A/N

Wrote a chapter yesterday too so check for that in case you haven't read that yet!

Chapter 53

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A week passed and Jungkook got accustomed to Taehyung's presence again. And to the fact that Taehyung was talking now, which was probably still the thing that could potentially confuse him the most. Especially because Taehyung had started asking questions about things he saw on TV. Jungkook tried to answer them to the best of his knowledge, but some things, especially stuff about physics in sci-fi movies, were a little more difficult to explain.

So when Jungkook got a message from Eunji that a friend of hers was forcing her to come along to a houseparty Jungkook felt comfortable enough to at least suggest to Taehyung that they could go with her.

"Parties are quite the human concept. Like, we listen to music and drink a little and... sometimes hook up with people we meet there."

Taehyung had raised his eyebrows, clearly not exactly convinced, but eventually he had accepted that they should try. Though Jungkook had laid down a strict set of rules to keep Taehyung (actually, mainly the people around Taehyung) safe.

Taehyung had to stay by Jungkook's side the whole time, no wandering off

Which probably was going to be the rule that was the easiest to follow since Taehyung was quite clear in not wanting to leave Jungkook's side no matter where they went. Especially not in crowds of humans.

Taehyung was not allowed to drink alcohol.

Jungkook had no idea what kind of effect it might have on him, but he really didn't want to find out in an environment like that. So no alcohol for Taehyung. Jungkook was going to test that in the safety of their home sometime.

No killing or hurting anyone.

That was quite the no brainer. Taehyung had to promise Jungkook that even if people got too close to him for comfort he wouldn't hurt anyone. They didn't know there would be a scary killer siren and Jungkook was the one at fault for Taehyung being there, so no claws.

And Jungkook felt surprisingly comfortable with those rules as he picked out some clothes for Taehyung. He put him in a silver blouse that was pretty low cut neckline and black pants. He was creating something that he knew would pull attention but at the same time Jungkook had fun dolling Taehyung up.

He was just so aesthetically pleasing to look at, so why not enhance that a little?

Just to be fair he offered to Taehyung that, in exchange, he could pick out Jungkook's clothes which ended... quite interesting. He got some ripped jeans and a t-shirt and a very clear ban from styling his hair. He basically looked the way he always did.

Taehyung really seemed to prefer familiarity over dressed up. But maybe that made sense given that Taehyung had no clue what human clothing trends looked like. To him Jungkook dressing up probably just looked weird.

When Jungkook wanted to put on some cologne Taehyung nearly hissed at him, so that wasn't an option either. The siren really had a sensitive nose.

"Okay, what are you not allowed to do again?" Jungkook checked back in as they stepped out of the bus. Taehyung had spent the whole ride staring at the child sitting in front of them and Jungkook wondered if maybe it had been a while since he had seen a child up close or if maybe Taehyung was thinking about how good of a small snack it would make.

"No running off. No alcohol and no claws." Taehyung muttered, scanning the area around them with his eyes. He looked absolutely stunning with the way the street light caught in his clothes, his eyes and his hair. It all fit together so perfectly.

"Good. And, of course, no hurting anyone with anything else but claws."

Taehyung nodded. "Where do we have to go?"

"Just follow me."

The closer they got to the house the more clearly they could hear the deep thrumming off the bass. Jungkook hoped that they would turn the music down once it got late, since he both didn't want the police to show up nor did he really enjoy too loud music.

Jungkook felt Taehyung clinging to the back of his shirt the moment they stepped through the door. The music was just as loud as Jungkook had worried and it was even more crowded than he had originally expected it to be. Even in the entryway it was hard to move around. He was glad Taehyung seemed to take his job to stay right by his side seriously though. He could feel the siren's body right next to him and Taehyung hadn't attacked anyone yet so that was a good sign.

They made their way towards the kitchen where Jungkook wrote their names on two solo cups and handed one of them, with a star to make it more recognizable, to Taehyung. "This one is yours!" He had to yell to even hear his own voice. "If you want you can have water or some juice!"

Taehyung moved his mouth but Jungkook couldn't make out what he was saying. Unlike Jungkook he didn't bother lifting his voice. Yaaay, they were back to no communication.

"You need to be louder for me to understand! Do you want water?!"

This time Taehyung just nodded instead of answering out loud. Maybe he didn't want to yell. Admittedly, fair. Communicating like this was frustrating.

"Okay!" He fought his way over to the water tap and filled Taehyung's solo cup up. He could feel Taehyung right behind him, moving through the crowd as well. Jungkook felt oddly proud at him for being able to do this. They had come a long way from Taehyung almost hissing at children running past him at like a meter's distance at the swimming pool.

"Here you go!" He handed Taehyung the solo cup before picking up some Baekseju for himself. He didn't have any plans to get drunk but he wanted to drink at least a little. Just for the taste.

Jungkook was just about to tell Taehyung to follow him to the main area, so they could go look for Eunji, when he heard his own name somewhere near him. "Kookie!" He recognized that voice. Why was she still here? Hadn't she said she was going to leave for Seoul again soon?

"Minji." Jungkook forced himself to smile as he turned around to greet her. She must have been talking to some friends in the corner of the kitchen before because she made her way over to him from a dead end, so to speak.

He could tell she was more than tipsy even from that distance, and it got even more obvious as she got closer. Her eyes were a little glossed over and the straps of her dress kept slipping lower and lower, seemingly unnoticed.

"How have you been doing?" She came to a halt in front of him, placing her hand on his shoulder, seemingly for balance. Almost out of reflex Jungkook reached out to adjust the strap of her dress. Even if they were no longer dating, it felt somewhat natural to do. She giggled, watching his hand but allowing him to fix her outfit for her.

"I've been good." Jungkook answered her question somewhat dryly. Now that Taehyung was back he was in a better mental state and no longer as lonely as he had been before. Minji had lost the power over him that she'd held, although probably without noticing.

Then he remembered that Taehyung was still standing right beside him. "Oh right. Minji, this is Taehyung, my cousin. Taehyung, this is Minji, the ex I told you about."

"Hey Taehyung! Hopefully just good things." She chuckled, touching Jungkook's shoulder and god, Jungkook was uncomfortable, way worse than when Taehyung touched him like that. Still he forced himself to smile so as not to be rude. Minji continued. "You never told me you had a cousin."

"He's not from around here." Jungkook lied, realizing that maybe the cousin excuse wasn't the best with Minji given she knew most of his family.

Minji raised her eyebrows in exaggerated surprise. "Oh, where is he from then?"

"Busan." Thank god, Yoongi and Jimin used to live there. Jungkook was pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to spontaneously come up with a different place.

"That's cool! I have family there too!" Minji smiled, leaning closer, and Jungkook unconsciously took a step back. "Jungkook, do you mind if I talk to you for a second?" She looked over at Taehyung, who was still holding onto Jungkook's t-shirt, watching Minji with attentive eyes.

"Alone?"

A/N

Some things are about to go down so look forward to that<3

Any guesses for what could happen?