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Jimin’s muscles burned as he tried to push back against the meteorite hurdling towards the earth. Its surface was hot; burning his skin and even using his full strength it was still winning the battle of gravity, pushing him towards the ground at an alarming rate. But he had to keep digging, keep trying or the city would be destroyed. Suddenly there was another pair of hands beside him against the imposing force.
“Indigo?!” he exclaimed.
“I can hold it back,” the other man insisted, “Your power is the only thing strong enough to shatter it Serendipity! Hurry, we don't have much time!”
Having no other option but to put his trust in his friend Jimin let his injured hands drop as he rolled to the side in the air, out of the way of the flaming rock. There was a burst of blue light as Indigo activated a glowing force field around himself and the meteorite’s fall decreased significantly, but that alone wouldn’t be enough.
Jimin opened his mouth feeling the power he’d been diverting to his palms to hold back the giant object now gathering in his throat. He began to sing out a string of notes, the sound sharp and clear. It was so loud that visible ripples could be seen traveling through the air. Faint cracks started to appear on the rock’s surface, a golden glow shining between the newly forming gaps.
“Serendipity, it's working! Keep going!” Indigo encouraged, letting out a pained grunt.
Seeing Indigo cheering him on while also struggling made a boost of adrenaline shoot through Jimin, allowing his voice to rise to its peak. With a final ear splitting note the meteorite shattered into thousands of smaller pieces, greatly lessening its threat to the city below. Indigo flew over to him, a large remaining chunk of the rock propped up on his shoulder with one arm and gave Jimin a pat on the back with his free hand.
“Well done.”
Jimin could only nod; his throat feeling raw from the exertion.
The two of them floated back down to the ground where four other men all dressed in colourful armor padded body suits - similar to what Jimin and Indigo were wearing - gathered. They sang their praises and one of them; a young man dressed in green, hero name: Winter, wrapped an arm around Jimin’s shoulder in a friendly manner.
“That was amazing!”
“Didn’t feel too amazing,” Jimin expressed with his raspy voice.
“Go home,” another member, Abyss, told him, “We can finish up on the ground here.”
And there was a lot to do Jimin could tell. The final two members of their team; Dawn, and Hope nodded in agreement.
“You deserve a rest after saving the world,” Hope insisted.
“Yes, get out of here before the fans start showing up,” Dawn added.
‘The world’ seemed a bit dramatic, but Jimin wasn't about to complain when he clearly needed time to recover - his powers had been pushed to their limits. Jimin walked down the street for a few blocks, ducking into the alleyways to avoid detection. His car should be where he left it parked right around the corner…
Jimin’s heart dropped, it was just his luck for his car to be destroyed by falling debris. He grumbled to himself, poking through the wreckage to get his surviving belongings, including a bag that contained some clothes to put over his gold and white spandex suit. Even though it would theoretically be easy to fly to his apartment, it would also be too easy for him to be spotted by the media and he wasn't even sure he had enough energy to fly anyways. And with all his friends busy cleaning up the mess created by the disaster his only other option was to take the bus.
***
Jimin shuffled onto the bus with the rest of the people at the stop trying to find a place to sit. He saw an open seat against the back wall and getting to it before it was taken sat down with relief, feeling some of the tension leave his stiff shoulders. Was it too much to hope that he would catch a break before another disaster happened? Probably. He absentmindedly looked towards the person seated beside him and was met with a pair of doe eyes staring back at him from behind a pair of round glasses. A strange feeling of nostalgia washed over Jimin like he was seeing the ghost of the memory. His expression was reflected back at him and a lick of panic overpowered his initial feeling. They both quickly looked away from each other in surprise; the young man looking back down at his phone and Jimin fumbling for his own. The man must be a university student as Jimin recognized the logo for Seoul University on his bag… and was that a video about him they were watching??
Not that surprising given the events that just unfolded less than an hour ago, but that combined with the look of familiar curiosity on their face had Jimin feeling self conscious. Finally getting a hold of his phone, the screen riddled with chips and scratches, he quickly used the camera to check out his appearance. He let out another relieved sigh when he confirmed his eyes had in fact returned back to their original colour and his suit was not poking out from the uneven collar of his shirt. It was probably all just a coincidence and he was reading into things that went there. Except… the man continued sneaking glances at Jimin during the rest of the ride. Why??
Jimin began sneaking his own glances and he had to admit… the young man was quite attractive, just his type in fact; they had a nerdy vibe to them at first glance, but upon closer inspection Jimin could see he had a muscularly built frame beneath the fabric of his shirt. He’d been through hell today, indulging in a fantasy for the short time he’d be on this bus would be okay, he reasoned. Admiring a stranger felt so mundane so simply human in nature. And the world liked to remind him how not like ‘them’ he and everyone else with superpowers was. Most days he didn’t mind, but sometimes he just wanted to fade into the crowds out of the spotlight.
A rush of boldness briefly went through Jimin - he imagined introducing himself to this stranger, giving the man his number and saying some overused line like “call me.” But the thought was fleeting as the automated system announced his stop. And he was not going to miss his stop after everything else that happened today. So thoughts of a potential budding romance were pushed to the back of his brain. Like they always were and he got off the bus. Though he often grumbled to his teammates about being single, Jimin wasn't really interested in dealing with the complications relationships brought anyways.
***
Jungkook’s eyes were fixated to his phone screen as the bus chugged down the street. The cameramen in the youtube video he was watching had zoomed in as far as they could toward the sky where a bunch of gigantic rocks were hurdling towards the earth. Then a gold blur streaked towards the largest one, it collided with the meteorite, but its descent wasn't noticeably slowed. A second blur - blue this time joined it, having more success and the gold one pulled away. The video ended with the rock shattering as the most beautiful sound he had ever heard filled the air and the colourful lights descended towards the ground, their shapes turning human. His eyes were drawn to the face of the now disguisable man dressed in gold and white.
Except ‘human’ was too simple a term to describe their existence. These two people were more than human - superhuman in fact. The first record incident of people developing superpowers was over 100 years ago. It was estimated that in this day and age more than 20% of the population had the particular gene that could lead to the development of superpowers. Jungkook had disappointedly not tested positive for it, but that hadn't stopped him from wanting to be one himself and know everything about them.
Wow Serendipity is so cool, he thought. Even after such a hard battle the man still looked so beautiful - like he was carved from marble, not a blond hair out of place. Jungkook’s heart thumped in his chest as Serendipity’s head turned towards the camera, his stunning gold eyes sparkling in the sunlight. Out of all the superheroes that had been protecting the city over the years he was the biggest fan of Serendipity, a superfan one could say. Ever since middle school when he’d been saved from a fire in said school by the then newly debuted superhero. The way he had calmly flew through a window on the top floor, using a single note to shatter the beam pinning Jungkook’s legs down, calmly scooping the younger boy up as if he weighed nothing and carrying him to safety… It was amazing! He’d give anything for a chance to meet him again and properly thank him for helping him that day (and maybe getting to learn more about his mysterious vocal powers straight from the source.)
Jungkook’s negative success to do so wasn't from lack of trying. He would have been out there today heading towards the spot where the hero and his companion had landed, no doubt to meet up with the rest of their unit. He could have been in the crowds of fans fighting to take photos and have their voices heard but he’d had classes to attend and by the time he’d finished Serendipity had disappeared from the scene! The city had been at risk of no longer existing and he was stuck taking an exam! You’d think they would have at least rescheduled it after the alarm was sounded, but no one felt in danger as long as the heroes were around to do something.
There was a sigh as someone sat down in the seat next to him and the bus started moving again. Jungkook glanced up - the look instinctive, intending to be brief, but then his breath caught. The man sitting beside him was stunning; his softly drooping monolidded eyes were a deep brown, his lips a glossy peach pink and his silky blond hair was down; the bangs hanging just past his brows. Their outfit was a bit ruffled in comparison - the buttons of their white button down were not quite done up properly so the collar stuck up at an odd angle out of his purple crew neck sweater. Jungkook had to resist the temptation to fix it. If not for a few small differences he would have mistook them for… Serendipity. Jungkook couldn’t stop staring. His mouth hung open, making his glasses slide down his nose. It couldn’t be, could it??
The man looked towards him and Jungkook quickly shut his mouth, pushed up his glasses and looked back to his phone. The resemblance really was uncanny. But a superhero like his idol would never take the bus, he reasoned, they probably just happen to look like him. Besides there was enough proof to debunk it besides the current situation; Serendipity’s eyes were gold not brown. Though he had to admit brown looked good with his face features too… softer, more approachable… No this wasn't them, he reminded himself. Still Jungkook couldn’t help sneaking glances. Hoping.
The man eventually relaxed in his seat and busied himself with his own phone. You could talk to him, the voice in Jungkook’s head suggested, If it really is Serendipity you don’t want to miss this chance! But if it isn't you might hurt the person's feelings or make them annoyed - they probably get mistaken for him all the time like you are doing now. It's a few more stops before he finally decided he had to say something or regret not doing so.
He turned to look at them. “Excuse me-”
*Next Stop Is…*
The notification drowned out his words as the bus pulled to a stop, the man not hearing and standing up without looking at him and making their way towards the doors. And just like that the opportunity was gone.
***
Jungkook tossed his bag onto his desk chair before flopping on his bed and burying his face in his pillow. He felt like screaming, so he did.
“AHHHH!!”
The plush fabric swallowed his voice, leaving him unsatisfied with his release of emotion. He couldn't believe what happened - running into someone who looked almost exactly like Serendipity! …and he’d completely blown his chance to get to know them…
“AHHHHHH!” He screamed into his pillow again trying to let out his frustration.
What were the chances that he would bump into them again? Jungkook had never seen them before, and he would remember if he had. Did they always take this bus, but at a different time usually? Maybe they just moved to the area? He hoped that the second possibility was the case. If they did meet again would it be weird if he asked them out being a fan of a hero that shared their face? He hoped it wasn't weird… There was still the chance that they were the real deal! He needed to be absolutely sure before he did anything rash.
Oh, right! Jungkook pulled himself off his bed and rummaged through his bag looking for his notebook. When he finally found it, he flipped to a blank page; need to take notes on Serendipity’s power output from today. He began to almost frantically scribble his observations down, also pulling up the video he’d been watching on the bus on his laptop to go over again, as well see if any new angles of the heroic had been released. Once he wrote down all his new findings Jungkook doodled Serendipity holding back the flaming rock in the corner of the page.
“Hmm…” he tapped the pen against his lips.
Serendipity would have had to release a significant amount of power - more than he would for fighting villains, to shatter the meteorite. Were there any negative side effects to that? He jotted down: Side effects? How can I help him? On the next page.
He spent the rest of the night browsing fan forms instead of doing his homework.
***
Jimin closed the door to his apartment and tossed his bag beside the door. Contrary to popular belief being a superhero didn’t pay well and this single bedroom apartment was all he could afford on his meager earnings. Upon hearing the click of the door latching a small meow echoed through the apartment and a moment later the small fluffy head of a calico cat poked around the corner. The cat let out another enthusiastic meow, confirming its owner was home and trotted over to him. She rubbed against Jimin’s legs happily purring. He bent down to pet her.
“Hi Mochi, did you miss me?”
“Ppprr.”
Jimin smiled warmly at the display of affection. This was why he continued to do his job; for Mochi, for the people of Seoul… including that cute young man he’d sat beside on the bus. Jimin wondered if he regularly took that route home from the university.
“Jimin stop that,” he scolded himself, slapping his cheeks. It was one thing to fantasize on the bus once, but to continue thinking about them as if something could possibly happen was something else entirely, dangerous even.
“You don’t want a relationship remember,” he reminded himself.
A shower might help wash away these annoying thoughts he reasoned. Jimin went through the motions to get himself into the shower before fatigue set in - if he sat down now he's sure he’d fall asleep. He let the warm water wash away the bits of grime left on his body. Mochi sat loyally outside the shower door telling him about her day with a series of meows. Jimin interjected every once in a while like he could understand what she was saying. Once he felt significantly clean he stepped out, drying himself off and then putting on the fluffiest pajamas he had plonked himself on the couch. Mochi immediately curled up on his lap, very satisfied with the arrangement. Jimin flipped on the tv, but the only thing on was the incident from today and that was the last thing he wanted to dwell on. Seriously they had their hands full with villains on the daily and this natural disaster had to happen. Still he let it play in the background while he searched the food delivery apps.
He ended up settling on some kimchi stew and pork bao from an Asian fusion place he ordered from often. With nothing on the tv to watch and food ordered his mind drifted again to the man on the bus and though he had just scolded himself less than 20 minutes ago for thinking about him, he’d reached the point of being too tired to care… What would they be like as a boyfriend? He wondered. It had been a while since Jimin had felt like dating anyone - why would he when he had to keep such a big part of his life a secret? It had been a conflict in his relationships in the past. There was even one time he’d gotten up the courage to open up about being a professional hero and his partner at the time had thought he was faking. He could still taste that disappointment.
Jimin’s phone buzzed and he hesitantly looked at the notification, a bit worried he was being called back into the field.
Indigo: [Did you make it home?]
There was also a discussion going on in the agency’s group chat discussing areas that sustained damage and who would assist where. He decided to ignore that group chat for the time being though a little bit of guilt gnawed at his chest for doing so.
Jimin quickly messaged Indigo back: [Yes. Just got out of the shower, picking a movie to watch now. You would not believe how much dirt was hidden in my hair.]
Three little dots immediately appeared on the screen.
Indigo: [Glad you are trying to relax. Did you have something to eat? Need me to bring me over something?]
Jimin scoffed. What, was he going to fly across town to personally deliver him something? Indigo should take what he said to heart and also take a rest - before Abyss scolded him. Though the thought of having a home cooked meal admittedly sounded really nice.
Serendipity: [Got it covered. Ordered delivery.]
What was it about this stranger that made him want to try again? His appearance? The way he’d looked at Jimin - his eyes had been filled with an honest sense of awe and wonder he’d never seen in anyone before. They’d be a caring boyfriend, he decided, the kind of person, who would take care of you when you were sick, who asked you out for a run, but was also interested in checking out the latest museum exhibits, someone who seemed carefree on the surface, but was serious when it really mattered. They’d like to cook with him, their arms wrapped around Jimin’s waist as they helped him cut the vegetables. It would be sweet, simple, the life he wanted but didn’t feel like he could have. Having superpowers had expectations, expectations he’d never felt able to oppose. And maybe at the start - when he was younger he’d actually been happy to meet those expectations and even try to surpass them, but now they just felt like a net around him that was pulling tighter and tighter with each day. It was easier to carry things alone, less complicated and he liked that…right?
“Ugh!” Jimin flopped to the side, disturbing the blanket and getting a displeased response from Mochi. You are being ridiculous Jimin! They hadn't even exchanged a word and he was probably a fan for crying out loud! Forget about it, it’s not meant to be. He needed to stay focused on work.
“What do you think, Mochi? Am I being crazy for hoping it could happen?”
“Meurrow.”
“You’re right we should stop talking about it and watch a movie. What do you want to watch?”
“Murrow.”
“Power Rangers again?” he joked, with his brightly coloured teammates it felt like they were them sometimes.
“Mrrp.”
That sounded like a no.
“Alright, how about Superman?”
“Purrr.”
*cough cough* “Superman it is,” Jimin agreed, massaging his sore throat. He should have picked up some medicine on the way home.
Jimin clicked the movie on, but it wasn't long before he was sound asleep on the couch. The sounds of the hero flying around New York City, Lois in his arms, playing in his head. Clark made it work. Why couldn’t he?
***
Jungkook was walking to class when he saw the smoke cloud in the distance. He immediately pulled out his phone to check the news:
*A bank on seventh street has been robbed by an unknown individual with telekisis powers. Waiting for heroes to arrive on scene.*
And a few seconds later another update:
*Serendipity spotted heading towards the scene.*
That was in the direction of the smoke cloud. Jungkook bounced on the balls of his feet, looking between the path leading towards his class and one that would take him towards the crime scene.
“Ah, screw it!”
He ran off towards the cloud of smoke - he had to check it out. He passed by a convenience store on the way there, stopped and went in, coming out with; throat medication, heating pads and a few easy to eat snacks. He knew it was silly to do this; Serendipity probably was rich enough to buy whatever he needed, the chances he’d be able to give them to Serendipity were zero, less that Serendipity would accept them if he even got to - he was just a random fan, not even lucky enough to have ever won the lottery for a meet and greet. But still the thought that this gesture could help in any way even if it was miniscule compelled him to do so.
There was already a crowd when he arrived despite the utter chaos happening not too far away. Jungkook shoved his way to the front, trying to get a better look at what was happening. He breaks through to the other side just in time to see Serendipity slam, who he can only assume was the bank robber to the ground, sending a spray of dust over the crowd. Jungkook coughed, trying to clear his lungs. The telekinesis user was putting up quite the fight and Jungkook could see the street had been torn up by their powers.
It was admittedly quite impressive, it was a shame they decided to use their powers for evil, he thought. He wouldn’t take such powers for granted if he had them.
Amidst the struggle Serendipity turned, his eyes locking with Jungkook’s. He swears there was almost a look of recognition in the hero’s golden eyes. Jungkook didn't have time to process this though as out of the corner of his eye he saw a metal rod rising over Serendipity’s head. His opponent was taking advantage of his brief lack of focus.
“SERENDIPITY LOOK OUT!” Jungkook yelled, hoping his warning was not too late.
Luckily Serendipity reacted quickly, turning back and letting out a sharp string of notes. Jungkook flinched expecting the rod to explode, instead the robber let out a surprised noise as the buckle on the bag they were carrying the money in broke allowing it to spill across the ground. It's enough to make them drop their concentration and the rod fell to the ground with a clang. By this time another hero had shown up, Winter, and helped Serendipity get the villain restrained. Jungkook noticed Serendipity reaching for his throat as he talked with the authorities taking the bank robber into custody and Winter leaning closer to hear him. He must really be in pain.
Jungkook felt like the bag clasped in his hand was burning a hole in it. There was a clear path from him to Serendipity, if he just stepped forward…
“Come on folks back up,” a police officer encouraged, pushing the crowd away, “Let the teams clear up the streets.”
When Jungkook looked back, Winter was standing alone, Serendipity nowhere in sight. With a disappointed sigh he headed to the nearest bus stop with the intention of just going home, he was already late for class and didn’t feel like going anyways.
The bus was crowded for the middle of the day, most likely from the gathering crowds at the crime scene and Jungkook got pushed to the back of it. Sardined between multiple people. The bus jolted forward and he was thrown into someone.
“Oops, sorry.”
They grumble an apology back, unhappy, but understanding. Jungkook scanned the heads of the people knocking shoulder to shoulder, silently counting down the stops. He hadn't even really been thinking about it, but then he saw them - a tuft of distinct blond hair, and his heart began to race. It was the man from the other day that looked like Serendipity! Except this time, as the brown eyed man reached up to rub his throat, he's certain that they were one and the same. Jungkook tried to fight his way towards them but the bus was too crowded to do so without making a scene.
The bus stopped and Serendipity started making his way towards the doors near the front of the bus. Jungkook began to panic. No, he couldn’t let them slip away again! He shoved his way to the nearest set of doors getting a bunch of displeased noises from those around him in his haste. Finally he burst through the doors seeing his hero only a few steps in front of him.
“Serendipity, wait!” he called out.
***
Jimin froze, sweat beginning to bead on his temple as the people around him began looking around in excitement.
“Serendipity? He’s here? Where?”
Frick. His cover was blown, and what's more, the voice calling out to him sounded familiar. The face of the young man from the bus the other day and earlier at the crime scene flashed in his mind and he nervously spun around to find in fact he was correct.
“How-” his voice came out as a weak rasp.
“It really is you!” The doe eyed man beamed.
Jimin was in full panic mode now, luckily most people seemed to be looking towards the sky - not expecting a superhero to be so close among them, but if this kid kept talking eventually people would realize…
“Shhh, keep your voice down *cough cough*,” Jimin scolded them with great effort, quickly dragging the young man into a nearby alleyway out of sight. “What do you want…? An autograph? A picture?”
It was best to just get this over with and send them on their way. He certainly couldn’t take this bus again since they knew his identity. It would cost more, but maybe he should pay the repair shop extra to move his job to the front of the line… His swirling thoughts are interrupted as the young man spoke up again.
“No that’s not what… I mean yes, but no…”
He abruptly pulled his backpack off and set it on the ground ruffling through it. Jimin flinched as they pulled out a plastic bag and shoved it at him. Jimin poked at it apprehensive, not taking it.
“...This is…?”
“Medicine for your throat,” the young man explained, pointing at his adams apple, “I thought it might be bothering you. You know after yesterday.”
Jimin’s heart swelled, “Oh.”
It was quite painful - making his job difficult; he’d even had to change his strategy mid-fight today to avoid further injury and it had just barely worked, but he hadn’t had the time to go out and buy anything to treat it himself. Hell, he didn’t even get a full day of rest before he had to go out on the streets again.
“Thank you,” he said honestly, finally taking the bag from their outstretched hand.
A quick peek inside showed a variety of things - he even saw some of the pudding he liked. How did they know?
“It’s not much, but I hope it helps,” the young man said with a bit of blush spreading across his cheeks, “Anyways, I’m sorry for calling out to you like that, I didn’t want to miss you again and wasn't thinking...”
“You were at the crime scene earlier,” Jimin said, “How did you know I was Serendipity?”
The young man cocked his head, “It wasn't hard, the only thing that is different is your hair style and eye colour.”
Jimin snorted, very inquisitive, “Sometimes I forget how thin the mask is. It's usually surprising fool proof. People only see what they want to. And no one expects to see a hero out of uniform.”
“Like Superman.”
“Yah, like superman.”
Jimin felt surprisingly calm now that he determined the man before him had no ill intentions. Maybe it was the kind gesture, or because he'd already fantasized about this interaction with them (though it was going very differently from his daydreams), but he found he wouldn’t mind if the conversation continued a bit longer - even if it was a bit hard on his throat.
“Do you have a name, Mr. Observant?”
He laughed at the name Jimin gave them, beaming and eagerly replied: “Jungkook.”
“Well thank you again Jungkook… I noticed you go to Seoul University, what are you studying?”
Jungkook seemed a bit surprised that he was asking. Not that Jimin could blame him, it was pretty random.
“Art and music undergrad right now," Jungkook told him, “But I’m hoping to apply to the hero support program after.”
Though he didn’t know him, Jimin felt that seemed fitting. He could tell Jungkook was a caring and attentive person.
“That sounds fun. I always thought it would be cool to go to school. Even once considered becoming a professional singer, but you know… it didn’t really seem realistic.”
“You could totally do it!” Jungkook insisted, “I’m sure people would be lining up to get an album sung by you. I certainly would be.”
“That’s nice of you to say,” Jimin said, feeling his face grow hot. But he highly doubted it, his voice was strong, but did it sound nice enough to make worthy music? He rarely tried singing anything ‘proper’, only utilizing his ability to create different frequencies.
“You’re really my hero,” Jungkook told him, “You saved me once. Do you remember?”
“I did?” Jimin asked, he had thought there was something about Jungkook that reminded him of a distant memory, but he couldn’t quite picture it.
“The week of your debut. My school had a fire and I was trapped inside the building and you saved me. How fearless you were going into the flames, was really cool! Made me want to be a hero too, but well I don’t have powers so I thought it was just as important to help those who help us.”
The memory slowly came back to Jimin and he could picture the young boy with a broken leg, and huge watery chocolate brown eyes cradled in his arms. He himself had been barely more than a child then, having just entered high school. ‘Fearless’ Jungkook called him. But he’d been full of fear then, trying to create his status in the hierarchy of heroes, get scouted by a hero company, fear of possibly making the situation he was trying to get under wraps worse as he was still fine tuning his powers.
“Oh I remember you now! I can’t believe you were that kid, well I can believe it in the fact you both have eyes like a fawn lol.”
Jungkook blushed even darker, “Your eyes are really sweet too.”
Now it's Jimin’s turn to blush.
Jungkook awkwardly cleared his throat trying to break the tension, “Anyways… I uh, I’ve always wanted the opportunity to thank you again for that. Thank you.”
They talk for a bit longer, but quickly reach a point where Jimin’s voice can’t take anymore and they decide to part ways.
“It was really great to meet you again in less dire circumstances, Serendipity. This is something I dreamed about for a long time,” Jungkook said, a blindly warm smile still plastered on his face.
“Jimin,” Jimin croaked out.
“Sorry, what?”
“You don’t have to keep calling me Serendipity, my name is Jimin.”
Jungkook’s smile somehow managed to stretch even wider. “I’ll see you later then Jimin!”
“Yah, see you later.”
Jungkook ran back towards the bus stop and Jimin thought, Maybe it would be fine if his car never got fixed.
***
Jungkook was elated. Serendipity- no Jimin was more wonderful then he could have ever imagined. Not only had he gotten to talk with them and give them something to help them in return, butJimin had seemed genuinely interested in him. Of course it could have been all for show as he was a prominent public figure after all and had an image to upkeep, but it felt more than that so Jungkook was going to hold on to it. Jimin had even said “See you later” did that mean they’d get to talk again (after the hero’s throat healed of course)? He hoped so. Maybe he should have asked for Jimin’s number or something - no that would have been too bold. Ahhh! This was so amazing, he should make a note of it in his journal!
Except… he couldn’t find his journal. Jungkook dumped out his bag on his bed frantically shifting through everything without luck. He always kept close track of it, even had a special clasp on his backpack to stop it from accidentally opening and things falling out. Where could it have- oh no. The realization hit him like a truck; it must have fallen into the bag he gave Jimin.
“Ah!” he clutched the sides of his head in dread, Jimin was going to think he was so weird and never talk to him again!
***
Jimin set the bag Jungkook had given him on the counter. It was really nice of him to do that for him. He’d gotten gifts from fans before - and he cherished each and every one, but there was something about this that felt more personal - it was almost just like he’d imagined in his daydream. Mochi slapped her fluffy little paws against his legs impatiently, letting out a little “Mrrp” when he looked down to acknowledge her.
“Yes, yes, baby you’re probably hungry. I’m going to get you some food.”
It had been another late day, but surprisingly for once he didn’t feel tired. She gave a little pointed meow in response. He poured her some food, and then pulled some leftovers out of the fridge to heat up for himself.
While his food rotated on the microwave plate Jimin went through the plastic bag, separating things out. There were some neck heating pads, pudding, yogurt, a box of chamomile tea - along with a few packs of honey, some throat medicine and… what was this? One item seemed out of place; a worn notebook with a bunch of superhero logos drawn on the front. Jimin leaned against the counter and began flipping through it, his eyes going wider with each page. It was filled with detailed notes about every super hero in the city; their powers, villains they had fought and even some quite genius aesthetic yet practical designs for suit upgrades. Jungkook had said he wanted to join the hero support program and this just confirmed even further he was suited for it.
A lot of the notes were about him, with extremely detailed drawings of his face sketched on almost every page like a signature. It was as if he was getting a glimpse of Jungkook’s mind and how he saw him. Jimin looked beautiful. Flipping to the last two pages there was on the left notes on his tackling of the natural disaster with Indigo and on the right two scribbled questions: Side effects? How can I help him?
Just then the microwave beeped and Jimin startled, holding a hand against his rapidly beating heart. Could you fall in love with someone after just meeting them and exchanging barely more than a few words? Is this what they call love at first sight? Jungkook already knew who he was and respected the hardships he had to go through. Still even if there was a clearly mutual attraction between them would it be okay to act on it? At the end of the day Jungkook was a fan after all. He needed a second opinion on this.
Serendipity: [Hey, I need your opinion about something.]
Winter: [Of course! What's up??]
Serendipity: [Would you ever like… date a fan?]
Winter: [Hmm, probably not. It sounds messy.]
Serendipity: [What if they were cute.]
[Supportive.]
[And made the possible hassle seem worth it for the first time?]
Winter: [...]
[Is this about you? Are you thinking about dating a fan??]
Serendipity: [Of course not! It was just a question.]
[...maybe…]
[Alright I am thinking about it! He's really sweet, okay! We haven’t known each other for long but I just get the feeling that it will be different this time.]
Winter: [So are you gonna ask them out??]
Serendipity: [Idk. I shouldn't, right?]
Winter: [I feel like you’ve already made up your mind if you are going to or not.]
That was true. Jimin had in his heart made a decision about how he wanted to address his relationship with Jungkook going forward - and he did want a relationship with him.
***
Over the next few days Jimin read over Jungkook’s notebook from front to back multiple times. He’d been hoping to be able to return it sooner, but they hadn't exchanged numbers and his schedule wasn't exactly consistent. So, it had already been a few days without crossing paths (that he knew of - he always hoped Jungkook was somewhere hidden in the crowds of fans) and just the same amount of time had passed for his anxiety to stew. But eventually they did see each other again.
Jimin saw Jungkook sitting in the same seat they first met, well for the second time. The younger man seemed down and Jimin’s heart twinged a bit knowing what the cause probably was. Jungkook didn't see him approach at first and Jimin calmly sat down beside him holding the notebook out to him: “Have you been missing this?”
Jungkook’s head snapped towards him in surprise. “My notebook!” He immediately perked up taking it from Jimin, “Thank you I thought…” His voice trailed off and he dropped his head again, “It’s good to see you again… It’s silly I know but admittedly, I was a bit worried you could be avoiding me because you were put off by this.”
“No I would never!” Jimin insisted, grabbing Jungkook’s hands and surprising both of them by his boldness, “I thought your ideas were really great!”
“Really??”
“Really!”
Jungkook’s face turned bright red, “O-oh.”
“I’ve been thinking about them - your ideas that is, and you alot,” Jimin told him.
“I was too - well you, not so much my ideas cause I was too busy freaking out,” Jungkook laughed nervously.
“I’d like to hear more about them and spend more time with you,” Jimin said quickly before he can take the words back, “What I’m trying to say is idk if this is a good idea or not, but I don’t care, this is the first time anything has felt so right. Jungkook, will you go on a date with me?”
Jungkook sputtered, seeming to have trouble processing what Jimin was saying. What felt like an agonizing long time passed, before Jungkook said: “Really?”
That pulled a laugh out of Jimin, “Yes really.”
Jungkook still didn’t say anything more and Jimin started to sweat. Had he misread the attraction between them? Maybe Jungkook wanted nothing more than to be a fan supporting him from the sidelines.
Finally Jungkook spoke up; “Are you busy right now?”
“No.” Unless he got called to respond to an emergency.
Jungkook looked up at the bus map and, satisfied with their current location, pulled Jimin to his feet. It was then that Jimin realized their hands were still interlocked.
“Follow me.”
Jimin got off the bus with Jungkook who took him to a small cafe he’d never been to before. The two of them slid into a booth across from each other. Jungkook ordered an iced espresso and Jimin, not really sure where this was going, ordered a Strawberry latte. The sweet drink tasted bitter on his tongue as he waited for Jungkook to explain the abrupt visit during such an important conversation.
“I didn’t want to say this on the bus,” Jungkook admitted, taking a sip from his own drink, “I already compromised you’re anonymously once, didn’t want to make the same mistake again.”
Oh, all thoughts of keeping his own privacy had completely slipped Jimin’s mind in his anxious excitement to confess his feelings.
“Thank you for thinking about that,” he whispered embarrassed.
“Regarding your confession…”
Jimin’s heart clenched, preparing for the worst.
“Why me?”
“Huh, what do you mean?” Jimin asked.
Jungkook pulled back a bit, twisting his fingers together in a nervous motion. “Well it's just… I’m no one special, I’m just one of your fans. I mean I’ve l-loved you for years, but you’ve only really known me for a few days. Why would you want to date me?”
Honestly a fair question. A question Jimin had thought about in depth during their time apart.
He reached out towards Jungkook again, untangling his fingers. Jungkook put up no protest, his eyes trained on Jimin’s face.
“I’ve been a hero for a long time…” Jimin started, “along the way I’ve forgotten why I was doing it. I’ve lost my drive, there are more days I want to quit then get up in the morning to do my job. But Jungkook, you've reminded me why what I do matters, why it was important to me in the first place. I’m confident you will keep reminding me and show me new ways to be a hero. So just say yes, please.”
Eyes full of love look back at Jimin, the corners filling with tears; “Yes. For you Jimin the answer will always be yes.”
***
A few months later…
The sound of beautiful singing filled the apartment as Jimin prepared dinner for himself and Jungkook.
“Wow that smells really good,” Jungkook said, walking into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around Jimin’s waist.
Mochi let out a curious meow, rubbing against their legs. Jimin leaned back a bit - enough that Jungkook could land a soft kiss on his forehead with a smile.
“Sorry work was slow today so I got started cooking without you,” Jimin told him.
“That’s okay,” Jungkook hummed, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I just need to finish cutting up these vegetables to put in the soup.”
“Well then let me help you with that…”
Jungkook reached his arms around Jimin to lay his hands over his boyfriend’s, guiding him to chop up the vegetables, he began to sing along with Jimin, their voices harmonizing. The atmosphere was warm and relaxing in the space that was once just a crash point.
Jimin smiled up at Jungkook and whispered, “My hero.”