"Welcome, Jimin."

The boy in question was greeted at the door with a smile and a panting dog. Jimin blinked. Yoongi petted the small dog's fur.

"This is Holly," he introduced, holding the toy poodle out so as to hand to Jimin. "He doesn't bite. He used to chew on my hand but he's over that phase. Aren't you, Holly?"

The dog gave a high-pitched bark and Yoongi smiled wider. Again, Jimin just blinked.

"Y-...I don't remember the dog from l-"

"He was sleeping on the floor in my sister's room, that's why," he explained and took a step backward, then gestured for Jimin to enter the house. The boy hesitated too long and had to be yanked inside by the wrist.

"What the f-"

"Look, I'm just really excited to watch the movie," Yoongi blurted. Jimin made a face which expressed the hesitance Yoongi already knew he was experiencing, but the mint-haired boy simply broadened his smile and directed Jimin over to the living room sofa.

The latter got distracted by that smile. He only snapped back into focus once Yoongi started waving his hand in front of Jimin's face.

"Hello, there, space cadet."

He smacked his hand away.

"Mean..."

Shaking his head, Jimin swiftly made his way out to the living room and plopped himself down on the sofa and made himself comfortable; which wasn't difficult, as the sofa cushions were soft and sunk inward in the way Jimin loved. What he didn't love, however, was how quickly Yoongi joined him on that sofa, and moreover how close he sat.

The sofa was small. Jimin had nearly forgotten just how small from the last time he had been here, but now that the two of them were here again, side by side, it all came back.

At least we're not facing each other, he thought in optimism.

"Are you cold, Jimin?"

"What?" At the unexpected question, the boy turned towards Yoongi, raising an eyebrow. It then struck him, upon realizing the boy was looking at his jacket, that Jimin still had his jacket on. He had forgotten to hang it by the door.

Blushing lightly, he slipped out of the jacket and rose to his feet to go hang it up. And Yoongi chuckled to himself as he watched him.

"I wasn't telling you you couldn't wear it inside," he said. "I was just wondering. If you're cold, we have blankets."

"It's fine. I don't get cold," Jimin mumbled, reclaiming his seat.

"Lies. I can already see you shivering."

"Is your family out again?"

"Yup. They're usually out till late."

Jimin pulled his feet up onto the sofa. Again, he didn't feel entirely comfortable being alone with Yoongi, for whatever reason.

"Bark!"

Well, at least the dog is here.

"Holly, go play somewhere else, okay?"

Jimin shifted his gaze over to the toy poodle, watching as it barked once more then obediently skipped down the hall most likely to play just as his owner had said. And now that the dog was gone and no longer barking meaninglessly—not that he was a particularly loud or obnoxious dog, but even Holly had his moments—the two were alone again.

Yoongi reached out to retrieve the remote which was on an end table to his right. He switched the screen on. Before Jimin had gotten here, Yoongi had gone ahead and put the movie disk in the DVD player, so now the title screen was staring them in the face. Yoongi made a glance at Jimin.

"...you ready?"

"Oh, shut up, it's just a movie. Push play already."

Yoongi giggled. He giggled. "Whatever you say, tough guy."

And so the movie began without another word—spoken aloud, that is. There were certainly still a handful of words in Jimin's head, but he tucked them away, and his nervousness, and tried to simply relax and enjoy himself.

He and Yoongi were friends. They were friends now. This was normal for friends. Yup. Just two gay friends, sitting close together on a small couch, alone, watching an LGBTQ+ movie. Jimin had heard of Love, Simon before. However briefly. As soon as he learned what the basic plot was he pushed it out of his line of vision, where he wouldn't have to see or think about it anymore. He would never have dreamed of ever watching it. Especially not with another boy, and Yoongi of all people, who, as was stated openly before, was gay.

"Simon's attractive, don't you think?"

He should have known Yoongi would be making these teasing little comments throughout the movie. But oddly enough, they weren't annoying. They did, however, draw from Jimin an occasional blush, more so the ones accompanied by Yoongi's smiles and/or soft or silent laughter. It was clear he was amused by Jimin's reactions. Although, it wasn't at all in a spiteful way, and Jimin could sense that, and perhaps that was why it didn't annoy him as much as he thought or wished it did.

Another thing Jimin didn't expect was really enjoying the film—like he really enjoyed it. Certain scenes kept his eyes full-on glued to the screen, and yes, he could agree that the actor who played Simon was quite attractive, and seeing how reserved the boy was in terms of expressing himself to others was something Jimin, obviously, could relate to. Greatly.

His wide eyes only left the movie screen when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket—not wanting to miss anything, he quickly took it out to see if it were anything important.

Jihyun:
whatchu up to lil jim

Jimin felt his stomach churn. He couldn't tell the truth. In no circumstance. None. So he thought up a quick, reasonable lie.

me;
at namjoon's

Jihyun:
gotcha
just curious as to why u weren't home
k whatever I'll see u later then

me:
right

He breathed a deep sigh of relief, tucking the phone away again and shivering as a chill went down his spine. Yoongi, taking notice of this, casually reached behind him to take hold of the blanket which was draped over the back of the sofa.

And he quietly pulled it down to fall over Jimin's shoulders.

And for whatever reason that, almost as much as the sound of Yoongi's laugh, made Jimin's chest feel warm.

He pulled the blanket closer to himself and tried to focus again on the movie.

Luckily, he hadn't missed much, and before he knew it Jimin had once again become fully engrossed in the plot and watched almost unblinkingly. He related too much. Perhaps that was why it gripped his attention so tightly. Some scenes more than others.

At one point a tear spilled over his eyelid without his realizing it. It was Yoongi who picked up the soft yet audible sound of a couple tear drops hitting the sofa.

It made sense. This particular scene, where the main character's family was first discovering about his secret, probably affected Jimin deeply—no, not probably. It definitely did. The proof lay in those few little teardrops, in the subtle quivering of Jimin's lips and eyes, in the way he refused to look away from the screen for the longest time, evidently not wanting to miss a single moment of what he was seeing.

He envied this fictional character and his sweet, accepting family. Of course, Jimin wouldn't say he was ungrateful for his own family, simply that...

...well, he wished things could be different.

Yoongi scooted closer to Jimin on that little sofa and gently put his arm around the boy. And Jimin, too distracted to reject the kind gesture of comfort, leaned into Yoongi and rested his head on his shoulder.

The tender atmosphere really got to Yoongi. Sympathizing for Jimin, he started to comb his fingers through the boy's orange locks, surprised to find how soft they were.

Eventually (sadly) Jimin mustered up his emotional strength again and raised his head, wiping his eyes so he could see the screen through more than just blurry vision. And Yoongi gave a half-smile—proud of Jimin for being able to pull himself together but just the teeniest bit disappointed because he kinda liked having the boy's head on his shoulder...

Throughout the remainder of the movie, Jimin managed to keep his tears at bay. Although close to the end he was afraid he'd start to cry, afraid the main character, after all he had been through, was going to get stood up by the boy he fell in love with.

But then it all came together. The happy ending. And most of all.

The kiss scene.

He didn't know why he hadn't expected it. Like, of course there was a kiss scene. But still. For whatever reason, it surprised him. But what surprised Jimin even more was that his eyes, all on their own, drifted gradually over to Yoongi's lips.

Yoongi had cute lips. Cute, thin, pink lips. Jimin felt his cheeks flush.

I wonder if he's ever kissed anyone before.

"Jimin?"

He snapped back to reality faster than ever before, turning to face forward so abruptly he swore he pulled a muscle in his neck.

What is wrong with me??

"How did you like the movie, Jimin?"

Don't ask me that, I can't think right now. Jimin cleared his throat, shyly rubbing the nape of his neck as he tried to think of a concise answer. "It was..." His gaze traveled over to Yoongi who waited expectantly for his answer. His expression...was so gentle. The mint-haired boy wore on his face such a small smile, but it looked sweet, and sincere, and something else Jimin couldn't describe, but again, it did something to his heart.

Yoongi leaned forward to wipe away a tear stain on Jimin's cheek.

Their eyes met. And Jimin couldn't look away.

And he wondered at that very moment maybe this dumb feeling in his heart wasn't just some natural reaction.

"...good. The movie was good."

The room fell quiet and Yoongi tried to resist smirking at the blatant redness of Jimin's face. It's the kiss scene, he thought to himself. It made him shy.

At that moment Jimin flinched as his phone once again buzzed in his pocket, catching him off guard and not in the good way. Pursing his lips, he took the device out and glanced at the screen.

It was Namjoon.

Juneberry:
dude
wtf
Jihyun's at my house rn asking where u r
I told him u were in the bathroom
u gotta get here fast Chim

He swore his life flashed before his eyes.

No, no, no, no, no....

me:
Ok, ok
I'll be there as soon as I can

Juneberry:
ur lucky i caught on, man..
ur at yoongi's arent u ?

me:
I'm leaving

"Jimin, is something wr-"

"I have to go."

"Not again..." Yoongi bit the inside of his cheek as a frown took over. "What did I do this time-?"

"Nothing," Jimin blurted, already in the process of throwing the blanket off himself and scrambling over to the door. "You didn't do anything, I just have to go. Bye."

In seconds Jimin had rushed out of the house. He slammed the door shut and left his jacket behind.

Yoongi sighed.

"...bye, Jimin..."