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“Jeon is mine!” Seokjin yells, throwing himself bodily over the stack of papers. His department preferred to work in hard copies, because, well. They were the anthropology department, were they not?
“Get off the rosters!” Hoseok sneaks a hand under Seokjin to try and pull the papers out. Seokjin doesn’t budge, glaring a little harder bit by bit every time he’s jostled as Hoseok pulls him along.
Behind them, heavy sighs - from Namjoon. Seokjin knows that sigh. “Stay out of it, Joon-ah!”
Seokjin growls, and it works - Hoseok lets go of the papers, clearly startled, and Seokjin swipes them up to move behind Namjoon and utilize all of his friend’s height and bulk to protect himself. It’s unspoken that once he’s done, he’ll give them to Namjoon. Professors Jung and Min can wait their turn.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Yoongi grouses, hair a mess like he just woke up, like he’s one of their eighteen year old freshmen. He’s got both an iced americano and a hot one in front of him. He brought in a tray of four drinks, two for himself - and one for Namjoon, one for Hoseok.
Not that he had expected Min Yoongi to bring him coffee; he was always part of Hoseok’s entourage, but Namjoon? When did his best friend betray him by befriending their enemy?
“Professor Min always pickpockets the best TAs, and not this year!” Seokjin waves around the papers. It’s all technically a formality - they mark everything down on paper and their office manager inputs it later to make it official. Seokjin has thought about small talking said office manager into last minute adjustments before, but this is better. Far better, judging by the look on Yoongi’s face.
Usually unflappable, Yoongi gapes with an open mouth, wearily watching Seokjin go down the list with his pen until he finds the name he wants and signs off on it. When Seokjin hands the stack to Namjoon, he closes his mouth and schools his expression. Always so professional looking, Professor Min.
Students haven’t witnessed the glory of Min Yoongi prior to two americanos in the morning. It’s nothing like the poised and cool professor they rave about in their evaluations.
“Seokjin-ssi,” Yoongi says. Seokjin hackles can’t go any higher, or they would. He’s Dr. Kim, and he worked hard to be the Dr. Kim of the anthropology department. Not even Namjoon has his phD yet, an important distinction to him and probably him only in this current company. “Jeon Jeongguk and I have a standing mentor-mentee relationship already, and I - ”
“Exactly why you shouldn’t have him TA for you. It’ll be good for him to work with someone new.” Which is true, even if Seokjin wants the kid more out of spite and reputation than anything else.
Jeon is a new grad student this year; he graduated out of the school’s undergrad program, and while that is sometimes seen as a negative, Jeongguk is viewed as something of a golden child around campus. He doubled major with a minor and still graduated on time with a great GPA, plus he was a gifted musical performer who volunteered in his free time. Or so Seokjin assumed.
He would be considered the best TA of the year - and Seokjin was going to have him for his class, Min Yoongi be damned. Min Yoongi got Doyun last year, and Seokjin wasn’t sleeping on the roster this time around.
Hoseok squawks; is this why he’s friends with Min Yoongi? So that the linguistics part of their department can study what is certainly the unique vocalizations of one Jung Hoseok? “Stay out of this, archeology!” Seokjin warns, putting a hand up in front of Hoseok’s face. He sticks out his tongue at Seokjin, and by extension, Namjoon.
Joon puts a hand on his shoulder. “Regardless of his methodology, Dr. Kim is correct in that you both had your first choices last year. Let him have the Jeon kid. Plus - he is the hyung.”
Namjoon smiles at him sweetly, and Seokjin beams back. Hoseok rolls his eyes, “This is why students are convinced you’re secretly married - the Kims.”
“Just because we live together - ” Namjoon starts.
“And kiss each other?” Yoongi asks, eyebrow raised.
“ - as two of the few out faculty members in this school,” Namjoon continues. Seokjin reaches for his face mid rant to kiss the top of his dear friend’s head. Namjoon stoops down for him; he always does.
“So I like to show physical affection with my best friend. What of it?” Seokjin puts his hands on his hips. “He’s the cultural anthropologist and this is gay culture!”
“We’re also queer and we don’t do that,” Yoongi reminds him. Technically, Seokjin knows this; how could he forget when Min Yoongi’s coming out was a thing on campus. Students of the gay affinity group immediately asked him to be the sponsor, he basically got a float in a parade, meanwhile Namjoon’s hardwork and trailblazing in their field left little conversations in their department.
“Here, Professor Kim,” Seokjin makes sure to sound extra icy towards Namjoon for dramatic effect while maintaining eye contact with Min Yoongi. “We should make sure to be nothing but the utmost professionals while in this office.”
He makes sure to bow deeply before leaving, and down the hall he can hear Hoseok: “That went well.”
Seokjin wakes up from a nap at almost eleven pm; he looks at his phone, distinctly recalling that he set an alarm, but all he sees is a notification from his mother and his app monitoring his blood sugar. He sits up, blinking rapidly until things come into focus.
“Hey,” Namjoon says softly, padding into the room. “You ready to eat something? I’ll heat up what’s in the fridge.”
Seokjin is careful to prep a lot of meals at least two days of the week; they’re for him and Namjoon, but he often doesn’t feel like cooking and needs to eat immediately when he feels the slightest bit of hunger. It sneaks up on him; after so many years, he thought he’d have a better handle on it, but at this point of adulthood he knows it will always feel like this. Fine one moment, plunging the next.
After he pricks his finger, he waits for the meter to spit out his levels. He listens to Namjoon puttering about in their kitchen, happy to help Seokjin sit up and lean against him when he hands him the plate.
“Ready for this semester to start?” he asks, mindful of how much weight he’s supporting. His friend, for all of his clumsy tendencies, is so so careful when helping Seokjin out.
It’s the real reason they live together - sure, neither of them will ever make a ton of money in academia, but they could afford their own small places now, but Namjoon will never let it happen. He was the one who took him to the hospital near comatose, his friend who doesn’t drive and was put in a situation where he had to. It wasn’t enough to have an app, it wasn’t enough to have the constant pestering from his mother. It almost wasn’t enough to have his best friend living with him. Seokjin fucked up, and his body still feels the ramifications from it.
Namjoon’s version of mothering is different; it’s quiet, but constant. Before they had their own schedules and checked in with each other. Now, they go to work together and leave work together. Usually eat meals together too. He’s certainly not surprised that people think they’re married. On bad days, Seokjin catches a ride on Namjoon’s back to his car, maintaining that he’ll save the energy he needs to drive them both home that way. And yes - they cuddle, but often it’s a guise for Namjoon to keep Seokjin upright and going during a dull department meeting. He’s always joked that Namjoon is better than insulin for his pick-me-up.
Namjoon used to faint at the sight of blood; now he’s used to the tiny strips of it lying on their coffee table, removes them without comment. He’s picked Seokjin up off the floor from a fainting spell more times than either of them can count, has had to learn when to panic and when to simply inject him. He covers for Seokjin at work so he can pretend that his hyung just gets hangry sometimes, like it’s a quirky character trait and not a medicinal condition.
“I can’t wait for our department chair to ask when my next publication comes out,” Seokjin says, grimacing as he thinks of the stack of articles he needs to read. “Hey, did you ever hear back from Dr. Harrison in New York? Is that happening for your class?”
“Yeah, but not for this year. You know how it is.”
“Caution tape,” they both say simultaneously.
Namjoon turns on the TV for background noise, collecting their plates. “You good, or you need one of your drinks?”
“I should be good. Thanks, Joon-ah.” Honestly, he kind of feels like shit still, but he chalks it up to the fact he skipped the gym today and his routine is all out of sorts. One thing the semester is good for - his routine kicks back in hard. Summer is summer: a routine in of itself, but it’s nothing like the set schedule of a brand new fall semester. Seokjin’s been teaching full time for a few years now, and he adores the start of the school year. A forever student, a previous college mentor called him. Him - and Namjoon - were forever students.
“Ugh. Carry me to bed though?” he asks as he flops himself down, only half on the couch now.
Namjoon chuckles. “I only carry my husband to bed!” He disappears down the hallway to his own bedroom, laughing at Seokjin’s frown. If he was so tired he needed help, Namjoon would already have him in bed. As such, Seokjin is left with the mental task of debating if he wants to start his reading or not.
Forever student. He’s got this.
He doesn’t got this; his eyeballs feel like they’re about to fall out of their sockets, and he hasn’t even seen a single student paper yet this term. He’s up to his elbows in research for his next article, and his office was an innocent casualty of a ceiling leak, so he’s been forced to work in what functions as a teacher’s lounge, open to all faculty and TAs.
Jeongguk is there, chewing at the end of a pen with blue ink at the corner of his mouth and something scribbled on the back of his hand. Honestly, he’s an endearing kid and Seokjin now gets why everyone loves him. He barely squashes the urge to pinch the kid’s cheeks when he sees him.
“Dr. Kim, are you alright? You’re - awfully squinty and,” Jeongguk waves his hands over him, as if that makes it clear what his thought is.
“Huh?” Seokjin grunts. “I’m fine. Just a headache. They happen, you know.”
Jeongguk giggles, and Seokjin sits on his hands to keep them to himself. “Yeah, I know.”
It’s been a rough start to the semester in some ways, and they’re all guilty of occasionally sneaking in a nap in their office from time to time. Seokjin doesn’t mean to fall asleep in a common space, but he must. He jolts awake when something is dropped in front of his face - it’s a stack of papers.
“My intro class this year,” Yoongi says, pulling out the seat next to Seokjin, vacated by Jeongguk at some point. It’s just the two of them now. “A significant number of young women in the class. A lot of them whispering about Dr. Kim and the prereqs needed to get into his classes.”
Seokjin gestures at his face - he doesn’t need to say the words, nor does he have the energy to, but Min Yoongi has heard and seen the way Seokjin usually points at his worldwide handsome face. Their department chair once announced the surge in enrollment into the program, and Seokjin hasn’t lived it down since. He’s learned to lean in; besides, there are worse things to be known for.
“...You doing alright? You look a little pale.” Yoongi jokingly offers up his arm next to Seokjin’s for comparison. Seokjin jerks his hand away.
“Fine. Just tired.” He looks at his watch; the digital face also keeps track of his blood sugar. Joon should be here soon; tonight they agreed to get take out on the way home, and Seokjin is looking forward to that and giving his eyes a break. He might as well head down to his office now - Namjoon should be headed there after his class.
“Whoa, careful.” Yoongi stands with him, one hand wrapped around his arm. Seokjin sways a little; time for a snack.
“I’m fine.” He stands up straight, rooting around in his bag for his nutrition bar.
“You going downstairs? To Namjoon?” It’s always weird to hear Min Yoongi drop the honorifics; technically, they’re all friendly enough and in the same age bracket. It’s mostly for fun and show that he keeps the charade up with the guy, and yet it’s still weird to think that in all actuality, Yoongi is friends with Namjoon. Best friends with Hoseok. Of course, it’s Seokjin that’s the problem. He can’t get along with the world’s sunniest man or Min Yoongi who is - begrudgingly not that bad of a guy. Seokjin has seen him teach, has seen him talk down some hysterical students during finals or comforted a homesick freshman. He knows Min Yoongi is nice, because he’s nice enough to play this game with Seokjin still.
Seokjin’s never had a problem with Min Yoongi; he has a problem with the fact that it feels like he’s given preferential treatment over Namjoon at times. Namjoon doesn’t agree with Seokjin about the facts, but he wouldn’t. His best friend is kind to a fault, prone to see the best in everyone. He’s rooted his life around Seokjin when he couldn’t ask for help, and in return, Seokjin’s gonna carry this torch forever. Namjoon deserves it.
“Here.” Yoongi leads him down the hallway, half cradling Seokjin’s side, which is awkward, because Min Yoongi is quite small. “I know - I noticed that Namjoon sometimes has to help you.”
Seokjin grunts. “It’s none of your business.”
“Didn’t say it was. Just want to make sure you make it to Professor Kim’s office in one piece.”
His hands are cold on Seokjin’s; he shivers, swallowing down the last bit of his bar. When Namjoon sees them coming, he stands to receive Seokjin from Yoongi as if they’re passing off custody of their child. He scoffs.
Yoongi’s eyes track the motion as Namjoon reaches for Seokjin’s watch to glance at the vitals there. He doesn’t need to pause the conversation to do so, just nods at Yoongi’s remark about something to do with one of the lecture halls.
“Ready to go home?” Namjoon asks.
Seokjin nods. “But first - soup dumps!”
“We agreed not to abbreviate that.”
“I certainly did not.”
It’s when they’re at the end of the hall that Seokjin realizes Yoongi is still standing in the same place, observing them.
When Seokjin opens his primate lab, he does it for the benefit of the entire department, regardless of which students are specializing in what. The cultural anthropologists and linguistic anthropologists may not get the same kind of rush of excitement when receiving new specimens the way he and his biological anthropology students do, but a dead monkey is a dead monkey, and a lot of the kids are into that.
The problem is, they get specimens from all over the place, and sometimes they don’t come with proper paperwork to state what they’ve been treated with. Not everything can be contained under their fume hood from the 1970’s, and when Seokjin walks in and immediately starts coughing, even with a proper mask in place, he frantically waves at the students inside to get out.
Immediately, he notices that there are a lot more kids crammed in there than fire code would decree, and at the route of it are three in particular. Seokjin grabs a fistul of Jeongguk’s lab coat and the arm of Kim Taehyung, hauling them out of the door as quickly as possible despite their loud protests. He goes back for Park, the smallest of the three of them and the most worried looking. Not about Seokjin - he’s just frowning at what’s under the hood.
“Out! Now!” Seokjin pushes at him. He tries to assess the situation as quickly as possible - there are notes scattered about, but he’s having a hard time figuring out what they’re working on exactly.
Proudly enough, he realizes that his kids have already done everything there is to do at the moment - they’ve turned off everything except the hood, and it’s more a matter of waiting it out than doing anything else.
The lock on the door beeps. Min Yoongi walks in, shirt pulled up over his nose as if that’s going to do much. He looks a little frantic, wide eyed and flushed where Seokjin can see his face. He takes one step into the lab and turns to look at what’s on the table to his left. It’s the torso of a gorilla, still hairy, although next to it are an assortment of bones waiting to be catalogued.
He skitters away from it as quickly as possible, taking a wider route to Seokjin. “Is it contained?”
Seokjin coughs, eyes burning because he didn’t have time to grab goggles. He nods, throat gagging. It’s not a smokiness - it’s a chemical burn, likely from formaldehyde, but it could be another preservative. He’s moving one of the other pots under the hood out because it seems to just be the one that’s the source of the issue, but Yoongi’s sharp grip on his elbow stops him.
“Leave it, if it’s contained. You shouldn’t be in here,” he says, coughing under his shirt, the goddamn idiot. He’s so annoyed at the man that Seokjin doesn’t protest any further; this guy should know better than to come in without proper protection.
Seokjin pulls him away, trying to grab for Yoongi’s arm on his, but instead they end up in an awkward hand hold as they exit the lab. Outside of it, Yoongi drops his shirt to cough more exuberantly, emptying his lungs of the chemicals, and Seokjin leans against the wall and takes off his mask.
Although it wasn’t a true emergency, it was enough to get his heart going for a minute, which means it can be enough to affect his glucose levels. Seokjin lifts his hand to observe if it shakes - it’s fine. He exhales in an equally loud cough. He’s fine. It’s all fine.
“Just because you have the access code to my lab doesn’t mean you should interfere.” Seokjin pushes himself off the wall. His energy for the day is gone.
“I was - I just wanted to make sure you were alright! Jeongguk said there was an emergency in the primate lab.”
“It wasn’t an emergency,” Seokjin says, wheezing still.
“Yeah, sounds like.” Yoongi rolls his eyes. “No one should be inhaling that stuff.”
“Hence the hood.”
“Especially not you.”
“Pardon?”
Yoongi’s flustered still - from running here? He’s red all over except for a few spots where he’s pink. “Sorry. I just mean - you should take care, being around that stuff.”
Seokjin waves the mask at him. He’s tired, with a headache building. He punches in a code to lock the door on the lab barring everyone for the next 24 hours pending the reversal code.
“Next time, make sure you take your own advice and wear proper gear if you’re going to come into my lab.”
Yoongi opens his mouth, reaching for Seokjin again. And why?
“Dr. Kim?” Jeongguk’s voice is timid from where he slowly approaches. “I’m so sorry, we don’t know what it was that set it off. It was the first soak for that sample, and maybe we didn’t remove as much of the excess muscle as we could have first.”
Seokjin waves him and his curious friends off. “It’s okay. Unfortunately, that happens from time to time. Next time, get out of there after everything is shut off, okay? You can let me know and I will take care of it for the next step.”
“Hi, Dr. Kim!” Kim Taehyung pipes up, waving behind Jeongguk’s shoulder and smiling, as if nothing has ever gone wrong a day in his life. Seokjin almost smiles.
“Taehyung-ssi, Jimin-ssi.” Seokjin inclines his head. “Good work in there today, all things considered.”
“You know my name?” Taehyung points to himself, excitement evident.
“Of course. I know all of our TA’s names.”
Taehyung is put out by that. It’s been awhile since he’s seen a kid in their mid-twenties pout like that. Park Jimin pats his back. “I’ve locked the lab for now. No one goes in until I check it out later. I’ll update you all when it’s safe to resume work, alright?”
The three students nod, and Seokjin makes a shooing motion. “Go forth, make the most of your day.”
“Oh, Dr. Kim, there are a few students outside your office waiting for you,” Jeongguk says, zipping up his coat. “I reminded them of your office hours though.”
“Thanks, Jeongguk.” That makes Taehyung pout more behind him. “Have a nice day, Taehyung-ssi.”
Taehyung brightens like a light bulb. “Feel free to address me informally, too, Dr. Kim!” Taehyung says. Jimin swats his arm.
“You can’t ask that of your elder, let alone your teacher!” he hisses, dragging him away bodily. “Who am I going to get a reference from with your big mouth and it’s reputation preceding me!”
The three of them bicker into the stairwell. Seokjin can hear a boisterous laugh echoing through the building. He sighs, slumping back against the wall. He jumps when Yoongi presses against him gently; he’d forgotten he was there at all.
“Hey, come hang out with me in my office. Your admirers can email you if they really need. You need a break.”
“You don’t know what I need, Min Yoongi!”
Yoongi takes one of Seokjin’s hands, reminding him that they held hands just a few minutes ago, and holds it up. It’s trembling a little. “Alright, I need lunch.”
Yoongi smiles, and rather than letting go, leads him along to his office. Is this the fashion these days, to hold hands with colleagues? Seokjin guesses he can’t say anything, not when he’s draped half across Namjoon most days.
“I can get something delivered,” Yoongi offers once they’re tucked away safely behind a door. They’d only been stopped twice by students on the way there.
“No, thank you, Professor Min. Unfortunately, this face,” Seokjin makes his patented gesture, “can’t get away with just eating anything.”
“Yoongi is fine, hyung,” Yoongi replies, a half smile half smirk on his face. He pushes Seokjin down into his couch, a small thing that fits somehow in this small office.
“I need to get my lunch. It’s in the staff room - ”
“I’ll get it.”
Seokjin nods; while he’s gone, he checks his blood sugar. With Yoongi back, the two of them spend a quiet afternoon together before Yoongi leaves for class. If Seokjin falls asleep on his couch because he wants to hide out for one day? Well. It’s all for not when Hoseok dances through the door yelling for his friend.
Seokjin bolts upright, expecting Hoseok to be surprised at his presence. He isn’t; he immediately plops down next to him and asks him about his semester. Too tired to answer much, Hoseok happily chatters about his own classes and an upcoming semester abroad program he’s curating for his upperclassmen.
Hoseok is nice; Seokjin always knew that. It’s just that lines were always drawn - it was him and Namjoon against Yoongi and Hoseok. The young half of the anthro department that everyone assumed got along. But - Seokjin also has always known that he would have been good friends with Hoseok if circumstances were different. Now, napping in Yoongi’s office, he wonders if they still might be.
He’s not willing to let go of some of the bitterness around Yoongi’s treatment in their school. He just doesn’t get it; he’s never met an academic with mint hair who curses freely with their students or gets past a department meeting without being grilled about publishing, but Yoongi does.
Seokjin does, however, concede that his office is not a bad place to be if he needs a break from his unofficial office hours on top of the official ones. Yoongi’s couch is small, but he keeps a blanket on the back of it and he keeps the door closed when his office hours aren’t in session.
So sometimes Seokjin naps there. Yoongi might be around, he might not. Sometimes Hoseok is there instead, and one time he tries to nap with Seokjin, lying on top of him. Hoseok clings to him and cries when Seokjin pushes him off, suddenly wide awake with laughter. Namjoon hears them from the floor up and comes in to see what’s happening. When Hoseok sees him, he skips out of the room and drags Namjoon behind him.
Yoongi is an unsuspecting victim when he gets into his office the next morning. “Did you know?!” Seokjin yells. He’s sitting in the dark for dramatic effect, but it might have worked too well when Yoongi jumps and smacks into the doorframe.
“Hyung!” He rubs an elbow. “What are you doing in here?”
“I’m here early because Namjoon wanted to observe Hobi’s morning tutorial. Did you know our cohorts were dating? Fraternizing?” Seokjin holds both hands up in the air.
Today, Yoongi has his usual two americanos. He offers the warm one to Seokjin, because it’s freezing in the building. They’re in one of the oldest on campus, and at least you count on the elevators not working. Heating and cooling - it’s dicey. Could go either way. Best to be prepared for anything.
“...What’s this?” Seokjin asks.
“It’s coffee. For you.” Yoongi doesn’t like talking this much in the morning. His voice is gravely and deep. His hair is still sticking up in the back, so Seokjin clucks his tongue and starts smoothing it down.
“You never bring me coffee. Just Hoseok.”
“Well, today I did.”
“But you didn’t. It’s your second cup, like you always bring your second cup.”
Yoongi sighs. He takes the coffee back from Seokjin and without breaking eye contact reaches for a marker on his desk.
He writes Seokjin’s name on the smooth white sides of the cup and hands it back. There’s also a small heart under his name.
“Bribery!”
Yoongi smiles. A small miracle for the time of day. “You caught me. My evil plan all along has been to trick you out of your office so I can move in there.”
Which - Seokjin frowns.
“I’m kidding.” Yoongi tucks on his crossed arm. “I’m happy we’re friends now.”
“Friends?” They were, weren’t they? He certainly didn’t mean to let that happen, but Namjoon actively encouraged their hanging out. In fact, he sent Yoongi to ‘take him home’ one night when Namjoon was otherwise engaged with something else. Now Seokjin realizes that it was probably a date.
“Back to the question at hand - did you know?”
“About Hob-yah and Joonie? Yeah.” Yoongi shrugs. “I mean, no one said anything, but Hobi isn’t - quiet. About things.”
Truer words, never spoken. Seokjin likes that about Hoseok; he’s louder than him.
“No one told me!”
Yoongi snickers around the straw in his mouth. “I’m sure you’ll still get the wedding invite. Although you will have to formally remind the department you and Namjoon aren’t already married, so Namjoon doesn’t look like a two-timer.”
“No one thinks we’re married!”
“I heard Aeri talking about it yesterday.”
Seokjin huffs, slouching back into the couch. “Do you think it’s serious?”
“Yes.”
And Seokjin assumed it was, but hearing Yoongi agree so quickly was alarming to Seokjin. He’s not willing to examine why at the present moment because he already is well aware of the fact he’s a selfish bastard. “Wow. You didn’t need to think about it.”
Yoongi shrugs. “Hoseok thought Namjoon was cute from day one. It was interesting to watch, because he’s got all the confidence in the world for most things, but he refused to approach Joon.”
“Was it - was it because of me?” Seokjin asks. Hoseok and Yoongi were close in part because they started at the same time, but when the lines were drawn, did Hoseok think Namjoon disliked him because of Seokjin’s own misplaced frustrations? The four of them play into the dynamic - still to this day - but Seokjin’s never actually carried a grudge against his dongsaeng.
“No, I promise you, it was more the old fashioned worry of dating someone in the same department.” Yoongi studiously looks through emails on his desktop.
“Fair.”
“What do you think about that?” Yoongi asks, eyes lingering on one particular email, but he glances over his shoulder quickly.
“About them dating? I guess it’s good. Namjoon seems happy. When Joon is happy, I’m happy.”
“I meant about dating without the department. Like, dating a colleague.”
“Oh - well. It’s whatever. Doesn’t always seem the smartest, but it obviously works out in some cases, and I hope for our sake that it works out this time.”
“Me too,” Yoongi says gently. He spins around in his chair. “Would you get dinner with me on Saturday?”
Seokjin scrunches up his face. “Yah, did Namjoon ask you to babysit me while he has date night? It’s unnecessary, you know. I’m the one who does all the cooking, it will be nice to make whatever I want for myself for once! And - ”
“He didn’t ask me to keep you company. I don’t know if he has plans on Saturday with Hobi. I’m asking you - do you want to get dinner with me on Saturday?” Yoongi says, voice firm and clear. It’s his teaching voice. It does not align with how red his cheeks are.
“...What?”
“That first day when we all met, Hoseok called dibs on Namjoon, and I. I, uh. Called dibs on you?”
“Min Yoongi, you didn’t! You liked me all this time?” Seokjin stands fast enough he sways. Yoongi’s there immediately to steady him. “But - we hate each other!”
“Clearly.” He’s smiling, but his tone is very serious.
“Stop laughing! This isn’t television! You don’t get to spend the last couple of years stealing TAs out from under me, taking the best time slots for my favorite lecture hall, and passive aggressively sending your intro students to me for ‘questions best answered by the resident expert’ only to turn around and confess you’ve always liked me!”
“Well. I did. I am.” Yoongi laughs. He’s got a really nice laugh, Seokjin realizes, but it comes second to his smile. His smile could inoculate an innocent child from the plague, that’s how cute it is, and yes, he’s always thought that about Min Yoongi. A true test for his will over the years.
“But!”
“You don’t get to act like you’re the only one who needs things in this department, and - it got your attention, didn’t it?”
“Unbelievable.” Pulling pigtails all this time. It’s Seokjin’s turn to roll his eyes. God. He can’t possibly be attracted to this?
Yoongi shyly hooks a pinky with Seokjin’s.
Oh no.
Seokjin sighs and Yoongi looks just so - hopeful. He’s so tiny and cute! He’s allowed to think that now, right? He’s looking up at Seokjin from under his fringe which makes him look young and vulnerable.
It’s probably an act.
“I’m diabetic,” Seokjin finally says. He means to look down at his feet to avoid any look of confusion or disappointment on the other’s face, but he’s still looking. Yoongi nods.
“I know. Hyung. You literally left your meter out the other day on top of your bag while you were sleeping.”
Right. He did do that.
“Besides, if I didn’t already know, I would have confronted you a long time ago. I’ve watched Namjoon carry you out of your office, and unlike some of our coworkers, I believed you when you said you weren’t dating.”
Yoongi tugs at Seokjin’s pinky.
“It affects everything in my life. It might not seem like it from the outside, but what I eat, when I eat, when I go to bed, how much time I spend in the gym. It’s - a lot for me to juggle, and it’s been a lot for exes in the past.”
“I understand that, and I want to be respectful of anything you need, but. It’s not a deterrent, and you shouldn’t think of it that way either.”
Seokjin thinks. He always needs extra time to process human interactions; his emotional intelligence isn’t the same as his natural gift for bookish academia, not that he often gets much credit for that either.
“You plan everything, but I get veto power.”
“Of course.” Yoongi smirks. “Wouldn’t want you to have to do any work.”
Seokjin turns his nose up, just a little. So Yoongi can take note of his good side. “You asked me out. I just need to be able to see the menu beforehand so I can plan my day. Some people are fine trying to manage their blood sugar only after the fact, but I am not.”
“I understand, hyung. I’m only teasing.” Yoongi smiles all soft and bashful.
“And don’t tell anyone!” Seokjin says, a little louder than is necessary. It startles Yoongi, but Seokjin is processing on his own time and an idea is hatching in his head.
“That’s - fine. I guess.”
“Not because we need to be a secret. But - if Joon-ah didn’t tell me about Hoseok, then he gets it dished the same, okay?”
Yoongi sighs. “You’re really like this about everything.”
“Take it or leave it.” Seokjin turns his nose up higher. Yoongi rocks onto his tip toes to softly kiss his cheek.
“Saturday. 6 pm okay? I don’t want to disrupt your pretty boy sleep schedule.”
Seokjin gasps, dropping Yoongi’s hand to put his on his hips. “Yoongichi!”
Yoongi’s smile grows. It’s the biggest Seokjin has ever seen, and it’s a fun little magic trick where all his teeth disappear to reveal only gums.
Why is that so cute?
“Don’t ever call me that again here. If a student hears - ”
“Yoongichi! Yoongichiiiii!” Seokjin yell-sings. Yoongi grabs at Seokjin; first his hands, then his face. He’s smiling up at him, thumb swiping across Seokjin’s chin fondly.
“...What’s going on?”
Well. There goes Seokjin’s plan to surprise Namjoon; he’s looking in on them with amusement in his eyes as Yoongi and Seokjin hold each other’s faces, but he’s smiling one of his most genuine and reserved smiles.
“You’re going to have the apartment to yourself Saturday night to entertain your new beau. That’s what’s happening,” Seokjin says as dryly as possible. He doesn’t bother to drop Yoongi’s plump little cheeks, and Yoongi doesn’t take a step back either. “You’re welcome.”