Meanwhile, Hoseok and Yoongi were having the opposite problem.

So much to speak about, with even more to say between the two, yet, neither of them spoke a word. All they could do was sit next to each other on the patio, their silence hanging over them thicker than fog. Yoongi seemed to be perfectly content with the silence as he looked up at the bright stars, a reminder of his love for them, which only increased tenfold anytime Hoseok was nearby. While Yoongi seemed to be comfortable with them just basking in each other's presence, Hoseok seemed incredibly nervous, trying to rack his head to figure out what to say to Yoongi.

Their relationship— if it could even be called that, was a big question begging to be answered. Hoseok's gaze drifted to Yoongi's content one, watching as the elder continued to look at the stars, questioning what Yoongi was trying to do. Feeling Hoseok's unrelenting gaze, Yoongi finally turned to Hoseok, raising an eyebrow. Hoseok quickly cleared his throat, smiling hastily before looking away.

"Are you just going to be looking at me?" Yoongi asked, smiling softly.

"I just can't figure out what I want to say," Hoseok admitted, running his hands through his hair. "I don't know; I can't figure out the right words to say to you."

Yoongi chuckled at the statement. "We don't have to talk, Hoseok. Your presence is good enough for me."

"That's cute, Yoongi, but we do have to talk," Hoseok sighed, looking back at Yoongi. "It's been three years, one fake account, accidental active account, and me going to find you. Come on. There has to be something we have to address."

Yoongi shrugged. "And what is that? You've already said you're sorry. Plenty of times."

Hoseok gawked at Yoongi in disbelief. "So what? We just put all of this past us?"

"If it makes you more comfortable, then yeah," Yoongi answered truthfully.

"But is it good for you too?" Hoseok asked back, to which Yoongi shrugged once more.

"I mean, as long as you're okay, I'm fine," Yoongi said, looking briefly at the stars.

"Why do you keep putting me first?" Hoseok asked, scoffing slightly. "You're ridiculous."

"For you," Yoongi easily responded. "We'll talk about this eventually— I know we will. There's just no point in trying to force you to say anything you don't want to say. It puts too much pressure on you, and the last thing I'd want is for you to crack under pressure and leave again."

"You are just the perfect man, aren't you?" Hoseok shook his head, voice not unkind. Yoongi smiled at that, tilting his head slightly.

"That is all I've ever wanted to be for you, Hoseok."

Though Yoongi wasn't telling him anything to attack Hoseok, Hoseok felt every word that spewed out of Yoongi's mouth hit him like daggers. Here Yoongi was, being the sweetest, most understanding man, and Hoseok had taken that for granted. Not only had he taken it for granted, but instead of trying to fight for another chance, he let Yoongi fall for a different version of him. If that didn't scream shitty, Hoseok didn't know what was, and the fact that Yoongi still hadn't given up on him through all this time was a miracle, to say the least.

Hoseok could feel his face warm at the sincerity of Yoongi's gentle words, feeling his heart take a sudden leap. Hoseok swallowed the imaginary lump in his throat once again before looking down. A few moments went by, silence once again drifting on them, but this time, it wasn't the silence that was choking Hoseok.

It was the inability to comprehend Yoongi.

Yoongi was either incredibly kind or incredibly naive to still want to try things with Hoseok. Hoseok couldn't fathom it. Is this what people who were in love did? No matter how much someone broke their heart? Still, it wasn't like he was ungrateful for Yoongi's constant chances. He just didn't know how to proceed now. If Yoongi wasn't pressuring him to talk about everything that had caused their relationship to fall apart, Hoseok didn't know what else they could start with.

They knew everything about each other— they had been together for years. They could have drifted apart, and maybe one of them got different interests. What if they just weren't compatible anymore? What if they were just chasing older versions of themselves, and in the end, they wouldn't work out? So much had changed— mostly at Hoseok's hands, but it didn't change the fact that he was scared— no, outright terrified, that at the end of the day, something could happen that could leave them permanently without each other.

For someone that was so hellbent on running away, you sure don't want to let Yoongi go.

"Hoseok, are you okay?" Yoongi asked, slightly concerned. "You're looking a little pale. Do you need anything?"

Hoseok shook his head weakly. "No, I'm just thinking."

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. "It's not looking nice. Are you beating yourself up in your mind right now?"

A very simple question, yet one that Hoseok could not find himself answering.

Now it was Yoongi's turn to sigh. He turned himself to fully face Hoseok, who only gazed at him warily. With a bit of hesitation, Yoongi reached out to Hoseok, cupping Hoseok's cheeks as softly as possible.

"Stop beating yourself up for your mistakes," Yoongi chided softly. "You keep doing that, and you're going to psyche yourself out and actually leave. You're making the same expressions you did the days leading up to our wedding date, Hoseok. Relax. We aren't getting married anytime soon."

"Well, maybe I'm just thinking that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't let you go," Hoseok retorted, lacing his fingers around Yoongi's wrists and bringing his hands down, before intertwining their hands together. "It's hard not to think that everything could have changed between us from then and now."

"Everything did change, Hoseok," Yoongi gave Hoseok a side smile. "But it's up to us to make the most of what was changed. This can be a new beginning for the both of us. You beating yourself up over something that you can't change isn't a step in the right direction. We're trying to move forward, not back."

"So I just accept that I hurt you and move on?"

"Exactly," Yoongi answered. "Accept that you can't do anything about the past and how much we've both hurt until now. If you want this to work, then it will, but you have to actually try. If you just keep pointing fingers, we won't get anywhere, and then we won't work out at all. Ever. Do you want that?"

"It would make it easier," Hoseok murmured, shaking his head.

"Who said love was easy?" Yoongi hummed. "We never had the obstacles regular people had with their love lives. Come to think of it; we had none. We just complemented each other back then. Maybe us being too in sync was what caused us to fall apart."

"Maybe."

"Maybe what we needed was some time apart," Yoongi continued. "I mean, you've obviously changed, and I probably did too, but look at us now. It's not like we're enemies or anything. It has to be a good sign for us, right?"

Hoseok nodded. "Yeah, could be."

"I'm glad you're back," Yoongi smiled. "Really."

"Well, I'm only here for a couple more days before I go back to Gwangju," Hoseok replied, pressing his lips together. Yoongi's expression deflated a bit. "I built a life over there; I can't just come back here and stay when my stuff's back there."

"I didn't think about that actually," Yoongi admitted, sighing to himself. "Well, we have all the time in the world, right? We never said we were marrying tomorrow. We should take things slow, rebuilt, and make anew what we used to have."

"Have I ever told you, Yoongi, you have such a way with words?" Hoseok smiled, squeezing Yoongi's hand lightly. "You always know what to say, don't you?"

"I've been known to woo men with my words," Yoongi laughed, letting Hoseok go momentarily to adjust himself.

"I can only imagine," Hoseok said quietly, nudging closer towards Yoongi. His eyes met Yoongi's in question, to which the elder nodded. Hoseok took Yoongi's hand once more, lacing their fingers together as they had years before. Cautiously, Yoongi let his head rest on Hoseok's shoulders, and finding Hoseok not moving away from the gesture, he smiled.

"The stars are beautiful tonight, aren't they?" Yoongi whispered. Hoseok smiled, looking in the direction Yoongi was.

"The stars have always been nothing compared to you, Yoongi."

a/n: if it sounds like we are wrapping up, that's because we getting to the end. sheesh, we really out here! going back to the texting format next chapters, and then we shall soon close mister runaway. it's been a fun journey, guys! while i was writing, i had a sudden thought, and now i'm kind of bitter that i didn't think of it before, and it has to do with the epilogue. we forgot to big brain guys; this is no bueno.

anyways, i love yoongi so much he's such a babie in mr ahhh ima miss him 😪

thank you for reading <3