last hope

Chapter 18

'We really need to go grocery shopping,' Hoseok grimaces, surveying their almost completely empty refrigerator. The only thing which is even remotely edible is a single shiny apple hidden behind a variety of very much inedible and slightly fluffy vegetables. 'We can't keep ordering takeout.'

'I'm not going to have time to cook,' Yoongi calls, not looking away from his textbook as he continues to highlight entire paragraphs at a time. 'I have four assignments due this week, and the final exam is on Friday.'

'I can cook,' Hoseok shrugs, closing the refrigerator and grabbing his phone, scrolling through Pinterest for some recipe ideas.

Yoongi snorts. 'We can afford one more week of takeout.'

Hoseok frowns, coming to stand behind Yoongi at his desk. He wraps his arms around his boyfriend's middle, kissing the top of his head. 'What's wrong with my cooking?'

'Name one meal you've cooked since I met you that doesn't start with instant and end with ramen.'

'It might not be very nutritious or exciting, but it tastes good, doesn't it?'

Yoongi grabs his arm as Hoseok moves away, pulling him back to sit on his lap. 'We can survive on instant ramen for a week, and then I'll cook you anything you want once my exam is out of the way.'

Hoseok leans his head back onto Yoongi's shoulder, looking down at the open and annotated textbook on the desk.

'I don't even know what half of this means,' he peers at the unfamiliar terms and confusing diagrams. 'Sometimes I feel like I'm not smart enough to date you.'

He says it lightly, but Yoongi is looking at him with that stern expression that makes him feel simultaneously embarrassed and slightly horny.

'That's the most ridiculous thing I think I've ever heard you say,' Yoongi sniffs dismissively, but his arms tighten around Hoseok as he keeps reading. 'And you say a lot of ridiculous things.'

Hoseok bites his lip. 'I've heard people say it, on campus. That I'm not good enough for you because you're the top of your class and I'm just "some dance student who couldn't get on to an academic programme."'

Yoongi stiffens. 'Sorry, what?'

'I know, it's just stupid gossip, but I do think about it sometimes.' Hoseok says in a small voice.

Yoongi's hands are on his shoulders, turning him so that they're almost face to face. 'It's not just stupid gossip,' he shakes his head, his eyebrows furrowed. 'It's complete and utter bullshit, you hear me?'

Hoseok frowns. 'It's fine hyung, it doesn't matter.'

'Clearly it does matter if you're worrying about what these shitheads are saying about you. Who was it? Was it someone in my class?'

Hoseok shifts on Yoongi's lap. 'I don't know, maybe. I just overheard them in the corridor when I was waiting for you once.'

Yoongi grumbles something, but it's too low for Hoseok to hear what was said. 'You see them again when we're on campus, you tell me.'

Hoseok makes a non-committal noise, shrugging slightly.

'No,' Yoongi turns his face, his finger under Hoseok's chin. 'You tell me, okay? Nobody gets to speak about you like that.'

'It's fine hyung, honestly. I shouldn't have said anything.'

Yoongi looks like he wants to argue, but he takes a steadying breath, glancing away quickly before turning back to Hoseok.

'Nobody gets to talk about you like that. Not just because you're my boyfriend and they will get a foot up their ass if I hear it, but because you are always enough for me, more than enough. You're smart and funny and insanely talented. If they actually watched you dance they'd shut their mouths pretty quickly.'