Hilde | Kim Taehyung fanfiction ✓

arya

25

I let out a sigh of relief as I left the gas station bathroom. It didn't even take me that long. Why was he being such a jerk about it?

I washed my hands and walked out, shaking them to dry off the water. Taehyung was waiting by the car, leaning against the passenger side. "Done?" he asked, a small smirk on his face. Instead of answering, I wiped my wet hands on his cheek before pushing him aside to open the door and get in.

I buckled my seatbelt and waited for him to get in and start driving again.

Our trip, wherever we were headed, was long and boring. To pass the time, I started counting trees until they were replaced by the endless stream of cars all around us.

Hours on the highway, surrounded by the same cars and road, made me start to nod off. Occasional honks would jolt me awake, reminding me of how uncomfortable it was to sit in the same spot for so long.

After a while, the honking became a constant background noise. I began looking around, trying to figure out what was causing all the frustration. Then I noticed Taehyung drifting into other lanes now and then.

When I looked at him, I saw him blinking way more than normal. His eyes had dark circles under them, and when I called his name a few times, he looked like he was waking up from a deep sleep. It took me touching his arm to finally get his attention.

"What do you want?" he asked, his words slurred and his voice rough.

"Can we stop somewhere?"

"Again? No, we don't have time for that."

"You need a break, Tae. You're not driving safely. You've been at it for almost eight hours without any sleep, and you're probably hungry. I know I am," I added, my voice dropping to a whisper.

"If we keep stopping, we'll get to Ames in two weeks," Taehyung replied, his tone making it clear he didn't want to discuss it. As he started to say something else, he drifted into another lane before quickly correcting the car's direction.

"Next restaurant we see, we're stopping, Tae," I said firmly, hoping he'd listen. "I'm not dying before I see and take care of Novikov."

"Whatever," he muttered. He spotted a small diner a few minutes later, "I'm doing this because I want to, not because you told me."

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness.

Inside the diner, we picked a table and waited for a server. After placing our orders, I headed to the bathroom to wash my hands. When I got back, Taehyung was already wolfing down his food like he hadn't eaten in days.

"Of course, why wait for me?" I said sarcastically. He just grunted, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, ignoring the napkins right in front of him.

We spent the next twenty minutes in silence: him eating loudly, me watching him, wondering if he was going to choke. When he finally cleaned his plate, I pushed mine, still half full, towards him offering him to eat my food as well. He waved it off, then burped loudly, drawing judgmental stares from other diners.

"We can go now," Taehyung said decisively.

"Yes, chef."

With food in his stomach, I trusted him a bit more behind the wheel. The drifting into other lanes happened less often, but I still kept a close eye on the road and him.

By six PM, after some arguing, I convinced him to stop at a hotel for the night.

"Stop complaining. You'll thank me tomorrow," I said as we got out of the car and walked towards the hotel.

"Thank you for wasting our time," he replied with a bitter tone.

"Oh, stop it. Are you planning on driving from the East to the West Coast like this?" I stopped in my tracks. "You're running on fried food and barely any sleep."

"I've managed."

"Sure. The only thing you managed was to almost crash into the other cars." I said nearly walking into the hotel door as he let it swing shut behind him causing it to almost hit me. "What a gentleman."

"Good morning," Taehyung said to the receptionist.

"Tae, it's evening," I corrected him, making him huff.

"Two rooms, please," he asked the receptionist pulling out some dollar bills.

"I'm sorry, we're almost fully booked tonight. We have..." She paused, checking the computer, making my blood freeze.

Please, don't say it.

Please, don't say it.

"We only have one room available."

God, help us all.