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Jungkook is a smart boy (he is!), but he was just five years old. There were bound to be things that he didn’t understand—like, where do babies come from? His Papa had always told him that babies were delivered to their houses by storks. Storks! Jungkook’s a smart boy, and he doesn’t fully believe that story because, really, didn’t his Papa understand? Storks can’t carry babies—they’re too small, and babies are heavy and breakable. It’s dangerous, is what it is.
“Ah, really, is that so?” His Papa had said, his funny looking fingers running through his golden hair—Jungkook wants golden hair, too, when he grows up. He wonders if he’ll look like his Papa, too. That’d be nice.
Jungkook had nodded then, very, very sure of his own observation. “So where do babies come from, Papa? Don’t lie! Storks are too small to carry fat babies.”
His Papa had laughed, before reaching out to take Jungkook’s small little hands in his. Jungkook looked up at his Papa, and he almost wanted to cry because his Papa suddenly looked sad, like how he did when he was watching those boring TV shows about love, or something.
“Papa, are you okay?” Jungkook asked softly, pulling his hands free and cupping his Papa’s cheeks, squeezing them to try and make his Papa make a wacky face.
He laughed, before tapping Jungkook on the nose. “Of course, I am, love—but since you’re so curious about babies, I’ll tell you where you came from. How’s that sound?”
Jungkook’s eyes widened, his hands slapping over his mouth as he stares up at his Papa. Jungkook had always been curious about this certain topic. At school, his classmates had Mommies, and Jungkook’s not quite sure what that is. What is a Mommy? He only had his Papa, and his Grammy—and Joonie!—so Jungkook’s not really sure. Maybe that Mommy has something to do with babies, too?
“A stork didn’t bring you to our house, Jungkookie. You see, I really wanted a little angel like you,” at this, his Papa lunged forward and Jungkook was too slow to escape his Papa’s tickle attacks, “so I wished hard for you. Usually, storks really bring babies, but you were such a big baby boy, so the biggest, strongest stork they had couldn’t carry you. So…”
Jungkook looked at him, who had suddenly stopped talking. He had that look on his face again, the one he had when he watched those boring love shows. Jungkook tugged on his hand, and his Papa looked down at him. Jungkook squeezed his hand gently. “So?”
His Papa smiled, kissing him on the cheek loudly. “So, a special delivery had to be done. A nice lady came by. She…the nice lady gave me to you, but she had to leave as soon as she came. She was…busy, she said. She wanted to see you grow up because she did carry you, you know? But the nice lady had other things to do, so…she left you with me—the only baby boy I could ever wish for. My own, cute little Jungkookie!”
Jungkook beamed at the explanation. He liked it. It was the truth. His Papa doesn’t lie, ever. It’s a bummer, though, that the nice lady who carried him to his Papa’s house wasn’t able to watch her grow up, but it’s okay. She probably had other babies to deliver, anyway—and besides, Jungkook was perfectly happy with his Papa, Grammy, and Joonie.
Speaking of Joonie—
“Papa,” Jungkook started, grabbing his Papa’s hand into his tiny little hands and lifting it up to his face, “what’s this shiny thing on your finger? Joonie has one, too.”
His Papa smiled widely then, but before he could answer, the door to Jungkook’s bedroom quietly opened. A familiar deep voice wafted inside, and Jungkook was soon scrambling off of his Papa’s lap to welcome—
“Joonie!”
Joonie immediately crouched down, arms opened wide. Jungkook launched himself into Joonie’s waiting arms, laughing excitedly when the tall man lifted him up and nuzzled kisses onto his cheeks. Joonie’s kisses were one of Jungkook’s favorite things. They made him feel so special and loved and warm (but of course, his Papa’s kisses were the best). He wrapped his arms around Joonie’s neck so he wouldn’t fall off as Joonie adjusted him, letting him rest against one hip.
His Papa stood up from Jungkook’s bed and slowly came over, easily melting into Joonie’s side. Jungkook grinned at them. The sad look on his Papa’s face never appeared when Joonie was with them. Joonie made his Papa really happy, and Jungkook liked him for it.
“Joonie, what’s the shiny thing you and Papa have on your fingers?” Jungkook asked again, suddenly reminded of his previous question when his Papa lifted a hand up to fix Joonie’s hair, said shiny thing catching Jungkook’s attention.
“Oh—the rings?” Joonie asked, sharing a look with his Papa before glancing at Jungkook again.
“Rings? Oh! I thought only girls wore shiny things like that,” Jungkook mumbled, tilting his head in question.
Joonie laughed softly, ruffling Jungkook’s hair in response. “No, kiddo—the rings that I and Seokjin have are different! These, uh…”
His Papa decided to answer, then. With his arms wrapped around Joonie, head resting on his shoulder (like how they always do—Jungkook likes seeing them like that), he smiled up at Jungkook.
“You give a ring to the person you love, Jungkookie. You give it to the person you want to be with forever,” his Papa said softly, like each word he uttered was a secret, and Jungkook found himself leaning in to take in every word.
“So…should I get a ring for Papa and Joonie? I want to be with Papa and Joonie forever,” he asked, and he doesn’t know why Joonie looked like he was going to cry. His Papa slapped Joonie’s arm to make him stop, and Jungkook just waited for an answer.
“Oh, Kookie, that’s so sweet of you! But you don’t have to give us rings—we’ll be with you forever, yeah? During your whole life, you can only give one ring, you see? I’ve given mine to Joonie, because I love him, and I want to be with him forever,” his Papa finished, his cheeks slightly turning redder than usual.
Joonie hugged Jungkook closer, kissing his cheek again. “And I’ve given my ring to Seokjin, your Papa, because I love him, too, and there’s no other person I want to be with forever. So, Jungkook-ah, you have to look real hard for that one person you want to be with—you haven’t met them now, but, you know, when you grow up you will! I’m sure you’ll find someone great, kiddo.”
Jungkook nodded, but—Joonie and his Papa were wrong.
There was already someone he wanted to be with forever.
“Hyung, of course we’ll be there! We wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Jungkook had been sitting on the floor of their living room, playing with his little puppy Cloud when Chimchim and Yoonyoon had arrived, bearing gifts for him, his Papa, and Joonie. Chimchim was one of his favorite people in the world next to his Papa and Joonie. His skin looked darker than usual, and so did Yoonyoon’s. Jungkook doesn’t know why, but maybe it has something to do with the stuffed dolphin toy Yoonyoon had given him upon entering their house.
His Papa and Joonie had then pulled the two aside, whispering excitedly about a wedding and invitation. Jungkook doesn’t understand, but his Papa was suddenly crying when Chimchim agreed to whatever it was. His Papa didn’t look sad, though, so Jungkook stayed seated on the floor, watching with curious wide eyes as Chimchim continued talking to him and Joonie, occasionally petting his Papa’s golden hair (Jungkook really wants golden hair when he grows up).
Jungkook doesn’t know when, but when he looked to his side, Yoonyoon was already sitting beside him, playing with Cloud and watching Jungkook with a smile on his face.
“What’s up, Kook-ah?” He scooted closer to Jungkook, and Jungkook shrugged, hugging the stuffed dolphin closer to his chest.
“Nothing. Why’s Papa crying, Yoonyoon? What’s a wedding?” Jungkook suddenly gasped, hands coming up to his cheeks as shock flooded his system. “Is it a bad thing?! Is that why Papa’s crying?”
Yoonyoon suddenly laughed, making Chimchim and Jungkook’s Papa look at them. Yoonyoon waved his hand, and Chimchim shrugged before turning back to his previous conversation. Jungkook watched as Yoonyoon reached over to pull him onto his lap, Cloud long forgotten as the little ball of fur curled up into a ball to sleep.
Jungkook adjusted himself to a more comfortable position on Yoonyoon’s lap, looking up at him as the older man prepared himself to say something.
“Weddings aren’t bad, Kook-ah. They’re actually really, really nice,” Yoonyoon started, “and your Papa and Namjoon are going to get married. That means they’ll be together forever, so you shouldn’t be worried, alright, kid?”
Jungkook nodded, because Yoonyoon wasn’t a liar, and he liked Yoonyoon. He’s like, a superhero, only no powers, but Jungkook still likes him. “Okay. So Papa’s happy? He’s just being weird by crying?”
Yoonyoon chuckled breathlessly, but nodded his head, glancing up at Chimchim briefly before looking back down at Jungkook. “Hey. Can I tell you a secret?”
Jungkook’s eyes practically sparkled. Yoonyoon was going to tell him a secret! Secrets are only shared between best friends, right? Jungkook only shares secrets with Taetae, and Taetae was his best friend and neighbor. Yoonyoon must think of him as his best friend, too. “Of course, Yoonyoon!”
Suddenly, he leaned closer to whisper secretively into Jungkook’s ear. “Don’t tell anyone else, okay? It’s our secret.” When Jungkook nodded, Yoonyoon hummed in approval. “You can’t tell Chimchim, okay? I’m going to ask him to marry me. Soon. We’ll have our own wedding, too, hopefully, like your Papa and Joonie.”
Jungkook could feel his eyes widen in surprise as he gasped, and he squirmed around so he was facing Yoonyoon properly. “So you want to be with Chimchim forever? Then you should get Chimchim a ring, too! Papa and Joonie told me that you should give a ring to the person you want to be with forever.”
Yoonyoon smiled softly at him, and Jungkook blinked curiously at him. “I’ve had the ring with me for a while now, smarty pants. I just…haven’t been able to give it. Do you think Chimchim wants to be with me, too? Forever, I mean?”
Oh, no. Yoonyoon was starting to have that weird look on his face, too—the sad, watching-boring-love-shows face. Jungkook will not allow that, not on his watch. Against Yoonyoon’s efforts to keep him seated on his lap, Jungkook scrambled away from him, crawling across the floor and latching on to Chimchim’s leg. Chimchim squeaked in surprise, looking down at Jungkook.
“Wh—Kookie? What’s up? Weren’t you whispering and being suspicious over there with Yoongi-hyung?” Chimchim lifted him up onto his lap by his armpits, and Jungkook could see Yoonyoon looking as white as a ghost. Not that he’d ever seen a ghost, but his Papa had used that expression a lot of times.
“Yeah,” Jungkook answered, letting Chimchim pat his hair.
“Then why’d you suddenly crawl over here? Was Yoonyoon being mean?”
Jungkook shook his head furiously, before suddenly reaching out and squeezing Chimchim’s cheeks. They’re really soft, and Jungkook likes touching them. Chimchim should never lose them.
“Chimchim, may I ask you something?”
Jimin nodded, eyes flitting over to Yoonyoon and Jungkook’s Papa before settling back on Jungkook’s face. “Hm, of course.”
“Do you want to be with Yoonyoon forever and ever?”
Silence washed over the people in the room. Chimchim’s cheeks started warming up under Jungkook’s hands, and Jungkook wondered if Chimchim was suddenly growing sick before Chimchim carefully, shyly nodded his head. Jungkook beamed brightly, happy for his other best friend.
“Good!”
Jungkook turned around so that his back was pressed against Chimchim’s soft tummy, snuggling back against it and making grabby hands at his forgotten stuffed dolphin. A very red-faced Yoonyoon quietly handed it to him, and Jungkook smiled at him. Yoonyoon only rolled his eyes, refusing to meet Chimchim’s eyes. Weird—but still, Jungkook was happy.
His Papa and Joonie were going to be together forever, and now his two other favorite people were going to be together forever, too. Jungkook liked the idea very much. He wonders how it’d feel to know that the person you want to be with forever, would also want to be with you forever. He can’t wait to find out.
It was one of the most stressful days of Seokjin’s life, and this was coming from him—the Kim Seokjin who had raised Jungkook all by himself until the little angel was three years old (he’d met Namjoon around that time, and soon, his little dates with Jungkook had seen the permanent and welcome addition of a certain Kim Namjoon). Jimin was going to kill him for stressing the hell out, but he can’t help it. How can he even do that? It was his wedding.
Holy shit. It was the day of his wedding. With Namjoon. His Kim Namjoon.
Seokjin can feel his nerves starting to freak out again, and oh boy, this wasn’t good. He was going to start sweating, and the makeup that Jimin had so painstakingly forced on him was going to run or cake or whatever the fuck makeup did with sweat, and Jimin was going to kill him and oh my god it’s my wedding day—
“Alright, hyung, please stop freaking out.”
Seokjin snapped his head up, the door to his dressing room opening and letting in a very handsome-looking Park Jimin wearing a dark blue tuxedo. Seokjin can feel his nerves calming down a bit, but the smile on Jimin’s face just had him feeling Emotions.
Before he teared up, Jimin was by his side already, shaking him. “Please don’t cry, oh my god, please don’t! Save it for the altar!”
Seokjin scrunched his eyes tightly, Jimin’s fingers digging into his arms, the closest thing to an anchor he had at the moment. When he opened his eyes again, Jimin was staring at him. Seokjin inhaled sharply, and slowly breathed out through his nose. Jimin’s shoulders slouched in relief.
“There we go. Don’t cry, okay? Joon-hyung’s already freaking out, please. We don’t need both grooms to be sobbing messes in there,” Jimin teased, laughing softly when Seokjin frowned, “but really, calm down. It’s just Joon-hyung—your Kim Namjoon. Just be yourself, walk down there, and you’ll be perfect. Like how you always are, Jin-hyung.”
Seokjin continued staring at Jimin nervously before nodding his head. Jimin smiled, letting Seokjin’s shoulders go and proceeding to dust his best friend’s white tux. Jimin hummed softly to himself, reaching up to fix a stray golden lock of Seokjin’s.
“Uhm—is Jungkook okay now? Does he know what he’s going to do?” Seokjin asked, if only to break the silence in the room. It was making him nervous again.
“Hm, yeah. We told him to just bring the rings up to you guys when the organizer tells him to,” Jimin stepped back, looking Seokjin up and down before nodding curtly to himself, obviously approving of Seokjin’s appearance.
“Oh, okay. Okay. Cool. Uh,” Seokjin breathed out, shoving his hands into his pant pockets and balling his fists. He was so nervous.
Jimin reached out, grabbing Seokjin’s wrist and tugging him along. “Come on, hyung. Joon-hyung’s waiting.”
“Taetae, do you know what a wedding is?”
Taehyung looked away from the man on the altar to look at Jungkook, who was sitting beside him and staring up at him with wide eyes as his legs dangled from the chair, the tips of his shiny black tiny shoes barely reaching the floor. With a smile, he nodded at Jungkook.
“Yeah, I know what it is. Do you know what it is, Kookie?”
At this, Jungkook visibly brightened up, chest puffing out as he nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, yeah! It’s what you, uhm, do when you have someone you want to be together with forever.”
“Wow, our Jungkookie’s so smart! I just thought it was like, a birthday party for adults,” Taehyung said seriously, enjoying the smile that seemed to threaten to split Jungkook’s cute fluffy cheeks.
“Yeah, I’m smart! Papa always tells me so, and Papa doesn’t lie,” Jungkook said, scooting closer to Taehyung so that there wasn’t any space between them.
Taehyung hummed to himself quietly as the ceremony played out. Honestly, he wasn’t getting any of it. A lot of deep words were being used, and beside him, Jungkook was starting to doze off. Taehyung’s butt was starting to feel numb from the hard chair. He looked up at his parents and at his Yoongi-hyung sitting beside them, but they were all focused on what was happening at the front. Taehyung tried to focus, too, but nothing interesting was happening. His Hoseok-hyung and Jimin-hyung looked so serious, and Jungkook’s Papa and Joon-hyung looked like they were ready to cry. Taehyung had nothing to do to make time go faster.
Except…
“Jungkook-ah, look,” Taehyung mumbled, turning to his side.
He watched as Jungkook snapped his head up, blinking away his sleepiness. When the younger boy looked at his face, he let out a shushed peal of laughter. Taehyung grinned. Jungkook always loved it when he made funny faces, and Taehyung would do anything to make the little boy laugh.
Taehyung’s mom sneaked in a gentle pinch to his thigh to make him stop, but Taehyung only scooted farther away from her, making weird faces at Jungkook and whispering funny stories from school. Jungkook couldn’t stop smiling and giggling, eyes crinkled up at the corners as he stared up at Taehyung with wide, bright eyes, completely enthralled.
Ah, Taehyung really loves Jungkook.
The wedding, so far, had gone on without a hitch.
Everything was perfect—Seokjin looked as dashing as always, his beauty magnified tenfold by the matching cream and white suit they had chosen for their wedding. The officiant and organizer had been nothing but amiable throughout the whole ceremony. Their friends had been embarrassing at first (Yoongi and Hoseok threatening to steal the microphones so they could dedicate a song to the couple—god, no), but were now pretty behaved. Taehyung, Jungkook’s best friend and the son of their next door neighbor, were also present.
They were already at the giving of the rings part of the wedding, and Jungkook, their adorable little ring bearer, was currently standing at the other end of the aisle, velvet cushion placed atop his tiny hands. The black velvet boxes of their wedding rings sat innocently on the pillow.
So far, the wedding had gone on without a hitch, but—
“Jungkookie, the rings!”
Namjoon felt like punching his own face in when Jimin stage-whispered from beside Seokjin. Hoseok, his own best man, snorted into his hands loudly, and even Seokjin cracked a smile.
But Jungkook just stayed rooted to his spot. What scared Namjoon wasn’t his refusal to move, but rather the calculating gaze he was giving the rings. The little boy suddenly snapped his head up, and his little feet started moving across the aisle, determination glinting in his big doe eyes. Namjoon released a sigh of relief, but proceeded to choke on his own oxygen when Jungkook, upon reaching the front seats, turned to the right and headed to Taehyung’s spot, completely ignoring him and Seokjin.
The seven year old looked alarmed as Jungkook stopped in front of him. Jungkook grabbed the boxes on top of the pillow, and carefully placed one of them on Taehyung’s lap. Taehyung parents were also shocked into stillness, as was the rest of the guests. Jungkook slowly clambered on to the seat, sitting down comfortably beside Taehyung.
“Taetae, Papa and Joonie already have rings, so I’m giving one of these to you! Because I love playing with you, and I hate it when Papa or Joonie tell me that it’s time for you to go home and you leave me alone at my house, and I always miss you, and-and I love playing with you! So does Cloud—so I’m giving you a ring so I can stay with you forever,” Jungkook explained hastily, beaming up at a very surprised, very confused but blushing, happy Taehyung.
A beat of silence passed. Hoseok was the first one to break it, doubling over in laughter and slapping his knee at the pure innocence of Jungkook’s actions. Yoongi, sitting beside Taehyung’s parents, was also cackling like a mad man, hand covering his mouth as he tried his best to not laugh (which he was obviously failing at, what an ass). Standing beside Seokjin, Jimin looked conflicted between punching his cackling boyfriend, kneeing Hoseok in the gut so that he’ll stay doubled over, or letting himself laugh, as well. Namjoon just wanted the day to be over with.
When he looked at Seokjin, expecting his soon-to-be husband to give him a weak glare for not properly explaining to Jungkook his role, he was pleasantly surprised to see the man giving him a smile so full of adoration and love. Namjoon just about melted right then and there. Seokjin reached a hand out, lacing their fingers together.
At that same moment, Jimin finally stepped away from the altar to try and fix Jungkook’s cute mistake, and as the wedding organizer and some of the guests helped him explain to a very confused Jungkook and Taehyung that the rings weren’t giveaways but were, in fact, expensive and vital elements of the wedding, Namjoon only had eyes on Seokjin.
Seokjin—beautiful, perfect Kim Seokjin—smiling at him sweetly, fingers running circles on his palm. A smile turned up the corners of his lips even higher, amusement glinting in his eyes. “Well—we did tell him those things, didn’t we?”
Namjoon laughed softly, squeezing Seokjin’s hand in his. “Yeah. We did—give a ring to the person you love, to the person you want to be with forever. Right?”
“Exactly.”
Namjoon leaned a bit closer, locking gazes with Seokjin. “I can’t wait to give you one, Jin.”
Seokjin’s eyes disappeared into crescents as he smiled, giggles escaping his lips softly. With a gentle squeeze of their hands, fingers still laced together, Seokjin nodded his head. “Me, too. No takebacks?”
Namjoon laughed, just as Jimin took his spot beside Seokjin once again. Jungkook was standing again at the other end of the aisle, an embarrassed pout on his face as he stomped down the aisle slowly to the beat of the piano playing in the background. Namjoon leaned away to resume their previous positions, and with a wink directed at Seokjin, he shook his head fondly.
“No takebacks.”