"Hey, where did you disappear to?" Jungkook said out of breath, making it to his seat just as the bell stopped ringing.

"We won!!" he grinned, elated, punching the air excitedly. "I wanted to celebrate but you were gone." he added, frowning slightly. He was cute when he frowned, his nose getting all scrunched up and wrinkled.

"Yeah, sorry, I suddenly got hungry." he shrugged apologetically, lying through his teeth.

"Mmkay, it must have been one hugely satisfying bite." Jungkook snorted, pointing at a lonely sandwich on the corner of the desk. Jimin had barely touched it, that one bite had only made him more nauseous.

"Oh, ha ha, that's my backup sandwich, in case the first one doesn't do the trick." he explained, not having any idea what he was saying. His brain was just making this up as it went along, not confiding in him at all.

"In that case, d'you mind if I eat it? I'm staaarving and I didn't get a chance to buy anything." Jungkook sent him his sweetest smile, not playing fair, the increased heart rate nearly causing him to fall off his chair.

"Ehh..emm..sure!" he answered a little too enthusiastically, his cheeks flushed. He was just glad he didn't expose his obviously bogus backup-sandwich system.

Jungkook took the sandwich, and instead of approaching it like a normal person, avoiding the half-eaten part, he went straight for the spot where Jimin had taken a bite, inhaling the whole thing in record time. Jimin watched his own teeth marks disappear into Jungkook's mouth. Another indirect kiss! He gasped as his gut was overtaken by butterflies. He wondered whether butterflies migrated like birds, or he at least wished the ones that had taken up permanent residence in his stomach would. Instead they were multiplying every day, every hour at an alarming rate. In the end there would be no room for his organs, or maybe they were actually the source, each cell one by one dissolving into a butterfly. That explained why he didn't get hungry anymore. Most of his stomach had probably already disappeared, judging by the amount of butterflies crowding that exact same area.

"Obb, bwy beh bway.." Jungkook attempted to talk with his mouth stuffed, not having much luck making himself understood. He took a second to swallow the whole thing, nearly choking on it before continuing as if nothing had happened. "Did you bring the book? That minmin manhwa thing? Where I'm a character?" he grinned, a flame of curiosity illuminating his eyes.

"Oh, Moomin. Was I supposed to bring it?" he asked confused.

"Yeah, come on! You can't make me curious like that and then just leave me hanging!" Jungkook looked disappointed.

"Oh. I'll just bring it tomorrow then!" he promised, feeling a bit sorry even though he hadn't really promised anything, but at the same time flattered that not only had he remembered what he had told him, but was actually curious about it. He blushed.

And with that, the lesson started.

When the bell finally released them from their stuffy imprisonment, Jimin had already packed his stuff and with a quick nod to Jungkook and the teacher, he made himself scarce.

"Wait up!" Jungkook came flying and slowed him down by grabbing his shoulder from behind,."Man you're fast! We could really use you on the field if you ever get over your ball-phobia." he snickered.

"So ehm.. see ya tomorrow. " Jimin smiled a little too sweetly as they reached a fork in the road.

"You're not taking the bus?" Jungkook looked surprised. Jimin shyly shook his head, hoping he wouldn't ask why. The mere mention of the bus made his stomach twist.

"Oh, you walk? Wow, lucky to live so close." Jungkook said with a hint of envy.

"I don't, really... I just ehm.. enjoy the walk." he forced a smile. Good one! He wasn't lying, just omitting the parts of the truth that Jungkook didn't need to know about.

"Fair enough...so.. lead the way!" he half bowed and gestured in the direction Jimin was going.

"Eh.." he was confused, it sounded like...

"I'm coming with you!" he grinned, nudging Jimin to get him to start walking.

"You're what?" he just blinked, half-frozen.

"I wanna see the moomoo manhwa!!" Jungkook said as if that was reason enough to invite yourself home to someone you barely knew. Before Jimin had a chance to react, to find some way to stop this madness, Jungkook bent down in front of him, grabbed his arms and pulled them over his shoulders. Jimin's chest pushed up against his back, he grabbed his legs next and with very wobbly feet attempted to stand up with him still glued to his back. He was going to give him a horseback ride?

Jimin felt as his feet left the ground, perhaps not as smoothly as in a fairytale with prince charming sweeping the princess off her feet, but he kind of felt like the lead in one of those classic romance stories.

"Woa!" Jungkook took a few crooked steps to the side as he attempted to walk, trying to find his balance. Jimin, startled, wound his arms tighter around him, his cheek accidentally pressing against Jungkook's ear. At first he was too scared to notice, not sure if they were going to come crashing down, trying to wish himself lighter, painfully aware of how much he weighed. But when Jungkook's strong arms secured their hold on his legs, pinning them up against his sides, and they started to make slow but steady, albeit a bit wobbly, progress, Jimin became hyper aware of every single cell that came into contact with Jungkook. And each and every one of them fired off tiny fireworks, making him tingly all over. Jungkook's back was warm and welcoming, he felt at home even though he knew it could never be but a temporary resting place for his weary heart that so desperately wanted to belong to someone.

"Okay, okay.. you can put me down now." Jimin giggled heartily. Jungkook's legs were starting to give in after an impressive power walk down the lane.

"Thanks for the ride." Jimin giggled, his cheeks approaching the temperature of the sun's surface.

"Wow, that's pretty far." Jungkook noted when they finally reached Jimin's house. "You walk to school every day?" he asked with a whiff of awe in his voice. Jimin nodded, willing his cheeks not to redden as he fiddled awkwardly with his keys. It had been ages since he last brought home a friend. A friend. That word made him happy and sad at the same time. It did make his heart do a little pirouette to finally have someone he could call a friend again, yet the knowledge that he would never be anything more than a friend broke a tiny little piece deep inside his heart. Quickly sweeping the debris under a rug hidden in a seccluded place within his heart he never intended to visit again, he opened the door.

"It's not much, really.." Jimin hesitated, but Jungkook just pushed through the door excitedly, unceremoniously inviting himself in.

"Nice place!" Jungkook gave himself a tour around the place, examining every corner as if he was acting in a one man CSI show. Nice was an overstatement. It was a normal apartment, painfully normal. There was nothing that stood out. There were hundreds just like it, thousands even. Jimin often felt stifled by the mundaneness of it all. Jungkook looked genuinely intrigued. Either he was a hell of an actor, or he came from a very poor household, lacking basic luxuries that pretty much everyone had. He suspected the latter while hoping for Jungkook's sake that it wasn't so.

"Oh, here's one!" he waved a Moomin picture book to distract him from barging into his room. Having the desired effect, Jungkook released the doorknob and returned to the living room.

"See, this is Snufkin." Jimin pointed at the drawing.

"What?! Is this what you think I look like??" Jungkook stared at the book incredulously.

"My mom says I look exactly like Moomintroll! I mean, he even has 'troll' in his name.." Jimin offered as consolation. He hadn't expected Jungkook to be so shocked by the comparison.

"Yeah, but at least he's super cute.." Jungkook complained, his finger over the Moomintroll's cheek. Was he referring only to the drawing or.. was he saying that he too was cute? The thought tickled his insides, his brain turning to mush. Jungkook had probably not even connected the two together, or he might not even see the slightest resemblance. Yeah, it was all just wishful thinking. He was being silly. Obviously Jungkook had never thought about whether he was cute or not, why would he? Jimin shook his head out of the clouds.

Jungkook scowled as he turned the pages.

"See, he's not bad looking." Jimin pointed at a picture of Snufkin smiling. "He's actually kind of cute once you get used to him." he added, feeling bad that Jungkook thought he was comparing him to someone weird looking.

"So once you get used to me, will you think I'm cute too?" Jungkook looked at him and smirked with his eyebrow raised.

"No, I mean, like, there's just a slight resemblance, you're much more handsome of course!!" Jimin said, flustered.

"So you think I'm handsome, huh?" Jungkook grinned, his eyes twinkling.

"What... eh... like... uh... I meant.. uhm..." Jimin's tongue repeatedly tripped over itself. Then he sighed deeply, "Okay, you know you're handsome." he said, defeated. He felt like he had fallen into some kind of trap. Jungkook's smile widened as he continued to turn the pages.

"Has Snufkin ever dated any of the Moomins?" he asked absentmindedly, lost in the book.

"No!!" Jimin exclaimed as if the mere notion of it was preposterous. "He has a girl of course." He explained.

"Oh." Jungkook just nodded and kept on reading.

"Can I have this?" he asked when he closed the book. It was the one about Snufkin leaving Moomin valley. He hadn't gotten to that part yet. It was kind of poetic, mirroring the two of them and the fact that Jungkook would leave him sooner or later, no matter how eagerly he tried to hold on to him.

"Yeah, sure." Jimin said before he realized his mom would perhaps not be thrilled that he had thoughtlessly given away part of their family treasure. They had had it as long as he could remember, for all he knew it could be an irreplaceable heirloom, a first or limited edition. He had agreed without thinking, as a sort of reflex. He couldn't say no to him, he just couldn't.

After some all too lacking refreshments and a short but sweet chat, Jungkook was on his way, the book safely tucked away in his backpack.

------------------

AN: First experiment failed, RL = 1, me = 0.

My apologies for my disappearance, finals and a family visit kept me crazy busy, so no matter how I tried to find time, I just couldn't squeeze in some writing. But I haven't given up! I will of course try again!! Experiment take 2! A chapter every week...I will make it!! Fighting :)