Hello all!

This us the first piece I've written since I officially got back into writing!!! 🥳🥳

I'm probably a bit rusty so sorry if this chapter doesn't have the same vibes as the others. I'll work hard to develop my skills and not disappoint you guys again!

●●●

“I’m so nervous.” Taehyung said to Namjoon as he leaned against the worktop. It was 1 week since Tae and Guk had had the talk, and Namjoon had agreed to babysit Yeonjun while Tae went on his date, and it was helpful because Jun was best friends with Namjoon’s daughter, Soyoung. The two children were off playing in the living room, while the two adults were conversing in the kitchen. Namjoon, over his mug of coffee, spoke up.

“I’m sure it’ll go great, Tae. Now that you two have somewhat spoken things out, there will be a lot less tension between you two and now you can focus on growing your relationship.” He said wisely.

“But what if he thinks I’m boring? Or decides he doesn’t like me anymore?” Tae panicked.

“Tae, just the very fact that he wanted to patch your relationship up, is telling enough about how he feels about you.”

“Thanks, Joo-”

“You are boring though. Very much so.” Namjoon said cheekily.

“Ha ha ha Joon. Very funny.” Tae said sarcastically, scowling at him playfully.

“But seriously, you’ll be fine. As cliché as it sounds, just go there and be yourself. Do what you think is natural and what’s right. Move at a pace comfortable for both of you and you’ll be a-o-k.”

“I think I just fell in love with you even more.” Namjoon’s wife Mirae laughed as she walked into the kitchen.

“I wish I gave advice half as good as he does.” Taehyung agreed, greeting her with a genuine smile.

Mirae and Namjoon had had Soyoung at a young age, but they made it work, and just like their child did, their love for each other grew and grew each and every day. With all of his heart, Taehyung was happy for them.

“He’s got such a way with words.” She beamed, slyly stealing the cup from her husband’s hands and pecking him on his smiling lips.

She took a sip.

“And with the coffee machine too.” She said as Taehyung and Namjoon laughed. She opened her mouth to say something else, but then Soyoung beat her to it, running into the kitchen and yelling in excitement.

“Mummy! Mummy! Daddy! Come look!!” Soyoung exclaimed.

“Inside voices please, Soyoung.” Mirae reminded.

“DADDY! COME LOOK!” Yeonjun yelled even louder than Soyoung, running into the kitchen and tugging Tae’s hand frantically.

“You’re a menace, Junnie.” Taehyung sighed. “You know you’re not supposed to yell indoors.”

“But uncle Tae, you HAVE to come see!” Soyoung said. “It’s really really cool!”

“Alright, I’m coming.” Tae said warmly.

“Mummy, Daddy, you too!” Soyoung demanded.

“What’s the magic word?” Namjoon reminded.

“Abracadabra!” Yeonjun said confidently.

“It’s please, Jun.” Soyoung said, “You’re an idiot.”

“Youngie don’t call people names; it’s rude.” Mirae said firmly. “Apologise.”

“Sorry for calling you an idiot.” She said insincerely.

“Haha you got told off.” He laughed, sticking his tongue out at her.

“Kim Yeonjun what did I tell you about sticking your tongue out at people?” Taehyung said warningly.

“Sorry.” Yeonjun pouted insincerely. “Daddy come see please.”

“Okay guys, we’ll come see.” Tae said, and all of them left the kitchen, guided by their children who skipped happily back into the living room.

“Tadaa!” Soyoung beamed.

“What are we meant to be looking at, sweetie?” Mirae asked gently. “It’s only Power Rangers on screen.”

“Exactly!” Yeonjun said. “It’s your favourite TV show! We saved it on tv for you.”

“We didn’t want you to miss it!” Soyoung said. “D-do you like it, Mummy? Daddy you only like the boring gardening shows, so I didn’t find anything for you.” She said.

Namjoon and Mirae laughed.

“A-and I drew Daddy as a Power Ranger holding a plant! It’s for all of you.” Yeonjun said proudly.

“I helped too. I drew the flower at the bottom.” Soyoung said happily.

“And I scribbled it out because it was rubbish.” Yeonjun replied smugly.

“Your face is rubbish.” Soyoung retorted, kicking him in the shins.

“Thank you, both. It was very thoughtful of you to do this for us.” Tae said, giving them high-fives to distract them from arguing. The two kids beamed proudly.

Taehyung checked his watch.

“Alright guys, I have to go now.” He said, “So be good for Auntie Mirae and Uncle Joon okay, Junnie?”

“Mhm.” Jun nodded. “By the way Daddy, my head hurts.”

“Oh dear.” Tae frowned, “Scale of 1-10?”

“2.” He replied.

“Ahh, you’ll be fine then. It’s probably from all that yelling you did with Soyoung.” Tae said. “Drink some water and remember to use your inside voice, okay?”

Yeonjun nodded and hugged his dad, smiling and waving as Tae left. As he was leaving, Tae saw Soyoung pinch Yeonjun, and Yeonjun hit her in retaliation. Namjoon then bent down, probably to lecture them or something similar and the two kids ran off giggling at each other.

Taehyung stifled a laugh to himself as he walked out to his car.

What a pair of best friends, ey?

●

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.” Jeongguk chanted to himself as he sat in his car. He’d picked the Maserati for good luck, but it wasn’t helping much, because he was still freaking out inside of his car.

“What if he doesn’t show up?” He asked himself nervously, “O-Or what if Hoseok shows up instead? Dear god I hope he doesn’t.”

Taehyung and Jeongguk had agreed to go to a restaurant for their first date, and Jeongguk made sure it was one that he’d never taken anyone to before, to avoid any more heart-break and drama. Their reservation was for 7:30pm, and it was only 7:15, but that didn’t stop Jeongguk’s overthinking ass from panicking nonetheless. He’d pulled 3 consecutive all-nighters and ran on 4 hours of sleep for most of the week, over-working himself so that he could finish the majority of his projects, in order to be available for today. He was aware that wasn’t healthy, but he’d convinced (read: bribed) Jay to fill in for him in his meetings for today and virtually passed out, waking up at 4:39pm, leaving him refreshed and with a solid amount of time to get ready for their date.

Initially, Jeongguk thought the universe was truly on his side tonight: He was having an excellent hair day, his date outfit was already ironed the night before, his shoes were still clean and shiny, AND he got to open a new tube of toothpaste. But as he sat there, anxiously waiting to see Taehyung arrive, he didn’t think that was true anymore.

A knock on the window pulled him out of his daze.

“Jeongguk? Jeonggukie? Hellooo?”

Jeongguk looked up and his face broke out into an uncontrollable smile. There, outside his car, stood Taehyung, in all his boxy smiling, silk-wearing, curly brown-haired glory. He beamed as Jeongguk wound down his window and greeted him.

“Taehyung!” He smiled brightly.

“I was texting you telling you I was here, but you didn’t reply.” Tae said. “Then I walked a little further into the car park and saw your car. It really does kinda stick out like a sore thumb. An expensive sore thumb.” He giggled. “Why are you moping about in your car?”

Jeongguk smiled sheepishly.

“I thought you weren’t coming.”

“Me? Why wouldn’t I come? It’s all I've been thinking about the entire week.” Tae admitted boldly.

“Are you ready to go?”

Jeongguk nodded and stepped out of the car, standing in front of Taehyung and lacing their hands together. Taehyung squeaked, confidence dissipating immediately.

“It’s only 7:23, do you think they’ll let us in yet?” Jeongguk asked.

“I don’t think so; some places are super-duper strict with their timings.” Tae said, “But at least this gives me some time to run back to my car. I think I left my wallet in there.”

“No need. I'll be paying for us today.” Jeongguk said. “And probably from now on too."

“But-”

“Tae, I like to pay for you. It makes me happy to buy you stuff. I want to do this.” Jeongguk explained.

“I’d rather pay for my own things; it makes me feel guilty when other people buy me stuff.” Tae said apprehensively.

“Don’t feel guilty.” Jeongguk reassured, “You can always pay me back in more dates and cuddles.” He grinned.

Taehyung laughed softly at him.

“Okay.” He conceded. “Just this once. And only because I can’t remember where I parked.” He confessed as Jeongguk began to laugh with him. They walked to the entrance of the restaurant and checked in, and soon enough, they were seated at their own little table in the corner of the room.

“I love being in the corner.” Tae said, “You can see everyone, but not everyone can see you. Makes me feel like a spy.”

“I prefer sitting in the middle.” Jeongguk said, “That way I'm guaranteed to be the centre of attention.” He said jokingly.

“You’re always the centre of my attention.” Taehyung sighed wistfully under his breath.

“Huh?” Jeongguk asked.

“N-nothing.” Taehyung replied quickly, heart beating wildly in embarrassment. “Let’s just order.”

They ended up getting steak and chips, because Taehyung is an unadventurous soul who doesn’t like trying new things, and some garlic bread, to fuel Jeongguk’s hidden addiction.

Conversation was interesting, amusing and completely natural, and Taehyung was immediately reminded why he began to have feelings for Jeongguk in the first place. Jeon was so gentlemanly and yet childish at the same time, and his personality was addictive. His eyes brightened when he spoke about things that he loved, and he was such a good listener too. Taehyung was having a really great time with him. While Jeongguk had gotten up to use the toilet, Taehyung decided to busy himself by checking his phone. He had a couple of Whatsapp messages from Namjoon, sending him pictures of Soyoung and Yeonjun playing together, and a couple of other texts explaining that Yeonjun had begun to feel sick, so they’d made him go to bed early.

💙Taehyungie💙
Is Junnie not feeling any better?

😎Joon😎
no, he said his headache is now at 3/10, which isn’t much, but he’s never been particularly good with numbers and fractions lol

💙Taehyungie💙
Lmfao joon he’s just a poor boy leave him alone. Yk the other day, he said 60 and 16 were the same thing

😎Joon😎
omg what an angel. That’s so cute

💙Taehyungie💙

should I come over and pick him up?

😎Joon😎
nah, finish your date; he should be fine. They've been screaming and yelling the entire time, so its probably coz of that.

💙Taehyungie💙
text me if he doesn’t feel any better. I'll probably be finished in like 2hrs.

😎Joon😎
no worries. Don’t give it up on the first date btw. Make jk work for it!!!!

💙Taehyungie💙
Joon you dirty bastard.

😎Joon😎
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

💙Taehyungie💙
fuck ttyl he’s coming.

😎Joon😎
AND I’M THE DIRTY BASTARD?!

“Sorry that took so long, there was a queue.” Jeongguk explained as he sat down in front of Tae.

“No worries. I took the initiative to eat the rest of the garlic bread while you were gone.” Taehyung grinned.

“Kim Taehyung you’re an arsehole.” Jeongguk said jokingly as he laughed along with Tae. “That was mine.”

“Well I'm cute so I get away with it.” Tae smiled, making cheesy finger hearts at Jeongguk.

“Yeah, you are.” Jeongguk said sincerely, watching as Taehyung ducked his face in embarrassment. “You ready to go, beautiful?”

I think I'm going to fucking ascend. Taehyung thought to himself as he nodded in response.

They went to the counter to pay the bill and Jeongguk made sure to tip both the waiter and waitress that had served them. Then they left the restaurant, Jeongguk easily interlocking their fingers again.

“Wanna go for a walk in the park?” Tae asked. “I wanna see some swans.”

“How do you know there’s swans in this park?”

“This is a place for rich people. Rich people always have swans.” Tae said as though it were selfexplanatory.

“Do we now?” Jeongguk asked in amusement.

“Yeah. Swans and cyclist lanes and street lamps that actually work. All rich people stuff.”

“So what do they have in poor people parks then?” Jeongguk asked.

“Dirt.” Taehyung laughed along with him. “And pigeons. A whole lot of pigeons.”

“Rich people see pigeons too.”

“No way. I'm not buying it.” Tae smiled, “You guys probably have peacocks as your pigeon equivalent.”

“Taehyung I've seen a pigeon before.” Jeongguk said.

“In real life? I don’t believe you.” Tae laughed.

“There was literally a pigeon sitting on the hood of my car this morning. The fucking audacity.” Jeongguk laughed along with Tae. They were wandering aimlessly through the park, trying to find a pond which Taehyung was sure would be there.

“You’ve never even been to this park before. How would you know there’s a pond here?” Jeongguk asked teasingly.

“Intuition.” Tae said.

“Tae you are so adorable when you are determined.” Jeongguk said absentmindedly.Taehyung laughed and held Guk’s hand even tighter.

“You’re just saying that to distract me from the pond up ahead, aren’t you?” He giggled, laughing fully when Jeongguk began to agree with him.

“You caught me.” He admitted, laughing too as they came to a gentle stop in front of the pond.

“See? Swans.” Taehyung said triumphantly.

“TaeTae, those aren’t-”

“Shhhh, don’t ruin the moment.” Tae giggled.

They stood in a comfortable silence, holding hands and watching the birds and fish swim about in the pond.

"When was the last time you came to a place like this, huh? It's so relaxing." Jeongguk said absentmindedly

“I have something to tell you.” Tae said gently.

“Go for it.” Jeongguk replied.

“I-I don’t want you to hate me afterwards o-or think of me any differently.” He said nervously.

“What, did you come here yesterday or something?" He joked lightly, "Anything.” Jeongguk replied more seriously. “You can tell me anything, Tae, and it would never change the way I feel about you.”

“God, I really don’t deserve you.” Tae sighed. “You’re so perfect and nice and understanding and you actually like me for me a-and here I am about to fuck things up between us.”

“Tae,” Jeongguk said gently. “You’re not going to fuck things up between us. As long as you’re not a criminal, there’s really nothing that could ruin things between us. I like you a lot, and whatever it is you want to tell me, I'm sure it won’t change what we have. We can always make it work.”

“I-I like you too, Jeonggukie. I really like you.” Tae said. “I-I’m sorry if I end up ruining our first date.”

Guk shook his head.

“Not at all, Tae. If anything, I’m glad that you still trust me enough to tell me what you’re about to say.” Jeon said sincerely.

Taehyung sighed deeply.

“I haven’t been to a pond in ages, you know.” Tae said softly. “Th-the last time...the last time I-I...I never went after...” Taehyung sighed in frustration, angry at the words he was choking on, emotionally, “The last time I went was with...-”

“TaeTae, you know you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Jeongguk said reassuringly, “Don’t feel pressured to tell me things you’re not ready for. Go at your own pace.”

Taehyung shook his head, still staring ahead and holding Jeongguk’s hand tightly.

“It’s okay, Guk. I-I want to tell you this. I have to tell you this. I want us to be honest with each other about everything. I think everyone seeing a single parent kind of has a right to know a bit about what they’re getting into. A-and considering all you’ve done for me and Jun so far, and how much you’re still willing to do, I think it’s time I told you the truth. A-about Yeonjunnie and about everything.”

“Tae-”

“Jeonggukie, the last time I came to a place like this...was with Yeonjun’s mother.”

●●●

Well...

See ya 🏃🏽‍♀️

-bb