play sweet night while
reading for full feels :))

—

Their picture from Andong was up on the screen, the title 'Sweet Night' in Taehyung's handwriting along the bottom.

A countdown was in the corner and Jungkook slipped away from Taehyung's arms, rising to his feet and moving passed the center coffee table.

"Jungkook?" Taehyung followed him up, the younger feeling every part of him burn. Burn with anticipation because he had been waiting for this all day. Maybe he'd been waiting for it before he even knew the song existed.

"Hey," Taehyung stared at him worriedly, hands landing on his arms, torn between the ten seconds left on the timer and the silence that had replaced Jungkook's rambles. "You okay?"

Jungkook didn't even get to respond. Because that timer counted down from five and disappeared upon hitting zero— the stunned silence of Jungkook engulfed by the melodic voice of his loved one.

Time stopped. Time just simply froze as his whole body stilled in an external lock. Everything happened inside, unlocked from some cavern deep in his heart.

"On my pillow
Can't get me tired.
Sharing my fragile truth
That I still hope the door is open
'Cause the window opened
one time with you and me.
Now my forever's falling down
Wondering if you'd want me now."

His heart weighed down his whole chest, making him reach for Taehyung's shoulders to steady himself. It made him feel so full, so ethereal and it was unbelievable. So good. So them.

Jungkook didn't know when the tears began falling because time had stopped. He didn't know when Taehyung's arms had wrapped around him and pulled him close, he just knew he ended up there.

"How could I know
One day I'd wake up feeling more?
But I had already reached the shore.
Guess we were ships in the night
Night, night.
We were ships in the night
Night, night."

He heard every lyric, every fluctuation in Taehyung's voice. Every syllable and vibrato, every annunciation that articulated the rocking sensation of his words. He heard the soft murmur whispered in his ear, the real voice soothing his run of emotions while the singing one pushed him deeper into the meaning.

He listened to every inch of Taehyung's heart pouring out in the song. He listened to the emotions, the hope for something more and something everlasting in a time of displacement.

"I'm wondering are
you my best friend?
Feels like a river's rushing
through my mind.
I wanna ask you if this
is all just in my head.
My heart is pounding
tonight I wonder if you
Are too good to be true.
And would it be alright if I
Pulled you closer?"

It was too good to be true, but it was exactly that. True. It was all truly theirs. Jungkook pulled Taehyung closer as if it were an answer to his hopeful pleading.

And they swayed. Swayed like their ships at night, rocking in dark waters, hand in hand.
His feet floated on the ground, body floating in Taehyung's arms like his precious ship in a long journey overseas.

They were headed for the same place that time. They had the same wants, the same goal.

Their hearts were in the same place.

"How could I know
One day I'd wake up feeling more?
But I had already reached the shore.
Guess we were ships in the night
Night, night.
We were ships in the night
Night, night."

And it looped. The song played again, but it didn't consume Jungkook like it had the first time.

Because once he had admired the Taehyung singing on the speakers, let it build up his heart with every bit of love he'd ever felt for the man, he turned to the Taehyung in front of him.

The Taehyung that hugged him with more warmth than a coat in the bitter cold, the Taehyung that moved with more grace and purpose than his modeling in a shoot, the Taehyung that made the moment more priceless than any person apart of his world could afford.

The Taehyung that expressed more genuine love than he had ever received in his lifetime through a song.

The Taehyung that felt more love than he had dreamed to deserve just yesterday.

The Taehyung that controlled their direction towards a future destination good for them both.

The Taehyung that was his.

He could hardly see through the sheet of tears covering his direct view of the elder. His chest was sore from the sobs elicited out of it. His shoulders shook tiredly, his feet knocking against Taehyung's with every step they circled in.

Their song was playing in the background, lost in the back of his mind like a memory as he took in reality.

His forehead was pressed against the model's. He could lean forward and bump their noses, he could lean forward and kiss him.

But all he could think about without going insane was the hand smoothing up his side and across the plane of his arm, reaching for his own.

It interlaced their fingers, a perfect mesh of long fingers scoring jeweled rings with a strong palm bearing an ordinary bracelet, a beautiful connecting point that strengthened as Taehyung pulled away and raised their arms in an arc above their heads.

He twirled the younger around, Jungkook letting out a muffled laugh as the apartment whirled around in his view, only to land perfectly back into Taehyung's arms. The rush of air bloomed welcomed sensations through his body.

The city of Seoul was just in view through the balcony doors. Passing people could stare up the stunning apartment complex and see the silhouettes through the glass, dancing with their energy fueled in emotions rather than their feet.

It was all slow. A slow that let time warm and unfreeze from a state of stun.

Jungkook giggled as his hand curved around the back of Taehyung's head, feeling the hair he had wanted to touch for so long. He shifted his hand from the ticklish strands to the sharp jawline relaxed against his touch.

Taehyung's hands held his waist like he was belonged. Held it like he was meant to be held by those beautiful hands. Held him with more care than one with fragile glass.

As time warmed and picked back into reality, their dance slowed to an end.

They laughed with the same air hot between them, the lightness in their shoulders, the adoration within their hearts lifting their chins up from being pawns to placing crowns on their heads.

"My prince." Jungkook whispered, voice shaky, vision clearing enough to see the beautifully different eyes staring at him. They'd only ever stared at him. Never seen him as anything but who he really was.

"My angel." Taehyung responded, voice soft and begging to be heard.

Jungkook heard him. Jungkook saw him, too. Saw his Taehyung, not the model who was worth billions of won, or landed international deals, not the 'V' that fans screamed for when he walked a red carpet.

Just him. And just Taehyung was all Jungkook wanted.

He was proud of the elder. Proud of his song.

And though the words didn't need to be said, not with how they felt, nor with the way they stared at each other, Jungkook said them anyways.

"I love you, Kim Taehyung."

Taehyung's hand shook against his face as it held the side of his face, brushing the side of his thumb over puffy cheeks and sore red skin.

And though he saw that Taehyung loved him with his eyes, the words never left his full, red lips.

And Jungkook understood.

"K-Kook, I— I can't— not yet—"

All he did was smile and wipe those tears that shouldn't have been falling. Because Jungkook understood.

Taehyung needed closure. The last time he had loved someone, he was left traumatized and broken. Taehyung needed to see the end of that before he could start anew.

"I know." He whispered, taking Taehyung's hand from its place on his cheek and bending the fingers in to kiss his knuckles. "Helping you get to the end isn't just for you. It's for us, too."

The elder shifted his hand so that it braced Jungkook's chin with a small ledge. The younger's eyes welled with tears seeing Taehyung's do the same, the smooth touch of his finger grazing Jungkook's lips.

Taehyung's mouth replaced the finger, causing the faintest brush of his perfect lips against Jungkook's uneven ones.

Jungkook wrapped his hand around Taehyung's with the rush of his love making him chase after those beautiful lips. It made him cry more, the hand he held, the lips he kissed, chest aching with the amount of love he had within. Love that was just for Taehyung.

"A promise." Taehyung whispered against his mouth, breath heavy and lips quivering. "I'm yours. Until we get there and after that."

"I'm yours." He nodded, throwing arms around Taehyung for one more hug. "Take the time you need. I'm not leaving."

And he meant it. He didn't care about what he had told Taehyung's managers. He didn't care what deadlines he had. He wasn't leaving Taehyung's side a second time. Their ships had already set a course that couldn't be change. Couldn't be forced.

Love couldn't be rushed.

Like how trust didn't depend on time, neither did love.

Love was trust.

Love was trusting the most fragile part of one's soul in another's hand and trusting it would grow into something eternal.

Trust was love.

Trust was loving a soul, even your own, loving every flaw and scar, loving every secret behind closed doors and every story that one was entrusted with.

They were each other's until the end. And when they reached the end, the world would have lost. Every crashing storm at sea trying to disrupt their set course would be overrun by their trust in getting there.

They loved each other, even if the words couldn't be said.

—

i made myself cry while writing
i really hope you guys like
this chap as much as i do💙💙

p.s. i broke like every grammar
rule in the book— welcome
to poetic writing :D