Namjoon

Ash sits by me in the car, her face turned away, staring out of the tinted windows. Ash and I are going to her apartment to pick up some essential stuff, whilst the rest of the group are heading back to the dorm, to clean it up, ready for Ash's arrival. I spend the entire journey studying her, my heart expanding every time she squeezes my hand, or shifts closer to me.

Real. She's real.

I had never looked into finding my soulmate much, figuring that my job was more important and that they would find me when they found me. We were fated to meet at some point in our lives and I trusted destiny to bring them to me. There was no need to force fate. But I looked forward to the moment every day, knowing that it was the one certain thing in my life. And now that I've found her, I'm entranced by her.

Although she's small, she can hold her own and from what I've seen, she's fierce. Yet, she's also polite and quiet and respectful. I always knew that my soulmate was going to be an amazing person, but I never expected this goddess. So every time she squeezes my hand, it reassures me that this isn't a dream.

"What?" She finally catches me staring at her, a shy smile on her pink lips.

"It's just............ You're everything I'd hoped for and more."

A light blush dances across her cheeks and she looks away, evidently embarrassed by my sudden romantic words.

"This feels weird." She says, lifting her hand up to her heart, "But a good weird. I feel like I've known you all of my life."

"I know what you mean."

"Namjoon.............. I've never really been in a relationship before. W-Would you mind-"

"Would I mind if we took this slowly? Ash, we have the rest of our lives. We can take it at whatever speed we want."

She blushes again, looking out of the window and a few minutes later we pull up outside an apartment block. I let go of Ash's hand for a second to pull up my mask and fix my hat, instantly taking her hand back afterwards. We climb out of the car and Ash leads me into the building, and towards the elevator. We wait for the doors to open and get in, Ash pressing the button for the 6th floor. The ride up is filled with a comfortable silence, Ash's small palm pressed up against mine.

Soon the doors open and we walk out into a corridor, with about ten doorways lining the walls. We walk down the corridor, until Ash stops outside a door, pulling out a key from her pocket. She unlocks it and ushers me in, closing the door behind her.

I look around the place, which seems to be fairly clean and with a white theme going on. Her sofa has her equipment set up, a small portable key board resting on the coffee table. Everything's open plan, except for a door leading to what I presume is her bedroom.

"It's not my place, I'm just renting....." Ash glances around and when I turn back to her, she looks nervous.

"I like it."

"Y-You do?" She says, relief filling her eyes.

I nod my head.

"Well, I guess I should get packing." She says and lets go of my hand, heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" I ask, alarmed by the sudden non contact.

"I-I need to pack my clothes." Her face lights up in a beautiful blush and I instantly know what she means.

"R-Right." I stutter, my face heating up, "W-What do you want me to do?"

"Just wait there. This'll only take a few minutes."

I nod my head and stay standing there awkwardly, waiting for her to come back out. My heart aches slightly from the lack of contact, but her close presence dulls the aching. Before I know it she comes out, a small suitcase in her hand. I walk over, taking the case from her and I slip my hand back into hers, sighing quietly at the relief it brings.

"Let's head to the dorm now." She says and I look at her.

"You know, it's not too late to back out yet."

***

We walk into the dorm, to find the group waiting for us. I scan the room and I'm pleased when I find it almost spotless. Ash doesn't need to know how untidy we really are.

"Welcome to our dorm Ash. Glad to see you didn't get sidetracked on the way here." Jimin says, before giving me a feline grin.

"No, the drive was fine." Ash replies, oblivious to what Jimin was actually suggesting.

"Well, we're all going out. We're heading to a new restaurant that I found, so no one will be in the dorm." Taehyung winks at me.

"So you can make as much noise as you want." Jungkook smiles his usual bunny smile, but with something more smug to it. Now Ash finally gets what the Maknae line is talking about and her face goes bright red, her gaze shifting to anywhere but me.

I glare at the three youngsters as they fist bump and I consider murdering them right now.

"Relax Joon. You look like you're going to bash them into pulp." Seokjin says calmly, used to the Maknae line's usual teasing.

I let out a low breath, but don't stop glaring at them.

"We're not going anywhere Joon, don't worry." Hoseok says reassuringly, "In fact, we were thinking of holding a Game night."

"Game night?" Ash looks at me curiously, with still a hint of pink on her cheeks.

"For some reason, Jimin really likes board games and forces us to play them every once in a while. It's kind of like movie night, except with board games. Obviously." I finish off lamely and I can hear Taehyung and Jungkook sniggering quietly.

"I mean, it was only a thought. We don't have to........" Jimin says, his playful mood gone, now replaced by a shy, unsure persona.

Ash seems to pick up that he's anxious and gives him a sweet smile.

"Jimin, I'd be honoured to take part in a Game night." Her tone is gentle and genuine, and I watch as Jimin practically glows with happiness.

"It's settled then. Jimin, you Taehyung, Hoseok and Ash set up the board games. Jungkook, take Ash's suitcase up to Namjoon's room, and Yoongi, Joon and I'll get some snacks ready."

Everyone obeys Seokjin's orders and I walk into the kitchen with my two hyungs.

"I must say, Ash is really nice. I feel like she'll get on very well with the group." Seokjin comments as we grab bowls out of the drawers, Yoongi riffling through the snack cupboard.

"I've known her for four years. If there's one thing Ash is, it's genuine. She cares for almost everyone that she meets, and she's great at comforting and looking after people." Yoongi says, "When we hit that rough patch in 2018, she was the one that I turned to. She even flew over to Korea for a couple of days, just to take care of me."

"Speaking of caring for people, I still haven't thanked either of you for last night." I say and both Seokjin and Yoongi stop, turning to look at me in surprise.

"Joon, you don-"

"But I do. You really helped me out yesterday and I need to thank you for that."

"Well you can repay us in due time." Yoongi replies, going back to pulling snacks out of the cupboard.

"Yoongi!" Seokjin hisses and Yoongi just shrugs his shoulders at him.

"Look, how about this: I look after you when you go through your bonding." I direct at Yoongi, who freezes in his tracks, a blush appearing on his cheeks.

"I-I........" He shoves the snacks into my hands and scurries out of the kitchen, leaving an amused Seokjin and I behind.

"Looks like you just found an exploit point." Seokjin says with a laugh in his voice.

"You know I would never do that." I reply to him, opening the snack bags and pouring them into the bowls.

"You won't, no. But I definitely will."

I chuckle at him and we finish up preparing the snacks. Seokjin and I grab two bowls each, and we walk back into the living room, to see Hoseok, Taehyung and Jimin laughing hysterically at something Ash's saying.

"Yep. She's going to get on great here." Seokjin says to me quietly and I smile.

"It's nice to see her getting on well with the members." I say and Seokjin nods his head.

We walk over to the middle of the room, placing the snack bowls on the little bit of space left of the coffee table.

"Seriously? Scrabble, again?" Jungkook complains, as we each take a seat on either one of the couches or sofa.

"What's wrong with scrabble?" I ask and Jungkook rolls his eyes.

"Oh nothing. The game's fine, it's just that every time we play it with you, you end up winning with your insufferable brain power and 148 iq."

I just smile at him.

"Lets split into four teams for this game. Why don't Ash and Namjoon be a pair?" Hoseok suggests and Yoongi groans.

"Not a good idea. Ash is the second smartest person I know, just after Joon."

"Too late." Ash gives him a wicked grin, before settling beside me.

And so, Game night begins. As we play through the night, I watch Ash, who seems to fit in perfectly. It makes me feel better, now that I know that my family accepts her.

Before we know it, it's gone past midnight and we have to wrap up our game of Cluedo quite quickly. The members all head off to their rooms and I turn to Ash, who is still sitting next to me on the sofa. Her hand is entwined with mine, her head resting on the back of the sofa.

"I know that we have spare rooms, but since we can't be apart for longer than a few minutes........" I trail off, hoping she'll get my meaning.

"I know Namjoon."

"C-Can you not call me that? It seems a bit too formal." I say, shifting awkwardly.

"What do you want me to call you?"

"I don't mind."

"Hmm." She muses, tapping her chin, "How about........ Joonie?"

My face turns bright red at the thought of her calling me that all the time. Ash glances at me, her face lighting up in a big grin when she sees how flustered I am.

"I think I like Joonie." She teases.

"Come on." I say, standing up and pulling her off the sofa, before leading her upstairs to my room.

I push open the door and let her walk in first. She lets go of my hand and turns a full circle, smiling from ear to ear. I step into the room, shutting the door quietly.

"I like your room." She says, giving me a small smile, "And yes, before you say anything, I do realise that there's only one bed."

I have to look away, so that she can't see how embarrassed I am.

"You know, I quite like Flustered Joon." Ash gives me a wink, before walking over to her suitcase and opening it, pulling out some clothes, "I'll go change in the bathroom."

She walks to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

I chuckle lightly to myself, lifting up a hand and pressing it to my skin, to find my cheeks burning. This is definitely going to be an interesting week.

---------------------------

{"Don't limit your challenges. Challenge your limits." – Unknown}

QOTD: Go to Korea and not meet BTS or stay in your home country and meet BTS? (Going to concerts doesn't count as meeting them)

I think I'd visit Korea, because I've always wanted to go there.

Alys xx