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"Do you ever think about how the concept of being clean is totally constructed by humans?"
"No." Seokjin sighed, watching the stop light fade from red to green, allowing him to at least move his feet and roll his wrists, taking the car across the waterlogged streets of the city and closer to their destination.
Namjoon's glasses reflected the streetlights as he watched it all go by out the window, barely registering the response from him before continuing, "Well, it is. Technically the state of being clean and dirty is just defined by some lame ass humans. All of them actually. Like how much cumulative shit from the world I have on me defines my level of hygiene?"
Seokjin hummed, allowing Namjoon to ramble on while also letting himself entirely clock out of the conversation.
"Yeah, exactly," Namjoon gestured, "Sure there's some truth to it. Like the more dirt and grime you accumulate the more likely you are to contract a disease I guess, but it's actually detrimental to wash as much as we do. Our immune system gets weaker because we aren't building up tolerances. The grime and wear and tear creates things like calluses that make our lives easier and we're just scrubbing them away all to fit society's ideas of ourselves and what's attractive."
"Not to mention it makes us less attractive. On a biological level." Seokjin finally chimed in.
"Of course there's ..." Namjoon looked over at the driver, "Wait what?"
Seokjin glanced at him briefly, returning the look of confusion while simultaneously fostering his own, "Yes, like - Our natural body odors help us to attract mates. It's built in. So when we put on Bath and Body Works Lavender Dream Supreme lotion, we're actually working against ourselves."
Namjoon raised his eyebrows as if to signal that this was totally new information.
"You literally told me this last week," Seokjin stated.
He pulled the car onto the curbside, finding a space among the densely packed residential part of the city. It was a nice area though, lavish in how it was adjacent to the bustling downtown, but quiet and serene, overlooking the river that cut the sides of their lovely little slice of urban chaos.
This was where the magic happened.
This little, three level home, smoshed next to many other similar homes, was the place where Namjoon and Seokjin found themselves almost every Thursday night without fail.
It was once a place where Namjoon lived. When he and Hoseok were still in college, they roomed with Jimin and Taehyung, just a year below them. It was the epicenter of nerd activity. Between the four of them, there was no shortage of interests and activities. They've done everything from month long pool competitions to high stakes poker and everything in between.
And by everything, they really did mean everything. Namjoon still has a scar from that Dungeons and Dragons tournament. God rest Yoongi's soul for dealing with that one.
As time went on, things had to change, however. After graduation, Namjoon and Hoseok moved out, both of them eventually landing apartments with Seokjin and Yoongi respectively. Jobs, emails, bills, and everything else took over.
When the lease turned, Jimin and Taehyung decided to keep the place, too many memories in the walls of that place. And a couple of questionable holes/stains that may or may not invalidate their security deposit. May as well put that off. But the spare bedroom Hoseok and Namjoon had crammed themselves in for so long had to be occupied so they snagged some baby-faced sophomore named Jungkook to cover the rent.
But they never stopped having game nights.
Not for one week since the move out did they fail to host a game night. All seven of them converging on the house to do something stupid or just pull out cards against humanity and complain about the millennial burden and societal expectations.
"I miss this place," Namjoon lamented, slipping back into the same couch that had been there when he was, and taking a red solo cup that Seokjin handed him.
“Really?” Yoongi groused.
He was sitting next to Hoseok on the loveseat, hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat and glancing around the dingy looking living room in disbelief. But Namjoon’s feelings went beyond the craptastic college dwelling. They were entirely nostalgic, putting love goggles on the peeling paint and mismatched furnishings.
“Yeah.” Namjoon patted Seokin’s leg once he finally got settled next to him on the couch. Taehyung was on the other side of him, head buried in his phone for a little longer as people gathered around the coffee table. “I have lots of good memories here. So I miss it.”
Hoseok laughed, “Dude, we had to play rock paper scissors to see who could use the room to get laid some nights. You really miss that?”
Seokjin made a face, looking at Namjoon with a befuddled expression, “Did you guys really do that?”
“So many things make sense now.” Yoongi muttered to himself.
“Alright, alright.” Jimin held his hands up, trailed by Jungkook as they entered from the kitchen with bottles of beer and bags of bugles. “Enough gay talk, the straights have arrived.”
Namjoon rolled his eyes, “I liked it when the ratio was even.”
Jungkook chuckled as well, sitting down on a cushion on the floor near the coffee table and opening it up to rattle through all of the games they hand hidden there.
Meanwhile, Jimin took up residence in the only single person chair in the living room, smiling as he sassed Namjoon, “Well the heteros are in chargero so get used to it.”
Hoseok made a face, “Does Taehyung count as straight? He doesn’t date and just brings home birds.”
Taehyung looked up from his phone, over his glasses, but made no comment. He merely shrugged at the comment and made peace with his position as the most eccentric member of the household. As if there was ever a doubt in anybody’s mind about that one.
“There’s so many games in here we’ve never played,” Jungkook mentioned from the floor, pulling a few out, “What about Apples to Apples?”
Jimin sighed, “That’s Cards Against Humanity but boring.”
Jungkook shrugged, discarding the red box and pulling another unfamiliar one out, “We could play … Categories?”
“No!” Everybody shouted in unison.
Silence followed as Jungkook looked around, eventually his eyes landing on Jimin for an explanation.
“I mean …” Jimin let the tension out of his shoulder, laughing casually, “Joon and Jin just kind of … own that board game, you know?”
Jungkook didn’t know, “Come on. I think we’d make a great team. We could take them on no problem.”
Jimin began to sweat visibly, “I don’t think so, Kookie.”
“No!” Seokjin raised his cup, getting immediate support from Namjoon to his side, “Let’s do it.”
And once everything was set up, they did begin. If only for a moment.
Jungkook had a look of determination in his eyes that could conquer entire oceans. Even Jimin felt a little more stable sitting next to him. They did foster a near immediate friendship when Jungkook moved in, even if the whole situation was for convenience’s sake. Jimin and Jungkook got along well. Maybe they had a chance to take the title of Categories Champions from the elusive older couple.
Their boat however, looked stable and steady, coasting along the stormy sea that Jungkook created between them as they leaned forward on the couch. The stack of cards and plastic timer set between them were the only objects among the waves.
“So how does this work?” Jungkook inquired, sure he could learn in no time.
“Well,” Namjoon started, “There’s a category. Obviously. And then a list of words, and one person has to get the other person to say it by giving out clues. It just can’t use the word in it nor can it use any of the words listed under the thing itself.”
“Ah …” Jungkook picked a card up, glancing it over briefly, but feeling things were self-explanatory, “Why don’t you two do one or two to show me?”
Seokjin smiled, “Of course. I assume you’ll be giving clues, right?”
Namjoon nodded. He picked up a card, “Category is food so, just to show an example …”
He flipped the card over, looking at the list on the back and musing out loud, “A fruit that’s popular in the fall.”
“Pumpkin.” Seokjin laughed.
“Yep.” Namjoon looked down the list, “Oh and this food was what made me dry-heave in an iHop bathroom that one time.”
“Scrambled eggs.” Jin answered correctly.
Jungkook’s eyes widened a touch. The sudden and sheer capability of Namjoon and Seokjin’s abilities. Jimin, however, seemed to gain steam from watching it, rolling his eyes and scoffing under his breath, “We got this.”
The youngest of the group elected to believe him. Foolishly of course.
“You want us to go first still?” Namjoon asked, his boyfriend flashing a charming, but far from innocent smile towards their opponents.
Jungkook swallowed his trepidation, “Yeah go ahead. We’re ready.”
Namjoon picked up another card, his eyes cutting across to Seokjin who seemed more than prepared for this. A brief interchange occurred, and in a way that would have made Yu-Gi-Oh himself proud, Namjoon slid the card face down across the rugged cloth surface of the cushion to Jin. Their fingers brushed each other as their eyes met, confidence charged in every second of the stare.
Watching the electricity spark across the two couch sitters, Jimin reached forward and took the tiny plastic hourglass between his precious, soft fingers. When he lifted it off the coffee tables water ring stained surface the sands shifted in anticipation.
Then they nodded, and it began.
Jimin flipped the timer and Seokjin flipped the card, eyes scanning over everything.
Yoongi and Hoseok leaned forward in excitement, their shouldera touching through their jackets. It was still a touch cold in the room. Who wants to pay a pricey electric bill while they’re in college anyways? But then again nobody ever thought there would be another contender for Categories since the Namjin victory years ago so perhaps everything was up to change.
Seokjin smiled, “The category is TV shows.”
Namjoon nodded.
His boyfriend continued, “Bow and …”
“Arrow.” Namjoon said quickly, a smile perking on his lips.
Seokjin smile, one correct. Jungkook and Jimin exchanged momentary glances, but accepted that the first item on lists were normally pretty simple.
The eldest in the room continued, “Pretty sure you described this as: bunch of convicted kids go to earth and do dumb shit.”
Namjoon wanted to laugh, but kept his stern look intact, “The 1OO.”
“Perfect,” Seokjin wasted no time moving on, “We binge watch this when we’re sick.”
“Law and Order.” Namjoon answered quickly.
There was no immediate response and Seokjin found himself furrowing his eyebrows together, “More specific. We left the remote across the room once and neither of us wanted to move so-”
Namjoon lit up, raising a finger, “Law and Order: SVU.”
Seokjin reached out, earning an immediate high five from his partner and a couple of worried looks from the audience.
They wasted no time moving on quickly, “Oh, this is easy, I had this when we met and you made fun of me for it but your hair was just as bad.”
“Fringe!” Namjoon exclaimed.
“Yes! Yes!” Seokjin looked back down at the card, “Ah - oh, that one double date I told Yoongi if he kept biting his fingers then he could audition for this show with his hands.”
Namjoon didn’t hesitate, “The Walking Dead!”
All eyes minus the combatants looked to Yoongi.
Yoongi pulled his thumb away from his mouth.
Seokjin, eyes still locked on the card, frowned, contemplating for a half second before continuing, “All I can think about is how this show gives me anxiety.”
Namjoon, whose fingers were thrumming against his knees, which were almost in contact with Seokjin’s knees, frowned, “A lot of shows give you anxiety. Why?”
“Everybody dies.” Seokjin laughed.
“Game of Thrones?” Namjoon guessed.
“Right!” Seokjin’s smile returned with twice the intensity, glancing down the list again, “Sam and Dean.”
“Supernatural.”
Boom, next.
Seokjin paused, something flickering in his complexion, “We don’t watch this anymore because you quote all the lines when we do.”
Namjoon cocked his head for a moment, meeting Seokjin’s eyes. He vaguely remembered a catalyst to a fight. Not surrounding the TV Show or the way he quoted it constantly, talking over the characters like a bad dub. It was a fight about something else, but that gave them a reason to yell. He remembered storming out for all of five minutes before walking back in and collapsing on the couch next to Seokjin, who was staring at an entirely different sitcom now. They both admitted they loved each other a little too much that night too.
“Friends.” Namjoon said with a soft smile, “It’s Friends.”
They looked at each other still, eyes locked as Seokjin nodded slowly. It was a loving, contemplative, nostalgic gaze. Almost everyone in the room was entranced.
Almost.
“That’s eight, right?” Yoongi asked, leaning back onto the loveseat, “They’re done.”
Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook all looked to the timer. At least ¼ of the sand was still sifting, particles slipping down through the hole like it had no rush in the world. Eventually even the contestants looked towards it, their lovey-dovey moment being swept up under the carpet like it’s Jungkook’s turn to clean the living room again. The only sounds were that of some college sports game buzzing on the TV behind them.
Then Jungkook cleared his throat to break the silence, “So, Cards Against Humanity, anyone?”