Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I’m going to ask Seokjin out.”

“You’re going to do what with who now?” Taehyung pauses in counting the money left in the cash register, hands frozen on a stack of five dollar bills as he looks up at Namjoon standing on the other side of the counter holding a mop.

“I’m going to ask Seokjin out.”

Taehyung scrunches his face up and lets his arms fall to his sides as he studies the very serious look Namjoon has on his face. “The man responsible for ensuring you can continue to keep this mediocre job, even though you constantly fuck up and drop things on the regular? That Seokjin?”

“Do we know another one?”

Taehyung scoffs and goes back to counting the money in his hands. “Good luck.”

“What, you don’t think he’ll accept?” Namjoon exclaims, almost whacking himself in the face with the mop as he brings his arms up to cross over his chest.

“No, I’m saying that you’ve been talking about asking Seokjin out for the past year and a half, ever since we started working here. It was always Seokjin this, Seokjin that, did you see the sweater Seokjin was wearing today, I really wish I could lick Seokjin’s d-”

“Ahh, stop!”

“-delicious homemade ice cream.”

Namjoon sighs and palms his face tiredly as Taehyung stifles his giggles with a hand and a couple of twenties. Namjoon knew Taehyung was right - he’d been pining over Seokjin for a while now, starting from that first day of work at the yogurt shop when Seokjin was showing them the ropes and then suddenly whirled around and said ‘Oh yeah, and I’m bisexual so if you don’t like that feel free to leave right now.’ Namjoon and Taehyung had both quickly shaken their heads (both of them were also queer, they didn’t have a problem with it in the slightest), and Seokjin just smiled all prettily, making his eyes crinkle and his cheeks lift up. Namjoon had tripped and face planted into a puddle of love right then and there and hadn’t been able to get out since.

“Ugh, okay, but I’m serious this time!” Namjoon protests, stabbing the mop into the tile as if it were a lance.

“You said you were serious the last time too and nothing came of that,” Taehyung says simply, finally finishing up his task of counting the bills and shutting the cash register drawer with a swift swing of his hip.

“Okay, I’m super super serious!” Namjoon whined. And he was. He had been avoiding doing anything about his feelings for a whole year and half because he was scared of crossing some imaginary boundary that they had in place since Seokjin was his manager, and because he figured Seokjin thought of him as a kid. Seokjin was a graduate student, with a job lined up for him after graduation, one that came with health insurance and a 401K. He was an adult, for goodness sake. Namjoon was still trying to figure out how a double major in philosophy and English literature was going to get him anywhere in life. He was a mere youth struggling to find his foothold in the world.

But now, now Namjoon was graduating, and he was a man damn it, and if he wanted to date Seokjin well then by golly, he’s going to date Seokjin. Or at least, he’s going to try his hardest to.

“If you say so Namjoon,” Taehyung says as he continues to wipe down the counters in the shop.

“It’s a new year Tae, new year, new Joon, I’m gonna do it,” Namjoon states proudly.

A bell chimes overhead. “What is Namjoon gonna do now? Hopefully not break that mop he’s waving around?” Jungkook says as he enters the shop, backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Kookie!” Taehyung squeals and drops his rag to skip over to his boyfriend and kiss him on the cheek.

“Hi Tae,” Jungkook says, blushing deeply and intertwining his fingers with Taehyung’s.

Namjoon groans and stomps his feet like a little kid. “See Tae, this is why I want to ask out Seokjin! You and Jungkook are always in here being all lovey and gross and I hate it. I want to be lovey and gross with someone too! I deserve companionship!”

Taehyung gives his co-worker a sympathetic look, but apparently wasn’t feeling sympathetic enough to not continue to cover his boyfriend’s face in little kisses. Eventually, Jungkook shoves Taehyung off of him and shoos him back behind the counter to continue with his closing procedures.

“So you’re gonna ask out Seokjin then?” Jungkook asks as he sits down in one of the white couches set up against the window.

“Yeah,” Namjoon says with a dreamy, faraway look in his eyes. “He’s just so nice you know? Like he always helps me clean up after I drop something, and he always manages to fix the froyo machines even though I break them every other week. He’s so confident too, in everything he does and he makes great food. And he’s so… broad and manly, but he’s so cute at the same time? Like his shoulders make your knees buckle, but then his face just makes you wanna cuddle him and wrap him up in blankets. He’s the true definition of the duality of man.”

Jungkook grimaces like he’s disgusted, but Namjoon knows that he’s just shy and doesn’t know what to say. So he continues on.

“And he recently cut his bangs really short because they kept getting into his eyes while he was cooking, and he was so nervous about it, but he looks great with them. He looks great in anything.” Namjoon sighs again, but continues with his mopping so that they can close up the shop on time.

“Well I support you hyung, you seem to really, genuinely like him,” Jungkook says from his spot on the couch. Taehyung makes some sort of sound of agreement from behind the counter where he’s gathering up the toppings that need to be placed in the freezer for tomorrow.

“Thank you young Kook, your support means a lot,” Namjoon replies, giving a final sweep before moving to put the mop back into the supply closet.

“So what’s the plan then?” Taehyung asks, walking over to the door with his backpack in hand.

Namjoon grabs his own backpack from behind the counter and swings it over his shoulder before humming thoughtfully. Seokjin was one of a kind, so he needed a one of a kind event just for him, right?

“I have some thoughts.”

Seokjin comes into work two days later. Namjoon had spent those two days planning for the Big Moment, which probably wasn’t as extravagant as he had initially planned for, but Taehyung had talked him down from going too over the top. Namjoon was confident in his plan and with Taehyung giving him a double thumbs up from the other side of the counter, Namjoon was ready to finally follow through. Hopefully he didn’t fuck it up.

They wait until there’s a lull in customers, no one in the store to witness Namjoon’s possible embarrassment. Namjoon takes a deep breath and makes eye contact with Taehyung. “It’s go time.”

Taehyung nods and Namjoon makes his way to the toppings bar, taking the container of M&M’s from its spot and starting on Phase 1 of Project Ask Seokjin Out.

Carefully, Namjoon arranges the M&M’s out on the floor just as he likes, spelling out the words ‘Seokjin, will you go out with me?’. It takes him a while because his feet keep accidentally kicking the candy away, and he has to pause to retrieve some of the pieces that fly under the yogurt machines thanks to his clumsy limbs. Eventually, he finishes, and pops up from his squatting position on the ground to give Taehyung the signal.

As soon as he sees Namjoon give him an okay sign, Taehyung grins and turns around to face the back room, where Seokjin is currently busy organizing order forms and files. “Mom! Namjoon made a mess again!” Taehyung winks at Namjoon, who takes another deep breath as he hears Seokjin grumbling in exasperation as he marches out of the office.

“Taehyung, I told you to stop calling me Mom, and what did Namjoon break this time?” Seokjin puts his hands on his hips and he looks at Taehyung for clarification, and Taehyung just points to where Namjoon is standing on the other side of the counter. Namjoon works hard to put on his most pitiful and shameful expression, and Seokjin walks around the counter to assess the damage. He pauses when he sees the scene spread out in front of him and crosses his arms over his chest and pops a hip out to the side.

“Namjoon, what in the world is this?”

Namjoon looks down at his feet, rubbing the hem of his t-shirt between his fingers and gulping nervously. “Um, they just sort of… fell… like that?”

Seokjin clicks his tongue and when Namjoon glances up, he can see Seokjin giving him a bit of a side eye and a lip purse, and he quickly shrugs and looks away. Namjoon can see Taehyung in his spot by the register biting his nails, eyes darting between his co-worker and manager.

“I’ll give you two minutes to plead your case here,” Seokjin says, gesturing for Namjoon to give him a proper explanation.

Namjoon takes another deep breath. He can do this! He’s an English literature major for goodness sake, he’s got a way with words, all he does in school is study words! He’s read all of the Jane Austen novels, he should know how to sweep someone off of their feet! Namjoon is confident!

But then he looks at Seokjin fully, and he can see his big, round eyes, and his strong, straight eyebrows that have been exposed by his recent haircut, and honestly, Namjoon’s heart might as well have been on the moon, and his stomach in the center of the Earth, he felt so off-kilter.

“You make me hard.”

Namjoon is so lost in Seokjin’s eyes he doesn’t even register what he says at first. Seokjin notices though, and raises his perfect eyebrows in shock. “Excuse me?”

Taehyung facepalms and groans as Namjoon sputters and tries to rectify the situation. “Ah no, I meant, it’s crazy to like you! Wait, no, fuck, that’s not what I meant either.” Namjoon looks at Seokjin in horror as he claps his hand over his mouth, practically burning from the inside out from embarrassment. His eyes are wide and he hits himself on the mouth, mumbling curses under his breath at his own stupidity.

“Do you want to try that again?” Seokjin asks. “Start over from the beginning?”

“Yes please.”

Seokjin looks at him in expectation and Namjoon closes his eyes as he starts so he doesn’t get distracted again. “What I meant to say was, you make my heart go crazy and it’s hard not to like you.” He glimpses at Seokjin and when he sees a look of incredulity instead of annoyance, he soldiers on. “You’re so kind and you’re always bringing me and Tae food, and you clean up my messes and refrain from firing me, even though I probably deserve it from how many times I’ve broken the machines now. Your laugh is weird, but it’s unique and special and so you and every time it rains and I have to use my windshield wipers, they squeak and remind me of you. And then I’m wondering if you’re safe from the rain, and then I’m thinking of dumb dad jokes to tell you in case you weren’t safe from the rain and needed some cheering up, because I want you to always be happy, and always be smiling and never sad, and basically I think about you, like, all the time. Like if I had a nickel for every time I thought about you, people would be like ‘why do you have all those nickels, that’s too many nickels’ but they’d be wrong because there’s no limit to how much I care and think about you, there can never be too many nickels.” Namjoon pauses to breathe and Seokjin looks like he’s about to say something, when Namjoon starts up again. “You’re just so cute and I wanna throw a rainbow at you, a big, gay rainbow, because I have a big, gay crush on you and I wanna take you out.”

Namjoon swallows and looks at Seokjin who is staring back at him in amazement. “That was a lot.”

“I’m sorry,” Namjoon sighs and slumps his shoulders. “I just wanted to get it all out you know? I hold a lot of stuff in sometimes.”

“No he doesn’t, you should see him after fajita night. Or smell him I should say,” Taehyung quips.

Namjoon glares at his roommate and mouths not helping!

Seokjin doesn’t seem to register what Taehyung says. He seems flustered to say the least, which Namjoon has never seen before. Usually, Seokjin is the picture of calm and collected, albeit sometimes a little annoyed when Namjoon creates a particularly large mess. Namjoon thinks Seokjin’s pink cheeks and shocked expression is cute.

“You get one date,” Seokjin replies, and it’s a little high pitched and he still looks shocked and Namjoon is endeared. “And it better be a good one, or else the next machine you break is coming out of your paycheck! Now clean this up before a customer comes in and slips and I have to call insurance.” He whirls on his heel and stalks back to the office, slamming the door shut behind him.

Namjoon fist pumps the air and walks over to Taehyung who’s holding his hand up for a high five. “I did it!”

“You did it man,” Taehyung replies, beaming at Namjoon before pulling out his phone to probably text Jungkook the good news.

“He’s happy about it right?” Namjoon says, glancing at the office door anxiously.

“Yeah, he probably just went into the office to like scream into his phone to his mom about his upcoming date. He probably just doesn’t want you to see him blush and see how you completely floored him with that speech,” Taehyung says, just as the two roommates hear a muffled shout coming from the back room. Taehyung winks and Namjoon melts into a puddle at how adorable Seokjin must look, excitedly telling his mom about what just happened.

“Cute.”

Namjoon is sitting on the floor in the living room of his and Taehyung’s apartment, blanket wrapped around his shoulders, laptop set up on the coffee table in front of him and a steaming cup of ginger peach tea in his hands. His eyes scan the screen as he clicks around to various websites, engrossed in the task of finding suitable ideas for his upcoming date with Seokjin.

All of a sudden the door to the apartment swings open with a loud whoosh and Namjoon is so startled he spills some of his tea on his hands and he hisses as he fumbles to place the hot mug on the coffee table before any real damage is done.

Taehyung proudly stands in the entryway to their apartment, hands on his hips as he loudly exclaims, “Dearest, loveliest roommate, I have returned from my tiresome voyage.”

“Taehyung, what have I said about making dramatic entrances? This isn’t one of your acting elective classes, this is a place of residence. Also, you went to the grocery store across the street, I would hardly call that a tiresome voyage.”

“Do not crush my dreams Namjoon, damn, I’m just trying to live my best life,” Taehyung says as he moves into the kitchen to deposit the groceries in his hands. “Also, Kookie’s here.”

Jungkook waves at Namjoon as he slips off his boots and places them neatly by the door, even straightening the sneakers his boyfriend had haphazardly kicked off. “Hey hyung.”

“Hey Jungkook.”

Taehyung saunters over from the kitchen and plops down on the couch behind Namjoon, patting the space next to him and motioning for Jungkook to take a seat. Once his boyfriend is settled snugly against his side, Taehyung asks, “So what are you and big ol brain up to today?”

Namjoon takes a slow sip of his tea and brings the blanket up closer to ears. “Looking up ideas for my date with Seokjin.”

Taehyung coos and moves to pinch Namjoon’s cheek, but Namjoon rolls away and tugs his blanket even closer. “Shut up, everything has to be perfect for him. He deserves the world and I want to give it to him on a silver platter.”

Taehyung scrunches his nose up, but Jungkook says, “That’s sweet hyung. What are some of the ideas you’ve got so far?”

“Okay, so picture this. I pick up Seokjin in my car, right, and I’ve got some romantic music playing in there, like Michael Buble or some shit, and then I drive him to the park, you know, the one with the gazebo, and take him down the path and it’s lined with hundreds of flowers, like bouquet upon bouquet of roses and then we get to the gazebo and bam! There’s a four string quartet playing Vivaldi and there’s a professionally cooked meal laid out, five courses, because we all know how much Seokjin can eat right, and there’s fairy lights all around the bannisters and they’re reflecting off of Seokjin’s eyes and he’s looking gorgeous, not like it’s hard for him, but still, he looks good, and I’m like ta-da! And he’s like wow Namjoon, you’re the best, this is the most amazing thing ever, I love you! And I’m like, nah it’s nothing, and then we kiss and fall in love and live happily ever after.” Namjoon finishes with a flourish, out of breath and excitement dancing in his eyes as he thinks about Seokjin looking pretty under the moonlight.

Taehyung and Jungkook exchange questioning glances and look down at Namjoon who is practically bursting at the seams with anticipation. “What do you think?”

“Um,” Taehyung begins, detaching himself from Jungkook to bring his hands together under his chin. “Have you thought about how much something like this would cost?”

Namjoon deflates like a sad balloon, lips stuck out in a pout and thumbs twiddling together under his blanket. “I hadn’t thought that far yet.”

“Yeah, not sure if you remember, but we live off of minimum wage and tips, so uh, not sure you’re going to be able to pull all of this off,” Taehyung says, looking at his roommate with a frown. “For someone with such a high IQ, you sure can be pretty dense.”

“Shut up Tae, it’s just a minor detail, a small setback in the plan, I can still figure something out. Might just have to get rid of the string quartet. And probably the five course meal… and the thousands of flowers… and - oh god, I’ve got nothing. What am I going to do?” Namjoon rambles, hands coming up to run through his hair in frustration. He just wants everything to be perfect.

Jungkook hums and pats Namjoon on the head gently. “Hyung, it’s okay, you’ll just have to change your plan of attack. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d have to help you and Yoongi out with your first dates, but I can’t say I’m surprised at how you’re both total romance amateurs.”

“Aww, my little Kookie giving out advice, how mature of him,” Taehyung coos and nuzzles into Jungkook’s hair.

Jungkook ignores him and focuses his attention on Namjoon, who is still wallowing in despair on the floor. “Hyung, I’ll tell you what I told Yoongi-hyung. Do something that you know Seokjin likes so that it shows that you’re paying attention to him and you’re interested in the things that he’s interested in.”

Namjoon hums thoughtfully and pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth as he thinks. “Well, Seokjin is a Food Science major, so he likes to cook? I could take him to a cooking class?”

“Absolutely not,” Taehyung interjects. “You’re banned from any and all kitchens ever since you set the stove on fire trying to boil some noodles. For the sake of Seokjin’s safety, and for the safety of everyone that would make the poor, miserable mistake of being in that cooking class with you, please do not do that.”

Namjoon wilts, but Jungkook cheers him up with some different advice. “Okay, so how about you impress him in a different way? By doing something you’re good at that will not cause mass destruction?”

“Um, I’m good at reading,” Namjoon says.

“That’s a one person activity, try again,” Taehyung replies.

Namjoon huffs and lists out some other things. “I can recite a lot of Immanuel Kant’s work on enlightenment and transcendental idealism. I’m pretty good at slam poetry. I learned how to do some cool flower arrangements during summer camp one year and I’m pretty confident in those skills. I’ve also got a pretty good presentation I’ve been working on about epistemology and how knowledge relates to the truth and people’s beliefs.”

“Okay that first one - boring, please never do anything like that, ever. We’re looking to impress, not put to sleep. Second, cool, but not first date worthy. Third, weird, and may come in handy for finer details in planning this date, you did mention flowers in your original plan. And that last one, I don’t even know what to say about that last one except, no,” Taehyung says, leaning back into the couch and crossing his legs.

“I can ice skate pretty well I guess,” Namjoon tells them.

Taehyung catapults from his seat on the couch and raises a finger into the air. “That’s it! You are really good at that, remember that time during Christmas last year when I convinced you to take me for my birthday and you just showed off the whole time? Even I was impressed back then, Seokjin will love it!”

“I think there’s an ice skating rink that they have set up downtown, you know, one of those temporary ones since it doesn’t get that cold here,” Jungkook adds in.

“Are - are you sure?” Namjoon asks. He’s confident in his ice skating skills, definitely, but he’s not so sure about how those skills would fare when faced with the beauty and utter perfection that is Kim Seokjin.

“Yes! It’ll be so romantic,” Taehyung exclaims. “You’ll probably have to hold hands and stuff, and you can get hot chocolate and cuddle to stay warm, and just imagine Seokjin in cute winter clothes!”

Namjoon sighs, picturing Seokjin dressed in a warm coat and a scarf, cheeks pink from the cold and hand grasped firmly in his own. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

“And you can make him one of your weird flower arrangements, he’d like that,” Jungkook suggests.

“They’re not weird. They’re artistic, my mother thought learning how to be gentle with the flowers would help me not break things constantly. She was wrong, but she was still very proud of me for graduating as top junior florist,” Namjoon retorts.

“Did not realize that was a thing. Shouldn’t really be a thing, but okay,” Taehyung says before walking back to the kitchen to grab some snacks from the kitchen. He returns with a bag of pretzels that he tears open, grabbing a handful before passing the bag over to Jungkook on the couch. After shoving nearly all of the pretzels into his mouth, he claps his hands together and declares, “Alright so we’ve got a plan, great! Now can you get out of the living room? Kookie and I are having a movie night.” He winks at his boyfriend as Jungkook struggles to tell Namjoon that it’s okay, you can stay, I don’t mind!

But Namjoon knows where he’s not wanted, so he gathers up his laptop, blanket, and tea mug before bidding his friends goodnight and retiring to his bedroom to catch up on some reading for his Gender in Literature class. He could hear Taehyung teasing Jungkook on the other side of the door, and he found himself longing for the day when he could finally do domestic, soft boyfriend things like that with Seokjin. Namjoon was determined to impress Seokjin on this first date, no matter what.

The night before his date with Seokjin, Namjoon had carefully crafted a special flower bouquet - white carnations arranged in the form of a cute puppy, surrounded by red roses and orange tulips, all set in a wicker basket. He was quite proud of it, and couldn’t wait to see the look on Seokjin’s face when he saw it.

Namjoon gets into his car, carefully setting the flowers in the passenger seat, and turning the heat up a little to combat the brisk chill that was settling outside. He turns on some music and started to make his way to Seokjin’s apartment complex, humming along to Earth, Wind & Fire as he cruises along the street.

Seokjin is waiting outside for him when he pulls into the parking lot. He doesn’t notice Namjoon drive in, so Namjoon is able to take in all of Seokjin’s glory as he mentally prepares himself in the driver’s seat. Seokjin is looking positively adorable today, wearing a dark green winter coat over a red and black striped shirt and dark jeans. But the best part is the knitted beanie settled atop Seokjin’s head, which pushes his short bangs back even more, exposing his forehead another couple centimeters. Namjoon has to take more than one deep breath to calm his heart before grabbing the bouquet next to him and opening the door to greet the man of his dreams.

“Sorry for making you wait outside in the cold, traffic was a bit heavier than I was expecting,” Namjoon says, carrying the flower basket behind his back.

“It’s okay!” Seokjin replies cheerfully, eyes lighting up as he catches a glimpse of the hidden flowers. “Are those for me?”

Namjoon blushes as he brings the flowers out to present to Seokjin, mumbling a timid yeah, as Seokjin looks on in awe. He was worried it was going to be too much, but one look at Seokjin’s face told him that it was just right.

“Wow, how much did these cost?”

“I um, I actually made it, so it wasn’t too expensive,” Namjoon says, shuffling his feet and stuffing his hands in his pockets once Seokjin has taken the basket from him. “I took a flower arranging class one summer when I was younger.”

Seokjin’s jaw drops down as he stares at Namjoon in shock. “You’re kidding. There’s no way.”

“I’m serious! I can be gentle sometimes too. It’s just 98% of the time that I don’t have full control over my limbs.”

Seokjin laughs, high-pitched and breathy, but beautiful all the same to Namjoon’s ears. “That’s amazing. I never would have expected it.”

Namjoon smiles shyly and shrugs. He motions for Seokjin to follow him to his car, gently taking the bouquet from him to place in the backseat to keep them from getting crushed. After fastening their seat belts, Namjoon starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot, merging onto the main street headed towards the park.

“So what have you got planned for us today?” Seokjin asks, tilting his head a bit as he looks over at Namjoon in the driver’s seat.

“Ice skating.”

There’s a beat of silence that has Namjoon worried - did Seokjin not think that was a good idea? Should he have chosen something different? What if Seokjin hates him forever now?

But soon enough, the silence is broken by Seokjin’s ringing laughter, and then Namjoon is nervously laughing along with him. “What?”

Seokjin pretends to wipe tears from his eyes before speaking. “You? On ice? The guy that breaks and or drops nearly everything he gets his hands on? Going ice skating?”

“I’m actually really good at it!”

“Sounds fake but okay,” Seokjin says. “It’s okay, Joonie, I won’t let you fall.” Seokjin reaches over and pats Namjoon’s leg. Namjoon is reeling from the nickname, but he focuses enough to make a somewhat appropriate retort.

“We’ll see.”

They reach the park after ten minutes or so, exiting the car and making their way to the ticket booth. Seokjin is excited, bouncing on his toes and squealing in happiness every time he sees another blow up decoration. Christmas has passed but they still have inflatable reindeer and penguins placed around the outside of the rink, along with wooden boards that have holes cut out in them so you can take pictures as snowmen or elves. Namjoon looks on fondly; it’s interesting seeing Seokjin outside of work, where he has to be professional and composed. Here, he’s free to be as animated as he wants, and Namjoon is glad to see it. Seokjin needs to let loose every once in a while.

Namjoon pays for their tickets and they tell the worker their shoe size for their skates, then they walk over to the benches to put them on. After strapping in and placing their sneakers under the bench so they won’t get stolen, they straighten up and Seokjin looks at Namjoon with fire in his eyes. “Alright Namjoon are you ready to be embarrassed in front of all of these people here?”

Namjoon just chuckles and says, “Yeah hyung, let’s go.”

Seokjin marches over to the entrance, Namjoon trailing behind him in case he stumbles on his skates. They both step over the little ledge and onto the ice; it’s a little rough since the rink is temporary and man-made, but Namjoon is able to gather his footing soon enough. It’s been some time since he’s gone ice skating, but he doesn’t suspect that it will take long to get back into the groove of things. For Seokjin’s sake though, he pretends to be as unsteady as a newborn deer, wobbling as he makes his way to the wall to steady himself.

Seokjin comes up beside him, breath making small little clouds in the air, cheeks already a rosy red. “See? I knew you were lying to me.”

Namjoon scrunches his face up at Seokjin. “It’s been a while.”

Seokjin giggles and pats Namjoon on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go little giraffe.”

They start to make their way around the rink, Seokjin gaining confidence with every stride, Namjoon following while still holding onto the wall for support. After a few laps around the place, Seokjin turns and looks at Namjoon, eyes bright and sparkling. “Wanna race?”

Namjoon swallows, as his heart seems to have jumped up into his throat as soon as Seokjin set his gaze on him. “Yeah, let’s do it. Loser has to buy hot chocolate?”

“You’re on.”

They set up at one end and Seokjin starts the countdown. “Three, two, one… go!”

They take off, Namjoon letting Seokjin take the lead for a bit before he kicks it into high gear and flies past him. He can hear Seokjin’s surprised squawk as he zooms by, skates cutting into the ice with ease.

“You bamboozled me!” Seokjin shouts from behind him, and Namjoon is laughing until he hears a thump and a groan. He whips around and sees Seokjin lying in a heap on the ice, face pinched in pain.

“Seokjin-hyung!” Namjoon races back to where Seokjin had fallen, frantically trying to see where exactly he was hurt. Seokjin is clutching at his wrist, but he’s chuckling and looks up at Namjoon in incredulity.

“Wow, I can’t believe I made so much fun of you for possibly embarrassing yourself and now I’m the one that got hurt.”

Namjoon is fretting about, not sure how to help. A worker from the ice skating rink skates over and asks, “Do you need me to call an ambulance for you?”

Seokjin shakes his head. “No, it’s quite alright, I don’t want to have to deal with that bill. Namjoonie here can just take me to the emergency room in his own car.”

The worker nods, and helps Namjoon pick Seokjin up off of the ice and onto his feet, guiding them all over to the exit. Namjoon has to help Seokjin take his skates off, since he can’t move his arm, then they both put their shoes on and walk back to Namjoon’s car.

“I’m really sorry Seokjin, I can’t believe that happened,” Namjoon laments, putting his keys into the ignition and reversing a bit too quickly in his haste to get to the hospital.

Seokjin snickers. “Joonie, it’s okay, you couldn’t have seen this coming, it’s not your fault. It’s my own for thinking I could go faster than I really could, and for doubting you when you said you were good at ice skating.”

There’s a bump in the road, and it jostles Seokjin’s arm, causing him to whimper pitifully, and Namjoon feels even more guilt bubbling up inside of him. He looks over at Seokjin in distress, upset that he can’t do more to help him, but Seokjin is smiling and that eases Namjoon’s heart a little.

They arrive at the hospital in record time, Namjoon barging into the emergency room yelling about how Seokjin needed a gurney ASAP and how a doctor needed to get over here STAT. Seokjin sighs behind him and says, “Calm down Namjoon, I probably just sprained it, no need to go overboard here.”

Seokjin patiently fills out the forms, although it takes him a while since he has to fill it out with his left hand, and Namjoon is too wound up to help. They take a breather in the waiting area, Seokjin trying to get Namjoon to regulate his heart rate. A nurse calls Seokjin’s name and they head back to one of the exam rooms.

“So what happened?” the nurse inquires, clipboard out and ready to take notes.

“Ice skating,” Seokjin answers, lifting up his right arm bashfully as he sits on the exam table.

“I see,” the nurse jots down something on the form in front of her. “And what happened to your friend here?” She motions to Namjoon hyperventilating in the chair next to the door.

“Oh, yeah, probably just a bit of a panic attack, I’m sure he’ll be fine in a bit. Could you maybe get him a cup of water though?” Seokjin says.

“Of course,” the nurse says, walking towards the curtain. “The doctor should be in shortly.”

“Thank you.”

Almost immediately after the curtain swished closed behind her, Namjoon was up and hovering around Seokjin. “Are you okay, comfortable? Do you need me to ask them for more pillows, or blankets? Or some crackers to eat maybe?”

“Namjoon, I’m fine, please sit down before you knock something over and make this trip to the ER a lot more expensive than it needs to be.”

Reluctantly, Namjoon retreats to his chair again, groaning. “I just feel so bad, ice skating was my idea, and look what happened.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes. “Namjoon, I told you, this isn’t your fault, stop saying it is. Just calm down, please.”

Namjoon nods, just as the curtain is pulled back and the doctor steps in, along with the nurse, who hands Namjoon a cup of water.

“So!” the doctor exclaims, clapping her gloved hands together. “We had a bit of an ice skating accident did we?” Seokjin nods in response and the doctor walks closer to the exam table. “Let’s take a look, see if we’ll have to take x-rays or not.” She gently takes Seokjin’s wrist, turning it this way and that. Every grimace of pain on Seokjin’s face is like a dagger to Namjoon’s heart, but he tries his best to remain calm like Seokjin had asked.

“Hmm, it might be a bit more severe than we thought, your fingers seem to have lost quite a bit of feeling, we’ll have to take some x-rays to assess the full damage.” Seokjin cradles his wrist against his chest, frowning a bit, and Namjoon’s heart breaks. The nurse walks over to guide Seokjin to the x-ray machine and Namjoon slumps against his chair. He hurt Seokjin, the exact opposite of what he wanted to do today. He hurt the most beautiful boy in the world and had put a frown on his face, how was he going to fix this?

After the x-rays are taken and Seokjin has returned to his spot on the exam table, Namjoon opens his mouth to start apologizing again, but Seokjin cuts him off with a finger. “No. Do not apologize again. This isn’t your fault Joonie, how many times do I have to tell you? Stop beating yourself up over it, I won’t allow it.”

Namjoon sags, but shuts his mouth closed and nods. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise!”

Seokjin smiles, bright and happy and very unlike the smile of someone with a potentially broken wrist. “I know you will Namjoon.”

The doctor returns with the x-rays after a few more minutes, confirming that Seokjin does indeed have a broken wrist, but that it luckily doesn’t need to be reset, and that it should heal in about six weeks. Seokjin leaves the hospital with a new splint, and an appointment to get a cast in a week.

Namjoon remorsefully opens the car door for Seokjin, trudging over to the other side and getting into the driver’s seat. The ride back to Seokjin’s apartment is quiet, the music from speakers filling the silence, as Namjoon nervously chews on his lips.

“I’m okay Joon,” Seokjin says, looking over at Namjoon with soft eyes and a steady gaze. “I’ll be okay.”

Namjoon nods frantically, not trusting himself to speak, lest he cry and get them into another accident because he can’t drive properly. At Seokjin’s apartment complex, Namjoon insists on helping him get to his room safely, taking the bouquet of flowers from the backseat and opening all of the doors for him along the way. Seokjin smiles and thanks him once they make it to his studio apartment, grabbing the flowers in his left hand as he turns to face Namjoon in the doorway.

“Thanks for today Namjoon,” Seokjin says sweetly. “It really was a lot of fun, I know it probably didn’t turn out the way you wanted, and I know that you’ll beat yourself up over it, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed spending time with you, even if half of it was in the ER.”

Namjoon is looking down at his shoes, too shy to make eye contact, too filled with guilt and regret. “Okay. I’m glad you had fun. And I know you told me not to be sorry, but I am. Let me know what I can do to make it up to you?” He finally picks his head up and Seokjin bobs his head up and down.

“See you later Namjoon.”

“See you hyung.”

Namjoon wanders back to his car, plopping down into the seat before letting his head fall against the steering wheel and groaning. How was he going to make this up to Seokjin?

Over the next couple of days, Namjoon tries to do everything he can to ease the burden on Seokjin, offering to help type up his school work for him, and signing off on packages delivered to the shop, trying to keep things clean and orderly. Which is difficult because Taehyung won’t listen to him and he can’t do half of the things that Seokjin can do, like fix the broken machines or decide on what flavors to put out. Namjoon was running himself thin, but it was worth it because Seokjin got to relax and rest and not move so much.

The day that Seokjin gets his cast, he comes in to work, smiling brilliantly as if he doesn’t have a huge chunk of pink plaster attached to his arm. Namjoon and Taehyung are working together, Jungkook in his corner quietly eating some graham crackers.

“Hyung!” Taehyung exclaims. “Are you a cyborg now?”

Seokjin rolls his eyes. “Tae, they put a cast on my arm, not a motherboard.”

“Shame.”

Namjoon shuffles over to where Seokjin is standing in the entryway. “Are you feeling okay? It doesn’t hurt right?”

“Namjoon, the point of a cast is to prevent my arm from moving and hurting more, I’m okay,” Seokjin pats Namjoon on the shoulder and brushes past him to go to the office to check on the day’s business affairs. “Although my stomach has been killing me, I’ve had to eat takeout almost every day this week because I can’t cook anything anymore with my arm like this, and it is not agreeing with my digestive system. I haven’t eaten this poorly since I was a freshman in undergrad.”

“I can cook for you!”

Everyone in the shop stops and looks at Namjoon, who has his hand raised straight up in the air and an eager look in his eyes.

Seokjin cocks his head to the side and squints his eyes at Namjoon. “Can you really cook?”

Namjoon says yes at the same time that Taehyung says no, and Namjoon stares at his roommate in displeasure. “I can throw some things together,” Namjoon defends himself.

“False, you once tried to make stir fry and ended up burning the pan but left the food uncooked,” Taehyung interjects.

“I can cut stuff?”

“Also false, you can’t even cut an onion properly and I’m pretty sure you were holding the knife upside down at first.”

Namjoon crosses his arms and pouts. “I can boil water.”

Taehyung pauses on this one. “I’ll give it to you, but even that’s pushing it, most of the time the water ends up overflowing.”

“Ha! See, Taehyung says I can cook,” Namjoon turns to Seokjin with expectation drawn over everyone of his features. “I can cook for you.”

“I did not say that, Seokjin please don’t blame me if you eat something Namjoon makes and it poisons you,” Taehyung protests.

Seokjin brings a hand up to his chin in contemplation, grimacing as he weighs his options. “Well you’re really all I’ve got and you said you wanted to make things up to me so…”

“Yes! Yes I will make things up to you!” Namjoon brings his hands together under his chin and begs. “Please hyung?”

“Okay,” Seokjin says with a smile.

Namjoon does a little hop like an overexcited puppy, repeatedly shouting out little cheers of victory until more customers come in and he has to do his job. Seokjin tells him to come home with him after work, Taehyung giving him a huge wink and Jungkook calling out encouragements. Namjoon is ready for his second chance at impressing Seokjin.

Taehyung usually rides with Namjoon to and from their shifts at the yogurt shop, but as soon as they close for the night, Namjoon pushes his roommate onto Jungkook and tells them to take the bus home, then whirls around and ushers Seokjin to his car so that they can head to his apartment. Taehyung gives him an indignant ‘ hey!’ but otherwise accepts his fate and seeks solace in his boyfriend’s arms.

They reach Seokjin’s studio apartment with little fanfare, making quiet small talk during the car trip and the elevator ride up. Seokjin lives in a little studio apartment a bit farther away from campus than the rest of them, and while Namjoon has been to the complex before, he’s never been inside Seokjin’s actual apartment. He’s nervous, wiping his clammy hands on his jeans and coughing a lot to clear his throat.

Seokjin unlocks the door and heads inside, slipping his shoes off at the front entrance and motioning for Namjoon to do the same. His apartment is cozy, and warm, one big room decorated in neutral tones, save for some pops of color here and there, like the big, plush pink chair in the living area. There’s fairy lights strung up around the ceiling, and Namjoon can see a large bookcase that acts as a partition between Seokjin’s bed and the living room. It’s full of Mario figurines and little succulent plants, and Namjoon is once again reminded of how soft hearted the man in front of him is. The front door opens up into the kitchen area, and Seokjin steps over to the island that separates the kitchen from the living, and drops his keys down into a bowl on the counter.

“So,” Seokjin starts, “this is home.”

“It’s nice,” Namjoon replies. “Comfy.”

Seokjin shrugs. “It’s not much. This was all I could really afford with my grad school tuition payments.”

Namjoon just makes a small sound of understanding before walking around to the other side of the island. “So, dinner?”

Seokjin’s eyes light up and he nods. “Yes, dinner. I’m going to teach you how to make bibambap! I haven’t gone to the grocery store in a while, so I don’t have a lot in stock, but I have some leftover vegetables and rice that we can mix together. You’re probably going to have to cut a lot of things though, are you up for that?”

“As much as I’ll ever be,” Namjoon says, gritting his teeth together in determination.

“Okay, well get over here then.”

Namjoon swiftly walks over to where Seokjin is pulling ingredients out from the fridge, taking them from him and placing them onto the counter. Soon, the island is overflowing with beef, spinach, bean sprouts, mushrooms, carrots, rice, and eggs, as well as various seasonings and spices.

“I thought you said you didn’t have a lot of things in stock,” Namjoon says, eyeing the plentiful rations in front of him.

“I don’t, this is nothing. Usually my fridge is so full I have to bring in an extra cooler because I run out of room,” Seokjin says. “First things first,” he points to the beef. “I need you to mince that.”

“Do what now?”

“Mince, like cut it up into little tiny pieces.”

“Right, right, okay,” Namjoon says, still unsure, and only mildly confident. “Knife?”

“You won’t need to cut them up too finely,” Seokjin replies, and Namjoon breathes out a sigh of relief. “Just into cubes and then we’ll run it through the food processor.” He takes out a contraption that looks sort of like a fat blender, and places it on the counter. He hands Namjoon a sharp knife, and Namjoon takes it carefully in his hands.

“Go ahead and try.”

Namjoon does, but in his haste to impress Seokjin, he ends up holding the knife the wrong way. Seokjin carefully stops him and gently points out his mistake to him, and Namjoon smiles shyly and mumbles a small thanks, before continuing his cutting. Seokjin tells him to transfer some of the meat into the food processor and Namjoon complies, pushing the correct button and adding in more meat when Seokjin tells him to. Soon the meat is minced, everything is going well and Namjoon has a lot more faith in himself than before.

“Okay now can you hold these measuring spoons for me so I can portion out the sauce ingredients?” Seokjin asks and Namjoon follows the directions, trying to keep his hands steady as Seokjin pours out some soy sauce and sesame oil, before adding it to the bowl where the meat is resting. Seokjin adds in some sugar and garlic before directing Namjoon to mix it all together. Once he’s done, Seokjin takes it from him and covers it before setting it aside.

“So the bean sprouts and spinach are already ready to go, because I may be a chef in training, but I know when to cut corners and buy pre-seasoned vegetables. You’ll need to cut some carrots and mushrooms though.”

Namjoon takes a steadying breath before accepting the smaller knife Seokjin hands him. Seokjin tells him to julienne the carrots, and Namjoon just stares at him in confusion before he clarifies that he just wants him to cut the carrots into short, thin strips. Namjoon braces himself as he makes the first cut, and it's a bit wonky and uneven, but he did his best. He goes to make the next cut, but stops short when he feels Seokjin’s hand on his.

“You gotta sorta, chop, not saw. Just do it all in one go.” Seokjin pushes down on Namjoon’s hand to get him to cut, and Namjoon follows his advice as best as he can. The second cut comes out somewhat cleaner, and Seokjin gives him a smile of approval. “There you go! Now do it again, and please, curl in the fingers on your other hand before you chop one off.”

“Okay.”

Namjoon continues with his cutting, finishing up the carrots and moving on to the mushrooms. Once everything has Seokjin’s seal of approval, they move to the stove to cook the vegetables. Seokjin pours some cooking oil into a pan and motions for Namjoon to dump the vegetables in. He tells Namjoon to also add in some salt, while he goes to cook the meat. Seokjin’s skilled enough that he can use his left hand to toss the meat around, and Namjoon is left in awe.

They fry an egg to go on top, and place everything in a bowl along with some pre-cooked rice and sauce Seokjin already has ready from the last time he made bibambap.

“And there we go!” Seokjin opens his arms wide in celebration. “Your first completed dish!”

Namjoon cheers and gives Seokjin a high five when he reaches out his hand, then they both grab spoons and dig in. Namjoon allows Seokjin to take the first bite, and he seems to enjoy it before he starts coughing, dropping his spoon onto the counter and bringing his hand up to cover his mouth.

“What? What’s wrong?” Namjoon is frantic, face drawn down in a confused frown, but Seokjin waves his hand, slowly recovering his breath.

“Why is it so salty? How much salt did you add when you were cooking the carrots and the mushrooms?”

Namjoon pales. “I don’t know! Like a palmful?”

Seokjin turns to him in shock. “A palmful?”

“Yeah, I just sort of held my hand out and poured some salt into it and then threw it in there,” Namjoon says. “You didn’t tell me how much to add!”

“Well damn, I didn’t think you were going to add in enough salt to repel a damn demon!”

Namjoon looks at him questioningly, but Seokjin just says, “I watch a lot of Supernatural, okay?”

Seokjin goes over to the fridge to pour them both some water, and when he returns, Namjoon has his head bowed in shame. “I’m sorry Seokjin, I messed up again, I keep messing up.”

Seokjin just laughs and shakes his head. “Joonie, its okay, I knew you weren’t a trained chef or anything. I kinda figured you’d mess up.” Namjoon whines, and Seokjin places his good hand on his shoulder. “But it’s okay, you’re learning, this is only your first try. I’m excited to see how your next dishes turn out.”

“But what if I mess up again?” Namjoon asks, hands covering his face.

“Then I will be there to help fix all your mistakes, and to guide you through it. Nobody’s perfect Namjoon, and even though you did a tiny miscalculation, I’d be willing to eat a thousand more bowls of salty bibambap if it meant I got to spend more time with you.”

Namjoon is shocked, Seokjin’s never been so open and honest with him before, so affectionate and understanding. Namjoon can see right to Seokjin’s heart, bared open for him to hold and love, and Namjoon feels so special in that moment.

“Really hyung?”

“Really really Joon.”

Namjoon nods and moves his hands to his lap. Seokjin pats him on the head fondly and walks over to the pantry to grab some sugar to hopefully counteract the salt. Once he mixes it in, Namjoon takes a tentative bite and gives a thumbs up to indicate that it’s less salty than before, and they both enjoy the food, even if they have to wash it down with a lot of water.

When Namjoon goes to leave, Seokjin gives him a hug and tells him thank you, and that next time he’ll keep a closer eye on him. Seokjin winks as he closes the door, Namjoon waving demurely, body still warm from Seokjin’s embrace.

Alone in his bedroom that night, Namjoon goes through almost the entirety of the Food Network YouTube channel, watching episode upon episode of Chopped to prepare for his next lesson with Seokjin.  

Over the next week or so, Namjoon continues to help Seokjin with his cooking and assignments. It becomes almost routine for Namjoon to go to Seokjin’s apartment after helping close up the shop for the day, and even on nights when he’s not working, he shows up on Seokjin’s doorstep with his backpack in tow and an eager smile on his face. Seokjin usually lets him in with a giggle and a comment about his outfit or the dish they’ll be trying out that night. Namjoon even has his own designated spot on the shoe rack, and his own special mug Seokjin always prepares his tea in.

One Friday night, there’s a particularly vicious winter storm swirling outside, a strange occurrence for their area. Wind batters against the windows in strong gusts, snow piling up in the streets and ice forming on the sidewalk. Namjoon had just finished helping Seokjin prepare the night’s meal, salmon with a balsamic glaze over wild rice and a side of broccoli. He’s particularly proud of this one; nothing burned and Seokjin didn’t even need to correct him on the proper way to hold the knife. They had moved over to the couch to eat, Seokjin turning on the TV as he settles into his spot, Namjoon following behind, carefully balancing his plate. Seokjin flips the channel to the news, where they’re doing a report on the storm.

“In an unprecedented turn of events, a record eight inches of snow is anticipated in some areas. Local street maintenance workers are working diligently to clear the snow and ice, but traffic is expected to worsen as the night continues. Stay tuned to your local news station for all the latest on the winter storm.”

Seokjin sets his plate down on the coffee table and turns to Namjoon. “Namjoon you can’t go home tonight, I won’t let you drive in that.”

“Hyung it’s fine, they’re just being overdramatic, I’m not sure why the whole city has to shut down just because of a little snow. It’s probably not even that bad. I’ll be careful.”

But Seokjin has his lips pursed and his arms crossed, and Namjoon knows that the battle is lost. “Absolutely not Namjoon, one of us already has a broken arm, we don’t need two of us injured. Who will be my sous chef then?”

“But hyung -”

“I’ll grab you a blanket and you can sleep on the couch.” And that was that.

“Okay hyung.”

Seokjin leans back into the couch, smug smile on his face as he continues eating his dinner. Namjoon sighs, but shovels more food into his mouth before it gets too cold.

Once they’re done with dinner, there’s a moment of hesitation between the two of them. Usually, Namjoon would leave right after they’re done eating, bidding Seokjin farewell as soon as the last bite has settled in his stomach. But now, he’s staying, and he’s not quite sure what to do - it’s too early to go to sleep, and neither of them want to do homework, since it’s Friday and they have the whole weekend to complete their assignments. Namjoon is at a loss.

Seokjin breaks the silence first. “We could… watch a movie?”

Namjoon nods, and excuses himself to the bathroom to sike himself up for a night spent with Seokjin. He stares himself down in the mirror, splashing some cold water on his face and slapping it a little to pep himself up. He checks his teeth for food scraps and whispers some words of encouragement to himself before walking back out into the living room, where Seokjin already has a movie ready to go and has snugly settled himself into the couch, wrapped in a thick, fuzzy blanket that comes up around his shoulders. Namjoon almost melts at the sight - Seokjin is honestly so naturally cute it hurts.

“How to Train Your Dragon?” Namjoon asks, as he notices the menu playing on the TV screen.

“It’s a very inspiring and uplifting movie,” Seokjin replies primly, and Namjoon just nods and sits down next to him. Apparently he sat too far away for Seokjin’s liking, as the older unwraps half of the blanket and motions for Namjoon to cuddle up to his side so they can share. Namjoon does so timidly, not wanting to do more than what Seokjin’s okay with. Once they’ve both made themselves comfortable, Seokjin hits the play button, and the movie starts.

Namjoon had never seen the movie before, or maybe he has and he just doesn’t remember, but it is a really good, the soundtrack is especially engaging, and Namjoon finds himself making little noises under his breath, whether in distress or excitement for the characters on screen. More than once, out of the corner of his eye, he can see Seokjin smiling at him, but everytime he turns his head, Seokjin focuses back on the TV, gaze unbothered.

After the movie has finished and the menu animation has looped through multiple times, Seokjin gets up to stretch. “Did you like it?”

“Yeah, I’m definitely going to download that soundtrack, it’s beautiful. And I want a dragon of my own hyung! Can you imagine? A little baby dragon as a pet? Amazing!”

Seokjin grins. “I’m glad you enjoyed it and have now witnessed the beauty of How to Train Your Dragon. We’ll watch the second one another time.”

“There’s another one??”

“Yeah,” Seokjin laughs. “And an animated series.” He heads to the bathroom. “I’m just going to brush my teeth and then we can sleep?”

“Okay hyung.”

Namjoon busies himself by setting up his temporary bed on the couch while Seokjin is in the bathroom. He’s got himself wrapped up in a cocoon by the time Seokjin comes out, and Seokjin asks if he needs anything else, but Namjoon shakes his head, and Seokjin nods before turning off the light and heading to his bed.

Outside, the sounds of the storm can still be heard, branches creaking and water dripping down from the gutters. Seokjin is very literally on the other side of the bookcase partition from him, and Namjoon can’t stop his frantic heart from beating out of his chest as he tosses and turns, trying to find a suitable position in his blanket burrito.

He finds that the couch is a lot less comfortable now that Seokjin’s arms aren’t wrapped around him, warm body heat pressed up against his side.

Namjoon huffs out a breath to calm himself, and his teeth start chattering as he looks up at the ceiling to try and focus on his breathing so he can sleep. There’s some rustling coming from the other side of the bookcase, and Namjoon stills so that he doesn’t wake up Seokjin. However, he hears Seokjin’s feet as they hit the hardwood and he pads over to the couch. Namjoon closes his eyes and feigns sleep.

“Namjoon, get up.”

“What?” Namjoon peeks one eye open slowly, only to see Seokjin standing at the end of the couch with his hands on his hips.

“Get off of the couch and get into this bed with me.”

Namjoon makes some sort of sound that’s a cross between a squeak and a cough. “Hyung, wha-”

“Namjoon, I can hear your teeth chattering from all the way over there, come get under these blankets with me.”

Namjoon opens his mouth to spout out some sort of excuse, but Seokjin fixes him with a look that says he’s not going to take no for an answer, so Namjoon peels the blanket off of himself and quietly stands, bringing the blanket with him as he trudges over to Seokjin’s bed.

There’s a curtain rod between the bookcase and the wall, with a piece of pale blue fabric hanging off of it. Seokjin pulls it to the side and climbs onto the bed, Namjoon following behind him and laying down as close as he can get to the wall, pulling his blanket on top of him.

“Namjoon, how am I supposed to keep you warm if you’re all the way over there?”

“Um-” Namjoon starts, but Seokjin grabs him by the hand and tugs him closer, before draping the covers and quilts over the both of them and placing his arm over Namjoon’s waist. Namjoon’s breathing is stilted, coming out in little wheezes as he tries to wrap his head around the situation. His body is rigid, eyes squeezed shut, consciousness nowhere near peaceful enough for sleep. He tries to roll over onto his back in order to separate himself from Seokjin, but Seokjin squeezes his side and pats his back.

“Go to sleep Joonie.”

Namjoon opens his eyes and studies the serene look on Seokjin’s face, lips parted slightly, chestnut brown hair splayed across his forehead, and cheek squished a little against the pillow. His relaxed expression and even breathing help to relieve some of the tension in Namjoon’s body, and slowly but surely, Namjoon loosens all of his joints, melting into the mattress as he basks in Seokjin’s presence.

When Namjoon wakes up, there’s a heavy weight on his chest. He almost throws it off in alarm before looking down and seeing a mess of brown hair, rising and falling with Namjoon’s panicked breathing. He tilts his head back against the pillow and stares at the ceiling, trying not to disturb Seokjin any more than he already has. He can feel Seokjin’s casted arm on his stomach and knows that their legs are tangled together underneath the blankets, and he bites his lips to stop the overwhelming flood of emotions bubbling up from his stomach - he’s happy, beyond happy, but he’s also dumbfounded from last night’s events, and he also has to pee a little bit.

Luckily, Seokjin’s head pops up from its position on Namjoon’s chest, as he slowly turns around to look at Namjoon with still sleepy eyes.

“Hey,” Namjoon says. “Good morning Sleeping Beauty.”

Pink rises up on Seokjin’s cheeks as he blinks his eyes to try and get the sleep out of them. “Morning,” Seokjin mumbles, lips stuck together.

Namjoon thinks he could die happy now that he’s seen a sleep Seokjin cuddling against his chest. “I um, I kinda have to, pee.”

Seokjin’s eyes open a bit farther, and he nods, before rolling off of Namjoon’s chest. “Sorry.”

Namjoon smiles, sitting up and shifting out of the bed. “It’s okay hyung, I didn’t want to wake you.” Namjoon makes sure the blankets are tucked tightly around Seokjin’s form before he leaves for the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

Seokjin is sitting up a bit more when Namjoon gets out of the bathroom, although his hair is still mussed and his eyes are still stuck halfway closed. The blankets are pulled tight around him, making him look like a soft, round marshmallow, and Namjoon just wants to get right back into bed and cuddle the shit out of Seokjin, but he knows there are more important things to attend to.

Namjoon walks over to the kitchen to scan for anything he can make Seokjin for breakfast. He comes up short and says as much to Seokjin, who says something about Saturday normally being grocery shopping day, and Namjoon just hums as he closes the fridge and turns to face the bed.

“Do you want to go grocery shopping with me?” Seokjin asks, and Namjoon grins and nods, moving to grab his jacket and socks.

“I’d love to.”

They decide to make waffles, and also grab some turkey bacon for a side, and strawberries and whipped cream to top it all off. Seokjin flits around the store with a practiced efficiency, knowing the exact aisle and shelf where everything is located. Their trip through the store is quiet and subdued, neither of them mentioning how close they had gotten over the course of the night, Namjoon choosing to keep his thoughts to himself about how perfect Seokjin had looked with the light streaming through the window and hitting the planes of his face just right.

Back in Seokjin’s apartment, Namjoon helps to measure and pour out the batter, and also cuts up the strawberries while Seokjin fries the turkey bacon. He decides to set up Seokjin’s plate himself, decorating the waffle with a heart made out of strawberries and a whipped cream border. Seokjin grabs them some orange juice from the fridge and is settling into barstool at the island when Namjoon presents his masterpiece.

“Hey hyung,” Namjoon says, “Don’t go bacon my heart.”

Seokjin stifles a giggle behind his cast, eyes rolling and blush creeping up his cheeks. “That was terrible Joonie.”

“Yeah, but you loved it.”

“I did.”

They dig into their food, the only sounds being the crunch of the bacon and the clink of silverware on plates. Suddenly, Seokjin stabs a strawberry and points it at Namjoon. “Hey Joon, put your hands up, this is a strobbery!”

Namjoon stares at Seokjin at first, then it clicks and he laughs, putting his hands up in mock fright, dropping his fork in the process. His fork that’s covered in whipped cream and strawberry juice.

“Oh fuck!” Namjoon exclaims, frantically wiping at his pants with his napkin. “I need to wear these to work today!”

Seokjin quickly gets up and grabs a towel from the kitchen, running it under the faucet before returning to Namjoon’s side. “Here let me help.”

Namjoon pales when Seokjin starts dabbing at the stain that is very, very close to his crotch. “Um hyung, I don’t really think that’s such a good -”

“Namjoon, you’re so clumsy, why does this always happen to you?”

“Okay well first of all, you told me to put my hands up, so if anyone is to blame, it’s you and your dumb puns. Second of all, this does not happen that often. Third of all, you’re getting really close to my -”

Seokjin sits back on his heels, pouting up at Namjoon. “I don’t think that strawberry juice is going to come out with just water. Why’d you have to wear those silly corduroy pants anyways?”

“It’s fashion hyung!”

Seokjin scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Whatever, I’ll just let you borrow a pair of my sweatpants to go to work today.”

Namjoon pauses for a minute, thinking about how Seokjin’s lending him sweatpants to wear, and how he just slept over at his apartment for the first time and they’re eating waffles together, and how all of that just screams boyfriends and domesticity. He nods when he realizes that they both have to go to work in fifteen minutes and he doesn’t really have time to go home and change so he has no choice but to take Seokjin up on his offer.

Seokjin goes over to his closet, which is really just a rack along one wall and a trunk laying on the floor, pulling out a pair of gray sweatpants that he tosses to Namjoon. “Put them on, we have to go to work soon.”

Namjoon stands, awkwardly looking around for a place to change out of his now stained pants, when Seokjin sighs and tells him to go to the bathroom while he cleans up their breakfast. After he switches pants, Seokjin takes his soiled pair from him, spraying on some stain remover and rubbing it in.

“You can come back and pick these up after work, I’ll put them in the washing machine downstairs for you.”

“Thanks hyung.”

“Of course Joonie.”

Once they’ve both cleaned up some more and are ready to go, they walk out to Namjoon’s car. There’s still some snow and ice leftover from the storm, and Namjoon may or may not hover his hand behind Seokjin’s back in case he slips.

Namjoon boosts the heater in the car once they depart, turning on some instrumental music as well to fill the silence. It’s not an uncomfortable one, the both of them gazing out of the windows, taking in how different everything looks once its been draped in a layer of snow. Namjoon doesn’t think anything with Seokjin could ever be uncomfortable; he feels like home, warm and inviting, always ready with a pep talk or a comforting embrace, whatever you need. Namjoon likes that. He likes the home that he’s found in Seokjin.

Pulling into the parking lot of the yogurt shop and cutting the engine, Namjoon says, “Ready for another great day at work hyung?”

Seokjin giggles and shakes his head. “Not really, not when I have to look after you two goons.”

Namjoon grins and gets out of the car, heading over to his goon partner who’s waiting rather impatiently to be let into the building. Taehyung doesn’t say anything about the two of them arriving together, although he does wink at Namjoon when Seokjin is busy fumbling with the keys to unlock the doors. “Hyungs, what took you guys so long, I almost froze my toes off.”

“Namjoon made a mess,” Seokjin says simply, finally opening up the doors and stepping into the store.

“A mess huh?” Taehyung says with a waggle of his eyebrows and Namjoon chokes on air.

“I spilled some strawberries, okay, not a big deal.”

“Didn’t know you had a food kink.”

“I don’t- what, no, Taehyung!”

Taehyung cackles as he drops his backpack off behind the counter, a full bodied sound that echoes throughout the empty shop. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding, I’m sure it was all good clean fun over at the Kim residence. I just like seeing you squirm, you’re so pure Namjoon.”

“You should’ve seen him when I asked him to get into bed with me,” Seokjin says, coming out with a clipboard to check off the morning chores.

Taehyung gasped and whirls on his heel to face Namjoon, pointing a finger a little too close to Namjoon’s nose for his liking. “So you guys did sleep together!”

Namjoon shoves Taehyung’s finger out of his personal space before responding, “In the biblical sense of the word, yes. We slept together. It was for survival purposes! Sharing body heat and stuff.”

Taehyung seems skeptical, but it seems like he’s had enough fun annoying Namjoon this morning, because he lets it go and starts to stock up the toppings bar. Namjoon breathes out a sigh of relief - he really didn’t want to be interrogated, especially by Taehyung, who has no concept of personal space or boundaries. Instead, he focuses on his assigned tasks, while Seokjin asks their opinions on what flavors they should set out today.

Work continues on as normal, Namjoon doesn’t drop anything for once, and Yoongi and Jimin even swing by to grab a cup of yogurt and hang out for a bit. There’s another boy with them, Jimin’s roommate, who introduces himself as Hoseok and looks like the physical embodiment of the sun. Jungkook comes in close to closing, as is his ritual whenever Taehyung’s working, and takes a seat at the table where Yoongi, Jimin, and Hoseok are chatting.

Eventually, Seokjin, Namjoon, and Taehyung’s shifts are over, their coworkers coming in to relieve them and send them home. They gather their belongings, and Seokjin tells the other four, in words that Namjoon supposes are intended to be nice, but come out rather threatening, that if they stay any longer, he’ll call the cops for loitering. They grumble and complain about Seokjin being a stickler for rules, but quietly vacate their table and throw away their trash, Jungkook wiping the table down with a napkin.

Outside, Namjoon sees Taehyung lean down to whisper something into his boyfriend’s ear, Jungkook responding with a huge smile that makes him look even younger than he really is. Namjoon has a bad feeling about this.

“Snowball fight!” Taehyung yells, bending down to quickly gather up some of the leftover snow, packing it together before lobbing it at Yoongi.

The snowball hits Yoongi square in the face, and not even a second passes before Yoongi is wiping his face off and calling out, “You little shit! I’m going to get you Kim Taehyung!”

And then everything descends into chaos in the parking lot, every man for themselves, as the seven of them start an all out war. Namjoon grabs Seokjin by the hand and leads them over to his car, ducking behind it and avoiding most of the attacks coming from Taehyung and Jungkook.

“Cowards!” Taehyung screams, but Namjoon can’t hear anything over Seokjin’s laughs, rolling out of him without restrain, the older boy slapping his thigh and leaning over so that he’s almost parallel to the ground.

Namjoon swears there’s diamonds in Seokjin’s eyes; they’re glistening and shining and looking much prettier than they should have the right to be, and before he can stop himself and think about how poor of a decision it is, Namjoon is leaning in to kiss Seokjin right on the lips.

Seokjin’s laughter cuts off abruptly, and Namjoon quickly moves back, and apology already forming on the tip of his tongue until he spots the color high on Seokjin’s cheeks and the small smile forming on his lips. Seokjin looks up at him, and Namjoon can see that his eyes are still full of mirth and giddiness, not regret and distress, and that’s what gives Namjoon the confidence to continue on.

“Can we redo our first date?” Namjoon asks. “Hopefully do something where neither of us gets injured, and I can make it up to you?”

Seokjin just smiles and nods, face peach pink and soft. “Of course you big dummy.” Seokjin reaches over and laces Namjoon’s fingers with his. “But later, kiss me again.”

And so Namjoon does, the two of them melting into each other, completely oblivious to the mayhem happening on the other side of the car. This kiss is longer, deeper, setting a fire alight in Namjoon’s bones, warming him up from the inside. Namjoon doesn’t think anything’s ever felt this right in his life.

Seokjin breaks the kiss, and at first, Namjoon is disappointed, because nothing could be better than kissing Seokjin, but then he sees the look of determination on Seokjin’s face, his mouth quirking to the side as he says, “Now, you ready to show these boys who’s boss?” and Namjoon smirks, ready to take on the world.