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The door slams shut, causing Yoongi to flinch.
Fuck. Seokjin is pissed this time.
“Take a deep breath,” Hoseok tells his husband, giving Seokjin a gentle squeeze on his shoulder.
“You three…you put us at immense risk,” Seokjin starts, his eyes glued to the table in front of him. “It’s been three years since we found each other. Three years since the world turned upside down and somehow, despite having years to learn how to keep yourself safe and keep everyone around you safe, you three are still fucking idiots!”
“Jin, I’m sorry. I never -” Jungkook starts before Seokjin cuts him off.
“There is no way that the end of your sentence is going to make me any less angry, Jungkook. So please. Keep it to yourself.”
Jungkook’s eyes go wide as he nods and visibly deflates.
Yoongi understands why Seokjin is angry. The kids were fucking around and a horde got a little too close for comfort. Shit happens. Except they lost two backpacks worth of medical supplies in the rush to safely evacuate from whatever mall they were in. That was something the entire group would have to deal with, a repercussion that they would all feel in the coming months.
Yoongi watches as Seokjin takes a few deep breaths before he finally looks up at the three distracted offenders.
“We can’t slip into comfort. Not out there. Not in here. Not ever. We’re not safe. We’re never safe. We’ve all let our guards down before, but please. Not while we’re on a scouting trip. We could have lost even more than medical supplies; we could have lost three absolutely irreplaceable morons that we all love very much. So please please please, when we leave this small, somewhat-safe haven, guards up. Don’t get distracted by some silly Pokemon plushy.”
The three youngest members of the group all nod theirs head in unison, fully aware of their actions and that the consequences could have been much worse.
A few hours later, as the sun starts to set, Yoongi finds himself alone in his favorite spot. Perched on the small ledge of a billboard atop the building they’ve been calling home, he has a great view of everything around him. The city is quiet, desolate, calm. It’s been this way for almost a year now. There are very few hordes around, which is exactly why Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook felt it was okay to distract themselves earlier in the day. In fact, they hadn’t encountered a horde in nearly three months. Not that he’s excusing their behavior, but he understands it. What Seokjin doesn’t know about today is that Yoongi also found himself distracted. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out his small treasure. A tiny bonsai tree. It was perched on a ledge in an abandoned apartment building that neighbored the mall and Yoongi had been eyeing it for a while now. It was the perfect gift. Now he just had to muster the courage to actually give it to his intended recipient, something he wasn’t sure he could do.
He was in the middle of surveying the alleys and roads behind their building when he heard a noise that made his heart jump into his chest. He quickly reached into his backpack and pulled out his machete, ready to strike down whatever had startled him so.
“Put that thing away,” Namjoon’s melodic voice chuckles as his hand comes into view, grabbing at the final rung in the rickety ladder that led to Yoongi’s quiet spot.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Namjoon. You scared the shit out of me.” Yoongi nervously chuckles, putting his machete back into his backpack.
“You really need to get a sleeve for that thing,” Namjoon tells him as he places two cans of paint down next to Yoongi. Yoongi just laughs as he walks to the end of the small ledge and grabs the ladder, bringing it back to Namjoon. He sits and watches in silence as Namjoon paints over the barely faded white letters that they plastered on the billboard just over twelve months ago.
SEVEN SURVIVORS
NONE INFECTED
ALL VACCINATED
PLEASE HELP
It takes Namjoon a little over an hour to refresh the sign, something he does every three weeks or so. He uses the second can of paint, black, to paint over the date from the last refresh and once he’s finished, sits down next to Yoongi.
“Now to let that dry.”
“Have you ever thought to do that part first? Then you’d have to spend less time sitting up here with me and more time inside, playing Uno with Hoseok.”
“I like sitting up here with you,” Namjoon replies, his cheeks dusting pink. “It’s quiet and comfortable.”
Yoongi bites his lip and swings his legs over the edge as he attempts to muster up some courage. “Hey Joonie?”
“Yeah?” Namjoon replies, his eyes glued to the clear night sky.
“Happy Birthday,” Yoongi says quietly as he nervously pushes the bonsai into Namjoon’s hand.
Namjoon looks at the small green tree and doesn’t say anything for a few moments, causing Yoongi to wonder if it was too much. Or somehow…not enough.
“Yoongi…I…she’s beautiful.”
“Yeah?”
“She’s the one in those apartments near the mall, right?”
“Yeah. I saw her a few weeks ago and figured she needed someone to take care of her. Who better than you?”
Namjoon chuckles quietly. “You’re so thoughtful and…wow. She’s perfect. Thank you.”
“No problem,” Yoongi replies quietly, hoping Namjoon won’t look at him and notice his red cheeks.
“Everything is so…fucked up. How did we happen to be here when all this shit went down? We could have been in almost any other country and be living a practically normal life. Instead, we’re here. In Los Angeles. In America. A place that none of us decided on. Hell, Seokjin, Taehyung, and Jimin were hours away from flying back to South Korea and being semi-normal people. Instead, the universe said ‘oh let’s just fuck everyone over instead.’ It’s not fair,” Namjoon monologues, shifting his body to look at Yoongi. “I’m glad I met you all. I am. Especially you. There are a few good things that came about this stupid plague. My best friend and your brother found love with this small group of fucking Korean idols that just happened to get stranded in the same hotel as the rest of us. I found five lifelong friendships. But I also found you. Min Yoongi. A man I was too nervous to say hi to for the two years we worked together but who took charge once shit went down. And you found me. Made me realize that, despite everything going to shit and the entire country falling to some ridiculous mutation that could have been avoided if people had just gotten vaccinated, happiness can still be found in the darkest of places.”
“You fucking nerd,” Yoongi laughs, gently shouldering Namjoon.
“It’s a good quote.”
“I’m glad I found you too. Jungkook was always teasing me about you. ‘Hoseok caught Namjoon staring at you again. Just say hi to him already!’ But I couldn’t. How could I? Look at you! You’re all blinding smiles and muscles and sincerity for days and I’m just a guy who rapped on the weekends in tiny, underground venues.”
“Agust D,” Namjoon remembers with a smile, trying hard not to actually pass away from Yoongi’s almost nonchalant compliments.
Yoongi groans the moment he hears his old stage name. “You knew?”
“Knew? Yoongi, you dork, I was up there too.”
“No fucking way!”
“I thought you knew and just decided to pretend it never happened.”
“I had no idea! Who the fuck were you?”
“Rap Monster,” Namjoon replies as he cringes, a smile breaking out across his face when he hears Yoongi laugh loudly.
“OF COURSE THAT WAS YOU!” Yoongi laughs before clamping his hand over his mouth to quiet himself. “You were so fucking good.”
“Not really,” Namjoon blushes.
“Are you fucking kidding me? You did a set just a week before the outbreak and I told Jungkook that I’d give anything to get fucked by Rap Monster. Your lyrics are so fucking amazing and smart and there is so much fucking genius behind them. The number of times I got hard just - oh.” Namjoon bursts into laughter as he watches Yoongi shrink a little, realizing exactly it was that he had just said. “Pretend you didn’t hear that.”
“I could never,” Namjoon explains. “My thoughts about Agust D and about Min Yoongi often drift into X-rated content.”
Yoongi, too nervous to look up, cautiously places his hand over Namjoon’s. “Really?”
“You’re so dense, Min Yoongi.” A moment later, Namjoon’s lips are on Yoongi’s cheek.
“I really didn’t know you were Rap Monster. I never - you’re so calm and quiet.”
“I only knew you were Agust D because Jungkook let it slip to me one day while we were on break together. I was fangirling over you and Jungkook just pops out with ‘if you love him so much, just go ask him on a fucking date. He works the front desk.’ I was never again the same man.”
“I’d ask you on a date, but we can’t go anywhere we haven’t already been to a hundred times and we can’t go just the two of us.”
“I’ll accept your date invite and pretend I didn’t choose to paint this stupid billboard on your nights only.”
“Suave.”
After a few moments of silence, Yoongi finally speaks up. “What if this goes sour? Us?”
“We’re adults. It’ll be okay. But, if we’re lucky, and I like to think we are, I think we’ll work out even better than Taehyung, Jungkook, and JImin.”
“Those three fucking idiots,” Yoongi laughs, squeezing Namjoon’s hand.
“Best birthday ever,” Namjoon whispers a few hours later as he lays in his cot, his hand still intertwined with Yoongi’s, who has moved his cot next to Namjoon’s.