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just as there exists a place in time where everything fell apart, there must also exist a time when it didn't.
maybe, in this place, yoongi isn't quite so fucked up. and maybe his friends, as well, have their shit better together. maybe they'd been raised in proper homes, and lived simple lives, where everyone was safe and okay, with rarely any cause for worry. and maybe, because of this, seokjin didn't feel such a desperate need to protect them. maybe he was never given a reason to protect himself.
or perhaps, everything is exactly the same as before. and the only difference is seokjin, who just isn't as afraid anymore.
whatever the rhyme or reason -- just as there exists a place in time where yoongi found out the truth about seokjin by chance, kicking off a series of events that would ultimately ruin them all, there also exists a time where seokjin was upfront with yoongi right from the beginning, no secrets between them to fester like an open wound.
maybe, in this place, yoongi never decided to take a breather away from his friends still playing freely down by the shore. so maybe he wasn't around to intercept the damning email that flashed across the screen of seokjin's vibrating phone, left behind in the beachside motel room they'd rented for the week.
maybe, this time, seokjin had instead turned to yoongi on that very first morning-after and said there's something you should know. and maybe, instead of pushing seokjin away, yoongi only pulled him closer. maybe that honesty allowed them to make the absolute most of the time they had left together. and maybe, because of that, seokjin and yoongi were a lot closer by the end of it. maybe they'd grown confident enough in their relationship to know that it could stand the distance.
or perhaps, it was a lot simpler than all of that.
perhaps the only difference was that, in this place, they actually stood a chance at happiness. and this time, neither of them wasted it.
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seokjin leaves at the very end of spring, during that shifting phase between the seasons, when summer has only just begun to make its presence known; the late afternoon sun is especially bright that day, humidity thick in the air. and though seokjin and yoongi had tried to dress lightly, their clothes end up sticking to them anyway, bunching uncomfortably as they walk to the nearest station.
last night they'd unanimously decided to take the subway, and today they somehow manage to get on their train in the middle of a lull in commuter traffic. not once does their compartment ever become too crowded, remaining quiet throughout the entire ride to the airport.
so maybe that's why neither of them bother being overly surreptitious about holding hands, palms clammy and warm, tucked securely between the press of their thighs. and perhaps that's why, when the time finally comes for them to say their goodbyes outside of seokjin's terminal, yoongi easily allows himself to be pulled into a broad chest by sturdy arms. his own wrap tight around seokjin's waist, fingers clutching at seokjin's t-shirt where it's gone damp at the small of his back.
for their part, seokjin's hands go straight for yoongi's hair, fingers working through the sweat-soaked strands to gently cradle the back of his head. and the angle of their embrace, as well, means that seokjin's lips drag against the shell of yoongi's ear when he speaks, a plaintive whisper: nothing lasts forever, yoongi-yah. every word from his mouth feels like slick heat, settling deep in yoongi's bones like a crackling bonfire.
honestly, they're probably being pretty glaringly obvious for such a public space. but neither of them really care in the moment.
and when seokjin eventually steps back with one last squeeze, yoongi has to admit that their brazenness was worth it - even if just for the way that seokjin's scent lingers, long after he's out of yoongi's sight, skin slightly tacky where their bare arms had been pressed together for so long. a phantom touch to accompany him on the lonely trip back into the city.
the sky is already pinking up when yoongi steps out through the sliding glass doors of the airport lobby. night is fast approaching and the sun will most likely beat him home at this rate, but yoongi is in no hurry.
he decides, right then, to take the bus.
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seokjin returns just as spring is beginning to inch back around, slowly pushing against winter's desperate attempt to extend its stay; there are flowering planters strategically placed both in and around the airport lobby where yoongi waits, their blooms looking fresh and bright despite the sun not due to rise for another couple of hours. and though the weather has been warming up recently, yoongi'd still found himself having to bundle up before leaving home at this time of night. or morning, rather.
to save a bit of money on his trip, seokjin had decided to catch the cheapest redeye he could find into incheon. this ended up working out in yoongi's favor, as well, the flight early enough in the day that getting to the airport itself was made a lot simpler than usual. and now that he'd arrived, yoongi could only count a few others besides himself waiting in the lounge area just off the customs exit, the room still and quiet.
so maybe that's why neither of them bother holding back once they catch sight of each other, finally, for the first time in almost three years, yoongi launching straight up out of his seat the second he sees seokjin walking toward him. and perhaps that's why, right there in the middle of everything, all seokjin has to do is open his arms wide for yoongi to jump into them without question. his own arms clutch almost frantically at the breadth of seokjin's shoulders, his skinny little legs wrapping tight around seokjin's slim waist.
for his part, seokjin does his best to hold yoongi properly in return, though yoongi himself makes it difficult to do so; it probably would've helped if he had pulled off some of his bulkier outerwear when he'd first sat down in the lounge to wait, because now they were only getting in the way of him hugging seokjin as closely to his person as possible. and the angle of their embrace wasn't doing them any favors, either, since it meant that seokjin had to push his face past the obnoxiously over-large knit scarf around yoongi's neck just to get at some skin, his weather-chapped lips softly pressing the words long time no see, yoon-ah into the underside of yoongi's jaw.
honestly, they are most definitely being wildly fucking obvious for such a public space. but neither of them could give less of a shit in the moment.
and when seokjin eventually lets yoongi hop back down to solid ground after one last squeeze, the mild scent of pine lingering in the scant space between them, yoongi doesn't hesitate for even a moment -- "if we leave right the fuck now, we can probably still make it over to the opposite coast in time to watch the sun rise over our beach," he says, all in one breath. and seokjin doesn't skip a beat before responding, grin growing wider by the second, "then what are we waiting for?"
the moon is low in the dark sky as yoongi leads them out to the airport's parking garage. this placement wouldn't last for very much longer, though, and they still had to hurry if they wanted to catch that sunrise. so yoongi dismisses seokjin's raised eyebrows with a muttered i'll explain on the way there, and quickly unlocks the doors to a familiar black truck.
he's already decided to do the driving himself, this time.
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