Work Text:
Hoseok was used to getting scared easily.
It was just a part of who he was, really. Spiders, bees, bugs… One of his friends speaking up after a while of silence… Someone touching him on the shoulder when he was focused… Any other sort of little things other people weren’t even fazed by were the same little things that made Hoseok jump from his seat and screech.
But there was something Hoseok was particularly, passionately afraid of.
Snakes.
Gooey little bastards. How dare they slither away, and hiss, and… and thrive like that? Their sole existence felt threatening to Hoseok.
And he hadn’t told anyone, in fear he’d get made fun of. Don’t get him wrong, he knew the fear of snakes wasn’t uncommon, but he wasn’t willing to give his forever unforgiving friends another reason to get on his nerves. He did not want to have Jimin and Taehyung prank him by getting into his house and waking him up by placing a rubber toy snake on his face one day, something he knew was prone to happening.
The subject never came up in conversations either. Whenever people asked him what he was afraid of, he responded with a simple shrug and a chuckle.
And, well… it wasn’t something worth mentioning. It would never be relevant. He’d just keep his head out of reptile exhibits with the excuse of having to go to the bathroom whenever he found himself at a zoo, something he never did. Because he was scared of the lions. And the tigers. And the chimpanzees.
But yes, Hoseok thought he could only ever come across snakes at zoos, and he already did everything he could to avoid that.
He was wrong.
Turns out his fear of snakes was, in fact, something worth mentioning; particularly to his boyfriend, who seemed to have a liking for strange pets.
“Hoba,” Yoongi whispered into his ear.
“Yeah?”
Hoseok loved the honeymoon stage.
He and Yoongi had met in college, as they were together in class. They had been together for only a month but Hoseok liked every single thing about his boyfriend. From the way his mouth would shape into a pout when he faked being annoyed, to the way they would cling onto each other whenever they were outside and Yoongi was tired. Things were great, and had been ever since their relationship began. Hoseok had yet to have a single fight with Yoongi, and while he knew they were in what people called the honeymoon stage of a relationship, he felt like theirs could last for a lifetime.
“I’m hungry.”
Hoseok snorted softly, without bothering to open his eyes.
“Me too.”
“But I don’t wanna get up.”
“Me neither.”
“Good,” Yoongi hummed in content and snuggled impossibly closer into Hoseok’s warm body. Sleep started to take over Hoseok and he was more than happy to give into it, when the loud growl of Yoongi’s stomach shook him awake.
“Sorry.” Yoongi held tighter onto him.
“It’s okay,” Hoseok yawned, deciding to get up. He shaked Yoongi’s arms telling him to let go, and the other complied with a pout. “I need a shower. Are you okay with instant ramen? I really don’t want to cook right now.”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
After a shower Hoseok insisted Yoongi took as well and a cup of ramen each, they both climbed back into bed. Hoseok lay down facing the wall and Yoongi clinged onto his back, like a koala, he thought. It was almost one in the morning. They were both tired.
“Hoba,” Yoongi slurred out, almost in a deep sleep.
“Yeah?”
“I’m cold.”
Hoseok turned around to face Yoongi and hugged him as he placed the blanket over their shoulders.
“Better?”
“Yeah.” A pause. “Hoba,”
Hoseok giggled softly. “Yeah?”
Yoongi was smiling too, one of those gummy smiles that made Hoseok feel all giddy inside. “Will you come with me to my apartment tomorrow?”
Hoseok had never been to Yoongi’s flat. It’s not that he didn’t want to, the opportunity had just never presented itself. Hoseok’s place was closer to their campus than Yoongi’s was, so whenever they decided to spend the night together it would always be at Hoseok’s. On the weekends too. Hoseok never felt the need to know where Yoongi lived, so he didn’t pressure him into showing, and they were just fine like that. It still felt like another step forward in their relationship and Hoseok was more than happy to keep going through their path.
“Of course,” Hoseok kissed his boyfriend on top of his nose. “I’ll go anywhere with you.”
Yes; the honeymoon stage had nothing on them. They just fit so well like that.
Hoseok didn’t take Yoongi for someone who had pets. I mean, sure, he had gotten exceptionally well with his sister’s dog, Mickey, when she’d asked him to take care of him for the weekend. But Yoongi had never brought the subject up, and thus Hoseok had never asked. The question of whether he liked pets or not, among a dozen, non-pet related others, popped up in Hoseok’s head when they were already on the way to Yoongi’s place. Yoongi drove them into a simple, modern apartment complex, slightly too minimalist for Hoseok’s taste but somehow right enough for his boyfriend. Cozy. Comfortable. Hoseok simply observed, admiring the beautiful trees as Yoongi parked the car.
Yoongi then walked them into one of the buildings and called the elevator, which led them into the fourth floor. He grabbed the keys from his pocket and opened the door to 403.
It was really just how Hoseok expected it to be. A little messy, but not enough to call it actually disorganized. There were band posters on the walls and Yoongi’s desk took up some space in the living room. There was a faint sweet smell, which he recognized as his boyfriend’s perfume.
Yoongi discarded his stuff on top of the small dining table near the kitchen. “Do you like it?”
“I do,” Hoseok responded with a smile on his face. “It’s you, and that’s enough to make me like it. Why hadn’t you invited me earlier?”
Yoongi shrugged as he took off his beanie and ran a hand through his hair, “I was planning to invite you much sooner, I just never found a chance to. You don’t mind, right?”
“Of course not.”
A pause.
“Oh. There’s something I want to show you.”
Hoseok made a curious noise. “What is it?”
“Come with me.”
Hoseok followed Yoongi all the way to the door by the tv. Before Yoongi let them inside, he looked back at Hoseok with wide, soft eyes.
“Don’t be afraid, alright? He’s harmless.”
Hoseok snorted. “What? Isn’t th…” and anything else he had to say died on his tongue the moment the door to Yoongi’s room was opened.
Because, yes, it was in fact Yoongi’s room he was led to. Hoseok was greeted by a simple king-sized bed, more posters, a rather small TV compared to the one outside and an open closet. Hoseok would have maybe seen any of this if he wasn’t petrified looking at the glass box that made space in the room as well.
A glass box? A vivarium . One with a snake inside.
“That guy over there is Billy. This is my room, uh, I know it’s a mess, but I haven’t had the time to really clean it. Most of my stuff is-” Yoongi paused when he realized he was receiving no response. “Hoba?”
Hoseok didn’t faint, nor did he scream, which he was glad about. He just freezed on the spot, unable to give his boyfriend a verbal response even though he’d just heard him call his name.
“I’m…” he croaked out with effort. “Gah?”
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m sorry,” he finally managed to get out. “Is that a- is that a snake?”
“Oh,” Yoongi looked at him and then the box, clearing his throat. “Yes, a western hognose, actually. I got him a few months ago and I wasn’t sure how you’d react so-” He was interrupted by Hoseok, who abruptly walked out of the room in trembling legs. Yoongi paused for a second before hurrying to his side.
“Why didn’t you tell me you have a snake?”
Yoongi gulped. “I wanted to surprise you?”
Hoseok rest his back against the wall and glared at Yoongi like he’d just grown a third leg. “Are you crazy? What kind of suprise is this? No offence to Billy.”
“None taken. I take it you’re not a fan of snakes?” Yoongi asked with a smile. “I’m sorry. People are usually scared when they first see him, but they just usually laugh it off and tell me he’s cool. I shouldn’t have taken that reaction for granted.”
Hoseok ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes. Yes, Hoseok was scared of a lot of things, but he was sure he could endure his boyfriend keeping literally any other animal as a pet. Even a lizard or a gecko, which are both reptiles, and close enough to snakes. But he guessed he should have told Yoongi about his phobia as well, because that’s what relationships were for. Trust and telling each other their fears.
“I’m terrified of snakes,” he confessed. “They’re my biggest fear. I think. Because I’m scared of a lot of things, but I think snakes make the top spot. I didn’t tell you because I assumed you’d make fun of me or prank me like I know would happen if I told other people.”
Yoongi offered him a small frown. “I’d never make fun of you or do anything to scare you.”
Hoseok sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“No, it’s okay,” Yoongi reached out and wrapped him in his arms. “I mean, you never expect your partner to have a snake for pet. I’m the one who should’ve told you.”
Hoseok snorted, allowing himself to keep calm in Yoongi’s embrace. “Why did you even get a snake? What were you thinking?”
“Well, dog care is expensive, and I don’t wanna go out three times a day for walks. Also, I’m allergic to cat fur, snakes were just the seemingly best option.”
“What about, I don’t know, fish? A bird, perhaps?”
The older hummed. “Do you see me as someone who owns fish?”
“Well, no, but not as someone who owns snakes, either.”
Yoongi broke their hug to face Hoseok and gave him an amused frown, action which received a giggle in response.
“Fine, maybe a little, yeah.”
As it turned out, the concept of snakes became a little less scary the more Hoseok exposed himself to it.
The first few times he went to visit, he refused to even get inside Yoongi’s room, talking about how Billy could jump from his box and attack him any second. Yoongi tried to tell him that he wouldn’t. Hoseok wouldn’t have it.
He only started coming to terms with the idea of seeing Billy face-to-face a month after his first visit. He plopped himself down on Yoongi’s bed and stared at the box all the while Yoongi explained things about Billy to him. For example, he was a hognose snake -which apparently he’d told him the first day, but could you blame Hoseok on not listening when he was in the middle of panic?-, a type of snake whose main characteristic was its little upturned snout. This detail made Billy somewhat cuter to Hoseok, who had made enough progress to find anything cute about a snake. It was white and red-eyed, and barely big enough to wrap itself all around the entire length of Yoongi’s arm, something Hoseok was still shocked Yoongi carelessly allowed him to do.
The first time he dared to hold him, and softly boop him on the nose much to Yoongi’s delight, was around the second month.
“Are you sure this isn’t dangerous?”
“Totally sure.”
“Is he aggressive?”
Yoongi snorted. “Does he look like he's aggressive to you?”
“No, but, I mean, maybe he’s used to you? Like those dogs who will bark and bite at anything that isn’t their owner?”
“I promise he’s not aggressive, you can ask Jungkook if you want.”
Hoseok gulped. “Are you sure this isn’t a poisonous species?”
“Hoba, you don’t have to hold him if you don’t want to, it’s okay.”
“No, I want to! I want to. I do.” he rushed. “It’s just, I’m nervous, I had only ever gotten this close to a snake in my nightmares before.”
“He’s roughly thirty centimeters long and weighs, what, forty grams? I’m sure the ones in your nightmares were a little bigger.”
Hoseok snorted despite the small trembling in his arms. “You’d be surprised.” He exhaled one last time before he rolled the sleeves of his sweater up. “Okay, I’m ready, give me him.”
Yoongi complied, and slowly placed a curled-up little Billy on top of Hoseok’s extended arms.
“Oh god, oh g-” he squeezed his eyes shut as Yoongi put all of the snake’s weight on him. “I can’t open my eyes, oh god, this was a bad idea.”
“Hoba, breathe,” Yoongi told him in a soft, endeared chuckle. He put a hand on top of Hoseok’s head and rubbed his thumb in a circular motion, trying to get him to relax. “He’s relaxed. Open your eyes and look at him. Can you do that?”
Hoseok grunted softly. “Okay, yeah, I can do that-”
The sight that welcomed him was the one of a little snake, who stared back at him.
“H-hi,” he told him. “You’re not gonna bite me, are you?”
Billy flicked his tongue in response.
“See? He’s not bad, is he?”
Hoseok chuckled nervously.
“You’re right. He’s- he’s cute.”
God, he was terrified. But fifty seconds passed and all Billy did was look at him in curiosity. Maybe having him around wouldn’t be that bad.
“A snake !?” Jimin whisper-yelled to him. “Is he crazy!?”
“Well, I thought so, too, but I think I’m getting used to it.”
Hoseok had been doing extensive research on snakes for weeks. He and Yoongi had been together for six months at that point, more than enough time for him to see that his boyfriend really liked snakes. It wasn’t just that Yoongi had one for a pet, which was already odd enough, but he also really just… liked them. He enjoyed watching snake videos on his phone while they were hugging and he thought Hoseok was asleep. Hoseok would find all sorts of little snake doodles whenever he helped Yoongi clean around his place. He really didn’t mind it all that much now.
Jimin gasped and gave him an incredulous look. “Are you serious? I don’t want to sound rude, but I thought you of all people would be afraid of snakes.”
Hoseok snorted. “Well, I’m not.”
“Good for you, because I am. I’m never visiting your boyfriend.”
Hoseok burst into laughter and Jimin scoffed.
“Oh,” Hoseok exhaled after a minute, “I’m going to have so much fun with that.”