Yoongi stood outside the two-story bookstore waiting for Hoseok to arrive. After double and triple-checking that the numbers affixed to the brick wall matched the address in his texts, Yoongi tried to control his breathing. He felt excited to see the younger but confused as to why he wanted their first date to be at this location. He heard a knock on the bookstore window.

Turning around, he saw none other than Hoseok in the window, smiling brightly as usual. His shout was muffled through the thick glass, "Get in here!"

They met in the entryway and Hoseok pulled the older by the sleeve toward a table in the store's cafe.

Once they'd seated themselves, Hoseok began, "Okay. I want to get to know you better. To do that, we're going to play a game. I will pick a note from this bag," he indicated a ziploc bag filled with folded sticky notes, "We each get five minutes to find whatever book answers the question and we meet back here. We discuss our book choices, then find a stranger asking which book of the two they would read. If your book is chosen, you get a point. The winner gets to choose where we go to dinner. We have until 5 o'clock."

"This is amazing. You're such a dork." Yoongi teased. Adorkable, he corrected himself.

"Whatever, you're goin' down." Hoseok raised an eyebrow, holding out the bag for the older.

Yoongi chose one of the papers, unfolded it, and read aloud, "Find a book you read repeatedly as a child." Looking up from the paper, he saw that the younger was already off, running up the stairs to the bookstore's children's section. "That little shit..."

He began to follow, trying to think back to his childhood and remember any books that stood out in his memory. A half-smile formed on his lips when he pictured sitting with his mother before she was ever diagnosed with her illness.

~short flashback~

"Again, eomma! Again! And read faster!" a devilish grin broke out onto little Yoongi's face.

His mother flipped back to the front cover, "Alright, but this is the last time tonight or your eomma will suffer permanent damage," she said massaging the sides of her jaw. She read the illustrated warning on the inside cover, "Take it SLOWLY, this book is DANGEROUS."

~end~

Less than five minutes later, both boys were making their way back to their table in the bookstore's cafe.

"This was my favorite when I was a tiny baby bean," Hoseok said excitedly, flourishing his hands around the book cover as if he were displaying the prize on a game show.

"I've never heard of it."

"Well, it's super old. My grandfather read it to me all the time. He received it as a gift back in the sixties from his aunt. I'm actually surprised that it's still in print, to be honest." Hoseok mused. "Do you want me to read it to you?!"

"Sure."

Hoseok sat up straight in his chair, let out an exaggerated "ehem!" and turned the book as a primary school teacher would, allowing Yoongi to see the pictures. How are you this cute?, Yoongi thought as a half-smile crept onto his face.

Hoseok recited the story from memory, turning the pages as he went, "A little boy planted a carrot seed. His mother said: 'I'm afraid it won't come up.' His father said: 'I'm afraid it won't come up.' And his big brother said: 'It won't come up.' Every day the little boy pulled up the weeds around the seed and sprinkled the ground with water. But nothing came up. And nothing came up. Everyone kept saying it wouldn't come up. But he still pulled up the weeds around it every day. And sprinkled the ground with water. And then one day a carrot came up. Just as the little boy had known it would."

Hoseok put the book down, "It's my favorite because it taught me from a young age to have hope. Even if the voices of others, or even your own voice, is telling you that you'll be disappointed you just have to keep working toward your happiness. I plan to read it to my kids one day. Actually, remind me to buy this before we leave - it's kind of hard to find. Now read your book to me!"

Yoongi's grip tightened on his book selection. The fucking Fox in Socks?!?! What the hell was I thinking? This boy just shared a book that was meaningful to him and his entire family and I'm about to read fucking Fox in Socks.

"Okay, listen...  My book is not at all earth-shattering or filled with meaning. The prompt said to choose one that I read again and again as a child. Don't fucking judge me." He held up his book and watched the younger boy's face erupt in a giant grin.

"Look," Yoongi defended, "I read this with my mom nightly when I was small and we had contests to see who could read it fastest without mistakes. She obviously won at first, before I was a strong reader, but by the time I was seven I kicked her ass."

"Do it. Read it really fast. Show me that tongue technology." Hoseok interrupted, wiggling his eyebrows and crossing around the table to sit next to Yoongi.

Yoongi rolled his eyes and read the familiar warning on the inside cover, "Take it SLOWLY, this book is DANGEROUS." then proceeded to read the series of tongue-twisters as if they were a rap.

Hoseok's face lit up, unable to contain his excitement. He continued listening as Yoongi rapped his way through the nonsensical children's story without a hint of humor in his voice or facial expression.

"... Fox in socks, our game is done, sir. Thank you for a lot of fun, sir." Yoongi closed the book, held his hand out, and mimed dropping a mic.

"That was the greatest thing I have ever witnessed in my life," Hoseok said, holding his sides which were sore from his previous laughter.

At this point, Yoongi's nerves were gone. He stared freely at Hoseok who had been laughing so hard throughout the story that he needed to lean on the older's shoulder for support. He watched as the younger wiped lingering tears from when Yoongi the spit through the "tweedle-beetle-battle-with-a-paddle-in-a-bottle-on-a-noodle-eating-poodle" part of the book and he laughed so hard he lost his breath. Yoongi always wanted to be the reason for that smile.

Hoseok slowly sat upright, "Okay let's go find a kid - since these were children's stories - to pick my book and get my first point."

"No offense, but that thing's an antique. The point is mine." Yoongi challenged, scanning the area for their first participant.

He was right, the girl that they found browsing with her mother went straight for the colorful Dr. Seuss cover.

"You got lucky." Hoseok pouted as the child and her mother walked off. "Pick the next question."

[a/n ngl, this is one of my favorite Yoonseok interactions in the entire book 🥰🥰 🥰

let me know your thoughts]