And The Games Begin

Chapter 21

The rest of the morning goes by without a hitch, Jimin (reluctantly) says goodbye to his red partner in crime and they split into two groups to take the gondolas up to the peak of the mountain.

Jimin swallows when he sees the height of the mountain, sunlight glistening at the top. He shakes his head. " This is dumb, yeah?" he says out loud to no one in particular. " We're perfectly fine in this God forsaken metal swinging contraption a hundred feet in the air and nothing is going to happen.

Lydia says something first. " Babe, if you can hike the Golden Gate Bridge, then you can do this. You don't even have to move. Just sit there and close your eyes."

He takes a deep breath through his nose. " That's what she said."

" Oh, for the love of God."

He's ready to load into the first gondola with Elliot, Matt and Daniel....Jungkook back in group two....with shaky hands and erratic breathing when he hears Jungkook say behind him. " Sorry guys, gotta hitch a ride in the first gondola. I'll see you all at the top." His hands are bare, but warm, when he places his palm against Jimin's neck, squeezing.

" No more dates with heights, okay?"

Jimin forces out a breathily laugh.

" That would be swell."

Matt leans forward. " Park, how do you expect us to have a race to the bottom if it takes a full team to get you up the mountain?"

He shrugs. " Was hoping I wouldn't be nervous this time round, but here we are."

The gondola takes the turn and inches towards them, doors open. Jungkook nudges him. " Go ahead, Min. Climb in. I've got you."

The five of them slide in together, camera crew holding back, and Jimin is relieved for the break. But then he catches the cameras in corner of the gondola, ready to catch another fine moment of his, and he groans.

Jungkook leans in close and whispers quiet enough that the other guys can't hear, " This is much easier than the bridge. We're sitting. And we don't have to move. You're good." He puts his hand on Jimin's knee, and even though Jimin can barely feel it through the snow trousers, it's a comfort, anyway. " So fucking good."

He keeps whispering things to him the entire way up, a lot of it stupid or meaningless, but it does the trick, and Jimin couldn't care less about the way the other guys are staring at him, not when he has Jungkook's breath against his cheek and words trapped in his mind.

The mountain air is freezing, nearly steals your oxygen, but the beauty around it is enough to compensate.

The group of them fuck around at the top of it for a bit, Jimin stuffing snow down Matt's back, and Daniel laughs, saying it's like they're in a weird, sexually charged field trip for adult men.

Jimin snorts at that, because how true, and proceeds to shove more snow into Matt's coat.

The rest of the night is fantastic; the powder is fresh, the gondola isn't too bad as long as he has someone there with him to distract him from the height, and there's dog sledding, for God's sake. It's a kick ass date....right up there amongst his favourite things to do....with one exception: he hasn't seen Jungkook in nearly three hours.

He stands outside of the lodge, camera on his face, talking to Lydia and the rest of the crew. " Yeah, this date has been amazing so far." he says, breath visible in the cold air.

" Like, absolutely sick. I've never seen something so beautiful before. Haven't seen much of Jungkook though," He points over his shoulder.

" I'm hoping he's in the lodge. I'm gonna go find him, if you'll excuse me."