At first, the night wasn't all too bad.

Setting up the tent with Jungkook's help worked pretty conveniently, they were probably much quicker than the brunette would have been with Jimin and Hoseok.

So, for many minutes, they were just laying in the dark tent while checking their Social Media and exploring the Internet. The tension was quite awkward since both of the boys obviously had feelings for each other, Taehyung only having realized his feelings for the younger boy recently and Jungkook having worked hard to win the other's heart ever since the first time he saw him.

The problem? Both of them were completely oblivious to each other's feelings. Dense, really.

The brunette did not notice how Jungkook not-so-subtly gazed at him practically every minute.
And Jungkook did not notice the way the brunette softly smiled every time he realized they were actually sharing tents. It wasn't a dream.

When the time passed half past ten PM, the boys suddenly sensed something.
Sounds, on top of their tent.

At first, they were alarmed and thought a wild animal was coming out to attack them, but then they realized how wrong they were.
The sounds were produced by nothing but raindrops splattering on their tent, something completely normal.

Taehyung couldn't help but feel a tiny bit apprehensive, though. Storms were his biggest fear and heavy rainfall was a massive trigger, as he had seen nothing in the weather forecast he felt anxiety bubble up in his stomach. How bad was it going to be?

He turned off his phone and did what he always did, play with his fingers to distract himself.

He bit his lip in discomfort as he heard the rain fall heavier and heavier, shutting his eyelids close and trying to calm his racing heart down.
It's going to be over soon, he told himself.
It's going to be over.

But it wasn't.

It didn't take long for Jungkook to sense that his tent partner wasn't feeling all too great and to recall that Taehyung had listed storms as his biggest fear, him immediately scooting closer and touching his arm as gently as possible.
"You don't like storms, right? Are you scared? Do you want me to hold your hand?," he asked worriedly.

"No. It's okay," the brunette wanted to say but failed to do so as he heard the low growl of the first thunder fill his ears, he flinched and moved closer towards the raven-haired boy while visibly panicking, their shoulders now touching.

Not knowing what to do as he was much more vulnerable than usual with nothing but the tent blocking the emerging storm, he grabbed Jungkook's arm and clung to it, needing something to assure himself safety.
The aforementioned gasped, using his free hand to comb his fingers through the brunette's hair in attempt to comfort him.

"Shit. Don't be scared, please, it's just a little thunder. You're gonna get through this, alright?," he mumbled, stroking Taehyung's cheek with his index finger. He felt his heart sink to the bottom of the pit; he didn't know the other's fear would be this bad.

The next few minutes were silent, Taehyung visibly calming down as no more thunder could be heard but it was only a short-lived victory. Next thing they knew, they heard the grumble of the next thunder, much louder than before.

Every part of the brunette's body was under stress- the feeling of fear ultimately taking over and making him act out of reflex: hug the thing closest to him. In this case, it was Jungkook.

As the ravenette felt the boy hug his neck tightly, his face buried deep inside his shoulder, he widened his eyes as he felt his whole body tremble.
"Taehyung- please. You're safe with me, I'm here for you. Okay? Please talk to me." He rubbed circles into the older's lower back, trying to shush him as he was breathing frantically.

"P-Please don't l-leave." To that, Jungkook lifted the brunette's head off his shoulder, cupping his cheeks.
"I would never leave you, bubs," he whispered, connecting their foreheads as he saw the fear inside Taehyung's ocean eyes. His hands moved towards the other's own hands, still hugging his neck tightly.
Jungkook loosened the grip and intertwined their hands.

The younger could sense another thunder emerging and quickly decided to distract his beloved boy by getting him to talk.
"What happened to you, Tae? Hm? Why are you so afraid of storms? Were you about to get hit by a lightning bolt once but managed to escape and survive?," he asked softly.

Much to his relief, he saw the boy shaking his head nervously.
"N-No," Taehyung forced out. "Just-- l-last year..."
The ravenette squeezed his hands, an encouraging smile on his face.
"Yes? Keep going."

"My e-ex-boyfriend invited me t-to a high school party." He took a deep breath.
"I-I was really innocent and n-nerdy back then so I was nervous and unsure... B-but he wanted me to come. H-he insisted."
He sniffled, tears welling up as this was his first time even attempting to tell someone.

Jungkook kept their foreheads connected, caressing the brunette's hands softly.
"H-He got me really drunk, I didn't have any sense at a-all. L-Like, where I am, what I'm doing, where I'm going, who's around me. All th-that. It confused me so m-much, I tried to leave many times. It gave me such a h-headache. I couldn't even move properly."

-

"I think I need some air, I'm going insane in here," Taehyung mumbled, his (then) silver hair disheveled and his eyes unfocused.

What was going on? He didn't feel like he could do anything, he couldn't distinguish between up and down or light and dark. Everything seemed to be spinning around him rapidly, making his head ache and his heartbeat pound inside his ears. His breaths were quickening. The only thing he could clearly feel was a strong grip around his waist, him leaning towards the touch.

"There's a storm outside, it's best if you stay." The silver-haired boy squirmed frantically, trying to break free.
"I don't care, I can't stay here! I feel like I'm on drugs! I want to go," he exclaimed, not knowing where to focus his gaze on and just staring into the distance, anywhere in the distance.

"You're staying here, what's so hard to understand about that? And stop moving!," the person beside him hissed. No matter how insane he felt in that very moment, he noticed one thing clearly.
The voice talking to him, the voice that always sounded so sweet and honey-like sounded as cold as a blazing ice storm in that very moment.

"You told me I was allowed to go if I felt uncomfortable!," he snapped, sulking. And all of a sudden, he started feeling weak, very weak. As if he could collapse any second. The grip around him started getting tighter and tighter, him internally panicking at that.

"There's a fucking storm, I'm not letting you out! Now stop making a fuss, people are looking. Let's go upstairs." The mysterious person let go of his waist and grabbed his arm instead, dragging him along.
Not even knowing where they were going, Taehyung struggled.

"Where are you taking me? Take me back please, I'm scared!," he just whined, feeling the booming party music fade more and more as the area became more secluded. And he did not like it.

After a long while of walking and climbing up stairs while still being dragged along, he built up all of his remaining strength and decided to speak up again.
"Stop it! Just bring me home, please! I don't like this at all!," he cried as loudly as possible but gasped as he felt a hand being pressed onto his mouth, preventing him of speaking any further.

"Shut the fuck up! Fuck, I should've just beat you unconscious, who knew you'd be so damn stressful?," the voice growled, pushing him inside a room and slamming the door shut, locking it.

The silver-haired boy was about to start hyperventilating.

Unconscious? What was going on?

And despite being in the possibly worst state possible, he knew one thing clearly. And it destroyed him internally.

The person who had just pushed him inside this cold, dark room was his boyfriend.

-

"I tried to e-escape so many times but I was so weak, I couldn't. He just told me to go upstairs and pulled me a-along with him, I told him to stop. So many times. But he never did. He pulled me into that tiny room." Taehyung shook his head, trying to rid it of the memories coming up. Some things were better unremembered but somehow, these exact things always seemed to be remembered.

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows, feeling a wave of protectiveness rush through him. Despite being confused as to how this memory was the reason for his fear of storms, he couldn't help but be extremely worried, pulling the brunette closer and wiping away the tears that occasionally slipped.
What had happened in that room?
Who the hell would do this to him?
His heart started hurting, feeling as if it weighed tons.

That ex-boyfriend of his... Something's up with this guy...

The text messages!
The dude from the ice cream shop!
The fight with Jimin!
All these things must be connected to that party... But what the hell happened after, then?

The boy was obviously very affected by that incident. Traumatized, even. Seeing how vulnerable the brunette was by being exposed to something as simple as storms or height, Jungkook started feeling many things.

Rage, for the one who caused this. Fury, even.
Sadness, for Taehyung. He should not have to go through this, not today, not back then. No one should, but Taehyung especially.
Compassion, also for Taehyung. He wanted to do anything, anything to make the other feel better.

"And th-then--"
And suddenly, a lightning struck.

Taehyung flinched, curling himself up into a ball on the floor of the tent while releasing a loud whimper.
Jungkook, also flinching, immediately checked up on the curled boy after recovering from the sudden shock.

"Tae?" Feeling the older slightly relax, he took the opportunity to lie next to him and pull him into a hug.
"Bubs, don't be scared anymore, please. You're safe with me, I got you," he whispered, combing through the brunette's fringe.
"I-I'm gonna die of f-fear. I hate b-being so weak." Taehyung took a shaky breath.

"The storm's getting weaker. You're doing so well, I'm proud of you. You're strong, Taehyung. Stronger than anyone else. Just believe in yourself, hm?" Feeling the boy still slightly tremble, the ravenette spooned him, wrapping his arms around him from behind and pulling him against his chest.

At first he could feel the older's body tense up against his own, but in only a matter of seconds, Taehyung relaxed and snuggled closer to Jungkook.
The storm had completely stopped, only slight raindrops to be heard which made the brunette calm down almost completely, only letting out a few sniffles occasionally.

"Tae?" As said boy turned his head around, he felt something soft on his forehead.
Lips.

Jungkook had just kissed his forehead.

"I'm so sorry this happened, it wasn't supposed to storm tonight. Seeing you like this worried, no, hurt me. Just, please don't worry about me telling anyone or anything, this is strictly confidential. And whoever hurt you in the past... fuck them. They've harmed the world's precious boy and for that, they're going to pay."

And he pecked the other's forehead again.

"Don't speak. We need to wake up early tomorrow so let's sleep. And remember what I said, you're strong. I'm proud of you. And for now, good night."

And the both of them closed their eyes, feeling nothing but safety in each other's embrace as they felt themselves drift more and more into the mysterious land of dreams, forgetting the horrific events that had just ocurred.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

(A/N: i'm sorry this is way too long but i still hoped you enjoyed, i've planned this ever since i started writing this book and this might be one of the most important chapters throughout this whole story :)

btw idk if i mentioned but thank you so much for 20k reads on this???😭😭😭 this is amazing thank you thank you y'all are the best and istg i feel so fame- uwuwu ilyyy💜)