Strings

26| Seokjin

"You liar!" Jin scolded the younger, whirling around the cold marble of the banquet hall.

The music echoed through the room, hollow and sweet. Namjoon held him carefully, ever the gentleman, and he allowed Jin to lead. But he was quite the dancer and Jin was impressed.

"What about you? You were the one who said he couldn't dance!" Joon laughed heartily at him. "You lied first!"

"Well, I guess we don't dance enough to appreciate our talent." Jin decided.

Namjoon giggled, "I guess not."

When the arrangement came to an end, Namjoon pulled Jin back to the table.

"If you're properly distracted, I'm hungry."

Jin snorted, but allowed Namjoon to give him a bowl of his own kimchi rice bowl. The pork was from this morning, he could taste it. It was so tender it fell apart in strings from the pressure of the chopsticks And of course he wasn't complaining, Jin was proud of his food. It was so damn good! Just like himself.

Namjoon sighed, "This is better than anything I've ever had."

"Damn right," Jin sassed.

____________Namjoon's pov___________

Nervous the whole time, Namjoon was flabbergasted at how cool he was able to remain. And by cool he just meant being able to speak. Usually his nerves would close his throat up and stop the words. He was able to distract Jin from his cop out, but Namjoon knew he couldn't feed Jin just anything. It had to be the best, so obviously it had to be Jin's.

He managed to eat without choking everytime Jin looked at him. He managed to have a nice conversation with Jin, talking about how Jin worked to open his restaurant and why he was so interested in the idea of a Jazz Café.

"It's how I want to spend my life. I want to wake up and cook for people I love while I take care of them." Jin smiled. "The music sets my mood."

Namjoon couldn't help but blush, imagining waking to the soft jazz of Jin's playlist and the smell of breakfast wafting out of the kitchen. "That's a nice goal, I think."

"Of course it is," Jin scoffed. "It's mine."

Namjoon laughed freely, letting his head fall back and his shoulders shake. Jin laughed with him, bending forward and emitting his halting wheezes. Musical. Namjoon took a sip of his water and eyes Jin's hand where it rested on the table across from his own. His fingers ached to hold them, but he wasn't sure if he was allowed. He decided to risk it. He could always grab a napkin if Jin looked weirded out. So, tentatively, he inched his hand forward and rested the tips of his fingers on the back of Jin's hand, gently encircling the elder's hand with his own. He looked up from their hands carefully.

"Is this okay?" He whispered.

Jin's eyes dragged themselves away from the sight of their clasped hands to meet Joon's and he nodded slowly, smiling softly.

Namjoon sighed in relief a smile of his own lifting his lips. He stood, pulling Jin up with him.

"Dancing again?"

Namjoon shook his head. "This is a museum after all. I want to show you my favorite exhibits."

"Professors." Jin teased, bumping his shoulder against Joon's.

Namjoon giggled, leading Jin down the way they'd come. He took him through the wide grandiose corridors filled with wall to floor display cases and murals and past plaques and stands holding instruments. He finally stopped in a circular room with a piano in the center. There were several instruments stood around: a cello, a drum kit, a saxophone, and a few others that Jin was unable to place.

The murals in this room showed classic American artists that Jin recognized from album covers. This exhibit was focused on jazz. And Jin loved it.

Namjoon watched happily as Jin fluttered around, reading plaques, allowing clips of music to play, watching the short films, and appreciating the artists.

By the end of the night, Joon wanted nothing more than to take Jin in his arms and kiss him, but holding his hand had been enough trouble. So, when he opened the door for Jin, he walked him to his door and bid him goodnight, well prepared to walk away into the night.

"I had a great time Namjoon." Jin smiled, leaning up against his door.

"I'm glad, I did too." Joon shoved his hands into his pockets, fiddling with his keys and the fuzz at the seams. He moved to step back, allowing Jin to get inside.

"I said I had a great time, Joon." Jin drawled, oozing a confidence that made Joon nervous.

"I know."

"This means I want you to kiss me goodnight." Jin announced leaning forward.

"Oh, wow," Joon breathed.

He hadn't meant for Jin to hear, but Jin did. He put a hand on Joon's arm. And he closed the gap between them with the biggest grin, pressing their lips together lightly. It was just for a moment, but it was enough to send Namjoon's heart over the moon. Jin stepped back and smiled, opening his door.

"Goodnight Namjoon."

"Goodnight." Namjoon wheezed, his voice cracked and his cheeks were pink. He turned and stumbled to his car, collapsing inside and wrenching the door shut. He let his head fall heavily onto the steering wheel, not hitting the horn of course. He just needed a moment to collect his dignity before he left. He'd turned into a muddled up, blushing mess.

But Jin seemed to have been okay with that. And Jin said he had enjoyed himself. That was a victory.

So, Joon started his car and pulled out onto the dark street, telling his phone to call Irene and preparing to tell her the whole play by play.

Hi yes, its been awhile. I'm lazy and some stuff happened this week, it was pretty f*cked up but it's done now and I've updated as many of my books as I can. I'll try to keep up.