The eerie silence of their home was broken only by Jimin's dazed whisper.

"Izzy."

"Hi," she tried to make her voice sound strong but the greeting came in a tiny whisper. She didn't think that she would cry when they walked in but the tears threatening to spill from her eyes told her otherwise.

"Izzy." Jimin spoke again, only this time his voice was much stronger, like he knew that she wasn't just a day dream his mind had conjured up. "Izzy."

He walked toward the couch with powerful strides, his sight set on the girl who sat there, eyes wide. In one swift motion Jimin grabbed hold of her arms, yanked her off the couch, and crushed her to his chest in the tightest hug she'd ever felt. His arms squeezed her impossibly close as his fingers ran gently through her tangled hair.

"You're real," he mumbled into her hair, speaking mostly to himself. "You're really here."

Jimin dug his face into the bend of Izzy's neck. Her own arms wrapped around his shoulders, feeling the tremors roll through his body as he cried silently into her skin.

"I'm here, it's okay," she assured him, running her fingers through his pale tangerine colored hair. It was a strange color, but it looked good on him nonetheless.

"We're so glad you're back, Izz," Namjoon laid a warm hand on her back, just to reassure himself that she was really there.

"How?" Hoseok's voice broke just bit, but Izzy noticed. She pried herself from Jimin's steel grip and turned to face the others, but he still kept one hand on her hip.

"I-it's a long story," she mumbled, "But it's okay now. Youngkyun won't come after me again. It's okay," she pulled a teary-eyed Hoseok into a suffocating hug. He broke down on her shoulder, clinging to his little sister like a lifeline.

"Thank god you're safe, Izz," Jin breathed a sigh of relief. The entire car ride home he had felt like there was an elephant crushing his chest. He could breathe now.
"But you'll tell us how you got out, right?"

She nodded hastily in response, wiping away her own tears and turning again to hug Jungkook and Taehyung, who saw no issue in squishing her between themselves.

"Yes, I'll tell you guys everything," she agreed. "Just not tonight okay?" He voice was muffled by Jungkook's warm chest pressed too close to her face but she kept talking. "I know it's been a long night but could we maybe just sit for a while? And get some food? I'm starving." She chuckled, a happy tear escaped her eye but was quickly wiped away by Taehyung's warm thumb on her cheek.

"I'll order," Yoongi walked steadily to the kitchen. His face was blank of much emotion but the immense relief he felt couldn't be hidden. He sighed and leaned onto the counter, letting his head fall back. Unshed tears stung at the back of his eyes but he refused to let them fall. Yoongi wasn't one to show his emotions much, so maybe Izzy didn't always know how much he liked having her around or that he genuinely enjoyed her company. But he couldn't deny that he really loved her, she was a part of their family, and to him she was a sister. She was quiet in the mornings when he was still half asleep, she got along well with people, and she made a kickass cup of coffee. He loved her, and his heart warmed now that she was home with them.

"Yoongi!" Jin's voice snapped him out of his own thoughts. "Have you ordered yet?"

"Oh um, I'm just about to," he snatched his phone off the counter and dialed a 24 hour diner that he he knew delivered. Yoongi pressed a clenched fist against his closed eyes as the phone rang, trying to physically push back the tears.

While Yoongi spoke quietly on the phone, Izzy was back in the living room, surrounded by the other boys. She was perched on the couch with Jimin pressed tightly to her right side. He hadn't released his death grip on the fistful of fabric at the hip of her dress, he wasn't ready or willing to let her get even an inch away from him this time.

"Alright," Yoongi stepped into the living room, his eyes looked a bit red, "Food is on the way."

"Thanks Yoongi," she grinned up at him and shifted in her spot on the couch. "Hey, I'm gonna go change. If I have to wear this dress any longer I might just go insane. Believe it or not an evening gown isn't the most comfortable thing to lounge around in," she mumbled the last bit, her face going red when the boys laughed loudly at her words.

She stood from the couch and started for the sunny bedroom at the end of the hall. And of course Jimin followed along after her like a lost puppy, still clutching her dress in his hand. They walked into their room and Jimin pushed the door shut behind them, cutting off the chatter from the living room.

With the late—or rather early—hour, Izzy was too exhausted to feel self conscious about Jimin being in the room when she wrestled the zipper of her dress down and wiggled out of the black gown. The dress fell in a heap of black fabric at her feet and Izzy kicked it carelessly beneath her bed, not wanting to see that thing ever again.

"Izzy," Jimin's strained voice called from behind her. She turned to face him, not caring that she was very nearly naked.

"What is it?"

"Izzy," he seemed incapable of saying anything aside from her name. 

"Jimin, full sentences please," she joked with a wry smile.

"Izzy," his legs carried him forward with long strides and his arms were eager to wrap around her naked waist and yank her once again against his chest.
"I'm so sorry," he mumbled the apology into the bare skin of her shoulder, forming his third complete sentence of the night.
"Never ever do that again," he growled into her skin. "Don't you dare sell yourself away. Don't leave us," his voice stopped abruptly for a moment. "Don't leave me."

Izzy's eyes started watering yet again. "I'm not leaving Jimin, I promise," and this was a promise she knew she could keep.

"Good."

They wrapped up in each other for a moment longer, neither one wanting to break the peaceful silence that had settled over them. Jimin's hold on Izzy was unbreakable and her grip around his shoulders was warm and familiar. They'd both missed this.

"Hey Jimin?" Izzy broke the moment after a while, finally realizing something. He hummed into her neck to let her know he was listening, but he didn't pull away.
"I uh, I should probably put on a shirt now." Jimin suddenly jumped away from their hug.

"Oh um, right," his hands quickly left her waist as his cheeks burned a cute shade of pink that Izzy truly loved. He rushed to their shared closet and began to ruffle through their clothes, trying to hide his blush.

Meanwhile Izzy smiled to herself and clumsily tugged on a pair of leggings that she'd left on her bed earlier. Jimin finally pulled his head out of the closet, a white t-shirt in his hands.

"Here," he held the shirt out to Izzy, not looking directly at her but rather keeping his suddenly shy gaze on the floor.

Izzy pulled the shirt over her head and mumbled a quiet thank you before she realized that the shirt she now wore was not her own. It was Jimin's. It smelled like him and the familiarity of it made Izzy smile. Jimin himself quickly stripped out of his expensive suit and threw on some sweats and hoodie, somehow managing to still look incredibly attractive in the casual clothes.

"Come on," Jimin grabbed a hold of Izzy's hand and tugged her away from where she was busy plugging in her dead cellphone to charge. Their bare feet were silent on the wooden floor as they padded into the living room, hand in hand.

The boys were already there, food spread out around them, and their suits had been replaced with t-shirts and sweatpants. Izzy sunk to the floor in front of their old couch, pulling Jimin down beside her.

Jungkook and Taehyung were ruffling through all the bags of food while Hoseok flipped through the TV channels. Yoongi, Namjoon, and Jin were eating silently, for once they weren't stressed beyond belief. Jimin tugged Izzy to lean back against his chest, holding her firmly in his arms.

They were all so calm, so happy. It was wonderful.

This was their family. It wasn't perfect, they all had their own rough edges and dark pasts. But none of that mattered in the moment, because their dysfunctional, jigsaw puzzle of a family was all together, and they planned to stay that way.

The End