Shipping for Beginners
Title: Shipping for Beginners
Pairing: Yoongi/Jeongguk
Rating: PG.
Genre: Cracky fluff. So much fluff it'll explode out of your ears.
Word Count: 2'508.
Warnings: (none)
Disclaimer: While the content of this story is inspired by real events and people, any references made are entirely thought up by the author and in no way reflect actual actions and opinions. Any similarities are coincidence.
Summary: Taehyung is ninety percent sure there is something going on between Yoongi-hyung and Jeonggukie. He is only missing evidence, so he and Jimin come up with a plan. (Features slightly jealous!Kookie and cavity-inducing fluff.)
Notes: Written in response to a sweet nonnie's request on my tumblr. Cross-posted there and on AO3.
(I hope you like it, Nonnie, even if Kookie is rather low-key jealous. But hopefully still cute. ^^)
Taehyung prided himself on being a discreet and discerning individual.
Most of the time anyways. Or at least when it came to matters of importance. Stupid stuff just wasn’t worth the effort it took to be discreet, especially when you lived together in close quarters with six other guys. Secrets were hard to keep under such conditions, even when there existed an unspoken rule of not prying (too much), implemented after the first fifteen or so huge fights that shook their apartment building and got them yelled at by their managers.
In general, however, Taehyung could be discreet when it was necessary, no matter what Jimin told everyone. And there were two things he’d been keeping mum about that he considered Big Secrets. The first one was what really happened to Jin-hyung’s Princess Peach boxershorts. The second one was that there was something going on between Yoongi-hyung and Jeonggukie.
Taehyung was ninety percent sure they weren’t platonic bros like they pretended. Nope. If you asked him, they were at least at the making-out stage. (And he was cool with that, as long as they were happy and he didn’t have to walk in on them sucking face. He’d have nightmares for life.) The only thing missing to make him a hundred percent sure was evidence. Yoongi-hyung and Jeonggukie were so undemonstrative in their relationship-whatever kind it was-that if it wasn’t for their concept designers and MV writers pushing them together time and again, Taehyung was pretty certain the fans wouldn’t even have a couple name thought out for them.
Which would’ve been a pity because they were totally cute together.
Even with a lack of touching and gushing, Taehyung found they had charming commonalities, like their tendency to lurk in corners or, when lured out, to break into random and extreme forms of dorkiness. Both of them could be judgmental jerks and had periods of zero patience when he and Jimin just wanted them to live a little. Both were extremely hard to wake up, knew the words to way too many trot songs, and had a strange preference for black underwear. And of course both of them liked Taehyung a lot, which obviously counted double because that was a really good thing.
But when he went around (discreetly) questioning the rest of his band members about their opinions on the Suga/Kookie couple, they seemed mostly unconvinced.
Jin-hyung stared at him blankly before reaching up to feel his forehead. Namjoon-hyung furrowed his brow and asked after his reasons (see above), before asking if he’d been watching fan videos again. Hoseokie-hyung started laughing really loudly and actually broke into new peals of cackling laughter every time he saw Taehyung for the whole day afterward. Jimin, however, leaned toward him with a wide-eyed look of wonder and whispered, “So you think there’s something going on, too?”
Taehyung beamed at him, nodding frantically.
They spent a whole week on the look-out for conclusive evidence. It was just the usual, boring touches, however; a hand on a shoulder here, a pat on the back there, tired leaning against the other after practice or a recording, blah blah. There was one time where Yoongi-hyung and Jeonggukie disappeared into the studio together and Taehyung and Jimin were so convinced it was just an excuse for alone time they actually sneaked after them to surprise-barge into the room, only to find them hunched in front of the computer, mixing sounds. They beat a hasty retreat to regroup and discuss new strategies in their room.
“There has to be something between them,” Taehyung muttered, spreading bags of snacks on his bed so they’d have some brain food to churn out awesome ideas.
“Totally,” Jimin agreed, snatching up one of the bags. “I mean, there was so much tension in that room, it was like running into a wall. They probably were like, five seconds away from jumping each other.”
“Urgh, I know,” Taehyung replied around a mouth full of sweets. “But why do we never see them at it? They barely even hug.”
“I betcha it’s because Yoongi-hyung is so grumpy about touching,” Jimin declared.
Taehyung pointed at him with an empty wrapper. “You only say that because he got annoyed with you yesterday.”
Jimin knocked his hand away. “Yeah, because you were pestering him first, so he was already annoyed when I got there.”
“Pah,” Taehyung sniffed. “You’re just jealous he likes me better.”
There was a beat of silence.
Taehyung turned his head to face Jimin at the same time that Jimin turned his. They exchanged a meaningful stare.
“That’s it!” Jimin exclaimed excitedly. “I’m a genius!”
Taehyung stopped his victory dance to glower. “What the hell? Obviously that was my idea, so I’m the genius!”
“You’re both idiots,” Hoseok said from the doorway, shaking his head in disbelief.
-
Taehyung and Jimin’s new strategy consisted of the old fail-safe, tested countless of times in every TV drama and romantic movie imaginable all around the globe: make them jealous and wait for the reaction. Ta-dah! Feelings exposed for the world to see. Cue kisses in the rain with revolving cameras (only that Taehyung and Jimin would be very far away for that part so that there was no chance of accidentally seeing anything yucky).
They decided that would use Jeonggukie as their unsuspecting tool because 1) they were his hyungs so he might not hurt them so badly if he found out, 2) he was adorable and very squishable and 3) Yoongi-hyung was just plain scary sometimes, so they’d really rather not try to pester him directly when he might lash out.
So Taehyung and Jimin made it their mission to plaster themselves against Jeongguk’s side or drape themselves over him and generally be disgustingly cute and flirty with him whenever Yoongi was around to see. At least one of them was always inconspicuously watching out for balled fists or clenched jaws or heated glaring in these situations, so they were sure to catch it when it appeared.
Only that it never did.
Yoongi threw glances over at Jeongguk and his personal koala of the day, sure, but the only reactions he ever had to that were to snort sadistically, look glad that it wasn’t him being assaulted, or-on very rare occasions-a quick, fond smile at their antics. He didn’t go into a possessive rage, didn’t leave hickeys on Jeongguk’s throat to mark him as his, and didn’t suddenly hate Taehyung and Jimin with a fiery passion. Although it might have been too much to expect fiery passion from Yoongi-hyung when he wasn’t standing on a stage.
Suffice it to say that their brilliant strategy didn’t go as planned. They had another strategy meeting three weeks later, huddling on Jimin’s bed this time.
“I think we went about it the wrong way,” Jimin said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, Yoongi-hyung’s not the jealous type at all,” Taehyung agreed. “He probably thinks jealousy is useless and a waste of energy or something.”
“But Kookie is, I bet,” Jimin replied, grinning. “He’s so competitive and stubborn, he’ll just explode when we take away Yoongi-hyung’s attention.”
Thus, phase two of their plan was initiated.
As expected, Yoongi was a lot harder to coax into physical contact. There was more than one occasion when they had to quickly back off and abort the mission for a while. Yoongi had pretty legs and he wasn’t afraid to use them.
Sadly, for risking life and limb in the name of true love, all they got out of Jeongguk were mildly curious looks or happy laughter (the latter at their panicked faces when Yoongi chased them off with growled threats). This went on for another three weeks and by then Yoongi’s threats were becoming very explicit. A whispered emergency meeting in the corner of the kitchen had them agreeing on continuing their scheme for another week and then they’d give up. They were too young to die.
It was three days later that by sheer, dumb luck they actually bore witness to an extraordinary scene.
As usual, Taehyung was hanging around Yoongi on the living room couch, trying his hardest to induce jealousy in their precious maknae, while Jimin was across the room with Jeongguk, monitoring the process of Taehyung’s endeavors. So far, Jeongguk had gotten a new game high score and Taehyung had gotten another threat of having his ass kicked. He was leaning on Yoongi’s shoulders, being mostly ignored while Yoongi fiddled with his phone, and as per the aforementioned rule of not prying, he really wasn’t trying to read the screen. His eyes truly just happened to land on it and to take in the words, and it didn’t occur to him that it might have been one of those moments where discretion was advisable.
“Whoa! You’re meeting GOT7’s Bambam for coffee?” he blurted out. It wasn’t his fault deep voices carried.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he vaguely registered how Jeongguk’s head shot up, but he was more immediately concerned with the way Yoongi’s shoulders had tensed under his arms and a rather deadly vibe was starting to emit from him. If they lived in an anime, Taehyung was sure Yoongi would be surrounded by a dark, imposing aura and grow larger than life to loom over him. Objectively, it was kind of cool how Yoongi managed to give off that very same feeling without special effects, but it was quite terrifying when you were its object.
Thankfully, Yoongi was distracted from ending Taehyung’s young, promising life by Jeongguk, who had left his seat to squeeze next to Yoongi on the couch, gluing himself to his side, closer than Taehyung had ever seen them outside of shootings. His face looked troubled, but in the adorable way only the naturally cute ever managed, with his lower lip sticking out in the hint of a pout and his eyes turned large and pleading like a puppy’s.
Taehyung, who had backed to safety while Yoongi was distracted, was sorely tempted to coo and tut at Jeongguk until he smiled again (and the way he had to grab Jimin around the neck to hold him back suggested Jimin felt the same), but Yoongi-hyung was the one least impressed by aegyo in their group. He said it was because someone needed to dish out some tough love to them all, but Jimin always said it was because he had a heart of stone. (“Sour grapes,” Yoongi usually told Jimin smugly, amazingly unfazed.)
“Hyung,” Jeongguk said on the couch, curling into Yoongi’s shoulder, “I didn’t know you were close with Bambam.”
And something like a miracle must have happened, as instead of grousing at Jeongguk about his nosiness and kicking him off the couch, Yoongi slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him even closer. “You’re an idiot,” he said gruffly, but it sounded like a loving nickname. “We exchanged numbers in Hongkong, it’s not a big deal.”
“I know,” Jeongguk said softly, but it sounded like he was sulking and that was something Jeongguk usually avoided at all costs since he thought it made him appear less mature.
“You’re close with him too,” Yoongi rumbled, pressing his chin on top of Jeongguk’s head. “And Yugyeom as well.”
Jeongguk squirmed. “That’s not the same at all,” he protested weakly and Taehyung could see from across the room how his ears got pink in embarrassment.
Instead of sighing in exasperation or swatting at him for being foolish, Yoongi actually laughed and that was when Taehyung knew for certain that there was something between them. He hadn’t even known Yoongi could laugh like that-warm and fond and intimate. Taehyung couldn’t hear what Yoongi said next, because he buried his mouth in Jeongguk’s hair to murmur quietly to him, all the while running a lazy hand down his back. The last thing Taehyung saw before he dragged a goggling Jimin out the room was how Jeongguk’s cheeks washed red with a deep flush.
-
It was sometime after dinner when Taehyung felt thirsty and paused his anime to get up from his bed and fetch a glass of water. From the kitchen, there were the clinking sounds of dishes being washed that he could hear even down the hall, so Jeongguk must still be cleaning up. Right before he rounded the corner into the room, he heard him speak up.
“So are you really going to meet him, hyung?”
Taehyung froze, steadying himself against the wall. That sounded like Jeongguk was talking to…
“Are you that worried?” Yoongi asked, sounding amused.
“No, I’m…” There was a short pause, more scrubbing sounds. “I’m not worried. Just… jealous. I don’t even know why. I know it’s not like that.”
“Good,” Yoongi replied, still with lingering humor coloring his voice. “He’s just a kid, wants some advice probably.”
“He’s the same age as me,” Jeongguk said indignantly. Taehyung was pretty sure he was pouting again from how his voice came out. He carefully crept closer to the doorframe.
“Huh. True.” Yoongi paused. “Guess that means you’re just a kid then, too.”
“Hyung!”
Jeongguk didn’t sound happy. Taehyung almost started snickering, but held himself back in time.
“Ya! Don’t you dare spray me, Jeongguk! I’ll kick your ass!”
“Well, I’ll kick yours for calling me a kid! I’m taller than you!”
Yoongi snorted. “You, Bambam, and Yugyeom are all giant-ass kids. I don’t know what they fed you. You’re disproportionate.”
With that, the situation seemed defused somewhat, because the scrubbing sounds picked back up. By now, Taehyung was plastered to the wall right next to the doorframe and wanted so badly to stick his head around the corner, but what if Yoongi saw him?
“Maybe you’re short to make you less intimidating,” Jeongguk said mock-thoughtfully.
“I’m intimidating just fine like this, thank you,” Yoongi shot back.
“True, true. To make you cuter, then.”
Yoongi let out a sound that half snort, half huff of laughter. “Oh, I’m cute now?”
“Sometimes,” Jeongguk replied solemnly, and then he suddenly laughed, bubbling and breathy.
Taehyung couldn’t help himself any longer and poked his head into the kitchen. Sure enough, Jeongguk was at the sink, washing dishes with his back to the door. Yoongi stood right behind him, wrapped around him, really, from what Taehyung could see, pressed to his back and apparently tickling his sides. From the way Yoongi’s cheek curved, he had to be grinning.
Under Taehyung’s watchful gaze, Yoongi stopped his attack and just stayed there, hugging Jeongguk while the maknae finished his clean-up duties. “Hey, Jeongguk-ah,” he muttered, propping his forehead against the back of Jeongguk’s neck.
Jeongguk hummed in reply.
“Let’s get coffee together, too.”
“Okay,” Jeongguk said, sounding entirely content. “And lamb skewers?”
Yoongi laughed that small laugh again. “And lamb skewers. Greedy brat.” But he lifted his head and kissed the back of Jeongguk’s neck gently.
Taehyung pulled his head back out, cheeks actually flaring up in a blush, and raced back to his room to tell Jimin what he had seen.
Pairing: Yoongi/Jeongguk
Rating: PG.
Genre: Cracky fluff. So much fluff it'll explode out of your ears.
Word Count: 2'508.
Warnings: (none)
Disclaimer: While the content of this story is inspired by real events and people, any references made are entirely thought up by the author and in no way reflect actual actions and opinions. Any similarities are coincidence.
Summary: Taehyung is ninety percent sure there is something going on between Yoongi-hyung and Jeonggukie. He is only missing evidence, so he and Jimin come up with a plan. (Features slightly jealous!Kookie and cavity-inducing fluff.)
Notes: Written in response to a sweet nonnie's request on my tumblr. Cross-posted there and on AO3.
(I hope you like it, Nonnie, even if Kookie is rather low-key jealous. But hopefully still cute. ^^)
Taehyung prided himself on being a discreet and discerning individual.
Most of the time anyways. Or at least when it came to matters of importance. Stupid stuff just wasn’t worth the effort it took to be discreet, especially when you lived together in close quarters with six other guys. Secrets were hard to keep under such conditions, even when there existed an unspoken rule of not prying (too much), implemented after the first fifteen or so huge fights that shook their apartment building and got them yelled at by their managers.
In general, however, Taehyung could be discreet when it was necessary, no matter what Jimin told everyone. And there were two things he’d been keeping mum about that he considered Big Secrets. The first one was what really happened to Jin-hyung’s Princess Peach boxershorts. The second one was that there was something going on between Yoongi-hyung and Jeonggukie.
Taehyung was ninety percent sure they weren’t platonic bros like they pretended. Nope. If you asked him, they were at least at the making-out stage. (And he was cool with that, as long as they were happy and he didn’t have to walk in on them sucking face. He’d have nightmares for life.) The only thing missing to make him a hundred percent sure was evidence. Yoongi-hyung and Jeonggukie were so undemonstrative in their relationship-whatever kind it was-that if it wasn’t for their concept designers and MV writers pushing them together time and again, Taehyung was pretty certain the fans wouldn’t even have a couple name thought out for them.
Which would’ve been a pity because they were totally cute together.
Even with a lack of touching and gushing, Taehyung found they had charming commonalities, like their tendency to lurk in corners or, when lured out, to break into random and extreme forms of dorkiness. Both of them could be judgmental jerks and had periods of zero patience when he and Jimin just wanted them to live a little. Both were extremely hard to wake up, knew the words to way too many trot songs, and had a strange preference for black underwear. And of course both of them liked Taehyung a lot, which obviously counted double because that was a really good thing.
But when he went around (discreetly) questioning the rest of his band members about their opinions on the Suga/Kookie couple, they seemed mostly unconvinced.
Jin-hyung stared at him blankly before reaching up to feel his forehead. Namjoon-hyung furrowed his brow and asked after his reasons (see above), before asking if he’d been watching fan videos again. Hoseokie-hyung started laughing really loudly and actually broke into new peals of cackling laughter every time he saw Taehyung for the whole day afterward. Jimin, however, leaned toward him with a wide-eyed look of wonder and whispered, “So you think there’s something going on, too?”
Taehyung beamed at him, nodding frantically.
They spent a whole week on the look-out for conclusive evidence. It was just the usual, boring touches, however; a hand on a shoulder here, a pat on the back there, tired leaning against the other after practice or a recording, blah blah. There was one time where Yoongi-hyung and Jeonggukie disappeared into the studio together and Taehyung and Jimin were so convinced it was just an excuse for alone time they actually sneaked after them to surprise-barge into the room, only to find them hunched in front of the computer, mixing sounds. They beat a hasty retreat to regroup and discuss new strategies in their room.
“There has to be something between them,” Taehyung muttered, spreading bags of snacks on his bed so they’d have some brain food to churn out awesome ideas.
“Totally,” Jimin agreed, snatching up one of the bags. “I mean, there was so much tension in that room, it was like running into a wall. They probably were like, five seconds away from jumping each other.”
“Urgh, I know,” Taehyung replied around a mouth full of sweets. “But why do we never see them at it? They barely even hug.”
“I betcha it’s because Yoongi-hyung is so grumpy about touching,” Jimin declared.
Taehyung pointed at him with an empty wrapper. “You only say that because he got annoyed with you yesterday.”
Jimin knocked his hand away. “Yeah, because you were pestering him first, so he was already annoyed when I got there.”
“Pah,” Taehyung sniffed. “You’re just jealous he likes me better.”
There was a beat of silence.
Taehyung turned his head to face Jimin at the same time that Jimin turned his. They exchanged a meaningful stare.
“That’s it!” Jimin exclaimed excitedly. “I’m a genius!”
Taehyung stopped his victory dance to glower. “What the hell? Obviously that was my idea, so I’m the genius!”
“You’re both idiots,” Hoseok said from the doorway, shaking his head in disbelief.
-
Taehyung and Jimin’s new strategy consisted of the old fail-safe, tested countless of times in every TV drama and romantic movie imaginable all around the globe: make them jealous and wait for the reaction. Ta-dah! Feelings exposed for the world to see. Cue kisses in the rain with revolving cameras (only that Taehyung and Jimin would be very far away for that part so that there was no chance of accidentally seeing anything yucky).
They decided that would use Jeonggukie as their unsuspecting tool because 1) they were his hyungs so he might not hurt them so badly if he found out, 2) he was adorable and very squishable and 3) Yoongi-hyung was just plain scary sometimes, so they’d really rather not try to pester him directly when he might lash out.
So Taehyung and Jimin made it their mission to plaster themselves against Jeongguk’s side or drape themselves over him and generally be disgustingly cute and flirty with him whenever Yoongi was around to see. At least one of them was always inconspicuously watching out for balled fists or clenched jaws or heated glaring in these situations, so they were sure to catch it when it appeared.
Only that it never did.
Yoongi threw glances over at Jeongguk and his personal koala of the day, sure, but the only reactions he ever had to that were to snort sadistically, look glad that it wasn’t him being assaulted, or-on very rare occasions-a quick, fond smile at their antics. He didn’t go into a possessive rage, didn’t leave hickeys on Jeongguk’s throat to mark him as his, and didn’t suddenly hate Taehyung and Jimin with a fiery passion. Although it might have been too much to expect fiery passion from Yoongi-hyung when he wasn’t standing on a stage.
Suffice it to say that their brilliant strategy didn’t go as planned. They had another strategy meeting three weeks later, huddling on Jimin’s bed this time.
“I think we went about it the wrong way,” Jimin said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, Yoongi-hyung’s not the jealous type at all,” Taehyung agreed. “He probably thinks jealousy is useless and a waste of energy or something.”
“But Kookie is, I bet,” Jimin replied, grinning. “He’s so competitive and stubborn, he’ll just explode when we take away Yoongi-hyung’s attention.”
Thus, phase two of their plan was initiated.
As expected, Yoongi was a lot harder to coax into physical contact. There was more than one occasion when they had to quickly back off and abort the mission for a while. Yoongi had pretty legs and he wasn’t afraid to use them.
Sadly, for risking life and limb in the name of true love, all they got out of Jeongguk were mildly curious looks or happy laughter (the latter at their panicked faces when Yoongi chased them off with growled threats). This went on for another three weeks and by then Yoongi’s threats were becoming very explicit. A whispered emergency meeting in the corner of the kitchen had them agreeing on continuing their scheme for another week and then they’d give up. They were too young to die.
It was three days later that by sheer, dumb luck they actually bore witness to an extraordinary scene.
As usual, Taehyung was hanging around Yoongi on the living room couch, trying his hardest to induce jealousy in their precious maknae, while Jimin was across the room with Jeongguk, monitoring the process of Taehyung’s endeavors. So far, Jeongguk had gotten a new game high score and Taehyung had gotten another threat of having his ass kicked. He was leaning on Yoongi’s shoulders, being mostly ignored while Yoongi fiddled with his phone, and as per the aforementioned rule of not prying, he really wasn’t trying to read the screen. His eyes truly just happened to land on it and to take in the words, and it didn’t occur to him that it might have been one of those moments where discretion was advisable.
“Whoa! You’re meeting GOT7’s Bambam for coffee?” he blurted out. It wasn’t his fault deep voices carried.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he vaguely registered how Jeongguk’s head shot up, but he was more immediately concerned with the way Yoongi’s shoulders had tensed under his arms and a rather deadly vibe was starting to emit from him. If they lived in an anime, Taehyung was sure Yoongi would be surrounded by a dark, imposing aura and grow larger than life to loom over him. Objectively, it was kind of cool how Yoongi managed to give off that very same feeling without special effects, but it was quite terrifying when you were its object.
Thankfully, Yoongi was distracted from ending Taehyung’s young, promising life by Jeongguk, who had left his seat to squeeze next to Yoongi on the couch, gluing himself to his side, closer than Taehyung had ever seen them outside of shootings. His face looked troubled, but in the adorable way only the naturally cute ever managed, with his lower lip sticking out in the hint of a pout and his eyes turned large and pleading like a puppy’s.
Taehyung, who had backed to safety while Yoongi was distracted, was sorely tempted to coo and tut at Jeongguk until he smiled again (and the way he had to grab Jimin around the neck to hold him back suggested Jimin felt the same), but Yoongi-hyung was the one least impressed by aegyo in their group. He said it was because someone needed to dish out some tough love to them all, but Jimin always said it was because he had a heart of stone. (“Sour grapes,” Yoongi usually told Jimin smugly, amazingly unfazed.)
“Hyung,” Jeongguk said on the couch, curling into Yoongi’s shoulder, “I didn’t know you were close with Bambam.”
And something like a miracle must have happened, as instead of grousing at Jeongguk about his nosiness and kicking him off the couch, Yoongi slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him even closer. “You’re an idiot,” he said gruffly, but it sounded like a loving nickname. “We exchanged numbers in Hongkong, it’s not a big deal.”
“I know,” Jeongguk said softly, but it sounded like he was sulking and that was something Jeongguk usually avoided at all costs since he thought it made him appear less mature.
“You’re close with him too,” Yoongi rumbled, pressing his chin on top of Jeongguk’s head. “And Yugyeom as well.”
Jeongguk squirmed. “That’s not the same at all,” he protested weakly and Taehyung could see from across the room how his ears got pink in embarrassment.
Instead of sighing in exasperation or swatting at him for being foolish, Yoongi actually laughed and that was when Taehyung knew for certain that there was something between them. He hadn’t even known Yoongi could laugh like that-warm and fond and intimate. Taehyung couldn’t hear what Yoongi said next, because he buried his mouth in Jeongguk’s hair to murmur quietly to him, all the while running a lazy hand down his back. The last thing Taehyung saw before he dragged a goggling Jimin out the room was how Jeongguk’s cheeks washed red with a deep flush.
-
It was sometime after dinner when Taehyung felt thirsty and paused his anime to get up from his bed and fetch a glass of water. From the kitchen, there were the clinking sounds of dishes being washed that he could hear even down the hall, so Jeongguk must still be cleaning up. Right before he rounded the corner into the room, he heard him speak up.
“So are you really going to meet him, hyung?”
Taehyung froze, steadying himself against the wall. That sounded like Jeongguk was talking to…
“Are you that worried?” Yoongi asked, sounding amused.
“No, I’m…” There was a short pause, more scrubbing sounds. “I’m not worried. Just… jealous. I don’t even know why. I know it’s not like that.”
“Good,” Yoongi replied, still with lingering humor coloring his voice. “He’s just a kid, wants some advice probably.”
“He’s the same age as me,” Jeongguk said indignantly. Taehyung was pretty sure he was pouting again from how his voice came out. He carefully crept closer to the doorframe.
“Huh. True.” Yoongi paused. “Guess that means you’re just a kid then, too.”
“Hyung!”
Jeongguk didn’t sound happy. Taehyung almost started snickering, but held himself back in time.
“Ya! Don’t you dare spray me, Jeongguk! I’ll kick your ass!”
“Well, I’ll kick yours for calling me a kid! I’m taller than you!”
Yoongi snorted. “You, Bambam, and Yugyeom are all giant-ass kids. I don’t know what they fed you. You’re disproportionate.”
With that, the situation seemed defused somewhat, because the scrubbing sounds picked back up. By now, Taehyung was plastered to the wall right next to the doorframe and wanted so badly to stick his head around the corner, but what if Yoongi saw him?
“Maybe you’re short to make you less intimidating,” Jeongguk said mock-thoughtfully.
“I’m intimidating just fine like this, thank you,” Yoongi shot back.
“True, true. To make you cuter, then.”
Yoongi let out a sound that half snort, half huff of laughter. “Oh, I’m cute now?”
“Sometimes,” Jeongguk replied solemnly, and then he suddenly laughed, bubbling and breathy.
Taehyung couldn’t help himself any longer and poked his head into the kitchen. Sure enough, Jeongguk was at the sink, washing dishes with his back to the door. Yoongi stood right behind him, wrapped around him, really, from what Taehyung could see, pressed to his back and apparently tickling his sides. From the way Yoongi’s cheek curved, he had to be grinning.
Under Taehyung’s watchful gaze, Yoongi stopped his attack and just stayed there, hugging Jeongguk while the maknae finished his clean-up duties. “Hey, Jeongguk-ah,” he muttered, propping his forehead against the back of Jeongguk’s neck.
Jeongguk hummed in reply.
“Let’s get coffee together, too.”
“Okay,” Jeongguk said, sounding entirely content. “And lamb skewers?”
Yoongi laughed that small laugh again. “And lamb skewers. Greedy brat.” But he lifted his head and kissed the back of Jeongguk’s neck gently.
Taehyung pulled his head back out, cheeks actually flaring up in a blush, and raced back to his room to tell Jimin what he had seen.