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„Good night!“ He bid Hoseok goodbye, walking into the opposite direction and turning over his shoulder to wave him goodbye before stepping out of sight. Him and Hoseok had been roommates for years now, yet he didn’t even have to inform the elder that he wasn’t going to sleep in his bed for the night.
A distant „Later“ was slipping across the wide hallway before their door fell shut, the shiny flooring empty and quiet underneath the warm ceiling lights. Faint mumbling and the noise of squeaking soles came swapping over from the entrance door, the others having entered one of their shared vans just after Jimin had left the company building, worming their way through the late evening traffic. It was almost 12pm, after all.
Tonight, Jimin aimed for the wooden door at the and of the cream-coloured hallway, dark brown and just as shiny as the floor. He liked the interior, simple yet modern, not too overwhelming when he came home after a stressful day, completely wrecked. It was enough if their packed schedule and the endless, sweatbreaking dance practices and promotional events did that.
The small gap between the door and the floor wasn’t illuminated, so he maybe had fallen asleep. Jimin didn’t want to risk waking him up, already fumbling with his keychain, when he noticed that the door wasn’t even locked.
Rolling his eyes, he softly pressed his hands against the door, sticking his head into the darkness of the room. The boy would leave his ass at the practice room if it wasn’t attached to him. The door opened smoothly, not even being slightly squeaky like the ones at their old dorm. He vaguely remembered waking everyone up when he tried to sneak in with Taehyung after a night out, both of them being pretty boozed. Namjoon had kept on snoring like a racoon and Yoongi had mumbled a swearword in his pillow. Jimin smiled, reminiscing. Good times.
Expensive doors weren’t squeaky.
Glowing faintly through the shutters, the ocean of city lights was throwing soft stripes onto the wall and the bed, where he could recognise a dark hummock of blankets, lifting and lowering slowly and peacefully.
Jimin couldn’t help but to roll his eyes at the sight. He couldn’t even be mad at him, with Jungkook having rather dragged himself through the routines today, his performance less precise than usual.
Finally, their manager had coaxed him to go home and get a good night’s sleep and to be able to continue on the next day for good. And he always either collapsed right on the bed straight away, without even throwing himself a glance in the mirror, or he was glued to his phone for hours, like last night.
Sometimes, Jimin suspected the younger being sloppy on purpose because he liked having his Hyung clean up after him. And he wouldn’t admit it in front of Jungkook, but he didn’t actually mind. It had become natural for him, monitoring the youngest of the team to dutifully do his homework.
If every idol in the country was asked what was the hardest part of the day was, everyone would reply the same way: Get oneself out of bed at any possible time of the day, as well as indulging in a complicated skin care routine before bed, dead tired and sore. Jungkook knew as well as him that looking dewy and fresh was a part of the job.
As quiet as possible, Jimin shut the door after himself, padding over to the chair he always araranged his clothes on when he stayed over. His bomber jacket crinkled slightly as he got rid of it, draping it over the back rest.
Then he stayed frozen still in his position, eyes fixed on Jungkook’s sleeping silhouette, looming even more in front of the white wall now that he had gotten used to the darkness. Apparently, he hadn’t even managed to get out of his shoes. All fours splayed out like a starfish, he was laying there like a fallen warrior on his side of the bed, even breathing fulfilling the room.
Jimin considered pulling them off for him, he did that too, sometimes, when Jungkook was too whiny. He secretely didn’t mind the whining too, but god forbid Jungkook finding out.
Getting rid of his dress shoes, neatly putting them against the edge of the bed, he laid down next to him to stare at the ceiling. But as soon as his head had met the pillow, he heard the sheets directly next to him rustle, followed by an exhausted groan and multiple cracking joints.
As Jimin turned his head to the side, the other was still busy trying to get his eyes to open, a truly difficult endeavour.
„Did I wake you up?“
Jungkook grumbled, strained. „Maybe. What time is it?“ he croaked, voice raspy on his chapped lips. His eyelids were about to close again.
„Almost 12.“
„Oh really? How long did you practise?“
„Until 11-ish. The others are back, too. When did you go to bed?“
Apparently, Jungkook needed some time for his brain to process the question. Screwing up his eyes, he pressed his face into the pillow, as if to go looking for the sleep he was constantly lacking.
„Dunno. I’m super wiped out.“ He said, mumbling against the sheets.
Jimin uttered a restrained laugh. „Your fault if you stay up watching Youtube videos until 5.“
Jungkook’s face emerged from the pillow, his mouth turning into a pout as his cheek pressed against the fabric. He would have loved to take a picture. If they were out in the open, on stage, eager top lease Army with fan service, Jungkook knew exactly what to do to be cute. But he was even cuter when he didn’t even notice it himself.
„I know.“ Jungkook agreed sheepishly, turning away from him and Jimin didn’t have to ask to know what that meant.
Scooting closer, he loosely draped his arm across his torse, locking his leg around his hips, pressing his chest flush against his back. Jungkook’s neck smelled like sweat, drenching the fragrance of his shampoo. His long hair didn’t help it, as the younger had recently let it grow again. Not that Jimin minded. Not at all.
They stayed like that for a while, Jimin only listening to the white noise pressing against his eardrum, along with the distant buzzing of the highway and Jungkook’s heartbeat.
„Don’t you want to take a shower?“ He only managed to extract a groan from the other. Meaning „It’s my problem when I stink.“ Jimin beamed into the darkness.
„You forgot to lock the door again.“ He remarked, rather amused than reproachful.
„Who’s going to enter but you and the others.“ It came mumbling from the other side.
„Who’s gonna lock the door for you when you’re gonna live alone someday. You leave your apartment in Itaewon unlocked, too? Do you want some sasaengs to enter your living room?“
Silence. He knew for a fact that Jungkook was staring away, doe eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, contemplating on what to say next. It had never been hard for Jimin to put him off his stride.
„You can move in with me, so I don’t gotta worry about this.“ A tired laugh rang in his voice.
Yeah, why not. The two of them had been glued together for years now, and Hoseok had stopped asking when Jimin moved to Jungkook’s room for a few days. But who knew how things were going to be like in a few years. Their next comeback was in a few months, with their big scale worldtour being postponed and the shadow of mandatory military service looming above them, but Jimin didn’t want to talk about that now to not destroy the mood.
He knew that Jungkook was a heavy thinker, though he didn’t say it out loud how much it affected him. Moments like these were the most precious for the both of them.
„We’ll see.“ He simply replied.
Then they both said nothing for a while. The dull background noises and Jungkook’s smell and his peaceful breathing were lulling him in, his eyes were close to falling shut, when he suddenly forced them open again, realising that he, too, was still wearing his sweaty dancing clothes.
Freeing himself from Jungkook, who was also close to falling asleep again, sitting up and getting off the bed. The younger didn’t seem to like that at all, scrunching his face into his direction. But Jimin stayed undeterred, rummaging through his washing bag and then walking over to the bathroom door.
„At least get your shoes off!“ He saw Jungkook turning on the back, cracking his tired joints again with a drawn-out groan, before shutting the door.
In their new dorm, every bedroom had it’s own bathroom. He always said „new dorm“, although they were occupying it for over two years now, the difference to their first cramped apartment where they had to share a bedroom quite remarkable.
Everyone had finally gotten their own room, safe for him and Hoseok, who had been insisting on staying together because they were enjoying each other’s company.
The kitchen and the living room were very spacious, much to Jin’s delight, who could now live it up while cooking for the other’s. They still managed to eat together from time to time. Yes, things had truly taken a turn for the better for all of them.
Although every BTS-member had been able to afford an extremely expensive single apartment, they still enjoyed living together despite their shared schedule activities, which hadn’t gotten less as the band had risen to the top. The biggest band in the world, that was what the media said. He couldn’t imagine a life without the other’s. And him and Hoseok sharing a room had become so normal, that he sometimes felt alone when staying at his own place. The dorm had become more of a home to him than any other place in the world.
In the mean time, Jimin had stepped under the shower, turning up the water temperature. Despite them having trained for almost 8 hours today, he had started to freeze outside in the chilly night air, the sweat covering his body having quickly cooled down. But he didn’t keep the water running for long, for he was also dead-tired. After washing his hair, he turned the water off again, stepping out of the spacious glass cabin. Rich people stuff.
He was just about to spread shaving cream on his face, when he saw the door to the bedroom open in the mirror, a tousled curly head scuffing by, eyelids half-closed and eyebrows knit together. If the stylists wouldn’t be taming the thatch when the had to, his hair was really acting up.
Jimin couldn’t help but to tease him a bit. „You look like a woodsman, Jungkookie.“ He earned himself a pinch to the side, snickering.
In the reflection of the mirror, he watched as Jungkook was stripping out of his overly big-sized clothes, and for a moment, he forgot the razor in his hand as the younger bent over to pull down his pants, revealing his bare butt. Jungkook forgot many things, like wearing underwear, but he had always been determined and set on when it came to working out. Not that Jimin minded.
„Very nice of you to wash up. Lying next to you when you haven’t showered isn’t very pleasant.“
„Hmm.“ The shower cabin slurred.
He had taken his toothbrush with him, a habit of times when tiredness was hammering too tightly on his skull. The rushing of the water didn’t even last for 30 seconds, before Jungkook stepped into view again, throwing on a bath robe. Joining Jimin at the sink, he opened his hand as the older was set on slathering his face with cleansing foam, passing him the bottle.
„Don’t you want to shave as well?“
„In the morning.“ He replied while spreading the gel onto his palms, covering his face in white foam.
They were sharing most of Jungkook’s skincare products when Jimin was staying over. Jimin was using a plethora of products for himself, being very meticulous when it came to his looks, even more so over the past few years in contrary to Jungkook. The younger had a very limited nightroutine. He only went for cleansing foam an some kind of cream, leaving the rest up to the make-up team before a performance or a photoshoot.
And if Jimin was being honest, for Jungkook’s standards, that was more than enough. Jungkook was always good-looking, had already been when they first met at 15 and 17. That was over 7 years ago.
„I’ll wake you up.“ He said, more to his reflection than to the overtired curly head, a naturalness. And it had become natural for them, over time, because Jungkook had never demanded Jimin’s monitoring and Jimin had never forced it on Jungkook. They could always rely on each other, waking up in the morning being one of those things where Jimin took care of the younger, said one having left the bathroom due to his routine taking much less time.
After finishing up and having brushed his teeth himself, Jimin left the bathroom, turning off the lights and making a beeline for Jungkook’s closet, picking a random shirt in the darkness and throwing it over his boxers.
This time, Jungkook was facing him from his side on the wall, holding up the blanket. Usually, Jimin liked being the big spoon and Jungkook let him, but he also liked falling asleep in the younger’s arms.
He crawled underneath the blanket, moving around until he found a postition that was comfortable, his back pressed against Jungkook’s chest. Promptly, Jungkook pulled him even closer, gently stroking his thumb across his arm.
Those nights were the best.
„Were the others mad at me for leaving earlier?“ he suddenly blurted.
„No, everything’s okay. They might have guessed that you pulled an all-nighter again. And you did a decent job today, so it’s fine.“
Jungkook pressed his chin against his shoulder blade, deliberate.
„I’ll make it up tomorrow and work twice as hard.“ He still mumbled, pondering. Jimin tried to console him, squeezing his upper arm with his short fingers, reassuring him that everything was alright. Especially now. It was quiet and they were in bed, together. In moments like these it was all good in the world.
„Good night, Jimin-ssi.“ He pressed a kiss to his nape before letting his head sink back into the pillow.
„Night, Jungkookie.“