Work Text:
“Jiminie! Did you do the homework? Can I copy them?” shouted Taehyung as soon as he entered the classroom, heading towards his best friend without sparing anyone else a glance.
Jimin sighed, rolled his eyes, and answered exhausted “Kim Taehyung! You ranked second of the class on the last exams, while I was 12th. Please explain me why should I give you my homework?”
“Because you love me and because yesterday I managed to kill the boss on the 54th floor of Aincrad” he replied smiling widely and already going for Jimin’s notebook.
“Wow, you defeated it. That is amazing. Of course I will let you copy my homework, it took me the entire afternoon doing them, but you are a hero” Jimin said with sarcasm. “At least now that you defeated it I hope that you will do your homework”.
“But I’m doing them” replied Teahyung innocently.
“On your own!” hissed Jimin, but Taehyung was to busy coping the exercises for paying attention to him, so he just went on daydreaming waiting for the teacher to arrive and start the lesson.
After a whole long boring and exhausting day (the gym teacher should have been in a really bad mood) the only thing Jimin wanted was to get home and doze in front of the TV. But no, his annoying best friend had other plans.
“Jimin let's go eat something and then go to the cinema. There's the sequel of The ring. I really miss Samara” he said brightly, too brightly for the movie he was talking about.
“Tae...I don't want to” whined Jimin shaking his head from left to right.
“Why not? In seven days we have to hand over the paper for Mr Kim, so let’s try and see if we will still be alive”. Jimin rolled his eyes at his friend’s words. Taehyung was always searching for a way to not do the homework, but this was way too much even for him. “This way we don’t have to them. And if we still be alive we can blame it on Samara, because she didn't come for us”.
“You are crazy” stated Jimin, before starting to laugh and walking in the direction of the cinema, opposite to his house.
“I am, but you love me” beamed the younger.
And truth to be told, he did love him. Not the kind of friendly or brotherly love, but the one where you want to hold hands, to kiss, to spend every second, every minute, every hour with them. Where you want to be the reason of their happiness. And so Jimin was willing to watch the sequel of a movie he didn't even saw, because he knew it was horror, and he hated horror movies. Everything for the smile that would make butterflies fly inside him and make his heart race like it was about to pop-out of his chest.
“It wasn't good like the other ones” complained Taehyung, while they exited the cinema and Jimin was still wiping away some tears that he couldn't keep in.
“I don't care. I won't watch another horror movie ever in my life” Jimin whined loudly and a few people turned to him. One of them laughed and Jimin blushed, recognizing him as the guy who was seated near him that snickered every time he screamed in absolute terror.
Taehyung placed an arm on Jimin shoulders and looked threateningly at the guy that dared to laugh and walked away. They walked like this until they reached Jimin's house. Jimin didn't even realized they arrived, his mind was to busy thinking about the fact that probably they looked like a couple and that Taehyung was so warm and that he smelled so nice and that-
“You’re parents aren't home tonight right?” Asked Taehyung detaching himself from Jimin, and the latter was about to complain when Taehyung spoke again. “Can you sleep on your own or you’ll cry like a baby?”.
“I don't cry like a baby. It's just that when I’m scared water start fall from my eyes. I don't cry” answered Jimin stomping his foot.
“Sure you don't” giggled Taehyung. They bickered some more and then, all of a sudden, the air got tense. Jimin looked at Taehyung, but soon he diverted his gaze because Taehyung was looking at him too intensely. It wasn't the first time it happened lately and he should have been used to it, instead every time his heart would race fast like ever.
“I’ll sleep with you tonight, to make up to you” he said from nothing, then he looked at the door waiting for Jimin to open it.
Jimin opened it, still dizzy for before and walked blankly towards his room and got ready to sleep giving Taehyung one of his shirts and pants. Only when they were under the cover and ready to sleep, Jimin realized something.
“Don't you dare scare me Kim Taehyung!” scolded Jimin, but even if he said that, he was grateful that Taehyung was sleeping with him, because the house was too dark and too silent. And against everything he could have done, Taehyung did the only thing Jimin wasn't ready for. He hugged him (spooned, actually).
“W-what are you doing?” Jimin asked warily, trying to remember that they were just friends. Taehyung was giving him a hard time that evening.
“I’m protecting you” stated Taehyung, his hot breath hit the back of Jimin neck and made him shiver.
“I don't need it” answered Jimin, even if all his senses were on alert at every single unidentifiable noise.
“Why are you trembling then?”
Jimin was scared to death, that was true, still, he was sure he wasn't trembling. But the feeling of Taehyung so close to him, hugging him, the feeling of his warm body against him, was something that maybe could never happen again. If Taehyung hugged him thinking that he was trembling, then so it was.
“I’m happy you're a scaredy-cat. Aren't you happy too?” Taehyung suddenly asked, breaking the silence and the slumber Jimin fell into and leaving him shocked. Who was happy to be a scaredy-cat?
When all his friends (well, aside from Jung Hoseok, but he was afraid even of his shadow) wanted to watch horror movies, but he couldn't watch them knowing that he would spend the night with his eyes open wide and the little lamp in his nightstand on. Jimin was surely not happy about it.
“Next time too, let’s go watch another horror” suggested Taehyung.
“I don't want to” cried Jimin, unintentionally gripping tight Taehyung’s hand that was resting on his stomach.
“Yes, we will. When will I be able to hold you like this?” Taehyung said the last words almost to himself, but Jimin heard them. For a moment he wasn't sure of what he heard: Taehyung wanted to hug him? That was not possible, right?
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just what I said” answered, after some minutes he continued “but if you don't like it, tell me. I don't want to make you uncomfortable”.
Now or never Jimin thought. He spent too much time with this crush, he needed to put a stop to it, hopefully with a happy ending, but if not, he was ready to let it go and remain friend.
“It's not that. It's just that for me it has a different meaning”.
“What meaning?”
“I like you”
“Well, I like you too!”
“Not like that” Jimin sighed. Taehyung was a smart guy, always getting high scores without putting too much effort in his studies, but now he was being too dense. “I like like you. I want to hold your hands and kiss you and exchange all those tooth-rotting little nothings couples say. I like you in that way” explained Jimin, letting go of months, years of repressed feelings.
“That's good, ‘cause I like you like that too. I would've held your hand before, but I like the way you fit under my arm that I couldn't resist” replied Taehyung. Jimin heart was now beating like never before and he was starting to feel too hot. Taehyung turned Jimin to face him, their lips were merely centimeters apart and they could breath each other in. “You don't know how much I wanted to kiss you earlier, but I was afraid of your reaction. Now that I know what you want, like hell I’ll stop”.
Without missing a beat Taehyung kissed Jimin, slowly and softly. Jimin didn't realized what was happening until he felt Taehyung's lips on his and, like an involuntary reflex, kissed back.
The kiss was too short and when Taehyung broke it, Jimin let out an unsatisfied noise. “Now that I think about it” said Taehyung “I made a huge mistake”.
Once Jimin registered those words he felt the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. For Taehyung kissing him was a mistake, what did he hoped for? He felt so dumb for thinking that something could have happened between them.
“I don't like you”.
Here it comes, the rejection.
“I definitely love you”.
Wait...what?
“You!” Jimin started crying and laughing at the same time. “Oh god!” he said hitting Taehyung. “I was afraid” another hit. “That you didn't like” another hit. “Me!” another hit, more powerful then the previous ones.
Taehyung laughed and gripped Jimin's hands to still him. “Ouch! Ok, ok. I'm sorry Jiminie. How can I not like you?” he said and kissed him as an apology.
“Don't do this to me ever again” muttered Jimin hugging Taehyung. “Ok, I'm sorry” replied Taehyung, hugging him back.
“Now you can hug me without excuses” said Jimin, after some time of silence.
“You're right” agreed Taehyung, squeezing tightly Jimin into his arms.
“So there's no need to go watch other horror movies” tried Jimin, hoping that Taehyung would be discouraged.
“No way! You're too cute when you're scared” exclaimed Taehyung.
Obviously that wouldn't work. Jimin started to prepare himself to live in terror, but at least he had someone to hold onto.