#so because the beef has extended to all of them even tho i barely know them... im just sick of it i dont want to be around them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jiminrings · 4 years

Text

cabin pressure

pairing: taehyung x y/n

glimpse: pilot!y/n who accidentally became famous bc of a viral post about her, best friend!jimin!, taehyung having a shy lil crush on you aND ot7 being meanies for a tad bit :((

wordcount: 17k

notes: this is my first bts fic im gonna post and for sentimentality’s sake, im paying homage to the bullet-point format™️ because this is the same thing i use for my reviewers and it’s v effective in making me focus and not lose interest!!!

╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

jimin really misses you :((

you’re his longtime friend!! someone who’s stuck with him even before he was famous!!

unlike tHose who suddenly appeared claiming that “aHHHHH jimin from bts aha actually we were friends even tho i have never spoke to him once hE’s actually asking me out and-“

and he loves u to death even the both of you fond each other annoying at times

like that one time he pretended he was sick with a bug just to get u out of your very important meeting just bECAUSE he wanted u to cook up a meal he missed

“hey why are u crying and also can you pls still cook why you’re crying”

“jimin i fucking hate you”

:((

and needless to say he really made up for it because he may have screwed up your job bc he wanted you to drop EVERYTHING to cook cheesy tonkatsu for him

so yes he really went up and above just to get you to forgive him

and u know what

jimin misses his best friend so much that he’s thinking of you in the middle of a meeting

and literally at the mention of bon voyage, the gears in his head start spinning!!!!

basically his thought process was:

bon voyage = abroad = y/n = oH DAMN OH RIGHT Y/N’S A PILOT = airplane whoosh = abroad = BON VOYAGE!!!!

“PD-nim!!!!!!”

“what”

and he’s really gonna make a leap for this because it’s given that him and the boys ride in private jets and first-class and all

literally everyone is looking at him now because his previous outburst of a call was surely attention-grabbing and it makes him shrink a bit because aha :D oops lol okay so what i was saying

“i-i was thinking uhm like since, abroad, right?? my friend y/n y/l/n is a pilot!! and the airline she-...”

“you know y/n y/l/n??” bang si-hyuk literally asks with his eyes wide and everyone could tell that it was the positive type of shock

wait

what

everyone in the room is like divided with some nodding and some clapping excitedly and some just with their mouths agape

and that confuses jimin because

“you know y/n??”

bang si-hyuk, ceo of big hit entertainment, his boss,,,, knows you, his childhood best friend-

and it’s not like jimin is territorial when it comes to his best friends and most esp you!!!! but yeah he realizes that he is now, especially because everyone in the room apparently knows you??? and he’s only ever introduced you to the boys???? briefly?? hope and jin have yet to meet you in person???

“how could we not?” jungkook interjects with a bunny smile on his face and everything is seriously confusing jimin rn because honestly

“do you like live under a rock” yoongi has the most confused face ever to jimin’s cluelessness, the situation being ironic because normally the hyung is slower when it comes to these type of things

“y/n went viral all over the news like last week!! up to now even” it’s no joke that namjoon knows everyone that his members know but for jimin to hear joon speak about you in THIS degree offends him

because wait he’s your closest friend he should know these things

he’d like u to know that he isn’t bitter :)

and his eyes go wide at that because oH GOD WHAT DID YOU DO

everyone agrees to what namjoon said, still a bit dumb-founded as taehyung practically yanks jimin’s chair to sit closer near his and almost shoves his phone to his face

it’s you

in your pilot uniform with your luggage at tow

sunglasses at the top of your head and phone on-hand

your id still worn around your neck and

jimin basically deduced all of these things with a couple swipes:

a) ok you look ethereal in those pics

b) it was supposed to be a stolen picture of this dude but you were in the background and you cOMPLETELY stole the show

c) someone zoomed in on you and edited so now basically your ethereal being got even more magnified

d) someone zoomed in on your id (he got a lil bit mad at that)

e) aha the internet loves you

f) edits and i have thirty minutes i am free this saturday retweets and digging into your images in social media EVERYTHING!!! the whole nine yards!!!!

when you woke up to that frenzy though

you literally couldn’t function for five minutes and then you started catching up and digging in on what was happening

“but i don’t look ethereal!! my skin is dry n oily at the SAME time because of cabin air and my eyes are stinging!!! i look ghastly and only a little bit fresh because of the air u get when you’re 50,000 feet up in the air!! but im-...”

oh that’s it you went viral completely on accident

you were just waiting for the free service back home your airline offers it pilots, because you brought your car to work but you were too tired to drive back home

but now you are viral in the worldwide interwebs with articles and twitter threads about you and multiple multiple DMs that make your phone freeze and

wait did your airline just email you about that :D

oh lol did beyoncé just follow you :D

basically jimin got his brothers giving him a three-minute crash course each about what happened with their managers even stepping in to gush

he basically can’t believe that he didn’t know that!! even if you didn’t mention it to him, he should’ve known because it was practically everywhere!!!!

bang si-hyuk is well-pleased and even got jimin to tell how he knew you and what you were like and he was very much :O when he got into the word that aish!!! his employee has really been living under a rock lmao

by then, the conversation about bon voyage has been slightly derailed to talk about you

who knew that jimin simply mentioning your name (lol he didn’t need to because the conversation about you was nearing anyway) would land the meeting to

“oh! actually! the airline y/n works at reached a couple of weeks ago about a proposal to get bts to star in a commercial for them!!”

and now they’re hyped because yes they endorsed clothes and food and malls and establishments but never did they endorse an AIRLINE!!! a damn airline!!!!

okay so now not only did they tackle that you would pilot for them in bon voyage

“ah! you could like also play games on the way there with y/n!!”

“wHO WILL PILOT THE PLANE THEN??? we’re gonna crash!!!”

“you’re thick, jungkook, and not in the way you think so lmao”

“maybe we could extend their vacation! shoot a skit or two with them being flight attendants for run!! one week for shooting, two weeks for resting!! two birds with one stone, really”

an airline commercial

a couple run bts! episodes

a whole season of bon voyage (with a longer production because they have longer vacation days)

more traction for them

more time than he ever wished for to be with you!! :D

soon enough the meeting is finished and it went so good that the boys were gonna be treated to a beef dinner so

everyone’s scattered and dispersed, some making small talk w him about you that makes him smile

taehyung’s lingering behind him with his hands on his back

“what is it, tae?”

the younger boy is just giggling and fiddling with his hands, a careless shrug to his shoulders

“can i have y/n’s number :D”

...

“aish!! if jungkook were to ask for her number, you would’ve given it to him in a heartbeat because he’s the youngest!! and-...”

“ya!! thanks for reminding hyung! jimin-hyung may i also pls have y/n’s number :D”

...

jin had to drag jimin with him bc he wasn’t done shooting the both of them glares and his cheeks were practically pink with how annoyed he was at the younger two

needless to say taehyung and jungkook didn’t have any extra portions of beef from him

he is very protective of you and even if he’s become closer with his brothers more than he’s been close with you he jUST can’t help it!!

not that he doesn’t trust them or anything

not that he doesn’t trust you either

but he doesn’t want figurative blood on his figurative ledger because he feels that it would be his responsibility if ever yOu and someone became a thing and HE was the one who inteoduced you both :(

it’s not just a him thing :( he can’t put it into words but he’s just looking out for both parties!!!

kinda figured out that taehyung may or may not have a shy little crush on you

spoiler alert: it was HUGE

for their entire dinner, every single time your name was brought up, tae instinctively has his ears perk up at the mention

simultaneously he shrinks to his seat and purses his lips and looks around to what’s being said

why are u mentioning y/n’s name?? what is happening??

and taehyung having a serious case of sweater paws doesn’t help him from jimin’s observing gaze

and yes he feels a bit sorry because taehyung kinda looks a bit upset; that little “oh :((“ on his face when jimin snapped at him so quick

he’s not gonna force him to tho,, out of respect since someone else is involved (and in this case it’s you and your number)

jimin nudges him by the shoulder to get his attention

everyone’s passed out at this point because the beef was so damn good

tae kinda looks spaced out so he turns his head immediately and he forgot for a second that he was supposed to be cold with jimin

“what?”

“..... do you still want y/n’s number?”

taehyung almost fALLS out of his chair as he nods eagerly, making jimin shake his head to himself as he hesistantly takes out his phone from his pocket

oh god jimin’s phone is on his hand now oh god that’s your picture oh god that’s your number oH-

“i’m not gonna text her tonight if that’s you’re worried about?? i mean we barely know each other!! consider me asking for her number to be used for future references only :D”

“what does future references even mean?”

...

“... luggage. i want y/n’s luggage bag.”

...

“i also want y/n’s-...”

“BUTT OUT JUNGKOOK!! BUTT !! OUT !!”

when you open up your company’s email to you, you really can’t help but to feel nervous

today was your off-day and they specifically requested that you come to the main office at 10 AM sharp

and in your off-day, you aren’t even awake at that time of the morning!!

it wss both a blessing and a curse that you slept early the night before so your body clock just went “lol u wake up early today get up at 6”

and not to mention the fact that it was the same day you learned that you went viral last night when you were peacefully asleep

so the last few hours have been WILD and it kinda put you into shock

the closest you’ve ever been to fame was having your pictures leaked with jimin when you were still kids!!

if you were lucky enough, your face would be covered by every possible animal emoji that was ever released

apart from that, it was the occassional mention of your name in stan twitter and that was it

but THIS type of fame is on a whole another level!! higher than being tagged as jimin’s best friend outside of bts!! higher than having your face covered with animal emojis

when you thought that you were gonna be fired over being viral for some reason unbeknownst —

even if you know that you haven’t violated anything and if anything, you were the one who got violated because someone uploaded a picture of you without your consent!!!

so when you learn that they aren’t mad at all and ecstatic in fact

because your airline basically got free publicity and promotion just because you looked so good in pictures that weren’t even intentional

and that there is a more than noticeable spike in the bookings of flights

and that people were cALLING to ask if you would be the one to pilot that flight

AND RIVAL AIRLINES WERE CALLING IN TO ASK WHEN YOUR CONTRACT WOULD EXPIRE

and that said rival airlines were pitching in salaries that competed with your paycheck now aND THAT THEY WERE EVEN higher

needless to say that your day was more than eventful

you don’t know how to cope up with it either so while the meeting drags on to talk about your newfound fame you’re just :O the entire time

“i believe that park jimin from bts is a close friend of yours, correct?”

wAIT what

you shouldn’t be shocked by now because practically everyone’s familiar with him and the rest of the boys

but it still takes you off-guard because as much as he is your friend

and as much you admit that you miss jimin :(

or that you haven’t talked to him as much these past few days

you genuinely don’t see the connection of why jimin would be brought up into this conversation that doesn’t involve him in the first place

there’s a self-pitying realization in between that it seems like your only determining factor these days was to be known as a best friend of a kpop idol and nothing else

that’s a sad topic you’d rather not delve in at the moment

“prior to you being catapulted into fame suddenly — we reached out to their company for them to become our endorsers. a commercial and a billboard and some other things.”

“and this is just the pERFECT timing because you’re famous now and people love you!!!”

this was it

the stars were aligning for you

not only do you get to hang out with jimin, but now you’re launched into much more job opportunities!!

when the meeting concluded, you narrow it down to the conclusions that:

a) you’re most likely to film a commercial and some adverts and perhaps be included in a billboard with them (their company has yet to confirm within the week but your ceo ji-eun is damn sure at this point or else she will flip

b) you’re now getting an agent :D because apparently offers have been waiting for you left and right and they already got you one before you even said “yeah sure i guess???”

c) you’re getting a RAISE

d) sooner or later you’re gonna do this photoshoot so your own company could post about you this time

e) interviews. you’re gonna be asked to chat your heart out intentionally. i n t e r v i e w s

and it’s a humbling moment for sure because it’s like

oh. you didn’t mean for this to happen but it’s here now and you can make the most of this while it’s still here!! you get to do what you love and be with the people you love and basically get paid for it!!

oh is this what jimin feels like all the time then??

maybe you should apply as the 8th member of bts

it’s during an intentionally cold night in your apartment that your phone basically vibrates itself off the table

right when you were still in the bathroom taking your time because you were getting PR!! and the mask you just put on happens to be something you’ve been curious about but it was too expensive for you to be curious about lol

also: curiosity that leads you to buy either new skincare products or makeup are either a godsend or a godforsaken situation because 6 out of 10 times you do that, you breakout!!!

the sound of something clattering to the ground immediately makes you scramble towards your living room, phone flipped over to see jimin up close, eyes even in a picture enough to intimidate you for not answering immediately

“Y/N!!!”

“JIMIN!!!”

the both of you put each other on speaker mode because while you didn’t want to risk ruining your mask, the rest of the boys wanna listen in

the entire phone call was so intense because even in speaker mode you were still yelling at each other

and it was spent with so much enthusiasm on trying to catch up with the past days and jimin apologizing profusely because he’s been living under a rock

“i can’t believe it!! I CAN FINALLY RIDE IN ON A FLIGHT YOU’RE GONNA PILOT”

what

wait

“... jimin what do you mean”

because as far as you knew, the airline commercial would be done with a green screen to ensure that it’s of the best quality

not a gopro type of thing because ur flight attendants would yell real-time to the camera crew and the boys when they try to do something and the seatbelt sign is still on!!!

“wait jimin i think y/n wasn’t supposed to know that yet”

you hear a voice in the background and it’s very much familiar and it’s now hitting you that there’s an audience for your entire call

“namjoon, is that you???”

“Y/N IT’S ME!!! NAMJOON!! OMG”

and then you hear this scuffle over the line and a very slight commotion

it’s jimin holding his phone away with his arm and the other fending off namjoon while hobi scrambles to steal it back

jin is helplessly saying hello to you in the background while jungkook is hopping around going all “miss y/n i am a fan of you!!!”

taehyung is going all sweater paws again while yoongi is desperately trying to shut them up because he’s still listening into yours and jimin’s conversation and he’s genuinely engrossed ok

and now everyone’s calm and collected especially since jimin gives them a death glare each and nobody admits but angry jimin scares the shit out of them

he’s back to being soft-spoken now because he realizes that he may have slipped in saying information he probably shouldn’t have yet, a sheepish scratch at the back of his head

“uhm well you see you’re gonna fly us over for bon voyage and uhm kinda stick around for some pieces here and there?? uhm that’s from what i know hehe”

right now you’re just blanking out and staring into the distance and you’ve suddenly gone awfully quiet

yoongi’s on the background like “yo i think you just broke her”

“is y/n’s cell broken? i’m gonna get her a new one”

“is she okay?? wHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HER???”

“jimin-hyung you said y/n sometimes forgets to lock her door right??”

it’s once again another frenzy and once you realize that you’ve blanked out, you immediately shush them and they miraculously do

it’s a feeling of being overwhelmed and disbelief because this is more than you’ve ever asked for

to think that just last week you were tired and was about to pull off an AWOL because your off-day couldn’t have come nearer

“i certainly didn’t know that”

and there’s a nervous chuckle and a nervous silence that encompasses and for a moment, jimin frowns because he thinks that this is all too much for you and you’re gonna turn down the offer even before it’s gonna be officially pitched to you at a meeting tomorrow (you have yet to know that there’s gonna be another meeting tomorrow)

“oh my god i get to be with the lot of you!!!”

one excited shriek from you and that’s all it takes for hell to break loose

“JIMIN I MISSED YOU SO MUCH I CAN’T WAIT TO WHACK YOUR HEAD AGAIN”

“i can fINALLY meet jin and hope!!”

“where’s namjoon?? this old lady from one of my flights own a stall at the airport and she’s afraid of riding in airplanes! and i was apparently so good and she wasn’t scared and that she waited for me outside the cockpit! she gave me a written note saying that i could come to her stall anytime and the bOOKS I’M GONNA CHOOSE WILL BE FREE OF CHARGE EVERY SINGLE TIME”

“yoongi if you’re hearing this; i heard kyle kuzma’s gonna fly first class next week and i fly that same aircraft do u want me to ask for an autograph”

“we have a boatload of dog treats we give for lil ones we have onboard so they stay behaved!! taehyung can have them for yeontan”

“tell jungkook that he can finally have my walkie-talkie he’s been bugging me about!! i have a new one anyway”

it’s official

they love you

they are practically swooning right now and are mad at jimin because wHY DIDN’T YOU LET US KNOW Y/N SOONER

they only met you a couple times in the past and hobi and jin are jealous because atleast they got to meet you :((

and all of them are willing to take a splinter for you no doubt

everyone goes to sleep that night all warm and fuzzy and content

not to mention taehyung being so giddy about what you said

not only did you think of him you also thought about yeontan aNd you haven’t even met the little devil yet!!

and he isn’t the only one who thinks of this but

there’s just something about you that is so warm and so genuine

like you could be as introverted as yoongi and be as much of a team player and and extrovert as taehyung is when needed be

but the point is that there’s always something about you for everyone that makes them gravitated towards you

of course jimin explains this to you and you basically shut him off

“aish don’t put me in a pedestal because i swear that i’m not that special”

“why won’t you believe me??”

“because it isn’t true now eat your cereal jimin i will pinch you thru the screen”

the meeting comes soon enough and you have to pretend that this was your first time hearing this bit of information

the pilot you were helping learn the ropes, hyunjin, will take over your normal workload for the meantime!!

in less than one week’s time, you have to pack your bags for three-ish weeks!! because as from what you can tell, things are gonna be a bit more hectic for you because you’re not only gonna fly planes

for a run episode, the boys are gonna be your flight attendants in a mock flight with the passengers as staff members

but the plane being in the air and them wearing flight attendant uniforms will be very much real

and then another episode to be squeezed in with them trying out flight simulators and quizzed with aviation facts

and whether u did the best or the worst with the two-part episode

they’re still gonna go skydiving :)

they’re really milking out the sky motif but ok it wasn’t your show anyway and you were just gonna guest so they can go off by all means

after all that work, you’re gonna fly them off again but it’s for bon voyage this time!!

they basically res for two-ish weeks and you can tag along behind the scenes because i mean like you’re flying them home too so might as well

get some clips in between to be used for the commercial

and said commercial would be shot a few days after you all get back from said vacation!!

that’s it narrowed down and as you were taking notes, you can’t help but to feel very excited and nervous at the same time

a few days pass and it’s finally time!! yeah sure run episode but JIMIN AND THE BOYS CAN FINALLY SEE YOU NOW

you were supposed to reunite in the aircraft itself but jimin is an impatient baby which is why he’s called you insistently to say some excuse of “you have to go back to the empty boarding gate u need to meet your camera director”

lol but in truth you really don’t need to and where they are now is what you need to pass to get to said boarding gate

so when jimin sees you by the jet bridge they were all at, he sprints

like actually SPRINTS to get to you

and he attacks you with a massive bear hug and sprinkles you with noisy cheek kisses

“Y/N *kiss* I *kiss* MISSED *kiss* YOU *kiss* SO *kiss* MUCH *kiss*”

no lie you really did miss him too

and once you get him to calm down because he was crushing your bones and you return his cheek kisses

the boys are all just looking at the scene in front of them with awe

jungkook’s looking at namjoon with his eyes saying “lol imma do that too” and namjoon’s staring back going “NO”

taehyung’s extra pouty right now

he didn’t conisder the fact that maybe you and jimin were an unspoken thing and that his crush on you is now something he shouldn’t hold onto

he got discouraged very quickly

hobi is waddling to you at full-speed and goes for a hug which is wild move for someone who he’s just met (but u don’t mind)

“you’re adorable your uniform is so cute omg”

jin goes in for a hug too and you say something along the lines of “i could see the handsomeness they were talking about” and he goes absolutely rED

he’s laughing uncontrollably like a seal

namjoon was about to go in for a hug but then he sees your wrist and-

“iS THAT A KAWS WATCH???”

“OH MY GOD YOU NOTICED???”

“HOW COULDN’T I? THAT’S LIKE LIMITED EDITION HOW DID YOU GET IT”

“I HAVE A FRIEND THAT’S A COLLECTOR HE GIFTED IT TO ME I CAN GET YOU CONNECTED TOO”

you are now being wrapped with namjoon’s long arms

he doesn’t seem to be letting go of you soon

yoongi just has his arms wide and his eyes in a faux irritated manner

“what are you looking at”

and then his gummy smile appears when you just cave into his hug and jin is like??? “aH! y/n’s power is unparalleled”

jungkook immediately goes in for an embrace and even twirls you around

“ooh!! you have more piercings now than the last time i saw you!”

“i can pierce ears now!!”

“jungkook can you really”

“lmao no”

and now that it seems like hugging is the new norm, and taehyung being the last in line for you to greet, that kinda burns your nerves becauseif you were to “admit, you may or may not have a little crush on taehyung ever since the first time jimin introduced the both of you to each other

so you do the sensible thing and don’t think about it

no thoughts head empty head first

“tae!!!”

“aha y/n :D”

you hug him and well

taehyung blanked at that and panicked internally

the stark difference of your enthusiasm and his timid response was cringeworthy and it makes you screw your eyes shut as you hug him

but the moment tae realizes this, he holds on as you were trying to let go of him as qUICK as possible because it was too awkward for you to bear

and a little crushing if you were being honest

taehyung now takes first place for wanting to be reincarnated as a rock in the next life

after yoongi seeing that interaction he was just like ᵒᵒᶠ

before it goes anymore awkward though and tae starts squawking, jimin thankfully whisks you away

“you look so badass in your uniform will u let me wear it”

“let me wear your hoops and i’ll let u borrow”

“lol forget that i even asked”

no matter what, jimin doesn’t let you borrow his earrings!!

like even if the boys borrow some from him time to time

he absolutely does not let you borrow and when you ask why, he just rolls his eyes and smacks his lips and goes N-O

and then eventually he has to shoo you out because they have to film the intro at the jet bridge and you’re not supposed to be there really

jungkook excitedly squeezes you again and goes “see you later!!”

jeon jungkook knows what he’s doing

so right before the cameras start rolling, he’s just staring at the side of taehyung’s face in close proximity with a teasing smile on his face and then wiggles his eyebrows in the slightest when tae finally returns his stare with a knowing glare

“what was that awhile ago, hyung?”

“one more word out of ur mouth and i’m ratting you out to-...”

“i was just kidding hehe don’t rat me out to namjoon that i accidentally stained his precious table hehe pls”

and he blinks at that and is taken aback

because that was supposed to be an empty threat

and now that jungkook realizes he’s fallen smack-dab into the trap, he now wants to ignite himself

taehyung now has blackmail material :D

jungkook is now held captive by said blackmail material :D

they eventually get done with their intro and into the aircraft itself!! jimin is the one to introduce you and throughout the whole ordeal they’re just hyped-up bc it’s the first time they get to do this type of episode

and they’re doing it with you so that’s a plus

and they get changed into their custom flight attendant attire

snug pink get-up with a silk navy blue scarf tied around as the uniform’s collar

and golden nameplates engraved with their names on it

and AIR BANGTAN embroidered into the breast pocket!!

they looked absolutely good

your work would be lighter if only they were your actual flight attendants

you’d work every single day

even though they could be tiresome at times bc they could be all over the place

taehyung was admittedly swooning the whole time

the production staff made you alter your speech a bit so you could insert air bangtan and introduce all seven of them individually for the skit

and then everyone’s briefed with what they have to do and how safety should be the no. 1 priority

and then it’s takeoff time!!!!

jimin is really really proud of you

he takes advantage of this as his bragging rights

“aha that’s my best friend who’s flying the plane we are in right now :)”

“lol i love y/n i was best friends with her first :)”

“best take-off ever in your life amirite :)”

“i’m friends with a pilot in case you didn’t know :) no big deal”

“technically that’s captain jimin to you too now :)”

it was a fun and a chaotic episode

a bit unsafe? yes

but then the icing at the top was taehyung swooning at everything you did and cussing at himself every time he remembers how he screwed up earlier

he is the most behaved person in this flight and he wants you to know that :((

yoongi’s mercilessly teasing him

“y/n’s gonna come out to do her landing speech soon; you should pretend reading the safety manual now”

“somebody give taehyung a barf bag and a pen he’s gonna ask for an autograph from y/n”

“ey jimin do they sell y/n’s perfume in this flight?? someone just wants to ask”

the episode wraps soon enough but not without jimin rowding everyone to CLAP FOR THE PILOT WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE MY BEST FRIEND AHA EVERYTHING WAS SO SMOOTH SO COMFY QUICK TAKE A PICTURE OF ME N MY PILOT BEST FRIEND :D

and there’s just this innate feeling everyone feels every once in a while

that everything feels so right and so complete

it’s like complete nirvana

and before you know it, bon voyage is already happening

a vacation with seven best friends (jimin insists that he has the superlative best when you’re talking about them as friends)

(and maybe one of them you don’t see as a best friend and perhaps something more and that person really doesn’t show much enthusiasm for you as you do for him)

(it’s taehyung)

and it’s not like taehyung isn’t fond of you

in fact, he very much is!! believe him!!

it’s just that he’s paralyzed over his crush on you and the fact that he sees you often because of these circumstances and he can’t believe it

too paralyzed over the fact that he might and may have already made a fool out of himself

and that he’s afraid to make moves on you with the boys here because jESUS CHRIST

he knows he would be teased mercilessly or he would be teased mercilessly while they help him out but they would never let him live this down

and jimin

oh god jimin

because as much as jimin loves him, he knows that one wrong move on you and he knows he’s gonna yeet him to the han river

he doesn’t know either what would be jimin’s reaction if he knew of his crush on you!! will he flip? will he be happy? wILL HE FORBID HIM FROM SEEING YOU EVER AGAIN????

at times he could be very overbearing

and he admits that

but all for good cause as he tries to explain

oh and jungkook

damn jungkook

he’s caught on pretty quickly about tae’s crush on you

and kook likes you but not in the way tae likes you

it’s just a fuzzy, warm, and platonic type of like like what the other boys have for you

but with fLIRTINESS

jimin’s the same but it was natural since you’ve been friends for absolutely ages

jungkook’s however was very fresh and very aBRUPT

it’s him trying to get a rise from taehyung and urging him to just make a damn move on you

he hopes that his flirtiness with you would just intimidate his hyung to the point that “open your eyes!!! oh what am i doing?? don’t you feel that i’m trying to steal y/n away from you?? MAKE A MOVE!!” gets across

taehyung has yet to realize that though

bon voyage doesn’t really include you (as you also try to remove yourself out of the picture as much as possible)

the cameras aren’t always turned on and not all hours of the day are spent on filming

so they can still get to do things and activities without staff members flooding the house!!

the house you’re all staying at is a gigantic one

so it got divided into two wings and you can even close it off!!

one wing solely for the boys and the other for you and the production staff

you were at their wing more often than you are in yours though

and during these past few days that turned into weeks, you’ve been closer to them more than you could imagine

they were easy to get around with!! them knowing that jimin knows you is a plus factor if you think about it

and even if not for that fact, they still think not much would’ve changed in your present friendship dynamic right now

it was comforting to be with them, really

the other way around!!

and you could also hang out with them either individually or as a group and it wouldn’t be awkward!!

.. taehyung may or may not be a slight issue though

you honestly think that he hates you :(

and you’re trying to backtrack your actions to see if you may have done something to him

you always try to keep up with his energy

jungkook was fooling around with a drone and trying to experiment flying it

and then he suddenly had this idea of “tae do you think you could outrun my drone”

and kook’s whipping his head around for you as if in a silent question to ask “wait is that possible”

and you’re just over there narrowing your eyes like “jungkook just because i’m a pilot,,,,, it doesn’t mean i know every flying object in the air and how to operate it,,,,,”

...

“but y/n can you outrun my drone tho”

it’s the sudden challenge that takes you aback and makes your eyebrow raise

and then it’s become a cHALLENGE

taehyung’s competitiveness making him forget that you’re even there and that he’s not acting all conscious

so it’s literally all fun and laughter

and the both of you may or may not be so caught up into this stupid challenge you stupidly both participated to

you’re not even sure if there was a rEWARD for this

so stupidly caught up to the point that jungkook’s already led the both of you to the beach that you were overlooking from the house you all stayed at

(jungkook’s running with the drone and that completely destroys the purpose of the drone but he’s having fun too ok)

before you knew it, both you and tae are crashing full-speed into the beach and it takes a collective second for you to realize that you both were indeed wet when you’re hip-deep into the water

and it sends another burst of laughter and you’re just looking at him helplessly and out of breath

“oh my god i didn’t even-...”

it hits taehyung now that he’s having full-on eye contact with you on what the fuck is he doing

he just immediately tenses and all the alarms in his head are going off

‘hahahaha yes :)”

and there it is again

that noticeable shift in the air that makes your mouth dry at what could you have possibly done

he’s quick on walking himself out of the water, quite literally leaving you there

jungkook’s by the shoreline laughing himself to death and sees taehyung waddling himself out

“hYUNG OMG YOU DIDN’T EVEN-...”

ok what was that

what the fuck was that

he only gets a blank laugh in return and it’s a dampener for his mood right now

and it only sinks in now that why is taehyung returning by himself

“y/n did you drown????”

no you didn’t drown

but the idea did seem enticing because you felt so embarrassed and down with what just happened

so right now jungkook just has his arm around your shoulders as he’s trying to figure everything out

“did i -- did i do something wrong?”

and even if the context isn’t clear. he immediately says no

the both of you are just walking back to the house while the sun sets and he still isn’t sure of what happened but he knows that it’s enough to make you sad and most probably has something to do with taehyung

he just wants to cheer you up :(

so mid-way he kinda picks you up wordlessly and you don’t fight him about it

you’re completely drained of your energy both physically and emotionally

you melt into jungkook’s grasp on you as your way of thanks and he acknowledges it with a squeeze on your arm

by the time you get back, everyone’s just doing their own thing because it’s nearing dinner

kook kinda plops you into the couch yoongi’s sitting on

his eyes question that something’s kinda off but he doesn’t question it

and you just crawl the short distance so that you’re laying on his lap and be sad in peace there

all he does it just past your head once and that’s it

and he’s just watching a replay of a basketall game because he hasn’t had time to catch up with those championship games (even if he knows who won and who lost)

and out of the blue yoongi just hears you softly pipe in

“my ex is a professional basketball player”

“wHO’S YOUR EX WHAT KIND OF PROFESSIONAL ARE-...”

and you shush him bc you don’t want anybody else to know

“omg jimin doesn’t know this?? and i’m like the first one to know?”

“yes”

oh and he kinda huddles because after all, this is a secret and it does have something to do with basketball

“professional as in he played in this show you’re watching rn”

“is he in this game????”

“lol no from what i know, he got injured even before championship but yeah his team’s playing right now”

“what’s his name???”

“theo. i call him theo”

and then that name sounds awfully familiar and he’s specifically requesting to see what he looked like and even tries to get hobi to look for your phone

but your pictures with him are all deleted now so you just make yoongi search up his name and he’s like :O

“....... why did you break up then..,,.,”

and then you just gently explain that it was a mutual decision and that both your jobs were demanding

so yeah it was impossible to happen

and yoongi forgot that fifteen minutes ago, jungkook just plopped you here because you wanted to lie down and were too sad to function

and he made you retell what happened to you and your ex that only he knows about

so he feels a little guilty

“you don’t have to speak if you don’t want to :(”

and you just wave him off that catches him off-guard

“nah it’s all okay :)”

man were u selfless

yoongi now loves you more

jin and namjoon finish dinner soon enough and everybody goes down to eat

even taehyung who’s with jimin

and it doesn’t even look like something’s wrong

but jimin’s counting all the heads in the room and was like ‘wAit where’s y/n???”

he sees you getting yourself out from lying in yoongi’s lap and he’s there with you in a heartbeat cooing at you

“y/n baby what happened”

and you’re back to lying down again but this time it’s jimin pushing you to lie on his shoulder as he’s stroking your hair

you said “nothing”, you know...,,., like a liar

jimin throws yoongi a questioning look and the older boy just shrugs his shoulders because he doesn’t know either

taehyung’s abandoned at the edge of the stairs

and you were about to scoff but that obviously doesn’t hurt as much when he abandoned you hip-deep into the water

“mhmmm i see :D”

jimin most definitely knows you’re lying but he doesn’t want to prod into it because it’s obvious that you weren’t in the mood to be questioned

at this point he’s just trying to cheer you up but in the same time give you sustenance

he’s literally feeding you right now

jin cooked up a lot of box mac n’ cheese (he transferred it into actual bowls) from the conveniece store and you know what

he wanted to try it out

it is not the healthiest thing in the world but atleast it’s somehow foreign right????

as much as jimin loves you, he does want to eat though

so he asked jungkook to get him a big-ass bowl with a portion big enough for the both of you and he did just that

but you aren’t that much cooperative because you’re not eating that much and jimin is really really enticed with the smell of the food rn and jungkook senses that

“i’ll feed her, hyung!! go get another spoon for you or something”

he is really thankful for that so he just pushes the bowl to kook and scrambles for a utensil and perhaps even his own bowl

jungkook’s feeding you now and without jimin sending you a questioning glance every two seconds, you’re more cooperative

taehyung is sitting by the far corner of the couch parallel to yours and he is CLENCHING

and he’s groaning to his mac n’ cheese and namjoon is ??? why are you like this ???

“good. it tastes so good.”

he nods but he’s still sending tae a questioning look

you eventually gained the appetite to eat

but jungkook was in charge of the dishes tonight and he doesn’t want to wash one more spoon so he insisted that you just share one instead

taehyung is gonna COMBUST

he is now practically yelling into his mac n’ cheese

everyone is now ??? at him and he makes a show of just shoving the bits of pasta to his mouth

“jin-hyung :) namhoon-hyung :) this is so delicious :) how did you do this :)”

“...... taehyung that’s instant,,,, boiled water and the cheese powder...,.,”

“aHA so that’s why :)”

his actions are v fishy and v funny

but deep down he is boiling angry and frustrated both at himself and a jungkook

kook is giggling to the bowl right now that you had to pry it away from him

you’re not even LOOKING at taehyung’s direction

usually you did

but your will to treat him like how he treats you is stronger

that’s it that’s gonna be the rest of the trip

if there’s any personality trait you’re gonna pick up from jimin from having been his friend for so long

it would be the stubbornness

you avoid taehyung like the flu

AND HE NOTICES THAT

AND THE BOYS ARE STARTING TO NOTICE IT TOO

jimin is the one most on-guard about that

and he is whispering to everyone except taehyung

“if you see something that relates to y/n and taehyung tell me ok tELL ME!!!”

and even tae feels sad about it to the point that he’s trying to make a conscious effort in making conversation with you

when you’re on the floor with your laptop turned on and they’re surrounding you trying to help you out with your emails

emails that don’t relate to aviation work and more-on to the viral side of things such as designer !!! brands !!! reaching out to you personally instead of your agent!!!

“mhmm they have really good shoes. what’s your favorite color anyway?”

and he says that in the midst of voices overlapping bUt the boys realized that taehyung gave input into the conversation and wAS LIKe wait wait tae’s speaking shut up shut up

but jimin answers for you in a heartbeat and hobi pinches his arm and he was laughing suddenly

he’s looking around trying to say something with eyes

“lol i’m sorry did i ruin his move on y/n”

and his subconscious-

“WAIT WHAT TAEHYUNG IS MAKING MOVES ON Y/N???”

it takes all four of his hyungs to plead him to shut up with their glares and don’t make this anymore awkward as tae wants to be swallowed wholly by the ground

your resolute will doesn’t crumble until jimin makes it his ultimate mission to find a drink that’s gonna sink you

because your alcohol tolerance was brought up again when they were talking about buying drinks

and jimin tells the story of how you outdrank him one night and didn’t wake up with a deadlier hangover than he did aNd he was still curious to how you did it

you don’t know either but you’re as interested as them in finding a drink that’s gonna sink you

hobi’s random pick in the grocery store did JUST that

you finally sunk

you finally got as drunk as jimin’s level

as in a shit-faced type and not just a happy buzz you usually felt

you and jin have been laughing without end for five minutes now

no one even joked

you just made eye contact with each other and you both immediately started to wheeze

he was starting to get so red he looked borderline pURPLE if you were still seeing clearly

yoongi was laughing by seeing the two of you laugh because it was starting to get contagious at the point

by now namjoon’s back was being slapped carelessly by yoongi who’s pleased with himself

taehyung has a grin on his face because you were so adorable

as if his cheeks weren’t warm enough just by seeing you so happy and bubbly

and the heat in his chest isn’t just because of the alcohol nor the warmth his sweater provided

maybe this isn’t a little crush anymore :((

while he’s ignoring that possibility, everyone else is considering it

everyone besides you :((

jimin’s on his feet at the moment because oh my god it’s happening!!!

good news because you’re drunk out of your mind

and bad news that you’re drunk out of your mind

so he’s tending to you with a glass of water and you won’t drink it

he’s trying harder this time by putting the glass to your lips but you were flailing around so much by laughing that it spilled some to you and jimin himself

he’s now looking for a straw

this one’s for boba but he has to settle for this now

and he’s trying to coax you into drinking it

hE’S EVEN USING A VOICE HE USES FOR BABIES

“but water tastes like nothing :((”

“which is exactly what you need”

“but i want it to taste like something”

he’s about to groan but then he sees your eyes glossing

and oh god did he hear a whimper

“y/N BABY DON’T CRY OK OK WHAT DO YOU WANT????”

he’s now looking for an ice cold chocolate drink that isn’t overly sweet

namjoon has made it his personal decision to follow jimin around

and with his twofold clumsiness at this state, yoongi follows him but not without holding on to the back of jooni’s shirt so he could be slid around

jin stands up and follows them but he’s not sure why

“why are you all -- this is NOT a conga line!!!”

hobi’s staring into the distance turned into snoring

taehyung isn’t all that drunk

but you, on the other hand, are very much drunk

tae’s not sure to why you’re approaching him

maybe it’s because the hoodie he’s wearing now is jungkook’s

maybe it’s because jimin’s scent is on his hair from having borrowed his shampoo

maybe it’s because you’re drunk and your first thought is him even if drunk

but all his thoughts fly out the door when you’re squeezing yourself into the couch he’s lying on at the very moment

one that’s too small for the two of you and that he had to grab you split-second because you were about to fall out of the couch so hard if not for his strong grip that holds you

“y/n.”

taehyung’s not sure either to what his tone contained

whether it was for warning or for reprimanding, literally all his thoughts are crushed once again the moment you speak

“you’re voice is very deep.”

he’s not sure if you know this either but you were unconsciously cuddling up to his side, filling in the gap at the couch that just made you barely fit

you’re

cuddling

him

“a-and it’s very calming.”

he’s not sure to why but the moment you put your hand on his chest because you were basically almost lying on top of him

his first instinct was to put his hand on the small of your back

and the moment and the feelings were so warm that fuck this isn’t the alcohol anymore

nor the sweater

so warm to the point that the both of you don’t notice jimin’s :O and everyone else’s :D

because the make-shift conga line has arrived right in front of where you are and hobi just woke up

and right when everything feels surreal

taehyung watches a split-second decision happen right in your eyes

you just kissed the tip of his nose

:’)

taehyung thinks he’s gonna ascend to heaven

it’s the softest moment ever because you pull away trying to gauge his reaction

he’s all red with his bottom lip in between his teeth and oh my god his eyes are so expressive

jimin steps in tho

and he clears his throat and taehyung iS SUDDENLY BACK TO EARTH

oh my god oh my god that just happened oh my god

this is a bit more scary and intimidating now

because jimin doesn’t look neither thrilled nor angry

he looks neutral

neutral blank-faced on the verge of who knows what jimin is the most frightening jimin

“hey baby here’s your chocolate drink you asked for :)”

and with just a head rub you immediately come to your senses and are already making grabby hands to the cold mug (with a straw!!) and you’re scrambling to stand up and jimin’s helping you to stay stable because you’re attached to him now

taehyung is now looking at his hands as if they were the most entertaining things in the world “wow look at my rings i have never seen them before so shiny so silver”

and he knows jimin can see right through him

jimin has the tiniest hands out of all of them while he has the largest

and u know what

he could be still strangled with those same hands

and u know what too

maybe he’ll accept that wrath because he kinda deserves it

he’s sent a brief look that’s enough to let him know that the both of them will talk

that taehyung shouldn’t leave this couch

nor leave this house

nor this country

you know what maybe tae better start timing his record on how long he can go without breathing

he can do that for a minute and a half underwater

soon enough jimin finally tucks you in with not much protest

much force from him tho but much more apologies and coos when he apologizes and you do as asked

got to make u brush your teeth and change into a fresh set of pajamas

he has to trick you into “seokjin would be mad at u when he learns that you went to sleep with dirty clothes on”

and him being the good friend that he is

since he also achieved of getting to sink you with a drink

he’s gonna go the extra mile

went so far as to wipe you with a wet towel and dry you off since you didn’t want to shower and he’s afraid ur probably gonna fall asleep not even midway

he even does your skincare routine for you

you kept giggling when he was patting your face so he did it more but now you were in the verge of tearing because in your drunk state you tHOught he was slapping you over and over again with both palms at the same time

and after all that

jimin finally gets around with taehyung on the couch and the younger boy just immediately straightens his posture

...

“...,.,., so you and y/n.,.”

there are literally no words in his mouth

“aha yes me and y/n :D”

and it’s a habit of tae’s to be incoherent whenever he’s flustered

that kinda doesn’t help his case because jimin needs ALL of his brainpower and coherence

“what are your intentions?”

“uhm i uhm aha :D great pilot. no jet lag.”

he’s nodding even there isn’t something to nod at

god he didn’t even drink much but he feels just as floaty and as spent

“calm down, taehyung.”

he SOBERS at that

jimin even pats at his knee to try and ground him

“y-you’re not mad at me??”

“lol i kinda am to be honest”

“but i’m only mad because you treated her from the start as if you didn’t like her!!”

“but hyung you knOw it’s hard and -- wait was it really obvious??”

“there’s a difference between being shy AND being an insensitive ass that leaves the room whenever she enters!!!”

“but-...”

“and i know that people cope with things differently but your mechanism with your little crush on y/n was just kinda off for her, y’know? like this is the time she genuinely gets to know you and not just a five-second introduction by me!! and it’s just kinda a ballsy move because she just got to know you in this level and you’re acting like an ass and she doesn’t know why!!”

“ok but-...”

“and ok the boys and i aren’t mad that you kept from us because it was pretty obvious but i mEAN like you could have just went to us, ya know?? even if some would give poor advice, it’s the thought that counts!!”

“jimin-...”

“oH also what if y/n fell for jungkook instead of you, huh??? he has balls and he doesn’t even like her in that way!!”

this effectively shuts tae up because he hasn’t really considered that possibility

and it’s a dunk at sobering reality that each one of these days he let pass could have been the moment but it was just him hindering himself

because he is a shy boi for you and the crippling fear of rejection just always paralyzes him

aND NOW THAT TONIGHT HAPPENED!!!

with his nose still tingling and his cheeks still flushed because of that kiss

with somehow permission from jimin

with you in the picture now and everything in place

taehyung really can’t help but pout adorably and cry up tears of happiness a bit

jimin hugs him for that with a pat on his back

they both know though that even without any verbal warning that jimin will give taehyung hell if ever he breaks your heart

tae kinda pales at the realization because it may be a conflict of interest

and jimin would be like

lol :) why would you be afraid of me when you have no intention of hurting her :)

tae SWEARS he could hear jimin in his head and he was about to reply but he realizes that he’s just a little bit worried and much more overwhelmed

needless to say that things really did do change overnight

you were trashed yet thankful that you remembered most of how the night went including that bit in which you were drunkenly topping and cuddling taehyung then pressing a soft little kiss to the tip of his nose

you could still hear your internal monlogue of “boop :D” when you kissed him

you’re woken up by the boys (yoongi included because it turned out you slept in for much longer) since today was a no-film day and they basically get to do anything in this vacation without it being documented and such

it was just a never-ending warm feeling with tae

throughout the whole day he was just grinning at you and maintaining eye contact and at times when you’re not even doing anything

(he’s glued to your side much to the grumpiness of jimin)

it was a slow burn at most

bumping shoulders and squeezing of wrists

having his hand casually on the small of your back and around your shoulders

taehyung scrunching his nose SO MUCH

hobi is genuinely concerned

“tae do u have a cold??”

yoongi is fucking relentless

“what? what? what did the good boy smell???”

seokjin keeps pursing his lips intentionally after trying to gain tae’s attention and he = would shrug his shoulders excessively

“i saw that u little punk i SAW that”

namjoon would be on tune with how yoongi just won’t stop

“tie that bandana around your neck instead and sTOP sniffling”

jungkook would roll his eyes and scoff playfully whenever taehyung would glance at him

“do i need to kiss y/n so you’d be jealous enough to do so??”

jimin would be the mediator with all the teases but that doesn’t exactly mean he’s on tae’s side either bc the one time taehyung bragged that jimin was protecting him, he got whacked on the side of the head

“lol no this isn’t for u taehyung,, i’m just doing this because y/n’s cheeks are so hot and they’re burning a hole on my shoulder”

as much as your relationship was slowly but surely blossoming with taehyung

it happened for the boys as well!! even with jimin who you didn’t even think was possible to get closer to

bonding with jin was spontaneity and strict adherance to plans combined

“jin do u know milktpapi on twitter”

“bubble would have been a better name for that puppy”

following twitter recipes that are fast-paced and a little vague became a big hit for the both of you

he went on a watching binge one night and the morning after there were just paper bags on the counter of ingredients upon ingredients that he so sweetly asked the staff to get for him

DC CUPCAKES!!!!!!!

he liked that there has to be some type of drama between those two sisters

jin would just be ranting to you with no end

“they were on CONEy island,,, C O N E ,,,, and she made cupcakes in cONES but they still chose the sister who thought hAMBURGERS,,, in C O N E y island,,,, was a good idea!!!”

another inside game was to guess the personification of inanimate things but to food

“what must sadness taste like”

jin and you and the never-ending bickering between the two of you almost always fills in as white noise

yoongi and you are rather a quite dynamic duo

and as hobi explains that you could just really really catch on with his tempo

like at times they would just catch the two of you lying on the same couch but at the opposite ends with your feet meeting in the middle

awake and in complete silence

jungkook has his eyes squinted

“why are you texting each other????”

and it has him genuinely baffled but he’s just answered with a grumble and he CAN’T tell whether it’s from you or yoongi

just like with jin, there’s also a food approach

“that dumpling kinda looks like namjoon”

“i was JUST about to say that”

it wasn’t a showy type of friendship with yoongi; rather a more silent concern type of thing and the occasional hug

love language with him seems to be the both of you having a drum-off because he has a nervous habit of tapping his fingers

and he’s v thankful because oh :) you’ve just distracted me from that thing i was nervous about :)

also likes snoozing off so whenever you can, you squeeze in a pillow when his neck’s in an awkward position and when he wakes up and realizes he’s just like :) gummy smile :)

hobi is a force to be reckoned with

asking “hey r u ok” out of the blue even if you weren’t particularly sure how the other one felt and sometimes one of your heads would just whip and go “you noticed???? :(”

hanging with him whenever he scrolls at his phone and online shops

the only difference is that he buys what he wants

“you’re telling me that we scrolled for like an hour and you’re not buying any of the things you saw????”

and you just pass it off every time because although a pilot’s wage is above average salary, your future and earning isn’t as sECURED and SOLID as his was

that doesn’t stop him peeking at your cart when you aren’t looking and adding it to his and perhaps checking out :) i mean it’s definitely not from him when you see some parcels in your doorstep by the time you get home :) not from him :)

it’s become a constant thing to link your arms together!!!

even if you’re not necessarily walking, it is essential to link arms with you as he argues

one time jimin tried getting in between your linked arms with hobi bc he wanted to join

hobi IMMEDIATELY glares at him and jimin backed off like sheesh ok but u don’t get to do the things i do with y/n either

writing on each other’s forearms is a thing too

sometimes it’s to conversate when you’re not in the mood to talk verbally

sometimes it’s just about talking shit but don’t tell jin he has his coat on backwards he looks laughable

“can u choreograph something for twinkle twinkle little star”

“y/n i-...”

nAMJOON however feels like he should’ve met you earlier like WAY WAY EARLIER

he gets on with you so well and sometimes he just sulks to jimin

“why didn’t you introduce y/n earlier to me god what was life like before y/n”

brain talk is more prevalent than ever because there are thoughts that delve deep into your mind that sometimes only namjoon could get

noah fence but if you were to rant about this to jimin, he would just drone off and grumble and he’d turn to sleeping because he just can’t help it

movie symbolisms????? count that to him and jungkook

after watching parasite for the nth time, you’re sure all three of you had all bases covered but nO it was somehow bottomless

“isn’t it ironic and somehow oxymoronic that...”

he is eternally grateful for you because one night the boys wanted to have a seafood night and u may or may not have had some recipes sent in your airline gc with how your airplane food was made

(surprisingly it didn’t suck)

and you considered him since he hates it and you know what,, he gets something else cooked for him

god namjoon gets why taehyung is smitten with you

also joonie is a bit oblivious to this fact but the other boys notice that you always bring him back a trinket of some sort

you noticed (and jimin might have pointed out one time) that he tended to fiddle with things and do small tasks whenever he was ticked off or stressed out

you keep note that you should gift him one of those fun kiddie entertainment packs when you’re back to regular programming as a pilot

it’s also a constant thing for you to bury your head to his chest

for no reason at all

it’s really comforting to say the least

he could be preparing breakfast and you’re just trudging down the stairs still not fully awake

“hey. i’m making-...”

boop

“oh ok jus hang there if you want but u might get burnt by the pan but it’s ok it’s ur call”

jimin has become even much more of a precious being

gets in your nerves a bit more often than the last time but it’s normal at this point

head rubs that lull you to sleep are the best :((

taehyung sometimes looks to his hands because jimin got you to sleep instantly and he pouts

“how do you do that?? i wanna do that too pls”

jimin’s voice feels like a warm weighted comforter,, that you gotta admit

“your voice is very velvet-y and it’s unfair because i can’t stay mad at you”

“𝓲 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀“

you still make an awed face whenever jimin cracks his bones

you’re in the middle of being fond and being disgusted at the sound so it’s still a 50/50 whether you grimace or gasp at him

“can i pls borrow your hoops”

“you could ask a million times and i would still say no”

playing with his rings whenever you’re sad is a habit you would never grow out of

which is why you were attached to him by the hip,,, or rather hands ,,, when taehyung was in the verge of being an ass to you

jungkook is something ELSE

if you aren’t lingering around jimin or taehyung, you would definitely be around him

taehyung is most jealous with the two of you but no he didn’t say that :)

annoying each other is the no. 1 task

but lately annoying feels like second nature now so it doesn’t seem like tradition anymore

you would be his audience whenever he’s drawing because you’re genuinely enthrilled with him and his work

“how are you so good at this”

you’re almost always trying to copy what he draws

“what were you attempting with this”

“i was attempting your drawing”

“lmao are you sure with that???”

jungkook likes playing with you by pretending that he’s annoyed

but when he sees that u made his art your lockscreen, he was so awed that he was literally about to BAWL

he pretends not to notice when you push your food to his plate because you either aren’t too keen with the dish or you’re just too full

when jimin calls you out for “y/n why are you putting ur food on jungkook’s plate” and jungkook with “and jungkook why are you accepting it”

kook just shrugs and comes to defend you

“nope i didn’t see anything hyung :D”

if you liked shoving your head to namjoon’s chest, you liked leaning on jungkook’s shoulder

seokjin looks most offended

“not even half of me y/n not even H A L F of me”

this really warms taehyung’s heart

because not only are you close to him but also with his brothers!!

even if he wants to deck jungkook sometimes

and that he may need to work on his jealousy

but none of those things matter because he’s given the assurance that you’re exclusive

that he may be yours and you may be his

as cheesy as that sounded

taehyung’s working on a plan to properly ask you out once bon voyage ends and not just steal cheek kisses from time to time

or hold your hand and avoid your gaze because he too will surely combust

or hug you from behind tenderly

much to the teasing and the hoots of the boys

and jimin’s occasional scowls but that’s ok he’s moving on and slowly starting to accept the fact that he can’t be overbearing this much anymore

bon voyage wraps soon enough

and truth be told you didn’t want it to end because you were in such bliss!!

it was a very memorable trip that you now carry close to your heart

and the fact that they still have a commercial to be filmed with you and some billboards to be shot makes you very :D

since the commercial was to be filmed tomorrow and you lived close to the airport, jimin initiated the idea of “hey what about if we just sleep over at y/n’s place??” which was very applauded

taehyung squeals the loudest when the idea was pitched in

“lol no you don’t get to sleep in the same bed as y/n”

namjoon shoots jimin a look that he was being overbearing again

“or you could just let her decide :)”

it’s only been four days since they last saw you but needless to say that it was borderline chaos when they met you at your apartment that was more on the spacious side

“y/n’s uncle kinda owns the building” jimin explains at first because the building did look more lavish than the average complex

“d-do i get to meet y/n’s uncle??”

taehyung is a bit nervous because he didn’t know that fact obviously and now he’s meeting the family and he is unprepared jesus christ and-

“no he probably won’t like you”

“jimin sTOP making taehyung nervous because he’s gonna start sniffling again”

the lot of them get to your apartment before you because your flight got delayed and therefore jimin just had to whip out his key you gave him as an extra

he does it fast enough before taehyung takes a deep dive to how he doesn’t have an extra key from you or something like that

jimin does feel like he’s being a bit hard on tae so he lays off of it for now

taehyung has the ultimate heart eyes for you the moment you come home

“i missed you” in the most adorable and heartwarming tone

and there it was again

a cheek kiss and not just a quick peck!!

a tight hug to your waist and a nuzzle against your hairline!!

MUCH WARMTH AND FUZZINESS

once jimin finally got to pry taehyung off of you because he claims that he’s hogging you all to himself, you’re met with very eager hugs and greetings

seokjin and basically everyone else are still in awe seeing you in your uniform so he squeezes in a quick pic in his phone

you sent him a look and when you peered in, the picture turned out really cool with the nice lighting your apartment had

AND he’s really pushing it that it was good because of the app he downloaded that made pictures have a vintage film cam aesthetic to it

so you yielded and just told him to send the picture to you later

aha ego boost :D

they insisted on cooking dinner since you did look a bit exhausted from your round of flights even if it was routine at this point (the highlight was when some people recognized you from the pics that went viral and asked to take a pic with you when you were greeting them out!!)

“are you really sure you’re gonna cook dinner, tae? i could always order-...”

“you don’t need to!! i wanna cook for you anyway!!”

that was heartwarming more than usual

jungkook clears his throat

“....,., and us”

“aha yes of course i meant for you and the boys as well :D”

you go to change clothes more than enthusiastically now

because things just seemed to be good with no complications at all

the idea of domesticity with taehyung makes you iMPLODE just by thinking about it

the thought was too soft and too fuzzy that you’ve become energized

maybe reading a couple of emails before taking a shower and cleaning up and getting yourself to look a bit more presentable isn’t a bad thing

it isn’t anything but sheer giddiness when you check your inbox and see an edited version of a run bts ep from a staff member you befriended during bon voyage!!!

you kinda get now what jimin was saying that you had the ability to have people wrapped around your finger

maybe it’s charisma you picked up from wanting to please people just so you could have extra credit???

anyways

it’s a run bts ep you get one of the first dibs on to watch so that’s always a reward

basically the context for it was that it was a hot tub confessions type of thing!! the twist was that they had to speak their heart out (their dislike is very much encouraged) over a certain someone bUT they had to rely on their ~telepathy because names wouldn’t drop

and it was a random selection to who would start the confession first and the others had to go with the flow and basically hope that they’re talking smack about the same person lol

only the name blank would be used and it for the pronoun!!

you were already making assumptions to who it would be about

it could be about jungkook because throughout the whole trip, he would literally gasp out of the blue and take the others in shock like seagulls going WHAT WHAT WHAT IS IT WHAT WHAT

or maybe jimin because he’s a lil shit and would pull chairs and that hobi fell victim and was so annoyed because he fell on his ass so hard

last prospect was seokjin simply because,, as jungkook emphasized throughout this whole trip,, “ʲᶦⁿ⁻ʰʸᵘⁿᵍ ᶦˢ ˢᵒ ᵒˡᵈ ᵒʰ ᵐʸ ᵍᵒᵈ” just because he complained about his lower back one time

speaking of jin, he gets chosen to open the game!!

and he buffers for a moment that gets another tease from jungkook

“ᵒʰ ᵐʸ ᵍᵒᵈ ʲᶦⁿ⁻ʰʸᵘⁿᵍ'ˢ ᵐᵉᵐᵒʳʸ ᶦˢⁿ'ᵗ ᵍᵒᵒᵈ ᵃⁿʸᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵍᶦᵛᵉ ʰᶦᵐ ʰᶦˢ ᵐᶦˡᵏ“

“blank bought me an actual film camera!! bit more complicated than taehyung’s!! keeps telling me every five seconds about my settings and i!! i KNOW HOW TO WORK IT THANK U VERY MUCH!!”

although jin is a bit guilty about that because he admits that he has a more-than-sure feeling that most of his pics may or may not be either over-exposed or too dark

this reminds you of that time you bought a film camera for jin on a whim because it was on sale and you were talking about it the night before

lol what a coincidence

hobi takes second call

he is only about a quarter-percent sure to who jin was pertaining to so he trails around for a bit

“blank is like a broken kitchen timer”

he plays it safe with that one

although there is some sort of edge with his bluntness because everyone might be a little drunk hehe

“blank looks at things as if it was born yesterday!! literally goes :O”

even goes so far to imitate said expression and it makes everyone gIGGLE

yoongi snorts with that and now he’s a bit more feisty since he’s tipsy

“it joins me in my silence”

wait

“texts me even if i’m in the same room like wtf i can see you”

wait

hold on

“likes hUGGING ME TOO MUCH”

you really didn’t like making things about you because other people doing that makes you tick

but there’s this unsteady feeling in your gut

something that makes you think deep in thought and in doubt

jimin was next to speak so that calms your nerves

he would never, right??

maybe you’re just taking things to heart!! the boys really aren’t talking smack about you, right??

your breath is just held because jimin was surely taking his time in making a show with inhaling so deeply so he could yell a bit more dramatically

“DOES IT NOT HAVE ITS OWN CLOTHES????”

your eyes flicker for a moment to the sweater that’s by your dresser

something of jimin’s that you forgot to return

oh.

“needier and whinier than jungkook”

it was the youngest’s turn to cackle

and at this point you’re only half-listening

you’re a bit too preoccupied with the hurt blooming in your chest

“i!! am!! not!! a!! baby!!”

jungkook’s meltdown makes everyone else laugh because right now he had his fists clenched and his face looking like a baby’s

“blank always wants to be included it’s not funny anymore”

there was just a little bit more hope lingering that this may no be about you at all

but god it was getting too specific

too specific when it came to namjoon who was a bit more eloquent in speaking and wanting to get his point across

“.... trying to memorize my rap in UGH! .....”

fuck this really is about you

and it’s not just sadness that’s overtaking you

makes you more than deflated than you thought you could ever be

“at this point i sometimes avoid her”

and god there’s this more than familiar laugh that fills your ears through and through

“lol namjoon where do you hide?? i hide in the pantry”

taehyung even?

at this point you can’t even bear watching the video anymore

willing your laptop closed so forcefully that it bOUNCED back open but you can’t even begin to worry that you might have put a crack on the screen

shoving it to your desk with the screen facing anywehere instead of you being the best option

the hurt is painfully fresh and oddly felt so surreal

god were you really that intolerable?

you didn’t know how to cope with what you’ve just heard nor experienced

but the only thing you were sure about is that your situation has just been too good

perhaps this was the complication you were looking for because you weren’t used to things being so good

and you know for sure that this feeling isn’t good at all

and you hated it

at this point you’re just trying to go about your previous plans of showering and cleaning up but the eagerness isn’t there anymore

nor is the eagerness to see the boys

nor is the eagerness to see taehyung

didn’t even notice that you were taking up much time that jimin was at your door knocking, voice gentle and inquiring

“y/n did you fall asleep??”

you’re very much tempted to not go out at all because you lost your appetite for eating too

very much so that you make no move at all and actually think that jimin’s given up on knocking at your locked door

but then your phone rings and he knows for sure that you haven’t gone to sleep because it would’ve been put on silent

“are you hiding???”

you pretty much are and you don’t wanna go out at all

but you basically had no choice to

it was a pressure to wipe at stray tears and say “i’m coming” in an unwavering voice and even more-so pretend that nothing’s wrong at all

or the fact that everyone’s eyes are on you and jimin’s prodding makes everyone else wonder

“are you crying??”

the question doesn’t faze you but it does take you by surprise now that you aren’t comfortable with the situation nor the new attention

taehyung’s getting worried because now he notices the redness in your eyes and the bit of puffiness in your lips

“just sleepy. my eyes tear up when i’m sleepy, right?” you’re using jimin’s knowledge about you against him and he agrees to that almost instantly

can’t help thinking that something was fishy though

you weren’t telling him off when he was bickering to taehyung that he shouldn’t sit next to you for dinner

didn’t react either when tae let off a little victory giggle and grinned when he sat next to you not one bit of acknowledgement when a replay of cake boss was on your tv with jin’s eyes flickering over to you repeatedly but he doesn’t receive an excited glance back

even yoongi found you oddly too quiet and he was tempted to pull out his phone to text you

it’s weirdly off

there’s something missing

namjoon was starting to get worried because you aren’t really engaged in this conversation with a topic he’s direly interested about

“and something done to that degree would just be far too suspicious, right?”

“mhmm yeah”

even jungkook who’s kinda throwing himself at you and you’re just barely responding

he’s wriggling himself to fit by your side and just curl up and when he looks at you expectantly to do something, he just gets a pat on the head

a pat??????

hobi’s being over the top with his reactions right now to try and gauge a reaction from you but to no avail at all

normally he would’ve made you laugh or atleast smile at this point

but there’s nothing

just nothing

taehyung gets you alone on the couch because everyone else was just dispersed at this point and are bumping into each other asking if they knew what happened to you

jimin himself is pressured because he prides himself in being your closest friend aND HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON WITH YOU

tae is a lil bit more confident that he could coax out to why you were acting so differently

even gets far as to hold your hand and nuzzle his face to the crook of your neck

“everything okay, baby?”

god and he’s only called you baby only for a handful of times

“yeah”

that didn’t hurt taehyung’s ego

not at all

or make him overthink to why you’re not all that willing to open up to him nor even look interested in this conversation he’s carrying alone on his back

no not at all

not even when jimin has the most balls out of the group and is the testing point to see how the waters would go

while the night’s coming to an end and everyone’s slowly starting to settle in

“aha so where are we gonna crash anyway?”

you know what he’s trying to get at

but seeing to it that what you just watched prior to this and perhaps for even a longer period besides that particular episode you don’t even wanna watch

you might as well not give anyone the sense of satisfaction nor pride; even if the question took you by surprise with how bluntly he addressed it

“uhm well the guest room now has two beds since some friends come over from time to time”

“but-”

“yeah the huge couch could fold over as a bed”

“but-”

“i could also-...”

“but y/n you have a king-sized bed!!”

jimin blurts out and almost whines out, a frown evident on his face as you keep your will not to break

“oh. just wanna sleep alone, jimin, yeah? kinda tired because of work today.”

he almost always gets what he wants and this blooming feeling inside him isn’t because of the embarrassment that you didn’t grant his wishes of just plopping beside you on your bed

it’s because he’s thinking of why not

taehyung tries his best to just swallow the lump in his throat because he may or may not have daydreamed that he’d get to share beds with you

nothing but cuddling in his mind and the tiny bit of friskiness but that’s beside the point

he doesn’t wanna think about how there are no goodnight hugs

the closest thing to it was jungkook receiving a pat on the shoulder

because it happened that his arms were outsretched awkwardly

no cheek kiss for taehyung either

yeah it’s perhaps just fatigue as hobi tried to reason

they don’t know if they’re convincing each other or just themselves

maybe tomorrow would be better :D

...

aha no

in fact at this point of morning when everyone knows that you’d be awake and it happens to be your off-day before the shoot tomorrow

and that whenever they’re around, you’d rather linger around them than to stay cooped in your room because you would be too sluggish then go back to sleep again

“blank always wants to be included it’s not funny anymore”

yeah you’d rather keep your pride at this point

jimin knocks again and you know you have no choice if you wanted this to go as discreet and as smooth as possible without raising suspicions that you knew

jin panicked for a moment because he was making french toast that he saw from damn milktpapi to try and catch your attention so when he hEARD your door click he was rapping litanies faster than the rapline ever could

they unconsciously just gravitate towards the couch and are practically hovering around you

you’re awfully quiet and the only input you give is when you’re asked a direct question

the only noise was coming from them reminiscing about their bv trip

namjoon keeps bringing you up with “yahhh do u remember when y/n-....”

yoongi makes a point to keep laughing and have his arms protruding and therefore nudging you each time

at one point he almost shoves you but he’s barely met with a reaction

goddamn does he need to throw you off a cliff or something just to get a rise out of you

they really think that there must be something wrong

so right when they wanted to open it up, they literally get interrupted but this time with a doorbell

you practically leap at that opportunity because quite literally were you saved by the bell

you don’t know who’s ringing your bell and why but you’re willing to take it

jimin knows that you aren’t expecting anyone besides them as he’s made you promise

he might as well square up right now and be huffy about it

you’re bordering on confusion and curiosity as you open the door and even more-so your audience behind you who may or may not be in the same state

“theo??”

yoongi’s ears immediately perk up at that while his eyes go the widest

he’s toppling over as he scrambles for a vantage point that would get to see theo but without neither you nor theo seeing him

oh my god is this really your prfoessional basketball player for an ex-boyfriend

the boys are panicked to how yoongi’s acting and they even help him adjust his position even if they don’t know what it’s for

“wHAT YOONGI WHAT WHAT WHAT”

“BE QUIET”

he’s racking his brain for the description you gave and the picture you showed him

tall? intimidatingly. shoulders? perhaps even broader than seokjin’s. muscles? even more defined than jungkook when he lived in the gym. fluffy and silky-looking hair? enviously so :((

oh god it is theo

is he supposed to fanboy now

wait

what was your ex doing here anyway

“i’m just gonna be out for a second, yeah?”

you say aimlessly and yoongi catches your gaze and he pretends to eat french toast while he’s stretched out on the floor to not break his cover

no one even has a chance to question nor respond because you’re already shutting the door

“WHO WAS THAT”

“WHY IS HE HERE”

“i sWEAR i saw him on tv once”

“taehyung are you ok”

yoongi’s bombarded and even if he’s shocked at the the turn of events because one second ur eating french toast with them and the next you’re out the door; he does have a bit more of an idea

“oh that was theo”

...

“are we supposed to automatically know who tHEO is???”

“you gonna add more context to that or????”

“even jimin doesn’t know!!!”

“theo’s a basketball player”

there are a couple of awed reactions

even namjoon’s explosive “aHHHHH so that’s where he’s from”

but there’s this question that’s begging to be asked

jimin taking front line as he asks with so much spite

“why is theo here then??”

this baffles yoongi too

most times he just doesn’t sugarcoat things and his mouth speaks the truth before he could even think of something else

“aish i don’t know i just know that she’s y/n’s ex so stop asking me if-...”

jimin’s in the corner with his mouth dropped, tongue poking at his cheek

“oh uhm i didn’t know that”

taehyung is sat on the floor with his attention not on the french toast anymore

eyes distant and not blinking as he’s nodding

“i see”

both jimin and taehyung clearly need time to process this bit of information

the conversation ends at that and everyone else staggers around

jimin’s in thought because why didn’t he know that??

shouldn’t he know that?

and what’s it with yoongi knowing instead of him?

taehyung, on the other hand, is conflicted with what he should feel

he’s jealous that’s for sure

the both of you covered masses of topics during the outing

but it never came to the topic of past flames

were you meaning not to tell him? or theo wasn’t talked about because the topic never came????

is this insecurity that he’s feeling

jungkook has to hold taehyung’s head still because he’s still nodding while deep in thought

you really weren’t expecting theo to show up at your doorstep

it’s in good intentions and you remained as friends but he was just too unexpected

“didn’t you know?? i’m gonna be one of those extras tomorrow for your airline commercial and it’s just a lil cameo but still!!! i don’t know i just wanted to visit you since i was in the area too :D”

and that’s what ended up with you coming with him to the little cafe at your complex with the promise that it was just gonna be quick and you’ll show him out

and perhaps that you don’t wanna be in the same room as them either

avoiding is good

yeah it would be good

jimin doesn’t know what he’s trying to prove either but there’s this tug on his chest that basically yelled at him that he was a shitty friend

hasn’t been an hour ever since you left but he’s kinda sitting there fazed, whatever the other was saying coming in his ear and going out the other

“i lost my charger :(((”

jimin’s mindlessly answering to a pouty namjoon

“y/n has the same laptop. you could just get the charger by her desk”

he says naturally as if it’s clockwork and only waves him off when namjoon asks if it would be okay with you

he smiles at that and practically bounces to your unlocked room

quickly finds your desk and looks for a familiar charger

oh uhm it’s still connected to your laptop

jimin already said it was no worries so namjoon sleekly takes it out of the port with little hesitation

why did your laptop turn on

wait

is that his face??

is that

is that them in a hot tub

jimin’s wondering why namjoon is taking so long

he himself hasn’t been in your room for a long time and the thought makes him spring up

“hyung??”

fuck

oh god

it feels like freezing cold water was just splashed onto their spines without warning

jimin immediately pales

it’s taehyung who piles in last to your bedroom with all the commotion he could hear

he wants to absolutely deck himself

everyone’s just speechless when they clicked play on the video even when they had this underlying feel to what it was

there’s a collective intake of sharp inhales because they couldn’t even finish the episode in which they basically talk shit about you for a solid three minutes

jimin has his face on his hands and he’s visibly stressed as everyone else is

couldn’t even tell on which blow was the hardest because they were all so harsh in their own ways

basically hit where it hurts most

they were drunk beyond their comprehension and weren’t necessarily thinking

the episode was filmed pretty much in the first day of bv

and whatever circumstance that night was in, it was still no excuse

absolutely no excuse to how they acted

maybe they took joking and overexaggerating too far

but whatever route they took, be it honest or not, no doubt that they were sure it hurt you

god a mental breakdown is already creeping at the back for all seven of them

tAEHYUNG’S SOBBING

jimin’s shaking

jungkook’s rubbing his eyes

jin and namjoon are repeating themselves

hobi’s dead silent

yoongi’s hands are practically trembling

it’s when you go home that you’ve momentarily forgotten that everything was going downwards because you spent the last hour or two being distracted by theo in just your pajamas

but it’s when you know that they know

and some can’t even look you in the eye

jimin’s the first to shoot up from his seat and god he looks somehow wrecked

“y/n i-...”

“m’sorry for being introlerable and all of those things, yeah? won’t happen again.”

everyone tenses at that

you shouldn’t even be apologetic!!

in fact they’re the ones who fucked up and you’re the one who’s acting as if you did

this makes them even more guilty

they all pipe in and try to point that out but you just easily drown them out with a tilt of your head

taehyung who’s standing by your doorframe just buffers as if to reach out for you but he retracts it quickly

they’ve really done it this time huh

it’s all just in characteristically empty spirits

the shooting next day was painful

having to drive together and be squished in between yoongi and jungkook whose mouths were so dry and eyes glossy

“i didn’t mean it”

jungkook first says under his breath and it’s quite a hitch in his throat when he adds on to it

“we weren’t thinking at all”

it’s a quiet show as jungkook and yoongi try to apologize to you and you’re in the middle trying to just sit through it all

it’s a quick nod as you have for a response before you hurriedly go down the van in perfect timing

you did listen and the apologies were sincere and heartfelt

just not too keen on forgiving something of that gravity in an instant

even with their promise that they could work something out to have that bit cut out or even scrap the whole episode if necessary

you just couldn’t wait to get the day over

you’re rigid with them and them trying to get to talk to you in between takes

the skits required more of them than you anyway so you just sat that one out

all while they try to get genuine with the feelings and lines indicated in their script

taehyung was the most distracted

even if people expected more of him given his acting credentials

and when it’s your turn to be filmed at, he can’t help staring

you looked blank

there’s this certain hyunbin (and also to your surprise) that’s gonna act as your co-pilot that got to make you smile a time or two after making a fool out of himself

if only taehyung knew that theo’s gonna be here as an extra

he would flip and THEN bawl

and as if things wouldn’t get even more unfavorable for you, they decide to cram in the photoshoot for the billboard at this very day too

multiple shoots of you being in the middle of them with a commercial-like smile

you having a solo one

them having one too

the boys wearing your airline’s flight attendant uniforms

trying to have a candid shot but all of you should be laughing and smiling as per the director

that was painful

that was really painful for the staff to watch

most painful for the eight of you

they even had to count to three so you could laugh together even if that takes away the essence of a candid shot

jimin wants so badly to hold you and talk to you

taehyung wants to get on his knees desperately if it means earning your forgiveness

the shoot raps and you’re zooming out the set

tae breaks down yet again because they’re gonna be held up by your ceo for awhile

things feel empty and slow

everyone got around to texting you their apologies because as much as they’re desperate to apologize, they’ve done enough damage and respecting your space is the least they could do

that doesn’t stop jimin dropping in from time to time to leave something by your door

nor taehyung who doesn’t give up with all his texting and calling and sometimes waiting on your door

jimin and him coincidentially went at the same time and they just teared up and sulked together

you weren’t even home at that time

of course you’ve read their messages

trying to talk it out too as you’ve refused to succumb into your passive-aggressiveness

admittedly

you don’t wanna lose what you have either

it’s only been two weeks so far

progress as you reply to texts here and there

slowly warming up again!!

namjoon earning back his partner for talking about movie symbolisms and perhaps everything wrong in this barren earth

seokjin getting to send you incorrect quotes from cake boss again left and right

hobi gaining his online shopping partner back

yoongi making you promise that you’d hug him when he gets to see you again

jungkook vowing to teach you how to draw and makes sure to send daily content so he could make you switch wallpapers

jimin

well jimin

jimin’s going over the top as he has a lot to mend

but forgiveness was clear in the path and when you finally agreed to meet up with him after your shift

(he’s made the effort to wait for you in your lounge hours before as he got to pull some strings)

and then when you have a drink over it and talk about what happened properly, it just ends in a massive hug and some tears shed :((

“i missed u so much”

“i know”

“i could really be a fucking asshole sometimes”

“you are”

“you are none of those things and i don’t ever wanna stop having you as my friend”

“aha yes”

“you love me too much and i love you too much and this is forever now ok pls don’t get mad at me ever again”

basically everything was slowly returning back to normal

taehyung hasn’t texted you for a couple of days

even if you barely responded and miss him as much

it’s something you still have to come to terms with because his blows hit the hardest

you’re losing sleep just by thinking about him :(

you try to get on with your days with the knowledge that you get on with the six of them

things becoming more hectic for you because sometimes you forget that you’re famous now

but sometimes it was just lackluster if you were to admit

you basically sprint at the chance to pick up a normal shift again because you’ve missed flying

you liked being pampered for shoots but being tired from flying is the ache you’ve been craving for :((

it’s when you’re briefed that the plane you’d be flying isn’t your usual aircraft yet you still have the clearance for it

it’s when you just had the kick to be extra punctual and jump at the chance to greet passengers boarding

it’s these little extras in your day that you were so eager for things

that things just seem to be aligning

taehyung’s by the front-most seat

hyunbin by his side as he gets up and goes to the cockpit to do nothing but take your place

it’s oddly warm just by looking at taehyung

no apologies have been said yet and it’s when that hyunbin practically says over the mic that “y/n take a seat and put your seatbelt on jesus christ” you do beside tae

the atmosphere’s just a loving type of warm

you really can’t explain it

it’s the same type of slow burn the both of you felt in the outing

the same anticipation you had for each other even if the other was doing the bare minimum

“hi”

taehyung croaks out after an eternity, a grin he tries to earnestly keep as it breaks out

“let’s talk.”

he’s nervous as he sees you relax to your seat, knowing in routine that the plane was to take off

taehyung ever-so slightly shifts in his seat, shoulders touching with yours and hand in an armrest as he flexes them so slightly -- only supposed to be an attempt at a loving tease but it’s when you shift towards him and have your hand skim his for the slightest fraction

“let’s talk.”

#yEEEEEET #feedback pLS AND THANK U :D #i spent so much time and so much heat from my overheating laptop pls :((#taehyung #kim taehyung #taehyung imagine #kim taehyung imagines #kim taehyung imagine #bts #bts imagine #taehyung x reader #bts x reader #ot7 imagine #taehyung writing #taehyung fics #bts fics

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lusilly · 6 years

Text

Wings

What good is this ridiculous secret I am asked to keep? With the feathers ripped cleanly away, I tuck the stems along my spine. I bandage them down— cloth wound under my armpits, tightly wound around my chest. I fashion myself into an ordinary boy.

- An Ordinary Boy, C. Dale Young

finally this is fucking done. it was so hard and it’s not even good but it does bridge the damian/talia relationship between home safe & tucked away and fiat iusticia, as well as set up more of leviathan. this fic is Steeped in e28 canon tbh, references to rise of arsenal, restoration, to be seen, tbatb, and some distant set up for wheel in the sky (oh and the disneyland fic). tho ultimately it can also hold up on its own!

in which damian sees his mother for the first time in nearly a decade, and gets his spine ripped out (again). jason is there, tho he doesn’t do much.

on ao3 here

The safehouse by the docks was Jason’s least favorite. Little more than a glorified attic crawlspace, it was one bare room with a plain mattress in the corner, shelves of medical supplies, nonperishables, and weaponry covering the walls. Jason had to stoop to get in through the entrance, and the ceilings were so low he always found himself dropping his shoulders, lowering his head and curving his spine against the claustrophobia. It made his heart race, his pulse quickening for unknown reasons. He figured it out eventually, during an extended stay after he almost got shot to death. In the middle of the night he’d woken up with his chest tight and heavy, like steel wires wrapping around his lungs and heart. Coffin, he’d thought. Feels like a coffin.

On this particular night, in the suffocating heat of the last throes of summertime, Jason had been stitching up a shoulder wound when an old comm rang, a line he’d thought had been long since disconnected.

Answering it felt strangely familiar, like slipping into old clothes he hadn’t fully expected to still fit. He didn’t want to run it through his commlink in case Oracle was listening in, so he put the old comm on speaker and set it down beside him as he tugged surgical needle through the wound in his shoulder. “How do you expect me to know?” he asked, sounding slightly impatient. “I’m only there for Hanukkah and Alfred’s birthday.”

On the phone, Talia’s voice was tinny and distorted, but still as characteristically haughty as he had always known her to be. “Don’t lie to me, Jason,” she said sharply, like an accusation. “I know you have a relationship with my son.”

“A relationship?” he echoed, wiping the wound with a rag and turning around to take a swig of whiskey. He dragged his arm across his mouth, then admitted, “I mean, sure. Legally speaking he’s my little brother, but that doesn’t mean we get brunch on Sundays and gossip.”

Talia let out a very derisive grunt of laughter at the word brother, which Jason politely decided to ignore. “You owe it to me.”

“Oh, do I?” asked Jay, his tone mild as he disinfected the wound, which burned badly. “How long am I gonna hang on to that debt, Talia?”

“Until it’s repaid,” she said shortly. “This is the second time I have asked for your help where it concerns my son. Don’t disappoint me again.”

“Is the first time back when you asked me to kidnap him?” Something like four years ago Talia had been desperate to get Damian back for reasons she’d never fully explained to Jason.

“Not kidnap. Retrieve.”

“Listen,” said Jason, wiping his hands on a rag, then picking up the communicator. “I know that – y’know, I know that you and I have a few very specific things in common, so I see why you think you can come to me for this, but if you’ve got beef with Bruce you need to talk to him directly. I’m not gonna be your henchman. I’m not henching for you, T.”

“It isn’t safe for him in Gotham. I’m asking you to help me protect my child, it has nothing to do with the Batman-”

“Didn’t say that,” said Jay, cutting her off. “I said Bruce, actually-”

“Do not interrupt me,” she said coldly, and even through the distorted comm line her voice sent a chill down Jason’s spine. “You, like his father, think me so petty and possessive. You think I want to own him. He is not a pet, and you are all so quick to forget it was I who gave him away to begin with.”

“OK,” sighed Jason, swinging his legs up to lay down on the shitty mattress. “You do know that talking about giving him away sounds like he is a pet and you are possessive, right?”

“I am trying,” she insisted, “to protect him.”

“From what?”

Talia’s line went so silent Jason thought she’d closed the line. He called her name, and when she responded, her words were clipped and wary. “There are always threats, Jason.”

“Sure,” agreed Jay, nodding his head. “Don’t have to tell me. Why do you think Bruce can’t handle it? He’s done a halfway decent job of taking care of his boy this far.”

This obviously rankled Talia. “My boy.”

Jason let out a little chuckle. “Not really helping the whole possessive angle.”

“It doesn’t matter. It has been brought to my attention that Damian has returned to the streets, and what he doesn’t know could get him killed.”

“So tell me,” said Jay. “I’ll tell him.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” said Talia, icily, “you are not my son. Some things must stay within the family.”

“I’m family. On the other side, that is.”

The idea was a little disconcerting to Jason, though, so he was glad when Talia ignored this comment. “My son is no longer a child,” she said, firm and regal. Jason could imagine her standing alone on the craggy bluffs beyond her headquarters, though he didn’t know for certain where she was today. He imagined the white cliffs of southern England, or the Rock of Gibraltar, or maybe the rooftop floor of the Burj Khalifa, or some cold outcropping in the Himalayas. Then he thought of Damian, sullen and irritable Damian, with whom Jason had somehow grown pretty close over the past year. Though he said nothing, Jason had to disagree with Talia. Damian was absolutely still a child. “His father cannot keep him locked away from me on his whim,” Talia continued. “If Damian will see me, it is his decision.”

“A decision he’d be more inclined to make if you gave him all the information,” Jason pointed out. “Best way to get a Robin’s attention is to give him a mission. Tell me what’s up and I’ll do what I can.”

“I want to see him, Jason.”

“I understand that. But I can’t guarantee anything.”

“I need to see him. Not a call, not a letter, I need him here. With me.”

“No promises,” repeated Jay. “Where’s here?”

“I will send you the coordinates.”

Jason sighed. “Guess that’s the best I’ll get. I’ll talk to him. But again, he’s your son, so he can be just as stubborn as your ass. He probably won’t even listen to me.”

“I listen to you,” countered Talia. “And you’re right. He is my son.”

There was a short silence.

Talia said, “Thank you, Jason,” and terminated the connection.

For a few minutes, Jay laid there on the mattress, the wound on his shoulder stinging. Then he let out a short sigh, and he opened another line on his commlink.

His call was instantly acknowledged. “Oracle,” came her voice.

“Hey, O,” said Jay. “You got a read on Robin?”

“If you need backup, Ember’s in the area.”

This took Jason by surprise; he hadn’t known Ember was cleared to work as official backup. He’d thought her and her team were still considered amateurs. “Nah, I’m good. I gotta talk to him about something.”

“Little late for that,” Barbara replied. “He’s in for the night.”

It was almost three AM. “Oh, damn. Already?”

“He’s only been back in the saddle for a few months now, so he’s taking it easy. Usually heads in by two.”

“OK,” sighed Jay. “Guess I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way. Thanks anyway.”

He closed the line, grimacing. Sure, Jason had grown closer with his youngest brother over the past few years, but in that time the topic of Damian’s mother had come up maybe once. He knew it was a sore spot for the kid, and he didn’t want to poke an old bruise, particularly not when he was just beginning to get back on his feet. Damian was returning to Robin after a difficult year. Jason had no desire to interrupt his rhythm, make him lose his balance.

And he certainly wasn’t going to kidnap Damian. If he didn’t want to see Talia, Jay wouldn’t make him; but Talia had had a point. Bruce’s feelings where Damian’s mother was concerned were clear, and he would categorically refuse to let Damian see her. He'd have a better chance to speak freely if Jay could get him out of the house, talk to him somewhere he wouldn’t feel pressured to put on that performative al Ghul hatred, where his loyalty to his father’s family would be less airtight.

Flipping through options vaguely in his mind, Jason looked at his phone. He had a few calendar notifications, mostly about dinner with Tam so he wouldn’t forget, a few reminders to collect money from his lieutenants, and then he stopped, staring at a upcoming reminder for next week. An idea crept up in the back of his mind.

All of this led up to Jason coming down the steps from the Manor three days after Damian’s nineteenth birthday, which according to Dick apparently wasn’t even his precise date of birth, though Jay wasn’t really clear on the mechanics of that whole business. Upstairs, Alfred had offered him a slice of leftover birthday cake.

Bruce didn’t turn around when Jason entered the cave, which didn’t surprise him. But not for nothing, Bruce had been putting in some decent effort for a while now to invite Jay back into the family, taking great care to include him in family events, even going so far as try to have the occasional heart-to-heart. Serious conversations always wound up flat or devolved into an argument, so though Bruce had toned it down, Jason thought that all things considered they were on exceptionally good terms.

“You and Damian leave tonight?” asked Bruce, without turning around from the computer display before him.

“Yep,” answered Jay, lingering by the specimen analysis table. “As soon as he’s ready.”

Bruce took pause; it was unlike Damian to be tardy to something he’d be anticipating. “He’s not finished packing?”

“He is,” said Jay mildly, poking around at the delicate equipment. “I think I just caught him in the middle of the nap. I’ll give him a minute.”

This made sense, so Bruce gave a short nod. “He’s having some trouble adapting to the new schedule. I’ve asked him to dial back on his work with Neon Knights, but he won’t hear it.” There was also the fact that Damian had recently changed his medication, and as such was struggling to get use to the side effects, one of which being near constant drowsiness. But Bruce didn’t think that was his information to share.

“Oh, yeah,” said Jay, glancing up at Bruce. “Tam says he’s doing great. Says she’s about ready to recommend him for a promotion.”

In a very uncharacteristic admission, Bruce bowed his head in acknowledgement and said, “We’re very proud of him.” The royal We, Jason thought, because saying I would be way too personal for the Batman. Bruce paused, then asked, “How is Tamara?”

This took Jay aback, but he rolled with it. “She’s good,” he said. “Yeah. I heard you had a conversation with Lucius, uh, thanks for that. We,” We, guess Jason wasn’t ready for that level of personal connection either, “appreciate it.”

But Bruce had nothing to say to this: he merely nodded without looking away from the computer. “When will you be back?”

“Friday at the latest,” answered Jay. “Probably sooner, knowing him.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t hope that this is actually a secret trip to Disneyland, like last time.”

“No,” laughed Jay, leaning back against the table. “I don’t have Cass’s sense of humor, unfortunately. I might hit her up and see if she wants to get in on this, though.”

“She’s got her own assignments.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure it gets lonely all the way out in Hong Kong. She might like a change of scenery.”

Bruce could not argue with this. Turning slightly in his seat, finally glancing away from the computer, he eyed Jason.

“Be careful,” he said. “Keep him safe.”

“It’s the other way around,” countered Jay, shaking his head. “He’s a whole lot better than I am, he’ll be looking out for my ass.”

“Jason.”

“I know, I know,” he sighed. “I won’t let him jump in front of a bullet for me, or anything. Don’t worry, Bruce,” he said, with a tight grin. “I’ve got a pretty good track record when it comes to getting my partners out alive,” far above them, he heard the sound of the secret door from the grandfather clock slip open and closed, “unlike some people I could name.”

If Bruce had a response to that, he was silenced by Damian coming down the stairs. “Jason,” he barked, from three quarters of the way down. “Are we going?”

“Sure,” said Jay, getting up. “Bruce,” he said, nodding at the older man, offering him a one-handed salute.

He headed up the stairs, and Damian turned to follow him. But then Bruce called, “Damian.”

Jay turned around to catch Damian’s gaze. He rolled his eyes, and then he held up his index finger to Jay, as if to indication, One moment.

He turned around. “Yes?”

Bruce gestured with one hand, motioning for Damian to come over to him. Though he let out a little sigh of annoyance, he did so dutifully, descending the rest of the steps and crossing over to the computer station. Jason turned away casually, pretending he wasn’t straining his ears to hear what was being exchanged between Bruce and his favorite son (maybe second favorite – Dick still ranked pretty high up there).

But Bruce had mastered the art of speaking low enough not to be heard, and Jay could not make out words from the quiet burr of his voice across the Cave. He could hear Damian, though. “Yes. I will. When I get back, yes. Of course.”

Then Bruce cocked his head slightly, as if to say Go, and Damian jogged back across the Cave, skipping steps on his way up. “Let’s go,” he said to Jay, as he passed him.

They took one of the jets, Jason in the pilot’s seat, Damian beside him. When Jay headed due east, Damian asked, “So this isn’t a secret Disneyland trip?”

Jay laughed. “You know what? Your dad said that same exact thing. Nah, I’m not as fun as Cass.”

Peering out at the sky before them, Damian reminded him, “As I recall, you were there too.”

“Yeah, 'cause she asked me to come.” He glanced around at Damian. “Why? Would you prefer that to a real mission?”

“No,” answered Damian shortly. “I was prepared to be disappointed, is all. Besides, I really didn’t think you had it in you.”

Shooting a grin over at Damian, Jay asked, “In me? To do what?”

“To take me home,” said Damian mildly, without looking back at him.

The temperature in the cabin instantly dropped. Jason said nothing, but he looked over at Damian again, concern knit across his brow. There was a loaded silence.

Then, carefully, Jay began, “Damian…I’m not – of course I’m not gonna-”

“What?” asked Damian, arching an eyebrow at Jason. “Do you think I don’t know the locations of all my mother’s bases? Did you think I wouldn’t put two and two together when I saw your coordinates?”

“Listen, I’m not taking you back to her, that’s not why I did this-”

“I know you know her,” said Damian dispassionately, studying Jason’s face. “I don’t know how, but I know you do. Better than Dick does, anyhow.” Jay struggled to come up with a reply to this, and Damian asked, “Is she looking for me?”

For a long moment, Jason didn’t answer. And then, grimly, he peered out at the sky before them. “She says she just wants to talk.”

“Yes. Because we make a habit of taking supervillains at their word.”

“She’s your mom, Damian. She’s just trying to look out for you, she says you’re in danger or something, and she can help.”

“Textbook manipulation, Jason,” Damian told him, sounding almost bored. “She’s manufacturing a threat to make herself look like my savior. You really shouldn’t fall for it.”

“Look,” said Jay, his grip tight on the controls. “I’m not taking you back to her. I’m taking you on a mission that happens to be a little close to one of her compounds. She called me and told me she wanted to talk to you, so I thought I’d give you the option. If you didn’t want to, we were gonna take care of the mission and go straight back home.” He added, “To Gotham.” When Damian said nothing, Jay glanced at him. “Damian,” he said. “I’m not either of your parents, I’m not gonna make any decisions for you. I just thought maybe you’d like the chance to decide for yourself, without your dad breathing down your neck.”

“You think he doesn’t know?” asked Damian sharply. “He’s been keeping track of her for years.”

“That would be why I gave him false coordinates."

“And you think he didn’t see right through that?”

“I think if he had any suspicion at all that I was willingly putting you in danger, he wouldn’t have let you leave the goddamn house. So I don’t know, maybe. But he decided to trust me anyway.” Jason paused, glanced at Damian. “Maybe you should try it.”

With his arms defiantly crossed, Damian said, “Not when you manufacture some pretend mission to get me back on her radar.”

“It isn’t pretend, it checks out.”

“She certainly would orchestrate it so you’d think it did.”

“You don’t want to do this?” demanded Jay, glancing back at Damian. “’Cause if you don’t, fine, I’ll turn this around, or maybe we’ll keep going ‘til we reach Hong Kong or something and we can hang out with Cass. That’s fine by me, all I wanted to do was give you some time away from your dad.”

“I already had that,” said Damian sharply. “Didn’t he tell you I went to London?”

“London?” echoed Jason doubtfully. “Everyone and their brother knows that was a cover, though I don't got any idea for what. You didn’t talk to your mom then, did you?”

“No,” said Damian stonily. “I haven’t spoken to her since before my father came back.”

“What, from being fake dead? That’s a long-ass time.”

Damian didn’t answer this. He looked away, busying himself with a display panel before him. After some time, he looked back up and asked, “What’s the mission?”

“It’s a trafficking deal,” said Jay, without hesitation. “Your specialty. Would’ve invited Arsenal to help but I heard you and her had kind of a falling-out.”

“She did try to kill me,” said Damian coldly.

“Way I heard it, you all tried to kill each other,” countered Jay. “By way of an angry supervillain mom who wasn’t your own.”

“Got to change it up occasionally,” said Damian, leaning back in his seat. “Keep things exciting.”

They said nothing more for a moment. Jay didn’t know all the details of what happened with the Titans, but he did know that Damian left them all – including his first girlfriend – in a bad way. “Well,” sighed Jay. “Like I said. If you don’t want to do this, we can turn back around.”

For quite some time, Damian said nothing. He seemed agitated, though it was nothing compared to toxic pit of anger and aggression he’d been this time last year, right after things fell apart with the Titans. Jason hadn’t been around for much of that, but he knew that Dick had to come home for a few months to help Bruce, and that whatever Damian did resulted in him being banned from patrol for almost a year. Jay badly wanted to know what had gone down, but he had no desire to poke the bear, and Tim had only given him a shrug, claiming he didn’t know anything. “Something about going on a bender,” he’d said, from behind his desk in Wayne Tower, focused on the computer screen before him. Jay had thought Tam, for whom Damian interned over the past year, might know something, but she too came up empty-handed.

Finally, after so long Jason thought he wasn’t going to say anything at all, Damian asked shortly, “What are the mission details?”

“Human trafficking ring in the Caucasus,” Jay answered immediately. “They funnel into the European sex trade, mostly refugees and people looking to get out of poverty or war-torn areas.” He glanced at Damian, who looked unhappy. He knew this was the type of mission Damian – hell, Robin – couldn’t turn down. “Got a big detainment center in the mountains, a bottleneck into the continent. That’s where we’re headed.”

“Their center of operations?”

“I mean, corporate HQ is probably some rich asshole in the financial district of some fancy European city or something,” Jay said fairly. “But this is their main hidey-hole, and hitting it is gonna eat up their time and money while we hand over the evidence to Interpol.”

Damian nodded; it made sense to target wherever the most people were being held. Rescue was the top priority. “Security?”

“Not exactly high-tech, but plenty of goons to punch. Should be a breeze.” Damian didn’t say anything, so Jay continued, “And then we pack up and leave. Back to Gotham before you know it.”

“What about my mother?” asked Damian. He sounded annoyed.

Jay shrugged. “We don’t see her. It’s fine, I told you I wouldn’t make you.”

“Maybe I want to.”

Glancing at Damian, Jay began uncertainly, “OK. I’m starting to get some mixed signals here, kiddo.”

Still irritated, Damian gave an emphatic shake of his head. “I don’t – not want to see her. It’s been almost a decade.” He broke off abruptly, his jaw tightly clenched. Refusing to look around at Jay, he muttered, “I’d just like it to be on my own terms.”

“Yeah,” said Jay immediately, nodding. “Sure, that makes sense. I’m sorry, I should’a told you all of this before we left, I just thought if Bruce found out he’d make that decision for you. I thought you deserved more than that.”

“She shouldn’t have had to go through you to begin with.”

“Maybe not,” answered Jay. “But what else was she supposed to do? Bruce won’t even listen to her.”

“She could have contacted me directly.”

“How?”

“I don’t know,” Damian shot back, venom in his voice. “But I’m nineteen now, not twelve. There’s no reason she should have to go through daddy to get to me.”

There was something fundamentally funny about Damian referring to Bruce, even derisively, as daddy, but Jay stopped himself from saying anything. “Listen, I don’t know what she's thinking,” he replied plainly. “I can’t answer for her.” He paused, then added, “But if you do want to see her, when we get there. I can ask her to meet us at a safehouse or something. Our terms, not hers.” He glanced at Damian. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Damian let out a sigh of resignation, peering out the display before them. “Fine,” he said. “Let me think on it.”

Jason did so, saying nothing more for the remainder of the journey.

When they arrived, Jay took them to a safehouse in the mountains. Entering through a secret door, visible dislike was evident on Damian’s face for reasons that Jay couldn’t discern, but which had to do with the memory of a mountain safehouse much like this one, and the ache of broken ribs and a broken friendship with Lian Harper. They scouted the location, found it teeming with activity, and laid out a plan for the next day. At nine PM Eastern Time, an alarm went off on Damian’s phone, and he went back into his quarters and rooted around until he pulled out something that rattled like a pill bottle.

Everyone in the immediate Batfamily was aware that Damian had been in treatment for his OCD for years now, though Jay had always gotten the feeling he’d been the last to find out. Ultimately it had been Alfred who told him, a few months after Damian received an official diagnosis of PTSD. “What?” Jason had asked, almost in disbelief. “How? From what?”

“I imagine a great number of things could trigger post-traumatic stress, Jason,” Alfred had replied, assembling cucumber sandwiches. “I imagine that I don’t have to tell that to any of you boys. You, especially.”

As always, Jason didn’t want to talk about that, didn’t want to acknowledge the big dead elephant in the room. Ever since he died, his entire life had been centered around death, revolving around the horror and the trauma and the anger it had stirred up inside of him. The thought of getting treatment – getting better, which seemed impossible because there was no better this was just the way he was now – frightened him.

The Damian Jay knew was surly, occasionally depressive, and almost as obsessive as his father. He wondered what the fuck the kid was like when he was unmedicated.

Damian slept soundly for a solid eight hours. Jason, who slept lightly and rarely for more than a few hours at a time, passed the time on his own, poring over files, bouncing a ball against the wall, clicking through some shitty Azerbaijani television. When night fell the next day, they took off in an off-road Jeep. “You draw fire,” said Damian. “I’ll go in and disable defense inside. Then we rendezvous and take them out.”

“Sounds good,” answered Jay. “Let’s go, kiddo.”

“Don’t call me that,” said Damian.

Doing exactly as Damian said, Jay made a big noise and fuss to draw most of the guards out to the front of the compound, allowing Damian to enter unnoticed. Damian wound through the dark corridors, finding the ceiling oppressively low. He encountered far fewer obstacles than he’d anticipated; more men had apparently been attracted to Jason’s diversion than he thought. Or maybe there was something else going on. It unsettled him, made him cautious and slow.

He reached a large steel door, industrial-looking. It brought back memories from a similar mission years ago, which brought back memories of Lian, which brought back the Titans which brought back Iris which made him feel bad again, so he merely broke the padlock on the door and tugged hard.

It rolled open. To his surprise, the room was well-lit inside, fluorescent lights buzzing on the ceiling, revealing several rows of bunkbeds as if military barracks. Damian’s stomach lurched only slightly, because as terrible as the sight of kidnapped children handcuffed to their beds could be, this was already not as bad as he had anticipated. They looked up at him vacantly, making no sound when he entered the room. None of them could have been any older than fifteen.

The first thing he did – the first thing always to be done when rescuing abused children – was put his hands up, displaying no weapon nor intention of violence. “Don’t be afraid,” he said, first in Azerbaijani, then repeated it once more in Turkish. “I’m here to help you.”

When this only garnered him blank looks, he tried Russian, then Farsi. On the bottom bunk of the nearest bed, a girl asked, “Min’ant?” and Damian could’ve breathed a sigh of relief.

“My name is Robin,” he answered, in Arabic. This time the kids looked like they understood. “I’m going to get you out of here. Please stay quiet.” He went to the girl’s bed, taking lock pick tools from his belt. Gesturing at the handcuff, he said, “I’m going to help you out of this. I promise I’m not going to hurt you.”

When the girl nodded, staring at him with wide eyes, he moved in to work on the cuffs. It didn’t take long, but with each precious second his chances of getting them all out before the goons made it back decreased. He could only hope that Jay was putting on a good show.

Damian was so tall and the bunks so low that even hunched over the handcuffs, he still had to be careful not to bang his head. Having undone the cuffs, he straightened up, asking the girl, “Can you walk?” when suddenly a hand shot down from above him – the child in the top bunk – and grabbed hold of his yellow cape, giving it a sudden jerk. His guard down, the force of the tug slammed his forehead into the base of the top bunk, and he groaned in pain. The girl he’d just freed kicked hard at his left knee, blowing it out and sending him stumbling away, lights flashing behind his eyes. “What?” he asked, his brain working sluggishly, trying to understand what he’d done wrong. His cape was still about his shoulders, and he didn’t fully realize he’d lapsed back into English. “I’m trying to help you-”

A searing pain rent through him, so cataclysmically powerful he felt like he’d been struck by lightning, nerves screaming in pain, his brain instantly alight with fear and dangersense. Blood pounded through his ears as a blade struggled down his back, resisting down the length of his spine. Adrenaline rushed into him, spilling out in the form of fresh scarlet blood weeping down around him, turning the air sick and coppery. The pain felt paradoxically distant and deafening, but he could not form words, only gaped at the room of captured children before him. They were sitting up now in their beds, staring at him. In their uncuffed hand, each of them held a knife.

Sensation trickled out of his hands, and his legs buckled beneath him. He gasped for breath: it felt like there were steel wires around his heart and lungs, squeezing, squeezing, and his entire body screamed at him to move but he could not.

Before he blacked out, it registered in the back of his mind that the children were no longer watching him.

----

When Jay could not raise Damian on his commlink, he knew immediately something was wrong. “Ah, fuck it,” he muttered to himself, and he took out his handgun and shot twice. Both bullets landed true, and the two remaining goons he’d been trying to incapacitate fell to the ground, a hole in their skull.

He sprinted into the base, expecting to find more resistance, Damian maybe in the middle of combat or else captured or else – Jason felt sick, and he put that far away from his mind. But as he raced through the steel corridors, he found no one. Everyone must have come out to defend the place. That didn’t bode well.

The stench of blood reached Jay before anything else. He retched, but he didn’t have any time to investigate the bodies on the bed, or the two children who lay bleeding on either side of Damian. Two large daggers, possibly hunting knives, lay discarded near the children’s hands; one was longer and sharper, sharp enough, Jay could tell, to cut right through Damian’s Kevlar reinforced uniform.

The scar on Damian’s back had been reopened top to bottom in a brutal, ragged slice. “Oh, fuck,” said Jason aloud, and he dropped to Damian’s side. “Hey! Robin! Come on, talk to me.”

Jay could not turn Damian onto his back without risking further damage, but he didn’t know what the fuck else to do, so he sat there uselessly, his hands hovering above Damian’s frayed wound. He could not believe what was happening, was halfway still convinced it was a dream, how could he have fucked up so bad? How could he have let this happen?

His cheek pressed against the bloodstained floor, Damian made a quiet gurgling sound in the back of his throat. Jay’s heart started to pump again and he came back to the present, digging into his own utility belt for medical supplies though he could not imagine he had anything which could help Damian in a state like this.

Damian said something, but his voice was so faint Jay could not hear. “Hey,” said Jay. “Stay with me, kiddo. Don’t go anywhere, it’s gonna be OK. I’m gonna get you out of here, it’s gonna be OK.”

Voice still weak but slightly louder, Damian managed to mumble, “Don’t – call me that.”

With a shaky laugh, Jay nodded, his head bobbing up and down. He unspooled the bandages he carried, laying them across Damian’s back, knowing they’d do nothing. “Sure thing,” he said. “We get out of here, I promise, I’ll never say it again. Just stay with me, OK? Keep talking.”

Though his eyes had never fully opened, Damian’s lashes fluttered downwards once more, closing completely. Dutifully, he still spoke. “Two,” he said. “Three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen.” He continued without pause, counting prime numbers to help him stay conscious. A classic Robin tactic.

As the initial shock wore off, it took about three seconds for Jay to realize what he had to do now. He keyed his commlink, and when the line opened he barked, “Hey, I need you. Now.”

Talia al Ghul arrived within minutes. Damian lost consciousness somewhere around 941, and Jay could do little more than try and stem the bleeding. When she came through the doors, she came with an emergency medical team, who took Damian on a stretcher immediately back out, no doubt to a helicopter waiting to carry him back to his mother’s compound. Jason had expected Talia to go with him. Instead, she stood there beside Jason, who was still on his knees, covered in Damian’s blood. They were left alone in a room full of corpses.

There was a heavy silence. Talia did not look down at Jason.

“What happened?” she asked quietly.

“It was a trafficking ring,” said Jason, his voice hard, defensive. “It checked out. It’s been active for years, reports going back a decade, there’s no reason it should’ve been a trap, no way they would’ve known-”

Before he could blink, the back of Talia’s hand came soaring through the air, connecting solidly with the side of Jason’s face. “Idiot,” she hissed. “Of course they knew. You absolute buffoon. You don’t listen to me.”

Jason did not reply, his hand pressed against his stinging cheek. “Will he be OK?”

“He’ll live,” answered Talia, without pause. “No thanks to you.”

Relief washed over Jay, permitting him to breathe once more. He got to his feet, his knees now stained with blood from the floor. Beneath him, his legs felt unsteady. “How’d they know we were coming?”

“I have told you,” answered Talia. Her eyes raked around the room, observing the gore dispassionately. “He is in danger. They have eyes on him.”

“They who?”

“It isn’t your concern,” said Talia, shaking her head, refusing to budge a single inch.

“Whoever they are, they almost just killed my little brother,” said Jason, his voice hard and dangerous. “You bet your ass I’m concerned, Talia.”

Finally, she turned to look at him. Her eyes were a honey-brown color, lighter than her son’s, but in this room surrounded by blood they seemed curiously flat, all variation smoothed into cold, glassy fury.

She gestured to the room full of children slaughtered by their own hand. “Children,” she said loudly, as if she could fill the room with her voice, cover up the terrible things that happened there, “born and bred to die.” She knelt and took the hilt of the knife red with Damian’s blood. “A stab in the back,” she said, “with an assassin’s blade. You were supposedly trained by a detective, were you not? What do you think?”

Jay stared at the knife, then out at the dead bodies on the bunks. His stomach squirmed, and he tasted bile in the back of his throat. But suddenly, all at once, it clicked into place.

He glanced back at Talia, a crease on his brow. “A League splinter cell.”

Talia was already shaking her head, but Jay now understood why she had refused to tell him: to admit there was a group of rogue assassins would be to legitimize them, and as the Demon’s Head, she could not risk that. “I have made many enemies, and inherited those of my father and my sister,” she said, her head held high, regal as ever. “There are those who seek to decapitate a dynasty. To strike at me through my son.”

But this raised even more questions. “Why not just kill him now, then?”

“Perhaps they believe they did.”

“Nope,” said Jay. “If an assassin was trying to take him out, they’d stayed alive long enough to confirm the kill. All of this,” he gestured at the room, the stinking miasma of blood heavy in the air, “is just set decoration.” He paused, watching her. “This is a message, T.”

This deduction seemed to satisfy Talia, reassure her that she could let him in on the secret. “They wish to frighten me into submission,” she said lowly. “And they would not dare kill him here, not with you to bear witness and hear my explanation.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” she said harshly, slicing her gaze towards him, “then you go home to Gotham, and you come back with the Batman, and he ends them. That is not a gamble they’re willing to take.”

“You think I’m not gonna be telling Bruce about this?”

“I think his first instinct is to defend, not aggress,” said Talia. Her hands were clasped tightly behind her back. In the stark fluorescent light, shadows flickered across her face, making her look older. Or maybe she’d stopped using the Pits. Or maybe Jay just hadn’t seen her in enough years to make a difference. “I think that instinct dies with his sons.”

Jason stared at her for a long moment, eyes locked on hers. He flinched first, looking away.

“I tried to tell him,” Talia continued, no softness in her voice. “But he would not listen to me. Neither did you, and now because of you my son is in pain. I blame you as much as I blame they who did this.”

Jay protested, “Talia-” but she held up a hand, her expression stricken.

“Do not argue with me,” she said. “Leave here, Jason Todd.”

“No,” he said.

“Do not test me.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I know he’s OK,” said Jay stubbornly. “You take me right back to wherever the fuck he is, and when he’s better I’m taking him home. Besides,” he added, “you just said it. I go back to Gotham, I come back with Batman. Don’t make me do that to you.”

Talia said nothing for a long moment. Then, wordlessly, she turned and left the room, abandoning the bodies of children growing cold. Jason followed her.

It was a short ride in a military-grade chopper Talia’s base, which was a surprisingly utilitarian compound in the Chechnyan foothills. On all sides it was surrounded by barbed wire and guards patrolling the perimeter. Jason followed her inside. Without speaking to him once, she led him directly to a laboratory. She entered only halfway, lingering by the door. Jason peered into the room from behind her.

Stripped to the waist and suspended weightlessly in viscous green liquid, Damian was unconscious. Wires and needles and mechanical arms worked deftly on his back, skin peeled back to facilitate access to his spine. Deep in the bottom of his stomach, Jay felt a stab of recognition, a memory from years ago of a baby in a biotube. Back then he had only caught a glance of it out of the corner of his eye, and in the moment, with Talia by his side, he’d thought it was funny. Something you gotta tell me, Talia? he’d asked her, grinning. Her expression severe, she had granted him no reply. The memory made him ache with guilt. He should have done something.

“The biotube makes his physiology more malleable,” said Talia abruptly, her eyes on her son. “He will stay there until we repair any nerve damage.”

“How long will that take?”

“Not long. Hours, maybe.”

This sounded impossible. “He got shanked down his spinal cord and you’re telling be he’s gonna be all fixed up in an hour or so?”

“Topical damage can be healed after he is removed from the biotube,” Talia told him coolly. “And it works quickly, Jason. Not as quick as its source, but better than any modern medicine can do.”

For a moment he didn’t know what she meant, and then his eyes widened. He looked back at the biotube, at Damian’s body through the haze of green liquid.

“Why bother fixing him at all?” asked Jason, but all warmth had vanished from his voice. “Why not just give him a good ol’ dunk?”

“Lazarus Pits are precious resources,” said Talia stoically. “There is no need to contaminate one when we can safely draw from it instead.”

Jay suspected it was more than this. He knew that, like him, Talia too had experienced firsthand the burning madness of the Pit. He could not blame her for wanting to spare her son the agony. Though he wondered if that wasn’t oversimplifying it, if maybe all things touched by the Pit had a touch of madness to them. Maybe growing a child in a biotube instead of the womb did things to him neither Jason nor Talia could even imagine.

While Damian was in the biotube, Jason refused to leave his side. Talia came and went, apparently having other matters to attend to and confident in the abilities of her medical team. By the door, two guards stood armed to the teeth. They weren’t Ubu, and they couldn’t have been much older than Damian himself. On their chests they wore a patch of red, inlaid with an upside-down black triangle.

Finally, the biotube was drained, and Damian was removed. The medical team required that Jason wear a surgical mask when they did so, and they refused to let him touch Damian, citing potential risk of infection. They wheeled him to a secure medical bay which Jay could not enter, though they permitted him to continue his watch through an observation window the size of a wall. Damian was lain on his stomach, the ugly, jagged wound along the length of his back facing upwards. Expertly, the doctors began to close the wound. The two guards with the red insignia on their chest stood at the foot of Damian’s bed, at attention.

Transfixed by the image before him, Jay almost didn’t notice when someone sidled up slightly behind him. Expecting someone else, he turned around to say, “Talia-” but then he stopped short.

A woman smiled back at him. She was smaller than Talia, dressed in the gold and green of those most favored by the Demon’s Head. A scarf was wrapped loosely around her head, obscuring her hair. On her breast, she wore the red and black insignia shared by Damian’s guards.

She spoke with an accent. “Hello, Jason Todd.”

“Uh,” said Jay. “Hi. Who are you?”

“My name is Yasmeen.” She had to be around Jay’s age, if not younger. She stepped forward to join him at the window, and then turned her gaze to peer softly out at Damian’s unconscious form. “I owe you thanks for calling us so quickly. More serious damage could have been done.”

“Nothing Talia couldn’t fix in her little Lazarus kiddie pool,” Jay replied warily. “You wanna tell me who you are? And you know I don’t mean your name.”

The woman – Yasmeen – did not answer right away, still watching the boy behind the glass. Then she glanced at Jason, and she said shortly, “I was his first teacher.”

Jay stared at her.

“I was there when they took him out of the biotube for the very first time,” she said, turning once more to watch Damian, as if soaking in every detail. “I was his caretaker when he was little more than a baby. I taught him English and his mother tongue. When Talia could not, and she often could not, I raised him.” She offered Jay a smile. “So, again. I am grateful to you.”

Jason knew, of course, that Talia had not been able to care for her son like most mothers did, but he had always thought of that in abstract terms, in vague impersonal words like teachers or trainers. ‘Caretaker’ was something he had never thought of before, though it made perfect sense. Some jealous corner of his heart rebelled against this for inexplicable reasons, an unfamiliar and strangely possessive emotion clashing with the relief of knowing someone had loved and looked after Damian long before he came to his father’s family.

He cleared his throat, then he held out his hand to her. “It’s good to meet you,” he told her. “Guess I forget sometimes he had a whole childhood before Talia sent him off.” Her handshake was brief, but firm. “You haven’t seen him in a while then, huh? What’s Talia had you doing since then, training more baby assassins?”

“Not quite,” answered Yasmeen absently, still looking through the glass at Damian. “Talia released me from her service when she released her son from her care. I’ve been at Oxford since, studying Philosophy and Modern Languages.” She cast another small smile Jason’s way. “Two of his favorite subjects. I’d like to think of that as my influence on him.”

Jay eyed her, sizing her up. “So,” he said, “why are you back? Don’t tell me she went and got you just ‘cause Damian got himself all banged up, did she?”

Yasmeen blinked, and then she looked up at Jason curiously. “No,” she said, sounding almost confused. “Talia invited me back because of Leviathan.”

Before Jay could ask what the fuck Leviathan was, a loud crash came from behind the window, accompanied quickly by a ragged roar of fury. Both of their gazes snapped back to Damian, now conscious and on his feet. One doctor was already on the ground, having been tossed aside by Damian as if nothing more than a bag of flour. Damian ripped the IV out of his arm and staggered over to the fallen doctor, shouting at him in Arabic. Though Jay knew a little Arabic, the words tumbling out of Damian's mouth were hoarse and garbled, and he couldn't understand any of it. It looked like Yasmeen could. “What’s he saying?” he asked, urgently.

Yasmeen only shook her head, her lips a tight line. “He’s not in his right mind,” she replied. “They must have incorrectly adjusted the sedative dosage. He’s awake, but he’s not lucid.”

This made sense: Jay had heard from Dick and Bruce that Damian required a much higher dose of sedatives to keep him out than his size would suggest. Once Dick had offhandedly contributed this to “Talia’s genetic meddling,” which Jay had never really believed. Until now, perhaps.

Damian kicked the doctor in the face, and they collapsed on the ground. One of the guards moved forward to stop him, placing a hand on his shoulder, but Damian violently threw them off, then flipped them overhead, slamming them into the ground. The other guard and two more doctors moved in, trying to restrain him. Damian acted on instinct, methodically disabling them.

“That’s it,” said Jay, tearing himself away from the window, going to try and find a door. “I’m going in.”

“No need,” called Yasmeen, still at the window.

“He’s going to tear those people apart,” Jay replied, anger in his voice. “And listen, you’re part of the League so maybe you don’t care about them, but if you know the same kid I do then you know he’ll hate himself for what he did while he was under, and I’m not about to let that happen.”

Unimpressed, Yasmeen looked around at him. “Talia has this under control,” she said.

“Doesn’t look like control to me,” Jay spat, but Yasmeen merely motioned through the window. Warily, Jay moved forward to join her once more.

Inside the room, Talia had entered. Flanked by no guards, she moved towards Damian. Around him lay the doctors and guards, either unconscious or otherwise pretending to be in order to avoid his wrath. Damian was scratching at his hands, then rubbing his bloodied fists on his eyes in a childlike caricature. “What’s she doing?” asked Jay tensely, one hand pressed against the glass. “He’s freaking out, she shouldn’t be in there alone-”

Talia said Damian’s name. She said it accented, Dah-mian, not Day-mian. It then occurred to Jay that since she was the one who named him she was also the one who said it correctly, and therefore it was he and the rest of Bruce’s family who said it with an accent. It was a strange and sad realization, that none of them spoke his name the way his mother had intended. Unexpectedly, it stung at Jason’s heart.

She said it again. Damian’s scratched-up hands moved from his face, and he said something in Arabic that sounded like a threat before slamming his foot down onto the arm of one of the guards, kicking violently at the semiautomatic weapon at their side. “Damian,” said Talia once more, and she held out her arms. He shouted something at her, furious, primal, but she didn’t stop. She reached her son and she placed her hands on his cheeks, watching him with her amber eyes, and then she wrapped her arms around him and held him close to her.

Talia was a tall woman, but Damian’s last growth spurt had sent him shooting over six feet. He stood stock still above her for one moment, and then he seemed to collapse into her arms, gently dropping his face into the crook of her neck.

Murmuring something in Arabic, Talia ran her fingers through her son’s hair. Jason wondered how long it had been since she last held her son.

Once Talia coaxed him back to the hospital bed, she held his hand until the doctors could administer more drugs. He slipped back into unconsciousness once more.

“Not surprising,” remarked Yasmeen.

Jay glanced around at her. “What is?”

Gesturing towards Damian, she replied, “His reaction. Talia always thought he would get used to the trauma of invasive medical procedures, but it’s impossible for a child to build up the necessary resilience for that. He has always feared the helplessness of the biotube, I think, and reliving the traumatic circumstances of his previous spinal injury can’t be easy either.” She watched Damian, worry clear in her eyes. “I had hoped he might grow out of those fears. But I suppose they linger, whether we hold onto them or not.”

Jason too looked through the window at Damian. Talia remained by his side, though he was no longer conscious. His heart hurt once more.

In time, Yasmeen invited Jason to rest, or to share a meal with her. He refused, choosing instead to stay there by the window into Damian’s room, waiting for him to wake up. For a while she left, but eventually returned to wait in silence by his side. Hours passed.

Lying face down on the hospital bed, Damian stirred. Jason leaned forwards, his nose almost touching the glass. Talia shifted in her seat, blocking Damian’s face from view. He felt an uncharacteristic surge of anger towards her, but put that aside. At least someone would be there holding his hand when he woke up.

The sound within the room was transmitted through a line into the observation area where Jason stood. Damian’s voice was hoarse, but he murmured, “Mama?”

Talia replied in Arabic, gently. Jay saw her lift her hand, cradling her son’s cheek.

Damian did not reply at first. Then he seemed to shift, and he asked a question. Though Jay didn’t catch the words exactly, he heard Damian say, “Jason,” and felt a burst of affection for the kid. In response, Talia sat up straight, and then she turned halfway around to peer out at Jay.

Though it was a one-way mirror, Damian’s gaze followed hers. He looked tired. Looking back once at his mother, he pushed himself up to sitting position. “Get me out of here,” he muttered, in English. “I don’t need a hospital bed.”

“You need rest,” responded Talia, following his lead and switching to English.

“I can rest perfectly fine anywhere in the compound,” announced Damian, getting to his feet. A flickering expression passed over his face, brief admittance of pain, but it disappeared quickly, professionally. “Or in Gotham, for that matter.”

“You will stay until you are healed,” said Talia, too getting to her feet, looking her son up and down.

Without glancing back at her, Damian replied, “I will stay until I want to go.”

There was a moment of tension. He looked at his mother, no real cruelty on his face. Then he looked back around the room, and headed towards the only exit, the padded door through which Talia had entered.

Immediately Jason jogged around to the door, and he apparently wasn’t the only one with that idea. A whole cadre of Talia’s attendants appeared, carrying with them every possible amenity Jay could think of. None of them wore the red and black insignia, except of course Yasmeen, who waited patiently behind Jay.

The door to the medical bay opened, and Damian emerged. His dark eyes glanced around, finally landing and lingering on Jay. He stepped forward, and was met with a flurry of motion from Talia’s attendants. They wiped his brow, cleaned the edges the bandages covering his back, offered him a set of pills from a comically lavish tasseled pillow (which he took and swallowed without hesitation, though it made Jay’s heart pound), and then he lifted his arms to allow them to slip a cloak over his shoulders, a cloak of emerald green and spun gold. Jay wondered if it hadn’t once belonged to his grandfather.

All of this happened at once, quickly and smoothly. Jay was surprised that Damian didn’t seem at all surprised; but, he supposed, Damian had been raised like this, like royalty. Dick had tried his best to get rid of Damian’s natural sense of entitlement, the haughty arrogance of having been termed from birth a boy king. This was the first time Jason had ever seen Damian like this, and he seemed comfortable, calm and in control. It was like watching an animal finally returned to his natural habitat.

One of the attendants bowed before Damian and offered him a long knife encased in a jeweled sheath. He glanced down at it, then waved it away. Damian's hand was bandaged. The attendant did not move.

From behind Damian, Talia said, “No son of mine would walk in an enemy compound unarmed.”

Damian glanced around as Talia slunk forward, meeting his gaze. “You called yourself my enemy, Mother,” he told her, his voice quiet. “I never did.” Then, without waiting for her answer, he turned back around to look at Jay. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“Me?” asked Jay, taken aback. “I mean, yeah, but I’m not the one who got his spine ripped out.”

“It’s certainly still there,” replied Damian, grimacing. He rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck, wincing when it hurt. “Though I imagine it’d be less painful if it weren’t. Did you call her?” he asked, to Jason. “Or did she come on her own?”

“He called,” said Talia.

Damian didn’t look at her. Jay glanced between them, then echoed her answer. “I called her. Why does that matter?”

“Because,” answered Damian coolly, “the latter would be proof.”

“Proof of what?” asked Jay.

“That she did this to me,” said Damian. “That she engineered violence in order to bring me back into her home-”

“Damian,” said Talia harshly, striding forward and placing a heavy hand on his arm. “Had I devised this violence, believe me, it would not have ended with two dozen children dead.”

“Why not?” he shot back at her, whipping his arm away from her. “Destroying children never seemed to prick your conscious before.”

All softness cracked away from Talia’s expression as if it had been no more than a brittle shell. Lowering her voice dangerously, she told him, “I made you stronger. Every hurt you endured was intentional, my son. It is incomparable to the meaningless death-worshipping chaos of whoever did this to you.”

Damian watched his mother for a long moment, his mouth tight. Jason glanced between the two of them, then leaned in. “If it helps,” he said, apologetically, “I don’t think she had anything to do with this. It was – something else.” Leviathan, Jay thought, his mind going back to the cryptic comment Yasmeen had dropped. But he held his tongue, waiting until he had a clearer picture of what was going on. Jason added, “She saved your life, Damian,” but by then Damian was no longer looking at him. His gaze had wandered beyond Jay, and the expression had dropped from his face, replaced by something that resembled shock.

Jay glanced around. Yasmeen stood there, smiling, her hands clasped behind her back. “Hamdellah assalamah, Damian,” she said. Welcome home.

“No,” said Damian, staring at her. He moved forward; behind him, Talia reached out and took the blade from the attendant Damian had refused. Stopping just past Jay, several feet away from Yasmeen, he looked at her warily, disbelievingly. “No. You don’t work for my mother anymore. I asked my father about you, you were in England, you were far away from this-”

Yasmeen shook her head, but did not remove her hands from behind her back. “I heard my very first student was coming home,” she said simply. “I thought to myself, Yasmeen, wouldn’t you like to see the man he became?”

She offered him a contented smile, though the look in her eyes was enigmatic. Damian’s eyes flickered down to the black and red symbol she wore.

Talia strode past the three of them. “Come,” she said, over her shoulder. “You must eat.”

She led them to what looked like an industrial kitchen, everything clean steel and hard chrome. Damian and Jason sat with Talia, but Yasmeen chose to stay on her feet, standing at attention by the door. Other attendants brought food and drink, pouring tea for Damian. It made Jason feel weird and out of place, uncomfortable being served. Neither Talia nor Damian seemed to notice.

“What happened to me?” asked Damian, his voice low. “Who were those children?”

“Victims to some mother more cruel than I,” answered Talia, raising a teacup to her lips. “I cannot tell you their names. My guess is that they all died without one.”

Talia took a sip of tea. In the small pause she took, Jason leaned forward. “Hey, listen,” he said. “My intel must’ve been bad. I shouldn’t have let you walk in there alone.”

Damian only glanced at him, unsatisfied. He sat up unnaturally straight, his spine rod-like. Exertion in any direction probably meant pain.

Looking up at Talia, Damian said, “Repairing my body does nothing to endear yourself to me. Not after what you did last time.”

Jason didn’t know what this meant, but Talia merely bowed her head in acknowledgement. “Forgive me,” she said. “But I don’t regret it. I did not send you to your father’s house to be trained by anyone but your father, certainly not some circus freak.”

“Dick Grayson was the first father I ever knew,” said Damian stubbornly, an admission of loyalty Jay had never heard stated outright. “I won’t listen to you speak ill of him.”

“Dick Grayson,” said Talia, sounding unimpressed, “is unworthy of you. He is a relic of your father’s pathetic penchant for self-pity, and a habitual liar who twists and poisons all things to his advantage.” Jay wondered, vaguely, if they were thinking of the same Dick Grayson. But then she said, “He is duplicitous by nature. Disloyal and nomadic by blood,” and Jason suddenly realized what she was getting at.

“Talia, come on,” he said, leaning forward on the cold steel of the table. “You can call Dick a lotta things, but disloyal is some big bullshit, and nomadic is just kinda racist.”

“Then why does he endanger you?” demanded Talia, her eyes glinting, focused on her son. “Why does he work with those who oppose me?”

“Because you’re a supervillain, Mother, obviously,” answered Damian, dismissing this. “What do you mean, endangering me?”

She watched him without reaction, but it was clear that she hadn't wanted to tip her hand so early. She glanced behind Damian, at Yasmeen; the woman turned to the attendants surrounding her and they dutifully emptied the room. Yasmeen closed the door behind them, and stood before it.

“What do you know,” asked Talia, her voice very quiet, “of Leviathan?”

An instant reaction crossed Damian’s face. “Leviathan,” he echoed. He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if struggling to recall a memory. “They tried to kill me, didn’t they?”

“No,” answered Talia shortly. “They saved your life. I formed Leviathan five years ago, when a faction within the League of Assassins began to sow the seeds of discontent, and I learned of a plan to strike at me through that which I hold most precious.” Her eyes burned into Damian’s. “You.” She paused for a moment, then added, “You see when I asked for you back then, it was not to transform you into some brainwashed assassin, like your father suggested. I wanted to protect you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Lies,” said Damian, cutting her off. “No parent destroys their child in the name of protection.”

“I broke you here,” Talia insisted, her hands on the table before her, “so that you would never break out there. So that you could meet pain, and become its master. So that you would become more powerful than that which would try to hurt you. Faster, and stronger, and smarter. Not better but the best. Believe of your mother what you want. I did this to prevent you from ever winding up like him.”

It took Jason half a moment to realize Talia was pointing straight at him. He raised a hand almost defensively, speechless thrown off balance, but Damian did not look around. He glared directly into his mother’s face.

But Jay’s heart sank as he realized Damian did not have an answer to this. He let it hang in the air for a long moment, then, the fury in his voice gone cold, he asked, "What does Dick have to do with Leviathan?”

Sharply, Talia responded, “As if you don’t know. He’s always hated me. He would take any opportunity to undermine me.”

“Undermine you how?”

Talia watched Damian. Her eyes narrowed, and then she leaned back in her seat. Thoughtfully, she asked, “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” asked Jason, interrupting before Damian could speak. “That Dick’s tryna stop whatever evil plans you’re cooking up now? I mean, it’s not exactly a stretch of the imagination, T.”

A flicker of annoyance passed over Damian’s face, though at first Jay wasn’t sure what it was for. T, he realized. He didn’t like the nickname.

Well. It was awfully familiar, and Jay wouldn’t blame Damian if he wasn’t feeling particularly friendly towards any friend of his mother’s at the moment. He pulled back, as if removing himself from the conversation.

Talia glanced upwards, towards the door. Yasmeen moved forward, placing a file before Damian, which she opened. She stayed by his side, which seemed to distract him; for one moment his gaze flickered up towards Yasmeen's face, an unsettled look in his eye. Then he turned his attention to the pages before him, examining them carefully. “What is this?” he asked, his voice flat.

Talia cocked her head. “You don’t recognize the symbol?”

Damian looked up at her, and shook his head. Jay leaned over, and Damian slid the file toward him. There was a shadowy photograph of what appeared to be an eye, behind which a series of crisscross lines intersected. It felt intensely familiar, but Jay couldn’t place it.

“We don’t know who they are either,” continued Talia. “Only that the circus brat is one of them, and that they’re doing all they can to put you in harm’s way, Damian.”

“Impossible,” said Damian. “You’re lying to me.”

“I am not,” answered Talia coldly. “Leviathan has had eyes on you for years now. They go where you go, and they combat threats you cannot imagine. They keep you safe.” She gestured at the file. “This organization fights me at every turn. At every opportunity they block Leviathan, putting you in direct danger.”

There was a long silence as Damian regarded the symbol before him. Then, brow furrowed, he looked up. “No,” he said again, sliding the file away from him. “I can’t trust this, Mother. You’ve tried to turn me against him before.”

“I am trying,” she insisted, “to protect you.”

“I don’t believe it,” said Damian stubbornly. “And I think it’s sick that you’ve brought me here with obvious intent to manipulate me.”

He placed his hands firmly on the table before him, and struggled to get to his feet, obviously fighting the pain of his healing spine. Beside him, Yasmeen gently took his arm, steadying him. “Khalti,” he said to her, taking her hand. “I don’t want you here with her any longer. Please permit me to take you wherever you want to go when I leave here.”

With a sad smile, Yasmeen reached out to place her hand gently against his cheek. “Habibi,” she replied, “you are very brave, and very clever, but where I want to be is here with her.” She watched him pleasantly, that same small smile on her face. “You are making a mistake,” she told him, slowly and clearly, as if speaking to a child, “by refusing to believe her. Your past blinds you.”

Damian said nothing for a moment. Then he took hold of her hand, and pulled it away from his face. “If it does,” he said quietly, “it’s her own fault, for leaving wounds that take too long to heal.”

“Maybe,” said Yasmeen softly, “this is her offering you a bandage, habibi.”

There was a thick silence. Talia watched another woman handle her son with a mother’s touch, and then she looked away, her expression blank and unchanging. Jay felt distinctly uncomfortable, on behalf of all of them.

Finally, Damian turned away from her. “Jason,” he said. “We’ll leave at dawn.” This, at least, was a relief: even Damian had to admit he was in no condition to travel at the moment, though Jay didn’t imagine he’d be all that much better come morningtime. Regardless, Jay got to his feet.

“Sounds good,” he said.

“Yasmeen,” said Talia, from her seat. “Please show Damian to his quarters.” To her son, she said, “Rest assured, you aren’t headed back to the medical bay.”

But Damian shook his head, standing straight as ever. He was at least a full foot taller than Yasmeen, who still held one of his hands. “I’m staying with Jason,” he said. “I told you already I don’t trust you, Mother, and I meant it. He’s not leaving my side.”

Jay felt a rush of affection for the kid once more, but he leaned forward and said, fairly, “Listen, I appreciate that, but I’m pretty sure if your mom wanted to off me, she would’ve done it already.”

“I’m not negotiating,” said Damian plainly, his eyes on his mother. “I know I need rest. Either he stays with me, or we both leave now.”

Talia considered this, her jaw clenched once more. Then she waved her hand. “Fine. Yasmeen, show them their quarters. Jason can sleep on the floor like a dog for all I care.”

Dutifully, Yasmeen did so. Damian let go of her hand as they headed through the compound – they moved slowly, as Damian was obviously still unwell – but once they were out of Talia’s earshot he moved to her side. Quietly, he spoke to her in Arabic. She considered his words, then replied. Jason lagged behind them slightly, trying not to intrude on what was obviously a private conversation, even though he couldn’t fully understand the language. Though he did his best to mind his own business, he caught a few words there. Khalti again, which wasn’t a name – maybe an honorific, or a term of endearment? Habibi he knew, though he’d heard it from Talia under extremely different circumstances, and the thought of that made him feel a little uncomfortable, weirdly guilty.

They exited one building and crossed a short courtyard into a different one. Above them, the moon shone down, bathing the compound in a pool of silver light.

The second building was made of brick and stone instead of steel and concrete, and felt less like a laboratory and more like a home. On the second floor Yasmeen took them to a room with a tall wooden door, and Damian nodded at him, gesturing for him to enter. He did so, leaving the door slightly ajar. Sure, he wanted to give Damian a little privacy; but they were also still in Talia’s territory, and he didn’t want to let Damian out of his sight.

He busied himself inspecting the room, but before she left, he caught a glance of Yasmeen holding Damian tightly in her arms.

The room itself seemed oddly out of place in an otherwise utilitarian compound such as this. There was a bathroom attached, fully stocked with medical supplies, as well as a big four-poster bed and a collection of couches and futons strewn about the room. Two large wardrobes held a number of clothes, though only one contained anything that would fit Damian. The other was full of clothing which seemed comically undersized. Jay rifled through it for a few moments, confused, and then he realized: these must have belonged to Damian when he was a child, back when he lived with Talia.

He closed the wardrobe to find Damian closing the door to the room. “Everything OK?” asked Jay, as Damian hobbled over to the bed, obviously in pain.

“I’ll live,” answered Damian, sort of falling onto the bed, dropping his face into the pillow. He sounded exhausted.

Jay stood there for a moment, and then he crossed the room. “Hey,” he said, dropping a knee beside Damian on the bed. He lowered one of his hands, hovering above Damian’s shoulder cautiously. “Can I take a look?”

Turning his head onto his cheek, Damian nodded at Jay. Gingerly, he slipped Damian’s arms out of the cloak, then pulled it off of him, revealing his bandaged back. Methodically, Jay inspected the bandages. “These need to be changed,” he muttered. “You wanna wait til the morning?”

“And give my mother another opportunity to delay our departure?” asked Damian doubtfully. “No. Do it now.”

Jay didn’t like that tone and he almost said something snarky about how demanding he sounded, but then he stopped himself. Really felt like the wrong time to point out Damian’s similarities with either of his parents.

After collecting medical supplies from the bathroom, Jason returned to Damian’s side, working very carefully.

“Hey,” said Jay.

Damian gave a vague noise of acknowledgement.

“I thought that was pretty brave,” he said, honestly. “Y’know, everything you said to her. It takes guts to stand up to someone who loves you that much.”

Another grunt, this one unhappy. “She doesn’t love me.”

Jason didn’t reply to this, because he figured Damian already knew that wasn’t true.

There was silence for a while as Jason cleaned and drained Damian’s wound, then replaced the bandages. When he was almost done, Damian, his voice slightly muffled against the pillow, asked, “How do you know her?”

No easy answer to this, especially not one Jay could admit to her son. But back in the jet, he’d gotten the impression that Damian already had an idea of how Talia al Ghul, sole inheritor of the Lazarus Pits, might have known Jason Todd, formerly dead Robin.

“She helped me out,” Jay told him, finally, “a long time ago.” Not technically untrue. “You know, in a big way.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“Did my father ask her to do it?”

“Nope,” answered Jay, pressing the bandages against Damian’s dark skin. “Sometimes even supervillains do things outta the goodness of their hearts, Damian. Nobody asked her to do what she did, but she did it anyway, and I owe her for that. I’m always gonna owe her for that.”

Sharply, Damian said, “I don’t owe her anything.”

Jason took his hands away. “I didn’t say you did. We’re talking about me, not you. Believe me, I’m not trying to soften you up to her or anything, I’m just saying.” He said nothing, finishing up on Damian’s back. “A woman brings you back from the dead, and you wind up getting to know her pretty well. That’s all.”

On the pillow, Damian’s eyes were closed. “When?” he asked.

“When what?”

“When,” repeated Damian, with a hint of impatience. “When did this happen?”

Taken slightly aback, Jay took a moment to consider this. “I dunno,” he said. “Gotta be about fifteen years or so now.”

“Fifteen,” echoed Damian.

“That’s what I said.”

Damian said nothing.

Then, his voice very low, he asked, “Did you see me?”

It felt like Jay’s heartbeat slowed down, as if the blood in his veins were ice. He knew that the truth would hurt Damian, but he also couldn’t bring himself to lie.

He settled on, “Maybe. Whatever I saw or thought I saw or, hell, hoped I didn’t see, I sure as hell never expected to wind up here.”

This was unsatisfactory, but Damian had no choice but to accept it. Taking a syringe out of the medical supplies, Jay said, “I’m gonna give you a mild sedative. Won’t knock you out, but it should help you get some sleep. That OK?”

“Yes,” said Damian, unhappily.

Jay hesitated, and then he experimentally laid a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said, with genuine regret. “I shouldn’t’ve brought you here. I should’a known it was gonna go south.”

“No,” said Damian, shaking his head. “It’s all right.” He turned his face away from Jay. “I wanted to see her.”

Eventually, Damian’s breath slowed as he drifted to sleep. Jay sat with him on the bed the entire night. He was struck with a profound sense of déjà vu, the sense memory of sitting on a bed next protecting a sleeping child coming back to him across all these years. He wondered where Lian Harper was today. Though the dissolution of the Teen Titans had hit Damian hard, Lian had ultimately been the mastermind, manipulated by her mother into violence against her teammates. Jay wondered if maybe Damian didn’t have more in common with Lian than he’d like to admit.

At some point, Jason must have fallen asleep. He had a dream that he was sixteen years old and stuck behind eyes that could not see, inside a body which did not obey him. He dreamt of himself in Talia’s arms, lowering them both into the Pit together. He dreamt he saw a boy, a scar down the length of his spine, floating face down in the eerie green water.

In the morning, Jason had to help Damian to his feet. Any pain medication must have worn off, because he seemed wracked with it, hardly able to move. When Damian was in the bathroom, Jay stood outside the door, feeling bizarrely paternal. He supposed it made sense, given his relationship with Damian’s mom, but also acknowledging that whole dynamic was weird as hell so he tried not to think about it.

Not long after that, there was a knock on the door, and a team of Talia’s medical staff streamed in, replacing Damian’s bandages, giving him several injections, and fitting him in a spinal brace. Yasmeen oversaw this, and when it was done, she smiled at Damian and said, “We took the liberty of fetching your jet. Your mother asks that you consider staying until you are healed, Damian.”

“No,” replied Damian shortly, as Jason helped him slip a shirt over his brace. “I want to leave now.”

Yasmeen bowed her head in acknowledgement, then gestured to the door. Without another word, Damian headed out. Jay followed him.

On the runway behind the compound, Talia stood before the jet. Wind blew in from the mountains, whipping her long dark hair about her face, her cloak of white and gold around her body. In the morning light, she seemed to glow. She must have been wearing heels, because she looked ungodly tall, majestic, fearsome. Despite himself, Jay felt a nostalgic tug of attraction.

Damian stopped before her, far enough that she could not reach out to touch him. “Mother,” he said.

“Son,” she replied, cutting him off before he could say any more. She offered him a sly smile.

Stoically, Damian continued, “I’ll tell my father what you’ve done for me. I imagine he’ll want to look into this Leviathan business himself. I expect he’ll contact you.”

“I promise I won’t try and kill him,” she told Damian, smoothly.

“Don’t play games with me,” he said, his voice hard and his brow knit. “If you wish to speak to me, don’t lure me halfway around the world. I’ve left my comm codes with Yasmeen. Use them to contact me directly.”

If it smarted that Damian gave the codes to Yasmeen instead of to her directly, Talia gave no indication of it. “I didn’t bring you here, Damian.” Her eyes flickered to Jason. “He did.”

“On your request,” Jay shot back at her.

“I asked you to bring him to me,” Talia replied coolly. “Not to some underground base fifty miles away where they would carve him up like a bird.”

Mercifully, Talia didn’t think to make a crack about Robins. “Wouldn’t have done it at all if you hadn’t called me to begin with,” Jay told her, resentful. He hadn’t liked this encounter, top to bottom – he felt bone-deep guilty for getting Damian hurt in the first place, and it had not been easy to watch mother and son be so unkind to each other. It was clear, too, that Damian was struggling with something much bigger, something a whole lot deeper. In Talia's absence Damian had had a lot of time to reflect on his childhood, and Jay’d gotten the impression he wasn’t ready to forgive his mother just yet. Well. Jay could relate to that.

“This isn’t his fault,” said Damian, without looking around at Jay. “Don’t bother him again.”

Talia let out a tinkling laugh. “I will bother him all I want,” she said to Damian. “He owes me a debt.”

Damian shook his head, but Jay spoke before he could. “Come on,” he said. “You can’t hang that over my hand forever, T.”

“Then repay me,” she answered, cocking her head slightly. Her dark eyes focused on Jay, roving up and down his body, as if she could see right through him. “Last time I checked, you’re in the red for two hundred fifty thousand, about ten of my best assassins, and a helicopter, Jason.”

Ah. So maybe the helicopter was fair: she’d lent it to him for his reintroduction back to Gotham, and he’d wound up crashing it pretty bad.

“Those assassins were assholes,” he replied lamely. A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

Her gaze raked back to her son, who watched her warily, suspicious of this exchange. “I was sorry to hear about the Titans,” she told him, causing Damian’s eyebrows to immediately shoot up in surprise. “I liked Miss West very much. The two of you could have been very powerful together.”

Damian said nothing, but Jay caught the bitterness in his expression, the resentful anger, fire with no oxygen to burn. He glanced around, away from Talia’s gaze.

“I understand Jade Nguyen was responsible for that wreck,” Talia continued, almost offhandedly, as if commenting on the weather. “I don’t imagine it would be too difficult to hunt her down and punish her for what she put you through.”

“No need,” murmured Damian, his eyes sliding back to Talia. “Her daughter is already on the job.”

Talia arched one elegant eyebrow. “Is she now?” she asked, and Jay didn’t like how intrigued she sounded. When Damian refused to reply to this, Talia let out a small sigh and moved forwards, taking hold of one of her son’s hands. Damian did not pull away.

“Ya amar,” she said to him, lifting her free hand to his face, swiping her thumb beneath his eye. “Ya rouhi.” Jason knew that one, and felt a flush of awkwardness, knowing he was intruding on something deeply personal. He looked away, trying to give them some privacy. “Ana bahebak, ya ibni. Ya’aburnee.”

Damian said nothing, refusing to look his mother in the eye. He gave her a short nod, little more than a bob of his head.

She slipped her hand behind his neck and pulled him downwards to press her lips against his forehead. This bent his bound back at a bad angle, and he grimaced in pain.

For a moment, something seemed to fade from Talia’s ever-perfect veneer, and with both hands she held her son’s head, kissing him on both cheeks. There was urgency in the way she held him, a deep longing, a desperate regret. She looked like a mother who loved her son too much to let him go; and in the end, Jay figured, that wasn’t too far from the truth.

But then she stepped back, her hands on her son’s shoulders. “Be safe,” she instructed him, stern once more. “Leviathan will be watching over you. You will not be the downfall of our line, my son. You are my pride, and my joy.”

“I’m not an al Ghul,” he said to her, quietly.

Her hands tightened on his shoulders, her grip vicelike. “Yes,” she said, peering hard into his eyes, fierce conviction in her voice. “You will always be an al Ghul, Damian. You will always be my son.”

Jason and Damian left Talia on the tarmac, guiding the jet away from the rising sun. For a long time, Damian said nothing.

“We'll need to make a stop outside Gotham,” he said. It was the first thing he’d said in hours.

Jay glanced at him. “Why?”

“A rudimentary inspection,” he answered, sounding bored. “For explosive devices, any kind of toxin release mechanism. Just in case.”

“In case what?” asked Jay, frowning at him. “You think your mom hooked some kind of suicide bomb into your spine, or something?”

Damian would have shrugged, but that hurt him so he didn’t. “Last time this happened she installed a failsafe. I wouldn’t put it past her to do it again.” He looked around at Jay and added, “I’ll have my father do a complete scan when I get home, but before we get there I’d like you to take a look first.” He repeated, “Just in case.”

Jason’s instinct was to tell Damian that Talia would never do that to her son, but he stopped himself. It wasn’t his place to tell Damian what his mother would or wouldn’t do. Jay didn’t know her the way Damian did, and he didn’t have any right to intervene. Too much baggage Damian had to figure out how to carry for himself.

As Damian requested, Jay found a spot outside of Gotham to set down before they reached the Manor. Damian shed his shirt and the brace, allowing Jason to inspect the wound. The jagged incision had been closed with surgical staples, which meant that a metal detector was functionally useless, so Jay used his eyes and his gloved fingers and a multipurpose scanner Bruce had developed years ago. He detected nothing amiss, which was what he’d expected, but he did a thorough job anyway.

When he pressed too hard, Damian winced. “You want me to help you explain all this to Bruce?” Jay asked, still working.

“No,” answered Damian. He sounded unhappy. “He’ll get angry with you for it, and that isn’t fair.”

“Eh. I’m sorta used to it, by now.”

Damian did not reply to this, so Jason too fell silent. He finished as best as he could, running his thumb along the staples one last time. The scarring was going to be intense, even worse than before.

“Jason,” said Damian.

Jay glanced up, but Damian didn’t turn around, so he could only look at the back of his head, the dark curls there. “Mhm?”

“Thank you,” he said.

“Aw,” said Jay, shaking his head, reaching for the bandages to cover the wound once more. “I didn’t do much. If anything, I really just fucked things up.”

Still looking away from him, his voice low, Damian said, “You…gave me the choice. My father was never going to give that to me, albeit maybe for valid reasons, but still.” He shook his head slightly, but fell silent.

When he did not speak again, Jay returned to reapplying bandages. He was reminded, viscerally, of sitting in the bathroom of a safehouse what felt like a thousand years ago, stitching a bullet hole closed on Damian’s arm. Damian had been fourteen years old. Back then they’d barely known each other, but Jason’s heart ached for that kid and for the kid sitting in front of him, son of the Bat, son of the Demon, a boy tugged in all directions at the mercy of those who thought they knew best for him. Though he was brilliant and competent and stronger and better than anyone Jay had ever known, Damian had never asked for any of that. Perfection came at the expense of personal freedom. First by his mother’s hand and then by the strict code of his father, Damian had been denied the luxury of choice his entire life. Now like then, Jason felt for him, an ache deep in his chest, somewhere untouchable.

“I missed her,” said Damian. His voice sounded distant, like his head was far away.

Jason didn’t have anything to say to that. He understood that: the searing pain of separation, even though in your heart you knew you should never, ever want to go back.

He finished bandaging Damian up, then clapped him on the shoulder.

“You’ll be OK, kiddo,” he told him.

Damian let out a long breath, then reached up to run his hand through his hair. He glanced around, catching Jason’s eye.

“Don’t call me that,” he said.

#jason todd #damian wayne #talia al ghul #earth 28 #cw for gore blood and unfortunately some child death #it was so great to have an opportunity to write talia The Right Way #catch me having a revelation about the biotube i'm so stupid for missing for 5 years

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