Work Text:
It was late when Seokjin finally made it home. It was late and the apartment was still, quiet. He could hear the low hum of the ceiling fan in the living room and the steady dripdripdrip of the leaky faucet in the kitchen. Otherwise, the apartment was still and quiet. It made Jin frown a little to himself. He could remember a time when Hoseok used to fall asleep on the couch waiting for him to get home. Then again, that was before Seokjin regularly came home late, later than before even. It was after midnight and he had to be back at the office by seven in the morning. He had thought about just crashing at his desk but he had been hoping at a chance to see his boyfriend for what felt like the first time in ages. With a sigh, Jin tugged on the knot of his tie to loosen it while he made his way back to the bedroom after having toed off his shoes by the front door. Jin was quiet as he made his way back to the bedroom, taking care to step over the floorboards that he knew were loose. Once there, Jin paused as he looked at the bed. It looked… empty. Jin reached over and turned on the overhead light, blinking several times to adjust to the sudden brightness, only to find Hoseok was not in bed and the bedding looked as though it hadn't been touched since the morning before when Jin had kissed Hoseok's cheek before rushing out the door while Hoseok had made the bed.
There was a note there in top of the bed and Jin walked over to it to pick it up with a soft sigh. Hoseok's familiar untidy scrawl was on the page, “staying at Yoongi and Namjoon's. have a good day at work tomorrow. dinner is in the fridge”. After reading the last sentence, Seokjin swore under his breath. Dinner. He was supposed to get off early to have dinner with Hoseok, who had big news to share with him. Jin quickly pulled out his phone and texted Hoseok an apology. He watched the screen until it went dark as the message remained unread. Jin also sent an apology text message to Yoongi, whose only response several minutes later was to send a photo of Hoseok asleep on his and Namjoon's bed all cuddled up with Namjoon and an angry faced emoji. Yoongi ignored his following messages.
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When Seokjin met Hoseok for the first time, the first thing he (and everyone who ever met him, to be honest) noticed was that brilliant smile of his. Hoseok was working at a coffee shop down the street from the university that Jin was going to in order to supplement the minimal pay he received teaching dance at a local studio. Seokjin noticed him behind the counter the moment that he walked in and it was like all the chill from the winter air outside disappeared. Seokjin did not hesitate to ask his number when it was his turn to order his coffee. Maybe it was said with an awful joke of some kind, Seokjin would not remember that detail. All he remembered was that Hoseok smiled at him and talked about this restaurant that he had been wanting to try and when he got his coffee cup, it had Hoseok's name and phone number on the side.
Their first date was two days later. They ate dinner and went for a walk around the park despite it being cold outside. Seokjin casually wrapped an arm around Hoseok's waist, a cup of coffee in his other hand while Hoseok had both hands wrapped around a cup of hot chocolate. They talked about everything, and when Jin dropped Hoseok off at his home, it was with the promise of another date and a kiss that tasted of mocha and chocolate. Seokjin had sworn to himself that night that he was never going to let Hoseok out of his life.
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Seokjin woke up and the apartment he had shared with Hoseok for over six months was just as still and quiet as it was when he had fallen asleep. He grabbed his phone to turn off his alarm. Hoseok still hadn't read his message. With a sigh, Jin got up from bed and got into the shower to ready himself for the day. He had so much to do at the office, having been working himself ragged in his attempt to get a promotion at his job. Everyone knew he was the best candidate. Everyone, it seemed, except his boss. The promotion was something that he needed, that they needed. He made decent money, but with the promotion, Hoseok would be able to open a dance studio of his own instead of working for someone who didn't appreciate his talent. They would be able to move into an apartment bigger than the one they had. They could both have nice cars instead of Hoseok relying on public transportation or their friend driving him around. Jin could take Hoseok on that vacation they always dreamed about and he could buy that ring that he'd seen in the store. He just needed more time to win over the boss and get that promotion. He was doing it for them. Hoseok would understand. Jin would just explain it.
Except, when he got back home that evening, actually before eleven for the first time in two months, Hoseok was not home. The apartment was as still and quiet as the night before. Jin frowned as he sat down on the couch, checking his phone for messages that weren't there. Seokjin loosened his tie and then pulled out his phone, calling Yoongi. He pushed up the right sleeve of his shirt and walked over to the fridge, pinning his phone to his ear with one shoulder while starting to pull out the ingredients to make something simple. Yoongi answered just before the voicemail picked up with a gruff, “What do you want, Seokjin?”
Jin bit his tongue to keep himself from reprimanding Yoongi. He probably deserved that. “Is Hoseok still there?” he questioned, placing what he needed out on the counter.
“Maybe.”
“Can you send him home, please?”
Yoongi sighed heavily but didn’t answer for several long seconds. “Don’t fuck this up. You realize you missed-”
“I know. I couldn’t just leave work, though. I--”
“Seokjin. It’s only a job.”
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“I got it,” Jin said with a soft, breathless laugh as he hung up the phone, slowly looking over to the couch where Hoseok was sitting. He had on a pair of sweatpants and a pink sweater that Jin was sure was actually his. There was some sort of headband in his hair not doing the best job at keeping his hair from falling into his eyes and should probably have looked ridiculous, but Jin thought he looked amazing if not confused. Jin set aside his phone as he smiled at Hoseok. “The job. I got the job.”
“I knew you would!” Hoseok all but shouted as he dropped aside the game controller in order to jump up from the couch and pull Seokjin into a hug, brushing a kiss to his cheek as he did so. Or well, that was the intent, but Jin had turned his head enough to capture Hoseok’s lips with his own instead. Hoseok laughed against his lips, smiling into the kiss as Jin picked him up and spun him around. “Let’s celebrate. I’ll change and we can go out to dinner - that one place you like downtown?”
The job wasn’t very glamorous. Working a desk for a big company, but it had a lot of opportunities tied to it. He could easily work his way up through the ranks and make more money. There were job benefits that he could not pass up either. The job would be a good thing for him - for them. Seokjin was excited, ready to start and prove that he could provide a great life for his boyfriend. He knew that Hoseok did not expect him to, but that did not stop it being something that Jin wanted to do - and maybe it was for selfish reasons, for wanting people to look at him like he was something amazing. But then Hoseok already did that anyway.
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Jin was just finishing up making dinner - enough for the two of them, hoping that Hoseok really would come home that night - when he heard the sounds of the door to the apartment opening, making him stop and turn to look toward the door. Their apartment was small, barely big enough for the both of them, with the kitchen connected to the small living area leading straight to the front door. The bedroom and bathroom were right off the main room. It wasn’t great, but it was a roof over their head until Jin pulled in enough money for a better apartment. “Hi…” Hoseok greeted, his voice tired and heavy and Jin didn’t like it. “How was-”
He cut off his question when Jin moved from where he was in order to pull Hoseok into a hug. “I’m sorry I missed dinner,” Jin said as he hugged Hoseok tightly. “I got distracted at work. I just…”
“I know, I know. You’re working for a promotion. I get it. I do, I just… I never see you anymore and it’s like you’re not even here and this has been going on for months . If it had just been a couple of weeks I would have gotten over it, but this is ju-- What if it never stops and I never see you and-” Once again Hoseok’s words were cut off, that time by Jin leaning in and kissing him, making Hoseok sigh through his nose as he struggled with himself - trying to decide whether he wanted to push Jin away or pull him closer. Before he could make up his mind, Jin broke the kiss to press his lips against Hoseok’s forehead again. “You can’t just do that. You can’t just kiss me and think it makes this all go away.”
“No. No it doesn’t. I know it doesn’t.” Jin pulled away enough to actually look at Hoseok then. “I really am sorry that I’ve been absent, I just really… This promotion would be great for us, you know that right? We could finally move into a bigger apartment, and I could help you get that studio you were looking at-”
“Jin…” The expression on Hoseok’s face softened slightly, and he smiled sadly as he took a hold of Jin’s hand but he kept speaking as if Hoseok hadn’t.
“- We could go on a vacation somewhere wonderful, and I could… I mean… I just… Look, it would be a good thing for us.”
“Kim Seokjin,” Hoseok started, one corner of his lips starting to curl up into a smirk at the look of distaste that crossed Jin’s face at Hoseok practically scolding him with his name. “I don’t need any of that. I don-- Thank you . You are amazing, and wonderful, but I don’t need any of that. I just need you, here, with me.”
Seokjin sighed a little, frowning with distaste when he realized the clothes that Hoseok was wearing were Namjoon’s. Hoseok smiled slightly when he saw it, reaching up to poke at his cheek with the hand not linked together with Jin’s. “I’ll… work on it. I really think--”
“Jin. I love you, and I want to spend my life with you-” Jin inhaled sharply through his nose as he looked at Hoseok’s smiling face at the words, wondering if Hoseok knew just how that admittance shook him to the core and made him feel like singing or dancing “-but I can’t do that if you’re not here, can I?”
“No. No, you’re right.” Jin shook his head then, gently squeezing Hoseok’s hand before using their joined hands to pull Hoseok closer. He wrapped his other arm around Hoseok’s waist before letting go of his hand to wrap that one around him as well. “You’re right and I’m sorry. I really will do better. I want to be here with you.” Hoseok smiled then, pressing a kiss to Jin’s cheek where he had poked. Things still felt a little tense, a little unsure; but, Jin would work on it, try to not get so caught up in his job that he was the reason that Hoseok left. He did not think he could handle that. “So… you want to spend the rest of your life with me, huh?”
Hoseok groaned at the smirk that crossed Jin’s face, knowing well that no good was about to come from this situation. “I take it back,” he almost whined, though they both knew he didn’t mean it.
“Even when I follow you around wearing clothes you’ve deemed unacceptable?”
“Jin, no. You can’t, not again. I refuse. I take it all back.”
The way that he wrapped his arms around Jin to hold him close counteracted his words and Jin just smiled as if he’d won. Though he was also sure that by going against everything he had been doing, by stepping back from his job, he was losing. He would not get the promotion, and he wouldn’t be able to take Hoseok on holiday, or buy him that dance studio, or… But, he would have Hoseok, and really, that in itself was a win - the only one that mattered. He was not sure what would happen when he got back to the office on Monday, but he knew either way, he would wake up with Hoseok next to him.