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With a dejected exhale and slow steps, almost as if trying to stall for time from entering his own house, Jungkook's feet drag him from his car toward the front door in a lifeless mess. He has his overcoat flinging from his dominant arm while the other fumbles with the keys to enter, lowly grumbling about a headache that thrums steadily near his temples.
Who's to blame? The past-Jungkook who had hogged his office overnight, finishing off some documents completely random with lengthy deadlines more than a few weeks away and drifted off to sleep somewhere near dawn, accompanied by the first rays of the rising sun. That's who.
Flinging the door open, he throws himself on the nearest couch with a heave, eyeing the coat dumped ceremoniously on the polished wooden floor as he worked away on his throbbing temples.
Call himself dramatic but this is how a day without his pretty baby goes for Jeon Jungkook. "Taetae." The name rolls off of his tongue in yearning, silky smooth from all the times he spends coddling his little on an average day.
The boy with his twinkling eyes, rosy cheeks, and signature boxy smile stretched adorably on his face carved to perfection -he's waxing poetry of his boyfriend, sue him- had cocked his head, asking to let him spend the day with Yoonmin's new baby girl. He was vibrating in his body, all bubbly and sweet with his puppy eyes that Jungkook was absolutely powerless and had allowed him to go.
He's planning to visit the ball of sunshine himself, but it'll have to wait.
Jungkook rubs his eyes open as he sits up, the circular clock on the wall signing two hours since his arrival. He breathes, movements melancholy realizing that he's unable to have his baby's home-cooked meals for a few days in the back of his mind.
He makes a beeline towards their shared bedroom, the unexpected sight he's met with draws an abrupt gasp of shock tinged with suspicion and worry.
"Taehyung-ah?!" He scurries over to his boyfriend flopped on the bed, breathless, his rose-tinted cheeks taking an odd flush with strands of hair sticking to his forehead in a damp mess. "Angel, are you okay?"
Cradling Taehyung in his arms, his worries sky-rocket at the reveal, "Oh god, you're burning, my baby."
Taehyung is ill and too far gone to communicate except to babble a few words in discomfort.
"Can you hear dada, angel? Give dada a sign you're with him, please?"
"D-dada." Taehyung snuggles in with a whimper, fisting at Jungkook's shirt crumpling under his grasp. From the body language only, Jungkook can tell the older had spent too much time away from his comfort person to his liking and doesn't even want to budge now.
He's in a deeper headspace than usual too, his poor angel.
Jungkook feebly attempts to lay his little on the bed, arranging the pillows as cozy as possible. But the latter clings onto him as if his life depends on it. If Jungkook tries to loosen the death grip around him even a little, his baby whines in discomfort, distressed tears pooling at the corners of his red-rimmed eyes.
Jungkook panics, "No no no angel, don't cry, dada will hold you okay. See? You can lay on me as you like so don't cry."
"It must hurt a lot, huh? But aren't you dada's good boy? Good boys don't cry Taetae." He places pecks of comfort all over the scalding skin as he lowers them both onto the sheets. Taehyung wordlessly wraps his legs around Jungkook's torso and cries onto the familiarity of his chest.
"Shh, baby doll, Dada's here. Let's try to get some sleep okay?" It's what Jungkook deems best, tugged at all the wrong strings of his heart by the devastating state of his lover. He rocks him back and forth, lulling him to sleep with his favorite song and pacifying circles rubbed onto the small of his back.
Finally, he watches with fond eyes as Taehyung's fall shut out of exhaustion, but doesn't stop his ministrations in case he's still awake. A few minutes pass by steadily with the younger breathing onto his chest, "Tete?" No answer.
He loosens the grip around him, dipping out of bed as he coos at how adorable his sleepy baby is before heading downstairs to prepare something to energize Taehyung. He needs to be well fed to take medicine, after all, he didn't know if the older got even one proper meal in since he left.
Taehyung isn't exactly fond of his medies, it's the contrary he'd go to lengths just to avoid, usually having his notorious pleading puppy eyes on or jutting his trembly lower lip out to gaslight Jungkook as if he's taking part in one of the cruelest crimes in history.
Yeah, it's hard.
With one warm spoonful of the soup he prepared after another, Jungkook had finally gotten his baby's tummy to be satisfied. Even when he's sick and miserable, Taehyung smiles sweetly and compliments the dish, eagerly lapping up the spoon leaving Jungkook's heart swelling with immeasurable fondness. Not only was he easily pacified but the searing state of his body reduced too, even though he still feels hot and bothered.
Jungkook peppers Taehyung's face with butterfly kisses all over, leaving a lively and smiley baby in his wake. A sigh of relief washes over him after hearing the content giggles of the older.
"Such a good baby boy, Taetae, Dada is very proud of you." Taehyung looks up bashfully with tinted cheeks huffed in a pout. "Pretty baby feels well enough to fish for compliments now, huh?" Jungkook chuckles, pecking the soft plump lips he always adores so much and earns a shy whine in return.
That was sweet, endearing even. But the next part?
"Soon you'll be good as new my baby, let's eat your medies to make the pain go away fast, okay?" Jungkook watches with bated breath, his words an abrupt but effective stopper to the melodious giggles of the little.
Oh no.
Yet Taehyung doesn't put any signs of rejection nor nuclear puppy eyes up, which Jungkook like the powerless man he is, is very thankful for.
"Angel, say ahh," Jungkook opens his mouth wide before the unamused stare of the little, "Come on, for Dada." He gets a spoonful of syrup according to the prescription of the little's doctor, but just as he approaches Taehyung, the younger swives his head and hides behind his stuffie with a whine.
Another string of seconds passes by, the cogwheels in Jungkook's head overheating for an idea to coerce, letting a smirk dance at his lips when he does get one, the little blissfully unaware of the gaze zeroing in on him between his dramatic acts of whimpering.
"Angel?" Jungkook sounds low and cheerless causing him to snap his glazed eyes up at the older, "If you don't have your medies, Berry and I will both be so sad." As of the last measure, he has an irresistible offer up his sleeves.
Jungkook peaks from the corners of his eyes at the little gasp, torn between tending to his dada and his Berry with teary eyes. "Bewwyy...D-dada...nuu." But then his eyes fall on the yucky-looking stuff quite unpalatable in Jungkook's hands, expression hardening in determination.
"Dada, baby wiw haf to pass." Tone sounding final, Taehyung gravely shakes his head.
Jungkook coos, loud and enamored at the sight, inching closer with an appeasing smile on his face. He already placed the spoon on a bowl he bought, letting the winning grin on Taehyung last a while longer before scooping him up onto his lap with his fluffy blankie.
"Nu medies anymore, pwease?" Jungkook is rudely attacked, completely wiped off his feet at the specialty of Taehyung's, when things don't exactly go his way; The Puppy Eyes.
NOT THE PUPPY EYES, JFC.
Jungkook gulps, widened eyes almost giving in at the lure, but no, he can't afford to throw the towel in this time.
"Oh no, pretty baby, Dada was gonna give you a big boy kissie after you had your medicine though." Where's his damn Oscar, the expectancy pouring from his eyes is REAL.
Taehyung's eyes deviate from devilishly tempting to an innocent sparkle, pupils dilating with a gloss at the mention of 'kiss'.
"KISSIES?!"
It's working. Jungkook ducks his head down, biting down on his lip to keep his smile at bay, nodding with a smile at the eager shift on his lap.
Taehyung must be taking in the 'oh no - too bad' expression on his face and appears as if shouldering the weight of the world over the temptation.
"Dada."
"Bun?"
"D-dada?"
"Yes, little one?"
"Koo?"
"Yes, my princess, what do you say?"
Little Taehyung flushes, nuzzling Jungkook's chest with sweater paws draped over his face in shyness, heart hammering against Jungkook's calming one. "Taking yucky medies." He mumbles.
"Hm, what did you say?" He's cocking one eyebrow when his little appears to be submitting, that's rare.
With a whiny huff Taehyung repeats louder, "WIW TAKE MEDIES." Unnecessarily clamorous leaving Jungkook to wince and recoil, but if he isn't delighted.
With a gentle hand, he wipes the tears pooled in Taehyung's eyes, "Let's get it over with then, angel."
Taehyung looks anywhere but the spoon, or Jungkook, brain cottony and begrudging over the situation that's clearly playing him dirty. He opens up for the medicine, eyes shut tight expecting the nastiness to impale his senses, but is somehow surprised when it tastes more like milk chocolate than what he had in the past.
With a winning smile, Jungkook concludes, "It's not as bad now, is it, bun? Added a bit of choco syrup so my baby won't hate it."
Taehyung looks betrayed and blanks about what to wrap his head around, "B-bad dada, why no tell? Give baby kissies now." He's demanding, and although Jungkook isn't the one up for attitude, he's once again helpless against the pout and the fact that the little is sick and needs more than a lot of affection to recover.
"Alright, sweet, come here." Jungkook gives in to the coy stare and Taehyung is more than happy; he keens in delight, lips morphing into a pout in silent request. Jungkook leans back onto the headboard with the little snug and warm on his lap, wrapped around in his favorite blankie. He holds the bread cheeks between his palms and leans in as Taehyung closes his eyes, though he's only treated to a string of kisses peppered around anywhere but his awaiting lips.
"Nu, why nu big boy kissie?" His lip wobbles, eyes watery in a frown when Jungkook has the audacity to chuckle. "Shh, my angel."
He finally covers the cherry lips of the older with his own, pulling him into a slow dance that leaves them both breathless and content in each other's embrace. Jungkook tangles through the hair at the back of his head, holding closer by Taehyung's nape to get more of him. It's incredible how their lips slot together like the missing pieces of a puzzle, no matter how much time they spent apart, they'll unite and find themselves kissing sloppily for hours on end, tangling in each other's limbs and humming into the contact.
If Taehyung was a cat, his tail might already be thumping against the sheets with a pleased purr towards Jungkook, never having enough of how the older holds him so precious and deserving.
They'd unknowingly switched between their kiss as Jungkook had his head laid comfortably on Taehyung, listening to the steady thrumming of his heart.
His baby seems to be recovering fast, only the flush remaining intact through the hours they spend idle, cuddling each other to heart's content.
"Koo, my baby? Thank you for taking such good care of me." It's a pleasant surprise when the deep velvety tone falls into Jungkook's hearing, lulling him into a melted puddle in state.
"Hyung, it's what I'm here for, am I not? To protect and care for you." Taehyung hums, fingers carding through Jungkook's hair. "And to give my deserving baby all the love in the world."
"Well aren't you a sweet-talker?" A chuckle blends into the background.
"Why didn't you inform me that you're feeling unwell? Was it when you were preparing to visit Yoonmin's?"
"Of course, you'd come running for me, won't you?" Jungkook nods onto his chest with fervor, earning a playful tug at his ear. "I didn't get to Koo, already was in little space and too much in pain. I could only hope you'd come home sooner."
"Tae." Jungkook whines, cradling the older into his arms in a hug. "I'm so sorry, angel, sorry I didn't come sooner. Why don't we head to Minnie's tomorrow? Till then cheer up, okay."
"I love you, Koo."
"Koo loves you too."
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