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Yoongi hid his face in hands, trying to get some peace. His head was killing him and the noise did anything but help him with that, and the male had the urge to tell them all to shut up, leave, and let him be so he could go sleep finally. But he didn’t, he knew he couldn’t.
It was Seokjin, one of his flatmates, who had thought it would be a great idea to make a movie night. And before Yoongi had been able to protest, Taehyung and Jungkook had started to yell in delight, because they had thought it would amazing. But for now, it was anything but amazing.
Namjoon, Hoseok and Jimin had come about an hour earlier and everything was ready. Seokjin wouldn’t be himself if he hadn’t started preparing the food at least a few hours before, so there wasn't really much to do. That was why all of them had ended up in a living room for a straight hour, getting excited till they could watch the movie finally, and Yoongi regretted every life choice he had ever made.
Now, they only needed to wait for Taehyung. Yoongi looked at his watch, wondering when the younger boy would come. He had said he was going to finish his last class at 6pm and it was almost 8 now. Of course, it wouldn’t be strange normally for him to come later, since Taehyung was a literal social butterfly, but he knew it was supposed to be a movie night. He should be home already.
Yoongi frowned, not wanting to admit that he was worrying. Yet, he couldn’t help but take his phone.
To: Taehyung
7:47
kid, u coming?
Yoongi kept looking at his screen, waiting for an answer. He knew that if Taehyung wasn’t responding it could be because he was hurrying to get home, not even bothering to see who had messaged him, but Yoongi still had a bad feeling about it.
To: Taehyung
7:53
guys are insufferable, if u don’t come soon or don’t reply i’m kicking them out and i don’t care it was supposed to be a movie night. so if u still wanna have that, u better be here soon
Yoongi waited again, but there was still no sign from the other and he knew something wasn’t right. Taehyung wouldn’t want to worry them, if he was going to be late he would tell them before.
“Yoongi, stop playing with your phone and help me!”
He furrowed his eyebrows, Jin’s voice was faint and only now did he realize the older one wasn’t in the living room.
“Yah, I’m not playing with my phone!”
“Whatever, I need help!”
Yoongi was about to tell others to do whatever Seokjin wanted him to do because he couldn’t care less about that, but in the end he stood up. Maybe he shouldn’t worry. Seokjin wasn’t concerned about Taehyung not being there so probably the absent boy had told him he was going to be late.
“You can take these to the living room,” Seokjin said, pointing at three bowls of popcorn. “I didn’t want to give it to them before Tae gets home but they’re complaining too much. And the kid is late.”
“Didn’t he tell you he would be late?” Yoongi asked, trying to really not sound too concerned.
“No, but you know him. He forgets so many things, he’s probably out with one of his school friends again and forgot to tell us.”
Yoongi wanted to believe it was true but he knew that no matter how forgetful Taehyung was, he would tell them. And Yoongi felt even more anxious.
They decided that if Taehyung hadn’t come then he was uninterested, at least Jimin did. So they started the movie, even if Taehyung was still not home, and Yoongi, instead of focusing on the television, was still glaring at his phone. He had no idea how many messages he had sent already and he was about to call the boy, when finally they heard the door ring.
Hoseok was the one who stood up and went to open the door.
“Finally,” Jimin groaned as he rested his head against Yoongi’s shoulder. Yoongi shook it, not feeling like being touchy with anyone right now. He was angry at Taehyung for worrying him so much.
“Now he’s gonna whine,” Seokjin muttered seeing there was almost no popcorn anymore, and Taehyung loved it. “We could have waited.”
“It was his fault!” Jungkook exclaimed, remembering that it was him who had eaten the most. “He could have come earlier, then he wouldn’t need to complain about-”
“Taehyung, what happened? ”
Everyone froze when they heard Hoseok’s worried voice. Seokjin and Namjoon looked at each other before getting up and going to see what was wrong, Yoongi, Jimin and Jungkook following them.
Hoseok and Taehyung stood in front of the door. The younger boy was looking at the floor, his clothes were dirty and he refused to show anyone his face, but still everyone could hear subtle sniffling. Hoseok was gripping his arm, his face showing concern. When he heard others coming he looked at them, hurt in his eyes.
Seokjin came closer, placing his hand on the crying boy’s shoulder.
“Tae?” He asked, trying to see the other’s face but Taehyung didn’t let him. Seokjin looked at Hoseok with question in his eyes and Hoseok just shook his head, he didn’t know what had happened as well.
“Let’s go to the living room,” Namjoon said, knowing that whatever it was, they shouldn’t deal with it standing awkwardly in the hall.
Seokjin and Hoseok led the boy there and made him sit down on the couch. Seokjin kneeled down in front of him, trying to take a look at the latter.
The shadow made it harder to see if something was wrong but when Seokjin saw one particular dark spot, he knew it was nothing else but a bruise. With a shaking hand he first brushed Taehyung’s fringe aside before gently touching the bruise.
Taehyung flinched a bit at that and tears fell from his eyes as he sobbed.
“Taehyung,” Seokjin said calmly, although inside he was raging. Someone had hurt his dongsaeng and he had no idea who would do that. “What happened?”
Taehyung’s lip quivered and he bit it, not wanting to cry anymore, his fists were clenched. Seokjin stroked the boy’s cheek gently not wanting to add him pain.
“Taehyung, talk to me, please. It’s serious.”
Taehyung just shook his head, refusing to say anything and Seokjin started to feel helpless.
“If someone fucking hurt-” Yoongi started but was interrupted soon with small, shy voice.
“I-I don’t… please…”
Taehyung sounded uncertain, embarrassed and fragile. Namjoon furrowed his eyebrow but it didn’t last long before he understood the situation. He came closer and kneeled down beside Seokjin, taking Taehyung’s hand in his and stroking it gently.
“Tae,” he said, his voice friendly, gentle and caring. “Baby. It’s okay, you’re safe with your hyungs.”
Everyone looked at him surprised, only now understanding. They hadn’t noticed that Taehyung had slipped into his little space, and now he was not only hurt but also terrified.
“Can hyung see your face, please? Will you show it to your hyung?” Taehyung shook his head again.
“Does it hurt?” This time, Taehyung nodded.
“It’s okay to show us, baby. If it hurts, hyung will make it better.”
Taehyung hesitated, sniffled again, and when he finally get a reassuring squeeze from his Namjoon hyung he looked up, unsure. Everyone gasped.
There was a nasty bruise on Taehyung’s left cheek, his right eye had a bruise too and was swollen. His lip was cut and there were some smaller injuries on his forehead and chin. Seokjin was looking at his dongsaeng in horror, not believing someone could do something like this to this precious boy.
“I’ll bring ice,” he heard someone say, probably Jimin.
“What happened?” Yoongi asked, he was furious and Taehyung could sense that. He flinched, scared, and Yoongi’s expression softened, although it was hard. “Baby, tell us, please. Who did that to you?”
But Taehyung shook his head again.
“You can tell us,” Hoseok tried to convince him. He and Jungkook sat down on both sides of him, Jungkook’s hand rested on Taehyung’s hair, running his fingers through it gently, while Hoseok started rubbing his back in comfort. “Hyungs will help you.”
“N-no, hyung,” Taehyung whispered and everyone could say he was about to cry again. “T-Taehyung doesn’t w-want to.”
“Why, baby?” Namjoon asked softly. “If you tell us we will make sure it doesn’t happen again. They won’t hurt you again.”
Taehyung shook his head again and at the same time Jimin came, a pack of ice in his hand. He put it carefully against Taehyung’s eye and the boy flinched again, this time because of the shock. “Cold!”
“It’s ice, baby,” Jimin said, small smile on his lips. “It’s supposed to be cold.”
Normally, Taehyung would laugh but this time he looked even more upset and Jimin furrowed his eyebrows.
“Come on, baby,” Namjoon tried again. “Sweetheart, if you tell us what happened and who hurt you we will make sure you’re safe, okay? It won’t happen again.”
But the boy pressed his lips in a tight line, refusing to say a word. It was weird and Yoongi prayed that his intuition was wrong. “Taetae,” he said, trying to not sound as scary as before. “Has someone told you not to tell us?”
Taehyung’s eyes widened and he hesitated. Even before he nodded Yoongi had already known he was right.
“Has someone threatened you?”
“Yoongi, this-”
But before Seokjin could finish his thought, Taehyung started to cry.
He was sobbing hard, gasping for air, and it seemed that he had already cried so much that he couldn’t anymore. There were almost no tears left, and from the way he was gripping his shirt they could say that it hurt him to cry.
The sight was heartbreaking and Jungkook took the older boy carefully into his arms, hugging him tightly, making sure that Taehyung knew he was safe. The boy buried his face in Jungkook’s shirt, letting out his emotions.
Jimin felt sick when he was watching his friend crying so hard because of some bastards.
They had no idea how long it lasted until finally Taehyung’s sobs turned to small whimpers. He was still refusing to let Jungkook go, showering in the feeling of care and love he felt from the arms that were embracing him.
No one said anything, no one knew what they should say. Hoseok was still rubbing soothing circles on Taehyung’s back, kissing his crown from time to time, trying to calm down the boy.
“They,” Taehyung said again, his voice was so weak and so fragile that everyone felt hurt. He shouldn’t be in pain, Taehyung shouldn’t be in pain. “I, I p-promised them.”
He wasn’t sure if he could tell them.
“It’s alright, baby boy, you don’t need to be afraid. Will you tell hyung what did you promise?”
Taehyung sniffled, peeking at Hoseok.
“T-that I won’t t-tell a-anyone…”
“You can tell us, Taetae,” Jungkook murmured. “You shouldn’t listen to them. They hurt our Taetae, they’re bad, and you shouldn’t listen to bad people.”
“B-but, they said, they, that they w-would make it w-worse!”
“Taehyunggie,” Hoseok sighed. “Hyung promises they won’t do it again. But, to make sure they won’t, we need to know what happened.”
“Please, Tae,” Jimin added. “If hyungs know hyungs will be able to protect you from them. But hyungs need to know who ‘they’ are.”
Taehyung sniffled again. He looked at his friends, searching for confirmation that it would be really okay if he told them. He was afraid of what would happen if the ones who had done that to him found out but at the same time, he wanted to feel safe and protected.
He sighed and buried his face in Jungkook’s shirt once again before muttering something.
“Taetae?” Yoongi asked. “What was that?”
Taehyung gulped. “T-they’re students f-from my class…”
Hoseok kissed Taehyung’s temple and Seokjin squeezed his hand, encouraging the boy.
“I-I, I was bored d-during the break and I re-emembered we were going to w-watch a m-movie, and I was excited and, and I didn’t realize it but I was h-humming and I st-arted to d-draw and, and they asked me w-what I was d-doing. And I to-ld them T-taetae was dr-awing and they looked at m-me so weirdly and started as-king questions and bef-fore I could finish th-they called me n-names and said I w-as weird…”
Namjoon sighed, looking at Yoongi and they knew they both had thought about the same.
No one said anything, they let Taehyung continue.
“And when Taetae wa-nted to g-go home th-they came and their fri-ends too and they l-laughed at me and h-hit me and I wanted to f-fight back b-but they were too me-an and I was cr-ying and they t-told me next t-time would be wors-se.”
Taehyung kept choking and gasping but he refused to cry again. Everyone felt horrible.
Seokjin took Taehyung’s hand gently into his before kissing his knuckles and Taehyung watched him, hurt in his eyes.
“Thank you baby for telling us,” he whispered against Taehyung’s hand, looking him straight in his eyes. “Our Taehyunggie is very brave for telling us what happened. But Taehyunggie shouldn’t worry because hyungs promised it would be better, right?”
Taehyung nodded slightly and Seokjin smiled at him warmly. He knew they weren't done yet but Seokjin knew that Taehyung was already drained enough and he didn't want the boy to think about what had happened anymore for the rest of the day. Taehyung needed rest.
“Now, Taehyunggie is tired, isn’t he? Does Taehyunggie want to eat something?”
The boy answered with a shy ‘no’. He was too shaken and scared to think about hunger and his appetite was gone completely.
“Does Taehyunggie want to watch a movie, then?”
Taehyung hesitated. Namjoon looked sympathetic. Everyone knew that watching a movie was one of the best ways to soothe an upset Taehyung but the boy seemed unsure if he could get even that.
“You can tell us, baby.”
After another ten seconds of hesitating, Taehyung finally nodded.
Jungkook and Hoseok remained on the couch, Taehyung lying on them with his head on Jungkook’s lap and his feet on Hoseok’s, as the older boy was gently caressing his legs. The other boys claimed their seats on the floor, wanting to be as close to Taehyung as possible.
Taehyung tried to focus while watching Pocahontas but wasn’t able to. After several minutes he finally nudged Namjoon, who was sitting right in front of him.
Feeling the gentle touch against his hair Namjoon looked at the boy and smiled tenderly. “What is it, Taetae?” he whispered, not wanting to bother others.
Taehyung gulped and look down before looking at Namjoon once more.
“When they asked,” he started whispering. Namjoon frowned. “I didn’t know what they would do. And hyungs always told me to answer when someone asks, and I thought it would be okay, so I told them some stuff. They started laughing at me and telling me I was wrong and stupid and d-disgusting and that I was sick a-and no one would w-want me.”
Taehyung’s voice was wavering, even if he was emotionally exhausted he was still thinking about it.
“They were wrong, Taetae.” Namjoon smiled as he took Taehyung’s hand. “You’re beautiful and amazing and they had no right to tell you this. And hyungs love you.”
“But they said Taehyung was wrong.”
“Taehyung is Taehyung, our Taetae, our baby. It won’t change, because that’s who you are. And we love you the way our baby is.”
Namjoon sounded friendly but at the same time he was deadly serious.
Taehyung wasn’t saying anything for almost a minute and Namjoon thought he wanted to finish it finally, when suddenly the younger spoke up again.
“Kim Sewon and Ahn Jongseok.”
“Huh?”
“T-they were mean to me, and they hurt me.”
Namjoon looked at the boy for a while before leaning on and kissing his cheek softly.
“Thank you, Taetae. For trusting us.”
Taehyung nodded, although Namjoon could say there was something unsaid. He cocked his head to the side, looking at the younger boy and waiting for him to say whatever he wanted. “Is there something wrong, baby?”
“I’m sorry, Joonie hyung,” Taehyung whispered. He was still upset, and Namjoon knew it wasn’t only because he was hurt. “Taetae didn’t mean to be little at school. I didn’t notice when it happened.”
“Taehyunggie, hyung doesn’t blame you. But I think we need another rule.”
Taehyung looked at his hyung, waiting to find out what the rule would be.
“Whenever Taehyunggie slips into little space when none of his hyungs is there with him, Taehyunggie will call us. Okay?"
Taehyung nods.
Namjoon smiles before kissing Taehyung’s cheek.
“Hyungs really love you, Taetae.”
"Taetae loves his hyungs too."
“Guys, people here are trying to watch.”
Both Namjoon and Taehyung giggled when they heard Yoongi’s exasperated voice.