Work Text:
01 - The Plant
02 - The Cat
03 - Plant Dad
04 - Cat Dad
05 - Proper Timing
06 - He’s Dying
07 - FML
08 - Cluttered
Namjoon stares at the withered, flowerless, thumb-length stub of stem that was once the SoulBloom - his SoulBloom - as a whirlwind of questions rattle in his mind.
Should he bury it? Do people bury dead plants?
Perhaps he should put it in a box first.
But he doesn’t have a box. Does he have a box? Where can he get a box?
Does he even need a box?
And how deep should he dig? One foot? Three? Six? Maybe he should just leave it in the pot for a while. Should he keep watering it, just in case?
Why is he even obsessing over these things like the essence of his entire being has shrunk into this plant? It’s just a plant. Of course, it’s just a plant! But he’s taken care of this particular plant for days, and he’s grown rather fond of it.
Oh, the joy that first bud brought him! It must be how a father feels peeking at his first-born child in the nursery. The warm fuzzy feelings. The unfiltered smiles. The shamelessly proud sighs of knowing he’s part of this. He helped bring this beautiful little being into this world.
And now, this beautiful little being is gone, because Namjoon left the balcony door open for too long on a particularly warm sunny winter day. Because stupid Namjoon never realized how close the balconies were in this building until he witnessed a fat cat escaping onto the neighbor’s balcony, leaving behind the bloody remnants of a crime scene: the pot lying on its side in a puddle of its own soil, and the SoulBloom - his SoulBloom - missing its leaves and the bud that has brought him so much happiness.
Should he sue the cat? This is practically murder, right? Jin-hyung simply laughed when Namjoon mentioned it on the phone, like the older guy thought he was kidding.
He wasn’t.
He isn’t… Is he?
Why is he stressing over this like he’s got nothing better to do tonight?
He would usually turn to Hoseok to help him clear his cluttered mind, but his friend has just left with Yoongi on their first winter trip as a couple, and Namjoon doesn’t want to be that guy.
Come to think of it - not that he’s been anticipating it or anything - what happens now to the soulmate he is supposed to meet?
Luckily, a beep from his phone distracts him before his brain overheats.
Unluckily, it does nothing to keep his cheeks from overheating.
09 - ㅇㅈㄴ
10 - First Meet
If Jimin isn’t seeing the slight blush on the other guy’s face, he would have run back home so fast that he’s tripping up on his faltering confidence along the way. So bold of him to offer to come over after the guy just called him cute.
Or is it because the guy did actually just call him cute?
But Namjoon said it was the cat.
Who’s gonna believe he meant the cat? Of course, he didn’t mean the cat. Did he, though? Is Sugaplum really cuter than Park Jimin? What does it matter? He just came here to apologize, anyway.
Right…?
“No more bowing, okay,” Namjoon says, somehow managing to sound both stern and teasing. “And, oh… You got one, too…”
Jimin’s gaze drops to the potted plant he holds in his hands, as the flush in his cheeks blossoms. “I’ve had it for a while, but it’s not really warming up to me.” His best friend Taehyung gave it to him for his birthday last year. It has grown a couple of leaves, but hasn’t gained an inch in length since. Kind of like Jimin’s pinky finger that missed out on his growth spurt. Taehyung and Jungkook never miss a chance to tease him about it.
He still tends to the plant every day, more out of habit and a sense of duty. He’s not really particularly fond of it, especially now that he has a cat that actively demands attention.
“How come your cat never ate it?”
Jimin meets his neighbor’s pouty frown and almost spills the giddy shrieks that have been quietly lurking and thriving in his gut.
“My friend made a protective glass dome for it. Have you heard of Jeon’s Glass Crafts Fusion?”
“You know Jungkook?”
“Uh, yeah? He’s my best friend’s boyfriend.”
“I remember, he did offer to send a glass dome for my plant. I thought he was just teasing.”
“He wasn’t. They’re actually working on a line of protective glass domes for SoulBloom plants, since, as you may well know by now, cats seem to have developed a taste for them -” Jimin clears his throat, quickly shifting gears. “Which is the reason why I’m here…”
He's here. And he's finally having a real conversation with the handsome neighbor he's been crushing on for months.
Why in the world is he talking about Jungkook and glass domes and greedy cats that won’t let their humans get a break?
“Would you like to come in?” Namjoon steps back from the door, his smile small and sheepish. His dimples, enchanting and deep.
The way this makes Jimin’s breath catch in his throat is so loud and obvious that he might as well just retreat and hide under a rock for the rest of his life.
This isn’t the first time he’s seeing Kim Namjoon. They’ve lived in the same building for the most part of last year.
They’ve crossed paths many times on many different occasions. Jimin would often even find himself staring at the guy’s firm, broad-shouldered back when they’re riding the elevator to their floor, and shy, little Jiminie would always back off into a corner, dainty face barely peeking out of a bucket hat.
He’s always really been conscious around people outside of his own circle, even more so when it’s someone he actually really likes. Someone he’s inexplicably drawn to.
Someone like Kim Namjoon.
So bold of him, really, to stand out here teetering on the edge of making a fool of himself in front of the one guy he would like to make the best impression on.
And why’d he forget to wear his bucket hat right now, of all days?
“I… I was just really… just… want to… Uh…” Jimin takes a huge gulp of breath and wills his giddy insides to calm down and let him be coherent for even just a minute. “I just wanted to drop this off to replace the one Sugaplum destroyed.” He braves a peek at Namjoon’s face. The dimples seem to have gotten deeper.
“Your cat’s name is Sugaplum?”
“It was just to tease my friend at first, since we would sometimes call him Suga, as opposed to his sulky personality, which is a lot like this cat. But then the name stuck, so -”
“Wait, are you talking about Yoongi Min, by any chance?”
“You know Yoongi-hyung?”
“Yeah. He’s my best friend’s boyfriend.”
“Wow.”
“Wow…”
In that quiet space, though in the briefest of pauses, Namjoon and Jimin find each other looking into the other’s eyes and seeing all the ways their lives have indirectly crossed, met, and melded together to create the connected pathways that finally led them to this moment. Seeing it all as a fitting prelude to the singular pathway they can finally share.
If they choose to.
Then again, why wouldn’t they?
A chill suddenly runs through Jimin’s body, from his toes to his head and back again. Bones and teeth clattering in open revolt to his stupidity.
Because in his scatterbrained rush to meet his destiny, out on a specially cold winter night, Jimin has forgotten to throw on a coat.
“You should really come in, it’s getting cold out here.”
Hearing Namjoon’s deep, soothing voice say “cold” seems to reorient all of Jimin’s giddy feelings to the reality of the chilly hallway. He starts to shudder in his black shirt, lounge pants and Jack Skellington socks.
He didn’t really intend to stay out this long. Now he feels so pathetically underdressed, and the cozy warmth of Namjoon’s well-heated apartment looks all the more inviting.
Namjoon reaches out to relieve Jimin’s trembling hands of the potted plant he has only meant to deliver with the sincerest, shortest apology he could manage before he gets starry-eyed lost in Namjoon’s charm.
At least, that was the plan.
Sitting curled up on a corner of Namjoon’s couch, nestled in the warm, cozy comfort of Namjoon’s thick, Pokemon blanket, and sipping hot cocoa from Namjoon’s Bulbasaur mug, has never crossed Jimin’s mind. But he’s not complaining.
Jimin grips the mug with both hands, somehow knowing how precious it is and not wanting to damage it in any way. He blows on the steam, his soul literally sighing in the comfort of this unplanned moment, all wrapped up in the soothing sweet scents of cocoa, fabric conditioner, and home.
“It was pink…”
“Hmm?”
“Your SoulBloom flower,” Jimin says, mumbling into his mug. “It was pink.”
“Rebirth…” Namjoon says just as quietly, blowing on his own Pikachu mug. His voice, rich, soft, and velvety like melted chocolate. “The rekindling of love. Two souls merging on a shared journey of meaningful transformations. Strengthened by both time and destiny. Guided by faith, hope, and love.”
A smile tugs at Jimin’s lips, as he realizes they’ve both read the exact same online article detailing the meanings behind the different colors of a SoulBloom flower.
You never know what you’re gonna get until you get it -
“That’s beautiful,” Jimin says, willingly drowning in Namjoon’s eyes.
“It is,” Namjoon says back, willingly holding Jimin in his gaze.
Namjoon shifts closer, the warm steam rising from the ceramic Pikachu in his huge hands gracefully mingling with the matching Bulbasaur in Jimin’s dainty palms. Jimin leans back into him, and together they watch the light drizzle of snow swirl against the dark canvass of the night sky outside Namjoon’s balcony. The spaces between them dwindling with each sip, each word, each breath.
Behind them, the SoulBloom plant that Namjoon has carefully placed on the kitchen counter shivers as the smallest hint of a bud begins to sprout.
11 - Proper Timing
-end-