The two of them stayed silent for a while after Jimin left. The only sounds that filled the otherwise silent living room were the ones of Taehyung still sniffling his teary snot in.
"Where....do you keep your...your...your first aid kit?" Jeongguk asked. He still didn't look at Taehyung and was instead flitting his eyes all over the floor and it broke Taehyung's heart to see him behave so nervously in front of him.
"Ggukie, look at me, please," he pleaded instead of answering Jeongguk's question. Jeongguk shook his head once and shot up from the couch to search for the kit himself.
"I-It's in the bathroom in my room," Taehyung called out, but got up from the couch and followed Jeongguk as well.
"Ggukie, I'm really very sorry for what I did. Really, baby, please forgive me. I do love yo-"
"Yeah, I heard you the first time, I heard it very well...very very well," Jeongguk mumbled as he bent down to grab the first aid kit lying in the cabinet under the washbasin.
"Sit down," he pointed to the platform and Taehyung obeyed like an obedient puppy, climbing onto it wordlessly. Jeongguk silently disinfected a pad of cotton and proceeded to clean the cut on Taehyung's lip.
The silence was killing Taehyung. He couldn't bear Jeongguk of all people staying silent. The silent treatment was honestly suffocating him. "Look at me, Ggukie, please," he pleaded once again when he realized that Jeongguk was still not looking at him in the eye.
Jeongguk's hand froze a couple of inches away from Taehyung's eyebrow. Taehyung could physically see the effort Jeongguk was putting in trying to look into his eyes.
Jeongguk managed it for a second before looking away.
It was that second, however, that showed Taehyung the amount of love Jeongguk held for him as well. It showed him that Jeongguk no longer liked him as a singer. That he was no longer a boyfriend that Jeongguk spent time with while following a list anymore. That Jeongguk truly loved him. And that realization in turn brought more tears to his eyes.
"Don't....don't cry...please don't cry," Jeongguk said and this time, he maintained eye contact for a longer time as he wiped Taehyung's tears away. "You must have had your reasons. I forgive you," he said.
"No, no, no, oh my god, don't forgive me this easily, but I'm so sorry," Taehyung leaned forward to rest his head on Jeongguk's shoulders as more guilty sobs wracked through his body.
"Ew, ew, ew, I told you that's gross!!" Jeongguk exclaimed as he pushed Taehyung away forcefully. "I don't even have an extra shirt to wear if you get this one wet," he mumbled, frowning as he disinfected another pad of cotton to continue what he had actually started doing.
"You can wear mine, Ggukie, please," Taehyung pleaded and honestly, Jeongguk didn't like seeing him cry like that.
And thus, he reluctantly nodded, letting Taehyung cry on his shoulder. He placed the cotton down on the platform and slowly but hesitantly wrapped his arms around Taehyung, patting his back awkwardly.
Taehyung himself felt how stiff Jeongguk had become, and soon took his head off his shoulder. "You are done crying already?" Jeongguk asked, relaxing his stiff shoulders. "Yeah," Taehyung sniffled. "Do you want to change your shirt?" he asked, watching Jeongguk grab the cotton once again.
"No. You didn't make it too wet," Jeongguk said and dabbed the cotton on Taehyung's lip once again. He then cleaned it with plain cotton and without warning, he leaned forward to place a small, fleeting kiss on the cut. He leaned away before Taehyung could even realize what happened.
Taehyung froze and stared at Jeongguk with wide eyes. "You....you just...." he trailed off, bringing his hand up in a trance.
A small smile started pulling his lips up as he placed his fingers on the cut, feeling the gentle kiss still lingering over there.
The small smile turned into a grin when he heard Jeongguk whine.
"Don't whine, baby. Let me have my moment. You just kissed me for the first time and I.....I-I've loved you for so long and I've been an asshole to you, but you still....finally...." he started crying again.
"Wait," Jeongguk mumbled and yanked his earphones from his pocket. He took time to untangle them, and that frustrated him. And the more he tried to hurry and the more he got frustrated, the more they tangled up.
Taehyung chuckled mid-cry and helped Jeongguk untangle them. Jeongguk mumbled a 'thanks' and proceeded to connect them to his phone, watching as Taehyung plugged them into his ears, knowing exactly what Jeongguk was trying to do.
However, that wasn't what he was trying to do. "I wanna listen too," he mumbled, yanking one of them out of Taehyung's ear and plugging them into his own. He played 4 'o'clock, his all-time favourite.
When they reached the 'why are you crying when it's just you and me here' part of the song, Jeongguk glanced at Taehyung hesitantly, only to find him crying again silently.
Frowning, he brought his hand up and wiped his tears away once again. "You cry a lot," he mumbled, earning him a pout from Taehyung. "If you don't stop pouting, I'll be forced to kiss your pout away," he said sternly as if that was a punishment for Taehyung.
Grabbing the chance, Taehyung pouted further, making Jeongguk lean in once again. This time, Taehyung grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, taking a complete lead in the kiss. Jeongguk moaned, but he didn't take notice of it.
With the song still playing in their ears, Taehyung wrapped his legs around Jeongguk's thighs and yanked him close to himself, throwing his hands around his waist to pull him even closer if that was possible.
Jeongguk threw his arms around Taehyung's neck without missing a beat, and it made Taehyung smile through the kiss.
As their tongues danced against each other in a rhythm that neither of them could describe in words, Taehyung let one of his hands slip through Jeongguk's shirt and travel the vast expanse of Jeongguk's toned back, making him moan louder.
As the song reached 'following the dark night, your singing voice brings the scarlet dawn step by step', Jeongguk broke out of the kiss and threw his head back with his eyes closed. Their soft panting sounds sounded heavenly to each other.
"You are a noisy person, I see. I wanna see how noisy you can actually get, Ggukie," Taehyung grumbled as his lips traced Jeongguk's jawline and traveled down his throat, settling at the base.
Jeongguk's body arched and he grabbed Taehyung's hair when Taehyung's lips touched his neck. This was the first time someone had gone beyond a kiss and he was feeling like he was out there flying in the air.
And for the first time, he liked the feeling of flying in the air. He didn't feel the overwhelming urge to bring himself back down by hitting himself.
Taehyung couldn't control himself. Not when his lips were already on Jeongguk's throat. Thus, without thinking, he began to suck on the skin, reducing Jeongguk to a moaning mess.
"Ah....Taehyung....oh my....oh oh oh....oh god....Taennngghhhh," Jeongguk kept moaning continuously, but his moans were cut off by a cry that tore out of his own throat when he felt a sharp pain on his neck.
With shock, he realized that Taehyung had bit him.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" he yelled as he pushed himself away from Taehyung in panic. He let go of Taehyung and leaned forward to look at the mirror behind the latter clearly. And there stood an angry little red mark.
Jeongguk stared at it with his eyes bulging out of their sockets. If he wasn't careful, they would have even rolled off the sockets and into the drain. He turned his shocked and betrayed gaze towards Taehyung.
"You bit me!!"
Taehyung didn't know if he wanted to laugh at Jeongguk's innocence or cry that Jeongguk absolutely ruined the moment with it.
"Ggukie, that's not just a bite. It's called a hi-"
"A bite is a bite!! Don't justify yourself!! You bit me! I'm telling my mom about this, oh my god, I can't believe you bit me!! Oh god, you are disgusting, are you a dog?! Why do you have to bite me?!" Jeogguk went on scolding Taehyung.
Taehyung just sat there and silently took all the scoldings thrown at him. He didn't understand how he was supposed to explain the concept of a hickey to his boyfriend.
Jeongguk stopped scolding him after a while, staring at his reflection once again in shock. He just couldn't believe it.
"Where did you pick this up from?! Oh my god, it is such a bad habit!! Did you know that my mom used to hit me in my childhood for biting people?! I think you need a beating too. I'll tell my mom about it, you just wait!!" Jeongguk finished off angrily and continued staring at himself in the mirror.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I won't bite you again, come back here," Taehyung said with a pout, but Jeongguk wasn't having it. He grabbed a pad of cotton and disinfected it and dabbed it against the bitemark on his neck while Taehyung gaped at him.
"Ggukie, you don't have to-"
"You shut up!!" Jeongguk exclaimed angrily and continued his work before throwing the cotton into the dustbin and storming out. Taehyung still stayed frozen in the washroom, staring at the mirror.
Did he just get his head scolded off because of a hickey?
His lips slowly pulled up in a wide grin. He couldn't believe he had tried to let go of this level of innocence and love.
When else would he get the chance of having a hot make-out session with his boyfriend only for it to end with him getting scolded by his boyfriend for giving him a hickey?
Jeongguk stormed in a couple of minutes later, pulling Taehyung out of his reverie. "Do you wanna eat ramen?!" he asked angrily, still sounding and looking pretty pissed about the 'bite'.
Taehyung froze once again, his eyes widening in shock for the umpteenth time that night. "What?" his voice came out in a whisper.
"RAMEN, RAMEN, RAMEN, RAMEN, RAM-"
"Yes, yes, I'll have ramen, I'll have it," Taehyung hurried to answer, knowing not to excite Jeongguk too much. He was too pissed already and he didn't want to add fuel to the fire.
"Get your ass to the living room. I'll be done with it in about three hundred and twenty seconds," Jeongguk ordered and stormed off once again.
Taehyung shook his head and looked back at his reflection. 'What did I get myself into?' he thought, but this time there was fondness in the thought. There was love. There was guilt as well, but he decided not to dwell on it for the night. Jeongguk was his priority. Making up to him was his top priority.
With a fond scoff, he exited his bathroom and walked into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Jeongguk from behind and successfully startling the poor soul.
"Add an egg in mine, will you, baby?" he asked sweetly.
"I'll add one in mine too," Jeongguk said, throwing a glare at Taehyung's head, which was now perched on his shoulder.
He didn't make an attempt in trying to get Taehyung away from him. He liked the feeling of being trapped in his arms. He liked the feeling of getting to move only when Taehyung let him. He liked giving him that control.
"Sure, sweety," Taehyung said. Jeongguk pretended to gag at the nickname but proceeded to grab two eggs from the fridge.
"You should leave me at my house tomorrow early in the morning, okay? I need to go to work," he said.
"Done. I'll wake up at half-past four itself," Taehyung promised.
"Okay."
"And Ggukie?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you name yourself Nemesis_95?"
"Because I'm going to be a Nemesis to anyone who tries to harm you. Physically or mentally."
Tears made their way up to Taehyung's eyes again. 'And I was thinking of letting go of this diamond,' he thought bitterly. "Why 95?"
"It's your birth year," Jeongguk answered without missing a beat, cracking an egg open as he did so.
"Why mine?" Taehyung whispered. His arms were still around Jeongguk and he still had his chin resting on his shoulder.
"Because I love you."
*****************
Nemesis - the inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall.
In Greek mythology, Nemesis is the goddess of revenge.