Chapter Text
“Hey!”
Yoongi quirks an eyebrow at him, raising the french fry he just swiped from Jimin’s plate to his lips with an exaggerated, deliberate slowness.
Jimin pouts. “I asked you if you wanted anything.”
“Jiminie, it’s one french fry,” Yoongi says, chewing, his lips curling up in the corners, obviously amused.
Jimin narrows his eyes, not quite believing him. When he’d come back from getting a glass of water in the kitchen, he’d been suspicious that his pile of fries looked slightly smaller than it had before he left the room.
“We should order bulgogi after this,” Jimin proposes, “If you’re hungry.”
Yoongi shifts closer on the couch, eyeing Jimin mischievously, “If I’m hungry?”
Jimin very much does not ‘harrumph’ at that. He’d gotten an order of fries and a milkshake on his way home from classes today, as a study snack. He’s not exactly hungry, but, well. He’d definitely eat if they ordered out.
But really, he didn’t propose it for himself!
“I asked you if you wanted anything!”
Yoongi’s grin goes wide. “It was one french fry!”
“No it wasn’t,” Jimin says, suddenly sure of himself. Maybe he should be embarrassed at how aware he is of how much food was on his plate, but, “I know you snuck some while I was in the kitchen.”
Yoongi falters and his eyes widen. Jimin laughs, feeling vindicated.
Yoongi has the decency to seem vaguely remorseful, “Alright, alright, I’m sorry, I’ll stop. We can get bulgogi.”
“It’s fine, hyung,” Jimin says, because it honestly is, “You should’ve just told me if you wanted something.”
Yoongi’s lower lip sticks out in what is definitely a pout, even though he denies it every time Jimin points it out.
“I didn’t think I did,” Yoongi says.
“Here,” Jimin offers (very generously as far as he’s concerned, since his boyfriend is apparently a french fry thief). He nudges the plate with the remaining fries closer to the middle of the table in front of their couch, amongst all their study stuff. “We can split the rest.”
Jimin shouldn’t be eating all this anyway. He knows he’s putting on a bit of weight lately. He can feel it in how his shirts are getting too snug around his upper arms, and how relieved he had been to unbutton his jeans and slip into sweats upon getting home.
The freshman fifteen, he supposes. College has been fun so far, but also a little overwhelming and stressful. They’re entering the second semester now, and Jimin’s had great grades so far, but it hasn’t been easy. He has a tendency to overeat when he’s stressed, and considering he doesn’t even have to participate in high school PE anymore, it’s not like he’s getting a whole lot of exercise. He’s not too worried (yet), because he doesn’t think it’s much, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to share his snacks with his beanpole boyfriend.
Yoongi grins at him, that too-cute gummy smile that has Jimin’s heart thumping hard in his chest. He plucks another fry up and shifts closer to Jimin, leaning against him.
Jimin picks his textbook back up and starts paging through again. Yoongi stays comfortably nestled into Jimin’s side, taking another fry.
Yoongi’s so small that it's barely a noticeable presence. Usually, Jimin tries not to fixate too hard on how much thinner Yoongi is than himself, and he’s gotten pretty good about it. Like now, as he notices, he doesn’t really feel upset. It’s more of an observation than anything.
Although, he has to admit, Yoongi feels a hair more substantial than usual. Probably because he’s slowly but insistently inching closer, now nearly in Jimin’s lap.
Yoongi’s hand slips over Jimin’s belly, heavy and soft, spilling proudly into Jimin’s lap. He rubs a few circles into the side of it. Then he swipes a thumb over the indent of his belly button, moving down. He gives Jimin’s puffy lower belly, where it’s nothing but plump and rounded, a gentle squeeze.
Jimin feels his face heat up and tries not to shiver. Yoongi’s obviously trying to direct their activities elsewhere.
“Did you finish your homework?” Jimin asks, trying to keep his voice stern and even as Yoongi kneads low on his belly again. He knows what that does to Jimin.
“Not even close,” Yoongi murmurs, leaning in to pepper kisses along Jimin’s plush jaw.
Jimin huffs. “Hyung.”
A hand comes down to Jimin’s thighs, slipping between them and giving one a rough squeeze.
“Should I stop?” Yoongi asks in a low voice.
What a silly question. It’s Yoongi who will regret this when he’s up past midnight trying to finish his homework again.
“No,” Jimin says, “No, don’t stop.”
_
Even though it’s his own fault, Yoongi can’t help but feel bitter as he checks the clock, which cheerily reports the time is just past 2 a.m.
Jimin had gone to bed well over two hours ago, casting Yoongi a sympathetic look as he tucked himself in.
Jimin is worlds more studious than Yoongi, which had been proven pretty much the day they met, and he manages his time carefully to get all his work done. It’s impressive, and Yoongi is...just not that type.
He likes his classes. He likes the hands-on stuff, he likes being in the studio, and those are the sorts of things he could do for hours on end.
But sometimes, the homework he’s assigned - learning about the history behind music production, early recording prototypes, that sort of stuff - is so boring he can hardly see straight.
And it’s important to know, he supposes. But he’s just not motivated to work on it. So he’ll procrastinate all day and end up exactly where he is now, working late into the night.
He’s almost done, at least. The report he’s working on has to be 5,000 words and he’s just broken 4,000. One last solid push should do it.
And yet. He can’t seem to muster the drive.
He wasted the past 20 or so minutes scrolling through his feed and responding to some texts - his brother, Yoonho, finally proposed to his long-time girlfriend this past week. It took him a few minutes to formulate a text that conveyed how sincerely happy he is for his brother. He may have been told once or twice that he can come off a little unenthused.
But he knows he needs to refocus, unless he wants to go to sleep when the birds come out. It wouldn’t be the first time.
He glances back at Jimin’s sleeping form fondly. He admires the kid for his dedication to schoolwork. All he needs is a snack and a desk and he can accomplish anything.
It hits Yoongi then - a snack might help. He often does his homework with Jimin these days, and Jimin almost always has a snack, claiming it helps him focus.
He stands and rummages through the cabinets. Jimin moved into Yoongi’s studio apartment a few months ago, once he started college. It’s not a lot of space for two people but they can’t afford much else and to be totally honest, Yoongi doesn’t mind that their space is a little small. He doesn’t have a lot of stuff so there was enough room for Jimin’s things with minimal negotiating.
Yoongi looks at his choices in the cabinet and feels another pang of fondness. The kid’s also got quite the appetite. Yoongi likes junk food well enough, and before Jimin, he’d usually have a pack of cookies here, some ice cream there. He’d keep a snack or two around in case he had a craving. But these days, their cabinets are always well stocked with whatever he could possibly have a taste for.
He ends up choosing a package of chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies. They’re indulgent and sweet, and one of Jimin’s current favorites.
After a couple, he thinks of how he wants to start the next paragraph. After a few more, he comes up with a good concluding paragraph. And after yet another few more, he actually musters the energy to quickly reread his work.
But after all that, there’s only three of the cookies left. He’s kind of surprised he managed to eat that many on top of their hearty bulgogi takeout, but he guesses that was quite a few hours ago now. He’ll have to pick up some more of these cookies, too, lest he be faced with Jimin’s pouty eyes when he discovers Yoongi’s eaten them all.
Yoongi thinks about the french fries he’d swiped from his plate earlier that day. Jimin’s habit of study-snacking is obviously rubbing off on him.
As he closes his laptop and decides to finish off the cookies, he muses that maybe that’s not a bad thing. It helps Jimin, and it certainly just helped Yoongi finish this assignment, didn’t it?
He pops the last cookie into his mouth, stuffs the container in the trash, and slips into bed next to Jimin, tossing an arm over his wide waist.
_
A few days after the french fry incident, Jimin shoots Yoongi a text as he walks up to the McDonald’s that’s on his route home.
Want anything?
Jimin steps into line as his phone buzzes in his hand: Nah
Jimin purses his lips. He’s not sure he buys it.
Yoongi’s been eating a lot more lately. And nominally, Jimin thinks that’s a good thing. Yoongi’s so skinny, and his body’s probably relieved to be getting some extra calories these days. Jimin’s been of the opinion that he should eat more for a while.
But he’s also well aware that his views on eating and food might be a little skewed, so maybe his opinion isn’t the best one.
Either way, he’s glad Yoongi’s appetite has picked up a little. If nothing else, it makes him a little less aware of his own.
But - well, Jimin wants fries, okay? And he’s got a big appetite, so he wants enough to feel satisfied. And cute as it might be, it’s hard to do that if your boyfriend keeps swiping food off your plate.
So Jimin orders a large fries today, even with the knowledge that if Yoongi really doesn’t want anything, Jimin will definitely eat them all, and that certainly won’t do him any favors. His jeans are already biting into his hips.
A nagging voice in the back of his head reminds him that this snack won’t help him in that department at all. His version of ‘being good’ these days is limiting himself to small fries and a small shake, so he knows he should try to clean up his eating a little sooner rather than later. But honestly, it’s hard to see it as a big problem recently. He’s been so happy, and he doesn’t really want to change anything.
When Jimin gets home, Yoongi’s got earphones in and is folding a basket of laundry. His back is to the door and he’s shirtless - a sure sign that he waited until he literally had nothing else left to wear before doing the laundry.
Jimin smiles, endeared. Yoongi hasn’t noticed him yet, so he takes a moment to gaze at his boyfriend.
And feels something akin to shock when he notices for the first time that Yoongi’s put on a bit of weight.
Just a little - but Jimin can’t see the outlines of his ribs as he turns, and when he bends over, he can’t see the shallow bumps of his spine. His waist is wider - not yet convex, but definitely not as narrow, and sturdier than before.
Jimin’s floored. How hasn’t he noticed until now? Has Yoongi noticed?
Yoongi props the laundry basket on his hip and turns, finally seeing Jimin in the doorway.
He smirks and slips an earphone out of one ear. “Enjoying the view?” he teases.
Jimin comes back to earth, and finds himself eager to put his hands on Yoongi’s body, to see if he can feel the differences he’s seeing.
“Duh,” Jimin says, returning his cheeky grin. He puts his fast food down and approaches Yoongi. He takes the laundry basket from him, sets it down, and nudges him back towards the bed.
“Oh,” Yoongi says, grinning wolfishly, obviously surprised but not at all opposed, “You sure, Mr. Diligent?”
“We have all evening,” Jimin says, easily breaking his usual ‘homework first, everything else after’ rule.
Jimin’s hands slip over Yoongi’s bare sides. Wider, for sure. Just a touch soft.
“Wow, I like this Jimin,” Yoongi says, still grinning. His hands wrap around Jimin to pull him closer. One travels down to give his ass a grope. “What’s gotten into you? Your food’s going to get cold.”
“Our food,” Jimin says, trailing a hand over the back of Yoongi’s bicep. “I got us fries to split.”
Yoongi hums. “I said I didn’t want anything.”
Jimin gives him a look. “You said that last time. And then you ate half my fries.”
“I don’t think it was that many.”
“It was!” Jimin insists, “Trust the fat one here, okay? I know how many fries I had. Besides, are you saying you don’t want any?”
Yoongi snickers. “Okay, fine. I will admit that maybe I considered texting you again after I said no. Something salty sounds good. And it’s kind of helpful for studying.”
“See, I told you so,” Jimin says as Yoongi’s hands start nudging his shirt up. His belly plops out, hanging plump over his waistband. Yoongi runs his thumb over the lower curve of it and Jimin feels his face redden at how far it's pushing out over his waistband, even as he shivers under Yoongi’s hands.
Jimin crashes their lips together and he feels Yoongi grin against him as he pulls Jimin backwards onto the bed with him.
Jimin won’t comment for now, he decides - Yoongi’s weight is surely healthier now than it was before, and he’ll take a snacking buddy any day.
_
Jimin manages to keep silent about what he’s observed for about three weeks.
Presently, Yoongi’s reaching up to a high shelf for some seasonings. They’re cooking tonight, after a few days in a row of takeout. They’ve both been busy, but they do their best to cook together when they can. They both sincerely enjoy it.
Yoongi’s shirt is riding up as he reaches, and Jimin’s treated to a very slight bulge of flesh, pushing ever-so gently over the waistband of Yoongi’s sweats.
A rush of fondness comes over Jimin. He looks adorable.
“Hyung, you look so cute, look at your little tummy,” Jimin blurts before he really thinks about it, reaching over to give the flesh a little pinch.
“Ack!” Yoongi says, nearly dropping the seasoning he’s finally managed to procure. With his arms down, his shirt falls back over his stomach, but he tugs it back up again to investigate his middle. It’s clear that his tummy is softer than it had been a few months ago, just barely poking outwards.
Jimin watches him, feeling suddenly nervous and regretful that he brought it up like that. He waits for Yoongi to feel the insecurity Jimin himself is so familiar with.
But he doesn’t. His face is open, unperturbed, nothing but maybe a little curious.
“Huh,” he says, impassive as ever, giving the slight accumulation of flesh a poke, “And here I thought I just fucked up laundry.”
Jimin could almost laugh. Of course he doesn’t care.
Relieved and emboldened by how unbothered Yoongi is, Jimin teases, “That’s what you get for being a food thief. You’ve put on weight lately.”
Yoongi’s eyes shift to Jimin and he grins. He reaches out and gives Jimin’s own belly a pinch, getting a substantial chunk of flesh between his fingers.
“So have you,” he says.
Jimin feels his cheeks heat. “Hyuuuuung,” he whines, squirming when Yoongi doesn’t let go.
Yoongi’s hand flattens against Jimin’s belly, rubbing gently over where he’d been pinching a moment earlier, apologetic. His grin is still teasing, but a touch softer, as he says, “What, you can tease me but I can’t tease you?”
Jimin huffs. “I don’t really have the room to gain more weight. You do. You look good. Healthy.”
Yoongi cocks his head. “Jiminie. You look good, too. And weight isn’t a very good indicator of someone’s health.”
Jimin’s been told all this before, but it never fails to soothe him a little. Yoongi’s warm hand is still rubbing gently over Jimin’s belly - another soothing gesture.
“All my pants are getting tight,” Jimin complains anyway.
Yoongi’s grin goes wide. “Mine, too. We could go shopping together.”
Jimin giggles at that, and he finds that to be the most soothing thing yet - having a little solidarity, even if Yoongi’s still a lot smaller than he is.
They slip their matching aprons on - Jimin’s own had stopped tying in the back a few months ago, and he’d had to ask his mom how one would, in theory, add a few inches to such strings without it looking too ugly.
And she’d chuckled and told him to just bring her whatever it was he was talking about and she’d show him how. She’d had a navy fabric that was a close color match, so unless you look closely, you can’t tell it’s been altered. And it had been a little embarrassing, because Jimin is definitely rounder in the tummy now than anyone else in his family, but she hadn’t said a word.
Now, after getting his on, he turns back to Yoongi and notices his tiny tummy pushing against the apron, creating a rounded little bulge. His heart thumps hard in his chest again.
Why is it so cute?! Is this how Yoongi thinks about him? Probably not quite - it’s been a loooong time since Jimin’s tummy was that small. Like, probably not since he was 10.
Yoongi clears his throat and Jimin looks up, blushing immediately. Yoongi’s grinning again.
“You’re going to make this a big deal, aren’t you?”
“It’s just so cute,” Jimin can’t help but gush.
Finally, a bit of pinkness rises in Yoongi’s cheeks. “Aish,” he says, rolling his eyes, “Ogle all you want, but let’s get dinner started, yeah? I’m hungry.”
It’s sort of ‘pot, kettle’, but Jimin can’t help grinning and teasing, “I’ll bet.”
Yoongi rolls his eyes again but he’s smiling as he says, “Oh, please.”
_
Yoongi’s friends notice it right away.
They haven’t seen them in a few weeks, and Jimin thinks that his boyfriend’s new bit of weight has actually become a bit noticeable in that time.
Jimin had wondered if they would notice or not, and the question gets answered immediately.
Hoseok flops next to Yoongi at the cafe, immediately cooing and boldly reaching out, pinching his cheek.
“Oh my god,” he says, “Look at these cheeks!”
Yoongi swats his hand away, hard enough that Hoseok yelps, laughs, and shakes his hand out.
“Touch me again and I’ll break it,” he says placidly.
“Leave it to sweet little Jimin to finally make sure he’s eating properly,” Seokjin crows, “I’ve been trying to get him to eat well since I’ve known him.”
“Although I would’ve hoped a little weight would improve his temper,” Namjoon adds sagely.
“Fuck every last one of you.”
It gets laughs, and it’s the last time Yoongi’s weight is mentioned until they’re eating.
It’s nice to talk to Yoongi’s friends. They all love to baby Jimin, and he’d be a liar if he said he didn’t enjoy the attention. And even though it’s been a while since they’ve met up in person, Yoongi talks to them a lot in their own personal group chat.
But it’s been a while since they’ve gotten to talk to Jimin. So he’s the center of the conversation, answering questions about college and his new part time job at a coffee shop, living with Yoongi, and so on. He’s doing so much talking that he’s making his way through his food pretty slowly.
As he’s talking about his manager at work, he sees Yoongi reach over and take a pajeon disk off Jimin’s plate.
Jimin hardly thinks about it - if they were alone, he’d kick up a fuss for the sake of it, but Yoongi’s food thievery isn’t new.
But the reaction from the rest of the group is immediate.
“Yoongi, that’s your dongsaeng, how could you-!”
“No wonder your cheeks are so puffy-”
“Poor Jimin-ah probably barely eats-”
“Oh my god, it’s like I forget how annoying you all are,” Yoongi gripes, scowling as he releases his chopsticks, grumpily leaving the pajeon on Jimin’s plate.
Jimin giggles. “It’s fine, hyung, you can have it,” he says, nudging his plate closer to him. He addresses the group and continues, “He’s gotten into the habit of this.”
He looks at Yoongi, who’s glaring halfheartedly, “I think it’s kind of cute,” he finishes.
It gets loud crooning from the group about how adorable and precious they are, and Yoongi shoots his friends a victorious and spiteful look as he reclaims the pajeon, taking a big, pointed bite.
There’s a lot of loud, boisterous teasing and laughing going around the table, but Namjoon’s looking at Jimin as he says, “I think it’s nice that Yoongi has someone to take care of him now.” If Jimin weren’t sitting directly across from him, he probably wouldn’t be able to hear Namjoon over the bickering as he adds, “You’re good for him, and I’m glad he has you.”
The conversation switches elsewhere shortly after, but the comment leaves a hot, sticky feeling in the back of Jimin’s throat. He feels...sort of touched. He thinks it’s easy to see how Yoongi’s changed his life for the better, his self-esteem and confidence being probably the most obvious. But Yoongi had been doing fine when they met. Jimin hasn’t really considered that maybe he’s changed his life for the better, too.
He slips his hand over Yoongi’s still-skinny thigh, under the table where the guys can’t see it. A moment later, Yoongi’s hand is there, too, giving Jimin’s a squeeze.
He likes the idea of that. He likes it a lot.