Fire On Fire [TK]

(19) All these words

"Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words, I don't just say
And nothing else matters"

❀

— Jk —

The days leading up to the next album release were uneventful for the most part, despite everything. By the time Jeongguk's birthday arrived, the coolness of September was beginning to seep in. Most of Jeongguk's time, as usual, was occupied with recordings, practices, and rehearsals, the leftover time with school and sleep, or being delightfully occupied while he was around Taehyung.

Each time Taehyung found something interesting to talk about, his ardor was so contagious that Jeongguk dropped everything to join him wherever he was and listen as Taehyung expounded on the gravity or peculiarity of his thoughts.

Jeongguk was always happy to listen or to watch Taehyung gesture animatedly as he told him old bedtime stories his grandmother used to tell him, or talk about theories that intrigued him, or simply share some existential philosophies. One could argue that Taehyung's theories were rather... odd. But the enthusiasm with which he explained why strawberries are a type of rose would have had Jeongguk believing it even if he was making it up. (He was not. They are a type of rose.) Sometimes, Jeongguk caught himself staring at Taehyung's hands, how wildly they gestured while he talked, and those long, slender fingers that moved with elegance. He often thought Taehyung's hands were made only to handle delicate objects, like flower stems, fine quality fountain pens, crystal champagne glasses; even something mundane like chopsticks looked exquisite between those fingers.

One time, Taehyung had noticed Jeongguk staring, and his brows had creased as he slowly faded the conversation and put his hands down. He could not exactly tell the elder he was just staring at his hands because they were captivating him to no end, but since then, he always made sure Taehyung knew he was listening. At times, when Taehyung would be engrossed in conversation, Jeongguk would let him plunk his feet down on his lap while he played with the hems of Taehyung's pants, his smooth, low voice enveloping him in a bubble of serenity. Other times, Jeongguk would sit on the floor, between Taehyung's legs, his back resting on Taehyung's torso while they played a video game or watched a movie.

On the morning of his birthday, Jeongguk was rather rudely awakened from his dream of becoming Iron Man, by a pillow smacking him in the back of his head. He slowly lifted his face from the pillow his head was buried in. Blinking blearily, feeling the drool on the side of his mouth, he jolted when the pillow smacked him in the head all over again.

"Get up!" Taehyung demanded from behind him.

"Wha-?" he croaked.

"Get up, Jeongguka!"

Jeongguk groaned, then dropped his face back into the pillow. "Go away," he muttered.

"Ani," Taehyung insisted, "You need to get up," tossing the pillow at him with full force. "Come on, get up!"

"Stop it," Jeongguk spoke into the pillow with a muffled gurgle. "Just five minutes—"

"It's almost noon!" Taehyung protested.

"Lemme sleep."

Jeongguk knew he deserved the extra nap time. He knew everyone else knew he deserved it. It was a little gift of sorts from the management-two hours of extra sleep in the morning. After the birthday prank they pulled on him the previous afternoon had him nearing a complete emotional breakdown, a little sleep in return was absolutely fair, except for this overly energetic boy slam dunking a pillow on his head first thing in the morning.