•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
This story was requested by @YouAreMyPotato

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

(Couldn't find this username! Let me know if you have changed your username<3)

Taehyung's eyes flitted back and forth between the second hand gold plated watch on his wrist to the blurred spectrum of dark hues outside the mobile subway train. His left foot kept tapping on the dirty carpeted floor of the long compartment, his agitation seeking into the passenger next to him, an old lady with an obnoxious green hand bag who kept grunting every now and then to signal Taehyung to stop; Taehyung paid no avail to that. His nails on his right hand, dry and flaky white with cold, were all misshapen, to his utter dismay, from biting them ever since the train began its journey. For the nth time, Taehyung took out his phone and narrowed his eyes in an attempt to make out the tiny network status icon in his dim, running on low battery phone. Sighing at the cross, Taehyung slipped his phone back into his jeans pocket and hoped to reach home before ten o' clock.

To sooth his ascending ball of anxiety, Taehyung tried to divert his attention to the passengers around him. There was a man with heavy curls which bounced as he nodded his head to the music he was listening to through his massive headphones. A women with young triplets was continuously patting her cheeks with a powder puff and dabbing her already greasy lips with a stick of transparent lip gloss. Someone laughed aloud, drawing the attention of a few passengers momentarily before everyone returned to indulge in theur own personal bubble.

Taehyung did not find anything to amuse himself until he noticed a pair of high school girls, at the corner of the compartment, in their uniforms whispering to each other and blushing furiously. At first, Taehyung assumed that they were gushing over some hot idol but then he noticed their interlaced hands with one of their thumbs slowly brushing the other's knuckles.

His heart ached silently; he had to avert his eyes from the scene.

He really needed to reach home.
.
.
.
.
Locking the front door, Taehyung's shows flew into the air along with his brown coat and the checkered scarf that was previously around his neck.

Usually, he would take a long, warm shower and work on his hair for atleast fifteen minutes and spend ten minutes more to pick his outfit for the evening.

However, he had only two minutes till his desktop dinged with his long awaited notification so he just shoved himself into his creaky swivel chair and ran his finger through the tangled locks of his dark hair. He shiver a little as he had forgotten to turn the heat up when he arrived and the only article of clothing shielding him from December's first day of winter was his thin cotton shirt.

A minute of fidgeting and lip biting passed but the daily ding of his desktop was nowhere to be heard. He checked the watch and sure enough it was just ten o' clock.

He began to debate on taking a quick shower or atleast comb his hair when his desktop screen glowed to life and Taehyung fumbled for the mouse like a mad man. Before clicking on the green receiving icon, Taehyung inhaled deeply, repeating the words he would tell himself everyday.

He's your boyfriend, he won't judge you.

Mustering a smile, Taehyung's index finger pressed on the mouse and the screen went blank for a second before a mop of purple hair and a pair of furrowed eyebrows at the bottom of the screen appeared into view.

"Seokjin-ah. . ."

Doe eyes peeked from the bottom of the desktop in a comical manner before a hand covered the screen, shifting the position of the camera before it focused on the man Taehyung had been dying to see for the past four days.

"New room?" Taehyung inquired as he scanned the details of the cream room with a small bed behind Seokjin. It was somewhat foreign to see Seokjin in a new setting as Taehyung was so familiar with the dark blue walls of Seokjin's former room.

"Oh no," finally came the sweet voice but a bit too loud which caused Taehyung to flinch.

Seokjin mumbled nonsensical things under his breath while fixing the volume of what Taehyung assumed was his new microphone.

"Jungkook took my laptop to his university presentation so I had to borrow his desktop. And his room," Seokjin explained, his plush lips pouting naturally.

Oh, how Taehyung missed tasting those lips.

"Did you just return home, Voo?" Seokjin spoke with buttery softness.

Taehyung nodded, a light blush spreading across his cheeks at the pet name that he never got used to. It always threw him off guard regardless of how many times Seokjin had uttered it in the same honey dripping tone.

"Kang manager-nim begged me to do overnight today because three of his employees were absent and he had to submit the article by tomorrow. They didn't touch a single thing," Taehyung complained while his fingers threaded through his hair in frustration; suddenly the memory of lying on the couch with his head on Seokjin's lap after a stressful day and Seokjin's crooked fingers threading through his untidy hair infiltrated his mind.

Seokjin smiled at him but his eyes were melancholy as always.

"Take a shower atleast," Seokjin said but not in the nagging manner that Taehyung was once used to.

"Later," Taehyung responded and trembled momenterily in his thin shirt.

Seokjin narrowed his eyes and said, "Sweater. Now."

Taehyung chuckled and pushed the chair to his left where he kept his horribly organized cupboard. Without a second thought, Taehyung put on the yellow jumper that Seokjin had left behind upon the younger's insisting; its distant Seokjin-like scent helped him sleep on certain nights.

"When was the last time you washed that?" Seokjin asked with his nose cutely scrunched even though he knew very well Taehyung would rather scrub every inch of his apartment than washing off Seokjin's scent off that jumper.

Taehyung just swatted off the question and asked, "You're visiting on your birthday, right?"

"Voo. . ."

Taehyung did not want to hear more. He just sighed and turned away from the screen. It's been five months since they last saw each other in flesh.

Stiffling silence swaddled them. Taehyung tried to reach out for words because he did not want them to be like this again; he was afraid that it would become a rarity for them in the future to spend time together infront of the screen.

"Do you want to see something?" Seokjin's voice pulled Taehyung out of his thoughts.

Taehyung tilted his head in question. Seokjin stood up from his chair and Taehyung choked on his spit.

Seokjin had a tattoo.

"Seokjin, you. . ." Taehyung gaped at the ink splayed across Seokjin's left upper thigh and creeping inside his black shorts.

Seokjin readjusted the camera so that Taehyung could have a close-up. Taehyunf felt like his heart was about to burst as Seokjin ran his nimble fingers over the dark vines with wild thorns and flowers. The older pushed his shorts up to show the KTH engraved into his skin in blood red ink, emerging from the chaos of thorms and flowers underneath.

Sub-consciously, Taehyung's hand found its way to the screen and touch Seokjin's plush thigh. He gulped hard and opened his mouth to say something but the words refused to leave his tongue. He had never thought Seokjin would be one to have a single line to be traced on his skin, let alone an entire tattoo on his thigh. It wasn't just the magnificance of the tattoo of his Seokjin's thigh that captured Taehyung, but also the mere fact that Seokjin had readily gotten the tattoo, breaking out of his nature to have Taehyung's initials on his body.

Taehyung felt goosebumps blooming all over his skin.

"Do you like it?" Seokjin whispered. "You're the first to see it."

"Gorgeous," Taehyung whispered back, still tracing the screen.

Seokjin let the fabric fall over the KTH and he sat back, ears set on fire and cheeks bunched up in a shy smile.

Oh, how Taehyung missed his lover.
.
.
.
.
Heavy eyes threatening to close, Taehyung trudged to his bed with a bottle of lotion he found lying forlornly under his work table. He cringed at how neglected his hands were and began applying the cool, thick liquid on himself. It had a pleasant vanilla-like fragrance but Taehyung wished it smelled like the lavender lotion Seokjin used to apply devotedly every night before he took shelter in Taehyung's arms or vice versa. Strangely enough, it always helped him sleep. Taehyung had tried to sleep with lavender scented candles but they never quite mirrored the fragrance that Taehyung longed.

The more he thought about his boyfriend, the more his brain whirred. He was sure that sleep would visist him much later into the night. His eyes swept across his room until they landed on a framed photo standing on his mini book shelf. Taehyung never understood why he had to break down every time his eyes settled on the picture of Seokjin's glowing face adorned with a beautiful smile and cresent moon eyes that shone with so much mirth and love. It was the day of Taehyung's graduation and Taehyung had mentioned something about Seokjin in his speech. Jungkook, Seokjin's brother whom Seokjin had dragged along, was quick enough to whip out his phone and click that picture of his hyung. Taehyung remebered melting into a puddle when Jungkook had gifted him the hard copy of the photo along with the midnight blue frame.

Taehyung jolted back to reality when he realised he had carried himself infront of the photo. Smiling, Taehyung picked the picture and tenderly brushed his fingertips over his love's endearing smile. He returned back to his bed and placed the photo on his nightstand.

Warmth enveloped him as Taehyung crept under the blanket, Seokjin running around in his head with his windsheild laughter and silly jokes. His thoughts began to flood with images of Seokjin's tattoo and how undeniably alluring he looked when he bundled his shorts in his hand and showed the KTH. If only Seokjin was here, Taehyung would have worshipped his body, paint his own marks around the tattoo and indulge in Seokjin's lewd moans.

With his imagination going wild, where he kneeds Seokjin's inner thigh while having his mouth latched to the soft skin, Taehyung slipped into slumber.
.
.
.
.
The painted sky overhead seemed to threaten to fall over Seokjin's shoulders as he walked through the wintery streets without a proper sense of direction in his head. He just trusted his muscle memory to lead him back home, or the place he tried to convince himself to call home. The clouds far away seemed to sail towards the little town, the threat of another snowfall; Seokjin hoped it was just the welcoming blankets of snow this year as he did not have the motivation to shovel in the morning.

A cyclist swooshed past him, barely missing the pavement. Seokjin caught a glimpse of a bouquet of white roses straped carefully on the backseat, a few petals floated behind and fell on the street. His lips curled upwards but it neither reached his eyes nor his heart.

Seokjin felt his phone vibrate against his thigh. Excitement surged through his veins as he took out his phone but it was soon washed over with disappointment as his eyes swept across the chaos of hearts Hoseok had texted him followed by a bunch of GIFs. He felt guilty right afterwards for being disappointed and quickly replied to his friend with equal, however feigned, enthusiasm.

Shaking off the unwanted emotions that warned to invade him, Seokjin proceeded to amble forward.
.
.
.
Seokjin waited like a fool. He always did. He wondered when he was going to grow out of his bad habit. Maybe never.

"Baby Angel, you're home?"

Seokjin knew today would be particularly difficult for him and yet, he tortured himself by letting the intrusive memories overwhelm him.

The small tray with dried remainings of the attempted chocolate cake Jungkook baked last night lay forlornly on the coffee table, indicating Jungkook might still be stuck at his university. Shiny metallic wrapping paper crumpled next to the foot of the couch reflected the last rays of the sun at the wall Seokjin dedicated to framed pictures of his loved ones. One ray collided with the blue wallpaper and bled into a photo that Seokjin held close to his heart.

Without much thought, Seokjin's limbs carried him towards the picture of the love of his life grinning from ear to ear with his hands clasped towards and his body leaning a little forwards. His brown hair that Seokjin loved to play with was swept back with his forehead exposed. His moles on his face did not appear on the photo but Seokjin had memorised those three little dots by heart so he knew exactly where they resided.

After all, he loved to kiss Taehyung's cute little moles first thing in the morning.

A bitter taste bloomed inside Seokjin's mouth and he tried not to indulge into it. A jab was made to his heart, followed by the lump forming at his throat. A lone tear was caught by his knuckles before it travelled too far and wrecked Seokjin's day.

Seokjin wanted to chide himself for being so selfish, for wanting something more than a Happy birthday Seokjin-ah with two purple hearts despite knowing how busy Taehyung's schedule was. But he didn't have the heart to be understanding on his birthday. He just couldn't accept it, accept the distance, the gap, the emptiness of returning home without being engulfed by the scent of strawberries.

No, he couldn't allow himself to be blue today. Tearing his gaze away from Taehyung's picture, Seokjin allowed his feet to drag him to his bed where he collapsed without changing, tiny droplets beginning to stain the mint green sheets.

Soon, he forced himself into a dreamless slumber.
.
.
.
"Jin hyung!"

Seokjin rolled to the other side.

"Jin hyung!"

Seokjin pulled the comforter and pillow over his head.

"JIN HYUNG!"

"That motherfu-" Seokjin groaned and threw away the comforter, that Jungkook must have placed on him when he returned home, and sat on.

His body felt like lead and his head was pounding but he still managed to balance himself on his feet as Jungkook let out his fourth call for heaven knew why. Seokjin resolved to throw a pot at his coconut head if the purpose of practically shoving him out of sleep was ridiculous.

"You little brat, I swear if you come up with shit like losing your left slipper then I- why are you smiling you oaf?" Seokjin's ramble halted and his brows shot up in question when he found Jungkook grinning ear to ear near the doorway with a few paper bags in one hand and a bouquet of red and white roses in the other. He stepped aside and Seokjin was met with an opened door.

Seokjin inched closer to the door and craned his neck to see what sort of species had presented themselves at their doorway for Jungkook to haul Seokjin from his nap.

Seokjin gasped as every trace of sleep vaporized into the air.

"You," Seokjin breathed out.

His limbs carried him forward at the speedof light and arms circled around each other as Seokjin sobbed quietly against Taehyung's chest. Seokjin's grip around Taehyung's waist tightened and so did Taehyung's embrace. Taehyung's hand went to Seokjin's hair and caressed the back of his head so tenderly that Seokjin cried some more at how much he had longed for it.

"I- you- you're here- you came-" Seokjin tried to morph his whirlwind of emotions into words but he just blabbered in between his sobs while trying to wipe his tears and snot.

And just how Taehyung had always been, he swooped down and captured Seokjin's lips into a kiss amidst the tears, snot and raging emotions. His large hands cupped Seokjin's face and delivered every ounce of his love and longing through the kiss. Seokjin gripped on his wrists and kissed back with equal passion and desperation, not wasting a single breath to show how much he had missed his lover.

Slowly, warmth seeped into the two of them and December suddenly bloomed with flowers, or so Seokjin felt as he broke the kiss and gazed at Taehyung, all smiley and handsome in his long perm and coat over turtle neck.

"I thought I was about to have the worst birthday ever," Seokjin said, smile never faltering

"When you have me?" Taehyung grinned.

"The cake isn't gonna cut itself!"

Seokjin rolled his eyes playfully while Taehyung chuckled. Hand in hand, they entered the apartment and Seokjin suddenly felt conscious about it. His eyes quickly scanned the living room and mentally noted to buy Jungkook dinner from his favourite place for clesning up the mess. It was the second time Taehyung was visiting his apartment; the first time being when Seokjin had just moved into the flat with barely any furniture and colour. Now, it was an abode of warm blue and mint with matching artifial wooden furniture and deflated pastel purple and white balloons that Jungkook had taped around the flat the previous night.

Seokjin watched Taehyung admire the flat quietly as they ambled towards the kitchen where Jungkook had placed the small chocolate on the table with a plastic knife that came free with the cake next to it.

"TaeTae hyung, how did you know chocolate is my favourite?" Jungkook asked while rummaging through the cabinets to find any remaining candles.

"Oh you know," Taehyung shrugged with a grin.

"Oh, you're staying?" Seokjin commented, with emerging hope, when he finally noticed the slingback against Taehyung's back.

"For three days, given you let me stay," Taehyung replied with a sheepish grin.

Seokjin threw himself on Taehyung again and held him close, whispering, "This is the best gift I could ask for."

"There!" Jungkook said after setting two lavender coloured candles into the silky surface of the cake. Before Seokjin could thank him, the younger rushed out of the kitchen and reapperaed in a pair of jeans and his grey hoodie under a jacket with his favourite bucket hat over his head.

"Where are you going?" Seokjin asked.

"Jimin's" Jungkook replied shortly before leaving for the door.

"It's eleven Jungkook! You can't-"

The door slammed close.

"I think he doesn't want to see us being 'disgustingly in love'" Taehyung remarked with air quotes, recounting what Jungkook had said some time ago when they had dragged the guy along with them to an amusement park when he felt down after having an argument with Jimin.

Seokjin chuckled at the memory, blushing right afterwards at the fact that now he was all alone with Taehyung and maybe for the following three days, knowing Jungkook and his intention behind leaving.

"So. . ." Seokjin dragged.

"Cake first?" Taehyung suggested.

"Go get washed first."

"But cake."

"Wash."

Taehyung raised his hands over his head in surrender and wandered into Jungkook's room first before finding his way to Seokjin's room. Seokjin leaned against the table with an elated heart and bit his lips to stop another smile from painting his face; he really didn't know how to contain his overflowing joy and excitement. His mind began to buzz with running trains of possible plans for the following three days.

Taehyung entered the kitchen in brown sweatshirt paired with black shorts and trapped Seokjin between his arms by planting his palms on either sides of the older's hips on the table. They didn't kiss, didn't say a single word. They just pressed their foreheads together and breathed in the same air, after four long months.

"You do realize..." Seokjin began.

"...how dangerous this is?" he ended, slowly opening his eyes to meet Taehyung's confused gaze.

"Hmm?" Taehyung hummed in question.

Seokjin placed his lithe hand on Taehyung's chest.

"There's a cake behind me. I'm going to fall you dimwit!"

Indeed, Seokjin was looming dangerously over the cake.

"Unbelievable," Taehyung muttered with a growing smile as he pulled away.

Seokjin just laughed, squeaky and humorou, and turned his back on Taehyung to face the cake. He wrapped his fingers around the knife and Taehyung's larger hand soon laced over his, not quite covering it but fitting perfectly like two jigsaw pieces.

"Happy birthday, Baby Angel."
.
.
.
Seokjin sat on the bed with a bounce and opened his arms as an invitation. Soon, Taehyung was nested between Seokjin's arms and in his warmth as they leaned against the headboard with their lower half covered in the duvet. Seokjin's bed could hold two people thankfully although there wasn't much space to move. But that was fine. Seokjin preferred being pressed against Taehyung.

Seokjin ran his fingers through the younger's soft locks, pulling at it a little to receive cute whines from his boyfriend. Taehyung traced patterns over Seokjin's chest, occasionally running over his nipples and Seokjin hoped Taehyung did not notice them growing stiff every time his finger brushes against them; it's been four months since the last time they got steamy.

"Sometimes, I'd sleep in your jumper, even if it got too warm. It still has that lavender scent on it," Taehyung said.

"You still haven't washed it," it was a statement because Seokjin knew Taehyung too well.

"How could I?"

Seokjin just wound his arms tighter around his lover. Without much thought, Seokjin placed a soft kiss on the crown of Taehyung's head. He had resolved to spoil his boyfriend with as much love as he could display.

Taehyung did not react to it; he just kept tracing nonsensical patterns over Seokjin's chest. His eyes seemed unfocused, a thousand miles away, as if he was indulged in some deep debate with himself. The continuous patterns changed into jittery tapping as Taehyung's fingertips drummed nervously against Seokjin's pyjama shirt.

"Voo? What is it?" Seokjin asked tenderly while his fingers brushed Taehyung's fringe from his eyes.

Taehyung emerged from his trance with a surprised blink. Slowly, he slid out of Seokjin's arms and sat to his left, groaning and stretching his arms.

"It's nothing, we should sleep," Taehyung mumbled as he placed his arm around Seokjin and pulled him close.

"No, tell me," Seokjin pressed with his head slightly tilted to one side.

Taehyung's facade began to burn away gradually until it was replaced by complete nervousness.

Taehyung gulped and said, "I just. . . just wanted to see your tattoo."

"Oh." Seokjin blushed a shy hue of red.

Seokjin pushed the duvet away from them. His fingers fumbled with the strings of his trousers before untying them. He raised into a kneeling position, very much aware of Taehyung's piercing yet curious gaze, and pulled down the pants. Shaking the trousers off, Seokjin backed against the headboard, legs spread. He watched Taehyung who was fixated by the dark mess of unkept flowers and thorns on his skin. Seokjin had asked the artist to tattoo the KTH specifically to the point that was a bit closer to his inner thigh but still visible from the front; it was Taehyung's favourite spot to mark him.

Cold fingertips touched the inked skin, gently, eagerly. Taehyung pressed his palm against Seokjin's thigh and slid it up and down the tattoo, dipping a bit to the left to tease his inner thigh. Soon, Taehyung was between his legs, his hand still gliding sensually over his sensitive skin.

Seokjin whined. He wanted more.

Taehyung dared not to disobey, and sank to his lover's tattooed thigh.

Seokjin let out a lewd noise when a pair of warm lips contacted with his sensitive flesh. Soft, butterfly kisses were left all over, not missing to press longer and harder on the inner side. Taehyung's lips traveled north, tongue flickering out every once in a while. Finally, he paused at the red KTH, his hot breath caressing the initials of his name while Seokjin braced himself for being marked.

A long, dirty moan escaped Seokjin's lips when Taehyung began sucking on the supple skin. At that moment, Seokjin's senses seemed to enhance as he could feel the slight sharpness of his teeth, the warmth and wetness of his tongue that lapped hungrily over the KTH and his warm breath that set every inch of his being on fire; it had been too long.

Seokjin didn't have the time to see the mark because as soon as Taehyung was done, his lips were captured into a passionate kiss. The passion soon got tinged with lust and Seokjin could not tolerate Taehyung's clothes anymore. Before they knew, Taehyung's sweatshirt and shorts pooled on floor.

A smirk crept across Seokjin's lips as his eyes swept over Taehyung's unclothed body and stared at the wet bulge in his underwear. Pushong himself on his elbows with Taehyung following his every move very naturally, Seokjin extended an arm to flick off the lights and switch on the bedside lamp.

In the dim lighting, their eyes found each other, both glistening with arousal and desperation to feel the other after such a long wait.

"Take me."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Hiraeth
An earnest longing or desire

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°