moonbeams.

XII. UNDER ROSY FLESH

there's something about the cigarettes you smoke and the alcohol you drink that i tolerate. i just don't see why you love them more than you love me.

Jeongguk doesn't say anything at first. He just ran his hands through dark strands, his chin resting upon the crown of green as the elder silently cried. In all honesty, he didn't quite know what to say; his family wasn't all sunshine and rainbows but none of his relatives hated him. Taehyung snuggled closer into the younger's chest, a button of the shirt he was wearing digging uncomfortably into his cheek and his throat scratched raw from the sobs that previously tore their way through.

"It's alright Tae..." The brunet whispered, pressing soft kisses atop of the artist's head, seeing the dark brown roots starting to come through the barricade of dye. Taehyung cried harder, the salty rivers soon becoming waterfalls of despair falling from his saddened orbs.

"I-I'm pr-probably being a b-big baby-y..." Taehyung let another choked noise escape from his dampened raspberry lips, making Jeongguk hold him tighter and closer, the elder's nose filling with the smell of pigment from the paint-stroked button-up, and a trace of fresh cotton and something sweet.

"Oh shush," Jeongguk mumbled as his eyes drooped from comfort - even if they were sat on the floor in tears and their blue hearts were aching. "It's good to have emotions, and quite frankly I couldn't care less what you looked like while crying. You're still hot either way."

They both chuckled at that, Taehyung's hands letting go of the tight grip they had on the younger's shirt. Instead, they rested on the soft slight curve of his hips, pulling him into a proper embrace of gratitude and peace.

"I'll explain to you one day."

✧✦✧

The day went by fast, faster than the two wanted it to, and they both sulked as they watched the dying sun be overtaken by deep blue and balls of glitter appear in the blanket above. Jeongguk went to close the curtains of the living room, but a tanned hand stopped him with a soft grip.

"Don't... I'd like to do some painting if that's alright." Jeongguk nodded, but still confused as to why the artist would care if the curtains were closed or not. Taehyung gave a gentle smile and sat down at his easel, taking a yellow paintbrush in his hand and deciding on which colour he should start with.

"I've always wondered why you always have paint on your hands. It's like you do it on purpose." Jeongguk dragged a stool over next to the easel, in front of the peaceful artist owning a gentle smile.

"No, I don't do it on purpose," The brush's bristles, damp from the fresh paint water, was dipped into a baby blue; Jeongguk watched as the artist smiled at the soft colour before he started his work on the canvas. "I sometimes just blank out and my brush slips, or I get so involved in my art that I don't really care about getting it everywhere."

"What about the curtains? Why do they have to be open?" Taehyung stopped painting and let his arm fall, the limb landing on his thigh as he fiddled with the brush using two tanned fingers. He looked over at the window, a new emotion sparking in those magical spheres and Jeongguk saw that they only resembled true happiness.

"You see..." The elder looked at Jeongguk with a proper smile on his pink lips, the box shape reminding the younger of sunshine after storms, rainbows after rain, flowers blooming after winter. "Passed ones of mine, they stand up there with the stars and simply watch over me. It's like they're giving me encouragement while I paint and soothe my sleep after nightmares."

The brunet smiled, bunny teeth no longer encased by rosy flesh of his lips and drew his gaze to the window. "So the curtains stay open?"

Taehyung nodded, not taking his eyes of the younger and admiring the beauty, fascinated with the calming aroma he radiated and innocence he adorned. "Always at night, yes, the curtains stay open."

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