iris . vkook

seventy five

Taeyong took a literal shot in the dark, shooting the signal for Boss. The bullet thankfully hit the chandelier again, Boss moving to the light switch beside the door. 

Completely unknown and unexpected by Jeongguk, Jay and Bora were actually now stood in the entrance. Merely centimetres away from Jeongguk, yet he had no idea. 

Taking a deep breath, knowing that whatever happened after this was out of everyone's control, Boss flicked the light switch.

Jay stood for a few seconds, admiring how Jeongguk had grown. He was still defending Taehyung, who was smiling softly at Bora and Jay, eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched - like always. Bora nudged Jay, tears already beginning to well up in both their eyes.

"Hey, bunny. Missed me?" A deep voice crackled, laced with smoke and held-back excitement.

Taehyung felt Jeongguk's entire body stiffen, his head cocking to the side slightly (something he did when he was extremely confused, and it was a knack that he hated because he felt stupid but Taehyung found it so fucking cute). Bora smiled at Jeongguk's knack, remembering it from when he was younger.

Jeongguk shakily lowered the gun, sliding it into the back of his waistband. One hand held tighter at Taehyung's while he chewed on his thumbnail nervously on his other hand.

He seemed to have aged backwards, appearing small and shy as Jay stepped closer.

Jeongguk felt winded, chest tight as his heart pounded rapidly, rattling against his ribcage. His mouth was dry and it felt as though as his tongue had expanded ten times in size. He couldn't feel his legs, pins and needles attacking his hips and thighs. His stomach was bothered by fluttering butterflies and self-tying knots. 

Seeing Jay felt like stepping into deep snow, excited but frozen. 

Jeongguk's eyes became softer, lilac and pink irises lightening as they glistened with a thin sheen of water. He unclenched his jaw, his eyebrows no longer furrowed. Suddenly, he felt as though he was fifteen again, meeting Jay for the very first time.

To Jay, Jeongguk hadn't mentally aged. Sure, his features became more masculine, he grew in height and his skin was now decorated with roses and pretty pieces of jewellery. But, he still appeared as that tiny child that he raised, with big and doe-like eyes, a tiny dimple below his bottom lip and a lock of hair that never seemed to smooth down as well as the others.

"You're still as cute as ever, bunny. Man, I fucking missed you." Jay rasped, his wall about to break and emotion about to flood through like a tsunami.

Jeongguk let go of Taehyung's hand, slowly creeping over to inspect the man. 

He took in every single detail of his face, using cautious fingers to swipe back Jay's fringe, looking at his scalp.

Jay had a scar in the shape of a 'J' right on his hairline, from where he and Jeongguk had attempted scarification drunkenly one night. It hadn't gone well, it only ended it blood and scabbing. Jeongguk had a similar, more well done, one beside his elbow.

"I-it's really y-you." Jeongguk uncharacteristically stammered, hands shaking as he pulled them away.

"In the flesh." Jay attempted to say confidently, his voice wavering.

Taehyung had never realised the true depth of Jeongguk's and Jay's relationship up until this point. He obviously knew that they had an extremely strong bond, but he hadn't truly realised how much their separation had affected the two of them.

Jeongguk began to shake more violently, still staring in mild disbelief.

Jay's eyes were tearing up, though he kept a tough face on as he looked at Jeongguk. His lips pressed in a straight line as few droplets crossed them, a shaky smile appearing. He was unsure how to feel as so many emotions whirred throughout his thought process.

Jeongguk was still in dysphoria, staring at him confusedly. Taehyung mentally begged him to come back to his senses, wanting the two to rekindle.

Jay was taking in all of Jeongguk's features, looking at him for so long that he could paint a picture from memory. His eyes darted from the scar on Jeongguk's cheekbone, to his scarred knuckles, to the bracelet around his thin wrist (Jay's bracelet was hung up in Jeongguk's kitchen) and back to Jeongguk's wonderful eyes. He squinted, wondering if Taehyung had two different favourite colours, watching as the pink and lilac were blurred by tears.

"C-come here, bunny." Jay said, opening his arms.

Jeongguk immediately did so, feeling comfortable, warm and safe in Jay's hold. He felt responsibility lift off of his shoulders, feeling like he was normal and not a murderer. He understood how Taehyung felt everytime he was in Jeongguk's embrace and he made a mental note to hold Taehyung more often.

Despite Jeongguk being the taller of the two males, he laid his head on Jay's chest and sobbed. He cried quietly, arms holding Jay's waist tight. Jay's hand gently caressed Jeongguk's hair, letting the soft cherry locks fall and rise. The other hand rubbed up and down Jeongguk's back, attempting to calm him down.

Jeongguk and Jay pulled apart, Jeongguk letting out a sudden flow of sobs when he spotted Bora. He pretty much ran to her, holding her tightly as he wept into her shoulder. Bora knew exactly what to do, one hand holding the base of his head as the other patted his back - holding him like a sobbing baby. He was really her baby, never mind how old he'd get, she'd always see him in this way. Her long nails traced shapes along his broad back, shushing him gently and pressing little kisses to his cheek. 

Jeongguk tried to express how happy he was, choking on his words and sobs. 

Bora motioned for Jay to come over, the man doing so and joining the hug. He hugged the back of Bora so he was facing Jeongguk, his hand resting on Jeongguk's lower back as he too sobbed. Like a mother, Bora simply smiled and blinked away the tears that were pooling in her eyes. She knew Jay would cry, but she didn't expect him to sob this much. 

Taehyung took comfort in hugging Rocky, the two crying quietly. 

Unlike Rocky and Taehyung, Ten and Taeyong were weeping loudly. 

Even Boss had a tear in his eye, smiling at how his favourites had been reunited. He wrapped his arm around Woosung's shoulder, who was still admiring Jeongguk - his inspiration. Woosung was saddened to see Jeongguk in such a state, as he'd always seen Jeongguk as strong and somebody who only showed his true self to Taehyung.

He still saw Jeongguk as his idol, wanting nothing more than to comfort him and stop him from crying, but he knew that Bora and Jay knew how to do it.

Jeongguk's innocence returned, staring through blurred vision at the two adults that had impacted his childhood so much.

Boss snapped a few pictures, so Jeongguk would have more than a bracelet in memory of his two best friends. 

Despite him crying, Taehyung was so pleased to have seen Jeongguk show proper emotion. He was happy that Jeongguk didn't get pissed and hit someone, he was delighted that he responded in the way he did. 

"I-I missed y-you guys s-so f-fucking much." Jeongguk stuttered, laughing at himself.

"We missed you too, bunny." Bora smiled, truly a beauty as her smile tugged on everybody's heartstrings.