080219. jimin & taehyung.

[lovestrippedbare]

SUMMER.
August 2, 2019.

WHO jimin & taehyung
WHAT intro to tagging

WHERE around seoul
TIMELINE cycle 1

JIMIN Jimin isn't really sure what possesses him to slip on his shoes and grab his bag following Taehyung's tweet. It's dumb, he knows. Impulsive. There's no reason to believe that Taehyung isn't somewhere else entirely, that he's only posting after the fact. His tweets hadn't been very clear or specific. But Jimin hops onto the bus all the same, keeps checking Twitter to see if Taehyung's maybe moved on, to see if there's any hint that he might not be where Jimin thinks he is.

But Taehyung doesn't tweet again and Jimin still isn't sure this is going to work at all as he steps off the bus and takes a right down a winding street. It's still warm out, still humid, and the flicker glow of street lights guide his way.

And then Jimin sees him, a dark figuring against an equally dark alley wall and something like relief floods through him as he walks forward, already admiring the colorful lines.

"I like it," he says when he's just a step behind Taehyung, his voice quiet and warm, very lightly teasing. "Good choice of color."



TAEHYUNG Taehyung nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears the voice behind him, muscles tensing, can of paint dropped in an instant as he gets ready to run - and then it hits him.

"Chim?"

The nights haven't been the same in months; the air doesn't feel the same, the dark doesn't bring the comfort that it used to. Even with Jungkook, Taehyung's late night runs aren't a comfort anymore, only an escape. And even then, sometimes, they have to run. But not tonight. Tonight, it's Jimin.

He thinks he's feeling something like embarrassment right now. Maybe shame? Every one of his friends knows what he gets up to in the middle of the night, he thinks, but it's not the same as watching. Jimin loves him, accepts him, but to Taehyung, his nights out since Namjoon's disappearance are just more proof that he's exactly what all the adults say he is. Useless. Destructive. A bad influence. Going nowhere. And this feels like a thing Jimin shouldn't see, with his light, sweet smiles and soft voice. This is the part of Taehyung that sometimes, he wishes he could rip out and burn.

But there's a space in his nights, these days. And there's always, always, a spot for the purer half of his soul.

He turns to look over his shoulder, and gives Jimin a smile, more bashful than he means. "Do you really?"



JIMIN Jimin bites back a smile when he sees Taehyung jump, muscles tense and legs poised to run. He feels guilty too for causing Taehyung any sort of panic, but Taehyung recognizes his voice soon enough, stays planted where he is after he's turned his head enough to make sure it really is Jimin.

It isn't often that Jimin can make Taehyung blush, that anyone can make him blush. And maybe he's not quite blushing right now, but it's something close to that as Jimin lets out a soft laugh, nodding already as he steps closer.

"Really really," he says, stepping up closer, fingertips just barely brushing Taehyung's hand. "You think I'd lie to you? I like that up there especially," he says, pointing at the broad curve at the top. "It's so controlled. Do you do that on all of them?"



TAEHYUNG "You never lie to me," he says simply. That much, Taehyung knows. He turns his hand so that he can take Jimin's when they touch, leaning in so that he can Jimin a soft kiss, high on his cheekbone. When Jimin points up at the tag, he follows to where he indicates, humming. "Ah. No, not always. But it's something I'm trying out. I saw someone else do something like it. Thought I'd try."

He pauses for a moment, and then his expression changes as he realizes. "What are you doing here, anyway?" He grins, playing with Jimin's hand. Nights, these days, are usually spent alone, or with Jungkook. Actually, he thinks - Jimin never has come out here like this. It's new.

And it's really nice.



JIMIN While he can't say that he's expecting Taehyung to tell him to leave, he's still strangely relieved when Taehyung immediately reaches for him, tangling their fingers as he presses a light kiss to Jimin's cheek. He feels his skin go warm and he instinctively squeezes Taehyung's hand in response and leans into Taehyung's side, bumping their shoulders.

"Just felt like it," he says, which is mostly the truth. Jimin's never really been invited out on Taehyung's night adventures, not even after Namjoon left them, and he's never asked to be. His decision tonight had just been spontaneous, possibly fueled by the ache under his own chest that rarely seems to ease up. "I've never really seen what you get up to out here and I want to see your art. Is that okay? I can leave if you want."



TAEHYUNG Taehyung raises their hands to his mouth and plants a theatrical kiss on the back of Jimin's hand before he lets it go - only to put his arm around Jimin's shoulders and pull him in close. He knows that his late nights have never been Jimin's favorite, now or ever, just because he worries, so it means a lot to him that he's out here.

"Are you crazy? I didn't have any company and now I have my favorite person in the world with me." He knows, distantly, that Jimin feels like he's intruding, that there's something unspoken between the two of them about who normally is with him on these nights - now and before - but he's genuinely touched, knowing that Jimin is here for him, that he wants to see. "Stay."



JIMIN In some sense, Jimin knows that statement is only partially true, that he isn't always Taehyung's favorite person in the whole world. Or, at the very least, isn't the person Taehyung most wants with him on these kind of nights, but he still appreciates the sentiment all the same and gives Taehyung's hand a tighter squeeze in response.

Taehyung's lost another soulmate in the same way as Jungkook, as Seokjin had, and even if he still has Jimin, there's still a hole. All Jimin can do is hold on tight and promise he won't abandon his own post in Taehyung's heart.

"You should show me some stuff then," he decides, smiling at the play of street light across Taehyung's features. "If you want to, I mean. I want to see your art."



TAEHYUNG "Really?" Taehyung can't help but ask again. Despite however safe he usually feels, Taehyung knows that the nights that he isn't indoors are ones that tend to worry Jimin. Whatever break he'd taken from tagging before, it hadn't been long lived, and Jimin had never said a thing about it, or scolded him. Probably, he thinks, because Jimin knows he needs this. Because Jimin gets him.

But the things that worry Jimin are the same reasons that Taehyung can't believe he wants to go out with him. The parts of Seoul that he explores are different, the things he almost wants to protect Jimin from. Dark. Vaguely dangerous. Dirty and gritty and imperfect - none of which are things he ever thinks of when he thinks of his soulmate.

Maybe that's all the more reason to show him, to share.

He smiles warmly and doesn't wait for an answer, nodding with a hum. "I love that." His voice is soft and he presses a kiss to Jimin's temple, closing his eyes for a moment before pulling back, holding a hand out for Jimin's. "C'mon, we're near one of my favorites."



JIMIN There’s no way for Taehyung to know how much Jimin needs the light kiss he presses to Jimin’s temple, how much he needs the acceptance of him here in this place. Or maybe he does know, maybe it’s just one of those things that goes unsaid between them because Taehyung knows him maybe better than anyone.

Either way, his heart leaps with excitement and he slips his hand into Taehyung’s, holding tight. He’ll go wherever Taehyung wants to take him, he realizes, trusts him with every bit of his wellbeing for better or worse. Because he knows deep, deep down to the root of him that Taehyung would never let him get hurt, would jump in front of a moving train to save him should it come to that.

(Though Jimin very much hopes that’s not something they’ll encounter tonight or ever.)

“Do you like buildings most?” he asks as he follows Taehyung out of the quiet alley. “Or do you like things that move sometimes, like trains and stuff.”



TAEHYUNG Taehyung has to think about the question as they walk. Oddly, he's never given much thought to his nights out, the tagging; it's something he's just done, like walking, or breathing. He hums, thoughtfully, and plays with Jimin's hand as they walk, turning a corner toward an alley that is one of his mainstays. It's quiet, out of the way, without being cramped or - honestly, too dirty.

He likes to think that he can keep Jimin from seeing some of the grungier parts of his life. Thinks that Jimin is too good for it, because he's perfect. If he didn't love what he did so much, if he didn't know that Jimin loves him and all the ugly parts of him, he might be embarrassed. Instead, he doesn't give it much thought, though, thinking on the question instead.

"I think I like places that make me feel something?" He's thinking through the answer even as he gives it, words slow. "Like... sometimes you just look at something, and you want to do something to it, you know? Does that make sense? Like it just pulls something from you. I don't know."

He stops having to think about it, though, when they get to a familiar fire escape, and he nods. "Can we go up there?"



JIMIN While Jimin isn't quite sure he fully understands what Taehyung means in this context, can't say he's ever looked at a building or the side of a bridge or a train car and felt any desire to paint across it, but he thinks maybe he understands wanting to make something beautiful. Maybe it's a little like how he feels when he hears a song with just the right rhythm, when the lilt of the music or the words tug something at something deep inside him and he finds he has to move, has to find some way to manifest the beauty flowing through him into something tangible.

Or, maybe it's just a little like how he feels when he looks at Taehyung and his heart fills up to something close to bursting and he has kiss Taehyung right that second or he'll explode.

Either way, he smiles in understanding and nods a little, giving Taehyung's hand a light squeeze before he tips his head back to look upward at where Taehyung's motioning. "All the way?" he asks, his smile faltering just a little with how high it is.



TAEHYUNG Despite his own enthusiasm, Taehyung doesn't miss the way that Jimin's expression falls when he indicates the heights of buildings. He hums, shrugging with a soft smile. "Only if you want. I'll make sure you don't fall, I promise."



JIMIN Taehyung doesn’t push it, just as he never pushes Jimin into anything he senses might be uncomfortable. It’s sweet, of course. Kind. Taehyung has always been so gentle with him.

But Jimin thinks maybe now is a good time to push past his comfort zone.

“You first,” he says, nodding at the ladder and ignoring the flutter of nerves in his belly.


CODE BY TESSISAMESS