1     | |     Leaning Closer

      “Sorry I forgot. You don’t mind if we don’t celebrate it, do you?”

Jimin shook his head and turned away, brushing his fingers weakly across the top of the couch. With his face out of view, he exhaled a bitter chuckle and felt his jaw clench. Taehyung was never the type to remember dates; he shouldn’t have expected anything. It was only because he was known as a genius that Jimin had held his hopes up.

“Hey…” Taehyung’s voice signalled for him to turn around and meet the blonde’s deep eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Seeing the apologetic look on his boyfriend's face, Jimin’s mood eased. He walked towards Taehyung and threw himself in the taller's arms. Taehyung hugged him back and ran his hand though the shorter’s hair. Jimin smiled by Taehyung’s chest. What did a hundred days mean; their love wasn’t counted by days, it was counted by moments.

The only thing was, it took Jimin a while too long to realise that ‘their’ love was only ‘his’ love. They broke up on their 144th day, not that Jimin was counting or anything. 

     “I’m only in town for three months. It’d be nice to make some friends.”

Jimin lifted his head and glanced over the youthful, pretty figure before him. The boy smiled back brightly at him and most people would probably think he was the most innocent person in the world, but the gesture of holding out his hand for a shake told Jimin he was more mature than he seemed. With a short sigh, Jimin took his hand and offered his honesty to the boy he was willing to tie a new friendship with.

“Jeon Jeongkook? That’s quite an…interesting name.” Jimin held back a joking laugh with the back of his hand to his mouth. Jeongkook was natural about it though; he let Jimin laugh about it in a seemingly good way and the vibe he friend possessed made Jimin feel a sense of comfort that he enjoyed.

Jeongkook’s presence became a weekly habit to Jimin. They met often in the same café at roughly the same time, and when Jimin was all alone, it was a presence he missed. The two became closer, not only mentally but physically too. The sitting opposite each other became sitting beside each other, and pats on the back turned into arms around the shoulder.

Sometimes Jimin forgot that Jeongkook was in fact younger than him by about two years; blame the unfair height difference that Jimin constantly liked to neglect. What mattered to him was the simple ‘being together’ with someone he was fond of. And Jeongkook seemed to share the same feelings, if not more; he was usually the one to contact the elder first and ask to meet up.

Two weeks of getting to know one another lead to five weeks of a total upgrade in relationship. Jimin was a bit shocked himself at how fast he and Jeongkook were going, but it didn’t stop that night - that night he’s not sure he regrets happened or not.

     Jimin let Jeongkook into his lone apartment one late evening and shared his favourite tea with him. It was all peaceful and lovely until the distinct moment Jimin caught the difference in Jeongkook’s eyes. Sitting beside him politely on the couch, he turned his head and met the younger’s gaze, seeing the rare deepness within those two large eyes. And Jimin knew exactly what they meant. Honestly, he had his suspicions about how Jeongkook truly felt, but they were never big enough for him to let them get in the way of their elevating friendship. And also, more importantly, he wasn’t over Taehyung yet. Well, rather than say he was ‘not over’ him, he was merely unsure of himself, and whether he was capable of having another relationship so fast.

Jeongkook leaned in slowly and silence surrounded them. The only sounds heard in the room were from Jeongkook’s clothing sliding across the furniture as he moved himself closer to Jimin. The elder locked eyes with the younger nervously as Jeongkook reduced the distance between them to a heart-pounding level. He continued to lean in, and right before he planted his lips where he wanted them most, he paused and looked hard into Jimin’s eyes for some sort of reply to his actions. But Jimin gave none for he was confused himself about what he really wanted. Jeongkook moved his head closer and completed his desire, pushing his lips onto Jimin’s and feeling the soft warmth of the heaven-made creation they were.

Jimin didn’t kiss back, but he didn’t push Jeongkook away either. He remained still with even breathing and waited for Jeongkook to pull away. As their lips left one another, Jeongkook shot Jimin a disappointed look while all the elder could do was stay blank. He looked down and began fiddling with his fingers slowly.

“I’m sorry.”

Jeongkook breathed in deeply and cleared his throat softly. “Is it because you’re not ready yet, or because you just don’t feel the same way?”

Jimin blinked; he was surprised himself why his breathing was so calm. Was it possible that the influence of how things went down with Taehyung had turned him emotionless? “I don’t know. I honestly, I-I can’t explain it. I think it’s both, and yet, I don’t think I can see myself living without you.” He raised his gaze and gave Jeongkook a look of sad sincerity.

“You remember I’m only here for three months right? My time here is limited, hyung.”

Jimin nodded at Jeongkook’s words. “I remember.”

After a few silent seconds, the elder reached over and grabbed Jeongkook’s hands gently. The younger lifted his head from their warm contact and once again felt his heart skip a beat. “How about this? Give me a bit more time, I promise I’ll try to move on. And then…we can try starting again.”

His lips curved into a grin and he agreed to Jimin’s suggestion with absolute satisfaction.

                Two weeks to Jeongkook’s leaving and Jimin found himself sitting outside on the roadside by the café. His face showed distress and he ran his fingers through his hair several times as he squeezed his phone in his hand. He glanced up at the passing cars and at the sky for some miracle answer, but he was stuck in reality and now in utter frustration as he looked over the text message again.

He thought he had it all sorted out, but that was all thrown out the window…

…because Taehyung wanted him back. 

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Please leave a comment because I was planning to make it a one-shot but I think it might go well as a two or three-shot. 

Thanks for reading it!