Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Temperature
A cold shower always sounded horrible but when he needed clear thoughts nothing worked better. His mind had been whirring all day and everything that normally worked felt stale and made him more restless.
Placing a fluffy towel on the hook by the shower Taehyung stepped into the shower his muscles tensing and his breath coming out sharp. Why did he put himself through this again?
Today hadn't seemed different at first glance, he woke up at the same time, at the same food, and messed around with the same people. As his body adjusted to the temperature a different shock was sent through his body. Same people different behaviors.
Taehyung is extroverted to an extreme he finds a lot of energy in being around others and interacting with them. He is also very tactile, meaning he is all for platonic physical contact.
Meaning while some of the older guys had been reserved for the first meeting and subsequent week he dove forward. Befriending, talking to, and generally pestering the other six. No one escaped not even the tsundere Yoongi. And with these tools, he prided himself on being able to detect the subtleties of his companions. So it came as a surprise to him that he hadn't picked up on the differences before.
Hindsight is a powerful thing. Browsing through this week's interactions he discovered some very obvious differences. Hoseok being the first. From the beginning, Hoseok had been more hopeful about their situation than anyone else including Taehyung, he often spoke up for Mistress when they critiqued her or voiced their distrust.
But these past few dinners he had been quiet, not agreeing, but much more contemplative about the concerns and their validity. On the other hand, Yoongi who had been the most vocal about his dislike of their Mistress began to make his comments milder and less frequently.
No one else's behavior deviated for the next few days, not even when Mistress sent out those sheets to ask what they were ok with. Not that he expected them to no one expected her to actually follow them, or if she did for only a little while. An empty gesture was not rare or needed.
Yoongi's and Hoseok's appointments hadn't set this tension off, but this morning when Seokjin and Jungkook went to theirs there was tension in the air. Taehyung had figured it was suspense for whether she would follow through with Seok jin's and Jungkook's list and brushed it off.
And things had eased slightly when they returned, but there was something else off. Everyone had acted normal, but when he made a joke that would have gotten a few laughs last night it fell flat. And when he asked Jungkook and Jimin to play their nightly match on the game console he had been rejected with the excuse that they were tired.
Maybe he was reading too much into it, but something felt off. He wanted to blame the doctor's appointments, but they were all in their late teens or twenties this wasn't a new experience. Nothing should have changed that much even if they had a new caretaker.
It was the same snide remarks about his body and its ability to serve women, the same white coats, and the same questions not directed at him. What was changing? What wasn't he getting?
Switching the water he let the excess run down the drain before stepping out of the shower. Toweling himself out he let out a puff of warm air. The shower had helped sort of, he had gotten through some of his feelings and had a better idea of what caused them, but he still had a lot he didn't know. The ice cube he saw in the distance was an iceberg upon closer inspection and 90% of an iceberg is beneath the waterline.
After getting into his clothes he stepped out of the bathroom to head upstairs to his bedroom. He had been using the bathroom downstairs since it had a bigger shower. It didn't take him long to make it to his room, but the absolute silence that he was met with made him want to walk back out the door and find someone to pester.
Attempting to resist the temptation he started to mess around with the blankets and pillows on his bed, unsatisfied with the result he looked around the room. His eyes liting on the door to his walk-in closet. He wondered if the mattress would fit
Never one to wait he decided to go for it. Worst comes to worst he would curl up in the unsatisfying nest he had made. It's not like he didn't appreciate all the space he had been given or his own room but it felt so open and exposed.
Surprisingly it fit. It took some maneuvering to get it through the door but he got it. With a break for a mini-victory dance, consisting of fist pumps and sidekicks, he got to work arranging the pillows and blankets again. Making sure to put the decorative and stiff pillows at the back or to the side and the softer ones in front.
Once complete he snuggled down slowly relaxing his muscles. It was nice until he heard some muffled sounds from the wall behind him. The back of his closet shares the wall with Jungkook's room. Sitting up he tried to determine what the sounds were. Giving up on that method he pressed his ear to the wall.
Jungkook was crying. Taehyung doesn't really remember deciding to go help Jungkook, he just kind of appeared at his door and was knocking. Panicked shuffling could be heard from the other side along with a strained "Just a minute." from Jungkook. When the door opened it was quite clear that Jungkook had indeed been crying, his eyes were still red and puffy.
"Is there something you needed Taehyung?" Jungkook questioned a polite smile on his face. Taehyung let his brain short-circuit on what exactly he was supposed to say when it was clear Jungkook did not him to know about his crying.
"Can you come with me?" Not waiting for a verbal response he grabbed Jungkook's hand and pulled him into his room and towards his closet. Seeing the carefully arranged nest, the obvious spot where someone had been, and the wall Jungkook's eyes widened. Noticing the change Taehyung blurted out, "I'm kind of lonely and I didn't want to bug anyone, but I couldn't help myself so can you stay and hang out with me? We don't have to talk you can just go on your bracelet, but I would appreciate it." There was no reason to make Jungkook feel embarrassed when he was clearly not feeling good. And Taehyung wasn't really lying he did want company.
Swallowing Jungkook nodded, crawling into the nest not wanting Taehyung to see his eyes begin to water. It took a couple of minutes for them to figure out the space, but soon after they fell into the old behaviors they had cultivated over the past week. Taehyung scrolled through his holo screen, while Jungkook watched over his shoulder making quiet comments every once in and while about the video game streamers.
It was nice, to ignore everything. Even if they would have to leave the safe little corner eventually.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone