A few weeks had passed since Yoongi was allowed to return to work. In those weeks, the trees had changed colour and the air was cool during the day and cold at night. Autumn had come and the world around them felt different, as if a couple of months were enough to wipe any memories of this calm season clean from their minds. While the leaves were browning and falling to the ground to be recklessly crushed underfoot, the love in the dorm had blossomed into something else entirely. Namjoon and Seokjin shared tender kisses at night and lead the group as a team; everyone swore they had never seen Seokjin act so loving. Namjoon took special care to avoid breaking everything in house like usual. He bought Seokjin little gifts with every pay check. There was a deep level of understanding that was unlike anything the others would know. Seokjin kept Yoongi’s words mind and he thought about them every day – not that he’d ever let anyone know that. Taehyung and Hoseok were learning how to read each other’s minds. They could interpret tones and read between the lines. Hoseok still had a hard time understanding what was going on Taehyung’s mind and why but he was trying. It was fun and it was playful but they were building so much under the surface that it paralleled Atlantis. Jimin and Yoongi were caring and stable. While their need to protect the other still left them at odds sometimes, there was never a lack of support. Yoongi had learned to be more affectionate and Jimin had learned how to limit his intimacy. They never seemed to grow tired of each other; it was as comfortable as it was exciting. Jungkook was never neglected; his hyungs were the same playful idiots he adored. Amidst all of this romance, he tried to learn more about love and understand the feelings that had developed in his own heart. It was early autumn but their hearts were all living in mid-Spring.

“Hyung, doesn’t the air feel nice today?” Jimin smiled and wrapped his arm around Yoongi’s neck, “It’s really crisp.”

“It’s too damn cold,” Yoongi frowned.

“Oh come here, you big baby,” Jimin swept Yoongi off his feet and carried him bridal style.

“Jimin put me down right now!”

“Never,” he laughed while spinning around in circles, which made Yoongi hold onto Jimin tightly. Jimin giggled and ran straight ahead, “I’ll never let you down hyung.”

“Park Jimin, you giant corny ball of fluff, set me down right now. I’ll kill you.”

“Nope, no can do mister boyfriend,” Jimin slowed his gait and replied with a cheeky smile, “you’ve looked so tired lately, at least let me carry you home.”

“Fine mister ball of fluff,” he smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek, “but only until we get home.”

It was true, Yoongi always looked tired but he had been particularly exhausted recently. He wasn’t just the last one to return home most nights, he was the first one to wake up almost every morning. No one knew for sure what time he was getting up – they weren’t even sure when he left. All they knew was that by the time the first person woke up, Yoongi was already gone. They figured that Yoongi had missed work so much that he couldn’t keep himself away. If he kept it up, he’d land himself right back in the hospital.

Jimin was concerned but he didn’t want to bother Yoongi by asking him to take it easy. The thing was, he knew how important work was to Yoongi; his lazy reputation never fooled Jimin. Sitting alone in a dark room composing and writing lyrics wasn’t exactly the ideal Jimin had but Yoongi loved it just as much as he loved being up on stage, giving the fans everything he had. The only way Jimin could try to understand it was by relating it to how he felt about dancing; even if he was in a dim room and the only audience was his reflection in the mirror, he loved it. When the music played and the beat flowed through his entire body, the feeling he got must have been what Yoongi felt at his desk with all of his equipment. Music was important to Yoongi and Jimin had seen that so much last year. It didn’t matter how sad Yoongi was, it didn’t matter what was happening around him, music was always a constant – it was always there when Yoongi felt lost to guide him back home. Jimin saw that and he hated the thought of even asking Yoongi to pull away from something that he probably felt he needed more than air. After seeing Yoongi’s smile fade away for weeks at a time last winter, he knew he could never bring himself to say it.

“Hyung, I really like you,” Jimin placed a few kisses all over Yoongi’s face.

“You’re the worst,” Yoongi gave him a disgusted look. He placed his hand lightly on Jimin’s shoulder; his fingers rubbed against the cotton fabric of the boy’s shirt slowly, secretly wishing it was bare skin that the tips of his fingers were brushing against. A smirk spread on his lips, “the absolute worst.”

“But you still like me, right?” Jimin laughed.

“I’m crazy about you,” Yoongi chuckled and Jimin’s face lit up. Yoongi tilted his head curiously, “or was it that you drive me crazy? I can’t quite remember.”

“You can tease me all you want but at the end of the day I know you love me.”

“I’m glad,” Yoongi smiled. He didn’t know to express how he felt about Jimin; it was too hard for him to say it. Sometimes he thought that he’d never be able to show Jimin the kind of love he deserved. Maybe Yoongi would never be the man that his heart told him Jimin should have. With doubt frequenting his mind, it came as a relief that Jimin knew he was loved, even if it wasn’t to the extent that Yoongi loved him. Until he could find a way to show him, Yoongi hoped that the love Jimin understood was enough to keep him content. Jimin would never consider Yoongi’s love to be lacking, if anything, it felt like more than he believed he deserved. It genuinely felt like enough love to last his lifetime. He placed a quick kiss on Yoongi’s forehead but he didn’t say another word.

When they got to the dorm, Hoseok was sitting on the floor with Taehyung laying on his lap. He smiled at them, “welcome back.”

“Hey, where is everyone?” Jimin asked, looking around the room.

“Jungkook went shopping a little bit ago and I think Seokjin and Namjoon are on a date.”

“A date?” Yoongi perked his head up.

“Probably, they didn’t say much. They sort of just left and said they’d be back,” Hoseok shrugged and pet Taehyung’s head.

“Maybe they went to get a hotel room so they could do it for a while,” Taehyung smirked.

“Oh, so you are awake,” Hoseok chuckled and ruffled his hair, “brat.”

“Yeah, I doubt it,” Yoongi rolled his eyes in response to Taehyung’s comment.

“I mean, it is possible,” Jimin added. Yoongi looked at him, almost shocked that he would agree with Taehyung. Then again, no one else knew what he did about the couple. The proximity of Jimin’s face reminded him that he was still being carried.

“, Jimin, can you let me down now?” He squirmed slightly.

“But I kind of like carrying you.”

“You two are so cute,” Hoseok giggled.

“Nah, they’re gross,” Taehyung sat up and stuck his tongue out at them.

“You’re gross,” Jimin glared, “I’m going to take Yoongi to his room, have fun with that little jerk Hobi hyung.”

“Yeah, he’s a little jerk but I love him,” Hoseok wrapped an arm around Taehyung and kissed his cheek. Taehyung blushed and pecked Hoseok’s lips. Jimin walked past them.

“Seriously, put me down,” Yoongi protested.

“Would you wait a second?” A sigh escaped his lips.

Jimin pushed the door to Yoongi’s shared bedroom open and walked him to his bed. The room was cold; he could feel Yoongi shiver in his arms. Setting him down gently, he couldn’t resist planting a kiss on his lips. Yoongi smiled.

“I’ll let you sleep now hyung,” Jimin pulled back and turned to walk towards the door. Without hesitation, Yoongi’s legs slid off his bed and his hand reached out towards Jimin. He caught hold of the rim of his shirt.

“Wait,” Yoongi called out almost too quickly. Jimin turned his head slightly only to find Yoongi staring at the ground. He let go and his hand fell to his side, “I’m sorry, it’s just, don’t.”

“Hyung,” Jimin swallowed before turning around.

“Don’t go. Stay here.”

“Sure,” Jimin stood at his bedside awkwardly. He looked from one side to the other as if trying to avoid looking at Yoongi. His face burned and his heart raced.

“Please, sit down,” Yoongi scooted over despite the fact that there was more than enough room on the bed.

Jimin sat down next to Yoongi, cursing himself for sitting too close. Their legs touched and neither wanted to be the first to move an inch. It surprised Yoongi how warm Jimin’s thigh was and his eyes followed up Jimin’s leg to the source of heat pressing against him. Yoongi rarely noticed how muscular Jimin’s legs were compared to his; it wasn’t like Yoongi disliked his own legs – in fact, he was rather proud of them – but it was different and he found Jimin attractive from head to toe. Shyness snuck up on him and he returned his gaze to the ground. A voice in his head yelled at him. Do something, say something – , anything would be better than just sitting here you idiot.

“Jimin,” he lifted his head but kept his eyes forward. Jimin turned to him. Just kiss him already.

Following directions, Yoongi turned his head and leaned in. His cool hands slowly came up to caress Jimin’s soft cheek. Jimin was caught off guard but he eased into it as Yoongi’s sweet lips guided him. A few seconds passed and Jimin was waiting for Yoongi to pull away; they never kissed for this long. He was sure that Yoongi would pull back any second and it’d be over but he didn’t. He persisted and Jimin was pleased as his slightly trembling lips moved against his hyung’s. Thin fingers traced his jaw line slowly and carefully down to his chin. Yoongi’s head tilted a bit more; his tongue slid along Jimin’s bottom lip. Before Jimin could process everything, Yoongi’s tongue was dominating him. Jimin’s body was heating up. Yoongi wasn’t exaggerating about his flexible tongue. When Yoongi placed a hand on his thigh, Jimin could feel his face burning furiously. It didn’t help when he began to think about how y his hyung was.

Yoongi’s touch was like a good song with an excellent beat: it was so addictive and all he wanted to do was move in sync with it. Jimin felt his back hit the mattress; Yoongi crawled over him and moved from his lips to his neck. It felt like there was no air in his lungs. His breath was heavy as he craned his neck to give Yoongi better access. There was no denying it, Yoongi was better than any beat that he had ever felt and Jimin wanted to lose himself in this. His lips, his tongue, his hands – Yoongi’s body set the mood. The pounding in Jimin’s chest assured that there was no escape.

The strange combination of saliva and hot breath on his neck was more of a turn on than he expected. He curled his fingers into Yoongi’s soft hair. Jimin loved the way his every action affected him like no one else could do. Chills shot down his spine when a cool hand slipped under his shirt. Yoongi loved the feel of Jimin’s firm abdomen; everyone admired his body and Yoongi was no exception. Jimin was y – and perhaps too alluring at times – but it didn’t take much to make him shy and Yoongi secretly loved it. He pulled away from Jimin and stared into his eyes, “you’re so perfect.”

“Hyung,” Jimin couldn’t look away from that gaze. He couldn’t ignore the glazed over look in his eyes, “let’s stop. It might be bad if one of the others walked in, don’t you think?”

“I guess so,” Yoongi slowly got off of Jimin and sat at the edge of the bed. Jimin sat up and wrapped his arms around Yoongi’s neck.

“That was pretty hot though,” he teased.

“Shut up,” Yoongi chuckled and smirked. He knew there was some truth under those words and blushed.

Jimin kissed his cheek and playfully pulled him down. His arms wrapped around Yoongi’s waist as they lied their silently. The same heat from before encompassed Yoongi and it made feel comfortable. Jimin’s sweetness never faltered; his kindness never faded and he never failed to set Yoongi’s tired and troubled mind at ease.

“You’re so perfect Jiminnie.”