Chapter Text
The entirety of the day Beomgyu’s brother is supposed to arrive, Taehyun is a nervous wreck.
He probably thinks he’s hiding it well, but the bear has been able to tell from his constant pacing, busying himself with one thing or another. “Tyunnie, he’s gonna love you, calm down,” he says, watching the younger fix his hair in the mirror for the fifteenth time in the past hour.
“He really didn’t sound like he would,” he mumbles back, turning to face his pouting boyfriend. “Okay, sorry, I’ll chill.”
“Are you ready yet? Because we have to leave, like, now.” They’d agreed to meet at a cafe on campus, seeing as neither of the roommates had a car, and Taehyun had been “getting ready” for what felt like forever.
“Sure,” he sighs, walking over to Beomgyu. “You?” He nods, letting the silver-blonde press a kiss to his forehead with a giggle.
“Let’s go~” He whines, dragging his boyfriend out the door. “Wait, is my hat on right?” He can see the younger prepared to scold him for nearly forgetting, but wards off the conversation with an innocent smile.
“Yes, it is,” he huffs, wrapping their hands together before walking to the elevator down the building. “Has he texted?”
Beomgyu digs out his phone as they step into the lift, shaking his head at the lack of notifications. “Nope, guess we’ll wait for him there.” Looking back over to Taehyun, he sees him anxiously biting his cheek. “Taehyunnie,” he calls, resting his hand on the boy’s cheek.
“Sorry,” he apologizes again, taking a deep breath and letting his face weigh into the older’s palm. His eyes fall shut briefly as he relaxes, lips raising into a slight smile.
“If this is how you are with my brother, I wonder what it’ll be like when you meet my parents,” he jokes, only understanding the implication halfway through the sentence.
When, not if.
Taehyun’s smile definitely gets wider at that.
“I’d dye my hair back to brown at that point.” Beomgyu lets out a semi-relieved laugh, pulling away when the elevator dings at the lobby floor.
The cafe isn’t far; it barely takes them 15 minutes to walk there. To the younger’s joy, the hyung hasn’t arrived by the time they do, which gives them enough time to collect themselves before the meeting.
“I’ll get you your Americano, what does your brother usually drink?” Taehyun asks, watching the raven settle into a booth.
“He always gets grapefruit tea,” he replies after a bit of thought—it’s been a while since he went out for food with anyone in his family. “Do they have that here?”
“Um,” he scans the menu, finding the green tea section. “They have a citrus tea?”
“Sure,” Beomgyu nods, shrugging. “He’ll probably like it.”
With an acknowledging hum, Taehyun makes his way to the counter. The older pulls his phone from his pocket, unlocking it just as he gets a notification from his brother saying he’d arrived.
Immediately, his head shoots up, searching the areas near the cafe entrance until he sees the familiar figure in a black beret, dark brown hair peaking out the sides. He waves towards him, waiting for the other’s eyes to light up in recognition.
They finally make eye contact, and the older hybrid breaks into a familiar grin before walking over to the younger brother. “Beomgyu-ah!” He smiles, enveloping him in a hug the second he’s standing. “Did you get taller?”
Beomgyu laughs, pulling away and gesturing for his hyung to sit down in the seat across the table. “No, but thank you,” he rolls his eyes. “Was the train here okay?”
He nods, briefly glancing around the cafe. “Yeah, it was fine. Been a while since I’ve gotten on one.” His backpack is laid out next to him, resting on his thigh. “Where’s your boyfriend? I thought he was coming with you? Did he chicken out?”
The raven pouts, giving his brother a warning look. “Taehyunnie is just buying us drinks,” he starts, glancing over at the silver-haired boy at the counter. “And play nice, please. He’s been nervous.”
“Good,” the brunet smiles, only faltering at another disappointed glare from his sibling. “ Okay, okay,” he sighs. “Have you told mom and dad yet? I assume not because they didn’t talk to me about it but…”
He shakes his head, “We were talking about that earlier. I’m not sure when I’ll tell them, maybe the next time I go home for a break.” Shrugging, he glances back over to the bar, looking for Taehyun.
He sees the younger look at his brother, then turn back to the counter, fidgeting with his phone. Beomgyu can’t help an endeared smile before he shifts his focus back to the man in front of him. “Don’t know if it’d be better or worse to do it in person,” the older hums, examining the menu on the wall. “I’ll go order, too, I guess.” He moves to get up, but is motioned back down.
“Taehyun’s got it, don’t worry. I told him to get you a citrus tea.” He watches the older raise an eyebrow, then smile.
“I do like my tea. Have you been here before?”
“Nope. I think Taehyunnie has, though. He said they have good caramel drinks.” And, right on time, the silver-blonde begins to make his way back to the table, carrying a small tray of drinks.
“Here’s your Americano, Beomie,” he mutters as he sets the drink down next to him. “And a citrus tea for you.” He straightens after placing the drinks on the table, quickly bowing towards Beomgyu’s hyung.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kang Taehyun, Beomgyu’s boyfriend.” He stands with a smile, reaching his hand out to shake.
“Taehyung. Similar names, huh?” He laughs, and the younger bear can feel the peace flood him at the smooth introduction.
“Ha, yeah,” Taehyun breathes a laugh, slowly sliding into the booth next to his boyfriend. “Was the ride here alright?”
Taehyung rolls his eyes, “Beomgyu asked me the same thing- Yes, it went great.” He takes a sip from the drink, slightly raising his eyebrows in approval.”So, how long have you two been dating? I haven’t heard much more than that conversation last week.”
“Um- only a month, now?” He looks at the raven for confirmation, receiving a nod.
“Yeah, not that long. But we’ve been living together since the beginning of the year, obviously.” The brother squints suspiciously, eyeing Taehyun.
“So have you…y’know,” he gestures, and it takes a second for Beomgyu to realize what he’s trying to say. His face flushes a bright red when he lets out a startled laugh.
“No! No- oh my god, why is that the first thing you ask?” Taehyung breaks into his boxy grin, laughing at his brother’s flustered reaction.
“Because I knew you’d react like this!” The raven looks over to Taehyun for help, only to find that he’s also smirking, holding back his own laughter.
“Both of you suck,” he pouts, although it doesn’t last long once a hand intertwines with his under the table.
“I know, you hate me so much,” Taehyung says sarcastically. “Anyway, how did Taehyun find about your—?” he gestures to the beanie, crossing his arms as the couple exchange a look.
With a breath, the younger starts to respond, “Hyung fell asleep while he was studying and his hat slipped off, I saw him when I got home that night.” Beomgyu scrunches his nose at the memory, remembering how intently his roommate had stared at him. “He didn’t know I knew for about a week, mostly because I didn’t know how to bring it up…I haven’t told anyone, I swear, and I would never —those facilities are horrendous, I’m so sorry you have to live in fear of being sent to one.”
Beomgyu is glad he chose to omit the part about his panic attack and their rough confrontation afterward, but Taehyung still looks less than happy with the story. “So…you were careless?” His attention is pointed at the younger hybrid, who tries not to shrink under the accusing glare.
“Well- okay, yeah, I should’ve been more careful. And don’t lecture me, please, I already know how terrible that could’ve turned out if it wasn’t Taehyun who was my roommate.” The air between them is thick, both students waiting for the man to say something else in response.
“…Alright, but I’m still not happy about it.” Beomgyu tries not to make his relief too obvious, limiting his reaction to a stifled exhale. “And you better keep that promise, kid.”
Taehyun nods eagerly, “Of course I will. No circumstance would make me do something like that.”
The rest of the conversation goes smoothly, the topic bouncing from college life, to the week’s plans, to Taehyung ’s potential partner. Beomgyu is over the moon when they leave the cafe, practically bouncing with excitement that it had gone so well.
Until Taehyung rests a hand on his shoulder, telling Taehyun, “You can head back to the dorms, I want to spend some time alone with Beomgyu.” The blonde looks at the younger hybrid, who shrugs and motions for him to go ahead.
“It’s alright, hyung can drop me off on his way to the hotel.” He gives him a comforting smile despite the small bundle of nerves forming inside him.
His roommate leaves with a small, “Bye, Taehyung-ssi, again, it was nice to meet you,” and Beomgyu is led to his brother’s car.
“What’s up?” He asks once they’re settled, watching the older start up the car. “Did you not like him? It seemed like you did, I really hope you did-”
Taehyung cuts him off before he can spiral; “He seems great, really. He’s very nice, and definitely a lovely first boyfriend.” Beomgyu doesn’t like the implication that there will be more, but he lets it slide. “But,” he starts, and that’s what the raven was afraid of, “I still don’t trust him.”
The younger groans. “Why not? What could he have possibly done?”
“You’re just so trusting, Beomgyu-ah- He could turn his back on you at any second.” His voice is calm, but there is an unplaceable emotion lingering on the edge. “Don’t you think he seems too good? How do you know he didn't take your hat off that night himself? When have you met a person that doesn’t feel immediate disgust or superiority upon seeing a hybrid?”
“Never, but that’s only because I was never allowed near anyone that wasn’t a hybrid.” Beomgyu rolls his eyes, a little annoyed that his brother is being so overly cautious.
Taehyung sighs. “Listen, he seems like a good kid,” there’s a deafening pause in the room as he tries to find the right words to continue, fidgeting with the heat settings in the car. “And, I want you to be happy. Just be safe, too. I don’t trust him.” He seems to keep reiterating that, and the younger wants to tune it out.
Still, even when he gets out of the car half an hour later, after they’d driven around the campus in nearly dead silence, only speaking when Beomgyu was asked questions about the buildings, the conversation lingers in his mind.