But Beautiful

part 55 (M)

“I’ll take it however slow you, and Taehyung, need. Have you met his parents?” she asked. “What do they think of this?”

Jungkook took a deep breath, eyes closing again as they began to ache, his head pounding in exhaustion. “His parents died when he was a child. He was raised in the system, so there’s nobody to meet on his side, unfortunately.”

“Oh, that’s so sad,” his mother replied, “it’s too bad that he doesn’t have family to meet.”

“Well, he’s my family,” Jungkook whispered, heart squeezing a singular time among the steady beating. “And Sohee is, too.”

“Sohee? You have a girlfriend, too?” she gasped.

“What? No! Sohee is a DO who works with me, and we’ve become really close. She’s just a friend, but more like a sister with how close we’ve gotten. She’s spent time with me and Taehyung, and I consider her part of my family, too.”

“Okay. Can I meet her, too?”

“I don’t see why not,” he started, opening his eyes to look at her. “I just need you to accept and understand that I’m living my life and making my own decisions, and one of those decisions is to listen to my heart and be with who I love, no matter who it is. And to be honest, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have met and have fallen in love with someone who is as unique, creative, talented, beautiful, and wonderful as Taehyung. I wouldn’t rather be with anyone else.”

His mother looked at him fondly, listening to him express his feelings. Jungkook hoped the look on her face meant that she would accept it, that she would find it in herself to be happy for him. She nodded, drawing in a deep breath. “I understand. He really must be special,” she spoke, “and he is very lucky to have your love.”

“We can talk about meeting sometime soon, after I talk about it with him. But mom, I am so tired I’m falling asleep, so I should get home.”

“No, you’re in no condition to drive,” she replied sternly. “You can stay in your bedroom or here on the couch, I don’t mind, but you’re not going anywhere,” she added.

“Okay,” Jungkook said, yawning behind his hand. “I’ll just sleep here,” he mumbled, eyes closing.

The woman sighed, and before Jungkook fell asleep completely, he felt her drape a blanket over him and give him a kiss on the head. It made him feel safe, it was familiar; a comfort that he had missed from his childhood.

He was out like a light.

         ____________________

It was New Year’s Eve when Jungkook took Taehyung home with him next, inviting Sohee as well as his mother to celebrate the year’s end. He, Sohee, and his mother all brought different foods to eat as a low-stress potluck so the day through the evening could be worry free and fun. Taehyung wasn’t excited to meet Jungkook’s mother, and that was okay with Jungkook. He understood that, despite telling Taehyung he was going to give her a chance to show him that she was ready to accept his decisions. While his mother smiled and attempted to talk to Taehyung, Jungkook watched as his lover avoided eye contact for most of the day, only giving her a faint smile and the briefest glance when the clock struck midnight. Sohee, however, and his mother got along well and it made Jungkook feel a little less awkward, himself, about having Taehyung blatantly ignore the woman.

After she and Sohee had left the next morning, and before Jungkook and Taehyung were to go back to the facility, they had made love – bodies entwined and lips pressed together. It was filled with words of praise panted against one another’s lips, gasps of I love yous and moans of pleasure; by all means it was the perfect start of the year.