Breathe Me | Jikook

13

The hot chocolate had turned out to be at a stand that was run by an old man. The man had been bundled up to the point he looked round, like a marshmallow, and was hiding beneath a little awning, a flush covering his cheeks. His beanie had pushed his ears down.

He had been nice enough, Jungkook supposed. It was nearing 9:30PM, so he seemed to want to go home. So Jimin and Jungkook had quickly gotten their hot chocolate in styrofoam cups, the simply warm cup feeling like it was scalding Jungkook's numb fingers.

Jimin paid and they walked away. Jungkook, as much as he hated to think it, needed to get home. He had never been out this late and he didn't want to make his mom worry. He could take the bus and go home from here.

But, as he looked at Jimin, who had red cheeks, fingers bitten by the cold, and had slightly puckered lips as he blew on his drink, he couldn't bring himself to say he had to go.

I'll tell him when I finish my hot chocolate.

He decided to let the cold air cool the drink rather than blowing on it. Only because he didn't want to risk it sloshing out and on his hand, burning it. But he was also really thirsty and—

"I don't know how you are with hot drinks, but from what I've seen I feel the need to remind you to blow on that."

Jungkook flushed. He had nearly forgotten about the coffee incident. It flashed in his mind now: the sharp burn, Jimin's worried face, his hands going towards Jungkook...

Jungkook looked at Jimin's hands, which were wrapped around the cup. They looked cold, but they looked small and soft and cute and precious and—

What was it like to hold Jimin's hand?

"Jungkook?" Jimin was staring at him, his lips slightly parted, eyes glowing with curiosity. Jungkook's attention turned towards him, or rather, on what he was saying.

"Yeah?"

"You space out a lot." Jimin said, head tilted to the side. "What's on your brain?"

"Mhm." Jungkook said, digging his left hand into his pocket. He balled it into a fist, mind going blank as he pulled it back out and said, "Could you hold this for me?"

Jimin took a hand off the hot chocolate and held it out, "Sure."

Jungkook went to put it in his hand, hearing his heartbeat in his own ears, and as he neared Jimin, he opened his hand and put it in the older's, intertwining their fingers.

Warm, Jungkook thought after a moment.

"Thank you." He mumbled, faze ablaze, heart in his throat. Was this gay? It seemed kind of gay, but he would think about that later.

He spared a glance at Jimin who was staring at their hands, face changing color, a smile twitching at his lips. Upon meeting Jungkook's gaze—who had been judging his reaction—he looked away. Jungkook waited for him to jerk his hand away, so he busied himself with his hot chocolate, now lightly blowing on it as a distraction. Screw going home; he had just mortified himself again thanks to his stupid curiosity.

But Jimin didn't pull away. Instead, he kept his head turned, unable to look at Jungkook as he mumbled,

"My pleasure."

Jungkook felt giddy as his stomach just erupted. He just about choked on his hot chocolate, but it was a good thing he managed not to because that would've been both embarrassing and painful.

"Uh," He said, mind rolling to think of something. He didn't want the silence, not again. "What do you do besides music and dance?"

Jimin managed to glance at Jungkook out of the corner his eye, but he couldn't hold the look. He looked away. Jungkook found himself staring at the ground in front of him, his lips resting on the edge of his cup, the hot drink touching his top lip.