Chapter Text
They were at some fancy country club that they couldn’t afford. The only reason they had been let in the doors was because Yoongi was working as the pianist of the night and Hoseok was his plus one. Which meant that Hoseok was forced off to the walls while Yoongi worked. Not that it was terrible, watching Yoongi play was always a treat, but being surrounded by a bunch of rich assholes was not.
Mainly because it reminded Hoseok of another, less appealing time, and he hated being in the shadows. He was used to being the life of a party, but he knew he couldn’t be that anymore.
“The architecture here is amazing, isn’t it?” an older woman asked as she slid up next to Hoseok.
He took a long sip of his champagne and nodded. “Sure, I guess so,” he replied and willed the woman to leave him alone.
“The renovations are quite beautiful, I was skeptical at first, but it turned out nicely,” she continued and Hoseok glanced over at her. She wore nude heels and a shiny black dress that dipped low in the front. She wasn’t ugly, by any means, but she had clearly had work done, judging by the way her face didn’t move much when she spoke.
“Oh yeah, I love all those…arches…” Hoseok said and pointed randomly into the crowd.
“I haven’t seen you here before. Is your family a member? You seem quite young,” the woman said and cocked out her hip. Hoseok wondered if he was being hit on, which was actually kind of amusing.
“I don’t really come here much,” he said without answering her questions. He adjusted the collar of his suit jacket and glanced towards the piano, where Yoongi was finishing up a song and getting ready to take a break. His eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted and he looked completely ethereal.
“Hmm, well you fit in very well. What designer is that?” she touched his arm, her thumb moving across the fabric of his suit, and his eyes got wide slightly.
“Um…I got it at…” he hesitated and then smiled. “It’s custom.” That was a lie. He bought the suit at a department store with Yoongi. Still, it looked good on him, which Yoongi had mentioned several times over as they made their way to the country club.
“Wow, very nice,” the woman said. “What’s your name, I can’t believe I didn’t ask sooner.”
Hoseok smirked, but before he could respond, he felt a hand on his back, which slid around his waist effortlessly. Hoseok hadn’t noticed the music had stopped playing. “Hey baby,” Yoongi said and looked up at Hoseok with a twinkle in his eyes. He only ever called Hoseok that around other people when he was trying to make a point.
“Hi,” Hoseok responded. Then he turned back to the woman. “Jung Hoseok. That’s my name.”
The woman looked back and forth between them slowly. She didn’t seem to get it.
Yoongi removed his hand from around Hoseok’s waist and twisted the simple ring on his finger, the one that matched Hoseok’s. It wasn’t anything legal, of course, it was all symbolic, but that didn’t matter. They were each other’s only loves, completely. Their rings just showed that to others.
“Nice to meet you, Jung Hoseok,” the woman said, still ignoring Yoongi, and held out her hand. The way she held it made it seem like she wanted Hoseok to kiss the back of it, but instead he took it and shook it slightly.
Yoongi huffed in annoyance. One thing that Hoseok had learned about Yoongi over the years, since they’d escaped their old lives, was that Yoongi was tired of having to hide their relationship. He didn’t put up with people’s shit. He didn’t care what other people thought. He ignored the idiotic people who gave them looks on the street when they held hands and he ignored the comments people made, both to their face and behind their backs. Although, sometimes he didn’t ignore it and sometimes he gave them a piece of his mind instead.
So, Hoseok wasn’t all that surprised when Yoongi grabbed his hand and interlocked their fingers. “Babe,” he said. “Where’re the drinks at?”
“So who did you say your family was?” the woman asked Hoseok, still ignoring Yoongi.
Yoongi did not appreciate it one bit. He gripped Hoseok by his jacket and pulled him down. Hoseok smirked when their lips crashed together. Yoongi didn’t do subtle, and Hoseok loved it. He only wished he could see the woman’s face, but he was too busy making sure she had something to look at.
He wrapped one arm around Yoongi’s waist, splaying his fingers out against his back while he made sure not to spill his drink in his other hand. Yoongi continued to clutch his jacket and only slightly move one leg in between Hoseok’s. At that, Hoseok quickly pulled away because otherwise they would surely get carried away.
The woman was still standing there, although now she was bug eyed.
Hoseok cleared his throat and smoothed out his attire, trying to look as smug as Yoongi. “Oh,” the woman finally spoke. “I didn’t realize.”
“No, it’s fine,” Yoongi said with a shrug. “He’s hot. I get it.” Then Yoongi turned around so his back was to the woman and leaned in slightly to whisper in Hoseok’s ear. “There’s a room back there, through those doors,” he said and Hoseok turned and looked at a set of double doors near the back of the ballroom. “It’s a dining room or something, but no one is in there. After three more songs, meet me.” And then Yoongi walked away, back to his piano.
“Sorry, he’s…not usually like that,” Hoseok said, even though it was a complete lie. “I’m here because he’s working and I like free fancy drinks.” He held up his almost empty glass as proof.
“So you’re…?”
Hoseok smiled. The woman stared, waiting for him to finish the sentence. She clearly wasn’t going to, so he decided he would do her one better. “Yeah,” he said, downing the rest of his champagne in one go. “We fuck.”
~~~
There was something about parties that riled Hoseok up. They always had, and probably always would, even though they reminded him of another time. It didn’t matter if the attendees were different, it was still a party and there was still something undeniably exciting about it.
Yoongi finished his three songs, the last three, judging by how music began to play over speakers, although it was still classical, soft tunes. Hoseok watched him retreat to the double doors and slip through them without looking back. Hoseok let a few minutes pass by, because as much as he wanted to get in there and jump Yoongi’s bones, he also liked to make him squirm. It wasn’t every day that they got to do things like that. Let lose. Most of the time, they were at home. Having dinner, arguing about who was going to have to do the laundry, watching bad TV, kissing long and slow at night, and then waking up together in the morning.
And that was all well and good. Hoseok wouldn’t trade it away for anything.
But.
It was fun to be…sort of like how they used to be.
So, Hoseok stalked across the tile floors, his silver shoes clicking against it, and then slipped through the double doors into the dark room. And it was dark. Very. He could hardly see the outlines of the tables as he felt around.
“Yoongi. What the fuck?” Hoseok hissed.
“What took you so long?” Yoongi responded from somewhere to Hoseok’s right. He wasn’t bothering to keep his voice down at all.
“Where are you, I can’t see,” Hoseok whisper yelled and he put his arms out in front of him.
“Why are you whispering?”
“Because there’s a crowded ballroom of people right on the other side of the door and I’m not an exhibitionist like you are.”
“I am not an exhibitionist.”
“So you didn’t summon me in here to have sex?”
“Maybe I wanted to have a deep conversation.”
Hoseok sighed loudly and dropped his hands to his side. “Where are you?”
Instead of answering verbally, Yoongi wrapped his arms around Hoseok from behind. Hoseok reached an arm behind him and then twisted around. His eyes had adjusted enough to the light, so he could see Yoongi clearly. “I can tell why that woman was hitting on you, you look good in that suit,” Yoongi said lowly.
“Gross. Did you hear what I said to her when you left?” Hoseok asked while Yoongi slowly started loosening his tie.
“Yeah. Care to prove it now?”
“I have to dance tomorrow,” Hoseok said.
“I don’t,” Yoongi replied. He managed to get Hoseok’s tie completely off and was slowly unbuttoning his dress shirt. Hoseok groaned inwardly.
“We don’t have lube.”
“I do. Jacket pocket.”
“God, I hate you,” Hoseok muttered as he pushed Yoongi’s hands away to finish unbuttoning his shirt himself. “You planned this, you little snake.”
“That’s a new one,” Yoongi commented, pushing Hoseok’s jacket off his shoulders. “Besides, this is the only thing that will make tonight fun. Otherwise I just wasted my talent on a bunch of undeserving pricks.”
“We can’t have that,” Hoseok muttered, walking them back against one of the many tables in the room. They could still hear the music playing softly in the other room along with the low chatter of voices and drinks clinking together.
“Are you going to take off my clothes or what?” Yoongi muttered between pressing kisses to Hoseok’s exposed chest.
“You do it, you’re the one who wanted me in here.” Hoseok stepped back and Yoongi made a face to show that he was unamused. However, he pushed off his own jacket anyway and set it precisely on the table behind him before he pulled his belt out of the loops. He was being slow on purpose, of course. More accurately, he was being difficult on purpose.
“I’m falling asleep over here,” Hoseok said.
“Liar.”
“You’re right, you’re the one who fell asleep when I was kissing you once. I’m still offended,” Hoseok said and Yoongi laughed.
“I had a long day. You weren’t doing anything else. That was a year ago. Stop bringing it up.”
“Never,” Hoseok replied as Yoongi finally stepped out of his pants and Hoseok twirled his fingers in the air. “Turn around,” he said. “Also, you really should wear underwear. I can see everything through your pants, you know.”
“I know.”
Hoseok walked up to him, still with his shirt on, unbuttoned, and pants. He pressed a kiss to the back of Yoongi’s neck and to his shoulder. “You’re crazy, you know?” Hoseok said softly.
“Love you, too,” Yoongi said as he braced his hands flat against the table in front of him.
~~~
“So, I have to get my money for tonight and then we can leave,” Yoongi said while getting dressed. “I’ll meet you at the car?”
“You played really good tonight,” Hoseok complimented and Yoongi made a face. “I’m serious.”
“It’s not enough to pay the bills, even with your dance teacher job. Working at the supermarket during the day sucks, but…I mean, I can’t complain too much.” Yoongi ran his hands through his hair several times. “Why’d you have to yank my hair so hard? I’m going to get hair loss because of you.”
“Quit working at the supermarket if you hate it.”
“I can’t.”
“I’ll help you find something else,” Hoseok murmured, but Yoongi just shrugged one shoulder.
“It’s okay, Hobi, really,” he promised then kissed him quickly before scurrying out of the dark dining room.
Over the years, Yoongi had worked various odd jobs in addition to his nighttime gigs as a pianist. He never was particularly fond of any of the jobs, and Hoseok knew he was a little bit jealous that Hoseok managed to snag a steady, good paying job doing something he enjoyed. Still, most of the time, Yoongi kept his mouth shut and just did what he had to do because when he got home, a crappy day at work didn’t matter.
Hoseok yawned and rubbed his eyes, not bothering to check if he was completely presentable before leaving the dining room. The gathering in the ballroom looked like it was starting to disperse, but there were still a considerable amount of people milling around. The music was quieter and it made people’s voices more audible as Hoseok walked past them.
Yoongi was off to one corner talking to someone important looking and shaking their hand.
“That man playing the piano did a lovely job,” Hoseok heard someone comment as he walked. He slowed his pace to listen.
“I thought so too, I wonder if he will come play again. If I see him I’ll be sure to give him my compliments,” another person replied to the first.
“Who was that he arrived with? A boyfriend? They were cute.”
Hoseok chuckled to himself. Yoongi would hate that. Anyway, though, Hoseok hoped Yoongi was invited back. He hoped he could work at the club regularly, because for the one night, Hoseok knew he was getting paid well. And evidently, not all the rich people were ‘pricks’ as Yoongi thought.
As he was deep in thought, Hoseok didn’t notice the woman from earlier until she bumped into him roughly. “Oh! Shit, sorry,” he muttered and he righted himself.
“It was my fault,” she said, but her eyes wouldn’t meet his and she seemed fidgety. “I was…looking for you, actually.”
“What for…?” he asked hesitantly, eyeing the exit.
“You’re Jung Hoseok?” she asked. “That’s your name?”
“That’s what I said, yeah,” he answered.
The woman swallowed and then held out a small piece of paper in his direction. “This is for you,” she said and as soon as he took the piece of paper, the woman turned around practically ran back outside.
Hoseok slowly unfolded the small slip of paper as people brushed past him and out into the night. He glanced up once before unfolding it to see Yoongi walking outside. When Hoseok looked back down at the paper in his hands, his breath caught.
The phrase on the paper was, to put it simply, ridiculous. Cliché. Laughable, really, only Hoseok wasn’t laughing.
“You can run, but you can’t hide.”
“Fucking shit,” Hoseok cursed under his breath as he shoved the slip of paper into his pocket and spun around frantically. The faces around him were all a blur, unfamiliar, and uninterested in him. No one stood out in the slightest. And the strange woman was gone.
Still, the implications of the note were clear. Someone knew who he was and they wanted him to know they knew.
Quickly, Hoseok propelled himself outside and rushed to the car where Yoongi was waiting.
“What took so long?” Yoongi asked when Hoseok slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door closed behind him.
“Uh, got stuck in the crowd,” Hoseok lied.
“Oh, well, guess what?” Yoongi said as he started to drive. “They said they really liked me tonight and that, if I want, I can come back and play. And that maybe it could be a steady thing. I have to think about it, of course, but it’s a good offer.”
“Yeah, it is,” Hoseok murmured. Except, someone at that country club knew who he was. Who they were, probably. And going back probably wasn’t the best idea. But Yoongi looked so happy and Hoseok wasn’t about to ruin that tonight. “I’m happy for you,” he said instead.
Yoongi smiled contently and they made the rest of the drive back home in comfortable silence. When they got inside Hoseok mumbled something about needing to use the restroom and went to their bedroom and into the adjoining bathroom. He took out the piece of paper and opened the medicine cabinet. There was a small bottle of over the counter pain relievers that Hoseok sometimes used if he got muscle cramps or something from dancing. He screwed the cap off and stuffed the piece of paper inside, unsure of why he wasn’t just throwing it away.
Then, he flushed the toilet and ran the sink and left the bathroom and find Yoongi curled up on the bed, eyes closed, but still dressed in his fancy get-up.
“Change clothes,” Hoseok said to him.
Yoongi groaned and rolled onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillows. Hoseok smiled to himself and quickly changed out of his own suit and into sweats and a t-shirt before taking Yoongi’s cell phone out of his back pocket and awkwardly removing his suit jacket. It was clear that Yoongi was not going to bother to change, so Hoseok crawled under the covers and yanked the out from under Yoongi to cover him too.
They were both exhausted, and Hoseok’s eyes were heavy with sleep, but his body was buzzing with nerves. They were supposed to be free from it all. Their old life was meant to be a thing of the past, and it had been, without fault, for three years. Hoseok didn’t want what they had now to be taken away from them.
“Why are you just lying there with your eyes open?” Yoongi whispered and Hoseok turned his head to look at Yoongi, who had his eyes closed. He could just tell, being the expert on sleep that he was.
“I’m closing them now. Come here,” Hoseok replied and Yoongi scooted closer so that Hoseok could wrap his arms around him.
Yoongi often slipped one hand under Hoseok’s shirt, claiming it was for warmth, but whatever the reason, Hoseok didn’t mind. Yoongi’s hand was cold and Hoseok breathed out, long and slow. He did close his eyes, and he tried to even out his breathing to feign sleep. He was good at it, pretending he was asleep, and Yoongi didn’t know any different. The elder drifted off and Hoseok opened his eyes again and looked at Yoongi, peaceful and sans snappy comments.
“I’m sorry,” Hoseok said, lower than even a whisper to the man he loved more than anything. “I’ll fix it.”