Uncovered Illusion - Taekook

8

I tilt my head, suddenly remembering that this conversation came out of nowhere. "What even provoked you to talk properly about Green Arrow?" I ask curiously, and he shrugs.
"Well, I'm being more honest with you in general, so I might as well-"

"You've not lied to me in a long time," I point out, and he sighs a little.
"Honest is maybe the wrong word. I guess open would make more sense. Yeah. I'm opening up to you so that you know what you're getting yourself in for before you realise that it was a bad decision to make, seems only fair to-."

"Jeon Jungkook," I say quietly, and he falls silent instantly. "Are you trying to avoid a relationship with me?"
"No," he says softly, and I narrow my eyes at him.
"Lie."

He sighs. "Well, yes, but not for the reason you think. I want to be with you, I do have feelings for you, but I know how dangerous that would be. I know exactly how difficult it would be with how we have to try and keep ourselves safe and being more than friends openly would just attract the wrong attention. We're trying to be hidden in plain sight, not more visible than everyone else. And I wouldn't want to hide you. I've hidden so much about myself over the last six years, and I'm tired of it."

"Maybe for the first few days or even weeks being hidden might be fun," I remind him, knowing without needing to think about it that this is what's really the issue here. "And then being open at work isn't going to hurt. Just make sure they know not to sing it from the bloody rooftops, just as Mina would-"

Jungkook laughs at that, a proper chuckle which has me smiling in relief. "She would indeed," he says quietly, "though something tells me she's into you as well, Kim Taehyung. I've got competition."
"Trust me, you really don't," I return, amused, and he frowns.
"Not interested in her? Don't you like her, even a little bit?"

I shrug. "She's nice and everything, and I can see myself being friends with her. But would I date her? Even if you weren't around? Spend every day with her and proclaim my love for her or anything like that?" I shake my head, smiling ruefully. "Probably not. She's not my type. Sure, I do also like girls, but that doesn't mean every girl, you know?"

"No, I get it," he replies after a few seconds of thought. "Everyone has a type, and she's not part of that. And anyway, you're not that close with her. It'd be painful to build friendships only to rip them apart again if we have to move again to run from everything again."

"Another reason why we're a fit," I point out, and he chuckles slightly at that.
"You're pretty keen on it, aren't you?" he comments innocently, and for a moment I think he's going to say it's a bad thing. "I don't get you, Tae."

I raise an eyebrow at him, almost playfully. "Well, I don't get you," I return simply, and he chuckles again, lifting his head from my collarbone to look me in the eyes.
"Just a pair of fools not really knowing what the hell is going on," he says thoughtfully, a fond look in his dark eyes, "is that what we are?"
"I don't see how that would be a bad thing," I respond after a few seconds. "Nobody ever knows what the hell is going on."

We sit there in silence for a few minutes, just comfortably, not really needing to talk in order to think about what the world has provided us with. A chance to have a relationship - whilst it could be unstable, it could also be the greatest adventure of my life. I have no way of knowing what it'll be like without giving it a try, and now that I've let myself finally consider it properly, I really want to at least attempt to be with him.

And then he moves again, shifting so that he can better lean into me. "You're comfortable," he mumbles, and I laugh a little at that. "Maybe I should date you just for the fact that I can sleep on your shoulder without it being weird."
"It was never weird, but go off, I guess."

He pulls away for a second, a scandalised expression on his face. "Did you just say 'go off' unironically? What the fuck?"
"Yes, I did," I return defensively, "got a problem with that, Jeon?"
"I don't really know," he admits after a few seconds, looking almost confused, and we meet eyes for a moment, both of us hiding the amusement such a conversation brings to us.

A few seconds later, we both burst into laughter. "You know what," Jungkook says, his voice light and somehow more genuine than anything I've ever heard from him before, despite how open he's been with me recently, "you might be right. We really do get on. And we care about each other more than we should. Why the hell not?"

I tilt my head at him. "Just for clarification, you wanna see what being a couple is like?"

He smiles and nods, his eyes practically sparkling with barely contained positivity and I find myself pressing my lips against the smooth skin of his cheek, giggling at the way he jolts in surprise at the unexpected action. "I guess I have a boyfriend now."

That's pretty cool.