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Jungkook first met Taehyung on a family trip. It had been an especially cold winter and both of their families ended up spending most of the trip inside the big cabin they shared. Their parents became good friends, and the two families went on similar trips each winter, eventually buying a cabin deep in the woods.
Jungkook, the shy kid and Taehyung, the sociable one.
The boys always had fun together. When the weather was good, they would play outside in the snow, building snow castles and having snowball fights. When the weather was bad, they would play board games and read comics all day long, filling the cabin with laughter.
No matter how cold it got, they felt warm.
The winter Jungkook was 12, Taehyung didn’t come to the trip. He heard Taehyung’s mother say something about rebelling teenagers and that’s all the explanation he got.
He still remembers it as the loneliest winter in his life.
Next year he saw Taehyung again, but things were awkward to say the least. Taehyung had grown a lot and the mere one year age gap felt bigger than ever, like a deep gorge between them.
The year after that Jungkook stayed home. Winters passed one after another and things never really went back to the way they were.
By the time Jungkook was 18, he and Taehyung were strangers again.
–
Jungkook has moved out to study in his chosen university. He skipped the last family trip because he wanted to spend time with his new friends, but he promised his parents to come this winter.
It just so happened that his parents were caught up with work and told him to go ahead of them. When Jungkook arrives at the cabin, he is surprised to find it wasn’t dark and empty.
“Jungkook-ssi?”
Jungkook blinks, Taehyung’s voice bringing him back to Earth. The older had opened the door for him, and he had just stood there staring like an idiot.
“Hi. Just Jungkook is fine,” he greets, shaking Taehyung’s hand. They have both grown up now, no hard feelings between.
“Come in. I could make some hot chocolate? Or coffee, if you prefer.”
“Hot chocolate would be great, thank you,” Jungkook smiles, gladly accepting the offer.
It turns out Taehyung has arrived ahead of his family as well. The two of them talk about this and that, watching the snow fall outside the window.
“It’s snowing heavier. We should get more firewood just in case,” Taehyung says, glancing at the fireplace.
“I’ll do it,” Jungkook offers. “You can think of some groceries to get.”
Jungkook dresses warmly before stepping outside, feet sinking into the snow. While he chops the wirewood, he comes to think of his parents. The snowfall seems endless and he’s starting to worry. The weather is getting too bad for driving. He and Taehyung need to be quick if they want to make it to the store and back.
–
The nearest store is eight kilometres away. It’s a small, local store and they seem to be the only customers. They quickly gather everything they need and hurry to the counter. The old man behind the counter looks familiar, Jungkook must have seen him when he was younger.
“Be careful on your way back,” the man calls out after them.
It’s an appropriate warning. Jungkook barely gets the car moving in the deep snow. He wants to get back as soon as possible, but he has to drive slowly. It’s hard to see anything, and he isn’t planning on driving off the road. Not when it would cause troubles to Taehyung too.
Speaking of Taehyung, he’s a lot more quiet than Jungkook remembers him to be. Maybe it’s a change in personality, maybe it’s the company. Jungkook is more outgoing than before, but he doesn’t quite know how to approach Taehyung.
Jungkook tries putting on the radio, but it doesn’t work properly so he turns it off. They drive in silence, the journey taking longer than last time.
–
When they arrive, the landline is ringing. Taehyung takes the call while Jungkook goes to put away the groceries. Taehyung comes out and to the kitchen soon, an unreadable expression on his face.
“Our parents aren’t coming. It’s too dangerous to drive all the way here in this weather. They said the snowstorm might last several days.”
Jungkook already had a feeling. It can’t be helped.
“I see.”
It’s getting awkward again. Jungkook refuses to let it stay that way. If they are going to be stuck here together, they should at least try to have a good time.
“Should we make dinner? It’s getting late and I’m a little cold.”
“Sure,” Taehyung smiles.
The soup they made warms him up for a while, but the coldness returns with a vengeance. Jungkook shivers as he tries to make a fire. Taehyung gets some blankets and places them on the sofa, moving it closer to the fireplace.
“Come here,” Taehyung calls softly once the fire catches.
Jungkook turns his head, looking at the arrangements Taehyung had made. The sofa is small, especially with all the blankets on it, but the space next to Taehyung looks inviting nonetheless.
Taehyung makes room for him and he settles down, surrounded by soft blankets.
“Better?” Taehyung asks.
“Yeah. It’s warm.”
Jungkook yawns, sleepy. He keeps looking at the dance of flames until his eyes close and he drifts off to sleep.
–
Jungkook wakes up with his neck aching. He feels a bit embarrassed when he realises he has been leaning on Taehyung’s shoulder while sleeping. The latter is still asleep, and Jungkook moves away slowly so as to not wake him.
He sits up straight, rubbing the back of his neck. He doesn’t mean to stare, but once his eyes fall on Taehyung, he can’t look away.
Has Taehyung always been this handsome? Maybe. Probably. Jungkook has always admired the older, but something feels different now that they’re not kids anymore. He decides not to delve too deep into it.
The fire has gone out, and Jungkook shivers when he gets up from the sofa. He carefully fixes the blanket around Taehyung, protecting him from the chilly air.
Jungkook puts more wood into the fireplace, lighting a fire again.
It’s still snowing.
It’s quiet too, as if the snow brought silence along with it, falling on the earth together. Silence makes him anxious sometimes, and whenever that happens, he sings it away.
Now, however, Jungkook feels content. There is nothing urging him to break the silence. He feels…safe. The cabin may be isolated from the rest of the world due to the snowstorm, but there’s nothing lonely about it.
It’s weird. It’s weird how the warmth of the fire is nothing compared to that of the voice that calls him, rough from sleep yet still gentle.
“Koo?”
Jungkook hasn’t heard that nickname in years. The nostalgia makes him smile.
“Seems we both fell asleep, Tae-hyungie. We might set the cabin on fire if we’re this careless,” Jungkook notes in a serious tone, bursting into laughter right after at Taehyung’s startled expression.
“I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep…”
“It’s fine-”
“...but then you looked so peaceful and I got drowsy.”
Jungkook bites his bottom lip, something warm blossoming inside. Taehyung had been watching him too. It’s comforting to know he’s not the only one.
“Jungkook?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry you have to be stuck here with me.”
Jungkook doesn’t understand why Taehyung said that or why there’s regret in his eyes. Despite all that, he does know the words to respond with. His heart is full of them, as if it’s a chest full of letters to be opened one by one.
“There’s nothing to apologise for. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so at ease, actually.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
His daily life was a rush; he was always running from one place to another, and he hadn’t realised how tired of it he was until now that everything had become still. It was quite unexpected, but Jungkook liked being stuck.
He liked being stuck with Taehyung.
–
Jungkook is just about to let his head fall on Taehyung’s shoulder when the latter stands up and bolts from the room. Jungkook, confused, follows him to one of the bedrooms just to see him rummaging around the place, looking for something.
“Found them!”
Taehyung’s eyes shine as he shows his find to Jungkook: comic books from their childhood.
It’s then that the final pieces fall into place. It’s not like Jungkook didn’t know it already, but at times he forgot that Taehyung was still the same boy he met all those years ago. They may have changed, just like everyone does when they grow up, but they were still Taehyung and Jungkook. Forever partners in crime.
“This brings back memories,” Jungkook grins, looking through one of the comics. “Let’s get back to the sofa though, before I turn into an icicle.”
They spend the next few hours reading and laughing. At one point they fight over one comic they both want to read but quickly settle for reading it together. Taehyung holds it while Jungkook voices all the characters, trying to hold in his own laughter.
By the time they’re finished reading, both of their stomachs hurt from laughing so hard. Jungkook wipes the tears from his eyes, still buzzing with joy.
“Jungkook, look,” Taehyung suddenly speaks up. “It has stopped snowing.”
Taehyung is right, the snowstorm has passed. But they’re still going to be stuck for some more time since the roads are all covered in snow. Jungkook doubts the car would even start in this cold.
Jungkook doesn’t want to leave, not yet. And when he looks at Taehyung, he dares to think that the latter feels the same. They don’t need to say anything, because when it keeps getting colder, Taehyung opens his arms and Jungkook accepts the invitation without a second thought. They huddle together under a shared blanket, warm where their bodies meet.
Jungkook doesn’t remember a night as peaceful and blissful as this. He has never been as comforted by someone’s heartbeat, closing his eyes when those soft lips press against his forehead.
“Goodnight,” he whispers, falling asleep to the steady rise and fall of Taehyung’s chest. Next morning he will wake up to the ringing of the landline, worried parents on the other side. But for now, he’ll dream about countless winters just like this.
–