The days slipped by so quickly, but this time, not through Jimin's fingers. Before he knew it, though, his graduation day had started to approach, but sooner so, his school's annual dance that Jimin had never cared for in the past. He'd always gone merely for participation and hung around Namjoon the entire night, but now that Yoongi had come into the picture, Jimin suddenly cared a lot more. As did Yoongi.

It was an obvious, unspoken decision that the two would be each other's dates to the dance. However, still did Jimin feel obligated to ask anyway.

"I'll have to think about it," Yoongi joked, which sadly drew from the other a surprised and disappointed reaction. "J-Jimin, I'm just messing with you. Of course I want to go with you."

"Well, I didn't know if you cared for the event." Jimin shuffled his feet nervously.

"If I didn't before, I do now," Yoongi said, smiling as he reached forward to take Jimin's hand. "I'd be an idiot to pass up the opportunity to dance with the cutest boy in school."

"...I'm not-"

"Shall I swing by your house at around seven tomorrow?"

Internally sighing, Jimin gave a brief nod which earned him both a smile and a kiss to the cheek. "I'll see you then, baby."

Though it still slightly saddened him still to wave goodbye, it wasn't as difficult for Jimin, who had it in his mind already that he needed to prepare for tomorrow. For starters, the boy had to figure out what to wear - whether he wanted to go with one of the dozens of outfits Yoongi had enthusiastically helped him pick out on their recent "remodeling Jimin's wardrobe" shopping trip, or if he wanted to go with something a bit nicer and more formal for the occasion.

Secondly, Jimin had made an appointment at his local hair salon.

*

"Are suspenders too much? Be honest with me, Hobi."

"Why would they be too much? I think they'd look good."

Sitting back against the pillows on his bed, Yoongi crossed one arm over his stomach and sighed deeply. "I don't know..." He whispered into the phone. "I haven't worn them in a while, don't really know how I feel about them. I wanna look nice, ya know?"

"Yoongi, if you want fashion advice, I'm not really your guy," Hoseok laughed. He couldn't help but find his friend's distress in this situation amusing. "I think Jin would be a lot better for this kind of thing. Why don't you call him?"

"Last time I tried talking to him he seemed kinda troubled about something but wouldn't tell me what it is."

"Huh...yeah, I've kinda noticed that, too. Still, maybe he'd be up to helping you."

"I could try calling him again. Thanks, Hobi."

"Yup! I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Bye."

Feeling somewhat disappointed, Yoongi hung up on Hoseok, moments later bringing up Seokjin's contact but hesitating to call. After some time he made the decision to do so. Maybe he'll tell me what's going on with him lately.

"...Jin?"

"Hey, Yoongi, what's up?"

Well, he sounds normal. "I had a quick fashion question for you-"

"Fashion question?" Seokjin chuckled at his friend. "Sure, go for it."

"Suspenders or no?"

"On you?" The boy stopped to hum thoughtfully for a moment. "Honestly, I think they'd work for you."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Besides, I'm sure Jimin would like them."

This comment inevitably brought out a fond smile from Yoongi, who swayed for a moment as he pictured how stunning his boyfriend would look tomorrow, regardless of what he chose for himself to wear. Still, Yoongi wanted to look nice for him.

"Alright, I'll wear 'em," he decided happily. "Thanks, Jin."

"No problem."

"Hey, by the way, are you taking any of those girls who asked you to the dance? I know there were at least a few."

"I-..." Seokjin noticeably hesitated, which only puzzled Yoongi. "No," he soon answered.

"Really?" Yoongi asked, unable to mask his surprise. "That girl who came up to you at the end of the day seemed really nice, though. Then again, what do I know about girls..."

"I just wasn't really in the mood, I guess," Jin stated vaguely. "Besides, the girls I've gone to dances with always seem to act different at the dance itself. Not to mention they tend to be a bit clingier and more talkative than I'd prefer. And maybe it's just because of the excitement of the night that they're like that, I don't know, I just...yeah. Not feelin' it."

"Are you still gonna go?"

"Yeah, I'll still be there," he replied. "Hoseok and a couple other people asked me if I was going and I told them 'yeah' so I'd feel like a liar if I didn't at this point. Besides, the food's good."

Yoongi stifled a laugh at this. "Priorities, right?"

"Absolutely. Oh, and don't think I'm gonna miss out on you and your little date's special dance together~"

"What're you gonna do, video-tape us, dad?"

"Maybe I will, son. Unless Jimin doesn't like the idea."

"Oh? Since when did you become so considerate of Jimin, huh?"

"Since the kid started looking at us and not down on us. He's come a long way."

"That he has."

*

So the night of the dance arrived and Yoongi, who sadly didn't have a license or a car, strolled along the sidewalks with nothing but the clothes on his back and a trimmed orange rose in his hand. His sister teased him for the idea, but at the same time she thought it a sweet gesture. Moreover, she couldn't have been happier for her little brother. She would have loved to drive him to the dance that night if she could.

After roughly twenty minutes Yoongi finally arrived at the door to Jimin's house. He wouldn't deny it. He felt just a bit nervous about the whole thing, but deep down he knew there was no reason to be. Jimin was his boyfriend. It wasn't as though he was stepping out boldly to ask a friend to be his date or anything. There was no reason to feel nervous. Not a one.

One doorbell ring and a few seconds later and the front door opened.

Jimin stood there, in a semi-casual black suit jacket and pants, a bowtie, rosy cheeks, and dyed pink locks.

Pink.

"I...dyed my hair."

"I can see that."

At the long stretch of silence that followed these words, Jimin wondered for a moment if Namjoon had lied to him when he said the color suited him, if maybe Yoongi didn't like it. He hadn't once mentioned the idea to him. Maybe I should have. Maybe I should have told him first.

The feeling of Yoongi softly touching his hair drew Jimin from his panicked thoughts.

"The...rose doesn't match anymore, but do you still want it?"

Before Jimin could ask what he meant, Yoongi pulled from behind his back the single orange rose he had taken with him. And he held it out to Jimin.

"Would've gotten a pink one if I'd known," he said, chuckling under his breath. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Cus you're making me shy. C'mon, b-...Jimin."

Jimin bit back a smile as Yoongi took his hand and started to walk. "What happened to 'baby'?"

"Not now. Let me get myself together first."

"You're being cute."

"And you're making me fall for you all over again, cut that out."

"...sorry?"

From there it was a quiet, peaceful walk to the school gymnasium - the dance location - with the two boys happily holding each other's hand and Yoongi making subtle glances at Jimin's hair that were caught every time. But Jimin pretended not to notice.

Seeing as they had walked rather than driven, Jimin and Yoongi arrived "fashionably late" to the dance and drew the attention of quite a few pairs of eyes. But neither paid any mind, except to the friend of theirs who approached them with a gleaming expression.

"JIMIN!"

"Hi, Hoseok." Jimin offered a small wave. The redhead, who had prior to this moment stuffed his face with pasta and failed to wipe away the sauce from his mouth, widened his eyes to their full capacity and completely disregarded the sigh of disappointment his best friend just released.

"You look incredible!"

"Thanks," Jimin said in reply, shyly scratching his cheek.

"Yoongi, you never told me Jimin dyed his hair!"

"I didn't know till tonight," Yoongi protested. Hoseok made a dramatic noise of understanding, then winked at his friend.

"Well, okay then," he said, grinning, "I suppose I should leave you two to yourselves, then, huh?"

So he did. Without waiting to hear another word from either of the boys, Hoseok made his departure and returned to his formerly abandoned plate of food on the other side of the fancifully decorated gymnasium. Yoongi sighed again. "He's such a mess..."

"Awfully supportive, though," Jimin added.

"Yeah, definitely that... So do you want to get something to eat?"

"Sure. Ah, wait-"

Yoongi stopped walking as soon as he had started and looked over his shoulder at Jimin. "Something wrong?"

"No," he assured him, "I just...wanted to go talk to someone for a bit. I'll come back after that, I promise."

"By someone, do you mean your brother?"

"Yeah." Jimin gave a small smile. "I told him I'd give him a call."

"By all means." Yoongi returned the smile in full. "Take your time, Jimin. I know how important he is to you."

"Thanks, Yoongi."

He left the boy with a warm kiss before taking out his phone and making his way over to a quiet and scarcely occupied area. Yoongi gently touched his lips. The things you make me feel, boy...

He saw this as a good opportunity to locate and talk to his other friends. The first he spotted happened to be Jungkook, who had brought along his boyfriend and appeared too wrapped up in a conversation to register anything going on around him. And Yoongi didn't have any desire to interrupt their moment in any way, despite wanting to talk to Jungkook. It could wait. Besides, Yoongi soon spotted Seokjin over by the drinks table, not talking with anyone at the moment.

"Jin."

"Yoongi, hey." The boy greeted him with a somewhat lazy smile, which immediately drew suspicion from his friend. "The suspenders look nice. What did I tell you?"

"You told me, and I listened."

"Good man. So where's Jimin?"

"Making a phone call, might take some time," Yoongi answered briefly. "So I came over to see what was going on with you."

"Not much. Just getting some punch."

"The punch is on the other end of the table, though."

"I know. That was the punchline."

"...you're lucky we're friends, Jin."

The conversation ended there with a quiet laugh from the both of them, comfortable silence following. Yoongi checked on Jimin from where he stood - the boy still appeared to be on the phone. He glanced over at Jungkook - still lost in Taehyung's eyes, it seemed. Meanwhile Seokjin's eye had been caught by someone else.

A certain friend standing alone, looking despondently down at a cup in his hand.

That look never failed to bother Jin's chest.

"Namjoon looks handsome."

This unannounced comment caught Yoongi off guard and urged him to look up at Seokjin with raised brows. He then followed his friend's eyes towards the boy in question. "Yeah, he does," he said in agreement. "Formal wear looks nice on him."

"Mm."

"Why don't you go tell him?"

"What?" In shock, Seokjin craned his neck to stare back at Yoongi, furrowing his brow so as to stress how against the idea he was. "No. Why on earth would I do that?"

"Oh, for goodness' sake, Jin, don't be so stubborn." The mint-haired boy rolled his eyes. "He's your friend, isn't he? Friends compliment friends. Besides, he looks kinda lonely over there. And I'm sure it would make him happy to hear from you."

He knew Yoongi had a point. But Seokjin's headstrong nature kept him rooted where he stood. Yoongi could see his friend wasn't moving, so he merely sighed in disappointment and shifted his attention over to Jimin again. The boy appeared to be in the process of finishing up the call, gradually pulling his phone away from his ear and preparing to slip it back into his pocket.

"Well, I can't make you do something you don't want to," Yoongi whispered, shaking his head, "I'm just saying, I think it would mean a lot to him. I'll talk to ya later."

"...bye."

Yoongi left. And Jin stayed, frowning intensely as he went back and forth between staring at his hands and looking back over at lonely Namjoon.

So abruptly did something else catch Seokjin's eye.

A group of girls sitting somewhat near to Namjoon, all at one table, were giggling amongst themselves as they chattered and made glances at Namjoon. But they weren't just innocently talking about him. Seokjin could tell, even from where he stood, that the girls were checking him out from head to toe, more obviously focusing on the boy's butt and slightly exposed collarbone.

It irritated Jin. More so how oblivious Namjoon seemed to the situation.

He shrugged it off at first. But that changed once one of the girls confidently walked up to Namjoon as the others observed and giggled. The boy in question, being the kind, polite gentleman that he was, greeted the girl with a smile.

She had no grasp of the term 'personal space', evidently. And she was still so clearly eyeing up Namjoon without a shred of shame.

That oblivious idiot.

Just when Seokjin thought he'd be able to keep his ground, he saw the girl reach out to touch Namjoon's shoulder.

And all of a sudden he didn't care about being stubborn anymore.

"Namjoon! I was looking for you! Ah, excuse me, miss-" He forced a bright smile, forwardly stepping into the picture. "I need to speak with him for a moment, would you mind leaving now? Thank you kindly."

The girl scowled at Jin, but listened to his request and stormed away back over to her friends.

Namjoon blinked. "Uh-"

"Are you blind??"

Frustrated. Seokjin sounded so openly frustrated with him. "Not...last time I checked." He tilted his head. "Is...is something wr-"

"Those girls!" Jin scoffed. "C'mon, don't tell me you couldn't see how they were looking at you."

Genuine confusion spread across Namjoon's face. "Well, the one just came up to tell me I looked nice-"

"She was being a perv is what she was doing," Seokjin corrected, his voice bubbling with irritation even more now. "I can't believe someone is actually capable of being as oblivious as you. You really are something else."

"I'm...sorry?" Still puzzled by how worked up this boy seemed to be, Namjoon nervously rubbed the nape of his neck. "Did I annoy you without trying this time?"

An invisible hand of guilt smacked Jin across the face. "That's not what I meant," he muttered. "I just...can't stand the sight of perverts trying to take advantage of someone like you. You deserve to be treated with more respect than that."

Such a touching comment spoken from the heart. Namjoon's chest felt warm.

"You just keep getting more charming, Jin."

No, don't say that. "What're you saying?" Jin huffed. "I've already reached my peak."

At this, Namjoon couldn't help but laugh, the dimples on his cheeks deepening as his smile grew wider. "Is that so?"

"Naturally. The world wouldn't be able to handle if I got more handsome."

"You're probably right about that."

"Of course I'm right."

Seokjin's boiling blood had calmed at this point, and the atmosphere morphed from tense to relaxed. Namjoon just had that effect, he'd realized.

"If you feel bad that I'm alone, it's okay, really," Namjoon said out of nowhere, drawing the other's attention. "I don't want to steal your time. I'll be more alert now, I promise."

Always the same. This boy always gave the impression he felt guilty for Seokjin being around him. And Jin hated that. "Well, what if I'm the one stealing your time, huh?" He crossed his arms. "Did ya think of it that way?"

"Considering I'd give you my time if you asked, I could never think of you being the thief."

Stop... "Well, could I have some of your time?"

"Of course."

That smile. That darned smile.

"You look handsome, Jin."

"Wh-" The realization that Namjoon had been the first to say it struck Jin like a metaphorical brick to the head. As though he hadn't had enough of those recently. "No, that's what I was supposed to say!"

Namjoon's eyes widened a little.

"You look handsome. There. I said it. Yoongi can shove it."

Overcome with a sudden feeling of accomplishment, Jin beamed with pride as he looked out across the gymnasium, failing at first to see the blush creeping up on Namjoon's cheeks. But he turned back again in time to see it before it could fade - rather, it deepened as the two's gazes met.

And the way Namjoon looked at him...

The way Namjoon had always looked at him since the day he confessed...

"No one's ever looked at me the way you do."

He wanted to keep it bottled. He hadn't planned to voice his thoughts, the thoughts that had been gnawing at him for weeks now. But something in his heart urged him to.

"It's bizarre, how much this has been bothering me," Jin said, laughing but it was so obviously fake.

Namjoon stared with deep concern. "What's been bothering you?"

"Just...the thought that I'm never going to meet anyone exactly like you." Another forced laugh. "Really. Like, with your manners, your mind, your kindness, your selflessness, your heart..."

Seokjin gazed down at his feet, almost in shame.

"I'm no idiot...I could deny it to anyone else, but not myself. I can't ignore knowing that you really are my ideal person."

Namjoon didn't know how to react. The gears in his head moved slowly.

"I've come to realize that the only thing that was stopping me from dating you was that you're a boy. The only thing..."

Jin pursed his lips, a gentle breath passing through his nose.

"A ridiculous thing..."

His heart hammered relentlessly against his chest.

"I could wait around for some girl to temporarily steal my heart, but that would mean letting slip away the boy who wants to keep it."

It took a lot to swallow his pride, but deeming it necessary, Seokjin finally got himself to make eye contact again.

"Before I make the mistake of putting it off any more, I want to ask you on a date, Namjoon. And don't you dare open your mouth and say it's because I feel guilty for turning you down before or some crap like that, shut up, I made this decision on my own. But break my heart if you want. You've earned that right."

Speechless. To say the very least, Namjoon was at a complete loss for words, and in fear he'd start crying, Seokjin took it upon himself to initiate a hug.

"Don't do this to me now, Kim Namjoon." He sighed, voice unsteady. "Just pick a movie or a restaurant or something before I chicken out of a date for the first time in my life."

"Anywhere is fine..."

"Uh...do you know Sanyeol's Kitchen?"

"...yeah."

"We'll go there, then. Is tomorrow night okay?"

"I'm not just dreaming this up in a hunger daze, am I?"

"Wh––hunger daze?" Jin abruptly pulled away from the hug. "Have you not eaten in a while or something?"

"I haven't," Namjoon confessed.

"To the food table. Go. Or tomorrow's dinner is on you."

"That's fine with me."

"I take it back..."

In another corner of the gymnasium, Yoongi and Jimin had already begun to sway with one another, not paying attention to what music played, not caring. Hands on hips, fingers caressing the other's hair. And before long, lips caressing the other's lips.

In their own world, where no one, no thing could bother them.

It all felt worth it.

Jimin and the person he never imagined would make his happiness such a vivid and colorful reality.

"My pastel boy..."

*

*

a/n:
kinda an abrupt ending lol i know but !! oh well !!
this is the last chapter. thank you all for reading and for your feedback as always ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 love you 😘