Chapter Text
****
“- Aren’t you just the cutest thing ever?!” Jimin’s voice is higher than usual, a laugh bubbling in the end of his sentence, ricocheting in the tiny room at the back of his salon and making its colourful setting come to life. “So small and so good! Look at you!” His smile is as bright as his tone, making his entire face shine with pure bliss.
‘I’m cute and small.’ Yoongi thinks, a pout almost making its way on his lips. He tries his best to keep his eyes fixed on Holy, the toy poodle staying still and quiet while Jimin shampoo his curly fur. ‘But I guess I’m just not puppy-cute,’ he mentally shrugs. He can’t afford to look at Jimin, not right now when he looks as warm as the first ray of sunshine heating your skin after a long winter. ‘People compare me more often to a cat, anyway. So I would be more cat-cute.’ He watches Holy staying still, like the good boy that he is, as Jimin rinses the product from his fur, complimenting him on how well behaved he’s being and how shiny his fur is now that it’s clean. He gets an enthusiastic bark as a response, and that bursts another fit of giggles from him, the sound making its way through the warmth inside the room and Yoongi’s chest. ‘Cat-cute is still cute, probably as cute as puppy-cute. There’s nothing wrong with being cat-cute. But maybe Jimin prefers puppy-cute?’ No, Yoongi saw him cooing in front of Peanut last Monday, a short-haired calico cat with folded ears. ‘So cat-cute is still up in the game of cuteness.’ But Yoongi doesn’t recall Jimin cooing at him, nonetheless.
“- Okay! Time for a good dry, sir!” Jimin chirps, wrapping Holy in a soft, fluffy pastel yellow towel, before taking him in his arms and moving the puppy to his drying station. Yoongi moves behind him, careful to not be on the way as his dog only throws him an uninterested look. ‘You’re in his arms what the fuck could you want more?!’ Jimin puts the towel away once Holy is dry enough and brings back the blow dryer, his smile never leaving his plump lips. “Pretty and well behaved, just like your Papa!” He sends a wink and a blinding smile at Yoongi, unaware of the full body effect it’s having on the poor man. Yoongi coughs, feeling the top of his cheeks and his ears warming up, flustered and playing with the dead skin around his nails as he looks at Holy’s fur comically moving one way to another from the blow of the machine.
“- All done and all good!” Jimin passes his fingers through Holy’s fur, shaping his curls with his palms as the puppy just looks at him with an open mouth and a hanging tongue, his small chest raising and falling at a fast pace. “Thank you for being such a good boy, Holy!” Jimin’s voice is high again, squeaking in a way that is way above cat-cute and puppy-cute. “And thank you , hyung for raising him so well.”
“- Aish. He’s an easy dog to train, really.” Yoongi lowers his eyes and scratches the back of his neck, feeling how warm his skin is there. Hopefully, Jimin will think the shade of pink dusting his face is because of the room’s temperature.
Jimin gives a small treat to Holy, making the poodle raise on his four paws and shake his tail vigorously, his tiny paws making sharp noises against the metallic surface of the drying table. “Okay, let’s go.” Jimin mutters, putting Holy’s harness and leash back on and helping him get down on the floor again. He hands the leash to Yoongi and maybe Yoongi lets his hand linger a second too long over Jimin’s fingers. But he couldn’t care less; he was feeling brave today and basks in the soft tickles that runs across his skin where Jimin’s fingers had brushed over. Jimin gives him another bright smile before leading the way to the reception.
La Truffe is in the image of its owner: colourful, eclectic and welcoming. The reception is a large room where the sun leaks through tall windows facing the streetway, filtered by a few hanging plants and pearls curtains. The chestnut wooden floor warmly contrasts with the pale yellow colour of the wall, where paintings and decorations dress up the wall. At one corner of the room, around a low, round coffee table, four armchairs are placed, all different in shapes and colours but somehow clashing in an esthetic harmony that Yoongi can’t even fathom being able to recreate. Not too far from the sitting area, a myriad of toys are scattered on the floor, ready for the dogs to grab and destroy.
Yoongi lets the leash go loose for Holy to reach one of the many water bowls placed across the room, while he subtly gives his reflection on the tall window a quick glance. ‘ I’m cuter than Peanut.’
For a brief moment, the only sounds in the room are Holy’s glutton slurps and Jimin soft hums as he gets behind the counter and starts typing on his computer. Yoongi finds himself right in front of him, with the counter acting as the last bastion of his shy mess, and stares at anything else than Jimin’s perfect profile and glossy lips. His gaze finds the new flower bouquet standing tall and proud on the corner of the counter, right next to the cashier — tulips, yellow ones. ‘Of course.’ A fond smile finds its way on Yoongi’s lips despite himself, while he lets his fingers slowly trail over the curves of the white ceramic vase. Jimin always gets yellow flowers, no matter which type or what variety the constant will always be the colour — to match the rest of his salon’s soft decor; to match his favourite colour. The flowers vary according to the seasons, like a natural timepiece that helps you witness the cadence of the passing months. The flowers vary, but never the colour. Tulips were the first flowers Yoongi saw when he came to La Truffe for the first time.
“- Those seem bigger than last year.” Yoongi’s voice slightly cracks from misuse and he promptly clears his throat, trying to not cringe from how rough he sounds. Jimin only typing stops a few seconds to give him a warm smile and a fond gaze, before nodding and continuing.
“- I changed my supplier.” He starts, “I’ve found this old harabeoji that runs a flower shop just a few streets away from here. He’s adorable, and he grows his flowers himself in a greenhouse with his wife. They’re the cutest couple ever!” He outwardly coos and gives his keyboard a final, firm tap before fully facing Yoongi again. “Okay! That will be 12’000 won, please.” Yoongi hands the money, a dust of warmth on his cheeks spreading from the soft gaze Jimin gives him. “Thank you, hyung.”
As Yoongi pockets his wallet and gently calls Holy, Jimin rounds the counter and swiftly takes one tulip out from its vase. He gently hands it to Yoongi, his radiant smile never leaving his face, and reducing Yoongi’s heart into a frantic butterfly.
“- Thank you.” Yoongi takes the flower, happy to have something else to look at and terribly aware of the heat growing on his cheeks and neck. “It’s a really pretty flower.” He tries to not visibly cringe from his sentence ‘Really eloquent Yoongi, good job.’ His voice was low, surely Jimin didn’t actually hear him, so he could just nod and try to say a respectable goodbye before escaping to his apartment.
“- It is. It will be like your own little souvenir up there.” Jimin leans against the counter, nonchalant and effortlessly gorgeous, “so you don’t forget me before your next appointment.”
“- As if I could ever forget you.” Yoongi blurts out before his brain-to-mouth filter could properly function. He grows three times redder, stuttering his way through another sentence. “I–I have to walk in front of the salon to get out of the building, Jimin-ah.” Maybe he sounds more petulant than he would like to, but he’s too focused on the heat of his cheeks and the warmth in Jimin’s eyes to care. Jimin’s laugh bursts into the reception, the sound encouraging Holy to join with a trickle of small barks and a wagging tail. The place looks ten times more colourful after Jimin’s laugh, and Yoongi thinks he can see a subtle touch of rose on his cheeks as well.
“- I know, hyung, but you almost never stop to chat or have a cup of tea. You only come when Holy needs something.” Jimin pouts, but he knows there isn’t real spite behind his words, only a tad complaints, but that’s it.
“- I’m sorry Jimin-ah,” Yoongi nervously scratches the back of his neck, “I’ll try to pass by more often.” He says, even if he’s not sure how he will gather enough courage to come and have a full, proper conversation with Jimin without Holy in between, being the perfect buffer and backup topic of discussion if needed.
“- It’s okay, I’m just teasing you. Though, I do have a date and a place where I would like to see you.” Jimin says, mischievous, and Yoongi fails to scold his brain about what such an invitation could mean. Instead, he hums and Jimin continues, “I’m throwing a party for La Truffe’s one-year anniversary. It will be here, there will be good music and good food. And I will be really happy if you could join as well.” Jimin looks almost sheepish when he looks at Yoongi this time, but his smile is still as sweet as ever.
“- Yeah, of course I’ll be there.” Yoongi says, a bit too fast, and Taehyung comes through the back door right on time to hear his answer.
“- AH SEE! I TOLD YOU HE WOULD SAY YES!” Taehyung says effusively, his boxy smile radiant, not paying attention to the questioning looks he’s receiving from the client following him or the startled chihuahua in his arms. Jimin, on the other hand, gains one shade of red, and tries to calm his colleague.
“- Yah! Don’t shout, you’re going to scare the puppies!” He shouts, addressing the confused chihuahua, and the bored look on Holy’s small face.
“- Be sure to bring your friend Hoseok with you as well. It wouldn’t be fair if Jimin was the only one with a treat that night.” Taehyung winks at Yoongi, who can only look at this entire scene unravelling in front of him, his neck, ears and face practically melting as Jimin uncontrollably coughs.
“- Okay hyung! Thank you so much for coming! I’ll send you the formal invitation when they will be ready in a couple of days!” Jimin says at a neck breaking speed, stumbling from one word to another as he gently, but firmly, guides Yoongi and Holy to the exit. “And feel free to stop by anytime you want!”
And with that, the front door shuts behind Yoongi, and he’s left outside, alone with Holy who’s just throwing him a puzzled look.
“- Don’t look at me, buddy. I have no clue either on what the fuck just happened.” Yoongi says before smoothly tugging at the leash and guiding them both upstairs.
****
The soft lofi music coming from inside the café can be heard from its backyard as well, providing a pleasant atmosphere to the whole setting. The sun is warming Yoongi’s skin, soft and comfortable like a gentle embrace that will tint the smell of his skin. A few blades of grass are tinkling his ankles at the junction where his trouser ends and his shoes begin. The distinct aroma of coffee mingles around him, and all of this could lull him into a state of relaxing meditation, if not for his best friends pestering him.
“- What do you mean, we’re not going?!” Hoseok says, a bit too loud for the other tables, “Mickey stop biting Holy’s tail like that!” He chastises even louder before turning back to his essential matter: Yoongi. In the background Yoongi can hear a few barks, some of which he recognises being from Holy. “Hyung, I really think it would be stupid of you to not go to this party.” Hoseok says with finality before leaning back on his seat, crossing his legs and taking a sip of his caramel macchiato.
“- I’m siding with Hobi on that one, hyung.” Namjoon says, his eyes still focused on the pups playing all together, probably trying to see if Monie isn’t being too rough with the others. “I think Jimin will be really sad if you don’t show up. Especially for an event that must mean a lot for him.” He says, turning to face the rest of the group again and slightly bumping his knee on the table by doing so.
“- I know…” Yoongi sighs, toying with the straw of his Americano, “I’m just not really fond of those kinds of social events. Too many people.” He mumbles before taking a long sip. “And I’m always a mess when I’m around Jimin. I feel like I’ll just make a fool of myself if I go.”
“- You won’t be alone, hyung.” Hoseok leans over, reaching for Yoongi’s hand in an attempt to comfort, “and I don’t think you’ll make a fool of yourself. If anything, I think Jimin finds your shy little face really cute.”
“- As all of us.” Namjoon adds under his breath, making Yoongi blush but Hoseok pays them no mind.
“- And it’s not like you’re strangers. You’ve known each other for almost a year now.” He continues, stroking his thumb over the back of Yoongi’s hand. “Maybe this is the best opportunity for you to grow a pair of really heavy balls and actually confess to him.” He finishes with a few friendly taps on Yoongi’s hand before leaning back again, visibly satisfied with his own inputs into this conversation.
Yoongi scowls at him, warmth on his cheeks, and just takes another dramatically long sip of coffee for lack of any better comebacks.
For a moment, it’s only the soft lofi music and the playful squeaks of the dogs again. Yoongi gives himself a few seconds to close his eyes and take a deep breath.
“- Even if I wanted to do all of this, I’m still too nervous to even talk to him. I keep stuttering and can’t even manage to make eye contact for more than two seconds.” His voice is small, petulant. He can’t help but feel embarrassed by his confession, even if it’s in front of his closest friends. What kind of adult can’t hold a proper conversation with someone else? He knows he’s shy at best, socially anxious at worst, and that it’s not really his fault if he keeps getting easily flustered. But he’s tired of feeling like he’s fighting against everything and especially himself every time he has to talk to someone; particularly if that someone is a cute blond boy he’s been crushing on for months now.
When he looks up from his cup of coffee, he’s afraid to find pity in his friends’ eyes, but there’s none of that. There’s understanding and compassion, but no pity — and to that, he’s grateful.
“- You know,” Namjoon starts, “this could still be a good opportunity for both of you.”
“- The party—”
“- I’m not talking about the party, hyung.” Namjoon is firm and patient, his voice almost academic and Yoongi doesn’t have the energy to find it annoying — yet. “But think about it: you know he’s throwing a big event, that most certainly will ask a lot of time and work from him, and you live just right above the salon.”
“- Namjoon, you gorgeous giant genius! YES THAT’S SUCH A GOOD IDEA!” Hoseok is almost shouting by the end of his sentence, and Yoongi is surprised the dogs haven’t started barking — yet.
“- Am I stupid for not following what’s a good idea?”
“- This is the perfect opportunity to spend more time with Jimin; by offering some help for the preparations, for example.” Namjoon says before finishing his cappuccino.
“- No—”
“- YES!” Hoseok interjects, loud and quick, and at this point Yoongi could see a few glances thrown at them from tables around. “You take that cute ass of yours to his salon, offer to help him, spend time together, and then glitter, glitter, glitter, you kiss and make a lot of babies.”
“- That’s nonsense.” Yoongi snorts, trying to appear more cynical than actually afraid.
“- IT’S PERFECT!” Hoseok shouts in glee, totally ignoring Yoongi’s comment. He’s quite sure he heard Holy barking at Hoseok’s shriek.
“- Hyung,” Namjoon starts again, still with his academic voice, and Yoongi thinks he has enough energy to find it annoying now. “Even if you don’t want to confess at the end, wouldn’t that be a good, chill exercise for you? So you would be more comfortable around him?”
“- Also, I know how you are,” Hoseok continues, way calmer, “you love helping the one you cherish. This is the perfect setting for you and your nerves.”
Yoongi bothers his bottom lip as he weighs the whole idea. As painful as his nerves and shyness might find it, they’re right: it is the perfect setting for him and his poor anxious heart. And he does want to be able to have a proper, laid back conversation with Jimin without turning into a stuttering mess.
“- Yeah. I guess you're right.” He says with a deep sigh.
“- YES!” Hoseok cheers, “And hyung, in case of doubt just think about why you’re doing this.”
“- To get closer to Jimin?”
“- Yes, but also so I can have a piece of Taehyung’s ass.” Hoseok says back with finality.
“- Jesus Christ.” Namjoon ushers under his breath. And in the back, Yoongi can still hear the dogs barking.
****
“- The folder named “Little Woman_final” on your desktop…” Jimin points out, dragging the end of his sentence, his finger hovering the screen of the computer as Yoongi comes back from his kitchen with two glasses of water.
“- Is the one with the final version of the movie’s main soundtrack, yes.” Yoongi says with a small smile on his lips, taking the seat next to Jimin after handing him his glasses. He can already feel his cheeks warming up from Jimin’s loud exclamation, visibly impressed. ‘ This project was a nightmare.’
"- I swear hyung, you just have the coolest job out there!” Jimin smiles around his glass of water. ‘Best project of my life.’
“- Not really…” Yoongi mumbles as he scratches the back of his neck. “Okay, so do you have the to-do list you were talking about earlier?” He says after clearing his throat and forcing the colour on his cheeks to fade away.
Yoongi is still baffled that he somehow managed to find the courage to offer Jimin some help.
It was a mess, he doesn’t remember much of how it happened, adrenaline pulsating through his body and putting him under autopilot, but he remembers that it was a mess. ‘ An embarrassing mess.’ It’s a miracle that Jimin understood what he tried to say through stuttering words and whispered sentences, all while not being able to meet him in the eyes and feeling anything else than his face melting.
But he did it. ‘ At what cost?’ He thinks as they’re now sitting in his small second bedroom converted into an in-home studio, so close that Yoongi could feel the warmth of Jimin’s body on his side and smell the subtle scent of his parfum. It’s their third evening working together like this and they’ve been productive so far; once Yoongi’s first wave of anxiety washed away, they managed to find a dynamic that makes them go from one task to another pretty quickly. They’ve found a small business that makes personalised pet treats, selected a DJ and they’re now searching for a good-but-not-too-pricey catering service. But it turns out to be more difficult than anticipated as they jump from one site to another and can’t seem to find anything that has good enough reviews without being double of Jimin’s budget.
"- Well, I should probably cut down on some of the things I wanted to have.” Jimin pouts, and Yoongi is crushed to discover it’s even more devastating up close. “The cake could be just a simple one."
“- What?! No!” They both startle from Yoongi outburst, but he continues anyway, trying to ignore the heat on his face, “Jimin this is the celebration of your accomplishment! You’ve worked hard to get where you are right now, you deserve all the nice things you want.”
Jimin looks at him a bit stunned for a few second before giving him a soft smile and a fond gaze, “that’s really nice to say, hyung,” he starts, resting a hand on one of Yoongi’s knees before gently squeezing it, “but unfortunately I think I will have to draw the line between the nice things I deserve and the one I can actually afford.” He says, pulling his hand away to scroll further down on the current website, his pout slowly coming back. ‘ I could burn villages for that pout.’
“- No.”
“- No?” Jimin looks at him, confused.
“- You will get all the nice things you deserve, Jimin-ah.” Yoongi says, determined, “One of my best friends owns a restaurant, I can always ask him if he could help us or even give another contact if we need it.”
“- Hyung…” Jimin blushes, looking shy for the first time of the night, and Yoongi decides it’s a beautiful look on him. “You don’t need to overdo yourself or even bother your friends just for—”
“- I will cook that sunflower themed cake myself if I have to, Jiminie!” Yoongi blurts out, full of bravado he doesn’t recall having at the first place. There’s a short moment of silence where Yoongi tries to decide which part of his little show mortifies him the most: his impulsive outburst about a flower cake, or the nickname he secretly gave to Jimin all those months ago and that has finally slipped out. His face is burning again, his leg starts bouncing, and Yoongi waits for any reaction from Jimin as he silently decides he will never speak to any other human being ever again.
Jimin breaks from his brief astonishment and bursts out into a full body laugh, losing his balance and falling right into Yoongi’s arms. Yoongi is stunned, in the best way possible, as Jimin’s laugh fills his room and bounces against its walls, overtaking his entire body and making him shine like a thousand suns. Yoongi can’t help but laugh as well, his arms tightening around Jimin’s body, and he decides that he should make Jimin laugh like that everyday for the rest of his life.
****
“- Hyacinth might be too busy, and daffodils might be too simple. What do you think, hyung?”
Yoongi only hums, trying to buy him some times as he looks at the different flowers around him, trying to recall if he ever really knew what hyacinths look like to begin with.
“- I don’t know… Daffodil is a fun name for a flower, though.”
Jimin lets out a short laugh, one of his hands finding Yoongi’s elbows and gently guiding them deeper in the shop. “Let’s look around a bit more.” He walks and Yoongi diligently follows him, Holy’s leash loose as the dog sniffs the roses sitting in big pots on the floor.
The flower shop is a large but simple place. It’s run by an old man that dearly greeted them with cold hands and warm eyes when they stepped inside the shop — he’s the harabeoji Jimin talked about a few weeks ago. He looks at them with a fond gaze and a knowing smile that threatens to grow a flush on Yoongi’s cheeks as they pace in betweens low hanging plants and tall potted shrubs. The sharp scent of freshly cut stems and leaves mingles in the air, mendling with the various dull fragrances of the flowers surrounding them and making Holy cutely sneeze whenever he gets his snout too close to their pistils.
Jimin chuckles a gentle ‘cute’ after the puppy, his hand lingering on the soft petals of a daisy as he looks at Holy recovering from his sneeze with a shake of his small head, and Yoongi tries to not dive too much into the ‘puppy-cute vs cat-cute’ debate once again. Instead he focuses on the way Jimin’s fingers play with the delicate petals of the daisies, his touch careful and light as a small smile rises on his plump, rose lips. ‘Nothing can beat ‘Jimin-cute’, though.’ Yoongi thinks as Jimin’s lips grow into a devastating pout.
“- Daisies could work, but white ones.” Jimin looks at him, his eyes full of anticipation as he waits for Yoongi’s opinion, and his mind is too weak to provide anything else than ‘I would buy all the daisies of this place for you.’
“- White ones? Not yellow?” He still asks instead.
“- I fear it would be a bit too much to just have yellow flowers everywhere.” Jimin says, pensive, and his gaze turns back to the small flowers.
“- Yeah but that’s like your brand.” Yoongi brings a hand to a daisy as well, mimicking Jimin’s gentle strokes on the petals. “What about white daisies and some touch of yellow here and there?”
Yoongi knows shit about flowers, even less about event decorations, but he thinks he might have said the right thing when he sees Jimin’s face lighten up.
“- That sounds PERFECT, hyung!” He cheers, before turning around, scanning the shop once again. “We should get big ones, to contrast with the small daisies. It would give more texture.”
“- Sure,” is all Yoongi says, as he wonders what texture has to do with bouquets and flower arrangements. But he puts his entire trust on Jimin for this one; it’s his event after all.
“- Harabeoji!” Jimin gently calls, “do you have sunflowers somewhere?” And they promptly follow the owner into the back of the shop.
Yoongi is waiting for Jimin to finalise his order, talking logistics and prices with the old man, while Holy quietly stays seated next to his feet. He knows his dog better: he knows Holy is just too lazy to throw a tantrum, but he’s already impatient to start moving toward the exit, if the way his eyes stay glued on the wide windows tells anything.
“- Here we go!” He hears Jimin’s soft and playful voice behind his back, “sorry for the wait.” He adds, posting himself right beside Yoongi.
“- I don’t mind. Holy on the other hand might have a word with you later on that.” He jokes, and he’s delighted to hear Jimin's own chuckle.
“- I’m sorry Holy, baby,” Jimin coos, kneeling a bit to scratch behind the puppy’s ear, receiving a wide open-mouthed huff and an enthusiastic wag of tail. “This is for you, hyung.” He says as he straightens back up, handing a small beige pot with a tall yellow flower in it. The thick stem is deep green while the flower itself is shaped like a trumpet. “A daffodil, so you would know now what comes with that funny name.” His cheeks are slightly tinted pink as he hands the gift to Yoongi.
“- For me?” Yoongi asks dumbfounded, before taking the pot from Jimin’s hand.
“- Of course! It’s a small thank you for coming with me today. And for all the help you’ve done for me so far.”
“- You don’t need to thank me Jimin-ah.” Yoongi whines, but accepts the gift anyway, feeling warm on his cheeks and in his chest, giddiness settling inside of him.
“- But I want to.” Jimin pouts as they walk toward the exit, “also, you should let me spoil you a bit sometimes.”
“- But I’m the hyung here.” Yoongi laughs, squinting his eyes as the early afternoon sun greets them in front of the flower shop.
“- And I’m your dongsaeng. Glad we cleared that out.” Jimin sasses with a wide smile, his eyes reflecting the sun, “you’re both heading to the park now?” He asks, his gaze falling on Holy that is starting to pull on his leash, losing his meagre patience.
“- Yeah, this little sir here is growing impatient.” Jimin giggles again, and Yoongi is only getting a little addicted to the sound.
“- Legitimately. Holy has been really well behaved all morning.” Jimin gives a fond, pointed look at Holy before looking back at Yoongi, “do you mind if I join you both? A walk sounds nice right now.”
“- Sure.” Yoongi says, trying to not appear as flustered as he actually feels.
*
The sun is tenderly warming their skin as they walk to the park, the city buzzing with the joyful atmosphere that comes along with longer and warmer days and brings more people out. It’s slow, mellow, full of an invigorating energy that makes you want to stay wide awake but also laze around. It shows in the way people’s steps are unhurried, in the low purr of everyone’s conversations mingling together, or even in the way Jimin and him have both slowed down their usually fast walking pace to match Holy’s indolent stroll. Yoongi notices how Jimin keeps looking at him as he talks, sometimes even to an extent that would worry him despite Jimin's last minute capacity to avoid obstacles on his way. Jimin chats with his usual enthusiasm, bubbly and bright, but never letting his eyes gaze away from Yoongi; his voice soft and his face radiant. As they walk into the park, Yoongi also doesn’t miss the way the back of their hands keep brushing against each other, but never finds the courage to properly hold Jimin’s hand.
They find a calm spot, right under a tall tree that can shelter them away from summer’s heat, with a wide open field for Holy to run and play to his heart’s content. Yoongi sits on the grass, not minding possibly soiling his clothes for one bit, and undoes Holy’s leash before taking out his foldable dog’s bowl. Jimin is striding away, on his way to bring them water and snacks. And Yoongi kind of hates his brain a little for pointing out how utterly domestic all of this feels. ‘Maybe one day’, he thinks before letting the thought die as he recalls how he stayed silent most of the time on their way here. ‘It’s okay, this is why you’re doing this: so you can get more comfortable with him and get out of your shell.’ His internal pep talk is cut through by Jimin’s comeback with two water bottles and a plastic bag full of snacks in his hands.
“- I don’t know what your go-to snacks are, so I took a little selection.” Jimin says, slightly lifting the bag as he hands a bottle to Yoongi.
“- What a five star type of service. I’m impressed.” Yoongi jokes as he uncaps his water and pours some into Holy’s bowl, “thank you. But I’m good with anything, really.”
“- Then you can have everything. ‘Sounds great!” Jimin sets the snacks between them while gracefully sitting on the grass next to Yoongi, “looks like he’s having the time of his life.” Jimin fondly points out, nodding with a smile, his eyes on Holy running behind a butterfly.
“- It’s his daily fifteen minutes of pure rage, and then he will tire out and come back next to us and ask for cuddles. But before that he needs to hunt down every single butterfly and bumblebee in the area.”
“- What a hunter!” Jimin laughs, endeared to no end, “what a brave little soul.” He giggles, his whole body gently rocking on his side, his head finding a spot on Yoongi’s shoulder.
They talk and eat the snacks Jimin brought while keeping an eye on Holy. It’s nice, comforting, as the occasional fresh summer breeze ruffles the leaves above them and the conversation easily flows from one topic to another. Jimin is laying on the soft grass, his blond hair spreading around his head like a golden halo, his pose nonchalant, his beauty dangerous for Yoongi’s sanity. ‘Gorgeous’ , he thinks, as he tries to readjust his hunched posture into a semblance of grace and start plucking some white wildflowers gathered around him.
After chasing a few more butterflies and a surprisingly unbothered wasp, Holy comes to a sudden stop and runs towards them at full speed, excitement overflowing from his small body. He manages to stop in front of Yoongi and directly goes to his water bowl, taking big, loud sips. Yoongi chuckles, his lap full of flowers, as he watches Holy vigorously shake his fur before barging into Jimin.
“- ARGH!” Jimin falls back, rolling on the soft grass with Holy happily climbing on his stomach and yapping. His laughs mingle with the poodle’s eager barks, and they both play and roll around as Yoongi calmy makes a flower crown, sitting cross-legged next to them with a smile on his lips.
“- STOP LICKING MY FACE!” Jimin screeches between two breathless laughs, “HYUNG! HELP!”
“- You said it yourself Jimin-ah: this is a true hunter.” Yoongi slowly explained, threading one flower stem through another, “I’m not sure if I want to get between you and this feral beast.”
As if on cue, Holy starts barking again, reaching his little paw up to Jimin’s chin, his tail wagging, and it makes Jimin coo and laugh in such a bright way Yoongi wonders how the flowers didn’t bloom around them.
“- Such a savage creature!” Jimin’s baby voice is muffled when he dives his face right into the soft fur on Holy’s tummy, giving loud kisses and making the poodle wiggle.
A giggle makes its way out of Yoongi’s smile, desperately endeared from the scene playing in front of him. ‘I could get used to this. To us.’ He promptly shakes his thoughts away and continues working on his flower crown, as he finds it a good way to avoid keeping eye contact with Jimin for too long.
“- How’s Hobi-hyung? It feels like ages since the last time I’ve seen him.” Jimin asks, breathless, as he sits back up, Holy finally calming down on his laps.
“- He’s loud, as usual,” Yoongi recalls their talk at the café a few weeks ago, “he’s doing great. Impatient to come to your party.”
“- He just wants to see Tae and disgustingly flirt with him.” There’s no malice in Jimin’s voice, only pure amusement and fondness.
“- He did mention Tae’s ass at some point.” Yoongi chuckles, his fingers never stopping their movement. Next to him, Holy clumsily gets out of Jimin’s laps and starts sniffling the potted daffodil resting between them.
"- I wish they could stop this weird mating ritual already and just confess to each other,” Jimin says, a small laugh under his words. He leans over to scratch a spot behind Holy’s ears. “They’ve known each other for what? A year now? Almost as long as us. And they’ve been crushing on the other ever since. It’s more than time.” He giggles, and Yoongi can’t help but feel a slight pang in his chest. This painfully looks like his own current predicament and he would feel like a hypocrite starting to give romantic advice over Hoseok and Taehyung’s relationship – or lack of it, for this instance.
“- They’ll find each other soon enough”, is all he says, his eyes set on the flower crown. “Did you find a photograph for the party?” He promptly changes subject, and he’s grateful Jimin immediately jumps on it.
“- Yes! Oh, I forgot to tell you: Jungkookie said he will do it for free, as an anniversary gift.” Jimin chimes.
“- Oh that’s great Jimin-ah!” Jungkook also quickly became a regular client of La Truffe, as owning a giant doberman puppy led him to hire Jimin’s service pretty frequently. And as a bubbly and adorable person by nature, it’s hard to not fall head over heels for the young tattooed man. From their first ever encounter, Jimin and him had bonded and since then became really close friends. Yoongi has only seen Jungkook a few times, but he’s heard enough of him to feel like he knows everything about him. “I’ve seen some pictures he posted on his instagram, that kid is really good.”
“- Don’t call him a kid, hyung” Jimin laughs, “I’m barely older than him.”
“- Oh so you’re also basically a child!” Yoongi teases with a small smile.
“- Hyung! Dare I remind you I’m a successful entrepreneur!” Jimin pouts, and Yoongi can’t surprise the endeared laugh escaping from his smile.
“- That, you are. And it’s really impressive. Here,” Yoongi says, softly handing his flower crown to Jimin, “hyung is sorry.”
“- Hyung… You made it for me?” Jimin asks, red slowly colouring his cheeks. Not ready to admit out loud that yes, he made this for Jimin, Yoongi only gently takes the flower crown from Jimin’s hands and delicately places it on top of his head, minding the way his hair falls over his eyes.
“- Beautiful.” He whispers, taking in the way the small wildflowers sit on Jimin’s blond hair, his face warming up as soon as the word leaves his lips.
“- Thank you.” Jimin says, just as low, his smile just a tad shy.
They talk for a bit more, drinking water and eating the remaining snacks as Holy naps in between them. When the sun starts descending, they decide to call it a day, collect their things and slowly make their way out of the park.
They continue to talk, the conversation naturally flowing between them in this leisure pace that comes with the end of a full day.
As they get closer to La Truffe, and therefore Yoongi’s apartment, Jimin gently threads his pinky with Yoongi’s. Yoongi immediately stiffens, before relaxing a second later and reaffirming his hold on Jimin’s finger, a shy smile illuminating his features. Jimin keeps talking, as if he isn’t causing wild, beautiful dance of fluttering butterflies in Yoongi’s stomach while their joined hands gently sways in between them.
Way too soon for Yoongi’s liking, they arrive in front of their building, and Jimin lets go of Yoongi’s finger, and he tries to not let his disappointment show too much.
“- Thank you for today, hyung. I had a lot of fun.” Jimin says, his eyes reflecting the vivid shine of the sunset beside them. Before Yoongi can manage to say anything more, Jimin leans forward and gives lands a small, soft kiss on his cheek. Yoongi is awestruck, unable to move as he still feels his cheek tinkling where Jimin’s lips have been just a few seconds ago. “See you around.” Jimin only says, with a bright smile, before turning around and walking away.
Yoongi watches Jimin going away for a short moment, still too stunned to react, before being woken up from his stupor by Holy, barking and tucking at his leash in an attempt to coax Yoongi to finally enter the building and walk upstairs to their apartment.
****
“- So you just had the cutest date ever.” Hoseok says with a solemn tone. Yoongi tries his best to repress his sigh as he continues to work on his file, wondering if the basses aren’t too heavy for the mood of this soundtrack.
“- It wasn't a date, Hoba.” He mutters, his chin resting on his palm, a finger slightly making his words slur into each other.
Hoseok snorts, turning his desk chair away from the computer, “yeah, and I’m not gay.” He gets up to grab three water bottles in the studio’s mini fridge.
“- We went flower shopping for his party. That’s it.” Yoongi stubbornly keeps his eyes on the screen, letting his tensed nerves go onto his poor mouse instead, the insistent clicks on his cursors freneticaly filling the room.
“- Yes, and then he gave you a flower, you made him a cute flower crown and you played happy family with Holy in the park.” Namjoon snorts at Hoseok’s fake nonchalance as he takes his water bottle, muttering a quiet thanks.
“- It wasn’t a date,” Yoongi insists, frowning, his hand still torturing the computer mouse, “we just spent the day together, like any other friends would.”
“- I’ve been friends with Joon for a decade now and I’ve never held his pinky before.” Hoseok sits back on his chair, putting Yoongi’s bottle near him.
“- Please don’t hold my pinky,” Namjoon cringes, “the way you say it sounds weirdly sexual.”
“- I’m sure you can find a better name for your dick than Pinky, Joon-ah.”
“- Anyway…” Namjoon promptly cuts Hoseok, “I’m glad to know that your plan is going well, hyung, and that you’re more comfortable with Jimin now.”
“- Yeah…” Yoongi sighs, finally leaving his computer mouse alone, “to be honest, even if I never confess, I’m already really happy with what we are right now. It feels nice to be able to hang out with him so casually.”
“- What do you mean “even if you never confess”?!” Hoseok sounds almost outraged.
“- I don’t know… The more I look into it, the more I think Jimin just sees me as a friend anyway.”
“- Bullshit.”
“- Hyung,” Namjoon intervenes, “it’s okay if you don’t feel ready to confess yet, but I gotta admit Hobi’s right here: this is bullshit. Jimin is clearly into you.”
“- You’re already pinky-holding and kissing-on-the-cheek base together. Believe me hyung, this is the start of a really good love story.”