TAEKOOK / TIGER LILY

24.

"I, uh, got you the flowers you asked for." Jungkook says to him, quiet and nice, as he hands over the small bouquet that fits neatly into the swell of his palm.

Taehyung takes it gratefully, eyes wide and joyful at the fact the younger had actually gone through with his promise. "Tulips?" He ponders momentarily, as he takes in the beauty of them, mouth curling into a wondrous smile, the moonlight causing him to coruscate bright silver, as he declares, "how very sweet of you. Thank you."

Jungkook's grin turns cheesy in retaliation, as he pokes the boy on his nose. They trail along together, with the rambunctious party dwindling away behind them. They step into the hue of today, where the stars blend to rouge and the sordid haze of purple-stained jazz music plays across the sky, with a shocking crescendo. Their feet slide across the grass, walking beside the lake, and observing their night-obscured features, that bend and twist before them in the damp reflection.

"How come you wanted to come on this little walk?" Taehyung inquires softly, his tongue running along the ridges of his bottom lip, as the cool breeze sends tedious shivers across his molten skin.

Jungkook hesitates for a moment, and it's a physical action, one wherein his shoulders square against Taehyung's and something tenderly placid heaves between them. "Wanted to have you alone." He admits, let's the words twinkle before them.

"Is that right?" He chuckles, mouth as pink as his cheeks, as he smiles brightly.

The younger nods, content, embarrassed.

Taehyung slowly let's them fall into comfortable silence before briefly reigniting the spark for conversation as he says, "I want to say sorry... about earlier, with Jin." Jungkook inhales sharply. "He should've never said that to you and I'm sorry for not properly sticking up for you."

"Don't be." Jungkook clicks his tongue. "He was right, and, I mean, I told you myself, didn't I? Trouble follows me everywhere I go. I understand why he'd be concerned."

"But it's not true, Jungkook," Taehyung implores him, stopping in place beside the stagnant waters. They're at a safe distance from the barbecue, but the lights still oscillate across the stream, and the voices still hum in the background. "You are a victim of circumstance, just like me. I mean, shit, if trouble follows you, then it must be permanently attached to me."

Shaking his head, Jungkook tells him, "no, that's not true. We're not alike in that sense, Tae." He captures the boy's eyes, how they melt into pits of carnal caramel in this nighttime soirée. "You're here because of family issues, right? And because you needed a break from all the creeps in the city?"

It's an oversimplification of events, sure, but Taehyung nods along with him, for a sense of ease.

Daringly, he carries on, says, "but I'm not a victim of circumstance." He grumbles it, so heady and horrible, "I am an agent of my own free will." He chuckles then, nudges the boy by the shoulder. "I live for fun, and your uncle can't handle that." There's something kindred in him, a glimmer of something playful that's indicative of the energy he'd emitted the very first time Taehyung had spoken to him. It's something living, almost anthropomorphic, with its bulging spikes of hedonism and it's snarling teeth of jest. It mutates before Taehyung's very eyes and it learns to flash like a diamond in his eyes. Jungkook says, "he just doesn't realise how much fun trouble can be."

Taehyung bites the inside of his cheek and his head shakes, a disbelieving chuckle escaping him. "You really have no worries?"

"I'm tied down by my worries." Jungkook tells him, "fuck, if I wasn't, I'd be so high up right now." He stares out at the lake, at the stars that swim amongst the weeds and he says, "I'm still pretty high with them."