The one thing Taehyung disliked about hanging out in the salon was the smell.

He didn't talk about it anymore—not since Namjoon had asked him in all seriousness if he had some kind of allergy, and especially not since Jin had brought up the 4D thing again. Taehyung wasn't actually that weird, in his own mind, but something about the way he behaved seemed to make people think otherwise.

Did his bandmates actually think of him as weird? It was hard to tell, when somebody was almost always getting roasted. Taehyung's alleged 'specialness', along with Hoseok's jokes, Suga's moods, Jungkook's naivety, and various other insults that often hit far too close to home was fair game.

So he withstood the piercing fug of hairspray, nail polish, and hair dye, with little more than a slight grimace every now and then.

Besides, there were some pros to hanging out in the salon.

Jimin lay back in his chair taking a selfie, probably for his Instagram account, that Taehyung may or may not have had open on his phone at that very moment. Jimin's hair had just been touched up, blond but not as blond as Suga's, and chopped so that wavy bangs fell into his eyes. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and grey slacks, sprawled out on the spa chair as though he were lounging on a beach in the dead of summer.

Taehyung's mouth dangled open slightly, just wide enough that the big straw sticking out of his smoothie could rest between his teeth, and he scrolled lazily through Jimin's photos, comparing them to the person sitting in front of him. He was glad Jimin wasn't choosing to razz him just then, because he didn't think he could've come up with a retort even if he'd wanted to. There was, simply and honestly, nothing bad to say about Park Jimin—at least not in Taehyung's mind. After a moment a post popped up with the caption 'HELLO! #Jimin,' and Taehyung resisted the urge to like it right then and there.

"Taetae," Jimin said suddenly, reaching out a hand. "Come here. I want a selfie with you."

Taehyung gave a swift glance at the door. None of the others were nearby. Nobody to call him out on how quickly he tended to comply with Jimin's demands, without any of his usual moaning and groaning.

"Okay."

He walked over and crouched down so that his face was level with Jimin's, tilting his head towards his friend's and making a peace sign. Jimin snapped a few pictures and then puffed out his cheeks in disappointment. "Come on Tae, liven it up a little!"

"What?" Taehyung asked deadpan. "What do you want me to do?"

"I dunno, maybe something a little more… fun?"

"Fun?" Taehyung asked, as though he had never heard of the concept.

"Okay, why don't you…" Jimin's eyes roved over his friend's face as he thought, his mouth set in a mysterious smirk. "Why don't you kiss me on the cheek?"

Oh. That kind of fun.

Taehyung was quite familiar with this game. It was one of their favourites. Jimin was often the instigator. One of its key features was that there was no way to predict where it was going to end up.

Heaving a little sigh, which was much too clipped and breathy to come off as appropriately begrudging, Taehyung inched a little closer to the spa chair, leaned over, extended his lips, and pressed them carefully to the side of Jimin's face.

One moment passed. Then another.

"Did you take it already?" Taehyung demanded, clearly exasperated.

"Yeah, yeah," Jimin said, examining the photo. "Just, come here one more time—"

Before Taehyung could act, Jimin was wrapping his fingers around the side of Taehyung's face, leaning in and fulfilling Taehyung's role this time, except his performance was a lot less staged. He pressed his lips to the space just next to the corner of Taehyung's mouth, and then parted them slightly, letting out a little sigh that Taehyung could feel down to his marrow.

"Are you going to take a photo, or—"

"What's the big rush?" Jimin asked, all the while beginning to chuckle, his lips parting further until Taehyung could feel the dampness of his teeth.

Was his head spinning because of the chemicals in the air?

"Here, just let me do it," he said impatiently, turning to face Jimin to get the damn thing over with. Perhaps he had underestimated just how close his friend was, but seeing as Jimin failed to pull away, when he turned into him Taehyung's lips swept directly against Jimin's. He gave a slight gasp of surprise, making to dart back.

Jimin caught the back of his head with a hand, staying his retreat. His amber eyes were almost crossed, lazy under his lids, and fixed directly on Taehyung's, searching, as though he were trying to solve an intricate riddle. His lips were still a little parted, revealing his slightly crooked front tooth and his flattened tongue, which roved alluringly over his bottom row of teeth. Everything about him was sensuality incarnate.

Taehyung's chest was rising and falling rapidly. He might've been worried about what Jimin was thinking of him right now but this was not the first time something like this had happened, where something Jimin said or did stripped Taehyung absolutely bare, without warning.

"Um…" Taehyung muttered, his voice so low it rumbled in his chest.

"What?" Jimin asked, smiling innocently at the exact same time as leaning in a little closer, tilting his head to the side.

What if the stylist walks in just now? What if Jimin is only joking? What if the others see?

These were all thoughts Taehyung probably should have been thinking, but his mind was blank. All that existed was this boy in front of him. His focus was so narrow and singular he could feel the pain of it in his body.

Their lips brushed again, sending waves of electricity throughout Taehyung's entire being.

A trace of a smile still hung on Jimin's face. Slowly, tentatively, Taehyung moved forward to capture the feeling once more, running his lips gently in an upwards diagonal across Jimin's mouth. The pleasure of the sensation almost made him gasp.

It seemed like eternity that they stayed like that, Jimin leaning over from the spa chair, Taehyung pushing himself up from where he was crouching to meet Jimin's lips; not close enough for a kiss, never that, but close enough to touch, to tease just the surface of this dangerous territory.

They were both smiling slightly now. The kind of smile a person wears when they know they are breaking the rules.

But were they?

As long as they didn't really do anything, they could chalk this up to some kind of morbid game. Just another prank. An extension of the usual savagery.

Right?

"Tae," Jimin whispered.

Taehyung raised an eyebrow.

Was Jimin forgetting? Ground rule number one to the game: you never talk about it. Before Taehyung could respond, there was an eruption of sound from the hallway.

"What's up motherfuckas!"

The two of them broke apart just in time for Hoseok and Jungkook to come barrelling in from the corridor. Hoseok strode across the room and clapped his hands down on the chair on either side of Jimin's head, drumming manically against the black leather.

"I'm starving," he announced. "When is dinner?"

"Jesus," Jimin exclaimed. A somewhat-more-normal smile was finding its way back to his face, but his voice was definitely still strange. Lighter than usual. Huskier than usual. "Christ."

"What?" Jungkook asked innocently.

"You two scared the shit out of me is what."

"What, were you snoozing or something?" Hoseok gave Jimin's head a little spank. "Come on, let's go find something to eat."

"Yeah," Taehyung agreed, finally having gotten himself together enough to speak.

They would have been fine, except—

Jungkook narrowed his eyes. "Wait, what did you do to your mouth?"

Both Jimin and Taehyung simultaneously asked, "Me?" while raising a concerned hand to their lips.

"Did you cut it?" Jungkook asked in concern, ignoring Taehyung and leaning closer to Jimin. "There are some red marks…"

There was a moment when Jimin looked genuinely concerned, and then his eyes flickered up to Taehyung and a look of understanding flooded his features.

Shit, Taehyung shouted internally. I'm wearing lipstick.

Blood red lipstick. Red enough to match his red hair, and, coincidentally, the stains on Jimin's mouth.

"Is that lipstick?" Jungkook asked innocently.

"Oh, maybe," Jimin hummed, reaching up and giving his lips a little wipe. "So, about that food…"

"Look, there's some on your cheek too."

"What on earth were you two doing?" Hoseok demanded, scrunching up his face in dramatic horror.

Taehyung was staring at Jimin as though the two of them were agents whose cover had just been blown in a room full of armed enemies. Jimin stared back, his eyes wide as saucers, before he suddenly spun around and grabbed Hoseok by the sides of the head, squishing his cheeks together as though his hands were graham crackers and the rapper's face a marshmallow.

"What's the matter, Hobi?" he jested, making pursing motions with his mouth. "Are you jealous? Did you want me to make out with you too?"

Jungkook watched the whole display with a mixture of amusement and worry.

"Leh go uh mehhh," Hoseok groaned.

"Come on Hobi, kiss me."

"Yerr gonna ruinee meey hair."

"Fine," Jimin said, releasing Hoseok and giving him a playful shove. "You're no fun."

Before anybody could say anything more, he hopped off the chair, slung his bag over his shoulder, and marched towards the door, giving Jungkook a little poke on the nose as he went.

"Come on," he called over his shoulder. "I thought you said you were hungry."

It was shit like this that made it confusing.

Oh well. At least it was nice to get out of that smelly salon.

Dinner ended up being appetizers and drinks with their manager. It was once in a blue moon that they were allowed to drink, but seeing as they had just completed a tour they had been given a couple days to relax. The notion was implicit: don't eat anything fattening, don't forget to jot down ideas for lyrics, and don't do anything that could compromise the photoshoot next week. It was a narrow parameter for fun—that fabled thing Jimin seemed so enraptured by—but, in comparison to their usual pace, it was definitely a treat.

Despite the close call, it seemed Jimin wasn't quite done with their dangerous game.

It persisted all throughout dinner, with him playing footsie with Taehyung under the table, feeding him little vegetables and pieces of meat with his chopsticks, and, after the fifth round of soju came around, draping one of his legs over Taehyung's lap, so that every time Taehyung set his hands down they landed square on his friend's thick, muscular thigh. He was so distracted he almost forgot to refill their manager's cup on the sixth round, who was sitting to his left.

Eventually the night came to a close and the boys were driven home in one of the company cars. Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok retreated to the studio, claiming they were going to record some random freestyling sessions. Jin and Jungkook were hell-bent on downloading the latest version of some game, leaving Taehyung at the complete mercy of a rather tipsy Jimin, who wanted them all to take a shower together, or something like that.

"Come on guys," he complained, standing lopsided in the hallway. "What do you wanna play that stupid game for? This would be soooo much more fun."

"Hey. This game is awesome," Jungkook said, jabbing a button on the keyboard.

"Yeah, bite your tongue, Jiminnie," Jin echoed.

"But guys…"

"Make Tae do it," Jin said, grabbing for the mouse. "Oh, look, there's another one—"

It was hard to tell if either one of them was taking him seriously at all. Either way, Jimin took the suggestion at face value and spun to the right, a self-mocking smile churning beneath the surface as he tromped down to the bedrooms. He pounded on Taehyung's door before shoving it clean open.

"Come on Tae," he said matter-of-factly. "Let's take a shower."

"Now?" Taehyung asked, who was currently in his pajamas reclining in bed.

"Yeah. When did you think I meant?"

The idea was ridiculous. None of the members had ever showered together. Close as they were, intimate as they had learned to be, there was a definite line. A line that was apparently invisible to Jimin at the moment.

Taehyung gave an innocent shrug. "Fine."

Heart pounding, he grabbed a towel and followed Jimin to the bathroom. Once they were inside, Jimin reached past Taehyung and shut the door.

There was a moment when the two of them stood there, not quite making eye contact.

And then Taehyung began to undress. A peripheral part of his brain acknowledged what he was doing but, although he might have been able to hold his liquor better than Jimin, he wasn't exactly sober himself. Once he'd stripped down to everything but his boxers, he straightened up only to find Jimin standing there watching him, still fully clothed.

"What's up?"

"Nothing." Jimin took a deep breath and reached up to unbutton his shirt. Once it was undone, he unzipped his pants and wriggled out of them. That left his boxers, Taehyung remarked with an internal gulp, and the shirt that was still dangling open over his shoulders.

Taehyung gave a single nod, as if to say, well?

"I don't know Tae," Jimin said suddenly.

"What?" Taehyung was confused. Usually Jimin didn't back down once he'd set the game in motion.

"It's just, I…"

"Do you want me to look the other way?" Taehyung joked.

At the same time as the alcohol was relieving Taehyung of his inhibitions, it seemed to be having the reverse effect on his friend.

"Are you sure… you're okay with this?"

"What, with you getting naked?"

Jimin's eyes flickered to the floor. He nodded once.

Taehyung frowned. He didn't know how to assure his friend of just how okay he was with him getting naked while still adhering to the rules of their game; this game that, while torturous, was something Taehyung suddenly realized he had grown a little too fond of. It was getting to the point that if it ended he might not know how to survive.

"Jimin," he said softly. And then he cracked an uncharacteristically soft smile. "What are you so embarrassed about? You know I know about, you know."

Park Jimin was transgender. It had been something they'd understood from day one. It would've been pretty hard to hide, seeing as they all spent twenty-four hours a day together, but thankfully hiding it hadn't really been necessary. The members of BTS were a rare oasis of open-minded, laissez-faire, pansexual allies in a desert that was the great majority of the Korean pop music industry. Continual heckling aside, they were all pretty grateful to have this in common.

"Yeah, but you've never… seen."

"I've seen you shirtless," Taehyung pointed out. Then, after a beat: "Half this nation has seen you shirtless."

"Fine," Jimin muttered shyly, mostly to himself, and shrugged out of his shirt.

God was he ever beautiful.

His tan skin flowed over lean musculature like glaze over a sculpture. In many ways he had the perfect proportions. The scars were barely visible after the treatments BigHit had endorsed, but Taehyung wouldn't have minded either way.

"But you haven't seen…"

"What, and you think I've seen everyone else's?"

Jimin shook his head. "That's different."

As cute as it was to see this shy, tentative side of his usually extraverted friend, Taehyung really didn't want Jimin thinking anything bad about himself.

"I've seen you naked… in my head," he offered. And then, realizing what he'd just admitted, he added curtly, "If that helps at all."

They were treading on risky ground here.

"Taehyung, I know you're drunk right now, but you don't actually mean that."

"I'm not drunk. Maybe a little tipsy, but—"

Jimin shook his head again.

"What about today?" Taehyung asked. His tone was becoming a little desperate. "Did you see how I was when you, um, wanted to take a selfie? And then later, at the restaurant…"

"That's just playing around."

The words cut Taehyung's heart out.

"Oh," he said softly. "I see."

"But this, this is different," Jimin carried on. "And I don't think you know what you're getting into here."

"What's the big deal?" Taehyung suddenly exclaimed. "We're just taking a shower together, that's all."

"Is that all?" Jimin asked, his tone injured.

They both fell silent. And then Taehyung made up his mind.

He stepped forward, reached out for the back of Jimin's head, and pulled his friend close until their foreheads were touching. Still safe. He brought his other hand up and cradled the side of Jimin's face, brushing his friend's lips with his thumb. We've done this before, in one way or another. Slowly, tentatively, he stepped even closer, until their bodies were flush, and he wrapped his arms around Jimin in a close embrace. This is fine, we all hug all the time.

Jimin's mouth was level with Taehyung's neck. He could feel his friend's quickened breath against his skin, caught a scent tinged with alcohol and the fruitiness of the soju. He leaned down and inhaled Jimin's hair. The day had infused it with the fragrance of Jimin himself, a much better smell than hairspray and dye.

Jimin's hands were running up and down Taehyung's bare skin, up and down his back, his arms, the sides of his waist. Taehyung swallowed thickly.

"Uh, I'm sorry," he said, realizing Jimin must've been able to feel what was growing steadily larger in his boxers.

That made Jimin smile. He held a finger to Tae's lips, and then replaced the finger with his own mouth, resuming the bittersweet game from earlier. They stood face to face, brushing their lips together, up the sides of each other's faces, rubbing their chests and abdomens, until one of Taehyung's legs had found its way between Jimin's legs and one of Jimin's hands was sneaking its way down the back of Taehyung's boxers.

"I don't know," Taehyung said, suddenly terrified that he was going to lose Jimin forever.

"Are you scared?"

Taehyung nodded.

Jimin's head ducked down.

Taehyung studied his friend closely. "I'm not scared of you."

Jimin looked up, stricken. "Liar," he whispered.

It was time for the game to end, for better or for worse.

Taehyung leaned in slowly, gradually, and, after a shaky inhalation, pressed his lips against Jimin's.

Jimin didn't seem as affronted as Taehyung thought he would have been. Actually, he didn't seem affronted at all. After a moment, he reached up and took the sides of Taehyung's head, parting his lips wide enough for both of them to explore each other's mouths with their tongues at the same time. Taehyung stifled a moan that he hadn't seen coming. Only now did he realize how long he had been waiting for this, to know Jimin in this way, to move past the facade that had kept them in such a precarious balance for so long.

With a clap he realized that Jimin was rubbing up on his leg and his blood immediately turned to molten lava.

Jimin's boxers were wet enough that they caught against Taehyung's thigh with each thrust. Taehyung reached around and gripped the small of Jimin's back, encouraging his friend to keep going. Jimin let out a moan, rocking his hips even harder, riding up Taehyung's thigh until each thrust pressed against Taehyung in places that made Taehyung's breath catch in his throat over-and-over.

"Hey," Jimin remarked under his breath. "Look at you."

He reached down and stroked Taehyung through his boxers, and then slipped his hand past the waistband. A minute later Taehyung's mouth was hanging even wider, a rosy flush spread thickly over the bridge of his nose.

"Please," he said raggedly. "Could I touch you too?"

Jimin hesitated for just a second. Then he smiled, a charming twinkle joining the self-consciousness in his eyes. "Alright."

Taehyung reached down slowly, sliding his fingers down Jimin's abs and past the waistband of his boxers. His eyes were locked on Jimin's the entire time, who was beginning to breathe quite quickly. He felt himself pulse in Jimin's hand as his fingers found their way to Jimin at last. Wetting them with some of his friend's outpourings, he drew them back upwards and began to experiment, drawing circles, palming him, and darting his fingers from side-to-side. Taehyung was a pretty dextrous guy, but he wanted to know if what he was doing was right.

"Like this?"

"A little more… like, you can put another finger…"

"How's…"

"Oh," Jimin moaned, probably loud enough for the others to hear. Taehyung in all his lovesick glory did not really care. He worked Jimin steadily, his own mouth dropping open wider, panting, wasted on his own desire, as Jimin worked his own magic in Taehyung's boxers.

"Hey," Taehyung gasped, grabbed Jimin's wrist. "Watch it."

"What's the matter?"

"You're gonna make me…"

"Just take them off." Jimin reached forward and yanked Taehyung's boxers down. Taehyung did the same to Jimin, and then he was cupping the sides of Jimin's face and kissing him once more, reaching down to continue pleasuring his friend with his hand.

"No," Jimin said, grabbing Taehyung's wrist this time. "I want you."

"We're doing this?" Taehyung asked.

"I mean, if you want to."

Taehyung wanted to. He'd wanted to for longer than he could remember. He reached over and pulled a condom out of the side of his cosmetics bag. A condom he never dreamt he'd ever get to use. He hurriedly put it on, fumbling a couple times, and then glanced back up at Jimin, who was leaning with his back against the counter and his legs straight out in front of him.

"Ready?" Taehyung asked, barely able to withstand Jimin's tousled hair, his flushed skin, and the way his lips were slightly swollen and pink.

"Yeah." Maintaining eye contact, Jimin spread his legs, and Taehyung's heart almost dropped out of his chest.

"You're too fucking hot," he barked, taking a couple paces forward and lifting Jimin up onto the counter. Thankfully Jimin was incredibly flexible, and he was able to cock his leg up until it rested over one of Taehyung's shoulders. Bracing himself against the counter, Taehyung took a deep breath, and, trembling from head-to-toe, pressed slowly into Jimin's body.

"Tae!" Jimin groaned, gripping onto Taehyung's shoulders.

"You okay?" Taehyung asked dizzily, blood pounding in his temples.

"That feels so good!"

Taehyung had to agree. He began to move, grinding against Jimin and savouring the feeling of being this close to his friend. The power of his desire had erased any notions such as I can't believe this is actually happening or is this even real. All he wanted was for this torrent to keep flowing out of him, raw and beautiful and honest, and to drown in Jimin's moans, in Jimin's breath, in Jimin's soul.

Jimin seemed to have reached a similar state of emancipation. He dropped back until he was resting against the mirror, and began to touch himself, biting his lips and clutching desperately at Taehyung's ass, whispering heatedly that he wanted more. Taehyung pumped him harder, gritting his teeth as he felt an orgasm threaten to crest. Jimin was just too hot.

Jimin sped up, his body equally as impatient. Soon his wrist movements were becoming erratic. His back arched and he pressed deeply into each of Tae's thrusts.

"Tae, I'm, I'm—"

"God," Taehyung grunted, watching Jimin's eyes roll up into his head. A moment later his crotch was flooded with such an ecstatic spasming that he actually whimpered, his deep voice cracking like a cello bow accidentally slipping off the strings. He came hard, his spasms and Jimin's spasms twining together like waves crashing on a beach, and then he began to tremble, his legs threatening to give out at any second.

Jimin pulled himself up and caught him, holding him up with ease. Taehyung rode out a few final shudders, tucking his head into the crook of Jimin's neck. Both of them were drenched in sweat. He felt so high, he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

"You okay?"

"I'm good."

"You sure?" Jimin teased.

"I'm in love with you," Taehyung said, so unexpectedly even he was taken off guard.

"What?"

It may have been unexpected, but it was still true. "I love you," he repeated softly, almost more so to himself, introspectively. He hoped against hope that Jimin would see past all their games, past the doubts and the rules and Taehyung's apparent weirdness to the truth that was impossible to hide any longer. He spoke as plainly as he could. "And I have for a long time. And I was never scared of you. I didn't know how you felt. I'm scared of losing you." His voice hitched precariously.

"Tae," Jimin exclaimed. "Are you crying?"

"No," Taehyung said stubbornly.

"Hey." Jimin pulled Taehyung's head up to look him in the eyes. "Hey. You wanna know a secret?"

Jimin's voice was light and playful, but tears had begun to form in his eyes too. Taehyung nodded. Jimin smiled earnestly. "I love you too."

FIN