Chapter Text
Hoseok likes to think that he’s a damn good boyfriend.
He’s also a fairly great kisser, not that he’s trying to brag or anything. It’s just a simple fact, one that can be proven from the way that Yoongi eagerly kisses him back every time. But maybe that’s a bit biased; Yoongi is always eager to kiss him. It’s the same vice versa. Hoseok can’t get enough of his lover’s lips against his skin and those hands buried in his hair. Even now, after so many months of having this privilege, this bliss, he just can’t get enough.
His friends call it the “honeymoon phase.” Hoseok calls it being madly in love.
That’s exactly how he ends up here: lying naked in Yoongi’s bed with an equally as naked Yoongi beneath him. He kisses Yoongi slowly, lazily, while Yoongi’s fingers tug and knead at his scalp, gently and roughly. Even at night, the final days of summer are just as hot as the peak of the season, but the heat doesn’t stop them from pressing their bodies close. It doesn’t keep Hoseok from wanting to touch Yoongi every chance that he gets.
Especially not nowadays, when he misses Yoongi more than he’d care to admit. It’s been nearly two months since the move and Hoseok still isn’t used to it yet. Sometimes he even catches himself heading towards apartment 403, only to remember that it’s empty. The days of being in love with his neighbor are long gone, but it’s not the worst thing in the world.
Min Yoongi is still his boyfriend, still the man that Hoseok fell in love with almost a year ago. He still makes Hoseok happy and Hoseok still tries his hardest to do the same. He’s still that cute guy (not blond anymore, but Hoseok has grown quite fond of the raven black look) with the even cuter daughter. And, well, that’s all that truly matters.
With a satisfied grin, Hoseok rests his forehead against Yoongi’s. They’re both a bit sweaty and the air conditioning in Yoongi’s new apartment isn’t the most efficient, but neither of them pay any mind to the current temperature.
He asks in a soft murmur, “Is your headache gone yet?”
Yoongi’s swollen lips curve into a grin as well. His cheeks are just as flushed as his neck and chest, and the sight of him makes Hoseok want to kiss him even more. As he attempts catching his breath, Yoongi eventually manages a nod.
“You’re fucking magical,” Yoongi says, followed by a breathy laugh that caresses Hoseok’s warm cheek.
Hoseok laughs along with him, feeling quite proud of his “great deed.” He always knew that curing his boyfriend with an orgasm was the best method to go with.
“Just call me Dumbledore,” he teases.
In an instant, the pure bliss on Yoongi’s face transforms into a look of disgust. His priceless reaction earns an even louder laugh from Hoseok, who doesn’t care that it’s his fault in the first place.
Yoongi shakes his head. “First of all, no. Second of all, gross.”
Hoseok nods seriously. “So, you’re not into role-play. Got it.”
Though clearly trying to resist, Yoongi starts to smile again, amused by the silly joke. He tugs at Hoseok’s hair, saying, “Shut up and kiss me some more.”
Hoseok gladly obeys the command, because he’s always down for kissing and being kissed. Obviously. At the same time, he’s unable to resist it, especially when Yoongi licks into his mouth and sucks on his tongue. Hoseok hums with delight, a shiver gliding through his body as Yoongi slowly grinds up against him. As much as Hoseok would love for this to continue, he knows that he has to put an end to it now before he gives in.
It’s with great reluctance that he breaks the kiss, not wanting to risk getting too excited again. He can see that it’s already far too late for Yoongi, who keeps him close and nuzzles his skin.
“Sorry, hyung.” Hoseok presses an apologetic kiss into his cheek. “I gotta get going in a minute.”
He predicts the pout before it appears. It’s times like this where Hoseok wants to pretend that the rest of the world doesn’t exist, giving him the freedom to stay in bed and kiss Yoongi to his heart’s content.
“Are you sure?” asks Yoongi, his pout deepening.
Hoseok nods sadly. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
Despite nodding as well, Yoongi kisses him again. They’re soft, fleeting kisses pressed into Hoseok’s jawline, almost light enough for them to tickle.
“Are you really sure?” he whispers.
He’s teasingly nibbling on Hoseok’s earlobe now, and that is just so unfair.
“Yes, yes. I’m really sure, or else I’ll be late for work.” Hoseok’s eyes flutter shut as the hands in his hair gently massage his scalp. He licks his lips, says, “Still need to get back home and… take a shower, get changed…”
“Mm, sounds like you have a lot to do.”
“Yeah…”
The word ends in a quiet moan as Yoongi grinds into him again. The weak portion of Hoseok’s mind, the part that’s already horny and desperate for instant gratification, begs him to give in to temptation. He almost starts to, until he realizes what Yoongi is doing to him.
“Fuck.” As Hoseok pulls away for the second time, he catches a glimpse of the sneaky little smirk on Yoongi’s face just before it turns into a fake pout. “You’re evil as hell, you know that?”
Yoongi pretends to look surprised by the accusation, but his mouth twitches and it’s obvious that he’s trying not to smile.
He asks, “Who? Me?”
Because Hoseok is a lot stronger than he looks, he doesn’t fall for the cuteness this time around. Of course, it takes a hell of a lot of effort to resist. Instead of kissing Yoongi again, he pokes him in the nose and chastises him.
“No more distractions, okay? I seriously have to go now.”
It requires twice as much effort to untangle himself from his clingy boyfriend’s grasp. In all honesty, Hoseok doesn’t actually mind Yoongi’s natural clinginess. Not only does he think it’s cute, but it makes him feel wanted and loved, which is something that he hasn’t felt to this extent for most of his life so far. Not until Yoongi came along.
“Why do you have to work tonight?” Yoongi whines rather than asks. “It’s my birthday, y’know.”
At the edge of the bed, Hoseok quickly pulls his boxer briefs back on. Hearing that excuse, he snorts and looks back over his shoulder, eyeing the little liar who remains tangled in the sheets.
“It is not your birthday.”
Yoongi merely shrugs. “It could be, like… in another universe or something.”
Hoseok can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, mainly the fact that Yoongi really thought the lame excuse might work in his favor. He must be truly desperate. Hoseok almost feels bad for having to leave so soon.
“If you want, I can come back here after my shift,” Hoseok suggests. “You’re off tomorrow, right? We could stay inside all day… and you could do whatever you want with me.”
Yoongi doesn’t say anything at first, though he’s clearly intrigued by the offer. He wiggles a little closer and traces Hoseok’s spine with his fingertips, the digits eventually finding their way to the colorful ink between Hoseok’s shoulder blades. He’s always had a certain fascination with the tattoo, likely due to it being one of his own creations. He often says how lovely the yellow and green coloring appears against Hoseok’s caramel skin.
The sunflower tattoo had been even more spontaneous than the Spanish Iris, but Hoseok loves it just as much.
Yoongi mutters, “Whatever I want, huh?”
Hoseok nods. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”
He reaches back with a hand to fix the wild bangs along Yoongi’s forehead. He’ll have to remember to fix his own sex hair before he leaves, or risk being stared at by strangers on the subway. Well, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. Hoseok hasn’t decided yet.
Yoongi wiggles even closer, enough to kiss along the soft skin of Hoseok’s back. And since that does tickle, Hoseok giggles and begins to squirm.
“What if we got a head start on that plan of yours?” Yoongi suggests instead.
As exciting as that naughty suggestion sounds, Hoseok reacts to it by rolling his eyes and tugging at his sneaky boyfriend’s hair.
“Nice try, but I’m not missing work, Yoongi.”
Hoseok stands from the bed afterwards, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand and ignoring the enticing demon behind him. He speaks as he bends forward to pick up his abandoned shorts from the floor.
“Just so you know, it takes more time than you’d think to go from here, the subway, home, the bus, and then the bar.” After wrestling with the old zipper on his shorts, Hoseok glances around in search for his lost socks. He’ll definitely have to be mindful of where he tosses his things, next time. “Like, my calves are toned as fuck from all of the walking that I do.”
“Okay, but what if I drove you to work instead?” Yoongi offers. His voice is muffled now that he’s buried his face in the pillow, defeated. “You’d save time and we could fool around some more.”
“And what about Nabi-yah? You can’t just leave her here.”
“She’d come with us, obviously.”
Hoseok snorts. “So, you’d wake up your daughter and force her to accompany us on a car ride, all so that you can have a few more minutes of making out?”
“Well…” Yoongi pauses for several seconds, then says, “It sounds really bad when you say it like that.”
Hoseok laughs as he crosses the room to pick up his other sock, then tries balancing on one foot while sliding it onto the other. He replies jokingly, “My calves appreciate the offer, though.”
“Fine,” Yoongi huffs, giving in at last. He comes off as being extra whiny when he says, “If you’re so worried about being late for work every time that you visit me, why don’t you just live here?”
“Fine,” Hoseok says, mimicking his whiny tone, “Maybe I will.”
For the first several seconds, Yoongi doesn’t say anything back. Hoseok finds his shirt at the foot of the bed and picks it up, frowning at the wrinkles and, more importantly, the white stain. How did he let this happen? Oh, well. There’s no time to complain, he’ll just have to steal one of Yoongi’s.
From the bed, Yoongi suddenly speaks up again when he quietly asks, “Would you ever want to, though?”
“Hm?” Hoseok rolls the shirt into a ball and tosses it into the nearby hamper. “Would I ever what?”
“Move in with me.”
Hoseok has only taken two steps towards the closet when he freezes. He whips his head back around and stares at the pair of eyes that stare back into his own, and it feels like his heart stops. Time stops, too, but Yoongi doesn’t. He stares back at Hoseok while chewing on his bottom lip, his nervousness as clear as day.
He begins rambling. “I mean, you obviously don’t have to and I totally get it if you’re not ready for that type of thing, I’m just thinking of the commute, yeah? You wouldn’t have to worry about going back and forth and… there’s lots of space here, y’know, since it’s just Nabi and I. It could be fun? Um.”
“Okay.”
That last word definitely comes out of Hoseok’s mouth, which is strange, because he doesn’t recall forcing himself to speak. He hadn’t even thought of an answer, at least, not really. But that single word—okay—felt so natural. It’s as if he didn’t have to consider the offer at all, because he’s always known the answer and he’s been subconsciously waiting to let it out.
Hoseok wants this. He really, actually wants this.
A year ago, this realization would’ve terrified the fuck out of him. At the moment, all that he feels is absolute certainty.
Yoongi’s mouth falls open in shock. He blinks multiple times in a row, then repeats the word.
“Okay?”
Hoseok nods his head, feeling so many emotions flowing through him. “I’ll… move in with you, yeah. If you’re sure.”
All of a sudden, the bed frame creaks as Yoongi hastily untangles himself from the sheets and crawls to the foot of the bed. He reaches out with both hands, grabbing Hoseok by the waist and pulling him closer. There’s that familiar gleam in his beautiful eyes, filled with excitement, adoration, love. Hoseok never fails to get lost in those eyes, but at the same time, they make him feel so safe and grounded.
Yoongi says, “Baby, I’ve never been more sure about anything else.”
Is it possible to fall in love with someone all over again? Hoseok doesn’t know, he’s far from being an expert on the subject. But what he does know is that it certainly feels like falling in love again. He knows that he wants this, whether or not the perfect timing exists.
All that matters is the present. They can figure out the future later on.
Together.
For now, Hoseok kisses Yoongi like his life depends on it. Maybe it really does. Who knows. Hoseok just knows that he’s never been this happy before. Sure, there will be certain challenges that they’ll have to face together, now that they’re taking the next step in their relationship. He doesn’t fear them, though. And, to be quite honest, he spends so much time here that they practically live together already.
Only, now it’ll be official.
Hoseok can hardly believe it.
“Is this real?” he asks, temporarily pulling back from the embrace. “Like, is this really gonna happen? Pinch me, I might be dreaming.”
Yoongi (almost too eagerly) does him the favor and pinches his side. Though it’s a little painful, Hoseok’s just glad that he isn’t dreaming after all.
“Okay,” he winces, “definitely not a dream.”
“When should we make it happen?” asks Yoongi, staring up at Hoseok with wide eyes still filled with excitement and joy. “Can it be soon? Please say soon. I miss you.”
“Soon!” Hoseok laughs, and he has to admit that he’s just as eager. Despite how often he visits, it’s just not the same as living next door to each other. This time, they’ll be living with each other. He can hardly wait. “Very soon, probably? It’s not like I own a whole lot of things… everything that I have can fit into one or two suitcases. Moving in would take, like, less than an hour.”
“Holy shit,” Yoongi gasps. It looks as if it’s just now sinking into his mind. “This is really happening, huh? Wait! There’s something really important that we have to do first.”
Hoseok chuckles, asks, “What is it?”
Yoongi answers, “We have to tell Nabi.”
***
They break the news to Min Nabi a day later.
Never in his life has Hoseok imagined finding himself in this type of scenario: nervously waiting for the verdict given by a five-year-old. But that’s precisely where he’s ended up. Even though he knows that Nabi loves him, even though he’s progressively become like a second parent to her over time, he still worries. He worries because he’s not accustomed to having so many good things happen to him. He’s not used to being this fortunate, this happy.
Some days, Hoseok convinces himself that it’s all just a dream. Or that it’s only temporary. His happiness will be taken away from him eventually. He doesn’t deserve any of the nice things that have happened to him recently.
On bad days like that, Hoseok has to remind himself that he isn’t alone anymore. On those days, he trusts that Yoongi will be there for him, and he always is. They’ll talk about it while cuddling in bed, and Yoongi will kiss him and tell him that he loves him. On those days, Hoseok’s happiness doesn’t feel like a dream anymore. It becomes reality.
Today is one of those days.
“What do you think, butterfly?” Yoongi asks his daughter, since it’s been a moment and she hasn’t said anything. “Would you be okay with that?”
Nabi gives most of her attention to the coloring book that she’s scribbling in with a bright orange crayon. She’s still chewing on the slices of strawberry that Hoseok prepared for her as a snack, there’s a blue stain on her arm from a marker that she used earlier, and she smells like the bubble bath that she just took. At her father’s words, she looks up from the coloring book with big, curious eyes.
“Hoppa’s gonna sleep here?” she asks, glancing between the two of them.
Yoongi nods, then tucks a bit of loose hair behind her little ear. “That’s right, but he’ll also be living here with us. You’ll get to see him all the time, too.”
“Okay!” Nabi decides immediately, now that she understands the situation. She’s already looking excited. “He can sleep in my room ‘cause I have two pillows, so Hoppa can have one and I can have the other one.”
Honestly, Hoseok didn’t know that it was possible to love her even more than he already had. He feels completely silly about being nervous at all, and it makes him laugh from deep within his belly.
Yoongi starts to say, “Actually, I—”
But Hoseok interrupts when he ambushes Nabi with countless kisses to her cheeks, the little girl giggling where she sits. Yoongi watches the scene with great fondness.
“Thank you, angel! I love you so,” Kiss. “so,” Kiss. “so,” Another kiss. “much!”
When Nabi says that she loves him, too, Hoseok’s warmed heart soars into the clouds.
***
Leaving apartment 404 is much more difficult than the last time that Hoseok left. Back then, he was just a drifter. Back then, he was eager to get out of Seoul and leave behind the country that contained bad memories of his past. Back then, he hadn’t known what it felt like to have a home.
So much has changed since then. Unlike before, Hoseok is genuinely going to miss sleeping on that couch. He knows that he can always visit and that Friday movie nights are definitely still part of the agenda, but things won’t be the same as they were before.
For once, he’s okay with that.
“Call us when you get there,” Taehyung tells him. He’s smiling and his eyes are glossy and Hoseok really wants to hug him.
Jimin adds teasingly, “Don’t forget about us, okay?”
Hoseok laughs while shaking his head. “Guys, I’ll only be, like, twenty minutes away. Maybe even less. There’s no reason to get emotional.”
Hypocrite. He’s a goddamn hypocrite, that’s for sure. As soon as the words leave his mouth, Hoseok feels that familiar pressure suddenly building up behind his eyes. His throat feels a bit tight, too. Hiding it is pointless, they know him far too well.
Perhaps that’s why Jimin opens his arms, his smile growing sadder before he says, “Come here, you big baby.”
Hoseok welcomes the embrace without a second thought. He wraps his arms around them both and they squeeze him just as tightly. He’s only moving away to another apartment complex, but it feels like he’s moving to the other side of the world. It’s strange how he’s become so attached to this place. Or, maybe it isn’t strange at all.
They’re not just his best friends.
They’re his family.
“Thanks for always looking out for me and being there when I needed someone. I’m really gonna miss you both,” Hoseok whispers. Taehyung sniffles and squeezes him tighter. Jimin discreetly wipes his eyes against Hoseok’s shirt. “You better remember to buy your own toilet paper from now on, and no doing questionable things against 405’s wall, okay?”
When Hoseok releases them and steps back again, both of them are smiling at him. Small, teary smiles, but smiles nonetheless.
“Can’t promise anything, but we’ll try,” Taehyung says.
Jimin laughs and nods along to that. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll definitely try.”
It’s far from a confirmation, but at least they’re going to try. Hoseok supposes that he’s satisfied with that answer. With nothing else to say, he takes one last glance around the room and tries not to get emotional again. He’ll be back on Friday. They’ll be waiting for him, just like always.
At the moment, Yoongi and Nabi are waiting for him by the front door. Nabi appears to be in her own little world as usual, a lollipop in her mouth (Taehyung’s doing) as she rearranges the collection of shoes on the nearby shoe rack. Next to her, Yoongi stands with a duffel bag in one hand, and the other clutching the handle of Hoseok’s suitcase. When their eyes meet, he smiles and asks:
“Ready to go home?”
Home. Hoseok can get used to this.
“Yeah,” he answers with a smile of his own, “I’m ready to go home.”
Before they leave, Yoongi gets the attention of his precious miniature self. “Say bye-bye to your uncles, Nabi.”
As if she hasn’t just completely disorganized their entire shoe rack, Nabi puts on her usual angelic face and eagerly accepts the affection. Taehyung kneels down and gives her a bear hug and many kisses that leave her giggling. Afterwards, Jimin offers her a high-five, and they all watch with amusement as she winds up her arm to deliver the biggest high-five ever. Then, Jimin pretends to be in a great deal of pain from the force of her overwhelming power.
While Hoseok watches the adorable scene unfold before him, he can’t help but feel proud.
This is his family, and he found it all on his own.