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❝ it isn't easy to end up alive. ❞
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THEY LOST COUNT, but it was the giggles and constantly fluttering eyelashes that had the waiter bringing water and no longer chilled wine bottles to their table. taehyung thanked him for that.

"hey, why no more wine?" jungkook was speaking to the waiters retreating form, the man already catering to other guests and not even in ear shot any longer.

"that is wine." taehyung said. his stomach was full and they're plates were empty, there was still a breadstick in his hands that he picked at. he couldn't tell if it was sauce or stained wine or if jungkooks lips were always that red.

"this," jungkook pointed to the glass in his hands, sloshing the clear liquid over the rim and falling onto the table, "is water." he had hiccuped, and was still doing a bad job at trying to convince the older that he wasn't drunk.

"are you sure?" taehyung asked and leaned forward, elbows on the table and playful smile on his lips, "maybe it's wine that looks like water."

jungkook visibly paused, and he looked into his glass before back up at his boyfriend. he leaned back in his chair and slightly held the glass up as if to cheers to that. "magic wine." he said.

"you gotta keep it a secret though." taehyung said. he had put on his best serious expression, still leaning forward and whispering as if no one else was allowed to hear about this special wine they were being served. "oh oh yes." jungkook nodded quickly and help a finger up to his lips. then he beckoned his boyfriend closer, "you wanna know a secret too?"

"please." taehyung grinned. they were so close, both leaning in and staring at each other. it may have looked weird to anyone else, but tipsy jungkook was always precious and adorable.

"i love you, kim taehyung." jungkook tapped the boys nose with each syllable, and the brunette just laughed lightly. "come on, let's get you home before you start drunk proposing again." taehyung had stood, the younger following suit and reaching for the others hand immediately with wiggling fingers.

"are you ever going to say yes? i feel like i asked a hundred times." jungkook said on their way out the doors.

taehyung nodded in thanks to the doorman and tightened his grip around the ravenettes waist as they started down the steps from the restaurant. "calm down, you only asked twice."

"which means you said no twice." jungkook pointed out. they were standing on the edge of the road now, where valet and taxis came and went with a mix of guests arriving and departing. taehyung was looking for an available taxi, there was no way he was walking home with tipsy jungkook again after getting lost the first time. "i didn't say no," taehyung corrected, "i just said i'm waiting for when it's perfect for the both of us."

jungkook just sighed and he kicked the ground lightly, much like a child. "jimin told me to get doves," he was mumbling to himself, but the brunette still heard and chuckled lightly. "i should have just gotten the fucking doves."

he was able to wave down a taxi, seeing the driver smile and nod before getting into the seat. "come on." taehyung grabbed the youngers hand to pull him on over to the vehicle. it was a big taxi, one of those nice van ones that the restaurant specifically hired just for their customers. taehyung kind of hoped it didn't have a fully stocked mini bar inside.

they had just opened the right side of taxi when the left was opened a well. a man and woman had froze as well before laughing, "oh our apologies." the man had said, "we can just get the next one." they were about to politely shut the door when jungkook dropped onto the seat and shook his head, "it's big enough for all four of us, climb in."

taehyung didn't mind, and the other couple certainly didn't either as they all situated themselves in the backseat. the doors clothes and addresses were given to the driver who nodded and started on their way into the city. "he's a little tipsy but very friendly." taehyung said, since jungkook was leaning his head against his shoulder and humming quietly.

"anniversary?" the woman asked, she smiled politely and looked very pretty in her navy blue dress. they looked like a nice couple, like a typical married duo who lived comfortably and enjoyed nights at expensive restaurants but were still humble and kind. taehyung didn't get a snobby vibe from them.

"no, we're just celebrating." he had said.

"we bought a house." jungkook piped in. they've said it numerous times, each time sending a wave of butterflies in both of their stomachs, and it probably would the next hundred times as well.

the other couple nodded and smiled, "well congratulations." the man said.

"thank you." taehyung said for the both of them, since the ravenette returned to his sleepy state of humming and snuggling.

it was quiet then, the kind of peaceful quiet you experience as you're laying in bed just about to fall asleep or the kind when you stand outside before any one else is awake and it's just you and the sun and the wind. it was the kind of quiet, right before a storm — a storm that would do nothing but take and destroy.

it was a truck that didn't feel the need to abide by the red light hanging above the road. it wasn't fair, how a taxi man could be doing his job and obeying the laws of the road and simply trying to bring two couples home, all for that to be destroyed by the crash of a trucks front bumper into the taxi side door.

there sound was deafening, and the impact had them all jolting to one side of the taxi. the way the vehicle tipped and turned seemed almost impossible, as if a child simply flicked a hot wheels car.

taehyung never thought life could be like this. in one moment he was brushing his boyfriends hair back from his sleeping face, and in the next he was wiping blood from bangs and not knowing if he was crying tears or it was blood on his own face.

"jungkook." he croaked out.

they had landed right side up thankfully, all the windows had shattered and their ears were ringing, or maybe it was the sirens that were approaching. taehyung blinked and blindly felt for his boyfriend who was no longer snuggled against his side. "jungkook." he cried again.

"baby," he heard the youngers voice from somewhere, then he felt his hands touching his face and cupping his cheeks, "i'm here, are you okay? are you hurt?"

the crash had knocked him awake and jungkook was no longer feeling sleepy or happily tipsy anymore. the rush of blood in his ears was loud and the pain in his head was beyond anything he's felt before, everything hurt and that only meant his boyfriend felt the same. it was the worse thing he could imagine, and he wanted to take all that pain away. "baby talk to me." jungkook held his boyfriends face and tried to wipe away the tears and blood, only creating a mess over tan skin.

"are you okay?" taehyung asked. despite the circumstances, neither even cared about themselves, only thinking of the other in this moment.

it was hard to separate them as the paramedics arrived and pulled them from the ruined taxi. each was sitting on the back of a separate ambulance. taehyung was finally able to see the wreckage once he was checked out by a paramedic. he wasn't hurt too badly, the seatbelt saving him well enough and only suffering from a head wound that bled a lot.

jungkook had gotten hurt more badly. that damn kid too eager to sit next to each other than to strap in properly. it was the shards of glass in his arms that had to be removed and the gash on his temple that needed to be bandaged and then checked for signs of a concussion. taehyung could only stand and watch, anxiously biting on his nails.

it was the man that was in the taxi with them that had taehyung feeling worse. the way he was standing alone and sobbing as his wife was covered with a sheet and soon as cold as the weather itself. she too failed to fasten her seatbelt, and taehyung was sick to his stomach just considering anything like that happening to his own partner.

"i feel so badly for that man." an elderly woman had stopped by to watch, among many others that tend to peek at accidents and try to see what happened. "i cant imagine losing someone that close to me." she said.

taehyung glanced at her, the way she clutched the scarf around her neck and the wrinkles on her face seemed more intense as she watched on worryingly. "neither can i." he said, looking up and seeing his boyfriend talking to a police officer. "um, excuse me." taehyung said to the elderly lady, walking towards where the ravenette stood.

he reached up to take off the hoop earring next to the pearl one, only waiting once the officer left to take his boyfriends hand, "jungkook can i talk to you for a second?"

taehyung didn't even give him a chance to respond before crouching down onto one knee as he held onto the boys much rougher hand, slipping the hoop earring onto his ring finger, "jeon jungkook will you marry me?" taehyung asked and looked up at his boyfriend.

"what? whoa, no baby." jungkook tried to tug the older male back up, but he was stubborn and not budging. jungkook crouched as well and they both sat there with their knees agains the pavement of the road. "listen you c-can't, you cant do this." it was hard for him to speak, to say anything.

"jungkook i think i just did." taehyung said. oddly enough a smile almost appeared, and he watched the ravenette become more flustered.

"but you can't because the guy, the guy has to propose." jungkook said.

"aw but i am a guy." taehyung squeezed the ravenette hands, and he watched him shake his head and look anywhere but at him.

jungkook just sighed, "you know what i mean." he started, "and not to ruin the moment but i actually proposed to you before, more than once actually, especially the very romantic one when you were in the hospital and we both very emotional, it was very beautiful."

taehyung just smiled as he rambled, and they stared at each other in silence for a moment. complete chaos surrounded them, but they simply looked at each other and got lost.

"baby, what are you doing?" the younger asked. he didn't know what was going on in his boyfriends head, and after everything tonight he was already concerned and with all his senses heightened.

taehyung just looked down, and he swallowed hard. the forming tears made it difficult. "life is really short, jungkook. i mean, we saw that today, we've seen it before." he saw the way the ravenette winced at that, of course neither of them wanted to think back to times where it seemed like the end. "and i don't how we're going to make it work or if it's going to be easy, but i do know this." taehyungs words trailed off as he cupped his boyfriends cheeks, forcing their eyes to meet. "i want to spend the rest of what i have with you. so what's it going to be?"

jungkooks tongue came out to run over his bottom lip. "i don't know, i mean this is," he paused, "it's a lot for a girl to process."

"you're such an idiot." taehyung actually laughed at that, and his hands lowered back down to his lap.

"i love you." jungkook said.

"i love you."

"yes, absolutely what the hell." the younger sat up to hug the other, it lasted a little longer this time and he buried his face in the boys hair. taehyung finally pulled away so he could kiss his love and now his fiancé. jungkook only chuckled lightly and looked around them at the scene, but his eyes always made their way back to taehyung. "my god did that just happen."

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