Seokjin had made a habit of going to that one cafe. There was nothing not to love about it, he told himself. The food was amazing, the atmosphere was incredibly calming, and to top it off a certain English major happened to have shifts here often. It became the place he went most often to study. He'd bring his laptop and books, order a small meal or a coffee and get some work done in a place that was for some reason quite easy to focus in. What sounds were present felt like nothing more than soft background noise. Nothing that could adequately distract him. At times he would, however, stop what he was doing to see if Namjoon were around, but only briefly, and when he caught himself staring he would shake it off and get back to work.

A few days ago his professor had assigned quite a large workload. It had stolen hours of his sleep, plagued his mind with writer's block, and drained more energy from him than he would have liked. Fortunately, Seokjin had managed to get the majority of it done at this point, and perhaps, he thought, the sweet atmosphere of his new favorite cafe would help him to finish it.

"You just can't stay away from me, can you, Jin?"

"Very funny," he laughed at the blond who greeted him once again at the door.

"Your usual spot is empty." Namjoon shifted his gaze over to the empty table located by a window on one side of the cafe. He smiled, then looked at Jin again. "I see you've come here to work again."

"Is it obvious?" Seokjin joked, making a glance at the laptop bag slung over his shoulder and the three textbooks he held against his chest. "Don't worry, I'll order something. I'm not gonna take advantage of your kindness."

A narrow-eyed smile. "If you say so," Namjoon said softly. "It's late so I'm guessing you're not having dinner?"

"No, not today. Just coffee."

"Got it. You can seat yourself if you want. I'll bring over your coffee in just a minute, then."

"Thanks."

With that brief exchange, Seokjin took his things over to his usual table and sat down, placing the books on the polished surface in front of him and setting his laptop bag down beside his chair - after, of course, taking out the computer itself. He opened it, cracked his knuckles, stretched his fingers and hovered them over the keys. Moments later and Seokjin was already hard at work, tapping furiously away at his laptop with his eyes trained unwaveringly on the screen. In fact, he was so focused that he didn't when Namjoon had arrived with his coffee.

"...Jin?"

His first attempt didn't go through. Sighing, Namjoon pulled out a chair and sat down.

"...must be some pretty interesting homework if it makes you ignore your waiter who's treating you to coffee ."

Jin froze. Namjoon was mere inches away from his face, though only for a short time, because the second Seokjin registered it he threw himself back and would have fallen out of his chair had Namjoon not caught him by the wrist in time.

"Forgive me, Jumpy McStartled Pants."

He tried not to laugh, he really did, but Seokjin's genuine shock was too funny, even if for only a few seconds. The reason his laughter was so short-lived was because upon taking a second look, Namjoon noticed the dark circles located beneath Jin's eyes, and the visible lack of energy he couldn't believe he overlooked the second Jin entered the cafe.

"You...don't look the greatest."

"I'm fine, all...all good," Jin insisted, rubbing his eyes as though that would erase the dark spots. Namjoon pursed his lips and released a quiet, sympathetic breath. And for a reason Seokjin couldn't explain this small action of the waiter's made him feel guilty enough to confess. "Lack of sleep. Well, I mean I'm sure that's obvious." He forced a laugh and pointed to his laptop screen. "Been, uh, busy with an assignment. And work. And classes, of course. No time to sleep. Well, I'm, uh, almost done this, though, so that's a plus."

"Yeah...yeah, that is a plus."

"...shouldn't you get back to work?"

"...maybe. I don't think it's a problem if I stay for a little bit, though. Am I a distraction?"

"...a little."

"Ah." Namjoon smiled wide and placed his hands on the surface of the table as he prepared to stand. "So sorry, Jin. I'll get back to work now. Good luck with your assignment."

"Right."

He didn't actually want him to leave - sure, they both did have work to do, and yes, Namjoon was indeed a distraction when he was sitting so close to him, but his presence alone was something Jin quite enjoyed. And his little smiles, and the playful winks and remarks the blond would make, and his charming laugh, and...well, probably just about everything.

"No, Seokjin, stop thinking about him, you have to get this done." He gave himself a slap across the cheek. "You're almost finished. C'mon."

He did manage to finish successfully. With his dedication and the small boost the coffee gave him, Seokjin was able to power through the remainder of his assignment that evening. But it drained him - not that he had much energy left to begin with, but still. He couldn't fight the sleep away, he couldn't gather up his things and leave the cafe to head back to his dorm, so he just passed out right there with his head on the table next to his laptop.

Two hours passed and it was nearing time for the cafe to close. Seokjin had not yet woken up. And Namjoon, seeing that the exhausted boy was finally getting some sleep, decided he wouldn't disturb him and even asked his boss if he could allow Jin to stay after store hours were over. Namjoon would be sticking around to clean up, so he insisted he would make sure Seokjin was out of the cafe by the time the manager wanted to lock up. Luckily for him the manager in that day was a kind and understanding man.

He finished his task of wiping the tables. Some of his coworkers were still here, but not in the seating area at the current moment, so right now, it was just him and Seokjin.

Namjoon pulled out a chair and sat down beside him. The boy was sound asleep, breathing softly, yet audibly, and it drew a smile from the one who now watched him with warm eyes. Namjoon placed his hand on Jin's head, then absentmindedly began to comb his fingers through the sleeping boy's hair. About a minute later, Jin finally stirred awake.

He didn't lift his head at first - simply opened his eyes, giving himself time to gradually adjust to things being sideways, including the blond sitting so close to him, and so gently touching his hair. However once he realized that Namjoon realized he was awake, he felt as though he had to lift his head. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Jin stopped to look around the cafe, shocked to find it void of any other customers. Outside the window, it was awfully dark. He whisked his head around to face Namjoon, who was smiling at him.

"Cafe's closed, sweetheart," the blond said teasingly. Seokjin felt his complexion become pale.

"Y-you're closed?? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'll take my things and go-"

"待って. お願い. 聞きたいことがある." (Wait. Please. There's something I wanted to ask.)

He froze. Jin had already gotten to his feet, but it took no more than these words to convince him to sit back down again.

"Is it...about the coffee?" He asked hesitatingly, lifting his gaze slowly to meet Namjoon's. "I didn't forget, I'll still pay for it."

"I already said I was treating you," Namjoon reminded him. "That's not what I was gonna say."

"...then what-"

"I wanted to ask if you'd go out with me."

Jin's heart stopped for a moment. A long moment. Or perhaps it just felt that way. And he doubted his ears, considering that maybe he had imagined hearing these words fall out of Namjoon's mouth, knowing that he had wanted to hear them for some time, and believing his imagination was trying to get the best of him. But then he felt Namjoon touch his hand, and hold it, and he knew it in his mind that this wasn't just a joke or another playful tease.

"I really like you, Jin."

"Me, too."

"You really like me?"

"No, I really like me."

This jesting comment earned a quiet laugh from Namjoon, who turned his head downward and pretended to be sad when he brought it back up again.

"Darn, and here I was having high expectations about this." He sighed. "Guess I'll have to try again some other time..."

"No, this time is good."

"So, that's a yes then?"

Of freaking course it is. "Yeah, I suppose," Jin said with a sigh that triggered yet another laugh from the blond.

"Gee, don't sound too excited..." Smiling as he shook his head, Namjoon slowly rose to his feet, gently tugging at Seokjin's hand and gesturing for him to stand up as well. Once he did, Jin straightaway earned a soft kiss on the cheek that turned his entire face bright red in a split second.

At that moment there was a shout from the kitchen that, to Jin's relief, temporarily distracted Namjoon and gave him a brief window of time to collect himself.

"Namjoon, you can leave now if you're done out there!"

"Will do!" He called back. "See ya tomorrow!"

"See ya!"

He faced Jin again. "Shall I escort you home?"

"I'm two years older than you. I should be escorting you home."

"Whatever makes you happy, sweetheart."