The only way Skewered on the Stick had changed since Seokjin had last been there was the addition of a few new workers: other than that, it was the same as he always remembered it, with its grey tiled floors, yellow walls, handwritten menu, calming decor, advertising of its secret ingredient which they promised to never share, and of course its two passionate owners, Jeongi and Yoonguk.
Seokjin wasn't surprised that it had been chosen as their meeting place - the entire friend group was familiar with it, having gone there frequently in their adolescence both to eat food and talk to the people who ran it, and that made it the perfect venue for their double date. Or more like seven-way date? Septuple date? Seokjin didn't know what to call it, though with so many people it would be more like a regular gathering than anything. Which meant that thankfully, there probably wouldn't be too much focus on Seokjin and Namjoon. Probably.
Even though Namjoon had suggested they show up early, they weren't the first there, thanks to Yoongi's (and by extension Jungkook's) unrelenting punctuality. Despite the man's complete lack of a normal sleep schedule and the grogginess that often resulted from it, he somehow managed to always be early to everything, no matter how trivial. They see Yoongi and Jungkook before either of the two see them, with Yoongi resting his head on Jungkook's shoulder, eyes closed and a hint of a gummy smile on his face. They're often like that, though they tend to tone it down a lot while around the others. It's sweet, domestic, Seokjin thinks.
He wonders if he'll ever find anything like that.
"So this is your boyfriend, huh? I was wondering when we'd finally get to see him," Yoongi says in lieu of a greeting, sticking his hand out as the two approach and grasping Namjoon's for a handshake. "I'm Yoongi, and this is Jungkook. Namjoon, right?"
"Yep, that's me. Nice to meet you," Namjoon smiles, pulling out one of the chairs to sit, but as he goes to do so he instead nearly falls straight onto the floor, barely managing to steady himself on time. Seokjin fails miserably at trying to suppress his laugh.
"Has anyone ever told you that you sound like a windshield wiper when you laugh?" Namjoon says teasingly.
"You. Many times," Seokjin desperately hopes Namjoon will get his attempt to put some "history" into their relationship, knowing that the three words were risky. And his heart feels like it almost stops for the less than a second that Namjoon looks confused, only beating again as Namjoon's smiles once more as he realizes and goes along with it.
"You act like it's not a fair comparison,"
"You talk like your laugh doesn't sound like the way people show they're laughing on the internet!"
Their conversation continues, flowing forward in a way that feels comfortable, familiar even as they jump from topic to topic and get lost within mazes upon mazes of random tangents. Even as it's interrupted when he introduces Namjoon to everyone as they all settle in, the two of them are quickly able to get back into what they were doing. It feels nice to trade teasing remarks back and forth - banter, he might even call it.
It takes about a quarter of an hour for the entire group to arrive, most of them being on time and some being the slightest bit late. Though all of his friends are interested in meeting Namjoon, asking him the typical "get-to-know-you" questions and laughing at the jokes he cracks, no one is more excited about it than Seokjin. Both because, well, he's supposed to be pretending this is his boyfriend, and because he actually does find Namjoon intriguing.
Engrossed in a riveting debate on which type of lamb skewers are the best, it's easy to forget Namjoon hasn't always been a part of them, with how well he meshes with everyone. Namjoon really had nothing to worry about: Seokjin's friends loved him, his sarcastic interjections, his constant contributions, and the way he laughed at even the stupidest of Taehyung's jokes. It was going well. It was going...normally, how Seokjin would have expected it to go if he was introducing an actual boyfriend.
What wasn't normal was the way Seokjin's heart leaps and all coherent thoughts evaporate into thin air when he feels soft, slender fingers intertwine themselves ever so carefully with his, a large palm settling itself on top of its own. Snapping his head to the side so quickly he's honestly afraid he's broken his neck for a second, he sees Namjoon, smiling at him. That wide, bright smile, those dimples, directed at him . He squeezes Seokjin's hand lightly, and Seokjin wears that his heart stops right then and there.
It's exhilarating, really, and he's so caught up in the wave of feeling and it takes him a full minute to realize why it's happening. Just to sell the act, to put on a show for Seokjin's friends, convince them through tiny bits of traditional "lovey-dovey" things, as Namjoon had put it. This was just what was necessary, what Namjoon had agreed to go through with. Just a fake little thing that was, in all honesty, a big favor. He knows he should try to control himself, control his emotions, because it would probably appear suspicious if he was too reactive to every single thing Namjoon did.
That knowledge, however, doesn't keep Seokjin from enjoying it in the slightest. It doesn't keep him from blushing an admittedly excessive amount whenever Namjoon's fingers brush against him, when Namjoon wraps his arm so gently around his waist and pulls him close, when at the end of it all as they prepare to leave Namjoon presses his lips to Seokjin's cheek in the most tempting ghost of a peck.
Seokjin's not entirely sure why he's enjoying it all this much, the simplest acts of affection and the small touches. Perhaps he was just touch starved. Nothing to do with Namjoon himself - Seokjin just wasn't used to such affection, and as a result reacted strongly to it. That must be it.
That was all.
•
That first gathering between the whole lot of them was something pre-planned, something agreed upon earlier, something Seokjin had expected and made sure to tell Namjoon about in advance. It was something they were able to plan for, readying themselves to keep up the act and give his friends no reason to suspect that their "relationship" was anything less than pure, undeniable fact. Namjoon had made it clear that he didn't want to do more than what was necessary, and Seokjin understood, because the fact that Namjoon had even agreed to do this at all was more than enough, more than he was expecting.
Which is why Seokjin has no idea what Namjoon means when two days later, he calmly asks something that makes Seokjin do a double take, and then a triple take, because what ?
"Do you want to go on a date?"
Seokjin's drinking some green tea he had warmed up for himself while scrolling through a random article on his laptop - or at least, he had been before he nearly chokes on his beverage, barely managing to sputter out a single word.
"Huh? "
Namjoon looks about as confused as Seokjin is for a moment before his eyes widen as he quickly waves his hands in front of himself, nearly knocking over his own cup of tea. "Wait, I did not mean it like that - I...shit, I really should have thought through my wording first. Let me say that again. Do you want to go out on our own, since your friends are probably expecting us to go out on dates of our own and not just with them? I just thought it would be a good idea, you know. To help make the relationship look more real," Namjoon says, running his hand through his hair as he rephrases and looking at Seokjin, waiting for an answer.
"Ah. Okay, that makes a lot more sense. That's a great idea, actually, Namjoon. Where would we go?"
Namjoon grins, finishing off the last of his tea and wiping the moisture off the area above his mouth. "I have a place in mind already. It's not too far, we can drive there. Let's go?"
•
Before this entire trip, the only thing Seokjin had known about Namjoon was that he was an absolute genius when it came to Calculus who was somehow able to explain the concepts in a way that made sense, and when Namjoon was just his tutor that was good enough. Now, though, he was starting to learn more about him, some small facts like his endearing love for crabs and some bigger ones such as the love for nature that had turned out to be more than a lie he made up. What he hadn't had any information on, though, was any personal interests the man had. For whatever reason it hadn't really come up between them as they talked, so today he learned Interest Fact Number One about Namjoon: He liked art.
At first, he was sort of surprised as Namjoon pulled up to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, and he guesses it showed on his face, since the first thing Namjoon does once he parks is comment on it.
"You alright, Seokjin?"
"Yeah, just didn't take you as an art sort of guy,"
Namjoon chuckles at that as he opens the door. "Most people don't. They see that I'm smart and they just go off the stereotype that I can't indulge in anything creative. I like art, though. It's a nice form of expression,"
And Seokjin had thought the man couldn't seem any better, but of course he was wrong.
Namjoon leads Seokjin in, quickly getting them through the entrance and paying for them to come in, and it's clear that he's been here before, probably many times. This is a whole new side of Namjoon to Seokjin, where he's so familiar with what's around him. He likes it.
Seokjin looks around the first part of the gallery they find themselves in with interest, various pieces of more realism-focused contemporary art, subject matter varying from landscapes to people. He wasn't exactly an art history buff, but he knew enough to appreciate the small details that made the style so distinctly modern. At least, he understood what was going on in these paintings more than in the "typical" modern art.
"Hey, Joon, what's your favorite type of art here? As in the more abstract pieces, or more detailed ones like...well, these," Seokjin wonders aloud, but as he turns toward Namjoon to see if he has an answer, he's looking at Seokjin strangely, as if he just suggested they burn the entire place down.
"Are you okay? Is that...too personal of a question for you?" Seokjin hesitates, because for all he knows he might have accidentally just messed up whatever friendship he had been trying to build up. What if art was something deeply intimate to Namjoon, what if he associated some bad event with it and Seokjin had just upset him, what if-
Namjoon shakes his head adamantly, smiling lightly. "No, just wasn't expecting you to call me Joon. It's not bad or anything, don't worry. I kind of like it actually. As for my favorite type of art, want to see my favorite exhibit here?"
"Yeah, show me, Joon ," Seokjin repeats the nickname teasingly, and Namjoon shakes his head but grasps Seokjin's arm regardless and gently pulls him ahead.
Interest Fact Number Two: The type of art Namjoon likes most is the more abstract pieces, works with meaning hidden in what appears abstract to the uninformed viewer. And even though Seokjin hasn't known him for long, this feels wholly, genuinely Namjoon. It was almost concerning how quickly he had become attached to someone who had been only an acquaintance just days before, but he didn't care much - it just felt nice to be around him. Namjoon, he found, had a certain way of making Seokjin feel good with only his presence and intriguing nature.
Hell, Seokjin had never even liked abstract art. He might even go so far to say that before he had pretty much hated it, since most of the time it made him confused and when it didn't it was because he was looking at pieces whose meaning were almost painfully obvious. Now, though, he was growing...fond of it. Or perhaps it was something else here he was growing fond of, but he didn't hate what he was looking at either.
There was something so pleasant about how Namjoon explained to him his favorite pieces and the meaning that went into them, why they looked the way they did, with such passion in his voice as he stopped for nothing except to listen to Seokjin's input. Seokjin, someone who didn't consider himself much of an "artsy" person, was drawn to the conversation just by how Namjoon spoke. It was then and there that Seokjin decided that Namjoon had some sort of magic, something special that made him so alluring. Because somehow he was always left wanting to hear more about the tiny details which still held meaning, more about Namjoon's opinions about the pieces, and honestly just more Namjoon.
They move on to the last piece in the gallery, a pleasant series of greys and blues in intricate shapes, and Seokjin turns to his left, expecting an impassioned Namjoon to already be discussing the canvas in front of him. But to his surprise, Namjoon's not even looking at it - the man's eyes are focused on him, and Seokjin's not sure how long it's been that way. He feels himself blush under Namjoon's soft but observant gaze, smiling slightly.
"Something wrong, Joon?"
Namjoon shakes his head, humming lightly and continuing to look at him with a dimpled grin. "No, just admiring the most beautiful piece of art here,"
Seokjin feels his cheeks heat up more, to the point where he doesn't think they could get redder. Was that...flirting? Did Kim Namjoon, a man who he knew was most definitely out of his league, just give him a compliment that was nearly impossible to interpret in any way other than romantic?
Seokjin would have thought he was dreaming, except dreams were muddy and unclear, places where things could barely be understood. Right here and right now was as bright as the smile that adorns Namjoon's face, as saturated as the pretty colors on the art of the walls.
And perhaps it was, as Namjoon had said, just to convince his friends things were going well. Just to give them something to discuss to pass off the lie. But Seokjin had hope, and screw the likely reality, he was going to believe what he wanted to believe, and what he wanted to believe was this, believe in this moment where it was him and Namjoon together, something they were doing for the first time that already felt so right in a way he could never fully explain, only feel to the best of his abilities.
Kim Seokjin was fine right now. He was absolutely fine and he most certainly did not have a quickly growing crush on Namjoon. He wasn't smitten over his funny personality and sarcasm that gave way to something softer once you got to know him. He was in no way drawn to the man's tall figure, deep dimples, and luscious thighs that he had been trying desperately to keep himself from noticing. And most of all, there was no way he wanted to kiss those plump pink lips of his. Seokjin was perfectly fine.