sleeping arrangements.

MRS SON

taehyung focus
it was maybe half an hour, an hour or maybe even two? taehyung doesn't know but he's suddenly tired and ready for bed. he yawns and pats jungkook's shoulder for him to wake up.

"jungkookie? jungkook? wake up, let's go inside." taehyung mumbles softly. the younger stirs and opens his eyes a millimetre apart to look up at a sleepy taehyung.

"huh? oh. yeah, okay." he says and heaves himself off the rusty hammock. taehyung follows and walks over to the back door, pushing the handle down.

only, it doesn't open. taehyung tries a few more times. it still doesn't open.

jungkook's a little more awake now and leans over taehyung's shoulder to try and open the door himself. it still doesn't open.

something dawns on taehyung; "you closed the door?! did you leave the key in the hole?"

"huh?" jungkook yawns, "the door was open so i walked through and closed the door behind. the key was in it, i think. why?"

"this doors old, the lock gets jammed when it's closed. you're meant to bring the key out!" taehyung says, exasperated.

"oh."

"now what do we do?

silence.
jungkook looks up to see taehyung's bedroom window wide open. he rubs his eyes, yawning again.

"do you have a ladder?"

"yes, why?" taehyung sighs, rubbing his forearms to warm his skin. even though it was july, the nights could get pretty cold - cold enough for goosebumps to appear on taehyung's tan skin.

he looks up to see where jungkook was looking up at. "oh my god."

"is the ladder long enough?"

"yeah, probably. oh my god." taehyung breathes, looking at the wide open window. "it's over there." taehyung points. he guides jungkook over to the back of the shed, where the ladder lies abandoned. neither his mom nor himself, were interested in moving the ladder so it lay there, rotting away.

jungkook lifts it up and taehyung squeals when he spots woodlice and slimy insects sitting in the damp soil underneath.

jungkook drags it upwards without taehyung's help; the poor boy cowering at the sight of the insects.
jungkook heaves it over to the side of the house. taehyung reluctantly helps him lift and set the metal ladder against the house, the end of the unbelievably long ladder near his bedroom window.

"you wanna try going up?" jungkook ask, rubbing tired eyes.

"okay, hold on to the ladder." taehyung sets a slippered foot on the bottom rung, "keep it sturdy okay?" he asks, biting his lip.

dear god, please please don't make me fall off this godamn ladder.

"i won't let you fall." jungkook says, reading his mind. taehyung's heart flutters a little, "so get on the damn ladder already, im dying to go back to sleep." jungkook groans. the fluttering disappears and taehyung scowls darkly at him before grabbing at the rungs and steadily climbing up the ladder.

shit, that's a long way up.

im going to die. im going to fall and die, oh my god.

taehyung stops midway, regaining his breath and trying to stop gruesome images, inside his head, of him falling off and meeting a bloody end on his mom's much loved vegetable garden.

"keep going." jungkook calls out. taehyung takes in huge lungfuls of air and continues to slowly climb upwards. he pauses at the top, begging himself not to look downwards, and cranks open his window to allow himself to climb in. he collapses on to his bedroom carpet and stares up at his ceiling, calming his beating heart. he forgets that jungkook is still locked outside, for a second, but is reminded by a voice bellowing out in the garden.

"OI WHAT DO YOU THINK YOURE DOING?" taehyung sits up and peers out into the darkness to see jungkook being yelled at by his elderly neighbour. jungkook looks scared at the woman bearing down at him, blue rollers in her silver hair threatening to fall. jungkook looks away with wide eyes, his brown eyes darting away from the up close view he had of the old lady's nostrils.

"GET YOUR DAMN LADDER AWAY, YOU HOOLIGAN. BACK OFF, YOU NASTY BURGLAR!" taehyung scrambles to his bedroom door and dashes down the stairs.

oh no, it's mrs son. she's going to kill us.

he enters his kitchen and yanks open the back door. "STAY RIGHT THERE, IM CALLING THE COPS." mrs son yells, jabbing a finger at jungkook's chest whilst pressing the keys for the police on her phone.

"ah! um, hi there, mrs son! he's not a hooligan - he's a friend. we got locked outside and needed to get in. we were using the ladder." taehyung rushes. he holds up his palms up in surrender, in case mrs son decided to painfully jab him in the chest next.

mrs son, heavily overweight and a very fierce woman, sniffs, "that's okay and all, boy. just don't look so sneaky about it. thought this boy was gonna come and burgle my house next." she glares at jungkook. "also, this won't go unmentioned towards your mother. ill be calling your mother about yours and your friends behaviour soon. kids these days; so disruptive." she tsks.

taehyung groans internally.
"sorry, mrs son. we'll be quiet now." taehyung assures, smiling. mrs son glares at the two teenagers before stomping back into her house.

fuck, we're screwed. mom's gonna kill me.

"old hag." jungkook grumbles and ever so slowly brings the ladder down. taehyung chuckles as he replays what just happened in his head; climbing up ladders into houses and jungkook being so afraid of mrs son. taehyung laughs and helps him put the ladder away, wincing at the bugs and insects.

"what are you laughing at?" jungkook glares.

"your face when mrs son yelled at you." taehyung says, cracking up again. jungkook looks unimpressed.

"let's go inside now." jungkook says, walking past a giggling taehyung. "i need my sleep." taehyung jogs to catch up with him, still laughing.