Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To: taebae [11:27pm]
Hey
are you
by any chance
awake

From: taebae [11:30pm]
as a matter of fact I am
and i’m in ur bed lol
Jet lag is a killer :-((

To: taebae [11:31pm]
I hate to ask this but could u come get me

From: taebae [11:33pm]
course
Usual bar?

To: taebae [11:37pm]
uhhh about that lol
idk where I am lol

From: taebae [11:38pm]
Jeonggukie. You okay?

To: taebae [11:40pm]
No.

It takes almost half an hour after Jeongguk shares his location for Taehyung to find him, sitting on a bench just outside a park. He’d left home hours ago to clear his head, walking so far he’d lost track of the streets and just. Stayed there.

“Hey.” Taehyung rolls down the window as he gets close. “Get in.”

Taehyung doesn’t take him home right away, instead he drives back in the direction of town, dumping a bag of McDonald’s in Jeongguk’s lap and saying he figured Jeongguk hadn’t gotten a chance to eat after class. He was right. Taehyung had an innate ability to read people better than anyone Jeongguk had ever met. There really wasn’t anything Jeongguk could hide from him.

They drive for a bit before Taehyung pulls off the road and leads Jeongguk down a small embankment to the concrete beneath a tiny bridge. He’d grabbed a couple blankets from the trunk of the car, and they sit together while Jeongguk munches on a handful of fries.

“This is where I come to cry,” Taehyung says.

“Really?”

“No, it just looked cool.”

Jeongguk snorts, unwrapping one of the burgers. He’s going to regret this at the gym tomorrow, but right now it’s the greatest gift anyone has ever given him. They sit together, the night cool but not uncomfortable, Jeongguk moving to give Taehyung a fry only to pull it back at the last second with a grin. He had an actor diet and Jeongguk did not.

For a little while, Taehyung fills the silence and lets Jeongguk eat. He shows Jeongguk pictures from the latest set he’d filmed on, making Jeongguk pinky promise that he won’t spoil anything. Eventually, though, Jeongguk runs out of burgers to eat and Taehyung tugs one of the blankets over their shoulders.

“Jeongguk-ah,” Taehyung says, nudging their shoulders together. “What’s up? You’ve been distant all week.”

Dropping his face into his hands, Jeongguk lets out a long sigh, exhaling until his lungs beg him to fill them again. He’s been trying not to think about it this week, trying instead to distract himself with workouts and schoolwork, but with each text from his parents or money deposit from Seokjin, he’d just felt worse. Jeongguk sighs again, tipping back against the concrete.

“I snapped at Yoongi hyung. That night at the bar.”

“Are we talking like Chungha or Thanos?”

“Hyung!” Jeongguk can’t help but laugh, snorting into his palm as Taehyung grins. “You’re such a loser.”

“Hey, we saw Endgame together and you cried first. Don’t forget that.”

Jeongguk rolls his eyes, but a little of the constant anxiety he’d been feeling lately alleviates. It’s so easy with Taehyung. “Yeah.”

“That’s not all, is it?” Taehyung asks gently.

Jeongguk crumples a burger wrapper in his fist. “No.”

“What’s wrong, bugs?”

“It’s just-” Jeongguk stops, leaning into Taehyung’s hand on his shoulder. He’d dyed his hair to a dark brown recently, and Jeongguk briefly wonders what he’d look like with a rainbow variety of hair colors. He’s tempted to try and change the subject, maybe ask Taehyung if they can bleach Jeongguk’s hair right now, just shy of one in the morning. But Taehyung’s gaze is full of gentle concern, and Jeongguk- he feels like he doesn’t deserve it. “It’s a lot? Everything. All of the time.”

Taehyung makes a soft noise of understanding. “With school?”

“Partly, I guess. School is overwhelming on a good day and fucking brutal on a bad one, but my parents are always asking about my plans for when I finish college but I don’t even know if I’ve got any clean underwear to wear tomorrow!” Jeongguk lets out a laugh, but it’s watery and weak, and judging by Taehyung’s mounting concern, his joke fell flat. “It just feels like everything is happening so fast and I’ll never catch a break, hyung. I want to take care of my parents but I hate my business courses but the photography class intimidates me and I- I took that frustration out on Yoongi. He didn’t deserve that.”

Jeongguk bites his tongue before he can mention that Jimin spilled the beans on their plans to move in together, because he knows Taehyung will take the blame for it. There’s more- God is there more- but Jeongguk can’t bring himself to mention all of it. For how close he’s gotten with Taehyung over the last few months, how can he tell his best friend’s boyfriend that sometimes when he can’t sleep he cries at the thought of his parents living on the other side of the world? Or that they’d be disappointed in him if they knew about the photography course? How he’s surrounded by successful people living their dreams, when he doesn’t have a goddam clue what he wants for himself?

He can’t burden Taehyung with that.

He doesn’t want to burden anyone with all of that.

So if it means dealing with an old camera in a class that requires something far newer, or calling his mom in the middle of the night just to hear her voice, or keeping his fears locked tight in his chest so no one else worries, he’ll do it.

“Okay,” Taehyung says slowly- carefully- after a long few minutes of quiet. There’s a bird screaming somewhere in the distance and Jeongguk feels a brief flare of envy. He wants to scream into an abyss, too. He’ll have to settle for discreetly wiping his eyes and hoping his nose quits running. “First of all, Jeongguk, your happiness is your number one priority.”

“But I-”

“Taking care of our parents is important,” Taehyung continues, “but it shouldn’t worry you this hard when you’re still so young. You come first, Jeongguk. And when you’re happy and healthy and able , you can do anything for and give anything you want to your parents. Until then, you should be focused on yourself. On what makes you, Jeon Cries Over Peter Parker On A Thursday Morning Jeongguk-”

“He deserves better-"

“Happy.”

“But what if I don’t know what would make me happy?” Jeongguk asks quietly.

Taehyung hums, adjusting the blanket around their shoulders. “When I was six, I wanted to be a ballerina. When I learned the boys don’t wear the tutus, I cried for two days straight. My mom has a video. She played it for Jimin when they met.”

Jeongguk frowns. “What does this have to do with-?”

“Don’t interrupt me, frog boy.” Taehyung pinches his cheek. “When I was ten, I wanted to be in movies. Some of the boys in my class in Seoul teased me relentlessly for it because my Daegu accent was still so strong before we moved here. At fifteen, I made plans to be an astronaut. By nineteen, I wanted to be an equestrian. A couple years later I was going for cereal commercials around the same time my parents went back to Seoul. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I was even making enough to send back what I wanted my parents to have so they could live the life they deserve. Get it?”

“You wanted to be an equestrian?” Jeongguk snickers.

“And I would have been great at it,” Taehyung says, tugging on a lock of Jeongguk’s hair. “My point is, I wanted nothing more than to repay my parents and help them as they’ve helped me, but I couldn’t do that until a few years ago. That doesn’t make me a bad son, it just means I waited until I found something that made me happy and I could be sure I could take care of them. Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” Jeongguk groans. He hates it when Taehyung is right. “It’s just. School is ending soon, and everyone around me expects me to have all these decisions made! And I- I fucked up and took that out on Seokjin and Yoongi after everything they’ve done for me.”

“Make a list,” Taehyung suggests, draping an arm over Jeongguk’s shoulders. “Prioritize. From your most imminent concern to the ones you can wait a bit before panicking over. Where do Yoongi and Seokjin hyung land on that list?”

“Um.” Jeongguk thinks, and hears his phone chime with Yoongi’s custom ringtone. “I don’t know, fuck. I didn’t sleep last night. The list is literally just school and my hyungs, and I just don’t want them to be angry with me. What do I do, hyung?”

Taehyung laughs quietly. “First of all, save the puppy eyes for them. Jimin kills me enough, I can’t handle you, too. Second of all, bring them an apple.”

“An apple?”

“Kind of a tradition for Korean couples, since the words are the same. You bring your boyfriend or girlfriend an apple as an apology after a fight.”

“But hyungs aren’t my-”

“They’re not your boyfriends,” Taehyung finishes, expression curiously blank. Jeongguk hadn’t even noticed the change until it had already happened, and he’s reminded again that Taehyung does this for a living, schools his expression and features into whatever he wants, no matter who’s watching. “I know. But they’ll think it’s cute, and there’s no way they can be mad at you.”

Jeongguk purses his lips into a pout. “What if they hate me.”

“Have they said anything to make you think like that?”

“...No.”

“Jeonggukie. Baby. Owner of the cutest nose that I will eat one day and no you cannot stop me. Yoongi and Seokjin don’t hate you.”

“No one likes a know it all,” Jeongguk teases.

“Jimin likes me enough-”

“Gross.”

“-but, okay. Listen, if you’re really worried about this, I can help you plan something.”

Jeongguk perks up, chewing on his bottom lip. “You’d really help me?”

“Of course, bro.” Taehyung ruffles his hair. “I’m in town for a week, do you think that’s enough time?”

“More than enough,” Jeongguk says. He curls against Taehyung to hug him tightly, hiding his relieved smile in Taehyung’s chest. “Can we talk about it more in the morning, though? I haven’t slept in so long I’m hearing colors.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung laughs. “Come on, my place is nearby.”

“Ohh,” Jeongguk grins, as they stand and stretch their legs. He doesn’t understand why so many young adult romance novels romanticize shit like sitting under bridges. His ass is frozen. Taehyung hangs the blankets over his shoulder as Jeongguk collects the trash. “I finally get to see the elusive Kim Taehyung’s apartment.”

“It’s just a small studio place.”

“A studio place. How fancy.”

“Shut.”

“This would be a cool place to skateboard,” Jeongguk says idly, as they make their way back to the car.

“Oh my God. Stop talking, eboy.”

“Do eboys go outside?”

“How should I know? I’m dating someone who does chemistry for fun."

“Rip in peace, hyung.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes, dumping the blankets in the trunk of his car and cranking the heat as they both get in. The temperature had dropped a bit, and Jeongguk finds himself pouting. He wouldn’t even notice the cold if he’d fallen asleep between Seokjin and Yoongi, but he’d been giving excuses for why he couldn’t come over that week. It wasn’t that difficult, between school and practice and their own hectic schedules.

“Oh, Jeongguk. If you see something you shouldn’t at my place, just know I’m in the process of getting a dog.”

“Gross!”

(A week later, Taehyung helps Jeongguk set up an apology picnic with a dozen apples and kites and promises to stay the entire time to play the banjo. Jeongguk doesn’t ask why Taehyung knows how to play the banjo, but he does kick Jimin and Taehyung out of the park so he can enjoy the afternoon with Yoongi and Seokjin, sharing tiny sandwiches and trying to juggle six apples because it makes both of them laugh.

They stay in the park until the sun sets, and Jeongguk sits beneath a big tree squished between both of them, feeling lighter and more at ease than he had in weeks.

He still takes them back to his apartment later that evening to apologize properly , though.)

Jeongguk stumbles into Yoongi’s company building late one night, still half-asleep from his flight. He’d been moving on autopilot, thinking about the flash drive Yoongi had asked him to pick up, and hadn’t thought to drop his bags at home or take a nap in the Uber, and he’s swaying a bit where he stands in the lobby.

“Hey, Jeongguk,” the receptionist greets him easily.

It’s been months and the guy still can’t pronounce Jeongguk’s name correctly, but he’s too tired to correct him. Instead, Jeongguk just waves on his way to the elevator, pushing the right button entirely on reflex.

Almost a week ago, Yoongi had taken one look at Jeongguk and announced that he needed a break. And with a national holiday closing his university campus for a couple extra days, Yoongi bought him a ticket to join him in New York for a few days. Yoongi had actual business there, but he rescheduled more than a few things to be able to take Jeongguk to some of the best hole in the wall ramen restaurants, or the bars that he liked, and even surprised Jeongguk with a ticket to see his first Broadway show and an evening trip to kiss him at the top of the Empire State Building.

It had been necessary, Jeongguk realized on the flight home, feeling relaxed and a little less frantic about, well, everything. Schoolwork had been piling up and he was late on a video project and he’d overheard Jimin telling his mom about his and Taehyung’s plans and her excited reaction, so a few days away had been perfect.

What he hadn’t counted on was the time difference. He’d waved away Yoongi’s concerns at the airport, it was only three hours, after all. Nothing to worry about.

Jeongguk was regretting that now. It was still early but Jeongguk was exhausted, stumbling up to Yoongi’s studio with one eye open. Yoongi made him promise he’d be over that jet lag by the time Yoongi got home. Jeongguk had said piece of cake.

Jeongguk has to stop betting pieces of cake on things.

In Yoongi’s studio, he finds the flash drive easily and turns around to fall face-first on the sofa. It’s arguably the most comfortable thing Jeongguk has ever fallen asleep on, and he’s slept on Taehyung’s water bed. Which, in hindsight, was far more traumatizing than comforting because he’d spent the time before he fell asleep wondering how it felt to have sex on a water bed, which led to thinking about Jimin and Taehyung having sex on the water bed, which was not something Jeongguk ever wanted to think about.

“Jeongguk-ah?”

Jeongguk lifts his face from the cushion, squinting in the direction of the doorway. “Hey, Namjoon hyung.”

“Hey.” Namjoon grins, crossing his arms to lean against the doorway. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Mh. Yoongi asked me to grab this.”

“Grab what?”

“Am I not showing you my hand?”

“Nope.”

“Fuck.” Namjoon laughs, kneeling by the head of the couch to run his fingers through Jeongguk’s hair. He could honestly fall asleep like this. “What’re you doing here?”

“Working on some shit. Saw the light on in here and thought Yoongi hyung was back.”

“Nah.” Jeongguk lets out a little whine when Namjoon stops playing with his hair, sighing happily when he continues. “He has a layover in Chicago.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. Seokjin hyung wants him to take some pictures with The Bean.”

“What does it say about me that none of that surprises me?”

Namjoon snorts, dropping a soft kiss to Jeongguk’s temple. “Come on, it’s a perfectly normal time to leave work. Need a ride?”

"Please."

It takes a few- maybe fifteen- minutes to haul Jeongguk off the couch, and even then he leans pretty heavily against Namjoon’s side as they make their way back to the lobby. Jeongguk pockets the flash drive and nearly sobs with relief when Namjoon offers to carry his backpack as they wait in the parking garage.

“When you offered me a ride I figured you’d be driving.”

“I won’t let you shame me for not having a license,” Namjoon responds as he requests an Uber.

Jeongguk snickers.

Before they get into the car, Namjoon asks if Jeongguk wouldn’t mind stopping for a couple after work drinks, even though most of their usual crowd was abroad or busy working tonight. Jeongguk really just wants to sleep, but figures if all else fails he can just sleep beneath the bar. Again.

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

"Pretty please?”

“Jeongguk, I can’t tell you if I’m working on solo shit or not.”

“But why!”

“Because if I say no, it confirms a comeback for a group. If I say yes, it spoils my own comeback.”

“So what?”

"So, I can’t do that to my idols. Now take a seat so I can drink this oncoming headache away. Want a beer?”

Jeongguk grins a little sheepishly. “Seokjin hyung said I’m banned from beer until I get better taste.”

“He did the same thing with me in university,” Namjoon says, nodding. “Give it, like, ten years and he’ll drop it.” He gestures to the bartender, grinning as he says, “We’ll have two-” only for his smile to fall when the bartender turns around and it’s Hoseok mixing drinks. “Oh.”

“Oh!” Hoseok glances between the two of them, then quickly turns around to pour the martini he’d been making and hand it off to a young woman with bright blue lipstick. Jeongguk makes a note to try that. “Uh, hey.”

“H-Hey,” Namjoon repeats, eyes wide as if he was staring at a ghost. His hand falls to Jeongguk’s knee, squeezing too hard as Hoseok approaches them. “I, uh. Didn’t think you worked here on Wednesdays anymore.”

“Yeah.” Hoseok rubs the back of his neck. “Well, you know. I pick up extra shifts when I can. You guys want a drink?”

“Yes, please.” Namjoon smiles shakily, and as soon as Hoseok turns his back, he’s hissing into Jeongguk’s ear, “We’re leaving.”

“Hyung, no.” Jeongguk whines. “There are peanuts!”

“Everyone sticks their dirty hands in those peanuts, Jeongguk. If we leave now I’ll buy you a whole car full of peanuts-”

“Here we go!” Hoseok sets down two glasses in front of them, making Namjoon flinch. “Namjoon, your favorite. And for the baby, a lemonade.”

Jeongguk scowls. “I’m not a baby-”

“I know,” Hoseok says, ruffling Jeongguk’s hair in a way that feels very contradictory of his words. “I promise it has alcohol in it, but let me know if you’d like something else.”

With a kind smile, Hoseok turns to another set of newcomers to ask for their drinks and Namjoon lets out a visible shudder. The bar is decently packed for a weekday and there are two other bartenders dancing around each other. Namjoon knocks back half of his drink before Jeongguk can even swallow a sip of his own.

Namjoon sighs, stirring idly at his drink with the straw. “He always makes it so good.”

“Okay, ew.” Jeongguk wrinkles his nose, accepting the slap on the arm he gets for the comment. “Hyung. You look like Jimin when he’s on FaceTime with Tae. Except a lot more terrified. Why are you so scared?”

“I didn’t think Hoseok was even in the country right now,” Namjoon hisses. He finishes his drink and gestures to the female bartender for a refill. “I prepared myself to face him in what, a week? A month? I’m not ready.”

“Hyung…”

Namjoon downs his second drink, grimacing at the taste. He knows Namjoon doesn’t enjoy drinking heavily, taking more after Yoongi to enjoy a few glasses of wine with dinner instead, but he orders a round of shots for himself and Jeongguk and takes them all on his own.

“Look at me, Jeonggukie.” Jeongguk blinks over at him, nibbling on one of the carrot sticks that came with his buffalo chicken dip. Namjoon lays a hand on Jeongguk’s shoulder. “Look at me with your eyes, yeah just like that. Men ain’t shit.”

“We’re men.”

“Did I stutter.”

“Hyung, you should talk to him,” Jeongguk says, lowering his voice as Hoseok passes by again balancing four oddly shaped bottles. “Come on, I hate seeing you like this.”

Namjoon just shakes his head, wobbling unsteadily where he sits. Jeongguk curses. He’d lost track of Namjoon’s drinks and he’s clutching one that’s on the way to empty. “We’ve been friends for so long, Jeongguk. I don’t. I don’t want to ruin what we have. It’s hard enough working together occasionally like this, but if things go wrong between us, our music with Yoongi will suffer immensely.”

“Hyung-”

“You guys okay over here?” Hoseok stops in front of them again, his sleeves rolled past his elbows now. Namjoon stares very hard at his forearms. “Drinks are good?”

“Yes. Thank you, Hobi hyung.”

“You like yours, Jeongguk-ah?”

“It’s really good.”

Hoseok quirks an eyebrow. “You’ve hardly touched it.”

“Uh.” Jeongguk looks at Namjoon, who looks about three seconds away from either falling off his seat or spilling his guts- whether they were metaphorical or physical guts were yet to be determined. “I’m a little too sleepy for drinking.”

“Right,” Hoseok says slowly, his smile slipping a little when he glances toward Namjoon. “Well, tell me if you need more food.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

“Noona,” Namjoon stops the third bartender again. “Another, please.”

Jeongguk isn’t sure when the change exactly takes place, but one minute Namjoon is almost able to speak clearly and coherently, and the next he’s drunk enough that Jeongguk makes the decision to cut him off. He’s got his head on Jeongguk’s shoulder, mumbling against Jeongguk’s collarbone and sighing longingly every time Hoseok walks close.

He keeps a hand on Namjoon to keep him steady, checking the watch that Seokjin had gifted him a month ago and grimacing as the hour turns past midnight. Speak of the devil, Seokjin texts to ask if he can expect Jeongguk over tonight. Jeongguk texts back quickly. The next time Hoseok passes, Namjoon reaches over the bar to grab at the front of his shirt.

“Hoseok.”

“Shit,” Jeongguk curses, trying to tug Namjoon back.

Hoseok holds his breath. “Yeah?”

“I-”

“We’ll take the check,” Jeongguk interrupts, finally getting Namjoon back in his seat.

“Oh,” Hoseok says, visibly deflating as he smooths out his shirt. “It’s on me tonight, guys. Can I call you a cab?”

Jeongguk shakes his head. “No, actually. Seokjin hyung is on his way.”

“Isn’t this his face mask time?” Hoseok asks.

Jeongguk tries to bite back his grin, but judging by Hoseok’s Look he doesn’t do a very good job. “I’m very persuasive.”

“Finish your carrots, Jeon.”

Behind the bar, someone calls for Hoseok’s attention, dozens of people holding up empty glasses for refills. Hoseok sighs, his expression falling for a brief second before he’s back, grinning widely and winking at the girls waiting for his time. He pokes Jeongguk’s nose. “Let me know when you guys are home.”

“Sure,” Jeongguk says, as Namjoon all but slides sideways in his seat to lie against him. “Thanks for tonight, hyung.”

“Anytime, Jeonggukie.”

Seokjin gets there a little later, but Jeongguk wrestles Namjoon out to sit on the curb instead of letting him sit inside and risk a drunken confession. Namjoon hangs his head in his hands, breathing raggedly as Jeongguk awkwardly pats his back.

Someone honks and a car rolls up, the tinted window lowering to reveal Seokjin. “Hoseok’s inside, isn’t he?”

Jeongguk nods.

“Help me get him into the car.”

Namjoon moves easily, climbing into the car and refusing to sit anywhere except with his head on Jeongguk’s lap. Seokjin takes a few pictures before he leans in to kiss Jeongguk’s temple, and then his mouth.

“Welcome back, little one.”

“Hyung, m’so sleepy.”

Seokjin cards his fingers through Jeongguk’s hair, a soft smile on his lips. “Let’s go home, then.”

“I love him,” Namjoon murmurs into Jeongguk’s lap, starting somewhere around halfway to Seokjin’s place. “Fuck, I love him. I hate this.”

“I know, hyung.” Jeongguk strokes his hair, meeting Seokjin’s gaze in the mirror. “I know.”

Later, it takes both Seokjin and Jeongguk to wrestle Namjoon into the house as he stumbles, giggling to himself. Jeongguk mutters, “Why are you so heavy?”

Namjoon’s head lolls against Jeongguk’s shoulder. “I’m weighed down by the burden of unrequited love.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes. “Alright, Plato. Your spare pajamas are in your usual room.”

“At least someone here loves me.”

They dump Namjoon onto the bed in one of the spare rooms on the first floor, and though Jeongguk gets his shoes off, Seokjin quickly steers him out of the room, calling a casual goodnight over his shoulder to Namjoon and explaining to Jeongguk that this has happened before.

And Jeongguk wants to talk about it, about the night at the bar and wants to tell Seokjin about his time with Yoongi in New York, but the exhaustion catches up quickly, and Seokjin is so warm in bed, holding Jeongguk so tight. He curls into the kisses he gets on his shoulder and neck, briefly waking up sometime later as Namjoon climbs into the bed for his own brand of cuddles.

Jeongguk lies down for a quick nap after lunch and wakes up after the sun has set, groggily sitting up in bed. Someone had moved the textbooks he’d fallen asleep on, and Jeongguk assumes it was Seokjin, who had been over at the apartment since early morning for a lazy day while they waited for Yoongi to get back from Chicago. Well, a lazy day after he made Jeongguk clean the bedroom enough to see the floor again and make actual progress on his video assignment, but still.

He fumbles around for his phone, grinning at the picture of Seokjin flipping off the camera that greets him as he checks the time. Seokjin must have changed it while he slept. There’s a few messages from Jimin saying he’ll be at Taehyung’s tonight, and one from his mom asking to FaceTime tomorrow. It’s not too late, but Jeongguk is still recovering from his jet lag and he’d spent most of the day studying.

Rolling over, he expects Seokjin to be the one napping next to him, but he’s surprised to find Yoongi, cheek pressed to Jeongguk’s pillow as he sleeps. With a grin, Jeongguk swings his leg over Yoongi’s hips, settling on his lap with a happy sound.

He leans down to kiss Yoongi’s cheek, dragging his lips across Yoongi’s jaw and the bridge of his nose to the shell of his opposite ear. Yoongi sighs beneath him, moving a little under Jeongguk’s lips and tongue until Jeongguk is sucking a mark onto the base of his throat, wriggling excitedly.

“Baby,” Yoongi sighs, voice thick with sleep, letting out a gasp as Jeongguk nips at a sensitive spot. “Go back to sleep.”

“But hyung,” Jeongguk lets his voice take on a whine. “I missed you.”

“You saw me- ah-  two days ago.”

Jeongguk lifts his head from Yoongi’s neck, kissing his nose again as Yoongi cracks open an eye to look at him. “Too long.”

Yoongi’s hand finds Jeongguk’s hip, squeezing gently. “Baby, please, I’m so jet lagged.”

"I’m not.” Jeongguk glances to the doorway, where Seokjin stands with a soft smile on his face. He hadn’t even heard Seokjin come in, but he grins as Seokjin makes his way to the bed, kissing Yoongi’s forehead before moving to kiss Jeongguk softly. “Come here, lovely.”

Seokjin falls backwards onto the bed, dragging a giggling Jeongguk on top of him and threading a hand through Jeongguk’s hair to keep kissing him. Planting his hands on either side of Seokjin’s head, Jeongguk kisses back hard, moving his hips down on Seokjin’s lap. He can feel Seokjin laugh into their kiss, shoving his hands beneath the waistband of Jeongguk’s sweats to squeeze his ass.

“Fuck, hyung-” Jeongguk breaks the kiss with a gasp, forehead pressed to Seokjin’s. He bites back a whine, letting Seokjin guide his movements with ease.

“You’ve been working so hard lately, haven’t you?” Seokjin murmurs, dragging his lips up Jeongguk’s neck as Jeongguk nods and lets out a little whimper. “Let hyung help you relax.”

Jeongguk’s subsequent shout at being flipped over dissolves into another giggle that Seokjin kisses off his lips, and he finds himself easing into the sheets, comforted by Seokjin’s weight on him, his hands on Jeongguk’s body, and Yoongi’s steady breathing at his side.

“Just relax,” Seokjin whispers, tugging lightly on Jeongguk’s ear with his teeth. “Hyung’s got you.”

Seokjin touches him gently, sliding warm palms beneath Jeongguk’s shirt to dance the tips of his fingers over Jeongguk’s skin, his abdomen, flicking softly over his nipples to make Jeongguk sigh. He kisses Jeongguk, warm and wet, nudging Jeongguk’s thighs apart to settle between them.

He gets Jeongguk’s sweatpants and t-shirt off slowly, taking his time to kiss all over Jeongguk’s body as he’s stripped. His lips are pillowy and soft, and Jeongguk can’t help the desperate little noises that slip from his lips as Seokjin takes his time kissing down his neck, across Jeongguk’s shoulders and clavicle, and laving his tongue over Jeongguk’s nipples to make him squirm until he’s nipping at Jeongguk’s hip bones, ignoring where Jeongguk’s cock is hard and dripping to kiss down his thigh, instead.

“Hyung,” Jeongguk sobs, trembling beneath Seokjin’s hands as he sucks a mark on Jeongguk’s inner thigh.

Seokjin only laughs gently before shifting to suck a matching mark to Jeongguk’s other thigh. He drags his lips to mouth at the wet spot in the front of Jeongguk’s boxers and Jeongguk can’t hold back his moans, soft and pliant beneath Seokjin. His head spins and he feels almost disconnected from his body as Seokjin suckles at the tip of his cock through the fabric, holding tight to his hips to keep Jeongguk still. The pleasure is nearly overwhelming, and Jeongguk is appreciative when Yoongi threads his fingers through Jeongguk’s to hold on tight.

Leaning away, Seokjin grabs a bottle of lube off the floor, sighing loudly. He grips Jeongguk’s thigh, lips twitching at Jeongguk’s soft noise. “I am disgusted that your lube was open on the floor, but it saved time.”

Jeongguk just giggles, pressing his cheek to his pillow in a feeble attempt to hide. He catches Yoongi’s gaze, focused and warm, and can’t help but grin.

Seokjin tugs off Jeongguk’s boxers and pours a generous amount of lube on his fingers, and he’s slow as he works Jeongguk open, pressing one finger inside before he takes Jeongguk’s cock into his mouth.

“Oh,” Jeongguk jolts, his entire body overwhelmed with pleasure. He’s squeezing Yoongi’s hand hard enough that it must hurt, but Yoongi doesn’t say anything as Seokjin fingers him open, bobbing his head on Jeongguk’s cock.

Seokjin gives him two fingers and then three, curling them inside of Jeongguk and brushing against his prostate at the same time he swallows around Jeongguk’s cock. He’s babbling at this point, his body shaking, and Yoongi strokes the back of his hand to try and help him calm down, but Jeongguk feels so strung out he can’t hold back his whines and whimpers, trying to thrust up into the wet warmth of Seokjin’s mouth.

“You’re so fucking pretty, baby,” Yoongi murmurs. He shuffles closer on the bed to kiss Jeongguk’s cheek, giving up all pretenses of trying to sleep. “Love how you sound.”

Seokjin brushes Jeongguk’s prostate again and his reply is lost in the high-pitched whine that spills from his lips. Seokjin keeps up the pressure, his mouth warm and tight around Jeongguk, coaxing his orgasm in slow, easy waves until Jeongguk is shaking beneath him, trembling as he spills into Seokjin’s mouth with a moan.

As he comes down, Seokjin gently kisses at Jeongguk’s hips and thighs, back up his stomach to press their mouths together, smiling wide. He kisses Jeongguk’s temple, brushing his sweaty bangs away. “Good boy.”

“Fuck,” Jeongguk says eloquently.

“Think Yoongi has woken up enough?” Seokjin asks, sending Jeongguk a wicked grin.

Jeongguk just groans, pulling Seokjin into a messy kiss before Seokjin tugs his fingers from Jeongguk’s hole and rolls out of bed. He quickly rummages through the side table that Jeongguk and Jimin share, pulling out half a dozen boxes of condoms with varying levels of emptiness. “God, I hate Taehyung’s preferences in condoms.”

Laughing, Jeongguk grabs one of the more innocent condoms and shoves it into Seokjin’s hand. Seokjin crawls back into bed, helping Jeongguk to kneel over Yoongi with soft kisses to his shoulders and a steadying hand on his back. Yoongi’s eyes are wide, expression blown with lust, and Jeongguk almost feels guilty about disrupting his nap, but forgets it easily when he feels how hard Yoongi is beneath his ass.

He whines, rocking back against it, and feels more than he hears Seokjin’s laugh against his cheek. “Patience, pretty. Lift your hips for me.”

Seokjin pulls Yoongi’s pants down just enough to get his cock out of his boxers, pumping it slowly with his lubed hand before rolling the condom over his length and holding it to Jeongguk’s slick entrance.

Yoongi’s hands grip Jeongguk’s waist tightly enough to hurt and Jeongguk loves it, tilting his head to rest on Seokjin’s shoulder. He wants it so, so badly, practically shaking above Yoongi. And judging by Yoongi’s flushed cheeks, raw bitten lip, and the way he can’t look away from Jeongguk, he might be just as desperate.

“Ah, ah.” Seokjin snickers, not letting Jeongguk sink down on Yoongi’s cock yet. “What do we say, baby?”

“Puh-please, hyung?” Jeongguk chews on his lower lip, eyes wide and watery with want. He’s hard again, just from the anticipation of feeling Yoongi inside of him. “C-Can baby have your cock? Please, Yoongi? Want it s'bad-"

“Fuck.” Yoongi’s nails dig into his hips, holding tight. “Of course, angel. It’s yours, of course you can have it.”

“Thank you, thank you, Yoongi-” Jeongguk babbles as he finally, finally sinks down on Yoongi’s cock, gasping from the stretch. Seokjin’s fingers were good, but they were nothing compared to either of them inside, stretching him so well, reaching so much farther than Jeongguk can hope to with his own fingers. He lets out little hiccups as he slowly bottoms out, Seokjin’s hand on his ass controlling his pace. “Oh, oh-"

Seokjin kisses him as Jeongguk lifts himself up only to drop back down, setting a slow pace to fuck himself on Yoongi. He chokes on his moans, biting hard on Seokjin’s lip when Yoongi’s cock brushes his prostate and sends a shiver down his spine.

Yoongi moves slowly, still weighed down by fatigue, but matches Jeongguk’s movements to fuck up into him. “Baby, baby-  doing so well, fuck, take it so well.”

“He’s so pretty, isn’t he?” Seokjin says, trailing his hand up Jeongguk’s chest to twist his nipple. “How’d we get so lucky, Yoon?”

“Don’t- shit,  Jeongguk, do that again- don’t know, hyung.”

Jeongguk chokes on a moan, throwing his head back as he balances himself with both hands on Yoongi’s chest. He knows he’s not going to last, still feeling a little dazed from his first orgasm, and with Yoongi staring up at him hungrily and Seokjin whispering filth into his ear, Jeongguk feels absolutely wrecked.

He can’t help it when he scratches a little at Yoongi’s chest, moans increasing in pitch as Yoongi fucks up into him. His cock bobs against his belly, smearing precum there as Seokjin wipes just below his eyes.

“Aw, poor baby,” Seokjin grins. “Does it feel good? Does Yoongi’s cock feel good?”

“Y-Yes, hng-  love it-”

Yoongi moans, pace erratic, and looks up at Seokjin desperately. “I’m so close, hyung.”

When Seokjin leans down to kiss Yoongi’s nose, Jeongguk almost topples over. He hadn’t realized how much of his weight he was relying on Seokjin to support, but the new angle has Yoongi’s cock reaching further inside him, and he keens . Seokjin runs his fingers through Yoongi’s hair before he pulls,  making Yoongi cry out.

“Jeongguk comes first,” Seokjin says sweetly, as Yoongi pants through his teeth. “You can wait until then.”

“Hyung-” They both whine, and Jeongguk wouldn’t be able to say who he was talking to if asked, but his reply dies as Seokjin bites hard at Yoongi’s nipple through his shirt, making his hips kick up hard.

Jeongguk can feel his orgasm simmering low in his belly, creeping up on him as he circles his hips on Yoongi’s cock, desperate for that relief, for the pleasure, desperate to keep Seokjin’s eyes on him. He’s so close, but he needs a little more, moving his hand to his cock, but before Jeongguk can fully wrap his fingers around his own length, Seokjin catches his hand with a mean smirk.

“Nuh uh, baby boy. I know you can come untouched.”

“Hyung, please!"

Seokjin snickers. “I’m not the one you should be begging.”

Jeongguk sobs, quickening his pace as he slams his hips down on Yoongi, trying desperately to find the angle that’ll have Yoongi’s cock hitting his prostate with every thrust. Yoongi grips Jeongguk’s hips almost bruisingly, as Jeongguk babbles, “Please, please hyung, please.  Need it- ah-  need it so bad, Yoongi, please-”

It doesn’t take much longer, but it feels like a lifetime to Jeongguk as he chases his release, bouncing erratically on Yoongi’s cock. His thighs are aching, hips stinging where Yoongi’s nails have dug in, and Seokjin keeps his lips pressed to Jeongguk’s ear, whispering, “So pretty, baby. Always take us so well, ride Yoongi so well. Look how messy Yoongi is, you did that, lovely.”

“Oh, oh,  hyung- so- mnh-  shit- good, please-”

His orgasm takes him by complete surprise when he finally comes, sobbing out a moan of Yoongi’s name as he spills white all over his belly. Seokjin kisses his forehead and praises him as he slumps onto Yoongi’s chest to catch his breath.

“Hyung,” Yoongi gasps, desperately chasing his own release. “Hyung, please, I- can I-?”

“Of course, sweet thing.” Seokjin curls his fingers in Jeongguk’s hair, his hand soft on Jeongguk’s lower back. Jeongguk feels almost delirious, deliciously overstimulated as Yoongi thrusts erratically into him. “Come for us, Yoongi.”

Yoongi finally comes with a shout, spilling deep inside Jeongguk’s ass with one last thrust, and all but collapsing back onto the bed. His chest heaves, forehead slick with sweat as they both come down. Jeongguk tilts his chin to kiss him softly while Seokjin gently traces his nails in nonsensical patterns on Jeongguk’s back.

“Okay,” Seokjin says, as Jeongguk rolls onto his back with a satisfied sigh. He ties off Yoongi’s condom, dropping it in the trash he made Jeongguk empty earlier in the day before wiping his hand clean with a towel. “My turn.”

Yoongi grumbles something, not even bothering to tuck his soft cock back into his boxers before he turns over and hides his face against Jeongguk’s shoulder. “Later.”

“I’m not getting any softer over here.”

Jeongguk blinks, pulling his sweats on again when he gets cold. Seokjin kneels on the edge of the bed, cock hard behind his jeans and hands on his hips. “Hyung-”

Throwing his hand out, Yoongi reaches blindly for Seokjin’s hip, tugging his pants and underwear down far enough to get his hand on Seokjin’s cock. Seokjin lets out a groan, and Jeongguk watches with wide eyes until Yoongi’s hand slows and eventually falls back to the bed.

“Oh my God.”

“I think he fell back asleep,” Jeongguk says.

“You owe me for last Monday,” Seokjin whines. “I know you’re not asleep, fucker.”

“Put it on my tab,” Yoongi mumbles, breathing soft on Jeongguk’s neck.

Jeongguk can’t help but giggle, reaching over Yoongi to take Seokjin’s hand and tug him close enough to get his mouth on Seokjin’s cock, cutting off the string of insults Seokjin had been lobbying at Yoongi. Seokjin is hard and heavy on his tongue, already on edge, and he soon comes down Jeongguk’s throat with a soft moan and fingers tangled in Jeongguk’s hair.

“You’re so lucky Jeongguk is cute,” Seokjin says, wiping the come that Jeongguk doesn’t quite manage to swallow from the corner of his mouth.

“Bite me,” Yoongi yawns as his breathing evens out.

“At least come eat something,” Seokjin says. He hands Jeongguk a sweater from the edge of the bed, tucking himself back in his jeans. “Your sleep schedule is going to be fucked, and I made steak-”

“I want steak!” Jeongguk launches himself over Yoongi, scrambling out of bed to sprint to the kitchen as Seokjin shouts, “Wash your fucking hands first!” behind him.

They end up piling three plates high with the steak, veggies, and rice that Seokjin had made, carrying them back into the bedroom. Jeongguk sits on one side of Yoongi and Seokjin takes the other, letting Yoongi curl between them as he sleeps and setting a plate aside for when he wakes up. Seokjin drags his laptop out, pulling up the movie they hadn’t finished watching some days ago and there’s no pressure, no pretenses to hold up.

Seokjin offhandedly asks if Jeongguk wants to come to his fitting the next day, saying they’ll get Jeongguk a new suit while they’re there when he agrees. When Seokjin squeaks out a laugh that’s too loud, Yoongi hits his thigh, which makes both of them laugh because he doesn’t even seem to have woken up.

Halfway through an episode of a baking competition Seokjin had recently gotten hooked on, Jeongguk starts to doze off, his head dipping against Yoongi’s. Seokjin makes a soft, cooing sound as he leans close to kiss their foreheads one after the other.

“Welcome back, sweetheart,” He whispers to Yoongi. And to Jeongguk, “Sleep well, lovely.”

“I’ve got three papers to write.”

“I have a presentation in the morning.”

A pause.

“Pass me the whiskey.”

Jimin giggles, clumsily sliding the nearly empty bottle close enough for Jeongguk to get a hand on it. It takes too long for Jeongguk to sit up, his head spinning and thoughts muddled, to take another shot.

He’d planned to spend the afternoon working on one of his papers so Yoongi would let him buy another Naruto figurine tonight, but ten minutes after Jimin had gotten home his plans went out the window. They soon found themselves giggling and sharing a few drinks on the floor, which very quickly turned into lying opposite each other on the floor, passing one bottle back and forth.

“Dude,” Jimin hiccups, taking another swig. “Shapes are so weird.”

Jeongguk pours out a shot for each of them, and spills half of his. “What do you mean?”

“Like, why is it a square? Imagine if an oval was a square and a triangle was a circle. I can’t do math if a circle is a triangle!”

“At least you’ve got your ass to fall back on,” Jeongguk says, reaching to pat Jimin consolingly on the shoulder and missing.

“Damn, true. Did I tell you I was taking pole dancing lessons to surprise Tae?”

“I miss ten seconds ago before you told me this.”

Jimin laughs, running his hand through his hair. It only makes Jeongguk laugh, too, until they’re both giggling, and Jimin all but throws himself against Jeongguk.

“You could strip,” Jimin says. “If the sugar baby thing doesn’t work out.”

“Shh.” Jeongguk puts his finger to Jimin’s lip and ends up picking his nose. “They don’t need to know about this.”

He’s pleasantly drunk, not close to his limit, but he’d hidden his phone under the bed to ignore the urge to send nudes to Yoongi and Seokjin. Nudes at four in the afternoon was an obvious giveaway for when Jeongguk was drunk. His head spins and Jeongguk sighs, staring up at the ceiling to count the number of cracks in the plastor.

“I say we leave them here.”

“Hyung, no! Sleeping on the floor is so bad for your neck.”

“Then get them a pillow, Tae. Yoongi, give me your phone.”

“Stop taking pictures, Jinnie.”

“Never.”

“Jiminie, love.” Jeongguk turns his heavy head and sees Taehyung kneel by their heads, gently touching Jimin’s shoulder. “Let’s get you sobered up.”

“Hyung.” Jeongguk swats at Taehyung’s face. “Why are you upside down?”

“He’s not,” Yoongi says, hiding his grin behind his hand. “You’re at the wrong angle.”

Jeongguk frowns. “How did I get upside down?”

Jimin just throws his arms around Taehyung’s shoulders, dragging him down and cuddling him hard. Taehyung whines, but Jeongguk knows from experience how debilitatingly strong Jimin can be when he’s drunk, and if he wants to cuddle Taehyung, neither of them are going anywhere for a while.

“I see you’ve made great progress.” Yoongi says, clicking at Jeongguk’s computer where he and Jimin had been looking up Fortnite playthroughs. “Really earned that figurine.”

“Really?”

“No.”

Jeongguk whines, pauses, and looks up at them with wide eyes. “I’m gonna be sick.”

Seokjin yanks him to his feet, getting Jeongguk to the bathroom, and together they hold back Jeongguk’s hair and softly rub his back, promising he can have ice cream after he brushes his teeth.

From: yoonie light of my life [3:21pm]
Free tonight?

To: yoonie light of my life [3:39pm]
Practice until 6 y

From: yoonie light of my life [3:40pm]
Come for dinner
Seokjin’s dragging me out of the studio and everything
We’ll open a stupidly old bottle of wine, too

To: yoonie light of my life [3:45pm]
see u then

“Hyungs?”

Jeongguk pushes the front door open, dumping his school and sports bags in the entryway and toeing off his shoes. He doesn’t get an answer, but he hears laughter and soft music from the direction of the kitchen.

“Oh, Jeongguk!” Seokjin spots him first, smiling wide where he’s chopping vegetables at the island. Yoongi’s seated at the breakfast bar, comparing two bottles of wine. “You’re earlier than I expected.”

“I left right after practice,” Jeongguk explains, kissing Yoongi on the cheek.

Yoongi scowls, pushing him away slightly. “You smell like testosterone and dick sizing competitions.”

Seokjin snorts as Jeongguk lets out a whine. “Can’t you just say I’m sweaty like a normal person?”

“Nope.”

“Come here,” Seokjin says, drawing Jeongguk close with a hand in his shirt. “Let me get a whiff of that testosterone.”

He sticks his face in Jeongguk’s neck, taking a deep breath as Jeongguk giggles and squirms in his arms. “Hyung,” he laughs, as Seokjin pinches his hips. “Quit it.”

They’re both laughing as Jeongguk wiggles out of Seokjin’s hold, earning a whack on the back of his head for grabbing a handful of mozzarella cheese from a cutting board. Even Yoongi is grinning, leaning over to tug on Jeongguk’s hair as Seokjin says, “Go shower. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“‘Kay.”

He grabs more cheese off the cutting board, dancing out of Seokjin’s reach to head upstairs. He knows the bathroom like the back of his hand by now, setting up the speaker he’d left here some weeks ago to play Yoongi’s mixtape, grabbing towels from the closet, and tossing his dirty clothes in the direction of the hamper. Jeongguk steps into the glass enclosed shower with a heavy sigh, adjusting the waterfall shower head and body jets with ease.

Hot water pours down Jeongguk’s back as he stands in the middle of the shower. There’s a nook of body washes and shampoos and the conditioner Seokjin bought him because he said the smell reminded him of Jeongguk. The room is a perfect mix of Seokjin and Yoongi’s styles, even the acoustics are good, Yoongi’s music blasting around the walls.

It fits them, the bathroom, and by extension the rest of the house. Anyone could tell that the house was the product of investment, making a home where someone knew they could live forever, with the person they bought the house with. But… but there’s Jeongguk’s aftershave on the counter.

It was nothing, truly. Just some aftershave on the counter.

Stacked between Seokjin and Yoongi’s.

Jeongguk heaves a deep breath, shaking out his hair and rolling his shoulders back. The other day, Taehyung had kidnapped him from class to take him to Disneyland, hit him over the head with a corn dog and told Jeongguk to focus on the good things. He was referring to time with friends over his upcoming finals, but Jeongguk could attribute it to both friends and the time he gets to spend with Yoongi and Seokjin.

Jeongguk isn’t sure how long he’s stood there in the shower by the time he gets to washing his hair. He sneaks Seokjin’s shampoo and Yoongi’s body wash, turning off the music as he steps out of the shower.

As he’s toweling off his hair, Jeongguk hears Seokjin calling from the bottom step, “Dinner’s done, Jeongguk-ah. Hurry up before I charge you for the hot water!”

Jeongguk grins and hangs his towel on a hook in the bathroom. He searches through Seokjin’s half of the walk-in closet and finds a pair of jeans he must have left here. What he can’t find, though, is a nice shirt of his own for dinner, so he grabs a maroon button down and lets it hang off his collarbone as he makes his way back downstairs.

“Come,” Seokjin says, as soon as Jeongguk turns the corner. “Help me carry everything.”

“We’re using the dining room?” Jeongguk asks, ducking his head as Seokjin grabs him to plant a kiss on the top of his head.

“Might as well. Fucking furnished the entire room and we only ever use it to impress Yoongi’s parents.”

“You picked all the furnishings and bribed our contractor to change the paint color I chose,” Yoongi snips, brushing past the two of them holding three wine glasses. “I’m lucky I got a say in the kitchen.”

Seokjin cups his hand to Jeongguk’s cheek conspiratorially. “He thinks he got a say with the backsplash, but I used a blowjob to get the color.”

“I heard that.”

“You did not .”

They finish setting platters of food onto the table and Yoongi lights some candles, pouring out the wine. There’s a moment when Jeongguk stands in the doorway, staring in minor panic at the table trying to decide how they’re all supposed to sit. If Yoongi and Seokjin each took a head seat, Jeongguk would feel like a teenager having dinner with his parents. But if they sat on one side and him on the other, then it feels like he’s in trouble. Maybe he could just eat with Holly-

Yoongi sighs, staring at the wine bottle. “God dammit.”

“What?” Seokjin asks, leaning over his shoulder.

“This wine is older than Jeongguk.”

Seokjin laughs, loud and uninhibited, and it’s as if the worry Jeongguk had felt was broken as Seokjin urges him into the seat next to Yoongi and then takes the other on the opposite side of the table. They dish out the food and drink wine and there’s soft music playing from speakers on the wall, Yoongi’s hand on Jeongguk’s thigh throughout.

They talk. Seokjin about his upcoming winter shoot, and how he’ll be leaving early the following week. They’re shooting it in Florida at the end of spring, and Jeongguk finds himself wrinkling his nose at the thought.

“They crank the air conditioning,” Seokjin says in response to Jeongguk’s look. “It’s awfully uncomfortable, though. Imagine lugging hundreds of heavy winter coats in fucking Florida, damn.”

Yoongi says that his album is close to being finished, but it’s been difficult getting Taehyung into the studio to record vocals. Between filming overseas for his upcoming project, reshooting scenes for a film set to release later in the year, and spending time with Jimin, they’re lucky if Taehyung can record once a week. Taheyung’s solution had been for Yoongi to sing one of the songs, to which Yoongi told Taehyung to shove it.

“You could rap,” Jeongguk suggests, grinning around a mouthful of food. Yoongi brushes his bangs away from his forehead. “On one of Tae’s songs. Or you sing and he raps. I’d pay to see that.”

“Please don’t give him ideas,” Yoongi says. “The first time we met, Taehyung rapped half my mixtape at me.”

“Yoongi was so shocked he didn’t speak until Taehyung got halfway through it,” Seokjin adds. “I think I still have a video of it somewhere.”

“I like to think I can rap,” Jeongguk says, ripping a piece of bread in half. “I managed a full song in your mixtape once and thought I was amazing.”

Yoongi squeezes his thigh. “Keep talking and you’ll be a feature on Taehyung’s album.”

Jeongguk makes a face.

“How was practice?” Seokjin asks.

With a groan, Jeongguk launches into a story about the team’s catcher. He’d recently gotten a girlfriend and was desperate to show off to her, but he kept fucking up his signals, which confused their pitcher, and their pitcher snapped at Jeongguk for missing a stop at third. Jeongguk’s almost glad he’s graduating soon if it means he can get away from the team. From there, he talks about his classes, about the photography course, about Taehyung kidnapping him the other day.

“And, um, actually.” Jeongguk shifts where he sits, leaning into Yoongi’s touch in his hair. They’ve pretty much finished with the food, plates empty and wine glasses in hand, reclining a bit where they sit. Seokjin and Yoongi look at him with gentle gazes. “I have this final project coming up, and I was wondering. If you guys. Might let me photograph you? We have to do it on something that inspires us, and well- I mean, my professor is pretty old so I don’t think she’d ask why I’m friends with a celebrity couple. But! Feel free to say no, I know you guys are busy-”

“Jeongguk-ah,” Seokjin laughs, kicking lightly at Jeongguk’s knee under the table. “We’re never too busy for you. I’m sure we can settle on a date, right, Yoon?”

“Yeah,” Yoongi agrees, fondly tugging on Jeongguk’s ear. “You know how much I hate being on camera, though. Hope you’re fine with me covering my entire face for your pictures.”

Jeongguk whines. “Hyung, that’s not how it works . Could we do some at your studio? Or, Seokjin hyung, somewhere nearby where you’ve done a shoot?”

“That sounds perfect,” Yoongi says.

He hooks his hand on Jeongguk’s neck and pulls him into a messy, wet kiss. Jeongguk sighs into it, kissing back with his fingers brushing Yoongi’s wrist. Yoongi bites his lower lip, releasing it with a soft noise as Jeongguk shudders out a breath.

“Damn,” Seokjin whistles.

Yoongi hums against Jeongguk’s mouth, kissing him again. “Seokjin hyung made dessert. Wait here.”

They don’t let him help clean up, even when Jeongguk offers to do the dishes. Instead, Yoongi stacks the plates in the sink and Seokjin brings a Tupperware of chocolate covered strawberries and drags a chair to Jeongguk’s side as Yoongi takes his previous spot.

Together, they finish the last of the wine and Jeongguk giggles when they both try to feed him a strawberry at the same time, trading wine and strawberry tart kisses. Seokjin sings along quietly to the music that plays, trailing kisses from the tip of Jeongguk’s ear to his collarbone, exposed still from Seokjin’s oversized shirt.

Yoongi feeds him a strawberry, eyes darkening as Jeongguk’s tongue dips out to lick the chocolate that stains his lip. They’re practically pressed against Jeongguk’s sides by now, sharing kisses over his shoulder until Seokjin moves his lips from Yoongi’s to kiss Jeongguk’s neck, down to his collarbones. Jeongguk finds himself melting into the touch, Seokjin’s lips warm on his skin as Yoongi gently guides their lips together, soft and slow.

Jeongguk feels warmth spreading to his gut, giggling a little as Yoongi pecks his nose. He grabs one of the last few strawberries, working at licking the chocolate off, letting it drip a little down his chin. Yoongi’s hand curls on his hip as Seokjin leans in close, licking the chocolate from the corner of Jeongguk’s mouth as he finishes the strawberry.

“Fuck,” Yoongi says. “Fuck, come on.”

He shoves the container of strawberries away and Seokjin clicks his tongue. “Holly can get on the table now, put those away.”

Yoongi groans, but he grabs the strawberries in one hand and Jeongguk’s wrist in the other, leading Jeongguk into the kitchen to put the strawberries back in the fridge and then drag him toward the stairs, all while Jeongguk laughs and plasters himself to Yoongi’s back, face pressed to Yoongi’s neck.

“Eager, hyung?”

Yoongi takes Jeongguk’s hand again, pressing it to the front of his jeans where he’s already half hard. “You tell me, lovely.”

“Don’t mind him,” Seokjin is saying, following behind them up the stairs. “He’s been talking about this all week. Spent two hours in the wine cellar today trying to pick out the perfect blend you’d like.”

“Can you blame me?” Yoongi asks, squeezing Jeongguk’s hand. “Fuckin’ look at him.”

Seokjin’s hand slips into Jeongguk’s back pocket to squeeze his ass. “Trust me, I am. You should wear my shirts more often, baby.”

Jeongguk lets out a whine, cheeks feeling hot where he’s squished between both of them and from their words, from the promise Seokjin presses into Jeongguk’s neck in the form of a hot kiss. The walk from the landing to their bedroom feels almost impossible with how Yoongi keeps Jeongguk’s hand pressed against his jeans, and Seokjin uses the advantage to knead at Jeongguk’s ass. He’s panting by the time they get to the bedroom, and nothing’s even started.

“Fuck, Jeongguk-ah.” Yoongi spins in the doorway, cupping Jeongguk’s face in both hands to kiss him hard, standing on his toes to reach. “Come here.”

Yoongi draws Jeongguk to the bed, falls back and lets Jeongguk follow him, hands and knees on either side of Yoongi’s body, kissing him again and again until he’s breathless. Yoongi hooks his leg around Jeongguk’s waist to drag him closer, kiss him deeper, and yanks the collar of Jeongguk’s shirt down the side to suck and bite marks onto his skin.

“What do you think, Jeongguk?” Seokjin asks, standing by a small stack of CDs. He waits for Jeongguk to look at him, hair wild from Yoongi’s fingers and cheeks flushed. “Should we listen to Yoongi’s mixtape tonight?”

“I will kill both of you,” Yoongi grumbles, trailing his lips over Jeongguk’s jaw. He works at a sensitive spot and Jeongguk lets out a whine, his arms trembling where they’re planted by Yoongi’s head.

“Yoongi’s mixtape it is.”

Contrary to his words, soft music that is very much not Yoongi’s mixtape begins filtering out of the surround sound, and Jeongguk can’t help but giggle at the look of relief that floods Yoongi’s features. That is, until he grows impatient with the current pace and surges up to take Jeongguk’s lower lip between his teeth, shoving his hands beneath the hem of Jeongguk’s shirt to touch, palms warm on his burning skin.

Jeongguk lets out a moan, sinking into the touch and the pleasure that begins to thrum beneath his skin. Yoongi’s kisses always leave him lightheaded and dizzy, and it’s no exception now, as Yoongi presses the tips of his fingers to the dimples in Jeongguk’s skin, brushes against his abs, skirts up to brush over a nipple and make Jeongguk jerk in his hold. Yoongi’s lips curl into a smile against his, and when they pull apart Jeongguk is panting, skin becoming slick with sweat.

“Quit hogging him, asshole.”

With that, Seokjin gently knocks Jeongguk onto his back and stretches his body over Jeongguk’s, meeting him in a hard kiss before Jeongguk can even catch his breath.

Seokjin’s kisses have always been different than Yoongi’s, and that’s even more evident now, as Seokjin gathers Jeongguk’s hands in his, pinning them above his head as they kiss. Jeongguk whimpers as Seokjin nips at his bottom lip, harder than when Yoongi does it, and quickly rolls his hips down against Jeongguk’s.

“Oh,” Jeongguk gasps, breaking the kiss with a weak sound. He looks between their bodies, where Seokjin grinds their crotches together, and loses the breath he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to collect. “Oh, shit-  I-”

Yoongi fills the space Jeongguk hadn’t realized was empty, one hand on Seokjin’s hip as if to guide his movements, and the other dipping below the collar of Jeongguk’s shirt to draw light patterns on his skin. Jeongguk’s breathing is erratic and shallow as Seokjin begins to kiss down his throat, sitting up properly so he can unbutton Jeongguk’s shirt, one at a time, and kiss the revealed skin at a slow, reverent pace.

“Little one.” Yoongi murmurs, voice low and deep, whispered so softly against Jeongguk’s ear he could drown in it, arousal taking a punch to his gut. “Look at me.”

It’s a struggle to look away from Seokjin’s ministrations, his weight on Jeongguk’s thighs, but he manages, fixing his fuzzy gaze on Yoongi. He chokes out, “Hyung.”

Yoongi’s lips turn in a smirk, and he lazily drags the pad of his thumb over Jeongguk’s nipple, swallowing his gasp in a kiss. “Wanna ruin you, baby.”

“Please,” Jeongguk moans, trembling when Seokjin runs his lips over his hip bone.

Yoongi kisses him again, runs his tongue over Jeongguk’s teeth as Jeongguk squirms beneath Seokjin’s hands and lips. He finishes unbuttoning Jeongguk’s shirt, gripping Jeongguk’s waist before leaning back up to kiss the corner of his mouth, push his tongue next to Yoongi’s in Jeongguk’s mouth. Jeongguk can’t help the choked moan that slips from his lips, panting as they both use his mouth, before pulling back to kiss each other, wet and sloppy, over his shaking frame.

They move in tandem, Seokjin dipping his head to kiss Jeongguk as Yoongi sneaks his way down to tug Jeongguk’s jeans and boxers off, his hard cock slapping against his belly. He feels Seokjin grin into their kiss, rocking his ass down on Jeongguk’s cock.

“So hard already, baby,” Seokjin teases.

Jeongguk wrenches his eyes shut, breathing hard as Seokjin continues to grind down on him, shirt lying open and hands still above his head. He feels ruined already, skin flushed and hot where Seokjin touches him, curling against his waist, touching his nipples, fingers stroking the slope of his neck.

“Look at him,” Yoongi chuckles. He smooths his hands over Jeongguk’s thighs, digging his nails into the soft flesh and making Jeongguk moan. “He’s so desperate. It’s cute.”

“Shut up,” Jeongguk whines, but it pitches off into a squeal as Seokjin pinches one of his nipples at the same time Yoongi presses his fingers hard into a sensitive spot on his thigh. “Oh, fuck - shit- hng- please, hyungs.”

Seokjin glances over his shoulder, baring his glistening neck. Jeongguk’s mouth waters and he wants to taste . “What do you think, Yoon?”

“I think I’m hard and I don’t want to wait as much as he doesn’t.”

Seokjin snorts, softly trailing his palms over Jeongguk’s chest and belly, grinning down at him when he feels just how worked up Jeongguk is getting, just how badly he needs this. When he looks at Jeongguk like that, like the world narrows to just this moment, to just the things he wants to do to Jeongguk- he thinks there isn’t a better place to be.

As if they’d planned this, Yoongi heaves himself off the bed to grab lube and condoms from their bedside table. When he returns to the bed, Seokjin breaks the wet, dirty kiss he’d drawn Jeongguk into, shifting so he’s kneeling above Jeongguk, so Yoongi can spread Jeongguk’s legs to fit between them.

“Hyung,” Jeongguk starts, but his voice immediately breaks off when Yoongi surprises him. Instead of his fingers, like Jeongguk is expecting, he feels something warm and soft prodding at his hole, slowly realizing it’s Yoongi’s tongue licking at his asshole, getting his rim wet as Jeongguk cries out, squirming away from the touch.

He can’t get far, really can’t move at all because Seokjin is still on top of him, crowding into his space in a way that makes him feel deliciously small, tiny almost. And with his hands held in Seokjin’s there’s nothing Jeongguk can do but take it, his body shaking as Yoongi sucks at his rim, gets him nice and wet before pushing his tongue inside.

Seokjin nips at Jeongguk’s ear, grinning against the slick skin. “Let us hear you, baby.”

As if he had any other choice, Jeongguk thinks, as Yoongi begins fucking his tongue into Jeongguk’s hole erratically. Jeongguk gasps, and it tapers into a drawn-out moan, legs shaking where Yoongi forces them apart.

“Fuck!” Jeongguk cries out, head jerking back. Yoongi’s dipped his thumb into Jeongguk’s hole, just enough to stretch his rim but not enough to hurt, and he spits on his hole before fucking his tongue back inside. “Oh, oh - hyung, shit- oh God , hn-”

Seokjin ducks his head, sucking a mark on Jeongguk’s neck as he sobs, struggling to stay still as Yoongi eats him out, slick noises filling the room. It doesn’t help that Jeongguk can’t touch, forced to listen as Yoongi fucks into his hole.

“Hyung,” Jeongguk gasps, body jerking hard as Yoongi gives a particularly brutal suck at his rim. Seokjin hums against his neck. “Wanna- shit , Yoongi- taste. You, hyung. Please? Oh , Yoongi-”

“Yeah,” Seokjin hums, scraping his teeth over Jeongguk’s jaw. “Yeah, hyung wants to feel you, lovely. Yoongi.”

Yoongi pulls back, and Jeongguk whines at the loss of his mouth. “Yeah?”

“You good with fingering him?”

“More than.”

Seokjin lifts off Jeongguk , tapping his finger to Jeongguk’s lip when he pouts. Seokjin helps Jeongguk get his shirt off, tossing it somewhere on the floor to be forgotten, and urging Jeongguk to prop himself on his hands and knees.

Behind him, Yoongi presses his palm to Jeongguk’s lower back to make him arch, groaning in appreciation. Seokjin kneels in front of Jeongguk, unbuttoning his jeans just enough to get his cock out, and Jeongguk almost whines at the sight. He doesn’t even wait, doesn’t say anything, just shifts so he can get his tongue on Seokjin’s cock, anywhere he can reach.

“Shit,” Seokjin hisses, threading his fingers through Jeongguk’s hair. He barely hears Seokjin, licking up Seokjin’s cock to suckle happily at the tip. “Fuck, Yoongi. Look at him.”

“I know,” Yoongi says, sounding awed. “He’s so fucking gorgeous.”

Jeongguk preens a little at the praise, eagerly sinking his mouth on Seokjin’s cock, only to choke and pull back. It’s been a while since he sucked Seokjin off, but he’s nothing if not determined, even as Seokjin tightens his hold in Jeongguk’s hair to tug him back a little.

His eyes water as he looks up at Seokjin, whining because he just wants Seokjin’s dick in his mouth. With his other hand, Seokjin slaps his cock against Jeongguk’s full bottom lip, grinning wickedly. “So hungry for it. Our little cock slut, right Yoongi?”

“Oh, let him have it,” Yoongi scolds, but Jeongguk can hear the grin in his voice. “He’s practically drooling.”

Jeongguk was, but he hadn’t thought they could tell . He whines, cheeks flushed with embarrassment before Seokjin finally guides Jeongguk back onto his cock, letting Jeongguk control the pace as he goes down. Seokjin is bigger than Jeongguk had previously been used to, and sometimes he gets too overeager in his ambitions.

“Yoongi’s going to stretch you now, okay, baby?” Seokjin brushes the hair away from Jeongguk’s forehead, thighs shaking as Jeongguk bobs his head. “You know the drill, pinch me if you need a break.”

Jeongguk hums, pulling off with a wet noise to lick at the slit, tastes Seokjin’s precum on his tongue. He tenses at the first press of Yoongi’s fingers to his hole, but relaxes easily as Yoongi pushes two into him, stretched enough from Yoongi’s tongue to take them. He tries to focus on sucking Seokjin off so as not to get too distracted by Yoongi’s fingers in his asshole.

It isn’t easy, not with the way Seokjin cups his hand on Jeongguk’s neck to urge him down further, to take Seokjin’s cock deeper. Yoongi grips Jeongguk’s hip tightly, scissoring him open and curling his fingers to brush Jeongguk’s prostate. He gasps and chokes on Seokjin’s cock, pulling back to catch his breath.

Jeongguk shakes, arms trembling and chest heaving as he sinks down on Seokjin’s cock again. He loves the warm weight on his tongue, loves the taste and the feel of Seokjin inside of him. Yoongi, as if sensing his focus, changes the angle of his fingers to harshly press against his prostate, making Jeongguk curse. He’s drooling all over Seokjin’s slacks, and it hits Jeongguk then that Yoongi and Seokjin were still fully clothed while Jeongguk was on his knees between them, naked and practically begging for cock. It was hot, closing his eyes and picturing the way they stared at him, the hunger in their eyes. His skin was slick with sweat, eyes brimming with tears, and Jeongguk loved it.

At a particularly hard thrust of Yoongi’s fingers, Jeongguk pops off Seokjin’s cock with a desperate sob, his face pressed to Seokjin’s thigh. Yoongi pops the cap of the lube, pouring more into his asshole and Jeongguk whines when he feels it drip out of him, Yoongi’s fingers curling within him. He pushes a third in, the stretch barely noticeable as he fucks into Jeongguk.

“Hng, hyung- ” Jeongguk sobs, brain going fuzzy as Yoongi massages his prostate ruthlessly. He feels Yoongi’s tongue on his rim again and his arms give out, collapsing onto Seokjin’s lap. “Oh, oh , oh, Yoon gi , fuck. I can’t, fuck, I’m so close- I can’t-”

“You can come, baby.” Seokjin says, running his fingers through Jeongguk’s hair.

Jeongguk shakes his head, opening his mouth to speak and letting out a pathetic whimper instead. Yoongi is relentless as he fucks his fingers into Jeongguk, not giving him a chance to catch his breath. Jeongguk mouths at the base of Seokjin’s cock, sobbing as Yoongi plays with his prostate without pause.

“Come on, little one.” Yoongi is saying. He snakes a hand around Jeongguk’s waist, tugging lightly on his cock. And Jeongguk hadn’t realized just how close he was until Yoongi got a hand on his cock, heavy, bobbing, and leaking between his thighs. “Come for us.”

“N-No,” Jeongguk sobs, the pleasure building to a crescendo. It’s almost too much, feels too good, and Jeongguk wishes he could drown in this moment, in the way that Seokjin and Yoongi make him feel. “Wanna- shit, hng- wanna come on hyung’s cock. Please- ”

“Yoongi.” Yoongi immediately stops, his fingers resting in Jeongguk’s ass as Seokjin gently tips Jeongguk’s head up, wiping his thumb through the spit and drool at the corner of Jeongguk’s mouth. “Jeongguk-ah, lovely, who do you want first?”

Jeongguk shivers, body slowly relaxing as his fast approaching orgasm dissipates. He nuzzles into Seokjin’s touch, feeling lost in the best possible way as he mumbles, “Both.”

“You’ll get both of us,” Yoongi assures him, pressing a soft kiss to his ass cheek. “But do you want me first? Since I’m here.”

“N-No,” Jeongguk whines, squirming a little. “Want- Want both hyungs. W’nna feel you together.”

“Oh.” Seokjin lets out a breath, his cock twitching against Jeongguk’s cheek. “Fuck, baby, are you sure?”

Jeongguk nods, feeling pliant and soft beneath their wandering hands. “Please? I want to, with both of you.”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fucking down. Yoongi?”

Yoongi groans behind them, and Jeongguk feels his forehead fall on his lower back. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

Jeongguk giggles, and then they’re both pulling away to move. Seokjin quickly strips out of his clothes when Jeongguk whines about being the only one naked, and then Yoongi does the same, adding to the growing piles scattered around the floor. Jeongguk rolls around on the bed, stretching his arms over his head and accepting the kisses they press to his cheeks and nose.

“Okay,” Seokjin says, breaking the kiss with Yoongi. They’d tugged each other close at the foot of the bed, and Jeongguk had to grip the base of his cock as they kissed each other, Seokjin kneading Yoongi’s ass with both hands. “Okay. I’ll go first, and then Yoongi will stretch you for him, okay? You can tap out at any time, Jeongguk. Don’t forget that.”

“I know ,” Jeongguk rolls his eyes. “I’ve done this before, I’ll be fine.”

Yoongi raises his eyebrows. “You’ve done this before?”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk shrugs. “Once. During my second year of college, I think? I was kinda drunk, so I could be mistaken. Wait, no. I think it was a weird dildo Jimin ordered. But this will be better, and I want it. I promise.”

“Your stories confuse the shit out of me,” Yoongi says.

Jeongguk frowns. “Explain.”

“You’ll spend an entire weekend in a Pikachu onesie playing video games, but you’ve also fucked yourself on a dragon dildo. You’re like,” Yoongi gestures with his hands, lips formed into that tiny pout he gets when he’s thinking hard. Jeongguk wants to kiss him. “Like an enigma.”

“I like sex and video games,” Jeongguk grins. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“Nothing at all,” Seokjin agrees, diving onto the bed with Jeongguk. “Come here, let’s get this rodeo started.”

“Worm,” Jeongguk laughs, swinging his leg over Seokjin’s waist to straddle him. “Let’s get to it, old man.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes, gripping Jeongguk’s waist tightly. “I can’t stand you.”

“But your dick can,” Jeongguk winks. He sees Yoongi handing over the condom and he pauses, hand pressed to Seokjin’s collar. “Wait- I’m. I was clean last time I went, before any of this with you guys. Unless you two-”

“We’re clean,” Seokjin interrupts, pressing a kiss to Jeongguk’s shoulder. “We haven’t used condoms together in years. You want to go without?”

Jeongguk drops his gaze, nodding shyly. “I wanna feel you, wanna get filled up. Please?”

Yoongi’s hands cover Seokjin’s on Jeongguk. “Oh, baby. Like we could ever say no to you. Come on, let’s get hyung inside of you, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk sighs, letting out a whine as Seokjin brushes his fingers over Jeongguk’s nipples. “Yeah, please.”

Jeongguk lifts himself on his knees, hands on Seokjin’s shoulders. Yoongi holds tight to his waist as Seokjin grips his own cock, guiding himself to Jeongguk’s stretched hole. Yoongi had reached between them to slick Seokjin’s cock with lube, because even though Jeongguk had been prepped, they would need a lot more to accomplish what he wanted.

Seokjin pushes into him, bottoming out relatively easily, but his girth still stretches Jeongguk’s rim, makes him tense and let out a moan. He squirms, panting lightly as he adjust to being filled. His cock is still hard, curved against his lower belly, and he desperately wants to grind down, ride Seokjin until he comes between them, but- but there’s more that he wants. More from both of them.

“You’re doing so well, baby.” Yoongi murmurs, trailing his lips across Jeongguk’s shoulder. He keeps his hand on Jeongguk’s body, providing that reassurance when Jeongguk feels like he can’t breathe, moving his hips in small circles to adjust to Seokjin inside of him. He kisses the base of Jeongguk's neck, squeezing his waist in reassurance. "Lovely, do you think you're ready?"

Jeongguk nods, panting heavily as his head hangs. He feels Seokjin's hands on his chest and shoulders steadying him, holding him close, letting Jeongguk know he was there, he got him, he's okay. "Yeah, shit. Want you, hyung."

"Hyung, lie back," Yoongi says. He keeps a hand on the small of Jeongguk's back as Seokjin complies, helping Jeongguk to follow suit.

The movement jostles Seokjin's cock within him, making Jeongguk choke out a moan. He places his hands on Seokjin's shoulders, letting both of them maneuver him how he needs to be. He's kneeling over Seokjin, Seokjin flat on his back, and he thinks his brain whites out for a good minute or two when Yoongi trails both hands down his back, cupping his ass, brushing his fingers where Seokjin's cock stretches his hole.

Seokjin kisses at his jaw, gently urging Jeongguk's head up to look at him. "Baby. Yoongi's going to get you ready for him now, okay? You'll let us know if it gets to be too much, right?"

"Yeah," Jeongguk whispers, letting out a small sound when he feels Yoongi's fingers on his hole. He's not even doing anything, but Jeongguk knows what's coming, and that's somehow worse. It makes everything more real, more forthcoming. Yoongi is behind him, soon Yoongi's dick will be in him with Seokjin's and God, that thought drives Jeongguk absolutely wild. "You know I will, hyungs. Please, please move on. I'm going insane here."

Seokjin hums, tipping Jeongguk's chin to kiss him softly. "We'll give you what you want, precious. Just a little longer, yeah?"

Jeongguk only whines, shifting a bit where he sits and letting out a hiss when Seokjin's cock moves within him. It's overwhelming in the best possible way and Jeongguk finds himself leaning his head back, resting on Yoongi's bicep to look at him with big, watery eyes when he asks, "Please? Yoongi hyung, want it so bad ."

"I've got you, Jeongguk-ah," Yoongi says, kissing his cheek. "Try to relax for me, okay?"

Jeongguk nods, letting Yoongi push him into the previous position, bent over in a way to provide access. He holds his breath, nerves spiking briefly through his body until he feels Seokjin's hands on his face, distracting him with kisses to his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. When he feels Yoongi's finger at his hole again, Jeongguk tenses, letting out a shaky breath at Seokjin's quiet instruction to do so.

The first finger is easy, if not somewhat uncomfortable, Yoongi pushing in past the knuckle. Jeongguk can't help the desperate little noise that he lets out, eyes falling shut as he tries to adjust. Yoongi pulls his finger out, and Jeongguk can hear him pour more lube onto his hand before he tries again, the slide marginally easier. And Jeongguk is already wet , the culmination of Yoongi eating him out earlier and then pouring the lube, but they could never use too much for this.

"Look at you." Seokjin is saying, talking even as Jeongguk can't quite pay attention, kissing the corner of his mouth even though Jeongguk can't reciprocate. He continues talking and Jeongguk appreciates it, appreciates the distraction and the noise that isn't just his own erratic breathing, or the little whines he lets out when he can feel the tip of Yoongi's second finger at his hole. "You take it so well, baby. So beautiful for us, you're doing so well. Wish you could see yourself, pretty baby. Our pretty baby."

"Hyung," Jeongguk whines. He wants more, wants to finally feel Yoongi, but curses loudly as Yoongi presses in his second finger. "Fuck. Fuck? Fuck."

Seokjin laughs, tries to pass it off as a cough, and kisses Jeongguk's pout as he squirms. The stretch hurts a bit, but Yoongi is slow about it, careful about it, giving Jeongguk ample time to adjust before even beginning to move his fingers at all. "Yoongi's fingers are so nice, aren't they, baby?"

Jeongguk nods, whimpering a little as Seokjin moves beneath him. "Hng, hyung-"

"Tell him," Seokjin urges, his fingers soothing in Jeongguk's hair. "Tell hyung how you feel."

"Mnh," Jeongguk gasps. head falling. "Feel- shit- feel so good, hyung. M'so- so full- "

"God, Jeongguk-ah," Yoongi groans. His voice takes on a deeper tone, gravely almost, and the sound sends electricity down Jeongguk's spine. He can barely breathe and Yoongi hasn't even added a third finger. He's sure he looks a mess, absolutely wrecked, and wonders if Yoongi is doing much better. "Wish you could see yourself like this, I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful."

"Eighth wonder of the world is Jeongguk's ass split open on a cock," Seokjin says, grinning.

"You're so gross," Yoongi says, and Jeongguk can picture the way he rolls his eyes. "Shut up or I'll go soft."

Seokjin laughs, brushing his thumbs over Jeongguk's nipples to watch him jerk and let out a moan. "Not a loss for me."

Yoongi grumbles something nonsensical, but presses a soft kiss to Jeongguk's shoulder before he pushes a third finger in. It burns, making Jeongguk hiss in pain even as Yoongi adds more lube, and it's so wet, almost unbearably so, Yoongi's fingers moving inside of him with an obscene squelch.

"Sh, baby." Seokjin kisses him, and Jeongguk hadn't even realized he was whining, high and desperate in the back of his throat. He feels choked up, light-headed. He needs Yoongi, needs him now, because he's not sure how much longer he'll last. "You're so good for us, doing so well. Just a little more, okay? A little more, and you'll have us, okay?"

"Okay." Jeongguk sobs, the stretch of his rim something filthy. He kisses Seokjin again, sloppy, missing his mouth more often than not. "Yoongi, please- "

"I got you, baby."

Yoongi's fourth finger is hard to take, and Jeongguk realizes, as he's trying to catch his breath from the stretch, that Seokjin's fingers are digging into his hips hard. His self-control is unmatched, but not even Seokjin can remain entirely unaffected. There's more lube, more desperate noises pouring from Jeongguk's lips, and more praise from Seokjin before Yoongi's fingers pause in Jeongguk's hole. He leans close, dragging his lips over Jeongguk's sweaty skin.

"Yoon?"

"He's ready," Yoongi says, and a shiver wracks down Jeongguk's spine at the words. "Lovely, are you okay?"

"M'good," Jeongguk pants, appreciating the break as a chance to catch his breath. "Fuck. Fuck, let's do this already."

"Hey." Seokjin cups his face, waits until Jeongguk looks directly at him. "I mean it. If you want to stop at anytime, tell us. We won't be disappointed or upset. You take priority, got it?"

Jeongguk whines- mostly from Yoongi pulling his fingers out- and he nods hurriedly. "I know , hyung. I know. But I want this. I want you. So bad."

"I know you do, baby." Seokjin says, stroking down Jeongguk's cheeks. "I want this to feel good for you."

"We don't want to hurt you," Yoongi agrees, carding his hand through Jeongguk's hair.

Jeongguk snorts, tilting his head to kiss Seokjin's palm. "It's two goddam dicks in my ass, hyung. It's going to hurt. The good kind of hurt."

Yoongi smacks his ass lightly, but it makes Jeongguk moan, and both Yoongi and Seokjin snicker before Yoongi pulls back. Checking over his shoulder confirms to Jeongguk that he's lubing up his cock, and Jeongguk's heart leaps into his throat. Fuck, he wants it. Wants them both so badly.

"Okay," Yoongi says. "Okay, Jeongguk."

His body tenses again at the first press of Yoongi's cock to his hole, the blunt head against his stretched rim. He takes it so slowly, moves so slowly, all while Seokjin runs his hands across Jeongguk's trembling body, kisses his cheeks, whispers praise into his ear. Yoongi's hands on his hips. His tiny thrusts, carefully pushing into Jeongguk's asshole. They're being so soft with him, so gentle that it makes Jeongguk feel... it makes him feel cherished. Makes him feel like he belongs in this moment, that he belongs here.

Almost makes him feel like they lo-

"Yoongi, stop."

Seokjin's voice breaks through the haze in Jeongguk's mind, and he blinks dumbly down at Seokjin as Yoongi stops, pauses where he's buried almost entirely inside of Jeongguk. He registers the feeling for the first time, the stretch, the weight of the two of them inside of Jeongguk. It's addicting, heady, and it hurts.

"W-Why?" Jeongguk's tongue is heavy in his mouth, breathing unevenly and shallow. "Hyung, why-?"

Seokjin strokes his thumb beneath Jeongguk's eye. "Honey, you're crying."

"Shit," Yoongi curses behind him. "Shit, hyung, I'm pulling out-"

"No!" Jeongguk jerks, clenching on both of them, and Seokjin hisses in response. He hadn't even realized he was crying, not until Seokjin began to wipe the tears away. "No, please. Please , I want it, I promise-"

"You're hurting," Yoongi says. "We don't want-"

"It's good, hyung," Jeongguk interrupts, feeling desperate and strung out. His cock remains hard, trapped between his and Seokjin's bellies, despite the pain and the thorough time prepping. He's so on edge, wants it so badly, needs them to understand there's something more to this. Jeongguk thinks... he thinks. Fuck. He doesn't want to think. "I'm good." He kisses Seokjin's jaw, finds Yoongi's hand on his hip and pulls it to his lips. "I know you'll take care of me, hyungs."

They're both silent for a long moment, even as Jeongguk starts to feel that desperation begin to mount. He's finally got both of them inside him and they won't move , it's almost enough to make him cry- if he weren't crying already.

Finally, finally , Yoongi kisses the back of his neck, and Seokjin kisses his nose. Seokjin nods once and says, "Okay. Okay, baby. Yoongi, you can move."

Jeongguk is so strung out, his entire body taut with pleasure, cock drooling and sensitive. Yoongi hesitantly pushes the rest of the way in, and when he bottoms out, it nudges Seokjin's cock against Jeongguk's prostate and to his own shock- he comes, spilling white onto Seokjin's belly, clenching hard around both of them as his brain whites out with pleasure.

"Oh," Seokjin murmurs.

"Holy shit," Jeongguk breathes.

He doesn't get any relief and that's okay, because the oversensitivity quickly devolves into pleasure stinging his gut. Seokjin runs his fingers through the cum, pressing them to Jeongguk's lips and watching with wide, lust-filled eyes as Jeongguk takes them into his mouth and sucks hard.

"Messy baby," Seokjin chides. "So fucking desperate, came just from getting two cocks in your tight little ass."

"He came?" Yoongi asks, breathing heavily on Jeongguk's nape. "That's so- fuck ."

"Maybe we should-"

"Keep going," Jeongguk slurs around Seokjin's fingers. He's so fucking gone, nearly delirious with pleasure as his body shakes. If it weren't for their hands on him, Jeongguk likely would have fallen by now. "Like it, hng- like it so much."

Yoongi pulls his hips back just enough to slam his cock back inside Jeongguk, making him yelp and nearly choke on Seokjin's fingers in his mouth. It takes some adjusting, Seokjin moving slightly to make it easier for Yoongi, before he finally finds a rhythm, fucking into Jeongguk with powerful thrusts. Jeongguk can't help the desperate sounds he makes, sucking hard on Seokjin's fingers in an attempt to muffle himself, but it doesn't work. He's so loud, crying out with each one of Yoongi's thrusts as every time he moves, he jostled Seokjin's cock in him, nudging his prostate, driving Jeongguk further into madness.

"So good, Jeonggukie," Yoongi grunts, nipping at Jeongguk's ear. "Take us so well, look so fucking pretty like this."

Jeongguk whines, high in his throat, and Seokjin tugs out his fingers to smear spit on his cheek, snickering at the absolute debauched noise that Jeongguk lets out. He can barely see, pleasure sparking each of his nerves, and it's too much, it's so much , both of them inside him, their hands all over his body. He thinks he might be crying again, but he can't be sure. He's moaning, keening so loudly he barely hears the praises that spill from Seokjin's lips.

Yoongi's hands slip on his hips before his nails dig into Jeongguk's skin, holding onto him tightly before fucking into him in earnest. There's the squelch of lube, the slick sounds of their cocks moving against each other, and when Jeongguk shuts his eyes, he can picture it. Yoongi scrapes his teeth along Jeongguk's spine, presses a finger to where they're stretching him open and Jeongguk wails .

" Hng- hyung- oh oh oh- " Jeongguk cries out at a particularly hard thrust, body twisting away from the sensation. Yoongi murmurs an apology against his shoulder, but Jeongguk loves it. He wishes he could stay in this moment, pampered and squished between Yoongi and Seokjin. "Kiss me," he thinks he babbles at one point, clutching desperately at Seokjin's shoulders.

Seokjin hooks his hand around Jeongguk's neck and pulls him into a rough kiss, sucking on Jeongguk's tongue. When he pulls back, his forehead is slick with sweat, bangs sticking to his skin. "You feel like a fucking dream, Jeongguk-ah. Talk to me."

Jeongguk shakes his head, back arching almost painfully as each of Yoongi's thrusts have Seokjin brushing Jeongguk's prostate. He can already feel his orgasm creeping up on him slowly, building into a fury beneath his skin. He doesn't want to come yet, wants this to last as long as possible, wants them-

"So good," Jeongguk sobs, and he knows for sure now that he's crying. "Love- love it, hyungs, love-"

"I'm not going to last," Yoongi huffs, his forehead pressed to Jeongguk's back. "I'm not, shit- he feels so good. Fucking hell , baby. Little one. Baby, our baby."

Laughing quietly, Seokjin looks about as wrecked as Yoongi sounds. Jeongguk is absolutely no better, trembling, arching into and away from every movement. His cock bobs between his and Seokjin's bodies, and Jeongguk nearly screams when Seokjin touches him, strokes his cock out of rhythm with Yoongi's thrusts.

Seokjin kisses Jeongguk, but he's too out of it to even think of kissing back, panting against Seokjin's lips. He's sweaty and shaking, hands balled into fists on Seokjin's chest. "Come whenever you want, Yoon."

It doesn't take much longer, and through the fog in his mind Jeongguk thinks of how long Seokjin and Yoongi have held themselves back, how much they've given Jeongguk. Yoongi lets out a whine, and his hips pick up in speed, making Jeongguk sob into Seokjin's mouth. Yoongi stops, cock buried deep within Jeongguk, and comes with a drawn-out moan of Jeongguk's name, his hands squeezing Jeongguk's hips so hard it hurts.

"Don't," Jeongguk gasps, when he feels Yoongi start to pull out. "Hyung. Don't."

Yoongi laughs, sounding spent. "Gonna be the death of me, baby."

"Jeonggukie." Seokjin kisses him. "Let's make you come, yeah?"

Before Jeongguk can respond, Seokjin moves his hands to cup Jeongguk's ass, planting his feet on the mattress to thrust up hard . Jeongguk lets out an embarrassing squeak, scrambling to grasp Seokjin's shoulders, but his palms are ridiculously sweaty and he slips, collapsing on Seokjin's chest with a high-pitched moan, sequential whimpers punched from his gut with each of Seokjin's thrusts.

Seokjin is brutal about it, spreading Jeongguk's ass around their cocks as he chases his own orgasm. The lube mixed with Yoongi's come makes the slide easier, makes it easier for Seokjin to move within him. Jeongguk can barely breathe, mind so clouded with pleasure and pain that he can't tell where one begins and the other ends. He's not even making noise now, little ah ah ah s slipping from his lips. His eyes are wet, his cheek smushed against Seokjin's chest. He's not going to last.

"Hyung," Jeongguk sobs, barely registering Yoongi's lips on his back. "Hyung- hng- shit, oh, oh oh- m'close- I'm- oh, hyung!"

"That's it, baby." Seokjin grunts, angling his hips to hit Jeongguk's prostate with each thrust. Jeongguk thinks he screams, his voice cracking as he cries out. "Come on, come for me. Let us see you, pretty. Make a mess for us."

"I-I can't," Jeongguk's voice tapers off, cracking again as he moans. He's right there, right on the edge, so close he can feel the pleasure on the tip of his tongue. But he can't reach it alone, still too sensitive from earlier to come on his own. " Please- !"

"Yoongi," Seokjin huffs out. "I can't reach-"

"I've got him."

Yoongi's lips touch his ear, kissing him softly, before he snakes a hand between their bodies to take Jeongguk's cock in hand. Jeongguk thinks he moans, but it's lost to his own ears at this point, lost to the ringing in his ears, his mind, the clacking of his teeth. Yoongi's thumb swipes over the tip and Jeongguk's entire body locks up, vision blacking out as he comes with a scream, cock spurting between his and Seokjin's bellies.

He's crying, Yoongi's hand on his cock, Seokjin's on his ass. It takes too long to register that Seokjin is speaking, murmuring, "That's it, baby. Did so well for us, so good for hyungs. Just a little more, hold on a little more."

Jeongguk doesn't register anything, body loose and pliant, shaking with the force of Seokjin's thrusts. He tries to kiss Seokjin's jaw, misses and kisses somewhere on his neck. "Please," he croaks, and his voice can barely be heard. "Hyung- please."

Seokjin comes hard, biting Jeongguk's shoulder to muffle his noises as he releases in Jeongguk's ass, filling him up along with Yoongi's come. It's fucking obscene, the way Jeongguk can feel come leaking between his cheeks even before either of them have pulled out. There are tears clinging to his lashes and Jeongguk can't breathe, chest heaving, body too heavy to move.

"Sh," Seokjin soothes, running his hands through Jeongguk's hair. "We got you, lovely. You were perfect, so good. So perfect, sweetheart."

Jeongguk has no idea how much time passed, can barely feel his fingers or toes, before Yoongi presses kisses to his spine. He seems to recover first, murmuring, "I'm going to pull out now," against Jeongguk's shoulder.

He chokes on a desperate noise as Yoongi pulls out, cheeks flushing bright red when he feels come all but pour out his ass. He should be embarrassed, or something , but instead, Jeongguk can't open his eyes. He breathes hard into Seokjin's chest and tries not to cry at the empty feeling once Yoongi is gone.

"We're here," Seokjin murmurs. He cups his hand on the back of Jeongguk's head, cradling Jeongguk to his chest. "We're right here. Yoongi's here."

Yoongi's fingers play a soft rhythm on Jeongguk's spine, touching him gently. Jeongguk reaches out blindly, grasping Yoongi's ankle where he sits at their side, and lets out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"Can you open your eyes for us, baby?" Yoongi asks, leaning close to kiss Jeongguk's temple.

Jeongguk shakes his head.

"That's okay," Seokjin replies. "I'm going to pull out-"

"No." Jeongguk chokes out, hating himself for the way his voice breaks on just one syllable. " Hyung- "

"I know," Seokjin murmurs. "But we need to clean you up. I think we have a plug, somewhere. If you need it."

Jeongguk wants it, but he doesn't ask. Instead, he just nods once, letting Seokjin know he could move. It takes a lot of effort on Seokjin's part- Jeongguk is still kind of boneless- lifting Jeongguk a bit to pull his cock out, before he and Yoongi help to move Jeongguk onto his back.

He winces, already feeling the ache in his thighs and ass. The bed dips on either side, Seokjin saying something quiet to Yoongi, before there's a hand smoothing up Jeongguk's chest, a thumb against his cheek.

"Yoongi's gone to start the bath," Seokjin says quietly. "And get you something to drink. You did so well for us, baby. Took us so well. Can you let me know you're okay?"

Jeongguk finds Seokjin's hand on his chest, wrapping his fingers around Seokjin's wrist to pull it to his face, to press soft kisses to Jeongguk's palm. His chest has finally stopped heaving, and Jeongguk almost feels as though he can breathe again, albeit unsteadily. He doesn't open his eyes, yet, as if the illusion will shatter once he does.

"I got a cloth, too." Yoongi's voice returns some minutes later. Seokjin shifts from where he'd been lying at Jeongguk's side, kissing his shoulder and neck gently, playing lightly with his hair. "Clean him a bit."

"Thanks, babe."

Seokjin doesn't move, and Jeongguk feels Yoongi's hand on the back of his head and the quiet order to, "Sit up and drink a bit, Jeonggukie."

Jeongguk does, the cool water soothing his wrecked throat. When he settles back on the bed, he blinks his eyes open and winces at the light. God, he's going to feel this tomorrow.

"There you are." Seokjin smiles at him, softly as Jeongguk turns his head. "Our beautiful boy. How're you feeling?"

Jeongguk tilts his head, his neck cracking. "I'm. Ow, mostly. But good. Fuzzy. Words are hard."

"But you're good?" Seokjin double checks. "Nothing out of the ordinary hurts?"

Jeongguk takes a second to assess, stretching his arms and legs and wriggling his toes for good measure. "Yeah. Normal hurt. Kiss?"

With another smile, Seokjin leans close to kiss him, but Jeongguk breaks it with a hiss when Yoongi spreads his thighs apart, running the warm cloth over his dirtied skin. There are fingernail indents on Jeongguk's hips and thighs, purple bruises forming on his neck, and Jeongguk's ass stings.

"Sorry." Yoongi's expression falls, and he looks so genuinely apologetic that Jeongguk wants to pull him close, kiss him hard, but his arms aren't working how he wants them to right now. "You're so dirty, baby."

"Hyung," Jeongguk whines, mortification painting his cheeks bright red.

"Sorry," Yoongi says again. He cleans Jeongguk slowly, wiping the come and lube from his inner thighs and stomach. At one point, he dips his thumb into Jeongguk's hole, gaping open to the point where Jeongguk barely feels the pressure. Jeongguk whines again, hiding his face in Seokjin's neck. "The bath should be ready now, hyung."

Seokjin hums, kissing the top of Jeongguk's head. "Come on, baby."

"I-" Jeongguk pauses, biting his lip hard. He aches everywhere, chest still tight, and he wants nothing more than the two of them. "I don't think I can move."

"Oh," Seokjin lets out a breath. "Oh, shit. Right. One second."

Seokjin rolls off the bed, letting out a wince as he stands. He moves around Yoongi, who’d finished cleaning between Jeongguk’s thighs, and carefully tugs Jeongguk’s limp body toward the edge of the bed. He gets an arm beneath Jeongguk’s knees and another under his shoulders, lifting Jeongguk with a soft exhale as he curls into the warmth, snuggles as best he can into Seokjin’s chest.

Yoongi stands on his toes to kiss the high of Jeongguk’s cheek, making him smile softly. In the bathroom, Yoongi had set out half a dozen fluffy towels and bath bombs. He lets Jeongguk choose, both of them giggling at the way Seokjin wrinkles his nose. But the bathroom is warm with steam, and Jeongguk can’t help the low moan he lets out as Seokjin carefully lowers him in the water.

“Is it too hot?” Yoongi asks, sinking into the water behind Jeongguk. “The bath bomb smells okay?”

“It’s perfect,” Jeongguk murmurs. He melts into Yoongi, into the water, the soft lavender of the soap. There had been a few baths, months ago- so long the memories have taken on that wistful feel- where Jeongguk had to excuse himself early when the smell of the soap or the bath bomb was too much for his sensitive nose. “Thank you.”

Yoongi kisses the back of his neck. “Of course, lovely. Do you still hurt?”

He’s nodding as Seokjin joins them, close enough for Jeongguk to reach over and link their fingers together. “It’s okay, though.” Jeongguk sinks further in Yoongi’s arms, until his chin was submerged, and he smiles up at Yoongi. “It’s good. I like it.”

Yoongi smiles fondly, brushing the hair from Jeongguk’s forehead to press a soft kiss there. They all relax in the bath for a long time, talking quietly. Yoongi’s fingers stroke up and down Jeongguk’s arms, over his stomach and thighs, and Seokjin plays lightly with his fingers. They ask him where it hurts the most, both of them laughing quietly when Jeongguk mutters that it’s his ass, duh. Seokjin had brought one of the bottles of water from the bedroom, and has Jeongguk drink it all while they sit.

“Tilt your head, baby.” Seokjin says, long after Jeongguk has lost track of time. “Let hyung wash your hair.”

Jeongguk does as he’s told, ducking his head where Seokjin leads him to. Seokjin lathers shampoo into his hair, and it’s just long enough now to form into a high-standing mohawk, making all three of them laugh. With just enough energy left, Jeongguk turns half around on Yoongi’s lap to give him a bubble beard, kissing away his pout.

Seokjin conditions Jeongguk’s hair and then his own, before Yoongi squeezes his waist and presses what feels like an apologetic kiss to his shoulder. “We need to clean you out,” Yoongi murmurs. “This is.... Probably going to hurt.”

Yoongi holds Jeongguk tight, stroking his cheek and kissing his neck as Seokjin cleans the come from his ass. It does hurt, Yoongi wasn’t wrong, but it’s not as terrible as Jeongguk was anticipating. His ass aches, and the stretch of Seokjin’s fingers inside of him stings, but aside from a few whimpers of pain, Jeongguk gets through it with a heaving chest. And he gets a dozen kisses to his forehead from both of them in return.

After that, Yoongi passes Jeongguk gently over to Seokjin so he can wash his own hair and body, letting Seokjin take over to drag a soapy cloth over Jeongguk’s body. Seokjin blows a raspberry onto Jeongguk’s belly, making him laugh a tinkling laugh.

They stay in the bath until the water begins to cool. Yoongi is the first to slip out, grumbling about feeling sticky from so much soap and, well, his own come in the water. He rinses under the showerhead, wrapping a towel around his shoulders before disappearing into the bedroom. Jeongguk lets out an unhappy noise when Seokjin suggests they should follow suit.

“Come on, baby,” Seokjin laughs. He’s littering kisses along Jeongguk’s neck and jaw, looking so fucking gorgeous with his wet hair, flushed cheeks, the glow of pleasure on his skin. “I can’t wrap you in a dozen blankets like this.”

“Hm.” Jeongguk pretends to think about it. “Got anymore pocky?”

Seokjin rolls his eyes and a few minutes later, he’s helping Jeongguk out of the bath. His legs nearly give out when he stands, and Jeongguk hisses at the pressure, the strain on his thighs. Seokjin is there to catch him, to help him to the shower to rinse off, and though Jeongguk’s breathing heavily and struggling to shuffle forward, Seokjin doesn’t push him.

“Hey.” Seokjin says, after he’s wrapped two separate towels around Jeongguk. He waits until Jeongguk looks up, eyes wide. “I’m proud of you. I- don’t give me that look, bitchass- I know it’s dumb to say. But it’s true. You did so well tonight, you always do so well with us.”

Jeongguk hides half his face behind his towel, leaning against the vanity because he needs a break before they walk to the bedroom, but he’s smiling. “Thanks, hyung. Even if that was lame.”

“See if I ever eat your ass again,” Seokjin grumbles.

“Yoongi hyung is better at it, anyway.”

“You little shit.”

Jeongguk giggles, and though he’d run away and hide behind Yoongi usually, he’s kind of limited at the moment. So he scrunches his nose as Seokjin grabs his face, peppering his nose and cheeks with kisses.

In the bedroom, Yoongi had found a pair of Seokjin’s pajamas and set them on the bed. He’d stripped the sheets, changing them and returning the weighted duvet that Jeongguk loves. Seokjin sits him on the edge of the bed and helps him first into pants, silky and soft against his skin, and then buttons the shirt.

He’s drying Jeongguk’s hair, exaggeratedly running the towel over his head, when he says, “We have, like. Aloe and stuff. Do you think you need any?”

Jeongguk purses his lips, taking stock of how his body feels. He really needs to stop sitting down, but other than that, he’d say he’s fine. “I’m okay. You guys didn’t hit me, or anything. I just-” Now, Jeongguk drops his gaze, and despite everything they’d done that night, somehow voicing the thought in his head has his cheeks igniting with embarrassment. He says, in a tiny voice, “Wanna cuddle.”

“What was that?” Seokjin teases, though the smile on his lips tells Jeongguk that he heard perfectly. “What does the baby want?”

“You know,” Jeongguk whines, holding onto Seokjin’s hips. He stands naked and proud in front of Jeongguk. It’s so fucking unfair, how gorgeous Seokjin is. He pouts for dramatic effect, but Seokjin just feigns ignorance. “ Hyung .”

“Gotta ask for the things you want, honey.”

Jeongguk groans, tipping backwards until he’s lying down. “I want cuddles! Happy now? I want some motherfucking cuddles.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Bite me.”

“With pleasure.”

He doesn’t bite, but Seokjin does pinch Jeongguk’s knee before disappearing into his side of the closet. He returns and he’s clothed, unfortunately, in his own pajamas covered in little llamas. Yoongi returns as they’re trying to get comfortable in bed, Jeongguk struggling to find a position that doesn’t aggravate his ass.

Yoongi takes one look at them and smiles, soft and sweet. He rounds the bed on Jeongguk’s side, handing him the container with the last of the chocolate covered strawberries. “I forgot your favorite flavor of pocky when I was at the store, so I bought all of them. Did you realize it’s two times more expensive here than in Korea? And that it’s twice as small? What the fuck is up with that?”

“Capitalism.” Jeongguk offers, munching happily on a strawberry.

Yoongi laughs, a bark of a noise, as though caught off guard. “I got banana chips, too. I think you mentioned liking them, but I couldn’t remember.”

“This is perfect,” Jeongguk assures him, kissing Yoongi as he climbs into bed with them. He’d finally settled, propped up on four different pillows in the middle of the bed. His ass hurt, thighs screaming, and Jeongguk absolutely dreaded getting out of bed in the morning. “Thank you, hyung. Um. Both of you. That was really- I really liked it a lot. Thank you.”

His cheeks flush as both Seokjin and Yoongi lean in to kiss his cheeks, Seokjin lingering with a smile. “Of course, baby. It was hot, honestly.”

“Really fucking hot,” Yoongi agrees. “I wish you could have seen it, Jeongguk-ah. I don’t think I’ve seen something hotter.”

“Excuse me.”

“Hyung, your dick pictures are nice, but they’ve got nothing on this.”

Jeongguk laughs at the affronted look on Seokjin’s face. Yoongi hands him another bottle of water, and he drinks almost half before speaking. “Next time we’ll do it so both me and hyung can watch.”

“Oh God,” Yoongi groans, hiding his face in his hands.

Despite the exhaustion he feels, Jeongguk is nowhere near being tired enough to sleep. Instead, he whines until Seokjin and Yoongi press close to his sides, sharing pocky and the last few strawberries. They put on a movie, and Yoongi is the first one to find sleep, knocking out after twenty minutes with his arm splayed over Jeongguk’s lower belly.

Jeongguk finishes three boxes of pocky and the strawberries before he finally starts to feel sleep at the corners of his eyes. Beside him, Seokjin is barely awake, but he helps move the snacks and empty boxes to the side table as Jeongguk sinks into the mattress, feeling contentment deep in his bones.

“Goodnight, baby.” Seokjin whispers, his lips on Jeongguk’s neck. He holds Jeongguk close and tight. “Sleep well.”

Jeongguk curls into his embrace and feels Yoongi shuffle closer, and he falls asleep to Seokjin’s hands carding softly through his hair.

Jeongguk stays the weekend before he goes home, feeling like he’s been floating on a cloud for three days. Not even his lectures could ruin his mood, smiling widely as Seokjin dropped him off at the university with a kiss to his nose.

Returning to the apartment is a little bittersweet, Jeongguk has to admit. After spending two days doing nothing but relaxing with Yoongi and Seokjin, it feels like Jeongguk is returning from a dream. He’d woken up on Saturday with a groan so loud that it had startled Seokjin awake, and though Jeongguk will swear up and down that he did not,  he kid kinda cry a little when he stood up. At least Seokjin held him all the while during their late brunch, Yoongi kissing his forehead where they ate sprawled on the couch.

Yoongi had excused himself for a few hours to sneak into his home studio, promising Seokjin that he’d be quick. He’d gotten distracted, but that just gave Jeongguk a good excuse to slip into the room and sit on Yoongi’s lap to watch him work on some tracks. A few songs were in their final stages, and Yoongi let Jeongguk listen to a few seconds of each.

They had dinner on the back deck, cuddled up near the fire pit. Seokjin confessed he was talking to a few producers about a role in a Netflix movie that had initially been offered to Taehyung. He didn’t want to take it because he knew most of the hype surrounding the movie had been due to Taehyung in the leading role.

But Yoongi and Jeongguk kiss him quietly and encourage him to at least go to the readings, to see if the project calls to him at all. It likely won’t film until early the next year. He has time.

On Sunday, Jeongguk joined them as they went grocery shopping. Seokjin had to grab a few things for minor home repairs, too, and their errands kept them out for most of the day. Jeongguk disappeared from them in the grocery store, returning with a half dozen boxes of different cereal, much to Seokjin’s chagrin. And later, he helped Yoongi prepare dinner in the kitchen, heading down to the basement to fetch Seokjin to eat and found him sweaty and grease covered, fixing the plumbing in the bathroom down there. He froze, staring at Seokjin’s forearms and the way his hair stuck up in odd angles.

“Seriously?” Seokjin laughs, flicking Jeongguk’s ear as he passed.

Jeongguk was still too sore for sex, but the image wouldn’t leave his mind, and he made sure to blow Seokjin that night before they all tumbled into bed together.

Now, Jeongguk cracks his knuckles as he makes it up the last flight of stairs. The landlord still hasn’t fixed the elevator, but Jeongguk stopped hoping for that months ago. Normally it was fine. But when he’s still sore and he’s thinking about the way Yoongi kissed him that morning, the climb seems to hurt more.

They promised to see him again that week, but couldn’t say a day for certain. Yoongi was struck with inspiration for one of the last tracks on Taehyung’s album, and as his self-assigned release date drew near, Jeongguk knew he’d be spending most of his nights in the studio. Seokjin still had time before his next campaign, but there were already meetings being set up for the movie. He’d told Jeongguk he couldn’t pick him up from school this week with a guilty pinch to his brow that Jeongguk tried to soothe with soft kisses.

Jeongguk shoulders open the door when it sticks, dropping his backpack on the floor with a sigh. He’d worn one of Seokjin’s shirts to school, soft and warm and smelling of lilacs. The entire weekend had felt like too good to be true, but there was one moment in particular that wouldn’t stop playing in his head.

He doesn’t want to think about them, about how that stupid four letter word nearly slipped between his lips on Friday night without his permission, before he’d even consciously thought about it. Doesn’t want to think about gentle and caring Yoongi and Seokjin were all weekend, making sure he ate enough and finished his assignments, holding him close and kissing his neck when triple checking that Jeongguk enjoyed what they tried in bed.

He doesn’t want to think about it, about the several beatings to the chest that he took this past weekend. The way he’d positively melted in the supermarket, watching Yoongi- covered with a hoodie and mask and sunglasses- and Seokjin- only in sunglasses- debate whether to get the store brand or generic brand of milk. They bought an extra gallon because Jeongguk loved drinking chocolate milk with breakfast, and it hit Jeongguk, standing there in the middle of the dairy aisle. It hit him hard, and he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

It’s been obvious, Jeongguk knows. A feeling in his chest that he refused to name for the longest time, because naming it means that it’s real, and Jeongguk doesn’t want it to be real.

Jeongguk knows, though, that there’s no way to deny it any longer. No way to push it down, not when Seokjin guided him around Home Depot with an arm over his shoulders and asked for Jeongguk’s opinion for a new floor tile in the master bathroom- as if he deserves a say in it. As if he’ll use it for a long time.

Jeongguk knows.

He’s known for a while.

He just never thought it would get this bad.

“All I’m saying.” Someone is saying, further inside the apartment. Jeongguk realizes he’s been standing in the doorway like an idiot, and he shuffles inside. It’s Taehyung, sitting on the good spot on the couch. “We could go South. Or stay close.”

Jimin, slumped in the armchair, makes a face. “We go too far South and we’re basically living in my parent’s house.”

“We don’t have to go South. Hi, Jeonggukie.”

Jeongguk crawls onto the couch, resting his head on Taehyung’s thigh, and sighs happily as Taehyung starts stroking his hair. Jimin perks up a bit, grinning salaciously.

“Why can’t we stay nearby?” Jimin asks.

“We could,” Taehyung says. “I guess. The market isn’t great here, and most of my stuff is in storage. What about Malibu? Or Beverly Hills? We could live in one of the gated communities there.”

Jimin whines, clutching a throw pillow to his chest. “I don’t want to go through the trouble of getting adjusted to a whole community when we don’t know where my job will send me. We don’t even know if you’ll be here at all for the second half of this year! We should just get an apartment close to downtown.”

“You deserve more than a crappy apartment,” Taehyung says firmly. “A condo? Do you want to live in a condo?”

“You want a dog,” Jimin says. “Not a lot of condos allow animals.”

And this is why Jeongguk didn’t want to come home.

This is why he asked, in a quiet voice halfway to school, if he could stay even though both Seokjin and Yoongi were barely going to be home this week, because he knows the time for Taehyung and Jimin to find a place was fast approaching. Which means Jeongguk will be alone. Alone with a shitty apartment and a leaking roof and no cat because their landlord was a dick and hated cats.

Something settles in Jeongguk’s stomach, something that simultaneously takes up too much space and leaves him hollow. Taehyung’s hand is still in his hair, but it feels heavy, like it’s made of lead. Weighing him down.

“What about New York?” Taehyung asks quietly. “I think you’d thrive so well in the city.”

Jimin smiles, shy and tiny. “It’s really far from my family, Tae. Is your movie taking you there?”

Jeongguk feels Taehyung shrug. “Still no confirmation. We’ll go for Christmas. There’s so many cafes and I want to take you to all of them.”

“We’ve got time,” Jimin says, and Jeongguk thinks he recognizes the fond look on Jimin’s expression. Thinks he’s projected hard enough that he’s seen it on Yoongi. On Seokjin. “I haven’t seen snow in a while, and you need to lock down that Oscar nomination with this movie. Plus I still have finals. Let’s wait until then.”

Taehyung groans, shifting a little under Jeongguk’s head. He tucks some hair behind Jeongguk’s ear. “We’re going to miss out on so many potential down payments.”

Jimin rolls his eyes. “We’re not buying a house for our entire future, bro.”

“I had my tongue in your ass this morning, please don’t call me bro.”

“Broski.”

“Oh my God.” Taehyung trails his fingers lightly over Jeongguk’s jaw. “How was your weekend? Yoongi called late on Thursday to reschedule some of our studio time. Figured you had something to do with it.”

Jeongguk thinks about Yoongi’s messages, about Seokjin dragging him out of the studio and smiles to himself. It fades quickly. “I, uhm. I kinda fucked up.”

The atmosphere shifts immediately, Jimin sitting up properly. “Did they hurt you? I swear to God, Jeongguk, I’ll break their legs right now.”

“No,” Jeongguk laughs quietly. He was going to miss Jimin’s fierce protectiveness. “No, it’s nothing they did. Well, nothing that they did on purpose.”

“I’m confused,” Jimin says, glancing at Taehyung.

“I broke the cardinal rule,” Jeongguk says, and this time his laughter tastes like bitter ash on his tongue. “I fell in love with my sugar daddy.”

Silence follows his words, as if the slightest of breath could cause everything to shatter. It might. Jeongguk feels on edge, like the effervescent feeling of the weekend had created a bubble around him. A bubble on the verge of popping, and taking everything Jeongguk was with it.

It’s Taehyung who speaks first, clearing his throat. Jeongguk can’t see him, hiding his face in Taehyung’s thigh, but he sees the way Jimin schools his expression into one of stone. Nothing about his gaze gives Jeongguk a clue to how he’s feeling, what he’s thinking, and that only makes the sinking feeling worse.

“Um,” Taehyung says. He plays with Jeongguk’s hair, still, but it feels forced now. An attempt to maintain a previous facade. “Bugs, um. Which one?”

Jeongguk’s tongue is heavy in his mouth, his heart aching in his chest when he says, “Both. Both of them.”

“What the fuck?"  Jimin explodes, launching to his feet. He chucks the pillow at the floor and Jeongguk flinches at the outburst, staring up at him silently. “What the fuck, Jeongguk? You’re joking, right? Tell me you’re fucking joking.”

“I’m-” Jeongguk swallows thickly, unable to speak for a minute. His eyes feel wet when he blinks. “I didn’t mean to- ”

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” Jimin kicks something, but Jeongguk’s vision is blurry and he can’t make out what it might be. “I was… I was okay with this shit when I thought it was just a sugar daddy arrangement. I thought you were crazy, but at least- Fuck, Jeongguk, love?  You can’t be serious. You can’t seriously be in love with them.”

“Hyung-” Jeongguk croaks.

Jimin doesn’t pause, fists clenched against his sides. “They have each other. They’re public with each other.  You think the media won’t tear you to absolute shreds the second you even think about stepping out in public with them? Jeongguk, you- you still have to enlist! You think they’ll stick around? Wait it out?”

“Jimin,” Taehyung says. A warning.

“This is an arrangement,” Jimin says coldly. “They pay for your rent and get sex in return. You’ll leave and they’ll find someone else. Probably someone younger, maybe someone without a mandatory obligation on the other side of the world.”

“Hyung-"

“You fucked up, Jeongguk. They’re not just going to wait around for you to get your life together- they have their lives figured out already! This is a mistake, and you’re just going to hurt yourself-”

“Jimin!” Taehyung stands sharply, letting Jeongguk’s face fall into the cushion. “Chill the fuck out.”

Jimin doesn’t look away from Jeongguk. “You can’t fucking be okay with this,” Jimin hisses. Taehyung’s shoulders tense. “I’m not going to let him just- fuck, just run to their bed when we leave. He’ll only end up hurt.”

“You’re leaving,” Jeongguk says, his voice cracked and bruised. He barely holds his weight up on one arm. “Hyung, you’re leaving and I- I don’t know what to do. Where to go. I can’t afford this place-”

Jimin’s laugh is startlingly cold. He whirls on his foot, and digs around in his book bag before dumping a thick manila folder on the coffee table in Jeongguk’s line of sight. “I’m not a fucking dick, Jeongguk. Our lease expires at the end of the summer, and I told Taehyung explicitly that I wasn’t leaving you until then. This,” he gestures at the folder. “Is all the current listings between this place and your parents house. Cheaper towns, smaller places. Anything.”

“I-”

Jeongguk’s chest aches,  like Jimin clawed his way inside only to tear at Jeongguk’s lungs, nails sharp and pointed. He doesn’t want this place, not without Jimin. But he doesn’t want another place, not without-

“If everything goes to shit,” Jimin continues, and he still looks so explicitly angry that Jeongguk can’t help but shrink away. “Stay with me and Taehyung for a while. Or with your parents-”

“My parents are leaving!” Jeongguk chokes out, and he’s crying in earnest now, tears slipping down his cheeks before he can catch them. He hurts, God , he hurts everywhere. “They’re going back to Busan in August. Moving back there for good, hyung. I don’t-”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jimin asks, and he’s quiet. He’s quiet and that terrifies Jeongguk because his anger manifests in the smallest of ways, the quietest of voices. “Why didn’t you tell me your family was fucking moving?  Don’t you think I’d want to know that?”

“I was scared,” Jeongguk hiccups, rubbing his palm against his eyes. “Hyung, I’m sorry-”

“No. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you couldn’t come to me, to tell me your family was leaving. I’m sorry you fucked up, when I explicitly told you to be careful. This is all your damn fault-”

“That’s enough,” Taehyung snaps, his voice low and level. He steps between Jeongguk and Jimin, a hand on Jimin’s chest to keep him away. And that’s probably for the best. Jimin’s fists were clenched again, his shoulders drawn tight the way he gets when he’s so incredibly angry and doesn’t know where to channel the energy. “Jimin. Go calm the fuck down. Take a walk, get wasted, I don’t care. Go cool off.”

“Whatever,” Jimin grumbles. He shoves past Taehyung, grabbing his jacket and phone from the counter in the kitchen.

“Share your location with me,” Taehyung calls after him. “I’ll come get you when you’re done and I love you.”

Jimin slams the door shut.

A long moment passes, and then Taehyung turns around to face Jeongguk. He’d collapsed back onto the couch cushions, tears dampening the fabric, sobbing silently because it hurts . Because Jimin was right. Jeongguk fucked up. Jeongguk fucked up so bad,  and now he was going to pay for it.

"Oh,"  Taehyung whispers softly. Jeongguk shakes his head. He messed up. He messed up.  “Oh, baby, no. Please don’t cry.”

Jeongguk tries to push him away as Taehyung gathers him into his arms, holds him on the couch and lets him cry. Keeps his fingers in Jeongguk’s hair and his chin tucked on Jeongguk’s shoulder and just hums. Hums quietly, shushes him when his sobs wrack his spine. Jeongguk can’t tell, but he thinks this is what it feels like when your heart shatters and there’s no drive to pick up the pieces.

He thinks about that morning, how he’d woken up between Yoongi and Seokjin. His alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but he was overheating between blankets with Seokjin’s leg hooked over his knees and Yoongi’s hand beneath his shirt. They were both turned into him, and when the alarms began, they both smiled at him, sleepy and languid, and shared kisses even as Jeongguk giggled and complained about morning breath. Jeongguk tried to convince Yoongi to stay home and stay in bed with him, but Yoongi only rolled his eyes with a fond smile, letting Jeongguk tug on his tie to kiss him.

It had all felt too good to be real, and Jeongguk knew that it was. Seokjin had reached out to him, all those months ago, just to find someone to have sex with in exchange for rent money. That’s all they were.

Jeongguk had enough money for food and could focus on his studies. Seokjin bought him meals and clothes and a new phone, and all he had to do was suck some dick a few times a week. All of the extra touches, the trips, the late nights with Yoongi in his studio meant nothing. They would have done it with any desperate fool who replied to Seokjin’s messages. They were just looking for a little fun.

A little fun.

He hopes they had fun.

“Hey, bugs.” Taehyung moves his hand slowly up and down Jeongguk’s back, soothing and soft. Jeongguk sniffles, wiping snot on Taehyung’s sleeve and feeling guilt bloom in his broken chest. He doesn’t know how long ago he stopped sobbing, but his eyes sting and his throat feels raw. “Hey, can you look at me?”

He doesn’t want to, but he’s aware he’s probably overstepping at this point, so Jeongguk pulls back, but Taehyung doesn’t let him go far. Taehyung makes an unhappy noise and tugs Jeongguk so they’re sitting as close as possible, Jeongguk’s legs over Taehyung’s lap as Taehyung links his hand around Jeongguk.

“M’sorry,” Jeongguk mumbles into Taehyung’s shoulder. “I’m so pathetic.”

“None of that.” Taehyung scolds him, softly. “You’re not pathetic, not even close. You’re in love, bugs. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But they-” Jeongguk swallows thickly and wipes the tear tracks from his cheeks. “Hyung, they-”

“It’s okay,” Taehyung says, nuzzling his face into the top of Jeongguk’s head. “Take your time, it’s okay.”

Jeongguk lets out a shaky breath, and when he opens his eyes again he just feels- hollow. As if his emotions had flown too high and crashed too hard and now they were just too tired to try anymore. “They have each other,” Jeongguk finally says, defeated. “They have each other. And that’s all they need, y’know? They understand each other, the business, their lives are so- connected . There’s no room for me.”

“That’s not true,” Taehyung says immediately, squeezing him close. “It’s not true, Jeonggukie. You’ve only seen them like this, you don’t know everything about them.”

“That’s the point, hyung.” Jeongguk rests his head on Taehyung’s shoulder, exhaustion making his body feel a hundred times heavier. “I don’t know everything about them because I’m not meant to. They have each other and that’s enough. I messed up.”

Taehyung sighs quietly. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you haven’t mentioned this to them.”

“Are you kidding? They’d laugh in my face, Tae. I’m just a dumb kid they felt sorry for. Jimin hyung is right. They’ll just find someone else when I enlist. Doesn’t matter if I do it now or in a decade. Not that they’d even want me around for a decade. They’ll probably get tired of me soon, anyway. Maybe Seokjin is already checking the app again-”

“Hey, hey.” Taehyung cups a palm on Jeongguk’s cheek, tilting his head back to search Jeongguk’s eyes for something. “You’re spiraling. Breathe, Jeonggukie. Match my breaths.”

It takes a few minutes, Jeongguk forcing himself to breathe deeply as Taehyung counts the seconds he holds each one. “Sorry, hyung. I’ll force myself to get over this soon. I’m just being dramatic.”

Taehyung frowns, running a hand through Jeongguk’s hair. “Can I tell you a story, bugs?” He waits for Jeongguk to nod. “It was Seokjin’s birthday party a few years ago. My memory of the night is practically nonexistent after we stepped onto that yacht, but we spent a week on a cruise and Yoongi got wasted. It’s the last time I’ve seen him drink more than a few glasses of wine. Anyway, after Seokjin left to try and convince the captain to let him drive the boat, Yoongi and I were sitting by the side and he told me he was lonely. I didn’t know what to say, y’know? I’d just barely gotten in a few movies and I’d left my family behind, so I thought he was missing his own family.”

“Back in Daegu, right?”

“Right.” Taehyung smiles, tugging lightly on a strand of Jeongguk’s hair. “But Yoongi said something else. This was back when I still drank because I thought it was the right thing to do at parties, so some of this might be the wrong words, but Yoongi said he was lonely with Seokjin. I was worried they were going to break up, and before Yoongi could tell me anything else, he got really fucking sick over the side of the boat.”

Jeongguk wrinkles his nose. “Gross.”

Taehyung’s smile softens as he remembers, as he thinks back to that night. Jeongguk feels an irrational flare of jealousy towards Taehyung for knowing Yoongi and Seokjin for that long. “Yeah, it was nasty. I didn’t think about it much then, because I was more focused on getting Yoongi into bed. Someone had invited a dozen models and they wouldn’t get out of his bedroom, so I forgot about it. Do you know why I’m bringing it up now, bugs?”

“No.”

“Think about it. Think about it hard, because this isn’t my decision to make.”

Jeongguk tries to think about his loneliest nights, and thinks about his only relationship in college, with a girl he’d partnered with in biology. They never progressed farther than a few nights spent in each other’s bed, but there were some days during the end of their relationship where Jeongguk felt so incredibly alone, even when she was right there with him. Like something was missing. The affection, maybe. Or the right stories to make his belly ache with laughter, or-

“They got Holly after that birthday, didn’t they?”

Taehyung’s expression falls, and he nods. “They did. God, Yoongi fell so hard for Holly it was almost funny. Swore up and down he didn’t want a pet but adopted the dog and forgot to tell Seokjin hyung.”

They’re quiet again, and all Jeongguk wants to do right now is take a nap. Take a nap so he can end things with Yoongi and Seokjin in the morning before he can put his heart through anything else.

“Enough of this,” Taehyung says. “Yoongi and Seokjin care for you, Jeongguk-ah. They care so deeply that it’s almost painful to watch. You,” he pokes Jeongguk in the chest, right where his tattered heart hangs by strings. “Are going to talk to them. Talk to them about how you feel. I can’t do that for you, but I can help you with something else.”

Jeongguk eyes him warily. “With what?”

“One, I can order enough spaghetti to forgetti our regretti.” Jeongguk snorts, and Taehyung looks very pleased with himself. “And… I can help you look at graduate schools. Or for job openings in your field. Or a vacation somewhere, Jeonggukie.”

“Hyung, you don’t have to-”

Taehyung just ruffles his hair, dropping a kiss on his forehead. “It’s the least I can do. And don’t think I’ll let Jimin off the hook for this, by the way. He crossed a line. Anyone with half a brain cell can tell that Seokjin and Yoongi cherish you. They’re not some monsters, no matter what Jimin might think. Got it?”

“I guess.”

“Say it.”

Jeongguk groans, flopping onto his back dramatically. “Yoongi and Seokjin aren’t monsters.”

“Now say you’re the cutest baby ever.”

Jeongguk kicks him.

Taehyung orders food from four different places and arranges his, Jeongguk’s, and Jimin’s laptops all on the coffee table to research every idea that he comes up with. Jeongguk feels very small as they sit together on the floor, getting distracted by YouTube videos, and eventually he does realize he has an assignment due in the morning, so they have to put their plans on pause.

But Jeongguk does have something nagging in the back of his head, something that sounds like a plan but terrifies him at the same time. He doesn’t mention it to Taehyung, and soon the sun is setting on the horizon and Jimin’s drunk texting has gotten to the point where Taehyung has to go pick him up.

“Hey, bugs.” Taehyung pauses in the doorframe. “Jimin was right about one thing. All else fails, you can live with us as long as you need. And for what it’s worth. Whenever Seokjin tells stories about you, his face lights up in the same way it did when he and Yoongi first got together. And I don’t think Yoongi has ever let anyone play the keyboard in his studio before. Do with that what you will.

Jeongguk swallows thickly, dropping his gaze to his phone in his lap. His own face squished between Seokjin and Yoongi’s stares back at him.

“Hyung. Can we talk?”

“Yoon?” Seokjin looks up from his book, blinking to let his eyes adjust. Yoongi stands in the doorway to their formal living space. Seokjin had intended to use the space as an office when they first bought the house, but life got in the way and he mostly used the window seat as a reading nook now. He can’t help but think about how perfect the room is for a certain young man with so many ambitions. “You’re home already?”

“Stuck on a song,” Yoongi mutters. He drops his backpack in the desk chair, frustration evident on his features.

Seokjin makes a quiet noise, waving Yoongi over to the couch. He’d been working himself to the bone the last few weeks, trying to get the album ready for release. Taehyung had finished recording his vocals, and now it was up to Yoongi to finish up the rest. He wasn’t doing it alone, hasn’t needed to in years, but he held himself to such high standards. And with the album being Taehyung’s debut in the music industry, Yoongi was extra stressed.

It’s evident in the way his feet drag as he crosses the room, loosening his tie in the process. Seokjin bites at his lip, noting the way Yoongi rolls up the sleeves of his dress shirt- it has been a while. They haven’t had time since the last weekend Jeongguk stayed over, but Yoongi looks positively exhausted, and he might bite Seokjin if he suggests anything.

“You wanted to talk?” Seokjin asks, raising his book out of the way as Yoongi all but collapses on the couch, his head on Seokjin’s lap. “Did something happen at the studio?”

“Nothing more than usual,” Yoongi says. “My assistant put in her two weeks and I haven’t seen Jeongguk’s resume.”

Seokjin frowns. “Taehyung said he finished the applications.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to work for a shit company.”

“Hey.” Seokjin folds his bookmark into his book, placing it on the nearby side table. He threads his fingers into Yoongi’s hair, stroking it away from his face. “Is this a self-deprecating night? I can grab the tequila.”

“God, no,” Yoongi laughs. “You’re horrible on tequila.”

“I’m better than Jeongguk.”

“Because Jeongguk refuses to admit he’s a lightweight,” Yoongi says. “Nah, but. If Jeongguk doesn’t want to work for me that’s fine, I was only thinking about it after Anna told me she was leaving.”

Seokjin traces the pads of his fingers over Yoongi’s delicate features, his cheeks and lips. Yoongi sighs, softly against Seokjin’s fingers, and his eyes fall shut as Seokjin maps out a path on his skin. There are bags under his eyes, thick from not sleeping the night before. Seokjin wishes he could take some of the stress off, but he can’t even offer a night off when he’s just as busy running around for the script readings, coordinating upcoming fashion weeks, and booking flights for his next campaign.

He dips his head, the angle awkward as he kisses Yoongi’s forehead. “You said you wanted to talk?”

At that, Yoongi opens his eyes again, and his expression falls from peaceful almost serenity to something that Seokjin can only describe as sheepish or nervous. “Um. Yeah. Okay, hyung. You know you’re the absolute love of my life, right?”

“I better be,” Seokjin says. “I don’t show just anyone my ass.”

“And I greatly appreciate it,” Yoongi says dryly. “But I didn’t come here to talk about your ass.”

“Tragic.”

“Hyung.” Yoongi averts his gaze, even as Seokjin moves to play with his hair again. He pauses, struggling to formulate what’s on his mind, and Seokjin hums encouragingly. Yoongi could be an absolute master with words, create a track that moves listeners to tears, but sometimes speaking about himself was as easy as pulling teeth. “I love you with my whole entire heart. I have loved you for almost a decade, and I know I’ll love you forever. It’s just. It’s. Lately I’ve been, kind of. Um. Attracted. To Jeongguk.”

Seokjin nods. “Well, I’d hope so. We have been fucking him for almost eight months.”

Groaning, Yoongi tips his head back to level Seokjin with a glare. “Nevermind. I hate you. Get out of my house.”

“We both signed the mortgage, babe. You’re stuck with me for thirty more years.”

“Fuck.”

They’re silent for a few minutes before Seokjin squeezes Yoongi’s thigh with his free hand. “You mean more than just sex, don’t you?”

Yoongi covers his eyes, nodding wearily. “I’m so sorry, hyung. I thought I could stay unattached and distant. I love you. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey.” Seokjin says quickly, gently tugging Yoongi’s hands away from his face and linking their fingers together. “Calm down, baby. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Yoongi repeats sharply. “What’s wrong, hyung , is that I’m trying to tell you that I-I think I might l-love Jeongguk.”

“Oh,” Seokjin breathes. His heart kicks in his chest, and his palms feel sweaty. He’s silent, but he waits too long, because he can see the fear building in Yoongi’s eyes, the way he’ll drop the subject entirely and refuse to come back to it if Seokjin brings it up again. “Oh, that’s a relief.”

Yoongi narrows his gaze, scrutinizing him. “A relief because you were planning on dumping me anyway, right?”

“What the fuck? No. Yoongi, I think I love him, too.”

Silence.

Yoongi punches his shoulder. “Don’t lie to make me feel better, hyung.”

“I’m not!”

“That was way too easy for you to say. I’ve been staring in the mirror for a week trying to work up the courage.”

“Bold of you to assume I’m not fucking terrified right now.”

Yoongi stares up at him, lips parted in surprise. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah,” Seokjin says, and it comes out choked and broken. His chest feels tight, palms sweating, and he doesn’t fucking remember the last time he was this nervous. Before his first big modeling gig? When he confessed to Yoongi? Fuck, is he shaking? “I didn’t- I don’t know how to put it into words? It scares me, Yoongi.”

“That makes two of us,” Yoongi laughs, but it sounds hesitant and weary. “I didn’t expect this, hyung, I swear I’m happy with you-”

“No, baby, trust me. I get it.”

“He’s just so.”

“He’s so fucking good."

“The best,” Yoongi whines, hiding behind his hands again. This time, Seokjin doesn’t pull them down, tipping his head back on the couch to stare up at the ceiling. “The way his eyes crinkle when he laughs?”

“I’ll do you one better. When he laughs so hard his nose crinkles.”

“I told him his hair was cute after he cut it but he was starting to look like a puppy with it long. He’s still cute but fuck,  I was devastated.”

“Our precious golden retriever.”

“His eyes have literal stars in them.”

“The way he pouts when he doesn’t get what he wants.”

“We just end up giving it to him anyway.”

“Yeah,” Seokjin agrees. “He could probably ask me for this place and I’d sign it over in a heartbeat.”

“I’m disgusted to say I’d do the exact same thing.”

Seokjin sighs, wistful and so full of want.  “He wants everyone to be happy. He’d do anything for the people he loves.”

Yoongi makes a sound like a wounded puppy. “Did you know he’s been donating some of the gifts and clothes we get him? I saw the giveaway pile last time we were at his place, hyung.”

“The world does not deserve Jeongguk.”

“Yeah,” Yoongi says quietly. Here’s a brief pause, and then Yoongi surges into a sitting position, taking Seokjin’s hand again and holding it in his lap. “Hyung. You love him?”

Does he love Jeongguk? Eight months ago, if faced with the same question, Seokjin would have laughed it off, and maybe back then it would be true. Jeongguk was meant to be nothing more than a fun experience for Seokjin and Yoongi… but Seokjin thinks he ruined that as soon as he started spoiling Jeongguk with gifts, or asking about his day, or when he caught himself looking at Yoongi and Jeongguk’s reactions first after telling a joke to see if Jeongguk was laughing, too.

“I-I’m not sure, yet,” Seokjin says truthfully. “I do know I get that feeling in my belly like I’m going to be violently ill like when we first got together.”

“What the fuck.”

“It’s a good feeling!” Seokjin turns on the couch to face him, crossing his legs slowly. “I don’t… Jeongguk has become ridiculously special to me and I think- if my violent nausea is a proper indicator-”

“Gross, hyung.”

“That I could love him. I could very, very easily love him.”

Yoongi’s bottom lip trembles before he pulls it between his teeth, chewing nervously. He whispers, “I think I’m already in love with him.”

“Oh.”

“Not like I love you! I wouldn’t sign a mortgage tomorrow with him, but. It hurts me every morning he leaves for school and I miss him when he doesn’t sleep over and I paid his tuition this semester-”

“You did what?"

Shoving his face in the cushion, Yoongi lets out a groan. “Don’t give me that look. You offered to pay his rent the first time you met him.”

“He looked like a kicked puppy! You would have done the same!”

“Yeah,” Yoongi says, smiling into the back of the couch. “I would have.”

“When?” Seokjin asks. “When did you know you loved him?”

“When I took him to the Grammys.” Yoongi bites his lip around his smile. “He looked so beautiful dancing in his seat to all his favorite singers. He disappeared for a couple minutes and came back with a cupcake for us to share, and I looked at him with the frosting on his nose and realized I wanted that everyday.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. I know it’s dumb.”

Seokjin makes a displeased noise, tugging on Yoongi’s ear. “Don’t invalidate your feelings. They’re what led you to me, after all.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes. A minute later, he’s back to worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. “You’re not. Hyung. You’re not mad?”

“No,” Seokjin says, and he feels it as the truth deep in his chest. “I could never fault you for loving Jeongguk.”

Yoongi exhales so deeply he melts even further into the couch. “What do we do? You’ve never expressed interest in polyamory.”

“I think… I think I’m willing to try. More than willing. What about you?”

“I-Yeah. Yeah.” Yoongi plays lightly with his fingers. “Fuck, I thought this would go so differently.”

Seokjin grins, curving his hand on Yoongi’s cheek. “How so?”

“Honestly? I thought you’d get pissed when I said I love another man. Break up with me, maybe. Take the house and my dog.” He shrugs. “The usual.”

“Do you want me to be dramatic? I will be. I can start screaming,” Seokjin suggests, grinning wrlyl at the dry look Yoongi sends him. “I can break those ugly plates your mom sent us for Christmas.”

"Please don’t. She’ll kill me.”

Seokjin clears his throat and scrunches his face, drawing tears to his eyes as he warbles his voice. “My beloved Min Yoongi, how on Earth could you fall for a boy who is happiness personified? Am I not enough for your greedy heart?”

"Stop," Yoongi laughs, shoving him lightly. “That was good, though. You’re going to nail your movie.”

“Stop trying to change the subject, babe. Jeongguk graduates university in a few weeks, and who knows if he’ll still need us after that.”

Yoongi’s face falls. “Oh, oh fuck.  He’s so young, hyung, what the fuck? Why the fuck would he want to be with us? We’re practically in the grave. Oh no. Who says he even wants two fucking boyfriends-?”

“Can you chill?” Seokjin chuckles, grabbing Yoongi by the waist to pull him onto his lap. Yoongi pouts at him, and Seokjin resists kissing it away. “We’ll talk to him. Our arrangement was to pay his rent, we need to talk anyway.”

“What if he doesn’t want us?” Yoongi asks softly. “It’s been two weeks since we heard from him.”

He looks so worried, knees bent on either side of Seokjin’s lap, fiddling his fingers for something to do. Seokjin thinks, briefly, about the night Yoongi told Seokjin he wanted to leave the company. He’d been terrified then that Seokjin wouldn’t stay with him during the move, showing up at Seokjin’s apartment in the middle of the night.

Seokjin had listened to his heart then; when it told him to follow Min Yoongi any and everywhere. And he knows, now, that his heart can never be wrong when it comes to his favorite man. His favorite men .

Seokjin presses a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Then he doesn’t want us. And we hurt for a while, but we have each other and we’ll be happy knowing we helped put such a kind hearted soul through school.”

“I guess.” Yoongi sighs, tipping forward to rest his forehead on Seokjin’s shoulder. “I hate when you’re right.”

Laughing, Seokjin squeezes the back of his neck. “I’m always right. But we should talk to Jeongguk sooner than later.”

“That way he can reject us faster.”

“Relax, babe. How do you want to do this?”

Yoongi groans, pulling back to think. “I need to be in the studio the next few days. You’re gone this weekend, right?”

“Mhm. When are Jeongguk’s finals?”

“I have them in my calendar.” Seokjin snorts and Yoongi flips him off, scrolling through his phone. “They start in three weeks. We’ll. We’ll invite him for dinner when you’re back from New York. You should bake him a cake.”

“Why do I have to bake it?”

“Fine, I’ll buy one.”

“No, fuck you. Jeongguk deserves homemade.” Yoongi snickers as he types something on his phone and Seokjin groans. He should be immune to Yoongi’s games after a decade, but.

Something sets butterflies off in Seokjin’s stomach, so quickly and with so much fluttering that he almost gasps. A decade learning Yoongi’s mannerisms and Seokjin was still so unbelievably weak for him. Jeongguk could already get anything he wanted out of Seokjin with just a little pout and it excites him to think what else they could learn about each other over the years.

If Jeongguk wants to, that is.

“Does Wednesday evening work for you? Jeongguk doesn’t have class on Thursdays, so he could stay over. You know, if he doesn’t laugh in our faces as he rejects us.”

“Your confidence is inspiring,” Seokjin says. “Can clearly see why you’re Jeongguk’s favorite rapper.” Yoongi flips him off again. “But yes, Wednesday works. I have a meeting with my agent in the morning that I can’t reschedule again, though.”

“Okay. I’ll text him soon. He’s got a baseball tournament this weekend.”

“Hey.” Seokjin cups Yoongi’s cheeks in both hands. “Jeongguk would be crazy not to love you. It’s his loss if he doesn’t want us, we’re cool.”

“Yeah.” Yoongi grins weakly, as though he doesn’t fully believe Seokjin. That’s fair, given their track record. “We’re cool.”

“The cooliest.”

“Nevermind, I’m breaking up with you and moving in with Jeongguk. You ruined it.”

Seokjin cackles loudly, and hears the sharp scrape of tiny paws on hardwood before a startled Holly comes sprinting into the room. Yoongi looks very unamused, but a smile breaks his lips soon enough as Seokjin holds him close, pressing soft, giggling kisses to his cheeks and nose, and lets himself hope.

Jeongguk gets back late from his baseball game and collapses onto the bed. He’s sweating, uniform stained with mud and grass. His feet ache and he’s hungry, but Jimin’s out with Taehyung and he hasn’t heard from Yoongi or Seokjin in a while. Taehyung had texted him apologizing for Jimin’s behavior again, and they were on a cautious truce, but they hadn’t gotten the chance to speak properly, as Jimin had been staying every night at Taehyung’s apartment and they were both swamped with preparing to finish university.

Sighing, Jeongguk forces himself out of bed to grab his laptop and a towel. Maybe Seokjin and Yoongi had noticed his feelings and were dropping him before he could even think to get his hopes up. Jeongguk did leave his favorite Supreme hoodie at their place, though. He hopes they’ll let him pick it up.

He draws a hot bath, setting his laptop on the closed toilet seat with Netflix pulled up on screen, peeling off his dirty clothes to leave them in a pile by the door. Briefly, he stares at the screen in a panic. He uses Yoongi’s Netflix and they’re absolutely going to kick him off, but he hasn’t finished watching Stranger Things yet. Jeongguk considers dropping a bath bomb in, feels guilty about it, and then uses the bath bomb anyway. The bath is steaming when Jeongguk lowers his aching body into the water, hissing as his bruises and cuts he hadn’t noticed earlier became aggravated. It was a rough game.

His plans for the rest of the day include sleeping, ordering too much food, and then sleeping more. The only good thing about morning games was that Jeongguk had the afternoon to recover, even if the team had gone out for ice cream after their win.

Before the opening credits of the move he’d chosen even finish playing, Jeongguk’s phone rings.

He groans, dunking his head under the water to ignore it. Jeongguk doesn’t want to talk to anyone. He’s stressed about school and confused about feelings and his best friend won’t talk to him, but it could be his parents. They need to know if he’s moving back to Busan with them or not.

The call ends. Jeongguk settles back in the bath.

His phone rings again.

He almost wants to cry when he reaches for his phone, exhausted and stressed, screaming into his palm when it’s Yoongi’s picture that fills up his screen. This is it. This is when Yoongi tells him not to come back, he was good fun but they have lives to live and there’s no room for Jeongguk.

“Hello?”

"Jeongguk-ah."  Yoongi’s voice is deep, rough, and Jeongguk has to rest his forehead on the porcelain. He’s going to miss this. "A re you busy right now?"

Ah, so they were going to ditch him over food. Probably wanted their credit card back, too. “M’home,” Jeongguk mumbles, trying not to let his emotions bleed into his own voice. “Just got back from my game.”

"Want to come out with me?"

“When?”

"Uh. I’m outside."

Jeongguk barely resists the urge to slam his head on the side of the tub. He’s not ready for this, hasn’t even given himself a pep talk, and he’s not prepped. Not that he thinks that’s what Yoongi is implying. He doesn’t even want to have sex tonight but if it’s what they want, he could probably get it up.

“Can you give me,” Jeongguk starts, but has to pause when his throat feels tight. “Like, fifteen minutes? I’m in the bath.”

"Take all the time you need."

For several minutes after the call disconnects, Jeongguk doesn’t move. The bath hasn’t even begun to cool, yet. But Jeongguk heaves himself out of the water, whimpering a little at the pull on his sore muscles, and grabs a towel. He kills the movie and drains the tub, borrowing Jimin’s hair dryer to speed things along.

Tossing his laptop on the bed, Jeongguk finds his cleanest pair of jeans and a yellow t-shirt, reaching for a white face mask and staring at it in his hands. Yoongi still wears them in public a lot, but Jeongguk doesn’t. But he’s exhausted and he looks it, and if he can avoid alerting Yoongi to the heartache written clearly on his features, then he’ll do so.

Jeongguk pockets his keys and wallet and makes a pit-stop in the bathroom to stare at his reflection. He looks fine, and yet.

“You’re being dramatic,” Jeongguk says to his reflection. “It’s just a dumb boy. Two dumb boys. Go get your heart broken and eat all the ice cream in the freezer. Your clown mask is slipping.”

He fumbles with the janked lock and leaves a post-it in case Jimin comes back, curses the broken elevator, and then blinks in the sudden blinding light. Yoongi’s sleek Audi is parked halfway down the block. Fuck. He’s not ready for this.

Jeongguk tugs open the door. “Hi, hyung.”

“Jeongguk-ah.” Yoongi looks up from his phone, smiling widely. “Come on, are you hungry?”

“No,” Jeongguk lies, fastening his seatbelt. “Where are we going?”

“I have to run a couple errands for Taehyung,” Yoongi says, taking a different highway entrance. “Jimin’s drunk and Taehyung’s stuck at his place taking care of him.”

Jeongguk frowns. “It’s three in the afternoon. On a Wednesday.”

“You try telling that to Jimin.” Jeongguk hums, staring out the window, but he feels Yoongi glancing at him every so often. Eventually, Yoongi clears his throat, the sound loud in the quiet of the car. “How was the game?”

“We won,” Jeongguk says. He folds his hands beneath his thighs and forces a smile Yoongi’s way. “Extra innings. My calf got so bruised the trainer nearly jumped out of her skin.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“My bruise?”

“No,” Yoongi laughs quietly. He presses a button on the dashboard of his car, and Jeongguk recognizes it as his driving playlist begins to play. “Winning. You don’t look too happy about it, and I know you love winning.”

“Oh.” Shit, he’s being too obvious. “I’m glad we won, but we have no chance to win the title this year and I’m tired. Is it shitty for me to say I just want to lose and focus on finals?”

Yoongi purses his lips, the GPS telling him to merge lanes. “I don’t think so. But I’ve quit every sport I ever tried except for basketball, so I’m probably not the one to be asking.”

“Ah.”

“Hey.” Yoongi looks at him as he kills the engine, parked outside of a busy mall. “Are you feeling okay? We can reschedule this, if you’re not up for it-”

“I’m fine,” Jeongguk says quickly. Better to do this tonight than let his heart hope. “Chapped lips. Can we go?”

Yoongi frowns, but he doesn’t say anything, instead gesturing for Jeongguk to exit the car. He’s dressed horribly for an afternoon in the sun, long sleeve grey shirt and black pants, but Yoongi doesn’t seem to mind. He comments on the yellow of Jeongguk’s shirt, and Jeongguk can’t help but think of how if things weren’t ending tonight, he’d probably start wearing more yellow for Yoongi.

They stop in front of a mall directory. Jeongguk asks, “What are we here for?”

“Taehyung wants me to pick up some clothes for him,” Yoongi explains. “We’re doing a jacket shooting for his album, similar to how Korean albums are structured, and he texted me begging me to grab the things he needed.”

“Did he decide on a Korean or English album?”

“He’s doing half in each language.”

“Damn.”

“What?”

“Bilingualism is hot.”

Yoongi gives him a flat look. “You’re bilingual, Jeongguk-ah.”

“And I’m hot.”

Yoongi chuckles, muttering in Korean, “You’re such a loser.”

“Oh, baby, talk dirty to me.”

They visit each store on the list Taehyung had sent Yoongi, picking up a variety of jackets and shirts and bandanas. Yoongi talks about the album as they walk, how the first teaser was posted to Taehyung’s Twitter account a week ago and the response was massive. Just like Yoongi thought, months ago, people were unbelievably excited for Taehyung’s music career. If the social media traffic was anything to judge by, his debut album would be huge in America and Korea, and maybe a few other countries.

Yoongi buys him pretzel bites when Taehyung texts with more necessities and it becomes clear they won’t be done any time soon. He does leave Jeongguk to his own devices for a bit to pick up more underwear for Seokjin, and Jeongguk finds himself neck deep in a music store rifling through forgotten albums from the beginning of the decade.

“Baby,” Jeongguk hears, and looks up to Yoongi entering the store. He’s bogged down with a dozen bags, but he hadn’t let Jeongguk carry any when he offered. “I got this for you. I don’t know if you wear pink- or if you even like pink- I should have fucking asked. If you don’t like it, I’ll return it-”

“Hyung.” Jeongguk takes the soft, satin pink bomber jacket from Yoongi, holding it carefully. It’s beautiful and Jeongguk doesn’t deserve it. “I-I love it.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“No,” Jeongguk says. He swings the jacket onto his shoulders, checking the size, and smiling when it fits perfectly. He folds into Yoongi’s arms for a hug before he can tell himself it’s a bad idea. “I love it.”

Yoongi’s smile is careful and bright when Jeongguk pulls back. “I’m glad. Come on, Seokjin hyung said he’s started dinner.”

The drive takes longer than normal as the traffic getting bad when they leave the area. Jeongguk caves and takes control of the aux cord, bags full of clothes for Taehyung overflowing on the backseat. He almost forgets, staring at Yoongi’s smiling face, that tonight will be the last time he gets to do this. The last time he can hold Yoongi’s hand over the center console.

Holly is there in the foyer to greet them, Jeongguk kneeling and tugging off his mask so Holly can lick at Jeongguk’s jaw. Yoongi takes his hand, bringing him into the kitchen with Holly tucked under his arm, where Seokjin is plating.

“Hey,” Seokjin says, and his smile is shy. “Hope you’re hungry.”

Jeongguk is quiet during dinner, but they let him be. They talk about upcoming schedules, how Yoongi will be accompanying Taehyung to Korea for two weeks to promote the album after its release. Halfway through the meal, Jeongguk takes Seokjin’s hand under the table, linking their fingers and ignoring the questioning look he gets in return.

“That’s a nice jacket,” Seokjin says during dinner. “Is it new?”

“Oh, um.” Jeongguk looks down at his pink sleeve. “Yoongi hyung bought it for me.”

“It looks good on you.”

All too soon, Yoongi is pouring each of them a glass of wine and they head into the family room where they each sit on one of Jeongguk’s sides as soon as he sits down. Jeongguk’s chest feels tight and he wishes, more than anything, that he had more time.

It’s a ridiculous thought. Their arrangement was just for rent money and some sex. It was never meant to go this long.

“Hyungs, I-”

“Jeongguk, we-”

Jeongguk glances up, meeting Yoongi’s flustered gaze. He looks to Seokjin, who’s chewing on his bottom lip, but when he notices Jeongguk staring, he downs the rest of his wine.

Seokjin squeezes his thigh. “You go first, baby.”

Jeongguk can’t go first, but maybe it will hurt less if he’s the one to end things. “I’m sorry,” Jeongguk says, when the silence stretches for too long. He’s horrified that his eyes are wet when he blinks. “Sorry, I-I know this was temporary. I was planning on doing this after finals, but.” Jeongguk sets down his wine, digging through his pocket to take their credit card out of his wallet and hold it out to Seokjin. “I know we’re done. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my feelings out of it.”

“What?”

Yoongi’s hand shakes as he reaches for the card, hovering over Jeongguk’s lap. “Jeongguk-ah, you’re… You’re ending things?”

“I-” His head swings around to Yoongi, who won’t look at him. “I-Yes? I thought- I thought that’s what you guys were going to do.”

“No,” Yoongi says. “No, Jeongguk, we- fuck. What the fuck? We want to- Shit, Seokjin hyung.”

“What Yoongi’s trying to say.” Seokjin says, covering Jeongguk’s outstretched hand with his own. “Is that we had no intention of ending things with you tonight. Unless that’s what you wanted, of course.”

“I-” Jeongguk feels proper tears well up in his eyes. He sniffles, throat working hard, and stares at the floor instead of Seokjin or Yoongi. “This isn’t funny.”

“Jeongguk-ah.”

“This isn’t funny,” Jeongguk repeats, sniffling again. “Please, just take the card. Just let me take my hoodie and I’ll go-”

Yoongi threads his fingers through Jeongguk’s free hand. “We don’t want you to go.”

Jeongguk wipes at his eyes and he hates this. They’re both crowding him, Seokjin tucking hair behind his ear and Yoongi trying to meet his gaze, but Jeongguk just wants to end this. Just wants to rip the Band-Aid off so that maybe it will hurt less when he’s home alone.

“I don’t get it,” Jeongguk finally says. “Please. This is so mean-”

Seokjin laughs quietly, but it doesn’t sound unkind. He cards his hand through Jeongguk’s hair and sounds fond when he says, “The two of you are a mess. Jeongguk, we’re trying to tell you that we like you. We like you and we don’t want to end things.”

“You-” Jeongguk’s vision is blurry when he looks up at Seokjin, who’s tugging on his hair with a shy, hesitant smile. “You like me?” His head whips around to Yoongi. “Both of you?”

Squeezing his hand, Yoongi breathes deep and says, “Yes, Jeongguk-ah. Of course we-”

“No.” Jeongguk interrupts, and he’s crying in earnest now, tears slipping down his cheeks faster than he can wipe them away. He chokes on a sob, curling in on himself. “No, no you can’t."

“Jeongguk-”

“Baby-”

“Hey.” Yoongi moves, slipping off the couch to kneel in front of Jeongguk, to try and catch his eye, but Jeongguk shakes his head and wipes his nose with his sleeve. “Talk to us, honey. What’s wrong?”

“You already have each other,"  Jeongguk blurts. He doesn’t know where to look, at Seokjin sitting beside him or at Yoongi kneeling, so he glances between them, desperate for them to understand. “You have each other, and you’ve been together for years, hyungs. Don’t you see? You have enough. You don’t-you don’t need me.”

“Jeongguk.” Seokjin says softly, wrapping his arm around Jeongguk’s shoulders and letting him tip against Seokjin. “You can’t honestly think we don’t love you. Not after everything.”

“You have each other,” Jeongguk insists, shaking his head. “I’m just the idiot kid who fell for his sugar daddy. You don’t have room for me.”

“What on Earth makes you think we don’t have room for you?” Yoongi asks, his hands on Jeongguk’s knees. “This house has eight bedrooms.”

Jeongguk laughs, a wet and pathetic sound. He shakes his head. “You know that’s not what I mean. You guys have been together for years and I’m not even out of college. You built careers together and I still have to enlist.”

“We made it through two enlistments,” Seokjin says. “Do you really think we can’t handle a third?”

“You love each other,” Jeongguk says, a note of resigned finality to his voice. “That’s it. That’s enough. The two of you. The end.”

“Jeongguk, look at me.” Yoongi curves his palm on Jeongguk’s cheek, waiting until Jeongguk opens his eyes. Yoongi’s expression is soft, his eyes so full of love that it knocks Jeongguk breathless. “Answer me this. Do you love Jimin the same way you love your parents? Do you love Hoseok or Namjoon the same way you love your brother?”

“No,” Jeongguk says, wrinkling his nose.

“Do you love your grandparents the same way you love your dog?”

“No.”

“Do you love Taehyung the same way you love us?”

Jeongguk chokes back a sob. “No.”

“Jeongguk-ah.” Yoongi tucks Jeongguk’s hair behind his ear, curling his fingers on Jeongguk’s cheek. “If humans were meant to only love one other person, we would be the loneliest creatures.”

“Hyung,” Jeongguk croaks, leaning into Yoongi’s touch on his cheek.

He kisses Yoongi’s wrist and Yoongi smiles. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

Jeongguk wipes hastily at his eyes, laughing a little when the tears just won’t stop.  He doesn’t know if they’re happy tears or not, his brain is too muddled to even think right now. All he knows is Seokjin and Yoongi aren’t kicking him out. Seokjin is folding the credit card back into Jeongguk’s wallet and they aren’t kicking him out.

“I- Just. Are you sure?” Jeongguk asks quietly. “You guys have a lot of years on me.”

Seokjin pinches his thigh. “Yah.”

Yoongi just looks on fondly. “And we’ve got a dozen photo albums we can show you. Even the middle school pictures Seokjin hyung thought he got rid of.”

“You traitor,” Seokjin hisses.

Yoongi is still staring at Jeongguk like he means something, and Jeongguk reaches out to hold Yoongi’s wrist, hold his hand to Jeongguk’s face just to convince himself that this is real. He’s still scared, still a little unsure, as he looks at Seokjin.

“And, um. And you, hyung?” Jeongguk’s voice is small. “You want me?”

Seokjin leans in to kiss Jeongguk’s temple, the tip of his nose, and then the corner of his mouth. “I always want you. For as long as you’ll have us, Jeongguk, we’re yours.”

“Really?” Jeongguk whispers.

“Really,” Yoongi echoes.

“Unless the age thing makes you uncomfortable,” Seokjin says quickly. “We’ll back off immediately if it does.”

Jeongguk threads his fingers with Seokjin’s and marvels at the warmth of his palm. “No,” he finally says. “I’m okay. You’re okay?”

Seokjin’s lips tug into a grin. “I’m okay.”

Jeongguk finally manages to wipe the last of his tears away on Seokjin’s shoulder, (he’s out of hands,) and he’s happy that the pain in his chest has lessened. His stomach is still in knots, but that’s to be expected, he thinks, after finding out the men he loves don’t hate him.

“I love you,” Jeongguk says, watching with satisfaction as Yoongi’s eyes go wide, his lips part in surprise, and he splutters. Jeongguk presses a kiss to Yoongi’s nose. He looks to Seokjin, kissing his cheek. “And I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Yoongi says, tugging Jeongguk’s attention back. He boops Jeongguk’s nose. “Seokjin hyung needs a little more time.”

“Not a lot of time,” Seokjin says quickly. “You’re very lovable, Jeongguk-ah.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“And very cute when you blush.”

Jeongguk’s cheeks burn.

They’re quiet for a few minutes, Seokjin gathering Jeongguk into his arms to squeeze him close. Yoongi stays on the ground, his hands on Jeongguk. This won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. Jeongguk will make sure of that.

He’s enjoying this, snuggled into Seokjin’s chest as Yoongi strokes his hair, and thinks he could fall asleep like this. It’s been a long day, his bruise on his thigh is starting to sting again, and his emotions feel as if they’ve been strung out on a clothesline to dry. Jeongguk doesn’t think he’d change anything, though. Not when he’s got two beautiful men willing to hold his hands. Dealing with the media will be a disaster, but they’ve gone this long. Jeongguk thinks they can keep going.

“What happens now?” Yoongi finally asks, drawing patterns on Jeongguk’s thigh. “Your parents are moving back to Korea, right? Will you keep living with Jimin?”

“Um. About that.” Jeongguk squirms a little. “Jimin and Taehyung are moving in together.”

“Oh. Oh,"  Yoongi says. “Shit, Taehyung mentioned that so long ago. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I knew you’d immediately try to pay all the rent,” Jeongguk says flatly. Yoongi looks away, embarrassed. “That’s too much. It’s okay, though. I have a plan.”

Seokjin squeezes his arm. “Let’s hear it, baby.”

Jeongguk draws a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. “I’m going to enlist at the end of the summer. I think it’ll be good to get done with, and I can think more about my future and the career I want to pursue.”

Yoongi grins at him and Seokjin nuzzles against his face, saying, “I think that’s a very wise decision, lovely.”

“I know it’s two years,” Jeongguk continues, accepting the kiss Seokjin drops on his lips. “That’s a long time, so. Um. If you guys don’t want to wait for me, I totally understand. You have lives to live and I’ll always appreciate the help you gave me-”

“Baby, of course we’ll wait,” Yoongi interrupts. He stands, curling both hands into Jeongguk’s collar to kiss him. “It’ll give us a reason to go back to Korea. For your vacation time.”

Seokjin slips his hand beneath the hem of Jeongguk’s t-shirt to rub soft circles on his hip. “Do we get you for the summer?”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk nods. “I’ll apply to begin around the time my parents go back to Busan. I’ll be able to see my family there that way.”

“I’m proud of you,” Seokjin says, kissing Jeongguk’s cheek again. “So incredibly proud.”

“Thank you,” Jeongguk whispers. Warmth and happiness spreads throughout his chest. “I like you guys a lot.”

Yoongi brushes the hair away from Jeongguk’s forehead. “You look exhausted. We’ll need to talk more about this soon, but maybe when you’re done with finals. I want to end our arrangement and do this properly.”

“Really?” Jeongguk asks.

Smiling, Yoongi ducks to press a kiss to the bridge of Jeongguk’s nose. “Of course. And I was thinking that we could set up a room here for you, whether one of the spare bedrooms or an office or even the basement. You could use it for whatever, a studio or a music room, even somewhere to sleep if you need some space.”

“I’d like that,” Jeongguk murmurs. “Thank you, hyungs.”

“You two go up to bed and pick out a movie,” Seokjin says, as he collects their wine glasses. “There’s a few baking dishes I need to soak.”

Yoongi stands on his tip-toes to kiss Seokjin briefly. “Bring the cake when you come up.”

Jeongguk’s eyes go wide with excitement. “There’s cake?”

Seokjin laughs, tugging Jeongguk into his arms for a tight hug, and a second later Yoongi is there, too, his arms around both Seokjin and Jeongguk. Jeongguk doesn’t think he’s exaggerating at all when he thinks there can’t be a better place than between their arms, with them, accepting the kisses they press to his forehead and cheeks.

There’s a lot they need to talk about, a lot of loose ends to tie up and options to explore. For now, Jeongguk changes into Seokjin’s sweatpants and his favorite Supreme hoodie, and gets comfortable between them in bed to share cake and chocolate covered kisses.

(Late the next afternoon, Jeongguk gets home with a grin he can’t seem to shake. He’d spent the morning kissing Yoongi and then the afternoon kissing Seokjin. It was perfect and soft, and now he had to make a study guide for class and try to forget the feeling of Seokjin’s hands on his ass.

Which was impossible, but Jeongguk had finals to pass.

He walks in to Jimin sitting on the couch, a cupcake in his hand. Jimin looks sheepish, almost nervous, but Jeongguk takes one look at him and then at the peace offering, and throws himself at Jimin. They collide in a hug, Jimin apologizing again and again in his ear.

Jeongguk could never stay mad at Jimin, and though he teases that it’ll take a lot more than one lousy cupcake to earn his forgiveness, they’re quickly laughing together.

Sharing overly sweet frosting, Jimin shows him pictures of the dog he and Taehyung will adopt when they move into their place. They talk about Jimin’s plans when the lease is up, and about Jeongguk’s decision. Jimin hugs him tight when he mentions enlisting, and promises to max out Taehyung’s credit cards to visit him every free day Jeongguk has.

Jeongguk’s smile doesn’t fade for the rest of the evening.)

The morning of Jeongguk’s graduation is muggy and raining. His alarm rings at five, and he rolls over Seokjin to stumble into the bathroom, rifling through the products he’s left there over the months and Seokjin’s own stuff. Yoongi wakes from the noise, hiding his grin in his pillow as he catches sight of Jeongguk in the mirror, blending a bit of foundation on his cheek.

They don’t have to be awake, yet, but it’s hard to sleep with Jeongguk bustling around the room to get dressed. “Sorry,” he whispers, as he realizes they’ve woken. Jeongguk rests his palm on the bed, leaning down. “You’ll be there by eight-thirty, right?”

“Of course,” Yoongi murmurs, patting Jeongguk’s cheek. “Take the Audi. Go get changed.”

“Okay,” Jeongguk grins. He kisses Yoongi’s forehead. “Like you lots, hyung.”

“Like you, too.”

Jeongguk rounds the bed to Seokjin’s side to kiss his cheek. “Like you lots, too, hyung.”

“Go,” Seokjin mumbles. “We’ll see you soon, cutie.”

Winking, Jeongguk salutes and ducks out of the room, finding his backpack in the hallway. He’s a little sore, but it’s nothing unbearable, his thighs aching a bit when he stops to give Holly some head scratches before he leaves.

He gets home and tears the bedroom apart when he can’t find his cap and gown. Taehyung startles awake, throwing a shoe in Jeongguk’s general direction.

“Hyung!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Taehyung rubs a hand down his face, Jimin stirring at his side. “Forgot you were coming back.”

“Have you seen my gown?”

“You left it in the other bedroom,” Jimin says, rolling over to bury his face in Taehyung’s lap. “Don’t forget your ID card.”

Jeongguk changes into a button down and slacks, finds his gown hanging in the second bedroom by the time Jimin and Taehyung get out of bed. They get ready, Jeongguk begging Jimin to tie his tie with a pout and big eyes, and finally they tuck into Yoongi’s car to head to the arena he’ll be graduating from.

It’s a long ceremony, Jeongguk splitting his time between listening to the keynote speaker and waving to his family on one side and his friends on the other. The morning seems to drag until Jeongguk blinks and suddenly he’s accepting his diploma in a daze, smiling to himself when he thinks he can hear someone screaming his name over the din of polite applause.

All too soon, Jeongguk is leaving the arena with his phone lit up from a flurry of text messages asking where he is, where should they meet up, does he want to get pancakes- until he spots his brother holding a dozen balloons with their parents.

He launches himself at them, his mom wrapping her arms tight around Jeongguk as he spins her around. They’re laughing, his dad throwing an arm around both of them and his brother following suit. When they pull back, Jeongguk’s grin is wide. Thankfully, it had stopped raining sometime during the ceremony, but it was still muggy and uncomfortable out, even though Jeongguk doesn’t really notice as his brother picks him up to hug him tight.

“Hyung!” Jeongguk is laughing, barely aware of his mom trying to take pictures of the two of them.

They take pictures, some of Jeongguk alone and holding his diploma, some with Jeonghyun and the overwhelming number of balloons, a lot with his parents. Jeonghyun drags them all into a selfie, and then a new pair of arms is around Jeongguk, squeezing him so tight he can’t breathe for a hot minute. That’s when he registers more screaming, and turns around in Taehyung’s arms to see everyone, Jimin jumping into the hug, followed by hugs from Namjoon and Hoseok and finally, Yoongi and Seokjin.

“Congratulations,” Yoongi says, his smile wide and gummy. When they pull apart, he hands Jeongguk the massive bouquet of flowers.

“You look beautiful,” Seokjin says, squeezing Jeongguk’s bicep. Jeongguk hides his blush behind the flowers.

More pictures follow, Jeongguk’s mom insisting on a dozen of Jeongguk and Jimin. They do strange poses, and Jimin, when Jeongguk is distracted by Jeonghyun, takes the opportunity to take Jeongguk over his shoulder, much to the amusement of everyone. Taehyung wears Jeongguk’s cap for their pictures and slips a check into his diploma holder with a wink. Hoseok pulls him and Namjoon into a bunch of selfies, promising their gift was in the car.

When the attention shifts to Hoseok trying to convince someone to recreate the Titanic pose with him, Jeongguk takes a moment to snap a few pictures of Jimin and Taehyung. Jimin’s own graduation ceremony had been a week ago. And where Jeongguk wasn’t limited with his number of guests, Jimin was only allowed three tickets for his parents and Jeongguk. He’d kissed Taehyung’s cheek and said, “Bros before hoes, sorry babe.” But they all went out for dinner that night to celebrate with lots of expensive Champagne.

They get a lot of stares, which was to be expected as such a large, noisy group, but there’s more. People recognize Seokjin, (a few hesitant girls even ask for his autograph,) and a few people recognize Yoongi, although they mainly ask if it is him, because he’s rarely seen in public without a mask. For the most part, they try to keep the attention away from themselves, standing off to the side or speaking quietly to Jeongguk’s mom. It was hard enough coming up with a convincing lie as to why Kim Seokjin and Min Yoongi were attending Jeongguk’s graduation, but his mom hadn’t minded. Not when Seokjin was her favorite Korean taking America by storm.

“What about me?” Taehyung had pout when they met earlier in the week, making Jeongguk’s mom laugh loudly.

She’d ruffled Taehyung’s hair. “You’re a close second, honey.”

Eventually, they make their way off the arena grounds with plans to meet closer to the apartment for brunch. The whole way back to their neighborhood, Jimin blasts the music, and Jeongguk and Taehyung each try to sing the highest harmony possible until they’re all laughing.

Brunch goes by too fast, Jeongguk seated between Seokjin and Yoongi in the private room, his parents across from him, and his friends scattered around. Jeongguk falls silent at one point, just smiling at everyone, glancing at each of them as they eat and toast mimosas. At one point, Seokjin excuses himself, and receives a loud chorus of complaint when it’s revealed he’d already paid for the meal.

Then they’re home, everyone squished in Jimin and Jeongguk’s apartment to cut a congratulations cake dedicated to both of them. Taehyung kisses Jimin and smears frosting on his nose, and Jeongguk looks at Yoongi and Seokjin, sitting at the table with his parents, and wishes he could do the same. Maybe one day Jeongguk can explain to his parents what exactly Seokjin and Yoongi mean to him, but not today. No. Today is for cake and wine, for watching a couple old movies while leafing through high school yearbooks and talking about summer plans until it gets late and Jeongguk is walking his parents out of the building.

“Don’t forget, we’re going to the beach tomorrow,” his mom says, hugging Jeongguk again. Jeonghyun looks like he wants to stay with everyone else, but he has an early flight back to New York. “Invite as many friends as you want.”

“Okay,” Jeongguk says, accepting hugs from his dad and brother. “I will. And um. Thank you. For everything.”

His mom kisses Jeongguk’s cheek. “We’re so, so proud of you, sweetheart. And your grandmother can’t wait to see you before your enlistment. Try to plan a week in Busan, okay?”

“Okay. Love you guys!”

“Love you, too.”

They’re staying in a hotel nearby in order to make the trip home in a few days, a home Jeongguk will spend part of the summer helping to pack up. Before he packs up his own apartment. And leaves.

Jeongguk takes a deep breath and feels a hand close around his.

“You okay?” Seokjin asks.

“I’m okay,” Jeongguk confirms. He leans up to kiss Seokjin softly. “It’s just a lot.”

Seokjin hums, tucking a strand of hair behind Jeongguk’s ear. “We’re with you every step. Now come on, Jimin is trying to get Yoongi to play strip poker.”

Back in the apartment, Jimin had broken out the hard stuff and a couple bottles of Coke for Taehyung and soon they’re toasting shots instead of Champagne. Jimin climbs into Taehyung’s lap and stays there, and Jeongguk, tipsy and giggly, tries his hardest to sit on Yoongi and Seokjin’s laps at the same time. There’s music playing and extra loud conversation, and Jeongguk is pretty sure they’ll get a noise complaint in the morning, but he doesn’t care.

He doesn’t care because he’s in love and his loves love him back. He has almost three months before he’ll head back to Korea, four weeks of which Yoongi and Seokjin have claimed as their own. It’s their graduation gift to him, surprising Jeongguk with a trip to Greece to spend together. Jeongguk hadn’t cried , it was the vodka burning his throat, but he kissed them both, smiling so wide it wasn’t more than pressing lips together.

Jeongguk will thank them properly this weekend, anyway.

“Okay, I can’t do this.” Namjoon finally says. He’s not nearly the same level as inebriated as the rest of them, standing in the middle of the room to point an accusatory finger at Hoseok, who was still nursing his first drink. “Hoseok. Jung motherfucking Hoseok.”

“That was only one time,” Hoseok chuckles, looking at the others nervously. “Shit, that was your mom?”

“No.” Namjoon rubs at his temple. “You’ve met my mom. Asshole, I’m in love with you. I have been for years. And if you’re going to run away to Korea again to avoid me, at least let me know because I’m going to Ilsan this Christmas and-”

Hoseok shoots to his feet. “What.”

“I don’t care if you don’t feel the same. I needed to say it.”

“Holy shit,” Yoongi whispers on Jeongguk’s left.

They’re all silent, watching Namjoon and Hosek. Even Jimin looks a little more lucid, gripping Taehyung’s wrist tightly. The coffee table is littered with upturned plastic cups, an empty bottle of soda, and cake with melting frosting. It’s hardly the most romantic place to confess, especially not with Party In The U.S.A.  playing through Jeongguk’s speakers, but somehow, Jeongguk thinks, this is perfect for them.

“You…” Hoseok says. “You? Oh my God, really?”

Namjoon frowns. “Don’t be crude about it.”

“Joon-ah, I love you, too. Shit, I have been for- for years!”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Namjoon whines, as Hoseok crosses the trashed floor to get to him. He trips on the chemistry book Jeongguk still needs to return, catching his footing in front of Namjoon. “It’s- I-”

“I thought you didn’t feel the same.”

“Well, I do.”

Hoseok’s shaking hands lift to cup Namjoon’s cheeks. “I’m gonna kiss the shit out of you now.”

“Fuck-”

There’s screaming when Namjoon and Hoseok kiss, Jimin throwing several empty plastic cups at them because they don’t have confetti. Namjoon’s cheeks are bright red when they pull apart, Hoseok laughing in disbelief, and it’s perfect. Jeongguk looks between Yoongi and Seokjing, holding one of their hands in each of his own, and he’s happy.

He might not be sure of the exact direction of his future or the career he wants to pursue when he’s out of the military, but Yoongi had assured him there would always be an opening at his company- at least until Jeongguk gets on his feet. Seokjin promised him he could apprentice under his head photographer if he wanted, and if neither of those appealed to Jeongguk in two years, they’d be by his side to help him figure it out.

“Hyungs,” Jeongguk says later, when they’ve relocated to the balcony. Inside, Jimin is still drinking long after Namjoon and Hoseok switched to lemonade. He’s dancing with Taehyung, both of them giggling loudly. Jeongguk had led Yoongi and Seokjin outside for some air, and let them take the two patio chairs out there. “I just. Want to thank you. For taking a chance on me. For lo-liking me back.”

“Thank you for being so hot Yoongi agreed to a threesome.”

Yoongi elbows Seokjin in the ribs as he and Jeongguk laugh loudly. “It’s not too late to ditch him and run away with me.”

“Hey,” Seokjin protests.

Jeongguk smiles softly. “I think I’ll stick with both of you.”

Yoongi tugs him over from the railing, letting Jeongguk fall to sit on the edge of his chair, between him and Seokjin. “I think that sounds perfect. What do you think, hyung?”

“Can’t think of anything better.”

Seokjin tucks his fingers beneath Jeongguk’s chin, tilting his head to kiss him softly, and then kisses Yoongi over Jeongguk’s shoulder. Jeongguk follows suit, kissing Yoongi as the moon hangs high and the sound of his friends laughter fills the air.

When Taehyung’s album is released the night before Jeongguk leaves, it tops the charts in Korea. A week later, it tops charts in Japan, America, and the UK. Every time it reaches number 1 on another iTunes chart, Jimin sends Jeongguk a photo of it. Within a month, his lead single goes platinum.

It’s far more than anyone anticipated- especially Yoongi and Taehyung. Taehyung promotes on Korean music shows and then does press in America with Yoongi by his side every step of the way.

Yoongi subtly dedicates one of the tracks to Jeongguk. It’s the one he features on as Agust D, and while Taehyung’s English single reaches the top twenty on Billboard, the song with Yoongi still breaks onto the chart.

Seokjin and Yoongi surprise him with a birthday party, even though Jeongguk leaves almost two weeks before his birthday. He cries when they bring him to the restaurant they’d rented out, balloons scattered throughout the building and his friends all there to hug him, to wish him well, to congratulate him. And cupcakes. Lots of cupcakes.

During a week long vacation, Jimin and Taehyung visit Jeongguk in Korea to fill him in on everything. Over dinner with Jeongguk’s parents, they show Jeongguk photos and pass on letters and give Jeongguk time to call everyone and catch up. It was a hard adjustment to make, leaving California and beginning his enlistment, the training and the separation from his family had weighed heavily on Jeongguk’s shoulders during the beginning.

It got better. Not easier, but Jeongguk learned to compartmentalize. He missed Yoongi and Seokjin like crazy, feeling the bite of jealousy whenever he caught sight of a headline about one of Seokjin’s modeling campaigns, or the overwhelmingly good reviews for his Netflix movie. He reads about Yoongi’s second mixtape before he gets the chance to listen to the voicemail on his phone from Yoongi. Headlines are made when Jimin and Taehyung reveal their relationship. He sees Namjoon and Hoseok most out of anyone, their jobs keeping them in the country more often than anyone else. There are plans for Taehyung to release another album.

He gets some time with Yoongi and Seokjin during a two week leave, but it’s hard. He wants so much more than they can accomplish in only a few days.

Taehyung’s album goes gold.

It’s what Jeongguk listens to now, as his plane lands down at LAX after an excruciating flight. The child to his right was sick the entire time, going through at least five paper bags while his mother sent Jeongguk several apologetic looks. The man next to him smelled. The kid behind him wouldn’t stop kicking his seat.

None of that matters now, as Jeongguk springs out of his seat and grabs his bag from the overhead. Yoongi’s voice sings in Jeongguk’s ear, and maybe it’s a little pathetic, but he’d had the album on repeat whenever he could, feeling close to Yoongi and Taehyung and everyone else over the past two years whenever he listened.

It takes what feels like forever to exit the plane. Jeongguk bows politely at the attendants and physically stops himself from sprinting when he’s through the door. It’s only Jimin, Jeongguk tells himself. Everyone else was busy and couldn’t make the long drive. Jimin was around to pick him up. They’d get dinner tonight.

His heart beats so hard, though, as Jeongguk waits for his duffel bag at baggage claim. He finds it, turns and-

Stops.

Jeongguk pauses, rubbing fists against his eyes, but the view is clear.

Academy Award winner Kim Taehyung, (Jimin had spent two months pleading with Jeongguk to get a leave for the Oscars last year. Taehyung was nominated, and everyone felt really good about his chances. Jeongguk had managed the leave, and got to watch his best friend accept the award from the back of the hall between Yoongi and Seokjin,) stands with his hands in Jimin’s, teasingly tugging on his arms.

Next to him, Hoseok has his arm looped through Namjoon’s, who looks weary and exhausted and Jeongguk blinks, confused, because he’d seen Namjoon in Korea two days ago.

What quickly catches his eye, though, is Yoongi and Seokjin. They stand next to Jimin, holding a sign between them that says Googie The Best Boy . Seokjin’s hair is blond for his next campaign. Jeongguk had managed to convince Yoongi to dye his a soft pink. It didn’t match the theme of his upcoming mixtape, but fuck,  he looked pretty.

He rips out his AirPods as if that will make the image make sense to his brain.

They all spot him easily, Seokjin beckoning him over.

Jeongguk feels stuck, emotions welling heavily in his throat. His eyes sting, and Seokjin laughs, the sound of which Jeongguk can hear even though he’s too far away.

“Jeongguk-ah!” Jimin yells, cupping his hands over his mouth. “Let’s go, man!”

Jeongguk runs.

Seokjin is there to catch him when Jeongguk launches into his arms, wrapping his legs around Seokjin’s waist and hiding his face in Seokjin’s shoulder as his duffel bag lands at Jimin’s feet. Immediately, Yoongi is there, too, arms wrapped around both of them. Someone whistles, and he’s pretty sure Jimin is taking pictures but he doesn’t care.

He’s crying when he pulls back, Seokjin grinning at him with so much love in his expression it leaves Jeongguk breathless. He looks at Yoongi, whose eyes are just as misty as Seokjin’s.

“Hi, baby.” Seokjin whispers, wiping the tears from Jeongguk’s cheeks.

“I love you,” Jeongguk chokes out. He kisses Seokjin hard, breaks the kiss only to drop to his feet so he can kiss Yoongi with just as much heart and soul. “I love you.”

Yoongi threads his fingers through Jeongguk’s hair as Seokjin holds him from behind. “We love you, too, Jeongguk-ah. Let’s go home.”

The others are complaining, whining for their own hug, and Jeongguk will. Soon. He’ll hug all of his friends and then he’ll go home- home!-  and hug Holly, too. He’ll get kisses and shown so many pictures, and maybe if he pouts enough he’ll get to hold Taehyung’s Oscar, but for now. In Seokjin’s arms with Yoongi’s hands on him, for now, Jeongguk is in his favorite place. And he wouldn’t change a thing.