"Jungkook? What are you doing here so late?"

I shrugged, stepping over the threshold into the apartment. Having been here many times before, I walked in to the kitchen, grabbed a beer, before sitting on the couch. My feet propped themselves up on the coffee table.

"What made you think I would actually be awake? It's after eleven at night."

I took a sip of my beer with a sigh. "It's a Wednesday night. You always DJ at Castello's until 10:45 and it takes you close to twenty minutes to get back here."

He nodded, sitting down on the couch next to me. He reached over and grabbed my beer, taking a sip before passing it back. "So why are you up and out so late?"

I released a big breath. "I was on a date." The beer bottle met my lips once more.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? It's been... a long time since you went on a date. Who was it?"

I set the beer down on the coffee table, hearing some of the contents swishing around inside the glass bottle. "To be precise, this was my first date in over three years."

A soft hum was my response, and I knew he was waiting for me to elaborate.

With a heavy sigh, I shut my eyes while answering his question. "It was a date with Taehyung, the new violinist."

I could hear him release a breathy chuckle. "I'm not surprised at all, Kook. I could tell you were intrigued the second you laid eyes on him in rehearsal."

"Yoongi, I am already crazy for him, but I'm the conductor. I can't be having any sort of fraternizations with members of the orchestra. I could lose my job!"

Yoongi nodded, squeezing my hand as it rested on my lap. "You two are intelligent people. You will figure it out. It's not the first time a member of the orchestra has been involved with a conductor. You just have to make sure it's serious and that everything remains professional. No more shitting on the violin section because you're sexually frustrated."

I leaned forward, grabbing the beer and downing the rest of the bottle. "You're right. We need to be professional. Jaqueline du Pre married a conductor she worked with, and nobody frowned upon that! We... We can make this work."

Yoongi clapped me on the shoulder with a smile. "That's the spirit! Now, get the fuck out of my apartment so I can sleep."

I chuckled, standing up and gathering my things. "Thank you, Yoongi. I love you, friend."

My best friend nodded, walking towards his front door. "Yeah yeah, don't go getting all sappy on me because you had a beer."

I stood in the doorway, turning to face him with raised eyebrows. "You know I'm not leaving until you say it back."

Yoongi sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Son of a bitch, I love you too, Jungkook."

I smiled, stepping into the hallway. "I'll see you later, bestie!"

As I walked down the hallway, I could hear his faint grunt before shutting the door, making me shake my head at his inability to accept affection in any capacity.

My mind thought through our conversation, and then it replayed the date with Taehyung from just a few hours prior.

We will make this work.

•••••

Writer's block is going away so I can finally update this story after like two whole months!🎉