-ˋˏ ʜᴏɴᴇʏ-ʙᴇᴇ ˎˊ-

❝Which one—?❞ No, really. Which one? Virote was currently holding photos of about fifty thousand of them, his arms were just flooded with bishonen. ❝Let me tell you something. I would let Kakashi stir my pasta any day of the week. Like. If he asked me if he could put a spoon in the ravioli bowl to give it a whirl. I’d be like, okay, I’m in love with you. So, is it Kakashi? Karasu?❞

god, the shit vi said. jihun would balk if he wasn’t so used to it by now. peering over the pictures in his hands, jihun has to stop him before he goes to far, halting on a picture of one of them narutos. he wiggles his finger determinedly upon kakashi’s face, sucking in a breath through his teeth.

✧*｡ ||   was he just hungry ? he had to be just hungry. ＂ to be specific, though not to sound all vegan-y police-y, i’m pascaterian. i eat fish & eggs.＂  he wasn’t going to bring up his lactose intolerance. too much food oversharing. ＂ panera is fine but have you eaten at all today ? or like in days ? you seem antsy for food. i’m fine for going to lunch, just need to make sure how much we need to order. ＂

he had to think about that for a second.  was he hungry? jihun’s brows furrowed as something burgeoning on genuine confusion filled his face. and then, chin drawing back, he shrugged, lips pursing. he could go for food. but he could always go for food. 

he’s not entirely sure which is worse; the pity in jihun’s face or the way his stomach rumbles, loudly so, at the mention of coffee. practically whines for it in the face of sixteen pages of homework left to read and more than his fair share of math problems left to puzzle out before sleep can be claimed. his hand seems a near permanent fixture at the back of his neck now. as if any relief will be given by that movement.

still, though. “ain’t really picky about coffee…” and that is most definitely not a lie. preferences? sure. but when offered for free he isn’t about to comment on supposed quality or not.

he’s close on jihun’s heels, following him in. arms close. self-conscious of just how much space he seems to take up in a space that isn’t his own. the dog is a surprise and he blinks at her. the beagle staring him back in equal shock. for a moment they do little more than watch the other with a similar type of wariness.

eventually, he holds out a hand, relaxing. “hey, abby. sorry t’intrude.” letting her sniff his palm before following jihun into the small kitchen.

he lurks awkwardly in the door, watching jihun nearly dance through the space. at home and in his element. the mismatched cups don’t miss his notice, though he says nothing of it.

the coffee sticks, however, have him tilting his head. “that’s coffee?” voice puzzled. not worried, just confused. book bag shifting in his arms. “ain’t seen it come lookin’ like that before. he accepts the mug when handed over, glancing in. intrigued. a delicate sip taken and a soft hum given. “not bad at all.”

he can’t help it however, eyes glancing around. curiosity clear. “how long you been here? ain’t heard a peep outta ya…not that that’s bad, just…” a soft tinge of pink to his cheeks. “not that I’m really around much t’hear anyone.”

it’s really not that bad, but  he’s guessing that barney’s a little too tired right now to feel anything short of embarrassment. it could be worse. barney could’ve pissed his pants on his doorstep or something. jihun’s not feeling anything but concern for the guy, maybe just a little bit of pity. it was a pretty miserable situation. but jihun’s just lonely enough to think of the mix-up as something favorable, and, hey. he should congratulate himself. there’s a guy in his fucking house right now, and they’re going to have coffee. together. after introducing. jihun finds himself grinning stupidly, watching barney introduce himself to his dog, a weird sort of pride bubbling up inside him.

aberdeen’s wary. she watches the man with a sort of anxious gaze, bending her neck to sniff at barney’s hand for a moment, before she finds something more interesting to sniff at. barney smells worlds different than her owner, and, soon enough, she’s got two paws up and ready to go in on categorizing every scent when barney moves; the beagle follows at his ankles, curious, sitting at his feet when he pauses at the kitchen counter.

by then, jihun’s got the coffee doled out in cheap mugs, a plastic tube swirling in each of them as a makeshift spoon. he’s caught before better judgement gets him, and he quickly pulls out the wrappers, offering barney a weak grin as he nudges it toward him.

❝ ━━━━━━━ yeah, it’s all mixed up. cream and sugar and instant all in one tube. it’s fucking convenient. ❞  he drops the wrappers in the trash, quickly wiping his fingers off on a towel by his stove as he settles on the counter. arms folded, serving as a cushion as he leans onto it, he just barely reaches out and fumbles with his own mug. he’s not as good at this as barney seems to be. it’s way too hot for his tongue.  ❝ it’s korean. i buy it by the hundreds. ❞

a grin curls his lips, just a fraction. a sly sort of smile, one that preys on the amusement barney offers when he speaks. he’s delightfully awkward. in a roundabout way, it makes jihun feel safer to speak.

❝ i’ve been here for years. i’m just quiet, i guess. i don’t throw a lot of parties, and abby’s well-behaved. why? y’want me to me louder or something? i can start throwing real.... ragers every saturday if that’s what you’d like. but it’d probably fuck with your, uh. free time. ❞

if he had any.

                   was it a kink ? he wouldn’t be surprised. josiah just always found the idea appealing of people wearing his clothes. especially, when they were smaller than him. it was just cute and nice to see how they like wearing his shirts/jackets/hoodies and how it was just too big for them. just like his leather jacket was around jihun’s form. the tease. he could see it in jihun’s eyes. the mischievous glimmer. 

                   josiah eventually placed his pencil down, looking up from his work to give jihun the attention he obviously wanted. unconsciously he let his tongue run over his bottom lip. “ … you’re such a tease. “ he mumbled, looking over at his watch. jihun was right about the time slot. people usually came in early, which was fine. however ten minutes? a lot could happen in ten minutes. at least some lip to lip action.

                  the tattoo artist stood up from behind the counter, walked over to jihun, he wrapped his hand around the other’s bicep and pulled him along with him. “ ten minutes, is plenty of time to enjoy ourselves a little. “ he said with a lopsided grin and walked over to the backroom. once there he shut the door ( with more force than he intended, oops. he was in a hurry ) behind them and instantly pushed jihun against the closed door, he lifted his jaw and pressed a kiss to the other’s lips.

honestly, he’d never been into this before.  that isn’t to say he got why people liked doing it. josiah’s clothes smelled like his cologne and aftershave and the shit he put in his beard, and they were comfortable and loose. but the best part of it all was josiah’s reaction to him stealing all his clothing. something both endeared and interested sparked in josiah’s eyes, and jihun felt like he was at the center of the world, loving the attention and affection he got from the guy. so, when josiah put down his pencil, jihun glew with a smile, leaning against the counter with a sly little grin.

❝ ━━━━━━━ tease? me? never. i was just cold and needed something to wear. ❞  but, even so, he rose to attention when the man neared him, easily following as josiah’s hand wrapped around his arm, dragging him away from the front. feeling like a mischievous teenager, at best, jihun had to muffle a giggle as he trailed behind him, face bright with a grin when they snuck into the backroom. but, just as soon as he swallowed his laughter, he tasted josiah’s lips on his, and the firm press of the door on his back.