13th March

Taehyung and Jungkook's fingers were dancing about in hesitance to hold hands as they walked back home. Taehyung's pinky would brush by Jungkook's but he'd whip his hand away and pretend as though nothing had happened.

Taehyung's thoughts were all over the place. His shy heart was overflowing with happiness from the kiss. He could still feel Jungkook's soft cheek in his palm, the heat from his lips and his strong hands tracing Taehyung's back. Reliving it almost felt just as real to him.

He had initiated the first peck, with no hope whatsoever for Jungkook to press his lips back, but Jungkook did. And not only that, he had pulled Taehyung in for another kiss.

Although the peck confused the hell out of the two of them, Taehyung knew what he was doing. It wasn't a fling of the moment, it was genuine. Looking into Jungkook's eyes and tracing his gaze to his supple pink lips.....something just drew him in, he just wanted to plant a kiss on Jungkook's lips, the same way he wanted to the previous night by the fire.

The awkward conversation after the very first kiss was hasty and clumsy in many ways. Neither Taehyung nor Jungkook got to say what they wanted to and they just ended up saying some random things. The kiss that followed almost made Taehyung melt. It stirred so many emotions in him, it was as though he was experiencing it all for the first time and it was all because Jungkook pulled him in,

Jungkook's lips were soft, maybe sweet in a way, cutely playful because how engrossed they were during the moment and most of all, they didn't resist. Jungkook didn't want to stop. Taehyung probably was flustered by that the most. The two had just kissed, Taehyung's hands had been all over Jungkook's cheeks and nape, and now, he couldn't even look at him.

Just then, Taehyung felt a small tug on his pinky. He looked down and saw Jungkook's small finger wrapped around his. Taehyung looked up to his face but he saw him looking away, smiling with a slightly blushed face.

Taehyung licked his lips, giving a small timid smile and hooked his finger around Jungkook's tightly.

Jungkook smiled sweetly to himself when he felt the slight pull. He slowly scooted a bit closer towards Taehyung as they walked and the two said nothing. They walked shoulder to shoulder, pretending to admire the trees, when they were actually trying to avoid each other's gaze because of how shy they were.

Once outside the house, Jungkook handed Taehyung his jacket which covered his camera.

"T-thanks for this." Jungkook said, extending the jacket to Taehyung. "Um..I shall get going now."

He said that, but he just stood there with his pinky still wrapped around Taehyung's, not wanting to let go.

"You should..um...." Taehyung hesitated, but he understood that Jungkook didn't want to leave by his side any time soon. "You should come inside. You're soaking wet."

"Well-" a smirk formed on Jungkook's face. "-you're the one who made me dance in the rain!"

"It was worth it for what came after." Taehyung said back slowly.

Jungkook realised he meant the kiss and bit his lower lip, trying not to smile as he remembered that moment.

Taehyung shied away and pressed the doorbell, gradually pulling Jungkook closer to him by his pinky.

Jungkook was still concerned though. "I really don't want to disturb your family-"

"You're not disturbing anyone." Taehyung said boldly.

The door swung open to a woman and Jungkook sub-consciously let go of Taehyung's finger. She observed the two head to toe and sighed.

"Why are you drenched?" she scowled at the state of her brother's clothes. "Why would you stay in the rain? Why didn't you take shelter?"

"We did!" Taehyung replied and then looked at Jungkook. "We did take shelter."

She looked at them as they continued to stare into each other's eyes. She could sense something in the air between the two.

"And what exactly were you doing in the rain?" she raised an eyebrow.

Taehyung quickly turned back to her. "We uh....couldn't find shelter in time."

His sister eyed him suspiciously. "Well, whatever. Come and get changed. Jungkook, you must be cold!"

"Oh, no! Not really!" he replied. "I don't want to be a bother!" all of a sudden a gush of cold air made him shudder.

"You're coming in." she giggled a bit and spoke sweetly. "I don't want you to catch a cold!" she then looked at Taehyung and narrowed her eyes. "And you! You should be more careful! What if Jungkook catches a cold now?"

"Uh-" Taehyung smiled nervously.

"Get inside now!" she pointed inside the house. "Lend him a pair of your clothes and fix him a hot shower or something!" she looked at Jungkook with a kind smile. "And I'll make you a warm hot chocolate....Or would you prefer coffee?"

"You really don't need to!" Jungkook shook his head politely.

"Nonsense! Come on in!" she pulled him in by the shoulder and started to walk towards the kitchen. "Taehyung, take him in and get the poor guy a change of clothes! Oh! And if any water drips from those soaking wet clothes of yours, please do remember to clean that up, will you?"

"Y-yeah." Taehyung cleared his throat as he walked in. "I will." he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and looked at Jungkook. "Shall we?"

Jungkook nodded his head and followed him.

Taehyung got him a towel to dry his hair and then led him to his room upstairs.

It was a simple pale beige door with a small nameplate on it. The wooden door had a bunch of smilies on it, Jungkook couldn't help but grin softly as he counted the number of small etched smiles on the door.

"Don't mind all of this." Taehyung waved his hand at the door. "I've had this room for a very long time."

"No, it's sweet." he replied. "It's cute in a way."

Taehyung huffed a small giggle and reached for the door handle.

Just the idea of seeing Taehyung's childhood bedroom made Jungkook's heart pound. What kind of room did he have? Was it like the one he had in the city? Did he do any sports in school? Jungkook had so many questions he wanted answers to, all he could imagine was Taehyung and him sitting in the room, staring into each other's eyes and talking the day away.

Once the door opened, it was like Jungkook stepped into a completely different place. There was a metal-framed bed at the centre of the room, above the bed was a small shelf and the rest of the room was a warm light beige. The windows looked over to the vast strawberry greenhouse at the back of the house and the curtains were a bold shade of dark blue.

His room had such a unique rustic feel to it, it was much more minimalistic than Jungkook had thought. It was so clean and well kept, but that was maybe because Taehyung didn't spend all his time there anymore.

Besides the aesthetic feeling surging through Jungkook's body, the smell was what made him lose focus, he almost dropped the towel from his hands. The soft, mellow, sweet yet rustic smell of Taehyung, all around him. It was like he had a safe warm blanket covering him.

Jungkook could stand at the door for hours just absorbing those heavenly vibes, Taehyung always seemed to exceed his expectations.

"Are these okay?" Taehyung's voice came from inside the room.

Jungkook peeped in and saw Taehyung rumbling through his wardrobe, with one hand sticking out, holding a pair of pyjamas.

"This is all I have here, the rest are either too big or too small or just shorts." he turned around, only to find Jungkook standing right in front of him. His heart panicked slightly, but he gave a small smile. He gave Jungkook a towel for the shower and placed his clothes on the bed by their side. "Would you like to freshen up first? I'll heat the water." he shut the doors of the wardrobe.

Jungkook took the fuzzy towel from him and let out a heavy breath. "That would take time, right?"

Taehyung noticed the slight low tone in his voice. "Yeah." he replied. "It'll take a couple of minutes."

Jungkook nodded, patting the cloth to distract his hands.

Taehyung licked his lips in irritation and heaved a deep sigh. 'I really want to kiss him again.' he thought. 'Maybe just once more? A small peck on the cheek? Forehead? No, wait.....I don't know! Why is this so frustrating??'

He couldn't contain it in for any longer, he just wanted to be close to Jungkook, clasp him in his arms and stay like that. He had that feeling from within, his heart was telling him he wanted to, but again, his mind was a mess. But somehow, he managed to gather some courage and moved closer to Jungkook.

They lifted heads and looked at each other.

"I really want to do it again." Taehyung's face was so close to Jungkook's that he could feel his hot heavy breath hit his nose and lips.

"Do what?" Jungkook asked with a small teasing smile.

Taehyung's hands tingled at the sound of his low voice and flirtatious look. "I want to kiss you again."

Silence.

Jungkook's eyes only got wider at Taehyung's sweet request. He was shy but bold enough to say that, which made Jungkook want to push him to bed and get a few good deeds done. But of course, he couldn't, not yet.

He had no idea about how Taehyung felt. Was he just doing it in the heat of the moment or did he genuinely want to? Jungkook mentally promised himself that he would talk with Taehyung later and even confess to him. After the kiss in the rain, he didn't want things to turn out to be an impulsive accident. But for now, Taehyung didn't look like he was throwing it around in the air just like that. Jungkook could see a sparkle in his eyes and felt a tone of sincerity in them, Taehyung was serious.

Jungkook's free hand slowly intertwined around Taehyung's, his fingers soothingly pressing against the back of his palm.

"Are you sure?" Jungkook asked in a low and breathy voice, letting his gaze trail from Taehyung's lips back up to his eyes.

Taehyung looked down shyly and squeezed his palm around Jungkook's. "I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't sure."

There wasn't a hint of hesitance in his voice, he was crystal clear, he meant what he said.

He looked back up into Jungkook's eyes and smirked.

Jungkook felt a heaviness in his chest looking at Taehyung smile like that. "I don't really understand why this is happening bu-"

Taehyung didn't let him finish and interrupted him by placing a soft gentle kiss on his lips. He removed his hand from Jungkook's and held onto his waist, his hands slowly warming around his hips. Jungkook's hand awkwardly hovered in the air for a moment, but as Taehyung initiated moving his lips, Jungkook gave up and clasped his hand around his partner's nape, slowly letting his fingers run through his wet hair.

Their kiss was supple yet steamy, loving yet moody with confusion at one end. Taehyung was the one confused at the moment, but he was letting his body guide him, he let his heart take over.

There was a knock on the door.

The kissing couple jerked away from each other in shock and stood a few feet apart, clumsily trying not to fall because of their patchy balance.

"Taehyung, it's me." it was Taehyung's sister's muffled voice from the other side.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, sis?"

"I just came to tell you that the bathroom already has hot water. You forgot to turn the heater off. So, Jungkook can go freshen up now till I get you both hot chocolates."

"Ah- yea!" he replied back. "I'm just giving him some clothes."

"Alright. Hurry up, okay? You don't want him to catch a cold." with that, they heard her footsteps echo down to the ground floor.

Jungkook ruffled the towel in his hands and looked at Taehyung with a plain smile.

"Guess it won't take time for the water to heat up."

Taehyung chuckled, awkwardly scratching his nape. The place where Jungkook's hand clasped him was hot. "Yeah...guess not.....But-" he looked up to Jungkook. "-you should go and freshen up first. I don't want you to catch a cold because of me."

Jungkook giggled. "I won't. Not ever because of you."

With that, Taehyung led Jungkook to the bathroom in the corridor of that floor, showed him the knobs for adjusting the water temperatures and left Jungkook in his privacy.

Back in his room, Taehyung sat down on his bed with a heavy thump and covered his face with his palms in embarrassment.

'Gosh, we just kissed again!' he thought to himself. 'But-' he peeked from in between his fingers and stared at the floor. "But that felt so good!" he exclaimed in a timidly tiny voice, grinning ear to ear like a bright red tomato as he fell back on his bed in fluster.

He lay there for about ten minutes, staring at his ceiling playing the kiss in his head again, still not able to believe that it had happened again.

"We really should talk about this, right?" he uncovered his face and rested his hands on his heavy breathing chest. "I'll talk to him after." he decided.

Back in the bathroom, Jungkook was done showering and was drying himself with a relatively small towel. He looked around and then figured that he hadn't gotten his clothes with him.

"Damn it!" he clicked his tongue in frustration as he wrapped the towel around his waist. "I forgot my clothes in the room! How could I forget them??"

He thought he could shout for Taehyung, but then thought if the babies were in a room nearby sleeping, he'd be disturbing them. Besides, he was never screaming out Taehyung's name all the way from the bathroom for everyone on the floor to hear.....in any way for that matter.

So, he did what he thought was best considering the situation.

Cautiously, Jungkook held onto his wrapped towel and made his way to Taehyung's door. He kept an eye on the corner of the corridor where the stairs were, silently hoping Taehyung's sister wouldn't walk up any time soon.

Once by the door, he knocked softly. "Taehyung-" he looked behind him towards the stairs and then knocked again. "Taehyung!"

There wasn't any reply from behind the door. Jungkook's bare chest was starting to tighten in anxiety. "Taehyung!" he called out a little louder.

"Jungkook?" his voice came back. "The door's open."

"No! I just need the clothes!" he replied quietly. "I forgot them."

The door latched wide open and Taehyung stood in front of a naked, wet haired Jungkook.

"Oh.." Taehyung looked at him from head to toe. It was a treat to be in the presence of Jungkook's bare perfectly sculpted body. "You're not wearing clothes....."

Jungkook partially yanked the door close in embarrassment. "I forgot my clothes here!" he whispered.

"Oh." Taehyung peeped at him through the small gap that Jungkook allowed to keep open. "You could have just called me from the bathroom, you didn't have to come all the way here if it makes you uncomfortable."

"I didn't want to disturb anyone!" he replied desperately.

"Jungkook-" Taehyung smiled fondly at him. "-You're not going to disturb anyo-"

"OH MY-" a voice shrieked from behind Jungkook. "-YOU'RE NAKED."

Jungkook turned to look and saw Taehyung's sister turned away from him.

"A-and you've got t-tattoos." her voice was shaky, it was like she got frightened for some reason.

Taehyung pulled Jungkook in by his arm and shut the door with a loud bang.

"I took him in, sis!" he called out to her. "It's alright!"

Jungkook frowned, tightly holding on to his towel. "What was that all about? Why did you pull me in like that?"

Taehyung realised that he was still tightly holding onto Jungkook's arm and quickly let him go. "Sorry.....It's my sister."

"Is everything okay with her?"

"Uh- yea." he huffed, trying so very hard to not look at Jungkook's muscled torso. "Sh- she has this phobia.....A phobia of tattoos."

"Wow...." Jungkook looked at his inked arm. "Something like that exists?"

"Yes, apparently it does." Taehyung nodded his head. "Anyway, I am so so sorry to pull you in like that."

"No! It's alright!" he caught Taehyung avoiding his eyes. He looked like he was shy because Jungkook wasn't wearing anything but a towel.

Jungkook smirked silently and cleared his throat. "I should wear the clothes now."

Taehyung raised his eyebrows and turned to the bed where his clothes were. "Yeah- here." with his back still facing Jungkook, he handed him his clothes.

"Thanks."

After he changed his clothes, Taehyung's sister brought them the hot chocolate and apologised to Jungkook. Of course, he told her that there was no need for her to apologise.

"I shouldn't have come out of the bathroom like that." he smiled nervously. "I just didn't want to shout, in case Blu and Bambi were sleeping."

"Aww." she smiled. "That is so sweet of you!! But, Blu and Bambi are actually playing with their father downstairs right now."

"Oh..."

"Cheesecake!!!" a heavy voice shouted from downstairs. "Bambi's hungry!!"

Taehyung's sister turned her head to the door. "I'm coming!" she shouted back. "Alright, guys....I shall go now...and Taehyung, please go and freshen up."

"Yes, yes!" he got up with a sigh. "I'm going."

After his sister left, Taehyung rummaged through his clothes and took out an outfit for himself. Before leaving for his shower, he made sure to tell Jungkook to make himself feel at home and to not be uncomfortable in Taehyung's room.

"You can look around if you want." he smiled.

Jungkook's eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? Do you have any of your photo albums?"

Taehyung laughed softly. He walked over to a shelf and pulled out a big fat book. "I do." he walked back to Jungkook and handed him the album.

"It's a baby picture album!" Jungkook whispered in joy. "Oh my......"

"Now you enjoy that, I'll be back in a few."

"Oh, I'll enjoy this for sure." his fingers were picking at the corners of the album, eager to open it and immerse himself into Taehyung's childhood. 

"And Jungkook?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we-um....Talk afterwards? I'd like to talk....about..... you know." Taehyung pinched the clothes in his hands gawkily. 

Jungkook could sense hesitance in his words. "Yes." he replied. "I wanted to tell you that too. We should talk."

Taehyung nodded. "I'll be back in a few then. Wait for me."

Jungkook smirked. "Oh no! I'm going to jump out of the window and run off!" he said dramatically. "How will Kim Taehyung ever stop me?"

Taehyung chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, right."

Their eyes met one last time and then Taehyung went out.

Jungkook made himself comfortable on the bed and the first thing he did was bury his face under his top's collar. It smelt of Taehyung and fabric softener, a combination Jungkook didn't know he needed until then. 

After five minutes of having his nose surrounded by the soft dark cloth, he popped his head out and slapped his face gently. 'Don't get carried away, Jungkook.' he laughed at himself. 'But....wearing his clothes, it's like he's hugging me.'

He shook the thought off for a moment and opened the album Taehyung gave him.

'Welcome to the world, Kim Taehyung.' the first page said. 'December 30th'

'Come to think of it.....' Jungkook frowned at himself. 'I've never asked him about his birthday. I'm glad it hasn't passed already.'

The very first photo was of new-born Taehyung, wrapped in a light green cloth, laying right next to his mother on a hospital bed. The baby barely had any hair, his mouth was slightly open and his hands were clenched into cute little fists. Even though he was just a baby, there was a grave resemblance in the faces then and now.

Flipping by, there was one of Taehyung having his first bath, his first time sitting up, having his first proper meal, his first steps...... In each and every picture he looked so adorable Jungkook had the urge to pull those chubby cheeks and nestle his head against the cute baby Taehyung.

Then, Taehyung became three years old, the age when he held a violin in his hands for the first time. Fascinated, Jungkook took his time flipping through this stage of Taehyung's life. Pictures of him with a violin just seemed to increase. At three, he first saw someone play it, which mesmerized the little kid. So, he got one for his size. Soon, he started classes. With age, the instrument matured, but the album was over when Taehyung reached five years of age.

Curious for more, Jungkook got up and searched for a continuation album right from where Taehyung gave him the first one. Sure enough, he found the second album.

He didn't bother going back to the bed, so he sat down on the floor and opened the book.

At age six, Taehyung competed for the first time and won his very first prize. After that, the album was nothing but Taehyung playing the violin or him receiving an award.

Jungkook saw all past his high school photos, he saw many trophies and certificates. But looking around in Taehyung's room, he didn't see a single award.

After he placed the albums back, he walked around the room. As he walked by the study table, something caught his eye.

There was a picture of little Taehyung with his grandmother, holding a tray of strawberries. Jungkook could see that Taehyung's smile came from his grandmother's, there wasn't a single difference between the two.

Jungkook shifted a bit further and hit his toes against something on the floor.

He looked down to see a stiff black case of some sort. It had a few stickers on one side and a key-chain on a hook on the cover of the case.  But the black of the cover barely looked black. It looked like it was sitting there under the table unattended, collecting nothing but dust and webs over who knew how many years.

"Is that the violin?"

Jungkook reached down to the case, but just as he was about to touch it, the door opened and Taehyung walked in, ruffling his wet hair with a towel.

Jungkook jerked up, hitting his head on the table. "Ow!!" he voiced out.

"Hey!" Taehyung exclaimed, as he rushed over to Jungkook and touched the part where he hit his head. "You okay??"

Jungkook looked innocently at a worried Taehyung patting the back of his head. "Y-yeah....I am."

"Do you need an ice pack or something?"

"No!" Jungkook replied quickly. "I'm fine!"

Taehyung sighed and retrieved his hand. "Thank goodness you didn't hit the corner or something. What were you doing anyway?"

"Um-I was-" Jungkook hesitated to tell the truth. 'Would he be angry if I told him I tried to touch his violin?'

Taehyung gave an unenthusiastic supple smile and walked passed Jungkook to the table. "You saw the violin, right?" he bent down and picked up the case, dusting the dust off of it.

"Y-yeah."

"Relax!" Taehyung sat down on the chair with the instrument. "What are you nervous about? Sit down!" he pointed at the bed next to him.

"I thought you'd find it rude of me to touch your instrument like that."

"No! It's alright!" he smiled. "You don't need to think like that." he shrugged his shoulders and opened the case, revealing an elegant wooden violin. "It's just a violin."

Jungkook gazed at the instrument, mesmerized by its exquisite beauty. "You never mentioned you played the violin." he smiled. "I saw in the album - you started pretty young!"

Taehyung looked down at the wooden instrument. "Yes, I did. I've stayed in this house since I was two, so when my aunt saw me take interest in this, she bought me one on my fourth birthday. So, that makes it about....um...sixteen years I played the violin."

"Wait-" Jungkook added the numbers in his head. "Sixteen years from four, that's twenty, right?"

"Yeah, it is. I stopped playing five years ago."

"But why?"

Taehyung hesitated to speak, then shut the case and shoved it back below the table. "I had my reasons." he stood up from the chair and sat by Jungkook on the bed. "Anyway, we have more pressing matters to talk about."

"Pressing matters?" Jungkook raised a brow.

"Well, it is important, isn't it?" his fingers brushed against Jungkook's, his voice was low and soft. "We did kiss...twice.....without really saying anything...."

"Yeah-" Jungkook's pinky stroked back at Taehyung's hand. "It just happened, didn't it?"

"Did you mind it?" Taehyung asked.

"I wouldn't have kissed you back if I did." Jungkook replied.

"But why? Why did you kiss me back?"

Jungkook looked up to Taehyung and squeezed his hand. "And you? Why did you even kiss me?" he asked innocently. "Was it all just in the heat of the moment or-"

"You asked me this in the woods too." Taehyung didn't meet Jungkook's doe eyes, he strayed away. "And I told you why."

"Taehyung, you told me you didn't know. And honestly, I don't know what to make of that."

Taehyung shook his head and sighed silently. He looked at Jungkook again, his eyes full of worry. "I-I really don't know, Jungkook."

Jungkook felt his heart drop at that. There wasn't much of an explanation he expected from Taehyung, but those words struck him deep. It made him feel that the kiss wasn't intentional, it may as well had been meaningless.

Taehyung's brows scrunched up tensely. He wasn't quite clear with his feelings and didn't want to tell them to Jungkook because he was scared about how he would react to his uncertainty. "I didn't really do it on a whim."

Jungkook's ears perked up when he said that. 'It wasn't an impulse?'

Taehyung breathed out a heavy sigh. "I don't know how to say it."

Jungkook squeezed his palm with a slight ray of hope. "Hey...you don't need to hesitate to tell me. You can say it."

Taehyung looked at their hands and smiled, making his cheeks redder than before. "I did it because at that moment...I really wanted to kiss you. Something drew me in and I don't know what it was. I've never really been in such a position before so I don't know how to express it in words and help you understand....but I want to you know that it wasn't random. My body moved on its own like it wanted me to touch your lips-" he took in a deep breath and then spoke softly. "I didn't back away...and that was because I didn't want to. I don't know what it was,  but I didn't want to leave your side."

Jungkook almost wanted to burst out in happy tears and hug Taehyung. In a way, he was relieved that Taehyung didn't kiss him for no reason, but that also came along with the precariousness of Taehyung's feelings for him. It was an obstacle Jungkook wasn't sure he could jump over, much less get Taehyung to jump over it. But whatever was bound to be in between them, Jungkook wanted to keep it simple and not force Taehyung into making any decisions he might regret later.

But that also meant that Jungkook had to decide whether or not to tell Taehyung about his feelings for him.

"It's your turn now." Taehyung said. "Why did-"

"I like you." Jungkook blurted out before Taehyung could finish.

"W-what?"

'Okay, shit.' Jungkook's eyes widened. 'I was not supposed to say that.'

"Did you just say that you liked me?" Taehyung leaned forward to him to see his face. "Did you?"

Jungkook said nothing and nervously bit the inners of his cheeks.

"Jungkook."

'Gosh, why is your voice so mellow?' Jungkook finally gave up and looked him in the eye. "Yes, that's what I said. I like you."

Taehyung's mouth gapped open a little, not knowing what to say.

"It's alright." Jungkook assured him. "You don't have to say anything to it.......but there you go, that's the reason why I kissed you back....because I wasn't holding back either. Deep down I knew nothing of why you did it, but I just kissed you back just like that....wait...was I was taking advantage of the situation?" he let go of Taehyung's hand and rested his elbows on his knees. "I feel weirdly bad just thinking of it."

"No! What makes you think that? As far as I am concerned, I was glad you didn't stop me or push me away! It felt like I didn't take the wrong step, but instead a step into realising a bit more about myself." he moved closer to Jungkook. "Look, whatever I did, I don't regret it and I feel that it means something, right? It's just that I can't understand what I am going through right now, what my feelings are...they are pretty new to me...and-" he chuckled, tilting his head a little. "-I really don't think I know how to react to anything right now."

Jungkook gave a sweet smile of relief. "You have no idea how nervous you had me there."

Taehyung hummed with a small snicker. "I made you nervous?"

"Oh, you have no idea. Besides, there way more things I feel when you're around me." Jungkook only realised what he said when he saw Taehyung's wide eyes and blank expression staring at him.

"Oh my-" Jungkook bit his bottom lip in embarrassment. "That came out weird, didn't it?"

Taehyung laughed softly. "It's alright.....it's fun."

"What is?" he raised a brow. "Me embarrassing myself or you getting to know about the different ways I feel when you're around me?"

"No!" Taehyung gave him a gentle punch. "Just spending time with you, it's fun and I feel happy....really happy actually."

"So-" Jungkook started in a sarcastic tone. "-you mean to say that when I say such awkward things, you find it fun?"

Taehyung pouted and threw a pillow at him. "That's not what I meant!"

Jungkook blocked the next strike with his hands as he laughed. "I'm just kidding!"

The pillows stopped and Taehyung faced Jungkook with a serious expression. "Tell me, Jungkook. Is it okay then? Can we try this out?"

Jungkook grinned lovingly. "Hey, I'm the one who likes you here. Shouldn't I be asking you out for a date?"

"Well, is it a problem if I asked? I initiated the kiss."

Jungkook chewed on his lower lip shyly, looking at Taehyung's innocent yet modest face. "Of course not! Just that, it's a bit overwhelming- you asking me out.....damn it! My heart's beating so fast!"

Before Taehyung could open his mouth to say something, a baby's wails cried outside the room.

"Taehyung!" a fist rapped on the door with the baby cries still wailing out. "It's me! Bambi won't stop crying."

Taehyung looked at Jungkook and gave a tired sigh. "Just a sec-" he got up and opened the door. The baby's cries became more prominent and it pierced Jungkook's ears.

"She won't stop." his sister groaned. "Even though I just fed her, she-"

"It's alright." Taehyung nodded and extended his arms to her. "Hand her to me. Bambi dear just wants to come to Uncle Tae, doesn't she?"

The two came in, Taehyung held baby Bambi in his arms, gently swaying her side to side to make her stop crying.

"Bambi~ Bambi~" Taehyung would hum her name softly, nuzzling his nose to her cheek, but the baby just cried on and on. Instead of calming down just a little, she started crying even more and started pushing herself away from him.

"What's wrong?" Taehyung asked the little girl innocently. "You're never like this with Uncle Tae."

His sister sighed is frustration. "Great, now even your 'Uncle Tae' magic doesn't work?"

Jungkook took great curiosity in the baby's crying, he hadn't been near a toddler in a long long time, somehow, it was fascinating.

He got up and walked up to Taehyung. The baby's chin rested on his shoulder, Jungkook stood behind him and smiled wide for the little child to see.

As Bambi's narrowed eyes got a peep of Jungkook's grinning face, she slowly stopped tearing up and opened her eyes wide. The crying stopped, she sniffled a bit and reached her tiny little arms out for Jungkook.

Taehyung noticed Bambi push out from his arms and turned around. As he turned, Bambi had her priorities set on Jungkook and wouldn't sway away from him, her hands were still reaching out for that man.

Taehyung looked at Bambi and then up at Jungkook. "Do you want to go to Uncle Kookie, Bambi?"

Jungkook frowned in happy surprise. 'Did he just call me Kookie?'

He then reached Bambi out to Jungkook. "Here, she stopped crying when she saw you."

Jungkook didn't have a choice to decline, so he held the baby from Taehyung's hands.

But because it was his first time holding such a fragile person, he didn't know how to. So, Taehyung had to place his hands on the right spots so that the baby was secure and comfortable in his arms. And once she was, she was calmly staring at Jungkook's face.

She'd make a baby sound, stare into his eyes, he'd smile and she'd giggle out loud.

"Wow." Taehyung's sister gasped. "It's really unusual for Bambi to stay this calm with a stranger. You've won her heart, Jungkook!"

Jungkook chuckled as he soothed his on the baby's soft head.

Then, out of sheer curiosity for sparkling things, Bambi looped her finger through Jungkook's earring and pulled. Jungkook winced in pain. "Bambi! No no no no-" he tried getting her clutches off of his earring but he was afraid he might drop her. That's when Taehyung came to the rescue and helped Jungkook remove the earrings for him.

Bambi looked disappointed, but removing the earring only made her more curious. Jungkook was softly soothing her back and swaying her around when she bit his earlobe with her toothless gums.

"Oh my gosh-" Jungkook looked at the two siblings in slight worry. "-she's suckling on my ear!"

Taehyung peeped back at her and saw little Bambi happily sucking on Jungkook's right ear. He laughed out and pointed it out to his sister. The two couldn't help but laugh while poor Jungkook just looked at them helplessly, hoping they would help him.

All of a sudden, Taehyung rubbed Jungkook's left lobe. "Your ears-" he said, while still caressing them. "They're soft, that's why she's doing that.

Jungkook wanted to tell Taehyung that it was not a great time to touch his ears like that, especially with his sister and niece right there, he didn't want to go all red and nervous in front of them.

His sister laughed. "The girls are going through their teething stage, they bite on whatever they find. Your ears just became a victim!"

Jungkook groaned out. "Even though she biting with her gums, it hurts a lot! Is that normal?"

"Yes, it is! Your ears are getting red as well! Is she biting too hard?"

It wasn't the baby's teething biting habit that made Jungkook's ears red, it was because Taehyung was still playing with his ear and that was making Jungkook real nervous.

Finally, Taehyung stopped when his sister started giving a weird look to the two and that was when another member of the family decided to enter the room. It was Yeontan.

On seeing Jungkook, he barked happily and ran up to him, wagging his tail like crazy and pawing at him as if asking to set the kid aside and carry him instead.

Jungkook couldn't leave Bambi, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder while still suckling onto his ear and if he moved, she'd wake up sensing that Jungkook wasn't holding him anymore.

So, Bambi's mother was left with no choice but to leave her daughter with Jungkook while she distracted Yeontan from him.

When the sister left, Jungkook cautiously sat down, supporting Bambi's head and cradling his body to soothe the baby.

"She really must have taken a liking for you." Taehyung said to him, still looking at how Bambi had latched herself onto Jungkook's ear.

"You think?" he asked back.

"I mean, look at her. She clearly all over your ear!"

"She's a baby, Taehyung."

He laughed. "I know...but she rarely takes strangers so casually. You probably have this connection with babies."

"No!" Jungkook chuckled softly. "Bambi is the closest I've been to a baby before."

"Well, she clearly feels comfortable with you. Who knows? My sister might as well call you here each week to meet the girls and call it Uncle Kookie magic!"

"I wouldn't mind until and unless you would come along too."

Taehyung smiled. "I'm stuck with you now, Jungkook. Besides-" he rolled his tongue with a smirk. "I wouldn't mind seeing some Kookie magic."

He was really excited about this date they were going to go to soon. Neither of them had any plans on where or when to go, but Taehyung decided not to focus on that. All he wanted was to clear out the mess in his mind about how he felt towards Jungkook and maybe even confess to him if he happened to feel the same way.

He had no idea what was to come for the two of them in the future, in which manner his feelings would develop for Jungkook, or in fact whether they would develop or not, but he didn't care about that for now. Taehyung only looked forward to getting to know Jungkook better as a person and spend more time with him.

He looked forward to the new surprises and secrets he was to explore about himself with Jungkook.

>Hello. I'd like to thank all my readers!! We hit another thousand!!!! This really means a lot to me!!! Thank you guys!!!

>I want to apologise for being so inconsistent with my updates. Heck, how long has it been? I don't know.....But I am really really sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen. This month has been a really bad month for me, emotionally, physically.....it was just really hectic. 

My classes started and we've been given so much work...and these aren't even are official classes! They start sometime next week or something!!

I shifted as well and that really wore me out. 

I was going through a lot internally as well, with the people around me and just conflicts with myself...which made me question a lot of things about my personality,  life and how I live it.....I didn't tell anyone about how under the weather I was feeling because I didn't want to bother them or something like that. 

But well, I'm still coping with myself and am trying to bring about change in my daily routines and not be inflicted by outside opinions about something that concerns me and that might demotivate me. 

Again, I am really really sorry for this long delay. 

I shall now follow a schedule and try my best to cope with everything!

>Also, like always, I feel so happy writing for you guys!!!!

Well then, Boarahaeee guys!!!!💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Stay safe, healthy and happy!!! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜