Chapter Text
Jimin glances again at the clock that rests on his wrist. It's a quarter past ten, and it's already dark outside.
"Do you know that looking at it doesn't really make time go faster?"
Jimin huffs, feeling the couch slightly bend under the weight of his husband. "He said he'd be home by ten and a half, let him be", Yoongi chuckles offering his arm for Jimin.
The younger man pouts at him, but accepts his embrace either way. "I don't understand why I am so nervous about this", Jimin reluctantly admits, "it's not like this is the first time he went out alone".
Yoongi tilts his head slightly to face him better, "Is it because he is out with a girl?", he asks him with a tone that very much makes Jimin know that he already knows the answer to that question.
Jimin pouts harder, and lets Yoongi swallow him further in his arms, letting out a long groan.
Yoongi laughs open heartily at that, "Look at you being so jealous", he teases, "are you afraid he won't let you call him 'my love' anymore?"
Jimin's face is still buried in the other's man neck, "He already forbid me to it!", he groans, "he is my baby, and he won't even let me hug him anymore!"
Now Yoongi may have been teasing Jimin, but judging by his tone, he was taking it a little more seriously than he previously believed.
"Hey Minie", Yoongi unfolds his arms from Jimin, wanting to talk to him face to face.
Not surprisingly, Jimin's eyes were a little red, not really crying but close. "Oh baby", Yoongi coos, caressing his cheek gently with his thumb.
"He is growing up", Yoongi tries to reason with his husband, "he just needs time to figure some stuff out".
Jimin shakes his head, "I miss cuddling with him, and... and kissing him goodnight, and sleeping with him beside me".
"Jimin, he is sixteen", Yoongi points out, "do you remember yourself at that age? I vividly remember that you were always fighting with your parents over stupid stuff, and then you would always come at mine to wine. Honestly, we are lucky that he doesn't bite our heads off like we did to our parents at his age, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need his own space as well".
"I know that, I do", he relaxes back in Yoongi's hands, much more calm after hearing his husband, "It's just that sometimes I miss how close we used to be".
Yoongi nods, "But you are not growing apart, though", he bring Jimin to his chest again, "you're growing together".
"You were always so smart", Jimin smiles cheekly, as he leans forward to kiss Yoongi's pretty lips.
He hears the familiar squeak of the door, and the deep voice of his son calling them out, "Are you decent? I am coming in".
He dramatically keeps his hands over his eyes, "Did you finish your making out session? Can I open my eyes?"
Yoongi huffs, and he leans over to peck Jimin's lips again. He gadly finds Jimin smiling against him.
"Now you can", Yoongi assures him. Just when he opens his eyes, though, he pecks Jimin's lips again, just to get back at his son's teasing.
"You gave me the ok", the teenager squeals, faking disgust and trying to shy away in his bedroom, "I will have to rinse my eyes now, if you'll excuse me".
Jimin and Yoongi giggle together, and maybe Yoongi steals another kiss or two from Jimin.
Later that night, around the time they usually go to bed, Jimin silently makes his way towards his son's bedroom. It's their routine, he wishes him goodnight everynight, and when he still let him, he even gave him a goodnight kiss.
He is about to knock on his door, when he hears from the other side his son's unmistakable giggle.
He stops his fist mid air, and he knows it's wrong, that this is none of his business, but he can't help but eavesdrop on his son.
"Yeah, I had fun too", he hears at little muffled, and "Are you free next Friday?"
He is talking to his friend, his girlfriend, Jimin bitterly admits to himself, and he almost finds them cute. But then he hears, "I can't sleep if you don't kiss me goodnight".
"What", Jimin lets out before he can stop himself. He brings his two own hands to stop him from talking again.
"Hold on, Jisu", he hears Yeoreum whisper to his phone and then a loud shout, "dad, did you call?"
"N-no, I was talking to appa", Jimin stutters, he takes a step back from the door, "... Goodnight"
"'Night", Yeoreum shouts back, and then he hears, "ok he's gone now".
Suddenly not wanting to hear more, Jimin goes to his bed with a heavy heart in his chest.
~~
When Yoongi enters his and Jimin's bedroom, he is totally shocked by the amount of clothes that are currently piling up un their bed.
"Jimin", he calls and the little blonde head of his husband sticks put from one of the door of the closet. "Jimin, what is this?"
Jimin looks over the pile of clothes and his eyes travel nervously back to Yoongi.
"I, uhm, don't judge me", Jimin pleads.
Yoongi frowns in confusion.
"Nothing fits me anymore", he admits, his cheeks getting rosy in embarrassment.
This is new, Yoongi thinks. The last time he checked (noted, just a few days ago, not even that much), Jimin was pretty much the same all around.
He is a beautiful 39 years old man, and although time doesn't spare anyone, it had been especially kind with Jimin.
Yoongi, more often than not, likes to stare at his husband's face, ever so perfect after all the years they have been together and finds beauty every single time. Jimin asks him to stop staring at his wrinkles, and Yoongi everytime jokes, "I love your wrinkles, both of them".
So when Jimin tells him that his pants are too tight, he doesn't connect it to the idea of him getting chunkier. "Did something shrink in the washing machine?"
Jimin is impossibly red now, "No Yoongi", he says firmly, "I am getting fat".
Could Jimin have gained so much weight in just a few days? He struggles to wrap his head around it.
"Dad, we're late for school", they hear Haneul from the kitchen.
Jimin grabs a pair of tracksuits, "I'll take care of the mess later", he tells him rushing out of the room.
Yoongi hears his youngest son teasing his father about why he is wearing tracksuit outside the house, and Yoongi is left alone with his thoughts.
Might as well tidy up the clothes for Jimin while he's at it.
~~
Jimin takes Haneul to school, as he always does every morning.
He parks in front of the school lot, waiting for his son to pick up his bag and lunch from the back of the car.
But the 13 year old boy seems reluctant, hesitating in his seat next to Jimin.
"Just spit it out, sweets", Jimin encourages him.
The boy frowns, munching on his lips. Even though the resemblance with Yoongi was unmistakable, their sons inherited a few detail from him: Yeoreum had his charming cheekbones (not chubby cheeks, as Yoongi would call them), and Haneul took on his plushy lips (Yoongi still teased him calling the preteen baby chick).
"I want to take the school bus", he blurts out, "all of my friends take it".
Jimin is taken aback for a second, watching his son's hopeful gaze. He can't say no to him, there's no real reason for him to not go to school by himself. He is old enough, and it would actually be easier for their routine. But still, it's their little alone time, waking up together, eating breakfast and listening to the radio while driving.
"Ok", Jimin reluctantly says. He can't keep their sons from being happy, if that's what they want.
Haneul squeaks in delight, and rushes to kiss his father goodbye.
Jimin's eyes linger more than they should on the skinny boy happily jumping around his friends.
He made the right decision, but why does it hurt so much?
~~
Jimin feels constantly tired these days. When he looks at his reflection on the mirror, his eyes meet glassy and puffed eyes staring back at him, and skin so pale that he thinks Yoongi would be tanned in comparison.
Plus, he is getting heavier. His legs are more filled than ever, and his stomach sports a weird puffiness that is hard to ignore.
It is easy to say that Jimin feels like utterly shit.
"I am getting so old", he whines, still studying his figure.
"Try and reach my age kid, and we can talk about it", Yoongi replys dryly.
He is working on some project one of his employs sent him earlier. When he hears Jimin complain, he doesn't even raise his eyes, too focused on the sheets in front of him.
"You are just two years older than me", Jimin crosses his arms and looks smugly at him.
"And that makes me a forty-one year old man", he adjustes the glasses that are falling down on his nose, "I, officially, am a middle aged man".
Jimin huffs, a little bit annoyed, "Well yeah, but you look hot", Jimin pinches his love handle between his fingers, measuring the softness that has been gathering there lately, "I feel like a beached whale".
Yoongi puts down the sheet that he has been unsuccessfully trying to analyze while talking to Jimin, "Ok baby, come here".
Jimin stomps his way over him, and not so smoothly sits down on his lap, when Yoongi pats his upper thigh as an invitation.
"You are gorgeous, Minie, you and I both know that a few extra pounds don't make a difference, so care to explain why are you such in a bad mood lately?"
Jimin bites his lips under the scrutinising eyes of his husband, "Do you know you look like a hot professor with the glasses on?"
"Jimin", Yoongi rumbles, "don't you try to play smart with me".
If he must be completely honest, Jimin himself doesn't really understand what is going on with himself lately. "I think I'm just tired from work", he tries to convince himself as well as Yoongi, "I think that the stress is kind of playing tricks with my mind".
He says, and he ignores the drop in his stomach.
"Are you sure?", Yoongi studies him with a serious look. After 8 years of dating and 12 years of marriage, he can't really keep any secret from Yoongi.
But he is not ready to open up right now, so he just nods and luckily Yoongi lets him easily off the hook.
"Just know, I'm here for whatever", Yoongi makes clear. Yeah, Jimin thinks, he knows he hasn't been completely honest.
The truth is, Jimin feels like his life is getting out of control.
His body seems to be following its own rules, and no matter how little he eats, or how much he exercises, these few pounds won't go down at all.
Plus, he swears that just yesterday he found a white hair among his blond locks.
He knows it's silly, but he always feels so proud when his new students at university mistake him for an assistant and not as the professor himself.
He takes pride in his appearance.
But it's not only that. Yeoreum seems to growing more distant every passing day. And Haneul is slowly enjoying the perks of being independent.
His babies are not a babies anymore, and he is not the youthful bouncy lad he used to be.
If he should name it, Jimin was going through his mid life crisis.
~~
Yoongi is not blind, even if in the last few years his vision decreased a little. He can clearly see that Jimin is not happy lately, and that he is going through a rough time.
So he decides to take him out on a date, just like when they were teenagers, he tells him.
His husband smiles weekly at him, but that's an improvement considering his mood of the last few days.
The older man takes him at the movies, and they hold hands throughout the film. Exactly like they did when they were teenager.
Jimin seems to gradually grow out of his shell, and Yoongi is glad. He was really worried about him. Still is.
They make their way home, and Jimin is giggling at Yoongi's jokes, his face is already bright and shiny as it usually is and Yoongi is ready to give himself a pat on the shoulder for being a decent husband.
In the living room, they find Haneul, in the dark, watching a movie. It's late and he is already supposed to be in bed.
"What are you doing up?", Jimin scolds him, and he doesn't wait for an answer. His directions had been very precise about bed time. He had specifically asked Yeoreum to watch his brother for the night, but the teen was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is your brother?", Jimin asks his younger son, who at least had the decency to turn off the movie sensing Jimin's anger.
The boy gulps and points his finger to his room.
Jimin hurries to the bedroom, ready to have a talk with his son. "Dad, wait, there's...", he can hear Haneul's voice trying to stop him.
But he doesn't and when he opens the door of Yeoreum's bedroom, the last thing he expected to see was in front of him.
Yeoreum was shirtless, on top of a girl, not older the sixteen herself, with only her bra on. Thankfully, both of them were still wearing their pants, but their position was already compromising as it is.
"Why did you stop Jimin?", Yoongi comes up next to him, and takes a look inside the room as well.
Yeoreum was looking at them with shock, and he quickly grabs a shirt to cover up the girl.
"Take you friend home, right now", Yoongi tells him, his tone cold and low, almost scary, "and then we'll talk".
Jimin doesn't wait for them to get dressed, and he doesn't say a word when he refugees himself in the main bedroom.
~~
Yoongi watches over the two teenagers as they walk to his car. He is still shaken up by what he saw. He, never, not even in a million years expected such a thing from Yeoreum.
He was a good kid, with his head on his shoulders. Yoongi and Jimin always gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted, and Yeoreum always demonstrated to be very responsible.
Finding him with a girl in his bedroom, while his little brother is in the other room, and lying to his parents is not exactly in character of him.
He walks back to find Jimin. Maybe talking with him would help him clear his mind a little.
His husband is facing the window, when he enters their bedroom, and if it was any other normal day he would stay and appreciate how prettily the moonlight reflected on his skin.
"Hey", Yoongi imitates him, losing his gaze in the beauty on the night.
"They left", Jimin tells him, mechanically, his gaze for a second flickers on the street below, where their car left a empty stop.
Yoongi nods, even though it wasn't a question. He waits for Jimin to say something more, he himself is still pretty much in shock.
"Are we doing something wrong?", Jimin says after a bit, biting his lip, "I feel like he is slipping away from us".
Yoongi shakes his head, "Let's just talk to him first".
~
They wait for him in the living room, stiff in their spot 'till they hear the familiar sound of keys.
Yeoreum quietly walks inside, not really looking up, and he abandons himself on the armchair that is the furthest away from them.
"Yeoreum, look at us", Yoongi's voice rumbles in Jimin's hear, low but strong. Firm, as a parent should be. He is envious of how calm Yoongi manages to be when it comes to these situations.
The teen reluctantly raises his head, meeting his father's gaze. There is not a single tear in his eyes, no puffiness. There is no regret whatsoever, Jimin notices.
There's anger there. He never saw this eyes directed at them from his own son.
"Care to explain what that was all about?", Yoongi continues, leaning forward, placing his elbows further on his knees to try and put his eyes on the same level of Yeoreum.
Bit he doesn't answer, not with words. He just shrugs, keeping his eye contact.
Jimin feels a rush of blood to his cheeks. He doesn't recognize this rudeness in his son, the disrespect he is showing. He is not even saying sorry, he realizes. Not even for pretend.
"You're grounded, two months", Jimin says, in a fit of anger, "no going out alone, and I'm taking you to school".
Yoongi snaps his head in his direction. That is not what they agreed on, they usually talk stuff out together, try to solve the problems before giving out sentences.
"What?", Yeoreum screeches.
"Do not talk back right now", Jimin moves to get up. He is not doing this right now, he feels tired, tired of his behaviour, of his continuous distance.
"You do not get to decide", Yeourem raises his voice, and he gets up from his seat again, facing his dad, looking down at Jimin's slightly smaller figure. "I don't care about what you say".
He is shouting, pointing his finger at Jimin, and getting closer to him. He is imposing himself on him, he realizes. Jimin feels himself retreat from him.
"Don't talk like that to your father", Yoongi's voice booms, "go to your room, right now".
He stands in front of Jimin, between them, shielding Jimin.
The next thing Jimin hears is the sound of a door slamming and Yoongi quietly taking him to their room.
~~
Yoongi is mad right now. This night is turning out to be completely different from what he planned. And he doesn't even understand how they came to be to this point.
He doesn't get what happened with Yeoreum and he doesn't even know why Jimin acted so impulsively. He doesn't have in him the patience to sit down and talk, not after the fight he saw.
"Jimin, what the hell was that?", he groans at his husband as soon as they get inside their bedroom. He is well aware that he is probably getting the pent up frustration out on Jimin right now, but his mind is on a roll and he can't seem to shut his mouth.
"Are you insane? I can't believe you punished him without even talking to me, or to him. No wonder he went off like that", he continues. He can't keep still, walking around their bedroom, clumsily taking off his clothes.
"I can't believe this, how you shouted at him-", he wants to continue, he wants to get all of it of his chest.
"Yoon", he hears Jimin's voice, low and trembling.
"If you're looking for excuses, don't please", he tells avoiding eye contact.
"Yoon, I don't feel good", Jimin begs.
Yoongi snaps, angling his head towards Jimin standing near the bed. He is pale, and slightly sweaty.
"I feel, I-I...", Jimin mumbles incoherently, he doesn't get to finish his sentence, when he falls down, eyes rolled up all the way exposing the white of his orbs, unconscious.
Yoongi thanks God for his somehow fast reflexes as he catches unresponsive Jimin's body just before he hits the ground.