Jimin quickly nodded letting him in. As soon as the door shut behind he wrapped his arms around his waist.

To be a man, he had a tiny waist. Yet his body was muscular. He took a whiff of the cologne on his shirt and he smiled cheekily.

Yoongi had made love to him. In the most beautiful way. He worshiped his body like no other before. Took the time to adore him and never once made it about himself.

"You're here!" He said, squeezing him tighter.

"I'm here." He reassured returning the affection.

He laid his head on top of his and rubbed circles on his back. If he could stop time, he would. They'd just stay here forever with no worry about the world of anyone else.
But at last, that wasn't possible. He slowly let go and got ready to face him. He hoped that he still didn't look shaken from talking to Taehyung.

It angered him to know the future would still happen. Why couldn't they just stay frozen in time? Why couldn't their situation just be different?

"Is something wrong?" He questioned reading his expression.

"No. Everything's okay."

"Did...did someone find out?" He whispered. The fear was present, but at the same time there was a hint of relief.

It felt good to think that they didn't have to hide anymore. Maybe Taehyung would forgive them both and let them be. But Yoongi's face didn't read that he felt the same.

"No. Luckily no."

He nodded biting his lips. "Well that's good. Uhh...then do you...you regret what happened?" His voice got quieter as the words slipped from his lips.

His face turned bright red as he thought of him regretting their encounter. Was it his body? Was it not like he expected? Every possibility ran through his mind in a matter of a second.

Yoongi pecked his lips for reassurance, "There's nothing wrong. I don't regret what happened. It was the most beautiful thing. I would never regret that, okay?"

He nodded slowly,  still not convinced. There was something wrong and he could tell by looking in his eyes. But like usual, he was so mysterious that in the end he was unreadable.

•••

Jimin adjusted his shirt as he looked at himself in the mirror. He buttoned up one more button to cover his chest. Maybe if he didn't catch attention from Taehyung nothing sexual would happen.

As he heard the soft knock on the door, he knew it was Yoongi. "Come in." He called out loud. The sky was getting darker by the minute and the snow hadn't stopped falling.

"You look beautiful." Yoongi commented.

Jimin turned around and smiled sweetly. His heart fluttered at his compliment. Then, made his way to him planting a kiss on his lips.

"Thank you. Merry Christmas by the way!"

"Merry Christmas." He replied, moving some of his hair to the side.

"I've got a present for you." He said.

"Oh, you do? I'm sorry I had no time to get you a present."

"I don't need any presents. Here let me show you!" He urged pulling him to the bed.

Then, he opened up the drawer and pulled out a book from under his shirts. Yoongi raised both eyebrows as he handed it to him.

"I'm pretty sure you've read it before." He said and Yoongi nodded.

"Well, I took your advice and stopped re-reading Don Quixote. I read this book and made notes along the way of what I thought about it. I know it's not really a present since you have to put it back in the library. I just thought you'd like to read my thoughts about it."

He suddenly felt self-conscious about the gift. Of course he could have bought anything he wanted. He had Taehyung's money and the limit was the sky.

Yet, it felt so wrong to purchase something with Taehyung's money for him. It was a slap to the face because Jimin earned it by sleeping with him. That's where the idea of this present came to mind.

"I'd love to re-read it and take a look at your notes. I typically don't, but this will be the exception. Thank you." He smiled.

Genially smiled.

It was nice to see him happy. In the past, Yoongi had looked so miserable. So unhappy, but lately with him he smiled. That warmed him up inside.

Jimin sighed happily with himself. "You're welcome. Glad you like it."

Yoongi hugged him and pressed his face against his ear. "Thank you." He repeated squeezing him tighter.

"For the book? I already told you you're welcome. Silly dog." He chuckled.

"Not for that. For making me happy."

Jimin looked up with wide eyes. It felt so good to hear that he was actually making someone happy. He was actually making someone's life better.

"You make me happy too."

Yoongi caressed his face. Gently and soft. His touch was warm. Warmer than any blankets and any heater. He closed his eyes and enjoyed his touch.

"And yet I can't protect you." He finally said defeatedly.

Jimin reopened his eyes and wanted to comfort him. He knew exactly what he wanted to say. And he wished he could tell him that it was okay. That he himself was okay with sleeping with Taehyung.

Even though he wasn't. None of it was okay. At first it had been simple to have sex out of lust. Now that he was so in love with Yoongi he just couldn't bear to do it.

It felt like a betrayal. Worse than the one he did to Yuta because at least then he only slept with him. No other man was present.

Having to do this with Yoongi knowing—hearing—it was excruciating. Embarrassing. It ashamed him more than anything thus far.

"I'm sorry. I tried to keep him busy with work. I tried to distract him, but I couldn't. I can't keep him occupied forever." His voice sounded pained. Angry.

If you were to look him in the eyes you could tell he was heartbroken. That made Jimin feel so small and vulnerable. It was selfish to say, but Yoongi was the strong one.

The one that balanced everything out. In times of panic and fear he kept his head cool. Jimin was allowed to freak out knowing that he would make it all better.

And now, looking at him so broken he felt himself drift into anxiety. He quickly snapped himself out of it and forced a smile.

It was his turn to be the strong one. The one to keep calm. It was only fair because up until now Yoongi had been doing that all along.

"It's going to be okay. I'm okay really."

Yoongi nodded, not convinced, but what could he do? Scream? Cry? Would it even make a difference? It was pointless.

He escorted him down the hallway and downstairs to the private dining room. As they got closer Yoongi felt himself tense up.

It's like he was walking his lover to the butcher shop. Serving him on a clean platter for Taehyung to devour. It made him sick. Physically sick.

"I'll be okay." Jimin whispered, reassuring him.

Yoongi slowly nodded. Jimin turned around and knocked on the door. When he heard Taehyung's voice he quickly went in to get it over with.

He sat on the chair with a smile on his face. It had been days since he'd seen him. His hair was longer and sort of curly. Jimin wondered if that was the natural texture of his hair and since he always kept it short it didn't show.

His velvet shirt was a deep eggplant purple and his jeans black. The boots were also black but had some purple to it. And his jewelry was shining beautiful around his neck and wrist.

The way he approached him was almost like a little kid running to a candy store. He wrapped his strong arms around him like a tourniquet to stop bleeding.

His face was pressed against his and Jimin could smell his sweet cinnamon scent. When he pulled away he plastered a kiss on his lips.

He had some sort of lip balm on his lips because it left a fruity smell on Jimin's mouth. Taehyung smirked,  wiping some of it off with his thumb.

"How have you been?" He asked,  taking his hand and leading him to sit down.

There was already a variety of food on the table and a bottle of expensive wine. He opened up the bottle and poured some on a cup and then some for himself.

Jimin noticed that there was no one else here, but them. It reminded him of the first dinner they ever had together. His eyes scanned the room once again. There had been no changes since. His eyes stopped at the big painting on the wall.

Every time he looked at it, it sent shivers down his spine. It made his skin crawl making him feel watched. Quickly, he turned his head to Taehyung who was attentively watching him.

"Finding beauty in art?"

"I suppose so." He replied with his trained smile.

"Let's begin eating shall we? I'm starving."

Jimin nodded, picking up his utensils. There was no appetite for him. He knew what would come after dinner and that was unsettling.

After they finished with the food and the dessert, Taehyung walked behind him to grab a big box. It was covered in Christmas paper and had a pretty red bow tied around it.

Jimin had been so nervous coming in that he hadn't even noticed it. Not even when scanning the room.
Taehyung moved the dirty dishes to the side and set the box down in front of him.

"Merry Christmas." He said with a grin.

"Thank you." He replied shyly.

To open it up, he had to stand up. He was very careful with unwrapping the box and taking the paper off. He wasn't trying to be too loud to avoid Yoongi hearing anything.

After he managed to get everything off, he pulled the top off. Inside there was a small white box and at the bottom something else covered with paper.

The moment he saw the white box his heart stopped. He looked up at Taehyung with the blood rushing away from his face. Was he proposing?

"Open it up." He encouraged with a smile.

It took Jimin a minute to get the courage to open it. When he did, his heart literally stopped. For a split of a second. The racing thoughts hit him like a ton of bricks.

It was a pretty ring with little diamonds no all around it. The only thing he could hear was his heart in his ears. He didn't even notice Taehyung was talking to him until he got tapped in the shoulder.

"Huh?" He replied confused.

Taehyung's mouth kept moving, but he couldn't hear any words. Everything sounded muffled. Almost like he had been in a really loud place and his ears were trying to adjust to the normal noise.

"It's a thumb ring." He clarified with a chuckle.

Jimin nodded, taking a deep breath. "Wow. Okay. Uhh...thank you. I—I don't know what to say." He said relaxed.

Taehyung leaned against the table and crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you really think I was going to propose?" He teased.

Jimin turned red and looked away. He had been foolish to think such things. Instead of laughing, Taehyung picked up his chin and forced him to look at him.

"I would never do that to you," he began softly. "Men like me, men like Namjoon, even men like Yoongi...we don't get to love. We don't get to have marriages or kids. I mean, we could, but that would just be stupid."

Jimin listened attentively and processed everything he said. As soon as he mentioned Yoongi's name his attention was full on.

"We make so many enemies along the way. The more we have, the more weakness we have. That's why I hate to say it, but I was relieved when my father passed. One less thing to worry about. I already fear losing my brother and I've already lost my mother. So no, even if I wanted to propose to you I would never do that. It would hurt me more to see you die over some stupid vengeance."

Was that why Yoongi had been in such denial the whole time? Was this why he wouldn't touch him? Would Taehyung kill him for a stupid vengeance?

"Anyways, enough about that. Let's see if it fits." He announced breaking the silence.

It fit perfectly around Jimin's right thumb. He looked at the flashy ring, unable to clear his judgment. Taehyung spoke up again, making him look up.

"There's one more present."

Jimin timidly smiled and reached in to pull out the next gift. It was a shoe box. No brand name on it or anything. It made him wonder if it was truly a gift from him.

As he opened it up and smiled. A legit smile of happiness. It was a pair of yellow rain boots. He had been wanting some for a while now and the only person that knew that was—

"I asked Yoongi for suggestions. He said you wanted yellow rain boots. I see he was right. I know we haven't gotten rain often and probably won't for a while but—"

"I love it!" He screamed thrilled.

Taehyung grinned, "I'm glad. Come here."

With a quick pull on his waist, Taehyung managed to shift him onto him. Jimin gasped a bit surprised at the sudden brusque action. It had been so abrupt that he even dropped the shoe box along with the rain boots.

"I've missed you so much." He whispered, pushing the now empty box from the table.

Jimin was thankful he had drunk some wine. It made him feel a little bit better although his stomach was still all over the place.

Yoongi kept still outside with his fists clenched tightly. The noises inside were getting louder. Things were falling on the floor and Taehyung's cursing was unmistakable.

The bile crept up Yoongi's throat and he had to cover his mouth. In years he had never abandoned his assigned spot, but today was an exception.

Yoongi barely made it to the toilet before the vomit escaped his mouth. It was sour and burned as the stomach acid erupted out of him.

When he finished emptying his sour stomach, he sat down on the floor leaning against the bathroom door. His body was shaking violently and the nausea never left him.

Up until now, he had been really good at keeping it down. Today he just couldn't do it.