Baseball (VHope)

Eleven

"Tae, you have a surprise at the door," Namjoon said as he opened my bedroom door. I sighed and rolled out of bed, not even bothering to put on proper clothes; glasses on my face, an Army tanktop falling off of my shoulder, sweatpants sitting low on my hips. Namjoon held my hand as he led me down the stairs and into the entry hall, where my apparent 'surprise' was. But my quiet, sleepy attitude dropped when I saw who stood at the bottom of the steps waiting for me.

Hoseok stood there in a huge, light-blue shirt and matching pants that made me wonder why he hasn't fallen over, his curly dark hair pushed off his forehead by a Supreme headband. A huge smile made its way to my face as I saw his signature smile. "Good morning, pumpkin," he drawled and caused a blush to creep up my face as he was very obviously checking me out like he did when we first talked. "Hi," I stuttered and hesitantly walked over to him, only to be pulled into a hug. After a few seconds, I let myself relax into his arms, then pulled away when Namjoon cleared his throat.

He placed each hand on both of our shoulders and smiled. "This gentleman asked if he could take you on a date today." My eyes widened and Hoseok's cheeks flushed pink. "Um... huh?" I asked and Hoseok laughed as he reached out for my hand, lacing our fingers together. "I thought it would be nice to go out today. There's this cute little farm I want to show you so... Go get ready." He giggled the last part and I almost laughed too. Instead, I walked back upstairs and got ready for my day with my crush.

Indigo pullover with this strange portrait of an old Spanish couple, black sweatpants. A tan bag I kept all my Polariod film, camera and sketching stuff in over my shoulder. Fuck earrings today. I really didn't feel like impressing anyone today, plus Hoseok was dressed comfortably too. I made my way downstairs, only to find my brothers laughing with Hoseok in the living room. They both gave me hugs and threatened to chop Hoseok's dick off if we weren't back before their set time, then the two of us made our way to his truck.

About ten minutes into our usually-silent car ride, Hoseok shyly patted my knee before shifting gears. "You look really cute today, pumpkin," he said and I blushed at his words. "Not nearly as cute as you," I mumbled and I didn't miss how red his cheeks got at my comment. "Thanks." It was so cute how timid he got when I complimented him. For some reason, I got brave and rested my hand on his knee like he did to me. The smile that washed across his face was one I had never seen before.

"Look at the calf, Tae!" Hoseok cheered as he pointed down at a baby cow that had wandered up to him in search of a treat. He reminded me of an unsupervised nine-year-old in a candy shop with the way he was cooing and petting the little cow. I smiled at my place on a bench while chickens crowded around my feet, but I paid them no mind as I snapped a picture of Hoseok. They were just pecking around at the seeds I was feeding them, which I purchased for five dollars at the farm entry. I became the chicken-whisperer.

I picked up one of the hens and held her in my arms, allowing her to settle in and coo in delight at how cozy I apparently was. I took a selfie with her, then hummed as Hoseok came to sit with me. "I'm being replaced by a chicken?" he asked, clearly unamused. I decided to play along and nodded, looking thoughtfully at the hen in my arms. "She's quiet. I like that." Hoseok huffed and playfully rolled his eyes as he nudged me gently. "You love my angelic voice," he teased and I smiled to myself, biting my lip. "Not answering," I mumbled and he laughed as I placed the hen back on the ground. He hummed and held my hand, staring down at it fondly as he thought.

After about twenty minutes, he sighed and turned to face me better. "Taehyung, we need to talk." Oh no. He pulled the full-name-card. The serious, yet afraid expression on his face scared me even more. He's done with you, stupid. Of course he is. Look who he is, look who you are. You got your hopes up again. Hoseok licked his lips nervously and scooted even closer to me than he already was. "Listen, I know we haven't been friends very long - two months, actually - but... Ever since Yoongi-hyung introduced us... I don't know."

He huffed out a laugh as he rubbed the back of my hand. "I knew that I wanted you. I wanted to protect you and make you smile and all this cheesy shit." That made me giggle a bit, but I said nothing and let him continue. Hoseok looked at our hands, longing swimming in those amber eyes. "But I knew you didn't want me, though. With me comes attention and I know you hate that. So I just decided to be your friend and get to know you in hopes that you'd eventually like me back, as selfish as that sounds. Fuck it, Taehyung. I like you a lot."

I couldn't believe my ears. There was no way this was happening right now. I gaped at him in disbelief as his eyes glinted with a hint of rejection, since I was taking so long to reply to him. "Hoseok, I want to let you in on a little secret," I mumbled and he nodded slowly. I licked my lips and cleared my throat. "When I first saw you, you caught my attention and held it. There was something about the Junior Varsity baseball player that gave me a reason to get out of bed every day. And as we both got older, the more I wanted you to be mine." Hoseok smiled so brightly and rested his head on my shoulder, allowing me to rest my cheek on his head and continue.

"But I always thought, 'No, he would never stoop so low. Look at him, he's a god  compared to you. Keep dreaming.' And then we finally became friends and I always think why? Why would someone like you want someone like me? I still think this is a sick joke because it's what my brain is telling me." I didn't realize I was crying until Hoseok's hair was starting to become a little wet, but he didn't seem to mind. He lifted his head and the frown on his face only made me cry harder.

He held my face in his hands and searched for my teary eyes. "Listen to me, Kim Taehyung. This is not some sick joke. I genuinely want to be with you and I chose to be a part of your life. I'm sorry you had to suffer like this for two years before we actually got to talk. I wasn't in a good place, anyways. But now I'm in a great place. No matter what that beautiful brain of yours says, I want you to be mine."

And before either one of this knew what was happening, I kissed him.

Our lips fitted perfectly together as we kissed slowly. I felt Hoseok's hands slide down my neck and over my shoulders while my own hands wrapped around his waist, drawing him even closer. If this was what Heaven felt like, I was happy enough to die right then and there. And the way we kissed made me feel like we were the only two people left in the entire universe. When his tongue rolled over my bottom lip, I heaved him into my lap and let his tongue lock with mine. This was my first-ever real kiss and I didn't want it any other way.

We pulled away for air, resting our foreheads together as we caught our breaths. I giggled and Hoseok followed suit, giving me an eskimo-kiss as we laughed. "I'm so happy," I sighed out after a minute, and I truly meant it. I hadn't been this happy in a very long time, back before I got depressed. One of Hoseok's fingers traced my jawline as he smiled down at me, eyes filled with so much happiness and adoration.

"So, is it safe to call you my boyfriend?" he asked and I hummed, smiling up at my Hoseok. "I think it's safe to say you're my boyfriend," I mumbled and he pecked my lips again. "Good, because no is an unacceptable answer," he tutted and I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Like I could say no to you anyways." We laughed and he hugged me tight, allowing the comforting silence to wrap around us.

so.... is this moving too fast?  and Tae is coming out of his shell, isn't he?

Happy Days!

- Tae