Work Text:
Need you.
When Jimin had gotten Hoseok’s Kakao message, he’d wasted no time in putting his glasses on and looking out his bedroom window towards Hoseok’s backyard. He’d waited until a dark-haired, bare-chested Hoseok had stepped through the back door and sat down at the edge of the pool before Jimin threw his blanket off. He slipped out of bed and into a pair of swim trunks that he had only bought when late night swims with his neighbor had become a usual occurrence.
Jimin made his way down the stairs and through his own back door as quietly and as quickly as he could. His parents may be deep sleepers, but Jimin wasn’t going to take any chances. Soon enough, he was feeling grass beneath his feet and in between his toes as he made his way towards the door in his fence that separated his backyard from Hoseok’s. The door opened quietly and Hoseok threw an arm up in greeting as Jimin stepped through, quickly latching the door shut behind him.
“Hey.” His voice was soft and musical, but Jimin had known Hoseok long enough to know that the husky undertone in his voice meant that he’d been crying.
“What happened?” Jimin asked as he walked towards the elder and sat down beside him.
Hoseok gave out a quiet chuckle. “I forget how well you know me sometimes.”
Jimin felt his face heat up under Hoseok’s gaze, but he pressed on. “You’ve been crying. What happened?”
Hoseok turned his head to look out across his pool and Jimin continued to look at the side of his head. Jimin was pretty tired and a bit cold, considering it was past three A.M and he was sitting with his feet dipped into a pool, only in his trunks, but Hoseok had said it himself, he needed Jimin. So Jimin was there.
When Jimin was going to ask again, Hoseok responded in a quiet voice, “Nothing happened. It’s just the same-old, same-old.”
Jimin peered at the elder, biting his lip before he asked, “Your dad again?”
Hoseok hesitated, then nodded his head. “Yeah. My dad again.”
“I’m sorry,” Jimin murmured, his arm wrapping itself around Hoseok’s shoulders. “What'd he do this time?”
“Threw a picture at the wall by my head for not doing the dishes then stormed out of the house. He’ll probably be back in the afternoon.” Hoseok leaned into Jimin’s embrace. “But it's cool. S’not your fault, Minnie.”
Jimin was glad that Hoseok wasn't facing him anymore because his blushing face that the nickname always brought would have given everything away. Everything as in, Jimin having a huge crush on the boy next door. The boy next door who happened to be his best friend. His best friend who happened to be severely depressed and felt so goddamn lonely all the time.
Hoseok had theorized it was probably why he dated a new person every week and flirted with everybody. He wanted to fill up that vast void, but so far, no one had managed to do it. Jimin argued that another person wasn’t going to fix the elder, because Hoseok wasn't broken or damaged or any other Tumblr cliche shit he sometimes spouted. Hoseok was just a sad, seventeen year old boy with a drunk dad, an absent mother, and a best friend who’d been in love with him since the sixth grade.
Still, Jimin wasn't going to say anything. Hoseok may be his best friend and in need of a good, proper loving, but Jimin knew full well about all the whispers that followed them when they walked down the school hallways. Fuckboy was practically tattooed across Hoseok’s forehead and Nerd was on Jimin’s. Together they were the Fuckboy whose favorite booty call is the Nerd.
Jimin hadn't lost the irony of him falling for Hoseok, not once, but when they were together, Jimin didn't really care. It was him and it was Hoseok and that was it.
“Minnie.” Hoseok’s voice broke Jimin from his trance.
“Yeah, Hobi?”
Instead of answering, Hoseok shoved Jimin into the pool.
Jimin came up spluttering and gasping for air, greeted by the sound of Hoseok’s laughter.
“You asshole! I lost my glasses!” Jimin panicked, the world around him turning blurry, either from the chlorinated water in his eyes or his fucked eyesight.
Jimin dived blindly, his eyes open against the burning water and hands scrabbling at the bottom of the pool. He made out a blurry hand, a shade darker than his own, shoot out and wrap itself around what he hoped were the thick black frames of his glasses. Jimin resurfaced again to find Hoseok holding his glasses triumphantly up in the air.
“Sorry, Minnie. I forgot,” Hoseok murmured when he swam towards Jimin and gently perched the glasses on his nose.
“You could have asked if we could go swimming instead of just shoving me in. You do realize how cold the fucking water is, right?” Jimin sputtered, fixing his glasses and swimming away from Hoseok towards the pool side.
Hoseok swam after him. “Minnie, I’m sorry. I wasn't thinking. Are you mad at me?”
Jimin sighed and hoisted himself out of the water, turning to sit at the edge once more with his feet dipped inside the pool. “No, Hobi. I'm not mad.”
Hoseok quickly settled himself beside Jimin once more. “Really? If I were you, I’d be pissed.”
“Well I'm not you, Hoseok.” In every possible way, Jimin thought to himself.
Hoseok threw his arms around Jimin. “Let me make it up to you.”
“You don't have to.”
“I know. But I want to, so just let me.”
Jimin let Hoseok nestle himself into the curve of his neck, sharing body heat against the cool, spring night. “Depends on what you have in mind.”
“How does prom sound?”
Jimin pushed back from Hoseok, his eyes wide. “Prom?”
Hoseok nodded, his flop of wet, black hair flapping against his forehead. “You said you wanted to go.”
“Yeah, next year. You know, when I’m actually allowed to go. You know as well as I do that only seniors and juniors can go.”
Hoseok shrugged. “Well I already filled out a visitor’s pass for you and bought the tickets, so you kind of have to go with me.”
“What?” Jimin spluttered.
Hoseok sighed and drew himself towards Jimin again, the younger letting him rest his head on his bare shoulder. “I was going to take Blanca, you know, since she asked me with flowers and everything. But…”
Hoseok paused, as if gathering his bearings before he continued. “I don't want to go to prom with someone I don't like.”
“So what? You decided to go with your best friend instead?” Jimin asked, his face flushed once more.
“No,” Hoseok shook his head. “I decided to go with someone I do like.”
“What do you mean, Hobi?”
“I mean, that I like you, Minnie.”
A silence followed. Jimin was in shock, understandably, because this couldn't be real life. He was dreaming. Hoseok had never sent him a message asking to meet up and Jimin was still in his bed sleeping. This was all a dream.
Or maybe a nightmare.
Jimin felt his breathing accelerate and his heart start to thump erratically in his chest, but it wasn't from excitement. It was fear. Jimin was scared of Hoseok’s confession.
“What?” Jimin breathed, his voice hoarse and on the verge of breaking.
Hoseok pulled back from his resting place on Jimin’s shoulder and gave the younger, orange-haired boy beside him a shy grin. “I'm trying to confess to you.”
“I know that,” Jimin waved a hand absentmindedly. “I just don't understand why.”
“Well I mean, I thought saying I like you would've freaked you out less than saying I love you.”
Hoseok was right. The idea of Hoseok loving Jimin in a non-platonic way did freak him out more than the idea of the elder crushing on him did.
Considering that Jimin had been in love with Hoseok for years, Hoseok’s confession should have elated him. But all Jimin felt was dread. And a bit of shock, but mostly dread.
Hoseok loved a new person every week. Jimin didn't want to be one of those weekly flings. He wanted Hoseok for real, for a long time, for forever if it was possible. He didn't want this to ruin them and then lose the elder. Jimin didn't want that at all.
“You can't,” Jimin let out.
Hoseok’s brows came together in confusion. “I can't love you?”
Jimin nodded.
“Why not? I’ve been loving you for years already.”
“What?”
This is not happening, Jimin thought. This is all a dream and Hobi isn't really in love with me. This is just a dream that's turning into a nightmare.
“Minnie, you honestly didn't notice all the signs?” Hoseok asked, his voice a bit strained.
Jimin shook his head, his breath coming out in pants now as anxiety gripped his chest.
“Hobi, n-no. You can't. P-please,” Jimin whispered, hoping his voice was low enough to hide the panic that was building with him.
“Hey, Minnie,” Hoseok murmured, his hands framing Jimin’s round face. “Breathe. Relax. In and out. Come on, like we practiced.”
Jimin followed his orders. Controlling his breathing and letting the elder guide him through it. It wasn't the first time that Hoseok had brought Jimin down from an oncoming anxiety attack, but this time it felt different because Jimin noticed.
He noticed the pained look in Hoseok’s eyes. He noticed how forced the elder’s reassuring smile was. He noticed how the elder massaged the pad of his thumbs into Jimin’s cheeks. He noticed the visible tension in Hoseok’s shoulders disappear when Jimin returned to his senses and began to breathe easier.
Hoseok being in love with him did freak him out. A lot. He didn’t want to lose the elder for just a temporary thing. He wanted Hoseok in every way possible. He had wanted Hoseok for years. But Hoseok said that he’d loved Jimin for years too. Could they have a chance? Or would it all blow up in Jimin’s face.
Jimin looked up at the elder and caught the starry-eyed look that Hoseok was giving him. It was clear that Hoseok loved Jimin because they were best friends first. They’d been best friends ever since Jimin climbed over the fence to comfort the elder when he was six. By the time middle school had rolled around, Jimin’s parents had invested in the door in their fence so Jimin wouldn’t twist his ankle anymore by jumping over. Hoseok had apologized relentlessly the first time it happened, but Jimin had only laughed it off and told him it was nothing compared to making the elder happy. That was when Jimin realized he was probably in love with Hoseok.
So it may have been possible for Hoseok to have fallen in love with him in return. Maybe.
The elder was still staring at Jimin, his fingers carding through the younger’s orange hair. His gaze and touch were soft and Jimin might have actually melted from the heat rolling off Hoseok’s tanned skin.
“You alright, Minnie?” Hoseok kept his voice low and his fingers in Jimin’s hair.
Jimin took one look at the small smile spread across Hoseok’s lips and thought, Fuck it.
Their lips came together in a soft embrace. Hoseok was surprised at first, but then eased into the kiss with Jimin. Jimin’s glasses were pressed against Hoseok’s cheekbone and Jimin’s hands gripped at the elder’s shoulders. Their lips moved soundlessly against the other and Hoseok’s fingers were still in Jimin’s hair, but he didn’t start tugging on the tangerine locks until Jimin nipped at his bottom lip and let his tongue slip inside the elder’s mouth.
It might have been their teenage hormones losing control or it may have been the years of pent up sexual tension being released that made Jimin moan into the elder’s mouth, but it was most likely just them losing themselves in the moment if Jimin was being honest. Hoseok pulled Jimin closer to him until Jimin straddled his waist then deepened the kiss. Jimin only realized that he’d been bucking his hips when Hoseok let out a hiss as Jimin’s crotch grazed against the elder’s erection.
Jimin pulled back, shy. He’d kissed people before, sure, but he’d never gone as far as doing that. And he sure as hell hadn’t ever kissed Hoseok before. He’d dreamed about it on occasion, but he knew the chances of it becoming a reality were incredibly slim. Still, he had just kissed Hoseok and enjoyed it very much. Enjoyed it a lot actually if the semi in his swim trunks wasn’t proof enough.
Hoseok’s face was flushed, his hair a bit mussed and eyes somewhat droopy, but to Jimin he was the most beautiful person in the world.
“Wow,” Hoseok breathed, his eyes blinking rapidly.
Jimin laughed, his nerves gone, and a warm feeling settling in his gut. “Yeah, wow.”
Hoseok shook his head and let out a quiet laugh. “Never knew you had that in you, Minnie.”
Jimin slapped his arm playfully. “Shut up, Hobi.”
“So prom?”
“Prom.”