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Namjoon walked into the tea shop and had to duck his head as a floating tray drifted towards him at full speed, followed close by Jungkook, one of the new waiters who still hadn't quite mastered the spells that made trays of hot drinks float pleasantly from one table to the next. Jungkook ran past him, letting out a litany of apologies and bows to the customers scattered throughout the store.
Namjoon adjusted his glasses that had slipped down his nose and walked over to the space at the bar that he had begun to think of as his own. The bar was made of smooth, glossy wood, and its chocolate color contrasted beautifully with the pastel yellow of the walls and looked in harmony with the pothos branches that hung from the ceiling. Namjoon's shoulders relaxed as he took a seat in his favorite chair.
He had discovered the bubbling establishment almost by chance less than three months ago and since then, not more than two days had gone by without him dropping by for a cup of magical tea. The place was small despite consisting of two floors and every day it was filled with many diverse customers, all as peculiar as the store itself.
At first, Namjoon was fascinated by the slow-moving floating trays that carried the many colorful drinks from table to table. Then, his chest had filled with fondness at the sight of the plants that decorated every inch of the place, hanging from the ceilings, entangled in the railing of the narrow wooden staircase that led to the second floor, resting peacefully in the centre of each table, and piled haphazardly on the windowsills. Even if he hadn't liked the drinks he now loved, Namjoon didn’t doubt that he would have returned just to soak up that cosy atmosphere. But even the plants and the palpable magic that flooded every corner of the place had fallen into the background when Namjoon found the most fascinating thing in the store: its owner.
A furry muzzle against his hand made him stop searching for a familiar shock of pink hair and look down. A black cat with a grey spot on his right eye had come walking across the bar toward him and was demanding to be petted. Namjoon chuckled and stroked the cat's chin, smiling as he began to purr.
"Good morning, Yoongi-hyung."
Namjoon hasn’t seen Yoongi in his human form very often since he preferred to wander around the customers in his cat form; so he was used to talking about his day without receiving any response other than a silent but attentive look.
An empty tray floated towards him as he told Yoongi about the little progress he had made with his new book, and it buzzed with impatience when Namjoon didn’t whisper his order immediately. It was clearly one of Jungkook’s trays since it bounced in the air as it waited.
Namjoon frowned and re-scanned the shop but there was no sight of that pink hair anywhere. He sighed and asked the tray for a mint tea before returning to Yoongi.
"Where's your boss today, huh? Too busy to see me in person?"
Yoongi yawned before gifting him an impassive look. Namjoon ducked his head to hide the heat travelling from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.
“I’m never too busy for you, dear,” came a voice behind him. Namjoon’s heart did a somersault inside his chest as he looked up, and the sigh that had been locked in his throat since he had stepped into the shop finally eased out of his mouth.
“Jimin,” he said, and his name alone sounded like a love spell.
Bubbling cauldrons and bubbling drinks, floating trays, and magical plants, everything faded to the background in the presence of the mage that kept it all running. With his pastel pink hair, his naturally rosy cheeks, and the quickly disappearing trace of multicolored fairy dust that followed every move of his elegant hands, it was unmistakable who the owner of the tea shop was.
Much like his feline employee, Jimin strutted leisurely towards Namjoon with a slanted smile and stopped to pat the tray that had taken Namjoon’s order.
“It’s alright, friend, I’ll take it from here. Go help Jungkookie on the second floor.”
The tray buzzed, Namjoon would even say it purred, under Jimin’s attention, and flew away at full speed, almost knocking into another tray carrying dozens of empty glasses. Jimin sighed fondly as the catastrophe was barely averted and turned to look at Namjoon, his soft smile turning cat-like.
“A mint tea , hyung? How boring of you.”
Namjoon shrugged. “You weren’t here,” he said, trying, and failing, for it to come out nonchalantly.
Jimin stepped behind the bar and grabbed a small cauldron. A slow, gentle green fire started under it with a snap of his fingers and Namjoon watched, fascinated even though he had seen the same motion dozens of times before, as water pooled inside the cauldron.
“What would you like to order today?” asked Jimin but he was already grabbing bottles filled with colorful liquids from the shelves behind the bar and mixing them together inside the cauldron. “Not mint tea . Something fun!”
Namjoon chuckled, propping his elbow over the bar and resting his chin on the palm of his hand.
“Surprise me,” he said, just like he always did.
Jimin hummed, looking up from his work and gazing at Namjoon from under his eyelashes. It was their thing, this dance, this same act with a known script but it still managed to make Namjoon’s heart sing as if it were happening for the first time.
There was something different in Jimin’s gaze this time, though. Namjoon wasn’t sure what it was, but he didn’t want to delve too deep into it because he was sure to stumble down wrong conclusions born from, without a doubt, his own hopes and fantasies; but Jimin’s eyes lingered a little longer this time. He dragged them down Namjoon’s frame, the playful edge of his smile sharpening on the sides.
Namjoon gulped and looked away first, scratching his neck, as if by doing so it could stop feeling like it was on fire. He heard Jimin’s chuckle and looked up, but the mage’s attention was back on the cauldron.
“You have a full house today.”
Jimin added a bubbly pink beverage to the cauldron and the tea inside turned a delightful orange. It smelled like citrus and looked like the sky when the sun was about to set. Namjoon could almost taste the golden sunlight by just looking at it.
“Ah, it’s not because of my terrific tea, I’m afraid. A friend of mine is going to be performing live in less than twenty minutes. He’s a siren, so he tends to… attract a large following wherever he goes.”
“Twenty minutes?” asked Namjoon and immediately cringed at himself. Not a question about Jimin’s friend or about his performance. Not even a word praising Jimin’s amazing tea. How obvious could he be?
Jimin’s eyes sparkled as he looked up. His rosy cheeks told Namjoon all he needed to know.
“Yes, I’m sorry to disappoint you but that’s all the time I can offer you today.”
“That’s not–! I mean, yeah, I lo- enjoy! I enjoy spending time here. With you. But it’s your work. And your… your shop needs you, and your friend needs you too. So, that’s… that’s cool. I’ll stay. To, like… see your friend’s performance. And drink the tea, obviously!”
Namjoon wished one of Jungkook’s wild trays would strike him right in the head to shut him up but Jimin’s soft hand enveloping his did the trick instead, and Namjoon’s jaw clicked shut.
“Namjoon-ah….” Jimin opened and closed his mouth, finally shaking his head. He patted Namjoon’s hand before retracting his own, leaving a trail of colorful sparks on Namjoon’s skin. “Here. Have a taste.”
Jimin poured a ladle of his concoction into a teacup, and, careful not to spill a single drop, walked around the bar. Namjoon sat up straight, as he always did when he received one of the unreleased blends that Jimin prepared for him to try, and made a noise of confusion when Jimin, instead of placing the teacup in front of Namjoon, took it to his mouth. Namjoon tilted his head and watched as Jimin placed his full lips on the delicate white porcelain and took a big sip.
He hummed, running his tongue between the seam of his lips, and set the cup aside.
"I think it's one of my best blends so far." The curve of his smile turned knowing. He took a step forward, close enough that Namjoon could feel his body’s warmth. "Well?"
“Well, what?” Namjoon was, for some reason, feeling out of breath.
“I thought you wanted to taste it.” Jimin leaned forward, putting his face inches from Namjoon’s. Namjoon smelled the sweet citrus scent on his breath. “What are you waiting for, then?”
“Oh,” he said and then shortened the gap.
Namjoon had memorized the shape of Jimin’s mouth during the hours he had spent lazing around the tea shop. He was familiar with the way the plumpness of his bottom lip dipped in the middle, he had fantasized about pressing his thumb right there more times than he was proud of. He could draw the shape of Jimin’s deep Cupid Bow and he had understood, while he studied it, why people had named it that. Was it for its resemblance to a bow? No. It was because it only took a single press, a single pointed arrow, to lose oneself in love.
Namjoon’s heart swooped into his gut when their lips connected. Neither of their lips was particularly moist—not until Jimin drew back, licked across his lips and leaned back again—so the first thing Namjoon noticed was the sheer closeness of him. His warmth, his sweet scent, the pulse of magic beating inside Namjoon’s mouth. Kissing Jimin didn’t feel all that different from drinking one of his teas.
Except for the fact that it was.
It was so different. It was—the taste , for one thing. Namjoon tasted him, opening his own mouth with an involuntary little sound he wished he had swallowed as soon as it escaped him, but judging by the way Jimin’s tongue pressed in smoothly, hot and wet and sweet, he didn’t particularly care—not even if they were in public.
A hand slid up his neck and tangled in his nape hair. Namjoon melted, his body going limp on the stool.
He felt Jimin chuckle and Namjoon pressed their lips more firmly against each other, not yet ready to let go of the mage’s mouth. Jimin had a taste, one that Namjoon rolled into every corner of his mouth and tried to catalogue from every possible angle but it was hard to focus when Jimin’s hands were on him, the taste something he had never experienced. Maybe it was Jimin . Maybe Jimin’s new blend tasted like himself.
Namjoon blinked a couple of times when Jimin pulled back, breathless and disoriented.
“So? What’s your verdict?”
“You….” he started and coughed, his cheeks burning. He looked away from Jimin’s smug smile, but only for a moment. He was a sunflower, always looking at the sun. “It tastes… it tastes like a sunset.”
Jimin hummed, his fingers playing with the collar of Namjoon’s shirt.
“Truly?” he said, the feigned innocence in his voice filling Namjoon with warmth. “How curious… that's around the time the shop closes. I'm always terribly hungry after work. You could... drop by. I'll have more than twenty minutes of my time to share with you then. What do you say?”
“Oh,” he breathed, Jimin’s plan finally dawning. He giggled. “Yes. Please, yes. I-I would love that.”
Jimin winked at him and turned to leave but stopped before he went too far. He looked over his shoulder.
“Tell me, hyung, did I manage to surprise you today?”
“As always, Jimin-ah.”