✔ || Distract Me

Chapter 6

When practice ended, Namjoon asked how the group felt about Taehyung visiting the dorm that evening. Everyone thought it was a great idea, including Taehyung, but Jeongguk was filled with stupid trepidation. What if Taehyung saw their dorm and decided it wasn't worth it? He'd have to either room with Jeongguk or Yoongi since they were the only two who had their own bedrooms. What if he didn't want to move in with either of them?

But Jeongguk's fears had been for naught. Each member helped with the dorm tour, and Taehyung seemed genuinely invested in it. More than once, he gushed about how cool it was going to be to live with his hyungs and dongsaeng. Seokjin made a quick dinner - how he had enough energy left after practicing for ten hours, Jeongguk had no idea - and it only sold the dorm life more ("Whoa, Seokjin-hyung! It's all so delicious, thank you!").

When the tour ended at Jeongguk's room, a stab of nerves went through his chest. The rest of the members had given up on the tour after the second room - the one Jimin shared with Namjoon - out of exhaustion, but Jeongguk forced himself to point out Yoongi's room (not daring to go inside, of course) and then stop in front of his own closed door. He turned to Taehyung sheepishly, "You're probably tired, we don't have to go in."

"Are you embarrassed, Jeonggukie?" Taehyung asked earnestly.

Fire lit up in the maknae's face. "No! No, I'm not. I'm just trying to be courteous. We worked hard today."

"My morning was spent filling out paperwork," Taehyung pointed out. "I had, like, half the work you guys did."

"Okay," Jeongguk said slowly. "Well then, I guess let's go in."

Taehyung ended up being the one in charge of pushing open the door. Jeongguk led the march inside, though, his head bowed as he flipped on the switch. They both blinked in the sudden light. "It's not much," Jeongguk said, biting the inside of his lip. "But you'll probably be staying in here. Yoongi likes having his own room."

"And you don't?" Taehyung asked, stepping over the t-shirt that Jeongguk had unceremoniously discarded on the floor when he found out that he had woken up late that morning. He quickly swooped to pick it up, cursing himself for blushing so much.

"Well," Jeongguk started, taking the time it took to walk the shirt to his hamper to mull over an appropriate answer, "I guess I do. But -"

"But you'd rather sleep with me?" Taehyung asked.

Jeongguk's poker face evidently sucked. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and Taehyung burst out laughing, "I'm teasing, Kookie. Between you and me, I would rather be in your room anyway. Yoongi is quiet, I feel like I'd really annoy him."

"Heh, yeah," Jeongguk managed to say. "Probably."

Taehyung smiled at him and Jeongguk decided that he always wanted to make his hyung smile.

After Taehyung left for the night and the members all took their showers, Jeongguk collapsed on his bed. His eyelids slipped shut and he hummed as his brain traveled to thoughts of dream-Taehyung. How it felt to touch him. Jeongguk smiled, embarrassed at himself, and rolled onto his side, curling around his pillow. 

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

When Jeongguk opened his eyes, he was sitting across from a frowning, robe-less Taehyung. The boy cocked his head as Jeongguk sat up straighter. "You really can't help it, can you?"

Jeongguk opened his mouth, but then remembered. Taehyung shook his head, "I've decided it's okay. So speak."

"What do you want me to say?" Jeongguk asked, shocked at the sound of his voice. It was too loud in the silent darkness surrounding them.

Taehyung gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Nothing." Then, "I want you to distract me."

Jeongguk hesitated, "Where's your coat?"

Taehyung's eyes twinkled cruelly. "Don't you like me better this way?"

The maknae worked his jaw and Taehyung reached towards him. Something made Jeongguk lean away from the elder's hand, but Taehyung only paused for a moment, glancing up into Jeongguk's eyes, before reaching the rest of the way and grasping the maknae's wrist. Jeongguk gasped at the chill of his fingers. "Hyung, you're cold."

"Then warm me up," Taehyung whispered.

Jeongguk swallowed and Taehyung tightened his grip, as if he was afraid that the maknae would run away. But he only nodded meekly and let his hyung pull him closer. Jeongguk dutifully positioned himself behind Taehyung, gasping at the new trails of blood. "Why aren't they healing?"

"They keep reopening," Taehyung said, sharply hissing in a breath through his teeth as he gingerly resituated to bend forward.

"Can I -"

"Don't push it, Jeongguk," Taehyung snapped.

"Sorry, hyung," the maknae mumbled.

Taehyung hummed in response, deflating as Jeongguk pressed his palms down on his shoulders. Jeongguk pushed his fingers up into the hair on the nape of Taehyung's neck, and the older boy groaned as the maknae gave it a light tug. The blood on Taehyung's smooth back glinted up at Jeongguk like an accusation.

Suddenly, something overtook the maknae and he removed his hands from Taehyung. The boy made an indignant noise and turned his head, but froze when he saw Jeongguk lift off his t-shirt. Taehyung breathed, "What are you doing, Kookie?"

Jeongguk squirmed but somehow managed to quip, "Don't you like me better this way, hyung?"

Taehyung gave a sharp, humorless laugh and turned back away from the maknae. Jeongguk balled up the shirt and pressed it against the middle of Taehyung's back, seeping up as much of the blood as he could. Taehyung sighed as he worked, which only encouraged him to keep going. The elder made a warning noise in the back of his throat when Jeongguk accidentally brushed too close to the edge of one of his wounds, but the maknae quickly moved down and Taehyung relaxed again. Once finished, Jeongguk set the t-shirt to the side. It was now ruined, but he honestly couldn't care less.  Taehyung mewled, "Thank you, Kookie."

Jeongguk twitched awkwardly, "No problem, hyung."

Taehyung spun around slowly to sit cross-legged facing Jeongguk. He pursed his lips and whispered more to himself than to Jeongguk, "This was incredibly selfish."

"I don't mind, hyung," Jeongguk assured him. "If I can help you feel better, I will."

The older boy shook his head, "Not that. I shouldn't be coming to you. We shouldn't even be together here."

The silence that followed was deafening. Taehyung lowered his eyes, but flinched when Jeongguk suddenly spoke, "Because they'll find out, right? Who are 'they'?"

Taehyung blinked lazily at him. "It doesn't matter."

"This is my dream, hyung," Jeongguk whined. "So tell me."

Taehyung's eyebrows shot skyward. "No."

"No?" Jeongguk asked in disbelief.

"No," Taehyung affirmed.

Why did Jeongguk find him so frustrating? More pressing, why did he find him so fucking gorgeous? He wasn't supposed to feel these things, was he?

Was he?