Over the following days, their interactions chilled down considerably, with neither of the pushing, pulling or blocking in any way. Taehyung did get all the seals of approval needed and they started alternating cooking duties between weeks.

It was Taehyung’s week to cook when Jungkook came to his door one evening and, after Taehyung had opened it, Jungkook thought for a second that he had seen a zombie.

J: “What happened? You better not be cheating on me with a succubus.”

T: “A succubus comes by when you sleep as far as I know. I didn’t sleep… At all…” Taehyung informed as they both stepped inside and headed towards the kitchen where the food was already prepared.

J: “Work?”

T: “And plenty of it… Here.” Taehyung said, handing Jungkook a free pass for an upcoming, week-long summit on nutrition that was going to be held in another city.

J: “How come you have something like this?”

T: “I made it.”

J: “Huh? Oh, you mean the design?”

Taehyung let out a long yawn before he continued and skipped over Jungkook’s question.

T: “I thought it’d be the kind of event you’d be interested in going to. Are you?”

J: “Well, yeah. I knew about this and I would have liked to go, since the speakers are people I could learn a lot from, but I can’t leave Miri alone for a week.”

T: “She wouldn’t be alone, she’d be with me.”

J: “I couldn’t ask you to take care of her for a full week…”

T: “Are you kidding me? This is practically her second home now. At this point it’s almost insulting for you to have such concerns.”

J: “Ah, okay then… Thanks.”

T: “Sure.”

J: “So how did you end up working for the organizers of this?”

T: “Somebody contacted me saying they needed a new website and I agreed thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to have another web-design project in my portfolio. Plus I thought you’d like a free pass to something like this and I knew I could score at least one.”

J: “I’m probably gonna sound sarcastic while saying this, but… I’m touched.”

T: “I can get one or two more so, if you wanna go with somebody, just let me know over the next few days.”

J: “You wouldn’t mind me going with somebody?”

T: “Why would I?”

J: “Uhm, no, never mind…”

T: “Ah, I’m not as prone to jealousy and possessiveness as you are. Though I was kinda glad you showed such reactions in the beginning.” Taehyung said casually, making Jungkook stiffen up at the thought that Taehyung had been aware of that since early on. “Besides, if you do get together with somebody else, you’re not worth me getting jealous over. And if you don’t, there was no use in me getting jealous in the first place. So there’s that.”

J: “I see…”

What Jungkook also saw was that Taehyung was prone to being talkative, open and even more blunt than usual when he was sleep-deprived and Jungkook made a mental note to think of a way to take advantage of that later. Right now his mind was too preoccupied with the fact that they were casually talking as if they were an official couple, which they both knew they weren’t, not yet at least, and the fact that Taehyung casually showed Jungkook his kind and caring side like it was the most normal thing for them in the world. Jungkook had to stop forgetting that Taehyung had several sides to him and they would always pop up when you least expected them. However, it would be a shame to not take advantage at all of the side Taehyung was currently showing, so Jungkook asked:

J: “Will you miss me while I’m away?”

T: “Maybe… I’m curious about that myself.”

J: “I see…”

And this time Jungkook really did get where Taehyung was coming from, since he was also curious how a sudden absence from each other’s lives would make him feel, given that they had interacted nearly on a daily basis for around a year now.

J: “So you worked on the website all night?”

T: “No. I did the website a long time ago. However, I ended up doing a bunch of other stuff as well, like roll-ups, brochures, press kits, gift bags, digital banners and even freaking feedback forms… I really needed to finish with this today since I’ve got other things lined up.”

J: “Why did you end up doing so much more than you initially agreed to?”

T: “…”

J: “Tell me. I really wanna know how they convinced you.”

T: “They showed me what their previous designer did and I got pissed.”

J: “Pff! Seriously?”

T: “This is no laughing matter, Jungkook. I saw blue logos on a mint green background, copy aligned to the right and three fonts in one layout. Three ing fonts! In one layout! Just thinking about it is making my stomach too upset to keep eating.”

Jungkook had never seen Taehyung so close to punching a wall and, since the anger wasn’t directed at him, Jungkook couldn’t help laughing to the point of tears. After he caught his breath again, he put a hand on Taehyung’s shoulder and jokingly said:

J: “Now you know how I feel when you talk about eating pizza after midnight.”

Taehyung’s eyes shot back to Jungkook and, with a very somber expression, he said:

T: “I’ll never bring that up in front of you again.”

And that got Jungkook laughing hard again, even though he knew Taehyung was serious and would stick to what he said.

A few days later, Jungkook came to their workout session in a t-shirt featuring five very different fonts and displayed it subtly while acting as if he had no clue what was happening. Still, he couldn’t help occasionally breaking out into a laughing fit since every time he looked at Taehyung he saw him glaring like he imagining ripping Jungkook’s t-shirt off of him and not in an way.

At another workout session after that, Taehyung came in a t-shirt that said “Pizza is life!”, but that attempt at annoying Jungkook backfired greatly since Jungkook could hardly keep a straight face, randomly starting to laugh over how ironic it was to work out in that kind of outfit.

J: “I thought you were never gonna bring this up in front of me again.”

T: “It’s not advertising its consumption after midnight.”

J: “It’s not exactly advertising a superior intellect either.”

T: “Shut it. My options of annoying you are pretty limited.”

J: “They’re not. You just don’t really wanna do most of them. And I want you to know that I’ve noticed and I’m proud of you. Good boy, Taehyung!” Jungkook said smiling and patting Taehyung’s back.

T: “Like I said – Shut it.” Taehyung replied and ran up ahead.

One of the things Jungkook gradually learned about Taehyung was that his integrity was at a level higher than average. Since Taehyung agreed to working out under Jungkook’s guidance, he didn’t complain about it or try skipping out on it without a very good reason. Since Jungkook had started putting in the effort to cook and mend Taehyung’s eating habits, he followed Jungkook’s advice and almost completely stopped eating other things. Also, starting from the night they used the bong, Taehyung had begun smoking less and less. He still did, Jungkook still smelling it on him, but he gradually reduced the amount of cigarette breaks he took while Jungkook was also around till he stopped taking them altogether during such times.

This was one reason why Jungkook didn’t give up on things related to Taehyung, because he could see the results and feel the small victories. It proved that sticking to it wasn’t senseless and his efforts weren’t in vain.

Not completely unrelated was the fact that Taehyung didn’t limit taking care of Miri to just letting her stay in his apartment for a few hours each day. He treated her like she was his own, taking her to the vet whenever necessary, buying her treats and toys and even giving her baths, although that was always a formidable battle. And Jungkook couldn’t help melting a bit inside whenever Taehyung showed his affection for Miri, but he did his best to not jump Taehyung and kiss him into a coma at such times.

Besides all of this, no matter how much of a jerk Taehyung might seem or actually be at times, he had always been fairly upfront with Jungkook about what he was doing and why, so there was no refuting the fact that Jungkook was occasionally going through hardships solely because of his own will to strive for something more.

So Jungkook was very much looking forward to the summit, both for the summit in itself and to see if a change in his environment and daily routine would change his perspective on things related to Taehyung.

Taehyung had gotten him another free pass, although Jungkook didn’t bring up wanting to go with someone at all, so Jungkook asked a colleague who he got along well with.

J: “Thanks. But you really don’t have to do me such favors.” Jungkook told Taehyung at the time.

T: “It couldn’t be called a favor if I were obliged in any way to do it.”

J: “Smartass…”

Then Jungkook thought about something that he wanted to bring up.

J: “Hey, Taehyung. I… already kinda already know the answer to this but… We’re not gonna keep in contact while I’m at the summit, are we?”

T: “If you want, I can send you an update each evening with a picture and a short text about Miri’s day and you can text me if you suddenly get worried about her or something.”

J: “Yes, I’d like that. Please do. Still… it’s only going to be about Miri, right?”

T: “Right.”

J: “I see.” Jungkook said, trying to not look too disappointed, despite already understanding and expecting this kind of answer.

T: “Since you already predicted the answer, you probably also thought about why I’d answer like that.”

J: “I did. And I agree. It’s just… I’m kinda starting to dread it…”

Despite telling himself to not do it, Taehyung got up and went to hug Jungkook, the latter hugging back lightly at first, then involuntarily tensing up and tightening his arms around Taehyung.

J: “Can I…”

T: “No. Don’t say it.”

J: “Can I sleep here tonight? I won’t do anything out of the ordinary.”

T: “Damn it…”

J: “So no?”

T: “Yes… Yes, you can sleep here tonight.”

A pure smile spread across Jungkook’s face before he buried it into the crook of Taehyung’s neck as he embraced him with a bit more force. He was happy that Taehyung also didn’t seem at all indifferent towards their upcoming separation.

As promised, nothing out of the ordinary happened. But they had been more tensed than usual, so before they went to bed, Jungkook suddenly clapped and said:

J: “Alright. Let’s not act like I’m going off somewhere to die. We’re being a bit too dramatic.”

T: “Right… By the way, what are you gonna get there with?”

J: “Huh? Oh, since it’s several hundred kilometers away, I’ll be going by plane. It’s faster.”

T: “…”

J: “What?”

T: “Nothing.”

Well this was unexpected and out of the ordinary.

J: “You know… maybe a short text message about me arriving at the event location wouldn’t hurt our original plan that much…”

T: “…”

J: “I mean… I could write such a message to my dad for example and send it to you by accident.”

Taehyung let out a short laugh and looked away and Jungkook already knew he was going to sweat all over his phone because of two or three words.

On the eve of Jungkook’s departure, they agreed that Miri would remain there, along with all the stuff she might need and Jungkook’s spare key, and they were having dinner together when Jungkook asked:

J: “While I’m not here, will you stick to the eating and exercising routine?”

T: “No.”

J: “Well, it’s your call, but I’d like you to stick to it.”

T: “I just said that I won’t.”

J: “Okay.”

But Taehyung managed to convince neither of them that he wouldn’t stick to it.

Before he went home, Jungkook took his time to say a long goodbye to Miri and give Taehyung instructions he really didn’t need to hear, especially twice.

J: “Well, I’ll be going.”

T: “Make the most of it.”

J: “Will do. So, uhm, bye, Taehyung.”

T: “Bye.”

Jungkook left, Taehyung closed the door and both of them felt their stomach getting upset.

At around 3 a.m., Taehyung woke up to incessant doorbell ringing, so he went to open the door and, through his blurry from sleep vision, he saw Jungkook and his trolley.

J: “Hey.”

T: “Hey.”

J: “I can’t leave like this.”

T: “Huh?”

Jungkook kissed Taehyung then backed away.

J: “Much better. I’m off. Bye, Taehyung. I’ll be thinking of you if they mention lemons.”

Jungkook left and Taehyung was glad he was drowsy because, otherwise, he might have pulled him back.

As expected, Jungkook sweated over a message containing only “I’m here. The roll-ups look good.”, telling himself to not expect Taehyung to reply, which he didn’t, but still having a hard time following his own command.

Over the week-long summit, Jungkook had such a hard time not having Taehyung around yet being almost constantly surrounded by things he designed that he repeatedly took out the business card he always kept in his wallet and told himself that it was more special even if it was simpler. Other than that, he didn’t behave strangely, but the air around him would change so much at times that the colleague he came with eventually asked him why he seemed so restless, to which Jungkook replied:

J: “I’ve never had an unhealthy vice and I didn’t really get addiction, but now I really understand what it’s like for smokers when they quit smoking.”

He was then asked what he was quitting and Jungkook had a reaction as if the most taboo thing had been mentioned.

J: “I’m not quitting. No way! Not after I’ve come this far.”

The subject was dropped and Jungkook didn’t have any other episodes of abnormality, but whenever he wasn’t listening to the speakers, checking out stands or meeting new people, he felt like an anchor that had been disconnected from its ship and he had to clench his fists inside of his pockets to keep from calling Taehyung.

However, there was a side of him that was very much enjoying this anguish because it felt like that side was watching the other side fully acknowledge how much he wanted Taehyung in his life and realize that the stakes were so high in this game of theirs because he had become fully invested. And accepting that there was no turning back from this, even if at times he might want to, served to calm him down a fair amount.

On the day Jungkook was due to return, Miri suddenly bolted to the front door and Taehyung had time to mentally prepare himself until the doorbell rang. As soon as he opened the door, Miri slipped out and he could hear Jungkook excitedly calling:

J: “Miri! Oh my God, I missed you much! Were you a good girl? You were, weren’t you? I heard you were. Who’s my awesome girl? Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”

Although Jungkook’s excitement in seeing Miri again was genuine, he purposefully avoided acknowledging Taehyung too much from the start, just to make him a little nervous and see what he would do. So, while Taehyung was shutting the door after Jungkook and Miri went inside, he briefly announced “I’m back.” without looking at him.

T: “Welcome back. How was it?”

J: “Great! I learned so much more than I thought I would. Thanks for this opportunity!” Jungkook said as he continued playing with Miri and not looking at Taehyung, his voice alone being enough to make his initial resolve shake.

T: “Cool.”

Jungkook looked up just as Taehyung was turning to head into the room and seeing him for the first time after a few long days, and seeing him turning away from Jungkook nonetheless, was enough to shatter Jungkook’s original plan completely.

J: “Taehyung!”

T: “Yeah?” Taehyung asked turning back towards Jungkook just to have him suddenly slam into him, almost knocking him over, and squeeze him into a bone-crunching hug.

A few seconds later, Taehyung hugged back as he asked:

T: “Did they mention lemons?”

J: “No. Not even once. Surprisingly… But I still thought about you a lot.”

Taehyung’s hold on Jungkook tightened considerably, enough for Jungkook to get an idea of how Taehyung had felt during this separation without him having to say anything.

J: “Did you stick to your routine?”

Taehyung didn’t answer this time either, so Jungkook concluded that he did.

J: “Did you miss me? Even a little?”

T: “Yes.”

J: “How much?”

T: “I’m not gonna answer that.”

J: “Well I missed you. So much!... I realized I’m as attached to you as I am to my bone marrow.”

Taehyung tightened his hold to the point that it was painful. Considering that his own heart was beating hard enough to possibly crack even Taehyung’s ribcage, Jungkook thought they were even. Neither of them could or wanted to let go or be let go of, so they stayed like that for nearly ten full minutes.

When they did let go, they made the mistake of only backing away slightly and looking each other in the eyes right afterwards. Both of their original plans went straight out the window as they grabbed the other’s mouth with their own and kissed as if they starved for that for over a decade.

Jungkook felt himself moved and slammed into the front door, but he still didn’t get distracted from pushing Taehyung’s tongue back into his mouth and he would have succeeded if a hand hadn’t suddenly grabbed him between the legs, making his breath hitch and letting Taehyung fully dominate his mouth and the rhythm he was allowed to breathe in. The way Taehyung rubbed Jungkook’s emerging was not in the least slow and gentle and it made Jungkook feel lightheaded. So, when Taehyung’s hand swiftly opened his pants, went into his underwear and rubbed against the sensitive skin of the tip directly, Jungkook’s legs gave in and he slid down to the floor.

Taehyung moved onto the neck and Jungkook couldn’t tell what he was feeling there – lips, tongue, teeth, saliva or just lava and brimstone. At that rate, he thought his neck might melt in a minute and he would lose it just like he was about to lose his mind as Taehyung handled his like a baker would handle dough, with no regards whatsoever for how strongly Jungkook was feeling everything, having been pretty much abstinent for quite a few months.

It didn’t take long for his body to suddenly tense up, his legs to twitch and his nails to dig into Taehyung’s back as shot up and covered Taehyung’s hand. Jungkook didn’t even get to open his eyes or catch his breath properly when a mouth came to move against his. But as he regained his senses, Jungkook also regained some control. He stopped the kiss, grabbed Taehyung’s hand by the wrist and brought it up between them, saying:

J: “ this.”

The look Taehyung had in his eyes was intense and not moving them from Jungkook’s own eyes as he slid his tongue across his fingers, linking the off of them, was way too for daylight. Jungkook then pinned Taehyung to the floor as he kissed him hard and brought both of Taehyung’s hands over his head, keeping them there by holding the wrists with only his left hand while the right one went straight for Taehyung’s , bringing it out and squeezing it hard enough to make Taehyung squirm before starting to rub it painfully slow.

J: “Tell me if you want it faster.” Jungkook teased before on the Adam’s apple that tantalizingly moved in front of him as Taehyung swallowed all the saliva Jungkook had left in his mouth.

T: “Go faster.”

J: “Say you want it faster.”

T: “I want it faster.”

J: “Say please.”

T: “Please.”

J: “Good boy.” Jungkook smirked before getting nearly half of Taehyung’s neck between his teeth and moving his hand back and forth over Taehyung’s with such speed and strength it made Taehyung bite his own lower lip as hard as Jungkook was biting him.

Taehyung released his lower lip only as he came, but no sounds or air came through his mouth until a few seconds later when the tension in his body faded, leaving behind a sweet numbness.

J: “You’re pretty quiet during this kinda thing.”

T: “So are you. But you never used to be.”

J: “Hm… Guess it’s from being overwhelmed.”

T: “Oh, really?”

J: “Tell me – Did you ever while listening to me have ?” Jungkook cheekily asked, still rubbing Taehyung’s , only slower, and bringing his own over it.

T: “No.”

J: “Boooo.” Jungkook said, acting like a kid on purpose and making Taehyung let out a short laugh.

T: “It was not in the least a turn on hearing you have with other people. However…”

J: “However…”

T: “Hearing you talk, moan and scream in your sleep cause of dreams was.”

Jungkook froze for a moment as Taehyung smirked and even winked at him, but then he smirked back and continued rubbing their members together.

J: “Wanna know who shared the kinkiness with me in those dreams?”

T: “Since you’re asking in this kinda context, I’m assuming it was me.”

J: “Don’t be a smartass at a time like this. Has no one thought you how to ?”

T: “Is this your way of offering practical courses?”

J: “Would you attend?”

T: “Maybe. Maybe not.”

J: “How about if I told you what was going on in those dreams?”

T: “You wanted me to call you a good boy.”

J: “What the… Was I freakin’ narrating in my sleep?”

T: “Oh… I got it right?”

J: “…”

T: “Got’cha, er.”

J: “Pff! Well, heads up – There’s some coming your way.”

Jungkook let go of Taehyung’s wrists to hold his chin as he dived down to on his lower lip. Taehyung moved his now free hands, one going into the hair on the back of Jungkook’s head and pulling on it while the other went down to join Jungkook’s hand in rubbing their connected members. The kissing and rubbing intensified until they had to stop and just breathe over each other’s mouths, especially when the occasional hip took one or both of them by surprise. They came almost at the same time and Jungkook resumed the kissing till Taehyung’s hand pulled his head up by the hair and Taehyung’s other hand, the one covered with two types of , came between their faces with its thumb stuck out towards Jungkook’s mouth.

T: “ this.”

Jungkook slowly on the thumb till it was clean, aside from his saliva, then Taehyung put it in his mouth and swiftly before smirking and saying:

T: “Good boy.”

With that, even if Taehyung had not stopped pulling on Jungkook’s hair, the latter would have slammed their mouths together with force, starting a fiery kissing session that didn’t look like it would die out anytime soon, until Miri came up and let them know she needed to go outside.

J: “I’ll go.”

T: “Change your t-shirt first. I’ll get you something else to wear.”

While Taehyung went into his room to find a larger blouse, Jungkook took off his t-shirt stained with various body fluids and remained holding it, not sure what to do with it. Taehyung came back and, after one look at Jungkook, turned his eyes away as he handed him a clean blouse.

J: “Taehyung… did you just get shy?”

T: “No.” Taehyung said unconvincingly, yanking the t-shirt from Jungkook’s hands and throwing it into the basket of dirty clothes. “I just realized I’ll be washing your clothes again.”

J: “I can do the washing. In turn, can I…” Jungkook started as he got dressed in the blouse Taehyung had given him. “…sleep here tonight?”

T: “Maybe. Maybe not. Go take Miri out first.”

Taehyung kept Jungkook hanging, not answering his question until after midnight.

J: “So?”

T: “So?”

J: “Can I sleep here tonight?”

T: “No.”

Contrary to Taehyung’s expectation, Jungkook didn’t seem too affected by that. He just rolled his eyes as he turned to head towards the door. However, right when he was about to grab the door knob, his hand was suddenly yanked by the wrist and he was pulled back into Taehyung’s room where he was nearly thrown on the bed before Taehyung laid down next to him saying:

T: “Next time, if you wanna spend the night, try insisting a bit more.”

J: “Instead of pushing, sometimes it’s better to just back away a bit and see if you’re gonna be pulled.”

T: “Is that so?”

J: “Yeah. An ex-teacher taught me that.”

This time Jungkook didn’t need to back away for Taehyung to pull him closer and kiss him. They kissed until they both thought it would be best to go to sleep, but Jungkook still wanted an answer before that.

J: “Taehyung…”

T: “Hm?”

J: “How much did you miss me?”

Taehyung opened his eyes and stared at Jungkook with a serious expression for a few moments before he stretched his arm to get something from the nightstand and bring it in front of Jungkook’s face.

T: “This much.” Taehyung said, referring to the unused plane ticket in his hand.

J: “Oh, wow… That’s… Wow… Can I keep this?” Jungkook asked, trying to grab the piece of paper before Taehyung yanked it out of his reach.

T: “What do I get in return?”

J: “What would you like?”

T: “For you to make me an offer first of all.”

J: “How about… I do everything you tell me to do for one full hour starting from tomorrow onwards.”

T: “Reasonable enough... Here you go.”

J: “Thanks.” Jungkook said cheerfully, taking the paper, folding it and putting it into his back pocket. “And you’re not getting this blouse back by the way.”

T: “I knew that even before I started looking for it.”

J: “Good.”

Jungkook moved to kiss Taehyung again before wishing him goodnight and both of them falling asleep after slowly but firmly tangling their limbs around each other.