Work Text:
Taehyung sighs, clutching his tablet closer to his chest. The room is in a complete disarray: sheets thrown on the floor, an empty bottle of liquor resting on its side, three glasses on the carpet. He walks farther into the room, inspecting the bathroom with its half-open door. No sign of Jeongguk.
"Jarvis?" He calls to the empty room.
"Mr Kim," the robotic voice resounds with its unfailing sarcastic lilt. "How can I help you this evening?"
"Where is Jeongguk?"
"I'm sorry, Mr Kim, but Mr Jeon has forbidden me from disclosing his location."
Taehyung gives a long-suffering sigh, cocking his hip to the side the way Jeongguk says makes him look like a sexy murderous wife. Asshole. "And why is that?"
"Mr Jeon has warned me that you probably won't approve of his latest... project."
Taehyung purses his lips. "He's in the garage, isn't he?"
"Bravo," Jarvis inputs and Taehyung swears that if the damned thing wasn't a computer he would be giving him the finger right now. But he just turns swiftly on his heels and makes his way down to the underground garage, where Jeongguk keeps all his precious babies, namely his cars and his suits.
Taehyung just needs to follow the sound of blaring rock metal music to arrive, swiping his Jeon Industries employee card to unlock the door to Jeongguk's garage-turned-lab.
Of course he is there, in a tank top and with googles on, slashing his way through a giant block of metal. He doesn't look up when Taehyung makes his entrance, too focused on his work.
"Jeongguk!" Taehyung calls, the sound drowned by the music's guitar solo. "Jeongguk!" He tries again, stepping farther into the garage.
Jeongguk seems to notice him then, the music's volume decreasing to a more bearable one. Taehyung opens his mouth and is immediately interrupted.
"Do you know the atomic mass of vibranium?" Jeongguk blurts out, setting his machine aside. His muscles bulge, glistening with sweat, the arc reactor a dull blue light under his tank top. Taehyung wonders how long he's been down here, if he has even eaten at all.
Taehyung sighs. "No one knows the atomic mass of vibranium."
Jeongguk smirks slyly, stepping back from his worktable and holding one finger up. "What if I told you I found one isotope-"
"Jeongguk," Taehyung cuts in fretfully, "I can't believe you forgot your meeting with the Chinese investors again."
Jeongguk takes his googles off, stepping to the side so he can swirl the projection of his latest design around for Taehyung to see. "Take a look," he says, that excited gleam to his eyes that doesn't leave until he's come up with a new revolutionary technology.
"I don't want to take a look at whatever that is," Taehyung inputs, "and don't try to avoid this conversation."
Jeongguk tongues the inside of his cheek, giving Taehyung his back as he returns to his work.
"Jeongguk, for god's sake," Taehyung shrieks, "why didn't you attend the meeting?"
"I'm busy, okay?" Jeongguk stresses, "You don't understand, this is- Taehyung, this is science."
"Science?" Taehyung crosses his arms, unconvinced and most of all, irritated, "and the bottle of liquor I found in your room? Was it science? And the panties in your bedroom? Those respectable ladies from yesterday must have forgotten them there during your science sessions, hn?"
Jeongguk pays him a shit eating grin over his shoulder, on his way to putting his googles back on, "jealous much?"
Taehyung narrows his eyes, speaking through gritted teeth, "don't go there, Jeon Jeongguk."
But of course Jeongguk goes there. "Tae, Tae, why so stressed all the time?"
"I'm not stressed," Taehyung squares his jaw, "I'm responsible, which is something that you haven't grown old enough to understand-"
"Do you know what you need?" Jeongguk raises his eyebrows teasingly, "'Cause I think I know what you need."
"I do too: I need you to stop playing in your garage and attend your meetings for once," Taehyung sentences, only to be completely ignored.
"You need a night of wild sex," Jeongguk determines, uncaring of the way Taehyung blushes and tries to keep a serious composure, "one night without thinking about work, just lying back and taking it-"
Taehyung taps on his tablet, turning the screen around for Jeongguk to see.
Jeongguk frowns in the middle of his rant, glancing down at it. "What, what's this?" He squints, stepping closer and shucking his machine to the side.
"This," Taehyung states proudly, "is my resignation letter."
"Wow wow wow, hold up there," Jeongguk holds the tablet in both his hands, eyes filing through the document until he pushes it back towards his worktable. "Whoa, that's- hold on, Taehyung," he grabs Taehyung by his hips, walking backwards until the back of his knees hit his worktable and he sits down on its edge, pulling Taehyung to stand between his legs. "You don't need to do this- is it the money? I'll double everything."
Taehyung crosses his arms, avoiding Jeongguk's gaze for a second. "It's not the money."
"Then what is it?"
Taehyung turns his head to the side, the perpetual rock music eating at his patience. "Can you turn that off for one second?"
The music comes to an abrupt stop and Taehyung sighs.
"Is it about the Chinese thing? I'm sorry, I'll go next week," Jeongguk shrugs.
"I already handled the meeting," Taehyung purses his lips.
"Did you really? Wow," he whistles, "I get it, I'll make you employee of the month, hn. What do you say?" he taps Taehyung's hips appraisingly.
"Jeongguk," Taehyung gives him the side-eye, nostrils flaring.
"Wrong guess?" Jeongguk squints.
"I can't handle being your babysitter any longer," Taehyung deflates. "And there's the-" he extends his hands in the direction of the suits, all poised one next to other with its metal plates reflecting the light, "the suits and the press and the Avengers and- and you're still a child with an overinflated ego!"
Jeongguk frowns slightly, a hand to his chest. "Okay, that hurt."
Taehyung bristles. "This has been nice and all – actually, no – but I've overstayed my welcome."
"Taehyung," Jeongguk grabs his wrists, looking up at him with doe eyes. "You don't understand, you literally can't leave me. What am I without you?"
"You're Iron Man," Taehyung spews, "you're a billionaire, a scientist and still every bit a playboy, apparently," Taehyung rolls his eyes.
Jeongguk bites the inside of his bottom lip in thought. Taehyung waits for him to say something with bated breath, feeling the proximity of his body and his warm breath, the way his powerful thighs hang from the table and the grip Jeongguk still has around his wrists.
Jeongguk takes in a long breath, letting it out slowly before looking up at Taehyung with a serious face.
"Do you need a day-off?"
Taehyung blinks, taking it in in less than a second. He just extends his hand towards his inner pocket and hands Jeongguk his employee card. "Thanks for the opportunity, Mr Jeon."
"Wh- Taehyung, wait, wait, wait! Where are you going?" Jeongguk panics once Taehyung steps back and walks in the direction of the door, "Okay, I get it, I'll say it, no one else in this world can stand me, only you."
"Really? You seem to do fine with Mrs Sarit," Taehyung shoots. Mrs Sarit was a middle-aged woman who showed up to clean the mansion every other week. She barely spoke Korean and her presence made Jeongguk nervous as hell.
"I don't, she screams at me in Thai," Jeongguk follows after him.
"Well," Taehyung turns on his heels, sending Jeongguk a firm stare, "maybe you deserve to be screamed at."
Jeongguk's jaw shift, inching his head higher. It's the face he makes when he comes to a decision he knows Taehyung won't like. "I'm not accepting the letter."
"What?!" Taehyung squawks.
Jeongguk gives a victorious grin, shrugging noncommittally as he turns around to go back to his work. "You heard me, I'm not accepting your resignation letter."
Taehyung's eyes widen and he snags his bottom lip between his teeth. "That's not up to you. Only the HR is responsible for accepting resignation letters from all employees. It's in the company's constitution, written by your father."
That was a low blow, and Jeongguk knows it as well, with the way his face hardens and he gives Taehyung a look that has a spike of fear running down his spine.
"Thanks for reminding me, sweetheart," Jeongguk responds docilly, "but it just so happens that I'm the CEO. Which means I make the rules."
Taehyung pauses, uncertain. That would be the ultimate dick move, but he doesn't doubt for a second Jeongguk is going to do it, the man stubborn enough to not have his every whim attended to.
"Jarvis," Jeongguk calls just to prove a point.
"Sir."
"Can you alter the third paragraph of Jeon Industries' Human Resources' management and add 'all employees working directly with CEO Jeon Jeongguk are exclusively under his judgement'?" He dictates, staring at Taehyung all along.
"It is done, sir."
"Thank you," Jeongguk smirks.
Taehyung fumes silently in the aftermath, the loud rock music coming back to taunt him. Jeongguk whistles, unpreoccupied. "Think you're forgetting something, aren't you, sweetheart?" He extends Taehyung's employee card pointedly.
Taehyung tries to convey all of his irritation through a single look, marching towards the man – his ex-ex-boss – to snatch the card out of his hand. Jeongguk holds it in a firm grip though, not one to let go so easily.
"You're still going to thank me one of these days, baby," Jeongguk adds with a wink.
Taehyung gives him a bitter smile, tugging the card out of his grip swiftly. "That's what we'll see."
He grabs his tablet from the table and swipes the card to open the door with all the strength he can muster.
"See you tomorrow!" Jeongguk calls merrily. Taehyung makes sure to let the door fall closed with a bang. He pauses in front of the door, shivering in defeat.
Ugh. Insufferable.