blossom//k.t.

twenty one

rumi woke up very early on the day of their fair date, she really didn't need to since they were going to go in the evening, but she was so excited to finally go on a date that didn't include dinner and small talk or talk about their work, she felt like they talk too much about others and not each other, she wasn't thrilled to speak about herself, her flaws were still yet to be embraced by her, she wasn't ready to tell him about her family, or lack thereof. there were so many things about her that she didn't like herself, so how could she ever expect him to like them?

still, today she was willing to wear her heart on her sleeve, let him know things about her, she was terrified to be vulnerable with the person that meant so much to her, the only other person she's let herself open up to is celeste but celeste was different, she knew rumi by her flaws first and then, her good qualities.

taehyung was no different, he was someone who lived in the past more than he would admit it, he was still plagued by some of his own mistakes, his own slip-ups, his own regrets, while simultaneously dealing with his persona, the persona that he so badly wants to hide away from a peeking world, being vante was both protective and burdening, the compliments warmed his heart, they really did but he often wondered if kim taehyung was worthy of those compliments like vante was. he was really hard on himself, his harshest critic, constantly re-doing his works to the point of having breakdowns over the smallest details.

both of them, beautifully complex but broken, in more ways than they let the world see. only question, would they end up fixing each other or end up in even more shards?

one thing many of us need to remember is, including rumi and taehyung, we focus so much on our flaws, that we keep forgetting that these flaws don't make or break us, they are a part of us. with or without these flaws, there's still a whole lot of us that deserves to be loved.

bad people don't worry about being good or doing better, if you worry about your flaws, if you try to be better and kinder, that effort is enough for us to be a good person.

the yet-to-be-a-couple took their time to get ready, both physically and mentally, if they were going to fall for each other, they deserved to know more than just what their favorite movie was, because falling in love, as lovely as it sounds, is the deepest and most dangerous fall, and this descent, they were prepared to do it with hands held.

but why did their hands feel empty?

rumi arrived right on time at the city fair, nervous jitters wrecking her body or maybe it was the cold air that blew past her every two seconds. the weather around here was so unpredictable.

"you don't plan on stealing my shawl again, do you?" she heard taehyung's voice from behind her, and she felt her heart drop, in pure joy and dread, but she had convinced herself that today was the day that they'd be more. she turned around with a hidden grin only to see taehyung's face beaming in a charming smile.

"nope, i was more hoping for your coat this time" she smugly said and he laughed, extending his hand towards her.

"i think i'll keep this on, you know, to prevent hypothermia but hopefully, my hand can do a good job too" he tugged her towards the entrance, and both their eyes widened in wonder as they stared at the bustling fair.

the rides were brightly illuminated, loud laughs erupting from them, and below each ride, was at least one person who was puking, the food stalls were busy, chatter being heard from every corner as everyone munched down on cotton candy, funnel cakes, cheese on a stick and rumi's favorite, corndogs. the game stalls had winners who celebrated their victory loudly and sore losers who kept trying. taehyung and rumi's hands involuntarily tightened, both of them sharing a glance at each other, knowing today was going to be one of those good days.

they tackled the rides first, going on multiple fast rides, having to take a break when one of them felt nauseous, taehyung screaming his lungs out which made rumi double over in laughter. taehyung always making a point to look at rumi right before a ride starts, her worried, regretful face which taehyung was oh so amused by, but of course, like the gentleman he was, whenever she made that face, he compared it to one of constipation, her smacking his chest in return and then he held her hand in reassurance, telling her she can look at his handsome face if things get too scary, resulting in another smack on his chest.

"you're going to lose" rumi taunted taehyung who was currently aiming a gun at a balloon, trying to win a toy for the smirking girl he was helplessly enamored with.

"gee thanks for the confidence boost, but you should know, i never lose lee rumi" with that being said, his gun jumped back at the recoil, and he completely missed the mark making rumi burst out in laughter.

"you never lose huh?" she continued to tease him as he handed the gun back the guy at the store defeatedly.

"come on, let's get some food, i'm done with these games" taehyung said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the food stalls.

"you mean, done with losing miserably?" taehyung gave her a playful glare before a brilliant idea came to his mind.

"lee rumi, i remember you mentioning that you're very ticklish" rumi became silent when he said that her smirk almost immediately vanished.

"you wouldn't"

"i might as well" rumi slowly backed away from taehyung, and he advanced forward, rumi broke into a sprint, forgetting about her corndog and running like she was being chased by dogs, and taehyung followed her quickly, gently pushing past people and even while running, he could hear her giggles and a fond smile was etched on his face. he caught up to her eventually, immediately capturing her in his arms while she whined and tried to run again.

"gotcha" he whispered lowly, which sent a shiver up rumi's spine, his breath against her ear foreign but welcome, and she tried again to pull away from his arms but he had her in a strong grip.

"you're not that evil taehyung" she mumbled, and he smirked, hands creeping on her sides.

"i wouldn't be too confident about that" and then he proceeded to tickle the life out of her, rumi bent over in laughter, tears leaking out of her eyes involuntarily as she struggled to catch her breath, she had given up on escaping his grip and taehyung couldn't help the large grin on his face as he admired the girl squirm in his arms with a beet-red face.

people passing by watched them with various reaction, old couples admiring the playfulness of the young couple, reminiscing on their own love stories, their first 'i love you', kids wondering if this is what love, that everyone seemed to talk about, looked like and other people grimacing at their 'shamelessness'. but the two of them didn't care enough about the rest of the world, people around them were all but a blur, the only clarity found in each other's faces.

taehyung finally let the poor girl go, who hunched over and backed away from him, afraid of another attack and a sly smile was on his face as rumi looked back up at him with a glare.

"i get it now, you're definitely evil" she huffed out, and taehyung laughed at her annoyed expression before he reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling her with him.

"what now?" she whined, he gave her a soft smile and tugged her forward.

"the fireworks are going to start, let's go."