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His phone says it's 3:05 AM when a knock wakes him up from his sleep. Jungkook stumbles from his bed over to the door, half-awake and his hair looking like it’s been through some stuff. The knocking doesn’t subside and only grows louder before Jungkook eventually snaps open the door to reveal Jimin.
“Hyung?” Jungkook scratches the back of his neck, his eyes are on the verge of closing and Jimin barges into Jungkook’s room in the boathouse. The former plops his body onto Jungkook’s bed, breathing in the scents of the sheets and the artificial smell of the pillowcases.
Jungkook follows suit and just lays beside Jimin as the elder gets himself comfortable on his bed. “What are you doing here, hyung? Cameras went off an hour ago.” Jimin’s eyes flutter open looking straight into Jungkook’s. His fingers find their way to the hem of Jungkook’s sweatshirt, fiddling with it - a habit Jungkook has noticed even before. “I just missed you, I guess.” Jimin’s answer was almost inaudible if not for their close proximity. His voice was like a whisper, soft and intimate, the kind of voice that only Jungkook gets to hear.
“I missed you too, hyung.” Jungkook replies as he pulls Jimin closer to him.
They lay there for a while. The only sounds coming from the cold wind of the night, the splashing of water beneath them, and the bugs from outside of Jungkook’s window. Jungkook’s hands end up on Jimin’s back, rubbing circles on his skin as Jimin lays his head on his chest. “Jungkook.” The said boy hums as an answer, his fingers playing with Jimin’s hair while the other is content by his waist.
“Kiss me.”
Jungkook exhales a breath he didn’t even know he was holding as he cups Jimin’s face and their lips meet each other. The kiss was the type of kiss Jungkook likes. It was slow, the type of kiss where they just take their time kissing deeper into each other. The type of kiss that leaves them breathless afterward, their hands exploring each inch of their bodies. A small whine escapes Jimin’s mouth as the kisses turn into a series of small kisses on his neck, Jungkook’s mouth leaving pecks on the bottom of his jawline, down to the base of his neck then to his collarbone. They kiss again and this time they smile for some reason, giggling, obviously feeling ticklish as their hands find themselves underneath their shirts.
Jimin pulls away after a while, not after leaving a small kiss on Jungkook’s nose. “Do you want to go on the boat with me?”
The journey to the boat was short seeing as it was right outside, the journey to get inside the boat was a whole other thing. "Jungkook, I swear to god if I fall down I will push you out of the boat and you'll sleep with wet hair." A giggle slips out of Jungkook's mouth as the older man grabs onto his hand slowly trying to get inside the boat.
"I won't let you fall, hyung." Once Jimin is finally seated at the front, Jungkook begins rowing away from the dock. "Where should we go?"
Jimin hums, his hand playing with the hems of his (Jungkook's) sweater. It's nearing 4 AM and Jimin hasn't spent time with Jungkook alone for the past three days they've been here. The moon is shining bright, the light reflecting on the water and when Jimin turns to look back, Jungkook tilts his head and smiles at him, waiting for his response.
"Let's just let the water take us where it takes us." Jungkook snorts. "You're so cheesy, Park Jimin." The said man rolls his eyes at the younger, "Shut up."
And they let the water drift them away. 15 minutes pass and Jungkook stops rowing the boat, they've gone a bit far from the boathouse seeing as it can be seen as a little dot from where they are. Jimin shifts in his seat wanting to lay on Jungkook and Jungkook gladly gets the message.
They stay there for quite some time. No talking, just Jimin laying on top of Jungkook's chest as the other wraps his arm around his waist. Jungkook hums a little tune, probably a new song he's working on and Jimin thinks that this is love.
He's had those deep conversations about love and life and all the things in between with Hoseok one night in their room, in their shared penthouse with the others and the flickering lights of Seoul shined through Hoseok's eyes and even though it was late in the night, bright lights flew in from their window and Seoul was awake as ever.
He remembers Hoseok asking him, "Hey Jimin, what do you think love is?" He remembers giggling into Hoseok's face because Hoseok looked so sleepy, his eyes were on their way to shut down but he needed an answer.
Growing up, Jimin only knew practice rooms and performing on stage and so he answered what he knew best. "Love is BTS." They stare at each other for a while before bursting out laughing. It's probably 2:00 in the morning and while half of them aren't asleep yet, they sure are not wishing to be disturbed. Jimin isn't entirely wrong. All his life, all he knew was BTS. The love the group gave him, the love the fans gave him and the love he gave back. The love that was warm, spontaneous, exciting and welcoming. BTS always gave off that kind of love, the love you'll find even if you're in your late 60s on the verge of retiring out of the 9 to 5 job you've had since 23 or if you're 13 and all you know are fractions and trying to sneak snacks in class. The love is always the same. The same warm love Jimin felt when the company announced they were finally debuting, the love he felt when they knew they were finally receiving love and the love they sent out are finally reaching its homes.
Hoseok smiles at him. The smile is soft and Hoseok looks soft and Jimin wonders how much time has passed. "Not that love, Minnie. Well, of course, we love each other but, you know, the love you see in the movies."
"This is why I told you to stop watching romcoms with Yoongi hyung." Hoseok pouts at him but he knows Jimin knows what he means. Jimin looks back at his past, his relationships with people over the past ten years, and wonders if he ever knew what love was. If he ever felt it? Jimin frowns, has he ever been in love? Jimin doesn't know and that's confusing because he's said the L word before, said it many times, then what's stopping him from describing it?
"I don't know." His voice comes out a whisper and the room is quiet. He hears a tch from the side of the room and he looks at Hoseok who is staring directly at him. "Of course you wouldn't know. Now let this hyung tell you, okay?" Jimin giggles at him, he's thankful for Hoseok, really. Hoseok is a constant he wouldn't want to ever get rid of and he knows Hoseok feels the same to him.
Present time, Jungkook's hands are playing with Jimin's finger as he slowly rocks their bodies to the harmony of the cicadas in the wild and Jimin thinks this is love. If Hoseok were to ask him the same question he asked all those months ago, he would answer this very happening right now.
Love is quiet, he thinks. It's the hushed whispers and the stolen stares from the side of the room. The hands slip underneath his shirt while slowly caressing his side, it's the lips kissing his forehead, his cheeks, his mouth, his neck, kissing everywhere that can be kissed.
Love is the hands holding him in the darkness of the night, where no one will know their fingers are intertwined underneath the sheets but them, and no one will know what they did beneath it. It's the hands brushing his hair away from his face, hands pulling him closer, closer to indulge in, closer so that their bodies are stuck together like puzzle pieces perfect in each other's hold.
Love is being stuck in the middle of a lake, in the middle of nowhere, wild animals probably hiding in the forest and hundreds of mosquitos have probably attacked his arms. Love is Jungkook holding him close, it's Jungkook singing him to sleep, cooking him food, reminding him that he should rest after a day's worth of practice.
Love is the little things hidden in Jungkook's smile and Jungkook's warm hold. Love is loving so unconditionally yet it's spoken in the quietest of the nights where the love confessions are only directed to him and him only. Love is a love that's special, never wavering, saved only for his eyes to see, for his ears to hear and for his heart to feel.
"You're crying, hyung." A finger flicks his tear away and Jimin looks up at Jungkook’s face. His eyebrows are all scrunched up, a worried look seen on his face. "It's happy tears." Jimin smiles.
"You like the forest that much?" Jimin laughs at him, "Maybe I do."
They stay there until the sun slowly rises and the orange hues paint the sky little by little. Until Jin calls them, shouting at them technically, at the dock wondering where the two boys were. Until they get picked up by the staff in a much bigger boat because they went way too far up the lake. Until they get back on the shore and are making their way up to the Upper House for breakfast and they could see Taehyung and Yoongi waving at them from the top.
"I love you, hyung." Jimin looks back at Jungkook the nth time this day and he would never get enough. Jungkook's eyes are sparkling, the same sparkle he sees when they're having concerts or when he finished a song he's really satisfied with. It's the sparkle filled with adoration and love and it's looking into Jimin's eyes.
"I love you too, Kookie."
They walk to the dining area, hands intertwined, this time for everyone to see, for everyone to revel in their love and when Namjoon takes a look at them and smiles, he thinks he's got his answer this time.