ColourBlind~~~ BTS AU

Knowing Happiness - Chapter Ten 🐻

-Taehyung -

The familiar metallic clatter of the key entering the lock on the door was music to my ears. Similarly, like children running to an ice cream truck, I bounced from the sofa to eagerly await Alice's return home.

My eyes darted back to glance at my neatly prepared dinner on the coffee table. When I say 'prepared'. I meant I'd taken some leftover food from my shoot today at a bridal shower. My client had insisted I take some food because she had plenty of leftovers. It wasn't that we didn't know how to cook anything at all; it was just that we never found enjoyment in cooking and couldn't continually eat tacos or kimchi fried rice or the chicken pasta dish we'd been shown by Alice's mother.

The three meals alone in the rotation were bound to get boring and null our tonsils. Therefore I wasn't exactly going to turn down a homemade piece of lasagna. I had just about managed to reheat and pair with homemade wedges that had been prepared alongside a store-bought garlic baguette. My mother would have been proud, I boasted to myself.

As the door opened, Alice appeared stunned at the sudden banquet before her eyes. I hovered backwards clumsily to allow her inside as the colour shift occurred. I chuckled at my eagerness to see her again. I had practically blocked her entrance into the lounge, but I'd been without the glowing crimson blush on her cheeks for long enough.

"My Angel! Welcome home." I tugged Alice impatiently into my arms, firmly closing the door behind her. She was numb to the touch, and the vibrating warmth was prickly. Something lay on the surface of her eyes, like dust on a bookshelf. I couldn't resist the urge to wipe away that sheltered look that knew I could sense something wasn't right. But I wouldn't be her soulmate if I remained oblivious and didn't acknowledge anything. "—bad day at work?" I hummed apologetically into her neck as I planted slow kisses to ease her frantic exterior.

There was no response, just a low noise that I distinguished sounded like a hum. I shifted back to hold her at arm's length, and the darkened crescents under her eyes appeared to have a thin line of irritation. Had she been crying? My heart pounded at the thought—part in anger, the other half in confusion. Instead of probing for an answer, I did what I could and slipped her coat from her arms. My fingers slid carefully from her arms to reach around her fingers; I savoured the brief contact with her skin.

The food will make her happy; nothing beats tasty leftovers. I led her slowly onto the sofa near where Tannie had perched his nose on the end of the coffee table guarding the food.

"Let's eat." I smiled, handing her a plate.

A half smile was all I earned in return as she took the plate from my fingertips, "Sorry, Taehyung, you're right. It's been a long day. Can we just watch something and head to bed?" She asked softly. There was no determination in her voice, no battle for what film or even a comment on how far away I'd positioned myself.

Often friends and family had described me as clingy or cuddly, but I just levitated and thrived on touch; it was, as they could say, my love language. I was never one to go to extensive lengths of extravagant gifts or meals. It was evident I couldn't cook. Words of affirmation came easily, but Alice would blush furiously; I believed that expressions of love and admiration shouldn't ever be used lightly. So touch and quality time together had been my way to show and crave affection.

Therefore the space was enough for Alice to settle but plentiful that I could still be in her aura of colour, and she could take comfort from my colours too. I clicked through the TV channels to find a minimal selection of choices. Just when I thought I'd found an interesting show, I looked across at Alice for approval to see her pushing and scraping the food slowly with her fork. I picked through my own plate, slightly solemn that all my effort had been for nothing.