Chapter Text
That was the first time Hoseok gave Jungkook a piggyback ride to his home.
It was never one of his romantic fantasies nor one of the many things to cross out of his Things I want to do with my boyfriend when I have one list. In fact, that was the most stupid and ridiculous situation Jungkook could have put himself into that day.
Hoseok told him a few days ago his friends decided to go play basketball the next Friday while he was forced to go to one of his very boring aunts’ birthday party. Hoseok and Jungkook had known each other thanks to Jimin and his dance classes, so Hoseok was already kind of comfortable in Jimin and Taehyung’s company, although both of them started to judge him a little bit too much after they knew he was kind of hooking up with Jungkook.
Jungkook wasn’t in the same position, though. Yes, he knew Hoseok’s friends, he knew their names and had met them twice but it was a given Jungkook was so absurdly shy that getting to know them and being comfortable around them would need time.
That was the main reason he decided to join them that afternoon. Jungkook practising a physical activity, having something to do with his hands and a remote possibility of uncomfortable silences, that was some sort of situation Jungkook felt he could comfortably manage, with or without Hoseok. Even though the latter didn’t think the same.
Everything was perfectly fine, though. At least that was for the most part of the playin. Then the situation changed abruptly and Jungkook had ended up twisting an ankle and needing Hoseok’s help to give him a piggyback ride to his home.
“Did you have a good time, at least?” Jungkook feels bad, having Hoseok underneath him, walking slowly because he obviously couldn’t bear Jungkook’s weight. He had been carrying him for about fifteen minutes and he already looked exhausted.
“Bet Namjoon thinks I’m stupid.” Hoseok isn’t surprised Jungkook only cares about Namjoon’s opinion. He knows his friends so well he’s completely sure he was the nicest one with him. Also it was not a secret Jungkook developed some kind of admiration for his tallest friend for some reason.
“Probably” He asserts with a smile, stopping for a second to place Jungkook comfortably on his back. “And he’s not wrong, babe.”
Jungkook hides his face in Hoseok’s neck, the expensive fragrance of that perfume Hoseok only uses when he has important events like dance performances getting stuck in his nose.
He loved that scent, it smelled nicely, a little heavy, though, but it brought feelings of that little anxiety and strain that he experienced on their first official date, only three weeks ago. The feeling of hundreds of butterflies flying everywhere in his stomach.
Although Jungkook always preferred that clean and fresh scent on Hoseok, that essence of just washed sheets and freshly cut grass. Or that other Hoseok that smells of sweat and sacrifice and dance classes. Those were the Hoseok s that made him feel safe and at home.
But he liked that fancy fragrance too.
“Anyways” says Hoseok, and Jungkook knows what’s coming, “how did it happen?”
He’s calm, it seems, even though he probably knows. Jungkook saw Seokjin secretly talking to him back in the hospital so he probably... surely knows.
“I bumped into Seokjin and fell.” He can’t see Hoseok’s face but knows he doesn’t believe him.
“They told you, right?
“What?”
“They told you.” Hoseok sighs and jumps slightly to place Jungkook again. “And then you decided to challenge him to a basketball match?”
“They told me you and Yoongi were dating but didn’t tell me he was a professional basketball player.”
“How mean” says Hoseok and his playful tone kind of pissed Jungkook off. “But we weren’t dating, what the fuck. It was something that happened like… twice or three times.”
“You don’t have to explain to me anything.”
“Yeah, but I want to”
Hoseok stops for a second to think and Jungkook realizes he doesn’t know him as well as he would like to. They are somehow officially dating only for three weeks, but it’s been almost two months since the first time they had sex. However, and as extroverted as Hoseok is, Jungkook is having a hard time getting to know what is inside of that social butterfly that happens to have half of the campus yearning for him and the other half trying to get into his pants.
“Why?” He asks before Hoseok starts talking. Maybe because he feels he’s not in the right place to deserve an explanation or maybe because he’s afraid of what he’s about to say.
“Because you just stupidly twisted your ankle while competing with one of my best friends and for what? To prove which one of you deserves to marry the princess? Do you realize how absurd that sounds?”
“Yeah…” So he’s now pissed, self-conscious and embarrassed.
“So yes” Hoseok keeps talking, and he still sounds collected, “I need you to understand we are just friends, really good friends, but just friends. We knew each other in one of those college parties, hooked up and had sex a few times after that night, but that was it.”
Jungkook chews his bottom lip unconsciously; he should have guessed that. Because knowing each other in a college party, liking each other and having sex in that same party looked exactly like how Hoseok’s and his own story had started.
Jungkook had prefered to live ignoring that probably the majority of Hoseok’s stories would have started like that. He has to still take advantage of that new information, so he writes down in his stupid mental list of Things to do to keep Hoseok by his side, to calm down his feelings because he’s just one of those many funny stories to tell your friends at the end of the day. Even if he doesn’t know how to do that, he sure has to figure it out.
Anyway, a fleeting story in a party what’s not what Jungkook was told. Seokjin told him they had their own story, they were never together but they were also never completely available for other people either. The three of them were joking around, teasing Jungkook but also teasing Yoongi and he looked… so used to it, Jungkook felt like he was just a joke to them. And to Hoseok.
“Can you please let me walk?” He asks and on the contrary of what he expects, Hoseok stops and lets him get off of him.
His ankle makes a crack sound as soon as he touches the floor and Jungkook has to control his face so Hoseok can’t see it hurts like hell.
“At least let me help you,” he says, gently placing a hand on his back.
“It’s ok, I’m fine.”
Jungkook curses in his mind when he tries to take another step, but his pride is bigger than whatever pain he’s going through so he keeps slowly walking. He struggles a bit when Hoseok tries to help him again, taking his arm and placing it over his shoulders. And it really feels like a torture how gentle Hoseok touches his back and carries half of his weight over his body. Because he would like to stop having that mixture of feelings and arrive home already to throw himself over Jimin’s bed, complain about Hoseok’s friends and probably about Hoseok too or maybe lock down in his room, put on some sad music and cry a little.
They walk in silence for about ten minutes, intrusive thoughts invading Jungkook’s head of what on earth made him believe Hoseok was reachable to him in first place, or for what reason did he ever put his eyes on Jungkook or for how long would be the planets perfectly aligned forcing Hoseok to be with him. Whatever thing Hoseok and Yoongi have sounds much more important and genuine than those two months of brief encounters they had.
“You are overthinking.” A voice that sounds exactly like Jimin’s bursts into those thoughts, but it’s too late to stop and now that everything looks pointless and Hoseok will probably dump him when they reach home, he needs to know.
“When was that? The last time you were together? ” He feels like he reached Hoseok’s limit when he clicks his tongue because of how burned up he is. And Hoseok is like the embodiment of happiness, the sun that moves every cloud away to go through and fix anyone’s morning. Jungkook has never seen him angry.
“Like… Three years ago?” But he keeps talking. He keeps explaining himself even though he doesn’t have to.
“So Seokjin was lying?”
“About?” Jungkook would love to not see Hoseok tightening up.
“He said you had something recently, you were both figuring out what.”
“What the- and what did Yoongi say?”
“He told him to stop teasing me.”
“Ok, listen. It was only a few months ago-”
“Did we have sex already?” Jungkook asks, cutting him off.
“Yes, but we were still not dating, ok?” Jungkook clenches his teeth at the memory of him telling his friends how happy he spent the whole day texting with Jung Hoseok. “We barely knew each other.”
“Let me go.”
“No.” How Jimin and Taehyung encouraged him to ask him if they were being exclusive and how innocently sure Jungkook was that they, obviously, were.
“Let me go, I can walk by myself.”
“You obviously can’t.” He doesn’t care about his ankle anymore, he was aching, of course, but that pain was nothing compared with how silly he was feeling.
“I’m so stupid.”
“Jungkook, stop.”
“But you know what? It was my fault because everyone warned me about you but I didn’t want to believe them”
“What are you talking about?” Hoseok stops, looking at him with a confused face and Jungkook is forced to stop with him.
“Every person who knows I’m with you tells me to be careful with you. That you- you treat people like toys, that you make them fall in love with you but then disappear without a word.” Jungkook knows he has to stop, that his blood is boiling and he’s about to say things he’s going to regret later. “That you play with everyone, guess it’s because you and Yoongi are one of those toxic couples that can never put things on the table and fix whatever shit they’re on.”
“And who are those people, Jungkook?”
“Jimin is so sure you are with me because of an stupid bet you made with your stupid friends and Taehyung swears he’s gonna break your legs once you break my heart.”
“First of all, any of those people know me so you shouldn’t care whatever shit they say about me, and honestly, it kind of hurts me that you do.”
“So neither of your friends know you now?”
“Jungkook, they were testing you.”
He doesn’t yell at Jungkook, but he sounds so infuriated that he doesn’t need to. A couple passing by stares at them and Jungkook feels like someone is suddenly stabbing his ankle.
“Testing what?” He asks confused.
“They were testing you and testing me, and I’m sorry because it was probably my fault.”
“What do you mean?” Jungkook asks again, even more confused, hopping towards Hoseok.
“My friends always say I don’t do boyfriends because I never had a boyfriend before and I asked them to innocently make sure if you... really l-like me, because I genuinely like you and it was stupid to ask them that. And I’m even more stupid because I can’t believe I fucking trust them.”
Jungkook needs a moment to process words.
“Then you don’t do boyfriends?” So he asks questions while rewinding to that brief second in which Jung Hoseok told him that he likes him and that he wasn’t sure if Jeon Jungkook likes him back. Like… The Jung Hoseok… what?
“Yeah? I don’t know.”
“What about Yoongi?”
“Kookoo, we are just friends” Hoseok's expression softens, maybe because Jungkook’s still processing and he can see it all over his face. “Honestly, we had something but we talked and realized we’re not meant to be more than just friends so we left that behind.”
“So.” Jungkook stops, not so sure of being able to ask what he wants to ask, extremely afraid of what’s going to be Hoseok’s reply. “What am I to you?”
“I- don’t know? I only know that I like you and I’m really happy when I’m with you. And I can’t stop thinking about you like, when I’m practising and I like how I’m doing, I can’t wait to show you, or when I see a new restaurant and I think of how much I would like to go there with you. Time flies when I’m with you and I… I don’t know, I may want to try to be your boyfriend, I guess.”
Jungkook stands facing him, only a few inches apart, suddenly getting back that courage that made him be the first one to text Hoseok after that party. Butterflies camping in his stomach, waiting for the exact moment to start flying.
“Can I hug you?” He asks but this time he doesn’t wait for a reply.
Jungkook hugs Hoseok for a whole minute. And then, for two more.
With his eyes closed and his nose buried on his neck.
He lets himself fall down on his arms, he lets himself get lost in his essence. And for a long second he thinks that, maybe, and only maybe, he had fallen in love with Hoseok.
Jungkook has the urgence to tell him, to kick those words out of him so they stop burning his throat. He doesn’t do it anyways, because it’s soon, too soon, he shouldn’t say i love you to someone he barely knows for two months after they had their first argument, not even if that person was his crush for two years or so.
So, he just swallows those three words that plunge into his stomach heavily while Hoseok dips his long fingers in his hair, and the enduring feeling of butterflies is back, lightening their weight terribly.
Jungkook surely knows that the butterfly feeling is going to disappear at some point in their relationship, but he has to admit that he loves that it’s still there. Because, at some point, he started enjoying it, he started feeling it as part of himself, he started feeling at ease with it, feeling comfortable with it dancing in his stomach every time Hoseok buries him on his arms and gently plays with his hair between his fingers. It’s nice and warm and he feels like they are in a place where only the two of them exist, and, for god’s sake, maybe he’s being too sensitive, too sticky, too stupid, but he can’t help feeling so at ease. And maybe a little horny, but now it’s not the moment for that.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before but I like you. A lot.” Jungkook says, quietly, almost as if he’s saying it for himself. He can’t let those three words slip away just yet, but he needs to let Hoseok know how good he feels when Jungkook is with him. “I like you like a whole lot.”
“I like you so much too. So very much.” Hoseok’s words make the butterflies grow even bigger in his stomach, make them fly out of control while yelling that Hoseok, his three weeks boyfriend, likes Jungkook back.
Shocking, right?
“Anyways, back in the hospital” says Hoseok, still in Jungkook’s embrace, “Seokjin told me you broke a foot for me so I should keep you.”
“Oh my god, baby! Are you ok?” Jimin’s voice sounds like a fucking alarm clock that reminds him he has to wake up already if he doesn’t want to be late for class. Jungkook loves Jimin, but he’s sometimes, only sometimes, so inopportune.
“Yeah…” says Jungkook and he swears he doesn’t realize when he switches from Hoseok to Jimin’s arms, and now he can see Taehyung approaching above his little friend’s shoulder.
Jungkook smiles anyways. He also feels at home when he’s with his two roommates, something not everyone has the luck to say.
“On a scale from one to ten, how hurt is your ankle? Can you walk?” Taehyung bends over to examine Jungkook’s ankle.
“Jesus, we were worried”
“Well…” says Jungkook, feeling that sudden stabbing pain when trying to rest his foot on the ground. “It’s just a bit swollen”.
“It only needs ice and rest, can you please force him to stay put for a couple of days?” asks Hoseok, giving Jungkook a severe look, trying more to make him understand than his friends.
“That’s exactly what we were planning to do” Jimin replies, “right, Taetae?”
“Of course”
Jungkook knows quite well Jimin still doesn’t fully trust Hoseok.
“Perfect. I’m leaving the-”
“Wait!” Jungkook cries out when Hoseok turns back, ready to leave. “We are still dance dating tomorrow, right?”
“We’re not, babe.” Hoseok smiles between two cute dimples and shakes Jungkook’s hair.
Jungkook doesn’t know if it’s because he knows Jimin too well or if he developed a sixth sense but he knows Jimin doesn’t like that Hoseok steals that pet name from him. Hoseok smiles brightly, though, even more radiant than the sun on a summer afternoon, Jungkook is positive about it.
“Same time, your place, yes?”
“Only if we let him” Hoseok is far away already when Jimin says that, taking care of Jungkook as if he were a real baby, with his arms around both of his two roommates’ shoulders. “Right, Taetae?”
Luckily Jungkook likes to be treated like that.