Chapter Text
»»————-epilogue————-««
It’s one year later, and Jeongguk’s place kind of becomes their place. Having the band, Taehyung isn’t comfortable nor ready to move to a new place, at least it’s what he claims, not officially, but his clothes and other things somehow find their way into Jeongguk’s apartment.
So maybe Taehyung spends more time there than home with his hyungs anyway, and Jeongguk thinks that’s just Taehyung not wanting to rush things and pressure him – that’s not the point.
The point is Taehyung has been sulking all day. Sulking Taehyung includes: pouty lips, furrowed eyebrows, long stares into the distance and lots of acting. Jeongguk doesn’t care – much –, the lightning is good and he takes some extra soft photos because Taehyung is wearing oversized sweaters and, yeah, fan meets could never provide you with that kind of material.
So Jeongguk watches, smiling, snapping pictures and chuckling when Taehyung does something too cute without even noticing, which earns him a glare.
“I’m sulking, Jeongguk. It means I’m mad,” as he speaks, his rosy lips juts out and he becomes too much endearing to Jeongguk’s weak heart. It’s amazing. “And it’s with you, Jeon Jeongguk. I am mad at you.”
Jeongguk chuckles again, nothing but love pouring out of his tongue. “I know, angel.”
“Don’t angel me, now, you horrible boyfriend.”
Jeongguk leaves the camera at the table, slowly walking to the couch where Taehyung is sitting under a huge and fluffy blanket.
“Am I, now?” He kneels down by Taehyung’s side, leaning into his lap.
“Yes,” Taehyung replies in a beat, looking away and furrowing his eyebrows.
Taehyung has a fucking stunning side profile, and Jeongguk sighs, nothing but enamored, watching the glow of his skin at the tip of his round and perfect nose, wanting to kiss the mole there.
The tour was huge, and very successful. Jeongguk took the best photographs of his life, and that is saying something, because he’s very proud of his work as a fansite. And that’s the thing, actually. He hasn’t been a fansite for a long time, now.
It’s not that he misses it, although he actually does, a little. Being a fansite was a big part of his life, but now he was actually working with what he loved. He couldn’t be happier.
However, there was something left for him to do.
“It’s just tomorrow, baby.”
“I know, what I don’t know is why! Because you won’t tell me!” Taehyung faces him again, and their noses almost touch, making him laugh and lean in, grazing their lips and drawing a sigh from Taehyung, who quickly turns away again. “You’re not kissing your way out of this.”
“It’s just a compromise… I promise I’ll be there to pick you up.”
Jeongguk nuzzles Taehyung’s jaw and earlobe, dropping kisses at his neck.
“It’s the first event you’re not attending, I want to know why!”
It’s hard not to laugh when Taehyung is acting spoiled and he knows it, but that doesn’t keep him from doing it. Jeongguk presses into his neck, arms circling his waist as he sinks into the blanket and Taehyung.
“It’s a surprise,” he’s telling too much already, smiling against Taehyung’s collarbones, face warm.
“Now you’re just trying to save your ass!”
Taehyung loves surprises, he’s the type to ask about it until the very last second, and that would definitely make him forget all about being “mad” with Jeongguk.
“Maybe,” Jeongguk drops one kiss, and nuzzles his neck. “But can you wait to find out? You can be mad at me later. Now I want to go to bed and cuddle you, you’re extra soft when you wear my sweaters.”
Taehyung huffs, but there’s a hand climbing up Jeongguk’s arm, contemplatively, threading his muscles under the thin fabric of Jeongguk’s long sleeve. His smile grows.
“You better make it worth it.”
“What?”
“ Everything, ” and then Taehyung admits it. “I’ll fucking miss you.”
Jeongguk does his best not to tease him, really wanting that cuddling session in bed as soon as he can get it, but he pulls away to face Taehyung with mirth in his eyes.
“You’ll miss me, really?”
Taehyung huffs, but there’s a smile on the corner of his lips.
“Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“Oh,” he pecks Taehyung’s lips once. “But it is, to me. I’ll miss you too.”
“Then why?” Taehyung whines, again, but this time Jeongguk quiets it with his lips, tongue quickly licking its way inside Taehyung’s mouth in a demanding, but still gentle, way.
And maybe carrying Taehyung to the bedroom while the elder kisses him with renewed energy wasn’t his initial plan, but he doesn’t complain either.
It’s a fansign, so Jeongguk isn’t really missing much. He’s not needed during fansign events, although he works at them without a problem, taking photos of the band and the fans. This time he has something more important to do, though.
The hardest part is not being seen, which is why he’s counting with their own staff’s help. He also talked this through with everyone else first, not wanting to do anything that could harm the band or Taehyung – and his contract as well, he really does like his job, not only with Moonchildren but every other group working under BigHit Entertainment, thank you.
They all agreed to it immediately, so there’s nothing to worry about. Mostly.
There’s no way to know how Taehyung will react, although, if Jeongguk looks around at his place, he thinks he can get a pretty good idea of how.
He watches Taehyung from his hidden place on the backstage the whole fansign, waiting for his turn – unfortunately, he has to be the last fan to go through the table, but watching Taehyung smile and interact with their fans puts Jeongguk at ease.
Not so long ago he was one of these fans, and he still remembers how that felt. He knows for a fact that every person that goes through Taehyung right now is feeling the same. Taehyung is an angel.
When Jeongguk’s turn arrives, Taehyung almost spots him at once, but there’s another fan in front of him and Taehyung focuses on them. Still, even though he goes smoothly through Namjoon and Hoseok, he already feels Taehyung’s eyes on him when it’s Yoongi’s turn.
There’s a smile hidden on his pressed lips and a question mark in the middle of his forehead, but Taehyung can’t avoid looking pleased. It’s like he wants to say a lot, but keeps it all for another time.
That’s perfect, actually, because for once Jeongguk gets to be the one to speak first. (Not that he could ever do that before, even if Taehyung had allowed him to. Not with the confidence he holds now.)
“Hyung, I have a fansite dedicated to you,” he starts strong, smiling wide and watching with pleasure as Taehyung slowly understands everything. Or what he thinks that everything might be. “It’s called Sunshine Tae, because you always brighten the days of so many people…”
Taehyung wets his lips and Jeongguk bites his.
“I’m honored…” Taehyung raises one eyebrow, expectantly.
“Jeongguk,” he provides, trying not to smirk. It’s not a surprise that Taehyung falls into the role so easily, but it still pleases him. “I’ve been taking photos of you for a long time, hyung, but I must stop now.”
Taehyung honestly furrows his eyebrows – that’s not even acting, Jeongguk would be willing to bet.
“Really? Why, Jeongguk-ah?”
“I have a boyfriend,” Jeongguk answers, batting his eyelashes and looking up sheepishly to Taehyung, who scoffs.
“Really now?”
Jeongguk nods, humming. “Yeah, and he’s like, really possessive.”
“Is he, now?”
“Mhm,” Jeongguk nods too many times, smiling later. “He’s so jealous of me he officially made the company he works for hire me to photograph him only. He’s actually mad at me right now because I couldn’t accompany him today.”
Taehyung seems baffled, his cheeks coloring a soft pink and making him even more endearing.
“Well, maybe he was actually thinking about your future as a photographer, and not on his possessive feelings towards you.” Taehyung coughs, clearly trying to usher his embarrassment away. “Although, I’d get it, you’re a great photographer, Jeongguk-ah. I’d want you all to myself too.”
Taehyung is smirking now and, god, Jeongguk wants to kiss it off his plump and delicious lips, but he holds tightly onto their roleplay. It helps so much that they’ve done this since day one, always playfully acting with each other naturally.
“Well, I wouldn"t complain, hyung, but I love him too much. However, since this is our last time meeting like this…” He takes his bag and opens it, grabbing a small package inside. “There’s a game I want to play with you.”
His smugness is gone for good when Jeongguk puts the pepero pack on the table, as innocent as ever. He knows Taehyung remembers this, being his boyfriend long enough to understand that Taehyung never treated him like a common fan, although he tried, sometimes.
“Jeong- uh, I…” He looks so flustered people could mistake it for lost, but Jeongguk knows better and it’s already worth it, seeing Taehyung like this at a fansign.
Jeongguk can’t avoid feeling smug, he’s probably the first person to ever manage that.
“This is how we do it, the first one to pull away loses,” Jeongguk proceeds, watching as Taehyung gulps down. “No eyes closed.”
Since he’s the last fan, all the other members are watching their interaction closely, but Jeongguk is focused on only one person.
“Okay.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
So he opens the package, and carefully draws one chocolate stick.
Jeongguk is only partially aware of all the eyes on the back of his head when Taehyung leans in, pepero sustained in between their lips by his fingers on a V sign.
It’s already close enough, too much for the role they’re playing now, and Taehyung was always the one to tease. He was always the one to take that further step, the one to press in, lean closer to Jeongguk’s ear, suggest all the kinds of things, but now Jeongguk can see the blush on his high cheeks, even if the makeup and the lights are working in favor of Taehyung now.
He sees it and he smirks, parting his lips and carefully biting his end of the pepero stick, which happens to be the chocolate end. He keeps his eyes on Taehyung, and watches every battered breath and how he briefly bites down his lip with his eyes trained on Jeongguk’s lips.
C’mon, baby.
Taehyung bites his end of the pepero stick, cheeks reddening, and Jeongguk with taps his fingers three times on Taehyung’s hand, as a countdown. He considers biting it all at once, knowing fully well Taehyung could do that, but decides on the very opposite. He wants to take this slow, cherish it, even if Taehyung cheats and ends it too soon.
They seem to think the same, both taking small bites until Taehyung closes his eyes in embarrassment and Jeongguk taps his hand again, this time on the table, chuckling a little as Taehyung opens his eyes sheepishly.
Jeongguk boldly bites the pepero again, the air between them mingling, tickling their lips, and one more bite makes their lips graze.
Taehyung pulls away, red to the very tip of his ears. Everyone else bursts into laughter, the atmosphere loud in his ears, although Jeongguk is pretty sure he just wasn’t listening to anything else before Taehyung pulled away.
After that, Hoseok grabs the pepero still laughing and he challenges Namjoon, who challenges Yoongi, who challenges Namjoon back because he can’t believe he lost against Namjoon, and so they finish the package, distracting everyone else as part of the plan, and conveniently giving the pepero back to Taehyung when there’s nothing else left.
However, fooled by the weight of the package, Taehyung looks inside.
And chokes on his spit.
He looks around and lowers the “empty” package to his lap, hiding it against the table, but no one is looking their way anymore.
Jeongguk smirks, and speaks as low as he can, for Taehyung’s ears only.
“So my boyfriend won’t move in with me, but I thought, maybe my fiancée will.”
Taehyung lets out a shaky breath.
“So the thing inside it, it’s a ring.”
“Yes.”
“A compromise ring?”
“Yes.”
“And… a key?”
Jeongguk nods, softly, even though his heart should be on the moon by now, considering how fast it is beating. Taehyung seems to be out of breath, probably thinking this was only a ritual to end their relationship as idol and fan, but it’s also the beginning of something else.
“It’s just a key for my apartment, but…”
“But I already have a key to your apartment,” Taehyung whispers, and his eyes are gleaming.
“... That’s my spare key, and you stole it. This one is yours, and I’m giving it to you. If you want to.”
Taehyung presses his lips together, and Jeongguk knows he’s suppressing a smile. The big and boxy one. He himself isn’t suppressing anything, front teeth peeking out and sinking on his lower lip as he smiles shyly.
“What about your boyfriend, Jeongguk-ah?” Taehyung cocks his head to the left, changing his demeanor just as fast as Jeongguk knew he could.
This time, Jeongguk doesn’t hold onto his laugh.
“Is this a yes? Not that I’m anxious to find out, you know? Also, as I was going to say, we can look for another place, I’m just asking you to live together. I think you want it too.”
Now Taehyung sighs, shoulders relaxing as if the weight of the world just left him, and he mutters “Fuck yeah, I do.”