Maybe it's better this way, Jungkook tells himself, letting himself get lost in the press of lips against his hair. Maybe it's better that he learn how to share these details with Yoongi — maybe doing so will help erase the sense of shame, or maybe doing so will at least reduce how jarring the thought is. If he shares every incident with Yoongi, maybe Yoongi will come to believe Jungkook when he says that it's not so bad, that he can deal with the physical blows. It's never about the physical pain. It's all about learning where he can step without tripping mines. It's all about breaking past the feeling that he's too weak for never having lifted a finger.

All in all, it's really not that bad. Jungkook just needs to survive.

And it's so much easier now to want to.

"I love you, Yoongi-ah," Jungkook murmurs, muffled against Yoongi's shirt. "I know that we'll get through this. And everything else. We have to. There's so much that's waiting for us. We're going to be happy."

Jungkook nuzzles his face against Yoongi's chest, smiling as he inhales deeply. "You smell so nice," he remarks, the tone of his voice almost a whine.