[ CHAPTER 22 ]
swollen rose

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

TAEHYUNG stays far from the raven-haired male for the entirety of their stay at the pool, timidly pressing himself against a smugly smirking jimin who doesn't fail to pester the man to spill his beans on the steamy scene that their magenta-haired friend had foolishly interrupted.

even as they dry themselves off, pissing off a snoring yoongi who had received the stray droplets of water from namjoon's concerning towel drying method - which consisted of madly flaying his towel and earning him quizzical glares from an old couple who had shuffled out of the pool, moments prior - taehyung makes sure to hide his mildly dry frame behind his friend.

"goodnight dumb fuckers!" jin hollers as he runs to catch up to his boyfriend who had long fled from the scene to slip from the mint-furred lion whom he had awoken, "don't wanna hear nothing after ten! sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!"

grinning, jimin slings an arm around the back of his neck as they begin their trek back to their abodes, their bodies slick and cold against one another.

"so..." jimin begins, wiggling his eyebrow suggestively, "care to share your steamy moment with mister hot shot?"

flushing a terrible dark magenta, taehyung shakes his head as he bites down a flustered smile, "n-nothing! we were just talking!"

"some talk," he smirks, "stop the bullshit and spill it, you dirty bitch."

shooting him a glare, taehyung huffs, opting to act unaffected as he lifts his chin and stares resolutely before him, "he was honeying me up, that's all."

"ohh," jimin grins knowingly, "i've always known that jeon had a food fetish."

"what?!" he splutters, hand coming down to deliver a sharp slap to his friend's cackling frame, "not like that dipshit!"

"uh-hu, what else could it mean?"

scowling, taehyung darts forward to attempt to nip his rose-haired friend, the man swerving to the side as he giggles, "complimenting! not everything relates to satan!"

"oi!" hoseok calls, the two friends pausing momentarily to stare quizzically at the man, "you were gonna bump into the wall dumbass, if you haven't realised, we're here."

"oh." taehyung grins sheepishly, throwing him a toothy grin, "thanks!"

a sudden palm darts forward, clasping itself across the knob of his elbow as he's tugged back, staggering as his back meets the hard surface of someone's chest.

"this way doll," jeongguk murmurs gruffly, hands slipping down to his waist and shoving him softly in the direction of their residence.

"o-oh, sorry." he stammers, heat rising at his cheeks at the gentle hold of his body, as if he were diamond that jeongguk vowed to never shatter.

"no worries silver."

a teasing smile quirks at his lips as he follows the raven-haired man down the cobbled path, piping up, "what would you call me if i dyed my hair a different colour?"

he can almost feel the roll of jeongguk's eyes as he replies wittily, legs coming to a halt as he lodges the keys into the doorknob, "the colour of your new hair, duh."

"what if i had brown though?" taehyung insists, scampering into the room as the younger holds the door open for him, "brown would be a weird nickname."

jeongguk pauses, pursing his lips as his eyebrow furrow together as if he were mulling over the most intricate algorithm of all time before a cool smile breaks out across his features and he snorts, "i've got two options, good or bad one first?"

"bad one." taehyung replies, figuring he'd get over the humiliating and most likely repulsive one first and hopefully be pleasantly surprised next.

"poop!" jeongguk exclaims gleefully, clapping his hands before him, visibly proud of himself as he struggles to contain his laughter at the elder's unimpressed glare, "get it? cuz you're hair's brown and so is shit so bam-"

"i get it." taehyung sighs irritably, "the next one better be worth it jeon or i'm dunking your coconut-headed face into the pool tomorrow, right after you take a shower."

laughing, jeongguk nods, amusement still prominent upon his features.

"brownie." he states plainly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

tilting his head, taehyung unconsciously pouts as repeats his nickname, "brownie?"

"brownies and cookies." jeongguk says softly, cheeks dusting a light rose as he drops his gaze to the floor.

lips parting in a soft 'o', taehyung bites back a squeal at the younger's endearing reaction, flinging himself in the direction of the man who had taken a sudden interest in the pigment of the carpet.

"oh my God aren't you the cutest lil' baby bunny-"

"ow! let go of my cheeks!"

─── ·𖥸· ───

maybe it is a pure coincident or the fate of the stars that align past the thin glass of their frosted apartment, light specks of gleaming pearl in the navy wash of the night sky, that prods his sleeping form awake.

groaning lightly, taehyung stirs within the padded blanket that he had somehow managed to cocoon across his frame, the dull heave of his eyelids promising him soon flight from reality.

it is at the very verge of succumbing to the blurred doors of his flamboyant dreams does he hear it. it's a rather quiet sniffle, one so gentle and light that taehyung assumes it for his mind and its tricks and soon ignores it, pursing his lips as he attempts to fall into the depths of his pillow once again.

again he hears it, as quiet and brittle as before, if even more weightless and taehyung almost bristles with irritation, bound with the fatigued strings of his muscles.

by the third time he is light with fury, eyes clamping open as he swipes a moist layer across his chapped lips, gaze sweeping across the mounting pile of layered pillows.

it is then he notices that room is unnaturally cold, freezing if he must and if it weren't for the fabric tucked beneath his shoulders he would be quivering in his place. and there was a breeze, lolling and calm, carrying the chatter of the town into the slabs of wood of his stay.

he had closed the door to the veranda, had he not? or asked jeongguk to after his shower since he had plummeted into the bed, much too fatigued to even speak.

huffing, he slips a hand beneath the barricade, feeling for the familiar frame of his raven-haired acquaintance to be met with the chill kisses of the night air and empty space of what was to be jeongguk's side.

heart thumping in his ears, he darts up from the bed, any trace of weariness torn from his mind as he gazes frantically around the room.

the door to the veranda was open.

and the brittle sniffles which had awoken him not long ago seemed to be lingering there.

walking timidly to the door, taehyung curls his fingers around the bend, eyes peering carefully past the tiled expanse of their heightened view. a rush of nostalgia beats through his veins at this and he can't help but smile to himself at the thought of a yipping retriever back home with his mother, along with his baby angel.

but the heartwarming thought is shattered from his mind the very second his eyes adjust to the dark slabs that slice across the floor, lips unconsciously turning as he recognises the familiar dark hair and doe eyes that tonight, under the moonlight were dipped in the dull paint of swollen rose.

"gukkie..." he breathes out softly, slipping unconsciously to his knees beside the man.

his breath hitches at the sight of the younger's moist cheeks, something within him churning in distaste. jeongguk was never someone he expected to see cry. the man was as strong as a horse, cocky and uptight that even the idea of the man shedding a tear was simply absurd.

and yet taehyung can't find it in himself to laugh or tease him mockingly about his state. no, he says nothing as he slips a careful arm around the man's hunched frame, carefully lifting his face into his neck as he allows for his shirt to be sodden with the salt of his misery.

they stay like that for a while, quiet and calm, huddled in the corner of their enclosed veranda, the stars of the night bright upon them. taehyung occasionally leans down to press a kiss to the man's sodden fringe when he cries began to rise or blur from reasonability.

no words are exchanged, merely the warmth of his body curled into another's, the pressure of lips murmuring sweet nothings against his temple. and his cries, his hiccups, his pain that bleeds it's way past the clavicle of the elder's skin.

and as quietly as it had all began, it stops.

"i'm sorry." jeongguk mumbles, face pressed tight in the curve of the man's neck.

smiling softly, he shakes his head, fingers running gently through the younger's hair, "don't be."

silence. not a stifling, hot one that consists of angry glares and scowls or an awkward one that has both men fidgeting upon the tiles of the floor.

"you don't need to tell me." taehyung says gently, sensing the man's discomfort, "when you're ready. we've got all the time in the world."

he sniffles, unconsciously smiling as he shakes his head, "you're cute but no, i...i wanna get it off my chest."

"alright then." taehyung complies, brushing a thumb across the other cheek, "but promise me to stop when you're feeling uncomfortable, okay?"

"kay mum." jeongguk grins, rolling his eyes.

taehyung frowns, noting the familiar playful cover he too had once built to block any prior signs of vulnerability.

thumbing the other's chin, he leans away momentarily to stare gently into jeongguk's eyes, "i'm serious, don't push yourself."

he nods, smiling, "promise."

"okay then." taehyung succumbs, frowning, not fooled as he drops his fingers and twists around to face the other so that they sat cross-legged before each other, "spill."

"in a sec," he winks, leaning forward to intertwine their fingers between them, smirking once catching sight of the dark hue across the elder's cheeks, "ready."

biting at his lips, taehyung attempts to appease his racing heart, internally scowling at the more than familiar stalling and joyful act.

"guk." he calls out, frowning lightly, "please don't try to hide your feelings, i'm not here to judge you."

"what do you mean?" jeongguk asks innocently, lips turning down himself as he feels his muscles tense.

"i won't tell anyone, i swear."

maybe it is the fire that blurs at his lips that makes him spit filth, his clasp upon their fingers tight as he scoffs, "yeah, we look what happened last time."

fingers tightening in their hold, taehyung frowns, "jeongguk..."

"no!" he snaps, the familiar burn at his eyes ripping his frame far from the man's reach, "it's you! you ruined it! you're the reason why i have a fucked up job waiting for me back there! all because of you're stupid, big mouth!"

but the elder makes no move to bite back his own snappy comment, instead watching with an unfazed expression as the man before him continues to spit vile insults, salted tears streaming across his cheeks.

"and sometimes i wish i'd never met you because maybe i'd be happier! i'd be the ceo of my family's company, the whole reason for my existence! and all of that - "

"you're worth much more than a title." taehyung interrupts softly, careful to anchor his gaze at the feet of the man who had ripped himself from his grasp and leapt to his feet to point furiously down at him.

jeongguk's expression wavers at his words, caught between spewing the loathing that had mounted within him yet the elder's statement has is distaste withering, livid, unfazed barricade coming to a screeching halt.

"i'd look back," he stammers, voice straining as his tears cloud his mind and pierce his chest, "and realise that i'd never meet this group, misun...if it wasn't for you. if it i hadn't got screamed at, drunk, dared to lay my hand on an innocent and been whooped for it i wouldn't experience genuine happiness."

taehyung smiles, nodding as he diverts his gaze to the ebony wash of the canvas above them, mind piecing together the internal struggle of the man whom he had thought had it all.

"it's funny right?" he agrees, brushing away the ashen bangs that obstruct his vision, "how you could be living the dream life and have it all crashing down on you to realise that's what it was. a dream. something your mind wanted but didn't need."

it's then jeongguk realises, that the silver-haired man whom he had grown an on-and-off liking to had a story of his own, as darkened and torn as the many he buries himself.

~

[a/n]

this one had a lot more writing than actual dialogue. actions speak louder than words and nothing had to be said at that moment. it's a new side of taekook, a more gentle level of being there for one another and actually seeing past the swearing, rude part of each other. did you enjoy it?

i'd like to clear up jeongguk's sudden playfulness after he cried his heart out, he was trying to hide his hurt with a teasing kinda act to try to fool tae so before you come at me for the change, there's your explanation! ;)

ok but the vmin harmony in mikrocosmos makes me feels things. it's beautiful. 🤧💞

they're so precious uwu.