UNIVERSE / BTS.

54: if we hit on troubled water / namgi

min yoongi sits with a hurt heart and head full of painful words, legs crossed as he stares at his shoes, rattier than any other kid's at school. with a shaky sigh, he wonders how long namjoon will take to get here; he texted him around ten minutes ago, but his best friend has been busy studying recently, who knows when he'll check his phone.

namjoon and yoongi remained as inseparable as ever. now in their first year of middle school, they've been there through the exams they had to take the year before– when namjoon had convinced yoongi he wouldn't fail, and yoongi had stayed up all night studying with namjoon–; they've been there for each other through yoongi's parents having their third child, a baby girl, and them paying even less attention to yoongi; they've been there. always. blood brothers, that's what they are, united by a force stronger than family. the woods continued to be their fortress, childhood games and treehouse never forgotten, just left alone. twelve years old, they still laugh about their kingdom and their fake royalty, still have the carved swords and the crowns; they've just abandoned those games for long talks in their very much improved treehouse.

footsteps and raindrops make yoongi look up, black hair that's overgrown falling in his eyes. there he stands, the boy yoongi would die for, if asked. namjoon smiles momentarily, and then he sees the bruise. "yoon!" he says, dropping to his knees; worried. yoongi flinches when namjoon runs his finger over the bruise, a small whimper leaving his lips. "what happened?"

yoongi's reluctant to say it, because it's pathetic; my dad hit me because i won't go out with samira from our grade, and he's really good friends with her dad and that means that i'm socially dead– no, he won't tell namjoon. a simple shake of the head is all the taller gets, and joon sighs.

"you've gotta be cold, hyung. you want my coat?" he asks, and the older (by a few months) nods, taking namjoon's fleece that he's wearing over a hoodie. namjoon helps him up and tosses an arm over his shoulder, the two of them looking over the creek.

"joon," yoongi croaks out, pale, exhausted from crying all night over what his mum said and what his dad did. namjoon looks over, that trusting look in his eyes that he's always had when he looks at yoongi. he squeezes yoongi's hand. "i– i– god, sorry," he rubs at his eye with the heel of his hand, sighing. "you know oh samira? from our class?"

"yes, she's in my chemistry club," namjoon confirms, never taking his eyes from yoongi's face. the older worries his lips between his teeth. "why?"

"well, my dad works with her dad at the garage, and recently mr. oh has been helping him out a lot," yoongi swallows thickly, throat blocked by something that's not really there. "a-and apparently samira has a crush on m-me, and dad wa-wanted me to go on a date with her this weekend," yoongi closes his eyes shut so as not to cry, sensitive about the subject. "i s-said no because i don't like samira t-that way, a-and my p-parents just– fuck."

it's the first time he's ever sworn, and namjoon doesn't even react. he pulls yoongi into a tight hug, letting the boy cry into his shoulder, understanding that he's having a hard time. yoongi is gasping out sentences. "m-my dad– called me a f-f-fucking fa-faggot, a-and slapped me, said i-i was no u-use as a son–" he breaks off, and namjoon holds him tight.

"yoongi, yoongi," he says soothingly, patting his friends back. "you're okay. it's gonna be okay, i swear." namjoon's always been good at that, at comforting. yoongi feels oddly safe in his arms, holding him as if he'll break apart. yoongi can almost believe his honey coated words, almost know that he'll be okay.