Unsustainable [VKOOK]

House of Cards

He opens the fridge and stares inside of it for a bit too long, seeming to intensely look for something during at least a whole minute. Eventually he takes the bottle that was right in front of his eyes during all this time, and grabs a glass that he fills with juice. Only then he decides to sit in front of Jungkook, none of them looking at each other and having breakfast in silence.

"Hmm... Happy birthday." Taehyung mutters after a while because he feels like he has to say it at least once, his voice soft as though not wanting to break the heavy silence that floats in the air.

"Thanks." Is Jungkook's mere reply, and Taehyung suddenly feels like he's going to burst from the tension. He gets up before mumbling that he's going to take a shower, quickly walking away from that unbearable situation. During the week they always manage to avoid each other, but on weekends it's almost impossible. Thus, Taehyung has come to hate every day off he gets, doing his best to find an excuse to leave home whenever he can.

The two of them don't find themselves in the same room until it's noon, Taehyung finishing to prepare the meal while Jungkook sets the table.

"Jungkook, stop putting the flatwares this way." Taehyung says with an annoyed tone, as he's always overreacting about little details and always wants to control everything, especially whenever they're invited somewhere or host friends. It pisses Jungkook off, but the raven-haired male breathes deeply and lets go, re-arranging the forks and knifes on the table the way his much-beloved husband wants it. Every time they speak, it's either awkward sentences, either harsh words.

"You forgot to put a necktie on, too. You must be well-dressed for your birthd-

-As you say, it's my birthday, so I shall decide. I'm not at work, I don't need a fucking necktie. Can't you just let me be for once in your life?

-I'm just trying to help!

-Well you're only making it worse!" Jungkook snaps, finally looking at him but it's only to send him a dark gaze. Taehyung knows they should stop here before it degenerates, so he gets a grip on himself and seals his lips shut, only emitting an irritated sigh.

That's the moment the doorbell rings, startling Jungkook who then tries his best to compose himself a relaxed expression while walking towards the door. He shouldn't even have to try, he thinks while pulling at the doorknob, it's his birthday after all...

"Hey! How are you?" He exclaims with a little bit too relieved tone, actually genuinely glad to see his friends. They remain speaking for a minute or so before going back to the kitchen, where Taehyung is waiting for them.

Lunch goes relatively well, as Jungkook is only focusing on their friends instead of his husband, almost never looking towards him during the whole lunch. When it's time to open the gifts he smiles more sincerely though, since the two boys offered him some books that he craved to have for a long time. On the other side Taehyung gives him a watch, and even if it seems quite costly and that it's actually beautiful, Jungkook still wonders where Taehyung found such an idea. He's never been so fond of watches, never spoke about it, even. But Taehyung has never been so good at buying presents, so Jungkook assumes he shouldn't be surprised after fifteen years receiving things he didn't really want. During their first years together he found it cute, now he kind of wants to ask Taehyung what's wrong with him.

Apart from that, the meal ends in a quite good atmosphere, even if Jungkook is certain their friends suspect something. Yet no one speaks about it, as none of them wants to start a war. Even Jungkook and Taehyung themselves actually never spoke about breaking up: the idea is foreign, even if they have come to hate each other. They had never imagined it could happen one day, always thought their marriage would be stronger than everything, so that now it's like they don't want to admit their defeat. They failed, but thinking about it is painful, so that speaking about it must be even worse.