It had all happened so fast. The moment Seven had called Jumin to inform him of V's location he'd made no hesitation to rush over there. Though the other members, finding out not much later, had stopped him, wanting to go with. They'd insisted that they were no longer doing things alone, they'd stick together. It was only when they'd arrived at the Mint Eye hideout that things went from bad to worse. It still pained Jumin miserably when he remembered the sight of V lying helplessly on the floor, clutching his chest as he bled out. It took the best doctors to patch him up, and yet he was still weak. He wouldn't be able to move like he used to, not that that would stop him from his profession.

A soft whine shook Jumin from his thoughts, moving his head from his now asleep arm. He stood, going over to his bed where V lay, tiredly petting Elizabeth 3rd.

"Should I call the doctors in again? What's wrong this time?"

V raised a hand to pause the other, managing a weak smile. "I'm fine, Jumin. Elizabeth just happened to step in the wrong place."

Before Jumin could scold her, V stopped him, sitting himself up to the other's displease. "She's fine, I can assure you. It doesn't hurt that bad now that I'm stitched up."

Though despite the other's calm demeanor, Jumin was still filled to the brim with worry and anger. Worried why the other was so calm about this whole situation, and angry at Rika for using someone who loved her so much, someone that didn't do anything to deserve the pain she put him through.

"Jumin?"

V's voice shook him from his thoughts once more, meeting the other's pale eyes. "I'm sorry..I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

Jumin sighed, frustratedly running a hand through his hair. "About why you let Rika get away with all of this. Why you let her hurt you and use you and make you feel like you couldn't tell us anything! Why did you let her do this to you..?"

V winced at the rare occasion his best friend's voice broke, knowing that he was truly hurt. It wasn't like he could hide anything from him anymore. After all, Rika was safe in the most protected and comfortable ward, and Saeran had been taken back by Luciel. For some reason though, it made him want to hide more. Why? Was it because of how much he'd hidden and how long he'd had to hurt his friends? It did pain him to see them slowly lose faith in him. Even Jumin had his breaking point.

"I'm sorry..I just wanted you to be safe. I couldn't hurt my real friends, so I pretended I was apart of Rika's new organization..at first I thought it would be harmless, but she turned what could've been a new RFA into a cult. You saw what she did to that poor boy.."

"He was not a poor boy, he was corrupted and mental!" Jumin snapped, seething with anger now as Elizabeth scampered from V's lap.

"Jumin..you don't know what Rika did to him..she..she was deteriorating herself and hurt him..he was a good boy when I first met him. Please trust that Luciel can return him to his old self."

At seeing the other's pleading eyes, Jumin sighed, folding his arms across his chest as he went to sit beside V. "I still don't understand why you did all of this."

"That's because you only see things as they are. Though I think everyone should have a second chance..a chance to be understood fully. That's one of the reasons I stayed friends with you, you know. You were so kind to me, and always wanted me to be with you when you were travelling. And you remember how my parents didn't care because they were so invested in their work that as long as I did something with the trip, they'd let me go?" V smiled, causing a sort of warmth in Jumin's chest, "I never gave up on you, despite not understanding you at first. And look, we're still together today, why do you think that is?"

Jumin couldn't answer, he was still thinking over his friend's ideals. How could someone be so insane as to give anyone a second chance? How could V die for someone that hurt him over and over again?

"You're quiet, so you're either not sure what to say, or you're thinking.." V spoke softly, offsetting Jumin by placing a hand to his cheek. "Yes, you're definitely doing both.."

V paused as he felt a tear glide over his thumb, eyebrows creasing together in a worried manner now as he felt the other slightly tremble. "Jumin..?"

"Jihyun.."

V's eyes widened at the mention of his name, hearing the shakiness in the other's voice now and trying to scoot himself closer. It was rare that Jumin ever showed emotion around anyone, if at all. V was the one exception, though he hadn't gotten anything for awhile. This was new, and this was real. The last time he'd even seen Jumin cry was after his first step-mother had taken away his favorite stuffed animal, Elizabeth 2nd. Last time, V knew how to comfort the other, but this time, he had no words. He didn't even know why the other was crying until he felt Jumin's hands at his back, slowly pulling him into a hug. It took him a moment to return it, heartbroken at the feeling of his best friend shaking against him but not emitting any sound of crying. It hurt far more than an outburst of sobbing, because he'd known how it felt to be absolutely torn up inside and yet, needing to break free from all the pain he was feeling. Whatever Jumin was upset about, it was something needing to be talked about.

"Jumin..? I'm here, alright..? Just like I said, we're still here after all this time, after all of these awful things we've been put though..I promise, now that I know the RFA is safe, I won't hide anything anymore, especially from you."

"..I didn't think to ask..I didn't realize she made you go blind..I could've had doctors help you and now I can't because it wouldn't make a difference. And now you're hurt even more because I listened to your lies and didn't think to see how my friend was truly feeling.."

"Jumin.."

V was rested against Jumin's chest now as they embraced, still feeling the broken breaths the other inhaled as he wept. Jumin glanced down to the other's faded eyes, knowing that even though their sights met, V wasn't truly seeing how puffy his own silver eyes were. Something pushed inside him as he felt the pain and worry in the other's eyes, pulling him closer to the other.

V never knew what was coming until he felt the other's lips against his own, they were surprisingly warm and pressing into his own dried ones. It was one long kiss before Jumin leaned back with a shaky breath. "..though I may not understand why you go by your emotions, I want you to know that nothing you did for anyone was ever in vain..I respect every decision that you make, alright?"

V was still shaken by the kiss, cheeks warm and pink as he stared straight ahead. He shook his head, giving the other a soft smile before carefully reaching a hand up to brush the other's bangs back. "Thank you, Jumin..and I promise..I won't hide anything from you ever again. I can't bear to see you like this anymore..I don't want to hide my feelings from you. I never should have lied to you.."

"..And I also apologize for my brash move just now.." Jumin continued, causing V to smile.

"That's alright..it wasn't the worst kiss I've received."

Jumin was taken aback by this, almost offended at the other's response. "Not the worst?"

"Yes, seeming as it was your first one, no? And..Luciel trying to lick me in a cat costume is far worse than anything you could do to me." He teased, lightening the mood now.

"Of course..I can do much better than that cat torturing cross-dresser." Jumin huffed, somewhat red in the cheeks now as he noticed V giving him a sly look. "What? Why are you making that ridiculous face?!"

"Because I was going to give you another chance to do better this time." V replied nonchalantly, giving a small shrug before turning over on his side. "Oh well, it was a good attempt.."

And at this, Jumin grabbed the other by his shoulder and pulled him close, though V was ready this time as Jumin leaned in for another kiss, more passionate this time. V could tell Jumin was trying a bit too hard, as his lips were pressed so roughly against his own that Jumin was breathing from his nose. It didn't take him too long to pull V into his lap, deepening the kiss, though being gentle as he could be to not hurt him any further. The embrace deeply exhilarated V, wrapping his arms around Jumin's neck as Jumin ran his teeth along the other's bottom lip.

It was while before they separated again, Jumin brushing his hair from his eyes as V sat back against the bed. He gave a satisfied look to V, who rolled his eyes as if somehow sensing the other's attitude towards him.

"Well, I guess that was better than Luciel.."