Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Jimin,” Taehyung whines, narrowly avoiding falling off the couch as he rolls over and wraps the blanket tighter around himself. It’s leopard-printed, a gift from Jimin to themselves from when they moved into the apartment. “Do you think ‘Intro to Science Fiction’ sounds like an easy class? Or do you know anyone who’s taken it?”

“Isn’t it an evening class? I feel like we went over that one like... twenty minutes ago,” Jimin replies from the floor, not bothering to look up. He's probably right, too.

Jilin has his own laptop in front of him, and is in the process of color-coding his online calendar. Blue for lectures, green for labs and purple for dance practices. Taehyung has seen him to this enough times - every semester since they met on move-in day their first year - to be able to recognize the blocks in his schedule at a glance.

Taehyung scrolls back up to where the class schedule is.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he says, letting out a deep sigh and closes the tab. Goodbye, department of cinema studies. So long, science fiction movies.

The thing is, Taehyung knows he can’t really afford to be particularly picky with only five days before the registration period ends, but still. At least, he thinks, he’s long been enrolled in all his photography-related classes for the semester. He’s looking forward to most of them too, especially the studio classes. Really, it’s just that one additional stupid arts gen ed course he needs to get out of the way, and then he’ll be free for good.

“How about ‘Art of Listening’?” he asks a few minutes later. He hears the sound of Jimin typing on his keyboard come to a halt. “That kinda sound like a class for people that want to become therapists or something. Or marriage counsellors?”

“Maybe people that are gonna need marriage counselling, sure,” Jimin replies, his typing picking up again. Taehyung lets out a small laugh, and he can see Jimin scrunching his nose up, his eyes closing up slightly, just like they always do when he laughs.

Taehyung runs a hand through the hair at the back of his head and looks down at his own screen again. There are still a solid half-dozen tabs currently open, which is a lot but still an improvement compared to half an hour ago.

“It doesn’t seem too bad, you know. Just two papers and a final,” he eventually says, scrolling through last year’s syllabus. Jimin hums in response, still mostly focused on his own screen but just loud enough to let Taehyung know he is listening.

“And it’s actually about music, I could totally do that,” Taehyung adds. He thinks he’s starting to get a pretty good feeling about this when Jimin turns around suddenly.

“Wait, who’s the prof for it?” There’s a small frown on his face, like he’s trying to remember something but isn’t quite sure what.

“Uh... something Andrews I think?“ Taehyung says as he scrolls back up. “Yeah, L-something Andrews, why?”

“Oh, that’s the one!” Jimin says, tapping his hand down the coffee table in excitement. “Jungkook took it last semester, I think. I remember him talking about it when we first met, I remember because he was always complaining about the prof who-”

“Great, you should have just lead with that,” Taehyung interrupts as he moves to close the tab. Jungkook is one of the more easy going people he’s ever met when it comes to this stuff, so he can’t imagine what a prof that annoys would be like.

A soft but slightly damp piece of fabric hits him in the nose before falling down in front of him. He scrunches his nose in distaste when he realizes what Jimin just threw at him.

“Why are you throwing your dirty socks at me?” Taehyung asks, before picking it up and throwing it back in Jimin’s general direction. “And why is it wet? Did you spill my coke again?”

“If you’d just let me finish!” Jimin says pointedly, leaning to grab the sock again. It’s a little too far for him to reach, and Taehyung watches him stubbornly wiggles to the side until he can close his fingers around it. He smiles victoriously, huffing a little as he leans back against the couch and makes himself stand up straight.

“As I was saying,” he starts again, enunciating carefully. He pushes his shoulders back, like he’s trying to take up more space. It’s cute, Taehyung thinks with a smile.

“Before I rudely interrupted you,” Taehyung adds with a smile.

“Yes, before you did indeed do that,” Jimin continues, still smiling, “Jungkook took it last semester. And he was always annoyed because the prof didn’t always let them use their laptops in class, but he also said that it was really easy. Most of the time they just had to listen to some music and write about how it made them feel, that sort of stuff.”

“That sounds pretty doable,” Taehyung agrees.

“Right?” Jimin says. “And I think he mentioned one of his friends is taking it this semester too. A senior, so he’s probably in the same boat as you.”

Taehyung doesn't think that'll make much of a difference, but he doesn't bother telling Jimin that. It's not like the class has group projects anyway, so he can hopefully get by with just showing to most lectures and turning in the assignments.

"I really should have done this over the summer, you were really right about that," he says, as he pushes his laptop away. He sighs, aware that he sounds more resigned than the situation calls for.

"It's not your fault Internet at your grandma's went down for a week. Or that there's basically no signal there, so you couldn't even text me to register for you," Jimin says. And fair, Taehyung thinks, it's not like he's completely at fault here, but that doesn't change anything in the end. He could have gotten those mandatory art electives outside of his major done as a freshmen, or even last year, like most other students in his program did.

"Besides, I'm sure it won't be that bad," Jimin says, moving closer until he can rest his head on Taehyung's shoulder.

It makes Taehyung smile, one of those things Jimin does that would look to anyone else like him wanting comfort, when in reality he's the one offering it. Not that Taehyung thinks he's bad at asking when needed, especially not from Jimin, but there's something comforting about the wordless offer.

"You'll do great," Jimin continues, tugging on the blanket until it covers his own legs too, " because you always do, because you're talented but you also work hard. So you're gonna ace all your actual photography classes, and pass this one, and be done with all your dumb degree requirements. And then next year you can take all the photography classes you want, and I'll take all the engineering design classes I want, and we'll go to each other's senior showcases, and barely even remember all the time we wasted on classes we didn't care about."

When Jimin puts it that way, Taehyung thinks, it sounds easy.

***

After three weeks of classes, Taehyung feels like he can safely conclude that the class is... not that bad. If he had to give the class a grade it’d be a solid C-, bordering on a straight-up C.

Sure, it is mostly filled with freshmen from the arts faculty trying to get an easy A, a solid half of whom have already stopped showing up to lectures. And yes, it is weird being back in a two hundred-people room when most of his other classes are forty people at most. He has to turn in weekly written assignments, which is also not fun but writing five hundred words once a week isn’t a time commitment he can't handle.

The problem though, is that as far as he can tell from those three first weeks, this supposedly-easy class would also not rate the level of effort Taehyung has put in as anything more than a C either. Which is definitely not what Taehyung wanted out of it. Far from it.

The class does however have one major saving grace, in the form of a fellow student.

Taehyung doesn’t know his name, or his major, or anything tangible about him, which is a little unfortunate.

He does however know that the guy has legs. Long and strong, with toned thighs that suggest at least some form of semi-regular exercise, and that look equally good in the kind of wide-legged, loose, cotton pants Taehyung himself favors, as they do in denim cutoffs.

He has really nice hands too, which Taehyung found out about they accidentally reached for the same assignment sheet. Free of any traces of paint or clay or even pencil, which probably rules out most of the applied and non-digital majors. Or speaks to a level of personal hygiene Taehyung would be both impressed and uncomfortable with.

They look good though, strong and capable. Taehyung thinks his hands be nice to hold, or to have holding him down, or tangled in his hair while he sucks bruises into his equally-beautiful thighs.

So yeah, you could say Taehyung is enjoying the course, sure.

The guy usually sits at the back of the room, in the very last row from where you kind of have to squint to see what’s written on the board. Taehyung knows, because this is were he also sat during the first two weeks, until he realized this wasn’t gonna be the kind of lecture where he could just sit back and use the time to brainstorm for his Experimental Imaging class. Not if he wanted to do more than just pass, anyway.

The guys also usually brings his laptop to class, and one time Taehyung talked past him only to see a video of a crab walking up a pile of sand playing in the corner of his screen. But then, he spoke up one day, breaking the long-held tradition of last-row students remaining as mentally absent from the lecture as possible, unless repeatedly called upon.

Taehyung remembers he made some point about the role of music in religious movements, and how that connected to society’s idea of liveliness within places of worship. Taehyung doesn’t remember the details honestly, mostly because some of it had just flown way over his head, but their professor had been impressed.

When she had said so, instead of the self-satisfied smile Taehyung had been expecting, the guy had looked down at his notes, one arm twitching like he was resisting the urge to scratch at the back of his neck in embarrassment. Taehyung even thinks he'd even blushed a little, and really, no one should have the right to be both this attractive and adorable at the same time.

Taehyung isn’t quite sure how feels about the crab video, which is definitely weird, even by art faculty standards. But for him, Taehyung thinks he might be willing to overlook it, it.

***

taehyung
he’s so hot
he’s like 90 percent leg
and 50 percent dimples

jiminie
sounds Hot

taehyung
like i’d let him walk all over me and say thank you
bc i know that after he’d just put me back together with his smile

jiminie
okay maybe let’s stop there
like keep the rest for when you’re alone at home

taehyung
or in the shower

jiminie
thanks
not like i use that shower too

***

The thing is, Taehyung isn’t new to having crushes. At all. Taehyung thinks of himself as a pretty outgoing and extroverted person; he likes meeting new people and learning about who they are.

And so perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise to himself that Taehyung ends up developing crushes on more than a few of the people he meets. He just thinks that most of his friends are great, and therefore associate themselves with other, equally good and interesting people, whom he eventually ends up meeting and talking to. Most of them are great, some of them are cute, and a few leave Taehyung’s heart beating faster, as he finds himself wishing for their conversations to never end.

What is new (or disconcerting, if he were to listen to the Jimin voice in his head), is him feeling the that way about someone he's never talked to.

Taehyung still doesn't know anything about him, other what he looks like and than the sound of his voice but god does he want to. And it feels like it’s been years, so many years, since Taehyung has felt too shy to just go up to someone he wants to know better and introduce himself. He's felt anxious before, maybe a little self-conscious, but not the kind of shyness that turns into complete inaction.

It is nice nonetheless, he admits to himself. Even if he is being a bit hopeless,Taehyung finds himself looking forward to the class. And as much as he does find himself daydreaming about something spurring him into action and actually talking to him, Taehyung likes the mystery.

***

He, Taehyung thinks, is currently winning at life.

He’s done with classes for the week, has no plans that require him to get out of his sweatpants for the next twenty four hours, and is currently sitting back on the couch surrounded by food and two of his favorite people.

So yeah, life is pretty fucking great right now.

He is leaning back against one arm of the sofa, a forgotten Xbox controller in one hand and the other casually playing with Jimin’s hair.

Jimin is laying down on the couch, the only one out of the three them that can kind of do so without most of his legs hanging off one end. His head is resting on Taehyung’s lap, while his feet are in Jungkook’s. Taehyung has enough friends in the dance program to know exactly just how bad their feet get, and he categorically refuses to be exposed to them more than he absolutely has to. And that's saying something, because his tolerance for feet and grossness is usually pretty high, as some past boyfriends have definitely let him know. As far as he’s concerned though, Jungkook signed up for dealing with Jimin’s, thank you very much.

Friday evening is their unofficially-designated group hang-out time, a tradition that developed of the last few months without any of them being aware of it, but now something that Taehyung wouldn't miss for the world. It usually just means video games, bitching about their classes, takeout, and whatever booze one of the other two decided to pick up. When Jungkook makes grabby hands at him, Taehyung grabs an unopened can of beer he brought for today and passes it on.

“Thanks, Tae,” Jungkook says as he cracks it open, leaning forward to catch some of the foam that comes out before it has a chance to further stain the couch. Jimin raise one of his feet, lifting it until he can push up against the can Jungkook is drinking from, trying to force him to keep going.

Jungkook laughs as he tries shoving him away, before realizing that Jimin is actually applying enough pressure to keep it there. His eyes widen comically as a he hurriedly takes the next gulp, a little beer dribbling down his chin and onto his shirt. Jimin moves his foot back then, seemingly satisfied with the outcome of this mess.

“You know,” Jungkook says as he watches Taehyung reach over for the mostly-empty bag of chips on the table, “I could just ask Namjoon to help you out with the class.”

Taehyung’s fingers close on thin hair, the bag of doritos he was aiming for remaining just out of reach.

“Who’s Namjoon?” he asks, absentally. He shuffles forward on the couch, trying not to dislodge Jimin’s head from his lap.

Jimin flicks him on the thigh regardless. "Jungkook's friend, the one I told you about when you signed up! And, you know, the one that's also taking this class right now."

"Oh, " Taehyung says. He totally remembers that, right. His fingers graze the bag of Doritos again, but in his haste he just ends up pushing it a few inches further away, standing precariously on one edge of the table.

“I think he tutored, like, half his contemporary fiction class last year. So you know he’s gotta be good at actually teaching things, and not just smart,” Jungkook continues, like Taehyung’s attention is mostly captured by a pursuit much more worthy of his time than academics.

One more inch, he thinks as he leans in a little further, balancing his weight on one arm. He just needs to get one inch closer and the bag will be his. Taehyung feels like he can already taste the powdery, cheesy, amazingness on his tongue.

“And Yoongi is always talking about how professor Choi still basically cries about not being able to convince him to stay in the department. I’m pretty sure he’d totally still take him on as a grad student if Namjoon just asked, nevermind that he transferred out more than two years ago.”

“So what do you think?” Jungkook finishes, a little more loudly, like he’s realizes Taehyung has tuned him out a bit.

And Taehyung has, yes, but he can finally feel his fingers closing in on the bag, triumphant. He lifts it up, his brain already tasting the cheese-flavored dust, when a sharp, well-aimed, kick hits him in the stomach and he watches his fingers loosen as he reflexively reaches for the offender, the bag of chips falling on the floor, upending itself before he has a chance to reach for it.

The room is completely silent for a moment, before Taehyung lets himself fall back down on the couch dramatically, shooting daggers at Jungkook. Who, of course, explodes with laughter the second their eyes meet.

“I’m- I’m sorry,” he says as he tries to catch his breath, laughing like this isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to Taehyung today.

“I didn’t think I’d hit you hard enough for you to... to do that! But you look so disappointed, and I-” he dissolves into another round of giggles, like he just can’t control how funny he finds the situation. He can feel Jimin patting his knee comfortingly, and Taehyung pouts dramatically at both of them as Jungkook’s laughter starts dying down.

“Hey so,” Jimin eventually says once they’ve all calmed down, Taehyung settling for the remaining but oh-so-inferior sour gummies Jungkook offer him. “Do you want Jungkook to ask Namjoon when he has some time to meet up? Or maybe just give him your number, if that’s easier?”

“What? No! No, don’t do that. I’m not doing that bad.” Taehyung says. He starts lifting himself off the couch completely, hoping to find out that maybe some of the bag of Doritos didn’t completely empty itself during its fall to the ground.

Some smaller pieces have gathered on the floor, and Taehyung makes the split-second decision that life is too short to not eat them.

When he looks up, fingers barely out of his mouth, both Jimin and Jungkook are starting at him. Jimin looks more resigned than anything, but Jungkook looks positively revolted.

“That... that was disgusting,” he says, crunching up his nose in disgust. “Like, the five-second rule is already bad enough, but that was on a whole other level.”

“Thanks,” Taehyung says, not caring in the slightest because that extra handful of Doritos was worth it. He wipes his fingers on the edge of the coffee table, making to mental note to clean it up the next day.

“It’s too late, by the way,” Jungkook says, all faux-casual. “I already asked Namjoon. Well, texted him to tell him that you were gonna text him later for help with the class.” He shoves his phone in front of Taehyung’s face, and yeah, right there, that’s a message saying just that, complete with Taehyung’s own number at the end.

“Why would you do that?” Taehyung complains loudly, as he reads over the message once again. It’s not that he’s against the idea of getting help with the class, but mostly he’s reluctant to have it taking up more of his time than it already does. Especially when he doesn’t even know the guy.

“You need help!” Jungkook says with a squeal, avoiding the kick Taehyung aims at him. “He can help! It’s a perfect solution, why are you trying to hit me!” The last one lands just under his armpit, drawing out a higher-pitched yelp.

“Besides, Jimin agrees with me that it’s a good idea,” Jungkook adds, turning expectantly towards him. “Tell him how you were the first one to even suggest it.”

Next to them, Jimin has indeed been suspiciously quiet, Taehyung realizes. He usually doesn’t hesitate when it comes to backing up whoever he agrees with, and maybe that’s what would have tipped Taehyung off, if only he’d been paying more attention.

“Why aren’t you saying anything,” Taehyung asks, poking Jimin in the chest.

“Don’t you want to see what your soon-to-be tutor looks like, Tae?” Jimin replies, ignoring his question. He’s making an effort to sound innocent, like this isn’t such an incredibly pointed question any attempt at innocence is perfectly useless.

“Oh, you’re right, let me show you his Facebook,” Jungkook says helpfully, his thumbs moving on the screen for a moment, before he hands Taehyung his phone.

Kim Namjoon, the profile reads, next to a familiar, dimpled face. This has to be a mistake, there's no way.

“You should really be better at Facebook-stalking people,” Jimin says as Taehyung feels his mind going blank. “I think it’s the only skill that’s going to save our generation from lifelong unemployment. Or underemployment, for that matter.”

Taehyung doesn’t give it a second thought before he pushes him off the couch and onto the floor, screams of unacceptable betrayal and terrified excitement echoing loud in the room.

***

taehyung
hi! is this namjoon?
this is taehyung, jungkook’s friend
from the listening class
he said he’d told you i would message you

taehyung
but in case he didn’t i wanted to ask you about some tutoring
if you could tutor me i mean

taehyung
but if you can’t that’s all good!!!
don’t feel like you have to say yes
just bc of jk’s puppy eyes
oh and sorry about the triple-text :emoji:

***

“I more than triple-texted him, but three separate times,” Taehyung whines, burying his face in between the couch cushions.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Jimin says calmly, running a hand through Taehyung hair. The motion accidentally pushes his head further into the couch, until his nose bumps against the lower part of the frame. He lets out a tiny yelp, moving his head back up suddenly. Jimin snorts quietly, but thankfully keeps moving his fingers. Taehyung would maybe feel a little bad about how much complaining he’s been doing over this, but everytime he thinks of stopping reminds himself that Jimin is at least sixty percent to blame for this in the first place.

“It’s been more than two days. When’s the last time you went forty-eight hours without checking your phone? And be honest.”

Jimin’s silence is answer enough, he thinks.

***

namjoon
hey taehyung!
jungkook did tell me about you, it’s all good
do you want to meet up after class on monday to figure out the details?
oh and sorry for the late reply
my phone was a bag of rice for the past two days after i dropped in a lake when i was hiking

***

In an ideal world, Taehyung would have planned things so he could get to class nice and early on the day he was supposed to properly meet Namjoon. He’d have maybe put a little more thought than usual into his outfit, and made sure his hair looked good. Worn that red headband he knows does great things for his forehead and his eyebrows, maybe.

Not that Taehyung thinks he ever looks like a slob, but he definitely has clothes he likes more than others, and that he thinks serve him best for seduction purposes. Or even just ‘making a decent first impression’ purposes, which he thinks he’d really settle for right now, as he runs ups the final flight of stairs. Nothing says ‘I’m serious about needing help with this class’ like show up late, especially for a course where attendance is actually recorded.

Thankfully, he spots the door to the classroom still open at the end of the hallway and slows down a little, trying to catch his breath. He runs a hand through his hair, hoping that’ll tame the mess a little and hopes his cheeks aren’t too red from the unexpected burst of athleticism.

At the front of the room, their professor has already started talking, and Taehyung quietly slips into the first free seat he spots, grateful to have avoided drawing everyone’s attention to himself.

It’s only minutes before the class ends that Taehyung thinks to look around for Namjoon. He tries to throw a quick glance at the back row once or twice, before accepting that there is no way to be subtle about this and turning around fully.

The last row is mostly empty, as it usually tends to be. Taehyung recognizes a girl from the Image Composition class he took last semester, and thinks about saying hi to her after class when he remembers he has a goal here. As he lets his gaze move through the other students in the back, it eventually lands on Namjoon, although Taehyung has to do a double-take to make sure it indeed is him.

The thing is, he's gotten to - unknowingly at the time - see Namjoon often enough since the semester started to get a sense of his style. And from Taehyung's weeks of casual observation, he tended to favour loose, comfortable clothes, and mostly neutral colours. He likes patterns too, especially on shirts, which Taehyung can appreciate.

The first thing he notices today however, is Namjoon's hair. And really, Taehyungs thinks that if is wasn't for the smile and the legs, he would have just not recognized him.

The messy dark brown hair that Taehyung had gotten used to, and maybe dreamt about running his hands through, is now platinum blond, effortlessly falling over his forehead and almost into his eyes when he looks down. Something about the lightness of hair combined with the white hoodie he's wearing seems to make his face glow, skin tanned and radiant. Damn, Taehyung thinks, damn.

He's unexpectedly brought out of his daydreaming by the sound of students around him packing up their things, and Taehyung realizes that he most likely missed the professor dismissing their class. As he struggles with the zipper of his bag, the same one he's been meaning to get fixed for the last three months but still hasn't, he feels a hand hesitantly tap on his shoulder, warm against the thin material of his t-shirt.

“Hey, Taehyung, right,” a voice asks right behind him, and when Taehyung turns around he thinks Namjoon looks just as good as he did the first time he saw him at the beginning of the semester.

"Yes! Hi, that's me!" Taehyung says, after realizing he's been silently looking at Namjoon for a beat too long. "Thank you so much for agreeing to help me out, I really, really appreciate it. Or at least agreeing to consider it I mean, I know we really just said we'd talk about the details today so you technically haven't agreed to anything yet. And you don't have to, obviously."

Namjoon doesn't seem to thrown off by the sudden explosion of words and gratefulness, which Taehyung takes to be a good sign. If anything, his smile has grown less hesitant, the tiniest dimple appearing on his left cheek. It makes Taehyung want to reach for his camera, not that even has it with him right now.

Once the awkwardness of the introductions is over, Namjoon suggests they go to the nearest coffeeshop to discuss the specifics of what Taehyung is after. Namjoon, he learns, used to be a music major, and Taehyung can't help but think that he really struck gold here.

"They changed the requirements for the minor over the summer, so if I wanted to complete it now I had to take this one extra course," Namjoon explains as Taehyung takes a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Right, Jungkook mentioned you'd transferred out of the faculty."

Namjoon hums in agreements, looking a little surprised at Taehyung knowing about this. "Yeah, I swapped my major and minor back halfway through my second year. Lit major with a minor in music production now." He makes little jazz hands motions as he says it, and Taehyung really wishes he didn't find it half as endearing as he does.

“Okay, so, tell me more about what you’ve been struggling with so far,” Namjoon asks, and they get down to business.

***

Maybe it’s a little self-sabotaging (or self-serving, he can never quite decide), but part of what Taehyung quickly finds out he likes best about their bi-weekly tutoring sessions is how much time he gets to just stare at Namjoon. He’ll finish writing up the draft of his weekly listening assignment and pass it on for Namjoon to read over, and get a solid five-to-ten minutes of ogling out of it.

Not that’s ogling him per se, that sounds bad. He’s just... appreciating. Appreciating Namjoon’s arms, and his neck, and his cheekbones, and his brain as he reads through Taehyung’s outline. Every now and then, Taehyung will catch frowning slightly, bringing his pen to the paper and tapping over the words as he reads a section a few times over before making a quick note and moving on.

It’s kind of embarrassing how devastatingly cute Taehyung finds the whole thing, honestly. Like how the way he’s resting his head on one hand, his fingers accidentally creating a gap that just perfectly frames the dimple on his left cheek.

“Hey, Taehyung,” Namjoon suddenly says as he turns towards him. Fuck. Taehyung really hopes his face isn’t making what he was just doing incredibly obvious.

“What did you have in mind for this part here?” Namjoon asks, shuffling his chair to bridge the space between the two of them.

“Which part?” Taehyung replies, leaning in a little. The paper he wrote his outline on is on the table, technically close enough for both of them to read, but just barely. Taehyung tells himself that’s his excuse for moving in a few inches more, until their hands are almost meeting on the sheet of paper. Almost.

He’s making it hard for Taehyung to focus, leaving him to stumble through the start of an explanation of the admittedly somewhat unclear point he’d made in his outline about the sudden change in rhythm.

As he gets into the meat of his point, he can feel himself getting more confident, gesturing with his hands as the words start coming out more easily and Namjoon nods in wordless understanding. It only took a few sessions to realize that if there’s one thing Namjoon is good at, it’s listening. It never feels like he’s trying to put answers into Taehyung mouth, instead letting him explain his perception of the music, and asking questions when needed.

He makes Taehyung feel like even if writing about how he experiences music as an art form will ever come all that naturally to him, not the way photography or even most visual arts do, it’s something that is still within his reach. Something he can understand and relate to.

“So are you saying it felt expected to you?” Namjoon asks eventually, after Taehyung pauses. “Like it was building up to this in the previous parts? Or that it caught your attention specifically because it was sudden? Or out-of-place, maybe.”

Taehyung takes a moment to think, replaying the lead-up to that section in his head.

They’re not even touching, but he can feel the heat radiating off Namjoon’s skin. He can feel the warmth, can see it in Namjoon’s gaze as he looks back at him, thinks can smell it even. And Taehyung knows that doesn’t actually make sense, that all he’s probably smelling is laundry detergent and sweat and maybe coffee. Taehyung doesn’t even like the smell of coffee.

But right now, sitting side-by-side in the library and alternating between emphatically talking and listening to each other, right now Namjoon feels like all these things.

It’s only when they both moved on from that particular point, a few messy notes from Namjoon hastily written to Taehyung’s own words, that he realizes just how close they’d gotten. He’s definitely well into Namjoon’s personal space, their shoulders no longer content with brushing against each other occasionally but rather aligned against one another.

No wonder he could smell the coffee, Taehyung thinks.

He starts to move back slowly, not wanting to draw attention to how close he’d gotten but a sharp sting on his ear stops him mid-motion. He lets out a small cry of pain, and Namjoon immediately turns to face him. He feels impossibly closer than a moment ago.

It’s when he lets himself look at Namjoon, down the curve of his neck and towards his shoulders that he realizes what happened.

“I think my earring got caught in your shirt,” he says, angling his head in the direction of Namjoon's heavy knitted sweater. He remembers putting them on this morning, long and dangly strips of silver, and thinking of how they’d sometimes even get caught in his own hair, when he still wore it longer.

If the lack of distance between the two of them went unnoticed earlier, it’s definitely no longer the case. Taehyung feels incredibly conscious of every exhale of his breath, of Namjoon face only inches away from his. The girl in the seat in front of says is throwing them a dirty look, like she’s annoyed at how wrong Taehyung’s flirting attempts have turned out.

“Hold on,” Namjoon says quietly, “let me untangle it for you.” Taehyung knows he’s speaking quietly because they’re in a library, and so close to each other anything above a whisper is unnecessary, but he’s struck by the intimacy of it nonetheless. He can’t decide of choosing to wear those earrings today was the best of worst decision he’s ever made.

Namjoon reaches for the end that got caught, carefully lifting it away from the threads of his sweater. It’s the kind of tangle no one could probably ever manage to achieve if they tried, and yet happened without either of them realizing it.

When he moves to grasp at the fabric a little more firmly, his fingers brush against Taehyung neck, unexpected. And maybe it’s stupid to feel so thoroughly destabilized by the mere touch of a fleeting hand, but Taehyung finds himself forgetting to breathe for a few seconds.

“There,” Namjoon says as the earring finally comes free, and looks in Taehyung’s direction without directly meeting his gaze, “I think you’re all good now.”

Taehyung thanks him quietly, but he’ll be the first to admit he finds it hard to focus during the rest of their session, every brush of air or clothing again his neck making him shiver at the memory of Namjoon’s fingers.

***

“Wait, Namjoon?” Hoseok asks the next time Taehyung meets up with him to catch up over some beers in their favorite dive bar. Hoseok had technically been Jimin’s friend first, then the back-up leader for his dance team. Him and Taehyung have gotten a lot closer over the years though, bonding over a love of what their friends would lovingly call ‘loud’ and ‘interesting’ clothing choices.

“‘Trips on his own feet’ Namjoon?,” Hoseok continues, the grin on his face widening as Taehyung feels his cheeks heating up. He knew he should have never brought this up.

“Follows at least three Twitter accounts dedicated to tiny animals? Jungkook’s freshman year baby crush? The sam-”

“Jungkook is still a freshman,” Taehyung interrupts because what. What.

“So not the point,” Hoseok answers, looking at Taehyung, still smiling like this is the best news he’s heard all week. “Tell me more about this Namjoon situation, oh my god.”

“No,” Taehyung replies, dragging out the ‘o’. “Back to Jungkook. My best friend is head over heels, stupid in love with him. And I don’t care that how adorable he is, if what you’re telling me he’s just been... been using him! And that really this whole time he’s just been waiting and pining for one his other friends! As if Jimin didn’t-”

It’s Hoseok turn to interrupt this time, the smile having faded away from his face to leave way for a confused expression. “Tae, Tae, stop for a second,” he says, a little more forceful than Taehyung is used to hearing Hoseok speak.

“Come on, think of all the time you’ve spent with Jungkook, with both of them. Have you ever gotten the impression that Jungkook was anything that a hundred and ten percent in?”

Taehyung closes his eyes for a moment. He thinks of the three of them hanging out at his and Jimin’s apartment every Friday. Of Jungkook dragging him to go shopping in the weekend before Valentine’s day, an itemized and color-coded list of stores and potential gifts saved on his phone.

Hoseok definitely has a point, Taehyung lets himself recognize, deflating as the potential anger leaves his body as quickly as it had arrived.

“Jungkook did a tour of the university, back when he was still in high school and he wasn’t completely sure what program to apply for. Namjoon was the one doing it apparently,” he pauses to take a sip of his beer, grimacing a little at the taste. Why he keeps ordering those novelty IPAs everywhere they go despite knowing full well he doesn’t like how hoppy they are, Taehyung has no idea.

“I think he just made Jungkook feel comfortable, you know? Like it was fine that he didn’t have everything figured out already, and made sure he knew he wasn’t making a decision at seventeen that he could never walk back. So Namjoon gave him his number in case he had any questions, and then they actually start hanging out together once Jungkook started this year.”

“Oh,” Taehyung says, “that does really sound like him, yeah.” He can imagine it in his head, Jungkook a little younger and more unsure, not all that dissimilar from how he behaved and Jimin first introduced the two of them to each other. It’s strange, remembering that a few month ago would avoid directly meeting his gaze or spending any one-on-one time with him, when can also recall the ‘u up’ and ‘overwatch?’ texts he received from Jungkook last night.

He thinks it also really sounds like Namjoon, although he doesn’t tell Hoseok so. It’s just as easy to imagine him taking the time to reassure a worried high-school student without making him feel like he’s being talked down to.

Hoseok is still looking at him expectantly, and Taehyung can’t help but feel a little embarrassed at how strongly he reacted. “So not an actual crush then?”

“Nope, he just thinks Namjoon is really cool. God knows why, because based on what I’ve heard he’s kind of a giant dork.”

“Oh,” Taehyung says again. “Maybe I should have asked you that first.”

“Uh-huh,” Hoseok replies, looking at him a little judgmentally but kindly nonetheless. He gives Taehyung’s shoulder a soft squeeze “You should ask him for the full story actually. I’m surprised you haven’t heard it before, but he tells it much better than I do. And maybe you want to spend some time thinking about why you reacted that quickly, because we both know Jimin is a pretty flimsy excuse.”

Taehyung sighs loudly, “It’s just a crush, it’s nothing.” It doesn’t sound convincing even to his own ears. Back when Namjoon was just the hot guy in his class that would have probably been true, but it feels like a long time ago now.

Hoseok rolls his eyes at him, a fond smile on his face, “That was a lot more believable five minutes ago, but sure.”

Taehyung makes sure to hit him in the leg for that, but chooses to move the conversation back to a more neutral territory, asking Hoseok about his own classes. It’s only when the evening ends that he remembers part of what Hoseok said.

“Wait, what did Jungkook used to want to study, back when he was in high school?” he asks.

There’s a long pause, before Hoseok finally replies, “Video game design”, and Taehyung has to laugh.

***

taehyung
do you think it’s weird

jiminie
YES

taehyung
to ask someone if you can platonically
poke their dimples
hey! at least wait till i finish to be mean

jiminie
...
u know what
this is both not as weird AND weirder than i expected
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

taehyung
okay but more or less weird than your toe thing

jiminie
i dont have a toe thing!
!!!!
quit spreading lies

taehyung
not a lie but back to my problem
what do i do jiminie
he’s not gonna tutor me forever
the final is less than a month
how do i tell him i want to touch his dimple and also his dick

jiminie
and hold his hand

taehyung
yes that too but i thought it was implied

jiminie
you know
it was one thing when you were just thirsting after the hot guy in your class
but now it’s actual feelings
how embarrassing

taehyung
LIAR

jiminie
...

taehyung
the feelings being embarrassing part

jiminie
oh that
k fair
how about i pick up naengmyeon on my way back?
and we can eat that for dinner
while you tell me all about his dimples some more

taehyung

***

“Do you want to listen to it again, maybe?” Namjoon asks, reaching for his headphones. “Then you can tell me the exact part you’re thinking of.”

It’s another Wednesday afternoon, but this time they’ve ditched the library in favor of a small coffee shop that’s closer to where Namjoon lives. It’s artsy in a way that Taehyung is used to, a little hipster but not actually fancy enough to properly lay claim the word. The tables are a little too worn in and wobbly, the lattes a little too cheap, and the art prints on the wall either too well-known or not enough.

One of his friends co-owns the place, Namjoon had explained the first time he’d suggested they meet there.

“Sure, just give me a second” Taehyung says, taking the earbud Namjoon is offering him. He makes an aborted motion towards the computer, before following through as Namjoon nods at him with a smile. Namjoon’s phone vibrates on the table between them, and he takes a quick glance at the screen before putting it back down with a little more force than necessary.

It takes Taehyung a few tries to find the part he had in mind when mentioning texture, replaying the same part a few times over until he’s fairly certain he’s found what he was looking for.

“That part here, until the tempo slows down again,” he tells Namjoon, his hand hovering above the space bar as he waits for Namjoon to untangle and put his own earbud in.

For a second or two, it gives him an excuse to shamelessly just look at him, and Taehyung lets his gaze linger on Namjoon’s mouth for a second. There’s a chance he’s being a little too obvious, but he finds himself mostly unable and unwilling to look away.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Namjoon says as his phone vibrates again barely a minute later. “This is so rude. I’m sorry Taehyung, I should have just turned it off earlier.” He sounds a little annoyed, but mostly flustered, and takes a quick look at the screen before flipping it back over, facing down.

He flashes Taehyung an apologetic smile, his cheeks coloring a little as he pointedly pushes the phone away from him.

“Are you sure everything is okay? We can take a break if you need to deal with some stuff? Or even just cancel for today, I think I have basically everything I need to finish writing this up, so...” Taehyung trails off.

“No, no,” Namjoon protests, “No, it’s- It’s nothing, really. Or, well, it is something I guess, but it’s kind of stupid and I shouldn’t let it distract me, you know?”

Taehyung hums noncommittally, not wanting to force Namjoon to talk about whatever this is more than he wants to, but finding himself unwilling to acknowledge it as something stupid either. He offers Namjoon what he hopes is a quick but comforting smile instead.

“I just...,” Namjoon starts, before letting out a sigh and rubbing at his eyes with the heel of his palm. “I’ve been waiting to hear back from this prof about a recommendation letter for grad school? And she’d said yes before but some more students asked her and she has this thing about not writing more than five letters per year, I don;’t know. So she said she’d get back to me today or tomorrow to confirm and I’ve just been really stressed.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry. That sounds really shitty and stressful,” Taehyung says, bringing his arm around Namjoon’s shoulders and squeezing the back of his neck lightly. He’s tried to avoid doing too much extensive thinking about what he’ll do after college yet, but he doubts it’s a train of thought that’s ever made anyone feel good.

“It’s okay, I should be used to it,” Namjoon says with resignation. “It’s just that every time I remember I’m waiting to hear back from her it makes me think of next year, and what’ll happen if I don’t get in? Or if I do, because it’s like I really know that grad school is what I want to do, you know?”

He runs a frustrated hand through his hair, and Taehyung really wishes they were close enough friends for him to offer Namjoon a hug.

Taehyung brings his arm back down instead, not wanting to be overbearing when Namjoon is clearly already stressed out. “Just call your prof back now. You should have said something earlier, and we could have rescheduled.”

“Oh,” Namjoon says, sounding inexplicably surprised as he turns towards him. “No, no no no, that’s not necessary. That wasn’t her.”

He moves to the side a little, angling his body towards the counter where one of the barista is busy refilling a machine with coffee beans. “My idiot friend,” he adds in a suddenly louder voice, “just keeps texting me for no good reason at all.”

The man at the counter - Namjoon’s friend, Taehyung guesses - looks up, meeting their gaze directly. And where most people would have looked away in embarrassment at being caught or flashed an apologetic smile, he laughs, loud and bright and unashamed. He even moves a hand up, like he’s about to wave at them, when Taehyung feels a hand settle around his shoulders, bringing him back towards Namjoon.

He looks back at him, only to find Namjoon avoiding his gaze and his cheeks more red than a moment ago.

“He’s an idiot, ignore him. Anyway, all this to say I’m sorry I’m a bit of a mess today,” Namjoon says, “Let’s just get back to this thing, yeah?”

Taehyung nods, reaching for the headphones and passing one on to Namjoon. In a lot of ways, this has grown to be his favorite part of their sessions. Not that he doesn’t enjoy listening to what Namjoon talk about music, or trading ideas back on forth on the pieces they listening to, both of which are rewarding in their own ways. But there’s something about sitting next to each other, silent save for the shared music in their ears, that just gets to him.

They’re standing outside the coffeeshop, Namjoon struggling to undo the lock on his bike, when Taehyung thinks back to their earlier conversation.

“I know it’s not the same because I’m not graduating yet, but you know I’m here if you ever need an ear, right? Like no pressure or anything, but i just, just wanted to put it out there I guess.”

Namjoon stops mid-motion and looks up at him, half of his U-lock in hand.

“Thanks, Tae,” he replies. “I think sometimes I just get too in my own head, you know? Especially about things I can’t do anything about. And yes, I know how stupid it is to stress out over these things so much, I really do.” He sighs, sounding a little dejected.

“I don’t think that’s stupid, though,” Taehyung replies as they start walking towards his bus stop. He thinks it’s really nice of Namjoon to walk there with there, rather than just take off on his bike straight away. It maybe makes sense now that they know each other well enough, but he certainly didn’t have to do that back when they first met, and yet still did.

“I mean, maybe it’s not productive because you’re worrying about things you can’t control, sure, but it also means you care, right? And I don’t think that’s something stupid, even if you wish you could just... not care less, but care better, you know. Still care, but in a way that’s better for yourself. To yourself.”

He thinks of his grandparents back in Korea, and of the guilt he used to feel every time he overheard someone asking them if they really thought it was wise to let him go to college in the US, and for photography nonetheless.

He thinks of Jimin overworking himself to the point of passing out alone in the studio his freshman year, in a misguided attempt to redeem himself from having failed organic chem. Like he thought he could atone for his perceived academic failures by working his body into the ground.

He thinks of the conversation that have started to happen in his periphery, whispers of ‘What are you thinking of doing after next year?’, ‘Have you also applied for the internship at this gallery?’, ‘Have you considered doing a minor in business?’, and how he sometimes struggles with not letting these thoughts invade his brain late at night.

“I just think it’s hard sometimes, but it’s even harder if we don’t let ourselves accept it. Or talk about it. So I guess all I’m saying is that if you need another ear, you know where to find me.” he finishes with a shrug.

When he looks up, there’s a quiet smile on Namjoon’s face, and Taehyung feels warm at the thought of maybe having been the one to put it there.

***

taehyung
you know
i suddenly understand why you do the shoulder thing
like i use to never really get it
but that was Before

jiminie
the shoulder thing???

taehyung
wait more important
how did ur audition go
did they love you
when are you gonna hear back

jiminie
it went pretty okay i think
they’re def looking more for someone that does modern

taehyung
so that’s good!
very good!!!

jiminie
and one of the choreographers sort of smiled and nodded at me
at the end
i think he was on the dance team my first semester
but that was before he graduated ig
anyway idk maybe it was just in my head

taehyung
no but that all sounds really good!!!

look at my bff everyone!!!
LOOK!

jiminie

taehyung

jiminie

what was the shoulder thing about anyway
shouldn’t you be with dreamboy rn?
nerding out over music

taehyung
just finished twenty minutes ago
he was wearing this shirt
a really loose tank bc it’s been hot af
and one of the straps kept falling of his shoulder

jiminie
oooooooooh
oh no
that shoulder thing

taehyung
i saw collarbone
and so much shoulder
and upper arm

jiminie
how... tragic
tell me, did he lift it back up
taehyung
well yeah
but it kept falling back down

jiminie
that’s rly good though!!!

taehyung
no it was torture
did you know he has a mole on his shoulder?
right at the top
and all i kept thinking of was that i wanted to kiss it

jiminie
cute
also i don’t know how to tell you this
but that shit doesn’t happen by itself

taehyung
well it’s not like it was his fault

jiminie
no listen a shirt can be a bit too big
sure
but you still kind of have to make it happen
it doesn’t magically keep falling off
ever

taehyung
i...

jiminie
believe me
i would know

***

No matter how much he tries to forget about it, Taehyung’s last session with Namjoon is a thing that is very much happening right now. It’s strange, thinking back to the beginning of the semester, how he almost didn’t sign up for this class. How he maybe would have never met Namjoon if he hadn’t, or maybe would have just pined from afar without ever learning his name were it not for his meddling friends.

He finds himself spending the last half of their session wondering more about how to casually ask Namjoon if they’ll still hang out once finals are over. Or their semester-long friendship was, well, just that. In the end, he just blurts it out as they pack their things, subtlety thrown out the window.

“I mean, you’re friends with Jungkook so I’m sure I’ll at least see you around?”
“Right?” he adds when Namjoon only hums in reply. He’s busy packing his things back into his bag, checking each pocket like he’s looking for something.

It reminds Taehyung of what he used to do in middle school, every time he hadn’t done the homework or just really, really, really didn’t want to be the one called on to explain his work in front of the whole class. He’d just lean down, and start searching through his bag very obviously, making a show of of opening every zipper, his head almost disappearing inside it if he could manage. Looking back, it probably was obvious to everyone but him what he was doing, and the teacher kind enough to let it go without comment.

“Do you need help finding something in there?” he asks tentatively, but just as he says it Namjoon seems to decide he’s found what he was looking for and decisively zips up his bag.

“Sorry, I-, it was-,” he stops and starts, before letting out a resigned sigh and shaking his head at himself. It makes Taehyung want to smile. “Yeah, I’m good now,” is what Namjoon eventually answers with a smile. “And yes, I’ll still see you around. At least for the summer, but after that too I hope. I mean, I’ll still be around and you’ll be around too, so, you know...” he trails off.

His cheeks are tinged pink, just barely. His ears, too, or maybe it’s just the white of his sweater making everything appear brighter in contrast.

“Besides, you still haven’t shown me any of your work, and you promised you would.” He’s right about that, Taehyung knows. He’s usually not shy about show his photographs to other people, but somehow he’d found himself unsure of what to show Namjoon first.

He settles his bag on one shoulder, and they start making their way out in companionable silence until Namjoon speaks again.

“Hey actually, do you maybe want to grab coffee before heading back? I have a bit of time before my next class and I could use a pick-me-up.”

They end up just stopping by Starbucks, because it’s on their way and surprisingly empty for a Thursday afternoon on campus.

Taehyung gets a strawberry frappuccino (almond milk, extra whip) and manages to sneak in Namjoon’s usual cold brew order before he has a chance to protest.

“Taehyung...,” Namjoon says with a fond sigh. He’s shaking his head in resignation, which Taehyung takes as a sign that he’s decided to leave it at that.

“Nope! I’ve been stealing almost three hours of your time every week since almost the start of the semester and-”

“How can that even be true when Jungkook only introduced us in what, February?” Namjoon protests, reaching out to grab his drink from Taehyung’s hand.

“No, not the point!” Taehyung replies, moving his arm back until the cup is just out of Namjoon’s reach. “You’ve given up a lot of your free time for me, is what I’m saying. And you didn’t even really know me, I could have been a total weirdo.”

Namjoon opens his mouth and looks like he’s about to say something to that, but Taehyung continues before he has a chance to do so.

“And you were so nice about it. Not ‘nice’ like when you have nothing actually all that good or specific to say. But nice in that you never made me feel like I was being stupid, you know? And you actually took the time to explain things to me so I’d understand them, not just the bare minimum so I could pass. You did all that when you didn’t really have to, so that meant a lot. Means a lot. I enjoyed spending that time with you, and not because it means I’m going to pass the class.”

Taehyung forces himself to stop there, even though he knows for a fact that he could easily keep going. He can feel his words are coming out a little rambly, probably sounding more confusing than appreciative to Namjoon’s ears.

At least he hopes that’s what they’re sounding like, because the only other alternative is frightening. The idea that Namjoon is in fact hearing everything Taehyung is saying, his poor attempt at expressing the warmth he’s felt growing inside him all semester long every time he was beside him, is infinitely more terrifying.

“Tae,” Namjoon says after a moment, looking a little embarrassed, “I don’t even know where to start.”

Taehyung can feel his cheeks getting hot, but when he looks up he can see that Namjoon’s cheeks are tinged pink, too. It’s almost funny, he thinks, feeling what he feels and seeing the physical reflection of it not on himself, but on the person causing it. Taehyung wants to reach out and let the tip of his fingers brush against Namjoon’s cheeks, to see if the feel as warm as his own face does.

“You don’t have to say anything, I wasn't trying to... I don't know, get anything. I just wanted you to know what I meant, and that I really did mean it, when I was saying thank you.”

Taehyung feels laid bare, like his body is nothing but a lens, and behind it are all of his feelings, jumbled together in a tangled mess but their conclusion still so plain to the eye.

It's a surprise, when Namjoon steps forward and kisses him.

Taehyung closes his eyes reflexively, but he can feel himself inhaling sharply, his body failing to catch up with what his brain is also struggling to process. When he eventually kisses back, it’s only because he can feel Namjoon’s body starting to move away, the fear finally pushing him into action. He brings one hand up, resting it on the side of Namjoon’s neck, fingers gently brushing against his hair as he kisses Namjoon back, a little more confident. He’s rewarded with the soft sweep of Namjoon’s tongue against his lower lip.

He can feel Namjoon’s hand on his waist, warm and solid. His grip tightens slightly as they seperate, not strong enough to keep Taehyung anywhere but a reassurance of where he’s wanted.

Neither one of them really steps back when the kiss ends, just stay standing right in front of each other, breathing the same air. Taehyung can hear Namjoon swallow, loud in the silence of their shared space. He licks his lips, a reflex he doesn’t even think about, and it’s like the realization that they’ve just kissed hits him all over again when he finds them wet. He suppresses a small shudder, although he isn’t sure how successfully so.

It’s Namjoon that finally breaks the silence and away from him, taking a step back and letting his hand fall away from Taehyung's side, brushing against his wrist and then gone before Taehyung has a chance to realize it.

“I,” Namjoon starts quietly, “I’ve wanted to do this for a really long time, Taehyung.” He laughs a little, maybe a little self-conscious, and that’s what brings Tae out of it.

“I spent hours talking to Jimin about this gorgeous guy in my listening class,” he starts, words leaving his mouth almost of their own volition, but he knows it’s nothing he doesn’t wholeheartedly mean or want to share.

“How I didn’t even know his name but god, did I really wish I did. Then I did know, even if I didn’t realize that you were, you know, you, when Jungkook said he knew someone who could tutor me. And then you were there and still the same person, but also so nice and understanding and just... good? Like being around you just felt good.” He pauses, forcing himself to meet Namjoon’s eyes again.

“And I still mean everything I said earlier too, you know. Even if you weren’t interested in me, that’s not why I was saying it, but I still mean it just as much now,” Taehyung finishes.

“Oh,” Namjoon says, looking a little dumbfounded at Taehyung’s sudden admission. And maybe if Taehyung were a different person, or if his brain wasn’t currently busy processing and reprocessing their kiss on an endless loop, he would feel a little self-conscious at his outburst of honesty, but that’s just not who he is. Especially not right now. Not when Namjoon’s lips are right in front of him, still a little wet, still a little too red.

“That’s, uh, that’s good, then,” Namjoon adds. They look at each other in silence for a moment, only interrupted when Taehyung lets out a small snort. They’re kind of ridiculous, he thinks, as his face is taken over by an unashamedly stupid smile. It’s okay though, because he can see the same happiness on Namjoon, both of his dimples showing.

Namjoon properly steps back then, far enough that Taehyung can no longer feel the warmth of his body. He misses it immediately.

“I really need to get to my next class,” he says, “so I can talk to the prof about her feedback on my draft first, but text me, yeah? I know it’s really shitty timing because we both have finals to take and papers to write, but I’ll make it work. Or I’ll call you, if that’s better? But I’m not running away, I promise.”

Taehyung flashes him a small smile and nods in understanding. “I have your number too you know, so maybe I’ll just be the one to text you,” he says.

“Okay, good,” Namjoon replies. He has his bag and coffee in hand, but makes no clear motion to leave, instead looking behind himself and back at Taehyung, like he thinks he’ll disappear if he looks away for too long.

“Namjoon, it’s fine,” Taehyung says with a laugh. “I need to go too anyway. Just maybe don’t drop your phone in any lake before you text me back this time, yeah?”

He turns away with a laugh of his own this time, and Taehyung sips through the plastic straw, like it does anything to hide the smile on his face as he watches Namjoon walk away.

“Wait!” Taehyung suddenly says, turning back around. Neither of them has had time to move more than a meters steps away, and he crosses the distance back to Namjoon decidedly.

Namjoon flashes him a quick, if a little unsure, smile. “What, did you forget something?” he asks.

“My first final is tomorrow,” Taehyung says, looking up at Namjoon through his eyelashes. He doesn’t know where the newfound confidence is coming from, but he doesn’t give himself time to doubt it. “And it’s my first actual written exam this year, because I didn’t have any midterms, so how about another kiss for good luck?”

He meets Namjoon’s gaze, and it’s a delight Taehyung didn’t even know he was craving watching the uncertainty leave Namjoon’s face, only to be replaced by a bashful smile. His shoulder rise slightly, like his instincts are telling him to hide his face in embarrassment at the cheesiness, but his eyes don’t leave Taehyung’s.

They don’t leave Taehyung, until they do close and their lips meet again, and Taehyung thinks it feels like more luck than he thought he had the right to ask for.