Fallen (Taekook)

Ch 25 - Airplanes

Three months later

Jungkook had been working in his studio for long hours the past couple of months. The exhibition at LACMA was coming up and the curator had commissioned one more painting from Jungkook to add to the exhibit. Jungkook had completed several paintings in that time, but was unhappy with all of them. He had thrown the paintings in the trash in a moment of stress a week ago and started from scratch on a new one.

Unbeknownst to Jungkook, Taehyung secreted the paintings to one of his storage units. He thought they were incredible, but knew not to question Jungkook in the moment. Tae thought that after the exhibit he would be able to convince his lover that they were worth saving.

Taehyung knocked on the studio door quietly and heard Jungkook tell him he could come in. "I brought you some tea and a snack, since you skipped lunch and dinner." Taehyung set a tray filled with all sorts of sweet and savory goodies down on a nearby table. He stood behind Jungkook and gently massaged his shoulders. "How's it going, baby?"

"I think maybe I'm on the right track with this one," Jungkook replied. He looked up at his love and saw the concern on his face. "I'm sorry I've been so distant this past month. Getting the commission is an amazing opportunity, I don't want to blow it."

Nodding his head, Taehyung gasped when Jungkook pulled him onto his lap. "I didn't mean to disrupt you," Tae said in a low voice as his lover began to suck on his neck.

"I think I haven't been paying enough attention to you lately. I want to make up for it." Jungkook smirked as he stood up, showing off his incredible strength by easily picking Taehyung up. As he carried Taehyung to the nearby futon he continued attacking his neck leaving red marks along Tae's collarbone.

An hour later, the two were taking a shower together. Each time Jungkook saw Taehyung's scars on his back, he grew a little concerned. As he touched the scars lightly he asked, "How are you doing, my love?"

Taehyung turned to face Jungkook and had a genuine smile on his face. "I am doing really good. I've continued going out during the day and trying to make small changes in people's lives." Even though Taehyung was a fallen angel, he had gone back to his good works. He added, "Today I was able to help a single mom struggling with her toddler. I introduced her to the elderly woman that lived next door, I think it will benefit both of them."

"That's good. I'm sure there are many people who need a little help. It's nice that you're able to make these small changes that become very meaningful." Jungkook smiled at his boyfriend. He really did feel blessed in these moments, despite the stress. All it took was a warm smile from his love and he felt a weight lifted from his chest. "How did I get so lucky?" he wondered to himself.

As they were drying up and putting on loungewear, Taehyung cleared his throat. "I bought us plane tickets for LA. I thought we could go a couple weeks before the opening and enjoy the change in scenery. I have a house there that I haven't been to in years. It's just a few blocks from the beach. I think you'll like it."

Jungkook wrapped his arms around Taehyung's waist, pulling him in for a kiss. "I've always wanted to go to LA. And I'm almost finished with this painting. So that will be perfect."

✈️

Three weeks later, the pair were sitting in the first class cabin on a Korean Air flight heading to the United States. Just before the plane was about to take off, Taehyung got nervous and was nibbling on his lip.

"Is something wrong, babe?" Jungkook asked.

"I've never flown on a plane before," Taehyung admitted. "I know planes fly all the time. I used to avoid them when I was flying ... it just seems implausible for this big, heavy vehicle to get in the air and fly all the way across the ocean."

Jungkook laughed and gently squeezed Taehyung's hand. "I hadn't even thought about that, but I guess it makes sense that you didn't need a plane before."

As the plane took off, Jungkook continued holding Taehyung's hand as his love nervously held on tightly. Jungkook thought about when Taehyung had wings and would occasionally fly the two of them to remote and scenic parts of Korea. The first time was nerve-wracking for him too but after he relaxed, Jungkook fell in love with the feeling of the wind in his hair and his love's arms wrapped around him securely. It got him thinking about the other angels and how they hadn't heard from them or seen them in awhile.

"Why haven't we heard from Jin or Jimin or the others in a couple months?" Jungkook asked. "Jin usually checks in with us. Are they really busy or something?"

Taehyung sighed, "I was going to tell you, but I didn't want to disrupt your work. You were so focused on your commission."

"Tell me what? Did something happen to them?" Jungkook's eyes grew large with concern.

"They were reprimanded for helping me," said Taehyung looking miserable.

"Reprimanded?! Does that mean their wings were removed too?" Jungkook nearly shouted and noticed other passengers looking at him.

"No, not removed, but they can't use them for awhile. Plus they've been blocked from communicating with anyone other than Namjoon. So that's why we haven't heard from them." Taehyung looked as if he was about to cry. When he first heard about the reprimand from Chan, he did break down crying. He felt so guilty even though he knew it wasn't really his fault. His friends made their choice and stuck by him, each saying that they didn't care what the consequences would be.

"Oh, that's terrible. Maybe we should go visit Jimin and Yoongi to see how they're doing?" Jungkook thought about this and then added, "You know where they're at, right?" He watched Taehyung nod his head. "I've never been to Africa before. Actually, I've never been anywhere except Japan and Hong Kong when I was a kid." Jungkook began to get excited for their trip to LA.

"If you want, after the show we can travel more. We can visit Jimin and Yoongi. Last time I spoke to Jimin they were back in Madagascar." Taehyung smiled as he saw the look of excitement on Jungkook's face. "We can visit other parts of the US too. There are fantastic museums in New York. I haven't been to my condo there in years."

The two continued chatting for awhile until lunch was served. After that they combined their first class seats into a small bed and fell asleep in each other's arms. By the time they landed in Los Angeles, they were well-rested. A car was waiting for them as they exited the airport, and they were driven to Taehyung's house near Venice Beach.

Jungkook gasped when he saw how beautiful the area was. The house was in a neighborhood lined with canals. It was a small, historic cottage built in the 1920's but the interior was very modern. Plus it was only a half mile from the beach. As soon as they settled into the cottage, they changed into swimwear and walked down to the beach holding hands. Jungkook had only been in Los Angeles for a couple hours, but had already fallen in love with the place.

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