• M a k t u b : Spirit of the desert • [ Taekook ]

44. Taehyung, defend

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Jungkook's heated eyes hiding behind his seemingly calm face were a weak mask.

Taehyung could clearly read desperation and fear in him. Excitement licked his cheeks and the younger's cheekbones heated up when Jungkook saw the man he had been thinking about all this time.

Even the pain eased him.

- Tae? - he moaned his name softly as he managed to cover his mouth with his own palm to hide the visible trembling of his bottom lip.

Still looking at the older man, like he was some kind of apparition which he longed for. All that light around Taehyung looked like shadows were playing in front of his eyes. Tears welled up in the man's eyes and Jungkook wanted to forcefully come to his senses, hug him and kiss him.

But he couldn't. He just stood motionless for a long time.

When Taehyung gave him a worried look, Muhammad turned abruptly, also startled by the appearance of the man he had last seen at the Incheon airport.

Mute, the oldest among them let the situation play out for the next few crucial seconds, secretly wanting to know the full outcome of this conversation as soon as possible.

- W-what are you doing here? - Jungkook asked carefully, staring at his lover.

- Jungkook... I came to see you. - there was no longer any point or valid reason for him to hide the reason for his visit.

Taehyung loved him virtuously, purely and inspired by the most beautiful thoughts about their future together, he took another step towards the two of them, absolutely not looking at Muhammad.

- It would be better if you explain to me what's happening here, Jungkook, because I'm slowly losing my patience. - Muhammad said gently.

The younger felt warm tears in his eyes. They were kind and sensitive, just like his love for Taehyung.

- Muhammad, please... all I ask of you is understanding. You don't have to support me or approve anything, but please, as a man who was like father to me all these years, just be understanding. I... - he paused, ran his hands through his thick locks, then he looked once more at Taehyung, who was wearing a silky smile, to encourage him.

Muhammad looked back at the younger man, visibly blinking at his request.

The secret sweet pain which he shared with the elder all these years appeared in every fiber of his being. Some uncertain and undefined foreboding flashed before his eyes. It flashed like a spark, like a clasp between physical and spiritual life.

And that was THE moment.

All or nothing.

- I love... him. - he pointed with his hand towards Taehyung, whose mouth was now parted, and his eyebrows were drawn together in one line.

Tae didn't manage to collect his thoughts at that time when he was calling to himself that eternal moment, in which Jungkook finally publicly, clearly and loudly uttered the strictly guarded truth. There was no going back to the old ways.

- I don't understand, Jungkook. - Muhammad didn't seem to want to understand what the younger man blurted out loudly.

- How? - he asked again, his thick eyebrows furrowed, occasionally looking at one man and then at another.

- Love doesn't choose, Muhammad. I loved him from the first moment I met him in your palace... - Jungkook smiled as his heart jumped in his chest. Some burden seemed to have fallen from that wounded heart, freeing it from the shackles it had carried for too long.