This Love Is...|| TAEKOOK ||

|16| to love or to be loved

Don't forget to vote! And I need comments cuz guys I love ur own reactions lol.

Jungkook was in Taehyung's apartment, and interesting enough, the latter had invited him to cook and bake. 

Honestly, he had no idea the other could bake.

"Are you sure you do not need any help?"

Jungkook looked at Taehyung with big eyes, ready to jump and help the other but Taehyung vehemently replied, "Help is for the weak. And I am not! The weak."

Jungkook whined and hid his head inside his palms not wanting to witness the historical event unfolding infront of him. He tried his best to not concentrate on the crackling sounds and filtered the air off the burnt smell as much as he could.

He laid like that for a while until he heard, "Guess our Mission: Bakeable has reached a truce"

Jungkook looked up to see Taehyung's back, with his eyes fixed onto something. Jungkook eyed the other for his weird statement but when he followed his gaze he was taken aback.

"Well, that looks quite the dessert. I'd rather live without it and die."

 Taehyung's eyes shot to him, "You can die in a ditch for all I care. I need to bury these babies..."

"I'll cook something else..."

"I'm ordering takeout! "

Jungkook rolled his eyes, stirring up from the couch, grabbing a random perfume from Taehyung's vanity in his room. 

"What's that sound? Did the gas pipeline start leaking-" Taehyung dried his hands on the towel and searched for the location of the noise. He found Jungkook roaming around the house with something spraying. 

The hell is that a bug spray can, wait a minute-

"THAT'S MY $340 PERFUME-"

After their dinner date ended with Jungkook getting smacked right on his head, and Taehyung glaring at him, courtesy to Jungkook, they settled to watch some movies.

They sat lingering with each other on the couch, lost in their subtle touches. Taehyung knew. This was the first time he had been in a relationship like this. He wanted it to cherish it like everyone else. He is the type that wants to experience even the smallest and most boring stuff with the person he loves.

He felt like Jungkook was a delicate flower ready to be plucked but he watered him, for its beauty to not fade away.

Time seemed to pass by as they both lingered on each other. Taehyung sighed and got up, facing Jungkook, the one question inside his mind ready to be asked, "Jungkook, have you ever thought about what it would be like if we didn't have to hide our relationship?"

Jungkook was visibly taken aback by the question. He knew for a fact this conversation would happen one day, but he was willing to put it to the furthest future as he could. Once it registered his features hardened. "Of course, I have. But you know as well as I do that it's not that simple. We have our jobs, our reputations..."

Taehyung now turned fully to face the latter, the movie forgotten, "I know, but shouldn't love conquer all? Shouldn't we be able to be together without having to hide?"

Jungkook slowly slid from Taehyung and settled on the other side, "I wish it were that easy, Taehyung. But the reality is, we live in a world where not everyone will accept us."

The more they were talking, the worse the conversation became.

Taehyung abruptly got up from his seat, throwing his hands in the air "I'm tired of hiding, Jungkook. I want to be able to hold your hand in public, to kiss you without worrying about who might see."

Jungkook looks at him pleading with his eyes to stop, "And I want that too, Taehyung. But we have to be realistic. We have responsibilities, people who depend on us."

Taehyung gets agitated by Jungkook's reaction "But what about us? What about our happiness?"

Jungkook firmly states, his eyes never leaving Taehyung "Our happiness matters, of course, it does. But so does our stability, our livelihood."

Taehyung sighs, looking at Jungkook's eyes "We've built something good here, haven't we? Why can't we take the next step?"

Jungkook lowers his gaze to the ground, weighing their situation. "We could lose everything, Taehyung. Have you thought about that?"

"Every day! But I'm willing to take the risk. Aren't you?"

Jungkook shakes his head, not ready to look into Taehyung's eyes, worried he might break, "It's not just about us. It's about the people around us, our students, our colleagues."

Taehyung takes a long breath, and calmly replies, "They would understand. They'd have to. Love is love, isn't it?"

Jungkook enough with this conversation, gets up from his seat, "In an ideal world, yes. But we don't live in an ideal world.

Taehyung annoyed by his actions, crosses his arms, "So, what? We just keep pretending? Keep hiding?"

Jungkook silently replies, "Maybe we should. At least until we figure out a better way."

Taehyung walks closer to Jungkook, his gaze never leaving him, "This isn't living, Jungkook. This is surviving." 

Jungkook noticing Taehyung approaching closer to him, doesn't move his gaze from the floor, "Sometimes, surviving is all we can do."

Taehyung notices the other avoiding his gaze."I want more than that. I want a life with you, out in the open." He speaks confidently, but he knows that deep down things could spiral out in the wrong direction fast. 

"And I want that too. But I don't know how we get there."

Taehyung slowly lifts his face. Jungkook's eyes are glistening with tears that he is not letting fall. Afraid to let the smallest thing fall apart, he chooses his words carefully. "We get there by taking a chance, by being brave."

Jungkook blinks, "And if it all falls apart? If we lose everything?"

Taehyung breathes in, "At least we'll have tried. At least we'll know we fought for us."

Jungkook looks at Taehyung directly, longing evident in his eyes. "I don't want to lose you, Taehyung. But I don't want to lose everything else either." 

Taehyung stares into his eyes, then takes his hands from Jungkook's face and massages his forehead. "I just don't understand why we have to hide who we are. Why can't we just be free to love each other openly?"

Jungkook suddenly raises his voice. "Because life isn't always fair, Taehyung! Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good."

Their voices grew hoarse, their hearts heavy with the weight of their unspoken desires. But no matter how much they argued, they both knew the answer, just hanging in the air out of reach.

Jungkook turns his back, not willing to show Taehyung the tears he would shed. "I can't do this anymore, Taehyung. I need some time to think."

Taehyung reached for Jungkook as fast as he could "Jungkook, wait..."

But Jungkook was already on his feet, his mind swirling with conflicting emotions. Without another word, he stormed out of the room, leaving Taehyung alone with his thoughts.

As the door slammed shut behind him, the silence that followed was deafening, a stark reminder of the rift that had formed between them.

Taehyung sat by the door in silence, tears threatening to fall, he huddled his knees together and barely tried to blink away the falling tears. He couldn't help but wonder if their love was strong enough to withstand the storm that raged within them.

A/N
And oop- that happened. THE conversation. It was bound to happen one day but still :(