Work Text:
THERE HAD ALWAYS
been something about america's pretty west coast beaches and lavish lifestyles that had always left kim taehyung intrigued. although when he fantasized of sun bathing in beautiful american beaches when he was sixteen, he had never once considered the thought that his dreams would come true. he had just pushed them away and cursed himself for wishful thinking.
but he was now 20 and touring around the world. he wasn't just sun bathing in america's west coast, but also in the beautiful white sanded beaches in the caribbean. he lived an overly lavish life with beautiful silk clothes and high end accessories. he should have been more than happy, but he felt incomplete. like there was something, no someone, missing.
the following year after that realization, bangtan had been nominated for a billboard award. and wow, the group had been beyond surprised. feeling a series of different emotions when bang pd had come down to their shared dorm to inform them about the amazing news. their leader, namjoon, had been the one that was left speechless. especially since he had been the only member left from the original group, he was beyond proud of all of their achievements.
may 27th had finally arrived, and all of the member's hotel rooms were packed with different stylists and make up artists. taehyung felt a bit queasy and on edge as his stylist went on and on about the different suits he could wear, which just ended up making the poor boy feel overly suffocated. his hands trembled as he chose the suit that fit more his style, a saint laurent suit, along with a belt of the same brand, and a simple gucci silver band around his pointer finger to make his outfit a bit more extravagant than it already was.
night time vegas was beautiful. the grand hotels were honestly magnificent and taehyung would have probably enjoyed the view more if he hadn't been so goddamn nervous. he fidgeted with the band on his finger as he tried his best to calm his overwhelming nerves. his brown bangs slightly covered his eyes as he looked at his expensive feet. he was beyond nervous, as all the members were. they were terrified. terrified of accidentally embarrassing themselves in front of the celebrities they've admired growing up. they only had namjoon to translate the most he could if anyone tried to speak to them and although taehyung had spent the entire night trying memorize simple phrases to get through small talk like "how are you?" and "thank you", he was still very on edge.
his heart felt like it'd bounce out his chest from how hard and fast it was beating. and when their limousine came to a halt, namjoon gave the boys a pep talk. urging them to try their best to have fun and not stress too much over their overwhelming nerves. all six boys nodded in understanding once their leader finished speaking. seokjin being the first to exit the limo. immediately the flashes of cameras could be heard as the american reporters waited eagerly for the foreign boy band to finally make their appearance on the billboards' prestigious red carpet. taehyung had decided to exit with namjoon, staying close by his side in case anyone tried interviewing them. he smiled at the cameras thanking to god he was wearing make up to hide the blush he could feel forming in his cheeks.
ten interviews later, taehyung had let namjoon and their manager know that he would be going to the restroom. lying that he had to pee, when in reality he needed a private space to let out his frustrations before the award show started. he walked towards the men's restroom, making sure to keep his head high as he saw many actors, musicians, and celebrities eying him. when he finally reached the door, he quickly ran into the nearest stall. letting out a jagged breath as he leaned his head against the door.
at that same moment, taehyung heard someone clear their throat behind him. that alone made the poor kid panic when he realized he had walked into an occupied stall. too embarrassed to apologize to the man face to face, he quickly apologized in both korean and english as he hurried out and locked himself two stalls away. making sure it was empty before closing and locking the door. paranoid of being in such a humiliating situation again. taehyung heard the toilet flush and the sound of water running. taehyung was on the verge of tears as he heard footsteps coming closer into his stall.
"hey, man. are you okay?" taehyung's eyes widened the moment he heard the low voice from across the door. taehyung could only hope ignoring the man would make him eventually give up and leave.
"look, uh... don't worry about what happened. okay? i promise no one will find out. i just need you to come out. can you do that for me? please?" the man said. taehyung bit his lip as he only understood half of what the man had said. could taehyung trust him to not tell the media? or the other celebrities here? taehyung let out a shaky breath as he opened the stall, hoping to whatever god that was listening, that the man could be trusted.
when the stall door opened, taehyung refused to look the man in the eye. keeping his gaze fixed on the man's extravagant dress shoes.
"hey, look at me," the man said softly as he lifted taehyung's chin. chills went up and down taehyung's spine when the man's fingers caressed his skin. he brought his chocolate irises and let out a small gasp when he realize the ansel elgort was right in front of him. holding his chin. looking at him in worry.
"you're one of those guys, right? from that korean boy group?" ansel asked with a handsome smile that made taehyung feel a slight heat in his cheeks. taehyung only nodded.
"y-you're ansel elgort," taehyung said softly, his eyes widening when he realized that he had probably walked in on ansel elgort taking a shit at the billboards.
"i can't fucking believe i walked in on ansel elgort taking a shit! oh my god, i'm an idiot!"
taehyung spoke out loud as he pushed ansel out the way and began to wash his hands.
"uh, i'm sorry i don't speak korean. what does that mean?" ansel asked as he stood by taehyung, watching the boy wash his hands.
"i'm sorry, i don't speak english well," taehyung said, remembering the sentence he had studied with namjoon the night before. he could practically hear his hyung's words echoing in his head.
"if they ask you something you don't know how to say in english when i'm not there, just respond with this sentence. okay taehyung?"
ansel smiled and nodded in understanding, although he had never had an attraction for men, the pretty korean boy standing in front of him had the cutest accent.
"well how about we keep what happened here a secret and instead become friends?" ansel asked, holding his hand out for taehyung to shake.
"friends?" taehyung asked. after a few seconds of processing what ansel had said, he broke out a wide grin. happy and thankful ansel was going to keep the secret and wanted to be his friends. he took ansel's hand and shook it.
❦
"friends," taehyung said as he introduced ansel to his band members. namjoon smiled, proud that taehyung was able to make a friend regardless of the major language barrier. all the boys shook ansel's hand, introducing themselves as well.
"how did you meet taehyung-ah?" asked namjoon as they walked towards their seats. ansel had told the staff and convinced them to make sure bts were seated next to him, wanting to get to know their colorful personalities. ansel looked at taehyung who seemed to be messing around with the youngest member of the group, jeon jeongguk, otherwise known as jungkook.
"we sort of bumped into each other in a way," ansel said as he watched taehyung laughing his ass off with the maknae line and goofing around. namjoon looked towards where taehyung was standing, chuckling to himself as he realized something.
taehyung seemed to have a bit of an admirer.
❦
taehyung wasn't gay. he had never felt the butterflies he'd feel with girls when a boy was around. but every time he thought of ansel, the butterflies seemed to go crazy, threatening to fly up to his chest and out his mouth. taehyung would often dream of him, innocent dreams of holding his hand or sharing inside jokes as they laid on fluffy clouds. it had been a few weeks after the billboards and ansel was the only thing on taehyung's mind. they had exchanged numbers that day, promising to talk to each other often. the only problem was, ansel hadn't texted taehyung. which made taehyung scared to text him because he was scared of bothering the older boy. he didn't want to seem like he was desperate to speak to ansel. so he decided to wait. he waited and waited. when he got tired of waiting, he had begun taking english classes while on tour, but after a while he had to stop them due to not having enough time.
it wasn't until late june, when ansel had finally texted taehyung. apologizing for not texting him. he had been busy the past month filming a new movie, causing him to not have any spare time. that night, taehyung's performance was one of the most powerful ones he'd done in a while.
they talked a lot. given by taehyung's busy concert schedule, they still managed to speak with each other regularly. ansel was very understanding the days taehyung couldn't speak. and taehyung was thankful that he had someone he could relate to, who wasn't his band mates nor his other friends in the industry. it was almost relaxing to be able to be so casual with someone, never feeling like he was walking on eggshells, terrified of saying the wrong thing. after all, the way they met wasn't the most formal way, which made room for a lot of inside jokes.
❦
mid july bangtan had taken a small haitus. they all decided to take time off and go visit their loved ones. but as the members were all hopping on the same flight to south korea, taehyung was waiting for the four o'clock flight to new york city.
he was going to visit ansel. when he had let the older male know that he was taking a break, ansel had become so ecstatic that taehyung had to make a lame excuse to his parents as to why he wouldn't be able to visit them. getting on a last minute flight at four am to visit the older man.
taehyung was excited though, practically jumping up and down as he got off his flight. taehyung didn't wait too long for his luggage and soon was walking out to the lobby. seeing the large amount of people holding signs of people's names in different languages. it was truly amazing to taehyung as he made sure to keep his face covered by a black face mask and a simple black beret to match with his simple but elegant outfit. his eyes scanned for familiar eyes. but he couldn't see him. that alone made taehyung feel anxious, what if ansel forgot?
taehyung bit lip at the thought, cursing himself for assuming. he quickly fished out his iphone out of his pocket, frantically pressing on ansel's contact and pressing the cold phone on his left ear as he scanned the crowd again. the phone rang three times before someone picked up.
"hello?" it was the voice of a woman. at that, taehyung quickly cut the call. did ansel have a girlfriend? did he forget to pick taehyung up because he was with his girlfriend? the thought alone made taehyung's heart sink to his stomach. he felt like an idiot. why did he think ansel will like him? for fucks sake! he's not even gay! but taehyung wasn't either. yet, tears still threatened fall as he walked faster and faster. wanting nothing more than to get out of the airport and rent a room at some grand hotel in the large city and cry himself to sleel.
taehyung saw a bright yellow cab as he exited the airport. he began to walking towards it. he wasn't very fluent in english, so he hoped the driver wouldn't take advantage of that and try to rip him off. just as taehyung was about to get into the front seat, his carry on already being in the car, he heard someone call his name. when he turned, his heart stopped.
it was ansel.
he walked towards taehyung and reached inside the cab to retrieve his luggage. apologizing to the driver as he closed the door. taehyung couldn't say anything, he was astonished to see ansel after coming to terms with the fact that ansel had forgotten. but there he stood, in a tight black shirt and blue jeans. so casual, yet still charming as ever.
"i'm so sorry for coming so late," ansel apologized as he took hold of taehyung's hand, leading him to the parking lot. "i had to drop off my sister here as well, but she took so long getting ready."
taehyung only nodded, processing what ansel had said.
"was she the one who answered your phone? when i called? it wasn't your girlfriend?" taehyung asked. at that question ansel gave him a strange look. then his face brightened almost a second later.
"yes, that was my sister. why were you jealous?" ansel asked with a smirk as they reached his car. he unlocked the doors and got into the drivers seat while taehyung sat in the passengers. taehyung hadn't said a word after ansel had asked him if he was jealous, but he knew for a fact that if he wasn't wearing the face mask, ansel would know the beet red blush coating his cheeks.
"well if you're too afraid to admit it, you don't have to worry," ansel said with a smile as he put his hand on taehyung's thigh, lightly squeezing it in q comforting way. at that gesture, taehyung let out a squeal in embarrassment. quickly moving ansel's hand, making ansel chuckle.
god taehyung was the cutest thing ever.
❦
"it's a surprise taehyung, telling you where we're going will ruin it," ansel would say for the hundredth time. taehyung sulked the entire ride over, acting childishly by ignoring ansel every time he tried to speak to taehyung, eventually falling asleep due to how exhausted he was from being in a plane for over fourteen hours.
when ansel finally arrived at their destination, he looked at the passenger seat. taehyung was cuddling against ansel's pillow that was handed halfway through their trip, because the little prince said he couldn't sleep without one. there was a little bit of drool drooping from taehyung's parted lips. his hair was messy and his snores were beyond adorable. ansel could probably watch him sleep forever, not caring if it was a tad bit creepy to just stare. but can you blame him? taehyung looked so mesmerizing when he slept. despite the obvious bags under his eyes, taehyung looked utterly ethereal. it was so tempting to just lean in. to just simply kiss hi—
"why are you staring at me, you weirdo?" taehyung asked with a huge grin, shaking ansel out of his thoughts. the younger let out a yawn as he stretched in his seat.
"oh! we stopped!"
taehyung subconsciously said in korean as he looked out the window, trying to figure out where they were. ansel nodded, he had begun learning basic korean, so he vaguely understood what taehyung had said.
"we're at the beach, taehyungie,"
ansel responded. at his words taehyung's eyes widened. his surprised face quickly turned into a happy one. ansel had been learning korean. for him. ansel got out the car, quickly running to taehyung's door and opening it. he held his hand out for taehyung, the gesture making a peachy blush envelope in taehyung's cheeks, totally not going unnoticed as the younger took hold of ansel's outstretched hand.
when taehyung finally saw the beautiful waves and the lovely smell of the sea, the smile on his face grew.
❦
"where are we exactly, hyung?" taehyung asked once they were in their hotel room. the curiosity had been slowly eating taehyung's insides but he had been too shy to ask while they had been checking in.
"a private beach in long island," ansel said as he set down his and taehyung's luggage at the side of the bed, taking a seat on the fluffy bed in the center of their room. taehyung nodded, scanning the room before hearing ansel call him.
"come here, tae," ansel's voice dropped three octaves lower, making taehyung feel like his knees would give out as he walked towards the seated american boy. as soon as taehyung was at arms length, ansel wrapped his strong arms around him, bringing him as close as he could possibly be.
meanwhile poor taehyung was beet red and dumbfounded. not expecting to end up straddling ansel's lap.
"what are you doing?!"
taehyung subconsciously spoke in korean, due to his extreme embarrassment and surprise. ansel only smirked as he brought taehyung's face closer and closer. the distance between their lips was closing so undeniably fast that taehyung didn't even know how to react the moment their lips met. the sparks that spiraled in taehyung's mind were like colorful fireworks illuminating starry skies. their lips molded into each other so perfectly, making taehyung slowly relax. wrapping his shaking arms around ansel's neck, pulling him closer.
eventually they pulled away, both cheeks tinted beautiful pink hues and grins on their faces.
"i've been anxiously wanting to do this since the night i met you, and being so far away from you so long made me impatient," ansel spoke as he nuzzled his face in taehyung's neck, leaving a trail of soft, innocent kisses along his jaw down to his neck. taehyung only hummed as he hugged ansel, silent tears of happiness sliding down his flushed cheeks. he'd never admit it to anyone but ansel was what taehyung had been missing in his life.
that night they spent their entire time sharing innocent kisses in their private hot tub and enjoying the sea breeze. they ate afterwards, ordering everything from the menu. pigging out and cracking jokes before finally falling asleep due to their exhaustion.
the following day taehyung was no longer single and no longer feeling incomplete. ansel and taehyung would also begin to spend their free time in random hotel rooms, throwing karaoke parties for two and eating as much food as they could.
❦