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𝕴𝖓 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖍 𝕵𝖊𝖔𝖓 𝕵𝖊𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖌𝖚𝖐 𝖎𝖘 𝖆 𝖇𝖚𝖓𝖓𝖞 𝖍𝖞𝖇𝖗𝖎𝖉 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖐𝖘 𝖆𝖙 𝕶𝖎𝖒 𝕮𝖔𝖗𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘. 𝕹𝖔 𝖍𝖞𝖇𝖗𝖎𝖉𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖆𝖓𝖞 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖍𝖎𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖘𝖊𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖙 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓 𝖆 𝖞𝖊𝖆𝖗. 𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖇𝖔𝖘𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘𝖊𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖙 𝖆𝖉𝖒𝖎𝖗𝖊𝖗 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖈𝖐𝖘 𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖇𝖞 𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖊, 𝕵𝖊𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖌𝖚𝖐'𝖘 𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖗 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖗𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖋𝖊 𝖎𝖘 𝖆𝖙 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖊.

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- 𝕋𝕠𝕡 𝕋𝕒𝕖

- 𝔹𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕠𝕞 𝔾𝕘𝕦𝕜

- ℍ𝕪𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕕 𝔸𝕌

- 𝔽𝕝𝕦𝕗𝕗

- 𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕥-𝕚𝕤𝕙

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

"... The meeting with the chairwoman and the founding associates of C.R.R Federation. Mr. Grace's arrival has been postponed. I believe it's because he's caught the flu. And uh, there's also the opening ceremony of our twenty-eighth branch in south Incheon. But that's later on in the week so I'll keep your private jet ready by tomorrow, sir."

Taehyung nodded.

He had no idea what words were escaping the younger male standing next to him. But he kept agreeing and shaking his head when he felt was necessary.

"I also need you to sign two pages for me. They're the original documents so please don't use that leaky fountain pen like last time?" He sighed, looking at Taehyung with pleading eyes. 
"Mhm. No problem. You do that," he replied, his gaze unwavering as he stared at him blatantly.

Jeongguk squirmed under the intense stare. 

"Uh, sir? Sir."
"Mhm, sure."

Jeongguk sighed, fighting the urge to bang his head on the desk in exasperation. Taehyung was zoning out more than usual the past few months. His eyes kept glazing over when something important was being said and he kept answering in a distracted, quietened tone. And let's not forget the staring - he kept looking into Jeongguk's eyes as if he was the only thing he could see.

"Sir, are you listening to me?"

Taehyung nodded, a bit preoccupied with drinking in every detail of his secretary.

"Of course not. No problemo, Gguk."

A light unnoticeable blush dusted Jeongguk's cheeks at the nickname. He had never heard it before but the way the word rolled off Taehyung's tongue made him want to hear it all the time.

"Sir," he repeated, a bit more forcefully this time. When Taehyung didn't even move, he put his hand on top of the CEO's. 

That did the trick. 

The black-haired male shook out of it, his eyes widening as he pulled his hand back immediately. 

"Sorry I had to do that. You were - kind of zoned out," Jeongguk said it satirically with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. So about that meeting with Choi."

It took a lot of effort for Jeongguk to not lie down and start sobbing or just run towards the glass window-wall and jump off the 18th floor. He had talked about the interviews with Mr. Choi about an approximate of one hour and a half ago.

"Sir, I think you should go lie down. We have today's evening free anyways. You look a bit peaky," he sighed, frustrated. He felt like pulling all of his hair out. 

At that thought his hands instinctively rose to his head to fix his bucket hat.

Taehyung hummed as his head fell back. He let a deep breath escape him. 

It was getting harder by the day to focus on what Jeon Jeongguk was saying and not the boy himself. It was like his pretty pink lips, large doe-brown eyes and almost everything about him that Taehyung found beautiful (which, by the way was pretty much all of him) were becoming more and more irresistible each day. 

He only wished Jeongguk would take that stupid hat off of his head.

He had noticed the boy scratch his head and fix it, fidget with it, clearly uncomfortable with the hat. So why didn't he take it off? 

Taehyung didn't have any dress codes at his company. If you wore appropriate clothes, he wouldn't mind. But that damned hat of Jeongguk's pissed him off beyond words.

And all of his tries at showing him how much he really liked him were failing. The large bouquet of flowers signed by him were taken as an appreciative gesture; the chocolates and small plushie koala given to him by Taehyung on fucking Valentine's Day were taken as a friendly gift. 

It was physically excruciating and painful for someone to be this oblivious.

"Sir. Are you alright?"
His head snapped up.

Jeongguk hadn't been expecting that so he had leaned in. The close proximity made both of them jump back. 

"I - I'm quite fine. But - maybe some coffee would help. There's a new Starbucks that opened recently. It's a few blocks down. Since we are free, it wouldn't do harm to go check it out, right?" Taehyung was standing, straightening his tie as he held the door open for Jeongguk. His heart thudded loudly but he tried to be as cool and collected as he could muster up the strength to be. 

"Sir, I'm afraid we have the evening free. Right now, we need to talk with the C.R.R Association. I'm sorry you misunderstood," his eyes widened with hurt and fear as he said it in a hushed voice. 

"Oh no, that's alright. Hey, it's okay. Are you... a-are you about to cry? Oh shit, please don't cry. It's okay, w-we can go sometime else!" Taehyung spoke agitatedly as he rushed to see if Jeongguk was actually crying. The door slammed shut behind him. Jeongguk's mood lightened and he let out a small giggle in spite of himself. 

"I'm not crying! I was just worried that you might feel - hurt," he cleared it out.

Taehyung made a sound of realization. "Uh, so maybe you'd want to go out for dinner later today? It - it's just - I'm just asking, it's okay if you're busy - or... or if you have plans, you know?"

Jeongguk had never seen the suave Kim Taehyung so flustered and worked up. It made him want to giggle again but he fought back the urge. He had almost opened his mouth to agree shyly when he remembered the problem. 

His face fell.

"I - I'm sorry, sir, I told my sister I would go and see her today. She lives abroad and has come for a short visit. I'm very sorry," he bowed down, apology in his very expression.

The elder waved his hand. "Oh, well, never mind then. It's alright, really."

He seemed uncaring but Jeongguk made out the way his shoulders slumped. He knew he had made Taehyung sad. Because of a lie. And he hated himself for it. He hated who - what he was. And he hated hiding it. 

But there was nothing else he could do anyways.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Throughout the meeting, Jeongguk could feel Taehyung's eyes on him. But he couldn't understand if it was a gaze of sadness, hurt or anger. Whatever it was, though, it sure did make him fidget nervously.

At last when it was over, he gave into his desire and looked at him. Taehyung didn't glance away when he was caught staring. And for some reason, even Jeongguk couldn't. 

He darted his tongue around his lips in anxiety. Taehyung's gaze grew more and more intense until it finally looked like he was ready to lay him down and devour and probably even kill him then and there. Until -

"Kim, you coming?"

Their staring contest was smashed to bits. 

Taehyung got up, nodding and shooting the employee of the opposite company an emotionless smile. "Yeah. Jeongguk?" he motioned towards the exit. This time he looked away immediately after making eye contact.

By the time Jeongguk had finished wrapping up and reached the door, there was no sign of Taehyung. 

He felt worried as he started jogging, all the while tightening the bucket hat on his head so it wouldn't fall off. Finally the large, polished oak-wood door came into view and he slowed down, breathing heavily. 

Slowly, very hesitantly, he raised his hand to the handle and pushed it open. 

"T-Taehyung?" It came out more fearful than he had anticipated.

The CEO looked up from his position. He had been leaning against the opposite wall, facing Jeongguk, a book in his hands.
It looked like he hadn't moved from that position for an hour and yet he had returned from a meeting less than a minute ago. 

Jeongguk blinked, his brows furrowing.

"Yes?" He sounded as cool and relaxed as always.

"Are - are you upset with me?" he asked, voice trembling.
Taehyung groaned internally at the look Jeongguk was giving him.

His eyes were wide with fear and worry and his lower lip was jutting out in his signature pout whenever he was distressed. The elder snapped his book shut and forced himself to take a deep breath to control himself. To Jeongguk, it looked like he was trying to calm himself and that he would step forward and fire him or worse, yell at him. 

Why was getting yelled at worse than getting fired, you ask?
Because it would make him sad and then his side would jump out.
And that would result in his secret escaping.

Taehyung gestured for him to enter the room. He obeyed, silently shutting the door and hopping forward.

It reminded Taehyung of a rabbit. 
Cute, he thought, smiling to himself.

"I'm not upset, Jeongguk," he laughed. "You worry too much. Anyways, do you wanna leave early?"

Jeongguk blanked out. "Uh, wh-why would I want that, sir?"

"To see your sister, of course! Are you sure you're alright?" Taehyung chuckled. The deep sound made the younger's stomach burst into butterflies. He felt a warm feeling wash over him, his heart beating faster. 

"My - my sister? I don't have a sister, sir. I'm an only child," he blinked in confusion. 

And then, it was too late. He remembered the lie he had told Taehyung an hour or so back. 

"O-oh! You were talking about my cousin! I - yes, of course, I'm sorry. I forgot," he chuckled uneasily.

No, no, no he knows, he knows I'm lying.

Taehyung's eyes narrowed as he stepped towards him. "Jeongguk - are you lying to me? Is there something that you're not telling me?" he asked in a quiet, hurt voice. 

"N-no, why would I - why would I lie to you, hyung?"

The elder stopped dead in his tracks. 

"I'm sorry, sir, it just slipped out! I'm really sorry -"
"No, it's okay. Y-you can call me that. I - I like it." 

Maybe more than I should, Taehyung finished in his head. 

"You know what, never mind. Call me sir. I - I've got used to it," he said, looking away and trying not to think of how his stomach had twisted when Jeongguk said 'hyung'.

And then he continued approaching Jeongguk still. 

The younger stepped back, gulping. His shoe causing the carpet to fold and caught in the bump. He yelped and tripped backwards, his arms flying to grab a hold of something.

Fortunately, Taehyung's reflexes were lightning fast and his hand shot out to clutch onto Jeongguk's. Fortunately, he was strong enough to support Jeongguk's entire weight and he slipped an arm around his waist, holding him steadily.

Unfortunately, while Jeongguk was lucky enough to be caught, his hat wasn't. 

It slipped off his head and landed on the red velvet carpeted floor. Taehyung took in a sharp breath, losing his vice-like grip on the younger's wrist.

Because among the unkempt locks of the visibly soft chestnut-brown hair Jeongguk had, were two silvery, long bunny ears. 

He had seen hybrids before - at restaurants, on the streets and even as neighbours in his huge apartment complex. But they were usually always with their owners. This was the first time Taehyung was seeing a hybrid away from his owner for such long periods of time and a hybrid this adorable.

It wasn't uncommon for hybrids to work. Usually, they did it alongside their owners. You would almost never see a hybrid without an owner because without one, they were vulnerable. They got agitated, annoyed and or snappy. Most hybrids become depressed or upset if they're not with their owner or respective partner. Their community had hybrids and humans living alongside each other. But it was unheard of that a hybrid has a higher status in the workplace than their owner. 

Jeongguk scrambled back, drawing his legs closer to himself. His doe-eyes pooled with tears immediately and he looked with pure fear at Taehyung. His furry white ears were drooping down and it made the elder's heart pang.

Ah right. 

The company's no-hybrid rule. 

It had been established by Taehyung's great-grandfather long ago when one of the visiting guests had filed a complaint about fur in their food.

"P-Please. Please don't tell a-anyone, s-sir. I - I'll leave the company, h-hand in a resignation l-letter. Just please don't tell anyone," he whispered, whimpering and nearly breaking out in sobs.

Taehyung dropped to his knees slowly, bringing himself to the hybrid's eye level so he wouldn't look bigger. He looked sadly at Jeongguk; he wanted nothing more than to rush over and scoop the boy into a hug. 

Of all the things he wanted to say, the question that escaped him was, "How?"

Jeongguk broke into a torrent of explanations, visibly fighting to hold back his crying. "I - I thought I could do it. G-Get a j-job, work and t-take care of myself. An' it worked for a y-year, too." 

He paused, sniffling. His pouting lip trembled.

"Where - where's your owner then?"

The heartbroken look on Jeongguk's face lessened, an injured, offended expression taking its place. "I don' need one," he frowned, clearly upset. "Owners are a waste of space. I'm fine by myself! We can be independent too, you know," his eyes flitted up to meet Taehyung's as if daring him to say otherwise. Taehyung was taken aback for a moment at his hard, determined look.

"But - you could have gone to anywhere else. This place with this stupid policy - why come here?"

"What's the point of asking me? N-Not like I'm gonna stay," Jeongguk trembled.

"I'm not gonna fire you, Gguk." The younger looked shocked. Taehyung detected the tiniest of wishful thinking in his chocolaty eyes.

"Y-You're not? But - but what about the policy? I can't stay here, 'm not allowed," he pointed out. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm calling a meeting of the entire company tomorrow. That rule's dead. You can stay here. It took a lot of effort to get a secretary as good as you. I really don't want to go through all that again. And I've developed a bond with you," Taehyung's lips lifted in a half-smirk and half-grin.

Jeongguk's cheeks heated up visibly, his large doe-eyes becoming bigger. His front teeth peeked out as he broke into a wide smile. Taehyung could see now, even without the ears - how much Jeongguk looked like a bunny.

Taehyung got to his feet, holding out his hand to Jeongguk, who took it and hopped up.

"So about that coffee and dinner. You really have a sister who's in town?"

The hybrid looked ashamed of himself but Taehyung only found it cute.

"No, that was just an excuse. You can't really go into a restaurant with an ugly bucket hat on your head. Not that it diminishes my looks, I look unattractive and gruesome anyways," he shrugged.

"Whoa whoa WHOA! First of all, that bucket hat is a terrible one, I agree. You will not believe how much it irked me. But even a thing like THAT," he pointed a finger to the hat lying on the ground, forgotten, "can't hide your amazingly unrealistically good looks. People like you are the reason others are single because you raise their standards so unreachably high," he said matter-of-factly.

Jeongguk turned red at the speech Taehyung had made all in one breath. He looked down, avoiding eye contact again.

"I - th-thank you... I guess," he smiled the tiniest of shy smiles.

"No, you're not welcome, because that isn't a compliment, it's not a praise. It's just real FAX, NO PRINTER!" Taehyung exclaimed, making Jeongguk erupt into giggles.

"That was a terrible pun but bonus points for effort."

The corner of Taehyung's lips lifted slowly as he looked down at the boy who was nearly dying of laughter.

"Anyways - I - that was an excuse. I'm free this evening so i-if you want w-we can... you know - g-go to that place you were talking about," the younger suddenly regained his shy demeanour. 

"Sure," Taehyung shrugged. 

There was a pause for a few moments. The elder interrupted it by tugging at Jeongguk lightly and leading him towards the sofa. He complied and let himself be thrust down. Taehyung stood in front of him, looking into his eyes which soon gained that intensity he had had that morning in the meeting.

"T-Tae?"

Taehyung's smile turned into a smirk. Jeongguk's heart skipped a beat and sped up. "That's a cute name," he grinned, making the younger flush again.

His arm drifted upwards - towards Jeongguk's bunny ears. Taking his silence as a sign to continue, he let his hand rest atop the tousled brown locks. He took the right ear in between his fingers and, very slowly and tentatively, he started stroking it. The snow-coloured fur was even softer than it looked. Taehyung fondled it gently, smiling ever so slightly as he played with it and caressed it. 

Little did he know what effect that tiny little touch was having on the younger.

Jeongguk felt a shudder go down his spine as soon as Taehyung's hand came in contact with his ear. He bit down on his lip harshly, trying his best to hold in the mortifying sounds that threatened to escape. 

The feeling was unrealistically amazing - something he had never felt before - and he felt waves of delight wash over him.

"That feel good, Gguk?"
He couldn't muster up the strength to say 'yes', afraid that he would make an embarrassing sound instead so he just nodded. So frantically that Taehyung chuckled.

The elder pulled his hand away after a while and gave Jeongguk some time to get back to normal. He had heard of how sensitive a hybrid was and it secretly made him delighted that he had that effect on the boy.

"Coffee it is," he said as he stepped back and smoothened out the creases on his suit.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

A month later (I dunno imagine it up ;-;)

"I uh, I wanted to ask something. Jeongguk, I've known you for a long time and I - it's hard for me to do this, mainly because I never have," he chuckled nervously. His fingers drummed on the table at a rapid speed.

Jeongguk rested his hand on top of the elder's, his gaze darting from their hands to Taehyung's eyes.

"It - it's not anything like... I mean, I know you probably don't feel the same but I still have to get it off my chest. I like you. I like you a lot. I just - felt like I should man up after around two years and finally c-confess," Taehyung finished, his heart racing.

The younger's reaction wasn't too bad. He looked surprised at first, then happy and finally shy.

Taehyung noticed both of his long, bunny ears straighten on top of his head. One quivered.

"I - I really like you too, h-hyung," he finally said in a quiet, timid tone. Taehyung laughed even though he probably shouldn't have.

"As a friend? As a - colleague?"

"N-no, it's - I - I like you more than - that."

Taehyung let out a relieved sigh. "Thank god, I was getting really angsty here," he chuckled. "You do realize that all these outings I've taken you on were actually dates right? Please tell me you realized that."

"Ye- wait what, they were what?!"

He sighed, electing to ignore this. 

"Would you, Jeon Jeongguk, do me the favour of becoming my boyfriend?" Jeongguk's eyes widened and he blushed, evidently lost for words. 

"I - y-you, I - what -," he stuttered, flustered. 

"Would yo-" Taehyung started.
"No - no I got that. It's just - sorry, I wasn't really expecting - yes. Yes, I'd love to," he took a deep breath and said slowly.

Even in his sleep, the dream of that day made Taehyung smile unknowingly.

It was the first time he had dreamt of the day that he had finally confessed to his now-boyfriend and the first time they had kissed. It was a very hesitant and clumsy one at first because neither of them had ever done it but it nevertheless felt amazing.

Taehyung rolled over, stretching out and yawned. He reached out to his left instinctively but unlike usual, his hands didn't come into contact with cotton linen pyjamas, soft brown hair or long, fluffy ears.

He frowned, half-asleep and reached out further, groping around. 

"Oh, god, Gguk," he sighed, exasperated as he checked the watch in front and saw the time. The boy had gone to work early again.

He got up, unwilling, and moved like a robot, freshening up and changing. At last, he tugged on his tie and groaned as the automated voice repeated itself for the thousandth time.

"The number you have dialled is switched off. Please leave a message after the beep." Beep.

"Jeongguk, I swear, if you don't call me back the moment you turn your phone on, I'm going to kill you. Why have you kept your phone off anyways, its the middle of the week!" he whined, sounding like a child whose candy was taken away. In this case, Jeongguk was the candy. Taehyung was the child.

"What's the point of being CEO if you can't even wake up hugging your boyfriend," he grumbled, combing out the tangles of his black hair, irritated.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

For once, Taehyung ignored the greetings of everyone in the office as he almost streaked past. Ever since he had lifted the rule of no-hybrids, the place had somehow become more lively and cheerful. Now, there were hybrids of almost all kinds in the company. He just spared them brief nods and smiles. Jeongguk still hadn't picked up the phone and he was getting extremely worried.

His hand rested on the door handle of his office, which was now an adjoined one with Jeongguk's. Taehyung hesitated and took in a deep breath before forcing the door open.

WoW.

Loud rock music greeted him. Jeongguk was twirling around, a small yellow watering can in one hand and a pen in the other. He sprinkled water on the plants in his office and swirled to his desk, signing and writing on files. Occasionally, he would lip-sync along to the lyrics of the song blasting from his Bose speakers.

Taehyung's face went from resembling the surprised Pikachu to the squinting Spiderman meme. And then he grinned.

"Jeon Jeongguk!" he yelled, scowling.

The hybrid flinched in shock, the pen flying out of his hand and landing on the carpeted floor. He sighed in relief when he saw who it was. "Hi hyung!" he grinned as he turned the music off.

"What are you doing?" Taehyung gritted his teeth. He wasn't mad. He wasn't pissed. He was just incredibly amazed at how multi-functioning his boyfriend was. And of course, annoyed at the not-waking-up-cuddling-Jeongguk part.

"I - I'm - working," he replied, shrinking a bit under the intense cold stare.

An evil giggle sounded inside Taehyung's head.

Here we go again, his mind sighed.

"Working? You think playing music like that, dancing around, watering plants with a pen in your hand is considered working? D'you want me to fire you, Jeon?" he demanded in a low voice.

Jeongguk's ears flattened against his head. He looked down. "I'm sorry sir. I'll - I'll work harder, I promise. I'm sorry," he bowed down, blinking back tears. 

All he could think of was how much he hated himself at that moment. Taehyung had accepted him gladly, lifted the generations-old policy just for him, let him keep working there and most importantly, loved him. And what did Jeongguk do in return? Take it for granted. He had taken Taehyung for granted and had got too used to the freedom. 

Shame on you, Jeon Jeongguk, a voice hissed at him.

Meanwhile, Taehyung was panicking. His brain was on full red-alert mode. His consciousness yelled at him. He hadn't meant to make Jeongguk feel guilty. It was only meant to be harmless fun. Teasing him for leaving early. And here he was, frozen and looking at Jeongguk positively choking back tears.

He had called Taehyung 'sir'. Jeongguk had almost never called him 'sir' ever since they had become boyfriends. It was only when he was sad or feeling off that the formality slipped out unknowingly.

Jeongguk's white bunny ear twitched and drooped. He refused to look up from the floor.

"Hey - hey, Gguk - oh my god, Jeongguk," Taehyung ran forward once he felt his legs unfreeze. "Ggu, I was joking. Oh - oh god. Don't - are you crying? W-What - baby, don't cry," he cried as he dropped to his knees to look into Jeongguk's eyes.

Jeongguk sniffled and choked out a whimper. Taehyung shot up again, his arms flying around the smaller boy and pulling him close. "God, I'm so sorry, Jeongguk. I was just - I was just playing around, sweetheart, you know how I get sometimes. I didn't mean to make you cry, bun, I'm sorry. Don't cry, darling. I'm so so sorry, baby, please forgive hyung," he rambled in desperation, all forms of nicknames slipping out.

When he pulled away, he found tears already streaking down Jeongguk's face.

Well SHi-

"Oh no baby, please don't - d-don't cry," Taehyung begged, wiping away his tears with a gentle touch. "Hyung was only joking, love. I'm not gonna fire you, Ggu. I couldn't bear to stay away from my bunny, now could I?" he asked as he kissed Jeongguk all over his face, not minding the saltiness of his tears.

"G-Ggukie's sorry," Jeongguk whimpered, latching himself around Taehyung again. He cried into the elder's Armani suit, wetting it but Taehyung could care less.

"It - it's alright, bun. It's okay. Don't cry, angel, it's alright," Taehyung hushed as he picked him up slowly and carried him to the sofas on the side. He sat down with Jeongguk on his lap and murmured consolations softly into his ear. 

After a while, Jeongguk had quietened down considerably. Being a hybrid, he was extremely sensitive, both physically and mentally speaking. And his self-doubts only made it worse.

"You feeling better?" Taehyung hummed against Jeongguk's ear, continuing to stroke his hair gently. Jeongguk nodded. "Wanna go get ice cream?" he asked softly. Jeongguk shook his head.
"Cuddles," he said before Taehyung could suggest anything else.

"Of course," the elder chuckled and sat up straighter. Jeongguk shifted in his arms, turning to the side so that his head rested sideways on Taehyung's chest. 

"I'm really sorry, though. I didn't remember how sensitive my baby was," he said softly, looking at Jeongguk's face to see the red bloom out. "I'm really lucky to know you. You're literally perfect, bun. But I did do it for a reason. And now you're gonna hear me vent to you. Get ready for whining Tae ultra max mode," he grinned at Jeongguk.

"Been dealing with it for so long. Wouldn't hurt," the younger replied sardonically.

"There's my sassy baby. Anywho. I have to report a problem with your behaviour, Mr. Jeon. What exactly gives you the right to leave early every morning? All I want is to wake up smelling your lavender scented hair and have my arms around you. All I get is an empty bed and no sign of a bunny beside me. And I don't like that," Taehyung grumbled, his lower lip full-on jutting out in a pout. 

Jeongguk fought to hold back his giggles.

"And and - you never let me cuddle you these days -," he was cut off by a loud gasp. "Lies!" Jeongguk exclaimed dramatically. "I can't survive without your cuddles and you know that!"

"Well neither can I. Just stop leaving early. Let me drive you to work like a good future husband," he whined, nuzzling under Jeongguk's chin like a baby koala.

He didn't seem to realize what he had said. Jeongguk froze on his lap. 

"And your phone was -," Taehyung faltered as he looked up. His exaggerated frown turned into a look of concern. "Ggu? Anything wrong?"

Jeongguk had seemed to forget how to breathe. He looked completely shocked and speechless. 

"Bun. Was it something I said?" Taehyung asked worriedly, thinking he had overstepped by saying something.

"Y-You said - fu-future... future -," Jeongguk's voice faded as he weakly struggled for words.

"Future husband?" Taehyung finished calmly for him. "Y-Yeah. I'm - y-you - did you mean it?" Jeongguk asked, trembling almost unnoticeably.

"Well, of course I did. Wait hold on," he paused and shifted, slipping his hand into his pocket. "Aha," Taehyung grinned victoriously and pulled out something shiny as he stood up and let Jeongguk down on the couch.

Jeongguk looked like he was gonna faint.

"You - you've -"

"For a week now," Taehyung answered honestly. An air of actual unknowingness hung about him.

"You've been carrying a - a diamond ring in your pocket for the past one week?!" Jeongguk cried weakly.

"U-Uh, yes. I - I believe so," the elder sounded confused and innocent.

"O-Oh god, Taehyung. I can't - I can't believe you -," the hybrid breathed out, closing his eyes and massaging his temple. Taehyung looked even more confused for a while before he looked shocked, hurt, sad and his face fell.

"I'm sorry, I - I had not entertained the potential expected probabilities that could take place as a response to my actions. I miscalculated the odds. I'm - I'm sorry," Taehyung bowed down, rambling with complicated words like he always did when he was worked up.

Jeongguk stood up feebly and swayed on the spot for a while. "What?" he said, not understanding a word that had escaped the elder.

"I didn't take into consideration that my approach to this proposal would be rejected," Taehyung said in a disheartened, sad tone.

"Oh, you complete moron," Jeongguk sighed. As Taehyung looked up, he stepped forward and wrapped him in a tight embrace. Taehyung hesitated, his arms rising to hug back slowly.

"I don't understand," he said dumbly when Jeongguk pulled away.

"You think I rejected you?"

"Well - yes. You turned down the - p-proposal." He stuttered. The great Kim Taehyung stuttered in the face of the love of his life. Jeongguk held back a laugh again.

"Sometimes I wonder how you ended up the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world," Jeongguk shook his head. "You're really dumb, Taehyung. I didn't reject you, hyung," he sighed.

"Huh?"

Taehyung now definitely looked like a copy of the Pikachu meme.

"I didn't reject you," Jeongguk repeated himself. "Why would I - dear god. I - I love you. I love you so much. And I'd love to spend the rest of my life with you. A-As a - life partner," he stumbled for words, slowly turning red again.

"Wait so you -"

"Yes. I - yes. I do. Or whatever they say when you accept a proposal," Jeongguk laughed. Taehyung's eyes lit up. He blinked and stepped forward, pulling the younger into a spontaneous kiss. They both giggled into it, happier than they had ever been. 

It was as messy as their first one. 

Taehyung's fist clenched around Jeongguk's tie, pulling him closer and Jeongguk's arms around his shoulders, clinging on and the two pushing and pulling so much that their backs curved as they tried to kiss the other harder.

When they pulled away, they both were smiling idiotically.

Jeongguk panted against Taehyung's lips, failing to hold back the stupid grin that grew wider by the second. "This has to be the stupidest way someone has proposed in the history of mankind," he giggled, leaning up and kissing Taehyung again.

"Sure is," Taehyung grinned and kissed Jeongguk with a burning passion. It didn't end up being very passionate what with them smiling and seeming drunk on each others' love. Jeongguk stumbled back, the elder's arm settling around his waist. He gripped Taehyung's tie and pulled it loose, using it to pull him closer. 

Taehyung pushed forward and caused Jeongguk to trip back and land on the sofa. He climbed onto the younger and flipped them around.

"I'll do it better this evening. And tomorrow. And the day after. Let's make this entire week dedicated to all the romantic mushy ways of proposing I can think up," Taehyung murmured.

Jeongguk blushed. "You don't have to."

"I will. And you can't stop me. And I'm also not letting you work for one week. Consider it a pre-engagement gift." He grinned at Jeongguk who turned more and more flustered with each word.

"But I wanna come here. I don't wanna stay home all day without you," he protested, sliding off Taehyung and onto his back. He put his head on the elder's thigh and nuzzled close. Taehyung threaded through his hair. "Mm, never said anything about staying away from me. I'm taking the week off too," Taehyung said, eyes sparkling with love as he looked into Jeongguk's.

A warm silence descended.

"Let's go to Hawaii," Jeongguk suggested.

"Whatever you want, love," Taehyung agreed immediately. "Always wanted to fuck you in my private jet and join the mile high club. And go skinny dipping. Fuck you on a beach. Take you on a vacation. Fuck you in a private pool," he kept adding, narrowly dodging the now-blushing Jeongguk's smack.

"Sorry sorry," Taehyung laughed, leaning down and stealing another quick kiss to appease him.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "I hate you," he grumbled, punching Taehyung's stomach but not hard enough to hurt. The elder hummed. "No you don't," he grinned teasingly. 

"No I don't," Jeongguk agreed.

"I love you," they said together. 

Their eyebrows shot up and they looked surprised before bursting into laughter.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

A.N. The ending originally started off with smut and was gonna continue but I decided to make it soft and fluffier don'tkillmeplease-

Hope you liked the chapter! And I sure hope it made up for the last angsty one -

[Though in my defence that's not even 80% of angst I wanted to do 💀]

This was based on a drabble I saw on twitter but I can't find it anymore so if anyone knows it, help your friendly neighbourhood author out ❤❤

EDIT: WAIT SHIT THIS BOOK IS #14 IN ONESHOTS ASJDHAJFHAK I'M - THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE IM GONNA CRI - TwT

~ Lesley ❤