endgame - vmon/taejoon

10. PAST

length: 0.6k words

—

THEN.

Art has never been Namjoon's thing, but it is Taehyung's, and this gives him motivation to love it like it's his own.

Namjoon, by all means, isn't an artist. He isn't like Taehyung; he's clutching the aerosol hard enough for his knuckles to whiten because his palms are sweaty and if he loosens his grip, the can will slip. Him clutching the can this hard also means that he can't flick his wrist with the same ease that comes naturally to Taehyung, despite this being his first time doing graffiti too.

Taehyung draws a flower, then a face in red, black, and white. Abstract art, he calls it. Namjoon loves it, and he loves watching the art process unfold in front of him more. Or maybe, he just loves watching Taehyung make art.

When it's Namjoon's turn, Taehyung stands back and watches him, eyes full of awe. He wipes his palms and loosens his grip, and he's starting to feel confident — fearless, even, like all the monsters in the world are gone and he can finally let his guard down, like he exists in the safety of this moment far away from the unknown future, with nothing ahead of him but a dirty canvas and nothing behind him but his best friend and the love of his life, watching his back like he always does. Like they always do to each other.

So, yeah. A soft breeze blows and Namjoon can feel goosebumps appear on his neck, but he's too immersed in spraying a second layer of white to care. He has a picture in his mind; a special character he and Taehyung designed together. Both of them have their own characters; Namjoon's is a purple koala Taehyung named Koya, and Taehyung's a creature with a red heart for a head Namjoon decided to call Tata. He's planning on painting Tata's head, and he wants it to be perfect. Or maybe he just wants Taehyung to love it.

And he knows Taehyung will, and — again, he's starting to feel confident, fearless, when it all comes crashing down. The police appear without a warning; before they get the chance to leave their tags or pack their cans. Taehyung freezes up first, when he sees the red and blue lights spinning in the end of the alley, and he breaks into a run, dropping the can and leaving Namjoon behind. Namjoon hesitates but does the same when Taehyung yells at him.

They run for a couple of blocks, but their legs can't outspeed the police car. They end up getting slammed against a police car, hands behind their backs, heads resting on the cold metal — and for a moment, when their eyes meet, Namjoon smiles. He feels alive. Tae bites his lip lightly, then looks away as the cop pushes him. Namjoon feels something else.

It's weird; being young and in love. Namjoon feels helpless and it's not because of the handcuffs around his wrists.

Eventually, the handcuffs are removed and both Namjoon and Taehyung taste freedom. One of the cops wants to call Taehyung's dad, but he starts to freak out about it, so Namjoon does his best to beg the officer not to. Luckily, the officer is understanding and decides to let them off this one time, telling his partner, "they're just boys," after inquiring about whether they're in highschool or not. The partner isn't convinced.

"They're young and naïve, and they know better than to vandalise private property again. Don't you, boys?"

Namjoon and Taehyung are both quick to nod, and then they're running as fast as they can, worried that the cops will change their mind. Namjoon grins every time he thinks of this incident, but then he remembers the other cop's words, and it hits him; he won't always be let off easily.

"They should be punished adequately," the partner had said that night. "They're young today, but they won't always be."

He won't always be young.

He's growing up.

—

this one scene exists in every single fic i've ever written (and i'll ever write) n every time i write it differently i feel like a chef who's invented 837 different recipes for the same dish . And u know what? i love it. so. Thoughts ? 🔥