✔ Communication is key - A BTS Taekook Fanfiction 18+

19

True to his words, Jeongguk meets with Misun on the following two weekends, without her twin brother, while he does something with Taehyung on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As expected, the initial awkwardness was soon replaced with fun and joy. Jeongguk insisted on not forgetting the past but on starting over.

Taehyung imagined it would be harder to revert to old habits, but with Jeongguk, it's pretty easy. The younger gives him no reason to doubt that they won't be best friends again. Of course, both of them hold back for now, think twice about making certain jokes or hugging each other goodbye. So far, nobody has dared to do it, and that's okay.

The reunited friends are now sitting on a Tuesday evening in Taehyung's apartment when Jeongguk has a question. "Tell me, why exactly do you have a reputation for being cold and aloof? I've heard the craziest stories, especially after the incident."

Taehyung sighs. He has asked himself that for a long time, but Jimin explained it to him one day. "I always wanted to concentrate on university, get a good degree and then be able to pursue my dream job. In the beginning, it was possible without too many issues, but it started when I went out with someone. The guy was a gossip, he told people that I'm good in bed and easy to have. At the time, however, I didn't know that." He shows him a few messages that he hadn't deleted until today. "Suddenly I got messages like those, including very intimate pictures. The requests for dates never stopped." Taehyung shakes his head as he remembers. It was more than annoying.

"Did you answer them?" Of course, Jeongguk is curious, who wouldn't be.

"No. I deleted the worst and blocked the senders. Misun helped me a lot so that I didn't have to read these idiotic texts. After all, normal people wrote to me and I didn't want to ignore them because of that." Taehyung is still sorry for his parents who waited days for an answer.

"I see. That's why you declined all offers to date, I'd probably have done the same. I'm really, really sorry that I believed the rumors about you  when I heard you talk to Woojin." Jeongguk looks at the older with a look of regret. Now that he knows the full story, it seems that he would like to go back in time to handle it differently. Unfortunately, of course, this doesn't work.

Taehyung puts his hand on Jeongguk’s thigh without thinking about it and kneads it lightly. Since when does he have so many muscles there? It's not fair because everyone knows how much Taehyung likes it. He has to focus, and cannot be distracted by the delicate thighs. As if he didn't have difficulties concentrating on the conversation, he replied with a neutral expression. “I hid important things from you. If I were you, I'd for sure have reacted like that too, not gonna lie. If I had known that you listened to everything, then I'd definitely have been more determined to clarify the matter with you." Since he didn't know, he was afraid of making things worse if he had approached him with more pressure. The only thought that crossed his mind was that Jeongguk might not want to be friends with him anymore. It was of course strange, there had been no reason for it from his point of view, but Taehyung had hoped that it was only a phase. As he now knows, it wasn't and he's glad that it has now been clarified. He's also happy that Jeongguk can overlook it and is willing to try again. It's gonna take a few more weeks before everything can go back to normal, if that's even possible, but he doesn't give up hope.

“Unfortunately we can't change anything about it, but we can learn from it. Let's make a deal." Jeongguk steals a look at the hand on his thigh but he doesn’t say or do anything about it. "If we hear something about the other or get bothered by something that happens in the future, we will talk about it before something like this can happen again."

Taehyung can feel the warmth under his palm and can't get enough of it. It's the most intimate touch the two of them have shared in a long time. Even if he's still very distracted, he has listened carefully. Taehyung saw the quick glance down to his hand. “That sounds like a good idea." With a smile, he tries to keep himself from licking or nibbling his lips. It would just add to the ever growing sexual tension in the room. He wouldn't be able to handle it and would definitely do something stupid.