Taehyung watches in distaste as Hoseok climbs into the passenger seat of his patrol car, smelling vaguely of aftershave and day-old oatmeal. “Can we stop by Taco Bell?” his friend asks, shutting the door before they drive away from his apartment.

                  While reaching to turn up his radio, Taehyung gives the other male the stink-eye. “No, we’re already late for work.”

                  Hoseok whines as he throws his foot up onto the dashboard. “Aw, come on bud. I didn’t even get to eat breakfast. Watched too much Netflix and overslept.”

                  “That’s your fault!” Taehyung scoffs. “Please put your seatbelt on, you’re sitting next to a cop.”  

                  The guy shakes his head and belts himself in, foot still rested where it shouldn’t be. “I’m already in the car. What’re you gonna do, put me in the backseat and drive me to work?”

                  “… Uh, yes?”

                  He snorts. “Kid.”

                  “Hey! I’m a legal, somewhat functioning adult and I’m giving you a ride, at least be courteous.” They stop at an intersection and wait for the lights to change. The morning rush hour is certainly a force to be feared, with countless vehicles filling up the roadways. “What happened to your car, anyway?”

                  Hoseok shrugs and decides to surf through the radio stations. “Some dude ran into it pretty bad while I was shopping last week. It’s totally smashed. I think Yoongi was handling the case.”

                  “Oh… That sounds pretty bad, man.”

                  “Yeah. That, and I spilled coffee on the front seat so I can’t sit there without my sticking to it. .”

                  Taehyung gives him another stink-eye. “. Maybe you just had that coming for you.” He drums his fingers against the top of his steering wheel, eyes darting around to make sure everyone’s maintaining road safety. He spots a familiar figure stalking down the opposite sidewalk and tugs on his friend’s sleeve. “Hey, isn’t that… Officer Jeon? Right?”

                  Hoseok leans closer to his window and squints. “Yeah, that’s him. Does he walk to work every day? Must live pretty close by.”

                  “Probably.” They stare at him for a bit more, judging the intern’s weird man-bag until the distinct sound of an engine revs through the air. Coming up the intersection is a man on a motorbike, which parks by the curb next to Jungkook. Once the motorist takes off his helmet, Taehyung’s heart stops beating in his chest.

                  “Whoa, is that the sergeant?!” Hoseok opens his mouth in awe. “Oh hell, I didn’t know he had a ing bike! , that’s a nice model too, all black. It’s kind of small, but I mean, the sergeant’s kind of small too, so—”

                  “IT’S YOONGI!” Taehyung’s delayed reaction finally catches up with him and he presses his face against the window to observe better. “WHAT THE HECK, IT’S YOONGI!”

                  “Yeah, it’s Yoongi. What are you, a dog?” Hoseok rolls his eyes.

                  Yoongi, unaware of the two in the patrol car, starts conversing with Jungkook in the middle of the street. Not that anyone would bother them for it; the letters ‘BTPD’ are printed all over the sergeant’s sleeves, so no driver would dare to honk their horn no matter how much traffic they’re backing up.

                  After a moment, Yoongi hands Jungkook his helmet and allows him to get onto the back of his bike before they ride away into the sunrise (or in the direction of their shared workplace).

                  Taehyung and Hoseok exchange looks of disbelief when they disappear from sight. “… I,” the detective stammers. “Did—Did you see that?!”

                  “Yes,” Hoseok replies. “I was right here, sitting next to you.”

                  “HE JUST GAVE THAT INTERN A RIDE!” He grabs the other male’s collar and starts shaking him. “A RIDE! ON HIS MOTORCYCLE! HE NEVER GIVES ANYONE A RIDE!”

                  “OKAY?! SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?!”

                  “LISTEN.” Taehyung lowers his voice. “He never… gives anyone… a ride.”

                  Hoseok just stares, visibly shaken and confused, amongst other things. “… Until now?”

                  “Exactly.” He slumps in his seat, arms folded over himself. “I think it’s because Yoongi chooses favorites, and that favorite must be Officer Jeon. It was probably the coffee that did it.”

                  Hoseok lets out a groan. “Or he’s just being polite. The kid has to walk, man, of course he’d rather have his employees get to work on time. Don’t you think you’re exaggerating?”

                  “I don’t exaggerate!” Taehyung flips the switch to turn on his wailing siren, effectively startling nearby drivers as he tries to move out of his lane. “WE GOTTA FOLLOW THEM! HOW LONG DOES THIS TRAFFIC LIGHT TAKE?!”

                  “EXAGGERATING!!!” Hoseok clutches onto his armrest and screams.

--

                  Jungkook looks up when they walk in, and Taehyung’s absolutely disgusted by the endearingly small smile he gives them in greeting. “Good morning, detective, Hoseok.”

                  “Howdy.” Hoseok proceeds to release a blood-curdling screech as he latches onto the wall closest to his desk. “My head is IN’ spinning.”

                  “Are you alright?” Jungkook asks with little to no concern in his voice. He hasn’t even moved from his position against the window. “You seem pale.”

                  The secretary jerks a thumb towards a stoic Taehyung. “Guy’s a steady driver most of the time, but when he gets excited… well, don’t get into the car with him. I think I’m gonna vomit.”

                  “… Noted.”

                  “Where’s the sergeant?” Taehyung interjects.

                  Jungkook nods his head towards the back of the station. “In the captain’s office. Discussing today’s agenda, I believe.”

                  “… Humph,” he grumbles before turning to whisper into Hoseok’s immediate vicinity. “Do you see it.”

                  “See what,” Hoseok replies, almost exasperatingly.

                  “The way he’s holding his head up so high, like a snooty person.” Taehyung scoffs, clutching onto the strap of his bag.

                  Hoseok looks passively over at the intern, who’s minding his own damn business. Jungkook’s stirring a mug in his hand, most likely Yoongi’s coffee. Nothing seems particularly out of the ordinary. “Uh… you okay, man?”

                  “Just because he’s officially on the team now,” Taehyung continues right on grumbling. “He thinks he can get on the sergeant’s good side.”

                  “Yeah, because guys who like to make good impressions are total freaks.” Hoseok crawls into his chair and boots his computer up. “He’s super weird though. He guessed my entire background the other day. Some sorta psychic, man. He even knew where I went to school.”

                  Taehyung turns to narrow his eyes at him. “Uh, Seok? Anyone can tell that much just from looking at your desk. Your university diploma is framed on the wall behind your seat. Your entire life story is in the dumb souvenirs next to your computer. You use a brochure from the gym as a mouse pad, which says a lot. He’s not psychic, you’re just dumb.”

                  “Shut it,” Hoseok hisses, embarrassed. “You gotta admit that the sergeant’s been a lot calmer since y’all let Jungkook in. What did he put in that coffee, anyway?”

                  “Bribery.” Taehyung snaps his fingers. “And crystal meth!”

                  “You’re just mad that someone’s finally good enough to beat you—”

                  The door to the captain’s office swings open. Yoongi briskly strides out, grabs the mug from Jungkook, and chugs it before bellowing, “STOP DAWDLING, WE’VE GOT WORK TO DO. LET’S GO, MEN. AND SOME WOMEN. HOSEOK, YOUR TIE IS STILL UGLY.” He promptly leaves the station afterwards.

                  “Totally calm,” Hoseok murmurs as Taehyung stalks over to their captain’s office.

                  “Hoseok.”

                  “JESUS.” The secretary flinches, whirling his chair around to see Jungkook standing a foot behind him. “How did you— I thought you were standing over— uh.”

                  The intern blinks. “Here, to help with your nausea.”

                  Hoseok accepts the cold compress with rather awkward hands and immediately applies it to his forehead. “You seem uh, chipper today.”

                  “Do I?”

                  “Yeah, you actually smiled at us,” he snorts. “I was shook.”

                  “I’m sorry to have shaken you.” Jungkook lifts the lanyard hung around his neck, which holds a security card with his name and picture on it. “Well, I assume one would seem awfully ‘chipper’ when they’re finally accepted to their dream job.”

                  Hoseok raises a brow and then laughs. “I guess you have ambitions too. Well mate, congratulations for making it in. I might be a desk rat but I do know it’s harder to get out of the BTPD than it is to get in. So give yerself a pat on the back.”

                  The intern reaches to pat the back of his shoulder. “Thank you, though we should save the congratulations for the party.”

                  “Wh—!” Hoseok chokes. “You know about the party?! Who told you?”

                  “No one in particular. Most of the administrative staff couldn’t look me in the eye when I walked in this morning. The sergeant just ran out muttering something about streamers. I was asked what my personal cake preference was.” He shrugs. “Also, there’s a pink sticky note on Namjoon from Human Resources’ computer that says, and I quote, ‘party,’ with three exclamation points.”

                  Hoseok whips his head toward the other side of the office, where HR resides. “Namjoon from Human Resources…!” he hisses, shaking a fist.

                  “It’s alright, I’ll act surprised. I’ve been practicing.” Jungkook presses his hands on either side of his face and opens his mouth. “Oh my.”

                  “… Yeah, you might need to work on that.”

--

                  Taehyung approaches the captain, in all his red-headed glory, as the latter leans against the doorframe of his office. “Captain!”

                  “Yes, detective?” Jimin grins brightly while unwrapping a lollipop.

                  “I have a question,” he says, raising his hand despite the little amount of space between them. “Employers aren’t… supposed to have favorites, right? Like, favorite students or staff.”

                  “Oh, Taehyung, Taehyung, Taehyung.” Jimin chuckles, suddenly dropping the formal speech. “Of course they have favorites. Even if you’re not supposed to, it’s something that can’t really be helped.”

                  Taehyung’s shoulders deflate as he frowns. “Oh. I’m guessing you and the sergeant pick favorites too?”

                  “Sure. If it makes you feel any better,” Jimin says, petting the crown of his detective’s head. “You’re my favorite ace, Taehyung!”

                  He only frowns harder. “But I’m your only ace, captain…”

                  “Exactly. Don’t pout now.” The captain sticks the lollipop into Taehyung’s mouth. “As policemen, we should be serving and protecting our community with as little bias as possible. So even if you’re not a favorite, you should be expecting the same treatment as everyone else. No favoritism, okay?”

                  “Yessir.”

                  “Now, would my favorite ace detective run to the store for me?” Jimin claps his hands together, making full use of his puppy eyes. “There’s something I need to get right away.”

                  Taehyung takes the lollipop out of his mouth and scrutinizes it; it’s grape-flavored. “Right now? What do you need?”

                  “Yes. I, ah, need a medium-sized… blue unicorn piñata.”

                  “… That’s oddly specific.” The detective fishes his car keys from his pocket. “I don’t think they would just sell those in a general store, boss.”

                  “But of course! That’s why I’m letting Officer Jeon tag along with you.” Jimin extends a hand in Jungkook’s general direction, who looks up blankly from his desk.

                  Taehyung makes some kind of noise from the back of his throat. “Does he have to?”

                  “He’s your intern, detective.” The captain ushers him towards Jungkook by gently pushing his lower back. “Show him around, teach him the ropes.”

                  “You’re asking me to find you a piñata,” Taehyung whines.

                  “And two heads are better than one! Off you go, take as long as you want. Preferably an hour.”

                  Before either of them can get a word in, Taehyung and Jungkook are both escorted to their car and find themselves a couple blocks away, at the nearest department store. The intern is relatively stoic as per usual, and the detective’s be about his life choices as they stride through the automatic doors.

                  “They didn’t tell me I had to run errands or babysit at the police academy,” Taehyung says, narrowly avoiding collision with a child that’s running amok in the store. “They promised action and adventure, fulfillment of my superior sense of justice!”

                  “With all due respect, detective,” Jungkook pipes in. “Walmart is about as adventurous as it can get. Where else would one find two-for-one deals on non-stick frying pans? What a steal.”

                  He narrows his eyes at the younger male. “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but that deal’s a fraud. Why would anyone need more than one frying pan?!”

                  “I don’t suppose you cook your eggs and bacon in the same pan, do you?”

                  “Jokes on you, I only eat cereal for breakfast.” Taehyung shakes his head. “Never mind, we need to find that piñata for the captain. I wonder why he needs it.”

                  They take the escalator up to the second floor, which is b with old ladies and their shopping carts full of yarn and floral duvets. Every other corner features a kid whining about a toy or a jaded salesperson trying to explain to someone why retail is the worst job in existence.

                  “He probably needs it for the same reason he asked me to come with you,” Jungkook says. He spots a worker handing out free cracker samples and grabs one.

                  Taehyung pauses to think. “He wants to teach a piñata the ropes?”

                  “No, detective. He’s just stalling.” The intern gnaws on his cracker, nodding in the direction of the party supplies aisle. “For what reason does the captain of a police precinct need a piñata? He just needed us out of the office for a while.”

                  “You never know,” Taehyung grumbles, not liking the patronizing tone in the other’s voice. “The captain volunteers at orphanages and stuff, so it might be for some kid.”

                  “I didn’t know the captain did that.”

                  “Yeah, because you’re always up in Yoongi’s face.” Taehyung immediately bites his tongue; he didn’t mean to say that, but he couldn’t get angry at himself regardless. No one is more deserving of being the sergeant’s favorite other than Kim Taehyung himself, and yet here comes Officer Jeon, a -up.

                  Jungkook chews on what’s left of his cracker. “Are you jealous, detective?”

                  “What?!” His cheeks flush and his hands clench into fists. He looks like the toddler in the opposite aisle who was just told he couldn’t have the latest Transformers toy. “No, I’m not!”

                  “Well, I assure you I’m not intentionally trying to up to the sergeant’s approval, even if it may seem so. If he asks me to make him coffee or to get on the back of his bike, then I will, seeing as they’re direct orders from a superior officer.” He shrugs. “It’s ultimately my job as an intern to obey commands, wouldn’t you agree?”

                  The detective lets out a dissatisfied grunt and doesn’t say much else.

                  “Conversely, there’s only one person I want genuine approval from and it’s not the sergeant or the captain.” Jungkook blinks at the array of party supplies in front of them. “Oh, it seems like we have a problem.”

                  Taehyung looks at him and then forward. “There aren’t any blue unicorn piñatas.”

--

                  When the duo returns to the office, they’re immediately ambushed by several of their co-workers with cheap streamers and balloons. “CONGRATULATIONS!” they shout, proceeding to shower the two in shredded paperwork (in place of confetti?). Jungkook stares while clutching a large Walmart bag in his bosom, and Taehyung is almost brought to tears.

                  “… Is—Is this for me?” the detective sniffs, hands over his face to make for total shock. “Is this the party you guys forgot to throw for my birthday?!”

                  Hoseok lowers the cake in his hands to give him a hard glare. “Tae—”

                  He continues on rambling. “I mean, it’s only a month late and I don’t normally like strawberry cake, but—”

                  “Tae—”

                  “I’m so touched that you guys remembered, but you didn’t have to, really!”

                  “That’s because we didn’t,” Hoseok lets out a hiss. “This is Officer Jeon’s welcome party, nitwit. Don’t you ever check your email?”

                  A momentary silence ensues as Taehyung’s grin falls. “… You know I don’t,” he whispers, practically red in the face. He escapes the crowd to hide behind his desk.

                  Jimin looks over to see if he’s okay before turning back to Jungkook. “Well, congratulations for officially joining the BTPD, officer! Please blow out the candles before the fire department calls us.”

                  After blowing them out, Jungkook’s given an applause and several pats on the head. “Oh my. I didn’t expect this at all,” he says without expression. “Thank you, team. I’ll continue to work hard.”

                  “And that’s that!” Jimin disperses the crowd and nudges everyone to their usual stations. “Sergeant Min’s gonna scold us if we don’t get back to work. Officer Jeon, did you actually get me the piñata?”

                  “Somewhat,” the intern replies, handing the bag over. “They unfortunately had no unicorn piñatas in stock, so we purchased a minion one instead.”

                  “Oh! Classy, but terrifying.” Jimin looks in the bag and beams. “The kids at the orphanage are going to love it. By the way, is Detective Kim still… you know… sulky?”

                  “Somewhat,” he says again. “I’ll try to make amends, since I’m partially at fault.” He’s given one final grin by the captain as he stalks off towards his desk area, where Taehyung lies over his keyboard in some kind of sullen pile. “Are you alright, detective?”

                  “No,” the guy moans. “Everyone likes you. That’s just fine. I’m fine.”

                  Jungkook sighs. “Detective, I—”

                  “Detective Kim.” The sergeant approaches their desks, prompting Taehyung to sit up straight. “I understand you caused a bit of a traffic issue on your way to work this morning.”

                  His face starts to pale. “… I-I, well, uh…”

                  Yoongi uninterestedly fiddles with a paperclip on his desk. “There was a car thief on the run this morning, and your little mishap actually prevented her from going too far.”

                  Taehyung stares blankly. “… It did?”

                  “Yes,” he replies. “She was brought in afterwards, so thank you for that. Well done.”

Yoongi claps him on the shoulder and walks away, and Taehyung can’t help the smile that grows so widely on his face. “I was praised,” he whispers across the desk, having forgotten any prior frustrations.

“Congratulations,” Jungkook offers the monotone reply before shaking his head and getting back to work.

the chapters are steadily getting longer and I don't know how to feel about it