The drive is long, but Jeongguk can't complain when he's got a stellar view.

Taehyung's profile is something to be marvelled, the glow of the passing streetlights casting him in a tangerine light, accentuating the long slope of his nose, the purse of his lips and the curl of his eyelashes. He looks so at ease, one hand wrapped around the steering wheel while the other rests on the open window, head propped up against his fist. It's a beauty Jeongguk can't fathom and once again has the urge to reach for his phone, capture this beauty like it's a rare animal, stepping out in broad daylight.

Something hot bubbles up in Jeongguk's throat.

"You look really pretty!"

Taehyung startles with the sudden raucous declaration, eyes flicking over to Jeongguk with a curl of his lips. It has the back of his neck burning hot, shoulders squaring as he faces forward and watches the road pass them by with each inching yard. His whole body feels hot with embarrassment, wondering when he'd gotten so useless at being normal.

"Yeah?"

He doesn't say anything. Doesn't even breathe.

Though his breath hitches when fingers slip through the back of his hair, nails scratching at his scalp.

"You're precious, Jeongguk," Taehyung says. "You know that?"

No, he definitely does not know that.

He doesn't say anything else for the rest of the drive, until they're pulling up outside of another lavish looking restaurant, valet once again waiting for them. Stepping out of the car, Jeongguk catches a glimpse of the people already sat inside and gets a wave of déjà vu, feeling self conscious all over again.

Jeongguk looks down at himself, wearing a faded graphic tee and sweats and internally cringes.

Once again, he reaches for Taehyung's arm, giving a gentle tug. "Um, I don't think I should go in there."

Taehyung frowns, eyebrows lowered. "And why not?"

Jeongguk awkwardly gestures to himself, smile strained.

"What? What am I missing?"

"I don't fit in, Taehyung."

Taehyung's eyes narrow. "What does that matter?"

He scratches the back of his ear. "I don't want to embarrass you."

"And who says you'd embarrass me?"

Jeongguk fidgets under the fierce gaze.

Taehyung's finger once again takes its place under Jeongguk's chin, albeit rougher this time, thumb digging into his chin. "There's nothing you could do to embarrass me. I don't give a fuck what you wear, I don't give a fuck about how you look. Don't you think I know that better than anyone else? If people stare, they're staring at the guy in make up and heels. Not the cute boy with tattoos. Understand, sweetheart?"

He can only nod frantically.

Taehyung brushes his thumb over his lips, soft and barely there before dropping his hand and taking Jeongguk's instead, harsh look to his eyes disintegrating as he leads him into the restaurant.

Now that it's been pointed out, Jeongguk really thinks about the fact that Taehyung probably knows better than anyone what it's like to have unwanted attention on him. Being a man and openly wearing "traditionally feminine" clothing—especially in a place like South Korea—must earn him lots of it. People don't like what they can't understand. And for some reason, they can't understand that fashion is for everyone. Clothes shouldn't have limitations on who's allowed to wear them. But with people so narrow minded, Taehyung must have a lot of confidence to go against gender norms, wear whatever he wants and not let other peoples opinions affect him.

And Jeongguk fucking admires the hell out of him.

With those thoughts and words in mind, Jeongguk finds it easier not to pay attention to any lingering looks their way. Maybe they look like an interesting pair. Both saying a giant fuck you to society's traditional expectations of what a well rounded man should look like. Heavy body modification and women's clothing.

Jeongguk walks with a little more height and pride.

Dinner is nice. Taehyung takes the role of pouring them drinks and even feeds Jeongguk from across the table, wiping away the sauce that spills down his chin and sucks it straight off his thumb.

His heart may or may not have imploded in his chest.

"I got you something."

Jeongguk's chopsticks pause halfway to his mouth, looking up through his eyelashes at the man sat across from him. He swallows back the urge to protest as Taehyung pulls a rectangular box out from the inside of his jacket and slides it across the table.

With shaking fingers, Jeongguk sets his utensils down and thumbs at the gold clasp for a second before slowly opening the lid as if a blood thirsty rat could jump out and go straight for his face. But it's not a rat. It's actually a , a thick rope of silver, gleaming under the lights overhead.

"Taehyung," he almost squeaks, eyes comically wide as he looks up at the other, Taehyung's hands folded beneath his chin, a tender look to his face.

Before he can say anything else, Taehyung's up on his feet and walking around the table towards him, plucking the chain from the velvet box and unlatching it easily. Jeongguk swallows as the band of cool metal is suddenly wrapped around his neck, pooling against his collarbone, a gentle weight. He looks down at himself, eyeing the way the chain is a stark contast against his inky skin and black shirt, like a slice of light in the dark.

"Look at that," Taehyung says, fingers stroking the nape of his neck and Jeongguk resists the urge to shudder. "Suits so you nicely, Jeongguk."

Jeongguk looks up to see Taehyung standing beside him now, hand resting on his shoulder and thumb stretching to stroke over the side of the chain. "Thank you, hyung. You really—" he pauses and thinks of his next words carefully, Taehyung clealy waiting. "You're very kind."

It appeases the man, who shoots him a wink and retakes his position on the other side of the table, so casual despite giving Jeongguk a piece of jewellery that he hadn't needed to. It has him thinking about the fact that Taehyung was carrying this around with him, possibly a gift for winning the game. And he wonders if he'd have been gifted such a thing if he had lost.

For some reason, Jeongguk is waiting for the catch that never comes. Throughout the whole of dinner, he half expects Taehyung to asks him some sort of favour, explain to him why he's interested in him, needs him somehow. It just all seems a little too good to be true. Odd, but good. He expects it every time the other man opens his mouth, but instead of a reason, he gets another question about his life and a look so genuinely interested. He doesn't understand what a person like Taehyung could possibly find interesting about him of all people. A poor college student who gets amazed over stainless steel chopsticks.

"You want dessert, angel?" Taehyung asks, running his fingers along the inside of Jeongguk's arm, soft pout on his face. And before he has a chance to assure that he's fine, Taehyung's already flagging down the waiter. "You need some dessert."

So Jeongguk has dessert.

And Taehyung feeds it to him once again. Little mouthfuls of chocolate soufflé cake that melt on his tongue, receiving little praises every now and then between bites. It makes his face warm every time Taehyung cleans him up, even goes so far as to licking his thumb and wiping at the corner of Jeongguk's mouth like he's a child.

"Messy boy, aren't you?"

He laughs weakly.

At the end of dinner, Jeongguk thinks about reaching for his wallet, maybe contribute somehow, but it's as if Taehyung can read his mind and he gives him a little warning look as their bill is brought over. But he's starting to like it, having those eyes on him, terrifying or not. He... likes Taehyung's attention on him. Likes being his centre focus.

"Wanna drive, stud?"

Jeongguk's quick to nod, because he's just a boy. A boy that likes cars, and Taehyung has lots of cars.

He's not sure where he's going, so it's a safe bet to say he's heading home. But maybe like the last time, he takes the longer streets to have more time driving. Or maybe to have more time with Taehyung. It's a win-win either way. But it's hard to focus on the road when Taehyung's stretched out beside him, knees peaking through the rips in his jeans, soft, tan skin breaking through and Jeongguk wants to touch—god, he wants to touch so much—but he curbs the urge away, blunt nails digging into the soft plastic cover around the wheel.

Like all good things, the ride eventually comes to an end, and Jeongguk's slow to pull up outside of his complex, turning the car off and twisting to say something, anything to prolong him going back inside. But his stomach drops a little unpleasantly when he sees Taehyung already climbing out of the car. He's quick to join, stepping out and joining Taehyung on the other side.

"Thanks again for tonight, hyung," he says, fingers restless where they pick at the lint in his pockets.

His breath leaves his lungs in a slow whoosh as he's suddenly pulled in, fingers curled into the loops of his jeans while another cups the side of his jaw. He's once again a few inches shorter than Taehyung, head tilted up to meet his eyes, calm and unreadable unlike his own, which probably show the nerves, show the hope that maybe, just maybe—

"Did you have a good time tonight, Jeongguk?"

"Yes. I did."

Taehyung hums, licking over his bottom lip and Jeongguk's eyes track the movement, muscles tensing at the faint smile that tugs at those full lips.

"You played well tonight. I was extremely impressed. Were you giving it your all?"

He shifts. "Yes."

"And did you have fun while doing it?"

"Yes, Taehyung."

Taehyung smiles as his thumb sweeps over the dip just beneath Jeongguk's cheekbone. "You made me very proud."

Jeongguk preens, feeling something warm smoulder inside of him, the praise making him a little light headed.  When Taehyung reaches up and pushes Jeongguk's hair out of his face, he almost whimpers, gently leaning into the touch.

"You're a good boy."

Oh shit.

He's so fucked.

                                                                                                          -- -- --

You're a good boy.

"Jeon!"

His head snaps up quickly, watching as the ball whizzes by his head and in the hands of the opposite team.

"Sorry," he apologies, scratching at his eyebrow, gaze wary on Yoongi.

"Where is your head at, man? You've been zoned out since practice started," Yoongi chastises, the disapproval evident on his face as he jogs down the court.

That's a good question. Where has his head been? Oh, that's right. It's been lopped the fuck off and locked in the fold of one Kim Taehyung's pretty hands.

Since that night last week, Jeongguk's been playing those four words over and over in his head, like a video on loop.

Your'e a good boy. You're a good boy.

Jeongguk's barely been able to think of anything else, stuck on the way it felt to be praised by Taehyung, to be called a good boy by Taehyung. Jeongguk likes praise just as much as the next person, but there was something about that, about the way Taehyung said it... It's been on his mind ever since. It makes him want to work harder in every aspect of his life, achieve things he's put on the back burner, accomplish things.

He wants to make Taehyung proud again.

The silver chain hangs heavy beneath his shirt, sticking to his heated skin and scalding him every time he shifts. It feels like a mark, like Taehyung's always there, wrapped around him and making himself known with every subtle movement of his body. He finds himself just staring at it sometimes, looking himself over in the mirror, naked from his shower with nothing but his murky skin and necklace.

With a little tug of his chain, he takes a deep breath and forces himself not to get so caught up on what Taehyung had said and instead tries to work harder on to what he can do to hear it again.

And that involves putting his all into this game.

So he does just that.

Because he's a good boy.

                                                                                                          -- -- --

"Dear god, how do you survive on that thing?"

Jeongguk's thumb stills on his phone, skin catching on a crack in the screen, his message to Hoseok half complete.

He's been hanging around by the till while Taehyung went into the back room to look at the selection of fabric on offer, apparently needed for a new line he's working on. So Jeongguk has been busying himself by playing Piano Tiles and answering texts.

"What? You mean my phone?"

Taehyung tsks. "I'd hardly call that a phone anymore, hon."

He shrugs. "It gets the job done."

"How do you even see what the job is with your screen half gone?"

Jeongguk eyes his phone. An old iPhone 5 that he'd bought on ebay for cheap. He'd cracked it two months in and was too broke—too willing to spend money on ink, rather—to get the screen changed.

"It's not that bad, hyung."

But apparently that answer wasn't the right one, because Taehyung scoffs, handing his card over as the clerk racks up the rolls and rolls of different kinds of fabric. "Not that bad. The understatement of the year."

Jeongguk's slowly getting used to Taehyung's lifestyle, how everything must be in the best condition, the newest of this and that. He's no longer as self conscious as he was a month or so ago, knowing Taehyung isn't being rude, it's just the world he's used to.

"Did you wear that shirt yesterday?"

"Yeah, but only for a few hours, so it's still good."

That's clearly the icing on the cake, the cherry on top, the birthday candles, because Taehyung looks floored. "Okay, let's go," he mutters, thanking the girl behind the counter as Jeongguk takes the bags on the table, arm soon hooked through his own.

"Where are we going?"

"Shopping."

Okay, nothing new there. They've gone shopping a few times now. But as they approach the Apple store, Jeongguk just knows that they're not doing their traditional shopping. Taehyung walks straight up to one of the store clerks and asks for—

"A Macbook? Taehyung, I don't need a laptop. I already have one."

"Weren't you the one texting me the other night about how your professor was going to rip your head off because you wouldn't be able to give in your report? Why was that again, Jeongguk?"

This cheeky fucker.

Taehyung smiles when Jeongguk doesn't say anything, just sulks and thinks of his old Acer laptop back at home, the same one he's had since freshman year. It's done him good over the years, got him through hundreds of thousands of words and a whole plethora of papers and even helped him find Gino's Pizza from a random pop-up. They've been through a lot together.

"Would you like that in matte black or slate silver?"

Jeongguk's eyes snap up to the store clerk. He lowers his voice. "You have them in black?"

"He'll take one of each," Taehyung says easily.

"Taehyung!" He all but squeaks, staring at the other man. "One is too much, why would I need two?!"

He just shrugs. "Can never be too safe, petal. We'll take an iPhone 7 Plus too. Matte black."

Jeongguk may faint.

Ten minutes later, they're walking out with two new laptops and a phone, all set up and ready for Jeongguk to use. He feels shaky. He hopes this is the end of it, for the sake of his heart.

"Ah, Versace! You look like a Versace man."

Or not.

In a matter of moments of walking into the store, Taehyung has people all around him, taking his measurements, skin tone and height. And then the next moment, he's being guided into the changing rooms with more clothes than Jeongguk has in his entire closet.

It's all a little awkward, Jeongguk trying on item after item, taking far too long because he's fucking terrified that he'll accidentally rip a button off or tear a seam. And it just doesn't end, Taehyung constantly hanging more and more clothes over the door, adding little this will look geat on you's and this is your colour, baby boy, put it on's.

He declines a lot of the stuff, not afraid to voice his opinions when this much money is on the line. It helps Taehyung tailor to what he does like, picking more similar articles of clothing. He slings over a variety of jeans, and Jeongguk finds himself drawn to one pair in particular, though he tries not to wince when he catches a glimpse of the price tag.

"I like the grey ones."

"Yeah? I liked those too. Put them on for me."

Oh god. That makes everything a little more difficult, his fingers a little clumsier, his palms a little sweatier. But he manages.

Kinda.

"How they looking, baby?"

Jeongguk looks himself over in the mirror, standing side on as he admires the . "They're a little tight," he calls back, feeling the seams dig into the insides of his thighs.

"Open up, let me have a look," Taehyung says from right outside the door. He reaches over and unlocks the stall, watching as Taehyung slips in and closes the door behind him. He steps in the corner and looks Jeongguk over, head cocked to the side to look him over in a way that makes Jeongguk feel like he's standing there stark naked. "They're a little bunched up."

Jeongguk looks down at himself, seeing the fabric of the denim indeed crinkle around the tops of his thighs and makes an effort to try and tug them down. Pants have always been a bit of a problem for him, having always struggled to find a size that fit properly around his waist and thighs without being too tight or too baggy in one area.

Taehyung steps closer, taking his own turn in trying to pull the fabric bunched around Jeongguk's thighs down a few inches. He swallows thickly when Taehyung lowers himself down to his knees in front of him, insistently pulling the fabric, and Jeongguk feels the waistband of the jeans slide down a little more. "That feel a little better?" Taehyung asks, glancing up at him when he doesn't answer straight away, his heartbeat pounding heavy behind his ears.

He manages to nod, eyes blown as he stares down at Taehyung who's still got his hands resting along the sides of his thighs, staring up at him through long, dark lashes.

"That's—That's better, yeah. Thanks, hyung."

He expects Taehyung to stand back up, leave him to get changed again, but he doesn't move. He continues to stare up at Jeongguk for a long moment, his hands eventually starting to slide up and down the sides of his legs.

"You have such nice thighs, Jeongguk," Taehyung hums, eyes dropping from Jeongguk's to stare straight ahead of him, watching his hands smooth up and down the material. "Nice and thick. They feel so strong," he adds as his hands slide to the back of Jeongguk's thighs, giving them a tight squeeze, able to feel his nails just barely pressing in.

He can't bring himself to say anything, not sure he even knows how to properly verbalise anymore, so he stays quiet as Taehyung touches him, trying to will away the hard on that's threatening to make an appearance. As quick as it happens, it's gone, but not without Taehyung sweeping his hands up the insides of Jeongguk's thighs, his knuckles brushing over his crotch, enough pressure to tell him that it wasn't his imagination. Felt intentional.

Taehyung's up on his feet before Jeongguk can fully process what just happened. "They look good. Let's get them," he decides, sounding completely fine, compared to Jeongguk who's inner voice is even stuttering in his mind. "I'll be outside when you're ready."

And just like that, he's gone, leaving Jeongguk to stand there, thighs burning and head spinning.

That was definitely new.

                                                                                                          -- -- --

"Come on, we need to break in the camera."

"I'm awkward taking pictures. I never know what to do with my face."

Taehyung tuts, taking his new phone from his hand and switches the camera on. "You look good no matter what. You don't even have to try."

There goes Jeongguk's heart again.

And then it full on stutters and dies when Taehyung leans across the console and presses his back against Jeongguk's chest, head resting back against his shoulder as he snaps a picture. He can't imagine it's a great one, with how tense Jeongguk is.

And it's proved when Taehyung opens up the camera.

"What is that?"He laughs. "Why are you looking at me like that? I don't have rabies."

"I-I—"

"Come on. Get in close. Put your arm around me."

Jeongguk gulps back the weird noise threatening to bubble up from the back of his tongue and instead clears his throat as he lifts his arm to drape around Taehyung's shoulders, still very aware of the moment not too long ago in the dressing room.

He doesn't look at the camera, nor his own reflection. But instead stares at Taehyung's reflection in the screen, lips parted and tongue sneaking out the corner of his mouth, looking so effortlessly sexy. He switches through a few poses; pouts, grins—jesus christ, what a smile—bites his lip—jesus christ, what a boner—and winks. All the while Jeongguk has this steady look of what he likes to call I'm Not Constipated, Just Struggling. He likes to think he pulls it off well.

"Aw, this one's cute," Taehyung coos, stopping at the one of him grinning while Jeongguk stares at him, the corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly.

Yeah, he thinks it's cute too.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Taehyung asks once he's handed Jeongguk's phone back.

He frowns. "What? Why would I be mad at you?"

"For taking you shopping. You didn't seem happy. Are you mad?"

"No! Hyung, no. I'm not mad," Jeongguk assures. "I'm just, y'know, not used to this."

Taehyung reaches over and fiddles with one of the rings on Jeongguk's fingers, and it's strange, seeing him looking nervous. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, Taehyung."

"We don't have to go shopping anymore if it makes you uncomfortable."

Jeongguk gives Taehyung's shoulder a squeeze from where it's still looped around his neck. "I want to. Okay? I want to."

Taehyung looks up at him through his lashes, eyes hopeful. "You really mean that?"

"I do."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Promise promise?"

"Promise promise," Jeongguk laughs. "You need me to spit shake?"

Taehyung grins, knocking his shoulder into Jeongguk's chest. "Buy me dinner first."

Oh dear god.

They end up at Taehyung's place, and Jeongguk's immediately taken back by the sheer size of his house. It's a two story house, large and modern, looking like a house straight from California. It's intimidating, the neatly cut lawn and three door garage, a house people could only dream of owning. There's various balcony's, three sets of steps just leading up to the house alone and a fountain. There's actually a fountain in the front yard.

"This is where you live?" Jeongguk asks as they climb out of the car, head tilted back to try and see the top of the house.

"Yeah, this is home. You coming?" He asks when Jeongguk doesn't take a step to move.

He spends another moment just looking the place over, taking in the fine details and exterior. It's like art and Jeongguk feels like he should marvel it like it's something out of a gallery in Florence.

After another minute, he follows Taehyung up into the house, and if he thought the outside was impressive, the inside is a whole different story. Immediately, he's greeted with something small, pink and fluffy, scuttling on the floor so quickly that it startles Jeongguk. Until it lifts it's head and oh. It's a dog.

"Your dog is... pink?"

Taehyung tosses his purse on the table, shrugging out of his jacket. "That's Crystal. Isn't he precious?" As if on queue, Crystal turns and struts over to Taehyung, standing up on his hind legs and is soon scooped up. "One of the loves of my life. The one other is around here somewhere. Cash! Come here, baby!"

Jeongguk expects another small dog to come bounding out. What he does not expect is a huge dog with wrinkles drooping down his face and lines of drool hanging from his saggy mouth.

"There's my baby boy," Taehyung coos, setting Crystal down next to Cash and the size difference between them has Jeongguk laughing.

"They make quite a pair."

Taehyung smiles proudly, pressing a kiss to Cash's head before he nods for Jeongguk to follow him. He watches with interest as Crystal barks at Cash and leads the way into another room, his bigger brother following behind obediently.

Huh.

Jeongguk follows Taehyung into the living room and he's once again amazed. The place is huge, a large row of couches pressed together to make an open square, facing a cinema sized screen. This really is what dreams are made of.

"You want something to drink, sweetheart?"

Jeongguk sits down on the edge of the couch, spreading out over it and certain that it's more comfortable than his bed. "What are you having?"

Taehyung riffles through the fridge, able to see him from his spot on the couch, humming a soft tune. "A smoothie, I think."

"I'll have one too, please."

Taehyung returns with two pretty shaped bottles and hands one to Jeongguk as he sits right beside him, tucking his knees up and pressing them against the side of Jeongguk's thigh.

"Do you like the place?" Taehyung asks once he's had a long sip.

"Yeah, it's incredible. It's huge."

Taehyung hums, looking around like it's the first time he's seeing it too. "A pity, honestly. I travel around so much I don't have the chance to stay here as much as I'd like to."

Jeongguk looks away from where he was admiring the sound system and over to Taehyung. "Where have you travelled to?"

"All over, really. Spent Christmas in America, over in the Hamptons. The night we met, I'd just flown in from Milan."

"That's so cool," he says in awe. "I went to Japan once for a school trip in high school. Didn't really get to see much. We went to visit the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. I would have liked to have seen more."

Taehyung nods. "Japan is beautiful in the spring, the cherry bloom trees rival the ones we have here. Where's one place you'd like to go if you could?"

Jeongguk takes a sip of his smoothie as he thinks about it. It's sweet and peachy. Just like Taehyung. "Hawaii, I think. Always wanted to go there."

"Hawaii, huh? I've been there a few times. People are really friendly there."

"I'm jealous."

"Why?"

Isn't it obvious? "You've just seen a lot of the world. I wish I could too."

Taehyung presses his knee more firmly against Jeongguk's thigh. "You can."

Jeongguk doesn't bother with a response. He's not being rude, he just knows that him being able to afford to travel the world is not a realistic dream. And he's okay with that, a lot of people can't. Though the mention of dreams makes him wonder.

"What's your dream?"

Taehyung looks a little taken off guard, almost spilling his smoothie as he lowers is. "Excuse me?"

"Your dream. You know my dream, as unrealistic as it is. Playing basketball," he chuckles. "What about you?"

The other sits there in a silence for a minute, eyes flickering all over Jeongguk's face, mouth slightly turned down in thought. Jeongguk wonders if somehow he may have offended him, and he's about to apologise, but before he can, Taehyung speaks up again, voice soft.

"To have my own fashion line."

It sounds a little vulnerable, a little raw, and Jeongguk wonders why. "I think that sounds amazing. You'd make amazing clothes."

Taehyung circles the rim of his bottle, head tilting to the side as he stares down at his hand. "You think so?"

Jeongguk nods. "I'm surprised you don't already have one."

That has the corners of Taehyung's mouth twitching down further. "I want to earn it. I know my grandfather would happily help me start it up. But I don't want to be associated with that kind of label, you know? I— I want to be able to draw my own designs, try out different companies to see which I'd like. I want to start from the bottom."

"You could definitely do that. You've got the drive to."

Taehyung's eyes lift to meet his own, finger pausing. "Don't you think it'd be better for me just to take the easy route?"

He considers that briefly, but he already knows the answer. "No, I think it'd be more satisfying for you to be able to see it through from beginning to end. Make your own mistakes, learn things yourself. More rewarding that way."

There's a deep inhale and Taehyung sets his bottle on the coffee table, scooting closer to Jeongguk. His fingers thread through his hair. "You're a very wise young man, Jeon Jeongguk. I'm very enamoured by you."

Jeongguk's heart jumps in his chest, bruising the inside of his ribs, chipping away at the bone. He bites the side of his tongue to calm himself. "I'm just being honest," he tries to say, but his voice is weak.

Taehyung smiles. "I know." He suddenly scoots closer, resting his head on Jeongguk's shoulder and wraps his arm around his waist. "I'm glad we met."

He feels like his brain spills out his ears, turning into more of a mess with every little look, word and touch. "Me too, hyung."

Nothing else is said after that and it takes Jeongguk a good ten minutes to pick up on the steady in and out of Taehyung's heavy breathing, casting a look down to see the man fast asleep, cheek pushed up from where it's pressed against Jeongguk's shoulder. He knows he should wake him up, but he can be secretly selfish for another couple of minutes. Because this is nice. It's different and it's nice. And for those few minutes that he'll let himself be selfish, he rests his head over Taehyung's, cheek brushing against soft hair.

He doesn't mean to fall asleep, but later on, when he wakes up, he realises that it's gotten incredibly late, and he's got practice bright and early tomorrow morning. Jeongguk kind of doesn't want to move, though, when he remembers the man asleep on his shoulder, snoring softly and looking so at peace that it would be a crime to disturb him.

But alas, he must.

"Hyung," Jeongguk rumbles softly, keeping his voice quiet as he reaches across himself after rubbing his bleary eyes so he can shake Taehyung gently awake.

"Mm," comes the low reply.

He can't help but smile.

"Taehyung, I should go. And you should get to bed."

His smile only seems to grow as he watches Taehyung bury his face into the fabric of Jeongguk's shirt, unable to care that he's leaving streaks of make up behind.

"I need to drive you home."

Jeongguk shakes his head. "It's okay. I'll walk."

Taehyung snorts. "I'm not going to let you walk home, Jeongguk."

"Then I'll catch the bus."

"No, just take one of the cars."

What. "What?"

Taehyung sits up then, his mascara a little smudged beneath his eyes. Jeongguk thinks he looks stunning. "Take one of the cars, then. But before you do, help hyung to bed."

Jeongguk quickly obliges, standing and taking Taehyung's outstretched arms, gently getting him up to his feet. With tired directions, he manages to navigate his way through the house and to Taehyung's room. It's just as big as he was expecting, probably bigger than Jeongguk's entire apartment. He gets a little distracted by the huge, blown up pictures of Taehyung on the wall. Pictures of him modelling tiny dresses and white power suits and even minimalist ones of him with a turtle neck pulled up high on his chin, face bare. They're all so beautiful, and he's only reminded of the real life thing when it presses its nose into the crook of his neck and huffs out a soft Gukkie.

He doesn't think it appropriate for him to help Taehyung out of his clothes, so he just pulls the covers up to his neck and carefully smooths the silky strands of hair from Taehyung's face.

"Sleep well, hyung."

Taehyung grumbles quietly, pressing his face more into his pillow. Jeongguk thinks he's as good as asleep until his hand is suddenly grabbed and soft lips press to the back of his knuckles, a heavy pair of eyes on him.

"Thank you, sweetheart. The keys are on the wall in the garage. Drive safe."

Jeongguk's poor, poor heart.

He's quiet as he heads back downstairs, stopping briefly to admire more pictures of Taehyung hung up on the walls, along with pictures of his dogs. He finds said dogs curled up together in a luxurious looking bed in the kitchen, Cash curled up around Crystal. It's such a precious sight that Jeongguk can't resist snapping a quick picture. Dogs are a weakness to even the strongest of men.

A short debate takes place in his mind about whether or not he should just walk it home. But it really is a long way out, and his wallet is laughing at him, so the bus is out of the option. So once he navigates the garage in the back of the kitchen, Jeongguk decides that it wouldn't hurt to take one of the cars.

But holy shit, which one should he take. The garage was deceiving from the outside, because there's at least twelve cars inside, two lines of them, parallel to each other. It's like a car junkie's wet dream. He doesn't let himself try and pick one, just grabs a random set from the hook of keys hanging up.

"Fuck," he laughs as he presses the button on the keys, eyes going to the  when the lights flash back at him.

Fate has picked well.

"Ooh," he hums as the car purrs back once he starts the engine, buckling himself in and going through a glut amount of buttons until the garage door opens, no longer three doors, but just one large one instead.

Needless to say, Jeongguk takes the long way home.

                                                                                                          -- -- --

"Holy fuck, who's car did you steal?"

Jeongguk didn't need to drive to practice. But he totally did.

As he climbs out of the car, his teammates all gather around the lambo, circling her like the vultures they are.

"I didn't steal it," he shoots back, giving Hoseok a sharp look. "A friend let me borrow it."

Jimin looks up. "As in Kim Taehyung? That friend?"

Jeongguk's silence speaks volumes.

"I fucking knew I recognised that guy at the game. That was Kim Taehyung? How the fuck do you know him?"

He sighs, pushing his sunglasses up into his hair. "Gave me his number."

Jeongguk may be enjoying this a little too much.

"You all gonna stand there with your dicks in your hands or are we gonna play some basketball?" He calls over his shoulder as he heads to the court, pointing the keys over his shoulder to lock the doors and smirking at the chorus of whoa's.

Yeah, definitely enjoying it a little too much.

                                                                                                          -- -- --

Jeongguk knows he shouldn't be annoyed. He has no real right to be annoyed. But there he is, you guessed it: annoyed.  Because on the screen of his gifted iPhone is a picture of Taehyung holding hands with another guy.

Now he's not possessive, that's definitely not it. He's just... jealous. There's definitely a line between jealous and possessive and Jeongguk has no intention of locking Taehyung up as his own. He just wants him to maybe pay him some more fucking attention? So yeah, jealous is definitely the right word. But even then, he has no real right to be jealous.

They've been doing this thing for a couple of months now - hanging out, going on "dates" and spending a lot of time together. Jeongguk doesn't know where they stand—or no, that's not true. He doesn't know where Taehyung stands. Because Jeongguk himself is very much infatuated with the guy, wants to be around him all the time, and when he's not around him, he's thinking about him. It's giving him a constant migraine, thinking about the fact that he's harbouring feelings for someone who probably has other guys falling at his feet, looking for attention.

So seeing Taehyung holding hands with someone else makes him feel... mad. He's not mad at Taehyung, he's never said what he and Jeongguk are doing is technically exclusive. No, he's mad at the guy who gets to lock fingers with the guy he's very much interested in. That should be Jeongguk's hand that Taehyung is holding.

Taehyung had texted him last week to tell him that he'd be out of town for a couple of days and Jeongguk hadn't thought it'd affect him.

Boy was he wrong.

He's been close to mopey since the moment Taehyung left. He's missed going out with him, missed being spoiled by him. Missed just being around him. Missed him so fucking much that he spent all of practice yesterday pouting and skulking around the court. So he gives himself the right to be annoyed at the fact that Taehyung is very much back in Seoul and hadn't even bothered to tell Jeongguk.

And who was this punk he was holding hands with? Who the fuck was Kim Namjoon and what did he want with his— ehem. His friend.

Taehyung stocked up his kitchen again before he left, but instead of eating any of the healthy, nutritional food, Jeongguk orders take out. He orders burgers and fries and everything that'll probably make him break out again. It's stupid, but it's his way of spiting Taehyung. Fucking up his own skin and insides. Yeah, that'll show him.

He needs to eat his feelings and stay away from the internet, which he's been prowling for the last two hours, reading every article about Taehyung and stalking through his Instagram, cursing every time he sees a familiar glimpse of Namjoon and his stupid dimples.

Fucking dimpled shithead.

In the middle of his third burger, the buzzer goes and he grunts, ignoring it. It's not until the person presses it insistently does Jeongguk almost spit out his lettuce in a huffed rage of what do they want.

He jams his finger against the receiver. "What is it?" He snaps a little harshly, knowing in the back of his mind that no one's put him in this bad mood but himself.

And Kim Namjoon. Dimpled bitch.

"Package for Jeon Jeongguk?"

If this is another one of Hoseok's jokes, sending him assless chaps or phallic shaped lipsticks, then he's going to gut him like a fish. Jeongguk's not in the Mood.

He hovers by the door, wiping the ketchup from the corner of his mouth with the collar of his shirt, smearing red against the white. Fuck being presentable. Jeongguk's in his own home, he can be as messy as he likes.

When the knocks finally comes, Jeongguk's ready to tell the delivery boy to return the package back to the sender. So to say he's shocked to see Taehyung is an understatement.

"Surprise! I brought sushi." Taehyung pushes past him like he did the first time and steps into his apartment, though he pauses when he sees Jeongguk's mascaraed food already on the coffee table. "Jeongguk, why are you eating that crap again?"

Jeongguk is still facing the door, staring out into the hallway. It takes him a moment to remember how to function properly. "I didn't want to eat healthy," he says, and it's half the truth. The other half is petty.

"This isn't even unhealthy. It's a heart attack waiting to happen."

"Yeah, well. Too late now." Jeongguk knows he sounds short. And that's exactly what he's going for.

Taehyung stares at him. Jeongguk stares at the wall.

"Are you done eating? I think you've had enough by the looks of it."

Jeongguk huffs, walking back around his coffee table and dropping his ass back on the couch and taking another big bite of his burger until his cheeks bulge with food. "Not done," he says, voice muffled.

Taehyung continues to stare at him, tongue digging into the side of his cheek, eyes narrowed. He looks good.  in dark clothes that scream high fashion, but still manages to look casual. It makes it a little harder for Jeongguk to remember why he's mad.

"Put the burger down."

Jeongguk takes another bite.

"Young man. Put the burger down. Now." Taehyung's voice is low and monotone, but there's something about it, something strong, something demanding that makes Jeongguk put the burger the fuck down. "Come here."

He's up on his feet instantly, stepping over the coffee table to cut half a second off the time. Half a second is too long to keep an angry Taehyung waiting.

Taehyung doesn't say anything and Jeongguk does his best not to fidget under his intense stare, the food going down a little roughly as he swallows. "Care to tell me why you're being such a brat?"

Jeongguk's anger flares up again, because he's not being a brat. He's not. "Why didn't you tell me you were back in town?" He demands before he can think better of it.

It does something because Taehyung looks momentarily bewildered, eyebrows raised high beneath his bangs. "I only got back this afternoon. I came over to surprise you."

"Well, I'm not surprised. I saw you online."

"You saw me online?"

Jeongguk resists the urge to stamp his feet. "I saw you online with that guy!"

Taehyung scoffs. "What guy?"

"Kim Namjoon."

Silence.

"You mean my brother?"

More silence.

Oh.

Jeongguk purses his lips, embarrassment hitting him like a truckload of bricks. "Kim Namjoon is... your brother?" He asks, voice meek.

"Wow, you didn't do very much research, then."

"No, I did. It didn't say anywhere that he was your brother!"

Taehyung raises an eyebrow. "You didn't look very hard, then."

Apparently not. Maybe in Jeongguk's blind rage of trying to target the word boyfriend, he may have overlooked the word brother.

The space between them closes as Taehyung steps closer. "Jeongguk," he tsks. "Were you jealous?"

"No," he bites quietly.

Taehyung hums, tilting Jeongguk's head up. "Sounds like you were jealous."

Yes, he was jealous. But he doesn't want to admit that. He doesn't want Taehyung to think that he's crushing on him—he one hundred and ten percent is—and can't even bear to see him out with other guys.

Fingers slip from his chin to the back of his neck, grey nails scratching through his undercut—courtesy of Taehyung's hairdresser. Taehyung presses his forehead against his own, chest to chest now, tips of their noses pressing together.

"Were you jealous, baby boy?"

Jeongguk's suddenly hot all over, heat thrumming from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. "Yes," he whispers.

"Yeah?" Taehyung pouts.

He nods.

"Did you miss me?"

Another nod.

"Aw, it's okay," Taehyung coos. "Daddy's here now."

Every ounce of Jeongguk's blood rushes south.

"I'll forgive you for that little outburst this time. But I might not be so understanding about it next time. Are we clear?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

His throat feels like sand paper. "Yes, daddy."

Taehyung's eyes twinkle, but only for a second before he's grinning and stepping back. "Good boy. Now throw that shit excuse of dinner away and eat some sushi with me."

Jeongguk's never obeyed so quickly in his entire life.

                                                                                                          -- -- --

He's got a hand curled in the top of his hair, chest rising and falling quickly to match his shaky, uneven breaths. His other hand is curled just on the right side of tight around his dick, but on the wrong side of dry. With a grunt, Jeongguk's hand falls to his thigh, eyes opening to stare up at his ceiling. He's been trying to get off for the good part of twenty minutes now, only to throw himself off every time he so much as thinks about Taehyung. He's been thinking of his usual material, of girls with shaking thighs and swollen lips. But then his mind jumps to 'yeah but what if Taehyung's thighs were shaking, and Taehyung's lips were swollen.' And every time it happens, he stops his hand from quickening, leaving himself growing increasingly more irritated.

The idea of jerking off to Taehyung makes him feel bad, makes him feel dirty, jerking off over his new friend—though friend feels like a stodgy word to call him. It just doesn't fit into the puzzle in his mind.

Jeongguk considered firing up his laptop, but every time he so much as goes near it, he remembers Taehyung bought it for him. Same goes with his phone and his old reliable pictures he's got stocked away. Taehyung bought him it.

Everything seems to come back to Taehyung.

Taehyung Taehyung Taehyung.

Daddy.

Daddy's here now.

"Christ," he stutters when his hand curls tight around his cock, taking him off guard.

No. He can't. He absolutely can't.

He's tempted to just roll over and try and will his hard dick away. But he's been aching since Taehyung's sweater rode up earlier at dinner, revealing a slip of tan skin and a belly bar. He was sweating for the rest of the night.

Tears threaten to burn at the back of his eyes from frustration—he's always been quick to cry whenever his emotions spike too quickly, too suddenly—and with a determined breath, his fist curls back around his dick, working himself back up, thinking of the dullest things his brain can summon without flagging his boner.

"Shit," he breathes, eyes running all over the picture, taking in every-fucking-corner. His hand wraps back around his dick, and this time he doesn't stop himself, stroking himself as he stares at the meat of Taehyung's thigh. It's thick and beautiful and would look even better with a set of Jeongguk shaped teeth marks branding the skin.

Taehyung's a heathen, sent straight from hell to lure Jeongguk down with him, and he's more than willing if it means that Taehyung will be down there. Sign him the fuck up, Satan.

He swallows thickly as he takes in all that gold skin with all that gold silk, showing just enough to force him to use his imagination. He pictures Taehyung laying in his bed, thinking of him as he takes the picture, just knowing—god, does he fucking know?—what he's doing to Jeongguk and his pea sized brain.

It's eventually too much and he drops the phone to the bed, his hand too shaky to hold it up any longer and instead bites at his knuckles as he lets himself have it. Lets himself think of Taehyung with slick, sticky lips, lipstick smeared down his chin to accompany Jeongguk's come. Imagines him with shaking thighs around Jeongguk's head as he eats him out like it's his fucking job, easily knows how Taehyung's long nails would feel scrapping through his hair.

God, he wonders what he sounds like when he's about to come, when he's just on the verge of losing it, only for Jeongguk to pull off.

God, he wonders what kind of punishment he'd get for that.

His hand speeds up, thinking about how Taehyung might sit on his thighs and grind that beautiful ass back against his dick, work him up. Maybe Taehyung would still have his underwear on—shit, does he wear panties?—still wet from where Jeongguk just pushed them to the side to get to his ass. Jeongguk would make such a mess of Taehyung's panties, smearing precome all over them, getting them sticky and damp. Maybe he wouldn't let Jeongguk have his ass, because he hasn't earned it, because he's been a bad boy. Make him get off just like that, rutting desperately against Taehyung's ass, his beautiful, perfect—

"Oh fuck," he hisses, curse muted in the back of his hand as he comes, biting his knuckle hard enough to bruise. Jeongguk's back lifts off the bed as he works himself through it, mind a surfeit of TaehyungTaehyungTaehyung, right up until the moment the heat in his stomach fades and instead licks at his skin instead.

He's shaking as he tries to catch his breath, still coming down from the aftershocks of his orgasm, nipping at him like barely there electric sparks.

Jeongguk's not sure he's ever come so hard in his entire fucking life.