i. partner in crime | vkook

16. princess

"you slept in my windbreaker?" a freshly showered jeongguk cocked his eyebrow at a half-asleep taehyung who was rubbing his eyes at the dusty yellow morning light shining into the bedroom.

"stop saying it's yours," taehyung mumbled a bit too accusatory for the situation while sitting up in the bed and crossing his arms. "it's mine now cause i've worn it more than you ever will."

"true," jeongguk said unbotheredly and shrugged, towelling his hair dry. "you slept okay, poor princess?"

"why do you care," taehyung's cheeks burned furiously as jeongguk mocked and teased him. "i slept fine, for your information."

"maybe because i'm stuck with you," jeongguk said bluntly. "and that's good."

taehyung ignored his words and wondered if every criminal was charming even when their hair was soaking wet and they were in a regular ugly black t-shirt.

jeongguk awkwardly broke the silence with an even awkwarder sentence. "i'm gonna go out for a bit, kay? get some groceries, uh, do you need anything?"

"an explanation?" taehyung frowned disappointedly at the thought of having to be alone again.

jeongguk rolled his eyes as he shut the door on taehyung, leaving him alone with the awkward sounds of his foot steps walking away.

"of course he's just gonna keep leaving me," taehyung whispered to himself as quietness and solitude surrounded him.

jeongguk slipped on his ugly scuffed up tennis shoes with untied laces and headed out carefully locking the door behind him while taehyung pulled the blankets back over his head and sighed.

taehyung stared into the warm darkness of the blanket, promising himself he wasn't going to come out from under it until jeongguk came back and apologized for everything.

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven-

taehyung counted in his head until the blanket started suffocating him. grumpily tugging it off of him, he stared at the bedside table in defeat.

focusing on the things he took from jeongguk's pockets the night before, his soft lips parted in curiosity and he let out a small sigh. jeongguk had taken the gun, which taehyung assumed he'd go threaten someone with and they'd have to be on the run again as he grabbed the pile of papers.

fussily picking through crumpled fast food receipts, taehyung searched for something interesting. a small tattered picture of a dark haired little jeongguk smiling in a soft black sweater holding a yellow stuffed puppy in his tiny fist in his dad's arms, their noses crinkling from laughter stood out from the other boring stuff. it looked like it was taken without thinking about it, capturing their once-happy eyes in the flick of a moment.

"oh, it's a family photo," taehyung said boredly, putting it back down on the bedside table unimpressed. he was surprised that someone like jeongguk could have a family.

taehyung was almost done being nosy when he found the little slip of paper that said hyo bogum and geochang. his still pink cheeks started to burn up again in anger.

taehyung cursed himself for ever thinking it was a good idea to talk to jeongguk and put the papers back down, wobbling from sleepiness while getting out of bed.

taehyung softly picked up jeongguk's pillow that now smelt like expensive bitter cologne and quietly made the bed.

"i'll just pretend i'm at work," taehyung cheerfully tried to reassure himself, confidentially straightening the edges of the blankets. "it's like i'm at work but i'm not at work."

forcing a smile and turning the shiny handle to the door, taehyung sprang out into the living room in an unusual good mood.

"well, if the idiot is gonna call me a princess, i might as well be one," taehyung mumbled, snooping around for cleaning supplies with the messiest hair in the world. "like cinderella."