chapter twenty nine

unedited

when the two boys had finally settled, taehyung decided that they would need a shower. he loved his boyfriend dearly, more than anything, but he looked so raggedy. as did taehyung. yoongi even hinted at a bath a few times, trying his best to be nice about it, though the stench was nothing to be nice about. so, taehyung agreed to a washing, after seeing the cops had driven away. jeongguk remembered staring out the window for at least an hour and a half, watching the lights come and go, red and blue, flickering on and off.

jeongguk closed the bathroom door behind them, turning around to see taehyung already flicking on the shower. warm water came cascading down the shower walls. taehyung took off his shirt, letting it fall to the ground softly. jeongguk watched in love, eyes filled with something he couldn't figure out. love was all too powerful for the young boys. they would never completely wrap their heads around it.

taehyung took off his pants, and jeongguk followed suit. soon, they were able to get in the shower. the water was warm and nice, a contrast to the cold winds of the cruel world. taehyung pulled jeongguk close to his chest, sighing as he basked in the warmth of the other. water fell on them like warm rain.

jeongguk held onto taehyung's broad shoulders. he felt the smooth dips in his shoulders with his calloused finger tips. water slid down and off the boy's back, cascading like a waterfall would. jeongguk leaned down and kissed the side of his neck, humming into the cold skin.

"i love you, jeoungguk. a lot." taehyung breathed, holding the boy tighter. he feared for his boyfriend's safety. what if they got caught, what if they never made it out of the neighborhood? had jeongguk really risked it all, for teenage love? something so unstable and so brittle yet so exciting? taehyung glared at jeongguk, his eyes growing tired. he was tired, his muscles ached, and he all desired was to rest peacefully beside his lover, but they would never have it that simple, would they?

"i— i love you too, t—tae." jeongguk coughed out, his watery lips latching onto taehyung's. they kissed slowly, like it was the last time and they were trying to savor the taste, like they were trying to remember how each other felt— like it would all end when they stepped outside.

they pulled away, and taehyung frowned at the boy in front of him, tears started to fall down his rosy cheeks. they blended in with the shower's water that taehyung had to wipe away the water at his face to see them clearly, but jeongguk's reddened eyes made it rather obvious that he was crying. taehyung despised seeing the boy he loved so dearly upset like that.

"hey, it's alright, we are gonna be alright." he wiped away the sparkling tears that leaked from jeongguk's eyes like a leaky faucet. taehyung wondered what jeongguk was thinking, and if he regretted all of this, what if he regretted even meeting him? was it taehyung's fault? had he dragged jeongguk to his own doom? taehyung felt tears form at the base of his eyes. he knew what he had to do.

"come on, let's wash your hair, baby." he told him gently, reaching for the shampoo and scrubbing it into the boy's hair, "you're so beautiful, jeongguk. i've never seen anyone like you, and i'll never love anyone more. i— i want you to know that." jeongguk nodded weakly against taehyung's bare chest. tears met with rushing water, falling down their stomachs and to the floor of the shower.

-

"wake up, jeongguk, wake up." taehyung shook his shoulders, hard, violently. the boy flinched awake, his eyes were still blurry, but he could see his boyfriend through it. he could always see taehyung, even when he wasn't with him, he was always in jeongguk's mind. jeongguk smiled up at him. it was late at night, jeongguk had fallen asleep after their shower, and now he was being woken at midnight.

"we've got to go, jeongguk. a— a neighbor called the police, they're coming soon. get your clothes, c'mon!" jeongguk thought for a moment he could hear the faint, tauntingly quiet sirens in the distance, but maybe he was still dreaming. maybe taehyung would wake him from this nightmare. "hurry up!" taehyung started breathing heavy, pacing the room.

jeongguk scurried to grab his clothes and throw them on, he grabbed a few extra things, and followed taehyung out the back door of the house. he could see red and blue flashing lights driving in the main road, they shouldn't have stayed! they could have asked for help, now they'd definitely be caught. jeongguk climbed to the top of the fence, he sat there, waiting for taehyung to follow— but he didn't.

"a—are you co—ming with me?" jeongguk croaked, his feet clacking against the wooden fence as he took in taehyung's appearance. he had not grabbed his bag, nor did he take anything he brought with him. what was— what was he doing?

"i love you jeongguk, but you need to go." taehyung furrowed his eye brows, and jeonggu's mouth fell open. he wanted jeongguk to leave without him?

"n—no!" jeongguk felt tears swirl in his eyes again, the police were close by, the sirens blaring loudly in his ears. taehyung was crying too, they were such a mess. jeongguk's heart ached as he stared downward at taehyung. "y—you ca—n't tae. y—you'll get cau—ght."

"go, jeongguk, just go! get out of here!" taehyung screamed, tears blurring his vision completely, so that he couldn't even see the beautiful boy he loved so much anymore. maybe that was for the better. jeongguk gripped the wooden fence tight, signing the sweetest, most gentle, i love you so much. he climbed the rest of the way over the fence and dropped onto the other side.

he didn't want to move, his legs didn't want to work, but he forced himself to run, far away from the flashing red and blue lights, which had started flashing in taehyung's yard. he urged onward, towards the exit of the neighborhood. when he got there, he leaned against a light pole and broke down into sobs. he buried his head into his palms. his whole body trembled, would he ever see taehyung again? was this the end?

when he finally collected himself, he trekked to a pay phone, and dialed up his brother, who was reasonably worried. his brother drove over hurriedly, and when he got into the car, he watched with sorrow as they drove past the old, ragged neighborhood, and away from taehyung.

next: epilogue