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The ride back to the hotel has been dead silent from both of them. Taehyung could see in Jeongguk’s eyes that he was itching to speak, but one look from Taehyung told him not to.
He’s been replaying the scene in his mind, the slip of his tongue live on television, just from looking at Jeongguk alone.
He did not mean to say that, as true as it might have been.
And Jeongguk knows.
Oh, he knew, then, too, and he seemed to be having the time of his life despite Taehyung’s panic.
It is still quiet, but Taehyung feels a brush of fingers against his across the backseat of the car, a comforting presence while he keeps his eyes fixed on the moving buildings of New York as they make their way to the hotel.
The screen between their driver and them is up, so Taehyung knows that they could talk.
He’s just too embarrassed to even dare to turn around to meet Jeongguk’s big eyes.
He allows himself to hold his hand, though, trying to ease his anxiety with every brush of Jeongguk’s thumb across his skin.
The hotel isn’t that far from the studio where they were just filming, but New York traffic is atrocious.
If he were someone else, Taehyung would’ve gotten out of the car and walked there, knowing full well how much he actually needs a bit of fresh air right now. But considering how crowded the exit was, and knowing the fact that everyone here is aware of who they are, it would not be the safest route.
He is exhausted, because they barely got any sleep last night, too busy giggling while editing Jeongguk’s TikTok at ass o’clock in the morning, and everything that came along with it.
The second Taehyung spots the sign of the hotel ahead, he lets go of Jeongguk’s hand and starts retrieving his stuff, needing to get out of the car as soon as possible, needing to go to his room, lock himself there, and maybe cry a little.
And, if he’s honest, he is aware that it is actually not that big of a deal, because they handled it well and Namjoon made sure that he was understood, but still.
As expected, there are fans there waiting for them, security guards making sure that they can walk in safely despite the screams.
Both of them rush in, flashes going off and making Taehyung a little bit dizzy to the point that, the second they make it to the elevator, he rests his back against the wall and closes his eyes.
Jeongguk is still there, right by his side, as always.
Quiet, but not in a bad way.
Quiet like he knows that is what Taehyung needs right now, but always within range in case he needs to reach out.
Taehyung thinks he hears one of their security guards ask something, and Jeongguk replies before the elevator starts going up, but Taehyung’s eyes are still closed, hands tightly gripping the reel. When the elevator stops, he opens his eyes again and follows everyone out of the elevator down to their rooms.
The rest of the guys are probably already there, since they left the studio first. He thinks he remembers Hoseok talking about ordering some dinner and inviting them to his room later, but Taehyung had been too out of it to reply, which is why he heads to his room straight away.
Except, when they get there, Taehyung reaches to hold his wrist and pulls him to keep walking.
“G–Wait—” Taehyung says, but to no avail, because Jeongguk walks two doors down the hall to his room and pulls the card out of his wallet to open the door.
“Thank you for your hard work today,” he bows to their managers, a clear dismissing sign that they all take, bowing before retreating down the hall again. And, once they’re gone, Jeongguk pulls Taehyung into his room and closes the door, wrapping his arms around Taehyung in a tight embrace a few seconds after.
“Hyung,” he whispers again, and Taehyung’s heart tightens a little bit. “What’s wrong?” He asks as if it’s not obvious.
“I—I didn’t mean to say that,” Taehyung admits, fists tightening on Jeongguk’s sweater, crumpling it.
“Oh, no?” Jeongguk pulls back enough to meet his eyes, and he sees the spark there, he sees the smirk on his lips. “And here I thought you meant to admit that you did, in fact, miss kissing me.”
“Shut up,” Taehyung pushes him away slightly, but he’s never been stronger than Jeongguk. Never truly used much force, either.
“Mhm, sure, hyung, I could do that,” he nods and pulls him in again. “Or I could keep kissing—I mean, teasing you.” He says the words in English to make matters worse.
“Jeongguk!” Taehyung whines, covering his face with his hands, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks again.
“I mean, to be fair, I was surprised, too. Because it’s not like we stopped kissing during—”
That’s it.
Taehyung cannot take it anymore.
He holds Jeongguk’s face and shuts him up himself.
With his lips.
It’s the most efficient way, he’s learned.
“There you are,” Jeongguk whispers against his lips, arms around his waist, before pressing another quick kiss on his lips.
“You are so annoying,” Taehyung sighs, deflating in his arms the same way he’s used to.
“You say that a lot, and yet, here we are,” Jeongguk giggles, nose scrunched up the same way he did when they were sixteen and hiding around. “But you said you missed my teasing the most while in the military, didn’t you?”
“I just missed you,” Taehyung admits. “But I couldn’t just say that,” he shrugs. “So you being a brat would have to do.”
“Well, I love you, too, hyung,” he tilts his head just slightly, smile so big it’s blinding. “And don’t worry about what happened, yeah? It was funny, and people are going to reach whatever conclusions they want, no matter what, so,” he shrugs.
“I know that, but still, I… I can’t help it,” Taehyung admits and earns himself another hug from Jeongguk, another press of his lips against his temple. “And the fact that you laughed, too—” he slaps his chest once more.
“Because it was funny!” Jeongguk chuckles. “The fans’ reaction was funny, too,” he leans in and kisses him again. “I almost kissed you there, too.”
“Oh, fuck off,” Taehyung can’t help but laugh at that, shaking his head. “I take it back, I didn’t miss you teasing me at all, you brat.”
“You did miss kissing me, though,” Jeongguk winks and puckers his lips, giggling when Taehyung curses and threatens to hit him. “Oh, those first weeks during training when we couldn’t talk were hell,” Jeongguk reminisces. “But the first time we got together after that…” Jeongguk does not need to continue the sentence because Taehyung remembers.
Hell, every nerve in his body stands at the memory of it.
In fact, seeing Jeongguk again in his uniform yesterday while they were filming that silly TikTok did something to him again, unfortunately.
Good thing they got all the shots before Taehyung ripped it off him.
“You can’t bring that up now,” Taehyung scolds him, feeling his throat dry up. “We have an early schedule tomorrow, and we are sleep-deprived enough, Guk, we should try actually to sleep tonight.”
“Oh, who said anything against sleeping?” his shit-eating grin spreads with ease, and Taehyung groans, pushing him away once more. “Get your mind out of the gutter, hyung, I was just talking about the time we met for drinks with everyone else—”
“Sure you were, brat,” Taehyung clicks his tongue and starts walking to Jeongguk’s open luggage on the floor to pick one of his t-shirts to sleep in.
But Jeongguk wraps his arms around his waist from the back and presses his lips against his nape, sending shivers down his spine when his breath collides against Taehyung’s skin.
“We can sleep after, though,” he whispers against it, and, truly, Taehyung has never been good at saying no to Jeongguk.
And he won’t start tonight, either.
So, Taehyung allows himself to be guided to the bed, allows Jeongguk to carefully remove his clothes, gentle hands roaming across his skin, while they join the still messy bed that welcomes them home, which is the very same feeling he gets every time Jeongguk’s lips press against his.
And, while he looks up at him, Jeongguk’s hands are in his on both sides of his head, his breathing heavy and his skin flushed, all Taehyung can think is that he could gladly spend a lifetime watching him.
In fact, he will, because they will not be apart again.
Not anymore.