Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down | TK

20 | Join me

The young girl once again bowed at him, wearing the same polite smile on her pretty round face, the scent of orchids and sweets lingered in the air. "Here you are." She exclaimed with her soft voice before turning her back to him and walking back into the forest, leaving a trail of steps on the spongy ground for as far as the eye could see.

Taehyung closed his eyes to the sky, allowing the waning heat to soak into him. The only sounds were the river and the birds. He was alone here; everyone had likely been instructed to give him privacy to bathe.

"The water is perfect." Well, almost alone. "I felt it with my hand and the temperature shouldn't be unbearably cold."

Jungkook sat on a rock by the riverbed, untying the laces on his leather boots. His jacket was already off and strung onto a tree branch nearby, leaving him in a billowy, cream shirt.

Taehyung swallowed the dry lump in his throat and walked to where Jungkook was. He also slipped off his shoes - woven slippers - and lowered himself onto a rock right on the riverbed. He hesitantly dipped his toes in the cool water. Jungkook was right; it was perfect. He sighed at the fresh relief.

When he turned to Jungkook, he found the alpha looking intently at him. "What?" he asked, sounding a bit shy.

The latter merely shook his head with a smile. "Nothing. I can't wait to go in."

"Go in?" Taehyung's brow darted upwards.

"How else are you supposed to bathe?" Jungkook replied, amusement clearly lacing his merry tone.

Taehyung had intended to clean his face and feet and hands, but to go in the river? Surely Jungkook must be mad.

"Right here? Anybody could see." The omega tried to protest, hoping the alpha would say he was joking, and they could go back in the camp.

Jungkook shifted and a wave of deep musk and wet roses washed over Taehyung. His eyelids unintentionally fluttered. "Come on, I know you're itching to clean the sweat way."

"This is irrelevant."

"Suit yourself."

Taehyung said nothing as Jungkook walked towards the river, stubbornly remaining rooted to the tree stump. He wasn't an animal. He refused to bathe like one, bare and in a river for anyone to see.

All thoughts died in his mind the moment he flited his eyes towards the alpha and found him in the process of sliding his shirt over his head. Where white cotton once was, now was a wide expansive of creamy skin. Jungkook's muscles flexed with the movement; subtle, but powerful. Everything about him was sharp and defined, from his biceps to the deep v-line Taehyung dared not trace the entirety of with his eyes.

Jungkook, for his part, didn't look fazed or embarrassed by his actions. This much was amply clear the moment his hands moved to the buckle on his belt. Taehyung's mouth dried as his eyes traced the movement.

"W-what are you doing?" The omega gulped and Jungkook's eyes helplessly rooted to the motion, lids fluttering studious as the irises beneath laced over his bobbling throat.

Taehyung's neck was long, thin. The cartilage of his jugular was pronounced against his skin, highlighting its path to his collarbones, where it locked together with emphasis. It was fragile, really, how exposed his neck was, his throat was, how wide and strong his clavicle seemed beneath the vulnerable structure, how accommodating it would be for his fangs to rest there, break the surface of the skin.

Jungkook wondered if his skin would redden under pressure, got curious how the tan would look with the print of his canines drawn on it. He wondered if a bite would get his lips part on instinct.