Black on Pastel <Vkook>

20. Switched roles

Taehyung sat on the front steps of his building with another joint in between his index and middle finger. As the fumes from the toxic plant filled his body, a single thought lingered in his mind.

   Jungkook comes home today.

His sober self desperately did not want to see him, for he knew the next few hours would be filled with stories from his time in Los Angeles spent with Jimin. And he didn't want to hear that at all.

But with Taehyung as high as he was now, he thought about seeing the younger again with a spacey grin and gaze in his eyes that stared at nothing. He would get to hold the small boy again. Smell his sweet scent. Feel his soft skin. Run his fingers through his dark hair.

And his paintings. He knew Jungkook painted countless pieces while he was there. There were a few pictures lingering in the unread messages, but Jungkook eventually stopped sending them as he got no reply. But Taehyung's notebook was sure to be filled by the time the day was over.

He took a long drag on the joint and exhaled through a square smile. Just a few more minuets.

-

When the uber pulled up infront of Jungkook's building, the driver politely offered to help him carry his 3 suitcases, 4 art portfolios, and one single canvas in a box that was too big for the portfolios. Jungkook accepted.

When he left the car, he looked down the long sidewalk, hoping to see Taehyung on the street or at least in front of the others building that was just barely visible in the distance. But he wasn't to be seen, only a small cloud of smoke probably coming from some junkie that lived downstairs from Taehyung that the older always talked about.

In a matter of 15 minuets, everything sat in the living room of Jungkook's apartment. He stood there, staring at the unpacked luggage, at loss of where to start unpacking. But he eventually started with the art.

He was a generally weak person, so he could only carry one portfolio at a time. Each one held 5-7 canvases that varied in size, so they were decently heavy. He brought them into his bedroom and sat them all on the floor side by side. Taehyung would want to see them later, so he put them on a nice display. He even set some on the few easels he had so the stood up nicely.

He then took the large canvas out of the box. It was taller than the boy who painted it. He used a stool to get it finished. But it was by far his favorite. He canvas was a gift by the gallery in LA. Part of it was painted infront of a group of children who were on a school field trip. Jungkook loved how they awed at his strokes of pastel blues and greens and pinks.

But that memory also reminded him of what had happened the other night. When he had a panic attack at Jimins house when he was just trying to have a nice dinner with him and his parents. He woke up on Jimins bed with his mother holding a cool rag on his forehead. It was embarrassing to have that happen at that place. Especially since he didn't feel close to that family anymore. As Jungkook set up the canvas, he just longed for Taehyung even more.

Suddenly, he heard his apartment door open, and there was only one other person with the key.

When he stood in the doorway, Taehyung looked around. No one was in the main room. But there were 3 suitcases in the middle of the floor.

Then, then small boy emerged from the bedroom. Wide doe eyes stared at Taehyung. He was dressed in an oversized sweat shirt and a pair of shorts. The feeling possessing Taehyung's body encouraged him to go to Jungkook.

He lazily shut the door behind him and strode to the dark haired boy who practically tackled him.

"Tae!!"