AN: I'm kinda on a writing kick right now so I hope you guys like the early update!  Please continue to comment, upvote, and enjoy you cuties~

PAINT THE ROSES RED

six: a-sitting on a gate

"Jiminiiieeeeee!"

Jimin, twenty years old and absolutely exhausted, presses "pause" on his iPod and slowly opens his eyes.

"What, Yoongi?"

Yoongi, is standing in front of him, arms folded. He looks so adorable; there's a pout on his face, his longer, recently dyed red hair hanging a bit in his eyes, styled in that messy way Jimin loves so much.

"I'm bored!" he whines childishly.

Twenty-year-old Jimin his lips and stares.

Then, he closes his eyes and leans his head back against the bright orange airport terminal chair he's seated in.

"Sorry, Yoongi," he half-says, half-yawns, "But I can't do anything. Our flight got delayed for a few hours and that's that."

Yoongi groans loudly. Very loudly. Too loudly. (People around the boys actually turn and stare.)

"But I'm bored!" Yoongi insists, eyes growing wide with indignation. He clenches his hands into fists and starts huffing about, grumbling and flailing his arms.

Jimin watches his past self and Min Yoongi from the corner and smiles.

Oh, how those "Yoongi tantrums" frustrated him so.

His younger self, who had been tuning out both the bustling, loud airport terminal and his best friend with music realizes in that moment that not even his iPod can drown out Yoongi's recently begun, incessant chanting of,

"I'MBOREDI'MBOREDI'MBOREDI'MBOREDI'MBORED", so Jimin snaps,

"Well, why don't you go visit Hoseok or Taehyung, then?"

Yoongi shuts up, and for a few sweet moments, Jimin thinks he might have stopped the ridiculous behavior.

But he thought too soon.

For in a mere second, Yoongi's sharp brown eyes blink several times, and he whines,

"But they're gone to go talk with the airport people about our flight! They left forever ago, but you're too obsessed with that iPod of yours to notice! I'm stuck with you for the next hour!"

Jimin lets out a groan and throws his head back, wincing a little as he whacks it too hard, in his frustration, against the glass window behind him.

Curse the fact that the four friends had decided to plan a vacation together, one which had to be 16 hours away from their current location, thus forcing the boys to take a plane, and curse the fact that the flight was delayed for three
hours because of "mechanical reasons", and curse the fact that Hoseok and Taehyung went off to go check up on the progress of the flight and left a very bored/fidgety Yoongi and a very exhausted him alone together!

Yoongi watches with a frown, annoyed at his friend's annoyance, until suddenly, as his attention is diverted to the outside world, his eyes widen and he whispers out in awe,

"Minnie...look."

Jimin rolls his eyes, expecting to see some sort of bird or maybe a really up-close airplane outside the window, but when he does turn to take a peek, he realizes what Yoongi was so blown away by.

Outside is the most phenomenal sunset he's ever seen in his life.

The wide, clear expanse that is the airport's take-off space stretches far, clear into the distance, covered in sunset shadows, and on the horizon is the setting, wild, tangerine sun itself. Around it radiates colors of fluorescent turquoise, gold, shining yellow, rose and peach pink...

...Jimin's jaw falls open a little bit.

"Wow...that's...that's beautiful," he manages to get out, his voice breathy and soft.

All of a sudden, he feels a rustle next to him, and he turns.

Yoongi is frowning slightly still, but seems to have calmed down a bit, cross-legged in the chair next to Jimin. His arms are folded across his chest. He sighs.

"I'll just sit here until Hoseok and Taehyung come. I know you're tired, and I don't want to get you all worked up because you get all pissy."

Jimin's mouth immediately twists in distaste as frustration and irritation wells up deep in his chest. "A little late for that, 'Yoongi," he snaps, "You've already woken me up from two naps in the past hour!"

Yoongi frowns.

"God. I'm just trying to be nice."

With that, the red-haired boy curls up, tucking his legs to his chest, turning his back on Jimin and pulling his hood over his head. He nuzzles into his arm, closing his eyes, trying to get comfortable in the uncomfortable seat.

An tense silence arises, and Jimin watches in the corner with a smirk as he notices his younger self is rather uncomfortable.

That oh-so-lovely emotion by the name of "guilt" has reared its ugly head, and twenty-year-old Jimin lets out an exasperated sigh.

"Yoongi..."

Yoongi doesn't move.

Jimin rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm just really cranky. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Silence.

Oh, Jimin hated how Yoongi enjoyed these apologies so much.

Since it was always Yoongi getting in trouble or saying something before thinking about it and hurting Jimin's feelings, Yoongi rarely ever got to hear Jimin apologize, but on those few occasions the boy did offer his 'sorry', Yoongi was beaming. The tables had been turned, and Yoongi loved it in a twisted, immature sort of way.

Finally, Yoongi turns a bit and peers open one eye at his best friend. He raises an eyebrow and says almost inaudibly,

"Apology accepted."

Jimin lets a small smile creep onto his face, and he replies, "Good. Now, get some rest so I can too!"

Yoongi lets out a deep, throaty chuckle, and Jimin watches in the corner and feels his heart flutter at the noise.

"Okay," Yoongi whispers, and then he rests his head against his arm
and closes his eyes again.

It's quiet now, and Younger Jimin's a bit surprised by the suddenly toned-down atmosphere. He was so used to Yoongi's continual awareness that it seemed suddenly so odd to not hear the boy grumbling about something going on or doing something to get a rise out of Jimin.

Regardless, Jimin soon learns to adapt to the strangeness, and he leans his own head back against the chair, presses "play" on his iPod, and feels himself gently drifting off within seconds.

"Guys? Guys, where are you?"

"There're over here, Tae."

Taehyung and Hoseok, exhausted and ready to get onto the plane and get going already, saunter over to the row of airport terminal seats their friends are rested in.

Jimin's eyes widen in the corner, and he realizes that, in the blink of an eye, time had moved forward. Time had moved forward at least an hour, and Hoseok and Taehyung were back from talking with the airport staff about the flight.
It was time to go.

Hoseok and Taehyung stop in front of Yoongi and Jimin's seats, and two small, knowing smiles arise on their faces.

"Aww," Hoseok whispers, laughing a little and wrapping an arm around Taehyung's waist.

Taehyung just rolls his dark eyes, chuckles, and says,

"C'mon, let's just wake them up and get out of here."

Jimin turns his gaze to where his younger self and Yoongi are snoozing, and his own face breaks into a grin.

Both the boys are sound asleep. Yoongi is completely curled up to Jimin, softly holding Jimin's arm with his head on Jimin's shoulder, hair falling in his eyes, chest slowly rising up and down. Jimin is completely unaware of his best friend nuzzled up to him, and he simply remains with his head against the cool window behind him, iPod still  in his hands.

It is such a special, un-special moment.

The closeness between Jimin and Yoongi was nothing new; it happened all the time. Whether it revealed itself in hand-holds, hugs, or falling asleep in each other's laps, it wasn't surprising to anyone at all, really, and especially not to Yoongi and Jimin.

But now, for some reason, as Jimin watches this memory, he realizes just how truly unusual (unusual and beautiful) the relationship he had with Yoongi was. He never thought anything of it when it was naturally occuring, but now that he looks back on it, he and Yoongi did have a rather...extraordinary relationship.

Taehyung reaches down and gently shakes Jimin. "Guys...wake up. The plane's getting ready to leave in a little."

Jimin grumbles something that sounds faintly like, "Five more minutes," but Taehyung's not sure, so he just keeps shaking the boy until his eyes fly open and he says,

"Huh?"

Hoseok lets out a soft laugh, and he puts a finger up to his lips, smirking. "Shhh...you'll wake Sleeping Beauty..."

Younger Jimin, utterly confused, raises an eyebrow. He turns his gaze to the right, and as soon as he catches sight of his best friend cuddled up to him, his face melts into a gorgeous, adoring smile.

Jimin stands in the corner and wonders how no one ever saw it.

How no one ever saw just how much Yoongi and Jimin really meant to one another.

His younger self slowly reaches up and lightly brushes some strands of hair out of Yoongi's eyes, the smile still on his face, his brown eyes carefully watching the younger boy as he peacefully rests. "He moved, I guess..." he starts in a hushed voice, "He wasn't like this when I first fell asleep..."

But then Jimin notices the side looks that Hoseok and Tae give to each other, the knowing, slightly-teasing smirks, and Jimin thinks that maybe, maybe someone finally did catch on.

Which is quite a relief, because Jimin was hoping someone would, considering that fact that neither Yoongi or himself seemed to realize anything. (Except he thinks that maybe he did and just didn't want to
admit it.)

Taehyung lets out a breath and runs his hands through his hair. Outside, it's getting darker by the minute.

"Okay, guys, seriously. Time to get going..."

Hoseok nods firmly, and he reaches forward to wake up the boy until Jimin shakes his head and interrupts,

"No. I'll do it. You guys go ahead and get moving."

Hoseok blinks, and Taehyung blinks, but both of them understand right away. Hoseok nods, and then he and Taehyung start off towards the gate for their flight without another word.

Younger Jimin turns back to Yoongi and gently begins to shake him. He whispers into his ear,

"Hey,Yoongi, time to get going..."

Yoongi lets out an elongated groan and curls closer into Jimin.

Jimin laughs a little and rolls his eyes.

"Yoongi seriously, we have to go."

Yoongi finally opens his eyes; they flutter, and then he sets them on Jimin. They're tired and filled with leftover dreams but Jimin still thinks they're so beautiful.

The boy his chapped lips, takes a breath in, and whispers back,

"Do we have to?"

Jimin laughs and gently leans down ever so much to place a soft kiss on Yoongi's cheek. Yoongi sighs contentedly, eyes closed.

"We do. We waited over five hours for this plane, so let's just get on it already! Besides, you can go to sleep again once we get on."

Yoongi grumbles, but he slowly stands up, letting go of Jimin's arm, and Jimin resists the urge to frown as he feels Yoongi's warmth leave him.

The boy stretches, yawning, and Jimin sluggishly gets up as well. The two grab their bags that had been stuffed under their chairs, and they start off to board their flight.

But before they leave the area where Jimin is standing and watching, Jimin gets
to hear one last snippet of their conversation,

"I hope your seat's next to mine," Yoongi says, "'Cause you're a really good pillow."

Jimin doesn't exactly know how he knows it, but he just knows that the minute he arrives at the next memory, it's the last one of him and Yoongi for a long time.

For some reason, that breaks his heart, which is probably why he arrives at the new scene with tears rolling down his cheeks.

He doesn't want to have to say good-bye to Yoongi a second time.

The stage is set for this last memory.

It is dark, except for the moonlight that streams in from the windows of their shared apartment. The light casts everything in a haunting, magical, blue sort of glow.

It is silent but for Hoseok's occasional snores.

There's a sense in the atmosphere—a sense of tragedy, of pain, of loss.

Jimin can just tell.

Everybody is asleep.

Or so Jimin thinks.

Because suddenly, faintly, Jimin hears shuffling of blankets.

His eyes immediately fly to his right, and his old bed comes into view. He walks over, gently, quietly, (even though he can't be heard in the first place, he still feels like he needs to be quiet so that he doesn't ruin this precious, almost fragile atmosphere). He peers in, and he has to look very closely because of the darkness.

His younger self is coccooned in blankets, looking positively perplexed.

Jimin bites his lower lip and tries to remember why.

But before he has a chance to figure it out, his younger self sits up. He sits up, and he sits there for moments, not saying a word, staring straight-forward, as if he's contemplating deeply on something.

Then, carefully, he scoots out of the bed.

He walks through Jimin (since Jimin's a ghost and all), and walks to the bedroom across from his.

Jimin watches and his heart pounds because he remembers what this memory is.

His younger self crouches down a little and takes a deep, shivering breath in as he waits outside of Yoongi's closed door.

He reaches forward and pulls the door open.

Yoongi is curled up in the corner of his own bunk, listening to a song, the iPod's artifical glow casting brilliant light and shadows on his face and the world around him.

Younger Jimin bites his lower lip.

Yoongi suddenly looks up. He immediately yanks his headphones out of his ears.

"Jiminie?" he says, blinking, his gaze fixed only on Jimin.

He stuffs his iPod away to give his full attention to his best friend.

Without a word, Jimin crawls into Yoongi's bunk, crawls into Yoongi's arms, buries his face into Yoongi's shirt, and holds him.

And at this moment, this memory...

Jimin was safe with Yoongi.

Yoongi didn't care if Jimin was introverted. Yoongi didn't care if Jimin hated himself sometimes. Yoongi didn't care if Jimin hated him sometimes. Yoongi didn't care that Jimin locked himself in his house and room for hours and didn't come out. Yoongi didn't care that Jimin rarely ever returned phone calls and didn't like to go out and would rather sit inside and read books.

Yoongi didn't care.

Yoongi knew Jimin was beautiful.

Yoongi loved Jimin regardless of all his flaws.

Regardless of the fact that Jimin needed comfort.

So Jimin went to the only place he knew he could be safe no matter what—Yoongi's arms.

Yoongi's love.

And that was all that he needed as he sat there that night.

Jimin blinks and it's daytime.

Mid-morning, actually.

He's still standing in front of Yoongi's bedroom, but now the door is closed and it's silent. Sunbeams are shining through the house, casting everything in clear, tangerine shades.

It's really rather beautiful.

Jimin suddenly hears footsteps behind him and looks.

Taehyung is flitting around in his usual happy manner and calls over his shoulder,

"Yeah, I'm getting him up and asking him now!"

He walks right through Jimin and gently pulls open Yoongi's door,
almost-too-loudly questioning,

"Hey, Yoongi, have you seen Ji—?"

He blinks and a smile comes onto his face—soft and grateful—cutting off his
own sentence.

Jimin and Yoongi lie, curled into the corner of Yoongi's bed,Jimin's face pressed deep into Yoongi's chest, eyes closed. Yoongi's hands are closely, comfortingly, protectively wrapped around his best friend, his cheek resting atop Jimin's head. The orange-y, dull glow of the morning sunlight streams in through the curtain Taeyhyung holds open and casts them in a magical glow.

It's perfect.

Taehyung turns, still smiling.

Hoseok walks in, now, a curious look on his face. "Find them?" he asks.

Taehyung nods, his eyes glowing.

"Found them."