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hoseok could feel himself tipping over as he giggled at whatever taehyung had just said. he couldn’t exactly remember what it was, nor why he found it to be so funny.
the soft “oh-“ he could hear next to his ear and the shoulder under his forehead told him that he stopped tipping, as he had ended up pressed against the other. he would be worried that taehyung was annoyed, if not for the small giggle that escaped him as his hand hovered over hoseok’s back, ready to steady him.
he leaned back on his cushion to look at taehyung's face, but kept himself just as close, enjoying the other’s warmth in the already warm living room. the two smiled at each other, the only sounds in the room their light breathing and the jazz album taehyung had put on, sounding softly from the bluetooth speaker in the corner.
taehyung was the first to break, another giggle escaping him as he looked away, leaning toward the table. he would have taken hoseok’s body with him, had hoseok not moved back in time.
hoseok eyed him as taehyung reached past the emptied plates and grabbed the untouched glass of water sitting on hoseok’s side, turning to him with a shy smile.
“i think we should take it easy on the alcohol, hobi hyung,” taehyung said. he made sure hoseok had a grip on the glass before turning and grabbing his own. as he raised it to his lips and took a sip, hoseok felt another set of giggles bubbling up. there was no real reason for it this time; the feeling just washed over him, wanting to bubble out of him the only way it could: tipsy giggles.
careful to not let either get water on themselves, taehyung wrapped his unoccupied arm back around hoseok, though this time actually resting it on the man’s hip. he didn’t have to say anything for hoseok to get the message, and he brought the glass up to his lips to take his first sip.
as soon as he took his first gulp, though, hoseok felt a pressure near his bladder. it hadn’t occurred to him that after two beers back-to-back, he would eventually need to go use the bathroom. although he didn’t want to, hoseok pulled back from taehyung, resting his glass back in its original position.
“taehyung-ah, where’s your bathroom?” hoseok stood up, making sure his legs were working despite his tipsy (read: basically drunk) condition. he lifted his arms, stretching out after being in his seated position for so long.
there came no response from the couch. still stretching, hoseok peeked down, only to find taehyung’s eyes glued to the small strip of skin poking out from between his shirt and waistband. letting his arms fall to his sides, he watched as taehyung realized what he had been doing, turning his gaze up to hoseok’s fond grin. “see something interesting?”
clearing his throat, a blush already visible at the tips of his ears, taehyung turned his head away to grab his water again. taking a large gulp, he gave himself a second to calm down before focusing his attention back on the pretty face that was still watching him.
“so?” hoseok asked. he saw the look of confusion pass across taehyung’s face and, taking mercy on him, didn’t let him panic to figure out the question for too long. “where’s your bathroom?”
“oh!” A relieved smile lit up taehyung's features, saved from any more humiliation. “right down the hall. just go past the kitchen and it’s the third door on the right.”
smiling back, he made his way across the carpeted living room floor to the hallway. turning past the kitchen, hoseok let himself slow down. he didn’t want to take too long and seem suspicious, but letting himself linger to see the pictures in the hallway wouldn’t hurt him. there were only a few anyways, and as he kept walking, he noticed himself in one of the middle ones.
that was when we first met, hoseok thought, remembering how jungkook had asked to dye his hair pink the night before in his dorm bathroom, and how they had to call jimin two hours later to fix it. his quiet reminiscing was interrupted however, as he turned around at the sound of squeaking from behind him. the door he faced was left half-open, allowing him to see into what looked like a home office.
though he trusted taehyung enough to not be a serial killer, his curiosity got the best of him as he stepped forward and peeked his head in. he didn’t see anything strange as he glanced around-just a desk, a few filled bookshelves, a mouse, a couch-
hoseok froze, focusing back on the cage dead center of one of the walls before- “TAEHYUNG-AH!”
hurried footsteps sounded from behind him, coming to a halt when taehyung leaned his hand against the door frame. “what? what’s wrong? hyung?” his already wildly beating heart spiked upon hearing hoseok’s scream, but started to calm as much as it could seeing the other in no immediate danger. getting no response, taehyung took a deep breath before walking closer to hoseok’s still form. “what happened, hyung?”
“taehyung, you never mentioned you had a- that you had a…” hoseok tried to talk despite his state, but barely managed a sentence before the animal in the cage started moving again, rendering him mute.
“ah. i was hoping to tell you on date six, but i guess date three works too…” taehyung cleared his throat, understanding now why hoseok screamed for him. the man never did well with small creatures, and it probably wasn't his wisest decision to leave only this door open.
with a hand on the small of his back, taehyung led hoseok further into the room, despite the obvious reluctance to get closer to the animal. “this is jerry. he was abandoned after his owners dropped him at the clinic, and I didn’t want to have to put him down.”
the two stopped a few feet away from the cage and despite every instinct telling him to stay away from it, hoseok took a step closer, leaning to see jerry drinking from his water bottle.
his brown fur puffed out, making him look softer and, as much as hoseok didn’t want to admit it, cuter than he expected.
“i…” taehyung said, not continuing until hoseok had turned toward him, “i hope this doesn’t ruin things. i know you don’t like mice but he’s- jerry’s harmless... I should’ve told you sooner.”
hoseok sighed, wondering how taehyung could think something as small as what pet he has would ruin whatever-it-is that's grown between them. “dumbass.” hoseok smiled at the confused look on his face. “you could have a pet tarantula and i’d still like you. i really hope you don’t though, i’m really scared of spiders.”
the smile he got in return reminded hoseok exactly why he fell for this man in the first place. this kind hearted, beautiful, dumbass of a man.