Jongin was just about to nod off again when he jerked himself awake, looking warily at Baekhyun, the eccentric, eyeliner-obsessed barista before eyeing the espresso machine to his left longingly. That was the bad thing abut working in a cafe--you couldn't actually drink the coffee. He had to blink a few times before he realized that there was a customer in front of him.

"I'm sorry, what was that sir?" he asked, fighting down a blush and a yawn.

The customer, a Chinese man who was around Jongin's age, laughed, a gentle, light sound, and as Jongin watched a dimple appeared on the man's right cheek. Jongin blinked again as he realized that this particular customer was ridiculously attractive. It took him a second before he was able to tear his eyes from that little dimple and listen to the man's words. "I said I'll have a mocha latte and an espresso, please," the man said in flawless Korean.

Jongin nodded, getting to work making the drinks. He handed them over the counter to the customer, who paid the proper amount before turning around and walking away with his mocha latte, but leaving the espresso sitting on the counter in front of Jongin.

"Yah, wait! You forgot your espresso!" Jongin called to the man's retreating back.

"That's because it's for you," the man called over his shoulder, winking at Jongin, his dimple in plain view. The man left the shop, the bell tinkling behind him, and Jongin stared down at the espresso in front of him, though seeing nothing but a teasing dimple and bright smile winking back up at him.

The next day, at around the same time, Jongin was slumped against the counter, trying to keep himself awake. It was around 2:30 in the afternoon on a Thursday, and nobody was coming into the cafe. Baekhyun was wiping down tables, and Jongin was at his usual post at the register. There was a couple in the far corner of the room, curled together in a couch and sharing a pair of headphones, apparently watching a movie or something on he boy's laptop. Occasionally they would laugh at the screen, the girl clutching the boy's arm a little more tightly. Jongin dimly noted how Baekhyun was eyeing them warily--he normally didn't allow second base progression inside the cafe.

Suddenly, the bell above the door tingled, and in walked the attractive man from yesterday. Jongin sat up, watching him as he approached.

"Why did you give me that espresso yesterday?" he asked, trying to focus on the man's eyes rather than his dimple. This proved to be a fruitless effort as a) the dimple winked up at him in his peripheral vision as the man smiled and b) the other's eyes turned out to be deep, dark orbs that while they twinkled in amusement at Jongin, also seemed to be host to a billion and one mysteries. And Jongin suddenly wanted nothing more than to figure out this man's mysteries.

It took Jongin a second to realize that the man was speaking to him. "I gave you the espresso because I wanted to, and because you obviously needed it. I came in here to do the same for you today, since you look even more tired today than you did yesterday."

"No, you can't-" Jongin began, but the man cut him off with a smile.

"I want to. If you're worried about the money, then don't. I have enough to pay for your espresso. Now I'd like a mocha latte, and here's the money for your espresso included in here," he finished, holding out a wad of money. Jongin sighed and took it, seeing determination in this man's eyes and knowing that this guy would pay for Jongin's espresso, whether Jongin liked it or not.

The cashier took the money, and his fingers briefly brushed the back of the man's hand. The other man's skin was soft, and Jongin involuntarily held his hand there for half a second longer than was absolutely necessary. Jongin made the mocha latte and set it on the counter between them. "Can you at least tell me your name?" he asked, beginning to make his espresso.

"Zhang Yixing."

"Nice to meet you, Yixing. I'm Kim Jongin."

Yixing smiled and waved. "Nice to meet you, Jongin," he said as he left the shop, leaving Jongin staring after him long after the bell had tinkled and Yixing had rounded the corner.

Yixing came back every day for the next three days, always coming at 2:30 in the afternoon and ordering a mocha latte for himself and an espresso for Jongin. Jongin was thankful, because he really did need the espressos. He took night classes and he worked this job and one other in the mornings, so the amount of sleep he got was severely lacking.

However, that didn't change the fact that Yixing was a mystery--one that Jongin wanted to solve. So on Saturday, when Yixing came in, Jongin tried to talk to him while making the mocha latte.

"So, Yixing, do you um-" he stopped, not knowing how to continue, but Yixing picked it up for him.

"Do you want to go out to dinner with me? What time do you get off?" Yixing asked, staring determinedly at Jongin's hands as the other made the mocha latte.

Baekhyun chose that time to come over and in, throwing an arm around Jongin and grinning widely at Yixing. "He gets off at five," the barista said, eyeing Yixing up and down with dark eyes framed with eyeliner. Yixing's eyes widened and he took a step back, startled by the sudden appearance of the shorter man.

Jongin, who had been preoccupied trying to keep the mocha latte from spilling when Baekhyun had nearly knocked him over, looked up, pushing the barista off of him. "Get off of me! I'm trying to serve a customer!" he said before sending Yixing an apologetic look. "Sorry. What was that about dinner?" he asked, trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart.

"Um, I was asking if you wanted to go out to dinner, but if you don't want to..." Yixing trailed off, looking at the ground and wringing his hands nervously.

Jongin shook his head. "No, no, I wanna go! Where are we going?"

Yixing looked up and smiled at Jongin, his dimple appearing and winking teasingly at Jongin. "It's a surprise. Let me know when you're done, okay?"

And as Jongin watched, Yixing walked away, but instead of walking out of the cafe like he usually did, he sat down in an armchair in the corner, dropping his backpack on the floor next to him before pulling out a book that Jongin immediately recognized as the fifth Harry Potter.

For the rest of the day, Jongin tried not to stare as Yixing read his book. Jongin couldn't stop looking at the clock, mentally counting down how long was left until he would go to dinner with Yixing.

Yixing just kept reading his book. Jongin thought it was adorable how Yixing would gasp and shift in his seat whenever something exciting happened in the book. He also mouthed the words, and he didn't even look up when Jongin passed by him at around 3:15.

Finally, five o'clock rolled around and Jongin practically tore off his apron, just barely stopping himself from jumping up and down in excitement as he approached Yixing, who was still completely wrapped upon his own world.

"Yixing?" Jongin said softly, not wanting to startle the man, but the other didn't seem to hear him. "Yixing," he said, a little louder this time, setting his hand gently on the man's shoulder.

Yixing jumped slightly and looked up at Jongin. "Oh, a-are you done?" he asked.

Jongin's eyebrows came together in concern when he noticed the tear streaks on Yixing's cheeks. "Yixing...are you okay?" he asked gently.

Yixing brought a hand up to his face, seeming surprised to find it wet. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, it's just..." he trailed off, looking down at his book.

"What is it?"

Yixing looked back up at Jongin. "Sirius. He died. He was a closest thing to a father that Harry ever had, but he died and..." he broke off, wiping his tears.

Jongin smiled, partly out of relief and partly because Yixing was really adorable. Jongin thought that his heart expanded to roughly the size of a soccer ball as he watched Yixing bookmark his page, still sniffling slightly.

"Ready to go?" Yixing asked, dimple winking as he looked at Jongin, who couldn't help but smile as they walked out of the cafe.

Dinner went wonderfully. Yixing took him to an Italian place downtown, and they both laughed when Yixing knocked his glass over and shattered it on the carpet, though they apologized profusely to the waiters who arrived to clean it up. When their food came, they ended up trying each others' food and just sharing the plates between themselves, so that Yixing ended up eating half of Jongin's food and vice versa.

They ordered a slice of chocolate cake to split, and while they ate it Yixing brought up Baekhyun. "Your boss, the barista at the cafe, seems a little....how do I put this..." he began.

"Eccentric? Yeah, Baekhyun's like that," Jongin said as he scooped out a good sized bite of cake and putting it in his mouth and speaking around it. "Don't mind him. He's just an eyeliner-obsessed freak."

Yixing laughed, and Jongin's eyes travelled once more to that damn dimple. Once again, it took him a moment to realize that Yixing was speaking. "So, why are you always half asleep at 2:30 in the afternoon?" he asked, leaning forward and resting his elbow on the table, his chin n his hand.

Jongin shrugged. "I take night classes, and I work another job in the mornings before I go to the cafe."

A crease formed between Yixing's eyebrows. "Do you have time to eat lunch?"

Jongin shook his head. "Not generally. My shift at my first job ends at 12 and my shift at the cafe starts at 12:30. I need most of that time to get through the lunch rush on the subway. In general, I eat a Pop-Tart or something for breakfast and then have a sandwich or takeout for dinner before going to my classes. I'm never able to do something like this, because most of my weekends are spent either doing homework or sleeping, I don't get out much," he stopped talking, realizing how pathetic his life was.

Yixing leaned back and crossed his arms, watching Jongin intently. "That's not healthy, Jongin," he said.

Jongin shrugged again. "I don't really have any other options at the moment."

Yixing sighed and fell silent for a few minutes. Jongin's mind drifted in the silence.

Why was Yixing so worried about his lifestyle? He seemed to be genuinely concerned for Jongin's well-being. They barely knew each other, but as Jongin watched the other man think, he realized that he wanted that to change. Jongin wanted to get to know Yixing. He wanted to know his secrets and his mysteries.

He wanted to know which side of the bed Yixing slept on, and what kind of cereal he preferred to eat in the mornings. He wanted to know whether Yixing preferred coffee or tea, and how he took both of them. He wanted to know everything about this man. He just didn't know where to start.

Finally, Yixing looked up and waved down the waiter. "We'll take the check now, please. And it'll all be on one check," he said. Jongin began to protest as the waiter scurried off, but Yixing held up a hand. "Jongin, you don't even have time to eat lunch every day. At least let me treat you to dinner," he smiled, and Jongin had a sudden urge--not for the first time--to lean forward and poke the dimple that was winking at him from Yixing's right cheek.

Jongin sighed and nodded. "And I guess you're gonna walk me home, too?" he teased, but Yixing nodded.

"I was planning on it, yeah. You mentioned that you had a dog--I'd like to meet him."

Jongin's eyes widened and he tried--and probably failed--to fight down a blush that he could feel creeping up his neck. Finally he nodded, and once Yixing had signed the check and Jongin had left the tip--he insisted that he at least do something--the pair left the restaurant.

As they walked toward Jongin's apartment building, Jongin mentally thought of how he should go about holding Yixing's hand. He was just trying to figure out when would be the right time to do it when Yixing just reached over and laced their fingers together. Jongin looked over at him, eyes widening and face reddening, before squeezing the Chinese man's hand. Yixing smiled slightly, and his dimple winked at Jongin once again. Jongin smiled and focused on how warm Yixing's hand was in his.

When they reached his apartment, Jongin released Yixing's hand so that he could dig the key from his pocket. "Sorry for the mess," he mumbled as he unlocked the door. "I wasn't really expecting company."

Predictably, Mongu jumped on Jongin as soon as he walked in the door. Jongin pushed him down and glanced to the couch, where his roommate Sehun was having what appeared to be a hot make-out session with his boyfriend Luhan.

Mongu went to inspect Yixing as Jongin mimed retching. "Gross, get a room," he said, tossing his bag to the armchair and turning back to Yixing. "Sorry about them. They don't know the meaning of the word privacy, apparently."

Yixing laughed nervously and knelt to pet Mongu. There was a noise that sounded a lot like a toilet being plunged as Sehun and Luhan separated, and Jongin felt it was safe to look to the couch.

Luhan climbed off of Sehun wearing a white wife beater and skinny jeans, leaving Sehun on the couch in only pajama pants and no shirt. Jongin figured that Luhan must have come over right after his last class, and he was probably staying over again.

Luhan smiled at Jongin, and Sehun stood up and grinned. "Well well well, it's about time our little Jonginnie brought someone home," he said with a slight lisp.

Jongin rolled his eyes. "Oh stop it, I'm older than you. He's just walking me home from dinner," he retorted, trying to deny the blush that was threatening to creep up his cheeks. "Yixing wanted to meet Mongu. I didn't think you guys would be here. Didn't you say you were going out tonight?"

Luhan chuckled. "We got a little distracted," he replied cheerily, rubbing his lips, which were red and swollen.

"I can tell," Jongin said, sending Sehun a look before turning back to Yixing. "Yeah, sorry about that. This is my roommate Sehun and his boyfriend, Luhan."

Yixing grinned, and Jongin's breath caught in his throat at the sight of Yixing's sparkling eyes, bright white teeth, and of course, that teasing dimple twinkling at Jongin from Yixing's right cheek. "It's fine, Jongin. I'm glad I got to meet your roommate. And your dog is so cute!" he gushed, turning back to Mongu and ruffling the dog's ears.

Not as cute as you, Jongin thought before smiling and kneeling next to Yixing and scratching Mongu under the chin. "This is Mongu. In some ways, he's like my best friend."

"Hey!" Sehun called from the kitchen.

Jongin rolled his eyes and winked at Yixing, raising his voice to a tone that was dripping with sarcasm. "Not as much as Sehun, though. How could I possibly love my dog more than my roommate who has hot make-out sessions with his boyfriend in the middle of the living room?"

Yixing stifled a laugh behind his hand as Sehun responded. "Thank you!" he shouted from the kitchen, and even Luhan laughed.

Yixing stood up, and Jongin followed suit, tossing a tennis ball gently across the room to keep Mongu occupied so he and Yixing could talk uninterrupted, since he was pretty sure that Sehun and Luhan were making out again in the kitchen. "I'm going to have to make sure they don't go past second base unless they're in the bedroom," he muttered to Yixing, who giggled.

"Thank you for letting me take you out and take you home. I had a lot of fun, and I hope we can do this again sometime," Yixing said, smiling. Jongin tried really hard to ignore the dimple.

"No, thank you. I had a lot of fun, too."

"OH PLEASE, WOULD YOU JUST KISS ALREADY?"

Jongin and Yixing both jumped at Sehun's shout from the doorway. Luhan hurriedly rushed forward and pulled Sehun down the hall and into the bedroom, mouthing an apology to Jongin and Yixing before shutting the door.

Jongin turned to Yixing. They just stared at each other for a full minute before Jongin couldn't take the silence anymore. That, and he could hear Sehun and Luhan getting it on in the other room, and he didn't want to have to listen to that. "Let me walk you to the lobby," he said, gently placing his hand in the small of Yixing's back and leading him out of the apartment and down the hall.

Yixing's back was warm, and the nerves in his hand seemed to be on hyper alert, ultra-sensitive to the warmth of Yixing's back under them. Then they reached the elevator, and Jongin reluctantly removed his hand from Yixing's back.

However, once they entered the elevator, Yixing reached out and took Jongin's hand, just as he had done on the walk home. Jongin looked at him in surprise, but intertwined their fingers anyway. Yixing smiled softly, and the dimple appeared, not going away even after they had reached the lobby.

Jongin walked Yixing to the door, turning to say goodbye, but was once again distracted by the dimple. Acting on an impulse that he didn't even give himself to think about first, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the dimple.

He probably only stayed there for a few seconds at most, but it felt like an eternity.

Finally, he pulled back, blushing furiously. He avoided Yixing's eyes as he muttered a goodbye, turning and running to the stairs so that he wouldn't have to wait for the elevator.

Jongin didn't see, but Yixing raised a hand to his cheek--which was flushed bright red--and felt where Jongin's lips had just been.

He smiled.

Well, that was the first chapter. I wrote that yesterday in small snippets, seeing as yesterday I spent most of the day travelling around and doing stuff in Atlanta with my uncles. I wrote that mostly while we were in the car on the way to the next place. So yeah. I'm pretty proud of myself. And I also wrote it on an iPad with a demanding mother and annoying brother hovering around me constantly so yeah. Pretty proud that I was able to do this.

But anyway, please leave your comments and let me know what you think!