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Jeongguk adores patterns. The paisley tie Taehyung wore on their first date, the delicate stripes Taehyung develops in his tail fur when Jeongguk combs his fingers through it, and especially the subtle gingham on their oilcloth double-sleeper wrap in their sleeping basin. His favorite pattern, however, would have to be the one Taehyung’s developed for the days leading up to what he lovingly calls 'Jeonggukie day'.
Jeongguk’s mate has never been able to resist stretching out holidays, and his birthday is definitely a big one: on the 29th, Taehyung leaves an intricately carved seashell in the breast pocket of Jeongguk’s pajama shirt; on the 30th, Taehyung makes breakfast, usually fish fritters– Jeongguk’s favorite; on the 31st, they spend the entire day playing, snuggling, and enjoying each other’s presence. And on Jeongguk’s birthday itself, Taehyung spares no detail. Last year, Taehyung constructed an elaborate scavenger hunt, hiding Jeongguk’s favorite treats in different places around and along the river so they could hunt them down together.
Jeongguk loves it. He loves seeing Taehyung smile and get excited, and he adores the time they spend together. He can’t wait to see what Taehyung has planned this year.
On the 29th, before even opening his eyes, Jeongguk’s hand searches his pocket, but there’s nothing. He opens his eyes to find that Taehyung isn’t here either.
Jeongguk frowns, stretching his arms inside the wrap and blearily searching for his mate. He pokes his head out of the wrap and peers into the sleep basin beneath him, Maybe Taehyungie is hiding? Jeongguk dunks his head under the water, just to be sure, but Taehyung isn’t here.
Jeongguk racks his brain, Did Taehyungie say he was working more this week? Have I missed something? But he comes up dry. He slides out of the wrap into the cozy water below him and wades to the edge, pouting.
Did Taehyungie forget?
Jeongguk dismisses the thought. It’s preposterous. Ridiculous, even. Taehyung would never forget his birthday, he loves it too much… but did he mention working this week? Jeongguk’s pout deepens and he hops out of the basin. He has to get ready for work today– society isn’t forgiving enough to give him the week off. Wherever Taehyung is , they won’t see each other until evening. Jungkook just has to deal with it.
🦦🦦🦦
Admittedly, Jeongguk shouldn’t have mentioned the break in the pattern to Hoseok. Standing here while Hoseok does all the fretting for him is much worse than Jeongguk fretting by himself.
“It’s just not like him,” Hoseok mutters, coming to stand beside him. “Really, Gguk, Maybe you should confront him.”
“You’ve got the wrong idea, Hobi,” Jeongguk sighs, ambling toward a shelf that’s farther away, “Taehyungie’s not that kind of person.”
“People change,” Hoseok warns.
Jeongguk takes a deep breath, reminds himself that Hoseok genuinely cares about him, counts to ten, and shrugs before crouching to arrange the small toys. He remembers a young badger hybrid coming in an hour ago with her toddler. The little one had declared herself princess to Hoseok and Jeongguk, showing off her sparkly dress before making a beeline to this section. What a sweetie.
“Sorry,” Hoseok appears next to Jeongguk, making him jump. “I don’t mean to be intrusive about it, I just think–”
“I know, Hobi,” Jeongguk sighs, interrupting him. “It’s going to be okay. It’s just one tiny thing.” He returns his focus to the toys, ignoring the doubt in his tummy. Taehyungie’s never forgotten something this important before.
🦦🦦🦦
It’s clear that Taehyung hasn’t returned when Jeongguk walks in the door. He sighs as he drapes his jacket across the back of a chair and runs his right hand through his hair before he shuffles in to the kitchen to get started on dinner. It isn’t unusual for Taehyung to be out for the day– he loves the river and his job has flexible hours –but it’s definitely strange for him to be gone for this long without at least leaving a note. Oh!
Jeongguk glances at the counter and, sure enough, a small green post-it note is affixed in front of Jeongguk’s usual breakfast spot. Jeongguk sighs and runs his hands through his hair again. Fuck, how did I miss that?
I’ll be back for dinner, love you ❤♥❤♥❤
Jeongguk huffs and shakes his head before setting the note back down. He turns back to the cupboards, pulling out some noodles, and starts pulling things together for miso ramen with fire-roasted salmon.
He pouts while he fills the pot with water, the weight of doubt still present in his tummy. Taehyung said he’d be home soon, no need for dramatics. It was just one thing. Jeongguk couldn’t just go around pouting because Taehyung forgot something so miniscule. I’m being silly, everything is fine.
“Pup? I’m home!”
Jeongguk jumps and turns to see that Taehyung’s in the kitchen doorway, grinning, tail whipping behind him.
“You didn’t even hear me come in, what’s got you distracted? Trouble at work?” Taehyung practically slides across the floor towards Jeongguk.
“Work is work,” Jeongguk yelps as Taehyung wraps his arms around his waist. “I’m cooking!”
“It’s just water, I can have you for one minute. I missed you,” Taehyung mumbles as he buries his face in the nape of Jeongguk’s neck.
Jeongguk squirms and starts giggling, forcing himself to back up so they won’t hit the stove by accident. The water might not be boiling yet, but he isn’t willing to risk injuries for Taehyung’s energetic displays of affection.
“Missed you too.” Jeongguk purrs, patting Taehyung’s thigh as Taehyung presses a soft kiss to the side of his neck. “How was work?”
“I didn’t go to work,” Taehyung mumbles between kisses, “I was swimming.”
“Oh?” Jeongguk smiles, but the doubt in his tummy grows. Swimming isn’t something that would make Taehyung forget Jeongguk’s birthday. “Where’d you go?”
“The spring Yoongi and Jimin showed us last week,” Taehyung hums against Jeongguk’s throat, “The trees are gorgeous right now, you should come next time, pup.”
“Maybe on Friday,” Jeongguk muses, “I’ve got the day off.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” Taehyung replies, smiling against Jeongguk’s skin.
Jeongguk leans into the touch and tries to smile too, but his mouth seems determined to stay in a pout. Should I be worried?
He feels Taehyung’s teeth graze his neck and shivers slightly. No, I’m overthinking. Jeongguk sighs softly. He needs to calm down. Taehyung will stay in tomorrow. They’ll have breakfast together. Everything will be all right.
“What are we having?” Taehyung murmurs, hands snaking tighter around Jeongguk’s waist.
“Miso ramen with fire-roasted salmon,” Jeongguk can’t help but nuzzle into Taehyung’s embrace, even if he is pouty.
“Sounds divine,” Taehyung purrs, “salmon you say?”
“No,” Jeongguk grabs Taehyung’s arms to keep them around his waist, “You’re not gonna eat all the fish before dinner again, Taehyungie.”
“But,” Taehyung whines, though his tail’s back to wagging, “raw salmon is my favorite .” He wriggles fruitlessly.
“Taehyungie, you say that about literally every fish.” Jungkook twists around to give him a little peck. “They can’t all be your favorite .”
“You know what, you’re right.” Taehyung sighs in defeat, “Jungkookie is my favorite thing to eat.”
“ Ah !” Jungkook feels Taehyung sink his teeth into his lower neck, squirming in his grasp, “Taehyungie!” The pout disappears from Jungkook’s face, replaced by a smile only Taehyung can bring him. Everything will be okay… right?
🦦🦦🦦
When Jeongguk wakes up the following morning and reaches out to pull Taehyung closer for more snuggles, Taehyung is gone again. In his place, he finds another little note.
You look so cute today!
I’ll be late again :(
I’m so sorry, pup…
❤♥❤ I love you! ❤♥❤
Jeongguk pouts, crumpling the note in one hand and dropping it in the water. He watches it absorb the water and sink to the bottom before curling back into the wrap and sulking.
We’re supposed to have breakfast together. Surely Taehyungie didn’t forget this too? Jeongguk huffs to himself. Taehyung did apologize, but… why is my tummy still filled with doubt… What if Hoseok is right and Taehyungie is –
No. Who would come back at night only to disappear in the morning if they were doing that kind of thing? Preposterous . Besides, Taehyung would never do that.
Jeongguk splashes his way out of their basin, pulling the note from the bottom so Taehyung doesn’t find it later. He pads into the kitchen, his last hopes dashed when he finds it empty. Grabbing a bag of octopus crackers from the pantry, he heads into their living room and curls up on the sofa, eating while he pouts. What if Taehyungie really did forget? He lets his mind wander as he munches the crackers. What if Taehyungie doesn’t want to be m…
Jeongguk lurches, his mind violently rejecting the thought. Taehyungie is honest, he’d never lie to me. He closes the bag of crackers and puts them away, his pout more pronounced as he heads out the door. I’m being silly.
🦦🦦🦦
Jeongguk must be giving off stormy and broody vibes even walking in to work because the second he plops down in the break room, Hoseok is right next to him.
“Everything alright, Jeonggukie?” Hoseok sticks his forked tongue out as if he can taste the mood in the air. Maybe he can?
“Taehyungie… um,” Jeongguk hesitates, it’s just breakfast… “ It’s nothing.”
“Jeonggukie, if you’re this upset it can’t be nothing …” Hoseok starts, wrapping an arm around Jungkook’s shoulder, “what did Taehyungie do?”
“He…” Jeongguk sighs and rests his head on Hoseok’s shoulder, “He was supposed to make us breakfast today, but he wasn’t even home. ”
“Oh no,” Hoseok pulls him in to a tight hug, his arms coiling around Jeongguk’s waist. “Didn’t you talk to him yesterday, Jeonggukie?”
“Well…” Jeongguk hides his face in Hoseok’s shirt.
“Jeonggukie, communication is the most important thing.” Hoseok chides, “just yesterday, Jimin wouldn’t tell me where he was all day–”
“That’s not like Jimin to lie.” Jeongguk pops his head out, intrigued, “where was he?”
“It’s not important where he was, it was that he wouldn’t tell me. Stop interrupting,” Hoseok sticks out his forked tongue again, though this time Jeongguk is pretty sure it’s mockingly. “Anyways, Yoongi caught me sulking under my heat lamp about it and we all sat down and communicated, Jeongguk. Neither of them could tell me because I’m terrible at surprises.” Hoseok sighs dramatically.
“But Taehyungie told me where he was, Hobi.” Jeongguk laments, “He went swimming all day without me .”
Hoseok doesn’t reply, but Jeongguk can feel his judging eyes.
“Swimming is very important to otters, Hobi!” Jeongguk huffs, “we just don’t do it alone.”
“Maybe he isn’t alone…?” Hoseok suggests.
Jeongguk knocks Hoseok over with how hard he whacks him with his tail.
“Hey!” Hoseok pouts, “That hurt!”
“You can’t just imply those things about my mate, Hobi,” Jeongguk glowers, “Taehyungie isn’t like that.” He grudgingly helps Hoseok back into the chair.
“I meant a friend , Jeonggukie.” Hoseok sticks his tongue out again. Yoongi said once that meant Hobi was tasting the air and processing. “Taehyungie has lots of friends.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Jeongguk’s shoulders sag and he gets into the chair next to Hoseok and curls up with him again, “I just… miss him.”
Hoseok pets his ears while they sit in silence for a few minutes, lulling Jeongguk’s pout away. Hoseok pulls a wrapped box from his pocket and sets it on the table in front of Jeongguk.
“Hmm?” Jeongguk reaches for the little box, “What’s this?”
“What do you think it is, Jeonggukie?” Hoseok giggles, “You do know people other than Taehyungie give you presents for your birthday, don’t you?”
“Stop teasing me,” Jeongguk pouts, his tail thumping against the table in excitement. He lifts the taped paper gingerly to preserve the beautiful brocade-patterned paper, slowly peeling it away to find a white box.
“It’s from Yoongi and Jimin, too,” Hoseok hums, “Go ahead and open it.”
Jeongguk carefully sets the pretty paper aside before returning his attention to the white box. He lifts the lid and peeks inside.
“Holy shit!” Jeongguk squeals excitedly, his tail wagging so hard it almost knocks both of them over, “where did you guys find an Epitonium scalare shell in such pristine condition?” He takes it out of the box cautiously and just holds it in his fingers, lightly running his thumbs over the delicately patterned costae.
“Well, Jiminie asked Taehyungie what would be the best present for you,” Hoseok moves and pulls something from his pocket, “And Taehyungie gave him these instructions.”
An Epitonium scalare (precious wentletrap)
Big enough to hold in his hands!
Good costae patterns (the raised ribbing)
OH and tightly coiled! ❤❤
Plain box is okay but wrapping paper with a really
pretty pattern (he’s into brocade and damask lately)
“I–” Jeongguk sags, clutching the shell in one hand and the note in the other and curling into Hoseok’s hug, wagging his tail even harder, “I just love him so much, Hobi.” he whimpers.
“He loves you, too, Jeonggukie.” Jeongguk feels Hoseok press a soft kiss to the crown of his head, “He loves you too.”
🦦🦦🦦
Jeongguk walks in to his and Taehyung’s apartment, setting the box with its precious cargo on the side table before toeing off his shoes. He hears some sounds coming from the kitchen.
“Pup?” He hears Taehyung mumble before a couple more noises. What is he doing?
“I’m home,” Jeongguk hums just before he sees Taehyung come skidding around the corner, arms wide open. Jeongguk laughs, barely opening his arms in time to catch Taehyung as he plows into him, toppling them to the floor.
“What’s gotten into you today?” Jeongguk can’t help but purr, even though he wants to be at least annoyed with his mate about breakfast.
“Missed you,” Taehyung whispers between playful kisses, his tail thumping so hard it whips Jeongguk’s thigh. “Jimin dragged me all over town today.”
“You were with Jimin?” Jeongguk tilts his head in confusion. Did Hoseok mention that?
“Mhm,” Taehyung nuzzles into Jeongguk’s now-exposed neck, nipping a little between kisses, “That meanie worked your poor Taehyungie to the bone.”
“Is that so?” Jeongguk teases, tickling Taehyung’s sides, “my Taehyungie seems pretty limber to me.” He returns a few small kisses, pressing closer until they’re a tangle of limbs just inside their entryway.
“He made me get up at 5 a.m. , Jeonggukie,” Taehyung whimpers and puffs out his bottom lip.
Jeongguk can’t stand seeing his mate sad, even teasingly, so he leans in to give him a real kiss, keeping their mouths pressed together for a few moments before pulling back.
“Mmm, suddenly I’m bursting with energy,” Taehyung giggles, moving to stand up and pull Jeongguk with him, “C’mon. I made dinner.”
Jeongguk blinks, letting Taehyung drag him into the kitchen. Taehyungie never makes dinner…
“It’s uh…” Taehyung starts, suspiciously sheepish, “a little bit messy,” he says just before they walk into the kitchen.
Messy doesn’t even begin to cover it. There’s rice all over the room, even on the ceiling , some seaweed scattered on the counter and–
“Taehyungie, why is the wasabi jar in the corner?”
“Well maybe I got a little cut on my finger swimming yesterday,” Taehyung whines, ears flattening on his head, “and maybe the mean wasabi got in it when I was making the sashimi.”
“Oh no,” Jeongguk grabs his hand, inspecting it and finding a bandaid. He presses a little kiss to it, opting to hold Taehyung’s hand afterward, “All better. Now show me what you made us!”
“I made sushi!” Taehyung’s tail thumps against his excitedly once again.
“Oh?” Jeongguk looks over the big plate of what Taehyung called sushi. It looks more like a mess of sushi salad in some places, but it smells delicious. “It looks yummy, Taehyungie! How’d you–”
“I used a tutorial I found on Pinterest,” Taehyung blushes, sneaking his arms around Jeongguk’s waist, “But they taste better than they look! There’s crab in this roll, I used some of the leftover salmon from yesterday, and we got some more fresh fish off the market today.”
Jeongguk hums and leans into Taehyung’s firm hold, his tail whacking Taehyung’s legs with excitement as he listens to Taehyung list several fish off– all Jeongguk’s favorites. If Taehyungie is making this all about me… maybe it was just that Jimin made him go out before breakfast.
Jeongguk grabs the plate and waddles over to the table, Taehyung back-hugging him the whole way. We’ll spend the whole day together tomorrow. Everything is fine.
🦦🦦🦦
Jeongguk sleeps late. He should be grateful, shouldn’t he? That he gets the opportunity and has two days off? But when he rolls over and feels the empty space where his mate isn’t, he feels anything but. He inhales deeply, hoping to smell something cooking, anything, but all he smells is Taehyung’s faded scent. He takes another deep breath, this one to steady himself, and feels around, looking for whatever note Taehyung left this time.
Only this time there isn’t one.
Jeongguk runs a hand through his hair, taking yet another deep breath, and feels his eyes burn. Today is supposed to be our day. What’s going on?
He feels tears start to drip as he reaches for his phone. Yoongi will help. He remembers what Hoseok said about Jimin’s secret outing and Taehyung mentioning he was with Jimin yesterday. Yoongi will know. He curls back up under his wrap before dialing, laying sideways and resting the phone atop his head.
“Jeongguk? Are you okay?”
Jeongguk opens his mouth to answer, but only thick sobs come out.
“Hey, it’s okay, pup. Yoongi’s here.” Yoongi soothes, “Can you take some deep breaths for me?”
Jeongguk obeys, gulping in some air while Yoongi hums a sweet melody to calm him. His sobs slowly shift to gentle sniffles before Yoongi speaks again.
“What’s wrong, Jeonggukie?”
“Taehyung forgot,” Jeongguk mumbles, feeling more tears well up in his eyes, “T-today was s’posed to be our day together, and he’s not even here,” he whimpers.
“I’m sorry, pup.” Yoongi lets out a soft sound that might be a sigh. “Do you want me to come over, little one?”
“No,” Jeongguk sniffles, “no, I just– I just…” he shifts and fiddles with the phone. “I just don’t know. He’s been acting weird.” Jeongguk wonders if he caught Yoongi in the middle of working. He imagines him sitting at his desk, perhaps with eyes flicking back to the abandoned work, and feels a little sick. “I’m sorry, I’m bothering you–”
“Jeonggukie, you know you could never bother me,” Yoongi chides, “Take another deep breath, pup, then talk to me.”
“‘M sorry,” Jeongguk mumbles.
“You’re not a burden, pup. We’ve been over this.” Yoongi assures, “You know you can call me with anything, anytime.”
“I know–”
“Tell me what’s wrong, little one,” Yoongi suggests “Promise I can handle it.”
“It’s just that, Yoongi, he’s been acting weird,” Jeongguk whimpers.
“Hmm,” Yoongi hums, “define weird?”
“You remember his patterns?” Jeongguk changes the phone to speaker so he can snuggle up to the phone, pretending his adoptive brother is here to snuggle him. “For birthdays?
“Mhm?”
“He… he broke it.” Jeongguk sniffs, “It’s not… it’s like he forgot, but he acts like nothing’s wrong and it’s not the kind of thing he would just forget because it’s so special to him too and Hoseok said he might be with someone else and,” Jeongguk chokes on a sob, “It’s stupid, I know, he’s not–”
“Hobi said what now?” Yoongi sounds furious, like a switch flipped at Jeongguk’s words, “Jeongguk, what have I told you about listening to Hoseok when it comes to guessing what others are doing?”
“You said… ‘don’t’.” Jeongguk sniffles again, wiping his nose on his pajama sleeve. He hears the creak of Yoongi’s office chair through the phone. Jeongguk can imagine him repositioning himself, getting more comfortable and calming himself as he considers what to say next.
“And you know how ridiculous a conclusion that is to jump to?” Yoongi emphasizes, “Taehyung, of all people?”
“I know, Yoongi,” Jeongguk blubbers, “but why would he forget?”
“Have you two had any arguments lately?” Yoongi hums, “Is that really the only conclusion you can draw?”
“No,” Jeongguk wibbles, “but I don’t understand it. He acts like it’s any other day, but it’s not. I feel so stupid for–”
“You’re not stupid,” Yoongi interjects, “It’ll be okay. Talk to him.”
“But what if–”
“Talk to him,” Yoongi insists, “He can at least explain what’s going on. Don’t stress yourself out by avoiding the conversation when it will make you feel better.”
“Okay,” Jeongguk pouts “I’ll talk to him when he gets back.”
“Good,” Yoongi huffs, “Now how about you go back to sleep? Get some rest. It’s not good to stress over these things.”
“Okay, Yoongi” Jeongguk yawns, “thank you.”
“Any time, pup. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Jeongguk lets Yoongi hang up and brings up a picture of Taehyung on his phone. Talk to him. It’s such an obvious thing, isn’t it? Why, then, does the thought fill him with apprehension? What if I make Taehyungie sad or angry? I don’t want him to think I don’t trust him…
Jeongguk sighs deeply, cuddling up to the picture on his phone. He’s tired of wondering whether Taehyung forgot. His birthday is tomorrow . He doesn’t want to wake up and find out Taehyung really did forget. Jeongguk closes his eyes. I’ll talk to him when he gets back. He falls asleep pouting.
🦦🦦🦦
“Jeonggukie?” Jeongguk hears a voice call. Taehyungie?
Jeongguk stirs, startling when he feels a big thumb swipe under his eye.
“Pup,” Taehyung whispers, “hey.”
Jeongguk opens his eyes to find Taehyung curled up with him in their wrap, snuggling. Taehyung looks a bit winded, as if he was just running, but Jeongguk didn’t feel him crawl in. He can’t help but snuggle into Taehyung’s grasp, the real thing much better than a picture on his phone.
“What’s wrong, precious?” Taehyung presses a soft kiss to Jeongguk’s forehead and runs his fingers through his hair. “What’s on your mind?”
“You forgot,” Jeongguk whimpers, his mind still fuzzy from sleep.
“I… forgot?” Taehyung hums, “Oh.”
“Sorry,” Jeongguk wibbles, curling more into Taehyung’s arms. Did he really…? “I just-”
“Sweetheart, no. You don’t need to be sorry. I thought–,” Taehyung huffs, pausing to press several kisses to Jeongguk’s ears, “I thought you didn’t like it anymore…”
“What?” Jeongguk pouts, “I love spending time with you. Why would you think that?”
“Last year you told Jiminie that I never surprise you,” Taehyung blushes darkly enough that Jeongguk can see it even in the low light within their sleeping-wrap. “So I thought–”
“Silly,” Jeongguk pinches Taehyung’s cheek, pulling it gently before letting it pop back. “Jiminie and I were talking about that scandal with the lioness hybrid that used to live next door. It’s a very good thing you don’t surprise me like she surprised her mate.”
“Wha–” The scrunch of confusion on Taehyung’s face fades to a surprised ‘o’. “You mean she didn’t get pregnant by him?”
“Nope.” Jeongguk can’t help but smile, leaning up to steal a kiss from his mate.
“Well, Yoongi called Jimin and yelled at him a little bit, so you get me the rest of the day!” Taehyung purrs, “What do you want to do, love?”
“Spend time with you,” Jeongguk purrs, though he’s unable to keep the pout out of his voice, “it’s boring without you.”
“Mm, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” Taehyung splays his legs out to take up more of the wrap, covering Jeongguk partially. Jeongguk feels Taehyung’s tail thumping around them and giggles, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Taehyung purrs quietly before adding, “How about we catch up on that nap you were taking? I kinda sprinted here.”
“Sounds good,” Jeongguk snuggles into Taehyung’s chest, “maybe just a couple minutes,” he mumbles just before he passes out.
🦦🦦🦦
Jeongguk swears he’d only blinked, but somehow hours had passed when he wakes up in the living room, curled around a pillow. Alone.
“Tae–”
“I’m right, here, pup,” Taehyung purrs, walking in to the room from the door, “Pizza just got delivered.”
“Oh?” Jeongguk can’t hide the pleased thumping sound his tail makes as he smells the pizza, “Taehyungie, you got my favorite!”
“Well, it is the otter special,” Taehyung teases, “Calamari, crab, scallops, and shrimp in that delectable oyster sauce.” He sets the box in front of them, “Only the most decadent of pizzas for my mate.”
Jeongguk presses a quick kiss to Taehyung’s cheek, lips a little wet from the description of the mouth-watering toppings.
“That sounds amazing, Taehyungie” Jeongguk purrs, waiting for Taehyung to sit down before snuggling into his lap, his tail smacking against Taehyung’s thigh in excitement as Taehyung plates some slices for him. His eyes widen seeing the crust, “Taehyungie, did you ask for kelp crust?” He bounces, matching the excitement of his tail.
“Why yes,” Taehyung purrs, wrapping an arm around Jeongguk’s waist to try and reign him in, “That’s exactly what I did.” He takes his own slices and waits for Jeongguk so they can try the first bite together.
Jeongguk quickly puts on a movie in the background and settles in Taehyung’s lap, bumping his slice with Taehyung’s before taking the first bite.
“Ohmgof, thas’ so good!” Taehyung mumbles, mouth full of his second bite.
“We should only get kelp crust,” Jeongguk presses a kiss to Taehyung’s cheek, leaving a mess of oyster sauce on Taehyung’s cheek. Taehyung, to his credit, doesn’t even bat an eye, his cheeks too full of seafood pizza to to even smile– not that that’s stopping him from trying.
Jeongguk grabs another slice and resettles himself in Taehyung’s lap to watch the movie while they feast, the slices disappearing one by one until Jeongguk is so full that he can’t help but fall asleep nestled safely in Taehyung’s arms.
🦦🦦🦦
Jeongguk isn’t sure how they made it back to their bed– he doesn’t even remember the movie ending – but he notices two things right away . It’s morning. He can tell from the angle the light is coming in to their sleeping-wrap. It’s the morning of his birthday, and he’s alone .
He curls into himself. I’m not going to start my birthday crying. I’m not. No. He lets out a shaky sigh, Not today.
“Pup?”
Jeongguk doesn’t move. He hears Taehyung slip into the sleep basin and wade over before he feels Taehyung’s long fingers tugging at the wrap Jeongguk’s got balled in his fists. “Pup, it’s time to wake up.”
Jeongguk puffs, feigning irritation, but Taehyung puffs right back as he finds a good spot to tug, freeing the wrap from Jeongguk’s grasp.
“C’mon, Jeonggukie! I have a breakfast to make up to you!” Taehyung coos, “and no, we’re not eating in the basin, the water will get icky.” He pulls Jeongguk right out of the wrap, scooping him up into his arms. “Happy birthday, Jeongguk.”
Jeongguk can’t resist a small smile that dissolves into giggles as Taehyung buries his face in his neck and nuzzles him. He squirms, wriggling in Taehyung’s arms, but Taehyung doesn’t let up, holding onto him even when he loses his balance and they topple over in the basin with a splash.
“All right, let’s go,” Jeongguk giggles, pressing a kiss to Taehyung’s nose, “carry me?”
“Of course!” Taehyung stands up, water dripping off him as he wades to the edge of their basin, Jeongguk curled up in his arms.
Jeongguk makes sure to give Taehyung lots of kisses on the way to the kitchen, proving to be a bit distracting, but it’s his day. He’s left at least three solid marks on Taehyung’s neck by the time he’s plopped in his barstool, breakfast already plated in front of him.
“You made fish fritters!” Jeongguk wiggles excitedly, nearly knocking himself over with how hard his tail wags.
“That’s what I'm best at,” Taehyung teases, grabbing a couple sauces from the fridge before joining Jeongguk.
“No, you’re best at loving me.” Jeongguk purrs, digging in eagerly.
Why didn’t I just ask on the first day? Well, he knows the answer to that. I thought it was silly. In hindsight, it seems even sillier not to have brought it up with Taehyung. Taehyungie thought the same… I guess we’re both a bit silly. Jeongguk holds Taehyung’s right hand with his left while they eat and takes little breaks to press saucey kisses to the back of Taehyung’s hand every couple bites, their tails wagging lightly as they enjoy their tasty breakfast.
“I have our whole day planned out, Jeonggukie,” Taehyung hums after he’s had his fill of fritters, “You’re never gonna guess–”
“Is it swimming?” Jeongguk interrupts cheekily, jumping in surprise when Taehyung smacks his tail with his own.
“How’d you guess?” Taehyung grins, getting up to kiss the tip of Jeongguk’s nose. “Since you guessed so quickly, I’m not even gonna give you your present yet.” he pouts, dashing to their bedroom before Jeongguk can argue. “Last one in swim gear is a little pup!”
“Ah, no fair! You got a head start,” Jeongguk whines and hurries after him, determined to win. He can’t wait to feel the river again.
🦦🦦🦦
Despite having objectively lost the race– which Jeongguk maintains is because Taehyung had a head start– he isn’t sulking as they head out. Whether this is because Taehyung decided that he had to carry ‘little pup Jeongguk’ with a piggyback ride or because Taehyung actually admitted he had an advantage is unclear, but Jeongguk is definitely ecstatic as Taehyung waddles down the trail to the river.
By the time they arrive, the sun is high in the sky and the chill of the morning has all but dissipated. Jeongguk’s tail wiggles with unbridled enthusiasm as they get closer, the familiar scent invigorating his senses. He has no doubt that Taehyung feels it too, his pace hastening until he’s running full speed towards the waters edge, no hesitation as they splash right in.
Jeongguk takes Taehyung’s hand before unlatching himself from his mate’s back, paddling around and diving together hand-in-hand. Taehyung twirls Jeongguk into his arms and nuzzles him underwater, pushing them to the surface for air with his strong tail so they don’t have to separate.
🦦🦦🦦
After nearly a half hour of excited diving and swimming, Jeongguk finally calms down enough to just float with Taehyung, holding his hand so they don’t get separated. Taehyung pulls him closer and giggles quietly.
“I know I was out here the past few days with Jiminie,” Taehyung starts, “But nothing compares to swimming with you in the river.”
“I should hope not,” Jeongguk huffs, finally letting his irritation from the past few days show, “he’s not even an otter hybrid, Taehyungie, why would you want to swim with a sable hybrid.”
“Your brother is a sable hybrid,” Taehyung coos, clearly unaffected by Jeongguk’s pouting, “If I remember correctly, he was the one that taught you how to swim.”
“I was adopted.” Jeongguk huffs, though he knows it isn’t much of an argument. Yoongi practically raised him.
“My point is, Jimin wasn’t even swimming with me, Jeonggukie. He was working on your present. We both were.”
“M-my present?” Jeongguk’s pout vanishes, “what do you mean?”
“Come on, pup, I’ll show you.” Taehyung ducks back under the water, pulling Jeongguk by the hand as they swim upstream, turning in to an inlet Jeongguk has only seen once before. Taehyung scoops Jeongguk up once again once the inlet is too shallow to swim up, Jeongguk snuggling up to him happily while he watches where Taehyung goes.
“Where are we going, Taehyungie?” Jeongguk wriggles, his wet tail smacking against Taehyung’s side with his excited curiosity. Taehyung hushes him and shifts Jeongguk to one arm briefly to push aside a curtain of liana vines and step into a secluded area. Before Jeongguk can get a good look around, Taehyung hops into the spring with him, floating on his back so Jeongguk can lay on top of him. Jeongguk kisses him happily while Taehyung leisurely propels them around the spring.
“So,” Taehyung pulls back slightly after lazily making out for a while, “what do you think?”
Jeongguk blinks dazedly at him.
“Cutie,” Taehyung scrunches his nose and gestures toward the waterfall with his head. “See anything new?”
Jeongguk blinks again before turning his head to look at the waterfall. His eyes pop open as he scrambles off of Taehyung to get a better look.
“Do you like it, pup?” Taehyung purrs, already grinning ear-to-ear, “This is what Jimin and I have been doing the last three days.”
In front of them is the waterfall Jeongguk remembers Yoongi and Jimin leading them to just last week, the pair having found it while mouse hunting for Hoseok. But nestled just to the side of the waterfall is a slide , carefully moulded to an angle that utilizes the flow of the waterfall and intricately lined with smooth rocks from the riverbed. As he paddles closer, he spots on the other side a set of larger rocks arranged to form stairs leading to the top.
“I love it,” Jeongguk breathes, eyes watering. He turns and pokes Taehyung in the tummy. “You said you couldn’t keep a secret!”
“I can’t!” Taehyung squirms away as Jeongguk continues to poke him, “It’s why Jimin had to drag me out here so early, he knew I would spoil it!” Taehyung whines, going to scoop Jeongguk into his arms, presumably so the poking stops, “I had to be vague and distract you with kisses, but I could tell something was upsetting you.”
“Yes, yes, we’re both silly for not communicating.” Jungkook giggles, “I love you, I forgive you, let's go slide now!”
For the first trip, Taehyung carries Jeongguk up the stairs and lovingly pushes him down the slide, Jeongguk’s giddy laughter ringing through the secluded space.
The stone steps become slippery with water as they chase each other up and down the bank, sliding down together over and over and chasing each other around the spring’s pool. At some point Taehyung ‘loses’ his swim gear on the bank and Jeongguk opts to ‘lose’ his own and they take an intermission to mate in the spring, but Jeongguk doesn’t feel the need to go into details. He and Taehyung play together until they’re both panting on the riverbank, watching the sunset– and mating again.
As the light dims, Taehyung helps Jeongguk back into his swim gear and dresses himself before scooping him up once more to start the trip home.
“Do we have to leave?” Jeongguk whines, though he doesn’t put up a fight as Taehyung carries him out of the spring and down the inlet path.
“Do you want to swim in the dark?” Taehyung teases, lowering Jungkook into the stream from the spring where the water is deep enough before joining, taking his mate’s hand and tail-propelling them with the current a bit faster.
“We could mate in the moonlight, Taehyungie,” Jeongguk purrs, helping with his own tail. He wants to play more on their slide, too. Three days of no Taehyungie have to be repaid somehow, right?
“As much as I love that idea, pup, it’s a new moon tonight.” Tae gestures at their quickly fading light, “No moonlight tonight.” Taehyung stops to help Jeongguk out of the water, letting him ride on his back again as they head home, a trail of puddles in their wake. “Besides, you don’t want to miss Seokjinnie and Namjoonie’s cooking, do you?”
“Mmm,” Jeongguk pretends to think about it and Taehyung bounces him once, “No, of course I don’t!”
“But first, we gotta get you all groomed for dinner.” Taehyung purrs as he opens their door, “Such a messy little pup~”
“You think I’m messy?” Jeongguk pretends to be affronted, “You should see my mate.”
Taehyung scoffs and grabs a bag from the fridge on their way to the bathing room, handing it to Jeongguk.
“When did you get kamaboko and how did you hide it from me?” Jeongguk tears open the bag and grabs one of the specialty fishcakes, grinning at how pretty it is before shoving it in his mouth.
“I am a man of many talents,” Taehyung snickers, scooting to sit on the basin’s edge with Jeongguk in his lap before starting the water and feeding each other the kamaboko while they wait. Once the basin is filled, Taehyung simply leans back and slides both of them right in the water, Jeongguk protecting the nearly empty bag of kamaboko from getting wet before they settle in and resume feeding each other the last few pieces.
After a good thorough grooming in their wash basin, Taehyung uncorks the tub and snuggles up to Jeongguk as the water drains, scooping him up once more when the tub is empty and wrapping him in a thick towel. He wraps one around his waist just as the doorbell rings, opting to answer it in the towel.
“Aish, you could have gotten dressed.” Seokjin splutters, his beaver tail hitting the wall as he walks in to set the small pot on their dining table.
“Will you be staying for dinner, Jinnie?” Jeongguk hums sleepily, softening Seokjin’s annoyance in an instant.
“We made you guys lobster bisque, and you know how Namjoon feels about shellfish.” Seokjin smiles and ruffles Jeongguk’s drying hair, “Here’s your present, Jeonggukie, just like Taehyungie requested.” He hands Jeongguk a small, rectangular box etched with a herringbone pattern and heads out the door.
“Thanks Seokjinnie!” Jeongguk calls after him, “And thank Namjoonie for us too!” He returns his attention to the box.
“Open it.” Taehyung purrs, watching Jeongguk with a soft expression.
Jeongguk obeys, gasping in shock upon opening the box.
“You didn’t–”
“I sent some of my carvings to Namjoonie to bead, so it’s a gift from all three of us, really.” Taehyung nuzzles Jeongguk.
“You carved all of these?” Jeongguk clutches the beaded pearl bracelet to his chest, “Taehyungie, these little skulls are so intricate!” He feels tears welling up, “This must’ve taken you so long…”
“Worth it to see how happy it makes you.” Taehyung whisks him over to the dinner table, grabbing two bowls, two spoons, and a ladle. He takes Jeongguk’s left hand in his right and sits down to scoop it. “Love you, pup. How was your birthday this year?”
“Love you too.” Jeongguk smiles and presses a kiss to Taehyung’s hand, “And I wouldn’t change it for the world.”