Boxes were scattered all about the floor, but the only ones that mattered to Hoseok and Taehyung at the moment were the ones covered up in green, red, and blue wrapping paper. The brown boxes were things they could take care of later-- clothes to put in closets and little trinkets to find places on their shelves to place. The boxes wrapped in green, red, and blue were things they were trying to open over breakfast-- as they were both starving from not having had dinner (or lunch, really) the day before.

"Moving is miserable. We're never doing it again." Taehyung said as he was eating a bit more, ignoring his presents for just a few moments to put at least something in his angry, growling stomach. "We're going to raise our kids here and they're going to love it. And we're going to get a puppy and-- maybe a kitten? I don't know. But we're not moving because I'm tired and my stomach hurts and all I want to do is sleep. All the brown in this room is giving me a headache-- I hate boxes."

"It's alright, sweetie, we can sleep soon." Hoseok chuckled. He leaned over the boxes-- careful not to let his hand rest too heavy on any of the presents-- and planted a kiss on Taehyung's forehead. Taehyung hummed softly, eyes closing in a similar way to those of a content kitten. He put down his chop sticks and clapped is hands together very suddenly, eyes shooting open once again, "Okay! I'm ready to open presents. Open yours first!"

"You go from being sad to being excited so quickly." Hoseok said fondly. He pulled Taehyung in again, but he left a kiss on his lips instead of his forehead this time, "It makes me happy to see you so happy all the time."

"Happy Virus." Taehyung said, tapping on his own chest. He moved his tapping fingers to the box directly in front of Hoseok, "Open, open!"

"Okay, okay." Hoseok said, and he began to rip off the wrapping paper. Each present was a little shocking; he remembered Jimin buying each one of these things. Weren't they for Jungkook? Had they gotten them mixed up? Upon expressing his concern, Hoseok discovered that his little of a boyfriend had asked Jimin to grab Hoseok's presents for him; and Hoseok honestly wondered why he thought Jimin would buy Jungkook that much for one holiday.

"Jimin's really good at distracting-- I would have never thought he was buying anything for me." Hoseok said. He looked at the game in his hand, one he'd been interested in, one he remembered Jimin buying-- but he could have sworn it was for Jungkook. Jimin really was clever, pretending to buy Jungkook all those things. Hoseok was seriously surprised he hadn't caught on to the fact that Jimin might have been buying Jungkook too much.

"Jin-hyung made him really well." Taehyung said, interrupting himself as he was eating. He made a noise, cutting off what Hoseok had on his mind, set to say, "Speaking of Jin. You talked to him yesterday, didn't you? Yeah... did you notice how off he sounded? Like.... He seemed really, really depressed about something. Did he mention anything about that to you?"

"I noticed, but, no, he didn't say anything." Hoseok said. He shifted his gaze away from his boyfriend for a moment to set aside his present boxes, to toss the wrapping paper Taehyung used t hide them in the garbage. Taehyung was looking down at his food when Hoseok looked up, ready to meet his eyes again. Hoseok reached over, nudged him softly-- "Hey. Don't get too down. I'm sure we'll be able to find out what's up with him when he comes back from visiting his family. And he can take care of himself until then. I'm sure it's nothing major."

"I'm just a little worried for him. He's been acting pretty crazy lately. Did he tell you he wanted to make a new robot? Min something-or-other. Yoongi, I think it was." Taehyung said. Hoseok frowned, shook his head. Taehyung tapped his chop sticks against his breakfast, "I don't know why he's thinking about it, but I'm really scared he'll get frustrated again. You remember how tired he was when he made Jimin, right?"

"I do." Hoseok said. He tapped on the top of Taehyung's first present. "Relax a little bit, okay? We'll call Jin-hyung as soon as you're done opening your presents, okay? He wanted us to call him when we were all settled into the apartment."

"I don't think we'll properly be settled for a little while." Taehyung laughed, looked around at all the boxes. He put his chop sticks across his bowl, picked up the food and handed it over to Hoseok so he could eat some, too, even if he'd mentioned earlier he wasn't hungry. (It never mattered to Taehyung if Hoseok was hungry or not; if he was eating, his boyfriend was eating, and that was that.)

"But I'll open them quick. I'd like to talk to Jin-hyung again." Taehyung said, and he began to tug open his presents, big smile on his face, "I really hope he gets a lot of things that make him happy."

/

"Jimin! Hyung, put me down! You're insane!" Jungkook was laughing, tucked up and over Jimin's shoulder, being spun around. Jimin stopped spinning, and he let Jungkook down, but he didn't let go of the boy. He brought Jungkook in for a kiss-- one of those bold kisses that Jungkook told him not to be afraid of anymore. Jungkook smiled when Jimin's lips fell away from his, and he pulled Jimin right back in, kissing him with his palms on his cheeks this time.

"You're really warm." Jungkook muttered against Jimin's lips, curling up against the robot's chest as he pulled himself completely away from Jimin's lips. Jimin held onto Jungkook's waist, fingers digging into soft fabric, a bit tickled by the way Jungkook's sweater was fuzzy. The boy was dressed down quite a bit, in simple sweatpants and that pretty grey sweater, because it was Christmas morning and there was no reason to dress up. But he still looked so cute; and Jimin wondered how a boy could manage to look so adorable in something simple like that, with messy hair and all.

It must just be a Jungkook thing, Jimin thought.

"Ready to go open your presents?" Jimin asked, nearly adding 'baby' to the end of the sentence-- but it was a little early for that, no? Perhaps? Jimin wasn't sure; he was pretty clueless when it came to relationships and things of the like. He knew Jungkook didn't have much experience, having never dated himself, having never so much as held hands with someone that wasn't Seokjin or his family, but Jimin still thought he should be cautious; Jungkook deserved someone who would be careful with him, who would try to plan out their relationship in all the right ways.

"Yep! I hope you're ready to open yours, too!" Jungkook said, gently poking at Jimin's shoulder. Jimin raised an eyebrow. He didn't have a chance to ask who he could have gotten presents from before Jungkook was grabbing his hand, their fingers fitting together. Jungkook tugged Jimin out of the room, down the stairs, ran straight up to their Christmas tree. Jungkook picked up a present that Jimin didn't remember putting there the day before, handed it to the older man.

"I made it." Jungkook said softly, looking excited. Jimin's eyes were a bit wide, surprised. When had Jungkook done this? Jimin tried to think of a time he was without Jungkook. Jungkook was only ever away from him when he was at school, or when he was practicing down near the studio. Had he gone somewhere other than the studio, perhaps? Jimin wanted to ask, but he was also curious to see what Jungkook had gotten him.

Inside the little, little box was a jar-- one of those jars that was a bit wider than it was tall. Jimin pulled it out carefully, set the box aside; but not too far aside, as there was an envelope at the bottom as well. In the jar was a little toy car covered in something white-- surely something to resemble snow-- with a little cut-out heart laying against it. Jimin looked up at Jungkook; the boy had a really big smile on his face, looking excited.

"Do you like it? I-I didn't know what to get you-- I usually do little candy-in-a-jar things, but you can't eat...." Jungkook's smile faded a little bit, now looking more nervous than excited. Jimin was quick to bring that excitement back, to tug Jungkook up into a hug. He wrapped one arm around the boy and kissed at his jaw, assuring Jungkook, "I love it, I love it-- it's so cute, Kookie, thank you so much."

"Oh! I made you something else, too!" Jungkook said, pulling the envelope out of the box. He handed it to Jimin; Jimin could see his hand shaking a little bit. Jimin set the jar down softly, began to open the envelope, tried not to rip it. Jungkook explained his second gift before Jimin had fully seen it, "You always seem too nervous to initiate skinship or anything like that with me, so.... I thought this would ease you up a little bit.

Inside the envelope was a card, as Jimin had been expecting, but there was also a little booklet of paper strips, tied together at the corner with a little red string, tied to shape like a bow. The first card was written neatly, distinctly Jungkook's handwriting: One free hug with a little picture drawn beside it. Jimin had seen these before. Where, he wasn't sure-- perhaps from Seokjin's memory.

"You can reuse them, if you want to. I'll let you cheat if it means you won't be nervous to be romantic with me." Jungkook said. Jimin was only able to look up for a moment before Jungkook's lips were on his, before their eyes were closed and they were melting together; Jimin's hand on Jungkook's shoulder, Jungkook's on the back of Jimin's neck. They kissed like that for a few moments, and then Jungkook was pulled away, sitting back against his ankles.

"I'll definitely cheat." Jimin said, laughing softly. He set the little set of tickets aside and pulled out the card in the envelope, setting the envelope aside as well. The front of the card was a kitten, laying in snow-- a white kitten that kind of blended in with the background, but it was cute nonetheless. It had a bold Merry Christmas on the front, colored in green and red; and the card had a cute little hand-written message from Jungkook on the inside. Merry Christmas, hyung! Thank you for staying with me even though I was hesitant to give you a chance at first. It means a lot to me, Metal Heart.

"Metal Heart? Is that your new nickname for me?" Jimin asked, looking up at Jungkook. Jungkook nodded, "A little bit. I think it's cute-- Metal Heart. It's a heart that loves me, anyway."

"All for you." Jimin agreed; and Jungkook's palm crept up to his heart, resting against it. It still amazed Jungkook, how he could feel the metal beating beneath the surface of Jimin. Seokjin was amazing, truly, to be able to make someone that felt so real, to make someone that Jungkook could fall in love with so easy. It was even more amazing, Jungkook thought, that he wasn't afraid.

/

Christmas dragged on and on. It should have gone in a heartbeat, and Seokjin should have been happy, but he was just plagued with the thought of another robot, with thoughts of Jungkook and how he would return to see the boy, but he would return to see the boy in the arms of another man. And Jimin wasn't even really a man, only a thing brought to life by Seokjin's hands, and he would only die when his heart gave out because he couldn't handle not loving Jungkook anymore. Seokjin was lucky people didn't actually work like that.

Min Yoongi came brighter to life on the pages of Seokjin's notebook as he continued to sketch, as he continued to write in certain characteristics he wanted Yoongi to have. He couldn't stop himself anymore; Yoongi was going to become real. It was crazy. Seokjin knew it was crazy, but he felt-- he felt so compelled to make Yoongi. He felt like he needed to make another person. And why, he asked himself, would he do that, when the only purpose of the last one was to break his own heart?

Seokjin called in to check on Jungkook again at about noon, when he thought Jungkook would be done opening presents, when he thought Jimin might be making him something to eat. Jimin was the one to pick up the phone, however, his cheery voice bleeding through the line. Seokjin gave a smile that meant absolutely nothing in relation to himself. He hated himself for making Jimin impossible to hate.

"Hi, hyung!" Jimin said as soon as he picked up the phone. Seokjin didn't get a chance to say hello in return, "Merry Christmas! Is it snowing where you are? Jungkook and I are really disappointed, because it's not snowing, and he really wanted a White Christmas. Oh-- he said if it was snowing that you need to take a picture and send it to him, because he really, really wants to see some snow."

"I'll be sure to do that." Seokjin chuckled, glancing over at his window. He'd pulled the curtain back a little earlier so he had a little bit of light to see as he was writing Min Yoongi into his notebook pages. Yoongi was quite beautiful, looking down at his sketch. He had soft features, but they were manly all the same; and Seokjin thought he would go for making his personality a similar concept. (He always found it compelling when a person's features matched their personality.)

"Hey, is Jungkook up? Can I talk to him, if he's nearby?" Seokjin asked. Jimin hummed. There was a moment of silence; Jimin was graceful as he moved. Jimin's voice was a little distant-- "Jungkook, Jin-hyung is on the phone," and there was a ruffle of bodies moving. Silence, a breath, and then Jungkook's voice-- "Jin-hyung?"

"Hey, Jungkook." Seokjin said. Jungkook's smile bled into his voice, "Hi, hyung! Please, please tell me it's snowing where you are. It didn't snow here and I'm kind of upset-- I've seen snow every Christmas."

"So Jimin told me. It is snowing where I am-- but I'll send you a picture soon, okay?" Seokjin asked, and Jungkook made a pleased sound that sent a shot of happiness straight to Seokjin's heart. And even with the uplifting emotion, it felt like just that-- a shot, and it ached, but Seokjin pulled a smile onto his face anyway.

"Thank you! I can't wait to see snow!" Jungkook said. The tone of his voice mixed with the words he was saying reminded Seokjin of when they were kids; Jungkook was five and Seokjin was ten. Seokjin was a brat back then, though it was stupid for him to be friends with someone who was half his age, but he played with Jungkook anyway. He threw snowballs at the younger, ice cold hard going warm when Jungkook would giggle and try to eat the snow, try to catch the little balls being thrown at him. , Jungkook was the sweetest thing.

"I can't wait to see you, too! It's been a long time, hyung, and I miss your cooking a lot! Will you make me noodles when you come back?" Jungkook asked, and Seokjin could already imagine the pout on his face. It warmed Seokjin's heart; it warmed his stone-cold heart.

"I can't wait to see you, Kookie." Seokjin said gently. He tapped his fingers down his legs, the edges of them meeting the metal spirals on his notebook. Seokjin threw Park Jimin into the conversation to avoid thinking about Min Yoongi, "What about Jimin's cooking? Don't you like it?"

"Of course I do. It's almost like yours, but... yours is a little better." Jungkook said; he whispered the last part, like it was a secret between them. Seokjin smiled, his fingers traveling farther and farther away from Min Yoongi as he tapped up, up, up his leg. Jungkook laughed, "I just really miss the noodles you make. You'll make me some when you come back, right? They're always really warm-- they remind me of home."

"You're in your home right now." Seokjin said. Jungkook gave a little, iffy hum-- "Well. You feel more like home."

Seokjin's heart twisted softly; a monster called adoration was squeezing one of the only things that kept him alive. Seokjin gave a half-dead chuckle, "I'll make you some noodles when I come back."

"Yay! Thank you, hyung!" Jungkook said. There was a sudden beep in their conversation. Seokjin frowned, pulled his phone back. He had another call incoming. Taehyung. He pressed the phone back to his ear, "Hey, Kookie, I have to go-- Taehyung's calling me. I'll see you really soon, okay? I'll call you tonight if I can."

"Okay. Bye, hyung! I love you!" Jungkook said. Seokjin wished it was serious, "I love you, too."

/

A/N: I'm so sorry for the extremely long wait for an update! I'm in a little bit of a jam for this story; I know where I want to go but I'm not quite sure how to transition there. Sorry again! I'll get through this little obstacle, don't worry ^^ and I hope the little thing I have planned for the story will be worth the kind of long, boring streak we've been on here /fingers crossed