Hilde | Kim Taehyung fanfiction ✓

arya

31

'It's a date?'

It's a date?!

What was going through my mind when I said that, exactly?

Why did I think it was okay for me to say something like this?

"I mean, unless you... like, maybe you, you know..." I stumbled over my words, feeling hotter by the second, now my gaze was on anything but him.

"A date sounds cool," Taehyung said with a grin.

"I didn't mean date date, I meant to say that it's a deal, that we could, you know..." I stumbled over my words some more. The more I talked, the quieter my voice got and the hotter I felt.

"Calm down. I know what the idiom means. What's the problem if it really is a date?" Taehyung's grin widened a little as he propped his head up with a hand under it, his eyes looking for mine since I refused to look at him.

"No problem whatsoever," I replied with a definite tone, not wanting this conversation to go anywhere else. I knew that if I kept on talking, I was going to embarrass myself even more. From my peripheral view, I saw Tae nod before turning around and looking out the window. As soon as he stopped talking to me, I felt panic set in again. I needed a distraction, or I was going to go berserk. "Do you..." I started before clearing my throat, "Do you fly often?" I whispered.

Tae turned to look at me and shook his head no before fixing his hair with a hand, "Not that often, only business trips that would happen every other couple of months."

As I opened my mouth to reply, the plane started shaking and my heart started beating faster and faster. My breath hitched in my throat, and I tensed once again. I squeezed my eyes shut and balled my fists, and before I could hide my face behind my forearms, I felt a hand on mine. The breaths I took were short, as though I was choking.

"Look at me, will you?" I heard Tae whisper to me, and I felt his hand squeeze mine twice. "It's turbulence, happens a lot. You're fine, please look at me."

I reluctantly opened my eyes and turned my head to the side to look at Tae. Only then did I realize how close our faces were, our noses touching again, but this time, that proximity seemed to bring me comfort and peace, and for a second I forgot why I was scared.

As I looked at Tae, I hoped he wouldn't move away and break this little contact we were having. I hoped he wouldn't take his hand away from mine. "Your stress sweat is getting all over me," Tae joked, making me smile.

"Sorry," I whispered back, feeling a little embarrassed but also grateful for his attempt to lighten the mood.

"No problem whatsoever," he said again, mimicking my earlier words with a playful smirk.

"Quoting cartoons, now, are we?" I asked, trying to relax a little, rolling my neck and shoulders as I closed my eyes.

"Shellsea's attitude is glorious," Tae shrugged, pulling back a little. His lips welcomed a grin. The tip of my nose suddenly felt cold because of the absence of his touch, but his hand on top of mine made the feeling of peace and comfort not falter.

"I guess you can say that..." I whispered, opening my fists little by little. Tae's hand was now holding mine, not just resting on top of it. I began taking big deep breaths to calm myself down to the best of my abilities, but I choked and almost started coughing when I felt his hand move and his fingers entwine with mine on the armrest between us. The turbulence was over. Was he going to let go of my hand?

"Feeling better?" Tae asked me, his gaze fixed on mine, as he squeezed my hand.

I struggled to swallow my saliva as I nodded. I refused to talk; I was scared my voice would betray me. Trying to relax, I closed my eyes and rested against the backrest. Only a few minutes later I opened my eyes and noticed that not only were our fingers still interlaced but now a tray of food was on the seatback table in front of me, which was no longer folded.

"Finally up," I heard Taehyung say.

I turned my head to look at him properly and disentangled our fingers to rub my eyes with the heels of both my hands. "What do you mean by finally?" I mumbled.

"You slept like a baby for thirty minutes. They served this tray like ten minutes after you fell asleep."

"And you didn't wake me up?"

Taehyung shook his head no.

"And why is that?"

He shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. "The world finally met peace when you fell asleep. It was the only moment the nation could have some respite from you."

I gasped at his words, a hand flying to my chest. "Are you saying I'm annoying?"

"If the shoe fits, lace it up and run." Taehyung's smirk only widened.

I shook my head with an amused smile and started digging into my lukewarm food. "I never met anyone as sassy as you."

"Oh, just shut up and eat your food."