A Beautiful Enigma (VMIN FF)

Cuddle

"Has Taehyung ever been close to anyone?", Hoseok asked.

"Our grandmother. She was the only one who understood him truly. She was always there for him and Taehyung was always stuck to her side. He would always be around her no matter what she was doing; gardening, cooking, baking cookies, sewing or simply sitting idly. That's why it affected him severely when she passed. Poor little soul, confused out of his mind as to why grandma left the house. There were times he would ask me if it was his fault for her disappearance from his life. Because that seemed to happen a lot in his life.

Everyone just up and left.

Other than her, he had a good relationship with granddad too, but he passed away when we were little. Taehyung still managed to pick up his habit of stargazing from granddad", Namjoon spoke fondly, a small nostalgic smile creeping up his face.

"Don't discredit yourself Joon. What you have done for him, no one would. You gave your childhood and teenage dreams for Taehyung", Yoongi stated flatly. Namjoon remained utterly quiet, his gaze on the floor.

"You know Hobi, I have known Namjoon all my life. Jin too, but he came into the picture a little later. Joon and I, we have been buddies since we were toddlers", Yoongi smiled as he softly gazed at Namjoon, who responded with the same.

"I was there when Taehyung was born. You should have seen the way Namjoon's eyes light up when he held Tae in his arms. He wanted a little sister, but the moment his eyes fell on Taehyung, he realized this was the only thing he wanted.

Not a little sister, not a little brother, but a little Taehyung.

But he knew, we knew something wasn't right with Taehyung. He wasn't like the other kids his age. He was quiet, reserved and didn't speak often. He was always by himself, either coloring or listening to music. I had seen the look on Joonie's face, the light leaving his eyes when he realized he couldn't do the one thing he so desperately wanted to do with Tae, play.

But Joonie bounced back immediately. Even as a kid himself, he matured up. Always kept an eye out on Taehyung from afar.

But the event that brought them together was yet to happen.

That dreadful day when their parents dropped them off at their grandparents house with nothing but two suitcases. I remember running over to their home as soon as I heard the news. We always knew that day would come, there were too many telltale signs. Taehyung was being neglected by them. They never tended to his needs and whenever he had a fit like the one you saw today, they locked him up in his room till eventually he tired himself and passed out. That's why he wasn't diagnosed till very later on, when Namjoon took him to the doctors.

Namjoon became a parent figure for Taehyung alongside his grandmother without even an ounce of hesitation. He just stepped up to the role.

If you look at it now, it's a relief that they abandoned them. It's better this way. It brought Namjoon and Taehyung together", Yoongi closed his eyes. The silence in the room was deafening. Jin and Hoseok had misty eyes while Namjoon was staring at Yoongi intently.

"Hyung?", he called out after a few seconds.

"You don't have to-", Yoongi started but was immediately interrupted.

"Thank you. Thank you for noticing", Namjoon got up from his place and walked over to where Yoongi was sitting and pulled him into a hug. Though Yoongi was not a very physical person, he gave in and hugged back with equal fervor.

"That's all I needed. For someone to notice me", Namjoon sobbed. "And you did", he stuttered.

"I know I should show it more often and let people know what they need to know. And I know that I am not a very physical or affectionate person. But I do care. I care about you Namjoon", Yoongi spoke, trying very hard to suppress the heavy emotions quietly seeping into his voice.