But Beautiful

part 62 ( FINAL)

"Taehyung, Tae, Tae baby, my love, Taetae," Jungkook sang cutely, gently shaking his boyfriend awake, giggling at the groggy look on his face. "Let's get dressed and head over, the sun will rise in about an hour."

Taehyung rubbed his eyes, nodding as he allowed Jungkook to pull him up from the floor, helping him to change his clothes more quickly. He yawned, mumbling, "I can get dressed myself, y'know," with his deep, rough morning voice that Jungkook loved.

"I know, I'm just so excited," Jungkook said, dropping his hands to let Taehyung finish dressing. "This is something I've wanted to do for so long, something I've wanted to see forever!"

Taehyung smiled at him, looking more awake as he finished dressing, brushing the tangles from his hair before joining Jungkook at the door. "Okay, let's do it."

The walk to the ponds was short, it took about ten minutes from the ryokan to the closest path to the Tsuta-numa. Jungkook wasn't surprised by the amount of people there to enjoy the same scenery he'd dreamed of, many foreigners and natives alike, people setting up cameras to take photos of the annual-but-exclusive scene.

"It's busy," Taehyung commented, happy to secure a spot a little isolated from the main crowd, a place that still boasted a beautiful view.

"To be expected," Jungkook sighed, pretending to be disappointed. "But it won't ruin my experience. Yours?"

"Nope."

Jungkook stood, watching with wide eyes as the first rays of the sun caught the tops of the colored beech trees, the red and orange reflecting on the lake in a streak of fiery colors. As the sun continued to rise, too fast for Jungkook's liking, he took in the view with parted lips. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he felt Taehyung's arms wrap around him from behind, appreciating the weight of his body against his back as the final land was bathed in sunlight, the entire scenery alight with the trees and their picturesque reflection in the still water. The world stopped for a minute, the mirrored blaze in front of him warming his heart, which felt like it stopped, as well.

"God," he finally breathed, "it's so amazing."

"It is... it's actually crazy," Taehyung echoed, awe in his voice.

Jungkook nodded, replying, "but beautiful."

They stayed to watch until the sun moved high enough that the reflection of the trees on the water wasn't as brilliant. Most of the crowd thinned out by that point, and Jungkook took Taehyung by the hand to proceed to the promenade loop.

The trail took them along to the other connected bodies of water, the two stopping to admire the scenery of Jigoku-numa despite the pungent sulfuric scent emitting off the steaming surface of the water. If only I could pause my sense of smell, Jungkook internally groaned, his sensitive nose taking a heavy hit with the sulfur smell of rotten eggs. It's lucky this place is pretty, he thought with a grumble. They only stayed for a few moments before continuing on the path, commenting on the beautiful foliage as they strolled along.

Beginning to limp before slowing to a stop, Taehyung took a deep breath, holding his waist. "Damn it," he spoke, voice frustrated.

"Are you in pain, my love?" Jungkook asked with a pout, placing a hand on the small of his back. "Is it your hips? Glutes? Back?"

"Yes and yes and yes and yes," Taehyung responded, whimpering as he couldn't lessen the pain due to both sides of his body being affected at the same time.

"Alright," Jungkook started, opening his arms to Taehyung, "I'll carry you."

Taehyung made a face, but before Jungkook could try and convince him, he embraced him tightly, ready to be picked up. "Okay."