⚠️ POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING⚠️

Aunt Minji:
Hey sweetie
I'm outside

As Lyla stands from the couch after reading the text, Taehyung sighs in disapproval that his snuggle companion for the movie they have been watching has left him holding onto a pillow instead. It was only a little after midnight but half of their group seemed exhausted already. With no schedules and nothing completely occupying their time, being lazy most of the day seemed to make it easier for them to fall asleep.

Well, except for Jimin. He was just as wide awake as Lyla was.

Which was perfect, actually.

"Where are you going?" Tae pouts in a sleep-ridden voice, barely hanging on for the remainder of the film.

"Minji is just dropping off some things for me," she states with a tight-lipped smile.

Sitting up, he runs his hands through his hair. "I'll go get it for you," he yawns. "It's pretty cold out."

The snow had stopped and somewhat melted down to just random piles of mush by the afternoon, but that didn't stop the winter chill in the air. Seeing the snow disappear today made her feel a bit sad since she was hoping for a white Christmas this year, but it was still a week away so the possibility of it coming back put a bit of hope back into her holiday spirit.

Her eyes widen at his offer, but she quickly schools her features before anyone could notice, "No, that's okay. It'll be quick."

"You sure?" Jimin questions as he looks over at her.

"Mhm," she hums before her eyes land on Jungkook who had fallen asleep in the corner of the large sectional with one of his legs thrown over the back of the couch and his mouth slightly open about a half hour ago. "Could you guys get him off to bed while I run outside?"

"Yeah, I got it," Tae offers as he stretches his hands above his head before cracking his neck.

She had told Jimin that she would help him make better memories here, and now that Minji had arrived with what she needed, some of that starts tonight with a nice 'therapy' session.

While zipping up her jacket and sliding on her boots, she looks over at an exhausted Tae directing a sleepy Jungkook toward the stairs leading to the bedrooms, "If you're so sleepy, baby, you don't have to try to stay up. Get some rest. I'll go to bed when I get tired."

Nodding at her request, too exhausted to argue, he glances back at Jimin, "I take it you'll be sleeping in Jimin's room tonight then?"

"Yeah, that works." She takes a moment to kiss each one of their pouty lips before sliding on her hat, "Good night, my loves."

Rushing out of the front door to keep Minji from waiting any longer, she walks quickly and carefully down the steps in case there was some unforeseen ice that could make her slip and fall. Reaching Minji's apple red Bentley Continental GT Speed, his aunt rolls down the window showcasing all of the items she had asked for in the passenger seat.

"I understand why you asked for me pick up some more Christmas lights, but why so many eggs and rolls of toilet paper?" She inquires as she hands over the first bag.

Not wanting to put her in the middle of her secret plan for the night, Lyla quickly comes up with an excuse, "I'll be doing some baking and there needs to be enough for breakfast for four people for the next few days. And you know how guys are, they never have enough toilet paper."

"True, true," Tae's aunt agrees as she hands her the last bag and the large roll of bathroom tissue.

"Thank you, again! Have a nice night," Lyla smiles, feeling like everything is coming together now that she has in her possession.

"You're welcome, love. Be careful walking up those steps!"

"I will!" Lyla yells back to her as she makes her way back inside, hearing the sound of Aunt Minji's car leaving the driveway just as she shuts the door.

Sliding back off her shoes, she places the eggs and toilet paper on the floor before opening the closet to tuck away the Christmas lights and temporarily take off her winter coat.

She'll need much warmer clothes on for tonight anyway.

Striding back into the living room, she stands in front of Jimin with her hands held out for his.

Grinning up at her, he raises his brows, totally confused about what she's trying to do. "What-"

"Shh," she smiles as he stands up in front of her and starts to direct him toward the stairs, "go to your room and get dressed into something warm and all black."

"Huh?"

"Trust me, just do it," she chuckles. "Meet me by the front door in five minutes."

Going separate ways once they reached the top floor, Jimin looks back at her one last time trying to decipher what it is she's up to. But upon seeing her bright smile back at him, he decided that whatever it was, he would hopelessly follow her lead.

***

Walking down the last few steps after dressing in fully black attire as requested, Jimin locks eyes with Lyla waiting by the door to the garage in a similar outfit as she holds her finger to her lips to tell him to keep quiet.

Her hair was braided into one long side braid with a black beanie on her head, a black turtle neck, black sweatpants, and black snow boots. Handing over his coat, gloves, and hat, she puts on her own winter jacket, being sure to zip it up completely.

"Are we robbing a bank?" He whispers to her all while continuing to finishing getting ready by sliding on his winter boots as if he would rob a bank with her if that's what she wanted him to really do.

Shaking her head with a knowing smile, she wraps a scarf around her neck before doing the same to him; making sure he was not only bundled up but also pretty unrecognizable. "No, but it's not exactly legal."

He stops in his tracks, "...what?"

"Do you trust me?" She looks up into his wide brown eyes.

"I do," he helplessly admits. She's one of the few people he's ever truly trusted.

"Good. Grab the toilet paper," she instructs as she takes hold of a plastic bag and turns on the light to show the three cars sitting in the garage, sheltered from the weather outside.

Snatching a set of keys from the hook, she closes the door behind them, locking it in the process. Following her to the car she knows belongs to Jimin, she pops open the back door and sets the cartons of eggs on the floorboard before turning around to relieve him of the large bundle of toilet paper in his grasp. After everything has been securely placed in the back of the black Porsche Panamera GTS, she tosses him the keys and opens the passenger door for herself.

"But I have no idea where we're going," he says hesitantly, but still walks around to the driver-side door anyway.

"You know better than I do," she smirks as she watches him buckle up. "I'll tell you more once we get out of the gate so that you're less likely to change your mind."

"You terrify me," he chuckles as he turns on the car and opens the automatic garage door.

"I keep hearing that lately," she laughs as the knot in her stomach twists with mischievousness growing by the second.

Once fully out of the gate and partway down the street, Jimin glances over to her as he approaches a stop sign, "Okay Miss Mysterious, where to?"

"Take me to one of your foster homes."

"Huh?" His brow knits as he feels his heart rate start to accelerate out of reflex, "Why?"

"Because we're going to let you get out some of that frustration while making sure they have a mess to clean up in the morning," she looks at the supplies in the back seat, "with some light vandalism."

Nodding his head with finally understanding her whole master plan, he takes a deep breath and turns to the left, "Your wish is my command."

Pulling over to the side of the road after turning a few blocks, he shuts off the car entirely. Following his gaze, she looks over to the large home adjacent from them and a little farther up the street. The home surprisingly wasn't gated like their own even though a Lexus sat in the driveway. The lights were all off and everyone inside seemed to be peacefully asleep. As she looks back at him, she sees the hurt in his eyes as he loosens and tightens the grip on the steering wheel, trying to hold back his emotions.

"Hey," she softly says to get his attention, "no need to hold anything back tonight. If you're mad, be mad. If you want to tell me what happened, I'll listen. If you want to cry, I have a shoulder just for you."

Staring into her eyes for a moment, he allows himself to feel safe with her once again, knowing that without a doubt she meant what she said.

"This was my first foster home," he begins as he turns back to look at the red-bricked two-story dwelling. "I was terrified when I was told by the state that this is where I'd be living with two adults I didn't know and two other foster kids that were in the system for their own reasons. I was six years old. I was only a baby."

Not wanting to interject and discouraging him from saying whatever he needed to release, Lyla remains quiet until she's needed.

"The other foster kids were much older than I was and what most people think of when they think of kids in the system. The girl was fifteen and the boy was seventeen; always into some kind of trouble and there were so many times that I would get blamed for something they did. I had only been there for about five months when they started constantly hitting me. I ran to my foster parents hoping they would help but instead they turned a blind eye and allowed me to get beaten up every day for the two years I was forced to live there. They put me back in the system when I started trying to defend myself, stating I was causing trouble in their household. It immediately labeled me as a troubled kid."

"That's fucked up," Lyla says just above a whisper and watches him nod his head in agreement. "I'm sorry you went through that. Especially so young."

"Don't be sorry," he forces a small smile. "Living the life I had got me to the life I have now." Taking a deep breath, he grabs a few rolls of toilet paper and hands them to Lyla before reaching back and grabbing a carton of eggs. "Let the games begin."

Quietly shutting their doors, the two of them scurry across the street while trying to be as quiet as possible. The moment they reach the familiar driveway, Jimin opens the carton and grabs the first egg. Rearing back as if he's pitching a baseball, Lyla watches as the first egg lands dead center of the car's windshield while he struggles to hold back a relieved laugh.

"You know what's really fucked up?" He whispers as he grabs another egg and Lyla gets ready to begin toilet papering their front porch. "They probably don't even remember me."

"Then let's make sure they have something to remember in the morning," she grins back at him and he smiles brightly in return.

Tossing the roll of toilet paper across their entire porch, over the roof, and throughout the trees in the front yard, Lyla makes sure that it would take them hours to clean up the mess. Meanwhile, Jimin throws the eggs at their front doorstep, covers their car in the yolky mixture, and wherever else he saw fit. The act of throwing something at a house he despised was a healing step he never realized he really needed until tonight.

With her three rolls of toilet paper complete and Jimin out of eggs, they meet up on the sidewalk to take one last look at their 'artwork' before leaving. Smiling proudly at it all, Jimin wraps his hand around Lyla's shoulder and kisses her forehead when she leans into his frame.

"Let's go before someone sees us," she whispers and he nods in agreement. Jogging back toward his car parked down the street, he stops as they reach the road and Lyla looks back at him confused, "Come on, we've got to go, baby."

"One more thing." Jimin holds up his finger before turning around and walking back toward the egg-saturated Lexus. Pulling out his keys, he pops open a Swiss Army knife and bends down to puncture the two right-side tires; leaving the other two alone so that their insurance won't cover the cost.

Running back over to Lyla, he places his hand on her back to keep running as the light of one of the bedrooms turns on upon hearing the pop of the tires. Quickly getting into his car, he turns it on and throws the gearshift into reverse, backing up the vehicle so that they don't have to drive in front of the house they just vandalized. Once they've gotten a few blocks away, they both burst out into a fit of laughter at almost getting caught but escaping in just the knick of time.

"That felt so good!" He exclaims with a tap on his steering wheel.

"I'm glad," she grins and reaches over to gently squeeze his firm thigh.

Turning onto another familiar street after driving for a few minutes and discussing what they just did, they end up parking staring at a much smaller home that's nowhere near as fancy as the one they just left from. Lyla watches his smile fade and his breathing quicken.

Keeping her hand on his thigh, not wanting him to feel alone, she waits for him to do or say something on his own accord.

"I unwillingly lost my virginity here by my foster mom's friend," he coldly states as he keeps his eyes trained on the regular-looking home with plain white siding. "I was fifteen being pressured into having sex with a forty-five-year-old woman. Telling me that I wouldn't be a man if I turned her down and threatening me with getting me sent away to another home. Funny thing was, my foster mom was great. I felt like I was more like her adoptive son than a simple foster kid forced to live with her so when her friend threatened me to be taken away, she played into my vulnerability."

Taking a deep breath, he leans his head back and lets go of the steering wheel with his hand coming to rest on hers, "My foster mom never knew so I can't be mad at her and her friend died in a plane crash a couple of years after I was sent off to another home when my foster mom felt she could no longer take care of me when her health began to decline." Turning his head to look at Lyla as she tries to keep her tears from falling, he calms his aching soul upon seeing her face, "I don't want to vandalize this home but I wanted you to know what happened."

"Thank you for trusting me," she quietly responds followed by a sniffle.

Reaching up, he cups her cheek and wipes away the stubborn tear that falls for him, "Thank you for being here."

Clearing his throat, he puts the car back into gear to continue their little trip down a painful memory lane.

Stopping at some of the homes he stayed in during his foster care childhood, they would hop out and quickly toilet paper and egg them just as they did with the first house. He even would even give short stories along with each of them.

One was about not having food except for when he was at school and sometimes not even then. And then another where he was locked out of the house by himself for three days with no change of clothes and nowhere warm to sleep when he was only ten years old while his foster parents went on a sporadic trip with the money the state gave them on Jimin's behalf. The only thing they left him was some canned food until they got back and yelled at him for not being thankful that they at least did that much.

Other homes were fairly normal until he got into any kind of trouble or became "too hard to love", then he was quickly shipped off to the next home to start the process all over again.

Even though he was kicked out of the foster care system at eighteen, she was thankful that he was able to get out of such a vicious cycle and find a family with the band.

The last house he took her to was another regular-looking home. It looked as if it was currently occupied and while she sat patiently and waited for another horror story to unfold, she heard him softly sniffle beside her.

"This is where I last lived with my mother," he answers her unasked question.

Grabbing a hold of his hand as if it was an instinct to do so, she feels the lump in her throat grow when he squeezes it tightly like he was begging for her to help give him strength.

Wiping his tears away with the back of his other gloved hand, he replays memories of running around the front yard with his mom while she playfully chased him. He could almost hear his own innocent laughter and see her seemingly happy face as if it was currently happening before his very eyes.

Was she not really happy? Was it something he had done to make her regret being a mother? Being a single mom was hard, he knew this as an adult, but he couldn't ever imagine abandoning his own child if ever he does have one in his lifetime.

Lyla beginning to rub the back of his hand with her thumb pulled him out of his dark thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

"Obviously, it's not my mother who stays here. Lord knows where she's at now or if she's even alive," he takes a shuddering breath to calm his nerves before beginning to drive off with Lyla's hand still in his, knowing he won't be driving far.

When they reached a large playground just a few blocks away, she didn't need to know why they were there. Remembering how he was abandoned at a playground at six years old and waited around for his mother to return for nine hours until the cops showed up, she understood exactly why he needed to end the journey at this particular place tonight; where it all began.

Opening his car door after parking in one of the many empty parking spots, he walked around and opened up Lyla's door for her. Holding her hand the entire time, the two of them walk over to the swingset and take a seat with them barely moving back and forth as they looked around.

She wasn't there that day but she could clearly picture little Jimin with his mom as she told him she would be right back, imagining a knowing look in her eyes while Jimin was too excited to go play with all of the other kids; unaware that it would be the last time he would see her again. Then soon after, visions of a young boy waiting around as the sun faded behind the horizon and night crept in around him, leaving him confused and worried until a cop cautiously approached the tear-stained chubby-cheeked child.

"Facing my demons tonight was unexpected and hard as fuck," Jimin chuckles without any underlying humor, "but it was oddly healing." Looking over to Lyla, he searches her face for a bit, his gaze settling on her reddened nose and her loving eyes, "I haven't told another soul all of those stories. Not even the guys know everything."

"You can trust me with it all," she reassures him.

Nodding, he smiles warmly at her as he stops himself from swinging back and forth and twists so that he can grab hold of her hands. Standing up, she moves in front of him and wraps her arms around his neck while he holds onto her waist, peering up at her with a heart that is slowly starting to break free of years worth of emotional chains.

"I know I can," he whispers before hugging her tightly with his face pressed into her abdomen. "Thank you."

Tears stream down her face uncontrollably as she wholeheartedly accepts to help him carry his burdens through life. Even if they happen to ever go their separate ways, she hopes that tonight was a start to helping him mend his wounded soul, and she would forever keep his life story safely locked away for only she and him to know.

Turning his head so that she can look into his red-rimmed eyes, she bends forward and kisses him sweetly, wanting so desperately to take away all of the pain he's ever felt.

"I love you," she whispers upon his plump lips.

"I love you, angel." The new nickname seemed appropriate for her, and he silently vowed to never call another woman that for the rest of his life. No one else could live up to such a title as far as he was concerned.

She kisses him again before kissing the tip of his nose and looking up to the sky, inhaling what felt like her first real breath of fresh air of the night. Staring up at the stars, she wonders if her mom has been watching over her from heaven. It's only a couple of days away from the anniversary of her death, and although the emotions of it are starting to affect her more and more, she doesn't want to ruin anyone's holiday so she pushes it away once again and looks back to her handsome boyfriend still staring up at her.

"Let's go home," Lyla proposes and smiles as he stands up to tower over her shorter frame.

"I love that you call it home, too," Jimin grins as she turns around to start walking back to his car.

Wrapping his arms around her, they walk as one until they reach his car where he opens the door for the woman he loves so that they can go home and sleep in each other's comforting embrace until they're ready to start a new day with the past weighing him down a little less than it used to.