Jimin wasn't expecting anything for his birthday. It had been a hard year, only Yoongi, Namjoon, and Seokjin had managed to find steady jobs, the rest of them taking whatever odd jobs they could pick up from day to day. Hoseok had broken his ankle earlier in the year, making it even more difficult for the boys to have enough money to live on, so both Jimin and Taehyung had dropped out of school to start working. Jungkook had tried to drop out too, but the older boys wouldn't even let him talk about it. Yoongi had been angry when Jimin dropped out, telling him that he was throwing away his chance at becoming a dancer, but Jimin just smiled. There would be other chances, he would still make it. And if one of them was going to work their way out of their neighborhood and get a chance at living a decent life, it was Jungkook. They were all willing to make sacrifices to make that happen.
That was why, as Jimin trudged home late from working odd jobs at the factory, cold night wind nipping at his worn jacked, he didn't even think about the fact that it was his birthday. He only thought about the abandoned shed that the boys had called home for the past six months that offered them a little protection from the growing cold and might contain a little bit of food, if one of the older boys had managed to scrape up a decent paycheck.
But when he opened the shed door, expecting to see the other boys curled up together in the dark to keep each other warm, he was surprised to see a small flickering light in the middle of the room and the six boys huddled around it.
"Happy Birthday!"
Jimin stood frozen in the doorway, unsure whether to cry or laugh. The other boys stood grinning at him, Seokjin was standing in the center holding a tiny, chocolate covered cake with a single yellow candle dripping wax onto the icing.
"I don't.... understand," Jimin finally stammered uncertainly.
Taehyung bounded forward and grabbed the speechless Jimin by the hand, hauling him into the room.
"We saved for weeks!" he chirped. "It was Yoongi-hyung's idea, but we all pitched in and saved so Seokjin-hyung could bring home one of the cakes from his bakery!"
Seokjin held out the cake, smiling in encouragement as Jimin took a breath and blew the candle out, plunging them into darkness. The were several cheers, mostly from Hoseok and Taehyung, before Namjoon the battery operated light that they had bought last winter.
"Thank you," Jimin whispered. He couldn't stop smiling, even though he could feel tears start to puddle up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.
Taehyung threw an arm over Jimin's shoulder from one side while Jungkook shoved his way through the other boys to claim the other side.
"You're birthday isn't over yet, hyung," he grinned, pulling out a sloppily wrapped package from behind his back and handing it to the now completely overwhelmed Jimin.
"But- how-" Jimin stammered.
"Just open it," Yoongi said, speaking for the first time since Jimin had entered.
Jimin was grinning so hard his face was starting to hurt as he obeyed, ripping away the brown paper to reveal a thick, soft black coat that had been folded up carefully on the inside.
Jimin silently the material, unable to say anything as he looked from one smiling face to another. But he didn't need to say anything, they already knew.
Jimin refused to put the new coat on until after they had eaten they cake, which turned out to be a good idea since Taehyung insisted on feeding Jimin his slice and ended up with cake smeared all over both of them.
As the rest of the boys cleaned up and pulled out the blanket that they wrapped up in, Jimin slipped into the new coat, nestling into its thick warmth.
"It looks good," said a voice near him.
He turned to see Yoongi standing beside him, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.
"Thank you, hyung," Jimin said. "For all of this."
Yoongi shrugged. "I just wanted to make you smile," he said simply.
Jimin's eye-crinkling grin was the only response he got before Seokjin was calling out for everyone to come to bed.
That night everyone curled up with Jimin in the center of their cuddle pile. Taehyung monopolized most of him, wrapped around him like a koala, but on the other side of him he felt Yoongi's solid warmth and his calloused hand wrapping around Jimin's soft hand as the others snuggles in around them.
As he drifted to sleep, Jimin could hear Yoongi very softly whisper, "Happy birthday, Jiminie."