Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Weekdays at the plushie shop were always quiet.

Summer was another story, but it was early spring, smack dab in the middle of the week and most people were busy, whether it was kids at school or their parents at work. In the slow seasons like these, only one person was scheduled for the first couple hours.

That day, it was Taehyung. He’d had this side job for close to year now, and had the opening routine down pat. He got up at six-thirty, took the train to the usual stop, a short distance from the shopping mall. The mall was a massive, six-story building that boasted everything from a mini-indoor aquarium to the little shop where Taehyung worked, which sold a variation of very cutesy and cartoony gear, primarily in the form of soft, stuffed plushies.  

The plushie store was on the third level, and on days when he had opening shifts, Taehyung rode up four levels of escalators bleary-eyed, halfway through an apple because he didn’t like coffee much and someone told him once this was basically the same thing.

Taehyung had about thirty minutes to open shop, during which he made sure all the shelves were near to busting with plushies, fluffing them up and straightening them out where necessary. He restocked other knickknacks too, little pocket mirrors, socks, the corner of the store that housed a small variety of sweaters. Everything had some sort of cutesy character on it, whether original or whatever was currently popular (his manager had warned Pikachu merchandise was on its way). The last thing Taehyung had to do before rolling up the gate and officially opening was select from one of the dozen headbands they sold by the register, each with its own plush character along the top, two on each band, like mickey ears.

Taehyung scanned the display, plucking one of the newer ones and shuffling over to the closest mirror as he put it on his head. The little plushies on this one were pink flowers, each with a smiling face. Taehyung adjusted the band behind his ears so it didn’t mess with the arms of his glasses too terribly, then reached up to sift the brown strands of his hair back into place around the headband. Same as every other day. Same routine.

Taehyung didn’t think he was a perfectionist, but he had sort of turned into a creature of habit. Especially lately. The routine was a comfort, in its own way. He wore the same color scheme most days (light pastels and neutral browns) caught the same train every day (the 7:17 on platform 3), ate an apple every morning (he always picked the apples buried under the top ones at the market because he didn’t mind if they were a little bruised), and had been wearing the same pair of glasses for the last five years (the lenses changed but the thin wire frames were a staple).

He usually finished opening the shop with a few minutes to spare, and today was no exception. With two minutes to nine on his watch, Taehyung unlocked the gate blocking the storefront and pushed it up. He probably had about a half hour until someone actually came inside, and since everything that needed to be done was done, he situated himself behind the register and pulled up some art pieces to study on his phone.

He had a test that week for his Uncanny Resemblances course, one of the more niche classes an art history major could pick up but rewarding because he felt as though he learned something new after each class. Although Taehyung was fairly confident about the exam, studying beat a staring contest with the stuffed whale plushie sitting on the shelf directly across from the register.  

About fifteen minutes in, a chipper three tone chime went off, alerting Taehyung to a mom and her little boy walking inside. He came around the counter to help them look, listening attentively as the boy listed the reasons why he was torn between a bear plushie and a plushie shaped like a loaf of bread. After about five more minutes of deliberation as the mother watched fondly, the boy decided on the bear.

“Great choice,” Taehyung hummed, patting the top of the bear’s head. “He gives the best cuddles.”

When he was ringing them up, the entry chime went off again, signaling someone else had just entered.

“Welcome, be with you in a moment!” Taehyung called as he handed the little boy his stuffed bear and told the mother the total.

There was no response from the new visitors, which was normal. Taehyung smiled at the mother and told the little boy, “you’ll have to name him,” to which the boy beamed and hugged the bear closer to him, offering Taehyung a shy wave before he let his mother take his hand and lead him out of the shop.

Taehyung smiled, glancing up and around for the people who had come in. He saw a couple figures in the back corner, mostly obscured by shelves. As Taehyung approached all he could make out was that one of them was blonde, and one was shorter.

“Hi,” Taehyung said cheerfully as he rounded the shelf.

The shorter guy standing further back wasn’t even looking at the plushies on the shelf and was in fact watching Taehyung approach while the blonde reached for a big red heart on the top shelf.

Taehyung came to a stop a couple feet back from them, the rest of his peppy welcome dying in his throat. He felt a little stared down by the one guy looking at him, eyebrow raised. He was observing Taehyung a little too intensely for him to disregard with his usual customer service charm. 

“Can I help you find anything?” Taehyung said hesitantly, looking away from the narrow-eyed, shorter guy to his companion, and when the blonde looked around at Taehyung, he felt his mouth drop a little when their eyes met.

He didn’t know how to describe it. It was almost like something leapt inside him at the sight of the blonde’s face head on—which was silly, seeing as more than half of it was covered by a white mask, pulled even past the bridge of his nose.

There was just—something about this guy’s eyes, dark and glittering behind wayward blonde bangs, that made Taehyung freeze. He squinted a little and resisted the urge to adjust his glasses, although realized he had unconsciously covered his mouth with a hand as they looked at each other. Taehyung almost felt like this guy was…

He couldn’t quite put a pin on it. Familiar.

“Do I know you?” Taehyung asked after a moment of them just staring at each other.

The blonde’s eyes crinkled a little. Taehyung glanced at the shorter guy standing behind the blonde, chewing on the inside of his lip when he saw he was still staring at Taehyung, a weird look on his face.

“V,” the short one rumbled, glancing at the blonde, who finally looked away from Taehyung to look back at him. The short guy didn’t say anything else, but he seemed on edge.

Taehyung shifted his weight back a little.

“Relax, Yoongi,” said the blonde— V? He sounded amused, and when he turned back to Taehyung, his eyes over the mask were creased, like he was smiling. He glanced around the store, then tugged on the mask a little, so it slipped an inch down his nose, without uncovering it fully. He tilted his head at Taehyung. His voice was soothing, and deep. “I’m looking for something soft and cute.” His eyes dropped down Taehyung’s body, who felt suddenly heartily aware of his outfit, khaki pants he’d worn so often, they’d kind of molded to the shape of his legs; a pink button down shirt, the reason he’d gone for the flower headband, because the pink and pink matched. Probably matched the color in his cheeks, now, too.

V’s eyes came to rest on the name tag Taehyung had pinned onto the front of his shirt, and Taehyung cleared his throat, nodding at the heart plush. “That. That, uh, works. We have lots of soft, cute things though,” Taehyung said, regaining a little bit of his composure as he felt into a familiar routine, which was in this case, talking about plushies. He pulled a Gudetama plush from the shelf, holding it up against his chest and smiling at V over his yellow head. “See?”

V was definitely smiling now, not looking away from Taehyung as he put the heart back on the shelf and stepped forward. He was slightly taller than Taehyung, just a few centimeters, but he felt a lot bigger. It might have been the way he carried himself, or maybe it was just the way he was looking at Taehyung.

Taehyung knew this look. He’d seen his best friend Jimin give it to plenty of boys, usually after a couple shots of tequila, had been on the receiving end of it that one night they ended up making out for an hour and half before bursting into a fit of giggles when they came back to themselves upon Hoseok striding back into the apartment, shrieking at the sight of Taehyung straddling Jimin on their couch.

“Really cute,” V purred, jerking Taehyung back to the present. 

V was looking at Taehyung like he wanted to taste him, and Taehyung.

Well.

Yeah, he couldn’t see most of V’s face, but he liked his blonde hair, and his eyes were really intense, in a way that was just—sexy. So, Taehyung didn’t really mind the way V was looking at him, except for the fact that he was wearing a plushie headband with girl group kpop playing in the background and that grumpy guy Yoongi was still standing behind V and kind of glaring at Taehyung now, so maybe they were boyfriends or whatever and Taehyung didn’t really wanna piss that guy off, and then V said—

“I don’t think anything in this store could be as cute as you, though. Taehyung, is it?”

“V,” Yoongi said, almost like a warning, and V’s eyes crinkled as he waved Yoongi off, stepping a bit closer to Taehyung.

“Show me which ones you think are the cutest,” V said, voice all velvet as he reached out to curve a finger around one of the plushies on Taehyung’s headband.

Taehyung pursed his lips, shifting his head away as he turned on his heel. Be professional.

“Okay,” he said, glad V couldn’t see his blushing cheeks and walking towards a section of plushies about ten feet away, just to give his face time to return to its normal color.

He could hear V following behind him, and when Taehyung stopped in front of a shelf built into the wall, V stopped too, watching quietly as Taehyung lifted a sleeping avocado and held it up to face him.

“He’s even drooling a little,” Taehyung said as they both looked at the pillow plush. “It’s adorable.”

V laughed again, deep and fond, and Taehyung pulled the plush a little closer to him, hugging it so that the lower half of his face was also obstructed by the top of the avocado.

“Ah, don’t hide,” V said, so gentle and earnest that Taehyung lifted his head, automatically.

“You are,” he said before he could help himself, then brought the avocado back up again because wow that was rude.

V’s eyes crinkled again, his fingers pinching the bottom of the mask. “You don’t want me to hide my face? Why not?” he teased.

“That was impolite,” Taehyung said, pushing his face into the plushie a little. “Sorry, I—”

But V was already pulling on the mask, enough so that the top slipped over his nose and past his chin, and Taehyung’s words died in his throat as he stared at him.

There it was again: a swoop inside him, the same leap he’d felt when he and V had first looked at each other. Except this time, Taehyung thought he understood why.

V’s face was striking. From the strong line of his jaw to the angular jut of his cheekbone, lips full and cherry red as he looked at Taehyung. Taehyung’s eyes lingered on the little mole on his lower lip, the one on the tip of his nose, both nearly covered completely by make up, but Taehyung knew exactly what to look for, because he looked at the same features in the mirror every morning.

V looked just like Taehyung.

Taehyung squeezed the avocado plush more tightly to his chest as he came to that jarring conclusion: he and V looked alarmingly alike. There were clear similarities, like the shape of their mouth, and their eyes, even the little beauty marks on their faces. But there were also undeniable differences, such as the look in V’s eyes, all confident and come hither and like nothing Taehyung had ever tried before himself. There were other physical traits, like V being slightly taller, and broader in the shoulders, and the fact that Taehyung was fuller in the cheeks (and probably some other areas too, Taehyung thought, holding the plushie against his tummy self-consciously). They were just a few miniscule traits short of being completely identical.

When V spoke, his voice was low, like Taehyung’s, just raspier, like everything he said was a scandalous secret.

“Better?” V asked, smiling at Taehyung, fingers dropping from the mask.

Taehyung stared at him a little more. He relaxed his grip around the avocado. “Oh my fucking god.”

“Hmm?” V asked, undeterred.

Taehyung exhaled sharply. “You look—familiar.” He paused, glancing all over V’s face frantically. Was he just imagining this? It was a little trippy, like seeing himself on a video recording maybe five years into the future, because V had a face that had been grown into (exceptionally well). Whereas Taehyung, despite being well past that awkward growing-into-yourself-puberty age, was still trying to shed his baby fat.  

“Familiar how?” V said. He sounded coy.

Taehyung tried not to scowl. Of course he was going to make him say it. “You—you look like me.” Taehyung stepped forward in his earnestness. “Right?”

V blinked, thoughtful. “Does that mean you think I’m adorable?”

“Oh,” Taehyung muttered, “wow. That’s not the point,” he said, stepping right into V’s personal space and reaching up to touch his cheek, without thinking. V’s eyes softened even as Taehyung bit his lip and pulled his hand back. “I’m just—”

“Hey, V. Do you know him?”

The other guy, Yoongi, had strode forward and was standing a few feet away again, looking between them almost suspiciously. His gaze settled on V, expectant. “What’s the deal. Are you related?”

“I don’t know him,” Taehyung said, frowning when Yoongi made an incredulous noise.

“Yoongi,” V said, turning to Yoongi and making a face Taehyung couldn’t make out, but Yoongi huffed and walked a little ways back, enough to give them almost-privacy. V smiled easily at Taehyung when he turned back. “Sorry. He’s just a little over protective.”

Taehyung was still hugging the avocado plush, but he was starting to take a big comfort in it, so he simply adjusted it in his arms as he held eye contact with V. “Are you—is he your—? Ah, sorry, that’s personal, I didn’t—”

“Oh, no,” V said, reaching out and absently grabbing a pink mini peach plushie from the shelf. He squeezed it gently in his hand as he continued. “Yoongi-hyung is my manager. He thinks you’re lying about not recognizing me.”

“You—” Taehyung shook his head, feeling frazzled. “You just look like me, I didn’t mean to offend him. Or you.” His brow furrowed. “Your manager? What do you do?”

For some reason, V seemed highly amused by this question, but instead of responding to it, he focused on the first part of Taehyung’s sentence.

“Like I could be offended by that,” he said. V smiled down at the peach, then up at Taehyung. “We do look alike.”

Taehyung reached up to touch his own nose. “You have the same little freckle on your nose.”

V grinned, except—wow, there was no mask to shield Taehyung from it, and wow, V was—so handsome. Taehyung felt a bit silly even thinking that because V really did look like him, and Taehyung had never thought that much of himself, his own smile. But it was the same.

What the hell.

The whole thing was a little weird. More than weird, okay. It was extremely crazy. But, well. Taehyung did believe that stuff like this was possible. Weirder things had happened, like the way he and Jimin had met. Same freshman dorm orientation meeting, where they’d had to put their phones in a bucket to promote “legitimate social activity” and at the end of the meeting, Jimin and he had each taken home the other’s phone, and not noticed until after they’d unlocked it, because they had the same phone, same case, even the same passcode.

If soulmates were a real thing, like Taehyung knew he and Jimin were, then, Taehyung wasn’t pressed to believe he had a doppelgänger.

Being attracted to him, well. Taehyung was still working out his feelings on that. The thing was, no matter how alike they looked, the way V carried himself was much different to how Taehyung did. V was achingly confident and it showed, and while Taehyung was fairly comfortable with himself, he was quieter about it. Just the way V smiled made it obvious he was well aware of how devastating that expression was.

Taehyung found it distractingly sexy.

“I think,” V hummed, bending a little to bring his face close to Taehyung’s. He was looking at his nose so closely, Taehyung could feel his breath break across it, didn’t know what to do with the information that V’s breath smelled like mint and winter. “Yours is a little more to the left. And darker.”

Taehyung blinked, squinting now at V’s. “I—ah, I can’t tell. You cover it with make up?” Taehyung sniffed, adjusting his grip on the avocado.

“No,” V chuckled, gently taking one of Taehyung’s hands and bringing it up to his nose. “See? Look.”  

Taehyung rubbed for a second, then realized what he was doing and yanked his hand back, flushing. V’s nose was a little red, but the beauty mark was the same, a little dot on the tip of his nose, just barely visible.

V smiled. “It’s probably the sun. Or in my case, lack thereof. I’m usually inside for work.”

“Oh,” Taehyung said softly, wanting to ask again what V did but finding himself at a loss for words again as V smiled at him.

They were just looking at each other again, and had been for about twenty seconds before a familiar voice shouted from the shop’s entrance, “Good morning Taetae, I’ve arrived!”

Taehyung whirled, waving almost sheepishly as Jimin entered the shop. He had his name tag pinned on already, and was striding towards the headband display to pick one out—probably the one with sunflowers, it was his current go-to.

Jimin smiled at Taehyung, then his gaze slid over to V and he promptly tripped over a shelf.

“Oh my god,” Taehyung heard him mumble. Taehyung shook his head at him, turning back to V, who was pulling the mask back over his face.

Taehyung grasped for something to say.

“So, do you want him?” He held out the avocado. “We also have a drooling milk plushie, and a sleeping onigiri, I think he drools a little too, I can, ah, check—”

“We gotta go,” Yoongi said from his spot a few feet away. He was watching Jimin slink towards the opposite corner of the store, sunflowers perched in his hair, looking back at all three of them very curiously as he planted himself in the Hello Kitty section. Yoongi glanced quickly at V. “Just get the avocado, your niece isn’t gonna care.”

V sighed, gently taking the plushie from Taehyung’s hands. “Don’t mind him, he’s testy,” V said, shooting Yoongi a look from over his mask. Yoongi was still glowering in Jimin’s direction, and Taehyung saw with an internal groan, Jimin was now glowering right back.

“I’ll ring you up, I’ve kept you more than long enough,” Taehyung said, twisting and hurrying towards the register. “Um, it’s gonna be thirty-five—”

“Here you go,” V said, and Taehyung took a moment to stare down at the gleaming metallic gold of the card V held out to him, then got a fucking grip and nodded down at the machine for him to insert the plastic.

“So, ah,” V said. He glanced over his shoulder to where Yoongi was now waiting near the store’s entrance, alternating from glancing out towards the rest of the mall and inside to where Jimin was pretending to organize cat plushies. Taehyung pushed over V’s receipt and V took a pen from the vase by Taehyung’s register. It was topped with a smiling plushie heart.

“Oh, you don’t need to sign that,” Taehyung said, grabbing a bag for the avocado.

“I’m giving you my number,” V said, and Taehyung nearly dropped the plushie on the floor. It landed a little violently in the bag, and Taehyung looked up at V with big eyes.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said after a beat.

“You don’t have to text me,” V said kindly, scribbling his number on the back of the receipt in big, scrawled writing. He shot Yoongi a look over his shoulder, then pushed the paper back over to Taehyung. “Just, um, don’t share that with anyone? It’s a pain to get a new one,” V said in a low voice.

Taehyung furrowed his brow, hanging V the bag as he looked down at the numbers on the back of the receipt. “Why would—”

“Let’s go,” Yoongi called sharply from the store front, and V hummed, tugging down his face mask just long enough to accompany his wink with a quick pucker of his cherry red lips.

“Bye, Taehyung,” V called, waving at Taehyung over his shoulder.

Taehyung lifted his hand in a dazed wave of his own, and Taehyung and Yoongi had barely left the shop before Jimin was hurrying behind the counter, leaning close to Taehyung and talking so fast Taehyung all but lost complete track of what he was saying.

“Taehyung, oh my god Taehyung do you even understand what just happened? Good morning, you look cute, but Taehyung, look, look, do you see that guy, the blonde one?” Jimin pointed furiously at V just as he walked past the store front’s glass and out of sight completely. “Ugh, the one, that was just here, Tae, you know how I’m always telling you, and Hoseok even knows it, too, you look just like that singer that’s gotten insanely popular, he’s like, Taehyung you don’t even know, he’s this mega idol right now, he’s probably gonna win all the new artist award this year, and anyway, you look like him, I’ve been telling you for months now, but you just tell me you don’t listen to that and turn up your—your pearl man—”

Taehyung blinked, putting his hand down over the receipt. “It’s Perlman.”

“That’s what I said,” Jimin said, snatching the receipt from under Taehyung’s limp palm and looking at the paper. “Holy shit. Holy shit.”

“No!” Taehyung exclaimed, lunging for the paper and almost ripping it in his haste to take it back from Jimin. “No, you can’t see that.”

Jimin had already given up and was digging through his phone. “Look, let me show you, let me show you—”

Taehyung’s brain felt like it was moving through molasses. He tried to take in everything Jimin had said. “I thought—I thought the guy I looked like was L.”

“That’s my favorite character from Death Note, which you still haven’t watched, and no, you don’t look like L, you look like Light, specially with your new hair, Light—”

Taehyung put his hand over Jimin’s mouth. “I need a minute to think.”

Jimin rolled his eyes, holding out his phone and ducking out from under Taehyung’s hand as the chime went off, signaling someone else’s entrance. “You look. I’ll help these people.”

Taehyung frowned after him, then, taking a deep breath, looked down at the page Jimin had left open for him.

It was some celebrity news site, a page dedicated to superstar V, who, Taehyung quickly recognized in the picture, despite the heavier application of makeup and the fact that V’s hair in the photo was bright blue.

The page listed quick facts and many, many photos of V, who had risen to fame quickly in the last six months and was ranking the charts with his latest mini-album. A quick scan of the page told Taehyung V had been scouted at a festival in LA in one of his summer stays in America not three years earlier, and he’d been working in the industry ever since. His first album had come out less than a year ago and had already broken records.

Taehyung lingered a little on the photos.

He didn’t tend to pay attention to stuff like this, news like this, that was. Taehyung didn’t know what was popular or trending, usually had his headphones in, which were connected to his phone which housed classical music, almost exclusively. It helped with his violin playing, and he preferred it, usually. Plus, Hoseok was a quiet roommate, despite his loud personality, so all Taehyung really knew of current events was what Jimin rattled off on his visits, and it was a little hard for Taehyung to keep straight all the names of people he didn’t know.

But now he knew V, because the handsome face looking up at him from the screen of the phone was a little more perfected with editing and make up, but it did kind of look like Taehyung, and it definitely looked like V. Who had been there, not five minutes before.

It was V. V, who was apparently a successful idol.

Who looked kind of like Taehyung.

Who had given Taehyung a number to text.

Jimin popped back up on the other side of the counter. The visitors were still browsing around, but Jimin didn’t seem troubled, putting his chin in his hands as he smiled at Taehyung.

“So,” Jimin said, dragging out the word. He tapped on his phone. “Maybe now you’ll listen to me when I talk about world news.”

Taehyung put his face in his hands. His fingers bumped against the mini flower plushies on his headband. “World news,” he said. “Right.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Jimin spent the rest of his shift (which was also the rest of Taehyung’s shift) trying to explain to Taehyung just how talented, popular, and dreamy V was and then how similar to V Taehyung looked, except for the fact that they were not popular or dreamy in the same way.

“How am I dreamy?” Taehyung sighed as he and Jimin took the escalator to the floor level, waving their manager goodbye. “Versus him?”

“He’s got that like,” Jimin said, face scrunching up in thought. “That, baby I’m gonna fuck you till you cry baby—”

“You said baby twice—”

“And you’re like, twice the baby,” Jimin finished, and Taehyung snapped his mouth shut and glared at him.

Jimin giggled. “I’m just teasing.” His face grew serious. “Are you going to text him? Please text him.”

“I don’t know any of his music, or anything,” Taehyung protested.

“That’s probably better!” Jimin exclaimed excitedly. “He was probably so happy you didn’t recognize him, other than the fact that you kind of—have the same face?” Jimin giggled. “Text him, Tae.”

Taehyung looked ahead resolutely.

“It’s time to get out in someone else’s sheets again,” Jimin said. He was teasing, but Taehyung had a feeling it wasn’t all a joke.

But maybe he was right. It had been a few months since Taehyung and Namjoon had broken up, and while he’d had the occasional hookup here and there, it had been mostly kissing and one sloppy blow job.

None of it had not been that great.

Taehyung thought of the articles dedicated to V and felt his heart flutter nervously in his chest. He thought V might be good at kissing. Wondered what it would be like to kiss a mouth that was shaped just like his. Would it be soft? Chapped in different places? He wondered if their lips would slot together nicely, or if it would be clumsy because they were the same.

He wondered what it would be like having V looking down at Taehyung, with his face, as Taehyung sucked his dick.

His heart beat a little faster.

“I don’t know,” he said.

Jimin clicked his tongue. “If you don’t, I will.”

Taehyung held his phone protectively to his chest, like that would prevent Jimin from texting V. “Don’t.”

“Ohh,” Jimin teased, hooking his hand through Taehyung’s arm. “Feeling a little possessive already? Nice.” Jimin tapped his sunglasses down over his eyes, but not before Taehyung caught the teasing glint there. “It’s a little kinky, Taehyung. Wanting to fuck an alternate version of yourself.”

“Jimin!” Taehyung hissed, glancing around the people near by as they made their way to the subway station. “Not so loud.”

“Not denying it, I see,” Jimin trilled. He pushed his fingers through his hair. “Get me the number of the angry little one that was with him and we’ll call it even.”

“Even?” Taehyung blustered as Jimin dragged him towards the station. “Even for what?”

Jimin grinned. “I’ll think of something.”

“I’m sure you will,” Taehyung said, looking down at his phone. He toggled the screen a bit, trying to remember where he’d put his twitter app. “You and that guy were just glaring at each other the entire time, why do you want his number?”

“Have you never heard of sexual tension?” Jimin said, lowering his voice to a dramatic whisper as they stepped on the escalator that would lead them to the right platform. “Don’t think I didn’t see you and V flirting. Right in front of the plushies.” He glanced at Taehyung’s phone. “Oh my god, are you on his twitter?”

“Stop,” Taehyung said, horrified, but Jimin was already tapping the heart of V’s latest tweet, a post from three days prior. “Jimin, stop.”

“A, you are a liar and do have a twitter,” Jimin grumbled, ignoring Taehyung’ protests that he never used it, “and B, it doesn’t mater if you like it, that tweet has like, a thousand likes.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You could literally stalk him months back and it wouldn’t matter,” Jimin said, flicking the screen fast so it scrolled at a dizzying past down V’s page. Taehyung caught lots of flashes of selcas, hooded and teasing eyes, red lips curved into a smirk, tweets with a lot of emojis, lots of purple hearts, a few retweets of awards stuff and TV appearances and—

“Stop,” Taehyung said, a little taken aback at how panicked he sounded, but Jimin stopped immediately. He smoothed Taehyung’s hair back from his furrowed brow as he pressed his phone into his pocket.

“Sorry,” Jimin said immediately, voice soft. He kissed Taehyung’s forehead. “I’m just teasing, baby.”

Taehyung huffed, didn’t say anything as they boarded the train.

“I’ll make you dinner?” Jimin offered hopefully.

Taehyung stared resolutely out the subway window as they found a spot on board, but his voice was relenting when he said, “japchae?”

Jimin hooked their arms together. “Done deal.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Around eleven PM that same night, Jimin headed off to meet Hoseok and Namjoon at the bar.

“You should come,” Jimin said, rustling in a wholly dissatisfied way through Taehyung’s one makeup drawer, which was really just a drawer half filled with makeup, the rest with face cleansers. “Tae, don’t you have highlighter?”

“The one you got me for my birthday, it’s there.”

“That’s it? That was supposed to inspire you to buy more.”

“I’ve got a natural glow,” Taehyung said, and Jimin grinned at him as he uncapped the highlighter palette.

“That you do,” he said, swiping his finger lightly across it and dabbing along his cheekbone. He glanced at Taehyung over the edge of the mirror. “You’re not—avoiding coming ‘cause of Namjoon, right?”

Taehyung looked right back at him. “We broke up four months ago, and I’ve already met his new boyfriend.”

“I wasn’t even gonna bring that up,” Jimin said lightly. He gave Taehyung a pointed look. “So it’s not.”

“No,” Taehyung said, turning to walk out of the bathroom with a huff. “And before you ask, I’m not avoiding it. Him.”

Jimin hurried after him, one cheek glowing gold. “Didn’t say you were. You both have been alarmingly chill and mature about it all, but I guess that makes sense since you are both those things, I’m just saying—” Jimin said, catching Taehyung’s arm and making him pause. When Taehyung turned to look at him, Jimin’s face was gentle. “If you’re not it’s fine. And if you are, it’s fine.”

Taehyung smiled at Jimin, reaching for the highlighter and picking up powder on his thumb. He gently dabbed it across Jimin’s cheek, then tapped the excess off on Jimin’s nose.

“It’s fine,” he said softly.

Jimin sighed, but accepted the response. “Okay, Taetae. You work tomorrow?”

“Day after,” Taehyung said, shaking his head.

“I’ll see you then,” Jimin said. Right before he shimmied out the front door, he called back, “and don’t think I forgot about today! Text the number, baby!”

The door shut with a slam, and Taehyung was alone, with him and his phone, currently bursting with various pages all dedicated to one familiar face.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵ 

Taehyung sputtered.

Taehyung, blushing furiously, pasted a link from one of the more professional pages he’d stumbled across and stared at the screen for about ninety seconds until the bubbles signaling V was typing popped up along the bottom of the chat again.

Taehyung’s fingers froze hovering over his phone, and he stared at the text for so long that the screen went dark and he was stuck staring at his own flustered expression. He bit down on his lip, pushing his glasses up into his hair and waiting for the flush under his skin to cool before he unlocked the phone. The typing bubble popped up for a moment along the bottom of the screen, then went away. Taehyung stared at the conversation, but there was no more indication that V was typing, so, chewing on his lower lip, Taehyung tapped out his response.

Taehyung stared at his phone for another few minutes, switching between the text conversation with V and his own research on the man himself. This couldn’t be real, there was no way someone like that wanted to take someone like him out. To date, to fuck – both options seemed comical. V was famous, sexy, and popular, and Taehyung was nobody, cute on his best days, and a shut-in on most others.

He shook his head, told himself to stop being so self-disparaging. Biting down on his lip, Taehyung texted Jimin a screenshot of the conversation.

Trying not to think too aggressively about ripping off shirts, Taehyung proceeded to text V his address before promptly silencing his phone and shoving it face down all the way to the back of his bedtable drawer.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“God, what a fucking daddy,” Jimin groaned, zooming in on V’s face as Taehyung sifted desperately through his closet. “I cannot believe he sent you this photo, Tae, if you sold this to a news outlet or something, you would be so rich.”

“I’m not gonna do that,” Taehyung said, swallowing at the shrill pitch of his voice. He just couldn’t find anything to wear, what the hell was he supposed to wear? He whined at Jimin. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping me?”

“You should have mentioned Kim legally-changed-his-name-to-V sent you never-before-seen photos after we picked your outfit,” Jimin said, but he was already putting Taehyung’s phone aside and traipsing over to the closet. “Baby, the white shirt, with the flowers, obviously.”

“He’s not gonna show up,” Taehyung said, holding the shirt up to his chest and pouting at his reflection. “Why would he? He’s so busy. How’s he even have time for this?”

“I don’t know,” Jimin said, “but, he’s gonna show. Daddy can’t wait to feed you his big, fat—”

“Stop it,” Taehyung said, swinging his shirt at Jimin wildly. “Stop, I don’t want to hear you call him daddy again!” Taehyung looked back in the mirror. “We have the same face. It’s weird. It’s weird, right?”

Jimin shuffled over to meet Taehyung’s eyes in the mirror. “It’s kinda hot. You’re both gorgeous. How much do you think a sex tape of you two would sell for?”

Taehyung made a valiant attempt to suffocate Jimin with his shirt, but Jimin won in the end, wrestling it over Taehyung’s head with a triumphant grin. “I’m kidding.”

“Ha ha. You’re shameless.”

“I’m not the one fucking my doppelgänger.”

Taehyung pushed his legs through the dark jeans Jimin had handed him. “I have plenty of shame about it.”

“Well, you shouldn’t,” Jimin pointed out. “If I were you, I would do it. I’d do it even if he wasn’t famous.” Jimin looked at himself in the mirror. “I would definitely fuck myself.”

“I know you would,” Taehyung said darkly, leaning close to the mirror and frowning at a bump forming on his cheek. “I’m breaking out.”

Jimin leaned close to look, too. “I don’t see anything.”

“Right there.”

Jimin looked at Taehyung’s skin dubiously. “You’re just nervous. Tae, you already look so cute, and we haven’t even put you in those hot little boots yet.”

Taehyung shook his head frantically. “I’m not nervous.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“It’s just one date,” Taehyung said firmly, more to himself then to Jimin. He smoothed his hands over his shirt. “And possible sex. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Jimin giggled, gently tugging Taehyung after him towards the bathroom. “Just breathe. You’re in your own head. You’re okay. C’mon, sit.”

Taehyung sat down on the closed toilet seat and stared up at Jimin as he set up four different makeup palettes on the counter. He started with something pale and glimmering, taking a brush and holding it up. “Close,” Jimin said, and Taehyung closed his eyes, sighing as Jimin went to work.

Jimin’s voice was gentle when he spoke next. “It’s totally okay that you’re nervous.” The back of his fingers brushed over Taehyung’s cheek. “Is it because you haven’t…”

Taehyung squinted one eye open at Jimin. “Well. It’s been a while for—all of it.”

Jimin hummed, kindly. “I’m proud you’re putting yourself out there. Figures, it would take the literal perfect man to do it. Kim V,” Jimin sighed, dabbing at Taehyung’s mouth with a green lipstick.

“Are you making my lips green?”

“No,” Jimin tsked. “It’s a pigment that brings out the natural pink of your lips. He’s gonna love it.” Jimin cut Taehyung a look. “Trust me, okay, I am taking this seduce V challenge very seriously.”

Taehyung closed his eyes again. “I don’t remember challenging you to that.”

“Took it upon myself, anyway. He’s gonna want to eat you.”

Taehyung fidgeted in his seat. “I spent about forty minutes cleaning in the shower.”

Jimin snickered. “Yeah, I know. I walked in at the end, remember?” Jimin sprayed a little bit of product into Taehyung’s hair, lightly following through with a comb. “Don’t think you could call that cleaning, though.”

Taehyung pursed his lips but resolutely said nothing. He didn’t have to look to know Jimin was grinning.

“You make anything remotely close to the noises you made when I got here, he’ll be on his knees for you in seconds.”

Taehyung kept his eye closed, his nose upturned. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Prude.”

“Slut.”

Jimin tickled Taehyung’s nose with a brush, and he opened his eyes, only for Jimin to stick his tongue out at him.

“Just kidding,” Taehyung said.

“I know, ‘cause you’re one too – deny it all you want!” Jimin finished with a flourish, tapping once more on the tip of Taehyung’s nose before setting the brush down. “My little slutty fairy.”

The look Taehyung gave Jimin was deadpan. “This isn’t about you.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Jimin laughed, tugging Taehyung to his feet and spinning him to look in the full-length mirror hanging on the outside of the bathroom door. “See?”

Jimin knew how to make things pretty, that was for sure. Taehyung felt pretty, and cute, face all dewy and glowing with the makeup Jimin had dabbed on, lips the perfect shade of pink. His hair was styled soft, fluffy, and his clothes fit just right, pants a little tighter than he normally liked, but well, he supposed if they made his thighs look like that, it was all right. The shirt Jimin had put on him was long sleeved and the chiffon was basically see-through, but the flowing flower print disguised that fact pretty well.

Taehyung fiddled with the arm of his glasses. “Contacts or glasses?”

“Glasses,” Jimin said firmly.

Taehyung’s phone buzzed. He squeaked, fumbling for it and looking down at the screen. He looked up at Jimin with wide eyes. “He. He says he’s here. Asked me to meet him in the car outside.”

He and Jimin both looked towards the window, then made a beeline towards it, Jimin ripping the curtains to the side and whining when Taehyung yanked them back in place. 

“He’s gonna see,” Taehyung hissed, peeking around the edge and pushing the curtain over just slightly. “Is that him?”

“Why else would a BMW 7 Series be in this neighborhood?” Jimin said, pressing his nose to the window. “God fuck damn it, the windows are tinted, I can’t see him. Lemme walk you out.”

“No,” Taehyung said, shoving Jimin. “It’s gonna look like we’re dating.”

Jimin leered at him. “Don’t want anything to come between you and the dick, I respect that.”

Taehyung flung the curtains over Jimin’s head. “I’m leaving. I love you. Limit your texts to two tonight, or you’ll make me nervous. Bye.”

Jimin was having trouble disentangling himself from the curtains, then gave up, pressing himself almost flat against the window. “Knock him dead, I put the boots by the door.”

Taehyung swept them up from the floor, hurrying out of his bedroom and past Hoseok’s empty one. He wiggled his feet into the shoes, Chelsea ankle boots the same light color as his shirt.

Taehyung checked himself over once, patting his pockets and blindly fussing with his hair, wishing they had a mirror in the entry hall then deciding it was probably better they didn’t so he wouldn’t spend another five minutes fretting. He gave his head a little shake before striding out the front door, down the small flight of stairs and down the walkway that led to the front of the building.

He hesitantly approached the car, a shiny black BMW, then blinked when the window in the backseat rolled down and V pushed himself out of it before it was finished lowering.

“Yoongi is driving!” V groaned, and Taehyung threw the tinted driver’s window a wary glance even as he heard a gruff voice snap for V to be quiet.

Taehyung didn’t really have a chance to feel any type of way about V’s manager driving them around. He was too busy being floored, because V was.

Wow.

V smiled at him. His hair was indeed blonde again, just the faintest hint of pink in the strands, and it was styled in smooth waves that tickled the sides of his cheeks, over the dark line of his brows. The hazel contacts he was wearing gave his eyes a striking look, aided by the fact that they were rimmed in silver and deep gray. Tearing his eyes away from the glimmering sheen on V’s lips, Taehyung caught the glimpse of a collarbone, a dark silk shirt shifting out of the way as V adjusted himself on the window edge.

“I’m so happy to see you. You look lovely,” V said after a moment of him just looking at Taehyung, who felt himself blush. “I only mentioned Yoongi driving because he won’t let me out of the car because he’s afraid someone will see, and we are trying to avoid your face getting plastered on the internet, although I guess it would be funny seeing everyone speculate over my new hair color, ‘cause they’d probably think you were me. But no one followed us, but the doors are literally child locked right now because Yoongi’s annoying. But I swear, he’s only taking us to where we need to go, then he’s gone. He just didn’t want me walking up to your front door and back again.” V jiggled at the door. “Yoongi-hyung, seriously.”

Taehyung snorted before he could help himself, walking closer to the car. “You should stop hanging out the window. It sort of defeats the purpose of anyone not seeing you.”

V grinned, ducking back into the car even as the driver door opened and sure enough, V’s manager from the plushie store, Yoongi, stepped out. He was dressed a little nicer today, button down shirt and slacks, and he gave Taehyung a short nod, jerking his thumb to the door behind him.

“M’not your chauffeur, but know that V fought with me on not being able to open the car door for you for about two hours.” He looked down as Taehyung walked around the car, pressing down on a button, and Taehyung heard a click as the child lock disengaged.

“Don’t know how anyone puts up with you, you have no chivalry,” V exclaimed from inside the car.

“Shut it, brat,” Yoongi called back, but he sighed, walking towards the back door and pulling it open for Taehyung and watching carefully as he approached. “Damn,” he said as Taehyung leveled with him. “I’ve never seen two people look so identical, and so not.”

Taehyung wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult, so he opted for a press-lipped smile before ducking into the door. It shut beside him with a soft snap before Yoongi was dropping into the driver’s seat directly in front of him.

“Hi there,” V said from Taehyung’s right, and he took a moment to absorb his surroundings.

The interior was shocking enough as it was, white leather seats, and back seats so spacious there was room for—what were those things, footrests? Lap tables? They pulled out from the front seats, and Taehyung’s swallow was loud in his ear as he took in the strappy stiletto bouncing against the one in front of V. They matched the black of his pants, fitting snug from V’s ankle to his thigh. His shirt was purple, Taehyung realized, a loose, silky button down that gleamed in the setting sunlight that managed to stream past the dark tint of the car windows. It looked so good on his skin, the heels looked so hot Taehyung was having trouble looking away from them. He could feel V watching him, watching Taehyung look.

Taehyung opened his mouth, then shut it. He licked his lips.

“I, um,” he finally said. He rubbed his lips together. “I like your shoes.”

“You do?” V grinned, re-crossing his legs and running a finger over one strap. “They were a gift. You know Kim Seokjin?”

Taehyung looked at V blankly. “No?”

V laughed, not seeming bothered. “You really are tapped out of the entertainment industry. He’s a singer turned model turned actor? I looked up to him a lot before I…” V gestured at the car they sat in. “Before all this, I guess. Anyway, he gave me these.” V wiggled his toes, painted a pretty, nude color. “Bet you’d look real cute in them.”

Taehyung flushed. “Not sure I could walk in them.”

“I could help,” V said, planting his elbow on the console between them and pillowing his chin in his palm. His face was so striking, so fucking gorgeous, and so—so like Taehyung’s, he could feel his thoughts stumbling over each other in his head, didn’t know what to do with the fact that he really wouldn’t mind if V bent him over the nearest surface and—

Taehyung’s phone buzzed, and he jumped violently, grabbing onto the distraction and whipping it out.

Taehyung put his phone face down on his leg. V was still watching him, a small smile playing at his lips.

“Sorry,” Taehyung said sheepishly “It’s my, uh. Friend. My best friend. He’s a, um. A big fan of yours.”

V’s smile shifted into a bright grin. “He is? What’s his name?”

“Jimin,” Taehyung said. “He works at the shop with me. He was there earlier.”

“Ohh,” V said, leaning back a little and grinning at the back of Yoongi’s shoulder. “The glaring sunflower boy. Hyung thought he was cute.”

“I said no such thing,” Yoongi said shortly, hands steady on the wheel.

“Didn’t have to,” V said smugly. He glanced out the windows, then looked back at Taehyung. “Do you like steak?”

“Of course,” Taehyung said, blinking.

“Good,” V said, reaching over and gently taking Taehyung’s hand in his. Taehyung was slightly stunned by the effortless confidence, the total lack of hesitation. V’s hand was soft, fingers slotting between Taehyung’s knuckles, nailbeds long and manicured. Taehyung’s own fingertips in comparison were callused from years playing the violin.

Trying not to think too hard about it, Taehyung reached with his other hand to run his fingers over V’s.

V smiled down at that. “I booked us a private room at this steak place that just recently opened. Seokjin owns it, actually. I don’t think we’ll get bothered too much, but if you want to play it safe, we can go in separate—”

“No,” Taehyung said, surprising himself a little. He cleared his throat. “I mean, I don’t—I’m not trying to hide. If my halmeoni sees a photo of us kissing, though, she might have a heart attack.”

V’s eyes glinted. “That sure we’ll be kissing?”

Taehyung snapped his mouth shut. “I. Um.”

V leaned a little closer, close enough that Yoongi wouldn’t be able to hear. “Good. I kind of want to kiss you all night.”

“We have to eat,” Taehyung whispered back weakly. V smelled good, like a garden of flowers and spices, and Taehyung was resisting the urge to lean closer, just to breathe him in. It—he—was kind of intoxicating.

V hummed, bringing Taehyung’s hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. “Who says I won’t be?”

“Oh my god,” Taehyung whispered, looking away to hide his flaming cheeks. Oh my god.

“Sorry,” V chuckled. “You’re just. So cute.”

Taehyung turned his head back, but didn’t look at V directly, instead focusing on their entwined hands. He disentangled his fingers from V’s, flattening his palm against the other man’s. V’s hand was slightly bigger than Taehyung’s, fingers a little longer, palm definitely broader.

“I don’t think anyone will be there,” V said, voice low and gentle. “But I wanted to bring it up, just in case.”

“I think,” Taehyung said after staring down at their hands a bit more. He pushed his fingers past V’s again, properly holding it. “You should hold my hand and walk me in.”

V grinned, reaching with his free hand to brush a few strands of hair out of Taehyung’s eyes. “I can do that for you, Taehyung.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Taehyung had never heard of the restaurant Yoongi pulled the car into, but it sure looked nice, warmly lit from within, a fancy awning hanging just outside the lobby, complete with a valet service and everything.

“No one’s here,” Yoongi said, putting the car in park and tossing V a look over his shoulder as he disengaged the child lock. “I’m out, then. I’ll leave the keys with the valet, you’re good to drive back?”

“Always,” V said, waving Yoongi off right before he popped open the car door, swinging his legs out immediately thereafter. “Stay there, baby, I got it.”

It took Taehyung until V opened the door for him to realize V was talking to him, and he nearly fell out of the car in his clumsiness, half stumbling into V, which felt really lame considering V was the one wearing heels and all.

“I got you,” is all V murmured, rubbing his hands quickly down Taehyung’s arms before hooking their fingers together. He waved to Yoongi before leading Taehyung through the carpeted entryway and right past the host stand. Taehyung noticed the girl behind it staring after them with an open mouth.

“V,” Taehyung whispered, although he wasn’t sure why. It was just that kind of place, so fancy the air was thick with it and Taehyung thought if he talked too loud everyone would turn and glare at him.

V, however, had no such qualms.

“Yeah, flower?” he said at normal volume, pausing so suddenly Taehyung just about ran into him again, sucking his breath in with a little gasp.

V’s lips quirked, and, quick as lightning, he pressed a kiss to Taehyung’s cheek.

“Our room’s in the back. Just a little further,” he murmured against his skin.

“I got it,” Taehyung muttered, knowing he was blushing.

V squeezed his fingers between his. “I got you,” he said again, then continued walking, leading Taehyung slowly behind him.

The restaurant was beautiful, enough so that Taehyung felt almost underdressed, although they did pass a guy wearing a baseball cap and basketball shorts, which made him feel slightly better. The air smelled rich, like meat and spice, and there were candles on all the tables, giving the interior a warm glow. There were folding doors along the back wall, that’s where they headed, V leading them to the one farthest on the left.

Taehyung stopped short when they walked through the doorway. The room was spacious but the table inside small, just big enough to fit four people, although there were only two chairs around it. There was a little couch along the far wall, right by a window, through which the street down the hill was visible.

“It’s so pretty,” Taehyung said honestly once he’d started walking forward again. He paused with his hand on the back of one of the table’s seats and took another moment to look around, feeling pleasantly warm.

“You like it?” V said, guiding Taehyung back a little, just so he could pull out the seat. “Here, baby, sit.”

“Thank you,” Taehyung fumbled, sitting down quickly, blinking in surprise when V moved the other chair so it was next to Taehyung, sitting down with an easily smile. “Hi,” Taehyung said, bemused.

V put his fingers to his mouth and laughed. “Hi. Sorry, I just. Want to be close.” Then, without further preamble, he leaned right over and pressed his mouth against Taehyung’s.

Taehyung, at first, was too stunned to do much except just sit there, marveling at how good V felt, how good he smelled.

Turned out their mouths fit together just fine. More than fine. Everything was warm and firm and wet, and it was just V’s mouth, moving slowly against Taehyung’s, his fingers, firm at the base of Taehyung’s neck.

When V pulled back, Taehyung had to suck in a breath, blinking behind his glasses.

“That okay?” V asked seriously. His thumb rubbed over Taehyung’s lower lip, and when Taehyung nodded, speechless, staring at his face, so gorgeous and familiar and unreal, V ducked down to kiss him again.

It took another moment, but Taehyung responded this time, tilting his head and curling his fingers in the lower half of V’s shirt, not thinking of being careful with the silk, just of how warm and slick V’s mouth was against his, how he kind of just wanted to melt against him.

V sucked Taehyung’s lower lip in between his teeth once, then released, pulling back with a quick kiss to Taehyung’s cheek. “Not sure how I’m supposed to not do that all night.”

Taehyung flushed. He looked down at his knees, then peeked up at V over the rims of his glasses. “Y’could. If you wanted.”

V’s expression was unreadable, and Taehyung was pretty sure his was an open book, flushed cheeks and bright eyes, fingers squeezing into the flesh of his thighs through his jeans.

V licked his lips, then reached down and held Taehyung’s fingers between his own. “Let me feed you first, baby. Then I’ll get my meal.”

Taehyung looked away, slightly scandalized. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

V looked a little amused. “No?” he reached towards the center of the table, pressing a finger down on a button in the middle. “I could rephrase.”

“Not sure if you should,” Taehyung said nervously as a waiter pushed the folding doors aside from the room’s entrance several feet away.

V leaned close. “Let me feed you first, then I can put my mouth all. Over. You.”

“V,” Taehyung squeaked, hiding the lower half of his red face behind his hand as the waiter approached their table.

“Did you want a drink, baby?” V asked sweetly. “Cocktail, wine?”

“Just water,” Taehyung murmured. “Thank you.”

“For me, too,” V added. “And the special tonight?”

The waiter was looking between them, brow furrowing for just a moment before his expression cleared. He looked at V. “Bacon wrapped filet mignon, your choice of sides.”

“Mm,” V said, looking at Taehyung. “That sounds good. You want that?”

Taehyung had been daunted by the menu already, the fact that it was only one sided, half in English, all flowing, cursive script that he didn’t have a hope of reading.

“That sounds perfect,” Taehyung said, meekly pushing the menu away. “You pick the sides.”

“Surprise us, hm?” V said to the waiter. “What do you like, Taehyung, greens? Peppers? Potatoes?”

“Anything,” Taehyung insisted. “Really, anything. Except onions?”

V smiled, looking up at the waiter. “You heard him.”

“And you, sir?” the waiter said, turning towards V, in a way that nearly blocked Taehyung out completely. “I can get you whatever you like, too.”

Taehyung frowned behind him, resisting the urge to cross his arms, but it’s not like he could really blame the guy’s flirty innuendo, especially when V was—well, V. Hair falling softly across his forehead, his temples, eyelashes long and dark to contrast. He was gorgeous, effervescent.

“That’s all,” V said, waving his pretty, manicured fingers to dismiss the waiter.

“I’ll bring some bread,” he said after the briefest of pauses, smoothly taking away their menus and heading back out the room.

Taehyung exhaled, so heavily his bangs fluttered a bit off his forehead.

V reached up, tucking a longer strand of his own hair behind one ear, exposing a silver earring, a delicate chain that glimmered in the candlelight. “To put your mind at ease—you know my friend, Seokjin?”

Taehyung curled his fingers over his knees. “The model? Who gave you those shoes? And owns this restaurant?”

“Actor,” V said, then paused, taking in Taehyung’s voice. The corner of his lip lifted. “He’s like a brother, though. Nothing else going on, I swear.”

“I, I wasn’t saying—” Taehyung blustered. “That’s—I was—I’m not—”

“I’m teasing you,” V said, his foot hooking around the back of Taehyung’s calf under the table as he grinned. “Wasn’t trying to give off the wrong idea, though. My point was the food will be really good, because Seokjin-hyung wouldn’t settle for anything less.” At that moment, the waiter came back in, placing the bread in between them, once again angling himself so he faced V more than Taehyung, who rolled his eyes in the other direction.

“Leave us until the food’s ready?” V asked, although it was more of a command than a request. The waiter shuffled away after placing their waters down, and when V spoke again next, it was to Taehyung.

“You’re pouting?”

“I’d never,” Taehyung mumbled, definitely pouting. He was good at it.

His breath caught when V’s finger touched under his chin, applying just enough pressure for Taehyung to turn his head back to face him.

“I think you are,” V said, a smile in his voice. “That’s okay, because I can just—” he leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to the jut of Taehyung’s lips. “—til you stop.”

Taehyung hoped he wasn’t breathing too heavily. “If your goal is to get me to stop pouting, you might want to try a different tactic.”

“But you admitted it,” V grinned, kissing Taehyung again when he pouted further. “What’ll make you stop, hm?” he said against Taehyung’s mouth.

Taehyung could feel his eyelashes brush against his glasses as he blinked slowly, parting his lips slightly against V’s mouth as he was kissed again. V hummed against his mouth, tilting his head slightly, and when Taehyung felt V’s fingers brush through the strands of hair by his neck, he felt like he’d been touched with a live wire.

Oh no. Oh hell. It felt good, Taehyung realized numbly. This felt really good, kissing someone he actually wanted to kiss, being kissed by someone who wasn’t five shots of alcohol deep and had long since lost all finesse with their mouth.

It felt good, and that was mildly terrifying.

Taehyung’s mind went blank when V gently rubbed his tongue against the seem of his lips and he gasped, tilting his head the other way and keeping his mouth open. He pushed his fingers through V’s long hair and gripped tight, opened his mouth wider, let himself whine breathily when V’s tongue rubbed over his own. Oh no oh god this feels really good.

“Okay, come here,” V whispered, then there were strong hands under his thighs, chairs were scraping back, and Taehyung had to swallow a yelp when V pulled him with surprising grace off of his own seat and right onto his lap.

Taehyung blushed fiercely, knees squeezing around V’s hips, but V just grinned up at him and tugged him down to kiss him again, hotter than before. His fingers were spread wide on the sides of Taehyung’s thighs, his mouth wet as he licked into Taehyung’s mouth, voice low and controlled when he whispered, “is this working, Taehyung? Done pouting at me, now?”

“God,” Taehyung gasped, barely recognizing the scratch that was his voice. It was embarrassing, they were just kissing, but V didn’t kiss like anyone Taehyung had ever kissed before, and his kisses since his breakup with Namjoon had all been sloppy and terrible, badly backlit by whatever bar Jimin had dragged him to.

V was not like that.

He was beneath Taehyung, sitting relaxed in his seat, but Taehyung didn’t doubt for one second who was in control. Didn’t try to fight it, either. He liked how solid V’s hands felt on his thighs, how easily V coaxed his mouth open with just a simple flick of his tongue, how deep his voice was when he whispered against Taehyung’s mouth, open your mouth wider, flower.

He liked that a lot and told himself to get a grip.

V licked over Taehyung’s tongue, behind his teeth, sucked on his lower lip. His grip on Taehyung’s legs tightened, and Taehyung only then realized he had started to roll his hips, rubbing himself over V’s lap like an animal in heat.

Get a grip.

Taehyung yanked back with a wild gasp, covering his damp mouth with one hand, using his pointer finger to nudge his glasses straight on his nose.

V leaned up and kissed the back of Taehyung’s hand, right over his mouth. His eyes were sparkling.

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung gasped, even though—he wasn’t. Even though, V had been the one to pull Taehyung into his lap, and he wasn’t sorry about that either.

Get a grip, Taehyung.

“Are you?” V said, catching Taehyung’s eyes. He ran his hands back and forth, up and down the sides of Taehyung’s thighs. He was looking up at Taehyung so intently, all focused on his face, and even though V’s jaw was sharper, his hair lighter, his skin a little fairer, and there was a unique gleam in his eyes, he looked so familiar and so good that Taehyung, overwhelmed, buried his face, dislodging his glasses in the process, into V’s neck.

“What is it?” V said gently, moving one hand up over Taehyung’s hip then shifting it to rub circles into his lower back.

“It’s just,” Taehyung mumbled. His mouth moved against the warmth of V’s neck, and he couldn’t resist the urge to breathe in deep, lips pressing against the skin. V’s grip on him tightened. “A lot.”

“Yeah?” V said, and although his grip was tight, his voice was gentle. He leaned back, hands creeping up to curl around Taehyung’s ribs, gently pushing him back enough so they could look at each other again. V cupped the side of Taehyung’s face, thumb dipping under his glasses so he could run it just under his eye, featherlight. “We can stop.” He paused, eyes flicking all over Taehyung’s face. “Look at you,” he murmured, almost like he was speaking to himself.

Taehyung chewed on his lower lip, reaching up to curl his hand around V’s wrist, not to pull him away, more to hold him. V blinked, smiling at the motion, turning his head to kiss Taehyung’s wrist. “You’re so pretty, you know that?” V murmured against his skin.

Taehyung squeezed his thighs around V’s again, and the corner of V’s mouth tugged up a little further.

“It’s weird for you to say that,” Taehyung said, a whine in his voice. “Since—since we look the same. Are you just—” Taehyung rolled his hips, not to be promiscuous, just because he was having trouble keeping still. “—satisfying some narcissistic kink with me?”

V blinked again, pulling back. “Well, if I’m being totally honest—probably a little. Obviously, how alike we look caught my eye right away.” V paused. “But it doesn’t mean I’m not interested in you. Past the physical similarities. We can’t help that we look like each other.” V raised an eyebrow. “I think it’s better to embrace it, rather than judge it.”

Taehyung narrowed his eyes. “Embrace it?”

V hummed in agreement. “We look alike, but we’re not the same. Apart from our faces.” V gestured between them. “Which I think is a good thing. I love myself, on a soulful level,” he said, patting his chest seriously, then up to do the same to his cheek. “And a physical level. And meeting each other, we get to learn what’s similar, and what’s not.” He dragged his finger down the slope of Taehyung’s nose. “Everyone has a doppelgänger, you know. Most people never get the privilege to meet theirs in person.” His eyes gleamed. “I consider myself very lucky.”

“I don’t…disagree exactly,” Taehyung said haltingly. “But I find you—I mean, I think you’re—a lot more….” His heart thumped hard against his chest. “You’re just more. Than I am.”

V’s brow furrowed. “See, we’ll have to fix that.” He leaned forward, close enough to rub their noses together. “You’re wonderful.”

Before Taehyung could respond, the folding doors across the room were pushed aside, their water striding in with a large plate of food in hand.

Taehyung nearly fell on his ass in his haste to scramble off of V’s lap, kicking the table and nearly upending a glass of water in the process. He didn’t make eye contact as the waiter put down their food, fixing his hair just for something to do with his hands until he and V were alone again.

V gestured for Taehyung to go ahead. “Does it look okay?”

“They cooked it so fast,” Taehyung said, cutting into the meat and putting a small piece into his mouth. His eyes widened. “This is—wow.”

“It’s good?” V grinned as Taehyung cut off a bigger piece and ate it, nodding as he chewed. “You’re cute.”

Taehyung flushed, swallowing. “I’m being rude, sorry—thank you so much, it’s—it’s so good. You should tell your friend.”

“I will,” V hummed, taking his own bite.

They ate in quiet for a while, not uncomfortable, maybe with a bit of the natural awkwardness that came with first dates, except—Taehyung was pretty sure that was all him, because he didn’t think V had an awkward bone in his body. Even the way he ate mashed potatoes looked hot, and Taehyung had to avert his eyes more than once.

“You’re staring,” V said, and Taehyung choked on his piece of broccoli.

“I’m—” Taehyung grabbed for his water, swallowing a couple gulps. V looked amused when Taehyung sighed, “sorry.”

“Don’t be,” V said easily. “Not to sound like a terrible cliché, but—tell me more about you.” His expression was sincere. “What do you want to do after you graduate?”

Taehyung felt a little flustered, sure anything he said would pale in comparison to what V was already doing with his life, but V was looking at him with wide, earnest eyes. 

“I want to teach,” Taehyung said, spearing the potatoes on his plate. “I would love to teach high school level art history. I already tutor for violin.”

“You do?” V said, delighted. “That’s so cool. You must be so good.”

“I’m okay,” Taehyung said.

“Better than,” V insisted.

“You haven’t seen me play,” Taehyung protested.

“Well, we’ll have to change that,” V said, grinning as he took a bite of food.

“Right, okay,” Taehyung said, still flustered. “I mean. I suppose I’m good. There’s something about the music that I find very beautiful, and it’s amazing helping someone else create that.”

“I see why you want to teach.”

Taehyung smiled. “I love teaching. It makes me happy. Especially teaching something I love. The idea of having a hand in someone loving the same thing just as much one day is just so cool.”

V’s eyes were soft. “Of course. I think that’s very admirable.”

“It’s nothing,” Taehyung said, suddenly embarrassed.

“Don’t talk it down,” V replied. He put his elbow right on the table, resting his chin on his knuckles. “Can I ask you something?”

Taehyung poked at what was left of his steak. “Of course.”

“When’s the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror and thought, with one hundred percent confidence, I’d fuck that.”

Taehyung choked at the subject change, turning his head to the side and clearing his throat roughly. He turned back to V with a red face. “Uh. My friend Jimin did it earlier, does that count?”

“No,” V laughed. “You had to think it, about yourself.”

Taehyung leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think…maybe once? I don’t know.”

V hummed. “Do you remember what you were wearing?”

Taehyung eyed him, resisting the urge to adjust his glasses. “Leather.”

V’s eyebrows shot up. “Sorry?”

Taehyung’s mouth twitched. “It’s stupid. I was cat woman for Halloween.”

V eyes widened. “I have to see a picture.”

Taehyung covered his face. “You really want to? No, no you don’t. You don’t.”

“I really do.”

Taehyung groaned, pulling out his phone. “It was a year ago, and my boyfriend—ah, at the time—he wanted to be batman, and Jimin convinced me to put on this leather jumpsuit—” V was watching him with rapt attention as Taehyung scrolled through his photo album. “And I thought my butt looked kind of great in it, so. Here it is,” Taehyung said, pushing the phone over to V.

V leaned down, whistling and then covering his mouth with one hand. “Oh,” he said, the word muffled behind it.

In the photo, Taehyung was dressed as he’d said, in a one-piece leather jumpsuit, complete with long sleeves and a cat tail. He was wearing a pair of black cat ears Jimin had inexplicably pulled from his closet, a black mask, and was curved against Namjoon’s side, who somehow managed to make a stupid Batman costume look handsome. Jimin and Hoseok were in the photo, too, Jimin looking deadly as the Joker, Hoseok grinning wide with his hair badly dyed to match that of Harley Quinn’s.

Ex-boyfriend and ridiculous costume aside, Taehyung’s ass did look great. He looked at V anxiously.

He was staring down at the photo, although it was hard to see his eyes, or decipher the expression on his face.

“I—” Taehyung started.

“I would two hundred percent want to fuck you, if I saw you in that,” V said.

Taehyung sputtered. “Two hundred percent? Come on.”

“It’s true,” V said with a shrug. He smiled at Taehyung. “I don’t blame you for thinking it. But you should have thought it tonight, too. I did.”

He looked Taehyung up and down, but before Taehyung could fumble another response, V was tapping on the photo, right on Namjoon’s dimple. “The ex?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung said levelly, barely glancing at it.

V moved his hand down to cup his neck, supporting his head that way. “Was it terrible?”

“No,” Taehyung said, keeping his eyes on V. “It just…ended. He didn’t—” Taehyung swallowed, shaking his head. “We just weren’t for each other. And I think he—I think he just figured it out before I did.”

“You think so?” V said. He was looking at Taehyung seriously, his voice gentle.

“Yeah,” Taehyung said with a sigh. “Or maybe he was brave enough to say it before I was. Who knows,” he added. “It’s been months and he’s dating someone else.”

V hummed, pushing the phone back over to Taehyung. “Well, even if he’s the nicest person there is, he’s an idiot.”

Taehyung laughed weakly. “Why’s that?”

“Because he let someone like you go.”

Taehyung was blushing, but he tried to keep eye contact with V. “You don’t even know me.”

“You’re beautiful, and sweet, and smart. He’s an idiot,” V said firmly.

Taehyung smiled down at his knees. “You’re really nice.”

“I’m just being honest,” V said. He hummed, and Taehyung looked back up at him. “You all done? Want any dessert?”

“Oh,” Taehyung said. He shook his head. “I’m really full, I’m good. Um, are you—taking me home?”

V reached over to press the call button at the table center again. “Of course, I’m not just gonna leave you here.”

“No, I mean—” Taehyung stopped short when V turned to look at him, one eyebrow raising. Taehyung flushed, and at that moment, a text message from Jimin lit up on his lock screen.

Taehyung pulled the phone into his lap before V could read it, keeping their eyes locked. “What if I’m not done yet?”

V smiled slowly. “What do you mean?”

He was crazy. He was crazy, he was crazy, propositioning someone like V so boldly, forget the fact that he’d been in the man’s lap not one hour earlier, but that had been—in the moment, that had been different, Taehyung was crazy, he couldn’t just say the words he was thinking, right? Jimin supported him, but Jimin would also know what to do, and god, what would Jimin do if he was in this situation?

His phone buzzed again and the words just—tumbled out of his mouth.

“What if I want you to take me home and fuck me like you think I deserve?”

V straightened and not two seconds later, the waiter’s hand popped up between them to take their plates away, and Taehyung imagined whacking himself over the head with his violin. Oh my god, oh god.

He flipped his phone over.

Taehyung didn’t try to respond to Jimin’s message, but he also refused to look up from his phone until the waiter had left the room and it was just him and V again.

“Right, okay,” Taehyung said, pushing his phone into his back pocket and looking up at the ceiling. “So I guess we can just—”

“Were you being serious?”

Taehyung’s eyes snapped to V’s. “About—”

“Fucking you,” V said simply, resting his chin in both hands, fingers tickling his own cheeks. “Like you deserve. Do you want me to do that?”

Taehyung opened his mouth, thought for a moment. He took a deep breath.

“No,” he said, and V didn’t react. Taehyung licked his lips, took another breath, and continued, “I want you to do better than that. How you think I deserve.”

V looked thoughtful. “I don’t normally fuck on first dates.”

Taehyung was floored, a tight ball of embarrassment bouncing his his stomach. Fabulous, now he looked like—

“But,” V said lightly, halting Taehyung’s panicked humiliation. “God knows I want to take you home and see what you look like when you’re feeling good.” His eyes darkened, his voice taking on a huskier register as he watched Taehyung anxiously lick his lips. “That’s it, huh? You want to see what I look like too, when I’m coming maybe?”

Taehyung exhaled. Shit.

V’s fingers curled over the top of Taehyung’s leg. “Want to see if we look the same? I can’t stop thinking about how pretty you’d look, crying because you came so hard.” His fingers on Taehyung’s leg tightened. “Is it okay if I make you cry, baby? I’ll make you forget about everything except us.”

Taehyung’s breath hitched. “Can you do that?”

V’s eyes shone. “What’re you telling me—no one’s been that good before?” He stroked a finger down Taehyung’s cheek. “Not your pretty ex-boyfriend?”

Taehyung’s face burned so hot he was sure his nose was red, too. He pressed a hand to the other cheek, looking down. “I don’t—no, I’ve never—”

“We’ll have to fix that too, won’t we?” V murmured. “I want to make you come so hard you cry. I’ll show you exactly how good you deserve to feel. Make you forget everything else.”

V’s thumb was running just under his lower lip, and Taehyung had to resist the urge to dip his head, just so he could suckle it, taste him.

The glint in V’s eyes when Taehyung whispered, “yes please” was bright regardless.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

The drive back was quiet, but not unpleasant, although Taehyung didn’t stop nervously bouncing his leg until V gentle put a hand atop it. His hand was big, able to cover the full expanse of Taehyung’s thigh with V’s fingers fully spread as they were.

It felt nice. After a little while, he let himself lean his head on V’s arm, glancing up at V as he did and flushing when he caught the other man smiling.

Taehyung was nervous, but V presence was as calming as it was nerve-wracking. Taehyung wasn’t quite sure how to handle himself, just knew he wanted V, and more than that—found himself really liking him. There wasn’t anything to dislike. He was confident, and beautiful, and talented, and kind.

Maybe that’s what made Taehyung so nervous.

He’d texted Jimin going home with him and then silenced and locked his phone before shoving it in his pocket. He could only guess the reaction that had gotten, but couldn’t really afford to focus on it now.

He focused on V, instead. How his hand compared to Taehyung’s, long nail beds and longer fingers, his own a little more golden than V’s, a little smaller in size.

V’s hand was so warm, and he didn’t take it off Taehyung’s leg, not when he pulled into the parking garage, not when he pulled into the parking spot, squeezing gently once before only taking it off to put the car into park.

V lived in a high rise, and they took the elevator up to the thirty second floor, V punching in a long number into a keypad at the big white door a couple apartments down from the elevator. Everything looked very new and shiny based off the hallway alone, and when the door beeped and clicked as it unlocked, Taehyung’s jaw dropped when it swung open.

The apartment was beautiful lots of white furniture juxtaposed beautifully with sleek, dark wood floors. It was huge, entryway opening up to a spacious living area, and what looked like the kitchen around the jut of a white wall. The windows were large, although not quite floor to ceiling, curtains open and providing a stunning few of the downtown city lights.

What made Taehyung really breathless was the art scattered around the apartment.

It was everywhere, paintings he recognized from his coursework accenting the walls, sculptures adorning the side and coffee tables standing around the room, more in the shelves pushed up against the far side of the room.

“You like art too,” Taehyung breathed, starting when V put a hand on his shoulder. When he turned to look, he saw V was undoing his heels with the other hand, using Taehyung to help himself balance.

“Mhm,” he hummed, pursing his lips down at his heels as he tugged on a strap. They looked so good on him, kind of lethal and really sexy, and V’s mouth was still shimmery, the skin an enticing dark pink, maybe from biting it or their kissing from earlier.

Taehyung felt something hot simmer in his belly.

“Wait,” he said, turning on the spot and V paused, lowering his foot and looking at Taehyung questioningly as he straightened.

“I just want to…” Taehyung said softly, bouncing up on the balls of his feet. Even on his toes, his lips barely reached V’s chin.

V steadied him with a hand on his waist. “What do you want?”

Taehyung blinked up at him, curling his fingers in the silk covering his hips. “Kiss?”

V’s eyes smoldered. He cupped Taehyung’s face in his palms, tilting it further back. “Baby wants a kiss?”

Taehyung couldn’t nod, so he just pulled his lower lip between his teeth, wet it, and released again. “Yeah.”

“You like how tall these make me?” V asked, and Taehyung felt the sharp point of one heel dragging against the denim covering his calf before it came back on the wood floor with a solid thunk. “Want me to fuck you while I wear them one day?”

Taehyung made an unintelligible noise, moving his hands to grip the front of V’s shirt and pull, but V didn’t budge. Taehyung whined.

“Is that a no?” V asked, rubbing his thumbs along Taehyung’s flushed cheeks. “Or maybe you want to wear them while I fuck you?”

“I just want you,” Taehyung burst out, breathless, straining on his toes to reach him. “Please, ple—”

Their lips collided hard, Taehyung yelping from the force of it and making another noise when his back slammed into the door. V was bending to reach him, had to to kiss him deep, so the next noise Taehyung made was appreciative, his hands shoving around V’s sides to clutch his back, keep him closer.

“You sound—so pretty. The prettiest, prettiest boy,” V breathed, punctuating his sentences with kisses. His lips were wet and hot, sliding over Taehyung’s, tongue flicking out to tease, to taste, leaving Taehyung desperate to the point that his breathing was more of a pant now, his mouth open and spit slick when V did actually pull away, despite Taehyung’s vice grip around his waist.

“I’m not going anywhere,” V said, kissing Taehyung’s temple before lowering himself slowly to his knees. He kissed Taehyung’s chest through the shirt, and when he mouthed over a nipple Taehyung flung his head back, gasping up at the ceiling. He could feel V nosing across his belly button, soft pressure right over his crotch—

“V,” he whispered, fingers twitching in V’s blonde hair.

V leaned back, looking up at him with a grin, lips curving, just as Taehyung’s did when he smiled. His eyes scrunched up, just a little bit, the way Taehyung’s did too.

“I’m gonna take care of you,” V said, turning his head to kiss Taehyung’s wrist. “Do you still want me to? Is this okay?”

Taehyung nodded, wide-eyed.

“I’m gonna need you to use your words with me, Taehyung,” V said seriously. He pulled his hands away from Taehyung completely, resting them over his knees as he sat back further on his heels. Taehyung in turn extracted his hands from V’s hair, pressing them against the door.

“I want you,” Taehyung said. His voice was hoarse. “I—like you,” he mumbled, face burning as he looked down at him. “I want you to—do everything. Whatever you want. N’you—you can be rough with me too,” he added in a whisper.

V looked up at him. Although the color of his eyes were bright thanks to the contacts he was wearing, the look in them was dark.

“Can I tell you how pretty I think you are?” V said after a long silence. He still hadn’t moved, was still on his knees in front of Taehyung, looking up at him with a focus that left Taehyung breathless.

He was so beautiful.

Taehyung stared at V’s face, the barely visible mole at the tip of his nose, the one stuck on his lash line, another hiding under the faded sheen on his mouth. An honest to god ethereal mirror of Taehyung’s face.

His hand at his side curled into a fist against the door.

“You can,” Taehyung said softly.

“You look so pretty,” V breathed. “Beautiful boy. You’re gonna look so good under me. Gonna look even prettier when I come all over you.” He paused, taking in the way Taehyung’s breath hitched, his fist uncurling so he could press his palm hard against the door. “Do you want that?”

“I want all of it,” Taehyung said, voice catching.

V reached out, gently putting his hand over Taehyung’s. “You don’t mind if I get a little rough?” he said, eyes darting over Taehyung’s face, still dark and heated. When Taehyung shook his head, V said, “do you want a safe word?”

Taehyung chewed on his lip, feeling hot. “You’ll stop if I say it?”

“Always,” V said.

Taehyung thought for a moment, and V let him, not moving, just sitting quietly by his feet. Taehyung exhaled, face reddening. “Cherry. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is,” V smiled. He stroked the back of Taehyung’s hand, then pulled away, working at his heels again.

Taehyung swallowed. “Thought you were gonna fuck me in those.”

V’s hands stilled. He peeked up at Taehyung, smiling a little. “Shoulda known you were kinky from the catsuit.”

Taehyung’s mouth dropped open, and he couldn’t resist the urge to kick at V a little. “I showed you that in confidence. You’re the one that brought up the shoes.”

“And they’re not off the table,” V said, sliding the stilettos to sit next to the shoe rack up against the wall and catching Taehyung’s attacking foot with a grin. “But I’d rather focus all my attention on you tonight. Those things hurt.”

Taehyung licked his lips. “You don’t like a little pain?”

V’s eyes darkened further. “Do you?”

Taehyung pressed himself flat against the door as V slowly stood, waiting for him to answer. “Hm?” he said, voice velvet, breath hot on Taehyung’s neck. “Want it to hurt a little, baby?”

“V,” Taehyung whispered, and V pulled back to watch him answer, lips so close they brushed when Taehyung spoke. “Take me to your bedroom.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

V led Taehyung by the hand through the apartment, pointing out things as they walked by, although Taehyung was only partially paying attention now, resisting the urge to press close to V, hang off his arm, nose at his shoulder.

The apartment and the decor around it really was beautiful. The gleaming wood floors, the furniture bright to contrast, the actual overabundance of artwork. It was impressive and really and in any other circumstance Taehyung would have stopped to admire everything, could have spent hours in the main room alone.

But there was something hot burning in his blood, and it seemed to stem from where V and his hands touched, a slow fire that spread from his palm to the rest of his body, flushing his skin, spiking his heart rate.

He hadn’t felt like this with someone—for someone—in a while. And the way V was, the way he carried himself, kindness and confidence all rolled into one very disorienting but miraculous package—it was a miracle Taehyung hadn't fallen in love yet. It was properly terrifying, feeling so much affection for someone so new (and yet, familiar). Taehyung shivered, stepping closer. He exhaled when V squeezed his hand and pressed a damp kiss to his temple in response.

Taehyung allowed himself to focus on V right now. Just for tonight, he could do that. God knew, he wanted it.

His bedroom was three times the size of Taehyung’s but in his quick scan, Taehyung was able to take in most of it. In the corner on Taehyung’s left was the master bathroom, and he could spy a long sleek countertop, with so much vanity space that even Jimin wouldn’t be able to fill it with his overabundance of makeup.  Across from that door, on the other side of the bed was another door, closed, but Taehyung assumed it led to a walk in-closet. Taehyung’s eyes lingered on the king-sized bed set-up. It wasn’t made, which Taehyung found kind of cute, a break into all the perfection. The blue sheets underneath looked like silk, but what Taehyung couldn’t look away from were the night tables on each side – or rather, what was behind them.

Two massive mirrors, practically touching the ceiling, framed in the same dark wood as the bed and the night tables. They were big and rectangular, flush with the wall behind them, the night tables sitting just a couple inches from the glass, bare save for a few trinkets on the left table, something that looked like a dish to hold rings and other jewelry, a book face down by the corner closest to the bed. 

Taehyung’s vision was dragging up the long expanse of the mirrors when something in their reflection caught his eye, and he turned to look at the wall directly across from V’s bed. Where any other person would have put a television, V had hung a painting.

“Is that van Gogh?” Taehyung breathed, taking a hesitant step forward. V glanced between him and the painting, then smiled, guiding Taehyung towards it.

“It’s just a reproduction,” V said, stopping in front of it and reaching up to run his hand over the smooth wood frame. “But a very nice one.”

“I can see that,” Taehyung said, standing up on his tip toes just to get a closer look, admiring the brush work, the colors.

V wrapped his arms around Taehyung’s waist, and he made a small sound, settling back on flat feet and into V’s chest.

“You like it?” V said against his jaw.

Taehyung nodded, turning shyly to meet V’s eyes. “He’s my favorite.”

V smiled, moved his head, and Taehyung, with a leap in his chest, found he recognized the movement, and met him halfway for a kiss. His neck and body twisted at an angle that was almost painful, but he was desperate to keep kissing him, lips moving feverishly, trying to turn so he could press the full length of his body against V’s.

But V just smiled against Taehyung’s mouth and kept his grip on his waist firm, keeping him in place as he kissed him deep and slow. Taehyung’s skin flushed from the wet sound of their kissing in the quiet room, how loud his breath sounded in his ears when he inhaled.

“I wanna show you one more thing,” V said against his lips before finally pulling away, but he kept his hand on Taehyung’s back so he could guide him.

“More art?” Taehyung said uncertainly, and V smiled, guiding Taehyung past the edge of the bed, towards the nightstand, and—

Oh.

Taehyung stopped a little less than a foot from the table, which came about midthigh and was barren, leaving the mirror standing behind it completely visible, and thus leaving Taehyung to look at nothing but himself, and V, standing just behind him.

And oh.

“Oh,” Taehyung said.

Because there they were.

“You could say that,” V said quietly, eyes flicking over their reflection.

Unconsciously, Taehyung leaned forward, shin bumping the wood, fingertips brushing the smooth surface as he looked. He looked at himself only briefly, dark eyes slightly wide behind his glasses, lips red and swollen from all the kissing, cheeks still stained with a faint pink tinge. V stood a little taller behind Taehyung, was broader in the shoulders, but that could just be the way he carried himself.

And there they were, there they were. The slight variances were present, sure, but they looked the same, just like the other: same eyes and lips and overall body shape. Taehyung wanted to blame the contacts V was wearing for the focus in his eyes, the way it made Taehyung feel like V could see everything, could see right through him.

He was looking right at Taehyung too. Taehyung felt like there was no where for him hide, and didn’t know if he should. If he wanted to.

Looking at V in the mirror, right next to himself, was disorienting. He knew his reflection was his, but sometimes, in those brief moments in his brain before thought fully formed, when he looked a V, he thought he was looking at himself.

But V was all perfection, sharp eyes and wide shoulders, blonde hair perfectly waved, a contrast to Taehyung’s, which was, he realized as he stared at them, rumpled all out of place. When he went to fix it, V caught his arm and shook his head at him in the mirror.

“You don’t need to fix anything,” V said. His voice was so low, fingers already loosening the grip to trail up his arm, over his shoulder and flick at the top buttons of his shirt. V met Taehyung’s eyes in the mirror. “Look at you.”

“V,” Taehyung said. It came out a whisper, and Taehyung could see himself blushing in the glass, saw the pink blossom in his cheeks, color the tips of his ears, spread down his neck.

“What?” V said, shifting a little closer. He undid the top button, dragging a finger up and resting in his exposed clavicle.

“Don’t you see you?” Taehyung said, staring at V’s reflection. He watched V look between them, eyes flicking from his own reflection to Taehyung’s.

“I see us,” V finally said. His cheek was warm as his pressed briefly against Taehyung’s. “I see me. I see you. And we’re both beautiful.”

Taehyung swallowed, and it was loud in his ears. He looked down.

“How can you say that?”

V finally pressed himself fully against Taehyung, front flush against Taehyung’s back, one arm holding him firmly around the waist, the other higher, fingers undoing the next button on his shirt.

“Because look at you,” V said, voice nearly a growl, the rough pitch it making Taehyung shiver, press himself further back against V’s body. V only shook his head against Taehyung’s neck, pressing hard kisses up his neck and against his jaw until Taehyung lifted his head to face himself in the mirror.

“Look at you, Taehyung,” V said, a little more gently, fingers toying with the third button before leaving it alone so he could trail up Taehyung’s neck and, pads brushing lightly across his face. “Look. Pretty little mouth. Sweet little cheeks,” he whispered, pressing a wet kiss to one. Taehyung went to bury his head in V’s chest, but V didn’t let him turn, hushing gently against his jaw. “You see it, flower? You see yourself?”

Taehyung opened his eyes.

V was curved around him in such a way that Taehyung could feel the hard line of his dick against his ass, and god did V feel good so close, body warm, arms secure around him, protective and possessive and firm. Bent as he was, V’s face was close to Taehyung’s, temple resting against Taehyung’s chin.

But Taehyung’s eyes, for once, didn’t focus only on V, but himself too, slowly flicking back and forth between them.

He couldn’t deny it. Couldn’t deny that while yes, there were small differences, V was fucking beautiful and Taehyung—Taehyung looked just like him. Had the same slope to his nose, the same pouted upper lip, the same wide cupid’s bow, the same serious eyes. And while a whole life of being different people had shaped them uniquely, the similarity was undeniable. When Taehyung looked at V, he thought he was gorgeous.

When he looked at himself—he thought, maybe tonight he could be, too.

Taehyung’s breath knocked around in his lungs, but his hands were steady as he reached up to undo the next button on his shirt, catching V’s heavy gaze in the mirror as he did.

Slowly, Taehyung turned, just enough so that he could sit on the bed. V moved to mirror him, turning so he stood in front Taehyung’s legs, spreading them and then shifting Taehyung further onto the mattress so he could crawl on after him.

He smiled when Taehyung cupped his cheek, slowly stroking the skin, almost curiously thumbing at the slight jut of V’s cheekbone. Taehyung could feel his breath catch. This close, it was easy to see the little mole on his nose, the dark dot right beneath his eye, the one with the monolid. And this wasn’t a reflection. This was V, right in front of Taehyung. Warm, under his palm.

Taehyung swallowed past the excited lump in his throat, reaching up to touch his own left eye. As Taehyung stared at him, one hand on his own face, the other on V’s, thumb brushing just under his eye where the little mole was, he could feel his breath shivering in the air between them.

V blinked slowly. His eyes were hooded. “Taehyung? What are you thinking?”

Taehyung could feel the words in his mouth, heavy and weighted. So they rolled off his tongue easily.

“That you’re beautiful.”

V looked at him for a moment, all quiet and all encompassing, and then Taehyung was being moved, V’s hands heavy and firm on his body, flipping them around so that V was laying back on the covers and Taehyung was straddling his hips, his shirt, half unbuttoned, falling off one shoulder.

When he went to straighten it, V grabbed his wrist before he could even touch the fabric.

“We are,” he said, and heaviness of the air between them seemed to suddenly vanish. It was just them—Taehyung and V, V and Taehyung, surging forward to kiss each other wild and senseless. V’s mouth was hot and so, so much, tongue heavy and wet in Taehyung’s mouth as it pressed down on his. When Taehyung sucked on it, he could feel the growl in V’s chest vibrate against his own.

“What’s this, baby?”

Taehyung huffed, blinking dazedly when V pushed him back, hand dragging over his right collarbone, and it took a moment to realize what V had stopped kissing him to look at.

“It’s—oh it’s nothing,” Taehyung gasped, trying to lean back to kiss him again.

V held him at bay, a playful little smirk lifting the corners of his lips. “Didn’t peg you for the rebellious type.”

Taehyung kind of whined in the back of his throat. “It’s just a tattoo.”

V’s smirk widened, fingers dancing over the stem of the dandelion, the tufted florets breaking off one end of it and scattered over his collarbone. “It’s pretty. When’d you get it?”

Taehyung squeezed his fingers over V’s shoulders, blushing when the other man pulled him closer by the neck so he could press a kiss against the flower. “Um,” Taehyung said breathlessly, trying not to rock his hips so desperately down against V’s. “Almost three years ago? Right when I turned eighteen.”

“That’s kind of sexy, kitten.”

Taehyung’s hips jerked, gasping when he felt V’s teeth dig into the inked part of his skin, tongue warm and wet as it soothed the skin immediately after. “I like—umm, mh—dandelions,” whispered, even though V hadn’t asked and it was pretty fucking obvious he liked them, considering he’d tattooed one in his skin. “I got lost when I was little and—ah—” Taehyung’s hips bucked when V’s hands slid over the curve of his ass and encouraged Taehyung to move his hips harder. “They found me in a field of dandelions just—blowing them.”

“You’re so cute,” V whispered, sounded delighted. He hummed, nosing his way up Taehyung’s neck and capturing his lips easily in another kiss. “Wanna eat you right up.”

“Okay,” Taehyung gasped, scrambling at the buttons of V’s shirt. They were both still almost completely dressed, save for Taehyung’s shirt falling off one shoulder.

V wasn’t making it easy, though, hands squeezing the soft skin of Taehyung’s butt, grinding right back up against Taehyung and continuing to kiss him silly, nipping freely and flicking his tongue shamelessly.

 “I can’t—” Taehyung gasped, ripping his mouth away long enough to look at the buttons his fingers kept slipping on. Fuck. Fuck.

“Here,” V said, flicking open the top two with ease and lifting himself enough to pull the shirt right over his head. He tossed it over the edge of the bed, and Taehyung hardly had a moment to ogle muscles lining his stomach before V was tugging Taehyung down again, kissing him almost violently. Teeth scraped at Taehyung’s lips, fingers wound in his hair and tugged, and Taehyung let out a loud ah, letting his head be pulled to the side so V could bite into the skin exposed by his falling shirt.

“Sound so pretty, baby, look so pretty,” V husked in between bruising kisses, sucking so hard on a sliver of flesh it made a wet popping sound when he released, and Taehyung couldn’t help but let out another moan, rutting his hips forward on V’s. His toes curled, his lower body was on fire, and V was doing nothing but encouraging him. 

“Needy?” he whispered into Taehyung’s jaw, who shook his head even as tilted his chin higher, a silent request for V to keep kissing him.

“Can I take this off?” V said when his lips met the cloth of his shirt, fluttering around the top half of Taehyung’s pectoral. He gave it a little tug, and Taehyung nodded.

V kissed his nipple through the shirt. “Can I?”

“Yes,” Taehyung gasped, trying to shrug out of it himself. “I’m just—I’m not as—fit—”

V shook his head as he undid the rest of the buttons, gently helping Taehyung shrug it off his shirt and pulling it off his arms. V’s hands skimmed around Taehyung’s hips, sliding up the soft skin of his tummy, dragging harder across his nipples.

“You’re beautiful,” V said, reversing the path of his hands, moving more slowly. Taehyung shivered, swallowing an involuntary giggle when V’s fingers tickled past his sides. He followed the same path again, going back and forth slowly, just running his hands all up and down Taehyung’s upper body, fixated.

“It’s not—” Taehyung stopped when V turned to meet his eyes.  “I’m not—”

“Hush,” V whispered, pulling Taehyung down, down until their bare chests were flush, and Taehyung imagined he could feel V’s heart pounding. “You’re so beautiful, Taehyung,” V murmured against his mouth, rolling his hips up against Taehyung’s. “God, so lovely—”

V was hard. He was so hard, and Taehyung knew because he had felt him grow hard against his ass as they stood in front of the mirror, felt him now as they grinded against each other. And Taehyung was no better off. He couldn’t manage to quiet down his whimper when their erections rubbed together, and Taehyung was so desperate, desperate to have V, feel him however he could, however V would let him.

He panted, struggling against V’s hold around him until V unhooked his arms, looking perplexed until he realized Taehyung was sliding down his body, fingers working at the button of his pants.

"Don't have to do that," V said, reaching down to put his fingers over Taehyung's, but Taehyung nudged them away.

"I know," he said "I want to."

"I want to make you feel good," V said, fingers pressing into the v-line of his hip.

Taehyung swallowed. "This makes me feel good.

V stared at him, and Taehyung stared back, almost defiantly. After a moment, he continued tugging at the button until it popped open, and V's lips slowly curled. “Yeah?” he said, voice rougher. “You like that, Taetae?”

Taehyung flushed, fingers fumbling on the zipper. Fuck. That was—Taehyung liked that. He liked that a lot.

"Ask me what you want," V said, hands settling into the sheets beside him, all his attention on Taehyung.

“Can I—” Taehyung broke off, blushing with V’s pants unzipped, his erection hard and big under Taehyung’s palm, warm through the cloth of the boxers.

V propped himself up on his elbows, eyes glittering, still smiling as he looked down at Taehyung. His gaze was so heavy, Taehyung felt hot from that alone. “Can you what?” he said.

Taehyung palmed V’s cock through his boxers. “Can I suck you off?”

V’s smirk widened, teeth digging into his lower lip. “You really want to, huh?”

In answer, Taehyung moved his fingers up, digging into the waistband of V’s boxers. V lifted his hips, making it easy for Taehyung to pull them down, revealing a thatch of neatly trimmed public hair, the full length of his cock, flushed a deep red near the head. Taehyung could feel saliva pooling under his tongue as V bent his legs to make it easier to get the boxers off.

“Take your pants off too,” V said, briefly pushing himself up with his hands so he could watch.

Taehyung tried not to make a show out of it, grunting a little to get the jeans past his thighs, flushing when his cock slapped against his stomach. He made a soft sound of surprise when, after he was done, he was met with a quick, but deep, kiss from V.

Taehyung was breathless when they parted, gasping when he felt V’s fingers pump his own cock once before V settled back on his elbows, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow. “Can I ask you to do something?”

Taehyung flushed. “Yeah?”

V's tongue poked out to wet his lips. “Leave your glasses on?”

Taehyung swallowed, fingers frozen at the arm of his glasses. “Really?”

V hummed. “I like how you look in them.”

Taehyung slowly lowered his hand. “They’ll fall off.”

V didn’t answer right away, just watched as Taehyung wrapped his fingers around the base of his cock. It was big, bigger than Taehyung’s, and he was feeling a little nervous, hadn’t had given proper head in a while. He’d been good at it before, but that had been then.

“Won’t know until we try, right?” V said. His voice was steady, but much, much lower than normal, and Taehyung peeked up at him over the frames of his glasses as he gave him an experimental tug. V was circumcised (another difference, Taehyung thought distractedly). Taehyung had the strongest urge to dip down and press a kiss against the flushed, pink tip.

So he did.

He continued to watch V as his mouth puckered around the tip, taking his time, letting his lips relax around it, and the looked that passed over V’s face as he locked eyes with Taehyung was worth it.

“Fuck,” V growled, shifting most of his weight onto one elbow so he could reach out with one hand and find a grip in Taehyung’s hair, not hard enough to jostle him, but very much there. Taehyung’s eyelashes fluttered a bit, and he tightened his grip around the base, tip falling out of his mouth with a small pop.

Taehyung licked his lips, looking at V as he pressed another kiss, quicker, but just as wet, to the side of the shaft. “S’it—okay?”

“Of course it’s okay,” V husked, dragging his nails gently against Taehyung’s scalp before re-twisting his fingers in his hair. “You’re already doing so good. You’re so perfect.”

“Haven’t done anything,” Taehyung mumbled, mouthing the tip again and blushing.

“I like looking at you,” V said with a wicked grin.

Taehyung huffed, but decided he’d do better putting his mouth to other use instead of replying.

He only had to pull against V’s grip on his hair for a second before V followed with his hand, groaning when Taehyung sank down more than halfway before stopping, testing the feel of a cock in his mouth. V’s cock. He was so big, the tip was already nearly at the back of his throat. Taehyung barely had half in his mouth, oh god.

He pulled off with a gasp, pushing his glasses further back against his face, pumping V’s cock with his other hand as he did. V’s head fell back for a second, and then his hand in Taehyung’s hair was tighter than ever, enough that he let out a small sound of pain, felt his own cock twitch against his stomach in direct response.

“C’mon, baby,” V growled, now guiding Taehyung back towards his cock. “Want it?”

Taehyung didn’t answer, just opened his mouth wider than before, moved with V’s direction so he could take the same amount in his mouth again, but a little quicker, a little deeper, only stopping when he gagged. V didn’t push him down further, although Taehyung kind of wanted him to.

He moaned around V’s dick, could feel himself gag again more than he could hear it, although he knew it must be noisy. Everything was already so wet and lewd, his chin damp with spit, more dripping onto his fingers loose around the base of V’s cock. He pushed himself a little further down, choking right when his lips brushed his fingers, and then V was the one pulling him up and off.

His glasses had slid down again, and, flushed and dazed, Taehyung pushed them straight once more, blinking at V through the glass.

“Wanna keep going,” he pouted, voice throaty.

“You like choking on it?” V asked, jostling Taehyung a little with his grip in his hair. Taehyung’s entire body flushed at that. “Like not being able to breathe ‘cause of it?”

“Y-yeah,” Taehyung said, tugging against V’s grip. “P-please—V—”

“Say my name,” V said lowly, and he didn't frame it like a question, but a command. “Taehyung.”

“V,” Taehyung burst out, pulling so hard that V finally let him move, let Taehyung take him in his mouth again, and again, and again—his glasses were crooked and smeared with fingerprints and spit, but they were staying on, so Taehyung just closed his eyes and continued to bob his head. It was almost impossible to take V completely in his mouth, but he was getting closer, swallowing working through his gags and welcoming the stretch in his lips.

“Fuck,” he heard V whisper from above him and V finally, finally, used both hands to hold Taehyung’s head in place, right when his lips were a couple inches from the base.

“Thank you, baby,” V murmured. His voice had a rough edge to it. “You’re being so good for me, can you hear yourself—mm—” his hips twitched a little, and Taehyung felt tears spill out of his eyes, one landing right on the lens of his glasses. He looked past them up at V, who had propped his head on a pillow and was looking down at Taehyung. His bangs were hanging in his eyes, pale and messy, and he was just releasing his lower lip from between his teeth.

“Can I fuck your mouth?” V said, running his thumb roughly over Taehyung’s cheek, maneuvering his head back until he was cheeking V’s dick and V could touch the bulge of skin.

Taehyung tried to say yes, but it came out like “mmn—” so V pulled his dick out of Taehyung’s mouth completely, much to his dismay.

“Ye—” Taehyung’s voice broke, hoarse from the blow job already. He tried again. “Yes.”

V sighed, taking his dick in hand and slowly rubbing the tip over Taehyung’s lips, down his chin, around his cheek. Taehyung could feel precum sliding with the spit and tears. Filthy. He shivered.

“You’re so pretty, all messy like this,” V said. “So fucking pretty. You’re gonna make me come.”

Taehyung licked his sore lips, heart thumping. “I am?” he whispered.

V smirked. “Yeah. Smack me if it gets to be too much, okay?”

“Okay,” Taehyung said.

“Pretty flower,” V cooed, pressing his cockhead against Taehyung’s lip. “Open up.”

Taehyung let his tongue fall out of his mouth first, and V cursed under his breath, slapping his dick against it a couple times before pushing inside the wet heat of Taehyung’s mouth, lifting his hips to do so and then pulling Taehyung’s head down the rest of the way, not stopping until Taehyung was gagging again.

V moaned, hips falling back on the mattress, but then he tugged Taehyung down again, down, down until his nose was tickling his pubic hair—and then he held him there.

Taehyung whined as he got used to it, because he couldn’t help it. V hushed him gently, told him how good he was doing, how good he looked, how good it felt.

“Gonna fuck you now,” V said, letting Taehyung up a few inches and petting through his hair before then weaving his fingers through the strands one last time. “My pretty boy. Ready?”

“Mm—hmm.”

V’s grip on Taehyung’s hair was properly painful now, but he forgot about it the moment V rolled his hips up—Taehyung had thought he wouldn’t be able to take it, and sure, he was choking on every other thrust—but he was taking it, and it felt good. Felt nice to make someone like V lose control, to the point where he was grunting with each thrust, cursing when Taehyung gagged and then thrusting harder.

The tip of his cock bumped the back of Taehyung’s throat periodically, tap-tap-tap. Tears were a steady drip down the sides of his face, his glasses in a precarious position, nearly falling off. His lips were sore, face was wet, and his hips were rutting down against the mattress as V rutted against his face because he was just so fucking hard.

“Shit—baby—taking it, take me so deep, ah, Taetae—”

Taehyung heart leapt, cock throbbing, gut clenching, and it was embarrassing how hard he was, completely untouched, just from letting his mouth get fucked, making V feel good, listening to V call him pet names.

He tried to look up at him over his glasses frames, to see through the blur of his own natural vision and through his tears. V’s face was concentrated, eyes looking right into Taehyung’s, who had to close his again because it was too intense, watching V as he fucked his throat. Tap-tap-tap—

“Gagging for it, god Taehyung,” V groaned, arching a little, hips picking up pace. “Fuck, I’m gonna come.”

Taehyung whined as best he could, choking as he was, and pulled against V’s grip keeping his head still. His hips jerked against the mattress, cockhead smearing precum against the silk sheets.

“M’so—close, shit,” V growled, and then Taehyung could feel warmth at the back of his throat. He was choking again, trying to swallow it down before he reached up and knocked V’s hands away so he could pull off.

V made a sound, like he was going to ask if Taehyung was okay or what he was doing, but whatever it was died when Taehyung angled his cock to aim the rest of V’s orgasm right on his face, white spattering against his cheeks, his mouth, his glasses.

“Holy shit,” V snarled, digging his fingers into the sheets and watching with dark eyes as the last of his cum landed across the bridge of Taehyung’s nose.

“V,” Taehyung whispered, because it was all he could manage. He panted, tried to stop grinding against the mattress, but fuck-—godfuck, he was close too. “Mm—m’close?”

“What’s that?” V said, but Taehyung knew he had heard, because next thing he knew, V was pushing Taehyung into a sitting position, moving just enough so he could wrap his fingers around Taehyung’s cock. “Look at me, baby. Keep looking at me.”

“I can’t,” Taehyung whined, even as he did, looking up at V as he jerked him off. It felt so good, it felt too good,—V's face was right there, looking just like Taehyung's and it was like he were looking in a mirror, except he could feel the cum dripping down his face as V's fingers squeezed around his dick and V's eyes smoldered in a way Taehyung was sure his never had—

“St-stop,” Taehyung panted, and V hummed, leaning forward to kiss his neck. “M’gonna—gonna come m'gonna come I can't.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” V said. He slowed his hand, though. “What do you want?” He kissed Taehyung’s cum-stained lips lightly, licking over his own as he pulled away. His eyes were glittering. “Whatever you want. Anything you want.”

Taehyung wasn’t sure if he’d ever blushed harder in his life. He felt like his blood was boiling, could feel it bubbling right beneath his skin, flushing it a deep shade of pink. It only got hotter when V licked at his lips again, sweeping up some of his cum and humming when he did, like he enjoyed the taste.

“Can you…” Taehyung said, his words coming out thick, barely audible. He bit down on his tongue a little, then, resolutely, met V’s eyes. “Can you use your fingers?”

V blinked, and Taehyung was astounded when a light blush flooded the high of his cheeks.

Then that same heat darkened his eyes and he was moving quickly, pushing Taehyung onto his back before stretching to the side and grabbing a bottle of lube. Taehyung reached up to pull off his glasses, halfway useless stained with cum, but V’s voice was sharp when he said, “stay just like that, baby.”

Taehyung froze, planting his hand back on the mattress, cum wet on his face. It was filthy, he was so filthy, but he didn’t have time to feel any type of way about it before there was a firm finger dragging up over his hole and then pushing inside.

The noise Taehyung let out was high pitched and loud, one leg automatically hooking around V’s hip. V didn’t wait, didn’t tease, was already properly fucking into him, twisting his wrist as he did.

Taehyung felt wild, cock so hard against his hip, uncaring about the high volume of his voice. Then V asked in a murmur, curling his other hand around Taehyung’s dick as he did, “did you fuck yourself before our date?”

V only had to twist his wrist once, long finger tickling against Taehyung’s prostate, and Taehyung was coming hard in V’s hand, all over his stomach, nodding in a weak response to V’s question. He was only halfway aware of the drawn out, high pitched whining being him. V ducked down to kiss him again, still heedless of the cum cooling on Taehyung’s face and Taehyung, Taehyung couldn’t believe he'd just came at a few simple touches.

But simple didn’t seem like the right word for V.

“Oh my god, you’re so sensitive,” V was humming, kissing down Taehyung’s damp, heaving chest. “Did that feel nice?”

“I,” Taehyung breathed, wanting to bury his face in the sheets but heartily aware, even through the daze of his orgasm, that he had to clean up before anything else. His legs were twitching a little and he hadn’t even been fucked.

V was smiling down at him. “You came so hard.” He leaned down, pressing his lips to the skin just under Taehyung’s ear. “So loud.”

“I—” Taehyung started again, but V was kissing him again, moaning in a pleased way against his mouth.

“Come on,” he murmured. “Let’s wash off.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Taehyung didn’t remember falling asleep.

Well, he thought, staring up at the dark ceiling, the weight of a large, warm body unfamiliar, but not unwelcome, right beside him. His heart beat hard.That wasn’t entirely true.

It was more like, he hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

V had made sure they took their time in the shower, gently helping Taehyung wipe his face clean with the help of washcloth so soft Taehyung wondered whether that was made of silk, too. He’d been too dazed to think too hard about it, let himself melt into the comfort V was offering, turning his head into his palm and letting V shampoo his hair, rinse his face, his body, eyes half-closed.

“You okay?” V asked a few times, against his mouth, his neck, the damp skin of his forehead.

“Mhm,” Taehyung always responded. He had been. Okay, that was. He hadn’t come that hard in months, hadn’t had something inside him that didn’t belong to him in just as long, and V was so—

V was so—

Taehyung's heart thumped hard against his ribs

V had wrapped Taehyung in a large, fluffy towel when they were done, brushing a comb through his hair until it was nearly dry. Then he lifted Taehyung into his arms and, kissing him the whole way, walked them back to the bed.

“I’ll, uh,” Taehyung whispered against V’s mouth. V’s mouth was so soft. Taehyung kissed it again. His chest ached. Thump. “Get out of your hair soon.”

“Don’t be silly,” V said, sitting Taehyung down against the headrest and easing him out of the towel. “Just relax.”

And, next thing Taehyung knew, was—

He’d fallen asleep.

V was sleeping next to him, one arm slung around Taehyung’s waist, body draped over a pillow half caught under his chest. His mouth was slightly open, blonde bangs hanging fully into his eyes.

Taehyung let himself look for another few minutes, feeling his heart beat in his ears. He swallowed, slowly easing his body out from under V’s arm.

V was so good.

And Taehyung. Taehyung recognized the way he was feeling, the warmth in the low of his stomach, the pleasant flush in his cheeks, the nervous tick of his leg. I like him Taehyung thought, and his stomach swooped, his cheeks burned, and his leg bounced harder. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he sat up, trying to settle his body. I like him. Like him a lot.

V was so perfect.

And this—Taehyung looked around the dark room, the painting on the wall, the expensive furniture, how big the room itself was, the peaceful look on V’s face as he slept—

It was perfect.

Taehyung knew how that worked. Perfection. And he wasn't going to ruin what had been perfect by staying past his time. He'd done that before. He'd done it before, with other hookups, with friends who just wanted to be left alone, with Namjoon. He had stayed months past his time, past their time, leaving them strained and broken in the end.

It was pathetic. Taehyung never thought he’d relate so much to the shitty part of the fairy tales, that whole deal of staying past midnight before the harsh reality of real life came crashing down. But Taehyung knew how it went. And V was so—

Thump.

—perfect. His body warm beside Taehyung's, the bed soft, V's sleeping expression even softer, and how badly Taehyung wanted to burrow deeper into that is exactly what had him pushing himself away, because staying was tempting, but staying past his time—?

Taehyung knew was time to go. It was better, to leave.

Taehyung had just swung his legs over the edge of the bed and was realizing he had no idea where any of his clothes were when a hand curling around his wrist made him squeak and whirl around in shock.

V was awake, eyes a little narrowed from sleep. He pushed himself up a little higher, the blanket sliding down his bare shoulders as he peered at Taehyung in the dark.

“Stay,” he whispered.

Taehyung’s heart thumped wildly against his ribs. “I—I, what?”

V’s eyes narrowed a little more, although not from sleep, Taehyung guessed. “Where are you going?”

“I’m—I gotta go,” Taehyung said in a rush, standing and then blushing when he realized he was buck naked. He pulled his wrist out of V’s grip, scrambling around the bed in search of his discarded boxers. “Um, I have stuff to do tomorrow—”

“I’ll take you in the morning. Come on baby, come sleep.”

“I can’t, V,” Taehyung mumbled, finding his boxers in a heap at the foot of the bed. He snatched them up, wiggling into them as he looked around for the rest of his clothes. “I just—I shouldn’t stay.”

“Why not?”

V’s voice was more awake now, and when Taehyung looked up again, he saw V had turned off his stomach and was sitting, leaning back on his hands as he watched Taehyung flit around the bed, looking for his clothes. His expression was hard to read in the dark, but he didn’t look exactly happy.

Taehyung stopped with his pants clutched in his fingers. “I can’t,” he whispered.

V leaned forward, arms crossing over his knees. “Why not?” he asked again.

Taehyung took a deep breath, looking down at his fingers. Because you’re perfect, and you’re going to get sick of me, and I’m not what you want. “Because,” he said. His voice came out scratchy.

“Hey,” V said, and then he was grasping Taehyung again, fingers curling around his arm and gently tugging. Taehyung let himself be pulled onto the bed, but he kept his eyes down.

V didn’t force him to look up, but he did arrange their bodies until Taehyung was curled up against V’s, fingers resting on his chest as V wrapped him close.

“I’ll take you home now if you want,” V said in a quiet voice, running his fingers through Taehyung’s hair. “But is there something bothering you?”

Taehyung turned his head a little, lips pressing against V’s warm skin. He closed his eyes.

“Did I do something wrong?” V whispered, and Taehyung jerked back abruptly, finally meeting V’s eyes. His lips parted when he saw how furrowed V’s brow was.

“No,” Taehyung whispered, cupping V’s face a little desperately. “No, you didn’t. It’s not—not you.”

V’s brow furrowed a little more. “What—it’s not me, it’s you kind of thing?”

“It is me,” Taehyung whispered, before he could stop himself.

“What,” V murmured, stroking his knuckles gently across Taehyung’s cheeks. “What is it about you?”

Taehyung looked at him with wide eyes. “You’re really asking that?”

V paused. Something in his eyes flickered. His lips pressed together. “Yes. I’m really asking.”

Taehyung pulled his head away from V. He looked away, and down. “I don’t know,” he whispered, because—because he couldn’t answer that. He didn’t know what it was about him. He wasn’t as beautiful, or talented, or awe-inspiring. There wasn’t anything about him at all.

Before long, V was going to realize that.

Instead of elaborating, Taehyung surged back against V, pressing himself close and squeezing his eyes shut.

“Let’s go to sleep,” he whispered against V’s neck, breathing him in, enjoying the warmth of V’s palm soothing down his back. Just a little longer, he supposed. This wouldn't hurt.

“Okay,” V said after a while, easing them back down onto the mattress. He stroked up and down Taehyung’s face, but Taehyung kept his eyes shut, only opening them when V leaned in to kiss him one more time goodnight.

Since V’s eyes were closed, Taehyung was able to admire the pretty curl of his eyelashes, the freckles barely visible on his face, the spots on his skin all the makeup usually hid. Their eyes met briefly when V opened them upon pulling back, but Taehyung didn't hold the gaze, just curled himself a little further into V.

It took a while, but V’s breath eventually evened out again.

Taehyung pulled away carefully. He allowed himself one more close look before crawling off the bed, more silent than before. He was quicker and quieter finding his clothes this time around, and he resisted the urge to kiss V’s pouted mouth one more time before slipping out of the bedroom, and then, shoes in hand, out the front door.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

V didn’t text Taehyung.

Taehyung didn’t know what else he had expected, but his stomach still dropped to his toes when he looked at his empty notification screen the next morning, an impressive feat considering he was laying flat on his back, Jimin half on top of him.

“Anything?” Jimin said into his chest.

Taehyung put down his phone with a sigh. “No.”

“Check mine.”

Taehyung patted blindly around the mattress by his head until his fingers closed around Jimin’s phone. He clicked on the home button. “You have two texts from JK fire emoji. He wants to know where you went. Then he said the texts aren’t what you think.”

“He what?” Jimin exploded, snatching the phone from Taehyung’s hand and glowering down at the screen. “This little punk. How is a text—no, several texts from ‘babe’ not what I think. He has a boyfriend.”

Taehyung hugged Jimin around the middle in an effort to calm him down. It was still early, but providing this comfort helped ease the sting of his blank phone. “Maybe it’s not a committed thing.”

Jimin’s brow pinched. “Like an open relationship?”

Taehyung nodded. “Like when Hoseokie was hooking up with you and that person from his dance class. And you all knew about each other and didn’t care.”

Jimin pursed his lips. “Hoseok told me before I sucked his dick. Jungkook—” Jimin flicked his phone screen irritably, “should’ve told me before he started getting texts from someone saved in his phone as babe asking him to come over and fuck him stupid.”

Taehyung pulled the phone out of Jimin’s stiff grip and put it back beside his. “You have every right to be mad.”

“Damn right I do.”

“Is that his name? Jungkook?”

Jimin flopped back onto Taehyung. “Yeah.”

Taehyung made a thoughtful sound. “Must have been some good sex.”

“It was great sex. He was hot and dorky, too, just my type.” Jimin rubbed his face against Taehyung’s shirt. “Figures.”

Taehyung rubbed his back. “Don’t talk to him again unless you want to. If you do, figure out his relationship situation, then go from there.”

Jimin groaned loudly into Taehyung’s chest. “Tae. He was so hot. Ugh.”

Taehyung sighed up at the ceiling. “Yeah.”

Jimin lifted himself onto his chin, looking at Taehyung quietly for a few moments until Taehyung finally looked down to meet his eyes.

“You should text V,” Jimin said softly.

Taehyung looked back up at the ceiling, quickly. “No.”

Jimin needled him a little in the side. “Why?”

“Lots of reasons,” Taehyung said. “He’s busy. He’s famous." I'm me.

"But you guys were texting all cute for a couple days, before you went to dinner?" Taehyung knew Jimin was trying to help, but his gut still twisted guiltily, anxiously. "All that, and then nothing? Don't you want a second date?"

Taethyung's leg fidgeted under Jimin's weight. "I doubt he’d be looking for anything serious—”

“Are you looking for something serious?” Jimin cut in shrewdly.

Taehyung huffed. “Well, no. I mean, I wasn’t. But I—I mean.” Taehyung flushed. “But I seriously liked him. Like him. And I just—I can’t set myself up for that kind of disappointment again, Jimin.”

Taehyung could feel Jimin frowning. “Taetae. Who said anything about disappointment? What if he likes you back?”

Taehyung turned over on his side, away from his phone and dislodging Jimin in the process. Jimin took it in stride, simply hooking his leg over Taehyung’s hip and koalaing onto his back.

“Taehyung,” Jimin murmured against Taehyung’s neck, so soft and gentle. “You’re enough, you know. You’re more than enough.”

Taehyung thought about how V had looked at them both in the mirror, how he’d whispered against his skin beautiful, you’re beautiful and squeezed his eyes shut. Thought of all the perfect planes of V’s face, skin, body, and how much he’d liked it.

Liked V. Liked himself, in those moments.

Thought about how long it had been since he’d felt that way, and felt scared. Because he knew how much it hurt when it ended.

His heart pounded in his chest, in his throat. I can’t do that again, Taehyung thought.

“It was just a one-night stand,” he finally said, and although Jimin was quiet, Taehyung knew he was awake and listening. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

It wasn’t supposed to, anyway.