Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Yes! It’s delicious. Oh my god, I've dreamed about this, I've seen this meal in my dreams, I swear. God.”

Jeongguk chuckled quietly, his brother was pretending to faint in the chair in front of him, a dramatic flair for his audience. He fixed the camera a bit, moving it to the left so the food could be seen perfectly and the rest of the guests in the restaurant weren't in the frame.

“Try it.” Jimin said. Jeongguk knew when his brother addressed him instead of the camera, so he looked at him instead of the screen. Jimin was nodding towards the steaming plates in the middle of the table. “It’s the best thing ever, I swear it to you.”

Jeongguk took the untouched chopsticks from the little metal dish beside him and picked up a piece of meat, he dipped it in the sauce beside the grill, just as Jimin did, and after making a wrap, he ate it in one bite.

Oh.

The meat was tender. So tender. The spices were tasty and the rice was warm. The lettuce gave it a freshness that tied it all together in a magnificent show of flavors happening inside his mouth. It was the best thing he had ever tried.

Unwillingly, one of his hands raised and went to his eyes, covering them while he squirmed on his seat, feeling the flavors with all his body.

Jeongguk could barely hear Jimin’s laughter when he went ahead and made himself a new bite, but he ignored it. “Cute.” The blond said. “I wish you guys could see him, he is worse than me.”

Jeongguk’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment and he glared at Jimin while chewing the last wrap he made. His brother ignored him and went back to rambling about the food to his viewers, reading some of the comments and thanking anyone for subscribing to his channel in between strategic bites of his food, so he could always interact with the audience. Jeongguk ate quietly, sometimes talking to Jimin when the other addressed him or adjusting the camera if needed. It probably looked funny to the people watching the stream since he wasn’t on frame and his voice couldn’t be heard this time, so it mostly looked like Jimin was talking to a wall instead of his brother behind the camera.

“Thank you for tuning in today! Have a good night and stay safe, everyone!” Jimin’s hand moved as if to cover the camera, Jeongguk’s own was close to the button to turn it off, almost pressing it, but he suddenly flinched when his brother moved back. “Oh, wait! Keep your notifications on, the trip is coming up, if you know what I mean.” Jimin grinned mischievously, throwing a kiss to the camera. “Byeeee!”

Jeongguk turned off the stream and started gathering his stuff, putting everything away in the little bag he carried everywhere. Jimin sighed loudly, a hand rubbing his belly. “I’m so full.”

“It was really good. Thank you for the meal, hyung.” Jeongguk bowed to his brother, mostly in a teasing manner.

“Of course, Ggukie.” Jimin then straightened, a smile stretching his lips. “Are you excited for the trip?”

Mhm.

The trip.

A trip to a cabin in some snowy mountain with two other content creators. The trip that has kept him up a few nights since the day he found out.

Jeongguk was excited, don’t get him wrong. There wasn't a way for him to not be happy with a trip, a free one, since his hyung and the other guys were paying for everything, his hyung refused to let him cooperate with anything, arguing that he would be working for him most of the time so it wouldn't be fair. Jeongguk genuinely doubted that, but whatever. He was excited. It’s just a little —a lot— nerve wracking for him.

New environment, new people… What if the guys were too loud? Sometimes content creators were overwhelming with all their energy and continuous talking. What if their cabin was a scam? What if the other guys didn't like him? He tended to be too quiet, mostly out of shyness. It was hard for him to interact with new people and ever since a guy Jimin collaborated with made fun of him for those exact reasons, his anxiety went up a thousand percent when meeting other content creators.

Jeongguk nodded slightly to his brother’s question, tightening the crossbody bag on his torso. “I am.”

Jimin’s eyes softened. He reached over with his hand and ran his fingers through his brother's black hair. “They’re nice, I promise.” Jeongguk just looked at him. “I don’t think our viewers would’ve liked them if they were bad people. And I somewhat know Yoongi, he has been really nice so far.”

“Your viewers.” Jeongguk corrected.

“Our viewers.” Jimin rectified. “You’re not actively on camera but they know you, they talk about you and they like you.”

Jeongguk glanced away. He wasn't aware of it but his hand was fiddling with the zipper of his bag. “I believe you.”

Jimin gave him one last long look, assessing him thoroughly, before nodding. “You could watch some of their content and see for yourself. We are meeting them in two days so maybe it would help you a bit.” The older one stood up, Jeongguk followed. “Either way, if they end up being jerks, you know I won’t let them get away with it.”

Oh, boy.

Tell him about it.

The first and only time it happened with that one guy, they were livestreaming to thousands of people, but Jimin’s whole demeanor shifted in a second. His face went serious and his glaring gaze might as well have burned holes through the guy. Let’s just say the clips from the situation were still doing rounds last time he checked and the guy closed his channel shortly after because of the backlash.

His brother had a soft and amicable appearance, and he was those things, but he also had the ability to be really scary.

So Jeongguk had the assurance that Jimin won’t let anything slip.

❄❅❆

Jeongguk ended up not watching any videos.

He had recordings to edit for Jimin and also some stuff to get done before the trip for his freelancer job, so he ended up being too busy and had no free time to watch any of the videos Jimin sent him when they got back to the apartment after dinner.

Now, the car's air felt stuffy like never before from his spot on the passenger seat. They were on their way to the guys's apartment and he felt so nervous there were wrinkles forming on his once perfectly ironed shirt because of his restless fingers. Jeongguk just couldn't stop tugging at it. And his leg also wouldn't stop going up and down.

Jimin only glanced at him and when Jeongguk caught his eyes, he gave him a little reassuring smile that Jeongguk tried to return to the best of his ability, however he was sure it looked more like a grimace than anything remotely positive.

Shortly after, they pulled up in front of a nice looking building. Jimin took the lead and guided them to the front desk, where both of them registered themselves before going up to the top floor. Jeongguk felt his heartbeat quickening, they were a few steps away from the front door and he had the urge to flee. It was probably very noticeable on his trembling hands so he hid both inside the pockets of his jacket, so Jimin didn't see him shaking, otherwise his brother would have probably turned around and re-scheduled the meeting, but Jeongguk can’t get in the way of his career anymore.

Jeongguk didn’t even notice when Jimin knocked, the sound subdued and secondary to the turmoil happening in his head. But suddenly a guy close to Jimin's height was standing in front of them.

“Hey, hyung!” Jimin's chirpy voice was what took him out of his own negative thoughts. Hyung? Since when are they so close? The last thing he got to know about was that Jimin and some Yoongi guy were talking to coordinate the trip.

“Jimin-ah, it’s good to finally meet you.” He looked intimidating at first, with his long black locks and catlike eyes, but after his brother’s greeting, a little smile softened his features. Then, the guy was looking at him. “I’m Yoongi by the way, it’s nice meeting you, Jeongguk-ssi.”

Jeongguk bowed his head. “Nice to meet you, Yoongi-ssi.”

They went inside after Yoongi gave them some slippers to change into. Jeongguk's wandering eyes were everywhere immediately, trying to familiarize quickly with the space to calm his incessant anxiousness. The interior was spacious but still cozy, it seemed lived in with all the decorations and trinkets laying around the place, pretty similar to their own. There were paintings and pictures on all the walls and they had one of those fancy TVs that looked like a frame. He was a bit awed at that.

Yoongi took them to the living room and left them there while he went to the kitchen for something to drink.

“You okay?” Jimin said once they were alone, sitting side by side in the forest green couch.

“Mhm.” Jeongguk nodded. “Didn’t know you were close to them.”

Jimin tilted his head this way and the other, a thinking expression took over his face. “Do you know how this collab came to be?” Jeongguk shook his head, he was in Jimin’s streams most of the time, but he didn't keep up with fan stuff much. “Well… I kinda flirted with Yoongi on social media after someone tagged me on a post of him talking about me…”

“What?” Jeongguk whispered, shocked since his brother has never shown his interest for someone publicly, not even when he wasn’t known.

“You saw him. I just had to. And it wasn’t like he didn’t follow the bit.”

Jeongguk hummed, nodding, like he was putting the pieces together in his mind. Then, he squinted his eyes at his brother. “So is it a bit? Or do you want something real with him?”

Jimin shrugged. “We will see. That’s why we are going on this romantic getaway, are we not?”

That was news to him. He was just getting to know that the trip was actually a romantic getaway.

However, Jeongguk didn’t get to respond because another unknown person entered the room.

“Oh! Hi, guys!”

His brother smiled as he whirled around and immediately stood up. He embraced the man in a big hug with an excited, “Taehyung-ah!” coming out of his lips.

The man, Taehyung, who was rubbing a towel on his wet brown hair, reciprocated the hug with one arm, the other holding the towel away to not wet Jimin with it by accident. “How are you?”

“Good. It’s good to meet you!”

Jimin sat again and the guy slid his almond shaped eyes to him. Jeongguk was just sitting there, stiff like a rod and painfully wide eyed. He must look like a deer caught in headlights.

“You must be Jeongguk, no?” Taehyung addressed him. He still had a grin on his face, one that made it look softer on the edges.

Jeongguk took a deep breath —the air felt finite all of a sudden— and nodded. He already felt his cheeks heating up for no reason at all, so he bowed in his seat to hide it as much as possible from Taehyung’s watchful gaze. “Nice to meet you.”

Thankfully, Yoongi came from the kitchen just in time, so Taehyung's eyes went to him instead of staying on Jeongguk for another second. The blackhaired man had a tray of drinks and little bowls with snacks on, which he propped in the middle of the coffee table. He arranged everything neatly and then proceeded to place a carton of banana milk in front of Jeongguk. “I heard you like those?”

His surprise must have shown on his face, because Yoongi just smiled at him when he nodded his head once. “T-Thank you.”

“No problem, kid.”

Then, the important talk started and he got to quietly observe from his spot on the couch. In reality, there wasn’t a need for him to be there, Jimin could’ve gone and gotten it done alone, but his brother knew Jeongguk would have been too anxious if he didn’t meet the guys beforehand. Spending time with strangers has always been nerve wracking for him, so having a notion of their personalities, even of how they looked, helped a little to ease his nerves. Not one hundred percent, but at least some of it.

Jeongguk sipped his banana milk quietly, his eyes stayed mostly on Jimin since making accidental eye contact with the other two made him nervous, especially with the taller one, Taehyung. He was too handsome, and the shortsleeved shirt he was wearing was too distracting, Jeongguk didn't want to look like a creep if he stared at him too much. He was able to see him from the corner of his eye and he actually wasn't sure if Taehyung’s head turning towards him from time to time was a trick his mind was playing on him or if it was really happening. Maybe he should move, he might be looking too stiff and weirding him out.

Slowly, he lowered the carton of milk and left it on his knee. He tuned into the conversation again when Jimin gave him a brief look. Jeongguk took it as a way of making sure he was doing okay so he gave back an imperceptible nod.

“I think that’s fine. If you guys aren’t taking Namjoon it wont be a problem” Namjoon? Who’s Namjoon? “Ggukie and I can easily share a bedroom.”

“It’s fine by me.” Taehyung said too, Yoongi agreeing beside him.

Just then Jimin turned fully towards him, making everyone’s eyes focus on him too. Taehyung's gaze was particularly intense. “Jeonggukie?”

He blinked at his brother, not sure what he was asking since he only heard the last bit of information, but sharing a bedroom? That’s fine, so he nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Great!”

❄❅❆

With the preparations done, they were set to leave in four days.

Jeongguk and Jimin started packing immediately, knowing that both of them were too forgetful so it was better to get all the important things packed as soon as possible. All the camera and streaming equipment went in a special bag Jimin bought to carry everything around, and with that ready, Jeongguk started packing his suitcase for the cold weather, or cold-er weather because it was already extremely cold in their city. His suitcase filled quickly with sweaters and a lot of fuzzy socks to keep his feet warm, the jacket Jeongguk decided to wear it on the way there so it didn't use too much space.

On the d-day, they packed the car and started the roadtrip at around 8 AM, just after Yoongi texted Jimin to tell them they were leaving too. They intended to get to the cabin close to eleven so they could settle and enjoy their first day, none of them were fond of early mornings but this was a special occasion so it was worth it.

The drive was fine, Jeongguk was still nervous, but knowing both men are friendly and that Jimin was somewhat close with them, made the nerves less intense. His brother was really good at judging characters and Jeongguk trusted him entirely, so instead of using his time overthinking and getting in his head about stuff he couldn't control, he took out his laptop and started working.

However, at some point he must have fallen asleep, because he was suddenly waking up and his laptop was closed and inside his backpack again. Also, the view outside was different from the one he last saw. Instead of an endless road with snowy trees all around, there was a beautiful cabin at the end of a long driveway. It stood between tall trees that had green peeking from under the coat of white snow, the cabin had a porch that led to a gorgeous double door that had diverse carvings of snowflakes in it. Floor to ceiling windows bracketed the door and Jeongguk through his sleepy haze could see the warm lighting coming from inside.

“Good morning, sleepyhead. Did you have a great nap?”

Jeongguk rubbed his eyes and looked at his brother, who had a teasing smile on his face, but was focused solely on the last stretch of pavement they had left. He just hummed as an answer.

“Oh! They got here first, nice.”

Jimin parked next to another car and after patting his brother’s head to help him wake up, he got out. Jeongguk stalled for a bit, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes so he didn't look crazy in front of Taehyung and Yoongi, but there’s not much he could do when he still felt so tired, so he just left the car and went around it to help Jimin get their things out.

They were walking up the porch stone steps,when the door opened. Taehyung's tall figure appeared at the entrance, he was greeting them with a gloved hand, a big smile on his handsome face. “Hey! Let me help you.”

Jeongguk only got a little bow in before his things were taken from his hands.

“Huh.” Jimin scoffed, still holding onto most things since Taehyung only took Jeongguk’s, who’s too sleepy to notice, barely whispering a ‘Hello, Yoongi-ssi’ when he went past him before crashing on the sofa and snuggling a pillow.

Taehyung left the stuff near the entrance and helped Jimin next, the latter giving him a look with squinted eyes. “Thank you, Taehyung-ah.”

Yoongi grumbled greetings under his breath and continued with his selfassigned task, that being checking everything inside to make sure they weren't missing anything important.

The taller one left Jimin's things with the other suitcases and stole a look at the lump of black clothes occupying the sofa. Jimin saw him hesitating a little before Taehyung turned to him. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah. Just tired, he probably didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Mhm.”

Jimin watched as Taehyung looked at his brother again, his expression hard to decipher from the angle they were standing —Jimin a few steps behind him— but even from his position he knew there wasn't anything negative or malicious there, so he just hid his smile and went to Yoongi.

“Hello, big guy.”

Yoongi spinned from his place in front of the fridge, where he was looking at the groceries he asked to be brought in, to make sure everything was there. “Hey. Did you have a good trip?”

“Yes, we got here like five minutes ago.” Jimin leaned against the entrance to the kitchen, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “How about we stream ourselves going out for lunch today? I also brought some crafts we can do in the evening. And then tomorrow we can do something else, when we aren’t as tired.” Jimin would love to flirt all day with Yoongi, but they were there for a reason.

Yoongi nodded, leaning with both hands on the counter. Jimin noticed he had a soft-looking scarf looped around his neck. “Yeah, that’s fine. Also, you know we don’t have to stream everyday, we can enjoy ourselves privately too.”

Jimin looked away to hide his growing smile. “Someway we have to earn back what we spent to come here, no?” He was teasing, and Yoongi knew because he huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head.

“You know with how hyped people were for this collab we probably will make everything back in one day” The older pushed back from the counter and approached him with a tilt of his head. “Let’s choose the bedrooms.”

Back in the living room, Jeongguk was still dozing off in a corner of the sofa, and Taehyung appeared from the hallway with his phone in hand when Jimin and Yoongi called for him.

Jimin sat beside his brother and shook him gently, stroking his hair with his other hand to get him to wake up. Slowly, Jeongguk’s eyes opened, and he used one of his hands to cover them since the lighting coming from the big windows was strong, the white snow reflecting most of it inside. He carefully sat up fully.

“Sorry. I was a bit tired.” He said to no one in particular, maybe his brother that was beside him, his voice adorably scratchy from the little sleep he got.

Yoongi waved him off gently as he took a seat in one of the single chairs. “Nothing to worry about. We are choosing the bedrooms now, you can take a nap there later, if you want.”

“There’s two rooms, one of them has an en suite bathroom and the other has a bathroom in the hallway. Both have double beds.” Yoongi explained. Taehyung sat beside Jimin on the bigger couch in the meantime. “Should we play rock paper scissors to see who gets the one with the en suite?”

Jimin clapped excitedly. Jeongguk felt more awake so he nodded at Yoongi’s idea, he had slowly fallen to the side and was once again snuggling the pillow closest to him.

“You go, hyung.” He said to his brother, nudging him with an elbow.

Jimin extended his hand to the center of the living room and after sharing a look with each other, Taehyung extended his hand instead of Yoongi. “Best of three?”

Jimin won with three clean points. He was excitedly wiggling on the couch while Taehyung threw his head back in a dramatic flair. Jeongguk high fived his brother with the biggest smile on his face.

It was when they were gathering their things to bring them upstairs that Jeongguk got a proper look around the cabin. Even at first glance, it was cozy and bright, with a lofted second floor and floor to ceiling windows. The living room furniture seemed cozy and it was full of blankets and trinkets all over the place, on every surface he could see some type of figurine. In the middle of the back wall, just in front of the numerous couches (because the space was huge) there was a fireplace that Taehyung was trying to turn on at the moment and it had a big TV on top. He can’t see much of the kitchen but the arch entryway makes it look really pretty.

“That door upstairs is the room, there’s a little extra living room up there too.” Taehyung said when the fireplace was lit with crackling fire.

“Uhh, nice.”

They got everything upstairs with Yoongi’s help while Taehyung took their stuff to the room downstairs.

Just as Yoongi said, there was a double bed in the middle of the room. To the side there were glass doors that opened to a small balcony which had a perfect view of the snowy mountain in the distance. Jeongguk must have been half asleep when they got there, because he didn't see the huge towering peak just at the other side of the forest, there must be a resort over there. “Wow.”

“I know, right? It’s beautiful.”

The blackhaired man was out of the room already, Jeongguk could hear his steps going down, and Jimin made quick work of getting a few clothes out and took a towel to head to the bathroom. “I’ll freshen up real fast and then you can go if you want. We will go to get lunch outside and stream while we eat, yeah? And maybe later we will do the crafts we brought. The gingerbread houses you like.”

“Sounds good.” Jeongguk said absentmindedly, mostly distracted by the view outside.

Freshening up actually helped to clear the fog from his brain. Sadly, that gave way for the anxiousness to start again, but nothing paralysing, he just took a little bit of extra time while putting his clothes on to calm the spiralling thoughts. It was unfair of him to be so nervous and closed off with Taehyung and Yoongi, the two of them had been nothing but nice and friendly to him and to his brother, to his knowledge, they were the ones that coordinated most of the trip. They found the cabin, and Jimin told him they rearranged their schedules to fit with Jimin's because he had unmovable shootings settled close to New Years. They were nice so before leaving the restroom he made a promise to himself to really try, for himself, for his brother and for the guys downstairs. That one awful streamer did say he was off putting at times, so he didn't want to ruin anyone's trip.

“They’re waiting outside.” Jimin informed him, he had one hand on the door handle.

Jeongguk took the bag with all the equipment and went down behind his brother. Yoongi and Taehyung were by the frontdoor, bundled up in the same amount of layers as them, Taehyung was twirling some keys on his ring finger.

“Let's go.”

They took Yoongi's car, Jeongguk was in the passenger seat, Yoongi and Jimin in the back and Taehyung was driving.

“Should I start recording now?” Jeongguk turned on his seat after buckling in to talk to Jimin.

“Yeah! You guys need Jeonggukie to record too?”

Yoongi shook his head. “Nah, we’ll turn it on at the restaurant. Go ahead, though. It will be good to let the viewers know we are already here.”

Jeongguk took the stuff out carefully and gave a mic to all of them, forgoing himself since he usually didn't use one, before pointing the camera to Jimin and Yoongi and waiting for their call to start the livestream.

“I don't know what to say.” Jimin giggled into his hands, Yoongi was waving beside him as viewers started coming in, the chat flooding with messages which they were seeing on their phones. “Surprise! I guess?”

After that, they continued the drive while Jimin and Yoongi talked in the back, Taehyung joined from time to time but he was mostly complaining about having to use a mic when he was just driving and saying he felt like a third wheel. Jeongguk panned the camera to him every time, it occurred on red lights for the most part, and he felt crazy but he swore Taehyung’s eyes weren't exactly looking at the lens.

The restaurant was in the main street of the little town closer to the cabin, just twenty minutes away from it. It was made of logs and just like everything so far, it had a cozy and warm vibe to it, even from the outside. Jeongguk zipped his jacket up before following the others out the car and inside the diner.

As expected, it was warm and smelled amazing. They got a booth in the back to not bother anyone and after arranging everything with utmost care, he set the camera on the table and adjusted it so that the three of them could be seen perfectly, Jeongguk stayed on the other side of the booth.

“I’m third wheeling, guys.” Taehyung said to the camera, squished between the wall and Yoongi.

“Shut up, you’re not. Jeonggukie is here”

Jeongguk hid his laughter on his coat while he was taking it off, he stayed only in his sweater since the place was warm enough to allow it.

A waiter came to their table when they flagged him down and then kept chatting once their orders were placed and the worker left.

Jeongguk felt content behind the camera, he adjusted the small ring light and got the camera closer when his hyung asked him to, it was what his hyung invited him for –he would never say that to him though, Jimin would get offended–, but Taehyung kept trying to include him in the conversation. It didn't bother him, it was certainly sweet how all the silly and non important questions they were making each other Taehyung asked to him as well. It still made him shy though, and the most he could do was answer him in a hushed tone and mostly addressed him so he wasn't interrupting the conversation the other two were having. Jeongguk was sure his whole face was red after interacting with Taehyung so many times.

“‘Taehyung keeps looking behind the camera’” Jimin read a comment from his phone with a funny voice, then he gave Jeongguk, who immediately hid his face, a teasing look. “I wonder why.”

“I'm privileged enough to have a beautiful view in front of me, I can't help it.” Taehyung said, shrugging with a crooked grin.

Jeongguk didn't waste a second to cover his reddening face with a hand, he could hear Jimin chuckling in the background. “Of course, chat. The snow and mountains are beautiful, that’s what Taehyung is talking about.” Taehyung nodded from the corner, a cheeky smile on his handsome face.

The younger hid his face completely in the crook of his arm, slumping on the table while he listens to Jimin’s loud cackles. At least his brother is having a great time. Jeongguk felt an intense heat coming off his cheeks and neck, it was probably showing on his ears that were out for them to see, but there was also a shy smile turning the corner of his lips up.

There wasn't much else to mention from the lunch stream, they ate the incredibly good food and talked all throughout the time it took them to finish their meal. Jeongguk kept to himself, happy to mainly listen to their banter and it seemed his brother and Taehyung took mercy on him and decided that embarrassing him that one time was enough for the moment, he still felt Taehyung's gaze on the side of his face a couple of times but decided to ignore it since he didn’t really know what to do about it. Jeongguk was clueless when it came to dealing with attention.

Two hours later they were back in the car, Jeongguk was still recording while Yoongi and Jimin held a light conversation in the back about their plans for the rest of the day, including a later stream with a few activities to get to know each other better, Jimin suddenly informing his viewers that Jeongguk would also be participating in said activities, just behind the camera.

Jeongguk raised his eyebrows at his brother, who just made a face at him before continuing to respond to questions from the chat with Yoongi. Taehyung nudged him once they stopped at a red light, Jeongguk startled, not expecting it, and glanced at him through his lashes, careful to not jostle the camera and lose the focus.

“Join us for the later stream. I don’t want to be alone with those too.” He was not wearing a mic this time, having complained enough that Yoongi took away his so-called ‘microphone privileges’, so his voice wasn't picked up by the recording.

Jeongguk averted his eyes for a few seconds, already feeling a flush creeping up his face. “I won’t be on camera though.”

Taehyung’s lips curved up in a barely there smile, Jeongguk could see how he was trying to keep it that way. “Your presence is enough.”

Thankfully the light turned green and Taehyung had to divert his gaze away from him, so he had time to hide his own smile. “Okay” Jeongguk whispered under his breath, ignoring the glances his brother was throwing at him from the backseat.

Once they were close to the cabin, Jimin and Yoongi said goodbye to the viewers, and Taehyung gave a brief sign to him to pan the camera towards him, Jeongguk did it after the other two were done and he had to look away when Taehyung threw a kiss to the camera.

“That's what Yoongi hyung and Jiminnie will be doing tonight.” He said playfully.

“Oh, shut up.” It was Yoongi the one that covered the lens and pressed the button to stop the livestream, Taehyung chuckling in the driver seat.

At the house, they spent the rest of the afternoon resting. Jimin, Yoongi and Taehyung were talking by the couches while Jeongguk went to the second floor, he still felt a bit tired from the impromptu allnighter he pulled the night before, but instead of taking a nap, he took his laptop out and went to the little nook beside their bedroom. There was a soft looking two-seater with a basket of blankets by its side, a small coffee table and a little window that let the light from outside bathe the small space, a lamp sat in the corner but at that time of the day there wasn't a need for it. Jeongguk immediately made himself comfortable on the sofa, with a soft blanket from the basket over his lap and the heat of the laptop on his stomach, it was the best way to work.

He had an important project to submit by the end of the week, and while Jeongguk thought –knew– he could do it a bit at a time throughout the days, maybe even use it as an excuse to get away when he was feeling overwhelmed, this first few hours spent with Taehyung and Yoongi already changed that mindset. Jeongguk felt actually excited to be there and spend some time with his brother and their new friends, who were really kind and friendly, so he preferred to do most of the editing in as little time as possible so he can enjoy the trip to the fullest.

When an hour had passed, Jimin appeared in front of him.

“Oh, I didn’t hear you.”

“I know.” Jimin sat by his feet, a hand going to his knee. “Are you okay? I thought you would be sleeping.”

“I’m okay, I'm just working.” He pointed to the screen of his laptop. “Sorry for bailing on you guys, I just want to get this out of the way soon so it isn't a problem during the week.”

Jimin nodded, a pleased smile on his face. “Good. Did you like the guys?”

Jeongguk made an affirmative noise. He fidgeted with the corner of the blanket on his lap. “Are they mad I'm not spending time with all of you?”

“Of course not. They’re very understanding and you told them you were tired.”

Jeongguk smiled at his brother's face of indignation and rested his head on the couch, his floppy hair covered his forehead.

“Oh! Right! Have this.” Jimin suddenly gave him a steaming mug Jeongguk didn’t even notice he was holding. “It’s hot chocolate, Taehyung made it for you.”

“Oh.”

Jeongguk took it carefully, it had whipped cream and mini marshmallows too. “Where’s yours?”

Jimin rolled his eyes. “He only made two, said it was payment for making him a third wheel at lunch. So now Yoongi and I have to make our own.”

Jeongguk giggled at that. “Fair enough.”

“Whatever.” Jimin patted his knee and stood up, sighing loudly “I guess I'll go make some hot chocolate for me too. Join us when you’re done.”

Jeongguk made an OK sign with his hand and got back to work, only using one hand since the other one had a sweet drink now. He smiled while taking another sip. Taehyung was silly.

Jeongguk went back down once he was satisfied with the progress he made, a lot more than he anticipated on his first day. At the stairs he heard the ruckus coming from the living room, a lot of laughter and Yoongi’s indignant voice defending something, he wasn't sure what.

The first thing he saw was the lit fireplace. Jimin's blond messy hair was peeking out from the back of the bigger couch placed right in front of the TV, where he took his small nap. Yoongi was sprawled on one of the single seaters on Jimin's right and Taehyung was on the opposite corner of the big couch. There was a movie playing on the TV and the light from the fire plus the light coming through the windows from the setting sun outside gave the place a warm inviting tone.

“Jeonggukie!” Jimin was the first to spot him, almost climbing on the back of the couch. Immediately two other heads turned. “Did you make a lot of progress?”

Jeongguk smiled, albeit shyly from all the attention put on him, and walked towards the coffee table where a mug similar to his rested, just in front of Taehyung. “Mhm, I did more than I thought I would today.”

Then, he heard two voices speaking at the same time.

“Great!” Jimin says.

Jeongguk had a hand on the mug when another one held it to the table. “Leave the mug, I'll do the dishes later.” Taehyung softly said from his left.

Jeongguk looked at him, startled. It took him just a second before he gently took the mug from Taehyung. “You made it, the least I could do is wash the cups.” He gave him a little smile. “Maybe you could prepare the stuff for the stream? It will only take me a minute.”

He looked briefly at his brother then, who had a hand over his mouth and was looking at Taehyung with weird eyes. Taehyung didn't give him an answer but Jeongguk brushed past that and addressed his brother instead. “We are still doing it, right?”

Jimin finally looked at him, Taehyung still sat silent, Jeongguk saw how Jimin was trying his best to suppress the smile threatening to pull his lips. “Yes! We are doing it on their channel, so don’t worry.”

Jeongguk was already on his way to the kitchen when his brother answered. “Oh, nice. I could still help though.”

“Don’t worry, kid.” Yoongi interjected, even Jeongguk could notice the amusement coating his voice. “You are cheesing so bad.” It’s the last thing he heard before Jimin erupted in laughter, a muffled ‘Shut up’ came from a voice that sounded strangely like Taehyung’s.

❄❅❆

“Okay so, we are building gingerbread houses!” Taehyung said with a wide grin.

The four of them were sitting on the floor, occupying the big coffee table to make their crafts. Taehyung, Jimin and Yoongi sat in front of the couch while Jeongguk was on the other side, his back warm with the fireplace crackling behind him. Even if this wasn't Jimin's equipment nor was it his stream, he still was looking at the camera from time to time to make sure the three of them plus the boxes on the table were in frame.

“Maybe they should suggest questions to ask each other.” Yoongi pointed at the camera, talking about the viewers tuned into the livestream, which were thousands once again.

There was a laptop in the corner that displayed the chat. It flowed rapidly with messages and different emotes, three pairs of eyes were constantly checking it while opening the box of the gingerbread house. Jeongguk was focused on his own box, already arranging the stuff so the assembly of it was easier, he wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying.

“How did you two meet?” Jimin asked.

“We were neighbors and went to the same school.” Yoongi responded, his head down, carefully taking out the pieces to make the house. “Taehyung was such an annoying kid, he wouldn’t leave me alone.”

The other scoffed. “You were just grumpy. Still are.”
Yoongi ignored him. “Whatever. I just had to tolerate him, so we became friends eventually.”

Jimin giggled when Taehyung pushed one of Yoongi’s walls down in a petty move. “You never told me to go away.”

Yoongi returned the favor, Jimin cackling beside him which gained Jeongguk’s attention, who just smiled quietly at the two best friends' antics. “Details. Were you guys always close?” Yoongi asked back, Jimin immediately directed his gaze towards Jeongguk, who in response looked wide-eyed at him.

“We were, actually. I love being an older brother, and Ggukie has always been so cute! Like a puppy!” Jeongguk was nodding, happily agreeing with him until the last part.

“Hyung!”

Yoongi was smiling down at his house, clearly entertained, while Taehyung was supporting his head on his hand and looking at Jeongguk behind the camera. Jeongguk shrinked a little on himself.

“Have they ever seen Jeonggukie?” Taehyung questioned this time, pointing to the camera but still giving a little glance to the younger, who was trying to ignore it and focus solely on his house. His cheeks were pink.

Jimin shook his head. “Never, Jeonggukie sometimes wears a mic but doesn’t want to be on camera.”

Taehyung looked directly to the stream then, a smug smile on his face. “Well, I have seen him and I can confirm Jeonggukie is really cute. But I would say more like a bunny or a deer than a puppy.”

“A deer?” Jeongguk questioned against his better judgment, gaining once again Taehyung’s undivided attention.

The older hummed. “It’s because of your eyes. See?” He got the attention of the other two, now Jeongguk had three pairs of eyes looking at him, he only gazed at them through his lashes while keeping most of his attention on the craft, he felt shy. “You look like a baby deer like that. So pretty.” Jeongguk could tell he was probably as red as a tomato.

Yoongi gave Taehyung a push. “Don’t make the kid uncomfortable, idiot.”

Jimin just chuckled under his breath, he already knew how his brother got when he was uncomfortable, and he didn't see any sign of it right now. “And Taehyung has the audacity to say he’s the one third wheeling.”

“We have to step up, then.” Yoongi said, giving a playful nudge to Jimin's shoulder.

Jeongguk had the pleasure to see his brother’s cheeks get as red as his. The older looked embarrassed but a smile threatened to slip into his face, and he discreetly scooted closer to Yoongi. The blackhaired man had a small grin of his own.

They continued with their crafts for another hour, chatting from time to time among themselves, but Jeongguk kept mostly to himself, completely immersed in the decoration process of the house, which he was doing meticulously. However, the icing on the small piping bag ran out pretty quickly when he was doing the design to the front of the house, he got to be conflicted for only a few seconds, because as he noticed his empty piping bag, there was another one sliding towards him. He looked up and saw Taehyung nodding at it, Jeongguk stared wide-eyed. “Take it.”

Jeongguk blinked at him. “Are you sure?” Jimin and Yoongi were talking animatedly so they completely missed the exchange.

“Yes. I’m done already.” They both looked at Taehyung’s creation, it had minimal decorations but it was still pretty.

“Thank you.” Jeongguk whispered, taking the bag from his hand. “Yours is pretty.” He said in a hushed voice, already concentrating on the unfinished design by the front so he missed the fond smile Taehyung threw his way.

“Thanks. Yours is prettier though.”

“Is it? Yoongi-ssi’s house is very cute too.” He was still talking in a low tone, feeling shy but comfortable while speaking with Taehyung. Jeongguk kept his movements precise while drawing on the house, it was soothing and distracting so it made keeping the conversation going easier.

“Hyung is actually a really great artist. But yours is better.” Taehyung said with a finality in his voice that got a giggle out of Jeongguk.

It probably looked strange for the viewers, Taehyung talking alone into his mic, probably only hearing a muffled response from Jeongguk but not seeing his face.

“He makes music too, did you know?”

Jeongguk perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah, sometimes we stream while making it but most of his music is on platforms.”

“You make music too?” Jeongguk asked back, piping bag in hand and bug eyes focused on Taehyung, who suddenly looked shy.

“A bit? Not as constantly as him but from time to time.”

“That’s really cool. Maybe you shou-”

“‘Taehyung suddenly looks really shy, what happened?’” Jimin read out loud, successfully breaking the moment between them.

Taehyung straightened himself, since he was slumping slightly on the table to be closer to Jeongguk, half of his face off camera from what Jeongguk saw out of the corner of his eye. Jeongguk sat back over his feet at the call out.

“You’re seeing things, chat.” Taehyung said, sticking his tongue out to the other two and then to the camera for good measure. “Are you done? Should we show them our creations and let them decide who wins?”

Yoongi shook his head, blinking excessively. “Wow, why is this a competition all of a sudden?”

“I need to prove a point.” Taehyung looked pointedly at Jeongguk. “I’ll start.” He quickly took his house and started showing it to the camera. “Good, right? I did the windows and the door like a face! See? These are the eyes and it has a butt in the back.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Yoongi said with a straight face, Jeongguk giggling behind the camera.

Jimin took his own house and showed it to the camera next. “My icing exploded a bit but it looks great, no? There was a snowstorm, that’s all.”

Yoongi went before Jeongguk, his house had a scalloped roof and icing icicles hanging from the corners. “Mine has round windows so it's better. I did fine, I think.”

“I really like yours, Yoongi-ssi.” Jeongguk said.

Yoongi gave him a gummy smile. “Thank you, but just call me hyung, yeah?”

Jeongguk wasn't expecting that, but he nodded anyway. He cleared his throat and nudged Taehyung's forearm with a finger.

“Can you show mine, please?” Jeongguk said lowly, since he’s the closest, and carefully passed the house to him when Taehyung agreed.

The older had a smile on his face while taking the house. Jimin gasped loudly once he saw it. “Motherfucker. That’s why you were so quiet, now I’ll be known as the untalented brother forever.”

The best friends chuckled loudly and Jeongguk stuck his tongue out to his brother.

“Now I feel a bit ashamed, I thought I had the win secured before seeing yours.” Yoongi says laughing.

“No! Yours is really good, hyung. I just wasn’t talking much so I had time.”

“He’s lying, he’s good at everything. Jeongguk would’ve won either way.” Jimin pointed out, Jeongguk took a hand to his cheek to feel the heat in it.

“Look.” Taehyung focused the camera on the house. “It’s so good, right? Jeonggukie is really talented. It has a lot of details, see the roof? I had to give him my icing too so he could finish it! So pretty.”

Jeongguk shrinked on his spot and turned his head to the other side to hide his growing smile and quickly reddening cheeks.

“There’s a poll if you guys wanna vote.” Yoongi said. The votes were quick to come in, Jeongguk’s bar was full in seconds. “The unanimous winner is Jeonggukie, clearly. I don’t know what his prize is but we will figure something out. Surely Taehyung has some ideas.” Taehyung immediately shoved his friend.

“Well, that’s it for today, no? We’ll be getting off and tomorrow we stream again, I think? Not sure.” Taehyung got close to the camera while talking, Yoongi and Jimin cleared up the table a bit in the meantime

They said their goodbyes individually and after Taehyung was done he gave the mic to Jeongguk for him to say goodbye too, a fond smile on his face as he saw the younger shyly saying, “Bye, chat.” into the mic.

Taehyung ended the recording and the three of them sagged against the couch, Jeongguk took the boxes from the table and piled them beside him.

“What should we do tomorrow?” Jimin asked, arms stretched over his head.

“Maybe visit the town? Sightseeing? We can do a movie night too.” Taehyung suggested, Yoongi agreed with a grunt and Jimin gave a thumbs up. “What do you think, Jeonggukie? Maybe your prize could be choosing an activity for us to do one of these days.”

“Maybe.” Jeongguk agreed under his breath. “But what if you guys don’t like it?”

“Impossible.” Taehyung got up and took the boxes from the floor.

Jimin snorted, he was suddenly fully leaning against Yoongi, Jeongguk looked briefly at them before continuing his task of cleaning his mess, he can talk to his brother later.

“We call it a night, then? I’m pretty tired.” Jimin stretched like a cat once again and got up with the help of Yoongi’s knee, both started to clean up too.

“Yeah, it’s already twelve.”

After cleaning up, they went their separate ways, wishing good night to each other as the best friends beeline towards the bedroom and the restroom. Jeongguk and Jimin went through their night routines quickly and not shortly after they were already in bed.

❄❅❆

They started the day a bit later their second day there, making up for the sleep they gave up by waking up at 8 AM. They all had eaten breakfast together since Yoongi made waffles for them after finding a waffle maker in the pantry and Taehyung cut up fruit and got out some syrup to go with it.

During their meal together they decided that it was a great idea for them to just do something relaxed instead of something like skiing or snowboarding, which were plausible options with the mountain just on the other side of the forest. However, none of them were there to get tired everyday with strenuous activities, it was more of a relaxing get away for the whole group. The idea was to enjoy the beautiful snow and the cozy warmth the cabin had to offer, and if that meant spending their time doing ‘boring stuff’, then it was fine.

They all went to get ready after deciding to visit and roam around the little town for the day. Jeongguk dressed in his warmest clothes, yesterday they only spent a small amount of time outside and he felt his toes freezing on his shoes, so today he made sure to get the fuzziest, warmest pair of socks he packed.

Jimin offered to drive so they all got in his car and made their way towards the town, no streaming equipment that day since they didn't want people to know their exact location at all times, it was enough with the discussion already happening on twitter about their whereabouts, it wasn't needed for them to give their audience the name of the place.

It was chillier today, the light breeze was cold and Jeongguk knew his ears were red, not because he was embarrassed but because of the weather, thankfully. The four of them were appropriately dressed to the best of their ability, and a cup of chocolate was added to the mix when they spotted a vendor selling it close to a park, so they kept their gloveless hands warm with the heat emanating from the carton cup.

They went around the town and visited all the little stores they saw on their way, most of them sold trinkets or souvenirs since it was a pretty touristic heavy place, but there were also stores selling clothes and other stuff they might need in their stay. Jeongguk particularly had his eyes set on one store they hadn't been to yet, the things he saw displayed on the storefront caught his attention.

A street dedicated to carts of street food is what tapped them. They got small portions of everything offered to them and shared, trying to keep some of their appetite for whatever they were having for lunch in only a couple of hours. Jeongguk had half a hotteok on his hand, Jimin was eating the other half while sitting on a bench they found at the end of the busy street. Taehyung and Yoongi were a few steps over still waiting for their own hotteok and when they got it, both made their way to them.

“Should we get lunch here? And then go back to the cabin?” Yoongi asked, taking a bite of his food.

Jimin patted the space beside him, trying to get someone to sit with him, Yoongi and Taehyung did, Jeongguk continued standing and swaying on his spot to chase the cold away. “That sounds great, actually. I saw a burger place a few streets back.”

Taehyung perked up. “I saw it too! It looked really good.”

“You guys go ahead, I saw a beanie on the other street and I wanna buy it.” Jeongguk said, pointing to the street they passed by before getting trapped in the food stalls.

“Are you sure? You could get lost, I don't mind waiting.” Yoongi replied.

“I’ll go with him!” Taehyung offered enthusiastically, straightening up on the bench. Jimin snorted. “I saw the burger place too, I’ll bring him there when he's done.”

Jeongguk stared wide eyed the whole exchange, the hotteok he was sharing with his brother already finished.

“What do you think, Jeonggukie? I can go with you too, if you want.” Jimin asked him, giving him an easy way out if he wasn't comfortable to go with Taehyung. But it wasn't like that.

“U-uh, n-no.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t worry, I’ll go with Taehyung-ssi.”

“Nice! See you guys there, then.” Jimin got up after finishing his hotteok, Yoongi followed him a second later and together they disappeared down the street.

Jeongguk stole a glance at Taehyung, who was getting up from the bench as well. “Should we go?”

The snow covered the street and there were lights decorating every store they went by, colourful Christmas lights with garlands decorating the light poles and also the awnings of every structure, it glittered against the white dusty snow. They carefully avoided the passersby and crossed a road to get to the store Jeongguk had been eyeing.

Taehyung had been quiet on the short walk to the place, only once inside he said something, telling him to take his time and that he will also take a look around. Jeongguk gave him a jerky nod and they went their separate ways, Jeongguk looking for the beanie he saw on the store front and Taehyung skimming through everything his hand touched. The younger found what he was looking for soon enough, so he went to the mirror closest to him to try it on. He didn't even get to put the clothing piece anywhere near his head when Taehyung was back by his side. Jeongguk glanced briefly at him before finally putting the beanie on his head.

Taehyung hummed. “That’s really cute.”

“Really? I’m not sure…”

“It makes you look pretty, I swear.” Taehyung smiled at him through the mirror, Jeongguk smiled back but it was a more shy, subdued grin, he was glancing down instead of directly at Taehyung. “Look, I got this one.” Taehyung pulled out a brown beanie with bear ears and put it on.

“I love that!” Jeongguk immediately perked up at the sight of it, and without giving it much thought he turned and reached up to touch the fuzzy material of the ears. “I really like that, where did you find it?”

Taehyung can’t stop smiling at him, it’s actually ridiculous. “Over there.” He pointed towards the other side of the store. “Should we get matching ones?”

Taehyung immediately went to the spot where he found the hat, not waiting for Jeongguk's answer to his question. The rack with that type of beanie was just beside another mirror.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“No! What? I would love it. I bet you would look really cute.” Taehyung pointed to the hats, three colors were on display. “Which one do you like?”

“Maybe the white one?” Jeongguk kept the other beanie in his hand so Taehyung took the white bear one and carefully put it on Jeongguk’s head, turning him towards the mirror with gentle hands.

Now both of them had matching hats and smiles, Jeongguk had to look the other way when he noticed the redness creeping up his own cheeks.

“So cute.”

Jeongguk ended up leaving the shop with a new beanie and a matching one with Taehyung. And also some earmuffs. Taehyung said he noticed his reddening ears earlier that day so he picked them for him when they were on the cash register. Jeongguk tried to pay for the earmuffs too but Taehyung didn't allow it, saying it was something he wanted to give him since he thought it would look really good with his black hair and pale skin. And it also went well with the beanies he already bought.

Jeongguk felt extremely flustered but agreed anyway, putting the earmuffs in his bag when Taehyung asked him to.

They reached the burger place thirty minutes later, Yoongi and Jimin were already seated and with water cups on the table. “Finally! I’m starving.” The blond said dramatically, slumping against the cushiony booth.

“You just ate a bunch of street food, hyung.”

“That didn’t even make a dent, please. Show me what you bought.”

Taehyung and Jeongguk sat in front of them, matching bags hanging from their hands. “I’ll show you later.”

“We got matching beanies!” Taehyung said at the same time as him. It gained Jimin’s attention immediately.

His brother looked at Taehyung’s bag and then at Jeongguk's avoidant eyes. “Is that so?”

Jeongguk continued not to look at his brother, concentrating on the menu instead. “I’m sooo hungry.”

“Yeah! We got really cute ones, and Jeonggukie got earmuffs too.”

Jeongguk frowned playfully at Taehyung. “You bought them!”

“But I bought them for you!”

“Okay, lovebirds. Let’s order, I’m starving.” Yoongi jumped in finally, passing his menu to Taehyung since they already chose what they wanted to eat.

The rest of the lunch went by calmly, the four of them conversed between each other animatedly, Jeongguk, as always, happy to listen and laugh from time to time to the things they were saying. It really amazed him how great they got along with one another, and so quickly! He expected a bit of awkward time, at least at the beginning and from him mainly, but both Taehyung and Yoongi made him feel comfortable from day one, which made it easy to talk and joke with them, something that was usually hard for him to do.

Apart from that, Taehyung had been particularly welcoming. Jeongguk didn’t want to assume, but the older one was a bit flirty, but maybe that’s just his personality? He didn’t feel uncomfortable with his attention, quite the opposite frankly. It still made him nervous and shy but it didn't awaken that instinct of running away, the instinct to go away and spend just the right amount of time with him to not seem weird. No. It was nice, having Taehyung’s attention on him sparked a nice feeling in him. Jeongguk did find him quite handsome when they met for the first time, however he would have never actually talked to him so freely if it wasn’t for Taehyung’s own willingness and effort towards making conversation with him. Jeongguk thought it to be sweet.

They went back home a few hours later, Jeongguk once again left the living room for a few hours and instead occupied the little nook beside the bedroom to keep working on the project, committed to finish it and submit it to his client as soon as possible to spend the most time possible with his brother and the two best friends. It was an editing job and he still had two hours of footage to go through, but if he was efficient about it and kept this rhythm going, there’s a world where he has it done soon.

“Jeonggukie!”

Or so he thought, until Taehyung appeared at the entrance, holding a mug and a plate with a few cookies in it. “I brought you a snack.”

“Oh… Thank you.” He carefully took the stuff and placed the plate on his folded legs while holding the steaming mug. “Did you make it?”

“I did.” Taehyung leaned against the archway. “Is the project coming along good? Jimin told us a little about what you're working on.”

“Mhm.” Jeongguk took a sip of the beverage, scrunching his nose when the hot and sweet liquid touched his tongue. “I only have a few things left to do.”

“That’s great.” Taehyung brought a hand to his nape, ruffling the hair there. Suddenly he looked hesitant. “We are having a movie night at 8, you don’t have to come if you’re busy, but I'd like it if you join us.”

Jeongguk felt his heartbeat rising the longer Taehyung stood in front of him. And said those things. Jeongguk wasn’t usually someone who felt things for another person in such a short amount of time, so why was he getting the fluttery feeling in his stomach? Why was his skin filled with pebbles because of the constant goosebumps? Why was his heart racing at just the sight of Taehyung?

Jeongguk tightened the hold he had on the mug and mustered his best smile, the best he could do when he felt a mess of shyness and unknown feelings mixed together somewhere in his mind. “I’ll be there.”

So no project finished for tonight, it seemed. Tomorrow morning then.

“Great! Eat your snacks, I’ll stop bothering you now.”

Jeongguk watched Taehyung’s back as he disappeared down the hall, feeling the need to say something along the lines of ‘You weren’t bothering me’ or ‘You can stay.’ But the moment had already passed and Taehyung was probably with his brother and Yoongi already. It can wait, he still had time.

Jeongguk went down when they were preparing the stuff for the movie night. Taehyung, as his brother told him, was in the kitchen making hot chocolate, while Yoongi and Jimin fixed the living room, gathering a lot of blankets and pillows to make it comfy for them.

“What are we watching?”

“Some romcom Yoongi hyung found, I’m not sure.” Jimin threw himself on the couch closest to the kitchen, Yoongi fell right beside him. Jeongguk supposed he had to take the big couch then, which he did after acquiring a blanket of his own.

Taehyung came into the living room with a big tray that held snacks and four mugs with steaming hot chocolate. He carefully put it on the coffee table and then flopped onto the couch with a loud sigh, just in the corner opposite to where Jeongguk was already curled up.

“You all treat me like a slave.”

“You offered yourself to make the snacks.”

Taehyung just waved a hand at them, taking a blanket that he used to cover his legs. “Just play it.”

The movie was fine. It actually was a romance movie, so while watching it they laughed about some moments they found embarrassing and commented on what they would have done differently.

“I thought Taehyung was a player just like this guy.” Jimin said suddenly, pointing to the screen where they could see the male protagonist.

Yoongi laughed loudly, probably the loudest Jeongguk has heard from him. “Taehyung? This man it’s such a hopeless romantic.”

Jeongguk stole a glance at Taehyung, the man was glaring at Yoongi, trying to hide his face with the blanket wrapped around him. “No, I’m not. Shut up.”

“Yes, you are! You broke up with the only boyfriend you ever had because he was rude to Tannie once. And you were with him for two years.”

“Well, if he can’t be nice to animals I can't be with him, simple as that. It doesn’t mean I'm a hopeless romantic though.” Taehyung petulantly said.

Jeongguk didn’t quite get why being a hopeless romantic was bad, he thought it was cute. And Taehyung's reaction was adorable.

“You haven’t had a boyfriend since because you haven’t found the ‘perfect guy’. Whatever that means.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what it means. I know. And I feel like right now I know it more than ever. I was just being cautious.”

Jimin, who was cackling beside Yoongi, looked at him curiously. “What does that mean?”

Taehyung shrugged. “Let’s talk about Yoongi hyung having you as his most watched streamer instead.”

“Taehyung!”

Jimin looked delighted. “Really?”

Yoongi was purposefully looking away, not meeting Jimin’s eyes. “Yes, whatever.”

Jeongguk was so entertained watching all of this evolve, he didn’t even notice when he turned to have a better view of their faces and ended up resting on the middle seat, Taehyung’s bicep was really close to his face now.

“Are you having fun with our misery?” Taehyung suddenly asked, Jeongguk flinched slightly from the unexpected inquiry but laughed quietly after.

“I am. But Jimin hyung looks too happy, no? Hyung!” Jimin glanced at him, leaving Yoongi alone for a bit. “I think they would like to know how you spent nearly three hours getting ready when we met them, right? I didn’t know why at the time, but I think it’s pretty clear now.” Jeongguk said, giving Yoongi a pointed look before staring back at his brother with mischief shining in his eyes.

Jimin made his eyes into slits, shaking his head while purposefully ignoring Yoongi's attempts to get his attention. “You’re so lucky. So lucky. Just wait a few days and it will come back to bite you in the ass.”

Jeongguk just giggled, hugging the pillow to his chest. There was no way.

“They’re kissing!” Taehyung got their attention back to the movie.

“Oh, finally!”

After finishing the film, they decided it was a good idea to watch the sequel already, but half way through it, Jeongguk fell asleep. He wasn’t aware he missed most of the movie until he felt a small, recognizable, hand shaking his shoulder gently.

“Let’s go to bed, Jeonggukie. Taehyungie won’t move to wake you up.”

He was drowsy as he opened his eyes, nuzzling the soft material he was resting on before reluctantly leaving it to sit correctly on the couch.

The TV was off, the only light coming from the little lamp in the corner and the dying fireplace, so he was startled a bit when he noticed Taehyung still by his side, wide awake and with a rumpled shirt from the way he was resting on his shoulder. Jeongguk woke up immediately, covering his mouth with a hand in embarrassment. “Sorry!”

Taehyung waved him off. “Don’t worry, Jeonggukie, it was really cute. And you kept me really warm so thank you.” He was so red it hurt but Taehyung took mercy on him and got up, a smile on his face as he waved. “Good night, guys.”

Jeongguk had to take a couple of seconds to calm his breathing before following his brother to the bedroom.

It wasn’t a surprise when sleep that night easily came to him, aided by the musky smell of Taehyung’s cologne clinging to his clothes.

❄❅❆

Jimin started streaming early the next day, he talked about it with Yoongi at some point when Jeongguk wasn’t present, and both decided to record a day in their life, starting from the moment they woke up to make at least one really long stream during the trip.

Jeongguk came out of the shower and saw his brother sitting on the bed with a bag of products on his side and the camera set up in front of him. Jimin's eyes jumped to him once he spotted him.

“Do you need help with that?” He pointed to the camera that looked a bit wobbly on top of the bed.

“Nah, don’t worry. Maybe later? Once we go out.” Jeongguk nodded, leaving the hairdryer he just used in its place. Jimin was looking at him. “You look cuddly with that hoodie. Cute.”

“Thank you.” Jeongguk absentmindedly ran a hand through his clothes. “Wanna see what I bought yesterday? I forgot to do it last night.”

Jimin nodded excitedly, patting the bed. “Do you want them to see?”

Jeongguk sat behind the camera, by the edge of the bed and placed the bag with his new items beside him. “Yeah, why not?”

“Okay, guys! Jeonggukie haul!”

The younger took out the white beanie he went to the store for, passing to his brother. “That’s the one I saw on the display.”

“Oooh, cute. It really is your style and it looks warm.” Jimin looked at it himself before showing it to the camera, placing his hand behind it to get the lens to focus on it. “They’re saying they like it.” The elder said while giving it back. Jimin accepted the next item with a teasing smirk. “Oh, but I thought you only wanted one thing?”

Jeongguk turned his head away, fumbling a bit. “Well… It’s pretty too.” He extended a hand and ran his fingers over the soft knitted material of the earmuffs, gently, speaking in a soft tone. “And it will keep me warm.”

Jimin giggled, getting close to the camera as if telling them a secret. “Someone bought this for our Jeonggukie.” He whispered with a chuckle that gradually got louder, gleeful.

Jeongguk petulantly takes the earmuffs away and gives him the last thing. “That’s the last one.”

His brother took it while still laughing but sobered up soon enough when he noticed what it was, he looked at it from this and that way, and Jeongguk could see the exact moment his brother’s eyes lighted up when he saw it clearly. “This is adorable!” He ran his fingers through the fuzzy ears and showed it to the camera for a bit before his expression changed, realization dawning on him. “Wait…”

“Okay!” Jeongguk snatched the hat and put it in the bag along with everything else. He jumped from the bed and made his way towards the door. “I’m going to eat breakfast now. Call me if you need anything.”

He left the bag on top of his suitcase and exited the bedroom, listening to his brother's complaints on the way out.

The smell from the coffee brewing in the kitchen reached even the second floor, so he blindly followed it and found the two best friends talking over a mug by the counter. Taehyung's back was the first thing he saw, he was hunched over the hard surface, his hand was loosely wrapped around his mug and Yoongi was frowning, probably scolding him about something.

“Morning.” Jeongguk said, his voice was hushed, just in case he was interrupting them.

Yoongi glanced up and gave him a gummy smile. “Good morning! Coffee?”

“Please.”

He slowly walked the distance left between them and took the free space beside Taehyung. Jeongguk could see his face now and it was visible the sleepiness in his eyes, even after a shower, it seemed, his hair was still wet. “You should dry your hair, hyung.”

“Jeonggukie.” The man dropped his head on his folded arms, looking at him with sleepy eyes. “I got so little sleep last night.”

Yoongi gave him a mug filled with coffee, but Jeongguk noticed how he was holding another one still, different from the one Jeongguk saw him drinking from. The dots connected in his head immediately. “Thank you. Jiminnie hyung is upstairs if you wanna talk to him.”

Yoongi looked startled but gave him a shy smile either way. The black haired man patted Taehyung's back when he went past him and then headed towards the stairs.

Jeongguk turned his attention to Taehyung again, finding the older dozing off. He sipped his coffee before nudging him gently. “You couldn’t sleep?” He asked softly, not wanting to disturb him but also trying to keep him awake so he didn’t end up falling asleep on the hard counter.

Taehyung’s bleary eyes blinked a few times. “Sometimes it’s difficult for me to fall asleep, and it took a while last night.”

“Mhm… Why don’t you take a nap before we go out? I think it will take a little while.”

Taehyung finally straightened himself, stretching like a cat. “You’re so right, Jeonggukie.”

“But dry your hair first! Or you will get sick.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Jeongguk made sure Taehyung was actually walking towards the bathroom and waited for the sound of the hairdryer before going back to his coffee, reaching for a chocolate chip muffin from the plate in the middle to have something to eat with it.

Five minutes later, Taehyung was back, hair now dry, but instead of going back to the kitchen, he flopped down on the big couch. It took about a minute for him to be fully asleep. Jeongguk looked from his spot in the kitchen and waited until Taehyung’s breath was steady to get close and cover him with a blanket. Then, he sat on the loveseat, turning on the TV to watch something while waiting for the other two.

That was the moment the email came. The client he had been working for, the one that asked for the project he had been working on for the past couple of days, sent an email asking for it to be sent as soon as possible, not later than tonight. Jeongguk immediately panicked. He had things to do, he had a schedule already set and he had to help his brother with the streams. He was supposed to spend time with their new friends too.

He had time, he was supposed to not hurry with it and instead work a little bit every day, so as to not lose quality time with his brother, Taehyung and Yoongi. And why on the day Jimin needed him the most, recording himself throughout the day wasn’t easy if he wanted to interact with his audience, and not having him there would mean less interaction with either Yoongi or Taehyung. Probably the latter, who was so tired, Jeongguk felt bad giving him extra work to do without meaning to.

Just then, Jeongguk heard footsteps coming down the stairs. And soon after, Jimin and Yoongi appeared in the living room with matching smiles, but his brother’s expression morphed into a frown once he noticed the evident panic on Jeongguk’s face. “What happened?”

“They asked me to send the project as soon as possible.” Jeongguk said, a whine to his voice he couldn’t help. He was actually frustrated. “I don’t think I'll be able to go with you today guys, sorry.”

Jimin shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. Just make sure to ask for a big amount of money for the sudden change, yes? Do you need help?”

Jeongguk got up and took his now empty mug to the kitchen. “I’m good, I'll just have to be cooped up for a few hours, but I can do it. What are you doing today?”

He didn’t even get to leave the mug in the kitchen sink before Yoongi swooped in and started washing it. “We were planning to go to a tree farm like twenty minutes away, eat in a restaurant close to it and then stroll around it.”

“Oh, that sounds nice.”

“Yeah, we can do something else though. And then go with you once you’re free.”

Jeongguk shook his head, pushing off the counter. “Don’t worry about me. We don’t have much time left here and we will get to do something fun later.” Jimin’s pout was visible behind the camera he was holding in front of his face. The stream muted from the moment he saw his brother.

Jeongguk gave them a little smile and walked back to the living room, his eyes briefly went to Tarhyung’s sleeping form before continuing towards the stairs. The sooner he started to work, the earlier the project would be done.

He faintly heard Yoongi waking Taehyung up and ten minutes later the front door closed with a thud, leaving the cabin in complete silence.

Jeongguk just sighed and kept working.

It was already five PM when the front door opened again. Three men stumbled through it, Taehyung went first and Yoongi and Jimin were laughing loudly behind him, but they stopped when they noticed Taehyung standing still by the entrance, his eyes stuck on the couch. They came around him and saw Jeongguk curled on the couch, peacefully sleeping in the spot Taehyung was occupying before. There was a laptop opened on the coffee table and a half filled mug of coffee beside it, Jeongguk’s feet were covered with a blanket and his hand was curled around a pillow.

“This brat. He didn’t eat anything." Jimin said coming back from the kitchen. He looked down at his brother with a frown but still stroked his hair softly, taking another blanket to cover the rest of his body. “At least he is done with it, I think, or he wouldn’t be sleeping.”

Yoongi stepped in and clapped a hand on Taehyung’s shoulder, passing by him to grab the mug and take it to the kitchen, closing the laptop too.

“Should we move him to the bed?” Taehyung finally found his voice, he took off his shoes and hung his coat on the hanger, just as the other two did before him, when he was petrified looking at Jeongguk’s cute sleeping face.

“No, it’s okay. He’s heavy.”

“I can take him.” Taehyung’s rebuttal was immediate.

Jimin gave him a funny look. “It’s alright, Taehyung-ah. I'll wake him up in a few minutes so he eats something, I just have to reheat the stuff we brought back.”

Taehyung nodded. “Okay, I’ll do that.” He went to the kitchen with Jimin’s amused eyes following closely.

There really wasn’t much science to it. He just took the rice and meat from the containers, transferred everything to a bowl and placed it in the microwave, then he spent a minute and half glaring at the timer, waiting for it to go faster.

Jeonggukie must be starving, he worked so hard he even forgot to eat. And they were fooling around for many hours, eating yummy food while poor Jeonggukie spent all day inside, surviving only on coffee. That was not good. He had to make sure now that the younger one ate every single piece of rice on that plate or he wouldn't be able to sleep at night again, seeing as Jeongguk’s effect on him was so strong he couldn’t get an ounce of sleep last night because he felt too wired after having him so close, sleeping so comfortably on his shoulder. Taehyung had to leave the room, careful to not wake Yoongi too, and heat up some milk to soothe himself and finally fall asleep when it was already too late. But he couldn’t possibly say that to the younger that morning, he had already embarrassed himself enough in front of him, acting like a fool, like a teenager with a crush.

The timer finally ran out and Taehyung took the plate from it, then, on his way to the living room he grabbed utensils and napkins. Jeongguk was just waking up when he got there, Jimin had a hand on his head and the younger was rubbing his eyes to chase the sleep away.

Jimin grabbed the plate from his hand and allowed Jeongguk to take it once he was seated comfortably, and when his eyes were open.

Taehyung flopped on the other couch, with a dramatic sigh. “Jeonggukie, I missed you so much, they were terrible today. Terrible!”

The younger looked at him with bleary eyes and a little smile, cheeks full of the yummy food. “I’ll come tomorrow.”

“Did you submit the project?” Jimin asked, he was brushing his brother’s hair away so it didn't bother him while eating.

“Mhm. It took a while but I sent it around six? And then I fell asleep.”

Yoongi came from the kitchen at that moment. The camera they used to stream in hand. Jeongguk frowned at it. “You aren’t streaming anymore?”

“We ended it in the car. Taehyung fell asleep and Jiminnie was dozing off too so I just turned it off.” The older flopped down beside Taehyung and the latter immediately latched onto him, hugging him with arms and legs. Yoongi grunted while trying to get him off. “You’re so annoying. Jeongguk, you should’ve seen him, he couldn’t stop talking about you. ‘Jeonggukie would've laughed’, ‘Jeonggukie this’, 'Jeonggukie that’. ‘Jeonggukie, Jeonggukie, Jeong-” A hand covered his lips.

Taehyung seemed flustered beside him. “Shut up, I was just tired of you two flirting all day.”

Jeongguk hid behind his empty plate.

“You’re such a hypocrite. You’re the one flirting all day with poor Jeonggukie!” Jimin was cackling and pointing at Taehyung mockingly. “Oh, my little baby brother.” Jimin cradled his head to his chest, an annoying tone to his voice. “I’ll protect you from Taehyung’s lustful intentions.”

Jeongguk tried to get away from his brother, pushing against his body.

“My intentions aren’t lustful!”

Jimin looked menacingly at Taehyung. “So there are intentions.”

“W-well… I mean…”

Jeongguk finally took pity on him and abruptly stood up. “I’m done eating!” He said before marching towards the kitchen with his plate in hand, big sweatpants sweeping the floor and hood from his hoodie falling from his head onto his back. He ignored all the ruckus happening in the living room.

He calmly cleaned and then went back, Yoongi was nowhere to be seen but Jimin and Taehyung were still there. His brother was sprawled on the big couch, occupying it completely while browsing through the TV in search of a movie, so, naturally, Jeongguk took the empty space beside Taehyung, forgoing the single seaters. Taehyung had his lips pushed out in a pout and his arms were crossed over his chest.

Jeongguk chuckled behind his hand.

Taehyung stole a glance at him but otherwise didn't take his eyes off the coffee table. “Yes, laugh at my misery. You’re the only one allowed to do so.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah. There’s a name for it… What was it? Mhm… Pretty privileged?” Taehyung turned towards him with a smirk tugging at his mouth, embarrassment forgotten and giving space for a smug expression.

Jeongguk was capable of holding his eyes for only a few seconds, looking away when the flush on his face was visible . “Th-that’s corny.” He said, but there was a smile threatening to overtake his frown.

He felt Taehyung’s eyes still on the side of his face and he can see the little smile playing on his lips by the corner of his eye. “Did you think about your prize? For winning the gingerbread house competition?”

“Oh.” The sudden change of topic had Jeongguk's attention in a second, and Taehyung must have known it if the softening of his expression as Jeongguk perked up is anything to go by. “I actually did. Is there a skating ring somewhere close? Jiminnie and I used to go skating a lot when we were kids, but we haven’t done it in a while. It could be fun to go, if you guys want.”

Taehyung flicked his chin, a fond smile on his face. “Let’s look it up.”

The older man took his phone out, Jeongguk was frozen on the spot. He peeked towards his brother, who was too busy looking at the television to pay attention to them. With reddening cheeks, Jeongguk relaxed on the couch to have a better look at Taehyung’s phone, his folded legs close enough to Taehyung’s that he was afraid of moving even a centimeter closer, but the other doesn’t seem to mind and ended up being the one to eliminate the distance between them, scooting so the last bit of space between them disappeared. He showed him a place he found online.

“This one looks nice, look.” Taehyung pointed at the pictures of the place, it was an outdoor skating ring. It had metal railing all around and it was decorated with pretty lights along the sides and in every lightpost surrounding it. “What do you think?”

“I like it.” Jeongguk nodded, but there was a bit of doubt in his response. “You really don’t mind? Or Yoongi hyung? Does he like skating?”

“He hates it.” Taehyung snorted. “But if Jimin likes it, I know Yoongi hyung will go with it.”

“What about you?”

Taehyung shrugged. “You like it so I don’t mind.”

Jeongguk blushed and ducked his head to hide it. “Okay, then.”

“Jimin-ah!” Taehyung extended a leg and pushed Jimin’s feet with his own. “Should we go ice skating?”

Jimin startled and looked at them with a bewildered expression that immediately morphed into one of excitement. “Yes! I love ice skating! Are you looking at the times? Maybe tomorrow or the next day?”

And Jimin was suddenly sitting on the armrest of the couch, poking his head to look at the phone with them. Yoongi joined them a few minutes later after being done with his call and he groaned once he heard their plan, but quickly agreed, thanks to Jimin’s very visible excitement.

“Tomorrow, then?” The older of the four asked, running a hand through his long hair as he grabbed Jimin’s with the other, pulling him towards the couch his brother was previously in, where they fell together.

Jeongguk raised an eyebrow at Jimin, a little smile that became teasing when he ignored him. So there were a few developments in whatever was going on between them.

“Yeah, is 6PM good? We can stay for an hour and then go to dinner.” Taehyung’s eyes were glued to the screen of his phone, only taking small glances towards Jeongguk and ignoring the other two.

Jeongguk nodded, Jimin and Yoongi agreed from the couch.

“Done. Now can we please eat the pizza we brought? I’m starving.”

“You could've eaten a long time ago but you chose to stay cuddling Jeonggukie.” Yoongi quipped

“We are not cuddling.” Taehyung scoffed and Jeongguk tried to put a bit of distance between them but he didn't get to move an inch before there was a hand on his knee. “Nooo, don’t move. Don’t listen to him, he’s old and cranky.”

Jeongguk’s eyes were big and bright as he looked at Taehyung, a pink hue on his cheeks. “I was going to put the pizza in the oven to reheat it.”

Yoongi snorted, waving a hand at him, the other wrapped around Jimin’s shoulders. “I already did, he just has to take a piece.”

“Yes!” Taehyung jumped from the sofa and a minute later he came back with a stack of plates and a box of pizza. “Let’s feast everyone.”

It was later that same day, Jeongguk was tossing and turning in bed while Jimin snored beside him. The nap he took that afternoon after finishing his job was catching up to him now. He sighed for the nth time in an hour and finally decided to just get up.

Jeongguk flung the covers off his body, instantly shivering from the cold room, and put the fuzzy hoodie he was wearing earlier back on. His laptop sat closed on top of the dresser so he took it and left the room.

The nook right beside the bedroom had become one of his favorite places in the cabin, with its cozy blankets and comfortable couch. It was perfect to just relax and watch the snow fall outside, which he barely saw now since it was so dark and there was only a couple of outside lightning surrounding the cabin, mainly on the first floor. He flicked on the warm lighting of the little space and made himself comfortable on the sofa, two blankets piled on his legs and the laptop on top.

There wasn’t much for him to do now that the project he was supposed to work on was submitted, but he did have a few emails to go over from people that reached out to work with him or from past clients that were looking to book something again.

“Jeonggukie.”

Jeongguk was so immersed in one of the emails he didn't hear the steps coming up to the second floor, so he was startled once Taehyung appeared at the entrance of the nook. “Oh, Taehyung-ssi. You scared me.” He put a hand on his chest, feeling the way his heart beat wildly. “Something happened?”

Taehyung stepped inside a bit, leaning against the wall. “No, I just saw the lights on and came to turn it off. You couldn’t sleep?”

Jeongguk folded his legs under his body to make room on the couch, a clear invitation for Taehyung to sit. “Yeah, I was just tossing for an hour before coming here, I didn’t wanna wake up hyung. You couldn’t sleep either?”

“Mhm.” Taehyung hummed, nodding as he carefully took the space left open for him. He looked soft under the warm light, his hair was messy and fluffy. “I was feeling restless, don’t know why.”

Jeongguk saw a slight shiver travel through the older’s body so he moved the laptop to the little table beside the couch and slowly lifted the blankets covering him, making it so Taehyung was under them too, he got a bit closer in the process so they both fit comfortably. “Well, at least this time I can keep you company.”

Taehyung gave him a smile, his eyes tired but still soft, looking at every corner of his face.

“You look really cute with that hoodie. I wanted to tell you earlier but I didn’t get the chance.”

Jeongguk, who had gotten comfortable and was resting his head on his folded arms in the back of the couch, smiled shyly, hiding his blushing face on the crook of his elbow. “Thank you.” He whispered.

They were both speaking softly, in a hushed tone, afraid to break the warm cocoon the nook felt like.

“Were you busy?” Taehyung did a tilt with his head, pointing a signal towards his laptop.

“No, just checking emails.”

“A busy guy.” Taehyung nodded, Jeongguk just giggled. “Do you do a lot of stuff apart from working with your brother?”

Jeongguk moved his head from side to side, thinking about it. “I guess? I do a lot of editing work for youtubers or whoever needs them. I had people commission me for some art too, and I dabbled a bit in a dance academy that a friend of hyung and I owns.”

“That’s so cool. You’re the epitome of creativity then.”

Jeongguk chuckled, shy. “I don’t know about that. I just really like it and I'm lucky enough to make a living out of it.” He absentmindedly played with a loose string of the blanket, really close to one of Taehyung’s hands. “How did you end up streaming? Was it something you always wanted to do?”

Taehyung hummed, his gaze down. “It wasn’t like my dream to stream, I went to college for photography and started doing livestreams about that stuff first. Remember how I told you about Yoongi hyung making music?” Jeongguk nodded softly. “Well, when he streams alone that’s what he usually does, music. Sometimes we do it together since we have been making music since we were kids, that's why I have some experience in it too. But that’s his passion, I enjoy photography more.”

“And when you stream alone it’s about that?”

“Yeah, mostly. I game too though. A lot, actually. But hyung and I got known for different things, the fact that we were friends from before was a plus added when we started this whole IRL thing and streaming together. And now, here we are.”

Taehyung’s hand was closer to his own wandering one, but neither said anything. Letting the silence comfortably settle as Jeongguk moved his legs from under him, starting to feel them cramp from being in the same position.

“Put your legs on mine.” Taehyung suddenly said.

Jeongguk's gaze snapped towards him. “Huh?”

“Your legs are cramping. Put them on my lap so you’re comfortable. There isn't much space to put them.” Taehyung was making direct eye contact with him, making sure he listened.

Jeongguk gulped. “Won’t you get tired?”

“Of course not. That way we are warmer too, I feel a bit of a chill.” Taehyung emphasized his point by shivering dramatically.

Jeongguk knew he was lying, partially at least. Under two blankets and with the shared warmth it’s impossible for him to feel a chill so intense he shivered. But his legs were cramping, and putting his socked feet on the cold floor wasn’t an option so Jeongguk listened to Taehyung and carefully, avoiding to look directly at the other, shifted under the blanket, letting his legs extend across the couch and over Taehyung’s thighs.

The older let the blankets fall again once he was settled and placed both hands on Jeongguk’s legs, one on his knee and the other on his shin. “Better?”

Jeongguk just hummed, the flushing on his face unbelievably hot because of the little to no space between them, the new position forcing them to be closer than ever, with Jeongguk’s head resting just beside Taehyung’s inviting shoulder.

“Are you having fun on the trip?” Taehyung asked in a whisper.

Jeongguk allowed his wandering hand to find the string he was playing with earlier.

“I am. I was a bit afraid of coming since I didn’t know you guys, but you were both really nice to me from the beginning.”

Taehyung’s hand slid a bit from Jeongguk’s leg, a warm caress that put his fingers closer to his.

“There isn’t a world where someone could be something other than nice to you.”

Jeongguk scoffed. “But there was a mean person.”

“Yeah.” Taehyung sighed. “I did a bit of research about Jiminnie when all the flirting started and saw what happened. That guy is a douchebag, I’m glad he doesn’t have a platform anymore. I would punch him in the face if I could.”

The younger gave him a playful and really harmless shove. “Silly.”

“I’m serious!”

“I know.” Jeongguk said, chuckling softly. “What did you find in your research?”

Taehyung tilted his head down to look at him. “Nothing much. I knew about Jimin and had seen a couple of clips from his streams, but I really went looking for stuff when Yoongi and him started flirting online. I didn’t find anything new, other than his modeling campaigns that I didn’t know about. He's just a guy, no?”

They both laughed, Jeongguk nodding along. “He is.”

“I saw a few clips of Jimin talking about his brother but there’s nothing about you out there, if you were curious about it.”

Jeongguk shook his head with a sigh and relaxed against the back of the couch. “No, I just wanted to know how everything came to be from your perspective. I don’t keep up much with anything and hyung only told me about the collab when it was settled.”

“Ah.” Taehyung thought for a bit. “Well, I came as moral support. The whole collab thing started because of them flirting online, which you already know about. I wasn’t part of the plan but hyung felt nervous and included me and since Jimin was bringing you it made sense. That’s how it became this supposed collab of Jimin and us but I only came to be a third wheeler.”

The younger chuckled under his breath. “But are you having fun?”

Taehyung’s hand finally touched his, it was a soft thing, barely a touch, just two fingers caressing the ring on Jeongguk’s index one. “Yeah. I’m really glad I came.”

Jeongguk knew that it went way beyond just coming to a free trip, he understood the meaning behind Taehyung’s words and fond smile. The smile on his own face betrayed him but that’s alright, Taehyung was allowed to know. “I’m glad I came too.”

Just then, a traitorous yawn came out of Jeongguk’s mouth, small and quiet enough to not be noticed but Taehyung’s eyes were on him at all times, so the older nudged him softly. “Go to sleep.”

Jeongguk shook his head. “I don’t want to.”

Taehyung laughed, looking at his sleepy eyes, Jeongguk's face was soft and falling a bit towards the warm shoulder close to him. “If we fall asleep here, we will be sore tomorrow.”

The younger’s head touched Taehyung’s shoulder and only stayed for a few seconds before lifting it up. “Fine.” He knew Taehy was right but that didn’t mean he was pleased with having to go to bed. He was already comfortable and warm cuddled up to the other, why leave?

The prominent pout on his lips got more pronounced when Taehyung flicked his chin softly, with a light chuckle. “Listen to me, you big baby. We can find each other here again tomorrow night, yeah?”

Jeongguk was already half on dreamland, his half closed eyes squinting towards the older as he extended a hand. “Promise?”

“Yeah, cutie.” Taehyung interlocked their pinkies and then stood up, taking the younger by the hands to help him stand up too. “Now let’s get you to bed.”

Jeongguk just let himself be pulled to his feet and then followed the other to his bedroom.

“Good night, hyungie.” He muttered, opening the door.

“Good night, Ggukie.” It’s what he heard him say as the door closed, Taehyung’s fond eyes the last thing he saw before sleep took him.

❄❅❆

The next day, they all had a late start. Jimin and Yoongi woke up two hours earlier than Taehyung and Jeongguk did. Jeongguk only got to know about it because his brother accidentally tripped and fell on top of him while trying to get dressed.

Jeongguk went down close to 11 AM, his hair was ruffled and he had a warm blanket wrapped around him. His brother was sitting at the kitchen counter and was the first to spot him since he was looking at the living room, he started quietly laughing at him behind the mug in his hand.

“Rough night?”

Jeongguk cuddled up on the big couch. “I had trouble sleeping.”

“Mhm, I figured. Want coffee?”

Jeongguk gave him a nod, not even looking at him, he kept his eyes closed with his head slumped on a pillow.

“Good morning, kid.” Yoongi came out of the kitchen with a bowl of fruit in his hand, which he placed on the couch, just close enough for Jeongguk to reach it. “Do you have anything to do with Taehyung sleeping so late and so soundly?” He asked in a teasing voice.

Jeongguk, who had a hand extended to grab the fork and eat the fruit, froze. He glanced quickly at the kitchen, where his brother is probably preoccupied with the brewing of his coffee to pay attention to them.

The residual sleep suddenly left his body, his cheeks flushing when he looked at Yoongi’s playful eyes. “Why do you ask?”

Yoongi sat on the loveseat, shrugging. “Just a hunch. He woke me up when he went to sleep and he looked pretty damn giddy for someone that was up at 3AM.”

The younger hid his smile with the piece of fruit he quickly shoved into his mouth, shrugging at Yoongi’s raised eyebrow. “Don’t know.”

Thankfully, Jimin came from the kitchen just in time, a mug in his hand that he carefully passed to Jeongguk before throwing himself half on the couch and half on Yoongi, who grunted with the added weight.

“Taehyung isn’t up yet?”

Jeongguk continued eating while the two conversed, taking occasional sips from the mug of coffee.

“He’s awake but he doesn’t wanna get up yet, such a child.”

Jimin chuckled, interlacing his fingers with Yoongi’s, all under Jeongguk's watchful gaze and teasing smirk. The blonde ignored his brother. “Should we cook lunch today? Instead of going out? We can stream it!”

“You don’t know how to cook.” Jeongguk interjected .

His brother waved him off. “But you do.”

“But I won’t be on camera.”

“You can teach us and we do it.”

“Who’s teaching us what?”

Taehyung appeared from the bedroom downstairs, his hair tousled and a small smile on his lips. He looked soft in a fleece jacket he threw over his pajamas.

“Jeonggukie will help us make lunch.” Jimin answered from his spot, which was cuddled up with Yoongi.

“Uhhh.” Taehyung dropped beside Jeongguk, the younger sat correctly to look at him and not only show him his back. “Nice. I know a bit about cooking too.”

Jeongguk stared at him with raised eyebrows, surprised. “Really?”

Yoongi snorted from the side. “He’s totally lying. I know more about cooking than him. You’re just trying to look cool in front of Jeonggukie.”

Taehyung seemed completely offended, a finger pointed to himself as he stared at Yoongi with his mouth forming an ‘o’. “Wh- Ggukie tell them.”

Jeongguk had a piece of fruit between his lips, startled at being put on the spot so suddenly, between Taehyung and the couple (were they a couple yet?) on the couch. “Uhm… Taehyungie hyung knows… how to cook…?” The uncertainty was clear in his voice but Taehyung nodded at him either way, happy with his statement.

Jimin laughed loudly, throwing himself around the sofa. “Dude! You’re so whipped!”

Taehyung had a smug smile on his face so Jeongguk looked away, but on the other side was his brother cackling with Yoongi, so he stood up instead. “You’re all mean!” He marched to the kitchen with his empty mug and bowl of fruit, a pout on his lips that made the occupants of the living room laugh fondly.

It was a few hours later when they were all gathered in the kitchen. On one side of the spacious counter Jimin, Yoongi and Taehyung, and on the other side, behind the equipment of cameras, lights and computers, Jeongguk. The three streamers wore colorful aprons to protect their clothes and Jeongguk just sat in one of the stools with most of the ingredients by his side, ready to give instructions.

“Alright! Shall we start?” Jimin clapped his hands, addressing both his stream and also the best friend’s one. “I don’t think pasta will be that difficult to make.”

“It isn't.” Jeongguk said, fully conscious of the little mic clipped onto his sweater. They thought it would be a better experience for the viewers to listen to Jeongguk’s instructions too. “Yoongi hyung, please start cleaning the shrimps.” He slid the shrimps towards the older, who immediately reached for a cutting board and a knife. “Jiminnie hyung, fill a pot with water, please. And, Taehyung hyung, chop this into little cubes please.” Jeongguk gave him an onion, Taehyung immediately nodded and searched for the things he would need.

Jeongguk placed his elbows on the counter and held his chin on the palm of his hand, watching the three of them start the things Jeongguk asked of them. He watched as Yoongi cleaned carefully and throughoutly the shrimps, Jimin filled the pot and left it on the stove, Jeongguk then told him to help Yoongi with his task. And Taehyung was cutting the onions. Terribly.

He stopped for a bit to watch him more closely, since the other’s technique seemed to be a little bit rough, but apart from being contraproducent, it could be dangerous for him. “Hyungie.” Jeongguk said, not much thought behind it, and three pairs of eyes locked into him. He blushed profusely before focusing on Taehyung. “Should I show you how to cut it? You could harm yourself if you do it that way.”

Taehyung smiled at him, shrugging. “Sure.” He slid the cutting board towards Jeongguk and walked behind the camera.

Jeongguk took one half of the onion and placed it face down on the cutting board, Taehyung stood by his side, a respectful distance between them from where the other could see perfectly what he was showing him. “You have to hold the knife like this and put your other hand here.” Jeongguk demonstrated slowly, Taehyung nodding.

The younger started cutting little by little, the older getting closer every time until he was standing a bit sideways and almost pressed against Jeongguk's back. Jeongguk felt the hardness of his stomach on his arm every time he cut another piece of the onion and his elbow went back. “L-like this.” Taehyung hummed, Jeongguk cleared his throat discreetly. “When there isn't much left, you tuck your fingers like this to not harm yourself.” Jeongguk showed him how to do it and chopped the last piece of onion, now a small stack of the vegetable rested at the edge of the cutting board. “Do you get it?” He turned his head towards Taehyung, looking from under his lashes at the other's face, which is conveniently turned towards him already.

A smile slowly made its way on Taehyung's face, moving his eyes all over the younger's face while nodding. “I’ll do the other half.”

Jeongguk held a hand on his cheek when Taehyung moved from behind him and rounded the counter, positioning himself in front of the camera once again. He felt the heat coming off from it but decided to ignore it as he quickly looked at Yoongi and Jimin, watching the progress they had made with the shrimps.

Just then the older one of the two glanced in his direction, holding a shrimp in his hand. “Do we chop them?”

Jeongguk startled a little and nodded, fast and jerky. He could see from the corner of his eye how his brother was stifling his laugh.

After Yoongi started chopping the shrimps, Jeongguk turned to Taehyung again, watching him cut the onion slowly but much better than before. He fidgeted with the sleeve of his sweater, smiling at himself when Taehyung’s tongue peeked from the corner of his lip, completely focused on his task, just as much as Jeongguk was focused on him.

The younger one diverted his eyes, looking at the other two, just to find his brother already looking at him, not mockingly like the other times but with a fond look on his face, something soft. Jeongguk felt the blushing coming to his cheeks, his eyes wide as he stuttered, “H-hyung.”

Jimin hummed as a response.

“Salt the water and put the pasta in please.”

The rest of the cooking went by smoothly, only a few hiccups here and there, like Jimin jumping back en forth when the hot oil was sizzling in the pan and a drop fell on his arm (nothing serious) or when Taehyung accidentally added a bit of sugar to the sauce but, after looking at Jeongguk with panic written all over his face, the younger giggled behind his hand and told him how to fix it.

“It was so good!” Jimin flopped on the smaller sofa, rubbing his belly over his thick hoodie.

Yoongi fell right beside him. “Thanks, Jeonggukie.”

“Me?”Jeongguk pointed at himself with a confused expression.

It seemed they had already established their spots, because just as it had been lots of times before, he and Taehyung sat on the bigger couch. The single seaters were used not more than two times in their whole stay.

“Of course you! Without you we wouldn’t have been able to do it, silly.”

“Oh.” Jeongguk blushed, shy from the sudden attention. “Thanks.”

Yoongi laughed, and Taehyung jolted, Jeongguk startling too by the unexpected movement. “You’re looking at him like a creep.”

“Leave me alone.” Taehyung crossed his arms like a petulant kid. “Let’s watch a movie and then we get ready to go skate.”

The older of them groaned, his black hair spreading on the back of the couch when his head fell back. “No movie. I need a nap to prepare myself.”

He got up from the couch and Jimin went right behind him. “I could do with a nap too, actually.” His brother had a smile like the Cheshire cat while following Yoongi to the room downstairs, the older flushed to his ears but allowed it anyway, even reaching for Jimin’s hand to pull him in before the door closed.

Jeongguk and Taehyung looked at each other with matching dumbfounded expressions, both equally shocked by the development in their relationship.

“I mean… I was expecting it but I'm still shocked.” Jeongguk only nodded in response. Taehyung shrugged and took the TV remote with a sigh. “Well, whatever. Now we can watch a movie together. Do you want hot chocolate?”

“Maybe later? When we come back from skating.” Jeongguk had to make himself look away from Taehyung’s face, instead he threw himself over the armrest to get to the basket of blankets by its side. He took two blankets and sat upright, Taehyung was browsing through a streaming app.

“Here.” Jeongguk fixed one of the blankets on his lap and extended the other to Taehyung.

But the older didn’t take it, instead spreading Jeongguk’s over his lap and doing the same with the other in a messy way. “Let’s just use it this way.”

Jeongguk blushed from the tip of his ears to his toes but didn't protest, moving a bit on the couch to be closer, just so the blankets cover them both better! No other reason.

“Oh! This one! You look like the bunny from it.” Taehyung pressed play on the animated movie and slumped on the couch, bringing his legs up to cover his feet too.

Jeongguk tilted his head, humming, which got the attention of the older immediately. “Do I?”

Taehyung flicked his chin with a smile. “You do.”

And that's where the conversation ended. Jeongguk had seen this movie and he liked it a lot so it was nice to watch it again after a long time. He accommodated himself and tucked his feet under his butt while sitting sideways, his head was propped against his folded arms over the couch. Taehyung sometime during the movie sagged lower on the couch and now both were closer than at the beginning, his face was an inch away from the other’s shoulder, reminiscent of the night before. And just like last night, his legs cramped soon enough, so he let them fall to the carpeted floor, stretching a bit. However, this time he didn't fight it when Taehyung patted his lap, lifting the blanket to give Jeongguk room to move. He just did it and extended his legs across Taehyung’s lap, letting him take his hand when it fell limp on the blanket.

“Comfortable?” Taehyung asked in a low voice, lowering his head to look at him.

Jeongguk stole a glance to his shoulder but nodded. “You?”

“I guess.” Taehyung shrugged with a dramatic sigh. Jeongguk’s breath stuttered, thinking the worst. “I surely would be more comfortable if a certain boy would just use me as a pillow, but…” He shrugged again, a silly smile on his face when Jeongguk softly pushed his shoulder.

“Silly.” It’s the only thing he said before gently dropping his head on Taehyung’s shoulder, instantly feeling the comforting weight of the other’s head on top of his.

“Much better.”

Jeongguk never in a million years would have thought that he would be cuddling with a guy he met not more than a week ago, but here he was, and there wasn't a place he would rather be. That was just how it was and this was the first time he was indulging himself instead of only focusing on work or prioritizing literally anything else over his own desires, so it felt extremely nice to just be. Would it be nice to know where they were headed? Where did Taehyung stand in this situation? Of course! But it honestly didn’t matter right now, maybe later, when after the trip they didn't lose contact (he would be devastated if they did), maybe then he could ask. Right now he just wanted to enjoy it. Who wouldn’t want to cuddle with a handsome man you met a few days ago.

At some point, Jeongguk drifted off to a light sleep. He barely heard the movie and he knew Taehyung must have asked something and he surely responded something ridiculous because he felt the soft laughter pressed against his hair, plus a light caress over the soft strands that travelled down his face before that same hand covered his on top of the blanket. Jeongguk opened his eyes slightly just to get a glimpse of their joined hands, he took the chance and the opportunity to blame it on his sleepiness to interlock every finger with Taehyung’s, getting a firm grip before closing his eyes again and sleeping.

“You’re cute.” It was what he heard in response.

Taehyung thinks he is cute? Wow. Has he looked in the mirror lately? But not even half asleep could he say any of that to the other, so instead he just replied, “Thank you.”

Once again the feeling of soft laughter was there but this time closer to his forehead. “That tickles.”

“Sorry, sweetheart.”

The feeling moved away and he followed it blindly until it came back. “Noo, it’s okay. Feels nice.”

Jeongguk settled then, his breathing evening with the soft caresses on his hair, the movie forgotten as he fell asleep for the rest of it, warm and comfortable in the cocoon they made for themselves.

It’s with a light shake that he woke up. “Jeonggukie.” A soft voice said, a whisper close to him. Jeongguk still had his eyes closed but started moving slightly, stretching before settling again in the same position. Now it’s a chuckle and a tickle under his chin. “We have to get ready to go skating.”

Skating? But it’s so cold out… “And your brother is waking up soon.”

That did it. Jeongguk’s eyes flew open, taking in his surroundings still a bit dazed, the TV is playing a random trailer and the fireplace is crackling still, the warmth reaching under the blankets, where he was almost on top of Taehyung’s lap it seemed, now much closer than he remembered being at the beginning. Jeongguk finally noticed how he was resting on the older shoulders and jumped off, a bit startled and a lot embarrassed. “S-sorry.”

Taehyung, who was still holding his hand, shook his head and pulled him closer again, and Jeongguk just went with it, his body still limp with remnants of sleep. “None of that. I fell asleep too, and I was very comfortable.”

Jeongguk flushed to the tip of his ears, lowering his head but immediately perking up in alarm, a hand touching the part of Taehyung’s shirt where he was resting. “I didn’t droll on you, did I?”

Taehyung let out a loud laugh, using his forearm to cover his eyes while shaking his head side to side. “You’re such a cutie.”

“Don’t laugh! It’s a valid concern.” He gave a teasing push on his shoulder with his free hand, the other still trapped and cozy in Taehyung’s.

“Sure.” The older conceded, he smiled fondly as he looked at Jeongguk, his head still resting on the backside of the couch. “Now go bundle up while I wake up the other two.”

Jeongguk didn’t need to be told twice, he was on his feet and walking towards the stairs in a second, listening to Taehyung chuckling behind him.

He leaned his back against the door once it closed, taking a big breath of air to calm his racing heart. Jeongguk wished he could put the guilt on the fact he ran upstairs, but the fast beating of his heart started much earlier than that, maybe when Taehyung took his hand, or when the older started flirting with him during the cooking stream. Maybe even four days ago when they got to the cabin, who knows.

When he felt like his heart wasn’t going to escape, he went to the suitcase in the corner, a hand rubbing side to side over his chest. Taehyung said to bundle up so that’s what he was going to do.

His brother came inside the room a few minutes later, when he was brushing his teeth. Jeongguk came out of the bathroom and looked at his disheveled hair and squinting eyes with a teasing smile.

“Did you have a good nap?”

“Shut up.” Jimin’s voice was thick with sleep, probably because he just woke up. “I’m not even gonna ask what you two did while we were sleeping. Now, hurry, I wanna pee so bad.”

The younger giggled all the way back to the bathroom, he was blushing again because of the implication but he knew that it was the last thing his brother was worried about when he was rushing inside to relieve himself.

Jeongguk was on the bed when Jimin came out, looking refreshed, his eyes no longer dazed with sleep and his hair perfectly combed. “Let’s go.”

They both put their clothes on quickly. Jeongguk wore a big puffer jacket with the white bear beanie he bought with Taehyung and the earmuffs he gave him, the gloves he brought got stuffed in one of the
pockets.

“You look like a marshmallow.” Jimin chuckled from behind him.

Jeongguk turned from where he was tying his shoes, looking at his brother with raised eyebrows. “Me? Look at yourself in the mirror.”

Jimin gave himself a onceover, his white jacket, white beanie and blonde hair making him look like a fluffy marshmallow. “Whatever.”

The brothers left the room and went down a minute later, Jimin was playing with the ears of his beanie and Jeongguk was swatting his hands off while the older laughed at him.

Yoongi was waiting for them on the couch dressed in black from head to toe and Taehyung stumbled out of the bedroom with the bear beanie half way on, an arm of the jacket hanging by his side. “Let’s go.” He breathlessly said, approaching them.

Jeongguk laughed, endeared, and Yoongi and Jimin laughed as they were walking outside, but Jeongguk stayed and waited for Taehyung, who was finally zipping up his jacket.

“Stop laughing at me, I couldn’t find the beanie and I panicked.”

The younger ignored him and continued to laugh. They were closer so he was able to reach up and fix the bear beanie on his head for him, patting it down and caressing the messy strands that were peaking out of it. “There. Better.”

Taehyung was staring back at him with a strange look on his face, not exactly bad, just something Jeongguk was unable to recognize, so he just gave him a shy little smile and stepped back, following the other two out the door and towards the car.

The ride there was filled with Jimin’s and Taehyung’s singing, they started with Christmas songs but it quickly turned into a mess of songs of different genres, Taehyung could enjoy and bop his head as much as he wanted since Yoongi was driving this time. Jeongguk was happy to laugh in the back seat, his silly brother shaking him and dancing to make him laugh more.

The place was prettier than it looked in the pictures. It was a huge skating ring in the middle of a mostly empty lot, it had Christmas decorations all around and it was bright with all the lights coiled around the railings and wrapped on the lamp posts, the snow seemed to be shimmering under all of it.

“Wow.” Jeongguk said under his breath.

“Yeah.” Taehyung agreed, walking a few steps behind him.

Yoongi and Jimin were already in the little cabin that provided the skates and soon they joined them, telling the worker their sizes to then go sit on a bench when everyone had their skates. Jeongguk was the first one to have them on, and he was fidgeting in place while he waited for the others, having already secured all their shoes inside a locker.

“Go on.” His brother waved towards the ring. “I’ll help them.”

And Jeongguk didn’t have to be told twice, he immediately darted towards the entrance. He had always liked ice skating, it was his favorite activity as a child when their parents took them on trips to a snowy mountain during their winter breaks. Jimin liked it too but he was always happier the days they went snowboarding, and while Jeongguk enjoyed doing it a lot, his butt was always hurting by the end of it since he also fell a lot.

He grabbed the railing when he first set foot in the ice, testing the skates and his skills since he hadn't done it for a long time, however it only took him a few minutes to be comfortable. Jeongguk started with small strides to gain some speed and had to hold the railing again when he wobbled slightly on the ice, he huffed a puff of air and tried again, going slower and little by little gaining speed until he was already half way to the ring.

The air was cold and hard on his uncovered skin, but it also felt clean and freeing. It was a magical experience to skate under the twinkling stars and the bright moon, the sky free of pollution in this part of the country. He did a whole lap around the ring and when he was close to the starting point he saw his brother and the two best friends crossing the gate. Jimin went first and, just as he did before, grabbed the railing to gain stability, but otherwise stayed upright. Yoongi and Taehyung, however, are immediately wobbling on their feets, even when they weren't moving and were still in place.

“Fuck!” It was what they heard, followed by the sound of Yoongi falling on his butt.

Jeongguk was close enough that he heard Yoongi muttering curses under his breath and Jimin’s loud cackles. Taehyung was pointing and laughing at his best friend but it didn't last much since he too lost balance and ended up in the same position.

Jimin at this point had his whole body folded over the railing while laughing, so Jeongguk took pity on them and went close to Yoongi. “Need a hand?”

“Why him first!?”

Yoongi took his hand. “Don’t drop me.” He warned before Jeongguk pulled him up, careful to not lose balance himself.

When the older was upright and scolding Jimin for laughing at him, he turned to Taehyung, who had spread himself on the ice. “That can’t be comfortable.”

“You betrayed me, I thought we were on this together.”

“He was longer on the ice, silly.” Jeongguk stood over him and took his hand when Taehyung gave it to him.

In seconds, Taehyung was standing before him and Jeongguk helped him get to the railing. The older brushed off the ice from his pants and Jeongguk helped him with the ice on his hat, fixing it like he did at the cabin since it looked lopsided.

“You two look adorable with your beanies.”

They both spinned at the same time, Jimin was standing with his arm across Yoongi’s shoulder, the latter’s arms around his brother's waist, still brushing off the snow from his pants.

Jeongguk blushed and looked away from his brother's playful eyes, but he could see Taehyung’s bright smile from the corner of his eye. “Thank you!” The older one said.

Jeongguk tried to take a step back to put some distance between them but Taehyung stopped him with a hand on his arm. “No! Don’t leave me.”

The older sounded so frantic Jeongguk actually stopped, a surprised chuckle leaving his lips. “I’ll teach you.”

He got a hold of both his hands, and slowly skated backwards to move Taehyung forward, who looked stiff as a rod.

“Relax.”

“I can’t.”

“You can, just look at me.”.

Taehyung finally took his eyes off the ice and met Jeongguk’s, who was giving him a small smile.

“See? Now, flex your knees just a little, and your body should be a bit forward but not too much. Like how I'm doing it.” Jeongguk watched as Taehyung’s eyes travelled over his body and then how he replicated his stance. “Yes! That way you shouldn’t lose balance. Now to move, I think it’s better if you just look at my legs.”

“Not hard at all.” Taehyung whispered, his eyes already glued on some part of his legs.

Jeongguk decided to ignore it and dropped his head, focusing on doing the movement of his legs right for Taehyung to learn.

The older slowly started doing it too, but when Jeongguk tried to let go of his hands, Taehyung held them harder. “Don’t.”

Jeongguk giggled, his shoulders going up to his ears. “We are really close to the railing though, don’t you wanna try?”

“But I like holding your hand.” The pout on Taehyung’s face was unexpected, but it made a shy smile appear on his face.

“I’ll hold one, okay?” He slowly let go of one of his hands, which Taehyung immediately latched onto the railing, and moved until he was standing beside him.

They slowly started making their way around the ring, at a snail pace but Taehyung wasn't wobbling as much anymore and had a small smile on his face as he talked about everything and anything to Jeongguk, not losing balance as often anymore.

“Why don’t you go skate for a bit?”

“Are you tired of me already?” Jeongguk asked playfully and Taehyung let their shoulders brush with a little laugh.

“I just wanna see you skate.”

“Okay” Jeongguk made sure Taehyung was standing safely against the railing and then let go of him.

Thankfully, the place was mostly empty, only a few other people apart from them four, so he had a lot of space to roam. He started doing a few laps around the ring, he saw Jimin and Yoongi laughing together while his brother taught the older how to skate, and he saw Taehyung smiling at him, without losing sight of him.

Now that he felt more confident on the skates, instead of just going around, Jeongguk waved around the people, careful and keeping his distance, but gracefully and with a beautiful smile on his lips. When he was on a mostly empty part of the ring, he spread his arms at his sides and let his body spin. It was slow at first, it was one of the only tricks he knew how to do and since it had been so long since the last time he skated, it made him a bit nervous to mess up in front of everyone. But he was steady on his feet so the twirl became faster when he pulled his arms in and close to his body, his head falling back.

“Show off!” Jeongguk heard his brother calling from behind him but he just laughed and kept going, doing another one a few seconds later just to bother Jimin.

He did only a few laps more before skating towards Taehyung. Jeongguk wasn’t going fast and he reduced a lot of the speed on the way, but Taehyung still reached for him with both arms and caught him against his chest.

“Hi.” Jeongguk was breathless, smiling with a few strands of hair that escaped the beanie obstructing his view after it got messed up with the wind and the numerous twirls he did on the ice.

Taehyung was smiling softly, and carefully reached up to fix the beanie for him, keeping the other firmly gripping Jeongguk’s jacket since he wasn’t holding onto the railing anymore. “You’re truly good at everything you do, aren’t you?”

Jeongguk, with both hands on the older’s chest, grinned shyly. “I just had a lot of practice.”

“Mhm.” Taehyung hummed, but his smile reveals that he’s just teasing.

Jeongguk took both his hands and placed them on the sides of his waist, then turned away from him to hide his blushing face. “C’mon.”

“Wai-”

Taehyung didn't get a chance to prepare before Jeongguk was slowly starting to skate to the middle of the ring. He felt the older stumbling and wobbling behind him, which pulled a loud laugh out of him.

“You’re so mean.” Taehyung said through his laughter.

Jeongguk tightened his hold on Taehyung’s hand in response, securing them on his waist. “You’re doing good! Yoongi hyung still can’t stand still!” He briefly pointed to the side the other two were, Jimin’s smile so big you can see it from miles away.

“A win is a win.”

It took them a few tries, but after a couple of minutes Taehyung was skating somewhat better, just when soft snowflakes started to fall from the sky, but none of them paid any mind to the change of weather, focusing on Taehyung’s achievement instead. He now willingly released his hold on Jeongguk for seconds at a time before panicking and making grabby hands towards the younger, who happily helped again.

“You’re a fast learner!” Jeongguk clapped his hands, twirling on his spot while watching Taehyung skate along the edges of the ring, without holding the railing!

Taehyung was smirking proudly and Jeongguk couldn’t be more endeared by him.

“Okay, let’s go to the center.”

Taehyung looked determined as he took the hand Jeongguk was offering him and let him lead him to the middle of the ring. The snowflakes continued to fall all around them, slow and beautiful, resting on their eyelashes and cheeks, which were red, just as the tip of his nose.

They stood face to face in the middle and while still holding hands, Jeongguk started twirling them slowly, Taehyung was alarmed at first but quickly relaxed and followed the younger’s movements, until they were going in circles faster and faster and their laughs bounced in every corner.

At some point they got closer, now almost chest to chest with each other. Taehyung’s hands travelled from his wrists to his waist, and Jeongguk’s moved to his chest, making his way towards his neck and finally his beanie, which he brushes to make the snow fall from it, getting a laugh out of Taehyung. He carefully then slid them down until he was cupping the sides of his neck, the older shivering a little.

“You’re cold. Where are your gloves?” Taehyung scolded him with a flick to his chin.

Jeongguk shrugged with a timid smile. “Just now my hands turned cold, they weren’t before.”

“Mhm.” The older hummed, his head dropping a little. “And your gloves?” He whispered, close to his face.

Jeongguk took a stuttering breath, batting his eyelashes when the distance got smaller. “I-in my p-pocket.”

Taehyung hummed again, the sound much more deliberate than before and Jeongguk felt it deep in his bones when the distance was practically nonexistent between them. There was a mere inch left to cover, to cross the line, and in his eager mind, it seemed a good idea to stop their mindless twirling and just go for it, but it catched the other off guard and their legs fumbled with each other, making them fall ungracefully on the ice.

There was a second of silence, both stunned after the sudden fall. Then, Jeongguk giggled behind his hand, Taehyung’s laughter following and then they were both laughing loudly, on the ice and with snowflakes falling and covering them quickly. Their hands touched in the middle and they turned their heads, Taehyung’s silly smile and bright eyes matching Jeongguk’s own.

“I think our time here passed.”

They were close and already looking at each other, so Jeongguk just nodded, biting his lip to contain a bit the big smile that wanted to take over his face.

Jeongguk got up and then helped Taehyung, they stumbled a little but were upright in no time, and hand in hand they skated towards the entrance, where they could see Jimin and Yoongi already by the bench and starting to untie their skates.

“Had fun, lovebirds?” Jimin asked with a playful smile.

Yoongi snorted beside him. “It must be nice not falling on your butt every five seconds.”

“Jiminnie hyung didn’t teach you?” Jeongguk grabbed his shoes from the bench and sat on the freed space, choosing to ignore his brother.

Taehyung went to the other side, bumping shoulders with Jimin and engaging in some type of silent conversation together.

“He’s an awful teacher, he kept laughing at me instead of helping me.” Yoongi took the last skate off with a groan of satisfaction. “You skate beautifully by the way.”

“Oh.” Jeongguk was not quick enough to hide the surprise and flush from the other, so he just smiled down, looking at his loose skates instead of Yoongi, but he was sure the older wasn't looking at him either, both being closer in personality than he initially thought. “Thank you, hyung. You, uh… Fell very… gracefully.”

Yoongi was laughing, a loud cackle as he got up. “Thank you, Jeonggukie.”

“I’m not sure about dinner anymore.” Jimin said with a grunt, stretching his legs while getting up. “Why don’t we just eat ramen at the cabin?”

“I’m down.” Taehyung took his and Jeongguk’s skates, his legs were shaky when he stood. Jeongguk had to hold back his smile. “I’ll return this.”

Jimin then sidled up beside his brother, a mischievous look on his face. “You and I have a lot to talk about.”

Jeongguk looked back at him, not knowing what to say, but he knew his face said everything Jimin wanted to know. His brother studied him for a few seconds before nodding, approving whatever he saw.

They were then on their way to the car. The snowfall had picked up since it started, and it was now falling faster and in much more quantity, so much that the car was covered in it by the time they got to it.

“Wow. That’s a lot of snow.” Jimin said from the passenger seat, watching as Yoongi cleans the side mirror before getting in too.

Taehyung slid in the back first and Jeongguk followed close behind, leaving the center seat empty. However, it didn’t take much time for a finger to poke his hand. Jeongguk turned and Taehyung gently grabbed his hand, pulling it a little while giving a meaningful look to the middle seat, but Jeongguk didn't budge and instead pulled back, looking at the seat the same way.

Not even a second later, Taehyung was sitting beside him, clicking the seatbelt on before taking Jeongguk’s hand in both of his hands again. The older, then took it to his lips and blew on it, murmuring under his breath, “So stubborn.”

Jeongguk just let him do it, his other hand tucked on the pocket his gloves stayed on for the evening. He didn’t even look towards the front seats and just dropped his head on Taehyung’s shoulder.

The ride back took them a bit longer because of the abundant snow, and it was quieter too, both because they were all tired and to not disturb Yoongi, who was focused on the slippery road.

Jeongguk was fully concentrated on the vibrations produced by Taehyung humming to whatever song was on the radio and in the little thumb fight game they were playing. It was when they were pulling up on the driveway that Jeongguk covered Taehyung’s thumb with his. “I win.” He told him with a cheeky grin, and quickly dropped a kiss on his cheek. He left the car as soon as the door was unlocked. .

Taehyung took a second longer to get inside but in no time he was closing the door to the cabin.

“I’m so hungryyyy.” Jimin groaned, already on his way to the kitchen.

The dinner didn't take much time to make, thankfully, and soon enough the four of them were huddled around a steaming pot of noodles that didn't last more than ten minutes. They were full and relaxed by the end, and after spending no more than an hour together in the living room, they all decided to part ways tired from the day’s activities and the warm meal filling their stomachs.

He had one foot on the first step when there was a tap on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Taehyung but the older didn't say anything, instead he slipped a piece of paper into his hand. Taehyung gave him a secretive smile and left towards his bedroom.

Jeongguk went inside his room with a tight grasp on the paper. His brother was already tucked and half asleep if his soft snoring is anything to go by, so he went to the bathroom to not bother him. The door closed behind him softly and he pressed his back against it as he unfolded the paper. The messy handwriting was new but unmistakably Taehyung. The content of it brought a smile to his face.

‘meet me at 12 on our spot

-T :)’

Just thirty minutes. Jeongguk took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm his beating heart to no avail. He felt like a school girl with a crush.

He went through his night routine calmly. Washed his face, applied face cream, brushed his teeth and put just a bit of lip balm on his lips, then he went and changed into his cozy pajamas, and wore a soft and big hoodie over it to keep warm. Jeongguk looked at the clock and there was still five minutes left but he couldn't wait anymore, not inside the bedroom at least, so he quietly left the room, and went to the small space beside it.

It looked exactly as it did the night before, when they spent some time together there. He approached slowly and occupied the same spot, pulling the blankets over his lap as he waited for the other to come.

It wasn’t much longer before he heard quiet steps coming up the stairs. His head snapped up and the insistent fidgeting with the blankets stopped, his wide eyes were stuck on the entrance.

A minute later, Taehyung was standing in front of him. The older, just as he was, was wearing his pajamas with a warm hoodie over it, but he was also holding two mugs on his hands, one of those is given to him instead of a verbal greeting.

“Earlier you said you wanted hotchoco after skating.”

Jeongguk was sure his eyes were sparkling while looking at the older, he felt a lump forming on his throat for whatever reason and he had to take a deep breath before talking again.

“Thank you.” He whispered under his breath, the sweet smell of the drink reaching his nose. “Sit with me, please.”

Jeongguk lifted the covers with his free hand and Taehyung slid under it, closer than he had ever done it before. One of his hands immediately rested on top of Jeongguk’s knees.

“I realized I didn’t have your number when I wanted to text you about this.” Taehyung talked quietly, a soft cadence to his voice that had Jeongguk entrapped. “And giving you a note seemed more fun than asking for your number or telling you directly so…”

“It was really cheeky.” Taehyung shrugged faintly and for the first time Jeongguk saw the blush covering his face, which the older one tried really hard to hide behind the mug. “I really liked it.” He assured him, taking a sip of his own chocolate.

The smile Taehyung gave him was bright and beautiful, and Jeongguk felt overwhelmed with the amount of feelings caged in his chest, so he did the best thing he could think of. Jeongguk moved slightly closer, cuddling up to him, and gently dropped his head on Taehyung’s shoulder, which had become a habit in the last two days.

“Thank you.” He whispered again and in liu of a response he felt the soft caress of a kiss on his forehead.

“Jeonggukie…” Taehyung suddenly said, after a bit of silence passed between them. “I’m not good with words but… you feel it too, right?”

Taehyung didn’t need to specify. Jeongguk knew. Jeongguk knew because he did feel it.

He nodded softly, sure that the older would feel it being so close to each other, but he told him anyway.

“I do, Taehyungie hyung.”

The smile pressed to his skin was soft, the silence that followed comfortable and welcomed, used to process the turmoil happening in his heart, to assimilate all the fluttering taking place in his stomach that made his whole body feel limp. Not in a bad way. Never in a bad way.

“I hope you don't think this is something… casual. It doesn't feel like that to me.”

Jeongguk raised his head a bit, his eyes finding Taehyung’s in a second, the look in them reassuring and warm. “It isn't casual for me either. I have never done something like this before, but it feels right.”

Jeongguk didn’t remember the last time he spoke so freely about his feelings, it probably had never happened before because he had always kept them under a hundred locks in a remote corner of his heart, only accessible for a few selected individuals, like his brother. But it wasn’t like he didn't want to do it, he just never felt safe enough with a romantic partner to be so open, that was the reason why the scarce relationships he had didn't last. However, even after knowing for only a few days, Taehyung in his mind had a safe tag, big and bright and plastered right on his forehead. Safe.

The older raised a hand and held it against his cheek, no longer red because of the cold but because of the man in front of him, looking at him fondly with his own red cheeks.

“It does. It scares me a little but…” Taehyung shrugged. “You’re kinda impossible to resist.” The scrunch of his nose as he said it looked silly, and Jeongguk threw his head back, endeared and giggly.

“I didn't know that about me.”

Taehyung hummed, his bright eyes not leaving him for a second. “And about your doe eyes, did you know?” Instead of a verbal response, Jeongguk shrugged, already shy. “Or about the scrunch of your nose when you're laughing too hard. Or about the way your eyes always smile first, little wrinkles appearing on the corners and your natural cuteness intensifies a thousand times and I just wanna… I just want to…”

Jeongguk was red all over by now, so embarrassed but also incapable of tearing his eyes away from the other, because that would also mean that Taehyung’s hands stop touching him. He watched as Taehyung’s eyes roamed around his face, his head falling a little as those almond eyes landed on his lips.

Jeongguk, in an act of bravery, scooted a little closer, it couldn’t have been more than an inch but it was all it took for Taehyung’s lips to cover his in soft kiss. It didn’t last more than two seconds but it was enough. Jeongguk’s fingers tighten around the handle of the mug when Taehyung leaned back, intently searching his eyes.

And whatever that something he was looking for was, he must have found it, because Taehyung was once again leaning in. However, Jeongguk stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“Wait.” Jeongguk startled both of them and Taehyung’s face began to immediately shift, something not so nice settling in. So Jeongguk quickly left the mug on the coffee table before coming back to the earlier position, this time his hand grabbing Taehyung’s hoodie to prevent him from moving back even more. “Kiss me please.”

A beat of silence passed, Taehyung studying his face without missing a corner of it, and then there were hands on his cheeks and petal-like lips melting into his own.

This time, the kiss was deeper, still soft, innocent in the grand scheme of things, but it went beyond the press of two mouths, Jeongguk tasting the hot chocolate they shared on Taehyung’s tongue.

His hand went from his hoodie to his fluffy hair and then the back of his neck. One of Taehyung’s hands stayed on his legs, over the blanket, and the other held him by the waist, the mug Taehyung brought from himself nowhere to be seen, put away when Jeongguk was too immersed in him to notice.

The kiss travelled to the corner of his lips and then to his cheek, Jeongguk’s head naturally fell to the side to give him space, but he got startled when instead of pillowy lips there’s a small nibble on the apple of his cheek.

“Sorry.” Taehyung said, his voice not sounding sorry at all. “Always wanted to do that.”

Jeongguk chuckled and hugged him tightly, hiding his face on Taehyung's neck. “I guess you can do that.” His eyes were closed while he nuzzled the exposed skin, leaving a small kiss there. “Always wanted to do that too.”

Taehyung pulled him out of his hiding carefully, Jeongguk’s head limp on his hold, letting the older tilt it back to then be kissed again.

“You’re so fucking cute.”

Another kiss landed on his red cheek and Jeongguk just smiled, shyly, finding his place again when Taehyung returned the hug and they were both back to their usual position, Jeongguk with half of his legs on Taehyung’s lap and his head on his shoulder, but this time instead of Taehyung holding him over the blanket, both hands have sneaked under them and are now firmly around his waist.

“Can I sleep?”

“Mhm.” Taehyung hummed, the rumbling of it soothing. “You sure? I don’t want you to be sore tomorrow.”

“So sure. I’m so sure.”

The slurriness of his speech might be the reason for Taehyung’s agreement.

“Okay, baby.”

Taehyung laid them down facing each other on the small couch, their legs interlocked under the blankets and Jeongguk accommodated himself perfectly under his chin.

“You always call me cute things when I'm half asleep.”

“You noticed?” Taehyung whispered with a giggle.

Jeongguk pressed closer, the frown and petulant pout on his face invisible to the other but still there. “Of course! I just… I just don’t remember about it often during the day, I dunno, it’s… difficult.”

“Very difficult, Ggukie.”

“Don’t…” His own yawn interrupted him, Jeongguk surrendered to the tiredness of his bones with a wiggly nuzzle on the exposed skin of his shoulder. “Whatever.”

“Are you always this clingy?” Taehyung murmured, running a hand through his hair.

It was enough to get him out of the sleepy haze he was in, Jeongguk leaned back a bit to get a clear view of his face, the worried lipbite visible on his own.

“I’m not implying anything bad, it’s really okay if you are, I really like it.”

Taehyung was so sweet. And his gaze was so intense Jeongguk had to hide once again.

“A bit? I guess… I’m not really sure.” A sigh left his lips. “I like physical contact but sometimes it’s difficult for me to initiate it. And in public I get nervous about it.”

“I get it.” Taehyung hummed, nodding, the ministrations on his hair not stopping. “When we're back in the city, would you like to go on a date with me?”

The abrupt change of topic had him laughing, a disbelieving laugh that Taehyung reciprocated.

“Sorry. Too soon?”

Jeongguk made a small rebuttal sound, firmly shaking his head. “Not at all. I want to.”

“Gre- Oh! Happy eve of Christmas Eve by the way.”

“What?” the sleepiness he felt before was replaced by amusement, his giggles tickling Taehyung’s skin.

“Yeah, it’s the 23rd. Our last day here.”

“Okay. Happy eve of Christmas Eve.”

A silence followed and Jeongguk was once again on the brink of sleep when Taehyung’s gasp startled him.

“Did Jiminnie tell you?”

That got his attention, and he leaned back to get a better look at Taehyung’s face. “What?”

“They’re going on a lunch date today.”

“What!? He didn’t say a thing!” His brother had a lot of opportunities to tell him about it, Taehyund had somehow found out and he was sure the older spent the same amount of time with his best friend than he did with his brother, so why?

Taehyung’s quiet giggles bring him back to the moment, he looked and realized sometime during his pondering he sat up and was now holding up his weight with a hand on the other's chest, a deep frown displayed on his face that he had angled towards Taehyung.

“Oh, sorry.” Jeongguk took his hand away and held it against his own chest, as if it had a life of its own and would free itself to do it again. “I don't know why he didn't tell me though.” The previous frown is now replaced with a pronounced pout.

“He probably forgot about it.” With a careful finger, Taehyung caressed the fullness of his bottom lip, moving towards the indentation forming on his cheek. “Nothing to worry about. You can rat me out and ask him about it if you want.”

Jeongguk nodded, slowly at the start but it quickly turned determined. “Okay.” He returned to his previous spot and hugged Taehyung tightly. “Let's stay here for a bit and then I'll go to bed, I need to interrogate my brother first thing in the morning.”

“No more sleeping together?”

Jeongguk faltered for a second, but Taehyung's tone was teasing so he firmly shook his head no. Taehyung's laughter was instantaneous.

“Okay, cutie.”

They spent another hour or two comfortably talking, voices hushed and arms tight around each other, with only the warm light of the lamppost outside illuminating their faces after they turned off the only inside lighting of the space.

Close to 3 AM, when Jeongguk was so incredibly sleepy his sentences started slurring and mixing together, Taehyung called it a night for both of them. Jeongguk didn’t let go of Taehyung’s hand until the last second, leaning against him to leave a sweet kiss on his cheek before closing the door behind him. He sank into the mattress and immediately latched onto his brother's back, hugging him with both arms and legs.

Jimin groaned a bit. “Wha’ happend?”

“Just sleep. Wake me up when you do.”

“‘Kay.”

❄❅❆

Jimin woke up at 8 am, Jeongguk was still draped over his back and snoring softly into the cotton of his shirt. He felt the squirming of his brother and little by little came to awakeness, but didn't let go of him.

“Why didn’t you tell me about your date?” Jeongguk croaks from behind him as soon as his eyes open, sleep heavily on his voice.

“That’s why you wanted me to wake you up?” Jimin chuckled.

Jeongguk hummed and turned to his side of the bed, snuggling into his pillow. Jimin turned too and now they were face to face.

“I fell asleep as soon as I laid down.” Jimin shrugged. “Yoongi hyung asked when we were skating and you have been spending a lot of time with Taehyungie so I didn’t get the chance to tell you.”

Jeongguk immediately felt bad. His brother was the one that invited him to this trip and he hadn’t spent nearly enough time with him, not as they usually did.

“Hyung, I’m sorry.”

“Silly.” Jimin put a finger between his sad eyebrows, relieving the tension in them. “I’m not mad. I’m actually really happy that you got along so well with Taehyungie, I was a bit worried you would feel uncomfortable and not enjoy the trip.”

Jeongguk shook his head. “I’m not uncomfortable at all. They’re both very nice and Taehyungie hyung has been so kind to me, it has made everything easier. I’m still sad we didn’t get to spend as much time together though.”

“I also spent a lot of time with Yoongi hyung, it really is fine, Ggukie. We will get to do a trip just the two of us soon, okay?” Jimin ran a hand through his black hair, scratching his scalp as if Jeongguk was a cat. “Now, about Taehyungie.” His brother's tone was filled with a mix of fondness and the usual teasing. “I won’t ask you to tell me everything, at least not now, but I know there’s something going on and I want you to know that I'm really happy for you.”

Jeongguk was blushing, half his face hidden with the pillow. “He asked me on a date too, but for when we get back.”

Even though what he said was more of a mumble than anything clear, Jimin still somehow understood, if his squeal was anything to go by.

“So cute! I was a bit sad that we had to leave tonight but now it’s exciting, we have something to look forward to!”

“We?”

“Yes!” Jimin swung his legs over the side of the bed, flinging the covers off his body. “Let’s go eat breakfast and then you help me get ready for the date.”

The brothers went down to the kitchen a few minutes later, when Jeongguk stopped complaining and agreed to make them breakfast. Jimin had to take his hand to guide him in the right way when his eyes kept closing, the bright lights coming from the windows blinding him.

“Wow, there’s a lot of snow.” Jimin pointed towards the outside but Jeongguk couldn’t even look without his eyes hurting. “Did it ever stop snowing?”

“Dunno. I wasn’t paying attention.”

Jimin snorted. “What were you paying attention to?”

Jeongguk, in liu of an answer, pushed his shoulder.

The living room was empty, the door to the other bedroom closed, it was 8 AM after all, and Jimin wasn’t usually the type to wake up so early but he apparently had a great night of rest. Not Jeongguk though.

He started gathering ingredients and placing them on the counter, Jimin cleaning up the small messes around the cabin at the same time, they had to leave later that day and the cabin had to be spotless.

Jeongguk was beating the batter to make some pancakes when Yoongi appeared on the entryway to the kitchen, Jimin’s chatter stopped for a second to smile brightly at the older, opening his arms for him.

“Good morning, Yoongi hyung.” Jimin said and the other stood in the middle of his legs, latching onto him. Jeongguk mumbled his own greeting when Yoongi grunted one for the both of them.

The three of them eat together, Jeongguk was constantly looking over their shoulders towards the hallway to the other bedroom, but it was still early and he knew Taehyung went to bed quite late last night, he probably fell asleep way after him, so he stopped after the fifth time and just ate his pancakes.

Jimin dragged him away once his plate was empty, leaving Yoongi to put away what was left for Taehyung.

His brother showered while Jeongguk stayed on the bed snuggling a pillow. It felt like just now all that happened yesterday, from the almost kiss in the skating ring to the actual kiss and the whole conversation with Taehyung, started to sink in. He didn’t regret it, never, but he did feel a bit of nerves. What if Taehyung regrets it? What if what he said yesterday was a spur of the moment kinda thing? No meaning behind it?

No. He stopped that train of thought immediately. Taehyung was the first one to assure him that it wasn't casual for him, he also admitted to being scared of the quickness of everything but what they both felt validated their actions. Jeongguk himself would not have done nor permitted any of the things Taehyung and him have done if he didn't feel what he felt. He also knew Jimin would've told him if he saw something weird going on, if he felt any kind of discomfort from Jeongguk or noticed something not genuine from Taehyung's actions. But that didn't happen. Thinking about it now, he can see how his brother actually enabled Taehyung, letting him get close to Jeongguk with subtle acts, like the hot chocolate on their first days there.

Jeongguk felt the heat creeping up his neck, remembering the hot chocolate from last night. He didn't even recall the moment he told Taehyung about wanting to have the beverage after their outing, but it was an extremely sweet gesture either way. He also surprised himself when his usual shyness didn't stop him from showing the other affection in the car on their way back to the cabin or when they were together later that night. But it also made sense, he still felt the nerves, his usual shy self still there, Taehyung just makes it easy to do, with his warm smiles and fond eyes, which he had been giving him since day one. Not talking about their first day there, but the day they met, when Jeongguk didn't say more than a greeting to them.

It was safe to say that thanks to Taehyung his stay had been more than enjoyable, and when he usually felt relieved to go back home after a long trip, this time he didn’t. Jeongguk hoped their stay was much longer, but Christmas was around the corner and all of them had plans for the holidays. Jimin and him were supposed to travel home by train tomorrow afternoon and the best friends must have stuff to do too if he had to assume.

“Why the long face?”

Jimin came out of the bathroom at the perfect moment, just when his thoughts started to make him sad.

“Just don't wanna leave yet.”

His brother pulled a hoodie over his head and sat by his side on the bed. “We all live in the same city and are really close to each other. There is no way we won't keep in contact.”

“I know, but…” Jeongguk pulled on a thread of the comforter. “What if it's not the same?”

“Ggukie… Taehyung is so smitten with you, it's kinda embarrassing.” Jimin scrunched his nose, making Jeongguk laugh a little.

“I'm a bit worried we are moving too fast.”

“I mean..” Jimin shrugged. “You are, but who cares? If it feels right, it feels right and that's it. Yoongi hyung and I are also moving incredibly fast and I'm so happy and smitten with him it's embarrassing.”

Jeongguk laughed again, thankful for having a brother like him. “Thank you. I really like Yoongi hyung, by the way.”

“I know you do.” His brother's smile was more tame now, something soft in it. “I had been talking to him for a few days before meeting, so I knew he was decent. If in person he ended up being an asshole I would've cancelled everything right then and there. But he wasn't, and neither was Taehyung, so that's great. I got you a boyfriend if you think about it.”

Jeongguk let out a sound of embarrassment, throwing a pillow at his brother, who laughed while walking to his handbag, ignoring him to start with his routine.

Jimin and Yoongi left for their date at noon, the snow still fell and Taehyung was still peacefully asleep so Jeongguk started cooking something simple for them to have when the older woke up. It didn’t take much time to cook rice and Jeongguk was stirring some vegetables in a pan when he heard shuffling behind him. He turned his head slightly, and locked eyes with a sleepy looking Taehyung, his hair is a tussled mess and his hoodie is barely put on, half of it caught under his armpit.

“H-hey.” Jeongguk mumbled, a bit shy at seeing the older after last night.

Taehyung, like a sleeper agent, started moving when he spoke. Jeongguk watched him as he rounded the corner and he suddenly was surrounded by him. Taehyung draped himself over his back, his arms tangling on his waist and his head falling on Jeongguk's shoulder.

Jeongguk stiffened at the sudden contact but it didn't take him long to relax.

“Good morning.” Taehyung whispered, muffled by the fabric of his hoodie. “You smell so good.”

“I-I think it's the pasta.”

Taehyung snorted. “No, it's your perfume. The pasta does smell nice though.” He took a glance around the kitchen. “Did I miss breakfast?”

“Yeah, I made pancakes, th-”

The older groaned loudly, throwing his head back and away from Jeongguk's body, leaving some space for the younger to turn around in his arms.

“Pancakes are my favorite.”

Jeongguk chuckled at the dramatics. “I was trying to say that we left you some in the fridge if you want to have them now.” Taehyung's face returned to his field of vision and Jeongguk impulsively reached up and with his thumb to clean a bit of toothpaste that was on the corner of his lip.

Taehyung’s intense gaze made him feel shy so he lowered his hand, both grabbing the sides of Taehyung's hoodie tightly instead, fighting the shyness to hold Taehyung's eyes. Then, there were lips grazing his forehead. “I’ll have the pasta first.”

“Kay.” Jeongguk mumbled. “Can you grab some plates, please?”

Taehyung put the plates facing each other, but once the pasta was served Jeongguk took his and dragged it to the seat beside Taehyung, where he ultimately sat. The older tried to hide his smile, but Jeongguk had already seen it.

They ate in comfortable silence, Jeongguk was still sleepy since he didn't get nearly enough sleep last night, so he threw away his shyness and carefully let his head rest on Taehyung's shoulder, testing the waters. When five seconds passed and the other didn't ask him to move away, he relaxed fully, chewing slowly the small bites he took.

“Sleepy?”

“Mhm.” Jeongguk hummed, and felt how Taehyug brought his head closer to hear him better since Jeongguk was talking in a low tone. “Hyung woke me up at like 8am and forced me to make breakfast.”

“Poor Jeonggukie.” Taehyung's free hand ran through his hair and then a kiss fell on his head. “Thank you for making delicious meals for us.”

Jeongguk smiled, and took another bite of his food.

When they were done eating, they stayed for a bit on the table, Jeongguk once again almost falling asleep on Taehyung's shoulder and the latter stroking his hair and leaving chaste kisses in the places he could reach. When Jeongguk said he wanted to take a shower in a sleepy mumble, Taehyung coaxed him up and ushered him to his bedroom so he could take a shower while Taehung cleaned up.

“We can cuddle on the couch once I'm done with my shower.” Jeongguk reluctantly agreed, the pout on his face eliciting a chuckle from Taehyung.

Jeongguk ended up taking a long warm shower, doing his skincare routine after it and getting dressed with comfortable clothes since they wouldn’t be leaving the house, only to go home later in the day. He quickly dried his hair and rearranged the little things spread around the room on his suitcase, leaving his things ready to leave in a few hours.

Taehyung was already on the couch when he came down, and once he saw him, a smile took over his face and his arms opened in invitation. Jeongguk walked faster the last bit of distance between them and laid himself over Taehyung, who was lying down with his head on the armrest.

There were arms hugging him immediately, making them stay flush together while a random movie played in the background. Neither of them said anything, Jeongguk just snuggling to his neck, and Taehyung understanding his tiredness and embracing him, rubbing a hand up and down his back.

It couldn't have been more than thirty minutes since they laid on the couch, and less than three hours since Yoongi and Jimin left, when the front door suddenly opened. It wasn't aggressive but they still startled, Jeongguk watching with his bleary eyes as his brother and Yoongi entered the house, both covered from head to toe in white snow and with matching worried expressions.

“We have a problem.”

That got their complete attention. Taehyung gave him a pat on the back and they both carefully sat upright, the other two fitting together on the loveseat. “What happened?”

“There’s a snowstorm approaching.” Jimin said, taking off his beanie and ruffling his hair to fix it. “The locals told us we should've left last night. Apparently the snow didn't stop for a second and there was an alert sent but we didn't get it. Did you guys get it?”

Taehyung and Jeongguk reached for their forgotten phones, but not one notification alerting the snow was there.

“What do we do now? Isn't this an airbnb?”

Yoongi, who was quietly watching from beside Jimin, shook his head slowly. “We can stay. We didn't tell you guys but this is Taehyung's uncle's vacation house, that's why it was so cheap to rent it.”

Jimin lips formed a perfect ‘o’, nodding as if something finally made sense. “I thought we were being scammed.”

Jeongguk didn’t know anything about the money spent, his brother refused to tell him most of the time, so he just directed his surprised expression to Taehyung, who was nodding specifically at him with eyes wide.

“Let’s stay. My uncle won't charge us anything. He usually rents it but I had to beg him to let us pay him, so it won't be a problem, I'll just call him to let him know.”

Then, Jeongguk's worried eyes found his brother. “Mom's gonna freak out.”

“A bit.” Jimin agreed, the same expression on his face. None of them had a problem with staying, Jeongguk knew that, just like him, Jimin felt somewhat happy to get to stay a few more days here, but what his mother felt was another story. “We'll handle it.” Then his eyes found Yoongi and Taehyung. “You guys have somewhere to be?”

Taehyung and Yoongi shared a look before shrugging.

“We were going to spend Christmas at one of our friends' houses, but I'll just give them a call. We can stay.” The older of the two said, his face devoid of worry. “Let’s make the call we need to make and then Taehyung and I will get the groceries Jimin and I bought out of the car, yeah?”

The brothers nodded and excused themselves, making their way to the second floor.

The call with their mom went as well as they thought it would. She was worried about them, of course, but that distance stopped her from scolding them for being irresponsible and not checking the weather. Then, when she was calmer, she asked tons of questions to make sure they were safe and also videocalled them, wanting to see the whole cabin and also meet their companions. They indulged her just to get her off their backs and thankfully she absolutely loved the pair of best friends, they talked for less than five minutes but it was enough for their mother to invite them to come with them to the new year’s party they throw every year, Taehyung and Yoongi happily agreeing.

Jeongguk and Jimin shared looks behind the phone. “Does she know?” The older mouthed, only for him to see. Jeongguk shrugged with wide eyes.

They went back to the room not long after and ended the call after promising her to call on Christmas day. Both fell backwards on the bed. “That was exhausting. I need a nap like yesterday.”

“Weren’t you napping on top of Taehyung when we got here?”

Jimin teasing made him frown, more pouty and whiny than anything else. “I was about to, but then you interrupted us.”

“Wow. He’s really getting you out of your shell.” Jimin laughed, patting his brother’s hair out of his face. “Get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when dinner's ready.”

Jeongguk took his shoes off, grateful that he didn’t have to find comfy clothes to change to since he already got his comfiest clothes on, so he just tucked himself under the covers. Jimin closed the curtains and shortly after left him alone in the room, Jeongguk’s breath was already calm and even, far away in dreamland.

Jimin went down to find Taehyung and Yoongi talking in hushed voices downstairs. They stopped once they saw him in the entrance to the kitchen but Taehyung’s eyes checking around him told him they were planning something.

“Jeonggukie is taking a nap. He was grumpy.”

Taehyung sighed, a hand on his chest. “Does he like surprises?”

❄❅❆

Jeongguk woke up to a knock on the door to his bedroom. The sound was soft enough he could have pretended it didn't happen and continue sleeping, but even in his sleepy state he could tell it wasn’t Jimin, his brother would have bursted in instead of knocking. He got up with a whiny sound of tiredness, and grabbed a blanket that he wrapped around himself before opening the door.

His eyes were more closed than open so he didn’t see much, but a blur of red made his eyes snap open. A rose. There was a rose extended towards him, by a hand that he followed with his eyes, passing an arm covered in a fleece pull over and then a neck he has rested on multiple times to finally reach the face he had been dreaming about the last few days.

The surprise must've been visible on his face because Taehyung chuckled and reached out to grab one of Jeongguk’s hands to help him hold the rose.

“Wear the swim trunks you brought and meet me down, okay? Take your time.” That’s when Jeongguk looked down and saw Taehyung’s swimsuit. Taehyung laughed again and left a kiss on his forehead. “Cute.”

Then, he was alone again.

Jeongguk blinked at the flower on his hand, then at his suitcase on the floor, where the swim trunks were. He actually forgot he even packed them, Jimin told him to do it but then neither used them, the activities they did didn't require swimming clothes at all. He felt a bit confused right now but the excitement overrides it and with a skip on his step he started to get ready.

It didn’t take long, just brushing his teeth, fixing his hair and splashing water on his face to remember this was actually real. Thankfully, the swim trunks he packed were the plain black ones and not the ones with puppies that Jimin put on his suitcase as a joke.

He pulled a hoodie over his head and went downstairs. Taehyung was leaning against the back of the couch, his head that was previously down snapping up as soon as he heard him, and in an instant the older was standing in front of him.

“What is this?” Jeongguk asked, the smile so big on his face he must look silly.

Taehyung took his hand, the other caressing his cheek briefly. “You’ll see.”

Hand in hand, they made their way towards the door in the kitchen, the one Jeongguk saw multiple times and didn’t bother to ask where it led to. Taehyung opened it and turned before he was able to see what was behind it.

“Can I cover your eyes? I wanna surprise you.” Jeongguk's wide eyes blinked at him, giving him a subtle nod. “Okay.” Taehyung’s careful hands were on his eyes then, a body on his back as Taehyung guided him forward.

The air was chillier there, but never as cold as it would be if they were outside in the middle of a snowstorm, so he guessed they were still somewhere inside. Jeongguk felt the shuddering breath Taehyung let out before the hand covering his eyes slid down slowly.

“Wow.”

Jeongguk was standing in the middle of an enclosed room, which must be kept open in the summer but right now it had covers in every open space to keep the cold out. It was bathed in a warm toned light, mostly by candles strategically put around the room but Jeongguk could also see a lamp in the corner. The space had soft music playing, a jazzy tune Taehyung had played while in the car before, and in the middle of it rested a steaming hot tub that was made of the same woody tones of the whole house. It blended perfectly with everything else, and that made the red petals floating on it stand out.

“I know I said to have a date when we're back but…” He turned just in time to see Taehyung scratching his nape, a nervous look to his wandering eyes, looking anywhere but him. “You know… We will be here for a few more days and I thought… why not?” The older shrugged and his wide nervous eyes were on him now. “B-but if you aren't in the mood we can totally go back in and forge-”

Taehyung was cut off by Jeongguk's lips on his, it was a brief kiss, barely a touch, Jeongguk separated a second later and hugged him tightly to hide the redness of his face after such a surprise. “I love it, hyung. Thank you.”

Jeongguk could feel Taehyung's sigh of relief in the crook of his neck, the arms around his waist tight and warm. They stood there for a few seconds before Taehyung leaned back.

“Wanna get in?”

Taehyung was the first to go in, Jeongguk turned around to give the other some privacy and then asked the same from him, which Taehyung agreed to with a smile. The younger folded his hoodie and left it on a chair, spotting the towels on the one beside it.

The water was a nice amount of warm, a sigh of comfort leaving his lips as he sank beside Taehyung.

“Do you want some?”

Jeongguks looked at the wine bottle on the olders hand and nodded. He then had a half full glass of it on his hand, an identical one half way to others lips.

“So this is why hyung told me to bring a swimsuit.”

“To have a date with me?” Taehyung smiled cheekily at him, making him scoff, impossibly fond.

Jeongguk shrugged, looking at Taehyung through his lashes with the rim of the glass against his lips. “I don't think so.” He gave a disinterested sigh. “But I got to use it at least.”

“Jeon Jeongguk.” Taehyung huffed, the indignation on his face totally fake as he leaned into him, towering above with one arm holding his weight on the hot tub's edge and the other holding the glass. “When did you get so cheeky?”

“Jimin did say you are getting me out of my shell, whatever that means.”

Jeongguk let his head fall close to Taehyung's arm, their faces closer in that position.

“In a good way?”

The way Taehyung's face hovered over him made all the bravado in him slip away, leaving him a blushing mess once again, this time in full display for Taehyung to see. The older left the glass on the tray where the wine bottle was and used his now free hand to hold his cheek, softly, realizing Jeongguk's shrug was as much of an answer as he would get.

“Why did you ask me on this date?” Jeongguk asked in a hushed voice, his bright eyes stuck on Taehyung, whose gaze moved all around his face. Jeongguk wondered if he was tracing his moles, like he did sometimes, if the way he stopped somewhere close to his lips is anything to go by.

“Because since the moment we met, my heart started beating at a different rhythm, and it only happens when you're around.”

Jeongguk let his head rest on Taehyung's hand that was holding his face. “Dont you think it's because of the proximity? Since we are somewhat alone in a remote place?”

“Do you think it's because of that?”

“No.” His response was instantaneous. “I’m just afraid, it feels too good to be true. You feel too good to be true.”

Taehyung looked pained, not exactly in a bad way, but in a ‘there's so much of something inside of me’, which Jeongguk felt in the bruising kiss pressed to his lips, much more passionate than the ones they have shared before.

“Thats exactly how it feels for me. And I know I'll be damned if I let you go so easily. It doesn't matter how scared I am or you are, I'll be brave for the both of us if you want me to, okay?”

The fluttering on his chest got worse, he was sure Taehyung felt it with how close they were, but it didn't matter because he could also feel the fast pace Taehyung's heart was beating, matching his. There hadn't been a moment in his life where he felt such happiness like he did at that moment, and it was caused by partner. Hopefully Taehyung would become his when they were back in the city and their normal life was back on track. He didn't really ask for much on Christmas, content with what he already had, but this is the first time he really wanted something and Jeongguk would give anything, would do anything, for this to work out for them.

Jeongguk returned the favor with a kiss, hoping to convey all that his heart held within itself. “I'd really like that.” He whispered over his lips.

Taehyung took the untouched glass of wine from his hand and left it beside his. With both hands now free, they naturally gravitated towards Taehyung's inviting torso, also feeling the warm touch of the older under the water, goosebumps all over the skin of his waist as big hands uncovered more and more skin. Jeongguk caressed his way up to the olders neck, and then their lips were finding each other in the middle one again. Their previous kisses had been beautiful and enjoyable, but nothing compared with the way their bodies fit around each other, the way skin felt against skin, no annoying clothing between them.

One of the hands on his waist slid down and Jeongguk moved his leg, hooking it over Taehyung's hip so the wandering hand fell on it. Taeyung gripped the supple skin and gave an experimental tug, barely there, but Jeongguk's body followed easily and he fell on Taehyung's lap with both thighs straddling him.

Then, Taehyung leaned back, hair messy thanks to Jeongguk. He had both hands on his thighs, his fingertips just under the swim trunks, and he was breathless. “Is this a good time to tell you your brother said to not do anything inappropriate here because they want to use it tomorrow?”

Jeongguk froze, because of his words but also because of the sudden halt.

“I-I mean… I wasn't planning on doing anything inappropriate to you, I just…” Taehyung rushed to say, leaning into him with alarm written all over his face. “You know… remembered… Can you say something?”

Jeongguk blinked a couple of times, taking in Taehyung's blushing face and worried eyes. However, at the feeling of the olders hands still giving soft caresses on his naked legs, even though he had a panicked expression on his face, he bursted into a fit of giggles, the ridiculousness of the situation replacing the mortification that his brother wanted to make him feel while saying something like that to Taehyung. His head fell back and he soon heard Taehyung's laugh, a weight falling on his chest that he quickly realized was Taehyung's head, his hair tickling him on the neck. Jeongguk just hugged him tightly.

“Youre so silly, hyung.” Jeongguk's laughter died down and he left a loud kiss on Taehyung's head.

“I ruined it, didn't I? We were having a nice romantic moment.” Taehyung returned the kiss on the slope between his shoulder and neck.

Jeongguk turned his head to meet his eyes, Taehyung was looking up at him. “It's okay. We are gonna have lots of those, no?”

“Yes we are, pretty boy.”

They stayed in the hot tub until their fingers shriveled up, and when they got out Taehyung wrapped him in a towel like a burrito. Jeongguk tried to do the same for him, but the cold seeping from the outside and with the towel on the way, it became an impossible task. Taehyung just laughed and hugged him from the back, wrapping them in his towel as they waddled inside, the door closed behind them with a thud thanks to Taehyung's foot.

The inside was much warmer, sending a shiver through both of them that made them chuckle. The only light came from the fireplace and they stood just in front of it, Jeongguk finally turning around to hug him around the waist, letting the heat wash over them as they swayed on the spot.

“Theres a little problem.” Taehyung murmured, his voice muffled by his hair.

Jeongguk hummed, not bothering to open his eyes or raise his head from Taehyung's shoulder.

“Okay so, Jimin and Yoongi wanted to have a movie night after their date got cut short. He told me when you two were talking upstairs and then I got the idea of doing this for us too, so they decided that they would both sleep in the room downstairs and leave upstairs for us.” Jeongguk didn't get the problem, but allowed Taehyung to continue his nervous ramble. “B-But we don't have to sleep together, I can take the sofa.”

Jeongguk leaned back to look at his face, Taehyung was biting his lip anxiously. Jeongguk pouted. “You don't wanna sleep with me, hyung?”

Taehyung immediately looked alarmed, his eyes were wide as he shook his head. “Of course I do! What are you sa-” He interrupted himself when Jeongguk started giggling quietly, trying to hide his laughter with a hand. Taehyung scoffed, unbelievable. “So that's what we are doing now, huh?”

“S-Sorry, hyung. You looked so cute.” Jeongguk said between laughter.

He let out a startled sound when Taehyung effortlessly picked him up, his legs immediately wrapping around his waist to support himself. “Hyung!”

“Am I rubbing off on you? So soon?”

Jeongguk giggled nervously but still relaxed and accommodated on his arms as Taehyung started to walk up the stairs. He laid his head on his shoulder with a teasing smile that the older couldn't see. “Well… You kinda were, earlier…”

“Jeonggukie!”

At some point during their time outside Yoongi or Jimin came up and left a change of clothes for Taehyung, some comfy and warm clothes, just as the ones Jeongguk put on, but when the older took the hoodie that was last on the stack of clothes, Jeongguk snatched it away, giving him instead one of his own hoodies to sleep on.

The piece of clothing reeked of Taehyung's perfume, he gave it a discreet sniff as he put it on and smiled shyly, slipping quickly under the covers while listening to Taehyung's huffed laugh at his antics. Jeongguk had his back turned to him so he didn't see when Taehyung got under the covers too, but there was immediately a warm chest pressing to him, Taehyung's arm sneaking over his waist as he placed a kiss on Jeongguk's warm cheek.

“Cant believe you didn't want to sleep here.” Jeongguk whispered teasingly, taking Taehyung's hand to hug it over his chest.

“I wanted to sleep with you so bad. Just didn't want to make you uncomfortable or seem too eager.”

He felt how Taehyung mouthed the words on his nape, his eyelashes tickled the patch of skin when he closed his eyes.

“Not uncomfortable. I wanted to sleep with you the other night, didn't I?”

“Yeah, baby.” Taehyung sounded sleepy so Jeongguk closed his eyes too. “Always so cute”

Jeongguk smiled and brought Taehyung's hand up to give it a kiss. “Good night, hyungie.”

“Good night, sweetheart.”

❄❅❆

Unsurprisingly, they all had a late start the next day. It was Christmas eve but they were technically trapped in the cabin until the snowstorm was over and the streets were cleared to drive, which probably would take a couple of days still, so they allowed themselves to just rest.

Taehyung and Jeongguk woke up somewhat early, little sunrays hitting their faces since the curtains weren't closed properly the previous night. Jeongguk felt shy waking up next to the man he had a crush on (probably way more than a crush.), so it took him a little to calm his racing heart and at least turn to Taehyung's side. However, when Taehyung got him to look at him, he kissed his whole face in greeting, smothering his cheeks and forehead until Jeongguk was a giggly mess.

They both got up to brush their teeth a few minutes later, but they went right back to bed after. This time Jeongguk rested on his chest, drawing random shapes on the expanse of his torso as they talked. Taehyung was combing his hair away from his face to leave a few kisses on his forehead from time to time. The tenderness and domesticity made him feel flustered, so he spent most of the time with his face away from Taehyung's, the brattiness from last night nowhere to be seen that morning, only his sleepy cuddleness that Taehyung called cute every five seconds.

“Kiss me good morning, please. I'm dying.”

Jeongguk chuckled but easily gave in, holding his weight with a hand beside Tehyung's head before he leaned down to leave a sweet kiss on his puckered lips. “Good morning, hyungie.”

“Ugh!” Taehyung hugged him to his chest with a groan. “Please call me that multiple times a day everyday for the rest of our lives.”

Jeongguk's flustered face hid on his neck again.

They only got up when Jimin messy bedhair appeared on the door. “Good morning, lovebirds. We made breakfast.” And he went away.

Jeongguk doubted his brother made even a little of the breakfast, his eyes were still closed when he opened the door, it was probably Yoongi who made it all and then sent Jimin to get them. He got up either way and dragged Taehyung with him. Their stomachs started grumbling a while ago, but the older was reluctant to leave the warm bed, whining the whole way to the kitchen and only shutting up when Jeongguk agreed to sit on his lap while they ate.

To say he was blushing was an understatement, his face was on fire, worse when his brother magically woke up to tease him and Yoongi didn't do anything about it, only looking fondly at Jimin.

Since they had a really late breakfast, they decided to just skip lunch all together and eat a nice filling dinner, that Jeongguk and Taehyung were in charge of, per Jimin's request, since he said ‘they will be on the hot tub all day and wouldn't have time to help’. Spending more time with Taehyung wasn't a bother so Jeongguk just shrugged, Taehyung actually celebrating, both arms in the air in glee.

“I have something to do before making dinner.” Jeongguk announced, getting up from Taehyung's lap, the other still had his arms on his waist. “You aren't streaming anymore?”

The three of them looked at each other, all of them shrugging. Jimin perked up suddenly. “Hot tub stream!”

“No.” Yoongi's immediate negative had Jimin deflating, all his weight falling on the older's side.

“So not fun.”

“We could do something short? And call it a day. We don't really need to be streaming here anymore.” Taehyung interjected.

They all agreed with his idea, talking about what they could do and when. Jeongguk stayed for a bit, leaning against Taehyung and giving his opinion from time to time, also making sure that it was okay for him to not be there, which neither had a problem with. He left a kiss on Taehyung’s hair when his brother was too busy jokingly babytalking to Yoongi about something he didn’t catch. Taehyung leaned his head back to look at him.

“I’ll come down at five so we can make dinner.”

Taehyung just nodded and puckered his lips. Jeongguk smiled and put a hand up to cover them as he gave him a chaste kiss, quickly pulling away after to avoid his brother's teasing.

“You’re fucked.” He heard Yoongi say. Jimin cackled loudly.

“I’m exactly where I want to be.”

Jeongguk got to what he wanted to do immediately. It was something he planned to do way after the end of their trip, a little recap of it for the viewers, but since their stay got extended and neither had a gift for one another, he thought why not make something more intimate for them to watch on Christmas morning. Jeongguk obviously was planning to get Yoongi and Taehyung gifts, Jimin's are under their little tree in their shared apartment, but that will have to be when they were already in the city, and there were still a few days to that, so this would do for now.

He worked on his personal project until the alarm he set for 16:59 rang. He closed the laptop and jumped out of bed. In a minute he was downstairs, at 5 o'clock just like he promised Taehyung. Jeongguk didn't see him in the living room so he poked his head to the kitchen, where he could hear a commotion going on.

Taehyung, Jimin, and Yoongi were there, the three of them clothed, they probably took a shower just like he did upstairs, since he didn't recognize Jimin's clothes and his brother never went up for a change of clothes.

Taehyung was the first to spot him. He was slumped on the counter while listening to whatever the other two were saying at the time so the change was noticeable when he perked up, a smile on his handsome face that Jeongguk returned happily. The older didn't even look at the stream before getting up and going to him, embracing him tightly.

“Well, lovebird two came for lovebird one so we have to end the stream now.” Jimin shrugged. “Now you know why he was sulking so much.”

“I wasn’t sulking!” Taehyung said from his place on Jeongguk’s inviting neck, moving then to his cheek where he left multiple loud kisses.

“You have your mic on, by the way.” Yoongi offered from his spot on the stool.

They both had to take only one little glance towards the rapidly moving chat to realize their mistake.

Taehyung took the mic from the collar of his shirt and brought it to his mouth, saying, “You didn’t hear anything.” before leaving it on the counter.

They waddled in each other’s arms towards the living room, lying on the couch while waiting for the other two to end the stream or simply empty the kitchen for them to start dinner.

“Yay! Hot tub stream!” They heard Jimin, his voice closer. “Taehyung, please hide my Jeonggukie from these perverts! We are going upstairs.”

Taehyung immediately laid himself on top of Jeongguk, both arms forming a barrier around his head before he leaned down and captured his mouth in a kiss, effectively hiding his face from the camera.

“That works, I guess.” Yoongi’s tired voice said from the bottom of the stairs, following Jimin up with his swim trunks on hand.

Taehyung separated with a smug smile, Jeongguk was smiling too but instead of giving him the satisfaction, he pushed Taehyung's face away and got up.

“C’mon, you're my sous chef now.”

The cooking started with the gathering of ingredients, Jeongguk moved around the kitchen picking things up while Taehyung watched him from the counter, his chin resting on the palm of his hand. When they were cutting up some vegetables, Jeongguk teaching him once again, they heard Jimin's voice announcing they were passing by the kitchen with the camera again.

Taehyung’s grin was crooked, smug when he looked at Jeongguk before approaching him slowly, like one would do with a prey. He walked until Jeongguk was backed up against a far corner, hiding him with his body and once again kissing him breathless. Jeongguk giggled into the kiss, his own hands grabbing the front of Taehyung’s shirt to balance himself.

The door to the hot tub space closed but neither of them let go, at some point Taehyung lifted him by his thighs to get him seated on the counter. Jeongguk allowed it but when the hands slithering under his hoodie started feeling a little too good, he put a bit of space between them, albeit reluctantly.

“We need to cook.”

Taehyung gave him puppy eyes and Jeongguk covered them with a hand, jumping off the counter.

“No, no, none of that.”

The dinner somehow got done. Jeongguk put all his culinary skills into it, roasting potatoes to perfection and letting the meat cook until it was tender and juicy. Taehyung actually helped a lot, following him around like a puppy and doing whatever Jeongguk told him. If Jeongguk stopped to kiss him every time he saw Taehyung’s focused face, that’s no one’s business but theirs.

They got dressed with the fanciest clothes they had in their suitcases, for most of them it was jeans and a sweater, but Jimin forced Jeongguk to add his bear beanie to the mix. The best friends set the table and then with Jimin’s help, Jeongguk served the food.

They tried to make the house as christmassy as possible with what they had in hand. There wasn't much, this is a vacation house after all, but they had enough to make the table look red and green and there was a handmade mistletoe hanging somewhere, only Jimin knew where it was though, and he didn’t want to tell anyone, not even Yoongi.

“I don’t wanna do that.”

“I’m grateful for! Mhm… My brother, of course, and meeting you guys! Now I have a boyfriend and a soulmate.”

“I haven’t asked you yet.” Jimin and Yoongi spoke at the same time, the latter blushing as he covered his face with a hand.

Jimin ignored him, flopping on his side when Yoongis wrapped an arm around his waist. The almost empty glass of wine swung dangerously on his hand. “Mhm, well… I think Taehyungie is my brother in law now.”

Jeongguk choked on his own wine. Taehyung’s hand, that was draped over his chair, rubbing the space of his back he reached, to then massage his nape. “Maybe that’s too much wine for you, Jimin-ah.”

A phone rang in the distance, all of them turned to see it light up on the counter, Yoongi got up to get it after recognizing it was his and came back with a grimace on his face.

“Hi.” He gruffly said, keeping the phone in front of his face.

“Happy christmas eve, Yoongi-ah!” A loud combination of voices said at the same time. “Where is Taehyungie?”

Yoongi sat down again, giving Taehyung a look. “He’s in front of me.”

Taehyung nodded and Yoongi put the phone down where they were all visible, Taehyung leaned forward so Jeongguk was hidden behind him, not sure if the younger one felt comfortable with their friends knowing about him or not. Jimin started waving instantly, greeting everyone by name, which granted him a confused look from Jeongguk.

“How are they treating you?” One of the voices asked, not sure who it belonged to since Jeongguk didn't have any vision of the screen, which he was grateful for because when he realized it was a videocall, he felt his heart stop and then beat at maximum speed. To express his thankfulness, he grabbed Taehyung’s hand and interlocked their fingers over his lap.

“Great but maybe all of you should've come too, hyung is a bit grumpy.”

“As if that’s not what you like the most about him.” Taehyung teased, earning a glare from Jimin and laughter from the trio on the phone.

“Taehyung-ah!” A different voice said chirpier. “Who are you flirting so much with? While watching the streams you were always looking behind the camera!”

“Ohhh.” Jimin started when Taehyung’s face turned red.

“None of your business.”

Jeongguk looked at his brother, as red as Taehyung, and gave him a nod when he recognized the look on his face. “That will be my brother.”

Taehyung whirled to look at him with eyes wide as saucers, and Jeongguk could only nod, a silent conversation between them before Taehyung little by little sat back again, moving the phone back so Jeongguk could be seen properly as well.

The younger leaned towards Taehyung, looking for comfort that he immediately received as Taehyung made space for him, hugging him against him with an arm around his waist.

“Hello.” Jeongguk said when three pairs of eyes were on him. There was a black haired man with full lips, one with brown hair and a kind face and a third with dirty blonde hair and dark roots, he looked the most intimidating with his serious face, but as he gave him a smile Jeongguk could feel the kindness in it, just like with the others. “I’m Jeon Jeongguk, nice to meet you.” Jeongguk bowed his head in greeting.

There’s a moment of silence before the three of them started talking at the same time. Jeongguk blinked at them and then looked at the other three on the table who were laughing at the interaction.

He could only make out bits and pieces of what they were saying, something about ‘cute’ and ‘so pretty’ and ‘Taehyung is fucking lucky’. Jeongguk got away from the phone after stuttering a whispered ‘thank you’, and Taehyung gathered him on his arms, turning only his face to the camera to start bickering about Jeongguk with the hyungs on the phone while Jeongguk giggled quietly, muffled on Taehyung’s sweater.

“Don’t look at him too much.”

“You will have to share him with us eventually, Taehyung-ah!” He recognized Seokjin’s voice now.

“Not a chance.”

The call lasted a good thirty minutes more, Jeongguk actually participating in the conversation, not as much as the others, but enough. The wine helped to relax him so it was much easier to just be, at some point his head was resting on Taehyung's shoulder just listening to their bickering with a smile on his face, that was his favorite part.

After dinner, they bundled up in their warmest clothes. The snow had receded for the most part, and now being close to 12 AM, there was only a light drizzle falling but tons of it accumulated over the day, so they decided it was a great time to have a snow fight just outside the cabin.

Jeongguk sprinted once they got outside, Jimin right behind him, and together they gathered snow and threw it at the best friends, who were just getting out of the cabin. They stopped, stunned, but quickly started making their own snow balls and throwing it at each other.

They laughed carelessly, houses miles away from them so there was no one they should keep quiet for. Their clothes were covered in white dust, Jeongguk’s fuzzy white hat so full of it that when he shook his head he sprayed it everywhere.

Lastly, when they've tired themselves out, they laid down on the snow with arms and legs spread and made snowangels side by side. They got inside shivering, the cold seeping through the seams of their clothes which were actually not made for the snow, so after changing into something comfy, the four of them huddled together in front of the ever lit fireplace.

“Come here.” Taehyung opened the blanket he was wrapped in when Jeongguk went to sit beside him, his legs open in invitation. And who was Jeongguk to say no to such a handsome man.

Taehyung wrapped them in the blanket, their bodies touching on every point, collecting as much human warmth as possible.

Jimin was lying on the floor, his head on Yoongi's lap as the latter brushed his hair back, and from his spot Jeongguk caught the fond look his brother threw his way.

“Are you sleeping together tonight?” Jimin asked.

Jeongguk, in his wine-cold-sleep-comfiness induced brain, threw his head back, fitting it just in the crook of Taehyung’s neck. “If Taehyungie wants to.”

There were lips pressed to his forehead and that was that.

They went to bed shortly after, all of them tired from their impromptu fight and also sleepy from the heat of the fireplace. Jeongguk and Taehyung cuddled up under the covers, Taehyung’s head nuzzling his chest while Jeongguk's legs were thrown over his, a very awkward position but they were both too comfy to move.

Jeongguk lowered his head to rest it over Taehyung's. “Merry Christmas, hyungie.”

“Merry Christmas, Ggukie.”

❄❅❆

Christmas morning was a mess. He didn't wake up by choice but because two packages were thrown their way by Jimin, who barreled into the room screaming, “Merry Christmas!” at the top of his lungs.

His brother threw himself on the tangled mess happening under the covers.

“Where did you even get gifts from?” Jeongguk muttered, his head buried on his pillow.

“Open it.”

Taehyung was just starting to open his eyes, but he had one of the gifts clutched on his palm so the paper crinkled and broke easily when he heard the command, letting out a piece of fabric that Jeongguk recognized.

“Boxers? Really?”

Jimin nodded happily, reaching out to leave a kiss on his brother's cheek. “I got a three pack before coming here and I didn’t open it until now! Merry Christmas! Now, please come down and make some delicious hot choco, Taehyungie, and some mouthwatering pancakes, Jeonggukie. Thank you!”

Jimin left as fast as he came, leaving them both face to face with sleep heavy on their eyes. Jeongguk smiled and reached out with both arms, hugging Taehyung towards his chest. “Morning.”

“Morning, Ggukie.” Taehyung’s voice was adorably scratchy. “Let’s go before they drag us down.”

Yoongi got a speaker from somewhere around the cabin and was blasting Christmas music. His laptop was out and Jeongguk suspected he was mixing the tracks if his focused face is anything to go by. And also the way All I Want for Christmas Is You came after Sleigh Ride in a weird play of words it could only make sense to the one doing the mix.

Even if sleepy, or maybe because of his sleepiness, Taehyung reached the kitchen and went directly to Yoongi, draping himself on his back with a ‘Merry Christmas’ said loudly into his ear. The brothers laughed together at Yoongi's evident grimace, but none of them made a move to get the taller male from him, instead Jeongguk went to the ingredients already laid out on the counter and Jimin moved around the kitchen, his hips swaying at the rhythm of the music.

“I'm feeling festive today, so hot choco for everyone!” Taehyung exclaimed when the hot chocolate was steaming in four different mugs, starting to give them around. Jeongguk watched as the older put marshmallows in the ones left for them and chuckled when he winked at him.

The pancakes were a great idea but the plate was full for five minutes at most, cleaned out by four hungry adults in a heartbeat. The cleaning was done by Jimin and Yoongi while Taehyung and Jeongguk relaxed on the couch, waiting for them to watch Christmas movies. Or at least that's what they thought they were going to do, Jeongguk had already sneaked to the second floor and got his laptop, it was connected to the TV and ready to play the video he got done the previous day, but even Taehyung, that was singing the Christmas songs with his forearm over his eyes, didn't notice.

They gathered in the living room once the dishes were done, and Jeongguk ushered them to sit when they went to grab the remote. He hid it behind his back and positioned himself in front of the TV, he was fiddling and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was blushing a lot but whatever.

“Okay…” Jeongguk turned and pressed a few buttons on the remote to project his laptop's screen on the TV. “I didn't have time to get any presents, but I wanted to give you something so… I made a small thing, okay? Nothing fancy, just…” He huffed, frustrated at the difficult task of public speaking, especially in front of a group of people that meant a lot to him. “Just watch.”

Three pairs of eyes were glued to the TV when he pressed play to the video. He quickly made his way to the couch and sat beside Taehyung, the older grabbed his hand as if it was second nature.

The video started with clips from weeks ago, Jeongguk had to do a lot of research about Yoongi and his brother to get to the moment they started flirting with each other, and he put most of it on the beginning of the video as some type of context. Jimin was giggling into his hand while watching Yoongi on the screen, the older talking about Jimin with a fond expression on his face, even way before meeting in person. He put some screenshots of them flirting on Twitter just to mess with them and then a clip of Jimin teasing their collaboration that time at the restaurant they went to together.

There wasn't footage of their first meeting so the video immediately jumped to bits and pieces of the couple of streams they did at the cabin, and in between there were pictures and videos Jeongguk captured without them knowing, some of Yoongi and Jimin snuggling on the couch or of Taehyung laughing without a care in the world. Jeongguk started to feel shy around that part and made it his mission in life to avoid Taehyung's eyes when he felt the older looking at him.

It was mostly funny so there was a lot of laughter and light commentary, which was the purpose of the video. At the end of it, there were some credits like they were done in the Star Wars movies, that were actually some words Jeongguk wrote for them but was too shy to leave it as it on the video so they will have to read it once he sent it to them since it lasted less than a second on the screen.

When the video ended, there immediately were three pairs of arms hugging him tightly.

“That was so cute, Jeonggukie!” Jimin said into his hair, on the opposite side to where Taehyung left a lingering kiss.

“Send it to us, yeah?” Yoongi was the first to let go, pulling Jimin by his arm to bring him back to the other sofa.

“Y-Yeah, I’ll do it later.”

Taehyung was quiet and Jeongguk felt nervous about it but either way he turned on his arms to see his reaction.

Taehyung was smiling, a soft curve of his lips and that made a smile appear on Jeongguk’s face too, but then he saw his misty eyes and it was erased completely. Jeongguk got on his knees, both feet under him as he held Taehyung’s cheeks, the frown of his eyebrows visible. “Hyung.”

The older let out a wet laugh and took his hand to kiss his palm tenderly. “The gift was really cute, thank you.”

“Why are you crying, then?” Jeongguk’s expression held the same worry in it.

“I just didn't think there would be so many pictures of me. It made me see things from your perspective in a way.”

Jeongguk tilted his head. “Good thing?”

Taehyung nodded, leaning into him to kiss him softly. “Really good thing.” Jeongguk finally smiled so Taehyung went to cup his cheek too. “Should I show you the pictures I have of you, then?”

Neither of them noticed when Jimin and Yoongi slipped out of the living room, too enthralled with each other to pay attention to their surroundings. Jeongguk's eyes were closed with his big smile and Taehyung's eyes were glued on the younger’s face, impossibly fond of him.

“Do you have some too?”

“Of course I do!” Taehyung scoffed. He sounded genuinely indignanted. “I’m not showing you any. I’ll save them for a special occasion.”

“But hyuuung.” Jeongguk whined, pouting as he rested his head on Taehyung’s shoulder, looking up at him through his eyelashes.

Taehyung seemed conflicted as his wandering eyes went from his eyes to his pouty lips, but he shook his head determined to not give in and turned his head away. “You’re a menace.”

Jeongguk smiled then, and reached over to bring their lips together, Taehyung happily kissing back.

“Mom’s calling!”

Jimin shouting from the kitchen startled them both and Jeongguk gave him a wide eyed look before bolting to the kitchen when he heard Jimin greeting their mother. Taehyung’s laughter followed him until he was breathlessly smiling at the camera.

The call was long, their mother showed them all the gifts under the tree that were for them and the ones for Taehyung and Yoongi too. That's when they realized their mothers invitation was serious. At some point, she demanded for Taehyung and Yoongi to join the call and when they did, she started interrogating them about their dinner last night and their time with the two brothers. They looked sheepish and had matching flushes on their cheeks.

Jimin was now completely sure their mother was aware of what’s happening between them and he let Jeongguk know with a subtle whisper when she was preoccupied with Yoongi and Taehyung. At least from Yoongi and Jimin it was obvious because she watched the streams and must have caught on pretty quickly with what was going on, but there wasn't anything from Taehyung and Jeongguk, so why was she so hellbent on knowing everything about him too? Asking multiple times about his time with Jeongguk specifically?

Jeongguk gave his brother a shrug, the only answer he had at the moment. And when Taehyung looked at him over the phone, his eyes pleading, Jeongguk did the same thing, this time with a different motive behind it. He really loved the look of red cheeks on him.

“Oh! I also saw that the roads are already cleared!” Their mother told them excitedly, just as they were saying goodbye.

“Really?” Jeongguk tried to not sound disappointed.

“Yeah! You boys let me know when you head home, and when you're on your way for new years too!”

“Okay, mom.” Jimin gave up on the friendly act and was leaning heavily on Yoongi.

Jeongguk still kept his distance from Taehyung, he was pressed to the other, but it still looked platonic, he thought it did at least.

“Have fun! Love you!”

They all said their goodbyes and hung up with a loud sigh. There was silence between them when the call was over.

“Well…” Yoongi started leaning his back on the counter, Jimin hugging him tightly. “Should we leave right now or take a chance and let another snowstorm give us a couple more days?”

It was a question meant to lighten the mood, but all they could muster was a barely there grin.

They discussed it for a while, neither of them mind getting up early and leaving then, but after checking the weather app, they got to know that the light snow falling right now could get worse during the night. There were long faces everywhere you looked when they realized it was better to leave as soon as possible. They had stuff to do in the city, outside of streaming, all of them had things going on, and even if they had a more flexible schedule there were still timelines and deadlines to follow. So as tempting as staying until the snowstorm passed completely was, they knew leaving now that it was subdued for a little while and the streets were clear was the adult and mature decision to make.

All of them were pretty much ready, their things were packed from the day they thought they were leaving originally, so what they focused on more was leaving the cabin spotless, which didn’t take much longer either since they cleaned up after themselves.

Once the suitcases were packed into the cars, they allowed themselves fifteen minutes of rest before leaving. Taehyung took Jeongguk's hand in his and brought him to the nook upstairs, they sat down just as they did every time they were there. Jeongguk with his legs over Taehyung's lap and Taehyung's hand wrapped over his upper thigh, higher than it has ever been.

“Are you okay?” Taehyung asked after a minute of silence.

Jeongguk hummed, Taehyung’s head was turned towards him so he smiled a little. “I am. Are you?”

Taehyung nodded. “We’ll be fine. It’s just…” The older tilted his head side to side, thinking. “It was such a blissful time I spent with you, I can’t help but want more.”

The greedy thought was present on Jeongguk’s head too. He caressed under his eye with a careful thumb. “We will see each other during the week. And if we don't, we have new years.”

Taehyung gave him a closed lip grin. “You sure you want me there? I saw you were pretty nervous while we were talking with your mom.”

“Of course I do! My mom loved you, I just get nervous being affectionate in front of her. It took me a bit to be like that with you when Jimin and Yoongi hyung were around, but it was easier because of you… So, please come spend new years with me.”

Jeongguk made it a point to say with me instead of with my family, and Taehyung got it if his lovely flustered face was an indication. Jeongguk then leaned forward and kissed him, Taehyung easily reciprocated it, pulling him until they were flushed against each other.

“You aren’t getting rid of me easily, hyungie.”

“Wouldn’t wish for it, darling.”

After their talk, saying goodbye on the front porch was easier. They exchanged a lot of kisses still, both smiling so much a lot of times there were more teeth than lips clicking together. Taehyung let him go when his phone number was safely registered on his phone, but not before kissing him breathless one last time. They all were acting like they didn’t live twenty minutes away from each other.

The four of them waved at one another when they were pulling away from the cabin, Jimin on the steering wheel throwing kisses through the window as they passed them on the main street of the little town.

“By the way, where was the mistletoe?” Jeongguk asked when they still had vision of the other car, just a couple meters in front.

“In the downstairs bedroom. Over the bed.”

Jeongguk chuckled at his response.

They lost each other a few miles into the road, however not even fifteen minutes must’ve passed when his phone pinged with a notification.

Taehyungie hyungie <3 [18:34]

Hey pretty :)

❄❅❆

Being back in the city was… nice. Jimin and Jeongguk easily fell into their usual routine once again, or a similar version of it because now it included a lot of talks about a certain pair of best friends and also lots of interrupting their daily activities to answer said best friends messages.

They didn't get to see much of each other because there was actually a lot of work for the four of them waiting when they came back, otherwise Taehyung would’ve been on his door with a rose a lot of times already, his own words. They facetimed a lot, Taehyung usually talking to him about his day while Jeongguk fell asleep to his voice. Those days the last thing he heard was always a version of ‘good night, cutie’ or ‘sweet dreams, pretty boy’.

Jimin had a lot of meetings regarding the events and campaigns he would be participating in next year, he was a model after all, and a really sought after one. Jeongguk took some projects that were sitting on his email for a few days and spent his days in online meetings with clients to coordinate the details of it. None of them were too difficult and most were for the second week of January so he had time, but it was better to have most of it done before going back home for the new year, his mother had a strict rule of not working while at home. She believed being there was to rest and nothing else.

Jimin, in the middle of the week, appeared at the door of his room. “We are traveling on the 31st, in the morning.”

“Really?” Jeongguk turned from his spot on the desk. “Why?”

Jimin shrugged. “I have a shoot on the 30th, it’s supposed to take the whole afternoon, so…”

“Oh. Should I drive on the way there, then? You will be tired.”

Jimin grinned, like the Cheshire cat. “Neither I nor you are driving.”

Jeongguk didn't get what that meant at the moment, but once they got downstairs on the date his brother said, there was a familiar car waiting in the street. Jeongguk was still waking up, the shower he took not helping at all, so he didn’t connect the dots until a very familiar mop of hair peeked from the side of the door.

His sleepiness faded away in a second.

“Taehyungie!” Jeongguk bounced over to him, sleep forgotten when Taehyung caught him in his arms. “I didn’t know we were traveling together.”

“My Jeonggukie.” Taehyung kissed his cheek and when Jeongguk moved his head, kissed his lips. “Who did you think was driving?”

“Dunno. Didn’t think about it.”

Taehyung huffed a laugh, fond eyes glued to Jeongguk bright ones. “I missed you so much, cutie.”

“I did too, hyungie. So much.”

After a quick work of putting their bags on the trunk, Taehyung allowed Jimin to use the passenger seat and went to the back instead, to occupy the space next to Jeongguk. Yoongi was in the driver’s seat and gave Jimin permission to put music on. Taehyung and Jeongguk were already buckled up and cuddling, talking in hushed voices about whatever they hadn’t already talked about on their usual calls.

The drive was longer than the one to the cabin, so while they left at 10 AM, they didn’t get there until 2 PM. Jeongguk did offer to drive at some point but Yoongi waved him off, saying he liked driving and he had a full night of rest.

“You slept nothing last night.” Yoongi looked at him through the mirror.

“How did you know?”

“Your eyes are all droopy and I don’t think you have spent a second away from Taehyung’s shoulder.”

Jeongguk huffed, lifting his head from said shoulder and looking away. “Such a lie.”

“Noooo.” Taehyung interjected, pulling Jeongguk back. “Hyung, focus on the road.”

Jeongguk’s and Jimin’s mother received them with big hugs and a warm meal, nothing extravagant but enough to get their stomachs filled until dinner later in the day. She then took them around the house and showed them the rooms they will be staying in. Jimin and Yoongi will be in Jimin's renovated room and Jeongguk and Taehyung coincidentally were assigned Jeongguk’s room, even when he knew there was an empty guest’s room deeper in the hallway. His mother said she had turned it into an office when she catched his questioning eyes.

So she knew something.

After settling in, mom called them downstairs and gave them their gifts. Apparently she did her research about Yoongi's and Taehyung's interests because the gifts were small but thoughtful, two vinyls for Yoongi and an instant camera for Taehyung, with plenty of rolls. The first thing he did was take a picture of Jeongguk as he opened his gifts.

Then, they were on baking duty. It was usually Jimin and his job to bake cookies for their whole family, but this time Jimin complained about always ruining his clothes with icing and, surprisingly, their mom was happy to pass on the task to Taehyung instead. Jimin and Yoongi were in charge of making festive drinks and getting the usual New Years themed accessories out of the basement. They took awfully long, but eventually they were back with a box full of them.

Taehyung was terrible at icing cookies and Jeongguk giggled every time the other gave him a helpless look. In reality, Jeongguk found every cookie he made to be his favorite, they were so unique and Taehyung, not the usual Christmas decoration he did in his, so he would make sure to keep most of the ones Taehyung made for him and give the rest to his uncles and cousins.

At some point, when his mother disappeared upstairs to look for something, Taehyung caged him against the corner and kissed him breathless, probably the most intense kiss they shared after reuniting that morning. When they parted, Jeongguk looked up at him with a dazed look, Taehyung touched the corner of his lip with his thumb.

“You had a little something there.”

“Thank you.” Jeongguk croaked out. He took a big breath when Taehyung turned to the counter again.

The cookies were a hit. Once his entire family got there, it got chaotic in an instant, there were conversations going on everywhere, and at the table it was worse because it was a cacophony of voices trying to get their point across. Thankfully, when dinner was done, they dispersed a bit and Jeongguk was able to breathe a bit easier, helping his mother with the dessert instead of joining in on whatever was the conversation in the living room.

Taehyung and Yoongi were, unsurprisingly, welcomed immediately, their family loved them. Again, Jeongguk was not surprised because both of them were very charming guys and it wasn't a surprise his family was captivated by them.

He was sitting on the arm of one of the couches, listening to one of his aunts talk about something, when Taehyung approached.

“Hey! Sorry to interrupt.”

His aunt laughed delightedly. “Oh, darling! Don’t worry I will chat someone else's ears off!”
She left but not before patting Jeongguk's cheek affectionately.

Taehyung smiled at him when they were alone and Jeongguk, in an act of bravery, and because he missed him these past few days but he also was jealous of all the people that got to spend time with him instead of him, reached out and took his hand. Taehyung looked at it but didn’t make a move to go away.

“It’s a minute to New Years.” Jeongguk smiled shyly and tugged at him with his hand.

They passed by most of his relatives, most of them in their own conversations but there were a few that gave him a warm greeting while passing them by. They got to the backyard when the countdown was already at seven.

“Wait.” Taehyung stopped him at the threshold of the door to the backyard. He was pointing upwards. “Mistletoe.”

Jeongguk didn’t have to look up to know it was there, Jimin’s doing, if he had to guess. He just used his free hand to hug Taehyung around the neck and just when his family was screaming ‘Happy New Year’ at the top of their lungs, Jeongguk pressed their lips together, more smiles than lips but a kiss nonetheless.

“Happy New Year, hyungie.”

Taehyung’s arms tugged him closer from their hold around his waist. “Happy New Year, Jeonggukie.”

There were fireworks illuminating the sky, the bright colors reflecting on the white snow, but Jeongguk also felt them, they were in every end of his cells, a tingling sensation he was afraid Taehyung also felt. And it must be true.

Taehyung was breathless when he put some distance between, his eyes danced around Jeongguk's face, drinking him in in a way Jeongguk felt. Everything was so clear at the moment that when Taehyung opened his mouth and three huge words came out of it, the sensation washed over him like a warm hug. Taehyung embraced him when he reached up to kiss him again, the same words whispered on his lips, knowing there wasn't a better person to say them to.

❄❅❆

Jeongguk was sprawled on top of his bed, laptop in front of him as he scrolled through endless pictures kept in his gallery. It was a special folder, the name labelled a cold ‘cabin’ but the content was anything but cold. He usually started from the bottom of it, laughing at his old self, but this time he didn't waste time on old traditions and stayed on the last pictures added to the folder. He should probably start a new one for those specifically, but that's work for another time.

Jeongguk went through them calmly, his eyes engraving every single one into his mind with how hard he stared. He was probably half way through the new contests of the folder when another body joined him on the bed, draping over his back.

“What are you doing, fiance?”

Jeongguk turned in the little space left for him, until he was looking up to Taehyung. His hand involuntarily reached his face, as it did lots of times before, tracing the moles decorating his skin, finishing on his mouth, where he left a lingering kiss.

“Just reminiscing about the moment you made me your fiance.”

Taehyung glanced towards the screen where a specific picture was displayed. It was of them collapsed on the porch of the cabin, their matching bear beanies on and looking like marshmallows with the heavy clothing they had on. There was snow all around them, and on that occasion the cabin was properly decorated for Christmas, just as it started to be since it became a tradition for them to spend a few days in it with Yoongi and Jimin during the holiday season. The image showed perfectly their teary faces as they smiled fondly at each other, and it was clear as day the shiny ring on Jeongguk's finger, glinting under the warm outside lighting of the cabin.

Taehyung's proposal, Jeongguk learned afterwards, was planned after their time at Jeongguk's mother house for New Year. It took three years for Taehyung to put the ring on his finger though, but the knowledge that everything was so carefully planned, accommodating Jeongguk's comfort and the dreams he told Taehyung about throughout their time together, it made it perfect.

“Let's recreate it.”

Taehyung made a move to pull away but, through gleeful giggles, Jeongguk stopped him. Taehyung fell between his legs again and Jeongguk kept him there, hands around his neck and fond eyes incapable of looking anywhere but the silly man that owned his heart.

“I love you.” Jeongguk said.

Taehyung's face did that thing that it always did. It made him look like it's his first time hearing those. Everytime. It's Jeongguk's favorite thing in the world.

“I love you too, pretty.” Taehyung took it a step farther and kissed him tenderly. “More than yesterday but less than tomorrow. Always.”

Always.