Thread by @Aesopfics

Yoonjin AU - The Mathematics Of Love

Where Min Yoongi and Kim Seokjin are the best marriage counselors in the east part of Seoul, and all of their clients think theyre married—but no they’re just really good friends that give great advice on every relationship that’s not theirs.

I guess I’m doing this now 🗿

Just gonna be pining idiots I don’t know

And as always I am not reliable with updates at all so fingers crossed 🤩

💍🧮💍

(Please praise me—I don’t know how to edit and worked very hard on this)

Seokjin stares at the poster in his hands, Yoongi watching him while nervously chewing on his nails.

“Well?” The younger finally asks.

“What does ‘full marriage reset’ even mean?” Seokjin raises a brow as he asks, “and this sounds so cheesy I cant take it seriously.”

“You’re cheesy and I cant take you seriously, so its on brand,” Yoongi scoffs back.

Seokjin ignores the retort as he continues, “also since when is our first session free?”

“Uh, since we first started,” Yoongi deadpans, “also the quote is from our lengthy website reviews.”

“It doesn’t even sound like a real review,” Seokjin snorts, “I love it. This poster is perfect.”

Yoongi lets out a relieved sigh, “oh thank god,” and then moves to recover the paper from the older’s hands only for it to be tugged away.

“Hold on,” Seokjin stopped him.

“What? Why?” Yoongi’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, reaching for the paper only to have it held out of his reach again, “give it back.”

“Where are we putting these up? Also, do we even need to advertise with Jungkook’s very eloquent commercial currently airing about us?

“That commercial states that 4 in 5 of the couples that come to us will personally be disappointed with the counselor’s dynamics themselves, a.k.a us,” Yoongi blanches, “it’s more like Jungkook made that for us to make fun of us.”

“Oh he definitely did,” Seokjin nods.

“Then why are you alright with it?” Yoongi asks, reaching for the paper again.

“Because,” Seokjin moves the paper further away, “we gained like 7 new clients since that was aired. Plus it may hurt but he’s right. We really don’t care about their relationship.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes, running a hand in his hair in annoyance and shaking his head.

“Yes we do,” he sighs, “or else we wouldn’t help them.”

“I only help for the money. I didn’t even know our first session was free,” Seokjin huffed, “we’re being ripped off.”

“No we’re not,” Yoongi groans, moving back to the chair he was perched on previously, “it’s not like we solve anything in the first session anyway. It’s just a meet-and-greet basically.”

“Which I would like to be paid for,” Seokjin mumbles, bringing the paper back to look at it.

Yoongi watches the olders eyes move over the poster he spent almost an hour on with Jungkook on the other line giving him a crash course in editing. It looks better than the one he made before he called the younger in a panic. Seokjin purses his lips while nodding after a second.

“This is good. I accept this,” He finally leans across the space between them to hand the poster to Yoongi, “we really should change that first session free policy though.”

“No,” Yoongi deadpans, setting the poster aside on the stack he printed, “it’s appealing to the consumer.”

“I thought you didn’t like capitalism?” Seokjin chuckles, leaning back in his seat and resting his cheek on his fist.

“I went to school for psychology, family studies, and business,” Yoongi huffs, “I didn’t get any business degrees but I definitely took a lot of classes.”

“Oh yeah,” Seokjin paused, “I still can’t believe you dropped business one year before getting a degree.”

“I had to switch my major,” Yoongi shrugged, leaning forward to the table between them to pick up a glass filled with water and raise it to his lips.

“Still think you should’ve finished it up, just to rub it in people’s faces,” Seokjin hummed, stretching his arms up and over his head, “but then again you were wiped whenever you got back from those classes.”

“It’s not my fault I’m not good at writing business proposals,” Yoongi sighed rubbing his fingers over the cool glass in his hand, “also having to speak in front of everyone was pure shit.”

Seokjin muffles a laugh into his arm, nodding in understanding.

“I still can’t believe after how much you complained about interacting with people suddenly you’re coming to me with an idea to basically talk people through their problems,” Seokjin is grinning at the younger now.

Yoongi rolls his eyes, sitting back with a pout.

“You do most of the talking,” he mumbles, bringing the glass back up to his lips but just letting it sit there, not taking a drink.

“Until you swoop in with the actual advice,” the older snorts, “I just talk until I can figure out what I’m even supposed to do for these people.”

“Same here,” Yoongi groans, “like the last couple—Jieun and Heesun—I had no idea what we were supposed to do with them, honestly those two—“

“Yep, I have no idea why they even got married, or what we’re supposed to do for them next week,” Seokjin chuckles, “seriously.”

Yoongi shakes his head, now actually taking a drink before replying to the older, “some people just don’t work out,” Seokjin nods sagely, listening to the younger, “but I’m not sure that’s what we should tell them.”

The older breathes out a sigh from his nose, thinking deeply.

“Should we do some kind of activity?” Seokjin suggests, looking over to Yoongi who’s also thinking now—eyebrows knit together.

“Like, what kind of activity are you thinking?” He asks for clarification.

“Maybe we could pair off with them and take them on amazing dates and have heart to hearts?” Seokjin offers, a hand coming to rub at the hair on his neck, “or we could do that get-to-know-you thing we did with Seungri and Daehyun?”

Yoongi hums in thought as he takes another sip of water, working it over in his head. “The dates one might be tricky, since we’d be taking them out ourselves and then reconvening. Also we’d have to decide who goes with who,” Yoongi talks through it, Seokjin nodding along.

“That get-to-know thingamajig worked well for that couple, but I don’t even know if they want to know each other at this stage,” Yoongi adds.

“But they did come to counseling,so there’s at least a small part of them both that wants to work out their marriage,”Seokjin points out.

The younger nods, Seokjin does have a point.

“Both?” He asks.

Seokjin nods with a hum, “Both is good.”

“Solid, let’s go put these up then,” Yoongi grabs the stack of posters as he pushes himself up, “then we can grab takeout, head home, and binge that new netflix series.”

Seokjin groans as he stretches, standing up as well and moving after the younger towards the door.

“Okay, but what kind of takeout?” He asks, opening the door and holding it for Yoongi to go through, then taking the posters as the younger moves to grab their bags and coats.

“Japchae? And then donuts from that new place by the record shop?” Yoongi asks with a hum, slipping into his coat and then holding Seokjin’s so he can slip into the sleeves—handing the posters back to Yoongi and taking his bag from the younger in a trade.

“Oh what about that stew we can grab from the tiny restaurant beside across the street from the donut place?” Seokjin offers, watching Yoongi slip his bag over his shoulder.

“Soondubu? I mean, sure,” Yoongi’s lips tug in a teasing grin, “if you can handle it this time.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes, a tiny smile of his own forming across his cheeks as he open the door to the street for Yoongi this time.

“One time,” Seokjin huffs, “my tongue was sensitive.”

“That’s what you say,” the younger hums in amusement, “your face was beat red.”

“Oh shut up,” Seokjin groans, “it was one time.”

“You drank your water so fast you chokes and it came out your nose,” Yoongi cackles, recalling the memory fondly.

“Oh my god,” the older whines, “that was the worst, please.”

“Wasn’t That also the night Taehyung decided you were no longer his role model?” Yoongi numbs the older’s shoulder with his own while grinning teasingly.

“Oh please,” Seokjin breathes, “like that would’ve lasted long.”

“True,” Yoongi nods, “it’s a good thing he disowned you.”

“Wow, rude,” Seokjin snorts, his grin contradicting how he probably wanted to sound offended.

Yoongi looks over at the older with a fond smile, kicking his leg affectionately against Seokjin’s calf.

“Come on, let’s hurry so we can get home quick.”

💍📈💍

Yoongi was watching the condensation on the glass pitcher sitting in the middle of the coffee table separating the couch he was currently relaxing in and the other across from him. The file in his hands was thin, due to it being a new client.

He'd been over the couple's prior statements, reason for visit, the whole shebang. It was a same sex couple, probably coming to their counseling because they were the only counselors that accepted such clients, besides their troubles that is.

Yoongi had read their file almost five times now, and they'd be arriving any moment, lead in by Seokjin who was waiting at the front desk for them. That was how most of their cases went, Yoongi getting to know them on paper and Seokjin getting to know them in person.

It worked well, the older's handsome face and warm smile easily getting anyone to trust him and feel relaxed, and then Yoongi could take it from there and approach them with their problem head on. 6 out of every 10 clients opened up immediately. Some were tougher.

Yoongi really hoped it was the former today, work out from their prior clients just an hour before. The couple had started fighting and Seokjin had tried to calm them before it got out of hand but Yoongi was tired of the yelling and asked them to leave earlier than normal.

God Yoongi hoped this went smoothly, sucking a deep breath into his lungs through his nostrils and massaging the space between his eyes with the butt of his pen. His hand fell back to his lap and he let his gaze drift to the door, wanting Seokjin to come back soon.

Seokjin was always very obviously better than him at the social interaction, even if Yoongi knew the older also had his problems with it. It was a fact that they both did better with people when the other was with him. But right now Yoongi just wanted to sit with the older.

It was just the residual stress of earlier, but the younger would definitely feel better if he got to just relax with Seokjin for a few minutes. Maybe an hour. And then he'd feel up to helping people fix their relationship.

It's when he finally let's his head fall to the couch cushions that there's a Tony knock on the door and the handle is twisting with a click.

"Here we are!" He hears Seokjin's cheery voice, and the presence of it along has Yoongi quickly sitting up properly in his seat.

One if the clients comes through the door before the older. It's a cute looking girl, long brown hair pulled up in a ponytail with bangs fallen across her forehead and hiding it.

Yoongi smiles at her when she sees him, getting one just as bright in return.

He pushes himself up as she approaches, another woman entering behind her just as pretty with long dark brown hair Yoongi assumes is her spouse, and takes the hand that she offers to shake.

"You must be Yoongi," she beams, "thank you for meeting with us, I'm Jiwoo."

"No it's our pleasure," Yoongi replies, he feels like his smile is awkward, "it's nice to meet you Jiwoo."

Jiwoo's wife is coming up beside her then, so Yoongi turns to offer his hand to her, which she takes with a small smile, less enthusiastic than her spouse.

"Yves," the woman greets, "thank you."

Yoongi only smiles, feeling a little better about the interaction when Seokjin is rounding the couple to join him, motioning to the opposite couch find them to sit.

They're a cute couple, is Yoongi's first thought as he watches them awkwardly move to the couch and motion for the other to sit before them and ending up sitting at the same time. He relaxes into Seokjin's side as they both sit, opening the file and handing it to the older.

Jiwoo and Yves entangle their fingers, space between their knees not as wide as Yoongi would peg if there was a serious problem. The still look quite close, probably all a misunderstanding causing them to seek put professional help.

"I know you already wrote why you've come to us," Yoongi begins, glancing over to see Seokjin scanning over the file, "but let's start with both of you telling us your sides."

Jiwoo and Yves exchange a glance, their hands moving together stiffly.

“Well,” Jiwoo begins hesitantly, practically dragging her gaze from the woman beside her to look at Seokjin and Yoongi, “we’re worried that maybe it was too fast for us to get married. We were young and in love and we,” she looks back at Yves, squeezing her spouses hand.

“We’re thinking it’s best for us to divorce,” Yves finishes, eyes locked with Jiwoo for a moment before bith of them look back to the counselors opposite.

“Because you’re headed in different directions?” Yoongi asks. Yves simply nods, thumb rubbing over Jiwoo’s fingers.

Seokjin leans forward, shoulder brushing Yoongi’s, setting the file on the table between them with a thoughtful hum.

“But obviously,” a small smile tugs at his lips, “neither of you really want that, seeing as you’re here.”

“No,” Jiwoo agrees, “both of us want to avoid that.”

“But we’re not sure how,” Yves finishes, a sad glance given to her spouse, “we’ve tried but it’s like everything is working against us.”

Yoongi looks down at the file, remembering reading about such struggles—Jiwoo’s new job.

“You have to move to Germany,” Yoongi recalls, looking at Jiwoo, “but Yves can’t just abandon her career here to go with you.”

“Exactly,” Jiwoo nods, the downturn of her lips very apparent.

Yves plays with her wife’s fingers with a similar disheartened expression.

Yoongi sits back on the couch,looking over to Seokjin to find the older already looking at him while silence falls in the room. It’s not the easiest matter. It’s not the hardest either, and if Yoongi wasn’t trying to help them fix their marriage he might just tell them to let go.

But while it seems difficult, there’s always a way.

Seokjin seems to think so as well, if the way his face suddenly brightens is any indication.

“How about you tell us about what you do?” Seokjin asks, leaning forward to poor them both a glass of water with a bright smile.

“Uh, well,” Jiwoo accepts the first glass held out to them, sitting it in her lap as she begins, “I’m a model, and a new agency recently picked me up—in Germany.”

Yves is lowering the glass from her lips before she speaks. “I’m a designer,” she tells them, with a slight smile.

Seokjin must have the exact same idea the younger does, because he’s shooting a triumphant grin back at Yoongi. But that’s two early. They should get to know them a little better before launching into a grand idea that might not work.

“How did you guys meet?” Yoongi asks politely, cutting the older off before he gets ahead of himself.

That question seems to prompt shy smiles from the two, avoiding each other’s gaze as they seem to recall.

“We were best friends in school,” Jiwoo explains, cheeks growing red.

“Then she Uh,” Yves is also growing red, hand coming to rub her face in some subconscious sigh of embarrassment, “kinda pursued me? We started dating our last year, and then we got married—what was it?” She looks over to Jiwoo with furrowed brows, “a year or so later?”

“It was like, half a year ago,” Jiwoo recalls with a hum, “so about 18 months?”

Yves smiles, looking back to the two counselors, “Yeah, so we’ve been together almost 3 years now.”

Yoongi almost wasn’t to congratulate them, in awe of them really. They’re cute.

“High school sweethearts, is that it?” Seokjin smiles fondly, a little affectionate bump to Yoongi’s shoulder making the younger look at him with a laugh.

“I guess you could say that,” Jiwoo chuckles, looking at her hand tangled with Yves’ with a fond smile of her own.

“God, we were embarrassing back then,” Yves snorts, smile pulled across her cheeks as well when she turns to look at Jiwoo with the softest gaze.

Yoongi knows they’ll be alright just from this interaction. And that thought has him smiling and returning Seokjin’s earlier bump.

“How did you two meet?” Yves suddenly asks, turning her attention to the two counselors.

“Aren’t we here to talk about you guys?” Seokjin chuckles, “why do you wanna know about us?”

Jiwoo leans forward with interest clear in her face, “you said today was like a meet and greet.”

Her wife nods along enthusiastically. “You got to hear about us, now what about you?”

The two men stop, and look at each other. Seokjin’s lips are pursed in thought and Yoongi just stares at the older man searching his eyes for where to begin.

“Well,” Seokjin suddenly begins, large smile slung across his features, “we also met in school, except it was college for us.”

“Oooh,” Jiwoo hums, nodding.

“We had the same psychology class,” Yoongi continues, “and he shared a class with two of my friends, so we just clicked?”

“Our friend groups just kind of meshed,” Seokjin chuckles, leaning back into Yoongi and looking at the younger as he speaks, “and since we were both the oldest we naturally gravitated to each other. So yeah,” he’s smiling so wide Yoongi can’t help but return it, “we clicked.”

“Wow,” it sounds like a coo almost with the way Yves seems to be swooning from their simple story, “so you’ve been together a long time then?”

Yoongi turns his gaze from Seokjin with a small smile to her. “Almost 7, 8? Years.”

“It’ll be 8 in two months I believe,” Seokjin hums.

“That’s so cute,” Jiwoo coos—it’s definitely a coo this time—“who asked who first?”

Yoongi raises a brow in confusion, glancing to Seokjin briefly before asking, “what do you mean?”

“I mean like,” Jiwoo gestures for him to go on, “how did you guys get married?”

Oh.

Yoongi and Seokjin both look at each other, lips already stretching to reveal teeth, trying to stifle the oncoming laughs.

Seokjin looks back at them with an amused smile. “We’re not married.”

Jiwoo and Yves exchanged confused looks, leaning forward more, Yves blurting a “wait.”

Yoongi can’t help the small exhale of a laugh through his nose as he sees them try to work it out in their heads.

“You’re not married?” Both men shake their heads.

“But you’re marriage counselors? And you work together?” Jiwoo looks between them as she asks, eyes the way they’re practically leaning against each other rather than the couch, their hands touching but not entwined.

“His idea,” Seokjin grins, “and a pretty good one, considering our track record.”

Yoongi nods in agreement, “it worked out pretty well.”

“You’re not together?” Yves asks again, eyeing them suspiciously, “like not even dating?”

They shake their heads again.

Suddenly Yves is locking eyes with Yoongi, some sort of understanding crossing her face that makes her mouth open in an ‘o’ while looking at the younger counselor.

“We get that a lot,” Seokjin huffs, “a lot of our clients assume we’re married at first glance.”

“But you’re just,” Jiwoo looks between them again with pursed lips, “good friends?”

“Business partners,” both deadpan at the same time, resulting in them locking eyes with grins stretched across their faces.

“Huh,” Yves breathes, sitting back, “I see.”

Yoongi can still feel her eyes on him, but he just raises one eyebrow in silent question. Seokjin doesn’t seem to mind, sitting forward again to continue the conversation with, “so how exactly did you pursue Yves?”

Jiwoo grows red once more, shyly averting her gaze down to her hands as she begins with another “Well...”

Beside her, Yves is still looking at Yoongi, eyes narrowed knowingly, making the counselor quirk his lips slightly and tilt his head.

💍🧮💍

He’s laying on the couch flipping through a magazine absentmindedly, the hiss of the pan on the stove while Seokjin cooks accompanying the good smell of whatever kind of meat and spices his roommate tossed with vegetables.

They’re home after a long day of work, a speaker on the counter between the couch and the stove softly playing a new playlist from Namjoon. The notes and files from the 4 couples they met today sit lonely on the coffee table, tossed there soon after they’d entered the apartment.

Ever since they started working together 4 or so years ago they’ve had a rule not to talk about work at home. Of course they’ve broken it a couple of times—especially for stressful situations, seeing reassurance or validation—but they’re pretty good about it other times.

Yoongi thumbs to the next page, eyes washing lazily over an article about a cheese store, before he’s shimmying his butt up on the cushions to peek over at the older.

“You almost done?”

He watches Seokjin’s back, the older pausing as he stirs whatever’s in the pan with a spoon to shoot a grin over his shoulder.

“Yeah, but I might be done faster if you get off your butt and come help me,” He taunts.

With a roll of his eyes, Yoongi tosses the magazine to the side, small smile on his face as he slips to his feet and rounds the couch and pads into the kitchen, feet slapping on the tile as he comes up behind the older.

He has to push himself up on his tip toes slightly to hook his chin over Seokjin’s shoulder, but once he does Yoongi also grabs those shoulders for support, peering down curiously at what the older is making.

“Stir Fry again?” Yoongi whines.

What he gets in return is a snort and a light smack on his nose with the spoon, Seokjin relaxing his shoulder’s in Yoongi’s grip as he continues to just stir the rice, vegetables, and what looks to be beef.

“It’s fast,” the older replies, “Easy to make too.”

“You just don’t want to make something complicated,” Yoongi huffs, tightening his grip slightly as a teasing pinch, “a steak every now and then wouldn’t kill you.”

“You make it,” Seokjin snaps, elbowing him back, “it’s not like you don’t know how to cook.”

“I prefer your cooking,” Yoongi shrugs, letting his grip fall from Seokjin’s shoulders down to circle his waist in a loose back hug.

The older lets his lips tug into a small smile, shaking his head while turning off the burner, silence resting between them.

“You’re being affectionate tonight,” his voice is quiet, bringing a hand to rest on top of Yoongi’s bigger one, “is something wrong?”

Yoongi strays silent, tilting his head more into Seokjin’s neck with a hum.

Seokjin chuckles, thumb rubbing over Yoongi’s knuckles as he waits.

Finally, “it’s about work and it’s not a big deal,” Yoongi mumbles.

“Ah,” Seokjin hums wobbling over to the counter where he’s set out two plates with the pan in hand, but still slow enough Yoongi can stay hugging him, “Jieun and Heesun?”

Yoongi gives a tiny hum of acknowledgement, slipping the hand not covered by Seokjin’s out to help the older dish the stir fry onto the plates with the spoon.

“It didn’t go well with Jieun?” Seokjin asks gently.

“Well,” Yoongi finally speaks, tapping the spoon off on the pan, “Yes and no.”

Seokjin nodded, setting the pan aside and grabbing one plate, Yoongi grabbing the other, their hands still touching over the older’s stomach but not intertwining.

They begin a little shuffle over to their tiny dining table—the same one from their first apartment in college, still bearing the burn of the pot of ramen they made their first night together, lacking any hotpads or bowls—and they stop before sitting, setting the plates down.

“How we gonna do this?” Seokjin asks, playfully tapping his fingers over Yoongi’s, even knocking his head against the younger’s affectionately, “am I sitting in your lap, you in mine, or are we separating here?”

Yoongi hums in thought, scratching his nose on the fabric of Seokjin’s shirt, before quietly answering “you can sit on mine and I can keep hugging you.”

“Good plan,” Seokjin smiles, hand on Yoongi’s finally tightening while his other moves to the younger’s back, gently maneuvering him down into the chair before resting his weight on Yoongi’s legs as well.

Yoongi chuckles, tightening his hug around Seokjin’s waist momentarily, and then dragging the second plate over in front of them as well.

“Are you gonna feed me?” Yoongi asks with a tiny laugh.

“Not a chance,” the older snorts back, pulling one of Yoongi’s hands from his stomach and putting some metal chopsticks in it.

If Yoongi pouts—which he does—Seokjin doesn’t see it, easily beginning to shovel the food from his plate and to his mouth while the younger huffs and starts to do the same albeit much slower.

Yoongi feels Seokjin’s finger tracing over the veins on his hands, sometimes pausing on his knuckles and rubbing over it a few times.

It’s mostly silent while they eat—of course it never is because food is always a delight to the older and Yoongi hates and loves how expressive he gets when he eats and you can tell just how much he’s enjoying himself.

After the older lets out another moan around a mouthful of rice and beef Yoongi can’t help but chuckle.

“Is it really that good?” He asks.

Seokjin turns his head to give Yoongi a look of disbelief, “I made it, of course it is.”

“Not everything you make is delicious,” Yoongi snorts, wrapping his lips around another bite of his own food, while Seokjin shifts in his lap, knocking the younger’s chin from his shoulder and turning his body to face Yoongi’s.

“Excuse you, everything I make is to die for.”

“Your attempted cheesy fish and egg sandwich says otherwise,” Yoongi deadpans, taking another bite and trying to pull Seokjin back against his chest in a hug.

“Look, that was not my fault,” the older huffs, relenting and sitting back again.

“And whose fault was it?” Yoongi grins, hooking his chin back on Seokjin’s shoulder and taking another bite.

“Obviously yours,” Seokjin rolls his eyes, “if you hadn’t told me not to use Cheyenne pepper it would’ve been exquisite.”

It’s Yoongi’s turn to roll his eyes, “I seriously doubt that.”

Seokjin snorts a laugh through his nose, taking another large bite of his food with a shake of his head.

“So,” he finally tries, “Jieun?”

Yoongi pauses, chopsticks brushing past his lips. “What about her?”

“Oh you know,” Seokjin leans his weight back on Yoongi heavier, “what’s got you, Mr If-you-touch-me-I-stan-you-with-this-fork, so touchy?”

“First of all,” Yoongi goes to grab some more food with his chopsticks, “that was like 8 years ago.”

“You still almost took off my pinkie cause I tried to touch your elbow,” Seokjin pointed out.

“I was hungry and you were trying to steal my brownie,” Yoongi snapped.

“We’ve gotten off topic,” Seokjin shook his head, pointing his chopsticks at the younger accusingly, “what happened today?”

Yoongi looked at the chopsticks, then at Seokjin, and let out a heavy sigh, shifting in his seat and using his grip around the older’s waist to move him.

“Jieun just—she’s not sure if she,” Yoongi huffs a breath out, burying his face in Seokjin’s neck, “it’s not a big deal, I don’t know why it’s bothering me.”

He feels Seokjin’s fingers tracing over his own, “just tell me about it.”

Yoongi starts to eat again, Seokjin following after him, just waiting and giving him some time.

“Jieun is thinking of divorcing Heesun,” he mumbles, accidentally dropping a few grains of brown rice on Seokjin’s shirt and cleaning them up with his finger.

“Oh,” Seokjin breathes, “I see.”

Seokjin spreads Yoongi’s fingers so he can slip his own in between and finally intertwine their hands.

“It shouldn’t bother me, after all they’re not the first couple we’ve tried to help that’s decided that it’s just—“

“It sucks not to be able to help them like we said we could,” Seokjin nods.

“Yeah,” Yoongi mumbles back.

“Wanna cuddle while watching a drama, or maybe a cartoon?” Seokjin asks, finishing up his plate, rubbing his thumb over Yoongi’s.

“Can we just go to bed?” Yoongi asks quietly.

Seokjin’s laugh is quiet, fond. “Just wanna curl up together early?”

Yoongi nods into the older’s neck, and within seconds Seokjin is standing, stacking their plates and moving them to the sink, and then coming back to tangle his hand with the younger’s again.

It only takes a tug for Yoongi to be on his feet, following after Seokjin to his bedroom—their bedroom these days, seeing as he mostly just uses his own for storage and hobbies, spending most nights curled up in the older’s bed rather than his own.

Seokjin pulls back the blankets, crawling in before tugging the younger after him. This time it’s Yoongi who compresses himself into the older’s larger chest that seems to dwarf him, enjoying the fingers that immediately come to tangle through his hair.

“Night Yoon,” Seokjin whispers.

“Night Jin,” Yoongi breathes back into his chest.

💍🧮💍

The next time Yoongi sees Yves is not in his work setting.

They both stop, eyes meeting and mouths parting in silent recognition in the middle of the snack isle of the grocery store.

It’s awkward, as most meetings in a store are between acquaintances, both trying to figure out what to say because it’s the polite thing to do.

Finally, “fancy running into you here,” Yves chuckles.

Yoongi pulls a tiny stiff smile onto his face, closing the distance between them to reluctantly proceed with the conversation.

“This is the store we always shop at cause it’s closest,” he shrugs, still politely smiling.

“We?” Yves asks.

He’s not sure if Jiwoo is here with her, there’s a tiny black purse in the cart beside a bag of carrots that might be Yves’.

“Seokjin and I,” Yoongi answers, motioning behind him as if he could actually point to where the older is scrutinizing styrofoam packages of meat.

“Oh you guys shop together?” Yves asks now, peeking into Yoongi’s basket as if to analyze his chosen items.

“Well we live together so,” his chuckle is a little sheepish, scratching at his earlobe, “it only makes sense.”

“Oh,” Yves deadpans, eye’s now analyzing Yoongi, “you live together.”

He’s not sure what that tone is supposed to mean, decides to just grab a bag of potato chips instead of working it over in his head.

Yves watches him reach his arm to snag the bag from one of the racks, eyes still trained on him curiously as he brings it to the cart.

“Do you like him?” She suddenly asks after he looks back up to her.

Yoongi is a little—more than a little—caught off guard by the question, eyes blowing wide and jaw falling open.

“I—excuse me?” He blinks.

“Seokjin,” Yves adds nonchalantly, “do you like him?”

Maybe it’s a little too panicked of him when he whips his head around to make sure he—Seokjin—hasn’t finished up his meat choosing and decided to come back right in time to hear that. And maybe the breath of relief he lets out when there’s sans Seokjin around is a little telling.

Yves just smiles, “so you do.”

Yoongi shoots a glare at her—one he probably shouldn’t seeing as she’s one of his clients, but he kinda couldn’t care right now seeing as he’s off work and she’s about to put him in danger of exposure.

“I don’t,” Yoongi hisses back.

Yves leans forward with that same smile pulled across her cheeks, pleased with herself, whispering “then why the tail between your legs?”

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “I just don’t want him to get the wrong idea,” he snaps back.

“Uh Huh,” Yves nods, unconvinced, “sure.”

This entire behavior from her—someone younger than him, a client no less, that he’s not even close to—baffles him.

“Why do you care if I like him or not?” His whisper sounds more like another hiss, but Yves remains unphased.

“Because,” She begins, “it’s cute.”

The older man takes a moment, blinks once, twice. “Excuse me?”

“You two, pining over each other,” Yves explains, teeth showing in her grin, “it’s cute. You guys are cute,” her ensuing breathy laugh sounds like a giggle, then she suddenly deadpans, “but dumb.”

Yoongi scoffs, but he’s not about to deny that pining after his best friend all these years isn’t dumb. Because it is.

Then he stops and considers her words, brow raising. “What do you mean ‘pining over each other’?” He echoes, “I’m the only one pining.”

Yves’ laugh is a quiet cackle, shaking her head and breathing out a tired sigh. “That’s why you guys are dumb,” she grins smugly again, “you’re pining after one another so much you can’t even see that the other is interested in you too.”

Yoongi just stares at her in disgusted disbelief.

“Seokjin not—“

“What am I not?” A hum interferes, making Yoongi flinch back an inch into a solid chest.

Seokjin steadies him with a chuckle, “woah there,” hand slipping to rest on his lower back and keep him where he is as the older leans forward to deposit what looks like a package of pork chops in the cart.

He looks back up to Yves—whose grinning like this is the best thing she’s seen all day—and giving her a warm smile.

“Nice to see you again Yves,” Seokjin greets.

“Nice to see you too Mr. Kim,” she beams.

Yoongi pauses raising a brow at Yves in a silent question—‘Mr. Kim’?

She just looks even smugger, eyeing them both with a tiny hum barely audibly emanating from her. Almost like she just enjoys seeing them together.

Seokjin has moved from behind Yoongi to stand beside the younger, his hand still resting in Yoongi’s lower back to keep him steady while his other is on the handle of the cart, thumb brushing against Yoongi’s own hands on the handle.

“Well anyways,” Yves suddenly interjects the silence cheerily, “I should get going, shouldn’t keep the missus waiting!”

She gives Yoongi a wink which he really doesn’t know the meaning of—or want to know—flashing that same upturned smirk as she pushes her cart past them.

Seokjin looks after her, watching her back as she strolls away before turning all his attention to the younger with a curious brow raised.

“What were you guys talking about?” He inquires.

Yoongi shrugs pushing the cart into motion again, “Jiwoo’s favorite food.”

“Oh,” Seokjin hums, keeping up with Yoongi while also eyeing the rows of food to make sure they don’t miss anything, “What is it?”

Yoongi pauses, reaching for some crackers, realizing he doesn’t know. So he just shrugs, ignoring the snort of amusement from the older.

“You weren’t paying attention?” Seokjin asks, still very clearly amused as his hand on Yoongi’s lower back begins to play with the threads of his shirt.

Yoongi shrugs, “I was making sure I had everything.”

Seokjin just chuckles, thumb now actively rubbing Yoongi’s knuckles from its perch in the cart handle, shaking his head and mumbling something about that being rude.

But Yoongi cant really hear it over the screaming inside his head.

(Delete later)

That’s it for now! Hope you enjoyed👉👉
curiouscat.me/Aesopfic