Work Text:
“Alright guys, that’s it,” Namjoon calls out to the rest of the adventuring party. “The user’s gone offline.”
Everyone relaxes their posture, dropping out of their assigned idle animations and banishing any weapons or items they were equipped with back into virtual storage. They head to the back room of the adventure selection screen, the part not visible to users playing the game, stretching their arms and twisting their backs and groaning in relief.
“They gamed for a long time today!” Hoseok complained. “Don’t they have anything better to do?”
“Ah, the more and longer people play, the less likely they are to take us offline for good, you know,” chides Seokjin from behind him, signaling that the user of his party has gone offline as well.
The user of Seokjin’s party is best friends “In Real Life” with the user of Namjoon’s, so the two parties are usually active and inactive at the same time. Over the years their MMO has been online and in use, the eight of them have come to be friends. There’s a number of other offline parties hanging out in the back rooms as well, and they’re greeted with many friendly waves and nods. The room isn’t particularly well-defined, being an unfinished part of the user interface after all, and it’s rather dim and cavernous. But, all the player avatars have managed to copy enough bits of furniture in here from the game proper that there’s enough places for groups to sit together and socialize when they’re not wanted by their users.
Namjoon leads them over to their usual spot, a circle of comfortable couches and chairs with a table by the middle, tucked close to one of the walls. There’s enough room for both parties to sit and relax. Jungkook scurries quickly from behind Seokjin, trying to look very unhurried and casual about it, so that he can snag the seat right next to Namjoon. The rest of Namjoon’s party is taking their seats by the time Jungkook catches up with them: Hoseok flops himself onto a cushion on the floor, Yoongi takes the corner of one couch, and Yoonji perches on the ottoman next to Hoseok. Seokjin follows closely behind and takes the chair next to Namjoon. Then, the other two members of Seokjin’s party, Taehyung and Jimin, sit cuddled up together on the couch next to Yoongi.
“The code for the new expansion was finally uploaded to the server tonight,” Namjoon starts, and everyone nods, aware of the change. “The rumors were true, and it is an ice-based land.”
“Does that mean we’ll finally get some decent clothing options?” Taehyung asks.
They all laugh. They know the answer is No.
This MMO was designed by folks who really went all-in on the super-skimpy, chainmail bikini types of costumes for the lady characters, And, in an attempt to be egalitarian and pretend it wasn’t an issue, they gave all the male characters super-skimpy costumes as well. So, as they all sit together and relax “backstage,” the amount of leg, shoulder, and torso flesh on display is truly something to behold.
Namjoon stands up, in preparation for accessing the costume data. His character is The Barbarian, which - out of all of them - is the most scantily clad. This is one case where the male version actually wears less than the female. He has on just a pair of primitive leather sandals and a fur loincloth. The female version at least has a little crop-top on as well. As a result, Namjoon's legs, torso, and arms are bare, showing off how muscular he is all over. When the two parties meet up like this, Jungkook has to focus very hard to not stare at those monstrous thighs of his. As a consequence, he sometimes ends up resolutely staring unblinkingly off into the middle distance, and gets accused of spacing out - but he supposes that’s less embarrassing than keeping his eyes locked on Namjoon’s legs, watching as every small motion he makes shifting in his seat causes different muscles in his quads to pop out.
“First off, here’s my new winter outfit for the icelands,” Namjoon says, as he switches his costume.
It’s not very different. His sandals are replaced with furry boots that go up to his knees, and he gets matching furry vambraces on his arms. Everyone laughs, none harder than Hoseok and Jimin.
“How will that help against the cold?” Hoseok shrieks, gesturing to his still entirely-bare torso.
Namjoon just shakes his head with a resigned smile.
Secretly, Jungkook loves it when they get new cosmetic items, because it’s the perfect excuse to stare at Namjoon all he wants!
“Well, you next then,” Namjoon says, gesturing to Hoseok.
Hoseok stands up, adjusting his very short tunic as he goes to preserve his modesty. He’s The Cleric, so his tunic is white with gold embroidery, and he has elegant boots that go all the way up to mid-calf. So he, too, gets to show off most of his legs, his arms up past the elbow, and a fair amount of collarbone, though he has a much more slender build than the Barbarian.
Namjoon switches him to his winter costume. Everyone oohs and aahs, as the new tunic is almost entirely golden, and there are shiny golden greaves over his boots now. The tunic covers his arms now, and it has a big, fluffy, ermine fur collar at the top. Hoseok makes a sassy pose with his hands in the air and gets a smattering of applause and whoops.
“Okay, do Yoongi next!” Hoseok says enthusiastically as he lowers himself back to the floor.
Yoongi stands up a little reluctantly. As The Sorcerer, his character is the one exception to the skimpy costume rule: he is almost completely covered up; he even has gloves on, so literally only his face is visible. He wears dark robes - shimmering with runes around the hems - that go all the way to the ground, up to his neck, and all the way to the wrist. He even has a hood drawn over his head, just a small fringe of green bangs visible across his forehead.
Still, Jimin gives him a wolf-whistle, getting an eye-roll in return. Then Namjoon switches his costume and they all scream with laughter. Jimin actually falls out of his seat, he’s laughing so hard.
His new robes are a deep turquoise, a color like the interior of a glacier. He still has black gloves on, and the hood still covers his head - and now he also has on a black face mask, so of his face, only his eyes are visible. However, his robes are now a bit shorter, so his black boots and black-clad ankles are visible.
“Ohhhhh!” Seokjin shrieks through his high-pitched laughter, pointing at Yoongi’s feet. “How scandalous! I can see the shape of his ankles!”
Yoongi looks down and has to giggle too. He picks up one foot and wiggles it, to the delight of his friends.
“Alright, alright,” he says, a little flustered, as the laughter finally starts to calm down. “Now Yoonji.”
Their user, for some reason, wanted to have two Sorcerers on his party - not only Yoongi’s Earth Element Sorcerer, but also a Fire Element Sorcerer, for which he chose to use the female avatar, just for variety they suppose. Yoonji looks fairly similar to Yoongi, the same dark robes and gloves, but with a bit of red hair peeking out instead.
Oh, and also, a long, thigh-high slit in her robes, programmed so that it always draped artfully around one of her legs, leaving it bare from ankle to thigh, no matter how she poses. Yoongi would sometimes claim that his own legs were just as slender and elegant as hers, but he could only be coaxed to show them off occasionally when they snuck out to the virtual village tavern and got tipsy.
Yoonji stands up, a hair less good-naturedly than Yoongi, and puts her hands on her hips, ready for the new costume. Everyone claps respectfully as her robes are transformed into the same deep turquoise as Yoongi’s.
“Now the leg!” Yoongi calls out.
Yoonji shoots him an exaggerated glare, but then squats down into an abrupt kung-fu pose, putting her one bare leg on full display. Everyone whoops and she straightens up, smiling indulgently.
“Now let’s see your team,” Namjoon says, turning to Seokjin as Yoonji sits back down and relaxes.
“Alright, I’ll start,” Seokjin agrees as he heaves himself out of the deep cushion of the armchair.
Seokjin, the leader of the adventuring party Jungkook is on, is The Paladin. He has on a set of armor somewhat reminiscent of a gladiator, with a skirt formed of metal-studded flaps that goes down to a few inches above his knees, an elaborately-formed chest plate with many curlicues on it, and one enormous pauldron (with curlicues to match) on his left shoulder with a crest that sticks up almost to the same height as his head.
He turns on his winter outfit, and everyone claps appreciatively. The pauldron is replaced with a giant wolf’s head on his shoulder, the rest of the wolf pelt trailing behind him like a cape. His armor is now a dark, steely color, and he gets a headband that holds his hair back dramatically from his face.
“I think the concept artist must be a Paladin partisan,” Namjoon says in faux-complaint. “I feel like you always get the best-looking special costumes.”
“I just make everything look good,” Seokjin contradicts with a wink. “Okay, Jungkook, you’re up!”
Jungkook stands, trying to not look self-conscious with everyone’s eyes on him. He likes seeing everyone’s costumes (okay, he likes seeing Namjoon’s the most), but he doesn’t necessarily like having to stand there to let them see his. He just has to deal with it.
Since he’s The Warrior, his default costume is shirtless, like Namjoon’s, but his arms and most of his chest and back are covered in bold, geometric tattoos. He gets leather pants with a studded belt, wrist bracers that match the belt, and giant, chunky boots. Seokjin swaps his outfit out, and he looks down at himself to see.
At least now, he gets a little leather vest. His arms are still bare, though. His boots are even bigger and heavier, with a touch of fur trim. The wrist bracers are now thick silver armbands, and he’s now equipped with an absolutely enormous furry belt, which practically engulfs him from the tops of his thighs to just below his belly button.
“Wow,” Taehyung says as everyone giggles, “that is a LOT.”
“Yeah, I think maybe they assigned this one to the intern,” Jungkook jokes, shaking his head in chagrin. “You next though!” he continues instantly, pointing to Taehyung.
Jungkook sits down, grateful to have everyone’s eyes off him. He glances over at Namjoon and sees that he is, in fact, still looking at him.
“I’m jealous of your vest, to be honest,” Namjoon whispers at him, from across Seokjin.
Jungkook grins and flashes him a peace sign.
Taehyung is The Thief, so he stands in front of them in a very tight, all-black ninja-inspired outfit. The top is wrapped loosely, showing off a fair amount of chest, and the bottoms are very VERY short shorts. Plus he has a hood and a mask on, and wooden sandals. Then he’s in his upcoming outfit, which causes everyone to blink for a moment at the contrast, because it is blindingly white. The hood, mask, and shirt are the same shape, just a different color. For the winter look, he gets form-fitting pants that go all the way down to his ankles, and tabi socks under the sandals.
“Augh, still sandals for winter!” Namjoon says sympathetically.
“But hey, at least they gave me the socks,” Taehyung replies resignedly.
Finally, it’s Jimin’s turn. Taehyung gives him a high five as they swap places. Jimin is The Bard, one of the flashier looks. He’s in an all-red doublet and hose - the doublet cut very low along the chest, his entire sternum visible, and the hose skin-tight. He spins for a dramatic effect as Seokjin swaps his costume, prompting the group to start oohing and aahing before they can even properly see it.
His new hose and doublet are shining silver, plus he gets a very fancy silver bolero jacket. And, most striking of all, an absolutely gigantic ermine fur hat, which appears to be a monstrous combination of a trapper hat and something like a traditional Mongolian fur hat, perhaps with a touch of sombrero thrown in as well. Hoseok and Taehyung point to it, laughing so hard they can’t speak, until Jimin takes it off so he can get a proper look at it himself. Then, he laughs so hard himself that he has to lie down on the floor to recover.
Finally, Jimin calms down and puts his hat back on. Seokjin and Namjoon nod at each other, then dismiss the costume previews, setting all eight of them back to their user-selected looks. Seokjin shifts forward in his seat.
“Hoseok and I are going to do a few rounds of dancing, anyone else want to come with?” he asks, looking around the group as Hoseok beams happily. They often go to the dance competition game, since it’s always cycling through new songs and routines.
“We’re going to the cooking sim. Today’s the last day of the seasonal dumplings, I want to get them one last time before they’re gone,” Yoonji says, reaching out and patting Taehyung on the shoulder, who smiles eagerly.
“Spotify for me,” Yoongi says, already standing up. “There’s a new album out today I haven’t gotten to listen to yet.”
“I’m going with Yoongi,” Jimin says, following him.
“I’m going to check out the new farming sim, since they just put it in open beta a few days ago. I haven’t checked it out since the early days of alpha testing, so I’m interested in seeing how it’s changed,” Namjoon says.
“Oh!” Jungkook says eagerly. “Can I come with you? I haven’t seen it yet!”
“Yeah, of course!” Namjoon replies happily.
The eight all wave to each other as they head off in their chosen directions, popping over to the other gaming servers.
Jungkook can’t stop himself from smiling as he follows Namjoon towards the farming server.
“So is this another Stardew Valley clone?” Jungkook asks as they walk.
“I suppose it’s a bit similar, inevitably,” Namjoon says thoughtfully. “But this one has much more focus on growing the plants. You have to pay a bit more attention - it’s not just as simple as planting, watering, and harvesting. They actually implemented some biodynamics, so you have to get the right plants next to each other, and rotate what gets planted, and let it go wild sometimes to replenish the soil.”
“Wow!” Jungkook says, wide-eyed and impressed. “That’s some attention to detail.”
They make the transfer from their home server, across a few internet backbone hops, and into the beta server for the farming sim. Jungkook takes a deep breath as soon as they materialize: there’s a light breeze, and he can smell grass and flowers and sunlight. He looks over at Namjoon, who’s smiling happily, dimples on full display. The trip out here would be worth it for that sight alone.
Their starting point is a bit out in the countryside, though they can see the roof of the rustic farmhouse above the trees and bushes, with a dirt path winding off into them invitingly. Wildflowers grow on each side of the path, and gently rolling hills are visible in the near distance, dotted with a few different kinds of trees. They start walking down the path together.
After just a few minutes, they come across the far edge of the first field. It’s enclosed with a rough wooden fence and the dirt is tilled up into rows, but it’s dry and nothing appears to have been planted yet.
“Check this out,” Namjoon says, gesturing to the ground.
He shows Jungkook how to peer into the code of the dirt, and points out the metrics that are tracked for each block.
“See, how in the area over here with the wild grasses, there’s no erosion damage because the root systems are so deep?” he asks.
Jungkook nods.
“And then look over at the tilled area,” he continues.
Jungkook looks, and sees how the soil is now vulnerable to depletion.
“Oh, interesting!” he says, looking at a couple different blocks of soil nearby, including under some of the trees, looking at all the stats that get tracked.
“You know,” Namjoon muses after a moment, “I think the dirt in this game actually has more unique stats than each of us do in our game.”
Jungkook looks at him and counts in his head, then laughs.
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” he agrees, shaking his head.
They continue onwards towards the farmhouse. Jungkook sees movement out of the corner of his eye, and jerks his head to follow it. An adorable, cartoony little black cat has just hopped off the ground onto one of the fence posts.
“Oh, they have pets in this game too?” Jungkook says in delight.
“I think every game has pets now,” Namjoon replies, watching the cat for a moment. He continues, “don’t you think it looks a little like Yoongi?” after the cat settles itself into a sitting position on the post, watching them back through narrowed eyes.
Jungkook giggles.
“Yeah, it really does!” he agrees.
“I’m going to take a screenshot and send it to him,” Namjoon mutters mischievously. “There, stored it, I can put it in the chat once we’re back home.”
Jungkook laughs even more.
After that, the path turns one final corner around a giant oak tree, and they’re in front of the farmhouse. One of the default farmers is there, in signature denim overalls, a plaid shirt, a straw hat, and boots. You don’t mess with the classics, Jungkook mused to himself.
“Howdy, neighbors!” she called out to them, sounding friendly though her eyes skittered over them a little nervously.
“Oh, don’t mind our appearance,” Namjoon said kindly. “We only fight in our game, when the user’s online. We just wanted to check out the farm.”
“Of course,” she replied, finally looking firmly into Namjoon’s face. “You know,” she went on, trying to sound casual, “feel free to borrow a shirt from the cosmetics library while you’re here. Not sure if you guys can get sunburned, but, y’know…”
Jungkook giggles a little nervously. He hadn’t really thought about what they look like, especially in this context - both of them naked from the waist up, all muscles, JK with his tats and Namjoon with his giant thighs.
“Well, thanks!” Namjoon replies warmly.
They stay for a moment while Namjoon asks her about how the beta testing is going so far, how much they know about the storylines planned for the farmer’s neighbors, that sort of thing. Jungkook thinks it’s fun to hear about a peaceful game for once. Finally, the farmer begs off and says she has to go check on her sheep, so they bid her farewell, then head back the way they came.
Jungkook turns around one last time before they turn the corner around the big oak tree again. He sees the farmer looking down at herself, hands over her chest. She mutters something to herself, that kind of sounds like I’m not sure if I even have nipples.
They walk even more slowly on the way back than they did on the way in, soaking in the atmosphere, enjoying the way the grasses and wildflowers sway in the gentle breeze on one side of the path, and the way they can smell the freshly-turned soil from the field on the other side.
Jungkook clears his throat.
“Hey, there’s that tower defense game that goes into alpha next week,” he says, trying to sound casual, “you know, the one that’s snakes versus mongooses?” Then he pauses. “Mongeese? Anyway, it’s pixel art, and it’s supposed to be pretty cute. Want to come with me to check it out?”
“Sure!” Namjoon agrees easily. Jungkook smiles, feeling victorious.
“We should ask Hoseok if he wants to come too,” Namjoon suggests a little absently. “He likes that kind of cutesy stuff.”
Jungkook fights hard to keep the smile from falling off his face. He takes a deep breath.
“Ah, I don’t know, he might find the snakes too creepy,” Jungkook says, eyes roaming nervously over the distant hills, swinging his arms to try to channel his excess energy.
Namjoon turns and looks at him, eyes searching his face. They reach the end of the path then, the spawning point.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Namjoon whispers suddenly.
Jungkook whips his head around and stares at him.
“Yeah, of course,” he says, perplexed at the turn in the conversation.
“Out of our whole combined group,” Namjoon says, “I like you the best.”
“Oh-ohh,” Jungkook says, feeling like the breath has been punched out of his lungs.
He swallows.
“I like you best too,” he squeaks out. “And I’m not just saying that because you said it first.”
Namjoon smiles, shows off those lovely dimples again, then he reaches out with one hand and gently caresses Jungkook’s cheek, which is simultaneously the best thing and the worst thing that has ever happened to Jungkook, and it’s only the worst because he has no idea what to do and he’s sure he’s going to blow this moment somehow.
“You know, I read in the notes for our game that they were going to add a whole romance storyline, but they scrapped it,” Namjoon says, as he moves his hand off of Jungkook’s cheek and down to grab his hand instead. “I’ve always wondered what that would have been like.”
“Maybe they’ll go back and finish it at some point,” Jungkook suggests breathlessly, squeezing Namjoon’s hand, then boldly reaching out and grabbing his other one as well. “You never know, they’re going to let everyone see Yoongi and Yoonji’s ankles now - there’s no telling what those madmen are capable of.”
Namjoon laughs then, and it’s like the force of the sun, just eight or so inches away from Jungkook’s face, and he wonders idly if that farmer were right and he should be concerned about sunburn, from a lovely man who’s too bright and sweet for him to withstand this much close contact.
“Come to think of it,” Namjoon says when he has his breath back, “I like your original idea better. Let’s go check out that game, just the two of us. And you were right the first time, it’s ‘mongooses.’”
Then he leans in and gives Jungkook a quick, gentle smooch. And Jungkook was wrong earlier, this is definitely the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
“Can we go to the cooking sim too?” Jungkook requests, pressing his advantage. “I’m friends with the NPC sous chef now, he’ll give us extra salmon if I ask.”
“Yeah, wow, let’s do that,” Namjoon replies enthusiastically.
Jungkook leans and gives him one more smooch before they log back out and start the transfer home, leaving a few mysterious giggles along the backbone as they go.