Archive of Our Own

Taehyung kicks off his shoes, shrugs off his backpack and jacket and drops them unceremoniously on the hallway floor the second he arrives home. It’s been a long and tiring day at university. His neck and shoulders are tense, causing an uncomfortable pounding at the back of his head. The lights are on in the living room, and Taehyung shuffles towards them, drawn in like a moth although his stomach is screaming at him to make a detour to the kitchen first. “I’m home.”

“Welcome back!” Yoongi is sprawled out on his back on their worn-out yet comfortable couch with a book in his hands. Tufts of his black hair are sticking up in all directions, and his two-toned glasses – a black horn-rim on top contrasted by a clear bottom – are perched low on his nose. He’s wearing a simple white t-shirt and red-checkered flannel pants. Taehyung can’t help but smile as soon as he spots him, looking like the very definition of comfortable. He leans down over the armrest from behind to press a kiss on Yoongi’s forehead. The black hair tickling his chin is damp and smells like their fruity shampoo, suggesting that the other is fresh out of the shower.

“Did you have a good day, babe?” Taehyung asks after drawing back.

Yoongi cranes his neck and puckers his lips playfully, and Taehyung – after snickering over his boyfriend’s pouty antics – leans down once again to indulge him and give him a quick peck.

“Yes. The meeting with my supervisor went well. He thinks my thesis is on the right track.”

“That’s great to hear.” Taehyung lets his fingers run through Yoongi’s soft hair, watching as the older closes his eyes sleepily as he leans into the touch.

“How was your day, love?” The younger is about to answer when his stomach starts to rumble insistently, reminding Taehyung yet again that he hasn’t had anything to eat since his early lunch. By now the sun has long set. Yoongi is off the couch before Taehyung can even react. “I’ve made kimchi jjigae earlier. Do you want me to throw in some ramen as well? Of course you do. You go and get comfy while I heat it up, and then we’ll talk.”

He squeezes Taehyung’s shoulder affectionately as he passes by, and after the six years that they’ve been dating, the younger’s heart still flutters with affection and gratitude towards his boyfriend.

Minutes later, after having washed up and changed into more comfortable clothes, Taehyung inhales the jjigae and noodles like a starved man at their tiny kitchen table.

“You’ll choke,” Yoongi offers unsolicited. Taehyung glares at him and makes it a point to scarf down an even bigger bite. “Gross.”

“You still love me,” he smacks and wipes away a drop of soup that is sliding down his chin.

“My love for you has its limits, and that’s definitely one of them.”

“You’re so full of lies.”

Once his initial hunger has been mollified, Taehyung slows down his eating and starts to talk about his day. He’s in his third year at university, pursuing a degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development. Wednesdays this term are a nightmare, packed full with classes from the early hours of the morning until evening, with only a one and a half hour break before noon between. The rest of his weekdays are considerably less dense, which he considers to be an advantage. Every Wednesday evening this semester, however, he arrives home in a zombie-like state, his head spinning and his concentration span too short to do anything other than lie in front of the TV and watch easy to follow dramas. Yoongi, who only has classes in the morning on that day, always takes special care of him then – he cooks for him, gives him a massage, and to Taehyung’s delight cuddles up against him to watch dramas together without complaint. Any other day of the week, Yoongi would rather scoop out his eyes with a spoon than watch any of Taehyung’s favorite shows together with him. Maybe Wednesday’s aren’t all that bad.

“We were told today that we have a big presentation in Planning and Management of Agricultural and Rural Development coming up. And then we got paired off without any say in it. I’m stuck with a guy called Jungkook, and now get that – he’s a year below. He shouldn’t even be in this course yet.”

Yoongi winces in sympathy. Presentations are never fun to begin with, but being forced to work together with a stranger makes it even worse, especially because there’s the terrible chance that they are a slacker. Taehyung is busy enough this year already as it is. Having to pull the extra weight of someone a year below for a good grade is seriously the last thing he needs at the moment.

“Yeah,” Taehyung sighs. “I hope he’s actually in this course because he knows what he’s doing, and not because he signed up by accident and is now too stubborn to drop out. At least he’s cute to look at. He’s going to come over on Friday afternoon so we can talk about the project. You don’t mind hyung, right? I would have suggested the library, but you know how packed it gets on Fridays, and I doubt we’d be able to concentrate at a coffee shop with all the background noises.”

“Of course not,” Yoongi smirks and wriggles his eyebrows, “if he’s really cute to look at like you say, just bring him around whenever.”

Taehyung kicks Yoongi’s shin under the table and the other curses. He then drinks the rest of the jjigae straight from the bowl, before giving his boyfriend an angelic smile. “Thanks for the meal, babe. It was delicious.”

“Let’s see if I’ll still feed you next week,” Yoongi grumbles as he rubs the sore spot on his shin, “you ungrateful bastard.”
___

As it turns out, Taehyung has absolutely nothing to worry about concerning his project partner, and that’s certainly a first in his third year at university. When Jungkook shows up in front of his door on Friday afternoon, he shows up being actually prepared.

“My boyfriend’s home as well, but he won’t bother us,” Taehyung informs him while Jungkook puts on the guest slippers he was offered. He monitors the other’s reaction closely. There’s a flicker of surprise on the younger’s face, but if he’s bothered by the fact that Taehyung isn’t straight, he doesn’t show it. That’s good. It means they won’t have any problem working together for the rest of the term. Jungkook bows politely and introduces himself upon meeting Yoongi, and then Taehyung ushers him to the couch and fetches drinks for the both of them from the kitchen. When he returns, Jungkook has already spread out notes on the project all over Taehyung’s coffee table. To say that the other is stunned is an understatement, seeing as he’s merely started reading into the matter. It starts to make sense to him now how a second year has managed to weasel his way into a third-year seminar.

To make things even better, Jungkook seems to be a genuinely amicable person, if a bit shy. His shoulders are constantly drawn up, as if he’s trying to take up as little space as possible on the couch. He talks quietly, and his slightly overgrown hair constantly falls into his face and hides it from Taehyung until the other puts it into a bun towards the end of their meeting, when he’s finally starting to draw out of his shell a bit more and his laughter grows in volume as Taehyung cracks a few jokes.

And then there are his eyes. They’re big and inquisitive, and they display his emotions blatantly, making it easy for Taehyung to read Jungkook like an open book. He’s not sure if the other is even aware of just how expressive his eyes are. When Taehyung suggests something that Jungkook doesn’t agree with, he squints just slightly while verbally affirming his idea. If Taehyung misunderstands something, Jungkook beats around the bush, stammering as his eyes seem to grow even bigger in size. The timidity Taehyung isn’t quite fond of. He likes his project partners to be direct with him, to correct him if he’s wrong and to not bend to his will if they have their own ideas to bring in. But he knows that for a naturally bashful person like Jungkook seems to be, things like that will take time. He’s got more than enough of that still, because the semester has only just begun and their presentation isn’t until the beginning of January.

“You weren’t kidding. He’s really cute,” Yoongi remarks after Jungkook has left and they’re shuffling around the kitchen, making dinner together – or more like Yoongi’s making dinner, and Taehyung is his devoted assistant who hands him everything he needs. Currently he has the important task of making sure that the risotto Yoongi’s making won’t stick to the bottom of the pot. He dutifully stirs it with a wooden spoon.

“Right? And he’s an absolute doll. I’ve really lucked out with this one,” Taehyung swoons. He’s still not over the fact that Jungkook had already thrown himself into the project head first even before their first meeting, when Taehyung had expected that they wouldn’t get much further than working out a timeframe for it today. It eases his mind to know that he got paired with someone reliable for a presentation of this scale that one third of his grade relies on.

Yoongi smirks. “A ripped doll. Did you see the way his biceps shifted when he moved his arms?”

“Stop thirsting over my dongsaeng,” Taehyung laughs, bumping his hip into Yoongi’s and pointing the wooden spoon at him threateningly, “at least until the project is over.”

“But that’s still three whole months away,” Yoongi pouts in a whiny voice.

Taehyung sticks his tongue out at him. “You can swoon over your sexy boyfriend in the meantime.”

“Hmm…” The older pretends to contemplate the suggestion deeply for a few seconds, tapping his finger against his cheek as he looks at the ceiling. Then a gummy smile, the one that causes Taehyung’s heart to flutter whenever it makes an appearance even after all these years, lights up at his face. “I guess you’re right. After all he’s quite handsome and cute as well. Lucky me.”

Yoongi leans over to plant plenty of playful kisses all over Taehyung’s face, causing the other to giggle and the risotto at the bottom of the pan to slightly burn.
___

“Hyung,” Jungkook calls, waving Taehyung over to the table he’s snagged for them in the busy coffeeshop, “over here.”

“Aish,” Taehyung says as he slips into the booth opposite of Jungkook and removes his brown crossbody bag, “sorry for being late, and thank you for taking care of the drinks. What kind of hyung am I? Next time I’ll have to treat my dongsaeng again.”

“It’s no problem. Besides, I’ve only been here for a few minutes myself. I hope your drink isn’t cold yet.”

Taehyung reaches for the mug – hot chocolate with whipped cream on top – and takes a tentative sip. When he puts it down, there’s a bit of whipped cream clinging to his upper lip that he licks away. He nods approvingly at Jungkook. “It’s the perfect temperature.”

The cold at the beginning of November rules over Seoul with an iron hand at the moment. It’s cumbersome, because Taehyung hates dressing in layers. Almost every morning before leaving the flat, Yoongi will call after him not to forget his scarf and beanie, and Taehyung will put them on with an exasperated sigh. Said scarf he’s currently trying to untangle from his neck, and when he’s done he pulls off the beanie and carelessly throws it on the bench.

“Oh,” Jungkook says in surprise, “you’ve dyed your hair.”

Right, Taehyung’s completely forgotten that Jungkook hasn’t seen his honey blond hair yet as he hasn’t met Jungkook since their class last Wednesday with their busy schedules. He runs his fingers through his hair and tries to sort out the mess now that the beanie is off. “Do you like it?”

Jungkook nods enthusiastically as he proclaims that it “looks really damn good” , and then looks away sheepishly at having shown this much enthusiasm. Taehyung grins. It’s cute. He unzips his bag and starts to pull out the study materials for their presentation. “Tell me, Jungkookie, how’s your week been?”

“Hyung, you know as well as I do that if we start chatting now, we won’t get anything done. Let’s safe the small talk for when you buy me dinner after this?”

“Cheeky,” Taehyung laughs, but he knows that Jungkook isn’t wrong. They have a tendency to fall into a time warp whenever they talk, hours passing by in the blink of an eye that only feel like minutes. “But you have a point. What do you want for dinner?”

Jungkook beams in delight. “I’ve been craving nakji bokkeum for days now.”

“Sounds good,” Taehyung agrees.

“You can also ask Yoongi-hyung to join us for dinner if he’s not busy,” Jungkook suggests enthusiastically, albeit with a bit of reluctance. Taehyung bites the inside of his cheek to keep from smirking, and grabs his phone. “I’ll text him right now. I’m sure he’d love to see you again.”

Jungkook blushes prettily at the words, cheeks dusting pink. It’s not a secret to either Taehyung or Yoongi that over the short period of just shy over one and a half months that they’ve known Jungkook, the second year student has developed a crush on them. It’s endearing. Jungkook can be loud and crazy if he wants to, with a boisterous laugh to boast, but whenever he catches himself becoming too excited, his shy side emerges again, making him act younger in years than he is, tugging at his sleeves or the hem of his shirt, stumbling over his words.

At first they thought it might just be a Jungkook thing, that his personality keeps him in check like that to never entirely let lose, but Taehyung has met two of his closest friends by now on campus – Jimin and Hoseok, both dancers with whom Jungkook used to be part of a team back when he wasn’t flooded with university work – and seen the unfiltered version of the younger. He’s all jokes and teasing, affectionately bullying his hyungs, exudes confidence. There’s no reservation when he interacts with his friends, no blushing or stealing wide-eyed glances, the occasional fidgeting. It’s not as if Jungkook adopts another personality around them, but it’s obvious in the way he acts around Yoongi and Taehyung that he’s quite fond of them in a different way than his friends.

And fuck, Yoongi and Taehyung are absolutely smitten with him. After a few weeks of knowing the younger, it’s still Jungkook’s eyes that hold such fascination for Taehyung. They are so expressive that Jungkook doesn’t need to use words for Taehyung to understand him. On days he’s tired or in a bad mood, his smile never reaches his eyes. When he’s curious, they grow even bigger and round, reminding Taehyung of a startled deer. And when he’s happy-

Taehyung loves those days the most when Jungkook is genuinely happy, excited and bouncy, because there is such a joyful sparkle in his eyes. It reminds him of childhood innocence, worry-free days when even the smallest things such as getting ice cream for a treat after school elicited the biggest delight.

For Yoongi, it’s the smile. He dubs it the bunny smile, when Jungkook’s smile is so genuine and bright that his nose scrunches up and his eyes crinkle. “It always brings out that mole under his bottom lip too,” Yoongi swoons one night over dinner, “damn, do I want to kiss that mole.”

“It’s the equivalent of your gummy smile I love so much,” Taehyung points out, “makes me want to smother your stupid face with kisses.”

“I don’t know what’s stopping you,” Yoongi laughs, and Taehyung takes him up on that invitation immediately, drawing out laughter from his older boyfriend that sound more beautiful than any other sound. Soft playful smooches turn into tender kisses, and soon their clothes lay rumpled on the floor as the couple is entangled with each other on the couch, the rest of the world forgotten.

They take a shower together – after a lot of grunting and complaining on Yoongi’s part, who would have preferred to just stay on the couch (“Gross, hyung. If you’re going to get cum stains on the couch I’m using your favorite shirt to wash them out.”) – and cuddle up in bed together afterwards, Taehyung’s head resting on Yoongi’s chest as his boyfriend’s arm is wrapped around his torso. They’ve put on the crime show that they’re currently binge-watching on Yoongi’s laptop. Taehyung has a hard time keeping his eyes open only ten minutes in, the tendrils of sleep pulling heavily on him.

“Taehyung-ah?” Yoongi asks quietly.

“Hm?”

“Are you serious about Jungkook?”

Taehyung pauses the show and shuffles around to be able to look at Yoongi directly. The older looks hopeful yet worried. Taehyung reaches for his hand and slots their fingers together. They fit perfectly. “I like him a lot. I can’t remember the last time I’ve met someone and immediately felt this comfortable with them. I’m serious about him if you are.”

Yoongi gnaws on his bottom lip, his eyes glued to their intertwined fingers. “I like him a lot too. But I’m also scared. After Seoyun-”

“Jungkook isn’t Seoyun,” Taehyung interrupts him. He tugs on Yoongi’s hand and pulls it close to his face, pressing a soft and lingering kiss to his knuckles, “and we’re not as clueless as we were two years ago. We’ve learned from the experience, and we won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“So you’d want him to join our relationship?”

Taehyung nods. “If you’re comfortable with it and if he wants to, yes. I’d be willing to give it a try. But let’s give it some more time. At least wait until our presentation is over, so if things get awkward between us after asking, at least my grade won’t have to suffer from it.”

Yoongi snorts. “Your grade is your priority?”

“No,” Taehyung denies, and leans forward to press a kiss against Yoongi’s lips to finally make him stop chewing on it, a habit he always takes up when he feels unsure and insecure about something. “My priority will always be you.”
___

Taehyung stretches after getting up from the kitchen table, arms above his head and his sweater riding up to expose his belly. He takes the empty bowl and moves it to the kitchen sink to be dealt with later, deciding that it’s a future Taehyung problem (or even a Yoongi problem, if he’s lucky). Instead of doing the dishes, he trails down the hallway to the small study that is mostly used up by Yoongi and all his music equipment.

The door has been left ajar and he can hear Jungkook and Yoongi softly talking to each other about Yoongi’s soundboard. They have a file that Yoongi is currently working on pulled up on his computer screen in the fancy editing software that makes Taehyung’s head spin by just looking at it. Jungkook is sitting in the gaming chair that they’ve spent more money on than Taehyung would like to admit (“It’s for my back. Do you want me to suffer from back pains at a young age, Taehyung-ah?” “You already have back pains from slouching in front of the computer all day, hyung.” “All the more reason to buy it then!”), and Yoongi is standing next to him, one hand resting on Jungkook’s shoulder and the other pointing out various things on the screen, before drawing Jungkook’s attention back to the soundboard. He’s explaining something carefully, and Taehyung fondly watches them from the hallway. Jungkook nods along to everything that Yoongi says, giving him his undivided attention.

A few minutes pass by, and eventually Yoongi starts to lean closer to Jungkook without even realizing it as he explains the function of a knob he’s pointing out. He probably doesn’t even notice just how close he is as he’s too busy talking, but Taehyung can tell that Jungkook becomes very aware of it by the way his eyes widen.

Yoongi abruptly stops talking only to sniff the air, and his eyebrows drawing together. “Are you using a new cologne? You smell pretty amazing.”

Taehyung has to bite the inside of his cheek so he won’t laugh out loud at Jungkook’s confused look. By now Yoongi must have taken note of just how close they are as well. He’s staring down Jungkook inquisitively, and Taehyung feels sorry for the younger who squirms on the seat, obviously unsure of how to react. Yoongi is less than subtle when his gaze fixes on Jungkook’s lips, the younger stuttering about having received a sample and wanting to try it out.

“It’s a smell that suits you,” Yoongi compliments him, and Taehyung wants to facepalm. Yoongi is obviously trying to be flirty now by the way he has lowered his voice, but he’s doing a terrible job at it. Seriously, who compliments someone on their perfume while being flirty? It’s a telltale sign that Yoongi’s been off the dating market for a long time. Although when Taehyung thinks back to it, he’s never been particularly skilled at it back in Daegu either when they first started dating. Nonetheless it seems to affect Jungkook, the other blushing violently and tugging his hair behind his ear as he thanks Yoongi.

Taehyung decides that it’s time to intervene. They’ve agreed, after all, not to make too obvious advances at Jungkook before their presentation is over and done with in January, and Taehyung knows for a fact that Yoongi can easily get carried away once he starts flirting. He might not be good at it, but he sure can be persistent. “Is the old geezer annoying you with boring technical stuff?”

Yoongi clicks his tongue disdainfully as his hand slips from Jungkook’s shoulder and he returns to an upright position. Jungkook startles, those wide eyes focusing on Taehyung guiltily. He resembles a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “What? N-no, he didn’t.”

“It’s okay,” Taehyung laughs, enjoying Jungkook’s flustered state. It’s really fucking cute. “You don’t have to lie to me about it. I’ve been on the receiving end of his ramblings about this stuff one too many times, I know how mind-numbing it is when he gets so excited that he starts talking in technical terms that no one understands.”

Yoongi grumbles, and Taehyung walks over to him and pats his hair. “Don’t worry hyung, it’s cute when you do that.” He turns to Jungkook as Yoongi tries to swat his hand away. “Right, Kook-ah?”

The youngest looks between the two of them flabbergasted.

“Stop putting the kid on the spot like that,” Yoongi chides Taehyung jokingly, but Taehyung can feel every muscle in his body having gone taut while waiting for Jungkook’s answer.

“I think hyung would kill me if I called him cute,” Jungkook eventually says, looking away abashedly, the flush in his cheeks intensifying even further. He’s neither affirming nor denying the question.

Taehyung rolls his eyes fondly. “You’re quite a diplomat, aren’t you?”
___

Jin and Namjoon invite them over for dinner on a cold and windy evening near the end of November. The couples have met each other at a pub quiz around one and a half years ago, when Yoongi and Taehyung were still at the stage of carefully fixing up their then fragile relationship again, and had hit it off straight away.

Because they had met each other at such a crucial time in their relationship, Jin and Namjoon know about their past polyamorous lifestyle, courtesy to a night of drinking and a sentimental Taehyung suddenly bursting into tears about how his biggest fear was to lose Yoongi for good someday. Things back then had been messy between them and it took months to mend the rifts that Seoyun had left behind in their relationship.

So when Yoongi and Taehyung keep on talking about Jungkook as they dig into their food, Jin and Namjoon exchange telling glances with each other.

“You keep bringing that Jungkook guy up over and over again. You guys seem to be awfully fond of him,” Namjoon eventually decided to address the topic as Jungkook is brought up by the other two yet again. They are done eating and lazing around on the living room couch, Namjoon nursing a beer while Yoongi, Taehyung and Jin have opted for red wine. “Like, sounding as if you could imagine being more than friends with him.”

Taehyung takes a sip of his wine to try and stop himself from grinning. Yoongi shrugs his shoulders, trying to seem nonchalant but failing miserably as the tips of his ears are starting to tint red. “We may or may not have talked about the possibility.”

“Do you think that you’re ready for that? I know it’s been a long time ago already, but after what happened last time…” Jin trails off.

“Jungkook is different,” Taehyung immediately bristles, coming for the younger’s defense. Yoongi rests a hand on his shoulder and squeezes softly, and Taehyung deflates. “Sorry, hyung. I didn’t mean to snap like that.”

Jin waves his apology off. “Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t accusing him of anything, just wondering. From what you told us about Seoyun-” He’s unsure how to finish the sentence, but luckily Namjoon Is there to finish that thought process for him.

“I think what hyung is trying to say is that you have only known this Jungkook guy for a very short time, and from what we know about Seoyun, he turned out to be an entirely different person than who you thought he was. Aren’t you scared that it might be too soon to extend such an invitation to Jungkook? You can’t possibly know him that well.”

Yoongi’s fingers dig into Taehyung’s shoulder uncomfortably as he tenses, and Taehyung has to hold back from wincing. Seoyun is and will probably always be a raw spot in their relationship, and they rarely talk about that time two years ago nowadays. The memories are too painful, the fact that they had opened up and invited someone else into their lives, and their relationship almost didn’t make it out alive not something that either of them wants to particularly remember.

Yoongi and Taehyung had always been open to the idea of having a polyamorous relationship, but back in Daegu they had never seriously entertained the idea as there had been no one who had caught their interest. Then Yoongi had moved to Seoul for university while Taehyung was still stuck in High School, and that’s where the older had met him.

Seoyun was handsome and funny, popular with others, and Yoongi had felt drawn to him like a moth to light. It was the first time that he had met someone he could imagine allowing into their relationship, and Taehyung – finally having moved to Seoul to join Yoongi after finishing High School a year later – had fallen head over heels for him as well. And when they had asked Seoyun to join their relationship after establishing a solid friendship over the course of a few months, all trembling hands and nerves as they waited for his answer, the other had agreed.

It had been good for a few months, and then things turned sour. Seoyun was jealous and manipulative, wanted to be the center of attention, and Taehyung and Yoongi hadn’t figured out yet that communication was key to a functioning relationship because they had never really faced a serious situation like that before. Seoyun was starting to feed them lies about the other, and because they never really talked it out, misunderstandings started to pile on top of each other, and a small gap started to open up between Taehyung and Yoongi that soon grew into an abyss.

Those had been the most miserable months of Taehyung’s life, thinking that Yoongi didn’t love him anymore, that he was only still in this relationship because of Seoyun, not knowing that Yoongi thought the same thing about him. It was only when Yoongi accidentally eavesdropped on a conversation between Taehyung and Seoyun and realized that the other was lying about him that the fog started to lift and they could see clearly the manipulation that they had been subjected to. They kicked Seoyun out of their relationship and started to amend things. It wasn’t easy to fix, mistrust and insecurities having been ingrained too deeply into their minds by the false discourse of someone else, but in the end they managed to overcome that dark stage of their relationship and came out of it stronger than before, a steadfast unit that nothing could break apart anymore.

“Jungkook isn’t like that,” Yoongi echoes Taehyung’s earlier words, but this time through clenched teeth.

Namjoon raises his hands as if to say he didn’t mean any harm. “We’re not making any accusations. But we’re your friends, and we’ve seen the way this past relationship has affected you guys. If you want to date Jungkook, by all means go ahead. Just please be careful, yeah?”

“And you better introduce him to us, so I can give him a stern talking to about better not hurting my sons,” Jin huffs.

The tense air starts to dissipate, and Taehyung snorts at the thought of Jin asking Jungkook about whether or not his intentions are good with them. “Please don’t. He’s already shy enough around strangers as it is, if you do that I’m scared that he’ll actually make a run for it.”
____

December for Taehyung means nothing but stress. His assignments are piling up, and no matter how much time he invests into trying to catch up with them, by the time he’s finished just one the next five deadlines for new assignments are already creeping up on him. Yoongi is busy writing his thesis and most days only emerges from their small office once every few hours to get more coffee and take a toilet break. They exchange quick pecks on the lips in the morning and talk with each other at night when cuddled up in bed, at which point one of them tends to fall asleep mid-conversation due to exhaustion, but other than that they don’t get to spend much time with each other at the moment.

“Kook-ah texted me if we’d want to hang out with him sometime soon,” Taehyung murmurs, drawing lazy patterns on Yoongi’s stomach. The other swats his hand away and grumbles something about Taehyung having cold fingers and the touch tickling. “I told him I’d ask you first. We could have a game night.”

“That sounds nice,” Yoongi agrees. “We could both need a break, if only for an evening. I miss spending time with you.”

Taehyung hums in agreement. “I’ll ask him tomorrow in class.”

He nuzzles his face into Yoongi’s neck and breaths in his hyung’s comforting scent, before starting to press soft kisses against the warm skin. Yoongi starts to squirm, and Taehyung bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smiling, knowing damn well that this is Yoongi’s sweet spot.

“What are you doing?” Yoongi asks into the darkness of their bedroom, his voice coming out rougher than before.

“Nothing,” Taehyung answers innocently, nipping gently at the older’s skin. Yoongi shifts, and next thing Taehyung knows, his boyfriend’s body is on top of him, pressing him into the mattress, his dick throbbing against Taehyung’s hip in anticipation. He grins up at Yoongi slyly and bucks up his own hips as Yoongi’s lips come crushing down on his for a passionate kiss.
___

“Do you want to take a picture of it? It will last longer.” Taehyung laughs as Jungkook quickly looks away from his neck while stuttering out an apology. He rubs over the spot where he knows Yoongi has left his mark last night. Jungkook’s eyes had zeroed in on it the moment he had noticed, and he hasn’t been able to look away ever since. “Yoongi usually doesn’t leave hickeys like some horny teenager, but he got a bit carried away last night. Well, we both did.”

Taehyung winks and Jungkook blushes a bright and pretty red. He’s spared from having to reply by the teacher starting the class, which causes Taehyung to pout. The older scrawls a message on his notebook and elbows Jungkook to get his attention, tapping the tip of his pen against the sentence that reads Game night at ours on Friday?

Jungkook nods enthusiastically, his slightly overgrown hair bobbing up and down with the motion, before turning his attention back to the teacher. Taehyung does the same, although every now and again he can feel the younger’s eyes on his neck again.

“I’ll walk you to your next lecture, Jungkookie,” Taehyung offers as they gather their belongings after making it through one and a half hours of this mind-numbingly boring class.

“You really don’t have to, hyung. It’s at the other end of the campus, you don’t have to trouble yourself for me like that.”

“But hyung wants to spend more time with you,” Taehyung insists. He grabs the books Jungkook has been checking out of the library earlier today for one of his other classes. “Let me carry these for you.”

“Hyung,” Jungkook whines, trying to wrestle the books out of Taehyung’s grip. He might be stronger, but Taehyung is more agile, twisting and turning to stop Jungkook from reaching them. “Why would you carry my books for me?”

“Because I enjoy being nice to you. Now stop being stubborn and lead the way to your next class.” They start walking, and Jungkook thinks he’s slick pretending to let the issue rest, only to try reaching for the books once again after about twenty steps.

“Ah ah ah,” Taehyung shakes his head and sticks out his tongue. “Do you think I’m a fool? You’re not getting these back before we’ve arrived at your lecture hall, unless-“

“Unless?” Jungkook asks apprehensively.

“You give me a kiss.” Taehyung puckers his lips at him. Jungkook blinks at the other dumbfounded. His eyes once again linger on the hickey that Taehyung is sporting and he seems to get lost in his thoughts. When he snaps out of it, he shoves Taehyung’s shoulder with a bit more force than could be considered playful and continues walking with brisk steps.

“You shouldn’t joke about stuff like that,” he says, and Taehyung frowns at the odd reaction, the sadness laced in his voice and the way his shoulders sag.

“Why not? And who says I’m joking? I meant it, you would have gotten them back for a kiss.” He has to walk faster to keep up with Jungkook’s sudden swift walk.

“Stop it,” Jungkook grinds his teeth. Taehyung can see his jaw muscle twitch in annoyance. “That’s not fair towards Yoongi-hyung.”

Taehyung is left speechless at the sudden aggression in the younger’s voice. He bites his tongue and follows him quietly to his next lecture before saying his goodbye and scurrying off to his own seminar. For the rest of the day he can’t concentrate on anything else, Jungkook’s reaction playing on repeat in his mind. Jungkook has never reacted this way to any of their gentle flirting or teasing before, almost as if he was repulsed by it.

Have they read him wrong all along? Both Yoongi and Taehyung could have sworn that the younger harbors a crush on them, but maybe that has just been wishful thinking. They don’t even know if Jungkook is into guys, because that type of conversation has just never come up naturally until now. Taehyung’s mind races, wondering if they’ve interpreted Jungkook’s behavior towards them wrong this entire time; if he’s really just admired them platonically as his hyungs and never thought of them as anything more in a romantic way.

His heart breaks at that thought. It’s not as if he’s in love with Jungkook, and he knows the same goes for Yoongi as well, but it would be a lie to say that the both of them haven’t developed any romantic feelings towards the youngest over the course of the last few weeks. His heart flutters whenever he’s close to Jungkook the same way it did around Yoongi back when they had first met, that excitement thrumming through his veins. He yearns to constantly be close to the younger and to impress him. If Jungkook doesn’t reciprocate their feelings-

Well, at least Taehyung still has Yoongi as his pillar. Losing Jungkook won’t hurt as much if they have to share their heartbreak. And maybe they’re really just better off as a couple, him and Yoongi against the world. Maybe they should have learned from their mistake of inviting Seoyun into their lives years ago already. They’re happy and confident in their relationship after all, and haven’t felt as if there was anything missing.

Or at least not until Jungkook appeared out of nowhere, and now he’s threatening to leave a Jungkook-shaped hole in Taehyung’s heart and their relationship. What if he’s eventually the thing that will destroy them? He worries about it so much that he suddenly starts to feel nauseous. He needs to talk to someone about this. Taehyung pulls out his phone and starts typing under the table, hoping that his hyung can give him some advice.

From: Jin-hyung
You’re an idiot. Stop texting me during your class and talk to Yoongi about it tonight.

Taehyung sighs. Serves him right for thinking that Jin could be of any help. He should have texted Namjoon instead. But Jin is right, and Taehyung knows that. He needs to talk about this with Yoongi. Talking is the key to any good and honest relationship, and they need to figure out what to do next, whether to give it a try with Jungkook or not. He puts his phone away again and tries to concentrate back on the lecture, chewing his bottom lip and nervously tapping his pen on his notebook. It’s to no avail, because by the time he leaves the lecture hall, he can’t remember a single thing of what the teacher has said.
___

Jungkook never mentions the incident from Wednesday. Instead he asks if he can bring Jimin and Hoseok along for their game night, so on Friday it’s the five of them eating snacks, drinking alcohol and becoming competitive enough to scream on top of each other over card and board games. After a particularly intense round of Monopoly, Taehyung sulks over losing, Jungkook teases him after winning, and Jimin – that shameless cheater – laments over how unfair all of them are for swearing to never let him be in charge of the bank ever again. Yoongi and Hoseok have fled to the kitchen with the excuse to grab more beer.

“I’ve never been this stressed over a game before. I know that Tae’s a sore loser, but these two…” Yoongi trails off and runs a hand through his hair, letting out a long sigh.

“I don’t think Jimin even knows how to play a game without cheating,” Hoseok says and pats Yoongi on the back sympathetically. Yoongi likes the guy. He’s laid back and chill, if a bit loud at times.

Taehyung chooses that moment to walk into the kitchen to refill the empty snack bowl, and Hoseok leaves back into the living room. It’s the first time since Jungkook and his friends arrived that they have a moment for themselves that night.

“He acts as if nothing happened on Wednesday,” Taehyung says quietly so there’s no chance that the others can hear them. “And I can’t tell if it’s because he genuinely doesn’t think about it anymore or if he’s put on a mask.”

Yoongi wraps an arm around his waist and Taehyung lets himself fall against his side in exhaustion.

“He does seem a bit more reserved than usual,” Yoongi answers, pressing a kiss against his boyfriend’s temple and rubbing his back comfortingly. “And as we’ve already said, it’s odd that he suddenly asked us if he can bring his friends. Let’s just see how the night goes, okay?”

Taehyung nods, and then steps out of Yoongi’s hold reluctantly to pop a new bag of popcorn into the microwave.

Jimin and Hoseok leave around 1 a.m., but Jungkook stays. He insists on it, all fuzzy words and uncoordinated gestures from having one too many drinks.

“It’s really no bother,” Yoongi assures Jungkook’s friends once again by the entrance door, as Taehyung already busies himself cleaning up and putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher. “We’ll throw a blanket over him and put a bucket next to the couch should he throw up.”

“Hyungiiiie,” they hear Jungkook scream from the living room. Taehyung’s head pops out of the doorframe to the kitchen, and Yoongi tells him not to worry, that he’ll check on him.

“Tonight was fun, we should repeat it sometime,” he says his goodbye to the others, before making his way into the living room. Jungkook is sprawled out on the couch, shirt having ridden up and exposing parts of his toned stomach. Yoongi tugs the fabric down and then ruffles Jungkook’s hair affectionately. “What’s up, drunk bug?”

Jungkook closes his eyes and hums contently. His cheeks are flushed from the alcohol. “Don’t like being left alone. The room keeps spinning.” He’s talking with a pout, his words coming out slurred.

“That’s what happens if you get too drunk,” Yoongi answers. He feels the buzz of the alcohol as well, but he had nowhere near as much to drink as Jungkook did. “Come on, let’s get you ready to go to sleep.”

Thankfully, Jungkook doesn’t put up a fuzz and allows himself to be dragged to the bathroom by the smaller man. He’s unsteady on his feet and stumbles into a cupboard (Yoongi winces in sympathy as Jungkook’s hipbone collides with the edge of it because that will surely leave a bruise, but the younger doesn’t seem bothered at all), but when Yoongi presses a new toothbrush into his hand, he’s still lucid enough to know on his own what to do with it. Usually Yoongi doesn’t hold people who get too drunk to be able to properly take care of themselves in high regards, and yet here he stands and watches Jungkook brush his teeth and wash his face fondly.

By the time Jungkook’s done, Taehyung has finished up in the kitchen as well and turned their extensible couch into a makeshift bed.

“He’s going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow,” he laughs as he observes from the hallway as Yoongi tugs the youngest in. The lights have already been turned off, and Jungkook’s eyelids are drooping.

“Have a good night,” Yoongi murmurs to Jungkook, who lets out a content sigh and pulls the blanket closer to his chest, snuggling into it comfortably.

“Hyungie?” Jungkook’s voice is low, and Yoongi leans in closer to be able to hear him properly.

“What is it, Jungkookie?”

Before he knows what happens, Jungkook surges upward and closes the distance between their lips for a sloppy kiss, the smell and taste of alcohol and minty toothpaste invading Yoongi’s senses. It’s only a few seconds, and then Jungkook lets his head fall back on the pillow and giggles. “Wanted to do that for a while.”

Yoongi blinks down at the youngest in confusion, and Taehyung stands in the hallway absolutely dumbstruck as well. They make eye contact with each other while Jungkook seems to drift off to sleep within seconds.

“What the fuck?” Taehyung mouths quietly, scared to possibly wake the other up again. Yoongi shrugs his shoulders helplessly. He gets up from the couch as carefully as he can to make sure that he’s not jostling Jungkook, and the couple goes to the bathroom together to get ready for bed as well.

“Do you think he knew what he was doing?” Taehyung asks incomprehensibly, foaming toothpaste dripping from his mouth and on his sleeping shirt. He grimaces as he wipes the stain away.

“He’s so wasted that I’m not even sure if he’ll remember anything from tonight.”

“Maybe that’s for the best,” Taehyung frowns.

Yoongi stares himself down in the mirror, eyebrows knitted together and mind stuck on the feeling of those lips against his own. “Yeah. Maybe it is.”

But Jungkook remembers, and by the time Taehyung stumbles out of the bedroom the next morning, the makeshift bed has been turned back into a couch, the blanket folded, and the pillow carefully placed on top. There’s a piece of paper on the coffee table, and the only words written on it are I’m sorry.
___

Yoongi looks up from where he’s curled up on the sofa and scrolling through his phone with hope. “Any luck today?”

Taehyung shakes his head. He nudges his boyfriend, and Yoongi scoots over to make space for him on the couch as well. Taehyung slumps down and leans against Yoongi, releasing a heavy sigh.

“He didn’t show up to class. It’s the first time that he’s been missing. He must have informed the teacher of his absence, because he said that Jungkook’s been excused when he went through the attendance list.” Taehyung closes his eyes and massages his temples, a headache throbbing at the back of his head. “This is seriously stressing me out.”

Yoongi hums sympathetically. He rests his chin on Taehyung’s shoulder and presses a kiss against his cheek. “I’m sure that he’ll show up again. He probably just needs more time.”

“I hope he doesn’t forget that we have an important presentation coming up in under a month,” Taehyung bites out through gritted teeth.

Jungkook has seemingly vanished ever since the gaming night last Friday. He doesn’t pick up their calls, or return their text messages. Taehyung has tried catching him after one of his other classes in front of the lecture hall, but either Jungkook left before he arrived, or he never showed up to that lecture in the first place. The entire situation is weighing heavy on his mind, and Taehyung knows that Yoongi is beating himself up over what has happened as well and blames himself over Jungkook’s disappearance. They should have never left Jungkook by himself after the kiss.

“He’s put so much effort into it from the beginning. Jungkook is reliable, you know that. He wouldn’t let you down like that.”
___

Chasing after Jimin through half the campus on a Friday afternoon wasn’t on Taehyung’s schedule for today, and yet here he is, out of breath and sweating in the middle of a cold December noon, clutching onto the strap of Jimin’s shoulder bag for dear life while the other curses him loudly.

“Seriously, can’t you take a hint? If someone obviously runs away from you, you’re not supposed to catch them. Also why are you so fucking fast? It’s because of your freakishly long legs, isn’t it?”

“Shut up, Jimin,” Taehyung pants. He let’s go of the strap and doubles over, hands resting on his knees as he tries to draw in breaths and calm his racing heart, his lungs hurting as he sucks in the freezing air.

“If you’re here to talk about Jungkook, you’ve gone through all this trouble for nothing.”

“Oh come on,” Taehyung huffs out. “He can’t just kiss Yoongi and then ditch us like that. And what about our project? Is he going to drop out of class in the middle of the semester just to avoid me?”

“Taehyung-ssi,” Jimin’s voice is as frosty as the temperature, and he stares Taehyung down without batting an eye. They’ve been talking informally with each other at the game night last week considering that they’re the same age, so Taehyung is taken aback by the sudden shift back to formal speech. “I’m one of Jungkook’s closest friends. Your concerns aren’t my problem. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have places to be.”

He’s turning away and ready to leave, but Taehyung holds onto his bag strap once again. Jimin turns back to him with an eyeroll. “What?”

“Can you tell him that we’re not mad about the kiss? And that we’re sorry if we took it too far when flirting with him? Hyung and I, we were hoping-” He stops himself, lets go of the bag strap and lowers his head. “We just really like Jungkook a lot. We want him to know that, and we weren’t sure if he was reading our messages. I’ll stop bothering you now.”

Without looking at Jimin, he starts walking away.

“Wait!” Taehyung stops in his track and looks back. Jimin is giving him a quizzical once-over. “Do you mean it when you say that you both like him?”

Taehyung blushes as he nods. He’s not sure why he’s telling Jimin all of this, but maybe it’s because he sees it as his last desperate option to get through to Jungkook “Crush, actually. We both have a crush on him. After the presentation in January, Yoongi and I had planned to ask Jungkook out on a proper date.”

Jimin’s stoic facial expression melts away as he considers Taehyung’s words. He sighs. “He might kill me for this, but whatever. Kookie and I are supposed to meet at the Beans coffeeshop later today, at 4pm. Bring Yoongi and fix this situation so he can finally stop moping around. And don’t fuck this up, or I swear that next time I’ll be the one hunting you down, and I will hurt you.”

Jimin is trying to look as threatening as possible, but Taehyung is too elated to notice. He throws his arm around the shorter man and hugs him tight. “Thank you so so much! I promise we won’t fuck it up!”
___

Jungkook looks as if he’s seen a ghost when Yoongi and Taehyung show up at the coffeeshop and inform him that Jimin won’t come. All color drains from his face as he looks between the both of them apprehensively.

Yoongi and Taehyung take the chairs opposite from him, their fingers linked under the table for silent support.

“Listen, I think we need to talk about what happened last week,” Yoongi eventually starts the conversation when it becomes apparent that no one else is going to do it. A waitress coming over to take their order interrupts him. Taehyung observes the way Jungkook’s eyes linger on where his and Yoongi’s intertwined hands are hidden under the table when he thinks that no one’s watching. He can see hurt and guilt flashing behind them. The waitress leaves, and once again no one really knows what to say.

“We’re not mad that you kissed Yoongi, Jungkookie,” Taehyung eventually speaks up. “If the reason you’ve avoided us is because you were scared that we’d be angry at you, then we want you to know that your fears are unfounded.”

The eyes of the youngest are glued to the tabletop and his overgrown hair hides most of his face from their view, but he cocks his head inquisitively, showing that he’s listening.

“On the contrary, hyung and I got really excited when you kissed him.”

That gets Jungkook’s attention, his head snapping up to look back and forth between them incredulously. His eyebrows are furrowed. “But you guys are in a relationship. Shouldn’t you be mad at me for butting in? Isn’t kissing someone else considered cheating?”

“You’re right,” Yoongi agrees. “Taehyung and I are exclusive with each other. But it hasn’t always been just the two of us. We’ve been in a polyamorous relationship before. Do you know what that means?”

Taehyung can see Jungkook’s Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows harshly, before nodding. His eyes are darting between them nervously now, reading their faces as if trying to search for a joke, fearing that they might mock him.

“We’ve never been in an open relationship. We don’t go around kissing or having sex with other people just for fun. But we’re not opposed to having other people join our relationship if we both care about and develop feelings for them. And Jungkook – we’ve both developed feelings for you over the past few weeks.”

Jungkook’s jaw drops. He’s staring at them in disbelieve, and startles when the waitress puts down their orders, not having noticed that she had come back to their table once again. They wait for her to leave before Taehyung takes over.

“We’ve been meaning to talk to you about it after our presentation. We’ve been wanting to ask you out on a date for weeks now, but we’ve decided to wait so that things wouldn’t turn awkward between us before the presentation, should you turn us down.”

The youngest points at himself, not sparing a glance for the coffee he’s ordered. “Me? You wanted to ask me out on a date?”

Yoongi laughs. “Why do you sound so surprised? It’s not like we weren’t flirting with you for weeks already?”

Taehyung can almost see the cogs turning in Jungkook’s brain as he’s trying to take their words in. His eyes keep getting wider than he thought could be possible.

“Are you telling me that you were actually flirting with me?”

“Weren’t we obvious enough?” Taehyung asks teasingly.

“No! I mean yes!” Jungkook stumbles over his words and shakes his head to try and clear his thoughts, his hair flopping around with the movement. “I just thought that it was all in my head. Wishful thinking. Because you guys are a couple. And I didn’t understand why you’d keep flirting with me. I thought it might be because of my crush on you that I imagined things. And then I got scared that I might cause you guys to fight and break up in the unlikely event that you were actually interested in me. And then I kissed hyung and I felt so guilty.”

Jungkook’s face has turned completely red. He’s talking so fast that it’s hard to follow his words, tripping over syllables.

Yoongi reaches out to take his hand across the table, and starts rubbing the back of it with his thumb soothingly. “It must have been confusing for you.”

After having learned the lesson for the first time two years ago, Taehyung once again realizes that conversation is the key to any good relationship. They should have never decided to keep Jungkook in the dark about their intentions for so long, or at least they shouldn’t have flirted with him in the meantime. He hasn’t thought about it before, but Taehyung now sees how his and Yoongi’s actions must have affected Jungkook. If he was in Jungkook’s position, he’d surely feel guilty as well if he was of the impression that he might possibly be the reason for wrecking the relationship of his friends.

“We should have been open with you from the beginning,” Taehyung admits, “or have waited until after the presentation to make any move. Sorry.”

“So you’re really not mad at me for kissing you, hyung?” Jungkook asks once again, just to be sure. Yoongi shakes his head with a soft smile. Taehyung declares loudly that if anything, he’s the mad one for not having received a kiss yet, and that he’s very much in favor of changing that.

“If you’re up for it, we would like to take you on a date, Jungkook-ah,” Yoongi says, and Taehyung’s heart soars at the wide smile that lights up the youngers’ face, nose scrunching up and excitement twinkling in those expressive wide eyes.

“I would love that!”
___

Taehyung wakes up at dawn. The bedroom is still dipped in long shadows, and considering it’s the weekend and that he doesn’t have to get up early, he tries to fall back asleep. He keeps tossing and turning, but to no avail. Although he feels sleepy, he can’t drift back into the land of dreams anymore.

“Would you mind not wriggling around so much, for fucks sake?” a gravelly voice growls, and an arm gets thrown over his torso to stop him from moving. “Some people are trying to sleep here.”

“I can’t sleep anymore.”

“Tough luck.” Taehyung turns his head to look at Yoongi, who’s blinking at him tiredly. He looks grumpy, his default setting when being woken up in the morning. Taehyung loves teasing him in that state, because he tends to get adorably whiny, something he never really does when he’s fully awake. He leans in for a brief kiss. As he pulls away, the other grimaces and retracts his arm quickly, shoving at Taehyung’s shoulder instead. “Ew, get off me. You have morning breath.”

“Don’t be a meanie,” Taehyung pouts at him. “I need lots of affection.” He tries to go in for another kiss, but Yoongi’s hand lands on his face before he can come too close, squishing his cheek and covering his lips, effectively stopping Taehyung from moving any closer.

“You have another boyfriend, go annoy him.”

“Don’t even think about it,” comes the immediate reply from Taehyung’s back. Jungkook’s voice is just as deep and gravelly after sleep as Yoongi’s. Taehyung giggles, and he feels Jungkook’s arm sneak around his waist from behind as the other shuffles closer to spoon him, burying his face in the crook of Taehyung’s neck. His breath tickling Taehyung’s neck makes goosebumps rise on his skin, and he relaxes into the warmth of Jungkook’s body, shivering as the youngest presses a soft kiss to his nape.

“Morning Kook-ah,” Taehyung says quietly, linking his fingers with Jungkook’s where his hand is resting on Taehyung’s stomach, “did you sleep well?”

Jungkook grunts in response, and Taehyung sighs. How did he end up with not one but two boyfriends that tend to be grumpy after waking up? Within minutes Jungkook’s grip on his fingers is getting lax and Yoongi’s breath has also evened out, both telltale signs that his boyfriends have fallen back asleep again. Deciding that lying around is pointless, Taehyung withdraws himself of the clutch of his younger boyfriend and pads to the kitchen barefoot. The floor is cold, which is no surprise for a late January morning, but he can’t be bothered to put on socks. He turns on the radio and starts humming along to the music as he pulls out pots and pans to start on breakfast to surprise his boyfriends with. Jungkook’s one year anniversary with them is approaching soon, but they won’t be able to celebrate properly as it falls right into exam time at university. He’ll make this breakfast his early gift.

Taehyung smiles to himself as he thinks back to this time last year, when they had just started dating the youngest. He had been so shy back then, always questioning whether it was okay to reach for Taehyung’s hand or cuddle up to Yoongi, or to meet up with one of them without the other in fear of the missing person feeling left out. It had been nothing short of endearing, and the initial worries that still lingered in Yoongi and Taehyung’s mind regarding their past with Seoyun were quickly washed away. Jungkook was different, and with every minute they got to spend with him they grew even fonder of the younger, until they officially asked him to become their boyfriend within two months of having started dating. He fits into their relationship like a puzzle piece that they hadn’t even realized was missing.

When Taehyung is done preparing breakfast, the sun has risen and a delicious smell wafts through the small flat. He places everything on the kitchen table and decides that it’s finally time to wake up the two sleepyheads. He almost trips over Jungkook’s open suitcase as he approaches the bed, the clothes in it being meticulously folded. Jungkook still lives at the university dorm, but he’s spending most nights at their flat. They want to officially ask him to move in with them on their anniversary.

Yoongi and Jungkook have shifted in their sleep, having breached the distance of the gap that Taehyung has left behind after getting up. Yoongi is lying on his back, and Jungkook’s head is resting on his shoulder. Taehyung’s heart doubles in size while watching them, wondering to himself how he got so lucky to not only have one but two beautiful boyfriends that love him.