Before the Dawn (jikook/ vminkook)

15. The way he tastes

If someone had told Taehyung a few months ago that he'd be here, he wouldn't believe them.

Popping pills with Namjoon like they were candy.

Dancing barefoot around his living room, bumping into the other sweaty bodies crowded there.

Singing at the top of his lungs to the music blasting over the speakers, lost in MDMA induced bliss.

In all honesty, he'd needed this release.

Was throwing a giant house party as a distraction from his overactive mind the healthiest way to deal with his woes? Perhaps not.

Was it strangely effective anyways? For fucking sure.

Jimin and Jungkook were here, too, somewhere. But for now, he was trying not to think about them. Just focused on losing himself on the makeshift dance floor.

"I seriously don't need another drink," Namjoon slurred over the bass, seeming to appear out of nowhere, "But I think I just might have one. Can I get you another?" He politely offered, tipping an invisible hat. Taehyung couldn't control the laughter that bubbled up, and he threw a heavy arm around Namjoon's shoulders.

"How do you even need alcohol when the pills feel like this," he hiccuped, deciding in that moment he really didn't want to let go of his friend. He was craving an odd amount of closeness right now, which he could only assume was the handiwork of the drugs.

"They hit you just right, then," Namjoon observed, laughing a bit. "Congratulations,"

"No, no, no," Taehyung clumsily waved a hand at him. "Congratulations to you, for being such a good friend,"

"I think I'm more of a bad influence than a good friend-"

"No, I needed this, so thank you,"

Namjoon gently untangled himself from Taehyung's grasp, pulling him a little more to the side of the dance floor so they didn't keep getting hit with flailing bodies.

"I thought you seemed anxious earlier, I'm glad you could loosen up,"

"I really was," Taehyung agreed, leaning back against a stray chair.

The furniture had been pushed around the living room at odd angles, jutting out in spaces it didn't belong.

"What's on your mind?" Namjoon asked, suddenly seeming slightly more sober. Only slightly.

Taehyung waved away the question, returning a hand to Namjoon's shoulder.

"Nothing you need to worry about, let's just have fun tonight,"

And so they did.

They drank more, they danced, and they danced, and they danced. At some point Yoongi joined them as well. And Changmi. And Mina and Hobi. Taehyung had wrestled Mina into his arms when he saw her approach, managing to steal her away from Hobi for a few songs.

Everything felt oddly harmonious, considering how strange Taehyung had felt the past couple weeks. For one night, he finally could put all that behind him. Just laugh with his friends and let his body move freely, while his mind took a miniature vacation.

Maybe it was just the drugs hitting him hard into oblivion, but it didn't even bother him when Jimin and Jungkook showed up to dance with them as well. It didn't hurt him to see them together, at least for now. He could just enjoy the sight of them.

They looked beautiful as ever in the dim party lights, dancing in sync with one another as if it was choreographed. They just laughed when Namjoon shimmied between them, striking up a conversation with both as they all continued to dance.