chapter forty-three ;; lava lamps
third person
°☆.。.:*・°☆

It's rather early once red bangs decide to kick up- freshly dyed. Light pours in and splashes Taehyung to wake up, and the sensation of an unoccupied spot allows room for him to stretch out completely.

Eyes snap open a bit too quickly, groaning softly in the sun yet still reaching over to tap at the left side of the bed. He frowns. Taehyung's hands are met with thrown and tousled sheets, his own naked body twisted around. He brings his legs to a more comfortable position and blinks through sleep, brain trailing into last night with faint hints of a smile across faint lips. It was...nice. Sweet. A good distraction from all the stress.

Taehyung sits up slowly, yet is quickly pushed back down once an all too excited Basenji puppy flings itself onto the bed, tail wagging from her second owner finally being awake, "Little snot rag," Taehyung mumbles. His hands still rub and scratch generously at the tan and white dog's ears. He runs them down the sides and smiles brightly when the puppy wags its tail aggressively, to the point where its whole butt is moving, "Mey, you're gonna throw out your damn hip." Taehyung thinks aloud and ruffles his bangs.

Now stepping onto the wooden floor and pulling up a pair of boxers and pajama bottoms, Taehyung sighs at the cold mercilessly nipping his still bare skin. Didn't turn the heater on. Feet stumble without question once barreling down the spiral staircase with a dog at side, constantly following.

Taehyung likes it. He likes the warm comfort of a loving animal, something to look after and be loving towards. It fills a hole within the soon to be twenty-seven year old, a hole that may be changed by a living and breathing baby one day. He grins crookedly at the fantasy, walking up to the fridge and a neon green sticky note placed on top.

Taehyung uses his index finger and thumb to peel the thing off, listening to Mey's collar tags clinking against one another in the background. The male squints at the cursive scribbles.

[Had to leave early for the newsroom today. Jimin wanted me to finish my new story by noon. I'm sad I couldn't kiss u good morning even though ur breath's disgusting :(.]

Love you! xx
-Kook]

Ah, yes, Jimin, Jungkook's old neighbor turned boss. He remembers the look on his boyfriend's face when gazing upon the shorter male's figure on the day of his interview, how rounded doe eyes lit up and a bunny smile simply wouldn't leave. Taehyung remembers the now watered down jealousy as well.

"Dork," Taehyung muses, crumbling up the note and tossing it away, before grabbing Mey's dog food container, "looks like it's just gonna be you and me this morning, Mey, till I gotta go to the showroom." He mumbles afterwards towards the puppy, who's too focused in on devouring her food to even tilt her head along with every word spoken by Taehyung's raspy morning voice.

He breathes in the empty loft's comforting smell of vanilla, cinnamon, and now winter berries, thanks to Jungkook's two cents on how the room should smell, "I need to be involved, you ass. I live here too." Taehyung most likely would've let the boy pick rotten egg as a scent if it made him happy.

The male hums to himself and grins dumbly, a gesture that simply won't fade. He kicks at Mey's rubber ball and laughs when the puppy gets distracted from eating, leaping over towards the ball with dog fluff paws and baby teeth still harshly chewing on the dry food. Taehyung's always curious on whether it tastes even remotely good or not.

The waking hours of seven a.m. has a quiet type of peaceful timbre. It's usually belied, underestimated and also groaned at or frowned upon. Taehyung begs to differ. At least when Jungkook's home. The elder enjoys sipping at warm coffee with him on the terrace during fall mornings, in boxers and a slouchy sweatshirt, but The twenty-two year old's been busy these past few mornings. Being a journalist most definitely isn't an easy job, yet it makes the brunette wake up and get dressed every morning- a true passion.

Taehyung huffs in content and continues to play with Mey, her teeth nipping at his toes whenever he takes too long to toss her ball. He rather pathetically misses Jungkook. A lot, actually. Maybe it's because he still has the image of a lithe brunette giggling and cascaded in a pink neon light from only hours ago, how he tried to down a shot of fireball but only gagged and complained about how much it hurt, how Taehyung's an asshole for making him try it.

They were at Namjoon's bar, and, apparently, Yoongi had settled down. Jungkook smiled when he heard the news, somewhat saddened by the pain that came with nostalgia. Nonetheless, he's glad Yoongi is happy whilst taking care of a new baby girl recently brought into the world. Namjoon told them that Yoongi's also glad for the two boys. A faint weight was lifted off their shoulders at that, and the young couple talked through the whole night after an or so hour spent in shared passion.

They talked about the past. The present and future zooming ahead. All with Jungkook's doe eyes blinking at sleep, his index finger drawing circles on Taehyung's bare chest, whilst the elder drew his hand delicately up and down Jungkook's bare thigh. Intimate. Feeling like a soft sheen caressing their two aging souls.

They're both in it for the long run now. Meaning: yes they will get married, but no it's not needed any time soon. Yes, there will be kids, but no, that's not for years and years down the road. Jungkook and Taehyung both know who they belong to and that's one another. There's no need for shiny rings to seal that together.

Taehyung heaves out something aggressive and pent up, lets the back of his head make contact with the wall behind him. Nervous. Very nervous. He curls his hands into his pajama bottoms. It resonates from his now speeding chest and spreads to his toes. Taehyung shouldn't be this wound up. It's not like he's proposing. It's most likely the mere concept of someone you dedicate your whole being to looking at what you've spent two years on, the best of times clashed against tears and pain from the past: a timeline.

"Fucking hell," Taehyung whispers and brings a hand up to his temple, massaging the tan skin whilst tapping his foot, "I can't just stay around here. Sorry, Mey but I'm leaving early."

The puppy just tilts her head to the side and stares up at Taehyung, eyes round and ears perked. Such a sight makes Taehyung think of Jungkook when he's watching him paint, confused yet still paying attention with all his might. The thought makes Taehyung's heart stutter and his feet falter, thinking about Jungkook as if he's his life source. Sometimes it truly seems that way, and he knows Jungkook feels the same towards him. He takes pride in it.

Taehyung's out the door in ten minutes, spending extra time on his hair that's now pushed up with a bandana and only stubbing his two twice on Jungkook's vanity. Taehyung usually complains to the twenty-three year old about how dumb it is, but he knows that's most entirely not true when he uses the medium sized counter in private.

He feeds Mey two more scoops of puppy chow to suffice for lunch, grabs his keys, and heads out of the cranberry painted door, whistling a soft tune.

--

"You've got to be kidding me." Jungkook mumbles to himself for the nth time. What was supposed to be a simple five hour day at work where he's home by eleven has extended to that of eight and doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon, "Jimin- I- Isn't this good enough yet?"

Jungkook was told to finish his story for the paper. It was done in two hours. Then he was given another. And another. And now a current one that's just about done, yet Jimin keeps telling his employee, "You're rushing it. Just take a breather and find better words. You can do better."

It makes Jungkook tug at his hair and helplessly stare out of the tall building's largely scaled window that stretches the whole office. He listens distantly to the sounds of keys being slammed down on at intense speeds and instead wishes it could be the sound of Mey's rather weak puppy barks mixed in with Taehyung's laughter when she gets too frustrated when playing fetch and instead opts for a game of 'let me go over to give you the ball but not actually let you have it when you try and grab it from me'. A personal favorite.

"If you have to ask me, you know it's not." Jimin deadpans while looking over his shoulder, leaning over a desk in order to talk to another employee asking about the spread out of the pages for next week's newspapers. People care more about what's online than what's on paper nowadays, but Jimin still finds it a priority.

Jungkook knows Jimin is right, but it still makes his knuckles go white when gripping the sides of his laptop's screen and makes his lips tighten into a grimace, "I've written three damn articles today." Jungkook begins, extremely frustrated, "And it's a Friday, so please, Jimin, just let me finish this ungodly thing by Sunday and email it to you, okay? I've been here for nine hours."

Jimin sighs and turns completely from the patient lady who stays still and waits for her boss to turn back around. He glances over towards the digital clock on the wall and admittedly feels bad for not realizing how hard he might've been pushing Jungkook today to get things done, "Right- yeah, you can go. Didn't realize it was that late already. Just make sure you have it in by Sunday at six in the afternoon, got it?" Jimin points his small finger in Jungkook's direction and lifts his eyebrows up, face serious yet kind.

"Yes, of course. Thanks, Chim." Jungkook beams and x's out of his document after saving it, "Taehyung says he has something prepared for tonight, and I just want to get home."

"Do you think he'll propose?" Jimin jokingly questions now that the lady from prior is gone. He acts more casual now, jutting an elbow into Jungkook's ribcage.

"I really hope not, if I'm being honest." Jungkook confesses when putting his laptop into his satchel. The same one Taehyung has but in black, "I'm not really in the mood to get engaged just yet."

"I get that." Jimin nods his head and leans against Jungkook's desk with a thermal cup full of probably stale coffee that leaves a film across the mouth, "You're still young, got a ways to go."

Jungkook hums and pulls out his phone to check his notifications, smiling when he sees that Taehyung's sent him a few texts, "Sometimes I wonder if Taehyung's okay with that." The younger male suddenly confesses, feeling slightly uneasy on the topic.

Usually Taehyung's calm with talking about these types of things, and that, in return, makes Jungkook somehow calm as well. But with the absence of the familiar male, he feels the self consciousness trickling in.

"What do you mean?" Jimin leans forward in the slightest and scrunches his brow.

"Taehyung- He's twenty-seven, you know? And I'm twenty-three. Sometimes I'm just...worried that we're maybe not on the same page when it comes to the whole proposing and getting married thing. Because I'm nowhere near ready and won't be for a little while because I'm still trying to push past the stupid fucking stigma I have towards engagements since- ...that, and it just really, really scares me that Taehyung'll one day get tired of waiting and just...go." Jungkook's voice is quieter at the end yet all the more hectic.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jimim begins and puts his travel mug down, "slow your roll there, man. You're thinking way too far into this. I was just making a joke." Jimin exhales and turns a little more towards Jungkook who's clearly still wandering in the topic, "I know Taehyung's completely fine with waiting. We've talked about it before, okay? I asked him how he truly feels, heart to heart, and he said that he'd wait an eternity if he has to. It's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard in my goddamn life, but I know you'd probably lose your shit if you heard it coming from him. Just take my word for it, yeah? Trust me when I say he doesn't mind at all."

"Yeah...yeah, you're right. I'm acting dumb- sorry." Jungkook laughs while shaking his head and feels a blush creeping along the apples of his cheeks.

"Jesus, don't be sorry. You're thinking what normal people your age think. At least you know it's Taehyung who you want your future husband to be."

Jungkook can't help but curl his toes at the concept. Although it's terrifying and not something he can 100% grasp his mind around yet, the male knows he'll one day be ready and when he is he won't be able to hold back one bit.

"I'll see you Monday with a new story." Jungkook finally decides to say, sending Jimin a friendly smile before throwing his satchel on diagonally across his body and heading towards the main elevator. Jimin responds with a short goodbye and a lazy wave.

--

Jungkook whines when he steps out of the building's glass doors and instead feels nipping wind bite at his nose and hands. He wraps his scarf further up till he knows it could be considered a neck brace and shoves gloves over his hands, the kind that lets you still text through the fabric. Taehyung calls them lame but Jungkook calls them efficient.

He takes his phone out from his long trench coat's pocket and once again fondly gazes down towards Taehyung's contact name. He skims through the texts and confusingly pays extra attention to the last one that's sent underneath a blurry selfie of Taehyung and Mey from seven thirty this morning.

Come to this address instead of home tonight 💕👀

Jungkook doesn't think his heart still has the ability to do what it does, but the organ suddenly leaps into his throat and leaves him lightheaded for second, quickening his pace down the crowded streets of Seoul and towards where the address is, Google Maps directing the way through his headphones. He's admittedly confused yet knows the destination won't be some type of bar or club. Taehyung doesn't find drinking that interesting anymore, yet he'll still sometimes be seen with a single cigarette between his lips when stress becomes too much.

--

Once Jungkook finally reaches the brick building right at the corner of a busy intersection with professional yet casual people of interest coming in and out, he feels a little lost. Yet all of that is gone immediately when he sees a familiar tan male leaning against the textured wall, raising a large hand to signal Jungkook to hurry over.

He has a white stick fuming smoke when coming closer to contact, but it's quickly taken out of his mouth and tossed to the ground, stomped upon. Jungkook's about to ask Taehyung what has him stressed enough to smoke again out of absolute worry, but there's lanky arms wrapping around his small waist and supple lips softly pushing against his.

The onyx haired male is immediately jello under Taehyung's fingertips, melding further into his front and feeling a little more secure, "What is this place?" Jungkook asks once pulling back but keeps proximities just as close with his head tucked into Taehyung's nape.

"Look up at the sign for yourself." Taehyung muses and soothes a hand across Jungkook's lower back when he twists to get a better view of the large lettering.

He has to blink once, then twice, then three times to finally process what it is, "You're kidding." Jungkook breathes and turns back towards his boyfriend, eyes wide but smile wider, "Is that really your name that I see up there? Am I dating the Kim Taehyung that has a walk through showcase today?"

"Indeed you are," Taehyung plays and loosely lets go of Jungkook's waist to instead grab for his left hand, "but c'mon, I wanna show you what I'm showcasing."

This is next level for Taehyung's career. Jungkook knows that for a fact, and he's absolutely never been more proud in his life. He glances up towards the company owned by the clearly popular building on the sign and swears he's heard of it before.

Taehyung finds it hard to contain his nerves. His heart's thumping a bit too fast and his hands feel a little clammy. He's thankful that Jungook still has his soft gloves on and can't feel the clamminess amongst his partner's enclosed palm. He can't quite make out the feeling of anxiety pumping from his heart to the rest of his chest and onwards till it reaches his fingertips and toes, but he misses the somehow protective feeling of being outside in the cold instead of this unnerving ice pumping through his veins, once they finally step inside and walk into the main hall.

Jungkook's mind runs short.

He ever so slightly tightens his grip around Taehyung's hand and subconsciously pulls the male closer, a habit when he's overwhelmed with emotions and just needs the closer contact to stay calm. The brunette knows he feels tears prickling at his eyes, and he knows Taehyung can see them when he worriedly looks over and is quick to step in front of the stunned male.

"Shit, I knew it'd be too much. I'm sorry. It's kind of a lot and maybe a little too weird for your liking. We can just leav-"

"Shut up and move so I can see your artwork, dumbo." Jungkook says with a crack and softly pushes Taehyung's hunched and now also surprised body to the side whilst quickly making his way towards the left wall where the noticeable timeline starts. Taehyung's quick to rush back towards the younger's side.

"Is that the coffee shop?" Jungkook asks, gently pointing towards the first painting and paying close attention to how it's greyscale and refined. Very sharp and geometrical, arguably a little jejune. But the younger knows it's that way for a reason.

"Yeah," Taehyung breathes, hesitant and a little weary.

Jungkook walks down towards the second one only a couple feet away and pays attention to the strangers that surround it in content thought, "That's me." He smiles with the most loving smile ever mustered up on planet earth, looking so closely at how vibrant colors radiate around his painted self in looser, more abstract shapes, whilst the rest of the coffee shop's setting remains in the same refined and dull grey, "You made me look really cute."

"'Cause you are," Taehyung replies with no hesitation and notices how it makes a shiver run down his boyfriend's spine.

And so they walk through the rest of their painted out timeline. A branched out collection of paintings stemming at those from their journey to the forest. The bright day where Jungkook was given daisies picked from the ground and they spent hours at Auntie Anne's, stuffing their faces with three pretzels each without a care afterwards.

The color palette changes with Taehyung's hope. Jungkook came to quickly realize. How the world would still be grey around the edges, no matter how bright Jungkook shined in the focus of the piece. The edges were lackluster and frayed and a symbol for how Jungkook's heart had belonged to someone else. Even in the closest of times.

And yeah, Jungkook blubbers like a baby and cries his absolute heart out when he sees the vibrant colors leave completely once more somewhere in the middle. A composition of him, plain, tired, tears brimming the eyes with messy hands graphed out in what seems like charcoal along the shoulders and on his head. It's messy. Raw. The paint's haphazardly slapped on with a palette knife that leaves thick layers of different textures.

It hits home and leaves Taehyung desperately trying to calm the poor boy down while other people who are there to 'admire the work' glare till realizing Taehyung's the artist and the sniffling boy in his arms is the muse throughout each masterpiece. It's all but humbling.

Jungkook finally calms down and laughs out in embarrassment and also tries not to tear up again once noticibg fragments of color coming back into play. Slowly by slowly. Piece by piece. Till the second to last blooms with flowers spreading along the edges and encasing two males who clearly have meeting lips, a single lava lamp obscuring the sight and hiding most of their faces. It's beautiful, absolutely breathtaking, and Jungkook just can't wait till they're home so he can shower Taehyung with praise and never stop talking about this accomplishment.

The last piece makes Jungkook's racing heart slow, makes it feel like soft pillows are underneath his feet every time he steps. Such a grounding sight titled 'What Would You Think of Me?', where it's current Jungkook staring at old Taehyung across the coffeeshop, this canvas being the biggest by far and most likely six feet wide, four feet high. It's a reminiscing type of feeling. Jungkook can more closely relate to the painted Jungkook he's currently staring at than the one from the beginning with blonde hair, staring curiously over at a mischievous male who's bangs are green and clothes a little too tight.

"I'd still think that's you're hot." Jungkook muses to brighten the mood and feels complete when Taehyung laughs out something deep from his chest and wraps his arm delicately around Jungkook's broadening shoulders, "But I would reject you." He continues. Taehyung's content gaze falters into that of worry, "Because I'm already dating this extremely amazing guy, and he's twenty-seven years old and kinda smells more like vanilla than an ash tray now, and he sounds calmer when he talks and a little less rushed. We have a dog together, and I'm gonna marry him one day, be his husband forever, and we're gonna adopt kids and grow hold- mhm, yep. I know it." And then Taehyung's mind is at bay, but his heart is swelling with too many goddamn butterflies fluttering their oversized wings and overwhelming his system. It's as if they push his body towards Jungkook and makes him sweep the younger male into a kiss that's probably way too intimate for public, but who the fuck cares?

That night Taehyung and Jungkook buy takeout from a local chicken shop down the street. They're tired from talking to so many interested art lovers at the showcase and explaining the theme around the pieces: morphing.

They sit together on the terrace with Mey sleeping on the windowsill so she's still warm and safe from the cold outside, and Jungkook remains tucked under Taehyung arm whilst he's fed chicken and kissed softly on the mouth and praised for possibly being the most supportive boyfriend on the planet. Jungkook laps it all up and takes everything to his heart, when thin fingers are massaging at his scalp and softly nudging him into slumber.

"You really mean it when you say we're gonna grow old together?" Taehyung asks into the night sky and stares up at the full moon with his own hooded eyes, sleepy and breathing to Jungkook's heartbeat and the warmth radiating from his body.

"Yeah," Jungkook speaks, half asleep but still aware, "I wanna see you get old to where you have smile lines from how many times you laugh from my puns." He coos and lazily reaches up to pinch Taehyung's plump cheek, to which the elder groans softly and bats his hand away.

"Your puns are terrible." Taehyung responds and looks down at Jungkook's still undefeated gaze.

"But you're still whipped enough to laugh at every single one." He points and nuzzles even further into Taehyung's nonchalant form.

"Yeah...you're right."

"That's okay, though. I'm whipped too, and I love you very much."

"I love you too." Taehyung hums in agreement and looks from Jungkook's face back to the moon and back towards the single lava lamp slowly moving in his room. The neon green base and purple-pink insides being that of the one Jungkook gifted him all those years ago.

So extremely whipped yet too happy to care.

--

and that's the end of lava lamps, the longest time it's taken me to write a story!! *low key sobbing from the amount of stress*

i'll be completely honest here, i don't necessarily look back at this book and am amazed with what i created.

i believe this book came in at a rather awkward stage of my life, where i was trying to 'rediscover' myself (how edgy), find out who i truly am, what i enjoy, what limits i should push in my writing style, what my writing style even is. (i still have no idea lol.)

so if you were to ask me if i'm proud of lava lamps to it's fullest, i'd say yes but not because i believe it is good...but because i feel it was necessary to happen?? ?¿

without lava lamps, i wouldn't of been able to understand the difference between good and pure writing against stressed and trying to get something out as soon as possible??? this story really kicked my butt & really made me question if i'll stick with writing.

and here i am, closing up only my second book on this account and already planning out a third(s). i say thirds because there are too many ideas that can currently take the title. :")

i hope you were able to read all of my babbling at the end of this, and i hope you found lava lamps to be enjoyable.

i can only wish for you to stick around for what's to come in the future, as i can only get better from this point on.

(blegh this is so grOSS)

thank you. - jordan <3