The Gamer's Guide to Romance || •PJM• ✔️

Arcades, Kisses, and Girlfriends

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Jimin

After a hectic month of dealing with being a Dior ambassador, Jimin decided to slow things down.

He needed a break from the sudden increase of tension in his schedule. He didn't regret it; Dior treated him (and paid him) well. Any outfit he received from them made him do cartwheels in his bedroom. But that didn't mean he enjoyed not being able to spend as much time with his girl, and that led him to where he was: the arcade.

As gamers, both of them enjoyed the digital world, but Y/n was more of a casual gamer, so the arcade was a perfect middle ground that appealed to both of their interests. Jimin enjoyed old-school games, and Y/n would enjoy the casual environment with the game variety. That and the kids laughing and running around with red and white tickets flopping back and forth in their hands would give them plenty of wholesome vibes.

The arcade wasn't as loud as he was expecting. It had flashing lights, purple lighting, few windows to keep the immersion, and arcade games that dinged every few seconds, but the chatter masked the otherwise annoying noises. The kids clapping and giggling filled Jimin with warmth, and he chuckled at the sight of it all.

He held Y/n's hand and strolled down the multi-colored carpets that had mixes of navy blue, black, and dark purple to match the lighting. They Donkey Kong machine had four people waiting for it, and Jimin grinned when he saw the little boy kicking ass on it. He had a backwards baseball cap on, and he was chewing gum. The bright ass green shirt was Jimin's personal favorite part, though. That kid was going places. He didn't know where, but places.

"Where to first, honey?" Jimin asked, and Y/n beamed.

"Pac-Man so I can feel better about myself. No one's bad at Pac-Man."

Well, she'd be surprised. Mark always found a way to break games, so there was a high chance he'd cause it to explode.

Jimin shook his thoughts away and hummed in agreement. "I'll never say no to that."

Together, they located the Pac-Man machine, and Y/n went first and dominated. He recorded some of it, but not for YouTube, just for himself, and he laughed and clapped his hands together as she got a higher score than anything Jimin had ever gotten.

"Beat that," she said with a sassy hand wave, creeping away from the game so he could try his hand at it.

It was safe to say Jimin did not, in fact, beat her score. It was the opposite; if there was a way to get a negative number in Pac-Man, he assumed he'd take it. So much for "no one is bad at Pac-Man."

And that was how the rest of the night went on, without a hitch. They played games, laughed, smiled, and ruffled each other's hair. By the time the night came to a close, Jimin held her hand and walked out of the closing arcade. No more kids ran around with cheers and bounces, which proved they had to go.

Jimin took her outside as the lights to the building went from neon to nothing, but that was okay since the streets of Los Angeles had enough streetlights to keep them entertained. That and the buildings that either looked rundown or like they were built yesterday, no in between. One, a brick apartment complex, had moss growing in between the bricks and overgrown grass out front. Another, a concrete apartment complex, didn't have so much as a crack. Jimin never understood how Los Angeles looked both modern and ancient, but meh, whatever.

"Nice night," Y/n said as they walked hand-in-hand down the streets.

It was a long walk back to her house, but they made it earlier, so they'd do it again. Plus, it gave him more time to hold her hand and contemplate his life decisions-

Wait a second.

Jimin almost tripped over his own feet, and Y/n stopped to steady him. Despite the help, Jimin had to grab onto the streetlight to stop himself from collapsing. All because of his stupid thoughts interrupting an otherwise peaceful night with his girlfriend.

"You okay?" she asked, and he waved it off like it was no big deal.

"Yeah, sorry, I tripped." Then, after a moment, "But I'd feel a lot better if you kissed me."

And that was what was on his mind: her. His stupid thoughts said he should ask her out now. Ask her to be his girlfriend and blurt it out as if the answer was a definite yes, and all he needed was confidence. But would she say yes? That very thought caused him to stumble just a moment ago, and he had to do his best to play it off. All while deciding if he should ask her to be his girlfriend after all this time.

"Well, Mr. Park," she said with a small drawl, wrapping her arms around his neck. "All you had to do was ask."

And she granted his desires. The bold side of her came out more and more around him, and he adored that she was comfortable enough with him to warrant her trust. That warmed his stomach and brought tingles to his skin.

Their lips pressed together, and it was a sweet, soft kiss he couldn't get enough of. In that moment, with their mouths joined and their arms wrapped around one another, Jimin realized it: he needed her. He needed her to be his. As much as he spent the majority of his time knowing her being afraid she'd reject him and he'd mess things up, her lips were enough to convince him. The arcade did, too. Seeing her gorgeous face lit up by those neon lights had him swooning.

When she pulled away, he held her close, staring at her incredible eyes and knowing exactly what he had to do. After waiting for so long, he had to do it. It was time to take the next step.

It was time to ask her to be his.

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