namjoon, Taehyung prepared to swing it at him. That was when he got his answer.

"Fine!" Namjoon quickly put both hands up to protect his head from the book if it was used as a weapon, as it would be if he didn't answer. "Your keys are in your left shoe!"

With a final act of anger, Taehyung hit Namjoon with the book once then threw it on the floor before going to get his keys. He hated that Namjoon hid his things to purposely make him angry.

Namjoon was always amused by how quickly he could make Taehyung lose his temper and lash out. It was getting quicker and quicker lately.

Taehyung knew he could get his way by using pain to make Namjoon submit.

They both thought they could be in control of the toxic mess that was their relationship, but maybe neither of them were.

The toxic cycle would burn out eventually, and the two of them would be the casualties.