Little things - Taekook (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 10

YOU CHOSE: Give Tae the bed YOU MONSTER 
Yes, an update, I know this book seems like it's dead but I've had some time and some inspiration to do something productive so have this whilst it's here. I don't know if it's up to my quality standards, but I can always edit it at a later date when I close the votes. We will see. Enjoy! 

"Tae, wake up," I whisper quietly, reluctantly, and his eyes blink open slowly, hesitantly. He lets out an adorable little yawn, one that reminds me of a sleeping kitten.
"Kookie? Wha-What?" 
"I need to get you ready for bed, and then you can borrow my bed for the night, okay sweetheart? I'm gonna take the couch, so don't worry about feeling crowded." 

He smiles slightly, nodding in understanding and sitting up unhurriedly, wiping the sleep out of his eyes with a clenched fist. Once he's (kind of) awake, he reaches out his arms for me, and I smile slightly, recognising the signal somehow and hooking my arms under his armpits, carefully lifting him off of the sofa and onto my hip.

"Am I heavy?" he asks blearily, and I shake my head quickly.
"No, Tae, not at all. I'm a dancer and an athlete, and to be honest you don't weigh as much as one of my old dance partners." I roll my eyes at the thought of the girl in question, who really didn't understand how to dance. She still doesn't, as far as I know. "She was like a massive sack of potatoes, and you're like a feather." 

He giggles, his head resting comfortably on my shoulder as I begin the careful trek through the apartment to his dumped bag by the front door, picking it up before pretending to moonwalk down the corridor, a giggling silver haired Little still safely in my arms. 

"Can you brush your teeth for me, sweetheart, whilst I try and sort out the bed ready for you?" I ask Taehyung quietly, and he nods immediately, unzipping the bag and pulling out the things he needs before trotting calmly into the bathroom and sorting himself out as I asked him to. 

Meanwhile, I busy myself figuring out where the hell I'm supposed to put everything, removing any possibly dangerous things I didn't think about earlier, and making sure the bed is ready for him. After a few moments of silence, I rush back into my living room, pulling a massive fluffy blanket out of the cupboard and hurrying into my room just as Taehyung shuffles back into the bedroom, in his pjs. 

It's the cutest thing I think I've ever seen. 

At the sight of the blanket in my hands, his eyes light up, and he scurries over, placing a hand on it and beaming at how soft it is. "I remembered I had this," I tell him quietly, "do you like it?" 

He nods eagerly, and I chuckle slightly, handing it over. "If you want, you can have it on the bed," I tell him simply, "along with whatever you may have brought with you. I honestly don't mind, as long as you're comfortable I'm happy with that."
"Thank you," he says nervously, glancing around at the room for a moment. "But where will you sleep?" 

I tilt my head at him for a moment, genuinely not knowing what he's on about, then I realise, and smile slightly. "I'm taking the couch for the night, Tae, so don't worry, you've got this room all to yourself. I'm not gonna make you uncomfortable, even for that one night, and there's no way you're going on the couch. You're my guest." 

I run a hand through my hair, watching his expression change to a confused one. "Besides, you're a very important guest, and we can't have you being unhappy here, now can we? Not just because I want Hobi hyung to be happy with me, but also because I want us to be friends. And we can't be friends if you're not comfortable with the situation you're put in, ya know?" 

He nods uncertainly, clearly lost in thought, and I bite my lip, not really sure how to make him feel more at home. "I'm going to brush my teeth quickly, so once I come out, let me know if you need anything. It doesn't matter if it's a glass of water or a hug, you just need to tell me." I manage a small smile. "I can't read your mind, unfortunately." 

He giggles at that, walking over to his bag and pulling out a stuffed bear, wrapping his arms around it and giving it a tight hug. And that's the image I'm left with when I sneak into the bathroom and brush my teeth, something that lingers in my mind like a song that's been going round my head for days, even though we only met a few hours ago.

I cannot lose sight of why he's here. He would never forgive me, and neither would Hoseok. I'm not dumb. I know exactly how my life would change if I did anything stupid, if I even attempted to do something that would hurt him in any way, even accidentally. I've got to be so careful, for all three of us. 

And it is a little terrifying, but he's definitely worth it. 

Once I've finished sorted myself out, I walk back out of the bathroom, only to see that Taehyung is shuffling nervously into bed, a firm hold on his stuffed bear, which is tucked under his arm. His other hand is gripping the blanket I handed him a few minutes ago, bringing it closer to his face. And my casual attitude is slowly melting into a pile of 'aw he's the cutest thing ever' goo. 

Because that's how to explain things, now. 

"Are you gonna be alright, Tae?" I ask him once more, reaching into my wardrobe and pulling out a baggy shirt and joggers to sleep in, as it's actually quite a cold night, and I don't wanna freeze on the couch, because hypothermia is not good for you. He nods, but I can see that there's something on his mind. 

"What's wrong?" I say gently, crossing the room to stand beside the bed for a moment, making hesitant eye contact with the nervous Little. "Like I said, I can only help you feel more able to sleep if you tell me what you need. More light? Bedtime story? Anything you need, at all?" 

He lowers his gaze to the bear, and a thought enters my mind. "Is there anything your bear might need?" He nods slightly, pouting. "And will tell me? Or is he a bit shy?" 

"Yeah, he's a little shy," Tae admits, smiling a little and placing his bear on his lap, thinking for a second before continuing to speak. 
"May I know his name?" I ask curiously.
"His name is Mookie," he says shyly, and the cuteness of the name takes me by surprise.

"Well, it's an honour to meet you, Mookie. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Mookie gets scared of new places," Taehyung says nervously, "even if the place is safe, it's new for him, so he prefers not to stay alone. He wants Kookie to stay." 

My eyes widen. "Mookie, you want me to be here?" I ask, still playing along with the little idea I got earlier, and Taehyung makes the bear nod at me. "But there isn't a second-"

"Just be in this one," Taehyung interrupts, immediately placing a hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, I just needed to say it. I don't care about that, I really don't. I feel safer when you're there, and I need to hug something in order to sleep anyway. I trust you." 

Ooooo what a development....

I'm such a nerd. Onto the choices

CHOICE ONE: stay with tae, but keep sides of bed separate other than the hug if you can because uncomfortableness

CHOICE TWO: don't stay with tae. that's not part of what you agreed to do

CHOICE THREE: HUG OUR BEAN HUG HIM AND DON'T BE SCARED HE NEEDS HUGGLES!!!!!! 

CHOICE FOUR: the more sanely worded version of the above ^^^^

Votes are currently: (CLOSED)

If votes are closed, please don't bother voting, as there will be opportunity for you to do so later. Remember, there is a gap of about four days between chapters being published and votes closing. Thank you for taking part!

Izzy x