Taehyung’s phone ringing jolted him out of his serene bubble of sleep, and he rolled over with a groan to pick it up. “Hello?”

“Hello, Taehyung-ssi. We’re now finishing with the fuse box. Can you come over in an hour so we can give your keys back?”

“Um, yeah, sure. Thank you.” Taehyung ended the call and sat up on the bed. Does this mean I can go back to my apartment? He glanced at the younger, who was still sleeping peacefully. His groggy mind traveled to yesterday’s events, and a saddened smile tugged at his lips.

After the party, Jungkook asked him if he wanted to go home. He hadn’t used that word before during the time they lived together, and it overwhelmed Taehyung’s entire being with warmth.

His chest dropped with a muted sigh as he went to the bathroom to freshen up. He soon returned and caught Jungkook stretching his curled-up limbs, with the most endearing sleepy frown on his face.

“I’m so glad I didn’t miss that,” Taehyung said, beaming, as he flung himself onto the bed again.

“Miss what?” Jungkook asked hoarsely.

“You being ridiculously adorable.” Taehyung had a grin on his face as he wrapped his arm around his waist and pulled him closer, making the other giggle.

Jungkook broke into chuckles as Taehyung muffled him into his hug. “You’re such a dork.” He planted a kiss on his neck, clutching him. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost ten, baby. Sleep some more.” Taehyung kissed his forehead gently and carded his fingers through his hair in a slow, constant motion.

“Why are you up so early, then? We haven’t slept that much since we got home late last night.”

Home. That word tangled Taehyung’s stomach in million little knots again. “I got a call from the electrician. They will be done in an hour, so I have to go take my keys.”

“Oh.” Jungkook shifted to a sitting position, sending a row of peeks at him. “That means you can go back, right? That’s good. Right?”

“I guess so.”

“Well, yeah, it makes sense, I guess. You’re probably more comfortable in your own apartment.” A nervous chuckle tumbled from Jungkook’s throat as he avoided eye contact.

Taehyung straightened his stance as well, sitting next to him. “Living with you has been more comfortable than living alone in my apartment will ever be.”

Almost every day Taehyung would mention how much he loved living with the younger this whole week. Even if sometimes he didn’t say it directly, he would always point out how good it felt waking up next to him, how much he loved cooking with him, that he couldn’t get enough of him. He thought Jungkook would have caught on to the situation by now, but apparently, he hadn't.

Taehyung didn’t want to leave.

Taehyung sighed at the silence he received. He pasted a smile on his face, dismissing the bitterness roiling in his core. “I’ll make some coffee. Do you want to sleep or should I make one for you, too?”

Jungkook perceived the switch of the mood; it grew so awkward and tense. And he didn’t know what to do about it. “I’ll make it,” he mumbled. “I know you love my coffee.”

They got out of bed with a fragile hush surrounding them. Taehyung settled in the living room, as Jungkook visited the bathroom and then went to the kitchen to make the coffee.

“What are you going to do on Christmas?” Jungkook asked, almost finished with his task. “Will you go to Daegu to your dad?”

Taehyung glanced back at him. “My dad is on a business trip and he has to work even on vacation, so no. You?”

“I’ll visit my mom. I don’t want her to be alone.” Jungkook soon joined him with two cups of coffee.

“Thanks,” Taehyung said as the other passed him his drink. “You’re right, she shouldn’t be alone. Where is your dad, though?”

“I don’t have one. He left my mom when he found out she was pregnant, so I never got to meet him.”

“I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“Well, I never got to meet him, so it’s not that awful. I do think about how he would look like or how he would treat me, but I don’t feel sad about it. I think it would be worse if I had met him. I mean, if he suddenly decided he wanted to leave us then or whatever, it would be worse.” Jungkook only realized what spewed from his mouth when he glanced at the grimness that clawed at Taehyung’s features. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“No, it’s okay. It’s true,” Taehyung said. Another round of heavy silence crawled by as they sipped their coffee. “When are you leaving for Busan?”

“In three days.”

“Well, I should probably go pack my stuff since my apartment is ready,” Taehyung said with a half chuckle, but didn’t move. He zeroed his eyes on Jungkook, who seemed to be plunged into his thoughts. His lips pressed into a thin line as he heaved himself off his seat.

“It’s too soon to live together, right?” Jungkook tossed off in a fit of panic. “I mean, you wouldn’t want that, right?” he tittered, his eyes gleaming with fear — fear that Taehyung would say that he didn’t want that.

Taehyung stated at him, dumbfounded. A mixture of surprise, fury, and frustration braised in his chest and it soon surged up, spewing from his mouth in the form of a rumbling tirade. “Are you kidding? You can’t realize how much I love living with you even when I say it over and over again? Why do you think I say I love living with you, Jungkook? Surprise! It’s because I love living with you!”

A deep pout sank the corners of Jungkook’s lips as he dragged his head down. “You don’t have to be so mean,” he mumbled so quietly Taehyung almost missed it.

The harshness in Taehyung’s face mellowed at once, and he rushed to sit next to him to pull him into his hug. “I’m sorry, Kookie. I was frustrated. I thought you didn’t want me here.”

“I want you here.”

Taehyung could hear the pout in his voice. He withdrew, then held his cheeks and kissed the said pout away. Their tongues swirled together in the gentlest of ways, their hearts melting under the warmth that struck them. He broke their mouths apart, and a grin seized his face upon detecting the timid smile on his lips. “So, should I pack my things or what?”

Jungkook instantly threw tiny punches on his chest. “No, you dork. You’re not leaving.”

Taehyung jerked his head back as a bark of a laugh erupted from him. “Good, because I don’t want to, anyway.”

“Well, you should go get your keys, though.”

“Come with me?”

“No, you’ll go take your keys as I make you breakfast, okay?”

“I can’t say no to that.” Taehyung pecked his mouth and squeezed him into his hug. He dabbed his lips on his forehead in a sugary kiss before he exited the apartment.

  
It didn’t take long for Taehyung to return to his beautiful baby, who had just made him waffles for breakfast. With a kiss on his lips and whispering a soft, “You’re amazing,” the two boys started eating.

“Tae, sorry, can you grab my phone from the kitchen? I need to check something about the train ticket to Busan.”

A mild frown carved creases over Taehyung’s forehead. The truth was, it saddened him that Jungkook wouldn’t be there to spend Christmas together. And that scorching sadness only deepened because he didn’t ask him to go with him.

He brushed aside his depressing thoughts and shuffled to the kitchen. He swept the phone from the counter and returned, then passed it to him as he sank down on the couch.

“Can you open it? My hands are all sticky.”

And Taehyung did what the other asked again. He pressed the button to turn on the screen, and his eyes instantly swelled.

Jungkook had booked not one, but two seats on the train to Busan.

“You don’t have any plans, right?” Jungkook asked, beaming.

With utter astonishment showering down his frame, Taehyung fixed his gaze on him. “I can’t believe you...”

“Well, we’ll be staying with my mom. I don’t know if you’re comfortable with that.”

“Are you kidding? I loved your mom, even though I met her for like five minutes. I’m so happy I’ll spend Christmas with you and your mom, baby. Thank you.” He lunged to engulf him into his embrace, causing him to fall back on the couch with Taehyung over him.

“I wouldn’t leave you alone, Tae. And I would miss you like crazy if I had to spend almost two weeks away from you.”

“To be honest, same. I went to take my keys, and I realized I was sulking the moment I walked out of that door.” A jumble of chuckles undulated between them from both at Taehyung’s remark. “I’m so whipped.”

“I’ve been whipped for you since day one, so I win.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m still far more whipped for you than you’ll ever be for me.”

“Let’s just say we’re both whipped for each other and we’re good.”

“Deal,” was the last thing Taehyung said before capturing his mouth in a delicate kiss.

They drew apart and continued eating their breakfast in a much blither atmosphere.

“Now that I remembered,” Jungkook said, “why doesn’t Yoongi want to have sex with Jimin?”

“I’m not telling you that. You’re gonna spill everything to Jimin,” he snickered.

“But Tae!” Jungkook whined. “I just want to help them.”

“If Yoongi wants to talk about it with Jimin, he will.”

“Okay, okay. I won’t say anything. I’m just curious.”

“And why don’t I believe that?”

“Why are you such a meanie?” Jungkook grumbled as he slapped his shoulder. “Come on, Tae. We’re together every day, all day. It’s not like I’ll text him behind your back. My mouth is zipped.”

Taehyung stared at him with a smidgen of suspicion. “Fine, but I’ll spank you really hard if you say something.”

“And what if I want that?” Jungkook purred through smirking lips.

“You’re a brat, you know that?”

“Yes.” Jungkook shrugged a kittenish shoulder. “Now tell me.”

“Okay. Look. Yoongi may seem like a fuck boy or emotionless, but he was never like this. He had only one boyfriend before, and he never had a one-night stand. For him, having sex with someone is a big deal. So I’m just guessing he’s waiting to see how things will go with Jimin.”

“Well, now it makes sense.” Jungkook nodded to himself, then scooted closer as something darkened in his eyes. “Since we’re on the topic... When will we have sex?”

An instant tension seeped into Taehyung’s muscles as his heart pranced. “It’s so not fun to talk about it like that, Kook. It should happen in the heat of the moment.”

“Oh, I can heat up this moment right now, though,” Jungkook uttered as he leaned closer until their faces were inches away.

Taehyung grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away gently. “No, we’ll get up to clean the apartment and then we’ll finish our assignments so we can have a good time in Busan without thinking about the company at all.”

“Boring!”

Taehyung giggled at his whiny tone and merged their lips in a longing kiss.

⚜✳⚜