Taekook Smuts and Drabbles

Long Road To Ruin

THIS BELONGS TO @jvante ON AO3

If he were given a choice, Jeongguk would stay home every weekend of his life. It's impractical, he knows, but he prefers staying in his room and playing Overwatch to getting crossed and drunk and forgetting the majority of his weekend. But as a vital member of the basketball team, Jeongguk was obligated to attend the after parties or suffer the wrath in the form of pranks performed by his hyungs while he sleeps.

So rather than have his eyebrows shaved in the middle of the night- legit, Yoongi had even cracked a smile while the other seniors shaved Yugyeom's eyebrows early last month- Jeongguk goes to the parties. He goes to the parties and drinks until they're tolerable, knowing Jimin or Hoseok will get him home before he can do anything too stupid.

"Jeongguk!" Jimin makes his presence known easily, with a booming voice and bright pink hair- he lost a dare, says it suits him well and Jeongguk can't say he disagrees. "Take a shot with me."

"Haven't you had enough?" There's a flush sitting high on Jimin's cheek, a pleasant smile on his lips.

Jimin snorts. "Who are you, my mother? Come on, kid, I'll even let you choose the liquor."

Another frat party means extra shots- Jeongguk doesn't count the shots everyone takes when the basketball team arrives; those are customary and required, thank you very much- and extra alcohol. Whatever house they're at tonight seems to have a never ending supply of alcohol, and Jeongguk's never without a full glass in his hand. Mostly it's Seokjin's grandlittle that keeps feeding his drinks, but some pretty cheerleaders keep insisting on shots, and soon enough Jeongguk's pleasantly drunk enough to agree to smoking. It's usually something he avoids, but seated on the couch between Mingyu and Yugyeom, Jeongguk accepts the hookah from a girl- he thinks her name is Irene- and deeply breathes in the scent of vanilla.

He spends some time at the beer pong table because in Jeongguk's drunken mind, tossing a Ping Pong ball is excellent practice for his free throws. He loses spectacularly in the first round, but plays two more rounds in which he only loses one cup each time, Namjoon and Hoseok cheering wildly at his sides until the smoke outside starts to give him a headache, and Jeongguk heads back inside to find a soft couch and scour possible hookup options for the night. He's not particularly picky, has his usual hookups on speed dial if he really is bored, and his buzz is starting to fade out.

Jeongguk finds a spot on the couch with just enough room for him to sit between a few other people. And Jeongguk doesn't locate a hookup but he does locate Kim Taehyung, a gorgeous theater major he's accidentally spoken to once, standing across the room.

It was after practice one afternoon during preseason, and Jeongguk had been leaving the bathroom as Taehyung was walking by. Jeongguk hadn't known him at the time, but fuck had he wanted to.

"Do you know Jimin?" Taehyung, only a gorgeous stranger to Jeongguk, had asked.

"I-what?"

"Park Jimin, looks like a mochi? Know where he is?"

"Uh. Uhm, the gym?"

Taehyung smiled the brightest smile Jeongguk's ever seen, eyes twinkling and in that moment, Jeongguk could physically feel just how gone he already was. "Thanks!"

Jeongguk hadn't spoken to Taehyung since then, except for a few polite words if they were in each other's ways at a party, but that doesn't mean he hadn't looked. It's really not Jeongguk's fault. It's just that Taehyung is everywhere with his larger than life personality, and it really wasn't uncommon for Jeongguk to round a corner in one of the art buildings and spot Taehyung running lines with a few people, or spot Taehyung sitting outside a classroom hurriedly finishing his assignments. And anytime Jeongguk made eye contact, Taehyung always gave him that blinding smile, although it was softer now than it had been the first time.