Work Text:
Yoongi is not having a good night.
From the first moment he struggled out of bed this morning, his day has slowly but steadily tumbled downhill. Halloween is just around the corner, so the weather is crisp and excitement is in the air. Today’s shift at his minimum wage job was long and boring, filled with annoying customers and tedious work that made Yoongi want to pull his hair out. After missing his usual train ride home, he was stuck on the next available train with what felt like the entire population of Seoul packed into one train car. Yoongi spent the whole ride with a sweaty man pressed tightly against his right side and a crying child wailing on his left, silently praying that his stop was next—or that lightning would simply strike him down and end his suffering. His day had been absolutely miserable, and pathetic, and all other negative adjectives he could think of on his train ride home. Yoongi is just eager to curl up on the couch and watch bad movies with Namjoon to make himself feel better.
But because the universe is actively working against him, Namjoon is missing and everything is quiet when Yoongi trudges up three flights of stairs to their shared apartment. On the fridge, he finds a hastily written note in Namjoon’s scrawled handwriting that says his roommate is on a date with Seokjin and won’t be home until later. He tries his best to ignore the don’t wait up ;) on the bottom of the page.
All Yoongi needs is a little bit of sympathy. Instead, all he gets is an empty house and no outlet for his frustrations. Traitor.
And because he’s an adult and can do whatever he wants, Yoongi settles down on the couch with a nice drink to take the edge off his already difficult day. He’s comfortably wearing the tiny pajama shorts that Namjoon gave him as a joke last Christmas that say Classy, Sassy, and a Little Smart Assy on the back in loopy cursive. Yoongi likes to pretend he hates the gift but the shorts are just so damn comfortable he can’t pass up the opportunity to wear them sometimes. His pink shorts are offset by his black (and alarmingly oversized) t-shirt that simply says Bite Me . It’s a comfy night for Yoongi and he’s ready to drown his sorrows in alcohol and bad reality television. One glass turns to another, and another, and soon Yoongi is a mess of feelings and emotions.
By ten o’clock, he’s already feeling the effects of too much alcohol, but he’s already too deep to care. After his sixth consecutive episode of Dance Moms , Yoongi pauses the television to scroll through his Instagram feed instead. He scrolls past a girl from high school that he hasn’t talked to in years, a celebrity posting about a new product, a few outdated memes—until he sees it.
It’s a new picture posted by Yoongi’s kinda-sorta-friend-with-benefits, Jung Hoseok. The two of them have been fooling around on and off since their sophomore year of college when the two of them met at a crowded frat party and instantly hit it off. They decided to mutually keep things casual by taking the necessary precautions, but Yoongi has never been very good about following the rules. He’s been painfully pining over Hoseok like some stupid middle schooler practically since their arrangement began almost three years ago. But he always ignores the stabbing pain in his chest when Hoseok leaves each morning calling him “bro” and “dude” as if they hadn’t been doing some pretty intimate things the night before (or sometimes even that morning). He ignores the way his throat tightens when Hoseok talks about the new girl in his dance class, attempting to choke out a supportive reply despite the way his heart constricts. They’ve always kept things casual and friendly, even though Yoongi has almost always wanted something more.
After finally accepting his overwhelming feelings for his casual hook-up, Yoongi decided the best thing he could do for his aching heart was purge his entire life of Hoseok’s existence for the time being. Maybe some distance would do his heart some good—out of sight, out of mind. Without Hoseok, Yoongi remembers thinking, maybe I’ll be able to forget these stupid feelings and move on to someone who’s actually looking for a serious relationship.
Hoseok had texted a few times asking to hook up and trying to check up on him, sometimes sending memes to make Yoongi laugh. But Yoongi always made excuses to avoid any further emotional turmoil for the time being. And he was almost succeeding…
...until he stumbled across Hoseok’s newest post from some random pre-Halloween party.
Yoongi immediately stops scrolling when he sees it. On his screen, there's a picture of Hoseok beaming at the camera with a petite girl wrapped up in his strong arms. The girl is kissing his cheek, her manicured hands cupping his face delicately as she leans in. They’re dressed as Danny and Sandy from the movie Grease, clad in skintight leather from head to toe that makes Hoseok look so good. They look nice together. Yoongi’s eyes are too blurry with tears to read the caption, but he catches the words “ love you” in the comments and immediately shuts off his phone. He attempts to wipe the tears from his eyes but they keep coming no matter how hard he tries. Why is the Instagram algorithm trying to fuck with his emotions at a time like this?
It’s infuriating, Yoongi thinks. He’s sitting at home crying and heartbroken because he’s secretly been in love with the guy he’s been hooking up with for almost three years. He’s emotionally invested even though he promised he wouldn’t be. Right now, Hoseok is probably out somewhere living his life, thoughts of Yoongi and their time together forgotten. To him, Yoongi will always be a casual hookup that he can call whenever he’s feeling lonely or bored.
Namjoon should’ve known better than to leave him alone at a time like this. When Yoongi is left to drink by himself, he (unsurprisingly) tends to find himself in less than ideal situations. After his most famous attack of “Drunk Yoongi Syndrome,” he ended up in a mall jail wearing a woman’s dress. Luckily, it hasn’t spiraled to a disaster of that caliber yet tonight, but it’s only a matter of time before he starts making poor decisions.
Maybe if he calls Namjoon and begs him to come home, he’ll come to Yoongi’s rescue and give him the support and cuddles that he deserves. Don’t be a cockblock , the voice in his head chides, but Yoongi is too drunk and sad to listen. Before he knows it, he’s going to the “Favorites” section in his contacts and fumbling to click the top name. It rings for a little while, long enough for drunk-Yoongi to almost forget he’s on the phone, but the distinct beep of the message machine brings him back to reality and the task at hand.
“Namjoon,” he slurs out, pressing the phone tightly to his ear, “Joon, I’m home alone and reeeally drunk right now. Today was an absolute shitshow at work and I just saw a picture of Hobi and some girl and I don’t know how much more I can take. It’s so fucking stupid of me to be in love with a goddamn hookup, but I can’t stop. Joonie, I love him so much that it hurts sometimes—like actually hurts my chest and shit. And that’s why it’s always so shitty when he talks about other girls and stuff. But for some dumbass reason, I always listen. Why do I listen?”
Yoongi sniffles, curling up further into his blanket cocoon. “But I guess he doesn’t know any of this and he never will, so I should probably just get over him. Gotta get over his face, and his smile, and his mouth—oh god. Is that what I should do? Maybe I should just try to get over Hoseok and find someone else who thinks of me as more than a casual fuck.”
He takes another moment to pause, blinking tears away from his eyes and taking a deep breath. He can hear his heavy breathing echoing in the receiver. “...Joon I’m really drunk right now because I’m sad about Hoseok, so please come home and watch dumb nature documentaries with me...also tell Jin-hyung that I say hi and I’m sorry. Okay, bye.”
With shaking hands, Yoongi presses the End Call button and tosses his phone across the room to keep it as far away from himself as possible. Stupid social media showing him posts from his stupid unrequited crush with stupidly beautiful girls. Yoongi knows deep down that he can’t compete with them. He turns on a nature documentary to distract himself as he snuggles deeper into the couch, prepared to wallow in his sadness until Namjoon hopefully comes home to keep him company. A part of him feels bad for interrupting his best friend’s date night, but he also knows Namjoon will understand. They always have each other’s backs no matter what, which is why Yoongi loves him so much.
Yoongi isn’t sure how much time has passed since his drunken phone call, but before he knows it, he hears a rough knock at the front door of his apartment. He’s startled but doesn’t move from his spot, feeling too dejected to move his limbs. Plus, Namjoon doesn’t need him to open the door for him anyway—Yoongi thinks it’s safe to assume that his roommate has a key to their own goddamn apartment.
Or maybe he doesn’t, Yoongi wonders as the insistent knocking continues, getting more and more frantic as each second passes. Yoongi groans, wrapping his comfy blanket around his shoulders and slumping towards the door. His alcoholic buzz from earlier has mostly worn off, leaving his brain feeling sluggish and exhausted. Damn, his head hurts and this knocking isn’t helping. What the hell, Namjoon?
He opens the door quickly, rolling his eyes and preparing to scold his roommate for losing his key so carelessly. “Joon, what the hell? I’m glad you’re finally home, but can you please—oh.”
As he peers through the doorway and his eyes adjust to the fluorescent lighting of the hallway, Yoongi sucks in a shaky breath.
That is not Namjoon.
Standing outside on his doorstep, soaking wet from the rain outside and holding a wilted bouquet of red roses is Hoseok . His dark hair is matted down and sticking to his forehead. Yoongi’s wide eyes study him in astonishment, taking a moment to process that Hoseok is still wearing his stupid leather Danny Zuko Halloween costume from that Instagram post and is actually standing on his front doorstep in the rain.
“Hoseok? What—”
Before Yoongi can say anything else, Hoseok is stepping forward to interrupt him with wide eyes. “ Please don’t get over me.”
Yoongi has already sobered up for the most part, but seeing Hoseok on his doorstep makes him feel so disoriented that he might black out. His knees shake, his heart races, and his brain feels cloudy as he looks into Hoseok’s pleading eyes.
He’s just as attractive as I remember, Yoongi’s brain helpfully supplies. Even if he’s soaking wet and terrified.
Once his brain finally catches up with reality, Yoongi eloquently forms a proper response to Hoseok. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I said,” Hoseok emphasizes as he offers the soggy roses to Yoongi, “please don’t get over me. I’m sorry it seemed like I was only into you for the sex. Even though it’s always been incredible, I’ve been interested in you this whole time—all of you, hyung.”
Yoongi blinks back at him in shock, mouth falling open and heart hammering in his chest. “I must be too drunk for this.” He mutters quietly to himself, shaking his head. He closes his eyes tightly before opening them once again, but Hoseok is still there on his doorstep.
Before he can process the reality in front of him, Hoseok continues to power through his well-rehearsed speech. “Yoongi-hyung, I know I may not seem like proper boyfriend material, but I can promise you that I will do whatever it takes to make you happy. I thought you only wanted something casual, so despite my feelings, I decided to continue that charade to make you happy. But now that I know how you feel about me, I’m ready to—”
Pause. Yoongi prays that he’s drunker than he realizes because it almost sounded like Hoseok just said “now that I know how you feel about me.”
How could he possibly know that?
Yoongi echoes this sentiment. “How could you possibly know that.”
“About that, hyung…” Hoseok pauses, suddenly looking sheepish. “I know you meant to send that voicemail to Namjoon, but I think you clicked my name by mistake and I’m very glad you did because—”
The other boy is rambling again and Yoongi wishes that the ground would just swallow him whole. Immediately. He can’t believe that he accidentally sent a voicemail confessing his love for Hoseok…to Hoseok. This has got to be one of the most humiliating things to ever happen to him. “Oh god.”
“Yoongi-hyung,” Hoseok insists, stepping forward until the two of them are practically nose-to-nose, “I really like you a lot. I have for a while now. If you want me to leave, that’s fine—but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to tell you.”
Finally, the weight of Hoseok’s words and actions seem to resonate within Yoongi’s chest. The younger had presumably sprinted all the way to Yoongi’s apartment in the pouring rain, carrying soggy flowers and practicing his honest love confession over and over again in his head. Yoongi has loved him for so long that this moment almost seems unreal—like another one of his drunken hallucinations. Is his stomach flip-flopping because of alcohol consumption or because of the swirling emotions in his chest?
The situation makes Yoongi feel positively giddy. Before he can help it, a couple of stray giggles escape past his lips until he’s full-on laughing, wild and carefree. Hoseok looks momentarily horrified, thinking that Yoongi might be laughing at his heartfelt confession. But all the tension is immediately alleviated as the elder pulls him into a tight hug. Hoseok can’t help but laugh too, eyes shining at the absurdity of their situation and how happy Yoongi makes him feel.
Once his giggles subside, Yoongi stares up at Hoseok with a stupid smile on his face. Hoseok’s arms are wrapped comfortably around his waist and the elder wants them to stay there forever. “I can’t believe that is how I told you I’m in love with you.”
“Neither can I.” Hoseok murmurs, pressing his forehead to Yoongi’s and closing his eyes. He tries to commit this moment to memory, storing it in his head for the rest of his life. “But for what it’s worth, I’m soaking wet and completely in love with you too.”
“Then kiss me, idiot.” Yoongi prompts, staring up at Hoseok with a smug little grin on his face. And how is anyone supposed to resist that?
This kiss feels much different than all the others they’ve previously shared. Maybe it’s the butterflies swirling around in Hoseok’s stomach or the way that Yoongi smiles into the kiss, but the younger finds himself almost instantly addicted. Yoongi doesn’t even seem to mind that Hoseok’s leather jacket is dripping onto their doormat.
Hoseok pulls away first and grins widely at Yoongi, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt. He feels like he just won the lottery.
The younger's eyes rake down his body slowly, admiring the disheveled pajama shirt and crumpled blanket on the floor. “You’re wearing my favorite shorts.” He teases.
Yoongi flushes bright red, pulling down his shirt to cover the cursive writing across his ass. “Shut it.”
Hoseok laughs loudly, most likely disturbing Yoongi’s neighbors on either side of the apartment. “I know I’m not Namjoon, but I still wouldn’t mind watching a dumb nature documentary with you.”
Yoongi hums, pretending to consider his offer thoroughly. Watching nature documentaries with the man he’s been in love with for three years? Doesn’t sound like the worst way to spend his night. “Alright, fine. But you’re getting the scratchy woolen blanket Namjoon made during his knitting phase.”
Hoseok groans childishly. “You know I hate that one! It makes me feel itchy all over.”
He pouts and rolls his eyes, allowing himself to be dragged towards Yoongi’s room for a change of clothes. In reality, he knows he would take any blanket possible—being here with Yoongi after finally expressing his feelings is enough. He’ll be scratchy any day, as long as Yoongi knows how much Hoseok loves him.
In the end, neither of them ends up using Namjoon’s itchy blanket. Before the opening sequence of the documentary even finishes, they’re practically wrapped around each other under Yoongi’s cozy comforter. Hoseok starts to play with his hair gently and Yoongi hums in response, cuddling even closer. Neither of them really remember the rest of the documentary either, far too wrapped up in each other to even notice the powerful migration of the wildebeest.
When Namjoon finds the two of them snuggled up on the couch together the next morning, a tangle of limbs wildly sticking out of the comforter at different angles, the only thing he can say is “...what the hell.”