Taehyung took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell, shifting impatiently as he waited for someone to answer the door. After only about a minute, the door swung open and Jungkook’s father was standing in front of Taehyung with a warm smile.

“Taehyung-ah!” He gave Taehyung a firm pat on the shoulder as he let him in.

“Hi Mr. Jeon. Is Jungkook home?” Taehyung asked, though he already knew the answer.

“He is…” Mr. Jeon looked uneasily in the direction of Jungkook’s room. “He was really sick this morning when his mother went to wake him up, we’re not sure if he’s contagious.”

“Don’t worry, sir. I’m immune to over 90 diseases.” Taehyung winked, earning a hearty chuckle from the older man.

“Ok Taehyung, just don’t get sick or your mother will scold me again.” He chuckled again and Taehyung gave him a quick bow before heading to Jungkook’s room. The door was slightly ajar with dim light spilling out. It was oddly quiet, Jungkook almost always had music playing in his room. Taehyung pushed the door open, only slightly surprised to find Jungkook sprawled on the floor with his phone on his stomach. He had his eyes closed. Taehyung wasn’t sure if he was awake or not so he just closed the door as he stepped inside and gently lay down next to him. He lay silently next to Jungkook with his eyes closed for a few minutes, waiting.

“I really don’t want to hurt Jimin…” Jungkook spoke softly but in the harsh silence it startled Taehyung, his eyes flying open. He looked over at Jungkook. Jungkook still had his eyes closed, the only indication that he was awake was how he pursed his lips in a way Taehyung knew meant that he wasn’t very far from tears. Taehyung ignored that and relaxed back to stare coolly at the ceiling.

“Then don’t.” Taehyung traced the designs of the plaster with his eyes, disregarding Jungkook’s strangled sound from beside him.

“You know I-”

“I don’t know why you keep saying that I know.” Taehyung sat up and shot a glare at Jungkook. “I don’t know why you’re being like this so stop acting like I’m some freaking mind reader or something.” Jungkook stayed quiet, his uneven breaths the only sound in the earsplitting silence. After what felt like forever to the two boys, Taehyung let out a ragged breath and stood up. “If you don’t want to talk, fine. Just know that I’m not always going to be there to make time and baby you when you can’t keep your own in line.” He had barely taken a step towards the door before Jungkook’s hand enclosed around his wrist. He could feel how cold and clammy the boy’s hand was and swallowed painfully around the lump that had formed in his throat. Taehyung turned and waited as Jungkook scrambled to stand, his legs shaking as he wrapped himself around Taehyung’s torso.

“Tae I’m sorry.” He buried his face in Taehyung’s neck, Jungkook’s words muffled by the thick sweater he was wearing. “I really… I’m confused.” Jungkook pulled back a little so that he could look at Taehyung, rubbing at his eyes to get rid of tears that were threatening to fall. “I’m not… You seemed so sure about my feelings for him but… I’m not.”

“Jungkook.” Taehyung held Jungkook’s face in his hands, squishing the boy’s cheeks between his palms. “I’ve known you since we were kids in elementary school. I was there with you when you first fell in love with a boy before you realized that it wasn’t something people consider ‘normal’. I remember how much you cried the day he told you boys couldn’t like boys. You cried so hard, Kook.” Jungkook closed his eyes against the flow of tears wetting Taehyung’s hands. Taehyung rubbed his cheeks with his thumbs with a soft smile. “Then again in middle school, when you were being bullied by those s who really thought they were hot . You ran into my house with the wildest look on your face, barged into my room and broke down. I think that was the first time you mentioned that you had anxiety… you just cried and cried but wouldn’t tell me why. Then you got into a fight with some guy who had played you into thinking he really had feelings for you. Jungkook, you’ve never been very good at showing your emotions but I’ve known you for so long and you’re not that difficult to read.”

“Tae… Jimin’s too nice I- I can’t.” Jungkook pushed his face further into Taehyung’s hands and pressed his hands against Taehyung’s.

“I won’t push you anymore and I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped any lines with how I’ve been persisting, but I just want you to see that there’s nothing wrong with falling for a guy. The heart wants what it wants and there’s really no reason for you to feel bad about following that.” Taehyung kissed Jungkook’s forehead gently and dropped his hands so that they were clasped around Jungkook’s and hanging between them. “And the world can go itself if it wants to think otherwise.”

i always say "expect an update soon" but then take m o n t h s to actually upload so you know what i'm very sorry but i can't keep up with a regular schedule so the next chapter will be up sometime in the next few weeks... probably. hope you enjoyed this (very short) soft taekook chapter :))