Don't Know What To Do | TAEKOOK

1

5 years later

Taehyung wakes up and hums dully, staring up at the ceiling. He sighs and turns over, his heart only aching more as he takes in the empty spot beside him.

Five years..

It's been five years since Jungkook went missing.

Five long, dreary years but Taehyung never gave up hope, not once.

Not when he was forced to cancel their wedding plans because he could no longer afford to pay for them.

Not when the search groups slowly got smaller and smaller.

Not when Jungkook's job sent a condolences basket and said they could no longer keep him in the payroll.

Not when their friends started referring to Jungkook in past tense.

Not even when the police switched from looking for a missing person to a body.

And now, thanks to the goddamn government after five months- only five fucking months- search parties had to be stopped for safety reasons. Everyone knew it was a load of bullshit because the government hadn't cared about the people in a long time. But even still, they listened because you died if you crossed the government.

Taehyung could count on both hands- and honestly feet too- how many friends and colleagues he'd lost in the past few months alone.

Deep down, part of him wondered if Jungkook had suffered the same fate but that meant accepting he was dead and he refused to believe that.

Taehyung burrows under the blankets, intending to sleep alittle more, even though he knows he won't. Ever since Jungkook disappeared, Taehyung never slept well, often only getting three or fours hours of sleep a night. Him being asleep was part of the reason it was so goddamn hard to find Jungkook. All his thoughts regarding that morning were muddled because he'd been half asleep.

Taehyung sighs as the doorbell rings, quickly getting up to get the door, even though he really didn't want to. But with the way the world was right now, if you stood around outside for too long you could get taken in by the police and never seen again.

Even if you were just waiting for someone to let you in. That's how bad it was.

"Go away." Taehyung says as soon as he opens the door to let one of his close friends, Jimin in.

He was actually Jungkook's best friend; the three of them had been thick as thieves in the past.

"It's nice to see you too." Jimin says jokingly as he quickly walks inside, watching Taehyung lock the door.

Taehyung scowls as Jimin fixes his hair and smiles softly at him.

"How are you today?" Jimin asks.

"The same as I've always been every other day." Taehyung replies shortly.

Jimin nods gently. "I miss him too."

Taehyung bites his lip as he looks at him, quickly looking away when Jimin wraps his arms around him tight.

"This day always fucking sucks.. you shouldn't spend it alone." Jimin murmurs softly.

"23."

"Hm?"

"He, um... h-he would've been 23 today." Taehyung whispers so quietly, it was a wonder that Jimin even heard him.

Jimin nods and pats his back comfortingly. "I know Tae, I know.. c'mon let's go get you something to eat."

***

Taehyung sighs as says goodbye to Jimin, making sure he got into his car safely and drove away before he sighs and locks his door.

After they cooked and ate breakfast, they sat in the living room and watched DVD's on Taehyung's old Blu Ray DVD player. They ate burnt popcorn (twice, thanks to Jimin) and binge watched a good majority of the marvel movies, watching all three Iron Man's because it was Jungkook's favorite Marvel superhero.

He gathers up the popcorn bowl and various empty cookie and candy wrappers and heads into the kitchen, throwing the trash away before he washes the bowl and dries it off. He puts it away and sighs, looking up at the ceiling as he leans against the counter.

It was at moments like these- when it was eerily silent in the small cottage like house that Taehyung really truly missed Jungkook.

The younger boy had brought so much life and adventure into the older boy's life that Taehyung had no idea what to do without him.

He honestly didn't know how he managed to get through each day without him, but he did- maybe because he knew Jungkook would've wanted it that way.

He'd be disappointed to know that Taehyung had given up and even in his absence Taehyung couldn't bear to disappoint Jungkook.

He rummages around under the sink until he finds the box of detergent pods and puts one in the dishwater, scowling because he'd have to put the dishes away tomorrow morning.

He walks back out into the living room and turns the tv off, picking up the stuffed elephant that always sat on the couch. It's deep blue colored had faded in the years and it's middle was becoming worn out from being held and picked up so many times.

He holds the plushie close and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"Happy birthday Kook..." he murmurs softly, squeezing his eyes shut to hold in the tears that threatened to spill out.

He shakes his head and takes a shaky breath, gently setting the elephant back down before he turns all the lights out and heads into the bedroom, walking across the room to the bathroom in the dark.

He closes the door and turns the light on, taking a shower (spending a good thirty minutes inside the steamy shower stall because he couldn't bring himself to pick up the soap and wash) and washes his face and brushes his teeth.

He slips his pajamas on and regards his reflection in the mirror, noting the dark circles and the lack of emotion in his eyes. He'd lost a lot of weight in the past five years but that was mostly because he couldn't afford much food with only his income. He didn't recognize himself anymore and he often wondered if Kook would.

He sighs once more as he turns the light out and climbs into bed, shivering slightly at how cold it was in the room. It didn't normally feel this cool and Taehyung wonders if Jimin turned the air down while he was here.

Taehyung shivers again and debates on whether or not to get up and turn the thermostat up when a voice suddenly speaks out in the dark.

"Cold?"

Taehyung freezes in the bed, his heart thudding hard and fast in his chest at how... how familiar the voice sounded...

He yelps out as he feels a pair of arms encircle him and quickly backs away, his hand slipping on the edge of the bed. He tumbles off the bed, crying out softly as his shoulder and head hit the floor rather hard and immediately start aching.

Taehyung ignores the pain though as he gets up and races to the door, fumbling around in the dark for a few seconds before he finds the light switch and clicks it on, turning to see who the hell was in his bed.

He freezes as he takes in the boy in his bed, his hair ruffled and a bit longer than he usually wore it, dressed in his usual oversized hoodie and sweatpants.

"J-Jungkook?" Taehyung whispers in disbelief.