side effects || taekook

~four~

Jeongguk woke to gentle kisses on his nape. Warmth bloomed in his chest and he smiled, giggling softly at the prickly brush of Taehyung's stubble. "Good morning, hyung," he whispered into the quiet of the living room.

"Good morning, my bunny," Taehyung pressed the words into his skin. "Missed you."

Jeongguk wiggled in Taehyung's embrace until he loosened his hold enough for him to turn around. Taehyung looked so much older in the morning light. With the gentle stubble along his jaw and the disarray of his curly hair, Taehyung was absolutely and undeniably gorgeous. "Missed you more."

Taehyung grumbled low in his throat. "I doubt it."

Jeongguk smiled sweetly. "Do you want to get breakfast?" He paused, pout creeping onto his features. "I think we need to talk."

"Okay," Taehyung whispered. "We should."

Jeongguk nodded in finality. "Get something here or go out?"

"Mm, anywhere is fine as long as it's with my bunny."

"Shut up, dork." Jeongguk smacked him on the shoulder, blushing. "Let's go out, I don't want anyone to interrupt us."

"Sounds good." Taehyung laid his head on Jeongguk's chest, pulling him closer.

"What are you doing? I thought we were going out?"

"A few more minutes. I'm deprived of your cuddles."

~~~

After a standard amount of cuddling, they finally pulled themselves out of bed - or well, off the floor (the strain in their backs wouldn't let them forget they spent the night on the living room floor). They headed out to a cafe near the river to get breakfast.

That's where Jeongguk finds himself now, with a muffin and coffee (with heavy creamer and syrups) in front of him and Taehyung across the table. Jeongguk could look at him forever and study the way the morning light brightens his features.

"Should I start?"

Jeongguk blinked, chancing a quick glance around the cafe to make sure no one was listening. It was pretty slow for early morning - a little odd, but Jeongguk was grateful for it.

"I'll start," Taehyung decided. He cleared his throat. "First, I want to apologize for the video call and for telling the hyungs what we were doing. I was really worried about you, when the feed cut off. I didn't know what else to do."

"I understand." Jeongguk looked down at his untouched muffin. "While it wasn't ideal, I'd rather them not find out that way, but I understand. You were right to be worried."

"How are you? They couldn't fill me in because I was on the plane."

"I did - um," Jeongguk glanced around the cafe again. "I did drop."

"Shit."

"Yeah...it wasn't as bad as it could've been. The members found me pretty soon - thankfully, they knew what to do. I don't remember any of it. It could've been worse."

"Still. Fuck, I'm so sorry, Gguk." Taehyung reached over the table to caress his hand.

"I'm okay now, I promise. I'm just glad you're back."

"I am too." Taehyung smiled, all boxy and pretty. "God, I wanna kiss you so bad."

Jeongguk's cheeks flushed hot. "Hyung, we're in public."

"I know, I know. Later though, I will."

"I'll hold you to that."

Taehyung rolled his eyes. "Eat your food, bunny."

Jeongguk giggled, reaching for his muffin. It was still warm, moist when he took a bite.

Taehyung sighed, looking out the window of the cafe. "I still feel like I need to apologize to you. Over and over again."

"Why?" Jeongguk frowned.

"It's my fault you dropped."

Yesterday, Jeongguk might've thought the same thing, but he wasn't in his right mind. Now, he can't help but scoff at the idea.

"I'm serious, Gguk. I should've been paying attention to how bad the weather was getting. I shouldn't have done that stuff with you over a video call without a talk before about it."

"Okay, first off," just like Jimin said before, "you can't control the weather. It's hard as fuck to even predict how it's gonna go. You couldn't have known it would knock the power out."

"Fine, I'll give you that. But I shouldn't have let you engage in anything without a prior discussion. Especially now knowing how quickly you can fall into your headspace."

"You couldn't have known before how I would react. Plus, I was in a perfectly normal mindset before we started. I consented fully to it."

"Did you?"

"Yes! I did! Don't make me-" Jeongguk paused to take a deep breath in, calming himself. "You're making me mad."

"I'm sorry."

"Please, don't say sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about," Jeongguk said. "I was fully present in mind when we started. I promise."

"I believe you. I'm sorry for assuming the worst."

"It's okay. It was pretty intense for the both of us."

"Let's just promise to talk limits and aftercare and all that stuff through before we do anything else - if or when we do."

"When we do." Jeongguk grinned cheekily. "I promise."