Archive of Our Own

conversation had always come easy to jimin. apparently, jeongguk wasn't as fortunate.

he had invited him inside for a cup of coffee, and through the whole ordeal, jeongguk was stuttering and stumbling and it almost made jimin feel bad for him.

"so, you're in university, right?" jimin smiled, handing jeongguk his mug of coffee with a little 'here you go' and a 'thank you' in return.

"um, uh- yes", was his hasty reply, "yes, i am."

the entire conversation had 'um's and 'ah's scattered through it like sprinkles on ice cream. jeongguk stumbled over words and had to restart and rearrange sentences more than once. jimin found out so much about jeongguk though, he found out that he was older than jeongguk by two years and that jeongguk had a rather overbearing mother and that jeongguk adopted his cat from a shelter because when he was petting skittles, the cat was shy but had gently licked the underside of his wrist, so jeongguk immediately assumed they were soulmates for life and beyond. jimin talked about himself too, it just seemed so easy to talk about his family and school and his friends to jeongguk, it felt like they had met before, as if they were best friends in a past life. he also found that the longer they talked for, the less frequently he stuttered and the softer the shade of pink his cheeks flushed.

cute. the only word jimin could think of to describe jeongguk was cute.

well, of course he was cute the moment he opened the front door to see jimin standing at his doorstep the day he moved in. he was shirtless, jimin would never ever forget that wonderful sight, but his hair was a mess and his face pink, mouth parted and eyes shut sleepily. jimin had found himself laughing while thinking about their previous interactions more than once. like that time he caught him checking the mail in sesame street print pyjamas and when jeongguk's dildo was accidentally delivered to his address instead of the other boy's, the latter made him flush a deep red as well.

but with the younger boy sitting across from him at his kitchen counter, both hands wrapped around a mug he was slowly sipping from and with his cat resting in his lap, quietly dozing off, jimin found him so endearing that he wanted to cover him with little kisses and call him his. it seemed that jeongguk had caught him staring, he looked up from his drink after noticing the cease of conversation.

"jimin?" when he spoke quietly, he sounded so small and adorable.

"hm?"

"why are you looking at me like that?"

because you are literally the cutest thing on the earth, but you're also tall and hot, but so cute. oh my god, let me hold your hand and kiss you and marry you and adopt three more cats and cuddle until the end of time.

"no reason", jimin grinned at jeongguk's flushed face.

-

[3:22PM] from kitten enthusiast: jimin

[3:22PM] from kitten enthusiast: jimin r u home??

[3:23PM] from kitten enthusiast: help pls

[3:23PM] from kitten enthusiast: jimin!!!!!!!

[3:23PM] from kitten enthusiast: this is important

[3:23PM] from kitten enthusiast: oh my god pls

jimin was surprised to hear his phone go off with his message notification a multitude of times in before he could even look at it. reading the notifications, jimin was 20% confused and 80% alarmed.

[3:24PM] to kitten enthusiast: ??? are you okay???

the typing bubble popped up immediately after the message was checked as read.

[3:24PM] from kitten enthusiast: pls come over like rn pls jimin

jimin wasn't going to lie, his heart rate picked up a little as he replied with a short 'ok' and pocketed his phone and keys. he had been over to jeongguk's place a few times after having coffee together and jeongguk had come over to his pretty often as well. sometimes, he would spend the whole time over at jimin's with his cat and whenever he even looked like he was tempted to tease jeongguk about it, the younger would rush to defend himself with a loud 'it's not my fault skittles likes you better!'

he half-jogged up the familiar pathway, just hoping this wasn't a prank and he wasn't going to have a bucket of mayo poured over his head. when he reached the door, it flew open before jimin could lift his arm to reach for the doorbell. there was a big blur and all of a sudden there was a big pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and a broad body pressed against his back.

"jeongguk? wh-wha-", jimin swallowed as jeongguk nuzzled his face into jimin's shoulder. he fought the heat that had started to creep up his neck, "are you alright? what- what happened?"

just as fast as he had wrapped himself around jimin, he detangled himself from him and spun jimin to face him before the older boy could even miss the contact. his expression was serious, sullen. clearly, what he was about to tell jimin was no laughing matter.

"i need to ask you a massive favour."

-

"it moved!"

"jeongguk, please stop screaming."

"it's moving, jimin! get it! quickly!"

"if you quit yelling, maybe this would be easier", jimin called from the left side of jeongguk's bedroom, the taller boy choosing to stand just outside and cautiously sticking just his head inside to screech and distract jimin from the task he himself had assigned the other.

"but jimin-"

jimin shushed him quickly, leaning forward slowly, a small plastic bowl in his right hand, arm held high and ready to lurch forward. jimin was close to sweating with the amount of concentration he required to time this correctly. it twitched, started to move up the wall, but before it could move any further, jimin leaped forth, the sound of the bowl hitting the plastered wall resonating around the room. upon confirming that he was containing it between the wall and the bowl, he shouted in triumph.

"did you get it? did you get it? did you get it?" jeongguk jumped into the room, peeking at the wall from the safety of his position behind jimin's back.

"yes, jeongguk, i got it", jimin huffed out a laugh as jeongguk let out a loud whoop and threw his hands in the air, rushing off after jimin asked him to find a piece of cardboard to slip under the bowl.

-

"i never expected you to be afraid of spiders", jimin mentioned offhandedly after coming back inside, the arachnid now living free somewhere in jeongguk's back garden. "you interrupted my homework because of a little spider", amusement laced his features as jeongguk flushed only slightly, pretending to busy himself by pouring coffee for the both of them.

"it was not a little spider, jimin", he sighed, adding sugar to his mug, "it was gigantic, if i hadn't asked you to come over, it probably would have eaten my face."

jimin rolled his eyes. jeongguk sure had a flair for the dramatic.

"right. good thing i was home, huh?" a hum of agreement from jeongguk. "i guess i'm your hero for the day, then."

"no", jeongguk immediately replied, making jimin startle as he made his way over to the kitchen counter jeongguk was situated at. "you're going to be my hero everyday, so if there's ever another creepy crawly trying to attack me, i can call you."

jimin laughed disbelievingly as he sat at one of the tall stools and accepted the mug jeongguk offered him. the coffee was rich and smooth, the taste lingered on his tongue and warmed his chest. jeongguk made great coffee, he made a mental note to ask what instant coffee brand jeongguk bought later on.

"that's a big responsibility, being your hero", jimin took another sip and jeongguk nodded his head sagely, eyes shut as he drank from his own mug. the older didn't want to admit the thought of being jeongguk's own personal 'hero' made his heart speed up and the corners of his mouth twitch. if you listened carefully, you could hear enrique iglesias singing in the distance.

i would love to.

"i think i can handle it."

-

"am i being delusional?" jimin rubbed the nape of his neck, looking up to make eye contact. "i really like him, but i have no idea how he feels about me. i'm not really sure what we are, i reckon we've gotten past just being friendly neighbours, are we friends though?" jimin raised his eyebrows and hesitated, "no, yeah, i think we're definitely at least friends. but are we more? are we not? we flirt all the time. what are we?" he fiddled with his fringe, "i think i should talk to him about this or i'll just get more and more confused", he paused, "but i can't just start talking about that, oh my god, i would make everything awkward! he'd never want to talk to me again!"

jimin turned away to run his hands down his face.

"why is this so hard? can't he just tell me if he likes me?" he turned back to look at the little brown bird sitting on his bedroom window sill, "thanks for listening, though, it was really helpful."

his little friend flew away just as jimin's phone went off with a message notification.

"see you later", jimin sarcastically called after the bird, shutting his window and picking up his phone from his bedside table. he was still in his sleeping sweatpants, baggy t-shirt hanging off his shoulders and hair sticking out in every direction after waking up.

[10:12AM] from kitten enthusiast: hey u up?

jimin's reply came at a rapid speed.

[10:12AM] to kitten enthusiast: yeah hi what's up

he was about to feel embarrassed about how eager he sounded to be talking to jeongguk, but it ebbed away after seeing his message being read immediately and the typing bubble appearing seconds later.

[10:13AM] from kitten enthusiast: r u free this afternoon? wanna hang out?

[10:13AM] from kitten enthusiast: we can go to my fav cafe

[10:14AM] from kitten enthusiast: if ur cool w that i mean

jimin almost dropped his phone. he let out an inhuman noise as he leaped onto his bed, bouncing around it on his knees as he shook his hands around, trying to rid himself of the giddiness taking over his body. jeongguk wanted to hang out with him, he wanted to take him to his favourite cafe, jimin was going to have a heart attack. he could feel the smile start to consume his face as a noise reminiscent to a squeak threatened to leave his throat. he didn't feel butterflies in his stomach, more like a family of hummingbirds.

[10:20AM] to kitten enthusiast: yeah sure, i think i'm free (-:

he pressed send before he could chicken out and backspace the response. was the smiley face too much? did he seem too desperate? he came close to ripping out his own hair while waiting for a response from the other end. when it didn't come right away, jimin was convinced he did something wrong. right when he was deciding the smiley face was at fault, his thoughts were interrupted by a message notification.

[10:25AM] from kitten enthusiast: cool

[10:25AM] from kitten enthusiast: pick u up around 12?

jimin had to check his pulse on his neck to make sure he was still alive.

-

jeongguk started blushing when jimin opened his front door. jimin had just spent about an hour making himself look all pretty for their date- um- to hang out. his sweat pants and t-shirt were gone and he was wearing these tight acid-washed jeans with rips across the thighs and a navy bomber jacket, a subtle hint of smudged eyeliner and he had styled his hair back. (he would never admit he had spent about fifteen minutes attempting to make his hairstyle look effortless when in fact, it required a painful amount of effort.)

"hi", jimin smiled, trying not to sound breathless, (he had definitely not sprinted to the door when he heard jeongguk coming).

"hi", jeongguk grinned back, his eyes, much to jimin's satisfaction, scanned up and down his body. "l-let's go?"

jimin could feel jeongguk's regular awkwardness rolling off of him in waves.

"yep!" jimin beamed at him again and followed the younger to his car.

-

the car ride was relaxed and calming, peaceful, jeongguk's small car fitting the both of them perfectly.

"you think i'm pretty", they yelled over the music in unison as jeongguk drove, "without any makeup on", jimin turned to jeongguk, holding his phone up to his mouth as if it were a microphone while jeongguk did the same with his hand, one hand on the wheel, "you think i'm funny when i tell the punchline wrong."

jeongguk turned to jimin when they stopped at a red light, yelling passionately into his air mic, "i know you get me, so i let me walls come down, down", he squeezed his eyes shut, the last notes sounding more like a screech.

jeongguk continued to drive when the light changed, jimin couldn't help the laughter spilling out of him as jeongguk yelled the lyrics to the rest of the verse. jimin yelled right along with him when he caught his breath back, the pair of them screaming along to katy perry in jeongguk's little grey car.

jimin's face was a little red from shouting, jeongguk's car wasn't the fastest and he did have a few empty juice bottles and a wrapper or two lying around, but jimin decided that moment in time could very well be the highlight of his day. he near shamelessly stared at jeongguk, his eyes on the road, one hand on the steering wheel and the other still making a fist, pretending to hold a microphone that wasn't there. jimin had almost instantly noticed the way jeongguk's eyes slanted down slightly and his eyelids crinkled whenever he smiled really big, teeth showing and nose scrunched up. jimin really liked that smile, he liked it a lot. he liked jeongguk a lot, really. he liked everything about him, especially his company.

jimin realised that whether it was driving down to jeongguk's favourite cafe while shouting trashy pop lyrics or lounging around while skittles walked all over jimin's tummy or taking naps in jeongguk's living room or going out for milkshakes when it's almost midnight and jimin had homework to do, there was nobody jimin enjoyed spending time with more than jeongguk.

yes, jimin really liked jeongguk. he smiled as jeongguk urged him to join in on his singing as the second chorus started, cheeks bunched, smile wide and eyes sparkling like crystal water reflecting the sky at nighttime. so he did, he yelled with jeongguk at the top of his lungs, like there wasn't a single bad thing that could happen to him, like he was weightless. they weaved through roads and buildings like a needle stitching into fabric, the sun hung high in the sky, casting shadows over the both of them, warming their arms and legs. as jeongguk yelled the last few lines of teenage dream, jimin wished, hoped, jeongguk really liked him back.

-

the cafe jeongguk led him into was a little small, but open and hospitable, high ceiling and large storefront windows let the sunlight spill in and create pools of warmth. it smelled strongly of coffee and frosting, the white walls had pictures and paintings hung up. the display case had all sorts of baked goods, including an assortment of cupcakes decorated to look like bears, that immediately caught jimin's attention. he followed the younger into a booth in the corner, sitting across from each other as they read the big chalkboard menus hanging over the front counter from where they were sitting. there weren't that many people in the cafe, just a few people who looked to be university students on their laptops and a mother with her child closer to the front.

"what would you like? i'll go up and buy everything at once", jeongguk said quietly, eyes still trained on the boards. jimin eyed the side of his face, jeongguk had always had such a striking jawline, jimin urged himself to reply before he could get caught staring.

"um, i'll just have an iced mocha", jimin chose a random drink off the menu board, almost forgetting to add "and one of those little bear cupcakes that are on display."

"oh, those are my favourite", jeongguk turned to grin at him. jimin resisted the urge to express how unsurprised he was. "cute, aren't they? i was hoping you'd like them, they remind me of you."

oh, shit. fuck. oh my lord.

as soon as jeongguk turned away from him to face the menu again, jimin quickly checked his pulse on his neck and then his wrist and then he placed a hand over his chest to calm himself. his heart should not have been racing so much. jeongguk looked back at him to tell him he was going to go buy their food and jimin let out a feeble 'okay', praying he wasn't as red as he felt like he was. he watched the other boy get up, wallet in one hand, and saunter over to the counter, smiling at the boy behind the counter and they chatted like they knew each other. jimin sighed, did jeongguk know what he was doing to him? was he trying to ruin his life on purpose? jimin wasn't sure if he wanted to hit jeongguk or kiss him for making him feel so many emotions. jimin wasn't normally affected by others so much, but jeongguk made his stomach feel like a pancake being flipped in a frypan and his fingertips twitch like no matter how close jeongguk was, he wanted him to be closer.

his heart had stopped thundering by the time jeongguk came back to the table, setting down a glass in front of jimin and a mug in front of his own seat before jogging back to the counter. he has returned with a plate, two bear cupcakes on top, and set it down between them. jimin found them so adorable, layers of icing topped with little chocolate buttons, he could see why jeongguk liked them so much, they smelled amazing.

"they're actually cinnamon cupcakes", jeongguk reached out for his, "they taste like cinnamon doughnuts but more... cupcake-y."

"mm", jimin hummed in amusement around the straw in his iced mocha.

grabbing his own, he peeled back the case and took a bite. oh fuck, did that hit the spot.

"good, huh?" jeongguk smiled at him with a mouth full of cake. jimin squeeze his eyes shut, nodding exaggeratedly as he chewed. chest tingling when he heard jeongguuk giggle. "i knew you'd like them."

"how?" jimin took another bite.

jeongguk shrugged, "just did."

they didn't talk much as they finished their food, the only sounds being the various grunts of approval. when they did finish, they fell back into comfortable conversation, sipping their drinks.

jimin could feel his heart aching, it all felt too intimate for a friendly gesture, it all felt too real. this wasn't a date, was it? jimin didn't want to think about it, he didn't want to think about what it could be or what it actually was. jimin wasn't thinking.

"i have to ask-", oh man, he really wasn't thinking. he looked up from his drink to see jeongguk staring at him, eyes widened in confusion at the sudden change of topic.

"go ahead."

jimin gulped, lowering his eyes back down to the drink in front of him, tracing the drops of condensation slide down the sides of the cool glass, pooling around it on the table below. he felt like he was frozen in place, tongue and heart both so heavy that they weighed him down on the spot. what did he even want to ask? was this a date? did jeongguk like him? did he like him the way he liked jeongguk? will we ever know how tupac really died? jeongguk must have sensed his uncertainty, sliding along the seat of the booth until his side bumped into jimin's, startling the older boy out of his own thoughts.

"you can tell me anything, jimin, we're friends right? you can trust me."

ah. okay.

of course, of course they were friends. jimin shut his eyes, taking a deep breath, they were friends.

"just... just friends?"

great fucking job, park jimin, way to blow it. way to make sure one of the greatest friends you have ever made never speaks to you ever again, way to fucking go.

their was a pause, that stretched out into such a long silence, he checked to see if jeongguk was even awake. he was, he was very awake and staring at jimin, jimin's face could not get any hotter. he looked away as quickly as he could.

you're a mess, park jimin.

he wanted to pout, it wasn't his fault all this happened. he blamed jeongguk entirely. he blamed jeongguk for being so damn sweet and so damn fun to be around and so damn attractive. it was all his fault. he was to blame for jimin catching feelings. he seemed pretty rude when they first met, but cute. he turned out not to be rude at all, just incredibly shy and lacked a brain-to-mouth filter. the afternoon's events have made jimin realise he didn't have one of his own either.

"d-don't worry ab-"

"do you want to be m-more?"

that really got jimin's attention, eyes immediately latching onto jeongguk's hopeful expression as he turned to look at him. his face was much closer than before, cheeks red and eyes wide, staring at jimin in what could only be described as complete and utter awe. jimin was almost speechless, what was he talking about? was jeongguk messing with him again? because he was really getting tired of it.

"don't tease me", jimin scowled, scooting away from jeongguk, eyes landing back down on his drink. ears burning red and heart sinking in his chest.

"i'm not!" jeongguk hurriedly half-yelled, earning a few looks from other cafe customers and the boy behind the desk, jeongguk looked around warily before staring at jimin again, "i'm not", he repeated at a much lower volume. "jimin! jimin, look at me", the older boy reluctantly turned his head to look at the boys wide imploring eyes again.

"what?" he has never felt so small, so embarrassed.

"i'm sorry I'm not really th-the best with words, but, um", jimin was being dumb, of course jeongguk wouldn't like him like that. "i, i-i really like you, jimin."

huh?

"wh-"

"i know i haven't asked you out properly but..." it was jeongguk looking down this time as jimin stared at the other, "i don't know, I was being selfish. i didn't want to stop hanging out with you."

jimin felt numb, all the doubt from before seemed to evaporate into the clouds. he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"you massive fucking idiot."

jeongguk looked up at him, "hey now, no need to be ru-"

"do you know how much sleep i have lost over this? i thought you flirted with me just for kicks or something", jeongguk furrowed his eyebrows.

"what? you think i flirted for fun? you know how hard it is for me to even speak sometimes and you're accusing me of flirting for the sake of it?"

"i don't know", jimin was still flustered, shrugging, "maybe your shyness was part of the trap."

"how could that possibly be part of it?"

"because it's cute! you're really charming."

"ah, no", jeongguk covered his face with his hands but jimin could still see his big toothy grin, "you should most definitely not be saying that to me."

"oh really?" jimin laughed, the previous tension thinning out and fading away, "i am small and awkward and i don't know how to express myself half the time."

"you just described me", jeongguk shot back, "except the small part."

"hey!"

"anyways", jeongguk was still blushing, but he continued as if he hadn't offended jimin ever so deeply. "point is- i'm pretty bad at this whole, social thing, i mean for a while after our first meeting all i did was embarrass myself in front of you. so you can't really blame me for being afraid."

jimin couldn't stop smiling, "the first time we met, you called me 'mum'."

"okay, no, don't bring that up, thanks", jeongguk was grinning widely as well. there they both were, the pair of them smiling dopily and babbling on about nothing in particular.

"so like, are we boyfriends now or- how does it work?" jimin giggled as jeongguk casually slid his arm onto the back of the booth behind his head.

"if you would have me, then", he leaned his head against jimin's, he had done the same thing so many times before, but this time it was different. and jimin's heart wasn't just racing, it was tap dancing over hot coals, "yes."

"of course i would", jimin replied breathily. he reached for jeongguk's other hand resting on the table, tangling their fingers together. "if i woke up right now, that would totally suck ass."

"oh my god."

"like suck so much ass."

"this isn't a dream, though."

"but it's too good to be true."

jimin laughed victoriously when jeongguk buried his face in the other's neck to hide his flushed cheeks.

"shut up."

-

it felt nice, holding jeongguk's hand. their fingers were entwined as they made their way down the street from the cafe. jeongguk claimed that he had another place he wanted to show the other then grabbed his hand and they were off.

"where are we going?"

"trust me."

"that's as cliche as it gets", jimin scoffed as jeongguk shushed him.

"u-um, promise not to call me lame, okay?" jeongguk glanced sideways at him.

"you are pretty lame but i won't say anything when we get there", jimin laughed as jeongguk pouted, blush giving him away.

jeongguk's hand was larger than jimin's, but there were just as soft as his, if not softer. they were warm, pleasant. jimin felt safe with his hand in jeongguk's, he felt like their hands belonged together, they fit so well. suppressing a smile was hopeless when it came to jeongguk, impossible.

-

"oh, wow", jimin breathed as they arrived at their destination.

"you promised not to call me lame", jeongguk reminded him as they both stared at the storefront.

it was an old bookshop, not too far from the cafe. it was an obviously aged place, faded signs and you could see a few bookshelves from outside, filled with books, pages yellowed and worn.

"and i'm not going to", jimin let his face split into a giant smile, "this is so cute."

"whatever", jeongguk murmured and pulled him along with him as he went inside, hands not once separating.

the store was a lot larger than it looked, jeongguk lead him to his favourite section. it was in the upstairs fantasy fiction where they found themselves strolling through the aisles. jimin cackled in amusement when jeongguk almost tripped on a beanbag before he himself fell flat on his face after his foot got caught on a footstool. but according to jimin, it never happened.

"the owner knows me well, so he lets me just sit in here and read as much as i want."

"so, for you, this is like a library", jimin kept his voice low, afraid of disturbing the peace as he ran his hands along the spines of the books lining a shelf near his head.

"not quite", jeongguk laughed, "at a library, you can borrow books and take them home. if i did that in this situation, my dear boyfriend, it would be considered as stealing." jeongguk stopped walking and turned around when he noticed jimin had froze to his spot, the younger looking back, puzzled, at jimin staring back at him. "what?"

"you just called me your boyfriend", jimin whispered, pink cheeks bunching up as one of those jimin-smiles engulfed half his face, "oh my god, you just called me your boyfriend."

jeongguk rolled his eyes, scratching at the back of his head, "well, that's what you are, after all." his quickly reddening face helped jimin see right through his fake nonchalance, "you fucking nerd."

jimin scoffed jokingly, if anyone was a fucking nerd, it'd be jeongguk. it's not that he's particularly smart, he's not particularly stupid either, he's just got that... vibe. yeah, a nerd vibe. a hot nerd vibe, but still a nerd vibe. he playfully punched the other's stomach a few times in retaliation as jeongguk pretended his ribs were shattering. yeah, he was definitely the nerdy one here.

-

jimin had only noticed it was getting dark when jeongguk pointed it out through an old skylight in the ceiling. it was a plate of black on the high, creamy ceiling, the only darkness in the room which was glowing in a soft yellow hue.

neither of them had any idea how long they had been there, they spent hours in one of the corners where two bookshelved walls met, leaning up against each other, jimin's head on jeongguk's shoulder and jeongguk's head on jimin's head.

"should we go?" jimin whispered into the near silence.

there was soft shuffling as jeongguk got out his phone to check the time.

"this place doesn't close for another two hours, we can take our time."

jimin hummed in agreement shifting slightly to wind his arm around jeongguk's, sighing in content.

"thanks", he whispered again, "for today."

jeongguk laughed quietly, jimin could feel his cheek move against his scalp, "i didn't expect it to go the way it did but", his head nuzzled against the older boy's as he continued, "i'm really glad it did."

"oohh", jimin cooed in a high pitched voice, "jeon jeongguk!"

"don't ruin it."

"you make me feel how lysander makes hermia feel in a midsummer night's dream."

there was little pause before jeongguk shyly said, "that... that's good?"

"yes", jimin reassured him, moving his head of his shoulder so they were looking straight at each other, "that's very good."

they're faces were so close together, their noses a breath away. at this proximity, jimin could see all the little specs of light reflected in jeongguk's eyes and every tiny crease on his eye lids as they scrunched up when he smiled. he could also examine the curve of his lips close up and every little dip and surface of his mouth area, which sounds weird, but it was very beautiful up close.

"you're so..."

jeongguk watched him with expectant eyes, the younger boy's cheeks heating up at their closeness.

"so what?" when he spoke, jimin could feel his breath against his own lips, making him shiver.

the boy smelled a little like forest pine cones and wood with the smallest hint of coffee and cupcake frosting from the cafe, as well as a smell that jimin could only identify as jeongguk. because jeongguk just had a smell and jimin couldn't describe it, it was soft and sweet and so jeongguk that he wasn't sure if jeongguk himself was jeongguk enough to smell as jeongguk as the jeongguk smell smelled like... anyway, he smelled good.

"i've forgotten what i was going to say", jimin whispered back, his mouth moving so close to jeongguk's, breaths ghosting over each other. had they gotten closer?

jeongguk huffed, amused by his response.

"you forgot?"

jimin's nod was minuscule, not wanting to expand the gap between them, "i forgot."

it felt like a million years of eyes flickering from eyes to lips before they both couldn't stop themselves, moving forward, leaning into one another like two magnets madly attracted to each other. and god, jimin always thought jeongguk's lips looked soft, but holy fuck. their mouths locked together almost perfectly, jeongguk's shaky hand reached up, finding purchase on the nape of jimin's neck. he still tasted like the cupcake, icing and all, making the kiss sweet to jimin's tongue. jimin held onto the younger's wrist feebly, the other gently rubbing fingers against the short hairs at the back of his head. jeongguk quite literally kissed him breathless, he was like water jimin wanted to drown himself in, but they parted for air. jimin was breathing harder than he'd like to admit, looking away from jeongguk in embarrassment.

jeongguk's free hand gently held his chin to face him, jimin's heart stuttered in his chest as he took in jeongguk's heavy gaze, cheeks pink and eyes filled with adoration.

he leaned in again, "i've waited so long to do this", he murmured right against jimin's lips before kissing him quickly. "i'm so happy i can do it now", he whispered, kissing him again before the other could pretend to gag.

and then he continued to kiss him, jimin's heart racing with every movement of their lips. jimin ran his hands through jeongguk's hair, earning a shaky breath from the other. he reckons he could have stayed like that forever, lips locked with jeongguk and hands tangled in his soft hair. he just hoped nobody that worked at the bookstore caught them, that would be sufficiently awkward considering nobody else in the store was under the age of sixty.

you know that figure of speech about 'getting lost' in another person? jimin didn't really think you could get lost in someone, that's some futurama shit. but that changed when he felt jeongguk's lips against his own. in other words, jep gguk was a damn good kisser.

-

incredibly giddy from the day events, jimin had to jump around his room like a kangaroo for a while before he settled into bed. he then continued to roll around and flip positions constantly long after he and jeongguk had exchanged their 'goodnight's and even goodnight text messages, but jimin was just far too restless. how could this happen? and so fast? it was almost like this was fanfiction written by a fifteen year old with a deathly drought currently residing where their love life should be.

he just couldn't sleep, he had class the next day, he should rest up, but it was near impossible when his brain decided to replay the kisses he had shared with jeongguk over and over again like a cat gif on twitter.

"hngh, fuck", jimin murmured as he face planted onto his pillow, entire face turning red just from thinking about it.

-

jimin really, really couldn't sleep. like, really, seriously couldn't sleep. he checked his phone again.

3:11am

jimin groaned as he screwed his eyes shut and willed the warm hands of sleep to come scoop him up and whisk him away, but it was just too busy in there, there was too much going on. it was all jeongguk, with small mentions of his cat and thinking about what to eat the next day, but mostly jeongguk.

right when he let his mind wander to the younger boy's wonderfully soft lips again, he felt something next to his ribcage start to vibrate against him with a buzz. he fumbled around a bit to retrieve his phone and nearly fell off the bed when he saw who it was that was calling him at this ungodly hour: kitten enthusiast a.k.a jeongguk a.k.a jimin's boyfriend, jeongguk. he calmed himself down a bit before picking up the call.

"hello?"

"-oly fuck", came the fuzzy response from the other end, "you picked up. i mean- hi. oh god, did i wake you up? I'm so sorry."

jimin covered his mouth with his free hand as he laughed at how cute jeongguk, his boyfriend, was.

"no, actually", jimin turned to lie on his side, "i couldn't really sleep", he finished softly.

"yeah", the voice on the other end was equally as soft, "i couldn't either."

there was a moment of quiet before both of started to giggle like grade schoolers sharing a secret.

"it's going to take me a while to get used to this", jimin wasn't sure if jeongguk could hear his whispers, but the other replied anyway.

"me too", jeongguk's voice cracked a little and jimin tried to hold in his laughter, he really did. but he couldn't stop himself from giggling as he could pretty much feel the mortification jeongguk was feeling through his phone.

"god, you're so cute", jimin breathed out when he was done laughing. he was met by more silence. "jeongguk? are you there?"

he was met by a quiet whine, "why are you so embarrassing?"

jimin resisted squealing, he could basically hear him blushing.

their call didn't end until jimin hung up two hours later, just after jeongguk fell asleep in the middle of their conversation about which jelly bean flavour was the best. his even breathing was a clear sign that the younger's body had called it a day.

"goodnight", jimin murmured fondly into his phone.

-

"hello?" jimin called out as he entered jeongguk's house, the latter had texted him earlier saying that he could let himself inside because taehyung was over at his place and he would probably be in the shower, punctuated with a 'lol', as per usual.

"jeongguk?" he tried again as he wandered into the main lounge area, "taehyung? anyone here?"

that was when he turned and looked into the kitchen. there was a person in there, staring back at him over the kitchen island. only, this person was not jeongguk nor taehyung, he had never seen this person before. this person was much shorter than the other two, brown hair that fell to her shoulders and glasses. jimin's first thought was, holy shit, an intruder, but he guessed she wasn't actually an intruder considering she seemed to be quite comfortable in jeongguk's kitchen, one hand holding the fridge open to survey his unimpressive range of fizzy drinks.

"who are you?" they both said at the same time.

"um, i'm jimin", jimin said cautiously, side-eyeing the stranger carefully. she didn't seem harmful, she appeared more startled than he was.

"what are you doing here, jimin?" the stranger's careful tone reffected his own.

"my boyfriend's here?" jimin was getting even more nervous, who was this person? what was happening? did jeongguk have any lemon squash in his fridge?

"what-", the other finally shut the fridge, "but, my boyfriend's here."

"what?"

now jimin was very, very confused. jeongguk wasn't cheating on him. was he? how else was it possible for jeongguk to be both jimin's and this stranger's boyfriend? he had to be cheating. but why would he expose himself like this? he had invited jimin over. none of this made sense. jimin's brain blacked out before rebooting.

"faye! where'd you go?" there was a familiar voice down the hall.

"i haven't gone anywhere, dummy", the stranger turned to call down the hall, "you're the one that left to pee."

"oh, yeah", came the sunny voice of kim taehyung as he entered the kitchen, grinning at the stranger before he noticed jimin staring, "hi, jimin!"

"what the- hey, taehyung", jimin raised his hand in a confused wave.

"this is your first time meeting faye right?" taehyung walked behind the stranger- faye, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "we are deeply in love."

"you know", faye spoke up, "you could just say we're dating."

"yeah, but that's boring."

jimin had to sit down, he was so relieved. of course jeongguk wouldn't cheat on him, he's not that much of an asshole, surely.

"nice to meet you, faye", jimin let himself relax and smile, "please mention the fact that you're dating taehyung straight off."

"oh man", faye re-opened the fridge, promptly ignoring taehyung coo-ing in her ear, "i thought you meant taehyung when you said your boyfriend was here, i think my heart shat itself."

"i come into jeongguk's house and you think i'm talking about taehyung", jimin mused, lifting an eyebrow.

"honestly, i didn't think jeongguk had any game", faye shrugged, shutting the fridge door again because, apparently, jeongguk's fridge didn't contain anything that tickled her interest.

"hey, that's a little rude", jeongguk complained as he came into the lounge room through the kitchen, "i invite you bunch into my house and you talk about me behind my back?"

"yeah", taehyung shrugged, "you're weird so you're easy to talk about."

jeongguk very pointedly ignored taehyung's comment and instead walked over to where jimin was sitting on the couch, sitting next to him and linking their arms.

"this is your first time meeting jimin, right?" jeongguk imitated taehyung's deep voice, making jimin snort, "we are deeply in love."

"hey!" taehyung called indignantly as faye pretty much pissed herself laughing, "at least i don't sound like a monkey fucked a helium balloon."

jeongguk didn't say anything and chose to direct all his attention to jimin instead.

"hi", jimin smiled, kissing his cheek.

"hi", jeongguk said back, hand coming up to play with jimin's hair.

"are you ignoring me?" taehyung called from the kitchen.

"how was your lecture today?" jeongguk faced away from taehyung, directing all his attention to jimin, who giggled before responding.

"hey! aren't you going to say anything back?" taehyung leaned over the kitchen bench, frowning.

"by the way, what do you want to watch? i'll put something on", jeongguk opened up netflix on his television.

faye resolved to petting taehyung's head as he made more disgruntled noises.

-

it was much later, the moon was high in the sky and taehyung and faye has long since gone home, when skittles decided to knead her paws agains jimins thigh. he and jeongguk had been wrapped up in each other, breathing in sync while watching some bad comedy movie and just basking in each other's presence. jimin was enjoying himself to say the least.

when he noticed the odd feeling of the little paws pushing against his thighs, he could feel his heart swell at the sight of the adorable kitten on his leg.

"aw, skittles!" he cooed, detangling himself from jeongguk's arms to bring the cat closer. (he didn't notice the frown on jeongguk's face as he did so.) "do you want attention? cuddles?"

much to jimin's delight, skittles mewled in response.

jimin practically squealed as he leaned back in the couch, bringing the feline to his chest. skittles appreciated this, nuzzling the top of her head against jimin's chin and purring contently when jimin stroked the fur of her neck and back. seeing a cat, jeongguk's cat, so comfortable and relaxed in his arms made jimin unbelievable happy.

this is what heaven feels like, he thought to himself as the cotton ball in his arms continued to purr.

jimin kept petting her, 'aw'-ing and 'ooh'-ing at every little sound she made and effectively forgetting jeongguk was in the room.

a very pointed clearing of his throat abruptly reminded jimin of the other boy's presence, cutting cuddle time short as jeongguk gently lifted skittles from jimin's arms. the older boy tried not to whine at the loss of the fluffy heater.

"what are you playing at?" jeongguk held his cat at eye level in front of him, eyes narrowed. jimin could feel the atmosphere around them become tense. skittles remained silent, tail raised and swaying slightly from side to side mirthfully.

jimin was confused, "jeong-"

"he's my boyfriend, not yours. you're aware of that, yes?" jimin's heart sped up a little at the word 'boyfriend', again. it always did. he watched the other, amused as he stared down his own cat. "stop coming between us, damn it."

skittles mewled at jeongguk and the younger's jaw dropped.

"what did you just say to me, young lady?"

"okay, i think that's enough", jimin laughed, prying skittles out of jeongguk's grip and putting her down on the floor so she could walk away. he laughed as he leaned back against jeongguk again, not missing the hand gestures the younger boy gave to the now retreating cat, signalling 'i'm watching you'. "i can't believe you were jealous of skittles, she's your cat."

"yeah, but you should be paying attention to me", jeongguk murmured, moving to wrap his arms around jimin's waist from behind, rubbing face into his shoulder, "because i'm cuter than that cat."

"needier too", jimin laughed out loud at the indignant noise jeongguk made against his shirt. "it's alright though", jimin said under his breath, turning around in jeongguk's arms so that he was hugging him back, arms tucked around his neck, "you can all the cuddles and attention you want."

jimin squawked in surprise when suddenly jeongguk pulled him down, the two of them suddenly lying down on the couch as the movie was forgotten, jimin laying half on top of the other boy.

"ah", jeongguk sighed contently, "that's better."

jimin laughed at that, feeling jeongguk smile even wider against his shoulder.

-

jimin had never been a fan of studying, but you had to do what you had to do, right? and jimin planned on passing this class. so, that was why he had to swap his day out with jeongguk for a day in with jeongguk, the both of them studying upcoming exams together.

it was warm in jeongguk's house, jimin was only in some basketball shorts and a t-shirt. jeongguk was also in a t-shirt but had decided to forgo pants because 'who really needs pants that much, anyway?' minho, jeongguk's seemingly always absent housemate, had classes that day and had vanished fifteen minutes after jimin arrived.

the only sounds they could hear was the refrigerator whirring in the kitchen, pencils scratching, the turning of pages and the uncapping of highlighters. even skittles had settled on sleeping in a spot on the floor where a pool of sunlight warmed her. jimin was sitting on the floor, his textbooks and loose sheets of notes fanning out on the coffee table as he typed away on his laptop, jeongguk reading his material while lying on the couch behind jimin. the quiet that had settled over them was nice, comfortable. jimin really appreciated moments like this, after dating jeongguk for months he had learnt about all the different sides to his moods. sometimes jeongguk got shy and didn't know what to say, sometimes he had so much to say it was hard to get him to shut up, especially when jimin saw all the excitement in his eyes and felt it in his voice, but sometimes jeongguk just liked to attempt to stop time, bathing himself in jimin's presence. he was a cuddler, that's for sure, and jimin was enthusiastic to comply to his wishes, being a sucker for cuddles as well. some of jimin's favourite moments with jeongguk have been quiet, near silence except for the sound of their own calm breaths. at times like that, jeongguk always had this look in his eyes as he stared at jimin. it was a look that always had him flustered, no matter how much he tried to hide it. it was a look that was so intense, so filled with emotion and feeling that jimin felt the effects of it deep in his bones. he loved it. he loved jeongguk.

they stayed studying together, occasional breaks for food and when jeongguk felt deprived of affection, make-out sessions were their preferred break time activity.

soon, the golden sunlight turned to melting orange glow and then finally fading out to let the moon shine. skittles had moved from her sunny spot to situate herself over jeongguk's lap, in search of the younger boy's usual warmth.

finally shutting his laptop, jimin groaned in satisfaction as he stretched his arms above his head. he always felt much better after a solid study day, usually unwinding in the evening, accompanied by some well deserved takeout. he checked his phone, it was only about seven o'clock.

"hey guk, do you want to go out for dinner? we've done enough studying for the day, don't you think?" jimin asked, quickly texting back his mum who had left a string of messages asking about how studying was going and asking if he was eating enough. "jeongguk?" when he received no reply he turned to look at the other boy, had he gotten so engrossed in his study material that he didn't hear him?

jimin's eyes softened and he couldn't help but grin a little bit when he found jeongguk lying on his back, sound asleep. his notes were lying on his chest, forgotten as skittles had curled herself on top of them to take a nap as well, jeongguk's hand resting on her back. jimin watched as his chest, with skittles atop it, rose and felk slowly, a glimpse of his teeth visible through his barely parted lips. he appeared so serene when he was asleep, eyelashes prominent against his skin, cheeks slightly rosy. he couldn't bring himself to wake the sleeping boy up, he just looked so sweet and peaceful, jimin didn't want to disturb him.

i'll just get some thai food delivered, he thought to himself as he gently kissed jeongguk's pink cheek.

-

it was early evening by the time jimin approached his street, texting jeongguk as he walked home. the younger was at the gym since he had a class that day as well and figured he might as well go to the gym while he was out, god knows he wouldn't choose to go there on a day off.

[5:06PM] from kitten enthusiast: are you home yet??

[5:07PM] to kitten enthusiast: nopeee

[5:07PM] to kitten enthusiast: almost there

[5:07PM] from kitten enthusiast: okk text me when you get there yeah?

jimin couldn't help but smile at jeongguk's thoughtfulness, he always wanted jimin to text him to make sure he was safe.

[5:08PM] to kitten enthusiast: yeah ok dork

[5:08PM] to kitten enthusiast: how's your work out going?

jimin didn't expect what would come next. as the message popped up, the world suddenly stopped, but his feet kept walking forward.

a selfie. jeongguk had sent a selfie. not just any selfie, a gym selfie. it was taken in the mirror, jeongguk's hair wet and messy, pushed back to expose his forehead and furrowed eyebrows, white muscle shirt stuck to his sweaty torso and his toned arms glistening with sweat under the gym's overhead lights, thick thighs exposed by his shorts.

in jimin's opinion, normally, jeongguk was really hot, really handsome, every type of attractive in the world, but at time like these, where jeongguk made his brain's inner light switch flicker on and off so bad, he felt like hitting the other with a brick for making it impossible for jimin to live his life in peace. the air left his lungs, and he felt like his had just been hit with something tall and hard, knocking him back onto his butt, phone landing a metre away from him. dazed, jimin wondered what the fuck just happened, had jeongguk's selfie literally swept him off his feet. he then looked up to see a telephone pole looming over him from right in front of his feet.

jimin scrambled to standing, picking up his phone, he really hoped nobody saw that.

[5:12PM] to kitten enthusiast: it doesn't look like you're working out to me smh

he resolved to never tell jeongguk the real cause of the crack at the bottom of his phone screen.

-

it had long since gone dark by the time jeongguk and jimin got into jeongguk's car after dinner. they had spent the entire day out, shopping and jimin indulging jeongguk in his bubble tea obsession, letting the younger boy getting two large premium milk teas with pearls in the short span of an hour.

jimin had volunteered to drive, subtly prolonging the route, just because he didn't want the day to end just yet and he knew how much jeongguk enjoyed night drives anyway.

"wanna go for a drive through?" jeongguk asked as they cruised down an almost empty street, "please say no, i'm so full."

jimin laughed at that, immersing himself in the silky sound of the younger boy's responding giggles.

"i'm good, i don't think i can handle another bite", jimin hummed and glanced at jeongguk as he drove, admiring the others profile as he looked out the open window, barely illuminated by a flickering orange glow. his eye shone with the various colours of lights they rode past.

park jimin, how did you end up with such a beautiful boyfriend? a voice that sounded like his own spoke in jimin's head. i must have done something good in a past life.

"i love night drives", jeongguk murmured, seemingly as a thought that had slipped out of his mouth than something he actually intended for jimin to hear.

jimin chuckled, "i know."

jimin drove until he noticed jeongguk dozing off, deciding it was time for the day to come to a close after all.

-

jimin was gentle to wake jeongguk, they had already arrived at jeongguk's house and jimin was leaning in through the passenger's side door, gently prodding at jeongguk's chest and shaking his shoulder slightly.

"guk. jeongguk. hey", he whispered, not wanting to startle the other too much, "wake up sleepy head."

when jeongguk's only signs of waking was stirring slightly and his head lolling to the other side, jimin caved. jeongguk may be beautiful, gorgeous, handsome and all those other attractive things, but he was still a baby in jimin's eyes and it made the older boy want to take care of the other.

minho had told the pair of them that he was spending the night with his friends. so, he did what any caring boyfriend would do. he unbuckled jeongguk's seatbelt and dug around in the younger's pockets until he found his house keys. he sprinted to the door, unlocked it, sprinted back and then proceeded to carefully extract jeongguk out of the car much like carefully removing an organ in the classic board game of operation, but with bridal style. as he straightened his back, a heavy jeongguk in his arms, he felt himself swell with pride seeing that jeongguk had not awoken during his little scuffle with the car seat. jimin had always been good at operation anyway. he, staying as stable and quiet as he could, carried jeongguk through his own front door, which he had held open with a trusty brick he found lying around. (why did every house have spare bricks lying around? another one of the world's mysteries.) as he stood at the house's entrance, he was faced with yet another dilemma, where the fuck was he supposed to put the giant boy? he could always put him on the couch, but would he end up sleeping the entire time there? that would be hell for his neck. what about the dining table? yeah, no. the bedroom?

jimin groaned, adjusting his hold on jeongguk as he shuffled through the house, why did the bedroom have to be so far away. it wasn't like jimin had never been in jeongguk's bedroom, they've hung out heaps of times, not to mention cuddled for extended periods of time. so jimin knew his way as he carried the younger boy through the dark. he swore quietly when he stubbed his toe on something and finally reaching the bed, he gently set jeongguk down. he reached over to the bedside table, hand reaching around for the lamp's switch.

god damn it, why couldn't human's have better night vision?

when he finally found it, he flicked it on, filling the room with a warm glow, faint enough not to wake jeongguk. he looked down at the sleeping boy, completely unjarred, as if he hadn't just been carried to his bed from the  seat of a car like a child.

"i'm too nice to you", jimin whispered, fondly brushing a hand over his cheekbone.

-

jimin had locked up the car and the front door, jeongguk was awake and sitting up in his bed by the time jimin returned to his bedroom.

"oh? you're awake, sleepyhead", jimin laughed at jeongguk's drowsy and confused expression, eyes still quite droopy.

"hn?"

jimin chuckled, pushing jeongguk back to sleep again. the hygiene freak part of him told him to brush jeongguk's teeth for him, but the other side couldn't bear to disrupt the boy's sleep. but jeongguk didn't seem to want to go back to sleep by himself.

"hey!" jimin practically squawked as jeongguk, stronger than expected, yanked him down by the arm, landing jimin right on top of him. jimin scrambled to get off of him but jeongguk wrapped his arms around his waist before he could, squeezing him tight. "jeongguk?"

he raised his head to look at jeongguk, breath catching in his throat when he found that their faces were extremely close together, so close, in fact, that his nose brushed the other's. jeongguk seemed more awake now, more aware. he was staring at jimin with a look that made the older boy sweat.

"did you carry me in here?"

"what?" jimin tried not to stutter as he broke eye contact, the sudden closeness left him flustered.

"did you carry me in here from the car?" his voice was hushed, but there was this slight croak to it from his sleep that left jimin speechless again.

"uh, yeah", he said numbly after the silence stretched on for too long.

jimin made eye contact, becoming even more embarrassed to see jeongguk staring at him with as much intensity from before.

"are- are you okay, jeongguk?"

"i love you."

jimin jolted slightly at his words, so filled with emotion that it had jimin dazed. J imin tried to cover his embarrassment with a nervous laugh.

"wh- because i carried you inside? man, i should carry you bridal style more oft-" jimin was cut off by a pair of lips on his own. jeongguk had a bad habit of interrupting. jimin didn't have time to be annoyed though, melting into the kiss despite the awkward angle.

he shifted on top of jeongguk, moving so that he was straddling the younger's lap, leaning over with his jaw in his hands. he pulled away for breath, staring back into jeongguk's eyes, it was silent except for their heavy breaths.

"i love you too", he whispered, his breath tickling jeongguk's lips, making the younger shiver.

he leaned back down again to kiss him, hands wandered from jeongguk's jaw to his neck to his angular collarbones and sculpted pecs. jeongguk's hands stayed on jimin's sides, rubbing up and down. jeongguk groaned when jimin raked his nails across his exposed collarbones, the younger's hands coming up to clutch at the other's shoulder blades in surprise when jimin slipped his tongue into his mouth without warning. it got messy, teeth occasionally clacking, but neither of them seemed to care. the feeling of jeongguk's tongue against his and the wet noises their lips made mixed with the little breathy noises jeongguk was making involuntarily was enough to make jimin's head spin. he bit down on the other's bottom lip, the heels of his palms applying pressure to jeongguk's nipples at the same time, drawing out a moan from jeongguuk much louder than the noises he was making before.

"jeongguk", jimin sighed out, like his name was pure bliss on his tongue, "i'm going to ask you something, but don't freak out, okay? we don't have to do anything you don't want to."

jeongguk nodded frantically.

"you know your dildo that was accidentally sent to my house? where do you keep it?"

-

jimin sighed as he surveyed his food pantry options for breakfast: two slices of bread, some sliced cheese and a whole onion.

cheese sandwich it is!

he was sort of disappointed in himself, for a self-proclaimed food lover, he did a poor job at maintaining his own kitchen. well, this had only started recently, since he'd been spending all his time at jeongguk's. even half his wardrobe had migrated over to the younger's house too. the thought of moving in with jeongguk had crossed his mind more times than once, but he brushed it aside, in fear that jeongguk didn't think they were ready, scaring the younger was the last thing he wanted to do.

just as he was about take the first bite of his miserable excuse of a sandwich, we spotted something fluffy outside his kitchen window.

"skittles?" he put his sandwich down for a second while he leaned over the sink to open the kitchen window.

skittles was standing on the sill, head down. it looked like there was something in her mouth. this wasn't her first impromptu visit, she did it quite often. after all, the first time she had popped up on his kitchen window, it ended up with jeon jeongguk appearing in his backyard, so who was he to complain? according to jeongguk, out of all his friends, jimin had become her new favourite, much to jimin's delight and jeongguk only seemed a little bit salty about it.

"skittles, what are you up to?" jimin laughed, petting her ears and running a hand down her fluffy back.

the cat's tail flicked in satisfaction as she placed whatever she was carrying down on his window sill before glancing at him with her big blue eyes, meowing once and jumping down from the window, tail held high in the air as she went on with her business. before jimin could even think about what a cute cat she was, he froze, staring at the item skittles had left him on his kitchen window sill.

"jeon jeongguk!" jimin practically screamed as soon as the other picked up the phone.

"yeah, jimin? what's up? i just got home", there was shuffling on the other end, as if jeongguk was taking off his backpack or something like that.

"please explain to me why your cat just appeared at my kitchen window to present me with a dead rat?" jimin was trying to keep his voice level as he kept his eyes trained on the sad lump of fur that was once a rat.

"wh- a dead rat?" there was a muffled noise on the end and a distant sounding 'is this what you get up to when i'm not home?'

"why the fuck would she bring me this?" jimin ran a hand through his messy morning hair, a habit of his. "oh my god, does she want me dead?"

"what? no, i-i'm sure that's not what it means", he trailed off after that.

"you're not sure, are you?"

"not entirely, i'll be over in a minute."

the both of them stood side by side in jimin's kitchen, heads cocked to the side as they stared at the dead rodent lIKE they expected it to do something.

"okay, firstly, maybe we should-", jeongguk moved, a hand reaching out as if to grab the rat before jimin lurched forward and smacked his hand away.

"what the fuck do you think you're doing?" he hissed at the younger, who resembled a child caught doing something against the rules. "do you have any idea what diseases that thing might be carrying? do you want to die?"

"no", jeongguk pouted, putting his hands by his sides again. jimin thought it was cute, but there was no time to coo when there was a serious situation at hand.

jimin had ended up getting jeongguk to hold open a plastic bag and pushed the poor dead thing into it with yesterday's newspaper. jimin was internally screaming the entire time.

"okay", he threw the paper in the bag as well and clapped his hands together, "let's bin it."

"this is a bit... mean, don't you think?" jeongguk murmured as he followed jimin out the back door and towards the garbage cans.

jimin turned around to look at the other incredulously, "what do you mean?"

"it was a living creature, like you and i, doesn't it deserve to leave the world with honour?"

"jeongguk, that is a dead rodent in the plastic bag you are holding and your cat is the reason it's dead."

jeongguk flinched at his words. "that's beside the point", he lifted his chin, holding his head high, "we're going to give this rat a proper funeral."

"what", it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"come on, we're going to do the right thing."

jimin's poor sandwich had been long forgotten.

-

forty minutes ago, jimin did not expect to be standing at the end of jeongguk's backyard, jeonguk beside him and skittles in his arms, all three of them looking down at the small mound of dirt in the grass where jeongguk had buried the dead animal with a trowel he found in minho's toolbox.

"should- should we say a few words or-?" jeongguk's eyes stayed on the patch of dirt. skittles meowed in response.

jimin shushed her, "you've done enough, skittles", he said in a quiet tone. "um, i'd just like to say that, i am sorry your short life had to end that way, i am sure skittles is", he glanced at the cat that was looking very comfortable and content in jeongguk's hold, "just filled with remorse. i hope your time in rodent heaven is good."

"couldn't have said it better myself", jeongguk nodded, he moved to hold skittles in one hand, getting out his phone to play haru haru by big bang as they stared at the mound of dirt for a little longer. eventually, they got bored of standing outside while sad music played, letting skittles lead them back inside. it was a very solemn ceremony.

-

the events of the day were nearly forgotten by the time the three of them had situated themselves comfortably in jeongguk's living room that evening.

"jimin, hey", jeongguk nudged jimin with his foot from the other end of the couch as jimin tried to focus on the reality show playing on jeongguk's televison.

"what is it? i was trying to keep up with the kardashians", he was completely serious.

"i asked google why cats bring people dead rats", jimin raised his eyebrows, interested, gesturing for him to continue. "well, it says that it's something from when cats were feral. female cats would catch mice and insects and stuff to show their young how to catch their meals. skittles here", he gestured to the cat dozing on the carpet under the coffee table, "was being considerate, since she knows you can't go and catch rodents yourself, so she was just fulfilling her role as mother and teacher."

jimin stared at jeongguk blankly.

"so, she considers me family?"

jeongguk stared at jimin blankly.

"yeah, i guess you could put it that way."

jimin's hand covered his heart as he scrunched up his face and started to fake cry. the sudden sobbing noise waking up skittles, the fluffball rolling out from her nap spot and jumping up on the couch to join the conversation only to be scooped up into jimin's embrace.

"skittles, i'm so touched", jimin cried, rubbing his face into he cat's fur, "i feel like i've just received your blessing."

jeongguk watched the scene unfold in amusement, laughing when skittles mewled in confusion. she turned to stare at jeongguk, her eyes begging for help from the suddenly emotional jimin.

"alright, alright, that's enough", jeongguk giggled when skittles reached out to him with one paw as jimin started to pepper her head with kisses.

-

"i'll move in with you, dumbnuts", jimin laughed, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. which it sort of was.

jeongguk had been freaking out because minho had announced that he was to be moving out to live with his boyfriend, since he hardly spent time at their house anyway, claiming he'd still come for cartoon pyjama parties.

"what am i going to do? i can't afford the rent by myself", jeongguk despaired, skittles curled up in his lap to comfort him, "i don't want to move somewhere else, you're right next door", he turned to jimin with big puppy eyes when jimin had said it.

"wait what? really?"

jimin sighed, why was jeongguk such a lost puppy half the time?

"i mean, think about it jeongguk, i basically live here anyway", jeongguk stared at him, not quite following what he was saying, "i have a toothbrush right next to yours in the bathroom, i have my own section of the wardrobe and who does the grocery shopping most weeks?"

"you", was his immediate response before his eyes widened and his jumped up from his spot on the couch, skittles scampering away, displeased. "wait, you want to move in with me?"

jimin nervously laughed, was that a good or a bad reaction? "uh, yeah, i'm hardly ever at my own house."

"oh my god", jeongguk's cheeks were pink, "this is another milestone in our relationship", he scrambled of the couch to where a very baffled jimin was. "this means you're serious about us!" jeongguk was practically squealing as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

jimin was near speechless.

"wh- of course i'm serious about us! why would you think i wasn't?"

"well", jeongguk smiled sheepishly, "i can't help it, i wasn't sure if you would want to get this real about us", he gestured between them.

"jeongguk, i went to meet your parents last weekend."

"yeah, yeah, but the point is: let's move in together", jeongguk went off babbling some nonsense about what their morning routine would be like or some other domestic shit like that while he strolled around the living room as if he was picturing it as skittles trailed behind him, seemingly meowing in agreement.

jimin chuckled as he watched jeongguk talk, mostly to himself, animatedly. he had opened up so much more than when they had first met, when jeongguk could barely form sentences around him and would blush whenever they made eye contact. things were different now, jeongguk's friends were now also jimin's friends and half of them called them husbands, if that's not a sign that they should be together, jimin didn't know what would be. he felt affection flutter around in his chest as he watched jeongguk bend over to pick up skittles, cradling her in his arms like a newborn as they conversed.

he wouldn't really mind spending the rest of his life with jeon jeongguk.

-

after quite the awkward conversation with his landlord, jimin was moving out of his house and into jeongguk's, what posessions he had left in that house being transferred over.

"which side of the bed do you want?" jeongguk asked as they filled drawers with the rest of jimin's clothes.

"jeongguk, you know i always sleep on the right side anyway", he laughed as he placed down another pair of underwear in the drawer.

"yeah, but now it's for official purposes", jeongguk beamed at him, prompting jimin to lean up and kiss his nose, making the younger wrinkled it with a 'ew, jimin'.

that night, (after some 'official moving in sex' as jeongguk called it) the pair of them were snuggled up together under the covers. if jimin said he found it any different, he would be lying. maybe he had considered jeongguk's house his home for a while anyway? he stared down at jeongguk's sleeping form, a thing that he did way too often for it not to be creepy. he felt the younger's hair tickle his neck and his warm breath against his chest. scratch that, it was jeongguk that felt like home after all.

-

it was just another normal day at jeongguk and jimin's place.

jimin fed skittles in the morning since had class while jeongguk slept in. when he came home, they had lunch together and played mario kart ("don't you dare use that blue shell, park jimi- you're dead to me"). and some friends had come over for dinner ("we should have dinner parties more often, hey?" "hoseok, i don't think eating pizza while watching a drama from 2010 really counts as a dinner party"). after they had left and jeongguk and jimin cleaned up the colossal mess they had made, they had returned to their 'married couple mode' which meant cuddling on the couch with skittles as they continued a show they had been watching for a few weeks now.

they were on the last episode and it resulted in both of them screaming in victory at the screen because they were always advocates for a good ol' happy ending. jeongguk literally screeched when they showed the marriage scene.

"this is the best moment of my life", jeongguk shouted as the screen faded to black. he said that every time they watched a series with a happy ending, jimin reminded him of this fact every time.

"come on, don't be a party pooper", jeongguk jumped up from the couch when the upbeat ending credits song started to play and spun around, one hand held out towards jimin, who looked at it with a single eyebrow raised. "i know you love this song. dance with me."

he even did an over-exaggerated bow, peaking up at jimin through his fringe. he grinned widely when he saw jimin covering his mouth as he laughed, body leaning forward.

"alright, fine", jimin playfully rolled his eyes as he took jeongguk's hand and let the younger lift him up off the couch.

he immediately pulled the shorter into a tango hold, him being the lead since he was taller, hand on jimin's waist and jimin's went to his shoulder as their other hands clasped together. jeongguk lead them around the room galloping ridiculously while singing along to the song, spinning jimin until he felt dizzy, whether it was dizzy from the spins or dizzy from jeongguk's laughter or dizzy from jeongguk's presence, he didn't know, he didn't care.

the credits ended and they landed in a heap beside the coffee table, skittles meowing from on top of it. the pair of them were left panting from their unplanned dance routine. jeongguk rolled so he was half on top of jimin, still laughing as they made eye contact. there was always this glint in jeongguk's big eyes that held this sort of innocent, childish playfulness that jimin had loved so dearly. it shone brighter than the sun on the hottest days and sparkled more than all the stars in the sky and jimin would do anything to keep it there.

as their laughter died down, jimin leaned up to gently kiss jeongguk's lips, the other staring down just as lovingly as him when they pulled away.

"i love you, jimin."

"i love you too, jeongguk."