"Did you like your surprise?" Taehyung grins as he dabs the water from his hands with a towel.

Yoongi raises his gaze from his book to look towards the doorway of their master bathroom where Taehyung is stood.

You mean how you invited a man who fully intends to break us up to a party celebrating our engagement? That surprise? He immediately thinks as he pulls his lips into a tight lipped smile.

He decides to play dumb instead of saying what he's actually thinking.

"My surprise?"

"Yeah!" Taehyung exclaims, dropping the towel he'd just been using next to the sink instead of hanging it up (something Yoongi has repeatedly requested him not to do.)

Before Yoongi can comment on the towel though, Taehyung quickly assures that "I did not forget to hang it up, I'm just not done with it yet!"

With a chuckle, Yoongi sits up higher on his pillows, lays his book on his chest– careful not to lose the page he's on– and levels his eyes on Taehyung, giving him his full attention.

Taehyung smiles adoringly at him in that lovesick-puppy way he does, making Yoongi blush and move his eyes to the doorframe behind him.

The way Taehyung looks at him sometimes is quite overwhelming.

"You were saying?" He mumbles with flushed cheeks as he clears his throat, trying to refocus his thoughts.

"Sorry," Taehyung exhales, not sounding one but apologetic. "I just love you so much."

"I know, little Taelien. You tell me that every day," Yoongi smiles back, outstretching his arms towards the man.

Taehyung is at his side in an instant, not bothering to get under the covers as he drapes himself over Yoongi.

"You haven't called me that since we were kids," Taehyung laughs happily.

"Quite honestly I'd forgotten about it until Jinnie reminded me last night while he teased me about our quote 'disgustingly sappy pet names.'"

"You know..." Taehyung smirks speaking in a lowered tone, looking over his shoulder then around the room cautiously before looking back at Yoongi. "Hyung's not here, so you don't have to call him that."

Yoongi lets out a genuine laugh, hitting Taehyung lightly on the arm. "No matter what he's told you I don't call him that because he threatened me to! I have nicknames for everyone. I called him that first of my own accord." He informs, pouting his lips out unhappily. "I am not scared of him like he tells everyone I am. I'm just respectful towards my elders-"

Taehyung's soft lips on his end his rant before it starts because Taehyung knows that's where the conversation was heading.

He isn't sure if Yoongi does it on purpose or what, but the man seems to love going off on random tangents.

Better to stop him early or you risk the whole night being shot.

"Hey!" He pouts harder when Taehyung pulls away.

When Taehyung looks at him, he observes that it looks like Yoongi's gearing up to talk about Jin again, so he brings up a new subject.

"You and hyung were wonderful hosts. I know I'm a bit biased, but you were the very best if I had to choose between you."

"I've never 'hosted' anything before but I feel like hiding from your guests in the kitchen is not how it's done..." Yoongi frowns slightly, worrying his bottom lips.

"No, you were great! The most important job of a host is to make sure there is enough food and drinks for everyone. I think we were a great team. Very efficient. I made sure to thank everyone I could who had come, indulging in light conversation and all that boring stuff while you kept the kitchen in order.

"I know we had a caterer, but you were the star, love. Hell, you did more work than the paid servers did, I swear," Taehyung giggles, scrunching his nose. "I never heard one person complain about the food– or lack of– at all! If I did hear anything it was that the fruit was cut perfectly and the man who did it was gorgeous."

Yoongi rolls his eyes playfully, "You're just being nice. I should have been walking around with you instead of hiding. And you are one hundred percent lying about hearing anyone talk about the fruit. I will bet you one million dollars no one has ever gone anywhere and said 'Wow, the pretty guy who cut this melon did a fantastic job.'"

"Woah woah woah," Taehyung laughs, "Don't mis-quote me to my face! I said gorgeous, not pretty. You are pretty too, but you are also gorgeous; cute; kind; sweet; squishy-"

"Squishy?"

"Squishy," Taehyung repeats, poking Yoongi's cheek before giving it a kiss.

Yoongi can't help but laugh at the silliness of this conversation. He adores when they banter and laugh like this.

They do it quite a lot, which means Yoongi laughs a lot.

To someone on the outside looking in, they may seem like an odd pair– Taehyung being a social butterfly who seemingly craves attention while Yoongi wants anything but to be noticed– but somehow, they balance each other in a way neither of them have ever experienced before.

Yoongi may get shy and blush like crazy when Taehyung tells him he loves him or that he's "gorgeous" or "pretty", but Yoongi makes sure to show rather than say that he feels the same.

Taehyung's love language is physical touch with words of affirmation coming in an extremely close second. Yoongi's is quality time with acts of service being his close second.

Yoongi makes sure to cuddle Taehyung and tell him how proud he is of how hard he works, and Taehyung makes sure to take Yoongi on cute dates and do nice things for him. Which reminds him...

"What were you going to say about a surprise?"

"Oh!" Taehyung exclaims. He sits up on the bed, taking up the space next to Yoongi. "The surprise about Jungkook agreeing to help do the rebuild on the house! Did you like it? Are you excited!"

The smile on Yoongi's face is very close to dimming, but he tries to keep it bright, the change in his level of happiness barely noticeable, hoping to look like he's matching Taehyung's excitement.

Instead of the Jungkook part, he decides to focus on the home part. The part that actually does make him excited.

"Oh yes, of course! Of the dozens of homes we looked at that one just really called out to me. I know it's a little run down but I really could picture a life– our life– in that house, which I hadn't felt in any of the others," he says, voice softer and genuine. "I can't believe you bought me a house."

"Anything, doll. Anything you want and I'll get it for you." He smiles before his lips down turn a little as his brows furrow. "Well, anything I can plausibly get you. I have to be able to buy, bargain or trade for it. That's the only catch."

Yoongi ponders the statement a moment then, speaking before he can stop himself, he asks, "Which one did you use to talk Jungkook into doing the work?"

Taehyung stares aimlessly at the wall above the bed in thought. Yoongi watches his expression closely and is a bit puzzled by it.

It doesn't quite seem like he's thinking of how to answer Yoongi's question, more like he's thinking of what answer will sound the best.

But, Yoongi could be reading into things. He's been on edge all fucking day.

"None of them actually," he answers after the pause, his expression relaxing again as he speaks. "I guess one could say bargaining, but even then, a price was never discussed. I asked if what I'd heard about the company was true; he confirmed that it was; I told him I was getting married and the house my fiancé wanted needed some work done; he said yes."

"So, that's what you meant when you made that comment about him agreeing to do it probably because of me. Because he and I were friends." Yoongi says slowly.

"Yeah, except, I wonder... Did he know you were my fiancé? Did you tell him?" He tilts his head.

"I figured you must have told him," Yoongi shifts in his spot, pretending to adjust the pillows that are perfectly fine the way they are.

He told Jungkook he was engaged, but he purposely left out the name of who he was engaged to.

"No, I made sure not so say your name because I knew he was an old friend and I didn't want him to feel obligated to say yes," he pauses, tracing his lips with his thumb like he does when he's thinking.

"When you invited him to the party did you tell him it was to celebrate your engagement?"

Taehyung nods. "Yes. I also brought that up when I asked about him working on the house. That it was the house 'my fiancé' wanted and I wanted to fix it up to be perfect for us. For you."

Yoongi smiles at Taehyung, bringing his hand up to cup his cheek before leaning forward to place a soft kiss on his lips.

Taehyung chases his lips, as he usually does, when Yoongi pulls away.

"Well, I don't know how long he'd been at the party before you brought him over, but he could have asked someone who the lucky couple was he was there to celebrate. Who Kim Taehyung's fiancé was that his new employer was so motivated to make happy," Yoongi says in a more teasing tone, wanting to lighten the mood that was turning a bit uncomfortable.

At least, uncomfortable for him. Ever since his conversation last night he's been replaying things in his mind.

Memories and how he felt at the time. How he felt with Jungkook.

How he really thought they would end up together but life seemed to have other plans. Better plans he tells himself.

He's been feeling so guilty for thinking these things. Angry as well.

Angry at Jungkook because he wouldn't even be thinking any of this if the little shit hadn't decided Yoongi was his to try to steal. Jungkook re-entering his life has had him thinking all sorts of ridiculous things.

"Hm, it's possible." Taehyung considers before clapping his hands softly and standing up. "Well, if I remember, I can ask him when I meet with him this week."

Yoongi feels his face pale. "You have a meeting with him this week?"

"Yes. We need to go over Jungkook's proposal for the office building he'd brought in and then I was going to drive him to the house afterwards so he could take a look around."

Yoongi blinks at him a few times before pulling himself together enough to smile and ask, "Am I allowed to come? Since it is my house too after all."

"I would love for you to come, doll," Taehyung coos. "The only reason I didn't suggest it already is because the meeting is on Friday and the time will likely over lap with your recital. I'd push the time to be earlier but I don't want to rush through going over anything."

Yoongi sighs. Of course, the recital is this week.

And of course that is the only day he literally cannot be there to keep an eye on Jungkook to make sure he doesn't give too much information or tell too many stories about their past to Taehyung.

That he doesn't move forward with whatever stupid plan of sabotage he has in mind.

Damn.

At the sight of Yoongi's pout Taehyung scrambles for another possible solution, "Maybe we could change the time to go to the house until after the recital..." but his shoulder drop a bit as he realizes that might not work either. "Except that means we might have to rush so we can do as much as we can before we run out of day light."

Yoongi hadn't considered that. The house has no electricity right now. As soon as the sun goes down, it wouldn't really be possible to get anything done.

"I also don't want to keep his working day longer than necessary... I plan on clarifying this with him, but I think technically he's doing this as a side project, not really as an official job for the company." Taehyung says in a small voice, himself sporting a pout of his own now.

"Of course. We don't want to elongate his work day. Especially if it's something he may be doing outside of regular company operations. That's very kind of you to have considered that, baby."

Taehyung beams at the praise and Yoongi laughs at how quickly his mood changes with a such a simple statement.

Words of Affirmation he giggles quietly to himself.

"Thank you my liege. Now, unless you'd like to join me, I will take my leave to go enjoy a nice hot, relaxing shower," he says in a British sounding posh accent.

A prince is what Yoongi thinks he's going for.

Yoongi laughs a little louder but shakes his head. "I think I'll get back to my book, if that's okay."

"As you wish my Buttercup," he says with a bow, really playing up the royal persona he's suddenly adopted. "I'll be back before you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Yoongi's brows raise, smile still in place. "Was there a prince in Mary Poppins?"

Taehyung straightens back up so he's standing straight, pouting his lips in thought, "Wasn't the cartoon Lion a prince?"

"Hm. I can't say if he was or wasn't. That wasn't one of my go to movies as a child."

"One would think this would be among the thousands of random facts you just happen know for some reason," Taehyung mumbles, more to himself than to Yoongi.

"I'm so sorry to disappoint you, darling," he chuckles. "Why don't you think about it in the shower than come back with the answer," Yoongi smirks teasingly, snuggling back into his pillow and lifting his book back up.

"I would really rather be thinking of something, or someone, other than Mary Poppins in the shower."

"You wouldn't be thinking of her, you'd be debating the possibility of the cartoon Lion in the movie being a prince." Yoongi teases further, knowing Taehyung was talking about him.

"Fine," he huffs but laughs a second later, continuing to do so all the way into the bathroom.

As soon as he is out of sight, Yoongi brings his thumb to his mouth to nibble on his nail.

He's very worried about what Jungkook is going to say.

And he's becoming increasingly worried about how him suddenly working with Taehyung is playing into whatever plan he has to stop them from getting married.

With a huff Yoongi decides then and there; he's going to set up another visit with Jungkook.

One that will take place before Jungkook meets with Taehyung and they are going to get everything out in the open to straighten this whole mess out, once and for all.