-

Taehyung sat stock still in his bed, intensely aware of every move he made, every sound that escaped his mouth.

He could feel his own eyes moving within their sockets as he scanned his dark room, his senses heightened to uncomfortable degrees.

He held his breath as he felt the bed shift as the man next to him rolled onto his side.

-

"Okay, time to get up, it's past your bedtime," the dark-haired man had said, as he placed his hand on Taehyung's shoulder, jolting the boy out of his thoughts.

-

He had insisted on sleeping with Taehyung, in his own bed.

A room is a sacred space.

Taehyung's room is his safe space.

He felt entirely, and utterly violated in every sense as he chose discomfort due to lack of oxygen over the slight chance of waking the horrifying invader.

He never knew he was capable of experiencing a feeling so desperate, so gripping and unfeeling, a fear so cold he imagined death felt warmer than it. 

And that's how he spent his night, staring at the ceiling while holding himself completely still, he was a statue, unmoving lest his "companion" wake at the slightest movement. 

-

When the sun finally arose Tae waited with baited breath for the moment his alarm would ring, a noise he knew would alert the other, a noise that would signify the start of a new day.

The first new day in the horror show that has become Taehyung's existence.

He watched the light begin to pour through the windows as he tried to guess what time it was, 5:30 am? Maybe 6? He allowed himself to hope it was earlier, as to delay the upcoming interaction with his less-than-ideal "roommate". 

But his fantasy of more time was cut short as he felt the aggressive vibrations of his phone against the far side dresser - his captor had insisted his phone stay as close to himself as possible - and the splitting sound of his 8 am alarm. 

As a student and an employee, his alarm had never been enjoyable, he had always loathed the sound of it in the morning. However, today it seemed like it had a personal vendetta to split Tae's eardrums and rattle his psyche before he had even gotten out of bed.

His thoughts of this were cut short though as his whole body tensed instinctively as he felt the bed shift with the quick movements of the dark-haired man beside him.

Taehyung allowed just his eyes to move to the side and watch the man, another desperate attempt to convince him he wasn't there, maybe if he just laid still enough...

"Time to get up, Red." the raspy voice of the man called, standing beside the bed with his phone in one hand, his other placed neatly on his hip in anticipation.

Tae moved carefully, like his bed was made of fine china and his bones porcelain.

"Ready to start your day? I'll go make breakfast, I set your clothes for today out last night, so no need to dally getting ready," the man spoke, smiling cheerfully as he gestured to the dresser in the corner of the room where an outfit was carefully folded and lain. 

Taehyung nodded and watched the man exit the room and head towards the stove, grabbing a freshly cleaned pot and opening the fridge, examining its contents.

He stared at the man through the crack in the door, he couldn't even feel his heartbeat. But maybe that was for the best.

He couldn't imagine someone being so utterly and completely disillusioned, someone whose grasp on reality and personhood was so devastatingly wrong.

But he had no time to ponder this insanity, as he knew the more time he spent standing there in fear, the less time it would be until the man would come questioning what was taking so long. And so he forced his legs to move, each step sending a shockwave to his brain, signals shrieking out saying "What are you doing?! Call the police?! Run! Get out of here, please," but he ignored the signals and approached the dresser.

He slipped on the clothes, hating how they felt against his skin. He had always prided himself on his wardrobe but now the garments felt cheap, itchy, they sat wrong against his body and he was all too aware of the feeling of them.

A tan sweater, black pleated dress pants, navy socks, and black Doc Martins, as well as a deep brown trench coat, one of his favorites.

It's funny how something you loved so dearly can turn into an object you loathe. Even his prized coat felt wrong. Contaminated.

But before he could think too long on that he heard a soft knock on the door.

"Breakfast is ready, Red," The man said, a soft smile on his lips, a smile that had no place being there.

Tae nodded and waited for the man to leave once again.

He bit his lip and fought back the tears that had been threatening to spill for the hours he had laid awake in his bed, he couldn't break now. It was just beginning.

But how dare he knock. Like it was his home. Like he had the right to even be here.

He clenched his fists and once again forced his feet to move, careful steps, bones of glass.

He took his place at the counter, sitting on the stools he and his friends had sat so many times after a night of drinking a bit too heavily. 

The sound of a plate being sat in front of him briefly shook him from his thoughts.

Eggs, with little cubed pieces of ham, and cheese. Along with two triangular cut pieces of toast, lightly brown, and just the right amount of jam on each.

He wanted to scream.

It was his favorite breakfast, and had been since he was small.

And he knew that, because of course he knew that.

"Your favorite," the dark-haired man beamed, so evidently proud of himself as he knocked on the counter, thrice.

Always three times.

Tae's mind was still reeling from the events that had transpired in the last 24 hours, reeling enough to numb him to the outside stimuli of being anywhere near the man who had so completely altered his reality.

He ate his food, he put on his coat, and grabbed the bag that had so neatly been organized for him and sat by the front door.

He pulled the straps over his shoulders and turned towards the door, instinctively reaching for where his keys hung on a hook near the entrance.

But his hands grasped empty air.

"Ah, yeah no, part of the agreement I failed to mention," 

He tensed as he felt the presence of the younger behind him, turning to see him holding his keys, swinging them around on his index finger.

"Not that it matters, I obviously have my own but, safety precaution," he smiled.

If Tae had any energy to feel, he would've felt his stomach drop once more. Now it wasn't even his home.

"How am I going to get back?" He asked, voice cracking against his dry throat, collateral after holding his breath for so long. He hated how he sounded.

"Oh, you don't need to worry your pretty little head about that, Red!" The man said, swiftly moving forward to wrap an arm around the other's waist. 

Taehyung tensed at the physical touch but quickly diverted his attention to the feeling of the other slipping something inside of his coat pocket.

When he looked up, he made regrettable eye contact with the man. 

"This one shouldn't be surprising, just a little device, I already told you you'd be bugged," The ravenette hummed.

Tae said nothing as he felt the other lean in closer and whisper, "So don't fucking try anything, my dear, okay?"

He held his silence as he felt a soft peck against his cheek, a form of endearment he'd long dreamed of turned oh so sour in the circumstances.

And with that cracked gem of affection, he felt himself turn and walk out the door and down the hall, off to his normal, everyday job.

Off on his normal, everyday, life.

_________________

UH HI

So I'm about to be a junior in college.

Haven't updated in a little over a year.

BUT

I've been inspired and itching to write again so here you go.

Purple you all and have missed this.

<3