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“ugh, get that shit away from me.”
dylan pushed jun's mug across the table so harshly, a few drops of coffee spilt onto the tablecloth. the younger bristled immediately at the hostile tone, pushing his drink back towards the rapper.
“fuck you - this is perfectly good coffee!”
“you mean bean water that tastes like sewer gunk? no thanks. I prefer actual drinks.”
to reinforce his point, dylan shoved his own cup into Jun's face, the steam hitting the brunet square in the face and fogging up his glasses. the prominent scent of green tea, something that had come to be intrinsically linked to dylan's presence over the years, had him fake-gagging.
“if coffee is bean water, tea is just leaf water”, he quipped back, “at least my water gets me awake and functioning.”
“at the cost of a heart attack. how fun.”
dylan retracted his cup, taking a sip of piping hot tea. he made a show of voicing his appreciation for the “leaf water”, sighing as if he'd been offered actual ambrosia.
“my leaf water is the second most consumed drink after water, by the way. so take that as you will and go have fun with your liquid anxiety over there.”
oh, jun was not going to back down that easily. this wasn't just about tea and coffee - this was a matter of honour now, a matter of having the upper hand over the older.
a matter of life or death, essentially.
“just goes to show a lot of people have no taste”, he shot back, “besides, last time I checked you were the anxious one between us. you sure it's not tea that induces it?” just for show, jun took a sip of his coffee and moaned exaggeratedly in delight.
(he also burned his tongue, but he'd never show it, smiling through the stabbing pain in his tongue. fuck dylan.)
dylan couldn't let it go now, either. he forced himself to set down his cup gently and not throw it across the table at jun. his beloved tea was too precious to be wasted on such things, even if it would've given him the satisfaction of the younger shutting up for once.
“you just drink tea because you're too much of a pussy to handle caffeine”, jun grumbled in his seat, pissed off by the pain on the tip of his tongue. damn dylan and his stupid insults.
“now who's the one who can't live without their morning coffee?”, dylan shot back, “maybe stop drinking that shit and you won't go back to caffeine either.”
“at least I can function! your lukewarm water doesn't do shit!”
“well, maybe I don't need it to do shit because I get my shit done without fucking addictive substances in my blood.”
“oh fuck off, you ain't getting nothing done. maybe try some coffee and you'll actually get work done instead of sleeping on the couch in your stupid studio.”
“jealous? at least I get actual sleep. can't say the same now, can you?”
“what's sleep gonna do for you when you're 40 and still single because no one wants to put up with an asshole who drinks tea and thinks it makes him a superior being? at least I get action. can't say the same now, can you?”, jun mocked.
“oh now we're talking big, huh?”
dylan growled in frustration. “you're a bitch. go drink your stupid coffee and leave me alone. I don't have time for your childish shit, I have an actual life.”
he didn't want to fight anymore. just thinking of jun's stupid face made even his tea taste horrible.
but just as dylan had gotten to stand, fully intending to leave the room and go enjoy his beloved drink in the peace and quiet of his room, jun surged forward. he grabbed the silver-haired by the sleeve of his hoodie and ground out between clenched teeth: “you think you're so much better than me? fuck you!”
somewhere between bickering about their preferences on morning beverages and dylan getting up, the brunet seemed to have lost his composure. he was angry now, truly furious - that glint in his eyes had turned into a raging forest fire, burning through the hazel of his irises.
(dylan didn't stare, nope. definitely not.)
“hey, no need to get that pretty head of yours all worked up.” dylan spoke in a deliberately saccharine tone, as if he were talking to a child rather than the 24 years old man jun was. it always got to the younger - he really knew how to push his buttons far too well by now.
“I don't think I'm better than you.”
if jun wanted a real fight, he'd get one - and the rapper knew, he'd walk out the winner. he always did.
he took one last gulp of his tea and slowly, slowly poured the remaining content of his cup into jun’s own. the flabbergasted stare the brunet gave him was sweeter than honey; finally he'd shut up. and dylan had, once again, won the argument.
“I know I'm miles ahead of you.”
and he got up and left, abandoning jun and his coffee-tea-concoction.
nano stood in the doorway, mug in hand, the content still piping hot. he raised an eyebrow when dylan stormed past, putting his cup into the sink with far more force than necessary - although he'd won, the silver-haired was still tense.
he always was after their fights, even if he didn't admit it; nano saw right through his silence anyway.
the youngest whistled, taking a sip of hot chocolate. the warmth spread through his gut in a pleasantly rejuvenating wave, firing up his mental faculties. seeing how affected jun and dylan both were - and how desperately they were trying to hide it from one another - was a treat he hadn't expected so early in the morning. apparently, his secret jundylan folder was going to grow exponentially pretty soon.
(don't ask about the questionable events that led to this particular folder’s existence - it involved a lot of fighting and “eye-fucking your nemesis from across the room” as nano put it.)
jun still sat at the dining table, staring at his ruined coffee like it was the source of all his sufferings. his shoulders were drawn, his left leg jerking up and down beneath the table. one of his many, many anxious habits and definitely the one dylan gave him the most shit for. the older hated the constant noise.
said member of the band had now disappeared down the hallway, leaving nano behind without a single word. he didn't even say good morning or ruffle through his orange hair as he usually would - a clear sign this had been one of their worse fights. maybe not outwardly, but it had hit the mark on an internal level. both had gone just that little bit farther than usual, and now, both young men could feel the heaviness settling in their hearts.
nano sighed. now sporting a beard of foam and a streak of chocolate on his lower lip, he turned around and left jun to his own devices.
something had to be done - and soon.
but what? he pondered his further actions while washing off the rim of chocolate that had gathered in his mug, gaze wandering back and forth between his own hands and dylan’s cup in the sink. these two just wouldn't stop, would they?
but things had gotten worse recently and honestly, nano didn't trust these two fools to not escalate the entire situation. it wouldn't be much longer, the youngest feared, before they'd hurt each other beyond repair. and then, the whole of mars would suffer the consequences.
they'd fight over anything and everything, unwilling to agree even when their goals clearly aligned. and yet, nano thought, they can't stop thinking about each other either.
they'd created a contradictory cycle without noticing, going from claiming they hated each other to having the other's schedule memorised the very day they saw it.
and someone had to make them realize just how much they actually cared for one another before it'd all come crashing down.
nano grabbed the towel and sighed.
he'd have to step in and save the day once more, it seemed.
sometimes, he felt like he was actually the oldest and most mature one of their entire group.
mars had gathered in the living room, the tv already on, Pepper scrolling through their options for the bi-weekly movie night. they were still waiting for nano though, who had yet to return home.
“where's that fucker”, jun grumbled from his position on one of the beanbag chairs on the ground - there was no bite in his tone, of course, rather a mocking sense of annoyance. he loved their little one to bits and pieces after all.
“I don't know. he should be here soon though, don't worry.” being the ever responsible leader of five idiots, thame had long since perfected the art of keeping the general overview of their individual movements.
(yes, he did count himself among the idiots in question - he was a humble guy and well aware of the fact that he was the one who got lost every time they left the city.)
“he said, and I quote, “I have to save my ship” and ran off two hours ago, so it shouldn't be long.”
“nano has a ship?” the moment the words had left his lips, pepper cringed at himself, his brain a little slower to get the meaning of thame's words than his mouth. “god, forget I said that! I get what he meant.”
jun glared at him. it seemed as if thame and pepper were telepathically conversing among themselves and he was - for once - out of the loop. that was not okay, jun prided himself on sticking his nose in everyone else's business after all.
and because they had the mental capacities of five year olds the moment anything became vaguely competitive, his first instinct was to check if dylan was as clueless as him. thankfully, he seemed puzzled, glancing back and forth between pepper and thame.
thank god, he hadn't lost. even though it wasn't a competition, but jun didn't exactly care about logic when it came to the infuriating rapper. if he was not in the know, dylan being aware of what was happening would've been the cherry on top. jun would not be behind dylan in any capacity. never.
“alright, what's it you guys are telepathically talking about?”, jun asked because there was really no way he'd let this slide, “care to brief me? or is it about how handsome I am?”
dylan snorted from his spot on the couch. “as if there'd be anything to talk about on that topic.”
“oh fuck off”, jun pouted exaggeratedly. really though, he was getting curious - thame's gaze was a complicated mix of emotions as he blinked rapidly at pepper. morse code?
“guys! guys!”
nano's voice carried through the hallway right as jun was starting to think thame would crack any moment now and spill his secrets.
their youngest came rushing into the room, halfway buried underneath a stack of cups and take-out boxes he was carefully balancing on a tray. his bag hung from his left arm, the pink key chains he'd attached to his wallet ages ago dangling from it. as if he'd packed his stuff in a hurry, there was also the cap of a lipstick peeking out from the bag.
but his face carried the most self-satisfied and smug grin jun had ever seen on their youngest. those big, round eyes sparkled with mischief as he dramatically unloaded his arms onto the small desk at the couch; he stacked the boxes on one side before carefully, almost reverently, placing each cup on the surface.
“what's that?”, pepper asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the handwriting that decorated each cup. they appeared to be coffee cups of the usual variety that was offered for to-go coffee orders. there was a total of five and upon getting up and walking over, jun could make out their names on them.
nano grinned proudly. “guys, there's this new coffee shop down the road and look! I got you all something! come on, let's try it out!”
dylan quirked an eyebrow, the last time nano had brought them all drinks still fresh in his memory - the poor rapper had ended up with an espresso doppio back then, their youngest claiming it “suited his dark personality”.
disgusting. it had reminded dylan just why he only drank tea - much more palatable than that black sludge he'd forced down under nano's expectant watch.
“you sure it's not going to be poisonous?”, he asked, wary of nano's gleeful expression. that never meant anything good.
“you'll have to try it and find out, phi!”, was the ominous response.
the four men got their respective drinks handed to them by nano, who grabbed his own and immediately dove in. “I just had to get their hot chocolate option - they have marshmallows, isn't that crazy?”, he informed them as he gulped down what had to be at least half his cup in one go. obviously, the new place had excellent hot chocolate.
pepper took a sip of his cup, humming in appreciation as he swallowed.
“it's good”, he said, “pretty chestnut-heavy I think.”
thame and dylan tried theirs at the same time and both of their eyes widened as the full taste spread on their tongues.
thame gasped. “that's amazing! what is this, nano?”
even dylan, usually the least expressive of the bunch, had praise to share with their youngest, who preened at the feedback.
“it's really good, nano. very sweet, but… it's got this bitter aftertaste too. oh, is that soy milk? damn, I'll have to get it again, it's really good.” considering his usual reserved nature, this was basically dylan proposing marriage to his drink and simultaneously handing all his assets over to nano.
“oat milk, but close.” nano giggled and winked at pepper. once more, the brunet appeared to easily understand whatever telepathy was going on that jun and dylan weren't part of. which was starting to seriously fuck with jun's head - what was up with those three today?
“you try it too, jun”, thame encouraged the last one to try the mystery orders nano had distributed.
he didn't have to be asked twice, always the most adventurous one of the band.
jun took a hearty sip and swirled the beverage in his mouth, waiting for the taste to kick in.
and it was… perfect.
“oh my god”, he whispered, awed. it was delicious - sweet and bitter and warm at the same time, something straight out of one's winter dreams. he could immediately think of at least five times he'd have killed to taste something this pleasantly warming and sweet over the last few months alone.
“nano… this is fucking magical!”
dylan rolled his eyes. “you’re just a drama queen. I bet it's far from how good mine is.”
“fuck you, it's amazing! nothing could ever compare to this fucking delicious creation of god.” jun held up his cup, dramatically bowing before it as of he were praying. then - because, once again, neither of them could resist making anything and everything a competition between the two of them - he held it up towards dylan.
“you try it. try it and admit mine is better.”
“only if you try mine too because there's no fucking way you actually have even passable opinions.”
glaring at each other across the couch, both jun and dylan grabbed the other's coffee cup and took a sip, all the while maintaining menacing eye contact.
their eyes widened simultaneously.
“that's my favourite!”, they both exclaimed at the same time.
frozen, still processing what they'd just discovered.
jun couldn't believe it and neither could dylan. what they'd just praised to the heavens was, in fact, each other's favourite drink. the very thing they'd mocked each other for was actually good.
oh god.
“ew.” jun made a measly attempt at escaping the awkward situation while his dignity was still somewhat preserved, but it was no use. everyone had just watched him proclaim his love for what was dylan’s favourite brand of sakura green tea.
there was only one possible culprit for this humiliation.
both turned around in complete synchronisation and fixed the offender with murderous gazes.
“nano!”, they scolded, yet again speaking at the exact same time.
the youngest was the picture of innocence, standing in the door with thame and pepper by his side, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.
“oh no, they must've gotten the orders mixed up, I'm so sorry guys.”
he was not sorry.
the very next morning, dylan trudged into the kitchen and got to work preparing his morning tea.
pepper thought he was having a stroke when the older pulled out a second teacup, filling it like it was the most normal thing in the world.
and when jun came in and dylan shoved the second cup into his hands, pepper had to step outside a minute.
there, on the balcony, he met nano, who was grinning devilishly.
“you know”, he said almost wistfully, “change starts with small things. maybe they'll actually learn to accept their feelings for each other, one cup of tea and coffee at a time.”
“damn.” pepper laughed and leaned against the railing, mirroring the younger's pose. “when did you get so smart? you sound ten years older than all of us combined.”
nano shrugged. “well, it's my ship. I have to be an expert, don't I?”
the following morning, it was jun who went about preparing two cups of coffee and thame was the one to witness the miracle. similarly to pepper the day before, he was flabbergasted.
dylan walked through the door and jun held out one of the two mugs he'd prepared, his gaze lowered and ears a faint pink. and the silver-haired simply accepted the coffee, turned around and walked into the living room like nothing had happened.
nano sat there on the couch, cradling his beloved hot chocolate.
when dylan walked in and grabbed his laptop, setting up to work from the small table for a bit, something soft overshadowed the usual sharpness of his facial features.
bingo, nano thought; his ship was doing well again, inching closer and closer to its port.
just a few more details, a few more gentle nudges into the right direction, and they'd be ready to face their own hearts.