thestarsabove
JK and Tae fight and make up, ft. feelings, jealous Tae, and blow jobs.
----
Ninety five percent of the time, Jeongguk considers himself someone who functions well under pressure. He would even go so far as to say he thrives under it - it makes him want to do better, work harder. The mentality of the band has always been about upping their game, setting newer, bigger goals, and he loves that, loves the constant challenge, even when it's exhausting.
The one downside of all of this, as Jeongguk has been told by virtually everyone who cares about him, is that he has a habit of pushing himself too hard when he's stressed. Rather than taking a break or a step back, he tends to work even harder, which usually results in him making mistakes and getting frustrated. It also makes him kind of unpleasant to be around, as he has also been reminded many times.
He's working on it.
As it happens, he's in the midst of one of those five percent weeks right now, and it truly couldn't have come at a worse time - between promotional stuff and working on their next album, their schedules are even more jam packed than usual, and Jeongguk is hanging on by a thread. Namjoon has been on him about the lyrics he's working on (he knows they're not up to par, he just can't figure how to fix them), Hoseok has been on him about the new choreography they're rehearsing (he keeps making the same stupid mistakes, and it's driving him crazy), and management has been on him about not bulking up too much more, lest he lose his "boyish" look (which is unfortunate seeing as working out is one thing that actually helps him manage his stress).
And then there's Taehyung, who is lovely and perfect and the brightest part of any day, but who is also a much bigger distraction than Jeongguk can afford to have right now. He's currently hanging off of Jeongguk while he tries to take another stab at his lyrics, arms draped loosely around his shoulders where they're seated on the living room couch.
"Come on, take a break," Taehyung hums against his ear.
Jeongguk shrugs his shoulders, trying to shake Taehyung's arms off. He would love nothing more than to take a break, especially with Taehyung, but he's barely accomplished anything in the past hour and it's making him increasingly frustrated and irritable.
"I can't," he grumbles. "I really need to get this done."
"You've barely made any progress," Taehyung points out, which is true, but it puts Jeongguk on edge to hear him say it. "Put it down for a little."
He reaches up to play with Jeongguk's hair, but Jeongguk pushes his hand away.
"I haven't made any progress because you won't leave me alone," Jeongguk snaps, a little more sharply than he had intended. Taehyung flinches, shrinking back from him, and Jeongguk immediately feels terrible.
"Sorry," Taehyung says quietly, looking like a kicked puppy. Jeongguk is a horrible person. "I didn't mean -"
"It's fine," Jeongguk sighs, rubbing his eyes. A part of him wants to reach out for Taehyung, pull him back in and apologize, but he just can't bring himself to do it right now. "Just - can we hang out later, instead?"
"Okay," Taehyung nods meekly. His expression has shifted into something more neutral, but he still sounds hurt.
"I'm gonna go work in my room for a while," Jeongguk says, standing up and stretching his legs. He just needs to go be a shitty asshole in peace for a while, then everything will be fine. "See you?"
Taehyung nods again, his arms wrapped around his knees. He still looks a little sad, but Jeongguk promises himself he'll make it up to him later.
***
Later rolls around, and Jeongguk is still grumpy, still feels guilty, and still hasn't made any real progress on his lyrics. He probably does need a break, but he's far too stubborn to admit that right now.
There's a brief knock on his door, and then Jimin appears, looking a little haggard. It's been a long week for all of them, and Jimin is probably the most similar to him when it comes to stress management (or lack thereof).
"Hey," he says, nodding vaguely in Jeongguk's direction as he starts rummaging through his closet. They've lived together for long enough, shared essentially everything, that this sort of intrusion doesn't register as odd anymore. "Have you seen that beige turtleneck I have, the really soft one? I can't find it."
"No, sorry," Jeongguk shakes his head. He puts his pencil down and presses his face into his notebook. "I think I'm dying, Jimin."
"Tell me about it," Jimin nods sympathetically. "This morning I got out of the shower and then had to get right back in because I couldn't remember if I washed my hair."
Jeongguk snorts, but he so knows that feeling. There's so much going on right now that his brain can barely keep up.
"What's up with you?" Jimin asks, hopping up on Jeongguk's desk. "Tell me your troubles."
"I can't do anything," Jeongguk groans, pressing his palms against his forehead and messing up his fringe. "I keep fucking stuff up."
"You know, just because you make it look effortless doesn't mean it actually has to be effortless," Jimin says sagely. Jeongguk lifts his head to look at him. "You always work so hard, you'll get there. Just... don't be so hard on yourself all the time. It's okay to need a break every now and then."
"You're one to talk," Jeongguk says, but there's no malice behind it.
Jimin smiles ruefully, shrugging. "I know. We both need to work on it."
"Thanks, Jiminie," Jeongguk says, and Jimin pats his cheek.
"Jeongguk?" comes Taehyung's tentative voice, and they both look over to see him hovering in the doorway. "Sorry, I just - wanted to check on you."
Jeongguk's heart cracks a little at how small and cautious Taehyung looks. "Oh," he says, seized by a fresh wave of guilt. "Thanks, hi."
"Hi," Taehyung replies, his gaze flitting briefly from Jeongguk to Jimin.
Jeongguk checks the time on his phone. "Give me like thirty minutes and I'll come to your room, yeah?"
Taehyung's face falls slightly, but then he offers a small smile and nods. "Okay."
As soon as he disappears back into the hallway, Jimin rounds on Jeongguk, frowning at him suspiciously. Jeongguk has been on the receiving end of that look enough times to know he's in for a lecture, but this time he thinks he deserves it. "What's up with you two?" Jimin asks.
Jeongguk sighs, running an agitated hand through his hair. "I snapped at him earlier," he admits, the guilt still weighing on him. "I didn't mean to, I just - you know."
"Jeongguk!" Jimin admonishes, smacking his arm. "You know how sensitive he gets, especially when it's you."
"I know," Jeongguk groans miserably. "I'm an asshole."
"No you're not, don't be dramatic," Jimin says, rolling his eyes. "Just go fix it."
Jeongguk nods, and he really does intend to do that. Except when Jimin leaves, he moves over to his bed to take one last pass at his lyrics. His eyelids feel heavy, so he decides to rest them, just for a second, and then...
***
Jeongguk wakes up the next morning, alone in his bed, to the sound of his alarm going off. He's still dressed in the same clothes he'd been wearing yesterday, and there's drool on his notebook.
"Fuck," he says, feeling around for his phone so that he can shut off the alarm. "Fuck," he says again, when he sees the picture of Taehyung on his lock screen and remembers he was supposed to go over to his room and apologize to him last night.
He stumbles into the shower and throws some fresh clothes on before making his way to Taehyung's room, hoping to catch him alone. When he finds the room empty, he curses and heads to the kitchen instead, where most of the members are already assembled for breakfast. Taehyung looks up when he walks in, then immediately averts his gaze, expression cool. Jeongguk's stomach sinks.
"Hey," he says quietly, sliding in close to Taehyung at the island counter. Everything about Taehyung's body language is tense and unwelcoming, and Jeongguk hates it. "I'm so sorry, I passed out by accident."
Taehyung raises his eyebrows, unimpressed. "It's fine," he replies, sounding decidedly not fine.
"Tae -"
Taehyung shakes his head, moving away from him. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
Jeongguk sighs but lets him go, watching dejectedly as he walks over to the table and slips into a seat between Namjoon and Yoongi. Usually he saves a spot next to him for Jeongguk in the mornings.
"I thought you were going to fix it?" Jimin asks in a low voice, appearing at Jeongguk's shoulder.
Jeongguk winces. "I may have fallen asleep instead."
Jimin shakes his head, exasperated. "You're an idiot. And you really do need to take a break."
Jeongguk has to admit that he's probably right on both counts.
Taehyung is cold towards him for the rest of the day, and Jeongguk lets him have his space since it's not like their hectic schedule allows much time for them to talk, anyway. However, when he arrives back in the kitchen for dinner and Taehyung is nowhere to be seen, he decides it's probably time to get his act together and do something.
"Where's Tae?" he asks. All of them are seated around the table except for Taehyung and Hoseok, who Jeongguk knows is in the shower.
"In his room, I think," Seokjin says. "He said he wasn't hungry."
Jimin throws a pointed look at him, which Jeongguk returns before spinning around and heading for Taehyung's room.
He finds Taehyung curled up on his bed in sweats and a T-shirt, watching TV.
"Hi," he says cautiously, shutting the door quietly behind him.
"Hi," Taehyung replies, keeping his eyes on the TV, even though Jeongguk knows he doesn't even like this show.
Jeongguk makes his way across the room and sits down cross legged at the foot of Taehyung's bed, careful not to get too close. Taehyung looks down at him, his expression indifferent. Jeongguk really hates it when he gets like this - it's so unlike his usual warm, effusive self - and he especially hates being the reason for the change.
"Tae, I'm sorry," he says. No point beating around the bush.
Taehyung blinks at him, his mouth pressed in a thin line. "For what?" he asks, defiant.
"I was a jerk yesterday," Jeongguk replies. "I'm stressed out, and I took it out on you, and I'm sorry. I know that's not fair."
Taehyung sighs, his expression softening a little. "I just wish you wouldn't push me away when you feel like that," he says softly, fiddling with a stray thread on his duvet. "I want to help."
"I know," Jeongguk nods, scooting closer and circling Taehyung's ankles with his hands. "I do that with everyone, I know it's bad."
"You were talking to Jimin about it," Taehyung pouts.
Jeongguk crawls forward until he's lying down between Taehyung's legs, his arms folded across his stomach. He takes it as a good sign that Taehyung doesn't immediately push him away. "He just happened to walk in at the right time," he explains. "Plus, Jimin and I are really similar in how we deal with stress, you know that."
"Half of the Internet thinks you two are together," Taehyung grumbles, avoiding Jeongguk's gaze. He looks unfairly cute like this, brow furrowed, lips slightly pouty.
Jeongguk gapes at him. He's seen the fan edits of him and Jimin too, but it's never even occurred to him that Taehyung might be bothered by that. "Are you jealous?"
"No," Taehyung huffs, folding his arms across his chest. Jeongguk's not sure he totally believes him. "Look, Jimin is my best friend too, I get it. I just... want you to feel like you can talk to me about stuff, too."
"Babe," Jeongguk says, pushing Taehyung's shirt up so that he can press a kiss to the soft skin of his stomach. Taehyung shivers a little. "I've never been able to talk to anyone as easily as I can talk to you. You make everything better."
A small smile tugs at Taehyung's lips, and Jeongguk directs his attention back to his stomach, tongue dipping into his belly button.
"Also," Jeongguk adds between kisses, glancing up at Taehyung. "The other half of the Internet thinks we're together, so."
"You're just so popular," Taehyung teases, his voice slightly hoarse. Jeongguk can feel his cock stirring against his chest as his mouth slides further south, trailing along the waistband of Taehyung's sweats.
"Shut up," Jeongguk protests, hooking a finger into Taehyung's sweats and dragging them down so that he can mouth at a hipbone.
"What are you doing," Taehyung breathes, his hips arching slightly off the bed.
"Telling you I'm sorry," Jeongguk responds, working himself up to his elbows so that he can palm at Taehyung's erection.
"You don't have to apologize to me with sex," Taehyung says, although it's undermined a little by the way his eyes are following Jeongguk's every move.
"Want to, though," Jeongguk replies, tugging Taehyung's sweats all the way down and groaning when he finds him not wearing any underwear. "Seems like you wanted me to, also," he adds cheekily, cocking an eyebrow at Taehyung.
"I - that's not -" Taehyung stammers, flushing.
Jeongguk cuts him off with a low growl, kissing at the tender skin of his inner thighs. Taehyung whimpers, his fingers twisting loosely in Jeongguk's hair. He's fully hard now, and Jeongguk's barely even touched him yet.
"'Course, if you're not interested, we could just cuddle instead," Jeongguk says innocently, wrapping a loose fist around Taehyung's cock. "Finish this fascinating show you're watching."
"Don't tease," Taehyung pleads, circling his hips.
Jeongguk laughs, kissing along the underside of Taehyung's cock, tongue swiping over the tip. Taehyung is so responsive under his touch, and Jeongguk's not sure why he's been denying himself this, not when it feels so fucking good.
He sinks his mouth down around Taehyung's cock and hums, satisfied when his hips jolt up. His cock hits the back of Jeongguk's throat, but he wills himself not to gag, instead grabbing his hips and holding Taehyung in place.
"Ah, fuck," Taehyung groans when Jeongguk hollows out his cheeks and sucks harder. Chancing a glance up, he finds Taehyung with his eyes squeezed shut, his head flung back against his pillow. "You got so good at this."
Jeongguk flushes at the unexpected praise, swallowing down his own moan. Some of the shit that comes out of Taehyung's mouth when's he turned on makes Jeongguk's head spin. Feeling inspired, he pulls his lips back, allowing his teeth to graze lightly over Taehyung's cock.
"Fuck, Jeongguk," Taehyung gasps, his body bending almost in half, grip tightening in Jeongguk's hair, and with a familiar rush Jeongguk realizes that he's about to come. He quickens his pace, rolling Taehyung's balls in his hand, and sure enough, soon after Taehyung is shuddering against him, spilling down his throat.
"Shit," Taehyung breathes, chest heaving. A lazy, satisfied smile plays across his lips. "You're officially forgiven."
Jeongguk laughs with his mouth pressed into the juncture between Taeyhung's thigh and his hip, but relief floods his stomach all the same.
"Come up here," Taehyung says, and Jeongguk does, crawling up his body and letting himself be folded up in Taehyung's arms. He kisses Taehyung's temple and closes his eyes, content.
And then: "Jesus, you're hard," Taehyung observes.
Jeongguk makes an indignant noise, rolling sideways onto the bed so that he can face Taehyung. "I just had your dick down my throat, give me a break."
"I'll give you a lot more than that," Taehyung says cheekily, reaching for his pants.
"You don't - you don't have to," Jeongguk stammers.
Taehyung pauses with his hand on Jeongguk's belt buckle, eyebrows shooting up. "Do you seriously think I'm going to leave you with blue balls?" he asks incredulously. "I wasn't that mad."
"No, I just." Jeongguk sighs, struggling to articulate his thoughts. "I wasn't like, looking for anything in return. I just wanted to do something for you."
"You're cute," Taehyung smiles, pecking his lips. "But stop being such a martyr, you know I love your cock."
It's possible that Jeongguk chokes on his own spit, but everything sort of blurs together when Taehyung slides down his body, taking Jeongguk's pants with him.
"Fuck, I love you," Jeongguk groans, propping himself up on his elbows to look down at Taehyung.
Taehyung meets him with a coy smile, his mouth poised over Jeongguk's cock.
"I know."
***
A few days later, Taehyung finds Jeongguk hunched over his desk, once again hard at work on his lyrics. He finally feels like he's made some real headway (and Namjoon agrees, thank god), but there's still a lot of work to be done.
"Sorry, are you trying to focus?" Taehyung asks, peering over Jeongguk's shoulder. "I was just coming to see if you wanted anything to eat, it's late."
Jeongguk shakes his head. "I'm good, thanks babe."
"Okay," Taehyung says softly, backing away. "I'll leave you to it, then."
"Wait," Jeongguk says, catching his wrist. Taehyung looks down at his hand and then up at Jeongguk's face, surprised. With a tug, Jeongguk pulls him into his lap, wrapping his arms around Taehyung's waist from behind. "Stay?"
Taehyung's answering smile is so radiant that Jeongguk feels like his heart might burst. "Okay," he says, a little shy.
Jeongguk hooks his chin over Taehyung's shoulder, sighing contentedly as he looks back over his lyrics.
It's not perfect yet, but like he said - he's working on it.