[a/n mention of terminal illness]

[Flashback, four years ago]

Yoongi sighed. "I was a bit emotional, but outside of that... I felt it too. Don't worry. Let's just eat and then, I promise, I will answer your questions."

Jimin nodded, opened his lunch container and blew on the food to cool it down. Using his chopsticks, he began pushing vegetables around the bowl like he used to do as a kid. A whirlpool of noodles, egg, vegetables and shimeji mushrooms spun rapidly in the center and then fanned out, hypnotically dancing along the outer edge of the bowl. Once in a while, he would take a few bites, but as of now he never felt less interested in food in his life. He observed the older boy who was chewing, halfway through his meal and watching the tree leaves flutter in the wind. How can he just... put this on hold?

"I'm sorry, I can't... We kissed, Yoongi. I can't just not talk about it." Jimin interrupted the silence, placing his food back into the takeout bag to indicate he was done eating.

Yoongi followed his movements with his eyes.

"You said you would answer my questions." the younger prodded.

After wiping his mouth with his napkin, Yoongi gathered up the trash from his food, placed it in the bag and threw the bag in the nearby bin. He returned, placed his hands in his lap, and looked Jimin straight in the eyes. "I'm ready."

"Okay...," Jimin wasn't sure how to start now that he actually possessed the older's attention. "First, tell me about the song you played in the classroom. I've never seen you like that before."

Yoongi let out a deep sigh. "It's probably dumb, but it means a lot to me. It's about my grandmother's piano, about how I feel when I play music. I learned about my love for music when I was a child and taught myself to play on that piano. Since I was a kid, I wanted to build my life around music... but I've had to give that idea up."

Jimin frowned, "Why would you give it up? Everything that you've let me listen to is... breathtaking. You're so talented."

Yoongi began fidgeting, using his feet to tilt himself forward and backward on the bench. "I was... alone a lot as a kid." He let out a quiet chuckle. "The focus was never on me - I mean, how could it be? My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was six."

Jimin let out a soft sound after a sharp inhale. He swiftly rose and sat on the other side of the table with the older, who continued. "She went in and out of remission over the years. Both of my parents, even in my mother's condition, needed to work so hard to provide for me and pay for her care. I grew up feeling like a waste of space. I was bullied in school. My mom taught me how to cope with it as best she could, but the only thing that allowed me to truly push those thoughts from my mind was playing music."

Jimin sat silently, allowing the boy to pour his heart out as much as he was willing, letting out little hums as confirmation that he was listening.

Yoongi continued, "We moved out of our house when I was sixteen. My parents couldn't afford the mortgage any longer. We moved into a small apartment, and for a while, I was happier because I changed schools. But when I turned seventeen, my mother's condition grew worse. Her cancer had metastasized - it spread to other organs in her body. As a family, we knew it was over. It moved too rapidly. All we had left was a waiting game... "

For several moments Yoongi silently considered if he should continue. He unconsciously gripped the table with his right hand. Jimin quietly reached over, giving it a small squeeze of support.

Yoongi turned, fondly sweeping his gaze up from the small hand to Jimin eyes, which were clouded with worry. Yoongi let go of the table, turning his hand palm-up under Jimin's and squeezed back. "My grandmother gifted me her piano. She said I could play it for my mother and bring her some peace in her final months. That's what I tried to do. Even on her deathbed, she wished I would pursue a "realistic dream" - words that have no right being placed together! She died and my dad took everything out on me. If he didn't have such an ungrateful son to support, more money could have been put into her treatment. One day at the end of my senior year of high school, I came home... my room was trashed. All of the sheet music I had written from the age of ten was long gone and my grandmother's piano was sold. My father had this idea that I would go to school and work as a civil servant. He sat me down at my desk and made sure that I completed a handful of university applications to his liking. And here I am."

The two sat without talking for a minute, Jimin's hand still lightly resting on top of Yoongi's.

Yoongi broke the silence, trying to lighten the mood, "Where are the rest of your questions? I thought this was supposed to be a hard-hitting interview."

Jimin spoke, "I can't believe that happened to you, hyung. I'm so sorry. It sounds completely inadequate, but I am so... sorry. Thank you for telling me."

Yoongi looked down at the table and then lost himself again in the younger's dark brown eyes. "You're easy to talk to." he whispered with another light squeeze of Jimin's hand.

Jimin looked back at him with the same concentration."I have to leave soon, but I only have two more questions."

"Fire away."

Jimin looked at the boy sitting inches away from him. The older was regarding him with a patient stare, still holding his hand while running his thumb along the side of his palm. Jimin knew what he wanted to ask but he didn't know if he had the courage.

"First question...," Jimin's breathing became shallow, "C-can I kiss you again?"

Jimin detected the surprise as Yoongi's eyes slightly widened. The younger looked down at his lap, immediately regretting his decision. How could he hope for Yoongi to say yes? This wasn't the dark music classroom, heavy with emotion - it was a beautiful, bright, public park in the middle of the afternoon.

Every millisecond that passed without an answer made Jimin feel the increasing need to shrink into nonexistence. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Get over here."

Jimin could hear the smile in Yoongi's voice and felt his hand under his chin gently turning him in the right direction.

With a tilt of his head, Yoongi leaned toward the younger. He kissed Jimin's top lip once then his bottom lip, twice. It was enough for Jimin to know that he could never have enough. He pushed back into the older as he returned the kiss, sliding his hand up his chest under his unzipped jacket and grasped at the fabric of his shirt. He took the older's bottom lip between his own and ran his tongue over it delicately, an unspoken question. Yoongi responded by sucking on Jimin's upper lip, running his hand up into his blond hair and scrunching his fingers together to lightly pull the younger's hair.

When the two finally came up for air, they rested their foreheads together, each being caressed by the other's warm breath.

Yoongi slowly pulled back putting distance between them. "What was your second question?"

Jimin watched the older's lips. "My what?" he asked, with a small pout.

"Your second question," Yoongi repeated, standing. "You said you had two more questions for me before we go home. You've already asked the first one." He walked around the table to retrieve Jimin's backpack from under the bench where he'd been previously sitting and placed it on the table.

"Second question..." Jimin hesitated, partially trying to recall and partially waiting for full eye contact from the older. "My second question is: What happens now ... I mean, what am I to you?"

Yoongi grabbed his bag and held out his hand. Jimin stood to throw his own backpack over his shoulder and gladly took the older's hand. They began walking toward the entrance of the park.

"I don't know," Yoongi breathed, "Maybe we need to do more cute shit together and see where it goes."

"Are you really asking me to date you and phrasing it as 'cute shit'?"

"Yep." A smirk spread on the older's face.

"I hate you. Meet me at the beach tomorrow."

[End flashback]