COUNT THE STARS

- in which the stars have been the only ones to hear about yoongi's undying love for his best friend until, one night, she decides to join him; requested by @guccilulz

Yoongi leans against the plaster wall, tapping his foot against the polished floor to a beat he heard on the way to your dorm building, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a soft sigh of impatience.

It's a miracle that he hasn't yet ruined the perfect placement of his hair with his painfully annoying habit of running his fingers through his locks until they tangle like webs on top of his head.

Closing his eyes to block out the ever-so blinding rays of sun that cascade upon him, he attempts to conjure up a believable excuse as to why he's late to class yet again but it's almost impossible to do so when he's used up pretty much every excuse in the book.

Although, it's not like he's left with much choice.

He knows very well that the reason why he's always late is not because he's tardy—Yoongi, in fact, prides himself on his need to always be on time. It's because he stands just outside his best friend's door, waiting for her to finish getting ready so that they can walk to college together all while leaving her oblivious to the fact that Yoongi's class starts before hers.

The boy could make this a lot easier on himself by just telling her that he has to go earlier but he treasures those walks more than anything else and he knows how much of a hassle it would be to get her to wake up early so that they can still go together.

That's how good of a best friend he is.

Finally, the door creaks open as you slip out, hands clumsy as you attempt to tie the bottom of your shirt into a knot. "Sorry, Yoongi! I lost track of time, sorry."

He can't help but chuckle in amusement when you successfully tie your shirt up with a squeal, casually looping his arm through yours so that can he lead you towards the street, his thoughts pulling him away from your outlandish tale about how a shopping mix-up led to you having to eat bran instead of your usual chocolate puffs.

The two of you were still in diapers when your parents happened to meet. From there, it was only natural for the two of you to become close. The pair of you have been inseparable ever since. Even in school, he was always in the same class as you and the both of you managed to apply to the same college without realising it.

However, it was around a few years ago when Yoongi realised that perhaps his feelings for you were not as platonic as he had assumed them to be.

A lazy day, he remembers it as, one where the leaves seemed to fall to the ground in a lulling motion, guided by the smooth waves of the breeze and the sun's glow wasn't as harsh as it should have been, leaving his skin feeling warm as it was caressed by the dimmed rays.

You were laying on his chest with the sun kissing at your cheeks and giving your eyes that honey glow that leaves him breathless, body perpendicular to his as you read through a book while he listened to music. He doesn't know when but his gaze had slowly drifted to you as if drawn in by the peace your presence brought him. It blew him away when he realised that the feeling of his heart hammering in his chest so hard that it might shatter if it kept going felt right when looking at you.

Hell, everything felt right when he looked at you.

He didn't even hesitate to bolt up to the roof of the building when you left, desperate to see more of you as if the entirety of his life hadn't been enough for him. He spoke softly as you disappeared into the shadows, grateful for the listening ears the stars leant him.

Often, he'll find himself up there, talking endlessly about all that you make him feel to an audience of twinkling lights that hang up above and the occasional beaming moon.

An abrupt jerk of his arms rips him out of his daydream, a quick glance to his left revealing that it was you who tugged at his arm, your expression now innocent as you pout up at him. He is quick to realise that the pair of you have made it to campus, his immediate reaction being to offer you a sheepish grin.

You roll your eyes fondly at him before walking off in the direction of your class. He sighs and is about to do the same but is stopped by your cold fingers wrapping around his wrist to pull him back. Before he can ask what happened, you plant a sweet kiss on his cheek and pull away with a wave. "See you after class, okay? Love you, bye!"

He ghosts his fingers over the tingling patch of skin on his cheek as he watches you run off, leaving him with only enough strength to whisper back, "I love you too."

*

Yoongi impatiently taps his foot against the tiles, eyes flicking from the agonisingly slow clock to the deadpan expression plastered onto his teacher's face as if the speed of his eyes will make time move just the slightest bit faster.

Finally, the second hand reaches twelve and Yoongi pounces out of his seat, bolting out the door before the teacher can even finish saying that class is dismissed, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

He speeds carelessly down the halls, apologising as efficiently as he can to those he inevitably runs into, feeling the air in his lungs burn like he's just inhaled a room full of smoke. In no time at all, he's pushing the doors that will lead him to the courtyard open, grinning broadly as the sun greets him warmly.

The courtyard is huge compared to that of other colleges with Yoongi often musing that it's the one place on campus that everyone has found themselves lost in. With a maze of trees that cast elongated shadows onto an array of pebble paths, buildings that look identical to one another caging the yard into an oval shape, and a garden so symmetrical that it's near impossible to tell where it starts and ends, it's no wonder that, despite its undeniable beauty, the place is littered with those very few who are brave enough to cross it and the newbies who have no idea what they've gotten themselves into.

Yoongi can't help but snicker at a pair that walk by him, arguing about whether or not they had seen that tree before. He remembers when he was in that exact same position with you but, somehow, you had managed to lead them out and when asked how, you had only said that you remembered seeing the smallest tree of the lot near the entrance and went off of that.

He deemed you a genius that day.

With a shake of his head, Yoongi jogs over to that tree, sighing in relief as he still has ten minutes to spare before you emerge from the building opposite his, running over in a panic to ask if he's been waiting long, only for him to say that he just got there.

An enamored smile stretches his lips out shyly at the thought.

Exactly ten minutes later, he spots you walking out of the building with a group of your friends from class. He raises his hand and waves it until you look over with a giddy grin, turning to your friends with a tilt of your head in his direction. He watches with something along the lines of pride swelling up in his chest as you bid them goodbye and jog up to him without looking back once.

It makes him feel...special.

"Were you waiting long?" you ask the very second you stop in front of him, feeling your cheeks heat up at the way he chuckles at you.

"No, I just got here," he replies, scratching the back of his head as the lie falls from his mouth as effortlessly as it is for a bird to sing, exhaling in relief when all you do is grin heart-stoppingly at him and link your arm with his, pulling him towards the opened brass gates as he tries not to swoon at how your sweet scent of honey immediately clings to him.

"How was class?" you chirp, your fingers slipping down to play with the rings decorating Yoongi's hand, his heart skipping a beat each time your skin makes contact with his. He's so distracted by your touch that he almost forgets about your question.

Almost.

"Uh, pretty good," he hums in a panic, shivering when you ghost your fingers over your favourite of his collection; a pretty silver band you had gotten him for his birthday, one that he treats as one of his prized possessions. "We got an assignment, though. One of thoe stupid essays that are unneccessarily long."

He glances to his side to see you shaking your shoulders in laughter silently, his lips quirking up into a lopsided grin, this gesture unbeknownst to him until he passes by a shop window, managing to catch a glimpse of his rather pathetic looking reflection.

He drops his gaze just as you turn to him with a pout. "Is that assignment due soon?"

"Yeah, this weekend. Why?" he murmurs in confusion, nudging your shoulder curiously when you do that creepy thing where you drop a blank gaze to the ground and stay unsettlingly quiet.

Eventually, you give in but this, of course, is nothing new. Yoongi always knows just how to get what he wants out of you.

"Because," you whine childishly, pulling at as his arm, "I wanted to do something fun with you this afternoon."

"We can still do something fun," he stutters, sounding much too panicked for his liking but you seem to find it sweet, your head falling to rest on his shoulder as an angel-like giggle slips past your flushed pink lips.

His heart clenches involuntarily at the sound, noting that your voice may be his favourite thing to listen to like a song he'd wish to have on replay for the rest of his life.

"No, it's okay," you grin, patting his arm reassuringly, "we can go back. I need to study too."

"You sure?" he frowns, looking down as his shoelaces slowly begin to untie themselves.

"Yeah," you beam, letting go to skip ahead in front of him childishly, "I can make you dinner, too!"

*

It's not long before he's closing the door with a satisfied hum, watching in fascination as you swing past him with an elegance he's never seen in anyone before, pulling your soft pink apron off the hook on his kitchen wall to begin cooking.

It stuns him that, if a stranger were to walk in, they'd think that this is your home as much as it is his, the mere idea of it all making his heart swell much larger than his chest can handle.

He attempts to get closer to you, wanting to be welcomed into the bubble of warmth that seems to follow you wherever you go but you shoo him away the very second you sense him standing behind you, urging him to leave you be. Shooting you a dejected pout, he eventually shuffles off to his room.

Closing the door behind him, he throws himself onto his bed with a muffled groan, slapping at his cheeks to get him back to his senses.

"Get to work, dumbass," he scolds, shaking his head as he pulls out his laptop and turns it on, finding that his mind clears ever so slightly at the familiar whir of his laptop coming to life. He opens up his work, finding that his fingers spend more time tapping along to the melodic beat of your singing from outside than typing what he's actually supposed to, figuring that having you over might not have been the smartest decision.

For someone he can't live without, you sure are one distraction.

He hasn't made much progress, even when you walk in with two steaming bowls of kimchi jjigae.

"Thank you," he sighs, accepting the bowl from your grip even though it burns at his fingertips, finding that the savoury smell of the stew makes up for the pain. Surprisingly enough, the two of you eat in silence, leaving Yoongi with the perfect window to look at you through.

You meet his gaze a total of five times before standing up to take the now empty bowls to the kitchen sink, returning a few seconds later only to collapse into Yoongi's side, staring at his screen idly.

The hours fly by with enough laughter and jokes to last a lifetime and Yoongi doesn't even realise that it's time for you to leave until you're packing up your things and heading towards the front door, leaving him to chase behind you, dumbfounded.

You hug him at the front door, ruffling the hair that gathers at the bottom of his neck as he breathes in your comforting scent. "I'll see you tomorrow, Yoongs."

"Bye," he breathes as you pull away with a cheeky grin, blowing him an endearing kiss before descending the stairs. He leans against the doorframe with a dreamy grin plastered onto his face like some lovesick puppy before bolting towards the set of old stairs that lead up to the roof with a soft chuckle.

He ignores the numbing breeze pricking at his cheeks and slips over to his usual seat, leaning over the edge to overlook the front of the apartment complex's garden only to see...absolutely nothing.

He immediately frowns, worry eating at his chest like a parasite as he grips onto the steel bar so tightly that his knuckles bleed white, wondering where on Earth you could've gone.

"Yoongi?"

Said male jumps at the confused voice that cracks through the silence, his hands flying to clutch at his chest as he turns slowly, sliding himself down the wall as you stare down at him in bewilderment, barely even noticing the cherry blush that bloats his cheeks. "What the hell are you doing up here?"

"Nothing," he lies with an embarrassed clear of his throat, unable to help the nervous chuckle that bubbles out of him. You clearly don't buy it, your posture one of accusation as you roll your eyes at him.

"It can't be nothing," you scoff, mocking his tone exaggeratedly, it now being his turn to present you with an eye roll. "You're terrified of heights so you must have a really good reason for coming up here."

He curses under his breath, knowing that he should have never agreed to go on the Ferris Wheel with you a few years back.

"Fine," he sighs, patting the cool slab of concrete beside him, inviting you to take a seat. You plop down next and fold your legs up, making yourself comfortable, before urging him to proceed with a supportive grin.

"I talk to the stars," he shrugs, looking up at them nonchalantly to avoid catching your expression as you turn to stare blankly at him, unsure of what you should say, leaving you with only the option to nod your head slowly and hoping that he doesn't get offended.

"I know you think it's weird," he hums, letting his eyes flutter shut as a slow breeze runs its fingers over his cheek, a soft gasp breaking past your lips at the sight. He opens an eye to cast you a rather attractive-looking side glance and you know it's your cue to come up with something.

"No, not at all," you quickly deny, turning your nose up in defense as he scoffs, reaching over to poke at your cheek.

"Please, I know you better than I know myself."

You stutter for something to say but resort to just looking off into the distance, hoping that he can't see the red glow to your cheeks, only he does and he's wishing that he's not just imagining it.

"What do you talk to them about?" you ask after the agonising seconds that pass begin to mock you.

"Not much," he mutters honestly, tilting his head ever so slightly. "I usually talk about this girl who drives me crazy." He winces as soon as the words leave his mouth, knowing rather well that you're going to dwell on it even if he makes it seem like it's nothing.

"Girl? What girl? Do I know her?"

He remains silent, still staring at the stars as if they will give him the answer he needs and when a softly twinkling one catches his eye like a diamond in the rough, he knows.

"Y/N," he starts as you hum and turn to face him, your hands jittery with nerves despite being eager to hear what he says, "when I look at the stars with their delicacy and beauty, I think of you."

You expect him to laugh, maybe even crack a boyish grin, but he stays staring at you with eyes that are filled to the brim with a sincerity that brings goosebumps to your skin, captivating, reassuring you in ways that his words would not be able to that this is real. He's telling the truth and you can almost hear what he's about to say next.

"I love you." it's a whisper that makes you second guess if he really said it but the expectant look on his face confirms that he did and your heart soars for he loves you.

And you love him back.

You place your hand on top of his, giving it a good squeeze, smiling as tears begin to brim in your eyes. Yoongi can't help but smile too, catching the drops before they fall, admiring how the stars seem to fall in them before turning his attention back to you, his sweet moon. "Don't cry, please. I mean every word I say."

You grin, endeared by his way with words. "I know but I'm just trying to find a way to say I love you too just as beautifully as you did."

He leans forward to press his forehead against yours, almost hesitantly. "Just hearing you say those four words is beautiful enough for me."

The two of you look into each other's eyes, captivated and lost, wondering what was stopping the two of you from doing this earlier and you lean in, shy and hesitant, pushing your lips against his slowly, like an invitation for him to take charge. He cups your face, gently, cautiously, meshing your lips together once more, guiding you through the experience slowly, giving you time to savour the way your lips mould together as if they were made to do just that. You moan softly against his lips as he stops, pulling away with flushed cheeks.

"We'll go slow," he assures, caressing your hand. "I want to make this as perfect as I can for you."

"Yoongi," you whisper, listening to him hum as he pulls you back in for a shorter but deeper kiss. "It's already perfect."

He grins as brightly as the moon shines her light and pulls you into his lap, cuddling with you as he thanks the stars for listening well to his wishes and making this moment as special as he dreamed it to be.