Work Text:
It was four in the afternoon and Jimin was not in the mood to write his psychology paper. It was nearing a truly hellish temperature outside and he was bored out of his mind. He was bored and sweaty and his roommate left the newspaper open on the kitchen table and so he mindlessly began flipping through it.
Jimin didn’t read the newspaper. He barely even checked the news at all, unless it was related to something for his psych class, and even then he only skimmed enough to make it look like he did some research. This was an act of true boredom, and it was all Namjoon’s fault for leaving the damn newspaper sitting there.
Wiping away the sheen of sweat collecting on his forehead, he skimmed across various articles detailing the events happening across campus, and current events in the region, and none of it was catching his eye or helping to solve his boredom issue, until he reached the personal ad section. There were only two listings: one person looking for a roommate to split rent with, and one asking for...well.
WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before. If interested, contact Kim Taehyung on my KakaoTalk at xxx-xxxx-xxxx.
“What the hell…?” Jimin muttered to himself.
It was hellishly hot outside. Jimin didn’t want to write his psychology paper. He was also very bored, and someone was asking for a time travelling buddy in the newspaper that Namjoon had left open on the table.
Not really believing what he was doing, Jimin added the time traveller on his KakaoTalk and hesitated for only a moment before typing out a message to him.
Jimin
hey my name is park jimin
Jimin
i saw your ad in the paper
Jimin
where do i sign up
Taehyung
send a photo
Jimin
uh. what?
Taehyung
selfie. send a selfie
Jimin
can i ask why
Taehyung
i need to know who i’m working with before you see my time machine
Jimin
oh. um. okay
Jimin
i look kind of sweaty, sorry. it’s hot in my dorm
Jimin
Taehyung
OH
Taehyung
okay i don’t even need to interview you now
Taehyung
you’re perfect
Jimin
wait what
Jimin
uh. did i misunderstand something
Jimin
this whole “time travel”…
Jimin
it’s not like. code for some weird sex thing, is it
Taehyung
no!!!! god no. this is a scientific mission
Taehyung
an adventure, if you will
Jimin
sorry but it still kind of sounds like a sex thing
Taehyung
just come to my house i’ll send you the address
Taehyung
and seriously, don’t forget the weapon
Taehyung
i promise it’s nothing weird. just two guys going on a trip through time and space
---
Basically everything about the situation was a warning sign going off in Jimin’s head indicating that he really should not be tossing a baseball bat into the backseat of his car and setting off toward the address that Taehyung sent him, which was a house a short distance from campus. Everything about the situation told him that he should really just deal with the heat and the procrastination and stay in his dorm instead of indulging in this complete stranger’s bizarre delusions that were Not A Sex Thing.
Just in case this Taehyung guy turned out to be dangerous, no matter how unlikely that was, Jimin knocked on Namjoon’s door, interrupting what appeared to be a pretty intense jam session. “Hey, uh, hyung?”
“What’s up, Jimin?” he asked, slipping one headphone off his ear and looking at Jimin expectantly.
“I’m heading to a stranger’s house, and if I’m not back before tomorrow morning, call the cops.”
“Can I ask why you’re doing this? You’re not a sugar baby, are you?”
“I hate you.”
The sun seemed to be determined to melt Jimin’s skin right off his bones, making the steering wheel of his car and the leather interior like the inside of an oven, no matter how high he blasted the air conditioning. His shirt was nearly soaked through by the time he pulled into Taehyung’s tiny driveway. There was a large rattling noise coming from the garage, and Jimin was about to turn around and head back when he realized the noise was the door itself opening.
Jimin barely got any time to look around before a tall kid with bright red hair pulled him by the arm inside the garage and shut the door just as quickly as he’d opened it. Upon closer inspection, he seemed to be Jimin’s age, with dark eyes and a wide grin. His hair was slightly disheveled, he had large goggles perched only about a centimeter above his forehead, and he was holding a wrench in his hand.
“Jimin, right?”
Jimin nodded, still taking in his surroundings. The garage was cluttered beyond belief, with various machines and scraps of metal and what looked like a dismantled motorcycle crammed on every shelf and most of the floor space. The only somewhat clear area was in the center of the room, where a large metal box was sitting, with a panel on its side dangling off its hinges and a toolbox lying next to it.
“Before you proceed any further, I need you to sign a document stating that you won’t go blabbing about the things you will see here today,” Taehyung said, reaching in his baggy pants for a crumpled piece of paper. He handed it to Jimin, who read it with an eyebrow raised. It was handwritten, and simply said “I hereby promise to never tell anyone about the time machine or time travel.”
“I’m not sure this counts as a legal document,” Jimin said, though he took the pen Taehyung handed him and signed it against the top of the box anyway. “And didn’t you put out a public ad for this? How is it a secret?”
Taehyung grinned at him. “Everyone else is going to think it’s a weird sex thing.”
Jimin gaped, unable to even think of a reply to that. He’d just signed a handwritten gag order for a time travel adventure with a complete stranger, and upon closer inspection, the time machine in question appeared to be a freezer that had been heavily altered.
Seemingly oblivious to Jimin’s realization that all of this was completely crazy, Taehyung examined the contract for Jimin’s signature, folded it carefully, and then squatted down next to the open panel on the freezer-time-machine.
“I just need to finish up maintenance on this, and then we can get going.” He waved his hand in the direction of the door leading inside his house. “If you have to go to the bathroom, do it now. Trust me, it’s not fun to be whipped through time with a full bladder.”
Jimin raised his eyebrows, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene in front of him. Taehyung was pressing a series of buttons on the control panel and furiously twisting some rusty looking bolts, glancing down at an array of wrinkled blueprints in front of him every now and then.
“Hey, Taehyung, you’re not really trying to go back in time, are you?”
He paused and turned to face Jimin again, wrench in hand and goggles clamped down over his eyes. “You answered the ad, didn’t you? You’re standing in my garage, watching me prepare my time machine for time travel, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but I thought you were joking.”
Taehyung flipped the goggles up, revealing furrowed brows over an incredulous expression. “I literally said in the ad, ‘This is not a joke.’”
“Irony is big nowadays, I don’t know,” protested Jimin. “And I was bored. I don’t know why I’m here.”
Taehyung got to his feet, dropping the wrench to the ground with a clatter and gripping Jimin’s shoulders tightly, staring him down with a solemn expression. “You are here because you know, deep down, that you have an unquenchable thirst for the unknown. You may think you don’t believe that I’m telling the truth about this being a working time machine, but you’re standing here in my garage for a reason, Park Jimin.”
Jimin almost said the truth, that he was here because he was bored, and it was hot out, and he was procrastinating on his psychology paper, and he’d been curious to see if the ad was serious or not. But he didn’t. Because Taehyung looked hellbent on proving to Jimin that they were about to go back in time, and Jimin would be damned if he was about to walk out before Taehyung even got a chance to try.
So instead he said, “You’re right.”
Looking satisfied, Taehyung resumed work on the control panel. “So. We’ve established that you’re very handsome, and a skeptic, but what else do I need to know about you before we go? Hobbies? Major? Girlfriend?” He paused, eyeing Jimin’s shorts. “Boyfriend?”
“I’m a third year psych major,” Jimin said, crossing his arms self consciously. “I like dancing, I guess. And I’m single.”
Taehyung nodded, trading the wrench for a small blowtorch. “Nice, nice. I’m an engineering major. Same year as you.” Still holding the flame to the metal, he flipped up his goggles again and grinned. “Also single.”
He was cute, at least, Jimin thought while he watched Taehyung tinker with the machine. A little rough around the edges, and very likely a little unhinged, but he was cute. Not that Jimin was so shallow that he’d pretend to go on a time travelling adventure with a stranger just because he had a very nice face, but…
Oh, hell. Maybe he was that shallow.
After a couple minutes Taehyung finally tossed down his tools, fixed the door to the control panel back in place, and brushed off his clothes, jumping to his feet. He took his goggles off and held out his arms proudly. “And that’s a wrap!” he said, grinning ear to ear. “Are you ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
Taehyung swung open the door to the freezer, and Jimin did a double take. It didn’t look like there was enough room for one person, let alone two college aged guys at the same time. Taehyung ducked down inside, though, tucking his knees up to his chin and ushering Jimin inside.
Sucking in his stomach, Jimin squeezed in after him, surprised when he found that there was more room than he thought; he didn’t have to do much maneuvering to fit.
Taehyung shut the door and lifted his hand to the ceiling, where there was a series of numbered buttons and a small lever. “Here we go,” he said. “One hundred years into the past. You brought your weapon, right?”
Jimin thought of the baseball bat still sitting in the backseat of his car and nodded. “Yep.”
“Okay, then.” He jammed his thumb against the buttons so fast that Jimin couldn’t see what numbers he’d pressed, and then yanked on the lever. The entire machine began to hum, making Jimin’s heart race. He reached over and grasped Taehyung’s hand tightly, suddenly excited for whatever was about to happen.
The whirring and humming noises continued, and then tapered off into silence. Several moments passed, and nothing seemed to be happening. Taehyung banged his fist against the metal, and when that didn’t seem to do anything, he cautiously swung open the door and poked his head out.
“Well?” Jimin said, craning his neck to see around Taehyung’s head, but he didn’t see much before Taehyung crawled back inside and shut the door again, his face blank.
“It didn’t work,” he said simply.
Jimin shook his head. “Figures.” He pushed the door back open and crawled out, stretching out his legs, which had started to cramp from sitting in that box for so long. Taehyung followed him, his face downcast and his lip jutting out in a childish pout.
“I really thought I fixed it from last time,” he said. “It should’ve worked.”
“Last time?”
“I have done this before, y’know,” Taehyung said. “But, uh. The last guy kind of got trapped in the past when we tried to come back.” He pointed at the box. “So I was trying to go get him.”
Jimin stared at him. “You left someone in the past?”
“Yeah. He was my best friend, so it kind of sucks?” He shrugged. “I didn’t want to go back and get him alone, so I put out the ad. You were the only one who answered that was even remotely cute, so…”
Coughing to mask the blush creeping on his face, Jimin said immediately, “Why does that matter?”
Taehyung crossed his arms. “Because my friend might not have wanted to come back with us! I needed someone cute to use as bait for him,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“This is so crazy,” Jimin said, shaking his head. “Like, do you hear yourself? Do you hear the words coming out of your mouth?”
Taehyung opened his mouth to retort when a loud crack rang out through the room, accompanied by a bright flash of piercing light. Both of them slowly turned to face the source of the commotion, only to find a small black scorch mark on the floor where Taehyung’s time machine had been.
“Did that just…”
“It works!” Taehyung cried. “It just took a while to warm up, I guess. But it works!”
Jimin gaped at the scorched floor, still smoking a little from the rip in time that the machine had caused, blinking stupidly. “I can’t believe it. You were telling the truth.”
“I’m offended you even doubted me, Jiminnie,” Taehyung said smugly. “I guess all we can do is hope Jungkook finds the time machine and decides to come back on his own.”
“Jungkook? Your friend?”
“Yeah. It better be him that finds it and not some hooligan.” Taehyung shivered. “Imagine that thing falling into the wrong hands.”
Biting back the urge to imply that it was already in the wrong hands with Taehyung, who had just sent an unmanned time machine into the past, Jimin patted him on the shoulder. “If you were as close to this guy as you said you were, I’m sure he’ll come back.”
“When you’re right, you’re right,” said Taehyung. “In the meantime, I guess I should pay you for your trouble. Sorry you didn’t get to see that thing in action. Time travel is pretty fun.”
“No, don’t worry about it.” Jimin waved his hands dismissively. “I wasn’t in it for the money. Thanks for totally blowing my mind today. If you want, you can still contact me on Kakao. To give me updates on the whole situation, I mean.” He reached in his pocket to grab his keys, then stopped. “Shit. I can’t find my keys,” Jimin said, patting down his pockets.
“Well, where were they?”
“In my pocket, but I…” He stopped, and the two of them looked back to the spot where the time machine had been.
“You didn’t...They didn’t...Fall out in there, did they?”
Jimin’s jaw dropped. “Did I just send my car keys one hundred years into the past?”
“You can always stay here tonight,” offered Taehyung. “Jungkook should bring the machine back, and he can give you the keys.”
“I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?” He really could have called Namjoon and asked him for a ride. He really did have another choice, but Taehyung was offering his hospitality, and with the prospect of seeing the time machine reappear, he wasn’t keen on the idea of leaving so soon.
(Plus there was the fact that Taehyung was really cute. Since Jimin had already accepted that he was, indeed, a shallow person.)
The inside of Taehyung’s house was about what Jimin had expected. Small, cluttered with books and mechanical parts, and oddly freezing.
Taehyung moved over to the couch, sweeping his arms across the cushions and knocking all of the blueprints and clutter to the ground, then spreading a blanket across it. “Here. It’s not that comfortable, but you can wait here for Jungkook to get back.”
“Thanks,” Jimin said, settling into the couch and widening his eyes in surprise when Taehyung joined him, grabbing another handful of blankets and piling them on his lap.
“Not a problem. I’m just glad you don’t think I’m crazy anymore,” Taehyung said, spreading the blankets out between them and wriggling over so that he was closer to Jimin. “Now you can see what the effects of time travel will do to a freshman in university. He may not be the same person when he gets back.”
Normally Jimin would object to being in such close proximity with someone he’d just met that day, but considering the circumstances, he was perfectly fine with Taehyung wrapping himself up in a blanket and leaning against his arm. Taehyung was all too excited to answer every question Jimin had about how he’d created the time machine in the first place (“I drank seven cups of coffee and had an epiphany while I was procrastinating my physics homework”), and what the past had been like (“Everything was old and weird and everyone thought we were aliens and tried to arrest us.”).
Even though the sun was dipping lower and lower in the sky the longer they talked, Jimin found that they never really ran out of things to talk about. They moved on from time travel relatively quickly, moving on to topics ranging from Taehyung’s hobbies to the state of banana imports in Gwangju, but Jimin never once got bored or became uncomfortable. In fact, he was starting to wish that Jungkook wouldn’t show up with the time machine, just so that he could spend a little longer with Taehyung.
At around one in the morning, though, another flash of light and deafening noise exploded from the garage, and a few minutes later a tall kid with jet black hair and large eyes walked into the living room.
“Jungkookie!” Taehyung cried, leaping up and tugging the kid down into a hug. “You’re alive! You made it back!”
“Yeah,” Jungkook said, sounding a bit disoriented. “Uh. Who’s this?” He pointed at Jimin, still wrapped up in the blankets on the couch awkwardly.
“This is Jimin. He volunteered to come help get you back, but then we kind of accidentally sent the time machine back by itself.”
Jungkook just nodded, still dazed. Then his face lit up with realization and he stared wide-eyed at Jimin. “Oh, you’re Jimin?” He nodded, as though everything was starting to make sense, and then turned back to Taehyung, his lips split into a grin. “Nice going, Tae.”
“What’s happening, Kookie?” Taehyung asked, concern in his face. “Did the time travel mess with your head or something?”
“No, no,” Jungkook said, waving his hand. “I mean, I do have kind of a headache since I had to fight off a couple guys for the time machine and we ended up about a month into the future. Your future self helped me get the time machine back, and before you sent me back, you mentioned something about a boyfriend named Jimin. This is him, right?”
Jimin and Taehyung glanced at each other, both of them stunned and a little embarrassed, and then Jungkook laughed.
“Oh. Not yet, then? Sorry. Spoiler alert.” He pointed his thumb toward Taehyung’s bathroom. “Well, I’m gonna clean up a bit. Y’know they didn’t have real showers a hundred years ago?” Still smirking, he scampered down the hallway, leaving Jimin alone with Taehyung and the knowledge that apparently, in one month, they’d be dating.
“So,” Taehyung said, eyebrows halfway up his forehead and a smarmy look on his face. “Does this mean we can go on a trip through time and space, if you know what I mean?”
“Slow down freak, he said a month in the future. You have to woo me first,” Jimin said, even though he was already plenty smitten with Taehyung at this point, sad as it was to admit.
“I’ll take that as a challenge,” Taehyung replied with a twinkle in his eye.
(Later, Jimin found his keys caught in the center of his wallet, but he wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to stay a little longer and see just how exactly Taehyung was planning to woo his future boyfriend.)