Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down | TK

29 | Summer days

Jungkook's head tipped forward as his shoulders shook with laughter—and it was hard for Taehyung to stay deadpanned for long, a smile twitching at his lips upon seeing the corners of the alpha's eyes crinkle.

The omega lifted his head up and gazed at the bright sky, narrowing his lids over the pupils because of the blinding rays of the sun. There was an ethereal beauty to the sunlight, as if a layer of tinted filtering had been added in the sky. Everything was in honeyed tones, beautiful and soothing. He moved his hand through the air, watching how droplets of water ran down the length of his arm. It was almost as if the light was amber nectar, flowing in slow and graceful swirls.

"You're spacing out." Jungkook's voice went in one ear and out the other, successfully catching the omega's divided attention.

"I'm enjoying the view." Taehyung corrected, his hand edged nearer, a subtle motion at first, but then his pinkie reached, touched the side of Jungkook's waist.

The alpha sealed his eyes on him, forehead above creasing as a look of puzzlement crossed his handsome face.

Jungkook's focus was drawn to him – he didn't even bother fighting it. Taehyung's skin looked softer in the gentle hues of the sun. Tanned skin that was a honeyed perfection, and a sweet, dimpled smile, the omega was all the world to him.

"Which view?" He managed a hollow question, absent and not much capable of more and it had Taehyung's eyes glinting with naughtiness. His breath came out in short gasps as the omega ever so slowly lifted the wet shirt up with his pinkie, revealing defined v-lines that could be seen peeking over the waistband.

Instead of granting him with an answer, Taehyung spared the alpha one of his tantalizing grins before yanking his hand away and diving into the lake. The water splashed, drops landed on Jungkook and sprayed him with a pull of nostalgia, made the lake tease and entice him in with its delicious sensation sporadically hitting his limbs and his chest, a single drop on his lips.

The omega swam deeper into the lake, and when his feet could no longer reach the sandy bottom, his head popped up on the surface. His air supply ran out and his mouth instinctively opened for air. Taehyung took in a deep breath, filling up his aching lungs with oxygen, and pulling back his bangs to move them out of the way.

He tried to bounce on his tippy toes to keep his head out of the water, ignoring the mocking looks Jungkook was sending his way. Reluctantly, the omega got on his back and started to push his light body with his arms. Swimming was the glory of his summer days, taking in those sunny rays, breathing in the brine as he swam along the rocky shore.

The water was Taehyung's freedom, his release from the ordinary rules of gravity, a chance to experience this idiosyncratic feeling of being weightlessness. He could swim forever, dive forever, be here in this underwater world for an eternity. There was something about the motion of it that became natural after a while. He would always need the air and the sunlight, to feel the saline water wash over his skin and through his eye lashes, but there was a reason why he preferred to stay in.

Taehyung switched directions and changed the stroke, did some casual freestyle for a bit, back and forth and he was doing it so lazily, he didn't even bother turning his head to the water. He kept his cheek on the surface, and pulled his eyes to Jungkook, who was stoic and curious at the same time.

It hindered the omega for a moment, not the thought behind his unshifting position, but the underlying effect of his unrelenting gaze. Jungkook's eyes were locked on Taehyung's, enthralled with motion, staring intently, intensely. The omega lowered his body in the water, turned to him and shook some droplets away from his hair, summoned his eyes from the strokes of his arms to his own when he spun so pointedly to him.