Work Text:
Pang
A loud noise cut through the room as Jeongguk started sipping his coffee, making him jump. His tongue taking most of the burn.
He cursed under his breath, stepping away from the window. The sky had just started to turn orange but now his quiet moment had been interrupted.
Anyway.
He turned towards the source of the noise, which came again not five seconds later.
Pang
"Bo?"
No answer.
Pang
Sighing, he left his book on the table and followed the noise. Soon enough he reached the kitchen. The culprit was waist-deep under the sink. Her overall was soaked but she had her rain boots on -rude- so it was probably not coming from there.
He crossed one arm around his body and supported the other on it, leaning on the kitchen table and taking another careful sip from his coffee.
Pang
"I thought we agreed on no more projects inside the cupboards. We really can't afford to pay the landlord more rent this month."
"He won't, I'll eat his tomatoes if he does."
Jeongguk snorted, turning to scan the tools and random items on the table. "There's no way we can keep these around," he muttered. They might need to hide them soon. "Where's Bo?"
Pia crawled even further inside, before punching something again. She was tall for her age, but still petit enough to fit in there. Pang . Her voice sounded muted. "Still napping. Don't worry, gave her my noise canceling earbuds. Not that she needs them, that kid's sleep is even deeper than yours."
It was true.
"That's saying something." Jeongguk finished his coffee and stretched over Pia to leave it on the sink. "Wash my mug when you finish?"
She took one arm out with her thumb pointing down.
Jeongguk leaned his hip on the counter and crossed his arms, "I won't tell your dad about this new project."
The thumb turned up.
Jeongguk smiled. "You know vandalism is a felony right?"
Pang
"I'm 14. I have no regard for the consequences of my actions."
Jeongguk agreed with a nod. He straightened and looked outside the kitchen's tiny window, the cactus on it had a new pink flower. The sun outside was starting to set and the orange clouds were now tinted with speckles of pink. He might as well continue with his book while he had the time.
He made his way towards the living room, mentally recounting the chapters he had left for his assignment but stopped as he crossed the entrance hallway. The main door was ajar. Wet footprints leading from it to the kitchen.
"Pia, you forgot to close the door. Again." He said over the next Pang , walking towards it.
The door complained as it shut. The hinges were a bit too old for its weight; they hadn't been grazed yet by Pia's engineering stravaganza, unlike most of the furniture in their apartment. Some honorable mentions: the recycled gas piston purple cupboard doors that used to hang sideways and never quite closed, or the rolling yellow coffee table that was too heavy to move over the carpet otherwise, that one was his favourite.
The door was also one of the few things in their apartment that was missing color, but that part wasn't Pia's area.
The thought suddenly filled him with awareness, Jeongguk looked around and felt a disturbance in the force. He dropped his head against the door and groaned.
"Sorry, had my hands full." Came Pia's answer along with a trinket symphony.
"Yeah well," he sighed. Looking around for his keys. "Nani's gone."
The performance stopped and a quiet 'shoot' followed. "I forgot he was here today."
Jeongguk found his keys and grabbed a raincoat from the hanger on the wall. The retractable blue one with yellow vines on it. "He wasn't supposed to be, but there were some complications, so, yeah."
Pia peaked her head from the kitchen threshold. "I'll watch Bo." She looked apologetic. But it wasn't her fault, it was his turn with Bo this week.
Jeongguk dismissed her concern with a hand as he put on his rain boots. "He's probably in the cafe. Like always. But it's all wet outside, so yeah."
Pia smiled, her dimple on her right cheek stained with something resembling grease.
He took the keys and pointed them at her, trying his most menacing stare. "No gummies if she wakes up."
She pouted with a frown, reticent. "No promises," then pointed back at Jeongguk with a tool he didn't recognize, "If you see the landlord, don't tell him I'm here," before ducking back into the kitchen.
His assertiveness still needed some work. He tried.
Jeongguk stepped out into the hallway, closing the door. He turned around and came face to face with a pair of narrowed eyes. He gave out a little squeak and stepped back against the door putting some distance between the ambusher and him. He held his keys to his chest.
The former raised an eyebrow.
"Jeongguk."
"Seokjin."
Stare.
Pang
Seokjin's eyes looked over Jeongguk's shoulder. "Is she in there?"
Jeongguk weighed his options and decided to go with ambiguity. "Can't either confirm nor deny."
Seokjin stepped back and let out a long and pained sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and pointer finger. "I swear, if she breaks another pipe- I have too many wrinkles on my forehead because of this child." He shook his head and let out a huff, looking at Jeongguk again, hands on hips, “and you need to stop covering for her.”
Jeoungguk hoped he looked sheepish. Seokjin wasn't impressed. "Just let her know she needs to be back by seven to get ready or I'll make eggplant parmesan for lunch tomorrow. Kay?"
Jeongguk perked up. "Can we have leftovers?"
Seokjin raised one finger threateningly, Jeongguk put his hands up, relinquishing. "If I ever see her, I'll let her know of your plan of dietary torture."
Seokjin gave him a satisfied nod and stepped aside. Jeongguk smiled, they'd probably have leftovers tomorrow. He flattened the wrinkles off the raincoat. It wasn't his own, he noticed. He thought of how it's been raining the past week and frowned. He turned to Seokjin. Asked, "Did you see Nani around here?"
Seokjin grabbed the mop from the opposite wall and finished mopping the wet footprints on the floor leading towards Jeongguk's apartment. He raised his head, "Thought you got Bo this week."
Jeongguk just shrugged. "Yeah, there were complications."
Seokjin raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, instead he pointed with his chin towards the elevator.
"I think I saw little footprints around the stairs."
Jeongguk turned to them and started walking. He threw a wave over his shoulder, "Thanks, ahjussi."
He chuckled at Seokjin's red face. "Brat. Rent is due tomorrow. Let your husband know."
Jeongguk turned around as he entered the elevator, "He doesn't live here." He reminded him. He pressed the L button.
Seokjin just threw him a deadpan look and grabbed his bucket and mop, turning around to walk back to his own apartment.
The elevator dinged its usual bell as Jeongguk stepped out into the lobby. Effectively, a trail of tiny footprints on the carpet led towards the front door. Outside, the street was still lit by the remnants of the afternoon sun. The trees still had a few leaves on them, hinting the end of fall, but the city wasn’t quite cold yet. Jeongguk put his hands inside the raincoat’s pockets, a little smile formed on his face when he found them unsurprisingly filled with candy wrappers. He started walking towards the café’s general direction, feeling the cool breeze hit his face like a caress. An old couple thanked him as he stepped aside to let them avoid a puddle. As he reached the café, the sky was turning purple, it made him pause for a second and take a breath before pushing his way through the door.
The bell tingled over his head. He went over the pastry display next to the cashier, a mop of blonde hair was moving behind it.
“Hi, Jimin.”
Jimin peaked over the counter to look at him, she had her blue contacts on and heart shaped glasses. She smiled and looked behind him, searching.
“Where's Bo?”
“Home. I like your glasses.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You can't have these. They’re new.”
Jeongguk shrugged. “Kay.” She went back to restocking the mini pies and he looked around the cafe. A few patrons were dispersed across the tables, some petting the dogs. There weren’t that many, maybe because of the rain or the time. More would come as the sun set. “I'm looking for Nani, have you seen him?”
“Aren’t you with Bo this week?” Jimin said from behind the counter. Jeongguk leaned over it, crossing his arms on the curved surface.
“Yeah but, y’know. This week turned to be complicated.”
“Ah, right. The Residency.”
Jeongguk hummed. Jimin stood up and fixed her pink apron. She poked his nose. “Boop. Don't lean on the glass, how many times have I told you?”
He showed her his teeth. She gave him a blank stare.
“He’s at the back.” she said pointing at the door with her head, then made her way to the coffee machine. “Latte?”
“Yes please. With brown sugar.” Jeongguk went around the cashier towards the break room, “and I want a pineapple pie.”
“No.”
He stuck his tongue at her and pushed his way through the door. Immediately there was a yap from somewhere in the room and the sound of paws on the linen floor. Jeongguk smiled at the puppy coming from behind one of the shelves. “Tannie!”
Yeontan came running clumsily and Jeongguk crouched down to grab him. His paws were cold. “You need to stop running away.” Yeontan licked his cheek. “Kay, I forgive you.”
“Gguk-ah?”
Jeongguk stood up and walked around the shelves. He glanced at the person sitting on the break table. “Tae, hey. Didn’t know you were working today.”
Taehyung smiled. Putting his pen down on top of his notes. There were at least five books spread over the little table. “I'm not, the cafe is just closer to the lab gate, so I just figured I'd make time here before going.”
Jeongguk nodded sideways. Yeontan was still trying to bite one of his earrings. “That makes sense.”
Taehyung looked in their direction, smiling softly as he took his glasses off to clean them. “Pia?”
Jeongguk rolled his eyes, adjusting his hold on Yeontan. The puppy moved on to munch the raincoat’s cord. “Left the door open. Again.”
Taehyung chuckled, “ I figured.” He stood up, putting his glasses back on and stretching his back with a groan. Jeongguk frowned at the loud cracks. “How long have you been sitting here?” Taehyung glanced at his watch.
“Um, since I got here. Six hours, maybe?”
“Tae, that’s bad for your back.”Jeongguk looked down at his feet thoughtfully, an uneasy feeling in his gut. “You could’ve just…made time at home.” He thought of Taehyung’s green studio chair, much more comfortable than the shitty ones in the break room
Taehyung yawned and stepped closer to tickle under Yeontan’s chin. Jeongguk peered up at him. He looked tired, had a light stubble. He looked at him through his long eyelashes. “I told you, the café is much closer to the lab’s gate.”
Jeongguk raised his hand to brush a piece of lint off Taehyung’s beige sweater, a little bit annoyed. “I meant home home.”
Taehyung blinked at him. “Oh, well.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, a light blush on his face. “Didn’t think it was an option.”
Jeongguk tsked. “Idiot.”
Taehyung’s laugh was airy and sweet. Like the pineapple pie. He glanced at his watch once more. “Hey, I still have two hours left. Is the offer still up?”
Jeongguk scowled at him. “It was just made, how can it expire in less than a minute?”
Taehyung shrugged and said: “You never know with the ways of capitalism.” and he went back to gather his things. He put most of the books on his satchel and carried the rest on his arm. Turning around with one arm stretched. “Lead the way my liege.”
Jeongguk pretended to throw Yeontan at him. “Boo, lame,” and walked past him towards the door.
Jimin beamed at them as they made their way out of the break room. Signaling at the counter next to her. Two cups and a box of pie were stocked in a to-go box. Jeongguk raised an eyebrow pointedly at it, Jimin just shrugged nonchalantly and turned to greet the next customer on the line. Jeongguk made his way to the exit, the bell tingling as he opened the door. He held it open with one arm as he struggled to keep Yeontan from chasing the little dog that was taunting him across the cafe. “You can live one day without asserting your dominance.”
Taehyung grabbed the box by its handle with his free hand and kissed Jimin’s cheek before following Jeongguk. “You have your keys?” Jimin called from the cashier. Taehyung pointed down at his satchel with his chin. His keychain hanging by one of the straps. “I’ll be back in three days tops.” He told her. She made a face. “Don’t wake me up early if you come back on sunday.” She said and turned around towards the coffee machine.
Jeongguk snorted and let Tae pass before letting the door go. The bell tingled once more as it closed shut behind them. The sun had set already, but there were still some orange clouds in the sky. There was a bit of a drizzle, the air was colder. Jeongguk turned to open Taehyung’s satchel, taking out his umbrella. “This one’s new.” he noted as he opened it. It was pink. Taehyung laughed after the muted yell that came from inside the coffee. “It's Jimin’s.”
They started walking.
Jeongguk watched his sneakers as they stepped over the puddles on the sidewalk. “What happened to your umbrella?”
“I left it on the floor one day. Yeontan finally took revenge on it.”
Jeongguk laughed under his breath. “Dumbo.” Taehyung laughed.
“Yup.That 's me. With the big ears and everything.”
Jeongguk looked over at him. His brown hair darker where it was wet.
“You forgot your raincoat.” Jeongguk said as he stepped over one big puddle, jousting the umbrella and making a few more drops fall over their heads. Yeontan yapped.
Taehyung hummed next to him, “I know, I noticed.” Jeongguk looked back at him, he was still smiling. He’d been smiling a lot. “You’re cheery.”
Taehyung looked taken by surprise by the observation. He turned to look up front, he seemed to dim a little bit and Jeongguk felt bad.
“It’s okay,” he said softly. “I like your laugh.” he lowered his eyes to his sneakers once again, added a little bit more quietly. “I missed it.”
Taehyung slowed down to a stop. Jeongguk turned to see him. He was looking at him with that face. That face. He had seen it earlier today too, felt the same something. So Jeongguk relented, and stepped forward, coming closer to rest his forehead on Taehyung’s shoulder. He breathed in deeply, filling his lungs with the scent of fabric, cologne and rain. Taehyung’s arms came to frame him the best they could while being occupied. “Jeongguk-ah.”
Jeongguk shook his head, and peered up to him. Their faces so close. “Shut up.” Taehyung gave him a small smile.“It’s okay.” He whispered.
“Just. Don’t say it.” Jeongguk pleaded, and moved forward to kiss him on the lips. Once, chaste. “M’ sorry.”
Taehung kissed him back once more, rubbing the tip of their noses as they parted. “Shut up.” he mocked, and then softly. “Don’t be sorry.”
Jeongguk wanted to say more, but Yeontan was trying to get down, wiggling fervently between their bodies, so he stepped away and started walking again.
They walked in silence the rest of the way and reached the building soon enough. The night breeze was chill and the neighborhood quiet. Some more leaves falling over.
In the elevator, Taehyung bumped his hip with Jeongguk’s, and Jeongguk stuck his tongue out to him, Yeontan took the opportunity to lick it, and Jeongguk groaned, disgusted. But Taehyung let out a calcke and they both ended up laughing until they reached the floor. “Your fault.” He complained and stepped out of the elevator. Taehyung shrugged as he followed, “Like father, like son.”
"Gross."
They reached the apartment's door and Jeongguk took out his key to open it. They entered and took off their shoes, Taehyung left his books and satchel on top of the shoe shelf. Jeongguk let Yeontan down, the puppy ran away as soon as his little feet touched the floor, going straight to the living room.
A loud shriek was heard then, followed by a fit of joyful giggles.
“Guess she’s awake.” Jeongguk sighed, and started walking towards the source of the giggles, Taehyung at his toes. In the living room the scene was as cute as it was horrific. Some of Pia’s tools were discarded around the floor, and there were colored paper scraps everywhere, a cushion completely missing its foam as it was carefully displayed on the yellow rolling coffee table like an operation table. In the middle of it, his daughter was embracing Yeontan fiercely. The poor dog struggled to breathe, she was strong for a four year old.
“Boyoung, what did we say about strangling Tannie?” Jeongguk said as he assessed the damage around them.
Bo turned around and her face lit up. “APPA!” She let go of Yeontan and bolted towards them, arms wide open.
Taehyung kneeled down immediately, stumbling a bit when Bo practically crashed into him. He held her with one arm and reached the other up to Jeongguk so he could take the to-go box before another mess was made. With his hands freed Taehyung picked her up, kissed both her cheeks. “Hey, baby.”
She giggled and held his face between her little hands. “Appa, you came back soon? Appa, Nani was gone, now he’s here!.”
“Yeah baby, he went to say hi to me at the café. And I came back to say hi to you! I missed you!”
Jeongguk watched them and raised his hand to caress her head, her ponytails were all lopsided because of her nap. Bo smiled and turned to Jeongguk. “Appa, aunt Pia had gummies!”
“Traitor!.” Pia's voice came from the kitchen.
Jeongguk share a look with Taehyung. “Remind me why we let her take care of Bo?.”
“Free labor.” Taehyung said and followed him to the kitchen. Pia was on the kitchen island, carefully handling what appeared to be a tiny MP400K. It was obviously broken, judging by the wires coming out of it. She looked up at them when they entered.
“I regret nothing.”
Jeongguk left the box on the island. And kneeled down to inspect the work under the sink. “Good, cause you’re having eggplant parmesan for lunch tomorrow.”
Pia groaned. Letting her head hang. “I can’t have good things.” Taehyung let Bo close so she could pat her head softly to comfort her.
“You’ll survive.” He stood up and took one of the cups from the box and gave it to Taehyung, who had sat Bo in her chair and was now sitting next to her. “Thanks Gguk.”
Jeongguk squeezed his shoulder in response, and then grabbed the pineapple pie and took a knife to cut it into four pieces. He gave two to Taehyung, who started parting one of them in more little pieces for Bo to eat. “Ñam!” She said as she threw some to Yeontan who was conveniently waiting on the floor by her chair.
Jeongguk put the other piece on a plate next to Pia. “Come, wash your hands and have some pie.”
“ Pie Pia, pie Pia, pie .” Taehyung and Bo sang.
She got down the island and went over to the sink, the water ran just fine, that was good. She came to sit next to Jeongguk, taking a bite off the pie. He looked over to her and poked her dimple as she ate. “Let's run by it. What’s missing?”
She talked between bites. “The MPK was okay when I assembled it, but it started failing when I paired it with the transmutor, now it's all jammed and its not running.”
Jeongguk hummed, considering. “And you used an O-34 extensor to pair it?” Pia nodded. “Yes! and I insulated it with the hydraulic pistol like you showed me.”
“Yeah I saw, good job.”
“Did you calibrate the voltage?” Taehyung asked from the other side of the island. “The portable generator runs at 220 by default and it needs to be at an exact 154. It runs too hot if not.”
Pia perked up. “No, I didn't. It was weird when it melted the first layer.”
Jeongguk smiled. “There you go.”
“What’s this new project about Pia?” Taehyung asked as he stood up to fetch Bo her sippy cup with water from the fridge.
“I’m trying a new pulveriser system, whatever remnants of food you have in the sink gets into the shredder and the kinetic energy from the shredder is used to power the cooling systems. Trying out a sort of feedback loop.”
“Sounds like you’re on track, kid.” He tousled her pink hair as he walked back to his chair.
“Thanks uncle Tae.” She looked at the watch on her wrist as it lighted up. “Shoot, it's almost seven. The landlord will kill me.” She stood up and started gathering her things. Jeongguk cleared his throat and pointed with his fork towards the living room. “No mess after projects. That's the deal.”
“But-”
Jeongguk shook his head solemnly. “You’ll just have to surrender to the parmesan. Tidy up, chop, chop.”
“Ugh. Fine. But you’re aiding and abiding my early demise.” She dragged her feet towards the mess.
Taehyung laughed behind his fist as he watched her go. Then leaned over the island towards Jeongguk. “You asked for leftovers?”
Jeongguk nodded and they high-fived.
Pia left at seven twenty four, her wrist watch lighting up with notifications like the Temp monthly fair. Seokjin was probably having a meltdown, but he didn't come punching his way through their apartment door so maybe time wasn't a big of a deal.
The mess in the living room was solved and Bo was playing with her safer toys, Yeontan at her side yapping enthusiastically whenever she landed a particularly hard blow on her construction ensemble.
Taehyung helped him with the dishes, they stood side by side, and when they finished he looked at his watch. “I have an hour left.”
Jeongguk nodded, swallowed down the disappointment. Tried to talk himself out of it. He was working on it, they both were. Taehyung had shared a moment with them, even when he had only two hours, he had stayed in the kitchen. He was trying.
“Sure, you still know your way to the studio?” He joked. Taehyung smiled but kept looking at him, somewhat guarded. Jeongguk tried harder. Playfully pushed his shoulder. “Go, I have to start prepping Bo for bed. Quit distracting me.”
Taehyung raised his hand and tucked a hair behind Jeongguk’s ear. “School nights, they suck.”
“The schooling system is a scam.” He grabbed Taehyung’s wrist, pressed a kiss on his palm and leaned closer to accept Taehyung’s soft peck. It was muscle memory, but it was also yearning.
Neither pointed out how they’d kiss three times in a row after three months of not even touching. He thought maybe Taehyung was about to, but then Bo came running, asking for Jeongguk’s help with a very important engineering issue and Taehyung retreated towards the studio.
He was getting Bo ready for her bath when Taehyung came with his things to say goodbye.
He kissed their daughter’s head, tickled her chin just like he did when he came to drop her off at lunch. “I gotta go up to the lab sweetheart.”
Bo didn’t cry, she was getting older, or maybe getting used to being apart from one of them from time to time. Jeongguk held her a bit closer in his arms as Taehyung opened the door.
“Be safe, remember to eat.” Jeongguk leaned on the doorframe. “Try to sleep between shifts, don’t be dumb.”
Taehyung smiled. “Stop gossiping with Jimin about me.”
“Your sister is a reliable source of information.”
Taehyung watched his wrist as it lit up again. “Gotta go.” He leaned over and kissed Jeongguk’s temple and then Bo's, who had her head nestled in the crook of Jeongguk’s neck, sleepy. "Bye-bye appa."
“Love you.” he whispered back.
Jeongguk leaned over to rub his cheek with his, and Taehyung turn slightly and kissed the corner of his mouth, careful. They pulled apart and their eyes stayed connected for a fraction more, before another beep from his watch made Taehyung rush towards the elevator. Jeongguk watched him until the doors closed.
He turned around to enter the apartment and saw Seokjin at the end of the hallway. He had a tux and was fixing his cufflinks.
He raised an eyebrow.
Jeongguk bit his lip. Seokjin pursed his lips.
Mouthed RENT .
Jeongguk flipped him off and swiftly entered his apartment, he heard Seokjin’s indignant yelp as he closed the door.
Bo was sleeping in her room, planets and moons and asteroids floating around her.
Jeongguk was sitting on his own bed. He glanced at his wrist, then at the empty space beside him. Considered for a moment. Then he pressed call.
The call connected almost immediately.
“Gguk-ah.”
“Hey.”
“She asleep?”
“Yeah, tonight the theme is space. Quit trying to make her want to go up there.”
“Sorry, can’t help it. Want her to be here with me as soon as possible.”
“She probably will, before you know it.”
Laughter. Pause.
“Gguk-”
“The main door. It has no color.”
“huh?”
“The main door, it’s really dull, compared to the rest of the apartment. You should paint it too.”
He couldn’t see Taehyung but he heard him smile.
“I will probably be back on sunday. I could come by later.”
“Then you should come straight here. Let Jimin sleep.”
“Okay. I'll- I'll do that. Yeah.”
“Kay.”
“See you soon?”
“Yeah.”
“Good night Gguk, sleep tight.”
“You too… please.”
“Will do.”
“Bye, Tae.”
“Bye.”
The call disconnected and Jeongguk grabbed his watch and placed it on the deck over his bedside table.
He got under the covers and called the lights off. He stretched his arm and pressed the blinking blue light beside his watch.
“Message Log. Video message. Five years, four months, three days and 3 hours ago."
“Play.”
A light blue hue flooded the room. Taehyung’s face appeared floating over the deck. His hair longer, purple. No glasses. A dopey smile on his face. Jeongguk rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.
“ Hey baby, you must be asleep. I’m still getting used to the time here. I’m sorry if I woke you up. I just wanted to look at you. I miss you so much. I also wanted to say… what we talked about the other day. Count me in. I'm always in for anything with you. I know it has been difficult for us. But never impossible. See you tomorrow. I love you.”