Marshmallow

Hug

By the end of that week, Jungkook could barely remember what it was like to have only one friend. If it was impossible to separate Taehyung from himself, it was a lot harder to separate Taehyung from Jimin, and so it just became naturally impossible to separate himself and Jimin. His ever-smiling hyung was present at every lunch, every hangout, every meet-up-at-the-gates-before-school-starts because apparently that was a thing now. Taehyung had instituted it, of course, and Jimin had smilingly agreed, and since Taehyung lived near Jungkook, now the maknae had someone walking him to school and home from school.

And Jungkook still really liked Jimin's smile, so he agreed as well, and they'd been walking and meeting and hanging for the past month without Jungkook getting tired of it.

Sometimes they walked to his hyungs' homes, because Jimin's mom made really good cookies that Jungkook couldn't say no to, not after the first time. And when Taehyung dragged them back to his house, Jungkook also found he couldn't say no to fresh-squeezed lemonade. In fact, he started to encourage the hangouts away from his own house because he had nothing yummy to offer.

"Jungkookie, admit it, you're just a sucker for cookies and lemonade."

Jungkook slapped his hyung with the back on his hand on his arm, but Jimin giggled, and he could only nod agreeably. It was the Jimin effect or something, that smile, that laugh, the whole package was something Jungkook couldn't get enough of, and yeah, he was a sucker for cookies and lemonade.

Jimin ducked around Taehyung to come and walk on the maknae's other side. "Jungkook-ah, did you like those molasses cookies my eomma made last time?"

Another nod.

"Oh, good. She made them especially for you."

That puzzled Jungkook. "Why?"

Does it need to be said that Jimin was smiling? "Because you love her baking so much, Jungkook-ah. She says you make the best "this is delicious" expressions."

"True. It's pretty cute, Jungkookie," Taehyung chimed in.

Jungkook wasn't blushing, but there was a very pleasant, warm sensation in his belly that crept up towards his heart and made him feel something akin to delight. "I'll make sure to thank you."

"You always make sure to thank her, Jungkookie, you're the politest kid I've ever met. Except that one guy in geometry. He's so polite I want to dump a bucket of cold water on his head and see if he still maintains his perfect composure."

Both Jungkook and Jimin stopped walking to give Taehyung their best "why are you so weird?" looks. Taehyung stuck his tongue out at them and continued walking.

"Come on, Jiminnie, you've wanted to do it to."

"Maybe I wanted to throw a pencil at him when he wouldn't stop complimenting Mrs. Cho on her new dress," Jimin admitted.

Jungkook elbowed him in the side lightly.

Jimin groaned, wincing dramatically and dodging a second attack. "I wouldn't have, Jungkook-ah, I'm not stupid."

"It's just that he doesn't even realize how much of a suck-up he is. Like, really! He's supposed to be so smart, but besides being polite, he has absolutely no social skills." Taehyung kicked a pebble and huffed.

Jungkook just rolled his eyes. His friend was one to talk. Taehyung might be bubbly and friendly and could charm anyone with a smile, but he was also awkward and said whatever came into his head and would insult and compliment someone in the same sentence without thinking it was weird. He thought comparing girls to flowers was the best flirtation method ever.