Bargain (Not Met) (JungHope)

Deal with a Demon: Observed

It was ten o'clock, and the rest of Taehyung's guest had since arrived. Thus, as people often say, the party was in full swing. Champagne was popped, gifts were exchanged, and laughs were shared.

Hoseok got stuck on the champagne part.

Hoseok sat on the living room's main couch, so to speak, and was nursing his fifth glass of the beverage. 

Hoseok didn't mean to become the drunk loner guy, but the minute Taehyung had left him to his own accord while he toured the last round of guests around the penthouse, he had been handed a glass of freshly opened champagne by one of the guests. Hoseok would've rejected the offer since he was well aware of how much of a light-weight he was, but then he realized he was going to have a hard time enjoying himself at such a formal party without being a little buzzed.

Jungkook found him slumped against a wall forty minutes later, murmuring something along the lines of, "Jolly good day it is."

"You wanna go outside for a bit?" Jungkook asked, shifting on his part of the cushion uncomfortably as he watched a couple of guests make-out underneath a mistletoe in the distance. 

Hoseok stared at the guests with slight interest before turning his attention to Jungkook. The demon was staring at him with raised eyebrows and flushed cheeks, like he was embarrassed by only watching such indecent acts.

Hoseok grinned at him before bringing the cold glass of champagne up to his lips and taking a small sip of the bubbly beverage. The bubbles carried the acidulous flavor throughout Hoseok's mouth and tickled the back of his throat as he swallowed.

"I think you need to go outside," Jungkook sighed, heaving himself off the couch and dragging Hoseok with him.

Hoseok stumbled behind Jungkook through the slight crowd, still stubbornly clasping his nearly empty glass. His eyes washed over the moving body of guests and eventually landed on the person at the center of it all: Taehyung. The host caught his eye for a split second, and he smiled in his direction before turning his attention back to the swarm of people that surrounded him. Hoseok knew he felt a prick of hurt at being blatantly dismissed, but he overruled the petty feeling with his waning logic: He has other guests to attend to.

The moment Jungkook led them out onto the balcony, Hoseok allowed the frigid winter air to wash over his heated body as a sort of refreshener. The dramatic change in temperature significantly sobered him up, and for the first time since the party had actually started, his head felt clear.

"C'mon," Jungkook muttered after shutting the door behind them. "Let's hang here for a bit."

They naturally drifted toward the railing, gaze soaking up the sight of the city celebrating in a joyous sort of choir. The layer of snow had thickened as the night went on, little snow flurries fluttering against Hoseok's skin revealing the weather's earlier state. The festive holiday lights dyed the streets obnoxious shades of red and green, making the pure white snow that lined the sidewalks an off-shade mixture of the two colors.

Hoseok closed his eyes and listened to the distant sounds of rubber tires against cement roads intermingle with Christmas carols. He listened as the wind howled through the spaces between the buildings and echoed hollowly along the emptying streets. He listened to Jungkook's steady breathing and as it slowly turned into suppressed chattering of his teeth.

Hoseok opened his eyes and turned his attention away from the cityscape to gaze at Jungkook's side-profile, only to jolt in slight surprise when seeing that the demon was already looking at him.

"Do you not care at all about the view in front of you?" Hoseok implored. His voice sounded exhausted, even to his own ears, but it still held that tang of slight cheer. Probably from the alcohol.

Hoseok watched as Jungkook glanced over the railing briefly before looking back toward him. 

"It's okay," he muttered slightly. 

Hoseok smiled wryly at the demon's dismissive tone. "Just okay?"

Jungkook nodded curtly.

Hoseok rolled his eyes and brought his glass up to his lips. He muttered a quiet "You're weird" before gulping down the rest of his champagne.

Hoseok set aside the glass. He hesitated slightly on leaving it on the railing, worried he would accidentally knock it off and send it flying into the street below, before deciding that he would just buy Taehyung a new one if that were to ever happen.

"You're more interesting than the top of some buildings."

Hoseok shot Jungkook a look of utter disbelief. 

"Oh yeah?"

Jungkook nodded.

"How so?"

Hoseok watched as Jungkook as went quiet in thought. 

Hoseok took Jungkook's silence as a gateway to break eye-contact, looking toward the city, yet again. 

Hoseok couldn't understand how Jungkook didn't find the rare view of the city from above as anything but fascinating. Not to mention comparing such a deluxe view to him, of all people, and then saying that he was more interesting. It made him sometimes wonder what went on inside Jungkook's thought process when things like that came out--

"You've been my most entertaining client so far."

Hoseok turned to Jungkook, eyebrows cocked in an unamused manner.

"'Entertaining,' you say?" he implored, leaning his weight against the cold metal of the railing.

Jungkook nodded in confirmation. "I've never had a client last this long for one of my deals." He shrugged his shoulders in a noncommittal manner. "So, I dub you as entertaining."

Hoseok snorted, turned his attention back to the cityscape, and watched as his breath materialized and blew across the sliver of space between the railing and the city. "Glad you think positively of me, I guess."

"Why wouldn't I? You're a good guy, Hoseokie."

Hoseok silently cringed at the nickname. "Ugh, Kook, not now."

"Why do you insist that I don't say your name like that, but allow Taehyung to?" Hoseok didn't have to look to know that the demon was already pouting. "It's not fair."

Hoseok looked back toward Jungkook, grinned at the presence of a pout on the demon's pale lips, and placed the weight of his head against his propped arm. "Because Taehyung-ah is my senior in work and I'm not about to scold him for calling me by some dumb nickname."

"Oh, but it's okay to scold me, your contractor?"

Hoseok's grin widened at Jungkook's defeated look. "Exactly."

They continued to banter back and forth. Just the two of them together underneath the glowing night sky. Their words traveled across the breathing, living city, intermingling with one another into their own sort of carol. Champagne was abandoned, gifts were delivered in the form of pure glee, and laughs were most definitely shared. 

As Hoseok gazed at Jungkook's gleaming smile, he couldn't help but feel a bit more at peace with his current situation.

A/N - *waggles eyebrows*