“Will you come with me to get my wisdom teeth taken out?” Taehyung asked you during one of your weekly study sessions at his apartment together.

“What? Why me?” you replied.

“Because you’re the one I trust the most!” he replied earnestly. “And I need someone to take me home because they won’t let you leave alone.”

“I would love to Taehyung, but you know I don’t have a car. How am I supposed to get you home exactly?”

“It’s okay, the dentist office isn’t too far from here, so we can just take the bus! I’ll need you to make sure I don’t get on the wrong bus and end up in some shady part of town all drugged up and confused.”

“Alright, I can do that. I’ll protect you from the shady parts of town,” you said with a giggle.

You and Taehyung had been friends for a few years now and you were practically inseparable. You did homework together, played video games together, and told each other everything. You had no secrets. Well, other than the fact that you were totally head over heels in love with him, but that was one secret that didn’t need to be shared.

So of course when he asked you to take him to get his wisdom teeth taken out, you immediately knew you were going to do everything it took to be able to. You always had a protective instinct over Taehyung and you loved being able to take care of him so you were happy that he trusted you enough to be his caretaker when he was all drugged up from getting his teeth pulled out.

A few days later, you and Taehyung hopped on the city bus on the way to the dentist office. You noticed that he was looking unusually pale and his eyes kept flickering from spot to spot, unable to keep still.

“Are you okay?” you asked, your voice laced with concern.

“I kind of… have a fear of the dentist,” Taehyung nervously mumbled, heat rising up to his cheeks from embarrassment. “I know it’s totally silly to be 21 and scared of the dentist, yet here I am,” he said with a slight laugh in his voice.

You giggled a little, thinking about how cute he looked when he was embarrassed. You fought off the urge to lean over and kiss his blushing cheeks because that would be kind of hard to explain. “It’s okay Taehyung,” you assured him. “It’ll be fine. I’ll be in the waiting room the whole time and it’ll be over before you know it. They put you out cold for the procedure anyway so you won’t feel a thing.”

He nervously shook his head in acknowledgement of your words. He reached up and pulled the cord to signal to the bus driver that your stop was next. It slowed to a stop and you and Taehyung stood up and got off the bus.

As soon as you stepped onto the pavement, you felt Taehyung grab your hand. You could feel the butterflies in your chest fluttering because of the contact. You looked up at him curiously because while he was normally a pretty touchy person, he usually didn’t go quite this far.

“Sorry,” he said, his face somehow even more red than before. “I know this is weird but I’m really nervous so can you just humour me please?”

You let out a small laugh, because you had always wanted to hold his hand and here he was making it sound like it was some huge burden to you. “Of course Tae. Now let’s go get those teeth pulled out!” you said in an enthusiastic voice while swinging your arms cheerily between the both of you. You knew that he was nervous so you were trying to cheer him up with a can-do positive attitude.

He laughed at your antics and let you drag him down the street to where the dentist office was located. It was a bit like walking a reluctant dog to the vet because the closer you got to the building, the slower Taehyung walked and the harder you had to pull him.

“Come on Taehyung, if you’re a good boy I’ll even buy you a treat later,” you said teasingly. You finally arrived at the dentist office and pulled the door open, letting the cool air-conditioned air hit wash over you.

You started to approach the front desk but Taehyung pulled you aside with mild panic in his eyes. “Will you come in with me? I mean I’m sure they’ll probably say you’re not allowed but it can’t hurt to ask right?” he said in a quiet voice to avoid being overheard by the receptionist.

“Okay, why don’t you just go and sit down and I’ll go talk to the receptionist about it okay?” you asked while directing his slightly shaky body towards one of the waiting room chairs.

“Hello,” you said to the receptionist once you got close enough to her desk. “I’m here with my friend Taehyung for his wisdom teeth removal and he has quite the fear of the dentist and I was wondering if I could go into the room with him? I promise I won’t get in the way or anything but I’m scared he won’t be able to go through with it if I don’t go in there with him,” you explained to the kind looking receptionist.

She glanced past you and looked at Taehyung, noticing how nervous he looked. “I’m sure that will be fine, as long as you don’t interfere with the procedure,” she said, while typing on the computer to check him in for his appointment. “We’ll be ready for him in a few minutes.”

You started to walk back to where Taehyung was sitting and you couldn’t help but laugh at the scene in front of you. Taehyung was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs reading one of the children’s books they had for children who were waiting for appointments, and he had the utmost look of concentration on his face.

“She said that it’s fine if I come in with you,” you said while sitting down in the seat next to him. He jumped, obviously not having seen you approach him, and sheepishly closed the book he was reading.

“Thanks Y/N” he mumbled, obviously still a bit embarrassed by how nervous he was. Honestly you thought it was adorable but you didn’t think he would appreciate hearing that so you kept that particular thought to yourself.

“Kim Taehyung?” the dental hygienist called out, having emerged from the door separating the waiting room and the actual dentist office.

“It’ll be okay,” you quietly whispered to him as you stood up from your seats. You trailed behind him as he followed the hygienist into the room where he’d get his teeth taken out.

“You can just lie down on the chair and the dentist will be in shortly,” she said to Taehyung. “And you can grab that chair in the corner and sit beside him, at least until they have to do the procedure,” she said to you.

Taehyung lied down on the dentist chair as instructed and looked at you with fear filled eyes. You brought the chair over beside the bed and sat down. “Trust me, it’ll be over so fast and before you know it you’ll be lying in bed watching anime,” you said reassuringly.

He reached over and grabbed your hand again, avoiding eye contact with you while doing it. You imagined how great it would be to be able and reach out and hold Taehyung’s hand whenever you wanted, but for now you had to be content with just being able to hold it at the moment.

The dentist walked in while you two were holding hands and he smiled at you. “Aw, aren’t you a cute couple?” he said with a chuckle.

Taehyung dropped your hand like it was burning hot while looking extremely embarrassed and you couldn’t help the strong wave of disappointment that ran through you. You knew that you and Taehyung weren’t a couple, but did he have to act so embarrassed when people thought that you were? Was having people think you guys were together really that bad? Was he embarrassed of you? You couldn’t stop the negative thoughts from swirling around your mind but you tried to put them aside to you could be there for Taehyung while he was scared.

“Oh no, we’re not a couple. Just friends,” you said in what you hoped was a blasé voice. Something flashed in Taehyung’s eyes but you just ignored it, brushing it off as him still feeling embarrassed that the dentist thought you were together.

“Oops, my apologies,” the dentist said, while getting the area around him ready for the procedure. “Okay Taehyung, I’m going to have you put this mask on okay? And count backwards from ten. You’ll be out before you reach zero,” the dentist explained to him, while passing him something that resembled an oxygen mask.

“Okay,” Taehyung said in a shaky voice. He put the mask on over his face and reached out to grab your hand again. Although you were still a little hurt from his reaction before, you still let his fingers curl over your hand and hold it in a firm grip. You ran your thumb over the back of his hand in what you hoped was a soothing gesture. You saw Taehyung smile slightly underneath the mask, and then he started counting backwards from ten. By the time he reached four, he was out like a light.

“Are you sure you’re not together?” the dentist joked, glancing at your interlaced hands.

“I’m sure,” you replied, removing Taehyung’s hand from yours and placing it beside him on the bed. “Do you mind if I sit in the corner? I don’t want to get in your way but I promised I would stay in the room.”

“It’s no problem,” the dentist confirmed, about to start the operation on Taehyung’s teeth.

You watched in interest as the dentist performed the procedure, the curious part of yourself overriding the part of you that thought it was totally gross.

The entire thing only took about 45 minutes. Once the dentist was done, he removed the mask from Taehyung’s face and you watched as Taehyung slowly started to wake up. His eyes were glassy and he looked totally out of it and your heart swelled with how cute and vulnerable he looked. He tried to stand up but started to stumble so with the help of the dentist, you got his arm around you and made him lean his weight on you. You were pretty weak and he was 137lbs of almost dead weight so it took you a few minutes to get back into the waiting area.

You were instructed to sit with him for about half an hour to make sure that there were no drug complications so you took him to the waiting room and sat him down in a chair.

“Is it over?” Taehyung asked groggily.

“Yep! It didn’t even take an hour Taehyung, you did so well,” you said in a slow and gentle voice to make sure he understood you.

“It’sbecauseI’mthebessssst” Taehyung slurred out, his words barely distinguishable because of the amount of gauze in his mouth.

“Whatever you say Taehyung,” you murmur softly, while gently patting his shoulder.

“I love you so much Y/N, I hope you know that,” he said with his unfocused eyes on yours.

“I know,” you replied as you tried to keep your heartbeat in check. You knew that it was just the drugs making him loopy but your heart couldn’t help but react to the words you had always wanted to hear from him.

“Nooooooooo,” he slurred out and you just gently patted his head in reassurance. You sat in the waiting room with Taehyung’s head leaning on your shoulder and you couldn’t help but wish you could sit like that with him more often.

You noticed that enough time had passed that you were allowed you leave, so you pulled Taehyung up from his chair and nodded in satisfaction when he seemed more steady on his feet than before, and directed him out of the building.

The bus driver gave him a funny look when he stumbled onto the bus but you just said “wisdom teeth” and he gave you a look of understanding. You paid the bus fare for the both of you and directed Taehyung into the nearest seat so that he wouldn’t fall over once the bus began to move. Luckily the bus was fairly empty in the middle of the day so you didn’t have to worry about him bothering people.

“Y/N~~~~” Taehyung whined, trying to say something.

“Shhhh Taehyung, don’t talk too much okay? You’ll make your mouth bleed.”

He just hmphed in response and sat with his head against the bus window until you reached your stop. You pulled him off the bus and got him upstairs and into his apartment without incident and you were proud.

You took off his shoes for him and directed him into his bedroom, where you gently laid him on the bed.

“Here,” you said while handing him water and two pills. “You need to take these pain meds or else your face will really start to hurt.”

You felt a little bad for him as he winced while trying to swallow the pills because you really didn’t like to see him in pain, but there was nothing you could do.

“We need to change your gauze, and then you can nap if you want,” you said to him. You - disgustingly - helped him change his bloody mouth gauze and got him back into bed. He was less out of it than earlier but you could tell that he was still feeling the effects of the drugs.

Once you laid him in bed, you got up to go into the living room but he grabbed your hand and pulled you down beside him.

“What are you doing Taehyung?” you asked him, trying not to get too used to the feeling of lying in bed with him.

“Mmmmmmm,” Taehyung hummed. “Cuddle with me.”

You had the negative response on the tip of your tongue, but Taehyung looked so cute and in pain that you couldn’t help but indulge him. Well, that and the fact that cuddling with him had always been a dream of yours.

You knew that this would probably end up pretty awkward when he woke up later and the drugs had worn off but you couldn’t bring yourself to care as he wrapped his arms around you. You let yourself melt into his embrace, figuring that if this was your only chance you would get to cuddle with him that you better enjoy it while you could. His arms felt more comfortable than you had ever imagined, and he was nice and warm and made you feel instantly sleepy.

“I love you,” Taehyung whispered into your ear, and you tried once again to calm the butterflies in your stomach. “It’s not the drugs talking, it’s me. Well maybe the drugs have a little something to do with making me honest enough to finally say this, but I’ve been in love with you for a long time and I need to you know that.”

As you were trying to formulate a response, Taehyung let out a quiet snore and you knew that you were saved from having to respond right away. You wondered if he was actually telling you the truth or if the drugs were making him say nonsensical things. You wouldn’t let yourself get too hopeful though because you knew it would hurt if he woke up and didn’t remember anything that he said. You let yourself drift to sleep in his arms, trying to fully enjoy the moment.

A few hours later, Taehyung’s stirring woke you up. You quickly tried to remove yourself from his arms so you wouldn’t have to face the awkwardness that would surely take place, but Taehyung strengthened his grip around you.

“Where are you going?” he asked in a clear voice, still slightly muffled from the gauze but overall free from the drugs.

“I figured the drugs just made you want to cuddle but now that they’ve worn off I thought you wouldn’t want me to stay. After all, it’s not like we’re dating,” you said to him with slight hurt evident in your tone.

Taehyung pulled you closer into him and you felt the butterflies in your stomach start fluttering for the upteenth time that day. “Everything that I told you was true,” Taehyung said. “I might have been a little high but that doesn’t negate what I said. I’ve been in love with you for like… ever,” he said sweetly, while his warm brown eyes stared into yours.

“Are you still high? Sorry but this is a little hard to believe,” you said, your tone laced with doubt. You could feel hope blossoming in your chest but you tried to stamp it down because you didn’t know if you could handle the disappointment if what he was saying wasn’t true.

Sadness flashed in Taehyung’s eyes and a small frown formed on his face. “No I’m not still high. I don’t know why you find it hard to believe,” he begun. “How couldn’t I be in love with you really? You’re kind and sweet and caring, you always look after me when I need it, and you’re always there for me when I ask you to be.”

You could feel the heat rising in your cheeks at his confession. You nestled a little closer to him in his arms and let his words wash over you.

“And to top all that off, you’re absolutely the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. If that’s still not enough to convince you, I can tell you that I still remember the first time I saw you. It was the beginning of 11th grade and it was like 30°C outside. Everyone was wearing shorts and tank tops and I noticed you because there you were wearing a sweater and jeans and I remember thinking that I immediately wanted to get to know you because you just looked warm you know? And I don’t mean because of what you were wearing,” he said with a slight chuckle in his voice. “You were standing in the hallway alone with headphones in but you still looked so friendly and cute and I wanted to hold you in my arms,” Taehyung said while emphasizing his meaning by holding you a little tighter.

“Oh…” you said, unsure of how to respond. It wasn’t every day that it seemed like all your dreams were coming true. “I can’t believe you remember that,” you said in awe. “I’m in love with you too Taehyung, if that wasn’t obvious by now.”

“I’m sorry for being so oblivious,” he said. “And I know I hurt your feelings today when the dentist asked if we were together, but I was scared you didn’t feel the same way as me so I’ve been trying to hide my feelings for a long time.”

“It’s okay. Sometimes we just need a little push, or in your case to get a little high, to speak what’s on our minds,” you said. “And it’s not like I was very straightforward with my feelings either.”

“So now that our feelings are all sorted out, how about for your first gesture as my official girlfriend, you help me change my gauze again?” Taehyung asked with a glint of humour in his eyes.

“It would be my honour,” you laughed. You climbed out of bed and helped him up too, and once you were both standing he pulled you into his arms in a tight hug.

“Thanks for taking care of me today. You really are the best,” Taehyung said while nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. “And thank you for always being there for me. And loving me back.” He removed himself from your neck and started leaving light kisses on the top of your head.

“Anything for you Taehyung. You know that,” you replied into his chest.

You loved the feeling of being in his arms and you couldn’t believe that you had been in love with each other for so long while both being completely oblivious.

You let yourself sink into his warm embrace and let out a sigh of content. You were suddenly very fond of the dentist and you would always be thankful that Taehyung needed to get his wisdom teeth removed.