There was a strange hesitancy, Hoseok noticed when it came to Yoongi touching him.

The flicker of the eyes, almost questioning gazes as Hoseok leaned into him. The abrupt movements, combined with slight breath air he'd draw if Hoseok's lips got too close to his. The breathy awkward chuckle when Hoseok would continue interlacing their hands together. It was almost as if their first introduction had melted away, and the relaxed Yoongi who'd been open to Hoseok was now trying to create distance.

Maybe he wasn't used to this. Hoseok had no clue how Yoongi acted from beyond what was being presented to him. For all Hoseok knew, Yoongi could be a completely different person, and Hoseok would have no clue, not until he recovered his memories. Maybe that's what had Yoongi keeping Hoseok at arms' length. There were holes in Hoseok's memories, and Yoongi knew everything that had happened— all the events that had occurred prior to them being in each other's arms.

"The palace remains intact."

"You sound surprised," Hosoek remarked, watching as Yoongi now walked around the room, inspecting every crevice his eyes wandered to. It was amusing but concerning all the same. It was almost as if he were marveling over how everything was situated. Hoseok frowned slightly at the amused yet bitter expression interlaced in Yoongi's face, noticing how Yoongi's eyes clouded with scorn as if Yoongi knew something Hoseok didn't.

"Your perfect prison."

"It still looks the same," Hoseok said, frowning. Yoongi chuckled, turning to Hoseok almost indignantly.

"The last time I saw the palace, it was nothing more than ashes that rivaled the soured soil it was built on," Yoongi stated, "Only one room existed, and there, my love, you were taken from me. To see it back in its grand state, well, if I could, I'd burn this place to the ground."

Hoseok blinked. "Can't you?"

"If only."

Yoongi didn't elaborate. Maybe it was for the better. Maybe Yoongi was protecting him from something. Maybe Yoongi just didn't want to say anything that had happened in the past— waiting for Hoseok to remember on his own. Maybe Yoongi did want to say something but was restricting himself. Whichever case it was, Hoseok couldn't say for sure. So many questions, each too complex for Hoseok to get straight answers without risking finding something he'd dislike.

"How much time do we have?"

"Before someone comes to get you for breakfast?" Yoongi asked, humming softly. "I'd say about five hours. We have time with each other, I promise. If I'm lucky, I'll even get to see you fall asleep in my arms."

Hoseok smiled at the thought.

"That is, if you're sure," Yoongi quickly added, "I won't do anything you're not sure of me doing."

Hoseok scrunched his nose. "You don't have to be so formal. We aren't strangers."

"At the moment, we kind of are, Hoseok," Yoongi sighed, appearing by Hoseok's side. Hoseok scooted over, letting Yoongi sit next to him on the bed. Hoseok couldn't help the small frown that settled on his face. Yoongi's expression softened. "This feels like a dream to me, Hoseok. I hadn't expected to be here this soon. Jun worked at rates faster than expected, and I owe it all to him."

"It isn't, though," Hoseok said, taking Yoongi's hand. "I'm real. This is real."

"You are a dream, Hoseok," Yoongi said gently, caressing the boy's cheek. "The only dream I'll ever wish to have. But, the Hoseok you are right now, with the lost memory— it isn't you."

Hoseok faltered at Yoongi's words, feeling his heart nearly crush against his chest. He knew Yoongi meant no harm in his words, and nothing Yoongi had said was untrue. Everything Hosoek knew was because of what he'd read or what he'd been told. Though there were scatterings of his memories flashing through his head, he could never pinpoint and fully grasp with vivid details what had happened. Yoongi knew everything that had happened to Hoseok, so he knew the type of person Hoseok truly was— Hoseok couldn't even trust himself.

Still, to be reminded of that, it hurt.

It hurt because all Hoseok could feel as he was with Yoongi was safety. Safety, comfort, and peace, qualities that he'd ceased to feel with Seokjin and his father. Yoongi provided a way out— even if it was temporary. But the question lingered. Had Hoseok always felt this way when it came to Yoongi? What was Yoongi to him in the memory gap? Did Hoseok even want to know how everything was? How much would Hoseok change once he regained his memories?

Would the memories he was making now override anything that had happened before?

"You're thinking too much into it, sunshine," Yoongi said, bringing Hoseok back into reality. "You're not your truest self. To be your truest self, you need to have access to everything, and that includes your memories. Who knows how you'd react to me if you knew everything that happened between us?"

"You make it sound like you did terrible things."

Yoongi smiled ruefully. "Depends on your definition of terrible, sunshine."

"It wouldn't make you a bad person, though," Hoseok frowned. "People do terrible things for the people they care about. I don't think my current opinion of you would change."

"That could be, Your Highness," Yoongi conceded. "But, it is hard to imagine that you would willingly say that to a species you used to detest."

"I feel uneasy around my father and Seokjin," Hoseok answered honestly, locking eyes with Yoongi. "Whatever happened past, I can't speak for. Right now, though, the only people even remotely helping me are you guys. And when I see you, Yoongi, it's like my heart wants to explode in its chest. I've only seen you tonight, and it's the calmest I've ever felt."

Yoongi froze slightly at Hoseok's words. Hoseok watched as Yoongi's lips parted in surprise, expression becoming both touched and conflicted. Eyes glinting in an almost wonder— as if Yoongi had been craving hearing such words coming out of Hoseok's lips. Perhaps he had been waiting for Hoseok to say such statements— phrases that seemed like he'd never be able to say. While they came naturally to Hosoek's tongue, Hoseok couldn't help but wonder what the past held for Yoongi ad him.

"It almost hurts that you'll regain your memory," Yoongi murmured, almost inaudible. "I pray to the Moon you'll still feel that way, Hoseok, because all I knew you felt was anything but calm with me."

"Would you prefer it if I never regained my memories?" Hoseok asked, mostly out of curiosity. Yoongi immediately shook his head.

"You deserve to know the truth," Yoongi answered, sighing. "Everything. I'd rather have you learn to love me than for you to see me as an image you've conjured up. I could be feeding you all different types of lies right now, just to get you to like me, and I could have encouraged everyone to let you remain the way you are right now. Do you know how easy it would be for me to turn you against Micah and Seokjin? How I could manipulate you into thinking, we're something we aren't currently are? Seokjin's done it plenty. Nothing's stopping me."

But Yoongi wouldn't do that.

Hoseok and he both knew that.

Yoongi wouldn't overstep his boundaries. Yoongi wouldn't put Hoseok in any unnecessary danger. Yoongi wouldn't turn Hoseok against anyone. He'd let Hoseok decide for himself what he wanted to do. It didn't matter how bad the circumstances were; if Hoseok could have the liberty of choice, then Yoongi would give it to him.

Every single time.

"I'm glad Seokjin's gone," Hoseok said, looking away slightly. "Gives me peace of mind."

"Could have had me fooled," Yoongi commented, "You even kissed that man to give him reassurance."

Hoseok scoffed, expression fumbling in distaste, "If Seokjin had figured out that I'm starting to remember, he would have turned this place upside down. He'd force the medicine or whatever they've been giving me down my throat. At this point, I don't know what Seokjin's capable of, and that's what scares me the most."

"He loves you, Hoseok," Yoongi reminded, squeezing Hoseok's shoulders as lightly as he could. "Told you himself. He'll do anything for you. It's because he loves you that he's doing it."

"But I don't love him."

The words flew out faster than his mind could comprehend, leaving even Yoongi stunned. It was a declaration, one that, though said fast, bore only truth. Hoseok knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he didn't love Seokjin. He did once; Hoseok knew it. And it hurt. It hurt admitting that Hoseok didn't love Seokjin anymore. It hurt, but it didn't make it less true.

His heart didn't skip the beats it used to with him. Looking at Seokjin, he could only see the boy he used to love, someone that was devoted to him. He couldn't reciprocate the feelings the way he'd always thought he was going to. Hoseok couldn't see anything with Seokjin anymore. Something in him was telling him not to trust Seokjin, and his inexplicable uneasiness around him was too hard to ignore.

"Those words will break him."

Even as Yoongi said those words, there wasn't any remorse filled in them. He was trying to remain as stoic as possible, but Hoseok could detect glee in his otherwise neutral tone. Of course, it would be a win for Yoongi. If Hoseok knew anything about everything before, it was that he loved Kim Seokjin. He loved Kim Seokjin before he'd met Yoongi, so Seokjin was Yoongi's romantic rivals of sorts.

You cannot prevent the unpreventable.

Hoseok and Yoongi were unpreventable.

Seokjin and Hoseok were not.

"I know," Hoseok whispered, feeling a bit guilty. "But that's just how it has to be. It's the way things are meant to be. Yeonjun told him that."

"You remember him now?" Yoongi asked, expression lighting up with hope. Hoseok nodded.

"He's the one that's been coming over," Hoseok answered. "The one that came the first night. YJ. I do remember him. His face, certain phrases he's said— all of it. Concrete memories not yet, but it's something at least."

Yoongi grinned. "That's what we want to hear. When you get your full memories back, we can make everything go back to the way it was before."

"How are we going to do that?"

That was a question Yoongi did not know the answer to.

Regaining memory was only one part of the equation. By now, Hoseok had a full distrust of Seokjin and his father— regardless of whether he had his memory back or not. Truthfully, Seokjin had been digging his own grave lying to Hoseok the way he did. His father pressuring him into coronation when something like that was off the table before.

"We'll figure it out," Yoongi murmured, sighing softly. "We have to. For now, we stop your coronation."

"You don't want to King alongside me?" Hoseok joked, earning a snort from Yoongi. "What? It could be a tale of the ages. Two different species coming together as one."

"I was never fit for the role of royalty, sunshine," Yoongi responded, falling silent for a couple of moments. Then, he nodded, "But if that's what you want to do, then I'll happily do it, so long as I'm by your side."

"Might be too early for that," Hoseok hummed. "We'd have to get married first."

Yoongi shook his head. Scrunching his nose, he said, "What is it with you humans wanting to marry? Can't you all just be together faithfully without having to do such nonsense? Jimin and Namjoon live happily with their loved ones just fine. You humans see a gold carat ring and start crying."

"Weddings are beautiful," Hosoek said, crossing his arms. "You just don't understand the value of it. It makes the commitment official between two lovers."

"Isn't consummating the relationship that does that?" Yoongi asked, seemingly puzzled. Hoseok gasped at Yoongi's statement, nudging him slightly. "What? That's what you humans do. Make love, and that's how you prove your devotion to each other. It's one of the highlights of your life, so I've heard."

"Marriage comes first," Hoseok said, ignoring the blush that was starting to creep up his cheeks. "Then you do that. It makes the marriage complete."

Yoongi shrugged. "If that's what you want, then I'll oblige."

"We aren't getting married anytime soon," Hoseok scoffed, dipping his head. "Considering the state we're in, we hardly know each other."

"Mm."

Yoongi tilted his head so that he could fully see Hoseok. Hoseok raised an eyebrow as Yoongi said nothing, gazing suspiciously as Yoongi's expression relaxed, lips pulling into a smirk. They stared at each other comfortably for a couple of moments before Yoongi finally leaned his head closer to Hoseok, to which the latter continued to eye him, opting not to move away.

"May I steal a kiss from you, my dear Prince?"

The first thought that came into mind was that Yoongi had said that before. He'd said it many times, and while Hoseok could only grasp at the strings of the words, he knew Yoongi had meant them for him. Whether Yoongi had done that on purpose or if he just wanted to be respectful was beyond Hoseok, but he was more than willing to bet on the former.

Hoseok smiled.

"When have I ever stopped you?"

This time, though, Hoseok would initiate it.

There was something satisfying about kissing the one meant for you. It filled your senses with nothing but peace as lips moved side by side, almost in perfect sync. Of course, there can't be perfect in between two different species— but to Hoseok, this was perfect. Yoongi's lips were gentle, almost caressing him, exerting just the right amount of force without causing Hoseok any damage, and as Hoseok angled himself to capture Yoongi's lips more, he couldn't help but move in as close as his body could permit.

Comforting and addicting. Yoongi had Hoseok buzzing with euphoria as the world dissolved around them. For now, it was just the two of them to enjoy each other's presence and to fulfill what had always been meant to occur. He'd never felt like this before— not even with Seokjin, who Hoseok had sworn was his love bound. This was different. More natural, more inviting, warmer, more them.

"That's the first time you've ever kissed me first," Yoongi said after they broke apart. Hoseok smiled lazily, letting himself snuggle into Yoongi's body. "You're going to regret how close you're being with me once you've regained your memories."

"I'm sure we had made progress at least," Hoseok responded, resting his head on yoongi's shoulder. "If we hadn't, I don't think we'd be speaking right now."

"Yeah, we did," Yoongi smiled, almost painfully. "It was the most progress I'd had with you in weeks. As luck would have it, though, that was the time where we were both ripped apart from each other."

Hoseok laced his fingers with Yoongi's. "We'll be okay. We have to be. If we're meant to be then, we'll make it out of this."

"You have more faith than I do," Yoongi smiled, laughing softly.

"I have to," Hoseok answered. "What type of Prince would I be if I didn't bring hope to the people? What type of person would I be if I didn't bring hope to those I care about?"

Hope.

That was the only thing that could keep them at bay in distressing times like this.

After a few moments, Hoseok felt his eyes begin to flutter close, drowsiness covering him as he laid in Yoongi. Noticing Hoseok's change, Yoongi slowly set the boy down, letting Hoseok's head hit the pillow softly, before scooting away slightly to give Hoseok more space. Hoseok smiled lazily at Yoongi, unable to say much but trying his best nonetheless to say the one word they both wanted to hear.

"Stay."

Without another word spoken, Yoongi eased himself into Hoseok's bed, arms draping over Hoseok's chest in an almost protective manner as they both let sleep take over them. Within minutes they were both asleep in each other's arms, completely unaware of the pair of eyes that had been watching them from a distance.

a/n: i said update this weekend on twt so here we are >:) finished writing this post concert (i went to a maroon 5 concert a couple hours ago) but ahh here we are full of sope and love and it's great for now. no seokjin is always a plus here!

college has really been kicking my ass like idk what we doing at this point and how we surviving until december 😔😫

thank you all so much for your patience <3 you truly are the best readers out there, ilysm YOU HAVE ALL THE RIGHTS IN THE WORLD💜❤️

no official update schedule at this point, i shall write when i have time 😋

thank you for reading 💜