Vice

Chapter 13

Three rights and then a left, the unknown sender of the texts had said. 'Come out if you're brave enough, I know you can never resist a challenge.'

The mansion was cold, his thin cotton pajamas and borrowed pair of slippers did nothing to keep him warm. Especially not when he snuck out the back door and was hit with a solid wall of frigid night air. Seokjin was shivering by the time he reached the end of the winding path through the rose garden.

"Hey, baby," a deep and easily recognizable voice said, a dark silhouette leaning up against a gate set in the stone wall at the back of the garden. He was shrouded by a small patch of trees, and Seokjin's eyes widened, instinctively taking a few steps toward the man as his sight adjusted to the shadows.

"What are you doing here?! Have you seriously lost your mind?!" Seokjin exclaimed, the tone of his panicked whispers a little higher than his normal speaking voice. "I could ask you the same thing," Taehyung replied softly. "Who just comes out in the middle of the night to meet a stranger?" The hacker didn't have a good answer, but his life wasn't in danger!

He stared at Taehyung through the darkness, drinking in the body he knew as well as his own. "You're hair! What happened to it?" Seokjin asked, unconsciously taking another step forward. Taehyung looked so much older, shadows cutting sharp under his cheekbones, his fringe almost covering his eyes.

"It was getting too long, I like it like this," Taehyung replied, reaching a hand out that Seokjin took without any conscious thought. The hacker liked it too, liked it a lot. "Did you have a good night, baby?" Taehyung continued, pulling Seokjin a few steps closer, palm resting on the hacker's lower back. It was such a familiar gesture, everything about Taehyung was familiar.

"Yes, I had a Manhattan. And it was delicious," Seokjin replied, a challenge, peering up into Taehyung's sparkling eyes. At the bar, the hacker had physically stopped himself from telling Jungkook that they were Taehyung's favorite drink. As soon as he had heard the word, an image of Taehyung sipping one, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed the light amber liquid, had flashed in Seokjin's mind.

"You know alcohol doesn't mix well with your meds, baby," Taehyung hummed, his words mildly chastising but his deep voice on the edge of amused. Challenge accepted. "I'm allowed to have fun," Seokjin replied, watching Taehyung's eyelids lower a fraction.

"Of course, you are," he said, patronizing.

"Why are you here, Tae?" Seokjin asked again, tiredness suddenly filling him. Weighing down his limbs like they were made of iron. "Same reason as last time, I missed you."

"You almost got yourself shot last time," Seokjin said, his tone accusatory. "I don't care." Taehyung was too much of a gambler in every aspect of his life. He had no sense of self-preservation what so ever. "I care!" the hacker snapped, nearly forgetting where he was as Taehyung's other arm wrapped around his waist. Incasing Seokjin in warmth.

"That's good to hear," Taehyung replied, tightening his hold on Seokjin and tilting his head. Nipping lightly on Seokjin's bottom lip, still wine-stained from the tint he applied earlier this evening. The hacker's mouth opened automatically, just a slight drop of his chin. Then, Taehyung was kissing him in earnest and he melted.

It was easy. Terrifyingly easy to fall back into the familiar feeling, the touch. The embrace. Easier than breathing. Like kicking his shoes off and collapsing on the couch in their apartment after a long day. Like the first sip of hot tea after going on a walk in the winter. Like a sigh of relief.

Taehyung was warm, so warm. His tongue licked into Seokjin's mouth, ran across his teeth. Seokjin moaned, a quiet noise that could not be mistaken for anything other than desire. Their lips moved against each other effortlessly, the rhythm practiced, engrained in Seokjin's muscle memory.