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-☆-
“They’re easily recognizable patterns, so you should be able to find them with a little guidance. It’s fascinating, really. They’ve been around for centuries, people have used them to orient themselves. Like navigating ships or finding their way when lost. Did you know that the word constellation comes from the Latin word for set with stars?”
Seokjin absolutely did not know that. And he didn’t really want to. This was probably a mistake, he can recognize that now. He should have just watched a YouTube video instead of asking Namjoon for help.
Having a smart friend is great, except when said smart friend couldn’t explain their own way out of a paper bag. Seokjin said hey can you tell me some constellations and Namjoon apparently heard tell me the history of astronomy.
Which means it’s extremely hard to pay attention to Namjoon and whatever the heck he’s rambling about. It’s definitely not constellations, but something about solar bursts. What the heck does that have to do with Centaro or whatever?
Honestly, Seokjin is pretty sure that’s actually a Pokémon or something.... But it seems like he’s never going to find out with the way Namjoon is droning on.
And, really, Seokjin would have a hard time paying attention even if Namjoon wasn’t talking about black holes or whatever, because he’s trying to get ready. He feels a little frantic about it, zipping around his room, digging through drawers, and tearing apart his closet. Because where - where - is his sweater?
Seokjin had this all planned out. The perfect outfit. The jeans that Hoseok says make his butt look pinchable and his blue sweater, the one with the whale. It’s Seokjin’s favorite and he knows it looks good on him. Blue is definitely his color. But it’s missing. Somehow.
So he’s frustrated. And - and! When Seokjin ducks past his closet again, he glances in the mirror and - “Is there a zit on my chin?”
Namjoon abruptly stops talking. “What?”
“My chin, Namjoon,” Seokjin repeats, as if Namjoon is dense. Like a black hole. Huh, maybe he really did learn something… “Do I have a zit?”
There’s silence for a moment and then Namjoon speaks again, voice careful. “Hyung, we’re on the phone. I can’t see you.”
“You could just say no,” Seokjin groans. “Oh my god.”
“You’re the one who called me.”
“Right, right. Sorry.” And what a mistake it was! “Can you just - you know, tell me the constellations?”
“Well I was trying to do that,” Namjoon huffs.
Seokjin sighs, determinedly looking away from the mirror. “And you’re doing a lovely job. But we don’t have time, Joon-ah. Give me the basics, or just some cool ones. I need to be impressive.”
“I can’t believe this is what you decided to do,” Namjoon grumbles. “It would be way easier if you went out for chicken and beer, or to the movies or something.”
“Yeah, well -” Seokjin tugs a green sweater out of his closet. “We can’t do that. That’s what we always do.”
“And that's… Bad?”
“Yes.” Seokjin pauses. “Well, no. It’s just - this has to be different.”
“Okay, fine,” Namjoon sighs. “Do you have a pencil to draw these out?”
“Jesus, Namjoon. Just text me some pictures or whatever.”
With another sigh, Namjoon does as asked, launching into a list of the fifty best constellations. Great. Seokjin will definitely remember fifty.
It doesn’t help that he’s still frazzled about getting ready, time slipping away too fast. All the constellations are garbled in his mind and Seokjin is stuck in the leg of his jeans. Really, Seokjin doesn’t get frazzled. Or, okay, he does. But he’s very good at hiding it.
He doesn’t think he’s doing a great job right now.
Usually he can be very cool and collected, super chill. But this is Yoongi. And suddenly Seokjin is decidedly unchill. Which he will never admit to Yoongi, that he makes him like… This. Seokjin has a reputation to uphold.
It’s just that this is a lot and Seokjin is maybe freaking out because Yoongi looks like a very cute kitten and that is an insane thing to think, but that’s just how things are now.
“Are you listening to me?”
Seokjin blinks. “Yeah - uh, something about a belt? Keep going, you’ve got six minutes.”
-☆-
In the car, Seokjin doesn’t feel much calmer. He’s driving to pick Yoongi up, braving Seoul traffic for this. For Yoongi. Because Seokjin is a fool. A fool in love. Horrific.
He and Yoongi have been friends for ages, ever since university when they were randomly paired as roommates. They were horribly awkward for a while, Yoongi barely speaking, shy and sulky. And Seokjin worried about being too much, too socially awkward. They danced around each other until one day Seokjin made a joke and Yoongi, deadpan, told him it was the most unfunny thing he ever heard. There was a moment of silence, and then they both laughed so hard Yoongi nearly puked.
After that, they were friends. And then best friends. And then…
Seokjin isn’t sure when his feelings for Yoongi shifted. Maybe they’d always been there. But they did shift. Seokjin realized it quite abruptly. It was toward the end of university, they were still roommates then. Yoongi had gone out for drinks with Namjoon and Hoseok, coming back drunk. Instead of going to his own bedroom, Yoongi came to Seokjin’s room. Seokjin was still awake, lying in bed playing on his Switch and Yoongi didn’t even knock, just pushed open the door and stumbled in. Seokjin tried to ask if he was alright but Yoongi climbed into Seokjin’s bed and cuddled around him like an octopus.
And then, voice all slurred, nose pressed into the side of Seokjin’s neck, Yoongi mumbled, “You know I love you, right hyung? I love you so much.”
It hit him like a bolt of lightning. Seokjin realized then, with this cuddly koala Yoongi, that he loved Yoongi too. But… as more than just a friend.
As a form of self-preservation, Seokjin attempted to ease Yoongi out of the bed and to his own room, but Yoongi whined until Seokjin gave up and tucked them both under the blankets. Yoongi cuddled up to him again and they fell asleep like that. It wasn’t the first time they shared a bed, but this felt very different.
When he woke up in the morning, Yoongi was gone. But Seokjin could still smell his citrusy shampoo on the pillow and feel his warmth on the sheets.
So, yeah. It’s been like that for years. All these feelings simmering just beneath Seokjin’s skin, always on the tip of his tongue. But he’s never admitted it. Even if their friends all know, even if they push, say it’s obvious Yoongi likes him too, he wasn’t going to take the risk. Seokjin didn’t want to mess anything up. Not when they were roommates, and then not when they moved into separate apartments and were starting their careers. And now… well. Things changed.
If he’s being honest, Seokjin asked Yoongi out by accident. Mostly. Kind of.
It was a joke. Or half a joke, like things always were with them. That way, if Yoongi said no, Seokjin could just laugh it off. Then cry about it later, like a totally normal person. But if Yoongi said yes…
It was a pun when they were arguing about something inconsequential, tofu or cheesecake or - It doesn’t matter. Seokjin said something stupid and ridiculous, a very unfunny play on tofu that he can’t even remember now. He was feeling bold in the face of Yoongi’s scrunchy smile and it just… slipped out. Yoongi groaned, shoving at him, and then - a pause.
Yoongi stared at him, laughter dying away. “Are you asking me out?”
“Do you want me to ask you out?” A smooth recovery.
“It depends,” Yoongi said carefully, brows furrowing, “on if you’re asking me out.”
“Is that a yes?” Seokjin asks, raising his own eyebrows.
Yoongi’s confused, serious expression faded, replaced with something sly. “I don’t know,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is yours a yes?”
“I asked you first.”
“Aha!” Yoongi pointed a finger at him. “So you did ask me out.”
Wow, what a trap. “No, I just -”
Yoongi can be horribly frustrating when he wants to. Stubborn and pouty and constantly infuriating. It’s one of his worst (best) qualities. God, Seokjin is so in love with him.
Flustered, and annoyed, Seokjin’s mouth had run away from him again and he blurted, “Just go out with me already!”
A pause where Yoongi blinked at him, clearly surprised. And then, “Well, if you insist.”
Seokjin very much did insist. Especially when Yoongi smiled, all shy and pleased, ducking his head as his cheeks turned pink and Seokjin realized that maybe these feelings were absolutely not as one sided as he thought.
And all of that was very awesome and good, except Seokjin decided he wanted to go all out for their first date. He can’t just take Yoongi for chicken and beer like Namjoon suggested, they do that as friends. Clearly Namjoon doesn’t know anything. And Seokjin can’t just invite him over to hang out, it needs to be special. Because Seokjin says so.
So he decided on stargazing. Like a lunatic. Even though they live in the city and can’t even see the stars.
He got the idea from a drama, really. It looked romantic. And Seokjin has never entirely considered himself romantic, but… Maybe he wanted to romance a little.
Besides, Jimin and Taehyung go stargazing all the time. Which… Now that Seokjin thinks about it, he’s not sure if that’s a pro or a con toward the plan. But they’re terribly romantic. So romantic it’s disgusting, so they must be doing something right.
Really, Seokjin should have made Yoongi get up at four in the morning to go fishing with him, then he could have seen his scrunchy little grumpy morning face. But now they’re going stargazing. Because Seokjin is insane and Jimin recommended a place and Seokjin is only, like, seventy six percent sure they’re going to get knifed there.
But it’s fine! And Seokjin needs to remember that it’s fine and stop freaking out, because Yoongi’s building is around the corner and Seokjin needs to be normal. He’s not going to mess this up.
-☆-
When Seokjin gets to Yoongi’s building, Yoongi is already waiting outside. Seokjin pulls up to the curb and waves toward the window and - freezes.
Yoongi is wearing his sweater. The one Seokjin couldn’t find. Blue, with the white whale on it.
Min Yoongi is climbing into the passenger seat, murmuring hello, and wearing Seokjin’s sweater like that is normal and not something that makes Seokjin want to scream.
It’s too big on him, falling nearly to mid-thigh over his ripped jeans, his hands all but disappearing, only the tips of his fingers peeking from the ends of the sleeves. Small like a little kitten as he gives Seokjin a toothy smile and wow. This is horrible.
But Seokjin pulls himself together, because he’s not fucking this up. He smiles at Yoongi, who continues to smile right back, and that’s fine. Yoongi looks a little nervous, though, fiddling with his fingers in his lap.
Maybe Seokjin isn’t the only one feeling a little anxious about tonight. Hopeful about where all of this might go.
“Ready?” Seokjin asks. When Yoongi nods, Seokjin puts the car in gear and pulls away from the curb.
“I’m surprised we’re driving.” Yoongi says. “You didn’t even say what the plan was, where are we going?”
“We’re going stargazing.”
“I didn’t know you were into stargazing.”
Seokjin very pointedly does not look at Yoongi. “You don’t know everything about me.”
“Your shoulders are fifty-eight centimeters wide.”
“I -” Seokjin blinks. “That doesn't matter. We’re going stargazing.”
“You can’t really see the stars in Seoul, hyung.”
“Hence the car, Yoongi-yah.” Seokjin pats the steering wheel. “We have to drive for about an hour outside the city. You’re in charge of the music.”
Yoongi hums happily, pulling out his phone and tapping until he finds a playlist to hook up to Seokjin’s Bluetooth. Yoongi’s phone is, of course, already paired to Bluetooth - is that a couple thing? God… Seokjin needs to focus.
Music fills the car and they lapse into silence as Seokjin navigates them out of the city. Spending time with Yoongi is always nice, no matter what they’re doing. They can talk for hours about any topic or just sit quietly like this. It’s never awkward, always comfortable and relaxing. There’s not always a need to fill the silence.
At some point, when they’re on the highway outside the city, Yoongi speaks up. “How’d you hear about this stargazing place?”
“Jimin.”
“Hm.”
“He said it’s really cool and safe.”
“Hm.”
“I know,” Seokjin laughs. “But I looked it up and it seems alright.”
“I don’t know…” Yoongi trails off, glancing around the car. “I’m not entirely convinced this whole thing isn’t just a plan to steal my organs.”
“Shit,” Seokjin curses, punctuating the word with a slap to the steering wheel. “You got me. I want to use them for fishing bait.”
“Is that why you have a cooler in the back?”
The cooler is full of drinks and tangerines, Yoongi’s favorite. But Seokjin just smiles. “Absolutely. For the organs.”
“For the organs,” Yoongi echoes. “Very practical, hyung.”
“Thank you, I try to be prepared.”
Yoongi laughs, a happy, wheezy sound, and Seokjin feels like his belly is full of butterflies - which is ridiculous. He’s starting to think maybe he’s the one who won’t get out of this alive, not with Min Yoongi’s silly little laugh and gummy smile.
-☆-
“I wish I had known this date would involve trekking through the wilderness.”
Seokjin rolls his eyes, ignoring the way his heart flips at the word date. He glances back over his shoulder, finding Yoongi huffing and puffing behind him. “This is barely a leisurely stroll.”
“It definitely isn’t. And I’m not wearing the right shoes,” Yoongi whines.
He’s not wrong. Yoongi is in sandals, toes out and feet mostly bare. Can toes be cute? Because… Nope. Seokjin is not going there. “We don’t have far to go,” Seokjin promises. “There’s barely any wilderness.”
“If I get mauled by a bear, I’ll haunt you.”
“There are no bears in Seoul.” Seokjin turns to face front again, leading them up the hill. It’s a gradual incline with a clear path, but Yoongi can be dramatic when he wants to.
“A tiger then!”
“Right.” Seokjin bites his lip to keep his smile in. “A tiger.”
“This is like when Namjoon made me go hiking,” Yoongi grumbles.
“Which you enjoyed.”
“Do not tell Namjoon that.”
Seokjin laughs and hefts the cooler higher on his shoulder. “Come on, I think I can see the top.”
They crest the hill less than a minute later and pause at the edge. It’s nicer than Seokjin expected, a wide open space, grassy and surrounded by trees, like the ones they emerged from. And over them, the stars seem to stretch on forever.
“Wow,” Yoongi breathes. “I think sometimes I forget the stars are so…”
“Yeah,” Seokjin agrees. He understands. “Living in the city, you don’t always think about it.”
“It’s really pretty, hyung.”
Smiling, Seokjin sets down the cooler. He’s pleased that Yoongi is happy about the spot, despite having to climb a hill. Even when he was complaining, Seokjin knew he was just doing it to be a pain. It was cute and Seokjin absolutely isn’t going to tell him that.
Seokjin pulls the rolled blanket from the side pocket of the cooler and begins to unfold it. “Come on, help me spread this out.”
They spread the blanket and sit down, tipping their heads back to look at the sky. Or, Yoongi does, Seokjin looks at Yoongi. He’s pretty, in Seokjin’s sweater, bathed in moonlight. Prettier than all the stars above them. Wow, Seokjin could write sonnets or whatever about this.
Instead, Seokjin pulls the cooler toward him. “I brought some stuff.”
Yoongi turns to him, brows raised. “Stuff?” He watches as Seokjin begins unzipping the cooler. “Ah, hyung, is it already time for the organ thing? I wanted to enjoy the stars a little.”
Laughing at Yoongi’s pouting, Seokjin flips open the lid. “Sorry, I already spent so much time getting you out here. I have a deadline.” Yoongi snorts and Seokjin begins unpacking the cooler.
He wanted to bring wine, but with having to drive back to the city after this, he figured that wasn’t the best idea. So he brought some bottles of tea and cider. And of course, the tangerine.
As Seokjin lifts out the bag, Yoongi’s eyes light up. “I see how it is, butter me up with tangerines and lull me into a false sense of security. Then, the organs.”
Seokjin fakes a gasp, hand to his chest. “I can’t believe you caught onto my scheme so quickly! Well, now my plan is foiled. We’ll just have to eat these tangerines and look at the stars together.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Yoongi replies, that small, shy smile on display again as he grabs a bottle of cider to take a drink.
By the time Yoongi lowers the bottle, Seokjin has peeled half a tangerine, offering Yoongi a few slices. Yoongi smiles at him as he takes them. When their fingers brush, Seokjin feels that surge of butterflies again and quickly shoves a tangerine slice into his mouth.
“I didn’t realize you were into stars, hyung,” Yoongi says a few minutes later when they’re leaning back, eyes on the sky.
“Oh, yeah. I’m an enthusiast.”
Yoongi tilts his head to look at him. “A star enthusiast?”
“I already told you, you don’t know everything about me.”
A smile quirks the corners of Yoongi’s lips. “So you know a lot about astronomy?”
“Absolutely,” Seokjin replies. “I know all the constellations.”
“Impressive.” Yoongi takes another sip of cider and then flops onto his back. “Well then…” He grins. “Impress me.”
Seokjin hurries to lie down beside him, the two of them close, shoulders bumping together, hands nearly touching. He can feel the heat of Yoongi’s skin between them, so close all he’d need to do is flex his fingers and they could hold hands.
Focus, Seokjin tells himself. He needs to wow Yoongi with his star knowledge. Except…
Seokjin doesn’t know shit about stars.
He’s pretty sure he learned some of the constellations in elementary school or something, but he’s replaced all that with much more important knowledge.
Like the favorite gifts of all the Stardew Valley villagers, the lyrics to every Wonder Girls song, and an impressive rolodex of bad jokes.
Very important things.
So Seokjin should know stars. But he doesn’t know anything. His crash course from Namjoon was useless, mostly because Seokjin didn’t pay attention. And the pictures Namjoon texted him just looked like dots and lines, like someone doing one of those connect the dot pictures. So…
He’s just going to… Wing it. Yeah.
“Alright.” Seokjin stares up at the sky, squinting to make out the patterns in the stars. There are patterns, he can see them, can vaguely see, in his mind, the lines that would connect some of them. So he tries. “See that one?” He points, tracing a line of stars. “That’s the big slipper.”
“The big slipper,” Yoongi repeats, deadpan.
“Yeah, that’s what I said.” And he’s sticking to it. He’s pretty sure Namjoon said slipper and, really, it does kind of look like a slipper. “There’s the little slipper too, over there.” He gestures vaguely. “Anyway, the constellation is named for the glass slipper in Cinderella. Little known fact.”
“Wow. Impressive.” He does not actually sound impressed. “What else?”
“Then there’s scrotum!” Seokjin announces.
“Kim Seokjin!”
“That’s the name,” Seokjin huffs. Or… he thinks that’s what Namjoon said. No time for self-doubt.
“Seokjin hyung, there is not a constellation called scrotum.”
“There absolutely is, it has the two bright stars on the ends so it’s like - yeah.”
“Oh my god,” Yoongi whispers, and then dissolves into giggles and -
And that’s nice. Yoongi shifts as he laughs, fingers brushing Seokjin’s and sending a wave of tingles down his arm.
Okay. Focus. “There’s also uh…” He racks his brain for anything. “There’s constellations for all the zodiac signs. Like Leo, the lion. You can see his mane in, uh, that cluster there.” He waves a hand vaguely to encompass the sky.
“Wow, very cool hyung.”
Seokjin can absolutely tell Yoongi does not believe him, but he can also hear the smile in Yoongi’s voice.
“There are constellations for all of them, it’s pretty cool you know.” Seokjin stalls, trying to think of anything else and - the belt! He searches the sky for three stars in a row. “Okay, there’s this guy Brian up there.”
“Brian?”
“Yes, I think he was named by an American or something, don’t interrupt me.” Yoongi snickers but Seokjin forges ahead. “Brian. And he’s like, a fancy guy, you know? Because he has this belt. It’s those three stars in a row!”
“Wow, fancy guy. Is it Gucci?”
“Probably, he’s definitely showing it off.”
“He must be,” Yoongi agrees. There’s a pause and then - “You know, I think I’ve heard of this Brian guy. There’s some lore there, like he was named after some rich guy who was a huge jerk. And people would be like oh, Brian, that’s how he got the name, I think.”
Seokjin pauses, blinks. Is Yoongi… Okay. Yoongi knows Seokjin is bullshitting, making this all up but… Yoongi doesn’t seem to care. When he turns his head, he finds that Yoongi is already looking at him, smiling wide, eyes twinkling.
He’s having fun. Yoongi is having fun and playing along and -
Wow. Seokjin is in love with him.
“I think you’re right,” Seokjin says finally. “I heard he needs the belt because his pants don’t fit anymore.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” Seokjin smiles. “He got too big for his britches.”
Yoongi groans and bursts into wheezy giggles, rolling onto his side. He buries his face in Seokjin’s shoulder and - that’s nice too. It’s very nice. Seokjin laughs along, smiling dopily up at the sky.
They lay like that, pointing out constellations to each other and coming up with increasingly silly names and ridiculous stories. Seokjin can’t stop smiling and Yoongi is giggling beside him. They come up with their own invented constellations, swapping increasingly strange lore until they’re both breathless with barely contained laughter.
At some point, their fingers brush and Seokjin’s not sure if it’s him or Yoongi who moves first, but their hands slide together, pressed palm to palm, fingers intertwined. And Seokjin likes this, the warmth of Yoongi’s hand, the gentle movement of Yoongi’s thumb over his knuckles as they talk.
Eventually, neither of them can hold it in anymore and they dissolve into laughter, leaning together on the blanket. And when Seokjin recovers enough, he opens his eyes and Yoongi is so close. They’re a breath apart, Yoongi’s laughter slowing as well, eyes fixed on Seokjin’s.
“Are you going to steal my organs now, hyung?” Yoongi whispers.
“Maybe,” Seokjin murmurs. “Now is probably a good time.”
A smile, soft and sweet. “I had a lot of fun.”
“Me too. We should do this again.”
“Are you asking me on another date?” Yoongi’s smile is teasing now.
“Would you say yes?”
Yoongi huffs a laugh and Seokjin can feel the ghost of breath on his lips. “We’re not doing this again.”
“I’d like to take you on another date.”
“I’d like it if you did.”
Seokjin licks his lips. “I’d like to kiss you too.”
“I’d definitely like that.”
The space between them dwindles until, finally, their lips brush. Yoongi’s lips are warm and soft, the taste of tangerines lingering at the corners of his mouth. When they pull away, Seokjin feels giddy.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” Yoongi whispers.
“Me too,” Seokjin admits. “Maybe we should do it again, just because we’ve wanted to for so long.”
Yoongi’s smile grows and he nods. “You’re so smart, hyung. And not just about stars.”
“I’m full of surprises,” Seokjin agrees, leaning back in.
Their lips meet again, the curves of their smiles pressing. It is sweet and wonderful, everything Seokjin has been imagining for so long. He feels like he’s full of stars.
At least until Yoongi leans back slightly, their lips just barely brushing, and whispers, “Scrotum is my favorite constellation.”
Seokjin groans and rolls them over, the two of them tangling on the blanket until Seokjin winds up on top of him. Yoongi blinks up at him for a moment, dazed, but he smiles again, eyes shining with stars. They move in sync, Yoongi reaching to wrap his arms around Seokjin’s neck, Seokjin diving down to meet him, connecting their mouths in another kiss.
And maybe Jimin and Taehyung were onto something, stargazing is romantic.