The first time it happens, it’s 3AM.

On second thought, maybe downing an entire glass of water in one shot before going to bed wasn’t such a smart idea, but Taehyung sleeps with his mouth open and when he wakes up it’s all dry and icky, so he thought it might help.

Obviously, he’s an idiot for thinking that, because getting out of his cozy bed and having to walk upon the freezing tiles of their dorm on his way to relieve his painfully full bladder of its contents isn’t particularly pleasant.

"Why do I listen to myself," Taehyung grumbles to himself after finishing his business and flushing the toilet. "I always have the worst ideas, I should listen to Namjoon or Seokjin, they have common sense.” He’s exactly halfway from the bathroom to the shared bedroom and back to his warm, soft bed when he notices something: he has a shadow.

Turning around on his heel (in a perfect smooth movement, mind you), Taehyung sees the kitchen lights glowing faintly across the hall and hears a tiny little sniff echoing in the tiny apartment, and a small frown makes its way to his lips; is someone awake? At this hour? And when he turns around the corner he sees Jungkook with his head rested on his arms, leaning against the tiny dining table and sniffing quietly.

"Kookie?"

The boy looks up at the sound of his name being said, his face slightly puffy and his eyes red; he looks tired and pale and Taehyung sits next to him on one of the four chairs they have, one of his hands reaching up to rub Jungkook’s neck subconsciously. “What’s up?”

Jungkook looks down at his hands, leaning to the side so his head rests on Taehyung’s shoulder. They were always like this, physically and mentally close; usually Jungkook would complain and try to back away from unnecessary physical affection, but not with Taehyung. Taehyung could latch onto Jungkook’s side like a koala for days, and Jungkook won’t say a word. Call it a special connection, if you will.

"I had a nightmare," Jungkook mumbles quietly, shyly, almost like he doesn’t want to fully admit it; his fingers play with the hem of his shirt and Taehyung can feel his jaw clenching on his shoulder, almost like he’s expecting to be called a baby or something. He’s always so afraid of looking young or showing weakness; he wants to be valuable, needed, and valuable people aren’t weak.

So of course the natural thing for Taehyung to do is wrap an arm around the younger’s frame and hug him close, rubbing a hand up and down his arm. “Do you wanna talk about it or?”

Jungkook seems to contemplate for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head; a shaky breath leaves him as he scoots closer to Taehyung. “I couldn’t go back to sleep, but that’s all. I’m fine.”

Taehyung wants to scoff and say that he’s obviously not- the slight tremor in his voice is a pretty clear sign of that. But then again, he thinks Jungkook will appreciate it if he didn’t say anything to ruin his strong façade, at least for now, so all he does is nod and press a kiss to the crown of the younger’s hair, inhaling the scent of the kiwi scented shampoo he was using.

They sit there in silence for the next few minutes, just leaning on each other in the dim kitchen lighting as the seconds tick by, and Taehyung thinks that this is really nice, just sitting and being for a moment. He can feel the rhythm of Jungkook’s breathing evening out as he went limp against his side, eyes fluttering shut, and he has no heart to wake him up so they can both go back to bed; his neck is going to hurt like hell in the morning, but for the meantime Taehyung holds Jungkook just a little tighter and closes his eyes.

It’s 3:17AM.

———

The second time it happens, Taehyung has G-Dragon’s Who You bursting through his earphones.

They’re on their way to a concert down in Busan, the minivan bumping and swaying across the country as they pass small villages and sleepy towns. Yoongi is asleep over at the front seat (he called shotgun and no one wanted to fight him when he’s this tired), headphones slowly sliding off the top of his head and digging into his neck in an awkward angle. Jimin has his legs spread over Namjoon and Hoseok, his back leaning against the window as he shoots birds at green pigs. Seokjin was out cold before they even began to drive, head leaning against the window and mouth wide open like a popped up blowfish.

Sleep was beyond Taehyung; he could never sleep on long rides, not when the road rolled out underneath them and the countryside spread out all around, but Jungkook had his head on his shoulder, earbuds plugged in securely as he slept.

They’re going to perform with Danger and Boy in Luv, the manager said, and the boys replied with a tired “Yes” before filing into the minivan. It was a hot day and the thought of dancing out under the blazing sun honestly made Taehyung want to throw himself out of the window and let himself roll on the road for cars to run over him, but this is what being an idol meant: you do what you’re told and that’s it. He knew that when he signed the contract and he remembers it now, and that’s just how it is. No room to argue.

The song changes and Who You starts blasting through his earphones; honestly, Who You is such a jam. He would like to personally thank G-Dragon, and also not only God but Jesus, for writing this song—

He’s halfway through his emotional speech when Jungkook throws his head to the side and lets out a whimper; it’s a small one, but Taehyung always hears everything Jungkook does. At first he thinks that it’s just a small gesture- people move and make noises while sleeping all the time (did you mean: Jung Hoseok), why should one whimper matter, but then it happens again; Jungkook whimpers and throws his head to the side, his face crinkling into an uneasy expression and eyes running around under his eyelids. He’s having a nightmare, Taehyung realizes, and he’s ripping his earphones out and shaking Jungkook gently, eyes intense and heart hammering. He doesn’t like it when Jungkook is unhappy.

"Jungkook, hey, little one," he says, and his voice sounds urgent and slightly panicked to his ears; he really, really doesn’t like it when Jungkook is unhappy.

Slowly but surely, Jungkook cracks his eyes open; he looks lost for a few seconds, staring around sleepily, but then his eyes land on Taehyung (who’s practically leaning over him by now) and he blinks.

“Are we there yet?” He asks softly, rubbing one eye with a fist, and Taehyung almost slaps him; he was just having a nightmare, how can he be so stoic about this?

"No," is all he says in the end, leaning back into his seat and folding his arms over his chest, plugging one of his earphones back in. He’s suddenly angry- angry at Jungkook for being so ing determined to be okay and mature all the time, and angry at himself for letting his heart pound so fast he can barely hear himself think anymore. "No, we’re not. You were having a nightmare."

The song is almost over. Jungkook looks at him, slightly confused. “I’m aware of that,” he says carefully. “Why are you mad at me?”

Damn Jeon Jungkook and his spot-on people reading. Taehyung huffs.

"It doesn’t matter. If you want to be mature and macho, suit yourself. But you’re still seventeen and that’s it."

His second earphone is plugged in before Jungkook can even say a word, and Taehyung turns so he can look out the window, back turned almost completely to the hurt maknae.

He doesn’t like it when Jungkook is unhappy, and Jungkook’s definitely unhappy when he acts like a grown up.

———

The third time it happens, Taehyung’s bed turns into the most comfortable place on Earth.

In his dream, he’s playing the ukelele to a bunch of frogs in a distant swamp, wearing only a skirt made of fresh green leaves and a crocodile-tooth necklace. He strums the ukelele and sings an acoustic version of Beyoncé’s Flawless, reaching the high notes like he would never be able to in real life.

The frogs are unimpressed.

Feeling a little disheartened, Taehyung frowns and switches to an all-out rock cover of Hyuna’s Red, killing the guitar solo like nobody’s business. The frogs seem to like that- all but one, who suddenly starts sobbing and clinging to his arm. “Hyung,” it croaks, in a voice that sounds awfully familiar. “Hyung, help.”

Taehyung snaps awake to an armful of a sobbing Jungkook who grabs fistfuls of his shirt and scooting as closer as humanly possible to Taehyung’s body. “What, what, who died,” Taehyung exclaims, sitting up and banging his head against the ceiling. “Ah, !”

"Would Kim Taehyung&Co. kindly shut up," Hoseok grumbles in his sleep, and Taehyung whispers a shy "Sorry" before lying down next to the now slightly-happier Jungkook.

"Nightmare," is all he says, wiping his nose on his sweatshirt sleeve. It’s not very well-lit in the room, but the faint moonlight from the window is enough to see by; his eyes are puffy and wet, glistening softly in the dim light. His body is impossibly warm and Taehyung wraps his arms around him, pulling him to his chest.

Both their hearts are beating fast.

There’s a lump in Taehyung’s throat; he swallows around it, focusing on the incredible heat wafting off of Jungkook in waves as the younger nuzzles his nose into the juncture between Taehyung’s neck and shoulder, letting out a small sigh. His breath puffs against Taehyung’s skin and he shudders; his heart is beating impossibly fast.

"Hyung, what are you thinking about?" Jungkook asks, his fingers brushing over the older’s chest, over his heart. He sounds hopeful, in some stupid way, and Taehyung thinks he understood a lot about himself in those past five minutes.

Impossibly fast, dundundundundun.

"Nothing."

———

The fourth time it happens, they both know it already.

Once the realization hit him, Taehyung found that it’s very hard to act normal around Jungkook; small touches that used to be obvious and easy became nerve-wrecking and difficult, his palm sweating in Jungkook’s, and every single smile the younger directed at him made him amazingly happy.

Suddenly, love songs made a lot of sense.

Jungkook hasn’t had a nightmare for a while, so when he slips into Taehyung’s bed while sobbing in the middle of the night it catches Taehyung completely unprepared. First of all, he’s not wearing anything but a T-shirt and boxers, and second of all, when Jungkook clings to him in search of comfort, the smell and body heat he brings along with him almost make Taehyung go completely hard.

Why is this so difficult, Taehyung sobs internally as Jungkook sticks his cold nose in the crook of his neck. Why do I have to get awkward boners in the most awkward of times. Why me.

And then Jungkook relaxes in his arms and his mind goes silent; nothing in the world is more important than this lump of preciousness in his arms. Taehyung smiles and looks at the younger fondly, eyes passing over dark hair and an adorable nose, plump cheeks and long eyelashes, until he reaches the lips.

Now, a month ago or so this wouldn’t be a problem, because a month ago or so Taehyung wasn’t almost-completely-in-love with Jungkook, but now?

Big problem. Huge problem. Super mega gigantic problem right there, my friends.

Jungkook’s lips are plump and dark and incredibly tempting and only a few inches in front of him; it’d be so easy to just lean over and claim them. Taehyung is terrified, because he doesn’t have the self control of, say, Seokjin, and he doesn’t trust himself to not do anything about this. He’s the kind of person who talks to kelp, for ’s sake.

But then Jungkook sighs and opens his eyes, dark brown orbs staring straight into Taehyung’s. “If you’re gonna kiss me, just do it,” he says in a business tone, one eyebrow raised. Taehyung- of course- chokes on his own spit.

"I— what— how did you—"

"Please, I’ve seen the way you look at me," Jungkook drawls, and Taehyung panics (have I been looking at him in a specific way?!) enough to only be able to stare at the younger, speechless.

Damm Jeon Jungkook and his spot-on people reading.

"I, well," he starts, unsure of how to even start. His voice sounds like a squeak. "I would like that?"

Smooth.

Jungkook smiles and leans closer, and Taehyung’s heart is strangely calm; he can smell the kiwi-scented shampoo again and the mint in Jungkook’s breath, and oh my God are they really going to do this—

Their lips brush together softly, hesitantly; despite his cockiness earlier, Jungkook is quite obviously new at this. His lips are soft and warm and slightly chapped and Taehyung finds himself wanting a lot more- he pushes forward until their lips meet again, and Jungkook tastes like honey and limes and a thousand other nice things that Taehyung isn’t exactly sure of right now but is damn well willing to figure out—

"Oh my God, I swear I’ll skin you both if you won’t stop making out at 4AM," Yoongi screams, and they jump apart, eyes wide in fear and chests rising and falling. There’s a bit of shuffling down below, and then it’s quite.

Taehyung’s eyes meet Jungkook’s, and they smile at each other; the younger winks before plopping back down on the pillows and dragging Taehyung down with him.

———

The fifth time doesn’t happen, because Jungkook has Taehyung now, and it’s hard to have nightmares when you have an adoring boyfriend hugging you every night.

Miracles become ordinary to Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook.