Archive of Our Own

there was something new in the air when he walked in. it was as though a fire was lit in jimin’s chest —a small one of course, because he wasn’t that deep in, at least not yet. there was nothing new about this, and so jimin went on, pulling another cloud of smoke from the mouth of the girl next to him. he knew this , he was good at this: the unfiltered crude jokes from the group around him, the drunken burps and high-pitched laughs. yeah, he was good at this. 

“hi, can i sit with you guys?” the boy’s voice was bright, just as his smile was, innocent and sweet and so bad for jimin’s heart. taehyung, or him as jimin liked to call, stood tall over them, like a beacon of light through the dark smoke. 

“aye what’s a nerd like you doing here?” jimin tipped his head back, lip curling into a smirk as he blinked lazily up at the boy. taehyung wasn’t bothered, he never was, and he simply tilted his head before seating himself across jimin. “didn’t say you could sit, baby.” 

“pass the alcohol, would you?” taehyung smiled again, brown hair flopping over his forehead as he leaned forward. big hands braced on the wooden floor, he moved forward to take the bottle from jimin’s fingers, settling back on his ass with a satisfied smile. jimin scoffed and turned to kiss the girl next to him, he needed to get his mind off of that stupid smile.

the girl was good at kissing, if not a little messy, high whines spilling out of her mouth. jimin quieted her with open-mouthed kisses, tongue licking out and into her hot mouth with a muffled groan. he thought her name was something along the lines of s...sophia? 

“wanna take this back to your room, bad boy?” she pulled away, grinning coyly at jimin, and with such a pretty girl in his lap, who was jimin to say no? he nodded, leaning in for another long kiss that left her giggling into his mouth. they stumbled up, stepping on hands with mumbled apologies, hands loose around each other’s before he came into view. taehyung must have gotten sick of their group because he was standing now, or more precisely, dancing. really well. so well that jimin took a moment to just stand still and watch, blurry eyes taking in the way his hips swayed and then he turned and oh—they were staring at each other. this happened sometimes, at every alternate party, catching each other’s eyes from across the room, through the dark haze of weed and the strong scent of sex, sweat, and vomit. so, this was okay too, and jimin turned away as he always did. as he’d told himself to. 

sandra didn’t seem deterred in the slightest, since she’d been kissing and sucking at jimin’s neck the entire time. he cupped his hands around her flushed cheeks, drawing her in for a dirty, long kiss as he felt taehyung’s eyes drill into him. yeah, keep watching fucker. except, of course, the world never worked in his favor.

“mm, jimin, i gotta puke-” even though he immediately pulled away, jimin couldn’t escape the torrent of wet vomit splash on his t-shirt, whining loudly when she simply pulled away to run to the bathroom. thankfully, everyone around him was too inebriated to notice the way it slid off jimin’s shirt and sloped to the floor. other than taehyung of course. 

“oh my, looks like jiminie’s got himself into a mess.” jimin turned with a huff, irritation high in his shoulders as he looked up at taehyung. he didn’t allow himself to think about how nice the lights shone against taehyung’s smooth, tan skin. 

“shut the fuck up, kim.” 

“now, don’t be mean! i was gonna help you clean up.” taehyung pouted, lip plumping out as he was pushed closer to jimin. 

“i don’t need your help. go away.” jimin scowled and turned away, pushing through the crowd with a vigour that had people cursing after him. he could feel the heat of taehyung’s steps behind him and it only angered him further, until he was stomping through the frat house. 

“jimin, you look like a little angry mouse.” taehyung laughed behind him, loud and boisterous, as jimin shoved his way into the open bathroom. taehyung shuffled in behind him, ignoring the glare jimin threw at him. 

“do you ever shut up.” jimin muttered, struggling out of his sticky t-shirt and letting it flop into the sink. he looked up to see taehyung grinning at him in the mirror, arms crossed over his chest, and he’d somehow gotten a snapback which pushed his hair back. revealed his forehead. god damn it . 

“no.” taehyung grinned unabashedly when jimin turned to face him completely. he took a moment to study jimin: the hard panes of his chest and the faint lines of muscles on his stomach, the way his tight jeans hung low on his hips, teasing the thick band of his underwear. he always knew that jimin had a nice body, being on the swim team and all, but seeing it was always a whole new thing. 

“take a picture if you’d like.” jimin tilted his head back and smirked, sweat-damp hair falling across his forehead. taehyung scoffed and shook his head, pushing past to wash his own hands of the grime from the party. he thought of splashing his face to freshen up but jimin hadn’t moved, now pressed warm to his side. 

“can you move, please?” 

“no.” 

sighing irritably, taehyung glared over at jimin. the other was still smirking, leaning against the sink’s edge comfortably. jimin’s eyes tilted down, lingered on his bitten lips before they fell to the low neck of his shirt. taehyung wore a white scoop-neck, tucked into long flannel pants that were loose on his long legs. jimin’s smirk widened and he leaned further into taehyung’s space.

“why are you always so pissed, hm?” jimin raised an eyebrow and taehyung made a face, squeaking the tap closed. his wet hands clung to the edges of the sink as he kept eye contact with the other boy. 

“you’re an asshole. who wouldn’t be irritated?” taehyung smiled saccharine sweet and jimin frowned, a pang of hurt echoing in his chest. 

“‘m not an asshole.” 

“okay, mr. heartbreaker.” taehyung patted jimin’s head, a few orange strands sticking to his damp fingers. jimin shifted closer, an attempt at dominance and taehyung fell back, neck easily exposed to the air. jimin’s hazy eyes fell to it, the long curve, the sharp curves of his collarbones, the sweet perfume scent flooding to his nose. 

“they come to me, not the other way.” jimin stepped forward again, hands now curling over taehyung’s hips. taehyung let him push closer, long fingers playing with the waistband of jimin’s pants. 

“you’re coming to me now, aren’t you?” taehyung smiled, small and maybe a little cunning but to jimin’s alcohol-addled brain, it was endearingly gorgeous. 

“you’re pretty.” and like that was enough explanation, jimin leaned forward, lips pressed to the corner of taehyung’s lips in the softest kiss. taehyung inhaled sharply, fingers clutching at the loops of jimin’s pants as he shuddered. jimin smirked, exhaled a short giggle before closing the distance again. 

they kissed wetly, short breaths and pants already making their way out into the air. the bathroom’s light seemed brighter every time jimin peeked his eyes open, but he didn’t focus on it. there were better things to do anyway, like kiss taehyung senseless, like hold him close to his chest, like feel his sweet tongue curl into his mouth. 

“you’re so fucking hot, i hate you.” taehyung groaned, and jimin laughed, pressing a short kiss to taehyung’s flushed cheek. “c’mere, baby.” after pressing one last kiss to jimin’s pillowy lips, taehyung began kissing down his chest. jimin huffed a breath out, fingers tangled in the other’s brown hair. 

---

jimin couldn’t stop thinking about it. he would be in class, pen in hand, and the first thing he would doodle is taehyung’s eyes. his eyes under the harsh light of the bathroom, his eyes as they fluttered with pleasure, his eyes bright with mischief as they argued. then it would be his lips, the soft curve of them, the cute cupid’s bow, the sweet mole on his top lip. 

jimin wanted to kiss him again.

but that was lame , and jimin had done a good enough job of ignoring these kinds of thoughts before, so now nothing was different. they were at another party, his friends already slipping into intoxication as they chugged glass after glass. jimin’s mouth twisted as he finished his drink, bored and wondering when the music would change. he wished to dance, it was the only reason he came to this party: to forget and take his mind off of him , to find someone else, to stop caring so much. 

yeah, caring never reaped good things. 

“hey, jimin right?” it was a guy’s voice, low and clearly inebriated. jimin turned with raised eyebrows, blunt hanging loosely between his finger. he was hot, that much jimin could tell through the dark smoke: he had dark hair that fell over his forehead, small eyes that crinkled with his smile, and amazing pecs. jimin turned to face him fully. 

“yeah, who are you?” the man smiled brightly, excited at the prospect of getting laid or maybe just at conversing. jimin didn’t know nor did he care, he let his eyes roam the other’s upper body, smirking at the way his shirt clung to wide shoulders and chest. 

“kim seokjin, nice to meet you.” seokjin winked and jimin grinned, already leaning forward. his arm hung over the couch and seokjin shifted closer, their knees brushing as music vibrated under them. 

“hot name.” jimin nodded, tilting his head flirtingly before smiling. seokjin smiled back and jimin let his hand rest on seokjin’s calf. “you wanna play with us?” he nodded over to where his group was preparing body shots, giggles and chuckles spilling out of their mouths. seokjin leaned across jimin to watch, strong cologne making jimin wrinkle his nose. whatever, the clothes would be going off anyway. 

“aye, taehyung’s finally here.” jimin stiffened at the words, jaw locking in frustration. right when he was about to pull the hottest man ever. 

“hi.” jimin could hear taehyung’s smile, the small giggle that escaped when someone cracked a joke. finally, after a deep breath, jimin turned around. 

he should’ve known, he supposed: taehyung looked gorgeous, brown hair falling over his forehead and golden skin flushing with every sip of his drink. he wore jeans today, dark ones that highlighted his legs. jimin knew well enough what they felt like wrapped around his hips.

they used to be friends. but something like a cloud, their relationship had faded into a falsely clear sky and then, the moment they’d lost each other to other people, grey clouds had rolled in, thundering over them. jimin never actually hated taehyung, couldn’t , not when the other was as sweet as he knew him to be, was as talented as jimin had seen, was as loving as the sitcoms jimin used to cry over. 

“oh, hey jimin.” taehyung glanced up, smile falling away and making for pressed lips. his eyes were drawn to the attractive man next to jimin, glancing down to where their knees were pressed together and jimin’s hand was still on a muscled calf. he tore his gaze away and threw back another shot.

fortunately, seokjin was completely oblivious to the interaction, too focused on the salt and lemons set down on a tray. he slid off the couch and onto the floor where the rest of them were, and jimin followed because it was better than staring at taehyung. 

“i really wanna eat the salt.” seokjin muttered, breath hot on jimin’s neck as he whispered. jimin grinned and chuckled, dabbing a spot of salt on the tip of his finger. 

“here.” jimin offered his finger and seokjin raised an eyebrow, either at the boldness or the amount of salt. he still leaned forward though, slick tongue licking over the pad of jimin’s finger. jimin inhaled deeply, teeth biting into his lip as seokjin sucked the salt off his finger. 

“that was hot but now my tongue burns.” seokjin grimaced and jimin giggled again, falling over the man’s lap. maybe it had something to do with the alcohol, maybe it had something to do with the fact that seokjin was really funny and hot, or maybe it had to do with the way taehyung’s eyes burned into the back of his head. 

“you’re funny.” jimin let out another giggle and seokjin winked, hand tucking jimin’s hair behind his ear. “you’re also really hot.” jimin’s eyelashes fluttered and seokjin laughed, leaning in to breathe beer breath into his face. jimin ignored his brain reminding him of how taehyung always tasted of berry cocktail and not cheap beer. 

“jimin, why don’t you do it?” taehyung’s deep voice drew the pair away from their flirtations. the sight that greeted them was captivating— it took jimin’s breath away as his eyes ran down taehyung’s form. he’d abandoned his shirt, sun-kissed skin unblemished and gorgeous under the room’s darkness. taehyung cocked his head to the left, eyebrow raised as he held himself up on his forearms. 

“do what?” jimin asked, dumb because he knew what they were doing but he wasn’t ready . it wouldn’t be the first time they touched like that, last week had been enough proof of that but there was always preparation on jimin’s side. he had to adopt a certain mindset in order to talk to taehyung, because if left to his own devices he would end up telling the other that he was everything jimin wanted.

which was gross.

which would’ve been horrible. 

“bodyshots, babe.” taehyung smiled, infuriatingly sweet and jimin hummed under his breath. seokjin had taken to eyeing the dance floor and suddenly, jimin didn’t care as much. the thought of sleeping or even just making out with seokjin wasn’t as enticing as the view before him. of taehyung’s pretty lips stretched with smugness and upper body flexing with his every breath. 

“sure, why not?” jimin shrugged his shoulders, indifferent because this wasn’t a big deal. it wasn’t . jimin had done this on other people before. so what if it was the guy he was trying to repress feelings for? 

taehyung laid back at that, arms straight down his sides as jimin grabbed a lemon wedge and a pinch of salt. someone handed him a shot of tequila and then jimin was spilling salt on taehyung’s collarbones, eyes flaring to see the tantalizing skin stretched out for him. was being attracted to someone’s neck weird? he held the lemon wedge towards taehyung’s face and the boy leaned up to take it between his teeth, soft lips brushing jimin’s fingers.

“ooh, our favorite enemies!” someone exclaimed and jimin scoffed while taehyung grinned, belly flexing with his laugh. jimin swallowed before tossing the drink back, wincing as it burned a trail down his throat. quickly, jimin leaned down, hot tongue licking away the salt from taehyung’s warm neck. taehyung’s breath hitched as jimin hovered over his face, orange hair dipping into his eyes. jimin grinned, wild and boyish before sucking the lemon juice from taehyung’s mouth. his hand had unconsciously gone to grip at taehyung’s side, fingers digging into his ribs as his arm supported him from next to the boy’s head. 

taehyung turned his head to spit the wedge out, much to the crowd’s excitement, before curling a hand around jimin’s nape. jimin went easily, lips parting under taehyung’s force as they kissed. it was all jimin remembered and more, slick tongues fighting for dominance while taehyung’s long fingers pulled at his hair. 

“they’re still watching.” jimin pulled away to breathe out, panting and eyes running over taehyung’s flushed face. the boy pulled him in for another hot kiss, one that left jimin’s brain numb before slipping out from under him. 

“let’s go.” taehyung held a hand out and jimin grabbed it, the group around them cheering and sharing crude gestures. jimin didn’t focus on that though, he couldn’t, not when taehyung’s hand was big and warm in his grasp, brown hair ruffled from the carpet and cheeks still flushed with what he hoped was arousal. 

it didn’t take them long to find an empty bathroom, and, for a moment, jimin wondered if making out in bathrooms was their new thing. not that this was a thing. they weren’t a thing. before jimin could fall into another spiral of thoughts, taehyung pushed him against the door, forehead pressed to his and heavy breaths smelling of strawberry. 

“missed me, baby?” taehyung smirked and jimin wondered where the nerd had gone. the taehyung that would stumble on his coffee order, the taehyung that would blush when a girl hit on him, the taehyung that would always have a gaming console tucked in his pocket. had it been that long since high school? had joining an academic fraternity really changed him so much?

“shut the fuck up.” jimin managed, his own fingers clenching on taehyung’s hips. taehyung breathed out a deep chuckle, one that sent shivers down jimin’s spine before they kissed again. both of them panted harshly through their noses, hands fighting against cloth to find hot skin. jimin moaned lowly when taehyung’s big palm wound its way to his nipple, and taehyung smirked against his neck. jimin scowled at that, his own hand sliding down to cup taehyung’s ass. the boy choked a groan out and jimin laughed meanly, both hands squeezing at the supple flesh. his jeans were rough against jimin’s palms and he dipped to his knees, letting taehyung support himself on the door. 

he slid the button out and pulled his pants down, reveling in the gorgeous moan that spilled the moment his lips pressed close. 

---

jimin didn’t know what they were doing. ‘they’ being him and taehyung, of course. it definitely didn’t help that they were in the same history class, jimin having to stare at taehyung’s stupid head every time he looked at the professor. jimin didn’t even care about the class, it was just that he needed it for his major and art had seemed like the most interesting. 

“you guys have that semester final presentation coming up! don’t forget because i won’t feel sorry to give you a zero.” the professor grinned and the class faux groaned. jimin glanced up from his phone, surprise clear on his face. hoseok snorted from next to him, finished with his game of tic tac toe with namjoon. 

“you can join our group, jimi.” jimin turned with wide eyes, hands already pressed together in thanks. namjoon laughed loudly, leaning forward so he could get a better view of jimin. 

“i love you guys so much. my favorite people, my only ones-”

“hey, so where do you guys wanna do the project?” taehyung fell into the seat in front of jimin, chin perched on his folded arms as he waited for an answer. jimin’s words died in his throat. he looked cute today, red sweater pushed up his forearms and loose black pants that showed his red converse. 

“oh yeah, taehyung is the head of our group.” hoseok mentioned nonchalantly, as though he didn’t know that the two of them butted heads at any given moment. namjoon watched interestedly, amusement shining in his eyes. 

“right.”

“since when is this guy in our group?” taehyung pointed a thumb at him, completely disregarding him as he raised an eyebrow in the pair’s direction. just as hoseok went to open his mouth, jimin interrupted him. 

“don’t worry about it, sweetheart. promise i’ll do my job.” jimin reached a hand out to pat taehyung’s shoulder but the boy flinched away, distaste curling at his lip. 

“sure dude. just don’t fuck anyone while we’re there.” taehyung pushed his hair back and jimin pulled his hand to his chest, strangely upset. was he actually that bad to be around? he just flirted around, they never actually ended up anywhere. did taehyung really think that horribly of him?

“yo, cool it. you can pick where to go, tae, none of us actually know much about this.” namjoon intervened and taehyung hummed, shooting one last glance at jimin before standing up.

“‘kay, i’ll let you guys know. someone add jimin to the group chat.” another nod and taehyung was gone, shoes clicking on the floor as he ran down the stairs. 

“hey, uh, not to be lame but am i really that bad?” jimin raised his head, orange bangs teasing at his eyes. hoseok laughed and kicked away from the table, grabbing his own backpack. 

“since when do you care about what taehyung thinks of you?” the pair left jimin to ponder, frowning down at his own hands. 

yeah , since when did he care what taehyung had to say anyway?

---

the project wasn’t very difficult: visit an art museum and choose three paintings or sculptures to analyze and make a slideshow to present to class. of course, taehyung decided that he had visited the museums in their city too much and wanted to go someplace new. hoseok, because he hated jimin passionately, decided they should drive separately. 

“jimin can drive too.” hoseok patted his shoulder proudly, grin fixed in place. taehyung nodded uninterestedly before turning to namjoon. 

“you can go with jimin and i’ll go with hoseok.” jimin immediately relaxed because the last thing he wanted to do was spend three hours in a car with only kim taehyung as company. he smiled happily, already fluttering to namjoon’s side. just as he linked arms with namjoon and smiled, taehyung frowned and shook his head. 

“nevermind, i’ll go with jimin.” hoseok smirked from where he leaned against his own car, reaching for taehyung playfully. 

“why, taehyungie? don’t wanna hang out with me?” hoseok pulled taehyung to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. taehyung rolled his eyes and smiled, leaning his head back on hoseok’s shoulder. 

“we’ll have lots of time when we get to the hotel, baby.” taehyung winked, pressing a quick kiss to hoseok’s cheek. hoseok wiggled his eyebrows, nosing into taehyung’s neck as they giggled. jimin’s stomach churned and he turned away from the sight. 

“you guys do whatever that hell is in hoseok’s car. i’m going with jimin.” namjoon wrapped his arms around jimin’s shoulders and waddled them towards his car. “stop staring, dumbass.” jimin tore his eyes away at namjoon’s whisper, cheeks blushing red. 

“shut up. who’s staring anyway?” jimin huffed, and namjoon smiled. 

“let’s go, baby.” jimin only looked back once before he got behind the wheel. taehyung and hoseok were giggling into each other’s chests when he entered the address into his phone.

---

“and then! he had the audacity to tell me i’m not hot!” taehyung cried out, bottle of wine swinging in the air. he stood up, knees wobbling and face flushed pink with the alcohol and excitement. “so, so i told him ‘fuck you!’ right? and then i kneed him in the balls and left.” he fell back onto the bed, giggles erupting from his chest as he bounced. 

“taehyung, maybe you should-” 

“oh! and this other time, i was flirting with a barista right? she was super cute, you guys, like oh my god be my girlfriend, you know?” hoseok sipped at his wine and nodded slowly, sharing wide-eyed glances with namjoon. 

jimin burped and took another swig. 

“yah, shut up already. no one cares about your love life.” jimin waved the bottle around, tossing his head back carelessly. “stop acting like you can actually pull.” jimin huffed a laugh out and namjoon cringed, crawling across the floor to where hoseok sat. 

they’d checked into their hotel that evening, having decided to eat dinner and drink a little to cool down after the drive. two bottles of wine had become a six pack of beer and three bottles of wine. jimin guessed they were on their fifth bottle now. they had split the rooms by age, hoseok deciding that he wanted to spend some alone time with namjoon. 

whatever that meant. 

“hey! fuck you, asshole. you pull a lot but no one actually likes you.” taehyung shot up from bed, stumbling around and hitting his thigh against the edge of the bed. jimin pouted from the floor while hoseok and namjoon slowly gathered their things. 

“lots of people like me! i’m friends with everyone.” jimin pushed himself to stand, hands on his hips as he frowned at taehyung. hoseok and namjoon slipped out of the door, crossing across the hallway to their own room. no one wanted to be in the middle of a drunk taehyung and jimin arguing. 

“uh uh, i don’t like you.” taehyung pushed a palm out, stepping forward to where jimin stood. “you’re, like, grossly hot. did you know that your arms are really distracting?” taehyung neared jimin, the second bed conveniently behind him. 

“how can you not like me but think my arms are distracting?” jimin fell back onto his ass, the stiff mattress bending under his weight. they couldn’t really afford the best since they were still college students. even if hoseok was the son of a rich family. 

“i can do whatever i want.” taehyung flopped on jimin’s lap, arms wrapped around his shoulders as he suddenly giggled. “hey, jiminie, wanna know a secret?” 

his breath was hot and sour on jimin’s face but that was okay, because his ass was also neatly settled on jimin’s thighs and his face was really close and oh— his lips were wine-red and shiny from spit. 

“what’s it?” jimin asked, hands casually gripping taehyung’s hips. the other boy giggled again before nearing, lips brushing jimin’s ear. 

“i think i have a huge crush on you.” 

and then taehyung fell over, curling around a pillow as he sniffled. jimin sat stock-still, shocked to his core. taehyung had a crush on him. 

holy fuck, taehyung had a crush on him?!

---

the first stage was refusal. refusal to admit, to think about it, or worse, to act on it. the next morning, they woke up and jimin had immediately ran into the bathroom before taehyung could sit up. the bad thing about being in the shower was that he was left to his thoughts again: did taehyung actually like him? was it a joke? but then you always say the truth when you’re drunk…

jimin shook the what-ifs away and breathed slowly, hot water running down the planes of his stomach. he could see why taehyung could like him, he had an amazing body, hilarious humor, the best smile. 

but also, kim taehyung ? the guy who jumped at any insult he could give jimin? the guy who purposely stepped on his shoe in the subway? the guy who gave him stink-eyes at parties…and then made out with him after. 

fuck. 

maybe taehyung really did like him. 

but then came the issue of jimin’s feelings. did he like taehyung like that? no. sure, he’d entertained thoughts of kissing the guy but that had happened and there were no fireworks. could he see himself liking taehyung like that? maybe. only if they stopped the insults and the aggressive scoffing. but that would be weird because that was their brand . ever since they’d joined college and their respective frats, jimin and taehyung had drifted and adopted this new relationship. no longer were they the obvious partners for a project, no longer were they walking-home buddies, no longer were they even friends . 

jimin still doesn’t know what happened or why, but he hadn’t cared too much. he was a freshman in college, with a whole new group of people that were interested in him, so what if he lost his high school friend? that was supposed to happen, wasn’t it?

“yo, stop jerking off and hurry up!” taehyung’s fist banged against the door and jimin jumped, heart thudding loudly against his chest. after righting himself with a hand on the wall, jimin shot a sour look towards where he knew the door was. 

“bet you’d like to join, huh?” the moment the words fell out, jimin regretted them. god, what if taehyung thought he liked him back? he didn’t want to give false hope just because they’d given each other blowjobs before. shit, what if taehyung thought those drunken make-outs meant something? 

“pretty sure it’s the other way, baby!” taehyung hit his fist on the door one last time before stomping away, and jimin breathed out. his shoulders slumped under the weak water spray and he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. just stop overthinking everything. 

he finally wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out, water dripping down his chest as he toweled his hair. taehyung only glanced over him once before stepping into the steamy bathroom. was it weird that jimin felt disappointed? 

he pulled a pair of black jeans on, and a black and white striped shirt. they were checking the museum out today along with some lunch before they would leave for home in the evening. he parted his hair in the middle, checking himself out in the mirror before frowning. his neck looked too empty. he turned around, scouring his suitcase while the shower stopped behind him.

“you look like a criminal.” was the first thing taehyung said. jimin turned, squatting in front of his suitcase with his hands buried under his clothes from yesterday. taehyung looked way hotter than any other time, brown hair pushed back to reveal his big forehead and slim shoulders working as he cocked his head to the side. 

“do you have a choker? i think i forgot mine.” jimin, being the bigger man, decided to not take the bait. he understood that having your crush insult you probably wasn’t too good for one’s self esteem. yeah, that’s why he didn’t retort, not because his mind went so blank that he couldn’t think of a comeback. 

“ooh, who says i’ll let you take mine?” taehyung turned away, rough, white towel curving over his ass deliciously. jimin berated himself and tore his eyes away, sitting down on the unmade bed. 

“i’ll buy you lunch today.” jimin offered. 

“great! that works because i forgot my wallet.” taehyung grinned brightly before squatting, towel spreading open to reveal his thick thighs and a hint of his black briefs. jimin blinked hard and growled under his breath, angry that he was acting so weird. what the hell? it’s not like he hadn’t seen taehyung shirtless before. it was taehyung’s admission yesterday that was making everything weird. 

“how do you forget your wallet?” jimin frowned and taehyung shrugged, pulling a thin, black choker out. 

“this work?” at jimin’s nod, taehyung stood up. jimin did the same, reaching out for the item before taehyung whacked his hands away. 

“i’ll do it.” what an opportunist. jimin pressed his lips together as taehyung looked over his shoulder, trying to latch it onto his neck. his bare chest was warm from the shower and jimin ran his eyes down, a need to suck marks on the skin bubbling up. he carefully reached a hand out, one finger following the path of a water droplet as it ran down taehyung’s stomach. his muscles flexed under jimin’s finger and he smiled as taehyung’s breath grew heavy against his neck. 

“you know we’re not drunk, right?” taehyung asked, voice breathy and it shot a thread of arousal through jimin. he managed a small nod before leaning forward and skimming his lips along taehyung’s shoulder. 

“you done with the choker, baby?” jimin asked, hands curling around taehyung’s bare sides. he kissed along taehyung’s collarbones, small pecks as taehyung fiddled with the choker. 

“mhm. just- you actually want this?” taehyung pulled away to face him, arms wrapped around jimin’s shoulders. taehyung lifted jimin’s chin with a curled finger and jimin nodded. 

“just kiss me already, coward.” taehyung clicked his tongue before leaning in. they kissed as they always did, hot and wet mixed with low whines and groans. taehyung’s towel continued to slip off his hips and jimin grinned, pushing it off so he could grab at the boy’s ass. taehyung squeaked into his mouth at the rough touch, his own hands twisting into jimin’s shirt. 

“we still have to eat breakfast.” taehyung gasped out, shivering as jimin kissed down his neck. “min, no marks.” jimin pouted but sucked at the skin anyway, teeth nipping just to draw another shudder from taehyung. 

“your neck’s really sensitive huh?” jimin laved his tongue over the forming bruise and taehyung growled, knocking a fist against jimin’s side. 

“shut the hell up, loser.” 

“guess you really like making out with a loser.” jimin grinned, patting taehyung’s cheek lightly before stepping away. he slipped a pair of boots on before leaving their hotel room, taking a moment to breathe deeply. what did he just do? he kissed taehyung when they were sober. even though they’d only ever done anything remotely friendly while intoxicated. on the day after taehyung accidentally confessed about his crush. 

jimin stared at his shoes for a moment, all of his worries bumbling in his head loudly, buzzing and questioning and so, so loud. did he like taehyung? what did it mean now that they did it sober? did they just cross a line? what if taehyung thinks jimin likes him back? did jimin like him back? 

“why’re you still here, stupid.” taehyung pushed him from the front of the door, clicking it shut behind him. “c’mon, i miss my bed already.” taehyung turned and walked down the hallway, arms stretched high above his head before he clicked for the elevator. did none of this bother taehyung? 

jimin decided he was thinking too much and followed taehyung down to breakfast. 

---

thankfully, taehyung wore a simple black, long sleeve shirt paired with fitting sweatpants. the hem of the shirt reached the middle of his thighs and the sleeves ran over his fingers. every time he raised his hand to point at a painting, the sleeve would fall back to reveal his pretty wrist. 

he’d look so pretty with a bracelet. or maybe even a watch. 

“yah, jimin, wanna actually help?” taehyung patted jimin’s shoulder harshly and jimin scowled, looking up from his phone. 

“just pick two that you like and we can do the research at home.” he shrugged taehyung’s hand off, turning on his heel to exit the hall. the museum was huge, large works of art framed up on fancy walls. jimin ran a hand along the wall before turning into the sculpture area. he felt taehyung’s eyes burned into the back of his head until he ventured deeper into the room. if he was honest, he would rather be out in the streets, eating spicy food or shopping in the little, local shops. the city bordered their own college town but jimin wasn’t one to travel alone so he hadn’t ventured out to this side. 

the sculptures rose high above jimin and he craned his neck to observe them. he didn’t actually know too much about art, the class was one of his napping hours so he never paid attention during the lectures. good thing they didn’t have a written exam as their semester final. still, jimin could understand those who had a passion for the subject. he personally liked sculptures more than painting, something about the feel of cool marble under his fingers, the detail of faces and muscle carved into stone. 

“it’s cool, right?” taehyung stepped up next to him and jimin suppressed his groan, nodding along. 

“i like sculptures.” jimin offered, glancing to the side to see taehyung smiling. he had a cute smile. jimin grimaced and turned away, hands buried in his bak pockets. 

“wanna pick one out? you and hoseok can research it while namjoon and i analyze my favorite painting.” jimin blinked in surprise, squinting suspiciously at where taehyung was grinning brightly. 

“stop being nice, it’s weird.” jimin stepped away from taehyung and the boy rolled his eyes, punching his stomach lightly. jimin pushed his hand away, ignoring the slow tumble his stomach gave when their fingers brushed. “but sure, i’ll pick one out.” 

taehyung nodded encouragingly, shooing him off with a happy smile. jimin gave him one last stare before turning away. what a weird guy…

---

lunch was...fun. they’d ordered five dishes and had shared, made hoseok and namjoon do a love shot, and then taehyung and jimin had raced to see who could stuff the most sushi in their mouth at the same time. 

taehyung had choked once or twice which had caused jimin to laugh, spraying rice and raw fish all over hoseok. namjoon had fortunately gotten it all on video. 

“damn, that was good.” taehyung groaned behind him, their hotel door shutting closed with a click. jimin hummed in ascent, falling onto his stomach on the stiff bed. he turned to face taehyung, blinking slowly as the boy changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a loose cotton shirt. he closed his eyes, breathing out slowly before he felt the bed dip in front of him. 

“hey.” taehyung grinned, face way too close and coca-cola breath flooding over jimin’s face. he frowned and held his head up on an arm, elbow digging into the sheets. 

“what are you doing?” jimin raised an eyebrow and taehyung’s smile dimmed, eyes falling to where jimin’s lips pushed out in a pout. and then, to jimin’s shock, taehyung kissed him. there was a moment where he didn’t kiss back, too confused and amazed to reciprocate. but just as taehyung made to pull away, jimin curled a hand around his neck and pulled him on top, sucking taehyung’s bottom lip wetly.

“oh, fuck.” taehyung giggled when he almost kneed jimin in the stomach, sitting up to situate himself on jimin’s lap, the other laying disheveled on his back. “sorry baby.” he leaned down, forearms on either side of jimin’s head. they blinked at each other for a moment, lips wet and parted, tension high. 

“you know we’re sober?” jimin repeated taehyung’s words from that morning and taehyung nodded, leaning closer to nudge their noses together. for a moment, jimin thought this was getting way too romantic, remembered that taehyung had confessed drunkenly and he wanted to run away. because he didn’t want to lead taehyung on, even if he might’ve returned his feelings, he wasn’t sure of them. 

before he could do anything though, taehyung pressed their lips together. jimin immediately melted into the sheets. fingers curling into the material as taehyung licked across his lips. 

“you’re real fucking hot, y’know.” jimin whispered, breath hot on taehyung’s lips. they both grinned, jimin’s leg wrapping around his hip so their chests were flush. “like kissing me?” taehyung nodded, brown hair falling into his face. jimin laughed softly, tucking his hair behind his ear before drawing him into a slow kiss. it was different from how they usually kissed, maybe because jimin felt like napping, maybe because they’d just eaten delicious food, maybe because the sun was warming them through the window. maybe because they were sober. maybe because, because taehyung had a crush on jimin and jimin might have a crush on taehyung too. 

“wait, i was planning to take a nap.” jimin frowned, pulling away with a slick pop. taehyung groaned loudly, rolling off him to lay on his side. they faced each other, legs tangled and fingers brushing between their bodies. 

“take a nap then, i guess .” taehyung sighed loudly and jimin scoffed, leaning over to peck taehyung’s cheek. 

“and what? you’re gonna jerk off next to me?” jimin grimaced, jumping off of the bed so he could change out of his jeans. they would start driving in two hours and jimin wanted to get as much rest as he could. taehyung squawked behind him, chucking a throw pillow at his head. jimin glowered before stripping out of the tight jeans. taehyung didn’t bother hiding the way his breath caught in his throat. 

“you like the view?” jimin smirked and taehyung clicked his tongue, rolling onto his back again. 

“stop acting like we’re in a porno and just get back here. wait, you’re up for cuddling right?” taehyung glanced his way, eyes wide and lip between his teeth like he hadn’t thought about how they’d never done anything like this before. jimin swallowed his anxiety and nodded. 

“sure baby.” taehyung hummed happily and jimin tied the string to his sweatpants. then, jumping into bed and falling all over taehyung’s body was easy as pie.

---

the trip felt like so far away, jimin mused. he was in taehyung’s dorm , a week after they’d returned. all four of them had gathered to work on the project, the promise of chicken and beer allowing jimin and hoseok to immediately shout their affirmation. namjoon had just rolled his eyes and nodded along. 

“joon, it doesn’t tell me where this style originated from.” taehyung pouted across jimin, turning to namjoon with wide puppy eyes. namjoon only reached over, chest against taehyung’s shoulder as he typed something up on taehyung’s laptop. jimin’s lip curled in annoyance. 

“yah, jimin, try this chicken wing.” jimin didn’t look away from the two as he took what hoseok offered him, tearing into the meat viciously. hoseok gave him a strange look before turning back to his own screen. it had...been a while, since their little make out session on the hotel bed. they hadn’t had time to meet again, not that jimin cared, and there hadn’t been any good parties either. basically, jimin was horny and taehyung was flirting with namjoon when he was right there. 

now, don’t get him wrong, jimin knew that they weren’t dating. taehyung could flirt with whoever he wanted, even if— okay, no , he shouldn’t flirt with someone when jimin was right there. because yes, sure, namjoon was gorgeous with his brown hair and glasses and dimpled smile...oh. 

jimin deflated at the thought, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth as he hunched over his laptop. the sculpture he was studying suddenly got really interesting. hoseok watched the whole thing happen, tongue tickling from the spicy chicken. he smirked and pushed closer to jimin. 

“i knew it” was the first thing he whispered, deep chuckles sending shivers down jimin’s spine. he gave hoseok an unimpressed stare before turning back to his screen, just briefly watching the way taehyung giggled and namjoon smiled fondly. “you like taehyung right?” 

“hm? what’re you guys saying about me?” taehyung leaned forward in interest and jimin elbowed hoseok in the ribs, laughing way too loud. 

“nothing, baby! don’t worry.” jimin laughed some more, the noises choked out of his throat before withering away. the three of them stared at him with wide eyes. 

“baby..?” 

jimin’s throat went dry, a few more awkward chuckles slipping out before he snatched his beer, laptop, backpack, and ran. 

---

okay, so, maybe jimin was being a little dramatic. people called each other baby all the time! hoseok called him baby, hoseok called taehyung baby, namjoon called him baby, yoongi called taehyung baby. yeah, see? it’s fine. 

jimin nodded to himself reassuringly before slapping at his face. he was about to step out of his dorm for a party, one hosted by the biggest fuckboy of all the fraternities combined. there were going to be at least a hundred people at his house and for a moment, jimin wondered if he should go at all. 

but then he remembered that taehyung was going and jimin giggled to himself under his breath. wait, no, that was weird. he didn’t care if taehyung was going. whatever, he just missed getting drunk. 

the party was already raging when jimin arrived, dressed in distressed jeans and a plain black t-shirt. finding his friends wasn’t as difficult as he’d planned, two of them were by the door and immediately looped him over to where the rest of them were smoking. jimin smirked and settled on the floor, back against the couch’s foot. someone handed him a blunt but he shook his head, he wasn’t in the mood for smoking today. he grabbed a bottle of vodka, pouring it messily into a solo cup and mixing coke into it. a girl poured a shot of whiskey into his glass and he shrugged, tossing it back with minimal struggle. 

“jimin, you wanna join?” nick raised a lemon, it seemed they were doing body shots again, but jimin shook his head. suddenly uncomfortable, jimin stood up and left his group, an eerie twist in his stomach. he grabbed a cold can of beer from the fridge before finding an open room. taehyung’s friends were there, giggling over the floor as they sat in a circle. jimin’s eyes widened and he turned on his heel, definitely not ready to see taehyung yet. 

“ooh, taehyungie, your enemy is here.” jimin stilled in the doorway, just barely suppressing an eye roll. he looked up though, eyes caught on where a guy was wrapped around taehyung comfortably, hand on his upper thigh. 

“oh, hey jimin.” taehyung nodded, bright smile before turning back to the crook of the guy’s neck. jimin’s stomach tumbled and he stuttered through a yeah , stepping back because he wasn’t supposed to feel like this . he wasn’t allowed to be jealous or sad, or even longing because taehyung wasn’t his. obviously they were still ‘enemies’. the guy tilted his head back, taehyung’s mouth very clearly sucking on the skin sweetly. jimin’s own neck burned with the phantom touch. 

“you good, man?” jimin’s eyes met the other guy’s, wide and body still thrumming in confusion. 

“yeah, yeah, yeah.” taehyung pulled away, a strangely knowing glint in his eyes. he tugged the man’s hand further up his thigh. jimin’s jaw locked and he wanted to cry because he knew, he knew he shouldn’t be feeling like this. taehyung isn’t mine. 

but then taehyung was standing up, his catch simply chugging from a bottle and turning to the others of the group. jimin kept his eyes on taehyung, heart skipping a beat when he saw what taehyung was wearing. a pinstriped shirt half-tucked into black jeans, brown hair fluffy on his head as his lips shone red. 

“bathroom, baby.” taehyung grabbed his wrist, the soft whisper finally shocking jimin out of his still state. he nodded, mind still buzzing with thoughts. what was happening? why was taehyung pulling him to the bathroom? why did taehyung call him baby? baby..? oh god. oh my god.

“i can hear you thinking. stop it.” taehyung turned in the middle of the hallway, long index finger coming to lightly tap on jimin’s temple. jimin just blinked back and taehyung sighed, a fond smile stretching his lips. “you’re cute, y’know that?”

“i’m hot. you’re hot.” it seemed that jimin had no filter anymore. he would probably regret this when morning came, when he was at home and the hazy memories came back. he’d probably punch himself and then cry in the shower. but for now, taehyung was looking at him , smiling at him , and that was good. it didn’t matter if jimin embarrassed himself. 

“c’mon.” taehyung twisted the knob to a bathroom, shooing some girl out before shoving jimin against the door. the thud pulled jimin out of his drunken stupor, eyes suddenly wide again because taehyung was really close. and he was also really pretty. 

“did you put lipstick?” jimin’s thumb came to rub against the soft flesh of taehyung’s lip, their chest pressed flesh. jimin grinned when he felt the other’ heart beat faster. 

“yeah, you like it?” taehyung’s eyes were cautious, as though he’d finally realised the weight of the situation. jimin nodded slowly, pushing harder into the plush. his thumb came away stained red and jimin brushed it against taehyung’s warm cheek. 

“you look pretty. always do.” jimin blushed at his own words, maybe because it was true, maybe because there was a new kind of tension between them, maybe because taehyung looked so sweetly earnest in front of him. 

“tch, you’re such a flirt.” taehyung clicked his tongue but jimin could see his cheeks flush. jimin smiled and laughed softly, shrugging his shoulders and glancing to the side cockily. 

“sorry you can’t relate, babe.” taehyung gasped playfully and jimin laughed loudly, hands grabbing at his hips and pulling him closer. “why were you...with him.” jimin shrunk at the question. he didn’t know if he could ask, if he deserved an answer, because at the end of the day, taehyung wasn’t committed to him. 

“i wanted to make you jealous.” taehyung answered, simple and straightforward. “seems like it worked?” he smiled when jimin glared up at him, lips pouted out. 

“you’re mean.” jimin decided, hands already wandering down to taehyung’s ass. he squeezed lightly, taking pride in the short gasp that escaped his lips. “you like me right?” jimin had to make sure. 

“yes, dumbass, i have a crush on you. kiss me already.” taehyung leaned down but jimin stopped him, their lips brushing and noses nudging against each other’s. 

“i like you too. a lot, i think.” jimin smiled, sweet and gorgeous and taehyung thought his heart stopped beating for a moment. jimin sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, eyes running all over taehyung’s face before leaning up on his toes. 

“what’s there not to like anyway?” taehyung muttered, and jimin laughed against his lips, throwing a light punch on his stomach. 

“cocky much?” 

taehyung captured jimin’s lips in a kiss, hot and wet and slow. jimin couldn’t help the small moan that leaked and taehyung wrapped an arm tight around his waist, pulling their bodies close together. the bathroom light cut into jimin’s eyes every time he peeked them open but it was fine because he had the hottest man ever kissing him and wanting him. 

“learnt it from the best.”