Love
We treat it like a magical word
Like everything becomes easy, when it’s not - I’m useless
In moments when I see you’re not a statue, an image, or an idol
But flesh and blood, just like this cynical dog
It’s the most terrifying twist of fate to know you’re real.

Hoseok smiled, coughing a little into his sleeve as he sat at the bus stop in the snow, his earbuds playing Yoongi’s voice for the nth time that morning. It had been Yoongi’s awkward Christmas present to him, the USB shoved into his cold hands with his head tucked down against his chest.

He’d made himself coffee that morning, noting the USB on the counter but thinking it just some file for a school project. Yoongi had looked horrified as he had gotten up to leave, snapping at him like it should have been ,em>obvious.

“Next time, just wrap it up like a real present, and put my name on it with a little heart next to it,” Hoseok teased, thanking him just the same and kissing him goodbye. He had wanted to listen to it right away, to see what Yoongi had made for him, but the boy had vehemently insisted that Hoseok listen to it on his own.

“Why?”

“Because…” Yoongi grumbled, “I don’t think I could take it. Just...text me later, okay? And if you don’t like it, that’s okay.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it,” Hoseok had smirked, patting down the beanie on Yoongi’s head, causing some of the boy’s bangs to trail down into his eyes. “Don’t forget, be at the auditorium at 5:30, so you can get to your seat in plenty of time.”

“Of course.” The tone in which Yoongi said it almost sounded dismissive, but Hoseok saw in his posture that he meant it to sound softer.

Hoseok stared at his soulmate for a long moment. Thought about how hard he’d had to fight to communicate with Yoongi at all, from the lack of reaction at their first meeting, to half-drunkenly revealing their soulmate tattoos to The Fight. It was like Yoongi was a soft little package with multiple layers, closed off and crinkling at the edges. And he wanted to be the only one who could read into the little gestures and flickers of movement that indicated Yoongi’s true feelings. He wrapped his arms around Yoongi, squeezing his eyes shut as if he could squeeze away the tightness in his chest. He could feel Yoongi’s hand in his hair, and the movement was small but soothing, and he knew it took effort for Yoongi to reach out and do it, just like every day was an effort. Hoseok sighed in contentment. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” Yoongi repeated, and that time, he could hear the softness properly.

If I can claim to be the reason for your smile
Every day, all the time, I swear to god
If he exists, that I’d be grateful
But that’s lie in the end - being grateful - because love makes me selfish
It twists our guts and tears our chests and dries our eyes
And we’re so selfish
That’s the beauty of love for you.

Help me be a man that wants to be more, to stand tall
To no longer be a useless coward to you, my muse and my distraction
We’re so selfish
And that’s the beauty of love for you.

He’d heard Yoongi’s music before. It was often emotive and chaotic and powerful. But this one felt tender, and belied its subjectivity. It was messy, but it was honest. And that’s all he could ask for.

~~~

“It’s only the biggest dance recital of the year!” Taehyung wailed, wriggling impatiently in his seat. Seokjin shook his head at his younger brother, smacking at his thigh to get him to sit up properly. “How could they be late?!”

“They’re coming, they’re coming,” Seokjin reassured, letting out a sigh of exasperation. Yoongi sat two spaces over, slunk into his seat so far that his toes were tucked up under the bottom of the chair in front of him. He would have looked relaxed, except for the anxious way his fingernails kept scratching at the worn material of his armrest, and the stony expression in his eyes. Namjoon and Kiara were running behind due to traffic,, so the last two seats on their row were currently being held by various jackets and scarves tossed across the back of the seats. Jin figured they wouldn’t be nearly so antsy if they hadn’t come over an hour early to make sure they got a good spot. Sitting still for so long, waiting for things to begin was starting to get to them. Being hungry on top of things probably didn’t help, either.

“Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?” a young woman asked, gesturing to the seat next to Yoongi.

“Yes, it’s taken,” Yoongi grumbled, sounding miffed at even being asked. The woman nodded, moving on, and Jin frowned, but opted not to prod.

“Did Jimin seem nervous this morning when he left?” Jin queried towards Jungkook, who shrugged.

“He always gets nervous before a show, but it’s usually a good nervous. As long as he doesn’t over-practice himself into illness, he’ll do perfectly fine.” The boy glanced up at the stressed out looking Yoongi. “And Hoseok always does great, so I’m not really worried. Although this is his first time in a more ‘serious’ role, so I think he’s really worked extra hard this time to make it good.”

“I’m sure he has,” Jin smiled, “What kind of roles did he do before?”

“Mostly comedic ones, like he plays the dwarf character, or a jester, or something like that. Which is a shame, because he’s really good. I’m glad they gave him a big part this year.”

“Yeah, just seeing him practice, I was really amazed…” Jin leaned over to pat Yoongi on the shoulder. “Did you give him your gift?”

Yoongi nodded. “He hasn’t messaged me about it yet, though.”

“I’m sure he loved it.”

Yoongi grunted in response, and Taehyung started to bounce in his seat as the lights flickered, an indication that the show was going to begin soon. The orchestra pit was awash with a cacophony of instruments tuning up, going across final notes and difficult passages.

Namjoon and Kiara slipped in just after the lights turned off and the first few notes started to hum out across the auditorium. Yoongi shifted over to sit next to Jin, giving the two of them the seats on the end of the aisle. Stumbling in seat with a few hoarsely whispered apologies and some flustered panting from racing over, they finally settled in and breathed easy. They’d all made it. The show’s theme was ‘Midwinter Night’s Dream,’ a heavily altered version of the Shakespeare play for the holiday season, but other than that, Jin didn’t know much about it. The posters were kind of ambiguous - blame that on the art department being in charge of promotional art. He was pretty sure they weren’t going to have anyone straddling rocket ships as they were sent off into space at this low-budget university play, much less grinning cherubs.

He settled in for the first act, which was mostly backstory on some star-crossed lovers. The names were hard to pronounce and it was difficult at first to keep up with who was who. The scene changed from a domestic-feeling city to a forest set complete with glowing stars and falling snow, and Jin smiled as Jimin stepped out on stage along with seven other dancers, all dressed as different forest creatures. He saw Taehyung sit up in his seat out of the corner of his eye, and glanced over to see a rapt look of solemn attention on Taehyung’s face. It was that expression that, upon first glance, look like Taehyung had officially dozed off with his eyes open, his face lax, his jaw slacked until it was open. But Jin knew from the gleam in his eyes that his brain was working on overdrive, trying to catch every detail as his soulmate danced gracefully across the stage. To be honest, Jin figured if he leaned in close enough he could hear a little whirring sound leaking out of Taehyung’s ears. He smiled, looking back to the stage at the almost pompous grin on Jimin’s face as he playfully pretended to tug at another of the dancers, toppling them both over in a smooth tumble and landing on their feet on the other side of the stage as two more figures entered. This time, Yoongi shifted forward, his fingers scratching at the armrest anxiously. He felt like his insides kept flipping, although he wasn’t sure why he was so on edge - it wasn’t like he was the one on the stage.

A very tall, broad-shouldered guy was dressed in what looked like a cross between traditional Father Christmas, a fairy, and a drunk salaryman. His cheeks were overtly rouge in deep-looking circles, his smile broad and his brows drawn on in a furrow that was exaggerated for the stage lights. At his arm stood a leaner, spry looking figure with a crown made of laurels and flowers of white and red, the arrow-like petals trailing down across his brow. He wore a deep blue scar that was so long it trailed loosely from his shoulders down to his ankles, brushing against the polished floor as he bowed to the taller figure. Yoongi heard Jin give a soft little gasp at his side.

“Hoseok looks so pretty…” Jin breathed into Yoongi’s ear. The younger his lips, his eyes wide as he tried to soak in the sight of his soulmate as he beamed across the stage with a smile that seemed brighter than all the stage lights combined. ‘Pretty’ didn’t seem to cover it, in Yoongi’s opinion, and based on the whispers in the seats around him, he wasn’t the only one who thought so. Hoseok’s dark hair was slightly curled at the edges, giving him a slightly boyish and playful look that was only intensified by the light strides he took across the stage. His slightly tanned skin seemed to glow of its own warmth, and his eyes scanning ever so briefly across the crowd seemed somehow still pointed at Yoongi, although he knew logically that Hoseok had no way of seeing him properly in the audience, due to the spotlight in his eyes. He still felt like he was being watched, like the gaze was deliberated at him. Hoseok wore a deep brown vest that left his arms free, distracted Yoongi with each movement and gesture, his steps exaggeratedly otherwordly as he joined the other fairies in a dance. Yoongi knew that some dialogue had been exchanged with their Oberon character, but… honestly, he couldn’t concentrate on anyone else, now that Hoseok was on the stage. He almost wanted to let out a little whine when the act ended and he was gone.

Jin looked over at him, nudging him in the shoulder until he glanced over. The elder leaned in to whisper in his ear, voice tinged with amusement. “You look like you just got hit with the world’s strongest love potion.”

Namjoon leaned forward to join in, too. “I think he started drooling at one point.” Their crooked smirks and teases only made Yoongi grateful it was dark enough in the auditorium to render them incapable of seeing the blush of heat rising up his cheeks and neck. The rest of the play was a blur for him, filled with laughs in all directions and with a wig malfunction that was sure to imprint the evening fondly in their memories for years.

At the end of the last scene, the lovers shuffled off the stage, arm in arm, and Yoongi felt something tugging at the inside of his chest as Hoseok slipped back onto the edge of the stage. He was standing in the center, and there was nothing on the stage but him alone. He was looking after where the lovers had vanished off-stage, fondly but with a smile that was tight-lipped, and eyes that seemed to indicate some unspoken remorse. It made Yoongi want to jump up in his seat and cry out, reminding Hoseok that he didn’t have to look so sadly after them anymore. What the hell is going on with you tonight, Min Yoongi?

“Love,” Hoseok began, turning to look out at the audience. Yoongi felt a shiver as Hoseok’s gaze seemed to flicker over his seat, and intensity to the expression in his eyes that didn’t have a name. His voice was deeper than usual, almost sounding like that warm, rough-edged hum that came only in the quieter, more intimate moments when the two of them were alone. He felt simultaneously jealous and overwhelmed, possessive and proud, to have everyone else hear that sound, too.

“Everyone’s story is a little different on the details, perhaps. Some take time to fall, others do so every day with the ease of feather slipping out of reach, tugged along by the breeze. Some find love down a one-way street, others in a crowd, still others in the last shivering notes of a song.” Hoseok smiled. Puck smiled. For the moment, they were one and the same. He held up his hand to take a delicate inhale of the blood red flower in his hand, his eyes fluttering shut briefly. Yoongi’s mind flashed with the knowledge that the color red stood for passion, and how fitting that was. Hoseok’s smile was wistful as he held the flower to his chest.

“But in the end, it’s all the same, right? Happy endings, falling in love, lover’s quarrels, and so on?” The Puck that was also Hoseok tilted his head to the side curiously, smirking. “I’d like to think the mishaps, the hard times, the tears, only serve to make beauty and goodliness look a little brighter, myself. Hopefully on this stage, we have managed to pull you out of the ordinary for a little while, the dark and nonsensical, so you can leave here tonight feeling like you’ve touched a little magic in your own lives. Whether that magic comes from a flower…” he held it out in his palm as if offering it to the audience, as if offering it to his lover, “ Or from you, or from someone you love - whether it comes from a sound or a smell, a convolution or clarity, I hope we leave you tonight with a little magic.”

With that, Hoseok took his flower crown in one hand and gave a deep bow to the audience, bending low across the stage as the crowd erupted in cacophonous applause and cries. The curtain closed, and Yoongi felt like his hands were going to go numb. He looked over at Jin as the lights flickered back on, the crowd still clapping, and he saw that Jin was crying, the tears streaking down the upturned curves of his cheeks as he beamed. The curtain opened again, and Hoseok was standing in a line holding hands with Jimin and the rest of the cast. They took a deep bow together, and despite the lump of pride in his throat, Yoongi tried to join Jungkook in giving a deep whoop of approval.

~~

Yoongi wasn’t much of a romantic. That much was obvious. He wasn’t good at expressing affection to others, much less openly.

So that’s why everyone was surprised when he practically launched himself at Hoseok the instant he came out from backstage. Yoongi’s arms wrapped around the dark-haired boy, burying his head in the warm shoulder. The brushing of his cheek against the bare shoulder still made a small, gentle electric shock flicker through him, a reminder. Soulmate.

Hoseok was the most surprised of all, his eyes wide as he took in the hair that tickled against his still make-up covered face. But after a moment, his face broke in that wide toothy grin, and he gathered Yoongi up in his arms with a tender expression in his eyes.

“You were amazing,” Yoongi whispered into his chest, quietly enough that the others couldn’t hear.

“Really? Thank you…” Hoseok giggled, “I was really nervous.”

“You didn’t look nervous at all!” Jin grinned, as the others all crowded around to pat both him and Jimin on the back. Kiara and Jungkook stepped forward, both holding the enormous flower bouquets that they had all pitched in on - another reason for Namjoon and Kiara running behind schedule.

“My fairy-boy was so talented!” Taehyung cooed, crouching down to grab Jimin’s thighs and lift him up off the ground, as Jimin cried out in surprise. Leaning in to Jimin’s chest, Taehyung stage-whispered up at him, “Will they let you keep the costume..?”

After a few moments of congratulations and laughter, Jungkook tugged quietly on Jin’s sleeve, making the other nod. “Okay, next is dinner, and it’s on me this time!”

The younger ones gave a cheer, starting off towards the car. Jin hung behind a little with the older kids. Namjoon had his arm around Kiara’s waist as she nuzzled against his shoulder. Hoseok hugged the bouquet of flowers to his chest with contentment.

“I think Jimin will get a much bigger part next time. He was a real crowd pleaser this time,” Hoseok told them in a practical tone. “He worked really hard for it, too.”

“And I’m willing to bet money that Taehyung is already thinking up ways to ‘reward’ him for that hard work, too.” Yoongi chuckled. He felt like his chest was about to burst open.

“Please don’t give him any ideas,” Jin laughed, “You two are already practically human velcro.”

Hoseok arched an eyebrow at Jin, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around Jin and Yoongi’s shoulders. “Hmm… well, that’s a nice little decoration you have there, Jin. When did you get that?”

“Huh?” Jin blinked. Yoongi and Hoseok sent him a look.

“On your face..? Didn’t you put that there?” He pointed to Jin’s cheek, and the eldest pulled out his phone, turning the camera around so he could see his face. On his left cheek was a small series of little pink hearts that were drawn just beneath his eye, looking like little heart-shaped tear drops. Jin flushed.

“W-when did he even do that!?” he breathed, touching his cheek as if the hearts were going to slip away from his fingertips. Yoongi shrugged, then pointed at his neck. Jin looked again to see writing starting across from his jawline toward his clavicle in black marker. He would recognize Taehyung’s handwriting anywhere. It screeched out ‘Hurry up hyung! Or…’ And the ellipses continued down below Jin’s collar.

The unspoken threat had Jin cursing, rushing off towards the car as the others laughed from behind him.

“Oh my god, Taehyung! Keep your hands off! Everybody, gets your clothes back on!”

“I like your hearts, hyung,” Jimin teased from the back seat. “They look cute. Like couple clothes.”

“I’ll show you cute--”

Giggles erupted from the van, and Yoongi curled even closer into Hoseok’s arm, nuzzling quietly.

Quietly above his head, Hoseok murmured into his hair, “So. I listened to your present..”

Yoongi visibly stiffened up. He’d been waiting so anxiously, but after seeing Hoseok’s present for him, he had almost forgotten entirely.

“To you, my muse and my distraction…” Hoseok half-sang in a voice that crackled. Yoongi felt a little shiver of appreciation for that voice ring through him. “I think that line is really nice, especially. I like the idea of being called your muse…”

Yoongi paused, nearly about to let a really corny romantic phrase drop from his lips, but biting it away and letting out a little grunt of acknowledgement instead. Okay, he was being slowly turned into mush by Jung Hoseok, that was true. But it didn’t make him one of those sappy romantics overnight or something like that. At Yoongi’s response Hoseok just laughed, long and loud, pulling Yoongi closer to his chest.

“I love you, too.”