[jimin/taehyung] ; serendipity

[starrystarrynight]

 

There’s really nothing like home.

Sure, college has been wonderful. Is wonderful. Taehyung is so lucky to have the opportunity to pursue more education, especially for someone like him, and he honestly loves being in school more than anything else in the entire universe. It feels like he's growing a little bit more every single day, learning so much more than he ever could have dreamed about. His diet of National Geographic and science magazines plucked from the library kept him pretty well-fed as a pup, but the world--wow, it’s even bigger than all that!

He never even realized what happened behind the scenes of March of the Penguins or Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey or Lawless Oceans. All those amazing programs were created by people. Ordinary and extraordinary people who did ethnographic research, time travelled to the past, took amazing portraits, edited videos, observed the natural world, and most importantly, tried to conquer the big questions. Taehyung can certainly relate to that--he daydreams about at least fifteen questions before breakfast. Sitting in those classrooms at school, packed with fellow ambitious hybrids, all of his curiosities about the world feel validated. For the first time in his life, Taehyung isn’t wondering if he’s too hungry for something he shouldn’t even have a taste for in the first place.

Because he knows--he can be one of those people, too. He really can be.

He honestly loves being in school more than anything else in the entire universe...but the thing is, he also misses being home more than anything in the entire universe. For a long time it felt like those two things were at odds with each other. Mutually exclusive. Yet all it took was a quiet admission one night over the phone--I miss you, Jimin. I’m happy, but I just miss you so much--for that weight to finally crack. Jimin missed him, too. Just as much. Though, as Taehyung later came to understand, it wasn’t without unhappiness. Taehyung immediately asked to move back home, once he realized that was an option. Once he figured out that going to college didn’t have to mean literally staying at college. Two weeks later, just at the start of his winter break, Taehyung--and three suitcases stuffed with textbooks and clothes and endangered animal plushies--were back at the familiar doorstep. He only wishes he got that wake up call sooner.

Quietly, Taehyung stirs from his position on the couch, limbs spread out in every direction and face scrunched against a Giant panda pillow. Blinking slowly, it takes a moment for Taehyung to come to. He remembers he’s home with a sudden rush of warmth, the rest coming back in bits and pieces. Jimin and him had talked into the early morning hours when he first came back--and a combination of the late night conversation and the rigor of his end of semester finals caught up with his body. It’s been two days. Taehyung’s done little more than relax and eat and let Jimin take care of him. And of, course, take Big Boy naps in the living room at any time he pleases. Heaven on Earth.

Sitting himself up, Taehyung’s nose is suddenly hit with the most delicious, mouthwatering scent drifting from the kitchen. So that’s what woke him up. Drowsily, he looks over the back of the couch, catching on the sight of Jimin’s back. He’s molding sugar cookies, pressing neat little balls on top of the baking sheet, one right after another. Humming a little. There’s a spot of flour on his sleeves where they’re rolled up to his elbows, and Taehyung couldn’t be more in love as he watches his partner go about his quiet work, smiling absentmindedly, cheek in palm. Sugar cookies have always been his favorite.

A minute later and Taehyung decides to take closer inspection. He comfortably hooks his chin atop Jimin’s shoulder, hands following suit as his fingers curl lightly into the soft fabric of his sweater. Content to keep watching for another moment, enjoying the fact that he even can. Jimin was always better at forming the cookies, getting them nice and even--a perfect base for Taehyung’s over-the-top decorating aesthetic. He can’t remember when they first started this tradition, but he knows it’s absolutely one of the best parts about the holidays.

“Remember when I ate all the green icing one year and my tongue was dyed for a few days?” he cheerily, suddenly recalls. “That was so much fun. Maybe I could test a different color.” He’s joking. Sort of.

Comments

[toughkookie]

it wasn't the kind of thing that jimin ever could have anticipated.

sure, taehyung being curious was one thing. jimin knew that he was, had always known that he was, from the moment he first saw him. it was just one of the many things that had drawn him to the pup, that had caught his interest, beyond the simple, unexplainable pull, the something deep down inside that tugged at him, told him that this was it, this was the one, and thank god taehyung had agreed, had expressed interest in wanting to come back home with him. it was funny, really. jimin had always thought it might be nice, having someone else around - something to take care of, but not just that. if that were the case, he could have gotten any old regular pet. someone to bond with, someone to share with, the curious longing for a deeper kind of companionship is what had led him to start researching even the possibility of adopting a hybrid in the first place. he hadn't even necessarily intended to walk out of the building with one but, well, here they are now, and jimin can't think of a better decision he's ever made in his entire life.

they just fit. and they've just fit since that very first day, since the confused yet curious little puppy that jimin brought into this same house, introduced to his room, began to teach and mold and help shape into the extremely bright, funny, talented, attractive, altogether well-rounded person that he is today. sometimes, it seems like everything has been easy, in the grand scheme of things. falling into a rhythm of daily life with taehyung was easy. helping him to grow and learn was easy. falling in love with him was easy, though it still came with its own challenges, namely keeping those selfish thoughts and feelings to himself, unwilling to come out with any of it until taehyung approached the subject first. but he had, and once he had, it was like the two of them fell into it just as effortlessly as everything else - just as nice, sweet, perfect.

but taehyung deciding he wanted to go off to college wasn't easy. taehyung moving out, taehyung being gone for days, weeks, months at a time - nothing about that was easy. even jimin hadn't realized quite the extent of it, just how far, how deeply taehyung really was engraved in his everyday life, in his routine, in his everything. the absence of him was something that jimin felt everywhere, felt far more than he could have possibly anticipated, and it's impossible to even try and pretend that having him back isn't a relief, quite possibly the greatest relief he ever could have. even so, he doesn't have to pretend - not after their long talk, not after they spent hours going back and forth, not after jimin finally decided to be honest about how the whole thing made him feel. it's something he's struggled with over the years, something that he admittedly still doesn't like doing - taehyung has enough on his plate, enough to worry about, there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to go out into the world and do any and everything that he ever dreamed of doing. jimin isn't a good enough reason to hold him back from that, from accomplishing everything he could ever want in life and then some.

but jimin is a good enough reason for taehyung to move back home, for them to have reached a sort of compromise that seems all kinds of obvious now that they've put it into motion - but jimin won't dwell on that. he can't, not when everything is finally settling, when it's starting to feel normal again. when he's got taehyung here again with the promise of staying, just in time for the holiday season that they both like best - simply put, it's perfect. it's got jimin feeling better than he has in quite a long time, even as taehyung passes out on the couch, catching up on rest that's obviously much needed, well deserved as far as jimin is concerned. he doesn't mind it, but it isn't long before he feels an itch, a need to do something, to calm some of the restless energy that still bubbles up from time to time.

sugar cookies seem like the perfect distraction. it's easy enough, one of the things that he knows that taehyung likes the most, one of the things that they've always done together for as long as he can remember. one of the things that definitely make it feel that much more like home. and it's expected, in some ways, how even the smell of the freshly mixed dough is enough to rouse the pup from his slumber, jimin hearing the sound of feet shuffling closer, anticipating it before taehyung is leaning and resting against him. the familiar, warm weight of him still makes jimin smile, even before the sudden recalling of such a familiar, silly memory has a soft laughter bubbling up, jimin reaching over to separate out another piece of dough, rolling it smoothly between his palms.

"i remember," he confirms, leaning back against taehyung just slightly, just barely, light enough that maybe it isn't exactly intentional. "and i remember you getting a terrible stomachache from all the extra sugar. you couldn't eat properly for a whole day. is it worth the risk?"