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Taehyung reaches forward to change the radio station to one playing christmas songs, finally settling on Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. He starts dancing in the passenger seat and belting out what he thinks are the lyrics. However, his older brother promptly corrects him.
“Taehyung-ah, it’s ‘make my wish come true.’ There’s nothing about dreams in this song,” Seokjin admonishes lightly, tapping out the rhythm on the steering wheel.
This just makes Taehyung sing the wrong words even louder, and Seokjin sighs, shaking his head as he flicks on the windshield wipers so he can see through the snow that began falling an hour ago. That was when Taehyung started getting impatient (“Snow excites me, hyung! Are we there yet?!”) and Seokjin suggested turning on the radio to calm his younger brother down. Making the boy pick a station and stick with it was difficult, but not impossible. What finally had Taehyung calming down was a(n empty) threat to sell his saxophone and vintage LPs.
(“Taehyung-ah, so help me—”
“Whaddya need help with, hyung?”
“Deciding what to do with your saxophone and collection of jazz records after I leave you at the next rest stop.”
“Aw, hyung! But you can’t sell Etta James or Duke Ellington!”
“Watch me.”)
After the song is finished and the station starts playing its commercials, Taehyung inquires, “How much more time left, hyung? Until we reach the lodge?”
“Not much longer.” Seokjin turns on his blinker and begins to change lanes after checking his surroundings out the window and in the rearview mirror. “We’ve just got to pass another toll bridge, Tae. Then we should be— Oh shit!”
Seokjin suddenly stomps on the brake, holding out his right arm to prevent Taehyung from flying forward, though they are both wearing their seat belts. The car skids to a stop while their hearts beat in their ears, the snow coming down at a heavier rate.
“You okay?” Seokjin asks softly, breathing quickly due to the adrenaline flooding his system.
“Yeah, hyung; I’m fine. That car just came out of nowhe—”
“Oh my God, Taehyung! There’s a person!” Seokjin screeches, pointing in front of them. “The car in front of us just hit a fucking person!”
Seokjin exits the warmth of the car despite the frigid temperatures, less concerned about himself and more concerned about the safety of the possibly-injured person lying in the tiny snowbank.
“Wha—? Hyung—” The younger boy curses as he struggles to release the restraining seat belt and stumbles out of the car to approach his older brother’s stooped figure.
Taehyung edges closer to the scene of the incident, pulling his beanie further down over his large ears. He also warms his hands by blowing into the little cup they make and pulls on his gloves. He soon realizes he recognizes the motorcycle with the bent wheel over to his and Seokjin’s right and stops his advance (because who else rides a white-and-black bike with red wheel spokes and a red seat cover?)
Taehyung breathes slowly, purposefully, so he can prepare himself for the possible gore he’ll see once he finishes stepping forward. Gulping, he shuts his eyes tightly, licks his lips, then peeks out of one eye.
The body of the person Seokjin is leaning over is wearing a black, puffy winter coat, a red patterned scarf, ripped jeans that seem like a second skin, and dark combat boots. Every article is caked in a thin layer of snow, even the black knitted gloves and the plastic helmet with an Ironman sticker on it.
“H-Hyung…?” Taehyung calls softly, but his voice doesn’t carry over the sudden gust of wind. He tries again, a bit louder. “Hyung?”
This time, Seokjin glances over his shoulder, a look of relief on his face. “He’s just unconscious, TaeTae, so there’s no need to be scared. You can tell he’s still breathing.” Seokjin speaks softly, gesturing to the person’s chest. “See?”
Taehyung watches the steady, rhythmic pulse of the up-down movement of the person’s chest, too afraid to look at the person’s face.
“TaeTae.” The way his brother says his nickname commands him to snap his vision to Seokjin, though his gaze is probably a little unfocused. “TaeTae,” Seokjin calls again. “I need you to do something for me. Do you think you can do that?”
Taehyung just nods dumbly as the tears appearing in his eyes quickly dry up due to the harsh, frequent breezes.
“Thank you,” Seokjin says calmly. “I need you to drive after that car, Taehyung-ah. It’s a hit-and-run because he didn’t stop, and we’ve got no information about the suspect.”
Of course Seokjin is worried about justice. He didn’t drop out of medical school to become a lawyer for nothing.
“And I’m the only one with the medical knowledge he needs before the ambulance gets here,” Seokjin continues. “You’ve driven in these kinds of conditions before, Taehyung-ah, but it’s going to be for a different reason this time.”
Taehyung freezes, thinking of the first and last time he’d driven a car.
“I need you to be strong, okay? I need you to do this for someone else,” Seokjin mumbles, nodding his head in the direction of the snow drift and the person in it. “Do this for him, okay? And we’ll go for hot chocolate when you get back,” Seokjin promises with a soft smile.
Taehyung shivers and Seokjin surges forward to hug him and kiss his temple, which is half-hidden by his beanie.
“Okay, hyung,” Taehyung whispers, teeth chattering, as he enters the car before starting it and pulling away.
Nothing prepares Taehyung for the panic attack he has while driving.
He is breathing calmly, driving fifteen kilometers beneath the speed limit and humming along to the carols on the radio, when he spots a car pulled off the road with its hazards on. His knuckles go white as his grip on the steering wheel tightens, flashbacks of last Christmas and the funeral haunting him. He swerves, pulling off the road and parking after barely nicking a sign that warns of a steep grade.
Taehyung tries to get his breath, gasping and clawing at his throat with his hands, but he can’t. He shucks off his coat and makes to open the door when a car passes, one that looks exactly like the reason why he is doing this stupid chase in the first place.
Deciding to crack the window to let some cool air in, Taehyung begins to regulate his breathing after counting backwards from 30, the gasps only coming irregularly now.
Just before the car disappears over the next hill, Taehyung shifts into drive and carefully pulls onto the road.
“You can do this,” he mutters to himself as he focuses most of his attention on the breathing exercises Seokjin taught him after his only year in medical school. His breathing regulates as he safely coasts down the steep hill.
With the panic attack behind him, Taehyung takes to puttering along a few car links behind the suspected vehicle and its driver. He braces for a long drive (and an even longer one back to Seokjin) when the car pulls into a familiar residential area.
The car parks in front of a familiar house, and an unfamiliar person walks up to the familiar front door. Before the person can knock or even buzz the bell, a familiar person steps out onto the familiar porch, and the pair disappears into the familiar house.
Taehyung whispers, something akin to awe in his voice, “Jiminnie?”
“Um, hyung?” Taehyung quietly questions, his soft pants making the line crackle.
“Yeah?”
“I think I found him…”
“That’s great, TaeTae! Do you have a descrip—”
“Hyung, the guy went to Jiminnie’s house.”
There’s a long pause before Seokjin breathes out a simple, “Oh.”
“Y-Yeah. Should I call the police and still give them the description?”
Another lengthy pause with nothing but static makes Taehyung think his connection is lost, and he’s about to shout into his phone’s speaker when his brother finally says, “No, just come back, Taehyung-ah. I’ll call Minnie and see if the guy will give the police a statement. Drive carefully on your way back; don’t speed because the roads are slick, and you know to call me if—”
“Yes, hyung, if something goes wrong,” Taehyung repeats seriously. Then, he asks quietly, “…Is he alright?”
“The biker? Yeah,” Seokjin answers, and Taehyung sighs in relief, listening intently to the rest of Seokjin’s words. “He’s fine. Just a little banged up and cold. He’s got a concussion, even though he was wearing his helmet, and minor abrasions on the skin that was exposed during the crash. He’s not awake yet, but the paramedics are loading him up now.”
“C-Can we—”
“Want to meet us at the hospital? We can even share the shitty hot chocolate they have during the holidays.”
Taehyung makes a tiny noise of assent, and mumbles out his goodbye.
“See you soon, Taehyung-ah.”
“—so,” Seokjin finishes, “he wants to see you.”
Taehyung’s eyes widen. “Me? I didn’t do anything! You’re the one who saved his life, hyung!”
After his lips curl up in an amused smile, Seokjin admits, “Well, I wasn’t completely honest before when I told you he wasn’t awake yet. He woke up, I asked him some questions, and he fell back asleep. And he’s been awake since they brought him here, and he’s done nothing but ask for ‘the guy with the deep voice.’”
Taehyung looks at his brother, armed with suspicion and squinty eyes. “What else aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing!” Seokjin exclaims semi-convincingly, his eyes sparkling and lips pursed in a smirk.
Taehyung makes a noise that translates in sarcasm to “Of course you’re not lying, hyung.”
Seokjin shows Taehyung to the young man’s room, explaining everything he told Seokjin when he’d been awake and responsive.
“—and he’s twenty years old, from Busan.”
Taehyung thinks all this information sounds familiar, but he brushes it off. “But what’s his name?”
Seokjin stops just outside the room. “I figured you should be the one to ask,” he states cryptically before he ushers Taehyung inside.
“Oh, you’re he—”
“Jeongguk?” Taehyung asks in disbelief.
“That’s me,” the man in the hospital bed replies, waving to the brothers standing just inside the room.
“I’ll leave you to it, then. Bye, Guk-ah.”
“Bye, hyung,” Jeongguk bids as Seokjin exits.
Meanwhile, Taehyung continues to blink owlishly and stand there with his mouth open.
“Hi,” Jeongguk offers, the very same Jeongguk Taehyung had gone on a few (disastrous) dates with.
“H-Hi,” Taehyung stammers.
“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here, huh?”
Taehyung just nods and finally closes his mouth.
“My bike slid and I bounced off a light post pretty hard. Apparently, I ran into a car too, but I don’t really remember that,” Jeongguk finishes. He gestures to his arm that Taehyung only now notices is in a sling.
Taehyung suddenly rushes closer to the bed, repressing the urge to reach out and cradle Jeongguk’s jaw. “You broke your arm? What else did you do? Hyung just said you had a concussion and that you weren’t awake yet, but he’s a liar, and I told him that, but he just laughed and said— Oh my Soonshim! Is that road rash on your face?”
Jeongguk laughs, slapping the bedding on top of his knee. “No, I broke my collarbone, so I need to keep my arm still, and I don’t really know what else I did, but the guy who drove the car I bounced off of knows more than I do about what happened, and yes, that is road rash on my face. I found a chunk of asphalt that didn’t have any ice or snow on it and decided I wanted a wicked looking scar on my cheek. So,” Jeongguk smiles, his split lip suddenly looking soft and pillowy, “what else did hyung tell you about me?”
Taehyung blinks once, twice, then reaches forward and punches Jeongguk hard in the arm (not the one in the sling because he’s only mildly upset, not evil).
“Ow.”
“That’s for scaring me and not calling me back after our last date, you dumbass! And this,” Taehyung growls as he grabs at the cloth of Jeongguk’s hospital gown, “is for being alive.”
Taehyung yanks Jeongguk forward, pressing his soft lips against Jeongguk’s chapped ones. Jeongguk takes a few moments to react, but when he does, he melts against Taehyung. Too soon, the kiss breaks, and they pant softly, Taehyung reaching up to card his fingers through the feathery strands of Jeongguk’s hair.
“Pretty good for our first kiss, huh?” Jeongguk admits smugly.
“At least someone finally had the nerve to do something with the sexual tension! You guys were suffocating me earlier,” a voice calls out, making Taehyung and Jeongguk spring apart from each other.
“H-Hyung!” they both stutter, looking at Seokjin who is smiling complacently in the doorway.
“Yeah, I’m glad I decided to walk in now, or I would have needed brain bleach.”
Jeongguk tries to stifle his laughter, and Taehyung fans himself in an attempt to cool down his flaming cheeks.
“So,” Seokjin stalks forward. “I talked to the guy you saw with Jimin. He’s his friend from college, or something,” Seokjin says, dismissing the unimportant information with a wave of his hand. “And he was the one who saw Jeongguk’s crash.”
“What’d he say, hyung?” Jeongguk asks while Taehyung questions, “Why didn’t he stop to help Jeonggukkie?”
“Apparently, he had time-sensitive information relevant to something he and Minnie are working on together with another of their coworkers, and he called for the ambulance that arrived later. I had wondered how one was already on its way when I called the dispatcher…
“Anyway, Minnie called me after this guy showed up at his house and told him the whole story, which was after you called me, TaeTae. I helped him get this guy’s statement to the police, and they agreed that no one was at fault. This guy is even willing to pay part of your medical bill, but I told him that wasn’t necessary, Guk-ah.”
Jeongguk nods, his hand seeking and finding Taehyung’s on the bed. Their fingers entwine as they clasp one another’s hands, and Taehyung stares down at them, astonished at how perfectly their fingers fit together.
“Now,” Seokjin claps his hands together, “I’d love to leave you two to finish whatever it was I interrupted, but I think we all need some sleep,” he suggests, flashing Jeongguk and Taehyung a smile.
“Sounds like a plan, hyung,” Jeongguk agrees, nodding his head. “But I need my goodnight kiss from Taehyung first.” Then, Jeongguk is releasing Taehyung’s hand to tap his offered cheek.
“Alright, make it quick,” Seokjin warns before stepping out of the room.
Taehyung pushes Jeongguk lightly once his brother has disappeared. “You love embarrassing me in front of him, don’t you?”
Jeongguk beckons Taehyung forward with his crooked finger, and Taehyung immediately obeys. “Just a little bit.” Jeongguk whispers behind his hand like he’s revealing the biggest secret. “But you’re not supposed to know that, hyung, and neither is Jin-hyung, or we’d just embarrass you more than we do now.”
“I’m glad it’s still a secret, then.” After a brief pause, Taehyung whispers back, “Want me to tell you a secret?”
Jeongguk nods vigorously, tilting his ear toward Taehyung.
“I’m glad I’m here with you now.”
Jeongguk smiles as Taehyung’s hot breaths tickle his ear.
“And I might want a goodnight kiss from you too,” Taehyung whispers sheepishly.
“Well,” Jeongguk says, smiling, as he turns toward Taehyung and leaves but a hair’s breadth of space between them, “that can be arranged.”