Chapter 50

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„Fuck it's so hot." Jungkook sighed dramatically. "If I had known it was going to be this hot I would have taken you to a public swimming pool again, not the zoo." Looking at animals dying just as they were wasn't exactly the most fun. Jungkook had spent the whole drive here hyping up all the different kinds of animals you could see at the zoo to Taehyung, and yet now that they were here all they found were animals sleeping in the shadows or completely gone from view.

Jungkook really wasn't sure if this was worth Taehyung having looked motion sick the whole one hour drive. And that had just been their way to the zoo. They still had to drive back once they were done looking at animals that were just as exhausted as they were.

"Are you going to go swimming with me again on the way back?" Taehyung looked at him curiously and Jungkook couldn't help smiling. At least Taehyung associated long car rides with something positive. Last time they had made a stop by the beach and Jungkook had joined him in the water for the first time. Jungkook had a hard time believing how much time had passed since then. It felt both like months over months and like it had happened just yesterday.

"Yeah, sure. We can. As long as we don't leave too late, I don't want to catch a cold again. Don't think I forgot." Jungkook chuckled. "Let's head over to the monkey enclosure. Maybe they are a little more alive than everything else."

The monkeys were indeed a little more active than most of the other animals they had seen so far, but even then they barely saw any of them. As if running away from them, they always moved to the complete opposite side of the enclosure to Taehyung and Jungkook. At first Jungkook thought it was just his typical streak of bad luck, but when the exact same thing happened at the next monkey enclosure, this time capuchin monkeys, he started doubting that. Even the Lynx disappeared into his small house to hide once Taehyung and Jungkook approached. And the wolves. And the penguins, which had probably been the part of the zoo that Jungkook had looked forward to the most.

It certainly didn't feel coincidental anymore.

"Hey... could it be that you're scaring the animals?" Jungkook finally decided to ask when they stood in front of the zebra enclosure, not a single zebra in sight. It was like they were cursed.

"No clue." Taehyung leaned against the fence trying to see any animal. "This is boring."

Jungkook sighed. Of course Taehyung was somehow scaring the animals away. They could probably sense some big, scary, threatening aura coming from him. Some aura that apparently most animals were capable of picking up, but humans were too dumb to. Made perfect sense.

"How about this, since apparently you can't learn anything from me about land animals, how about you teach me shit about fish? They have an aquarium area around here too." A group of people came their way and Jungkook felt Taehyung grasp his hand.

A deep blush spread to his cheeks and he forced himself to look straight ahead. What the hell was wrong with him? Could he just stop... doing that? It was just Taehyung. Scary killer siren that was absolutely not interested in him even if he took his hand. If anything, his heart should have been racing in fear, so why did Jungkook just know that that was not the reason?

"What's that?" Jungkook had been so caught up in his mind that he startled when Taehyung started tugging him in the direction of one of the enclosures. He focused his attention back onto the siren, who was still very much holding his hand, but that was not important. What was important was that, in the enclosure to their right, giraffes were minding their business, seemingly not terrified of Taehyung like most other animals were.

Jungkook wondered if Taehyung had ever seen a giraffe before. After all, they were quite unique. It really didn't come as a surprise that Taehyung would focus on one of those weird creatures.

"Those are giraffes. Have you seen one before?" Jungkook asked curiously, coming to a halt next to Taehyung, who was looking up at the big animals in awe. It was nice to see Taehyung being excited about something. Maybe all of this hadn't been for nothing after all.

"I think in one of the movies you showed me... Jurass Park or something."

Jungkook snorted. "Those were not giraffes. Those were dinosaurs, but I understand where the confusion is coming from." God, why was Taehyung being this cute? This wasn't helping with Jungkook's crush at all.

He watched as the other reached his hand through the fence, wanting to pat one of the animals. Jungkook was not about to stop him. With anyone else he would have warned them that giraffes were wild animals and could possibly hurt them, but then again, what was that giraffe going to do to Taehyung? Lick his hand to death?

Apparently that was exactly the plan because the giraffe backed up a little and started lowering its head to Taehyung's hand. Maybe because it was expecting food. Jungkook was glad that he had gone over the rules with Taehyung before they had come here. No matter what, no hurting animals. No matter how disrespectful they were acting towards him.

When the giraffe stuck its long tongue out and started licking Taehyung's hand, Taehyung squeezed Jungkook's, who had completely forgotten they were still holding hands. "That tickles. It's like Tuna's tongue in bigger." Taehyung laughed, watching the big animal slobber up his hand.

"I'm just going to believe you because I have never had a giraffe lick my hand and I doubt I'll ever feel it." Jungkook chuckled.

"Why not?"

"Because for me it's a little too dangerous to stick my hand in there." Jungkook explained. "I don't have as tough of a skin as yours."

For a couple of seconds Taehyung seemed to be contemplating Jungkook's answer, his hand still in the enclosure, before he pulled it out and wiped his hand on his pants. Taehyung was getting really good at copying human behavior it seemed.

"Wanna go see the fish now?" Jungkook asked, but Taehyung shook his head.

"Keep still."

He did and when Taehyung leaned in so his nose was almost touching Jungkook's, Jungkook was sure he was going to kiss him. Was he ready for that mentally? Absolutely not. Did he want it? For some weird fucked up reason, yes.

He was internally bracing himself, but the kiss never came. Instead Taehyung moved his mouth to Jungkook's ear. So close Jungkook could feel his warm breath against it. And then Taehyung hummed softly and Jungkook felt it. Felt like he was the one sticking his hand into the cage, the excitement as the large animal leaned down and then the rough tongue on his skin. Felt the giddiness... that Taehyung had felt just seconds prior.

And then he saw himself. Looking at Taehyung with such a dumb smile that Jungkook noramlly would have felt embarrassed but he didn't. Instead he felt warm. These impressions were... what Taehyung had experienced. Jungkook could feel Taehyung's emotions and the odd tingling sensation on his hand where the giraffe was licking his hand. Taehyung had been right. It felt exactly like Tuna's tongue, just oversized.

And then the feeling was gone again and Taehyung pulled away. The emotions he was experiencing were his own again. And it was weird. Experiencing Taehyung's emotions felt oddly intimate. Like something he wasn't actually supposed to see. Like a diary. And yet Taehyung had so willingly shared them with Jungkook, just to show him what the giraffe's tongue had felt like.

"Like Tuna, right?"

Jungkook nodded, averting his eyes since he just couldn't look at Taehyung right now. He felt too many emotions for that. Since when had he been in so deep?

"Yeah... just like Tuna."

"What is this monstrosity?" Taehyung accusingly pointed at the sign, clearly frustrated. Jungkook had to bite back a laugh because he wasn't sure how well Taehyung was going to react to Jungkook laughing at him.

"Well, that is a mermaid. The beautiful way my kind expects you to be." As in with a ugly green tail, red hair and apparently pin straight arms. The artist of the drawing had clearly put in a lot of effort.

"It's not... very accurate." Taehyung poked the carton cutout in clear disgust. "Why did they make her smile like this?"

"You were smiling earlier too. Can't she be happy?"

"Yeah, but that was because you are here." Taehyung continued walking down the hallway to the aquariums, leaving Jungkook completely baffled. How could he just say something like that and then leave like it meant absolutely nothing? Probably because it did but still.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Jungkook had been to this zoo once before, that time with Eunji. And as much as he loved his best friend, it had been nothing compared to going to the zoo with Taehyung. (At least if you ignored Taehyung scaring a bunch of animals away).

Taehyung had an effect on fish. An effect that Jungkook had never realized he had before because it wasn't something you would really see underwater, but now he could see.

Small fish swarmed towards Taehyung. A was a little Disney Princess style. Jungkook had a hard time seeing anything within the aquarium because all the smaller fish were crowding the window.

"Is this... normal?" Jungkook asked, a little in awe as he watched the beautiful play of the fishes' colors moving around right in front of them.

"Sometimes they do that when there is another predator nearby." Taehyung searched the rest of the small aquarium with his eyes before turning his head and looking towards the other bigger aquariums. "Since I eat bigger fish, smaller fish come to me for safety."

Taehyung pulled Jungkook along to the next aquarium and since when were they holding hands again? Jungkook hadn't even noticed.

They moved down the hallway and the longer they looked at different aquariums the more Jungkook realized how true what he had said was. Smaller fish tried to get as close to him as possible while bigger fish tried to get as far away from Taehyung as the aquarium let them.

And it was somewhat incredible to watch. Jungkook was pretty sure people were staring, but it didn't matter. This was something they could come up with excuses for, but Jungkook didn't get to see Taehyung become a Disney princess every day.

And as bad as it was, Jungkook related to the small fish a little too much. He too didn't want Taehyung to leave his side again.

A/N

*cough* I love them *cough*

Honestly this is all I have to say. I was social today for like the first time in months. I'm feeling a tiny bit confident in myself again😭 Its been a good day😖

Hope you guys also get a bit of that happiness with the surprise update!