Taehyung's pov

I blink my eyes open to sunlight through the window blinds and an empty bed. Reaching over, his side of the bed is cold. Damn.

I roll onto my back and try to think about the last time I slept this long. I genuinely can't think of a time.

Jungkook didn't stay in bed and he didn't wake me up. A delicious smell is wafting from the door to the living room—coffee, bacon, something baking... How long has he been awake?

I toss back the covers and look down at my depressing morning erection. It had been difficult to fall asleep, with him in my arms and my body hellbent on sex, but I'd managed. No wonder it was rearing its head again now.

I get in the shower, my mind replaying the wondrous moments of last night. The softness of his neck against my lips. The warmth of his hard-on clutched within my fingers. His breathless moans. Yeah, the cold water of the shower is doing nothing at all for my painfully hard cock.

Last night had been unreal, yes, but I couldn't afford to fuck this up. One wrong move and I might destroy Jungkook's regard for me entirely. It would kill me if he ever regretted us.

So I take care of it myself, wrapping my hand around my hard, throbbing flesh. It doesn't take long, given how aroused I am. I remember Jungkook against me, his body shaking through an orgasm, his sweet warmth squeezing around my fingers... and I break apart in the shower, release barreling through me.

I lean against the shower wall and close my eyes through the faint aftershocks. In my hand, my cock is finally under control again, but I know I'll be hard again before long with Jungkook around.

I dry my hair and pull on clothes. The wedding doesn't start for a few hours yet, so we have time to work before we have to get into the tuxedo.

But when I open the bedroom door and see Jungkook in my brother's kitchen...

"What are you doing?"

"Making brunch," he says, pouring orange juice into a glass pitcher.

"You've made eggs and bacon and pancakes and... what's in the oven?"

"Muffins."

"Why on earth would you do all that?" I ask, despite the grumbling in my stomach. "We have things to do."

He closes the fridge with a bang. "Because your brothers are coming over for brunch."

"They're what?"

"Eunwoo called the house this morning. He said you guys had something to work out." He waves a hand as if this is all normal, and he makes me breakfast every day and talks with my brother. "Something about a wedding surprise for Jin hyung? I'm not sure, but they'll be here by ten. We'll head to the reception together after that."

It's nine o'clock now. "You didn't wake me?"

He gives an elegant shrug. There's something about his hair, a little messy bun with strand loosing hair and there, and his face without that little hint of makeup that makes me feel off-kilter. Last night had been explosive, but this feels intimate. It's too easy to imagine that this is our life, our habits, our damn bed to share.

"You needed the sleep," he says. "We're not behind on schedule. I updated your laptop while I was at it and wrapped your hyung's wedding gift."

There's brisk professionalism in his tone. Not a trace of what happened last night. So that's how he wants to play it. He wants distance.

I grab a cup and head to the coffeemaker. "Nice armor," I say.

He bristles, just like I expected him to. "What do you mean?"

I nod to where his laptop is propped open. "Work. Tasks. Muffins. It's a straightforward tactic, but it's working. How early did you wake up this morning?"

"Early enough."

"Tell me," I say. It's a small thing, but some part of me needs to know if he slept as well as I did—if my presence beside him helped or harmed. Maybe it's my pride or my ego, I don't know.

Jungkook sighs and turns off the heat on the stove. Bacon crackles in the pan.

"Fine. I woke up about an hour and a half ago. Is that precise enough or do you want an exact time stamp?"

I smile into my coffee cup. "That'll do."

"It took me forever to find a whisk, you know."

"I'm sure. It's a new kitchen for you."

He pushes a tendril of hair back. "We should still be able to get an hour of work in. Honestly, Taehyung-sshi, I think we're very close to being finished. You should be able to commission a new model next week with time to spare."

I knew that already. "Excellent."

"Would you pass me the spatula? The one in the sink?"

I hand it to him and watch in silence as he handles the stove like a pro. This blanket of domesticity wasn't part of my masterplan, coming here together this weekend... but I'm finding that I like it.

"We should talk about this," I say.

"About what?"

"Last night."

"There's nothing to say."

"You wound me, Jungkook."

He looks up at me, and as he finally meets my eye, a beautiful flush creeps over his cheeks. "All right," he says softly. "Let's talk about it, then."

And all of a sudden, I have no idea what to say.

I want to hear him say that he doesn't regret it—that we're still us—that embarrassment has never belonged in the space between us. I want to tell him other things too, things that are buried deep, about how much I like him. That I've been avoiding relationships for so long, but with him, the hassle doesn't seem like a hassle at all.

But that's not what comes out.

"Guess I won the point, huh."

Jungkook rolls his eyes and adds yet another pancake to the stack. He's making enough food to feed an army, not that my brothers will object. "Yes, I guess you did." And after that, there's really nothing more to say.

We work in near silence for the next hour. I glance over at him, but he's bent over his laptop. Our only conversation topic is the opera house.

As I rotate the opera house in the digital system, I'm struck again by its beautiful simplicity. It's the best thing I've ever designed. The jury might not choose it—an outcome I haven't let myself consider much—but I'll still be proud of it. It's been a way to connect with the reason I chose architecture in the first place.

I glance over at Jungkook. He's biting his lip, a look of deep concentration on his beautiful features. He's taught me that too, I think. His unbridled passion for architecture shamed my own lack of it, when we first met. It's not the structure that's rekindled it—it's him. He showed me the way back to my love of work.

Yeon and woo arrive just after eleven. Jungkook smiles and tells them to help themselves to the food in the kitchen before he graciously slips away to get ready for the wedding. The door to his bedroom closes, and then I hear the faint sound of the shower running.

Damn. I've fucked up somehow, lost the closeness we had last night. I think of the way my ex described me. Emotionally uninvolved. That's not the way I feel with Jungkook.

"Man, this looks amazing. Jungkook did all this?" Eunwoo grabs a stack of pancakes, bacon and eggs, dousing it all in maple syrup. "Hyung, if you don't marry him, I will."

Yeonjun smiles wryly at the look on my face and pours himself a cup of coffee. "You look shell-shocked. You two had an argument?"

I shake my head. "A misunderstanding. I think."

"You were in the wrong. When in doubt, you're in the wrong. If I've learned anything in relationships, it's that you apologize often and sincerely." Eunwoo grins at me. "I know it might be hard for you to do, though."

"That advice is terrible," Yeonjun drawls. "You completely lack a backbone."

Eunwoo smiles, but doesn't say anything, because he doesn't have to. We both know that Yeonjun is the one who's been running from his problems for over a decade, but nothing good would come of us pointing out that lack of a backbone. My middle brother has been an enigma since he was born.

I grab a plate and fill up on food. "I didn't know he could cook."

"How long have you known Jungkook? You haven't told us a word, man."

"About a month."

"Seems a lot longer," Yeonjun says. "The way he stood up to good old Dad? Taehyung-shhi, Woo might marry him for his cooking, but I'd marry him for that."

I run a hand through my still-damp hair. They're right, both of them, and it just makes me feel worse. I didn't handle things right this morning, not at all. What happened last night wasn't something to joke about.

"Fuck. I know. I'll fix it." I glance over at his bedroom door. There's a faint sound of a blow-dryer whizzing, but I don't want to take any chances. "Now come on. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I am Namjoon hyung's best man. We're all serving as his groomsmen. I know that it means a lot to him, not that he'd tell us."

"You're not giving me any new information here."

"Man, you are testy today. Could you turn down the Taehyung-ness just a notch? I was thinking that we could do something at the reception. I know you have a speech planned."

"I do."

"Yeonjun and I considered that too, but then we thought... how about we combine it and give one speech together? We'll make it funny, with anecdotes of their childhood. Dad's giving him away at the wedding, but we can sort of give him away a second time. Joke about how we're finally giving Namjoon hyung our blessing. He'll expect us to do something like that, you know."

I run a hand along my jaw. "And you come up with this the morning of our brother's wedding?"

Yeonjun throws me a wry look. "It's shit planning, but it's a good idea. You know it is. It'll make him cry."

"Everything will make him cry today."

"Yes, but this one will be because of us." Something softens in his gaze.

"He deserves the best day we can give him."

"They do," Eunwoo corrects. He glances at his watch. "So we have... an hour to sort this out before we need to head to the venue. Yeonjun and I brought our tuxes, so we'll change here. Is that cool?"

Of course. Even as grown men, they rely on me to fix things, to be the host, to crash a morning I'd planned to spend with Jungkook.

"Yes. We'll write a combined speech, and we'll give hyung the best moment of his life." I drop my voice a few octaves. "And when Jungkook comes out of that bedroom, you'll both tell him he looks beautiful, and you'll thank him on your damn knees for cooking all this for you with only an hour's notice."

"Of course," Eunwoo says. "Thanks, hyung."

Yeonjun cocks an eyebrow. "For us? Hyung, he clearly did this for you."

I have no idea what to say to that.

His words stay with me for the rest of the morning, even as we compare notes and add anecdotes to the different parts of our speech. We won't have time to rehearse, but I doubt we'll need to.

"It's nearly twelve," I say. "Use the spare bedroom to change."

Yeonjun grumbles at my heavy-handedness, but they obediently grab their dressing bags and head into the spare. The door to Jungkook's room is still closed.

I knock twice.

"Come in!"

Having been near him for days now, you'd think that I'd be used to his beauty, but it still strikes me like a physical blow.

He's standing in front of the mirror, putting in an silver earring. His hair seems like soft waves, framing his face. He's painted his lips a light shade of red. His outfit is modest, and hugs his curves, tracing the waist I had my arm around and the ass that tormented me all night long.

"Taehyung-sshi?"

I realize I haven't said anything. I close the door behind me and lean against it, needing distance between us before I do something I'll regret.

"You look stunning."

His lips curve into a small smile. "Thank you."

"You always look stunning."

He cocks his head, putting in the other earring. "What's all this?"

"Have you eaten anything?"

"I had some breakfast before you woke up."

"You could've joined us, you know."

He frowns. "Sorry. I just figured you'd want to discuss family stuff, so I might as well get ready."

I shake my head, this conversation already slipping out of my grasp. "Thank you for cooking and for baking. I really appreciated it."

"You're welcome," he says. "Am I the best assistant you've ever had, or what?"

Assistant. All I can manage is a weak smile. "Yes. The very best."

"You should go get changed. We need to leave soon."

I close the door to his bedroom behind me and shake my head at myself. Well, that wasn't what I had wanted at all. I don't want to be his boss, and him my assistant.

And I want him to sleep in my arms every night.

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To be continued.....

Will they be able to overcome thier awkwardness??
Taehyung is edging towards his breaking out of feelings ...but How long would it take?

Jungkook's wedding look-