parlor tricks
pairings: jihope, implied future yoonseok genre: angst, supernatural au, rated m warnings: past major character death, grief/mourning, contacting the dead words: 655
summary: Taehyung looks ridiculous in his gaudy outfit, but this is Hoseok’s last-ditch effort to get some closure from Jimin’s death.
⇢ day 16 of 31 days of halloween
"You know," the man before him says, Hoseok thinks his name might be Taehyung or other. "For a spirit, he's pretty chill."
Hoseok laughs, hands clasped tight around Taehyung's across the table. "Yeah, that sounds like Jiminnie alright."
"Yeah, usually shit goes berserk or something," Taehyung laughs now. "But nah, he's just. Chillin'."
Hoseok looks up at the air around them, some weird awkward feeling settling in. It's strange, he thinks. Hoseok wasn't the type of person to willingly dabble into the supernatural, but after Jimin's death, he's been so lost and out of touch with himself that he isn't very sure who he is anymore.
His whole world hadn't necessarily revolved around Jimin, but Jimin had been a pretty important aspect of it. When he woke up in the mornings, he'd roll over and Jimin would be there asleep, snoring lightly and hair tousled into his face with his face smushed into the pillow. They'd kiss good morning, despite the morning breath and maybe sneak in some morning sex on occasion. Then they'd shower and make breakfast, eating it quickly to make it on time for work. Jimin would call him during his lunch break and sometimes, Hoseok would surprise Jimin at work with lunch. When they got back home, dinner would be the first thing to do, each other coming second. By the end of the day, Hoseok always fell into bed with Jimin beside him, that was how they'd always been.
But Jimin is gone now and Hoseok is barely hanging on. It's a struggle to get out of bed most mornings and he's on the verge of losing his job, the only reason he still has it is that Namjoon understands Hoseok's in mourning and it isn't easy to wake up one day and not have the love of your life beside you.
Most of the time, the only reason Hoseok gets out of bed is because Yoongi is kicking at him through the covers, poking at him to get up and go to work.
Yoongi isn't Jimin, not by a mile. There's a certain softness to him that reminds Hoseok of Jimin though.
Yoongi moved in with him after Jimin's funeral to take care of Hoseok who was nothing short of a wreck, barely feeling human most days. Yoongi force fed him, walked him around Hoseok's backyard, cleaned his house and even more embarrassing, bathed Hoseok. But most importantly, Yoongi was there for him through it all.
Hoseok doesn't really know what he's doing here having a séance done, but Yoongi had nudged him towards it and Hoseok needs closure.
So he's here, holding hands with a man in a gaudy costume while a crystal ball lies between them on the table. An excellent way to spend a Monday evening, if Hoseok says so himself.
"Anything you want to tell him?" Taehyung asks, eyes wide and curious.
Hoseok tilts his chin upwards and fixes his gaze on the curtains that are moving without wind. "I love you, Jiminnie. Always have, always will."
Taehyung smiles at him, a little sad and a little dazed like he's listening to something else apart from Hoseok. "He loves you too. Always have and always will."
Hoseok expects the next words to leave Taehyung's mouth, but it doesn't prepare him for it either way. "But, he says it's time for you to move on without him."
Hoseok nods, tears springing to his eyes and Taehyung smiles at him sympathetically. "He says that you need to treat Yoongi like you'd treat him if he was still here."
The tears spill over and Hoseok's not sure what to do anymore.
"He has to go now," Taehyung's voice is soft, but the blow is still the same as ever. "He'll wait for you, but you have to promise to live without him, for now at least."
Hoseok nods, using his collar to wipe at his face. "I promise."
