Chapter Text
"Receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in Music, Isla Packman!" Jungkook whistled as Isla took the stage and shook the dean's hand.
"Receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Economics, Seokjin Kim!"
Jimin waved to Seokjin as he took the stage. "Go Seokjin! You're awesome!" Seokjin laughed and waved back at Jimin before accepting his degree from the dean. Seokjin returned to his seat as more names were read out.
"Receiving her Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Geology, Sophia Quattrucci!" Seokjin and Sophia shared a hasty giggly hug before Sophia headed up to the stage.
"Receiving his Bachelor of Engineering degree with a major in Computer Science Kris Reginald!" Reggie got to his feet and made his way to the stage.
Soohyun looked at the others in confusion. "Kris Reginald?"
Jimin turned to search the seats behind him. "Kris, did you know about this?"
"Of course," Kris said. "I'm the one who suggested he go by a different name on the day we met."
"But why?" Soohyun asked.
Kris' expression darkened. "Because there can be only one Kris."
Eventually the final degree was handed out and people started to stand up. At that moment, Seokjin threw his hands in the air. "Isla, hit it!"
As an upbeat song started playing out of the speakers, the disguised foam cannons blasted out a wave of bubbles. "Is this real?" Seungcheol asked.
Soohyun laughed. "Seokjin, you evil, beautiful genius!"
Sparkling foam poured into the ballroom, enveloping the dance floor. "Now this is a senior prank!" Seokjin cheered.
"Look at it all!" Namjoon exclaimed. "There are bubbles everywhere!"
"This is way better than jello!" Reggie exclaimed.
Ella scrunched her nose. "Speak for yourself. This foam tastes like soap."
Jimin grabbed a swath of bubbles in his hand and blew it at Seokjin. Seokjin threw an armful of foam at Jimin but missed, hitting Yoongi instead. Yoongi wiped the bubbles from his face with an evil grin. "Oh, it's on!" Yoongi chased Jimin and Seokjin through the ballroom, clumps of suds flying every which way.
As foam filled the room, Jimin and Seokjin lost track of where Yoongi was. "We need to stick together," Jimin said.
Seokjin shook his head. "No way. It's every omega for themselves at a foam party." He dove into a wave of bubbles and vanished from sight.
Jimin blinked. "Now what am I supposed to do?"
Yoongi suddenly came up behind Jimin with an armful of foam. "Surrender peacefully?"
"Never!" Jimin snatched up some suds and mashed them against Yoongi's chest. Yoongi retaliated, dumping his bubbles unceremoniously over Jimin's head. Some of them slid past Jimin's shirt collar and down his back. "You better watch yourself or I might find a way to sneak a foam cannon onto your book tour."
"You wouldn't."
Jimin grinned. "Revenge is a dish best served with extra foam." Soon, he and Yoongi were both laughing too hard to stand up straight.
As Jimin continued through the room, he passed clusters of soapy laughing graduates, all having a terrific time. Suddenly, a wave of foam washed over him, blocking his vision. Wiping the bubbles away from his face, he spotted Yoongi once more. "We meet again, my bubble nemesis."
"This must be more than a mere coincidence," Jimin said.
Yoongi laughed as he cupped Jimin's face in his hands. "Guess it must be fate." He leaned in for a kiss, his lips warm and firm against Jimin's.
As the foam cannons dispensed the last of the bubbles, Seokjin pulled himself onto the stage. "I hope you all enjoyed our impromptu foam party, courtesy of Bangtan's senior class!" A cheer rose up from the assembled sudsy guests. "No one knows what the future holds, but if this prank has taught me anything, it's that no matter how far you rise or how much money you make or how much you accomplish, never forget the small, silly moments with your friends."
A foam speckled Sophia emerged from the crowd and climbed onto the stage too. "Seokjin, thanks to all your hard work, I think at this point we can safely say, best graduation ever!" Seokjin and Sophia hugged as the crowd roared in approval.
The bubbles began to dissipate and the attendees started milling towards the exits. Jimin noticed Spencer standing by the ballroom doors looking a little crestfallen. Jimin headed on over to the alpha. "Hey, how's it going? I heard Isla's leaving for England."
Spencer's features broke into a smile. "Isn't it great? She's wanted to go to Guildhall since freshman year. Being accepted is a dream come true for her." His smiled faltered and a sigh escaped him. "But I guess the reality that he'll be moving away only really hit me today."
"Are you two going to try the long-distance thing?" Jimin asked.
"That's the plan." Spencer nodded. "But the idea of only talking to Isla through a screen is too depressing to think about." He bit his lip. "I was actually thinking of maybe moving to England with her."
Jimin's eyes widened. "Does Isla know?"
Spencer shook his head. "I haven't told her yet. Good thing too, because I'm already getting cold feet. I want to be with her more than anything but my whole life is here. The thought of giving all that up is paralyzing."
"That sounds rough," Jimin said.
"I just don't know what to do."
"Why don't we talk things through?" Jimin offered. "Sometimes it helps to have a friend to bounce ideas off of."
Spencer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't even know where to begin."
"Okay, let's talk about where you're at with your life right now," Jimin said. "It might be useful to think about what you'd have to change if you leave. How are things going at work? You're still interning at your dad's firm, right? How's that going?"
"Same old, same old." Spencer shrugged. "It's not what I went to college for but it plays the bills."
"What did you want to do originally?" Jimin asked.
"I studied physical therapy," Spencer said. "But it takes seven years to become a full physical therapist. Interning with my dad instead seemed like the responsible choice at the time. I'm not exactly happy but…" He trailed off for a moment. "I'm so used to my life here. Moving to England is such a big change and I'm not sure if I'm ready."
"Okay, let's try to simplify this," Jimin said. "Thinking about England, what scares you the most?"
"It's just so far away," Spencer said. "I'd be giving up everything to live in a strange country full of people I don't know."
"You'll know at least one person while you're over there," Jimin pointed out.
Spencer smiled. "That's true. Things would be different and new for both of us. And new people means new friends and new opportunities."
Jimin nodded. "And what about in the long term? What are your personal goals?"
"It sounds silly, considering what I'm freaking out about," Spencer said. "But I'd like to travel more. Not in the same way as out and out moving to a new place."
"But you definitely want to see more of the world," Jimin said in understanding.
"Exactly," Spencer said. "Try new foods. Experience new cultures. A little bit at a time."
"What would moving to England mean for those goals?" Jimin asked.
Spencer laughed. "I'd definitely be traveling. And now that I think about it, Europe has a pretty decent rail system. We could take day trips to France, Spain…"
"That would be a plus," Jimin said. "So I guess this just leaves the question of where you want your relationship with Isla to go."
"I think we're strong enough to handle long distance," Spencer said. "But it feels like we'd be putting our relationship on pause. And I love Isla. I don't want us to stand still and wait. I want us to move forward together." The tension in Spencer's shoulders evaporated. "I think I have my answer."
"Are you sure?" Jimin asked.
Spencer nodded. "I think I am. Thanks, Jimin. I really needed an outside perspective to get my priorities in order." He walked over to where Isla and Ella were chatting. Jimin was too far away to hear what was being said, but Isla's face brightened. Spencer swept Isla into a hug, spinning her around. Smiling to himself, Jimin left them to it and headed out to find his friends.
***
Jimin was working on finalizing a few details for his presentation for the city council meeting when there was a knock on his bedroom door. "Come in!" He called out, and Yoongi stepped into the room.
Within seconds, Jimin and Yoongi were lying on Jimin's bed, Yoongi holding Jimin tightly while Jimin rested his head on the alpha's chest. "Are you doing okay?" Yoongi asked softly. "I know how stressed you've been about the house."
"I got a little caught up thinking about presenting tomorrow," Jimin said. "I've been helping so many people today but I can't even help myself. I just need a shoulder to lean on right now."
"Hey, it's important to ask for help when you need it," Yoongi said. "And my shoulders are always prepared. Did you want to go over some of the arguments we worked on again?"
Jimin laughed wearily. "I've practiced the arguments so many times in my head, they all feel like gibberish." He fell quiet for a moment. "I kind of wish Professor Bang was here to give me some advice." Yoongi screwed up his face and arches his eyebrows in an impression of the late professor. "That is amazingly accurate."
"Well, Jimin?" Yoongi asked in a tone extremely similar to Professor Bang's. "Speak up! I don't have all day!"
Jimin blinked at Yoongi for a moment before falling into the roleplay. "I'm just worried I'll lose your house."
Yoongi gave a rude snort. "Why? It's just a house. You zoomers are so fixated on the real estate market."
"But you wrote so many of your best novels here," Jimin said.
"And do you know where I wrote my first novel?" Yoongi countered as Professor Bang. "Crammed into my mother in law's laundry room because my new mate and I couldn’t even afford an apartment."
Jimin's eyes widened. "Wait really?"
Yoongi nodded. "I can't argue that this house was completely meaningless to me but losing it won't mean the end of my legacy. Or yours."
"Wow." Jimin smiled. "That was an incredible impression of Bang. It was like he was actually here."
Yoongi gave himself a little shake, looking dazed. "Like who was actually here? Sorry, I think I must have fallen asleep for a second. What were you talking about?"
Jimin stared at Yoongi for a moment. "What just happened?"
Yoongi matched Jimin's stare with one of his own, then a twitch of his lips gave him away. "I had you going for a minute."
Laughing, Jimin grabbed a pillow and smacked Yoongi with it. "You really did capture the spirit of Professor Bang though."
"He's a hard person to forget," Yoongi said. "Believe me, you're going to do great tomorrow. You're smart, you're passionate, and you're thorough."
Jimin sighed. "You sound so sure."
"You've already made a tremendous difference at Bangtan and in the lives of the people around you," Yoongi said. "This house could have no better defender."
"Thank you for believing in me, Yoongi," Jimin said softly.
Yoongi squeezed his arm around Jimin. "That's what I'm here for." Jimin snuggled closer to Yoongi. For the next few hours, all thoughts of the upcoming council meeting faded into the back of his mind.
***
When Jimin entered the living room after getting dressed for the council meeting, he found the rest of his housemates already gathered, as well as Yoongi, Seungcheol, Hoseok, and Taehyung. "Is anyone else as nervous as I am?" Jimin asked.
Yoongi walked over and took Jimin's hand in his. "I believe in you. You'll be great."
"I'm feeling hopeful," Soohyun said. "We have a good case, so now it's just up to us to present it."
"Up to Jimin, you mean," Jungkook said. "I'm still impressed that you offered to present our case yourself."
"For the sake of organization, it'll probably be better to have one person do most of the talking," Jimin said. "But you guys helped me put this all together."
"And some of us do have some things to say about Bang ourselves," Yoongi said.
"I wonder how many more people will show up to give personal statements," Hoseok said.
Taehyung frowned. "I wonder what kind of nasty tricks Mr. Girard is going to try to pull during the council meeting."
"I think we're on the winning side here," Seungcheol said. "He's a greedy developer and we're a bunch of noble students."
"I hope so." Jimin took a deep breath. "At least we're not going down without a fight. But no matter what happens today, we've done Bang proud. I doubt he would've admitted it, but I know he'd be touched by what we're doing for him and the memory of this neighborhood."
Yoongi nodded. "Plus he would have hated Mr. Girard more passionately than he loathed purple prose and run on sentences."
"I have a genius idea," Seokjin said. "Whenever Girard makes a stink at the meeting, just imagine Bang heckling him from the audience."
Jimin grinned. "I'm so glad you just put that image in my head. Now I feel unbeatable!"
Seungcheol spun his car keys around his finger. "Time to get this show on the road and prove to Mr. Girard that he fucked with the wrong group of people."