#FF0000

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/16222646.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandom: 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Relationship: Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Kim Taehyung | V
Character: Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Kim Taehyung | V
Additional Tags: it’s a story of different lives in different universes or time periods, Vhope
Week, Reincarnation, Parallel Universes, i'll go in order of the scenes,
Established Relationship, Domestic, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Light
Angst, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant
Language: English
Collections: Vhope Week 2018 "Oh" Edition
Stats: Published: 2018-10-07 Words: 5894

#FF0000
by courtingdemons

Summary

In every life and every iteration, their story is one painted in red.

Notes

Hello! My write-every-Hoseok-ship agenda is going very well, thanks for asking. Here's
my (late whoops) contribution to the ever-exciting Vhope Week. Enjoy~

See the end of the work for more notes

Colouring Pencils

It was the coolness of the bed that woke Taehyung rather than the warmth of the sunlight. He
cracked open an eye, half of his face still smushed into the pillow. The bed was still as soft as last
night and the pillow still fluffy but the lack of another set of limbs somehow made it not quite as
comfortable. Taehyung lifted his head a few inches and sniffed the air. He frowned when he was
met with the scent of the citrus air freshener rather than coffee or pancakes.

Taehyung ran his hands through his hair when his hand brushed against something and a piece of
paper floated onto his pillow. He smiled at the sight of the red sticky note and turned it over in his
hand to read it.
you're losing but still love you~

There was a little drawing of lips at the bottom and *smooch* written 3 times around them.
Taehyung rolled his eyes at the cheesiness and his heart ticked up a beat. The fact that he loved it
was a secret. Not a well-kept secret but a secret nonetheless.

Like most of the mischievous (and best, he would argue) ideas, Taehyung was the one who started
it. Two years after they had started dating, Taehyung and Hoseok had often slept over at each
other’s houses to fulfill their clingy and cuddly needs . Taehyung had had to wake up earlier than
Hoseok for his work and had taken every chance to stick sticky notes on Hoseok’s body,
sometimes accompanied by cute messages and often snarky ones.

Then, because they were both competitive fuckers, it had somehow become a game to see who
woke up earlier and could stick a sticky note on the others' forehead, cheeks, nose, arms, feet,
chest, stomach, legs and cute butt without waking the other. Any inch of skin was fair game.

Whoever won each month was rewarded with bragging rights and the loser had to pay for their
next date. It was a game with low risk and high returns and even losing meant spoiling the other
person, so was it truly losing? Taehyung thought not.

At this point, their bedside table held as many packs of red sticky notes as it did condoms. The pair
would likely be in their 50s, surrounded by the dogs they would definitely someday adopt, and
would still write on little sticky notes and stick it on each other’s body.

Taehyung rolled around on the bed for a few more minutes, too heavy-eyed to get up but too awake
to fall back asleep. He gave himself a count of 300 before having to force himself up but the
repetitiveness of it all made him get up at 81.

He trudged over to the bathroom, the fluorescent lights making him squint, which was probably
why it took him over five minutes and almost exiting the bathroom before he realized that there
was a red sticky note on the mirror.

me? dating the most handsome, prettiest man in all of seoul? more likely than you think

-jung hoseok

It was different from the sticky note on his forehead earlier. Most of this was in his own
handwriting as he'd scribbled it down last night but the last line underneath was in Hoseok's. He
must have written it down this morning before he left for who knows where. What a silly darling.
Everyone should fear the day Hoseok finally realizes that few could compete with his beauty.

He searched for a pen in their room and returned to the bathroom, writing beneath Hoseok's.

don't hijack my posts, loser :P

He grinned even as he wrote it, his writing messy as he awkwardly wrote atop the mirror.

Taehyung made his way to the kitchen, looking to fix himself a quick breakfast. He only got as far
as grabbing the cereal from the cupboard before he was greeted by another red sticky note on the
fridge.

going to the store to grab a few things because someone forgot to tell me they finished all the milk
and the eggs and the bread. didn’t even give me a taste of what you made smh

Tae laughed abashedly and murmured an apology under his breath even if there was nobody
around to hear it.

He put the cereal box back and raided the kitchen, only to come up empty bar for a few
strawberries and an opened pack of chips, left to become stale and soft. It took him another 30
seconds to decide that he was not going to resort to dry cereal as breakfast today. No, today was
going to be a day of adventure, a day of trying new things, a day of fearlessness. Taehyung would
make his own breakfast and it would be without the milk or eggs or the bread.

After clicking the first link Google provided him with, Taehyung discovered that fluffy vegan
pancakes didn’t require bread, milk, or eggs. Perfect.

So he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Taehyung startled when the door banged open, so engrossed in substituting non-dairy milk with
butter and skim milk and just dumping double the amount of baking soda because there was no
baking powder, that he didn’t hear Hoseok struggling with the keys. Maybe Taehyung’s adventure
lasting a grand total of three minutes was just the universe taking preventative measures.

He hurried over to see a sheepish Hoseok carrying overflowing plastic bags in both hands.

"Sorry, my hands are too busy and lost control of the door," Hoseok said as he kicked the door
closed behind him. He pecked Taehyung's cheek, forehead, other cheek and hurried to the kitchen,
placing the bags on the counter, and stared at the fine white powder splattered all over the counter
and floor and cabinet doors.

“Uh, I guess I’m just glad I came home to this and not a charred kitchen or the oven door on the
floor?” Hoseok said, clearly recalling a few previous precious adventures.

“I’ll clean it up, promise. I’ll even help you organize the groceries,” Taehyung was quick to offer.

So the two of them got to it, taking out product after product after product from the seemingly
endless bags.

"No wonder you were out a while, seems like you bought the whole store." Taehyung marvelled at
the snow globe in his hands.

Hoseok groaned and leaned his head back against the chair. "Listen, I only went to get the things in
my shopping list and maybe some ramen when I ran into this girl from college. We were both
shopping, she wanted to catch up and I’m always up for that, so we just walked around the store
together and chatted for a bit as we got our stuff except I got everything in 5 minutes and she
wasn’t even a quarter of her way through her list.

"Like any good person, I stuck around for a few more minutes, finishing our conversation and just
when I was gonna excuse myself, she told me about how glad she was that she bumped into me
because she just went through a breakup and her dog died and her best friend moved across the
country, so she's lonely and I'm a lifesaver! She said I'm a lifesaver, I couldn't leave right after that!

“Taehyung,” Hoseok said desperately, “I didn’t even know who she was until she mentioned the
Spider Leg Project and the only reason was that I hated that project!”

By the end of his ramble, Hoseok was hiding his face in his hands and Taehyung couldn’t contain
his laughter, listening to Hoseok's inability to turn anybody down and his tendency to go an extra
mile or ten to make sure everyone was comfortable, even sometimes at his own expense.

"No, of course, you couldn’t leave right after but maybe asking her to just meet for coffee would've
been an easier solution than buying a $40," he squinted at the packaging, "poo-particle-proof
toothbrush holder."

"I wasn't thinking of that! I was under pressure, so everything my hand touched went into my
basket," Hoseok moaned into his palms.

"How about this," Taehyung offered, "I start on some brunch since you went shopping and you can
take some time to wallow in your newest awkward friend encounter and also very empty wallet."

Hoseok made a show of dragging himself up and even dramatically crawled the last few feet to the
couch, hiding his face in the throw pillows in shame. Taehyung giggled as he set the pan.

It wasn't until Tae had made the proper pancakes with proper ingredients, cut some fruits with no
accidental injuries, and had taken out the muffins that he realized how sweet the whole meal was.
As someone with a sweet tooth through and through, he could gobble it up in a heartbeat but
Hoseok preferred some variety.

"Babe, do you want some egg omelette or an --" Taehyung cut himself off with a yelp. He clutched
at his foot and stared accusingly at the block of bright red sticky notes. He let out a string of
expletives as he hopped to the nearest chair and examined his foot for any cuts.

It seemed like this time it was Hoseok who couldn't contain his laughter, doubled over on the
couch. See if Taehyung made him any eggs now.

"Hey, stop it," Taehyung whined. "My foot could be bleeding and broken. Might as well have
stepped on some legos!"

That made Hoseok sink into another round of laughter, this time somehow louder, even as he tried
to murmur apologies between breaths. Taehyung reached down for the sticky notes and threw it at
Hoseok's head. The little red square barely grazed the target and instead fell behind the couch, not
to be found again until the next time Hoseok decided to spring clean in winter.

Taehyung crossed his arms and pouted.

"Ah, sorry sorry," Hoseok panted as his laughter came to an end. "I'll set the table to make it up."

"You’d better," Taehyung said haughtily.

Hoseok tousled Taehyung's hair as he passed by and the latter pinched his hand in revenge.
Taehyung's pout deepened each time he heard a snicker come from the kitchen but that only made
Hoseok kiss him once twice three times when he returned holding the precariously balanced plate
of pancakes and an overflowing bowl of strawberries.

Oil Paint

Hoseok dropped his school bag on the hallway floor as soon as he entered the house and
immediately thought better of it. He picked it up and plopped it on a kitchen chair instead, not
eager to be yelled at by his mother.

He peeked out the kitchen window to their empty front lawn and driveway before he darted to his
room, quickly changing his school uniform in favour of some more comfortable but still
appropriate afternoon attire. It would not do for his mother to come out of her room and deem him
underdressed. He didn’t have any time to waste getting scolded.
The boy, though he was almost a man now, came back to the kitchen and stole another look out the
window before he got to his chores.

Like every afternoon, Hoseok filled the dog bowl, the cat bowl and got himself a snack to munch
on. He washed the unusually large number of dishes gathering in the sink despite it being only
afternoon − his mother must have invited over the some of the wives around the block while he
was at school − and finally got around to his homework.

He sat on the chair with a direct view out the window. If anybody travelled up the sidewalk and
toward their house, he would be the first to know. Hoseok thanked whoever might be listening that
his father went to work early and came home after dusk and that his mother had made it a habit to
always have an afternoon "nap" that lasted 3 hours.

Hoseok was always tempted to do the same, tired after sitting at school for hours on end, his mind
and body exhausted at the same repeating information, but he willed himself to stay awake. One
could never be sure when they came each day, so Hoseok must be very attentive lest his mother
found something she was not meant to.

Hoseok had gone through 2 pages of linguistics when he noticed a figure on the lawn, slouching a
bit and rummaging through their bag. Like every day for the past three weeks, Hoseok held his
breath and squirmed impatiently as he waited.

As soon as the figure was walking away and out of sight, Hoseok bolted out the door and reached
for the mailbox, leaving his open notebooks lying on the table as they were. He took out all the
contents of the mailbox and looked through them in a flurry. His hands trembled slightly and he
whispered please, please, please under his breath, hoping that today was the day.

His eyes spotted red among the water bills and letters from his father's family.

Hoseok shoved everything back into the mailbox, clutched the red envelope to his chest, and
returned to the house, tiptoeing past his mother's room into his own. His heartbeat increased with
each step he took and his smile grew wider.

After almost a month of no acknowledgement and no letters, Hoseok held the scarlet letter in his
hands. He sat on the bedroom floor and carefully opened the letter, anticipation spreading through
him at the sight of the familiar scribbles.

Hoseok flattened the letter along the wooden floorboards and started to read.

Hoseokie <3

i miss you, i hope you’ve been having the best days.

so glad you liked my last drawing~~ i’m trying hard in art class to channel my inner van gogh. i
don't have any new drawings since school and farm have been taking up too much of my time but
maybe in the next letter.

which reminds me: school really really sucks. i don't think teachers themselves know what they're
teaching, can't answer a single question i ask them. i miss you teaching me things you learned the
year before and helping me with homework. best teacher i ever had TT of course the kisses every
time i answered correctly helped too

ahh i must tell you about my horse riding adventures! father decided i'm finally old and responsible
enough to, so he has been giving me lessons for the past week. i'm not that good yet because
father's taking it really slow. don't think he's forgotten that time i broke an arm trying to secretly
get on a horse when i was seven.

also i've had seven pies in the past ten days. thank you, gran. when you come and we meet again in
a year and 3 months, i'll have pies ready for you. and rice i helped harvest. and some kisses. and
some tickles. none of this is negotiable.

can't wait.

love you~~

the cutest marshmallow you’ve ever seen,

taetae

PS. this is two weeks after i was planning to send you the letter. i'm sorry it's taking me so long but
i climbed the willow tree and jumped into the pond at night and kookie, the little rascal, ratted me
out to gran. So now i'm grounded for two weeks and can't mail this without my parents finding out
TT sorry for making you wait so long, i'll beat up kookie for you.

When Taehyung had stopped living with his uncle nearby and moved hours away to help with his
parents' farm, Hoseok had worried that their feelings would wane without each other's constant
physical presence. Though it was still hard not hearing Taehyung's voice for months and having to
find solace in age old ghosts of his touch, Hoseok shouldn't have worried about the feelings part.

Taehyung constantly made it so, so easy to love him.

Hoseok's heart clenched as he reread the letter and let everything seep in. He touched the letter to
his lips and played with the its edges, touching the same places Taehyung had touched and let all
the worries of the past month seep away. Hoseok sat with the letter for a while, just savouring its
presence, before tucking it back into its envelope.

He sifted through his drawers, dug out a pack of red envelopes from the bottom, and chose one. He
ripped out a page from an old notebook. He grabbed the pen he always used for this very purpose,
a present from Taehyung.

He returned to the kitchen, his textbooks and notebooks splayed open across the table as if he'd
never left. He tucked Taehyung's letter and his own envelope in the last pages of his math book,
just to keep it with him for a little while before he had to bury it under a floorboard.

Then, under the pretense of finishing his homework just in case his mother came out and didn’t
find him there, he started writing his own letter. He wrote of last month, his school, his chores,
how he couldn’t wait to become an adult so that he could go visit Taehyung, even if only for a
week. He wrote of funny adventures, of his warm love, of his days and nights and he wrote it all in
the red of his heart.

Stained Glass

The longest hug that ever took place in Emperor Kim’s palace grounds lasted 20 minutes and 41
seconds. Those who knew nothing would say it was a night like any other.

Hoseok had barely finished explaining his first assigned mission as a knight and how he would
need to leave as dawn broke before Taehyung had taken him in his arms and held him tight.
Hoseok stroked Taehyung's back, trying to remain stoic because it was his choice, after all, but he
could only pretend for so long as his shoulder soaked with Taehyung's tears.

"My prince," Hoseok whispered, "do not cry."

"You're leaving me." Taehyung's tone was meant to be accusatory but his voice broke at the second
word, turning it pitiful.

"Not forever, never forever." Hoseok grasped at words and willed them to make sense. "Against all
odds, the stars aligned for us since we were just wee babies and into adulthood. The stars will align
for us again, whether it be in this lifetime or the next or the next. We will meet again and we will
love again, perhaps even more freely and happily. The stars believed in us, darling, so we must
believe in the stars."

The prince couldn't contain his sobs at the words and he trembled in his lover's arms but the change
in atmosphere was prominent. Their embrace was now a hopeful one, rather than one of despair.
The air was still and the stars looked down upon them.

It seemed as if eons passed, the two of them standing alone surrounded by trees, out of sight. A red
handkerchief traded hands, a memento for tougher times.

"Let us meet again," Taehyung murmured against Hoseok's lips.

The next morning, Taehyung, the spoiled youngest prince known for sleeping in late, woke to the
early rays of sunshine and the rooster's call, only an hour after he was forced into bed. His
unwavering eyes stared at the horse stable where three men entered. He stood at his window for
long minutes until the love of his life soul universe came out riding a horse, a red handkerchief tied
around his wrist. The knight looked back just once, glanced at large castle doors, and Taehyung
willed him to look upward. He didn't. That's okay, Taehyung thought to himself as he watched
Hoseok travel farther away each passing second, I will see his eyes and touch his lips and feel his
heart again.

And he will. In the next life and the next and the next.

Watercolour

It wasn’t that strange, these days, to not be in love with a soulmate or to not have a soulmate to
love. Some people preferred to not be involved in each other's lives, some just wished each happy
birthday or sent holiday greeting cards, some even became best of friends. There were different
types or love between them and sometimes there's no love. Sometimes the soulmate was their
worst enemy, sometimes their soulmate match was... wrong, sometimes there was more than one
soulmate, sometimes there was no soulmate at all. None of these were strange anymore after
millennia of the system.

But for Hoseok's 30th birthday, he once again wished for a soulmate to fall in love with as he blew
out the single red flame.

After decades of waiting, it happened in the most mundane way possible.

Hoseok was walking Mickey when, suddenly, he felt the stone in his pocket heat up again after
years and years.
He stopped walking even as Mickey struggled against the leash. His body was frozen but his mind
worked a mile a minute. Which direction should he walk in? He was just about to round the block
and all four directions were open with possibilities. Should he stay put and wait for his soulmate to
come and find him? But what if his soulmate also thought the same thing and they waited too long
only to miss each other once again?

Hoseok tried not to tear up as he scrambled in his pants’ pocket, and brought out a half a red star-
shaped stone. It glowed and was warm to the touch.

When his parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts badgered him about seriously seeing
someone and building romantic relationships outside of a soulmate bond, there was one little fact
they were ignorant of. The stone had glowed once before no less than 10 years ago; a long time to
hold onto hope and yet, Hoseok was a romantic.

He’d felt it, standing there in that college party, a red solo cup in his hand. He’d felt it and he had
thought he would find them, and then he didn’t, and the few moments of joy had come crashing
down. It hurt. It had hurt to be so close to his soulmate but having them slip between his fingers.

At the very least, he had known they were out there, somewhere, maybe waiting and hoping for
him just as much as he had been waiting and hoping for them and he couldn't make himself move
on even as years passed.

So here Hoseok was, confused as to which direction to go and cursing the ever frustrating system
of soulmate objects glowing only when they’re in a 100-metre radius of their other half. How
useless that was, that one could walk in the wrong direction for 2 metres and lose the connection
that was meant to defy logic and luck and was a working of the universe itself.

Hoseok glared at his half of the star and wished it whispered directions to him.

The sound of rapid footsteps made Hoseok look up, his heart thrumming in his chest. He turned the
block following the sound and saw a man abruptly stop running just 5 feet away from him. And
what a beautiful man he was, shaggy brown hair falling into his eyes and cherry red lips.

Their eyes met and Hoseok’s heart was a hummingbird trying to escape his ribcage. Relief washed
over the man's face and he broke into a large grin.

"I found you," the man said, awe lacing his voice. He tried to take a few steps toward Hoseok but
suddenly keeled over halfway through, clutching his stomach.

Oh my god, Hoseok thought, eyes wide. I just found my soulmate and I'm going to watch him fall to
his death.

"I feel like I should apologize," the man panted, "that we've met only now that I never go to the
gym anymore. Shit, running really sucks."

So he wasn't gonna die. Hoseok watched as the man took a few deep breaths, mumbled something
to himself under his breath, and straightened up before Hoseok could offer his help.

“I'm Taehyung but you can call me Tae," he said as he took out a red stone, shaped like half a star.

Taehyung extended his palm toward Hoseok and it broke the latter out of his reverie, finally
loosening his grip on the stone in his palm.

"I'm Jung Hoseok," he said as he showed his own half to Taehyung and the two carefully matched
their stars together. Quietness settled between them as they watched the two halves slot themselves
together to make a whole star and emit a brighter red glow.

"Oh," Hoseok whispered.

Taehyung's face broke into a grin. He examined the star and turned it over in his hands, feeling its
weight. He offered it to Hoseok who was staring at it in childlike wonder.

Hoseok became acutely aware of his sweating palms and instinctively wiped them against his pants
before presenting his palms for Taehyung to drop the stone into, realizing a moment too late that he
had let the leash drop to the ground. And off Mickey went. Hoseok was so taken by the man's
voice beauty presence and the soulmate stones becoming one that he had forgotten the straining
leash. He took off after Mickey the same moment Taehyung let go off the stone.

"I'm sorry," Hoseok called back in a panic, leaving Taehyung to pick up the stone from where it
landed. Mickey was running farther away and Hoseok was being rude and his soulmate would
definitely hate him after this.

"No worries, go get your dog!” Taehyung reassured. “Don't mind if I don't wanna run again, so I'll
just be right here, standing, maybe looking at the soulmate stone, at peace with my rickety old
bones," Taehyung's voice trailed off.

Mickey was one fast motherfucker and of course, he chose one of the most important days in
Hoseok's life to be bad. Pup's not getting to sit in his comfy purple couch for a week.

Mickey didn't even get to the end of the block before getting distracted by flowers and Hoseok
gathered him in his arms, quietly scolding the dog as he walked back to where he'd left Taehyung.
Running certainly was not his forté either, especially now that he was much older, but Hoseok
resisted the urge to lay down on the sidewalk because he had someone he didn't want to keep
waiting.

The man still stood there, looking at the soulmate stone as he’d said, and it made Hoseok's heart
lighter.

When Hoseok reached him again, Taehyung (Tae?) extended both hands, one holding the star
stone. It took Taehyung lightly patting Mickey for Hoseok to understand what he meant. He passed
Mickey over to Taehyung and clasped the stone instead.

Taehyung cooed at the dog, letting it down and crouching beside it to play.

"His name's Mickey," Hoseok said.

"I know." Taehyung looked up at him with a blinding smile and crescent eyes. "I heard you
screaming it as you chased after him."

"Ah, well, he usually is a better dog."

"Who's a good dog? Who's a good dog?" Taehyung turned back to Mickey and pet his head.

Hoseok took the time to turn his attention to the star, tracing the edges of the star. Half of the star
wasn't there yesterday. It was still warm, just slightly, similar to paper after being printed, and it
seeped into his palm, travelled up his arm and chest and warmed his heart. The stone will remain
that way for a long while yet and, Hoseok hopes, so will his heart.

Sure, Hoseok was optimistic but that didn't make the whole exchange any easier to believe. He
really, truly found his soulmate. He found him.
Hoseok looked over to Taehyung to see that he was already staring at him. Something seemed to
break in Taehyung at that moment and he jumped up and threw his arms around Hoseok. Hoseok
stumbled back a few steps in surprise as he hugged back but Taehyung didn't let go, so neither did
he.

"I'm so, so sorry. I can't believe I could've met you when I was like 20 something and I felt it at that
party and I'd never been so happy and I was gonna find you, I would've found you, the stone was
so warm and glowing, Hoseok," Taehyung rambled on, his face pressed to Hoseok’s shoulder. "I
had to leave for Daegu like literally two days later because my grandma fell sick, I'm so sorry and
it's so unfair! It's not fair, we were so close and then so so far away."

Hoseok felt Taehyung's nails dig at his back and wetness seep through his shirt and his own eyes
stung.

"No need for apologies, we're here now," he consoled. We still have decades and lifetimes to make
up for any lost." Mickey barked, presumably in agreement.

Taehyung nodded and stood on his own, only to wail again. "I smeared tears and snot all over your
shirt 20 minutes after meeting you, oh my god, sorry, sorry." He frantically searched his pockets
with the hand not holding Mickey's leash, brought out a napkin and furiously started wiping at
Hoseok's shoulder.

Tae's furrowed eyebrows and set mouth were beyond endearing. Hoseok stopped Tae’s movement
and instead held his hand.

"How about I change out of this shirt instead and throw it in the laundry? I'll need to go back to my
house to do that, though, and you can come with?"

Taehyung's face brightened considerably and he wiggled his eyebrows. "Oh my? Come with? To
your house, sir, on my own?"

Hoseok shook his head and rolled his eyes but decided to play along with a coy smile. "We do have
time to make up for."

He turned back toward his apartment, leaving Taehyung standing for a few moments. Hoseok
hoped he would follow.

He wasn't disappointed as quick footsteps followed him. "Slow down, would you? I already told
you I'm made of fragile bones." Hoseok slowed down and let Taehyung catch up.

"Running really sucks, I feel like my legs are jelly and I might also need a nap." Taehyung nudged
Hoseok's ribs, "Don't worry, though, I don't run out of stamina so quickly after other physical
activities." Taehyung winked and Hoseok narrowly avoided falling flat on his face.

The rest of the walk was filled with teasing and laughter and maybe a few more tears.

Digital Art

Hoseok's curled up on his side, scrolling through his phone, when Taehyung enters. Jimin's side of
the room remains empty after Taehyung bribed him with ramen and aegyo to stay away for the
night. He’s poorer in terms of ramen and dignity but it's worth it.

Taehyung tip-toes in an attempt to be secretive even though Hoseok definitely saw him coming in
but neither comment on it. He lies down behind Hoseok and wraps an arm around the older's
middle.

Hoseok scoots back a little and they slot into each other like puzzle pieces.

Taehyung takes a deep breath, first facing the back of Hoseok's head but then shoving his head into
the pillow. It goes on like this for a few moments. Inhale, vanilla, exhale; inhale, vanilla, exhale.

"What're you doing, Tae?" Hoseok's voice is lazy and soft. "Please don't eat my pillow."

"It's my favourite smell, hyung, leave me alone," the younger pouts.

Hoseok turns his head to flash him a smile and double takes. He fully turns around with wide eyes
and brushes his hands through Taehyung's hair, phone forgotten.

"It's red again." Hoseok's voiced is laced with wonder.

"Yeah," Taehyung grins.

"It looks very pretty. Can't believe there's a fairy lying beside me," Hoseok whispers, still playing
with Taehyung's hair. "It's my favourite colour on you, you know."

"Of course I know, you tell me every time I dye my hair, which happens to be very often."
Taehyung giggles and Hoseok joins in. "My favourite colour on you is red, too. If I look like a
fairy, hyung looks like a little demon with your red hair, running around and causing trouble."

"A demon? Tsk, I call you a fairy and I get a hell-creature in return?" Hoseok attempts to cross his
arms but it's not easy when he's lying sideways on the bed.

"A very pretty, very fun, very kind demon," Taehyung corrects.

"That only makes it marginally better."

"A demon who everyone mistakes for an angel, a demon whose smile is brighter than the sun, a
demon who-"

"Ugh, shush, that's enough." Hoseok presses his face into Taehyung's chest to hide his flaming
cheeks.

"And if you're wearing a red shirt with it, then everyone just evaporates on the spot because of how
hot you are, hyung," Taehyung continues on anyway.

"Red shirt with red hair? Sounds tacky, though," Hoseok's voice sounds muffled as he speaks into
Taehyung's chest.

Hoseok intertwines their legs together.

"Hardly. You wore that during fit DNA promotions and I think my brain stopped working,"
Taehyung says. Hoseok hums. "Though I was thinking that we'll probably never have the hair the
other likes at the same time because then we'd both end up having red hair and we'd never live that
down."

"Or we can do exactly that," Hoseok says and he looks back up at Taehyung. His eyes are
mischievous. "We can dye our hair red and wear all red outfits. You did say I pulled off red on red,
after all. At the very least, it'll piss off the members. It’ll be kitsch. And there we have it, cliché
and gross and tacky and genius couple outfits."
 Hoseok's grin widened with each word and if they weren't scheming together, Taehyung might
have been nervous. Maybe the demon comment did hold some merit.

"I knew there was a reason we were dating, we definitely gotta-" a yawn interrupts him. "Sorry, we
gotta do it."

"Mhmm, now go turn off the lights," Hoseok says as he wiggles in the bed, as if trying to sink
deeper into the mattress. "I'm sleepy."

"So am I! I yawned first, so you should go," Taehyung argues, knowing it's useless.

"I was on the bed first, so I'm more comfortable and you have to get up." Hoseok pushes at
Taehyung's shoulder but the younger just snuggles closer.

"Hyung," Taehyung whines, "be good to your dongsaeng and turn off the lights."

"I'm already being a good hyung by letting you sleep in my bed!"

Taehyung pays him no mind and just nestles into Hoseok's hair, the strands soft under his cheeks,
and closes his eyes. Hoseok does the same against Taehyung's heartbeat.

In the end, they fall asleep all tangled up in each other. It's Jin and Jeongguk who turn off the lights
and close the door as they pass by the room, gagging and giggling all the while, as if they're any
better.

**

The two do dye their hair red, wear red shirts and buy some red pants to go with it. They look
horrendous and the members are horrified and they laugh a lot. It's all red red red clothes and
cheeks and hearts.

Red

Red sticky notes, red envelopes, red handkerchiefs, red star stones, and red hair don't make the
whole story, just little parts of a long, red love that withstands the tests of time and challenges of
life.

End Notes

my face was like :]] while writing about tae calling hoseok a demon with red hair and red
shirt like oh man, i wonder where i've seen that before ;) Tae and Hoseok are wild yall, so
I'm glad I got to put down some of my overflowing feelings about them on here.

I hope you liked this if you got all the way down here! Noodles, roti, kudos, and comments
are my main sources of energy so feed me please.

I basically spend my whole life on the internet so here's my twitter and tumblr
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