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There was just something about cafés. And not the generic, modern, chain franchise that most of the other students all congretated at as if it was Mass on Sunday. No, those were useless. Loud, commercial, and all the same with no original thought in them aside from the occasional epiphany an undergrad would suddenly come upon during their research.
A good, truly good café, took time and effort to find and had it’s own feeling, it’s own personality, even its own scent. You could walk in and just know you two would have a good relationship just by how the floor felt and how the walls looked at you. It was like, you walked in and suddenly felt you were home. They wrapped their individually selected furniture and old slightly beat up table tops with scratched surfaces that told stories around you in a blanket that was more comforting than any bed time story.
It had taken Minseok a month of searching upon arriving on campus to find this café. He had tried many other places before finally finding Moonman’s Nest, squished between two completely insignificant shops that he had never bothered to look at even. From the outside, Moonman’s Nest was horribly dull. He never did know what had driven him to pull open the door and stick his head in. But he’s glad he did. Because he knew, as soon as he walked inside, he knew.
It was love at first breath. Which, frankly, sounds entirely cheesy.
Moonman’s Nest was one of those well designed and laid out cafés that clearly was thought up from someone’s heart and soul. The walls were mostly bare, lighting provided by light fixtures selected after hours of pondering at second hand stores and discount shops. Yet they suited the place perfectly. The chairs, all different and mismatched, were old and extremely comfortable. Minseok had even fallen asleep in them once or twice without comment from the staff.
But that was the most amazing thing about Moonman’s Nest. The people who worked there. Minseok didn’t know how they ended up here, but they, despite being strangers at first, acted like a family, to each other and their customers. It was just another reason he came here almost every day, ordered a latte at the counter, and sat for hours at a table and researched theories on ancient cultures and civilizations of the world, pondering over the mysteries of the Maya and Mesopotamea. He often grabbed dinner there, ordering whatever was the special of the night from the smiling staff who would always chat with him for a few minutes when he was taking a break.
“Where do you disappear to everyday?” Jongdae had asked him one day as they left from their Calculus class and Minseok made to give his farewells.
Minseok blinked at him for a moment. “I do work.”
Jongdae rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you and every other university student,” he said, his voice carrying slight annoyance in the tone. “But I’ve never seen you in the library and I live with you, and you’re definitely not studying in our room, so where do you go?”
Under any other circumstance, Minseok might have told Jongdae about the café, but there was something about it, something that was so terribly personal and private. It was his spot. His home. His sanctuary. So instead of telling his best friend, he had just smiled and told Jongdae they would meet for dinner. Jongdae had frowned but not pursued the subject.
A week later, as Minseok was sitting down at a table in Moonman’s Nest, one of the familiar barista’s came up, smiling to him and, before he could open his mouth, placed a familiar hazelnut latte in front of him. Minseok stared at it for a moment before looking up at the smiling barista.
The man was relatively new. He had only started working at Moonman’s Nest a few weeks ago. But he was surprisingly good looking and had a very soft and melodic voice when he talked. He smiled at Minseok, one hand resting gently on his hip, just above where his black apron was tied. “I figured I’d save you the trouble of ordering it,” the man said, smiling at Minseok.
Minseok stared for just a moment before shaking himself slightly and smiling at the other. “And you knew I’d order a hazelnut latte?” he asks, leaving his bag open and forgotten on his lap.
The man smiles. “You order it every time you come in here,” he says, gesturing slightly towards the coffee lying innocently on the table. “You’re not that hard to predict.”
“But you never know,” Minseok says, smiling. “Maybe today I was going to order something different.”
“Were you?” the barista asks, eyebrows raised slightly in question.
Minseok bites his lip for a second before saying, “No.”
The other man doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then he holds out the hand not on his hip in a welcoming gesture. “I’m Lu Han,” he says.
“Minseok,” Minseok says, taking the hand and shaking it, smiling up at the other. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Lu Han says, and his smile is warm. “It’s nice to actually know your name. Now I can stop referring to you as ‘Hazelnut latte’ whenever you come in.”
Minseok laughs and doesn’t quite know how to reply, so he doesn’t. Lu Han doesn’t seem to require a response though, as he just nods, smile still gracefully upon his lips, before walking back behind the coffee bar and beginning to mess around with used coffee cups in the sink. Minseok steals another glance at him before pulling out a book on ancient Chinese sculpting and settling in for a few hours work.
He drinks he latte without looking at it.
Three days later, Minseok’s back, feeling exhausted after a surprise test he had been given that morning and the theory project he had stayed up until 4 working on that’s due tomorrow morning at 8 AM sharp. He breathes deeply, eyes closed, as soon as he gets inside Moonman’s Nest and just lets the calm of the place seep into his bones.
Minseok choses the small corner seat this time, settling down in an old tan armchair that he could sleep in if he wanted to. He just sits for a moment, breathing with his eyes closed for a moment, before sitting up and pulling his books and notes from his bag. After a moments hesitation where he just stares at his work, he gets up and heads for the counter.
Lu Han is waiting for him, smiling that beautiful smile of his and Minseok feels just slightly intimidated.
“You look exhausted,” Lu Han says, leaning on the counter towards him just slightly.
Minseok sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I am exhausted,” he responds and lets out a heavy breath. “Can I have the rum raisin cheesecake and-“
“- a hazelnut latte,” Lu Han finishes for him with a sly smile. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Did you skip lunch?”
Minseok blinks at him. “What?”
“The cheesecake,” Lu Han says, moving over towards the coffee machines though his eyes stay on Minseok. “You usually only order the signature latte.”
Minseok laughs slightly to himself. “I need the energy,” he says, trying to keep his eyes focused. It’s hard work. He’s so tired.
Lu Han looks at him, frowning slightly. “What are you working on?” he asks, packing down coffee.
Minseok leans on the counter slightly. “Theory,” he says, rubbing his hands over his eyes, pressing them into his face. “I have a project due tomorrow morning.”
Lu Han nods and turns on the coffee machine, the noise making conversation impossible for a moment. Then he turns it off and continues making the drink. “What kind of theory?” he asks, glancing up at Minseok from his work.
“Music,” Minseok says, dropping his hands and watching Lu Han’s hands as he works.
Lu Han raises his eyebrows, eyes never leaving the cup in his hands as he pours the steamed milk just right. “You’re a music major?”
“Archeology, actually,” Minseok says. “Though I’d like to double major. The work might kill me though.” He lets out a small laugh.
Lu Han smiles, walking over to him with a perfect hazelnut latte. “If you need some help, I can do my best,” he says, sliding the coffee over to Minseok. “I know a few things about music.”
Minseok laughs lightly, wrapping his hands around the warm mug. “Thanks, I'll keep that in mind,” he says, before turning with a smile and walking over to his small table, not entirely sure why he feels a slight bubble in his stomach.
He’s probably just tired.
Two weeks later has Minseok being shaken awake by Kris, the owner of Moonman’s Nest, as he lies slumped over a book on ancient Egypt. He blinks blearily, trying to get his surroundings in focus. “How long was I out?” he asks the extremely tall owner.
Kris raises an eyebrow at him. “Nearly an hour,” he says, his eyes showing a kindness that his face can’t. “Long day?”
“Long week,” Minseok says, frowning down at his books in distaste. He had managed to get through his Music Theory classes much easier lately, thanks to a few pointers from Lu Han as the man had glimpsed his work while dropping off lattes. When Minseok inquired as to how Lu Han knew so much about music theory, Lu Han had just smiled and said it was old hat to him. Which didn’t really answer Minseok’s question but he found himself not caring.
“This is why I don't miss University,” Kris says, shaking his head slightly. “All these headaches. I can do without them.”
Minseok frowns at him. “Stop gloating, it’s not attractive on you.”
Kris looks at him. “Everything is attractive on me,” he says and, as if to make his point clear, swaggers exaggeratedly back over to the counter with an extremely coy look on his face.
Minseok just shakes his head, the looks around, frowning slightly. “Where’s Lu Han?”
“Oh, you finally noticed,” Kris says, smirking and Minseok doesn’t quite know why. Kris never shows facial expression unless there’s a very good reason. “He’s off today. I do actually give my employee’s days off, you know.”
Minseok just grins at him and looks back to his books. “I wondered why the latte didn't taste as good today,” he comments and enjoys the way that Kris’ smirk falls off his face.
“Just because I don’t make it with excessive love,” Minseok hears the other man grumble under his breath and he finds the comment slightly odd, but ignores it. Pushes it aside along with the strange pinching sensation in his chest.
That weekend, Minseok spends his time out with his friends, who, as usual, pester him with questions about why he is never around when they want him to be.
“I’m working,” Minseok says, and refuses to answer any more questions. Jongdae just gives him a searching look while Baekhyun huffs irritably. Chanyeol wasn’t really paying attention in the first place so he doesn’t really do anything except suddenly turn to them and suggest they go play laser tag later with one of his ridiculous grins on his face.
And for some reason, as he romps about with his friends and laughs and doesn't think about how he has a report due on Tuesday, Minseok finds himself wishing, for reasons he doesn’t know, for soft smiles and bright eyes framed in a beautiful face.
Lu Han isn’t back at Moonman’s Nest until the next Wednesday and Minseok finds himself missing the other, his soft smiles and his lattes and his delicate hands as they move over coffee machines and place small plates with various kinds of cheesecake on the table, just barely brushing with his own. Misses the small conversations about small things that somehow leave significant pockets of happiness in Minseok’s chest after their done, having him smiling at his work for a good twenty minutes before he realizes it.
But walking in on Wednesday, seeing the all too familiar interior of Moonman’s Nest with it’s homey chairs and bookshelves stuffed with novels too old and random to have any sort of order, Lu Han looks up and Minseok feels his chest fill with something warm and happy. He didn’t even realize how much he enjoyed the other until he was missing.
“Where have you been?” Minseok asks, walking to the counter before even dropping his things off, instead leaning over the bar to Lu Han, who smiles happily back at him.
Lu Han is wiping out a steel milk pitcher. “I had to take a few extra days off,” he says. “Nothing too big, just some extra matters I needed to take care of.”
“I missed you,” Minseok finds himself saying without realizing it and Lu Han’s eyebrows go up, his hands pausing in their work. Minseok swallows heavily and grins a little too wide. “Kris’ coffee isn’t nearly as good as yours.”
Lu Han seems to take a moment too long before he laughs, the sound full and bright as it echoes around the room and Minseok can’t take his eyes off of him. “What can I say, I put effort into things I like,” he says, and Minseok feels like he’s missing something when Lu Han smiles at him.
On Friday, Minseok has just sat down at the red table with the large velvet green chair when the bells over the door ring and he looks up, jaw dropping slightly, as Jongdae, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Jongin walk into the café, looking around curiously. Baekhyun spots him and bounds over, grinning broadly. Minseok is glaring for all he’s worth.
This is his sanctuary. His home.
“Finally, we found your little hide out,” Baekhyun says, dropping into the chair opposite Minseok and looking far too comfortable.
“Really, I’m surprised we didn’t earlier,” Jongdae says, looking around with poorly masked curiosity. “It’s ridiculously close to campus. I can’t believe we didn’t just follow you here in the first place.”
“Funny,” Minseok says, and he can’t stop scowling. “Why did you follow me here, again?”
“We had to make sure you weren’t selling your body to pay for tuition,” Jongin says, shrugging as he flops into a nearby chair. He wags his eyebrows at Minseok. “I wouldn’t put it past you, turning to desperate rather than practical measures.”
“You are a terrible person,” Minseok tells Jongin and the other just grins widely.
“Wow, you actually have friends,” Kris says, walking over and looking at the posse that’s formed around Minseok. “And here I was thinking only Lu Han and Tao liked you.”
“Well, that’s two more than like you, so I guess I’d be ahead in this game,” Minseok says, smiling cheekily up at the tall owner.
“Watch it or I’ll switch up the French vanilla and hazelnut on you,” Kris drawls and looks at the group. “Are you lot staying or just here to make him look disgruntled? I’m fine with either.”
“I want coffee,” Baekhyun states and Minseok wants to put his face in his books and never come out.
“That translates to ‘we’re staying’,” Jongin tells Kris, tilting his head backwards slightly.
“I’ll get a few menu’s,” Kris says, smirking at them all and grinning at Minseok.
“So this is where you come practically everyday,” Jongdae saying, looking around the café in slight wonder. “I can see why. It’s really nice here.”
“I know,” Minseok says, scowling slightly at Kris as the taller drops a few menu’s on the table. Jongin and Baekhyun immediately grab at them and start pouring over the list of various drinks and foods. “I come here to work.”
“Isn’t that what the library is for?” Jongin says, not looking up from his menu.
“The library is suffocating,” Minseok says, watching his friends all peruse the menu. He doesn’t need to. He has it memorized by now.
“It’s why I never go,” Chanyeol says, grinning from where he’s craning to read the menu over Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Smells like musty old houses.”
“You never go because you never study,” Jongdae points out, toeing Chanyeol in the side from his pulled up chair.
“I do too study!” Chanyeol says, looking up and pouting. “I am an excellent student.”
“Checking out Yunho during lectures does not constitute as studying,” Jongin says, smirking and Chanyoel makes a ridiculous face at the younger man.
Tao comes up to them a moment later to take their orders and seems just a little more shy than normal to Minseok as he asks what each person wants. He just grins at Minseok when he comes to him before returning to behind the counter. A few minutes and a lot of talking later, Tao and Lu Han are bringing their various orders over to the table.
There is a moment of chatter before everyone suddenly falls silent and Minseok looks up to find his friends all staring at him and his hazelnut latte.
“What?” Minseok asks, frowning at the sudden attention.
“Why do you get a special latte?” Baekhyun says, pouting slightly.
“What are you talking about?” Minseok says, frowning at his friends.
“I want a special latte,” Baekhyun says, looking at Jongin for support.
“I’m way more attractive than you,” Jongin says, looking at Minseok’s drink with a small frown. “Why do you get the special coffee?”
“Seriously, what-“ Minseok starts but Jongdae suddenly reaches forward and shoves Minseok’s latte into his immediate sight.
On top, there in the foam, is the very intricate design of what seems to be an old gnarled tree. It’s actually quite beautiful. “What?” Minseok says, looking at his friends. “You don’t have designs in yours?” They shake their heads at him, Baekhyun still pouting and Jongdae frowning just slightly. “I thought…” but Minseok trails off, suddenly feeling that familiar pinching in his chest.
Instead, he just looks towards the bar where Lu Han and Tao seem to be having a quiet argument about napkins and notices the way the light catches on Lu Han’s face. He feels something flutter in his chest and swallows.
After that first day, Minseok will sometimes be visited by his friends, though rarely all at once. They seemed to realize this was overwhelming for him after he had abruptly stood up in the middle of one of Chanyeol and Jongin arguments over who was sexier and locked himself in a bathroom for twenty minutes. He had sat on the closed toilet lid for most of that time, fiddling with the little trinkets that littered the room and staring into the mirror.
Ironically, it was Jongdae and Chanyeol that visited the most. This was ironic not because they weren’t his close friends, they were. It was more that Jongdae was practically married to the music department practice rooms and Chanyeol didn’t often go places where being loud was frowned upon. Yet they seemed to frequent the café more than Baekhyun and Jongin.
Minseok found that he didn’t mind though, when his friends would pop in and visit him, sometimes as a distraction before chatting with the staff or a brief pep talk during a long work session.
The only other difference aside from his friends now somewhat frequent visits was that Minseok now looked at his lattes before drinking them.
They were different everyday.
There were a wide variety of designs and patterns. From nature scenes to modern art designs to the faces of famous people, they could be anything but they were always detailed and clearly effort was put into them. As the weather grew colder, they changed into pictures of fall and then gradually to winter. Around the first snow, when Minseok had arrived bundled in scarves and a huge bulky sweater, Lu Han had smiled widely at him and the two had relaxed into a pleasant conversation about the merits of cable knit sweaters. His latte had shown the definite picture of a warm fireplace with a small curled up cat lying on the hearth.
Minseok had smiled at it and almost couldn’t bring himself to drink it before Lu Han had come over, a concerned look on his face.
“Is something wrong?”
Minseok shook his head. “No, nothing,” he said, smiling up at Lu Han as the other settled into the chair opposite him, hands resting gently on his thighs.
“You’re not drinking your latte,” Lu Han pointed out, still looking concerned as he watched Minseok fidget. “Is it wrong?”
“No, it’s just-“ Minseok broke off, biting his lip and blushing. He had begun to realize what the warm flutter in his stomach was. What the pinching sensation in his chest might mean. And he felt strange about that. He laughed nervously. “It’s just too beautiful to drink.”
Lu Han looked at him for a moment, eyes slightly wide as what could have been an embarrassed blush lightly dusted his cheeks. Then he was laughing and Minseok was trying to push down the burgeoning feeling in his chest. And before Minseok could stop him, he had stuck a finger into the latte, scooping up a dollop of milk foam, and wiped it on Minseok’s nose, laughing all the while.
Minseok had stared in shock a moment before bursting into laughter himself. Because what else do you do when your crush cutely puts milk foam on your nose?
Jongdae was the first to notice it. “Why don’t you talk to him?” he asked one afternoon as a cold wind blew outside. He was looking at the coffee counter where Lu Han and Tao were grinning and fighting over spoons they were supposed to be drying.
Minseok dropped his pen, abandoning the notes he had been taking on relics found in Norway, looking up at Jongdae irritably. “I do talk to him.” Jongdae had given him a very exaggerated and pointed look. Minseok sighed. “Because I barely know him and don’t want to embarrass myself. I like it here, I don’t want to have to leave because I’ve made things awkward. Besides, what are my chances of being successful?”
Jongdae stared at him with an incredulous look. “You can’t be serious.”
“What about you then?” Minseok hissed, frowning. “Why don’t you just tell Tao you want to snuggle him into a snowdrift.”
Jongdae had turned bright red before whalloping Minseok over the head with his copy of ‘Music in India.’ “Can you not?”
Minseok just shrugged and Jongdae rolled his eyes. “He puts ridiculously intricate designs in your latte’s, Minseok. I doubt he thinks you're a shoe brush.”
Minseok scowled at Jongdae, before the two of them lapsed into mutual brooding silence, glaring at their coursework and mulling over what the other had said.
The next day, while Lu Han and Minseok chatted briefly over the impracticality of men’s leggings, Lu Han passed Minseok his latte and Minseok found himself frowning at the drink.
“Is something wrong?” Lu Han asked, his voice sounding worried.
“Why do you put such intricate designs on these?” Minseok asked, looking at the delicate picture of a frozen river and covered bridge.
“I’m a barista,” Lu Han said, looking bemused at the question and smiling slightly. “It’s what we do. Make pretty designs in milk foam.”
“But you don’t do these for everyone,” Minseok said, looking up at meeting the other’s eyes and having to remind himself to breathe properly.
Lu Han had blinked before a wide gorgeous smile stretched across his mouth and he looked breathtaking. “When you care about something, it shows,” he had said and Minseok didn’t know if it was cryptic or blunt. Two hours later, as he looked into the bottom of his cup, he still didn’t know and it made him hurt.
A few weeks before Christmas, when Lu Han was off for the day, Kris had slumped into the chair opposite him, all long limbs and pretentious attitude. “What?” Minseok had asked, glancing up from his text on Hindu temples.
“You like Lu Han,” Kris had said, smirking.
“Yeah?” Minseok said, an eyebrow raised. “You’re hot for Chanyeol.”
Kris had frowned at that. “So?”
“So, what?” Minseok said, smirking over the rim of his mug. “You’re going to tell me to do something about my feelings, I’ll tell you the same.”
“Baekhyun would skin me alive,” Kris said, still frowning.
“Probably,” Minseok said. “He has this thing about being Chanyeol’s best friend and how that requires him to act like an overprotective Doberman.” He grinned. “Good luck.”
“Tell Lu Han you like him,” Kris almost demanded, arms folding over his chest as he looked at Minseok.
“Tell Chanyeol,” Minseok countered, flipping a few pages in his book and scanning them. “We can do this all day.”
“Why are you being so stubborn about this?” Kris had finally asked. “What, do you think he doesn’t like you or something?”
Minseok hadn’t said anything, just frowned at his notes and avoided Kris’ hard gaze. If he had looked up, he would have seen Kris roll his eyes in exasperation.
The last week of the term, as Minseok battled fatigue with coffee and slices of cinnamon pecan cake, Lu Han came over to him, soft sympathetic smile on his face and placed a small plate of cookies on the table. Minseok looked up, blinking at him in surprise.
Lu Han shrugged, that same smile as always on his face as his eyes shown warmly. “You look like you need them,” was all he said.
“But you don’t sell cookies here,” Minseok said in confusion, looking at the confections and then back up at Lu Han.
Lu Han fidgeted for a second. “We don’t,” he agreed. “I made them myself, actually. I brought them in for the others and thought you might enjoy them. Something to ease the pain of finals.” He had looked so self-conscious and apprehensive as Minseok had taken a bite of a cookie that Minseok just wanted to wrap his arms around the other man and bury his face in the others neck, breathing in deeply the scent of contentment and warm smiles and Lu Han.
Instead, he smiled as brightly as he could up at the other. “They’re delicious,” Minseok said, in complete honesty and Lu Han beamed.
“So, got any plans for the holidays?” Lu Han asked later, when clearing away Minseok’s empty mug and plates. “Visiting family or spending time with your girlfriend…” He trailed off.
Minseok blinked at him as if he’d been slapped. He could feel a very hot flush creep up his neck and across his cheeks. “I don’t have a girlfriend,” he blurted out awkwardly before he could stop himself.
Lu Han blinked at him a moment. “Oh,” was all he said. “Really?”
Minseok shook his head. “No.” He paused for a short beat. “Why would you think that?”
Lu Han’s face colored briefly for a moment before he laughed slightly, the sound golden. “It’s just, I dunno, surprising. You’re so cute.” And then Lu Han had practically beamed at Minseok and the other just didn’t know what to do with his limbs anymore. So he swallowed instead and tried to push down the hopeful fluttering in his chest.
The next day, Chanyeol had showed up at the café while Minseok tried to keep himself from falling asleep in a chair. It was actually helpful to have Chanyeol there, keeping him awake with his constant chatter and deep loud voice. And then Kris had come up and given him a ‘complimentary’ chai tea and Chanyeol had flushed with a smile and, while thanking the tall café owner, something went wrong with Kris because he was suddenly leaning over Chanyeol and demanding they date immediately.
Chanyeol, much to Minseok’s complete shock, had agreed and Kris spent the rest of the day strutting about like a peacock while Chanyeol smiled too enthusiastically into his dessert pie.
Minseok excused himself to the bathroom after an hour to spend some time near the back just trying to breathe through his nose properly. He looked up when he felt a soft prod in his side with a jolt into Lu Han’s face. Lu Han smiled at him in sympathy.
“You’re having to tolerate it too?” Lu Han had asked, his voice softer to avoid detection.
“You mean the ass and the donkey back there?” Minseok has said, jerking his head in the direction of the main room and catching a glimpse of Chanyeol grinning stupidly at a picture of clams on the wall.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Lu Han said, chuckling as he glanced into the café before turning back to Minseok. “He’s actually been working up the courage to ask Chanyeol for a while though,” he said, seemingly conversationally but his voice held a hesitant edge. “He even sought out Baekhyun the other day to ask permission.”
Minseok just stared at Lu Han. “He asked Baekhyun’s permission?” he asked, aghast.
Lu Han laughed, eyes crinkling at Minseok. “I know, I couldn't believe it myself when I heard. Apparently Baekhyunnie was all for it though. Seems like Chanyeol had been awkwardly whining to our eyeliner obsessed friend behind our backs for ages and mooning over Kris’ hands.”
Minseok found himself bursting out into laughter, quickly covering his mouth and trying to smother the sound. Lu Han just grinned at him.
“So, when do you finish with finals?” Lu Han had asked, tucking his hands into his apron pockets.
“Tomorrow,” Minseok said wistfully.
“You sound excited about that,” Lu Han said, eyeing him.
“I am, just too tired to properly express it,” Minseok said, smiling back at Lu Han and just enjoying the other man’s presence. A part of him turned, wishing that he could have the courage that Kris had and just asking Lu Han to make their comfortable whatever this was into something more. But a larger part of him knew that, for all of his dreams and longings, the chances of someone as beautiful and soft and perfect as Lu Han returning his affections were slim.
The next day, after Minseok’s last exam, he went straight from the exam room, switching his cell phone to silent and turned up his collar to the cold winds, pounding the familiar trek to Moonman’s Nest. He didn’t want to hear from his friends, asking him to celebrate by getting wasted and partying to signal the end of exams and all forms of stress until the following term.
Minseok didn’t want to swallow his weeks of stress in alcohol. He just wanted his sanctuary and the small family that smiled at him with warmth.
Walking in from the cold winter air, Minseok came into an almost empty café. Considering it was just barely after 11 in the morning, this wasn’t entirely surprising. Lu Han’s smile greeted him from over the counter.
“Hey,” Lu Han said, walking around to greet him, a mug and drying rag held casually in his hands. “Did you just finish?”
“Yep!” Minseok said, slightly breathlessly, flapping his arms at his sides slightly. “Just finished the last one! I’m a free man.”
Lu Han beamed at him. “This calls for celebration,” he said, walking back behind the counter and busying himself with something. Minseok didn’t say anything, just smiled happily as he dropped his things beside one of the more comfortable seats and tables. “How was the exam?” Lu Han called, eyes shining brightly as he worked.
“Torture,” Minseok groaned. “But I’m pretty sure I did well.”
“All those late nights?” Lu Han asked, grinning.
“All those survival cookies,” Minseok corrected, sitting down and just watching Lu Han as he worked. There was something incredibly graceful about the way Lu Han moved. Like a bird through the air. Lu Han smiled down at whatever he was doing and Minseok felt that all too familiar jumping in his chest.
A few minutes later, Lu Han was walking over to him, two plates and steaming mugs in his hands. Minseok watched him in slight wonder as the other placed the items on the table, sliding Minseok’s mug closer to him along with a piece of chocolate cake dusted with powdered sugar and a sprig of mint.
Minseok smiled at Lu Han. “You’re joining me?”
“Of course,” Lu Han said, beaming at him as he rested his elbows casually on the table, his coffee steaming gently in his hands, smile barely masked behind the rim. “It’s not everyday someone finishes their exams.” His eyes crinkled slightly. “Plus, it’s almost Christmas. I’m pretty sure someone said once that this is a giving season.”
“So these are gifts?” Minseok asked, wrapping his cold hands around his latte and savoring the warmth that spread through his fingers.
Lu Han nodded seriously. “From Kris,” he said, and there was a small pause before they both burst out laughing.
His laughter quieting, Minseok looked down at his hazelnut latte and saw, not a design or a picture, but numbers, separated by small intricate hearts. He frowned slightly. “What is this?” He glanced up at Lu Han, who looked slightly apprehensive, though he was still smiling.
“It’s a phone number,” Lu Han said, as if surprised Minseok didn’t recognize that immediately.
“I can see that, but-“ Minseok started to say but Lu Han cut him off gently.
“It’s my number,” he clarified and Minseok fell silent, eyes widening slightly in shock. Lu Han blushed, full out blushed and Minseok couldn’t help it that his heart sped up impossibly. “It’s just, well, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I don’t have any plans and didn’t know if you had any plans, so-“ He stopped himself and just stared at Minseok, looking slightly uncomfortable.
“You’re giving me your number,” Minseok said blatantly, because somehow his mind just couldn’t wrap around that fact.
Lu Han shrugged and smiled. “Well, you haven’t asked for it yet, so I thought I’d give it a shot,” he said, the words melting together like a song. He paused and Minseok realized he was waiting. Realized that Lu Han, this gorgeous man in front of him, who he’d been pining over and thinking was well beyond reach, had just basically told him he likes him.
And without thinking, without really caring, Minseok leaned over the small table to where Lu Han sat, face startled and breath hitched, and gently pressed his mouth to the others, feeling a soft breath, like a relieved sigh, puff against his lips.
“Took you long enough,” Lu Han said as Minseok pulled back slightly to blink dazedly at the other. And then Lu Han leaned in again, pressing his lips gently to Minseok’s and Minseok was right, everything about this café is home.