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Jimin is in the kitchen chopping vegetables when he hears the front door open. He can’t see it, but knows the telltale rustle of Yoongi taking his shoes off, placing his keys on the table nearby.
“Hyung?” he calls when the noise settles and there’s still no sign of the older boy. “I’m just in the kitchen finishing up dinner if you want to give me a hand?”
No response.
Jimin pauses, places the knife on the cutting board as his stomach drops, “Hyung?”
Still nothing.
Jimin leaves his place at the counter and wanders carefully to the entryway, footsteps cautious. While the quiet had seemed peaceful only a moment ago, now it settles uncomfortably on his shoulders, making his skin crawl with tension. He rounds the corner and sees nothing and almost turns back to look for Yoongi elsewhere when the quiet finally breaks.
“‘m here,” he hears from the floor and looks down to his feet to find Yoongi, curled up with his head on his knees against the wall. Jimin collapses to his side immediately, but doesn’t touch- not yet.
“Yoongi-hyung, are you alright? What happened?” he probes gently. Yoongi doesn’t say anything beside him, just shakes his head. His shoulders are bunched up near his ears and Jimin finally settles a hand on his knee. The older brunet doesn’t push him away and he takes it as an invitation, moving closer.
As his arms settle over Yoongi’s shoulders, it’s like a dam breaks and Yoongi finally moves, falling further into the younger’s embrace. Jimin rearranges them, Yoongi’s back pressed firm against Jimin’s chest and the latter’s arms blanketing his securely. Something about the position seems to be doing right by Yoongi, as the older clutches the arms around him closer and sighs deeply.
“Thank you,” Yoongi whispers and Jimin just hums, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
Jimin doesn’t keep track of how long they stay there.
-
When Yoongi does finally stir from the position, Jimin’s joints pop and crack. His ass has gone numb and his arms protest the movement- it must’ve been at least an hour.
In front of him, Yoongi finally turns and they sit cross-legged together, knees knocking and hands intertwined.
“I’m sorry,” Yoongi suddenly says. “Didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“Don’t apologize, hyung,” Jimin takes Yoongi’s jaw in his hand and the other keens into the touch. “I’m just glad you’re alright.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Yoongi takes a moment to respond, but finally nods. “Y’know that dinner my parents insisted on dragging me to, just to catch up?” Jimin nods and Yoongi licks his lips, eyes wandering, “Well it wasn’t just a dinner.”
“What do you mean? Hyung did they-”
“They didn’t hurt me or do anything on purpose, no,” he interjects. “They just regretted to inform me that it wasn’t just going to be us sitting down together for a quiet meal, but a whole reunion for my father. There were at least 30 people crammed in the little dining room, all shouting and laughing and-” he stops, closing his eyes and breathing heavily.
Jimin reaches forward and rubs his shoulder, hand lingering on the side of his neck with a comforting squeeze. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Yoongi-hyung.”
The elder nods, thumbs twiddling with the hem of Jimin’s pant leg. “I don’t think they did it on purpose,” he repeats. “They must’ve just forgotten that I don’t like crowds.”
Or being surprised , Jimin bites his tongue, knowing the bitter remark won’t do anything but stress his boyfriend out further.
“I just sat there,” he finishes lamely, “staring out the window and waiting it to be socially acceptable for me to finally leave. Everything just felt so out of place- I feel like I’m crawling out of my own skin.”
Jimin sighs, and pulls the older back against his chest again. It’s not often that Yoongi feels like this, but on days where he feels most at war with himself or gets overwhelmed like today, being blanketed by Jimin seems to help. The younger tries not to get a big head about it, and Yoongi just refuses to admit that he likes the comfort, at least aloud.
“Oh,” he suddenly speaks up again, as if he’d almost forgotten, “and everyone there… They kept calling me y҉u҉n҉-҉h҉u҉i҉ . Guess my parents also forgot to mention that their daughter’s a mistake, huh?” he laughs humourlessly, the sound cold and empty.
“I’m so, so sorry hyung. I should’ve been there,” Jimin says, squeezes the older male tighter to his chest. Yoongi’s arms come up to wrap around Jimin’s confining him further. His binder presses against his back, his jacket over that, and Jimin the final layer: the feeling grounds him, and he breathes contently. He feels empty and weightless, but slowly, Jimin is bringing him back down to Earth.
“You’re here now,” Yoongi says, “and that’s all I want.”
Jimin kisses his cheek again and the two boys stay there, on the linoleum by the door, dinner forgotten. There are far more important things for Jimin to be attending to right now.