If someone would ever ask Yoongi how did it feel like to be Hoseok's closest neighbor – oh boy, would he need a moment to think about a good answer. Because even though Yoongi was a simple guy, it wasn't that simple for him to make up his mind about that particular person. Usually he didn't tend to describe people around him with details or gossip about their lifestyle, he just categorized them into a "bad" or a "good" type, where to be a "good" person meant minding your own business and not disturbing Yoongi unless it's the matter of life or death. To be a "good" person in Yoongi's eyes, you didn't have to invite him over and treat him with homemade apple pie and perfectly brewed coffee. You didn't have to help him with fixing a leaking sink or painting his bedroom's walls. It was enough if you didn't play loud music after midnight or bring him mail before 7 am.

Yoongi liked his personal space remaining unbothered by other people, he valued silence and peace, especially during his night ritual, which consisted of a glass of whiskey and a cigarette - the only cigarette that Yoongi would smoke during the day, and it had to be done on his balcony, long after sun hid its bright face behind the horizon. He didn't mind the coldness of winter nights, chilling autumn winds and stickiness of a hot summer air – his daily whiskey with cigarette had become such a habit, that despite the weather you could see him on his balcony every single night, sitting in a total darkness, only the bright red tip of a cigarette floating in the air. Some people actually thought Yoongi was a bit eccentric, leaving his flat only to walk his dog and buy groceries and never inviting people over. And even though he had been living in the same block of flats for almost 3 years, his neighbors barely even knew him, slowly giving up on the idea that Yoongi would ever try to interact and socialize with them.

But with Hoseok – uh, Yoongi was really confused about that neighbor. To be honest, he couldn't decide if he would rather put him in a "good" or "bad" box, he wasn't even sure if he liked the guy! Because look - Hoseok was really perfect in doing all those things that Yoongi hated. He would invite Yoongi over every time they bumped into each other in a grocery store, always treating him with delicious deserts and a really decent coffee. Hoseok would tell him about his job and the books he was currently reviewing, also nag about his boyfriend sometimes, and even though Yoongi used to be annoyed by the amount of useless information escaping Hoseok's mouth, he would still find himself paying attention to everything he was talking about, like he actually knew about literature or was capable of giving good relationship advice (which he had no idea about).

Hoseok was… a lot of things in Yoongi’s head. But among all those different characteristic, there was the one that made it impossible for Yoongi not to like the guy, or at least – to hate him.

...

If Yoongi had to describe Hoseok as a neighbor and as a person, the first word coming out of his mouth would probably be "vibrant". Because even though he was annoying, Hoseok was indeed the most colorful person Yoongi had ever known. 

Just like his flowers. 

And with that, there was actually quite a story concerning the matter.

The thing was - Hoseok loved flowers. Him living right next to Yoongi had to be some kind of joke that destiny was playing on both of them, because Yoongi's balcony compared to Hoseok's looked… poorly. You see, the block they were both living in didn't provide big balconies, which wasn't a problem for Yoongi, and the only thing present on his outdoor little space was one, small chair which he sat on during his daily cigarette ritual. He didn't really need the balcony for anything more – well, maybe his dog would say otherwise as he loved sunbathing outside and barking at people walking on the street below. So, you could say that Yoongi's balcony was pretty much empty and unused, and you would be probably right, at least until two months ago, when some things began to change. 

From the day Hoseok had moved in, Yoongi noticed right away that Hoseok's balcony was overflowing with different kinds of plants. To be honest, there wasn't enough space for anything else than flowers pots, with only a small chair squeezed right next to the door, as how Yoongi learnt later on, Hoseok liked to spend his evenings wrapped in a blanket and reading books. There were flowers everywhere – smaller pots attached to the barrier, bigger ones standing on the floor, and a few medium-sized baskets hanging from the narrow piece of ceiling above the balcony. If Yoongi knew anything about flowers, he would recognize bright marigolds on the windowsill, white hydrangeas spreading across the floor with gazanias peeking their colorful heads about them. He would admire fragile petunias squeezed tightly in their green pots across the barrier and big manes of nasturtiums overflowing in the baskets hung above the balcony. But Yoongi didn't know about plants, so anything he could say about them was that they looked pretty from the street. That's why he wasn't even sure why he had agreed on Hoseok bringing few flower pots on his own, personal balcony.

"Please, Yoongi! I don't have enough space, and I can't just throw these away. Do you know how much effort it took me to make them grow despite the cold spring?"

So Yoongi took the colorful pots and accepted their presence invading his personal sanctuary. It started with only two plants squeezed in the right corner of his balcony, but it quickly became clear that it wasn't over. So now, after two months, it looked like plants from Hoseok's balcony were invading Yoongi's one like poison ivy, with the two balconies only few centimeters apart from each other. That's why it was still a mystery how - despite Yoongi's protectiveness over his personal space - had Hoseok successfully managed to force a couple of extra flower pots on his neighbor territory, inspecting Yoongi daily to make sure he didn’t forget to water them.

Yoongi couldn't hide the fact that he kind of liked Hoseok, or he should rather say that he sometimes liked being around Hoseok. Only sometimes, because his neighbor wasn't only about pretty flowers and apple pie, nah-ah.

It was also about all those stupid and childish nicknames that Hoseok would call Yoongi's dog. That’s why another word perfectly describing Hoseok would be… Maybe not “obnoxious” as it sounded really negative, but “teasing”. Yes, he was definitely teasing, and Yoongi felt that Hoseok was always throwing a little bit of extra when it came to annoying him. For example, the thing about the dog name and situation from few days before.

It was a chilly March morning, the day after a big thunderstorm had hit the city. It had hailed all previous day, so when Yoongi went out past 6 am to walk his dog, he quickly realized his mistake of not putting on a jacket. What's more, his brown-white husky felt extremely curious about everything around him that day, sniffing literally every single bush and bench they would pass, not listening to Yoongi's urgent whines about how his is freezing and the damn dog should just do his business.

"Good morning, sweetheart!"

Yoongi's stare quickly shot upwards, landing right on Hoseok's face, barely visible around all of those colorfully blooming flowers. His usual bright smile was glued to his face as always, dark eyes looking down at Yoongi from the balcony. But Yoongi was not having it. He was cold. He was tired. He hadn't gotten enough sleep last night because of hail banging on his windows way too loudly, and the last thing we wanted to deal with was Hoseok. Especially at this hour.

"What the did you just call me?"

Yoongi's voice came out way too shaky to sound as threating as he had planned to, but his stare was still the one that could kill a man in a second. Yoongi took a quick glance at his dog, who was also looking up and greeting their way too friendly neighbor with soft barks. Yoongi still hadn't figured out how Hoseok had managed to make his dog to like him, but there he was, waving his tail in the air in sudden excitement. Hoseok's laugh echoed on an empty street and made Yoongi look up at him again.

"Jokes on you, Yoongi!" Hoseok replied cheerfully, pulling his blanket further over his shoulders. There was a mug in his hands, probably full of hot and delicious coffee, and a needle of jealousy stung Yoongi right in the heart. How did Hoseok dare to drink coffee while Yoongi was freezing his off?

"I wasn't talking to you! I was just greeting Biscuit!"

"His name is Reaper, for 's sake!"

Yoongi screamed in response, only causing Hoseok to laugh out again. He felt a bit relieved though, remembering how jealous Hoseok's boyfriend could become around him. There had already been situation where Yoongi could feel Jungkook's anger on his own skin, so he would rather not be called any sweet nicknames by Hoseok. Just in case.

"Well, I think "Biscuit" fits him better!"

Hoseok said in response, and Yoongi was thankful, oh, so damn thankful, that they both lived just on the second floor, because at least Hoseok didn't have to scream that loud for Yoongi to hear him and vice versa. He really didn't like the idea of the whole street listening to them fighting over a dog name.

"Why are you up so early?"

Yoongi lowered his voice a bit, dropping the previous topic and shifting his stare to his dog, who was currently busy examining the nearest trashcan. He leaned his back against the street lamp and carefully followed his dog moves while listening to Hoseok shuffling between the flower pots in order to get closer to the barrier.

"Jungkook woke me up. He forgot his wallet yesterday and had to come and get it."

Yoongi chuckled under his breath and looked up at Hoseok with an amused smile crawling onto his lips. It was then when he noticed his neighbor's messy hair and couldn't help but pick on it.

"That's why you look so fresh and fabulous, uh?"

Hoseok just sighed deeply in response and somehow managed to squeeze his elbow in between the pots and lean against the barrier a bit more to take a better look at Yoongi, the steam from the mug in between his hands ghosting over his face. He shifted his stare to Reaper, still sniffing around and not minding the two chatting men.

"At least I'm smart enough to not go outside in only a tshirt, right Biscuit?"

Hoseok didn't even spare Yoongi a look, but he was almost sure that his neighbor's eyes were literally shooting lasers at him. But he didn't give him a chance to reply with one of his sarcastic riposte.

"And I've made way too much coffee. So bring your up here and let's have breakfast together, like perfect neighbors that we are."

Yoongi sighed deeply and sent Hoseok a soft smile. Hoseok wasn't even looking at him, too busy making heart eyes to Reaper, but Yoongi didn't move his eyes away from his face. He was really having a hard time deciding if he likes his overly optimistic neighbor or not, but he surely appreciated how he was always being treated with food. Yoongi loved food, especially when it's free and he didn't have to prepare it himself.

"Actually, I was planning on going back to sleep…"

He replied after few seconds, purposely making his words sound as vulnerable as possible, and ruffled his dark, messy hair. It was partially true, he did want to go back to sleep, though he wasn't sure if he would be able to, especially that the sun peeking from in between the clouds could be a bit problematic at this matter. He liked to sleep in total darkness, the place wasn't that important – bed, sofa, armchair - it was no difference for him as long as it was completely dark in the room.

It was a loud snort from above his head that made Yoongi's smile even wider, because nothing made him more satisfied that seeing his annoyingly enthusiastic neighbor getting upset.

"Well, I don't give a cause the egg muffins are already in the oven and the coffee won't stay hot for too long, soooo…"

Yoongi couldn't stop a loud giggle from escaping his mouth, but he did shift his stare away from Hoseok. He didn't really knew why, but he didn't want his neighbor to realize that Yoongi liked him didn’t hate him. Yoongi didn't understand how was that even possible, but he had already accepted his fate of living next to that weirdo, so he would rather take all the best out of it, especially if it meant free food.

When he looked up at Hoseok again, he realized that the younger man lost his smile somewhere, a soft pout taking its place on his lips. His eyes were fixed on the flowers in front of him while he was gently touching the leaves with his fingertips. There was a sad sigh that slipped from in between his lips, before Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows and send Hoseok confused stare.

"It's because of hail last night."                                                                       

Hoseok voice was quiet, his eyes still carefully scanning each and every leaf and petal of his flowers, now ripped and beaten up by hail. Yoongi just nodded his head in a sign of understanding, suddenly feeling a sharp pull of the leash in his hand. He took a quick glimpse at his dog, who was clearly done checking out the surroundings and ready to go back home.

"How bad is it?"

Yoongi's question floated above the street for a few seconds, cold wind ruffling both men's hair and filling their lungs with chilly air. Hoseok send Yoongi a sad smile, before wrapping the blanket tighter around himself and turning around to enter his flat.

"I'm gonna go and make you some coffee. Don't take too long, it's cold."

It took Yoongi a while, but he had managed to realize something during those 3 years of living wall to wall with Hoseok. It’s about those times when his flat was lacking something, and it wasn’t any material thing. It was about days not filled with Hoseok’s soft humming on the balcony and his favourite music slipping in Yoongi’s living room through the open windows. It was about the times when Hoseok wasn’t really sad, but the time when he was gloomy. Yoongi honestly doubted in Hoseok ever being sad, but he was sure as hell that he hated the days when his neighbor wasn’t happy. Although it was thanks to those days that Yoongi was able to figure out another word to describe his neighbor with. And that word was “fragile”, as Yoongi doubted he had ever met more delicate and graceful person than Hoseok.

Yoongi stared at Hoseok's back in confusion, slowly following his dog back to the entrance door.

"But you said…you said you had already made too much coffee…"

His voice was way too quiet for Hoseok to hear him, but maybe it was better that way. Yoongi looked up once again, this time on his own balcony, wondering in what condition were the flowers over there. He didn't know about flowers, and to be completely honest, he didn't care much about them, but he knew for sure that he hated the hail now. Partly because it kept him up all night, and partly because it caused that weird thing happen to Hoseok, when his face wasn’t glowing from within and his lips were not curved into a smile.

Yoongi shook his head slightly, keeping dramatic thoughts away, and typed in the code to open the entrance door to the building. He made his way up the stairs, letting the dog run in front of him, until they both reached the second floor. Hoseok had already unlocked the door as the doorknob twisted smoothly in Yoongi’s hand and the faint smell of coffee hit his nostrils the second he opened the door. Reaper quickly bypassed him in the doorway while Yoongi was still busy taking off his sneakers, listening to Hoseok shuffling in the kitchen.

“Oh, just look at the lovely guest we’re having today! Oh my, my, do I have some delicious treats for you, sir!”

Yoongi literally wanted to throw up at how cheerful and sweet Hoseok’s voice was. He was almost sure it’s because of some kind of weird paternity feeling that Reaper had awaken inside his neighbor. Yoongi would be pleased to gift Hoseok a puppy he could cuddle all day long and call him all those stupid nicknames, but the answer to that offer was always the same: “Please, don’t rush me, Min Yoongi! Dog is a huge responsibility, I don’t think I’m ready for that!”. So Yoongi stopped asking and gave up on trying to convince Hoseok that dogs are really not that much to handle and he would be an amazing owner.

When Yoongi entered the kitchen, the first thing he noticed was the smell. The aroma of freshly baked muffins and brewed coffee quickly put a wide smile on his face and woke up his stomach, which started growling quietly.

“You’re such a well-behaved dog! How can your owner be such a jerk, uh?”

Hoseok’s voice brought Yoongi’s attention once again. He fixed his stare on the other man, who was still wearing nothing more than shorts and a blanket thrown over his shoulder, and was very busy having conversation with Reaper, patiently feeding him dog treats. Yoongi almost wanted to strike back after the “jerk” part of Hoseok’s  sentence, but he decided not to, just for the sake of a calm and relaxed atmosphere.

“And what about feeding me, uh?”

His voice still sounded sleepy and tired, even though Yoongi was feeling much more refreshed and energized after the short walk. Without waiting for Hoseok’s reply, he opened one of the cupboards and took out two coffee mugs, immediately starting to fill them up with coffee. He had been in Hoseok’s apartment a few times before so he knew where to find some basic necessities, though Yoongi still couldn’t really admit that he felt comfortable there. He liked Hoseok’s flat, he liked how it was furnished and he loved the way it always smelled with some kind of homemade food – he just didn’t like not being the one in charge, and staying over someone else’s territory meant he couldn’t just do whatever he wanted.  And that was kind of annoying.

But Hoseok liked having him over, at least that’s the feeling Yoongi was getting from him. His neighbor seemed to be always ready for guests, his cupboards filled with snacks and treats for both Yoongi and his dog, his apartment always clean and tidy, and Hoseok’s mouth never shutting up, talking about everything and nothing.

“Yes, yes, pour the coffee and I’ll check the muffins.”

Yoongi heard a quiet shuffle behind his back before he felt Hoseok’s hand ruffling his hair, fingers lingering on his nape for a few seconds while Hoseok was passing him by. Yoongi stopped himself from jerking to the side to avoid the touch, mostly because of the kettle filled with hot coffee in his right hand, and also because he got used to Hoseok’s need to touch other people all the time.

Yoongi didn’t really like touching. I mean, of course he had dated people before, he still hooked up from time to time, but the whole idea of touching outside the bedroom (where touching is kind of the point), being clingy and affectionate usually made him uncomfortable. And the fact that his neighbor, who was in deed taken and dating a very jealous type of man, kept touching him in all different ways was really getting on Yoongi’s nerves sometimes. Why Hoseok had to slap Yoongi’s knee while laughing? Why did he felt the need to softly pat his back when Yoongi mentioned some kind of problem he was dealing with recently? Yoongi didn’t know, and he honestly didn’t care about the reason behind all this, as long as Hoseok didn’t cross the border and put them both in a huge trouble.

Yoongi managed to successfully fill both mugs with coffee without spilling anything on the counters, which he was very much proud of. He put the mugs on the small kitchen table and sat down on the chair next to the small window. Hoseok was currently busy taking their breakfast out of the oven, carefully transporting the egg muffins from the tray to the big plate. He wasn’t humming nor signing anything, which was both worrying and making Yoongi happy. He was rather enjoying the silence, especially that early in the morning, though he started to wonder what the hell had happened with all those plants that made Hoseok so gloomy.

Yoongi shifted his stare away from Hoseok and focused on Reaper, sitting right next to Hoseok’s legs, his tongue hanging out from his open mouth and eyes curiously following the man’s actions. Yoongi was wondering what was it about Hoseok that he made his dog become so friendly to him. He remembered too well how long he had to struggle to make Reaper behave appropriately around his family, not even mentioning his friends, but when they moved in three years ago, he wasn’t sure if it was the same dog after all. The first time they had met Hoseok was during their afternoon walk, and Yoongi had been already prepared to hold the dog back in case he would start barking and jumping around, but Reaper hadn’t even opened his mouth. He had only looked at Hoseok, his nose sniffing around and examining the new scent for a few minutes, before he had the man’s hand affectionately. Yoongi had been more than shocked. He had always heard that dogs could sense good people and read emotions well, so it had kinda made him assume from the start that Hoseok couldn’t be a bad human being.

It was Hoseok’s stare that brought Yoongi back to earth. He was looking at him from across the kitchen, a small, impish smile curving his lips and a plate full of muffins in his hands. He was staring at Yoongi expectantly for a few seconds before a quiet giggle escaped his mouth. The Reaper turned his head in Yoongi’s direction as well and barked softly, trying to get his owner’s attention. Yoongi shifted in his seat and sent Hoseok an apologetic look.

“What were you asking?”

Hoseok sent him a another smile in response while he made his way towards the table, where he set the muffins and two plates.

“I was wondering if I could give one to Waffle. I mean, it is made from eggs, I don’t know if dogs can eat eggs.”

Reaper just barked loudly, quickly joining the men and taking his seat under the table. Yoongi shifted his stare back and forward between Hoseok’s face and muffins on the plate in front of him, trying to figure out if it is safe for his dog to eat them. He didn’t even react to the way Hoseok called his dog, guessing that Reaper himself didn’t really mind being called by all type of food terms.

“To be honest, I have no idea. I don’t know about dogs. I guess you can give it to him and we will just wait and see if he dies or no…”

Yoongi said after a while with his usual lack of emotions, causing Hoseok to burst out with gleeful laughter.

“I should call animal police to take the dog away from you, seriously…”

He wasn’t proud about his low knowledge about his dog’s proper diet, but he didn’t find it funny either. Though he found Hoseok laughing to be a much more enjoyable view than worried wrinkles on his forehead when he was examining his plants earlier that morning. Yoongi watched how Hoseok kept circling around between the fridge and the table, bringing more and more food to the table, a wide smile still shining on his face.

“If you really care about his wellbeing, you can always steal him from me and be a better owner.”

A faint smile crawled on Yoongi’s lips and Hoseok’s giggles filled the kitchen once again. He sent Yoongi an amused stare across the kitchen, making his way to the table with two sets of cutlery in his hands. He sat down next to Yoongi (which Yoongi always found weird, as people usually sit across the table so they could see each other comfortably, but then there was Hoseok – always taking the seat next to people) and immediately started to fill both of their plates with food. Yoongi just watched him in silence, trying to take in the amount of food on the table. He didn’t know if Hoseok was like that with everyone or just him, but every time he had Yoongi over at his place, the table was literally bending under the weight of the food on top of it. Even now, during as simple meal as breakfast, on Yoongi’s plate were things as vegetable dumplings, two types of bread rolls, a peeled and cut into slices apple, one boiled egg and slices of different types of ham. But that wasn’t all. The table was packed with bowls and plates full of other foods, like sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and radishes, still steaming toasts along with a jar of peanut butter and three different flavors of jam, cereal and milk, a small ball of greek yoghurt and another one full of fruits. The first time Yoongi had come to visit Hoseok, his neighbor  hospitality was a little bit overwhelming. Yoongi was almost sure it was all just a façade and that Hoseok was trying to show off. But when the situation didn’t change every other time he came over, Yoongi actually got used to the fact that Hoseok was a freak when it came to treating his quests, and accepted every type of food he had been offered.

“How many do you want to eat? Is 6 enough?”

Yoongi snorted loudly, almost choking on the coffee he was drinking.

“Are you crazy? I can eat 3 at most.”

The way Hoseok looked at him almost made Yoongi’s heart stop. The disappointment mixed with misery that was radiating from his face was indescribable, and even Reaper seemed to understand the situation, as he placed his chin on Yoongi’s knee, looking up at him with his usual, puppy-like manner. Yoongi quickly shifted his stare back to his own plate, watching Hoseok’s hands floating right above it, stopped midway from gifting him another egg muffin. His fingers were covered in grease and breadcrumbs, and his voice echoed softly between the kitchen walls.

“So I prepared all of this for nothing?”

Yoongi could bet his he heard Hoseok’s voice tremble for a bit. He had either really upset him with his not that impressive eating abilities, or his neighbor was really good at playing the victim. He looked up at Hoseok’s face again, trying to send him an apologetic smile. Either way, Yoongi ended up falling for those big, brown eyes and lips curved into a small pout, and agreed on everything Hoseok forced onto his plate.

Yoongi finished up eating six egg muffins that morning and not being able to move for the next hour. Hoseok was kind enough to do all the cleaning, his soft humming and adorable conversations with Reaper buzzing nicely inside Yoongi’s head, making his eyelids feel oddly heavy.

So he fell asleep there, right by the Hoseok’s kitchen table, head dropping loosely onto his shoulder, arms crossed tightly on his chest. He didn’t remember Hoseok taking the blanket off his own shoulders and covering him with it, he also didn’t remember his dog barking at the potato that fell on the floor  and being called per Tootie by his neighbor afterwards.

He generally didn’t really remember much from what happened after the breakfast, but he was thankful to Hoseok for feeding him well and not posting that picture of Yoongi sleeping on any social media. Note to future self: do not fall asleep with Jung Hoseok around.