Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jungkook was not a shy traveler. He’d been to plenty of new places in his young life, twenty-three and grateful for every opportunity. He’d traveled with family, with friends, with his school, with an ex-boyfriend who’s presence only soured the trip a little bit. He’d never traveled alone before this, but after two long months in America, he felt seasoned.

His academic advisor was simultaneously the oldest and coolest person he had ever met, and had let Jungkook run free with the most incredible self-study project imaginable - formally titled Performing Throughout America: The Development and Diversity of Dance and Music Throughout the United States and informally titled Jeon Jungkook Learns Some Sick Ass Moves and Takes Really Aesthetic Pics for Instagram. He began with the West Coast staples of music history - Seattle’s punk, San Francisco’s metal, L.A.’s… everything, seemingly. He’d flown into Atlanta, next, working his way up the East Coast. Atlanta’s hip hop scene had been his favorite and it had been almost hard to pick up and move on, but New Orleans’s Creole and Cajun (music and food) and Nashville’s country had made up for it. He hoped his next stop - jazzy Baltimore - would keep up the good streak.

He’d rented a car for the East part of his trip, embracing the opportunity to take the scenic route.

It was wild to him how quickly the American landscape shifted almost every other mile. He’d traveled through miles and miles of farmland, passing so many rows of corn that it almost made his vision swim; he’d driven through a Louisiana swamp, going over a bridge that was so old and rickety he screamed under his breath the entire time he passed over it; he’d stopped at overlooks dotted alongside deep canyons, staring out at it all and marveling about how lucky he was to live on this world, and even luckier that he was afforded the opportunity to see it.

He thought this leg of the journey might be his favorite yet. The hilly mountains of Appalachia were unlike anything he’d ever seen. Summer had made the mountains lush, so green that he was half-sure the grass itself would light up in the dark. There were so many cicadas; it took him forever to get used to the sound at the bed and breakfast he stayed at the night before, but once he did, he started to wish the sound would follow him home. Sundown had painted the countryside like some classic watercolor that sold for hundreds of billions of won and sunrise would have gone for about the same.

It was all so beautiful and quiet and the perfect place for Jungkook to feel introspective and at peace, the perfect place to feel so content to drive up steep hills and down stomach-rolling slopes, never seeing the end of the road ahead.

It was not the perfect place for his car to break down.

Jungkook felt like crying. He had filled his car up just over an hour ago at a gas station he hadn’t even been sure was opened until the pump read his card because he knew there wouldn’t be another for miles. He’d only passed one since then, in the last town he drove through, and that must have been - fuck, it must have been over half an hour ago, at least thirty miles back, no way in hell he could walk that far, and he had no idea how far away the next town was and it would probably be dark by the time he got there and then what would he do? 

He slumped against the bumper, thumbing through the manual again in the hopes that the answer would magically jump out at him. And that he’d magically be able to read it. He regretted not taking some very, very specific English lessons about mechanics before he left Korea. He peeked into the hood and groaning when it offered no hints as to what the fuck was wrong. He was taking it on such a fun drive! Letting it see so many cool things! The least it could do was do him a favor and start working again.

He pulled out his phone just in case - no. Of course not. Still no service, even two minutes after he last checked.

He wasn’t surprised. There were woods on either side of him, ancient trees stretching up and covering up most of the sunlight, sunlight that was becoming dim much too quickly for Jungkook’s tastes. He glanced around nervously, trying to see if any monsters had snuck up since he last checked. It was only a matter of time.

He was fine traveling alone - he loved traveling alone. But god, it would have been great to have someone else to share this horrible forty-five minutes with. He felt his heart sink as he realized just how long it had been. Forty-five minutes and not a single person had driven past him on this windy narrow road.

At least it was summer and he wouldn’t freeze if he slept in the car. Not that he would sleep, either eaten by monsters or too scared of monsters eating him to attempt it.

The rumble of an engine somewhere over the hill almost made Jungkook scream, mind too full of monsters to think it might be anything else, but when a beat-up red pickup truck appeared he felt hope soar through him almost painfully. It was a really great time to be overly trusting of strangers.

He didn’t need to wave it down for the truck to stop beside him, though he was sure his wide-eyed staring-at-saviors look had the same effect.

The passenger side window rolled down jerkily, hand-cranked by the most handsome, most unexpectedly Korean man Jungkook had seen in a good long while. Another stranger poked his head around from the driver’s side, a worn cowboy hat on his head and heart-shaped sunglasses over his eyes. Too much of a beautiful enigma to be real.

“Uh,” Jungkook got out. He might not have even got it out, too taken aback by this - angel? This demon? This monster trickster come to lure him to his Appalachian death? But his mouth had opened, and the intention of making some sort of noise was there.

“Hey, there,” the handsome stranger said. “Need a hand?”

“Yes,” Jungkook breathed out. He really was close to crying now, overwhelmed by relief and only a little bit convinced he was living in a madness-driven mirage. “Oh my god, yes, please, thank you—”

If Jungkook’s relief was making him dizzy, it was nothing to how he felt when handsome grinned and got out of the truck. He was in a tight white shirt, tight enough that Jungkook wasn’t sure how it managed to contain pecs - or his biceps for that matter, his arms big enough that Jungkook wasn’t sure that both hands would fit around one. The red flannel shirt tied around his waist would be a gem for some street fashion aficionado in Hongdae, as would his work-worn jeans and Timberlands that were clearly not worn just for aesthetics.

God. He was a wet dream. Jungkook’s poor little queer heart could barely stand to look at him for too long. Thankfully, he was freed by the man’s spell as he turned to look under the hood - though that just meant Jungkook had a view of his ass, and oh my god—

“Well,” handsome said after poking around at the engine for a moment. “Your coolant’s a little off, must have overheated. Going uphill takes a lot out of a car, ‘specially in heat like this.”

“He can’t drive for shit but he knows what he’s talking about,” the driver said cheerfully. Handsome rolled his eyes and wiped his hands on his flannel, not giving much care to the oil that rubbed off on it. “Where you coming from, baby?”

Jungkook nearly choked. Baby. He felt his face go even more red than before, flustered. “Uh—Seoul? Wait, no, Atlanta—”

“Seoul, huh?” handsome asked before switching to Korean, giving Jungkook another reason to cry. “Would you be more comfortable speaking Korean?”

Jungkook’s shoulders sank, tension melting out of them all at once, words coming easier, if no less frantic, in a familiar tongue. “Oh my god, thank you, thank you for fixing this, thank you—”

“I haven’t fixed anything yet,” he laughed, clapping Jungkook on the shoulder. 

He was strong enough that Jungkook couldn’t help but move, couldn’t help but be moved. He felt weak in more ways than one.

“We’re headed into town,” he continued, nodding towards the truck and Where you coming from, baby? inside. “Why don’t we drive you in, get you some coolant and something to eat. Calm your nerves a little bit.”

Jungkook winced. “Is it that obvious?”

The man laughed and clapped him on the shoulder again, and Jungkook didn’t pass out, but if he had, he felt it would have been entirely justified. “Come on. It’s a tight squeeze but I reckon it’s better than burning up out here.”

Jungkook slid into the middle of the row seat, ducking his head and doing his best to avoid touching the driver. If handsome was intimidating, beautiful was almost ethereally more so. He didn’t have much of a choice to be pressed against them both when the door closed behind handsome, the old truck forcing them into tight quarters. Handsome was the biggest of them all, but Jungkook was by no means petite. Still, he tried to give them both their space.

Handsome must have noticed because he grinned, putting his arm around the back of Jungkook’s seat, allowing him to press against him a little more.

“Well,” he said as Jungkook wriggled a little, glad to at least give one of them some freedom from himself. “I should probably introduce myself ‘fore I let you climb in my lap, huh? Namjoon Kim.”

Any squawk of embarrassment was absorbed by the amusement that struck him. “Namjoon Kim, huh? I’m Jeon Jungkook.”

-

It wasn’t long before they got into town. Kimberly, Kentucky, the sign read. Population: 316. Jesus. 316 people lived in Jungkook’s apartment building in Seoul - 316 people lived on the first five floors of his apartment building in Seoul. Kimberly, Kentucky was a speck on the map, and somehow Namjoon Kim (and Taehyung Kim, beautiful cowboy-hat-heart-shades) lived there.

Taehyung let them out in front of the market (Jungkook knew it was a market, because it said nothing but Market on the front awning in fading, hand-painted letters. Jungkook bowed low to Taehyung after getting out, thanking him profusely in slightly-lispy English until Namjoon patted him on the back with a grin, waving at Taehyung through the window.

“Nice meeting you, Jungkook,” Taehyung grinned, throwing up a peace sign. “Joon, give me a holler.”

Jungkook bowed again as he drove off down the road, only straightening when he heard Namjoon’s laugh and felt his hand on his back again. “Enough of that, come on.”

Namjoon led him into the market - it was clearly all-purpose, with a good few aisles of groceries and another few that were a hodgepodge ranging from cleaning products to souvenieresque trinkets. Everything was from some innocuous brand Jungkook had never seen before, but he was hardly in a place to be choosy, even if it was a normal, not-stranded-in-the-hills day.

“So—” he said, clearing his throat and looking at the shelves. He was pretty sure he was being sly, maybe even suave. “Are you and Taehyung married?”

He didn’t expect Namjoon to choke out a laugh so hard that he dropped the bottle of coolant he’d just picked up, practically howling as he tried to collect himself from the thought. “Me and Taehyung? No. God, no.”

Jungkook knew he was blushing and tried to cover it up by picking the bottle up, pretending to read the label like he was unaffected by Namjoon’s reaction. Not that it was a bad reaction, he supposed. Namjoon could still be married, sure, but there was one less person in the world Jungkook would hold quiet envy for.

“We’re neighbors,” Namjoon said once he cleared his throat, still grinning wide. God, he was charming. “He owns the farm next to mine, we’re just picking up feed. It’s easier in a truck than by hand, for sure.”

“Oh,” Jungkook said in what he was sure was a normal, non-awkward, non-pleased manner. “I see.”

He had to stop Namjoon from pulling out his wallet when he got to the register and Namjoon almost got one over on him when Jungkook caught sight of the man behind the counter.

“Hi, there!” he said. He was so tan and freckly and had the prettiest smile Jungkook had ever seen.

“There are… a lot of Koreans… here?” Jungkook said. He was too thrown to chastise himself.

Hoseok laughed loud and bright. “Ah, it’s just one of those things. You’re Korean and you’re here, so—”

“Jungkook, Hoseok. Hoseok, Jungkook. His car broke down a couple miles out.”

Jungkook caught Namjoon just in time, quickly giving Hoseok his bank card with both hands before he could take the one Namjoon was trying to subtly slide over.

Hoseok grinned widely at the interaction, taking Jungkook’s card with a wink. “Ah, I wouldn’t trust Joon behind the wheel but he knows his engines well enough.”

“Is that a thing?” Jungkook asked, glancing at Namjoon with furrowed brows. “You not driving?”

Namjoon shrugged. “It’s become a character trait.”

“Aish, what else could we make fun of him for? Look at him.” Hoseok said with a pout, gesturing to Namjoon’s whole being.

Jungkook understood. Namjoon went bright red. Jungkook understood more.

“You’re a nuisance,” Namjoon told Hoseok as he escorted Jungkook through the door. Jungkook was pretty sure he would have been able to tell if there was a single drop of vitriol in Namjoon’s kind, rumbly voice, but all he could hear was fondness.

Jungkook glanced back at the closing market door. Fondness. Hm. Namjoon’s hand between his shoulder blades brought him back from wondering about the country hunk’s love life.

“Kimberly Diner sound alright?” he asked. “It’d better, ‘cause that’s what we got.”

“That’s fine. This is a very—small town, isn’t it?” Jungkook laughed for half a second before his face fell, eyes going wide as he held onto Namjoon’s arm, quickly clarifying. “Not that it’s not a nice town! It’s a very nice town, Namjoon-ssi—”

Namjoon put his big, calloused hand over Jungkook’s, giving him a big, kind grin. “Now, if you’ve gotta give me honorifics at least let it be hyung.”

Jungkook felt close to death once more, with this handsome savior who was effectively holding his hand and telling him to be more intimate. “Okay,” he said, bowing his head to hide his blush. “Yes, hyung.”

Namjoon didn’t look offended when Jungkook jerked away, realizing how much of his personal space he had been invading. He already mourned the loss of Namjoon’s calloused touch, though it would have been taken away when Namjoon opened the diner door for him. Kimberly Diner was painted in what seemed to be the exact same faded, hand-painted lettering as the market. Some painter must have made a good wage one day fifty years ago.

It was past typical lunch hours but before dinner, and Kimberly Diner was, for the most part, empty. With the exception of himself and Namjoon as they slid into a booth, there seemed to be only one other customer - an old man at a table who was eating one fry per one answer in his big fonted book of crossword puzzles. Namjoon didn’t act like any of this was abnormal, so Jungkook didn’t either, just took the menu Namjoon handed him and scanned it quickly.

He’d gotten pretty good at most English menus over the past few months, and this wasn’t even a particularly intimidating one, but Jungkook still felt flustered as he looked it over. He quickly realized it wasn’t the food options that were throwing him off, but the quiet presence of the man across from him. He felt tight-chested and awkward just thinking about how hot Namjoon was, how unexpected and kind and the kind of fantasy man teenage-Jungkook could have never conceived of.

He tried to pull himself together and not say something embarrassing, but did not succeed. “What would you recommend?” he blurted out, like they were at a fancy restaurant and not somewhere with disposable plastic red gingham tablecloths.

Namjoon didn’t laugh, thankfully, just gave him a smile. “There’s nothing bad on the menu. You could prolly ask for something special and Jin’d make it up right away.”

“Do you know everyone here?”

Namjoon smiled wider. “Ah, just about. I grew up here for the most part. My father’s a doctor, did his early residency in a rural hospital outside of town—”

Jungkook couldn’t help but to sputter, “This isn’t rural?”

“Oh, it is, don’t worry! It can get pretty sparse outside town lines, though, little unincorporated areas that don’t have a hospital or nothing. But we moved here after he graduated medical school when I was a kid and—well. People leave often enough, but there’re plenty of familiar faces all around.”

Namjoon leaned close over the table, glancing at the man with the crosswords. Jungkook, all too captivated, leaned in, too.

“That’s my sixth grade teacher. He was supposed to just teach math but they were real short staffed that year and he got everything but science and P.E. Hoseok and I were in the same class and we ended up doing some sort of book club, something you’d see right out of a kid’s TV show, got the whole crowd around us discussing Redwall.”

Jungkook almost pouted when Namjoon straightened back up and looked out the window.

“Hobi’s family owned the grocery store since before we arrived. They moved to be closer to his sister when she had a baby but Hoseokie decided to stay. Thank god. He’s one of my closest friends. Tae’s a couple years younger than me, used to follow me and my friends round like a little puppy. He took over his grandmother’s farm a couple years ago when she started getting on in age so—I see that same little puppy face just about every other day. And Jin—”

“Namjoonie!” said the most beautiful man Jungkook had ever seen - and Jungkook had met Namjoon and Taehyung within the past hour. “My friend, my darling, my favorite—”

“What do you want, Jin?” Namjoon interrupted fondly.

Jin didn’t try to maintain innocent friendliness. “More wildflower honey? I’m almost out so I keep not using it but I’d really, really love some honey on toast.”

“You can text, you know?” Namjoon grinned.

“The pressure to comply isn’t there over text,” Jin dismissed, “it’s much better to ask for favors face to face.”

Jungkook was close to giggling about their conversation, but any thoughts evaporated when Jin caught sight of him.

“And who is this, Namjoonie?”

Namjoon seemed oblivious to Jungkook being looked over by a perfect siren who must be a mirage, smiling like his teeth were sharp enough to rip through him. “Oh, sh—pardon my manners, this is Jungkook, his car overheated a few miles out.”

The siren squinted at him a little and Jungkook hurried to bow his head, freeing himself from his gaze. “It’s nice to meet you, sir, thank you for having me—”

Jin was still squinting when he glanced back up, but any suspicion was erased with a bright, cheery smile. “You’re precious, Joon ought to keep you. Much too cute to let loose—aw, Joonie, look! He’s blushing!”

Whatever blush Jungkook was sure he had must have gone a million shades deeper at that, and Namjoon quickly hit Jin’s arm with one of the oversized menus. “Stop torturing the poor thing! He’s not gonna stay anywhere with you poking at him like that.”

Jin laughed, a surprisingly windshield-wiperesque sound. “I’ll make up for it when I feed him. What do you want, Jungkookie?”

Jungkook had just opened his mouth to speak when Jin interrupted. 

“Wait, no, no,” he said. “Do you have any allergies?”

Jungkook blinked. “No?”

“Great!” Jin beamed, walking off.

“You’re not gonna ask what I want?” Namjoon called after him.

Jin didn’t even bother turning around. “You’ll get what you get.”

Namjoon rolled his eyes but didn’t object further, putting the menus aside and sipping at his glass of water. Jungkook hadn’t even seen Jin put them down. “Well, that’s Jin. Can I ask you something, Jungkook?”

Jungkook blinked. He could ask him a million things and it wouldn’t make up for a single one of the kindnesses Namjoon had showed him so far. “Of course.”

“What’s a Seoullite like you doing here in the hills?”

“I’m studying in America,” Jungkook said, rubbing the back of his neck and giving him a bashful grin. He very carefully did not let himself continue, experience telling him that he absolutely would take any and all opportunities to infodump about his studies - they were his passions, performing and dance and just absorbing more and more about them, and it was almost painfully hard to reel himself back in. 

He knows he can be a bit much - god knows he’s been told he’s worse things than that - and the last thing he wants to do is to rant at this handsome country boy who’s being so kind.

Namjoon raised his brows. “Yeah? I’m guessing—environment something, right? Mountaintop removal, water pollution, hm—plain old agriculture?”

Jungkook shook his head. “Uh. Music, actually.”

He was caught off guard by the way Namjoon’s eyes lit up. “Music?”

“Um—” Jungkook rubbed his hands on his thighs, already feeling himself slipping away after one word. “Yeah. I’m studying performance, uh, right now it’s mostly production and style but I was just in Atlanta and spent a week learning about hip hop but with more of a focus on dance? I’m really interested in the art form, you know, and how some parts shift and some stay the same as it travels from its origin. Like, Atlanta hip hop is so much different than the Seoul scene, and Seoul retained key elements but then you look at performers there and it’s so—full? I’m not sure how else to describe it, in a way that’s rare to see in Korea. And then there’s so much actual history that you can just hear in the music, you know? It’s really—”

He saw the way Namjoon was looking at him, all focused on Jungkook and his ramblings, and stopped mid-sentence.

He ducked his head to hide his blush, though he was sure his traitorous ears were red, too. “I’m sorry, Namjoon-ssi. I get excited.”

Namjoon was quiet for long enough that Jungkook glanced up, even though seeing annoyance on his face would sting much worse than just imagining it. But Namjoon was looking at him so—softly, intrigued, almost, an expression Jungkook wasn’t used to. “You’re something else, aren’t you, Jungkook?”

“I—” Jungkook rubbed his red cheek. “I guess, for better or for worse.”

“For better,” Namjoon reassured him. “I, ah. I actually dabble in production a little, I like hearing you talking about it. Nothing to be sorry for at all.”

Jungkook blinked and opened his mouth to ask a million questions, almost overwhelmed by his surge of interest, but was interrupted by a server swinging by to drop off their food.

“Seokjin hopes you enjoy your meal,” she told Jungkook with a smile, setting large bowls of some sort of soup in front of each of them, with a steaming plate of fresh-baked cornbread in the middle. “And says you better enjoy your meal or else.”

Namjoon rolled his eyes. “Ah, I always do, thank you. That man,” he muttered as she walked away, an endeared smile still on his face.

“You’re—close,” Jungkook said. He could have hit himself for the lack of subtlety.

“Unfortunately,” Namjoon laughed, though he didn’t sound like there was actually anything unfortunate about it. “Our fathers worked together early on so we were friends by proxy. We spent a good chuck of our summers playing Neopets in his basement. Know something?”

Jungkook hummed, blowing on a spoonful of soup.

“He put a little Gnorbu figurine on his and Hoseok’s wedding cake.”

Namjoon’s smirk was knowing, that little detail pulled out just for him. Even as he blushed (as he blushed again, he probably blushed more since meeting Namjoon than he had his entire teenage years combined), he couldn’t bring himself to regret being caught out. He didn’t think he was imagining something interested behind the teasing look on his face.

-

“Well,” Namjoon said, patting the hood of Jungkook’s car. “There’s that done.”

Jungkook sat behind the wheel of his now-working car, trying to not pout too, too hard. “Thank you so much, hyung. I really appreciate—everything.”

“Sure, of course.” Namjoon nodded, inhaling in a way that made his chest puff out a little, his red flannel regretfully hiding his buff arms but shielding him from the slight summer night chill. He didn’t look at Jungkook, just in the vague direction of the darkening treeline. He looked so stoic, Jungkook thought, so manly.

Neither of them moved though, even with the engine running and Namjoon’s voluntary responsibility now done.

“So, uh—” Namjoon said abruptly, looking at him with a sudden determination. “Maybe you ought to stay the night? There’s a lot of deer on the road and I’d hate for you to wreck your car so soon after getting it running again.”

Jungkook was so taken aback that it took him a moment to remember to answer. “Oh! That’s—that’s probably right, ha. You wouldn’t happen to know of a place I could—”

“I got a spare room and plenty of hot water,” he interrupted. “You’re welcome to stay with me.”

Namjoon’s home was a little farm house down a long dirt path; it was a nice plain white with a black roof and a stone chimney, and one of the pretty blue shutters was hanging a little akimbo, showing signs of having been loving repaired over and over and over but too stubborn to stay put. There were plenty of flowers in the front, small lamps lighting up the path to the front porch, some decorative sculptures Jungkook could only barely make out in what was left of the sunlight. There was farmland all around, though Jungkook would be hard pressed to pick out what crops were planted.

“There’s Taehyung’s place,” Namjoon said, pointing out a dimly-lit house in the not-so-distant distance. “He’s got more land to take care of by a good piece, but neither of us are hardly commercial. But we’re plenty big enough to make a tiny profit at the market and some restaurants. Plus enough to stock my own pantry.”

He needlessly helped Jungkook carry his bag in from the car, and, as they toed their shoes off in the entryway, he seemed to read his mind.

“Now don’t you say a word about imposing, Jungkookie, alright? You’re welcome company.”

-

Jungkook had never seen the stars like this.

They were so—bright. He knew they were bright, he’d thought he’d seen them bright, during his road trip or camping with friends or even at the shores in Busan, but no. Here, right now, laying on his back on soft grass with a handsome almost-stranger, staring up at the expansive sky in the Kentucky hills, he knew he had never seen anything quite like this before.

He could just barely see the outline of the new moon, the lack of light making the night sky all the brighter. It was enough to make his mind go blank if he really tried, enough to focus entirely on how great it was to be alive, existing in this body, in this time, in this life, but he couldn’t keep one thought from rolling lazily through his mind.

“Can I ask why?” he finally asked. His voice was quiet but amongst nothing but the sounds of bullfrogs and crickets and cicadas, it seemed loud in the air.

“Why what?” Namjoon asked. His voice didn’t seem loud. It sounded as natural as the bullfrogs and crickets and cicadas themselves.

“Why didn’t you chase after it more?” Jungkook asked. Namjoon had showed him his work earlier, incredible tracks made with rudimentary equipment, a mix of English and Korean rap and instrumentals and beats and - Jungkook couldn’t get it out of his head. “You’re really good, hyung. You could have made it big.”

Namjoon was quiet for a long moment, and Jungkook almost apologized, worried he had offended him, when he gestured up to the stars. “This,” he said. When he brought his hand down again, it rested close enough that his fingers brushed Jungkook’s. “I’d have to give up so much to gain it, you know? And I did, for a while. I moved to the city, lived off cup noodles and cheap coffee in some shoebox studio in New York. I made a few friends, sold a few beats, did some underground shows. But when I closed my eyes, I didn’t dream up stage lights or a crowd or nothing. I dreamt up this, right here. Stars.”

Jungkook hadn’t even realized he had turned his head to watch him talk until Namjoon’s eyes met his own, a soft smile on his lips.

“The smell of cow manure is much better than city shit, anyway,” he teased. “If I were to make it big—and it’s real sweet you think I could, Jungkookie, thank you—I’m not willing. Call it homesickness if you will, cowardice if you must—”

“Hyung!” Jungkook interrupted, wide eyed. “That’s not what I’m saying—”

“I know, baby, I know,” Namjoon laughed.

Jungkook allowed his mind to have one moment of baby, baby, baby before catching up, not wanting to be too distracted by his very clear, very obvious crush to miss what he was saying.

“Some things are worth going home for.”

Jungkook furrowed his brows, looking back up at the stars. He was feeling—something. Not quite a revelation. But close. “Not staying home?”

“Not necessarily,” Namjoon agreed. “Sometimes the home you’re born in don’t work out too well. Sometimes your found home doesn’t either. But once you find it, really find it, what’s right for you—it’s something else.”

After a long moment of silence, Jungkook whispered, “I love Seoul.”

“Yeah?” Namjoon asked.

“Yeah,” said Jungkook.

They both heard the but.

-

Jungkook’s heart nearly stopped the next morning when he walked out of the guest room just to be met by a bed-headed Namjoon making breakfast for them, his back turned as he stood at the stove. Jungkook wasn’t awake enough to force himself to stop looking at his ass, nor was he awake enough to be too flustered when Namjoon very clearly caught him if the smirk on his face was anything to go by.

“Mornin’,” Namjoon said, his voice deep and rumbly with sleep. Jungkook thought it might be a good idea to go back to sleep just so he could process—all of this in his dreams.

“Morning, hyung,” he said instead. “Can I help?”

“Absolutely not. But I made coffee if you’d like some, sugar’s on the counter, milk and creamer’s in the fridge. It’s real sweet, though.”

“I could use some sweet. Thank you for your hospitality—” Jungkook’s bow was stopped by a big hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t go all formal on me now, Jungkookie,” he laughed, opening the mug cabinet before Jungkook could ask. He glanced at Jungkook as he poured before clearing his throat, hesitating for a moment. “I had a thought.”

“I hope so,” Jungkook teased. “What were you thinking?”

“Do you have someplace to be so bad?”

“No,” Jungkook said, hoping against hope that maybe he would ask him to stay a while. “Why?”

Namjoon looked almost shy. “Well—there’s a festival a town over, uh, bluegrass. You didn’t say you’d studied that and I dunno that you’d be interested but it might be—

“Could I stay with you, hyung?” he jumped in with wide-eyed eagerness. “If, uh, if there’s a festival then all the hotels are probably booked, right?”

Namjoon, he could tell, carefully did not mention the lack of hotels in the area. Jungkook carefully did not mention that he knew about the lack of hotels in the area.

“Yeah,” he said instead, a smile on his handsome face. “Course you can. You’re good company to keep.

Though Namjoon didn’t seem to know everyone in the next town as he did in Kimberly, he did say hello to not-a-few booth vendors and festival-goers they passed. A few even asked who ‘the handsome man on your arm’ was, and Namjoon gave them all a bright smile, put his arm around Jungkook’s waist, and said with what Jungkook suspected was pride, for some reason, telling them, “The handsome man is Jungkook, he’s visiting from out of town,” like he was an organic part of Namjoon’s life instead of a random boy he met on the side of the road who had been frazzled and close to tears.

Jungkook felt like he had been able to experience a lot of American life in the two months he’d been there, but this, like so many things in Appalachia, was something unlike anything else. He hoped it wouldn’t be condescending to describe it as quaint, but that was really what came to mind - there were so many small market booths with fresh bread and honey and jewelry and woodworking, but what really caught Jungkook’s attention is what Namjoon described as ‘traditional southern cuisine.’

There were so, so many things that Jungkook didn’t realize could be fried, but as soon as it was all presented to him on a menu board, he felt like an entire world had opened up for him. After his first funnel cake, second corn dog, and third deep fried Oreo, however, Namjoon stopped his feast with a laugh. “You keep that up and you won’t hear nothing with your head in the bushes.”

Jungkook gave him a bashful grin, wiping his mouth with an oily napkin. “Sorry, I got excited. Can we find a place to sit?”

Namjoon looked around - most of the folding chairs in front of the stage had been taken up by people already, with even more sitting around the picnic tables dotted around. “We can find someplace to stand til something opens up. That okay?”

Jungkook nodded, following him through the crowd until they reached an old shade tree, large enough to lean comfortably against the trunk and watch the stage, if at an awkward angle. It also had a few protruding roots, which, of course, Jungkook had to trip over. He had a split second to hope really, really hard that he wouldn’t smash his face onto the ground and embarrass himself with falling and an injury, when Namjoon caught him by the waist easily, holding him upright. Even after steadying him, Namjoon’s big hand remained on Jungkook’s waist. Jungkook hoped his face didn’t show evidence of the butterflies swarming through his whole body.

“Have you ever done anything like this?” Jungkook asked.

“God, no,” Namjoon laughed. “Not that I wouldn’t like to but—I’m no vocalist. And, uh, Korean rap and bluegrass don’t mesh up too naturally. Or, you know. At all.”

Jungkook laughed, leaning into his side a little, nudging him with his elbow. “If anyone could do it, it’s Rapmon hyung.”

Namjoon went red, letting out a semi-embarrassed groan. He shoved Jungkook away, but before Jungkook could mourn the loss of touch, he pulled him back, putting his arm around his waist again and holding him closer.

Jungkook leaned into his side, relishing in the way Namjoon squeezed him a little, warm and secure.

They spent an hour or so standing close like that, even when seats opened up in front of the stage. They took turns saying “after this one, let’s go” or “I know we said we’d go, but this sounds really, really good—” Eventually, they managed to pull themselves away from the performances, deciding to pick up an early dinner from a BBQ truck.

They sat across from each other at a picnic table that had definitely seen better days, with messy plates overloaded with food that Jungkook knew he would miss as soon as he emptied it.

“I feel like I’m on a Tinder date,” Jungkook blurted when their ankles touched for a third time. He blinked. “Do you have tinder here?”

Namjoon laughed, bringing it up to a fourth. “Yeah, baby, we have Tinder. But we also know just about every single person on there, so unless you want them to know you real good, it’s best to stay away. I know way too much about what Taehyung’s into, and I’d love to not know Jin and Hobi look for thirds sometime, but—” he grinned, kicking at Jungkook under the table, “it does feel like it, doesn’t it?”

Jungkook cleared his throat, focusing too intently on his mac and cheese. “Unless I’m reading it wrong.”

“Eh,” Namjoon shrugged. “We might wanna discuss the specifics of what you’re reading somewhere with less old folks around but—I think you’re probably reading it real right.”

-

Hours passed, and Namjoon didn’t bring it up the whole ride home (though they rode home with Taehyung, and it probably wasn’t a conversation for company), nor when they got back to the farm. Namjoon offered to put dinner on while Jungkook was showering if he wouldn’t mind taking it off the stove when it was Namjoon’s turn, and that was confirmation enough that he had lost the opportunity to get railed.

They ate at the little kitchen table in soft pajamas. Jungkook thought he was being slick with his frequent glances at Namjoon just to take him in, but Namjoon’s smirk the one time their eyes met proved him wrong.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked, still smirking.

Jungkook bit his lip. “Do we have to?”

“No,” Namjoon grinned. “Nah. We don’t have to.”

Jungkook managed to hold himself back for nearly ten whole seconds before he pushed his chair back, Namjoon doing the same just in time to give Jungkook room to straddle his lap, kissing him with more messy passion than he’d ever kissed anyone with before. Namjoon’s stupidly big, strong, farmer hands held onto Jungkook’s hips. He kissed Jungkook back with no less enthusiasm, no sign of hesitation or worry or regret, and even that was enough to add kindling to the fire roaring inside of him.

One of Namjoon’s hands roamed under his shirt, his callouses (and, to be fair, Jungkook’s desperation) making every touch feel more intense. Jungkook whimpered into his mouth - Namjoon’s huffed laugh was warm against his lips, and he pulled back to look at him with a pout. The beginning of his “don’t laugh at me, hyung!” was stopped by Namjoon’s thumb pressing his soft pink lip.

“Cute,” he muttered.

Jungkook whined and surged forward again, lips pressing against Namjoon’s with even more messy desperation. He gasped when Namjoon brushed over his cock, someone giving him almost everything and almost nothing all at once.

Namjoon quirked his brow, looking so self-assured and cocky that Jungkook wanted him to swallow him up. “Ah, is someone excited?”

Jungkook went red, bouncing on his lap with a whine. “Be nice to me!”

Namjoon laughed, looking up at Jungkook’s pretty face as he deliberately brushed over the front of his pajama pants again, reveling in the hitch of Jungkook’s breath and the drop of his mouth. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m gonna be real nice to you.”

Jungkook swallowed thickly before pressing forward again, threading his fingers through Namjoon’s hair and rolling his hips almost instinctively, trying his best to replicate exactly what he wished was happening to him at that moment, grinding down like he could get Namjoon’s dick in deeper. He felt up Namjoon’s chest, squeezing his tits and not bothering to pretend he wasn’t drooling at the feel of them. He roamed down, but as soon as he pressed his palm over Namjoon’s clothed cock, he pulled away with an astounded gasp. “Oh my God—”

Namjoon’s cheeks were flushed, hips moving minutely to get more of Jungkook’s touch. “Uh?”

“You’re huge.”

Namjoon laughed breathily, giving Jungkook’s thigh a pinch. “Don’t go talkin’ me up, baby. I don’t need any flattering.”

“What, are you not as big as you feel? Cause you feel really big, hyung—”

“Careful,” Namjoon grinned. “I might think you wanna see for yourself.”

Jungkook blinked, glancing between his hand around Namjoon’s clothed cock and his handsome face. He felt some pride when Namjoon didn’t laugh it off, obviously affected as much as Jungkook. “Well.”

“Not—not gonna have our first time be on my kitchen floor, honey. Let’s move it to the bedroom.”

Jungkook pushed himself off of his lap and held out his hand, smiling brightly when Namjoon took it. “One, there’s a table in here, and a counter, and a wall, it doesn’t have to be the floor. Two—our first time?”

Namjoon went red, batting at him with one hand but keeping him in his grasp with the other. “Well,” he said, as airy as he could. Considering that they both clearly felt heavy and heady. “I mean. If you’re good enough.”

Jungkook laughed loudly, giving him a scrunched-nose grin. “Don’t worry about that, hyung. Gonna kiss me again?”

Namjoon tugged him close, kissing him messily as he walked him backwards to the bedroom, managing to only bump against the walls a few times.

Jungkook snickered at Namjoon’s quiet oof, his grin not falling at Namjoon’s chiding huff.

“It’s not too often I’m walking blind and backwards in my own home, now hush—”

“Make me,” Jungkook said.

“I should’ve known you’d be this cheeky.”

“I should’ve known you’d be this—” Jungkook faltered, blinking.

Namjoon raised his brows. “This what?”

“I was hoping it would come to me as I said it,” Jungkook admitted sheepishly. “But I like all the things that you are.”

Namjoon’s face softened, eyes still playful but with something honey sweet added. “Yeah, baby,” he said quietly. “I like you, too. Let’s have some fun, huh?”

“I like fun,” Jungkook agreed. “And I like your hands. And I’d really like those hands in me, please.”

“Well, since you asked so nice.” Namjoon tugged him close, kissing him again. Jungkook gasped as he grabbed his ass, giving it a tight squeeze. “Jesus,” he hissed. “This is a good one—”

“You couldn’t tell it was good before?” Jungkook laughed.

“Sometimes you gotta squeeze a peach ‘fore you know it’s ripe.”

“That can not be a saying!” Jungkook squawked, smacking his arm. “Hyung, I wear tight jeans, I know what I’m working with!”

Namjoon hummed passively, squeezing it again and making Jungkook lose all other protests. He pressed up against Namjoon, kissing him again, throwing his arms around his shoulders and reveling in how small he felt. Jungkook wasn’t petite by any means; he was tall, he had muscles, and a lot of the men who went for him weren’t as big as Namjoon was. But Namjoon was such a perfect size to hold him, and, Jungkook shivered at the thought, to hold him down.

“God, I really—I mean it about your fingers, please—” he whimpered, nipping lightly at his lower lip.

“I mean it, too, baby,” Namjoon muttered, kissing his mouth, then the corner of it, then his cheek and jaw and neck and Jungkook felt like he was melting in his arms, almost overwhelmed. Namjoon gently escorted him to the bed, sitting on the edge before pulling Jungkook back onto his lap, giving him the leverage. 

Jungkook pushed him down, kissing him again, softer and sweeter than before. When he pulled back, his lips were red and shiny, pretty cherries just for Namjoon to pluck. Namjoon touched them reverently and Jungkook parted his lips, licking at Namjoon’s thumb and allowing him to press his tongue down, so pretty and pliant in his arms.

“Ah,” Namjoon said quietly, giving him a soft smile as he cupped his cheek, Jungkook making aborted attempts to chase after his thumb. “Baby gets needy, doesn’t he?”

Jungkook winced. “I can shake out of it if I try, hyung, sorry—”

“Nah, don’t. Hyung loves it like this.”

Jungkook whined loudly when Namjoon began to take his hand away, quickly grabbing him by the wrist and sucking two fingers into his mouth, still looking pouty even when he was filled.

He blushed as Namjoon cooed. “Is this what you meant, huh? When you said you wanted my fingers in you?”

Jungkook quickly pulled them out. “No! Want them in my ass—”

Namjoon sputtered a laugh, caught off guard by the frankness. “Okay, okay. We gotta get some clothes off first, don’t we?”

Jungkook shucked off his shirt without formality, chest puffing a little when he heard Namjoon’s quiet, pleased hum.

“Not that I mind, course I don’t,” he said, “but I thought you’d be awful shy.”

Jungkook blinked. “You thought about this?”

“Uh—” Namjoon rubbed the back of his neck guiltily, giving him a sheepish smile. “I mean, maybe not quite so graphic, but—don’t you fall a little in love with pretty strangers?”

Jungkook froze, taken aback. It was just long enough for Namjoon to think he might have crossed a line, but Jungkook sprang into action before he could attempt to apologize. He pushed Namjoon’s chest until he fell back flat on the bed, kissing him with a surprising but not uninvited amount of teeth, hips rolling hotly against Namjoon’s own.

He nearly hissed at the feeling of fabric on his cock, but his voice caught in his throat as Jungkook got his hands under Namjoon’s shirt, urging it off until Namjoon complied, throwing it off of the bed. He did hiss when Jungkook tweaked a nipple, head thumping back against the mattress.

“Oh,” Jungkook grinned, pinching his nipple again. Namjoon could feel his eyes on his face, knew they were gleeful even though his own were closed. “Hyung likes that?”

“Yes,” he choked out gutturally. Namjoon didn’t even have it in him to blush. “Now come on, I wanna see your cock.”

Jungkook sat up and tried his best to get his pajama bottoms off without standing, but had to abandon the idea when he toppled a little. He stuck out his tongue at Namjoon’s laugh, smacking his thigh as he stood. “You too!”

“Yeah, okay—” he agreed quickly, working his own sweats off, throwing them in the vague direction of his shirt. His cock bobbed against his stomach as he laid back down; Jungkook’s throat bobbed as he swallowed at the sight.

“I want that,” Jungkook said.

It might have been funny in another context, for Jungkook to demand something so simply, but Namjoon couldn’t see any humor in the heated look in Jungkook’s eyes. He stroked his cock a little, thick and heavy in his own hand. “It’s all yours.”

Jungkook frowned a little, licking his lips in consideration. “It’s been a while. I might need to work up to it.”

“Well,” Namjoon shrugged. “Good thing this is only our first time, huh?”

Jungkook blinked. The sweet, happy giggle he let out was so sweet; it wasn’t a break of character because they weren’t playing characters to break, but it definitely strayed from the serious, heated mood they were both used to when sex was in the mix.

Namjoon was entranced. He reached for him, pulling him down to his chest again, kissing him as he flipped their positions, adjusting Jungkook was on his back under him, soft hair fanned out on the sheets, cock laying pretty against his stomach.

Namjoon kissed down his chest, listening to the constant hitches and shifts of Jungkook’s breath, so sensitive and fully under Namjoon’s control. He pressed a dry kiss to each nipple before he began to make his way down his chest, leaving a trail of what felt like fire from his sternum to the V of his hips. 

Jungkook’s cock twitched against his stomach as Namjoon got closer, and he was sure that if he hadn’t been holding his hips down, he would have tried to chase after anything that might give him friction. Namjoon grinned as he hovered above his cockhead, glancing up to see Jungkook watching him with pink-cheeked desperation that was disguised as eagerness.

Poor baby.

Namjoon shifted down, skipping over his cock entirely and ignoring Jungkook’s confused little whine. It quickly shifted into a surprise whimper as Namjoon pressed a kiss to one of his balls, the sound only going more high-pitched as Namjoon licked wetly, holding the base of his cock but offering it no movement, focusing all of his attention elsewhere. He peeked at Jungkook through his lashes and Jungkook let out a quiet moan - he looked like a fox, devious and ready to pounce. Maybe a kitsune, if Jungkook was more realistic, because Namjoon looked ready to eat him whole.

Jungkook lost sight of his kitsune eyes when his head fell back against the pillows, but he almost regretted looking away when Namjoon’s tongue took him by surprise again. Jungkook yelled when Namjoon licked a hot, flat stripe over his hole - the unexpected sensation sending a wave of want all the way through him.

“Please, oh my god, please, hyung more—”

Namjoon laughed at him, pressing a kiss to his inner thigh. “Hush, baby. Course you’ll get more. Just gotta open you up.” Namjoon fisted his cock languidly and Jungkook prayed he’d last more than a minute, but his touch set him on fire enough that he could crumble at any minute. “Relax and let hyung take care of you, okay?”

Jungkook whimpered again, fisting the sheets as he nodded. He couldn’t help but to glance down again just as Namjoon spread him apart, trying to get a better view of his hole. Jungkook went red at the thought of being seen, but if he wanted to be seen by anyone is was Kim Namjoon.

He nearly laughed aloud. Namjoon Kim.

Namjoon Kim patted his hip. “How d’you feel about turning over—”

Jungkook was on the move before he finished the question, being as careful as he could in his eagerness to get on his hands and knees, face in the pillows and ass in the air. He had taken so many pictures of himself when he was into nude photography and didn’t have a model on hand, he knew he looked irresistible like this. He glanced over his shoulder and felt inordinately pleased as he was proven right.

Namjoon stared at him with his lips parted, eyeing up his ass with lust written clearly all over his face - and over his cock, thick and heavy, precum glistening over the tip. 

Jungkook swallowed, suddenly parched.

But his thirst could wait, he decided, because Namjoon’s rough hands parted his cheeks, thumbs pulling at his hole in a way that made Jungkook keen. “Fuck, hyung—”

His tongue returned with a vengeance - Namjoon lapped at his rim mercilessly, tongue flicking with a sharp talent that Jungkook had ever experienced before. Maybe it was just that he liked Namjoon more sharply than he’d ever liked anyone (a feeling he chose to stow away for when his tongue was not in his asshole), but it was even more likely that Namjoon just had the most talented mouth he’d ever experienced.

“Fuck,” he whimpered, stomach rolling pleasantly as Namjoon gripped his cock again, giving it a few distracted tugs. He was quickly lost in the pleasure of it all, any possible pleads or whispers devolved into hedonistic moans and nonsensical noises that would probably embarrass them if he remembered them later. But he couldn’t care how he sounded at that moment; he could focus on nothing but Namjoon’s mouth on his hole, of his hand holding his dick tightly, not letting him come too quick, the feeling of being so clearly wanted that it made him dizzy.

And as quickly as it had appeared, the sensation was gone.

“Wha—?” Jungkook complained, heavy lidded and dazed but definitely coherent enough to know he wanted more. “Why’d you stop?”

Namjoon laughed, rubbing his hip. “Just getting lube, baby. Would you mind laying back again? I wanna see your face when I fuck you.”

Jungkook went red - how was that even more vulnerable than Namjoon staring straight at his hole? But he wanted to see Namjoon more than he wanted to hide his shy face, so he flipped, bouncing a little as he watched him grab a bottle from the bedside table drawer. He must have been pouting a little more than he realized because Namjoon laughed again when he looked at him again, tweaking his nose fondly.

“God, you’re cute, baby. Could look at you all day.”

“Do it, then,” Jungkook attempted to whine, but it was erased by Namjoon’s lube-slicked finger sliding over his hole. “Fuck!”

Namjoon grinned as he brushed over it again, keeping his touch torturously light. He teased him for a few moments more before adjusting his own position, laying on his stomach with his head nestled against one of Jungkook’s thighs, propping Jungkook’s other leg over his shoulder to gain better access. He pressed a sweet kiss to his perineum before dribbling lube directly onto his hole, applying gentle pressure without going in.

Jungkook almost jumped when he felt Namjoon’s other hand touch his own, bringing it to his short hair. “Huh?”

“Be good and hold onto hyung, yeah?” Namjoon asked.

“Uh,” Jungkook said dumbly, gripping it probably a little too tight, but he was too turned on to have full control of his body, at that point. He tugged harder as Namjoon dipped his head, lapping above his rim as he pushed a single finger in. “Fuck, hyung—”

Namjoon didn’t make him wait long to take another, dripping more lube over Jungkook’s hole and his own fingers before pressing two in with shallow thrusts. “Feel good, baby?”

“Yes,” Jungkook breathed, giving his hair another tug. “Please—”

Namjoon snorted. “Baby doesn’t need to be all polite. I’ll take care of you, don’t you worry.”

“I like being polite,” Jungkook pouted sweetly.

“Well,” Namjoon grinned, charmed. “Far be it for me to keep you from it.”

Jungkook’s breath caught in his throat when Namjoon’s fingers crooked inside him, fucking into him a few times before a third was added. It was slightly too soon for him to have gotten completely used to two, and the added stretch burned nicely. Jungkook cried out, tugging Namjoon’s hair. He seemed to understand, lapping at the base of his dick as he kept going.

“Close—” he breathed, soon enough that it was almost embarrassing but Namjoon was so hot, the head of his dick so wet, that Jungkook felt he understood. “Close, hold on—”

Namjoon’s fingers stilled inside him, moving to kiss his thigh instead of the underside of his cock. “You good, baby?”

Jungkook nodded, catching his breath. “Want—want you in me, kay? M’too tight for all the way but just the head?”

“Jesus, baby,” Namjoon hissed. Jungkook grinned - his tone was enough to tell him he’d touched on at least a little bit of a kink. “Want my cock in you that bad?”

“Yes!” he whined, squirming a little. “Am I not being obvious enough?”

“You are,” Namjoon reassured, pulling his fingers out but rubbing his rim soothingly before he could whine any more. “Such a sweet boy, asking for what you want.”

“Fuck,” Jungkook breathed out. “Tell me I’m good some more—”

Namjoon snorted, even as he reached over to get a condom from the drawer. “Are good boys so demanding?”

“They are when they’re demanding that you fuck them.”

“Yeah, guess that’s fair.” Namjoon grinned, rolling the condom on and pumping himself a few times. “Tell me if it gets to be too much, kay?”

Jungkook nodded, lifting his hips to get a better angle. “Just don’t go deep and I’ll be okay, now please—”

Namjoon pushed in and anything else Jungkook wanted to say was erased from his brain forever, because he would never, ever think of anything that wasn’t the feeling of this, of Namjoon’s cock inside of him, his rough hands on his hips, his dark eyes as he watched Jungkook’s face carefully. He was true to his word and only slipped his head in, maybe a half inch or so extra, and Jungkook wished he’d been fucked sooner than eight months ago so he could take him all in with no problems. He hadn’t had much time with the single boring dildo he’d bought a few weeks after touching down in the States and he was annoyed by his lack of foresight - he should have known he’d meet a sexy hunk who’d want to take him to bed and treat him so, so nicely.

His regrets were chased away by Namjoon pulling out, leaving him much too empty. But Jungkook’s objections were cut short by him pushing in again, fucking him with short thrusts that made him grow embarrassingly close embarrassingly quickly.

“Hyung—” he whined, gripping the sheets. “Fuck, feels good—”

Namjoon nodded, brows furrowed in concentration. “Good—good boy. So good for me, aren’t you—”

“Yeah,” Jungkook whimpered, rolling his hips. “M’good, want you to come in me.”

Namjoon’s rhythm stuttered before he got it back, thrusting in earnest, the ridge of the head of his cock catching on his rim and making Jungkook’s toes curl. Jungkook gasped as Namjoon gripped his dick, working the head in a rhythm that mirrored his own. “Jesus—fuck, baby, I’m close—”

“That’s—that’s embarrassing,” Jungkook breathed out. His dick pulsed in Namjoon’s hand, a genuine spurt of precome shooting out when he smacked his thigh just hard enough to leave a mark. “Oh my god, hyung, I’m—”

“Gonna come for me?”

Jungkook didn’t need to answer. His come painted his own stomach, leaking over Namjoon’s hand as it kept working him over until he was writhing with oversensitivity. “You—” he whined.

Namjoon grunted, pulling out just in time to come directly over Jungkook’s hole, the sheer feeling of how fucking hot that was stopping Jungkook’s objections over being empty in their tracks.

He whimpered when Namjoon pushed some in with his thumb. “Gonna make me hard again.”

“I’d take care of you,” he promised, even as he flopped down beside him, breathing hard.

Jungkook hummed before rolling over, snuggling up to his sweaty chest. “Take care of me with cuddles.”

“Demanding,” Namjoon said, wrapping his arms around him.

Jungkook drifted with his cheek pressed against Namjoon’s strong chest as he was spoiled by Namjoon’s fingers brushing through his hair just the way he liked. Every so often he would stir and blink awake, pushing himself up to give him a few soft kisses - more nuzzles with his mouth than anything - before laying back down and drifting once more.

“Why don’t you sleep, huh?” Namjoon asked after one of his abrupt awakenings.

Jungkook blinked sleepily, pouting at him because it was obvious. “Cause I want to kiss you more.”

Namjoon laughed and squeezed him close, pressing his head to his chest once more. “You can kiss me more in the morning, baby.”

Jungkook mumbled his agreement against his chest and allowed himself to be held. Even as he got closer to sleep, listening to Namjoon’s breaths even out under him, he was still reluctant to let it overtake him. The morning would bring more kisses, but it would also bring him closer to leaving. It just didn’t feel like a fair trade.

He slept soundly when he did sleep, though, and was still cuddled up to Namjoon’s chest when he woke. Namjoon was awake already, scrolling idly through his phone with one hand and tracing absentminded patterns on Jungkook’s back with the other.

“Thought you were a gentleman,” Jungkook teased in a sleepy mumble. “Thought I was going to wake up to breakfast on the stove.”

“I thought about it,” he admitted, putting his phone aside in favor of cuddling him closer. “But I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

Jungkook melted in his arms. “Oh.”

“Plus, I mean, I didn’t want to leave you in the first place.”

Jungkook grinned, feeling warm and restless. He felt so good, so liked and wanted and pretty and pleased and well-fucked - but he sobered up all at once, going still against him. “I don’t wanna leave.”

Namjoon sighed softly, kissing Jungkook’s sleep-mussed hair. “I can’t say I want you to, either,” he said quietly, comforting. “But we’ll keep in touch, right, honey? I like talking to you far too much to let you leave without getting your number.”

“Can I tell you something?” Jungkook sniffled.

Namjoon hummed, his big hand roaming over Jungkook’s bare back, making him seriously consider falling back asleep instead of going anywhere.

“I’m surprised you have service up here.”

Namjoon laughed, a loud bark that managed to sound at home in the quiet morning. “Well—I’ll admit, it’s pretty spotty. But even that won’t keep me from bothering you.”

“It won’t be bothering!” Jungkook pouted, slapping his chest a little.

Namjoon just grinned, giving him a sweet, chaste kiss. “Yeah, well.” He looked at him so fondly, with eyes Jungkook felt he had known forever, not two summer days. “You’ll forget about me soon enough, baby, don’t get sad.”

Jungkook blinked. “No, I won’t. What are you talking about?”

“Ah, well. You’re a city boy who’s doing big things. I’ll be glad to be a page in your book.”

“Not even writing a book,” Jungkook mumbled with a pout.

“Metaphor stands, honey.”

Jungkook sighed heavily before sitting up. He looked sweet, and young, and like the world was built for people like him to be happy. “Do you want to stay in touch, hyung?”

Namjoon heard the worry in his voice and smiled reassuringly, cupping his cheek, looking over his face and committing it to memory. “I do. No doubt about that. Now—let me be a gentleman and feed you ‘fore you pack up, okay? I wanna make sure you remember me as the guy who filled your ass and your stomach—”

Jungkook cracked up, nose scrunching as he giggled, the somber mood broken. “That was awful, hyung, stop!”

Namjoon generously allowed Jungkook to help him with breakfast after his shower, though he didn’t let him go beyond setting the table and pouring them both big mugs of coffee. They sat in companionable silence as they ate, keeping their ankles pressed against one another’s the entire time. They couldn’t stall forever, though. Jungkook did need to pack and Namjoon had plenty of chores to take care of, and hungry animals didn’t care much about bittersweet romance.

Jungkook packed while Namjoon started his work around the farm, both of them trying valiantly to not think too hard about the other. Still, Jungkook sniffled as he closed the front door behind him. He found Namjoon near the chicken coop, chickens in various states of indignation clucking around his feet. He looked so cute, talking to them as he spread feed from a bucket, chastising one when she got too overeager. Jungkook tried his best to not cry about it, scooping up a chicken to pet.

Namjoon blinked at him, staring at the slightly-perturbed but otherwise calm chicken in his arms. “She damn near pecks my boots off every day.”

Jungkook kissed her tiny head. “Wish we could fuck more, hyung.”

“Oh, baby—” Namjoon went for a hug but was stopped by the squawking chicken in Jungkook’s arms.

Jungkook put her down gently before practically leaping on him, throwing his arms around his neck and burying his face in his shoulder, hoping his voice didn’t sound quite as distraught as he felt. “We only had a first time.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Namjoon murmured against his hair. “Maybe you can visit me again sometime, and then we’ll have our second and third and fourth.”

“And fifth?” he sniffled.

“And fifth,” Namjoon confirmed. 

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

Jungkook stayed tucked into his chest for another few long moments. “Hyung?”

“Mm?”

“Maybe I won’t feel so sad with a blowjob.” Jungkook said, giving him the most pleading look he could manage.

Namjoon laughed, tweaking his chin and giving him a short kiss before he began to sink down without complaint.

Jungkook made a quick noise of protest and tapped his shoulder. “Hyung! No, no, I wanna give you one, please?”

Namjoon blinked. “My god, sweetheart. Anyone ever say no to you?”

“Are you going to?”

“No.”

“Then no.” Jungkook was glad that Taehyung was the closest neighbor Namjoon had, because nothing would have stopped him from giving a show.

-

Jungkook thought about turning around, he really did.

He drove out of Kimberly, sadness growing in his chest at every mile put between him and Namjoon. Being around him felt so good, felt so natural, and all Jungkook could see was the memory of Namjoon waving him off, growing smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. He pulled over at one point, staring out the windshield and imagining some impossible dream where he gave up everything for a summertime romance.

He breathed deeply a few times as tears stung his eyes. He had a lot to give up, and that was the problem.

He was going to university, he was in the States for a big project, one he loved working on - he couldn’t just ignore his responsibilities even if he got really good dick from a really sweet, handsome, nice Korean Kentuckian farmer boy. He took a final deep breath before turning the music up, something loud and familiar that he could belt along to, emotions pushed to the back of his head for the time being.

When he stopped for gas a few hours later, he found that Namjoon had texted him barely an hour after he left, with a selfie of himself and a giant squash in the background.

Rapmon hyung: Missing you already

It took a lot for Jungkook to not turn around, for him to rush back and show up at midnight banging on his door like a romantic drama, begging to be taken back. Instead, he kept driving, staying on his self-written path.

Namjoon quickly became a fixture of Jungkook’s life, someone he talked to as much as (if not more than) Jimin and Yoongi on a daily basis, with almost the same amount of familiarity. He texted him throughout his trip up the east coast, sending pictures of the beaches he saw, selfies from shitty hostels, and a few tasteful nudes when he stayed in nice hotel rooms (and maybe more that were not so tasteful).

They shared a love for many things, as it turned out. Jungkook knew about music and could go on about it with him forever, and Namjoon was interested in dance, even if he didn’t do it himself, and let Jungkook talk about that just as much. He didn’t mind when Jungkook sent eight texts in a row in the middle of the night expecting no reply, just as Jungkook didn’t mind the lapse of messages during Namjoon’s working day between breaks. They both liked museums and art and historical sites and each other.

Nothing about it faded, not at all. If anything, they grew closer, even miles apart, even after knowing each other for only a few days, only a few weeks.

It felt like fate, if Jungkook was honest. Fate wanted his car to break down in the Kentucky hills, because fate knew he needed Namjoon.

-

Namjoon had been close to sleep when Jungkook called, exhausted after a long day of helping Taehyung harvest his late summer crops. He was pleasantly, familiarly sore all over, and he felt the pleasant buzz of warmth and excitement as soon as he saw Jungkook’s name on screen.

“Hi, Jungkookie,” he said, voice mumbly with sleep. He was expecting one of their lingering goodnight, you hang up first, no you calls, or maybe Jungkook’s restless ramblings about his day that Namjoon loved to hear. He was not expecting Jungkook’s wet sob as soon as he heard Namjoon’s voice.

“Hyungie—” Jungkook sounded so young, so lonely.

“Baby, hey, what—”

“I had a whole plan,” he cried out, unable to hold it in any longer. “I had a big plan to see you again, hyung—I was gonna fly down and get a car and surprise you and kiss you a lot and help you pick berries or something, I don’t know what your crops actually are which—I never asked, and it was gonna be nice, but I can’t reschedule my flight, and—” his voice broke, and so did Namjoon’s heart. “And I’m sad.”

“Oh, baby,” Namjoon sighed out, hoping he could soften the hurt of it all. “Baby, that’s real sweet of you, but I’d never expect you to change your plans like that for me.”

Jungkook sobbed again. “I wanted to so bad, though, hyung! I miss you and I like you a lot and I should have planned better and made it happen and—and something had to go wrong this trip but I wish it wasn’t that.”

Namjoon smiled a little. “Your car breaking down in the mountains wasn’t what went wrong?”

“No!” he cried. “Cause that’s when I met you!”

Namjoon melted all over again. He couldn’t believe how sweet this boy was; he had just happened into his life, and already, he couldn’t imagine not knowing him. He tried to stay away from that feeling—he truly believed Jungkook would forget about him eventually, would write him off as a country crush he met on his vacation. Maybe he’d look back at the picture they took together before he left fondly, but he’d be nothing more than a happy memory.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out, honey,” Namjoon said. “I would have loved to see you again. I really would’ve.”

Jungkook sniffled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Bet you say that to all the weird Korean boys you take to bluegrass festivals and fix cars for.” Jungkook sniffled again, but he didn’t sound quite so inconsolable.

Namjoon huffed a laugh. “Well, you got me there, honey. I do say that to every single one.”

Jungkook was quiet for a long moment before he sighed quietly, sounding small. “I miss you, hyung. Wish I could see you.”

“We can video call sometimes,” he told him softly, “even if it’s not the same.”

Jungkook was quiet again, though Namjoon could hear the rustle of blankets as he settled down into his hotel bed. “You know I won’t forget you, right?”

Namjoon wasn’t quite convinced, but he felt a flutter of hope regardless. “I believe you, honey, don’t worry.”

Jungkook seemed satisfied, sniffling once more with finality. “I leave tomorrow. I thought my plan would work so I don’t have anything downloaded for the plane.”

“I can send you a playlist, how’s that?” Namjoon asked.

He could practically hear Jungkook perk up with interest. “Really? I’d love that.”

Namjoon had already sat up, abandoning the thought of sleep for a little while, opening his discarded laptop to put it together. He talked to Jungkook for a while, not willing to leave him alone while he was feeling so much, asking if he was all packed, if he was showered and in bed, if his alarms were set, if he’d eaten, if he feels okay or if he’s just sad, what he’s looking forward to about going home.

“I’ll be happy to see my family,” he admitted. “And my hyungs.”

“Jimin and Yoongi, right?”

“Uh-huh. They’ll be happy to see me, too.” Namjoon was so glad that Jungkook knew he was loved without question. He deserved all the love in the world. “And I’ll be happy to have real Korean food again.”

Namjoon laughed. “I can understand that. Even Jin’s cooking isn’t the same.”

“And it’ll be nice to sleep in my own bed”. Jungkook sighed, pillows rustling as he settled in more. “It’d be nicer if I was sleeping in your bed, though.”

“Yeah,” Namjoon smiled. “I’d like my bed a whole lot better if you were here with me.”

Jungkook hummed sleepily. “My flight’s at seven.”

Namjoon glanced at the clock and clicked his tongue. “Honey! You should sleep, you’re gonna be dead on your feet.”

Jungkook sighed, young and sweet and romantic. “Will hyung stay on the phone with me? I’ll go to sleep, promise, but—just wish you were here.”

“Of course I can do that. Anything for such a sweetheart.”

Jungkook fell asleep soon enough, but not without another mumbled, “Miss you, hyung.”

-

Jungkook woke up before his alarm as he often did when he had to fly. It was nearing four, and he could hear Namjoon’s monster snores over the phone. He hung up with a sigh, laying spreadeagle on the bed to embrace his misery for just a moment before downloading the playlist Namjoon had sent him a few hours before as he got ready.

He sent Namjoon pictures when he got to the airport—a snap of his Auntie Anne’s breakfast captioned “:(“, a fluffy service dog captioned “:(“, the plane that he would soon board being readied captioned “:(“.

Namjoon heart reacted them all at once right before Jungkook had to switch over to airplane mode.

Rapmon hyung: Let me know when you land baby
Rapmon hyung: Sfea travels

Rapmon hyung: *saeg
Rapmon hyung: *sfae
Rapmon hyung: *safe

Jungkook: i will
Jungkook: :(

He sniffled as he settled back in his sleep, peeking out the window at the early morning sky as they were tugged to the runway. He didn’t bother pretending that tears weren’t running down his cheeks, wiping them away, glad that he was sat next to a businessman who looked like he wasn’t the type to start up a conversation, especially one about what Jungkook was leaving behind.

He was glad for the window seat; he loved watching everything grow so small when they took off, loved how the clouds made everything feel like a dream. He shuffled Namjoon’s playlist - there was a lot of stuff he already loved, Korean rappers and solo ballads and some American Top 100s, and it made him feel fuzzy to know he and Namjoon already shared some of the same music. There were some things from small artists he would have never heard otherwise, too. And, best of all, some of Namjoon’s own music that he hadn’t shown Jungkook before, under the name RM instead of Rap Monster.

Though he still felt fuzzy just from the care of it all, he also felt very sad and a lot in love.

It was a surprising thought - he knew he wasn’t really in love, he’d only known him in person for a few days, and from a distance for a few weeks, but Jungkook had never been one to stifle his emotions. He felt it so strongly at the moment, felt love stir in his heart, and he embraced it fully. Even if it made him tear up all over again.

He arrived in Incheon fifteen hours later, texting Namjoon that he’d landed safe before he even texted Jimin to say he was there. Namjoon sent him a selfie, sleepy and soft because it was already ten there, they were so, so many hours apart, so many conflicting hours - he stopped his sad train of thought to deplane, and managed to keep it at bay until he sat with his luggage at the pickup gate.

Everything was familiar again - his native language was on the signs, there was a familiar bustle that was somehow unlike the other busy airports he’d been in in the past months, there were so many more faces that looked like his own. It all brought back such a feeling of place and belonging that made him homesick for something that wasn’t even his own.

He was already crying when he spotted Jimin in his black cap and facemask, and was sobbing by the time they met each other in the middle, Jungkook wrapping him up in a bear hug and hiding his face in the crook of his neck.

Jimin cooed, cuddling him close. “You’d better not be that sad to see me!”

“I’m not,” Jungkook sobbed, muffled against his shoulder.

Jimin pulled him back, smoothing his hair and looking up at him with fondness that made Jungkook ache. “I know you’ve got to be tired, Jungkookie. Let’s get you washed up and in bed.”

Jungkook felt so big in Jimin’s fancy little car, bought on his first big idol earnings years ago. He was surprised his luggage even fit, but Jungkook had always been good at stuffing an insane amount of things into suitcases. He took a selfie, his cheek smushed against Jimin’s even though he was still crying, face all puffy and red.

He thought Namjoon would be dead asleep by then; he adhered pretty closely to early to bed, early to rise, but his reply came right away.

Rapmon hyung: Ah honey sweetheart baby don’t cry!!!
Rapmon hyung: You’re home, that’s a good thing

Jungkook: mixed feelings nd tired and miss you

Rapmon hyung: I’m glad youre home safe and with your friends

Rapmon hyung: Is your hyung park jimin

Jungkook took a close up selfie of his face, fresh tears welled up in his eyes.

Jungkook: want my hyung to be kim namjoonie :(

Rapmon hyung: I am your hyung sweetheart, just far away
Rapmon hyung: Be good for your Jimin hyung and rest well, okay?
Rapmon hyung: Have real korean food for me

Jungkook: :( :( :( :( :( :( i will :(

Jimin had been quiet as he made his way out of the airport, though Jungkook had been too distracted to even notice. “Well, that’s suspicious.”

Jungkook jumped, guilty without reason. “Huh?”

“Who are you talking to?”

“Nobody,” he said quickly, immediately followed with, “Namjoonie hyung.”

Jimin smiled, reaching over to squeeze his thigh. “Ah, your farmer boy? You’re still talking to him?”

Jungkook felt himself puffing up indignantly. “Yes!”

Jimin gave him a quick look. “I’m just asking, baby, don’t get offended.”

Jungkook stared at him for a moment before his eyes started watering again, lip wobbling. “Namjoonie hyung calls me baby!”

Though Jimin was very obviously keeping himself from laughing, Jungkook was too busy trying to get his wails under control to mind.

“Okay,” Jimin soothed. “Want that to be just for him?”

“No,” he sobbed. “I’m a baby but I’m his baby!”

Jimin tried very hard to keep his amused smile under control. “Okay, okay. I bet you’ll feel a little better after you rest. Why don’t you take my bed tonight, hm? I can feed you and you won’t be lonely.”

Jungkook hiccupped, wiping his nose with his sleeve. “Kay. Can we have skewers?”

“Yoongi hyung already placed the order.”

Jungkook sighed heavily, leaning back. He did already feel more at ease, even as they entered the stressful Seoul traffic. “Sorry for crying.”

“Ah, I missed you so much,” Jimin said, waving him off. “Even your tears.”

-

Jungkook texted Namjoon periodically, sending him pictures of their dinner and himself cuddling with Yoongi’s dog, though it was the very early hours of the morning in Kimberly.

Jimin stole Jungkook’s phone as he nearly fell asleep at the table, taking a picture of his head slowly dropping with a skewer still in his hand, and sent it to Namjoon (who he hoped was Namjoon, considering the contact was Rapmon hyung for some godforsaken reason).

Jungkook: Thank you for taking care of our Jungkookie. - PJM

Rapmon hyung: Thank you Jimin-ssi. He’s a treasure

Jimin huffed a laugh before helping Yoongi half-carry Jungkook to Jimin’s bedroom, both of them cooing at their sleepy baby as they walked side by side.

Jungkook woke the next day from a deep sleep, managing to avoid the most major pains of jetlag. Jimin and Yoongi had tucked him into bed the night before, even put a pillow in his arms to hug, and plugged his phone in beside him because they were the best hyungs in the world. Even if Jimin had sent Namjoon a dopey picture when Jungkook was vulnerable.

Namjoon had sent him a few texts throughout the night, and a selfie with a giant squash still attached to the vine.

I miss it, Jungkook thought. He set it as his background. He had missed home, but god - Kimberly, Kentucky had felt like home for those few days, and Jungkook missed that, too.

-

Jungkook knew from the beginning that he wouldn’t forget Namjoon, not for a single second - and after nearly six months of daily conversations, frequent video calls, and getting to know each other far, far beyond a summer fling, Namjoon started to believe it, too.

Namjoon asked if he could tell Taehyung about Jungkook’s Jimin being Park Jimin, and Jungkook asked if he could show Yoongi Namjoon’s mixtape. It took one selfie exchange for Jimin to bribe Namjoon for Taehyung’s number, and one song for Yoongi to bribe Jungkook for Namjoon’s. Jimin and Tae talked almost (almost.) as much as him and Namjoon, and Jungkook was only slightly worried that Jimin refused to show him any of their texts. Yoongi - Gloss - was already one of Namjoon’s favorite producers, and Jungkook had fallen asleep in Yoongi’s studio while listening to them talk about music at odd hours feeling full and at-home.

A thought struck him in the middle of January, with Performing Throughout America: The Development and Diversity of Dance and Music Throughout the United States freshly published and winter break quickly approaching, hitting hard enough that he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk for a solid second of wide-eyed realization until someone knocked his shoulder as they passed. The thought followed him to Yoongi’s studio where he was meeting him and Jimin for dinner, bouncing along frantically in his head so much that he could think of nothing else.

They were both there when Jungkook keyed in the code, conversation pausing as Jungkook blurted, “I wanna see Namjoonie hyung.”

Yoongi raised his brows. “You always want to see him, Kook.”

“Yes—” Jungkook huffed, frustrated that he didn’t know. “Yeah, but—my break is coming up and I can actually do it. I could really, really, actually go see him. It’d be all of my savings, but—”

Jimin fixed him with a look and Jungkook winced, convinced he would be torn down. “Baby, honey, sweetie, it would not. Hyung will pay for it.”

Yoongi made an impressed sound, looking over at him. “That’s kind.”

“I’m talking about you.”

Yoongi sputtered but also didn’t argue.

Jungkook blinked. He imagined a lot more arguing going on.

“Now—I’ll take care of it regardless,” Jimin pouted, “but is there any chance your Jiminie hyungie can go with you?”

Jungkook realized all at once that there was nothing he wanted more than for Namjoon to meet his friends, for their worlds to meet in the middle and be stitched together and made inseparable. “You would?” he asked, voice shaking a tiny bit. “It’s not really anything you’re used to, hyung, just so you know. There’s not even a hotel in town.”

Jimin dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “Oh, I’ll stay with Tae.”

Yoongi huffed, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms, trying his best to look grumpy but achieving something much closer to fondness. “Well, where am I going to stay?”

Jungkook’s mouth dropped a little as he looked at him, hope bright in his eyes. “Are you serious, hyung? You’ll come too?”

Yoongi shrugged. “You know you’ll need to talk to your boy first, right? We’re not going to show up at his house.”

Jungkook gasped, pulling out his phone. It was just a little before five in Kentucky and Namjoon would be getting up soon, but Jungkook refused to wait a single second more. He called before his hyungs could get a word in, running out into the hall and bouncing on the balls of his feet as it rang. Namjoon answered, voice deep and rumbly with sleep. Hearing it would usually be enough to make Jungkook short circuit, but he was on a mission.

“Hi, b—”

“Hi, hyungie, I love you, can I come see you again? Please? I have a break coming up for a couple weeks and hyungs said they’d go with me and I really want to see you, I miss you and I love you and I really—”

“Jungkook,” Namjoon interrupted. “I love you, too.”

Jungkook fell silent, the weight of the words settling on his shoulders like a blanket. Jungkook hadn’t fully realized he’d said it, though it certainly hadn’t been the first time he’d felt it. Nothing felt astronomically different, nothing felt changed, but it felt - right. Comfortable. Perfect.

“Woah.”

Namjoon laughed, quiet and sleepy. “I love you. And I’d love to see you. But are you sure—”

“Hyung!” Jungkook whined. “Don’t ask me if I’m sure! You have to know I’m sure!”

“I’ll ask Tae if we can pick you up.” Namjoon was smiling - Jungkook could always hear it in his voice. “Uh—”

“Huh?”

“You said your hyungs are coming, too? Like, Yoongi hyung and Jimin?”

Jungkook blinked, biting his lip. “I mean. Is that okay?”

“Yeah—” he reassured. “I’m just worried Tae will combust.”

Jungkook giggled, leaning against the wall and glancing at the studio door. “I think they have something going on. Jimin hyung won’t tell me what they talk about but—”

“Oh, Tae tells me, no matter how much I beg him to stop. They definitely have something.” They were quiet for a long moment, revelling in the joy of a plan, no matter how semi-formed it was. Namjoon was quiet, almost shy, when he spoke. “You really wanna see me, baby?”

“I really, really, really wanna see you, hyung. Let me?”

“I’d crunch up the world just so you could get here quicker.”

Jungkook grinned, hugging himself because Namjoon couldn’t do it for him. “You’ve been watching pangea documentaries again.”

“They’re relaxing!”

Jungkook wasn’t sure he had ever felt so content. “I’ll tell you when we get tickets?”

“Yeah,” Namjoon agreed softly. “Study hard, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Be good for your hyungs.”

Jungkook squeezed himself. “Nah. I’ll be good for you.”

He could hear the smile in Namjoon’s voice again. “Love you, Jungkookie. I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you, Joonie hyung.”

Jungkook took a deep breath after hanging up before shivering, unable to keep all of his happy energy contained - he jumped in place, grinning hard enough that his cheeks hurt and his eyes watered, shaking his hands out in the air. He managed to muffle his exuberant, buzzy, wordless sound until the studio door was closed behind him. He flopped into Yoongi’s lap, ignoring his loud oof, hugging around his neck and kicking his feet.

“Good?” Yoongi asked.

“Good.”

-

It took surprisingly little effort for Jimin to get a week and a half off schedule, and Yoongi didn’t have any upcoming projects he couldn’t take a few days away from. Everything seemed so fast. It had all become so real in the blink of an eye - they found dates that worked, settled accommodations with Taehyung for Jimin and Hoseok and Seokjin for Yoongi, actually got tickets, and time seemed to pass in a rush.

Jungkook was jittery in a way that he had never been before - even his first time on a plane, or his first time on a trip by himself, he had never felt as shaky as he did standing with Jimin and Yoongi in BNA. They grabbed their luggage from baggage claim and, with directional assistance from Papago, they were soon standing at the arrival gate. Jungkook didn’t even have the chance to get a white-knuckled grip on his suitcase before he saw them.

Jungkook’s legs moved without his say-so, running to Namjoon and leaping into his arms without a second thought, throwing his arms around his shoulders and burying his face in his neck. Namjoon hugged him around his waist, a show of strength that made his stomach swoop. He’d only been around Namjoon for a few days in person, but he somehow smelled familiar, homey in a way Jungkook’s own home didn’t. He couldn’t help but let out a tiny sob. He pulled away to apologize for crying but - there were tears in Namjoon’s eyes, too, shiny and warm, a broad smile on his face.

“Hi, baby,” he said, and Jungkook couldn’t wait another moment before he kissed him.

Even in a crowd of people, it felt delicate, private, something they’d been looking forward to for so long. They were so locked up in their own world that he didn’t notice Jimin and Taehyung full on making out against the trunk of Hoseok’s borrowed car, Yoongi scowling as he moved around them to load their bags in.

“Is this what it’s gonna be like?” he asked himself. “Is this what I signed up for?”

Namjoon laughed and Jungkook felt inordinately pleased at how watery it sounded, clearly as moved by the reunion as Jungkook was. “Sorry, hyung. I’m afraid you won’t get away from it staying with Jin and Hobah.”

Yoongi threw his hands up dramatically, but Jungkook could recognize the look in his eyes. He’d never been able to deny Jimin and Jungkook anything, “The things I do for you kids—”

Taehyung and Jimin were starting to get looks as they kept going at it after Yoongi had slammed the trunk closed. Jimin whined when he tugged him away, pouting until he sat in the front seat, holding hands with Taehyung over the gearshift. Namjoon and Yoongi talked about music over Jungkook’s head in the back seat, a conversation he could have joined in on easily, but he was too content to sit half on Namjoon’s lap, playing with his hands and tangling their legs together as much as he could.

He wasn’t sure he had ever felt this good. He’d always known that his home was with the people he loved, and now everything was at it should be in Hoseok’s sedan - listening to Yoongi’s familiar voice, watching Taehyung and Jimin half-bickering while holding hands, like they had known each other for years, safe in his boyfriend’s arms—

He sat up, looking at Namjoon with wide eyes. “Are we boyfriends?”

Namjoon blinked. “Guess we never talked about that, huh?”

Jungkook didn’t have the patience for potential rejection, already tearing up. “Hyungie—”

“Of course we’re boyfriends—” Namjoon said quickly, cupping Jungkook’s face in his big hands. “Will you be my boyfriend, please? I love you, please be my boyfriend—”

Worry flew from his mind immediately, leaving nothing but giddy happiness. He threw his arms around Namjoon’s neck again, squirming from feeling so much all at once. He let out a pleased hum, nosing his shoulder. “Love you boyfriend baby—”

“You’re the baby,” Namjoon laughed. “My sweet little boyfriend baby—”

“Oh my god,” Taehyung said from the front, giving them a look in the rearview mirror. “We’re like, thirty minutes from home, please don’t fuck in Hobi’s car.”

Jimin leaned in, whispering, “So I can’t give you road head?”

Yoongi let out a strangled half-scream. “No! Not with me here!”

They ignored him. “Later, kay? It’ll be hotter in my truck.”

“I ride in that truck!” Namjoon complained, but he’d also taken one of Jungkook’s hands to kiss and couldn’t be taken too seriously.

It was dark and quiet when they got to Kimberly, the few streetlights along the main road the only source of light, so unlike Seoul and everything else Jungkook had known. Tae made the rounds, dropping Yoongi off at Jin and Hoseok’s - they hadn’t met before, but they’d offered to host him immediately, because they loved company, loved Namjoon, and loved Namjoon’s happiness. If Yoongi was even the tiniest bit connected to that, they’d open their arms to him in a second.

They met him outside with bright, matching smiles. Jungkook had never seen the look on Yoongi’s face before, but he recognized it immediately - he was fucked. But still, he waved them off, allowing Hoseok to escort him in.

Tae dropped Namjoon and Jungkook off next - they all but scrambled out of the car, eager to be alone. Jimin went so far as to help Jungkook unload his bags, barely giving him a short bye! before rushing back to the car. Jungkook could hear him urging Taehyung on with a “go, go, go, we have plans, babe!”

Jungkook almost wanted to know what their plans were just because Jimin wouldn’t tell him, but - he looked at Namjoon, his handsome, sexy, beautiful, perfect boyfriend hyung, and decided he had a lot more interesting things to focus on.

It seemed that Namjoon thought the same thing. Jungkook couldn’t help but think, as self-aggrandizing as it might be, that Namjoon was looking at him like he was a pretty planet in the sea of stars all around them, the new moon making them shine all the brighter.

They stood there for a long moment, just looking after so many months of not being able to, before Namjoon held out his hand. Jungkook took it, following his lead. As soon as the door closed behind them, Namjoon crowded him against it, kissing him with a ferocity that made Jungkook’s toes tingle. He felt so pleasantly off-balance, relying on Namjoon to hold him up. It was heavy for a good few moments, both of them burning hot, their hands in each others’ hair or under their shirts - but then it slowly turned into something gentle, something relaxed and unhurried.

Namjoon gave him one more soft kiss before pulling away. Jungkook had started to go lax, tired enough to fall asleep in his arms. “Let’s get you in bed.”

“No,” Jungkook whined drowsily. “Want hyungie to fuck me.”

Namjoon laughed, hugging him close and swaying just a little. “Hyung will fuck you when you’ve slept the travel off, baby. You’ve gotta be so tired.”

Jungkook pouted but grudgingly admitted it, tugging on his shirt. “Sleepy.”

Namjoon smiled, cupping his cheek and kissing his pouty lips once more. “Hop in the shower. I’ll make you a snack so you don’t wake up starved.”

Jungkook sighed in assent but tugged his shirt again. “Want another kiss.”

What could Namjoon do if not indulge?

Jungkook took great joy in using Namjoon’s products in the shower, even though he loved the smell on Namjoon so much more. Still, he felt fuzzy, possessive, so happy and at home. Namjoon had dropped his luggage off in his room but he bypassed it without a thought, going straight to Namjoon’s dresser to pilfer sweats and a t-shirt. Namjoon gave him a satisfying double-take when he came into the kitchen, pretty and clean, sleepy and soft.

Namjoon was enamored. He was always enamored by Jungkook, and he always thought he couldn’t be any more so when Jungkook would go and do something like - that. Like dressing in Namjoon’s clothes, using Namjoon’s shampoo, walking through Namjoon’s home, letting Namjoon hand-feed him food when he looked like he would fall asleep with the fork halfway to his mouth. He was sweet and agreeable when Namjoon suggested they go to bed, humming happily as he was tucked in. He hummed much happier when Namjoon spooned him from behind, splaying a big hand over Jungkook’s tummy and kissing the nape of his neck.

“Love you,” Jungkook mumbled. He was asleep before he heard Namjoon’s response, but that was okay. He knew Namjoon loved him, too.

-

Taehyung met him at the airport in a worn cowboy hat and Gucci shades - a favorite of Jimin’s and a gift from Jimin respectively. Half of Taehyung’s wardrobe had become Jimin-curated over the years - Jimin was never content unless he had something on its way to Tae, and Taehyung never felt content without some sort of subtle symbol of taken on his person. He didn’t need a sugar daddy, but god, Jimin loved spoiling him, and Taehyung loved being spoiled. Jungkook knew he’d be spoiling him in person in a couple months, when Jimin made a surprise trip for his own birthday.

Yoongi would come, too, to see Namjoon and Jungkook, and to have a nice little stay at Jin and Hoseok’s. The three of them talked a lot, more than Jungkook had realized at first; they had a tendency to video call, eating meals together at completely different times of day. Yoongi was eating more regularly - he said it was so they would stop bothering him all the time, but Jungkook saw the way he lit up when he got their texts.

And Namjoon - Jungkook nearly shouted when he spotted him. He’d said he wouldn’t be able to make it, that it would just be Tae, but there he was, grinning bright and scooping him up as Taehyung laughed beside them.

“Hi, baby—”

“Joonie, missed you,” he said, voice muffled with his face pressed into Namjoon’s shirt. It was the same one he was wearing when he met Jungkook the first time. He probably didn’t even remember, but Jungkook would never, ever forget. It was burned into his memory beside everything else that was perfect in his life.

Namjoon kissed his forehead, smoothing his hair back. “Ready to get home?”

The jetlag never got better, even after six trips over two years. He spent the first couple of days of each one snoring loudly in Namjoon’s bed, too travel-tired to dream. He didn’t need to dream, though, not really - everything he would have dreamed about kissed his forehead every time he came to check on him, so there wasn’t much of a point. Every trip was so good, so happy and peaceful and romantic, when Jungkook spent hours and hours in the fields helping out, when he and Namjoon stargazed late at night, when Jungkook’s favorite chicken sat in his lap.

The jetlag was always worth it - it would be worth it to just spend a single hour with Namjoon, much less a week or so. But this time, with the bed of Taehyung’s truck full of luggage, he knew it would be even more worth it. He wasn’t moving in, not yet - Namjoon would fly back with him for his graduation ceremony, he’d meet his parents, he’d record in Yoongi’s studio - but it was the last vacation.

He’d go with Taehyung to visit Jimin in Seoul later on, he’d see Jin and Hobi off to spend an anniversary with Yoongi, he’d travel back for some holidays, he was hardly leaving forever.

But soon - soon - Kimberly, Kentucky’s population would go up by one.