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A ten-year-old Taehyung looked down at his paper, willing his eyes to change the red mark his teacher had left on it. It was to no use though. No matter how often he blinked, how he willed the mark to magically change, his eyes always opened to a B. How could he have gotten a B when he had spent hours preparing for it? There was a reason he had strived to be better than a B and that reason now strode over to his desk, waving his own paper around that was signed with a huge A and a smiley next to it.
"Look at that. Once again, I am way better than you, Taehyung." Jungkook then snatched away the paper from under his hands."Just a B? I would have never thought the day would come that I would have to say these words: I thought even someone like you could do better."
Taehyung blushed in shame." It´s not like I have studied for that test."
"My grandma would have gotten a better mark than you, even without studying." Jungkook laughed.
"Yes. Kim is so stupid. His girly clothes must have rubbed off on him. Now he is even as stupid as a girl."
When someone teased him this time, it wasn´t Jungkook. Jungkook´s quips he could take, knowing that rivalry was their thing and he knew he would rub it in his face as well, if it had been the other way around. When other people made fun of him that was what really hurt. He was interrupted before he could open his mouth to defend himself though.
"Shut up, Heejoon, or I´ll make you." Jungkook said, his voice calm, but his expression showed the honesty of his words.
"But, but-. You were teasing the girl too."
"Yes. And he is mine to tease."Jungkook pushed Heejoon, who stumbled against the next desk. "Spread the word, idiot. Kim Taehyung will only be teased by me."
Taehyung´s head throbbed from the wound he had suffered by the butt of a gun, making him fight the nausea that rolled through him. Every time he fought against the rubber restraints on his hands they would loosen a bit, just to snap back to crush his hopes.
Under other circumstances his power would make the escape a childsplay, but whoever wanted him dead had to have planned this for a long time. The stuff they had injected him with ran through his body, making his heart pump harder and increased the speed of his breathing and had the nice side effect of leaving his whole body hot and tingling. And they successfully stopped him from using his powers.
Here was the thing about Kim Taehyung and his inhuman powers. The first time they had showed themselves had not even been a selfless act, or a shock reaction. No, Taehyung had wanted something to happen to Jungkook so badly, just so he could win the school race that his body had gotten along with that plan. There was no scientist who could figure out what caused the anomaly in Taehyung, or several other people, but somehow he had been able to fire electricity at Jungkook that day. Right in front of his eyes, the eleven-year-old had convulsed before hitting the ground where he remained motionless, while teachers and children alike gathered around him.
In that moment, without ever believing he could do something like this, Taehyung had felt guilty. Deep inside he had known he had been responsible for the pain he had caused Jungkook. They were lucky that Jungkook had gotten away with a minor burn in the back of his neck and a slight concussion from hitting his head after the fall.
In the following years, Taehyung had explored his powers, had toyed around with them until he reached the age where he understood the greater picture of it all. He controlled electricity, could throw it like lightning bolts, could use its heat to melt about anything or could provide light in the darkest of places and he knew that he was born with a purpose.
Kim Taehyung had never doubted he would be fighting for the good side. To use his powers to do evil had never been an option, but that was just him.
Jeon Jungkook had chosen differently.
Jungkook and him had always had a rather special relationship. From day one, when Jungkook had moved into the Kim´s neighbor house, they had started their rivalry. From the day they met they had always fought about whatever was important to them at that age.
At 6 it was about who had the better action figures- Batman and Superman vs. all of the Power Rangers. 7 it was about who had the best cookie baker in the house- Jungkook´s dad or Taehyung himself. With 10 it was about who was better in school- Taehyung often winning in the linguistic subjects, while Jungkook was better in history and math. With eleven it was about who was better in sports- that hadn´t ended too well and Taehyung had given up trying to surpass him. With 13 it was about who had more friends- admittedly Taehyung had made up most of them while Jungkook was a pro in luring people in. With 14 it was about who dated the best cheerleader- again something Taehyung made up. With 15 it was who was the better gay- yes something like that can be fought about and Taehyung was the winner.
Then, with 16, it had stopped altogether when Jungkook was jumped on his date with a boy and ended up in the hospital for several weeks. Here is another thing about them. While all they did was fight they had a weird friendship none of them would ever admit having.
Taehyung had tried to visit him in the hospital, but Jungkook had screamed at him to get out whenever he tried until one day he stopped coming. Jungkook then had transferred schools and moved out and it had taken seven years until Taehyung was able to see him again. And when he did he almost didn´t recognize him.
It had been a bank-robbery that policeman Kim Taehyung had been sent out to stop. Not even in his wildest dreams had he thought he would see Jeon Jungkook again under these circumstances. But there he had been, dressed in a black three piece suit, followed by five floating sacs filled with money that lined up behind him. It had looked more like an episode on Disney Channel than the crime that it really was. However, when Jungkook had turned and noticed he had been discovered, he froze and whatever his powers now were, he used them to send the back-up out. They had been the only ones in the hall and while Jungkook had gracefully stepped forward, Taehyung had found himself unable to move.
"Taehyung, what a nice sight to see. You can´t imagine all the sex fantasies you arouse by wearing this uniform. Is it Commissioner Kim to me now, or do I get the ´evil old nemesis bonus´, Tae?" Jungkook had asked, smiling.
Meanwhile Taehyung struggled against the invisible force that kept him in place."It´s not Commissioner yet, but I´ll let you know if that happens, when I visit you in prison."
"I am afraid you have no power over me. There is a reason why I chose the bad side. In reality, it always wins over the good side."
There had always been something magic about Jungkook, especially about his eyes that looked so innocent in the face of the now villain. Time may have changed their personalities, but it had not changed the annoying attraction towards Jungkook that then had nagged on his mind. The surprise of Jungkook´s evil side had slowly settled when Taehyung noticed that his lips still looked oh-so kissable. It made what he had then said all the more difficult to utter.
"Don´t make me use my power, Jungkook. I don´t want to."
Jungkook had chuckled."Why? Come on, humor me."
"Jungkook-"
The pressure that had just let him remain immobile increased, until he felt his bones grind and his stomach cave in.
"Use it. Show me that you are no better than I am. Hurt me. Kill me. Don´t pretend to be the good guy when all you wanted was to beat me your whole life. Well, now´s your chance."
Taehyung had not, driven by the need to prove to him that what would always be different about them were their moralities. He had also known that at this stage, releasing the electricity would seriously hurt Jungkook, if not even kill him and he couldn´t let that happen. Not only was he better than that, but he had also seen the humanity in Jungkook´s eyes. The fear of the sixteen-year-old that had been forced to see the dark side of the world when he had been beaten up for being born this way.
With more time passing, Taehyung had felt the air leave his lungs. Only then it had not returned when he felt his neck being squeezed and he had slowly sunken into the darkness as he fell unconscious.
From that day on they had often come face to face, mostly ending with Taehyung passed out, since he would only use his powers to smaller degrees that did not seem to do much harm to Jungkook. Whenever he saw him though, it felt like the currency travelled through his body, fizzling on his skin the closer Jungkook came. To remain good he had to resist the temptation, he told himself but his resolve got weaker with every encounter. He was lucky that the need to surpass Jungkook was strong enough to prevent him from the harm that would likely come with giving into the pleasure.
Right now he had other problems at hand though. Whoever had managed to sneak up to him and hit him so hard that he blacked out had also managed to bring him to a small, windowless room where he had been tied to a chair. There was no light that could help him find an escape and he had only managed to struggle enough to hit both sides of the room with his chair. He supposed his whereabouts were some kind of closet, which was ironically the last place Taehyung would ever see himself in. Still, here he was, unable to use his powers, tied to a chair and blind in the pitch-black space with no way to know what would happen. All attempts of breaking free had been futile so he had slowly given up trying. He would hopefully find use of his strength later.
The time he spent waiting for his kidnapper to make another entrance, he thought about the inevitable death he would have to face. Taehyung may have powers, but he was not invincible. Pierce his organs and he would die like any normal human. He wasn´t stupid either. There was no way that he had been kidnapped for a ransom. All the people he had meant anything to were either dead or possessed no amount of money that could be wanted as a ransom. On the bright side that meant that he wouldn´t leave many people in grief when he died.
The few friends he had would be sad, of course they would, but they had other people who would soon set them back on the track called life. He would not. His colleagues were friendly towards him, but he knew as soon as he turned his back to them, they ripped him apart verbally. No one was truly fond of an inhuman creature in the police force. Maybe they would even celebrate his death.
And then there was Jeon Jungkook. Jungkook, who he had thought enough about today. They knew each other for such a long time, but there was no guaranty that he would feel anything at Taehyung´s death. Even though he was evil, Taehyung knew he still could feel any human emotion. He was just not sure if he even cared about Taehyung enough to feel them. Probably not. Taehyung still felt the desire to talk to him one last time. Without their uniforms, just the two of them in order for him to apologize. He knew he should have been more adamant when Jungkook had drowned in hatred as he lay in the hospital. Maybe he could have prevented him from taking the darker path. While there weren´t many things Taehyung ever regretted, this was definitely one of them.
He was about to drift off into a light sleep, when the door hit the wall with a crash. The instant it did, Taehyung was wide awake, trying to spot anything as his eyes tried to adjust to the blinding light that came from the hallway. He blinked ferociously, but the figure was hardly more than a shadow to him.
"Not as brave without your powers, huh?" A male voice said.
He didn´t seem to recognize it. The man was neither huge, nor hulky, he appeared to be slim and of average height, no one whose features would be a dead giveaway. The tips of his hair were brown though, not that it helped Taehyung figure out who his kidnapper was.
"Who wants to know that?" Taehyung said, police officer voice covering his emotions."What do you want from me?"
"Oh, you don´t know me, not really. But I think you might know something about a Lee Woobin."
He gulped. Of course he remembered Lee Woobin, the guy that literally had smelled like danger and had gotten to him at his weakest just to sneak into his bed and be gone with his money by morning. Yes, Taehyung remembered Woobin, because he had reminded him of Jungkook and he had thought he would get the villain out of his system by choosing someone similar. Weeks later Woobin had gotten what he deserved for playing with him and stealing, when Taehyung had arrested him for attempted rape and drug possession. The night he did, he hadn´t gotten any sleep in the knowledge that it could have been him who got raped. So he was familiar with him, but despite of that he lied.
"No, the name doesn´t ring a bell."
He saw the shadow move before a fist hit him so hard the chair swung backward and it fell. He bit his lips when he hit the floor and he felt dull pain creep up his arms when the wood and his bodyweight crashed down on them. Just a little later the real pain set in, sharp and numbing, telling him that something was broken.
"You bastard. You were the whore who accused him of rape and drug possession. Because of you, my brother is dead now." He was screamed at.
In a haste to get away from the angry man, he tried to slip backwards, just to hit the back wall of the closet. Despite the pain he was in, he tried to find his powers, prodding at the space that felt warm whenever he used them. It was ice cold.
"I am not responsible for his death." Taehyung used his shoulders to try to loosen the rubber handcuffs."I am a police officer who saw a crime and prevented it. It is my job to help people and your brother was a threat."
"My brother, what do you know about him? You said you didn´t remember. Tell me what you know. Tell me or I´ll fucking blow your head right off your shoulder!"
With the additional help of the floor, he slowly felt his hands being released of their restraints, but he could barely move them. When they were finally free though, he couldn´t use them. The man now towered over him and he hadn´t expected another hit to his face that let him see bright spots dance and mingle in front of his eyes. He willed his arms to protect him from further harm, but the left one wouldn´t move at all, while the movement of the right one felt like someone tore his joints. He was helplessly at the mercy of Woobin´s brother.
"I don´t know any more than you do." He gasped."Me and my partner were patrolling through New York by night when I saw movement in an ally and went to check. I saw Mr. Lee attempt to rape a man and we arrested him. In his pockets we found a huge stash of drugs. That is it. It is everything I know."
The man obviously didn´t try to control his anger, because he let out a scream before stomping down on his stomach. Taehyung gulped for air that didn't seem to reach his lungs, while the pressure on his broken arms increased.
"A man? A man?" he kicked Taehyung´s side."Listen to me you fag, my brother was no ass-fucking homo fag. You set him up. It is you who is responsible for his death. You fucking-."
The man then stopped kicking him and actually tried to calm down if the deep breaths were anything to go by. That he was not calm enough was duly noted by Taehyung when he felt his throbbing head be lifted by his hair.
"Listen, let me tell you what happened because of you. As soon as he was in prison they stabbed him. He was sentenced to four years and after two days he was killed. Two fucking days. And. It. Is. Your. Fault."
With every word of the last sentence he kicked him again, until Taehyung couldn´t hold in his cries any longer. He found himself wanting it to end, even if the end meant his death. In face of death he couldn´t even mourn the pitiful way he would be killed. He even sighed in relief when he heard the clickering sound when the man loaded his gun. One, two, three, four, five bullets.
"I would want you to endure more of this, but there is only so much time. I will make this a bit more fun though. You will either tell me the truth, or I will make you suffer longer. I will start with a bullet in your leg for example."
"I-" Taehyung stuttered, before the first shot was fired and a bullet tore in the flesh of his left leg. He screamed until he was silenced by a foot that pressed into his windpipe.
The man laughed above him."Oops, my fault. Let´s start again, I´ll try not to interrupt you this time."
When Taehyung started to speak this time, it was not Woobin´s brother that interrupted him, it was another voice, this time female.
"Sir, Sir! Our cameras have just spotted The Shadow in the first floor. What are we supposed to do?"
"Shit, what could he want?"The man cursed, pacing in the small space of the closet. Then the loud shattering of glass could be heard. Jungkook. What are you doing, Taehyung asked himself.
"Quick, shut down every light in the building!"
Taehyung saw the woman run off, right before Jungkook appeared in the open doorway. His otherwise casual expression was now replaced by a scowl and his honey colored eyes held no more kindness when they landed on both of them. Meanwhile the man had turned around to face Jungkook, The Shadow, and Taehyung could see in the hallway light that his features held similarities to Woobin´s.
"What do you want here? This is just a minor headquarter of us, there is nothing of value you could want."
Taehyung saw Jungkook look at him, saw the anger on his face as if whatever he spotted disgusted him, but he didn´t take his eyes off again. Under his gaze, Taehyung felt more vulnerable, but weirdly safe. He could never be sure of Jungkook´s motifs and a part of him was still unsure, but somehow he knew he would help him. Just like so many years ago, Jungkook would be the only one who was allowed to harm Taehyung.
"Ah, seems you have list of people who are after your head, Kim. Sorry, Shadow but I was here first, so-" The man started, but an invisible force pressed him against the hallway wall, up and up while the man´s arms flew to his neck as if he tried to get whatever had a hold of him off. That action was futile, since it only gave Jungkook more of the shadow to use to choke him with.
"Wh-y-"
"He is mine, you hear me? I am his only enemy! You lay your filthy hands on him and you have to deal with me."
The man nodded harshly as his face turned pale and then slowly red before it held a blue tinge. There was a huge part of Taehyung that was so fuzzy and exhausted that he wanted him to die. There were even thoughts of being grateful for Jungkook if he did kill him. Fuzzy thoughts or not, Taehyung was still better than that.
"Jungkook, no!" Taehyung screamed.
Jungkook turned around to him, a small smile on his lips that caused Taehyung to shiver."Yes. You want him to die as well. Look at what he´s done to you. Doesn´t he know that I am the only one who is allowed to touch you?"
As if he wanted to punctuate his words, he let the shadow pull the man forward, just to bash him right back into the wall. Over and over, like he used him to knock on the wall. Jungkook had always been a puppeteer. Even in high school where everybody wanted to be his friend and everybody wanted to ensure that Jungkook was happy. Only now, he used his puppet to destroy itself.
Taehyung heard a pitiful gurgle coming from the man´s throat and started pleading. "Please, No. Please."
"He doesn´t deserve to live. You are mine."
"Jungkook, I beg you. Don´t do this. You are not the evil person you make out t-"
While he had talked, his body had tried to sit up and scramble over to him, to reach Jungkook. It was the pain that cut him short, and the blood loss that made his thoughts swim in a dizzy fog. Sooner rather than later, the floor rushed to meet him. Strangely enough that was what it took to make Jungkook stop, since he let his powers slide and he hurried over.
By then Taehyung was drifting off to escape all the pain, only to resurface in Jungkook´s arms after an undetermined amount of time. His hands hung limp at his side and he was no longer bound to the chair. Instead he felt the pressure right under his left knee where Jungkook had cut off the bloodstream with tight knot shadow and a calloused hand that shook him awake. His hands lay limp in his lap when he blinked dazedly and saw Jungkook hovering over him.
"I want to be the one who kills you one day, so I´ll make sure you live to see that day, alright?" Jungkook asked.
"Sure. MY doc is at-"
"My doc is better. I want you alive, I said."
"No, my-" Taehyung tried, not even sure why he argued at a time like this. It just came naturally to him.
"Tae, shut up or I´ll make you. This is not the time to play our weird power game. Come on now."
He felt hands slip under his body, while his eyes stayed on Jungkook´s ones. Whether he died here or not, those eyes were a pretty sight to see if it really were his last seconds. And sure enough, by then the world turned black.
It took him a couple of seconds to realize that he was still conscious and that it was only the light that had been cut off. A few seconds more to figure out that Jungkook was no longer near him. There was a pained sound that obviously belonged to his favorite rival, before a shot shattered the silence once more. In an attempt to help, Taehyung tried to get up, uttering Jungkook´s name over and over again.
"Come out and play, Shadowman. My gun wants to say hello." The man was alive, his voice raspy as he spoke, but Jungkook seemed to be as well."It´s ridiculous how weak you two are when I take away your powers."
For a few minutes, Taehyung was bound to listen to a fight, to grunts and gasps that all sounded the same to him. When Jungkook spoke again, his voice was a mere whisper.
"Light. I ne-d light."
All Taehyung wanted to do was cry and wail, because he was useless right now. He wanted to explain that they had suppressed his powers and that he could do nothing to help him. Instead his mind filled with pictures of Jungkook´s dead body, lying next to him. His honey eyes dull and emotionless as they stared at him. There he would be, shot to death while saving his biggest enemy and best friend. And there would be no way for Taehyung to tell him how he felt.
No!
This time Taehyung didn´t just prod at the cold source of his powers, he attacked it with a sledgehammer. Again and again, until he finally used the strangled breath he heard to fight harder just to be rewarded with a flood of sizzling electricity that travelled through his body. With another try he made it resurface. As soon as he let it free, it jumped up and down his body, leaving him unharmed and roamed freely, tinting the closet into an eerie blue light. It was happy to be freed, and it blazed with an intensity that made Taehyung squint his eyes.
Jungkook, who he saw was now the one who was pressed to the wall, looked at him, eyes wide open, before a wicked grin reappeared on his lips. Behind him his shadow moved, pulling the man away by his neck and rushing them against the wall. His head collided with the brick in a loud crack and he crumbled down like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Jungkook was beside him only moments later, reaching out, only to let his hand retreat with a hiss on his lips. Taehyung wasn´t sure if the blood-loss got to him, but when he looked into his eyes this time, he swore he could see awe. As if Taehyung was beautiful surrounded by the light of his powers. As if they hadn't been rivals for life and mortal enemies on completely opposite sides.
Almost like he was in love with him.
"Taehyung, turn off those damn lightning bolts. I need to get you to a doctor."
"Mine?" Taehyung asked weakly, attempting a joke.
"Sure."
When Taehyung woke up, he instantly closed his eyes again after seeing the world spin and swirl like dancers in a ballroom. When he opened them again, he watched them dance a bit longer before they turned into a white ceiling and grey wallpaper. The recent events had caught up to him faster than he had welcomed and now there was one thought that pushed its way to the top.
This was not his doctor´s room.
"Jungkook." He yelled and shrieked when a voice right next to him answered.
"You sure have regained your energy."
Taehyung looked up to Jungkook. There was nothing left of the villain exterior Taehyung had seen him in for the last month. In fact he looked incredibly young.
"Yeah and that is surprising to me, since you seem to have brought me to your doctor, who obviously cannot compare to mine."
Jungkook sighed, a genuine smile on his lips despite of that."You definitely are fine when you are able to start pointless discussions that you will lose in the end. And actually this is not my doctor´s place but my own."
"Oh really?" Taehyung tried to sit up, feeling at disadvantage lying down."Don´t assume I will fall to my knees, thanking you for saving me. I could have handled that situation on my own just fine."
His whole body hurt when he moved and he chose to stay where he was; at least for now. When he looked up at him again, he saw the familiar darkened face of the Jungkook who occasionally robbed banks or stole cars. It made him feel smaller and all the warmth of past benter and reminiscence was gone.
"Sure didn´t look that way to me, Tae. So yes, I expect you to fall on your knees in front of me. Why don´t we arrange that right now?"
"Wha-" was all Taehyung could say before Jungkook´s shadow ripped him out of the comfortable bed and forced him to his hands and knees. If it weren´t for Jungkook´s powers, Taehyung would have broken down since the weight of his body was too much for either his leg or his right hand to handle.
"Very nice sight. I assume you want to tell me something."
Taehyung gulped, blinking away the tears."That is not you. The Jungkook I know-"
"The Jungkook you know was killed." He was interrupted. "He was too weak and that is what got him nearly killed. He believed in the good of the world. But my eyes have been opened. I have seen how cruel the world is and maybe it´s time for you to see that too."
By then he felt Jungkook´s power decrease, putting all the weight onto his hurting limbs. He looked up at him as he crumbled to the floor, crying out in pain. For a few seconds he remained lying there, blinking away the tears and breathing in the dust of the floor. He knew Jungkook was making a point with his actions; like a live show of how evil the world was by being evil himself. And maybe it would have worked out if he hadn´t lifted him with his shadows and gently put him back into the bed right after that. Despite the pain Taehyung had almost laughed when he saw the reluctant expression in Jungkook´s face as he tugged him in by himself. Jungkook´s brown eyes that had been so hard and emotionless just seconds ago were now warm and full of concern.
"You sir, are truly evil." Taehyung whispered, closing his eyes.
"Shut up."
He giggled."I guess your evil plan is to make it appear as if you were nice, but in reality you torture me with cheap bedspreads."
He didn´t need to open his eyes to know that Jungkook smiled. Evil, my ass."Just because I don´t make appoint in being evil by torturing an injured man, doesn´t make the world any better."
"Jungkook, I already know that the world is in no way good. That is the sole reason for being a policeman. I want to change that, even if I have to do it one pocket-thief after another."
They lapsed into silence, both lost in their thoughts until Taehyung felt the bed dip. When he opened his eyes he flinched in surprise over the man that was hovering right above him. An inhuman cold radiated from the hands that Jungkook had put on either side of Taehyung´s head that Taehyung battled with his own inhuman warmth. They had only once been in this situation and they had both agreed how big of a mistake that had been. It had been right before the accident with Jungkook. To this day he still couldn´t comprehend how riling each other up about who was more experienced in bed had lead to sex. To Taehyung´s first time.
So now, seeing him from up close and feeling his body that would have to lower itself just so much to make them touch, defying the chemistry that often urged him to kiss Jungkook was harder than ever.
"Why won´t you join me, Taehyung? I know we fought so hard our whole lives to surpass each other, but just think about what we could do together. Our powers complement. Without light there is no shadow. Don´t you see the appeal to leave everything behind and be with me? The Lee are just the first of many who want to get rid of a policeman with superpowers. They are the scum that is truly evil, not me. I just like to create a little chaos and with you by my side there is a chance to show the world how wrong it is. We too will change the world, you and me, as their leader."
Taehyung was about to shake his head when it was held in place by rough lips. For a moment he was sure Jungkook used this to manipulate him, but if he did he has miscalculated because everything he had said was wiped away from Taehyung´s mind. The kiss was what they felt like for each other. Desperate, needy and most of all full of longing. They had spent all of their lives hating each other, but with the strong feelings of dislike came strong feelings of attraction. When he felt Jungkook pull away he tried to get as much of his taste as he could, not knowing when the next time would be that they did this. Or if there would be a next time.
"I know you want this. I know you want me. We have already done it once, just be a sinner again, Tae."
Taehyung took a deep breath, mindful of his injuries while capturing Jungkook´s lips again.
"This does not mean that I will join you." He said, rubbing his good leg, the only thing working right now, against Jungkook´s crotch.
"Sure."
"Stay put. This is something I need to handle alone." Taehyung whispered to his partner who stood behind him, gun drawn and ready to barge into the part of the museum that had been reported as being broken into.
"No. Kim, how often do we have to discuss that? We are to operate in groups of two."
"Right, but I am no ordinary policeman. So trust me, stay put."
Ignoring the quiet hiss that ´he should come back this instant´, he went on without his partner. He even let lightning bolts appear on his skin to blind him.
Right before he entered the section he knew the culprit was in, he picked up his partner's words: "This better not be another meeting with The Shadow, or I´ll report you."
Taehyung rolled his eyes and made sure to close the double door entrance behind him. The room was dark apart from the place he was standing and still glowing with electric white light that was reflected by glass cases that held artifacts and ancient treasures. But there, in the middle of the room, where it was the darkest and coldest, stood someone who warmed his blood. The Shadow, Jungkook, grinned holding the very ancient, very expensive ´Diamond Owl´ casually balanced on the palm of his right hand.
"Hello. I am once again disappointed in how slow the police arrive at a crime scene." Jungkook started throwing the owl and catching it again.
"And you are still here, when you could have been gone for so long."
The thief laughed, stepping closer until the tip of his nose touched Taehyung´s neck. Taehyung sighed when he felt butterfly kisses be pressed onto his sensitive skin. For a moment he let himself be indulged in what he wanted, Kim Taehyung, 25, the man who always forgot to buy milk and who thought the police uniform he wore was an abomination, instead of Kim Taehyung, the man with superpowers and the one in the special force in the police unit who had yet to catch The Shadow.
Taehyung angled his head to reach Jungkook´s lips. Lips he had come to find irresistible so he had stopped trying to do just that. This time he couldn´t allow himself to get lost in the feeling of Jungkook though. This time he was policeman Taehyung and as soon as he felt Jungkook lose focus of anything other than the pleasure, he quickly snatched the owl away and backed off. At first Jungkook looked disoriented but he slowly got a grasp of the situation he was in and smiled.
"Tae, how many times have we done this? You know I will be the winner at the end."
Taehyung looked at the floor, where he saw the expected shadow crawl towards him. Only this time, he was faster, engulfing himself in lightning, apart from the palm that held the owl. He made sure that every inch of that was flooded in light though, throwing no shadow for Jungkook to use, as he illuminated the other side of the owl with his free hand.
"That´s new." Jungkook said, shielding his eyes.
"That is check mate. Your shadows won´t be of any use to you. So I win."
He had seen Jungkook´s face after he was defeated by Taehyung. Not often, even though he wouldn´t dream of admitting that, but whenever Jungkook lost, he went through several phases.
One: Playing cool. Two: Denial. Three: Rage. Four: Nonchalance.
Yes, Taehyung knew his ´I lost´ face and this was not one of them. In fact he laughed so loudly that Taehyung feared the back-up would come in any time. Then he was rooted to the ground by shock, when Jungkook came running towards him. One hand of him was reaching out and any moment it would meet Taehyung´s blazing body and Jungkook would be electrocuted. Possibly with enough Volt that his body couldn´t handle it. Taehyung´s body was faster than his thoughts though, shutting his powers down just as a hand met his chest.
"Wha-?"
"No, that was check mate."Jungkook gently pried the owl out of Taehyung´s hands."You are so predictable. There was no way you would harm me. Such a good boy."
Taehyung felt lips be pressed to his forehead and he only then noticed how his body shook as the adrenaline left it. Jungkook carefully rubbed Taehyung´s neck until the shock passed and then stepped away to the nearest window.
"You could have died."Taehyung hissed."How can a stupid looking owl with no sense of colors be important enough to pull this stunt?"
"Who cares for the owl? I only care about winning."
Taehyung shook his head, but at the same time a smile forced its way to his lips. This felt so familiar and yet brand new.
He heard the back-up burst into the museum, stupidly not bothering who heard them, apparently. Jungkook seemed to have thought the same thing, because he raised one brow in mock.
"Go. Or do you want them to finally catch your ass?"
"No and you wouldn´t want that either." Jungkook answered, still making no effort to get lost. The first ones were already in the hallway that led to this room, so Taehyung felt the panic rise inside of his chest.
"Go!"
"Okay, okay." He opened the window and sat on the windowsill. Taehyung had already turned around to tell his unit that the culprit had fled the scene, when he heard Jungkook talk again.
"In an hour at our place?"
"Don´t forget to buy banana milk, honey. We don´t have any left and I will not console you if that is the reason you can´t have your precious cornflakes tomorrow morning."
Jungkook chuckled."I love you."
"Go you stupid idiot. I love you, too."
Then the backup burst into the room, gun drawn, only to find one of theirs standing in the middle of it, behind an empty glass case. The room disrupted into a loud mess, so Taehyung was sure that only he had heard the whispered: "I won!"
