Ego: Hit and Run (Taekook)

'Smoke Me, Alice.'

Oh how the tables have turned, Taehyung thought to himself, watching Jeongguk pointedly avoid his stare as he sat in the furthest seat from himself on the jet.

They had ridden in silence, after that incident in the rest stop, with Taehyung expecting more tears and anger along with the accusatory glances he was accustomed to seeing from the boy. He watched the younger closely through the rearview mirror... and while he was unloading their luggage... and as they boarded the plane.

But they never came. Because Jeongguk was ignoring him now.

Maybe this is for the best? he hoped as he watched Jeongguk's weary face doze off in the distance.

Yes, Jeongguk ignoring him was making them less dependent on each other. And staying unattached was the golden rule for his role as the Sparrow. Never had he ever found himself in that compromising position where he would be forced to put his client's life before his own. Or anyone's, for that matter.

As Park would tell him whenever he had noticed him spending a little too much time with a girlfriend or even a friend in the past, "Relationships are like pets. They leech off of your food and wallet, only for you to mistake their dependence on you for loyalty and love," before reminding him to stay focused on whatever task he had assigned him with at that time.

That man was such a sociopath.

But maybe him hating my guts will make it easier for me to stay focused and unattached? Taehyung mused.

He had a feeling that kind of wishful thinking was a load of crap. Because somewhere along the way, something had shifted in their relationship, and even Taehyung couldn't deny the affection he had grown to harbor for the younger. He wondered if it was too late to consider himself as impartial as he needed to be as his gaze traced Jeongguk's slumbering form.

His answer unveiled itself from the depth of his unconscious mind, because after he nodded off and his mind reverted to its purest form, he dreamt of Jeongguk's eyes, shining with tears.
A hand shook him awake after what felt like minutes, rather than the hours he knew have elapsed, and he looked up to see Jimin hovering over him.

"We've landed," he said, voice soft with some indecipherable emotion. Taehyung stretched his arms over his head as his eyes searched for a certain boy, seemingly on their own accord.

He froze, unable to locate Jeongguk's previously sleeping body in its seat. His eyes flickered around the cabin, alarm growing as he came up blank. When he looked up to Jimin's patient face, he understood that emotion as it filtered across his face while he watched Taehyung's anxious moment. Pity.

"He went ahead. Something about riding with Mr.Kim... " Jimin explained, sympathy dripping from every word. He seemed to know more than he was letting on, judging from the understanding look on his face as Taehyung bolted up from his seat.

Taehyung hated it. He hated feeling the sympathy, or the condolences. Even when he knew they came from a good place.

He clambered out of the plane, rushing with purpose. Jeongguk had run away from him, again, and if it bothered him before, he was almost hysterical now. He dialed Mr.Kim in a daze, numbers resurfacing easily from his memory, seeing as he had devoted the past week to learning things like this. For emergencies. Which he felt like this was, even though he knew, deep inside, that Jeongguk was safe with Jeon's entrusted assistant. Maybe even more so than with himself.

That recognition didn't deter him from barking out a "Where is he?" when the phone stopped ringing.

He was met with a hushed, almost unrecognizable sound, from the other line. Almost. Because Taehyung had become accustomed to hearing the breaths that resonated down the line, to the point where he didn't even have to ask who they belonged to.