Archive of Our Own

1. Sun & Moon | Namjoon

To Namjoon, Taehyung and Yoongi are like the Sun and the Moon.

Two celestial bodies deemed as opposites, constantly clashing but who, yet, occasionally meet in the middle. 

And like anyone would, Namjoon admires and lives for these moments. These instants during which they reach each other, momentarily becoming one. Every time it happens, he looks up and watches silently.

Keeping track and turning his mind into a calendar of solar and lunar eclipses.

He notes down every praise Taehyung directs at Yoongi, every word of encouragement the older frames to the younger, the peculiarly shaped smiles they let take over when close to each other, the unswerving attention from the taller and the soft and fond eyes from the shorter.

And of course, every time their hands meet, palms pressed together, fingers interlacing, ever since Yoongi made the infamous rule back in Hawaii.

Now, a few years have passed, the margins of Namjoon’s mind overflow with notes about the two boys, and he’s speaking about something that fills many pages of his mind and the books on his shelves.

“Well it depends on the type and size of the tree, as well as the type of soil you use, I water mine once a day for example. The best is to check the soil daily and water when it seems dry,” he says as he sprays his bonsai, occasionally stopping to carefully inspect it. The tree looks healthy and Namjoon smiles blissfully. His hands might be known to break things, but he can also make them grow with patience, care and love. His plants stand strong and lusty every day to remind him and make his chest swell with pride. He looks up from the bonsai, refocusing on the person he’s speaking with. “Why? You’re planning on getting one?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” Taehyung says in a shrug.

“Well if you do, know that taking care of a tree isn’t something to be taken lightly. You’ll have to learn about soils and fertilizers and how to repot and prune. But I have many books you can borrow and I can always teach and help you myself. Oh! And you also have to know bonsais love sunlight that’s why I keep mine in the living room but your room is facing south so it’s perfect. It would look so pretty there, right next to your Alexander Calder sculpture,” Namjoon chirps, too excited by the prospect of one of the boys taking a liking to something that passions him so much and being able to share that with them.

A big foolish smile is plastered on his face, his dimples digging deep in his cheeks, and maybe he should be self-conscious about it, but the endeared look on Taehyung’s own face dusts that thought away.

“Then I’ll definitely get one hyung. I’ll even call it Namu!”

“Oh god, please don’t!” 

They giggle a bit childishly until the sound of a pen frenetically crossing out words on paper, mixed with a grunt, is heard. They both turn around toward a frowning and pouting Yoongi. He had been sitting cross-legged on the carpet, trying to write some lyrics down for about an hour now, and it’s the first time since then that Namjoon hears as much as a sound coming from him. 

Their giggling subsides, and Namjoon gets back to his bonsai’s inspection, not missing from the corner of his eyes how Taehyung turns his entire body to Yoongi, eyeing him with big curious eyes. 

“Why don’t you write a song about your stone?” 

“My stone?” The older replies, a little dumbfounded and Namjoon frowns, equally confused. 

“You always say you want to be a stone in your next life, well, I think you should write about that stone. About what kind of stone you would be because, it wouldn’t be any stone I’m sure, it would be special,” Taehyung explains, and maybe, that’s a very Taehyung thing to say. 

What kind of stone would Yoongi be? Namjoon is sure Yoongi himself never thought about it, maybe didn’t even mean it when he said he’d like to be one. No, only Taehyung would’ve thought of such details because, to him, they are important. Because Tae never asks or thinks just for the sake of it, he does because it matters. 

“After all, it would still be you,” Taehyung finishes.

Silence follows. And Namjoon smiles through it, as he doesn’t need to turn around to know the other rapper has a blush creeping on his cheeks and his mouth agape, closing and opening it in search of the right words to object. 

“Well, I might be a special stone, although I don’t think I would be more special than a strange colored pebble you notice briefly but still walk past, but if you were a stone, you’d be the fucking statue of David.” 

At that, Namjoon straightens up and turns around. Taehyung is the one frowning now.

“First of all, stop self-deprecating. I’m telling you you’d be a special stone. That’s a fact, no place for debate. And second of all, the statue of David? Wha- how? Why?” 

“Because,” the older declares before turning back to his notebook.

“I’m sorry hyung but that’s not an answer. You just compared me to the statue of David so I think I can ask for some explanations.”

“Well you said it yourself, even if it’s a stone, the stone would still be you.”

“That still doesn’t explain why?” Taehyung insists and Namjoon wants to agree, but a loud sigh coming from Yoongi stops him.

“Forget it. All I’m saying is that you’d be a more unique stone than me,” he mumbles, still looking at the scribbled pages in front of him.

“Absolutely not.”

“Yes, you would.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Okay, give me your hand,” Yoongi demands with his left hand outstretched to the younger.

“What?”

“We’re disagreeing so hold my hand.”

Taehyung seems to be too stunned to speak, eyes repeatedly blinking, probably trying to process what the fuck is happening. “That’s ridiculous,” he sighs with a shake of his head, and Namjoon wants to agree to that too. 

He thinks that Yoongi asking Taehyung to hold his hand because they were arguing on which one of them would be a more special stone than the other is the stupidest thing he’s ever witnessed. But then, he understands. 

Taehyung is lying on his side on the couch, just behind Yoongi, still cross-legged on the carpet. He’s looking past the rapper’s left shoulder at the words he writes down on the paper. On the same shoulder lay their hands. It doesn’t take long for Namjoon to notice, his eyes following the curve of Yoongi’s pale bent elbow up to his left hand or Taehyung’s tan long arm down to his right hand. No matter the trail his eyes choose to take, they always end up on the shoulder, where both their fingers interlace. 

Gold against silver. Namjoon understands. There’s an eclipse in the living room.

He notes it down, remarks that they seem to be more frequent with time but remains silent.

2. Planets | Jungkook

In Jungkook’s big doe eyes, Taehyung and Yoongi are planets.

So different and so far. Two worlds whose path shouldn’t cross but yet gravitate around the same star.

If the outside world only looks up at the sky and sees distinct colors and what differs, Jungkook had taken his telescope and studied up close. He had learned about the care and love they both hold inside, the unwavering passion that pushes them into tomorrow, the doubts and thoughts which freeze them sometimes and their deep desire to just take away one’s sorrow.

He had studied enough to know that, like all objects in the universe, planets are attracted to each other by the force of gravity. But if Taehyung and Yoongi are planets, they must be breaking the laws of physics because this gravitational attraction is getting harder to ignore day by day.

And Jungkook is left watching, feeling like he’s missing something, like right now.

They are all gathered in the living room. Since their schedule is cleared for the following day, they decided to organize a movie night in the dorm. It took some bickering from Jin and Jungkook and a few scrolls to past conversations to establish whose turn to choose the movie it was. And after getting a popcorn bag burnt because of Namjoon and knocking a lamp on the floor because of a stack of blankets carried by Hoseok — which caused him to lose his place on the couch, they’re sitting in front of a rom-com chosen by Jimin.

Not the best choice if you ask Jungkook, who keeps looking away every five minutes, unable to focus on the plot. When he realizes they’re only halfway through the movie and a character he’s never seen before appears on screen like he’s been there all along, he gives up. Limbs stretching and stray eyes looking around the dimly lit room, he sees it.

In the huddle of bodies sitting on the couch, he can decipher, thanks to the blue light cast by the TV, Yoongi and Taehyung, closer than ever. The shorter man’s bent leg resting on Taehyung’s lap while the latter’s hand holds it by the thigh.

He sees it but doesn’t overthink it. They are used to being clingy with each other all the time, especially when they are squished on the couch. Sure, Yoongi usually isn’t the first to indulge in it but that doesn’t mean anything.

What does though, is when Yoongi’s hand starts to play with Taehyung’s fingers, soft touches over the other’s knuckles and little pokes at his manicured nails. The fingers shivering slightly under his ministrations, a light squeeze on the older man’s thigh.

It was a small gesture, one that could have been missed in the dark if you weren’t looking for it, and Jungkook thinks for a moment that he imagined it. He tries to look around and check if someone else saw it, but Jimin and Jin, on the other side of the couch, are too focused on the movie to notice anything. Namjoon is already fast asleep next to him and Hoseok, who sits on the floor after the lamp incident, has their feet on his back and couldn’t see anything even if he wanted to.

So Jungkook shakes his head and tries to concentrate back on the TV screen, although he knows it’s a lost cause.

If the plot itself wasn’t enough to get him to concentrate, he definitely can’t now that his mind keeps telling him he’s missing something.

Maybe Taehyung and Yoongi’s gravitational pull resides in their hands. Maybe he should open his textbooks, take his telescope and study some more. Maybe he should ask Newton himself, but he remains silent. 

3. Earth & Moon | Jimin

If Namjoon believes Taehyung and Yoongi to be the Sun and Moon, they are the Moon and Earth to Jimin.

Like the Moon affects the Earth’s tides, pulling and pushing the ocean’s shores, Yoongi affects Taehyung’s emotions. No prediction can be made. No tide clock can be used. Jimin can only watch and prepare himself to be ready at all times, for when Yoongi makes Taehyung fall or rise.

That’s what he’s been doing since the start. 

Yoongi was still used to being alone and full of doubts, so before they even tried, he confessed to their leader that they were doomed to fail because of Jin’s weak dance skills, Jungkook’s young age, Taehyung’s lack of seriousness… And the latter, although he shouldn’t have, heard it all. Yoongi didn’t mean any of it. The anxiety was talking, not him. But Jimin still found Taehyung in the studio or the dance practice room during the weeks that followed, working on his voice until he couldn’t speak or his dance moves until his body ached. 

Then Yoongi learned. He grew and listened. They all had their own solo on the new album, and Taehyung worked hard. He asked for help on lyrics almost no one knew the meaning behind, he focused on how to deliver each word on the track, and before his hands started to shake, he brought the demo to Yoongi. And Yoongi listened. He listened and complimented with a soft voice and proud eyes. Later, Jimin listened too. Not to the song, he already knew it, but to Taehyung’s dreams, hopes and pounding heart, with a bitterness he didn’t voice.

They’re always stuck between sweet and bitter. Yoongi let himself be filled with the stress and anxiety of deadlines. A flow of stinging words left his mouth, pained eyes swelled up, his studio’s door was slammed shut, and someone was left walking back to the dorm alone in the cold night. He didn’t mean any of it, once again. But Taehyung means everything he says, so that night, Jimin held him close while he cried because he was hurt, because it hurts and he’s so tired.

Time passes, the dorm’s front door opens, the sound of paper rustling echoes in the hallway, a coat is being hung and shoes are carelessly taken off. 

Jimin hears someone place something on the dining table with a huff and turns away from the coffee maker he’d been lazily staring at. The white noise it produces rocks him softly. Standing at the end of the table is Yoongi, eyeing the big paper bag he just placed on the polished wood. 

“Hi hyung,” Jimin waves tiredly.

“Hi,” the older responds with a pinched smile. 

He scrutinizes every fold and crease on the craft paper, balancing his weight from one leg to the other. He’s obviously nervous, and Jimin remembers how he left hastily after their dance practice, mumbling that he had something important to do. Knowing he’s usually the first to seek the comfort of their apartment after they worked their bodies tirelessly, if whatever is inside the bag is what made him go out  —without even taking a shower, then saying Jimin’s curiosity is piqued would be an understatement.

Just as he is about to ask him what’s inside, the rapper speaks first, “Do you know where Taehyung is?”

“Right here,” Taehyung replies as he walks in the room, fresh out of the shower.

There are wet strands of hair that keep dripping in front of his eyes and in a swift motion of his hand, they’re put backward. Although he turns around to get his cup of coffee, Jimin doesn’t miss the way Yoongi gulps. Probably because of his, still uncalled for, trepidation.

Jimin turns the machine off. “Why were you looking for me hyung?” his friend questions behind him.

“I, um, well I wanted to give you this,” the other falters. 

Jimin takes the sugar. The sound of paper rustling is loud again and a gasp escapes. 

When Jimin turns back around, Yoongi is holding out a lush bonsai tree that Taehyung admires with sparkly eyes, “It’s a chinese elm. The woman in the store told me they are the easiest kind of tree to take care of and you know since it’s your first one, I just thought it was better to start with that,” he slurs, both of his hands gripping at the pretty ceramic pot, “Don’t ask why I bought it for you, I just walked past a little bonsai shop in Hongdae, apparently bonsais are becoming trendy, but whatever I was just walking by and remembered the conversation you had with Namjoon a little while ago and thought ‘oh well why don’t I just go in and buy one-”

“It’s gorgeous hyung,” Taehyung beams, putting an end to the shorter’s man rambling.

“You think so?”

The younger nods and gently places his hands on the pot above Yoongi’s. “Thank you so much.” He confesses, “I love it.”

And in a gummy smile, the other sighs, “I’m glad you do.”

For a moment, none of them talk. They simply stand in the dining room, broad smiles showing and hands touching. Not holding, nor squeezing, just lingering there. Some fingers move, trying to make their way under the other’s ones, not quite interlacing but almost. And behind the rim of his coffee cup, Jimin swears he can see Taehyung become a little lighter, a little brighter. As if the tidal force acts in Yoongi’s hands and he can pull on the younger’s emotions and put him in high spirits — just like the Moon pulls on the Earth’s oceans and creates high tides —, with a simple touch. 

Eventually, Yoongi lets go and Taehyung strides to his room with the tree.

During the rest of the week, he seems to float everywhere he goes. He’s all light steps, light voice, light smiles and Jimin listens to his rants on soils, pruning, and how Namjoon kept whining jealously to Yoongi. But he doesn’t look at his closest friend’s face light up with love with the same bitterness he used to.

Lately, the sea levels seem to be rising more than they fall. Soon enough, Jimin is sure there will be a flood but for now, he remains silent.

4. Stars | Jin 

With time, Jin came to the conclusion that Taehyung and Yoongi are stars.

He read once that stars are put into constellations randomly, that the stars in one constellation don’t particularly have many things in common or are particularly close. They’re just put together because it’s easier to identify them that way. Because we see who they are thanks to the other stars around them.

And Jin had watched. Watched how Taehyung and Yoongi behave around one another. 

How words flow between them.

Yoongi’s simple yet soft praises and his sometimes too harsh remarks. His scared and trembling or strong and determined voice. His words of rejection that mean “Stay. Please know better than what I say and stay.” And Taehyung always knows better.

Taehyung’s brave and spoken admiration. His sometimes too honest speeches. His doubtful and shaky or comforting and low voice. His whines spoken in a pout that mean “Understand. Please listen to me too and understand me.” And Yoongi always listens. 

How their eyes meet. 

Yoongi’s sharp ones which always become gentle and attentive. Eyes that look up and stare but flee once they get caught.

Taehyung’s intense ones which always become round and awed. Eyes that sparkle and stare confidently even when getting caught.

How their bodies revolve.

Yoongi’s hands finding their way on Taehyung’s shoulders as soon as he stands behind him. Little massages Jin isn’t sure whether they’re meant to comfort the older or the younger. 

His arms wrapped around these same shoulders when Taehyung used to be shorter.

Taehyung’s body leaning slightly into Yoongi as soon as they stand beside one another. A comfortable presence Jin isn’t sure whether it’s meant to reassure the younger or the older.

His arm resting on Yoongi’s shoulders now that he’s much taller.

How their hands touch...

Jin still remembers the way Taehyung would sneak into his and Yoongi’s shared room or how Yoongi would leave the room to cross the corridor with dragging feet until he reached Taehyung’s door, whenever they felt longing.

Longing for their town, for quieter streets, clearer skies, familiar places, for their families, for lazier days, warmer meals, familiar scents. For home.

On days Taehyung would be the one to come, Jin would see them on Yoongi’s bed. Sometimes sitting, sometimes lying, sometimes one sitting while the other was lying. Never really touching, bodies close yet far. Jin would hear them talk in low voices, both of their words slowly falling into the Daegu dialect. Husky tones and slurred slangs until he couldn’t understand what they were saying anymore. Jin would recognize some songs Taehyung would hum low but never the ones Yoongi would make the younger listen to. He never did until he heard them in the studio. Sometimes, the songs came to his ears as a muffled noise when they’d share a pair of earphones but always put the music on too loud.

He guessed they must remind each other of home and so, when they longed for it, they simply went to each other. And like stars, if you want to know who Taehyung and Yoongi are, put them together because they are their true self around one another.

Although now Yoongi and Jin don’t share a room anymore, he knows they still do it. Seek each other for comfort that is. He knows because he sees it. 

Walking to the rapper’s room to ask him what he wants in his gimbap for dinner, he stops before even putting a hand on the door’s handle. The door is already half-open, and in the room, Jin can see two figures sitting on the bed. He recognizes the first one as the owner of said bed, a book held in his left hand, and the other one to be Taehyung, his head laid back on the headboard, eyes closed. 

For a moment, Jin is pulled back a few years in the past. 

Taehyung’s eyes snap open and Jin takes a step back, startled and afraid that the younger saw him, but it seems he didn’t. Instead of sitting up and asking Jin why he’s stalking them through the ajar door — which he rightfully expects —, Taehyung lets his head fall on Yoongi’s shoulder to read with him the book he holds. And as Jin feels his eyebrows furrow slightly, Yoongi also lets his head fall on the singer’s one, freezing him on the spot.

Stars shouldn’t touch.

In an attempt to gain his senses back, his eyes drop on the small gap between them where their hands rest on the mattress. Yoongi’s pinky gets closer to Taehyung’s centimeters by centimeters until it reaches it and slowly sneaks under to finally curl around it. 

That’s when Jin takes back control over his body and quietly pulls the door closed. 

“So what did he say?” an apron-clad Jungkook asks, making his heart miss a beat.

“Wow you startled me,” he gasps with a dramatic hand on his heart. “Uh? Oh well, he said he didn’t mind,” he lies, remembering why he came here in the first place. Gimbaps can wait.

“Okay, then I’m gonna ask Taehyungie hyung.”

“No!” Jin exclaims. “I mean, no it’s fine I’ll do it myself. Go rinse the spinach.”

“Sure,” the younger nods, clueless.

On his way to Taehyung’s empty room, Jin lets his feet guide him, head too busy swirling with thoughts. 

He read once that stars are put into constellations randomly, that the stars in one constellation don’t particularly have many things in common or are particularly close. He now thinks maybe it’s not so random after all. Perhaps it’s fate. Perhaps those stars are just meant to be put together. 

Jin tried putting Taehyung and Yoongi in a constellation that already existed. Maybe Aquarius or Ursa minor? But he realized soon enough they are their own. Their linked pinkies are tracing the invisible lines which connect the stars in the same constellation together. A two-star constellation. Taehyung and Yoongi. Because how they are with one another is all you need to know who they truly are.

And they don’t just remind each other of home. They are each other’s home. 

Jin wants to turn back around and tell them, but he keeps walking and remains silent. 

5. Black hole | Hoseok

If Hoseok had always settled on the fact that Taehyung is a black hole, his theories about Yoongi had changed many times. 

An asteroid, a satellite, a meteor, a planet, a star… Yoongi had been many things, but no matter what he was in Hoseok’s mind, he was always getting swallowed by the black hole that is Taehyung. 

Hoseok knows Yoongi, he knows him very well, and he knows Taehyung too. 

And he had known since the first day Taehyung showed up in their lives, a lanky boy in an expensive red jacket with a smile and ears too big for his face, with fear hidden behind sparkles in his round eyes, that Yoongi would eventually love him. 

He had known since that day, since he saw the scowl on Yoongi’s face falter just for a second when the boy introduced himself in heavy satoori, that Yoongi already cared.

And he had been right. Although Yoongi was wary of Taehyung at first, although he thought the boy’s personality to be fake and insincere in the beginning, he was slowly getting swallowed without even knowing.

Swallowed by boxy smiles, puppy eyes, passionate and honest words, big hugs, verses sung in a sultry voice, warm hands…

Warm hands.

Hoseok figured Yoongi to be the closest to completely disappearing in the void of the black hole every time he holds hands with the singer. 

And Hoseok also figured that maybe Yoongi is simply him. Not an asteroid, a satellite, a meteor, a planet or a star. Just him. And perhaps, he’s not getting swallowed without knowing. 

There is a drifting Yoongi in space, wearing an astronaut suit and very much aware of his fate. A Yoongi who looks straight in the heart of the black hole, mesmerized by its depth, its power, its beauty. Who knows what is going to happen to him but doesn’t fight it, lets it happen. 

It tilted in Hoseok’s head the first time he noticed how the fellow rapper looks at Taehyung. Chin up, pouty lips and face soft, feline eyes following every shift of the younger’s features while he talks. He leans in and lets himself get drawn in.

Or the way Yoongi slightly grips Taehyung whenever he pushes him away. It overall looks like an act of rejection, but if you ignore the yelled “Hajima!” and actually inspect the scene a little closer, you can see the curl of the short man’s fingers. He holds on to him and hopes he won’t go.

And there are the excuses he’d invent just to hold his hand. He can act like it doesn’t affect him all he wants, like it doesn’t fill him with warmth or make his lips curl upwards, but he can’t deny that he enjoys it. Yoongi is the one who made the rule after all. He makes sure to hold his hand every time they argue, even if there’s really nothing to argue about.

There was a time when Hoseok was scared. Scared to watch his best friend letting himself get swallowed up and fall into the unknown, but he’s not anymore. 

He wakes up with the unpleasant feeling of suffocating, the sheets sticking to his sweaty self like a second skin. He’s thankful someone he’s coming to fix the A.C today, or one more day and they would’ve turned the room into a steam bath.

He stands up and peels the sheets off of him before striding to the door, seeking fresh air. Before closing it behind him, he notices Jimin’s limp body on his side of the room and wonders how the dancer does to sleep in such heat. 

Hoseok plans on hopping in the shower and rinsing himself off of the Korean summer’s harshness, but his stomach growls offensively and so, he decides to eat some breakfast first.

He enters the kitchen with half-closed eyes and barely recognizes Taehyung and Yoongi as the ones seated at the table. What confirms his assumptions is the husky voice which asks, “Slept well hyung?”

“Argh, not really,” he groggily answers while putting the coffee left in the machine in his yellow cup. “I sweated so much I thought I would turn into a puddle.”

“Gross,” Yoongi’s hoarse voice states.

“Yeah,” Hoseok chuckles and goes to sit at the table holding his cup, toast, butter and jam. In the middle of the wooden surface is half of a watermelon filled with melon and watermelon balls swimming in a pool of soda, and a big bowl containing the same mix sits in front of Taehyung. “You’re eating subak hwachae for breakfast?”

“Yeah well at least I’m eating something,” the younger replies with a tilt of his head and a smirk. 

“Yoongi hyung,” Hoseok scowls firmly, now seeing that Yoongi is only holding his decaf iced americano.

“Yah! Why did you have to call me out like that? I told you I was gonna eat after my coffee.”

Taehyung laughs at the rapper’s sulky tone, only riling him up even more.

“I hate you.”

“No, you love me.”

That shuts Yoongi up and puts a smug smile on Taehyung’s face. 

His features are soft in the morning light and his tousled hair still gives him that boyish look, but his shoulders are broader, his chest and arms more muscular, he’s much taller now and there’s stubble on his chin. 

It’s only then that Hoseok realizes they’re holding hands. That Taehyung eats with his left hand and Yoongi brings his cup to his lips with his right one.

“Did you guys fight?” he frowns.

They both eye him with a questioning hum before the singer understands what he’s referring to, “Oh, fight! Yes, right, we argued on something but everything’s fine.”

“That’s good,” Hoseok nods and the two men nod back.

Yoongi’s ears flush red behind his blueish hair, and that’s also only then that Hoseok notices the t-shirt the older is wearing isn’t his.

Taehyung might have grown from the lanky boy in the red jacket, but Yoongi is still getting swallowed. 

Swallowed in the way Taehyung’s hand engulfs his completely where they lay on the table, in the way his shoulders curl in shyness, making him look smaller, and in the way Taehyung’s too big shirt submerges him in a sea of fabric. 

There was a time when Hoseok was scared. Scared to watch his best friend letting himself get swallowed up and fall into the unknown, but he’s not anymore. Because this unknown Yoongi is falling in, is his love for Taehyung. 

And maybe Hoseok doesn’t know what happens when you get swallowed up by a black hole, but if that black hole is Taehyung, then he is sure it can’t be bad. It’s probably wonderful.

He thinks about asking them.

Do you know what happens when you get swallowed by a black hole? Could you describe it to me? Is it like holding hands with the person you love?

The questions are on the tip of his tongue, but he gulps down his coffee and remains silent. 

+ 1. Universe | Taehyung & Yoongi

Some time passed before they finally came to talk about it. 

Heads filled up with assumptions, theories and hypotheses. Celestial bodies and space terms occupy their minds more than melodies and lyrics. 

Today is a Friday afternoon, or maybe it's Thursday. 

After spending so many hours in Rkive, working on tracks and trying to record some bits of songs here and there, Jin and Namjoon don't know anymore. So they drag themselves out of the studio and go to find shelter in the artist lounge of the building, away from computers and headache-inducing beats.

There, they find Jimin and Hoseok already slumped on a couch, half panting and with sweat glistening on their skin, and Jungkook next to them, slurping ramyeon. 

"Dance practice?" Jin asks while plopping down on the couch in front of them.

They nod. "Studio break?" Hoseok asks in return.

Namjoon and Jin nod wearily too, and the leader fetches his own cup of ramyeon. Leaning against the counter, Namjoon sighs and feels grateful to finally see a window instead of four dark walls. But even the rays of sun passing through the glass and the humming of the microwave — the promise of warm food —, can't shake the thoughts he's been having for a while now. 

He's not the only one. 

They're all like a big pot of water on a stove. Their minds are bubbling more and more as the water boils but Namjoon, he's the first one to spill. 

"Did you notice something hmm," he starts hesitantly, "weird between Yoongi hyung and Tae?"

Perhaps he was wrong. Maybe he imagined or misinterpreted everything he saw. He is ready to take a few laughs at his face, rip the margins he filled and make it a joke for the years to come if that's the case, but before that, he asks again.

"Don't you guys feel like something is going on between them?" He spills and holds his breath.

The microwave rings and four heads turn to stare at him. He expected reactions from them. Maybe not heads nodding in agreement but certainly a shrill laugh from Jin while Hoseok doubles over with laughter, Jungkook to choke on his food and most definitely, for Jimin to look at him with somewhat disdain because he's just heard the most stupid thing. 

But instead, Jungkook blurts around his chopsticks, "So that wasn't just me." 

With a sigh of relief, Namjoon takes his ramyeon and sits with the rest. A little wave of excitement washes over him and the maknae now that they know they're not alone in their questioning. 

Perhaps the others also have theories about the two Daegu boys. Maybe they have notes Namjoon could add to his own, or they studied better than Jungkook and hold the answers he doesn't have. 

The best people to know are Jimin and Hoseok, who suddenly became fidgety since the conversation started. And so, the leader turns to them with wide eyes. 

"Do you two know something?" 

"No."

"Yes," they both answer at the same time.

Jimin spins his entire body toward Hoseok and spurts, "Yes?!" 

His bulging eyes and surprised expression are similar to those painting the three other men's faces.

"Don't look at me like that!" Hoseok defends himself, "Your 'no' sounded very suspicious!"

"Maybe we should talk about it with the ones concerned," Namjoon tries to calm as Jimin huffs at Hoseok's face. 

"You both sound very suspicious to me," the maknae chimes in.

"Yeah, same here," Jin agrees. "Let's talk now."

Namjoon sighs. They really shouldn't talk about it now, not without Yoongi and Taehyung themselves and certainly not here where anyone could walk in on their conversation. But he's the one who brought up the topic in the first place, so telling the others to not discuss it would be pretty hypocritical of him, and if he's being honest, he wants to talk about it. So, with a swift rubbing movement over his face and a sad look towards his unopened cup of ramyeon, he inquires, "What exactly do you know?" 

A long silence follows, during which Jimin and Hoseok fidget a bit more, fiddle with the hem of their shirt or the skin around their nails. Jungkook stops eating, fearing that he'll choke otherwise, and Jin and Namjoon make their breathing slower while they eye the two boys with apprehension. 

The tension feels heavy and suffocating around them. 

Mouths open and close without uttering a word. Yet, the sentences are already formed on their tongues, waiting to be unrolled. All they have to do is say it, but they can't. 

It's not their place to do so, right? They shouldn't. They are trusted. 

But the words take weight in their mouths, Jimin swallows, they've been there for so long, and now they're too heavy. Now it's too much. 

So Hoseok and Jimin both straighten up and blurt simultaneously.

“Yoongi hyung likes Tae.”

“Taehyungie likes hyung.”

"Do you have to answer together every time?" Jin teases, and the two dancers stare at each other in utter shock. 

At the sight of their open mouths and furrowed brows, Jin slaps his own thigh and doesn't hold back his laughter. The high-pitched noise echoes in the silent lounge and makes the atmosphere less tense but all the more disconcerting.

"You're both idiots!" he guffaws, "They both like each other!"

He's the one everyone is watching now, but he doesn't seem to care as his laugh still carries around the room.

"How did you know?!" Jungkook exclaims.

"Well, I wasn't sure but now," the oldest replies with a vague gesture of his hand towards the still stunned Jimin and Hoseok, "it's pretty obvious."

"Why didn't you ever talk to each other about it? We probably wouldn't be having this conversation then," Namjoon wonders.

Jimin blinks. "Tae is my best friend and it's, well, was a secret he confessed to me. I wasn't supposed to just go around and tell it," he mumbles.

"Same for me. Yoongi trusted me to keep it to myself an— oh no!" Panic takes over Hoseok's features, "He's gonna hate me! I told you and if he learns I'm gonna lose my best friend title and he's going to say it's okay but there's always gonna be this look of disappointment in his eyes and—" 

"Calm down Hoseok-ah," Namjoon softly cuts his rambling and reaches to put a hand on his knee.

"Yeah, I mean when did he confess it to you?" Jungkook asks with his mouth full, back to eating.

"After Bon Voyage season 2, why?"

"Ahh Hawaii! Pretty predictable but whatever, it's been what? Four years? The statute of limitations has passed."

"I don't think there's a statute of limitations on secrets, Kook," Jimin says with slight exasperation, to which Jungkook only shrugs.

"I think I'm gonna have to avoid him," Hoseok sighs, "I won't be able to look him in the eyes without feeling like the worst friend ever."

"Same," the other dancer mutters, visibly deflating on the couch.

Jin leans forward, a comforting smile shaping his mouth before he opens it to say something. The words aren't heard though, as Jungkook suddenly asks, "Where are they, by the way?" 

"Yoongi told me he'll be at the dorm today, trying to write some things down," Namjoon answers with narrow eyes. The tilt of the maknae's head shows he is trying to piece things together, whatever they are. 

"And well, you know that Tae refused to practice with us 'cause he already did this morning."

Jungkook only hums and gives a curt nod, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Why? You think they're together right now?" Jin questions.

"Well, there's a high chance they are. Now the question is, what are we going to do about it?" The three other men send the youngest inquisitive looks. "Because, like, we talked about it and that's great and all, but now what? Are we pretending we never had this conversation or are we gonna act weird and secretive around them? Or ," he emphasizes on the word with raised eyebrows, "are we going to try to help them by playing matchmakers?" 

For a moment, nothing is said between them. Instead, they all stare at one another as if to consider Jungkook's proposal while the latter waits for some kind of answer, eyebrows still raised, big eyes watching as he munches on his ramyeon.

"Let's call them," Hoseok eventually says.

A mix of "yeah", "sure" and "let's do that" follows before everyone gets up in excitement. Well, everyone apart from Jungkook, who lets his eyebrows, previously perched high on his forehead, fall and stands up, mumbling something akin to "not what I had in mind," his cup of ramyeon still in hand. 

"Who should call who?" Namjoon asks.

"You facetime Yoongi hyung," Hoseok directs with a finger pointing at the younger.

"Why?!" the leader sputters. 

"Because you're the only one who facetime us when you could've just made a regular call."

Namjoon opens his mouth, ready to protest, but he ends up giving up with a loud sigh. He falls on the couch behind him, phone in hand, and soon everyone follows suit. 

While he unlocks his mobile and looks for Yoongi's contact, the space around them is buzzing with excitement and eagerness. There's a loud commotion as everyone tries to settle. Namjoon feels Jimin's pointy elbow digging in his shoulder blade and Jin's breath hitting the side of his face because of how close he's sitting. He could complain, and he usually would, but right now, he chooses to focus on the tingling in his fingertips and the pounding of his heart as his thumb levitates over the call button.

"Just press it!" Jimin urges.

"Okay, okay!" He presses the button.

The phone rings once…

"Wait! What are we even gonna say?!" Namjoon distraughtly exclaims.

Twice…

Hoseok looks back at the leader like a deer caught in headlights.

Thrice…

"He's probably not going to answer," Jin states, sounding more like he's trying to convince himself than anything.

And this time, the call gets picked up. 

"Heyyyyy!" They all shout, stretching the "y" way too much for it to sound natural. 

"Hyung! How are you?" Namjoon asks in made-up nonchalance, but he's never been the best actor, so he only ends up wincing at the sound of his own voice.

On the other side of the screen, Yoongi stands next to the kitchen counter — where the phone has been placed, with a grey apron on and an amused smirk on his lips. "Yah, what's all this fuss about?" 

"Nothing really," the leader shrugs, looking away from him.

Yoongi eyes him sideways while he resumes what they guess he was doing before they called, which is chopping what seems to be green onions. 

"Yeah, we've just been here all day so we were wondering what you were up to," Jungkook continues, and although there's a squeaky noise ready to leave his throat, he's much more capable of concealing his emotions than Namjoon.

He doesn't really know what he's expecting. Hell, none of them does. But they surely hope for Taehyung to show up and fluster Yoongi, or for them to be all starry eyes for each other, or for the older to lean towards the younger. They hope for margins filling notes and answers to physics problems and hands touching…

"Well I was able to write some things down today and now I'm cooking," Yoongi answers, raising his knife as if to prove a point. 

"Cooking? So soon?" puzzles Hoseok, confusion clear on his face.

The man on the other side of the line chuckles, "Soon? It's almost 8 P.M already."

"Wow really?!" Namjoon exclaims and throws a glance towards the window, only now noticing the sun is starting to set. "We should go home." 

They've been at the company for too long already, and if the thrill of the moment keeps their forming headaches and the pain of sore muscles at bay, they know it will hit them square in the face soon enough.

"Yes, you should if you want to be clean and for the food to be warm when you'll eat it."

They all hum in agreement until they fall silent. The only sound echoing in the room is the one the knife makes when it meets the wooden cutting board. 

It's Jimin who asks what they've all been wanting to know, "Where's Taehyung?"

"Hum somewhere in the dorm," the older man responds absentmindedly, focused on his task, only showing his side profile, "I don't know. Why?" He looks up at the camera with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You didn't really want to talk to me right? You wanted to talk to Tae all along, is that so? I admit I'm a little hurt, me who thought you were genuinely checking up on me."

"You're right. We don't care about you at all, old man," Jimin smirks. "We only care about my dear soulmate, and that's precisely why we called you!" He accentuates the last word and finishes with a sweet smile.

Jungkook is ready for Yoongi to scold Jimin about the "old man" statement, but he only laughs. Like really, laughs, shoulders shaking and gums showing. Even Jimin is a little taken aback. "Wow, he must be in a really good mood," they all think.

But Yoongi's laugh gets cut off by some sort of crackling sound, like water on hot embers, which makes him turn his head abruptly. "Oh shit!" he hisses. "I have to leave you guys, I have an overflowing pot on the stove," he shouts while rushing towards it.

"Bye hyung!", "Bye Yoongi-ah!" They chorus, Namjoon even waving to the now empty kitchen.

"Bye!" Yoongi echoes, already off-screen.

The five men slightly distance themselves with a sigh. Well, what they were hoping for didn't happen. The reason why they called is left unfulfilled. 

Namjoon has almost ended the call when Jimin leans against him again, elbow digging deeper in his back, and reaches for the phone to mute them. "Ouch!" the older male howls.

"Shhhh," Jimin shushes him with wide, pleading eyes, "listen!"

They all lean forward around the phone in Namjoon's hands, except Jungkook, who only stops chewing on his last mouthful of ramyeon. 

Nothing much happens on the screen. There isn't anyone in sight, and the only noise in the background is that of a pot being moved around and water being spilled in the sink. 

So really nothing.

But now, Yoongi's side profile can be seen again as he leans back against the kitchen counter. Yet, the sound of the pot being refilled and placed back on the stove can be heard in the background, and finally, a deep voice echoes through the speakers, "I'm supposed to be the terrible cook hyung, not you."

The sentence is said in a sigh, probably meant to sound teasingly annoyed but coming out endeared.

At that, the maknae surges forward, straight on Namjoon’s back, who hisses once again at the added weight on his other shoulder and almost pokes his eyes with Jungkook's chopsticks when he turns his head to the side to glare at him.

"Having an overflowing pot happens to the best," Yoongi retorts to the voice still off-screen. "Plus, I got distracted." 

"That's true." Taehyung appears on the phone, white t-shirt, grey sweatpants, and a smirk on his lips. He moves forward and Yoongi lifts himself up to sit on the counter. "How are they?"

"They looked good, tired but that's normal," the older seems to hesitate, head tilting to the side. "Maybe a bit weird. I don't know, there was something a bit strange about them."

The men in the lounge room hold their breath, and Hoseok whispers — even though the two men back at the dorms can't hear them since they're muted, "Were we that obvious?"

"Namjoon was," Jin corrects.

"What do you have against me today?" 

Jungkook shushes them and they all fall silent again, focused on the scene unfolding in front of them.

"Maybe it's 'cause they're tired," Tae suggests. "They almost spent the entire day practicing and working, they must be exhausted."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Yoongi admits a bit reluctantly.

"Maybe I am, but that's not what you think."

"It's just– I don't know," he sighs, letting his shoulder fall, "should we tell them?"

Taehyung smiles. Not his wide boxy smile or one of his shy smiles that make his cheeks rise like bread. A reassuring one, closed-mouth that only slightly reaches his eyes, but one that could warm you up on the coldest day. "Like I've always said hyung, whenever you're ready."

"I really don't deserve you," the older man whispers, but no one misses the crack at the end of his sentence.

Tae is right in his space in an instant, now standing in between the smaller's dangling legs. "Baby don't," he says while his fingers reach to brush away the pink strands that fell in the other's eyes. "We've talked about it. I know how easily your head gets filled with doubts and intrusive thoughts, no matter how much I wish to make it stop. 

"I know a few words and actions don't solve the problem, don't make them go away, for good. But I'm ready to say and show again and again, if this is what it takes for you to realize and accept that you deserve me. That you deserve what you need, what you want, what you dream of, what you work hard for, what makes you happy. You deserve it all, and none of it is going to fade away. The boys aren’t going anywhere, Armys aren’t going anywhere. I’m sorry I can’t promise you it’ll be easy but I can promise you it’ll be okay. I can promise you I’ll be here for you, with you."

He pushes back Yoongi's hair in a swift movement and settles his hand on the side of his neck, his thumbs stroking the other's jaw. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. I've waited so far, and I'll wait more if that's what you want. Because I love you, so much sometimes it's hard for me to speak," Taehyung confesses with a strangled voice. "I love you and you love me, and as long as this statement is true, Yoongi I'd do anything for you. Remember that when you're in doubt."

The soothing motion of Tae's thumb on Yoongi's jaw stops to wipe the tears escaping his closed eyes. "I'm sorry," he sniffs. The younger goes to stop him, but Yoongi opens his watery and pleading eyes to look in his. "No, let me. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with. I'm not the best at communicating, I tend to isolate myself, I keep you to myself, I make you hide and wait, I tend to hurt you," his voice breaks. "You are all I want, so I'm sorry. I'll work hard to continue to deserve your love, and I'll make sure this statement is forever true. I'm sorry, I don't always mean what I say, but I always mean what I write. Remember that when you're in doubt."

A single tear rolls on Taehyung's cheek, but he lets it be. His right thumb hasn't stopped wiping Yoongi's own tears while his other hand comfortably rests on his waist. The rapper leans into the touch, his face tilting to the right, and he places his hand above the younger's, intertwining their fingers.

"Because you are my stars and my universe," Taehyung smiles playfully. "That's what you wrote and then rapped."

"I did," Yoongi simply says, and they both giggle, foreheads almost touching, gummy smile mirroring a boxy one, hands holding. The most Taehyung and Yoongi they could ever be. "And I mean it," he whispers before his lips meet Taehyung's. 

They don't really kiss properly at first. They both smile too much and so, it's more teeth clashing and giggles than anything. But eventually, it fades away. The taller one moves their entwined hands to the other's nap. Their lips brush against one another in soft touches, both basking in each other's presence until Tae tightens his grip and Yoongi gasps, opening his mouth slightly. 

That's all that's needed for their mouths to slot together in a more languorous way. And that's all the others see as Jin presses the red button and ends the call. 

Nobody speaks. Too stunned to, but also physically unable to. It seems they forgot where they are, who they are and that they exist for a few minutes, and they need a little bit of time to put their thoughts and identities back together. 

They just witnessed the collision of the Sun and the Moon, two Planets collide, a flood, the meeting of two Stars and a man being swallowed by a Black hole.

It all happened at once, in their dorm’s kitchen.

Maybe it's the headaches, the sore muscles, or the realization of what they've just done and what they've just seen that comes crashing on them, but no one utters a word when Jin says, "Let's go home." 

Nor when they hear Jimin sniffle, nor when Hoseok and Jungkook furiously wipe the so far unnoticed tears staining their cheeks, nor while they pack their things and leave the building, nor during the entire ride back home.

No, they only speak again when they open the dorm's front door and greet two very happy Yoongi and Taehyung. 

That evening, while they're all seated at their wooden table enjoying their dinner, appreciative hums, praises, and at least three distinct conversations filling the room, Taehyung and Yoongi reveal their relationship to them. Hands holding on the table between them, it takes a lot of encouraging looks from the singer to make the rapper speak his heart out, but they manage and he eventually does.

The confession results in a big group hug, and although Jimin’s grip around Yoongi’s middle is a tad too tight, he feels as if he’s been holding his breath all along and he can finally breathe again.

Tears escape his eyes, but only because right now, he’s incredibly, utterly happy, and Yoongi still doesn’t really know how to deal with these kinds of feelings. 

Air fills his lungs after what felt like an eternity, his heart beats and makes his ribcage shake, and someone sniffles near his right ear.

The sniffling belongs to Hoseok who ends up confessing everything that happened in the lounge room a few hours before. His voice is muffled by Taehyung’s shoulder where he buried his face but they hear it, and Namjoon giggles awkwardly. 

Fortunately, it only makes Taehyung and Yoongi laugh. 

For the rest of the night, the seven boys stay piled up together in the living room where blankets have been scattered, creating some sort of nest. The maknae fills bowls with snacks and a series of questions gets thrown at the two lovers, but they take the time to answer all of them.

They will have to talk with Namjoon, as band members talking to their leader. They will have to have a serious conversation about the band's future, the company, what's at stake, and lots of other things none of them wish to deal with. But not tonight.

Tonight, Taehyung and Yoongi hold hands, sit closer than they've ever been seen. They share meaningful looks and smiles — the kinds that are only meant for and understood by one another, as they retell their story and retrace the path that led them to this precise moment, now, in their living room.

In the end, they are all wrong. Yoongi and Taehyung aren't Sun, Moon, Earth, Planets, Stars, Black hole or Astronaut. Or maybe they are all right, and they are all of the above.

It doesn't matter. The way they see them, the metaphor that seems right to them, are their own.

What matters is that Taehyung loves Yoongi and Yoongi loves Taehyung. It's a true statement.

And if they look at each other with a galaxy reflecting in their eyes and hold each other’s hand as if they have the world in their palm, it's because they are each other's universe. That is also a true statement.