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It doesn’t feel anything like a dream, but part of Jungkook is still convinced that he’s dreaming. He twists his fingers in the front of Jimin’s shirt. Jimin makes a small sound into the kiss.
Jungkook is still wearing his shoes. He hasn’t even stepped out of the entrance well of Jimin and Taehyung’s room in the student dorms.
“Like this,” Jimin whispers. He tilts his head, his hands steady on Jungkook’s jaw, showing him a better angle. Their tongues brush – a sweet, soft shock.
Jimin is up on the level, taller for once, Jungkook pushing up onto his toes to be closer. Jimin has turned so that he can brace his shoulders against the wall. His socked feet slip a little against the floor. The two of them shucked off their coats early on, but let them fall rain-wet and crumpled around their feet.
Jungkook’s fingers and the back of his neck are still chilled from the rain, only half-protected by an ineffectual umbrella, even though the rest of him is burning up. Jimin didn’t have an umbrella at all, so he’s wetter. Cold drops of water from his fringe land on Jungkook’s nose and mouth.
Jimin giggles, breathlessly, breaking the kiss to lick the rainwater off his mouth. Jungkook is too impatient to wait until he’s finished before he leans in again, their noses bumping until he gets the angle right.
He sucks Jimin’s lower lip into his mouth, then bites down – gently, because he doesn’t know if Jimin is into that. He laves it with his tongue and Jimin makes a wordless sound, soft and unbearably sexy. Jimin winds his arms around Jungkook’s neck, his wrists resting on one another on Jungkook’s nape.
Maybe Jungkook can find out how Jimin feels about biting later, if they – if this isn’t a one-time thing, if Jimin –
Jungkook pushes into the kiss again. Jimin opens easily, hot and sweet.
Surely he wouldn’t kiss Jungkook like this if he didn’t mean it. Jungkook can’t imagine kissing someone like this if he didn’t want them in a way that made his insides twist into a sweet painful knot.
But Jimin hasn’t said anything. The kissing just happened.
*
Jungkook only came over to pick up the textbook he left behind last time he was in Jimin and Taehyung’s dorm.
When he messaged Taehyung about it, Taehyung replied that he wouldn’t be home till late, but Jimin should be getting back soon.
Jungkook shivered under his umbrella in front of the campus housing block for twenty minutes before he spotted Jimin dashing across the muddy grass, the hood of his coat barely protecting his head from the rain. He was laughing and hugging his arms around his shivering shoulders when he reached Jungkook, and he grabbed Jungkook’s hand without stopping, towing him inside and towards the stairs.
Jungkook couldn’t help laughing too, caught up in Jimin’s mood.
At the door to Jimin and Taehyung’s room, Jimin fumbled the keys. His fingers were clumsy with the cold, and he caught the key ring at the wrong angle as he pulled it out of his pocket. The keys skidded across the floor towards the stairwell.
Jungkook reacted without thinking, lunging to catch them just before they fell through the railing.
Jimin laughed again as he pulled Jungkook up.
“That was cool, Jungkookie.” He kissed Jungkook’s cheek in extravagant gratitude as he took the keys from Jungkook’s hand.
And Jungkook just – it was so much, somehow. When they got inside, Jimin pushing the door closed behind Jungkook, Jungkook reached out and grabbed the front of Jimin’s shirt.
He didn’t know what for. It was only that his cold cheek was tingling where Jimin had kissed it, and Jimin’s mouth was tilted into such a smile.
Jimin must have seen something in Jungkook’s gaze to make his eyes go a little wider like that, suddenly focused. He didn’t break Jungkook’s gaze as he kicked his shoes off, stepping back and up, out of the entrance well.
He misjudged the height and stumbled – always that mixture of graceful and clumsy that Jungkook couldn’t make sense of – and reached out to hold onto Jungkook’s shoulders. Then a moment of hesitation, and he darted down to peck Jungkook’s cheek a second time.
A breath escaped Jungkook’s lips. He tilted his chin, turning in towards Jimin’s mouth, and they were kissing.
*
Now Jimin leans back a little. His hands cup Jungkook’s cheek. Jimin’s fringe is in his eyes again – waterlogged brown with the black growing out at the roots – and his eyes are shadowed.
He opens his mouth, as if he’s going to say something. Jungkook’s throat goes tight.
Then Jimin checks himself. He bumps their noses together, then sighs, tiny and almost soundless, and finds Jungkook’s mouth again.
This time Jimin slips his hands up into Jungkook’s hair, twisting lightly. Jungkook gasps. Jimin huffs a laugh, barely more than a breath before he closes the distance between their mouths once more.
Jungkook’s hair isn’t long enough to really grip, but Jimin catches the short locks in the gaps between his fingers. It’s a hot, sharp tug as he yanks Jungkook closer.
Jungkook gets a foot up onto the rise, stepping up. The angle of the kiss changes for a moment before he loses his balance and drops down onto his back heel. He grabs at the front of Jimin’s shirt to keep steady.
He can feel the planes of Jimin’s stomach against the backs of his knuckles. He slips his hands down to Jimin’s hips. He wants to slide them up under the hem of Jimin’s shirt, but he loses his nerve. He shifts his hands up to grip Jimin’s shoulders instead, Jimin’s skin bleeding heat through the thin fabric of his shirt.
Jungkook can almost let himself get lost in Jimin’s mouth: in the shiver of Jimin’s tongue tracing over Jungkook’s teeth; in the slide of their mouths together; in how dark Jimin’s eyes are under the fan of his lashes. If Jungkook could only stop wondering what–
He's thought about this a lot. He's wanted to kiss Jimin almost from the moment Taehyung introduced them.
*
It wasn't until the second week of classes that Jungkook met Taehyung and Jimin coming down the steps of the Performing Arts building.
Jungkook had been to Taehyung’s dorm at least three times while Taehyung was helping him get settled before classes started, and more than that since classes began. But he’d never met Taehyung’s roommate.
“He was too shy to stay when he knew you were coming over,” Taehyung volunteered, grinning. Jungkook saw Jimin elbow him in the side as the three of them started down the steps.
“I wasn’t shy,” Jimin insisted. “I was giving the two of you space.” He ducked his head right after he said it, though, biting his bottom lip.
Then he looked up again and turned a smile on Jungkook. Jungkook had seen that smile in the countless selfies Taehyung had posted with Jimin, but somehow he wasn’t prepared for it. “TaeTae told me you grew up together,” Jimin said. The self-consciousness was still there in his voice, but he also sounded bright and interested and kind.
“I guess,” Jungkook mumbled, looking away. He fixed his gaze off to the left, frowning as though he was thinking about something else. His stomach felt weird.
Taehyung flung an arm around both their shoulders, dragging them down. Jungkook’s head almost knocked against Jimin’s. Jimin huffed out swear words between giggles as he tried to push Taehyung off, and the three of them staggered off the path onto the grass.
Jungkook squirmed away from Taehyung’s hold until he could duck out and retreat a careful two feet away from the scuffle. Taehyung was trying to climb onto Jimin’s back, now. After a moment Jimin seemed to forget he’d been resisting and looped his forearms under Taehyung’s knees to support him.
“Aish, this kid,” Jimin said as he adjusted his grip. He shot a warm sideways glance at Jungkook, aiming the comment at him. The scoop neck of his shirt had gotten twisted out of shape by Taehyung’s grip, baring the shadowed hollow of his shoulder.
Jungkook’s mouth felt dry. He returned Jimin’s look with a blank, unsmiling stare, trying to hide the way his stomach swooped.
Then Taehyung raised his arms, unbalancing the precarious piggyback, and Jimin only just managed to keep his feet long enough to dump Taehyung back onto his own.
Taehyung kept up a stream of chatter as the three of them walked along. Jimin still tried to talk to Jungkook in the spaces between – asking questions to include Jungkook in the conversation. How were his classes, had he worked out the buses, did he know about the shortcut behind the law library? The determined, shy kindness made Jungkook feel even more helplessly off-kilter.
Jimin barely seemed discouraged at all by Jungkook’s single-word answers, or the way he desperately aimed his gaze over Jimin’s shoulder rather than meeting his eyes. Not that time, and not the next few times that the three of them met up. It just seemed to make Jimin try harder.
Jungkook had never had such a sudden and debilitating crush in his life.
The feelings didn’t go away, even after they became friends (which happened mostly thanks to Taehyung being a cheerful steamroller over other people's awkwardness). Jimin never noticed, though.
Jungkook was pretty sure that Jimin would have noticed, if he’d ever thought about Jungkook that way.
*
Jimin breaks the kiss.
He draws back. Jungkook thinks he’ll say something this time, but Jimin only reaches up to push Jungkook’s hair off his cheek.
It has to be Jimin who says something. Jungkook doesn’t know what the right words are. All the ones he can think of make his throat feel like it’s constricting, when he imagines trying to get them out.
Jimin presses in again. Softer this time, his mouth moving gently against Jungkook’s. Jungkook kisses back, helplessly.
This time Jimin pulls away again almost at once, letting out a soft sigh.
His hands rest on Jungkook’s cheeks, holding him there so that Jungkook can’t chase his mouth.
“We’d better stop,” Jimin says. He sounds regretful.
“Why?” Jungkook blurts. He shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
Jimin laughs, his nose crinkling. “Aigoo, what should I do with you, Kookie.”
Keep me, Jungkook thinks.
Then he blushes, as if Jimin could have heard him.
Jimin pushes Jungkook’s hair back from his forehead, the movements brisk and purposeful. He catches the helpless questioning in Jungkook’s eyes and falters.
“It would get serious if we kept going,” Jimin explains. He bites his lip. “I’m your hyung, and I don’t want you to do something without – thinking about it first.”
That's ridiculous. Jungkook doesn't know how to say so, though. He looks down at his hands. He can’t meet Jimin’s eyes as he asks, “Is this going to happen again?”
Jimin hesitates for a long moment. It’s long enough that Jungkook has to look up at his face.
Jimin is chewing on his lip. “Ah, that isn’t fair,” Jimin says. It’s quietly explosive. “I like you too much, what am I supposed to say to that.”
Jungkook jolts.
“You do?” he asks. Something warm and electric uncurls inside him. He shoves his hands into his pockets, trying to keep his heartrate under control.
Jimin sits down on the rise, reaching up to tug on Jungkook’s shoulder. Jungkook lets himself be pulled down next to him, so they’re sitting side by side.
Jimin ruffles Jungkook’s hair. “I’ve been trying to win you over for ages, Jeon Jungkookie,” he says.
He smiles suddenly, sweet and delighted. “Although if you like me enough to like kissing me, maybe I don’t have to work so hard as I thought!”
Jungkook has been holding his breath as Jimin’s fingers push through his hair. Now he blurts, “You don’t.”
Jungkook sucks in a breath, not looking at Jimin. “You never had to – I always – I – oh my god.”
He breaks off, burying his face in his hands. His cheeks are burning.
Jimin doesn’t say anything. Eventually Jungkook cracks his fingers and peaks sideways.
Jimin looks stunned.
Jungkook drops his hands into his lap, twisting his fingers together. He doesn’t look away from his lap as he mumbles, “I don’t know why you’re so surprised. Ten minutes ago we were making out.”
“I just thought you liked kissing,” Jimin says weakly.
Jungkook looks at him, his eyebrows rising.
Jimin looks flustered. “Kissing is great,” he says defensively. “Don’t make that face. Aish, you brat, why do I like you so much?”
Jungkook has to ask the next question: has to ask if that was the only reason, for Jimin. He’s back to being unable to talk, though. It feels like his throat is trying to close up.
He bites his lower lip, fixing his gaze dumbly on Jimin.
Jimin’s eyes soften. He leans forward, and then their foreheads are resting together. Jungkook swallows.
“I like you so much,” Jimin repeats, quietly. This time it sounds like a confession.
Jungkook releases a stuttering breath.
Jimin’s eyebrows furrow and he leans back.
“Also, though,” Jimin says, “also, I’m really cold and you’re still wearing your shoes, what the hell.” He pushes on Jungkook’s forehead. “I’m not kissing you again until you take them off, you barbarian.”
Jungkook nearly trips over his own feet in his rush to obey.
Jimin laughs as he grabs hold of Jungkook’s shoulders to steady him, the sound bell-like and happy. In the end Jungkook still has one foot in the entrance well and one shoe half on when Jimin kisses him again.