Summer hasn’t left the city, yet, and storms still ride the heat waves, bringing humidity and heavy rain. A few brave souls walk slowly among the sweating populace, relishing the heat. Most people stay indoors when they can, watching the changing leaves from the comfort of air conditioned buildings and cars and only venturing out to kick up the crunchy piles when the sun has set and allowed the air to cool.

Jongdae is one of the majority, hurrying between buildings for classes, otherwise staying in the library or his friends’ apartments. His own home, shared with a very dear but also very frustrating friend, is no sanctuary, because Yixing is one of the minority that is apparently some kind of humanoid lizard and thrives off of heat and misery.

So Jongdae seeks shelter elsewhere and huddles up comfortably with his phone and vape, daydreaming about actual sweater-weather and when he can freely smoke outside without melting.

It’s Yixing who texts him about meeting up in the middle of the week at a cafe near their school. Sure. Sounds nice. Jongdae’s actually never been to it before, and aside from the fact that going out with friends is just pleasant, Yixing is an excellent buffer. Jongdae’s tattoos often frighten people, and although Yixing’s cheeks are both pierced, his dimples have not lost their infallible charm.

But, as it turns out, their cafe date is not just a simple outing. Wednesdays are apparently reserved for bands, artists, and instructors, depending on who reserves the space and at what time. Mid-afternoon that particular Wednesday is for knitting.

Yixing tries to sell it as something to help Jongdae stay away from cigarettes. He's been doing pretty good so far, although the cravings are still there, and if he's working with a needle in either hand, there's no room for a cigarette, Yixing says. True enough. Jongdae is not a crafty person, though, and neither is Yixing. So why knitting?

Jongdae loves his friends. He really does. They're considerate and fun and very supportive of whatever dumb idea they come up with, but even Jongdae has his limits.

He goes to one of the classes anyway, just to appease Yixing but also to try and figure out the sudden interest. Dance takes up just about every waking moment of Yixing’s consciousness. When he’s not dancing, he’s singing. When he’s not singing, he’s sleeping. There’s really no room for knitting.

Thankfully, there’s a break in the heat in the form of a rainstorm. Jongdae doesn’t mind getting wet if it means less hot. He shares an umbrella with Yixing and keeps his hands in his pockets when they reach the cafe. Yixing hooks the umbrella on Jongdae’s forearm and directs him to the back of the cafe, separated from the main area by a partial wall with a pass-through window cut out.

Jongdae trusts Yixing to order for him and wanders around the wall to find the room set up somewhat like a classroom, with two rows of tables with bundles of yarn and chairs. Bench seating lines the back and outside walls, upholstered in warm tones matching the golden lighting and flooring. He takes a seat in the middle out of habit; up front and center is too much and way in back is asking to be volunteered for something. When he meets eyes looking around, he smiles pleasantly; content when they smile back. He knows he looks quite upstanding when there’s no ink showing.

For the most part, middle-aged women sit at the tables surrounding a blackboard and projector. A couple younger women and older women. One young man around their age, Jongdae guesses, joined by a girl around the same age, and oh. Now he gets it. This young woman—this kid, Jongdae thinks bitterly after hearing them both admit they're still in college to one of the older women—is quiet and beautiful and wears her hair long, almost to her waist. Yixing has a type; this girl is it.

And of course Yixing would join a class he's not necessarily interested in to get close to a person rather than talking to them up front like a normal person. Yixing isn't shy, necessarily, but he's not the most confident in his own very attractiveness—obvious to everyone but himself. All he has to do is smile, really. Even Jongdae actually fell for that smile before getting to know Yixing and realizing he’s just a nerd with a big heart and bizarre fear of beaked things.

Unfortunately for Yixing, though, it appears that the two youngguns are an item, if the conspiratorial whispering and shared smiles mean anything at all. Jongdae is still a bit of a Neanderthal, however; he doesn't always realize that a boy and a girl can actually be friends. Period. No dicking around. Maybe because of his own experiences dicking around with his own friends—including Yixing, that one time, but Yixing is a very handsy sort of guy to begin with, so he’s in the gray.

His friend returns with iced coffee and bubble tea and doesn’t look over at the youngest in the audience at all, focusing on the yarn Jongdae’s been tying in intricate knots for the past few minutes.

It's not even been all that long, and Jongdae is already ready to leave and physically aching for his vape. He gets antsy when he just sits with nothing to do and is ready to use the pair of aluminum knitting needles as drumsticks when the instructor shows up. As salty as he's feeling right now, Jongdae isn't rude. First break they get, though, he's outta there.

The instructor is a man, surprisingly. More surprisingly, he's probably somewhere around their age. Honestly, he looks more like an actor on the red carpet than a knitting instructor in the back of a cafe. His dark hair is styled away from his face, and he's wearing jeans and a lightly patterned button-up shirt—completely soaked and clinging to his chest and arms like a second skin—like some kind of hip college professor. He even Star Wars socks, visible beneath the rolled hem of his pants. What a nerd.

Yixing has a type; so does Jongdae.

"Hello, everyone, and sorry I’m late. I left the windows open on my car.” The boy Yixing’s been not-eyeing holds up a cardigan—a cardigan—with a soft hyung, and the instructor thanks him, not missing a beat of his introduction. “Good morning, and welcome to this knitting instruction class. I'm Kim Joonmyun, and I have been knitting seriously for about eight years, first taught by my grandma and aunts. As you may have noticed, I am a man.”

He has a nice voice. A voice like that could send ships to war or narrate travel documentaries. Jongdae could listen to a phone book being read, if Joonmyun was the one reading it. He’ll have to look online to see if this guy makes ASMR videos, because Jongdae’s already feeling tingly.

Yixing nudges him beneath the table—he seems to actually be paying attention and has dutifully untangled the yarn Jongdae so deliberately tied.

"We'll begin with the tools needed for the most basic stitches. If I’m repeating what you already know, take this as a refresher. Sometimes, it’s good to be reminded of the basics and mechanics." Joonmyun picks up a ball of yarn from the table beside him. "A medium worsted-weight yarn—all one, light color—is the best to begin with, because it's easy to see your stitches. The label is where you find out the weight, or thickness, of the yarn, as well as the material. For beginners, I recommend something smooth, like wool or a wool blend, but it's honestly personal preference. Get a feel for the yarns by handling them and seeing what feels best.”

Jongdae hides his smirk behind his hand. He’d like to get a feel of the knitting instructor.

Joonmyun continues, unaware of Jongdae’s lechery. "Same with needles. Wood ones, like these bamboo needles, allow the yarn to stay on better. Smooth ones," he continues, walking right up to Jongdae and Yixing—He actually smells really nice?! Something subtly spicy that can’t mask the sharp musty smell of cigarette smoke.—and holds out his hand. Even his hands are pretty and soft-looking."May I?" Jongdae wordlessly hands his drumsticks over. "Smooth ones like plastic or these aluminum ones are slippery, and stitches are more likely to fall off." He wraps yarn around the needle and holds his hands apart. Unlike with the wooden needles, which pulled around the needle, the yarn simply falls off without pulling the smooth needle at all. "You'll notice that the needles have different sizes, too. For us, I'd suggest sizes 6—4mm, 7—4.5mm, or 8—5mm, at around ten inches long. Again—personal preference. When you actually have a project and goal in mind, you may choose a different size for convenience or effect. A fatter needle will result in a larger stitch; a skinnier needle will result in a smaller, tighter stitch.

"Finally, don't get discouraged if you feel overwhelmed. Learning these materials and stitches will feel awkward at first. You'll learn; it will become familiar. You just need to practice. Be forward thinking:Imagine of all the wonderful things you will be knitting when you have mastered these basic knitting stitches. The possibilities are endless."

Somehow, Jongdae leaves with Yixing feeling lighter than when he'd dragged his feet into the cafe. That instructor guy really has a way with words. Like a cult leader. Everyone was hooked on his words; Jongdae's pretty sure he's the only one who noticed the guy's firm , but even that was just for a minute, then he was focused on his speech again.

"So, what do you think?" Yixing asks.

"I think I could really use a cigarette," Jongdae admits. He waves away Yixing's frown. "I'm not gonna! I'm just saying..." He digs in his jeans pocket for his new vape, a cylinder the size of four of those knitting needles combined. It's bulkier than a cigarette, which is kind of a pain, but he doesn't smell like smoke after using it, and it's safer than cigarettes, if he can believe the articles he’s read.

Yixing still doesn’t approve, but he’ll accept progress.

Kim Joonmyun leads the knitting course every other Wednesday, so Jongdae forgets everything about it and yarn and gauges until Yixing reminds him two weeks later, adding that he can’t go along because of rehearsal.

Jongdae goes alone, ordering himself a drink and sitting at the same table. A lot of the people appear to be the same as before; the boy is there again, as well, playing on his phone without the girl to talk with. Even when the instructor comes in, she’s absent, and the boy looks about as bored as Jongdae feels.

The weather’s cleared, so Joonmyun doesn’t rush in soaking wet but rather ambles inside and chats with some of the ladies about this, that, and the other thing. He’s pleasant and amiable and wearing a plain T-shirt that shows off his arms, so Jongdae’s surprised by the seemingly sudden start to the instruction period.

After struggling with casting on and making slow, sloppy rows of knits and purls, Jongdae has the beginnings of a headache and a very strong desire to take a nap. Even Joonmyun’s earlier praise—”You’re doing well! Keep it up!”—don’t do a whole lot to improve his mood, although it does encourage him to lag behind and perch on the low wall between the cafe and its parking lot outside. It’s clear and dry; the heat’s finally broken and a cool breeze has swept most of the humidity away.

He fiddles with his vape as he waits, refilling its juice and covering it with his hands when the knitting ladies leave, although from their uncertain glances his way, he’s sure they suspect something, but it could just be the ink on his hands and neck. He doesn’t need their negativity in his life, so he ignores them and smiles benignly until he spots his target.

“Well done today, Mr. Instructor.”

Joonmyun actually jumps a little when addressed. He spots Jongdae to his left and bows politely, stepping aside for any other cafe customer or pedestrian. “Thank you…?”

“Kim Jongdae.” He offers his hand to shake. Joonmyun’s hands are actually not as soft as they appeared; he has calluses, like Jongdae does.

“Nice to meet you.” Joonmyun adjusts the strap of his bag over his shoulder. A string of yarn hangs out from an end. “Honestly, I was surprised to see you today.”

“Why’s that?”

“You didn't seem all that interested last time. True, knitting isn’t all that popular among men.”

“You enjoy it.” Jongdae shrugs. “I figure it’s something I‘ve never tried, so I may or may not like it. So far, I’m enjoying your instruction, at least, so I’ll keep coming back.”

“Ah…” Something clicks and his cheek turn rosy. “Ah!”

“Hyung," Jongdae’s schmoozing is interrupted by the gremlin flying solo for the day. He on his vape sullenly and blows a smoke ring over his shoulder. "Will you drop me off at my dorm? Noona’s staying late, again.”

Joonmyun hands over his car keys. “Sure. Go start the car; I’ll be right there.” The boy nods and casts one last look at Jongdae before leaving. “My little brother, Jongin. He’s a student at the ballet academy but visits me and our sister, who runs this cafe, when he can.”

That’s sweet. “He cares about you an awful lot,” Jongdae comments. “I don’t think he trusts me.”

“Why do you think that? Has he said something?” There’s a tone beneath his words that suggests a lecture in his dear baby brother’s future, but Jongdae’s quick to wave dismissively.

“No, he hasn’t, but he was hovering just inside for a couple of minutes before asking for a ride. Probably waiting to hear if I’d ask you out or not.”

“Oh.”

“So since he’s gone, now, I can ask—what’re you up to Saturday?” He juggles his phone between his hands and smiles his most charming smile.

Joonmyun returns his smile shyly. “I seem to have a date.” Jongdae passes his phone with a new contact window open, and Joonmyun quickly fills in his number and texts himself. His phone chirps in his pocket. “Will you text me?”

“Of course.” Jongdae salutes with his returned phone and watches Joonmyun leave—those legs are art—immediately fending off his brother’s curious interrogation once he’s in the car.

A knitting class is the last place Jongdae expected to pick up a date, but he can’t complain. Joonmyun has the potential to be just as addictive to Jongdae as nicotine.

a/n: Written for Critical Capture's 4th round.

The title comes from a quote by Mark Twain: “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times.” I felt it kind of goes with lust, too. It's very easy to experience.

While I didn't really like the language of the prompt, because it read negatively to me, I took the overall gist of the prompt and had fun with it. Addictions are not fun or healthy things, and I use the term loosely.

I’d read an article suggesting metalheads and classical musicians and fans are similar, personality-wise, and wanted to work that into this more. Jongdae and Yixing are the rockers, with piercings and/or tattoos; Joonmyun and his brother are the classically-trained ones with the clean, wholesome appearances. I barely touched on them, unfortunately.