sinner | ot7

twelve.

still looking over my shoulder.

taehyung already knew what happened between jeongguk and hoseok. he couldn't see into the room when it happened, but he just had that gut feeling, plus he could smell sex on the boy once it was over and he walked into taehyung's room. 

he couldn't really tell how the boy felt about that whole ordeal, he kept catching him staring off into space, his face burning a mortified shade of red, his hands patting down his hair as if it were a nervous tic of sorts.

taehyung knew it wouldn't be his place to ask if he were a mortal. but he was no mortal.

"so how was it, then? bet you enjoyed being all cute under jeongguk, didn't you? mmh, you'd enjoy it more under me." taehyung smirked.

he had turned his room into an ice rink of sorts, and was skating circles around hoseok, occasionally skating closer to poke his side or his shoulder since it seemed to bother him, and taehyung thought it was kind of funny.

hoseok huffed at him and gave him a look. "i wasn't underneath him."

taehyung burst out laughing, though his laughter soon faded away when he saw that hoseok was dead serious. but how could that even happen? the boy was obviously very easily manipulated, it wouldn't be hard for any of the gods to get him to give in to his blatant cravings for them.

"you're probably just jealous anyway, since everybody knows how bad you want me," hoseok said suddenly, barely even realizing the words that came out of his mouth until they had been said. taehyung was just staring, but the expression on his face made it clear that he probably was, indeed, jealous.

hoseok most certainly didn't have the same confidence as he had with jeongguk earlier, since that was temporary, but he did think it would be kind of fun to try and get under taehyung's skin.

"maybe you wanna be under me next?" hoseok asked, shakily skating forward. he wasn't that great at skating, but he was mainly trying not to fall so that taehyung wouldn't make fun of him.

taehyung snorted at the human's words. "jeongguk may be willing to make himself vulnerable to make you want him, but i'm not. you're the one who will always be vulnerable for me." taehyung dashed forward on his skates and passed hoseok so quickly that it startled him and made the boy fall on his ass.

"oh, really? and why is that?" hoseok scowled, putting his hands on the ice and trying (and failing) to push himself back up to a standing position. taehyung skated over to hoseok, stopped, and bent down to look at him.

"because i rule over your world, meaning i rule over you. i'm all-powerful. you should really fear me."

"yeah, well you didn't seem that 'all-powerful' when namjoon trapped me in that room." hoseok just shook his head in annoyance. he tried again to push himself up to stand but slipped and fell onto his side. "a little help here?"

taehyung tilted his head slightly and asked, "if i help you, will you bow down and call me master?"

hoseok shot him an irritated look and pushed himself up. "hard pass." he skated away, rubbing his cold hands on his legs, trying to get feeling back in his fingers.

"i've told you before, namjoon's the one that created all of us before. he could destroy us just as easily. there's not much any of us can do about the way that he acts," taehyung called after hoseok, then skated forward to try and catch up with them. when he was close enough, the god reached out and touched the boy's shoulder, making him flinch and slip again. but before hoseok could completely fall to the ground, taehyung bent over and caught him, helping him stay standing up straight.

"there's got to be something," hoseok shook his head. he didn't really like the idea of everybody else being completely under namjoon's influence. it was clear that the immortal was somewhat corrupted, much like the murder system he had enforced on the humans he created. hoseok scoffed under his breath as he recalled the way he used to look up to the gods, thinking they were divine and had good moral compasses. apparently no entity had a moral compass anymore, only characters he would read about in books.

"stop worrying about it. if the time comes where he tries to take over, we'll find a way. you really think i'm going to just let him have you? i'm the only one that deserves you." taehyung grabbed hoseok's hands and skated in front of him, going backwards but pulling hoseok forward with him.

"if i fall, you're going down with me!" hoseok exclaimed in slight fear, wobbling around a lot as taehyung kept pulling him and making him skate.

"mm, maybe that's my plan." taehyung smirked and shot hoseok a little wink. before hoseok could chide him for being annoying again, the poor human slipped and fell, landing on his back, and to his dismay, with taehyung on top of him. "as i suspected, it's really not that hard to get you underneath me."

"it's not like i'm naked, you perv," hoseok rolled his eyes and shoved the god's shoulders, but he didn't budge much. "get off."

"mm-mm." taehyung hummed, laying his head down by hoseok's so that his face was pressed right against the human's cheek. "it would be so nice if i was human, wouldn't it? i could be your ice skating teacher, and i know exactly what kind of payment i'd require for lessons-"

hoseok groaned and squirmed out from underneath taehyung, then sat up. he untied the shoelaces on his skates and tugged them off, walking just in socks over to one of the edges and climbing over it.

"oh come on- you know i'm joking. hoseok, come back," taehyung called. hoseok could hear the god skating to the edge but he walked away, trying to find wherever the door was so he could leave. sometimes taehyung was exhausting to be around.

hoseok reached the door and opened it, but was taken aback by who was standing there. namjoon.

he narrowed his eyebrows and stepped backwards shakily, silently urging taehyung to hurry up and come to his side before the immortal did something to him again.

namjoon reached out to touch hoseok's face and spoke, "hoseok, i-" but hoseok slapped the god's hand away. taehyung finally caught up to him, and moved hoseok so that he would be between the two of them.

"why are you here? you already had your fun, didn't you?" taehyung growled. hoseok didn't want to be weak. he didn't want to have to hide behind somebody else. but his legs were trembling, knees threatening to give out under the weight of all of his fear. so he gave in. he clutched onto the back of taehyung's shirt and let the god shield him.

"i only wished to talk."

"oh, really? talk? maybe instead of trapping him and threatening him, you could have just talked to him before," taehyung snarled and slammed the door. he and hoseok both knew that wouldn't keep namjoon out, but it's all the immortal could do. he turned around and looked at hoseok for a moment before pulling him into a hug.

for the first time in probably his entire existence, taehyung decided to let go of his pride, and his underlying entitlement.

"tell me all the things you love to do, and we'll do them, okay? we'll do everything you want until time runs out. how does that sound?" taehyung asked, voice soft and sincere.

"that sounds nice," hoseok nodded a little. he didn't want to let go of the hug just yet. letting go would mean taking back his own pride. but did it really have to be a bad thing to let somebody protect him?

things were beginning to change. not just wish hoseok's fatal flaws, but with the flaws of the gods as well.

fear is a weapon.

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