"I think we've heard enough, we should go." Jimin said to Yoongi.

The elder nodded, stepping back already. His eyes contacted with their prisoner's, liking the way his face was painted crimson a lot more than he'd like to admit.

"I'll see if Jungkook wants to talk to you. Or else you can just rot in here."

"I don't wanna talk to Jungkook right now." Taehyung replied, a smirk forming on his lips as he cocked his head forward.

"I want to talk to Jimin."

Silence pressed in the room as Yoongi and Jimin shared a look. What kind of a sick game was he playing again?

The platinum haired man scoffed. "I'm not letting you do that." He said, shaking his head.

"Why, coward? I'll not steal him away from you, I just wanna have a little chat. A harmless one."

"Oh go fuck yourself." Yoongi rolled his eyes, voice obnoxious. Not for nothing but he was thinking that maybe he was getting immune to Taehyung's provoking now.

"I'll stay." Jimin intervened, knowing they had a lot of air to clear up. A lot to- catch up.

"Wha-?" Yoongi yelped out.

Taehyung smirked, falling back on his chair nonchalantly, wrists still bound at his back. So much pride filled in that body.

"Now if you'd leave, Min. I'd like to have a chat with my...friend."

Yoongi looked at Jimin with concern, who just nodded at him in reassurance. Let's get one thing out of the way- a lot of people feared Taehyung. Prayed every night that they won't encounter him ever in their life. But Jimin was the first man who didn't. He had seen countless men writhe and beg for mercy in front of the mob Boss. Always wondered why. Because he'd never felt scared of this man. Obliged, but never scared.

"I'll be okay." He muttered to Yoongi.

The elder groaned. "Fucking- fine! Fine! Just- don't take too long."

"Don't you worry." Taehyung chimed. "Will send him off before you start missing him."

The latter couldn't do anything but cast a death glare at the bound man before striding away from them and out of the room.

"My darling Jimin." Taehyung husked one they were alone in the room. Tilted his head to the side to observe. Jimin pursed his lips in response, choosing to stay shut.

"You made a new friend, huh?" Taehyung urged once again, his tone mocking. "What's his name? Jin. Kim SeokJin. Never thought I'd feel bad? left behind? You betray our friendship like that?"

"Which friendship are you talking about? Do you really claim what we had as friendship? Not me but you knew the world and I'm still smarter to not call that relationship a goddamn friendship."

Jimin predicted Taehyung would laugh at him. But that didn't happen, in fact nothing really did. Taehyung expression were as serious as ever, he could even dare to say he looked a little hurt. Like he hadn't expected Jimin to snap the way he did.

Taehyung's head slowly dropped down, silently staring at his lap. Like it had taken him time to realise what Jimin had actually said. 

Taehyung knew no one would really understand but it...hurt. He had no friend. No friend at all. Jimin was the closest person he had to a friend and now he was being distant in different sorts.

"Then what would you like to call it, Jimin?" His voice was glum, still not looking up from his lap.

Jimin paused, observing him slowly.

"I don't know. I really don't. If there was friendship then why isolate me? Then why didn't you tell me about my parents? Why did you lie and hide my own identity from me?"

Taehyung laughed humorlessly. "Funny how I was trying to protect you from the man you're fucking and his dead brother."

"Then why did you send me to kill them?!" He asked, left flabbergasted by Taehyung's stupid attempts on explanation once again. The Mafia boss's head snapped up in an instant.

"Because that smartass Jihyun would have never predicted he'd die by the hands of the same person he invested his life on finding. But he did... because you ruined the plan by falling for his little vampire brother. He's so fuckin' creepy, you know that?"

Jimin paused, offended. "You don't get to judge me. You have the shittiest record when it comes to love. You know what, I get why Jungkook hates you so much. You make relationships just to kill them, of course he's hurt. So fucking hurt because of you. How does it feel? How does it feel to make someone think you're trustable just to see the betrayal in their eyes when you kill them?"

Taehyung's eyes squinted shut and his expression turned into something of raw resistance, teeth gritted together.

"Fucking- stop! Stop! I nuh-never did that!"

"You were going to." Jimin shrugged.

He looked up at Jimin again. He knew that Jimin deserved an explanation but he sucked at giving those because he had never had to explain himself to anyone. He got what he wanted one way or the other. So when he had to, the fear that no one would really believe whatever he said because of his past actions would crawl in his mind. Of course, his reasonings sounded untrustworthy to them, if they'd only give a chance to him-

"I..." He whispered, voice cracking. "I didn't have anyone, Jimin. I only had you... and I did everything that my fucked up, toxic, ruthless mind could muster to protect you. I don't love you the way that vampire dude does but...you were truly all I had. I might have climbed limits to protect you not because of the treaty, but because you were- yeah. Believe it or not, I wouldn't have killed you."

So Taehyung had been trying to protect him all along with his little to no reasonable brain? From all the Mafia estates who were after him and his family? Jimin didn't say anything, listening intently and letting him continue.

"Forgive me, if you can. I did what felt right to me and you never really complained so- I just- sorry I'm pathetic but I assumed us as friends."

He shrugged nonchalantly, sniffing his runny nose and not daring to look up because his eyes were almost leaking with how much he was containing tears.

"Go, Jimin. Live your life with him. With freedom, no isolation-"

Jimin closed the distance between them in one step and pressed himself against Taehyung, well as much as he could in his tied up state. He just wrapped his hands around his head and pressed his face into his torso, and that was enough to force Taehyung's tears forward with an overwhelming explosion of emotions within him.

"What- what are you doing-?"

"It's called hugging. Yoongi does that a lot to me and it feels good so I thought I'd do it to you too."

Taehyung gasped, cheeks flaming red. It was cute, Jimin thought. With Taehyung all shy.

"Well Yoongi... loves you, I don't- l-leave me, you're making things awkward..."

Jimin frowned. "No, Jin hugs me a lot too. So friends can do that."

"I'm your... friend?"

Jimin smiled. "Only if you realise that when you're scared to show people how you feel, you try to control them and then they get hurt."

"I...do that?" Taehyung asked, nodding when he realised how true Jimin's words were. He had always done that. When he couldn't accept that he wanted Jimin to be his friend, he offered sex and controlled him in bed. Then followed his dad's footsteps on never letting him step out of the mansion. He was doing it again now, to Jungkook. Trying to control him in bed so he wouldn't have to accept that the man made him weak in more ways than one.

"You were all I had too."

 "I didn't think you needed anyone. I mean- you started shoving me away..."

"I stopped feeling." Jimin admitted, pitying himself. He had only started feeling a little while ago, and the credit went to Taehyung because he told him that his parents were dead and he just- spiraled down with the shock. Taehyung's lie might have changed Jimin's life entirely. "But you were still all I had. Literally."

Taehyung sniffled.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give freedom to you. I'm sorry I kept your parents away." He apologized. "The truth is that I was trying to get them so you could meet them but- it seemed impossible. I'm sorry, I'm sorry- I thought about it a hundred times that I'd take you on a trip with me but it was too dangerous. The reason I never invaded in your tasks and left you free is because I wanted you to see the world. I just did them in my way I-"

"I get it." Jimin whispered, smiling softly in content. He was grateful Taehyung was trying so hard to clear up the mess he had created. And Jimin of all people knew how hard it would be to confess something like this.

Words spoken out made you vulnerable, words buried deep made you something close to rotten.

"I get you care for me, I do too. See? You're still alive, I do care for you."

Taehyung broke into a few chuckles at that, biting his lip and looking down again when Jimin left him and took a step back.

"It makes me sad you don't live with me anymore." He muttered. "I won't tell you to come back, the place is a shithole. But I don't get to talk to anyone so-"

He sighed in exasperation, remembering how Jungkook used to come and talk to him. But he won't do it anymore anymore, Taehyung ruined it all. Jungkook won't come back to him, just like he always said. He never took those words seriously until he thought he'd lose him and the thought scared him- more than he'd like to admit. The thought scared him shitless.

"Can I- you know- can you call Jungkook?" He finally asked, voice low and overwhelmed. Hopeless. "Please?"

"Yeah, of course, he wanted to see you anyway." Jimin said.

"He... wanted to see me?" Taehyung asked. "I- don't think-"

"Yeah, I don't think he exactly wants to meet you because he missed you or something." Jimin added, rolling his eyes. "He just probably wants to beat you up."

"Oh," The prisoner shrugged, deep voice glum. "That makes sense."

Jimin huffed a laugh. "You torture him, try to kill him, make him question everything, strip off his dignity and he still comes back to you. Like nothing fucking happened, Taehyung. You better do him right and beg for his forgiveness because this thing- the way he feels for you. You won't get it everywhere. And it'll be gone before you know it, Taehyung. Before you know it."

Real tears were dropping down the Mafia boss's eyes and for the first time he looked like a human. Jimin was never scared, but he never thought that Taehyung could get hurt either.

"He's the best thing that has ever happened to me." Taehyung whispered. "Why do I sabotage everything?"

"Why don't you try to explain him just the way you did to me?"

"Because- he's- you won't understand."

Jimin laughed at that. "Yeah, I fell in love with his best friend after growing up with you, of course I won't understand."

Taehyung inhaled sharply. He really didn't want to tell anyone what exactly Jungkook did to him, and that included Jungkook himself.

"He's- I- I feel like-"

"Let it be, you're turning blue."

Taehyung sighed in relief, releasing a heavy breath and shaking his head. He observed the disappointed look on Jimin's face.

"It's not like I'll get something out of it, Jimin. I've ruined what we had. I did it like I always do. He's...not coming back."

"Let him decide that for himself. Don't try to push him away by hurting him, for once just...let good things happen to you."

Taehyung nodded and Jimin patted his shoulder in reassurance before turning around to leave the room.

"Jimin," Taehyung called from behind.

Jimin turned around once again, raising his eyebrows in question.

"It's good to see you smile."