Chapter Text
Four months later.
"Kim Taehyung."
The Dean hardly gets his name out before there's an uproar of cheers and yells, and Taehyung's doesn't need to look to know who it is. As he steps on the stage and collects his diploma, he shakes hands with the Dean and turns and faces the photographer for his picture. He snorts when he sees his family standing on their feet in the crowd.
Junseo's up on Jeongguk's shoulders, holding up his sign that says Congradulations TaeTae!! Taehyung adores the spelling error. Jeongguk's got his fingers in his mouth, whistling obnoxiously loud, and shooting him a wink when he meets his gaze. Hoseok's standing on the chair, hands cupped around his mouth and yelling above the rest of the crowd. Jimin's bouncing up and down on the spot, plucking at his shirt that they're all wearing, the most unflattering picture of Taehyung printed wide across the chest, mid bite of his pizza. Seokjin stands there like a proud father, looking the most normal, but then he gives a loud shriek of Taehyung's name and Namjoon swats at his arm, before doing the exact same. Then there's Yoongi.
"That's my brother! Kim Taehyung! Remember the name! Remember the face!" And then they all turn and show off the awful picture on their shirts.
Taehyung's parents look mildly concerned, their mother smacking Yoongi's back, while his dad just settles such a fond look on Yoongi that it makes Taehyung's heart hurt. His brother and sisters are clapping loudly, yelling out that they love him and that's exactly how Taehyung feels. Loved. It stretches when he sees Jeongguk's security at the back clapping with their hands raised above their heads.
He gives a bow and brings the tassel on his graduation cap to the other side.
A group of roughneck gangsters cheering for him like embarrassing parents.
"Idiots," he breathes to himself as he takes his seat again, but the smile on his face is blinding.
-- -- --
"Here is he! Man of the hour!"
Taehyung grins as he opens the door to his apartment to find it crowded with the people he's come to tolerate over the months. He breaks out in a dance as he steps over the threshold, brandishing his newly acquired diploma in hand. He dances in through the crowd until Yoongi laughs and shoves at his shoulder, only to pull him back in with an arm around his neck.
"My little brother. Finally graduated," his brother coos, rubbing his knuckles over the top of his head until Taehyung pulls away with a grin. "Proud of you, bug," Yoongi adds, voice softer, pulling their heads in together to bump and he can only return the smile.
"Thanks, hyung. Couldn't have done it without you."
"Alright, alright, you're gonna make me cry," Hoseok interrupts, pulling them apart so he can squeeze Taehyung in a hug. "My little brother. Finally gradu-- Ow!" He laughs as Yoongi punches him in the shoulder, yanking him back by the collar.
"Hyungie!" Taehyung turns just in time to see Junseo running for him flowers clutched in his hand, and he pulls him up into his arms with a faint twinge in his ribs, but they're okay. They're healing. "Did you see my banner?"
Taehyung grins, eyes thin slits. "I did! Everyone was coming up to me and saying that you should be the one getting the diploma, not me," he says with a soft poke to Junseo's belly, which earns him a giggle. "Are these for me?" He asks, thumbing at one of the orange lilies.
"Yes! They're from me and daddy."
"Are they now?" Taehyung lifts his head to look over at Jeongguk who's waiting patiently for his own turn to congratulate him, that softness to his eyes. He gently takes them from Junseo when he presses them into his hand. "Thank you, bug. Hey, why don't you go and put some music on. Go show Jimin what a decent song sounds like."
"Hey!" Jimin calls from where he's bent over the docking station in the kitchen.
Junseo grins and Taehyung sets him down to watch him run at Jimin, who picks him right back up and sets him on the kitchen counter, before proceeding to educate him on quality music.
"Now that you've graduated, does that mean I can't distract you from work anymore?" Jeongguk asks, stepping closer to him and settling a hand on Taehyung's waist.
He chuckles, his arm lifting to drape over the back of his boyfriend's shoulders, flowers dangling in his hand. "I'm sure you'll still find a way. Can't leave you without attention for too long, can we?"
Jeongguk gently pinches his hip, but he's grinning as he pulls Taehyung in closer, chest to chest. He presses a kiss to his lips, soft but firm and it's what settled Taehyung's nerves earlier before the ceremony.
Taehyung eventually has to pull back when Ariana Grande starts playing, pulling an unapologetic smile as he starts swaying from side to side, setting the flowers down gently. "Junseo!" He calls, stepping back into the living room, his best friend soon joining him. He lifts him up onto the couch as they both dance together, singing to the only English parts they know. It coaxes more people onto the makeshift dance floor, and when Taehyung notices Jeongguk just standing off to the side, he points to him and nods when the elder shakes his head.
"Come on, boss man!" He yells over the music, getting a chorus of come on, boss' and dance, daddy, dance! It works, Jeongguk eventually relenting with a wave of his fingers as he takes Taehyung's outstretched hand and lets himself be tugged into the mix. "Club owner who doesn't want to dance? Unheard of."
Jeongguk snorts. "Who says I don't dance?"
Taehyung's eyebrow raises, as do the corner of his lips as Jeongguk starts dancing. He steps back and watches with an appreciative stare as his boyfriend moves with the music, and of course he can dance. He clearly had a moment where he forgot that Jeongguk can do all. He crouches down on one knee, resting his arm on his bent knee and chin on his hand as he stares at Jeongguk's hips, nodding along to the beat of Side To Side. He flicks invisible money from his palm, reaching out and flapping Jeongguk's shirt - thankfully no longer wearing that hideous tee they'd all been brandishing at the ceremony.
"Go, daddy!" Junseo cheers from where he's still bouncing on the couch.
Taehyung rises back to his feet arms first, raised above his head as slides up in front of the elder, sharing a grin as they dance together. It's nice. It's so nice. It's even nicer when Junseo joins in and it's the three of them dancing together, the kid either in his or his dad's arms.
His parents duck out pretty early in the night, having to drive home to get back to work the next day, and he hugs them tight before they go. He's so grateful to have had them there to see him get his diploma, see that he's doing okay, that he's found his people. Maybe not the best people, a little unconventional, but they'll do.
Junseo falls asleep on them pretty soon after, and Taehyung gives up his bed for the cutie and he's got enough of his clothes at his now that it's not a problem. The party continues, but now it's laced with the supply of alcohol that was brought. It's been well established by now that Junseo sleeps like a rock, but they don't dare get too loud, keeping the music low and their voices to the same volume. By the time it hits eleven, Taehyung and Jeongguk are probably the only ones even remotely sober. Yoongi's in the corner, with his "heart to heart" face on, and Jimin's sat beside him, frowning down at the inside of his cup. Namjoon long since passed out on the futon in the back room, and Hoseok and Seokjin have been rummaging through his cupboards in the kitchen for the last twenty minutes, quietly arguing.
"What a gang," Taehyung sighs, pulling Jeongguk in closer by the hands around his waist while the elder tightens his arms around his shoulders.
"They all have excellent resumes."
He hums, lazy smile tugging on his lips as he presses a kiss against Jeongguk's lips. Since that eventful night, him and Jeongguk have grown closer in a way Taehyung didn't think would ever happen, with the very obvious divide between them. But apparently, all they needed was to almost die to actually realise just how much they liked each other. Who would have thought.
Taehyung moved out after a week of bed rest back at the Jeon residence. Now everything was clear, he wanted to be back in his own space. Don't get him wrong, he adored being with Junseo and Jeongguk all the time, but it's not what Taehyung wanted. He didn't want it to just transition into living together permanently, he wants to be able to live alone, pay his own bills, get his own job and be able to unwind in his own space. He's still around the house more often than not, but it's nice to have an escape when it still gets to be too much for him. A place to bring Junseo when Shit happens. But luckily, since Joon, nothing has happened. There's still talks of a gang wanting it out with Jeongguk, but there's always gonna be a gang that wants it out with Jeongguk. The world has to keep spinning.
He's making more of an effort to know about Jeongguk's life, not to shut down the parts that he doesn't want to know. They're a part of Jeongguk, they're a part of Yoongi, so he should know. Even if they're not always pleasant. It's a part of their life and Taehyung can't nit pick what he wants.
"Got something for you," Jeongguk mumbles against his lips where they've been trading languid kisses. When Taehyung hums, the elder drops his arms. "Turn around."
He raises an eyebrow but complies, and a moment later, he feels cool metal against his neck, looking down to see the very same choker that Jeongguk gifted to him the night before their date. After the accident, Taehyung thought it was lost, removed in the madness of making sure he didn't die. So seeing it again makes something curl in his throat. Taehyung reaches up to touch it, the line of diamonds trailing down towards his collarbones, heart pounding behind his ears.
"You kept it," he breathes, turning back to Jeongguk once he's latched it on, lifting his gaze from his fingers to stare at his boyfriend.
Jeongguk smiles gently. "It's the first thing I got you. I wanted you to have it back."
Taehyung inhales deeply, playing with the chain for another minute before lifting his hand to Jeongguk's face and pulling him in for another kiss. "You know, I've been thinking about something a lot."
"Yeah? What's that, then?" Jeongguk asks, pulling him close again, their bodies automatically swaying with the music, a slow Frank Ocean song playing.
"I might love you," he shrugs.
Jeongguk pauses for a minute, before going back to swaying. "Might, huh?"
Taehyung purses his lips. "Yeah. Might."
"Well. I might love you too." And Taehyung can see the amusement behind Jeongguk's eyes, even as he copies his shrug. "You're alright."
He nods. "Cool."
"Cool."
"Cool." The pair look away from each other and over to Jimin who's suddenly standing there. "Hi."
"Hi," Taehyung returns through a laugh. "You good, Jim?"
Jimin nods. "I think I might throw up."
"Okay," Taehyung nods, snorting under his breath as he looks back at Jeongguk, pulling away to lead Jimin to the bathroom and he rubs at his back as he does indeed throw up. Even then, he doesn't think anything could knock off his smile right then.
-- -- --
"Taehyung."
He looks up from his book, lounging by the pool and soaking up the rays that'll no doubt have his skin tanning up like it does anytime the smallest bit of sun hits his skin. But the glare of the sun is being shadowed by Haejin, who's dressed in a full suit. How, he doesn't know.
"Hey," he greets, closing his book and sitting up. He's not really spoken to Haejin since then incident, the guy has clearly been avoiding him, and Taehyung doesn't know if it's from anger or shame, or what, but he let him do whatever he needed. He knows he was just as close to Joon as Jeongguk was. Good or bad, it can't be easy to lose a friend.
Haejin clears his throat, hand smoothing over his tie. "I wanted to say sorry. For being an asshole to you."
Taehyung rises his eyebrows, because that's definitely not what he expected. "It's all good. I know what you said came from a good place."
The elder gives a sharp nod, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm glad Guk has you. You do him good. It's been a long time since I've seen him smile the way he smiles around you."
He feels his heart jump, eyes going across the pool to see where Jeongguk is running through the sprinklers with his dogs and son, looking just like any other father. He doesn't look threatening, doesn't look like he runs the streets you walk on. He looks like a dad playing with his kid on a nice day. Taehyung understands why Haejin wanted to protect his group, protect Jeongguk. All he wants is the best for his son, that's all he ever wanted, right from the start.
"I'm lucky to have him," is Taehyung's most honest reply, no heat, no teasing jab. It's the whole hearted truth. He looks back to Haejin with a smile. "He's lucky to have you too, Haejin-ssi."
Haejin blinks. "I thought you didn't use--"
"Don't tell anyone."
Haejin actually smiles, and it's genuine. He bows his head before turning away, and Taehyung's attention is back on the little family across from him. When Jeongguk killed Sungrok, he wasn't looking to get the top spot, wasn't looking for status. He was looking for a safe world for his son to grow up in. Some people might say that Jeongguk only put Junseo more at risk by taking Sungrok's spot, and Taehyung probably would have agreed at the start of the year. But not anymore. Taehyung thinks Junseo is probably one of the safest kids in the entire world.
And that was all Jeongguk.
-- -- --
Everyone erupts into cheers as Junseo blows out his candles, clapping loudly as the birthday boy grins.
"Happy birthday, baby boy," Jeongguk tells his son as he kisses the top of his head, Junseo wrapping his arms around him. They cut the cake and share it out, and it's probably the best cake Taehyung's ever had, but that's no surprise. Only the best for Jeongguk's son. Once they've finished eating, they head into the living room to start opening presents, and Junseo adores every single he gets, dishing out hugs and thank you's like the sweet boy he is.
"Hyungie! Which one is yours?" Junseo asks as he looks through the pile of colourful wrapping paper.
"Oh, I already gave you mine. It was a hug," Taehyung says casually from where he's sat on Jimin's lap from lack of seating, snorting when he gets a pinch to the ribs. Junseo grins, knowing he's bluffing and starts bouncing up and down when Taehyung pulls out his presents from beneath his shirt, handing over the biggest one. "For my favourite boy."
Taehyung drops down to sit on the floor beside Junseo, and he feels his stomach flip with nerves and anticipation. He's been working on it since before he graduated, spending as much time as possible on it because it had to be perfect for the most perfect human being. As Junseo unwraps it, he holds his breath, gaze flicking up to Jeongguk who leans over to get a better look. He's kept it a secret from him too, because he supposes it could be seen as a present to them both.
Junseo's fingers pause on the paper as he rips it open, staring down at the book beneath his hands.
Bug's Tales.
Written by Jeon Junseo.
Illustrated by Jeon Junseo and Kim Taehyung.
Junseo looks up at him with wide eyes, just staring for a long minute before his attention goes back to his book, starting to carefully leaf through the pages. Inside is Junseo's stories about Scaler and Drago and countless ones he's read to Taehyung. Ones they've acted out and written together, all paired with illustrations from the both of them. Taehyung worries on his lip as Junseo brushes his fingers over pictures and words, appearances of all of them as minor characters in the back.
The last story is the one that has him the most nervous, the short story he wrote and illustrated himself. It's the story of Jeongguk and Junseo. Jeongguk is the king, working hard to keep his son, the prince, safe. It shows them playing together and Jeongguk fighting off evil creatures and villains in order to protect Junseo. It's not the whole truth of the story, Junseo's too young to know, but it's a depiction of it. He should know just how hard his dad works for him. How much he's loved.
He can see Jeongguk looking at him, but he doesn't have the gall to meet his gaze, just keeps staring down at Junseo's fingers running over a grinning drawing of his father. "Taehyungie," he mumbles, lifting his head and he's got the most adorable pout on and his eyes are wet. "You made me a book."
Taehyung nods. "Your stories need to be read, Junseo. They're amazing." Before Junseo gets too emotional like he knows he will - he doesn't want the kid crying on his birthday - he holds out the second present. "This isn't much of a present, but you're the first person seeing it. You remember the first time we met, and we planned that video game together? Well," he nods, smiling at the CD case suddenly exposed. It was his final project at school.
Junseo gasps, wiping his eyes quickly. "With the cyborg villain?"
"The very one," he nods.
"Can I play it?!"
Taehyung grins. "It's all yours. The one and only copy."
He should have know better than to think that Junseo would just leave it at that, go and run off and play the game. Because he stands and throws himself at him, arms wrapping tight around his neck as he presses a kiss to his nose. "I love you, hyungie."
Taehyung's heart grows ten times bigger than his chest can contain. "Hyungie loves you. Happy birthday, bug." He steals one more kiss before Junseo finally heads off to try out his new game. He sighs, watching him go with such a fond look that it takes him a minute to register the gazes on him. "Shut up," he tells them before anyone even says anything, standing up and grabbing all the wrapping paper.
"He's so soft!" Hoseok coos, and Taehyung won't even deny it, because it's true. He's so soft for that boy. But he's not gonna let these idiots make him get all embarrassed. So he busies himself with cleaning up, carrying everything into the kitchen, dirty plates and paper and--
"You don't live here anymore, stop tidying," he mutters to himself. He inhales deeply when there's sudden arms around his waist, and he knows it's Jeongguk. He relaxes back into him, eyes briefly closing at the kiss to the back of his neck. "Did you like it?"
Jeongguk doesn't say anything, just squeezes him tight and presses his face against the back of his shoulder, nosing at his shirt.
It's all the answer he needs.
-- -- --
"Call me when you get there."
Yoongi sighs, closing the trunk of his car. "It's just for the weekend, Tae."
Taehyung blinks.
"Alright, I'll call you when I get there."
He grins, grabbing his brother by the arm and pulling him into his chest, tucking his chin over his big brother's head. "Have fun, hyungie. You deserve it."
Yoongi squeezes him around the waist, pulling back and of course pulls Taehyung down enough to press a kiss to the top of his head. "Love you, bug."
"Love you," Taehyung returns, watching his brother walk around to the drivers side of the car. He ducks down when the passengers window opens, folding his arms over the door.
"I'll take good care of him, Taehyung-ah. Don't worry," Jueun assures him, reaching out of the car to bop him on the nose with a long finger. "I'll make sure he calls."
"You better," he grins, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Get him drunk on tequila. It's something everyone should see," he whispers against her ear and wags his eyebrows when she ooh's.
"Yah, don't be getting ideas in her head," Yoongi scolds as he starts the engine.
Taehyung grins, stepping back from the car. "Have fun!" He stands there and waves as his brother and his girlfriend pull away in his car, moving to stand in the middle of the street and waving his arms above his head until he can't see them anymore.
He sighs. He's happy. He's happy because Yoongi is happy. It's been a while since Yoongi's let himself get attached to anymore, scared to bring them into his world, just like he was with Taehyung. So being with someone like Jueun is perfect. She's the perfect counterpart. Nothing makes Taehyung happier than seeing his big brother happy. He spends so much time looking after Taehyung that he often forgets about himself. It's about time he did something for him.
That reminds him. He needs to convince Momo to break up with Hoseok.
-- -- --
to: boyfriend
i just thought of smthin
from: boyfriend
My dick?
to: EX boyfriend
bye
from: EX boyfriend
No, baby, wait. I'm sorry!
Tae.
Taehyung.
Baby.
to: EX boyfriend
wat
from: EX boyfriend
Tell me, I wanna know.
What did you just think of.
to: EX boyfriend
i was thinking bout the first time i realised i liked u
from: EX boyfriend
Aw, tell me about it.
to: EX boyfriend
i was thinkin
this guy seems like such a fukin asshole
and i was rite
and im still rite
gdnight
from: asshole
Goodnight, asshole lover.
to: ??? im dating an idiot
did u just fkin
im done
nighT