Growing Pains

25

Jungkook was giddy with happiness.

It was the weekend of his birthday, and he was in a car with his Jin-hyung.

Jin's brother had given Jin permission to use his car to take Jungkook on an overnight fishing and camping trip.

It was Jin's birthday gift to him.

Just the two of them with no one else invited, and no interference from Frankenstein.

It filled Jungkook with joy, to have his Jin-hyung all to himself again.

He reached for Jin's hand on the steering wheel, pulled it to his lap, and laced their fingers together.

It was like when he was younger, when Jin would hold his hand when they went places.

It felt wonderful.

They stopped at a rest stop for lunch two hours into the drive before continuing on their way, and another two hours later, they arrived at the campground and Jin parked his brother's car in the car park.

They then walked about twenty minutes into a wooded area, and just when Jungkook was about to ask Jin how much farther, he heard the gurgling of a stream.

They had pitched their tent, and Jin then took him upstream so they could try to catch some fish for dinner.

They were successful and when they returned to their tent, Jungkook was awed by the view as the sun began to set.

Jin had picked a good spot to set up camp.

They were close enough to a simple shower facility that provided water to cook and clean with, but still far enough away from the nearest tent to have privacy.

That night, Jin made a wonderful meal with the fish they caught, and Jungkook complimented him on his skills.

He never knew his Jin-hyung had a talent for cooking.

After dinner, Jungkook had cleaned up as it was only fair since Jin had done all of the cooking.

Jin took a shower while Jungkook washed up, and when Jungkook took a shower, Jin banked the fires and prepared their beds.

When Jungkook returned to their camp, Jin was standing outside their tent, looking up at the night sky.

He looked ethereal in the dusk, like a character out of an epic manhwa.

His Jin took his breath away.

"There you are. Are you ready for bed?" Jin asked when he noticed Jungkook staring at him, open-mouthed.

But Jungkook continued to stare at Jin in awe.

There was something in his gut that begged him to voice itself to Jin, but at the same time, something in his head silenced it so he smiled and held his hand out to the other instead.

That night, the two best friends slept soundly side by side in their respective sleeping bags.

No one saw when Jungkook woke up in the early hours of the morning, gazed at a sleeping Jin, and traced his features before kissing him softly on the lips.