Work Text:
The outside world was already asleep but Seoul never sleeps, does it? Seoul was still bright like it was only 10 pm and not whatever ungodly hour of the morning that was. Taehyung had been slaving his ass off for his upcoming mixtape. Thankfully after moving to the new HYBE building, he finally had a studio of his own and did not have to share the small studio with Jiminie and Jin Hyung. He loved them but of course but you can't work around them when they are always bantering over something trivial. He had promised ARMYs that his mixtape will be like a warm hug to them but now that it's been 2 years and even the media was talking about "kth1", he was feeling the pressure and the weight of everyone's expectations on his shoulders.
While making the short journey from his home studio to his room, his mind was full of thoughts of the future. He was skeptical of his own talents for a while and wondered if the army would love his songs the same way after a while of its release and give them the same warmth and comfort after a while. As he entered his room, he was surprised to find the lights still on and a figure huddled up in blankets and sitting comfortably in the middle of his bed with a sleeping Tannie in his lap.
Jeongguk was still awake. He was so immersed in the movie he was watching that he hadn't even heard the door open or registered that Taehyung had come in till Tae stood in front of him and cast a shadow over the screen as he blocked the light.
The younger who was previously immersed in whatever he was watching, pressed the space bar and gave Hyung one of his dazzling bunny smiles while rubbing his tired eyes. Taehyung felt his heart beat a thousand times a minute at the sight in front of him. He had been seeing it for at least the last 10 years of his life but this is not any other person that you get used to and take for granted, this is his Jeongguk. His Jeongguk, who always climbed into his bed when he can't sleep at night, who always made him hear whatever melody he composed or the lyrics he'd written and tell him those were written for him, who offered him shy glances during briefings and looked away as soon as their eyes met, who always loved the smell of Taehyung's clothes and snuggled into him randomly at times, cuddled up with him on rainy nights and knew all of his secrets.
"Why are you still up?" Tae asks and before the younger can say anything as he makes his way to the bathroom to wash his face and get ready to sleep.
"What time is- fuck it's 4 am" Jungkook yells from his position on Taehyung's bed-by now it's also his bed given the amount of time he sleeps here-and a brief shuffling is heard before Jk walks into the bathroom to empty his bladder.
Taehyung is in the middle of doing his night routine when Jungkook wraps his freshly washed hands around Tae's abdomen and presses his face into the crook of his neck.
Tae just hummed, enjoying the brief moment of peace and calm. Away from the prying eyes and glare of cameras and spotlights. At that moment, he was truly happy. He had his Jeongguk and he couldn't ask for anything more. If he had his way, he would've made sure that this moment lasted forever but unfortunately he wasn't Dr.Strange. He was soon broken out of his reverie when Jeongguk pressed feather-light kisses on his neck and let out a contented hum. He could never get used to wrapping his head around the fact that Jeongguk is all his, no matter how many times Jeongguk had himself said the exact words to him. He was indeed the most privileged man in the world who had seen this side of Jeongguk and he wishes it forever stays that way.
Jeongguk's kisses on his neck are relentless and now he has moved onto his face, kissing his jawline, and then he'd move onto his cheekbones. He knew this routine well now. Too well to know what comes next so he decided to take matters into his own hands.
"Let's get to bed" Taehyung took the maknae by his tattooed forearm towards the bed, trying to diffuse the situation before it escalates any further into something more physical.
Jungkook whined like a petulant child but followed his hyung's words. They both dragged their feet to the bed and lay down on their respective sides of the bed. Taehyung usually slept on the right side of the bed and Jungkook on the left but when they wake up the next morning, they were always huddled together on one's side or in the middle, hands on each other - caressing faces and leaving goosebumps in their wake, lips almost touching, legs entangled and hearts beating in sync.
Everything quiet for a while when the silence was broken by a whine from Jeongguk. "Hyungggg," he whines as the light of Taehyung's phone screen hits him on his face. He swats at Taehyung's hands, trying to snatch the phone out of the elder's hands but with no effort. If he really wanted to, he could've done it but it was late and Jeongguk was sleepy and in need of cuddles.
"Jungkook-ah, let me talk to ARMY for a while and then we can cuddle." Taehyung said and immediately Jungkook moved closer to hide his face in the crook of Tae's neck and tangle his arms around his neck, trying to bring himself even closer to his body if that was physically possible. Jeongguk was needy, especially during late nights like these but he knew ARMYs were missing Tae too so he just sighed and hugged Tae closer. Taehyung just chuckled and awkwardly patted the younger's head with one hand and held his phone tightly with the other as he scrolled through Weverse.
"Taehyung hyung, do you have a vcut saved on your phone?" Jeongguk asked out of the blue, startling Taehyung a bit. He turns his eyes back to the screen to see that Ggukie had just read out a post written by an army.
"You know I don't take pictures that often anymore so I don't have that much to post for ARMY," Tae replies to Jeongguk with a deep sigh.
"You know it's hard to believe for everyone because you are so handsome and have this perfect face." Jeongguk retorts using his hands to cup Tae's cheeks and then proceeds to snatch his phone as the elder was distracted and flustered at the compliment from him.
"What are you doing?" Taehyung asks, leaning back against the comfortable pillows behind him, watching Jeongguk scroll through his phone gallery.
"Hmm...choosing a picture for you to post ofc.", he replied with a sly smile and Tae knew asking him to stop was a lost cause.
"How about this?" he piped up again after a few seconds of comfortable silence. Tae leaned in closer to see what it was. Myopia was a bitch and his glasses were not on him.
It was a picture of him in a neon yellow Nike jacket with a sliver of his chest exposed and he still had his Butter concept photo accessories on.
"Hmm I can post this but you are clinging on to me and the MV set is visible too," Tae replied, with a smirk when in reality the only thing stopping him was that knew he’d be in trouble if he is seen in a Nike jacket when he has a signed contract with Fila. Jeongguk narrowed his eyes a bit before he realized that posting that picture will raise a lot of questions and invite comments that neither he nor Tae was willing to answer right before their comeback.
"Then do your magic and edit me as you did to that photo of you and Tannie and how you blur out your iPhone every time" he started casually but by the time he finished his sentence, he was giggling mess.
"Excuse you, I am a very good editor. Even ARMY says so. I've seen posts on Twitter from my secret account. And you need to stop fawning about Namjoon hyung's thighs please." Tae replied in a jesting tone.
"Hey, that account is my safe space. I can say whatever I want. I did make a thread of "iconic taehyung dates" and a "travel with taetae" thread too. I haven't made any threads for him as I did for you" Jeongguk quickly replied to placate his Hyung, who was a little sensitive about these things, and to show him that he indeed loved him the most.
"Hmm...fair," Tae replied before lightly pecking Jeongguk on his lips and taking back his phone from other's hands.
"Fair? Fair? That's all you have to say. I spent hours on the threads because I love you so much, Hyung. You cant-" Jeongguk started whining but Tae just gave him another peck that had shut him up and then he was gone, moved to the edge of the bed before Jeongguk could kiss him deeper. A whine and a chuckle were heard in the room's semi-darkness, which was lit only by Tae's phone. A Samsung one.
"Done! I posted that, just like you asked," he informed Jeongguk who was sulking on his side of the bed. He turned the screen towards him but he barely looked at Tae.
"They are also asking about the mixtape and it breaks my heart to disappoint them again. I've disappointed them for such a long time Jeonggukkie" Tae lamented and expected the younger to ignore him but wasn't ready for the huge mass that tackled him and engulfed him in a hug which leads him to slowly smile and pat his head.
Taehyung was very confused.
"You know Hyung that this is ARMY you are talking about. ARMY, who always believes in you, who loves you, and is excited to hear your music. You are sharing your music with everyone and that is like leaving your soul bare for all to see. You show them your flaws, thoughts, and feelings and it's like giving them a glimpse into your mind. So, if you want to take your time and work on it again then they will understand. I trust them, Hyung" Jeongguk replied with so much conviction that at that moment it was difficult to understand who was the hyung and who was the maknae. He was like a hyung to Tae in a few ways and Tae will always be grateful for that.
"I will flex it now because I can't post it on Weverse or Twitter but your mixtape sounds amazing now and I even have a favorite track but if you want to work on it more, then I'm sure they'll wait and understand. Their patience will reward them with soothing music which will make them fall in love with you even more like I did." He finished his speech and kissed Tae's cheek mole while he ran his tattooed hand through Tae's freshly dyed hair.
"I will tell them that and I'm always grateful for your words, Ggukie.", he beamed at Jeongguk and who just stares at Tae for a solid three minutes, in awe of the man in front of him -his man- who is so hardworking and dedicated. He just wanted to be loved and appreciated. And Jeongguk promised to make it his life's mission to give Taehyung as much love as he gave him and even more.
"If you are grateful for then you better come and cuddle me hyung!" Jeongguk scoffed and turned around to have his back facing Taehyung again.
Taehyung tried not to smile at the maknae's behavior but failed and eventually replied to ARMYs with a wide boxy smile on his face. Looking at a few comments that asked him to sleep since it's 4:40 am, he decided to finally end Jeongguk's misery and give him the cuddles that he had demanded a while ago.
After reading and replying to a few more comments and telling ARMYs that he was off for the night, he had kept his phone on the nightstand with a sigh and turned around to put his arm around a sleeping Jeongguk's waist who promptly turned around to snuggle against his body and held Taehyung close.
He was not so asleep after all.
The two held each other close and just smiled at each other.
This was their safe haven where they both could be themselves. Jeongguk didn't need to be Jungkook and Taehyung didn't need to be V. They were simply two boys in love who rarely had the luxury of being together like this given their job and schedule so they made sure to cherish this moment as long as their bodies allowed them before they both fell asleep slowly as the first sounds of the birds chirping had started to break the silence of the night.