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“I'm sorry I know I am late.” Taehyung slid in the empty chair beside Jimin passing a sheepish smile to his friends before his eyes landed on Jungkook who was seated right beside him.
"Hi baby." Taehyung gave him his brightest smile as he rested his hands on the table propping his chin on his palms staring at Jungkook almost unblinkingly.
"You do know this is a library right?" Jungkook muttered under his breath without a single glance up towards the elder , eyes focused on the book he was reading while his eyebrows furrowed with concentration.
Taehyung ignored the words as he let out a dreamy sigh , "Do you know , you look even prettier when you are busy concentrating on your work?" His hand moved at its own accord , his index finger gently pushed back the younger's reading glasses which slid down from their place.
"Maybe if you focused on your studies instead of me , you could score higher and get to be in first place."
Jungkook moved back a little , his eyes glancing up at Taehyung for the first time that noon taking note of the wavy strands which covered his forehead while he was busy passing a lazy boxy smile to Jungkook. His gaze dropped to his hand under his chin , the oversized sweatshirt gave him sweater paws giving him a soft appearance all over.
Adorable. Taehyung is adorable.
"You are staring."
Jungkook almost jumped caught off guard as Taehyung's lips curled into a mischievous grin , his eyebrow raised questioningly at the man.
"Don't flatter yourself too much. I'm tired, which is why I zoned out and I just happened to be looking your way." Jungkook frowned as his nose scrunched up slightly.
"Is that so , love?"
Yet another nickname was thrown his way. Keep calm. Keep Calm. Don't let it show. Jungkook chanted to himself under his breath as he straightened a little. He pulled his notebook towards himself after murmuring a small yes in answer , willing himself to ignore Taehyung's gaze burning holes in the side of his head.
"And there they go into their own world." Jimin murmured , leaning a little towards his boyfriend Namjoon.
"Why am I not surprised?" Namjoon sighed as he glanced at the duo who were busy in their books with Taehyung side eyeing Jungkook once in a while before his gaze found Jimin.
"I bet they will be together till the end of this week." Jimin spoke with confidence as Namjoon nodded agreeing with the younger. Both their attention diverted to Yoongi who sighed out loud at their hushed conversations sending a glare their way.
"I don't even know why we agree to study together when none of us are able to get anything done." Yoongi stared at his boyfriends pointedly who just shrugged innocently before mouthing a little sorry.
"No more talking, only studying." Jimin gave that cute little smile of his , his eyes turning into cresents.
"Yeah exactly." Namjoon agreed , his tone whisper soft as those dragon eyes of his stared at Yoongi.
Yoongi just sighed and nodded as realisation hit him for the nth time , he really can't stay or well let's rephrase ; can't /pretend/ to stay mad at his boyfriends for long.
An hour or so later , Taehyung's eyes followed Jungkook as he stood from his place moving away from the table towards the shelfs on the other side of the library on the far back end , he glanced towards the trio busy in their own works as he slid out from his own seat before following suit after Jungkook.
Taehyung sneaked behind him slowly leaning against a shelf while the younger was busy searching through different books , eyebrows furrowed as he scanned through the titles.
"You are so pretty , I could stare at you all day."
Jungkook took a step back at the sudden voice before he forced himself to relax recognizing the familiar deep baritone.
"That'd be creepy."
"I was trying to be romantic." Taehyung pouted , moving to stand beside Jungkook trying to get his attention.
"Are you not tired yet of me turning you down every time? Why do you always come back?" The question slowly rolled down his tongue as he picked out a book turning to the first page. Jungkook tried to sound as nonchalant as he could manage to as the words sounded bitter to his own ears.
All he got was silence in answer but before he could turn around to glance at the boy , he felt arms wrapping around him. They seemed stronger than the last time Taehyung had hugged him as a start of their friendship when he had joined the same gym as Jungkook's , 'to spend more time with the one he likes' Taehyung had said to him when Jungkook questioned about his sudden interest in workout and exercise to which Jungkook just rolled his eyes at him.
The words in front of him seemed to blend into one another as he felt Taehyung nuzzling on his neck , warm breaths tickling him as he felt goosebumps rise on his skin, the book he tried sliding back into its place fell to the ground with a low thud as his grip loosened around it momentarily.
"I can wait as long as you want me to if that means I get to be with you. I like you Jungkook more than just a silly little crush , isn't that reason enough?" Taehyung breathed , lips tracing the skin with every word as his hold tightened a little around Jungkook's waist making him gasp.
"Taehyung." Jungkook whispered under his breath as he leaned back, feeling the touch of Taehyung's lips on the back of his neck , feeling them move away for a second right before he felt it , a feather light kiss on his nape. Jungkook's hand moved to clutch Taehyung's own around his waist , holding it tight as he felt several kisses being traced on the exposed skin.
Jungkook turned around slow and hesitant in his movements , the intensity in those coffee brown eyes made him want to pull away yet give in with everything he had. Taehyung's one hand moved away from his waist to cup one of Jungkook's cheeks , thumb caressing the soft skin as Jungkook's arms moved to loop around Taehyung's neck. Eyes closing slowly as he felt Taehyung leaning in towards Jungkook's face , waiting for the touch of his lips on his own which never came rather he felt soft lips pressed against forehead.
His doe eyes opened wide as they stared at Taehyung , red coloured his cheeks from embarrassment as the moment just sinked in , he almost wanted to bang his head on the shelf at his own expectation and reflex. He pushed back Taehyung a little as he walked back towards their place without taking a glance back leaving an astonished Taehyung who couldn't even comprehend what went wrong.
And that was the last Jungkook had been in the same room as him , for he had disappeared with his stuff before Taehyung reached their spot as an emergency arose all of a sudden but Taehyung knew better than to believe a lie like that.
"He said he has to attend a family dinner." Jin muttered in an undertone , he gave a small pat on Taehyung's back and Taehyung just nodded as he watched Jin take his seat beside his boyfriend of two years Hoseok. Their love story seems straight out of a rom com movie , when Taehyung first introduced Hoseok to Jin and the others he couldn't have guessed that it would unfold like this. They were so different yet so alike , like two puzzle pieces falling perfectly in place to one another.
Taehyung passed them a smile before he moved to his own seat , the empty chair beside him made him sigh out loud. Six days had passed and now Taehyung wasn't even sure of what to think about the younger's absence from their group hangouts. It drove him crazy and he couldn't help but blame himself for how things turned out.
Jimin took Taehyung's hand in his own, giving it a squeeze , passing a reassuring smile to his best friend. The dinner went by smoothly, they tried their best to include Taehyung in their mindless chit chatter not wanting him to feel alone with his thoughts but there was little that they could do. After what must've been an hour they all went their way to their own apartments.
—. .---
Jungkook groaned at the sound of his door banging in the middle of the night interrupting his spider man movie marathon , he decided to let it be, knowing well it was only Jin who would dare to do something like this to annoy him. But the virulent bangs on his door and the doorbell ringing loud in his ears got him moving towards the main door.
"Why the fuck are you knocking on my door at twelve in the night when you know where the extra key is?" Jungkook walked away without looking back at the elder following after him.
"There's no fun in that. I just wanted to annoy you a little." Jin chuckled, taking a seat on the couch, eyes glancing at the screen before he turned to look at Jungkook.
"You weren't there at the dinner." Jin remarked.
"I already told you."
"Oh please. Just because I didn't say anything on the phone doesn't mean I am that naive to believe that." Jin scoffed , "The Jungkook I know would choose a hangout night over a dumb business dinner with his family any day."
"They threatened to take away my car , I had no choice." Jungkook sighed.
"That didn't stop you last time and don't you dare brush this off. You tagged along with me in my car for a goddamn week and even third-wheeled on my date with Hoseok-ie." Jin accused , pointing his index finger at the younger.
"Okay fine. You got me." Jungkook groaned , pushing away Jin's hand from his face.
"Tell me what happened."
"It's embarrassing as hell." Jungkook threw a pillow at Jin , sighing out loud for the nth time that night.
"He misses you." Jin blurted out, picking up the bowl of chips.
"I didn't ask."
"Come on, I know you miss him too. You can drop the act in front of me." Jin munched on one of the chips as his eyes glued to the screen.
"I never said that." Jungkook spoke , nonchalant in his tone as he tried to snatch the bowl from Seokjin's hands who was adamant on not giving it up at any cost.
They both chuckled after a few seconds as Seokjin set the bowl on the table in front.
"Jungkook." Jin called out.
"Mhm. I'm listening."
"Liking someone can be scary but if you won't take risks all you'll be left with is regrets and what ifs in the end."
"But what if he doesn't really like me? Y'know we have this unsaid competition going on , what if it's all just a prank to try and get me." Jungkook whispered , his eyes filled with frustration at those doubts which didn't let him step up to his feelings.
"Has he ever made you feel like you're not important to him? The boy has been trying to chase you around for more than two years, Jungkook , no one does that for fun and games. Having to open up about your feelings is hard and trusting someone to keep them safe is harder." Jin scooted closer pulling Jungkook in a side hug , "However, sometimes letting go of your fears gives you the type of happiness you'd never dare to dream of. Think carefully , you don't wanna be too late."
Jungkook nodded , relaxing in the hug and shuffling closer to let Jin ruffle his hair and coddle him to death as he tackled him to the couch.
"That's too much affection already now let me be." Jungkook struggled out of Jin's hold, throwing a pillow towards him which resulted in a pillow fight until they decided it was too late to be awake like owls and vampires.
— .•. —-
Jungkook mindlessly walked the quiet hallways. He has been successful in avoiding any interaction with Taehyung from the morning but for how long he was gonna do that he wasn't so sure himself. His thoughts were racing with endless possibilities of how everything could go wrong but none of them shined with hope of how it could all go right.
Jungkook yelped as he felt someone tug at his hands pulling him in an empty room , eyes closing at the force as his back hit the back of the door which closed after him. Jungkook's hand was clutching at what he thought was a jacket , as the sound of the door closing filled the room he pulled at it ready to throw a punch at whoever decided to prank him, eyes opening to land on a familiar pair of dark brown eyes staring right back at him.
"Taehyung." Jungkook whispered , his hold loosened on his jacket while he lowered his hand.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Taehyung questioned as Jungkook wiggled out of his hold moving to sit on one of the tables.
"I have been busy , I have no reason to avoid you." Jungkook tried to act nonchalant as he threw his bag on a nearby chair. He mentally winced as his voice sounded awkward to his own ears.
"Oh can you not lie and just let me know what's wrong for once?" Taehyung uttered , the frustration he tried to hide at first seeping into his voice.
Jungkook chose not to reply as his eyes darted around the room looking at anything and everything except Taehyung. And when he heard footsteps inching closer towards him , all he wanted was to run in the opposite direction but for some reason he was frozen in his place , refusing to move even an inch. Soon enough , Taehyung stood right between his thighs and one arm draped over Jungkook's shoulder while the other hand cupped Jungkook's left cheek before moving to the back of his head playing with his hair.
"Look at me."
Jungkook turned his head towards the other side as he refused to show any reaction towards Taehyung's words , pretending to not hear them until Taehyung came closer , his index finger hooking under Jungkook's chin to turn him towards himself.
"Is it because of me? I'm sorry if I did something wrong to make you feel uncomfortable in any way. I just…" Taehyung spoke in a rushed manner , his eyes downcast as he tried his best to not stutter over his words not wanting to lose Jungkook.
"You don't even know why I'm--"Jungkook muttered but was cut off mid way as Taehyung pulled away from him and he had this urge to just tug him back into his embrace , missing the warmth that enveloped him till seconds ago.
"I don't know , yes I don't. Then why won't you goddamn fucking tell me what's wrong?" Taehyung almost yelled by the end of his sentence, all the emotions getting to his head at once.
"I WAS JUST EMBARRASSED OKAY." Jungkook argued back, his hands clutched at Taehyung's jacket when he stepped closer pushing back Taehyung a little except he didn't let go of his hold.
"Do I… embarrass you?" Taehyung peeked at Jungkook from under his lashes, scared of the answer coming his way, his tone hesitant.
"Not of you , you fool." Jungkook sighed, exasperated as he paused for a few seconds. He took a deep breath before taking a step forward , "I wanted… you to kiss me at the library that day. I wanted you to fucking kiss me and when you kissed my forehead I was just a little flustered with my own imagination. I couldn't get that thought out from my mind. I couldn't get YOU out of my mind."
"What?" Taehyung questioned, as his eyes widened mouth slightly agape at the reveal which was not what he expected at all.
"I'm not repeating that again." Jungkook groaned , as he covered his face with one of his palms.
Taehyung reached for Jungkook's hand taking it into his own while reaching for his waist with the other, pulling him flush against his body.
"Instead of going out of your way to avoid me , you could've just asked me for a kiss." Taehyung murmured , leaning a little closer to the younger.
"I would never deny you anything , darling." Taehyung's lips traced his jaw as he murmured the words , he let go Jungkook's hand as he cupped his cheek , his hand inching towards the younger's nape as he placed a peck on his cheeks before moving back an inch to stare at him.
"Will you shut up and just kiss me already?"
And Taehyung did just that , he leaned in to let their lips brush against each other's, he could feel a shiver run down his spine as the cold metal of Jungkook's lip ring touched his lips, stepping back for a moment only to learn back in to press another peck square on Jungkook's mouth.
"Is this okay?" Taehyung murmured against his lips , Jungkook nodded right before pulling him back in for another kiss. Hands tugged on Taehyung's jacket in a rough manner as he took steps backward making them stumble a little on one of the benches while their lips moved on their own rhythm.
Lord. How long Taehyung had yearned to feel those hands manhandling him , it was so worth it.
Their little walk ceased once they had reached the wall , Taehyung's back flushed against the hard , smooth surface of the wall as they held onto each other. Taehyung's hand moved from Jungkook's cheek to his hair , his fingers tangling themselves into Jungkook's hair as Jungkook's hand inched up from his hip to trace the bare skin under Taehyung's t-shirt before sliding to rest on his bare back , making a gasp leave his mouth. What started out slow , hesitant and delicate had turned into something fiery , the tingling sensation in their stomach left behind a burning trail in the wake.
They pulled away , a string of saliva connecting their lips, chests heaving and eyes still closed as the kiss had tugged at their heartstrings letting loose a tornado of feelings. Denial wasn't even the option anymore for either for of them ; what they felt went far more than just attraction and they knew that.
He kissed Taehyung. Kim Taehyung kissed him. They kissed.
Jungkook's thoughts were all over the place , he could still feel the sensation of Taehyung's lips tugging on his lip ring right as they had deepened the kiss. The feelings this man invoked in his heart made him want to run in all different directions just to make his heart calm down and come down from the high.
Sigh. It was then or never.
"I … can't pretend anymore. I like you , Kim Taehyung. A lot."
Taehyung's eyes had fluttered open to find Jungkook already staring at him with an expression so gentle and vulnerable that it made his heart ache , he could feel the blood in his veins rushing into his ears as he felt a buzzing sensation in them. If he wasn't already so in love with the younger , he would think he was falling deeper.
"And I adore you , Jeon Jungkook. Ever since I first met you." One day , he would let Jungkook know the depth of his feelings, just not at the moment.
And when Taehyung smiled shyly in that moment , Jungkook knew that one day he would be head over heels in love with the man standing right in front of him and as they stared right into each other's eyes , for the first time Jungkook didn't feel any fear for the future ; he only felt hope blooming into his heart right as Taehyung pulled him into a warm embrace.