"Cherry Blossoms?"

"There's a park over there where they bloom," Yoongi said, glancing shyly at Jimin over the blankets. "We could go see them when you're off work tomorrow."

Jimin hummed, scooting closer to him. "Or we could just sleep through all of it," he mumbled, wrapping his arms around his mate. His mark stung where Yoongi had bitten it again during his heat two days before, and he wasn't sure why, but the marking made him feel sluggish and sleepy, like he was in over his head all the time.

Stupid Yoongi.

Yoongi huffed, leaning in and pressing his lips to Jimin's mark. "I'm sorry, okay? I licked it as much as I could."

"Self control really isn't your strong suit," Jimin muttered.

"Liar," Yoongi mumbled.

Jimin tucked his head into Yoongi's chest, taking a deep breath, then pulled away, shoving himself to his hands and knees. He was really starting to hate mornings. Nothing was as nice as falling into bed with his mate at the end of a long day, and nothing was worse than having to get out of that position in the morning.

Sometimes he wanted to gag at himself. He was getting so stereotypical it made him sick. If his past self had met his current one he would have sneered and walked away.

"I like both of you," Yoongi mumbled.

"Huh?" Jimin turned, squinting at him.

"Both selves," Yoongi said, squinting back teasingly. "Your past and present. I'm lucky to have such a strong mate."

Jimin's ears heated up at the compliment, and he stood, grumbling to himself and rubbing his face as he stumbled toward the bathroom. Yoongi's tired laugh echoed in his ears as he did.

***

Yoongi's words came back to him as he stepped out of the shower, toweling himself off. Cherry blossoms... those would be nice. Jimin had spent most of his life hiding during the spring, when there was no guarantee some love-struck alpha bent on finding their mate wouldn't just snatch him up and try to take him home. Places with cherry blossoms had often been danger spots to him, though he remembered the cherry tree outside the classroom windows from his first year of school. It had been pretty...

I used to go there every spring, Yoongi told him.

Jimin jumped, scowling. Don't startle me like that!

Sorry. It's just really nice in your head.

Jimin rolled his eyes, running a hand through his wet hair and yanking his clothes on. It does sound nice. Do you want to go tonight?

Can we?

Jimin had to laugh. Yoongi was always so hesitant and shy about these things. He pulled open the bathroom door, leaning on the doorframe, and shook his head at Yoongi's form, curled up under their blankets. Probably hiding that adorable blush he got.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll call you once I'm off work, okay?"

Yeah, sure, Yoongi said without taking the blankets off.

You're such a dork, Jimin teased.

And you love it. Yoongi's hand emerged from the blankets to give him the finger, and Jimin laughed, grabbing his bag and running one last hand through his hair, praying the wetness wouldn't make him cold. His hair usually dried fast anyway.

***

Jimin didn't know how many curse words it would take to change the time on the clock, but he was going to keep trying. He mumbled them under his breath as he opened his mind to his mate, not having to do any more than send an image of the door to his workplace slamming behind him before there was mutual understanding-- and the headache of Yoongi's disappointment, because no matter how hard the alpha tried, he was terrible at hiding his emotions over their bond.

The sun was setting, and the apartment was too far away to run. Jimin would get back at dusk at best, and that meant that by the time he'd ripped his uniform off--

Fxxk it. He was running.

He was completely winded by the time he burst in the doorway, startling Yoongi. His mate leaned back, watching in obvious confusion as Jimin tore off his shirt and started hunting for a better one.

Min?

It's not dark yet, Jimin thought, yanking a shirt on and reaching down to undo his pants before it had even un-bunched from under his arms. Yoongi laughed, standing and walking over to tug it down.

"It's okay, min," he said. "We can go some other time."

Jimin scowled at him, kicking his pants off and reaching for a pair of sweatpants. "No. We're going out there. I promised."

"Did you? I don't remember that."

"I said we would," Jimin raced back toward the door, grabbing his shoes. "That's as good as. Come on!"

"Min, you need more than a t-shirt. It's not summer yet."

Jimin groaned. "Fxxk spring!"

Yoongi's laughter followed him back into the bedroom as he ran for a jacket.

***

"Seriously, min, it's not that big a deal. They'll last a couple days."

Jimin humphed, grabbing Yoongi's hand and yanking him forward. The sun had nearly disappeared over the hills, and the park was still five minutes away. He knew, logically, that Yoongi wasn't mad at him for being late-- when had he been mad for something as stupid as that before?-- but he'd been excited to actually go somewhere with his mate. If he hadn't agreed to help that stupid coworker move boxes, he might not have lost track of time. He tried to pick up his pace, but Yoongi tugged him back, finally stopping in the center of the sidewalk and turning him around.

"It wasn't a promise, min," he said softly, taking Jimin's head in his hands and bringing their foreheads together. "Slow down. Let's spend this time together instead of stressing out, yeah?"

You just had your heat. It's normal to feel scattered for a bit, remember? The doctor told you to slow down.

Jimin let out a shaky sigh, shrinking into his jacket when Yoongi let go. Yoongi was right. Their doctor had warned him that moving back into his heat cycles after so long on suppressants meant he had to take life slower around the time of his heats, which were irritatingly irregular. But it was so hard, especially when his rebellious body made him forget something like this.

He was a terrible mate.

Yoongi didn't say anything, instead squeezing his hand tighter and tugging him forward. They could argue about it all they wanted, but the feeling remained, stubbornly embedded in Jimin's mind. It was just something they'd learned to deal with.

They passed the gates to the park just as the rest of the sun disappeared over the horizon, and Jimin looked on in disappointment as the colors flattened and dimmed into each other. The blossoms were pretty, but he'd missed them in the sunlight because of his forgetfulness. He could have had so much fun with Yoongi, instead of wasting time and energy pushing boxes and running back and forth between home and work.

It was at this point that Yoongi grunted in irritation, spinning him around, and pulled him into a kiss. It was chaste, a firm press of the lips, but its combination with a sudden burst of Yoongi's pheromones nearly made Jimin's head turn to fluff. As it was, he stumbled, and Yoongi led him over to a bench, sitting down and pulling him into his lap.

"I--" Jimin started.

"Hush," Yoongi mumbled, They're beautiful, aren't they?

Jimin sighed, shifting and looking out at the trees. They looked like soft clouds in the fading light. Yoongi was right-- it was pretty, even if it was a different pretty from what he'd imagined after seeing photos online.

Yoongi kissed his cheek, then his neck, nuzzling him until he laughed and shoved him away. Jimin took a moment to grin at his mate, then tackled him, blowing a raspberry under his chin and making him squirm. Yoongi laughed, tipping his head around, and blew a revenge raspberry right on Jimin's mark.

The shudder that ran through Jimin's body left him wide eyed and more than a little confused. He still wasn't sure how to deal with his body being his body, so he took a shaky breath, and Yoongi paused, pressing his hands firmly into his waist in what must have been an attempt to ground him before he panicked.

"Min?" he asked softly.

Jimin didn't respond, choosing instead to take another breath and step off of Yoongi, running a hand through his hair. Yoongi stood, following him and putting his hands back on his waist, then gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"One step at a time," he said.

Jimin nodded, swallowing. Yoongi turned his head so they were facing and gave him another chaste kiss, swaying him back and forth.

I love you, he said in Jimin's mind. You're perfect. I love you.

And Jimin relaxed and let himself believe. 

Someone said bonus chapter.... *smirks*

Seriously, this story is getting so much attention! Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading, voting, and commenting on this story! I'm still adjusting to the idea that one of the stories I wrote is over 96k reads and 4k votes now... Thank you so much for enjoying this! I hope the bonus chapter has measured up to the rest of the story. 

Thank you again for giving this story a chance, and for loving it so much! You've made me so happy with all your fun comments and the voting spam and... everything! :D I hope this story has done the same for you! 

I should go to bed now. Goodnight!