Normally - and he wondered in what world anything about this was considered normal - this type of thing would take place under Yoongi's supervision. A chaperone of sorts that was meant to keep them both safe. And really, he would have been thankful for the back up, especially considering all of the horror stories he had stumbled across in his research.
But unfortunately, Yoongi's current schedule was entirely booked solid for the foreseeable future and Jungkook just wasn't willing to wait that long.
So there he was, walking into some restaurant he couldn't even pronounce the name of let alone afford, feeling under dressed and underwhelming. Adjusted his white jacket and wished he'd had something designer instead of discount.
But he looked good. Was rocking it despite it not even having a label. The knit jacket was warm and well fitted, a perfect match to the shirt he wore beneath it. That he'd paired it with black skinny jeans, it didn't exactly look as over the top as he may have wanted. But then again, it wasn't like he'd had any other choice. At least he'd had one singular pair left that wasn't ripped.
"Good evening sir." The hostess broke him out of his thoughts, catching his attention as she looked him over. He must look so pathetic to her. "Do you have a reservation?"
"Actually I'm supposed to be meeting someone. Jeon Jungkook?" There were so many things that could go wrong. He could be at the wrong restaurant or -
"Of course sir. Mr. Jeon is already here. Let me take you to his table." But something about her demeanor changed as he spoke the name, her smile only growing as she twisted on her heel and began leading him through the busy dining room.
Oh god. Oh god oh god. Jungkook was already here. Which meant he was late and what kind of first impression was he giving exactly?
The kind where he was literally shaking because he was so nervous, walking with his head down and only really paying attention to where he put his feet. Until he felt the rush of someone stopping short in front of him and was forced to look up suddenly.
"Here you are sir." She was gesturing vaguely into a private little area that had been closed off - and he realized that he was in some section that had either been rented out or was permanently reserved. "Mr. Jeon is to the left."
To the left. Right. To the left.
He forgot to thank her. And he twisted around in an attempt to send it after her only to realize that she was gone. So now he had made a fool out of himself as well.
This night was going to be the end of him.
...
Seokjin wasn't late. Not really. It was just that Jungkook was chronically early. After all, it wasn't like he'd had much else to do besides pour endlessly over his appearance.
Which looked bomb. Those had been Hoseok's exact words. Just the right amount of daddy. But he really did not think he could do this.
All black. From head to toe. And alright, maybe wearing the suit had been a little much, but there was a dress code. At least he hadn't actually gone with the tie like he'd originally been planning. And it looked good. Was well fitted. Custom made to suit his body. Light blue hair slicked back from his face to show off his freshly trimmed under cut.
He looked fine. He was fine. This was going to be fine.
Until the sight of the hostess coming around the corner catch his attention, the vision from the picture trailing along behind her and he almost forgot how to breathe.
He was supposed to do something, wasn't he? Stand up. Shake the other's hand. Properly introduce himself. But instead he was just panicking. Felt his tongue starting to get tied and wondered why he'd ever thought this would make things any different.
"Jungkook?" Oh. Oh oh oh. That was what Seokjin sounded like. Soft and musical, like a whisper blowing across angel's wings.
"H -" He opened his mouth. He knew he did. Had parted his lips and tried to make the sound come out but nothing did. And realized that Seokjin officially knew he was a complete failure.
"Oh wow, you are shy." It slipped out so easily, a playful little quip that he felt like maybe he should have been expecting.
What he was actually expecting was for Seokjin to just turn around and walk away, realizing he did not need this kind of trouble in his life.
"Ye -" He tried again. Got half a syllable in before his voice gave out. "Yeah. Sorry. I just have trouble talking to people I don't know."
"Well that was a complete sentence, so I'd say we're doing better already." And then Seokjin smiled - actually smiled at him. Like he didn't mind his inability to properly speak at all.
"Oh, right!" Suddenly he remembered where they were. What they were doing. Jumped up out of his chair and rounded the table, pulling out the other chair and gesturing towards it.
"Thank you." It was a cute, unexpected gesture, one he'd never actually had performed for him. And he took the offer readily, sliding into the chair carefully, before letting out a little gasp as it was slid forward again as if he weighed nothing.
"You're welcome." It felt like he should say something else. And he contemplated it as he took his own seat, searching his mind or something flirty to say, not realizing that so much time had passed that it was just going to make it awkward. "Cutie."
That smile. It was so bright and happy. He didn't even question if it was real or something the other had practiced, schooling himself on how to fake. It wasn't like he'd be able to tell the difference.
But something about Seokjin felt genuine. Like this warmth that just radiated off him. Something light and comforting. Soft and relaxing. And he found himself just taking a moment to breath.
"You're very sweet." That's right. He was sweet. He could do this. Could make conversation. Could make Seokjin like him. "They should have added that."
"And Yoongi should have warned me that you were even more devastating in person." It just slipped out. Came flying from his lips before he could even stop it. And part of him wanted to flush in embarrassment but the rest of him refused.
"Don't stop there. Flattery will get you everywhere." Those lips looked so soft. Soft pink and full, almost as though they were swollen. He wondered what they would feel like. What they would taste like.
And instantly regretted it because that wasn't what this was about and he could keep his less than innocent thoughts to himself for one single night.
"We'll see about that."
...
There was something between them. An undeniable sort of tension that sparked wildly, like a flame flickering to life from a freshly struck match.
Jungkook was shy. There was no denying that. But it wasn't hard to get past. Five minutes in and it already felt like the ice had well and truly broken, the other facets of the youngers personality slowly beginning to come to the surface.
They had opted for small plates, each of them ordering two with the premise that they could share. Placed them in the middle of the table and had only knocked into each other a handful of times when they when to reach for the same thing. But they laughed each time, and it was amazing to feel those walls start to come down.
"So -" They were idly picking at the scrapes that had been left behind, and he laid down his chop sticks and picked up his wine, swirling it around carefully before taking a sip. "About all of this cuddling you want to do."
And boy did that make the cutest little flush come into the other's cheeks.
"I know how it's gonna sound, but I just have a really hard time falling asleep if I'm not holding onto something." A pillow. A giant stuffed bunny rabbit that Namjoon had won for him when they'd gone to the traveling carnival a couple of years back. It always had to be something. And those things had been good substitutes. Had served their purposes well.
But they didn't have heartbeats. Didn't radiate warmth. Didn't give him what he actually needed.
"That's really sweet, actually." No one had ever once held him as he'd fallen asleep. In fact, he was pretty sure no one had ever bothered when he'd been a baby. What would it even be like? To cuddle down into those arms? Amazing. It would probably feel amazing. "When did you want to start?"
"Huh?" The other had been half way done biting into the very last pot sticker, luke warm soup flooding out as he tried to speak.
"You said you'd like two to four visits a week. When would you like those to start?" Officially, they hadn't actually finalized anything yet. They could still change their minds.
But he didn't want to.
"Is tonight too soon?" Was that even allowed? Technically they had both signed the contract. It was a legal, binding agreement that they had to abide by. So what if Yoongi hadn't filed it yet?
"If that's what you want daddy." It was almost amusing, watching the way the other practically choked on the mouthful of food. Until it didn't seem to dislodged on it's own and he was pushing his chair back, hurriedly coming around the table to pat the other on between his shoulders. "Easy there. I'm supposed to be the one choking on things."
"Please stop." He took a step back, watching as the other reached for his half finished wine and drained it completely.
"Sorry." But an idea had suddenly sprang into his mind, and he took the moment to contemplate it. Weighed his options and decided to throw caution to the wind.
He had come this far, why chicken out now.
Slowly, carefully, he slipped in behind where the other sat. Let his hands come to rest on those strong shoulders, before sliding them downwards, tracing along the protrusion of collar bone until they could cross and he was leaning in, back arching as he pulled Jungkook back into the embrace, effectively locking him into the hug.
He felt it before he heard it. The way the other gasped, took in air so sharply he knew it must have hurt. And he knew that the risk was paying off. Felt the tension ease out of Jungkook's body as he relaxed into him, growing lax and soft and content.
"Tonight would be perfect." It was nothing more than a whisper, full lips moving against the shell of the other's ear, and he smiled as he felt a shiver run down the length of youngers spine.
Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad after all.