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one single thread of gold led me to you

Summary:

“You're not fifteen anymore,” is what Yoongi blurts out, voice raspy. Jimin can’t help but let out a surprised chuckle. There are many ways he imagined their interaction could have gone, but Yoongi staring at him, mildly awestruck? There’s no way he could have predicted this.

“It’s nice to see you again, Yoongi hyung,” Jimin greets, easily recovering from his gawking.

“It’s nice to see you after all this time too, Park Jimin.” Yoongi finally looks him in the eye. “I see you’ve kept up with daggers.”

Notes:

I really ran away with this and I apologise, but I hope I somewhat did justice to it!

 

Prompt:

 

(the rating and ship i put are what i had in mind, but the author can feel free to change it whichever they want!)

basically character a is a son of aphrodite and character b is a son of hades. character b tends to isolate himself from the others at camp because the others are honestly a little afraid of him and he just prefers being by himself. character a, however, is personable and kind and beautiful (obviously) so he makes an effort to get along with basically everyone and is one of the few people that doesn't seem afraid of character b and actually extends kindness to him. character a also has some insecurities coming from the fact that people tend to only see him as beautiful and don't really acknowledge his other traits, so he feels kind of lonely. characters a and b find that they're more similar than they once thought, so they start to get along, much to the dismay of the other campers, who keep telling character a that character b is bad for him and that it's not good to get involved with him. eventually, they end up together though.

obviously the other members should make appearances as other demigods side ships as the author sees fit are welcome!!

wants: some nsfw, angst, happy ending
do not want: mcd

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

"I’m so excited about Art Camp!" Jimin felt a need to fill the awkward silence between them, swinging his legs aimlessly as he perched on the edge of the cushioned seat. Their train carriage was mostly unoccupied, save for an old man snoozing in a corner and a weary looking lady in a suit. The scenery passed by in a flash, all blending into the bright blue of the ocean.

 

Besides him, Yeji stiffened, tightly gripping the silk of her black ruffled skirt. She couldn’t be older than twenty five, but to twelve year old Jimin - she was an adult. She was The Adult, who showed up outside his orphanage door with a poster advertising a summer camp for kids and somehow managed to sway his grumpy caretakers into letting him go. She was his saviour. 

 

"Jimin, I need for you to understand some things, okay." She turns to him, a gentle smile on her face as she bends down to his eye level. "I know we only just met, but I want you to trust me. Soohyun will explain the rest, but there are some things you need to know."

 

The younger boy only nods, pushing his overgrown black fringe out of the way. He looks so small in his oversized cardigan and ill-fitted jeans, barely the average size of a child his age. Yeji quells her rising anger for the ignorant caretakers of the orphanage. 

 

"Do you know anything about your parents?"

 

It’s surprisingly easy to reveal secrets that could cause a potential existential crisis, but that’s the beauty of working with young children. The world of powerful gods and goddesses and legends and prophecies goes down much easier when you’re optimistic and trusting at twelve rather than cynical and irritated at eighteen. 

 

The setting sun highlights the soft pout that works it’s way up on Jimin's face. "But you don’t actually know who my parents are?" 

 

"Whichever god is your parent will claim you as their child tonight. That’s a promise I can make to you." Yeji lays a comforting hand on his shoulders, allowing a rare smile to slip onto her face. 

 

The spark that makes its way into Jimin's eyes is only magnified later, when they’ve finally arrived at Camp Half-blood after dark, and Aphrodite claims him as her son as the campfire crackles merrily. His half brothers and sisters embrace him eagerly, chattering excitedly at the thought of a new addition.

 

Jimin is trying hard not to cry, a sight that makes Yeji feel all warm inside. She gets it, that moment when you feel some pieces of the puzzle in your head finally click together. He’s finally found a home. 

 


 

"Jimin!" Taehyung yells his name from afar, dodging piles of suitcases and crowds of campers as he speeds his way across the courtyard to where Jimin stands outside the Aphrodite cabin. 

 

Jimin smiles as he braces himself for the impact of his best friend's crushing hug. He groans as he gets a mouthful of brown hair as Taehyung throws his arms around him. 

 

"I missed you too, Tae." He giggles, wrinkling his nose. None of the campers bat an eye, used to their overbearing antics. It’s been three years since they met, both awkward and scrawny twelve year olds forced to be roommates inside the Aphrodite cabin. Now, the seniors threaten to separate them because they're too chaotic to handle. 

 

"D'you still have your bracelet?" Taehyung asks, letting him go in favour of grabbing his wrist to search for the purple threaded bracelet. 

 

"Hey, I’m offended you would even ask me that!" Jimin pouts, pulling up his sleeves to show it off proudly. "Where’s yours?" 

 

Taehyung shows off his wrist, panicking when he sees that it’s bare of any bracket. "Umm,"  checks his other wrist, "uh, I had it on this morning I swear," rolls up his sleeves one after the next frantically, "fuck did I leave it on the train," more shuffling in his pockets until his eyes widen as he pulls out the scruffy bracelet from his jeans pocket. "Ha! There we go!”

 

“You almost lost it didn’t you?” Jimin deadpans, eyes narrowed. “You've trampled on my heart, Taehyungie, my poor, poor —“

 

“Oh, cut the dramatics, both of you.” 

 

Jimin and Taehyung pause their third Romeo and Juliet enactment of the year (the content of their video chats can be weird okay) to turn to the dark haired girl purposefully making her way towards them. 

 

Jimin brightens up at the sight of Jennie, one of the few of his close friends who was not related to him because of his mother. She was a daughter of Athena and the two had formed an unlikely friendship over the years, much to the surprise of many campers as the two goddesses themselves scarcely ever got along. 

 

“Oh hush, do we need to remind you of your blonde highlight phase?” Taehyung quips, eyes alight with laughter. 

 

Jennie huffs irritatedly, “We agreed to never bring it up,” there’s a hint of pleading in her voice that makes Jimin laugh. No one likes to be reminded of bad decisions after all. 

 

“How have you been, Jennie?” Jimin quickly changes the topic, knowing there must be a reason why the girl had such a troubled look on her face when she sought him out. 

 

Taehyung leaves them to greet his other friends while Jennie rambles. Its around the five minute mark that she finally slip word of ‘ugh he’s so annoying, I don’t want to talk about him’ and Jimin pounces. Relationship troubles have always been his forte. 

 

“Oh no, Jennie, I think you do,” he points out, a smirk on his face. 

 

She scowls. “I hate you children of Aphrodite and your sixth sense for -“

 

“Love trouble?”

 

“Oh shove it, Park, I’m not ready for this conversation!” She flounces off with a swish of her ponytail. 

 

Jimin can’t help but laugh. “We have all summer, Kim!” 

 

She will come around, he knows, preferably at night time some day with a cup of hot chocolate and nag at him to 'bring a blanket next time'. He loves hanging out with her. He loves all of it actually. 

 

Camp Half-blood is everything Jimin has ever dreamed of. People flock to him because of his open and bubbly personality, and good looks. Being around his half siblings has injected him with almost oozing amounts fo confidence. Even his situation at the orphanage has improved, the bullying is practically non existent now. He’s never been happier. 

 

He’s prepared for another year of late mornings, afternoons messing around with his friends and dinners around the campfire. Yes, there are mandatory activities but he gets by. His natural athleticism is enough to help him get through the physically challenging exercises - like rock climbing and even archery. He makes do with other weapons training, swinging his sword around until his opponent glances at him long enough for Jimin to flash a blinding smile and disarm them. The history lessons are a bit of a bore but Taehyung, Eunwoo and Sungwoon are in the same class as him so its not like there’s actually any learning going on. Its always been enough, this little routine Jimin has crafted. There’s no reason to change things now. 

 

It all changes two weeks into Camp during dagger throwing practice. Taehyung and Jimin are at the end of the line, play fighting with their standard bronze daggers. 

 

“Yah, Park Jimin, you’re up!” Seokjin calls out, jogging up to them. 

 

Jimin feels all the energy drain his body. Seokjin has always been the nice senior at camp, the one who guided him to the Main House on his first day, the one who always stopped to say hi if they ever bumped into each other, the one who cracked stupid jokes — just the best, loveliest senior ever. And now that he’s in his last year, he’s supervising a lot of their activities and well, Jimin does not like being under the cool glare of his normally smiley hyung, okay. 

 

Jimin gulps, gripping the dagger between his sweaty fingers as he aims for the target. He has good aim, but he’s always been sloppy with technique, something that becomes glaringly obvious as he misses the target completely at his first try. 

 

And the second.

 

And the third. 

 

He manages to hit the outer ring on his fourth try, but Seokjin holds up a hand. 

 

“I've seen enough, Jiminie. The new first years are better than you,” he remarks, a sad sort of expression on his face that makes Jimin feel really cold inside. He detests this feeling. 

 

No words manage to come out of his mouth, and Seokjin only walks away with a resolute sigh. Jimin wants to explain himself, tell Seokjin that hey, its not that serious, he can actually aim better than most of the kids standing in line. Its just the pressure. He knows he can get it dead centre if he was given another chance. He can! 

 

He feels himself crouch down, legs weak as a shaky breath leaving his lips. “He’s disappointed in me, isn’t he?” He voices out loud, vaguely aware of Taehyung besides him. 

 

Of course he is, Jimin can see it in Seokjin’s expression, so eerily similar to his caretakers back at the orphanage. Disappointed, always disappointed. Except Seokjin actually had expectations from him, which casts an even darker cloud over his failure. 

 

Jimin wants to kick himself in the face. Hard.  

 

Taehyung is mumbling reassurances, hand on his shoulder, but Jimin just buries his face his hands as he feels the hot tears of embarrassment threatening to leak out. Because at the end of the day, he’s only ever angry at himself, for not doing better. 

 

All his angsty, self loathing emotions and feelings thankfully settle overnight, and the next morning Jimin wakes up early, determination bright in his eyes. 

 

He marches up to the targets, quietly gathering an array of daggers. The sun is rising, but it’ll be a while before the campers straggle out for breakfast. 

 

He takes his position, a single dagger in his hands. A deep breath, to calm the swirling butterflies in his stomach. This is his moment. He’s going to practice like hell today, ace knife throwing and impress Seokjin. Hopefully, the guilt will settle then as well. 

 

Jimin aims for the centre, and then throws the knife, a burst of excitement rippling through him because yes, that was such a good shot, he’s in so much better of a headspace compared to yesterday, he absolutely— did not nail it. Not the slightest. 

 

The knife skims the top of the target as it sails past. 

 

Still brimming with confidence, Jimin tries again, putting extra care into focusing on the target. The knife sails past the target again, on the left side this time. 

 

How is possible that he’s actually getting worse at this? 

 

He keeps chucking knife after knife, desperation replacing the confidence and adrenaline running in his blood. He can feel the beginnings of a headache forming.

 

“AHHHH! Why do you hate me?” Jimin wails, marching up to the target to spitefully stab the centre with a spare dagger. 

 

“Stupid target. Stupid knives. I’m a total failure.” He groans, collecting all the daggers that missed the target completely. One even fell into the bushes, and it takes a good seven minutes of scrounging among leaves and thorns before he pulls it out from between them. By the time he meanders over to the targets again, he discovers that they’ve been taking over by someone else. 

 

Jimin makes note of a swirl of bleached hair and dark clothing furiously launching daggers one after the next. His jaw drops as he realises the person had aimed for different targets for each throw, and somehow knocked dead centre for each one. 

 

“Woah.” The words escape from his mouth before he can stop himself. The figure turns around hastily, features arranging into a scowl as they catch sight of Jimin. 

 

Oh wait, Jimin recognises this person. It's Min Yoongi, the older of the only two residents of the Hades cabin. Stereotypes still run rampant in Camp, so it's no surprise that the campers choose to give the children of Hades a wide berth. 

 

Jimin has only ever seen either of them in passing, but right now staring into Min Yoongi’s dark, intense eyes, he feels a lick of fear up his spine. Maybe those rumours about killing cats and setting fire to their corpses every full moon are true, his traitorous mind supplies. 

 

Min Yoongi only turns away with a huff, as though Jimin’s presence isn’t worth an acknowledgement. 

 

Oh god wait, what if he read Jimin’s mind about dead cats. What if he’s plotting Jimin’s murder. He’s too young to die—  

 

“Yah, are you going to just stand there?” Min Yoongi calls out, glaring at him. Jimin’s eyes widen as the older boy launches another dagger straight to the centre of the target despite his eyes glaring a hole through Jimin’s head. 

 

“H-How are you so good at that?“ He squeaks out, hiding his trembling fingers in the pockets of his jeans. 

 

“Practice.” The older boy replies, an irritated pinch to his face as he turns back to the targets. Clearly, he isn’t interested in a chat. 

 

Whatever, Jimin still has a mission. Maybe he’ll nail it this time. 

 

He’s only managed to scuff the edge of the target by his sixth try when he hears an exasperated snort behind him. 

 

It's Yoongi, watching him fumble with the daggers, arms crossed against his baggy sweatshirt. 

 

“What?” Jimin calls out self consciously, feeling himself blush. 

 

“You’re kind of terrible at this.” He remarks, a small smirk on his face

 

“I-I’m— well not all of us can be blessed with reflexes like yours!” Jimin sputters, embarrassed.

 

“I'm not blessed.” Yoongi corrects him, eyes narrowed. “I actually spent time training, listening to instructors, not whatever you’ve been doing for,” his eyes drop to the beaded necklace around Jimin’s neck. “the last two years.”

 

Jimin’s eyes fall to the ground, because yes, Yoongi’s right but its one thing for Jimin’s brain to tell him he’s a failure, its another for an absolute stranger to say so. Childish tears prick his eyes again, and Jimin wants to run away because is he really about to cry in front of Min Yoongi, son of Hades? 

 

Yoongi must’ve sensed that something was off, because he quickly backtracks. “I mean, you’re not terrible, kid. I’m sure with the right guidance you’ll be miles better, better than me!” He almost sounds nervous, as though expecting Jimin to burst into tears there and then like some kind of ticking time bomb. 

 

His words ring through Jimin’s head, and suddenly the clouds part as the sun comes through for Jimin. Its Yoongi, the metaphorical sun, the solution to Jimin’s misery. 

 

“Will you help me?” He asks, sniffing loudly for effect. 

 

“What, no way!” Yoongi resists, eyes wide as he backs away. 

 

Jimin only pouts, adding an extra wobble of his lip. “Please, I don’t wanna disappoint Seokjin hyung!”

 

Yoongi scowls, eyes heavy as though he’s debating some complex math problem. Jimin pouts harder, and he finally relents. 

 

“Fine, fine! I’ll help you!” He exclaims, eyes darting back to the campsite where campers have started to wake up. “Tomorrow morning. Same time.”

 

He hurries off quickly, and Jimin resists the the urge to laugh. Yoongi probably thought Jimin was about to burst into tears and make a whole fuss, which is why he was so quick to agree. 

 

Whatever, Jimin thinks, a skip in his step as he hurries back to the Aphrodite cabin, he’ll be an expert in dagger throwing soon!

 


 

“Your posture is all wrong.”

 

“Park Jimin, are you even looking at the target?”

 

“No, raise your arm higher!”

 

“Don’t move your feet so much!”

 

“Tired? Why are you tired, I’m the one who should be exhausted after watching that.”

 

“No, no, go again.”

 

“Again, Park Jimin.”

 

“Again.”

 

“Again.”

 

“Hey, Jiminnie you’re falling asleep again,” Taehyung nudges him at dinner, voice soft and worried. “Are you feeling sick?”

 

Jimin inhales sharply, rubbing his eyes. The wooden bench is hard against his sore muscles, which are begging for a nice twelve hour snooze. 

 

“Jus’ tired.” He mumbles, letting his head fall onto Taehyung’s shoulder. He lets Taehyung gently pat his head and feed him bits of beef. He mentally recounts the past week as he sleepily chews his food. 

 

Min Yoongi was, simply put, a hardass. From day one, he was akin to a military general, eyeing Jimin with a steely gaze, telling him the issue was in his basics i.e he had none. He had Jimin go through rounds of dagger throwing one after the next, until Jimin could barely walk back to the campsite. That was when Yoongi decided that the problem was in his stamina, so now before they began dagger throwing, they would go for a jog around camp. Every morning. 

 

Jimin’s back hurt. His legs ached. He was sore in places he didn’t know he could be sore. And a childish part of him resented Min Yoongi for putting him through this torture. 

 

But today he had managed to actually hit the target. Twice. Not the centre but he got fairly close. Yoongi’s face had been impassive, compared to Jimin’s exorbitant yelling, but he gave him a satisfied nod and honestly it was more than Jimin could have expected from the stoic teenager. 

 

And so they continued. Every morning, until Jimin could hit the target on every throw. His aim wasn’t entirely accurate, but he was miles better than he what he had started off with. 

 

“So are we done?” He pipes up, a pleased smile on his face. He can already imagine the warmth of his bed. 

 

Yoongi turns to him sharply. “What do you mean?”

 

Jimin fumbles with his words. “I mean, I’m decent right? So there’s no need to practice—“

 

His words only seemed to light a fire within Yoongi, who narrows his eyes at Jimin. 

 

“Oh yeah?” The older boy starts. “What are you going to do the day you step out of Camp Half-blood and a monster attacks you?” His fists are clenched tightly at his sides, his lips tightly pressed together. “Have you really not come across any yet?”

 

Jimin shakes his head, which only seems to infuriate him further. 

 

“What would you do though?” His gaze turns sharp as he comes closer, the air around them turning cooler.

 

Jimin gulps, the sudden shift in atmosphere is terrifying, a harsh reminder that Yoongi really is powerful demigod with a powerful father. All this time they’d spent together, he had never seen Yoongi use his powers for anything. 

 

As a child of Aphrodite, Jimin doesn’t use his powers much either. They were far more passive in nature compared to others. 

 

“I can just use charm speak,” he starts, feeling self conscious. “I’ll charm the monster to sleep and run away.”

 

Yoongi scoffs. “Do you even practice your charm speak? You know many monsters, and even humans can fight it, right? And don’t forget immunity is a thing. What would you do then?”

 

Jimin halts, because all of Yoongi’s points are valid. “I don’t—“ he starts, unsure of what to say. 

 

It’s humiliating how Yoongi always seems to attack him right he’s the weakest. 

 

“I never really gave it much thought.” He admits meekly. 

 

Yoongi sighs, as though he expected Jimin’s answer. He flops down, leaning his back against a nearby tree and gestures to Jimin to do the same. 

 

“You're complacent, kid.” Yoongi starts without any preamble. “Being a demigod is a double edged sword, you know this. Yes, you have all the heightened senses and reflexes and additional powers — but you also have quests and vengeful monsters.”

 

“Most demigods don’t make it beyond twenty five.” Jimin recites dutifully, from the introductory speech given to him when he first got to camp. Yoongi nods, a wry smile on his face. 

 

“Do you ever actually think about those words? The implications of it all?”

 

Jimin shakes his head again, eyes lowered because now Yoongi is disappointed in him — just when things were going so well too. 

 

“Well, start thinking,” Yoongi reaches forward and ruffles his hair in a rare show of affection. “You can’t rely on your powers forever, Jiminnie. You’ve got the skills, you just need to sharpen them.” 

 

Yoongi gets up at that, leaving behind the stunned boy. 

 

“Tomorrow, same time!” Yoongi calls out, a small smile on his face. 

 

Jimin doesn’t move. A smile? Of amusement? From Min Yoongi? A smile? He gently touches the top of his head, a bright blush on his face. What was that all about? 

 

He slowly pulls himself up in a daze as he walks back to the campsite, barely avoiding bumping into any passing campers. 

 

The worst thing about the Aphrodite cabin —and there are many, from questionable skin care routines to clothing recommendations to the insane gossiping — is how they’re all wired with a love detector that operates within a fifty mile radius. 

 

As soon as Jimin steps into the cabin, all flushed cheeks and dopey smile, his half siblings lose their shit. 

 

“Jiminnie is in love!” Yongsun screeches, her blonde extensions flailing about as she runs towards him. Kyulkyung is not far off, arms above her head to prevent her nail polish from smudging. 

 

“Oh?” Eunwoo and Taehyung perk up, mischievous grins on their faces. There is a bit of a scramble as they all crowd around him, eager to find out the truth. 

 

Jimin wants to hide his face in his hands. He hates his siblings, screw everything he has ever said about found family and all that - they’re all terrible. 

 

“Calm down.” Joohyun never yells, but her quiet commands are terrifying enough. The group parts for their unofficial leader as she makes her way to Jimin. She carefully runs her eyes across his face, taking notice of his body language. There’s a spark of realisation, which causes a small secretive smile to run across her face before she schools her expression again. 

 

“None of you are to bother Jimin,” she scolds them. “If he has anything to say, he can tell us when he feels comfortable. I know, because of our dear mother, that our senses are going haywire but we will not interfere.” Her tone is clipped as she slowly makes eye contact with each of them. 

 

All their siblings depart at that, wearing matching pouts and scowls. Jimin feels like he can breathe a little easier. 

 

“Don’t worry, Jiminnie.” Joohyun rubs his shoulder comfortingly. “I’ve got your back. But,” her voice turns steely. “If that boy breaks your heart, he’s going to have to deal with me.”

 

Jimin feels a shiver run down his back as Joohyun smiles at him sweetly. Insane, they’re all insane. 

 

Thankfully, he doesn’t need to divulge the details of his almost crush to anyone — except Taehyung because they’re soulmates for a reason. Taehyung pouts about not being told from the start, but comes around when Jimin gives him his slice of chocolate cake at dinner. He also brings up what Yoongi said about being complacent to Taehyung, who goes silent at his words. 

 

“It’s a pretty grim view,” he finally says, a mess of fluffy brown hair underneath a cocoon of blankets. “But a brutally honest one. Complacent is just a polite term for lazy. I mean, we did get the short end of the stick, like yes I am beautiful and for some reason fluent in French and oh maybe I can manipulate someone’s thoughts for twenty seconds but like — have you seen what those kids at the Ares cabin are like during training? Or like even Hoseok, he’s the coolest. Son of Hermes, yes please, sign me up."

 

Jimin smiles at the hint of whining in Taehyung's voice, squeezing into the cocoon himself. "Hey, we’re more than parents. They don’t get to define us. We need to rely on who we are, and what skills we have." He echoes Yoongi's words, smoothing back Taehyung's hair. 

 

Taehyung yawns, arms tightening around Jimin's abdomen. "Since when did you get s'wise, Jiminnie," he mumbles. Jimin only laughs, continuing to pat Taehyung’s hair as the warmth of the blankets lulls them to sleep. 

 


 

"Why don’t you ever use your powers?" Jimin asks a few days later, tone neutral. They’re sitting near the lake, a rest break after their brisk jog around the campsite. 

 

Yoongi stiffens at his words, refusing to meet Jimin's eyes. The younger boy shrugs, it’s not rare for Yoongi to not respond to his every question. Jimin understands that boundaries are a thing, especially in this rocky, almost friendship they’re developed over the past month. He’s not going to push Yoongi to answer anything he’s not comfortable about. He resolutely stares at the lake, enjoying the tranquility of the early hour. 

 

"The last thing I want is to give people more reasons to detest me." Yoongi responds gruffly, breaking the lull that had developed around them. Jimin raises his eyebrows at that, but Yoongi only shrugs. 

 

Jimin can’t help but snort indignantly. "You're the last person I would expect to care about what other people think." Yoongi had always given off this reserved, cool vibe — lone wolf, but also badass wolf. 

 

"People are already wary of you, nothing can change that — regardless of how much of your power you display. Stereotypes work that way, you know this." Jimin continues on heatedly, "why should you have to give up part of yourself just for other people who don’t even know you?"

 

Yoongi only stares at him, long enough for Jimin to flush from his intense gaze. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, he looks away and sighs. "I just," he grapples with his words, "I associate a lot of negativity with my lineage, to the point where I like to pretend that it doesn’t exist. Don’t you? I mean, people look at me like I’m a Harbinger of Death. Isn’t all they see when they look at you little more than a pretty face? They judge us and treat us how they like all because of our parents. It’s not hard to loathe them."

 

And Jimin gets it, it’s a frustration Taehyung has often shared with him. But prejudices have always existed, especially when you’re young enough to not know better. He’s done a lot of judging himself in the past, and been a victim of the same. But still, a part of his brain insists that Yoongi deserves better than this self deprecating rut he’s in. 

 

"We’re more than our parents, hyung." Jimin murmurs, glancing at him nervously. "We don’t need to hate them or even love them. But we don’t have to be ashamed of who we are. I mean, yes my mother is annoying and I can’t charm speak my way out of everything, but it is helpful. And you’re so powerful, why wouldn’t you want to use your abilities to — I don’t know, fight monsters or whatever?" 

 

Jimin shrinks into himself, certain he’s said too much. He’s just been thinking about boundaries and did he really have to go on a spiel like that? Yoongi was seventeen to his fifteen, the older boy was definitely more experienced in the ways of the world. What if he’d been offended — Jimin wanted to slap his forehead. Why couldn’t he have just kept quiet and enjoyed a peaceful sunrise with his almost crush. His stupid, big mouth. 

 

"Who are you and what have you done to the Park Jimin of one month ago?" Yoongi jokes, chuckling lightly. "Yah, since when did you get so sensible giving advice to your elders?"

 

"Does that mean you’ll consider it?" Jimin asks meekly, meeting his eyes. 

 

Yoongi gazes at him with fondness. "Yeah, I’ll consider it."

 

They’re making their way back towards the cabins when Jimin realises that they're late. Practically all the campers are awake by now, shuffling out of their cabins, talking loudly amongst one another. The two of them walking together attract a lot of unwelcome stares and looks of surprise. 

 

Jimin flinches. For all his talk about not caring, this is — it’s too similar to the way the kids at the orphanage looked at him when he first entered the building. Judgemental, questioning, intrigued for all the wrong reasons. The temperature by his side rapidly turns cool as Yoongi quietly departs to his cabin without so much as a goodbye. 

 

A bolt of rejection runs through his bones, but Jimin keeps his expression blank and carefully plods along to his cabin before quietly shutting the door and flouncing off to bed. He can’t get Yoongi’s expression out of his mind — that moment when he took of the stares and the laughter in his eyes just vanished. He immediately took a step away from Jimin, his mouth setting in a grim line. Jimin could understand, he himself had felt like running away from prying eyes. But you didn’t, his brain reminds him, Yoongi ran away. 

 

And if Jimin cries underneath his blankets and skips a day of activities, none of his siblings say anything. 

 

They simply drop things by his bedside that they know he would love — a moisturising lip tint, a simple silver ring, a tiny keychain with a stuffed toy hanging off of it, a Polaroid of him with some of his closest friends. He hugs all the items close to his chest, because he feels happy and confident and cared for. 

 

He shows up the next morning for training, confused when Yoongi comes by almost an hour late. His eyes widen at the sight of Jimin.

 

"Explain yourself!" Jimin marches up to him, eyebrows furrowed in anger. 

 

"I came by to your cabin yesterday, but you didn’t want to talk to me!" Yoongi exclaims incredulously, a flush on his cheeks. "What was I supposed to think?"

 

Jimin starts at the information. "How was I supposed to know?"  

 

Yoongi cuts him off, eyes narrowed. "Your friends told me you were busy. They also had no idea that I help you with train. They thought I had a bone to pick with you, or something! Did you never tell them anything?" He looks at Jimin, eyes questioning. 

 

"It’s not exactly their business?" Jimin flails for an excuse, feeling something ugly churn in his stomach. Yeah maybe he hadn’t really mentioned his training sessions to his friends but — they wouldn’t understand, he reasons with himself. 

 

"Aren’t they people you hang out with daily?" Yoongi backs away, his eyes cold. "Or are you to ashamed to mention this to your friends?"

 

"It’s not like that—“ Jimin tries, but Yoongi cuts him off with a raised hand. 

 

"After all that talk yesterday," Yoongi grimaces, shaking his head. "I’m sorry I don’t think I can continue these sessions with you, Park Jimin." He bites his lip, as though wanting to say more before walking away. 

 

Jimin wants to cry. Like actually cry, not just tears of humiliation or anger — tears of heartbreak. Because that’s how it feels, like his heart has been wrenched in two jagged pieces. The worst part is that he knows it’s not Yoongi’s fault, not entirely. Not when Jimin had made up this little bubble where only Yoongi and him existed, separate from the rest of the Camp. Where he let his romantic fantasies run rampant. 

 

The reality, he realises as he wipes his tears, is drastically different. 

 

Surprisingly, life goes on. 

 

Yoongi makes himself absolutely scarce, only ever noticeable during dinner time, tucked away in one corner of the Hades table. Jimin manages to impress the class in dagger throwing practice, so much so that Seokjin gleefully pushes him into an advanced class — saying that the kind of skills Jimin has need to be honed. Taehyung gives him an extra long hug every night before bed, and shares his ice cream every time it’s available at dinner. 

 

Joohyun corners him one day, hair pulled up into a sleek ponytail, asking him for the name of the 'heathen who broke his heart'. Jimin laughs, but then admits that he wasn’t entirely innocent in this. Joohyun sighs and gives him a quick hug, a cloud of mint and flowery perfume as she tells him that he’s still young and he’s allowed to make mistakes. 

 

"Talk to him, though," Joohyun advises, "otherwise you’ll regret it."

 

And Jimin only sighs, because she’s right. And he tries, he really does, but Yoongi must be really good at not wanting to be found because Jimin doesn’t chance upon the elder until the day he’s pulling his bags out of his cabin with loud promises to Taehyung that yes of course he'll stay in touch, he's always stayed in touch geez, Tae. 

 

Yoongi is standing to the side, reassuring someone. As he walks closer, Jimin realises it’s the other Hades cabin resident — a short, doe eyed boy who couldn’t be older than thirteen. He nods resolutely at Yoongi, mumbling something under his breath that gets him a laugh from the elder before hurries away. 

 

Jimin feels nerves flare up as Yoongi turns to him, expression blank but he psyches himself up and makes his way over, knowing that he may never get this chance again. 

 

"On your way back?" Yoongi greets him warily.  

 

Jimin nods. "What about you?" 

 

"I applied to the Demigod Habilitation Program," Yoongi reveals, hands tucked into the pockets of sweatshirt. "I got accepted."  

 

Jimin gawks at the information. The DHP is a recently set up organisation, responsible for locating underage demigods and granting them safe passage to their safe houses all over the country. They recruit only the best and most capable. 

 

"That’s amazing hyung!" Jimin congratulates, a grin making its way on to his face. "I’m so proud of you!"

 

"Thanks," Yoongi finally looks him in the eye. "It’s because of you — um, what you said. About making an effort. So thank you—"

 

"I should be apologising," Jimin interrupts, "I should have— 

 

"We’re both at fault here. Why don’t we just move on?" Yoongi cuts him off, hesitant. 

 

Jimin shrugs, because honestly, he had a lot to say — a jumbled mess of apologies, a confession, more congratulations — maybe it was better to just move on. He glances at Yoongi and nods, aware that the older boy doesn’t want to talk about it. Maybe its for the best. 

 

"See you then, Park Jimin." Yoongi flashes him a rare smile, before slowly making his way back. 

 

"See you, hyung." Jimin echoes with a sigh, feeling relieved and regretful all at once, fist clenched by his side. 

 


 

Min Yoongi is Jimin’s first love. Returning to camp as a revitalised and confident sixteen year old, Park Jimin has one goal, and one goal only - to ask out the boy of his dreams. It takes all of seven minutes of walking up to the Hades cabin that summer and one awkward conversation with the now sole resident of the cabin, Jeongguk, to spill water all over Jimin's carefully laid plans. Yoongi isn’t back at camp, apparently his trial run with the DHP was so impressive that they wanted him to start early. 

 

Images of Yoongi living this fabulous and independent adult life plague Jimin's mind and he realises that once again he had let himself fall into this idealistic bubble, where Yoongi would be waiting for him and everything would just work out splendidly and he’d have this perfect summer romance. 

 

So Jimin let’s Min Yoongi go, and just like with all first loves, all that remains is a tiny memory in Jimin's brain that resurfaces whenever he meets any one who looks a bit too familiar to Yoongi and his all black aesthetic. 

 

As the years go by, Jimin dates all kinds of people and gets into all sorts of relationships — short flings, casual stints, long term — never shying away from plunging headfirst into a relationship no matter what. He continues to learn about himself — what he likes and what he doesn’t, what’s good for him and what’s bad, when to get involved and when to back off. He learns when you need to prioritise your relationship and when you need to prioritise other things, like your education, especially when you’re in your final year of undergrad in medicine. 

 

It’s funny, when he thinks about it sometimes, how he opted for medicine as a degree in a fit of anger because some of the kids back at camp said that children of Aphrodite could never go into "serious occupations". 

 

He’d regretted all his decisions one week into the first semester. 

 

But there was a strange fulfilment in the field, the kind that filled a thirst for knowledge he never knew he had. Somehow he made it work, all four years of it. 

 

The question stares at him in the face while his professor drones on in class, 'what now?' What did he want to specialise in? Where did he want to start working? How? Was this enough? How much further did he want to go? 

 

The bell ringing knocks him out of his reverie, and with a deep sigh, Jimin starts packing his bag to leave. He nods goodbye to his friends in the department as he leaves. There are barely any demigods in medicine — the ADHD doesn’t exactly help if he’s honest. His own circle of demigod friends has reduced over the years too.

 

He still has Taehyung, how could he not? Best friend and roommate even after all these years. He still has Eunwoo and Sungwoon and he keeps up with Jennie, and Joohyun texts occasionally. He’s friends with other humans too, hell some of his exes were human — but it’s just harder to let people in the older he gets. 

 

Taehyung calls him jaded, but Taehyung also calls him short even though Jimin is five seven and he’s done enough research to prove that he’s above average height so really Taehyung isn’t the most credible source. Besides, he’s an art student, and what to they know? 

 

Jimin gets off at his stop, smiling at the old lady standing near the door as he slips on his sunglasses. It's almost evening, but the sun is still strong as summer approaches. And so does graduation, his mind unhelpfully supplies. 

 

He shakes his head, face scrunched up at the thought. As a reflex, his fingers move to fiddle with the ring on his left hand, a chunky, silver piece of jewellery that transforms into a deadly dagger at command. Jimin’s aim is excellent now, even though he does say so himself. The dagger was a lucky find, specially charmed to return to him no matter the distance. Jimin adored it. He had an entire slew of thinner rings as well that could turn into tiny sharp blades. Jimin was always equipped for any attack - he’d met more monsters in his first month at university than he had all his life at Camp. 

 

He walked down the street to their apartment building, a small smile on his face at the thought of a relaxing evening at home. Taehyung was away on an overnight trip with his art class and Jimin absolutely needed to take advantage of that. 

 

It’s the sound of angry cursing that pulls Jimin’s attention to the corner alley - he’s barely ever noticed it before. The muffled almost un-human snarling fills a sense of dread in his stomach, but Jimin ventures forth, eyes widening as he catches sight of a large tentacled monster pummelling another person into the ground. 

 

Adrenaline rushes through his body and Jimin zeros in on the monster’s eyes, quickly slipping off his ring and launching the dagger while the monster is still preoccupied. The monster screeches as it pierces through its left eye, narrowing its sights on Jimin. It’s fast as it darts down the alley to swing a tentacle at Jimin, who barely dodges, pulling off more of his rings to rain down on the monster’s abdomen. 

 

The monster screeches in pain, allowing Jimin to back away as a large sword suddenly appears and cleanly slices its neck off. 

 

The remains of the body disintegrate into dust, allowing the mysterious figure to lock eyes with Jimin. 

 

They both startle, easily recognising one another despite the eight years they’ve spent apart. 

 

Min Yoongi’s hair is black now, eyes piercing and jawline sharper. He’s muscular, from all those years of fighting monsters, and just as tall as Jimin. He radiates an aura that’s equal parts intimidating and confident, helped by the form fitting black shirt and cargo pants, and the huge ass sword in his grasp. 

 

“You're not fifteen anymore,” is what Yoongi blurts out, voice raspy. Jimin can’t help but let out a surprised chuckle. There are many ways he imagined their interaction could have gone, but Yoongi staring at him, mildly awestruck? There’s no way he could have predicted this. 

 

“It’s nice to see you again, Yoongi hyung,” Jimin greets, easily recovering from his gawking. 

 

“It’s nice to see you after all this time too, Park Jimin.” Yoongi finally looks him in the eye. “I see you’ve kept up with daggers.”

 

“I’m really good actually,” Jimin can’t help but want to showoff a little. “Apparently the real world is scary and I should be able to protect myself. Or at least that’s what some grumpy teenager told me years ago.”

 

Yoongi lets out a proper laugh at that, which quickly turns into a wince as he rolls up the sleeve of his shirt to inspect the long gash on his forearm. “Oh fuck,” he mumbles to himself, lightly touching the scratch on his cheek. “Those three really did a number on me.”

 

Three?” Jimin exclaims, eyes wide at the thought of Yoongi taking on several of those terrifying monsters. 

 

Yoongi sends him a small smirk. “I don’t suppose you have any Ambrosia do you? Mine ran out.”

 

Jimin always carries a packet for emergencies, but a sneaky plan takes root in his brain instead. “I have some at home and I live across the road. I could treat your injuries too, and I'm sure you need the rest.”

 

“I really wouldn’t want to impose.” Yoongi hesitates. 

 

“You wouldn’t.” Jimin lets the slightest amount of whine slip into his tone. He’s just gotten his hands on Min Yoongi, there’s no way he’s letting him go so easily. No way. 

 

To his surprise, Yoongi nods and with a placid smile allows himself to be led across the street and up the elevator to Jimin’s flat. Jimin works fast, bringing out their first aid kit as well as a bottle of Ambrosia to place on the kitchen counter. 

 

It’s not quite a romcom scenario where Jimin cleans Yoongi’s wounds and they gaze into each other’s eyes for an uncomfortable amount of time. Jimin busies himself in starting up the coffee machine, while Yoongi diligently disinfects his wounds. A little bit of Ambrosia and the bruises on his face have all but disappeared and there’s some colour in his cheeks again. 

 

He settles down on a chair against the counter with a sigh of relief.

 

“D’you want some sugar with this?” Jimin asks as he sets down their glasses of iced coffee, heaping a generous amount of sugar and milk into his own. 

 

Yoongi shakes his head, raising an eyebrow at Jimin’s shocked expression. 

 

“That is absolutely disgusting, Min Yoongi.” Jimin exclaims, eyes wide. “I’m a med student and even I don’t live like this!”

 

“Hey, hunting monsters is exhausting!” Yoongi complains, eyes scrunched up and the smallest hint of a pout on his lips. Jimin kind of wants to coo. 

 

“You’re a med student?” The elder continues, impressed. “That’s very cool.”

 

Jimin rakes a hand through his hair self consciously as he laughs. “It’s not fighting monsters though.”

 

“Oh hush,” Yoongi chastises him, and its all so familiar — his tone so reminiscent to how it used to be all those summers ago. Jimin’s lips quirk up at the memory. 

 

“Isn’t Hoseok hyung also in the same line of work with you?”

 

“Oh yeah, but his work is more taking care of the kids and less hunting down monsters. He’s really good with them. I forget you guys are friends.”

 

“We lost touch when I got into university. I miss him actually.” Jimin grimaces, once again mentally chastising himself for all but throwing himself into his studies to the point where he lost contact with so many of his friends. 

 

“Hmm, we should meet. All of us, I mean. You can bring Taehyung, and I’ll bring Hoseok. And Jin hyung too. I'  sure you remember him.” Yoongi suggests openly. 

 

“Ahhh, god its been so long, how has he been?” Jimin rests his head on his palm. 

 

“He’s good, he teaches actually." Yoongi reveals, tilting his head to one side. "Are you free this weekend?”

 

Jimin pretends to think it over. “I probably am.”

 

Numbers are exchanged and a phone call from his supervisor has Yoongi quickly leaving with a hurried goodbye. Jimin lets himself slump down on the counter, cheek first. Min Yoongi back in his life? Who would have thought?

 


 

You have a crush.” The words are out of Taehyung’s mouth as soon as he catches sight of Jimin the next morning. Jimin had briefly updated his best friend, how could he have not, but Taehyung didn’t have to read so much into it. Jimin was twenty three, he didn’t just develop crushes on people on the very first meeting. 

 

“I do not, I barely even know him.” He insists, stabbing his fork into the salad he was having for lunch in a fit of annoyance. 

 

“You’ve known him for years.” Taehyung reminds him, flinging his backpack on the couch as he sits down besides Jimin, immediately snuggling up to him and dropping a head on his shoulder. 

 

“He’s changed.” Jimin mumbles, stuffing an entire piece of lettuce in his mouth for the sake of it. 

 

“Isn't that good?” Taehyung counters, sneaking a piece of cucumber into his mouth. “And you admitted it, he’s hot now. So you’re at least attracted to him. And since we’re meeting up, I’m guessing that means you’re interested. And so is he?”

 

Jimin rolls his eyes at the notion, because that is a tall wall he has built in his mind and he does not want to cross it. “Can we not get ahead of ourselves? I could barely understand what’s going on in his head back then.”

 

“Park Jimin, can you have a little confidence in yourself? Please?” Taehyung glares at him, shaking his dark curls out of eyes. 

 

“What happened to your loverboy? Did you finally get his name?” Jimin snickers, a desperate bid to change the subject.

“I did, but since you’re being a little shit I’m not going to tell you. We even shared a tent last night.” Taehyung brags, arms crossed against his chest, face smug as he flops forward letting himself get comfortable with his head on Jimin’s lap and legs on the armrest.

 

Jimin groans. 

 


 

The meet-up ends up being the bright light at the end of a very shitty week for Jimin, overloaded with term papers and lab reports and last minute quizzes to study for. That Saturday, he lets himself go, taking out the time to take a nice, hot shower and carefully style his dark hair. He picks out something that could be deemed as casual in his books, black skinny jeans and a comfy grey sweater. The usual rings are slipped on, you could never be too careful, and a simple pendant necklace for the sake of it — and he’s ready. 

 

At exactly eight, Taehyung and him leave the complex and take the train to the restaurant Yoongi had texted him the location of. They are led to a private room, with comfortable chairs placed around a wooden table. 

 

“Park Jimin!” Hoseok is the first to yell, scrambling out of his seat to pull Jimin into an enthusiastic hug. Jimin smiles into it, any nerves he’d had about tonight instantly soothed by Hoseok’s positive energy. 

 

“It’s great to see you too, hyung.” Jimin chuckles, leaning away. “All of you actually.” He smiles as he makes eye contact with Yoongi who was comfortably slumped in one corner, clad in his trademark baggy sweatshirt. He also smiles at Seokjin, who grins at him knowingly and the person seated besides him. 

 

Once they’d taken a seat, introductions are done, from Taehyung to Namjoon — who was also Seokjin’s boyfriend. The sudden slam of the door interrupts them, allowing Jin to chime in and announce, “Ah yes, the youngest finally makes an appearance —“

 

“Jeonggukkie?” Taehyung cuts in, surprised. 

 

Jimin eyes the person who had entered — tall and well built, curly dark hair, doe eyes — wait, he knows this kid. His mind flashes back to the other resident of the Hades cabin he’d once had a conversation with. Huh, what a strange coincidence. 

 

Jeongguk smiles toothily at Taehyung’s reaction, dropping his bag and sketchbook on the floor to sit besides the boy. 

 

“When you said you wanted to see me outside class, I didn’t think this is what you meant.” He teases as Taehyung blushes, much to Jimin’s surprise. He kind of wants to coo because  this is so adorable and much better than he could have expected. 

 

“Ah, is this who you were telling us about?” Yoongi questions the youngest, a knowing glint in his eyes. 

 

“Oh, Jeonggukkie, you didn’t mention he was so cute—“

 

Jeongguk throws a chopstick at Jin’s face, flushing beet red. Jimin smirks, because oh this is going to be so much fun. Yoongi notices his expression, and to his surprise, responds with an evil grin of his own. 

 

They settle into a very conformable group dynamic, with Seokjin and Yoongi grilling the meat for everyone and spoiling the hell out of Jeongguk, Taehyung and Jimin. 

 

“You’re the only ones still in university,” Seokjin argues, piling more meat on Jimin’s plate. “Therefore, babies.”

 

“Yah, that’s not fair, I’ll be studying for years with the degree I have!” Jimin whines, pleasantly tipsy. “And besides, Hoseok hyung and Namjoon hyung are barely a year older.”

 

“Jin hyung is just being polite and saying you’re hopeless, Jiminnie.” Yoongi teases him, all gummy smiles and scrunched up cheeks. 

 

Jimin feels his own cheeks heating up for some reason and quickly looks away. It’s like he’s fifteen all over again. 

 

He lets himself fall back into conversation with the others, but his eyes occasionally stray to Yoongi, softening every time. He can’t help it, there’s just something so magnetic about the boy. Yoongi with his hair pushed back, sword on his back, eyes sharp and just all around powerful. Yoongi with his bangs falling into his face, a healthy flush on his cheeks as he laughs, engulfed in baggy clothing. Yoongi in his scuffed black clothes, a permanent slouch to his gait, dark circles in his eyes despite being only seventeen years old. 

 

Jimin sighs, because it’s all so different now. He can no longer hide behind the guise of a teenage crush. It’s not just oh I want to reconnect with this guy I used to like. There’s so much fascinating about this new Min Yoongi that entices Jimin, makes him want to get to know the guy better. The glow up helps too, to be honest. 

 

At some point the group decides to make their way home, Yoongi and Hoseok heading off in one direction and, Namjoon and Seokjin the other. Jeongguk insists on walking them home, saying they’re close to his place anyways — but the gentle arm he wraps around Taehyung's shoulders suggests otherwise. It makes Jimin feel warm inside, the fact that there seems to be someone in Taehyung's life who looks at him like he hung the stars in the sky. Jimin falls into bed with a  drunken flush and a smile on his face.

 

They text occasionally, in between Jimin's lectures and lab sessions, and Yoongi’s stakeouts and hunting adventures. But it never goes beyond general friendliness, something that confuses Jimin. Normally he would’ve treated Yoongi like any potential love interest and laid down the charm — maybe even squeezed out a date if things worked out. But with Yoongi, he’s just anxious about saying the wrong thing, or scaring him off. For once, Jimin wants to take it slow. 

 

Taehyung only laughs at him, gleeful after having made things official with Jeongguk. It’s one night when he’s away at Jeongguk's place and Jimin is snuggling on the couch, a blanket around his shoulders and wire-rimed glasses perched on his nose as he goes over his report that rapid knocks rain down on his door. 

 

Jimin startles, grabbing his dagger as he races over to the door. It’s Yoongi, banged up and bruised, but what’s worrying is the bundle of bloody blankets in his arms. 

 

"I need your help," he pants desperately. "Please."

 

Jimin only nods, stepping aside to let them in as he grabs his first aid box. When he comes back into the kitchen, he’s greeted with a shocking sight. Perched on his counter is a tiny girl with a large gash on her forehead. She’s crying silent tears, hand tightly holding on to Yoongi's sleeve. 

 

"The medics got delayed, I had no choice." Yoongi's voice is thick with emotion. "I just—“

 

Jimin places a hand on his arm. "I’m here." He murmurs, moving closer to the girl, who automatically flinches. Jimin takes a deep breath and tries again, trying to slip some enticement and comfort into his tone. 

 

"I’m Jimin, I’m here to help, I promise." 

 

"I’m Soojin." The girl responds, locking eyes with him. 

 

"Soojin, I need you to be a brave girl for me, can you do that?" Jimin keeps his tone pleasant, encouraging Soojin to relax and trust him. 

 

Jimin carefully starts to clean up the blood around her forehead, occasionally using the tweezers to pick out any debris. It’s as he’s applying disinfectant does he realise why Yoongi brought her to him. 

 

"She needs stitches." Jimin mumbles a few curses under his breathe. "Yoongi hyung I can’t—“

 

"Please, Jimin." Yoongi sounds desperate.

 

With a deep exhale, he carefully feeds Soojin some Ambrosia before beginning the daunting task of stitching her cut. His mind seems to be working on overload even when he’s finished, backing away and pulling the tired girl into his arms as he leads her to Taehyung's vacant bed for some much needed sleep. 

 

Jimin quietly busies himself in closing the first aid box, still refusing to believe that he just stitched up a child's head. He feels overwhelmed. 

 

Yoongi gently places an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a hug. "You did well, Park Jimin."

 

Jimin shakes his head. "I could’ve messed up so easily hyung, I’ve never been so terrified before."

 

"But you didn’t mess up," Yoongi starts stroking his hair. It’s warm and grounding in Yoongi's arms, his hold tight around Jimin's waist. Jimin wants to melt into his embrace. 

 

“How did it happen?” He mumbles into Yoongi’s shirt. 

 

Yoongi’s voice is soothing in his ear. “We keep an eye on demigod children in orphanages and foster homes and schools, so when we got the call that one of them was missing — they dispatched a bunch of us to find her. By the time I got to her, she was badly hurt but the monster was hiding and managed to attack me out of nowhere. I called the medics but her situation was getting critical and they were waylaid — I just figured your place would be closer.”

 

“I was just thinking about getting her to safety.” Yoongi’s voice breaks. 

 

“You did the best you could, okay.” Jimin itches to comfort him as well. “She’s fine now.”

 

At some point they find themselves on the couch, still pressed together. It’s bizarre —these two weeks have been absolutely insane. It makes Jimin let out a small chuckle. 

 

"I can’t believe after all this time, this is where we end up." He admits at Yoongi's questioning look. 

 

“We probably would have been on better terms had I not shut you out that day.” Yoongi grumbles, placing his hand on top of Jimin’s. 

 

“Oh hyung, its not your fault, we were both very immature back then.” Jimin placates, feeling giddy as he slowly tangles their fingers together. 

 

“Yes, but I had this habit of just absolutely refusing to communicate or deal with feelings. I guess I just didn’t want to have to listen to what you had to say that day and understand how you felt. I regretted it for ages. I’m sorry.” Yoongi squeezes his palm, eyes regretful. 

 

“I just wanted to apologise, you know. I knew that I had treated you wrongly and I wanted to make amends. And congratulate you of course.” Jimin bites his lip, wondering if he should add more. Oh what the hell, why not. “And confess.”

 

What?” 

 

“Fifteen year old Jimin had the biggest crush on you, did you really not realise?” Jimin teases, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“Um, I mean you did blush a lot around me, but,” Yoongi grapples for words, scratching the back of his head. “I really only saw you as this cute little kid back then. You would’ve not wanted to date me at seventeen with all my unnecessary pessimism and anger.”

 

Jimin laughs at that, just how aware of those words ring true. “But you’re not like that anymore.”

 

“Neither are you.” Yoongi counters, side eyeing him. “And I mean that in the best way possible.”

 

Jimin can’t help but smile, feeling his face heat up as he avoids Yoongi’s eyes. They stay there on the couch, talking about random things until they fall asleep curled up into one another. Jimin wakes up the next morning, one foot falling off the couch, the other tucked in between Yoongi’s legs, the older boy’s arms tightly wrapped around his body. 

 

Jimn squeezes his eyes shut as Yoongi gently moves, slowly waking up. Why couldn’t Yoongi have been a deep sleeper and let Jimin enjoy this to his hearts content? Over the past twelve hours, Jimin has come to the conclusion that Yoongi’s arms are a place he is very comfortable in and if he had the option, would never leave. 

 

He tries to keep his breathing normal as Yoongi carefully untangles himself from Jimin and tries to get off the couch. Its quite a challenge considering that fact that Jimin was lying on the open end and Yoongi was practically crushed in between the cushions and Jimin's body, but he manages. 

 

Instantly feeling cold, Jimin gently props himself up, a small pout making its way on his face unintentionally. 

 

“Oh hey, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Yoongi’s morning voice is deliciously raspy, the kind that makes Jimin feel all tingly inside. 

 

“It’s fine.” Jimin croaks, feeling the soreness in his back. Why did they think the couch was a good idea again?

 

“I really overstayed my welcome.” Yoongi starts, rubbing his eyes. 

 

“Oh nonsense,” Jimin cuts in, standing up. In his haste to do so, he forgets to untangle the blanket around his legs, which causes him to trip and fall right into Yoongi. The elder is quick to react, tightly grabbing on to Jimin’s shoulders. Despite that, they end up falling right back on to the couch, Yoongi on top of Jimin. 

 

Jimin blinks at the close proximity, he could probably count every single one of Yoongi’s eyelashes from here. 

 

Yoongi seems to be just as shocked, pupils wildly darting from Jimin’s lips to his eyes. But he doesn’t move away. The subtle tension between them is far more charged now, almost electric. Jimin wants this and Yoongi seems to be having the same idea as he moves closer. 

 

A terrible thought enters Jimin’s mind then, and he moves his gaze from Yoongi’s lips to his dark eyes. 

 

“Hyung, you want to kiss me right?” He whispers. Yoongi blushes slightly, but nods. 

 

Jimin allows himself to smile. “Me too.”

 

“But,” He continues, sliding away and grabbing on to Yoongi’s hand. “Our first kiss should be after we brush our teeth.”

 

He refuses to look at Yoongi and its a sordid affair as they quickly squeeze out toothpaste, brush their teeth and rinse their mouths. Jimin teasingly takes forever to wipe his mouth dry, to the point that Yoongi scowls, leaning close to wrap his hands around Jimin’s waist and pull him flush against his body. 

 

Jimin drops the towel in surprise, and Yoongi grins at his flustered expression before gently pressing their lips together. Jimin smiles into it, wrapping his hands around Yoongi’s neck. Yoongi leans away to drop a soft kiss to his nose and then his cheek. 

 

“Go out with me?” He asks in between Jimin’s giggling. Jimin nods, pressing a quick kiss of his own to Yoongi’s cheek. They smile at each other like idiots for a bit until Soojin wakes up and Yoongi realises he should probably take her back to the orphanage. 

 

“Min Yoongi, don’t forget to call me!” Jimin yells as they’re leaving. 

 

Yoongi looks back, a big smile on his face. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy this time, Park Jimin.”

Notes:

now that the reveals are out, I just wanted to add that I’m super greatful to have gotten the chance to write in this fest (my first!!) and I would love it if you also checked out my other fics!