Fake || a kth and jjk ff

|| ten ||

Taehyung dropped his arm but held Jungkook's hand again, lacing their fingers together. Jungkook liked it more than he should, just like he'd felt when Tae was holding him. Somehow, Tae had known Jungkook couldn't handle facing his mother's friends immediately after the run-in with Namjoon. The confrontation had upset Jungkook more than he was willing to admit to either of them. Tae had used the excuse of needing a moment for himself, but Jungkook wasn't fooled. Tae had done it for him. In the entire time Jungkook had known Kang Taehyeon, Taehyeon had never once been intuitive about Jungkook's feelings, and this man he'd known for less than a day could see right through him.

Jungkook looked up at Taehyung, suddenly feeling shy, although he wasn't sure why.

Tae gave him a warm, boxy smile that reached his eyes, filling Jungkook with reassurance. "We want to keep Knickers happy, don't we?"

Jungkook laughed. "You picked up on that quick."

Tae didn't answer as they headed out onto the deck. All the guests were still in the process of being ushered down to the patio around the pool. His mother led Jungkook and Taehyung to the railing that overlooked the yard. Jungkook's father stood to the side, looking embarrassed and totally out of his element.

Jeon Ae-ri cleared her throat, a delicate sound that garnered everyone's attention. "We'd like to thank you all—our dearest friends—for coming to celebrate the engagement of our son, Jeon Jungkook. I know it's not the most conventional of weddings, but I firmly believe that Jungkook should love who he wants, no matter what gender." She paused and gave Jungkook her best fake smile, a look convincing enough to fool ninety-nine percent of the people she met, but not her own son. Then she turned back to the crowd. "Seongjin would like to say a few words."

Jungkook looked down at the sixty or seventy faces of his mother's dearest friends, who stood around the pool and spilled into the edges of the yard. He'd only seen four of those faces before tonight. Hoseok, a hopeless romantic who was currently glowing with excitement. His grandmother, who looked like she was privy to some private joke. And Jimin, still manning his position at the bar with Yoongi while he shot daggers of warning at Tae.

The view in front of Jungkook was breathtaking. The sky had darkened and the floating candles on the water and the candle chandelier hanging from the tent emitted a magical golden glow. If he were a man prone to falling for romance, this display would have swept him away. No wonder Hoseok looked so orgasmic.

He heard his father talking, so he tuned into his words. "Our son and our soon-to-be son-in-law..."

Suddenly the beauty of the scene hit him in a different way. His mother had created this mostly for herself, but it had been intended as a celebration of Jungkook's upcoming nuptials. The whole thing was a farce. Everything about it was a lie. He felt incredibly alone and panicked and messed up and... Tae squeezed his hand, interrupting Jungkook's racing thoughts. Jungkook looked up at Tae and smiled, surprised by what he saw in Tae's face. He was either an incredibly good actor or the lust in his eyes was real.

"...Jungkook and Taehyung."

His mother clapped next to him, then announced, "And now we'll perform the handfasting ceremony."

That caught his attention. Jungkook whipped his head around. "What?"

His mother was already moving behind them, a long strip of wide satin ribbon in her hand.

"Mother," Jungkook whispered loudly. "What are you doing?"

"I won't be outdone by that snotty Choi Miran," his mother whispered as he reached for Taehyung's right hand. "They did this at her daughter's wedding and everyone loved it." She picked up Jungkook's hand and placed it palm down on Tae's forearm.