Archive of Our Own

Jungkook was terrified of his own living room. Or, rather, what existed in his own living room. There, some handful of feet from his carefully closed bedroom door, was his worst nightmare. A tipsy Jung Hoseok.

Now, one could say, "Jungkook, how could a mildly inebriated person be scary? That seems a little silly."

And to that, Jungkook would say very simply, "Fuck you, that's how." Which, rude. But what he means to say is, "Jung Hoseok tipsy is an entirely different beast that I, being the emotionally weak man I am, can not hope to thwart." And by that he means that alcohol and Jung Hoseok make a deadly foe to Jungkook's poor gay heart. Drunk Hoseok gets hot; his face gets red endearingly fast which would be cute and nice and lovely but it is none of those things because that means that Hoseok deigns it No Big Deal (when it is the Biggest Deal. Insurmountable, in fact.) to take off his jacket. And maybe his shirt. And, on one memorable night, his pants.

Drunk Jung Hoseok is also a cuddler. More so than usual, he will drape himself over the nearest person like some sort of giggly throw blanket. He is loving and doting and will coo in your ear about how you're great and amazing and "Wow, Jungkook, I'm so proud of you. You're so cute, my Jungkookie. When did you get all these muscles?" Which is great and all but not when the very pretty very drunk Jung Fucking Hoseok is inches from your face and his (also very muscular) arms are curled around your waist like some sort of death trap; blinking his stupid pretty eyes up at you and all you can think to do is down your beer as quickly as possible.

So, tipsy Jung Hoseok is currently lounging in Jungkook's living room. Well. Their living room. When Jimin had told him six months ago that he had a roommate for a desperate Jungkook, Jungkook had cheered and thanked him and showered him in affection. Naive Jungkook, just happy to have someone help him pay the rent, had not been prepared for the tremendous task that was dealing with Hoseok just, like. In general. When Jungkook had first met Hoseok, he had simply said, very softly, "Oh no." Which was quite a good summary of how he felt at the time. Now, six months later, having gotten to know Hoseok very well and seen all the sides he had to offer and all the smiles and the laughter and the quiet; contemplative looks, he could also summarize his thoughts on Hoseok easily: "Oh nooooooo."

Right. Anyway. Tipsy Hoseok was in Jungkook's living room and that was fine and all but Jungkook was starving and he couldn't get to his leftovers in the fridge without passing said mammoth of a situation. His stomach rumbled in dissatisfaction. The door he had been staring at woefully for the past ten minutes stayed stubbornly in place. Fuck.

Jungkook picked up his phone and sent, going to war wish me luck if i dont return tae gets my laptop xoxo

To which Jimin responded, you bastard.

And Taehyung said, oh hell yeah i told you i was his favorite.

Which was untrue because Jungkook's favorite was very obviously Namjoon, but he decided to spare their feelings and ignore them. He instead got up and walked over to his door. He stood there for a moment; staring down at the doorknob until he finally decided his hunger outweighed his emotional demise. His door creaked open louder than it ever had; the light from his room casting a strip of light into the dim living room. The television was on some comedy special and Jungkook could already hear Hoseok's quiet giggles. Jungkook closed his door behind him as slowly as he could manage, and began his trek tip-toeing past the living room; hugging the wall as he warily watched the back of the couch. It felt like an eternity passed as Jungkook inched through the room and finally stepped into the kitchen. Jungkook, part one of his seven part plan achieved, sighed in relief and flicked on the light.

"Googie?"

Fuck.

If Hoseok was using that particular nickname that meant that he was more drunk than anticipated. Jungkook was frozen in the kitchen. Maybe, if he didn't move he would forget he was there -

"Googie! Are you getting snacks? Can you bring hyung something? Please?"

"Fucking shit," Jungkook said under his breath, and turned to glance out into the living room. From his spot in the kitchen doorway he could easily see Hoseok sprawled out on the couch; shirtless and heavy lidded. A wide, warm grin filled Hoseok's flushed face entirely. Jungkook wondered, quite vaguely, if one could die from forgetting to breathe. "Uh, yeah. Sure. What do you want?"

Hoseok pondered this for a moment; twisted his torso to face the back of the couch and tilt his head back on the arm. It felt particularly devastating to Jungkook, who hurriedly looked away at his cat like stretching. "Mmmm, chips, I think. Yeah. Chips."

Jungkook isn't sure he's very hungry anymore with his chest full of angry butterflies, but he goes through the motions of heating up his leftover jjajangmyeon regardless. As the microwave is going he grabs Hoseok's favorite half empty bag of chips and goes back into the battlefield.

Hoseok has decided that Jungkook must be joining him, because he's curled himself into the corner of the couch. "Here, hyung," Jungkook said as he held out the bag at a careful, safe distance. Hoseok blinked up at him for a long moment. Jungkook frowned. "Hyung? Are you oka-"

"Guk, my Guk," Hoseok said; grin erupting as he took the bag of chips, tossed them onto the coffee table, and opened his arms up towards him. Alarms flashed in Jungkook's mind. Dangerous territory. "C'mere."

"Uh, I'm okay, hyung. I still need to get my food - " The yelp that Jungkook made would have been embarrassing if he'd had time to contemplate it. He had, however, much more pressing matters to attend to as Jung Fucking Hoseok was dragging Jungkook into his lap. "Ummm, okay." Jungkook definitely did not squeak. Hoseok curled his arms around Jungkook's body and squeezed tightly once before resting his cheek on the top of Jungkook's head.

"I missed you," Hoseok said. "You left me by myself."

Jungkook's hands were resting on Hoseok's arms, and he desperately wanted to take them away but he was, once again, frozen in place. "I was only gone for one night," he managed quietly. Hoseok squeezed him again. "I didn't know you were that needy."

"Only for you, Googie," Hoseok hummed.

Wow, Jungkook thought. This is what death feels like. Cool.

"Um, then we can hang out tomorrow. To make up for it. If you don't have a hangover."

Hoseok gasped, delighted. "We can get haejang-guk!"

Jungkook chuckled, and gave his arm a soft pat. "Sure, sounds good. It's a da-" Jungkook almost bit his tongue snapping his mouth shut. Nope. Nope nope nope.

"It's a date!" Hoseok said, as if he had a handbook with very specific details on how to physically pain Jungkook and his poor heart.

"...Sure." The microwave beeped in the kitchen, a far away promise of freedom and the ability to breathe properly. "Oh. That's my food, lemme up." Jungkook, sweet, naive Jungkook, shifted to place his hands on Hoseok's chest to try and push himself up. He succeeded in one of those tasks, but was promptly anchored in place by Hoseok's immovable grip. "Hyung, my food," Jungkook whined; cheek resting against his shoulder unwillingly. He smelled good. Really good. It was one of the many factors of Hoseok's perfection that constantly plagued his mind. "Hoseok hyung."

"But you're so comfortable," Hoseok said; pout weighing his words down. "You can't leave me."

Against his better judgement Jungkook said, "I'll come right back." It did the trick easily enough, and Hoseok finally released him. Jungkook was a little wobbly standing back up. He hurried to the kitchen and allowed himself a moment to recollect himself. Right. Okay. Just a late night snack with drunk Hoseok. He could do this. He could totally do this. It was one a.m. and Hoseok was shirtless and extremely affectionate and he'd said he'd missed him. God. If having a sleepover at Yoongi's resulted in this every time he wasn't sure if he'd go every week or never again. The line between a blessing and a curse was thin.

By the time Jungkook felt stable enough to return to the couch Hoseok was scrolling through Netflix mindlessly with his other hand stuck deep in the open chip bag in his lap. Jungkook sat down at the other end of the couch. "Do you hate me that much, Jungkook-ah?" Hoseok drawled. He tried to look pitiful, but it was difficult to take him seriously when he unceremoniously shoved a handful of chips in his mouth.

Jungkook fought and quickly lost against the smile tugging at his lips. "No, hyung," Jungkook said, and obediently scooted closer. Hoseok glared at him and the free space between them until Jungkook relented and moved closer. It wasn't until Jungkook begrudgingly pressed himself into his side that Hoseok was satisfied. Jungkook leaned forward to set his bowl down on the coffee table; intent on going to get a drink. That was the plan, at least. Hoseok's plan, however, was to unknowingly render Jungkook useless as fuck when he reached forward and dragged his fingers through Jungkook’s hair. Jungkook, food quite forgotten, leaned back into the touch. He heard Hoseok giggle from behind him, and the fingers made another pass through his hair. It was practically cheating, honestly.

Before he realized it, Jungkook had returned to his spot beside Hoseok. He allowed Hoseok to pull him into his side so he could better pet his hair. Hoseok slung his arm around Jungkook’s shoulders, and methodically worked through his hair. Jungkook hadn't realized his shoulders had been so tense until they were suddenly unwinding. He let out a long, slow sigh and definitely didn't melt into Hoseok. "Tired?" Hoseok asked. His voice was quiet; deep enough for the rumble to shiver through Jungkook. He could hear Hoseok's heartbeat easily like this; ear pressed into his chest.

"Dying," Jungkook replied bluntly. Hoseok chuckled. "You, too? You had dance practice today didn't you?"

Hoseok hummed. "Yeah. It's new choreography so it's tough while I get it down. When are you going to join us, hm? Jimin has been trying to convince you for ages."

That he had, but unbeknownst to Hoseok it was partly because of Hoseok himself and Jungkook's small planet sized crush on him. "Yeah, cuz he thinks I don't have a life outside of school." Which was true, but Jungkook wouldn't admit that to anyone. Film school was fucking awesome, why bother with anything else when he could be throwing himself into studies that he actually enjoyed? It was a far cry from his lazy high school days where he barely skirted past with mediocre grades. He was doing well in school, and for once it actually meant something to him.

"You should come." Hoseok nuzzled his face closer. Jungkook's heart did a painful little slam against his chest when Hoseok's nose brushed against his. "I think you'd like it, and I'd like you to be there. Just once, Guk."

And because Jungkook is a weak man, he croaked, "Okay," just so he could feel Hoseok's smile against his temple. "But not tomorrow. Tomorrow is only for haejang-guk."

"Of course," Hoseok mumbled. His fingers slowed to a stop to work out a knot carefully. "I wouldn't want us to smell on our date."

Is he doing this on purpose what the fuck oh god.

"Uh, yeah." Jungkook suddenly remembered that they hadn't chosen anything new to watch. The comedy special had ended several minutes ago. He cast a glance toward his lonely little bowl of jjajangmyeon. He should probably get up and eat. He didn't move. "Hyung, are we gonna watch something?"

"Nah, I'm fine like this," Hoseok said absentmindedly. Jungkook chanced a glance up at him only to find that he was already looking down at him. The expression on his face was overwhelming. Jungkook looked away quickly; ears warm. "Do you want to watch something?"

"No," Jungkook said. His voice sounded far away. Maybe a bit dazed. It all felt like a weird fever dream. "I'm okay."

"Good," Hoseok whispered. True to his fever dream hypothesis, Jungkook could have sworn he felt lips on his forehead. "I'm glad."

"This was a terrible idea," Jungkook groaned from his place laying face first on the ground. It smelled gross. He felt gross. His shirt clung to him in the worst ways possible and he could feel the sweat dripping down the back of his neck and he just wanted a damn shower. "Why did I do this."

"Because you're whipped as fuck, Jungkook," Jimin said. He sat cross legged beside Jungkook's corpse; bottle in hand and nary a hair out of place. It was infuriating. "Speaking of, how was your date the other night?"

"It wasn't a date, Jimin."

"He called it a date. He wouldn't let you pay for the food. You got smoothies afterwards and shared them. That's really fucking gay, Jungkook." Jungkook had neglected to tell Jimin of the moment when, midway through the walk back, Hoseok had slipped his arm through Jungkook's and not let go until they stepped into their apartment. That had been particularly harrowing for him.

"I'm not talking about this," Jungkook said instead. "Just let me die here, sweaty and pathetic."

"I can't. I'm living vicariously through your tepid love life. Go do something cute with Hoseok so I can feel alive for a few seconds." Jimin nudged his leg for emphasis.

Jungkook turned his head to peer at Jimin; eyes squinted. "You haven't asked Taehyung out yet, have you."

Jimin scowled at the wall opposite of them, and took a rather violent drink of water. "I chickened out."

"Oh my god, just fucking ask him already, Jimin. If I have to sit through one more eye fucking session at lunch I'll eviscerate myself."

"Fuck off. I'll do it when you man up and ask Hoseok."

"...Wow, look at the time. Is it already time to leave? Crazy how time flies, I'll just be off." Jungkook did the Herculean task of dragging himself to his feet. Jimin glared up at him. "If you'll excuse me, Jimin-ssi, I have to go throw myself into the ocean."

"Jungkook-ah, where are you going?" Hoseok called from across the practice room. Jungkook jerked his thumb toward the door with a smile that hopefully didn't look like a grimace. It was very difficult to look at Hoseok in that tank top without his face doing something very weird. Hoseok's lips pursed, and he began making his way over.

Jimin chuckled. "This could easily be your chance, Jungkook-ah," Jimin sang in a devilish voice. Jungkook didn't look back as he kicked Jimin's leg. "Ouch, fuck. Rude."

"You're leaving me?" Hoseok asked as he reached them.

"Yeah, sorry, hyung. I've got this paper to turn in - "

" - He's gotta go grow some balls and come back to ask - "

Jungkook spun around, shoved Jimin to the ground with his foot, and turned around again with a loud; nervous laugh. Jimin cackled, and made no move to get up. "Jimin hyung is driving me crazy. If I don't leave I'll strangle him."

Hoseok raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Alright, then. Do you want me to bring some take out home for dinner?"

Jungkook perked up at this. "Will you?" He was probably a bit too excited for something as simple as takeout, but that meant he didn't have to cook and more importantly - no dishes to wash. Hoseok laughed, and nodded. "Yes, please!"

"Alright, alright. Spoiled." Hoseok wrapped him up in a familiar; tight embrace. He still smelled good even three hours after practice. This, too, was yet another infuriating instance in Jungkook's unfair life. "I'll see you tonight, then."

"Mkay," Jungkook said; nose buried in the crook of his neck. He always smelled like vanilla. It wasn't until a long second had passed that Jungkook realized he had been hugging him for probably a moment too long. He quickly removed himself from the hug; grinning through his embarrassment. "Okay! Get home safe." He mechanically turned around, gave the still giggling Jimin another kick for good measure, grabbed his backpack, and stumbled through the door.

Jungkook had made it out the studio door when his phone had dinged with a text message. It was Jimin. please for god's sake save hyung from his misery and ask him out already

That made no sense, because that meant that Hoseok himself would feel any sort of sad about not dating Jungkook which was completely untrue. In all of the (extensive) possibilities and outcomes of he and Hoseok's relationship he had never entertained the idea that he would ever like him back. wtf are you talking about, he replied.

if only u could see his face rn everyone keeps telling him good luck loooooool

u make no sense Jungkook hadn't allowed himself to think of that sort of possibility - a Hoseok who liked him. God. It was dizzying. So he decided, in true Jeon Jungkook fashion, to ignore it. u cant talk to me about this until u ask taehyung out. bye

fuck u jeon>:(

It wasn't often that Hoseok was in a shitty mood. It wasn't unheard of that he have an off day - he was human, after all - but Jungkook had never seen him storm into the apartment quite like he had. He'd been fine that morning, with his sleepy smiles and quiet laughter. Now, though, he slammed the door closed behind him and stomped to his room without so much of a glance at Jungkook. Jungkook found himself staring after him; baffled. He wasn't quite sure how to proceed. He could handle a lot of different Hoseoks, but a truly angry Hoseok was out of his league. Did he leave him alone? Go comfort him? Offer him snacks in hopes it would calm his temper? Who in the nine circles of hell could ever anger him? He was the most patient person Jungkook knew, which was saying something considering Yoongi was one of his best friends.

Jungkook wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring stupidly into the hallway, but some odd few minutes later Hoseok's door jerked open. Jungkook jumped a little; gripped his phone to his chest. What was he mad at? Was it one of their friends? For a chilling second, he wondered if Hoseok was somehow angry with him. He opened his mouth to ask Hoseok something, anything, as he stalked towards Jungkook with determination. His face was twisted into a scowl; shoulders raised like hackles. Jungkook finally managed a soft, "Hyung?" just as Hoseok stopped in front of him.

Jungkook's voice seemed to break something. Hoseok's shoulders began to shake, and suddenly Hoseok was staring at him with tears in his eyes. That was so immensely worse than anger that Jungkook breathed in sharply. "I don't - " Hoseok stopped; took in a shaking gasp of air. His lips were trembling and his eyes were bloodshot. He seemed to be doing everything in his power to not cry. "I don't want to talk about it."

Jungkook reached out and took a careful grip on Hoseok's hand to tug him toward the couch. Hoseok followed with no resistance, and practically collapsed into the couch when Jungkook settled down. Jungkook couldn't really think of any other way to comfort him, so he turned to face him and pulled him into his chest. Hoseok melted into his hug. He buried his face in Jungkook's neck; arms curled around his waist in a desperate grip. He was shivering badly. Jungkook frowned deeply when he felt hot tears on his skin. "How can I help?" Jungkook asked after a few minutes in silence. Hoseok shook his head. "You sure?" There was a pause. Slowly, Hoseok freed one of his arms and pulled at Jungkook's elbow. Jungkook, confused, moved his arm away. Hoseok laced their fingers together. Satisfied, he rest their hands on Jungkook's chest. "Okay," Jungkook mumbled; pulse racing. Could Hoseok hear his heartbeat like this? "Better?"

"Better," Hoseok agreed.

Jungkook's neck was fucking killing him. A groan escaped him the moment he so much as tilted his head to the side. He stared up at the ceiling in dismay. Why exactly had he woken up on the couch? The sky was still pitch black outside the windows. He had no idea what time it was, or how long he had been asleep. Or why he'd woken up. "Jungkook," Hoseok said. Ah. That must be why. Jungkook looked over to see Hoseok, sleep rumpled and yawning, standing from the couch. The sight of him brought the memory up easily enough - they must have fallen asleep while Jungkook held him. It would certainly explain his neck pain. "C'mon. Let's move to bed."

Jungkook grunted. The second hand couch wasn't the most comfortable in the world, but it was warm. "Don't wanna."

Hoseok rolled his eyes fondly, and tugged at him until he begrudgingly stood. Jungkook, in his sleepy haze, dutifully trailed after Hoseok to his room. Hoseok paused when they were halfway down the hallway, and gave Jungkook a confused look. "Jungkook? This is my room."

Jungkook frowned. He knew that, obviously. "Don't want you to be alone," Jungkook said, because that should also be obvious. "You're sad. That makes me sad."

Hoseok sighed, and muttered, "God, you're gonna be the end of me one day." with more affection in his voice than Jungkook had anticipated. "Alright, let's get to bed then." When Hoseok opened the door Jungkook immediately rushed to the bed; ready to sleep for twelve hours if he was allowed. "Jungkook, do you want to borrow clothes?"

Jungkook squirmed around under the blankets until he was comfortable. "No, I want hyung here. I'm cold."

"Alright, alright. I'm coming. And you call me needy." Jungkook felt the bed dip as Hoseok slid under the covers. He moved closer immediately. He was pretty sure this bed was what heaven was like. Warm. Smelled good. Had Hoseok. "What did you say?"

"Smells like you," Jungkook muttered into the pillow. Hoseok chuckled. A hand found Jungkook's hair, and he sighed loudly in relief. "Mm. Like you a lot, hyung. And your bed."

"Hyung likes you a lot too, Jungkook." Hoseok's voice was quiet, nearly a whisper. "Too much, I think."

Jungkook frowned. "Impossible."

Hoseok snorted. "How so?"

"My bed isn't as good."

Hoseok's small laugh filled the air. "If you say so."

"I do. Now hush. 'S time to sleep."

"Sir, yes sir."

Jungkook had spent the rest of the following morning recovering from the shock that is waking up not only in Jung Hoseok's bed, but his arms as well. The panicked texts a half awake Jungkook had sent his group chat with Jimin and Taehyung had sent them both into laughing fits. Jungkook didn't find it funny. He found it quite harmful to his fucking heart. To make matters worse, that night as Jungkook was finally crawling into his bed, the door opened. "Jungkook, my Jungkookie," Hoseok sang. Jungkook grunted in response. "It's time to try out your bed and see whose is best."

"Huh? I was like, half asleep hyung, nothing I said makes sense what do you mean - " The words caught in his throat as Hoseok clambered into his bed, and scooted so closely that they were suddenly nose to nose. Jungkook leaned back; heart pounding. "You didn't dry your hair enough." Jungkook said, and by that he actually meant: oh god you smell even more Hoseok than usual and that is very bad for me please don't do this to me.

"Sorry," Hoseok giggled. "Your bed is really comfy too. This might be a hard decision to make."

Jungkook sent him a bewildered look. "What decision are we even making? Yours is way bigger than mine of course it's better - "

"Oh no, it's so hard to choose. I guess we'll just have to keep doing this until we figure it out," Hoseok said loudly.

"Oh," said Jungkook. Fuck.

Hoseok turned his grin on him full force. "This is very serious, Jungkook. Very important that we figure this out properly."

Fuck fuck fuck.

And because Jungkook, poor Jungkook, is weak to Hoseok and Hoseok alone, he said, "You're right. Very important."

The next morning he woke up in Hoseok's arms again.

It wasn't often that the whole group got together, but when they did it was an event of sorts. They would usually all cram into Yoongi's small apartment and bring dishes for dinner and enough booze to last them through the long hours of the night. Jungkook enjoyed those nights a lot. It was difficult for all of them to hang out now that half of them had graduated college. Thankfully, they'd managed to all get a Saturday night off. So here they were, drinking a ridiculous amount with music thumping in the background. Somewhere in the corner of the living room Seokjin had goaded Jimin into a card game only because he knew he would win. By the looks of Jimin's frustrated scowl, he was winning with ease. Yoongi and Taehyung were huddled together; heads bent as they discussed something with great seriousness. Hoseok and Namjoon had disappeared into the kitchen ages ago and hadn't come out. Jungkook was content to watch them all from afar from his place lounging on the couch.

It was nice. He'd missed them.

Jungkook watched, amused, as Jimin made a dramatic show of throwing his cards onto the ground and flopping over beside them. Seokjin laughed loudly; arms raised in the air in triumph. "What are they even doing?" Jungkook jumped a little, and looked to see Hoseok sitting down beside him. Hoseok grinned at him, and slung an arm around his shoulders. "Did I scare you, Guk? Sorry."

"It's fine," Jungkook said even though his heart was nearly in his throat. "What were you and Namjoon hyung doing?"

"Oh, just chatting," Hoseok said in such a tone that just chatting was definitely not what happened. Jungkook raised an eyebrow at him silently. Hoseok refused to look at him, and instead took a large drink of the beer in his hand. "Actually," he began after a moment. "Namjoon mentioned this concert coming up. We should go. I think we deserve a break."

School had been taking over Jungkook's life recently with exam season in full swing. It had been an exhausting few weeks, so Jungkook immediately perked up at the suggestion. "Yeah? We should!" Hoseok matched his smile easily, and reached up to ruffle his hair.

"Cool. It's a date, then." Jungkook's eyes widened. Neither of them were drunk enough for that. Hoseok, however, continued on like he hadn't just short circuited Jungkook's entire language center. He raised his voice to call out, "Jimin-ah, are you dead?" Jimin lifted a hand to flip him off. Hoseok cackled. "Ass."

Jimin twisted around to glare at them, presumably to berate Hoseok, before he caught sight of them. Jungkook had to fight against a curse wanting to escape him as he saw Jimin raise a single eyebrow at them. Hoseok hadn't let Jungkook go at all, so there they sat - an entire couch empty, and they were squished together. Wonderful. He'd never hear the end of it. He should probably escape, or at least put some distance between their bodies but he was comfortable and Hoseok smelled as amazing as always and from this close Jungkook could see those moles on his lips and he would be damned if he would move any time soon. So he sat there, and stared back at Jimin defiantly. A cheshire grin crawled across Jimin's face, and that was when Jungkook knew he was fucked.

"You're lucky I'm too lazy to get up, hyung," Jimin said; finally tearing his eyes away from Jungkook to smirk at Hoseok. "Wouldn't want you to get beat up in front of your baby Googie, mm? That could be embarrassing."

"I'm not that drunk, Park Jimin," Hoseok said easily. Meanwhile, Jungkook felt a little like dying. "Go back to losing to Jin hyung."

"Yes, do that. I'm bored. Let's play another round," Jin said brightly. He leaned forward to peer down at Jimin. "I'll even let you almost win."

"Fuck you!" Jimin, instead, clambered to his feet. "I'm going to beat you one day, hyung. I know you're cheating, I just haven't caught you yet."

Jin looked positively smug. "If you say so, kid." He snickered at the middle finger Jimin paused to give him before he stomped off.

Jungkook watched in trepidation as Jimin got closer. Whatever was about to happen was not going to end well for Jungkook, he could feel it. "Hyung, whatever you're about to say, I don't want anything to do with - "

"This is ridiculous," Jimin interrupted. Jungkook blinked up at him. "It's getting out of hand, and I'm tired of it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jungkook said. He did. Hoseok's arm was heavy on his shoulders.

Jimin's gaze was as painfully knowing as it always was. "Fine. Give me an hour."

This confused Jungkook tremendously. He frowned up at him. "An hour? What for? What are you even - " Jimin walked off before Jungkook could finish. "Uhhh, okay?"

"What was that about?" Hoseok asked, as they both watched Jimin go up to where Taehyung and Yoongi had been talking, grab Taehyung by the arm, and drag him through the living room. They, and everyone else in the apartment, watched in bewilderment as they disappeared out the front door. "Uh? What’s going on?"

"With those two, there's no telling," Yoongi said bluntly. Everyone seemed to agree, and continued on as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. They would probably be back eventually.

It wasn't until an hour later that Jungkook found out what exactly Jimin had meant.

He got a text from Jimin with the simple order to check his Instagram. Jungkook obliged, and opened the app. Jimin's post was the first one on his feed - made only five minutes prior. It was a photo of Jimin and Taehyung with their arms slung around each other's shoulders, and the caption that said, Finally mine with a purple heart. It was disgustingly cute. And also Jungkook's death sentence. Inside, Jungkook screamed. On the outside, he said simply, "Fuck."

So. Telling your crush-also-roommate that you were head over fucking heels enamored with them was... daunting. Horrifying, actually. But it had been five days since Jimin had asked Taehyung out and Jungkook felt like he had to at least try. Jimin had been in love with Taehyung for years. That had to be way more terrifying than a crush that hadn't even been a year yet. Jimin had, in his own defense, told Jungkook in all seriousness that he didn't actually have to say anything - Jimin hadn't wanted to force him to. Just to consider it a possibility. But Jungkook was nothing if not stubborn. He was going to do it. He could do this, and feel better when it was off of his chest, and maybe only avoid Hoseok for four months after. Or five. Okay, maybe like, a year. Whatever.

Jungkook had already tried a few times. Once, when they were moving around the kitchen cooking ramen in quiet ease. It had felt like a good time to. They'd both been in good moods, and Hoseok hadn't accidentally dropped the eggs at all, and Jungkook had only burned his hand once. But the moment Jungkook had opened his mouth to form the words, they'd gotten stuck. The same thing happened when Jungkook had met Hoseok for lunch between classes, and again when Hoseok had been leaving for practice. It was getting frustrating. Jungkook was getting antsy; impatient. The day of the concert was fast approaching and Jungkook refused to allow himself to go on a "date" with Hoseok until he actually told him how he felt.

Which is how he found himself here, in the dark hallway of their apartment; hesitating those last few steps before Hoseok's door. It wasn't too late, and Hoseok's light was on so Jungkook knew he wasn't asleep. If it went south, Jungkook had a backpack by his closet door that he could grab and sprint full speed out of the apartment to hide out at Yoongi's place for a few days. Until the embarrassment wore off, at least.

Really, the only plan Jungkook had available were ones that needed to be implemented if he was rejected. Jungkook didn't dwell on how sad that thought was.

Like ripping off a bandaid, Jungkook, he tried to tell himself. Just all at once and then it's done.

He made those last few steps to the door, and knocked. He heard rustling in the room, and soon the door was opening. Hoseok, in clothes two sizes too large, stared back at him. "What's up, Jungkook?" Hoseok asked; oblivious to the torture he was putting Jungkook through. That t-shirt was Jungkook's. Hoseok tilted his head. "...Jungkook? Everything okay?"

Oh. Right. Words. "Oh, uh, yeah. I just - I needed to tell you, uh." Jungkook gripped the hem of his shirt; twisting it around his shaking hands absently. "I like - I really - fuck." Nope. Jungkook huffed, reached in to grab the doorknob, slammed the door closed, and counted to five. He swung it open again. Hoseok watched, bewildered, as Jungkook took a deep breath to say all at once, "I really like you a lot and not like, like you. I mean like like you and it's driving me crazy so I just needed to tell you and maybe see if you wanted to go out like for real and not just like a friend date but like a date date but if you don't want to that's totally fine you could just forget this ever happened okaybye." Jungkook didn't wait to see how Hoseok would react, nor did he give Hoseok a chance to even say anything before he slammed the door closed again and made a mad dash for his room.

Right. Okay. A list of possibilities to go through at the current time: one) Hoseok doesn't like him and was weirded out. He will never talk to Jungkook again and will forever think of him with pity as that one weird guy who crushed on him and ran away. Two) that's it. Option one was the only foreseeable outcome. Jungkook was doomed.

The second Jungkook closed his door behind him he slumped his back against it; mind reeling. He'd really just done that. Oh god.

"Jungkook?" A knock and Hoseok's voice jolted Jungkook away from the door.

"Fucking shit, you scared me!" Jungkook hissed; hand over his heart as he stared at the closed door.

"Can I come in?" Hoseok asked.

Jungkook paused. Considered his options. Option one hadn't included Hoseok finding him immediately after. He wasn't quite sure what to do. "Um? No?" Jungkook's face was properly aflame and he was pretty certain his hands hadn't stopped shaking so he'd like to never be seen like that ever, thanks.

"Jungkook, please. I need to - I need to say something, too. Okay?"

"No. Not okay." Very not okay. That definitely meant he needed to reject him, but kindly. Because Hoseok was the nicest, most patient man ever and he would never ignore Jungkook.

Okay. Option one needed to be revised: Hoseok would let him down gently because Hoseok didn't have a mean bone in his body. He wouldn't ignore Jungkook forever but he absolutely would give him that pity look every time he looked at him and Jungkook would eternally be damned to an existence where Hoseok didn't like him back and he knew it. That was almost worse than never knowing for sure.

"I'm opening the door." Hoseok's voice was firm. Jungkook felt himself wilt. That meant business. That meant Jungkook had definitely fucked up.

"I'd rather you not, thanks." Jungkook's voice was shaking like his hands. It was embarrassing. This whole thing was embarrassing. The door opened, and Jungkook refused to look his way; crossing his arms in a weak act of defiance. "Bastard," he said, with no malice.

"Jungkook, look at me." Jungkook risked a glance. Hoseok was shutting the door behind him. No way out. Great. Jungkook looked away to frown at the floor again. "Jungkook, you can't just - you didn't even give me time to respond before you ran off."

"Yeah, well, it was fucking terrifying. So." Jungkook grimaced at himself. He didn't particularly want Hoseok to know that he was scared shitless, but then again it was probably quite obvious from the literal running away he'd done.

"I know, Guk." Hoseok let out a loud sigh. Jungkook's insides twisted and knotted uncomfortably. This wasn't going to end well. Why hadn't he left Jungkook alone in his sadness? He didn't want to let Hoseok see him so pitiful. "Look, I just - you can't ask me out right now. Okay? You gotta like - like take it back."

His confusion shook Jungkook of his misery. He shot Hoseok a baffled look. "Take it back? What the fuck does that even mean?"

Hoseok huffed, and ran a hand through his hair as if he was the one inconvenienced by Jungkook's actions. "It means! That you - you messed this all up!" Well. Option one revised. It was, indeed, entirely possible for Jungkook to feel worse than he'd imagined. "I had this whole plan! Ever since Namjoon told me about the concert I thought it would be perfect. I was going to confess to you after the concert and it was going to be cute and memorable."

It took Jungkook a very, very long (an infinity, really) second to process his words. "Wait. Wait, you were going to what?"

"Confess! I spent so long finding the courage to ask you out and I had it all built up in my head and you just - you just said it. Like it was easy." Hoseok threw his hands in the air. "I was so close! Nearly a year of helpless pining and Namjoon finally kicked my ass into gear and you did this. You have to take it back."

"What? What - I - no! Fuck you, I worked hard for this." Jungkook scrunched his nose at him. "It doesn't have to be memorable! There's no way I'm doing that again, I - wait. You like me?" Why had his brain only now truly latched onto that understanding? This was in none of his options. How did he even move forward?

Hoseok gave Jungkook a look that said that was a dumb question to ask. "I mean, I've literally been throwing myself into your arms for months now, but sure. Let's act like I haven't been dropping hints like crazy."

Jungkook opened his mouth, tried to find words, and closed it again when he could grasp at nothing. "Oh, my god. But that's not - those aren't hints! You're affectionate to everyone!"

"I called our hang outs dates, twice."

"You were drunk once! That doesn't count," Jungkook argued. Hoseok rolled his eyes.

"I'm never that far gone that I don't know what I'm doing, Googie."

Jungkook stared at him, and dropped his arms to his sides. "What... I? Um. Okay. Okay. Well. This is - this is... Okay." Jungkook tried to reevaluate months of interactions in a totally new light in a short few seconds, and failed miserably. He could hardly think coherently as it was. "Holy shit. Okay. I... did not think this far ahead, I'm gonna be honest."

"Well. Are you going to take it back so I can confess my way at the concert?" Hoseok asked.

"Hell no. I'm not torturing myself twice, hyung."

Hoseok bit his lip as he fought a very obvious smile. "Okay," he laughed. "Okay. Fine. You're right. I'm sorry I told you to take it back. I'm sure that was really hard - "

" - Fucking terrifying, hyung - "

" - Fucking terrifying, right. I was just flustered because I had it all planned out already. So. We both like each other." Jungkook frowned, and thought about this. Oddly, he found himself nodding. He supposed that really was the truth, which was mind boggling. Why the ever loving hell would Hoseok like him? "So I guess that means we should try dating, right?" Another slow nod from Jungkook, who was still skeptical. It all sounded entirely too good to be true. "Then the concert can be a date. A real one. An actual date."

Jungkook considered this. It was the logical next step, but he hadn't exactly thought this far. It made sense, though, so he found himself agreeing. "Okay. Yeah, okay. A real date."

Hoseok's smile bloomed across his smile as beautifully as it always did. Jungkook watched, in awe, as Hoseok began to giggle. "God, we're a fucking mess. You should go to bed. You have a quiz in the morning, don't you?"

Jungkook raised his eyebrows at the suggestion. "You think I can sleep after all this? My heart is still trying to escape my chest, hyung."

The laughter continued. Hoseok closed the distance between them, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Same here. Do you wanna watch some Ghibli movies til we pass out?"

"Oh my god, please. Can we watch Spirited Away again?"

"Of course."

Forty minutes later, Jungkook was watching wide eyed as Chihiro ran from spirits. Hoseok had dragged him into his lap the second they sat down, and there Jungkook had stayed the entire time. Hoseok's fingers made their slow, familiar path through Jungkook's hair. It all felt pretty perfect. Jungkook tilted his face up to look at Hoseok, who dragged his eyes away from the screen to meet his gaze. "So you really like me?" Jungkook asked. Just to make triple sure.

Hoseok smiled. "Yes, Jungkook. I really like you. How did you phrase it? I like like you."

"Oh god, don't remind me," Jungkook said, and buried his face in his hands with a loud groan. "That's so embarrassing."

"I thought it was cute and memorable." Hoseok cooed.

"Oh my god, shut up." Hoseok obliged easily, and instead pressed a kiss to his temple. This time Jungkook was certain he was wide awake.