Dreaming Alone | taekook ✔️

s i x t y

"Early shower?" Seokjin arched a brow at his brother, who stepped out of the bathroom.

Taehyung nodded, throwing dirty clothes into the plastic bag their family deemed their laundry basket. "I was sweaty."

"From?"

"Running."

The older motioned down the hall. "Your boyfriend's here. He took a shower too, judging by his wet hair."

"He... also ran," Taehyung squeaked in response.

"Mhm." It didn't take much for Seokjin to see through his brother's antics after years of living with such a bad liar.

The brunette bolted for his room to avoid further integration and was pleased to see his boyfriend sitting cross-legged on the floor, clipboard in his possession again and back against his bedpost. His brows furrowed in uttermost concentration, the end of the marker poking his cheek.

Not wanting to disturb the atmosphere within the four walls, Taehyung tiptoed over to his bed and laid down, reaching off the mattress to gently stroke the ravenette's face. A simple gesture to let Jeongguk know he was here without stealing his attention away and distracting him. The ravenette acknowledged that by leaning against his hand, keening into his touch more than ever, especially after the intimate moment they had earlier.

Perhaps they were so familiar and intertwined with each other that some things can go unverbalized.

Like the significance of Jeongguk holding a marker in hand after months of avoiding writing, and how Taehyung swelled with pride just watching him conquer his fears little by little.

The bravest soul he'll ever meet.

Suspicions still swarmed the brunette's mind, but he kept them to himself, understanding that now wasn't the time to bring them up. Right now he just wanted to enjoy existing in the same space as his Bambi.

Taehyung leaned back against his pillow and closed his eyes, basking in this silence so serene that he could hear the progress Jeongguk was making by the sound of marker tips scribbling on paper.

A few minutes later, the scrawling stopped and Taehyung turned his head to see his boyfriend staring back at him. "You okay?"

The ravenette nodded, but his eyes stayed glued to Taehyung's face as if he was admiring a specimen.

"What?" The brunette was beginning to feel shy, a helpless smile blossoming over his features. "Quit lookin' at me like that."

Jeongguk mirrored his smile. "I'm tryna think."

"By staring me down like prey?"

The ravenette broke into a chuckle, turning back to his piece of paper. "I'm writing about you."

Taehyung blinked, propping himself up by the elbows. "You're writing about me? I thought you were writing to your mom."

"I'm writing to my mom about you," Jeongguk elaborated, "I didn't know what else to write— but I do have a lot to say about you."

The brunette snorted. "Good things I hope."

"Only good things." Jeongguk flashed him a smile, showing off bunny teeth that Taehyung was more than ready to swoon over.

Taehyung pressed a kiss against his head and let the ravenette continue, feeling incredibly valued and loved.

"I don't really know what to do with this," Jeongguk admitted after he somewhat finished.

"You don't have to do anything with it. It's just putting your thoughts down on paper."

"I want to be emo and go to the beach and read it out for her by the water."

Taehyung laughed lightly. "Sure. I'll be emo with you."

"Actually..." Jeongguk said timidly, scratching his neck, "I think I'd rather go alone. Some stuff I wrote on here is very embarrassing."

The brunette laughed again. "That's fine. Either way, she'd be very happy to hear from you."

Jeongguk left the clipboard on the bedroom floor and got to his feet. "I'm hungry."

"For what?"

"If you want me to make a sex joke, Tae, it's not happening."

The ravenette yelped when Taehyung rolled over and whacked him on the ass. "If I did want to make a joke, I'd be responding with Hi hungry, I'm dad. So be grateful."

"There's pizza for dinner tonight and I wanna get there before the pepperoni ones run out," Jeongguk answered the brunette's question and squished their foreheads together, giggling when Taehyung leaned forward and pretended to bite his nose off.

"Let's go then."

Once they located their friends in the dining hall, Taehyung decided to go wash his hands before grabbing food and headed to the bathroom.

He was physically startled when Carter also came through the door and stood at the sink next to his.

"So? Did it work?" The blonde asked casually.

"I have so many questions about you," Taehyung deadpanned, soapy hands in midair as he eyed the boy, "Mainly— how did you know that my boyfriend liked yogurt pretzels and was sensitive around the ears?"

"All males are sensitive around the ears." Carter rolled his eyes like it was a known fact. "But I did get a little insight from... certain people."

"What the fuck does that even mean?"

"Come see me tomorrow. Let me tell you a little secret Jeongguk's been keeping from you."

Taehyung became defensive, aggressively ripping off a paper towel to dry his hands. "I trust him. He doesn't keep secrets from me."

"Oh but he does."

"Then why tell me tomorrow and not now?"

Carter scoffed as if he was having an equally difficult time trying to understand the brunette. "My roommate and your boyfriend are outside this door sitting at the same table. I don't want them to suspect that we met."

Taehyung's blood boiled, hating how his wording villainized both Jimin and Jeongguk. "You're disloyal," He concluded, "Aren't you and Jimin friends?"

"Sometimes you learn things about people that just put your relationship to an end, you know?" Carter said, "Tomorrow gift shop after lunch. I'll see ya."

Taehyung was once again faced with choices when the blonde left the bathroom. Meeting Carter felt like going behind his boyfriend's back. But his assumptions about Jeongguk were too accurate to be a coincidence.

So his insecurities made up his mind for him.

__________

i hate the part of me that's impressed by how subtly manipulative Carter is and then i realize that i'm the author and it makes me rethink all my life decisions

expect frustration and angst in the upcoming chapters.

there are still things you haven't learned about Carter. and while those things do not justify his morally wrong actions, it's important to understand where the root of his hatred sprouted from. i'm trying to make the villain of this story as human and as three-dimensional as everyone else :]

goodnight hehe
- hay