"Tae, where the hell are we going?" Jungkook groaned, squeezing my hand in his as I locked the car behind us.

"Shush. It's a surprise. I hope you will like it."

The male huffed, nodding, following me through the doors of the warehouse. Walking down the dark corridor, I could feel his curiosity growing, a sense of annoyance also flowing through his veins.

"Tae, seriously, I thought we were going to dinner. I'm hungry."

I chuckled, nudging him slightly. "We will after this, I promise. We're just taking this short detour."

At the end of the hallway, I guided us through the doorway, my hand reaching along the wall to turn on the lights in the space, watching as Jungkook's eyes traveled the space. He wore an almost unreadable expression. Almost, except for his bottom lip placing itself between his teeth.

He sighed. "What is this?"

I smirked. "I'm trying to save your relationship with your best friend."

My fiance rolled his eyes, trying to leave the room. "I'm not interested in this."

"Humor me." I said, voice firm. I planted my feet in the ground and crossed my arms over my chest. "Give me the opportunity to change your mind. If I succeed, great. If I fail, then I will leave you alone about making up with Yoongi. Deal?"

A few moments of silence passed before he nodded, swallowing harshly. "Deal."

My lips formed a smile as I grabbed his hand once more, leading him to the tables set up in an almost complete square.

"Hoseok helped me set this up. He found this picture on Yoongi's phone. You two looked pretty young, so we figured it was the beginning of your friendship."

A tiny smile quirked on his lips. "This was actually our first time hanging out with one another. I had snuck out of my house to avoid my parents arguing, and Yoongi told me he was practicing piano at a local coffee shop that nobody frequented at night. I met up with him there. He insisted I take a photo with him as a reminder of what being genuinely happy looks like." He picked up the frame, admiring it for a few seconds before clearing his throat and setting it back down.

"What happened with this picture?" I prompted, watching him look intensely at the next photo.

"Ah. This was a picture we took in class when we were bored. He was sitting behind me and making silly faces into the camera to make me smile."

"You were cute in high school."

A rush of air fled his nose. "I'm cute now, bitch, what do you mean?"

I pinched his cheek with a fond smile. "I never said the cuteness went away. Now, let's move along."

On the next table was another picture frame, this time with a time skip to their high school graduation.

"My parents never wanted me to finish high school you know." He stated softly, eyes unwavering from the picture.

"Really? How come?"

His eyes met mine, a hint of sadness around the edges of his irises. "They only ever saw me going into the family business. They used to tell me I would never amount to anything more than that. Yoongi was the first person to tell me otherwise. He's the reason I graduated high school."

Both Jungkook and Yoongi wore big smiles as they held their diplomas, arms around each other's shoulders.

"Seems like he put in a lot of effort to make you smile. To make you happy," I acknowledged, seeing him nod.

"He did. I guess that's the psychologist in him," he chuckled, sniffling quietly to himself.

We continued through several more tables, looking at different mementos of their childhood, even including ticket stubs from the movie they snuck out of the dorm room to see.

On the last table stood two more frames: one with a photo of the two after Jungkook graduated from rehab only a short time ago. The other frame was empty.

"Why is there no picture in this frame?" He asked, voice deep with emotion.

I grabbed his other hand, forcing him to look at me. "Because it symbolizes the pictures and memories you two could have in the future. Think about it, Kookie. If you hadn't met Yoongi, you never would've graduated high school. You would be selling drugs and always running from the cops, if still even alive from not suffering an overdose. You say all you need is me, but we know that's not true. I am your soul mate, but Yoongi is your person. You need him to stay alive. To smile. To be truly and unapologetically happy, just like you were in all of these moments with Yoongi."

The air surrounding us grew thicker as the silence engulfed us. After several minutes, I sighed, letting go of his hands to clean up the mementos, assuming that I had failed.

"We can go grab dinner now. Um, I just need to gather everything and then we can go."

"Can we make a q-quick stop first?" Jungkook asked, voice cracking, forcing me to turn and look at him. Tears stained his cheeks, making my shoulders relax.

"Of course."

He brought me into a hug, burying his head in the crook of my neck as he cried. "T-Thank you, Taehyung, for bringing me to my damn senses."

I chuckled, pulling away, wiping the tears off his cheeks. "You can be quite stubborn, you know that? But I know you miss Yoongi. So, help me clean up here so we can go get your best friend back!"

I turned to walk back to the far table, but was forced back by his hand grabbing my arm. He leaned down and pressed his lips on mine, so passionately it was almost aggressive. He quickly pulled back, releasing a heavy breath.

"Taehyung, I love you, with every ounce of my being, I love you."

I smiled, patting his cheek. "I love you too, you big sap. Now save that for the wedding!"

••••

Jungkook POV

I took in a shaky breath as my finger rapped on the door. My anxiety raced through my veins, causing me to rock back and forth with nervous energy.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, I inhaled sharply, squeezing my eyes shut tight.

"Jungkook?"

There he was. His voice flooded my senses, instantly relieving my anxiety.

"Hey Yoongi, um... do you have a minute?" My fingers scratched at the side of my neck.

He stared at me in silence for a minute before he nodded, opening the door wider to allow me in.

As he shut the door, I turned and faced him, knowing that if I entered the space any more I would chicken out.

"Yoongi, I am so sorry." I paused to slow down, the words almost sounding like a form of mumble rap. "I should've been supportive of you and Hoseok because you deserve it! He deserves it! You both deserved my support, like the support that you gave me, and I failed to provide that." Another breath. "I know I have been a lot these last few years, and you have been nothing but supportive and loving, and the best damn best friend I could've ever asked for," I sniffled as I spoke, already feeling myself on the verge of crying. "I'm sorry for being so fucked up and for struggling to show affection and the true love that I have for you. You were the best damn best friend anyone could ever have, and I ruined that with my selfishness. I'm so sorry." Tears dripped off my cheeks and onto the floor as I got on my knees, bowing so my hands were pressed against the wood.

I cried silently, praying he would say something soon. The longer we sat in silence, the more nervous I grew.

I sat up, wiping my tears, only for Yoongi to immediately engulf me in a hug.

"Oh Kook, you're not selfish. I'm sorry I said that you were. Wanting to sober up for your true love after all the hardships you went through? How the hell could I think that was selfish? Our egos both got in the way, and it ruined what we had, but Kook, I love you so much. You are my person. I couldn't imagine life without you in mine, okay? I'm so sorry."

We squeezed each other tight, sniffling to try to not get snot on the other while we hugged for an extended period of time.

"In the words of our queen Lizzo, it's about damn time," Hoseok's voice spoke, forcing Yoongi and I to laugh as we broke apart.

His thumbs found my cheeks, wiping the remnants of tears off my skin. He wore a soft, gentle smile, one that brought comfort, and a sense of belonging.

"I love you, Yoongi. So much."

His eyes sparkled as he stood up, extending a hand down to me. His dominant hand ruffled my hair, fond smile still on his lips. "I love you too, kiddo. So much."

••••

I haven't written 1500+ words in one update in a hot minute.