▃ 1962, July 22nd, 4:49 PM

! DRUG USE WARNING !

Taehyung walked into the diner with some of the bikers behind him, immediately the surfers sent them harsh glares and grumbles of annoyance filled the diner.

The bikers dispersed to go order or mingle by the jukebox, Taehyung's mind set on one thing. Or rather, one person.

He looked around for the familiar bunny boy, eyebrows furrowing when he was nowhere to be seen. He went up to the kitchen window. "Seokjin hyung!" He called out.

The older turned and walked up to the window. "Yes, Taehyung?" He asked with a smile.

"Do you know where Jungkook is?" He asked him.

"No, I don't. Maybe ask his friends?" Jin suggested, drying off his hands with a towel.

"They won't speak to me. I'll find him myself." Taehyung muttered.

"If you want to know where to start, he lives in the blue beach house down the shore about a mile." Jin informed him.

Taehyung nodded, thanking him and leaving the diner.

He hopped on his motorcycle and got back onto the rode, driving alongside the coast until he spotted a blue beach house. He parked and walked up the steps, knocking on the door.

"You kissed a guy?" Jimin asked excitedly, sitting across from Jungkook on the youngers bed.

Jungkook nodded with a blush. "I went to that club Taehyung took me to, it was a gay club. And I saw a good looking guy and went up to him. He understood that I was still trying to explore my sexuality and he offered to help. So we danced and made out a bit. And... he even gave me these." Jungkook muttered, pulling away the blanket that was wrapped around his entire frame to expose the hickeys on his neck.

Jimin gasped. "Wow! No way! Good for you, Gguk. I'm glad you had someone to help you." He smiled.

Jungkook looked down, biting his lip. "It was honestly... refreshing. I'm still a little uncomfortable by it but... it's a start." He said.

Jimin nodded with a knowing smile. "It'll be confusing for awhile, but that's okay. It's not always clicked into place just like that. Discovering ourselves and our preferences takes time and patience." He explained.

Jungkook nodded, smiling. "Thanks, Jimin." He said.

"No problem." Jimin grinned, before turning his head when he heard knocks on the door.

"I'll get it." Jungkook murmured, getting up and leaving the blanket, walking over to the door and opening it.

"T-Taehyung??" He breathed out, eyes wide as he looked up at the biker.

"Bunny." Taehyung replied, sighing in relief.

"H-How did you find where I lived?" Jungkook asked, shocked. He wasn't expecting the long haired biker to be at his doorstep.

"Seokjin hyung told me." Taehyung replied, his eyes flicking around and taking him all in, before stopping on the purplish and red marks on his neck. "Are those... hickeys?" Taehyung asked, pulling the collar of Jungkook's shirt down so he could get a clearer look.

Jungkook blushed, tugging his shirt up to try and hide them. "Why does it matter to you?" He asked, frowning at the biker.

"It doesn't. Who gave you those?" Taehyung asked.

Jungkook scoffed. "You just said it didn't matter. That's my business, not yours." He said, still a little upset at the biker.

Taehyung rolled his eyes, leaning against the doorframe. "I came here to say I'm sorry." He muttered, changing the subject.

"Sorry for what? There's nothing you need to be sorry for." Jungkook mumbled, looking down at the floorboards.

"I'm sorry for pressuring you the other night at the club, and for you walking in on me and Yoongi." He told him.

Jungkook sighed, shaking his head. "Tae, it's fine. I'm not surprised or anything, you said it yourself that you and Yoongi did those things for comfort. I respect that." He muttered.

Taehyung nodded slowly. "So... why did you stop by that night?" He asked.

Jungkook wasn't expecting that question. He blushed furiously, looking down. "I... I don't know. My instincts told me to." He whispered.

Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows, staring at the bunny boy with a small smile. "You just missed me that much, didn't you, bunny? Admit it~" He teased, nudging him.

Jungkook scoffed, rolling his eyes and swatting his hand away. "Shut up." He grumbled.

Taehyung grinned, glancing behind him to see Jimin waiting patiently in the hallway.

"Um... should I come by later? So we can talk a bit more?" Taehyung asked.

"Yeah... yeah, that would be nice." Jungkook said, looking up at him. His breath hitched in his throat as he made eye contact with the biker, captivated yet again by his eyes and his aura.

Taehyung flashed a handsome smile at him, rectangular in shape, exposing perfect white teeth and making crinkles in his face.

Jungkook blushed, smiling back at him shyly.

"See you later then, Jungkook." Taehyung told him, noticing the surfers gaze. His doe eyes were wide and sparkly, cheeks dusted pink.

"S-See you."

Jimin had left about an hour later, and Jungkook decided to clean up around the place a bit before Taehyung came back. He was nervous, he hadn't actually talked to Taehyung in a while.

The biker made his head spin, confused him, freaked him out. Yet he was so enticing at the same time. Jungkook just needed to stabilise himself for a bit.

Around 8 pm, there was a knock on the door. He took a deep breath and went over, opening it up to reveal the biker. He was wearing some shorts and a loose button up, the entire shirt unbuttoned and exposing his toned chest.

Jungkook gulped, taking him in and looking up at him.

"Hi, bunny." Taehyung said with a cocky smile.

"H-Hi." Jungkook stuttered, opening the door wider for him. "Come in." He added.

Taehyung walked in and took off his shoes. He had a backpack on as well.

"What's in there?" Jungkook asked him curiously, leading him to his bedroom so they could sit.

Jungkook's house was small and didn't have a living room. All he had was a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and a deck out back that faced the ocean.

Taehyung slung the backpack off his shoulder, opening it up.

"I brought a towel and some swim shorts, in case we decided to go swimming." Taehyung started, pulling them out and laying them out on the bed.

"And then... I brought my bong." He added with a cheeky grin, causing Jungkook to roll his eyes.

"I wasn't planning on getting high tonight." Jungkook muttered.

Taehyung chuckled, putting everything back in his backpack and setting it aside.

There was a long stretch of silence between them, Jungkook fiddling with the drawstrings on the hoodie he was wearing.

"Bunny.. how about you tell me why you've been avoiding me?" Taehyung asked softly, a more serious tone in his voice.

Jungkook shrugged, biting his lip. "It's complicated." He mumbled.

"I'm all ears." Taehyung replied.

Jungkook blushed, glancing up at him, staring into his dark honey eyes.

"You irritate me." Jungkook started, causing Taehyung to frown.

"You're annoying and a bad influence on me yet I can't seem to turn away. And at the same time it feels like you're someone I can trust, that you're an actual friend to me. I haven't had a solid friend in a long time. I've been so depressed and bored with my life but then you came into it. You give me something to do, something new and refreshing, yet at the same time I don't like change. So I'm conflicted. And I just can't get you out of my head no matter how hard I try." Jungkook admitted.

Taehyung blinked, taken aback by the last sentence. He was on Jungkook's mind? Constantly?

"If you want my honest opinion, I feel like you should just embrace being friends with me. If you don't want your life to be mundane, I say just give into the change that I'm providing for you. Change is scary, I get that, but it brings good things into your life. Sometimes we need change whether we want it or not." Taehyung told him.

Jungkook slowly nodded, looking up at him and smiling shyly. "Thanks, Tae." He said.

Taehyung saw his adorable smile, blushing lightly as he smiled in return. "Of course."

"So... wanna put that bong to use?" Taehyung asked, earning an eye roll from Jungkook.

About ten minutes later, Taehyung had the bong set up and was shotgunning with Jungkook again, easing him into it since the surfer wasn't as used to smoking as he was.

Jungkook closed his eyes as his whole body relaxed, subconsciously holding onto Taehyung's arm, leaning in for more.

Taehyung's hand was on the nape of Jungkook's neck, the other resting on the side of his face, guiding him.

Jungkook slowly opened his eyes after about three hits, his pupils were dilated and a small smile appeared on his face.

"Want more, bunny?" Taehyung asked, amused.

Jungkook nodded, climbing into Taehyung's lap so he could be closer.

Taehyung was shocked by his bold action, but nevertheless inhaled more smoke from the bong and pulled Jungkook close, parting his lips and exhaling the smoke into the boys mouth.

Jungkook inhaled it, sighing and resting his head on Taehyung's shoulder.

"I wonder why this stuff is illegal. It makes me feel good. Why is the government taking away forms of happiness?" Jungkook pouted.

Taehyung laughed softly, resting a hand on Jungkook's back. "Weed isn't always a good thing. Some people receive negative effects from smoking it." Taehyung murmured.

"Really? Like what?" Jungkook asked.

"Anxiety, nausea, hallucinations. To name a few." Taehyung said. 

"Oh." Jungkook mumbled.

He closed his eyes and sighed, exhaling and then inhaling again, smelling Taehyung's nice scent. It was a mixture of cologne and cigarettes, along with a woodsy smell. It was an odd combination, but Jungkook loved it.

He buried his nose into Taehyung's hair, inhaling again.

"Are you sniffing me?" Taehyung asked incredulously, laughing.

"You smell good!" Jungkook whined, pulling away and looking down at the biker.

Taehyung smiled lazily, shaking his head.

They continued to smoke for awhile until what was put in the bong was all gone, eyes hooded and lazy smiles on their faces.

"Let's go outside." Jungkook said, tugging Taehyung up and taking him out to the deck.

They laid down on the deck, staring up at the stars.

"Wow. You can even see the milky way!" Jungkook exclaimed, pointing.

"Sometimes I wonder if space is even real." Taehyung mumbled.

Jungkook looked over at him curiously. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Space is just so unfathomable. I don't understand it. How is all of those stars and shit just floating up there? What fills up the space in between them? Nothing? It's not air, it's not matter. Like space is supposedly infinite in all directions. How the fuck does that even work??" Taehyung asked.

"Maybe that's what makes it so beautiful." Jungkook replied softly.

Taehyung looked over at him, seeing the surfer staring up at the night sky again.

"It's so hard to grasp for us, because we simply don't have the knowledge to understand it. We need to see things to believe them. Humans are afraid of the unknown. That's why it's so scary and weird to think about space. But I think that's why it's beautiful. Because it's filled with wonder and possibilities, secrets to be unraveled, an endless amount of potential life could be out there. It's a powerful thing." Jungkook murmured.

Taehyung blinked, still staring at Jungkook, taking in his side profile. The slope of his nose, the pout of his lips, his long eyelashes and messy hair.

This boy was perfect.

Taehyung felt something new spark inside of him, the faint feeling of giddiness and anxiousness because of this boy. He didn't know what that feeling meant.

Taehyung's eyes landed on Jungkook's neck and noticed the hickeys again.

"Who gave you those?" He asked for the second time that day.

"Not telling you." Jungkook replied.

"Why not??" Taehyung questioned, sitting up.

"Because it's none of your business." Jungkook responded sassily.

Taehyung scoffed, turning and hovering over the boy, pinning his arms down.

Jungkook gasped, eyes wide as he stared up at him.

Taehyung's hooded eyes stared down at the hickeys, one hand moving to trace over them.

"Did someone hurt you?" He asked quietly.

Jungkook gulped, quickly shaking his head no.

"You let them do this??" Taehyung asked, surprised.

"Y-Yes.. why do you care so much??" Jungkook asked.

"Because! I care about you. I don't want you getting involved with someone sketchy." Taehyung muttered.

"You're not my fucking dad, I can take care of myself." Jungkook huffed.

"I just want to protect you!! You're naive, Jungkook. Someone could take advantage of you and dump you like you're some broken toy once they're done with you." He growled.

Jungkook frowned. "I'm not some ignorant dumb surfer! I know how to realise if someone is using me or not. And the person who did this to me wasn't. His intentions were clear and so were mine!!" Jungkook said angrily.

Taehyung blinked, eyes widening. "His?"

Jungkook stopped, realising what he had just said. He gulped, eyes starting to fill up with tears. This is not how he wanted to tell Taehyung. Hell, he never even wanted Taehyung to find out he liked men.

Jungkook tried to push him off but Taehyung didn't budge.

"Why are you crying??" Taehyung asked.

"I-I'm ashamed! I'm disgusted with myself and I don't want to be a disappointment to you. I'm scared that you'll hate me!" Jungkook sobbed.

Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed, quickly cupping Jungkook's cheeks and wiping away his tears.

"Hey, you could never be a disappointment to me. Jungkook, you know I'm gay, I would never hate you! I completely understand what you're going through because I went through it too. I would never shame you for liking men." Taehyung said.

Jungkook hiccuped, continuing to cry hysterically. "I'm so scared." He cried.

Taehyung frowned, pulling Jungkook in for a firm hug. He sat up and held the boy in his lap, rubbing his back as he cried.

"All my life I felt like I was different and gross for thinking so differently about boys, for not having any interest in girls. And now that I've realised why, I'm s-so fucking terrified. I'll never be able to love who I want to love. I'd get killed or beaten up on the spot for just holding a guys hand. People hate us. I'll never be able to marry someone I love. Why is this world so cruel?" He sobbed.

Taehyung felt tears in his eyes as well, running a hand through his hair and rocking him slowly, trying to calm him down. "I don't know, bunny. I don't know." He whispered shakily, holding him close.

They sat there for about twenty minutes until Jungkook's cries died down, residing to a few sniffles here and there.

"Bunny... I know it's hard. But we will be free one day. I promise you. There are so many others like us. You're not alone." Taehyung whispered.

Jungkook pulled his head back, staring at Taehyung through watery, red eyes.

Taehyung smiled softly at him, brushing his fringe out of the way of his eyes. Jungkook looked beautiful. Even as he cried, he was still so so so ethereal.

Taehyung leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead, neither of them saying anything about it. It felt right, Jungkook needed it. And maybe Taehyung needed it too.

❍

some progress between them has started, hehe. also, i have never smoked or done drugs in my life so if my descriptions are wrong or whatever i'm so sorry 😭

- nat ♡