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According to others, Jeon Jungkook's choices were dangerous and reckless. Allowing his attention from hours of study to be consumed by a boy from school would ruin his reputation and the chances he had of advancing in the world. It would end in tears and heartbreak, and it would be the worst mistake he would ever make for himself. Over and over he heard the same thing repeated, that he would regret his choices for the rest of his life. It's what his friends and relations said, and it’s what his parents repeated on numerous occasions, but he refused to take any of it to heart.

They said Park Jimin was the son of a wealthy man, someone cruel who took things from others without a second thought. They said his father was merciless and selfish, demanding so much of people that was unfair and that he was one of the monsters that crept in the dark shadows of nightmares. Everyone told him that it was an unlikely love, that Jimin’s father would never approve someone so lowly to grace the presence of his oldest son, much less pursue him romantically, all because of family traditions and old-fashioned bigotry. Jimin was a son that everyone believed to be as equally vile of a man as his vicious father, but Jungkook knew different.

Park Jimin was a guiding light in the dark world he called home.

Under silk sheets, the warmth of the summer sunshine that painted the room through the windows couldn't compare to the smile that greeted Jungkook’s first glance. The sound of wind chimes in the breeze couldn't hold a candle to the older boy’s soft laughter in his ear, and the sweet smell of honeysuckle that filled the sticky air dulled in comparison to the scent of his skin.

A sad smile fell across Jungkook’s lips as his fingers carded through the other boy’s golden locks. "Do you think this is a dream? It feels too good to be true."

Jimin’s smile faltered, and his gentle eyes seemed to hold a newfound sadness as he laid his head on the pillow next to him, "I don't know. It feels like it could be. It might be," he softly traced the skin of Jungkook’s collarbone with his fingers, "If it is, let's hope we don't wake up. For now at least."

Jungkook slowly sat up to stare at the young man tangled in the daffodil-colored linens. The skin of his bare chest glowed with a faint tan, his lips puffy and pink from their endlessly shared kisses throughout the night, and the natural light contrasted against the muscles of his arm as he slid it behind his head of fair hair; it was a beautiful sight to see. He just seemed to melt into the calm atmosphere that the small, white room held, similar to one of the many oil paintings he longed to paint in words. Jimin was remarkably beautiful.

The younger boy’s lashes fluttered as he pulled himself from his thoughts, watching as jimin smirked, "You're staring, Jungkook-ah. Any particular reason?"

He couldn't help the shade of pink that dusted his cheeks as he turned his head, softly shaking it with the heavy feeling of awe that clouded his mind, "Your beauty sings, you know."

Jimin’s eyebrow rose in curiosity as he watched the young boy's movements to cross the room, "What?"

"Your beauty, it sings." Jungkook’s shy eyes turned to Jimin’s oversized sweatshirt that had been left on the floor, bringing back the memory of their rushed moments as he picked it up to pull over his bare torso. "Your voice is already exquisite, but you are a song in itself. You radiate lyrics that give people a sense of comfort and serenity, and you’re not even aware that you do.” He glanced over at him, “You are a masterpiece, hyung." 

A warm feeling filled him as that familiar smile painted older boy’s lips, and he ran his fingers nervously through the light strands of his hair, "So you're a poet now, are you?" 

Laughing softly, Jungkook moved back to straddle his boyfriend’s hips and stretched his fingers to trace the soft features of Jimin's face. He outlined the bridge of his nose, sketched along the sharp curve of his jawline and the small dent of his cupid’s bow. He stopped to brush the blonde’s bottom lip with a soft hum. "I'm a writer; I’ve always been a poet, you just happen to be the muse that draws out the poetic prose."

The older blonde took his bottom lip between his pearly teeth, averting his eyes shyly to the sliding glass doors on the wall across the way. "Don’t you think you're overdoing it? There are lots of things better than me. I’m just me."

"But you're the better thing in my world," Jungkook replied softly, poking Jimin’s cheek to turn his eyes back to his. 

Jungkook gradually leaned down to graze his lips next to the blonde’s ear, biting his lip in thought. “I still get butterflies every time I see you, even though we've met a hundred times, and you are a beautiful cupcake in a world of muffins.” Jimin’s chest rumbled with laughter, ringing in the younger’s ears like bells as he outlined the skin of his arms. “Your body is a spectacular temple made of gold and diamonds, y in every aspect and desired by every treasure hunter seeking fortune. Your smile is the brightest star among so many, and the only thing able to bring me home,” he gently pulled his head back, just enough to watch the smile that spread across Jimin’s flushed face. He couldn’t help a smile of his own as he pulled his fingers back to poke the other boy’s chest, right above where his heart drummed against his ribcage. “But your personality, Park Jimin, is the most valuable thing in the universe. It’s what makes everything about you worth more than gold, and it’s what makes you beautiful.”

“Is that so?” He chuckled, his fingers trailing along Jungkook’s spine as he took in the way his eyes sparkled, “I’m pretty sure that was the cheesiest thing anyone has ever said to me, and I’m also pretty sure those first two things you stole off the internet.”

Jungkook buried his face in the crook of Jimin's neck as he giggled, “A writer uses their resources. Besides, it doesn’t mean that they’re not true, you know.” He brushed the loose strands of hair that covered Jimin’s eyes, breathing in the rich scent of his body wash and the thin layer of sweat on his skin, “I mean every word I said. You are my perfect person. I refuse to let anyone take that from me.” 

A few moments passed between the two before Jimin broke the silence with a gentle whisper, “You know, we’re going to have to go back eventually. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but we can’t stay here forever.” He brushed his fingers lightly through Jungkook’s hair with a small sigh, “Running away won’t help either of us.”

Jungkook couldn’t help the sinking distress that twisted his stomach as he sat back, straightening up to train his eyes on the large, glass doors. The sun illuminated the little pathway just outside them, the one that led down to the beach through scattered trees. It produced a warm glow on the white sand at the path's end and created a shimmer on the beautiful blue waves. The birds singing their sonnets reached in through the open window as if to back up Jimin's statement, and Jungkook knew he was right. He knew that they couldn’t run from their problems forever. Running would only lead to more difficulty and conflicts for them in the end. 

“I know. I know that.” He slowly exhaled as the depression settled in his heart, watching the gentle tremble of his fingers and clenching them to try and control it. “But--” he stopped and swallowed, hesitated in the words he wanted to speak.

A little eye-smile broke out across Jimin’s face as he carefully sat up against the headboard, dark eyes now very close and questioning as his hands slid tenderly around the young boy’s waist, “But what?”

Jungkook took a shallow breath and leaned his arms on his shoulders, turning his eyes away from the older boy’s gaze. “Where we are now is where I want to stay forever. I’m not sure how much more ridicule and judgment I can take from either side before it starts becoming damaging,” He pursed his lips. “But, I’m not willing to give you up either. Letting you go isn’t an option, and I’d rather take whatever disapproval and hate they have for what we want than to lose the only thing in life that matters to me.”

Jimin studied his face, taking in the soft movement of the younger boy’s lips with each word that slipped between them. He softly exhaled himself, gently reaching his hand up to brush the loose strands of his auburn hair away from his eyes as he spoke. “I never said it would be an easy thing to do, but what do you think will be more rewarding for both of us? Running away from our problems, or standing firm in what we want and being true to ourselves?” He tilted his head as he watched the boy’s averted, dark eyes, “I’m just as scared as you are, you know. My father isn’t exactly someone I want to cross or even look in the face most days. I fear the same rejection and backlash that you do, but you know what?”

Jungkook turned his eyes up to meet Jimin's, and he swallowed. There was such a softness swimming in them, one that made him internally melt and caused his insides to twist with yearning. “What?”

“I think,” Jimin took him off guard and caused a startled gasp to escape him as he swiftly twisted their bodies to cage the auburn-haired boy on the bed beneath him, the weight of his torso keeping him in place. He slowly reached for his hand and delicately intertwined their fingers with a tender smile. “You’re worth all the risk in the world.”

The young boy couldn’t help but giggle as he poked the small dimple that made itself known in Jimin’s cheek and his eyes met ones just as dark in color. Rays of sun reflected in them, revealing the soft chocolate tint and the gentle soul that hid behind their exterior. They unveiled a world of love and pain, a place unknown to anyone but Jungkook himself. No one understood what the two of them had. No one understood the protection and security he felt in Jimin's presence, or how free he felt in these moments. No one understood the protectiveness and adoration he harbored for the older boy in return. Through the push and pull of family welfares, endless nights of worry about what could happen to them, they had both found solace in each other; he in Jimin’s smile, and Jimin in his heart.

The flutter of Jimin's eyelashes in the tepid light, the slow rise and fall of his chest lightly pressing into Jungkook's, settled a complacency in him that he supposed was part of their beautiful fantasy. The abrupt, soft graze of Jimin’s lips across his own created a great chasm to form between his senses and reality, and his touch was so gentle that he couldn’t help but savor its high. Park Jimin was a living drug that overwhelmed every feeling that ever crossed his mind, and it was a drug he never desired to give up. Another time, another place; somewhere for just the two of them without the worries of everything beyond the room.

“You are the only color in a dark world that’s black and white,” The words rolled off his tongue like honey, bringing a haze to Jungkook’s eyes as his kisses feathered the skin of his shoulders and up his neck, behind his ear as he whispered. He revealed hidden constellations with his soothing words and led him into a different world, completely their own with the closer he brought them back to his own longing lips. Jimin was killing him ever so slowly and in the most agonizingly gentle way possible with his silent melodies. “You are my happy place.”

The young boy quickly reached his hands up to remove Jimin's face from his neck, delicately holding it between his palms. Jimin’s eyes were glazed with a familiar building desire, and slowly filled with confusion at the abrupt halt of his actions. It made the auburn-haired boy smile. “You’re beauty is singing again, hyung. I’m afraid it’s going to be the end of me.”

Jimin gazed down at him in a way that incapacitated him and only further caused him to dissolve as that bright, divine smile of took over his features. It was a smile that had an effect on him like nothing else ever would. It ceased all of his emotional storms and eclipsed them with a passion and surety that no one else would ever be able to make him feel. Park Jimin was his own personal song, and that thought entertained behind his dark eyes as the older boy leaned back in to breathe against his lips. "If that’s the case, what am I going to do without you, jagiya?"

Jungkook’s lips were taken prisoner in such a deep, spirited passion that it enraptured his very soul and sent a raging fire through his system, just as it did the very first time. When Jimin kissed him, uncontrollable tempests rose beneath his skin, as if he were the sea and the blonde boy was the moon, and his love overshadowed his unruly fears every time. Jimin was his friend, his equal, and the muse he never knew he would grow to need more than anything else in the world. 

As the universe dispersed into one of bliss and their intimacy, all their future struggles and unspoken solutions scattering into a mindset of later, a grin painted itself across Jungkook’s busied lips. The golden fabric beneath them became the cover that hid them away from the rest of the world.

It was a happy place to be indeed.