Chapter Text
Taeyang is fine (really, he is)
This isn’t his first rodeo, far from it, and the incident with the hero should be nothing more than a blip on his radar, a reminder to be more careful on their missions. Just another close call. It shouldn’t stick in his mind, aside from being motivation to practice more hand to hand. He goes to his day job and aloofly, jokingly flirts with Intak (Somehow he hasn’t scared him off yet) and then comes home and bothers Jongseob while he tinkers, and he mounts two more heists that go off without a hitch, and he should be fine.
But he’s really not. Because whenever he stops moving the only thing that fills his head is Guard Dog. How the hero had caged him in with a strong grip on his wrist and gentle fingers in his hair. The solid weight of his body above him, firm and masculine, tense with exertion. The softness in his tone as he told Taeyang to pull the trigger. The inescapable, singular thought of: What would’ve happened if I hadn't?
He’s a far better liar masked-up than in civilian mode, and Jongseob knows him better than he knows himself sometimes, so it’s not a huge surprise that the younger notices that he’s distracted. Luckily for him though, the version of events he’d relayed after the heist had been succinct, and Jongseob hadn’t been able to get his drone inside the building. With no hard evidence or specifics to pry into, he stops his direct line of questioning after only a few of Taeyang's deflections. But it doesn’t stop the scrutiny, doesn’t prevent him from staring at Taeyang like he’s trying to troubleshoot a bothersome invention. The attention wears on him, anxious energy building under his skin with little outlet.
It all reaches a tipping point a week and a half later.
Taeyang’s never been a cardio guy. He’ll train of course, because he has to to keep up and not die out in the field. But just because he needs to do it does not mean he has to particularly enjoy it. So it’s very out of character when he decides to go for an evening run. The restlessness within him has just become too uncomfortable to ignore. He needs to get out of the house, to let out some steam, to be somewhere he’s not Taeyang or Sunstrike or anyone important. Just a stranger going for an evening jog.
Jongseob regards him with suspicion as he laces his sneakers and tucks his pistol into the back holster hidden by his hoodie, but waves off the offer to join him. Probably for the best. Taeyang’s sure he’ll make for awful company in his current state.
He regrets his choices pretty much immediately. He should’ve stayed in and dragged Jongseob into some hand to hand training. Running sucks. But Taeyang is nothing if not a stubborn motherfucker, so he continues his aimless jog with a sense of gritted teeth pettiness. He will complete a proper run and he will feel better afterwards and he will get this stupid urge to throw himself at a particular annoying hero out of his system.
Of course, as stubborn as Taeyang is, he is also equal parts unlucky. So when a series of shots echo through the streets uncomfortably close to him he can’t even feel adequately surprised. Taeyang curses, slowing to a stop and taking stock of the situation. The sounds continue to ring out, scuffles and gunshots and some indistinct crackly roar that he can’t properly place, only a few streets to the left of him. He’s got enough distance that he could, probably should retreat right now. But the conflict is far too close to their home for his comfort, and the desire to scope out exactly what the fuck is happening on their turf wins out over his self preservation. The roofs here are high, but with plenty of fire escapes and catwalks for access, so he pulls himself off the streets upwards in search of a good vantage point. He doesn’t have to go far to find one.
A full on brawl has erupted out from a nearby warehouse. Several Protectorate heroes are engaging with what looks to be a small gang operation. Sage, their telekinetic Shaker, is in the midst of bludgeoning some unlucky gangster with a portion of the warehouses torn off door. Their Mover Pioneer blinks in and out of sight, dropping foes with a beautiful tinkertech taser that Jongseob has been coveting since they arrived in this city. But Taeyang's focus is immediately drawn to Guard Dog, squaring off with a slight young woman in a blackened-ash smudge of a mask and matching dress. Taeyang watches as the female cape circles, waiting for an opening as Guard Dog puts down some charging mooks with all the effort one would take to squash a bug. The heroes certainly seem to have the upper hand, so Taeyang should be fine to leave and alert Jongseob to monitor the situation from home.
He doesn’t leave. Instead, he pulls out the spare domino mask he keeps in the little pouch next to his holster, sweeps his hood up to cover his hair, and draws his gun. With some level of anonymity gained, he turns his attention back to the brawl just in time for it all to go wrong.
Sage’s been forced deeper back into the warehouse and Pioneer’s presumably teleported somewhere out of sight, so Guard Dog is alone in the square when the female Cape draws her hand forward and hurls a ball of fire towards the hero. The flame is sickly green and sludgelike residue drips from her hands, splattering and then erupting up from the floor around her. Guard Dog dodges the first blast with relative ease but gets caught as the second one hits the ground next to him and then rapidly spreads. He stumbles as his suit ignites, and his opponent presses the attack, sending another splash of flame his way. In mere seconds Guard Dog is consumed, nothing more than a faint silhouette in the middle of the inferno.
Seconds after that he drops to the ground. And because he’s never heard it before, it takes Taeyang a second to recognise that the hero is screaming.
The female Cape cackles, an awful vicious sound as Guard Dog howls in agonizing harmony, writhing helplessly on the ground and still alight. Time slows to a crawl. The other heroes will surely notice that this has gone beyond the pale of the Game, they’ll be coming this way soon to put an end to it. But every second that passes, Guard Dog spends in what must be absolute torment. Taeyang’s heart lurches into his throat.
His first shot blows out her right kneecap. The second takes the other. The third and fourth punch holes right through both of her palms. The fifth breaks her dominant wrist for good measure. The flame sputters out as she drops like a marionette with its strings cut, and Taeyang rolls off the roof in perfect sync. The drop is easy enough, clanging down a storey onto a fire escape and then down to the ground, rolling out of the fall into a sprint over to Guard Dog. The temptation rises to put a bullet through the enemy Capes head as he passes her weakly twitching form. He refrains. Barely.
Guard Dog is blackened and charred and whimpering when Taeyang drops to his knees beside him. He almost reaches out, but stops himself when he can’t find an unblemished spot. He’d never forgive himself if he caused anymore pain. Some patches are already starting to heal, sores closing over with fresh skin, but the process is slow and obviously agonizing.
“Hey, it’s okay. She’s gone, so you just need to heal it all up now.” Taeyang soothes. Guard Dog thrashes his head, muscles bulging out in his ruined neck as he’s wracked with another wave of pain.
“You’ve got this Puppy, c’mon. You can do it” He perseveres, trying not to let any panic show in his voice. The injuries are stomach-turningly bad, even by his standards. Guard Dog sucks in a lurching breath, and then a wave of regeneration washes over him. Skin that moments before was pockmarked and seeping turns whole and smooth. Guard Dog stills, panting on the ground. His half-face mask is still intact, and Taeyang’s close enough to make out the shape of his wide eyes through the glass visor portion. His gaze is fixed upon Taeyang.
“Sunstrike” He croaks out, voice rough. It’s a statement, not a question, and Taeyang finds anxious pleasure in the recognition even without his gear. He feels somewhat underdressed, in his workout sweats and baggy hoodie.
Before he can answer there's a crackle in the space behind him, a displacement of air and he whirls around, gun coming up to meet Pioneer as the hero strikes.
“Wait, stop!” Guard Dog exclaims, lurching upwards, and Taeyang aborts his shot in favour of rolling away from the taser-strike. “Pioneer, hold fire!” Guard Dog throws out a hand, and his teammate freezes, weapon still pointed in Taeyang's direction. Taeyang for his part refrains from pulling the trigger, but his gun doesn’t waver, ready if Pioneer makes a move.
“He’s a villain, G!” The teleporter exclaims, high pitched and flustered. One of the gangsters must’ve gotten a hit in, as the hero is bleeding sluggishly from a cut on his arm, red seeping through his brightly coloured armor. Guard Dog fully sits up, wincing, and Taeyang has to fight back the urge to (gently) shove him back down so he doesnt hurt himself more.
“He saved me, took her out. Just, leave him.” Guard Dog argues. The teleporter clearly isn't convinced.
“We can’t just let him go!”
“Why not?” Guard Dog rebuts, strength and vigor returning with every breath. The two heroes stare each other down, and if Taeyang weren’t in real danger of being thrown into jail he’d laugh at how comical it is watching heroes effectively fight over him. Pioneer gives in first, throwing his head back in clear exasperation and groaning.
“You get to deal with the paperwork.”
“Deal” Guard Dog agrees easily. Pioneer shakes his head and slowly lowers the taser. Against his better judgment, Taeyang plays along and lowers his gun. He doesn’t holster it, not yet, but if they’re just going to let him walk away scot free he can deal with playing nice.
“Thank you” he murmurs, ostensibly to both of the heroes, but mainly Guard Dog. The hero snorts.
“I should be thanking you.”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re all so thankful and happy for each other. Now can you please go before our backup arrives? I can only cover for so long here” Pioneer interrupts, everything in his manner screaming I already regret this .
He’s pushed his luck for long enough, so Taeyang doesn’t waste time beating a retreat. But he allows himself one last look back at the hero before he exits the square. Risky, under Pioneers watchful and judging eyes, but he’s rewarded by finding Guard Dog already staring at him. The hero shoots him a small, private smile, uncharacteristically shy and Taeyang's heart skips a beat. For once the smile he returns is visible, uncovered by his usual full-face mask. And then he’s gone, ducking through alleys till he’s far enough away to let the adrenaline finally crash, far enough to sink down against a secluded wall with his head in his hands and think to himself, what the fuck have I done?
Taeyang can’t brush this away anymore, not after intervening for the hero so publicly. So when he finally returns home he grits his teeth and sits Jongseob down and lays out the whole fucked up scenario.
“Is this why you didn’t want the bodycams, so I couldn’t watch you make out with him?” Is all Jongseob has to say after he’s done.
Taeyang throws a pillow at him. The force of it nearly knocks Jongseob clean out of their new (second-hand) armchair.
“Yah, okay! I’m sorry!” He exclaims as Taeyang grabs for another projectile, rubbing his reddened forehead. “I get the message, no jokes. Even if this… situation definitely calls for them”
Taeyang buries his face in the pillow instead of enacting more righteous violence, flopping backwards onto the couch and barely resisting the urge to scream into it.
“I’m going to walk into the fucking ocean. The fish will probably be nicer to me in my time of need” The sound of his despair is muffled by the pillow, but he’s sure Jongseob got the message from the dramatic sigh he gets in answer.
“If the fish were sensible they’d give you just as much shit for going and falling for a Protectorate Hero.” The distaste is palpable in Jongseob’s voice, but he hasn’t started yelling yet, or lecturing about how the Protectorate are just putting on a show and not actually using their powers to help the people that need it. It’s a better reception than Taeyang had anticipated, knowing what he does about the Tinkers previous run-ins with authority figures. Knowing the logical reasons behind his distaste doesn’t help how unhelpful that sentiment is in the moment.
Taeyang sits up, shame and distress rising within him and curdling in his stomach. The only means he has to expel it is to funnel it into anger.
“Hey, I haven’t fallen for him” He snaps.
The look he receives back is positively withering.
“What do you call this then?” Jongseob bats back, not backing down, not letting Taeyang off easy. Usually he admires that about Jongseob. They bring out the best in each other, have from the start, in how unflinching they are about facing each other's bullshit. But right now the challenge doesn’t inspire him to problem solve. All it does is drive him deeper into distress.
“Fuck you, I-” He starts, all the fire in the world behind him, ready to get on the attack, to get up, to get loud. But it dies in an instant the moment he catches how Jongseobs fists are clenching the fabric of the sofa, so tight his knuckles have gone white. The sobering realization that he doesn’t want to fight about this hits him like a freight train. Their entire fucking lives are about fighting, and the point of this whole thing, why they’re in this city in the first place, was to give Jongseob a better life, a better shot than Taeyang ever had. He’s all the Tinker has, and if he’s letting his own issues affect the other, then that means he’s failed.
The anger leaves him all once, and all that’s left in its place is a yawning pit in his chest.
“I’m sorry. This isn’t… this isn’t your mess to deal with” Taeyang mutters, trying to blink away the mist forming in his eyes.
Jongseob stops cold, eyes narrowing, looking at Taeyang like he’s lost his mind.
“Yes it is” He says, slowly, incredulous. “Don’t be dumb.”
“Hey” Taeyang protests weakly, and Jongseobs softens as well, leaning forward to shove at Taeyang's shoulder affectionately.
“I’m sorry too” He admits, nose wrinkling “I could’ve put that nicer”
Taeyang waves him off. There’s nothing to forgive here, not between them, not over this.
“What do I do, Seobie?”
Jongseob goes to shrug and then very obviously thinks better of it, opting instead to pause and really consider the question.
“Um.. I mean, you know I'm bad with the relationship stuff. But - augh, this is so gross! I can’t think of a better way to put it so i’m just gonna say it - do you wanna date him or just fuck him?”
Taeyang thinks maybe he pissed off a God somewhere in a previous life. There’s no explanation for this other than karmic retribution. This was actually the worst idea, trying to talk about feelings and lust and all of that with basically his little brother. But despite the desire to cringe away, Jongseobs question hits at exactly the core of the issue he’s facing. He needs to know what exactly he wants out of the situation, what he expects.
The trouble is he has no fucking clue.
He squirms, mashing the pillow up against his chest and really tries to think it through. Objectively, he doesn’t really know Guard Dog at all. Hell, he doesn’t even know the guy's real name. All he has to go off of is his Cape persona, and Taeyang knows that the amount of true self in one's alter ego can vary greatly person to person. So the thought of trying to date Guard Dog the Hero is ridiculous, unrealistic.
And yet. The chemistry he feels, the banter between them, the way their fights have sometimes felt more like a dance than a struggle, belies more than just simple lust for an attractive man. Taeyang has had a lot of practice being disciplined, at shoving his feelings aside for the sake of the mission. This kind of thing hasn’t stopped him before. But he just can’t seem to get Guard Dog out of his head, even out of costume. And he’s certainly never intervened for a Hero, put himself at risk for an enemy in the way he just did.
However, trying to explain all of that in a way that makes sense? He flounders, the words dancing right out of reach.
“Yes… both? I don’t know. It’s complicated.” He winces at how unsure even those words are. Jongseobs face does that little squirmy thing he does when he feels the need to frown but doesn’t want to show how annoyed he truly is. Taeyang is very familiar with that expression.
“Well, step one should be figuring that out. Preferably before the next time you have to fight him. We could take a break for a bit, maybe? Put off the next heist”
Taeyang is shaking his head before Jongseob is finished with the sentence. They’re so close to completing the armor suit he’s been working on, all they’re lacking is a few key components for the personal forcefield and the propulsion system. Stopping his work now when they’re on the brink of success feels like Tinker-abuse, and though he knows Jongseob would do it for him, he’d be twitchy and anxious to get it done the whole time.
“No, it’s okay. We should still do the heist” He sighs, wryly amused at how Jongseob doesn’t even try to hide his relief. “Hey, odds are I won’t even see Guard Dog there”
He really should’ve known better than to tempt fate.
The heist goes swimmingly, in and out of the private tech lab with minimal shots fired. But when Guard Dog intercepts him in his retreat from the scene, the hero gives chase without saying a word.
Usually Guard Dog is the one who holds up their banter, the one lobbing quips and taunts while Taeyang plays keepaway. Any other day it’d be impossible to get the hero to shut up. But today he is utterly silent as he pursues Taeyang and his stolen prize over a series of rooftops, relentless. He doesn’t respond when Taeyang taunts “Cat got your tongue, Puppy?’ or when he dislodges the ladder the hero was climbing with a few well placed shots to its rusty joins. The hero simply scrambles to catch himself, and then resumes the chase with only an agitated grunt.
He’s assumed they’d at least mention it, play the whole thing off as a joke. Or at the very least they’d ignore it, pretend like everything is business as usual, like the fight in the square never even happened. Not… whatever this is.
It’s freaking him the fuck out.
His taunts become more biting, his movements more frantic as the gap between them closes. Taeyang is tiring quick, far quicker than Guard Dog, and with each rooftop they leap across he wastes his energy for the fight that approaches, inevitable now.
Taeyang hauls himself over the lip of the next building, and he knows that this is where it ends. Guard Dog is hot on his heels, and his limbs are burning with exertion, breath wheezing in his chest. He’s been avoiding shooting directly at Guard Dog, but that is a luxury he no longer can take, not if he doesn’t want to leave here in cuffs (or worse, on a stretcher). He sprints across the rooftop and skids into a turn, rifle swinging up towards the hero, finger hot on the trigger even as his heart protests.
A siren splits the air. Taeyang knows its meaning instantly, has heard it a hundred times before, and his stomach drops.
Endbringer Attack Elsewhere.
Somewhere else, some poor other city, is currently under siege by a monster that defies imagining.
Across the roof Guard Dog also freezes in place, hand going up to his earpiece. The Truce is in effect now, so Taeyang carefully takes his finger off the trigger, holsters his rifle and turns his back on the hero. They'd both be foolish to attack now, to break one of the most sacred rules of Capedom, one that is enforced severely. Whilst the Endbringers are in the field no previous grudges matter, the division between hero and villain rendered moot. They’re all allies now, if only until the larger threat is beaten back.
“You hear it?” Jongseob sounds out, crystal clear over their upgraded comms. If Taeyang didn’t know him as well as he does, he might’ve missed the well-disguised quiver of fear in his voice.
“Yep. Which one and where?” He murmurs back. They’ve talked about it before, contingency plans for if an attack happens where they are or elsewhere. If it’s close enough to affect them, they’ve reluctantly agreed they’ll go assist.
“Portugal… It’s Leviathan. Early warning system got pinged, so it’s not there yet. I’ll keep an eye out, you good to get home?”
“Yeah, see you soon”
The comm line crackles and then goes dead. Taeyang exhales, relieved and yet somewhat guilty at feeling glad it’s not closer. He’d stand the most chance of surviving against Leviathan out of the three Endbringers should he try to aid in the battle, but the death toll statistic is still 25% of Capes involved on a good day. No matter how you slice it, it’s bad odds.
Across the roof, Guard Dog drops his hand from his earpiece, finished with his own briefing. He clears his throat, before calling out to Taeyang for the first time tonight.
“My ride’ll be here in a couple minutes. Need a lift?”
It hits Taeyang all at once. Of course. Guard Dog’s going to fight it. He’s a Protectorate Hero, he’s probably obligated to go. Panic seizes in his chest, and he’s bridging the gap between them before he can properly think it through. Guard Dog doesn’t back away. Doesn’t even flinch as Taeyang gets up in his space and grasps his wrist.
“Tell me you’re just going there for Search and Rescue” He demands, vaguely aware that from the outside he’s behaving like an absolute lunatic . Guard Dog doesn’t throw the hand off like he probably should. Instead, he folds his own hand over it, gripping so tight it hurts. His smile, at least what Taeyang can see below the cutoff of his mask, is more of a grimace doing a bad job disguising itself as comfort.
“You know I'm not one for the backline.” He jokes humourlessly. Taeyang's chest tightens. Yes, Guard Dog has insane healing abilities, but that doesn’t mean he’s invincible. Taeyang still can’t get the image out of his head, of the hero writhing and burnt in that square all those weeks ago. Now they’re replaced by worse.
Leviathan is a hydrokinetic on a massive scale. As part of its attack it causes tidal waves, battering and flooding and even sinking entire cities. Nevermind that the beast itself is fast , capable of slicing a Cape in half in a blink despite being near thirty feet tall. Everyones seen the videos that the Protectorate tries to bury, the blurry CCTV footage of those unlucky enough to come face to face with the Monster of the Deep. Can Guard Dog drown? Sure he can heal a gunshot wound, but could he survive being bisected, being crushed to bits? Taeyang shakes his head, as though that’ll shake loose the awful thoughts that invade him.
“Are you coming too?” Guard Dog asks, trying very hard to sound casual and not quite hitting it.
Taeyang considers it. For a brief second, he really does. But he can’t do that to Jongseob, can’t risk abandoning him. Long ago, back before they were a package deal, he’d told Taeyang about his life before his powers. Confided about how his mother had just up and left one day when he was in high school and how he’d had to figure out how to survive all on his own, to grapple with being utterly alone far too young. Right then and there he’d sworn to never leave the younger cape behind and he can’t break that promise now, not even for Guard Dog.
“No” His voice cracks on the word. Guard Dog huffs out a sigh, grip loosening just a touch. Taeyang misses the pressure immediately.
“Good, that’s good” The genuine relief in his voice bowls Taeyang over. He sounds like a weight has been lifted off of him, knowing that Taeyang won’t be there. Taeyang laughs, bitter and on the edge of hysterical, feeling those tiny words tearing him up inside. Does Guard Dog know what that means, what that's doing to him, how insane that makes Taeyang feel?
“You’re being unfair, Puppy. Thought that was my job” He tries to snarl but it comes out far too desperate to hide.
“Sorry” Guard Dog replies, not sincere at all. “I’ll make it up to you”
And then his hand is gone from Taeyangs, moving very slowly up towards his face, towards the bottom lip of his mask. He pauses there, tip of his thumb hooked just under it, barely grazing his throat. It feels hot as a brand against his skin.
“Okay?” Guard Dog whispers, giving him an out. One that if he were sensible, he’d take. He should slap the hero’s hand away and take a step back and forget all about how his pulse is racing in anticipation. But Taeyang isn’t sensible, at least not when it comes to this fool of a hero. He knows in an instant that he would stand here and let Guard Dog unmask him without lifting a finger. So he nods, not trusting his voice.
But the hero doesn’t fully take it off. Ever the gentleman, he just pulls the mask up enough to expose Taeyang's face to the tip of his nose, leaving the rest still covered. He’d seen more of Taeyang's face in the flimsy domino mask. Shivers wrack his body, too overwhelmed to do much of anything except cling to Guard Dogs other wrist. He’s suddenly very glad that his faceplate is fully Tinkertech glass, otherwise he’d be blind right now, and he wants to burn this image directly into his eyelids. Guard Dog pauses again, still so fucking gentle and Taeyang can’t handle that right now. They don’t have the luxury of time. He surges forward, all uncontained energy and want and no finesse. Their masks clack together, rattling his skull, and his hands come up to grab the sides of the hero's face and pull him in, and then finally their lips connect.
The kiss is a messy, frantic thing, too much tongue and teeth. Guard Dog whines into his mouth, crushing Taeyang into him with one arm around his waist and the other on the scruff of his neck, and Taeyang bites his lip in response, sinking teeth so deep he tastes iron. His lips are chapped and the angle is weird because of the masks and he’s about 3 seconds away from crying.
It’s perfect.
Taeyang has kissed plenty of people in his life. He’s far from an amatuer, though few of his previous experiences were anything to write home about. This kiss makes him feel like a blushing virgin all over again. Guard Dog is firm and forceful in all the right ways, and Taeyang gives back as good as he gets. His whole body is lit on fire with want, so potent that it's overwhelming. The undercurrent of panic only heightens it. With every second more that goes by, a singular thought coalesces.
This could be the first, and the last time they ever kiss.
It should make Taeyang pull away. He should be guarded and strong and professional like always. Instead he hauls Guard Dog in closer and snarls into his mouth
“No one kills you but me”
Guard Dog laughs breathlessly, lips still connected, still stretching this moment out as long as they possibly can. He gets Taeyang's meaning, even though the words are clumsy and crude, couched in the main language they’ve spoken together thus far, that of violence.
“I’ll come back”
It’s not comforting. Not nearly enough. But it’s the best he’ll get, so Taeyang just hauls him back in and does away with words.
When Guard Dog finally pulls away, an indeterminable time later, it’s with a whispered apology. He keeps apologizing like a prayer as Taeyang chases his lips, like he needs to atone. Perhaps he does, for the way Taeyang's heart breaks in two as the hero leans out of reach. He’s not had nearly enough time. But the world, uncaring as always, does not stop and wait for them.
“I’m sorry. I have to.” Guard Dogs' voice is wrecked, and his grip on Taeyang's shoulder is tight to the point of pain. He seems torn between pushing him away and keeping him right where he is. Taeyang knows which one he’d prefer, and he is painfully aware that’s the way he can’t have.
In a herculean labor he restrains himself. Takes a small step back out of Guard Dogs grip, which feels like a yawning gulf, and fixes his mask. The weight of it is a comforting presence, helps ground him in the fact that he can’t be Taeyang right now. He’s Sunstrike, and no matter how robust the Endbringer Truce is, it’s still a bad idea to be seen together like this. Guard Dog’s hands twitch at his sides. He’s visibly affected, flushed and shaking, and Taeyang would be lying if he said it wasn’t viscerally satisfying to see.
He doesn’t trust his voice, but he has to say something , can’t just leave them standing on this precipice with the uncertainty looming over them like a pyroclastic ash-cloud.
“I….” He starts, still unsure of where his own sentence is going, doing his best to swallow around the ball of fear in his throat. But Guard Dog shakes his head, taking another step back almost to the edge of the roof. He’s staring at Taeyang's mask like he’ll die if he looks away.
“No one else” Guard Dog promises in a voice that’s as rough as Taeyang feels.
He nods, short and sharp. Takes a deep breath, takes Guard Dog in, lets himself feel every emotion battering him like a lighthouse in a storm.
And then Taeyang turns away.
This time he doesn’t look back.