Twin Flame

The First Time - Again.

8 hours and 47 minutes until Jungkook arrives.

Not that Tae was counting. Well, he was counting, laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling that he couldn't really see because it was dark.

After Bogum had left, he had watched a rubbish drama that Jimin had recommended ages ago but he'd never got around to watching it, until now. It was a typically 'Jimin' sort of thing with lots of romance and sex but it required very little thought so it was easy to watch. He didn't text Jungkook, even though he really wanted to because he didn't know what his situation was so decided it was best to wait until he heard from him.

The drama had finished and Tae had puffed his cheeks out and stared into space for a while. He went to his bedroom and tidied up, putting the photos of Kai in a drawer because he needed to shut down that side of his life for now. He jumped when his phone rang and couldn't get his phone fast enough, dropping it in the process... his heart sinking when he saw a picture of Kai and him on a date, appear and he realised it was quite late and Kai would think he was home from work.

The conversation had been relatively painless, Tae explained he had a headache and was going to bed early, which wasn't far from the truth then he had asked what Kai had been doing and he spoke excitedly about Rome and architecture. Tae was thankful that Kai had so much to talk about because the fact that Tae had hardly said a word, went unnoticed.

5 hours and 20 minutes until Jungkook arrives.

The night had been long and Tae didn't think he had slept at all. He knew he should sleep, he was all too familiar with the result of no sleep and he didn't want to go back there again. The doctors had told him that insomnia would lay dormant but could come back depending on many factors. The sleep training had been a big help and understanding the idea of a 'sleep bank' was also useful but he didn't want to have to do any of that right now.

4 hours until Jungkook arrives.

Tae wondered where the last hour or so had gone. He was still laying in bed and there was a very small part of him that was scared that Jungkook wouldn't turn up. He was also scared that he would turn up so he couldn't win.

His fingers stroked the t-shirt in his hands, it was something he did a lot, rubbing the fabric between each thumb and index finger. When Jin had taken him home after leaving Jungkook at the airport that day, he had gone straight to his bedroom and frantically searched for the t-shirt. His parents and Jin had stood and watched as this boy who was screaming and crying, ransacked his room in a frenzied attack.

Tae remembered their faces as he pushed past them screaming because the t-shirt wasn't in his room. He ran to the utilities room and each piece of clothing was thrown out of the laundry basket until finally he found it. No one could console him as he sat clutching the item of clothing, rocking back and forth, shouting 'why?' into the air.

That t-shirt had been with him ever since and no one except his parents and Jin knew about it. It was his piece of Jungkook, it was his comfort but also a harsh reminder of the huge gaping hole in his life. He had a photo of Jungkook in that t-shirt, he'd had it printed and cut it down so it would fit into his wallet behind his cards. He had always hoped that one day he would be able to return the t-shirt to Jungkook but after so long he didn't want to part with it anymore, it was like a child's comforter and he didn't think he could ever part with it.

1 hour 2 minutes until Jungkook arrives

Tae was pacing. His knees were sore but he could cope with that discomfort. Bogum had sent him a message to wish him luck and to tell him that he had seen Jin and for him not to worry because Jin was happy that Bogum had been to see him.