anathema. ✓

three

[ may 7, 20 ; present ]

milk, water, eggs, butter.

if taehyung was forgetting something, it wasn't important enough to be bought. jeongguk would likely point out whatever else they needed as soon as he saw it. the younger was just smart like that.

with arms extended to the ceiling, taehyung pushed the chair out from the wobbly table and called out to jeongguk who had been taking a quick before they left. the boy was now getting dressed in a change of nicer clothesㅡthough jeongguk usually didn't mind what most thought of his clothing, he always dressed a bit nicer whenever they were to go shopping. taehyung couldn't blame him, though. the people at the store were usually very judgmental towards them because of their relationship. neither of them wanted the added stress of being judged for being poor as well.

it was sad to think about, but it was the truth. as selfless as the couple were, they both still had some selfish traits, whether it was a big deal or not.

taehyung readjusted his button-up shirt before taking a quick peek down the hall. the doorknob to their bedroom jiggled for a quick moment before revealing a jeongguk dressed almost identically to himself. that made taehyung let out a quiet laugh.

"we're matching," he pretending to complain, though the smile on his face told the younger boy the truth. jeongguk approached him and rested his chin on taehyung's shoulder, giving him a gentle kiss to his earlobe. taehyung's mind danced around at the light yet lingering touch. "anyone who thinks we aren't a couple at this point are just blind, huh?"

jeongguk didn't respond. he only stepped away from taehyung, his lips sealed together tightly, and gestured to their splintering front door with a simple nod of his head. his bangs shifted at the slight movement, brushing across his forehead and over his eyebrows. taehyung made a mental note to trim jeongguk's bangs again; they grew out so fast. he could have sworn he had just trimmed them for the boy last week.

taehyung blinked and turned to the door. he wasn't sure why he was so caught up with these minor things lately, these things that wouldn't usually catch his attention. he grabbed onto the rusted bronze doorknob and opened the door with an elegant bow, his only hopes being that jeongguk would giggle or tease him for being so dramatic.

the most sound he got was the floor creaking when jeongguk's weight shifted to step out of the doorway and onto the small, rocky driveway. taehyung straightened out his back and followed his boyfriend with a small frown. jeongguk had acted like everything was fine yesterday, but the silent treatment was still continuing. he was out in his own world, as if he barely noticed that his boyfriend was there, doing his best to bring a little light to his day.

the car ride was filled with the same silence, almost tangible in air, though that could have just been the old car passed down from taehyung's dad overheating again. no matter what it was, taehyung was bothered by it. his life was filled with jeongguk's voice, jeongguk's actions, jeongguk's emotion. in that one moment, he felt empty now that the boy was being so silent.

"jeongguk, we don't... we don't have to go to the store today, you know? you could have stayed home, or- we could have gone tomorrow. we're already halfway there, but if there's ever something you don't want to do, you can talk to me about it."

more silence.

jeongguk only shook his head. his eyes were glazed over, distracted by whatever thoughts were going through his head at the moment. hell if taehyung knew, the expression on his face told him nothing at all.

taehyung decided that now, in the car, was not the time to solve whatever they were going through. whatever jeongguk was going through. that would have to wait until they got home. for now, he would focus on getting them to the grocery store, without an accident.

the amount of stares they were given at the grocery store was enough to drice taehyung mad. it was upsetting jeongguk, visibly, which only added more fuel to taehyung's fire. the boy's fingers were digging into taehyung's forearm, the tight grip turning his knuckles white. when taehyung reached out to grab the milk, jeongguk spoke his some of his first words for the day.

"why are they staring at us like that, taehyungie?" his voice was hushed, hardly even a whisper, as he leaned against taehyung's arm. "it's not like they're disgusted, though...more like they're saddened. they're upset to see us."

taehyung turned his head to give jeongguk a gentle kiss on the cheek, the touch leaving the boy with a dusty pink blush that was the color of clouds during a beautiful sunset. "don't worry about them, baby. they don't understand. it'll be alright, okay?"

taehyung earned a curt nod in return, and jeongguk was back to being silent again. he still clung to taehyung, for safety or for comfort, and this lead the older to believe that he hadn't said the right words. maybe jeongguk wanted to hear something different, wanted to hear me verbally defend them for being an openly gay couple, but that wasn't who taehyung felt like being right now. realistically, it might only make things worse.

so instead of standing up to those who looked sad each time they made eye contact with the boys, or loudly declaring that he loved jeongguk before engaging in a public makeout session, they went to the checkout and paid for the items that they had found they needed. each time taehyung didn't stand up against their oppression, he felt more and more like they were getting farther away from the beautiful movie ending they deserved.

not everyone could just drop being homophobic because of one man declaring his love for another. it was sad, but it was how the world worked, and it was one of the main reasons they were doing so poorly in their work areas. no companies wanted to receive unnecessary hate because they have a homosexual idol. it was sickening, and taehyung hated it, but that was how things were for them.

despite all of that, taehyung and jeongguk still loved each other, still had each other.

that was all that mattered to him.

1,073 words