I wake up the next morning to find Hoseok’s hideous face drooling in the bed beside mine. Disgusted, I throw my pillow at him and startle him awake. I laugh at his lost and confused face before getting up and heading into the bathroom. I do my usual morning routine, and I take delight when the shower spurts out scalding hot water. Not all places offer warm bathes or showers unless you’re rich or royalty; the Land of Water is one of those places.

Afterwards, I head out and start getting dress while Hoseok uses the bathroom for himself. I leave our room and head to the kitchen and my stomach growls in delight when it smells the wonderful scent of bacon.

Jin turns towards me and smiles, “I hope you’re hungry! I made breakfast for everybody.”

“You’re a saint upon saints Jin.” He laughs at that and I follow him like a starving dog all the way to the kitchen table. Namjoon is already sitting there with documents in his hands and a furrowed brow.

Jin sets the food down and reaches over to pluck the papers from Namjoon’s hands. “I thought we agreed ‘meal times’ were ‘no work’ times.” Jin gives Namjoon a pointed look and he responds back with a sheepish smile.

Hoseok then makes his entrance known by a loud moan as he takes in the sight of all the food and rushes over to sit next to me. Jin and I laugh at his enthusiasm.

We all wait patiently at the table as Jin goes back to the kitchen to get silverware and plates. It was proper practice to not start meals until everyone is already seated and ready to eat; and all three of us followed that etiquette although it was evident we wanted to stuff our faces. Jin re-enters in his flowing robes of silver and the second he places the plates down and takes his seat; Namjoon, Hoseok, and I dive for the food. However, before any of our chopsticks can even graze it; we pause when we hear a bedroom door open and shut. We look over to find a small Jimin standing innocently near his bedroom door; looking at all of us with wide eyes and a slightly pouty mouth.

“Jimin! I didn’t know you were here…”

Jin lets his words trail off as we all look at Jimin in surprise. Namjoon looked the most surprised of us all; indicating that Jimin probably wasn’t present for breakfast very often…heck, they probably never see him in the mornings because by now he would have already snuck out of the house and headed to trouble.

Jimin shuffles his feet awkwardly, “Can I have some breakfast?”

“Of course!” Like lightning, Jin jumps up and rushes to the kitchen and returns before I can even blink my eyes. He sets down a plate next to Hoseok and excitedly gestures for Jimin to come sit down at the table.

Jimin hesistates before slowly making his way to sit next to Hoseok. It was strange, but it almost seemed like Jimin wasn’t even the same boy from the day before. Today, his shoulders were hunched and his arms were wrapped tightly around his body. His whole posture read meek and docile, and to be honest I didn’t like it at all. I preferred the rotten brat who at least stood tall while he rebelled. Clearly, Jimin has given up on that though; his whole essence reads defeat and uncertainty.

As Jimin takes his seat next to Hoseok; he glances past him to look at me. To be honest, I’m not sure what he got from my expression, but whatever it was it hurt him. He bit his lip quickly and glanced down as if I had insulted him.

We all sat still and silent for a couple minutes until surprisingly, Jimin was the first to move and reached out with his chopsticks to grab some food. Following his lead, the rest of us started to fill our plates as well.

“So…uh, did you sleep well last night, Jimin?” Namjoon fumbles awkwardly over his words as he addresses the boy across from him.

Jimin shrugs with a slight pout still on his face, “Yea, it was alright I guess.”

Jin leans forward with enthusiasm written all over his face, “Jimin! You should introduce yourself to Hoseok and Yoongi here. They are friends of your father and I and will be staying with us for awhile.”

Jimin’s brows furrow in concern and slowly he turns to face the both of us. His eyes immediately looked to me and he shrunk under my direct gaze. He then turned his eyes upward to Hoseok sitting next to him, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh!” Hoseok perks up a bit in surprise before a bright smile lights up his face, “It’s nice to meet you too, Jimin! I hope you don’t mind me staying here in your house for a while.”

Jimin shakes his head and gives Hoseok a shy smile. I felt my eyes widen as I took it in; he was extremely beautiful when he smiles. “It’s okay. The house is pretty big anyway.”

Hoseok nods excitedly, “You’re right! Namjoon, why did you make the house so large?”

Namjoon pauses in the middle of eating and a fond smile crosses his face. He reaches one of his arms out to encircle Jin’s waist and Jin returns the affection with a loving look. “Well, Jin and I have wanted to raise a family for quite some time now. We figured it would be best to build a big house so the children would have enough room to run around.”

“Ohhh,” Hoseok smiles, “In that case I should build a big house as well, shouldn’t I? I’ve been thinking of settling down and finding a beautiful wife and raising a family.”

Jimin snorts beside him, “There aren’t many women around here, and the few that are here aren’t very beautiful. You may have to give up on the idea of finding a beautiful wife.”

“Huh?” Hoseok frowns but does not seem deterred by Jimin’s words, “Well, that’s okay. I guess I’ll just find a beautiful boy instead; it’s not like I’m picky or anything.”

Jimin chuckles, “Yea, don’t think you will have much luck there either. The men here are far from beautiful.”

Hoseok purses his lips before smirking slightly, “I don’t know about that. They have a pretty gem like you here, don’t they?”

Jimin’s young face instantly turns red and he looks up at Hoseok with a flustered look. Jin perks up instantly at Hoseok’s words, “See! I told you Jimin, you’re a real gem! We just have to polish you up a bit and you would be such a beauty.”

Jimin’s face turns even redder, “Can you stop it? You’re embarrassing me…”

I chuckle at the young boy’s words and blushing cheeks; while at the same time giving Hoseok a curious look. I know his words were playful and not at all serious; but I meant what I said last night when I told Jimin that Namjoon and Jin wouldn’t think twice about giving Hoseok permission to marry him. If Hoseok actually wanted to be with Jimin, no one would stand in his way; except possibly Jimin if he didn’t want to be with Hoseok.

“By the way Jimin, do you think you could do me a favor?”

Jimin, with his cheeks still lightly tinted red, looks up to Hoseok and nods, “What do you need help with?”

“Well…like I said I need to build a big house. But, I don’t know where I should build it since I don’t know this place very well. Do you think you could show me around town today? Maybe help me find the perfect spot to raise a family and bed a pretty gem?” He winks at Jimin and Jimin’s eyes crinkle as he smiles.

Jimin nervously glances over to Namjoon and fidgets with his chopsticks, “Is it okay? If I go with him?”

“Of course!” Namjoon gives Jimin a surprised look; almost like he wasn’t sure why Jimin was asking such a question. But from Jimin’s expression I understood why; Jimin didn’t understand why he was allowed to be alone with Hoseok…but not with any of the other criminals around here. He couldn’t comprehend why Hoseok was acceptable company; while everybody else was not.

The poor boy didn’t understand any of it and I don’t blame him. I knew why Namjoon was okay with Hoseok; and that’s because Hoseok was not a criminal by choice. He only did what he had to in order to survive. He was actually quite sweet and very much a cry baby. He is easy to scare and is not a fan of violence. He only does these things to keep himself and those he cares about safe.

I clear my throat roughly, “Do you mind if I join you guys later today? I have nothing else to do here; since I’m not even going to be staying that long.”

For whatever reason, my words make Jimin instantly turn and look at me with wide, glistening eyes. His reaction speed was so quick…it almost made me wonder if the boy was hyperaware of my presence. It was almost like if I moved even the tiniest bit, the boy noticed it. If I took a small breath, the boy would glance over in anticipation; as if he was expecting me to say something.

Hoseok shrugs, “Sure! Come along, I don’t mind. Plus, you would probably have some good advice on where and how I should build my house.”

Before I can respond to that, Jin clears his throat and directs his gaze towards me, “By the way Yoongi, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me in a couple days on my trip to the Land of Water. Since you planned to leave soon, I was wondering if you would feel more comfortable starting your journey with familiar company.”

I shrug lightly, “Sure, that sounds fine to me.”

“Can I-“ We both turn our gazes to Jimin who pauses before shaking his head, “Nevermind.” He looks down to the ground with a broken expression and to be honest I felt guilty. The poor boy looked like he had nothing left to hope for and I knew I was part of the reason he was so forlorn. At least when he was hanging with those jerks at the storehouse; they filled him with fire and rebellion and gave him determination. I stripped that away and told him to it up and suffer in silence.

I curse silently under my breath, “Come on Jin, let the poor boy come with us.” Everybody at the table turns to give me a shocked look and Jimin’s mouth even falls open. “The poor boy just wants to see a little bit of the world. There is no harm in taking him with us. It’s not like he can get in trouble or anything with us there. Just…let the boy live a little.”

I turn to see Jimin’s eyes fill with a little glimmer of light and I can see a sort of hopeful happiness rise within him. He turns to Jin and Namjoon awaiting their responses. Jin shrugs his shoulder, “Well, I don’t see any problem with it.”

Namjoon gives him a surprised look, “Are you sure? You don’t think he will get in the way of you doing business?”

Jin shakes his head, “Jimin is legally an adult now. I shouldn’t have to hold his hand all the time and he knows how to behave himself. I’m fine taking him with me…in fact, I actually have someone I want Jimin to meet…”

Jimin furrows his brow in question, “There is someone…you want me to meet?”

Jin sighs and I can see him brace himself, “Yes…now, I know you have not been interested in meeting any of the men that I try to court you with; but I think you should give this boy a chance.”

Jin looks up as if waiting for Jimin to become upset; but instead the boy remains silent with a frown on his face. “If you take me with you; then I will be willing to meet this guy…”

Jin pulls back and looks at Jimin as if he has never seen the boy before. He probably was expecting a nasty response or some form of anger; instead all he received was calm words.

“Well…I mean I’m glad you…uh, I’m glad you are giving this guy a chance! I really really think you are going to like him Jimin. He’s a bit young right now, but that can be a good thing! That just means there is no rush right now for you two to form anything serious. You guys can take your time getting to know each other…” Jin’s words come out in a rush but they die off when he looks at Jimin’s uncomfortable expression.

“I said I would meet him; that doesn’t mean I’m going to like him or anything so don’t get your hopes up.” Jimin pouts but his words make Jin smile.

“You’re right; I shouldn’t be too pushy should I? I’ll let you decide for yourself when you meet him what you think about him.” Jimin doesn’t respond to Jin’s words and continues to eat quietly; however, I could see how ecstatic he was with the way he couldn’t stop smiling.

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Later that morning; Jimin, Hoseok and I went out into the dry heat to check out the town. Jimin led the way and pointed out the few buildings which were important; before turning around and facing us.

“That’s it.”

Hoseok and I share a look before turning back to the little Pumpkin, “What do you mean, ‘that’s it?’”

Jimin shrugs, “I mean that’s it. That’s the whole town.”

Hoseok and I are quiet for a few minutes before sighing heavily, “Wow, there really is nothing here.”

Jimin nods sadly, “Yea, Namjoon keeps telling me things will get better, but I don’t really see how. The best thing they have here are the Sand Gliders.”

Hoseok’s head pops up at that, “You’re right! Those Sand Gliders are awesome! I need to get one of those.”

Jimin smiles and I can’t help but adore the way his eyes crinkle up into two tiny slits, “You can borrow mine if you want; until you get your own that is.”

I raise an eyebrow, “You have your own glider? You mean like…your own personal one? You don’t share with the others?”

Jimin nods, “Originally, I was the main person who built the Sand Gliders; but I had to stop after I got injured in an accident. After that, Namjoon didn’t really want me working on them anymore; but I secretly made my own personal one all by myself.”

I look at the boy with genuine surprise and respect. I didn’t realize the boy was that capable, and Namjoon never mentioned that he was the main inventor of the Sand Gliders.

Hoseok looks at Jimin with wide eyes full of awe; “That’s really amazing Jimin! You must be really talented if you could build one of those things all on your own.”

Jimin shrugs, “Well, there isn’t much to do here so I had a lot of time to work on it. It is one of the few things that can keep me entertained here.”

I give Jimin a curious look, “What are the other things you like to do to keep yourself entertained?”

Jimin turns to me and my heart beat stutters when his eyelashes flutter, “Well, I like to dance and sing…and I used to like playing cards with the guys in the storehouse even though I always lost. And…well, I like to practice bending even though I can’t really do anything…”

“Ahhh, that’s right. You’re a bender who doesn’t know how to bend.” Jimin frowns and says nothing in return. “What’s your ability?”

“Water.”  I jerk in surprise and take a couple steps away from the boy; he gives me a curious look while Hoseok barks out in laughter. “What? What’s wrong? I don’t understand…”

Jimin turns to Hoseok who speaks through his raucous laughter, “You’re Yoongi’s mortal enemy. Yoongi hates water benders.”

I sniff at Hoseok’s words, “I don’t hate water benders; I just don’t like them.” I cross my arms and turn away with a huff.

“What? Why? Why don’t you like water benders?”

Hoseok’s laugh turns into annoying giggles and I send him a glare over my shoulder, “It’s because Yoongi is a fire bender.”

I grunt, “It’s not because I’m a fire bender; I’ve just had some bad run-ins with water benders before, is all. Plus, water benders are always so destructive. They try to give fire benders a bad name by saying we burn everything around us; but water benders are the real villains I tell ya.”

Hoseok’s laughter only grows louder with my words and I huff before walking away from the two of them.

“Wait!” Jimin’s pretty voice causes my steps to falter for a second; but I ignore him and continue marching forward.

I hear Hoseok behind me shout, “Yoongi! Where are you going?!”

Suddenly, I feel rather than hear the vibrations of someone running towards me. I turn and catch Jimin by surprise as he skids to a halt right in front of me. “Ah! Um…I’m sorry…sir. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Sir?” I scrunch my nose at the word and give Jimin a disgusted look, “Don’t call me sir, call me Yoongi. And you didn’t upset me.”

“I didn’t?” Jimin’s eyes go wide as he looks at me with pure innocence.

“It wasn’t you who annoyed me; it was Hoseok.”

“Oh.” Jimin’s shoulders fall from their tense position, “I thought you were upset because I’m a water bender.”

“Tch.” I give Jimin a once over and curl my upper lip, “You’re nothing even close to a water bender; you’re just a pumpkin.”

Jimin’s cute nose scrunches up and the expression makes my heart beat faster, “I’m not a pumpkin, stop calling me that!”

“Never.” I smile and laugh as the boy huffs and crosses his arms.

Hoseok by now has calmed his laughter and walks up to us with tears of joy in his eyes, “Hey, I thought you were going to show me a good spot to build my wonderful, amazing future house!” Hoseok says it as if he is talking about some big, grandiose thing; but neither Jimin nor I show any form of being impressed.

“Well, if you want a big house, there is one spot you may like. It’s near my house so you will be close to the center of town.”

“Alright,” Hoseok nods at Jimin’s words, “Lead the way then.”

Jimin turns and starts leading us back towards the blue pond that marks the center of the dusty and small town. Hoseok and I follow obediently behind him and he leads us towards an area nearly covered completely in cacti.

“This is the spot.” Jimin holds his hands out towards the area and smiles at us brightly; as if we should be proud of him or something.

Hoseok and I just stand there silently for a couple minutes; looking at all the pointy cacti that were taller than me.

Hoseok turns slowly to Jimin and tilts his head in confusion, “Um…Jimin, how exactly do you expect me to live here with all this cacti in the way?”

I turn to Jimin and give the boy a harsh glare, “What the hell, Pumpkin? You expect him to sleep on a bed of needles or something?”

Jimin’s expression turns to one of hurt, “No…it’s a good spot, really. If you just cut out all the cacti; you will have a really big space to build a house. And it’s in the perfect location.”

I huff, “Yeah, you’re right. If he did just cut out all the cacti then this spot would be ideal. But don’t you think the guys who got here before us thought of that already? Don’t you think if it was possible, they would have already done it?”

Jimin shakes his head with a pout set on his face, “They did try to use this spot; but the guys kept getting annoyed because the cacti kept pricking them. They thought it would be impossible to use this spot; but I created an invention that can help clear this area without injuring anybody!”

I raise an eyebrow in doubt, “Oh yea? If that’s true, then why haven’t they used this invention yet?”

Jimin gives us a sly smirk, “That’s because I haven’t told anyone about it yet. I didn’t want anyone to take this spot because I was going to build my own house here eventually.”

“Really?!” Hoseok turns and gives Jimin a surprised look, “If you wanted this spot then why did you show it to me?”

Jimin turns and fidgets awkwardly with his fingertips, “Well, I realized how hypocritical it was this morning. I keep saying I want to leave here and live somewhere else, and yet at the same time I’m saving a spot for myself here to build my own house on. That doesn’t really make sense, does it? So…I figured it would be better to give this spot to you. Especially since you are ready to raise a family and everything.”

“Oh.” That’s all Hoseok says for a minute while he looks down at Jimin’s shy and nervous form, “Well, that’s very kind of you Jimin, thank you!” Hoseok’s face breaks into its signature smile and I can see that Jimin can’t help himself but smile back. “But you know Jimin, it’s probably going to be a while before I find myself a spouse and start raising a family. In the meantime, you are always welcome to come stay here with me. I’m sure Jin and Namjoon wouldn’t mind.”

Hearing those words, I turn and give Hoseok a suspicious glare; although he didn’t notice it since he was busy looking at Jimin’s pretty face. I knew his words this time were serious; that was not a playful nor innocent invitation. Plus, Hoseok should know better. Once you start letting a beautiful jewel like Jimin start living with you; you are never going to be able to kick him out.

It was easy for me to picture already, first it starts out innocent with Jimin coming over occasionally to laugh and have fun with Hoseok. Then, the visits become more meaningful when he comes not only to laugh with Hoseok; but cry as well. When something bad happens to him or he is upset with either Namjoon or Jin; he will start to run to Hoseok who will comfort him. And eventually that form of comfort will change from simply a hug and a shoulder to cry on; to passionate touches and lingering kisses. And from there it’s all downhill; one second they’re getting married and the next their raising children. You don’t invite someone beautiful like Jimin to stay with you; unless you plan for them to never leave.

I watched them smile and chatter excitedly together, and I sighed as I came to accept reality. It was only a matter of time…it was only a matter of time before Jimin would give himself to Hoseok; or another man of equal worth. It was only a matter of time…it was only a matter of time.

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YAY!!!!! AN UPDATE!!!! Sorry this chapter is really short. Most of the chapters for this story will be around this length, but that's because it's a side story and not the main one. To be honest I'm having SO MUCH FUN writing this story and I think it's because I adore Yoongi; he is so precious~~

Anyways, thank you to the few people who have already subscribed or commented on this story! I hope all of you liked this short chapter.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, or ask any questions. I will answer/reply to all of them as soon as I can! <3