Archive of Our Own ^beta

There are so many ways that Taehyung was sure that today would go, but he never thought his day would end like that .

His brothers had left the house early meaning that he had to take the bus to work. That was probably the first sign that he should have heeded. It was never a good day when Tae had to get himself to work. 

However it was almost Christmas so the young boutique owner let the negativity fly over his head as he busied himself with the dresses on the mannequins. He swapped out the old ones and put on the new collection that came in. In with the reds and greens and out with the blacks and oranges. Tae took great pride in being a small boutique owner. While it wasn’t always easy, he thinks that at the end of the day it is gratifying.

The second occurrence that should have raised alarm bells for Tae is when his coworker came in early rather than late for once. Taehyung had been in the back doing inventory when the bell for the front of the shop rang. Naturally, his first reaction was that it might be Jimin.

Now Jimin didn’t work at the boutique, no. He actually worked at the police station across the street. It was a coincidence really. When Taehyung left the academy due to a shoulder injury back when he was 19, he never thought that he and Jimin would be able to see each other so frequently. Somehow the fates worked their magic and now the two were basically coworkers with how often Jimin was over.

“Jiminnie, is that you?” Tae calls out as he tucks the pen behind his ear as he puts the clipboard on a box. He turns and makes his way out of storage when he comes face to face with Jeongguk. The younger was decked out from head to toe in black. The only ‘colour’ on him were the white snowflakes in his hair that were melting quickly. The male looked shocked to see Taehyung there but quickly composed himself.

“You’re in early.” He mutters as he goes into the little room in the back that was spacious enough to be a small employee storage room/break room. Taehyung followed him into the room and watched him hang up his coat in the rack that Tae had left over from when he set up the rest of the boutique.

“I’m in early, don’t you think that’s you? Mina hasn’t even come in yet.” Jeongguk toes off his winter boots and slips into his FILA sneakers before he turns to give the owner a deadpan look.

“Mina called you like 5 times. She came down with something and asked me to cover her shift.” The younger male goes to the kettle and fills it up in the sink before letting the water boil. In the meantime, Taehyung checks his phone and sees the missed calls from his other employee.

“So it’s just us then?” He asks as he pockets his phone again. Gguk pulls a travel mug out of his bag and unscrews the lid before giving Taehyung a reply.

“Seems like it. Although I’m almost positive people won’t be coming in. It’s super shitty weather outside. I left my apartment like half an hour earlier to get here and I was still late. They haven’t cleaned the smaller roads either.” Taehyung frowns as he leaves the room and makes his way to the front of the store.

Sure enough, in the few hours that he’d been in, the weather had gotten worse and made it near impossible to see outside. That should have been the third warning sign that today was not going to end well.

“Did you not check the weather before coming in today?” Gguk asks as he comes out of the room, warm mug in hand as he sipped at his coffee. He made a face but drank it regardless. Beggars can’t be choosers.

“Of course I did,” Tae snaps as heat travels up his neck. “I’m not incompetent. They said it would get worse later, not at 11 fucking a.m.” He grunts as he weaves through the racks to the checkout counter and flips on the radio.

“-uled for later in the evening seems to be coming down like cats and dogs. People have been calling in and reporting that despite the low visibility there have not been any accidents yet. Snow trucks are doing their best to clean the roads but cannot keep up with how much snow is falling. Officials encourage all non-essential workers to stay home today or if they’re already at work to go home. The stor-” Jeongguk shuts the radio off, making the boutique owner glare at him. The younger doesn’t flinch and continues to stare at his boss impassively.

The air crackles with electricity as the two have a staredown. Jeongguk looks away, first muttering something about “ no need for unnecessary worry ” as he drinks his coffee. Meanwhile Tae dials his best friend to get his opinion on the streets. Jimin had morning duty today, so he would have already been at work by then.

“Hello? Tae?” the sleepy voice of Jimin comes through the speakers.

“Hey, thought you’d be at work already?” Tae frowns.

“Nah, longer shift last night. Traded off with Jackson this morning. Plus I hear ‘s bad outside.” The male in the shop hears rustling and assumes it’s his soulmate getting comfortable. “E’en So’s workplace told her to work from home.” A curse flies from Tae’s lips. Jimin’s fiancee’s workplace is super strict about attendance. So if they are telling their employees not to come in then it must be really bad outside.

“Fuck. I think I should close the shop then, huh?” He murmurs as he looks around. The boutique would be fine if it doesn’t open in person until the storm dies down. Tae would just have to bring his work laptop home with him.

“Wan’ me to come pick you?” Jimin asks, seeming slightly more awake now.

“Nah, Jeon is in. I’ll ask him.”

“Soyeonnie just laughed. Apparently you’d be lucky if he agrees. He doesn’t even let Soyeon and their older brother in his car.” Honestly, Tae wanted to cry. If Jeon said no to him, then he’d be stranded here.

“Oi, tell Soyeon to shut up. She and Hyunjun aren’t allowed in the car cause they’re always spilling shit.” Jeongguk says from behind Tae. The older male startles and blinks at the stone cold male. “I’ll drop you off. Go get ready.” Tae is no fool. He may have a strong dislike towards Jeongguk, but that doesn’t mean that he is about to decline help from him.

-0-

“Why the fuck did you even need this box of- what even is this?” Jeongguk grunts as he carries the large box of fabrics into Taehyung’s house. Jin and Namjoon had called on the way saying that they were spending the night at their partners’ places. On one hand Tae didn’t want to be lonely at home, on the other, he supposes he could use it to unwind.

“They’re fabrics, Jeon. I got several orders for dresses in the morning and since it seems we might be home for a while, why not be productive?” Taehyung explains as Jeongguk rolls his eyes.

“Don’t expect my help with that.” He warns as he shakes out the snow in his hair.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, your majesty.”

“Oh how creative.” Jeongguk scoffs. “Can I use your bathroom? I don’t know how long it’ll take to get to my place and i don’t want to pull my di-”

“Down the hall door to your left.” Tae interrupts, not wanting the image of Jeongguk’s dick in his mind. An amused grin plays on the younger’s lips as he toes off his boots and makes his way to the bathroom.

In the meantime, Taehyung gets to work on making a mint hot chocolate. He wasn’t heartless and he happens to know that no matter how much Jeon complains about how shit the hot chocolate is at their Christmas party every year, he enjoys it. Why else would he drink 3 cups of it?

“Yo, I’ll be off.” Jeongguk says as he walks into the kitchen. Tae looks back and shakes his head.

“Sit. I’m making hot chocolate for myself and I put extra milk.” Tae lies as he steams the milk. He’d already put the chocolate pieces and the mint leaves in the cups. All that was left was to pour in the hot milk and line it with the foam.

“Jesus, Kim. Can’t you measure?” Jeongguk sighs as he sits on the barstool. A satisfied smirk toys at Tae’s lips.

“Usually yes, but my fingers are frozen so I poured in more milk than I expected.” He sighs dramatically. From behind him Jeongguk scoffs. They both know that Taehyung isn’t like that. He does everything with purpose.

“Mistakes?” Tae laughs as he gave an interview with a local newspaper, “those don’t exist in my dictionary. I’m perfect.”  

“Will you be able to be on your own?” Jeongguk asks when the cocoa is nestled between his hands. Chocolate shavings and foam topped off the mug and Jeongguk can’t lie, it smelled divine.

“I’m 28, Jeon. A little snow doesn’t bother me,” Tae laughs as he takes a sip of his beverage before sighing.

“I know snow doesn’t bother you, but being alone does.” Jeongguk quips back, hiding behind his mug. He doesn’t care if he scalds his tongue on the drink. He’d already scalded it the moment he said that.

“It used to. Wanna know why?” Tae smiles sickly sweet. “Because my boyfriend used to leave me alone for hours at a time, no notice, nothing. It didn’t bother him to leave me alone.” Jeongguk groans internally.

He just had to go and poke the bear didn’t he? He was doing so well.

“Listen, I’m sorry. I’ve apologized like a million times. I left you alone, I didn’t leave a note or anything, barely treated you like a boyfriend. I get it. We were also only 18 and 19. Don’t you think you were expecting too much from me?” Tae leans back against the counter as he gingerly holds his mug. The younger can tell he’s thinking.

“Jeongguk.” Oh fuck . It’s never good when Tae calls him by his government name. “I was 19, working absurd hours and studying to build my own boutique. All I asked from you was to let me know when you’d be back and if it was a good time to hang out. I didn’t want the stars and the moon. I know you had your own things too. You were getting settled in the city, adjusting to courses.” Tae pauses to sip his cocoa, kissing his teeth afterwards.

“Was what I asked of you as a lover, was that too much?” He asks. A genuine light of curiosity in his eyes as he watches his employee and former lover.

“God no.” Jeongguk breathes softly. “If anything you asked me the bare minimum and I failed to meet it. That’s on me. But you?” Taehyung raised a brow. He couldn’t say he wasn’t expecting this. “You worked those absurd hours and expected me to be free when you called. After the first time you got upset that we couldn’t-” Jeongguk exhales shakily. “I never wanted to be the reason you cried.

“So yeah I pulled strings to be able to spend more time with you. But then I realized I was ruining my social life catering to you. But I still didn’t want to make you cry or make you feel like you were not my first priority.” Understanding dawns on Taehyung as he puts his cup on the countertop and makes his way over to Jeongguk.

The feelings in his chest were as violent and powerful as the weather outside. They were as fierce as the raging storm outside. Is this why they told Elsa to conceal not feel?

“You spread yourself thin. For me.” Tae frowns as he itches to reach out, hand falling back to his side. His ex picks it up and holds it in his hand.

“Yeah.” He says plainly. “It’s so stupid. When- when I got laid off from the firm, my first thought wasn’t ‘well now what the fuck do i do?’ It was actually ‘will Taehyungie hire me?’ Absurd, I know.” Jeongguk laughs to himself. “I still can’t believe that I somehow managed to ace the interview. And don’t feed me bullshit, I know you weren’t understaffed.” Taehyung blushes.

The older male looks at the darkening sky outside and the near empty mugs in front of them. A feeling of desperation washes over him. Jeongguk is about to leave after confessing all this.

“You’re right.” Jeongguk raises a brow. “Being alone. It- it still bothers me a lot. And no one is coming home any time soon, so-”

“Just ask me to stay, trust me, I’d be more inclined to say yes to you being straightforward.” Gguk smiles softly.

“Jeongguk,” Taehyung wets his lips. “Stay with me. And maybe after that...let’s try again?”

Taehyung was almost positive that his day was going to end as shitty as it started. But as he laid on Jeongguk’s chest under a warm blanket by the crackling fire with another cup of cocoa, he thinks that maybe he misinterpreted the signs. After all, a devastating storm brought his Jeonggukkie back to him.