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⊱ 𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢 ⊰
𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧
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that night felt like it was going in slow motion. jungkook was barely there mentally when they got to the stadium where the tour buses would stay after being unloaded. everyone took cars to the hotel after that. since he was one of those helping load the buses when they left he didn't have to be there for the unloading part. he was thankful, since all he wanted was another hot shower and those soft white hotel towels.

at this point hotels start looking the same, even if it's a different name they all had the same fancy stuff. jungkook got his key and went up to his room and dropped his things to shower just like every other night. after a few weeks on the road everyone starts falling into these routines, it essentially became the same days just repeating in new cities with new faces in the crowd and new room service workers.

what was different was how taehyung woke up the next morning, changing super quick and grabbing his pink martini shaped glasses and shoving them into his bag. he slung it over his shoulder, the bag hitting his thigh with each step. he texted his manager again for jungkooks room number, the ravenette not answering. the boy figured he'd crash the mans room and order room service for breakfast so it would be there when he woke up.

it was a good plan. except he wasn't expecting the answer that he got from his manager.

he already left. asked for the day off today. namjoon had texted him.

taehyung stood in the middle of the hotel hallway, staring at his phone and wondering why the ravenette wouldn't tell him — then he wondered why he would, jungkook wasn't obligated to tell him anything. suddenly his martini glasses did feel stupid and taehyung walked back to his room just to throw them back on his bed.

he followed them, falling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. taehyung had no idea what to do now. he wanted to have eggs for breakfast and then go out and buy a cowboy hat or something, maybe even some boots, and he wanted jungkook to come too. it wouldn't be as fun if he went by himself, so he stayed on his bed until his phone vibrated.

the chances of it being who he wanted it to be were low, but he still had his hopes kinda high. they were crushed pretty soon. it was just yoongi inviting him over to his room to watch the sports game he missed.

taehyung had nothing to do now, so he changed once more into something comfier and walked over to his drummers room. it smelled like smoke in there, not even noon yet and the boy already made his way through half a pack and half a bottle of four roses.

"nice." was all he said once closing the door behind him, walking in and seeing the game already on the television. yoongi sat forward and waved the boy over, "here." he pushed another glass over and filled it up about an inch. taehyung sat beside his drummer and reached for the drink, but he just held it in his hands for now.

they sat and watched the game, except on one of them was actually paying attention even though he already saw it the day before. taehyung just traced his index finger around the rim of the glass and focused every time yoongi would smack his arm and point at something cool happening in the game. during halftime yoongi stood up, bringing his glass with him to the small kitchen unit. "fuck this." he said, a cigarette hanging between his lips as he couldn't get his lighter to work.

"i have one in my room." taehyung said, placing his untouched glass on the table and standing up. he said he'd be right back, leaving one hotel to go to another. except he wasn't going to be heading right back, because he saw someone else he'd much rather spend time with sitting on the floor outside his room.

"jungkook?" taehyungs voice had he older male looking up, and then getting up from the ground. "hey, you weren't in your room." he stated the obvious.

taehyung nodded, "i texted you. plus you weren't in yours either." he said to the older. jungkook scratched the back of his neck and waited as the rockstar unlocked the door. "my phone was." he admitted his mistake, which explained why he didn't text back.

"did you get it?" taehyung asked, giggling a little at how clumsy the man had been. they walked into his room and taehyung forgot why he was here, now just sitting on the edge of the bed and looking up at the ravenette. jungkook nodded, "namjoon helped me get a new key and i got back in." he said. "i really need to work on my english." he chuckled at himself, just recalling how he had to call the manager to help him at the front desk.

taehyung laughed too, trying his best to picture it. "i can help you." he offered. he studied a lot whenever he was sitting in hotel rooms or during layovers at airports. he would consider himself fluent now.

"i know some things." jungkook said, leaning against the wall across from the boy sitting on the bed. taehyung rose an eyebrow, "oh yeah? like what." he teased him.

jungkook just shook his head and chuckled again. "tonight i'll show you."

they were still on for tonight. that little acknowledgment had a little flutter go off in his chest, smiling a bit and looking down at his lap. he knew it wasn't a date, jungkook said so and make sure to clarify that, but he also said that he'd want to go on one. tonight just wasn't the right night. taehyung was also hoping he'd find out why.

and even if he didn't find out, he still felt excited for whatever was planned, as he looked through his closet later that night once the ravenette left his room to get ready as well. taehyung picked out a pair of light blue jeans, kinda loose on him and held up by a belt. there were tears in the denim, on his knees exposing tan skin as well as the button down shirt he slipped on over his head. taehyung was brushing his fingers through his hair in front of the mirror when he heard a knock on his door just after 8 o'clock.

there was a swirl in his tummy that just got worse when he opened the door and saw the ravenette, looking handsome as ever. jungkook even looked like he combed his hair, the black locks parted to the side exposing some forehead. it was different from the usual messy bang look he had going on normally. "ready?" jungkook asked, smiling a bit as the boy nodded and closed the door behind himself.

they chose to walk, because it was nice out tonight and it gave them more time to talk rather than sitting in a car with a driver. taehyung liked walking too, especially in new cities and different places that had so much to see. there were small shops on the sidewalk, people passing and cars driving by slow. "it's nice out tonight." taehyung said.

jungkook hummed and continued to walk with his hands in his pockets.

"where are we going?" taehyung asked, that fact had still been hidden from him. based on where they were walking it could have been anything, any store or restaurant that they passed. taehyung was just following the mans lead at this point.

the older male pulled out his phone and checked his maps app, a route was already put in from what taehyung could tell and it didn't look too far away. "we're getting ice cream." he said, putting his phone back in his pocket.

he knew it wasn't a date. he already reminded himself that nearly a hundred times before the ravenette even knocked on his door. jungkook was making it really hard to pretend like it wasn't though, and taehyungs emotions couldn't keep up with reality as he felt all giddy inside and walked with a little bounce in his step now.

he would have been happier if jungkook seemed the same, but he just walked and stared forward. there was no easy conversation flowing between them like on the streets in santa clara and taehyung found himself carrying most of the conversation. "are we going to eat inside?" taehyung asked quietly once the older male opened the door to the small parlor and it seemed quieter inside.

jungkook shook his head, placing his hand on the small of the youngers back to push him in a bit. "no, there's a lake a little bit down the road." he said, having looked it up earlier that day and knowing it would be the perfect place.

taehyungs lips just parted a bit as he nodded and headed up to the counter. "order whatever you want." jungkook said, and it may have been the first time he smiled that night. even if it was a small one, it was still there. taehyung just grinned and looked up at the menu hanging up on the wall behind the counter, "i think i just want a strawberry waffle cone one, with gummy bears." he added quickly.

jungkook nodded, and then he opened his mouth and it seemed like he was also fluent in english too. he ordered for the both of them, each getting a waffle cone with three scoops of strawberry ice cream and gummy bears on top. taehyung just stared at the ravenette, "so you learned how to order ice cream in english and that's it." he wanted to giggle at the thought, seeing this man sitting and just memorizing certain phrases for the perfect moment.

he smiled again, and it was so pretty to see. "it's a useful thing to know." jungkook defended himself, then he paid for their dessert before leaving the parlor and heading back out to the sidewalk. he was right, the lake wasn't too far and the boys made it in a few minutes, walking across the grass to get to the sidewalk that's surrounded the water.

there was no benches or pavilions close to them, and taehyung frowned a little seeing how much further they would need to walk around the lake to get to one. jungkook just took the boys hand and tugged him down, the two of them settling for sitting in the grass and enjoying their ice cream. it was a comfortable silence around them now, both staring out at the water and the way the moon lit up everything just enough, shining across the water like someone came by and spilled a bunch of silver glitter across the surface.

taehyung forgot he was even sitting next to jungkook, or even here at all as he stared at the water and let himself get lost in feeling relaxed in that moment. it was so nice out tonight.

"what's the special occasion." he decided to ask, licking off a gummy bear that was sliding down the side of his cone and making an escape. taehyung chewed on it, somewhat enjoying how they got a little harder when so cold. he looked over at jungkook and saw how he kind of winced at that question, but he took out his phone nonetheless.

taehyung didn't think it was a bad question, or a pushing one at all. he just figured it made sense to ask why they were sitting at a lake in dallas eating ice cream at 10 pm. he wasn't ready for jungkook to find a photo, a little girl with hair so long it must have reached her hips and been a bother to brush. she was smiling so wide her eyes looked shut, but it also may have been the sun shining on her face and washing her in golden light. she was adorable, and she had the same nose as jungkook.

"we're celebrating her birthday." jungkook didn't think he could get those words out. he had stayed up last night, once he knew everyone else was asleep and no one would hear how pathetic he sounded trying to say something so simple. but it wasn't simple. nothing about this was — and even with all that mental preparation, jungkook still felt that fist in his throat and the sting in his eyes. he was thankful for the darkness that hid it well.

taehyung didn't know what to with that, a gummy bear slide past his hand without him even knowing. "who is she." he asked it like a whisper, forgetting about the phone and just staring at the mans profile. jungkook was looking at the water so intently, like it would disappear forever if he just glanced away for a second. "my daughter."

when he looked away, he found himself only wanted to look at those soft brown eyes. they stared back at him, slightly widened and clearly surprised by that response. jungkook isn't sure what he was expecting, he didn't think he'd say anything at all or even tell him. all he knew was that he couldn't do this alone tonight — and he could only think of having taehyung next to him.

"what's her name?" taehyung asked, not daring to look away from those glassy eyes. they looked so open for once, like he wasn't trying to shove everything so far down and away from the world. jungkook just looked broken, and taehyung just knew that the smiling little girl would be here if her dad had the power to get what he wanted. "haneul." he said.

it meant the sky, and taehyung hoped she was flying high somewhere and seeing her dad eating ice cream on her birthday. he wondered how old she would be today, but he didn't dare ask. tonight wasn't about taehyung and what he wanted to know. he looked back out the water and licked his ice cream cone. "happy birthday haneul."

"happy birthday little one."

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