Archive of Our Own ^beta

"What do you mean, it's cancelled?"

"I'm very sorry, Mr Kim. All flights have been grounded until this blizzard clears up."

Taehyung suppresses the urge to swear. "You know that tomorrow is Christmas Eve, right? Is this not a priority for you?"

"Of course, Sir. We understand the importance of travel during the holiday season. And as soon as flights are able to take off again, you will be rebooked on the earliest possible flight."

Taehyung releases a heavy sigh. He turns around to survey the scene behind him. Dozens of people - probably at least a couple hundred - are still waiting to get to the airline service desk to hear the bad news - they won't be getting home in time for Christmas.

He turns back to the flight attendant at the counter. Her hair is coming loose from its bun, her cheeks are flushed. She gives Taehyung a smile, but there are obvious tears in her eyes.

“Are you from Chicago, Sir?” She asks. When Taehyung nods, she continues, “I’d recommend that you head home for now. As soon as flights are able to be rescheduled, you will be contacted by the airline according to your communication option of choice.” 

Taehyung leans in. "I'm sorry that I was short with you. It seems like you have a very stressful evening ahead. There's nothing we can do about the weather, is there?"

Taehyung takes out his wallet and finds a coffee gift card a student had given him for Christmas, one that he hasn't used yet.

"Here. Take this. You'll be needing more caffeine than me. I know it’s not much but I hope it at least makes your evening a little bit easier.” 

She seems unsure about whether she can take the gift card or not, so Taehyung closes his wallet and backs a few steps away. The next person in line immediately shoves past him. The flight attendant gives Taehyung a small, thankful smile. 

"Merry Christmas!" Taehyung calls to her as she turns to her new customer.

"Everyone booked on flight 479 to New York City, your checked luggage will be coming down on carousel J shortly,” a voice announces over the intercom system. 

"That's me," Taehyung says quietly to himself.

He shoulders his messenger bag and proceeds toward the baggage reclaim area. Around him, stressed out travellers are conversing in panicked voices, making phone calls; one woman is even in tears on her companion's shoulder. Not the sights and sounds that one may expect to see at an airport a couple of days before Christmas. 

Taehyung himself had been planning on meeting some friends in New York City for a short winter vacation. Because his family is all back in Korea, and the few days he gets off from work over the holiday season are not quite enough for Taehyung to fly home from Chicago, he often ends up spending the holidays with friends. Taehyung had painstakingly searched out the perfect rental home for him and his buddies, claiming the spacious master bedroom suite for himself as a payment for his efforts. Now, barring a miracle in the next twenty-four hours, it looks like Taehyung will be the only one not joining them by Christmas Eve.

"Excuse me?"

Taehyung is distracted, sifting through the broken pieces of his ruined plans, and doesn’t realize that the voice is addressing him. When he finally does turn to look toward the voice, he finds a good-looking young man. At first glance, he looks to Taehyung to be around his age, small-framed and blinking at him with round Bambi eyes.

"Can I ask you for a huge favour?"

When Taehyung doesn't answer, taken aback, the man continues.

"Can I please use your phone?" 

Taehyung glances down at the cell phone in the palm of his hand. When he looks back up, the man is holding up his own phone. Even from a distance, Taehyung can see that the screen is shattered.

"Dropped my phone as I was getting out of the cab at the airport and now it won't power back up," the man explains. "It's weird, I know, but I just want to make sure the people that are waiting for me know that I'm not arriving tonight."

Taehyung considers. At surface level, the man seems honest enough. His phone is definitely smashed. And honestly, he looks petite enough that if he tries anything, Taehyung feels like he could take him down pretty easily.

"Uh... sure," Taehyung unlocks the phone and hands it over.

"Thank you so much. I promise it will only be a minute."

The man dials and presses the phone to his ear. 

"Hey, Dawon. It's Jimin. Sorry, I'm borrowing somebody's phone. You saw that? Yes, all flights have been cancelled..."

Taehyung tries to ignore the conversation; he doesn't want to pry. 

"Thanks," Jimin says a moment later. "Guess my next stop is to pick up a new phone."

Taehyung accepts his phone back, watching Jimin proceed toward baggage carousel J. Apparently he was supposed to be flying to New York as well. Taehyung doesn't want to make things awkward by hovering around him, so he proceeds to the opposite side of the carousel. By the time he's collected his suitcase from the conveyor belt, Jimin is gone.

The sun had already set some time ago. Taehyung finds his car in the parkade, remembering the fridge that he had emptied out before leaving for the airport. He stops at the quickest takeout place on his way home. Hopefully the meal will be enough until tomorrow when, with any luck, he will be on his way to New York City. 

The roads are becoming treacherous as snow continues to fall, big flakes and winds causing snowdrifts to form in minutes. Traffic is crawling as people are attempting to get where they need to go before the conditions worsen. License plates are obscured by snow. Pedestrians are faceless, furred hoods pulled around every inch of skin so that only their eyes are visible.

When Taehyung gets out of the heavy traffic, the road conditions in his neighbourhood are even worse. He starts through the residential streets, which don't appear to have been driven on yet. His neighbours are already gone for Christmas, or comfortably cooped up in their homes to wait out the storm.

He's nearly home. Taehyung passes the open green space that his house backs onto. The winds blow through the park ruthlessly, and have formed snowdrifts so tall that some cars are buried up to their door handles. Taehyung doesn't want to lose momentum, fears that he will get stuck if he slows down the car too much. He turns a corner, his house in sight now. 

The tires drift, unable to gain traction on the icy asphalt under the snow. Before Taehyung can react, his car is sliding sideways, stopping with a loud, dull thud as the driver's side hits a snowbank. 

Taehyung is slightly shaken but unhurt. He gently eases his toe onto the gas pedal, feeling the car shake as the tires spin, but the vehicle stays in place. He taps to accelerate, tries to rock the car forward, but even his winter tires can’t find purchase in the ice and snow. 

"Fuck!" 

Taehyung's fist comes down on the steering wheel. He throws his food into the back seat and climbs over the console so that he can get out and survey his circumstances.

The driver's side tires are buried halfway, and Taehyung can see the sheen of the ice peeking from beneath the wet, heavy snow. He looks toward his house, thinking. He'll have to walk and get a shovel, try to dig himself out. 

He pulls his thick gloves from the glove compartment and throws his hood on. He's starting the trek toward home when headlights illuminate him from behind. He turns, squinting into the blowing snow, blinded by the sudden brightness. 

A large SUV crawls to a stop a couple of car lengths back, snow loudly crunching beneath the tires. The driver's door opens and the interior of the vehicle lights up. The driver is alone, climbing out.

"Wait there, I've got an emergency kit in the back!" He calls to Taehyung.

When the driver has fetched his kit and approaches Taehyung, he recognizes him. It's the man from the airport - it's Jimin.

"Hey! Long time no see!' Taehyung says.

It takes a moment of Jimin staring blankly at Taehyung before it clicks. "Oh, hey! It's you, the phone guy!"

"Taehyung," he introduces himself. 

"Jimin. I only live a few houses down that way! What a coincidence!" Jimin holds up the emergency kit and shovel. "And it looks like I am about to get the opportunity to pay you back for your kind gesture earlier."

"You're a lifesaver."

Taehyung takes the shovel and sets to work digging while Jimin pulls a small bag of kitty litter from his trunk, beginning to sprinkle it under the tires.

“Wow. You came prepared.” 

“This snowstorm has been on the news for three days! Did you not see the safety tips and car emergency kit segments?” Jimin says with a grin. The air between them is filled with exhaust, plumes of white breath as they pant through their tasks, and snow that is lit up by the headlights, flying horizontally in the harsh wind. 

“Must have missed it,” Taehyung replies, turning back to shoveling. “Thank God that you took heed of the warnings.” 

Taehyung is out of breath and his fingers are icicles as he sits back in the driver’s seat quite some time later, Jimin positioned at the back bumper of the car. 

“Okay, rock it!” Jimin calls. 

Taehyung taps the gas as Jimin pushes along with the momentum. The tires grip snow and kitty litter at last, and the car jerks forward. Jimin lets out a cheer from behind as Taehyung makes it back into the road, stopping when it’s safe to climb from his car and examine the driver’s side for damage. 

“All good?” Jimin asks, jogging up and retrieving his shovel. 

“Don’t see any dents.” Taehyung holds out a hand. “Thanks for the help, Jimin.”

“No problem, neighbour,” Jimin replies, accepting Taehyung’s hand with his own gloved one, shaking it once. “You know, on the news segments, all of the drivers needing rescuing were little elderly ladies. Didn’t mention anything about handsome neighbours.” 

“Ah, sorry to disappoint. Hope you get an old lady next time,” Taehyung says with a wink, getting back into his car as Jimin smiles after him. 

Taehyung checks his rearview mirror, intending to take note of Jimin’s route home. Maybe he’d drop off a thank-you card later, or some Christmas chocolates. But the headlights behind him follow him all the way to his driveway. He opens his garage, parking inside the light and relative warmth, shielded from the wind. When he emerges, Jimin is parked at the end of his driveway, his passenger window rolled down. 

“Are you good for the night?” Jimin yells. “You have dinner?”

Taehyung walks up to Jimin’s window. “I have some cold takeout in my back seat. Did you get a new phone?” 

“I sure did. I’ll cook you a hot meal if you help me transfer my data from my old phone to my new one,” Jimin says, holding up his shiny new cell. "Technology and I aren't the best of friends." 

“Do you have wine?” Taehyung asks.

“Whole liquor cabinet is stocked.”

“Let me shut my garage door.” 

Taehyung removes his luggage from his car and grabs the garage door opener, shutting the garage from the outside.

“Do you mind if I toss my stuff inside your place? Don’t want my toiletries to freeze.” 

“You bet, throw your bag in the back seat!” 

Taehyung does as Jimin instructs, knocking the snow from his boots before climbing into Jimin’s passenger seat. Jimin drives the last few hundred meters to his own house, which is indeed only several doors down from Taehyung’s.

"Is it crazy inviting a complete stranger to your house during the worst blizzard of the season?" Jimin wonders aloud.

"Is it crazy to accept said invitation?"

"Hmmm, touché. So either both of us are crazy or neither one of us are."

Taehyung smiles at Jimin as they pull into his garage. "Only time will tell which."

Jimin opens the door into the house, flipping on some lights. "Let me take your coat. I'll go turn the furnace back up, it's already freezing in here."

Taehyung sets his bag beside the door and hands over his jacket. He trails after Jimin to the living room, sits on the sofa as Jimin leaves to adjust the thermostat. Jimin returns with his two phones, tapping some passwords into his new one, then places them on the table in front of Taehyung.

"I know it's crazy leaving my phone with a total stranger while I cook dinner for him. Although, you did trust me with yours for a minute back at the airport, so I suppose we're practically even."

"I'll come in the kitchen with you," Taehyung suggests, collecting the phones and letting Jimin lead the way. "You can monitor for snooping."

Taehyung busies himself with his given task, eventually managing to begin the set-up process. Jimin’s information is transferring to the new phone as Jimin starts to prepare their supper. 

"You know, it really wasn't that difficult to set up the phone. It only took a few taps, all your stuff was already backed up to your account."

"Really?" Jimin says a bit too innocently. He's got several pots and pans going on the stove already. "You're still welcome to stay, I've got all of this food out of the freezer and cooking now. I can't possibly eat it all by myself if we fly out tomorrow."

Jimin's hand is on his hip and he's biting his lip as he looks beseechingly at Taehyung. Now that Taehyung isn't distracted by cancelled flights and icy roads, he sees Jimin properly for the first time. He's incredibly attractive. His long, dark hair suits him well, frames his supple lips and cute cheekbones nicely. An apron is tied around his tiny middle, and his big, brown eyes are bold as he awaits Taehyung's response.

"It almost seems like you used your phone as an excuse to invite me over," Taehyung continues, raising his eyebrow. 

"Me?" Jimin says, turning back to his cooking. "I think you might have watched one too many Hallmark Christmas movies, Taehyung."

Taehyung chuckles. "Let me make you a drink while you slave away over the stove."

Jimin points to the liquor cabinet. "Help yourself. There's a wine fridge across in the dining room, or whatever you need from the liquor cabinet or fridge. I'll have one of whatever you're having."

Taehyung rifles around, thinking about trying to impress Jimin by making a fancy cocktail, but then he finds a few bottles of soju chilling in the wine fridge. He grabs one, returning to the liquor cabinet for two cocktail glasses. Taehyung pours them each a neat two fingers.

"Merry Christmas!" Jimin says, raising his glass to Taehyung.

"Happy Holidays!" Taehyung replies. 

“I haven’t had this stuff in a while! I couldn’t resist when I saw it.” 

They both drink. Jimin downs his in one swallow and Taehyung pours him a refill.

"Can't let the chef's glass stand empty," he says, to which Jimin winks. 

"Where were you headed for Christmas?" Jimin asks, turning his attention back to his sizzling and steaming dishes.

"New York City," Taehyung replies. "I was meeting some friends." Taehyung remembers Jimin mentioning a female name on the phone earlier. "How about you? Have you got a disappointed girlfriend waiting for you somewhere?"

Jimin scoffs, eyes laughing. "Definitely not. I was going to see some friends in New York, too. I'm supposed to be there for a few weeks for work, actually. As soon as I can get a flight rebooked, I'll be out there for at least a month."

"I overheard some chatter that the storm is supposed to hold steady until Christmas Day," Taehyung says as he pours himself his second shot. "You need someone to look after your place while you're away?"

Jimin smiles, a twinkle in his eye. "I've got it covered, but I'll keep you in mind for next time."

“If I may ask, what takes you all the way to New York City for work for so long?”

“I’m a stage manager. I mostly work on Broadway shows here in Chicago, but sometimes I’m called in as an assistant in New York." Jimin sips his soju. "Your turn now. How do you make a living?”

“History professor,” Taehyung answers. 

Jimin leans forward, elbows on the counter in front of Taehyung. “Damn. Professor, single, lonely, lives down the street from me, good-looking, dresses nicely-” 

“Hey! Who said I was lonely?”

“So you are single?” Jimin giggles. “Food’s ready. Let’s eat.” 

By the time they’re finished eating, Taehyung is opening the third bottle of soju. He’s warm all over, laughing as Jimin tells him about a particularly chaotic Chicago rehearsal. 

“Needless to say, we had to make all new costumes for Roxie and Velma,” Jimin says, shaking his head. “And when that production was finally over, I went out and got the drunkest I’ve ever been in my life.” 

“You mean tonight isn’t the drunkest you’ve ever been?” Taehyung asks as he refills both of their glasses. He’s only teasing, but it has been some time since he’s had this much to drink. 

“Taehyung, I went to college. I basically spent the first two years trying every alcoholic beverage under the sun. The stronger, the better. I’m barely buzzing here, though my tolerance isn’t as high as it was back in those days.” 

“Mmm, you say ‘back in those days’ like you have fond memories of your post-secondary education,” Taehyung says. 

“Do you not?” Jimin says with a chuckle. 

“Nah. First few years of college were utter trash, until I focused on my future career aspirations. Strange that it led me down the path to becoming a professor myself, but I like to hope I do the students justice by teaching my passion. I did the partying thing, too, but it wasn’t for me. Although, this kind of feels like one of those nights, in a strange way.”

“Wow, is it that bad hanging out with me? Reminds you of the worst days of your life in college?”

“That’s not what I mean!” Taehyung laughs. “I mean meeting someone and drinking and - I guess back in those days, it often ended up being a hook up-”

“A hook up?” Jimin says, eyebrows raised. “Taehyung, you don’t strike me as the type!” 

“I’m not! That’s what I was trying to say. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that it wasn’t for me. You know, one night stands and stuff. And tonight isn’t quite like that. In those days, talking to the guy wasn’t a requirement for a hookup. You and I are getting to know each other, right?” 

Jimin nods. “I think we are.” 

“So, it’s different.” 

Jimin leans forward, elbows on the table, a lock of hair falling into his eyes. “So what would happen on those nights back in college?” 

Taehyung scoffs. “I don’t know! The usual stuff. We’d go out to a nightclub, drink, dance-” 

“Dance? I’ve got to see that.” 

Jimin rises, grabs his phone. Seconds later, there’s a song playing on a speaker in the living room, and Jimin is pulling Taehyung with him toward the music. 

“Show me how you’d dance,” Jimin says in Taehyung’s ear, the closest he's been all evening. 

Taehyung is truly transported back in time for a moment. He really does feel like it’s one of those carefree nights, before he’d buckled down and gotten serious about his studies. Jimin is certainly his type. Jimin is someone he would have tried to charm on the club dance floor, his shoes sticking to the spilled drinks on the floor, the bassline thrumming too heavily, and Taehyung leaving his friends behind to get a good fuck. It doesn’t come as easily as it did then, but Taehyung allows himself to get taken by the melody of the song for only a moment. When he does, it’s effortless to draw Jimin closer to him, swaying their hips together in time to the music.

“Not bad for a professor,” Jimin says, one hand trailing to Taehyung’s chest, the other looping around his neck. “What’s your next move?” 

“Depends on whether the guy I’m dancing with seems interested,” Taehyung says. 

“And if he does?” 

“I’d get closer,” Taehyung says, a hand now on the small of Jimin’s back, pressing them together. “This is where the Hallmark Christmas movie would make a cell phone go off or the doorbell ring, interrupting the characters’ shot at a first kiss.”

“My phone is on silent, and no one is crazy enough to be out in the worst snowstorm of the decade, especially this late at night,” Jimin says. 

“Perfect,” Taehyung says.

The song changes, but neither of them notice as Taehyung crashes their lips together in a kiss that starts with much pent-up heaviness. Their tongues are dancing immediately and Jimin’s nails are digging sweetly into the flesh under Taehyung’s hairline. It’s rich and full and the lust in Taehyung’s bloodstream is pumping steadily through his brain, through his whole body. His hands are on Jimin’s cheeks, then raking through his hair as he leaves Jimin struggling to come up for air.

“You’d kiss him like that on the dance floor?” Jimin breathes. 

“I’d kiss him like that in his living room,” Taehyung replies, capturing Jimin’s bottom lip with his teeth. 

“And then?” Jimin asks as Taehyung kisses over his face and starts sucking a mark into his neck. 

“Depends how he responds to my kiss,” Taehyung says, teeth dragging beneath Jimin’s jawline. 

“If he’s tremendously responsive, telling you how sexy you are,” Jimin says, hastily unbuttoning Taehyung’s shirt. “How he’s never been kissed the way that you’ve kissed him. If he begs you to touch him.” 

“Fuck,” Taehyung groans as Jimin scratches over his pecs, grazes over his nipples, tugs his shirt back over his shoulders. “How could I deny that?”

“God, I really hope you couldn’t,” Jimin says, pulling his own shirt over his head.

“I don't know how many Hallmark Christmas movies you've watched," Taehyung says, kissing over the newly-exposed skin at Jimin's collarbone, “but they typically stay pretty G-rated.” He sinks his teeth into the flesh of Jimin’s shoulder. “Sweet little pecks only.” 

“Thank God we're not in one, in that case,” Jimin says, voice deepening.

Taehyung uses all of his inner strength to stop himself for a moment, to ensure it isn’t alcohol making this decision for him. “I didn’t expect for this to happen.”

“Me neither. But when I saw you stranded on the road, I kinda hoped it would.”

“Really?”

“Are you good with it?” 

“Yes.”

“Me too,” Jimin says, undoing the button of Taehyung’s pants, kissing his neck. “Let’s go to my bedroom.”

He takes Taehyung's hand in his own, leading him down the hallway. Jimin walks backwards, kissing over the back of Taehyung's hand, down his forearm.

“Sorry, I like kissing,” Jimin says as he takes Taehyung into the darkened bedroom.

“No need to apologize, so do I.”

“You’re good at it,” Jimin says, bringing him in for another open-mouthed kiss.

“I’m out of practice,” Taehyung says, cupping Jimin’s jaw, tracing a finger there before sucking the skin.

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Jimin says breathlessly.

“College paid off after all,” Taehyung grins.

“What’s your next move?”

“I’d ask you what you want me to do to you,” Taehyung says.

Jimin giggles. “Don’t you mean ask him?”

Taehyung shakes his head. “I mean you.”

Jimin looks at Taehyung in a way that makes Taehyung’s knees go weak. He feels dizzy when he sees that Jimin’s eyes have changed. They’re no longer bright and cheeky, but dark and bold. Taehyung’s heart is hammering in his chest, a feeling he hasn’t felt this strongly in such a long time. Jimin brings a hand to Taehyung’s belt loop, pulling. He traces the outline of Taehyung’s growing bulge over his underwear. Taehyung swallows back a groan with difficulty. The bracelet on Jimin’s wrist is cool against his pelvis, making him wince before his flushed skin warms it.

“You’re asking me what I want, Taehyung?”

Taehyung nods, stumbling back into the wall as Jimin’s gropes become more urgent.

“I want you to fuck me. Can you do that?”

Taehyung can only nod again, whimpering into Jimin’s mouth as he kisses him through his continued touch.

Taehyung’s eyes flutter shut as Jimin continues to touch him. It’s sweet bliss when Jimin’s palm finally meets his bare cock. Jimin starts slow, barely ghosting over the head, touching so softly, so delicately. Taehyung hooks a thumb onto his own waistband, pulling off everything. He doesn’t expect to feel so lost, so directionless at a mere touch from Jimin. It really has been a long time since he’s had sex, but it still catches him off guard how achingly he is longing for Jimin. A feeling so intense that he loses what little control he has over the situation in seconds. Jimin’s dainty wrist twists as he starts to stroke over Taehyung with an unhurried rhythm. Taehyung is still backed against the wall, unable to make his legs regain function.

“Am I too much for you?” Jimin asks, as if reading Taehyung’s thoughts.

Taehyung shakes his head this time. “No,” he manages aloud, making Jimin smirk. It comes out as little more than a squeak, but Taehyung is already too hot to become any more flushed in embarrassment.

“Are you sure?” Jimin laughs. “It’s been a while since I’ve had this type of effect on someone.”

There’s nothing funny in Taehyung’s mind as Jimin backs up a step, leaving Taehyung panting in his wake. Jimin drags out his movements, clearly enjoying Taehyung’s eyes on him. He slides a hand down his bare stomach, stopping when his fingers reach the hem of his pants.

“You’re incredibly sexy,” Taehyung breathes out.

Jimin’s hooded eyes are sparkling, glowing. “Do you want me to take these off?”

Taehyung’s eyes flutter shut at the thought. 

“Open your pretty brown eyes, Taehyung. Watch me. Don’t take your eyes off of me.”

Taehyung wets his lips, nods. Anything, anything Jimin wants, he knows he will agree to anything.

Jimin’s smirk is gone, replaced with a knowing look, drawing Taehyung’s eyes back downward, to where his hands are now sliding his pants down slowly, inch by inch. The front of his briefs are stretching, outlining his own growing cock. He trails a hand slowly beneath the elastic, and Taehyung watches Jimin begin to touch himself. Jimin is pleasuring himself, his hand in his underwear, standing by the bed, and Taehyung is still slack against the wall as if his back is glued there. 

Jimin’s free hand comes to his hip, slowly working down his underwear as he continues playing with himself. Then he’s naked, and Taehyung is still frozen solid. Jimin is so ridiculously beautiful, the show he’s giving Taehyung so erotic. 

“Don’t you want to touch me?”

“Of course,” Taehyung blurts, incredulous at the scene unfolding before him.

Jimin nods as if to grant Taehyung permission, and Taehyung stumbles forward, regaining some wherewithal as he takes Jimin into his arms, starting with a hard, biting kiss. When he feels Jimin’s length twitch against his abdomen, he reaches between them to touch, to stroke, taking his power back as Jimin melts into his hold.

“This is so crazy,” Jimin says as Taehyung backs him toward his bed. 

Jimin’s hands leave his own cock to find Taehyung’s again, but Taehyung pushes him away, kneeling before him, needing to taste him. 

When he stretches his tongue out to tentatively lick over the head of Jimin’s cock, it twitches beautifully into his mouth. Heavy on his tongue, responsive to the tiniest of wet touches. When he swirls his tongue along the underside of the head, it flicks up into his top lip. Now Jimin is the one whimpering. Taehyung takes only the tip into his mouth, suckling tenderly. It's softer than their kisses had been, but Taehyung is overcome with the need to treat Jimin like a delicate flower, at least for a moment.

Jimin is pursing his lips and breathing deeply through his nose. His breathing becomes shakier as Taehyung swirls his tongue around him, finding all of the soft grooves and edges, collecting pre-cum. He swallows, his mouth watering as more of Jimin pushes into his mouth. Taehyung shifts upward, releasing Jimin's cock and watching it bounce back down, bobbing into his chin. He laps over it again, Jimin shivering bodily. 

"God, you taste amazing," Taehyung says, bringing a hand up to help his mouth. He licks down Jimin's length, eliciting a gasp from Jimin. 

When he moves to take more of him into his mouth, Jimin closes his fingers around Taehyung's wrist. "Stop…"

Taehyung looks up.

"Let me get the lube. Want you to open me up while you suck me off."

Taehyung sits back on his heels, letting Jimin fetch the supplies from somewhere Taehyung can’t see from his position, kneeling beside the bed. When Jimin returns, he pushes a bottle of lube into Taehyung’s hand, threads a hand through Taehyung’s hair to immediately bring his mouth back to him. 

Taehyung hums with pleasure at the fullness of his mouth as he drips lube onto his fingers, reaching back to find Jimin’s entrance. Jimin is breathing so loudly, and Taehyung looks up to see him closing his eyes, biting his lip, as Taehyung carefully starts to push in the first finger. 

“Fuck,” Jimin swears, but then adds, “keep going.” 

So Taehyung does, continuing to ease his finger into Jimin until he can’t move any further. He pulls back from Jimin’s cock, enjoying the warmth enveloping his finger for a moment, then looking up to check on Jimin. He’s already peering down at Taehyung, nodding, a hint of a smile playing over his lips. 

“It’s good, Tae. Another. And keep your mouth on me.”

Taehyung swears, pulling his fingers away to add lube. He finds Jimin’s hole again as he wraps his lips around his swollen cock, again feeling Jimin twitch in response. Two fingers are in, and Jimin is letting out whimpers and whines as Taehyung starts to move, still sucking what he can take of Jimin’s cock. 

“God, you’re so good,” Jimin says, his voice lower than ever as he grips onto Taehyung’s shoulder. “You’re so fucking good.” 

Taehyung whines, his eyes watering as Jimin lets his hips jut forward, his cock hitting the back of Taehyung’s throat. Taehyung is moving his fingers inside Jimin, opening him up, and he pulls back to lick Jimin’s cock from base to tip. Precum is beading at the tip again and Taehyung sucks it off, running his tongue over the sensitive slit and making Jimin shiver. 

“More,” Jimin says, pushing Taehyung’s hair from his eyes. “You look so good sucking my cock. Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” 

Jimin is silenced as Taehyung adds a third lubed finger, abandoning his efforts on Jimin’s cock to start fucking him properly with his fingers. 

“I can’t wait to be inside you,” Taehyung says against Jimin’s thigh, biting and licking there to try to control his own lust. 

Jimin’s hand slides through Taehyung’s hair again, this time gripping and pulling Taehyung to look him in the eye. “What are you waiting for?” 

Taehyung pulls out his fingers as Jimin crawls onto the bed. When he stops, on his hands and knees, ass arched up for Taehyung to take, Taehyung can swear his mouth is watering. 

“Jesus, Jimin. You look so - I can’t even - fuck,” Taehyung says, coming up behind Jimin on the bed. 

He’s on his knees, tracing the outline of Jimin’s ass, like a juicy peach he’d love to take a bite out of. But his cock is too eager, so he eases his fingers into Jimin again, making sure he’s ready as he rolls on the condom with his other hand. 

Jimin takes him so well, Taehyung’s vision blurring as he eases in, bottoms out. He’s holding Jimin by the waist as be buries his cock into him, and he’s so petite that it feels like Taehyung might be able to wrap his fingers all the way around his middle. Jimin lets out a cry as Taehyung pulls out and then eases back in, more quickly this time. 

“Are you-”

“I’m so good. Fuck me, Taehyung.” 

“God-” Taehyung chuckles at his own overpowering lust, the way every word from Jimin is traveling to his cock in shockwaves. 

He does as told, shifting his hips to move in and out of Jimin, cock throbbing with each thrust. Jimin arches up into him, whimpering with each jolt of Taehyung's hips. His back is pressed to Taehyung’s chest, so close, as Taehyung fucks into him. Taehyung wraps his arm around Jimin’s middle, losing himself to the rhythm, losing track of time. He’s sweating and breathing deeper by the time Jimin pries Taehyung’s fingers from his waist and guides them to his cock. 

“Touch me and I’ll come,” Jimin says. 

He lays his head back on Taehyung’s shoulder. Taehyung starts to jerk Jimin off in time with his thrusts into him, and when Jimin’s neck stretches in front of his mouth, he licks at him eagerly, sucking messy kisses to every part of Jimin that he can reach. 

“Don’t stop,” Jimin coos. “Please don’t stop.” 

Taehyung is losing himself to Jimin. It’s constant pleasure, an endless chord growing higher in pitch. He thinks he’s moaning, but it’s hard to tell, he can’t hear his voice, he can’t even hear himself think. All of his attention is focused on the parts that are making contact with Jimin, the way Jimin is moving with him, as if they’re one body, connected so seamlessly. 

“Coming,” Jimin says quietly, body stiffening in Taehyung’s arms, stretching back into him further. 

Taehyung smooths one hand over Jimin’s abdomen, stretched taut and hard, as Jimin’s cock pulses. A moment later, Jimin is crying out as he releases. He tightens around Taehyung as he climaxes, and Taehyung can’t keep track of what he’s feeling anymore. His hips are moving on autopilot, fucking into Jimin faster as he chases his own orgasm. It’s too much, the sweat between their slippery bodies, the cum on his fingers, Jimin’s walls pulsing around his cock, and he lets go of Jimin’s waist, feeling overwhelmed. Jimin falls back to his hands and knees, groaning as Taehyung follows through with the last couple of pumps that he needs before emptying into the condom. 

Taehyung feels hot and sweaty and sticky and high. It’s ecstasy unlike he remembers feeling before, as he falls to the mattress beside Jimin, who is still letting out tiny, happy whimpers. 

It takes some time before they start to recover, their breath slowing. Taehyung rubs a hand over Jimin’s back, soothing him down until he wonders if Jimin actually fell asleep. But then Jimin props himself up on an elbow, a small smile greeting Taehyung as he faces him. 

“Hi,” Jimin says. 

“Hi,” Taehyung returns. “Hi, beautiful.” He can't help himself from saying it, seeing Jimin's sparkling eyes, his messy hair. He's the kind of man people fantasize about having beside them in bed.

Jimin cleans up in the bathroom, coming back to offer Taehyung a warm towel. As Taehyung cleans up, he watches Jimin’s naked form, still as exquisite as ever outside of the rosy glasses of lust. 

"You should stay," Jimin says, drawing aside his blinds to peer into the blizzard. “It’s terrible out there.” 

Taehyung puts his boxers back on. "Really? That usually wasn't part of the college hook up agenda."

Jimin crawls into bed, pulls the covers up to his chin. "Good thing we aren't in college anymore."

"I'll get a shirt from my bag. I can crash on the couch-"

"No. Come to my bed."

Jimin is holding the blankets open for Taehyung. The wind whistles loudly, and Taehyung hears the harsh snow hitting the window with force.

"Only because I'm freezing."

"Ah. I'd better turn the heat down, keep you next to me," Jimin says as Taehyung joins him under the blankets. 

They both lay on their backs under the comforters, Taehyung feeling somewhat out of place. Part of him wishes that Jimin had agreed to him sleeping on the sofa. The only other times he’d crashed after a one-night-stand were times that he and the other person were too drunk to do otherwise. He’d pass out in the dead of night, spent from often-mediocre sex that had taken far too much effort. Usually, he’d wake up and exit before sunrise, leaving no trace that he had been there at all, hoping that the person would forget his face. 

Here and now, they weren’t drunk enough to pass out, so they lay side-by-side, Taehyung willing himself to get tired enough to fall asleep. But his adrenaline is still too high from the unexpected hookup, the way Jimin had made him feel for the first time in years. He is supposed to be in New York by now, not in the bed of someone he had only met a handful of hours previously.

"Taehyung?" Jimin says quietly toward the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me more about what you were going to do in New York."

"Oh." Taehyung rolls over onto his stomach, turning his head toward Jimin on the pillow. “I was meeting three friends. We rented a house to stay in. Nothing crazy, we were going to have Christmas dinner and hang out and explore.”

Jimin faces him, too, rolling to his side, propping his head on his hand. “That sounds cozy.” 

“Yeah. I was going to get the master bedroom. It had a jacuzzi tub in the ensuite bathroom.” 

“Ah,” Jimin collapses to the pillow with giggles, “and instead, here you are in a blizzard, in my bedroom.” 

“Don’t worry. I’m more than sure that Jungkook and Jin are enjoying the tub. Come to think of it, even if I get there in time, they can keep the tub. Who knows what they’ve done in there by now.” Taehyung looks at Jimin, who is smiling fondly back at him, eyes crinkled in the corners. “Your bedroom isn’t too bad a substitute for the rental, though. Your bed is comfy.” 

Jimin gasps, nudging Taehyung. “My bed is comfy? That’s the review you offer?”

“You’re comfy, too?” Taehyung offers, to which Jimin responds with another shove.

“What about family? Where are they?” Jimin asks.

“Back in Korea. I hope to bring my parents here in the next couple of years, though.” 

“That’s tough. I’m lucky to have family nearby, but we don’t do much for Christmas most years. Everyone's so busy, we usually get together around New Year's Eve instead. I'll be missing out this year for work, though.” Jimin is lost in thought for a moment, before asking, “And tell me about Jungkook and Jin?”

“I’ve known them both for a few years. They move all over the place for Jungkook’s music, so they’re living in LA now. They’ve been dating for a couple of years, and physical touch is both of their love languages, let me tell ya. Always all over each other, hence my hastiness to abandon any idea of going near that jacuzzi tub.” 

“Hey! Touch is my love language too, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Jimin says, tracing a finger over Taehyung’s bicep. “And it didn’t seem like you were complaining about it a few minutes ago…” 

Taehyung raises an eyebrow as Jimin plants a kiss where his finger trails. “What about you? Who were you meeting?”

“My friend Hoseok lives in NYC. He’s a dancer. I was going to spend some time with him and his sister. I met him a long time ago, back when we were both kids in dance together in Chicago, but his job took him to New York. We still keep in touch regularly, though. And a bunch of my colleagues from work are always fun to hang around with, too. I have lots to keep me busy when I’m in NYC.” 

“Hoseok sounds like a best friend,” Taehyung says. 

“He is. Jin and Jungkook sound like fun, too.” 

“Yeah. They are.” There’s a silence during which Taehyung wonders when he should call home and wish his family a good Christmas, let them know that he’s not in New York yet. The fact that he hasn’t done so yet shows how distracted he has been with Jimin.

“Are you missing your family?” Jimin asks. 

Taehyung looks at him. “How did you know?”

Jimin shrugs. “You looked a little sad.” 

“I miss them, yeah. But I wouldn’t say I’m sad right now.” He looks at Jimin significantly. “I’m - it’s been nice spending time with you.” 

Jimin nods, bites his lip as if he’s trying to stop himself from saying something more. 

"Hey, Jimin?"

"Hmmm?"

"If the flights don't go tomorrow…"

"Which they probably won't," Jimin points out.

"Do you want to have Christmas Eve dinner together?"

“Yeah. Yeah, I think that would be nice. I think that’s a good idea.”

Another silence follows. This time, Jimin’s hand creeps up Taehyung’s side, resting on his chest for a few heartbeats. 

“Hey, Taehyung?” 

“Yeah?” 

Jimin rolls over on top of Taehyung, face in his neck. A shiver runs down Taehyung’s spine all over again as Jimin’s hardness presses against his thigh, as Jimin’s breath lingers over his ear. 

“I don’t think I’m done.” 

Taehyung laughs, Jimin’s body trembling with the rumbling of his laughter. “Already?” 

Jimin looks at him, eyes changed again. All innocence, purity. Purity that Taehyung knows from ten minutes ago is false. Yet it causes a pang in his belly as Jimin kisses him tenderly. 

“Already,” Jimin confirms, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders, enveloping both of them in the warmest of cocoons. 

˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚

Jimin’s head is heavy on Taehyung’s chest when he wakes. He’s sleeping as soundly as a child, chest rising and falling deeply, lips parted slightly, leaving a damp spot where he’s breathing into Taehyung’s collarbone. Taehyung’s lungs feel like they are losing elasticity as he absorbs Jimin. He’s feeling everything, over his head. Taehyung can’t possibly bring himself to move Jimin and rouse him; he’s just too picturesque, like a portrait that can’t be moved even if he tried, painted there onto him. His long lashes fluttering slightly in a dream from time to time; the heavy warmth of his cheek pressed into Taehyung’s chest, like it’s been there all night; his fingers resting softly on Taehyung’s inner thigh. When Taehyung realizes that Jimin’s leg is hooked over his, their naked bodies so close, Jimin’s hips pressed into his side, his cock twitches to attention again. He doesn’t know how it’s even possible; Jimin had kept him up late into the night, needy and wanting. Maybe that’s why Jimin was so dead to the world this morning; he must be absolutely exhausted. 

Taehyung is saved from having to make the decision to leave the room first. Jimin stirs slightly, yawning awake, and Taehyung shuts his eyes, feigning sleep before Jimin can realize Taehyung’s discreet gaze. He feels Jimin stretch against him, pushing his nose further still into his chest, yawning again. Jimin doesn’t seem eager to move. He takes Taehyung’s hand, the one that’s not cradling him, and pulls it to his lips. Taehyung nearly startles when Jimin places a kiss on his wrist and links their fingers together. Another few stretches and yawns against him, a hand raked over Taehyung’s thigh, a kiss on his shoulder, and Jimin finally rolls away. Taehyung hears him padding away to the bathroom, but doesn’t open his eyes until he hears the shower turn on. 

Taehyung lays there for longer still, contemplating his next move. There is so much clattering in his brain, it’s hard to make sense of which thoughts are valid and which are distracting noise. Last night’s promises of having Christmas Eve dinner together are coming back to him, and he wonders what had possibly caused him to commit to another full day and evening with Jimin. Not that he doesn't enjoy his company. He’s enjoyed every minute he’s spent with Jimin so far, but he didn’t really know him. To engage with him for another full day may prove to be difficult, especially with what had happened between them overnight. 

Taehyung’s two standard relationship styles are one-nighters or slow-burning friendships-turned-relationships. This is neither, and he does not know how to best approach it. But he knows there is no avoiding it when he hears Jimin clattering dishes in the kitchen downstairs. He has to face him. So he finds his bag and rummages for clothes before making his way to the lower level.

He steps up to where Jimin is standing at his front window. The blinds are open, the brightness reflecting off of the shiny white covering every surface. It’s not snowing as heavily as before, but the wind is carving the snow into sculptures for itself. Across the street, the neighbour's front door is buried up to the doorknob. The leafless trees look even more barren as their branches bend in the wind, the deep grey sky their backdrop. 

“I’m not sure we should drive anywhere, to be honest,” Taehyung says. “I’m sore from hitting that snowbank and shoveling out my car last night as it is, I don’t want a repeat experience.” 

Jimin looks up at Taehyung’s arrival, places a kiss on his shoulder, on top of his crewneck. “I’m sore from last night, too,” he says with a grin. 

There is a definite morning-after awkwardness thickening the air between them, like neither knows what to say next. Taehyung wants to smooth a hand over Jimin’s shoulder as they gaze out the window, maybe plant a peck on his cheek, but something makes him hold back. He doesn’t know how to handle himself; he doesn’t know what Jimin expects from him. 

Jimin breaks the silence. “We could try to walk to that Asian convenience store. I’m sure I have some warm clothes you can use.”

“What are we going to find for Christmas dinner there?” Taehyung laughs.

Jimin shrugs. “Okay, coward. I thought it could be fun. And I don't see much alternative, seeing as how last night's supper was the last thing I had in my freezer."

“Fine! Tiny convenience store dinner challenge accepted.”

Jimin lends Taehyung a hat and thick sweater, and Taehyung layers up underneath his winter coat. They set out, the wind whipping snow into Taehyung’s face as soon as they open the front door and take their first steps onto the front path. He screws his eyes shut until the gust passes. When he looks back, Jimin’s hat is already coated in white, his eyelashes wet and snowy. He looks adorable, all bundled up in the bright white of the snowy day, and it warms Taehyung from the inside out.

Though the snow makes their footfalls more laborious, the cold spurs them on. It takes them only ten minutes to reach the store, a walk that normally takes Taehyung double that time. They’re both covered with a layer of frost as they step into the front vestibule of the store, shaking snow off of their bodies like a pair of dogs trying to spray water from their fur. The woman behind the counter looks astonished to see another human being out in the horrific weather; Taehyung and Jimin hadn’t encountered a single soul on their trek.

Taehyung grabs the nearest bag of salty snacks. “A few of these and we’re set!”

“Maybe one bag,” Jimin says, grabbing a basket for their food.

They do their best to knock all of the snow onto the mat in the entryway, and continue to the first aisle.

“Ramen!”

“Two packs,” Jimin confirms.

“Spicy?”

“Of course!”

Taehyung tosses two packages of the ramen into the basket.

Jimin turns to the other side of the aisle. “We’ve got beef jerky for our protein.”

“And eggs!” Taehyung throws the cooked eggs into the basket.

“We’ve already got a feast,” Jimin says as they proceed to the next aisle.

“Juice, water,” Taehyung adds.

“You know we have to carry all of this back, right?”

“If you can carry it in the basket, we can carry it home,” Taehyung says with a grin. “Because we still need dessert. Ice cream!”

Taehyung runs to the freezer, tossing ice cream and mochi into the basket.

Jimin is standing in front of the liquor selection. Three bottles of soju are added to the basket.

Taehyung chuckles. “You want a repeat of last night, or what?”

Jimin smirks, raises an eyebrow. “I don’t not want a repeat.”

The implication is clear, but Taehyung lets it hang in mid-air for a moment and dissipate slowly. He gives Jimin a small smile. “Are you warmed up enough for the walk back?”

“Feeling heated up right now at the mention of last night, thank you.”

Taehyung takes the basket with a laugh. It seems as if he can’t avoid Jimin’s mentions of what had occurred between them; he’s determined to allude to it. “Since you’re hosting and already cooked yesterday, let me get the groceries.”

Taehyung pays and they take a bag each, setting off through the blizzard again. The snow is falling heavily once more, though the wind has slightly calmed. As they continue, Taehyung enjoys the peace. Not a roaring engine, a honking horn, not a single panicked shopper in sight. Only the sound of the wind and the snow building up, the white plumes billowing from every chimney down the block. Every roof is snow capped, every sound muffled by the thickest blanket of ice and snow. The world is muted.

They reach Jimin’s yard. Taehyung’s legs are tired from tramping a path through the snow, so much of it still untouched and unmoved since the blizzard had begun.

“Do you have a snow shovel? I can clear your front path,” Taehyung offers.

“It’s only going to get snowed over within a couple of hours.”

“Humour me, I need to feel useful after you took such good care of me last night.”

Jimin tuts. “If you insist, I’ll open the garage. Shovel’s just inside on the right.”

“Oh, and Jimin?”

“Yeah?”

Smack!

The snowball hits Jimin right on the side of his beanie, sprinkling snow down the neck of Jimin’s jacket.

“What. The. FUCK!”

Taehyung doubles over with laughter. 

A moment later, the world turns upside-down as Jimin tackles him into the snow-covered lawn. The back of his neck is frozen instantaneously, and tiny ice pellets rain from Jimin’s hat down onto Taehyung’s face. And then all of him is melted just as quickly as Jimin’s lips are suddenly pushed against his, and even Jimin’s snowy glove coming up to caress his cheek can’t cool him off. 

“So, we’re kissing even without soju to blame?” Taehyung asks. 

“To be fair, there’s probably a not insignificant percentage of soju still in our bloodstreams.” 

“Speak for yourself, I’m sober as hell,” Taehyung says, pulling Jimin back to his lips by the collar of his coat. 

It lasts a beautiful, frozen moment, before Jimin’s teeth start chattering. “Let’s go inside before we get hypothermia. You can shovel later.” 

The two bring in the groceries, shaking snow through the entire entryway by the time their winter gear is off. 

“My shirt is actually soaked,” says Jimin, indicating the collar of his shirt, where Taehyung’s snowball has melted. 

Taehyung turns around, showing Jimin his wet pants. “My ass is soaked.” 

Jimin gives Taehyung a playful smack. “Pants off, in that case.” 

Taehyung unzips his jeans. “And your shirt, too.” 

Jimin pulls his shirt over his head, and Taehyung swallows at the sight. He didn’t remember Jimin’s body looking so… 

“Fucking gorgeous,” Taehyung says, laying a hand flat on Jimin’s abdomen. 

Jimin reaches around to Taehyung’s butt. “Seems to me like the snow soaked all the way through.” He sneaks a hand beneath the waistband, “These off, too.” 

“Seems like you’re already working on it,” Taehyung says as Jimin inches his underwear down. “Does your stamina know no bounds?” 

Jimin is already pulling off Taehyung’s sweater and shirt, Taehyung groaning as Jimin rakes his fingernails down his back. "Thanks for noticing, I've been working on it. Lots of cardio."

Jimin hooks a leg over Taehyung’s hip and Taehyung catches him as he hoists himself into his arms. His legs wrap around Taehyung’s naked middle, his arms around Taehyung’s neck. Taehyung takes a step back, caught off guard by Jimin literally throwing himself into his arms. He’s already kissing behind Taehyung’s ear, licking over his earlobe. 

“I can’t help myself, you’re so damn handsome,” Jimin purrs into Taehyung’s ear. “Take me to bed, please. Take me to bed.” 

“Jesus,” Taehyung groans, his cock awakening at Jimin’s words and the feeling of their chests pressed together. Jimin’s nose is cold on his neck, but his body is warm against his. Taehyung is taking Jimin upstairs as fast as his legs can take him, Jimin never stopping his pursuit of kissing and biting every part of Taehyung that his mouth can reach. When he’s on the bed and Taehyung removes his pants, Jimin pulls him down, rolling over on top of him. 

“I’ve been thinking about riding you all day, baby,” Jimin coos, leaning over to grab a condom from the drawer. “All day,” he stresses, leaning over to lick over the head of Taehyung’s cock. 

“You’re-” He cuts himself off with a moan that escapes him unbidden, as Jimin takes the length of him into his mouth. 

Jimin grins, sliding off of Taehyung’s cock, kissing over his thighs, wet and noisy. “We have all day to explore each other. I’m going to touch every part of you.” Taehyung has never been so turned on before, he is quite sure of it. Jimin looks like the lewdest angel straight from heaven, perfect body, perfect face, naughtiest expression. “Gonna lick every part of you,” he continues, following with a thick swipe of his tongue up Taehyung’s erection.

“That sounds like the best day of my life,” Taehyung says, gripping the blankets and holding on for dear life as Jimin swallows his cock again. 

Taehyung splays out on the blankets, unaware of what the rest of his body is doing as Jimin takes his cock to the back of his throat. His hips are stuttering unintentionally, seeking the warmth beyond Jimin's lips. 

When Jimin is satisfied with his work, he preps Taehyung again with a condom and lube. He pulls the comforter over his shoulders as he did last night, enveloping them in softness and trapped body heat.

It doesn't take long for Jimin to adjust to Taehyung inside of him. It's only been a few hours since their last session. Jimin only rides Taehyung's fingers for a short time before he's teasing Taehyung's cock over his entrance, running a hand across his own chest. He looks equal parts exquisite and explicit, his hair already messy and falling into his eyes, his lips still wet from sucking Taehyung’s cock. 

He sinks down, sighing in ecstasy as Taehyung fills him. Despite their evening last night, Taehyung feels embarrassingly close to coming after only a couple of slow rocking motions from Jimin. 

“Damn it, you just look too good,” Taehyung cries, closing his eyes to spare himself for a moment. But the feeling of Jimin starting to ride him is equally as beautiful as the sight of Jimin, so he finds himself whimpering instead, relenting in opening his eyes as Jimin grabs his hands, brings them to his chest. 

“It’s not even noon. I have at least a few more hours to make you feel so lost. You won’t even remember my name. Only the way my mouth feels. Only the way my body feels, Taehyung. You’ll be so fucked out when I’m done with you.”

Taehyung is rendered speechless as Jimin pulls the sheets around them once more. 

˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚

Night is falling quickly by the time they’re finished. Taehyung shovels as Jimin showers. The cold becomes soothing as he begins to sweat beneath layers of clothing, scraping the snow until Jimin’s pathways are bare and clean. 

Taehyung looks toward the house. The large picture window in the front is bright, the blinds still drawn open as daylight is rapidly fading. Snow is built up in tiny white peaks along the bottom ledge of the window. Jimin’s Christmas tree is sparkling silver, and Jimin is silhouetted in front of it. He’s putting out their snacks on the coffee table, dancing and singing along to a song on the speakers that Taehyung can’t hear. He looks so sweet, bordered by the window frame like he’s on a television screen. It looks like a scene from the sickeningly romantic Hallmark Christmas movie that they’ve been claiming not to be playing a role in. Taehyung smiles in spite of himself. What an unexpected turn of events this past couple of days have been. In so many ways. 

Taehyung puts away the shovel and his snow-covered outerwear and showers the sweat away. Jimin is sitting cross-legged on the sofa scrolling on his phone when Taehyung enters the room, hair still damp from the shower, wearing his sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt. Jimin pours soju into two glasses sitting amongst the array of snacks on the table.

Jimin sips once, but pushes his glass away. “Nope. Can’t do it again.” 

Taehyung can’t even bear to  taste his, turned off by the mere smell. “Agreed, I’ll get wine. Red?” 

“Whatever you’d prefer.” 

Taehyung pours them some wine. He feels oddly nervous, like this evening with Jimin has an unseen weight behind it. They’ve had so much sex that he isn’t sure it can physically happen again tonight. And if it doesn’t, what is happening between them? 

“I didn’t notice your Christmas tree last night. It looks pretty.”

Jimin smiles, the Christmas tree lights reflecting in his eyes, twinkling. “Thank you. It’s my first year having one. I didn’t bother with it before this year, being alone.”

“I love Christmas too much to go without one,” Taehyung says, sitting beside Jimin on the couch. “It’s never quite the same without family, but I’m thankful that we at least have this Christmas Eve dinner," Taehyung says, holding his wine glass up. 

Jimin picks his glass up, too. "To a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with unexpected but wonderful company."

"Such a sweet sentiment that I instantly developed a cavity, but I'll still drink to it." And they do drink to it, the wine a welcome tartness on Taehyung’s tongue.

"Can I ask you something? I know you vaguely mentioned earlier that you hadn't had - hadn't slept with someone for a while…"

Taehyung nods. “I’ve been single for a few years. Since I started working. It’s taken a lot of my time and focus. I like being in a relationship, but I’ve not had the time for it. I don’t even have much time for anything casual these days. It isn’t worth it.”

“No more clubbing?” Jimin grins.

“Definitely no more clubbing,” Taehyung agrees. “What about you?”

Jimin picks at a thread on the bottom hem of his sweatpants. “I’ve had a few things, but nothing sticks. Things tend to fizzle out when I have to be away for weeks at a time for work.” 

“That would certainly make things more difficult.”

“Yeah,” Jimin says quietly. “Can’t really blame ‘em.” 

“Are you… looking for a relationship?” 

Jimin shrugs. “Not against it. For the right person.” 

“Yeah.” Taehyung swirls his wine in his glass, watching the tiny bubbles pop on the surface. “I get that.” 

He doesn’t look at Jimin, preferring to keep his eyes on his glass. The fireplace channel that Jimin has put onto the TV crackles as an unseen hand throws on a new log. Even still, the quiet as they begin to eat is more comfortable by far than the quiet they had started with this morning. 

“Are you staying the night?” 

Taehyung finishes the last sip of wine in his glass. “Can I?”

"One less stop for Santa."

“If it’s just Santa you’re worried about-” 

“No,” Jimin says, rolling his eyes. “I want you to stay. Please stay?” 

Taehyung finally looks up then. Jimin is waiting for his eyes. The gravity of the situation swallows him whole, and he needs to put down his glass, steady himself on the couch. 

“I can sleep on the-” 

“No,” Jimin says softly, but decidedly. “You’ll sleep in my bed. Keep me warm all night.” He switches off the TV, standing with a stretch and yawn and letting the blanket fall from his lap to the floor. “Come,” he says, extending a hand to Taehyung. 

Taehyung takes Jimin’s hand and lets himself get led to the bedroom. They crawl under the covers in their comfy clothes, and Jimin is attached to Taehyung like a koala, all of his limbs wrapping him in a tight embrace. 

˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚

Taehyung sneaks out around midnight. Jimin doesn't stir as Taehyung extracts himself from his grasp, quietly slipping from the room. He tiptoes down the hallway and gets bundled up as silently as possible. He tries to peek out the little gold-framed window on the front door, but it is entirely frosted over.

The snow is illuminated around the street lamps down the block as Taehyung jogs to his house. He’s out of breath by the time he reaches his door, punching in the security code. He knocks the snow from his boots, not bothering to remove them as he steps onto the hardwood in his living room.

There's got to be something in his house for Santa to bring Jimin.

Taehyung raids the cupboard, where he knows he will find a couple of boxes of Christmas chocolates he'd gotten last week and hadn't yet opened. 

"That's a start…" Taehyung says to himself.

He searches his storage room for knickknacks or spare gifts but doesn't find anything. His closet has an unopened sheet set and a tablecloth, which both seem incredibly boring, but might be possibilities if he doesn't find something else. Taehyung does have a special fancy bottle of champagne he's been saving for the right occasion, so he adds that to the gift bag he's found for the chocolates, but keeps searching.

Then he sees it. The perfect gift for Jimin is on the mantle above his fireplace.

"Hey…" Jimin blinks blearily up at Taehyung as he crawls back into bed with Jimin. His eyes open wider when he touches Taehyung's hand. "Where did you go? Your hands are ice cold!"

"Shhhh, nowhere, Jimin-ah," Taehyung whispers.

Jimin presses his hand to Taehyung's face. "Even your nose is cold!" Jimin kisses his nose. "You were outside! Please tell me you weren't trying to shovel in the middle of the night."

Taehyung laughs, wraps both his legs and arms around Jimin. "I had to run back home for a minute. But I'm back now. Warm me up and let's sleep."

Jimin gives him one last suspicious look before settling into his arms and closing his eyes. Only a couple of minutes later, Jimin is breathing slowly and relaxing completely into Taehyung as he meets sleep. 

It certainly does not feel like this is only the second night they're spending together. Taehyung can't believe he only met Jimin the previous evening. It’s becoming comfortable, so comfortable, like the sleep that takes him now that Jimin is resting in his arms. 

When the brightness from the window wakes Taehyung the next morning, Jimin is already out of bed again. The furnace is blasting hot air into the room, cocooning Taehyung in a cozy haze. It almost feels like he’s living another life with how different these past couple of days have been. Like the time they have spent together are pages torn from someone else's story.

By the time he washes his face and brushes his teeth and heads downstairs, Jimin has already set the table with scrounged breakfast. 

“I see Santa came last night,” Jimin says, nodding toward the Christmas tree. 

Taehyung had set his gifts for Jimin under the tree when he had returned from his house, but he now sees that more gifts have joined his two parcels. 

“Wow. How did he know that I was here?” Taehyung says as he peruses the gift tags and sees his own name written on them. 

“Santa knows all,” Jimin whispers dramatically, picking up his own gifts. “Don’t get too excited, though. Remember I haven’t gone shopping since we met.” 

“Remember I haven’t either.” 

Jimin laughs. “You open first. The envelope is last.” 

Taehyung tears open his first parcel. “Bookends. Are these The Parthenon?”

“I thought you’d probably have a million books, and since you’re a history buff-”

“I love them,” Taehyung says, cradling his gift to his chest. “Thank you.” 

The next gift contains the three bottles of soju that they did not yet drink. 

“You can take them, I’m not sure I’ll ever have the desire to drink soju again, to be honest,” Jimin says with a laugh. 

“I’ll take them on the condition that you’ll come drink them with me,” Taehyung says. 

Jimin sighs. “Deal, but I may need some recovery time. Now the envelope.” 

Taehyung opens the envelope. It appears to be empty at first, until a closer look reveals a small note in Jimin’s tidy handwriting. 

“We don’t have real tickets yet, but my next show here in Chicago will be Hamilton,” Jimin explains hastily. “I’d like you to come to opening night.” 

“IOU two tickets to Hamilton,” Taehyung reads from the note. “That is so sweet.” 

“You can bring a date,” Jimin adds quickly. “Or - a friend - or whatever.” 

Taehyung nods, breaking the awkwardness that follows by saying, “Okay, your turn to open.” 

Jimin peers inside the first gift bag. “Ah, chocolates and champagne. Can never go wrong with that combination. Is this why you snuck out last night?” 

Taehyung chuckles. “And open the next one.” 

Jimin removes the object wrapped in tissue paper from the second bag. 

“A snowglobe…” Jimin breathes, turning it over, sprinkling snow on the tiny skyline of Chicago within. 

“It seemed appropriate, given the circumstances.” 

“It’s - it’s literally perfect,” Jimin says, eyes shining at Taehyung. “I’ll always remember this past couple of days when I look at it.” It's tender and significant and Taehyung's stomach does a somersault as Jimin gazes at him. 

A phone rings somewhere in the kitchen, shattering the peaceful moment. 

“It’s probably my parents calling to say Merry Christmas,” says Jimin, hurrying toward his phone. 

Taehyung looks out the living room window as he waits for Jimin to take the call. It has finally stopped snowing, the sun trying to break through between groups of white-grey clouds. The world beyond the glass is still. It feels as if people will soon start waking from their slumbers and emerging from their houses, blinking away a hundred-year sleep. It feels like the beginning of the end of a fairy tale. 

“It was the airline,” Jimin says, startling Taehyung back into the four walls of the house. 

“Oh?” Taehyung splutters.

“I can leave on the next flight in about three hours.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” Jimin sets his phone down on the couch, sitting beside it. 

“That’s good!” Taehyung adds hastily.

“Yeah. I guess I should-” 

Taehyung's phone starts to buzz in his pocket. Jimin and Taehyung make reluctant eye contact before Taehyung answers. It’s the same call as Jimin’s; he will be on his way to New York City in three hours. 

“I should maybe go back to my place. I’ve used a bunch of my clothes, I’ll have to repack my bag,” Taehyung says. 

“Yeah, of course.” Jimin stands up. “Take a snack to go, at least.” 

Taehyung stuffs his hands in his pockets, looking at his socks. 

"We'll see each other around, I'm sure," Jimin says quietly.

It's not an unfamiliar sentiment, though it had been a while since Taehyung had heard it. The morning after a one-night stand, or sometimes a mere few minutes after one. 

The storm had shielded them. Created a world apart from everything else. Jobs, families, friends, all responsibilities forgotten in favour of survival. And what a survival it had been. It had felt like living, truly living, more than it had felt like waiting, surviving, biding time. It had been a short burst of time between them, but it still felt shocking that it was ending almost as quickly.

"Yeah. I’m sure." Taehyung tries a smile, but he can feel it fall flat.

"I'll have to come help you drink that soju, after all. Once I'm back in town." 

It's not going to happen, though. It feels false, and they both know it.

"Right. Let me know when Hamilton starts."

Taehyung retrieves his things and Jimin meets him on the front mat. He stands on tiptoe to plant a simple kiss on Taehyung's cheek.

"See you later. Maybe at the airport?"

"Right. I'm sure we’ll bump into each other there."

It would never work. It couldn't. Taehyung tries to convince himself of that as he trudges home through the snow. As he showers and repacks his luggage. 

Two and a half hours until his flight. He pulls out the bookends Jimin gifted him, positioning them on the small shelf in his bedroom. Then he finds the envelope with Jimin's note.

"IOU two tickets to Hamilton…" Taehyung recites again. He props the note up on the fridge with a magnet. Who knows, maybe he really could go to opening night. 

The way Jimin had suggested that Taehyung bring a date, though. It was clear what Jimin's expectations were. That they would both move on. Even the way Jimin had told Taehyung that he would look at the snowglobe and think of their time together. He said it with the same fond tone that he'd used when talking about his days in college. Something pleasant, fun, maybe even educational, but something that was already in the past.

Taehyung texts his friends the news. He'd be in New York in a few hours. The tail end of their getaway, but he would still have a handful of days off to spend with those that were planning an extended stay in New York City. He’d be coming back to Chicago on New Year’s Day to have a couple of days to prepare for the winter semester. He steels himself to make the best of his time away. But despite the excitement, the happiness he knew he would feel from seeing his friends, Taehyung’s mind can’t help but travel to the comfortable little house that had been his shelter over the last couple of days.

Was there something different he should have done? Had he misread the situation? Should he truly try to see Jimin again, despite the whirlwind in which their romance had started?

The doorbell rings and before the chime is finished reverberating from the walls, Taehyung’s heart rate skyrockets. He gasps before flat-out running to the door. He’s out of breath when he throws the door open, and so is Jimin. 

Jimin, his cheekbones and lips pink, in a powder blue, puffy jacket that makes him look even smaller than he usually already does. Jimin, exhaling white clouds into the air between them. Jimin, with frost on his eyelashes and snow from the bottom of his boots all the way up to his knees. 

“Hi,” he says. 

“Did you run here?” 

Jimin pants. “Yeah. I didn’t want to miss you, in case you left for the airport early.” 

And then he’s on Taehyung, damp mittens on Taehyung’s cheeks as he throws himself into a kiss that Taehyung needs more than the air he is breathing. Taehyung is pulling Jimin over the threshold and pushing him against the door.

Taehyung realizes why it has felt so much like those college hookups up until this point. The forbidden, the lustful encounter with a person you barely know and will probably never see again. It’s not permanent, it’s fleeting, and both parties are aware of that fact from the first kiss on the club dancefloor. That's what it had felt like with Jimin.

But when he kisses Jimin this time, and when Jimin kisses him just as strongly back, it doesn't feel that way anymore.

It feels like longing; like I already miss you, like let’s try this. Maybe not quite a promise, but on its way there.

“We can carpool to the airport?” Jimin suggests, as Taehyung unzips Jimin’s jacket, pushing it to the floor. 

“We can sit next to each other on the plane. I haven’t picked my seat yet.” Taehyung can’t speak for a moment, needing to kiss Jimin again and again, to stake a claim, if only a tiny one.

“We can see each other in New York.” 

Taehyung pulls back to look at Jimin, who starts giggling, looking giddy, and Taehyung can’t help but chuckle along with him. 

Taehyung nods. “We can see each other in New York.”

“We’ll wash out the jacuzzi tub,” Jimin says, unbuttoning Taehyung’s shirt. “Or make Jungkook and Jin wash it.” 

“And probably change the sheets,” Taehyung adds.

“We can figure something out,” Jimin says, one hand already reaching past Taehyung’s waistband, though he maintains eye contact. 

Taehyung nods, breath stolen from him as he flutters his eyes shut under Jimin’s touch. “We’ll figure it out.” 

“I know we only met two days ago, but…”

“Can you imagine if we hadn’t met?” Taehyung finishes. 

“Exactly. Seems impossible.” 

“I’ll give you a tour of my place,” Taehyung says, starting on Jimin’s neck, lifting him up so that he can wrap his legs around him. “We’ll start with the bedroom, where you’ll find the walls of the Parthenon holding up my history texts.”

“This really is like the final scene of a Hallmark Christmas movie,” Jimin giggles. 

“Not even close,” Taehyung says, shaking his head. 

“I know, I know, G-rated…” Jimin says as Taehyung drags his hand over Jimin, drawing out a whimper. 

Taehyung nods, kissing the whine from Jimin’s lips. “And Hallmark Christmas movies all come to an end.” 

“Are you saying this won’t?” 

Taehyung kisses Jimin wordless. “At least not yet.” He kisses him again. “Not yet.”