"Hob-ah, you are radiant these days" Joon commented as he prepared the practice room before their break was over.

His friend could tell he was more relaxed, always humming little melodies and doing little happy dances. He smiled a lot even when they weren't being filmed and seemed to have an extra boost of energy.

"It's Monday morning, Hob-ah, how is this possible?" Yoongi asked walking in sleepily, decaf coffee in one hand out of habit mostly, it wasn't doing the trick.

"I think I know what's going on" Jimin said smiling widely with an excited squeaky voice that made Hobi laugh as he approached him.

"Hoseok hyung got himself a girlfriend! Didn't you?" the younger one skipped in place excited, this had been a long way coming and he was so very happy for him.

Hoseok blushed and looked away with a bashful smile and a quiet laugh.

"Well, I wouldn't know what to call it, but my neighbor's apartment was flooded when we came back last week so she stayed at my apartment that weekend"

"Ah, you finally got laid, noona was right" Jungkook commented and Hobi looked at him disapprovingly. Actually, he hadn't.

"No, we hung out most of the weekend and talked about trying to see if our schedules would work together. So we've been seeing each other since then" he explained everything so cautiously, as if he didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

By now the guys knew his words didn't always reflect his feelings, his whole attitude gave away just how happy and hopeful he felt because of this though.

"It was about time, she could never turn you down. It was so obvious you both liked each other" Jin commented relieved that he had finally done something about it.

After a whole world tour and a few months of him complaining about you when he moved out, it was getting ridiculous.

"Oh, new bracelet? I like it!" Taehyung took his wrist as he saw it when he moved his hands while explaining himself.

"Is it a couples' bracelet?" he asked with a naughty expression on his face as he took a closer look at the design. Hobi laughed embarrassed.

"Yeah, we went to Banpo and picked a pair out from one of the independent sellers there" Hoseok pulled his hand away and scratched his neck nervously.

"Romantic date, couples' jewelry, her spending the night...I think it's pretty clear that you two are a thing" Taehyung concluded.

Hobi smiled thinking about it, it was hard not to say he had got his hopes up with every hour he spent with you, but he was still wary.

"We are just going with the flow*, we don't have to put a name to it" he added nonchalantly and quickly changed topics so they could focus on work.

That night you had agreed he'd sleep over at your place so he could visit your apartment. It didn't feel as cozy as his, in your opinion, but he had insisted after sleeping at his every night.

The broken pipe had been fixed, the wall repainted and the place cleaned after having let it air out for a few days. You almost wished you had an excuse not to go back to your apartment. Only your pet awaited you there, the rest was cold and unwelcoming.

Hoseok rang your doorbell that evening after he got back from work and prepared a small bag to spend the night at your place. When you opened he had a contagious wide smile.

"Hi, aein! Missed me?" he pecked your lips and before he could pull back, you held his cheeks and kept him pressed to you for a little longer. He laughed softly when you let go.

"I guess you have" he said softly with a little wink and a side-smile.

"Come in, please, don't just stand there!" you encouraged him with a come hither motion of your finger and he did with an amused chuckle. You were a mix of cute and provocative, he loved the contrast.

He curiously looked around the room as he took off his shoes. Your decor wasn't very personal, it reminded him of hotels.

It was not surprising considering you didn't have much time to yourself. Before he moved in, his apartment didn't have much of his own touch. In fact it was rather plain.

"When did you move into this apartment?"

"Um, maybe five years ago? When I turned 24" you commented and he looked back at you with wide eyes.

"Oh, wow. You are younger than me, I wouldn't have guessed" he was surprised he hadn't ever asked.

"Do you want me to call you oppa, baby?" you teased him with the two opposing words, "I thought you said Hoseok-ah was fine."

He had indeed, now that explained what had happened and why he had assumed that. You were not immature either to assume you weren't the same age if not older.

"No, I was just wondering why you never mentioned it" he shrugged with a little pout pretending to be offended.

"Aw, baby, you never asked. It's only a four year difference, do you mind?" you placed your hand on his chest and rubbed it in circles as you stared up at him mirroring his pout.

"Nope" he booped your nose giggling and followed you as you showed him where to leave his bag and gave him a tour.

The layout of your apartment was slightly different to his, as it faced the opposite direction.

"Are you sure you don't want to meet Boa?" you entered a room with a huge tank to pick her up, but Hobi stood by the door.

You carefully took her out and the small snake slithered around your hand and wrist, wrapping it up. He watched horrified.

"What's wrong with puppies and kitties?" he asked scrunching his nose at the whole scene.

"Nothing, I think snakes can be cute too. Have you ever seen them wearing little hats? There's a lot of photos online"

"No, I stick to videos of cute animals. They help me unwind*² instead of spiking my anxiety" he insisted looking dead serious.

"What pet would you get?" you wondered, curious about his choice.

"My family pet was a dog, his name was Mickey. I miss the smell of his paws, the furry hugs, his pure love*³" he pressed his lips together and looked down at his wrist as he picked on the chain of his bracelet. Suddenly he looked sad and you wanted to distract him.

"I guess that's one thing about reptiles, they aren't fluffy. They are huggable though" you took a few steps holding your hand out to him and he freaked out.

"N-no way in hell I'm touching it, take it away!" his tone became louder the closer you got and he ended up running away when you didn't stop.

It made you giggle, from what the guys had mentioned, he was kind of a scaredy cat, he hadn't necessarily had any bad experiences.

Jungkook had showed you a video of him when they were younger and did a photoshoot with a snake. You had never told Hobi about it not to embarrass him, no matter how cute you found it, but he had made it more than clear that he didn't want anything to do with your pet.

You found him sitting in the living room once you put Boa back in her tank and went looking for him. He had chosen an armchair rather than the bigger couch in front of the tv, so you sat on him and threw your legs over the armrest as you laid your head on his shoulder.

"Were you not going to sit next to me?" you poked his cheek looking pitiful and he looked down at you smirking.

"You weren't here or I would have"

"I wasn't going to leave you alone, you know?" you grabbed his jaw and kissed his cheek this time.

"We can move to the couch now, you didn't give me a chance. Just plopped right down on me"

"That's okay, I would rather sit on your lap" you confessed nonchalantly and he giggled. He laid one arm on your thighs and wrapped the other one around your shoulders to hold you close.

Your hand went back to caressing his chest and his eyes felt heavy. Your affection always put him to sleep, you found it adorable.

"Are you tired?" you asked thinking about dinner, you should get to it if he wanted to go to bed.

"Just as tired as usual" he murmured, his head now thrown back and resting on the back of the chair.

"You always get sleepy when I touch you, that's all" your comment made him chuckle.

"Are you trying to have a different effect on me?" Hobi was endlessly playful, but sometimes his joking turned into flirting. You blushed but still hoped he'd make sense of it for you.

"You see, my mom used to caress me softly when I was a kid, until I fell asleep. The members have even seen me doing it to myself in my sleep, I can't help it"

"Awe, was that what you were doing the other morning then?" at your words his eyes shot open and his face burned bright red with shame, he burst out laughing nevertheless.

"Shut up!" he said in between giggles.

"Make me!" you challenged him grinning like a fool and he tightened his grip on you and pulled you closer to him.

Hoseok's lips moved just as sensually as his whole demeanor was when he wanted. Your hand moved up to the nape of his neck and, after kissing you for a little longer, he tugged from your bottom lip with a playful growl and released it to bury his face in your neck.

Hobi hummed pleased as you brushed his hair back with your fingers while he rested like that. He liked skinship more than people would probably guess, specially from a partner. His hands needed to feel your skin, his ear pressed to your chest attentively listened to your heartbeats, every little thing about you he wanted to cherish.

You couldn't help but worry, all this was very nice, but every time you picked up a call, you worried you'd be offered a job that would force you to be away for months.

What would happen then? The beginning was always the best part, yet it was short and sweet. It was when you went away and couldn't offer all this attention that things started to become difficult.

Hoseok looked so relaxed and content as he held you close. You smiled sadly and kissed his temple. How could you hurt him? Your heart clenched at the thought, you were filled with anxiety. Sooner or later your selfishness would end up hurting not only you, but him as well.

He might have talked you into this, but when you accepted you were thinking about yourself. About what you needed, what you wanted. You knew better, but you ignored what was best for Hobi and you couldn't help but feel like you'd failed him already.

-

* At 1:55:

https://youtu.be/29ZlFKsc_ps

*² Same video at 5:39 ^

*³ He talks about his 'puppy' rather than his dog and he loves him so much
https://www.koreaboo.com/news/bts-jhope-dog-mickey-video-call/

Q: Favourite smell?
A: "The smell of my pet Mickey's paws! On the end of the paws, it has a really nice smell. Stretching its paws and... [pretends to sniff] it's so cute, so I can't help it~!"

Source: https://kimmy-trans.tumblr.com/post/121029282256/haru-hana-vol-25-bts-personal-question