“Jiminnie, are you asleep?” Taehyung’s whispers loudly. 

“Mmm,” Jimin replies.

“Can I sleep here tonight?” Taehyung’s sleepy voice asks, and on any other night Jimin would not only be agreeing instantly but begging Taehyung to climb into his cot. 

He’s exhausted from the journey home, and his mind’s preoccupied with the glowing rock and its similarities to Taehyung, the same strange object that Taehyung now seems to be attached to, literally. The younger man has kept the strange blue rock/stone/thing either in his grasp or right next to him since they reached home. If Jimin had expected his parents to be of assistance in ridding them of the not-quite-a-stone, well, they proved him wrong. They “oohed” and “awed” right along with Taehyung, encouraging him to take the stone to town and see if it has any value. 

However, the look in Taehyung’s eyes tells Jimin that the man has other plans. Jimin can see from the change in the boy’s color that the glowing orb in his hand is no longer just a rock, nor is it a way for them to get rich. No, the bright, almost blinding white light which has all but engulfed the gold tells Jimin that Taehyung, adorable, sweet, innocent Taehyung, sees the rock, uhm, Blue (which he insists the stone be called because its feelings get hurt otherwise) as family. 

Jimin nearly falls onto the floor when he finally looks up; startled to see Taehyung standing over him. 

“Tae, what are you doing?”

“Waiting for you to answer me.” The boy’s eyes are drooping, and Jimin realizes that he missed whatever Taehyung has said. 

“Sorry Tae, what was the question?”

“Can I sleep here?” Taehyung asks, his finger pointing to the sliver of space next to Jimin.

Jimin’s about to say no when his eyes fall on the blue orb shining in Taehyung’s grasp. 

“You can, but Blue can’t.” Jimin decides to use this opportunity to separate Taehyung from whatever that thing is.

Jimin can see how tired Taehyung is by his body language, he watches as the younger man’s brown eyes shift between him and the rock he’s holding. He swears he can almost see the war going on in the man’s mind. Taehyung brings the blue object to his chest, hugging it tightly, and Jimin thinks he’s lost the battle.

“I’ll be right here, okay Blue?” Taehyung places the rock on the ground close to the door before crawling into the tiny space next to Jimin. 

Jimin has often wondered if he’s normal, if there’s something wrong with him, because should he like this as much as he does, Taehyung taking up his space? Should his heart rate triple, quadruple? Should it feel like the organ is going to burst out of his chest and tumble to the ground? Should he like Taehyung’s breath on his skin, Taehyung’s face in the crook of his neck, and Taehyung? Should he like Taehyung as much as he does? 

He drapes an arm around Taehyung’s waist, pulling the sleeping boy closer so he doesn’t fall off the edge. The rock will have to wait; he’s tired and not ready to detach from the younger man’s warmth. Taehyung moves in his slumber and Jimin adjusts his arm, accidentally pushing Taehyung’s shirt up, exposing the man’s smooth, honey-colored skin. Jimin can feel his heartbeat rising to near explosion, each pound in his chest sinking him deeper into the abyss of his unrequited feelings for the dark-haired boy. These visceral reactions to Taehyung’s nearness confuse him the most. They’re friends and male, and none of this is normal. 

He pushes himself as far away from Taehyung as he can given their very tight sleeping space, trying to get good enough distance so he can see to fix Taehyung’s dishev