Archive of Our Own ^beta

kalon

(n.) beauty that is more than skin-deep

Yoongi hates the idea of leaving Holly all alone. He works pretty average hours, and he knows that technically he’d be fine if he left out water and fed him before he left, but when he imagines him alone in his apartment waiting for him for hours it makes his heart hurt. That’s why he’s here, at a crowded dog park, waiting for the dog sitter he found on some online listing (he isn’t particularly fond of a stranger meeting at his house before he’s judged their demeanor in person for himself). Holly’s hopping around on his lap, refusing to go play with the other dogs while Yoongi waits. It’s not cold outside, but not hot either, a nice temperature to be outdoors, so Yoongi doesn’t mind waiting, though he’s starting to think he should’ve asked for a picture of the sitter, because he isn't sure how to spot the person he’s looking for.

His questions are answered when a man, taller than Yoongi but likely younger, wearing nice sunglasses, a Gucci headband under light brown hair (a bit of a flex, Yoongi thinks passively), and loose fitting but stylish clothes strolls over with a ridiculous amount of confidence, taking his sunglasses off, tucking them into his shirt pocket and smiling cooly, “Are you Min Yoongi?” His voice is like a warm blanket, and Yoongi clears his throat to find his own voice that’s suddenly left him. 

“Yes. You must be Kim Taehyung?” He replies, attempting to stay chill, and he reaches his hand out. When Taehyung shakes it firmly his hand is soft. Then, quickly, as if Taehyung had been on the verge of dropping is cool demeanor all along, he melts at the sight of Holly, crouching in front of Yoongi and letting Holly (who hasn’t moved from her daddy’s lap even now) sniff his hand before running his soft hands through his fur with a pout on his face. Yoongi fights off a smile at how Holly immediately allows Taehyung to pet him without any fight, “This is Holly.”

“Hello, Min Holly,” Taehyung coos, laughing lightly when the dog perks up at his name being said, before redirecting his gaze up to Yoongi’s face, “Why don’t we walk and talk about the job specifics before either of us make a decision?”

Yoongi nods, setting Holly on the ground and standing, “Let’s,” he agrees. It’s easy enough to make a decision. Dog sitting is Taehyung’s full time job, but the last person he consistently worked for moved away, and now the only jobs he takes are on weekends, and he needs weekday work. This works out perfectly, because Yoongi’s home on the weekends, and only needs Taehyung during the weekdays. The payment works out well too, working on an hourly payment structure where Yoongi’s paying him a bit over twenty five dollars an hour (Yoongi tries to tell him that’s nowhere near enough if it’s Taehyung’s full time job, but Taehyung insists he gets enough of a family allowance to cover the rest of the money that any other full time job would give him, and he won’t take anymore of Yoongi’s money), and he’ll get his paycheck every time Yoongi gets his. A big part of why Yoongi hires him, though, is that Taehyung adores Holly and Holly seems to adore Taehyung right back.

“Here’s my number, if you need to tell me anything else send me a text or call, I won’t be too busy. Thank you again, for the opportunity,” Taehyung hands Yoongi’s phone back after having put his number and the contact ‘Taehyung!’ with a couple dog emojis after it. Yoongi nods, pocketing the phone.

“Of course. Really, I should be thanking you. This will take a huge stress off my back.”

They part ways after that, and when Sunday rolls around and Yoongi has work in the morning, he sends Taehyung his address and a simple ‘Be here by six thirty tomorrow. Sorry it’s so early, I want to be able to walk you through where things are before I have to leave for the office at seven.’

Taehyung responds quickly; ‘Six thirty is perfect, I’m usually awake by then anyway. Looking forward to seeing Min Holly again, give him some pets before bed for me, Yoongi-ssi!’

Yoongi laughs and shakes his head softly, telling Taehyung that he will. He spends a few hours more than necessary cleaning and getting everything ready for Taehyung, he knows there’s not really a point (Yoongi isn’t a messy person, so most of the mess is strewn about dog toys and hair, which Taehyung is surely expecting), but he likes to make a good first impression of his home and his lifestyle.

As promised, Taehyung knocks on his door at six twenty four Monday morning, still as stylish as he had been at the park, a black headband around his forehead this time, and clear glasses that Yoongi is almost positive are just for show, but they compliment his tan button up shirt and sage green straight pants so well that Yoongi assumes it doesn’t really matter that the glasses are fake. 

“Good morning, Yoongi-ssi!”

“Good morning, Taehyung-ssi,” Yoongi let’s him in and watches him slip off his slides, “The drive here was alright?”

“Oh, yeah, perfect, I was even able to stop and get breakfast because the traffic was so nice,” Taehyung smiles brightly and Yoongi nods.

“I’ll show you where Holly’s food and water is, and his toys.”

After a twenty minute basic house tour, Taehyung’s got Holly scooped up in his arms, Holly making less of a fuss about being held than usual, and walking Yoongi to his door, “I’ll be back by-“

“Four, I know,” Taehyung smiles reassuringly, “You should get going so you aren’t late. Min Holly will be just the same when you get back, promise!”

Yoongi nods hesitantly, lurching forward to kiss the top of Holly’s head one more time before waving Taehyung goodbye and closing his front door behind him.

As expected, Yoongi spends the whole office day anxious to get home, watching the clock for when he can clock out and go see his Holly again, and see once and for all if Taehyung’s a good fit.

At three thirty Yoongi clocks out and practically runs to his car, careful not to run any lights on his way home no matter how badly he wants to. Upon opening his front door he finds a giddy Taehyung, crisscrossing on the floor, watching Holly do simple tricks like sitting, laying down, and shaking hands, but despite how simply they are Taehyung coos at the end like he’s done the coolest trick ever. Yoongi smiles softly.

Taehyung turns when he hears the door open, and Holly bounds towards it to Yoongi’s arms, “So eager to have me gone, Min Holly,” Taehyung pouts, standing. Yoongi chuckles, scratching behind Holly’s ears.

“He likes you,” Yoongi reassures the younger man, and Taehyung grins, “Everything went okay?”

Taehyung nods quickly, “He’s a perfect little puppy, and absolute angel,” and Yoongi notices that his headband and glasses have both been discarded, probably in the bag Taehyung brought with him, and the front of his hair is tied back away from his face in a messy top ponytail. 

“Yes, he is,” Yoongi agrees but it’s directed more at Holly, petting his fur and speaking in a babying tone. Taehyung giggles softly, “Thank you again, I’ll see you tomorrow in the morning?”

“Yep!” Taehyung picks up his bag and puts his slides back on, “Bye, Yoongi-ssi, bye, Min Holly!”

Yoongi watches him leave before slipping off his shoes and entering the house all the way. He sets Holly down, but he follows behind Yoongi’s ankles faithfully. It’s then when he realizes that Taehyung had clearly done some cleaning of his own, and there’s a little container on the counter. The note on the top reads ‘Min Holly seemed to like these!’, and upon opening the container Yoongi sees a ton of little cookie shaped dog treats. He smiles to himself and closes the container. 

He spends the hour playing with Holly before he settles down to work on music. He’s never been particularly fond of his office job, but it pays well, so of course he took it when it was offered to him. That hasn’t stopped him from pursuing what he wants to do, writing and producing music. He’s never got any big gigs, but he’s been hired by small artists plenty of times, and there’s always a sense of pride when music he’s written blows up briefly on social media, even though he’s hardly ever recognized for his work. Far too many times he’s been just barely credited, enough for him to not put up a fight, but not publicly enough for him to gain anything from it. He’s been through his lyrics being credited to the singer so often that now it’s hard to even let himself be bothered. 

He’s sitting on his bed, laptop in front of him and headphones in, for so long that he doesn’t notice the sun going down. He hardly processes his surroundings at all until he gets a phone call, the buzzing against his thigh making him jump. He pulls his headphones off, letting them rest around his neck. It’s Namjoon, one of his best friends for the past ten years, having met late into their high school years.

“Hello?”

“Yoongi hyung! It’s nearly nine o’clock, have you eaten dinner?” Yoongi frowns, pulling the phone away from his ear to check the time. Namjoon seems to catch onto his silence and laughs, “You’ve been locked up in your little home studio for hours again. Why don’t you come over? We’re about to eat, and Seokjin hyung made too much as always.”

Yoongi mulls it over briefly, but when Namjoon tells him that Seokjin offered to have Holly over too, Yoongi agrees, “I’ll be over soon.”

“Alright, hyung, see you soon.”

The energy in Namjoon and Seokjin’s apartment is warm, the open layout allows you to talk and see everyone in the living room, kitchen and dining room. It’s homely, and Yoongi likes being here. The minute Namjoon opens the door, home cooked food floods his senses. Holly walks in like he lives there and Namjoon bends down to greet him with a little pet, “Holly seems to be in a good mood.”

Seokjin comes up behind Namjoon, wrapping his arms around his dongsaeng’s waist. Namjoon tries (and fails) to pry him off, “Holly’s a dog, how can you tell the difference in his mood?”

“He just seems happier to be here than usual,” Namjoon finally manages to duck out of Seokjin’s hold.

“He might be. I didn’t leave him home alone during work like usual,” Yoongi bows a simple hello to Seokjin and follows them to the table, “I hired a dog sitter to come every time I have work.”

Seokjin seems to light up at this, “Who did you hire? What are they like?

“His name is Kim Taehyung. He’s a couple years younger than I am, and he dresses like a snob, but he’s nice enough and Holly likes him,” Yoongi shrugs, and the conversation topic is dropped and quickly replaced with talk of music and stories from work. The food is good and so is the company, and it’s a good ending to the day. Yoongi appreciates his friends so much.

Yoongi wakes up the next morning to his doorbell and curses, scrambling out of bed and checking his phone. It turns out he’d set his alarm for six in the evening instead of the morning. He trips trying to get to the door quickly.

Taehyung’s waiting patiently on the other side, bangs clipped back with brightly colored hair clips, but they don’t seem off putting or childish at all paired with his brightly colored button up and pretty tan slacks, “Good morning, Yoongi-ssi. I didn’t come too early, did I?” He laughs.

Yoongi flushes, hand coming up absentmindedly to his bed hair, pulling lightly at strands, “No, I just slept through my alarm. You can come in, I’ve got to go get changed,” Taehyung bows slightly as he enters, slipping off his shoes, “Holly’s still sleeping, I don’t know for how long. He usually wakes up with my alarm, but it didn’t go off.”

Taehyung nods, “You can go ahead and get changed, Yoongi-ssi, I don’t want you to be late for work,” he smiles kindly and Yoongi nods, shuffling back to his room and closes the door behind him, locking it.

He falters, cursing Taehyung for looking so handsome first thing in the morning everyday, and further cursing him for having the audacity to still look good when Yoongi looks the way he does this morning. 

When he leaves Taehyung has Holly in his lap, and waves Yoongi a cheery goodbye. 

Work is normal. Boring. During the break he texts his group chat about the morning incident, and Jungkook tells him he’s stupid, but it’s lighthearted and it manages to make Yoongi feel a little better. Taehyung texts him a picture of Holly curled up on his piano bench, and that makes Yoongi feel a little better too.

When Yoongi gets home Taehyung hands Holly off gleefully and makes a lighthearted comment about Yoongi seeming much more awake now, but Yoongi knows he’s being teased and he glares. Taehyung laughs and apologizes, but he doesn’t sound particularly sorry. 

“Less than a week I’ve known you, and you’re already disrespecting your elder like this?” Yoongi folds his arm and pops a hip.

“Sorry, sorry,” Taehyung apologizes again but he’s still laughing, giggles bubbling from his throat like he can’t stop it, “I’m sorry, Yoongi-ssi, you really did look so tired this morning, I was only looking out for you.”

“Aish, you cocky…” Yoongi trails off, and Taehyung just laughs some more, bowing his head and bidding Yoongi a good evening before leaving his apartment.

Weeks go by like this, and it’s an easy pattern to settle into. Eventually, Yoongi realizes that sometimes he wakes up late, and it has caused problems (the main ones being Taehyung politely waiting outside for up to forty minutes, too awkward to ring the doorbell more than twice, and Yoongi being late to work). 

“Ah, before you leave, I want you to have this. For work,” Yoongi stops Taehyung before leaving, about a month and a half after they met. Taehyung turns and holds his hand out for… a key.

“A key?”

“My apartment's spare key.”

Taehyung immediately tries to hand it back, “I can’t take this, Yoongi-ssi.”

“Why not? You come over almost every single day for eight to nine hours. What if you want to go out to the park with Holly? You can just leave my door unlocked while you’re gone. Take the key,” Yoongi insists, pushing Taehyung’s hand away. Taehyung’s brow furrows, “If this is about you being barely more than a stranger, it’ll do well to remember that you’re in my house so often anyway, if you were going to steal or murder me, you would have done it. I trust you enough for this, Taehyung-ssi, just keep the key.”

Taehyung’s forehead pinched in worried lines, turning the key over in his hand, but when he looks up Yoongi’s expression is nearly soft, and very genuine, and Taehyung smooths himself over, smiling, “Okay, Yoongi-ssi. Thank you for trusting me not to murder you.” Yoongi laughs then, almost surprising himself.

After that Yoongi often finds himself waking up to quiet clattering in the kitchen or the front door opening and closing. He’ll leave the house for work nearly a half hour after Taehyung arrives. Throughout his work days he received pictures and videos of Holly on walks and outdoors, at parks and under trees, sitting on Taehyung’s lap. 

“It’s a bit domestic,” Hoseok notes when he’s over one day on the weekend, “Him coming and taking care of Holly while you’re gone, letting himself in while you’re sleeping. Like a roommate, almost, except he leaves as soon as you get back.”

Yoongi shrugs, swallowing his bite of pork, “I guess so. He’s alright, doesn’t bug me when we’re around each other, and keeps me updated on Holly so I’m never stressed about him. He was shocked when I offered him the spare key, though I really should have given it earlier once I hired him.”

“Maybe he doesn’t feel he’s done enough with you to earn your trust. You still speak formally, right?”

“Yeah. That’s probably it.”

The day formal language drops is a stress filled on with shed tears. Halfway into Yoongi’s work day he gets a call from Taehyung, which is strange, Taehyung promised not to call if it wasn’t an emergency. Yoongi picks up the phone immediately.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Yoongi-ssi, I don’t know what’s wrong, Min Holly was just laying there all morning, and no matter what I did he wouldn’t get up. When I tried to lift him he whined loudly, and I brought him to the vet. That's where we are now.”

Yoongi’s heart drops to his stomach, pounding against his skeleton, “Send me the address, I’ll be there soon,” Yoongi hangs up, afraid of not keeping his voice straight on the phone. His boss kindly lets him go and he runs to the street to hail a cab. 

The vet is a small building, clearly family owned, but plaques on the wall show their reliability. Taehyung’s sitting in a waiting chair looking absolutely mortified. Holly’s curled in his lap with a small paper bag sitting beside him. Yoongi rushes over, kneeling in front to softly pet Holly’s fur, “What happened?”

“He’s sick,” Taehyung’s voice is flat, like a prepubescent student with no talent or skill trying to read Shakespeare, “Nothing serious, these are the medications he’ll need for at most two weeks, and then he’ll be fine,” Yoongi studies Taehyung’s face, confused because it should be a rehearsal moment, “I’ll give you a ride. I have my car,” Taehyung hands Holly over and stands shakily, walking to the door and holding it open. Yoongi walks out, eyes carefully trained on Taehyung’s blank expression. It’s scary almost, how easily Taehyung seems to go from his smiling self to what he is now. It doesn’t even look like the same person.

The drive to Yoongi’s flat is quiet, the only sound is Holly’s whining that makes Taehyung flinch, and the cars outside. The car purrs as they pull to a stop, and Yoongi moves to get out. Taehyung doesn’t. It makes sense, Yoongi’s home so Taehyung’s job is done for the day, but it bothers Yoongi how the younger man just stares out the front window. Yoongi unbuckles his seatbelt but he doesn’t move, carefully petting Holly’s fur. 

“Are you okay?” Yoongi asks after a moment, suddenly feeling like Taehyung’s far more shook up over the sickness of his dog than he is. Taehyung doesn’t speak for a moment, but his resolve melts and his face scrunches up. Yoongi panics a second too late, because Taehyung’s leaning his forehead against the steering wheel, hands gripping the wheel on either side of his head, and he’s sobbing uncontrollably. Yoongi freezes.

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung chokes out between sobs, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Yoongi reaches forward, tentatively, and places a hand on Taehyung’s wrist, “It’s okay, you can cry if you need to,” he assures. Taehyung nods, sniffing like he’s trying to stop tears but they come crashing all the same. Yoongi isn’t sure how long they sit there before Taehyung’s breathing evens out enough for him to speak, “Better?”

Taehyung sits up, wiping his eyes with his palm, “Better,” he nods, voice shaky, “I’ll give you your key back.”

Yoongi raises an eyebrow, “Why?”

“You’re firing me now, right? Holly got sick while I was working, why would you keep me?”

“Why would I fire you over that? It’s not your fault. He’s gotten sick like this before, he’ll be fine. I don’t think I’ll find a better dog sitter, and Holly likes you,” Yoongi pauses, chewing his lip, “I like you too, so no, I’m not firing you. Unbuckle your seatbelt and come inside. Let hyung make you lunch, you’ll need it after all that crying.”

Taehyung’s eyes are wide and look like they’re threatening to spill over with tears again. He nods, and when he moves to unbuckle his seatbelt they both become hyper aware of where Yoongi’s hand is still resting on his wrist. Yoongi pulls away sheepishly and Taehyung climbs out of the car. Yoongi climbs out too, cradling Holly carefully. Taehyung lets him inside with his key so Yoongi doesn’t have to with the puppy in his arms. 

Taehyung’s eyes wander the apartment like he’s not been here almost every day for nearly three months. Yoongi feels a bit the same, strange to both be in the apartment at the same time with no expectation of the other leaving any time soon, “What do you want to eat?”

“Anything’s alright, Yoongi hyung,” Taehyung says his name and ‘hyung’ slowly, carefully. Unsure. Yoongi can’t help but smile.

Yoongi sets Holly on his bed carefully, “Okay. Come here first, you need water,” he calls back to Taehyung, walking to the kitchen.

Taehyung takes the large glass Yoongi offers him gratefully, drinking the whole cup quickly. He looks embarrassed as he hands the cup and Yoongi fills it up again without hesitation, “I’m sorry,” Taehyung apologizes again, “for breaking down out there.”

“You were stressed and felt guilty, it’s okay,” Yoongi reaches out, ruffling Taehyung’s soft hair, “Of course you cried. It’s just human, don’t apologize.”

Taehyung nods, staring into the cup of water with a gentle smile, “Thank you.”

“You can thank me after you have food in your stomach. How about sandwiches?”

“That’s perfect.”

Taehyung watches out the window the entire time Yoongi prepares the sandwiches, and when Yoongi finally asks what he’s looking at he doesn’t falter his gaze, speaking without meeting Yoongi’s eyes, “It’s very sunny today. The trees out your window look so lovely in the light, like the leaves sparkle.”

Yoongi follows his gaze. The breeze outside makes the leaves shake, the sun reflecting off in different ways, and he supposes it does look a bit sparkly, “Here. Eat.”

Taehyung takes the plate and smiles, “Thank you, hyung.”

“You’re welcome,” Yoongi responds after a moment. It’s quiet while they eat until Taehyung seems to gain his bearings and willingness for conversation. 

“You’re piano. I’m assuming you play if you have one. How long have you been playing?”

“Since I was very young. It was my first love,” Yoongi tells him, rattling off what he’s always told his friends. It’s become an inside joke and Yoongi remembers too late that Taehyung won’t understand that it’s a joke, and will think he’s crazy for speaking like that. Taehyung, on the contrary, looks absolutely soft.

“That’s beautiful. You’re good then? If you’ve played for so long.”

Yoongi feels a bit flustered, talking about his own skills and passions, “I guess so?”

Taehyung pouts, “If you’re good at something you should admit it. I don’t think it does anyone any good to be overly humble, it’s a thin line between that and self deprecation.” 

Yoongi laughs at this, and finds himself nodding in agreement, “Yes, I’m good. I certainly have a lot to improve, but I’m good.”

Taehyung smiles, “I’m sure you are, hyung,” he keeps saying it, ‘hyung’, like he’s elated just to be able to use it. Yoongi stands to clean up, and Taehyung cries out to stop him, “Let me do it! I’m good at cleaning dishes, and I’m here almost as often as you, I know where everything is. You made food, let me clean up.”

Yoongi hesitantly sits back down, watching Taehyung glide between the counter and the sink, washing and drying each dish thoroughly, and putting them away. Yoongi feels a little touched, more than he thought he would, at the man’s small act of kindness. It makes him feel warm inside and his lips pull into a slight smile. When Taehyung finishes he turns back to Yoongi, freezing for a moment when he finds the older man’s eyes already on him, “Thank you,” Yoongi says almost shyly, and Taehyung grins his goofy grin.

“Of course, Yoongi hyung, it’s the least I can do.”

When Yoongi sends Taehyung his pay the following week he gets a text back with a lot of frown faces, informing him that he’s given Taehyung too much. That he didn’t want to be paid for how long he’d stayed the day Holly had gotten sick, because he hadn’t been working. Yoongi insists that he was still helping, and deserves the extra money, especially for taking care of sick little Holly when Yoongi couldn’t throughout the week after. Taehyung insists right back that he won’t keep the money for himself so Yoongi has to let Taehyung treat him. That’s how Yoongi’s gotten here, walking from booth to booth outside on a perfectly warm night with Taehyung by his side, looking flawless as ever (so flawless that Yoongi feels a bit embarrassed by his own appearance, but before he even has chance to show signs of this insecurity Taehyung compliments his outfit, and he feels better, feels warm inside).

“What do you want to eat, hyung?” Taehyung asks, sounding positively thrilled. By the way he’s looking at their surroundings Yoongi would have guessed he was a tourist from an outside perspective.

“I don’t mind, just choose what you like.“

Taehyung pouts, “I’m treating you , hyung, you have to pick!”

Eventually they decide on picking up a mismatch of street foods and take them down to the waterline for a picnic of sorts. The park is gorgeous, with a perfect view of the lights reflecting on the surface of the water. The breeze is cool but the weather is warm, and it’s nice. It’s near perfect. Yoongi only realizes he’s spaced out when he feels Taehyung’s eyes on him, snapping to meet his gaze. Taehyung gives him a shy smile, “Can I tell you a secret, hyung?”

Yoongi raises an eyebrow but nods, “If you want to.”

“I’ve lived in Seoul for nearly a year now, but I haven’t got any friends here, so all of this,” Taehyung gestures at the food and park, “Wandering the area, getting street food, shopping, sightseeing. I’ve done all this by myself.”

“Until now,” Yoongi corrects him after a moment, and Taehyung gives him a puzzled look, “You didn’t have any friends here until now. You’re technically my employee, Taehyungie, but you’re still my friend. I wouldn’t let you call me hyung otherwise. I’d be more than happy to visit places with you and hangout when we’re both free if you’d want to.”

Taehyung’s grin is a little watery and Yoongi silently prays that he doesn’t start crying because Yoongi isn’t great at that. That’s Hoseok’s thing to deal with, or even Namjoon. He’s convinced even Seokjin’s jokes and Jungkook’s teasing would be a better comfort. But, Yoongi reminds himself, Taehyung doesn’t have his four friends, so if he cries Yoongi will try his best because they’re friends, “Hyung, I would love to hangout with you more often,” Taehyung sniffs.

“Do you… do you have other friends that don’t live here?”

“One,” Taehyung nods, a faint smile on his face, “Park Jimin, my soulmate. He lives in Busan, we met online but we lived together for six years after…”

When he trails off Yoongi’s quick to cut in, passing Taehyung a red bean roll, “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me everything right now,” Taehyung nods gratefully, taking a bite of the roll and doing an absentminded dance at the taste, “You’re soulmate? Are you…?”

“Oh, no, not like that. We’re strictly platonic. He’s much more into gym-oriented guys, like this mystery guy he sees around Busan during the holidays that he’s absolutely whipped for but has never had the courage to talk to,” Taehyung laughs fondly and Yoongi feels oddly content with his answer, “I don’t get the hype of super muscular guys though, I think softer guys with pretty eyes are much cuter.”

Something stirs in Yoongi now, a quiet ache to open up about himself that he doesn’t get often when it comes to people he hardly knows, “I agree,” he says without thinking about it, “Pretty eyes and nice smiles seem far more important than muscles in guys.”

Taehyung lights up at this, an unspoken fear of homophobia lifting from the air, and after that Taehyung chats more openly, filling any silence that Yoongi can’t with talk. It’s nice to not be pressured into responding, Taehyung seems perfectly content to do most of the talking. Yoongi ends up enjoying himself more than he expected, and when Taehyung drops him off at his apartment the younger man gets all shy.

“Thank you for coming out with me, Yoongi hyung. I had a lot of fun with you,” Taehyung meets Yoongi’s eyes with an indescribable intensity, it’s not intense in a scary way, more so just intensely honest and vulnerable.

“Thank you for treating me,” Yoongi reaches out, ruffling Taehyung’s hair, “It’ll be my treat next time.” 

Taehyung shakes his head, smiling all dopey, “It’s still technically my turn, it’s your money that I spent since you shouldn’t have given it to me.”

Yoongi’s halfway out the car now and laughs, “It will always be my money, Taehyungie, I pay you,” Taehyung rolls down the window as he shuts the door, going to argue, but Yoongi cuts him off, “I’m paying next time, I’ll see you Monday morning!” He calls over his shoulder, running up the stairs to his door. He vaguely notices that Taehyung doesn’t drive away until Yoongi’s safely inside.

Hoseok greets him with a grin, “How was it?”

“It was great,” Yoongi replies honestly, “Thanks for watching Holly.”

“Of course! Now come sit down and tell me all about it.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes but joins Hoseok on the couch anyway, “You’re acting like a parent.”

“I’m very excited for you, that's all, now tell me how it went in more detail.”

“It wasn’t a date,” Yoongi teases and Hoseok shrugs, “We walked around the street shops for a bit and got a sizable amount of food, and then he took me to a spot in the park with a good view of the water. The weather was pretty much perfect and then we just talked.”

“It sounds a little bit like a date,” Hoseok points out and Yoongi scowls, “I’m just saying! I know you’re not the type of person to fall for someone you hardly know, or the type of person to go on a date with someone you don’t have feelings for. It’s just… I don’t know this about him . Did he think it was a date?”

Yoongi shakes his head immediately, “No. He seemed genuinely surprised when I mentioned liking men, and Taehyung’s incredibly respectful, he wouldn’t have assumed I was interested without asking first. He’s less shy about being straightforward than I am, if he wanted a date he would have asked me on a date explicitly,” Yoongi pauses, ignoring the amusement on Hoseok’s face as he gushes about the his new friend, “I think he’s not had the best experience with friendships in the past, and I’m his first here in Seoul, so I think he’s just happy to have someone to share his favorite places and experiences with. I’m more than willing to be that person for him.”

Hoseok’s expression softens, “It’s so nice to see you making friends without anyone's help,” Yoongi knows what he means. They’d had a conversation a while back about how Yoongi didn’t think he could make friends without a mutual friend there to guide them together. Even Yoongi and Seokjin, who have been friends since kindergarten, only became friends because they were made recess buddies by their teacher. Seokjin was his only friend for a long time, until his hyung introduced him to Namjoon, and Namjoon introduced him to Jungkook, and then Seokjin again introduced him to Hoseok. Yoongi nods softly and Hoseok pulls him into a brief hug and they talk for a few more minutes before Hoseok leaves for his own apartment, giving Yoongi another hug on the way out.

Monday morning Yoongi is woken up not by his alarm, but instead the weight of Holly on his stomach, and Taehyung’s quiet, “Yoongi hyung, it’s morning.” Yoongi nearly had a heart attack when his eyes blink open and there’s another set of eyes for them to meet, but when he realizes who it is he relaxes, “Good morning, hyung.”

“Good morning, Taehyungie,” Yoongi groans. Taehyung laughs, moving his messy bed hair from his eyes. It’s a simple sort of intimacy that developed naturally, Yoongi supposes he initiated it, often ruffling his dongsaengs hair. Taehyung’s careful, steering clear of the boundary line. There’s more he could do without Yoongi being upset, but he doesn’t venture further than he knows is okay because Taehyung is incredibly respectful.

“You have work, sleepy head. I brought breakfast.”

Yoongi glares, but his half closed eyes ruin the intimidation, “I told you I’d pay next time we ate.”

“And I told you it was still my turn. Now get up before it gets cold.”

Yoongi grumbles but sits up nonetheless, Holly hopping down and running off as soon as he moves. Blinking, the world comes into better focus and Taehyung smiles kindly. Domestic , Yoongi remembers Hoseok referring to them as that a while ago now. He wonders passively if the word tastes as good as it sounds in his head. Yoongi must have sat there a moment too long, but Taehyung just waits for him to be awake enough to stand. They walk to the kitchen together and Yoongi’s heart clenches. Taehyung brought him hotteok and an iced americano.

“Is it okay? I think this is what you told me you liked a few weeks ago.”

It had been nearly two months ago that Yoongi had mentioned it, and it had been in such a passing way that he didn’t think Taehyung thought anything about it, “You remembered?”

“Of course, anything for my hyung.”

Yoongi knows how he means it, the same way Seokjin means ‘my dongsaengs’. Everyone in their group is younger than him, so it makes sense. In their case, Taehyung and Yoongi, there is no group. It’s just them. Not only that, Taehyung doesn’t have any other friends older than him. Yoongi is his only hyung. Yoongi feels very soft, “You brought enough for you too, right?”

“Yes, I thought it would be a little awkward to have you eat in front of me alone.” 

Taehyung, as always, is right on the nose, and Yoongi is glad for it. They eat in relative silence, which is good for Yoongi’s tired brain that’s still catching up to his surroundings. Taehyung’s sipping on a rose lemonade tea, and at some point Yoongi asks if he actually likes rose flavored things. Taehyung laughs, “It’s not my favorite, sometimes it tastes a little soapy, but it’s not bad with the lemon, and the barista at the cafe always draws roses on the cup when people order it,” Taehyung shows Yoongi a small sketched rose with the stem winding around the first letter of Taehyung’s name, “Says her girlfriend taught her to draw them so it keeps her pepped up during the work day, so I always order it when she’s working.”

“That’s sweet, you’re,” Yoongi pauses, incredible, his mind supplies, “very kind.”

Taehyung blushes and looks away, “Ah, it’s not that big of a deal. It makes her smile and people always look the best when they smile,” Taehyung’s smiling softly himself, and Yoongi quietly agrees with him.

More often than not this is how mornings go for them. Taehyung brings breakfast and wakes Yoongi up with soft smiles and gentle whispers, or Yoongi will text him super early not to bring anything and he’ll make breakfast himself. On those days Taehyung often shows up still a little sleepy, and Yoongi ruffles his hair before leading him to a chair and letting the food wake him up. It’s easy. Domestic .

Yoongi’s eating dinner with Namjoon and Seokjin when he finally says, “How did you know you wanted to move in together?”

His friends exchange a look, but it’s Seokjin who speaks up, “I guess when we realized that we were basically living together anyway. We were spending all our time together, eating together, occasionally sleeping over. We shared everything, so there wasn’t any point in us paying rent for two separate apartments.”

“Oh,” Yoongi chews his lip, and Namjoon sets a careful hand on his shoulder.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Yoongi responds quickly, “It’s just… I didn’t realize how lonely my apartment felt when no one’s there until I was used to him being there. I’ve started dreading weekends because those are the mornings we don’t wake up to each other, and the days he doesn’t send me videos and pictures from home.”

“Him?”

“Taehyungie.”

“Ah.”

“Yoongi hyung,” Namjoon starts carefully and Yoongi knows what’s coming before he says it, “He’s your employee. He’s your friend too, of course, but you pay him to watch Holly. If he lives with you he’ll be watching Holly anyway, he’d have to find a new job.”

“I could keep paying him… he’d still have to watch her while I’m gone.”

“You can’t pay someone to live with you.”

“Why not?” Yoongi snaps, and Seokjin sighs, reaching out to pat Yoongi’s cheek.

“Do you like him that much?”

Yoongi flusters at this, pulling back from his hand, “It’s just easier. Like you said. We eat breakfast together, and he wakes me up in the morning, and sometimes he picks me up for my lunch break,” he feels a bit emotional now for a reason he can’t quite explain, “It’s not just that though, that’s not the only reason it’s easier. I feel better when we’re together, like a sort of antidepressant. It’s been so long since I’ve felt better without having to try, hyung.”

Seokjin bites his lip and nods, “I understand, Yoongi-ah, it’s okay,” Yoongi now realizes how wet his eyes have become and thanks the heavens that no tears fell.

“You should talk to Taehyung-ssi. If he’s living alone I’m sure he’d be willing to talk about it,” Namjoon smiles gently, “And if he makes you happy then I say go for it.”

Yoongi nods, blinking to clear his eyes, “Thanks,” he mutters, a little embarrassed by his outburst. The rest of dinner is normal, other than the worried glances that Yoongi pretends he doesn’t see.

Yoongi’s just gotten home from work and Taehyung’s behaving… weird. He’s quieter than normal, bursting with anticipation and anxiety. Yoongi sits him down on the couch immediately, brows furrowed.

“Taehyungie, is something wrong?”

“I got offered a job,” his tone is beyond careful but something inside Yoongi twists uncomfortably anyway, “It’s relatively freelance, I’d be painting mostly and sending them in to the company, and I’d get paid per painting no matter what they do with it, it just depends on the canvas size,” he pauses, bites his lip, “So I could do it from home.”

The uncomfortable knot in Yoongi’s stomach loosens a bit, but he says what he has to, “So you’re quitting?” He tries to keep his voice understanding, the younger man still flinches.

“Sort of? I don’t want you to pay me when I am getting money from somewhere else, you should keep it for yourself, especially when the thing you’re paying me for I would do for free,” he pauses and then rushes to explain before Yoongi can get a word in, “Maybe it’s silly, but I like being here! I like playing with Holly, and I like being around you. I could bring my paint stuff with me and paint when Holly isn’t in a playful mood, and paint more on the weekends, and it would work! But I won’t take your money for it anymore.”

“Move in with me,” Yoongi blurts without thinking when Taehyung’s (whose eyes are now comically wide) schpiel is over, and now it’s his turn to ramble on, “You’re here all the time anyway, and if you’re going to stay to watch Holly nearly nine hours every weekday anyway you might as well. We could turn the guest bedroom into your bedroom. The more I say it aloud the more I feel like I sound crazy, I’m sorry, this was a ridiculous thought, it’s just that I like being around you too, you make me happier than a lot of other things, and I like waking up to you being here, and making you breakfast, and coming home to you on the couch or in the kitchen or waiting at the door.”

He trails off, eyes shut tight with his hands over his face, embarrassed. Taehyung chuckles lightly, and lifts Yoongi’s hands away, but the older man’s eyes stay shut, “Hyung, will you look at me?” Yoongi does, “I would love to move in with you, if you really mean it.”

Yoongi stares at him in shock for a moment, processing the words being said to him, “Really?” Taehyung nods, a giddy grin on his face, “Oh. Me too. I really mean it, I mean. I want you to. I like everything better when you’re here.”

“I like everything better when I’m here too,” Taehyung admits, and both of them start to feel suddenly very shy.

The moving process is long, Taehyung talking to his landlord and moving all his things to Yoongi’s place, plus selling what he didn’t need. It’s a long process, but Yoongi never once regrets it. His favorite part is every time Taehyung brings in another box and smiles brightly, turning to Yoongi to tell him it’s almost his house. Once, Yoongi questions his wording, “House? Not home?”

Taehyung’s demeanor never falters, “It’s been home for a long time, hyung.”

Yoongi feels warm.

When everything’s set into place Taehyung insists they celebrate, just the two of them, before having the housewarming party Yoongi’s friends have planned for the next week. Yoongi makes dinner and Taehyung chooses music, an oldies vinyl that he brought over from his old apartment with his record player, and they eat and talk. Taehyung’s proper buzzed off wine when the conversation turns more intimate and less casual.

“Do you remember when I told you about Jiminie?” Taehyung asks, setting down his glass. Yoongi nods, “I told you we lived together for a while, but I never told you why.”

“You don’t have to,” Yoongi assures him quickly, remembering how hesitant the younger man had been the first time.

“I know, hyung, but I want to,” Taehyung smiles, “I was born and raised in Daegu, and I spent a lot of time with my grandma. She made me believe that I was perfect the way I am, that I had nothing to be ashamed of. She made me believe it was okay to tell my parents the truth, that I didn’t have a girlfriend because I didn’t want a girlfriend. That there was a cute boy in my grade who made my heart flutter. So I told them, the end of my senior year.”

Yoongi can see exactly where this is going, it’s exactly what he had feared his whole life would happen to him. He was lucky enough to have parents who understood.

“They had me pack up and leave before the end of the week,” Taehyung’s eyes are distant as he continues, “I hadn’t met Jiminie in person at this point, we’d only ever spoken online, but when I told him what happened he emailed me a train ticket to Busan. I lived with my grandma for a few days before the trip and I think she feels guilty about pushing me to come out, that's why she sends me such a large allowance. I know she can’t afford it, but she insists.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I was really upset at the time, but it was nearly seven years ago now, and I spent six of those years living with my best friend. He encouraged me to move here and chase my dreams as an artist, my parents would never have done that. If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t have met you, so it’s okay.”

Taehyung finishes his story there and picks his glass up again, downing the rest. Yoongi will forever blame what happens next on both of them being filled with alcohol.

Taehyung stands when a new song starts, a soft romantic ballad from the seventies, “Will you dance with me, Yoongi hyung?”

Yoongi stares, gobsmacked, “What?”

“Please, just one song? As my ‘welcome home’ gift?” Taehyung pouts, and Yoongi curses under his breath as he stands.

“One song, and then you’re going to bed. You’re drunk,” he warns but Taehyung isn’t listening, instead pulling Yoongi into the living room, the younger man’s arms draped around his waist. Yoongi rests his arms on Taehyung’s shoulders stiffly.

“Loosen up a bit, I’m not trying to woo you or anything, don’t act so scared of me,” Taehyung’s laugh is contagious and Yoongi scoffs, but settles more comfortably into the other's hold. They sway back and forth silently for a while, “Thank you, for everything. I know we’ve only known each other half of a year, but you’re as important to me as Jiminie is,” Taehyung practically whispers, resting his head against the side of Yoongi's, bodies flush together. Yoongi smiles softly, messing with the hair at the nape of Taehyung’s neck.

They stay that way much longer than one song, and at one point Yoongi thinks Taehyung might have fallen asleep standing. He has no idea how long it’s been before his hands rub Taehyung’s shoulders softly, “You tired, little guy?” Taehyung nods, “You should go to sleep then. You should sleep a long time your first night here, so don’t wake up early.”

Taehyung pulls away, eyes drooping, a smile on his exhausted face, “Okay, hyung. Goodnight,” he pulls him into a proper hug quickly before moving off to his room. Yoongi cleans up after dinner and he feels warm.

The next week comes around quickly, and soon Yoongi’s leaning impatiently against the wall outside Taehyung’s bedroom, dressed and ready to go as he’s been for the last thirty minutes, “Taehyungie, they’re my friends, not fashion critics. Besides, all the clothes you wear are nice anyway. We’re going to be late and they’re all antsy to meet you.”

Taehyung sighs loudly, “I’m sorry, hyung, I just want to make a good impression,” he pouts as he opens the door, wearing a casual fit with a subtle Gucci belt (Yoongi’s always thought designer brands are a waste of money, but it’s almost endearing on Taehyung), “They’re your best friends, I want them to like me.”

“They will.”

“How do you know?”

“Because they like me, and I like you,” Yoongi replies simply, pulling the car keys from his pocket. Taehyung’s lips spread into a wide grin.

Taehyung spends the first five minutes of the drive wringing his hands out in the passenger seat until Yoongi reaches over with one free hand, wrapping his fingers around Taehyung’s own intertwined hands, “Sorry,” Taehyung mutters.

“Don’t be,” Yoongi assures.

They’re having dinner at Namjoon and Seokjin’s place, and Yoongi feels nerves creep into his stomach as they get closer. Less from the prospect of having to make the new introduction, but rather worried that his wonderful friends won’t keep their mouths shut about all the gushing Yoongi’s done over Taehyung recently. Taehyung pulls him out of his thoughts with a carefully placed hand squeeze, “I am excited to meet your friends, Yoongi hyung.”

Namjoon greets them at the door, bowing and exchanging ‘nice to meet you’, “Please, just call me Namjoon hyung. A friend of Yoongi hyung is a friend of mine.”

Taehyung smiles brightly, “Yoongi hyung has said great things about you. Thank you for having me.”

Namjoon throws Yoongi a careful glance when he finds himself staring at Taehyung with a swelling sense of pride a little too long. Yoongi glares at him but his face swiftly melts into a smile when Namjoon goes in for a brief hug, having not seen his friends for too long with all the moving they had to do, “Hey, hyung, how’ve you been?”

“Great,” Yoongi answers honestly, feeling Taehyung’s eyes on him. Seokjin peeks his head out of the kitchen and Yoongi grins, “Hey, hyung.”

“Hey, Yoongi,” Seokjin waves, turning his attention to Taehyung. Taehyung bows.

“Hello, I’m Kim Taehyung. Taehyung’s fine.”

“Kim Seokjin, but Seokjin hyung or Jin hyung is fine,” Seokjin bows back, “Yoongi-ah talks about you all the time, so I feel like I know you already,” Taehyung turns pink, and Yoongi clears his throat loudly.

“Are Hoseokie and Jungkookie coming together?”

“JK’s driving,” Namjoon nods while the two guests take off their shoes. Seokjin gives Taehyung a pair of slippers (“Now that we’ve met and you live with our Yoongi, you’re part of the group, and everyone in the group has slippers here.” Taehyung looks incredibly touched).

“So we’ll be lucky if they get here in one piece,” Seokjin clarifies and Namjoon laughs.

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Yoongi warns, morphing his demeanor into that of an overly dramatic offended man, “I’m a great driver! At least I have my license,” he sticks a tongue out at Namjoon who yelps out a laugh.

Taehyung watches them interact, and Yoongi panics for a moment, but Taehyung doesn’t look offended at being outside of the conversation at all, but rather watches them with the ghost of a smile on his face. He looks content.

They’ve settled around the kitchen by the time there’s a knock on the door again, and Seokjin yells for them to come in. The minute the door opens there’s a sense of youthful energy much stronger than before. Hoseok and Jungkook always seem to bring that with them, and while Namjoon and Yoongi have their moments, Seokjin on his own isn’t quite as bursting with the energy that the younger men have. 

“Jin hyung!” Hoseok calls from the landing, “Is our guest of honor already here?”

“Yes, Hoseokie, we’re in here,” Yoongi calls back, laughing at Taehyung’s embarrassed grin.

The two men come crashing in, Jungkook being dragged by Hoseok, before pausing to greet Taehyung properly. Jungkook bows first, smiling brightly, “Hello! I’m Jungkook.”

“I’m Taehyung,” Taehyung greets back, glancing at Yoongi, “You can call me hyung if you want to, but you don’t have to.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Taehyungie hyung,” Jungkook picks up immediately. Taehyung turns to greet Hoseok.

“Hi.”

“I’m Hoseok! You can call me hyung too, it’s so good to finally meet you, Yoongi hyung has told me loads about you,” Yoongi elbows him and Taehyung grins brighter than before. 

“You’re the second person to say that,” Taehyung laughs.

“I need a drink,” Yoongi grumbles, Taehyung looks at him quizzically so he specifies, “I’m embarrassed.”

Taehyung laughs, poking Yoongi’s shoulder, “It’s okay, hyung, I always talk to Jiminie about you too.”

Yoongi flusters and turns away to help Seokjin finish dinner. Seokjin raises an eyebrow at the obvious smile Yoongi’s trying to hide.

Dinner goes smoothly, the others like Taehyung plenty and even Jungkook, who is usually shy in front of strangers, opens up quickly and the two youngest are almost immediately joking and ganging up on their hyungs. Yoongi tells Jungkook he’s a bad influence. Taehyung says he seems to recall being told he’s cocky far before meeting Jungkook.

“You called him cocky?” Namjoon snorts and Yoongi folds his arms, defensive.

“He was teasing me before we even knew each other well.”

“Oh, but hyung, isn’t it like we’ve always known each other?” Taehyung cocks his head to the side, batting his eyelashes. Yoongi looks away while the others howl in laughter.

“See, what did I say? Cocky,” the second to oldest grumbles, but Taehyung’s got his arm over his shoulder and has already moved onto talking excitedly about Namjoon’s career instead.

“So you write music for a living and review art at museums? That’s so cool.”

“Yoongi hyung writes music too, I guess not for a living, but he does get paid,” Seokjin points out. Taehyung’s jaw drops, “You didn’t know?”

“He told me he loves the piano and that he doesn’t love his office job, but,” he pouts, turning back to Yoongi. Yoongi can see the others snickering and cooing silently behind him but Taehyung’s too focused on giving Yoongi his godforsaken puppy dog eyes, “hyung, you never told me you really write songs, do you compose or write lyrics?”

“Both,” Yoongi breathes, hit full force by Taehyung’s tipsy pout.

“He produces too!” Seokjin cuts in.

“And raps!” Hoseok offers, shit-eating grins on both their faces.

“My hyung is so talented, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” Taehyung’s words would’ve left Yoongi to think he was upset if he didn’t look absolutely enamored. He’s drunk , Yoongi reminds himself, but his face burns nonetheless, “We live together and everything, how could I have not known.”

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi chokes out. Since when does he get flustered so easily, even while being drunk?

“You’re showing me some music when we go home.”

Yoongi nods and Namjoon finally cuts in to change the topic, saving Yoongi more humiliation.

On the drive home, hours later once Yoongi is sober enough to drive, Taehyung’s staring out the window with a mixture of emotions behind his eyes.

“Is everything okay, Taehyungie?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah,” Taehyung nods, looking out the window again, “Your friends are nice.”

“They like you,” Yoongi assures, Taehyung hums softly in response, “Somethings wrong though, isn’t it?”

Taehyung shrugs, “I think that Jiminie would think they’re nice too, that’s all.”

Yoongi sighs in understanding as they pull up to their apartment, and when he stops the car and turns it off, unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out, trailing over to Taehyung’s side before he’s able to do more than unbuckle his own seatbelt. He opens the passenger door and fixes Taehyung with a kind but firm stare.

“Jimin-ssi is so lucky to have you as his soulmate, having you think about him all the time. It’s natural to miss him, Taehyungie, it’s okay.”

Taehyung’s looks like he might cry, “He’s so far away, hyung, and we call and text but it’s not the same,” Yoongi reaches a hand forward and runs it through his hair, yelping slightly when Taehyung’s arms reach forward and pull him into a tight hug. It’s a bit strange, Taehyung still sitting, facing Yoongi with his legs dangling out of the car, and Yoongi’s hand in his hair. Taehyung seems to realize what he’s done and tries to pull back, but Yoongi brings his free hand up to the younger man’s neck, holding him in place, face buried

in Taehyung’s hair.

“It’s okay,” Yoongi repeats, breath ghosting the top of Taehyung’s head, “it’s okay.”

Taehyung cries now, wetting Yoongi’s shirt, but they stay there, hands petting Taehyung’s hair and neck, “I’m sorry.”

“You always apologize when you cry,” Yoongi tuts, “It’s okay ,” he says a final time.

They go inside eventually and Yoongi lets Taehyung cling to his side while he puts the keys away and hangs up their jackets, and when Yoongi turns back to Taehyung the younger man is still losing his shirt sleeve like a lost child, “You have to sleep, Taehyungie.”

“Can we watch something? I don’t want to be in my room alone yet.” 

Yoongi sighs and nods, pushing him back onto the couch and falling down beside him a few inches away. Taehyung shifts so their thighs are nearly touching immediately, and Yoongi lets him. They watch some silly romcom that Taehyung likes until Yoongi feels a weight on his shoulder. Taehyung fell asleep.

Yoongi watches his sleeping form quietly, admiring his peaceful features before finally shifting. He turns the tv off and slides out from Taehyung’s reach, using his hands to guide the mans head down to the armrest. He goes to his closet and returns a moment later with a spare blanket and pillow, carefully and quietly making Taehyung’s sleeping spot more comfortable. He removes his shoes and socks (Taehyung mentioned something about hating sleeping in socks weeks ago, so Yoongi remembers to do that). He takes one more moment to stare, unsure why he watches for so long, before going to bed himself.

It’s a month of soft mornings and chaotic afternoons later when Taehyung’s birthday week rolls around. He seems more upset than usual, and it isn’t hard for Yoongi to figure out why.

So, three days before his dongsaengs birthday, Yoongi gets Jimin’s number from his phone.

Two days after that, the day before Taehyung’s birthday, Taehyung spent the morning crying. There’s a knock on the door, and Yoongi tells him he’ll get it. 

Upon opening the door, Yoongi meets a person he’s never seen in person before, but has heard so much about. He mouths a silent greeting, and they bow to each other, before Yoongi lets him in. 

Taehyung looks up at the sound of a suitcase rolling in and it’s like time stops for a moment before Taehyung gasps out something between a shriek of excitement and a sob.

“ Jiminie ?” He cries, and Jimin grins, putting down his bag and throwing his arms open. Taehyung wraps around him 0.5 seconds, “I thought you said you couldn’t come until next month? You didn’t get paid early, did you?”

Jimin shakes his head, “Yoongi-ssi found out I couldn’t come because I didn’t have the money for a train ticket, and he bought one for me.”

Taehyung pulls away, gaping, eyes finding Yoongi, smiling sheepishly in the corner, “I knew you wanted to see him,” Yoongi mutters.

“Hyung,” Taehyung cries again, rushing from Jimin to

Yoongi, wrapping him up in a tight hug too, “Thank you.”

“Of course. Happy birthday.”

“I love you,” Taehyung tells him as he pulls away, in a way that just means thank you. Yoongi turns red anyway, but it doesn’t matter because Taehyung’s back by Jimin’s side.

“We should get lunch or something,” Taehyung grins, “I have so much to tell you that I haven’t been able to over the phone. Oh, Jiminie, I’m so happy you’re here.”

“I’m glad I’m here too,” Jimin grins back, “Lunch sounds great.”

“Are you staying here? You can stay in my room!”

“I can get a hotel,” he laughs awkwardly, glancing at Yoongi.

“There’s no need to, Jimin-ssi, you’re welcome to stay,” Yoongi shrugs him off, “You can have the whole apartment for the weekend, I’ll take Holly with me to Hoseokie’s. You two just have fun and enjoy each other’s company,” Yoongi already has an overnight bag in hand, but he seems to falter at the same time as Taehyung when he goes to leave, Holly on a leash beside him. Taehyung rushes over again, wrapping Yoongi in his arms, firmer and somehow more emotional. Yoongi processes now that this is the first time they wouldn’t go to sleep after saying goodnight to each other, and the first time they wouldn’t wake up to each other, since Taehyung had moved in. Perhaps even before that.

“Thank you,” Taehyung whispers into his ear, clinging to the back of his shirt like he’s ready to tell him to stay and make Jimin hangout with the both of them. But he doesn’t.

“Of course,” Yoongi mutters, playing with the hem at the bottom of Taehyung’s shirt, “It’s the least I could do. You make me happy, I want you to be happy too.”

Taehyung’s arms tighten around him, “I love you. Really. Thank you.”

“Of course,” Yoongi repeats, and he closes his eyes for just a moment, breathing in the feeling of being absolutely loved. Then he opens them and pulls away, “Have fun, both of you come to dinner Sunday night before he leaves Monday morning, we’ll invite everyone.”

“Thank you, Yoongi-ssi!” Jimin calls, and Yoongi shrugs.

“Hyung is okay, Jiminie,” Yoongi replies, and then he’s gone.

Hoseok spends that evening watching Yoongi stare out the window with a frown on his feet.

“Come on, Yoongi hyung, I don’t get it. This was your idea, why are you so bummed?”

“He told me he loves me,” Yoongi tells him, voice monotone and small.

“Aw, how sweet,” Hoseok smiles, but he’s unsure, “Wait, like, he confessed feelings for you?”

“No,” Yoongi shakes his, a weird sense of deja vu hanging in the air, “But he said it. I didn’t say it back.”

“Do you love him?”

“Does it matter?”

Hoseok furrows his brow, “Hyung, do you like him?”

“Not like how you’re thinking,” Yoongi snaps defensively, “Anyway, we’re having dinner with him and Jiminie on Sunday.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You seem a little jealous.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m going to make dinner.”

“Hyung!”

Yoongi stands up, “I’m not jealous, he’s Taehyungie’s best friend, and he missed him, so I brought them together.”

“Do you miss Taehyung?” Hoseok asks, glancing away.

“Does it matter?” Yoongi groans, exasperated.

“Because I think he misses you,” Hoseok points to Yoongi’s phone, which is buzzing with a phone call from one ‘Taehyung!’ with a few dog emojis.

Yoongi practically leaps to pick up the phone and Hoseok stifles a laugh behind him.

“Taehyungie, is everything okay?”

“Everything’s perfect. Well,” the line goes silent for a second, “it’s almost perfect.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, not really. Jiminie is showering. I just missed you.”

Yoongi’s heart clenches and he has to steer his eyes away from Hoseok making dramatic movements like pretending to faint and miming his heart beating out of his chest, “Oh. I… Me too.”

“We’re really bad at being apart, huh?” Taehyung’s gorgeous laugh echoes through the phone, “How’s Min Holly?”

“You saw him three hours ago,” Yoongi laughs lightly, “He’s good, sleeping on Hoseokie’s bed right now. Make sure you eat dinner before bed, and please actually sleep. I know you’re happy to be together but you still need to sleep.”

“Okay, mom,” Yoongi can hear Taehyung roll his eyes, “Oh, Jiminie is coming out, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later, hyung.”

“Bye.”

The line goes silent.

Hoseok grins, “You’re so cute, hyungie,” he coos, and Yoongi looks away, ears pink, “And you don’t like him? Not at all?”

“Not like that, not even a little bit,” Yoongi shakes his head. Because he doesn’t. He doesn’t like Taehyung like that, not even a little bit.

Okay, maybe a little bit. Maybe Sunday night, when he hears Taehyung’s voice echo in from the doorway for the first time in a couple days his heart skips a beat, and maybe , just maybe , Yoongi likes him a little bit.

Taehyung strolls in with Jimin by his side, the two laughing loudly as soon as they enter the room, trailed by Namjoon, and Jimin’s got his arm around Taehyung’s shoulder. Yoongi’s heart clenches in his chest when Taehyung makes eye contact with him and grins, pulling out of Jimin’s grasp to rush over. Jimin giggles.

“You’d think after not seeing each other for a year he’d be able to enjoy his time with me, but he spent the last two days telling me ‘oh, Yoongi hyung and I came here last week’, ‘this is where I told hyung about you!’, ‘I’m so glad I met Yoongi hyung, isn’t he so wonderful?’. It’s like his mind consists of nothing but you,” Jimin pouts but he’s clearly teasing. Taehyung turns bright red.

“Jiminah,” he whines, covering his face with one hand, but he doesn’t really deny anything.

Jimin turns to introduce himself to Hoseok, Namjoon, and Seokjin while Taehyung gains back his bearings. Yoongi nods in hello, “Hey.”

“Hi,” Taehyung coughs, “How have you been?”

“Excited to be back home.”

Taehyung smiles softly, “It still makes me happy when I remember it’s our home now.”

Yoongi stares at him and realizes that he must like him at least a little bit because how could he not? He’s honest (sometimes to a fault) about his feelings, he’s sweet, he’s handsome, he’s funny. He’s pretty near perfect, but he isn’t falsely happy. He cries and gets angry, and sometimes he wants to be alone, and sometimes he needs company. Yoongi would be a fool to deny that there is a tingling of romance in his heart for the incredible man in front of him.

They’re interrupted by a call to dinner, “Come eat!

Jungkookie will be here soon!” Namjoon calls, and Yoongi clears his throat, touching his hair nervously.

“We should go sit,” he tells Taehyung who nods, letting Yoongi lead the way.

Yoongi lets Taehyung and Jimin lead the conversation before his friends join in. He sits quietly. Hoseok gives him questioning looks but he brushes him off with a mouthed ‘Later’. About twenty minutes later Jungkook bursts in.

“Sorry I’m late!”

Jimin chokes, eyes wide, and looks at a confused Taehyung, scrunching his nose twice pointedly. Taehyung’s eyes trace Jimin, then Jungkook, and then return to Jimin, widening comically.

Jungkook bows to Jimin quickly, “I’m Jungkook, it’s nice to meet you!”

“Jimin,” the aforementioned man coughs out finally, “You too.”

“Taehyungie hyung says you’re a dancer, so are Hobi hyung and I! Though hyung more so than me, I don’t get paid for it or anything like that. He works at a studio, isn’t that cool?”

Jimin lights up, “What style of dance do you specialize in?”

“All of them,” Seokjin cuts in, “He’s practically a demigod.”

Jungkook smiles shyly, “That’s not true.”

“Name one dance style you can’t do,” Hoseok prods, a teasing smile on his face. Jungkook makes eye contact with an anticipating Jimin.

“Ballet?” 

“Liar, you just aren’t perfectly technically because you’re strong suit is hip hop,” Namjoon chuckles. Jungkook's cheeks tint pink.

“I’m gonna go wash my hands before dinner,” he grumbles, leaving for the bathroom.

Taehyung immediately turns to Jimin again, freaking out in a hushed voice, “ Jungkook-ah is the cute Busan boy?”

“Tae!” Jimin gasps, looking around at the others who are watching in confusion and amusement. Jimin groans, “Yes, apparently Jungkook-ssi is the cute Busan boy.”

“Wait,” Yoongi cuts in, “The cute Busan boy? You mean the one you mentioned during dinner after Holly got sick?”

Taehyung nods, “I didn’t know it was him though! I’d never actually seen him!”

Jungkook comes back in before they can continue, “Hey, Jimin-ssi? Does your grandma own the cute little dumpling shop by the school in Busan?” Jimin nods numbly, “I knew I recognized you! Tell her I say hi, I go there every time I’m home for the holidays.”

Jimin nods again, “Oh, of course.” At the same time Taehyung blurts out, “He knows.”

Jungkook and Jimin look at him at the same time, and Hoseok cackles.

“We were just talking about how Jiminie remembered you and didn’t know how to tell you if you didn’t remember him. Now that we’ve cleared that up, you should talk more! Yoongi and I-“

“What did I tell you about you occupying his whole mind?” Jimin snickers. Taehyung ignores him.

“-bonded a lot over both being from Daegu! I’m sure you’d have a lot to talk about.”

Jimin kicks Taehyung under the table but looks very appreciative nonetheless.

Before Jungkook leaves that night he puts his number in Jimin’s phone as ‘cute Busan boy’ and Jimin curses Taehyung for not talking quieter.

By the end of dinner Taehyung is more than a little buzzed and has his arms thrown around a sleeping Jimin, looking like he might cry while staring Yoongi down. Yoongi, after finishing washing dishes, finally gives him attention.

“What?”

“I feel like a bad friend,” he pouts, “I’m sad Jiminie is leaving in the morning but at the same time I’m so happy that means you’re coming home tomorrow after work. That’s so terrible of me, I spent months with you and without Jiminie, and now he’s finally here again and I’ve just spent most of the weekend wanting you around.”

Yoongi blushes, turning back to the sink to rinse already clean dishes, busying himself, “That doesn’t make you a bad friend. You just got accustomed to one way of living.”

“I don’t think it would matter much how I was living if you were there.”

Taehyung and Jimin take a cab home, and Hoseok and Yoongi get ready for bed.

“You gonna tell me why you were so quiet during dinner?”

Yoongi considers playing dumb, put his whole demeanor crumbles as he buries his face in his hands, “I think I like him, Hoseokie. How terrible of me is that? He trusts me, he lives with me, and I went and caught stupid feelings. I’m just gonna ruin things.”

Hoseok smiles softly, “You’re not going to ruin anything, hyung. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, heard how he talks to you, if you ask me he’s probably fallen harder than you have.”

“That’s just how he is with everyone.”

“You and I both know that’s not true.”

Maybe Yoongi does know that, but he doesn’t know it for sure. He doesn’t know it well enough to do anything about it. 

When Yoongi gets home, really home, after work the next day Taehyung’s waiting with dinner, Yoongi’s favorite takeout place.

“Welcome home,” he smiles, pulling Yoongi to the couch, “We’re gonna eat and watch a movie.”

So they do, another cheesy romcom (Yoongi can’t say no to Taehyung’s suggestions), and when it’s over Taehyung worms his arms over Yoongi’s shoulders, “I missed you,” and it’s not good for Yoongi’s heart. He knows it isn’t, that’s why he spends the next two weeks doing his best to avoid Taehyung without raising much suspicion.

Yoongi leaves for work extra early, and makes excuses to stay out late. He turns down invitations to stay in on weekends, instead opting to spend time with the others. He puts distance between them and promises himself that it’ll only be like this until Yoongi’s feelings dissipate so he doesn’t drive a wedge between the two with them.

It doesn’t work, of course Taehyung notices, and soon (when Yoongi comes home particularly late again) Yoongi realizes this.

Taehyung’s asleep on the couch, a bag of the same takeout that Yoongi loves so much from two weeks prior abandoned on the coffee table, unopened. Guilt shoots through Yoongi’s heart, he knows he’s been foolish. Of course distancing himself the best he could hadn’t erased his feelings, but was rather risking pushing Taehyung away another way. His eyes threaten to cry. He walks, quietly, up to Taehyung and tucks hair that’s falling in front of his face behind his ear. 

Taehyung wakes up as easily as breathing, and Yoongi wonders if he’s been sleeping well at all, and wonders if the tiniest things have been waking him up all this time. He looks at Yoongi in surprise, and then sadness, “Your home.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to leave again tomorrow?” The next day is a Saturday. Taehyung sounds so resigned that Yoongi’s soul seems to crumble. He shakes his head.

“No, I’ll stay home tomorrow, if you want me to.”

“Please do,” Taehyung begs, still half asleep. Yoongi runs a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry.”

“Tomorrow,” Taehyung cuts him off, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. It’s late.”

Taehyung stands tediously and throws the takeout away (“It’s been out for too long, it’s not good anymore.”) and Yoongi’s head pounds.

“Taehyungie?” Taehyung hums in response, “Can we sleep out here?”

“On the couch?” Taehyung raises an eyebrow.

“Or on the floor, it doesn’t matter, I just,” Yoongi pauses, trying to phrase his thoughts well, “It’s selfish, but I just want you closer than in our two bedrooms.”

Taehyung stares at the floor, “It is selfish, especially after your behavior these last two weeks. The two weeks right after my birthday.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Taehyung sighs, sitting on their big reclining rocking chair, scooting to the side and opening one arm, “Come here.”

Yoongi sighs a shuttering gasp of relief, scrambling to Taehyung’s side, sitting beside him. He shifts until he’s facing Taehyung on his side, and Taehyung pulls him closer to his chest, “We could have done this in my room,” he points out, laughing dryly against Yoongi’s hair.

It’s eerily silent for a while, neither of them trying to sleep, just laying there. They’re pressed together but it feels distant. Taehyung runs gentle hands up and down Yoongi’s back, “Don’t cry, okay? You’re here now, so now we can figure it out, but you’ll be here tomorrow too, we can figure it out then just as well, better even after a long sleep. Just go to sleep, we’ll be fine.”

Yoongi gives a small nod, but it’s harder than that to stop his breaths from coming out shaky. He’s so focused on not crying that he doesn’t even notice himself falling asleep until he wakes up the next morning. 

Taehyung is still beside him, the two completely intertwined. He’s awake, playing with Yoongi’s hair, “Good morning.”

“Taehyungie, I’m so sorry,” Yoongi cries, not moving as to avoid making eye contact, “I shouldn’t have just run away, I didn’t think, I thought it was better, that I could just ignore it until it was gone and then we could go back to normal.”

“Ignore what?”

“My feelings for you.”

It’s silent for a long time until Taehyung breathes an almost silent, “Oh.”

“It was a stupid way to deal with them, I should have just told you or dealt with it without effecting you at all, but I was stupid and scared that you’d find out and hate me, that you’d leave, so scared that I tried to leave first.”

“Hyung…”

“I’m not trying to get your pity, Taehyungie, I don’t want it, it wasn’t okay no matter the reason. I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you,” Taehyung breathes, a perfect contrast to Yoongi who is practically holding his breath, “Of course I forgive you, I couldn’t ever stay mad at you, especially not for something like that. Just promise me that next time you’re worried that I’ll run off you’ll talk to me first.”

“Okay,” Yoongi nods, feeling particularly emotional, “I promise.”

Yoongi waits for Taehyung to distance himself physically after Yoongi’s confession but he doesn’t move, if anything Yoongi could swear that Taehyung pulls him closer. 

Yoongi doesn’t know how long they stay there for, longer than they should probably stay in the place they slept without getting up, but they stay there, silent, for a long while.

“Hyung?”

“Yeah?”

“Does everyone else know?”

Yoongi pauses, “I only told Hoseokie.”

“So everyone knows,” Taehyung giggles and it’s music to Yoongi’s ears.

“Yeah, probably. Have Jiminie and Jungkookie been talking?”

“Yeah.”

“I figured as much, Jungkookie’s been giving me dirty looks all week, probably courtesy of Jiminie talking about you,” Taehyung frowns into his hair, “It’s okay though, I’m glad you have more people to care about you now.”

“Me too,” Taehyung shifts, yet again moving closer so they’re fitted together so tightly that Yoongi’s sure there isn’t a part of him that isn’t being touched by the younger man, “I think you’re still my favorite hyung though.”

“Even now?”

“Even now.”

Yoongi feels like he’s under a blanket, and he feels relieved. It seems not much has changed between them and Yoongi is glad for that. He’d rather no change than one for the worse.

It isn’t until they go out for dinner that Yoongi realizes a difference.

It’s a subtle one, but it’s there. Taehyung keeps studying Yoongi when he thinks his hyung isn’t looking, and spacing out. Yoongi tries so hard to gauge what he’s thinking but he hasn’t got a clue.

They’re walking along the lakes shoreline when Taehyung ventures to grab Yoongi’s hand. Yoongi jumps and gives him a confused look, eyebrows furrowed. Taehyung doesn’t look at him, “I know that your fingers get cold at night when we go on walks.”

Yoongi looks at their hands and holds back the urge to melt them together so they’re like that forever. Taehyung’s hands are so soft and they’re bigger than Yoongi’s. The rest of the walk home is silent and Taehyung keeps holding his hand until they’re inside.

A week later Taehyung sits Yoongi down, “Hyung, will you go on a date with me?” Yoongi stutters but doesn’t manage any real words, “I know it’s been a little bit since we last mentioned it, but ever since you told me you like me I’ve been thinking harder about how I feel about you. I’d never put much thought into it, but the more I thought and the more I tried, the more confused I’ve been but I think I’d like to try. I’d like to seriously try. Will you go out with me? At least once.”

“You want to go out with me because you think you feel the same way but you aren’t positive?”

“It’s greedy and selfish, I know, but yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

“Okay, Taehyungie, I’ll go out with you,” Yoongi tells him, trying to look like he’s not freaking out when he definitely is, “But I expect you to pamper me like a special first date since you were the one who had the idea,” he smiles coyly, and Taehyung grins.

“I wouldn’t dream of anything else.”

They schedule the day for the next Tuesday night (Yoongi claims it’s a weird day for a date night, but Taehyung insists).

Yoongi comes home to a single yellow rose with red tips on his bed with a small note;

‘ Yoongi hyung! I don’t know how you feel about roses, hopefully they’re not too cliche. I’ll be back to pick you up at five, be ready to leave (semi formal attire requested!). I’ll see you soon!

Love, Taehyung

(P.S. please bring the rose with us)’

Yoongi traces over the word ‘love’ and smiles to himself, flushing a light pink. He checks his phone. 4:32. He rushes to put on dress slacks and a button up shirt. His hair (crimped and brushed through) looks fine how it is, he thinks, especially after Taehyung had seen him that morning with it and tripped over his words telling him how nice it looked.

There’s a knock on the door twenty minutes later. Did Taehyung send someone? Yoongi goes to open it and is met by a grinning Taehyung with another flower, this time a yellow rose, “You look so beautiful, hyung,” Taehyung tells him sheepishly, holding out the flower. Yoongi takes it, flustered.

“You’re one to talk,” he mutters, “Where are we going?”

“All in good time, hyung, come on,” he reaches out a hand. Yoongi raises an eyebrow, “You’re supposed to take it, we’re walking to the next spot.”

Yoongi looks at him skeptical but takes his hand anyway, letting himself be led down the street to their next spot. A park that’s suddenly very familiar to Yoongi.

“Is this…?”

“Where we met,” Taehyung nods, leading him towards a bench with a small rolled paper on it, “A year ago today,” Yoongi gasps lightly, mouth forming a soft ‘o’. The paper is wrapped around yet another rose, a lavender one, “I thought you were the coolest person when we met, so chill but you love Min Holly so much.”

Yoongi blushes guiltily, “At first I thought you were a snob, wearing Gucci everywhere. I never would have guessed you were so sincere and kind just by seeing you. I don’t think that anymore, despite your Gucci obsession.”

“Expensive looking faces deserve expensive things,” Taehyung laughs, shrugging. Yoongi rolls his eyes.

“To the next place!”

They walk about twenty minutes, chatting about trivial things, until Yoongi recognizes the vet. He raises an eyebrow at Taehyung who smiles, opening the door to let Yoongi inside.

“Hello! Are you Min Yoongi?” A worker asks and Yoongi realizes now that Taehyung hadn’t followed him in.

“I am, yes.”

“This is for you,” she hands him a darker pink rose. Yoongi takes it gratefully and turns to leave. Taehyung’s waiting outside with a gentle smile on his face.

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s okay, hyung, it’ll make sense in the end. We need to go to the water.”

They go to the exact spot they’d had a picnic almost a year ago, and sure enough there’s another rose laying on the ground. This one’s a dark red.

“Where to next?”

“There’s a small art museum near here,” this piece of information throws Yoongi off. They’ve never gone to an art museum together, it doesn’t make sense. He follows Taehyung, hand in hand, nonetheless.

The museum is cute, small and not very busy. They spend longer here than they had anywhere else, looking at different pieces, until finally they stop in front of one that Yoongi recognizes. A painting that had been painted over the course of a week right in front of his eyes. A painting that, despite its abstractness, symbolized perfectly the feeling of home and happiness. It’s Taehyung’s painting.

“Oh, Taehyung-ah, how long have you had this painting here?”

“Just a couple weeks. I wanted this one hung in public. I wanted the public to feel how I feel when I’m with you. I hope this helps others feel just as happy and loved.”

Yoongi traces every swirl of color with his eyes until he sees the rose, propped up on top of the frame. Orange.

Taehyung gets it down and hands it to him, “I hope you feel that way too.”

Yoongi nods, “Always.”

Next, they go to Seokjin and Namjoon’s apartment. When Yoongi realizes where they’re headed his heart starts pounding. If this is a trial date then why would Taehyung tell their friends? It was like sabotage. If they didn’t end up together, why go through the trouble of explaining the situation to their friends?

Seokjin throws the door open, cooing over the two of them, before Namjoon clears his throat from behind, passing up what is this time two roses, another red one with a white one, the two roses seem to have been grown so that their stems intertwine. Yoongi takes it and admires it for a moment, feeling a little exposed holding his bunch of roses with a grinning Taehyung beside him in front of his friends. When they say goodbye Seokjin winks at him and Namjoon mouths a silent ‘fighting!’.

Hoseok is next, giving them a similar pair of roses but this time with red and yellow. He throws Yoongi a teasing look.

They’re walking for a bit before Yoongi realizes they’re going back to their apartment, and the next important piece of their timeline is Yoongi’s disappearance. There’s a pit in his stomach that isn’t helped by Taehyung stopping, giving him a sad look and pulling a blue rose from his jacket.

“It’s all important to mention,” he tells Yoongi, “the highs and the lows, all of it matters.”

When they get home Taehyung tells him to wait outside until his signal, which ends up being a couple flashes of the porch light. Yoongi enters to see Taehyung, looking more nervous than ever, holding a peach rose and a red rose. The recliner is beside him with a petal of every rose he has scattered on it.

“Sit. Let’s talk for a second, yeah?”

Yoongi nods, sitting on the recliner. Taehyung gives him the last two roses and kneels in front of him, looking up into his eyes.

“I’ve always loved flower language, I think it’s a beautiful way of communicating difficult human emotions,” Taehyung smiles, pointing to the first rose Yoongi had found, “This one means friendship, and falling in love. I thought it was fitting for a first date with one of my best friends, don’t you think?” Yoongi nods, “The solid yellow one most commonly means friendship, but I was more focused on its alternate meaning, ‘promise of a new beginning’. I want this to be that for us. The lavender one is love at first sight and enchantment. I don’t know if I’d call it a love at first sight story, but I was definitely under a spell from the moment we met. Call it fate. Dark pink, for when Holly was sick. It means appreciation. I didn’t ever properly thank you for being so understanding of how emotional I had gotten, but I appreciate it so much. You’re always so understanding, and it’s one of the many reasons why this is happening right now.”

“Taehyungie…”

“I’m not done yet,” Taehyung shushes him gently, “the orange one means enthusiasm and desire, I think that pretty much sums up how I felt when you asked me to move in. I like being with you so much, so in one way or another I would call it desire. Red and white mean unity, bringing your friends into my life and my friend into yours was like unifying two worlds. I was so touched to be invited into that aspect of your life with open arms. Red and yellow symbolizes happy feelings. I was so happy when you brought over Jiminie, and I was so happy again when you came home. Blue means unattainable. You felt really far away, we were only home together while we were sleeping. I was sad for a long time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So you’ve said, hyung, now let me finish. Peach means sincerity and closing the deal. It means ‘let’s get together’,” Taehyung takes a deep breath, “and red means ‘I love you’, romantic and sincere. It means courage too. I’m trying to be courageous now. I’ve thought a lot over the last week and I’m positive now. I know this was meant to be a trial date, but I’d like to date you for real, if you’d let me.”

Yoongi gapes at him, breathing in the roses scents on every intake of breath, before nodding, “Of course, Taehyungie, of course .”

Taehyung grins, faltering for a moment when Yoongi’s eyes trail down his face. He smirks and watches Yoongi turn pink, looking down at his own lap, “Hyung?” Yoongi hums in response, “Don’t you think I should get a little reward after all this effort I put in?” He pouts, and Yoongi looks up at him again, rolling his eyes and setting the flowers on the side table beside him.

“You’re an idiot,” he places his hands on either side of Taehyung’s face.

“Your idiot,” Taehyung tries to respond, but his voice dies in his throat when Yoongi leans down to meet him. It’s a soft kiss, innocent and brief, just lips on lips, but it’s filled with months of emotion neither of them knew they had pent up inside of them. It’s filled with hope, and love, and new beginnings. It’s full of home.

Taehyung pulls away, just barely enough to be able to speak, both of their eyes still closed, “I got a reservation for that nice restaurant you like so much,” he mutters, and Yoongi grins.

“You’re my favorite dongsaeng,” he says decisively, connecting their lips again, more passionately, turning their heads to fit into each other, but it’s equally as brief before Yoongi’s leaning forward on Taehyung’s shoulder and laughing, “I’m such an idiot, I could have just told you after your birthday and we would have gotten here faster and easier.”

“You are kind of an idiot,” Taehyung agrees, hands tracing along Yoongi’s back, “But you’re my idiot now, and I’m never letting you go.”

“Like I’d try and run away.”

“Aw, you do love me.”

“I never said I didn’t.”

“You never said you did.”

Yoongi sits up again, hands back on Taehyung’s cheeks, “I love you,” he tells him firmly, kissing his forehead, “Now let’s find water for these roses and go to dinner.”

They aren’t perfect, and they both know they’ll have rocky moments, but Yoongi knows that if Taehyung keeps holding his hand the way he does and if Yoongi keeps opening himself up to love they’ll be okay, because this is their home. Together is home, and they love each other. What else do they need?