Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Carefully, Taehyung thoroughly checks that the sequins aren’t messed up on the costume he just finished. He turns the fabric over and over, the slide a bit rough on his fingers, tiny little flashes of color surrounding his work area as he twists the piece of clothing. Once he’s satisfied with his inspection, Taehyung proceeds to pack the garment into a sealed bag and moves on to the next thing.

The sound of the sewing machine reverberates in the otherwise quiet room until loud laughter is heard after a joke comes from whatever variety show Jimin is watching a few meters away. Taehyung doesn’t glance up, at least not until he’s packing another piece of clothing, his nose scrunched up in distaste.

“Aren’t capes a bit outdated?” He wonders out loud. Jimin doesn’t look his way until Taehyung speaks again. “Seriously, isn’t the whole cape deal a bit… stereotypical?”

Taehyung landed this gig thanks to Jimin. Something about the city’s latest thriving nightclub needing new costumes for their dancers and Taehyung needing to actually make a living out of making clothes.

He wasn’t a starving artist, per se, but juggling occasional designing gigs on top of a day job he despised wasn’t exactly what he pictured his life to be when he decided to go to fashion school. Truthfully, he should’ve expected it when his parents agreed to support him the way you agreed to support your friend who’s back with their nasty ex for the millionth time: out of resignation rather than actual encouragement. Still, they were happy and proud of him once he graduated. Now, Taehyung spares them with terrible details and just opts for drowning their questions with his creations and avoiding any extra information.

“To be honest, I think capes are awesome.” Jimin finally responds after swallowing the bite of noodles he’d shoved in his mouth before the designer’s soliloquy. He’s sitting on the couch, right across from his workspace.

Taehyung’s apartment is a rather small one-bedroom, comfortable square layout with a mixture of old and new furniture that demonstrates the duality of his personality. If you walk straight from the front door, the living room appears in all its glory: a compact space with a plush brown couch, a love seat in the same color combination, and a mismatched modern chair that breaks the pattern of earth tones and cream hues in the living room, the black color of its leather stark against everything else.

In front of the couch, a flat-screen TV is placed on the wall with a small coffee table in the middle of the setup. Then, you find his designing area: a huge desk where his sewing machine sits, a tower of metal drawers where he keeps most of his implements, a clothing rack, and a few mannequins –a full-body one and then just a torso lined up perfectly–, their shapes standing in the middle of the huge window that’s in one of the apartment walls. If you were to stand on the farthest wall, you could see the entire layout of the room, thus, whenever there are people over, Taehyung can easily keep them entertained as he works on his pieces.

“Of course, you would think capes are awesome.” Taehyung rolls his eyes, but he means no harm by it. If anything, the action is just backed up by the weight of knowing someone like the back of your hand and knowing what their answer would be before they even spoke.

Jimin squints his eyes at him, “Don’t be rude.”

Taehyung chuckles. “But for real, Chim, don’t you think the whole cape in a nightclub while being a—” There’s a brief pause as he considers his words. Finally, as he turns to his left to look at his best friend’s concentrated profile, he concedes, “Vampire, is too on the nose?”

Jimin turns to his right, looking straight at Taehyung, and quirks a curious brow at his pause but he doesn’t point it out. “I’m sure it’s just part of the show. Besides, it’s only for one of the costumes. I’d agree if every dancer had asked for one.”

Oh… Yes. Vampires are a thing. Not in the quirky, exaggerated, fantastical way we’re used to seeing in media, but more like supernatural beings walk among them living normal lives the way humans do.

Taehyung recalls the vampire speech in his house as more uncomfortable than The Talk. Naturally, he’d been curious: How many of his classmates could be vampires? Or something else? He remembers thinking that Hyunshik from his drama class was a bit odd. He never ate anything and always looked a bit ghoulish – but that could easily have been something else. 

Out of the two, Jimin was way more well-versed when it came to supernatural creatures because he rubbed elbows with many of them since they were teens. That’s how he got to know the club Taehyung’s preparing costumes for and how he’s been sitting with him through this entire creative process.

Truth be told, once Taehyung found out about vampires, he turned to the internet and all the forms of media available as part of his investigation. However, there wasn’t a lot of useful information back then, and looking at Edward’s stank face as he watched Bella walk into the classroom wasn’t exactly enlightening. 

Sure, he’d been curious, and he did learn a few important differences: vampires couldn’t get turned unless they were over 18 –a moral code of sorts–, and most of them could walk in the sun for short periods. 

Other than that, Taehyung was never curious enough to ask Jimin or to interact with a vampire in search of answers – and while knowledge is power, ignorance is bliss. 

Taehyung liked to enjoy as many blissful moments as he could manage.

Especially when his parents grilled him daily about his life choices and when he wanted to take a pair of scissors to his eyes and gauge them out every time he had to listen to another complaint from someone who wasn’t happy with whatever service they had paid for. He truly had no time to play Interview with the Vampire, as intrigued as he was over the creatures.

Taehyung stares at Jimin blankly as he finishes following his train of thought. Then, he shakes his head and gets back to sewing. Jimin just laughs, turning his attention back to his show and meal. After a few minutes, Taehyung’s sewing halts and he’s back to shooting his inner dialogue at Jimin. 

“What if the cape gets caught on the pole? Haven’t you thought about the physics of the entire thing?” A strange mixture of wonderment and worry crosses Taehyung’s features as he gazes over at Jimin while visualizing the situation in his mind’s eye, his hands tightly gripping the piece of silk he’s working on.

“Tae… They probably just wear it at the beginning and then take it off before they get on the pole.” Jimin sets the empty noodle container on the small table before him and leans over the couch’s armrest, his attention entirely on Taehyung. “Why are you so worried about,” He air quotes, “The physics of the entire thing?”

Taehyung widens his eyes in shock, gasping a bit dramatically. “Did you not watch The Incredibles? Capes are truly a shit idea.” 

Jimin is about to respond when Taehyung raises a single finger to quiet him down before continuing, “Besides… I’m a worrier. I’m not only thinking about getting these costumes right, but I’m also thinking about the way they’ll look on everyone and how the whole picture will translate once they’re actually on stage using them.”

Jimin just purses his lips and hums, the ping of his phone distracting him from Taehyung’s impending crisis. “Hobi has the rest of the fabrics you need,” Jimin pauses as he reads and types something, “He says he’s dropping them off in a few.” 

Hobi, legally Jung Hoseok, was Jimin’s unofficial boyfriend and one of Taehyung’s closest friends. They had met back in college –through Jimin, of course– and it only took a bright smile paired up with some introductory dessert for Taehyung to understand why his best friend insisted on keeping him around.

“A few…?”

“I’m assuming minutes or hours. But you know Hobi. With him ti—”

“—Time is relative, yes.” Taehyung finishes. “As long as he gets here today, everything should be good. My finishing touches depend on his concept of time being more in tune with mine.”

They stare at each other for a solid minute, unspoken communication zinging between them. Taehyung’s the one to break away from their impromptu staring contest, muttering something about “Edna Mode being so right” as he gets back to sewing, leaving Jimin with an amused grin on his face before he turns his attention back to the show he's been watching.

Hoseok downs the remnant of his beer as he caresses Jimin’s hair. Jimin, who’s now lying on Taehyung’s couch with his head on Hoseok's lap as he scrolls through his social media, makes a point of showing them –or in Taehyung’s case, describing– whatever funny or cute thing he encounters.

“I’m telling you, the store was insane! There were so many types of fabric.” Hoseok trails off for a brief second, then snaps out of his daydream, “I was so distracted. That’s why I took so long to get here.”

Taehyung doesn’t look up from his sewing machine, his features visibly more exhausted than earlier. Before him, random scraps of different fabrics are scattered both on the table and the floor. Still, for someone who’s been probably sewing for a solid 12 hours, his workspace is oddly organized. There are already packed and sealed bags with most of the costumes lined up before him.

“So it was basically like a field trip.” Jimin supplies, bringing his phone to his chest to look up at Hoseok.

“Something like that.” He taps his chin, “Maybe I should go to fashion school too! It would be so cool, wouldn’t it?” Wide eyes flicker between Jimin and Taehyung, who can’t help but smile lightly at his excitement. Sometimes, he wonders if Hoseok's nothing more than the reincarnation of a puppy.

“It’s cool until you’re wondering why you accepted a sudden job that has you sewing like ten million capes. What is this? A superhero musical?”

After hours of sitting down, Taehyung’s admittedly grumbly. If it weren’t for Jimin, he would’ve starved, not gone to the bathroom at all, and simply, just fused with the chair. “I need a hero! I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night!” He sings under his breath, not minding the fact that he’s literally in the middle of a conversation with his friends.

Jimin rolls his eyes as he sits up next to Hoseok. “He’s been going on about the capes for hours. Wanna know how many capes he’s sewn? One.”

Hoseok looks back to Taehyung, judgment etched in his features. “One?” He repeats, raising his index finger towards Taehyung. “I think one cape can’t hurt, Tae. I think you should just get up and walk it off. You’re about to finish anyway.”

There’s a pause as the sewing machine stops. Taehyung fixes the needle and the thread and when he’s done, he presses down on the small black pedal making the machine start for the hundredth time that day. He doesn’t look up until he’s content with the result.

“You’ve clearly never paid attention to Miss Edna Mode and that just shows you’re people with terrible taste.” Taehyung meticulously folds the pants and places them inside their respective bag. Looking at his station, he lets out a long sigh as he adjusts on his seat, back cracking noisily, prompting loud laughter from his friends.

“Are you done?” Jimin inquires once his laughter has died down.

“With life? Yes.” Jimin gives him a look and Taehyung raises his hands in surrender. “Yes, I’ve finished everything - but I don’t have to drop it off until Friday.”

“So you’re telling me you’ve been stressing over something that you have to deliver in…” Hoseok looks down at his smartwatch, “Three more days?” His tone mirrors Jimin’s incredulous gaze.

“You both seriously didn’t think I was going to wait until the last minute to do this, right?” Now it’s Taehyung’s turn to look incredulous.

“I mean… I don’t know. You could’ve left the finishing touches for tomorrow, at least.” Hoseok gets up from the couch and stretches. It reminds Taehyung that he should probably do the same, so he does. 

“Nope. I will use these three days to stress about the costumes not being good enough until it’s time to drop them off and someone confirms my suspicions or tells me otherwise.” Taehyung proudly places his hands on his hips.

Hoseok snorts as he makes his way to the bathroom.

Jimin sighs and begins cleaning up the evidence he left while he served his purpose as Taehyung’s loyal companion throughout the day. He picks up the empty beer cans and snack envelopes that had started to pile up on the coffee table, then heads to the kitchen to throw them out.

Meanwhile, Taehyung busies himself with picking up his workstation. He stacks everything up, placing the leftover scraps of fabric in a special plastic container after folding most of them. He’s organizing the rest of his implements when he realizes how drained he is. Nothing that a glass of wine, a little nicotine hit, and perhaps some painkillers couldn’t solve.

His attention switches from the task at hand in favor of a quick trip to the kitchen where Jimin and Hoseok have decided to reunite. They’re muttering something to each other that Taehyung can’t quite make out, mostly because he’s ignoring them as hard as he can.

It’s not until he’s reaching for a glass in the cabinet and they’re about to kiss, that Taehyung speaks up. “Ugh, get a room.” He mutters in mock disgust, nose scrunched up before his endeared smile betrays him.

Both Jimin and Hoseok roll their eyes, but it’s all good-natured. “We’re just talking.” Jimin tilts his head and smirks, an inconspicuous little thing. “Maybe it’s just time for you to get fucked.”  

Offended, Taehyung throws him one of his kitchen towels. Instead of getting to Jimin, it hits Hoseok’s arm and then flops depressingly to the floor. Both Jimin and Hoseok snicker. 

“With that much of a terrible aim, it’s no wonder why he can’t get some.” Hoseok jokes, which prompts an annoyed scoff from Taehyung who’s finished pouring himself a glass of red wine and is carefully placing the bottle on the counter.

“Do any of you want some?” He opts for a change of topic before his friends gang up on him and start nagging him about his romantic life – or lack thereof.

Hoseok shakes his head no, while Jimin ponders the question briefly.

“Actually, I think we should leave.”

“Wow… Are you that tired of me?” Taehyung jokes as Jimin saunters over to him.

“Never! But you look like you could use a shower and some sleep.” He hugs Taehyung tightly and then beckons Hoseok, who’s quicker with his goodbye.

“We’ll see ourselves out.” They’re nearly out of the kitchen when Jimin points a finger at the fashion designer. “Rest. Text me if you need anything.”

Taehyung sips on his wine, waving his hand dismissively at Jimin’s concerns. Hoseok shoots him another lively goodbye and it’s not until he hears the door shut, that he allows himself to sag his shoulders and sigh in exhaustion. Taking the bottle and the glass with him, he walks straight to his room. When he arrives, he places them on his bedside table, where his electronic cigarette waits for him.

Tired shaky hands take hold of the purple device, a long drag stolen from it before he reaches for the glass once more, taking a swig and then placing it back on the table. Taehyung takes another drag out of the e-cig and feels relaxed. Reaching for his phone, he opens Spotify and taps on a jazzy playlist, the tune covering up the solitude that engulfed the space once his friends had left.

A cloud of berry-scented smoke envelops him and suddenly, he’s tempted to grab his fashion journal, the one he uses for annotating random ideas, his next creations or just to write down the results of his consultations with clients.

Palming the bedside table for the smooth feel of the leather cover, he finally bumps his hand against the little journal and grabs it. Doing a quick survey of his latest notes and designs, Taehyung stops when he gets to the sketch of one of the dancers he’d seen on his first visit to the club. 

The drawing is a messy illustration of a strong and muscular figure that somehow manages to look enticing and delicate at the same time, the arch of its back against the floor offering an interesting display of curves.

Taehyung recalls the scene and shivers at the thought of those dark, penetrating eyes staring back at him as he worked his pencil while pretending to listen to what the club owner had to say. Almost spellbound, he traces the drawing with his finger until he catches some nearly unintelligible scribbling at the bottom of the page.

Squinting his eyes, he reaches toward his bedside table once more, this time to get his reading glasses in an attempt to decode whatever it was that he wrote down on the page. When Taehyung finally understands his writing, he scoffs, a disbelieving burst of laughter erupting from his lips. The text reads: “JK. Gorgeous guy but wants a cape. Wtf? ”

The designer can only stare at his journal, both the glass of wine and the cigarette ignored at the reminder of his earlier torment. Cape guy. As he fusses, the journal sliding off his lap, Billie Holiday’s voice booms through his speakers “You go to my head, like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew…” 

Taehyung would make sure to let Cape Guy have a piece of his mind on Friday. 

“Baby Star Candyyyy.” A voice echoes in the dressing room, where the dancers are getting ready for each of their acts. Everyone bursts into laughter, except for a pale, dark-haired dancer, who’s carefully applying glitter eyeliner as he pushes his wavy locks out of his face. 

Once he’s done with his trace, he pulls away from the mirror, an equally amused yet annoyed expression on his features as he laughs softly.

“It’s JK now.” Baby Star Candy or, JK now, reminds the tall man that’s currently looming behind him. 

They exchange glances through the reflection of the mirror and the man smiles, a beautiful dimpled thing. “Right. But nothing will ever top Baby Star Candy. Patrons still call you that, you know?”

“I’m sure that’ll change after my new act.” His tone is serious and confident, but the glint in his eyes betrays him. It earns him a shoulder squeeze from the other man’s strong manicured hand. 

“Surely. The designer is coming today to get everyone’s measurements and work through any details left on the costumes.” The silver-haired man is about to say something else when another voice booms through the dressing room.

“Namjoon-ah. Someone’s here asking for you.” Another dark-suit-clad man with a handsome face pops up. He fixes his carefully styled dark hair and the dimpled man, Namjoon, drops his hand from JK's shoulder, his attention turning to the man that just entered. 

“Hyung. Is it Mr. Kim?” 

Hyung looks away from his reflection, directly at Namjoon. “I think so. He said he’s here because of Jimin.”

Glittery adorned eyes light up at the mention of Jimin’s name and JK’s about to say something but he abstains.

“Then it is him.” Namjoon glances back at the dancer sitting in front of him, once again through the reflection in the mirror. “The new makeup style is looking great, Jungkook! Please be ready to get your measurements done once you get called.” A pat on Jungkook’s shoulder and he’s off behind hyung.

“Thank you, Namjoon-hyung. See you around, Seokjin-hyung!” Jungkook smiles, a dashing little thing as he follows Namjoon’s movement through the mirrors while he walks away.

Namjoon’s arm wraps around Seokjin’s shoulders, the latter giving Jungkook one last glance, a mischievous aura to him before he's whooping a “Baby Star Candyyyy!” that prompts a chuckle from Jungkook and Namjoon alike.

Taehyung isn’t exactly lost.

He sort of knows where he’s going but the feel of the club before working hours threw him off a little. He’d announced himself at the door and he was sure that either Namjoon or Seokjin would find him sooner or later, but he couldn’t sit still. Not only that, but he wanted to know if everyone liked their costumes. It was dangerously close to opening hours, which meant that if there was anything off-kilter, he’d have to make do with his travel sewing kit or just look at his arduous work crash and burn before his eyes.

His stomach churns in anticipation as he stares at the dimly lit stage when suddenly, a flash of color brightens up the scene, leading up to several sudden combinations of different hues and light configurations. 

He fixes the strap of his tote bag on his shoulder, a little in awe of the whole set-up. There’s something almost eerie about being in a space that’s usually packed and loud when it’s being prepared like this. Truthfully, he feels a little out of place as he looks around, but at the same time, he marvels at the contrast between the first day he’d been here and now.

For a second, he also feels a little like Christina Aguilera’s Ali when she first visits the burlesque club. Then, he wonders if the way RUBY works is similar, even if it’s not a club of that kind. The big bold red letters on the sign outside clearly indicate that this club is anything but that.

A sultry sound thrums through the club’s speakers but it’s cut shortly before he can guess the song. Taehyung’s about to continue his exploration of the premises when a melodious voice snaps him out of his reverie. 

“Are you lost?” Taehyung jumps, gripping the strap of his bag tighter as he whips around toward the source of the voice. Once he finds it, his eyes widen briefly in recognition. Cape Guy.

Cape Guy who’s dressed in a sheer black shirt with some dark accents that mesh with the intricate designs on the skin of his right arm and some comfortable-looking slacks finished off with a pair of combat boots that would look unbecoming on anyone else. His medium-length dark hair is parted in the middle and falls effortlessly into soft waves. The glittery makeup certainly ties the look together. A silver lip ring on the right side of his mouth sparkles under the club’s lighting.

Cape Guy, who looks absolutely delicious.

Taehyung would let himself run that course if only Cape Guy wasn’t the subject of Taehyung’s latest cavillations.

“Not really.” Taehyung's tone is pointed, as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other, “I was just waiting for Namjoon or Seokjin. They said they’d meet me in five minutes but it has been like twenty at this point and I was getting tired of sitting down.”

Cape Guy, or JK, is staring at him with his arms crossed, his eyes shining under the club’s lighting. 

“Wasn’t your hair blue the last time I saw you?”

The question earns Taehyung a hearty laugh from JK, whose arms drop to his sides. 

“So you remember me, huh?” JK smirks, his tone cheeky, “Semi-permanent dye. I just sprayed on the color. It washes off after a while.” 

Taehyung hums in acknowledgment, eyes squinting as he remembers the cape. “Of course I remember you. You’re the only one who asked for a cape.”

JK is a bit thrown away by the sudden outburst, so his tone comes out puzzled, “What about the cape?”

Taehyung scoffs, “Did you not watch The Incredibles?” 

JK’s expression is confused but a few seconds later, his eyes light up in cognizance and he laughs once again. “Are you seriously going to go all Edna Mode on me?”

Now it’s Taehyung’s turn to look a bit surprised as he’s made aware of how ridiculous the whole thing is.

“I mean… no. Well, I should! But I just—”  JK looks delighted, as he waits for Taehyung to find his words, a quirked brow pushing him to continue, “I honestly think it’s a bit stereotypical and ridiculous.”

JK stares at Taehyung blankly before his brows furrow ever so slightly as if he’s trying to decipher Taehyung’s thought process. “Ah,” A toothy grin erupts on his features when he finally understands, “Because we’re vampires.”

Taehyung should be pleased that the dancer understands but instead, his attitude annoys him just the slightest. “ Obviously.”

JK laughs softly. “It’s just for the opening part of my number. Not really practical if you have to get on a pole.”

Taehyung’s a bit surprised at JK’s reasoning and to be fair, it makes him more attractive. The realization leaves Taehyung even grumpier over the entire ordeal. The exchange also has him feeling a little sweaty in his linen outfit and he wonders why the fuck everything feels scorching if the club’s temperature is far from that.

“Anyway!” The vampire claps, hands going into the pockets of his pants right after. “Did someone offer you something to drink, at least? Or have you already helped yourself to it?”

Taehyung furrows his brows.

“You know since you’re walking around the place like you own it.”

It’s a joke. It has to be. And yet, Taehyung is irked. 

“I’m just messing with you…” JK trails off as if waiting for something. Taehyung realizes that JK probably doesn’t remember his name.

“Taehyung and no. No one has offered me something to drink… and I’m not walking the place as if I own it.” He finishes, his mocking tone laced with irritation. 

JK chuckles, extending his hand for Taehyung to shake, “Jungkook. Pleasure to meet you.” 

Taehyung scoffs and looks at his hand like it’s radioactive. Jungkook raises a brow.

“As I said, I was joking. Don’t get all worked up, Taehyung.”

The way his name rolls off Jungkook’s tongue makes him feel some type of way he can’t quite place yet. Taehyung curses himself for being attracted to fucking… Cape Guy, out of all people. But who wouldn’t be attracted to him when he looks like that?

Forcing himself to snap out of that thought process, Taehyung shakes his hand and is about to rebut, when he notices how cold Jungkook’s hand is, which leads him to think about that Twilight scene where Bella confronts Edward about being a vampire.

Lost in his thoughts, Taehyung is still holding the hand of an even more diverted Jungkook, who’s just staring back at him as he waits. Finally, Taehyung comes to his senses and he clears his throat while dropping Jungkook’s hand.

Jungkook pauses, considering something, and then settles for beckoning Taehyung to come along. However, Taehyung’s thoughts are still on Bella saying “You're impossibly fast, and strong. Your skin is pale white and ice cold...” He forces himself to ignore his mental replay of the entire Twilight Saga and simply follows Jungkook.  

As they make their way around the club, Taehyung idly wonders where everyone is. He’s sure other dancers are probably around, which leads him to ponder if everyone employed in the club is a vampire. That’s what he’s heard, at least. Then, he considers the fact that he’s basically a walking (un)happy meal and he shivers at the realization.

Jungkook stops in his tracks to look back at him, a curious look on his face. What if he can read minds? Do vampires have superpowers? Bella Swan’s voice rings in his head again. “I know what you are.” 

Taehyung is giving himself a headache with all the overthinking he’s doing. Jungkook probably perceives it, because he snorts. 

“Are you okay?” The vampire inquires.

Taehyung takes notice of the fact that they’re in the middle of a corridor. Oh. So this is how he dies.

“Yeah. Great. Just dandy. Why?” His tone is, at least, an octave higher, making Jungkook laugh freely this time.

“No one is going to eat you, Taehyung. At least not unless you want to,” His tone is devilish and something in Taehyung tightens. “Every single interaction of that kind has to be consented to. Besides, we feed regularly to avoid any predicaments of that variety.” A tense silence stretches before them and Jungkook raises a perfectly plucked brow questioningly. “Hasn’t Jimin talked to you about this?”

Taehyung is confused. He stares at Jungkook long and hard before probing, “Jimin-ah? Why would he talk to me about this? Do you know him?”

Jungkook’s entire demeanor changes and he just smiles politely at Taehyung. “Yeah. We’re acquainted. I don’t think this is my story to tell, though. Just… Don’t worry about becoming someone’s dinner.” Jungkook’s about to start walking again, when he adds, “And no, I can’t read minds.” Taehyung’s chocolate hues widen in stupefaction. “But I am wonderful at reading people’s body language and you look like you’re about to bolt out of here at any second.”

With that, their little intermission on the corridor is over and Jungkook ambles out of it, with a slightly shaken Taehyung at his tail. 

They reach a different area of the club, the one he assumes is where patrons who are looking for a quieter arrangement prefer.

Just like the rest of the club, the decoration remains minimalist albeit a bit sterile looking, at least under this light. There’s the occasional burgundy velvet accent here and there and Taehyung must admit that it’s a nice place. A lot far from the medieval dungeon he was expecting the first time he had come here.

A well-stocked bar becomes visible, where an ivory-skinned man with a tuft of caramel-colored hair and a scar on his left eye is chatting with a leggy, exotic-looking brunette. 

“Yoongi-hyung!” Jungkook salutes, a flirty smile directed at the woman on their side of the bar. “Lex.” 

Lex flips her long dark hair as she turns to look at them and giggles in delight, smiling at Jungkook. “Hi JK.” 

Yoongi chuckles at the interaction and greets Jungkook with a strange handshake that flies over Taehyung’s head, who is now getting stared at by the others.

“This is Taehyung. The designer in charge of the new costumes.” He gestures back at a stiff Taehyung. “Taehyung, this is Min Yoongi, another one of the owners, and this is Lex. She works here.”

Taehyung bows in greeting, his gaze bouncing between Lex and Yoongi, whom he addresses, “We couldn’t meet last time. It’s nice to meet you both.”

Yoongi nods, reaching for a liquor bottle as he scans Taehyung. “Likewise, Taehyung. I’ve heard very good things about you and your work.” Taehyung flushes and notices Jungkook holding back a smile. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Taehyung’s about to respond when it dawns on him. Why is the owner making drinks? Is he also a bartender? Are they short-staffed? Then, he considers how much of an open book he has become, because both Yoongi and Jungkook snicker, and Lex covers her mouth with her hand as she laughs softly. 

“I get bored easily, so I tend to try my hand at different things around the club,” Yoongi explains.

Taehyung’s starting to question if Jungkook was being honest with him, because how did all of them know exactly what he was thinking? Weird. Still, he nods out of politeness.

“Except dancing, of course. Leave that to Baby Star Candy.” The owner smirks, earning a loud laugh from Lex and an eye-roll from Jungkook. 

“Baby Star Candy?” Taehyung repeats, raising a brow at Jungkook who merely nods. 

“My old stage name.” 

“Ah…” Taehyung mirrors the vampire’s nod before turning back to Yoongi. “Actually, I would just like sparkling water with a bit of lime.”

Yoongi nods, an inquiring glance shot Jungkook’s way. He shakes his head, which makes Yoongi walk away from them to fetch Taehyung’s drink. 

“Do you guys— Can you drink alcohol?” Taehyung asks, a bit ashamed of his naive curiosity.

“We can consume human food and drinks, but not for nourishment.” Jungkook answers naturally, almost as if he were waiting for Taehyung’s question. It makes him wonder how many people have questioned Jungkook about vampire stuff.

Taehyung's about to ask Jungkook something else when Yoongi’s back with his water exceptionally fast. He opts for shooting the owner a quick thanks, downing half of the glass in one go despite the drink’s carbonation. The action earns him a taunting look from Jungkook, which Taehyung ignores.

“Seokjin and Namjoon should be on their way here,” Yoongi announces. “But they did tell me that you could just approach the dancers without needing them to be around.”

“After all, we're the ones who are going to wear the costumes.” Jungkook pipes up, shrugging his shoulders. 

Taehyung places his sparkling water on the counter. “Would that be okay?” 

Yoongi nods, looking at Jungkook. “Sure. Looks like you’ve got yourself a guide already.”

For someone who was incredibly brash just minutes ago, Jungkook looks down, a bashful smile emblazoned on his gorgeous features. Taehyung makes a point not to stare too much and instead nods politely toward Yoongi and Lex. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

Yoongi just nods, dark brown eyes fixed on Taehyung’s face. It all becomes a bit too much and the designer is momentarily glad that Jungkook has managed to get a good read on him in such a short amount of time because he excuses himself and nudges Taehyung in a different direction.

“Thank you.” Taehyung finally manages, after they’ve made their way back to their starting point.

“No problem. Yoongi-hyung’s presence is a bit intense.” A pause. “I guess that’s his superpower.”

Taehyung catches on and is grateful for the dancer’s attempt at turning the mood around. “Ah. So you do have superpowers.”

Jungkook smiles a toothy grin that allows Taehyung a peek at his pearly white canines. His mind instantly goes to the gutter, making his stomach coil and Taehyung suddenly feels a bit heady but catches himself fast enough to not let Jungkook notice. 

“I wouldn’t call them superpowers. They’re more like abilities.” Jungkook shrugs. “To be completely honest with you, I don’t think they have anything to do with vampirism. They’re just another personality trait.”

“I see.”

After that, they walk in silence around the club, until they reach what Taehyung surmises are the dressing rooms. They’re about to enter when a phone rings. It’s not his phone, so Taehyung looks at the vampire, who pulls out his phone and holds out his hand toward him.

“Give me a second, please.” Jungkook picks up the phone, talking lowly into it as he walks away, leaving Taehyung in front of the door of a changing room with Lord knows how many vampires. Unsure of what to do, he opts for fretfully surveying his surroundings until Jungkook comes back. 

“Excuse me, Taehyung. I have to go—” Taehyung’s mouth opens but Jungkook continues, “You’ll be fine! Please ask one of the dancers where my spot is and leave the costume there.” The designer is about to protest when Jungkook gets close to him, a reassuring hand squeezing Taehyung’s shoulder.

“Namjoon said the show has been moved. It’s actually in two weeks, so any modifications should be done to the costumes, you can get them done in the following days. He’s also paying double for the inconvenience.” 

“But what if there’s something wrong with your costume?” Taehyung lets out as Jungkook starts backing away from him. 

“I’ll call you if there’s something wrong! Good luck!” Jungkook waves and rushes across the establishment, leaving Taehyung perplexed and even more anxious than before.

“You don’t even have my number!” Taehyung shouts, but Jungkook is already out of his sight. Fucking Cape Guy. He takes a deep breath before turning around and knocking on the door.

“And he just left me there! Standing in the middle of the fucking club. I was about to become a vampire’s snack!” Taehyung gestures wildly as he walks around his living room, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder.

On the other end of the call, Jimin laughs, good-naturedly. “That’s Jungkook for you.”

“Ugh! He irritates me.” Taehyung thinks back on how hot he looked and how good he smelled and he swoons quietly for a brief second before complaining again. “At one point I thought I was going to die.”

Jimin starts saying something that Taehyung can’t quite make out because his mind flashes a particular piece of information that his best friend decided to keep from him. “Wait… Jungkook said you knew each other and you sound like you’re well acquainted with him.” His tone is accusatory. “Why didn’t you mention that?”

Jimin’s quiet and Taehyung has to look at his phone’s screen to make sure they’re still connected. “Um… Well…” 

Taehyung sits down on his couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table. “Well?”

“So. There are two key parts to this story. The first one is that Jungkook and I sort of had an — arrangement.” Taehyung remains quiet and Jimin continues. “The other part of the story is that I applied to be a dancer at RUBY a while ago but didn’t get accepted.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes, glad Jimin isn’t there to see him. “Why didn’t you tell me, then?”

“I just didn’t think it was that important.” 

“Hm.” Taehyung digs his vape out of his pocket and takes a drag. “Are you still seeing Jungkook?”

Jimin snorts. “Oh, no. None of that, honey. It was just a brief little entanglement and then it was done.” A beat. “We’re good friends.” Taehyung smokes. “ Do you want me to put in a word for you? ” Taehyung coughs. He can see Jimin smirking and wiggling his brows in his mind’s eye. 

“God, no. I could never. He’s hot, yeah, but he’s also quite fucking annoying.”

“Never say never~” Jimin sings and Taehyung has never wanted to climb inside a phone and strangle someone the way he does right now. “Maybe this is your enemies-to-lovers arc.”

Taehyung laughs loudly, yelling, “Byeeee!” before hanging up the phone. Maybe he should get himself a new best friend.

Hours later, Taehyung has strolled all around his apartment, a thin, open laptop in one hand, sketchbook, and phone in the other. He’s about to make his way over to yet another surface when he feels the weight of his vape pen grazing the skin of his thigh, followed by the soft feeling of the silky pocket of his pants. Maybe he should smoke some more. While he considers doing so, he checks an email he received from Namjoon with some requests for the costumes and other garments that were more of a personal request rather than part of their initial agreement. Either way, work was work and he was getting paid damn good money for it.  

Luckily, most of the dancers were satisfied with their clothes, and the consensus that day was that they were excited to show their customers their new numbers with the new clothing and so on. The initial apprehension he had felt upon being left alone in a room full of vampires quickly subsided. Behind those doors, he had found a mixed crowd of people, both vampires and humans alike, who had welcomed him and talked his ear off about everything under the sun as he fixed a couple of details here and there.

Still, Taehyung couldn’t help but let his mind wander over to Jungkook, the tour around the club, and the fact that he hadn’t gotten any kind of feedback from the vampire, which made Taehyung assume that everything had gone well with Jungkook’s costume.

Taehyung finally settles on a trip to the kitchen for a late-night snack and ponders if he should indulge in a little red wine before bed. He’s ditched his things on the kitchen counter and is scouring through his cabinets in search of some gummy candy when his phone pings.

He walks over to it, a bag of opened gummy bears in one of his hands as he taps on his phone screen. Looking at the clock signal that it’s nearly 2:30 AM, his eyes bulge out in surprise. When did 2 AM arrive? Then, Taehyung trails his gaze down to his notifications, a rogue text message from an unsaved number materializing before him.

Unknown

good evening

Taehyung furrows his brows as he stares at the message. He doesn’t remember giving his number to anyone recently besides Namjoon, who’s the last person he can recall from the top of his head. However, he has Taehyung’s contact number saved. Taehyung doubts that after having emailed him with some new requests, Namjoon will randomly text him from an unknown number. 

Taehyung

Who’s this?

He receives two image attachments: The first one is a still of Edna Mode looking through her security camera. The second is a picture of Hotel Transylvania’s Dracula.

Taehyung is about to snort at how ridiculous the whole exchange is turning out to be when he realizes who could possibly be texting. He instantly frowns.

Taehyung

Jungkook?

Unknown

the one and only

you guessed that too fast

Taehyung’s cheeks go warm but he doesn’t dignify his comment with an answer. Instead, he types out an obstinate reply.

Taehyung

Who gave you my number?

The three little dots that indicate that Jungkook is replying pop up almost immediately and Taehyung decides that a glass of wine isn’t such a bad idea. He’ll need it if he has to deal with Cape Guy at this ungodly hour. Taehyung drops the bag of gummy bears next to the rest of his things on the kitchen counter as he helps himself to some wine.

A ping.

Another one.

A third ping.

Before the fourth, Taehyung is already trailing back to the place where he’d left his phone.

Unknown

wow

i don’t even get a greeting

i see how it is

btw who even capitalizes their first letters anymore

Rolling his eyes, Taehyung takes a huge sip of the drink –basically a chug, by his standards– and grabs his phone from the counter, typing furiously.

Taehyung

Um, I do?

It’s called having proper grammar

Maybe you should try to do the same

Why are you texting me?

Jungkook

ok rude

my grammar’s just fine

my costume didn’t fit

Taehyung scowls, this time setting down his glass as he leans against the cold marble countertop.

Taehyung

What do you mean it didn’t fit?

I used your measurements

Jungkook

haha, i work out 😜

Taehyung can’t help but think about Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO which makes him snort and then huff in annoyance. He’s supposed to be pissed off!

Taehyung

Are you quoting an LMFAO song?

You couldn’t have possibly bulked up in A WEEK

Jungkook

hm we’ve got ourselves a pop culture connoisseur 

it’s very possible and it happened

i need you to come fix it before the show

Taehyung is glowering at this point, angrily downing the rest of his wine, a single burgundy droplet running down the corner of his lips. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and gets back to the text thread with Jungkook.

Taehyung

I have other work to do

Does Thursday night work for you?

Sighing, Taehyung grabs the bag of gummy bears and his empty glass. He places the candy back on the cabinet and is about to start washing his glass, even though he wants another drink. He’s just not sure that drinking more alcohol while texting Jungkook is a good idea. His phone pings again, making him turn his entire attention back to the device. 

Jungkook 

aw, are you asking me out on a date?

Taehyung is genuinely about to insult Jungkook when another message comes through.

Jungkook

jk!! i can feel you fuming through the phone

it works for me 😊

Taehyung huffs as he types a quick, dry message, even when his face is feeling a little hot. Of course, he blames it on the alcohol and totally not on the fact that he’s trying so hard not to smile at the prospect of seeing Jungkook again in a couple of days. That, and the fact that they’d seemingly created an inside joke, albeit accidentally.

Taehyung

Ok, see you on Thursday

Before another message can get through to Taehyung, he turns off his phone and continues with his nightly routine, picking up his things from the kitchen and heading to the comfort of his room.

If he’s still trying not to smile when he recalls the Edna Mode picture sitting on his ridiculous text thread with Jungkook while tucking himself snugly into his bed, then that’s no one's business but his own. 

Taehyung’s week unfolds unremarkably. When he’s not at work listening to people complain, he’s at home working on Namjoon’s order. He had someone deliver the remaining costumes to the dancers that needed some minor adjustments. Luckily, everyone was gracious enough to let him know during his last visit to the club, so there wasn’t a lot to fix.

Still, Jungkook’s texts weighed heavily on his mind –and his phone notifications–. They hadn’t texted again, beyond a confirmation that they’d be meeting later. Taehyung didn’t give himself the chance to actually think about the entire thing because his stomach did weird somersaults that had him considering a visit to his gastroenterologist. 

Once he’s done with most of his tasks for the day, Taehyung takes a quick shower and throws on a pair of brown pants, a cream-colored knit sweater, and a pair of moccasins. Then, he messily blow-dries his hair and applies some moisturizer and a bit of concealer to hide the fact that he hasn’t been sleeping properly, for a wide variety of reasons –some more embarrassing than others–. Finally, he picks up a travel sewing kit, his wallet, vape, and sketchbook,  and throws everything in his tote bag.

As Taehyung waits for his taxi to arrive, he dangles his keys in one of his fingers, just to keep himself distracted. He taps on his phone screen, Jungkook’s unopened text greeting him first thing. He also has a text from Jimin mentioning that there’s something he has to tell him, to which Taehyung simply sends back a question mark. After his finger has hovered long enough over the notification, he taps on Jungkook’s chat.

Jungkook (3 hours ago)

already at the club :)

Eyes going comically wide, Taehyung looks at the clock. 11 PM. What? He's mortified and about to text Jungkook when his cab arrives. Distressed, he shoots a quick reply to the driver as he rushes down the stairs.

Once he’s inside the car, he messages Jungkook back.

Taehyung

Holy shit, I’m so sorry

I got distracted and forgot to leave earlier

Are you still at the club?

I’m on my way

It’s not after he just sent the last message that Taehyung realizes that he hadn’t replied to Jungkook during the entire day and he just quadruple-texted him. Out of the blue. He groans, hitting his forehead softly with his phone.

The cab driver gazes at him through the rearview mirror, an equally amused and embarrassed look thrown his way. It makes Taehyung flush, mentally cursing himself and then, Jungkook.

Jungkook

no worries! still here

just lmk when you arrive

Taehyung’s fingers hover over the keyboard, mapping out seven different responses. Finally, as they turn the corner towards RUBY’s street, he sends another text.

Taehyung

I’m near

See you inside?

He gets a reply immediately.

Jungkook

far?

Taehyung

Please don’t start quoting My Heart Will Go On

Simultaneously, Jungkook double-texts. Taehyung snorts.

His driver looks back at him once more and Taehyung tries not to roll his eyes. As they reach RUBY’s entrance, the cab driver shoots him a knowing look. Taehyung suddenly feels extremely exposed and suffocated in the enclosed space of the backseat, so he rushes the payment, bids the man goodbye, and gets out, taking a deep breath. 

Taehyung walks to the gate and greets the bouncer who simply nods and lets him in, even though there’s quite a line already. After all, he’s been here quite a few times now —for work, mostly— so they’re well acquainted at this point. Some of the people in line start complaining, which earns them a glare from the guard.

Jungkook

aren’t you worried about being a walking snack?

wait that sounded really wrong

Taehyung huffs, about to type another snarky reply, despite his clear enjoyment of Jungkook’s silly texts, when his voice actually booms from somewhere in the corridor to one of the main stages where Taehyung assumes a show is either about to start or has started, based on the way people gasp and squeal in delight. Taehyung jumps, his phone dropping from his hand and a pale, tattooed hand preventing it from crashing on the floor. 

“You were really near.” Jungkook says as a greeting, trying to hand Taehyung his phone when the designer just slaps a hand against the dancer's chest.

“What the actual fuck?! You almost fucking killed me!” Taehyung clutches his chest, accusing eyes staring at Jungkook’s face, who’s trying to hold back his laughter, hand still extended in front of him. 

Taehyung’s about to keep yelling at Jungkook, when he clocks the smokey eye shadow, glossy reddish lips… the fucking lip piercing, and finally, his attire.

Naturally, he’s clad in all black but this time, Jungkook's sporting a zebra print shirt with three buttons undone, followed by a pair of leather pants, a leather jacket beautifully adorned with silver studs, and pointy dress shoes, also leather. Taehyung is not aware that he just looks at Jungkook up and down until he gets back to his face and a smirk is tugging on those sinful, ruby-stained brims.

Oh, Jungkook's totally going to fucking kill him.

“Like what you see?” Jungkook teases, a brow quirking up.

Taehyung scoffs, taking the phone back from Jungkook’s hand and trying to collect himself, even though the sight of the nearly entirely leather outfit has made him a little dizzy. “God shut up. You’re insufferable.”

Jungkook raises both of his eyebrows this time and if he weren’t smirking, Taehyung would assume he was a bit affronted. “Goodnight to you too, Taehyung.”

Taehyung throws his phone inside his tote bag, waving his hands dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, whatever.” But he doesn’t look at Jungkook. Instead, he looks attentively at the entrance to the space where all the noise is coming from.

“Lex is opening for Angel. They’re a couple of our most famous dancers.” Jungkook explains, head gesturing towards the room, “Do you want to watch for a while?”

Taehyung considers his options: staying longer than he intended but delaying their alone time or just ripping the band-aid off, getting his job done, and getting the fuck out of the club. However, curiosity gets the best of him. “Sure.”

Jungkook gives him a clipped nod, leading the way. It leaves Taehyung trailing behind him while trying not to focus on his tiny fucking waist. Was he even real? Why did he have to tuck his shirt in? Why did his ass look so good? 

Maybe Jimin was right when he said that he should get fucked, because Taehyung can’t keep leering at Jungkook as he walks in front of him. 

It’s not until they’ve reached the entrance to the main dancing room that Taehyung escapes his thoughts and returns to reality.

In front of him is the same area he’d been roaming a few days prior, only this time the lights are dimmed, and three round stages appear before him. The space is not as packed as it could be, but the people that are cohabitating there –whether sitting or standing– are enough to fill the place with as much noise as you’d expect from a crowd that just looked at someone do the splits gracefully, before picking themselves back up and latching artistically onto one of the metal poles. 

Taehyung’s brain registers the fact that the person he’s looking at doing the splits is Lex and he’s a bit awestruck by the entire spectacle. His eyes follow Lex around the stage as she performs and while he’s not interested in women like that, the way she moves is so captivating that he understands why everyone’s solely focused on her.

The song ends and she stands in the middle of the stage trying to regain her breath as she waves shyly before walking off. Taehyung belatedly realizes that she was probably greeting him right after ending her performance and he makes a mental note to find her later to compliment her act and say hello. 

Jungkook stands next to him, hands tucked into the tight pockets of his leather pants. Every time he moves, the fabric strains against his thick thighs, and Taehyung… Taehyung realizes how weak of a man he is. He tries incredibly hard not to look at Jungkook too much because he knows that if he does, he’s going to spontaneously combust. Or scream. Or ask Jungkook to ravage him. Or all three, if he’s being truly honest.

After the next act is over, Jungkook graciously explains that they just saw Angel do her thing and that other dancers would follow. Taehyung dares to peer over to the vampire then, Jungkook's features tinted pink because of the club’s lighting.

Gulping, Taehyung nudges Jungkook slightly. “Can we go renew your measurements?”

The innuendo isn’t lost on him and Taehyung blushes when Jungkook looks back at him, the ghost of a smirk skirting on his lips. If his mind goes the same place as Taehyung’s, Jungkook doesn’t mention it, instead hovering a strong hand near his waist as he guides Taehyung around the club.

As they walk around, Taehyung takes notice of the fact that most of the people roaming the premises are either in pairs or trios, hushed conversations happening between them as they lean down to speak directly into the other’s ear. He wonders if they’re just chatting or if some kind of arrangement is happening right in front of his face and he’s simply too naive to understand. Taehyung also notices how people glance curiously at them as they walk, but as soon as they catch Jungkook’s gaze, they’re quick to look away.

The situation confuses Taehyung, who bumps directly into Jungkook’s hand, and subsequently his entire back presses against the vampire's chest when a couple cuts in front of him, out of nowhere.

“Sorry.” Taehyung mutters, quickly stepping away from Jungkook's personal space, although the way his skin is tingling isn’t entirely lost on him.

Jungkook drops the hand he was hovering over Taehyung’s waist as they reach an empty corridor, now comfortably walking side by side.

“So… What you just witnessed is the victual lounge.”

Taehyung throws a puzzled look at Jungkook's way.

“That’s where everyone who’s looking for an arrangement mingles. Usually, people already have a person but you can also meet someone here.”

They turn the corner into another corridor, this one with a series of closed doors lined up. The lighting here is almost entirely red and Taehyung has to focus harder on Jungkook’s words, to avoid letting himself run the course of his newly acquired fantasies. 

“Arrangement as in feeding arrangements? That’s what victual stands for, right?” Taehyung tries to school his tone into something nonchalant, but there’s an edge to it that Jungkook clings to, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

“Exactly.” Jungkook reaches one of the doors and pulls out a key from his pocket. Taehyung forces himself not to follow the tattooed hand with his gaze. “Some humans find it pleasurable. Others simply offer their blood in exchange for a service or something else.”

Jungkook pushes the door open, gesturing for Taehyung to get in. He can’t make out anything, since the lights are off, but Jungkook is quick to gently push him inside the room, turn on the lights, and close the door behind them.

A bright flash of white light floods the room and Jungkook groans, working the light controls to set a moody red-orange tone that isn’t so harsh on the eyes but makes Taehyung lightly disquiet.

Before them, stands one of the club’s private rooms in all its glory. It’s perhaps the simplest thing he’s seen so far at the club –in his opinion– and yet, it still manages to be quite stylish.

A singular stage with a metal pole is positioned in a corner of the room, and a line of comfortable-looking couches is positioned at the far end of the room. Next to them, there’s a small table followed by a minibar and a dark set of drawers. 

Taehyung wonders what could be inside them.

Above them, a huge mirror decors the ceiling. It makes Taehyung snort to himself, which earns him an intrigued look from Jungkook. He simply shakes his head and makes his way over to the couches, dropping his tote bag on it while standing a bit awkwardly in front of them. 

“When you say a service, do you mean a sexual service or…?” Taehyung asks casually. 

Jungkook chuckles. “Not necessarily, but yes. Some humans basically offer to be your human blood bank. Some just want to try to see what it’s like. There are the ones that are looking for a relationship...” He walks over to the mini bar and pours two drinks.

Taehyung can’t make out what liquor it is, especially not under the orange light, but when he’s handed the cold glass, the smell of brandy hits his nose.

“And others just want to get turned.”

Taehyung’s eyes go wide above the rim of the glass as he takes a small sip from the liquor. “Into vampires?”

“Of course. There are no other creatures here. There are only a few clubs where mixing is encouraged.”

“Hm.” Taehyung places his drink on the small table next to the minibar. He shoots a look at Jungkook. The room is eerily silent in comparison to the rest of the club and he assumes it’s a deliberate choice. Still, it has Taehyung feeling a little nervous. “Can you play some music?”

Jungkook nods, taking out his phone from the inside of his jacket and as he taps on the screen, Taehyung allows himself to look at him some more. Jungkook’s barely moving, just tapping on his phone with one hand, the other holding his glass next to his leg. Still, the fabric of his clothing tugs piquantly, even with the smallest of movements, making saliva pool in Taehyung’s mouth and he gulps down harshly when 90s R&B starts playing softly on the private room’s speakers. Taehyung looks away quickly before Jungkook can catch him ogling.

“I honestly don’t know anything about you guys. Or other creatures for that matter.” 

The corners of Jungkook’s lips tip upwards as he swirls his glass of brandy, placing his phone back into his jacket securely. “Do you want to know?”

Taehyung merely shakes his head, not really in the mood to sustain this kind of conversation. Instead, he looks for his measuring tape and gestures at Jungkook to get rid of his jacket.

The vampire hovers around him, placing his untouched glass next to Taehyung’s and he takes off the jacket, carelessly throwing it on the couch before walking in front of Taehyung. 

He’s an inch or so shorter than him but he’s broader in comparison. 

Taehyung holds his breath when his gaze catches the way the buttons of Jungkook's shirt strain against his chest and his eyes flutter closed as he tries to collect himself, suddenly engulfed by the other’s consuming presence, Jungkook’s cologne making Taehyung feel a bit dizzy.

“I’m a great teacher, though.” Jungkook’s voice is low and breathy. It goes straight to Taehyung’s nether regions and he has to think about cute animals in an attempt to regain some composure. But as he’s thinking about cute little farm animals, the irony isn’t lost on him: he is the little lamb walking straight into its predator’s space. 

“Don’t doubt it!” Taehyung shoots quickly, unraveling the measuring tape and pressing it down on Jungkook’s shoulder a bit harshly, bringing the tape down to his wrist as he measures his arms.

Jungkook’s dark gaze is intent on him, making the process harder than it needs to be.

Taehyung walks away to look for his journal, glad that he’d left his pen inside it once he finds it. He annotates the measurements of Jungkook’s arms, quickly making a table with the rest of the numbers he needs to accelerate the process. The longer he’s in the vampire’s presence, the more lightheaded Taehyung feels, his pulse thrumming agitatedly under his skin.

Taehyung tries not to take too long while measuring Jungkook’s chest as it rises and falls in a soft flow. At least one of them feels at ease. He avoids touching Jungkook directly as much as he can, his entire body feeling keyed up, almost as if he drank way too many energy drinks before arriving at the club. 

It’s not until he reaches Jungkook’s waist, that Taehyung allows himself to look at the vampire’s face.

Jungkook's eyes look cloudier now, attentively focused on Taehyung as he snakes the measuring tape behind his back and around his waist, the right side of Jungkook’s mouth quirking up in a smirk that makes his lip ring twitch. 

Taehyung's knees are about to buckle when he notes that Jungkook has a beauty mark right in the center of his bottom lip. He feels the sudden urge to lick his lips but he abstains as he looks straight into the vampire’s eyes. 

Taehyung’s breath catches in his throat as he rushes through the process, then walks away both to write down the centimeters and to get some air. 

Jungkook reaches for his drink, taking a generous gulp of brandy before putting it back in its place as he waits for Taehyung to return.

All the while, the designer has been doing a great job of ignoring the baby-making tunes that resonate in the room, a shaky hand reaching for his glass. Taehyung downs the liquid entirely, taking a deep breath. 

Taehyung is returning to his spot when the opening sparkling sounds and adlibs of Ginuwine’s So Anxious reverberate through the chamber. 

Jungkook looks at him expectantly, and Taehyung twists the measuring tape on his fingers, eyes skirting over the vampire’s leather-clad legs. Is he supposed to measure those? How?

Reminding himself to just be professional and get on with it, Taehyung snaps out of his salacious ruminations. After all, it’s just two legs, two little scribbles he needs to add to the chart in his journal and then he can get the fuck out of this room before he dies of a sexually frustrated-induced heart attack. 

It doesn’t help that Jungkook seems to notice his tribulations, now smirking freely as he spreads his legs open and quirks a brow as if prompting Taehyung to just delineate his limbs. The designer exhales shakily, sitting down on the couch to facilitate the measuring from Jungkook’s waist to the floor, then circling one of the vampire’s thighs with the tape. 

As Taehyung brings the end of the tape towards the mark he’s supposed to memorize, the numbers start looking a little blurry before him, his gaze instead opting for fixating on the ripples of the dark material hugging the toned muscles of Jungkook’s leg. Taehyung bites down on his lip, focusing harder on the little number of the final measurement, clammy hands grazing and sticking to the leather. 

The bridge of the song rolls around them, Ginuwine singing “This is something that is on my mind, ” just as Taehyung has managed to get the second number he needs. His mind and body betray him and Taehyung slides off the couch, nearly face-planting into the vampire’s crotch, which causes Taehyung to grope one of Jungkook’s legs to avoid that.

Horrified, Taehyung frantically looks up to apologize, just to find a delighted Jungkook looking down at him and he’s gone. If the whole situation was insane so far, his mishap feels far more intimate than it should. 

The contact between their skin feels searing, even with the clothing working as a barrier. Taehyung’s mouth goes dry and his head starts spinning and he can’t help but think that he’s only halfway into kneeling in front of the magnificent specimen looming over him. He just has to give up and drop to his knees and glide his hands upwards and… 

“Are you done?” Jungkook inquires and Taehyung is ensnared, mind blanking as he slaps his hand down on Jungkook’s thigh, hard, before he gets up quickly. The vampire raises a brow, both in question and entertainment and Taehyung wishes he was six feet under as he struggles to write down his last measurements.

“All done! Your new costume will be ready in time for your act! Don’t worry!” His words come out rushed as he closes the journal with a loud thud that gets lost in the song that’s playing now. Taehyung hurriedly hangs his tote bag on his arm and avoids Jungkook’s peering as he quickly types down on his phone, ordering an Uber back to his place. He needs to get out of the room, stat.

Jungkook walks over to Taehyung who has managed to make his way towards the door, commanding his attention by slipping two of his digits under Taehyung’s chin. Skin blazing at this point, Taehyung’s crazed brown eyes clash against Jungkook's calmer hues, as the vampire forces the designer to look at him. 

“Oh, Taehyung… If you want it, all you have to do is ask.” Jungkook’s thumb slides over Taehyung’s bottom lip and Taehyung forces himself not to part his lips.

Hypnotized, Taehyung feels his body giving up on him, and then, his phone pings in his hand, signaling that the taxi is outside. 

Spell broken, Jungkook steps away from him, opens the door, and walks Taehyung silently to the entrance. Still, the energy between them is electric. If they were to touch again, Taehyung is sure there would be sparks.

Luckily, Jungkook settles for pulling the cab’s door open for him and softly thanks Taehyung for re-taking his measurements, but the designer isn’t paying attention. He’s operating from outside himself, his mind completely blank as the car moves towards his house. He only zones back in when he’s about to pay, almost imperceptibly thanking the driver.

Once Taehyung is in the comfort and quiet of his apartment, he lets out the breath he’s been holding all night. He drops his bag on the couch, making his way straight to the kitchen. He goes through the usual motions of opening himself a new bottle of wine, then drinking absentmindedly from his glass while tracing from his bottom lip down to his chin with the tips of his fingers, all the while visualizing Jungkook’s presence before him. 

Moments later, when Taehyung comes back to his senses, he washes his glass and pops the cork back into the bottle of wine. Then, he looks for his phone, shooting a quick reply to Jimin who asked to meet up during the week.

Finally, Taehyung gets in bed, his mind continuously going back to the club’s memory.

That night, he dreams about Jungkook on top of him, his tattooed hand tracing from Taehyung’s bottom lip down to the strong angle of his jaw and only stopping to hover over his neck. In the dream, Taehyung’s naked body arches against Jungkook’s leather-clad one in anticipation, like he’s daring Jungkook to apply pressure with his hand. Jungkook’s eyes glare red before he groans and leans down to press a strong kiss on Taehyung’s neck once his hand has snaked down to the curve of Taehyung’s ass. Taehyung moans, slender hands clinging to the cold material of Jungkook’s leather jacket. The vampire is about to bite his neck when Taehyung wakes up panting.

His clothes and sheets cling to his damp skin and the front of his boxers is drenched, which makes him grimace. Taehyung shivering and he presses the back of his hand down on his forehead, feeling a bit feverish over the entire thing. 

He mechanically gets up to change his sheets and then shower, the word spellbound flashing incessantly in his head until he’s back in bed and about to fall asleep once again. 

This time, Taehyung doesn’t dream about anything.

Chapter Text

Sitting at a random table at the local park, Taehyung finds himself violently stabbing at his ice cream. The action earns him a bewildered look from Jimin, who stops eating his own dessert to properly stare at his best friend in confusion.

Taehyung's little encounter with Jungkook had left him reeling, which prompted Jimin to have them meet up outside, considering the fact that Taehyung had made a strong point of not going out for days after the ordeal, at least beyond work and home. 

The day is actually quite nice, a soft breeze blowing as the park’s ecosystem unfolds around them, people sprinting, walking their dogs, playing around, or just hanging out like they are.

Meanwhile, the date of RUBY’s newest showcase looms in Taehyung's phone calendar, just like Jungkook’s now muted text thread in his messaging app. 

“Tae, are you okay?” Jimin asks softly, taking a bite out of his ice cream without trailing his gaze away from Taehyung.

“Fine.” 

Obstinately, Taehyung finishes his wrecked and now completely melted ice cream; and as he does, he realizes that it reflects exactly how he’s currently feeling.

Jimin is quiet as he busies himself with finishing his dessert. When he’s done with it, he reaches for some wet wipes from his bag, cleans his hands, and offers one to Taehyung before he prods. 

“Did something happen with Jungkook when you went over to the club? You never told me how it went – and you’ve been acting super fucking weird.”

Taehyung pulls the wet wipe out of the package and roughly cleans his mouth and his hands. He thinks about what to say to Jimin, who graciously, maintains his expression schooled to a vaguely curious one, despite Taehyung’s behavior. 

“That fucking bitch.” Taehyung seethes, making Jimin’s eyes go wide.

“What did he do to you?” Jimin’s tone is mostly flummoxed even though there’s also a slight angry edge to it, as if he’s ready to fight Jungkook at that very moment, personally.

“Nothing!” Taehyung is nearly yelling, “Nothing. That’s the thing! He’s just… Ugh!” He smacks the table and Jimin startles. 

“I can’t think clearly when I’m around him.” Taehyung exhales, chest heaving as he stares beyond his now smirking best friend, eyes fixating on a couple with their cute puppy. The sight makes him scrunch up his nose in distaste, mostly because he doesn’t have something like that going on in his life, rather than out of actual disgust. He’s still looking at them in silence until he asks, “Can vampires bewitch you?”

The query earns him a snort from Jimin, who has relaxed into the bench and opts for shooting Taehyung one of his unnerving knowing looks. 

“In some cases. It usually happens after they’ve bitten you and if the connection truly means something to either or both parties, though.” Taehyung is about to say something when Jimin speaks again, “Seems to me like you’ve just got the hots for little Baby Star Candy.”

The nickname robs an amused huff out of Taehyung, who visibly softens as Jimin crosses his arms on his chest, pretty eyes narrowing while he scrutinizes Taehyung. Then, he shrugs. “It’s understandable. It’s part of his je ne sais quoi.”

Taehyung is completely against voicing his agreement, so instead, he rolls his eyes at Jimin’s words. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. He can choke—” 

Jimin quirks a brow. “—You?”

Taehyung actually chokes… on his spit. He glares at Jimin while smacking his chest as he tries to regain his composure. “Fuck you, Chim.”

“Oh, darling. I would gladly help you out with your drought but it’s not me you want to get fucked by.” Jimin smirks and Taehyung kicks his shin abruptly. “Ow, Taehyung, what the fuck?” 

They both erupt into fitful laughter, only getting back to the conversation when the laughing has subsided.

“So, that thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Jimin begins, “Since you don’t wanna share the lurid details of your encounter with Jungkook.” He shoots a pointed look Taehyung’s way, which makes him stick his tongue out at Jimin. Jimin rolls his eyes despite his amusement. A beat. “I’m actually one of the acts in next week’s show.”

Taehyung’s eyes go wide, mouth gaping as he scrambles around his thoughts for a decent reply to Jimin’s news. Jimin is biting down on his bottom lip while trying to contain a giddy smile.

“Really?! But wait,” Taehyung’s brows knit together in confusion. “You said you didn’t get it.”

Jimin sighs in exasperation, arms uncrossing as he rolls his eyes again. “It was all Yoongi’s fault.” 

At this point, Taehyung knows better than to be surprised by Jimin’s social skills —and consequently, his extensive list of acquaintances—, but the comment still catches him off guard. 

“It was all just a huge misunderstanding. Namjoon called me to let me know that I was still on the roster for the main event.” Jimin drums his fingers on the table. “I’ll be opening for Jungkook.” 

Jimin gives him a weird look that he decides to ignore. It’s not like Jungkook has suddenly turned into He Who Shall Not Be Named. 

“All this to say, I may have a new job,” Taehyung claps, earning a small smile from Jimin whose expression shifts into a pleading one, a dash of guilt shining in his eyes. “And I need you to make me a costume for the show.”

Taehyung chortles. “What’s another one?”

Jimin kicks him softly, earning a soft, playful eye roll from Taehyung. 

“Do you have any ideas?”

If the sun is shining down on them at that moment, it suddenly becomes nothing in comparison to the beaming smile Jimin directs straight at Taehyung.

“Thought you’d never ask!” Jimin pulls out his phone and taps on the Pinterest app.

The rest of the afternoon goes by with them discussing fabrics, styles, and colors for the outfit; Jimin showing him millions of pictures and references; Taehyung sketching ideas in his journal, and Jungkook’s messages going unnoticed on his silenced phone.

After their visit to the park, they had resolved to go with a simple, sheer white outfit, as Jimin kept insisting that he wanted something that would flow with his movements. Besides, the time frame is so reduced that Taehyung can’t really explore the intricacies of working with different textures, or a material that would need a lot of tending to like leather, for example. 

What Taehyung didn’t really know were the details of Jimin’s act, even if he’d insisted on at least knowing the song to get a feel of what he’d be designing for. Jimin had just smiled and told him to use their special best-friend connection to figure it out, which left Taehyung a bit more blank than he should’ve been. 

He just assumed his lack of ideas had more to do with the sheer exhaustion caused by trying to split his time into so many parts when the hours of the day just weren’t enough to get everything done, rather than with his actual connection to Jimin. 

If Taehyung really stops to think about things, at least beyond the task at hand, he was about to have a little fashion show of his own, thanks to everyone at RUBY and, particularly, thanks to Jimin. It’s a thought that makes his chest swell with pride. Despite the whole ordeal being something that people could consider banal, his work was getting exposed to a whole different set of people than he originally intended. But exposure was exposure nonetheless. 

Not to mention that if he kept working with Namjoon, Seokjin, or even Yoongi, he could be opening more doors for himself. Maybe he could even drop his shitty day job to focus solely on designing and eventually coming out with a bigger and more elaborate collection.

But for the time being, Taehyung forces himself not to dwell on it. After all, what he needs at the moment is to make sure that Jimin’s outfit is incredible and worthy of whatever his best friend has planned for that day. 

Back at home, and after successfully scouring countless stores for everything he needs, Taehyung checks that everything is in place. Once he resolves that things are under control, he starts setting up his workstation. 

When getting the textiles, he’d settled for a mixture of silk, voile, and chiffon, all filmy and flowy enough to achieve that angelic look that Jimin was aiming for. 

Taehyung only allows himself a phone break after everything has been checked and organized, the patterns have been drawn and cut and he has the structure of the outfit figured out. He goes straight to his text thread with Jimin to show him the progress and to send him pictures of some accessories he found that could go with his outfit to see if he’d like to incorporate them or not. 

When he scrolls through their conversation, Taehyung notices that he already has quite a collection of messages from his best friend.

Chim 🤍✨

dearest!! how’s the search going?? 

let me know if you need me to come

i’m so excited!!

He chuckles, skimming through the spam of inspiration pictures and other tidbits of what Jimin has planned —both for the outfit and what he’s willing to show Taehyung about the performance— and replying to a message here and there when a particular video catches his eye.

Chim 🤍✨

i come bearing gifts

don’t rat me out!!

enjoy ;)

Nonplussed, Taehyung taps on the video and suddenly Jungkook’s on his screen. 

His outfit is far different from what Taehyung’s gotten used to seeing him wear, still, mostly black. This Jungkook is wearing black baggy joggers, a white shirt under a black jacket, and black sneakers. His wavy locks are hidden under a black baseball cap and most of his face is obscured by a white mask. 

In the background, a woman sings but the lyrics fly over Taehyung’s head as he stares at his screen. 

Frankly, he should’ve expected Jungkook’s craft to resemble his personality: bold and sharp, but still enrapturing. As he watches the video, he can’t help but compare it to Jimin’s soft and elegant dancing. It makes him smile slightly to himself while he ponders over the contrast in their artistry.

After having watched Jungkook dancing a few more times, Taehyung settles for sending Jimin a thumbs-down emoji, not really wanting to launch into another rage-induced rant or admit his attraction to the vampire, especially when he couldn’t ignore the fact that he’s been having questionable dreams lately and somehow, they always involve Jungkook.

Truly, he’s a bit peeved over the wide array of delusions his brain manages to concoct every night. Thus, he has been avoiding anything related to the pesky little vampire like the plague. Replaying the video one last time and biting down on his thumb, Taehyung allows himself to wander over to their neglected text thread, only to find two lonely messages dated a few days prior.  

Jungkook (3 days ago)

hey. everything fits perfectly now. thank you

i also wanted to apologize in case i overstepped

Before his brain can veto the choice, he’s typing a message.

Taehyung (now)

If you’re gonna pull a Magic Mike, why do you need a cape?

Taehyung gets back to sewing, occasionally staring at his screen and not really expecting the way his stomach flips when a tiny “Read” pops under the message rather quickly. He looks away, forcing himself to focus on Jimin’s outfit when he gets a notification.

Jungkook

😂

did you watch one of my practice videos? 

A smile tugs at Taehyung’s lips, Jimin’s outfit and his bone-tiredness momentarily forgotten.

Taehyung

Maybe

Jungkook

hm

Slender fingers hover above his keyboard as Taehyung stares at the two letters, when another message comes through.

Jungkook

will you come to the show?

Taehyung

Yep

Gotta support Chim

Jungkook

i figured

thanks again

Taehyung considers leaving the conversation as it is. Should he say something else? He’s not really mad at Jungkook over what happened at the club the last time they saw each other. At least beyond his own irrational inner dialogue. But Taehyung can’t really let him know that — it’s not a battle he’s willing to lose, mostly for the sake of his ego. Self-preservation, he calls it. 

His thought process is interrupted when he gets another message.

Jungkook

the cape is just me looking at camp right in the eye

Much to his dismay, he laughs. Jungkook texts again.

Jungkook

i’ll post one of those magic mike routines

just for you

Wide-eyed, Taehyung stares off into the distance as he locks his phone in a panic. Then, he wills himself not to dwell on the mental image those texts have left him with, and in a matter of seconds, he slides his phone away, as if the messages are going to cause the phone to self-destruct and he’s trying to save himself from the explosion. 

A few minutes pass and though no explosion occurs, Taehyung feels like his whole body is on fire. He mentally curses Jungkook for turning him into this... nearly psychotic person.

In an attempt to enforce some self-control, he walks over to his room, drops the phone on his bed, and returns to his workstation. 

As he sits back down in front of his station, Taehyung reminds himself that he can’t afford any distractions, especially not when he’s dealing with an impending deadline, a personally imposed challenge, and a best friend who trusted him with turning his vision into a reality. 

His burning desire could wait until he was in his bed, driving himself insane while thinking about Jungkook.

Taehyung stands in the middle of an unfamiliar room. The dim lighting makes it hard for him to make out anything until he feels a pair of strong hands on his waist. Jungkook’s cologne gives his presence away before Taehyung can actually feel the rest of the vampire’s body colliding against his back. 

A tattooed hand snakes up to his neck, just hovering above it yet coaxing him to lean back against the body behind him. He feels the ghostly press of soft lips on his neck, his entire body now covered in goosebumps as heat pools in the pit of his belly, his cock painfully hard in his linen trousers. The hand that’s on Taehyung’s neck snakes down his body, the tips of Jungkook’s fingers relentless in their teasing as they map their way down and towards Taehyung’s dick.

“You want me so bad, Taehyung — look at you, I’ve barely touched you.” Jungkook’s breath is hot against his ear and Taehyung can’t help the whimper that escapes him. Another kiss is pressed to his neck and Taehyung feels the vampire smirking against his skin when his knees buckle at the action, Jungkook’s hand on his waist succeeding at keeping him steady. Jungkook licks a stripe against the side of Taehyung’s neck, his mouth sucking the spot where his pulse visibly rabbits and suddenly, Taehyung feels a sharp pang when Jungkook’s teeth sink into his skin. 

The dream turns blurry, abruptly switching to a different scene where Jungkook’s still biting at his neck, only this time Taehyung is standing in one of RUBY’s rooms. Clearly taking in the scene, tiny lines of blood are running from his exposed neck down to his shoulders and naked torso. Jungkook looks beastly and the sight makes Taehyung even more turned on when he should clearly be scared. 

Out of the blue, Jimin, Hoseok, Yoongi, Namjoon and Seokjin materialize around them, all of their eyes glaring red. Yoongi stands in the middle of Hoseok and Jimin, his arms wrapped around their waists, while Namjoon stands by Seokjin. They’re all sporting expressions that vary in degrees of delight. 

Taehyung doesn’t quite understand what’s going on, at least until Seokjin properly grins, sharp canines on display when he boasts, “Welcome to the coven, Taehyung.”

He wakes up drenched in sweat, his dick achingly straining against his boxers. His heart is beating the fastest it ever has and Taehyung feels like it could come out of his chest at any second. His mouth is dry, so once he’s more alert and has slightly calmed down, he reaches for the glass of water he keeps on his nightstand and takes a few generous gulps. 

As he lies down, Taehyung considers if he should take care of himself before going back to sleep. Luckily, his dick goes limp as he recounts what just happened from a less feverish standpoint. 

He wills himself to fall asleep, considering he had an early morning the next day, and then it was time for the showcase at RUBY, but all he does is toss and turn in his bed. 

When Taehyung is finally about to fall asleep, one last thought assaults him: What the fuck did that dream even mean?

Taehyung is not usually one to make mistakes at work but today seems to be the exception to that norm.

His boss is on his ass for a good part of the morning due to a series of silly little blunders that had occurred ever since he arrived at the office. Taehyung manages to snap out of his inattention early on but the whole ordeal still sort of dampens his mood for the rest of the day.

To say he’s anxious about the show later tonight would be an understatement, so he chalks everything up to that. It totally has nothing to do with the fact that he is entirely unprepared for whatever he’s about to see at RUBY, or the fact that he’ll be witnessing Jungkook’s dancing once again.

If the effect was so heightened when watching him through a screen —Taehyung did end up watching the godforsaken Magic Mike dance practice video. Safe to say that he had to take a long cold shower after it— or with a distraction and from afar, Taehyung doesn’t know what will happen when he's faced with the man himself working his magic on stage. He forces himself to think about other things, at least for the remainder of his work shift, before his boss wrings his neck like a chicken’s.

Later, at his place, he agitatedly paces his room back and forth as he tries to come up with an outfit. Jimin had jokingly told him to follow the route of most designers and just go with the usual basic all-black outfit, leaving the attention to all the dancers that would be featured wearing his designs and Taehyung had genuinely considered the option. At least until Jimin degraded him with a single look, told him to “Be serious” and left after he’d tried on his outfit. It was an unsettling sight, given how cherubic he had ended up looking in the clothing.

Taehyung had exactly two hours to get ready. He could do this. Thus, he distracts himself with every single item of clothing in his closet, his distress only increasing after he truly pays attention to the growing pile of discarded clothes both on his bed and the floor. 

His phone hasn’t stopped pinging incessantly, so, after taking a quick look at his texts to make sure none were from the dancers or Jimin, he decides to be serious. As luck would have it, the spam merely consisted of random updates or congratulatory messages. Snapping out of his stress, Taehyung opts for his personal variation of a safe choice: wearing something red. 

He settles for a red button-down, a pair of nice black pants, and his favorite loafers. It’s comfy, yet very chic. An outfit that would attract the right amount of attention particularly paired up with the right accessories but without looking exaggerated. 

Satisfied with his decision, Taehyung lets himself have a long steamy shower that leaves him feeling nicely relaxed once he’s gotten out. Opting for a messy hair look, Taehyung simply applies some hair mousse and scrunches his hair up with the diffuser, resulting in loose curls. Then, he applies a bit of basic makeup, only going heavy on the cherry lip balm that leaves his lips looking enticing and shiny.

A cursed thought crosses his mind for the briefest moment: if only he had someone to make out with… Snorting, he shakes his head, willing his pubescent thought process to go away. He finishes the look by adding a layered-up pair of necklaces: pearls, and gold adorning his long neck. 

Once he's ready, Taehyung sprays on some perfume, grabs his phone and his wallet, takes one last look in the mirror, and inwardly asks whatever higher power ruling above them to let him survive tonight.

At RUBY, Taehyung naturally has to do a mandatory round of greetings as everyone’s excited to meet him. In turn, he finds himself matching their excitement. 

A champagne flute is thrust in his hand sometime during his different conversations and when it’s time to move on to the main stage, he has a pleasant buzz going on within him. 

Jimin is nowhere to be seen, so Taehyung assumes that he’s getting ready. He does find Namjoon and Seokjin talking to a group of people; Yoongi and Hoseok —who turns out already knew each other— taking turns in making Lex laugh in a different corner of the room and Jungkook nowhere to be seen. 

Taehyung doesn’t know if he’s glad or sad over that fact. He’s not allowed much room for sulking because a dark figure looms in his line of vision and startles him when it speaks. 

“You’re very hard to reach, Mr. Kim.”

Taehyung’s body tenses up when he recognizes his voice. He slowly turns around and is met with Jungkook wearing an unexpected getup, although the color scheme is his usual: all-black riding gear. His eyes instinctively drop to the helmet on Jungkook’s hand and Taehyung has to hold himself back from outwardly groaning. Great. As if he couldn’t get any fucking hotter, it turns out that Cape Guy also owns a damn motorcycle.

Lost in his thoughts, Taehyung angrily lifts the flute up to his lips, only to be met with nothing, as his glass has been empty for quite some time now. It seems that his brain really malfunctions whenever Jungkook is in his vicinity because how could he not notice?

Taking a deep breath, Taehyung goes for a thin-lipped smile. “Jungkook. Hello.”

A mirthful Jungkook grins at Taehyung. He raises a playful brow, “I’ve been texting you and you’ve been ignoring me.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Did you like the Magic Mike practice video?”

Taehyung’s grip on the flute tightens. “What video?”

Jungkook smirks, pressing the helmet to his leg. “You know the one.” He cups his hand around his mouth and lowers his voice, as if letting Taehyung in on a big secret. “I can see who visits my TikTok profile, you know.”

Taehyung blanches. If he knows, then that means…

“I’ve gotten a notification every single time you’ve clicked on it.”

Taehyung clears his throat and straightens up. “That was only for research purposes.”

“Ah,” Jungkook slowly nods, “That’s what they call it these days? Research?”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “Everything okay with your clothes for today?”

“Everything’s perfect. Even though I had to cut back on the gym for a few days.”

Taehyung frowns. “You didn’t have to. I could’ve adjusted the fit for you.”

Jungkook smiles. However, this smile in particular feels different from any other smiles he’s ever directed Taehyung’s way. Something soft lodges itself in Taehyung’s chest and it’s such a contrast from the constant burning feeling inside him anytime he’s around Jungkook that it actually surprises him. 

“As I said, you’re hard to reach.”

Taehyung bites down on his lip, suddenly feeling really guilty. “I wasn’t lying about being busy, y’know?”

“I know.” 

Before Jungkook can say something else, Namjoon takes the stage and starts saying something about the night’s activities and the dancer's lineups. They both stand quietly beside each other, listening to Namjoon until Jungkook steps closer to Taehyung, the smell of his cologne clouding the rest of his senses for a second.

“So… I actually have to go get ready.” His tone is transiently unassuming before it regains its usual smoothness as Jungkook speaks directly in Taehyung’s ear. “I love the color red on you.”

Just as swiftly as he’d closed in the distance between them, Jungkook leaves behind a gaping Taehyung who thanks himself for practicing an incredible amount of self-restraint. Otherwise, the flute would’ve shattered inside his fist. Visibly shaken and not knowing what to do with himself, he opts for actually paying attention to the last leg of Namjoon’s speech before he does anything stupid, like trail behind Jungkook.

They’re sitting at a table front and center, ahead of the stage where everyone will be performing.

Taehyung is seated between Yoongi and Hoseok, who have been oddly dancing around each other the entire night. There’s something off about Hoseok but Taehyung can’t quite place what it is. Perhaps his lack of critical thinking skills could be attributed to the alcohol coursing through him, as Taehyung did down at least three more flutes of champagne before switching to the most incredible Cosmopolitans he’s ever had.

Namjoon, Seokjin, and Jungkook, who's now out of his riding gear but in yet another all-black fit consisting of a black button-up and some ripped jeans, sit at the table next to theirs.

Taehyung is unbelievably glad that he can only get a glimpse of them through his peripheral vision because there’s only so much more of Jungkook he could take at the time — and the night is just getting started.

The room goes dark, except for the stage that lights up in an amber hue that is reminiscent of a deserted place. A light fog clouds the stage and then the song begins, bass thumping as an alluring feminine voice starts vocalizing. Jimin, dressed in the all-white sheer flowy outfit Taehyung had come up with at the last minute, is surrounded by the dusky lighting on the stage. The whole set-up makes Jimin look like one of God’s favorite angels just dropped from heaven, gracing all the unworthy beings before him with his celestial presence. 

Taehyung is by no means religious. Honestly, it would be a bit blasphemous to share a space with the undead while indulging in any kind of devout thinking —at least regarding God—, but the sight before him is truly otherworldly; and judging by the way everyone also seemed to be holding their breath as Jimin twirls around the stage, body gracefully contorting into enthralling figures while simultaneously keeping an edge to his dancing as he hits every beat of the song, the experience was similar for the rest of the patrons present.

Taehyung had come to learn during the past days that Jimin’s rejection had been a mishap between him and Yoongi —whom he apparently had some sort of history with—. Still, he’d prepared in time for the showcase. Not everyone would be performing tonight, only those dancers who were requested the most gracing the stage, and it’d surprised everyone that Jimin had made the list, mostly because he’s not a recurring act. 

However, as Jimin dominates the stage, with everyone glancing from one side to the other as he loses himself in the choreography, Taehyung finally understands why his best friend is the opening act of the night and why the club is a bit fuller than usual. 

The woman singing pleads a request to be loved and cherished despite her differences. Taehyung wonders if there’s some hidden meaning in the song that he’s not catching up on. 

The dark stares of the vampires on the table beside Taehyung’s are equally focused on Jimin’s dainty figure as he turns, drops to his knees, and then gets back up, only to drop to his knees one last time, facing the crowd as the woman sings “Love me, won't you love me?”. At that point Jimin is tilting his head back, exposing his throat as he brings both of his hands up from his chest and towards his neck, holding both Yoongi’s and Hoseok’s gaze and finishing in a dramatic bow.

Once the song ends, everyone collectively breathes again. Taehyung claps loudly as Jimin gets up breathing heavily and bowing down once more in thanks before exiting the stage. He’s about to comment on the performance when he notices both Hoseok and Yoongi exchanging looks. At this point, everyone else has grown distracted by either the alcohol or the set-up for the next number. Taehyung narrows his eyes in suspicion but instead of saying something, he opts for taking a sip of his drink instead. 

All the while, he’s had a pair of eyes drilling holes into the side of his head. 

Turning slightly, Taehyung finds himself looking straight into Jungkook’s eyes. The intensity of Jungkook’s gaze on him feels like a string has been tied around his lungs and he finds himself immobilized. The vampire’s mouth quirks up in the slightest of ways.

There’s something in the exchange that Taehyung can’t quite decode. At least beyond the fact that it made his heart stop for a second before restarting again, frantic, as if it were about to burst inside his chest. The consuming eye contact makes Taehyung feel parched all of a sudden, even when he’s been sipping on his drink the entire time. 

Compelled to say something to Jungkook, he opens his mouth but their spell is broken by Seokjin who whispers something in Jungkook's ear. Whatever it is, it makes Jungkook look away from Taehyung and excuse himself as he exits the room.

It’s not until after Jungkook is out of the room that Taehyung stops feeling like he’s being seized with weakness.

Just in time, Jimin arrives with a Bellini in hand. He nudges Taehyung. “What has gotten into you?” He squints his eyes at the designer before something dawns on him and makes him click his tongue. “Is it Jungkook?”

Taehyung smacks Jimin’s arm so hard that when he winces and complains, both Yoongi and Hoseok turn to them curiously. 

“Damn, bitch, are you trying to render my arm useless?!” Jimin glares at Taehyung, leaving his Bellini on the table in favor of rubbing the spot Taehyung just hit. 

“Sorry. It’s just… I honestly don’t know if I can handle all of this.”

Jimin snorts, taking a hold of his drink again. “My advice is to just let yourself be seduced, Taehyung. The more you fight it, the worse it’ll be.”

Taehyung looks back to the stage when Yoongi leans in to whisper something in Jimin’s ear. It makes Jimin giggle and even though Hoseok couldn’t have possibly heard their exchange, the corner of his lips tug up in a tiny pleased smile. Taehyung sighs and drinks the rest of his Cosmopolitan in one go. 

Suddenly, Jimin turns back to him. “Tae, can I have a quick word with you?”

Taehyung furrows his brows in confusion but obliges, getting up after his best friend and following him to the restrooms. They’re about to get there when Lex bumps into them.

“Hey Tae! Hi Jimin!” Lex smiles at them, flipping her long dark hair behind her. “Great number, by the way. I really loved the ending.” She winks at Jimin and Taehyung looks between them, fleetingly confused, until Lex’s attention is on him. “Every outfit is amazing, Tae. I'm bummed that I couldn’t get one.”

“Oh, Lex… I can totally make you one for your daily routines — which by the way,” Taehyung's eyes go a little wide as he remembers, “They’re killer! You’re insane. I’m sorry I didn’t greet you back that day. I was a bit distracted.”

Lex shoots him a knowing look, a smirk tugging at her painted lips. It makes Taehyung feel a little ashamed.

“I’m sure you were. It’s no biggie. I will ask for your number and call you! See you guys around!” She gives them both a quick hug and makes a beeline for the women’s bathroom.

After their impromptu stop, once Jimin and Taehyung are in the men’s restroom, Jimin finds an empty stall and pulls Taehyung inside with him. 

“I have to tell you something that’s going to happen tonight.” He pauses to look at Taehyung up and down, running his hand through the silk of Taehyung’s shirt appreciatively. “By the way, I love this shirt so much.”

A puzzled expression settles on Taehyung’s features, even as he bows lightly to Jimin’s praise. He tries not to think about Jungkook’s rendition of the compliment. “What’s up?”

Jimin bites down on his lip, nervously scanning Taehyung’s face, which in turn makes Taehyung anxious.

“Out with it, Chim! I’m about to shit my pants from all this suspense.”

Jimin scrunches up his nose in disgust. “Ew.” A beat. “Promise me you won’t freak out?”

Taehyung raises a manicured brow. “My god, Park Jimin, did you kill someone? Just spit it out, damn!”

Out of all the things he was expecting to hear, the words Jimin utters were certainly not at the top of his list.

“I’m getting turned tonight.” 

Still, they’re not as surprising as they would be… had Jimin been a different kind of person.

“For real?”

Jimin looks at him, starry-eyed. “For real.” Another pause. “There’s something else.”

Taehyung gives a single nod, gesturing with his hand for Jimin to continue.

“Me and Hobi are dating Yoongi. He’s gonna be our sire.”

Now that is shocking – although if Taehyung thinks about it…

“God, I wish I could say I can’t believe this is also happening after you totally fucking killed it out there,” Jimin bows, directing one of his toothy grins at Taehyung as thanks, “But you’ve always been a lucky one.” Taehyung pulls Jimin in for a hug. “I’m happy for you. I know you’ve wanted this for a while.”

“Thank you, dearest. Y’know I love you, right? A successful performance wouldn’t have happened without you.”

Taehyung chuckles, waving his hand dismissively. “Me? I just made you look the tiniest bit more angelic than you normally do. The rest was all you.”

They share a meaningful look before Taehyung opens the door to the stall. 

“Let’s stop hogging this before someone gets angry and murders us both. I wouldn’t wanna die in a bathroom stall.”

Jimin’s melodious laughter echoes around the bathroom as they exit it.

Back at the table, Taehyung lets Jimin take his spot so he’s the one sitting between Hoseok and Yoongi instead. They have long ago stopped trying to hide the fact that they absolutely want to ruin Jimin, two sets of hungry eyes following him intently across the room. 

If he’s honest with himself, Taehyung’s a little jealous of them. Jimin must have noticed the dip in his disposition —ever so perceptive— because before they sit down, he leans to whisper something in Taehyung’s ear.

“Are you ready for Jungkook’s number?”

Taehyung snorts, shaking his head. “I need a drink.” It’s said loud enough that it makes Yoongi point at one of the waitresses walking over to the table, a tray of drinks balanced on her manicured hands. She places their drinks on the table and bows lightly before leaving.

“No wonder you have two of the prettiest people hanging from your arms tonight.” Taehyung teases, reaching for his Cosmo and raising it towards him. Yoongi gives him a pleased little smile that also makes Taehyung smile. Then, the throuple huddles together, whispering things between themselves. Taehyung looks away to give them some privacy.

Once more, the space grows dim as the stage lights up. This time, a blend of reds, purples, and magentas decors the stage. The sight makes Taehyung shiver in anticipation. Of course, Jungkook would pick red out of all colors for his stage. 

Jimin shoots a brief look his way. Taehyung ignores him, trying to act as nonchalantly as he possibly can. 

The song starts as Jungkook’s figure is slowly revealed amidst the lights and the fog. He’s lying on the floor, fabric draping around and under him. The godforsaken cape. As he gets up, his outfit is obscured by the cape, until he takes it off, making everyone gasp. 

He’s dancing towards the edge of the stage with the piece of fabric in hand and when Jungkook nears his table, he flings the cape Taehyung’s way. Even though it flops in the space between the stage and where he’s seated, Taehyung seriously considers going up to the stage to strangle him. A little smirk tugs at Jungkook’s lips when he locks eyes with Taehyung and then he properly starts his routine. 

Taehyung truly doesn’t know what to do or how to deal with the storm that’s raging up inside him. 

First, the stupid cape. Now, he’s facing Jungkook’s insane figure in that slutty little outfit. He’s acutely aware of what Jungkook asked for and what he had made for him, but it’s one thing to make the outfit and a whole different one to look at it on your model. Considering the fact that he never got to look at Jungkook in the clothes, the image hits even harder. 

The vampire is a fucking vision. The corset top hugs his body beautifully, the cut allowing a glimpse of his back and glorious abs. The pants are tight enough to hug every part of his legs, the fabric clinging deliciously to his thighs and the curve of his ass. The body chains adorning Jungkook’s ambrosian physique make Taehyung gape as they glint under the diversely colored lasers.

The irony of TAEMIN singing “I'm thirsty, I wanna just take a sip of your lips” as Jungkook spreads his legs, running a hand across one of his thighs while staring directly at Taehyung isn’t lost on him because he is indeed so fucking thirsty. Truly, he’s unsure of whether he should look at the performance as a confession or not, mostly because he’s too busy trying to remain impassive as Jungkook hits every single beat. But the sight of his stomper boots controlling the footwork perfectly makes Taehyung want terribly feral things — like for the vampire to step on him, for starters. 

The contrast between them grows. Jungkook dances while Taehyung burns. Jungkook’s sharp movements leave Taehyung feeling like putty. They’re looking directly at each other, entranced, as if they’re the only ones in the room despite the loud excitement of the other patrons.

As the routine progresses, Taehyung realizes that this entire show is for him only. He feels it in every fiber of his being and yet, he wills himself to sit unnaturally still, not wanting to give the vampire the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of him as Jungkook bares his soul for him through every motion.

Jungkook dances freely, hands roaming his body. Taehyung wishes he was the one doing that instead. He drops to the floor, continuing his routine, while the lyrics float across the venue. “I can't hold back, not in the slightest, you make me thirsty”, TAEMIN sings. 

Taehyung is drinking his cocktail when Jungkook grabs his crotch and slides across the stage while on his knees and Taehyung honest to God chokes. He tries to cover it up before anyone notices but Hoseok reaches to smack his back a couple times.

The song ends.

A sweaty and panting Jungkook bows and everyone erupts into insane hooting and hollering, loud claps drowning the space. Jungkook stares at Taehyung once more, brows quirking up playfully. A fugitive smirk crosses his beautiful features. 

He leaves the stage and the entire posse turns to look at Taehyung expectantly. He avoids every single one of their glances as he reaches for his drink.

After Taehyung has downed what’s left of his Cosmopolitan, he grumbles, “Whatever you’re thinking — don’t.” 

The showcase ends a couple of hours later. The rest of the numbers turn out to be entertaining but incomparable to Jimin and Jungkook’s. 

Taehyung succeeds in keeping himself airy for the rest of the night, ignoring Jungkook’s presence on the other table once he’d returned to it —sadly, out of his performing clothes and back to the button-up outfit—, yet still looking every bit as delectable. The fucker.

There’s a mixture of gaiety and tension buzzing around the group, especially now that they’re all sitting down at a VIP area, drinking and talking about various topics: Taehyung talking business with the owners of the club, Jimin and Jungkook grilling each other about their numbers, everyone discussing whatever thing pops up during the conversatio. In general, the atmosphere is nice and fun between them. Taehyung even exchanges a few jokes with Jungkook.

Then the mood starts to mellow. Namjoon and Seokjin excuse themselves first, bidding them all goodbye before leaving an increasingly nervous Taehyung with Jungkook and the throuple. After a while, Jimin shoots Taehyung a look and it’s his turn to leave with both of his boyfriends clung to his side. 

When it’s just the two of them, Jungkook runs a digit over the rim of his whiskey glass. “Could I take you somewhere more private?”

At this point, Taehyung is tired of playing hard to get. Jungkook has been nothing but splendid to him and it makes him consider what Jimin had mentioned earlier. So after finally making up his mind —he deserves to have this—, Taehyung nods and Jungkook leads them to the private rooms. 

This time around, Jungkook wastes no time in setting the lights to a menacing red, his eyes glinting as he turns to look at Taehyung. His gaze is so intense that Taehyung feels like he's ripping apart at the edges. He feels as though Jungkook could simply ravage him with the sheer strength of his look.

There's a faint smirk tugging at Jungkook’s lips as he saunters towards Taehyung and suddenly the quiet energy of the room shifts into something heavy that makes Taehyung fidget. Jungkook gestures to the couches, where they end up sitting face to face with Jungkook’s arm perched on the back of the couch, his digits close to touching the place where Taehyung’s arm presses against the backrest.

“Did you like the show?” 

Taehyung titters. “You know I did.”

Jungkook smiles and Taehyung wants to wipe that fucking smile off his face. Preferably with his lips.

“I know. But I wanna hear you say it.”

“I mean… I clearly enjoyed it so much it made me choke on my drink.”

Jungkook laughs freely, the tips of his fingers grazing the sleeve of Taehyung’s shirt. The slight contact makes Taehyung shiver.

“Can I show you the rest of the routine?”

Taehyung stares at him, wide-eyed. “There’s more?!”

“Mhm. Just for you.”

Taehyung knows he’s probably blushing. He snorts. “You sure do know how to make a guy feel special, huh?” Jungkook rolls his eyes at him, although he’s trying not to smile. “Sure, go ahead. Suit yourself.”

Jungkook looks pleased with himself as he reaches for his phone. A song starts playing and he pushes himself off the couch. Taehyung lets his gaze trail behind Jungkook as he undoes a couple of his shirt buttons before pushing Taehyung to sit comfortably on the couch. Once Taehyung has positioned himself the way Jungkook seems to want him, the vampire mutters, “If you touch me before I allow you to, you lose.”

Taehyung gulps, forcing himself to focus on something else rather than on Jungkook’s daunting presence. At that moment, it seems like everything in the universe has aligned to keep Taehyung as present as humanly possible. The effects of alcohol in his system have dwindled, the close proximity of Jungkook’s body paired with the atmosphere in the room and the singer going, “Left me yearning for more, for more, and I can’t take it anymore”, all make Taehyung extremely hyper-aware of his growing arousal.

For now, his hands are just splayed on top of his thighs and he's struggling with keeping them still, wanting the familiar scratch of the fabric on his palms as a distraction from the intensity of the situation. Taehyung doesn't truly register how close Jungkook has gotten to him until the vampire is nudging his hands away from his thighs in favor of pressing Taehyung even further back into the couch as he lowers himself onto his lap and brings Taehyung's slender hands onto his ass. 

Dangerously leaning closer to Taehyung, Jungkook’s hot breath fans against his neck. 

Taehyung swears he can hear the smirk in Jungkook’s voice. “I know you've been wanting to do that all night.” He whispers, nipping at Taehyung's earlobe as he places his hands atop Taehyung's where they sit on his ass and forces him to give his ass a squeeze. 

The whole thing is too much to take in, especially when Jungkook makes a show of it and somehow manages to be off Taehyung's lap in a smooth maneuver, leaving him disoriented. Taehyung’s mouth is agape and his gaze frantically searches for Jungkook around the room, his hands mourning the loss of contact. 

Taehyung finds him standing near the mini-bar, pouring himself a drink.

“You’re such a fucking tease!” Taehyung whines and Jungkook laughs, delighted.

“Just giving you a taste of your own medicine, Taehyung.” Jungkook shrugs, swirling his glass. “Or have you forgotten that you’ve been playing hard to get all this time?”

Taehyung gets up and walks to where Jungkook’s standing. He takes the glass away from the vampire’s hand, places it back atop the minibar, and stands face-to-face with Jungkook, leaning closer to him until their lips are nearly touching. “Fuck playing hard to get.”

Jungkook smirks, one of his arms wrapping around Taehyung’s waist, bringing him closer to his body, and the other hand gently cradling the back of his neck. The motion is so swift that Taehyung’s eyes widen as he regards the vampire.

“You sure about that?” Jungkook inquires as his eyes go from holding Taehyung’s gaze to his mouth, his hot breath fanning over Taehyung’s brims.

“God, Jungkook, just fucking kiss me.”

Taehyung barely has time to finish his sentence, when Jungkook's glossy lips clash against his cherry-flavored ones. The kiss is hungry, mouths slotting together roughly as they pour themselves into each other, tired of holding back. Jungkook’s lip ring is cold against Taehyung’s lips and the sensation makes him whimper, with Jungkook taking that as an opportunity to bite down on Taehyung’s bottom lip to rob more sounds out of him.

Taehyung wraps his arms around the vampire’s neck, inching even closer to him as they kiss. They pull back momentarily, two sets of eyes excitedly taking in their counterpart before they’re devouring each other again. 

True to his unspoken words, Jungkook does kiss him like he’s thirsty. He kisses Taehyung like a man that’s been roaming the desert and has given up hope when he finally stumbles upon the desired drop of water. Amidst their desperation, Jungkook’s thorough with his kissing, worshiping every inch of Taehyung’s mouth who in turn kisses back wildly, tongue licking at Jungkook’s lips whenever there’s even the slightest of separations between their mouths.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long.” Taehyung mumbles against Jungkook’s lips. The vampire smiles.

“I know.”

They keep making out, hands roaming bodies and messing up hair, both panting and moaning into each other’s mouths until they find themselves back on the couch, Taehyung on Jungkook’s lap, the friction as they grind on each other driving Taehyung insane with each roll of his body.

Jungkook dives for Taehyung’s neck and his spine tingles in expectancy. Would Jungkook randomly bite him or would he have to ask? Amidst his arousal-induced brain fog, he recalls their previous conversations and he finds his answer.

“Jungkook.” Taehyung exhales, pressing his palms to Jungkook’s chest as the vampire kisses his jaw.

“Hm?” Jungkook mutters against his skin. When the vampire sucks on his sweet spot, Taehyung moans. 

“I w–want you to bite me.”

The words cause the opposite desired effect. Jungkook halts his actions and pulls back slightly to scan Taehyung’s face. “Wait, Taehyung. Are you serious?”

The change in pace has Taehyung feeling a little shy and unable to find his words, so he merely nods. Jungkook stares at him until Taehyung squirms, an unspoken agreement in the glances they exchange. Finally resolute, Jungkook softly maneuvers Taehyung until they’re in a more comfortable position. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Jungkook asks, a strong hand placed on the back of Taehyung’s neck. Staring back at the vampire, he feels his skin run hot, which contrasts noticeably against Jungkook’s cold touch. There’s a shaky exhalation that escapes Taehyung’s lips as he nods his head quickly.

“Taehyung… I’m not doing this until you give me your verbal consent.” 

Jungkook is about to pull away from their embrace when Taehyung’s slender hand tugs on the fabric of Jungkook’s shirt. 

“I want this — please.” Taehyung basically implores, brown eyes looking back at Jungkook’s artificial blue hues. The vampire nods, a pleased grin rupturing the line his brims had adopted previously. His fangs finally come out and the sight makes Taehyung’s grip on his shirt tighter. 

Jungkook takes this as his cue to lean closer, his breath clashing against the skin of Taehyung’s neck. 

Taehyung can feel the hair on his arms rising, his body covered in goosebumps, and his heartbeat running quicker. It feels like an eternity before he feels the pillowy softness of Jungkook’s lips, the sensuous grazing of his tongue against his neck, and then, the pinch of his fangs slowly sinking into his skin. 

Taehyung is practically vibrating by the time Jungkook bites him harder, the suction almost unnoticeable if not for the way the vampire’s tongue laps against the freshly opened wound.

He’s about to give in to the feeling, head tilted back, when Jungkook pulls away from him, blue hues searching for Taehyung’s gaze. He wasn’t even aware that in the process he’d closed his eyes until he’s opening them to look back at an incredibly handsome and grinning Jungkook, all pearly whites and pouty pink lips coated in a crimson tone —his blood— and the sight is too much for Taehyung. 

Something foreign and exhilarating awakens in him and as he opens his mouth to verbally mourn the loss of contact, he abruptly passes out.

Jungkook knows Taehyung isn’t dead because he can clearly perceive his heartbeat and yet, he finds himself sneaking glances at the couch where he lies every five seconds. 

He hopes everything is alright with Taehyung, even if his inner monologue is set on driving him insane. Had he gone overboard? Did his greediness take over him and he’d taken too much without realizing it? He twists the rings on his fingers anxiously, until he hears shuffling, head instantly snapping towards the source of the sound. 

A groggy Taehyung tries to sit up on the couch but falters, making Jungkook run toward him. As he kneels in front of Taehyung, he’s about to touch him but he refrains, his hand awkwardly hovering close to him when he inquires, “Taehyung? Are you okay?”

Taehyung tries to sit up again, this time propping himself up on one of his elbows, while he rubs one of his eyes with the opposite hand. “Jungkook?” 

Taehyung finally manages to sit up, eyes opening carefully. Jungkook stares back at him with big puppy eyes, clearly way too close to Taehyung who startles a bit at the proximity. In turn, it makes Jungkook finally drop his lingering hand and get up, stepping away from the couch slightly.

“What happened?” Taehyung’s voice is soft but laced with confusion, brows furrowed as he tries to get his vision to focus.

“I honestly don’t know. One second you’re pretty much ripping my shirt off and the next, you’re blanched and passed out in my arms.” 

It’s the first time tonight that anything close to an unsure tone is clear on Jungkook’s voice and his anxiety is nearly palpable between them. 

One of Taehyung’s hands goes instinctively to his neck, probing the skin over the wound with the tips of his fingers. He finds it unnaturally scabbed and it renders him confused.

Jungkook looks at him a bit wide-eyed. “Oh, I closed that. You don’t have to worry about it opening up easily.” A beat. “Was… the biting too much?”

As Taehyung lowers his hand back to his lap, Jungkook realizes that he's is most likely recalling the scene, because he blushes and his heart skips a beat. The worried look Jungkook shoots his way transforms into a curious one. 

“I—” Taehyung begins. He stops, seemingly trying to organize his thoughts. After a few seconds of silence, he starts again. “Yeah — no. Wait,” Now sitting upright, he presses two of his fingers to the bridge of his nose, his other palm extended towards Jungkook as if he’s trying to compel the vampire to stop or stay away. 

“This is so embarrassing, oh my fucking God,” Taehyung mutters, taking a deep breath before looking back at Jungkook. “It was fine. It was more than fine, actually. The thing is that you just looked so—” He abruptly stops, like his vocal cords were suddenly stolen from him. The pause makes Jungkook tilt his head to the side, confused. Taehyung tries to find his words, the silence between them complemented by the bassy song that’s playing upstairs in the club. “You looked so… sexy.” 

Ah, so he speaks. Just like that, Jungkook is back into familiar territory, control regained. Now it’s Taehyung’s turn to feel a little anxious, the spike in his heartbeat giving him away. 

“Oh.” Is all that Jungkook can manage to say, the room’s aura tuning back into the original mood. “You said you’d never done this before, though.” A smirk tugs at his lips.

“I haven’t.” A hint of exasperation bleeds into Taehyung’s words, “You just underestimate the intensity of—” Jungkook’s brow raises, encouraging him to go on, “The situation.” He finally says. 

Jungkook juggles between teasing him or steering the conversation away from their little moment. He opts for the latter. 

“Do you want some water?” Jungkook asks, walking over to the other side of the room, where a glass mini bar is carefully stocked. “I could ask one of the employees to get you something to eat if you’re feeling a bit faint.” 

“Water is fine.” Taehyung responds, rubbing his arms. Jungkook quickly uncaps the plastic water bottle and hands it over to Taehyung. 

“Thanks.” A grateful smile tugs at Taehyung’s lips as he takes the bottle.

“No problem. Are you sure you’re okay?” Jungkook stares at him, brows knit in worry. 

“I’m fine. I mean, as fine as someone who was getting their blood drunk consensually can be.”

Jungkook snorts at that. Taehyung really has jokes, huh? He shuffles awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed, solely because he doesn’t want to startle Taehyung even more.

“Funny.”

Taehyung finishes the water bottle, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand while regarding him curiously. “Has this happened to you before?”

“What?”

“You know,” Taehyung waves his hand, “Someone fainting while you’re drinking their blood.”

“Not really. I’ve made people faint when I dance, though.”

Taehyung’s eyes go a little wide but then he looks away as if he’s about to talk to someone else if they were in the room. “Interesting. Also very relatable.”

Jungkook finds himself laughing at what seems like a display of Taehyung’s inner monologue. How could someone be so fucking endearing? He feels the strong and sudden urge to protect him at all costs and the thought shocks him, just the slightest bit. 

“Relatable? Were you about to faint when I was dancing?”

Taehyung stares at him like he’s stupid. “Jungkook, have you seen yourself? You’re like… the personification of a Greek god. Is there anything you’re not good at? You even drive a bike, for God’s sake!”

Jungkook tuts. “Using the Lord’s name in vain is a sin.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “You’re literally a fucking vampire, shut up.” 

Jungkook laughs softly, a smile tugging at his lips. As Taehyung seems to be in higher spirits, he makes his way over to sit down next to him. “Do you have a ride home?”

Taehyung shakes his head, “But I’m a frequent taxi user, so it should be fine.”

“Would you like a ride home? If you’re not scared of bikes, of course. I get some people are.”

The offer seems to take Taehyung aback and his features turn conflicted, as if he's considering his options. He ultimately settles for a shy nod of his head. Cute. 

“Sure — but only if you have an extra helmet.”

“Of course, who do you take me for? Safety over everything, Taehyungie.”

Taehyung looks stupefied for a split second. “Taehyungie? That’s a new one.”

“You’re just very cute. It was the first thing that came to my mind.”

Taehyung blushes. It makes Jungkook want to kiss him all over. 

“Whatever you say, Jungkookie.” 

He’s also very annoying. Seems like they both have that in common. 

Jungkook extends his hand for Taehyung to take. “Let’s go, then. I’ll take you home.”

The night continues to be full of surprises.

After having made a complete ass out of himself, Taehyung stands bundled up under Jungkook’s leather jacket. Yes, the one after their little moment back when he retook his measurements. Just because Jungkook had forced him to wear it. Turns out his Cape Guy is also a big softie that couldn’t fathom having Taehyung be cold as they drove through the streets of the city.

Soon enough, Jungkook comes out in the most insane matte black motorcycle, dressed in his riding gear again. He pulls up in front of Taehyung, the visor of his helmet pulled up so only his pretty eyes are showing. Taehyung notes that he’s taken off the blue contacts, so now he’s met with dark brown hues that sparkle under the streetlights.

Jungkook reaches back to hand Taehyung a helmet similar to his, the only difference is that it’s white instead of black. As Taehyung is about to take the helmet, Jungkook asks, “Have you ever gotten on a bike before?”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “Of course. I’m great at riding them.”

Jungkook quirks a brow and Taehyung knows that he’s smirking under his helmet. Seems like he really can’t stop playing himself around the vampire. 

“Gotta show me, then.”

Obstinately, Taehyung smacks Jungkook’s arm before putting on his helmet. “Seriously, shut the fuck up.”

“Make me.”

“I will make us crash if you keep this up.” Taehyung grumbles as he climbs behind Jungkook. 

The vampire keeps quiet, even as Taehyung wraps his arms around his waist, his legs resting on each side of his torso due to how close he’s sitting.

“Ready? Or should I say, hold on tight Spider Monkey?” Jungkook’s tone is amused. He revs up the engine and turns around to check in with Taehyung.

“Oh and he quotes Twilight, too.” Taehyung rolls his eyes, only letting go to put down his visor, “Just drive Jungkook.”

“Feisty!” Jungkook chuckles. Then, he lowers his visor. “Seriously, hold on. Let me know if there’s anything wrong. I’ll try to go at a decent pace.”

The ride to his place is pretty much uneventful. Jungkook turns out to be quite the careful driver, never speeding or making sharp turns as other drivers would. It doesn’t help that Taehyung keeps uncovering new facets of him that only make Jungkook more likable. It’s genuinely infuriating how he’s something straight out of Taehyung’s wildest dreams.

After an awkward and short-lived conversation about whether Jungkook should come up or not, Taehyung finds his hands shaking when he’s about to open the door to his apartment. Jungkook places his tattooed hands on his, helping him steady his hand enough for him to be able to let them in, a soft smile directed his way when he finally gets the key inside the keyhole. 

Taehyung thinks about his weird dream a few days prior and has to force himself not to visibly squirm.

Once inside the apartment, Jungkook stands idly in the middle of Taehyung’s living room, robbing Taehyung of a loud chuckle that earns him a confused look from the vampire. 

“You look so uncomfortable right now.” Taehyung teases. “It’s a nice change of pace. I was afraid you were always going to be unbearably smooth.”

Jungkook blushes, looking down at the helmets in his hands. “Where can I put these?”

Taehyung gestures vaguely around the space. “Anywhere you want. I don’t mind. Want something to drink?”

“Whatever you’re having.”

In a silly and nervous manner, Taehyung points finger guns at Jungkook who gives him a mock worried look before laughing at his antics. Mortified, Taehyung chuckles and leaves to go to the kitchen, head peeking out of the door frame momentarily. “Feel free to settle wherever you want. Mi casa, es su casa.” Jungkook huffs out a laugh and goes straight for the sleek black chair. Predictable.

Taehyung pours two glasses of wine and gives himself a brief pep talk while he’s in the kitchen. Jungkook is out there. In his living room. Waiting for him. They kissed. Jungkook drank his blood. Then he stupidly fainted because Jungkook looked too fucking hot with his blood coating his lips. What would his religious parents think about him now?

Gripping the kitchen counter in an attempt to steady himself, Taehyung takes a few deep breaths. He needs to go out there and finish what he started. Wasn’t that the reason why he’d invited Jungkook over? But he hasn’t gotten laid in so long! What if he forgot how to have sex and then Jungkook thinks he’s a terrible fuck? 

Taehyung is so fucking stressed that he actually gets started on his glass of wine. Then, he remembers Jungkook is waiting for him out there, so he rushes out of the kitchen and nearly pours the wine on Jungkook as he hands him the glass rather roughly.

“Are you nervous?” Jungkook asks after taking a sip from the wine. The sight of the burgundy liquid sitting on the vampire’s brims makes Taehyung heady.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Given the fact that you started drinking without me and you’re practically buzzing… I hate to break it to you, but yes. It’s pretty obvious.”

The fact that Jungkook’s tone is more kind than mocking is enough for Taehyung to will himself into shedding the last of his nerves —and his dignity— as he places his glass on the coffee table and steals Jungkook’s drink out of his hand for the second time that night. 

After he does, Taehyung nudges Jungkook’s legs and steps between them. Jungkook’s hands reflexively find the back of his thighs. Taehyung leans down and presses a kiss to Jungkook’s lips, hands splayed out and gripping the vampire’s shoulders. Jungkook moves his hands up, now gripping Taehyung’s hips and then he’s coaxed into sitting on Jungkook’s lap. 

For someone who couldn’t wait to get to this point, the flames of lust are momentarily swept by an odd wave of tenderness that makes Taehyung pull away from the kiss, his slender hands cupping Jungkook’s face as they look at each other. He blurts out, “I really like you.” 

It makes Jungkook tilt his head to the side. “Really? I was under the impression you found me completely despicable and were just using me for my hot body.”

Taehyung chuckles and shakes his head, biting down on his lip bashfully. “You just evoke really intense emotions in me. It’s easy to get them twisted.”

Jungkook smiles, one of his hands reaching up to cup Taehyung’s face. He drops his hands as he leans into the touch. Jungkook swipes his thumb softly over his cheekbone. “I’d love to discuss those intense emotions later, Tae.”

Getting the hint, Taehyung nods and leans in to kiss Jungkook. Now that he’s done it a couple of times, he feels like he won’t be able to get enough of this any time soon. 

Jungkook helps Taehyung out of his jacket, the leather discarded at the bottom of the armchair. Jungkook’s riding jacket follows. 

Taehyung builds up a slow grinding rhythm as they kiss, his hands placed on the back of Jungkook’s neck, fingers fiddling with the hair there. Suddenly feeling a little frisky, Taehyung tentatively tugs on Jungkook’s hair as he deepens the kiss, swallowing the grunt that escapes Jungkook’s mouth. 

The vampire pulls back, kissing Taehyung’s jaw and making his way down to his neck. Jungkook presses an open-mouthed kiss to the closed bite mark that makes Taehyung grind his hips harder on him. 

Jungkook undoes one of the buttons of Taehyung’s shirt, playfully tugging it down so one of his shoulders is showing. Then, he presses a kiss on the newly revealed skin, and Taehyung shudders. 

Taehyung pulls Jungkook’s t-shirt off and roams his hands through Jungkook’s body, eyes scanning the beautiful pale skin longingly as if the vampire is a figment of his imagination that is soon to vanish from his sight. 

They undress each other slowly, reverently, as if they’ve created a sacred space that neither of them dares to disrupt. 

Taehyung climbs out of Jungkook’s lap, only to position himself on his knees and between Jungkook’s legs again, deft slender fingers undoing the buckle and the zipper of his pants, big brown eyes looking up at the vampire as if asking for permission that is granted in the form of helping Taehyung get him out of the pants.

Taehyung allows himself to let his hands roam Jungkook’s skin, his mouth quickly latching onto one of his thighs. 

“Your thighs are fucking insane, did you know that?” Taehyung asks, resting his head on one of Jungkook’s legs, while his hands continue to caress the outer part of Jungkook’s thighs adoringly. Jungkook simply reaches down to move Taehyung’s hair out of his face, a smile tugging at his lips. 

“I’ve been told.”

He really is so fucking beautiful. It makes Taehyung sick.

“I figured.” Taehyung presses a string of tiny little kisses on Jungkook’s left thigh. “But I will show you.”

Jungkook raises his brows, staring directly at Taehyung, almost as if daring him to follow through with his words.

Taehyung ravages Jungkook’s thighs the way he’s wanted to all this time, plump lips kissing and sucking pretty red and purple marks that contrast beautifully against his creamy skin. Jungkook’s hand has permanently lodged itself in his hair and Jungkook lets him have his fun, huffing little sounds of arousal until something takes over him and he pulls Taehyung upwards in the direction of his crotch.

Bratty, Taehyung fights against it, smirking as Jungkook groans.

“Growing impatient, Jungkookie?” Taehyung inquires, this time following the guidance of Jungkook’s pull and nosing at his crotch, big brown eyes looking up at the vampire as he moves away from his still-clothed cock. Jungkook tenses, ruined legs spreading wider as he looks down at Taehyung between his legs.

“Don’t forget that two can play this game, Taehyungie.”

Taehyung holds Jungkook's gaze long enough that he sees Jungkook's relaxed demeanor morphing into something darker, so he takes that as his cue to drop the act and get to work, excitement buzzing under his skin. He mouths Jungkook’s already hard cock over the fabric of his boxers and the vampire hisses, his hold on Taehyung’s hair tightening. 

His own erection is tightly strained against the fabric of his pants and Taehyung palms himself with one hand, while he slightly lowers Jungkook’s underwear with the other. The head of Jungkook’s cock glistens with a bead of precum that Taehyung greedily licks, eyes searching for Jungkook’s gaze when he starts sucking.

“Look at you, Tae. So fucking pretty.”

Taehyung shuts his eyes and moans at the compliment, only pulling back to fully take off Jungkook’s boxers. However, the vampire has other plans, tugging Taehyung up to kiss him sloppily. 

Then, Taehyung is quite literally swept off his feet. Jungkook picks him up and Taehyung clings to him as they kiss messily. While carrying Taehyung, Jungkook has half a mind to ask where the room is and Taehyung successfully directs them toward it.

The contrast between the way Jungkook lowers Taehyung onto the bed and the way he pretty much rips the pants off Taehyung, leaving him exposed, makes Taehyung’s head spin. His cock sits unbearably hard and leaks on his stomach, all the while Jungkook runs the tips of his fingers appreciatively all over his body, making goosebumps erupt on his sun-kissed skin.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, Taehyung. I could look at you forever and never get tired.”

The praise is intoxicating and Taehyung forces himself to hold Jungkook’s gaze, even as a whimper leaves his lips when the vampire teasingly runs one of his digits down the side of his cock. Jungkook’s tattooed hand grips one of his thighs harshly, which makes him squirm on the bed.

Jungkook pulls him towards the edge of the bed and the movement makes him gasp. Then, Jungkook gets on his knees and brings Taehyung’s legs over his shoulders, softly nibbling at the skin of one of his thighs. 

“My turn.”

He’s going to die.

“Oh my fucking God.”

Jungkook chuckles, eyes glinting red as he presses a kiss to Taehyung’s thigh. “God isn’t here, Taehyung.” 

Aroused, he moans loudly as he looks down at Jungkook between his legs. Jungkook returns the favor and marks him in any way he can: fingers gripping his thighs hard, while he kisses and nibbles and sucks different little spots on his skin. 

Jungkook spits in his hand and takes Taehyung’s cock, the glide made even easier by the precum that has leaked out at this point. Taehyung writhes under him, especially as Jungkook moves his hand in awfully slow strokes. He begins to get desperate.

“Jungkook, please.”

“Please what?”

Taehyung whimpers. “Bite me, fuck me, something. Please.”

“Greedy. Which one is it gonna be?”

Taehyung looks at him, already sort of out of it, but needing anything from him. “Bite me. Please.”

Jungkook smirks. “Your wish is my command.” 

Jungkook’s fangs come out and he tentatively presses them to his thigh. Taehyung sucks in his breath in anticipation. Jungkook resolves to tease him and Taehyung, impatient, starts whining incoherently until he feels a hard bite, Jungkook’s fangs breaking the skin. Taehyung moans loudly and Jungkook picks up the pace of his hand, while licking his wounds and moving to a different spot to bite him, drink some of his blood, and then close his wounds before moving to the next spot of skin. It’s all too much.

After a few bites, Taehyung is a blubbery mess under Jungkook, who stops to check up on him. When Taehyung sees him, he widens his eyes at the sight of his blood on Jungkook’s mouth and like a possessed man, he pulls Jungkook up and kisses him senselessly, tasting himself on the vampire’s mouth. He sucks on Jungkook’s tongue so filthily that it steals a loud moan out of the vampire. 

Needy, Taehyung whispers against Jungkook’s lips, unabashedly. “I need you to fuck me,” He licks Jungkook’s lips. “Now.”

He points Jungkook to his bedside table where the condoms and the lube are. Once he finds them, Jungkook unceremoniously drops them on the bed, staring at Taehyung curiously.

“Do you want to work yourself open or do you want me to do it?”

His cock twitches at the mental image of Jungkook fingering him open. “You, please.”

Jungkook nods, rubbing one of Taehyung’s legs soothingly. “Get on your hands and knees.”

Taehyung’s a bit shocked at the request, but he complies even if he’s furiously blushing. Once he’s settled, Jungkook grabs Taehyung’s ass, kneading at his cheeks. Taehyung moans, leaning back into his touch. 

Jungkook positions himself on the bed so that Taehyung’s ass is on his face. Tense, he gasps when he feels a lick across his entrance. It makes him grip the sheets harder.

“Fuck, Jungkook.”

“Is this okay?” Jungkook asks, peering over at him.

Taehyung nods. “Yes. More. Please.”

Jungkook smiles at him and then he’s back to alternating between flicking his tongue and licking long stripes against his rim. It feels so good but Taehyung needs him closer, so he reaches his hand back to press Jungkook’s mouth closer to him. 

The action seems to awaken something in Jungkook, because then he’s greedily sucking and licking and sliding his tongue inside Taehyung’s hole as he continues to grip his ass cheeks, hard enough to leave marks. He could cum just from Jungkook’s tongue but he is indeed greedy and wants Jungkook's cock inside him.

“Need you. Now.”

Jungkook obeys and Taehyung looks at him as he reaches for the lube and pours it on his fingers. He warms it up before he brings one of his digits against Taehyung’s spit-slick hole, circling his rim slowly, teasingly.

“Jungkook.” A warning.

“Yes?”

Great, now he’s acting purposefully dumb. The fucker. Taehyung groans. “Don’t tease me.”

Jungkook chuckles as he slides just the tip of his finger in and oh, it feels incredible. When his rim adjusts around it, Jungkook quickly works the rest of his finger in. Taehyung moans loudly when he adds a second and starts scissoring his fingers, spreading him open, even though his hole tightens around the fingers. When Jungkook curls his fingers right over his prostate, Taehyung squeaks, gripping the sheets tighter.

“Jungkook, please.”

“You sure?”

“Want your cock, please.”

Jungkook slides his fingers out and Taehyung misses the stretch. Jungkook deftly rolls the condom on his dick and then he presses the tip against Taehyung’s entrance. Taehyung is so fucking needy that he pushes back against it. Jungkook tuts.

“You want it this bad, huh? Can’t even keep still.”

He whines. “Just fuck me, Jungkook.”

Jungkook laughs, softly sliding all the way in. Taehyung whimpers. He feels so full, so good. He just needs Jungkook to move. And he does, with slow rolls of his hips at first, stretching Taehyung open deliciously. Jungkook doesn’t pick up his pace, instead placing one of his hands on the back of Taehyung’s neck, pushing him onto the bed, the other hand gripping at his hip, keeping Taehyung steady as he plunges into him fully. 

Then, Taehyung feels him against his back, one of his hands reaching over to jerk Taehyung’s neglected cock, Jungkook’s fist wrapping tightly around his length. He’s so close but he doesn’t want to cum like this.

“Jungkook,” He breathes out. “Wanna ride you. Wanna see your face when I cum.”

Jungkook’s breath hitches and he carefully slides himself out of Taehyung’s ass. Taehyung gets on his knees, turning around to pull Jungkook onto the bed but not without kissing him first. 

Jungkook sits with his back pressed against the headrest of the bed. Taehyung quickly finds his place on his lap, hand reaching over to position Jungkook’s cock on his entrance before he lowers himself on it slowly. Jungkook’s gaze is intent on him, his hands gripping his hips.

He presses a kiss to Taehyung’s jaw. Another to his neck. “You love being on my lap, huh?”

Taehyung feels himself blushing. “Maybe.”

Jungkook captures Taehyung’s lips with his as he prompts Taehyung to start bouncing on his cock. They build up a decent rhythm as they kiss, Taehyung’s arms wrapped around Jungkook’s neck and Jungkook alternating between grabbing his hips or his ass, depending on the way he wants Taehyung to go.

Close to his climax, Taehyung picks up his pace, moaning as he fucks himself on Jungkook’s cock. Jungkook groans and tilts his head back as he lets Taehyung ride him.

He pants. “Jungkook.” 

“Hm?”

“Want you to bite me again.”

Jungkook stares at him for a moment, kissing him passionately before he dives in for his neck, pressing a tender kiss to the place he’d bitten earlier.

“Promise you won’t faint?”

Taehyung snorts, smacking Jungkook’s arm. “Shut up.”

He feels Jungkook smile against his neck and then he feels the sharp pang of his fangs digging into his closed wound. Taehyung moans loudly, eyes shutting as he throws his head back, his orgasm building up in the pit of his belly. He grinds hard on Jungkook’s cock as he reaches one of his hands between them, taking Taehyung’s cock in his hand and helping him through his orgasm. Jungkook groans when Taehyung clenches around him.

Taehyung feels him lick the wound closed and as Jungkook pulls back, lips stained ruby with his blood, Taehyung finally spills as they kiss sloppily. He should probably be concerned with how much he likes the taste of his own blood on Jungkook’s mouth but instead of worrying, he settles for avidly licking into Jungkook’s mouth and sucking on his tongue as the vampire rolls his hips under him languidly, even after having spilled inside the condom. 

Jungkook pulls away first, red gaze scanning Taehyung’s features. “You like kissing me when your blood’s in my mouth way too much.”

Taehyung chuckles. “I know. It’s kinda fucked up. We’re gonna have to have a talk about that. But… Shower first?”

Jungkook kisses him softly. “Mhm. We’re disgusting.”

“Speak for yourself!”

Now showered and facing each other atop Taehyung’s freshly changed sheets, Taehyung traces Jungkook’s face with the tips of his fingers dotingly, while Jungkook plays with his hair. 

The primal part of himself is way too pleased with having the vampire on his bed, in his clothes, and smelling like him. The thought makes him smile a little, prompting a curious look from Jungkook.

“What?”

Taehyung swipes Jungkook’s hair away from his face. “Just thinking about how crazy it is that I was lusting like crazy over you for weeks and now you’re here with me.”

Jungkook snorts. “You know… I noticed you the first time you dropped by RUBY and I did know your name when we crossed paths that second time.”

Taehyung gasps, fake offended. “What a fucker!”

“How could I not? Have you seen yourself?” Jungkook says, clearly mocking his words from earlier. It earns him yet another soft smack from Taehyung.

“Stop making fun of me!”

“Never.”

Taehyung laughs softly, growing a little sleepy due to Jungkook’s cyclical motions as he plays with his hair.

“Stay for breakfast?”

Jungkook raises a brow teasingly. “Your kinda breakfast or my kinda breakfast?”

Taehyung bites down on his bottom lip, looking at Jungkook through his lashes. “Both?”

Jungkook chuckles. “Greedy.” He pulls Taehyung closer to him, kissing him softly. "I'll stay."

Taehyung smiles, allowing himself to get comfortable in Jungkook's embrace until he falls asleep.