Wow hello, did it get dusty in here or what? O_o You all deserve a diploma for amazing patience for not shouting at me more after such a long time of zero updates... I am so sorry, I did not intend for it take that long, lets just say a lot things happend and time passed without me noticing/having the time to keep up with everything. However, thank you to the people that came to my tumblr to kick my to write. I had a horrible block for a long time, so most of the chapter was done but I could never get the transitions and last few scenes right. BUT we are here now because, YES, update, for real :3 So I won't keep you any longer, Taehyung is ready for his big day. Hope you enjoy!

Taehyung POV 

Headache.

Taehyung wasn't sure if you could die from one or not, but it sure felt like it. He kept rolling around on his bed trying to get comfortable. It was 13.42, and he had no intention of  getting up, ever. He hadn't been able to sleep for 3 days. He was pretty certain that if he walked outside, with the bags underneath his tired and hurting eyes, people would actually think he was a real zombie.

His phone buzzed. Another message. He ignored it and rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into the pillow. The phone kept buzzing.

 Tae grunted annoyingly as he slapped the phone off his bed table, and made it fly into the opposite corner of the room.

He knew what kind of messages it was anyway. He didn't need to see them, the same sentence repeating itself in every single one.

'Happy birthday..'

But it ing wasn't, and Tae didn't want to look at it. If he had dreaded the day he turned 19, it had turned out worse than he had imagined. Ever since his soulmate's name was revealed 3 days ago he had locked himself inside his dorm room. Not being able to sleep as the words he had found haunted him if he closed his eyes. He had stood there in front of the mirror, reading the name over and over, but never understanding what it meant.

Cause no, it just couldn't be right. He had been sure he was dreaming if it wasn't for the fact the letters stayed the same the day after, and the day after that. The same, ed up, letters inked into his skin. Letters that made him want to throw up, made him feel dirty and disgusting to the bone. The second day he panicked. He ran into the shower trying to wash it off, scrubbing until his skin was a dark pulsating pink color. It didn't go away. The letters wouldn't leave him alone.

' I need another painkiller..' Tae groaned, as he stood up and made his way to the bathroom. He chugged down a glass of water and a couple of painkillers. When he was done, he looked into the eyes of his own reflection in the mirror.

'Well, wow.. You sure look like ' he half giggled until the aching pain from somewhere at the back of his head made him stop and grit his teeth instead. ' Best birthday ever'

He walked into the tiny living-room-also-kitchen when he heard noises coming from his bedroom. 'Footsteps?'

Not a second later, someone opened the door holding a big present in their arms.

' Happy birthday, bestie!' the familiar voice of his best friend loudly exclaimed. ' Oh my head..'

' What are you doing here Jimin?' Tae asked confused. 'How did he even get in?'

' Bringing you your present, and taking you out to celebrate of course? And if you would read your messages, you would have known already' Jimin said, a big smile covering his face, as he put the gift down on a chair close by.

' I don't want to celebrate, I have a major headache and I think I would scare people off with how terrible I look at the moment' Tae made a face while pointing at his visible dark circles.

' Of course we are celebrating! Go get washed up and I'll clean this dirty sock smelling apartment.. It actually smells like something died in here' Jimin said trying to fan the closeted air with his hand.

' But I don't want to. I am going back to bed, right now' Tae scowled and tried to walk past a door blocking Jimin.

' Stop being such a party pooper. I already invited Kookie, and all three of us are going to celebrate so get your ready'

Jimin pushed Tae into the bathroom. ' You have 15 minutes before we're meeting up with Kookie, so hurry up' Jimin closed the door and Tae was left standing helpless on the bathroom floor.

'Why did he have such stubborn friends?' He knew he couldn't win with Jimin when that guy had a goal in mind. 'Ah well, better try to look alive then'

Taehyung took a quick shower, before putting on a large t-shirt and a pair of jeans. ' No need to look fancy' When he stepped out of the bathroom 12 minutes, later Jimin had managed to clean most of the mess Tae had made the last 3 days. He had to admit he felt a bit better now, he felt more alive than the last few days. The tiredness slowly fading away.

' Uhm, I'm sorry Jimin. Thank you for helping me out, I do appreciate it.' Tae confessed as he bit his lip.

' Come on, don't sweat it. You would've done the same for me, right? Now let's go!'

' Shouldn't I open your gift first?' Tae raised a brow as he was pulled out the door.

' Nah, do it later. We're already a little late'

3 hours later and the three sat around the restaurant table, clinking glasses with soju and eating until they couldn't possibly stuff another bite down their throats. Taehyung was really having a good time, the headache was still there, but it wasn't as bad as this morning. He had to thank Jimin again before the night ended. They had started the "celebration" with ice cream in the park. Cause according to Jimin the Taehyung-way was dessert before dinner. Tae kept smiling the entire walk through the park with children playing, forgetting about the last three days.

The only thing that made the whole situation a bit uncomfortable was the steadily beat against his lower right ribs. Tae didn't understand how Jimin dealt with sitting there next to his soulmate with that going on without making a fuzz. Then again, Jimin had already confessed, so Jungkook already knew, it wasn't like Jimin tried to hide the letters on his arm.

' So Tae..  you haven't said anything about your now named soulmate? Hmmm, who is it? Do we know them?' Jimin asked with a smirk.

'You know I don't care about them...' Tae tried to avoid the question, changing his attention to what was going outside the restaurant windows.

' I know they scare the crap out of you.. Now come on, you can show your bestie'

Taehyung needed a good excuse and he knew it. Jimin wouldn't let this go that easily. ' Okay, seriously the place I got my mark is really embarrassing so please don't'

' Oh come on, it can't be that bad! And if you just tell me, I won't have to look for it right?'

' Jimin, I think that's enough. If Taehyung isn't comfortable about telling us, we should respect that.' Jungkook joined in.

Jimin's mouth immediately shut and he looked down for a few seconds

' You're right. I am sorry Tae, it wasn't really nice of me to try prying into things like that, you know I get easily excited. Sorry..'

' It's okay. Buuut as an apology, you now have to come with me to the arcade next week' Tae sent Jungkook a thankful look, before he smiled slyly towards Jimin.

' Oh my, no please do not tell me they are having another one of those dancemania competitions?'

' Of course they are! And this time we are winning the team battle for sure!' Taehyung smiled as he took a satisfied sip of his drink.

' Good lord, just.. Can we this time dance something else than the spongebob remix?...'

' Excuse me, that remix has the best moves as well as the highest difficulty. There is no way we're not doing that one if we want to win' Taehyung exclaimed.

Jimin let his head fall and rest on the table. ' Please someone save me..Jungkook, Jungkook you're good at dancing right? Do you want to go instead?' Jimin mumbled into the wooden surface.

Taehyung felt a nervous lump in his throat before the younger answered.

' Haha, sorry, but no matter how fun that sounds I have exams coming up' Jungkook patted Jimin's shoulder apologetically. ' You're alone on this one buddy.'

' Ahh, why me?' Jimin cried. 

Jimin and Jungkook offered to go to a karaoke bar or go to the movies to finish the birthday celebration,  Tae was honestly thankful for both, but he politely declined. He wanted to be able to see Yi-kyung before the day was over. Before he headed there, he went home, he brushed his teeth and put on a new set of clothes. He hadn't been drinking much so it probably didn't smell but he wanted to be sure, for Yi-kyung.

As he was walking towards the hospital, he finally decided to check his messages. Messages from friends and family wishing him the best for this special birthday. He had a few missed calls, 4 from his mom, 8 from Jimin, and 2 from Hoseok. He was about to put his phone away when it vibrated in his hand.

Hoseok:

What's up? Got plans for
 the rest of the evening?

Tae:

I'm on my way to Yi-kyung before they put her to bed. After that
nothing,I already celebrated with Jimin and Jungkook.

Hoseok:

GREAT! Then you are hereby invited to
the slumber party at my place after!

Taehyung could never say no to slumber parties, then again, he could never say no to Hoseok.

Tae:

Got it, make sure to have enough
 of those jelly worms this time ;P

Hoseok:

On it! See you soon. And say hi to Yi-kyung from me!

Taehyung greeted the nurses as he walked to the children's ward. It had gotten quite late so he guessed  that Yi-kyung  was getting ready in her room. He quickly looked at the clock; 19.30. Which meant she would be awake for another 1,5 hours, when the nurses would be doing their rounds. Tae gently knocked and peaked inside.

'Taehyung!'

A tiny set of arms closed around his waist.

' Hey princess' Taehyung bent down to hug her back. 

' You came just in time for the goodnight tea party!' Yi-kyung grabbed Tae's hand and dragged him over to the tiny table between the two beds on each side of  the small room. Around the table were 3 pillows and 4 doll chairs. The table was set with a miniature plate and mug for each of the assigned seats, and in the middle stood a tiny flower vase with fake flowers and the teapot.

' This is your seat' Yi-kyung smiled as she pointed to one of the pillows.

' You're having a lot of guests today I see' Tae said as he took off his jacket and got comfortable on his assigned pillow-chair.

' Mhm! I made sure to invite a lot of people since it is your birthday today'

Yi-kyung rummaged through the rooms toy box and came back with 2 dolls.

' This is my doll, her name is Joy.'

' That's a lovely name Yi-kyung'

' And this is you, this doll's name is Taehyung' Yi-kyung gave Tae the doll. He was surprised it actually looked a bit like him. He sat doll-Tae down in the chair on his left as Yi-kyung did the same with Joy.

'  Actually, my prince was going to be here today as well, but the prince got sick, so they couldn't be here today. But their doll will celebrate with us, that's at least nice, right?' Yi-kyung came over with another set of dolls and sat one down on her left.

' Okay, eye's closed' Yi-kyung said in a strict tone.

Tae did as he was told and closed his eyes shut. Not long after something was placed carefully on top of his head.

' Now open'

Taehyung opened his eyes slowly, staring into his own reflection. Resting on his soft hair was a self-made paper crown. The mirror he was looking into was the same Tae had given Yi-kyung earlier this year, during valentines.

' See Oppa, you are the most beautiful prince of them all. The mirror told me' Yi-kyung happily exclaimed. ' And what does pretty princes need for their 19th birthday?' she stared at him with a excited spark in her eyes.

' I don't know cutie. Tell me, what does pretty princes need?' Tae said amused.

' Their prince of course!'

Yi-kyung got the other doll she had brought over the table and held it out towards Taehyung.

' I got him for you as a birthday present. Since he won't be able to be your real prince yet, he can at least be your doll prince, don't you think?'

Taehyung didn't know how to answer that question. The doll's big doe eyes stared into his own, and he felt a shiver run down his back. The doll's black hair parted slightly to one side and jewelry decorating his ears made Taehyung slightly uncomfortable.

Yi-kyung just smiled and put "Tae's prince" next to him, before she sat down on her own assigned seat and declared the celebration as started. 

She asked Tae to pour the tea as she handed out the "cookies". When the tea party was over and all the guests had left except for Tae's "prince", Yi-kyung asked if he would read her a bedtime story. While she got ready, Taehyung cleaned up the few things left, and found a book in the shelves. He was on his way to sit down next to her bed when he remembered the doll. 'Should I take it with me?'

' Let your prince sit next to me' Yi-kyung smiled from the doorway.

' Sure' Tae picked up the doll and sat down next to Yi-kyung's bed. She grabbed the doll and placed it on her lap.

' It's okay, I can take care of him for you if you want. He's actually even more scared than you are' Yi-kyung pet the dolls head. ' Do you want to name him though?' She looked up at him with sincere eyes.

' Euhm, no I think I need time to come up with a great name for it first. You can just call him Prince until then'

' Of course. He is safe with me' Yi-kyung pressed the doll protectively against her chest.

Taehyung read about dragons and heroic princes and princesses until the nurse came, and Yi-kyung was snoring steadily. He kissed her forehead and pulled the cover over her before he left the hospital.

Taehyung was exhausted when he made his way up the stairs to Hoseok's apartment. The place he lived was quite the luxurious place, Tae had no idea how Hoseok could afford it but he didn't complain at all. He got to the door and rang the doorbell.

Hoseok opened the door wearing his signature smile as well as his horse onesie.

'Welcome! To the kingdom of Hope' Hoseok loudly informed, with an added full 90 degree bow.

Taehyung giggled, his friends energy easily making him feel good.

' Amazing' Taehyung hung up his jacket and left his shoes at the entrance, as he made his way into the living room.

' Since you are the birthday boy, I waited for you to decide the movie' Hobi held up two movies, weighing them in his hands. ' So, what's it going to be? "Ninja Unicorns 2" or " Alien Turtles: the lost spaceship" ?' 

' That's a difficult decision..' Taehyung looked carefully at the covers before he grabbed the DVD for " Alien Turtles: the lost spaceship". ' This better be good'

Tae inserted the DVD while Hoseok went to get all the materials needed for a pillow fort. Hobi had stripped the 3 beds from their mattresses and piled them up in front of the TV. Then they got the chairs from the kitchen table placed them strategically around the pile and threw the many blankets on top. They finished it off by securing the blankets with laundry clamps. 

' I'll get the lights, you go change' Hoseok said as he went into his bedroom.

Taehyung went to the bathroom and picked up his onesie laying on the bench by the door. Tae had gotten the onesie from Hobi on his 18th birthday, the first time he had visited Hoseok's new apartment. He got rid of his pants and stepped into the soft monkey onesie.

When he once again stepped into the living room, the lights were dimmed, and the opening of the pillow fort was decorated with lots of small shining lights. Hoseok was finishing up with the snacks in the kitchen, so Tae decided to get comfortable. He snuggled his way down between the many pillows and ended up on his stomach, head resting on his hands.

' Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!' Hoseok entered the room with a big bowl of jelly worms topped with 3 lit candles.

' Happy birtday dear Taehyung, happy birthday to you!' Hoseok clapped enthusiastically when Tae blew the lights out.

' Here you go' Hobi handed over a nicely wrapped gift, the size of a shoebox.

'Thank you' Taehyung smiled, he really loved gifts. Which reminded him he had to open Jimin's gift the second he got home. He had completely forgot when he stopped by earlier.

The wrapper was quickly left in bare scraps on the floor as Tae opened the cardboard box.

Inside the box was a lot of things, the first thing that caught his attention was the comic. The next one of his favorite comic series. The second was a season pass to one of his favorite online games. He and Hoseok would play together sometimes, though Hobi thought it was too difficult. There was also a huge bag of his favorite jelly worms. Lastly was a tube, the size of toothpaste, with " Souldative" written on it. He picked it up and looked at it more closely.

' It's cream to put on your soulmate mark. It will keep pulsating down and pretty much numb it so you won't think about it. I know how you feel about it, and I thought maybe it would come in handy someday. Unless of course you changed your mind, then you can just throw it away' Hoseok explained.

Taehyung didn't even knew things like these existed. That Hoseok would be clever enough to find it didn't surprise him thought.

' Wow... t-thank you so much. This is way too much though' Taehyung gave Hoseok a hug as he put the tube back in the box with the rest of the things.

' Never. You have your birthday once a year, so let this hyung spoil you just this one time, okay. Now, ready to get the evening started?'

They started watching the movie and soon the large apartment was filled with loud giggles. Thoughts about the last three days were forgotten, the only thing on his mind was just how happy he was like this. Having fun with one of his best friends. It wasn't until Tae was changing into his pj's when he saw the letters covering his left ribs that the thoughts came rushing back, and he thought about the gift from earlier.

The cream would keep the pulsating down, and he bets that after some years he wouldn't even notice the letters anymore. It would be just like a normal tattoo, it would become part of him, and he'd forget it was even there. ' Great, I can do this. Tae you got this, this isn't really a problem at all. I don't need to act on it, everything can be just as usual'

He would be alright. He laid down, ready to finally get some sleep. He sighed when he closed his eyes and the letters once again shone brightly behind his eyelids.

전정국 (Jeon Jungkook)

And then he saw Jimin's happy face. The face he had worn not many months ago on his birthday, when Jimin had gotten this same name written on his arm. He didn't have anything against Jungkook, but to know that he had his best friend's crush and soulmate on him made him feel horrible. The name written on his ribs felt like a betrayal against Jimin, and he would do anything to pretend it didn't exist. All he wanted was to see Jimin happy, he had wanted this for so long, and Tae was not going to interfere with that happiness. Still he was afraid, afraid of what this all meant.

He jumped slightly when a sleepy Hoseok rested a heavy arm on Taehyung's chest, and as his steady breathing filled Tae's ears, he felt fine. Of course he was fine. He looked over at the peacefully sleeping Hoseok only a few inches away. Of course he would be fine, more than fine, with friends like Hoseok, right there next to him. Tae put his own hand on top of Hoseok's and let the soothing deep breaths in his ear calm him down. Not long after the world turned foggy, and he drifted off into the comforting darkness.

After such a long time and after all of you screaming about all the angst I hope you enjoyed this fluffball-ish chapter? It got quite long so I hope it didn't get boring..:S Except for the block, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter :3 And after this, it only leaves baby kookie to be revealed and we've been through them all guys :O It took quite the chapters tho...I should've planned this better x') Thanks for sticking with me, I appriciate you all, truly! <3 Next chapter shoulder hyung is making a comeback, so hopefully someone is glad to hear that, until next time guys; stay healthy and safe! - Taeken