She cares too much.
Taehyung gathered this when they were walking Tannie and she almost cried at the sight of a bird falling from a tree. Coco raced to it, cradling it in her hand while on the verge of tears.
"You're okay, baby," she repeated, gently stroking the tip of her finger along the bird's spine.
Taehyung was amused by the way her tears quickly dried once it flew out of her hand and joined the other birds in the trees. He petted her head and called her adorable to which she blushed and slightly pushed him away from her to distract from the smile on her lips.
As Taehyung slowly walked up to her studio, he took his time unlike before.
He studied the picture frames leading upstairs, smiling at the photo's because she was always smiling, beaming with joy; always brighter than the sun. She loved people, even when it got her in trouble.
And Taehyung, he was trouble. But she didn't want to accept it.
"Can I ask you something?" Coco asked while they sat on her couch, exhausted from chasing each other with paint just a few hours ago.
"Sure," Taehyung nodded, the towel beneath them wrinkling— the ones Coco used to cover her white couches with because she didn't want them to become stained with paint— as he scooted closer to her.
Her bare leg rested over his lap, his hand cupping her skin while he constantly draws imaginary shapes on her silky skin.
It pained Taehyung as her eyes held an unwavering gaze on him in the silence. Her eyes hinted at raw emotion even though she struggled so hard to burry it, but the hole was too large to fill with fake emotion.
Taehyung's heart clenched, throbbing under a tight grip as he thought about the monster he was, especially after the words that slipped her lips.
"What was wrong that night, the night we first had sex?" She asked, her eyes calling for Taehyung and he gives in to the temptation and honey that drips from them. "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me—"
"I had just seen my ex," Taehyung answers willingly because he likes the peace he feels when he's with her. She cares too much, says sorry for everything even when Taehyung says it's okay, but she is scared that he'll leave. Taehyung doesn't, and he doesn't realize that one conversation can cure his scars. "She was with someone else, the guy she was moving on with."
He was conflicted between the emotion that overcame him when he thought of Kali and the emotion that stirred inside of him when he thought of Coco.
He asks himself the same question that lingered in his mind when he was with her or when she was simply invading his mind: When did it start and how?
Is it a look?
The evening sun is shining in so perfectly on her face, and he watches her and admires the way the light dances in her eyes. The beauty he sees, he wishes she could see.
Is it a smell?
She was so close to him that he could smell the oil paint, but her baby lotion smell was stronger. He smiled, reminded of the fact that she loved using baby lotion because her skin was sensitive and she simply loved the smell. It was a familiar smell, one he got used to when they shared a hug or when he was on her bed or in her house. He found comfort in it because it was her smell.
Or is it a touch?
Her fingertip softly grazes his palm before she innocently slides her hand in his, lacing her fingers with his.
