Work Text:
It’s 2:13am when Yoongi’s phone buzzes on his nightstand. It’s not like he wasn’t awake, he was. He was watching cat videos on youtube. He was hoping he’d be over his insomnia by now, but here he was still wide awake, grabbing the phone to see an unknown number texting him. He unlocks it and opens his texting app.
Unknown Number
did you keep the plant?
Yoongi doesn’t even question who the text is from.
It’s from Jeongguk. The reason for his insomnia. He can feel his own heart sink at the realization. He’s put so much effort in forgetting about him, forgetting how much love he had for him only for it all to come rushing back with 5 simple words. He stares at the text for he doesn’t know how long until he finally feels able to move his fingers to reply.
Yoongi
it died
Yoongi stares as bubbles appear and disappear just as quickly. Multiple times. As if Jeongguk can’t decide what to say. But all that comes is a simple
Unknown Number
oh
No bubbles appear after that, which causes Yoongi’s heart to ache. He tries to refocus on the cat videos on youtube, but his mind is elsewhere. He doesn’t even know where, but it’s not here.
What brings it back is a knocking at his front door. He’s sure it’s a friend of his neighbors, who constantly knocks on Yoongi’s door instead of his neighbor’s door. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal but tonight he doesn’t want to deal with it. He stomps towards the door and flings it open but all the annoyance disappears when he sees what’s in front of him.
Jeongguk. In a soaking wet hoodie with bloodshot eyes and arms full of convenience store ramen.
“They gave me two ramens by accident,” Jeongguk bites his bottom lip, the telltale sign that he’s nervous.
Yoongi doesn’t say anything but steps to the side, allowing Jeongguk to enter. Jeongguk removes his shoes in the same place he always used to, which hits Yoongi’s heart with a pang. His slippers are still there too. Yoongi didn’t have it in him to get rid of them when Jeongguk didn’t take them with him.
Yoongi excuses himself and goes into the bathroom, returning with a towel and begins to towel off Jeongguk’s wet hair.
“I can do it, hyung,” Jeongguk tells him. Even the hyung hurts, even though it shouldn’t. It feels so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. Yoongi releases his hold on the towel and takes the ramen instead, allowing Jeongguk to dry off his hair.
Yoongi sets the ramen down on the table and heads back to his bedroom. He reaches into the far back of the closet until he finds it; the hoodie Jeongguk left behind.
He returns to the living room, handing the hoodie to Jeongguk without a word. Jeongguk takes it but stares at it for a minute, as if he can’t believe Yoongi kept it all this time. He leaves Jeongguk to change, taking the ramen into the kitchen and begins to boil water on the stove.
He hears Jeongguk shuffle into the kitchen and hears him sit up on the counter the way he used to when Yoongi would cook for them. They stay silent as the water boils, Yoongi busying himself with making sure the noodles are cooked. He grabs some bowls and behind him, hears Jeongguk’s feet hit the ground. Before he can move, Jeongguk is beside him, opening the drawer with the chopsticks as if it hadn’t been months since he’s been here.
They walk into the little dining room and each takes their usual seats, and begin eating their ramen.
“So how is work?” Jeongguk asks awkwardly, as if he’s trying to fill the silence, which Yoongi supposes he is.
“Same ole, same ole,” Yoongi answers. “What about you?”
“Yea…same.”
It goes back to silence with the exception of them eating. A few other random small talk questions are asked about friends and other meaningless things until they’re both done with their bowl. Yoongi takes both bowls into the kitchen and puts them in the sink and runs the water to begin washing them. Jeongguk appears at his side, as he always did, taking the newly washed dishes to dry them.
Once that’s done, they go into the living room and sit on the couch, silence so loud it’s deafening.
“Did it really die?” Jeongguk breaches it.
“I kept forgetting to water it,” Yoongi admits. “By the time I realized it was too late.”
“Figures,” Jeongguk scoffs, which makes Yoongi really look at him for the first time since he showed up on his doorstep.
“Don’t do that.”
“I kept waiting, you know,” Jeongguk says to his hands as he leans forward with his elbows on his knees. “I waited. And waited. To the point that I got angry about it. You never called.”
The truth is, it took weeks for Yoongi to finally delete Jeongguk’s number from his phone. Every single night he sat with his contact page open ready to hit the call button just to hear his voice again. But every time he chickened out.
“I thought if I stayed away long enough it’d stop hurting,” Yoongi finally admits.
“Did it?”
“No.”
Silence.
“I didn’t call because if I heard your voice, I’d immediately ask for you to come back,” Yoongi looks at the wall as he says it, his arms crossed over his chest as he leans back against the back cushion of the couch.
“You could’ve,” Jeongguk turns so he’s looking back at Yoongi.
Yoongi looks and what he immediately sees is the tear escaping Jeongguk’s eye and falling down his cheek. He reaches out and thumbs it away, noticing how Jeongguk leans into his hand briefly before he realizes what he’s doing and pulls away.
“Do you want to watch some tv?” Yoongi finally asks. He feels emotionally exhausted even though not much has been said between them.
But just Jeongguk being here says a lot. The way he moves around Yoongi’s apartment like he’s never left. Their break up wasn’t because they fell out of love, it was simply a matter of bad timing. Which made it worse.
“Sure,” Jeongguk turns and faces the television as Yoongi hands him the remote, the same way he used to, to let Jeongguk pick what they watch.
Jeongguk picks some anime he likes, leaning back on the couch but far enough away from Yoongi that they aren’t touching. They watch in silence, but this silence feels a little less heavy. But this time, the silence is interrupted by a quiet snore coming from Yoongi’s left. He looks over and sees Jeongguk’s head against the back of the couch, mouth partly open. He’s fast asleep.
“You still drool in your sleep,” Yoongi whispers as he watches. He reaches towards the basket that sits next to his couch and pulls out a blanket, covering them both with it carefully to not disturb Jeongguk.
//
When Jeongguk wakes up, he panics because this isn’t his bedroom. It’s familiar though, and that’s when he remembers last night.
Yoongi.
Yoongi who admitted he wanted to call but never did. Yoongi who all but admitted he missed him too. Yoongi who is laying beside him on the couch with his arms wrapped around Jeongguk’s waist like it’s where they still belong.
But Jeongguk didn’t belong here, he no longer belonged to Yoongi. He tries to stand, but Yoongi’s grip tightens.
“Stay until morning,” Yoongi slurs, not even opening his eyes. It makes Jeongguk’s heart leap knowing Yoongi wants him to stay.
“It is morning,” Jeongguk whispers back to him with a hint of a smile that Yoongi can’t see.
“Stay a little longer then,” Yoongi finally opens his eyes and looks up at him, and he can see the pleading in them.
“Okay,” Jeongguk relents. “I’ll stay.”
Yoongi smiles briefly as Jeongguk lays back down. Jeongguk is pulled closer to Yoongi, and can feel a kiss on his hair as he settles in.
Maybe the plant can’t be saved, but maybe some things can come back to life with a little care.