taeggukselephant (ao3)
jeongguk and taehyung haven't come out to their hyungs yet. when taehyung gets sick during dance practice, jeongguk accidentally might have let their little secret slip.
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"hey tae, you alright?" hoseok asked taehyung from across the table while they were eating breakfast. every head snapped up at the words and suddenly all eyes were on taehyung.
"u-uh, yeah, of course, hyung. i'm fine!" the younger boy replied, adding a smile at the end for more reassurance. but of course, in reality, taehyung was not fine. he and his boyfriend, jeongguk had just had one of their biggest fights in their three years of dating, and taehyung felt like complete shit, in conclusion.
it wasn't like taehyung didn't want the hyungs to know about their relationship, it's just that he was scared of their reactions. because they were his and jeongguk's family. the people they would be spending the next many, many years of their lives with. he couldn't live with himself if they rejected him. and that was the root of jeongguk's problem. in jeongguk's opinion, who cares if the hyungs don't accept them? they're jeongguk and taehyung, and they are in love, so who cares?
"do you not love me enough to tell the others? are you that ashamed of me?"
"no, gguk, you know that's not it, i just-"
"you just what?" jeongguk exploded, and luckily no one was in the practice room with them.
"i-i don't know, just please, gguk, please.." taehyung pleaded, his eyes brimming with tears. it broke jeongguk's heart but he was tired. so, so tired of hiding, of only being able to kiss taehyung behind closed doors of their own dorm. the last time they actually had sex had been five entire months ago, and the whole thing lasted around ten minutes in the supply closet backstage of a music show.
"tae. i can't do this right now, okay? this is all exhausting. i can't be in a relationship my own family and bandmates don't even know about. i'd rather them at least know and judge us for it than not knowing at all. it's been three years, baby." jeongguk had said, cupping taehyung's face gently. "i just need space, yeah?"
and space jeongguk got. but it had been three weeks. and taehyung was miserable. "you sure?" seokjin asked, looking at the boy. while the oldest of the group took in taehyung's appearance, he saw the boy looked extremely skinny, his face was pale, and he had eye bags underneath his eyes.
"taetae, you do look sick, how about resting instead of practicing today, hmm?"
taehyung stiffened. "guys, i'm seriously fine. i don't need to be babied all the time." and he got up, took his bowl to the sink and walked out of the kitchen. the boys looked and jeongguk.
jeongguk felt a wave of panic course through him. had taehyung told them? "what?" he retorted, crossing his arms defensively.
"you're the one who usually runs after him when he gets into his stubborn mood." namjoon says skeptically.
"i-i'm not," he stuttered. great, jeongguk. smooth. he told himself.
"did you guys fight or something?" seokjin asked softly. jeongguk tensed slightly. should he tell them what happened? but then he reminds himself that being in love with taehyung meant decisions were made with taehyung, always. so he shakes his head.
"no. it just looks like he wants to be alone," he says. the other boys nod suspiciously, but, jeongguk muses, they nod nonetheless.
jimin knows when two people are in a fight when he sees it, especially if it's his two best friends. did jeongguk really think that they believed him when he said that taehyung wanted to be alone? taehyung and alone weren't really words you usually heard in the same sentence. the boy loved his skinship and forehead kisses and tummy rubs. especially jeongguk's skinship, forehead kisses, and tummy rubs.
