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Seokjin is a good roommate and friend. Seokjin is a good roommate and friend. Seokjin is a good roommate and friend-
This is what Yoongi keeps reminding himself as he tries to wrangle a rather determined cat away from the stack of coffee cups. The cat, clearly toying with him for petty amusement, raises hell and wriggles valiantly in his arms as he sets it down.
“Have some dignity.” he scolds. The cat meows right back at him.
When Seokjin had asked him to cover his shifts (“Please Yoongi-yah, just hang in there until I’m done with my finals!”), Yoongi hadn’t expected this. He has worked as a barista before, hell - he even has his own fancy espresso machine at home (which Seokjin stubbornly referred to as their ‘third roommate ‘Roberto’’) - but he has never worked at a cat cafe.
But Seokjin had been spreading himself thin, pulling late nights almost regularly and trying hard to balance his finals with his shifts at the animal shelter and the coffee shop. Yoongi had noticed the strain he carried in his shoulders, the circles under his eyes.
He couldn’t help but worry.
[“I can’t even take leave at the cafe for a few weeks,” Seokjin groans, shovelling rice into his mouth and trying to read his flashcards at the same time. “They’re understaffed right now, especially while Soobin is still recovering from his sudden bout of chickenpox.”
“Slow down, you’re gonna choke,” Yoongi admonishes, picking up an errant flashcard from the floor.
“Can’t.” Seokjin mumbles, inhaling the rice as fast as he can. “I have a class in 15 mins and then work at the shop, if I don’t eat now I’ll never find the time.”
“What if I cover your shifts for a while until you’re ready to join again?” Yoongi proposes. Seokjin looks up with wide eyes, cheeks puffed with food. He chews quickly, pointing at Yoongi with his chopsticks in excitement.
“You’d do that? Really?” Yoongi nods, and Seokjin lets out a yell of glee and sets down his bowl to throw his arms around him. “Thank you, Yoongichi! You’re an angel, a godsent, the light of life -”
“It’s no big deal.” Yoongi mumbles, slightly embarrassed at Seokjin’s burst of gratitude. “I’ve done it before, I know how the machines work - I’m the best replacement you can get at short notice.”
“- Ok but are you sure about this?” Seokjin lowers his tone. “Wouldn’t he mind? You handling all these other machines...”
Yoongi frowns. “Who?”
“You know,” Seokjin glances towards their kitchen, “Roberto.” Yoongi blinks, unimpressed, while his roommate laughs his stupid wheezy laugh.
“Your class starts in 10 mins.”
“Shit -” Seokjin yells, shovelling the last of the rice into his mouth.
“Bye! I’ll let them know you’ll be coming in tomorrow for me!” He scoops up his bag from the floor and dashes out of the door while Yoongi quietly sets about the task of gathering Seokjin’s notes into a neat pile so that they don’t get misplaced (again).]
And now here he is, on his third day at Purrfect Pour - cats, coffee and more! in a cheery yellow apron over his all-black ensemble, covered in cat fur from the kittens which refuse to leave him alone. He nearly trips over the one twining around his feet, the slender brown one with a loud meow.
He hears a soft snicker behind him and turns around to glare at Yeonjun, who immediately backs away with wide eyes. Yoongi knows he has something of a reputation among those who know him from campus as ‘the guy who kicked Shin Donghyuk in the nuts.’ People leave out the part where Donghyuk was being a homophobic douchebag before Yoongi decided to put him in his place, but the reputation he gained from the incident still instils a healthy fear in most of the people he meets from campus. He uses it to his advantage, his affinity for wearing only black adding to his overall aura of ‘Do Not Mess With’.
“What are you laughing at?” he asks, self-consciously smoothing a hand over his apron. Yeonjun shakes his head, bending down to gently scoop the cat into his arms. “I think Ginger really likes you,” he says, petting the little rascal.
“She just wants food,” Yoongi grumbles, wiping down the counter while Yeonjun carries Ginger back to the cat area.
It’s the lull before the lunchtime rush, after which dozens of students would pile into the cafe to recharge with the cats and get their caffeine fix. Yoongi enjoys the peace while he can, methodically wiping away the water rings while the calico cat sitting on a wooden ledge near him watches with feigned disinterest. Yoongi knows the brat is planning to walk all over the place and leave tiny paw-prints as soon as he is done.
There is a sudden rumble outside, like thunder from a low hanging stormcloud, that makes Yoongi look up in surprise. The sound shuts off abruptly, and there is silence for a few moments, enough to make him resume his repetitive task, when the door of the cafe jingles as it is pushed open by a new customer.
“Welcome to Perfect Po-” is as far as he gets before he actually happens to look at the newest arrival, and his brain screeches to a halt in its tracks. The man can only be described as svelte, as he saunters, actually fucking saunters to the counter, in his dark leather jacket and legs for miles in his tight jeans. His heeled boots thud confidently across the floor in the silence of the quiet afternoon as he walks closer.
click
clack
click
clack
click -
and Yoongi’s stupid dumb gay heart trips over its feet to keep pace.
The man shifts a sleek black helmet to rest against the crook of an arm, and uses the other to run a hand through his pink (pink!!) hair, which falls back into place immaculately, each pink strand weaving like water through his fingers. Yoongi stares slack-jawed at the sharp jut of his jawline while he waits for the rest of his brain to reboot. The man finally slides his eyes over to Yoongi, and a flicker of surprise shows on his pretty face.
“Never seen you here before,” he drawls, surprise dissolving into interest so quickly that Yoongi almost gets whiplash. He has never been the object of such blatant scrutiny before, and certainly never by someone this outrageously attractive. He feels his face getting hotter by the second and swallows the absurd urge to yell.
“Yeah… I’m covering my friend’s shifts for a while,” he says, coughing awkwardly into his fist. “May I take your order?”
The man puts his helmet on the counter and gets comfortable, eyes still roaming over Yoongi’s face, chin daintily resting on his palm.
“Mhm thought so, I would’ve remembered someone like you,” he says, and fucking winks at Yoongi, a cheeky smile pulling at his plush lips. Yoongi blinks at him, because what the fuck?? Is he being hit on right now?
“I’m Jimin,” the man says, with an easy confidence Yoongi has never quite managed to exude.
“Alright. May I take your order, Jimin?” and why did he just say that?? An attractive man flirts with him and this is what he replies with?
Yoongi already knows he’s going to think about this moment of excruciating regret every night as he lays awake in bed.
Jimin seems unfazed, tapping his chin with an unhurried finger. "What would you recommend?" he asks, reaching a hand out to the calico. Yoongi squints at him. He could read him the specials or list some of their popular drinks, but -
“Didn’t you say you come here often?” he says, carefully. “I’m sure you have a usual order.”
Jimin blinks at him once, twice, then bursts into a delighted laugh, and Yoongi finds himself drinking in the sight of such a bright smile on so attractive a man.
“Maybe I do,” Jimin says, a smile still lingering on his pretty mouth. “What do you think it could be?” he says, raising an eyebrow and OK, yeah, he’s definitely flirting. The calico, that little traitor, flicks her tail lazily and stares at Yoongi, letting Jimin scratch behind her ears.
“You want me to guess?” Yoongi asks, incredulously. Jimin smiles, petting the calico in long smooth strokes. “Why not? I’m curious to see what you think I’d like.”
“I met you barely a minute ago.”
“Mhm, usually that’s enough for me to make an impression.” Jimin’s lips are very entrancing when he speaks, curving beautifully around the vowels and the cadence of his voice and oh- he’s wearing lipgloss. Yoongi forces himself to rip his eyes away from Jimin’s mouth, but when he looks into his eyes Jimin raises an eyebrow, as if to prove his point, and Yoongi flushes.
“Just tell me what you usually order!” he says, flustered, which only serves to make Jimin smile mischievously, a smirk tilting his lips.
“If you’re asking me how I like my coffee in the mornings then I’m afraid that’s at least post-third date information.”
Yoongi’s face must have done something embarrassing, because Jimin breaks into giggles again, but even though he’s technically being laughed at by a handsome stranger, Yoongi feels warmth inside his chest, like a handful of pop-rocks fizzing and popping around inside his ribs.
“Ah, you don’t have to look so alarmed, I’m only teasing!” Jimin says, laughter still bubbling on his lips. Under his palms, the calico makes a “mrrp” of contentment as Jimin continues to pet it.
Yoongi sighs. “I’m not going to guess. But -” he addresses this to the cat, feeling the embarrassing rise of heat in his cheeks, “- if you have any allergies you should probably let me know.” He hears Jimin soft exhale of amusement and sees small hands cutely waving the cat’s little paw.
“I don’t have any allergies!” the cat seems to say, and Yoongi has to turn away to compose himself.
“You’ll get your drink shortly,” he says, back still turned, as he moves towards the machines.
“I’ll be with the cats~” he hears Jimin say, and then he can’t help but turn around to watch the man walk away on his long beautiful legs with a helmet and a cat in his arms, and Yoongi notes, a cute butt. Jimin abruptly glances back like he knew Yoongi would be watching, and looks very pleased when he catches him staring. He winks, and Yoongi immediately turns back around, his heartbeat pounding in his head, feeling very annoyed with himself.
Yeonjun shows up from wherever he had vanished to and Yoongi takes the opportunity to make him take Jimin’s drink. He doesn’t protest, though he looks at Yoongi a little strangely when he sees the tray with Jimin’s order.
“What?” Yoongi stares him down, but Yeonjun just looks at him with a slowly growing grin on his face.
“I can’t believe Min ‘kicked-a-guy-in-the-nuts-in-public’ Yoongi just made that,” he says. Yoongi groans.
“Shut up and go.”
The truth is that Yoongi had really thought of just making a nice classic cafe latte, a dependable choice for someone whimsical enough to ask their barista to decide their order. There was very little chance of Jimin hating it, and even if he did, it would be his own damn fault. But then he wondered - would Jimin think he’s boring? Should he make one of those complex sugary fruity concoctions that Seokjin keeps posting pictures of on the cafe Instagram?
… But why should he care if a customer thinks he’s boring? So many people already do. And so he decided to proceed as intended, though he did want to make some sort of an impression on this strange handsome man. He spent some time carefully pouring in the milk, and drawing a cute cat face into the foam with steady hands. He added whiskers to the little round face, and after a moment of thought, added a little circle around an eye, just like the calico Jimin had carried with him.
Satisfied with his work, he was hit with a sudden wave of unfounded anxiety, and he was very relieved when Yeonjun returned. He added a ginger cookie to the coffee (his personal favourite when it was cold outside) and tried not to watch as Yeonjun cheerfully took the tray over to Jimin.
He is saved from overthinking any further by the lunch crowd, and for the next hour Yoongi works on autopilot, swiftly moving from order to order while Yeonjun mans the counter with his best ‘customer-service-face’ in place. By the time he manages to grab a moment to himself, Jimin is gone.
[ “So how was your day?” Seokjin asks, cornering him in the bathroom while he’s brushing his teeth before bed. Yoongi shrugs, about to respond with his usual non-committal hum, when he remembers Jimin … and suddenly he feels the need to focus completely on his dental hygiene and ignore any and all questions directed to him at this moment.
“Nothing? No exciting news to share? No interesting person you might’ve met?” Seokjin needles, a stupid grin on his face and Yoongi suddenly understands. He spits out the toothpaste and whirls around to face his roommate.
“You knew!” he accuses, watching Seokjin’s smile widen into a delighted cackle. “Jin-hyung! You knew - you could’ve warned me that - that -!” he flounders, and Seokjin runs away out of his reach before Yoongi decides to chase him in mortification.
“Yah! what would I tell you? That someone straight out of your wildest fantasies is gonna walk into the cafe at 12:30 pm like he does every Tuesday so make sure to look sharp?”
“Yes! That would’ve been wonderful actually!”
“As if anything would prepare you for Park Jimin, you hopeless homosexual.”
Park Jimin. Yoongi files the name into a corner of his mind.
“So … when is he going to come next? … Hyung? Jin-hyung? What do you mean you can’t hear me because you’re wearing airpods this is a Samsung household and you’re broke as hell -” ]
The next time he’s working at the cafe, he definitely does not keep glancing up every time the door opens, and he’s absolutely not hoping for a certain pink-haired and plush-lipped man to walk in. Not at all. He bends down to pick up a stray napkin before any of the cats (Ginger) gets to it and rips it to shreds.
The door jingles. Yoongi glances up so fast he almost brains himself against the counter.
It’s not Jimin. Yoongi tries to regain some of his non-existent composure and stands up with sufficient grace.
“ - where’s Seokjin-hyung?” he hears the person say, which piques his interest. It’s a tall, well-built guy with a rather messy head of hair and big expressive eyes. There is an undeniable boyish charm to his face, his cheeks stained red from the cold - a sharp contrast with the tattoos snaking up his forearms, vanishing under the sleeves of his sweatshirt. Just how many bizarrely attractive people does Seokjin know? Yoongi wonders.
When Yeonjun lets him know about Seokjin’s absence, the boy visibly wilts, his bright eager eyes dimming by several degrees. Yoongi absurdly feels the urge to wrap him in a blanket.
“- Yoongi hyung is covering his shifts for a while,” Yeonjun continues, and the boy politely nods at him.
“You know Seokjin?” he asks, and the boy brightens up again, nodding. “Hyung and I are very good friends,” he says cheerfully, and it sounds like he’s speaking of a hard-earned accomplishment instead of a friendship with Yoongi’s silly roommate.
“Really?” This was new. “I’m Min Yoongi, Seokjin’s roommate.”
The boy stares at him with barely concealed wonder. “His roommate…” he mumbles. “That’s so cool. Wow.”
[ “So. Jeongguk.”
Seokjin looks up from his textbook, highlighter poised in his grip like a dagger.
“How come I’ve never heard of this ‘very good friend’ of yours, I wonder…” Yoongi says and watches with satisfaction as Seokjin’s ears slowly turn red.
“I am a man of hidden depths, Yoongi-yah.”
“When I told him I was your roommate his eyes went so wide -”
“That’s just how he is. He has big sparkly eyes and bunny teeth and really soft-looking cheeks okay that’s the way he always looks.”
“... I see. He asked me to tell you he’s gonna stop by again on Saturday. Just so you know.”
“Yah! Go away! I have an exam tomorrow.” Seokjin complains, but his traitorous ears remain resolutely red.]
Yoongi is not having a good day.
He had stayed up all night trying to figure out a particular arrangement for his new composition, and by the time his roommate was sleepily puttering about in the kitchen in the morning light, he still hadn’t made any progress. His eyes were sore, his head was pounding and there was a restless irritation clinging to him like a second skin. That was before he remembered that he had to go to the coffee shop that day.
The shift seems to drag on forever, especially after one of the machines starts to sputter and hiss and splash hot water everywhere. It exhausts the last of his patience, and then he has to step away and hide in the pantry for a bit. All he wants right now is to curl into a ball in a corner and feel sorry for himself until he can go back home and sleep. But he has to persevere, at least for - he checks his watch - 15 minutes more, until Beomgyu comes in for his shift.
He presses his palms against his eyes and holds them there for a few breaths before he exhales and straightens back up again, ready to go back into the fray. He steps out, patting down the hair he must’ve messed up during his mini-breakdown, when he spots a sudden flash of pink at the counter.
Jimin.
It may be Yoongi’s last functioning brain cell running on fumes, but somehow Jimin seems to look hotter than he remembers him to be, like he was the mysterious yet charming character of an indie artist’s webcomic. The sort of protagonist who is rough on the outside and seems intimidating and taciturn, but has a heart of gold.
Okay, maybe Yoongi was projecting. Just a little bit.
Jimin notices him then, his eyes widening suddenly in recognition. He smiles, a twinkle in his eyes as his dangly earrings catch the light and glitter prettily, and Yoongi tries to think of something normal to do with his hands.
“Hi!” Jimin says, immediately leaning over the counter to speak to him, because he has clearly decided to not offer Yoongi any mercy. “I’m back.”
“You didn’t tell me if you liked it.” Yoongi blurts out, because he’s tired, and he has spent too long thinking about his one (1) interaction with this strange bewitching man, and he’s past caring about being embarrassed.
Jimin smiles at him easily. “You were busy. I figured I’d catch you the next time.”
The next time. Yoongi eyes the little dockets in front of him with the orders scribbled on them in Yeonjun’s messy scrawl.
“I’m busy now,” he points out, and he hopes he imagined the slight pout that he heard in his voice. It’s not like he got his feelings hurt, goddamnit! He was just … offended at his efforts not being acknowledged.
Jimin’s easy demeanour doesn’t change, though he has the grace to look a little chastised. He opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off by a co-worker Yoongi met barely two hours ago and has interacted with only twice since then.
“Hyung’s shift ends in 12 mins!" the boy supplies, and Jimin beams at him, managing to yell a thank you! as Yeonjun pulls the boy away by the back of his hoodie and a scandalised “Hyuka! -”
Jimin turns to Yoongi with a sparkle in his eyes.
“So,” he drawls, a slow smile spreading over his lips, “looks like hyung’s shift ends in 12 minutes.” Yoongi looks away and tries to think of anything else other than Jimin’s voice calling him hyung.
“What will your order be?” he asks, trying to gain some semblance of control over this situation. Jimin’s smile widens before he says, “Let me buy you a drink, hyung.”
Yoongi blinks. “What?”
“A drink. For you,” he says, and then runs his fingers through his hair, almost like he’s nervous. “You’ll be done soon, right? Will you join me after, so I can properly appreciate you for indulging my request?”
Here are the facts:
Yoongi has been counting the minutes till he can go home and sleep
Drinking coffee now surely won’t help him sleep anytime soon
But also -
Jimin just practically asked him out
Park Jimin asked him out??
Or did he…
He would get to look at Jimin uninterrupted!! For more than 5 minutes!!
Yoongi does deserve some courtesy for last time…
A free drink is a free drink...
Yoongi sighs. “Which drink do you want?” Jimin’s smile falters a bit, so he rushes to add, “I’ll be having a mocha.” He deserves some chocolate after the day he has had. Jimin perks up immediately, pleased at things going his way.
“Same as last time, hyung. Surprise me.” he says, already turning towards where he can see the cats lazing around. “You know where to find me!”
Yoongi breathes out, willing his stupid heart to stop beating so loudly in his ears. It’s just a boy! A very pretty boy with dangerous eyes and a bright wicked smile … but a boy nonetheless! He can talk to a pretty boy, drink his free drink and be on his way. He can do this.
Beomgyu arrives 5 minutes early, and it takes less than 30 seconds for the pesky outspoken boy from earlier (“Hyung, I’m Hueningkai! You must have forgotten but it’s okay!”) to latch onto him and tell him “Yoongi hyung just got asked out by - guess who - no you have to guess!! -”
Jimin looks up from his phone as Yoongi slides into the seat opposite him, gently placing the tray with their drinks on the table. He immediately stops his rapid-fire typing and pockets the phone, looking at the tray with interest.
“This one’s yours,” Yoongi says, sliding over one of the glasses to him. “Unsweetened iced matcha latte with a coconut lemon cookie.” Jimin stares at him, his lips parted in surprise, an amused exhale chasing his smile.
“You cheated.”
“I never said I wouldn’t,” Yoongi replies. (It was Seokjin, of course. After knowing him for so long, there was little that Yoongi’s roommate could keep from him, especially if convinced that it could help Yoongi’s ‘dismal love life’...)
Jimin raises an eyebrow and leans forward, his face caught somewhere between amused and impressed. He looks down at the latte, and the little cat Yoongi had drawn on it with some light dusting of matcha powder.
“You’re so fucking cute, Min Yoongi.” Jimin finally says, and looks at him with sugary amusement in his eyes. It makes those stupid pop-rocks in his chest fizzle and jump around again, much to his embarrassment.
“It’s my job,” Yoongi protests.
“Being cute is your job?”
“No! I meant the cat - the latte art…”
“Are you sure? Did you forget that this is my usual order,” Jimin says, clearly enjoying himself. “I don’t remember anyone ever customising it to look like a kitty…”
Yoongi hates how good Park Jimin looks while teasing him mercilessly. “I don’t remember telling you my name,” he says instead.
“You’re not the only one with sources, you know?” Jimin replies, like it isn’t completely obvious who he has been gossiping with.
Yoongi looks back at the kids who don’t even try to hide the fact that they’re practically leaning over the counter to spy on his not-date. Beomgyu flashes him a thumbs-up, and Yoongi turns back around immediately, cheeks burning.
One of the cats has surreptitiously made its way into Jimin’s lap, and Yoongi notes with some surprise that it’s the shy white one that avoids him like the plague. “How do you do that?”
“Mhm?”
“That one never lets me get near,” he grumbles, almost offended. Ever since he had started working at the cafe, all the cats would make a beeline for him whenever they saw him around, except the fluffy white one who likes to pretend Yoongi doesn’t exist. Considering that it was the first of the cats that he had tried to interact with, the rejection was ...humiliating.
“Mochi?” says Jimin, blissfully unaware of Yoongi’s jilted pride. “She’s my baby. She was a little wary of me in the beginning, but warmed up soon enough.” Yoongi watches in disbelief as Jimin pets her softly with a soft indulgent smile on his face. He looks up at Yoongi. “Maybe you should tell her a little about yourself. You both might have more in common than you think.”
The last of the afternoon sunlight streams into the cafe to paint everything in a quiet golden hue, and Yoongi takes a sip of his mocha, feeling very warm inside. “Only if Mochi returns the favour.”
Jimin grins.
“He just had to be a dancer. I can’t believe - hyung! Are you listening to me?”
Seokjin snorts awake, a sheet stuck to his cheek and his hair in complete disarray. “I’m awake! I have always been awake,” he announces, wiping drool from the corner of his mouth.
Yoongi sighs.
“Hyung. Go to bed.”
Seokjin waves him off. “I was just resting my eyes. Tell me more about Jimin’s perfect teeth -”
“I never said anything about his teeth.”
“- and his tiny cute hands and his lovely laugh and his kind eyes looking into yours -”
Yoongi throws the RJ plushie at him. Seokjin manages to catch it right before it hits him in the face. “Careful with my son!!” he yells.
Yoongi rolls over on Seokjin’s bed to stare at the ceiling. He hears Seokjin dramatically checking RJ for life-threatening wounds while his brain keeps replaying the moment he had made Jimin laugh. It’s a shame his neurons were too overcome by the sight of Jimin throwing his head back listing to a side, shaking with the force of his giggles, to remember what he had actually said to make Jimin laugh like that. Nevertheless, he is proud of himself. He’s funny!
“It’s so weird watching that dopey smile on your face while your eyes are staring into nothingness.”
He immediately rolls over to bury his face in Seokjin’s pillows that smell like clean cotton and springtime flowers and lets out a muffled scream.
“Oi! Don’t fall asleep like that!” He hears the wheels of Seokjin’s computer chair rumble against the ground as he rolls himself to the bed. “Yoongi, did you tell your amazing dancer friend about your music?”
“A little bit..”
“Yeah? Did you tell him you rap? That you’re Augst D?”
“...sort of.”
“Well? What did he say?”
“But that’s enough about me,” Jimin says. “What about you? What are you up to when you’re not graciously covering for your friend at the cafe?”
“Holed up in my room, or the studio,” Yoongi replies. “Getting my master’s degree, and working on my second EP. Eating. Sleeping.” He shrugs. “Pretty routine, to be honest.”
“Says the who kicked someone in the nuts in public -”
“Oh God, how does Everyone know?? He deserved worse, really -”
“The video has 63k views on YouTube.”
“.... what video?”
“Anyway…. you make your own music?” Yoongi groans at the obvious deflection.
“No, I’m serious. That’s cool as hell!”
It is cool as hell. He did expect Jimin to understand the feeling, being an artist and a performer himself, it feels nice to hear it from someone. It makes him want to share a bit more than he usually does when someone asks him about his music.
“Are you into rap?”
“I’m a little bit into everything, really.” Jimin eyes him curiously. “You’re a rapper?” He nods. Jimin makes an appreciative noise. “My friend Tae is really into it. I’ll have to introduce you both some time. You’ll never find a more ardent fan, I promise.”
Yoongi huffs. “I’d love to meet him, if that’s the case.”
“Ah, but you’re not allowed to like him more!” Jimin warns, pointing his little finger at him. “You still have to like me more, hyung.”
“Like you more than my most ardent fan?” Yoongi raises an eyebrow. “Why should I?”
“Well, I’m hoping to be more than just a fan by then,” Jimin replies easily, and Yoongi’s brief stint of confidence dissolves into butterflies that flutter around helplessly in his chest. “You’re relentless,” he mutters, trying to swallow his embarrassment with a sip of his drink, and Jimin laughs.
“And you’re so cute, hyung! It’s so unfair. How can one person be so cute and have such a sexy voice?”
“Yoongi-yah! Did you die?” Seokjin whines, poking his leg. “What did Jimin say?”
“He said I have a sexy voice…” Yoong mumbles, impossibly flustered, and immediately regrets it as Seokjin slaps his leg and hollers in excitement.
It’s Yoongi’s last day working at the cafe, and the calico (named Caramel, Yoongi has learnt) is in a playful mood today, constantly whining at Yoongi for attention and getting in his way while he helps some of the other staff set up the Christmas decorations. It’s a difficult task in a cafe full of cats, even after Ginger (notorious for her crimes) has been temporarily barricaded while they put up the last of the paper snowflakes.
As their last line of defence from the remaining cats against the mini Christmas tree, Yoongi finds himself luring away an inquisitive Mochi with a toy as he slowly backs away with Caramel in his arms. He manages to get the cat past the little (apparently) cat proof gate when she completely loses interest in him and bolts right out. Yoongi curses, and rushes to get to her before she wreaks havoc.
He spies her fluffy white tail dart under a table and disappear behind a pair of chunky black sneakers that look like they’re the size of Yoongi’s entire head. There’s a moment of awkward silence where the customer and Yoongi stare at each other, with Caramel in Yoongi’s arms like a clingy toddler while he runs like single-dad after his other unruly child. Then the boy bends down to coax Mochi out of her hiding, and Yoongi finally recognises him as Jeongguk.
“She really just hates me specifically,” Yoongi breathes out in disbelief, as the kitty allows Jeongguk to pick her up easily and she settles against his chest without making a single noise of protest when Jeongguk rocks her like a little child.
“Hello, Yoongi-hyung,” Jeongguk smiles, bowing his head briefly before he tries to hand over Mochi to him.
“No, no you carry her, she can’t stand me.” Yoongi leads him to the cat area and watches in resignation as Jeongguk puts an unsuspecting Mochi back inside with the other cats without incurring her wrath.
“Thanks for helping,” he says, but Jeongguk brushes him off, smiling. Yoongi gets him a free cookie anyway, which he gladly accepts.
“Are you waiting for someone?” he asks, because it’s Christmas week and Jeongguk is sitting alone quietly at a table for two, his headphones slung around his neck. Yoongi has seen him turn around every time he heard the door open.
To his surprise, Jeongguk blushes. “Seokjin hyung asked me to meet him here, tonight,” he says, eyes lighting up. Yoongi wonders if he knows how he smiles helplessly every time he talks about Seokjin. The boy is smitten.
“Oh! Are you both finally going on a date?” Hueningkai pipes up, materializing out of nowhere.
Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Can you at least pretend not to eavesdrop?”
“Hey! This concerns me, okay? If he’s not gonna make a move then I gotta let Soobin-hyung know that he still has a chance -”
“Oh for the last time- Soobin doesn’t -” Yeonjun interjects, unable to keep pretending he wasn’t listening.
Jeongguk blinks at them. “Soobin likes Seokjin-hyung?” he asks, eyes narrowing.
“Uh - n-no of course not! Don’t listen to me! I just keep saying anything, really - !” Hueningkai babbles as Yeonjun drags him away out of Jeongguk’s field of vision. There are a few blessed seconds of silence, and Yoongi checks the time. He has about 10 more minutes left in his shift, before Beomgyu comes in. He decides to wrap things up, when Jeongguk speaks -
“Hyung. Do you think Seokjin-hyung will want to go on a date with me?”
Yoongi likes to think he knows Seokjin pretty well, but there’s a danger in thinking you know someone inside-out. That stops you from learning more about them. “I can’t speak for Seokjin, Jeongguk,” he settles on saying. “He’s my best friend and roommate, but only he knows what goes on in his head sometimes. Especially in matters of the heart.”
“I know.” Jeongguk huffs, and Yoongi snorts.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
Jeongguk nods miserably. “Do you think I have a chance?”
Yoongi looks at Seokjin’s broad silhouette walk in through the cafe door, his eyes immediately landing on Jeongguk and softening for a bit, before he sees Yoongi and waves.
“Maybe you should ask him,” Yoongi says, patting his shoulder. “Finish your cookie.”
Yoongi stands on the pavement outside the cafe, watching his breath fog in the cold December air. There is a circle of light around him from the streetlight he’s standing under, and he watches a mother walk by with her little one in her arms. He watches them reach the end of the street and turn the corner, disappearing from his view, when he hears the rumble of thunder behind him.
The motorbike rumbles to a stop in front of him, and the rider kills the engine. He takes his helmet off and then warm brown eyes smile at Yoongi, glittering under the yellow glow of the streetlight. “I thought I was gonna miss you today,” Jimin says, his words turning into soft wisps of vapour.
“My shift is over. You technically would’ve.”
“But I didn’t!” Jimin declares triumphantly, reaching out with a gloved hand to pull Yoongi closer. “because you were waiting for me, weren’t you, hyung?” Yoongi lets himself be pulled, closer to Jimin, where he sits astride his behemoth of a vehicle, the engine still warm in the cold evening air.
“No. The kids made a big deal of it being my last day here. It would be awkward to wait inside after all the goodbyes,” he admits, and Jimin chuckles at his sheepish tone. He fishes out another helmet and tosses it to Yoongi. “Come on, it’s time I take you for a spin on Serendipity.”
Seokjin had invited Yoongi to join him and Jeongguk on their ‘Barbeque and Noraebang’ night in honour of Seokjin defeating his finals, but Yoongi had graciously refused. If the determined look on Jeongguk’s face was anything to go by, he didn’t wanna interfere. Besides, he had plans of his own. He slides in behind Jimin, hands hovering above the body in front of him, when Jimin reaches behind and pulls Yoongi’s arms snug around his waist.
“You have to hold on tight, hyung.” Jimin’s voice is muffled under his helmet. Serendipity roars to life under them, and Yoongi obeys. He closes his fists around Jimin’s jacket and lets himself fit like a puzzle piece around the solid body against him, petite but lithe, strong but graceful. They glide along the roads like a feather riding a breeze, moving as one body with two beating hearts, until the roar of the wind against his ears drowns out every other sound in the world. He has no idea where they are going, but for a moment he feels invincible, like they left all his worries behind in the dust the moment they started moving.
Jimin smoothly brings them to a stop after a while. The engine falls silent below them, still radiating heat. Yoongi supposes he should move, but he cannot bring himself to untangle his arms from around Jimin. Somewhere along the ride, they had moulded together, hip against hip, shoulder against shoulder.
Yoongi holds him tighter for a heartbeat, two heartbeats, and then he slowly lets go.
Jimin gently moves out of the circle of his arms, and then twists around, arranging his legs to sit astride the bike, facing Yoongi. He takes off his helmet with practised ease, and reaches out to help Yoongi do the same.
Jimin’s face comes into his view, unobstructed, and Yoongi thinks: I really want to kiss him.
They’re parked at the side of a road overlooking the river, a hundred lights of the city shimmering on the water before them. Down the road, there is a line of shops selling night-time snacks to those who are walking along the riverside. Yoongi can hear their busy sounds of nightlife in the distance.
There’s a lock of pink hair on Jimin’s head that’s sticking up after being trapped under the helmet. The moment seems too fragile for words, so Yoongi quietly tucks the errant hair back into place, and then finds himself running his fingers through Jimin’s slightly sweaty hair, down the side of his face, fingers softly grazing the shell of a small ear.
“Are you petting me?” Jimin whispers. “Am I a cat, Yoongi-ssi?” Yoongi doesn’t reply, too transfixed by how soft Jimin’s skin feels, the way Jimin leans into his touch. He finds his palm framing Jimin’s cheek, thumb lingering at the corner of his mouth. Jimin leans closer, the white wisps of his breaths dissipating in the night air. “Won’t you say anything, hyung? You look just like Mochi right now. She stares at me like this, with long slow blinks to show affection.”
“I can think of a few other ways,” his thumb presses against the unresisting softness of Jimin’s lips, “to show affection.” Jimin’s eyes are dark in the muted light, and now they seem to burn into him with a searing intensity.
“Show me,” he says. Yoongi doesn’t need to be asked twice.
They kiss, and he gasps at the warmth of Jimin’s mouth against his cold lips. They kiss, and it’s frantic and hot, and then slow and sweet, and all Yoongi knows is that he cannot get enough of the irresistible softness of Jimin’s lips, and the way he makes a soft breathy sound every time Yoongi catches the plush bottom lip between his teeth. Jimin giggles when their noses bump, and shifts closer to get a better angle. Their knees touch, and Jimin plants his palms on Yoongi’s thighs and kisses his way into his mouth until he leaning back, still holding Jimin’s warm face between his palms.
Later, they’ll separate with warm, shy smiles, and Jimin will take him along to his favourite boba place by the riverside. Yoongi will tangle his fingers with Jimin’s as they walk, and have the joy of seeing Jimin’s eyes turn into sweet crescent moons under the force of his smile.
Later, he’ll meet Taehyung, who works at the aforementioned boba place, and let Jimin order him a ‘hibiscus lemonade with rainbow jelly’ (“Time for me to guess your order, hyung!”), and watch Taehyung lose his mind for an entire minute when he reveals he is AugstD.
Later, he’ll let Jimin steal a sip of his drink and taste Jimin’s ‘passionfruit black tea boba’ right from his lips and declare it as his new favourite order.
But right now, he tangles his fingers in Jimin’s hair and messes it up like he has been wanting to, and tells Jimin he’s so good, so perfect, with his perfect lips and wicked tongue and sexy eyes, and doesn’t protest when Jimin kisses him silly on his stupidly cool motorbike.