BALL BOY IS NOW OUT ON AO3 SO GO READ IT THERE TOO!!

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Taehyung wakes up with a groan, Bump It by Girls Generation blaring obnoxiously from his phone as an alarm, startling him out of his dream and into the dismal reality of 7am.

"Fuck." He croaks in his deep morning voice, throat dry because the one time he didn't bring water to bed is the day he's thirsty in the middle of the night. There's a knock at the door and after 5 seconds it opens, and in walks a man in a suit holding a glass of water in his hands.

"Good morning, Master Taehyung." He greets, "I have come to wake you up. I figured you would need this." He says, handing Tae the cup which he drinks like a shot.

"Thanks Ben." Tae says as he pats his face a couple of times, willing himself to wake up.

"Are you alright?" Ben asks "If you're not up to it, you don't have to go in to practice today."

“Ah, no I'm fine, really.”

“You look like shit, Master Taehyung.” Ben says pointedly.

Taehyung sags.

“You know, using a formal title doesn’t negate all the bullying that follows.” Tae groans.

Ben and Taehyung were childhood friends, and Taehyung had actually landed him this job when he found out that Ben was couch surfing. Ben was supposed to be his personal butler, but he spent more of his time lounging around in Taehyung’s room and eating all his snacks. Taehyung loved his best friend dearly, but sometimes he wished he’d be a bit more tactful with his words.

“What’s wrong with you today? Did you stay up all night crying?” Ben interrogates.

“N-”

“And don’t say no because I heard you. Fucking putting babies to shame.” He teases.

Taehyung frowns and throws a pillow at his head.

“Shut up. Leave me alone. If you’re not here to fluff my pillows then get out or get to fluffin’.”

Ben rolls his eyes and prods at the pillow a couple of times.

“Better now, your highness?” He snipes sarcastically. “Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong or not? Who yelled at you this time?”

“Nobody yelled at me.”

“Don’t lie. You always cry when people yell at you. It's kind of your thing.”

“Piss off.”

“I’m guessing you irritated someone this time too.”

“Are you Sherlock Holmes or what?” Taehyung groans into his pillow.

“My guess is that you said something rude and someone yelled at you and you got your arse handed right back to you, and now you’re upset and feel guilty. Correct?” Ben guessed.

“You might as well confess to having spy cameras trained on me at this point.” Tae sighs, “How did you manage to guess all that?”

“Oh please, you’re such a pompous arse it was bound to happen eventually.” Ben snickered. “So, what did you say to the person to make them angry?”

“It’s that new ball boy. I accidentally hit him with the ball and hurt him really bad and I also said something mean to him and it turns out he has a really hard life and I feel bad because I took the piss out of him when he was actually going through something serious.” Tae frowns, guilt gnawing at his insides.

“Oof.”

“Oof indeed.” Taehyung agrees. “And now I have to face him again today and I feel really really bad and he never even gave me a chance to apologise.”

“In his defence, you are kinda shit at apologies.” Ben interjects.

“Do you hate me?” Tae groans, “Stop making me feel even worse.”

“Shut up bitch boy. This is merely constructive criticism on your appalling personality.” Ben grins.

“This feels homophobic.” Tae whines.

“Hey dude, it’s not my fault you have a short temper. You should learn how to manage your anger, instead of having short bursts of rage. If you had hurt me and made fun of my life, I also wouldn’t be inclined to listen to your apology.”

“I messed up so bad, didn’t I?”

“Yup. Big time. But what matters is that you actually feel bad and want to apologise. That's a good start.”

“But where do I even start with my apology? I don’t know how to say sorry properly without coming off as insincere or snobbish.”

“Maybe use specifics? ‘Hey mr ball boy I am sorry for doing abc and for qrs because it made you feel xyz.’ that way it shows you know where exactly you went wrong.” Ben suggests.

“Yeah, you’re right. That sounds like a good idea. I’ll start from there.” Tae agrees.

“Good.” Ben nods, “By the way, breakfast is not on the table because I stayed up all night watching Solar Opposites so make something yourself.”

“Can’t you just make me something now?” Tae asks, “Like eggs or toast.”

“I can't; I have to go pick up your dry cleaning.” Ben says.

“Bacon?”

“No, too greasy.”

“French Toast?”

“We don't have that bread you like.”

“Full English?”

“Too time consuming.”

“A sandwich?”

“I already made you one for lunch.”

“Oh for fuck's sake.” Taehyung groans. “Guess I’ll have to make cereal then.” Tae sighs.

“Oh you can’t.”

“Well why the fuck not?”

“I finished all the milk.” Ben said sheepishly.

“Son of a bitch.”

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Filler 💕

-bb