serpents and sons | taekook

The Roadblock

****

A few twist-of-fate dates, a kiss, and suddenly it goes from coincidence they find themselves meeting up to regularly scheduled, and rather frequent, nights out.

Jeongguk finds that his phone is always blowing up - whether it be from jobs or just Taehyung asking about his morning. Taehyung's texts end in sweet words that make Jeongguk blush and their late-night phone calls always end with one of them falling asleep on the other end (usually Jeongguk). The thief steps outside to find small, beautiful bouquets resting against his front door, and sometimes he even finds takeout warm and waiting for him on nights he gets home from work late.

The price tags worry Jeongguk, of course, but he can't find it in himself to say anything quite yet. He can't deny that his drive to be financially independent is starting to rear its head, scratching at the surface for him to snap, but he holds it back. He knows that Taehyung does it because he wants to, not because he thinks he needs to - had even told him so one night as they watched one of Taehyung's favorite movies, some old western cowboy movie Jeongguk had never heard of.

"No one I hold dear has ever had an easy life," he had said as their conversation had taken a turn towards Taehyung's apparent wealth. The man himself was dressed in something that looked more like pajamas than anything high end, but Jeongguk could only guess how many zeros the tags had. "I took a lot of pride and joy in being able to help them. Being able to give them a life of independence."

"Even Yoongi?" Jeongguk had joked, aware that the man's bodyguard was actually standing right outside his apartment building, patrolling the sidewalk outside.

Taehyung had only smiled and pressed a kiss to Jeongguk's temple. "Yoongi has had the most independence of anyone, but he simply chooses to ignore it. He's been that way since that day I picked him up off the street."

Jeongguk was too wrapped up in Taehyung's everything to fully register why those words don't quite make sense - but over the next few weeks? Things were starting to add up in all the wrong ways.

As time passed, Jeongguk found himself catching more and more little slip ups. Small discrepancies that, in the moment, slipped under the radar but only became harder and harder to ignore as they piled up. By the end of the first month of them dating - and it was definitely dating right? - he had at least four different versions of what Taehyung had been doing in his early twenties, and he was still no closer to knowing his current age. Jeongguk would love to know the logistics of claiming to have spent nearly five years in Milan growing his business while simultaneously spending that time on vacation in Kyoto - "to just take a step back from everything for a while," Taehyung had sighed.

Jeongguk was tempted to make one of those detective walls with strings and push-pins to try and slot all of the different stories into place, and that kind of guessing made him anxious. Very anxious. Jeongguk was no stranger to dishonesty; anyone in his line of work had to lie their asses off to stay uncuffed. He knew that Taehyung had done all kinds of unsavory things, no one had the kind of money he had by being a goody two shoes. He was fine with organized crime, with violence, with theft. But if this... if this was going to be real? If they were going to actually do this? If he was going to call Taehyung his boyfriend? Jeongguk needed the truth. All of it.

But he doesn't mean for it to come to a head during dinner - honest, he doesn't - but all it takes is one slip up and Jeongguk can't help himself.

And to repeat,  Jeongguk is pretty sure they're dating. He's never heard the word "boyfriend" come from Taehyung's lips, but he's pretty sure. Almost. Kinda. Really, Jeongguk doesn't know if they're as serious as Jeongguk thinks they are, but he'd really like it if they were. He likes Taehyung, actually likes how off-center the man can make him feel. Sometimes it's like things are moving so fast Jeongguk doesn't know what day it is and what direction is up but he's having fun.