As odd as it sounds, the middle of the week is when Namjoon, Jungkook, and Jimin have their semblance of a weekly ritual.  It still works although it was originally based on the fact that Jimin used to work weekends, and Jungkook has his academic career on hold.

At first, they tried to do a movie night, but Jimin’s face blindness threw a wrench in that plan.  So movies are reserved for special occasions to cheer up Namjoon and Jungkook on rough days.  Normally, they play a board game or card game of some sort (inviting Hoseok if they need an even number or if Hoseok asks to hang out).  Namjoon prefers it when Hoseok isn't there though; it involves too much pretending.  Namjoon doesn't really ever get what he wants though.

Namjoon chews on the end of his licorice stick, narrowing eyes glued to Hoseok.  Namjoon seldom clues others in on what actually goes inside of his head.  Sometimes he’ll tell Jungkook or Jimin, but mostly his thoughts stay his own.  His current thoughts mainly revolve around questions about Hoseok.  He has an unnerving feeling in the pit of his stomach about the fact that Hoseok is at game night when he should still be in the honeymoon phase.

Namjoon is willing to admit that he’s never been married before, so he has nothing personal to compare Hoseok's behavior to.  Also, some of his intuitions may be slightly altered by the fact that they are in the middle of a card game; tensions are always high during card games.

Jimin leans forward, keeping his cards close to his chest, in an attempt to grab from the bowl of chips to the left of Jungkook, sticking his arm directly across Jungkook’s chest with his tongue stuck out in a concentration.  He glances around when he realizes that his attempted theft of potato chips has not gone unnoticed.  He crams a handful of potato chips into his mouth before settling back into his seat.

Jungkook pauses, staring at his friend with a look of semi-disbelief for a long moment before turning back to his own hand.

“Jung Hoseok.” Jungkook says in a throaty voice while pursing his lips.

“Jeon Jungkook.” Hoseok replies, moving his head around (awkwardly) while maintaining eye contact.

“Do you—“ Jungkook glances at his hand, fingers searching within the cards for the one he wants to select, “—have any threes?”

Hoseok smiles wickedly, “Well, Jeon Jungkook, it looks like you’re going to have to… GO FISH!” Hoseok throws out an entire arm, just to point out the “ocean” of cards sloppily laid out in front of them.

Jungkook groans, letting his face fall against the table in a painful thud.  “Ow.”  Jungkook mumbles into the wood of the dining room table.  Jungkook lifts his head up, a reddish spot blooming in the middle of his forehead.  Jungkook mindlessly grabs a card from the middle of the table, adding it to his hand with a pout.

“I need to pee.” Jimin whines just as Hoseok is about to take his turn. He pulls his eyebrows together pathetically as he presses his lips together.

“I am running out of cola…” Jungkook trails off, implying that they should take a break.

Namjoon sighs, rolling his eyes, “Everyone put your cards face down, and we’ll all come back after Jimin has done his business.” Jungkook clears his throat, “And when Jungkook has refilled his glass.”

There are mutual grumbles of approval as everyone nods and cautiously puts their cards on the table.  Jimin bolts out of his seat the moment that his cards hit the table.  Jungkook’s chair scrapes against the floor as he pushes out to head for the kitchen. Namjoon is left to stare at Hoseok while their juniors do their respective things.

Namjoon feels awkward.  Hoseok was always more Jungkook and Jimin’s friend than Namjoon’s.  Jimin had gone to a few dance practices with Jungkook, but there was always a level of insecurity involved and a dissociative episode that kept him from going back.  It was a mere fluke (and Jungkook’s crush) that landed Hoseok at game night.  Hoseok has probably felt the accusatory glances on Namjoon’s part.  (Namjoon’s mild dislike of Hoseok was entirely related to Jungkook’s crush on him and the fact that, despite Jungkook’s belief to the contrary, his knowledge of it.  Namjoon is more perceptive than people give him credit for.)

“How’s it going with your wife?” Namjoon throws the question into the air, hoping that if he tries hard enough, he’ll maybe come to feel nothing about Hoseok.  He is supposed to be "building a bridge and getting over it" according to Jimin.  He can't help it if he's protective of Jungkook.

Hoseok looks down, doodling in the condensation water that has rolled off of the outside of his cup.  “It’s fine.”  His voice is relatively shaky and not at all convincing.

Namjoon groans internally because, no, it is not fine.  He doesn’t want to be here, but he sort of promised that he would make more of an effort to be “friendly” to Hoseok.  Namjoon rubs his forehead, pinching his eyebrow piercing before voicing his thoughts, “If everything was fine, I don’t think you’d be here playing Go Fish with us.”

“Her parents expect me to get a nine-to-five because they don’t think that I have much potential to be a successful choreographer.” Hoseok mutters spitefully at the word successful as he twists his ring around his finger.

“She’s siding with them?” Namjoon raises an eyebrow as he rests his cheek against his propped up fist.

“It feels really terrible when your one and only doesn’t really support your dreams.” Hoseok’s shoulders are slumped in defeat, accompanied by a bitter smile on his face

Namjoon straightens up and offers a rope of licorice to Hoseok, “Don’t become a statistic.  Relationships still require maintenance, no matter what the label or how much time has passed.”

Hoseok shifts, managing to squeeze out a “thanks” before Jungkook and Jimin reenter the situation together, both with fresh glasses of cola. 

As the night goes on, Namjoon finds that he’s thawing a tiny bit to Hoseok.  He doesn’t know if he likes it.

Jungkook is face down on the couch, snoring obnoxiously loud, almost as if he’s trying to continuously tell them that he’s still breathing.  It’s past his bedtime, and from the sounds of Jimin’s continuous yawning, it’s getting to be close to Jimin’s forced shut-down time as well.  Hoseok only left ten minutes ago, and Namjoon finds it almost pathetic that they are already burning the midnight oil (but of course there is that silly brotherly love that gets in the way that puts a lid on his biting thoughts).

Namjoon transfers a dirty bowl to the sink filled with soapy water, “I forgot to ask, how is the new job going?” Namjoon asks over his shoulder as he runs a sponge along the bottom of bowl.

“I can’t tell if he wants to kill me or not.  I think he might make his house intentionally messy to frustrate me.  He fires me like five times a day, and he only eats junk food apparently. I still have no clue what he does for a living.” Jimin whines, trying to stave off sleep although it does manage to slip into his voice.

“Kill him with kindness.” Namjoon replies happily, rinsing the bowl clean and sticking it on the drying rack.

“I don’t think it’s all that wise to kill my employer.” Jimin walks up next to Namjoon, resting his head on his shoulder, moving with Namjoon as Namjoon finishes the dishes.

Namjoon pats Jimin with a soapy hand, “All I’m suggesting is that you try to be his friend even though he’s closed off right now.  Let him know that you care about his wellbeing.  Also, go to bed.  I don’t want to have to carry two people to their bedrooms.”

Jimin nods sleepily, stumbling off to his bedroom, bumping into a wall with an audible “ow” before Namjoon hears his door shut.  Namjoon smiles to himself, turning around to see that Jimin actually did as he was asked.  It’s a pleasant surprise, but now Namjoon has to work up the strength to drag a conked out Jungkook to his room.

Namjoon groans, muttering beneath his breath because he is under appreciated.  Sometimes he feels like he’s a single father of two helpless children, one of which can’t stop falling in love.  Namjoon slides an arm under Jungkook’s back and the other under his knees.  It’s far from smooth, Namjoon’s return to standing straight.  His muscles already burn, and his legs will barely move forward. The strain is going to hurt in the morning, and Namjoon curses once or twice.

Jungkook is out like a rock; drool making it’s way out of his open mouth.  Namjoon falls just as he’s at Jungkook’s bed, accidentally throwing the boy on his bed.  He hears Jungkook hit something, causing a moment disruption in the steady rhythm of his snores.

Namjoon takes a seat, leaning against Jungkook’s bed.  Namjoon pats Jungkook’s leg before getting up.  He’s about to leave when Jungkook’s ringer goes off.

He moves to turn his phone to vibrate, catching a glimpse of the message that caused it to go off in the first place.

Sender: Kim Taehyung

quack quack friend
drinking banana milk
it’s your favorite right?
drink your milk and dance hard (^.^)/

Namjoon goes into the bathroom, wetting his toothbrush before realizing that Taehyung is new name.  As he moves the bristles of his toothbrush across the surface of his teeth, he worries that Jungkook might be falling a lot harder than he realizes.  Jungkook adores sincerity.  Taehyung is so sincere it hurts his teeth, and Namjoon hasn’t even met him.

___

Jimin is about ready to pull his hair out because Yoongi is almost insufferable, the key word being almost.  Today’s test of will is cleaning the bathroom, and it is impossible for it to be unintentional.  Jimin know this for a fact because he cleaned it two days ago.

Jimin feels like he could cry, but he doesn’t want to give Yoongi the satisfaction of breaking him.  Namjoon’s advice keeps bouncing around his head though, he has to let know Yoongi that he cares.  Jimin is questioning if he does still care at this point as he vigorously scrubs the toilet bowl with a toilet brush while trying not to gag.

He flushes the toilet three times before deeming the bathroom acceptable.  Jimin leaves the bathroom, looking around at all of the work ahead of him.  He reminds himself that he’s going to receive a significant chunk of change if he sticks with it.

There is a pile of clothes in the middle of the floor that was not there before Jimin started in the bathroom.  Jimin takes his last breath of fresh air before scooping the clothes off of the floor, making his way quickly to Yoongi’s washing machine.

He manages to the put them on top of the washer before his breath runs out.  He ends up gasping like a fish out of water before he realizes that he now has to separate the clothes in front of him.  Jimin tries to hold the dirtied articles of clothing as far away from his him as possible, pinching the fabric as he separates them into two piles.

It takes Jimin ten minutes to get out of Yoongi’s laundry room, and there is still a pile of dirty clothes sitting on top of a running washer.  Jimin dusts his hands off; he has roughly half an hour before he moves the clothes from the washer to the dryer.

He figures that it’s close to lunch time, so he heads over to knock on mysterious door number one to ask Yoongi if he’s hungry.  He halts his fist halfway to the door when he hears music.

It’s not a familiar tune, nor is it very strong.  Jimin strains to hear the procession of notes, pressing an ear against the door.  The wood of the door still muffles it, but it’s undeniably music.  The tempo keeps changing, but the notes are very clearly articulated despite the constant shifting of speed.

He has no clue what Yoongi is doing behind the door, but it makes some sense, considering Seokjin works at a record label or something like that. Yoongi probably works there too or something.  Jimin backs away slowly, deciding to try his luck in kitchen.

The moment he opens the fridge, he sees several Tupperware boxes filled with freshly cooked food.  Jimin frowns, wondering why Yoongi would eat so much junk when someone already gives him plenty of healthy and tantalizing food.  There’s a fleeting thought that asks why someone is taking care of Yoongi like this.  It’s quickly forgotten when he sees some pasta carbonara tightly packed into a clear  container.

Jimin throws caution to the wind, grabbing the container before he can even think about any repercussions.  He’s halfway through down his third bite of cold pasta when Yoongi emerges. To Jimin, it feels like he’s been caught snooping through Yoongi’s drawers.

Yoongi ignores him, pulling something else out of the fridge.  He silently sits across from Jimin, pulling the lid off of his Tupperware container.  It’s fried rice of some sort, and Yoongi is eating it spoon by spoon.

It’s painfully quiet, save for the sounds of eating.  It does, however, mark the first time that Jimin and Yoongi have eaten together.  Jimin doesn’t know what to make of it because it feels like Yoongi was forced by his mom to eat with the new kid in school.

Jimin has no clue what possesses him, but he’s aware that the words are slipping past his lips, “Are you working hard?”

Yoongi pauses, lifting his head and muttering an offended “yes” before turning his attention back to his rice.  The air has somehow become even thicker after the two sentence exchange.  Yoongi returns to his room, leaving an empty dish on the table.

Jimin lets out the breath he didn’t know that he was holding.  Yoongi’s attitude is terrifying, and Jimin is positive that Namjoon’s advice is useless.  He can’t be kind to someone who isn’t really there.  Jimin finishes his food in silence, mulling over random thoughts, checking off imaginary boxes that tell him he’s almost done with his chores.

He picks up both his and Yoongi’s empty dishes, transferring them to the sink.  He quietly washes the dishes, drying them with fluffy dish towels that are draped neatly over the handle of the oven.

He’s about to leave the kitchen when he sees a piece of paper peeking out from under the fridge.  He rolls his eyes, bending over to pick it up.  He straightens up, reading the paper with an eyebrow raised.

Dearest sour Min Yoongi,

It’s me, your favorite Taehyung~ <3.  Seokjin asked me to write you a lovely note to go with your food gift.  (I helped a little bit during preparation.)  Anyways… where was I?  Right! You are supposed to be nice to Jimin.  “Nice enough to give him cavities” or something like that (Seokjin is an odd cookie…)
By the way, he says that you have to share the food with Jimin.
I need to meet Jimin.  Why am I the only who hasn’t met Jimin?
Tell him that he should look forward to my arrival.

All of my love and then some,
Kim Taehyung (and Seokjin is supervising me right now, so he says hi too).

Jimin smiles slightly.  Yoongi was being nice.  He frowns.  Yoongi was being nice because he was told to do so.  He groans because it matters to him.  He wants Yoongi to be nice to him for personal reasons.

___

Jungkook is sitting alone at the bus stop.  He’s trying his hardest not to crane his neck and look around to see if Taehyung is coming.  He doesn’t really know what he expects is going to happen.  Obviously there were times before when Taehyung hadn’t come to the bus stop.  In fact, if Jungkook thinks about the statistics of it, it’s much more likely that Taehyung won’t show up.

It doesn’t stop him from hoping.  There’s an undeniable feeling of dreadfully sweet anticipation that is making his mouth dry.  He almost cried from happiness when he saw that Taehyung messaged him.  Namjoon glared at him when he heard the less-than-manly squeal that escaped him.

Jungkook is sweaty and tired, but he’s worried that he won’t be able to see Taehyung today.  Dance practice might have been tiring, but if he could just see or talk to Taehyung for a moment, he’s entirely sure he’d perk up in no time.  He certainly wouldn’t fall asleep on the bus again.  There’s a tiny part of his brain reminding him that Namjoon knows about his crush, so he can’t exactly deny it.  He can’t ignore his fluttering heart and stumbling thoughts anymore.

What he is unsure of is whether or not he should be upfront about his feelings.  First of all, he has no clue about Taehyung orientation or his availability.  Then there’s the issue of mutual attraction, and if he’s being honest, Jungkook has never quite managed to get this point.  He’s had crushes on straight guys and guys who are taken.  He doesn’t even know how he should even begin to attack the question.  If he asks and he’s wrong, then he risks losing a friend.  Losing Taehyung would be really crappy because he has a great smile and seems to like Jungkook for no reason other than the fact that Jungkook is himself.

“JEON JUNGKOOK!” A bright and very slurred voice yells out from across the street.  Taehyung is waving at Jungkook like a maniac with a patent wide smile.  His cheeks are notably rosier than Jungkook has ever seen them before.

Taehyung is bouncing, just waiting for the crosswalk light to turn green.  When it finally does change colors, Taehyung is running across the crosswalk, bounding towards Jungkook on wobbly legs.

Jungkook jumps to his feet because he’s worried that Taehyung is going to fall face first into concrete.  He doesn’t expect Taehyung to jump into his arms, forcing him to stumble back as a grown man hugs him like a spider-monkey.

Jungkook is frozen.  It’s a wonderful feeling, being hugged by Taehyung, even if it does smell a little but like alcohol.  Taehyung hums, untangling himself from Jungkook, “It’s my friend, Jungkook.”  He smiles so widely that his gums show.  “Jungkook, let’s go home.”

“Um…” Jungkook says as his bus pulls up.  Taehyung doesn’t really seem to notice as he pulls Jungkook onto the bus, swiping Jungkook’s bus card twice.  He pulls Jungkook into a seat, hugging Jungkook’s arm and using his shoulder as a pillow.

Jungkook is very, very awake.

a/n:  it's a day early!
it's kind of just nonsense and sort of a cliffhanger, but how else am i supposed to get you to come back?
i kind of really want Jhope to be here so.... boom. all let's be honest, if anyone was going to have a tense game of Go Fish, it'd be BTS because they're actual children.  my children tho.
Oh, you guys were super cute about Yoongi existing.  (Jimin is on his way to feeling it tho... can you feel it?)
Namjoon is v important.
sorry about errors and the general condition of this chapter....

you are like so nice for subscribing and upvoting and commenting.
feel free to ask questions about confusing things or tell me to get my crap together.

why are my author's notes so long? i'll give u a hug if you read all of it (if u like hugs).