Serendipity

Shadows

"Of course I do, hyung. That's exactly why I called you."

"Do you think I or you betrayed Tae when we discussed this?"

"That's not how it was, hyung. You love him. You wanted me to be able to protect him if anything was wrong…"

"Then how is your grandma and Tae discussing your past any different? Think about it, kiddo. And call me if I need to fly back. Bye."

Jungkook cut the call without uttering a single word. But in his mind, he did understand where exactly his grandmother's actions came from.

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As Jungkook came back to bed, he saw Taehyung staring at the ceiling, but he knew there was nothing particular in his line of  sight. It was odd to see Taehyung so silent, so lost. Though Taehyung was not exactly a talkative person, he was never this still as well. Jungkook had gotten used to seeing the sassy, bickering Taehyung. He didn't like this version of the scientist at all. He looked like all his energy was drained out of him.

After their little fight last night, after he cried out, they ended up hugging each other in the bed. But after they had dozed off for a few hours, Jungkook was woken up by a 'still asleep but whimpering' Taehyung. He sure was having some kind of nightmare. It was a sight that broke Jungkook's heart into pieces. And that moment he had promised himself, he will never be the reason for this look on his fiancé, nor will he let anyone else be the reason. It took him a few minutes of assuring words and caresses to get the whimpering scientist back to a peaceful slumber.

Shaking himself out of the thought, he crawled back into the bed. And as soon as he did, Taehyung's eyes snapped towards him. They held such an expectant look that it melted Jungkook's insides. He couldn't name the feeling he had right at the moment. Hell, he didn't even want to name it. He just wanted to surrender to it and get drowned.

As Jungkook scooped the other back in his arms; who readily moulded back into the embrace, Jungkook felt at ease. The scientist tucked his head under the prince's chin and held on to him tentatively.

"Tae…" the prince whispered against his hair.

"Hmmm…" He whispered back against his chest.

"Do you have to go to work today? Can you not take the day off?"

This ambiguous request made the scientist squirm closer to the prince.

"I… Why?" He asked, in a hushed tone.

"I think you should just stay back. I can have someone inform your office. We can get ready, and then we can, maybe go to Jo's condo. We can even take Eunji with us, if you want. But I think we should just go there alone this time. We can lay low for the weekend. And Talk. I think we need to talk, don't you too?"

"Talk? Talk about what?" Tae mumbled, already scared of the unknown that was clouding the prince's mind.

"Nothing scary. Just about the past, present, and future. Clear our heads. See for ourselves what we both think."

"Jungkook? Why? Why now?" Taehyung was still stuttering.

"Because it's high time we talked, Tae. All these fun and games are okay; nice even. But we are starting a family very soon. I know, none of us wanted it this way, but here we are. Stuck together, tending to each other's wounds. Whatever happened yesterday was an eye-opener for me. If we are going to do this, and for a long time, I would prefer we do it properly. We are going to have a baby, Tae. And a baby needs its parents to be strong as ever. Well, who else knows that better than the two boys who grew up without their parents, right?"

Tae could only nod in agreement. A little less vulnerable than he was before, he nuzzled his face in the prince's neck. But soon, his insecurities surfaced.

"You… You wouldn't take me there and leave me alone there, would you?" He asked warily.

"No… NO! Never. We might have started on the wrong foot, but as Jimin hyung told us, we are on the same team, Tae. You gotta trust me. The same way I would trust you, from now on. Okay?"

The whole thing felt a bit surreal to him. But Taehyung knew this was what he wanted to do. So he replied just as quickly as he realised it,

"Okay. Let's go then."

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Caution warning: Mature language, offensive sl/urs, abuse of power, and Dts.

Outside the palace wall, another hidden conversion:

"Stop lying to save your ass, you mutt."

"But sir, I am not lying. The prince did come to the palace last night. Our source confirmed it."

"Then where the hell is that useless tw/ink now?"

"I don't know, sir. He is nowhere to be found right now, nor is his lover. Even the surrogate has not been sighted since noon. Nobody knows where they all went."

"What the fuck do mean by this? I pay you to be the eyes and ears of the King in the palace. You are supposed to report every minute detail of their activities, and here you are telling me you don't know where they all are? Did they vanish into the thin air? Or did the palace suddenly develop a magic portal?"

"Sir, I am extremely sorry for this. But - but even the security head doesn't know anything. I have been shadowing him since yesterday. He only got the report of the prince's arrival late at night. But nothing after that."

"You useless rat! First you miss such crucial information about that sorry excuse of a prince. He was dating for years, right under your nose and you didn't know. You didn't know about his engagement, their weird  surrogacy, and whatnot. This is the last time I am letting this slide. But that doesn't mean you are off the hook. Go find them."

"I am sorry, sir. I don't know how they all kept this hidden. But I will do my best this time. I promise. Please pardon me, just this time."

"Very well then. Just pray to God that they better not come back all married from whatever the hell they are at. Because if they do you will not see another day on this planet. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes sir."