Jongdae always felt drawn to the library. There were books, shelves upon shelves where he could immerse himself in, an air of serenity, near-silence, and, although he didn't want to admit it, him.
Ever since he had first stepped inside, the boy had been there. (Although it wasn't until a few months later Jongdae really noticed him.)

~

Jongdae walked through the glass doors, heading straight to his favourite section. Running his finger along the spines of various books, he frowned in concentration as he tried to pick out the most aesthetically pleasing ones. He knew he shouldn't judge a book by its cover but also doubted anyone who didn't do the same. It was instinctive.
Pulling one last book from the shelf, Jongdae looked at the perilous pile in his arms, then at the wonderfully overstuffed armchairs bathed in sunlight beside the windows. This was the part the boy always hated, navigating his way through the sea of shelves towards those armchairs. He sighed inwardly, balanced the pile between his arms and proceeded to totter forwards. Almost immediately, he hit something warm and solid, watching in horror as books flew in every direction. The effect was instantaneous. Heads shot up everywhere and a chorus of Shhs resounded throughout the area. Blushing furiously, Jongdae whispered several apologies before picking up novels left and right. He hated attention. Especially the mortifying kind he was receiving right now. Therefore Jongdae wasn't really paying much attention when the last book was handed to him by the person he had crashed into. "Sorry I- thanks." He muttered, keeping his eyes down and walking as fast as he could without causing another fiasco, heaving a heart-felt sigh of relief when he sank into the armchair. Only then did he glance back at the person he had collided with. Baggy sweater, black jeans, dark brown hair, and... vaguely familiar?
A small frown momentarily creased his forehead before he shrugged, giving himself in to the kind of temptation only a book could bring.

~

A few weeks later, life had settled back into the old routine. Every day Jongdae visited the library, memories of that embarassing incident receding to the back of his mind. It was just another day filled with books when the second incident happened.

"Botticelli."

Chen glanced up, momentarily confused. Was that a pasta?
He observed dark hair, tight jeans... it was the baggy-sweater boy from before.

"Botticelli." The soft voice repeated, this time accompanied by a finger pointing at the mess of books on the small table. Jongdae's eyes roamed over the pile before landing on a title he recalled picking out for no particular reason.

"He was an Italian painter from the Renaissance period." Baggy-Sweater spoke in almost a dreamy fashion.

"Uhm, okay?" Chen had no idea where this was going or what Baggy-Sweater wanted. Can't a guy read in peace around here without being bombarded by baggy-sweater boys who had a thing for artists that sounded like pasta?

To Jongdae's relief, the lean male (who he was now referring to as baggy sweater pasta boy) said nothing more. He plopped down into the empty armchair opposite Jongdae and started to read.

And so, time in the library began to pass in this fashion.

Sometimes, Jongdae would arrive first and go through his normal library routine, quietly joined by Baggy Sweater Pasta Boy, who would either flip open a novel or work on drawings. Other times, Baggy Sweater would already be sitting there, filling the silence with a soft scratching of a pencil and the rustle of pages. Both would continue peacefully until a sharp voice announced that the library *will be closing in 5 minutes*, shattering the quiet and dragging back reality.

Occasionally, when the library was unusually full, one would silently save a spot for the other, usually  with their own pile of books. This action, although never acknowledged out loud, was one that both boys had mutually agreed upon somewhere along the passage of time. And then, on rare days, one boy would simply not turn up at all. This often elicted no distinct response from the other, although a frequent observer might have noted that the boy would most likely leave before the library's closing hour.

The third incident happened on a particularly busy day. Jongdae had arrived to find that literally the only armchair available was an old one in the corner of the library. Muttering unhappily to himself, he settled down as comfortably as he could manage, balancing the usual pile of books beside the chair. Vaguely, Jongdae wondered whether Baggy Sweater would be able to find him... or another armchair. He had barely formed this thought when a lean figure appeared beside him with an armful of paperbacks. Baggy Sweater scanned the occupied chairs and shrugged, dumping his pile next to Jongdae's. He plopped himself down on the carpet, and was trying to decide what to read first, when he felt a hand gently tug his sleeve.

"You can share a chair with me, you know, if you want?"

Jongdae shifted a little before continuing. "I mean, we can definitely both fit, it's not like one of us is a walrus or someth-"

Baggy Sweater had already plonked himself next to Jongdae and was giving him the sweetest little dimpled smile, eyes flashing a grateful thank you. The latter, feeling a sudden heat creep up his face, coughed and hastily buried himself in his book again.

~

"Hey."

Baggy Sweater glanced up from the book he was absorbed in and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Jongdae coughed, one hand shooting upwards to rub the back of his neck. "Uh, I never caught your name...?"

The other boy grinned. "It's Yixing. My name is Yixing."

"Oh, okay, cool, I'm Jongdae."

"Zhong...Dai?"

"No, it's, uh, Jong-Dae." Jongdae stretched out the syllables.

Yixing blinked at him.

Jongdae blinked in response.

Yixing's face split into a small, cheeky smile. "Nah, I think I prefer ZhongDai."

Jongdae silently cursed.

~

"Hey."

"Mmm."

"Hey."

"Mmm?"

"Hey."

"What is it, Yixing?!" 

"Wanna go for bubble tea sometime?"

"Yixing. Do I look like a bubble tea kind of guy to you."

"Well.. yes I must say you do."

"Screw you."

"If you insist."

Afterwards, Jongdae was kicked out of the library for inappropriate behaviour and damage to public library books. Yixing followed him outside, grinning and rubbing a large, swollen, bump on his head.

They ended up getting bubble tea after all. Yixing didn't have enough money and had to share one with Jongdae, who scowled and blushed the entire time.

"Hey."

"What."

"Zhong Dai."

"It's Jongdae."

"Whatever. Wanna go out sometime?"

Yixing found himself with the remainder of the bubble tea on his head.

Should I continue or leave this fic as a one-shot?

Tell me what you guys think of it so far! :]

- Lychee