sort of written for @confidenceatitsfinest who asked for fluffier rc sugakookie and jungkookie love, i hope this works? ^^;

part of my red carnations au

The first time Jeon Jungkook meets Min Yoongi, it’s at Jungkook’s favourite, on-campus bookstore and neither knows the other’s name. He’d just finished handing in his final project for the semester and had decided to reward himself with another beautiful postcard for his collection. He’d had his eye on this one for quite a while - an ink drawing of two intricately detailed carnations, the crimson blood dripping off their petals the only colour in the otherwise black and white postcard. However, when he gets to the store, there’s a boy already there, hair the colour of peppermint ice-cream, pale fingers closing around Jungkook’s postcard. 

Briefly, he considers saying something to stop the boy - the drawings are unique with no two postcards having the same design and that one is his, dammit. Of course, “Hey, that postcard is mine, can you pick another?” sounds immature as hell, even in his head, so Jungkook just quietly watches the peppermint-haired boy take his postcard.

He must’ve been been staring rather intensely because then the boy looks up, locking eyes with Jungkook for just a second before he looks away.

He’s just about to turn around and leave the store when someone taps him on the shoulder. It’s peppermint, gently pushing the postcard into Jungkook’s hand with something that might be a smile, before flipping up the hood of his jacket, mint green hair falling into his eyes, and walking out the store, all without uttering a single word.

He disappears into the crowd of bustling university students before Jungkook even manages to get a proper “thank you” past his lips.

The second time they meet, Yoongi is wandering around campus with his DSLR - his final project for the semester is due in the next few weeks and he’s been dry on ideas since he received the task at the start of term. Jungkook is outside the Arts Faculty building, sketchpad in hand, leaning against the sandstone wall with his eyes half-lidded and tongue poking. It should be the picture of intense concentration but there’s something about it that makes the boy look almost untouchable, so Yoongi squints through his viewfinder and quickly captures a couple of angles.

He sees the raven-haired boy more after that, each time without the knowledge of the boy himself. “Jeon Jungkook,” Namjoon tells him one afternoon, when he catches Yoongi snapping another shot of the boy’s profile, “first year. Art major. Moved here from Busan at the start of the year. He’s in my Music Elective class, crazy talented at it, too.”

Yoongi’s hands in his final project on the last day of semester - a monochrome series of Jeon Jungkook outside the Arts building. Untouched Potential scores him his highest mark on a semester project yet and a slot in the university’s annual Art Exhibition.

That’s how meet each other properly, with introductions and all.

Jungkook calls Yoongi “peppermint” to his face and almost admits to thinking about the boy rather obsessively since the postcard incident, as he’d come to label it in his head. Yoongi laughs and gets Jungkook’s name right (thanks to Namjoon) but flushes from head to toe when the boy asks to see his project.

“Yoongi-hyung.” Jungkook is side-eyeing him, lips twitching when he sees the monochrome of his own side-profile, “I don’t remember agreeing to be your model.”

Namjoon laughs, loud and obnoxious, and Yoongi kicks his best friend in the shin before turning to the raven-haired boy, “Sorry, kid, but I let you have the postcard?”

Jungkook is too surprised that Yoongi remembers that incident at all to feel the appropriate amount of indignation at being labelled a kid and he just nods mutely when Namjoon suggests getting dinner together.

From that point, they get dinner together many times after, sometimes with Namjoon, sometimes without - when both of them are working on their respective projects way after class has ended. Occasionally, Jungkook models for Yoongi, you’re my muse, Yoongi tells him (Jungkook doesn’t really know how to feel about that), and Yoongi will pay for dinner as thanks.

[Received 17:49]
jungkook-ah, i’m done for the day, want to grab dinner together? still owe you from last time.
[Sent 17:52]
kay, hyung. be done in 20.
[Received 17:54]
where are you?
[Sent 17:59]
room 503, studio b

Jungkook has barely shoved his phone back into his pocket and picked up his paintbrush before the door to 503 opens and Yoongi steps inside.

“You know, I only stay back because there’s no way I can have a darkroom in my apartment…I don’t get why you stay back so late…we don’t haveto have dinner together you know..." is Yoongi’s choice of greeting.

Jungkook glances at his hyung once then turns back to the easel.
“The landlord won’t let me bring my paints and stuff into the apartment, since I’m only renting it out. Anyway, who am I to say no to free food?”

“Brat,” Yoongi mutters, pulling up a stool next to the boy, then, almost as an afterthought, “My apartment is mine and I wouldn’t mind if your art stuff is everywhere…long as you don’t mind my equipment all over the place.”

Jungkook spins around too fast and almost, almost knocks the easel over, “Seriously, hyung?”

Yoongi’s already having second thoughts, actually, but Jungkook is grinning widely and the kid kind of reminds Yoongi of himself when he’d first come up to Seoul from Daegu so he just nods.

“Yeah, seriously.”

Jungkook moves in two weeks later and in two days there’s paint and brushes and sketchpads everywhere. He no longer stays out at the university till late at night but he still models for Yoongi occasionally. When he does, Yoongi cooks dinner as thanks and it sends butterflies to Jungkook’s stomach.

He finds himself thinking more and more about the older and by semester break Jungkook is drawn to Yoongi like a moth to flame, blinded by the light at the bottom of the abyss.

And he falls.