Taehyung was at the meeting point half an hour early, buzzing with nerves. He had been checking the time every two minutes before leaving, and in the end he had left way earlier than he had planned to - he didn't want to be late because of the metro, which often had problems causing everything to run slow - and also arrived way earlier, because of course the metro was running fast for once and there hadn't been a single problem anywhere on the way there. Well, that gave him half an hour to sit and listen to his music. He wouldn't text either of his friends to tell them he was early. He didn't want them to feel bad about it. It wasn't their fault! Just Taehyung's. So he'd be patient. He preferred waiting than making people wait for him anyway.

He closed his eyes and let himself get lost in thought. A photo outing. With his friends. He opened his eyes after a few minutes and opened his bag, making sure he really had everything. Camera, check. Perfect lens for what they were going to do, check. Battery, check. Extra batteries, check. Memory card, check. Extra memory cards, check. His strap was on and secure, and he had the lens hood on. He pulled out the camera from his bag and just kept it on himself. That would be easier than grabbing it later.

After triple-checking everything, Taehyung closed his bag, camera in hand, and looked at the time. Still fifteen minutes before Jungkook and Jimin would arrive. Time was terribly slow and Taehyung didn't know how to occupy himself anymore. He sighed and leaned back against the back of the bench where he was sitting, groaning.

"Why the long face?" he heard, and he ly to see Jungkook grinning at him. Taehyung couldn't help but smile back, giggling as Jungkook pulled him in a side hug, sitting next to him.
"You're there," he said, and basked in Jungkook's warmth - figuratively speaking, since Jungkook was wearing like, four layers of clothing - and scent.
"Of course I am. I figured you would probably be there early, so I left earlier too. In the worst case it can't exactly hurt me to just stop doing homework a little earlier."
"It could hurt your results. Who knows," Taehyung huffed, incredibly pleased that Jungkook did that for him though. He would never complain about his friend giving him some attention.
"Nah, no worries. I can't focus when I know I gotta leave eventually anyway."

Jungkook put his bag down and started opening it, pulling his camera out. Taehyung couldn't help but watch him do so, looking at his profile. He was lucky to have Jungkook as a friend. Very lucky. Part of him kept whispering that it couldn't last, that Jungkook would leave too, but Taehyung wanted to believe. Jungkook was a good friend, damn it! And he had promised Taehyung not to be like everyone else.

"Oh, you guys are early. That's good! I was afraid I'd run a little late."

They both looked and saw Jimin as he stopped near them, Taehyung offering him a relieved smile too. He was glad to see him as well, and he wanted to make it pretty obvious that he did. He didn't want any of his friends to think that he liked one a lot more than the other because that wouldn't be true anyway. He liked them both equally for different reasons. Jungkook was sweet and kind, always alert to snap Taehyung out of dark thoughts, always ready to compliment him so he wouldn't feel down. His hugs were the best and he smelled wonderful and comforting. He always smiled when he saw Taehyung, and his grin was contagious. But Jimin was kind too, and sweet too, in a different way. He was more like a mom, or so Taehyung felt like, although his own mother had never acted this way. Jimin listened to him patiently, waited until Taehyung was done rambling most of the time before he asked questions, and made him rethink what he had been talking about. He suggested things in order for Taehyung to feel comfortable before doing anything else, and he never forced Taehyung to talk about things, although that was usually what ended up happening because Jimin was always ready to listen. Not that Jungkook wasn't! But Jungkook listened differently, grew angry at the world when Taehyung told him what had happened in his past, whereas Jimin just worked on reassuring him by not getting upset himself. They were both wonderful friends, so Taehyung made sure to hug Jimin too, since he had hugged Jungkook a little bit before.

"You survived the dishes?" he asked, smiling when he saw Jimin wince and groan.
"Barely. We had guests yesterday evening and my mom made sure to use just about every single pan and utensil in the kitchen. There was a mountain of dishes! And she made me do all of them while she was reading in her favorite chair."
"But she cooked yesterday, right? And you didn't help, from the sound of it. Was it good?" Jungkook chimed in with a little smirk.
"It was! She's really good at cooking, just- urgh. Fair, you're right. I didn't help yesterday. But she could have made dad do it too! But nope, I was all on my own."

He kept complaining as he reached into his bag and got his camera out too, and he was still complaining by the time they were back into the metro, choosing another station with better stuff to shoot around it. A few minutes later they were outside, buried under layer upon layer of warm clothes to be certain they wouldn't freeze before they were ready to go eat. The timing was a little awkward for sure, starting to shoot so close to lunchtime, but Taehyung had made sure everyone had eaten breakfast later than usual so they could also have lunch later than usual. The restaurant he had chosen would probably be extra full if they went at noon anyway.

They walked out and looked around a little, Taehyung being a bit nervous. Both because he wasn't sure of how to handle being with both of his friends at the same time and because he hoped the place he had chosen to shoot - and the place he had chosen to eat - would please said friends. He relaxed when Jungkook found something almost immediately, going to crouch somewhere, aiming his camera carefully. That was good. That meant that Jungkook thought this place was interesting enough. And Jimin too, apparently, since he was aiming for some ice that was stuck to a bench. Taehyung smiled and exhaled slowly in relief before he focused on his environment too. He snapped a quick shot of Jungkook doing some weird pose in order to get what he wanted, then got one of Jimin struggling to lift his camera high enough to reach his subject. He giggled and aimed his camera towards a tree. Better not make them think he was just going to shoot them all day, although he would like to eventually have a photo of the three of them to commemorate the day.

"Hey guys, how should I go about getting this shot?" Jungkook called out at some point, and both Taehyung and Jimin gathered around him, looking at what he was trying to shoot.
"Close-ups are not my strong suit. Taehyung, what do you think?" Jimin said with a smile, and Taehyung felt all warm inside. He knew Jimin was okay at close-ups, unlike what he was saying, and saying that was mostly so that Taehyung wouldn't feel left out or useless.

So Taehyung took a look at what Jungkook was trying to get, tilting his head this way and that. "If you lean this way, you can get a better, calmer background."
"Ah, you're right!" Jungkook agreed once he had looked too. "Thank you, Tae," he added with a warm smile, adding to the warmth in Taehyung's body. His friends really were wonderful.

They walked around more, shooting here and there, and talking quite a bit. There was a lot to know about each other, especially between Jungkook and Jimin, although they both made sure that Taehyung felt included at all times. They never got into a conversation without him feeling like he could contribute, and always made sure at least one of them was close to Taehyung instead of the two of them being further away and Taehyung being more on his own. If one of them saw something good further up, the other waited for Taehyung, and if Taehyung himself saw something good further up, one of the others followed him. He wouldn't need that crutch eventually, wouldn't need his friends worrying about him so much, but he definitely appreciated the efforts for now since it allowed him to just, not worry, which felt amazing.

He got to learn more about Jungkook and Jimin, as well, since they were both very curious and asked more questions than Taehyung did. They were less socially awkward than he was, which wasn't hard, but he enjoyed that. Apparently Jimin had a younger brother named Jihyun, and Jungkook's brother - whom Taehyung learned was his older brother - was named Junghyun, and Taehyung learned about what having a siblings relationship was like. Jimin thought his little brother was adorable - if he was anything like Jimin, Taehyung agreed to that statement - and Jungkook hadn't seen his own brother in a while, but he used to fight with him every so often when they were kids, which got him a little scar on his cheek. Taehyung had noticed the scar, but he hadn't really thought much about it.

They shot until everyone was pretty frozen, and they then headed to the restaurant, which was a ramen place Taehyung really liked. He hoped the other two did as well, which made him a little nervous, but he relaxed immediately when he saw that they both breathed deeply once they were in the restaurant. It smelled really good in there, so that was a good sign. Jungkook was almost drooling, which was an even better sign.

"I'm starving," Jimin said, looking at a plate a waiter was bringing to a table.
"Me too," Jungkook agreed. "This is gonna be so good. I've never come here before. Is the food tasty?"
"Oh yeah it is. I really like this place. Their bowls are huge, I think they might be enough for you, and if not there are amazing desserts as well," Taehyung answered with a grin, knowing that Jungkook in particular had an apparently bottomless stomach. "They also have this huuuge one that normally costs a lot, but if you can finish it - on your own, of course - it's free."
"I'm tempted. I'm so damn tempted."

They got a table soon enough and sat, Taehyung and Jimin on one side, Jungkook on the other. They looked through the menu, although Taehyung put it down after a quick glance, huffing. "I don't know why I bother looking at the menu. I always end up choosing the same thing. I hate it when I order something different and it doesn't taste as good as what I usually really like."
"I get you," Jimin giggled.

They talked before ordering, after ordering, and after the food arrived, although at that point it slowed down since they were all busy devouring what they had ordered. As usual, it was delicious, and Taehyung was patting himself on the back a little, especially when he saw that Jungkook was staring at the dessert menu.

"Fried bananas? That sounds delicious. Look at that picture," the youngest practically moaned.
"The picture is actually pretty terrible," Jimin commented with a huff. "But I get what you mean. Is that chocolate sauce on top?"
"It is," Taehyung confirmed. "I really like their fried bananas, they're really tasty. It comes with ice cream as well."
Jimin shivered a little, but he was grinning. "Ice cream in this temperature? Who would be crazy enough to do that?"
Jungkook looked falsely offended. He put a hand on his chest as if Jimin had deeply insulted him. "Geez, sorry for being crazy! I do like ice cream in the deepest of winter."
"You're a tough guy," Taehyung said in a low voice, looking at him fondly. Because yes, Jungkook was super tough! The toughest. And the sweetest at the same time. It was a nice sort of strength, a gentle, quiet confidence that drew Taehyung in like a moth to a flame. "Ice cream in winter is nothing for you. But for us poor normal people, we can't eat that without freezing entirely."
"Wimps," and there was a cute, bashful Jungkook smile with those words. It softened the insult, which none of them would have taken seriously anyway, but it was still nice to know for sure that Jungkook didn't mean it. "I should invite you over eventually. To my apartment I mean. Toughen you up by babysitting my roommate. Lately he's been impossible to deal with!"

He was saying it in a nice tone though, and with a smile, so Taehyung figured it wasn't that bad, but he also had a hunch that Namjoon had been giving Jungkook for what Jungkook had told Taehyung that Taehyung had then told Namjoon because it hadn't been a secret and Taehyung liked the idea of Jungkook getting teased like that.

"It would be nice to meet him, I think," he said carefully, not wanting Jungkook to know that he had actually already met Namjoon, at least not yet. It was kind of a little secret between him and Namjoon, in a way? And it was fun so far.
Jimin nodded with a smile. "It would be. You guys seem to get along well."
"We do! I've known him for like, years. He's kind of an older brother for me? More than my actual brother sometimes. He's awesome! And he accepts modeling for me once in a while. He's just, really clumsy and awkward. But very sweet."
Taehyung could agree to all of that from the little time he had spent with Namjoon. "Then yeah, maybe someday you can invite us over."

In a while. Before then, Taehyung would just need to get used to sharing his friends, but considering that everything was going well so far, he was fairly certain it wouldn't take too long before he'd be more comfortable. He was making progress, little by little, and the fear of losing both of them was still present, but he was doing better. The barriers around his heart were lowered, one by one, and the ice he had encased himself into was melting bit by bit. The cold, dry winter of his emotions was quietly starting to bloom into spring. As cheesy as that sounded, it made him smile as he thought about it, and he breathed deeply when he noticed for the third time that day that he had found no reason to truly worry. Progress. It could be done, and if Jungkook kept smiling at him like that Taehyung could very well imagine that it would be faster than if he hadn't had such encouragement.

***

As usual, Taehyung was a nervous wreck before meeting with Jungkook and Jimin. The "someday" of being invited over to Jungkook's place had turned out to be much sooner than he had expected, as Jungkook decided to invite everyone to his place for New Year's Eve. Nobody was going home to celebrate it with their family, so the next best thing was to at least greet a new year with friends rather than all alone. And Taehyung hadn't exactly hesitated before accepting. Rather, he had hesitated for a split second, his brain summoning two images side by side to help him compare them, one of them with Taehyung lying down in the rats' play area and wishing them a happy new year when midnight rolled around, and the other with Taehyung being surrounded by Jungkook and Jimin with perhaps a glass of champagne and, mostly, people to laugh and wish for a wonderful year with. And it wasn't like Taehyung was very uncomfortable with the thought of seeing both Jungkook and Jimin at the same time! No, he had been really good at sharing, and they had seen each other a few times every week ever since that first time they had gone shooting and eating.

Granted, not that many weeks had gone by ever since then, but Taehyung still felt comfortable enough with having those two there at the same time, as he had noticed that his friends were both very careful to always keep him feeling safe and loved. So this would be no different, and it was meeting up and seeing Jungkook? And Jimin too, of course. But seeing Jungkook's apartment would be different. It would be seeing part of his life, of his more private self, and Taehyung refused to imagine getting a good whiff of Jungkook's blankets to get his scent, although he had to admit that, for some reason, he really enjoyed inhaling deeply whenever he was around Jungkook, usually into a bear hug that knocked the air out of his lungs. The man smelled good, what could he say?

Either way, being with both his friends at Jungkook's place wasn't the reason why Taehyung was nervous this time. Rather, it was because apparently Namjoon would be there too, and he was inviting his own friends over too. So they would be seven guys in the same presumably not very big apartment, and Taehyung had a tendency to either get really loud during such gatherings - to try to prove that he was there, that he existed, that he had a valid opinion too - or really quiet - usually when he would notice that nobody was listening to him anyway. He remembered family gatherings, with his aunts and uncles and cousins all being in the same room, and every single one of them ignoring the artist that he was. They all made good money, all had "real" jobs except for him. None of them had been interested to learn more about what he liked. And he hadn't dared tell any of his aunts and uncles that he was really, very, entirely gay, when they would ask if he had a girlfriend. The one boyfriend he had ever had, he had hidden him from his family. He hadn't wanted yet another excuse to get ignored during gatherings.

But this would be different, right? It had to be. Seven guys in one apartment, yes, but none of them were his family, and presumably none of them were homophobic? He knew he had mentioned his ex-boyfriend to Jimin and Jungkook before, and none of them had really reacted to it. Before, he would have thought that they were ignoring that on purpose, but now that he was thinking about it, maybe they had just reacted - or well, not reacted - that way because it was normal for them, because it didn't sound weird. Now that he thought about it, if a guy told him about his ex-girlfriend, Taehyung would probably just go along with it just the way Jungkook and Jimin had gone along with him saying he used to have a boyfriend. Like it was normal. And maybe it wasn't the majority of people, but it was normal, it wasn't an illness, and Taehyung breathed deeply in relief that his friends were perhaps even more open-minded than himself. Not that Taehyung thought that being gay was wrong, obviously, but he would have reacted to someone telling him they weren't straight, if only to show joy that he wasn't the only one in his entourage.

But now that he had thought about it, he ended up texting Jungkook on December 31st, during the day, while he was at work. He was heading to Jungkook's place after work. Jimin was there too, and Jungkook would come and get them at five, when they would finish.

"I hope your roommate is not uneasy with the idea of some people being gay? What about his friends? I mean, I told you about my ex and I told Jimin too, but I hope nobody is gonna freak out tonight if it slips and I tell the entire world that I'm into guys?"

That sounded insecure and weird, but he had to know. He pressed "send" and put his phone back in his pocket, greeting a customer that came in at that moment. The woman was looking for a camera, so Taehyung got into sale mode, talking about the cameras, trying to find out what the woman actually needed and wanted. He felt his phone buzz a few times in his pocket during his sale, but it was only about an hour later, when the woman left with a nice little Lumix mirrorless camera, that Taehyung found time to look at his messages. All of them were from Jungkook and had been sent within barely a few minutes.

"no worries his bff is as gay as the sky is blue, and i think his other two friends once dated but broke up?"
"from what i know, those two are bi, one of them has a gf right now, and i saw the other one with a girl too before."
"the single one might flirt with you :p who knows"
"he actually flirts with most people, i think its just the way he is"
"or maybe he's just way too friendly with everyone and i see it as flirting, i dunno, either way its mostly innocent (hopefully its mostly innocent :p)"
"if he does it to you and you don't like it you can tell him"
"oh btw don't forget a pj if you need one tonight and a toothbrush, i don't have spares"
"i suppose you're at work for now, so i'll stop bothering you :p see u later!"

Taehyung breathed a sigh of relief. That was good! That was so good. He'd rather have someone flirting with him for no reason than have the entire party crashing because he let everyone know that even his toenails were gay. He quickly texted his reply, going to the back of the store to avoid customers while he was typing.

"Cool, thanks. That's a relief. I'd rather that than make everyone awkward. I'll see you later."

He pocketed his phone again and went back to the front. Only a few more hours and he'd get to see Jungkook.