Bruised (Completed)

Chapter 32

For all the world we appear as a normal couple partaking in its masquerade of normalcy. We live, we love, entirely free of any worries that would have stopped us before. Pictures on outings begin to capture our tender moments together. Hands holding each other, him by the sea, me over a cup of coffee at a newly discovered cafe.

Today is one of the days we are going out to make more memories, albeit it in a businesslike manner. Taehyung has been helping me edit photos both for assignments and private use only and I am teaching him the basic ropes of the profession, although "teach" is a grand word for he barely, if at all, needs help snapping his own shots and make them even more gorgeous than they already are.

An arm around my waist pulls me closer towards a supposedly still sleeping face. 'Morning,' Tae whispers with a voice laced by the remains of a deep slumber. He rests his head against mine, clearly not ready to get up yet.

'Good morning.' Gently I run my hand through his hair, savouring the soft feeling of the silky caramel locks. 'We have to shoot the sunrise.'

'But it's dark outside and you're so warm.' His grip tightens. His expression resembles the unwillingness to head out this early in the day. 'Do we have to?'

'You don't necessarily have to. It's my assignment, after all.' I retract my hand and watch his pouting face, unhappy the touch has vanished.

'I'm not letting you go out in the freezing dark unprotected.'

'Then you'll have to wake up.' I place a quick peck on his forehead. 'I'll warm up a bit of rice and soup.'

'Okay.' A sigh and reluctant arms let go. 'Five more minutes, though.' He rolls onto his other side and pulls the blanket half over his head.

'Five more minutes.' I crawl out of bed, the wooden floor cold underneath my bare feet. Stumbling in the dark like a newborn doe and tracing my hands along the walls to search for the light switch, I head to the bathroom to regain a bit more consciousness by means of a lukewarm shower.

Now awake and peckish, I sneak past Taehyung, who is well past his five minutes of more sleep, to the kitchen. As the leftovers from last night's dinner are heating up in the microwave and spread a spicy scent to interrupt the aroma of mint and coffee we made ours, I return to the bedchamber to pull Sleeping Beauty back into reality.

Crouching on Tae's side of the bed, my fingers dance feathery light over the tan skin of his neck up to his jaw. It always works, he stirs as soon as the first digit makes contact. 'Is the time up?'

'Yes, has been for quite a while actually. Thought I'd let you sleep anyway, considering you were up way too late editing.' After dinner, he wanted to finish off editing the collection of new photographs he made and told me to go to bed, only for me to find him still at it at one o'clock when insomnia took over and the spot that is normally occupied by his warmth was empty.

'It wasn't that late.'

'It was one in the morn.'

'What's the time now?' Drowsily he opens one eye, the gaze in it softens when he registers my form in front of him.

'Five,' I answer, a small smug smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. 'If you'd gone to bed sooner...' A loud ping ends the conversation as it signals the first round of breakfast is ready. 'Come on, Tae, time to eat.'

⚕︎♕☣︎

The shore is the most beautiful at dusk and the beginning of the day, when the sky turns into a dip dye of dark navy blue and the lightest shade of yellow. the canvas it creates never ceasing to take one's breath away if merely they stand still long enough to appreciate the beauty life can give us whenever it feels generous. The water has lost the winter chill, but the last remains of the cold season linger in the depths despite the spring rapidly approaching.