LOVE YOU TO DEATH | TAEKOOK

30. How Come You Don't Want Me

*content warning for language, reference to trauma (not graphic)*
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Q Magazine: The 50th Anniversary of the LA LGBT Center is being celebrated at the upcoming annual gala. Kim Taehyung and Min Yoongi are being honored and have indicated they will attend in person.

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JUNGKOOK: I need to
reschedule

SEOKJIN: No problem

JUNGKOOK: How about
next week?

SEOKJIN: Sure, that's fine

SEOKJIN: It's also fine if you're
having second thoughts and
don't want to speak with me

JUNGKOOK: No, I do

JUNGKOOK: I'm just
getting ready

SEOKJIN: To speak with me
or in life?

JUNGKOOK: I don't
really know

SEOKJIN: Okay. Well,
Namjoon let me know that
you're going to be speaking
with him as well

SEOKJIN: Would you like him
to brief me before we chat?

JUNGKOOK: Yeah, thanks

SEOKJIN: No problem

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"Are you walking without me again?" Taehyung gently teased, answering the phone at the usual time.

It had been a few weeks of talking on the phone every day at their usual time, with Jungkook walking the route around their neighborhood without him.

Taehyung put on his shoes and walked outside, surveying the cows basking in the quiet afternoon.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jungkook mumbled. He didn't know why this was causing him to freeze up, but it was and he could feel his whole face flush, "How are you doing?"

Taehyung paused, "About the same as yesterday," he decided, "I think I'm ready to come home soon."

Jungkook nodded before realizing he needed to actually reply, "O-oh, really? Okay," he blinked, wondering if he was supposed to like this idea or hate it.

"Yeah, I think it's okay. The first week or two sucked, but honestly, it's becoming harder to be alone without drinking, than it is to be around people. I think. Maybe I'm wrong though," Taehyung rambled, tugging at his hair before resting his free hand on the back of his head.

"Is that okay? If I come back?" he asked uncertainly, "I think I need to actually, there are some work things I'm supposed to do in the next little bit," he added, not sure if he was stepping through this in the right way.

Jungkook made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a scoff.

"You don't have to ask me if you can come back. I don't make the rules," he smiled, shrugging it off.

Taehyung was embarrassed, looking at his dusty shoes, "Sorry. I don't know, you kind of made all this happen so I guess I wasn't sure. I didn't want to surprise you," he chuckled awkwardly.

The corners of Jungkook's mouth were twitching in an unsettling way. He shook his head, "Tae, you can leave whenever you want. You can come back whenever you want and the only kind of surprise it'll be is a good one," he breathed, giving himself an internal warning for being too weird.

"Do you want Kelly to bring you back?"

Taehyung bit his lip, "Yeah, I do. I can't promise that I'm perfect but I think I'll be fine," he demurred, noticing his heartbeat doing something strange.