∞ I can’t take my eyes off of you
→ EXO: Kris/Suho; Romance, Fluff; PG-13; 2743 words
! no beta
“One tall cup of Americano for Luhan,” a baritone voice reverberates through the vicinity of the cozy coffee shop, amidst the low murmur and giggles of the customers who are either busy discussing professional matters - with a few jargons thrown here and there - or just plainly having light conversations - with several slang words in between sentences - to strengthen relationships.
Junmyeon can’t help but grin boldly against his mug of coffee as he hears a group of ladies from another table gushing over the handsome barista on the counter. They are chatting with such enthusiasm in their words that Junmyeon can’t help but be amused at them. From time to time, they would peer out their heads over the railings that line the edges of the second floor of the coffee shop that prevent anybody from falling over. And then they would draw their heads back again and excitingly talk in fast syllables yet in boisterous voices.
Suddenly, they let out a loud gasp in unison, making the other customers halt for a few seconds to glance at them. It seems that the barista, whom they are babbling about, had just looked up to them from the ground floor and had given them a swooning smile.
They immediately miss the crucial point of the barista’s gesture that followed on the immediate second as they start flailing, slapping each other’s arms lightly while giggling comfortably in their seats. Meanwhile, Junmyeon’s eyes widen as he catches the blond barista’s quick wink, before going back to focus on preparing the Americano for his customer.
With the grin still plastered on his face, Junmyeon shakes his head and ruffles his own hair as he puts down his mug on the table in front of him. He then lifts his legs to place them on the empty space on the couch he is currently occupying, and he positions his head on the cushy armrest.
He closes his eyes and he continues to listen to the mixture of noises that livens up the atmosphere inside the four walls of the coffee shop. Amidst the sound of the pouring liquid from the counter on the first floor and the nice tinkle from the oven, he hears the voice of the barista resonate the words “One tall cup of Americano for Luhan, on the counter please”. He also hears a few praises from the ladies on the other table. It isn’t exactly ‘eavesdropping’ because they are talking quite loudly that almost anybody can hear them, he assures himself.
A few minutes later, he hears a few shuffling sounds, probably from the same group of ladies because they seem to be preparing themselves to leave, followed by the sound of heels tapping rhythmically against the wooden, polished floor. He grins absentmindedly once again as he listens to them giggle together when the barista bids them a goodbye and saying a few words of thanks for coming to the coffee shop.
The place seems to have become a bit quieter when the ladies have left, although Junmyeon could still hear the low murmurs from the other customers.
He smiles contentedly to himself as memories, those that he is particularly fond of, flash at the back of his eyelids. Somehow, he feels proud that the ladies are talking about the barista. He merrily recalls how reserved that blond male used to be when he first met him.
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It happened during one fine quiet afternoon, on a small coffee shop located in another part of the city. The place was quite full at that time, and Junmyeon was struggling to find a vacant seat for himself. And it so happened that the only available seat was the one in front of a man wearing a cool gray cap, his face was covered by the newspaper that he was holding up to read.
“Uhm, excuse me,” he politely voiced out, and the man who was reading the newspaper slightly dropped the reading material down before looking up at him with a surprised look on his face. For a few seconds, he was mesmerized by the other man’s handsomeness. Thankfully, he was able to snap out of his trance, saving himself from any possible embarrassment.
“Uhm, would you mind if I take this seat?”
The handsome man responded by moving his head in a way that Junmyeon wasn’t sure if it was a nod that meant a ‘yes’ or a shake that meant a ‘no’. Regardless, Junmyeon smiled a ‘thank you’ to him before occupying the chair in front of the other man. The minutes that succeeded were, needless to say, very awkward. And Junmyeon’s tongue felt numb when he left the coffee shop because of his haste to finish his hot coffee as soon as possible in order to get away from the uncomfortable awkwardness on their shared table.
The second time when he crossed paths with the handsome man was on another coffee shop, located on a different city. It was funny how it was so similar like their first meeting. But that time, the handsome man had no cap on his head, and Junmyeon had his mouth agape for a few seconds before he realized that he was almost ogling at the other man’s blond locks that sparkled when the stream of afternoon sunlight landed the strands.
“You can… uhh… take this seat, if you want.”
It was the first time that Junmyeon heard the handsome male’s voice. He was taken aback by how deep and husky the voice was. Meanwhile, the smile on the blond male’s face was very striking. But Junmyeon was quick enough to notice the slight trembling on the corner of the other male’s lips. Junmyeon gave the other man a quick bow before claiming the chair opposite the latter.
“We’ve… uhm… met each other before. If… you can remember?” the handsome male began, his arms were folded and propped on the coffee table and his voice was a bit shaky as he tried his best to casually utter his words. Junmyeon wondered why the other was feeling nervous.
A reassuring smile from Junmyeon was all it took for them to start talking, knowing each other’s names, and exchanging phone numbers. It was all that the two of them needed for the tiny seed of their relationship to start growing.
Junmyeon later realized that despite the other man’s handsome features, he was quite socially awkward. He did have that cold expression painted on his face, and Junmyeon constantly fought off the thought that the other’s face would soften, and even his broad shoulders would relax, every time the former’s eyes would fall on him.
The third time he saw the handsome male again was, fascinatingly enough, inside another small coffee shop tucked in another corner of their city. It’s amazing how fate was playing the game to its advantage, Junmyeon mused to himself.
This time, however, the handsome male bravely asked him out.
Junmyeon had seen it coming, based on the subtle heart shape that quietly decorate the surface of his hot latte, to the very faint blush that tint the cheeks of the handsome male who had been patiently waiting for him to arrive despite his message that he may not be able to come because of the terrible rainy weather and unbelievably heavy traffic.
Junmyeon spent the next few minutes of humid silence in hesitation, playing with the tips of his fingers and trying to calm the rapid beating of his heart. He couldn’t deny that he was indeed attracted to the handsome male, but the thoughts of “but it’s still too early”,” there is a possibility that he is just playing with me”, “or he can be serious about this”, “perhaps I should give him a chance”, clash within his mind.
His expression stiffened as he weighed his options - there wasn’t much to choose from: only a simple yes or a no.
“You… uhm… don’t need to give me an immediate answer,” the blond male told him with a smile coupled with slightly curving eyes. The casual voice was feigning the other man’s tension. Is he afraid of rejection? Junmyeon wondered. The handsome male tilted his head gingerly, as he lifted his hand to scratch the back of his neck. “But I’m hoping that… despite your answer… uhm… w-we can still be… uhm… you know… good friends?”
Junmyeon allowed himself a short moment of laughter, quietly nodding as the conflicts inside his head were slowly being silenced by an assuring feeling that came from his heart. He realized that generally, it would take him weeks or even several encounters for him to adjust and open up to a new friend, no matter how handsome or beautiful that person would be. Of course, he cannot deny that he is easily attracted to pretty faces, but fortunately, he has a good ability to know whether he should trust them or not.
But to this man, despite his remarkable handsomeness, Junmyeon felt inordinately comfortable. On every fateful encounter, although they have only met a few times, everything was falling into their rightful places. Everything was starting to feel so right. Like when the two of them were together, it just felt so right. Like the two of them were just right for each other.
Then Junmyeon realized it. And he was glad to have said yes.
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The sound of footsteps nears, slowly approaching him with a soft thud against the wooden material of the floor promptly upon each second, until it stops with a soft shuffle of cottony apron against rough denim. He feels a presence hovering over him. He can also feel the shadow looming over his skin, which causes him to open his eyes. He sees the face of a familiar man closely over his own face. The face is inverted in Junmyeon’s vision, as the familiar man is situated at the space above his head. A warm smile is gracing the other’s handsome facial features, and it is magnified by the brightness of the light coming from the lamps on the ceiling.
Junmyeon blinks once after his eyes had finally adjusted to the light, and he smiles at the person hovering over him.
“Hey,” he cheerfully greets, his voice sounding a bit airy as he exhales along with his uttered word.
“I prepared your coffee well and I even added extra caramel to suit your taste then all I get is a simple ‘hey’?” the other person tells him, his disappointed tone confirming the pout on his face. And to this, Junmyeon chuckles, as he delights in the cuteness of the other man.
With his head still propped on the couch’s armrest, Junmyeon reaches out and taps the blond male’s chin with his finger. “Hmmm, that is sweet of you,” he hums. “Anyway, Yifan-ah, what are you doing here?”
The blond male traces his fingers against Junmyeon’s cheeks, and the smaller male smiles as he feels the warmth emanating from Yifan’s touch. “I was just checking because a while ago, I've heard from a group of customers that our coffee is not quite effective because somebody is sleeping in this café,” the man named Yifan answers, with a smug smile decorating his face. “But it turns out that this sleeping customer is no other than our regular one,” he adds as he gleefully taps Junmyeon’s nose with his finger. “And needless to say, my favorite one, for that matter.”
“Favoritism is bad in any situation, you know,” Junmyeon tells him, his eyes forming into smooth crescents as his lips curve confidently into a smile.
“I know. But admit you like it,” Yifan laughs as he moves to lean closer.
And the handsome barista gives him a quick peck on the lips. It's a bit awkward, considering their current position: Junmyeon perching his head on the armrest of the couch, and Yifan kneeling on the floor, his chin meeting the tip of Junmyeon's nose in that short moment.
“Don't fall asleep, okay? Just one more hour and then my shift is over.”
Junmyeons puffs his cheeks, and Yifan pokes one bloated side with his long forefinger, his baritone voice ringing through the younger’s ears like a melodious laugh.
“Wait for me?” Yifan pleads, and Junmyeon feels his heart drumming a bit faster inside his chest.
He treasures the moments when Yifan is being irresistibly cute like this. Other people are often mesmerized by how apparently handsome Yifan is, especially when he greets them behind the counter as a barista, scribbling their names in scratchy handwriting on cups of different sizes, with a friendly, gummy smile that took him weeks to practice.
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Junmyeon fondly remembers the desperate and frustrated expression on Yifan’s face after his each attempt to greet the other male as an ordinary customer during the rehearsal that Junmyeon proposed to aid in Yifan’s training; and the latter would tell him that he looks either scary or ridiculous. At that time, Junmyeon was certain it was Yifan’s untimely pout that urged him to promise the older male that he would reward him with a kiss if he would eventually get his customer-friendly smile correctly - to which Yifan’s eyes quickly lit up and to which his mouth eagerly opened to voice out a question: “How about for every customer that I won’t scare away?”.
And Junmyeon paused for a quite long moment of silence, resting his chin on his hand, before giving a “Well that is a difficult deal, to be honest. Because I believe that my Yifan would never be able to scare a single customer away if he finally gets to greet one with a very friendly and undeniably handsome smile” answer to the taller male’s question, which sounded more like a request.
It seemed that it was the sole motivation that Yifan needed, and perhaps still the reason why Yifan always goes to work with such determination in his eyes and at the end of the day, he would have that eagerness to see Junmyeon right away. Junmyeon reminds himself that he adores this cute side of Yifan.
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Not to mention that there are also some occasions, when Yifan attracts more eyes whenever the two of them are together, walking along the streets, with Junmyeon’s tiny palm against Yifan’s large, calloused one, and their contrasting fingers snugly curling in the spaces between each other’s hands. And during those moments, Junmyeon just wants to shrink himself because Yifan’s presence is gathering a lot of unwanted attention and Junmyeon has a timid nature to begin with.
But whenever Junmyeon hangs his head low, Yifan would stop in his tracks and cup Junmyeon’s chin with his free hand, softly lifting the smaller male’s head. Then he would kiss him right in that moment, regardless of the place they’re in, no matter how many eyes are prying at them. Of course, Junmyeon would initially struggle to pull away in protest, but Yifan is just too strong for him to contend.
So in the end, he surrenders with a muffled moan, one that is almost inaudible for other people but enough for Yifan to hear nevertheless. That would be the only time when Yifan breaks the kiss with a naughty grin on his lips, and Junmyeon would lightly punch him on the chest before the taller male would drag him along to walk again; both of them oblivious to the questioning and judging looks from passersby.
And once again, he reminds himself why he loves this Yifan.
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Junmyeon sighs before giving him a quick nod and mouthing a tired “Alright” as a reply. After that, Yifan blithely gives him another quick peck on the forehead, and this time, Junmyeon chuckles when the former's nose collides softly with his, despite the awkward position of their heads.
“Care to give me another kiss on the lips?”
The unexpected request coming from the younger male surprises Yifan, making him flinch. He takes several seconds to think of a good answer. The younger male’s beautiful brown irises reflect his own figure.
“Well, if you wait for me then I'll reward you with a venti cup of your favorite espresso,” Yifan happily answers the younger male as he traces the latter’s lips with his thumb. Junmyeon sneakily parts his lips to playfully nibble on the barista’s lingering digit. This gesture makes Yifan amused at Junmyeon’s random behavior and tall barista laughs heartily.
“Or if you’d like, I’d gladly serve you with a make-out session to go.”
A/N:
1. This is supposed to be a drabble but I ended up with more words than necessary. Seriously I don’t know what s(uh)orcery this is. Since this unbeta-ed and I practically word-vomitted this, please don’t hesitate to point out my errors.
2. I am sorry if the inconsistency with the tenses confuses you. I just want to point out that the past tense indicates a recall of their memories while the present tense indicates what is currently happening.
3. What have I done!!!1!!!one!!!1 ; ;