Something was up with Jeongguk. Taehyung had noticed the hybrid was a little out of sorts when he picked him up from Triple H after his brunch with Eonjin. Usually he was waiting near the gym entry, a front of casual disinterest on his face when Tae turned up, as though he only just noticed the man had arrived. When he knew for a fact that the bunny hybrid would watch the door anxiously for his carer’s arrival as soon as the class was finished. The staff had shamelessly exposed him when Tae had walked in after the second week looking disheartened by Jeongguk’s apparent lack of interest.
This afternoon, however, Jeongguk had taken one look at him and his eyes had narrowed in hostility over the facemask he always wore for the trip home. A little taken aback, Tae had given him a quizzical smile and asked if everything was ok. His only answer had been a grated out, ‘fine’. Taehyung had raised his brows, but let the comment slide. He could ask again when they were on the bus, where they usually discussed their respective days.
Jeongguk sat down, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his body until he was half-facing the window. He was wearing his beanie, so Taehyung couldn’t see his ears properly, but he’d bet they were pressed flat against the boy’s skull with displeasure. He sighed heavily and touched the hybrid’s shoulder, which jerked away from him instantly.
“Guk? What’s wrong?” He asked patiently.
“Nothing.” The boy snapped back sullenly.
“We both know that’s not true. Talk to me, bun. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.” He told him in gentle, coaxing tones.
“Whatever.” He muttered and Tae looked mildly surprised. It’d been a while since he’d been whatever-ed.
“Bun...” He placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder again, trying to twist him around to face him, but Jeongguk shook him off again.
“Don’t touch me!” He cried, a little louder than Tae was comfortable with given their current surroundings.
“Ok.” He said calmly, removing his hand. He never disrespected Jeongguk’s bodily autonomy. If the boy didn’t want to be touched, he wouldn’t touch him. “I’ll give you your space. But we’re talking when we get home.” He warned.
The rest of the fifteen minute bus trip home was spent in uncomfortable silence. Jeongguk jerked out of his hold once more when Tae tried to steady the boy as he lurched down the aisle of the braking vehicle. His stubbornness almost making both of them fall. Tae pressed his lips together, watching the hybrid stomp down the stairs and out onto the footpath.
“Thank you.” He thanked the driver with a small, polite bow and left the bus to follow closely behind the obviously angry bunny.
They reached their home in less than five minutes, Jeongguk’s furious pace cutting their journey by a third. The hybrid bypassed the elevator, running up the stairs, his tail visibly flicking beneath his baggy shirt irritably. Taehyung sighed heavily and followed him. The exercise would do him good, he supposed, and perhaps the burst of activity would serve to calm some of Guk’s agitation.
He found Jeongguk waiting by the door impatiently, as Taehyung was the only one with a key. He’d figured there was no point to giving the hybrid one, as he left the spare hanging just inside the door, should the boy need to go out while he wasn’t home. Although he was adamant that solo outings were to be kept to the two block radius and Guk was required to inform him by text that he was leaving, where he was going and how long he’d be, He also had to carry his phone in his pocket at all times while out and text when he got home.
Taehyung unlocked the door silently and held it open for Jeongguk to enter. The hybrid paused at the entryway, flicking his feet on the mat while he glared up at the taller boy. To anyone else, it might have seemed like he was wiping his feet, but Tae knew the boy well enough to know the display was aggressive. They were hurtling full speed toward a classic Jeongguk tantrum. Something that hadn’t happened since he’d been living in the Kim household.
Taehyung narrowed his eyes again. He wasn’t about to break that streak. He wasn’t some careless owner, neglecting his duty. He prided himself on the care he provided for his hybrid. He was firm but fair, providing for Jeongguk with meticulous attention to every aspect of the boy’s wellbeing. If something was bothering the rabbit hybrid, they would talk about it.
“Jeongguk.” He started firmly, careful to keep his irritation with the boy from his voice. “Take your shoes, mask and hat off and go wait in the bedroom for me while I put away this stuff.” He gestured at their bags.
Jeongguk clenched his jaw. “No.” He enunciated the word slowly, his eyes sparking with rebellion.
Tae was completely nonplussed for a moment. He hadn’t been overtly defiant for months. He had grown used to the meeker, needier Jeongguk. He tilted his head and raised a brow in question.
“I wasn’t asking.” He said mildly. “You’re sweaty from dance class. You need a shower.”
“I can do it myself. I don’t need a babysitter.” He sneered, ripping off the hat and mask and shoving them in the box Taehyung had provided on a stand by the doorway for that exact purpose.
He kicked off his shoes, leaving them lying in the middle of the carpeted floor and stalked toward the bedroom. Taehyung followed the boy with his eyes, trying to puzzle out what could possibly have set him off like this. It seemed completely out of left field.
Deciding he would give the boy a minute while he hung both their bags up on the provided hooks and put the rice cooker on for the evening meal like he usually did when he got home. When he heard the spray of the shower, he shook his head and headed to the bedroom.
“What are you doing?” He asked from the doorway as he watched Jeongguk exit the bathroom, wrenching off his t-shirt. He was momentarily distracted by the sight. Jeongguk’s body was a work of art. Broad where it needed to be, narrow in all the right places, whipcord lean all over.
“Having a shower.” He answered in what could only be described as a ‘duh’ tone.
“I can see that. Why didn’t you wait, like I told you?” He enquired, not rising to the bait.
“I didn’t want to.” He shrugged. “Can you leave?”
“Since when?” Tae challenged. “We haven’t showered separately once since you moved in.”
“I want to be alone.” He grated out again, his ears and tail twitching.
“Liar.” Taehyung refuted softly, a smirk playing at his lips. “We both know you’re my needy baby.”
“I’m not your anything.” Jeongguk snapped.
Taehyung had had enough of the boy’s sullen outburst. It was time to get to the bottom of all this. He sauntered across the room, noting the way Guk took an involuntary step back before his shoulder’s straightened, his chin raised and he stood his ground.
“Tell me what’s wrong, bun.” He said softly, deliberately lowering his voice to a commanding baritone, making the twitching ears swivel eagerly in his direction.
“Nothing.” He insisted.
“Liar.” Taehyung accused again, slowly backing the hapless hybrid up against the bed until his knees hit and he sat down heavily. The boy turned his head, his tongue pushing at the inside of his cheek angrily. Tae grabbed his chin and angled his face up to meet his eyes. “Talk to me, baby.” He coaxed quietly.
“Why don’t you go talk to her.” He muttered back and Taehyung blanked.
“Who?” He asked in bewilderment.
“Your girlfriend.” Jeongguk sneered. “I can smell her all over you.”
“My what?” Taehyung shook his head before a slow, satisfied smile lifted his lips.
“Aw, bun. You’re jealous.” He proclaimed with an amused chuckle.
“No I’m not.” He denied, looking away even as his cheeks ran high with colour. “I don’t care who you fuck.”
Taehyung let the boy’s chin go with a disapproving cluck of his tongue. “Language.” He rebuked.
“Fu-” But Taehyung gave his ear a warning tug and he swallowed the word.
“The girl you can smell? Is my sister, Eonjin.” He explained calmly, turning the tug into a slow, soothing stroke as he climbed up onto the bed, straddling Jeongguk's thighs. “And the only one I want to fuck, as you so crassly put it, is you.”
A/N Oh my... Tae said a bad word 😱
Now I know that I said this was going to be a bit BDSM but I dunno, I feel like Tae is more Daddy than Dom but eh, it is what it is. I still love their dynamic even if it's not my usual shtick.
Anyways, how we all doing? I'm freezing!❄🌡❄ Which is to say it's 20°C but I'm from Qld Australia (The Sunshine State if that gives you any indication of our typical weather) and it's our winter, so I guess I'm a grass/poison type pokemon and do not do well once the temp drops below 25°C.
But I digress. Going to be writing my lil heart out in the next few weeks as I want to get this fic finished and then I will enter it into the wattys. Can't hurt, right?
So with that in mind, if you guys see any spelling mistakes, tense changes, POV changes or whatever, can you point them out? Sometimes I miss them. Especially if it's not technically a spelling mistake as Word doesn't pick it up. (Oh but my sentence fragments it's all over. Damn it! That's a stylistic choice! Ahem, anyways...)
Thanks, I'd appreciate it.
Also, I woke up this morning with 1k votes which is ...amazing! Aww, you guys! 🤗😍💖💗😭
I purple you so hard! 💜💜💜💜💜
Remember to vote! But then, I guess you have been. 😘