(JIKOOK) Texting Story Snippets

Warmth

Paris is full of coffee shops and tourists. It's easy to find a superior cup of brown caffeine late into the evening just as it is to witness beautiful streets, beautiful artworks, the beauty of the charismatic city. Gleams of light illuminate the dim glow of the night, strobing through various colors that exude holiday cheer. Strings of tiny multi colored beacons outline shop windows and swirl around lamp posts. Snowflakes dust the tops of buildings and find their way into crevices, becoming a canvas of colors that reflect off of its stark white surface.

Simply walking through is a charming experience spent absorbing the architecture that still seems foreign to him. Somehow his chest still aches in those moments he's reminded of how far from home he is, from everything he knew, from all of the people who have loved him the longest.

What a mess a single heart break can make of a persons life.

Jimin can see his breath. His nose feels frost bitten by now in the chilly night air, but his hands are warm, kept tucked safe inside of his hoodie sleeves. It's been a long day and he could probably sleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. He daydreams for a second about his warm bed, missing it so much an almost audible whimper makes it past his trembling lips, but familiar Christmas lights come into view as he turns the next corner.

Almost there.

If only he was going home right now. Jimin wonders if he should take the leap and ask Marius to move in after all. The man would say yes. The only thing pumping the breaks on them sharing a bed every night is Jimin's overwhelming fear of losing everything all over again.

Maybe it's just that he doesn't want to lose control over his own emotions. It's probably that, but even if Hoseok is right and is coming from a place of genuine concern and love, Jimin knows he isn't ready to unwrap those old wounds. He avoids the topic of Jungkook, what happened, sometimes even home, his family and friends, as if it's all a contagious sickness he might catch again if he touches it.

This isn't the way that he wanted his life to turn out. All of his dreams came true. He's the teacher that he wanted to be, highly regarded in his field as someone to respect and learn from. Jimin has worked for his title, earned his requirements and raised the bar above and beyond expectations, his own and those of others before him. Still, even with all of these accomplishments and the praises that litter his every day, a life most would kill for in a city that surrounds him with its rich history and architectural excellence, Jimin doesn't know if he'll ever belong in the city of love. That may have been a mishap of a decision. Watching the sparks of romance ignite an atmosphere between two beautiful people isn't exactly healing to a broken heart.

Not his, at least.

That's exactly how it remains after nearly eight grueling years. It's shattered into pieces, but Jimin had refused to let their sharp edges cut more wounds into his damaged and defeated soul. He caged them up in walls made of steel, chained them closed with iron pad locks and destroyed the key. Nobody would touch the broken pieces of his heart, even the people he can hear pounding their fists against it's metal walls.

Marius. He's a good man. He's patient and understanding and grateful for whatever level of attention and care Jimin chooses to show to him. It changes with each passing day, relying on their schedules and if they're working with enough time to allow Jimin the chance to warm up to the idea of having a boyfriend all over again. It does take a toll on their relationship, but it never has to be something he can't lose. It doesn't matter the way that it should matter.

Jimin feels guilty for that sometimes.

"Babe!"

A voice calls out from above in a hushed whisper, the tone that carries it full of a pure excitement nearly forgotten to him. Jimin turns his chin up to find a hand waving down toward him, a wide toothy grin peeking from behind it. Marius is leaning over the black metal rails of his old apartment building balcony, one hand gripping steel and the other trying to prove a point with his greeting, swoops of dark oak tinted curls bouncing over his dazzling blue eyes.

Jimin's feet stop moving as his breath catches in his throat. For just a second he's caught off guard by the sheer velocity of his boyfriends wave, the way he's using all of his energy to smile for him, to welcome him with enough warmth to combat the ice beneath his worn winter boots. It takes him back a second time the moment he realizes how far Marius is reaching out towards him and Jimin's eyebrows furrow.

"What are you doing?" Jimin scolds in a whisper, careful not to yell but obviously annoyed. The man has a tendency to act careless, a quality much like that of his last encounter in the romantics. It must be a preference in men he hadn't noticed before. "Stop leaning so far over before you fall. Just come down and get me."

The grin Marius wore before lessens into a soft bite of his lower lip. He teeters back from his tiptoes to lean on his heels, hands still clinging to the top bar of his balcony rail. "Scared you, huh? You should've waved back."

Jimin rolls his eyes, but the ridiculous response earns the other a small chuckle. "It's cold, Marius."

With a chuckle to match Jimin's, Marius brushes his long fingers through his tresses and nods. "Be right down." He whispers in a near melody and disappears into his apartment, leaving Jimin glued to the pavement below.

A moment passes before the door to the old and eerie, dimly lit, musty staircase swings open. It's hinges squeal and Marius emerges with a plush blanket in tow, the blue fabric opened out in his arms, an invitation Jimin is pleased to accept. It's warm inside of the others embrace, comforting in a way he always misses. Sometimes he misses that feeling more when Marius holds him close, but that's something he'll never have the heart to admit. It's not home, but it's warm. Jimin can smell the others cologne on his neck, leaning closer to press the tip of his nose against the warm skin. Marius doesn't even jump, he's used to it now.

"Come inside?" Marius whispers into Jimin's snow covered blonde tresses, the warmth of his breathe ruffling strands and melting away the cold. "I've missed you and I made dinner for us. Please stay, just for tonight."

Jimin's lips turn up in a smile. He tilts his head to rest his cheek against his boyfriends shoulder, his fingers reaching out to grip the part of the mans sweater that covers his abdomen. Jimin hums, delighted at the warmth he feels in the moment. He's so lucky. Marius should know that Jimin feels this way, but it's something he can't say. Not yet, maybe not ever. Right now though, warmth is good enough.

"I'll stay."

-///-

A/N: oof Marius.