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Most days, being roommates with your best friend was a great idea. There are hardly any fights, with both of you being so in tune with each other's habits and attitudes and the occasional mood swings. Routines are already established, which means that dishes get washed daily, the bathroom is scrubbed clean every weekend, and there's always several packs of ramen stored in the cupboards since you've figured out grocery duties as well. Plus, if you're Park Jimin rooming with Jeon Jeongguk, you have a dozen sweatshirts to steal whenever you wanna drown in fabric on bad days, with a tub of ice cream to dig into and a feel-good rom-com playing on Netflix.
Except-
There are days when Jimin just wants to stab Jeongguk in the eye with a fork, preferably several times until he swears fealty to Jimin and kneels like a peasant from Game of Thrones, waxing worship about his intelligence, his beauty, his freshly-dyed blonde hair, and his ass.
Today is one of those days.
"Jimin!" The door opens with a bang, and Jimin's name floats through their tiny apartment in an obnoxiously off-key sing-song. "Jimin, Jimin, Jimin!"
"Jesus!" Jimin throws his own door open, stomping to the living room as angrily as he can in lavender socks. "What's with all the noise!"
"It's Jeongguk, actually." Jeongguk, the heathen, even manages a wink. It comes off horribly, his coordination clearly thrown off by the alcohol Jimin can smell half a foot away. "I can't believe you've forgotten me so quickly, Jimin-ssi." Jeongguk cries out, one hand clutching his chest dramatically.
Jimin makes a silent vow to spike Yoongi's coffee with chili powder the next time he comes over. "How much did Yoongi-hyung make you drink?"
"Don't make this about Yoongi-hyung!" Jeongguk whines, throwing himself to the couch. He flops pathetically, too-long legs sticking out from one end. "I want cuddles, Jimin-ssi!"
"I'm not cuddling you! You stink!"
"No, you stink!" Jeongguk snaps, before bursting into laughter. "Stinky Jiminie! Remember when you farted in the van on the way to the beach and everyone called you stinky Jiminie for like, forever?"
"We were ten!" Jimin feels his face burn up from residual shame. He ate too much radish kimchi that one time, okay? He hadn't known it would make him horribly gassy. "And they stopped after a week!"
Jeongguk's still cackling, a tear running down his cheek. Like this, sweaty and cheeks flushed and long, dark, wavy hair messed up, he looks less like the up-and-coming producer for a soon-to-debut boy group and more like the boy who ran naked in the beach at midnight to make Jimin laugh after he'd tripped and cut his knee on sand. A silly, lovely boy whose eyes shine just like the skies on the outskirts of Busan, where they used to lie with fingers intertwined, letting the then-Herculean problems of high school wash away with every shared breath.
Jimin hates how he gets sappy at very inopportune times. Like now, when he's on the brink of breaking down and Jeongguk's still humming stinky Jiminie under his breath.
Jeongguk must've noticed Jimin's pained expression because he takes a deep breath and exhales into a solemn expression, eyebrows stitched together and gaze intense. He's looking straight at Jimin, seemingly sober for someone who had just laughed his ass off about a more than a decade old joke. "Jimin-ah."
"What now?"
"Even if your stink could potentially suffocate me to death, I will still be your little spoon if it helps you sleep at night." He pats his own chest, clearly self-satisfied at his altruism. All traces of love evaporates from Jimin and he blindly lunges at Jeongguk, grabbing a throw pillow to smack his head repeatedly.
"I don't stink! And stop acting like you don't like being the little spoon, you overgrown puppy! You literally beg me to coddle you to sleep every night!"
Jeongguk's laughing too hard, ducking from Jimin's attacks half-heartedly. He snakes his arms around Jimin's waist and pins him to his chest, too drunk to feel his elbows jabbing his arms as he falls down. "I do, I do!"
"Tell me I'm not stinky or you'll be out on the streets tonight for a new big spoon!"
"You're not stinky!" Jeongguk's still chuckling as he buries his face in Jimin's neck and takes a deep breath. "Not stinky at all," he mumbles against the skin, warm breath making Jimin shiver. "You smell just like home, hyung."
Jimin's arms are hanging over the couch and his neck is straining to hold up his head to avoid clashing against Jeongguk's, but he lets out a pleased sigh. Jeongguk's so soft, even with his sharp jaw and buff chest and sculpted arms. Jimin's baby, from the moment they'd hugged out their first fight over a stupid red truck when they were five and seven, when love was such a foreign concept but he still liked the feeling of Jeongguk in his arms, his shy sorry, hyung whispered against his collarbones.
"Baby," he says, just so he could see the flush darken on Jeongguk's cheeks. "Let's go sleep, hm? Hyung is tired and you're gonna get one hell of a hangover tomorrow."
Jeongguk nods, letting Jimin tug him gently to the bathroom. He brushes his teeth first, taking a long time because the smell of mint is helping clear his head a little. Jimin helps undress him, then himself, even if he'd already washed up before Jeongguk came home. They crowd into the shower, Jeongguk bending at the knee so Jimin can wash his hair, blunt nails gently scratching soothing circles against his scalp. Then he runs a loofah over his body, until the sweat runs off and Jeongguk smells like fresh grapefruit. Jeongguk tries to do the same, but Jimin shakes his head, pulling him into a fluffy towel to dry him off.
"I already washed, baby. Thank you." Jimin says sweetly to appease his frown. "Now can you please wash your face so I can kiss your nose?"
Jeongguk nods, still pouting. But he staggers to the sink to wash his face anyway, fumbling as he squeezes a dollop of cleanser. Jimin laughs lightly from where he's standing in the doorway, having gone out to drop their clothes in the hamper. Jeongguk's pout gets more prominent, hastily rubbing the product over his face and rinsing it.
"You're gonna scrub your face off at that rate, Gukkie."
"Hyung." Jeongguk whines, and he's too cute. Jimin can feel the fondness bubbling out of his body and spilling out, like newly-opened champagne. Effervescent. Jeongguk makes him feel lighter than air.
"Let me," Jimin says, coming forward and grabbing the cleansing wipes on the counter. He goes over Jeongguk's face in circles, taking care near his eye area. The color is hard to scrub off. Jimin groans. “Please never wear eyeliner again."
Jeongguk huffed. "You love me in eyeliner, hyung. You always have."
Jimin bites his lip, recalling secondary school when Jeongguk used to wear heavy eyeliner everyday, and Jimin had to constantly fight with his hormones to stop himself from jumping Jeongguk when they'd meet up for lunch. It was a failed attempt, for better or worse. Better, because they finally stopped dancing around each other and just straight up made out in the dirty bathroom. Worse, because the bathroom was so grimy that Jeongguk slipped face forward, earning a nasty gash on his cheek. The scar's still here to this day, and Jimin traces it with the wipe.
"Remember when you used to wear this everyday?" Jimin pats his clean face, satisfied. Then he kisses Jeongguk's nose, as promised. "It must've been a pain to clean off."
"You liked it, didn't you? So it was worth it. Even if I spent my lunch money on these damned wipes."
Jimin laughs, throwing his face in Jeongguk's bare chest. "You're so stupid, Guk-ah. Is that why you lost so much weight back then?"
Jeongguk hums his assent, the sound rumbling against Jimin's cheek. He pulls back, looks up at Jeongguk with so much love that it scares him sometimes. But it's scarier to think of a life that they haven't found each other, that Jeongguk never got the courage to confess, that Jimin worked on his insecurities and let his walls down to let Jeongguk in.
"I love you."
Jeongguk grins his bunny smile, his two front teeth poking out as he scrunches his nose. "I love you too, Jimin-ah. But..."
Jimin raises an eyebrow. "But?"
"I'm freezing. In case you haven't noticed, we're still both naked."
Jimin giggles again, throwing the wipe he was still holding to lace his hand with Jeongguk. Now that they're holding hands, Jeongguk refuses to let go, even as he nearly trips trying to get into his boxers with just one hand. Jimin has to slap his chest and explain that it was physically impossible to wear their sweatshirts without letting go. Jeongguk counters with some anime he's watched in which the protagonist can dissolve certain parts of his body to walk through walls, and how it was the same principle with wearing sweaters with one hand attached to another's, but he lets go anyway.
Only to tackle Jimin into the bed as soon as he shoves both arms into Jeongguk's sweatshirt, then pulling away to curl into the little spoon as always. Jimin throws an arm and leg over him, burrowing his face in the back of Jeongguk's neck.
Jeongguk sighs, content. "Can't go to sleep without my backpack."
Jimin grins against his skin. "That's backpack-hyung to you."
"Stop being adorable. I'm trying to sleep."
"I'm always adorable."
"Shut up. I love you. Good night."
"You haven't kissed me yet, you oaf! After I washed you and-"
The rest of his rant is swallowed by Jeongguk's lips, pressing softly against his own, all traces of incoordination gone as he pushes his tongue against Jimin's lower lip. He parts his lips, sighing when their tongues finally brush against each other, just the right amount of pressure to gently lull Jimin to sleep.
Jeongguk pulls away, only to go back for another on Jimin's nose, and then on his forehead. "There. Is baby happy now?"
Jimin nods, eyes curving into crescents as he smiles. "You're the baby. My baby."
"Thank you for taking care of me, Jimin-ah. I love you."
"I'll forgive you if you make me breakfast." He says to Jeongguk’s back as he turns to his side.
Jimin can see the outline of his cheek rise as he grins. "Deal."
"I love you too. Sleep well, Guk-ah."
"With you with me? Always."
Jimin doesn't answer, kissing the mole on his neck before snuggling in impossibly closer and molding his body against Jeongguk's to hide his blush.
The last thing Jimin thinks about before he drifts off to sleep is that while rooming with your best friend is undoubtedly nice, nothing beats rooming with your boyfriend. Even if it involves an emergency care-taking session at two in the morning and you have a dance class to teach at eight. He lets out one last loving, sleepy sigh, feeling Jeongguk intertwining their fingers from where it rests on his stomach, and slips into a blissful sleep.