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It's another busy weekend at the Darktastic, meaning another night where Jungkook makes almost as much money as the air he inhales.
It's funny how he absolutely hates the crowd, yet he's the owner and bartender of the busiest bar in the city. But it's his way of pretending he's changed, and no one can do anything to change his mind about wanting to prove himself. They've tried.
He is going through the motion as usual, tending to every kind of drinker on the bar stools, ranging from silent shy ones to the shamelessly flirty ones and of course, the drink-till-I-black-out ones. Just another day.
Sometimes he looks beyond the bar, at the dance floor filled with sweaty bodies, to look at his best friend putting on a show amidst the clumsy drunkards and stealing the spotlight. It's fun to see the rowdy crowd go silent, even if for a few minutes, and get their ego bruised as they watch the Jung Hoseok killing it on stage.
But today when he lets his eyes wander towards the dance floor, a sudden silence is ensued, unlike the screams of appreciation for his friend. And when he finally registers what he's looking at, he almost trips on nothing.
There, in the middle of the dace floor, is the most beautiful, no ethereal being he's ever laid eyes on, dancing to the sensual beats of some English song he doesn't recognise. But his moves are anything but sensual. He moves like he looks - serene, angelic and oh so delicate - and yet he has the whole crowd silent.
For some unknown reason, Jungkook's heart feels like it's going to burst out any moment. Funny thought, considering he doesn't even have a heart. But that's not important, because for some reason, Jungkook feels. He feels so intensely that his very essence starts to shiver. It's only when the dancing man faces him that he realises the reason.
It feels like everything happens in slow motion after that. Their eyes connecting, the man suddenly stopping his dance just as the glass of shots breaks in Jungkook's hand, Jungkook jumping over the bar counter and holding him firmly in his grasp, and dragging him out of the place with the whole crowd parting ways, confused.
The loud noise is back again but Jungkook hears none of it. He doesn't hear Hoseok warning him not to do anything harsh, he doesn't his free hand accidentally slamming against one of the walls and creating a loud bang. It's all white noise and Jungkook's vision is blurred with tears he doesn't notice.
"Jungkook, please stop" it's barely a whisper. But it's that whisper that finally breaks Jungkook out of his reverie, like ice cold water splashed on his sweating body.
He immediately stops, thankfully having arrived at his destination too, which is the back of the bar, where no one other than Hoseok is allowed.
"What are you doing here?" Jungkook wants to hug the man in front of him and sob and thank whoever that made this happen and let him see his first and only love again. But his voice comes out cold, detached but so so scared.
He doesn't get an immediate answer, as the person in front of him is not even making eye contact with him, intensely staring at the floor as he plucks mercilessly at the cuticles.
Jungkook's hand reaches out again, to softly untangle the hands and hold them in his. But the same warmth isn't seen in his eyes, nor in his voice when he growls, "Taehyung what are you doing here!?"
Taehyung doesn't even flinch, just squeezing the other's hands a little harder before letting go. He finally looks at his one true love, "I escaped from hell."
Taehyung doesn't have to say it. It's loud and clear that he escaped from hell, from the ash black mark on his forearm, similar to his own. But what he doesn't understand is, "How did you even end up in The Hell, in the first place?"
Again, Taehyung takes his own time to answer it, but Jungkook is much patient this time, visibly scared of the answer he's going to get.
"I got kicked out from The Heaven."
"Taehyung for the love of Go-" He stops himself, "Stop giving me obvious answers and tell me what exactly happened."
It's only then that they hold eye contact for more than a few seconds, and Jungkook knows. He knows before Taehyung says in a whisper, "They found out Jungkook."
"No way..." he whispers, holding Taehyung's face in his delicate palms, checking for the dreaded mark. "No way... how? Why- who?"
The tears finally fall from both their faces, one of disbelief and the other of sorrow.
Taehyung slowly and reluctantly takes Jungkook's hands in his, away from his face, and places one of them on his chest.
"Your scar isn't on your face either, Jungkookie" he whispers and Jungkook removes his hand from there as if it burnt to touch. It probably did.
He falls on his knees, on the dirty road, without a care. Taehyung joins him immediately, like always, and hugs his man tight, letting him sob till he can't anymore.
"This wasn't supposed to happen... I- Tae, I made sure no one would find out. I made an unbreakable vow with everyone who knew about us. How-" he starts crying again.
But no, he hadn't made the vow with everyone. He hadn't made it with Taehyung.
"Shhh, it's okay now. What happened, happened okay? We're now together and that's all that matters."
But Jungkook shakes his head vigorously, "No! Taehyung you- you're not... you're a fallen angel now. And and you escaped from the hell!! You're a mortal now... a cursed mortal" Jungkook visibly breaks at that, crying into Taehyung's shoulder again, "And it's all my fault."
Hoseok walks out of the door at the exact time, his own heart breaking at the sight in front of him. He rushes to Jungkook's side, picking them both up, "Let's go home first, it's chilly here" he whispers, and brings them home.
There are so many more questions Jungkook wants to ask but Hoseok urges them both to take a shower first in the two different bathrooms in the apartment. "I'll cook something first, and we'll only talk after that, okay?"
They both agree, one more reluctant than the other.
It's nearly an hour later, and they're freshly showered and filled to brim with the great dinner Hoseok just served. And now they're sitting on the stools by the counter, Hoseok on one side, Taehyung and Jungkook on the other.
"How did it happen, Tae?" Hoseok asks, much calmer than Jungkook would've.
But Jungkook seems content in holding his lover's hands in his. Or maybe he has so many questions that's he doesn't know where to start.
Taehyung is about to speak up when a violent lightning strikes the sky, almost blinding the three of them if they weren't used to worse things than this in the pits of hell.
The moment they open their eyes again to see none other than The Kim Namjoon sitting beside Hoseok.
Who, of course, screeches and falls off the chair to land on his butt.
"Dude what the fuck!?" He asks the most powerful angel of heaven.
"Namjoon?" The other two ask in unison, but one in confusion and the other in fear.
"Well you see, I was just watching our little one's first day as a mortal and honestly? I'm so impressed with how easily he navigated his way towards you. But now I realised he's going to lie and make a huge mistake, so here I am to stop him."
Taehyung stills at that, while Jungkook asks with more confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Hyung, please" Taehyung pleads, knowing how the angel can easily read his mind and he feels exploited.
"No, Taehyung. Why would you lie to me? What's happening here?" Jungkook asks. He gets aggravated when he's kept in the dark.
It's then that they feel a cool but soothing breeze around them, announcing the presence of none other than their fairy best friend, Jimin.
"And this is where I'll be of use" Jimin sing songs, as he places his delicate fingers on Jungkook's eyes, just as Taehyung whispers a defeated, "Please, don't."
Jungkook's vision blurs for a moment before Namjoon disappears from the scene and it's suddenly back to when Hoseok asked Taehyung what happened.
And Taehyung looks hesitant, but he starts, "After Jungkook... left-" he says, but what he means is that he was kicked out, "obviously I only found out a little too late and was really sad. A lot of them noticed, but they thought it's just me missing my best friend. They didn't suspect anything." He takes a hesitant breath after that and Jungkook knows that he's lying when he tells the next thing, "But one of them accidentally heard me crying to Namjoon hyung about you and- and they snitched. And- you know what happens after that."
Jungkook then hears himself ask, "And why did you escape from hell?"
But before he could get an answer, probably another lie, he's brought back to present, as Jimin lifts his fingers from the younger's face.
He takes a few moments to recover, and when he looks at Taehyung, he doesn't try to hide the hurt, "You were so obviously lying."
"No-"
"Please... please. If your only intention is to lie, just... leave." Jungkook pleads, getting up to leave, himself.
But Namjoon stops him with just one look, "We didn't come here to separate the two of you. I know you're hurt, but Taehyung has never lied to you before. If he was willing to do it now, he must have a reason."
Namjoon is right. And that makes Jungkook sit down, although he refuses to look at Taehyung just yet, "Just get it over with".
Taehyung whimpers in misery and Jungkook almost wants to reach out, wants to hold his hands again and just pretend like it didn't matter. But it does, and thankfully, Jimin makes it easier for him.
"Tae, I know why you're reluctant about this. But this is your first and last chance to start afresh, don't taint it with lies." He's softly ruffling Taehyung's hair, easily soothing him and his erratic heartbeat.
"I found out two nights later." Taehyung starts, and Jungkook nods, "You had put me on a serum to keep me asleep through the whole thing." He sounds accusatory.
"I knew I was doomed, Tae. I didn't want to bring you down with me."
"You have no right to make that decision for me, Jungkook!" Taehyung exclaims, as if he is finding it all out for the first time now.
"But-" Jungkook tries to say but the loud scraping of Taeyung's stool as he stands up, stops him.
"I was so confused and lost! I felt so sad Koo, I felt so alone and powerless. And... so so betrayed" he whispers the last words, closing his eyes and letting the tears roll down his cheeks.
Before Jungkook can interrupt him, he continues, "I roamed around like a madman, asking anyone and everyone, but no one would say a thing! Apparently you even made a pact with Him! And He kept up His promise for you too."
He takes a deep breath and sits down on the stool again, "And then I saw Yoongi hyung and Jin hyung at the gates, where I was waiting for you." he starts again in a low whisper, "They had come to inform Him about you and Hoseok escaping. When they found out that I didn't even know what happened to you, they told me everything."
"Why would they do that!?" Jungkook exclaims, pissed at the two demons.
"Because, if you've forgot Jungkook, they both basically raised me before they were kicked out too!" Taehyung raises his voice again, angry at Jungkook for being angry at this situation.
"It broke my heart Jungkook. It broke me deep to my essence to know that you were kicked out because of me and because you wanted to protect me."
"It was my mistake that I got caught! I didn't want you to face the consequences of that!!"
"But I still did, didn't I?" Taehyung challenges.
"Yeah, because you tried to meddle with my plans." Jungkook replies stubbornly, still believing he did the right thing leaving Taehyung behind.
"You think I wouldn't suffer if I didn't find out?! That somehow I would forget all about you and get with someone else as the time passed by?" Taehyung is definitely angry now.
"Yes! That's how it was supposed to happen!!"
"Well too bad, Jungkook! Unlike how lowly you thought of me, my love for you adhered to my essence! I would never be able to love anyone else like I love you!"
That shuts Jungkook up, because he knows. He knows because it's the same for him too.
"And then I went to Jimin-ah, asking him to help me find a way through this, to confess to Him and get kicked out too. But you had made a vow with everyone who knew. And no one wanted to break it. Well, it's not like they could if they tried."
Jungkook nods, that's the reason he did it.
"But then Yoongi hyung came back to report something else and when we met again, he gave me an idea."
"That little-" Jungkook starts, but gets cut off as Taehyung continues to ramble.
"First thing that day, I went to the lake where we first met, and took the boat to float on the water for a bit, and made sure to talk about our relationship. It started with a plan in mind, but I don't even remember the things I said because I started crying midway through and just babbled through my tears. Of course, I knew the fairy who guards the lake could hear it all, and it was not Namjoon anymore, which means that they could go and snitch on me." He says, although this was not a situation to admit, he was quite proud of how easily he handled it.
"And of course they snitched and in no time, I met the same fate as yours." he ends, as if he didn't just enumerate how he lost his immortality in his fits of sorrow.
"Tae you didn't have to-"
"I don't know how it is for you Jungkook, but living there without you would be worse than being kicked out to the hell."
"How did you escape from the hell then?" Jungkook asks, curious.
"Bribed Yoongi hyung with the last of my belongings from the heaven. Although, I think that was just a cover up and he helped because he wanted to see us together."
"Of course he did" Jungkook mutters to himself, not as pleased as Taehyung sounds.
They all sit in silence as Jungkook processes what he just learnt, but he just can't wrap his head around the fact that the love of his life's life potentially got ruined because of him. Namjoon wants to smack him on the head for letting such thoughts plague him, but he waits with patience too.
"But Tae... you're- you're a mortal now and you're tainted and- I just..."
"What does it matter Jungkook-ah? We're both just the same now, and still so much in love. There's nothing you should be worried about anymore."
Jungkook laughs mirthlessly at that, "Love? Taehyung do you really think we are even capable of that now? That they didn't snatch it all away from us when they threw us out?" he scoffs.
But Taehyung is fuming now, as he turns Jungkook towards him forcefully, placing his hands on the place where Jungkook's heart should be, "Then what do you think I'm feeling right now? Are those not your heart beats?"
Jungkook looks like he's had this conversation a million times, probably with Hoseok, who just looks so done, "It's just what we need to have as "humans" Tae, it means nothing."
"Well fuck you too" Taehyung whispers sharply, making everyone turn towards him in pure horror. Did Kim Taehyung just curse? At Jungkook?
"Wha-"
"Then how do you explain what we felt when we first saw each other Jungkook? And the tears we both shed? And the pain you felt- hell, you're feeling even now as you see me in tears? What's that if not love? A cosplay?" Taehyung exclaims, getting annoyed by each second.
"Huh-"
"How can you not see that yes, they ripped everything off of us, they took away our immortality and every other power we have! But they can't do shit with our essence! And my love for you and your love for me is as deep as that essence goes! And this human heart, how much ever feeble it might be, beats for you, you moron!!"
Taehyung is shaking by the time he finishes his monologue and it's only natural response that Jungkook scrambles up to hold him in his arms, as they cry into each other's shoulders.
On the other hand, Namjoon and Jimin are a teary mess, as if they're watching the most painful soap opera. Hoseok almost retches at that sight (or so he claims) "Ugh! Tell me when the sob fest is over" he says as he walks out of the kitchen and to the living area.
After a lot more arguments - mostly Taehyung's monologues punctuated with curses - and a few more tears shed, Jungkook finally seems to come in terms with the fact that Yes, he does have a heart and yes, it definitely does beat for his Taehyung and his Taehyung only.
Namjoon and Jimin leave shortly after that, not so subtly gossiping about how much Yoongi and Jin misses Hoseok, making sure that the demon hears them before they disappear into thin air too.
Taehyung and Jungkook walk to Jungkook's room hand in hand, sparing a shy glance at Hoseok, who mumbles something like, "Well good for y'all I guess, I'm just gonna sit here and fantasise about my boyfriends in another realm."