Surprise

                                    

                                          
Taehyung woke us the next morning, coaxing Jungkook and I out of sleep by mushing himself between us. "Wake up for this marvelous Monday!" He said, stretching his arms. 
My eyes fluttered open, Taehyung giggling at the loud groan Jungkook let out on his other side, rolling over so that his back was turned on Taehyung. "There's nothing marvelous about Monday's." Jungkook muttered, his voice croaking with tiredness. 
On the walk to work that morning, with caffeine in my system and my arm nestled in the crook of Taehyung's, I realized that he was the marvelous part of Monday. He was excited to have booked a recurring night to play at a small club, gabbing about the table he'd reserved for Jungkook and I for the first show. 
"I have to close the store tonight so Jungkook will be here to walk you home today." He kissed the corner of my mouth, reaching for the door handle to my office building to open for another woman who entered. 
"I can walk home." I shook my head, stepping to the side as Sophia walked past us. Taehyung chuckled at the way she raised her eyebrows in our direction. 
"Jungkook will be here to get you." He insisted, gesturing for me to get into the building. My shoes clicked against the marble flooring and I nodded to the security officer behind his desk, finding Sofia waiting for me by the elevator. 
The bell to our floor dinged just as I approached, her lips pressed together in a smile so hard that I could tell she was working to keep her composure. When only the two of us entered the elevator she smirked, keeping her gaze forward as we rode to the floor of our office. "You lucky kitten." She commented just as we stepped off, my Monday morning entrance to work complete with a laugh.
With the eventful weekend I nearly forgot the disaster that'd been the week before. Thankfully Margo appeared less stressed after making up with her partner, eager to pick up with the altered vision for the photoshoot that was officially off schedule and sure that we'd be able to make it happen. We would, but just as sure as she was, I knew I'd be exhausted by the end of it.
I spent the morning reconfirming model bookings and on the phone to make arrangements, the time flying by with busyness. After joining a few other staff members for lunch I met with Sofia to discuss an assignment she was required to complete for her internship course. 
Just as Taehyung informed me that morning, Jungkook waited at the building's entrance at the end of the workday. An elderly man stood across from him, Jungkook eyeing him with intrigue as they talked.  
He caught sight of me, the old man's head turning my way as he did the same. "Ah, bellismia!" The man exclaimed with my approach, Jungkook looking down quietly and slipping his fingers between mine. 
"Grazie." I nodded in thanks, listening to him say goodbye to Jungkook before heading down the walkway in the opposite direction. 
"I need to stop to pick up bread on the way." Jungkook's thumb rubbed at the back of my hand as we started the familiar route toward our apartment. He kept quiet, the murmurs of others passing and clunk of his boots against the pavement the only sound until we turned onto a side street, the smell of freshly baked goods wafting through the air. 
There wasn't a business in sight, two rows of townhouses on each side of the street. My brow furrowed, craning toward the smell in search of a bakery at the end of the road. Jungkook turned to step up the front porch of one of the houses instead. I stood a step behind him, his knuckles barely tapping against the door before it opened, an aged woman giving him a near toothless smile. 
"Nonna." He greeted, pressing a quick kiss to her soft cheek. 
She moved a step back for us to come inside and looked me up and down with a gentle smile. "This is her?" She pointed between us, Jungkook chuckling as he dropped my hand to follow the smell of food to the kitchen. His hand was suddenly replaced with hers, the skin thin and wrinkled as she scuffed in her house shoes behind him. "You're as pretty as he said." She spoke while we walked, my eyes diverting to Jungkook's with a silent scolding. Apparently he'd enjoyed spending his time complimenting me to elders. 
She released my hand by the flour-dusted kitchen island, using a small towel from the counter to sling at his hand as he tugged on the handle of the oven for a peek inside. Jungkook flinched at the snap of fabric, pouting and standing so that he leaned against the counter. 
I giggled at their interaction and glanced to the basket next to me, filled with four beautifully baked loaves of bread. Jungkook scolded her as she bent over to open the oven, using the thin towel to grab the baking sheet inside, surely not giving full protection from the heat. He took the towel and pan from her and winced at the hot dish that she'd been unaffected by.
Four pastries with a cream filling at the center were spread over the pan, Jungkook taking napkins to lift two and hand them to us. "I'm happy you came. These are best straight from the oven so Taehyung's won't be as good." She waited to watch me take a bite. It was hard to find words for the soft, moist shortcrust, so good that my eyes nearly rolled back. 
We visited with her for a few more minutes while Jungkook packed away two loaves of bread and Taehyung's dessert. I admired Jungkook's bashful expression as she recounted how they met at the grocery store when he was new to the city. He helped her carry her bags and they'd been walking to the store once a week since. She taught him her recipes and though she couldn't cook quite as much as she used to for a large family, she still baked bread to keep her pain-ridden hands strong. 
She hugged me tight before we left and when Jungkook reached for my hand on the walk home, I wrapped mine around his arm instead. "You keep surprising me." I observed.
"How?" He replied, keeping his eyes forward so that I looked at the sharp line of his jaw and curve of his nose. 
"Sometimes you're so serious, and then suddenly we're dancing in the kitchen or picking up bread from an old woman. I thought you just spent your days painting nonstop." I chuckled. 
We entered our apartment building together, Jungkook responding while we waited for the elevator. "Some days I do, but I do a lot of other things to stay busy. It helps keep me inspired." He explained.
That evening he listened to me complain about work while he cooked spaghetti, slicing thick pieces of bread to coat with garlic butter and refusing to let me help rather than rest. Taehyung kicked off his shoes with a tired groan after coming home from work, going straight to the shower only to return with a need for extra affection to make up for the long day. 
Toward the end of the week I woke in the middle of the night, my arm reaching out to Jungkook's place next to me and finding it empty. Taehyung breathed heavily from my other side and I took a moment to check the time, falling back asleep under the assumption that Jungkook was in the bathroom. 
A little over an hour passed between the last time I woke and the next. I rolled over from where I'd turned to face Taehyung, nothing but a sheet pulled away from where Jungkook should have lay. 
I climbed out of bed, the apartment pitch black as I walked through based on memory, flicking on the light above the stove once in the kitchen. He wasn't on the couch or out on the balcony, and I noticed that his favorite pair of shoes were missing from their place next to the door.
I gnawed on my lip, standing at the counter with a glass of water clasped between my hands and debating whether to wake Taehyung or call Jungkook. His key in the lock twenty minutes later stopped my train of thought. He hardly made a sound as he entered, startled when he turned to see me standing in the kitchen.
"Are you okay? Why are you up?" He wondered. 
"Where were you?" I returned his questioning. 
He held a hand up to the light before turning on the sink, streaked with freshly dried paint. "You've heard me leave to go paint at night." He raised his eyebrows, the water turning gold as it washed over his hand. 
I cleared my throat. "I never knew you were painting." I clarified. 
He finished washing his hands and dried them on a paper towel before moving to where I stood, always so close that I could feel the muscles of his legs and stomach pressed against me. "There's a project I'm working on that requires me to paint at night. What did you think I was doing this entire time?" He smirked like he already knew the answer. 
"People don't usually leave in the middle of the night for non-sexual reasons." I disclosed my assumption. 
Jungkook snickered by my ear, his lips brushing at the skin just below with his reply. "Not since I met you."