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Chapter Text

Kim Taehyung was born to be in the water. Literally, his mother gave birth to him in a birthing pool at their home. Growing up, it was almost impossible to keep him out of the water. If there was a puddle within a mile, he could be found splashing around it. There was a creek behind the house he grew up in and his mother would panic until she found him wading up and down the creek. When little Tae turned 5, his parents bought him a small pool, 3 foot deep and 12 foot round. From that day on, even when it was cold outside, they could find him jumping into the pool and spending hours just swimming around.

It finally led to them having an indoor pool built off the side of their house so Taehyung could swim year round. The nearest public pool was too far away, and they wanted to keep an eye on him while he swam. The pool they had built had a deep end with a small springboard so he could dive to his heart's content. From that moment on, Tae could be found diving off the board for hours on end.

Not long after they had the pool installed, and he turned 12, his mother took him to an indoor pool facility to meet with the owner / trainer, just to see if her son had talent. As soon as he had his swim suit on, Taehyung immediately ran to the diving board and excitedly ran to the end.

“Mamma!” He waved to his mother. “Mamma! Can I jump off this right into the water?”

With a smile, his mother turned away from greeting the trainer. But, it was he who answered, “Sure, go ahead and give it a try.”

Backing up, Taehyung ran to the edge and leapt into the air. To the astonishment of the trainer, Tae bent over and clasped his hands, kicked his legs up and entered the water head first. 

“Oh!” his mother gasped. “He's never done that before.”

“Done what?” The trainer couldn't take his eyes off the boy swimming over to the edge of the pool with a huge grin on his face.

“He's always jumped into the water feet first. I know we watched the Olympics last week, and he mentioned the diving was cool, but he always jumped into our pool feet first.”

“Never?” The coach looked at her incredulously. “He's never dived before?” He couldn't believe it. He had watched the boy perform a perfect front dive, along with almost no splash when he entered the water. He had students that had been with him for 3 years and still couldn't enter the water without a huge splash.

Tae was all smiles as he pulled himself effortlessly out of the pool.

“Can I do that again? Can I try jumping off the high ledge?” His eyes were hungrily casting up to the 10m platform that jutted over the pool.

The trainer gave a laugh. “Let's work up to that one little man,” he reached out his hand to shake Tae's. “Your mother says you love to swim, what did you think of diving?”

“I want to try it again, can I?” Tae finally turned his attention to the man in the polo that had “Coach Jin" embroidered on the chest.

“Sure, give it another go,” Jin smiled at the boy as he immediately ran back to the board and jumped off. Again, another headfirst entrance with almost no splash.

“He lives to be in the water,” Tae's mother said to Jin. “We weren't sure if he's any good, but even if he's not, I know he would love to spend time here at the pool. And if you could teach him, my husband and I would be grateful. We have to bribe him to finish his studies, he doesn't get in the pool until he's finished his homework. His teachers say he is intelligent, but they can't get him to concentrate on his studies. All he wants to do is get into the water. So we thought we'd see if he has any real talent and maybe send him here to work on his studies and get some quality time in the water.”

Kim Soekjin ran a special training school for talented swimmers and divers in Seoul, South Korea. He looked for young talent and put them through intensive water training while making sure they finished their studies. Currently he had two divers and one breaststroke prodigy that had just finished with 4 Golds and one Bronze at the Olympics the week before. He had intended on taking a few days off, but when he received a call from Taehyung's mother, describing her son as a fish, he decided he could take a few hours and just meet with them. Thank the gods he did. Even before Tae's first jump off the diving board, he could see the passion in the boy's eyes as he looked at the huge pool. And after he jumped off the diving board, for the first time even, he knew he had to train this young boy. 

“I think we can find a place here for Taehyung. We'll make sure he gets his studies in and train him here at the pool. He'll need to stay in the dorms, he'll have his own room, but will share a common room and bathroom. Would you like a tour?”

She chuckled. “If we can get Taehyung away from the pool, we'd love to see the rest of your facility.”

“Taehyung,” Jin called. “Let me show you and  your mother around. I would like to talk to you about possibly coming here and letting me coach you here at the pool?” He phrased that last part as a question, but he wasn't going to give Taehyung a chance to say no. He had to train this boy. He could see him at the Olympics, at the top of the 10m Platform, bringing honor to his facility and to South Korea.

“One more dive?” Tae begged. “Just one more, please?”

Jin laughed, “Sure, but then I want to show you around. If you like it, we might be able to let you stay here and train in this pool.”

Tae's parents had not told him about the possibility of him getting to train in such an amazing place. He just thought they were there so he could actually try a different pool, like the huge one they had watched on tv last week. His jaw fell open as he stared at his mother and then at Coach Jin.

“What?” he gasped. “Stay here? With this pool? Can I start today? Mom, please, can I stay here with this pool?”

“Let's look around first and then your dad and I have to discuss it, but it's a possibility. But you will have some rules to follow, and your studies must come first.”

Tae didn't hear her, he was already sprinting back to the diving board.

“Halt!” Jin's voice rang out. “Stop right there Taenyung.”

Tae skidded to a stop and turned to the Coach. “Please? I just want one more time on the diving board.”

“You can, BUT, you must learn the rules here. We never run near the pool. Water can make it slippery, and a fall could cause injury. Safety must come first. Now, walk, don't run, to the diving board and then go back to the lockers and change out of your suit.” Jin smiled to take some of the harshness out of his instructions, but Tae could see he wasn't playing around.

Tae turned and walked quickly to the diving board, then looked over to Jin. Jin smiled and nodded and Tae took off down the board. He jumped at the end, flew into the air and this time did a summersault in the air before diving in. A bit of a splash, but Jin couldn't believe what he saw.

Later, after touring the grounds, seeing the classrooms and the the dorms, Taehyung begged for more time in the pool while his mother and Jin discussed the finer details of allowing Tae to come train at the facility. Jin kept an eye on the boy as he jumped time after time into the water, then swam the length of the pool, finally ending up floating on his back, just reveling in the feel of the water around his body.

Chapter Text

Taehyung fell into a routine. He would get up early, go to the pool, practice for two hours, drag himself to the classrooms to put in the required time doing his studies, run back to the pool, spend 4-5 more hours working on his diving, then back to the dorm to plough through his homework. The first few weeks he had been at the facility, he got caught trying to sneak into the pool after hours to try and get some more time in the water. Jin caught him on the cameras and immediately went to the pool and explained that they never allowed anyone to swim alone, and if he ever tried it again, he would immediately be asked to leave.

As much as he hated not having the extra time in the water, Taehyung could not imagine being anywhere but at Jin's facility, so he reluctantly agreed. Over the years, he would continually beg Jin to accompany him to the pool after hours, and occasionally Jin would relent and let him go in the pool and he would sit at the side and go through some paperwork.

The other students were amazed at the passion Taehyung had for the pool, but only one was able to break through and catch his interest. Park Bo-gum was there to train on freestyle swimming, and the two of them had classes together. When paired off for a class project, they found they had the same passion for the water, and eventually the two started dating. Both were dedicated to their craft, so they decided to take it slow and see what happened. After a few  years, when Tae was 16 and Bo-gum had just turned 17, the two decided to take it one more step and moved into a double room in the dorms.

After presenting his case to Jin, Jin finally relented and allowed the two young men to get into the pool after hours, as long as they were together. He had lost a friend many years ago when he had entered a pool alone and had cramped up and drowned. Because of that, he never let anyone in the pool area without at least one other person accompanying them. He knew Bo-gum would keep a close eye on Taehyung, but he wasn't totally sure Taehyung would be quite as diligent watching Bo, as he sometimes lost himself when he was in the water. But, Bo-gum had assured him he would probably use that time to sit on the bleachers and work on homework while Tae stayed in the water

The only time Taehyung took a break from his pool time was when the Olympics diving competitions were on tv. Then he sat in front of the dorm's huge screen and stare in wonder at the divers from all over the world.

“I'm going to beat all of them,” he turned to Bo-gum, who was sitting quietly by his side. “You watch, I'm going to beat all of them in 4 years.”

“Of course you are sweetheart,” Bo-gum leaned over and kissed Tae's cheek. “I know you are.”

Tae, never taking his eyes off the tv, smiled and squeezed Bo's hand. “And you'll be there in the stands, cheering me on.”

“I'll be in the front row,” Bo promised and squeezed Tae's hand back. “Just like you'll be there when I win the gold in the Freestyle meets.”

Tae only grunted at that. He really didn't like to watch Bo swim, he'd rather be in the water himself. But, if he had to, he would. It was the least he could do for his boyfriend.

That night Tae finally relented and allowed Bo-gum to make love to him. Neither were really sure what to do, but Bo had watched some gay porn and asked a few of his friends, so he had the general idea of what they needed to do. He had been begging Tae for weeks, wanting to take their relationship to the next level, but Tae would lean over and kiss him and talk him into another late night trip to the pool. But, after watching the Olympics, Taehyung was too keyed up and decided that maybe it was time.

Bo didn't take long prepping Tae, and when he finally entered him, Tae let out a short scream. Bo immediately stopped and held his hand over Tae's mouth to quiet him up.

“Shhh, Tae baby, you don't want everyone to know what we're doing, do you? Keep it quiet.”

And he pushed himself in a little more. Tae let out a pained whimper and tears began to fall from his eyes. He had heard it would hurt, but damn, this was next level pain. Why did people do this to each other? 

“Ow! Ow! OW!” he tried to whisper, but the last one came out as a yelp. “Bo, stop, please, stop, it hurts. Oh damn, it hurts.”

But, Bo finally was given the go ahead from Tae to have sex, and he was encouraged by the noises Tae was making. He really didn't hear what was being said, but in his mind he heard cries of passion. He thrust in harder and then drew out and thrust in again. Tae felt so tight, he couldn't believe it. He knew he wouldn't last, but he put in everything he had as he pushed himself in over and over again. Finally, with one hard push, he came inside of Tae and then fell on top of him. It was then he noticed the wetness on Tae's face.

“Tae, what?” He rolled of him and Tae immediately shot up and ran to the bathroom. “Tae, wait. What's wrong?” He went to the bathroom door and knocked lightly on it. He couldn't be too \loud or others on their floor might come and investigate. As it was Yoongi opened his door, looked down the hall and shook his head as he shut the door. No one within a mile had any doubt as to what had happened with Bo and Tae, but no one would dare saying anything. Tae had pretty much woken everyone up with the first yell, and neither had really been quiet. 

“Go away!” Tae hissed through the door. “Just go away and leave me alone Bo.”

“But Tae…”

“I said GO AWAY!” Bo could hear the tears in Tae's voice, but he didn't know what was happening. He thought their lovemaking had been perfect, so why was Taehyung crying? But, he knew if Tae got it in his mind that he wanted Bo-gum to go away, he might as well leave him be and head back to bed. Tae would tell him when he was ready.

Tae never went back to bed that night. He laid on the floor of the shower area and let hot water pour over him as he bled from where Bo-gum had been so rough with him. He cried himself to sleep on the floor, and that’s how Yoongi found him the next morning.

“Taehyung, wake up, why aren't you at the pool? Are you ok?” Yoongi knelt beside the figure huddled in the corner of the shower stall. He reached up and turned off the water and shook Tae's shoulders gently.

Tae lifted red-rimmed eyes to his friend and tried to stand up, but the pain in his ass was too much and he leaned heavily on Yoongi.

“No, Yoons, I'm not ok. Help me get back to my room. Bo should be gone by now. I just want to lay down and rest.”

Yoongi knew what had happened. Shoot, the whole facility knew by now what had happened with Taehyung and Bo-gum, they all knew it was coming, but he didn't expect this type of reaction from Tae. He really thought the two were in love, but if this was lovemaking, he knew he didn't want anything to do with it. Tae was a mess.

Yoongi helped Tae back to his room and helped him settle down in the bed. Bo was indeed gone, so Tae didn't have to deal with him right now. He just wanted to sleep.

“Thanks Yoons. Would you let Coach know I won't be in class today or practice tonight? I just can't…” he let the words trail off.

“I'll let them know,” Yoongi promised and after a pat on Tae's shoulder, headed out the door.

A few hours later, Tae awoke to a quiet tap on his door.

“Tae, hey Tae, are you ok?” He heard Jin's voice. He should have known. Jin was known to check up when anyone said they couldn't make it to class or practice. He always wanted to make sure everything was ok and that they didn't need anything.

“Come in,” Tae said in a listless voice.

Jin entered the room and saw how pale Tae looked. He had heard the rumors that last night was to be Tae and Bo's first time, but he didn't think this would be the result. He went over and sat down on the bed and stroked Taehyung's hair lightly.

“You ok?” He asked again.

Tae nodded. He couldn't tell Jin what had happened, so he opted to lie. “Yeah, I'm fine, I’m just not feeling too great. I'll be fine tomorrow, I promise.”

Jin knew he was lying, so he decided to just hit the problem head on.

“It hurt like hell the first time I did it too. I wasn't sure I'd be able to walk ever again. And it was with someone I didn't even care for, which made it hurt even more. But it will get better. And as you learn each other's bodies, it won’t hurt, it will even begin to feel good. Especially when it's two people who love each other.”

“I'm not even sure I love him,” Tae mumbled into his pillow. “I just thought sex was expected. I mean, he's my boyfriend and all, but love? The only thing I know I love is the water. I’m not sure I'm even capable of loving another person. I mean, I love my parents, but that's different, isn't it? And I love Yoongi, but I don't want to kiss him or anything, he's just my best friend. Jin, now what do I do?”

“It's something you have to decide,” Jin said softly. “You two are sharing a room, so you two need to talk it out and decide what's best. But Tae, it does get better. The physical part does get better. But, it's up to you. Now, go ahead and get some more rest. I expect you back at the pool first thing tomorrow. I'll have Yoongi bring you your assignments so you don't fall behind.” Jin patted his back and got up.

“Jin,” Tae said. “Thanks.”

That night Bo-gum came in to see Tae had moved his bed away from his and had set it up on the other side of the room.

“Tae?” He asked when Taehyung looked up from his assignments. “What's going on? Why are you over there?”

“Bo,” Tae took a steadying breath. “I think we need to sleep apart. You really hurt me last night. I don't think it was supposed to hurt so much, but it did. And I can't allow any more days missed in the pool. I just think for now, we should separate a little.”

Bo went over and sat down on Tae's bed and took his hand in his.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Maybe I didn't prepare you enough? Or we should try another position? You could lie on your back…”

“Stop,” Tae cut in. “Just stop Bo. You're not hearing me. I don't want to have sex with you again. Not for a while at least. It hurt, it made me miss my pool time, and it made me feel used. So, for now, sex is off the table. I'm not breaking up with you, but I don’t want to hurt like that again. Maybe we can talk about it later, but right now, I don't want to discuss it.” And he got up and left the room. Bo went over to his bed, sat down and tried to figure out what he had done that was so wrong.

Tae sighed and turned on the tv in the common room and settled down on the couch by Yoongi to watch more of the Olympic diving events. Yoongi just looked over at him and patted his shoulder and turned his attention to the 10M Men’s Synchronized Diving. Tae appreciated how his friend knew he didn't want to discuss what had happened between him and Bo-gum. He sat and studied the two divers as they moved precisely in tune with each other.

Chapter Text

Namjoon watched his little brother dive off the springboard in their backyard pool. He could see his 15 year old step-brother had talent, and he had coached him as far as he could. Jungkook was winning local events, but soon he would need to go into the upper levels and compete if he wanted to continue. Ever since their parents had died in a horrible car crash four years ago , Namjoon had taken the responsibility of raising his step-brother. Jungkook's mother had died giving birth to him, and years later, when his father had met and courted Namjoon's mother, the two boys had gotten along fabulously. When their parents had finally married, they already had a bond greater than two brothers.

“Looking good,” Namjoon said as Jungkook effortlessly pulled himself out of the pool. “But, you need to work on your entry, there was way too much splash to get you full marks.”

“Who says I wasn't trying to splash you?” Jungkook grinned at his older brother. “Hey, I’m going out with the guys tonight, don't wait up for me.”

“Yeah, you know your curfew, don't break it. I'm not above keeping you home when I go to the swimming facility to talk to them. And if you're really late, I'm not above just cancelling our appointment.” Namjoon knew his brother wouldn't chance missing the trip they had been planning for weeks to head into Seoul and visit one of the highest ranked training facilities in the world for swimmers and divers.

“Such threats,” Jungkook punched his brother's arm. “Ok, I'll be home by curfew. You're just a party pooper, that's what you are.”

Namjoon chuckled as he watched his brother head into the house to get ready to go out with his friends. Jimin and Hoseok had been Jungkook's friends since their first day of school, and the two of them had been supportive of both Jungkook and Namjoon when their parents had died. Jimin lived just a couple houses down, and his parents had taken the orphans under their wings and provided the parental support they had needed when their parents had died. Hoseok lived a couple streets over and the three younger ones had been inseparable from the moment they had all met. Lately, Namjoon had noticed Jimin and Hoseok growing closer, and was a little concerned that Jungkook might be pushed out as the two of them began dating. That was one of the reasons Namjoon had decided to meet with this famous coach Jin at the water facility in Seoul and see if Jungkook might qualify to advance his diving abilities. More than a few judges had commented on Jungkook's natural ability at some of the meets they had attended. Namjoon just hoped Jungkook had enough ability to get himself into the facility. 

That night the three boys attended a fair in town. Hoseok won a huge stuffed bear and presented it to Jimin, who blushed and stammered that he didn't have anywhere to put the monstrous bear, but he secretly knew exactly where it would go in his room as soon as he got home. Jungkook was thrilled to see his two best friends tentatively explore becoming more than just friends. He knew a time was coming when he would become a total third wheel, but until that happened, he would just enjoy the time they had. He knew they had each had a crush on the other, both had confided in Jungkook at different times, and Jungkook was happy to do all he could to foster the budding relationship.

“Hey, let me carry that for you. I'm gonna go get some funnel cakes and Teddy and I will meet you after you've rode the Tunnel of LUH-VEH,” He grinned and grabbed the bear and headed off to order three funnel cakes and settle down at one of the outdoor tables set up in the eating area. He sat and watched the people and pondered about the trip he and his brother were going to make tomorrow. He was excited and terrified all at the same time about the prospect of training under Coach Jin. He had looked him up and was amazed at how well his students did in the International scene of swimming and diving. He knew his diving was better than average, but he was afraid it wasn't even close to the quality Coach Jin probably insisted on. Even if he didn't get accepted, he would at least get a chance to swim in the world-renowned pool at Coach Jin's facility.

He looked over at the exit to the Tunnel of Love and saw Jimin and Hoseok walk out holding hands. They paused for just a second and Jungkook watched as Hoseok bent over and lightly kissed Jimin's lips. Finally, he thought to himself. It's about time they started the next phase.

He quickly looked away and acted surprised when the two of them sat down at the table.

“Well, that was quick,” he grinned. “Teddy and I were just about to finish off you're funnel cakes. You made it back just in time.”

Jimin blushed and grabbed the teddy and squeezed him tightly. “It's ok Teddy, you can have mine. I'm not hungry, I need to watch my figure.”

Jungkook just barely heard Hoseok as he leaned over and quietly said, “I'll watch your figure for you Jimin, you don't need to.”

Jimin blushed even harder and buried his face in the teddy bear's fur.

“You two are sick. Just announce it already. Everyone at school knows you two are in love, and I for one, am one hundred percent on board. You two are perfect for each other. I've know it since second grade.” Jungkook smiled at his two best friends. “Just become boyfriends, will you? Stop all of this flirting nonesense and make it official.”

Hoseok beamed at his friend. “We kinda just did. We decided to be boyfriends when we were on the ride. Sorry buddy, you're too late, we've already got that covered.”

Jimin looked up and looked lovingly at his new boyfriend. Speaking to Jungkook he said, “You aren't mad, are you JK? I mean, I really want to find someone for you, so you can be happy too. We don't want you to feel like a third wheel or anything. You're still our best friend.”

Jungkook laughed out loud at that. “I've always felt like the third wheel, but seeing as you two are my best friends, I couldn't be any happier. And who knows what tomorrow will bring? Maybe I'll find someone and we can double date.”

“But you said you weren't looking for anyone,” Jimin pouted. He could think of nothing better than seeing his best friend Jungkook in love. Especially now he was in love with Hoseok.

“Hey, I need to get going. Namjoon has set a curfew for me since we'll be heading out on vacation tomorrow. I'll see you when I get home, ok?” Jungkook touched fists with his two friends and got up. He hadn't told them the real reason he and Namjoon were visiting Seoul, he wasn't ready to share it with anyone. If it didn’t pan out, then no one would ever know he had failed. If it did happen, well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

The next morning, Namjoon and Jungkook threw their bags in the trunk of the small convertible Namjoon drove and headed out of town. A few hours later, they pulled up to the hotel Namjoon had reserved for them. It had an indoor pool, and Jungkook immediately changed into his swimsuit and headed out to enjoy the water. Namjoon grabbed some of his paperwork and headed out to sit poolside and keep an eye on his younger brother.

After a couple of hours, Namjoon called to Jungkook, “Let's get ready. I'm starving, let's go find some place to eat.” He got up and gathered his papers.

Jungkook reluctantly got out of the pool and they headed back to the room. Once they had showered and gotten dressed, they found a little restaurant within walking distance from the hotel.

“What time tomorrow morning are we meeting with Coach Jin?” Jungkook asked once they had ordered their food. 

“At 7am. He has a diver training at that time, and he thought it might be good for you to see what they do. He'll want to see you do a few dives, so don't forget to take your swim bag. Even if you don't get in, I know you'll want to give that pool a try. I've seen it online and it looks huge. Bigger than the one at school. I know you've always wanted to try Podium diving, and Coach Jin has both a 3m and a 10m platform, along with some Springboards. He said you can spend all day there once he sees you dive and shows us around the facility. There are classrooms on sight, so you can finish your education along with spending time in the water, so no excuses. He insists that his swimmers and divers get a good education along with training in the pool.”

Jungkook frowned at that. He wasn't the best scholar, but he did ok. He just was afraid if he didn't have Hoseok tutoring him, he might not keep up. Well, maybe there would be someone there who could help him with math at least.

“And yes, there are tutors on sight too,” Namjoon could read what was going on in Jungkook's mind. “I know Hoseok helps you with your studies, but there will be someone there who can help you also. When I talked with Jin on the phone, he stressed that education is important, but he knows not everyone is quite as intellectual as your older brother.”

Jungkook chuckled. Namjoon was right, he was brilliant. He ran his own tech company and made quiet a bit of money doing it. Although their parents had left them a substantial inheritance, Namjoon was determined to make it on his own. Any of the funds their parents left him and Jungkook he had decided early on was to be used to further Jungkook's diving passion or his secondary education. So, he wasn't concerned with the cost of this state of the art facility they were visiting tomorrow.

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Jungkook was up and ready to go at 5am. He sat quietly and waited for Namjoon to get up and get ready so they could head out to the diving facility. He got on his tablet and looked up the facility and for the upteenth time, sat and dreamed of training with Coach Jin. Funny thing, Coach Jin didn't have any photos of himself on the website, and after an extensive Google search, he couldn't find ANY photos on the web. So, today he would finally get to see what the infamous coach looked like. He pictured an older, grey haired gentleman, getting a bit paunchy in the middle. He really didn't care, he was just hoping to further his diving career.

Namjoon finally got up and the two of them headed out. The facility was just outside of Seoul but it didn't take too long to get there. The drive was blocked by a huge wrought iron gate that swung open once Namjoon announced who they were into the little black box. The drive curved to the right and then the campus was laid out in front of them. Jungkook gasped as the arrows pointed them to a huge building with huge windows and an arched roof. It was the Pool Facility according to the sign over the doorway. Nothing else compared to it; Jungkook was suddenly afraid.

“Namjoon, it's huge,” he whispered as the approached the door. “It's too big. I'll never fit in. I'm not good enough to come here.”

Namjoon put his arm around his brother and gave him a squeeze. “Yes, it's huge, but so are you. You've got the talent, you're good, you deserve a chance at this. I'm here with you, let's go in and show this Coach Jin what you have.”

Feeling his brother's squeeze, Jungkook took a bracing breath and opened the door. The area they found themselves in was a huge room with a waiting room that included very comfortable looking chairs, a huge tv, and a welcome desk with a pretty young woman behind it. They approached her.

“I'm Kim Namjoon and this is my brother Joen Jungkook. We're here to meet with Coach Jin.” Namjoon told her once they got to the desk.

“Oh, Mr. Kim and Mr. Joen, yes, of course, Coach Jin is waiting for you. Go right through the doors and continue down the hall. The pool is at the end of the hall, and Coach Jin will meet you there. I'll let him know you're on your way. He'll show you around and then let Mr. Joen take sometime in the pool. Welcome.” Her smile was warm and friendly as she pressed a button on her headset and waved them to the door.

Jungkook's mouth hung open as they walked down the long hall way. They passed some doors, all labeled with what they concealed. “Training Room", “Weight Room", “Ice Bath", were just a few they passed. The last door on the right had “Locker Room" in big letters. Jungkook was dying to open that door, but he knew he'd get to see it eventually. Anyway, the room he was most interested in was just in front of them, “Pool Facility". He stopped just outside and stared at the letters.

“Come on, let's go in. Let's not make Coach Jin wait any longer.” Namjoon put his hand on Jungkook's back and gave him a nudge forward.

Jungkook reached out and pulled the door open. The smell of chlorine hit his nostrils and he took a deep breath, the scent calming him down. Even though there were people in the room, the acoustics weren't like most other places he had been too. Most indoor pools had an echo that was obnoxiously loud. Here, the sounds were muffled, not overwhelming at all. Namjoon just stood and let his brother take in the whole facility, when he heard a voice call his name.

“Mr. Kim, Mr. Joen, welcome to the Pool.”

He looked and saw the most handsome man in the world walking towards them with his hand outstretched. He had to mentally slap himself to not stand there and just stare. He put out his hand and shook the perfectly manicured hand offered to him.

“I'm Coach Jin,” he began when he heard a gasp from the young gentleman standing beside this vision that had entered his Pool facility.

“You're Coach Jin? But you're not old and frumpy at all!” Jungkook couldn't help himself, he couldn't believe this was the famous Coach Jin. How could he have developed a reputation already, he was too young? He was maybe a year or two older than his brother, whom he noticed was just standing there with his mouth hanging open. He jabbed his elbow into Namjoon’s ribs to get his attention.

Jin chuckled. “Well, thank you, I think. You must be Joen Jungkook. I've heard a lot about you from some of the judges at the competitions you've been in. They were all impressed with you. I was happy I didn't have to come looking for you when your brother called. I take it you're interested in joining us for training and schooling. Can you hold on for just a second? Taehyung, try to double pike triple twist we discussed. You have more than enough height to get it all in. And remember, no splash, or you'll be giving me two laps.”

Jungkook followed the Coach’s gaze and traveled up, up, up to a platform set almost to the ceiling. That must be the 10m platform, holy cow it's high. I want to try… but then his thoughts stopped. Standing on the platform was a young man, maybe a year older than him, poised and ready to dive. What caught Jungkook’s eye was how ethereal the man looked. Perfect in every way, from his long toes hanging over the edge to his slender hands held above his head. He watched as the vision pushed off the platform and turned and twisted all the way down until he hit the water with almost no splash following him. Jungkook held his breath as he waited for the vision, Taehyung, that's what Coach Jin had called him? To come up and step out of the pool.

Coach Jin stood quietly and Taehyung came to stand in front of him, grinning up at him.

“Well?” he asked.

“Not bad,” Coach Jin said. “I want to see straighter toes, and you almost didn't get out of the tuck before hitting the water.”

“Oh come on, that entry was perfect and you know it,” Tae chuckled, then noticed the two new people in the room. “Oh, hi. You must be Jungkook, Coach said you're were coming to check us out.”

Namjoon's eyes raised as he noticed just a slight shift from the diver as he said that. Just a slight lifting of the chin and a tiny hip thrust towards Jungkook. He stepped in and put his arm around his brother.

“Yes, this is my brother Jungkook, he's here to see if your facility is a match for his abilities. I'm his brother Namjoon, and you are?” He stuck out his hand. Might as well be friendly, this might end up being Jungkook's dorm mate after all.

“Taehyung, top diver at this facility. I'm planning on winning a lot of gold at the next Olympics.” He didn't offer his hand, just looked Jungkook up and down, then turned around and looked back at Jin. “I'm going to go ahead and give you those two laps, even though you and I both know that entrance was flawless. But, if I'm late to first period, it's all on you.” He grinned and easily slid back into the water.

Jungkook gaped. Well, he had quite the swollen head on him, he thought. He may be absolutely gorgeous, but his personality needed some improvement.

“Yeah, that's Kim Taehyung. And yes, he is the best diver we have here, but sometimes I have to bring him down a peg or two. He gets full of himself and forgets his manners. But he loves the water, it's really hard to get him to get out of the pool. He tries to come up with excuses not to attend classes, but he knows he's out if he doesn't get his education, even if he is the best that has ever seen a diving board. Come on, let me show you around and then we'll let you have a go at it, how does that sound Jungkook?”

Jungkook, with one last glance at the figure slicing through the water, nodded and followed his brother and Coach Jin out of the Pool area.

The grounds were meticulously kept, the dorm rooms were fairly large, the common room held a huge tv, some computer stations and a whole shelf of video games. If there was one thing Jungkook loved besides diving, it was playing video games. They didn't go into any classrooms, but just peeked in through the small windows in the doors. Jin kept up a steady chat about the whole complex and how he wanted to not only train talented swimmers and divers, but wanted to make sure they had a good education to fall back on.

“There's very little money to be made as a professional swimmer or diver, and so I want to make sure everyone has the skill set needed to get a job and survive out in the world.” Jin led them back to the Pool facility and stopped in front of the lockers.

“Jungkook, go ahead and get changed and you can meet us at the pool. I'm excited to see what you can do.” Jin turned and addressed Namjoon. “Shall we?” He gestured to the door leading to the Pool.

“Sure,” Namjoon smiled at Jungkook. “I'll see you in a minute.”

Jungkook changed and went straight to the pool. This place is so cool, he thought. I think I'd really like it here. Jin is cool, and it would give Namjoon a break from raising me. Now, if I'm just good enough to get in.

He took a deep breath and opened the door. He noticed his brother and Coach Jin standing close together, discussing something animatedly. He started to walk towards them.

Jin looked up and noticed the young man approaching them.

“Well,” he grinned at Jungkook. “Let's see what you can do. Do you prefer the springboard or the platform?”

“Springboard, but I don't mind the platform. I just haven't had a chance to do more than a few dives from a 3m platform at the public pool near our house.” He looked longingly at the 10m platform; Jin noticed.

“Tell you what, give me a few dives off the 3m springboard, whatever you want to show me. You don't need to impress me, just do a few dives you like to do and we'll go from there.”

Jungkook walked over and climbed the few steps to the 3m springboard. He gave a few bounces then lept into the air and performed a flawless 2 ½ somersault dive and entered the water perfectly. He jumped out and walked briskly back to the board and turned around and jumped up and bounced high, then leapt off and tucked himself for a 3 ½ somersault and again, a perfect entry into the water. One more time Jungkook got on the board and did a forward 2 ½ somersault with 2 twists. This time he was slightly off and there was a significant splash when he hit the water. He looked chagrinned when he lifted himself out of the water and glanced over at Jin.

“That was a pretty big splash there Jungkook,” Coach Jin grinned at him, thinking he had to train this young man. “But other than that, that dive was pretty good. We can work on a few minor details when you get here and we start your lessons.”

Jungkook gasped. “Does that mean…?” He could only hope. That last dive was horrible and he was sure Jin would thank him and tell him to go home when he came out of the water.

“Yes, Jungkook, welcome to my facility. Your brother says you can be packed and back here by Saturday. You can get settled in and have a day to meet everyone, then your diving lessons start at 6am sharp on Monday. I'm pairing you up with Taehyung for morning sessions with me. You then go to the cafeteria for breakfast, attend any scheduled classes or put in more time at the pool if you have free periods, have lunch, attend a couple more classes, then there is a study period when you can do your homework before the 5pm supper. After that, the pool is open from 6 to 10 and you are welcome to work on your diving, you just have to be considerate of anyone else that might be there. You are not allowed in the pool after 10pm without a swimming buddy and express written permission from me. Then you are expected to finish up any homework before going to bed. It's an intense schedule, but you do get Saturdays and Sundays off. I keep the pool open, but we also encourage some fun time with your dorm mates. I'm going to put you in a room with a young man named Min Yoongi. He has the largest room, and his previous roommate decided he wasn't quite as passionate for the water as he thought and went home. Now, here comes Park Bo-gum, he's one of our swimmers, excellent in freestyle, and he's probably going to put in some laps on the side. You're welcome to stay as long as Bo-gum or someone else is in the pool area. I'm adamant that no one is in the pool without at least one other person. You break that rule, you go home. Period. Hey, Bo-gum,” Jin hollered at the young man getting prepared on the stand. “Can Jungkook here be your pool buddy while I take his brother to go over some paperwork?”

Bo-gum changed his direction and headed towards the trio. He gave Jungkook a huge smile and stuck out his hand.

“Hey, I'm Park Bo-gum, swimmer with emphasis on freestyle. What are you coming here for?”

“Hi,” Jungkook said shyly, shaking his hand. “I'm Jungkook and I'm going to work on diving.”

“Great,” Bo-gum said. “My boyfriend is also a diver. Hopefully you'll be good enough to give him a pop in that big head of his. Tae thinks he is God's gift to diving, and he needs to be brought down a peg or two. If we're pool buddies, you just keep an eye on me and I'll check on you, just to make sure neither of us is cramping or injured or anything. Coach Jin is very strict about everyone having a diving buddy.”

Tae, thought Jungkook, his boyfriend is Tae, was that short for Taehyung, the teen he had seen dive that morning? He mentally shook himself. He was here to train on diving, not have a crush on anyone. He turned to the 3m platform and smiled as he looked down at the water.

Chapter Text

Jin had to force himself to watch as Jungkook dived off the springboard. He just wanted to sit and stare at the older brother. That face was the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Even Felix hadn't looked that good. Felix had been gorgeous, but couldn't hold a candle to the man sitting beside him. Thankfully, he could see great potential in the younger brother. He had no qualms in asking Jungkook to join his facility, and the thought of brotherly visits caused his heart to pound faster. And then Namjoon smiled at him as he invited Jungkook to come study. That dimple, oh damn, that dimple made his heart skip a beat.

He had to mentally shake himself to get back on track.

“Let's head to my office and go over the details. I think Jungkook will fit in fabulously here. He has a great base to work on, and I'm looking forward to training him. We have a couple years before the Olympics trials begin, and I think he might be a contender.”

Namjoon visibly started at that. The Olympics? His brother in the Olympics? He was just happy to let Jungkook train here, but the Olympics? Holy shit.

The two men went into Jin's spacious office and went over the paperwork. After all was said and done, Jin smiled at Namjoon.

“Ok, just one more item to go over and sign,” Jin put the final paperwork, with the fees for the facility, in front of Namjoon.

Namjoon reached to get a pen out of the pen cup, signed the bottom line, then when he went to put the pen back, he proceeded to topple the whole cup over. While trying to stop all the pens from rolling all over, he knocked over the cup of water he had been sipping on, spilling it all over Jin's lap.

“Damn, I'm so sorry,” Namjoon sputtered as Jin grabbed some napkins out of his desk. He didn't notice Jin was silently laughing at how adorable a flustered Namjoon was.

“Would you like to join me for lunch at the cafeteria? You can get a chance to taste our cuisine, and I won't mind the company. I have a feeling Jungkook will be busy at the pool for a while.”

Namjoon looked at the handsome man. Was he mistaken, but was there interest in his eyes? He had never had a boyfriend, when his parents died, he spent his time working and trying to raise Jungkook, so there had been no time. Sure, he had gone a few dates, but nothing ever came from them. But now he wouldn't have to worry about being home every night to make sure Jungkook finished his homework and went to bed at a decent hour. He could have time to date and actually develop a relationship with someone. And wow, if he was right, and Jin did seem interested, could he dare and ask him out? Wait, what did Jin ask him?

“I'm sorry,” Namjoon blushed a bit. “I zoned out a little there. What did you want?”

Jin chuckled. This man was just too adorable. And that dimple. Hot damn, that dimple. He wanted to bury his lips in that dimple and stay there for days.

“I asked if you would join me for lunch at the cafeteria,” He smiled at him. “It gets a little lonely eating alone every day, and I was just wondering if you would like to eat? I mean, it's time for lunch, and I'm hungry, so I thought you might be too?” Shit, he was babbling. Stop running your mouth like an idiot he told himself.

Before Namjoon could answer, his stomach let out a loud grumble. Laughing, Jin stood up and motioned for Namjoon to follow him. Namjoon grinned and followed him to the cafeteria, where the food was excellent and the company even more so.

Jungkook was in love. He couldn't stop diving into the water. He kept looking at the 10m platform, but just wasn't up to trying it yet. So, he kept himself on the 3m platform and the springboard. In between dives, he would look over and wave at Bo-gum, who would wave back if he wasn't racing down the lane.

As time went on, more divers and swimmers stopped in to get some time in the pool. The young man, Taehyung, showed up and went over to the lap area and bent over to place a quick kiss on Bo-gum's lips.

“How's your time?” Tae inquired.

“Not bad. I'm working more on style and longevity today. Coach Jin has me buddied up with the new diver over there.” He pointed over at Jungkook, who was approaching the edge of the platform.

“New kid?” Tae inquired as he looked over to the platform and the good looking young man preparing to dive. “I didn't realize Jin had already accepted him. What's his name again?”

“Jungkook,” Bo replied. “Seems nice. I don't know enough about diving, but he seems to be pretty good. His brother was here, but he left with Coach and they're letting him get a feel for the place.”

“Hmmm,” Taehyung said, watch Jungkook preform an almost perfect dive. Almost, because only he could have perfect dives. But, damn, that gorgeous body was pretty darn good. He didn't look back to his boyfriend, but began to make his way to the diving area. He started to climb up the 10m platform to practice the new combination Coach Jin was having him work on.

Jungkook had noticed the second Taehyung entered the room. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Taehyung went over and kissed Bo-gum. He knew Taehyung was watching him as he went to the edge of the platform and he changed his mind and decided to show off a little. He decided to do his best dive instead of the one he was going to try. He was pleased to have almost perfect form and he entered the water perfectly, with practically no splash at all. He couldn't help it, his eyes went straight to Taehyung’s body and watched as he gracefully walked over to the steps that led to the 10m platform. Tae paused before mounting the first step and nodded towards Jungkook, who blushed and dipped his head.

“Make sure you stay clear, I don't want to land on you,” Taehyung said in a haughty voice as he began the climb.

“Don't worry about me,” Jungkook grumbled to himself. “I'm not an idiot. Of course I know to stay out of the way you dolt.”

But he got out of the water anyway and headed to the springboard, wanting to dive again as soon as Taehyung was done.

Taehyung couldn't help it. He kept an eye on the new guy as he climbed to the platform. That body, he thought. That body is perfectly sculpted. He doesn’t have a six-pack, that's a full eight-pack there. He must work out besides diving. I can't see doing anything else besides diving, but then again, I don't even have a 4 pack.

Jungkook watched Taehyung as he stepped out on the platform. Damn, he's just gorgeous. Not muscly, but tanned and softly sculpted. And how he fills out his Speedo, he's blessed in other areas too. Stop. I can't think about that. He's got a boyfriend. He would never be interested in you anyway.

Jungkook watched as Taehyung preformed a complicated dive, thinking it was close to perfect as he ever saw. As soon as he saw Taehyung’s head bob out of the water, he began to jump on the board. He jumped as high as he could and performed a perfect 3 ½ somersault with a perfectly vertical entrance into the water.

Well, damn, Taehyung thought. Damn, he's good. Maybe I've finally got some competition. Where did he come from? I haven't seen him at any of the competitions I've been to, and he's good enough to have been included.

For the next hour the two young men took turns diving, Taehyung jumping off of everything, Jungkook sticking to the 3m platform and the springboard. It became a small contest, Tae would perform a dive, and Jungkook would follow with the same dive to see who was better. When Taehyung would climb up the 10m platform, Jungkook would do his own dive off the 3m platform and then Taehyung would copy his. Each watched the other, critiquing difficulty, form and splash. Each felt they were just a tiny bit better than the other.

Bo-gum finished his practice and went to sit in the stands, watching his boyfriend square off with the new guy. He didn't know much about diving, didn't really care about diving, but he knew enough to see that his boyfriend finally had some stiff competition in the new kid.

After an hour, Coach Jin and Namjoon entered the pool area and sat down to watch. They immediately could see that Taehyung and Jungkook were competing against each other. Jin especially was interested in watching. Taehyung was his top diver. In fact, he brought in scores at competitions that ensured a gold medal, had he been at the Olympics. But Jungkook was holding his own. He wasn't quite as polished as Taehyung, but that would come with coaching and practice. And he seemed to enjoy diving. That was a big consideration when looking for talent to coach. And Taehyung had been the first that had loved the water as much as he did. He had already coached an Olympic champion, and it had been his and Felix's dream to start a facility like this. When Felix had died, Jin had taken the inheritance and had built exactly what they had dreamed about.

Jungkook finally noticed his brother and Coach Jin sitting in the bleachers and he grabbed a towel and headed over to them.

“Do I have to wait until Saturday Namjoon?” Jungkook begged. “I don't want to leave here. This pool is just, just…” He couldn’t think of the words to say. All he knew is the pool called to him.

Jin smiled at the young man’s enthusiasm. “Well, Jungkook, your brother and I discussed it. He says you brought enough clothes for a week and you have your laptop with you. He's agreed to let you stay and begin your training tomorrow. We'll set up testing for your classroom placement tomorrow also.”

Jungkook couldn't believe his ears. He could stay? Starting today? “Really?” He turned to his brother for confirmation.

“Really, really,” Namjoon gave him a huge grin, dimple going deep. Jin, watching the brothers interact, swooned. Literally swooned at the sight of that dimple. He was wondering if there was any way he could convince the older brother to stay. At least for the night, it had been ages since… Jin shut that thought down as quick as he could. He just met the man today, what was he thinking?

“Go get showered and dressed and I'll take you to your dorm room. Yoongi should be there by now and I'll introduce the two of you. He's a couple of years older than you and will show you the ropes.”

It took everything in him, but Jungkook kept it at a brisk walk as he headed for the locker room. 10 minutes later he was on his way to his meet his roommate. Namjoon left them to take a quick trip back to the hotel to get Jungkook's stuff, with plans to meet Jin for supper in the cafeteria.

Chapter Text

Jin led Jungkook to the dorms and took him to a room down a long hall. The name “Min Yoongi" was on a small plaque outside the door. The spot for a second name was empty.

“We'll get your name up in the next few days. Don't want you to forget who you are,” Jin joked as he knocked on the door.

“So, how will I remember who you are?” Jungkook joked back.

Jin laughed, “Just ask anyone, they'll tell you I'm the asshole that yells at them all the time.” He knocked again, a little louder this time. “I can't believe it, that cat is sleeping again I bet. Yoongi!” He shouted at the door.

A few moments later a young man opened the door, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah, what do you want now Coach? I put in my laps this morning, so I'm just catching up on my sleep.”

“Well, wake up, I have a new roommate for you. Yoongi, meet Jungkook, our newest diver. Jungkook, this is Yoongi, one of our best all around swimmers. Yoongi, would you mind introducing Jungkook around and make sure he gets to the cafeteria for supper? His brother is going to meet us there with some of Jungkook's things. I have to get back to the pool for coaching.”

“Sure, I'd be happy to show him around and introduce him. Come on in, the bed is made up, so if you want to take a nap, you can.”

Jin patted Jungkook's shoulder, said goodbye and left.

“You're over there,” Yoongi pointed to the bed on the right. “Basically you get that half of the room. You have your own closet there, and this is your dresser. That desk is yours, along with the empty shelves. If you need any more room, we can discuss it.”

“Oh, no,” Jungkook looked around. “This is more than enough room. I plan on being at the pool most of the time anyway. I just need a place to sleep and store my clothes.”

“Well, you'll need a place to study too. But, the library is excellent, they have really comfortable chairs and individual study stations. The only thing I ask is that if you catch me taking a nap, please use ear buds for listening to music. My last roommate insisted that if it was before midnight, he could play his music as loud as he wanted and we were not getting along by that point. I seriously won't miss him at all. Let me grab my shoes and I'll give you the grand tour and introduce you to some people.”

“Can we start with the bathroom? I kinda need to go,” Jungkook admitted.

“Sure, let's go,” Yoongi slipped his shoes on and proceeded to show his new roommate around.

Namjoon met Jin in the cafeteria for supper. He couldn't stop thinking about Jungkook's new coach all afternoon and worked out a schedule so he could come visit his brother almost every weekend. And it wouldn't be bad if he saw Jin also. I mean, if I just happened to run into him, it would be great. Not like I'd be making the trip just to see him, he thought. Yeah, who was he kidding? He had even begun to think about working remotely and moving to Seoul, at least as long as Jungkook was at the facility. It was that handsome face that he wanted to see again and again. And the conversations the two had enjoyed during lunch had him realizing they actually had a lot in common. Now, if he could just muster up the courage to ask him out on an actual date.

The two men sat down and began talking about books, finding out they liked many of the same authors. They were served their meal and they continued to talk movies in between bites. When they were almost done, Yoongi brought Jungkook to their table.

“We already ate,” Yoongi announced. “I wanted to introduce Jungkook to Tae, but turns out they've already met at the pool. Like that's a surprise, Taehyung is always at the pool. Well, I've got homework to tackle then I want to spend some time at the pool this evening. I'll see you later Jungkook.”

“See ya Yoons,” Jungkook said. Turning to Namjoon he asked, “Did you bring everything? I can take it to the room and unpack. Do you think you can bring me some more items if I text you a list?” He bent over and grabbed his suitcase.

“Sure, just get me a list and I'll bring everything this weekend. I can check up on you and make sure everything is going well too.” Namjoon grinned over at Jin. “Will you be around? Maybe we could, uh, maybe catch that movie that's coming out? I mean, you mentioned it sounded interesting, and I think I'd like to see it too. If you're not too busy that is?”

Jin smiled, “I think I can carve out some time on Saturday afternoon. I'll order the tickets for the 2pm showing and we can maybe catch supper afterwards? I know the most delicious out of the way restaurant that serves American hamburgers that will knock your socks off.”

“It's a date then,” Namjoon grinned and that adorable dimple showed up. Jin melted then heard what Namjoon had said.

“Only if you want it to be,” he said coyly. “I'd love for it to be a date, Namjoon.”

“Oh, um, yeah, I do want it to be,” Namejoon was suddenly shy.

Jungkook stood there at stared at each one as they spoke. What on earth was happening? Did Namjoon really mean to ask his Coach out on a date? What the fuck?

“Ok, on that note, I'm outta here,” he said and turned away with his suitcase and laptop backpack. He got to the room and began to unpack. Since he had only packed for a few days, which for him meant enough clothes for over a week, it didn't take him long at all to everything settled. He opened his laptop and Skyped Hoseok and Jimin. Turned out they were at Jimin's place watching a movie.

“JK!” Hoseok exclaimed. “How’s it going? Seen anything exciting there in Seoul?”

“Don't forget to bring me home a souvenir,” Jimin piped up in the backgroud, poking his head over Hoseok's shoulder.

“Well, about that,” Jungkook swallowed hard. It was time to tell his best friends he wasn't coming home. At least not for a while. And he wouldn't be in school with them on Monday.

“What?” Jimin settled down next to Hoseok and got in the frame. “What's up JK? You look, well, um, stressed. It's a vacation for goodness sake, you're supposed to be relaxing. Put Namjoon on and let me talk to him, he needs to make sure you're not stressing. What is he thinking?”

“Stop,” Jungkook cut in on his friend's rambling. “I have something to tell you. We, well, we didn't actually come to Seoul for a vacation. I came to see if I could get into that pool facility I told you about. You know, the one with Coach Kim Seokjin? The trainer of champions?”

“You mean that huge facility you showed us pictures of? Oh man, Jungkook, are you saying what I think you're saying?” Jimin was hopping up and down in his seat. “Did you get in? You should have gotten in, you're so talented. If you didn't get in, let me at him, I'll tell that Coach how much of an idiot he is for letting you slip through his fingers, I'll…”

“Jimin, stop!” Jungkook was laughing. It was the best thing about their friendships, they could always get the others to laugh. “I was calling to tell you I did get accepted, the place is great, I think I'm gonna really like it here. But, I won't be coming back. At least not for a while. I've moved into my dorm room and I start training tomorrow. And I won't be at school Monday either. The only thing bad about this whole thing is how much I'm going to miss you guys.”

“You know what this means, don't you?” Jimin grinned at his boyfriend. “Road trip! We can come see you maybe in a week or two? We can spend the weekend with you and you can show us all the sights there are to see in Seoul. It's not like you're moving to the other side of the planet, just a few hours away. You know I've been looking for a car, since Mom and Dad promised me one, and this will just encourage me to get going on that. And I'll have Hoseok added to my insurance and he and I can take turns driving.”

“We're going to miss you too, JK, but we couldn't be happier for you. I know you said this place was the ult, do you still think that?”

“Yes, you wouldn't believe the pool here,” Jungkook began and went on to tell his friends all about the day. While describing and showing his friends his new room, Yoongi came back from his swimming practice.

“Wait! JK, who is that?” Jimin yelled at the screen. “Turn the camera on him.”

“Geesh, Jimin, the whole campus can hear you. That's Min Yoongi, my new roommate. He's a swimmer, so no competition there.” Jungkook looked over at Yoongi. “Wanna say hi to my friends Jimin and Hoseok? You'll probably get to meet them one of these days, they're already planning a road trip.”

“Sure,” Yoongi said and moved his chair beside Jungkook's and waved at the screen. “Hi, I'm Yoongi. Looking forward to meeting some of Jungkook's friends.”

“His only friends,” Hoseok grinned. “Once we became friends, he had no need for anyone else. But now he'll have to make all new friends, since we aren't there with him. Can you make sure that happens?”

Yoongi grinned at Jungkook. “Sure, I can do that. And he's already got one friend here, at least I hope he'll consider me one.”

“Definitely,” Jungkook smiled back. “I already consider you a friend.”

“Ok, stop with the mush,” Jimin stuck his tongue out. “We need to get going, I have homework, and I want to finish this movie before I have to say goodbye to my boyfriend.”

They said their goodbyes and Yoongi pushed his chair back to his desk.

“They seem nice,” he said.

“Yeah, we've been friends since the first day of school. Jimin lives just a couple houses away from us and Hoseok just a few houses past that. They just discovered they are perfect for each other, and became boyfriends a couple days ago. That helps with moving here, I'd start to feel like a third wheel, I'm sure.”

“Third wheel sucks. I've been that with my best friend and his boyfriend. Taehyung keeps trying to get me hooked up with someone so we can double date, but it's too much of a hassle. I mean, we're all so busy here, who has time to date or develop a relationship? I'm actually surprised Tae said yes to Bo-gum when he asked him out. Of everyone here, Tae spends more time at the pool than anyone. I swear he'd move into the pool if that was allowed. I never cared for that relationship, Bo-Gum just doesn’t seem right for him, but it's not my place to say anything.”

“Taehyung is your best friend?” Jungkook asked.

“Yeah, we've known each other for years. I got into this place, my mom told his mom about it, and then he started coming here to train under Coach Jin. We're all hoping to get to the next Olympics, but Tae is the one determined to win all gold in all the events he can.”

“Is he really that good?”

“Coach thinks he is. So does Taehyung. He's my best friend, but he's stuck on himself. Like he's God's gift to diving. He's only missed one practice since he started here, and that was all Bo-gum's fault. He…” Yoongi realized he had probably already said too much.

“He what?” Jungkook inquired.

“Nevermind. I just know it was Bo-gum's fault.” Yoongi grabbed his night clothes and a towel. “I'm gonna take a shower, I'll be back.” And he was out the door before Jungkook could ask any more.

He sat down on his bed and wondered what Bo-gum's fault was to make Taehyung miss a practice. He finally shrugged, changed into his night clothes and crawled into bed. Tomorrow he would begin his training. Tomorrow he would begin to fulfill a dream.

Chapter Text

The next morning Jungkook was up early, eager to head to the pool. Coach Jin had said 6am, so he was in the locker room at 5:45, changing into his swimsuit and stretching his muscles. He would have to check out the weight room later and see if any of the equipment he liked was available. He had just shut the locker door when Taehyung walked in.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

“Coach Jin said I was to begin training today and to show up at 6am, so here I am,” he retorted.

“That's my time with Coach. I don't like to share.” Taehyung set his bag down and pulled out his Speedo. “Go back to bed and let me be.” And with that, he stripped down to nothing.

Jungkook couldn't help himself. His eyes went down on their own accord. He realized his assessment from the day before didn't do Tae justice. Whoa! He's freaking huge. Like as in a freak, he thought.

“Well, bring it up with Coach Jin. I'm just doing what he told me to do. I'll see you in the pool.” And he turned on his heels and walked out to the pool.

Coach Jin was already there, making notes in his special notebook where he kept his training schedule for each student. He added Jungkook and begin to formulate a plan on his training.

“Coach,” Taehyung whined. “What is Dungkook doing here? Did you forget this is my training time?”

Jin sighed. He had a feeling this would be happening.

“Taehyung, there is a method to my madness, but I don't need to explain anything to you. I'm the Coach, and what I say goes. All of my other divers are paired up for training, you haven't been paired with anyone because no one wants to get up this early. But it looks like Jungkook is willing and eager, so let's just get started, shall we?”

“Whatever,” Taehyung muttered under his breath and dove into the pool and began swimming laps.

“Jungkook,” Coach Jin turned to the young man. “Our warmup consists of 4 laps however you want to take them, freestyle, backstroke, breast stroke or even doggy paddle, but I want it done as fast as you can possibly go, to get your muscles warmed up and get you acclimated to the water temp. I keep my pool fairly warm, but you never know what you're going to encounter at a meet, so I insist on 4 laps even when we're at a competition. I want you to feel one with the water. Then we'll discuss diving and work on your technique and train on new dives. I know you want to get on that 10m platform, and we'll get there soon, but for now, let's concentrate on what you already know and perfect that.”

Jungkook nodded and dived in to begin his 4 laps. He was also pretty good at swimming, and quickly caught up and passed Tae. He couldn't help smiling to himself as he finished and jumped out of the pool almost a whole lap ahead of Taehyung. 

“Need any help getting out of the pool? Since I finished long before you, I’m guessing you're hurt or something.”

“Not that far in front of me. Anyways, I am not a swimmer, I'm a diver, so I don't need to be fast. Maybe you should consider going over to swimming and leave the diving to me. And that means you can go. So, bye-bye.” Taehyung waved and turned to Jin. “Want me up on the 10m platform today?” He secretly hoped that's where Jin would send him, as he already knew Jungkook wasn't allowed to go up there yet.

“No,” Coach Jin said. “You're doing the springboard today. You take the one to the right and Jungkook, you head to the one on the left. With a board between you two, there should be enough space for the two of you to dive at the same time. Taehyung, I know you feel it's beneath you, but we're going to really work on the basic dives.  Straight in, a pike and a single somersault, in that order, at the same time. I want to see as little splash as possible. Whomever I deem has the biggest splash will do laps after practice.”

Taehyung smirked at Jungkookk. “I hope you're in good shape, cause you'll be the one doing laps after practice.” And he turned around an marched to his springboard.

Jungkook chuckled and headed to his springboard. Jin watched him go, his walk was fluid, a lot like Taehyung's. He had some good plans for Jungkook's training. He had a feeling that the two young men would spur each other on to even better greatness. Jungkook was going to give Taehyung a run for his money, and Jin was going to take advantage of every rivalry those two had. 

“Ok, step up and go to the edge. I want to see a simple dive, you can bounce as high as you want, but only two bounces. 3-2-1 Go.” Jin watched as the two took huge bounces and then turned to hit the water hands first. There was basically no splash at all from either of them, so he knew he was going to have to really watch to figure out who was the loser today.

Again and again, Taehyung and Jungkook mounted their springboard and performed near perfect dives as time went on. Both kept hollering at Jin, asking who had the biggest splash, and he'd just grin and say “I'll tell you when we're done.”

Suddenly Jin noticed the two young men were diving exactly alike. Same height, same angles, same time hitting the water. It was then he turned to his notepad and made some notes. Taehyung might not like it, but there might be another category he was going to be considered for. The same one he and Felix had excelled at – synchronized diving.

After an hour, Jin called them over.

“Well, tomorrow we'll get a little more difficult. Both of you have these simple dives down and both of you had pretty much equal splashes on each dive. So, I want 10 laps out of each of you.”

“Ten?” Taehyung complained. “That's ridiculous,  I'm not a swimmer, why do I need to do so many laps? I've already done the required 4, now you want me to do 10? Jin, I know I had less splash than this one,” he waved in Jungkook's general direction. “He should be the only one doing laps.”

Jin frowned at Tae. “When did you start being the coach around here?” he asked. “I don't recall your name on the purchase papers, nor do I recall hiring you on as a coach. You're my trainee, and you don't, let me repeat that, you don't question me. And if you say one more word before getting in the lanes, I'll increase your laps by one for each word you utter. Now go.”

Jungkook didn't say a word as he watched the interchange. He never talked back to any of the coaches he had had over the years, that was just not done. And Namjoon would have had his ass if he ever talked back to a hyung. He then followed Tae to the lanes and dove in and began to put in his 10 laps. He let his mind go blank and just enjoyed the feel of the water.

Meanwhile, Taehyung was fuming. He knew his dives were better than that Dungkook's and his splashes were almost non existent, but he really couldn't be one hundred percent sure, as he couldn't observe while he was diving himself. And he was mad at himself. He never talked back to Coach. Ever. What got into him? And 10 laps in the pool really wasn't that bad, it was still in the water, so he was in his element. He found himself going faster and faster and let his anger fuel him on. He ended up matching Jungkook stroke for stroke.

Once the two of them finished their laps they headed to the locker room to get ready for classes.

Jungkook decided to offer the olive branch.

“So, what's your first class?”

“Calculus if you need to know. I'm sure you'll be in a class below me, so thankfully we won't have any classes together besides morning diving.” He turned his back on Jungkook and began to dry off and get dressed.

“I don't know what classes I'm taking. They're testing me this morning to decide my schedule,” Jungkook tried again. He didn't really like this animosity between them, but he didn't know what to do to stop Tae from hating him. He had been happy to think that he might find some friends who shared his passion for the water, but the only person he had met with the same desire to dive seemed to hate him.

Taehyung ignored him and finished getting dressed. He slammed his locker door and turned and walked out without saying a word to Jungkook.

Jungkook took his time showering and then getting dressed. He wasn't getting tested until later in the morning, so he didn't have to rush. While he was getting ready, he tried to get his mind in a better place. If Taehyung was trying to rattle him, it was working. At least it was working outside of the water. Jungkook loved to dive and was determined to be the best at Jin's facility, and that meant being better than Taehyung. He mentally shook himself and started to get his mind ready for the testing that was coming up. He did ok at school, he had been attending a private school with Jimin and Hoseok, so he felt he was ready for what this school had to test him on. Namjoon had never let him slack off in his homework, and with a little tutoring from Hoseok, he kept his grades up.

When he entered the classroom building, he saw Jin waiting for him outside a conference room.

“You'll test in here. Remember, this is nothing but to see where you're at in our curriculum and place you accordingly. My secretary, Miss Jackie will sit with you and answer any general questions you might have. There is a time limit to each portion of the test, but I've never seen anyone not finish each section. And like I said, this doesn't count good or bad for you, it's strictly for placement purposes, but I hope you will give it your best. Your brother told me you did well at your other school, so hopefully we’ll find a good fit for you.” Jin led him into the room, where a desk was set up with pencils and a calculator.

“Miss Jackie, this is Joen Jungkook. He'll be testing this morning, you know the drill,” Jin smiled at the young lady. She was much more than a secretary, she kept Jin sane. She was always on top of where he needed to be and what he needed to do, along with weeding out potential trainees by watching videos and having a natural tendency to know which ones Jin might want to meet and which ones she let down gently. Jin thanked the gods constantly for delivering her to his facility right after he had opened up. In fact, she had been the first person he had hired on full time.

Jin patted Jungkook's shoulder and left the room. Jackie looked at the handsome young man and smiled.

“Hello Jungkook. How was your training this morning?” she had known exactly who Jin had worked with that morning, and was curious as to what he thought of it. What she really wanted to know is how he had gotten along with Taehyung. She knew his reputation.

“It was awesome!” Jungkook gushed. “Even though I had to share the time with Taehyung, it felt good. I think Coach Jin will be great. I've actually dreamed of being at the Olympics, and now I think there just might be a small chance.” He stopped. He had never told anyone about his ambitions because they seemed almost impossible. But he knew Coach had sent people to the Olympics this year, so maybe, if he worked hard, who knew what could happen in 4 years?

Jackie smiled. Most of the trainees had dreams of the Olympics, and she knew, for South Korea or maybe even the world, there was no better trainer than Kim Soekjin. And from the videos she had found online of this diver, he had a better than good chance of making it to the next Games.

“I think everyone here has dreams of going to the Olympics. And with Coach Jin, you actually might have a chance. Of course, you'll have to work, and work hard, but you wouldn't be here if you weren't talented. But, before you pack your bags for the Olympics, let’s get this testing out of the way. You will be tested in Math, Grammar, History and Science. Each test starts easy and gets harder as you go along. Don’t feel bad if you don't know the answer, the questions go almost to genius level. Do what you can, and like Jin said, this is just to get a feel for where we need to place you. Each test is timed, but the time is pretty generous. Which test would you like to start with?” 

Jungkook was taken aback. He got to pick which one to start with? Should he start with Math, his weakest subject, or Science, where he excelled?

“I get to pick which one?” he asked for clarification,

“Yes, it's up to you. I just set the timer and make sure you don't try to cheat,” she laughed.

“I'd never cheat,” Jungkook said. “Namjoon would kill me.”

They shared a laugh and then Jungkook decided to start with Science. Jackie took out the test and laid it face down on the desk.

“When I start the timer, you can turn over the papers and begin. May I ask, is this your best or worst subject?” She was always curious on the choices new trainees made.

“It's my best. I figure if I start with something I'm comfortable with, that might settle me down for the rest of them.” 

“Smart man,” Jackie said and sat down at another desk. She had paperwork of her own to do, and a couple of videos to watch (with one of her ear buds in to not disturb Jungkook's testing). “You may begin.” She pressed a button on the count down timer and watched as he turned over the test and began. She could see a small smile on his face as he read the first question. She always felt bad when giving these tests, she knew the trainees would stress over it, but it really wasn't something they should be concerned about. Most trainees tested right where they had been at their previous school, so it really didn't make too much of a difference. It was a rare occasion when someone would test below where they had been and even rarer for someone to test above their current year.

Jungkook felt himself relax as he ploughed through the tests. Even the Math wasn't too bad. The last couple of problems stumped him, but he could see they were much more advanced than anyone in his level would know how to do. 

“I'm done,” he said when he finished the last test. “When will I find out my schooling schedule?”

Jackie took the papers from him. “You'll know tomorrow morning. Come in and see me about 9 o'clock and we’ll go over everything you need to know and I'll have your books ready for you. I'll also go over your schedule and where each classroom is and then you'll start the day after tomorrow.”

“Wow,” Jungkook breathed out. “You guys don't waste any time, do you?”

“No, we don't. We stress that each one of you should have a quality education, and we have some of the best teachers in Seoul that teach here. The classes are fairly small, so you won't be looked over like some are in the public schools. Now, you have the rest of the day, go enjoy yourself. The pool is open, or you can go take a nap, or go shopping to get school supplies, here's a list of your basic needs. You do have a laptop, don't you?”

“Yeah, Namjoon suggested I bring it when I thought we'd spend the rest of the week doing touristy stuff. But I could use a few items, so I'll probably do that. I'll get a ride through my app and do a little exploring. I mean, this was supposed to be a vacation for me.” Jungkook gave her a smile as he accepted the list from her and turned to leave.

“I'll see you tomorrow morning then,” she said.

“Sounds good,” he answered and stepped out. Then he panicked. He knew nothing about Seoul, where to go for supplies, what he might want to see, nothing. And he wasn't sure he wanted to go on his own. Ok, he thought to himself, I'll go back to the room and see what else I might want, then I'll see if maybe someone might be willing to tell me where I can go.

Chapter Text

Once back at the dorm, Jungkook went through what he had and what he might need. He knew Namjoon would be here in a couple of days with the items he had texted him, but it wouldn't hurt to get a few things he could use right now.

While he was jotting down “Body Lotion", Yoongi came in. He threw his books down on his desk and groaned as he sat down on his bed.

“I hate Calculus. And History. And, well, all of it. I just want to get this schooling thing over with. If this wasn't the best place to train, I'd quit school and swim all day long. But, Coach says it's a necessary evil, so I put up with it. Thankfully, learning comes easy to me, so I don't have to work too hard for decent grades. Hey, how was your testing? That was this morning, right?”

Jungkook nodded. “It wasn't too bad. Not sure how I did, but I'll find out tomorrow morning. I came back here to add to the school supply list and I was hoping to find out where the best place is to go and get all of this. Do you know a place to shop near here? I was planning on calling a car, but if I don't know where to tell them to go, I'm afraid I'll end up on the other side of town.”

“You want company?” Yoongi asked. “I could do with a few items myself. And I know of a mall not too far from here where we can get just about anything you might need. There's also a really good Chinese restaurant in there if you'd be interested in grabbing some supper?”

Jungkook felt the tension that had been building up in his shoulders release. Yoongi had addressed all his concerns with just a simple “You want company?”. And Chinese sounded heavenly.

“I'd love some company. I hate shopping alone, but I thought that was going to be my only option. How soon can you be ready?”

Yoongi was about to reply when a knock came at the door. He got up and opened the door to Taehyung, who promptly entered the room and sat down.

“I can't believe Jin is making me take training with Dungkook. He's going to drag me down and take Jin's attention that should be on me. I'm going to bring glory to this facility once I win gold in all the diving events at the next Olympics…”

“Tae,” Yoongi interrupted him. “You do understand that Jungkook is my new roommate, right?”

“And it's Jungkook, not Dungkook,” a voice piped up from across the room.

Taehyung looked up and saw the bane of his existence standing by his closet door. He at least had the grace to blush as he realized Jungkook had heard everything he had said. Thankfully Yoongi had stopped him before he voiced any more of the complaints he was ready to spew out.

“Oh, um, hi Jungkook,” he swallowed. “How was testing?”

So he did hear me this morning, Jungkook thought. “Not bad. I find out my results tomorrow morning.”

“Jungkook and I were just getting ready to head over to the North Mall. He needs a few items and I have some things I'd like to get too.” Yoongi pointedly looked at the door.

But Tae didn't catch on. “The mall? You know, I could use getting a few necessities myself. Let me go grab my wallet and I'll join you. Meet you in 10?” He got up and was out the door before either Yoongi or Jungkook could say anything.

“I guess I need to call that car,” was all Jungkook could think to say. Of all people, Taehyung was the last person on earth he wanted to come with them. But, how could he say no now?

“Look, I'm sorry. Taehyung really has no social skills. His mind is usually on diving, so he doesn't pick up on social cues. If you want, I can tell him he's not welcome. He will just shrug it off and head to the pool.”

“Nah,” Jungkook decided as he was typing into the ride app. “Maybe this will be good for us to get to know each other better.”

Yoongi smiled and grabbed a clean shirt and put it on. Well, things might just get interesting. He wasn't sure why Taehyung had invited himself along, it seemed he couldn't stand Jungkook. But as long as he was with them, he could act as a buffer between his best friend and new roommate.

“The car is about 12 minutes away,” Jungkook said. “We should probably head out front.” He grabbed his wallet and list and headed to the door. When he opened it, there was Taehyung, fist raised to knock.

“Car is coming, we're headed to the front to meet it,” Jungkook pushed past him.

“What crawled up his ass?” Tae asked Yoongi.

“Definitely not you,” Yoongi joked. “But, seriously Tae, what possessed you to invite yourself to go shopping with the one person at this place you can't stand?”

“I needed some stuff,” was all Taehyung said and he turned and followed Jungkook to the front where they were picked up by the car.

The trip to the mall was only about 20 minutes, and the three of them spent it in silence. Jungkook reached to tip the driver, but before he could pull the cash out, a hand reached over and handed her a substantial wad of money. Tae stepped back and the car left.

“I was going to give her a tip,” Jungkook growled at Taehyung.

“Yeah, but did you know she's a single mom working 2 jobs to just keep food in her son's mouth? Well, I do, from getting a ride from her last month and she shared her life's story with me. I had the cash, and so I wanted to help her get groceries this week. It's no big deal, so let it go Jungkook.” Taehyung growled right back at him.

“Enough you two,” Yoongi scolded. “Let's get shopping. Once we get everything, then we can sit down and eat Chinese and maybe you two can be civil.”

He sighed heavily and started off to the entrance to the mall. “Let's hit the office supply store, you'll probably find most of the school supplies you need in there. I want to hit the little supply store for some shampoo and a new toothbrush, I’m thinking about getting an electric one so I can let it do all the work.

Then I want to get a new swimsuit, so we'll hit the sports store. What are you needing Tae?”

“I need a few items, but those three stores should get me what I want.” Taehyung replied. 

The three men went into the mall. Jungkook was awed at the size and variety of stores all in one building, and he quickly found everything he needed, plus a few more things he wanted at the three stores they went in. He even bought himself a new swimsuit too, when he saw a pair of bright purple ones. He remembered his mother saying “I Purple You", and she said it so lovingly, purple became his favorite color. He realized as he tried them on that he couldn't quite hear her voice anymore and he almost broke down in the changing room, but he was able to hold back the tears. He could release them when he got back to the dorm. He didn't need to show weakness in front of Taehyung. He had a feeling it wouldn’t faze Yoongi, but Taehyung would probably use it against him in one way or another. Tae had barely spoken to him once they entered the mall, most of Tae's conversation was directed at Yoongi. Yoongi, though, could see his best friend purposely leaving Jungkook out of the conversation, so he made an effort to draw Jungkook in.

“Tae, hey, look at these,” Yoongi pointed out the purple swim trucks Jungkook brought out of the changing room. “Too bad Jungkook grabbed them first, I know your favorite color is purple.”

“Yeah, well, it's my mom's favorite color too, so I thought I'd pick these up,” Jungkook said.

“Who says purple is still my favorite color?” Tae announced. Although, yes, he had to admit, purple was still his favorite color. He just didn’t want to let Jungkook know that. He had seen them on the rack and was heading over to them when Jungkook beat him there and picked them off the rack.  He looked, but those had been the only pair in that color. Too bad, they would have looked great with his skin tone. 

“Then it's good I got them first,” Jungkook said. “I think they'll look good with my skin tone.”

Taehyung just snorted and turned around to pay for his purchases. Along with the black trunks he had picked out, he added a colorful swim cap to the pile. Jungkook studied what he picked out and went over and grabbed one for himself.

“I guess you don't have any individuality,” Tae said snarkily to him. “Just copy everything I do?”

“Geesh, Tae, chill out. I’m also getting one just like yours, see?” And Yoongi lifted up the cap that was in his hands. “I read in Swimmer's Monthly that these are supposed to be the best at keeping your hair dry and it will stay in place even when diving off the 10m platform. Of course, I don't ever plan on seeing the water from that height, I like just cutting through and speeding around, but it will still be nice to not have to spend forever drying my hair every time I get done in the pool.”

Once they had each paid for their items, Yoongi herded them towards the Chinese place located in the center of the mall. They didn't have to wait long for a table, and the three of them settled down and ordered. While waiting for their food, Yoongi tried to start a conversation.

“So, Jungkook, tell us a little about yourself.” He suggested.

But before Jungkook could open his mouth, Taehyung spoke up. “Seriously Yoongi, who cares? You can find out about him later, he's your roommate and all, but I don't want to waste my time hearing about the hick town he's from.”

“I'm not from a hick town, I'll have you know,” Jungkook spoke up, tired of the attitude Tae had giving him all day. “I'm from Busan, where my brother still lives. I've loved the water since I was little and my brother was nothing but encouraging, and I was excited to get chosen by Jin to train here. But, the one thing you need to know about me is the fact that I know you're a total asshole Kim Taehyung, and I really am done with you being such a stuck up dickhead. Sorry Yoongi, but I need to go before I punch him in his ugly face.” 

Jungkook immediately got up, grabbed his bags and headed out of the restaurant, pulling his phone out to call a car. He knew he wouldn't survive another minute in Taehyung's presence, at least not without hauling off an hitting him in his perfect little nose. He really had been excited to be there, but he wasn't sure it was worth it if he had to deal with Tae's holier-than-thou attitude all the time.

Yoongi sat there watching Taehyung's face as Jungkook made his exit. All he saw was disdain in his friend's eyes.

“Tae, could you have been more of a dick? Why did you come with us in the first place if all you were going to do is make Jungkook feel like he's nothing? Are you really that stuck on yourself, that you don't see what an ass you've made of yourself today? First, all you did in Calculus was complain about Jin putting him in with you at training, then you ranted on all through History about how much he's taking you away from Jin's attention. Thankfully we're in different science classes, but I'd bet money you continued with anyone that would listen at how much having Jungkook here has infringed on your existence. You know as well as I do you're going to get the same quality training as you always have. Jin never slacks off on anyone's training, and I'll be brutally honest here, you don't share your time with anyone because there isn't anyone at the facility that can put up with you for that hour and a half every day. If Jin didn't think you could handle sharing your time, he would have never asked Jungkook to join you in the morning slot. Are you that scared there might be someone out there as good as, if not even better, than you? Cause I've heard about Joen Jungkook and how he's had little professional training, but is racking up golds all over the Junior Diving Circuit. He's also Olympic material from what I understand, and you're just going to have to stop being so stuck on yourself and realize there are other people out there just as talented as you. I'm your friend Tae, but I'm ashamed to be around you right now. Find your own damn way home, I’m going to catch up with Jungkook and head back. You can pay for our meals, it's the least you can do.”

Tae's eyes got huge as he watched his best friend get up and leave him after that tirade. He was about ready to  walk out himself when the waitress came over with their food. He sat back down and requested the meals be packed up to go. He wasn't in the mood to sit and eat alone, and he had some thinking to do before facing Yoongi again. That Jungkook just irritated him to no end, but he wasn't sure it was the competition that irritated him. To be totally honest with himself, he was more upset that the new kid was so good looking, he had a hard time concentrating on what was important, and that was his diving. In fact, he hadn't even thought once about his boyfriend that day. He had been growing farther and farther apart from Bo-gum since The Incident, as he referred to it in his mind.

The waitress came back with the three meals all packaged and ready to go. He paid for the meals and got up and gathered everything, stopping right outside the restaurant door to order a car for himself.

Chapter Text

Yoongi ran outside the mall doors and saw Jungkook standing at the curb, waiting for his car.

“Kook!” he yelled. “Wait up!” and he ran over to where Jungkook was standing.

Jungkook looked at Yoongi and couldn't quite help himself.

“I thought you'd stay with your best friend,” he said as Yoongi approached him.

“Right now Taehyung isn't even my distant friend. I'm sorry for what all he said, not only in the restaurant, but this whole day. He's been a total ass-hole to you, and I don't want you to think I agree with him at all. In fact, as soon as you left, I told him how I felt about his attitude and left. Please don't put me in the same category as him. I like you, I just think he's afraid of actually having some competition. Let's go back, I told Tae he could pay for the meals and get his own ride back to the dorms.“ Yoongi gave Jungkook a tentative smile.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Jungkook said as a Toyota Camry pulled up to the curb. “Wanna share the ride? It looks like he's got room.”

“Please,” Yoongi breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't seem Jungkook was going to hold this shopping trip against him. Damn Taehyung, this could have been a great time getting to know his new roommate.

Taehyung came through the doors and saw Yoongi getting in the car with Jungkook. He almost hollered for them to wait for him, but his pride got in the way. They could have their time together, he was going to go back and get in the pool and cool off. Maybe even take a quick ice bath. His car showed up five minutes later and he sat back to think over what his best friend had said to him on the trip back.

The next morning Jungkook showed up early for his coaching. He didn't want to see Taehyung in the locker room, so he made sure he was poolside long before the lesson. Jin showed up and looked him up and down.

“You're a bit early. I don't mind people being early, but make sure you don't get in the water until I or someone else is here. You can go ahead and start your 4 laps now if you want, then we'll go over today's training.” Jin turned to the small desk he had set up near the pool and settled in.

Taehyung came in then. “Coach, seriously, do I have to train with him?” pointing his chin to Jungkook who was leisurely swimming his laps.

“Yes Taehyung, you do. I want you to stop this. You're good, and I think you will benefit from him training with you. But, if you insist on not training with Jungkook, I can always put you in with Peter and Ling at 3 this afternoon.”

“And have three people at the same time? No thank you. Why can't you move Jungkook to that spot?” Tae was hopeful.

“Because he isn't the one complaining, is he? If he's fine with this time, then I'm going to let him keep it, it would be you who will have to adjust. Or, you can just bite the bullet and learn to put up with him. It's up to you, but you know you do better with this time period, since there aren't many who come to the pool at this time.”

Tae sighed. It was true, he loved the early morning training sessions with Coach Jin, no one seemed to want to be at the pool at that particular time, so he enjoyed the solidarity it used to include. But, Jungkook of all people was supposed to infringe on his time. He looked over to where Jungkook was effortlessly pulling himself out of the water and approaching them. Damn, he looked good in that purple swimsuit. Then his eyes involuntarily travelled down the eight-pack abs to the bulge that was very prominent in the purple swimsuit. Damn, that would hurt more than Bo-Gum. He had to shake his head as soon as he realized what he was thinking. Damn, this was his time to learn from Coach, not his time to oogle his training partner. Without another word, he turned and headed to the lanes to get his 4 laps in.

“Jungkook, today we're going to really work you on the 3m platform. I'm hoping by next week we'll have you doing some simple dives off the 10m, but not quite yet. I really want you to get the feel for the platform, so when you do climb up there, you'll hopefully be more confident. I can see you're confident on the springboard, so we will visit that quite often, but right now I want to concentrate on the platforms. So, go on there and give me a double forward somersault in pike position.”

Jungkook smiled, saluted Jin and headed to the platform. Jin watched as he executed an almost perfect dive. The splash was minimal.

When Jungkook pulled himself out of the pool, he looked at Jin, waiting for more instruction.

“Good. That was really good Jungkook. Take a breather, I want Tae to show you something I think you might like. Taehyung,” Jin called out to the young man just finishing up his laps. “Show Jungkook a somersault twist from the hand standing position on the 3m please. You haven't done one of those in a while, let's see what you remember.” Jin smiled.

Tae huffed and climbed the 3m platform steps and went out to the edge. Before he got on his hands, he growled, “I guess now I'm just someone who demonstrates for the new kid.”

Jin heard that and didn't appreciate it. “Tae, when I tell you to do something, I expect it done without any griping, clear? While showing Jungkook a perfect dive, you're also using basic skills and we're going to concentrate on them for a while.”

“Yes Coach,” Taehyung blushed a little at the reprimand. He almost never got in trouble with Coach, and here it was, just 15 minutes into training, and he'd already caused Jin to harp at him twice.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Jungkook watched in awe as Tae balanced himself on his hands at the edge of the platform and then push himself off to perform what he thought was the absolute perfect dive. He had seen such dives on tv, but never in real life, and shit, he wanted to try it. The first time he had seen a diver perform a dive starting in that position, he began to try and do a hand stand everywhere in the house, finally working his way up to walking around on his hands for a while. Namjoon would occasionally grab his ankles and pull him up and drop him on the couch, both boys laughing hysterically. He got lost in his thoughts when he heard Coach Jin talking to him.

“Do you think you can do a hand stand, Jungkook?” Coach was asking him.

“Yeah,” he enthusiastically replied. “I started doing hand stands after seeing a diver do that a couple of Olympics ago. So, I can do one, I've just never tried it off a platform before.”

Jin smiled at him, “Now's your time. Go give it a try. I don't care what you do for the dive, I just want to see you in that hand stand. Tae, go ahead and get on the 10m platform. I want to see the dive we've been working on. Toes pointed please, and no splash on entry.”

“Yes Coach,” Tae said quietly and headed to the 10m platform steps. He was half way up when he saw Jungkook approach the end of the 3m platform and begin to go into a hand stand. He paused to see what Jungkook would do.

Jungkook looked at the edge of the platform for quite a while. Jin got concerned that he might be asking the young man to do more than he was ready for, but he waited him out. If he could do a handstand, he shouldn't have trouble with this dive. But Jin was always tuned into his divers' moods when they were asked to do a new dive. Jungkook seemed confident, just a little hesitant.

Finally, Tae spoke up, “Just fucking do it already. Thinking about it won't do you any good.”

Jungkook looked to where Tae was and blew out a huge breath he wasn't aware he had been holding. He couldn't back out now, not when Taehyung was watching. So he leaned over and did a hand stand, then pushed himself away from the platform and did a simple pike towards the water. He stretched out his hands and broke through the surface a little off verticle.

Not bad for a first try, Jin thought. We have a lot of little items to address, but it wasn't bad. In fact, it was better than Tae's first try, but Jin would never say that out loud. He had made a promise never to be negative towards any of his students. He had been compared to Felix on a number of occasions, and he knew how it made him feel. So, no negative comparisons.

“Jungkook, that was great for a first try. Let's concentrate on that today. I want you to make sure your toes are pointed at all times. It's an item judges look at closely. Plus it will help with decreasing the splash you create. Got it?”

Jungkook nodded and headed towards the 3m platform to try again.

Meanwhile, Jin looked up to Tae, who had reached the top of the 10m platform.

“Ok,” Jin called up to him. “Now do the dive we've been working on. I'm going to judge you and give you marks, just like the judges will at the December competition. Go ahead when you're ready.”

The morning went on fairly easily after that, Jungkook practicing on the 3m platform while Tae worked off the 10m platform. Jin would have each dive separately, using the in between times to coach the next dive. Taehyung realized that he was getting just as much coaching as he did before Jungkook joined them.

After their time was up, Taehyung rushed to the locker room to change and get out of there before Jungkook came in. No such luck. Just two minutes later, in walked Jungkook, drying those 8 pack abs as he approached his locker. And it was then, as he saw Jungkook's eyes drift down, he realized he had only removed his swimsuit and hadn't started dressing yet.

“Um,” Jungkook's eyes finally allowed him to focus on Tae's face. “That was a good practice, don't you think?” He was trying, he really was.

“My part was perfect. I don't know about yours, I wasn't watching.” Oh he was totally watching. Every chance he could, he watch Jungkook stand on his hands and start experimenting with different dives. And he really was good. It had taken him a full month to get to a handstand, and then it still wasn't as nice as what Jungkook had done in one day. He wasn't jealous. Oh, who was he kidding, he was green with envy.

Jungkook just sighed and opened his locker and began to dry off. He decided a shower was in order, so he grabbed a clean towel and went in. By the time he came out, Taehyung was long gone.

Chapter Text

It was time. Time to find out his school schedule. He hoped he didn’t fall into a lower grade; that would just be humiliating. So, he pushed through the door to Jackie's office and walked in.

“Jungkook, hi,” she smiled brightly at the young man. “Don't be nervous, you did great.”

Jungkook smiled back. “I was just hoping I didn't test into a lower grade.”

“Well, take a seat,” she gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk. Jungkook sat on the edge, anxious to hear the results.

“Like I said, you did great,” she began. “In fact, you tested in to the next level grade you were currently in, all except Math. In that one you tested into your current grade level. So, we're going to put you in a different Math class than the next years' students. Otherwise, you're going to classes with your roommate Yoongi. Your training partner, Taehyung, is also in that level, so hopefully you two can get over your animosity with each other and be civil.”

“I'm always civil,” Jungkook said. “It's him who can't stand me.”

“Yes, that’s what I heard,” Jackie had had a long conversation with Jin as soon as their lesson had finished. Jin had shared his hopes with her about the two of them, but he knew they had to get over whatever was causing this whole problem before his plans could start. He was forming a plan, but had to wait for the two of them to at least be in the same room together without Tae wanting to kill Jungkook.

Jackie handed over his scores, and he was surprised to see he HAD tested high in every subject except Math, but that was his hardest subject. He was just thankful he wasn't going to go into a lower grade. That would have given Taehyung fodder for many snarky comments for a long time.

“Wait, I'm in the same grade as Taehyung? Do I have any classes with him?” This was going to be torture if he had to train with Taehyung and then go to class with him.

“Actually, you have all but Math with him. You'll start your day in Algebra, while he goes to Calculus. Then  you have class with Yoongi and Taehyung and 4 other students in History, then you and Taehyung go to general science and Yoongi will head to Biology. Then the three of you will all attend Grammar class. You will have three classes before lunch, and the final class right after lunch. Then you have a free period, when I would suggest you get going on homework, cause you'll be wanting to get time in the pool before it closes. Coach Jin usually spends all his time at the pool, so he can help critique you during that time. Just be aware that almost all trainees go to the pool at this time, so remember to be polite and take turns. After that the pool closes, unless you have written permission from Coach Jin and a pool buddy, you're expected to head back to the dorm. Pool buddies are a must at all times. There is no exception to that. You swim alone, you go home alone. Period.”

“Why?” asked Jungkook. He was just curious, he swam alone all the time back at his house.

“That's for Coach Jin to share if he wants. But, it's basic pool safety anyway, so just always make sure you have someone with you, someone who will keep an eye on you, and someone you will also need to keep an eye on. Ok, let me show you where all your classes are. There are usually 5 to 10 students in each class, so you will get a lot of individual attention.”

Jackie got up and led Jungkook around. There weren't too many classrooms, so the tour didn't take very long. They went back to Jackie's office, where Coach Jin was waiting for them.

“Well, Jungkook, were you surprised with the results? Your brother was very pleased when I called him this morning.” Jin had used Jungkook's results as an excuse to call Namjoon, he usually let Jackie call the families to keep them informed, but he thought in this case he could personally keep Namjoon informed. It was the least he could do, right? He was looking forward to their date this Saturday, he really did want to see that new movie and the idea of spending time with Namjoon caused his heart to beat faster.

“You already told him?” Jungkook was surprised. Then he felt a message coming in and he quickly looked down at his phone and saw he had a new message from Namjoon.

“If that's your brother, go ahead and read it. He was really proud and mentioned he was going to get in touch with you.” Jin smiled at the young man.

Joon Bro:

So proud of you! Jin called and told me you tested into the next level except Math, but we know that's your least favorite subject. I've got your stuff packed and ready to go, I'll see you Saturday, ok?

PS Mom and Dad would have been so proud of you.

Jungkook read that last sentence a few times before putting his phone back in his pocket. How he wished his parents would know about him being accepted to Coach Jin's facility and his testing into a grade above. What would they say? He couldn't think about that now or he'd have a full break down in front of Jackie and Coach Jin.

“Why don't you head to the pool? I know Yoongi is there with Ken, so you won't be alone. You'll start in your classes tomorrow after training. Jackie has your books, you can take them back to your room and get your swimsuit and head over. I'll be there in just a bit and we can look at your hand stands again, how does that sound?“ Jin dismissed the trainee.

“Cool, thanks Coach,” Jungkook grabbed the pile of books Jackie pointed out to him and headed back to his room.

“Was he happy with the results?” Jin asked Jackie. “I think he was scared of being demoted, but he actually did great. He's a smart kid, and a very talented diver.”

“Do you think he's better than Taehyung?” Jackie looked at her boss.

“I think with some proper training, those two will be neck and neck. Taehyung has been training here for four years, Jungkook only two days, give him a bit more training, and yeah, he just might become better than Taehyung. But you know my plans for those two.”

Jackie smiled. “Yeah, I do, and I think it's brilliant. Go on, I have a few more videos to study before I go home.” She shewed him out the door, chuckling the whole time.

Jungkook went to his room and laid the books on his desk then quickly got  his swim bag together and headed out to the pool. Yoongi had introduced him to Ken, and he felt they could become friends.

The next day was Friday and Taehyung hit the roof when he found out Jungkook was in most of his classes.

“How the hell did he do that?” he complained to Yoongi in History class before Jungkook showed up. “Now I have to put up with him not only in training, but in class too? Why am I being punished?”

Yoongi just frowned at his friend, “Seriously Tae, get over it. If you keep this up, you might be asked to leave. You're such a princess. Let him be and do your own thing, ok? This whining and complaining is getting to be too much. Either shut up about it, or go find another best friend to complain to.”

Taehyung was taken aback. He thought of all the people who would understand it would be his best friend. He had tried talking to his boyfriend about it, but Bo-gum had just glared at him and rolled over in his bed across the room. He didn't know where else to go, so he sat back in his seat and pouted until Jungkook entered the room. Jungkook was seated in front of Yoongi and Tae, and Tae sat the whole period, glowering at the back of Jungkook's head. Yoongi secretly chuckled as he watched the emotions flicker over his friend's face and suddenly wondered if there might be more interest than animosity in that glare. Something to think about.

Jungkook felt good about all his subjects. He had the weekend to work on catching up on homework, but there wasn't too much of that. Ken and his buddy Ben had asked if he wanted to hit the nightlife in Seoul with them on Saturday night, so he had that to look forward to. And the best part, Joon was coming tomorrow and he'd have almost all day Sunday to spend with his brother. 

Namjoon arrived mid-morning and drug the suitcase and bags with him up to Jungkook's room. He knocked on the door and Yoongi sleepily answered it.

“Hey, is Jungkook in?” Namjoon asked. “He should be expecting me, I've got more of his stuff here.”

“He's down at the pool getting some more practice in. I don't think he was expecting you quite so early. Yeah, come in and wait, he should be here any minute.”

Namjoon set the items down on Jungkook's bed and sat down in his study chair. For the next 30 minutes, Yoongi and his roommate's brother got to know each other. Namjoon was happy to see Yoongi talk about Jungkook affectionately, like another older brother. He was glad that someone there seemed to be willing to keep an eye on Jungkook.

When Jungkook arrived back at his dorm room, he was pleasantly surprised to find his brother sitting and talking with Yoongi. He lept into Namjoon's arms and gave him a huge hug. Then he went over to the suitcase and opened it up. There on top was a stuffed dog.

“You forgot to put Bam on your list, so I brought him anyway,” Namjoon said when he noticed Jungkook pause at seeing the stuffed Doberman.

Jungkook had always loved Dobermans and was promised one when he got a little older, but sadly, when their parents passed away, Namjoon just couldn't find the time to get a live dog, so he special ordered the stuffed one for his grieving brother. Many nights he would check in on him and Jungkook would be lying with Bam in his arms, whispering to the dog and sometimes crying. He knew that dog meant a lot to Jungkook, so when it wasn't on his list, Namjoon just figured he had forgotten in all the excitement of starting this new training.

Jungkook quickly grabbed Bam, and without thinking, wrapped his arms around it and buried his face into the dog's neck. Then he looked over at Yoongi, who was grinning at him. Suddenly he was embarrassed.

Yoongi saw the blush creep up Jungkook's neck and face and realized he thought he was making fun of him. Still smiling, he went to his closet and drug out a stuffed cat. Cradling the cat to his chest, he turned to his roommate and said, “Jungkook, it's time you meet Hollie. My best friend back home got her for me. I spent a lot of time at his house, and his real cat took a liking to me. He knew I'd miss home, so right before I left to come here, Hosung gave me Hollie so I wouldn't get lonely. I wasn't sure you'd get it, so I've been keeping her locked up in the closet.” He grinned even bigger at the young man.

“Really?” Jungkook breathed.

“Really, really,” Yoongi said. Now they can stay out of the closet and be best friends. Hollie can visit Bam on your bed and other days, Bam can visit Hollie on my bed.” He did feel a little silly, but if it made Jungkook feel better, he'd go with with.

Namjoon watched as Jungkook went over and introduced Bam to Hollie and then hug Bam tightly to his chest. He had thought hard about whether to bring him, but was glad he decided to in the end. Then he checked his watch.

“Jungkook, I have to go, I’m meeting up with Jin in just a few minutes for lunch in the cafeteria, then we're heading out to the movie and dinner. Want to walk with me to the cafeteria?” He also looked at Yoongi to include him in the invitation.

“Sure,” Yoongi said, “But, let's settle Hollie and Bam down on your bed Jungkook, so Hollie can tell him all about life here at Jin's facility. I'm sure she'll share the tea about me, but that's ok.”

Yoongi and Jungkook giggled at their silliness, but settled the two stuffed animals on Jungkook's pillow and they headed out.

Chapter Text

As soon as they entered the cafeteria, Jungkook waved goodbye to his brother and headed off to get some food. Namjoon didn't see them leave, as he suddenly saw Jin standing to the side, waiting for him to arrive. Nothing else registered in his brain but the handsome face of the man waving him over.

“Namjoon, it's great you made it. I have the tickets for the 2pm showing and then I actually went ahead and made reservations to the hamburger place I told you about. I'm really looking forward to today, I rarely get out with the Coaching and such, but it's time I did something for myself. Jackie keeps getting on me about not only living for this place, but there wasn't much else to live for…” Jin stopped himself cold. Namjoon didn't need to know everything right now. Maybe later, but not here, not surrounded by his trainees. He hadn't shared his story with anyone but Jackie. It may have been years ago, but it was still too raw to bring up. So he grabbed Namjoon's hand and led him to the Teacher / Trainer's Lounge. It was a special room off the main dining hall for the staff. Namjoon was introduced to the infamous Jackie, who had come in to get some work done when the office was quiet.

Once they sat down, Namjoon asked, “You have additional coaches?”

“Yeah,” Jin answered as he accepted the food from the server. “I finally realized I couldn't do it all…”

“No, Jin, I told you that you couldn't do it all. You were running yourself ragged.” Jackie spoke up from across the table. She was thrilled to see her boss show a little interest in another man. After Felix, he had shut down and almost ran himself to death getting the facility up and running. She had insisted he get additional coaches or she wasn't going to attend his funeral.

“Yes, Jackie, thank you so much for that input,” Jin smiled at her, then turned his attention back to Namjoon. “Ok, Jackie realized I couldn't do it all by myself, so we sat down and discussed how I could lessen my load. Jackie took the initial searching of potential trainees off my plate and we decided that since diving was my specialty, I would hire some top swimming coaches for the swimming students. I still keep an eye on the program, but I don't have training with them daily. I still do all the diving training, but with a couple of coaches I found, the swimmers aren't lacking at all in their training either. One coach I got from the USA, and that was fun until he learned Korean. He once told a trainee to gallop on a goat to the marketplace. You should have seen the look on the trainee's face that day. But, Yoongi was patient and helped him learn how to tell him to speed on the water to the punch.”

“Jungkook's roommate Yoongi?” Namjoon inquired as he slurped up his noodles.

“Yes,” Jackie answered him. “Yoongi knew some English before starting here, and he understood how difficult learning a new language could be. He liked the new coach and decided to help him with his Korean so he could get the full benefit of his training here. Of course, Jin would never had let anyone's training be nothing but first class, but it took Coach Ryan a little time to get up to speed. When he told Yoongi to swim like a turtle and roll over at the wall, Jin was laughing so hard, Yoongi spoke up and asked in English, ‘what are you trying to tell me Coach Ryan?’, and when Ryan told him, Yoongi repeated what he should have said in Korean. It was a win-win situation, thankfully, because of Yoongi, we have one of the top swimming trainers in the world here at the facility.”

Jin flashed her a huge smile. “It didn't hurt that Coach Ryan met and fell in love with my assistant here.”

“True that,” She smiled and waved to a good looking man in a track suit to come join them.

“Ryan, this is Namjoon, Jungkook's older brother. Namjoon, this is Ryan, my fiancé, and the best swim coach in the world.”

Ryan reached down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

“Oh, get a room you two,” Jin laughed.

“We have one, thank you very much,” Ryan chuckled as he accepted his food from the server. “Remember, I have a room here in the dorms.”

“Which you are never in,” Jin winked at his assistant. “At least not to get any rest"

“Your coaches live on site?” Namjoon inquired.

“Well, we provide them with a room, and I have a small house behind the pool facility, but most of my employees and trainers go out and find an apartment once they've settled in. Jackie has an apartment not far from here, and Ryan practically lives there, but he keeps the room here for when he's in the doghouse, or when the two of them need a room!”

The four of them shared a laugh and the conversation kept going until it was time for Jin and Namjoon to leave for the theater.

“I need to change and get the tickets, come with me?” Jin asked Namjoon.

“Sure, I'd love to see what you call home here at the facility.”

Jin led Namjoon to the back side of the pool, hidden away from anyone who might drive up the lane. There stood a small ranch style house, the front walk lined with beautiful flowers. There were hanging pots also filled with flowers on the front porch, which included a swing, two rocking chairs and a small table. Jin unlocked the front door and motioned for Namjoon to follow him.

“It's small, but it's home,” he said as Namjoon paused to look around.

The kitchen, dining room and living room parts of the house were all open, with a huge window facing a beautiful garden at the back of the house.

“Let me give you the 2 cent tour,” Jin smiled. “This is my bedroom.”

He opened the first door on the right down the hall. What Namjoon saw next was a very neat, well decorated master bedroom, with a small sitting area, also with a huge window looking out to the back garden. There was an huge bathroom on the other side of the room, and Namjoon could see a Jacuzzi style deep tub and a huge shower next to it. You could fit 4 full grown men in that shower, Namjoon thought. Wow, it even has an overhead rain shower head and jets on all 3 sides.

Jin then opened a door to a massive walk-in closet.

“I'll be right out,” he said as he closed the closet door behind him. In just a few minutes he opened the door and Namjoon’s eyes flew wide open. Jin had on skinny jeans and a multi colored button down shirt open to reveal the skin tight black tank top he wore underneath. Namjoon gulped and Jin gave him a small smile. He knew he looked good. He rarely got to wear street clothes, he wore track suits mostly when training, but when he did go out, he liked to dress up a little and make himself look good. No one had to know he had spent almost an hour that morning making sure his hair was right, and the light makeup he had applied looked totally natural. But the reaction he was seeing from Namjoon told him it was all worth his while.

“I feel underdressed,” Namjoon said quietly. “You look amazing.”

Jin let his gaze travel up and down Namjoon's body. He was wearing black pants and a button up black silk shirt. With his blond hair, he made a striking figure.

“Oh Namjoon,” Jin ran his hand up Namjoon's arm lightly. “You look like a god. I wouldn’t have you change a thing. I'll have to fight off all the suitors that will approach you today.”

The smile on Namjoon’s face made his heart skip a beat, and damn, that dimple. He still wasn't sure he was ready for anything more than just a date. But he was determined to enjoy today with Namjoon.

Jin grabbed his wallet off the dresser and then made sure his phone was in his pocket. He had pre-ordered the movie tickets as soon as Namjoon had said yes to the date, and he had called the Hamburger Joint the following day to make sure they would have a table. The owner had laughed and told him they really didn't take reservations, but promised a small table in a quiet corner for the two men.

Jin then showed Namjoon the 2 guest rooms, One with a simple bed and small closet, the other one had been turned into a library with a huge comfortable looking chair in the center of the room, and then Jin showed him the guest bathroom. It was a quaint little house, but he spent most of his days and evenings at the pool facility, so he didn't need much. The two of them left and got into Namjoon’s little convertible and Jin gave him directions to the movie theater. Namjoon bought them popcorn and drinks, insisting he pay for them, since Jin had sprung for the tickets, and they settled in to enjoyed the movie.

Namjoon wanted to hold Jin's hand when the movie started. He just didn't know how to make the move. He had really never been on a date with someone he liked like he liked Jin, so he had never had the urge to initiate any physical contact. But, his hand was just itching to feel Jin's in it. Finally, he rested his hand on the armrest between them and playfully pushed at Jin's hand. Jin laughed and pushed back, then he grabbed Namjoon's hand and interlaced their fingers. They spent the rest of the movie holding hands.

When the movie was over, neither of them wanted to let go, so they stood up together and walked out, still holding hands. They had to separate to get into the car, but then Jin reached over and once again took Namjoon's hand in his. Their hands fit together perfectly, like they had been made to be joined.

When they got to the Hamburger Joint, as it was called, the owner met them at the door and escorted them to a table in a quiet corner, with a single candle casting a warm glow. Still holding hands, they perused the menu and gave their waitress their orders. They spent the time waiting for their food discussing the movie they had just seen. Both had enjoyed the movie, and both had opinions on how hot the lead actor was.

Once they got their food, they discussed the burgers and other foods they liked. They tasted each other's burgers and both decided that Namjoon's burger was the best. When Namjoon offered to let Jin have his, Jin thought he had died and gone to heaven. No one had ever been so thoughtful, putting his wants and needs first. Not even Felix.

When that thought entered his brain, Jin suddenly stiffened up and grew very quiet.

“Jin, have I done something wrong? If you don't want my burger, you don't have to take it. We can always order something different, if that's what you want.” Namjoon truly believed he had upset Jin.

Jin looked at the man who had just made him feel like he was the most precious thing on earth. He decided it might be early in their budding relationship, but wouldn't it be better to be up front before it went any further?

“Namjoon,” he sighed his name. “I need to tell you something. Something you need to know before whatever this is between us goes any further.”

Namjoon panicked. Was Jin going to tell him his married, or worse yet, that he's straight and this was just a friendly outing? He took a deep breath and prepared to hear the worst.

“When I was 17, I was teamed up with a guy named Felix. We were preparing for the Olympics in the synchronized diving events. While training together, we fell in love. Felix and I were never apart, we spent all our days diving and all our nights, well, you know. After two years, Felix and I won the gold in the 10m platform synchronized diving. We snuck away and got married that night because we were finally in a country that allowed gay marriage. Two days later we were going to do our springboard synchronized dive, and the night before my parents surprised me with a visit. They had come all the way from Korea to see me, so I told Felix I needed to go with them and I was going to tell them about our marriage. Felix was not happy. He felt we needed more practice, especially since the meet was the next day. We had our first real fight that night and I ended up leaving him alone in our room. I went out with my parents that night and told them about the marriage, and my father got up and told me if I was going to be gay, he no longer had a son, grabbed my mother and they left. I had to find my way back to the Olympic Village. When I got there, I just wanted to lay in Felix's arms and tell him I chose him, and that I didn't need my parents, as he was the only family I needed. But he wasn't there. I went to the common areas and looked all over for him. I was giving up hope of finding him, when I decided to take a look at the pool we would be diving from the next day. I saw a dark shape in the water, and when I got closer, it was… it was…” Jin's voice broke. Namjoon reached over and clasped Jin's hands in his own.

“It was what?” he asked quietly.

“It was him. It was Felix, lying face down in the water. I found out later he had called his best friend and complained that I wasn't willing to do any last minute practice and that he was going to go ahead and spend time practicing. But, he went alone and got a cramp, and he… he…” Jin buried his head in Namjoon's hands that were still holding his.

“He died,” Namjoon finished for him. “And that's why you insist no one goes to the pool alone, isn't it?”

Jin finally pulled himself together and looked through red rimmed eyes at the man sitting there, understanding what he was trying to say.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “I lost not only my parents that night, but I lost the love of my life. Felix had changed his will, unbeknownst to me, and I inherited his wealth. We had talked about staring a facility like this together once our diving careers were done, and so I found this place and built what we had talked about. I've been alone ever since. I mean, I have Jackie and the trainees and the other coaches, but I'm lonely. And when I saw you, it was the first time I ever allowed myself to wish that I could have more again.  It's like you're here, now, and you're everything I could hope for.”

With this, Namjoon stood, leaned forward and pressed his lips to Jin's. They shared a sweet kiss, then pulled apart.

“Would you think less of me if I asked you not to stay in the dorms tonight?” Jin leaned forward for another kiss. “Would you please stay with me at my house? If you want, you can stay in the guest room, I don't want to pressure you into anything, but I just don’t want to go back and be totally alone tonight.”

“I would love to stay at your place, but I prefer to share your bed, if that's an option,” Namjoon whispered  into his ear.

Jin reached up and waved at the waitress. “Check please!”

Chapter Text

Monday morning came too quickly for Jungkook. His weekend had been great. The night out with Ben and Ken had been wonderful, he had gotten to forge two new friendships, and had enjoyed an evening dancing. Sunday had been great also. Namjoon brought Coach Jin and knocked on Jungkook's door fairly early and the two brothers and the Coach had spent the day exploring the Seoul Jin knew. Jungkook caught the two of the holding hands and teased his brother about it.

“So, I see you and my Coach are getting along fairly well. Does this mean I get preferential treatment? Can I skip school?” He jested.

Namjoon, although he grew pink in the cheeks, growled back. “Hell no, you're gonna graduate. No matter what you decide to do for the future, it's best to have a basis to build on.”

“Oh come on, tell me when I will use math in diving,” Jungkook shot back.

It was then Jin piped in, “You'd be surprised at how much math will help you in diving. You measure your skills and adjust to how many items you can do on either the 3m platform or the 10m platform and still get time to straighten out for a splash free entry to the water. I'm working with math all the time.”
Jungkook had to pause at that one. He usually just did what he wanted to when diving and learned how much he could do that way. He never thought that math, of all things, could come in handy in diving. Well, damn, he was going to have to really think this through.

“Well, I still think I should get preferential treatment anyway, seeing how you're dating my brother.” With this pronouncement, Jungkook sprinted ahead to avoid Namjoon's hand that came out to swat him.

“Dating? We’re not dating,” Namjoon laughed, then turned to look at Jin. “Are we? Could we? Date, I mean. We haven't known each other for a long time, but I feel like you and I are meant to be. I'll shut up now, I've ran off at the mouth enough, just forget I said anything.” Namjoon was panicking. What if he had scared Jin off? How would he cope coming to visit Jungkook and not include seeing that handsome face?

Jin stopped and pulled him close. “I would love to tell people we're dating. Just please don't date anyone else while we're exploring this new relationship. I feel the same way too.” He leaned in and pecked Namjoon on the lips and squeezed the hand that he still held.

“I'd like that,” Namjoon went in to give Jin a bigger kiss when Jungkook popped up right beside them.

“No, seriously, get a room you two. I can't be seen with two love birds while we're out here exploring Seoul,” he joked.

Namjoon's free hand shot out and grabbed Jungkook by the neck and then brought him in to a neck hold. “You little pipsqueek,” he used the nickname he had giving Jungkook when he had been much younger and smaller than him, “I oughtta…”

This was when Jungkook tickled his side. Then Jin, seeing what fun was to be had, starting tickling Namjoon's other side and the man fell to the sidewalk, laughing so hard he couldn't speak.

After that all happened, Jin led them to a small plant shop, where he got his plants for his small garden. Namjoon loved some of them, and immediately purchased a couple to take home. The days Jungkook hadn't been home had felt a little lonely, and he thought maybe taking care of a couple of plants might help his need to nurture.

That day had been great. When they had gotten back to the facility, Namjoon bid Jungkook a goodbye, and followed Jin to where his car was parked.

“How about I come again next weekend and cook for you? If I can use your kitchen, I can fix a mean pot of noodles. I'm sure Jungkook will realized he's missed something and I'll have to come up anyway.”

Jin leaned in to suck Namjoon's lower lip into his mouth and then proceeded to let his tongue tangle with Namjoon's.

“I'd love that,” he said when they came up for air. “But, only if you'll let ME be the desert and you spend the night again. I'll make sure I'm rested up and we can enjoy some nocturnal activities after eating.”

Namjoon grinned wickedly and opened his car door. If he didn't get out of there soon, he'd be carrying Jin back into his house for a repeat of the night before. One last kiss and he said, “It's a date.”

Now it was Monday morning, and Jungkook groaned when his alarm went off two hours before his normal wake up time. Then Alexa reminded him to head to the pool and he shot out of bed. Yes! Training! He couldn't wait.

Yoongi smiled a little and rolled over to go back to sleep. He had set up Alexa's reminder just in case his roommate was the “hit the snooze a hundred times" type of guy. Now he could get a couple more hours of sleep before Calculus.

As soon as Jin showed up, Jungkook and Taehyung jumped in the lanes for their required 4 laps, then they approached Jin for instructions. Today he had them diving in turn off the 3m platform, Taehyung performing the dive he yelled out, then Jungkook copying the dive right behind him. Jin let them critique each other, and only had to stop Tae once for his mean attitude towards Jungkook. 

After training, they both got dressed and headed to their respective classes. Jungkook had given up on trying to start conversations with Tae, they both dressed in silence and both walked out in silence. Jungkook decided he was fine with that, he was making other friends, so who needed that ethereal face to smiled that gorgeous smile at him? He had other friends he could spend time with.

Taehyung, on the other hand, was starting to realize he had real competition in Jungkook as he watched him dive during their morning session. No other diver at the facility came close to his talent, but now this new kid was showing him up. He tried to talk to his boyfriend about it, but Bo-gum just waved a hand in front of his face and told him to shut up about it. In fact, they hadn't really talked at all since the painful sex incidence. And Bo-gum was showing up later and later to their dorm room, and sometimes he would even forget to kiss him goodnight. Tae felt the distance between them grow farther and farther.

Classes with Jungkook weren't all that great either. The upstart would answer the teacher's questions and receive praise, while Taehyung felt like he was invisible. And then Dungkook would show up and spend the whole evening in the pool, perfecting dive after dive. The only time he felt superior was when he climbed up the 10m platform to work on his dives.

After a month, Jin finally looked at Jungkook and said, “It's time. Go up the 10m platform steps and go out to the edge. I want a simple dive, just give me one somersault, then enter the water.”

Jungkook walked as fast as he could to the 10m platform. It was time! He was going to get to dive off the high dive. He scrambled up the steps and went out to the edge. Then he looked over. Damn, it's a long way to the water. Can I do this? He asked himself.

Jin saw the hesitation and shouted to get his attention. “Jungkook! Don't look, just do. It's no different than going off the 3m platform, you'll just have a second of extra time before you hit the water. Make sure you push out so you don't hit your head or anything, but you know that already from your dives off the 3m platform. Now, just go!”

Taehyung, who had climbed up behind Jungkook to take his turn said, “Just do it already. If you don't think you can handle it, go back to the baby platform and let me get my practice in.”

Jungkook turned around and glared for a second at Tae. Then he turned around again, took a deep breath and jumped. One perfect somersault later, he was climbing out of the pool, where Jin was smiling hugely at him.

“Great job! How did it feel?” the Coach asked.

“Oh man! It was better than I could ever dream it to be. Can I try double somersault next?” Jungkook's eyes were huge, and Jin couldn't say no.

“Sure, I think you can handle that. And if you want to put a twist on it at the end, you can try that too.”

Jin smiled as he watched Jungkook hustle over to the steps, then turned his attention to Tae who stood patiently on the platform.

“Ok, Taehyung, let's try that new dive we've been working on,” he said.

Taehyung performed a perfect dive. Jungkook watched the complicated twists and turns and flips and decided that a double somersault with a twist was just too simple. He was going to try Taehyung’s dive. He forgot Jin's instructions and went to the edge and, as soon as Tae had cleared the area below the dive, he pushed off.

Taehyung stood there with his mouth agape as he watched Jungkook perform his new dive with some splash at the end. But the dive itself was flawless. He looked at Jin, who was also standing with his mouth agape, unable to comprehend what his new trainee had done. Tae stood fuming to see what Coach was going to say to Jungkook.

“Well,” Jin started as Jungkook, smiling from ear to ear, pulled himself out of the pool. “That was not what we discussed. What made you decide you could just do a dive that I didn't tell you to do? That splash at the end would have knocked quite a few points off your score had we been in a competition.”

Jungkook stood and then looked down to the ground. He had wanted to show off in front of Taehyung, he had totally forgotten Coach Jin was even there. He was sick of Tae belittling him every chance he got, and he just wanted to show him he wasn't the loser Tae kept calling him.

“Sorry Coach,” he mumbled. “I just wanted to see if I could do it. I watched Taehyung perform it, and I wanted to see how difficult it really was. And it is pretty difficult. I bet that has a high starting score.”

“The highest there is in competition,” Tae said. He had been impressed with what Jungkook had done, but he would never admit it. But, damn, he had been working on that dive for weeks now, and then Jungkook just goes and does it. But at least my splash is much less than his. Taehyung refused to remember the first time he had tried that dive. He had almost belly flopped because he didn't allow enough time to straighten out the dive into the water. His splash had been three times as big as what Jungkook's had been.

Jin checked the time and said, “Taehyung, you're done for today. Go change and get to class. Jungkook, stay, I want to talk to you for a second.”

Tae, curious, walked slowly, hoping to hear what Jin was going to say, but sped up when Jin said, “You are free to go NOW Mr. Kim. You don't need to know what I'm going to discuss with Jungkook.”

Once the locker door had closed behind Taehyung, Jin turned to Jungkook.

“First, I want to say that was an impressive first try on that dive. Second, if I tell you to do something, I don't expect you to just go and do whatever you want. I have a method to my madness, and that includes telling you what I want you to do. I'm going to let you get away with it just this one time, but I run this training facility, and my word is law. Got it?” To ease some of the sting, Jin patted his shoulder.

“Got it Coach,” Jungkook said quietly. He really was sorry he didn't do what Coach had specifically said, but he also felt warm inside from the praise his try at the dive had gotten him.

“Ok, off you go. I don't want your teacher to yell at me if you are late for class.” Jin patted his back and sent him off to the locker room.

As he watched the young man walk to the door, he began to formulate a bit of a new training schedule for the two trainees. He was determined to see them try synchronized diving, and try it soon. If only their egos would stay out of the way. Well, they'd see what happens in a month or so.

Chapter Text

When Taehyung got back to the room that afternoon, Bo-gum was there sitting on his bed, frowning.

“Bo, you'll never guess what happened in training today,” Taehyung began.

“We need to break up,” Bo-gum replied.

“Jungkook was allowed on the 10m platform and he copied my dive and… wait, what did you say?” Tae finally realized what Bo-gum had said. He turned to the man he had called his boyfriend for the past year. “You want to break up? With me? Why?”

Bo-gum stood up and walked toward Tae. “It's just not working. I would say it's me, not you, but honestly Tae, it's you. You've changed. I know you're obsessed with your diving, and that was ok, but when I wanted to get more physical, you've pushed me away. I thought we had a magical night, but you haven't really touched me since that night. I just can't stay with someone who isn't willing to get physical in a relationship.”

Tae could feel tears well up in his eyes and he blinked to keep them from spilling over.

“You never realized how much you hurt me that night, did you?” he whispered. “You never realized you ripped into me and caused me to bleed for hours, did you? You enjoyed it, and it was all about you. It wasn't love making, it was just a carnal need you had to fill. Fine then, get out. We'll discuss rooming tomorrow, but you need to leave. LEAVE! NOW!” Taehyung screamed the last part as he threw a book at Bo-gum.

“I'm not leaving,” Bo-gum growled at him. “This was my room before you moved in and it will be my room when you move out. Tomorrow, find yourself a new roommate and move in with them. Too bad Jungkook moved in with your best friend, you could have probably talked your way in to sharing with Yoongi. But, Jungkook beat you to it. But I tell you, I'm not leaving.”

Taehyung stared at him for a minute, then a tear escaped and ran down his cheek. He felt the wetness and turned quickly towards his bed and grabbed his pillow and top blanket. He could bunk out in the common area. It was late enough that no one else should be there.

He slammed the door as he left. He went down the hall and entered the common area. He laid down on one of the couches and then allowed the tears to come. Burying his face in his pillow, he sobbed and screamed.

What he didn't notice was the figure curled up in the chair on the other side of the room. Jungkook removed his ear buds and watched as Tae laid there crying his eyes out. He was at a loss of what to do. He finally stood up and took a few tentative steps towards the couch.

“Taehyung?” he said in a soft voice. “Tae? Are you ok?”

Taehyung looked up and moaned. What was HE doing here? Why did the universe hate him so much? What had he ever done to deserve having Joen Fucking-Jungkook be the one to see him like this?

“Nothing, go away,” his voice cracked on the last word.

“I don’t believe you,” Jungkook took a few more steps closer to the couch. “Something is wrong, you wouldn't be out here with your pillow and blanket and crying like the world was ending. Has something happened to your family?” If there was one thing Jungkook understood, it was heartbreak. He had mourned for months when his parents died. For a while, Namjoon had been afraid he was going to lose Jungkook too, so he had forced him to go to therapy. It with the third therapist they tried that finally reached the young boy and helped him out of the despair he was in.

“No,” Tae sat up. “No, it's…” he paused as if trying to decide whether to tell his nemesis or not. He finally decided, what the hell? “Bo-gum says we're through. He broke up with me tonight. I didn't know where to go, so I came out here to cry alone.”

Jungkook caught the implication he wasn't wanted, but he couldn't leave someone so broken. He sat down on the couch, not too close, knowing Tae hated him, but he was unable to leave.

“You want to talk about it?” It came out as a whisper.

“Not really,” Tae sniffed. “I think I'm all cried out anyway. I'm just going to crash here and deal with all of it in the morning.”

“You can't get a good night's sleep out here. Let's go get your mattress and you can bunk out on the floor in our room. I know Yoongi won't mind.”

Both men started when they heard Yoongi's voice behind them.

“No, Yoongi won't mind. His best friend needs him right now, and I'm here for him.” Unbeknownst to either Jungkook or Taehyung, Yoongi had heard the screaming and had a feeling he knew what had happened. Secretly he thought it was for the better, Bo-gum just wasn't right for Tae, but his friend was hurting, so he'd bypass the “I told you so"s.

He went to the front of the couch and held out his hand. Taehyung sniffed again and took it and allowed himself to be led to the room. Jungkook followed with the pillow and blanket, and once Tae was seated on Yoongi's bed, went with Yoongi to the Bo-gum's room.

Yoongi knocked loudly and announced at the door, “Bo-gum, open up. We're here to get Tae's mattress.”

The door opened and then Bo-gum turned around and threw himself on his bed. “Take it. He's not welcome in this room.”

“Well, he'll have to get in to get his things,” Yoongi said as he and Jugnkook pulled the mattress off the frame and they started out. “We'll clear him out tomorrow afternoon. I would highly suggest you stay away while we move Taehyung to another room.”

“Whatever,” Bo-gum growled as they shut the door behind them.

“I never liked him for Taehyung,” Yoongi said as soon as the door was closed. “He’s a total asshole to everyone, and I know he didn't treat Tae in the way he needs to be treated. Come on, let's get this in the room and get Taehyung settled. He's never had a boyfriend before, and this will be his first heartbreak, so it might be a rough night. You really ok with him crashing on the floor just for tonight?”

“I'm the one who  suggested it,” Jungkook reminded him. “I just couldn't leave him in the common area for just anyone to find. I'm glad you're ok with it, I wasn't sure about inviting him without clearing it with you. And it's only for one night.”

They set up the mattress in the middle of their dorm room, Tae thanking them both before pulling the blanket up to his chin. Yoongi promptly fell asleep, but Jungkook was still wide awake. He could hear Taehyung sniffling occasionally and knew he wasn't asleep either.

“Tae?” he whispered into the darkness, trying to be quiet as to not wake Yoongi. “You awake?”

“Yeah,” came a quiet voice on the floor. “Not sure I'm gonna get much sleep tonight.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” Jungkook could hear the small smile in Taehyung's voice.

“Ok, can I ask you something besides me asking if I can ask you something?” he smiled into the darkness.

“What?” Taehyung said.

“When did you know you loved to dive?” It was a question Taehyung wasn't anticipating, but a question like that could help him not obsess about his breakup with Bo-gum.

“Well, I've always loved the water. In fact, when my mom gave birth to me, it was in one of those birthing tubs, you know, where the baby comes out into water? Mom says I started my love of the water then. And I didn't know how much I loved diving until I was about 12, when Yoongi's mom told my mom about this place, and we came to visit here. I did my first real dive in this pool.”

“Your first?” Jungkook was really curious now.

“Yeah, and when Jin said I could come here, I realized that diving was what I wanted to do.” Tae said.

“It was pretty much the same for me,” Jungkook confessed. “I have been diving for a few years, but the minute I saw that pool, it called to me.”

“I know, it's like the siren's song,” Taehyung agreed.

And the two young men stayed up until the early morning hours, talking about their mutual love for the water. 

The next day, Jungkook and Taehyung were a few minutes late getting to their training. Jin frowned at them. He didn't tolerate tardiness, but he was curious as to why both of them were showing up late. And showing up together.

“I'm sorry Coach,” Taehyung said as they walked into the pool. “It's my fault we're late. Well, actually, no, it's Bo-gum's fault. He broke up with me last night.”

Jin raised an eyebrow. “So what makes both of you late?”

Jungkook spoke up next. “I’m really sorry for being late, Coach. He stayed in our room. Yoongi and I went and got his mattress and we set it up on the floor. We got to talking…”

“And we didn't stop until early this morning,” Tae piped up. “We didn't hear the alarm go off, and it was Yoongi that woke us up for practice. By then we were already 10 minutes late.”

Jin checked his watch. It was 6:20, so that meant they had gotten out of bed, got ready and walked to the pool in 10 minutes. Pretty impressive. And heartbreak was an excuse he would allow, just this once. He knew Bo-gum was Taehyung's first boyfriend, and it must have hit him hard when Bo-gum broke up with him.

“Ok, I'll let it pass this time, since you have a valid excuse,” Jin said and turned to his notebook to adjust what they were going to be doing for practice today. Taehyung wasn't complaining about Jungkook, so this might be the right time to talk to them.

The two boys looked at each other, shocked. Valid excuse? When had the aliens kidnapped their coach and replaced him with the being standing in front of them? They weren't going to ask. They were just happy Coach Jin was not going to send them away.

“I think we need to discuss something,” Jin turned to the two young men. “I want to try something today, and I need you both to just do what I say. Are we ok with that?”

Both men nodded.

“Ok, I want both of you on the 3m platform. This time I want you both to dive at the same time. Just a simple double somersault. Try and leave the platform at the same time and enter the water at the same time. You're both about the same height, so that shouldn't be too hard. And it's a simple dive, so try to also rotate in the air together. I just want to see how it looks.” Jin turned to sit down by the pool.

Jungkook shrugged and headed off to the platform. Taehyung paused for a minute, studying Jin then he followed Jungkook.

The two mounted the platform, staying off to each side, trying to stay as far away from each other as possible, then Taehyung looked over at Jungkook and asked, “You ready? I'll count down and we'll go on three.”

Jungkook nodded and prepared himself as Taehung muttered, “One. Two. Three!” And then the two of them were in the air, rotating perfectly with each other. They both entered the water perfectly vertical, no splash following either one of them. Jin gaped. Even at their best, he and Felix had never been that perfect. He had been right, these two were made for each other. Well, at least for diving purposes, he corrected himself. Now to revise both of their training schedules. He had another set of Olympic champions to train.

Chapter Text

Over the next few days, Jin had the two of them occasionally diving together. Most of the time he had them work on their individual dives, but would ask them to do a dive or two together. Now that they had seemed to have formed a truce, the practices went more smoothly, and both of their diving abilities improved. Jin had been right, they spurred each other to do better than before.

That Friday morning, Namjoon had gotten up early to drive up to visit with Jungkook and to spend the day with Jin. There was a special exhibit at the museum they both wanted to see, and to avoid the crowds, they were both taking the day off to go together. Jin had told him to meet them in the pool, and when he got there, Jin greeted him with a quick kiss on the lips.

“You know what I told you about asking the two of them to dive together?” he whispered to Namjoon. “Well, they're both here practicing, and I want to show you how well it's going.”

“Hey, Taehyung, Jungkook, climb up to the 10m platform and both of you show me a triple somersault with a double twist. Remember, I want to see you both leave the platform, perform the dive exactly together and then hit the water at the exact same time.”

The two trainees nodded and headed towards the steps up to the 10m platform. They weren't quite friends yet, but the late night talk and helping move Taehyung into his own room the next day had caused them to be friendly towards each other. Taehyung had to grudgingly admit that having Jungkook around during practice made it more enjoyable, and watching Jungkook was pretty easy on the eyes. Although, after the heartbreak of Bo-gum, he knew he wasn't ready for more than just looking. Yoongi had been happy to see the two start to get along, and Taehyung would stop over to their room and hang out with the two of them more and more as the days went on.

Once they had reached the top of the platform, Namjoon let out a low whistle.

“Damn, that's high,” he unconsciously moved a little closer to Jin. “Is Jungkook ready for that height? I thought you were going to gradually get him up there.”

Jin loved how caring he was towards his younger brother. “I got him up there when I felt he was ready. And he was actually ready before he even started here. But watch this dive. Watch how they mirror each other perfectly.” Then Jin held his breath and gripped Namjoon's hand tighter.
Taehyung, as usual, took the lead and looked at Jungkook. “Ready? On three.”

They both were on the edge of the platform, arms raised to start their dives as Tae quietly said “One. Two. Three!” and then they were flying in perfect unison as they performed the turns and twists Jin had asked them to do, and again, as they usually did, the two of them entered the water at the exact same time. Jungkook had been a little to anxious to show his 10m platform abilities to his brother, and he entered just a hair off vertical, causing some splash as he entered the water.

Namjoon gaped at the pool as their heads popped up out of the water and then gaped at Jin. “What the fuck was that?” he asked. “That was perfect. They were exact. I've never seen anything like that. What magic have you performed here? I think I need to start calling you Harry Potter.”

Jin just chuckled and leaned into Namjoon. “Well, it wasn't quite perfect, I think Jungkook was a tad excited seeing you here, but it was close.”

Then he told the boys to head out to the locker room to get ready for class. He had adjusted his training schedule and only had one more training session to get in before he and Namjoon could get ready to leave. 

“You saw that didn't you?” Jungkook asked Taehyung as they began to strip down to jump in the shower. “I think Coach has a thing for my brother. Namjoon has never really had a boyfriend, he's been so busy with starting up his business and trying to raise me, that it's nice to see  him find some time for himself.”

“Raising you?” Taehyung paused as they entered the shower. “Where were your parents?”

It was then Jungkook realized that he had never told Tae about his parents. He had told Yoongi not too long after he had moved in, but he had just guessed Yoongi would share it with Taehyung. He should have known better, Yoongi wasn't the type to go around telling everyone's business.

“Oh, um, yeah, I guess I never told you,” he took a deep breath. Even now, years after it happened, it hurt whenever he talked about it. “My parents died in a car crash about 4 years ago. Namjoon was just striking out on his own, but he moved back in with me to make sure I was taken care of. He got his business off the ground and had to deal with me all at the same time. Their deaths hit me pretty hard, and I know it wasn't easy for him. He gave up a lot to make sure I was ok. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't been there for me.” And, dammit, he felt the tears welling up in his eyes. He did not want to break down in front of Tae, but if he kept going, it would be inevitable.

“Your parents are dead?” Tae asked gently. He couldn't imagine life without his parents there, cheering him on and loving him. He was an only child, and he had never thought what would happen if his parents had died while he was growing up. The thought chilled him to the bone.

“Yeah,” Jungkook turned away and started the shower. He quickly put his head under the water so his tears could be masked by the water cascading down his face. He couldn't let anyone see him crying. He had broken down a little when telling Yoongi, but it had been late at night and the lights had been out, so he knew his tears couldn't be seen. But now he was sharing in broad daylight with his training partner, and he wasn't ready to be quite that vulnerable yet.

Tae turned on his shower and stood there, feeling something for Jungkook. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew part of what he felt was sorrow for what Jungkook must have gone through. And maybe part of it was admiration that Jungkook had kept going and made something of himself after he lost his parents. He was a great diver, although not as great as he was, but great nonetheless.

“That's tough,” he finally said as he began to lather up. “I don't know if I could survive losing my parents. I don't have any siblings, actually I don't have any relatives at all, so I don't know what would have happened to me if I lost them. You're lucky you have Namjoon. He's seems really great. And if Coach likes him, that's even better, because if I had an older brother, I'd want them to be just like Jin.”

He glanced over at Jungkook, who was standing still, letting the water cascade over him. He couldn't help it, his eyes traveled down that muscular body and then down just a little more. Damn, he couldn't take his eyes away from Jungkook's cock. It was huge, and probably would tear him up worse than Bo-gum had.. he immediately stopped his thoughts and looked away. What was he thinking? He had decided that he didn't have the time or the energy for another try at a boyfriend. It just caused pain. He was there to dive, win medals (gold preferably) and that was all he was going to do. Just dive. And then he realized Jungkook was talking to him.

“I'm sorry, what was that you said?” He felt bad for having to ask Jungkook to repeat himself.
“I said, it's not been easy, but now that I'm here, Namjoon can start to concentrate on himself. It's nice he's starting to see Coach, that means I get to see him more than I probably would have if he wasn't seeing him. I just wish I could skip classes and go with them to the museum. That exhibit looked pretty fascinating.”

“You want to see it?” Taehyung inquired. He thought he was the only trainee there that was interested in the exhibit. He had already planned on going by himself the next day.

“Yeah,” Jungkook answered, happy the subject had changed. “I might try to go and see it before they close it out. I just hate going by myself. Maybe Ken or Ben might want to go. Or maybe I can talk Yoongi into staying awake long enough to go with me.”

Before he knew what he was saying, Taehyung blurted out, “I was planning on going tomorrow, if you want to come with me, we could go see it together?” Wait, what was he thinking? He turned to stare at the wall in front of him.

Jungkook was surprised. He knew they were getting along better than when he had first arrived, but that almost sounded like Taehyung was asking him on a date. But, even if it was a date, it would mean he could go to the exhibit and not go alone. He looked over at Tae. Before he could stop himself, he let his eyes follow the soft curves of Tae's body, the perfect peach bottom, the long slender legs, the happy trail that led to his… He had to mentally shake himself and answer Tae, not gawk at his well endowed cock.

“I-I-I'd like that,” he stuttered. “What time were you going to go?”

“I was hoping around 10, I'd like to get in some practice and then get ready and go. We can catch a late lunch if you'd want to?” Taehyung couldn't believe his mouth. It was like his mouth took over and he was trying to ask Jungkoook on an actual date.

“Sounds good. I don't know the area enough to know of any place to go eat, but if you have something in mind, I'm up for it.” Keep it cool, Jungkook, don't sound to excited, Tae might get the wrong idea. It was just company to go see the exhibit, right?

“It's a date then,” Tae’s mouth was off on it’s own. A date? What was he thinking? He just wanted company to go to the museum. That was all… wasn't it?

Taehyung, immediately turned off his water and turned around and grabbed a towel. He ran out of the shower as if his hair was on fire.

Jungkook stayed in the shower. Had Tae really said it was a date? Like in, a date? Was he ready for a date? He could be, he decided, but he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. Taehyung probably just meant a date, as in mark it down in your calendar type of date, right? Well, no matter, he was happy he didn't have to go alone, and if Tae really had been planning on going, it meant he was interested in the exhibit too, right?

He heard Taehyung close his locker and leave the room, so he shut off the shower and dried off. He had to admit it to himself, even if it wasn't a date, he was looking forward to spending the day with Taehyung.

Chapter Text

Namjoon stayed and watch Jin coach his next trainee. It was a young boy, just starting out his diving, but even he could see the potential as the youngster did dive after dive under Jin's tutelage. Once Jin had declared the boy finished for the day, he stood up out of the bleachers and approached the Coach.

“He seems pretty good,” he remarked to Jin.

“Yeah, he could be a great one, if he decides to stick with it. He just doesn't have the fire I see in others like Taehyung or Jungkook. He gets distracted easily, and doesn't really want to practice. He'd rather be off playing his video games. I'm going to give him another month or so, then I'm probably going to have to have a serious talk with his parents. I think they're more interested in seeing him dive than he is. I hate it when parents make their kids do something they don't have a real passion for. I admire you for letting Jungkook pursue diving after all the two of you have been through.”

Namjoon smiled at the compliment. “I couldn't see not supporting his diving. It seemed to be the only thing that kept him alive for a while. I was at a loss trying to find how to help him when he shut down after our parents died, but one day he jumped off the diving board at our local pool, and it was the first smile I had seen in months when he climbed out of the water. I knew if it made him happy, I needed to make sure he had the chance to dive all he wanted. I immediately went home and called around to find someone to build a pool he could practice diving into in our back yard. Thankfully, he's never lost that passion. Watching him grow and get better and better also helped me. But I'm so glad he is able to come here and learn even more than what our coaches back home could ever teach him. All I ever wanted was to see him happy.”

“Have you ever thought about having kids?” Jin suddenly wanted to know.

“Oh, sure. Someday. I have to find the right person first, fall in love, get married and then figure out whether to adopt, go through a surrogate or whatever it takes to actually get a kid. I'm happy right now just watching Jungkook grow. But, yeah, I could see a kid or two in my possible future.”

Jin smiled at that. It had been one of the few areas he and Felix had never agreed on. Felix didn't want the hassle of kids and Jin couldn't see life without at least one. It was nice to hear he and Namjoon had another item in common. The more time they spent together, the more he could feel himself falling for Jungkook's older brother.

“Are you ready to head back to my place and get ready for today?” He asked with a huge grin.

“I'm ready to head back. But, I think we can take our time getting ready, after…” Namjoon let his voice taper off with a suggestive grin at Jin.

“Oh, yes, I agree. After. I mean, the museum is open til 8pm tonight, so we have some time to get ready and head over there,” Jin smiled back and took Namjoon's hand and led him to the small house behind the pool.

Jungkook was freaking out. A date? Did he seriously just agree to a date with Taehyung of all people? Ken had mentioned a friend of his in town that he wanted to introduce Jungkook to, but Jungkook had told him flat out he wasn't ready to date yet. He wanted to perfect his diving, win at the national and international levels and then maybe he might consider dating. But he had eagerly agreed to a date with Taehyung tomorrow. He couldn't back out, that would be too cowardly, plus he really did want to see the exhibit. So, he'd just go ahead and treat it as two friends going to the museum, and hopefully he would enjoy himself.

Taehyung couldn't believe what he had said. A date? Did he really say 'it's a date then'? Oh damn. Yes, he had always made a promise to be truthful to himself, so, yes, he kinda did want it to be an actual date. He and Bo-gum hadn't done much together outside the facility, but it was nice when they had gone out. It was much better than going places alone. He knew he was going to have to attend the museum exhibit alone, there was no one else at the facility he knew that would be willing to join him for a day browsing the full exhibit. He thought he might try and convince Yoongi to go with him, but that would mean hurrying through so they could go back and Yoongi could catch a nap. Hopefully, Jungkook would want to take his time. He said he wanted to go, so one could only hope. He was terrified though. What if Jungkook thought it was a date, but expected something physical when they got back? He could not, no, would not, allow himself to get hurt like he had been with Bo-gum. Just thinking about the pain he had gone through caused his ass to clench up. He would never miss training again because of a guy, that was one thing he was sure of. Never again.

When they saw each other in History class, they nodded a greeting and then sat down. Yoongi looked between them and leaned over to Tae.

“What's up between you two? I thought you were starting to get along?” he whispered.

“We're fine. I asked him to go with me to the museum for that exhibit that's going on, and he said yes.” Tae whispered back.

“And that's a problem, why?”

“We'll talk later,” Tae whispered back as the teacher began to address the class.

After class, Taehyung and Yoongi packed up their bags and waited for the classroom to empty out.

“Ok, Tae, spill it. What's wrong with you and Jungkook?” Yoongi demanded.

“I think I asked him out on a date. When he mentioned he wanted to see the exhibit, I said I was planning on going and I asked if he wanted to go with me. And when he said yes, I said ‘it's a date then'. Yoons, what did I do? I mean, I'm not opposed to dating, it's just after The Incident with Bo-gum, I just can't chance getting hurt like that again. And Yoons, he's huge, I mean so much bigger than Bo-gum. If we did start dating, I know he'll eventually want to get physical, and I don't know if I could live through something like that again.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Yoongi tried to hide his smile. “Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself here? You're going to the museum…”

“And out for a late lunch,” Taehyung added.

“And out for lunch, not getting ready to jump into bed with the guy. Look, you two are finally getting along, don't mess it up wondering what might happen. Just have a good time. I know you've been talking about going to this exhibit for ages, and I was dreading you asking me to go with you, but if Jungkook really did say he wanted to see it, go with him and enjoy it. You can go thru the exhibit and then discuss it to death while eating. Don't overthink it.”

“You're right,” Tae admitted. “I do want to see it, and it will be nice to have someone with me that I don't have to drag around. And it's just food, where we can talk about what we saw. Yeah, I'm overthinking this too much. He might not even think it's a real date, so I'll worry about that if I have to. Now, I do need your help with one thing.”

“Whatcha need, bud?” Yoongi grinned at him.

“I need help figuring out what to wear.” Tae grinned back at his best friend.

At the pool that evening, while most of the trainees were out enjoying their Friday night, Yoongi, Tae and Jungkook headed to the pool to put in a little more practice. Yoongi jumped in and began doing the breaststroke down the lanes, and Tae and Jungkook climbed the steps to the 10m platform. They discussed working on the synchronized dive Jin had them try that morning, and both wanted to get it down perfectly. 

Just as they were trying the dive for the fourth time, Jin and Namjoon entered the pool facility. Both of them were wearing swim trunks, Jin having convinced Namjoon to take a dip with him. Jin had a hard time convincing him to actually go to the pool once Namjoon saw him in the bright blue speedo, which did nothing to hide his generous bulge in the front or the perfect ass in the rear. They had had an enjoyable day together and were now going to relax in the pool and maybe spend some time in the adjacent hot tub.

Jin watched as the two trainees did their dive in perfect sync and began to clap as they got out of the pool. 

“That was awesome,” Namjoon said as he offered a hand to help Jungkook up. “Isn't that the same one you were working on this morning? Even I could see an improvement, and I thought it was perfect this morning. You guys look great together.”

“Ok, full marks,” Jin piped in. “I think you'll be ready for the Seoul National Diving Competition next month. I've already sent in the applications for both of you. You'll each compete individually in the the 3 levels, the springboard and the 3m and 10m platform, but I also entered the two of you for synchronized diving in the 10m platform division also.”

“Wait, you put us together? In a competition?” Taehyung couldn't believe what Jin was telling him. If they were going to the Nationals, he needed to concentrate on his individual dives, not on diving with Jungkook.

“Yes, Taehyung, together in one division. You'll be competing against each other in all other areas, but I want to see what you can do in the synchronized diving. And we'll make sure all of your individual dives are perfect too, so don't get upset. Now, it's 10pm, and I want the pool. Yoongi!” he called out to the young man pulling himself out of the pool. “Time to close up shop and head back to the dorms.”

“Got it Coach,” Yoongi grabbed his towel and headed to the locker room.

“But, if you're here, can't I just do a little more practice?” Taehyung begged.

Jin looked to Namjoon, trying to figure out how to tell Taehyung he had other plans for the pool and hot tub that night, but Jungkook came to their rescue.

“Come on Tae,” he said, while grabbing his arm. “I don't think Jin wants any company besides Namjoon tonight. We'll get up early and put in some practice before heading to the museum tomorrow.”

Taehyung looked like he was going to argue, but then it sunk in what Jungkook had said. Jin wanted time with Namjoon. He nodded and turned to the locker room. Jungkook flashed his brother a grin and saw Namjoon mouth “Thank you". He was thrilled to see Coach and his brother spending time together.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Namjoon said out loud. “What time?”

“Well, Taehyung and I are going to go see that exhibit tomorrow then catching a late lunch, so let's plan on 7? We can order a pizza and keep Yoongi awake. You're coming too Coach, right?” Jungkook turned to Jin.

Jin looked at  Namjoon, who smiled encouragingly at him. “Um, I guess so? Are you sure?”

“Of course I'm sure. I don't want to sit around watching Joon check his watch every 10 minutes to see how soon he can get back to your place. If you're there, then I get more time with my big brother. So, we'll see you both at 7.” Jungkook waved as he turned to head to the locker room.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Jin reached over and took Namjoon's hand. “Shall we try out the hot tub?”

“Can we make it any hotter?” Namjoon wondered aloud and he followed Jin to the tub.

Chapter Text

As soon as they got back to the dorms, Taehyung grabbed Yoongi's arm and made him follow him to his  room. Jungkook watched, and for a second, was slightly jealous of the two friends. Oh well, he thought, I need to pick out what I'm going to wear to the museum tomorrow. He looked through his clothes and couldn't decide on the deep black sateen shirt or the bright purple one. He laid them out on the bed to ask Yoongi for his opinion when he came back to the room.

Meanwhile, Taehyung was pulling all his clothes out of his closet and asking Yoongi what he thought of each one. As he laid out the 20th shirt, Yoongi finally sighed and said, “Tae, just pick something. You look great in anything you have. If you want my personal opinion, go with that bright purple shirt that fades into black at the bottom. Jungkook said his favorite color is purple, and yes, Tae, I know purple is still your favorite color, so wear something he will want to look at. And those black skinny jeans will go with that shirt perfectly. It's not too dressy, but not too casual and if he thinks it's a date, you'll look great, and if he doesn't think it's a date, he'll still be proud to be seen with you. Look, man, I gotta go get some sleep. And you need to get to bed too, so you're fresh for tomorrow.”

With that, he picked up the shirt and threw it at Taehyung and headed towards the door.

“Yoons,” Tae hollered and Yoongi turned to him. “Thanks, I really appreciate your help.”

“Just have a good time and be nice to poor Jungkook. He's in a totally new place, so he's probably a bit nervous.” Yoongi opened the door and left.

Jungkook was sitting at his desk, tackling a little assignment for his History class, when Yoongi came in. He jumped up and immediately turned towards him.

“Yoongi, thank goodness,” he said in a rush. “I need your opinion on what I should wear tomorrow. I narrowed it down to these two tops. I don't have much of a choice, I didn't tell Namjoon to bring too many of my dressier clothes, so this is about it. I have the black skinny jeans, and they go with everything, but I don't know which one to wear.”

Yoongi looked at the two shirts on the bed.

“Hmmm,” he said. “I'm thinking with your hair and skin tone, that black sateen shirt would be perfect.” Since he had an idea of the shirt Taehyung was wearing, he knew the black would compliment what Tae was wearing. The purple one Jungkook had laid out wasn't the right shade to go with Tae's shirt. “It's dressy, but not too dressy. And if it's a date, then you will look great. And if it's not a date, you'll still feel good.”

“Thanks Yoongi,” Jungkook said as he set the black shirt and jeans on his chair for the next day. He then went and prepared for bed.

The next morning, Jungkook was up at the crack of dawn, ready to head to the pool with Taehyung and get some more diving in. The light tap sounded at the door, and he opened it quickly as to not wake Yoongi.

“Hey,” Taehyung said with a smile.

“Hey back,” Jungkook grinned at him.

“I’m thinking two hours at the pool, then we can come back here and get ready for the museum. It doesn't open til 10 anyway, so we won't be rushed. I went ahead and got us reservations at this place Jin raves about, it's called The Hamburger Joint. The owner said he doesn't really take reservations, but he would make sure there was a table for us around 3pm, if that's ok with you. I've never been, so I thought we could experience it for the first time together.”

“Sounds great,” Jungkook said as he opened the door to the locker room. “Namjoon said it was really delicious.”

The two of them got ready and spent the next hour and a half diving over and over again, sometimes doing their individual dives, sometimes going off the platforms together in a synchronized dive. After wearing himself out, Jungkook told Taehyung to keep going, he'd still be his pool buddy, but he was going to watch from the hot tub.

He leaned back and let the jets push his muscles to relaxation. He was nervous about today, he really did hope Tae saw this as an actual date, but even if he didn't, he'd still get to see the exhibit. He watched Taehyung dive for a while longer, then scooted over when Tae came to join him in the hot tub. 

Tae sat way too close to Jungkook, their thighs touching, and he could feel himself get hard. Stop it, he told himself, I can't be supporting a boner when I stand up to get of this tub, Jungkook will surely notice.

Jungkook felt the heat of Tae's thigh resting against his. Damn, he thought, I'm gonna have a boner when I stand up. I gotta think of something besides Taehyung. He began to concentrate on what he hoped to see at the exhibit.

After they each convinced themself to calm down, they finally got out the tub and headed to the locker room. Instead of showering and changing, they just dried off and wrapped towels around themselves and walked back to the dorms. They made plans to meet up at Jungkook's room in an hour and head out to the museum.

Jungkook took a quick shower then dressed in the skinny jeans and black shirt. He looked in the mirror and decided he could handle just a little bit of makeup. Just enough to enhance the features God had given him. He stood back and decided that was enough. He was ready. He sat down and picked up his tablet to read some of his book until it was time to go.

Taehyung was a basket case. He had showered and gotten dressed, but he could not get the makeup he applied to measure up to his standards. He washed it off twice and reapplied, and still wasn't totally happy with the results, but the third time is a charm, and he was running out of time. One last look in the mirror, running his fingers through his hair, he tried on a smile and realized that was what had been missing. Taking a deep breath, he went and knocked on Jungkook's door.

“Hi,” Junkook said quietly. He was amazed at how gorgeous Taehyung was. He could feel some of his blood rush to his groin and he had to tamp it down before it became too noticeable.

“Hello,” Tae replied and smiled. He could see the slight shift Jungkook had done to hide that growing bulge in his pants. He took in the young man standing there in the doorway. Shit, he thought, Jungkook is gorgeous as fuck. Suddenly he could feel himself get aroused. Stop, he thought, I can't have a raging boner before we even begin the date. Yes, he finally admitted to himself, I'm seeing this as a date, I hope he is too.

Jungkook had ordered a car and they went out and both got in the back seat. They were both suddenly shy and didn't talk much until they got to the museum. Tae bought them both headsets to take the self-guided tour and they set out.

The first thing they saw was artifacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb. The exhibit was all about ancient Egypt and they knew they would get to see Tutankhamun’s mummy at the end. Both were interested in the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt and they both went slowly through the displays, pausing to listen to the narrator give the background of each item. They would also pause to discuss some items between themselves as they went along.

At the golden mask of King Tut, Jungkook moved closer to Taehyung. Their arms were touching and their hands were just a few centimeters apart. Tae got so flustered, he tripped and almost fell, but Jungkook's hand shot out and grabbed his hand to help him get his balance back. Once he got himself steadied, Tae realized Jungkook was still holding his hand. He didn't let go even when they approached the next section of the exhibit, so Taehyung grew bold and twisted his hand to interlace his fingers with Jungkook. He saw the small smile on Jungkook's face and his heart soared. It WAS a date. Jungkook wouldn't be holding his hand if it wasn't. For the rest of the exhibit, the two kept holding hands, staying close to each other.

After going slowly through the exhibit, still holding hands, they went to the small souvenir shop and Taehyung walked over to the miniature Tutankhamun artifacts. He picked up a tiny King Tut mask and walked over and paid for it. Turning to Jungkook, he held out the bag.

“I wanted to get you something to remember this day by, especially the mask exhibit, cause, well, you know. I have really enjoyed today Jungkook. I thought I'd have to see this alone, or drag Yoongi with me, but it was nice going with someone who likes to take their time and study everything.” He suddenly felt shy.

Jungkook reached out and took Tae's hand again. “I'm glad you asked me,” he said softly. “I’ve enjoyed this so much more than I would have if I had gotten up the nerve to come alone. Thanks for the mask, it's a perfect reminder of today.”

Tae looked up and smiled. “Are you ready to head to The Hamburger Joint? I'm starting to get hungry.” And, as if it was trying to confirm what he was saying, his stomach gave a loud growl.

The two of them laughed and headed out to meet the car Jungkook had ordered.

When they got to the restaurant, the owner greeted Taehyung, noting that he had served his Coach just the week before with a handsome young gentleman accompanying him.

“That was my brother,” Jungkook spoke up. “He and Jin are dating. Namjoon said you had really good burgers here.”

“Well, thank you. Now, let me take you two young men to the same table I had set up for them last week. It's quiet and out of the way, so you can talk freely.” The owner winked at them.

“Thank you,” Taehyung said as he sat down. “This is perfect.”

They discussed what they wanted to order then sent the waitress off with their requests. Tae reached for Jungkook's hand and slowly began to stroke his thumb over Jungkook's. Looking down, he got up the nerve to speak.

“I really wasn't sure if this was a date or not,” he swallowed. “But I'd like to think of it that way. I really had a good time, and I wouldn't mind spending some extra time with you. I just want you to know, after what happened with Bo-gum, I need to take the physical part of it slow. I hope you're ok with that.” He looked up and saw Jungkook's brown eyes gazing at him.

“I never thought I was ready to date. I've always had my diving, and after Mom and Dad died, I just didn't have the energy for much more than that. I did go out with my two best friends, but they've started dating, so I was starting to feel like a third wheel. I'm ok with going slow, I don't want to go fast at all. As long as you're ok with this.” And he held up their interlocking hands and raised an eyebrow at Taehyung.

Taehyung grinned and pecked Jungkook's knuckles and then they had to let go of each other to enjoy the best hamburgers either had ever tasted.

Chapter Text

When they got back to the dorms, Taehyung walked Jungkook to his door. Still holding hands, he stopped Jungkook from going inside.

“Jungkook,” he began, shyly looking down at their interlaced fingers. “Can I, I mean, can we, um… I mean, would it be ok if I, um… kissed you?”

Jungkook didn't answer. He took one step towards Taehyung and lifted his chin up and then pressed his lips gently to Tae's. Tae's eyes got wide, then he shut them to enjoy the sensations the kiss brought him. Hadn't he said he wanted to take it slow? Was this too fast? But, he had wanted to see what kissing Jungkook would be like. Just kissing. Kissing never hurt anyone, right?

After a second, Jungkook lifted his head and took a step back.

“Jin and Namjoon are coming over tonight and we're going to eat some pizza and watch something stupid on the tv. Would you like to, um, join us? Yoongi will be there too, and it should be a fun time.”

“I don't want to intrude,” Taehyung began.

“You wouldn't be,” Jungkook quickly assured him. “If anything, it will give me company. You know Yoongi will fall asleep early, and then it would just be me and Coach and Namjoon, and I think I'll feel like a third wheel, so you can be, um, my date?” He phrased the last part as a question, hoping to continue the good feelings that had begun while they had been at the museum exhibit.

“You're sure?” Tae asked shyly. “I'd love to join you, if you're sure I wouldn't be an intrusion.”

“I'm sure,” Jungkook said quickly. “Please, be my date tonight. We're meeting at 7, and I think we'll head into the common area, there's more room there, and the tv is bigger.” He grinned.

“Ok, I'll see you at 7 then.” And with that, Taehyung gave Jungkook a peck on the lips and he headed to his room. He would freshen up, get a little bit of homework done, and then see Jungkook at 7.

The five of them were just getting settled down with their pizzas and a rom-com queued up and ready to play, when Jungkook's phone went off. He looked and saw it was Jimin calling.

“Hello?” he answered.

“JK!” Jimin's excited voice rang through the phone. “JK! We're here! Have someone open this damn gate, we want to see you! Wait ‘til you see my new car, we just picked it up this morning, and we had to take a road trip and come see our best friend!”

“You're what? Here?” Everyone turned to look at Jungkook when he said that.

“I bet Jimin got his car and they're here,” Namjoon whispered to Jin. “Is there someone who can open the gate for them?”

Jin got out his phone, tapped into the app that controlled the front gate and looked at the video. There was a cute round face, waving frantically at the camera, phone up to his ear. He pointed the phone towards Namjoon and asked if the person on the video is who he thought it was.

“Yeah, that's Jimin and his boyfriend Hoseok right beside him. They're Jungkook's best friends from back home. Jimin has been threatening to come visit once he got a car, and it looks like his parents got him a nice little BMW convertible.”

“Ok, I'll let them in,” Jin tapped the button to talk to the car and said, “Come down the drive. The dorms are to your right when you begin to see the buildings. I'll send Jungkook out to greet you.” Then he tapped the button to open the gate.

Jungkook hung up and reached for Taehyung's hand. “Come on, let me introduce you to my two best friends.”

As soon as Tae stood up and took his hand, the two of them went straight out the front door. Jungkook waved excitedly at the little purple BMW convertible when it came into view. The car screeched to a stop and a short man jumped out and ran to Jungkook, wrapping his arms around his neck and squeezing him tight. Jungkook had to release Tae's hand to keep Jimin from toppling him over.

“JK!” he exclaimed. “JK! It's so good to see you. How are you doing? Is the pool still awesome? Have you put that horrible training partner of yours in his place and showed him you’re the better diver?”

Jungkook peeled Jimin off of him and reached to accept a hug from Hoseok, saying at the same time, “Um, Jimin, this is Taehyung,” he motioned to the man standing off to the side. “My horrible training partner, who, I have to admit, is a little better than I am at diving. But only a little.” He grinned at Taehyung, who stood still, eyes wide in shock with the exuberant Jimin who was jumping up and down in excitement.

Jimin stopped and slowly turned to Taehyung, suddenly realizing what he had said.

“Oh damn, I'm sorry, I mean, last I talked to Jungkook, you were his biggest competition here, and he, um, well, he wasn't your biggest fan.” Jimin could feel himself get more embarrassed by the second. “Um, hi?” 

Hoseok chuckled at his boyfriend.

“Ignore him,” he said to Taehyung. “His mouth tends to outrun his brain a lot. I'm Jung Hoseok, one of Jungkook's best friends.” He stuck out his hand, and Taehyung took it for a short shake.

“Kim Taehyung,” he said. “And I am definitely the best diver here. But, Jungkook is a close second.” He then turned to Jimin. “Hi.” And stuck out his hand to shake Jimin's. He wasn't sure how he should act around these two. It was apparent Jungkook had discussed their tumultuous beginnings to them, and must have said some pretty bad things, but maybe that was before they had formed a truce? Jungkook seemed to read his mind.

“Tae, I haven't talked with Jimin since the weekend before you moved to a different dorm room. I haven’t gotten a chance to tell him we're, um, well, we're friends now.” He turned to Jimin. “We’re friends now. I mean, I still plan on beating him at the competition coming up, but outside of the pool, we're actually becoming friends.” He wasn't going to admit they were just a bit more than friends, if that kiss that afternoon had meant anything. It was still too new.

“Well,” Jimin tried to gloss over his embarrassment. “I'm glad JK is making friends. Of course, no one will be his best friends like me and Hoseok, but he needs more friends.” Turning back to Jungkook he said, “JK, show us around. I want to see where my bestie is living. It has to measure up to my expectations you know.”

Jungkook smiled and then reached for Tae's hand. He took it and didn't notice the looks his best friends gave each other at seeing him hold someone's hand. The four of them went into the dorms and Jungkook led them to the common area, where Namjoon, Jin and Yoongi were already eating the pizzas and guzzling the sodas. Yoongi looked up and almost dropped his Sprite when he saw the two young ment following Jungkook and Taehyung. He had seen them a couple of times on video calls with Jungkook, but they were both much better looking in real life.

“Joonie,” Jimin squealed and ran over to give him a huge hug. “I didn't know you'd be here.”

“I came to see that Tutankhamen exhibit at the Seoul Museum with Jin,” he said as he pried Jimin off of him and reached out to shake Hoseok's hand.

“Jimin, Hoseok, this is Jin, Jungkook's coach. Jin, this is Jimin and Hoseok, Jungkook’s best friends from home.”

Jin smiled and approached the two, hand outstretched for handshakes.

Jimin stood back. He hadn't missed the mention of Namjoon going with Jin to the Museum. He looked over at Jungkook, who smiled and nodded his head, as if he understood Jimin's unspoken question.

Then Jimin noticed the gorgeous young man still sitting on the long couch. He walked over and looked to Jungkook for introductions.

“Oh, yeah, Jimin, Hoseok, this is my roommate, Yoongi. Yoongi, you've met these two on video calls, but now you get to endure them in person. Watch out, especially that one,” he pointed at Jimin. “He'll drive you nuts after just a few minutes.”

Jimin punched Jungkook in the shoulder and then promptly sat down beside Yoongi, then patted his other side to get Hoseok to sit next to him. The two of them reached out and helped themselves to a couple slices of pizze and settled down to chat and watch the movie.

Jungkook settled down next to Hoseok and grabbed an overstuffed pillow and placed it on the ground between his feet, then pulled Taehyung down to sit between his knees. Taehyung was a little shy about sitting like that with Coach in the same room, but no one seemed to be bothered at all about how close the two of them were getting. In fact, Jimin beamed every time he looked their way.

The evening progressed with everyone laughing at the movie, and chatting over the sound track while getting to know each other. As it was nearing midnight, Jin stood up and reached for Namjoon.

“I think it's time we head out,” he said, looking at the group of young men, still all excitedly chatting and eating more pizza. “Jimin, Hoseok, there's a spare dorm room, number 180, if you would like to spend the night here. There are two beds and bedding in the closet, so make yourselves at home. And join us in the cafeteria for breakfast if you wish also. We always welcome visitors on the weekends, so have a good time.”

And with that, he led Namjoon out the building and they headed towards Jin's house. There wouldn't be much sleeping tonight for those two.

A couple of hours later, Jungkook yawned and stretched. “I think I need to get to bed. You guys need me to show you to the dorm room?”

“I'll get them where they need to go,” Yoongi volunteered. “You look beat. Taehyung, can you get Jungkook to our room before he passes out?”

It was then Jungkook realized that Yoongi had stayed up. He had expected his roommate to tap out just a couple of hours after they had started the movie, but he seemed to be more awake than he or Taehyung were. He saw Jimin smile widely at his roommate and Hoseok beaming at the both of them. Interesting, he thought.

Chapter Text

Jungkook woke up early the next morning, stretching and glancing over at Yoongi's bed. Then he did a double take. It looked like Yoongi hadn't come back to the room at all. He quickly got up and headed to Room 180 to wake up his best friends, and then he was going to go and find his roommate.

He found out exactly where his roommate was just a few minutes later, because it was Yoongi who answered the door when Jungkook knocked on it.

“Yoongi?” he inquired and looked past him to see Jimin and Hoseok getting dressed. “Guys, it's time to head down for breakfast, then I’ll show you the pool. If you brought your swim trunks, you can get in and then use the hot tub if you want.”

Jimin scoffed. “We were coming to a pool facility, do you think we wouldn't bring our swim suits? I made Hoseok buy a new pair, his old ones weren't even fit for wearing in his own pool. Yoongi, you need to go get dressed, we'll meet you at your room in a couple of minutes?”

Yoongi smiled, waved and headed down to his room. As soon as he left, Jimin ran and closed the door behind Jungkook.

“Spill it,” he got right into Jungkook's face. “What's the deal with you and Taehyung? He was awfully cozy with you last night. I'm glad you're friends now…”

“We're a bit more than friends,” Jungkook stopped Jimin's questions. “I guess you can say we're kinda, um, dating? The trip to the museum and lunch yesterday was an actual date, and well, we, um… kissed when we got back to the dorms.”

Jimin squealed. Literally squealed and gave Jungkook a huge hug. Hoseok stood by and let his boyfriend show their pleasure at the news.

“Yoongi said you two might be hooking up,” Hoseok chimed in with his huge sunny smile. “He said you were probably the best thing that has ever happened to Tae, besides getting accepted to this facility. He mentioned that Taehyung had a boyfriend, but they broke up over something. He said it wasn't his story to tell, but it sounded like it was pretty bad. As long as you two can keep the competition just at the pool, I'm really happy for you JK.”

“And why was Yoongi here last night?” Jungkook had to change the subject. Thinking about that kiss set his heart racing and his blood heading south. “I can't believe he wasn't in his bed this morning, that guy worships sleep. He had his parents buy him an expensive mattress to have here, he couldn’t stand the beds that are supplied for us.”

Jimin shared a look with Hoseok. “Well, we actually never went to sleep. After the last movie finished, Yoongi brought us here and helped us make the beds, then we all got to talking. We just sat in a circle on the pillows and talked until you knocked on the door. Why didn't you tell us how great your roommate was?”

“I, um, well, ok, Jimin, my roommate is great,” Jungkook smiled. “He's actually Tae's best friend. He isn't competition for either of us, he's a swimmer.”

“Yeah, yeah, we got all that last night,” Hoseok said. “But he's so much more than that. He's really intelligent, and has a dry sense of humor that kept us in stitches all night.”

Again, that look between Jimin and Hoseok. Jungkook decided not to dwell on it. He was just happy to have his friends here.

“Grab your suits and let's go get Yoongi. I want to stop at Taehyung's room also and make sure he's coming for practice after breakfast. I'm sure he is, he's at the pool almost every minute it's open, but I still want to see if he wants to join us for breakfast.”

Jimin smiled brightly. “Of course we can stop and get your boyfriend,” he teased.

“He's not my boyfriend. We've only been on one date…”

“I thought last night was your second date,” Hoseok laughed. “At least that's what Yoongi said. He said Tae asked you to the museum and lunch, then you invited him to pizza and movies. So, two.”

“Well, that still doesn't make him my boyfriend. We're just casually dating,” Jungkook mumbled as he led the two down the hall to his room.

After picking up Taehyung, the five of them had fun chatting and joking while eating breakfast. Namjoon and Jin stopped at their table on the way to the teachers' area and talked a bit with them.

When Jungkook took his best friends to the pool, they were amazed at the size and set up.

“Wow, this is the biggest pool I've ever seen,” Jimin stood with his mouth open. “And you're diving off that high one up there?” He motioned to the 10m platform.

“Yep,” Taehyung spoke up. “And he's pretty good too. I'm still better, but when we do a synchronized dive, he keeps up with me pretty good.”

“You two do synchronized diving?” Hoseok asked with wide eyes. “Is it hard?”

“Watch us,” Jungkook took Taehyung's hand and started for the steps to the 10m platform. “You guys can get in at the other end of the pool, no one will be doing laps or diving into that area, so you'll be safe.”

Tae and Jungkook climbed the steps while Jimin and Hoseok got in at the other end of the pool. Yoongi had jumped in to the lanes and was lazily doing the breaststroke down and back. As soon as they were settled, they turned to see Jungkook and Taehyung standing at the edge of the platform, then they lifted their hands exactly together, they saw Taehyung's lips move and then they watched as the two of them lifted off the platform, perform somersaults and twist in perfect unison, then they entered the water at the exact same time with almost no splash following either of them.

Jungkook and Taehyung swam down to where Hoseok and Jimin were and then they stood up in unison.

“Damn,” Jimin exclaimed. “You even stood up at the exact same time. It was like watching one of you dive with a mirror right next to them. Did you say Jin has entered you in the Seoul National competition next month? Will you be doing that dive there?”

“We'll be doing synchronized diving off both platforms and the spring board. Then we both entered in the three as individual divers.” Jungkook said.

“And I’ll be bringing the gold back with me, and Jungkook will be swimming in silver, I'm sure.” Tae smiled over at Jungkook.

“We'll see,” Jungkook grinned at him. “I might bring one or two of those gold ones home myself.”

“Of course, in the synchronized diving divisions. I'll be diving with you,” Taehyung didn't smile back. “But for the individual competition, I think you need to be happy with the silver.”

Jimin and Hoseok watched the two bicker back and forth. It was like a tennis match, Jimin thought. Jungkook was right, Taehyung is really full of himself.

“I'm going to call tomorrow and get tickets to the competition. It will be great to see you two dive.” Hoseok looked to Jimin, who nodded in agreement.

Jungkook and Taehyung stopped at this announcement. Now the competition was really on, both of them thought. Taehyung was going to have his parents there, and Namjoon was planning on joining Jin to watch them, but Jungkook forgot how much Jimin and Hoseok enjoyed the competitions he had participated in back home.

“Will you be staying for the swimming competition?” Yoongi had swam over to join the group. “I'll be watching the diving, then there's a break and I'll be participating in the swimming divisions. Coach is taking me and Bo-gum along with Jungkook and Taehyung. Don't worry Tae,” he turned to his best friend. “I'll outswim Bo in everything we're in together. He's not all that great.”

Tae had grown quiet at the mention of Bo-gum's name. He had been fairly lucky to not have seen him much at the facility since they broke up, but this would mean a ride with his ex in the van. Suddenly, he wasn't sure he even wanted to go.

Jungkook could almost read his mind. He knew something had happened between Tae and Bo, but he still didn't know what. But it had to have been pretty bad if just the mention of Bo-gum's name caused Taehyung to shut down.

“Hey,” he reached and took Taehyung's hand. “We'll sit together and ignore Bo-gum. He's an asshat anyway, we don't need to have anything to do with him. And Yoongi can sit on your other side. The asshat can sit by himself.”

Tae gave Jungkook a grateful smile. “That sounds good. I just don't want to be in such a small space with him at all.”

After a day of watching Jungkook and Tae dive, spending time with Yoongi in the hot tub, then taking a trip to the North Mall to enjoy the Chinese food Yoongi had raved about, Jimin finally said he and Hoseok had to head back. Both of them had homework to finish up for school the following day.
Jimin gave Taehyung a hug, Hoseok shook his hand, then both of them surrounded Jungkook and hugged him tight. Jimin had tears in his eyes as he finally pulled away. Then, to Jungkook's total surprise, Jimin ran to Yoongi and not only gave him a huge hug, but kissed him. Actually kissed him. On the lips. With tongue. And Yoongi responded by wrapping his arms around Jimin and holding him close. Then, when Hoseok approached him, he let go of Jimin and pulled Hoseok in for a kiss. On the lips. And again, with tongue. Then Jimin and Hoseok got in the little BMW convertible and leaned into each other and they kissed. On the lips. Also, with tongue.

As soon as they had driven away, Jungkook still stood there with his mouth hanging open. Taehyung reached over and used his finger to close his mouth, then turned to his best friend.

“Well, that was um, interesting,” he said. “Actually, Yoons, what was that?”

Yoongi smiled at the two of them. “I like them, they like me, we're thinking of trying a triple. No biggie.”

And with that, he turned and went back into the dorms.

“Guess our best friends are seeing each other,” Jungkook said to Taehyung as he took his hand and they went in the building together.

“Seems that way,” Taehyung still looked confused. “Life might get interesting.”

“That's for sure,” Jungkook looked around. There was no one there, so he leaned in and gave Taehyung a kiss. Taehyung took a step to get closer and responded enthusiastically to the kiss. On the lips. Yep, with tongue.

Chapter Text

Over the next couple of weeks, life was good for Taehyung. He was getting his dives to almost perfect perfection, including the ones he was practicing with Jungkook. The two of them spent every waking moment they could together, laughing, holding hands, kissing. They even tried kissing underwater one day when Tae swam a bit too close to Jungkook when they had just entered the water. It was a quick kiss, cause the both realized that breathing was a bit more important.

Finally, it was time for the Seoul National event. Jungkook was so excited, he grabbed his backpack and rapped on Tae's door at 5:30, causing Taehyung to growl at him when he answered his door. Jungkook just laughed and pushed him towards his closet to make sure he got dressed and ready on time. They sat for a few minutes, holding hands and kissing before the alarm told them it was time to go.

Yoongi slept as late as he could and, because he had worn his clothes to bed, just jumped up and grabbed his backpack. He was excited because he was going to sit with Jimin and Hoseok during the diving competitions, and he wondered how the day would progress. He had really fallen hard for those two, and the three of them face timed almost every night.

Jin and Namjoon were waiting outside the dorm at 6am with the school van. As soon as Yoongi, Taehyung and Jungkook showed up, Jin got them settled. The three of them insisted on sitting in the middle row, throwing their backpacks in the very back row, claiming Bo-gum could sit with those, that he wasn't welcome with any of them. Jin had known there might be some issues with Taehyung riding with his ex-boyfriend, so he just shrugged and let it go.

Then they waited. And waited. Finally, at 6:30, Jin got out and slammed the door and coded himself into the dorm.

“He's mad,” Taehyung remarked as Jin jerked the door open to the dorms and marched inside.

“Well,” Namjoon replied while watching Jin's behind disappear behind the door. “He wanted to get on the road by 6:15, so his schedule's already messed up.”

Meanwhile, Jin approached Bo-gum's door and just as he was ready to knock, he heard an audible moan.

“Gummy, don’t stop, please, it feels so good,” The voice of one of the trainees could be heard, along with some deep throated moans. Jin had heard enough. He banged heavily on the door.

“Bo-gum!” he yelled. “Get your ass out here now or we're leaving without you, and I'll be charging you for the entrance fees I've already sent in for your division.”

He could hear scrambling in the room, then Bo-gum opened the door just wide enough to stick his head out.

“Sorry Coach,” he said. “I lost track of the time.”

“I'm sure you did,” Jin replied, anger still in his tone. “And you do know you lost track of time with a minor? I could have you kicked out for that. Get your stuff, tell Wayne good bye and let's go.”

Yes, Jin had recognized that voice. It belonged to Wayne, one of the Junior divers. He was only 15 years old, way too young for what Jin suspected had happened. He marched down the hall and shot a final warning over his shoulder.

“You have 5 minutes to get out to the van or we're leaving you behind. Understand?”

“Yes, Coach, I'm coming.”

“I'm sure you were,” Jin mumbled as he stepped out into the cool morning air.

It was almost 4 ½ minutes before Bo-gum got to the van. He looked at the back row, which Namjoon had pointed out to him when he had gotten out to open the door for Bo-gum.

“Seriously?” Bo-gum whined. “I get car sick, you all know that.”

“Too bad,” Jin glared at him. “But, if you had been here on time, you could have picked to sit someplace differently, but since you're late, you take what's given you and be glad. You're already skating on thin ice, so I would think twice before answering me, or I'll go and call your father.”
“Yes Coach,” Bo-gum said as he quickly jumped into the back seat.

Once they got there, Jin took Namjoon, Jungkook and Taehyung to the locker rooms to get them ready. Yoongi saw Jimin bouncing up and down excitedly waving at him to join them, so he wished the two divers good luck and headed out to his seat Hoseok had gotten him.
Bo-gum hollered after him, “Yoongi! Did you get me a seat?”

Yoongi turned and took half a step towards Bo-gum. The look on his face caused Bo-gum to take a step back and say, “Never mind, I'll go to the swimmers’ room, I don't really want to watch that asshole Taehyung dive. I had to do that enough when we were dating.”

Yoongi saw red. This total fuck-up had just called his best friend an asshole. He clenched his fists and willed himself to calm down before he did anything he'd regret. Two seconds later, Bo-gum watched as the short guy who had been waving so enthusiastically to Yoongi suddenly appeared behind Yoongi, and then his boyfriend came up right behind him.

“Not worth it,” Hoseok said as Jimin grabbed Yooni's arm. “He's not worth your time or energy. Come on, let's get settled and I'll go buy us something to drink. Sound good?”

Yoongi glared at Bo-gum for a second longer then abruptly turned around and smiled at Jimin and Hoseok. “You're right, he isn't worth a second more of my time. I'll just beat his ass in the freestyle event.”

Jimin grabbed his hand, then took Hoseok’s and the three of them got settled down in their seats.

Meanwhile, Jin was discussing the upcoming dives with the two young men. Namjoon stood by and marveled at how commanding his boyfriend was. He knew his stuff. 

The individual spring board event was first. Jungkook was to go second in the field of 16 divers. Taehyung got the final position. That pleased him, because he could see how Jungkook was doing and make sure he beat him. None of the other participants were competition to him, he had already beaten most of them in other events, so he only saw Jungkook as his opponent.

Jungkook's dive was near perfect, but it wasn't a too high difficulty, so he walked away with 74.63 points. When it was Taehyung's turn, he performed the same dive, and barely beat Jungkook's score at 74.77 points. Each person had 6 dives to perform, and by the final dive rotation, Taehyung had a lead of 0.22 over Jungkook. Jin pulled Jungkook aside before he mounted the springboard.

“Think you can do the dive we've talked about? I know you've only done it a few times, but it's the highest difficulty, and you'll have to perform it perfectly if you have a chance of beating Taehyung. He's doing that same dive, so it's execution we need to see from you.”

“I can do it,” Jungkook said with confidence and then took the steps to the springboard. He bounced, got great height and performed a reverse 1 ½ somersault with 4 ½ twists and entered the water with almost no splash. The judges awarded him 95.62, the highest score ever given in the Seoul National Diving Competitions. 

Namjoon ran to Jin and lifted him up in the air and spun him around. He knew what his brother had just done, and he kissed Jin long and hard. Finally, Jin had to push him off. He turned around and saw Jungkook standing there with a huge grin on his face. Taehyung stood just behind him with a scowl on his face. Jin was thankful Jungkook had his back to Tae, cause he didn't need to see his… what? Partner? Boyfriend? Jin wasn't sure what to call them, but he did know they needed to learn that the competition wasn't the end all of everything. 

“That was great,” Namjoon was exuberant as he grabbed his brother in for a huge bear hug.

Taehyung didn't say anything. That dive had be near to perfect, and it was the highest difficulty that could be performed. He had to forget Jungkook's dive and his score. He had to beat Jungkook, he was the best diver out there and he couldn't let Jungkook beat him. His mind circled round and round as he paced in the waiting area. Jin noticed and walked over to him.

“You ok?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Tae kept pacing. “I'm just trying to concentrate on my dive coming up. I can't let Jungkook beat me.”

“You do know silver is ok, right? Second is nothing to sneeze at. The 16 best divers in the Nation are here, so second in the nation is nothing to be ashamed of.” Jin went to pat Tae's shoulder, but he stepped away.

“No!” Taehyung exclaimed. “I'm  the best diver. Period. I've never come in second, ever.” And with that, he turned around and walked away from his coach.

When it was his turn to dive, he got on the springboard and performed the dive. As he came out of the water, Jungkook was there with a huge smile on his face.

“That was great Taehyung!” he waited for Tae to get out of the pool to give him a quick hug. Tae pushed him away.

“It was, but yours was perfect. I can't come in second.” He put up a hand to tell Jungkook not to follow him as he went to stand by Jin to await his score.

Chapter Text

After the medal ceremony, Tae ripped off his silver medal and threw it in his bag and went to sit in the jet tub to try and loosen his muscles. He was so tense. The first competition, and Jungkook had won the gold. Damn him, he thought. I should have never asked him to the museum with me. How do I handle second place to his first place? Damn him! Second place means first loser. He wasn't used to this feeling, he was always the winner. Now he was first loser. Damn him!

Meanwhile, Jungkook took his gold medal off, walked over to his brother and handed it out to Namjoon. “You deserve this for all you've done for me,” he said as he placed it in Namjoon's hand. “This is your medal as much as it is mine.”

Namjoon was dumbfounded. He couldn't think of anything to say. He just reached out and gave Jungkook a huge bear hug.

Blinking quickly, to hide the tears that threatened to spill over he said, “You probably should go talk to Taehyung. I don't think he's happy with coming in second, I saw him toss his medal into his duffel.”

He squeezed Jungkook's shoulder and then turned to point him to the jet tub, where Taehyung was sulking big time.

“You should have won,” Jungkook said as soon as he stepped in to join Taehyung. “It was just pure luck my final dive was scored higher than yours. Look, you'll win the podium events, I'm sure. Please don't be mad at me, I hate it when you shut me out like this.”

Tae, without a word, stood up, got out of the tub and walked away, drying his hair with his towel. Jungkook watched him as he left, hurt blooming in his heart.

And he had been right. Taehyung won the gold in both the 3m and 10m platform competition, but it didn't warm Taehyung up to him at all. Jungkook tried to approach him several times and mend whatever it was that had crawled up his ass, but Taehyung would just excuse himself and walk away.

During the swimming events, Taehyung went and sat with his parents, his mother giving him a huge hug. Jungkook took Yoongi's place with Jimin and Hoseok and they watched as Yoongi won every event he was in. Bo-gum came in second in one event, and third in the second event, and didn't even place for the final event.

Then it was time for the synchronized diving. Tae couldn't even look at Jungkook as Jin gathered them together to discuss their strategy. 

“Look, can we just scratch ourselves from the ticket?” Taehyung finally spoke up. “I'm not feeling all that well and I don’t think I'll dive well enough to carry us to a win. Please?” he pleaded with Jin, who just stood and shook his head.

“You two are perfect for the synchronized diving. You have nailed it every time in the practices, that's what I want to see today. Taehyung, put your feelings aside and win this.”

“I can't just put my feelings aside. He beat me, how do you think that makes me feel? I was the first loser, that's what I was. How can I stand on the platform next to him and forget that he stole my gold?”

“Stole your gold?” Jungkook was getting fed up with Taehyung's attitude. “I won that gold, fair and square. Fuck you, you should be happy for me, I cheered you on when you won both golds on the platforms, didn't I? Why do you have to be such and asshole? Well, I can show you, I'll get up there with you and I won't let feelings get in the way of another gold medal. Jin's right, Taehyung, we are perfectly synched when we dive together. Get over yourself and get ready to dive.”

With that tirade, Jungkook turned and headed to the 3m platform. Tae looked at Jin and sighed.

“I don’t know if I can do it,” he said truthfully. “It really hurt me when Jungkook beat me. I've never lost. Never.”

Jin patted Taehyung on the back and turned him towards the platform. “Taehyung, it's time to get over it and concentrate on the perfect dive with Jungkook. Just concentrate on that, don't think of Jungkook as your boyfriend, just your diving partner, ok?”

Taehyung started. Boyfriend? When did that happen? They had never put a label on what they were. 

“Taehyung,” Jin brought him back to the present. “They're calling your name, you need to get over there with Jungkook. Go.”

Taehyung walked like he was in a trance over to where Jungkook was standing. He was no longer thinking about the silver, he was studying Jungkook's face out of the corner of his eye and kept thinking, Boyfriend?

As they were called to step out on the platform, Taehyung grabbed Jungkook's hand to stop him and simply said, “I'm sorry.” Then he stepped up to the platform.

Jungkook paused only for a second, then followed him. What had Jin said to him to get this kind of response? he wondered. Whatever it was, it worked. Now, let's go get this gold medal.

After the final ceremony for the synchronized diving, Taehyung gently put the three gold medals in a velvet lined container and added them to his collection. He looked over at Jungkook and watched him as he got ready to leave. Boyfriend? was all he kept thinking. Do I want Jungkook to be my boyfriend? Would that mean more painful sex? If so, he wanted nothing to do with having a boyfriend. But… boyfriend? Was he that serious about Jungkook? How would Jungkook feel about being boyfriends?

He needed to find out.

Taehyung stood up and reached for Jungkook's hand as he stood up. Jungkook gave him a quizzical look, but took Tae's hand anyway.

They met Yoongi and Jimin and Hoseok at the van, where the threesome were saying their goodbyes. Jimin looked as Tae and JK approached, holding hands and walking very close together. He smiled and ran over to his best friend.

“JK! Tae! You guys did great! No only all golds and silvers in the individual events, but you cleaned out the gold medals on the synchronized diving. Wow, you two were perfect together. I'm not a judge, but you would have gotten full marks if I had had anything to do with it!” He threw his arms around Jungkook and hugged him tight, pulling Taehyung in to join the circle. Then Hoseok and Yoongi joined in and they all stood there hugging for a few minutes.

“Get a room,” Bo-gum grumbled as he approached them. “Do I really have to witness all this? I just want to get back and get to bed, or maybe I'll see if there's a warm body willing to join me there.”

“It better not be who I caught you with this morning,” Jin said as he walked up. “You're treading on thin ice right now as it is. This is not a facility for sex, it's for diving and swimming. And if you don't want to take it seriously, then I would suggest you pack up your things and go back to your parents. You did horribly today Bo-gum, you need to step up if you want to stay in the program.”

Namjoon handed him their duffel bags and Jin threw them in the back. “Ok, let's load up and get back. I'm ready for some pizza and maybe a movie. Anyone care to join me?”

“As if,” Bo-gum said as he crawled into the back seat.

Yoongi looked at Jimin and Hoseok. “I'm in. Sounds good.”

Jin smiled at Yoongi and then turned to Jimin and Hoseok. “You two are invited if you want to join us. Pizza is on me, I'll have Namjoon call and get delivery. Just let him know what you like on your pizza and we'll see you there. It's Saturday, so if you want to stay, room 180 is still available for you.”

Jimin couldn't help but jump up and down excitedly and said “Yes, yes, yes!”

Hoseok just smiled at his enthusiasm and nodded to Jin. “We both like…”

“I know what you two like on your pizza,” Namjoon grinned at them. “You ate at our house enough times, I've got your preferences memorized.”

Tae turned to Jungkook and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “We need to talk. Can I tell Jin we'll join them later?”

Jungkook looked confused, but then just nodded. He had a feeling Taehyung was going to tell him off about winning that one gold, but he wouldn't be so close, or holding his hand if he was too mad, would he?

“Coach,” Taehyung looked at Jin. “Can we come to the common room a little later? I think Jungkook and I need to take a walk and just de-stress from the day.”

Jin knew they had a few items to work out, so he just nodded and got behind the wheel. “Let's get going then.”

Yoongi gave Jimin and Hoseok each a quick kiss and waved goodbye, saying, “I'll see you back at the dorms.” Then he grinned and got in the middle row.

“Oh, so you're into threesomes now?” Bo-gum asked condescendingly. “Who would have thought?”

“Oh shut up,” Taehyung turned around in his seat to confront Bo-gum. “Just because you can't keep anyone doesn't give you the right to judge Yoongi's choices. I'm so glad I left you, but I wish I had done it sooner. You were a total waste of my time.” And he spun back around and ignored Bo-gum's sputtering.

When they got back, everyone piled out of the van and Bo-gum immediately left for his room. Hoseok and Jimin pulled up just seconds behind the van, and they got out and went with Yoongi to “their room" to change into more comfortable clothes. Namjoon went in the van with Jin to the pool and helped him unload everything, then they walked back to the common room at the dorms, meeting the pizza delivery when they got back.

Taehyung took Jungkook's hand and led him away from the dorms. Now that he had Jungkook alone, he wasn't quite sure how to start.

After a few minutes of walking silently, Jungkook squeezed his hand to stop him. Turning towards Taehyung, he asked, “What did you want to talk about? Taehyung, I'm sorry I won the gold…”

“Stop it!” Taehyung immediately said. “Just stop apologizing. Would you have purposely thrown the competition if you knew you were going to win?”

“No, of course not…”

“Then you won fair and square. I'm not happy about it, but all I can do is practice harder and beat you at the next competition. And when I do beat you, I'll know it was because I was the better diver. I still won one more gold than you did, so I'm still overall the better diver. It's just that I’ve never lost. Ever. I’ve always seen second place as first loser, which has made me work harder than anyone to always get the gold. And tonight I was first loser, and I didn't know how to take it. But, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about.”

He paused. Long enough that Jungkook tilted his head and inquired, “What did you want to talk about then?”

“It was something Jin said, just before we went on the 3m platform for the synchronized diving.” Suddenly, Taehyung wasn't sure how to bring up the boyfriend issue. 

“So…?” Jungkook prompted when Taehyung paused again.

“So, Jin called you my boyfriend. And I realized we've never talked about that. Being boyfriends, I mean.” Tae began to look at his feet, suddenly shy.

Jungkook's heart soared. He had wanted to ask Taehyung to be his boyfriend ever since the day at the museum, but he knew it wasn't his place as the younger to ask. So, he had just enjoyed their time together and didn't press the issue.

But Taehyung didn't say anymore. Jungkook finally reached over and lifted his chin so that they were staring into each other's eyes.

“Do you want to talk about it now?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Tae whispered. “I do.”

“And?” Jungkook was hoping he would hear the words.

“Jungkook, before we talk about it, there is something I think you need to know,” Taehyung looked terrified.

“What?” asked Jungkook, as his heart plummeted.

Takehyung took a deep breath, “It's about me and Bo-gum.”

Chapter Text

Jungkook had known something had happened between Taehyung and Bo-gum, he had figured that out when he had helped Taehyung move out of Bo-gum's room, and Yoongi had alluded to the fact that something bad had happened. But, he didn't know any of the details. He looked around and saw a fallen tree off to the side.

“Let's sit over here,” he pulled Taehyung to the log and sat down and patted the area beside him. “You don't have to rush, just tell me what you want to, and we'll go from there, ok?”

Tae just nodded as he sat down and got comfortable. He accidently sat on a knot in the log and it caused some pretty severe flashbacks for just a few moments on the pain Bo-gum had caused him.

“My life so far has been all about diving. The water, diving, becoming the best. My ultimate goal is the Olympics, I want to win more gold than any other diver in history. When I came to train here, Bo-gum decided he wanted to be my boyfriend. I never thought of having a boyfriend, as it might take time away from my diving. But Bo-gum never kept me from practicing, and he would even be my pool buddy many evenings, so I finally said yes.

We dated about a year, and I swear it was on day two that he started asking if we could have sex. I was able to say no, but the last night of the Olympic diving competition we stayed up to watch it in the common room. I was so keyed up and excited after realizing I would probably be on tv in 4 years, doing what I love the most, that when he asked me that night, I finally gave in and said yes.”

Tae paused to gather his thoughts. Jungkook didn't say anything, but his heart started to ache for Taehyung. He wasn't sure what Tae was going to tell him, but by the look on his face, it wasn't going to be pleasant. He reached over and rubbed Tae's back, to show he was there for him.

Tae took a deep breath and continued, “We had watched some porn, and Bo-gum said he had discussed the finer points with some friends of his, but I know we did something wrong. When he entered me, it hurt. Bad. I screamed and told him to stop, but all he did was cover my mouth and tell me to be quiet. And he hurt me more. As much as I begged, he wouldn't stop thrusting into me until he was finished. Once he rolled off me, I had to get away from him and I ran to the bathroom. There was blood all over my legs; he had tore me open. He asked me through the closed door to tell him what was wrong, but he didn't seem to really want to know, he left me just sitting in there after just a minute or two. I got in the shower and laid there until morning, when Yoongi came in and found me. That was the only day I ever missed training. I was hurting so much, I just wanted to lie down and die. Coach Jin knew, I don't know how he knew what had happened, but he came to visit me right after Yoongi went to tell him I wasn't going to be at training that day. He said it always hurts the first time, but it would eventually feel better, especially if you’re with someone you love. It was then I realized I didn't love Bo-gum. In fact, that day, I realized I didn't even like Bo-gum. And I know he didn't care at all about me, not if he could hurt me like that and not even acknowledge what he did. I moved my bed over to the other wall, and we pretty much drew apart from that moment on. We didn't officially break up until that night you and Yoongi came and let me sleep in your doorm room, but it had been over a long time before that.”

Jungkook immediately got up and balled his fists. “I'm gonna kill that mother fucker! How could he hurt you like that? What a selfish prick!”

For the first time since sitting down, Taehyung smiled and reached out to pull him back down onto the log.

“No, you're not, he's not worth it. I will say, I do like hearing you defending me. Bo-gum convinced a lot of people that I was the problem, and I lost a couple of people I thought were my friends. But Yoongi knew the truth, and that was all that mattered to me. I just wanted to let you know, and I want to ask you to be my boyfriend, but I don't want sex. At all. Ever. And if that is too much to ask of you, then please tell me now and we can try to go back to just being friends.”

Taehyung couldn't look at Jungkook. He knew the answer was going to be an emphatic no from him. What teenage boy didn't want to have sex? Of course, Jungkook had never pressured him for any more than hand holding and kissing, so he was hopeful, but knew it was a long shot to ask him to be his boyfriend.

Jungkook was seething. How could anyone hurt gentle Taehyung? As he had gotten to know Tae over the past couple of months, he had learned that Taehyung had one of the most gentlest of souls he had ever met. The only thing he had pride in was his diving, and sometimes, ok, most of the time, he was a bit arrogant about it, but he had watched Taehyung hand a wad of bills to an uber driver, just to help her out with groceries. And there had been many other instances, like when any one was sick in the dorms, it was Tae who made sure they ate and had fresh linens for their beds. It was those times that Jungkook had found out how kind and gentle Taehyung was. What was Bo-gum thinking when he had physically and mentally hurt Taehyung to the point of him never wanting to have sex again? Yes, Jungkook himself was a virgin and he had a healthy teenaged libido, but even he knew how to avoid ripping one's partner and causing them to bleed.

“Taehyung,” he said quietly. “Tae, look at me, please.”

Tae lifted his eyes to look into Jungkook's eyes. He had to blink a few times to stop the tears from falling.

“Taehyung, you're just talking anal, right?”

Silently, Tae nodded.

Jungkook broke out into a huge smile. “Taehyung, I'm gonna let you in on a secret. One of the perks of being Jimin's best friend is that he shares everything with me. And I men EVERYTHING. Before he and Hoseok actually became boyfriends, he researched every which way two men could be intimate without having actual anal sex. We don't have to do that if you don't want to, but trust me, from what Jimin's shared with me, there are hundreds of ways to be intimate with someone you care about, without ever going all the way. I'm ok if you don't want to go that far. There's other things we can do. I love just holding hands and kissing you, and we can decide if we want to take it farther in the future. I'm sure by then Jimin will have found even more ways. He's always been scared of going all the way, mainly because he knows it will hurt, so he wanted to make sure he knew of other ways to keep Hoseok happy. And as far as I know, they still haven't gone all the way, but Jimin says they do have a lot of fun.”

Taehyung couldn't believe his ears. Jungkook wanted to be his boyfriend? And he was ok with the stipulation of no sex? He searched Jungkook's eyes and saw nothing but honesty in them.

He closed his eyes and took a big breath.

“So, Jungkook, would you like to be my boyfriend?” was all he could get out.

He felt Jungkook get up beside him and then felt him grab his hands and pull him up to stand in front of him. Then those strong hands wrapped around him and he felt Jungkook's lips lightly brush up against his.

“Tae, I would love nothing better than to be your boyfriend.”

Taehyung smiled against the lips that were pressed up against his.

“Except when we're competing against each other. Then I want to break up right before the competition and get back together right after I win the gold.”

Jungkook took a small step back and lightly slapped Tae's shoulder, but laughed as he did it. “Ok, deal. But what happens if I win the gold?”

Taehyung snorted. “You think I'm gonna let you win Gold after today? No, you'll just have to get used to Silver. But, if by some freak accident you do win Gold, then we'll get back together so you can comfort your boyfriend from being first loser.”

With that, Taehyung pulled Jungkook close to him and kissed him with everything he had.

After they ran out of breath, they headed back to the common room to join the others for pizza and a movie. Entering the room, holding hands and walking very close to each other, Jimin jumped up from where he sat between Yoongi and Hoseok and grabbed Jungkook's hand and pulled him towards the hall.

“Details, JK, I want details. Why do you have such a shit-eating grin on your face right now?” Jimin was bouncing up and down on his toes.

“He finally asked me to be his boyfriend,” Jungkook couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face.

“And?” Jimin prodded.

“And I said yes,” Jungkook couldn't help the shimmy he did when telling his best friend.

“Finally!” Jimin said. “I can see lots of double dates in our future. You and Tae, me, Hoseok and Yoongi. Oh! We're going to have so much fun!”

“Yoongi?” Jungkook inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, Hoseok and I discussed it on the way over here from the competition. We asked Yoongi to be our boyfriend as soon as we got here and he said yes! I wish we all lived closer, but now that I finally got my car, we're going to get up here most weekends. We can go out to the movies, maybe a few clubs, out to eat, the beach, oh, have I got ideas! I'm so glad you're officially with Tae now! Hoseok and I wanted nothing more than for you to find love!”

“Hold on,” Jungkook held his hands up, laughing. “Who said anything about love? We've just agreed to being boyfriends, let's give it some time. I won't give you the whole story, but Taehyung did add one stipulation. We can't have sex. I mean, we can do a lot, but just no anal.”

Jimin stood back for a second. “Never? Like ever? I mean, I understand waiting, but even Hoseok and I have been discussing going all the way. Like soon. But, there is so much more that can be done that feels really good, so it shouldn't be a big deal. Want me to talk with Tae about it?”

“No!” Jungkook said emphatically. “I already told him you might be a good resource, but let me be the one to let you know if and when we might want some pointers. For now I'm just happy holding hands and kissing. Come on, let's get back to the group, I'm hungry.”

And he pulled Jimin back into the common room. Taehyung had saved him a spot on the floor right in front of him, and Jungkook leaned over him and kissed him before settling down on the pillow between Tae's knees and grabbing a piece of pizza.

Chapter Text

Over the next six months, Jungkook and Taehyung spent every waking moment with each other. They trained together, ate together and did homework together and occasionally even spent the night together. Just before it came time for new dorm assignments, Yoongi took Tae and Jungkook out for lunch at their favorite Chinese restaurant.

“Look, Jungkook, I have loved having you as a roommate, but you two spend just about every night together, so why don't you apply to share a room? Jimin, Hoseok and I have discussed it, and I'm going to ask for the single next door to Room 180, so when they come to visit, I don't have to worry about disturbing you or anyone else at the dorm.” He reached for some Chow Mein and looked at the couple. “I know you've never liked a single room Tae, so why not share with Jungkook? Nothing much would change from what you two have right now, and I don't mind moving. It's just a few doors down.”

Taehyung and Jungkook looked at each other and burst out laughing. They had been discussing sharing a room for about a month now, but neither wanted to hurt Yoongi's feelings. What they hadn't taken into consideration was the Yoongi would want to free up his space and move to be closer to his two boyfriends, who had been visiting pretty much every weekend. The five of them would go out and enjoy some time together, and sometimes Namjoon and Coach Jin would join them.

Training was going well for both young men. Jin was on a schedule to get them both ready for the Junior World Cup next year, then the World Cup the following year. That would lead them up to the Olympics. He had plans that both of his star divers would be on each of the platforms for the world to see for the next 3 years. In between events, there were national and international events he wanted to get them in to also. He also planned on Yoongi participating in all the same events, but Bo-gum was not a definite. Jin was not going to pay for transportation and entry fees for anyone that didn't measure up to his expectations, and lately Bo-gum was failing in both his training and his studies. Rumor had it that he was spending more time in bed with anyone he could coax into his room, than doing anything else.

Yoongi applied for room 182 and moved in the following month. Taehyung's application to move in with Jungkook was approved after a serious meeting with Coach Jin and Jackie.

“Tae, we wanted to just touch bases about your request to move in with Jungkook,” Jin started the conversation once Taehyung had sat down. “The last time you applied to move in with another student, it didn't turn out so well for you, so we want to just see how you and Jungkook were getting along and if you were sure this is what you want to do. I don't want to have to find you another room in just a few months if the two of you break up.”

“Taehyung,” Jackie added. “I know it was hard on you when you broke up with Bo-gum, so we just don't want to see you go through that again.”

Taehyung smiled to himself, thinking at how much better his relationship with Jungkook was compared to what he had had with Bo-gum. Bo-gum had been jealous of the time he wanted to spend at the pool, Jungkook joined him for practice. Bo-gum had hassled him about having sex since the moment he had said yes to being boyfrieds. But true to his promise, Jungkook never pressured Taehyung to do any more than what he was comfortable with. They still did a lot of kssing and hand holding, but they were also enjoying co-showers, lying together naked, stroking and blowing each other to climax. Bo-gum had never been satisfied with things like that, he just wanted to get to the ‘main event'.

“It's totally different with Jungkook,” he assured Jackie and Coach. “I never loved Bo-gum, but I think I'm in love with Jungkook.”

Now, he had NOT meant to tell them that. Cause he hadn't told Jungkook yet. This feeling had been building up in him for a month or so now, and he was going to tell Jungkook this weekend, on the first night they would share a room. IF he was approved.

“Oh, Taehyung, that's wonderful to hear,” Jackie smiled wide. “I'm so glad you've found someone to really love.”

“Have you told Jungkook yet?” Coach Jin seemed to read his mind.

“I was hoping to tell him, um, well, on our first night together in a shared room,” Taehyung blushed and ducked his head down.

“So, you'll be telling him this Friday night?” Jin grinned. He knew how special that would be, as Jungkook's brother had just declared his love to Jin that past weekend. They hadn't gotten any sleep that night, making love and discussing the future. Jin had been gearing up to tell Namjoon he loved him, but Namjoon had beaten him to it. But Jin was now planning on asking Namjoon to move in with him at the facility. Namjoon could work from anywhere that had wifi, so he had plans on giving Namjoon one of the empty offices to use, and then sharing his little house with the man so they could be together all the time. Weekends were not enough as far as Jin was concerned.

“You mean…?” Tae held his breath. He had hoped they would grant his dorm move, but after the mess with Bo-gum, he hadn't been too sure.

“I've already discussed it with your parents and Namjoon, and they have all given their blessings. So, you can move tomorrow after classes if you want. You technically have until next weekend, but I have a feeling you might want to just go ahead and get moved in. Monday is a holiday, so you can just enjoy getting set up and ready for everything on Tuesday. I know Yoongi will be out tonight, so there's nothing to stop you. I would suggest you get going so you can give Yoongi a hand with his move, so you can get his help when you move in to Jungkook's room. I'll see you in the morning, now go get working on that paper that's due next week in History.”

Taehyung jumped up and ran out the door straight to the cafeteria where he met up with Jungkook and Yoongi. He threw his arms around Jungkook and gave him a big kiss.

“Hurry up, let's get Yoongi moved out. I'll be moving in tomorrow,” he could hardly contain his excitement. “Coach said I can room with you.”

Jungkook grinned from ear to ear and turned to Yoongi. “How soon can we get you out of the room? You know I love you Yoons, but I need to make room for my boyfriend.”

Yoongi was secretly excited for the two of them, but he made himself scowl at them. “Sit down, I'm in no hurry. I thought I might wait until next weekend, then I'll have Jimin and Hoseok there to help me. You know I have a full bed to move, along with all my other stuff. Maybe I'll just go back and take a nap after we're done eating.”

Taehyung leaned over and playfully slapped Yoongi's shoulder. “No, you need to be out of there by tomorrow, cause I have the go ahead to move early.”

“Tomorrow?” Jungkook looked surprised. “They said you could move tomorrow? That's a full week early, oh man, um, well, I've got to run a quick errand. I'll be back in an hour or so and I'll help you get moved. I'll be back, just, just wait for me…” and he got up and grabbed his bag.

“Wait!” Taehyung jumped up. “Where are you going? I'll go with you.”

“No, um, no, that's ok, I'll be right back,” Jungkook shot over his shoulder as he rushed out of the cafeteria.

Taehyung looked at Yoongi, who just shrugged his shoulders and continued eating his supper. Taehyung frowned and sat down to wait for his boyfriend.

After two hours, Jungkook came back to the dorm and hid a box in the common room closet then went to his room. Yoongi and Taehyung were taking a break, as they had already moved most of his belongings to his new room, there was just the bed and a lamp and some books left to get down the hall.

Taehyung looked up as Jungkook entered the room.

“Where did you run off to?” he asked.

“I'll tell you later,” Jungkook said as he leaned down to give him a quick kiss. “Let's get Yoongi moved and maybe we can even bring some of your stuff in. I know we have that report for History we have to work on, so we'll have to finish moving you in tomorrow, but whatever we can get done tonight will be less for us to have to deal with tomorrow. Can you get the lamp?”

Then Jungkook and Yoongi moved the bed to his new room and it only took one more trip for the three of them to finish up moving all of Yoongi's stuff.

Taehyung and Jungkook stopped by Tae's room and picked up a few items to take back to their new room. Tae grabbed his History paper he had been working on when Jackie had called him to come to the office for a quick chat. Then Jungkook grabbed his paper and the two of them headed out to the library to get their homework done. It was late when they got back to the dorms and Taehyung paused outside the door.

“I'd better get to my room. I want to pack a few things and then get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I'll pick you up for training in the moring?” He pulled Jungkook close and leaned in for a passionate kiss.

Coming up for air, Jungkook rested his forehead against Tae's and just nodded. “I'll see you in the morning.”

Then he opened the door and stepped in. The room looked empty without Yoongi's bed and stuff taking up half the space, but tomorrow it would be filled with Taehyung's stuff. He couldn't wait. His heart was pounding with anticipation and he grabbed his bathroom kit and headed out to take a quick shower. When he came out of the bathroom, he snuck down the hall and grabbed the box from the common room closet and then hid it in his closet. He grabbed Bam and settled down to try and get some sleep, but ended up talking most of the night to his stuffed dog. Tomorrow was the day. A day he had been dreaming of since Taehyung had asked him to be his boyfriend.

Chapter Text

The next day started as usual for Taehyung and Jungkook. They attended their training session, went to their classes and then finally they had their free time. Then the two of them rushed back to the dorms to finish getting Taehyung moved into Jungkook's room. Yoongi came along and helped, and it wasn't long before they had all of Tae's items moved into the new room. 

Taehyung began to sort his clothes into the dresser and closet, while Jungkook hung up his posters and shelved his books. They discussed it, and finally decided to move the furniture around so their two beds could be together. One thing they definitely agreed on was that they both slept better when they were able to cuddle against each other at night.

It wasn’t too long until the room was set up and ready to go. Taehyung sat down on the bed and pulled Jungkook into his lap.

“What should we do now?” Jungkook said with a hint of teasing in his tone as he wrapped his arms around Tae's neck.

Running his lips down Jungkook's neck, Taehyung sighed. “Let's go out to eat. I want to take my new roommate out for supper, and then I want to curl up with my boyfriend and watch a movie on my laptop.”

Jungkook moaned and tilted his head to the side to give Tae more access to his neck. Breathily he said, “sounds good. Let me just grab my shoes.”

It took a few minutes, but Taehyung finally let Jungkook up and called a car. They went out to The Hamburger Joint, one of their favorite places to go on special occasions. They took their time, enjoying the food and each other. Usually they would eat supper then head to the pool for more practice, but tonight was special. They planned to get up early and head to the pool the next day for an extra long practice session, but tonight they wanted to enjoy their room together. When they got back, Taehyung got out his laptop and looked for a movie for them to watch.

“Here's something I've been wanting to see,” he looked over at Jungkook who was digging around in his closet. Yes, he was definitely in love with that man, and yes, tonight, just before they fell asleep, he was going to tell him. But at this very moment he was just enjoying the view that was Jungkook's tight ass and toned thighs. He could feel his cock stirring.

Jungkook looked over his shoulder and asked, “What?”

“It's called ‘Call Me By Your Name', Yoongi says it's pretty good.”

“Sure, but don't start it quite yet. I've got something for you,” Jungkook straightened up with the box in his hands. He turned around and sat down by Tae and held out the box to him.

Taehyung looked confused, but took the box and looked questioningly at Jungkook.

“Open it,” Jungkook urged. “It's nothing much, but I wanted to get you something to commemorate today.”

Tae opened the box. Inside was a beautiful stuffed black and tan Pomeranian dog with a purple collar around it's neck. Taehyung gingerly took the soft toy from the box and stroked it’s fur.

“You've always said you wanted a dog someday, and that your favorite breed is a Pomeranian, so I thought this would be something you might like. We can't have actual dogs here in the dorms, but now that Hollie has moved out, I think Bam would like the company.” He had shown Taehyung his stuffed Doberman not too long after they had become boyfriends, and Tae had admitted he already knew about Yoongi's stuffed pet. Jungkook had been relieved when Taehyung hadn't looked down at him for having the stuffed animal, and had even swooned inwardly when Tae immediately picked up Bam and cuddled him. When Tae had mentioned he always loved Pomeranian's, the idea of getting one for him started to form, and he figured today would be a good day to give him the stuffed animal. 

He nervously waited for Taehyung to see it. Maybe it was too early? Was it too cheesy? Oh damn, could he take it back? Did he want to take it back? No, he decided he didn't, but did wonder if he should have gone about it differently. Maybe he should…

“What's this?” Taehyung touched the collar around his dog's neck. He squinted and mouthed the words as he read the stitching Jungkook had had custom made. Then he looked up at Jungkook, tears swimming in his eyes.

“Really?” he whispered, his voice cracking.

Jungkook reached over and stroked his knuckles down Tae's cheek. “Yeah,” he whispered back.

Suddenly Taehyung grabbed him and pulled him in for a long kiss, setting the dog aside as he attacked Jungkook's lips. When he pulled back so they could catch their breaths, he cradled Jungkook's face and looked into his eyes.

“I love you too,” he said quietly, then leaned in for another passionate kiss.

“Really?” Jungkook couldn't believe it. He had hoped he wasn't going too fast, but he had known he was in love with Taehyung the day they had gone to the museum. But there had never been a right time or place to declare his love, so he had waited, and then came up with the idea of having “I love you Taehyung" embroidered on the dog's collar. If Taehyung hadn't liked it, he could have used the excuse that it was the dog declaring his love, but now it was out there. And Taehyung had said he loved him back.

“I was going to tell you after we watched the movie,” Taehyung confessed. “I've loved you for quite a while now, but I wanted to make it special. But you beat me to it. And in the most original way I could have never come up with. This is exactly the kind of dog I want someday, and now I have one. I’ve always liked the name Yeotan, how's that sound?”

“Perfect,” Jungkook said and reached over and stroked the fur. “Hello Tannie, thanks for telling your master what I've wanted to tell him forever, that I love him.” He said the last 3 words while looking into Tae's eyes.

Taehyung set Tannie down on his bed and then reached for Jungkook. “Come here,” he demanded.

The two of them found themselves kissing and stroking and touching each other. They had been naked before, had brought each other to climax, but tonight felt different. Now they had each declared their love for each other, the touching meant more, felt more.

Jungkook pulled back. Taehyung sat up, worried. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is right,” suddenly Jungkook couldn't stop the heat rising in his cheeks. “I just wanted to discuss something with you.”

He paused, so Taehung urged him on. “What?”

“Well, I was talking with Jimin the other day…” Jungkook wasn't quite sure how to say it.

“You're always talking with him or Hoseok,” Taehyung teased. “What was so different this time?”

“Did you know he and Hoseok and Yoongi have had sex? Like all the way? With each other? They take turns bottoming and topping, and um…” Damn the blushing. This was his Taehyung he was talking to. They could share anything. So why was he suddenly so shy?

“Jungkook,” Taehyung stiffened up. “I told you, I don't…”

“I know,” Jungkook interrupted him. “But, just listen to me. Please?”

Taehyung nodded. His heart was racing, scared that tonight was going to be painful like that night with Bo-gum. No, he told himself. Jungkook is NOT Bo-gum, he's never treated me badly, he's always understood.

“I know Bo-gum hurt you, and I never, ever want to do that.”

“Ok.” Taehyung decided to listen and trust him.

“But, it hurt you because you weren't ready and you were the bottom.” Jungkook swallowed hard. He had talked in detail with Jimin, who had explained how great it was to be a top, but that it wasn't bad to be a bottom, as long as you prepared for it, stretched your partner out, used a lot of lube, etcetera. Jungkook had thought about it and…

“Would you be willing to top me?” Fuck, his face had to be bright crimson. He hurried on, “Then you wouldn't have to worry about being hurt. And Jimin said it's not too bad if we prepare for it. I mean, you're huge, but I'd be willing to try. I just want to be closer to you, but if you're not ready, don't feel like I'm pressuring you. I just love you so much, Taehyung.”

He stopped and Taehyung gaped at him for a second. Jungkook wanted to bottom for him? Bo-gum had never even suggested the possibility. It wasn't the nearness he didn't want with Jungkook, it was just the repeat of the pain. But if he was the one going into Jungkook…

“I never thought I'd top,” he confessed quietly. “You'd do that for me?”

“Of course,” Jungkook leaned over and kissed his lips gently. “I don't want to ever hurt you, and I think if we prepare, it could be great for both of us. I've actually, um, well, tried using a dildo, and I kinda like it. I ordered an extra, extra large, cause, well, I know how big you are, and I wanted to make sure I could take you, but if I prepare and use a lot of lube, it actually feels great.”

Taehyung answered  him with a kiss and moved his hand lower until it was cupping Jungkook's cock. Jungkook pushed into the pressure, knowing this might be the most important night of his life. He had talked with Jimin, had played with the dildo he had ordered last month, and had a good idea of what he was doing.

Suddenly, they were naked and Taehyung had his hand wrapped around both of their cocks, using the pre-cum that leaked out of both of them as lubricant. Jungkook moaned and stopped him.

“Wait, let me get…” He rolled over and reached into the top drawer of his nightstand. He came out with a bottle of lube and a condom. “Here,” he handed them to Tae. “Get me ready. Lube up your fingers and put one in me. Stretch me out, then add more fingers. Just get me stretched for you.”

Taehyung blinked at him. “Bo-gum never did that. Stretch me out, I mean. He put one finger in, but that was it.”

“Damn that bastard,” Jungkook swore. “No wonder you got hurt so bad. Let's do it right. Let's make love and learn together. Let's forget that fuckwad and make our own, good, memories.” He reached and grabbed Taehyung by the neck and brought him in for a kiss, his tongue demanding entrance and then tangling with Tae's.

Tae smeared lube on his fingers and reached around and ran his hand down to circle Jungkook's puckered hole. Jungkook gasped and pushed against him. Tentatively, Tae pushed his finger in to the first knuckle. Jungkook was hot and tight and Tae's cock pulsed with desire. But he was determined not to hurt Jungkook like Bo-gum had hurt him. No, Jungkook said to stretch him. So, he pushed in a little more, then began to draw it out and push in again. When he felt his first finger gliding in and out easily, he added another, then another. Reaching in deep, he felt a spongy area and accidentally stroked against it. Jungkook’s back arched and his eyes rolled back in his head.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He gasped. “Taehyung, do that again. Oh fuck babe, I think that's what Jimin described as his prostate.”

Tae smiled and stroked against the same area, causing Jungkook to writhe under him.

“Tae, if you don't fuck me right now, I'm gonna have to hurt you,” Jungkook growled against his mouth and raised his knees up to his shoulders, giving Tae easy access to his waiting hole.

Taehyung pulled back and ripped into the condom and sheathed himself and coated it all with a huge amount of lube. He lined his cock to Jungkook's waiting hole and paused.

“You're sure?” He wanted this. Oh, how he wanted this. But, only if Jungkook was ok with it.

Jungkook's answer was gripping Tae's ass and pushing him in.

Taehyung gasped at how tight Jungkook was around his shaft, the heat that enveloped him almost causing him to come right then. He had to pause and gather himself. Once he felt he had control, he pulled almost out then thrust back in.

“Faster Tae. Harder. I want to feel you into next week,” Jungkook moaned against his lips, causing him to thrust harder and faster, hitting that special spot that caused Jungkook to jerk and moan. He felt his orgasm coming and finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

He gasped out, “Jungkook, I'm gonna, oh, fuck! Jungkook!” And with one final thrust he released into the condom. Jungkook could feel the pulsing of Tae's release and he couldn't stop it. His balls drew up tight and he began to come all over his and Taehyung's stomachs.

It was then all the horrible memories of the pan he had endured with Bo-gum were erased and Taehyung learned what making love really was.

Chapter Text

The two of them had planned on getting up early that Saturday, but after their lovemaking the night before, and then going at it again after they had watched “Call My by Your Name", they decided to sleep in a bit. They would be spending hours at the pool this afternoon, so Taehyung wasn't worried about not getting there early. He was so comfortable being the little spoon, curled up in Jungkook's arms. He always slept soundly when Jungkook was with him. Moving their beds together had been a great idea.

He reached out and pulled Yeotan and Bam to him, stroking the soft fur. He hoped someday he'd have a real Yeotan and Jungkook could have a real Bam, and they would be living together, the four of them cuddling on a big King sized bed. He hoped to teach at Jin's facility someday or maybe even start his own facility, after winning Gold in all the competitions he could get to, and definitely after the Olympics. Maybe even the Olympics after that. Taehyung laid there and closed his eyes and visualized himself on the platform, bowing down to the officials as they placed that gold medal on his neck. He smiled and leaned over to kiss Jungkook's arm.

“’Morning,” Jungkook muttered. “How did you sleep, Roomie?”

“With you holding me, I slept like the dead,” Taehyung grinned as he pulled back the covers and got up to get dressed.

Jungkook stretched and got up too, putting on his swim trucks. He went to the small refrigerator and peered in. 

“You want a yogurt for breakfast? I think the cafeteria has finished serving breakfast, but we should eat a little something before heading out to the pool.”

Taehyung opened his closet and pulled out a box of protein bars and handed Jungkook one, then the took the proffered yogurt and they both quickly ate standing up.

As they were walking to the pool, Jungkook noticed Namjoon's car coming down the driveway and then parking in front of Jin's house. He waved as Namjoon got out of the car.

“I'll be right in, I want to talk to Namjoon for a second. Is that alright?” He turned to Taehyung who just nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

He hurried over to talk to his brother. Namjoon had had to be the one to teach him about the birds and the bees, and it actually had been easy to talk to him; he shuddered to think how that same conversation would have been awkward if his mother had set him down and told him everything. Luckily, he knew by the time Namjoon had talked to him that he was gay, and his brother had no qualms about admitting he was bi, so Namjoon had known what to discuss with him.

“Hey!” Namjoon yelped as Jungkook came up behind him and jumped on his back. “You're too big to be doing that, get off!” But, he said it while laughing. Namjoon just couldn't get mad at his little brother.

“Namjoon,” Jungkook said as he suddenly looked serious. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, you can ask me anything. Doesn't mean I'll know the answer, but ask away.”

“You and Jin,” Jungkook began. “You guys, um, well, have done, uh, you know…”

“Yes JK, we have sex. And really good sex if you want to know,” Namjoon grinned at the horrified look on Jungkook's face.

“I really didn't want to know the details, but I do have one question,” now Jungkook was blushing just a little. “Do you go bareback?”

Namjoon was a little taken aback at the question, but he had promised himself he would always be truthful to his little brother.

“Yeah, we do now. I always go to the clinic and get tested after every hookup I've had, and Jin does the same thing. So we showed each other our test results, and well, I won't go into detail, but bareback is so much better. Wait, are you and Taehyung thinking about going all the way? Did Jimin talk you into this? He would be the one I would guess to put the idea in your head. You have to be ready before you go all the way. It's an emotional bonding as well as physical.”

“No, Jimin definitely did not talk me into it, but yeah, we've had sex. Last night. But I was just wondering what we needed to do to go bareback. Jimin mentioned getting tested, but I wasn't sure if he knew what he was talking about. You know Jimin.” Jungkook grinned at his brother.

“Well, before you even think of going bareback, I want you at the clinic. If Taehyung is your first, and you used a condom, you should be ok, but don't take any chances. And discuss getting on prep too, and see if Taehyung might also be willing to get on prep. It can never hurt to be overly cautious, you never know what might happen. I know you love each other, but things do happen, and you're young, so please take precautions. Do you need a ride? I can loan you the car if you want, I plan on being here all weekend, and I'm going to cook Jin a meal tonight so we're not going out. And if we do, we can take Jin's car. Just let me know and I'll get you the keys.”

“Thanks bro!” Jungkook said. “Can I borrow them now? I'm gonna talk to Tae and see if he'll go with me and we can both get tested.”

Namjoon nodded and handed over the keys. “Now, get to practice. I can see Jin peeking out from behind the curtain, so I know he's waiting for me.”

Jungkook turned around and ran to the pool. He had some talking to do with Tae.

Namjoon had seen Jin peeking through the curtains, and he knew Jin was waiting for him, hopefully only wearing one of those lacy panties he had. Oh, those panties, Namjoon thought. The first time Jin had revealed one of his panties had led to the best sex they had had. He grabbed his overnight bag and practically ran to the door.

And there was Jin. He was gorgeous, standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a pair of very revealing, bright red, lacey panties. Namjoon dropped his bag and reached for him.

“Missed you,” he said in between kisses. “You are so gorgeous, have I told you that?”

“Mm-hm" Jin purred. “But, if you want to say it again, I'd be happy to listen.”

“Jin, you are world wide handsome. I can't wait to get you in bed,” Namjoon began to walk him backward towards the bedroom. Once they got there, they took their time making love.

Afterwards, they held each other a while, then Namjoon spoke up.

“I’d better get started working on lunch. Wanna help me in the kitchen?” Namjoon kissed Jin's forehead.

“Sure,” Jin said happily as they got up and got dressed. He was going to ask Namjoon to move in tonight. He had a second key made and was going to ask him as soon as they finished supper. He could hardly wait, but he was scared that Namjoon might say no, and then what would happen? But what would happen if he did agree? Today, Jin knew, he would be in heaven or hell.

The two of them got some soup and sandwiches together and sat down to eat. Namjoon told Jin about Jungkook's questions, and they both had a laugh over it.

“I knew it was bound to happen. I know Taehyung was hurt pretty bad by Bo-gum, but I trust Jungkook to be careful with him. I saw him walking away, and I have a feeling that this time Tae wasn't the bottom.”

Namjoon had noticed the slight discomfort in his brother's walk, and he agreed.

“Yeah, they'll have to find where they're comfortable, but Jungkook is so patient and caring, especially with Taehyung, I knew it would happen. Not quite sure I was expecting it the first night Tae moved in, but something must have been right.”

Jin spent some of the afternoon at the pool, helping students and doing some paperwork. When he got back to the house, Namjoon had set a beautiful table with candles and some fancy plates.

“Where did these come from?” Jin knew they weren't his.

“The dinner wear? Yeah, they’re from my Mom's special settings. I started to think that they needed to come out and get used again. And tonight I just felt was the right time. So, I brought them with me.”

Jin approached him and kissed him long and passionately, their tongues tangling together.

“How long until supper is ready?” Jin asked huskily.

“Sorry baby, it's going on the table right now. We'll eat, then I can have you for desert.” Namjoon had a twinkle in his eye as he let his gaze drop down to Jin’s crotch, where his cock was straining to be let out.

Jin helped him get the food on the table, and they had a wonderful meal. Jin couldn't stop complimenting Namjoon as each dish exploded with flavor on his tongue. When they were done, he helped clear the table, then found himself wrapped in Namjoon's arms.

He almost forgot the key. Almost. He had been thinking about it all through the meal.

Namjoon pulled back just a little. “You've been distracted all evening. Is everything ok?”

“Come and sit with me,” Jin led him to the couch and then he sat on the coffee table, facing the love of his life. It was now or never. He took a deep breath.

“Namjoon, you know I love you more than anything,” Jin started.

“This doesn't sound promising,” Namjoon frowned. “I sense a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

“Let me finish,” Jin gave him a stern look. For about 2 seconds, then the sappy, love drunk facial expression came back.

“Namjoon, you know I love you more than anything,” he said again. “AND, not but, but AND we have so much fun when we're together, I hate it when you leave and it's a whole week before I can see you again. So,” he held out the hand that held the key. “I want to ask you to move in with me.”

Namjoon sat and just stared at Jin. Jin started to feel awkward in the silence that followed.

“Joonie?” he asked quietly. “If it's too soon, I still want you to have this key, so you can come and go as you please, but…”

He didn't get a chance to finish; Namjoon lunged forward and grabbed him in a fierce hug, smashing his lips to Jin's. When he had to take a breath, he pulled back just a little and grabbed the key from Jin's hand.

“Jin, oh baby, the answer is yes. Not just yes, but hell yes. I would love to move in with you. I can rent out Mom and Dad's house as furnished and anything the renters don't want, I can place in storage for Jungkook's first home. Or he might even want to move back into their house. But to be with you would be a dream come true. I can sit at the kitchen table and work…”

“No,” Jin smiled as he interrupted Namjoon. “I have an office for you. When I built this place, I made sure I had room for expansion, and definitely had included more offices then I could ever fill. There's a big one on the north corner with windows that look out to the pool. You can set up in there. We have great Wi-Fi, so you should be ready to go. I've already got two huge monitors set up and ready for you to plug in and go. How soon can you move?”

“Wanna come with me tomorrow and get some stuff packed up, then we can come back here and start building a future? I'll rent a truck, and we can get it filled quickly, especially if we force Jungkook and Taehyung to come with us.”

Jin smiled and simply said, “Yes,” before they came crashing together, loving each other, then falling asleep in each others' arms, both knowing that beginning tomorrow this would be how they could sleep every night.

Chapter Text

And thus went life at the pool facility for the next few years. Taehyung and Jungkook were inseparable, the only time they had any type of disagreement was when they were in the competitions. Taehyung was learning, albeit slowly, that getting the silver really wasn't first loser, it was like boyfriend supporter, because the only time he ever got the silver was when he would lose to Jungkook. Once in a while, when Jungkook would bring home more gold than him (which wasn't very often, Tae had to keep reminding himself of that fact), Taehyung would occasionally get really upset and go crash in Yoongi's room or in the common area, but he would always come back the next day, asking Jungkook for forgiveness. And of course, Jungkook forgave him. And then the make up sex was mind-blowing. One positive thing that happened in that first year was that Bo-gum was asked to leave the facility. He had begun to skip practices, then skipped classes, and then never showed up at the pool. When the physical reminder of his horrible experience was no longer around, Taehyung began to relax and finally agreed to let Jungkook top him. Jungkook took his time, ensuring Taehyung was properly prepared, and Taehyung realized that bottoming could be just as pleasurable as topping. In fact, he began to prefer being the bottom, letting Jungkook care for him. 

Jimin, Hoseok and Yoongi kept seeing each other. Jimin and Hoseok were at all the meets they could get to, cheering on their two best friends (as Taehyung was now considered one) and their boyfriend. The nights were exciting, as they explored different ways the three of them together could be intimate. Jimin excitedly shared every detail he could with Jungkook. Jungkook just smiled and let his mind tune into thoughts Taehyung when Jimin got going onto the intimate details. When Hoseok and Jimin started University, they moved to Seoul and Yoongi moved in with them into a small apartment located in between University and the pool facility. Yoongi decided to put his higher education on hold until after the Olympics. It would only be a year, and he could concentrate on becoming the best in that time.

Jin and Namjoon settled into domesticated bliss. Jin would get up for Jungkook's and Taehyung's training period, while Namjoon got ready for the day. Then they would meet in the teacher area for breakfast and, after a small make out session, Jin would head either to the pool or to his office to do his stuff, while Namjoon would get settled into his office for a full day of work. Depending on the day or how much work there was, Jin would occasionally join Namjoon in his office for lunch, where very little food would actually get eaten. In the evening, one or both of them would cook and they would settled down for supper and then maybe a movie, or, more likely, some bedroom activities. Both were extremely happy and didn't believe that life could get any better. They would still occasionally join the other five for dates out on the town, but both really seemed to prefer just spending a quiet evening at home with the other.

Everyone was living contentedly, when it came time for the National North Korean trials, where the Olympic participants would be determined. The day they were travelling, Taehyung woke up with a high fever and a pounding headache. Jungkook fussed over him, trying to get him to feel better, while Jin spent time on the phone, assuring the committee that Taehyung did not have covid-19 (he had been tested, it was negative). It took both Jin’s reputation and the reputation Taehyung had as a diver to get an approval for him to be allowed into the facility. It was still yet to be determined if he would be allowed to compete or not.

Taehyung couldn't believe it. He never got sick. Ever. But, here he was, almost unable to get out of bed and walk to the van. Jungkook finally gave up and scooped him up bridal style and carried him out. They had set up the back row with blankets and pillows and Jungkook laid him down gently and got him comfortable. Taehyung whined when Jungkook had to let go of him to run back and get their luggage, then he and Yoongi sat in the middle row. It was just the three of them going to the trials, Jin just wasn't confident enough in any of the other students to take them this year. There was always the World Cup next year that a couple more of his students would be ready for. Namjoon rode in the van also, taking over the duties of navigation and iTunes operator, while Jimin and Hoseok followed the van in Jimin's car.

Jungkook had spent a lot of the trip worrying about his boyfriend, blowing a fan on him to help keep him comfortable. Whenever they stopped, he would climb in the back seat and wipe him down with a cool cloth, trying to help break the fever. 

It took a few hours, but they finally reached the pool facility that was being used for the trials. By this time, Taehyung was pretty much delirious. Jin went in with Namjoon for the rooming assignments when they found out that the committee, after hearing of Taehyung's illness, had put him in a single and had roomed Jungkook with Yoongi.

“We specifically requested that Jungkook room with Taehyung. They do better if they can look after each other,” Jin repeated for the third time as they sent him up the management hierarchy.

“I'm sorry sir, but it says here that Mr. Kim is ill and we don't want it spreading during this competition,” the chairman said. “So, we want him isolated until it can be determined that he is well enough to compete.”

“Let me point out – again – that Jungkook and Taehyung are roommates back at my facility, and that they have been in the van together all day, so if there are any germs involved, Jungkook is already infected. I need Jungkook and Taehyung put in the same room. If you put them together, then we can monitor the situation, otherwise, Jungkook will probably sneak out and still go and stay with Taehyung. You're putting South Korea at a disadvantage, you and I both know these two are the hope of a gold and silver for our country at the Olympics. There are no divers in this country that even come close to their caliber of diving. And trust me, if you do not accommodate them, there will be press releases and news interviews with not only me, but the two of them, and we will make sure that it will be known that it was the committee's decision to sabotage Olympic glory this year.”

Jin stood and glared at the chairman. This was ridiculous. The longer he spent arguing over the accommodations he had previously requested was time that Taehyung could be resting and hopefully recovering enough to participate. It was still two days until the diving events, so he hoped that Taehyung could at least get on the diving board and show that he was Olympic material. Even when he wasn't at his best, he was still the best in the country, alongside Jungkook.

The chairman studied Jin. “You say they are roommates at your facility? What makes you think this Jungkook will take care of Taehyung as you say? Or are they just a pair of homosexuals, and you're using this to allow them to be perverts here at this competition? We do not allow such perverse activities here! I know the story of you and Felix, I was a judge at the competition when Felix drowned, and I heard the rumors of your sinful ways, so don't be making excuses to me, young man…”

It was at this point Jin took out his phone and calmly pressed a button and put the phone to his ear. “Jackie, yes, it's me. Would you please get the Seoul News Anchor on the line for me? I have quite an interesting news item for him regarding the two best divers in Korea. Yes, I want to see how soon they can have cameras here. And then contact the newspapers and let them know I'll be holding a press conference later today…”

“Wait!” the chairman jumped up out of his chair. He realized as soon as Jin had started talking that he might have underestimated this Coach. He knew the country still wasn't too keen on homosexual behavior, but times were changing, and the younger generation might not like the views he had just spouted off to the Coach. Especially when it had to do with two of the best chances Korea had at Gold in the diving competition at the Olympics this year.

“Hold on Jackie,” Jin said, then looked at the chairman expectantly, raising his eyebrows slightly.

“I, um, I guess you're right that if this Taehyung is infectious, then Jungkook will probably already have it. We can let them room together, as long as you promise to keep me informed on their situation. Let me look at the room assignments.” He picked up a sheet.

“You have Jungkook sharing with Min Yoongi, but I would prefer he is placed in a single. That’s what he has back at my facility now, and so I believe he will be more comfortable having his own room.” What Jin didn't share is that he fully expected Yoongi to spend most of his free time with Jimin and Hoseok in their hotel room just around the corner. The swimming trials were tomorrow and the next day, then the diving started after that, so even if Yoongi was going to catch what Taehyung had, hopefully it wouldn't hit him until the swimming trials were over.

“Yes,” the chairman made a note on his paperwork. “That sounds like the best arrangement. I have you in the room between them, with a, um, Kim Namjoon? Is that correct?” He looked up and squinted his eyes at Jin.

Jin knew he probably had an opinion about him sharing a room with Namjoon, but he just didn't care anymore. The homophobic ass hole could keep his opinions to himself as far as he was concerned. He had learned after the ‘scandal’ of him and Felix that no matter how much you screamed, no one seemed to care, so he wouldn't let himself get worked up over it.

When he walked out of the chairman's office, Namjoon was waiting in the hall.

“Well?” he asked.

“It's all settled,” Jin grinned at him. “Yoongi will take the single and Jungkook will be in with Taehyung in the double room. We have the double room between the two, so we can keep an eye on the situation. I just hope we can get Taehyung feeling better before the trials. As long as he can get on the boards, then he'll qualify for the Olympics, if he can just push through for each dive.”

“Right now he's barely able to stand up. Jungkook got him out of the van, but they're in the lounge with Yoongi, waiting to hear where they need to go.” Namjoon walked closely to Jin and they headed to the lounge of the hotel.

When Jin entered, Jungkook immediately jumped up and looked questioningly at their Coach.

“You're with Tae in the double. Joon and I are next door, and then Yoongi, you're in the single on the other side of us. Let's get everyone settled in, I want the doctor check Taehyung out, then Yoongi, I want to meet you at the pool for some practice runs. You swim tomorrow, so I don't want you to overexert yourself.” At the last sentence, he looked pointedly at Jimin and Hoseok, who had just entered with Tae and Jungkook's stuff.

Jimin looked innocently at Jin. “We have no plans other than the three of us were going to go grab a bite to eat after Yoongi practices, then Hoseok and I will chill out watching Netflix at our hotel room. We'll be here early to cheer Yoongi on, but he'll be back as soon as we get done with supper.”

Jin nodded in approval and they all got situated in their rooms. Namjoon went to sit with Jungkook and Taehyung to wait for the doctor while Jin took Yoongi to the pool. Jimin and Hoseok were given the status as Junior Coaches, so they were allowed to come along to watch Yoongi practice and then the three of them would go out to eat.

Jungkook had carried Taehyung to their room. Luckily it was on the main floor, and not too far down the hall, so it wasn't too bad. Namjoon followed and sat down on the one bed, while Jungkook got Taehyung settled on the other. He ran out and got some cool water and a towel and began to wipe his boyfriend down, trying to cool the fever.

The doctor showed up about 20 minutes later and spent some time going over Taehyung, checking his vitals and the declaring he had the flu and leaving some medicine to help him get better. Jungkook had to wake him up to take the pills, and then he promptly fell back to sleep, moaning loudly.

“Namjoon,” Jungkook sounded pained. “Is he going to make the trials? This has been his dream for years, how can he miss this? Do you think there's anything I can do?” A single tear fell down his cheek and his brother got up and gave him a hug.

“I know he has been obsessed with the Olympics, so I really hope he can dive day after tomorrow. We'll all help take good care of him, and we'll send out good vibes to the universe to ask that he gets better. Have a little faith, Jungkook.”

But the following day, as Yoongi won the first two events he was in and came in second in the third, Jungkook sat by Taehyung's side and kept wiping him down and making sure he was taking his meds. But it seemed like nothing was breaking his fever.

Was Taehyung's Olympic dreams going to come true or not?

Chapter Text

It was day two of the swimming trials. Yoongi had won all the heats he had been in on day one, and he was pretty tired. But when the gun went off, he swam his heart out and won gold in all but one trial. The last swim of the day, he was just too tired to give his all, so he came in 0.3 seconds behind the winner. He was ok with it, he was going to compete at the Olympics. As soon as he was done, the three boyfriends went to check on Taehyung.

Late in the afternoon, Tae's fever broke, but it left him very weak. Jungkook had to help him to the bathroom and he fed him soup slowly and tilted the water bottle up to his lips. His heart broke when Tae looked around and croaked, “Where am I?” He didn't even know he was at the Olympic trials. Jungkook held back a sob when he told his boyfriend where they were, but as soon as he felt he could step out, he headed over to Namjoon's room and knocked.

As soon as his brother opened the door, Jungkook allowed himself to release the sob that had been building up the past hour. Namjoon opened his arms and enveloped his little brother in a huge hug.

“Jungkook, what's wrong?” He asked worriedly. “Has something happened with Taehyung? Is he ok?”

“Oh Joon,” Jungkook said between sobs. “His fever broke, but he doesn't even know where he is. He's finally about to become an Olympian, and he didn't even know he was here at the trials. And he still can barely walk, he's so weak. I don't know what else to do.”

“Well,” Namjoon said in his calming voice. “He still has about 18 hours to get stronger, and Jin fully believes that if he can get on the diving board or the platform, he'll be able to perform well enough to be on the team. I'll give the doctor another call and we'll see what we can do. I’ll double check the drug list and make sure we don't have any issues there, the meds the doctor prescribed were ok, so go give him another dose and I'll be right in as soon as I make the call.”

Jungkook hurriedly wiped away his tears and headed back to his room, where Taehyung had gotten himself up into a sitting position, still looking a bit dazed and confused.

“Kookie,” he coughed. “There you are. Can I have more water?”

Jungkook looked at the glass on the nightstand, Taehyung must have found the strength to get the glass and drink the remainder of the water, because it was empty. He nodded and took the glass out to the ice machine then filled it up from the water fountain. Going back into the room, he handed Taehyung the glass, who took it gratefully and began to drink.

“Slow down,” Jungkok warned. “You don't want to get sick from drinking it too fast. Namjoon has called the doctor, so he should be here in just a few minutes. We need him to take a look at you and see if there's any more we can do to make you feel better. Our trials start tomorrow morning, and you need to have enough strength to just get up and dive.”

A single tear trailed down Taehyung's cheek and Jungkook sat down on the bed and gently wiped it away.

“It's ok,” he began, but Taehyung interrupted him.

“It's NOT ok!” He croaked out. “It's the fucking Olympics, and I can barely sit up. How can I dive in this shape? Of all the times for me to get sick, it had to be now. I never get sick, and now I've got the damn flu. And I have to watch any medication they give me so I don't get disqualified for that.”

As Tae spoke that last sentence, Namjoon knocked lightly on the door, then opened it and came in with the doctor right behind him.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he tried to soothe Taehyung, noticing the tear track on his cheek. “Let’s not get too upset yet, let the doctor here take a look and we can go from there, ok?” The problem was, the doctor was the one to have the final say in whether Taehyung would be allowed to participate or not.

The doctor approached Taehyung and once again, took his vitals. He kept a stony face, so none of them knew what the verdict was.

While he was taking Tae's blood pressure, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin and Jin walked it. Jimin couldn't contain himself, and bounded over to Jungkook, who stood by Tae's bed.

“He won everything!” Jimin said in a hushed, excited voice. “He's definitely off to the Olympics! Hoseok and I are going to be Jin's assistant coaches so we can stand on the side and cheer him on! Can you believe it? Our boyfriend is going to be an Olympian swimmer! Oh, sorry,” he said as the doctor gave him a stern look. “How's the patient Mr. Doctor?”

“May I speak to you for a moment in the hall?” He had turned to Jin.

Jin gestured for him to go ahead and he followed, shutting the door behind him as he heard Taehyung start to cry in earnest.

“I'm sorry, but I can't allow that young man to participate in the diving trials tomorrow. He's just too weak, and there aren't any medications I can give him that are on the approved list that will help him. I'm afraid if he dives, he might not have the strength to even get back to the side of the pool, and the last thing we need is to have someone drown at the Olympic trials.”

“But…” Jin tried to think of something, anything to get Taehyung on the diving boards the next day.

“There is no solution to this problem. He will not be allowed to dive tomorrow. If he shows up, I will have him escorted back to his room immediately.”

With that, the doctor turned and walked away.

Jin watched him and frantically searched his mind for any solution to the problem. Taehyung had worked so hard, and yet a flu bug was going to kill his dreams. He didn't know how he was going to tell him, but he turned and walked back into the room. All six faces looked to him anxiously.

“Taehyung,” Jin cleared his throat. “Oh Taehyung. I don't know exactly how to tell you this, but the doctor says you can't participate in the trials tomorrow.”

With that, Taehyung began to cry in earnest, Jungkook jumping to his side and wrapping his arms around him, also sobbing. Namjoon ran over and wrapped his arms around both young men and looked to Jin.

“Nothing? There's nothing you can do? How can we let his happen? Taehyung is the best in the nation, he has to go to the Olympics. How can he not go?”

Jungkook raised his tear stained face and pleaded, “Coach, please, I don't want to go if Taehyung isn't there. I don't want to be there without him. If I win any gold, I want to know it's because I beat the best diver in the nation, not because he wasn't diving against me.”

Jin stood there and glanced at the other three young men in the room. They had stopped their celebration to commiserate with the grieving Taehyung, all three looking stricken with the news. Everyone knew how hard Taehyung worked with the goal of Olympic gold, and no one could believe what was happening to him. Jimin reached over and rubbed Jungkook's back.

“We'll let you be,” he said quietly. “I think you two need to be alone right now. Come on Yoongi, Hoseok, let's go to that little restaurant I saw a couple blocks from here and let them have some time.”

With that, he reached over and grabbed the hands of his boyfriends and led them out the door.

Namjoon looked at Jin and lifted his chin towards the door, indicating that he wanted to meet Jin out in the hall. With one final hug to Jungkook and Taehyung, he stood up and followed Jin to the hall.

“Is there anything you can do? Can we force them to let Taehyung dive?”

“No,” Jin said sadly. “The doctor said if Taehyung even shows up, he will have him escorted back to the rooms.”

Suddenly Jin straightened up and looked into Namjoon's eyes with determination.

“Let me check on one thing. Will you be ok for a few hours?”

Namjoon looked quizzically at him, but nodded. “I'll get some work done and keep an eye on Jungkook and Tae. I can't believe this is happening, they'll probably need me around.”

“Great,” Jin said over his shoulder as he walked down the hall to the exit.

Namjoon went to their room, grabbed his laptop then knocked on Jungkook's door and stepped quietly into the room. Jungkook was holding the distraught Taehyung in his arms, rocking him back and forth, muttering quietly to him.

“It's ok, we'll get through this, if we have to wait four more years, we can,” he kept saying it over and over into Taehyung's ear, trying to convince himself what he was saying was true. But, in his heart, he felt that this was the end. He was worried about Taehyung, this had been his dream for years, it was all they had worked for together. How could he even show up at the pool tomorrow without his boyfriend, let alone the Olympics?

“It's not ok,” Taehyng sobbed. “It'll never be ok, how can it be ok? I'm not going to the Olympics. How is that fair? Kookie, I never get sick, ever, and now this…”

Namjoon just sat down in one of the chairs and sighed. He didn't know what more to do for his brother or Taehyung. He felt it wasn't fair, but if the doctor said he wouldn't let Taehyung compete, it was all over. At least for this Olympics.

Taehyung finally cried himself to sleep, and Jungkook just held him close, stroking his hair. He looked over at his brother, who had closed his laptop and was just watching the two lovers comfort each other.

“Joon,” Jungkook whispered. “I'm worried Joon. You know how hard Taehyung has worked to get into this Olympics, and the worst part is that in a week or so, long before the Olympics happen, he'll be as good as new, and then he'll have to watch it as a spectator. He's the greatest diver in the country Joon, how can he not be there? I don't want to go if he isn't competing, a gold only means something if I've beat him. Can we just tell Coach that I'll wait the four years and try out then?”

“Stop talking nonsense,” Namjoon said sternly. “We didn't get you into Jin's program for you to just bow out because your boyfriend won't be there. I understand how winning against Taehyung means more, cause we both know you're great, but we also both know Taehyung is just a tiny fraction better. But do you really think he'll want you to miss this opportunity because of him? That won't be healthy for your relationship either. Let's just see what tomorrow, oh wait, what today brings.”

It was well after midnight and Jin still hadn't come back. Namjoon got a little worried and brought out his phone and texted the Coach.

“Where are you?” he texted.

As soon as he hit send, a loud knock sounded on the door, waking up Taehyung and startling Jungkook. Getting up, Namjoon opened it to Jin's smiling face.

“Jungkook, why are you still awake?” He admonished. “You have the diving trials in just a few hours and you need your rest.”

“I just can't Coach,” Jungkook began. “I just can't compete if I know Taehyung won't be there with me.”

“What?” Taehyung croaked. “No, you have to go. One of us needs to be there to at least bring home the gold. Of course, we'll have to forget the synchronized dives, but you have to compete to bring glory to South Korea. Don't give up just because I caught this stupid flu bug.”

“What do you mean?” Jin smile grew even bigger. “Taehyung, you're going to the Olympics. I've been gathering the committee and arguing your case to them. I brought a list of your wins in all the competitions you've been in, and explained how they would regret it if they let a stupid flu bug stop you. They want to win, and they finally realized that was dependent on you and Jungkook. They're listing you as an Olympian with your records as proof that you deserve to go. So, Jungkook, you won't be going alone. But, you still need to win the trials, you don't get a pass on your history, so Namjoon, let's get out of here and let these two rest. Taehyung, I do have permission for you to come sit with Jimin, Hoseok and Yoongi to watch Jungkook compete, so get some rest, both of you.”

And with this Jin grabbed Namjoon's hand and led him back to their room. Since neither of them were competing the next day, they decided to celebrate Yoongi's wins with some night time exercises of their own.

Chapter Text

Of course, with his boyfriend weakly cheering him on in the stands, Jungkook won each and every category there was. Because Taehyung couldn't dive in the trials with him, he was given a pass to also be an Olympian in the synchronized diving. Neither one of them could believe the miracle Jin had performed, but neither was going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The next few months were spent with Jin, perfecting their dives even more. To make them even more prepared for the synchronized diving, Jin gave them specific instructions.

“I want you two to do everything together. I want you to eat at the same pace, make sure you lift your chopsticks and eat in tandem. I want you to go to the bathroom together and shit at the same time, and finish wiping at the same time. I want you two to jack off together, strokes in perfect harmony and I want the two of you to come at the exact same time. If one of you has to fart, I want both of your ass cheeks to release air. I want people to see you two and look twice, thinking they only saw one person. And when you're up on the platform, ready to dive together, I don't want you to look at each other, I want you to sense what the other is doing and mimic each other. You're in the big league now, you've got to be ready.”

So, the two young men did as they were told. The only time they were allowed to be “out of sync" was when they were working on their individual dives. They spent even more hours at the pool, determined to make South Korea proud. There were only two colors in their sights, and that was Silver and Gold.
It was the week before the Olympics and Namjoon, Jin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook were set and ready to fly out the next day. They would get settled in and get acclimated to the area and practice in the Olympic pool before the competitions began. Jimin and Hoseok would stay at a hotel just 4 blocks from the Olympic village, the same hotel that Yoongi and Taehyung's parents were staying at. Yoongi's parents had met their son's boyfriends, and after a bit of shock, learning their son was in a three way relationship, they had come to love Jimin and Hoseok. Taehyung's parents adored Jungkook, and had basically adopted both Jungkook and Namjoon, and along with him, Jin, into their family.

When they arrived and got their room assignment, Taehyung and Jungkook began to unpack. Taehyung laughed out loud when he saw Bam come out of Jungkook's luggage.

“I just need him here with me,” Jungkook said defensively.

“I'm not laughing at that,” Taehyung could barely catch his breath, but reached into his luggage and brought out Yeotan. “I'm laughing because we both had the same idea. I guess we needed our ‘emotional support stuffies' with us.”

He turned and laid Tannie on his bed and then approached Jungkook and wrapped his arms around him. “Have I told you lately that I love you? And that I'm going to win all the Gold there is out there for us to win in diving?”

Jungkook chuckled and pulled Taehyung close and gently kissed his lips.

“Yeah,” he said. “You been telling me that just about every hour. But, that's ok, I know you're better than me. And you know I love you too, and I'll be happy with the silver, as long as it's you I lose to.”

Knowing they didn't want to tire themselves out before the diving competitions, they only allowed themselves to make out, planning on celebratory activities once they were done winning. It wasn't easy, but neither had trained hard to just wear themselves out before getting on the boards and platforms.

The competitions began with the synchronized diving. It was no surprise that Taehyung and Jungkook easily won the gold in the 3m and 10m platform and the Springboard. There was a day off then the individual diving began.

The springboard competition was first, and Taehyung drew the 2nd position in diving, while Jungkook was to go 7th. Both started with the same fairly basic dive, and both scored very high, and only .05 points difference between them, Taehyung just barely edging out Jungkook.

As they dived, they performed more complicated dives each time they got on the board, until there was one dive left and Taehyung was only .04 points ahead of Jungkook. 

Jin took Taehyung aside and tried to calm the nerves that were beginning to show in the young man's face.

“Tae, you've got this. Go and do the best dive of your life and don't worry about anything else. Remember, we worked on this, even if you get the silver, it's not first loser, but only acknowledging that Jungkook had a bit of a better day. Jungkook has told you time and time again that you are the best, but even the best aren't always the winner 100% of the time. You've been working on this dive for over a year, you can do it in your sleep, go and show them what you are.”

The spectators were so quiet you could have heard a pin drop as Taehyung steps on to the springboard and he strides forward and begins his jumps to perform a 2 ½ somersaults with 3 twists, one of the hardest dives being performed. The splash at the end is non-existent, and Tae comes up out of the water with a huge smile on his face. That should bring him the gold, he was certain.

Until Jungkook performed an almost perfect 4 ½ somersaults dive.

When the scores came up, Taehyung felt tears well in his eyes. He had dived his heart out, yet the one who held his heart stole the gold, by .01 of a point. One one hundredth of a point. The closest margin ever in Olympic diving history. He had matured enough to feel happiness for his boyfriend, but to not get a gold at his first ever individual attempt at diving tore his heart in two. He hid it well from Jin, but Jungkook could see the hurt in his eyes as he came up to congratulate Jungkook on his gold.

“I know you didn't want me to hand you the gold, Tae,” he whispered in Tae's ear as they stood to get on the podium to receive their medals. “Jin told me to do my best dive, and today I finally hit it as close to perfect as I've ever done. But if I hadn't given it my all, you would have known, and I know you don't want that.”

“No,” Tae said quietly. “No, you're right. I wouldn't have wanted to win the gold if you hadn't done your best. I'll just have to beat you on the 10m platform tomorrow. Then the 3m platform the next day. We'll just see who's the best overall.” Then he decided he would be mad at Jin for making Jungkook perform such a perfect dive. Well, mad for a little while that is. He was still going to hear the South Korean National Anthem in just a second. Then he was bowing his head to accept the silver.

Jungkook could tell Taehyung was still upset, so as soon as the National Anthem was played, he reached over and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and pulled him up to the gold stand to raise their hands in triumph. The score had been so close, it should have been a double gold, but that one one hundredth had meant Jungkook went home with the gold. But, there were still two more categories to compete in.

That night Jungkook held Taehyung as he finally let out his disappointment in getting the silver. They had done this before, Tae would show a brave, happy face to the world, tell everyone how happy he was that it was Jungkook that had been the one to beat him, and then at night he would allow himself to fall apart, but in the arms of the man who had beaten him. Because he knew Jungkook understood. And he really did understand. While diving was important to him, it wasn't the end all of his passions, but it was everything to Taehyung. So, at night, after everything was over, it was Jungkook that held Taehyung as he let the emotions of losing flow forth from his eyes. It was a strange dichotomy between the diving and the personal lives of the two, but it worked for them.

The next day Jungkook drew the 5th position and Taehyung the last, which calmed Tae's nerves. He hated going before Jungkook, cause when he did, that was when he would occasionally lose. He watched as Jungkook did an almost flawless dive from the 10m platform, and then began to visualize his dive coming up.

Once again, it was neck and neck for these two as they each performed dives scoring in the 9.5 range from the judges. Spectators sat on the edge of their seats as one or the other would climb up the steps to the high platform and perform extremely difficult dives one after another.

On the final dive, Jungkook approached the end of the platform and went into a perfect handstand and then dived off and performed the two somersault two and a half twist into the water, but he was a little off, and a small splash followed his feet as he entered the water. Taehyung groaned as he watched his boyfriend come out of the water. He understood the look on Jungkook's face, and knew he hadn't thrown the competition, he had just had a bad dive. Which left it wide open for Taehyung. The two of them were so far ahead, Jungkook could have probably done a belly flop and still came away with the silver.

When Taehyung arrived at  the platform for his dive, he took a deep breath, zoned in on the water, the water that he knew and loved, then took his steps and jumped in the air and performed a 4 ½ Pike somersault into the waiting water below him. Highest level of difficulty in competition, and he had been working on it for years. Today, he showed the world that he really was the best as his entrance into the water left barely a ripple.

The spectators roared with delight, Tae’s parents grasped each other, tears streaming out of their eyes. Jin grabbed Namjoon and kissed him full on the mouth. In the stands, Jimin, Hoseok and Yoongi screamed themselves hoarse, while jumping up and down. And there was Jungkook, with the biggest smile he had ever worn, knowing full well, this was a Gold that Taehyung deserved for what he had just done.

This time, when presented with his medal, Taehyung couldn't stop smiling. His first individual gold at the Olympics. The score had been such a wide margin, unlike the close score the day before, no one doubted that the young man was the best in the world. As soon as the South Korean National Anthem had played and Jin had congratulated him, he turned to Jungkook in the locker room and beamed at him.

“You did it,” Jungkook smiled right back at his boyfriend. “You've not only won gold, but you have proved you are the best in the world. I'm so damn proud of you.”

Looking around to make sure they were the only ones there, Taehyung leaned in and pressed his lips to Jungkook's. “Thank you,” he whispered.

The next afternoon was the 3m platform, where the two of them were neck and neck for each dive. In the end it was, again, a Gold and Silver for South Korea, and the two of them stood on the medal platform, grinning from ear to ear as they listened to the South Korean Anthem play for the 3rd time in the 3 events for the individual diving. Jin stood on the side, face beaming for his two top students, knowing this would bring in more students who were international caliber, wanting to win Olympic Gold for themselves. And once the swimming meets were over, and Yoongi had won gold across the board, he knew he would be busy, but he also knew now there was more to life than just diving. Namjoon had brought him happiness he never thought he would have again.

Chapter Text

After the Olympics, life settled back down. Yoongi enrolled in University and attended the same school as his two boyfriends. The three of them found out they had a passion for the fashion industry, specializing in swim wear. Jimin would design, Yoongi would go out and sell and Hoseok used his business degree to run the company they had formed – Behind The Swimmers. Their best clients were the tons of students flocking to Jin's facility after the success of Yoongi, Jungkook and Taehyung.

Namjoon asked Jin to marry him after 3 years of living together. It was performed in England, in a small ceremony with Jungkook and Taehyung standing up for them. They invited only Jimin, Hoseok and Yoongi, along with Tae's parents to attend. It was a beautiful ceremony with Namjoon's vows bringing everyone to tears, especially Jin, who could barely say his vows after what Namjoon had said to him.

The next day, while out doing touristy stuff, Taehyung surprised Jungkook with a marriage proposal of his own, while riding in the London Eye. When they reached the top, he got on one knee and presented Jungkook with a ring, who excitedly put it on and announced “Yes! Yes! YES!”. They were young, yes, but they knew there would never be anyone else for either of them. Taehyung had asked Namjoon for permission, and after a stern “you really are too young for this" discussion, Namjoon gave his full blessing, knowing there wasn't ever going to be anyone else for his brother than Taehyung. 

Jimin's parents flew in the next day to celebrate with their son's best friend as he married the love of his life, and the whole group spent a week just enjoying each other while exploring London. Well, everyone enjoyed exploring London except Jin and Namjoon and Taehyung and Jungkook. Those four stayed in their rooms, enjoying each other. Jungkook could hardly believe he was there in London, married to the love of his life, and spending hours just making love to him in a high end hotel room. The four of them did get out a couple of time to eat with the others, but otherwise the two couples enjoyed being newlyweds.

The next year Jin and Namjoon built a larger house on the facility grounds, and allowed Taehyung and Jungkook to move into the little house just behind the pool. It worked out good since Taehyung began to coach at the facility the next year while training for the next World Cup and the next Olympics, while Jungkook decided to attend University with his best friends. He also found a love of business, and majored in that, eventually taking over the running of Jin's facility on the business side of things. He didn't go back to compete in the next Olympics, deciding to concentrate on his studies, and letting Taehyung bring in all the gold for South Korea. He still spent hours in the pool with Taehyung, as he still loved the water and they could hardly stay apart, but except for some smaller competitions in synchronized diving with his husband, he stayed out of the circuit, happy to sit in the stands with his friends and cheering Taehyung on to win Gold.

And win gold is what Taehyung did at the next Olympics. He decided he would train for one more Olympic experience while he took over more and more of the coaching at  Jin's facility. He was getting a little older, still the best in the Nation, but he knew that eventually he would have to retire and hang up his swim trucks for another generation to fill. 

At the next Olympics, Jungkook was in the stands, but he was joined by their two three year old twins, Ji-soo and Si-woo, and Namjoon with their five year old son Felix as his other Daddy was by the pool, coaching his Uncle Tae. This time, Taehyung had to fight hard for his gold medals, so when he announced his retirement, he was at peace with it. He would go on to teach at Jin's facility, while Jungkook ran the business side of things, but the small family of four would spend hours together at the pool. Taehyung was determined that his children would love the water as much as he and their Daddy did, and it was pretty obvious early on that Ji-soo loved to dive into the water, and Si-woo could swim faster than some of the teenagers that were training. 

And thus the two Olympic divers spent their days and nights together, Happily Ever After.

The end.