Taehyung returned in no time with two teacups elegantly filled with caramel and cream colored liquid that smelled of a morning pleasure. He set your cup down in front of you, causing you to sit back up in your seat and yank your hands to your lap as he rounded the table to sit across from you.
He settled into his seat and set his own cup down on the table and raised his eyes - that had now been completely drained of their tired nature - to meet your gaze. But that blissful innocence in his eyes was short lived as he brought his gaze to the potted plant that was the centerpiece of your table.
Curling your fingers into the porcelain hook you raised the cup up just as one of your brows did the same.
"No. No." He muttered as he brought his hand up to the side of the pot and roughly pushed it down the table and out of his line of sight as if angry at its existence. It slid down the table a short way before the edge of its pot hooked on a bump in the rustic wood tables and it started to topple. "No! No!" He said again, this time in regret of his impulsive actions.
You snorted, nearly spitting out the small amount of tea you had managed to funnel into your mouth as the man across from you scrambled to try and catch the plant before soil littered the table. His knee jerk reaction was thankfully fast enough that he managed to save the innocent plant and bring it back upright.
"What the hell did the plant do to you, Tae?" You questioned as you set down your teacup and snagged the napkin that was folded neatly on top of the small saucer the cup had come on, using it to cover your lips and stifle your laughter.
"It was in the way, I was just trying to mo--" He stopped mid-sentence as he set the plant back down but held onto it as his attention turned to you. "Did you just call me 'Tae'?"
"Nope." You lied, a rumbled cough leaving your throat in attempts to nonchalantly play off your white lie. Your head shook back and forth as you pinched your lips together. It was an involuntary response to simply just get his name out quickly, your thoughtless actions would truly be your downfall.
Slowly his hands pulled away from the plant that was successfully stationed off to the side now. His eyes, however, studied your face with dipped brows as you raised your cup in attempts to drown out your discomfort. Thankfully, he didn't badger you any further about the sudden outburst and the tension toned down.
"So, you never did tell me what city we're in." You decided on changing the subject as you let your teacup click against the little plate that served as its coaster.
"Yorkshire." Taehyung said as it was his turn to drown his words with the caramel scented coffee he had ordered.
"Yorkshire?" You repeated, at the moment you were trying to place the city's name. You didn't leave your little town very often, which was probably part of the reason why you wanted so desperately to venture out of it for college.
"Wait. Yorkshire?! That's a two-hour drive from home!"
"Hour and a half if you take highway 180."
"You got here in forty-five minutes."
"Yeah..."
The gaze in your fire filled eyes was all Taehyung needed to see to know you were clearly disapproving of his reckless attempts to get here quickly and collect you.
"To be fair, you told me to hurry."
"Hurry, but not put yourself in danger. It's been raining, Taehyung."
"Hey, I got here in one piece."
"By a stroke of luck probably!"
"Be mad if you want, but it was an emergency."
"Ugh!" You grunted as you planted your forehead into the palm of your hand. Guilt filled your nerves once again as you thought of the harm he put himself in due to your own 'mistakes'. But the volume of your voice seemed to have gained the attention of the staff behind the counter at the rear of the cafe.
Taehyung just stiffened his upper lip and leaned himself over the table, two fingers pressed into the top of your head as he pushed it back, flicking your skin as he motioned for you to raise your head. Though it wasn't his force that brought your head back up as much as it was the surprise of being touched.
"This isn't a weekend of stressing, so stop it. What's done is done. Let's just try and focus on having a good time, okay?" He instructed, trying to bring you out of your destructive thought process.
Quickly you raised your hand from your head and snatched the two fingers he had used to poke at you with, engulfing them in your palm as your piercing gaze only became sharper as if being ground against a smooth stone.
"I should kick your ass for being so reckless." You grumbled under your breath to keep your threat low to where only he could hear your growling voice. "Don't worry, I'll do it 'genuinely'." You added, mocking a comment that had long since passed and brought you back to that evening you had spent with Taehyung in that cavern.
"Don't threaten me with a good time, baby." Taehyung's lips spread thinner as his award-winning heart shaped smile returned to his lips, though the brightness of his smile did little to deflect the brashly flirtatious attitude of his words.
"UGH!" You grunted again, quickly letting go of his fingers as you batted his hand away from you. Of course, he'd use faux flirting methods in attempts to get you to stop just like last time.
Taehyung burst into laughter, finding your bashful misery humorous, a hand flying to his stomach as he tried to sooth the pain that came with his uncontrollable laughter. Head after head now boldly turned in your direction due to his obnoxious behavior.
"You have a girlfriend for God's sake, Taehyung!" You exclaimed before covering your eyes with your palms, your elbows kneading into the refined wood of the table.
"I do?" He questioned, genuinely looking confused by your statement.
"Yes?!" You responded with irritation, but just as much confusion as to how he could forget that little fact about himself.
" Oh. Right... that." His eyes flicked in understanding as he seemed to gather his bearings.
You just stared at him, dumbfounded as to how you had to remind this man that he had a girlfriend that he was committed to. He averted his gaze.
"You're right... I apologize." He said as his tone dropped to that of one more serious.
"I think you should be apologizing to her. Not me." You grumbled just like before, but the idea of getting into the details of his relationship when you really knew nothing wasn't something you wanted to do. It wasn't your place to lecture him on how to treat a woman when you didn't know the boundaries of their relationship.
Taking a heavy chug of your coffee, you let the warmth and smooth vanilla taste wash away your nerves as you opted to try and change the subject and take the opportunity to learn more about the man who you had been spending a considerable amount of time with.
"Why don't you tell me about her?" You questioned as you set your cup back down, only a little bit of liquid pooled in the button of the small teacup.
"Who?"
"Your girlfriend..."
"Ah! Right..."
Seriously, who here was the one having lapses in memory now? Or was this one of his attempts to dodge the subject entirely? Regardless, you were a faint bit curious as to what this girl must be like given the type of man that you were learning Taehyung was.
"Well, there isn't much to tell." He said dismissively, his deep tone of voice falling lower in its volume. His eyes drifted about the cafe in aviation.
His eyes were the type of brown that was like sweet chocolate. The chocolate that melts from the slightest bit of the heat from happiness. But, that same chocolate could also grow hard from the cold harsh reality that is apparent in this world. You weren't sure what flavor it was you were seeing now.
"Why not?"
"Because I haven't known her long."
"So, you two are a new couple?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Well, how'd you meet?"
"By chance... near the local campus."
"So, she goes to school with you?"
"No. She was just nearby one day when I was out walking and I just kind of... ran into her."
Noticing that he was being hesitant, you continued your pursuit to get him to open up a little bit more. He had seen you at your most vulnerable, yet there was still so much mystery you felt surrounded the brunette across the table from you. You remained mindful not to push your limits and not prod him too far past his comfort point, keeping your questions short in hopes that he would just indulge a little bit of information to you.
"Okay. Well, what made you two decide to start dating?"
"I don't know exactly."
"Come on... Why do you like her?"
You lightly pushed as your arms folded against the crease of the table and you leaned forward to showcase your interest to learn more. Your eyes fixated on him, but you kept your gaze light. A little tilt of your head ruffled your bangs as they tickled your lashes, batting them in his direction in hopes that a soft puppy dog gaze would make him feel more at ease.
"I guess, she just came to me when I was in a 'dead' place."
"What do you mean...?"
"Uh.. how do I explain this." He questioned as he chewed at his lower lip in thought before flicking it free from the bondage of his teeth. "You know how life just sometimes starts to get repetitive? Same thing, day in and day out? You just start to wonder if you're even 'living' properly. If this existence is the one you wanted for yourself, you start doubting."
"Yeah... I understand what you mean." You nodded softly, letting your gaze fall a bit more hazed as your lids clouded half your eyes, feeling the profound nature of his statement.
"I guess she just came to me when those feelings were getting pretty strong. It was like a light at the end of the tunnel. Though I guess at first I thought it would be a good distraction, admittedly. She was interesting, and something about her just made me want to let that bit of light in instead of shutting it out due to my responsibilities."
"Well... that's awfully poetic." You exhaled, the corner of your lips curling softly as you were taken by surprise at his choice of words that genuinely had captured your interest.
"Is that bad?" He asked as his expression dropped with his concern that his words may have been off-putting.
"No." You laughed dryly. "I guess I just didn't expect that out of you." You admitted as you flopped one of your hands up in defeat. You wanted information, yes. But you didn't expect he'd word it so beautifully. You let your smile spread, showing him a visible representation of your gratitude for sharing his story.