Bargain (Not Met) (JungHope)

Met

An arm hooked itself around Hoseok's shoulders, and he turned toward the intruder with a dazed look.

"You look smacked, Seokie," Namjoon slurred.

"Not like you have room to talk," Hoseok grumbled as he wadded through the pool of people to get closer to the television as the first shouts of the countdown echoed throughout the living room. "Have you seen Seokjin-hyung?"

"I thought he was with you?"

Hoseok shrugged. "I guess he's still in the kitchen."

"What about your boy-toy? Is he around?"

"He's not—whatever." Hoseok huffed and flinched away from the person that had begun to shout the countdown, starting from sixty, the overeager asshole. "He's a lost cause, Joonie. His skull's too fucking thick."

"Maybe a New Year's kiss will awaken those buried memories."

"Why the fuck—"

"Hyung." Hoseok startled and turned toward the awfully familiar voice, and frowned at the apologetic smile Jungkook had on his face. "I—sorry, was I interrupting something?"

Namjoon, the traitor, shoved Hoseok into Jungkook and bid them farewell as he disappeared into the crowd that swelled around the television.

Hoseok attempted to pull away from Jungkook and jolted when he felt Jungkook's hands hold him by his waist. "Jungkook, what—"

"Hyung," Jungkook interrupted. His expression crumbled in on itself as tears flooded his eyes, but he seemed determined not to let them spill over as his lips twitched into a deeply fond smile. "Sorry for the wait. Traffic was awful."

The countdown reached an all-time high around them, shrill shrieks and shouts of delight as tens, nines, eights rippled through the eager crowd.

And Hoseok was so, so glad. So positively overjoyed to have his Jungkook back. To no longer look into chocolate doe eyes that held nothing more than comfortable familiarity in them, to touch a face that no longer flinched and pulled away from his longing hands, to smile into the kiss that should have happened ages ago and yet came at just the right time.

--

"You kept your promise," Jungkook whispered in the confines of Hoseok's bedroom, tucked under the warm duvet, limbs tangled with Hoseok's.

"And you remembered the stereo," Hoseok whispered back with a smile. "I didn't think you'd use it during your lessons."

"Well, when I woke up in the library's basement with that and the CDs as my only possessions, I figured I may as well keep them." The duvet shifted with Jungkook's arm, and Hoseok hissed and smacked Jungkook's hand away when it squeezed his thigh. "But I didn't think your joints would get that bad, hyung. It's only been three years. How are you going to make it to forty?"

"First of all, asshole"—Hoseok smacked Jungkook's hand again when he pinched inside his thigh—"there aren't any joints in your thighs. Second of all, I'd like to see you do an office job for an entire decade and then suddenly go back to dancing."

"I'll pass." Jungkook's hand trailed up to Hoseok's waist and pulled him closer. "Just be my assistant. I'll be sure you get paid fairly and everything."

Hoseok sighed as he pushed his body against Jungkook until he rolled onto his back, laying his head atop Jungkook's chest. "What will the other students say?"

"Something along the lines of us banging."

Hoseok smacked Jungkook's stomach and bit his shoulder when he merely laughed. "God, just when I thought you finally stopped acting like a teenager."

A silence lulled between them, the moon's gentle rays faint as dawned crept upon them, and Hoseok listened to Jungkook's steady heartbeat that lay beneath a warm, breathing chest.

"How'd you remember?" Hoseok muttered, and he listened to the distinct sounds of Jungkook jolting back to consciousness: a harsh breath, a jerk of his head, a clearing of his throat. So blissfully human and alive.

"Our last New Year's together," Jungkook mumbled. He cleared his throat again, voice coming out guttural. "I remembered...Taehyung."

Hoseok hummed, prompting.

"I wasn't there because I wanted you to dig into Taehyung's past, and, I guess, your behavior at the party reminded me of what I was feeling back then: Desperate. To know answers, to be comforted in my misery..."

Hoseok glanced up at Jungkook when he trailed off, and he smiled encouragingly when Jungkook met his gaze.

"I just—I didn't want to see you like that. And I couldn't figure out why because I'd only known you for—what? Three months? It was bizarre, and you telling me that you knew me from a time I couldn't remember just confused me even more.

"So, really," Jungkook continued with a faint laugh, "my own curiosity and confusion triggered a sudden whip-lash of memories. From when Yoongi-hyung first approached me, to my years spent training to be a demon, to...meeting you again."

Hoseok hummed and stretched up into the kiss Jungkook leaned down for, mumbling against his lips, "Glad to have met you, Kook."

There were still days that the devastation of Jimin's and Taehyung's final moments haunted Hoseok's mind, but he allowed himself the time and care to heal from their wounds with Jungkook's gentle hands guiding him home.

A/N - and that's it!!! holy fuck this fic started all the way back in Fake Love era and now here we are, breaking and setting records with Dynamite! I'm so proud and glad to have written this fic while watching BTS grow and receive all the love and attention they deserve! 

to all the hopekook enthusiasts who stuck around: thank you! I hope you enjoyed it! :)