Warm Hands (Ice Cold Heart) | Jimin x Reader

Three

"Jimin! It's been ages, man!" Nikita's voice is as booming as the rest of him as he steps up to the table, towering over you both with his six-foot-three linebacker build, practically bursting from the seams of the suit that's stretched over his biceps. "It's been what, almost three years since I've seen ya?"

"Especially since you didn't come to our housewarming two weeks ago," the woman beside him says, pursing her tinted lips. Her eyes are glittering with an icy blue eyeshadow, as bright and eye-catching as the chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, though that's a description apt for the woman herself. She drips with diamonds that set off her eyes, and her slip dress clings to her curves like lingerie. "We missed you."

Jimin's fingers tighten on your waist. "Sorry, my beloved wife was working overtime. Couldn't get away." He says your name, then gestures to her. "This is Natacha, Nikita's wife."

Right. Jimin had briefed you on these two in the car. You flick through mental files like he's another one of your clients, remembering that Jimin and Nikita are college friends and Nikita's family owns a few small airports. Natacha's young and hasn't been his partner for long, but Jimin thinks it's a good match. Among the elite, these whirlwind marriages are more common than not, though the divorces happen just as often to match. Any excuse for a party, you suppose, as you shake her hand.

"Sorry we couldn't make it," you say, though you don't even remember getting the invite. Jimin must've taken care of it as you were buried deep in pre-holiday paperwork.

"Next time," she says, her accent catching lightly on the syllables. "But you're still working? Full time?"

You can detect genuine surprise in her question instead of the snark you were expecting, but that doesn't make you any less annoyed. It's not the first time that you've had to fend off similar inquiries. "Why not?"

"Well, just that starting a family takes so much time." She looks at Nikita, exchanging a look that is most definitely inappropriate for what it implies, as they giggle at each other like the newlyweds they are. "Nik's a sweetie. He doesn't want me to stress about things like work or whatever if I don't have to, so I just don't! Not like we need the money, right?"

You fight the scowl that already wants to surface, telling yourself to play nice, but how are you supposed to respond to her? It's not like she's trying to be mean about it. If she were, you'd already be knocking her down a peg with choice words that carry only a thin veneer of politeness. You're damn good at that, having honed your skills in the courtroom. But she's just... clueless. Clearly has been raised in the lap of luxury. Not that there's anything wrong with that, when she can't help it as much as you can't help your background, but that old bitterness is still present at the back of your throat. You've always been surrounded by people like her while your family struggled, wanting so badly to project that sense of fitting in but in the end, all three of you could really only muster a flimsy imitation of their multi-million-dollar mansions and luxury car priced watches. And even now, even though with Jimin's fortune you could stop, you never want to rely on him like this. As if it's a real marriage.

Jimin coughs, lightly, enough to interrupt. "As much as I want little babies running around the place, she's trying to make partner at her firm." He cuddles you in, and when you put a hand on his chest to stabilize yourself against him, you learn just how solid he is beneath your palm. "And I can't get enough of that look in her eyes when she talks about all the people and the families she's helped. Her work is so important." Jimin nuzzles his cheek into you, beckoning you to lock eyes. "Plus, you've always liked arguing, huh? Good thing you turned it into a career."

"Y-You should be so lucky that I argue with you for free," you manage to shoot back, your tone light to imply the tease as you feel irritation dissipate. It's instead replaced by questions, like does he really want kids? Plural? And how did he know you wanted to make partner? But now's not the time to delve into that.

Natacha grins at how Jimin wrinkles his nose at you in response. "You two are so cute."

"You better come see our new place soon. The both of ya." Nikita reaches out to clap Jimin on the back, with a bit more force than necessary as Jimin pitches forward an inch. "Got it?"

"Only if it fits into my schedule. I'm a busy, busy man you know," Jimin jokes, raising a cocky eyebrow to his old buddy like a challenge.

"Hey, you're forgetting who saved your sorry ass when..."

You don't get to hear the rest of Nikita's answer.

The buzzing that invades your ears is instant and demanding. It steals your breath even though you're standing perfectly still because you made the mistake of looking up, looking away for barely a second, right at the door where there's a sudden burst of noise. Another guest has just arrived. One you haven't seen in a year. One you know by the tips of your trembling fingers, by your heart, by your very soul.

Kook.