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The exterior itself looks inviting, the space is surrounded by lush green grass and tall trees, there’s a little pond with a trickling waterfall that’s home to vibrantly red koi fish, and there are wind chimes on the trees that fill the atmosphere with twinkling notes that sound like angel footsteps. The small building that houses the ‘cuddle sanctuary’ is painted a soft lilac with white trimmings and resembles a cozy home more than a business space. Anxiety that Taehyung had built up as he drove here slowly begins to ebb away as the smell of sweet alyssum reaches him. The website had said to wear comfortable clothes, even pajamas were acceptable, so he’s wearing a pair of sweats and a soft worn sweater. He feels kind of self conscious wearing clothes primarily to be seen at home only in public, but the cuddle sanctuary is tucked away from the main road so he thinks he’s safe from judgemental eyes. He still can’t believe he’s doing this, paying to cuddle with a stranger, but Jimin swears by it and Taehyung figures it can’t do much harm.
There are no other people in the building besides the receptionist. Taehyung finds that strange, but he supposes it’s one of those businesses where there aren’t many people aren’t scheduled in a day. There’s the soft sounds of a babbling brook coming through unseen speakers and the entire room is bathed with gentle golden light. The receptionist, her name tag reads Seulgi Kang, smiles sweetly at him and it aids in putting Taehyung at ease. There are lockers behind her area, painted a soft sky blue and puppy stickers on each door. “Good afternoon, and welcome to the cuddle sanctuary.” She says to him. “Do you have an appointment with us, today, sir?”
Taehyung clears his throat before nodding. “Um, yes I do. Taehyung Kim?” He watches her slender fingers tap away at the keys of her keyboard for a moment before turning slightly to get a proper look at the room. There aren’t many chairs in the room, but each chair is a massage chair. Taehyung suspects they’re from Brookstone. The walls are painted beige and decorated with outlines of stars in complimentary colours. The rooms smells vaguely like warm vanilla sugar, and the babbling brook sounds have been changed to drizzling rain in a rain forest. bird calls can be heard softly in the distance of the recording.
“Ah, yes. Taehyung Kim.” Seulgi says, startling him. “Sorry.” She adds, with a sincere smile though her eyes are sparkling with amusement. “Didn’t mean to startle you. It’s your first time here, yes? Well you’re in luck. You’ve been paired with Jeongguk Jeon, and he’s a favourite among our clients.” She pulls out a clipboard with a form attached and a pen with a Totoro figurine on the end. “Please fill this out, and the room will be ready for you in a moment.”
Taehyung nods, filling out the form quickly and taking a seat when Seulgi gestures towards the chairs. They’re as comfortable as he knows Brookstone’s massage chairs to be and he relaxes into it. He closes his eyes and lets the last of his anxieties ebb away as the speakers switch to the sound of waves gently crashing against the shore. He’s not sure how much time passes, but the next thing he knows when he opens his eyes is Seulgi smiling down at him and telling him that his room is ready and Jeongguk will be with him shortly. “If you’d like,” she continues. “You can give me your valuables and I’ll place them in the lockers behind me.”
He pauses to think about that, mind a little slower from relaxing into the chair, and it seems like a good idea. He doesn’t want this experience to be interrupted by his phone ringing, and he doesn’t think it would be comfortable for his cuddler to feel his wallet and phone through the pockets of his sweats.
After he fishes everything out of his pockets and hands it all over, She smiles around a thank you. There are deep pockets in her dress, Taehyung realizes, and out of one she pulls out a sheet of puppy stickers to peel off a rottweiler sticker. “May I put this on you?” Taehyung nods and she presses it to his shirt. “Each locker has a sticker that are exactly like the ones on this sheet, so there won’t be any mixups and it’s much cuter than numbers or keys.”
Taehyung has to agree and she slips the sheet back into her pocket. “Now.” she says, clapping her hands together. “Second door on your left, hon.”
Taehyung nods again, taking a deep breath. He can’t remember the last time he got a hug from his parents and now he was about to spend an hour cuddling with someone he doesn’t even know. He can feel hysterical laughter at how absurd this this situation feels bubbling in the back of his throat but he valiantly stamps the urge down. He goes to the hallway Seulgi points out, follows her directions and soon he comes face to face with the second door on his left. As he walked, he had counted four other doors in addition to the one he was supposed to go to, two on the left and three on the right. Just beyond his door is the entry to another hallway, but he suspects that’s staff only. Each door he’d passed was decorated differently, but his door seems to be made out of the material used in blackboards. There’s a small shelf to the right of the door that holds different coloured chalk, and on the door itself there’s a heading that reads “rave reviews 4 jeonggukkie!!! (ᵔᴥᵔ)” and is followed by different testimonials and reviews and even jokes.
The sight makest Taehyung smile, and with a sudden burst of confidence he reaches out to open the door. Just before he walks in he sends up a quick prayer, hoping that whoever’s listening won’t let this be a regrettable choice.
The room looks like a bedroom from an interior design catalogue, but Taehyung also gets a ‘lived in’ vibe from it somehow. The bed is made, but there are wrinkles and uneven spots, there’s a desk in the corner that looks expensive, but it’s littered with paper and books and picture frames. The room smells vaguely like lavender, and there’s soft music that Taehyung recognizes as mozart greeting his ears. He closes the door behind him and takes seat on the bed. Taehyung lets his hands spread out over the sheets as he waits, he wants to look at the picture frames and see who’s in them but he has a feeling they belong to Jeongguk and he doesn’t want to overstep his bounds.
Mozart fades into an intermezzo by Brahms’ and Taehyung hums along as he waits for his cuddler to arrive. A few bars in and there’s a knock on the door and a voice on the other side asking if Taehyung is ready. “Ready.” Taehyung calls back, the familiar anxiety rising as this all becomes so much realer. The door opens and Taehyung is not sure what he was expecting, but it sure wasn’t this.
Jeongguk is tall and muscular, tattooed biceps slight press against the edge of the sleeves of his steven universe sweatshirt and the turquoise wing of a butterfly peeks out beyond his collar. He’s attractive too, very much so, and the nose stud, snakebites and tunnels in his ears just seem to accentuate it. His hair is dyed a dusty red colour and is styled away from his forehead, revealing an eyebrow pierced with two rings, framing his face instead of hiding it. He looks tough, and Taehyung won’t lie he’s a little intimidated. But that’s before Jeongguk smiles, revealing a slight overbite that makes it look like he has bunny teeth. The grin softens his face and Taehyung finds himself smiling in return.
“Hey,” Jeongguk greets him, closing the door behind him. “I’m Jeongguk and I will be your cuddler for today. Before we begin, do you know what touch starved means?”
Taehyung nods, when Jimin suggested this he’d also alerted Taehyung to the concept of touch starvation and the possibility that Taehyung was suffering from it. At first, Taehyung thought it was absurd. He was a grown man of eighteen years, not a developing baby. He didn’t need touch and affection from his parents to thrive. Then Jimin, frustratingly, pointed out that if Taehyung’s parents were like this when he was a child, chances are it was years in the making. As much as Taehyung hated it, he couldn’t argue with that logic.
“Good.” Jeongguk continues, the smile not losing any of its strength. “So you get that nonsexual touch can be beneficial right? That’s exactly what this is. It’s completely nonsexual, and the star here is you. We’ll start with companioning, first.” Before Taehyung can open his mouth to ask what the hell companioning is, Jeongguk explains. “It’s just sitting next to each other. It can be in silence, or we can talk. Whatever you need. It’s just to get you used to me and my presence before we start the actual touching. It’s essentially self explanatory. Companioning is the act of becoming companions, so to speak.”
“Ah.” Taehyung says, nodding as he begins to understand. “Oh, my friend has been to your branch in F
Florida and he said that you guys talk about skin hunger too? So do you guys do skin to skin contact, or?”
“Occasionally,” Jeongguk tells him, leaning against the door and folding his arms across his chest. “It’s usually our regular clients that do it, most people aren’t keen on getting half naked with a total stranger and letting them spoon you for an hour.” That smile flashes and Taehyung feels any residual anxiety begin to dissipate. “But, as long as someone’s request isn’t sexual or inappropriate, we do just about anything. So if a new client wanted skin to skin we wouldn’t turn them away.” He raises a pierced eyebrow. “Did you want -”
“No, no.” Taehyung interjects hurriedly, holding his arms out, palms showing as he waves his hands almost frantically. His cheeks feel warm and he wants to hide his face behind his hands. “I was just wondering. I’m not... This is already weird enough for me.”
“Understandable.” Jeongguk replies, his smile growing gentle and soft. “So, do you want to get this started?”
Taehyung hesitates, before nodding. “Yeah.” it sounds unconvincing to his own ears so he repeats the word more firmly. “I’m ready. For companioning.”
“That’s the spirit.” Jeongguk does double finger guns at him, clicking his teeth. And the move is so cheesy and unexpected that it startles a laugh out of Taehyung. It feels good to laugh, so good that Taehyung laughs much longer than he probably should. He can’t bring himself to care though, because Jeongguk is laughing along with him and just like that any tense air in the atmosphere is gone and Taehyung scoots up the bed to sit with his back against the pillows. He pats the space next to him, indicating to Jeongguk that he’s now truly ready for the whole thing to begin.
Jeongguk settles beside him and silence reigns for a few moments. It’s not uncomfortable, but Taehyung feels slightly restless, like he should say something but he doesn’t know what. He plays with the hem of his sweatshirt, looking around the room for something to ask about. His gaze falls on Jeongguk’s steven universe shirt. He decides to bite the bullet and start the conversation about that. “Who’s your favourite steven universe character?” He asks, gesturing towards the shirt in question. He feels a very, very slight fluttering in his stomach when Jeongguk turns to face him, but he pretends it didn’t happen. “I personally like Pearl and Lapis.”
“Pearl?” Jeongguk says, sticking out his tongue, feigning disgust. “Booooring. I like the badass characters like Garnet and Amethyst and Peridot. Now I get why you’re here, only uptight people like Pearl.”
Taehyung gasps in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Pearl is easily one of the most badass characters on that show! And so what she likes things to be efficient and follow rules and she likes to be tidy. That’s not being boring or uptight. I guess that’s why in here’s such a mess.”
“I live my life according to what Amethyst and Garnet would do.” Jeongguk says solemnly. “And I follow Jesus for my morals. So I think I'm pretty much good to go. Unlike some people - cough, Taehyung, cough - I like to have fun and live in the moment. And sometimes mess is good, mess is healthy.”
“Mess is never healthy.” Taehyung argues. He is about to put forward another rebuttal when Jeongguk interrupts him.
“I bet you eat your pizza with a knife and fork.”
Taehyung gapes at him, his words stuttering to a halt. He can’t deny it, because it’s true. Jeongguk looks at him expectantly and Taehyung stammers trying to come up with something but he can’t, because Jeongguk starts cackling with laughter. “You do, don’t you!” he wheezes. “Oh my God who fucking does that!”
“The european.” Taehyung says sulkily. “Because they’re classy and understand that you don’t want to get pizza grease all over yourself.”
“They also eat their fries with mayo.” Jeongguk points out through his waning laughter, wiping tears from his eyes. “I don’t think you want to take culinary advice from them.”
“Fries with mayo is delicious!” Taehyung says indignantly. “You’re uncultured.”
“You’re disgusting.” Jeongguk manages, starting to cackle again. “I bet you measure out your cereal and milk in the morning before you pour it into your bowl.”
Taehyung’s draw drops and then he scowls. “So what if I do.”
“Oh my fucking God. Live a little!”
“I don’t want to pour in too much cereal and end up with a soggy mess!”
“Soggy cereal is the best part!”
“You’re a monster!”
Jeongguk can’t respond because he’s laughing too hard. He’s holding his stomach with his head tossed back and sometimes no sound comes out because he’s laughing that hard. As much as Taehyung feels slightly disgruntled because a lot of that laughter is at his expense, the sight of Jeongguk losing it like this makes Taehyung begin to giggle and before long he’s laughing too.
Taehyung can’t remember the last time he laughed this hard. His stomach is cramping up, tears are streaming down his face and there’s a slight headache building at his temples, but he’s never felt this light and happy. “How are we supposed to cuddle if we can’t stop laughing?” Taehyung asks, taking gasping breaths as he tries to get the words out. “Is this how companioning usually goes?”
“This is the best companioning I've ever had.” Jeongguk says, giggles interspersed through his sentence. “Hey, hey, I bet you you liked Haruhi best in Ouran High School Host Club.”
“Ha!” Taehyung crows triumphantly. “I actually liked Kyoya best so suck it.”
Jeongguk gasps, pressing his hands to his chest. “Oh gosh, golly me!” he says in an exaggerated voice before dropping his hands and giving Taehyung a smug look. “Actually haruhi’s backstory is more interesting than the Kyoya’s character so you can suck it.”
“I don’t care what you think.” Taehyung replies snidely, looking away from him. “Kyoya was hot and had a nice voice and Haruhi was irritating and dry. So you can ultimately suck it.”
He quietly gives himself a point for that when Jeongguk doesn’t have an immediate comeback. When Taehyung looks back at him, Jeongguk’s eyes are curved up in amusement and his bunny teeth are visible from his grin. Taehyung begrudgingly admits to himself that it might be kind of cute.
“Well played, Taehyung,” Jeongguk says, applauding. “Very well played, indeed. You’re not such a stick in the mud after all.”
“I was never a stick in the mud!” Taehyung scowls, scoring system forgotten now, folding his arms over his chest. “Do you treat all your clients like this.”
“I usually don’t have ‘mad bants’ with clients like this, no.” Jeongguk says, holding up a peace sign by his right eye for some reason. “But this is cool! It’s like we’re actually friends. It won’t be so weird when we get to touching later. But don’t use that as an opportunity to elbow me in the dick, that wouldn’t be very nice.”
“I wasn’t even thinking about doing that but now I am. And you’d deserve it. Because you’re an asshole.” Taehyung pauses thoughtfully, remembering how Jeongguk had sworn earlier as well. “Also, I don’t think you should be using that type of language around clients.”
“Hey! I'm being a friend. Friends do this type of thing. God, It’s like you’re new to this.”
Taehyung freezes and flushes a little because he is new to this. He’s never experienced a conversation like this before, not even with Jimin. The only people in real life he has to call his friends are the children of his parent’s business partners. And they’re all stuck up and conceited, and Taehyung truly wants nothing to do with them. The sudden and brutal reminder that he really only has one friend, who doesn’t even live anywhere near him, hits him hard, making his chest feel tight and achey. His good mood vanishes almost instantly, and he’s left fighting back tears. He wonders if Jeongguk will notice, and part of him hopes he doesn’t.
“Also,” Jeongguk’s continuing. “If it helps the companioning go smoothly we’re allowed to say whatever kinda shit we fucking want.”
Taehyung tries for a laugh, but the sound that comes out is so pitiful to his own ears that any hope of Jeongguk not noticing his distress is gone now.
Just as expected, Jeongguk looks over at him the concern evident on his face. “Hey, are you alright? I didn’t really mean that you’re a stick in the mud. I mean, I don’t even know you right? Why should my opinion matter?” Taehyung looks down, trying to escape Jeongguk’s gaze but the other man isn’t having it. “Hey, hey. Look at me.” He says tenderly. “May I touch you?”
Taehyung hesitates, tensing slightly. he glances up at Jeongguk, barely meeting his gaze before lowering his eyes again. Jeongguk sounds sincere, like maybe he really cares; Taehyung realizes that he would like nothing more than for Jeongguk to touch him. Finally, he nods, giving Jeongguk permission. He reaches out to brush Taehyung’s hair from his face. Jeongguk’s fingers graze against Taehyung’s skin and he lets out this choked sigh, leaning desperately into the touch. It’s embarrassing, his body’s instant reaction to it. But when Taehyung looks up at Jeongguk through his lashes all he sees is a soft, understanding smile.
“I guess you’re ready, huh?” Jeongguk says smoothly. “What would you like to do? We don’t have to start with the cuddling. You can hold my hand, you can put your head on my lap while I stroke your hair, you can rest your head on my shoulder, you can sit tucked in close to my side. If you don’t want to be on the bed we can stand and hug for however long you’d like. There’s a garden behind the house, we call this building the house, we can take a walk while holding hands, or pulled in close at the waist. You call the shots, Taehyung.”
He never thought there would be so many options, and his head is kind of reeling. “Uh…” He hesitates, biting at his lip, it’s getting so real now and it kind of scares him yet he’s feeling exhilaration simmer low beneath his skin. “I think I like the stroking my hair option.” He says slowly, as if he’s still unsure and expecting his words to change without him meaning them to. “That sounds… nice.”
Jeongguk grins. “Good choice, Taehyung. I've been told I have magic fingers.” He wiggles said ‘magic’ fingers at Taehyung and he manages a soft chuckle in return.
“I'll be the judge of that.” Taehyung tells him, managing shy smile before clearing his throat. “So I just… put my head on your lap right?”
“Mhm.” Jeongguk hums with a smile. “Don’t worry, I wore my super soft sweats today. It’s like a cloud, I promise.”
The comfort of the material is honestly the least of Taehyung’s worries. Having his face so close to another man’s crotch is massively uncharted territory for him. Although he’d known from a young age that he was gay, being rich and shy often meant that people assumed that Taehyung thought he was better than them. Thus, he’d never really been able to form relationships with his peers. The sons of his father’s business partners don’t count. Taehyung would rather cut his dick off with a pair of rusty scissors than have sex with one of those cocky idiots. But, he reasons, Jeongguk had assured him that this would be nonsexual every step of the way. So this should be too, or else Jeongguk wouldn’t have listed it as an option, right?
They both shift so Taehyung can be in a comfortable position to put his head on Jeongguk’s lap. Jeongguk was right about the softness of the sweatpants.
“May I touch your hair?” Jeongguk asks him, his voice low and smooth, taking time with each letter.
“Yeah.” Taehyung replies, his own voice sounding fragile in the change of atmosphere. “Please.”
Jeongguk hums. “I'm going to touch your hair now, okay?” he says, to give Taehyung some warning before he feels strong hands stroking his hair away from his face. Jeongguk is neither too firm nor too gentle, it feels just right and Taehyung would probably be purring if he felt like he’d be able to get away with it. He lets his eyes drift close, focusing on the soft music and the ever present scent of lavender. During their conversation the music had changed through multiple pieces, it was now on a work by Chopin. An etude, Taehyung thinks. He’s played it before.
Jeongguk starts out by petting his hair, after what feels like luxurious hours, but was probably only minutes, he begins combing through Taehyung’s hair, letting his fingers drag very very lightly over Taehyung’s scalp. “That feels nice.” Taehyung comments, his voice feeling lazy and tasting slow like molasses.
“Magic fingers, didn’t I tell you?” Jeongguk replies. Taehyung can hear the smile in his voice.
“I was a fool to doubt.” Taehyung murmurs, relaxing into it, into the music, the lavender and Jeongguk’s touch. All thoughts of embarrassment are lost, and Taehyung practically purrs in contentment as Jeongguk’s blunt nails gently scratch behind his ear.
“I'd call you kitten but I'm afraid you'd bite," Jeongguk jokes quietly, still stroking Taehyung's hair gently, and it's just ridiculous enough to draw a lazy giggle out of him.
"My mother taught me not to put things in my mouth if I don't know where they've been," Taehyung answers sleepily, and the small smile hovering on his lips grows at Jeongguk's laughter. Taehyung internally gives himself another point, It's two to whatever Jeongguk's is, now, and he's only a little smug about it.
It’s not entirely true, though. His mother never taught him anything except how to host the perfect dinner party and use red lipstick to ensure a deal goes through. Nanny number four is the one who actually taught him that, but he doesn’t think Jeongguk needs to know those details.
Moments pass in comfortable quiet, the only sound in the room their combined breathing and the haunting chords of Bach’s passacaglia and fugue as Chopin’s etude ends.
“Hey,” Jeongguk says softly after a while, his voice subdued so as to not startle Taehyung after the long period of quiet. “Do you… do you mind telling me why you’re here?” Jeongguk sounds tentative and his voice is quiet - almost blending in with the Tchaikovsky that’s playing over the speakers now. He’s begun to give Taehyung a quasi scalp massage, and Taehyung very nearly melts into a puddle on Jeongguk’s sweats. “You don’t have to, of course,” he clarifies quickly. “We don’t even have to talk right now. But I'm open to listening to whatever you want to tell me.”
Taehyung is relaxed and pliant enough that he’d reveal government secrets if he knew any. But he still mulls over the question, deciding if he really wants to answer. He doesn’t really want to burden Jeongguk with his sordid backstory, but with the way Jeongguk’s fingers are working through his hair Taehyung can kid himself into thinking that Jeongguk truly cares about him and not his money. “My parents are rich and stuffy.” his words glide together but he tries to make them coherent enough that Jeongguk can understand. “I can’t remember the last time they hugged me without it being stiff and at a function of some sort. I don’t have any friends either. No one at my school wants to get to know me, and I hate the children of my parent’s business partners. So I'm just by myself a lot. I have one friend and he lives in Florida.” Taehyung sighs softly, shrugging. “I mean, I guess touch starved is the best way to describe it. My friend went to the one where he lives and swears by it and he has a lot of real life friends so it’s not like he needs it. Figured it couldn’t hurt anything.”
He hears Jeongguk hum above him and part of Taehyung wants to see his face, but another part doesn’t want to see the pity he knows is sure to be there. “If it’s any consolation,” Jeongguk tells him, still in that soft and tender voice. “I think you’re pretty cool , and I'd be your friend.”
“You’re paid to say that.” Taehyung scoffs, ignoring how the thought makes him feel warm.
“I'm paid to touch people.” Jeongguk corrects. “Not compliment them. That’s a whole ‘nother business venture. If I don’t have anything nice to say I just let the client do the talking. And sometimes there’s no talking even. So when I say you’re pretty cool, you’re pretty darn cool. Because my word is law and you have to abide by it.”
The sheer ridiculousness of Jeongguk brings Taehyung to laughter again. “Yessir.” he intones playfully, stretching and turning around so he can look up at Jeongguk’s face. Pity or no pity. “So, cuddling. What types do you do?”
“Well.” Jeongguk begins, untangling his fingers from Taehyung’s hair. “There are actually thirteen types we can do here. Do you mind sitting up so I can get the list?”
“A list?” Taehyung says in disbelief, frowning a little when Jeongguk stops the heavenly thing his fingers were doing, but he sits up regardless, watching as Jeongguk scoots away from him and opens a drawer in the bedside table. He yawns and stretches again, his arms high above his head and he feels like weights have been lifted off his shoulders. Like when he gets home the smile on his face won’t be fake for the first time in a long time.
“A list.” Jeongguk says, clearly mocking him. But he looks back at Taehyung with a smile so Taehyung doesn’t get too mad about it. He pulls out a few sheets of paper, closes the drawer and moves back to be close to Taehyung. “Here we go, sweet cheeks. All thirteen cuddling positions. Complete with diagrams and benefits.”
“Wow.” Taehyung mutters, shifting through the pages. “Y’all don’t mess around.”
“This is a business.” Jeongguk says, pretending to be offended. “Why would you think we mess around in the first place?”
But Taehyung ignores him, smiling to himself when he sees Jeongguk pouting in the corner of his eye. “I think I'd like regular old spooning.” Taehyung says after skimming through each style. He hands the papers back to Jeongguk. “If you’d be so kind.”
“You insulted my work, so I shouldn’t be.” Jeongguk says sulkily, though a smile plays at the corners of his lips.
“But I'm also going to be paying for this.” Taehyung points out smugly as Jeongguk puts the papers back. that’s another point for Taehyung. “So you’d better.”
“Touché.” Jeongguk replies, grinning at Taehyung. “Wow, you’re on a roll right now. I was wrong to ever call you a stick in the mud.”
“Exactly.” Taehyung says, giving Jeongguk a grin of his own. He still feels lazy and kind of sleepy, but there’s a buzz just under his skin. He’s looking forward to cuddling with Jeongguk, and the realization surprises him but he just rides with it. “So who’s the big spoon, who’s the little spoon?”
“Well look at the size of me.” Jeongguk says, flexing his biceps. “I'm the little spoon, duh.”
Taehyung stares at him blankly, the sudden shift in logic baffling him for a moment. “Wait. are you really?”
“Oh, silly, silly, boy.” Jeongguk says, clucking his tongue. “I'm anything you need me to be, haven’t you realized that yet?”
Taehyung blushes and shoves at him lightly. “Oh, shut up, I was asking to be polite.”
“Yeah, yeah. whatever. What do you want?”
Part of him wants to make Jeongguk the little spoon just to teach him a lesson. But he supposes Jeongguk has had to be the little spoon before so it probably wouldn’t do much. So he sighs, giving into the desire to have Jeongguk hold him. “Can you the big spoon please.”
Jeongguk smiles at him sweetly and sincerely. “It would be my pleasure. But first, may I touch you?”
“Do you always have to ask permission?”
“Yep,” Jeongguk says nodding, moving to get in position for the cuddling. “Just to be sure the client is really ready. This is really intimate stuff, consent in the moment is always a must, even for something like this. And even though the form you fill in is a type of written consent, I still need to ask.”
“Oh.” Taehyung says rather smartly as he watches the other man. “That’s... that’s really thoughtful of you guys.”
“Well, this is a sanctuary.” Jeongguk says, grinning over at him. “We want the client to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Now, are you going to get over here or am I going to have to pretend the air around me is Taehyung shaped.”
Once again Taehyung can’t help but smile. He doesn’t remember ever smiling so much in such a short space of time. “I'm coming, I'm coming,” he tells him, pretending to be exasperated as he moves to his position. “Patience, young padawan.”
“I'm pretty sure I'm older than you.” Jeongguk says, amusement in his tone. “I'm going to touch you now, is that okay?” He asks and Taehyung responds in the affirmative. Jeongguk’s arm drapes over his waist and just rests there and doesn’t draw him in. Taehyung supposes that he has to express the desire for Jeongguk to pull him close, he feels kind of self conscious asking, but it is what he wants so he does it.
Jeongguk pulls him in closer, his arm curving around him and Taehyung tries not to think about how perfect and right this feels.
“How old are you anyway?” Taehyung asks, curling his knees very slightly upwards and Jeongguk’s legs fit perfectly into the space.
“Twenty three.” Jeongguk responds, and he’s got that soothing voice again. Taehyung assumes it’s his ‘cuddling voice’. “You?”
“eighteen.” Taehyung replies. Taehyung hadn’t registered it before, but Jeongguk smells nice, like nutmeg and cinnamon.
“Ah, you’re a young’n.” Jeongguk murmurs.
“I'm legally an adult.” Taehyung argues, but he’s melting into Jeongguk’s embrace and there’s no heat in his statement.
“Legally an adult and yet a young’n. Can’t even buy booze yet. What a shame.” Jeongguk’s hand splays over Taehyung’s tummy, what feels like his thumb rubbing just over his belly button through his shirt. the sensation tickles a giggle out of Taehyung, but when Jeongguk starts to move his hand Taehyung quickly covers it with his own.
“You don’t have to stop.” He says, too quickly. “It feels nice.”
Jeongguk hums behind him, and Taehyung can feel it vibrating through his body. “You sure?” Jeongguk murmurs, his voice low and soft and it makes Taehyung feel too much.
“I'm sure.” Taehyung replies, letting his fingers slot between the spaces of Jeongguk’s.
“Alright then, kitten.” Jeongguk’s breath dusts over the back of his neck and Taehyung shivers, not even remembering that he’s supposed to dislike being called that.
Taehyung’s eyes drift closed and he’s lulled into feeling that sated brand of sleepy by Jeongguk’s steady breathing and Schumann’s almost too serious. He’s not even sure he’s allowed to fall asleep here, but as Jeongguk pulls him just a little bit closer, his leg slipping ever so slightly between Taehyung’s own, he finds himself doing just that.
In two years, or forty minutes, Taehyung really cannot tell, he’s awoken by someone gently petting his face and cooing his name. He blinks a few times, trying to force his eyes to focus, and the image of Jeongguk in front of him goes from blurry to sharp and clear. He’s kneeling so their faces are level and smiles softly at Taehyung, tilting his head slightly. “Hey.” Jeongguk whispers, still stroking Taehyung’s face, the backs of his fingers gliding against his skin. “You with me?”
Yeah, Taehyung means to say, but what comes out is a gargled groan.
Jeongguk chuckles softly and the sound warms Taehyung up and he feels his eyes begin to close again.”Hey, hey.” Jeongguk says, his hand moving to gently grasp Taehyung’s shoulder. “If you stay any longer you’ll be charged for a second session.”
“I don’t care.” Taehyung whines, the words barely comprehensible. “come back to bed.”
“Oh, c’mon, Taehyung.” Jeongguk tells him, even though Taehyung’s barely awake he can hear the smile in Jeongguk’s voice. “Think of it this way, if you go now, you’ll have an even bigger incentive to come back as soon as possible, and get the most out of two full sessions. C’moooon, wakey wakey, kitten.” Jeongguk moves to gently help Taehyung into a sitting position, laughing quietly at Taehyung’s whiney protests. “C’mon, if you wake up, we can go to the cafe across the street and get a snack. You can even hold my hand.”
Taehyung opens one eye, swaying slightly where he sits. “What do they serve?”
“Just about everything. Brownies, croissants, lemon squares, scones, and a bunch of other stuff. They even have sandwiches and these delicious gourmet sliders.” Jeongguk replies, smiling brightly at him. “And don’t worry, they have vegan and gluten free options too.”
Getting a snack does sound nice, Taehyung admits to himself. And holding Jeongguk’s hand sounds even nicer. “Okay,” he says through a yawn, stretching hard enough that he hears his bones popping. “I'm awake.”
“Excellent.” Jeongguk says. He waddles over to the bedside table on his knees, and opens the drawer, pulling out a small clear spritz bottle. He waddles back to Taehyung and holds the bottle up so Taehyung can see it properly. “This’ll help you wake up even more. It’s a special blend that our mingyu made. He majored in chemistry in college. It’s jasmine, peppermint and other citrusy scents blended with natural ingredients to help stimulate your mind. Or something like that. I was an english major in college.” Jeongguk grins, holding up a peace sign. “Anyway, you spray this on your face and it’s refreshing, hypoallergenic, non animal tested, and yeah! Want some?”
“You need to work on your sales pitch.” Taehyung mutters, rubbing his eye sleepily but smiling a little. “But, yeah.”
“Would you like to spray it yourself, or may I do it for you?”
“You may.”
“Close your eyes, for me?” Jeongguk tells him, uncapping the bottle. “May I touch you?”
“Of course.” Taehyung answers, closing his eyes and letting out a breath.
“I'm going to touch you now.” Jeongguk says, and seconds later Taehyung feels Jeongguk gently grasp his chin to hold his face still. “And now I’ll spray you. It will feel kind of cold, okay? Ready?”
“Mhm.” Taehyung hums.
“One, two, three.” Jeongguk counts before spritzing Taehyung’s face with the blend. It is cold and Taehyung flinches a little in surprise but quickly lets Jeongguk know it’s okay to keep going. Jeongguk spritzes him four times before letting his chin go. “Okay, you can wipe it off if you’d like but it’ll easily be absorbed into your skin so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Taehyung nods, wiping away moisture from his eyes so he can open them without fear of anything getting in them. “Thanks.” he says, watching as Jeongguk moves to put the bottle back. The smells aren’t intense, very gentle and pleasant, and Taehyung can already feel himself become more alert.
“You’re welcome.” Jeongguk says, smiling at him as he stands. He holds out a hand to Taehyung. “Ready to go?”
Taehyung nods once more, taking Jeongguk’s hand and letting the other man help him off the bed. He knows that he had the option to reject the hand, but he was eager to touch Jeongguk again. “Thank you,” he says quietly, looking down at their hands, Jeongguk’s fingers have slipped through his. “I know this is your job but… thank you. I think I really needed this.”
“Ah, don’t mention it.” Jeongguk says, waving dismissively and giving Taehyung a bright smile. “I love doing this. I know I look tough, but I really have a lot of love to give, and it’s my honour to share it with you.”
Taehyung blushes, glancing up at him. “Is that what you have to say at the end of every session?”
Jeongguk sighs. “C’mon, just because I'm paid to cuddle people doesn’t mean I'm not genuine.” He says. “Stop worrying, alright? There are no scripts here, I mean everything I say.”
“Alright, alright.” Taehyung murmurs. It’s just so difficult to believe, that this stranger potentially cares more about him than his own parents. “Can we get that snack now.”
“Yeah.” Jeongguk says, suddenly excited. “Oh, there’s a chocolate chip peanut butter brownie with my name on it. C’mon, let’s go!” He tugs at Taehyung’s hand, lightly pulling him into walking and they exit the room.
“Wait, hold on.” Taehyung says, pulling his arm back. “I want to leave a rave review on your door.”
Jeongguk lets his hand go and grins. “Really? sweet, yes. You’re going to be the last person to leave one before I clean it, so yours will stay until the cleaning after that.”
“I'm honoured.” Taehyung deadpans, biting back a smile. He goes over to the little container that holds the chalk and selects the purple stick. “You’re uncultured and a monster.” Taehyung says slowly as he writes. “But you have very nice hands. Tae-kim.”
Jeongguk laughs behind him, the sound feels like it doesn’t belong in the dainty and elegant atmosphere of the sanctuary, but Taehyung loves it. He wants to record it and play it through his phone when he feels sad. “That’s so nice of you.” Jeongguk says once his laughter dies down, as Taehyung walks back to him. “I love being told that I'm uncultured and a monster.”
“I figured you would.” Taehyung replies with a slight smile, reaching for Jeongguk’s hand to hold again. “But I also said you have nice hands, so. There’s that.”
“Yes, there’s that.” Jeongguk smiles over at him, squeezing his hand slightly.
They make their way to the reception desk, Seulgi greets them with a bright sweet smile. “Well, hello, there Mr. Kim,” she says as she stands, and walks the short distance to the lockers, opening the one that has the rottweiler identical to the sticker on Taehyung’s shirt. “I hope you enjoyed your first time at the cuddle sanctuary?”
“It was awesome.” Taehyung says sincerely. “I can see why Jeongguk’s one of the favourites. But don’t tell him I said that.”
Beside him, Jeongguk cackles again, and Taehyung’s cheeks hurt with how wide he’s smiling. Seulgi shakes her head, smiling as she walks back to them with Taehyung’s phone and wallet in her hands. “Your secret’s safe with me, hon.” She winks at him as she hands his things back to him. “I'll let him know he actually sucks.”
“I'm right here!” Jeongguk says.
“And we don’t care.” Seulgi says sweetly, taking her seat. “That’ll be one hundred dollars, Mr. Kim.”
Taehyung nods, opening his wallet and pulling out his debit card. He doesn’t really want ‘the cuddle sanctuary’ showing up on his credit card bill. The process is a little difficult because Jeongguk’s still holding his hand, but he doesn’t want to let it go unless absolutely necessary. He hands the card over to Seulgi and turns to Jeongguk. “So about that cafe.”
Jeongguk’s about to open his mouth to respond when Taehyung’s phone rings. Taehyung gives Jeongguk an apologetic look before reaching for it and looking at the screen. It’s his mother. He sighs, his good mood shattering around him like glass. “Hello, mother.”
“Taehyung, darling,” his mother says, in that clipped voice that Taehyung hates. “Your fitting for your suit for Anastasia’s wedding has been moved up. Wherever you are you need to come home now so you don’t keep the designer waiting. Okay, sweetie? Don’t be late.”
Before Taehyung can even reply, his mother hangs up and he’s left feeling insignificant and tiny. He lowers his phone and wants to hide immediately because Seulgi and Jeongguk are looking at him with concerned looks he doesn’t think he deserves. “I'm sorry.” he says to Jeongguk, lowering his gaze to the desk. “I can’t go with you to the cafe, something important came up.”
Seulgi slides his card to him and he places back into his wallet. He pauses a moment and then pulls out a fifty dollar bill. “here.” he says, holding it out to Jeongguk and finally meeting his gaze. ”It’s a tip. and you can get something from the cafe on my behalf. I like croissants dusted with cinnamon. Thank you again, I really can’t thank you enough.” He reluctantly begins to pull his hand away from Jeongguk, but Jeongguk covers it with his other hand.
“Hey.” Jeongguk says, quietly. “You don’t have to give me that. I told you, it was my pleasure. Travel safely, and don’t hesitate to come back whenever you need.” He takes the hand covering Taehyung’s away and slips the money back into Taehyung’s wallet. “Ask for me when you make the appointment.”
Taehyung swallows thickly, managing a smile. “Will do.” he replies. He gently pulls his hand away, and his whole body mourns the loss. He gathers up his things and turns to Seulgi. “Thank you. This place is great.”
Seulgi smiles at him, her eyes soft. “Thank you for thinking that, hon. We try our best.”
“Bye.” Taehyung tells them both, his eyes lingering on Jeongguk a moment longer than they should before he exits the house. Outside, he takes a few deep breaths. He’s not looking forward to this at all, He doesn’t even like Anastasia. He closes his eyes, bringing to mind how nice and right and perfect being with Jeongguk felt and letting the memories seep through him. Their earlier banter puts a smile on his face, and suddenly he feels confident enough to face what’s waiting for him at home.