#jemshopesprompts

--Namjin memory loss AU

Namjoon and Seokjin have been best friends since high school, have attended the same university and spent three years living together afterwards, only getting their own apartments two years ago when Namjoon got into a serious relationship. The relationship ended five months ago and Namjoon has been a bit of a mess since then, has stayed over at Seokjin's apartment most nights and let Seokjin make him laugh and let Seokjin hold him when he cries and let Seokjin tell him how his ex-boyfriend sucked and Namjoon deserves so much better. 

They're tipsy and it's late at night when Seokjin tells Namjoon that he's in love with him. It's the wrong moment to say something like that. Namjoon is still mourning his last relationship. He has no words to respond and he's drunk and he doesn't know what else to do but leave to try and process his emotions alone. Seokjin's decision to tell him at that moment in time was the wrong one, but Namjoon's decision to leave is also wrong. If he had stayed then he wouldn't have gotten a call saying Seokjin was in the hospital because he had been hit by a car less than two blocks from Namjoon's apartment. Namjoon wouldn't be sitting beside his hospital bed right now, staring at his friend's bruised and battered face, realising he may very well be in love with Seokjin too.

But when Seokjin wakes up the last five years have been wiped from his memories. He wakes up laughing about how the car crash has messed up their plans to travel once university is over, and Namjoon has to tell him they already went travelling. It's been years since they travelled together. It already happened. And university is long over. 

It shakes both of their worlds, Seokjin's memory loss. The doctor's say they're not sure if Seokjin's memories will come back. It will take time and patience and most of all support. If it doesn't distress Seokjin too much, Namjoon should talk to him about things they've done together, memories of times Seokjin no longer remembers. But ultimately all that anyone can do is wait and hope they return. 

Namjoon moves into Seokjin's apartment with him. Not officially, at first, but after several months he decides it's for the best. Seokjin is struggling to work—emotionally. He's working with people who have known him for years and yet he doesn't remember them. Everyone looks at him strangely now, treats him strangely. He hates it. He's living in an apartment he doesn't remember renting or living in. Seokjin doesn't remember finishing his degree. He doesn't remember confessing to Namjoon. He doesn't even remember coming out to Namjoon three years prior. The thought hadn't even crossed Namjoon's mind that Seokjin wouldn't remember coming out to Namjoon until Seokjin approaches him one day and shows him a picture they had taken together that Namjoon had posted on social media. He had captioned it, "two gays spotted in the wild." 

"Did I... did I... tell you?" Seokjin asks quietly. There are tears in his eyes. 

Namjoon nods. He moves over on the couch to let Seokjin sit down. "About three years ago, yeah. I... I didn't even think... you'd forget--I love you. I'm proud of you for telling me. N-now and then."

"Did we date?"

"No. Why?"

"I... I don't know."

There are many things he tells Seokjin. All his favourite memories. He tells him about their terrible time travelling, how they had planned to travel the world for a year after university, but had given up after just three months when they both got atrocious food poisoning in Thailand. They go through what feels like a hundred photographs and videos taken over the years. None of it brings anything back for Seokjin. 

Months pass and Namjoon wants to ask Seokjin if Seokjin has feelings for him, but he's afraid Seokjin's feelings developed somewhere in the five years Seokjin no longer remembers. When asked for advice, Yoongi had told Namjoon it would be best not to ask Seokjin such a loaded question at the moment. Seokjin needs Namjoon's friendship and if Seokjin doesn't remember developing feelings for Namjoon, asking him about it will only make things awkward between them. Give it time. Let Seokjin work out his life again first. 

Jimin had rolled his eyes at this. "Maybe he should just kiss him? Worked for me, didn't it?" 

"You're not helping,'' Yoongi had said, shooing his fiance out of the room. 

Namjoon believes Yoongi's advice is correct, but it's hard sometimes when he's close to Seokjin, not to just give in and take Jimin's. Sometimes all he wants to do when he sees Seokjin smile is kiss him. Even more than that he wants Seokjin to get his memories back. 

Seokjin asks tentatively after six months if Namjoon will go travelling with him again. Seokjin thinks maybe visiting some places where they've already been might help jog his memory. If not it could be the start of creating new memories together. 

Namjoon agrees without hesitation. 

And they travel. They go to Thailand. To Japan. To Germany. Nothing jogs Seokjin's memory, though. By the time they reach France Seokjin has become despondent and so has Namjoon. 

"I think I'm going to give up," Seokjin says to him one evening while they're sitting on the balcony of their hotel room. "I don't want to keep chasing memories I might never get back. I've lost five years of my life. I'd like to live instead of wasting more time on this." 

It upsets Namjoon greatly to hear this. There are so many good times he's had with Seokjin that are only his now. He wants Seokjin to remember their inside jokes and some of the best nights of Namjoon's life. He wants him to remember he loved him once. That he told him so. 

He breaks down there on that balcony and tells Seokjin everything about the night of Seokjin's accident. He tells Seokjin he thinks he loves him too. "I don't want to ruin anything. I want to be your friend, so it's okay if you don't love me. But you did at one point and you never told me when you started feeling that way. We never got the chance to be anything because of the accident. I think you were coming to see me that night because I ran away. But I think I love you too. Or I just love you if you don't love me." 

Seokjin doesn't say anything for a long time after this. He sits quite still and looks down at the streets of Paris. Then he says, "I think I must have fallen in love with you in the years I can't remember. Because I don't remember when, but... I guess even not remembering it didn't stop it. Ever since I woke up in the hospital I've been so confused, but practically the only thing I haven't been confused about is how I feel about you. I think I love you too. That's why I asked if we ever dated because I... I felt things and it didn't make sense..."

"You still loved me even though you didn't remember...?" Namjoon asks faintly.

Seokjin nods, his ears turning red. "Yeah. I did. I do. I... I love you." 

--Yoonjin Fake Dating AU

“Yoongi-yah, he’s not going to take you back just because you learn how to make a decent bowl of kimchi stew.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Relationships aren’t fixed with food. If you really want him back you need to make him jealous.”

* * * 

Yoongi has never thought of himself as one of those pathetic, desperate people who fall apart the moment their boyfriend breaks up with them, but it turns out he’s exactly one of those people when his boyfriend of five years leaves him, his parting words a cruel stab at Yoongi’s abysmal cooking skills. 

Yoongi doesn’t know why those particular words stick with him, but he finds himself at Kim Seokjin’s dorm room a week later—Seokjin being a friend of a friend who Yoongi has only met a few times at off campus parties and on the odd occasion when Jimin has had to stop by Seokjin’s dorm to pick something up, but who Yoongi has always liked spending time with and who is quite a talented cook—asking him for cooking lessons, either to prove his now ex-boyfriend wrong or to delusionally attempt to get him back. Seokjin rightly tells him that their relationship problems—their breakup—cannot be fixed by Yoongi learning to cook. Yoongi's ex left him for a multitude of reasons far bigger than his mediocre cooking. If Yoongi wants his ex back then he has to think far bigger too. Seokjin's plan—although perhaps just as delusional as Yoongi's—is far bigger. It's utterly ridiculous. And it just might work.

“If you really want him back you need to make him jealous,” Seokjin says matter of factly, crossing his legs where he lounges in his desk chair like a bond villain. All he’s missing is a fluffy white cat to stroke. 

“How am I supposed to do that?” Yoongi asks. He just wants some cooking lessons, so he can crawl back to his ex on his hands and knees and show him he’s improved and grown.

“Pretend to date me,” Seokjin says, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “We'll make a show of it and he’ll see what he’s missing and come running back to you.” 

“I'm not pretending—that’s the stupidest idea I've ever heard.”

“My idea is brilliant. No one wants a pathetic loser, Yoongi-yah, and if you learn to cook just so you can beg him to take you back because you’ve changed then you’re going to be one pathetic loser. And I can’t be friends with pathetic losers. And we were just becoming friends.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Because faking an entire relationship is what cool people do?” 

“No,” Seokjin says. “It’s what geniuses convince someone to do when they’re on the verge of becoming pathetic losers. People love things they can’t have, Yoongi-yah. It's why you want him back so badly. Right now he knows that if he snaps his fingers you’ll come running back to him. We need him to think you’ve moved on and that you’re happy and that you’re now a functioning human being.”

“This is ridiculous. Why did I even come here?”

“Because I'm brilliant. That's why. Pretend to date me and he’ll see what he’s missing and you’ll have him back in no time. And, bonus points, your parents won’t have a chance to start pestering you to start dating again.”

Yoongi has never heard such an absurd idea in his life, but seeing Seokjin’s smile and hearing Seokjin’s logic it’s hard to say no. 

“Fine. Whatever. How do you pretend to be dating someone?” 

“You stop frowning at me and start pretending you want to kiss me instead.”

* * * 

Or in which Yoongi’s boyfriend has recently broken up with him and he’s desperate to get him back, so he tries to enlist the help of his best friend Jimin’s friend Kim Seokjin, only for Seokjin to concoct a ridiculous fake dating plan that might just lead to Yoongi developing feelings for someone he never thought he would.

Somewhere between trying to make his ex boyfriend jealous, holding Seokjin’s hand, staring into his eyes, drawing him close, and letting Seokjin put his hands in his back pockets, and the many conversations they share, Yoongi begins to struggle to look at this relationship as just a fake one. When Seokjin kisses him one day in full view of his ex, Yoongi knows he should find the kiss weird. It’s his friend kissing him, not someone he’s attracted to. And yet he finds himself forgetting entirely that they aren’t really dating in that moment. He finds himself almost sad that they aren’t. He finds himself kissing Seokjin with more passion than he’s ever kissed his ex-boyfriend with. 

“Whoa,” Seokjin whispers, pulling back. “Way to commit to the bit.” 

They’re both flushed and breathless. and Yoongi can feel embarrassment creeping through his veins. Seokjin's lips are swollen and it takes every bit of willpower Yoongi has not to stare at them.

“Sorry, I just thought… I thought…”

Seokjin's eyes flicker to something over Yoongi’s head, however. He leans in and kisses Yoongi's cheek and says in a rather loud voice. “I'm going to the bathroom, Babe. Meet you in an hour?” 

Yoongi frowns. “Wh—“ 

Seokjin pokes him meaningfully.

“Oh, yeah, see you. Have fun in the—bathroom, I guess?” 

Yoongi barely has time to collect himself before his ex-boyfriend walks up to him to strike up a conversation. 

“Are you dating him for free cooking lessons or something?” he asks Yoongi jokingly.

Yoongi's ex is kind of an asshole and overhearing some of Yoongi’s conversations with him prompts Seokjin to ask questions, which start conversations of their own between the two of them. 

“Why do you want him back anyway?” 

“I-I don’t know. He's just… I… I love him. He’s been there for me when I needed him.” 

“Yeah, but whenever you two talk you look kind of miserable afterwards.” 

“Of course I do, he hasn’t asked me to take him back yet.” 

“He always says things that kind of put you down.” 

“That's just his sense of humour. I do it too.”

“Really? I've been hanging around you non-stop for almost a month now and you’ve never put me down.” 

“Well… I… it’s just…” 

They talk about many things. They share their hobbies and their aspirations for the future. Seokjin even teaches Yoongi how to cook, although it happens spontaneously one evening when Seokjin comes to Yoongi’s for dinner so they can work out a plan for tomorrow when they’ll see Yoongi’s ex again at the university fundraiser he’s participating in. Yoongi asks Seokjin on the phone what Seokjin feels like having for dinner. And Seokjin laughs and says he’ll bring dinner, don’t worry. And when he shows up he’s got two grocery bags. 

“We’re cooking a decent meal. I've seen the way you eat. And you must be sick of takeaway.” 

“We?” 

“Yes. We. You and me.”

That night Seokjin shows Yoongi how to chop vegetables correctly, how to fry onions without burning them, and how to properly prepare a decent meal. And he does it all with a smile and gentle words of encouragement. They cook, they eat, and they plan for tomorrow. Tomorrow they’re going to pretend to have an argument in earshot of Yoongi’s ex. It will give him the perfect excuse to comfort Yoongi, to begin winning him back. But Yoongi can’t help feeling a twinge of reluctance as they rehearse what they’re going to say to each other. But he pushes that reluctance aside. They have work to do and tomorrow, hopefully, he’ll have his boyfriend back. Nevermind if Yoongi has begun to think about someone else. 

The plan works. Yoongi's ex comes to comfort him and he asks Yoongi to get coffee with him. Once coffee is over he suggests dinner next week and Yoongi agrees. At dinner Yoongi begins to feel small. He doesn’t like his ex’s sense of humour. Or maybe it’s not humour. Maybe it’s just insults. He doesn't like how his ex talks about Seokjin. Most of all he doesn’t like how his ex’s mouth feels against his at the end of the night. He tastes like smoke and he kisses too hard. And he suggests they go back to his place as though he assumes Yoongi will agree immediately. 

“Um, actually, I-I think I’m going to go home,” Yoongi says, breathless, and in the wrong way, from their kiss. “Tonight was great. But… we should take things slow.” 

“Since when have you ever wanted to take things slow?” his ex scoffs. 

“Wh—since now. I don't know," Yoongi says in a small voice, eyes prickling.

“You’re really not coming back with me?” 

“I—no. no," Yoongi says, drawing himself up to his full height. “Thank you, but no.” 

His ex huffs irritably and gets into a taxi. “Whatever.”

Yoongi finds himself on the curb holding back tears. Usually when he cries, he goes to Jimin, but he hasn’t told Jimin about any of this and suddenly it all seems so stupid and humiliating to admit what he’s been doing for the last month. So he goes to Seokjin.

“Hey, how did the—Yoongi-yah, what happened?” 

Yoongi stands in Seokjin’s doorway, his face puckering as tears streak his cheeks. “He just puts me down all the time, like you said,” he whimpers hoarsely. “I didn't want to go home with him tonight and he basically called me easy and said I'd never not wanted to go home with him before.”

“He's an asshole. Come here. Come in. It’s okay.” He draws Yoongi into his arms, into the safety and familiarity of his dorm room. “You’re not easy.”

Yoongi cries embarrassingly loudly. All the tears he hasn’t cried since their breakup. all the tears he should have been crying instead of pouring his energy into trying to make his ex jealous. “I feel so stupid.” 

“Everyone's stupid sometimes. It’s okay.”

Seokjin lets him spend the night. Or, more accurately, insists he spend the night on pain of death. He makes snacks and they watch a film together on Seokjin’s laptop, eating popcorn and nachos and sweets. The worst thing seokjin does is chew extra loudly for a few moments to annoy Yoongi. 

Afterwards Seokjin makes them a very late dinner because Yoongi had hardly eaten anything at the restaurant his ex had taken him to. And they talk and eat and laugh. 

Yoongi takes a shower. As he’s washing his hair with Seokjin’s shampoo, he finds himself thinking that somehow his time with Seokjin tonight has felt like the date he’s been envisioning his ex taking him on. Something perfect and soft and intimate. So when he has towel dried his hair and changed into some old, loose clothes that Seokjin has leant him, he sits on the edge of Seokjin’s bed and looks at him until Seokjin looks up from his phone. 

“Stop staring at me.” 

“I'm not staring. Who—who’re you texting?”

“This guy I met at a party,” Seokjin says. “He’s pretty hot, so I thought I'd give it a try seeing as we’re over now. I mean, unless you want to give it a go for real?” 

Yoongi blinks, a little laugh leaving him. “Y-you’re joking, right?” He doesn’t mean it to come out like that, as though he can’t imagine them ever dating for real. 

Seokjin chuckles and looks away. “Yeah.”

They sleep in the same bed that night, but Yoongi feels miserable for the next few days. He and Seokjin are friends now, but suddenly friendship doesn’t seem like enough. 

Yoongi spends the next week at Jimin’s apartment, wallowing in depression and letting Jimin wrap him in blankets and tell him what a prick his boyfriend was. And how he’s sure Yoongi could work things out with Seokjin and be very happy with him. 

That’s when Yoongi tells Jimin everything. The fake dating. Falling for Seokjin. Not knowing what to do now because Seokjin isn’t interested in him romantically. He expects Jimin to reprimand him or yell dramatically that Yoongi should have told him—how could he leave him out of the most exciting thing Yoongi has ever done? But Jimin listens and then he smiles and he says simply, “Go shower and put on something sexy. We’re going to a party tonight.” 

“I don't want to go to a party.”

“It's not optional, hyung. Now put on some jeans that make your ass look phenomenal. We’re going out. I have a plan.”

Two hours later, they leave Jimin's dorm room, heading towards a party that Jimin knows for a fact Seokjin will be attending. Yoongi's stomach has tied itself in several knots. Jimin's plan is simple. Go in. Find Seokjin. Tell him how you feel. Yoongi hates this plan. Yoongi thinks it's a terrible plan, but Jimin is persuasive and Jimin is pulling him into a house that's vibrating with the force of the music thumping inside of it, a house packed with people and smelling thickly of alcohol. Jimin is craning his neck, handing Yoongi a cup of beer. 

"Drink up, it helps with the nerves," he tells him, grinning. And then, "Oh, look!"

And there is Seokjin. Standing in the corner talking to another man, laughing with another man. Probably the man who he had been texting the night Yoongi slept in his dorm room.

Yoongi turns and leaves the house, wiping away tears. He hears Jimin calling after him, but at some point those calls stop and there's just silence as he makes his way back through the quiet, pretty much deserted part of the university's grounds. Then another voice is calling out to him, footsteps echoing behind him, a hand taking his arm and pulling him to a halt. 

"Hey, I saw you at the party," Seokjin says. "What happened? Why did you leave?"

Yoongi sniffles. "I just thought I could go out and get a guy, but it was all too much for me," he says, smiling softly. 

Seokjin's skin is flushed from running and his hair is messy. He stands before Yoongi, looking like he doesn't quite know what to do with himself. 

"Yoongi-yah, you can't rush these things," Seokjin says. "It's okay to need time." 

Yoongi sits heavily on a bench, shaking his head. "I keep thinking about how much time I wasted on him. And what a prick he was to me. And how all I ever did was waste time wanting him to be what he wasn't. I wanted him to help me learn how to cook instead of complaining about it, you know? I wanted him to just appreciate me and not put me down all the time. I wanted him to, like, put his hand in my back pocket and hold my hand when we walked around together. And I wanted him to stay up half the night talking to me about stuff we wanted to do in the future. I wanted him to care about my hobbies. I-I wanted..." he trails away momentarily as Seokjin sits beside him, listening intently. "I just... I wanted him to kiss me like you kissed me. L-Like he cared it was me he was kissing."

Seokjin's eyelids flutter and he looks away suddenly, his mouth opening and closing. He looks back up at Yoongi, but still he seems to have no words. 

So Yoongi kisses him, tasting alcohol, but not caring because his whole body warms when his lips are pressed to Seokjin's. 

He barely registers how it happens, but they're stumbling up the stairs to Seokjin's dorm room. Yoongi's back is against the door as Seokjin tries to unlock it and kiss him at the same time. They're inside and the door is closed and Seokjin is sitting against the headboard and yoongi is in his lap, their bodies moving together with each kiss, hands fumbling at shirts and belts. 

Abruptly, Seokjin pulls out of the kiss. "Wait. Wait. I... I don't want you to think I'm doing this because I think you're easy or something. I want you to know I like you. I've liked you since the day Jiminie introduced us. I don't want to just sleep with you. I want you to be my boyfriend. for real this time." 

Yoongi hadn't expected this, so for a moment he's as utterly speechless as Seokjin had been before yoongi kissed him. 

--Namgi AU

“Why have you got a basketball?” 

“So I can bounce it off your thick skull. This place is one missed step away from a broken leg. Seriously, how many times do I have to tell you I’m right here whenever you need to talk, Joonie?”

* * * 

In which boyfriends Namjoon and Yoongi are struggling to figure out ways to communicate with each other. Yoongi gets too gruff and angry sounding when he tries to show he cares. Namjoon retreats into his shell and hides in strange places when he’s overwhelmed.

The most frequented of his hiding spots is an old warehouse that Yoongi thinks is an accident waiting to happen. But it’s the place Namjoon goes to, so it’s nearly always where Yoongi looks for him. And even though Yoongi hates it, it eventually becomes the place they sit and talk. Because Yoongi doesn’t mind risking getting cut on a rusty nail or two if it means putting Namjoon at ease, making him happy.

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

“Can we please talk at home on the couch next time?”

--Taegi touch starvation AU

After his last breakup almost two years prior, Yoongi moved to a quieter part of the city and his brother got him a job working at his construction company until Yoongi could find himself something more permanent. 

Yoongi now lives closer to the artists and the musicians of the city, the independent and peaceful coffee shops and bookshops and the places that sell handmade souvenirs and clothes. In his spare time he writes his own songs and performs in dimly lit corners of bars. He doesn’t particularly have big dreams of promoting his music or becoming famous from it. He just enjoys playing it and disappearing once his performances are over. He's content with his life, but often he finds himself craving intimacy late at night. With his last partner he had often fallen asleep in her arms. Even now it’s been two years and he doesn’t miss her anymore, he craves the intimacy of having someone. And yet he hasn’t quite been able to bring himself to start dating again. And he’s never been that into one night stands.

The routine he’s fallen into gets disrupted one day when he’s on his lunch break and has gone to get himself a coffee from his favourite shop. He's sitting at the counter, waiting for his drink, when a man sits beside him. Probably the most beautiful man yoongi has ever seen. 

He smiles at yoongi softly. “Hi.” 

“Hi,” Yoongi says faintly, feeling his whole body grow warm. 

The man’s smile becomes a self-conscious grin as he twists to face Yoongi. “Okay, so this is probably a long shot, but I was wondering if you’ve ever considered modelling clothes?” 

“I—“ to say Yoongi is taken aback would be an understatement. He's covered in brick dust and other grime and his hard hat is lying at his elbow. “I-I can’t say I have.” 

“Would you be interested in trying it out? For money. I will pay you.”

Yoongi bites back a bemused smile. “Is this the part where you invite me to your apartment and actually you’re trying to take pictures of me naked?” 

The man laughs, a deep, warm sound. Then purses his lips. “It's not like that. It would be at my studio. I realise that sounds really dodgy, but I swear it’s not. I design my own clothes and I'm looking for people to model them. All you’d have to do is let me take some pictures of you wearing them. I can show some I've already done, if you like?”

“Sure. Why not?" Yoongi says. 

The man pulls out his phone and after a few taps shows the screen to Yoongi. 

Yoongi has to lean in close to see, but finds himself a little in awe. “You made these? they’re amazing.” 

“I embroider the patterns by hand,” the man says quietly.

“Why don’t you model them yourself?” Yoongi asks. Maybe he’s flirting. Maybe it makes him smile when the man’s cheeks turn pink. 

“I have in the past, but I find it embarrassing using those photographs to promote my stuff. I don't like looking at myself.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Yoongi says. 

“I'm also working on a project at the moment where I paint people wearing my clothes,” the man says carefully. “So it’s a little hard to model and paint myself at the same time.” 

“Painting as in a portrait kind of thing?”

“Something like that, yeah. I'd pay by the hour if you’re interested in that too.” 

“You’re serious?'' Yoongi asks incredulously. “You really want me to model clothes? You saw a dusty construction worker and were like yeah that's the guy for me?” 

“Well… if I'm totally honest I've thought you were the guy for me since I saw you performing here a few weeks ago,” the man says. 

It's Yoongi's turn to go pink. “So you're stalking me?” 

“No, I've been coming here for years. They hang my art up sometimes. Today I just saw an opportunity and took it.”

Yoongi tells himself he should say no. After all he’s never modelled and he’s bound to make a fool out of himself. but… “Well, maybe this is a day for taking opportunities then.” 

“Is that a yes?”

“Yeah, why not? I'm Yoongi.” 

“Taehyung.” 

* * * 

And that is how Yoongi and Taehyung meet. Yoongi doesn’t really expect it to go any further than flirting, doing a little modelling and then parting ways. Taehyung can’t pay him much, but he doesn’t mind. 

He's self-conscious when he walks into Taehyung's studio, but it’s a nice kind of nerves that he hasn’t experienced in a long time. And everything is going well until Taehyung approaches him where he’s posing and takes hold of his waist to adjust his position slightly. It sends a jolt through Yoongi, a breathy sigh of satisfaction he hadn’t known was in him. It feels as though his whole body might go limp. It's euphoric. 

“Sorry,” he manages to mumble. “Cold hands.” 

Taehyung smiles. “I'll warm them up next time.” 

There isn’t a next time. At least not while Yoongi is being photographed or painted.

Taehyung pays him on the final day and as he walks Yoongi to the door he says, “This is all going to be displayed at a local gallery next week. Would you like to come with me and see?” 

“I don't know. I don't really like looking at myself.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Sure,” Yoongi laughs softly. “I'll come. Why not? 

“It's a date.” 

“Yeah. A date.” He likes the sound of that too much.

* * * 

The date is the first of several and yoongi finds himself surprised and a little frustrated that Taehyung is taking so long to kiss him. By so long, Yoongi means, it’s been two dates and he’s never found himself craving something so much in his life. The gallery opening was a wonderful night, full of flirting. Maybe Yoongi had had an internal freakout when Taehyung had put a hand on the small of his back, and maybe he had pretended to get a text from a friend so he could excuse himself early, but… but… okay, it’s Yoongi’s fault Taehyung hasn’t had a chance to kiss him yet. Maybe Yoongi isn’t ready for another relationship yet. Emotionally he’s still a bit of a mess.

He tells Taehyung that on their fourth date, sitting on a low stone wall on the pier, the sound of waves lapping at the shore is a calming noise in the background.

“My last relationship was two years ago. I literally moved across the city to get away from everything when we broke up. I thought I was in love, but then we started fighting and it never seemed to end. I haven't dated anyone since then, and I don't have feelings for her anymore, but I think I'm a bit of a mess from everything. I don't know how ready I am for a relationship.” 

“I understand,” Taehyung says. “If you're not ready then that’s okay. We don’t have to carry on seeing each other.” 

“No, I want to carry on seeing you,” Yoongi says hastily. “I kind of…” he grins awkwardly, embarrassed, “I feel better just having said all that. I just didn’t want you to think I was putting off kissing you because I didn't like you. It’s just a big step because if I’m going to date you I'd like there to be the possibility of us becoming serious. I don't really do casual relationships.”

“I really like you,” Taehyung says, big brown eyes sincere. “There’s a possibility.” 

Yoongi let out a breathy laugh, looking down at his hands shyly. “Okay. Good.”

“I didn't think you were avoiding kissing me,” Taehyung says after a moment. “I haven't been with anyone in five years, so it makes me nervous… trying again. My best friend has been travelling the world for a year and a half, so I haven't had much physical contact of any kind for awhile. So now even touching your hand feels… like…”

Yoongi relaxes, eyes prickling. His head clouds when he touches Taehyung’s fingers lightly. Everything is blissful and a little too overwhelming, like he might melt. 

“I haven't been touched a whole lot either, in any way, since I moved. Most of my friends are still back there and we haven’t visited each other much and I haven't had any hookups or anything.” 

“I did think you might be,” Taehyung says thoughtfully. “You've seemed really sensitive to touch. Do you miss it?” 

“All the time,” Yoongi breathes. “Maybe, um, maybe you’d want to come back to my place tonight? Maybe not to have sex, maybe just to watch a film or something.”

Taehyung smiles. “Would you be okay with me kissing you sometime during the film?”

“Depends how good the film is.” 

“Can I pick the film?”

“Are you going to pick something bad on purpose so I'll be okay with you kissing me?” 

“Maybe.” 

“Okay then. Yeah. You can pick.”

* * *

Their first kiss is soft and sweet and Yoongi enjoys it very much, but if he’s honest he thinks they both enjoy being curled close on his couch more than anything else, hardly aware of the world around them.

I'm thinking Hoseok works at a supermarket and usually all the customers' faces blur together, but lately there’s been one that’s stood out. A quiet man who keeps asking him for help finding things, only he’s asked Hoseok to help him find the jam section about five times now (over the course of three weeks), so Hoseok is kind of beginning to wonder if the guy is taking the piss or if he’s just stupid. It’s not the worst he’s had to put up with over the years and neither is it the oddest, but he finds himself annoyed by it.

That is until it dawns on him when he notices the man's flushed cheeks, that the man might just be terrible at flirting. 

The next time he sees him, he decides to put a stop to this nonsense. 

“You must eat a lot of jam.” 

“It—my friend does. It’s not for me.”

“And your friend makes you forget where the jam is every time you come in here?” 

“N-no—well, that’s—it’s—you see—I'm… I…” 

“I'm kidding.” 

“Oh.” 

“I'm single, by the way. Would you like my number?” 

“Oh—yeah. Yes. I’d—yeah.” 

“Don’t be so nervous next time. You’re cute. Anyone would give you their number. Call me.”

* * * 

--Namkook Soulmates AU

I'm thinking almost a sort of dystopia where soulmates are, if not outlawed, then at least social outcasts. It has become common practice to remove soulmate bonds (think something like the daemon/spirit animal removal process in the golden compass, but obviously neither person disappears in this case, the bond is just severed with some magical machine thing) due to the fact the majority of people believe that the soulmate bond isn't a blessing, it's a curse. It takes away your autonomy and tells you who you must love. Almost a form of mind control. So it's common for families that find out one member is a soulmate to force them to get their bond severed. You know, ironically, in trying to give the soulmates free will, they're also stripping them of their free will. 

You can only sever your bond if you've located your soulmate as you both need to be present at the time of breaking the bond. Soulmates in this world are identified by their tattoos. From the moment you come into close proximity your soulmate tattoo's begin appearing on your body. By close proximity that can be walking past each other on the street or being in the same room or the same train carriage. It doesn't have to be face to face. you don't even have to be aware of each other being in the same space. The tattoos are of little things that are personal to your soulmate. Like it could be the title of your soulmates favourite book. Or it could be something their parents once said to them that left a really deep impact. Or it could be the name of their pet, or a little picture of their pet, etc etc. And the longer you take to find each other, the more tattoo's you get. And in this world that's a bad thing because you don't want anyone to know you're a soulmate because it's just not viewed as okay.

So I'm thinking both Jungkook and Namjoon attend the same university and are both majoring in psychology. They're in a class of about 200 people. They do not know each other, but on their very first day of classes they both begin to get tattoos. 

Jungkook was raised by parents who are very much against soulmates. His goal is to get rid of his soulmate bond, if he ever gets one, and to do it without anyone knowing. However, Namjoon's parents are secretly soulmates, and Namjoon has been raised to believe that forcing people to get rid of their soulmate bond is a bad thing. People should have the choice to get rid of it if they want to. That choice isn't someone else's to make. And he has always wanted a soulmate because he's so socially awkward he hates the idea of dating, so someone being his perfect match is his dream come true. He will love them inexplicably despite everything.

So what we're left with is two people having to somehow locate each other before time runs out. And I like to think that one day the topic of soulmates is brought up as part of one of their psychology lessons because of course psychologists have studied soulmates extensively. They've been psychoanalysed and their brain structure etc has been compared to that of normal people, all in an attempt to figure out why they're different. And one thing that happens in this particular psychology class is the teacher asking the students, "Do you think we should force soulmates to have their bond severed?" 

This sparks a whole debate. Maybe a handful of people say they're not sure. The majority say yes.

And namjoon is firmly on the pro-choice side. And of course... Jungkook, who is under a lot of stress because he's a soulmate himself, gets very angry with Namjoon. They argue in front of the whole class. Not shouting or anything, but you can tell they're getting steadily more irritated with each other. Until finally Jungkook says, "If I had a soulmate, I'd get my bond removed without a second thought." 

And well.... let's just say that's gonna cause them some issues when they finally figure out they're soulmates 🤣

I like to think at some point after that class, maybe a few weeks later when Jungkook is getting really desperate, he finds Namjoon and asks him if he was really serious about being okay with soulmates. Namjoon says yes and Jungkook just breaks down and tells him everything and begs him to help find his soulmate. He knows Namjoon doesn't agree with severing a soulmate bond, but Namjoon had said people should have a choice and this is what Jungkook chooses and he just doesn't want anyone to know. 

Namjoon twigs immediately when Jungkook shows him his tattoos. Namjoon's like, shit, that's my favourite teddy bear from when I was a kid. That's that Shakespeare quote I love. That's literally a little bisexual flag and im bisexual. Oh my god, we're soulmates and he wants to sever our bond. I don't want that. And so... Namjoon agrees to help, but he doesn't tell Jungkook that they're soulmates. He's a lowkey kind of hoping that he can change Jungkook's mind and tell him later.... like... mmm... we love some messy, conflicted, kinda morally grey decision making. 

And so... plot happens. Feelings happen.Ii like to think Jungkook begins to get a little suspicious. Namjoon is really careful to not get into a relationship with Jungkook because he just doesn't feel right doing that unless Jungkook knows. But they begin to have increasingly more romantic moments. Like sometimes they almost kiss. Things are getting heated. And because Jungkook hasn't actually realised they're soulmates yet, he still has tattoo's appearing on him daily. And one day one appears on his neck. 

He comes to Namjoon's room that night in an absolute state. Hyperventilating. Crying. Drunk. And he's like, "I'm going to be found out. Why can't I find my soulmate? I don't even know if they're a guy or a girl. None of this makes sense. I have feelings for you, but if I have a soulmate then I shouldn't feel anything for you, but I can't be your soulmate because I've found you and the tattoo's would have stopped appearing, right?" 

I like to think in this world there's so much stigma around being a soulmate that people don't even really know how it works. Like Jjungkook has been led to believe that simply knowing his soulmate/being around his soulmate a lot will make his tattoo's stop appearing, but actually it's only when you realise/accept that they're your soulmate. Like there's kind of misinformation that gets spread around about the whole process. 

Namjoon finally tells Jungkook that they're soulmates. He explains how it works because he knows how it works from his parents. and Jungkook is very hurt and betrayed.

"You know all this time and you didn't tell me? You knew I wanted to get the bond severed. You could have fixed this."

And they basically have an argument reminiscent of the one they had had in class.

"I don't want my autonomy taken away by some mystical force in the universe!"

"There's no real way to know what the soulmate bond even is!" 

Namjoon gives this whole philosophical speech about love and how for all anyone knows the bond isn't what makes them fall in love. Maybe the bond isn't even a bond. Maybe the universe just knows when two people would be perfect for each other and so it inks clues into their skin so they can find each other. No one knows anything because what everyone calls the bond is intangible. People have just assumed everything. And sure, they have machines that remove peoples feelings for each other, but has anyone put two non-soulmates in there to see if it made their feelings disappear? Even if it was a bond, why does it have to be a bad thing? You're with someone you love. That doesn't necessarily mean you've been brainwashed into it. And if it did then people have a right to be brainwashed if that's what they choose to do. And he knows that he loves Jungkook and he doesn't care why. He grew up with soulmates for parents and their love never seemed fake. It felt real.

--Taekook historical au

-- mutual pining, hurt/comfort, angst, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers.

Jungkook is a prince of a prosperous kingdom and has been betrothed to wed a beautiful princess from a foreign land. But when he meets her he can’t help his eyes from wandering to her brother, Taehyung, the newly crowned king, who stands hand in hand with his own beautiful wife. 

Just picture this. There's rumours of a war brewing in the west. Taehyung is the new king of a very powerful kingdom in the wake of his father (the old king) passing away. Jungkook is the prince of a much smaller kingdom that wants to make an alliance with Taehyung to protect themselves in case a war does break out, and it just so happens Taehyung is now in charge of marrying his sister off. Honestly I’m kind of thinking like almost a Bridgerton Edwina, Kate and Anthony situation. 

From the moment Jungkook and Tae first see each other they’re both very hot and bothered, and Jungkook is terrible at hiding it and he thinks Taehyung hates him because Taehyung is always so reserved and cold towards him or just a bit rude.

Jungkook has never particularly kicked up a fuss about having to have an arranged marriage. He knows it's his duty as a prince and as the future king. But when he sees Taehyung it just changes everything. Jungkook cannot stop thinking about him and when Taehyung acts so cold towards him it devastates Jungkook. Because he’s trying so hard to get to know his future brother-in-law, he’s trying so hard to feign interest in Taehyung's sister. She's a lovely person and he genuinely enjoys talking to her. Perhaps if Taehyung did not exist he could even one day fall in love with her—Jungkook is no stranger to finding both men and women attractive—but Taehyung does exist. Taehyung has a wife, also a wonderful person. Jungkook just needs Taehyung to treat him kindly because he cannot bear the thought of Taehyung hating him for some unknown reason on top of everything else. Perhaps if Taehyung did not treat him so coldly then Jungkook's feelings for him would not feel so strong. 

He snaps one evening after several failed attempts to engage Taehyung in conversation.

He found him in the palace library and it was just the two of them. and Jungkook had drunk just enough wine at dinner to be brave enough to blurt, “Did I do something to offend you? Please, if I do, tell me and I shall make it right. I would hate for there to be any animosity between us given that we are to be family.” 

Taehyung looks at him with an unreadable expression. The same unreadable expression that has been driving Jungkook crazy for several weeks now. 

“You have not offended me,” he says simply, and goes back to his book.

“Then why do you treat me so coldly?” Jungkook asks, wanting to rip the book from Taehyung’s hands (and quite possibly rip Tae’s clothes from his body). 

“I do not treat you coldly,” Taehyung says, standing and heading towards the door. “I treat everyone this way. Goodnight.” 

But Jungkook finds himself following Taehyung down the palace corridors. “I do not believe you. I have seen you smile at my mother, my father, your sister. You have smiled at the servants. You have never smiled at me.” 

“Perhaps it is a coincidence?”

“It is not! Please tell me what I did wrong!” 

“You have done nothing wrong.” 

“I must have!” 

“I do not know what you want me to say. Perhaps you would prefer that I lie and say you have?” Taehyung sounds irritable now, but he doesn’t stop walking and he doesn’t look back.

“I would prefer the truth,” Jungkook huffs. “How can you let your sister marry someone who you seem to despise? Are you so cold hearted that—“

Taehyung rounds on him, eyes burning. “Let us say for a moment that I do despise you,” he says in a deadly whisper, taking a step so close that it forces Jungkook to move backwards. “Do you really think accusing me of being heartless and hounding me as I make my way to bed will change my mind about you?”

Jungkook's back hits the wall and he finds himself gazing into Taehyung's eyes. They’re much too close. Taehyung isn’t moving. They’re both breathing hard. Jungkook’s mind empties of words even though he knows he’s supposed to be answering Taehyung’s question. He stares at Taehyung’s lips and it seems Taehyung stands there for an eternity, the animosity in his eyes fading little by little as they search Jungkook's. 

He steps away from Jungkook hastily when footsteps echo from around the corner, and Jungkook finds himself breathless and alone in the dark.

From there I picture many more arguments and much more heavy breathing and getting a liiiitle bit too close. Jungkook doesn’t feel like he can let himself kiss taehyung because, 1. Tae is married, and 2. Jungkook is supposed to be marrying Tae's sister in about a month.

Taehyung is obviously treating Jungkook coldly because Taehyung finds him very attractive and he can’t be with him because he’s just arranged for his sister to marry Jungkook. Even though his sister has expressed multiple times that she doesn’t particularly want to marry Jungkook, Taehyung still can’t act on his feelings because the marriage is still taking place for political reasons. Taehyung has the weight of an entire kingdom on his shoulders and he’s drowning under the pressure a little bit. a lot. 

This is what first brings him and Jungkook closer together, and begins to build a mutual understanding and friendship between them. Taehyung receives a message from back home with bad news—rebellions in his own kingdom, against a law he had put in place. He receives it during evening drinks and excuses himself to read it. 

Jungkook excuses himself too because he’s nosy, and he finds Tae having a panic attack of sorts. And he really sees a different side of Taehyung that evening, a vulnerable side. Taehyung is barely a man and he doesn’t know how to rule a kingdom. He tells Jungkook everything he’s been struggling with in a hushed voice as they sit on one of the palace balconies. 

“I have been trained for this my entire life, but no amount of training can truly prepare anyone. I only wish my father were not dead. He was not a good man, but if he were here then I would not have to do all of this.” 

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Jungkook asks quietly. 

Taehyung shrugs. “Because you found me out here. Because I have not told a soul any of my troubles since I was crowned king. Because I do not want you to think that I despise you. I would not have chosen you for my sister if I thought you were not a decent person, although I must admit, hearing rumours that you have a preference for men did make me hesitate in my decision.”

It's a bold thing to say. It catches Jungkook off guard. “I… I…” 

“We all have our preferences,” Taehyung says, gazing at the palace gardens far below them. “I would not begrudge any man his. It is only that I would not want my sister to marry a man who could never love her.”

“My preference is for both men and women,” Jungkook admits. It's the first time he’s told anyone. Most likely the only time he ever will. It’s foolish to tell Taehyung, given that liking men is hardly smiled upon.

“So you will love my sister then?” Taehyung asks the question so earnestly that all Jungkook can do is nod. Of course he will. That is their arrangement. “I would like us to be friends,” Taehyung breathes. “Enough of this animosity between us.”

“I would like that too,” Jungkook says softly. 

Their hands touch in the darkness and neither of them pull away, both pretending no touch is taking place. 

“Friends it is then,” Taehyung says. 

“Yes. Friends.”

But friendship does nothing to satiate his desire, which only seems to grow by the day. He keeps Taehyung’s secret, that he is floundering and has no idea what he is doing as his kingdom's new ruler, and Taehyung keeps his. Taehyung even confides in him that the only reason he and his sister came three months before the wedding was due to take place is because Taehyung just wanted to escape from being king for a little while. At least being away he can delegate most of the decisions to his advisors and can lounge and walk in the gardens. 

Their first kiss happens in a feverish fumbling of hands and teeth and lips, in the dark of the gardens where they had decided to take an evening stroll after dinner. Jungkook had tried to offer to take Taehyung’s sister for a walk, but she had declined saying she was too tired, and Taehyung had volunteered in her stead. Jungkook isn’t quite sure how the kiss happens. One minute they’re laughing, the next he’s being pressed against the rough trunk of a tree, moaning softly into Taehyung's mouth. 

They break apart abruptly, Jungkook shoving Taehyung back, both horrified.

“I am to marry your sister!” Jungkook hisses, fingers pressed to his lips. “You are married!” 

“A mistake,” Taehyung breathes. “Too much wine. We were not thinking clearly.” 

“We were not,” Jungkook says, smoothing his hair and rumpled shirt. He's burning all over. “Let us not… let us not speak of this again. It never happened.” 

“What never happened?” Taehyung asks, too shakily to truly make the joke funny. 

“Exactly. We are friends. Nothing more.” 

“Nothing more.” 

“Exactly.” 

“Exactly.”

If only it were that easy. They part that night without exchanging another word, but when Jungkook goes to bed he can’t rid himself of the memory of Taehyung’s lips on his. And over the next few days he finds a question burning within him whenever he sees taehyung, but he’s too

burdened by guilt to ask it. 

Then Taehyung leaves the palace. Two weeks to go until the wedding and apparently business is too urgent back at home for him to stay away another moment. He leaves his wife behind to ensure his sister’s comfort and safety.

Jungkook has resigned himself to his fate again until he’s walking in the gardens one day with Taehyung’s wife and she says quite plainly, “My husband has told me of what happened between you two beneath this tree.” 

Jungkook is just gobsmacked. “Wh-what happened?”

“Oh, do not look so surprised. And do not deny it. He did not betray me by kissing you, if that is one of your concerns. His royal highness and I… we married out of convenience, not for love or lust. We have freedom within this marriage to be with whomever we wish.”

“Oh,” Jungkook says quietly. 

“You will not have that freedom if you marry my sister-in-law,” she says. “I have seen the way you look at his royal highness. Our sister deserves better than a marriage with a man who cannot keep his eyes or his hands off of her brother.”

“I know she does,” Jungkook says. “but I… I simply cannot stop this wedding. I am doing it for my kingdom. I always have been. We do not marry for love. You of all people should know that.”

“I am aware of what this marriage is. and what my own marriage was,” she says mildly. “But if you go through with it I expect you to remain faithful to her and only her. There will be no exceptions. She dreams of true love and although she has no illusions about this marriage either, I would like for her to find happiness in it given time.”

“I promise you,” Jungkook says, although it breaks his heart. “I would never be unfaithful to her in our marriage. I truly believe she deserves happiness and I would do my best to give her that.”

“Good. Because if you fail I will gouge out your eyes and feed them to you. Understood?” 

“Understood.”

And so Jungkook is right and royally screwed. The wedding is a week away and he cannot think of a way to get out of it. He cannot stop thinking of Taehyung. He cannot stop hoping that Taehyung will show up, his business in his own kingdom having been resolved in time to attend the wedding after all. 

Two days before the wedding is to take place, there comes terrible news. It feels like a sick and twisted answer to all of Jungkook's prayers. There has been an assassination attempt on Taehyung’s life. Poison. Taehyung is dying. Or he may be dying. The doctors are searching frantically for a cure. 

At this news Taehyung's sister comes to Jungkook, pleading with him to postpone the wedding, to allow her to travel home to see her brother. Jungkook of course agrees and says he’ll go with her too. For protection of course. Not because he is desperate to see Taehyung again in case he dies. 

When they arrive at the palace in Taehyung’s kingdom and are escorted to Taehyung's bed chambers and finally see Taehyung, pale and unconscious in his bed, Jungkook cries. He finds himself torn between feel sick and needing to leave the room so he does not have to see Taehyung like this anymore and rushing to his bedside to tend to him. He leaves because he does not want anyone to see how affected he is by Taehyung’s sickness, but later that night he makes his way back to Taehyung’s chambers and sits with him. 

When asked, the doctors tell Jungkook that Taehyung most likely has a week left. They have slowed the poison, but finding an antidote is proving impossible. He is simply getting worse.

They leave Jungkook alone and Jungkook sits for a long while and holds Taehyung’s hand as he sleeps. Around midnight, Taehyung stirs, waking just barely. Or waking only as much as he can in his state of delirium.

“It is you,” he breathes, lifting a weak hand to touch Jungkook's face. “I am dreaming.” 

“You are not,” Jungkook says, smiling despite everything. “We came as soon as we heard.” 

“I dreamed my sister was here also…” 

“She is here. Asleep at the moment. In her own chambers.”

“But…” Taehyung coughs, a dry, hacking sound that shakes his body. “She cannot be here,” he says, faint at first, then insistently. “She cannot be here. It is not safe.” 

“They caught the poisoner. She is quite safe. Relax. Everything will be alright.”

He pushes Taehyung down gently and there is so little strength left in Taehyung’s body that he slumps the few inches he’s managed to raise himself, turning his face into his pillow. 

Jungkook dabs his forehead with a damp cloth left by the doctors. “You will be alright.”

Tears wet Taehyung's cheeks. “I deserved this. I am no good at being king. I only hope my wife will be a better one when I am gone.” 

“You are not going to die,” Jungkook says firmly. “We will find a cure.” He refuses to accept that Taehyung will be gone. “I have sent for the finest healers in my kingdom.” 

Taehyung's eyes begin to close. “That is good,” he murmurs. “Stay with me until they come. I would hate to be alone.” 

“I will. Have some water before you sleep.” 

Taehyung grimaces. “I only feel sicker when I do.”

Jungkook lets Taehyung sleep. After a moment's thought he finds himself inspecting the jug of water and the plate of half eaten food at Taehyung's bedside.

He calls in the doctors. “Bring me the queen.”

“She is asleep, your royal highness. it would not be—“ 

“Bring her to me.”

“Is his majesty’s health—“ 

“No. He is the same. I merely require a word with her.” 

“Then perhaps you should wait until mor—“

“Am I or am I not a prince engaged to marry his majesty’s sister, the princess? Do as I say at once!” 

Five minutes later Taehyung’s wife walks into the room, followed by the doctors. but she dismisses them with a wave of her hand when she sees Jungkook's face. 

“What is it?” 

“Who do you trust in this palace?” Jungkook asks. “Who do you truly trust?”

“My lady’s maid,” she answers.

“The one who came with you on your visit to my kingdom?” 

“Yes.” 

“She can cook, I presume?” 

“Of course she can.”

“I think we should have her prepare his majesty’s meals from now on. Her and only her. No one else shall handle it. Nor his drink.”

“Very well,” she says. She doesn’t ask questions. She doesn’t have to. “What of the doctors?” 

“Do you trust them?” 

“They have been at the palace for several years.”

“But do you trust them?” 

“I shall find new doctors tomorrow. Are you planning to stay here all night?”

“For his protection, yes.” 

“Thank you,” she says gratefully. “One day you will make a good king. Taehyung has never been particularly good in a crisis.”

The next few days pass by sluggishly. Taehyung sleeps mostly, waking only for brief intervals to sip water and choke down a little food. The healer Jungkook has summoned arrives and begins treating Taehyung. and it is a relief to everyone. Jungkook’s kingdom is famed for its healers, its advances in medicine. 

Taehyung is still dropping in and out of delirium a day later however, when he wakes for a little while. Jungkook and the princess sit with him, but Taehyung scarcely seems to know his sister is present. He’s mumbling incoherently, seeming to be half dreaming. 

Then, looking towards Jungkook, he says, “It was a mistake I would make a thousand times over. I hate myself for it, but I cannot regret it either. To kiss you… I… I still smell the grass and the tree and feel your hands… You haunt me…” His words fade, his eyelids drooping. 

Jungkook tries to laugh it off. “I wonder who he thought he was seeing.” But he feels shaken to his very core because haunted is exactly how he feels by Taehyung too. 

“Not his wife, that is certain,” the princess says faintly, but she sounds far away.

Later, Taehyung's wife tells them both to go out and get some fresh air. She will watch over Taehyung for the afternoon. So Jungkook walks with the princess through the palace gardens. 

“My brother is quite smitten with you, isn’t he?” the princess asks mildly. “He saw no one but you when he said those words.” 

Jungkook almost laughs. “I do not think he is smitten with me.” Taehyung had been delirious. Taehyung had left. Taehyung had said their kiss was a mistake. “I assure you I am not… I do not…”

“You kissed him then?” she asks, ignoring his protests. 

Jungkook nods once. He cannot lie any longer. to lie would not conceal the truth from her. she knows already. “Once. Never again. It was a mistake. We both agreed it.”

She nods, gazing out towards the high hedges of the maze at the end of the garden. “I should have known. You have shown so little true interest in me. I had expected us to share a kiss or two, but now I realise…” 

“I cannot begin to apolo—“

“Do not bother. I never really wanted to marry you anyway. You never really wanted to marry me either. When I met you, though, I thought you would make a husband I could be happy with. You are kind and sweet. now i see that that can never happen.”

“Wait, we must—this marriage is bigger than both of us. It is for our kingdoms. I cannot not marry you.” 

She looks at him levelly, eyes unreadable as Taehyung’s had once been whenever he looked at Jungkook. “This marriage is for your kingdom, not mine. I can walk away whenever I want. It is you who needs me. Perhaps you should have thought of how important it was before you decided to act so recklessly. Be with my brother if you wish to, but neither you nor he will force me into a marriage like this. If my brother’s feelings for you are true, you will not need a marriage to protect your kingdom. If they are not true then…” She shrugs and walks away. “I suppose I will receive news of your kingdom being overthrown soon enough.”

Jungkook avoids everyone for several days after that encounter. He considers going home, but to go back to his parents and tell them what a mess he’s made is impossible. He has to fix this somehow. If only he can bring himself to go to Taehyung’s chambers. But he is afraid of what Taehyung will tell him and he is ashamed of how he has treated Taehyung's sister, so he spends his days in the chambers he has been given to sleep in and walks in the gardens. Servants bring him news of Taehyung’s improving condition from time to time.

Until one day he rounds a corner in the garden to find Taehyung standing before him, looking pale and fragile, but out of bed for the first time in weeks. 

“Y-your majesty…” 

Taehyung smiles at him tentatively. “I was told I would find you out here.” 

“Has the princess—“

“She has told me everything,” Taehyung says. 

“Will you walk with me then?” Jungkook asks in a strangled voice. “I must explain everything. I must beg… I must… I…” 

Taehyung shakes his head. “I am afraid I am not quite up to walking. If you will sit with me instead I would be grateful.” 

“Of course. Anything you wish.” 

They sit side by side on a stone bench and Jungkook wastes no time in beginning to speak. “I beg of you to not forsake my kingdom now that this marriage has fallen to pieces. My kingdom does not—I have a duty and I cannot let my kingdom be destroyed if there is a war. You are our only hope. I know we have so little to offer, but—“ 

Taehyung holds up a hand. “My sister spoke rashly the other day. Understandably. We have caused her great hurt. I do need your kingdom—your healers have knowledge and herbs that are hard to come by here, and if a war did break out your kingdom gives us an invaluable advantage due to its location. I am willing to form an alliance without marriage, so do not worry over your people’s safety. You saved my life. I owe you everything.”

“I cannot thank you enough,” Jungkook says, blinking hard. “I cannot… i… you owe me nothing. I cannot thank you enough.”

Taehyung shakes his head as if to say it's nothing. “I have been informed by my wife that she told you of our arrangement, the freedom we have in our marriage.” 

Jungkook's heart begins to thrum. “Yes. She did.” 

“I have also been informed of what I said while I was sick. And I want you to know I meant every word. You have haunted me since I first laid eyes on you. At first, I thought I could push you away, that I could push my desire for you away. But it did not work. And then we became friends and I found my desire only became stronger. It was a desire not only for your body, but for who you are inside. Our kiss has haunted me in every sleeping and waking moment since it happened. Every time you look at me. every time you touch me, even if it is the slightest brush of your skin against mine. I left because I was afraid I would not be able to contain myself. And with your permission, if you feel as haunted as I do, I should like to stop containing myself now.”

“You have my permission,” Jungkook breathes.

Their kiss is deep, but Jungkook finds himself holding the king carefully, not at all like the frantic nights he has pictured happening between them. Their corner of the garden is concealed, so they do not worry as they undress each other and Jungkook lays Taehyung down in the grass. It pains him to see the angles of Taehyung’s bones, the aftermath of Taehyung’s poisoning, and how little food he has been able to eat. So he kisses Taehyung’s body softly. They move together, the rich scent of grass and earth and summer blossoms all about them. And when they can contain themselves no longer, when kissing is too difficult and the peace of the summer's day is punctuated by soft noises they cannot hold back, they still, their foreheads pressed together, Taehyung’s hands in Jungkook's hair. Chests heaving, they lay together in the grass, basking in the remnants of the waves of pleasure that have washed over them. 

“I think that will haunt me for a very long time,” Jungkook murmurs at last. 

Taehyung smiles widely. “Perhaps we can avoid any future hauntings?”

“I would like that,” Jungkook says, kissing him softly. 

“There is plenty of space in my bed chambers for another, if you would like to stay here permanently to conduct the necessary negotiations between our two kingdoms,” Taehyung mumbles.

“Those negotiations are very necessary,” Jungkook agrees, kissing Taehyung’s jaw. 

“Exactly.”