DAY 1

“I tell you I’m in danger of crawling in bed with my Manny, and your first instinct is to laugh?” Taehyung questions a still laughing Namjoon.

“Uhm, yes,” Namjoon confirms after clearing his throat.

“Why are we friends again?”

“Because I’m the only one patient enough to put up with your upper-class, eccentric ,” Namjoon dead-pans, and it pains Taehyung that he has to agree with the tall blond. “But since you require a different response, why exactly are you in danger of jumping your male nanny? Last time I checked you didn’t play for that team.”

“Play for ‘that’ team? When did you start drinking the politically correct juice, hyung?” Taehyung teases.

Namjoon makes a clucking sound on the line, and Taehyung chuckles, knowing he’s gotten under the man’s skin.

“You know what I mean, Taehyung. Don’t be an . Anyway, what’s the man done that’s got you all hot and bothered?”

“Nothing,” Taehyung answers immediately.

“Nothing?” He can hear the confusion in Namjoon’s tone, and if he weren’t equally as confused, he’d be enjoying it a bit more.

“Yeah, nothing.”

“I don’t get it,” Namjoon tells him.

“Same. God, me neither, hyung, I ing don’t get it. But something about him affects me, and, and...” Taehyung takes a deep breath before cautiously saying the next statement. “I don’t hate it.”

“Well . I did not see this coming. H-have you, where always, did you-” Namjoon sighs, and Taehyug chuckles, knowing what the man is trying to ask.

“I don’t know, hyung. I’ve never given my ual orientation or preferences any thought. I like what I like; I’m attracted to who I’m attracted to, you know? I never sought to quantify it or put a label on it,” Taehyung explains.

“So... so you find men attractive?” Namjoon questions.

“I don’t know, but I find myself drawn to this one in particular.”

“So, you’re gay for your Manny?”

“I don’t think it’s that simple, hyung,” he explains.

“Then you don’t want to give him a ?”

“Oh God, Namjoon hyung! What the hell? I have a child. We can’t talk about things like BJs,” Taehyung chides.

“Is Inni on the line?”

“No.”

“Is she in the room?”

“No.”

“Is she anywhere near you at the moment?” Namjoon asks.

“No, she’s asleep in her room with my new Manny, Yoongi.”

“Then why the hell are you acting like an offended grandma over the word blow-job?”

“I don’t know, it just sounds weird, okay? Please stop saying it,”  Taehyung begs. “I don’t need the mental picture.”

“Okay, so if it’s not ual, then what is it?” Namjoon sounds equal parts curious and irritated.

“I’m not lying, hyung, I don’t know. It’s the first time since Mari left that I’ve felt anything for another person that wasn’t disdain, pity, or disappointment. He makes me want to know more, want to ask questions. He makes me want to answer the questions he asks, and it ing hasn’t even been twenty-four freaking hours. What the hell is happening to me?”

There’s silence on the line for longer than Taehyung would like, but he knows it’s just Namjoon piecing together an appropriate response.

“He woke up your heart,” Namjoon tells him eventually.

“Woke up my heart?”

“I’ve watched you shut down anyone and anything that came remotely close to tugging at your emotions and making you feel something. Mari is a , fight me if you want, but if I had to choose between saving her and the devil, I’d save the devil every time.”

Taehyung gives an endearing grunt at the passion he hears in Namjoon’s voice. If Mari were anywhere near at the moment, she’d most likely be the recipient of a very angry tirade. For all his sarcastic and deadpan remarks made at Taehyung’s expense, he’s aware that the tall blond has always had his back, and will continue to do so.

Namjoon continues, “I’m not sure what it is about this person that seems to be penetrating that steel wall that you’ve built around your heart, but I’m ing happy he is, even if I’m a bit mystified that he’s a he.”

Taehyung laughs out loud at the last bit.

“I’m equally as shocked, trust me. Honestly, it could just be that I see something in him. Something that maybe reminds me of how I used to be. He still has dreams, and he still wants to pursue them. Maybe it’s envy or nostalgia for my past self. Whatever it is, it’s driving me crazy, and I need to figure out how to control it,” Taehyung tells Namjoon as he throws himself on his bed.

“Talk to him.” Namjoon’s response is simple, yet it’s the most complicated thing Taehyung’s heard.

“And say what? Hey, I know you’ve only known me for eighteen hours, but I want to your ?” It’s a rhetorical question, but Namjoon answers just the same.

“If that’s what you need, yes. But I was thinking more along the lines of getting to know him. It would go a long way in helping you figure out why you’re drawn to him.”

“I hate when you make sense,” Taehyung pouts as he responds.

“Love you too, Tae. Happy I could help,” Namjoon says with a chuckle.

Taehyung’s not ready to leave his bedroom. He knows he needs to. The goal of the three days was to see how Yoongi interacts with Inna but also to see how he and the older boy work. He knows Yoongi is a good person, but he has no real childcare experience. Apart from the fact that Taehyung is sure the man won’t hit on him or demand that they date, he knows nothing about his new male nanny. Namjoon is right; he needs to get to know the man he plans on entrusting his most precious possession to.

Taking a deep breath, Taehyung pushes himself off the bed and stands to his feet. Making his way out of the room, he walks down the hall to his daughter’s bedroom and pauses, taking a moment to compose himself. He’s not sure why his heart is beating so fast. The door is a shield protecting him from the man on the other side, a perfect stranger who mystifies him, and Taehyung tries to talk himself out of entering.

Turns out he doesn’t need to as the door suddenly opens, and Taehyung is almost knocked off his feet when none other than Min Yoongi tiptoes pass the threshold and right into Taehyung’s arms.

“Oh,” Yoongi exhales the word.

“Sorry, I was about to come in and check on you and Ini,” Taehyung explains, conveniently leaving out that he loitered at the door for several minutes

“She fell back to sleep so I put her down. I was coming out to talk with you about Ini’s schedule and if there is anything specifically that you’d like me to be doing when I take care of her,” Yoongi explains to him.

Taehyung’s always been perceptive. Even when it looks as though he’s not paying attention, he catches even the most insignificant actions and statements. As a child, it used to both frustrate and amaze his parents. As he stands listening to Yoongi, his eyes zoom in on the man’s hands, long, slender fingers with protruding vines. He can tell that Yoongi uses his hands a lot, possibly writing, maybe playing instruments. The hands look soft but worked, as though Yoongi has done a lot of labor as well. While the man’s hands are intriguing, what Taehyung’s most focused on is the way Yoongi is wringing his fingers, distressing them. It dawns on him the older boy i