It had started out very simply, if Namjoon thought about it. 

It all started with one person – Jung Hoseok, former roommate of brothers Kim Namjoon and Kim Taehyung.

It started with Hoseok leaving them, despite Taehyung’s wails of protest and “how can you leave us for Yoongi-hyung? We’ll die!”

Of course, Taehyung was being over-dramatic. Hoseok was moving out to move in with his boyfriend of three years. The only problem with that, was that neither Namjoon nor Taehyung could actually cook anything edible. Taehyung had tried once. It hadn’t been pretty. Especially judging by the way Hoseok’s lips pursed into a flat line. 

“It’ll be fine.” Hoseok had said, smiling. He was always smiling. Namjoon knew his roommate well enough to know that this particular smile meant he didn’t really believe it himself. “Just…go get some cooking lessons?”

Of course, Namjoon, being the older brother by one year (and the least likely to try godawful concoctions) had stepped up to the plate, as it were. 

Really, he’d been at this for weeks now. He hadn’t set anything on fire (that had been once) but he hadn’t really learned anything either. 

It wasn’t his fault. Not really. Not when their cooking instructor was so god damn attractive. 

Pretty much every single lesson since Namjoon stepped into the kitchen/classroom he’d been too focused on tousled brown hair and soft, plush, pink lips. And that smile was nothing to turn a person’s nose up at either. And yeah, okay, maybe you could park a plane on that guy’s shoulders too. And, so, okay, maybe Namjoon had a thing for broad shoulders. 

It really hadn’t taken long for Namjoon to make an idiot of himself over Kim Seokjin. 

It was really only five minutes. 

Namjoon couldn’t help but feel like an idiot when he slipped with the knife and nearly cut the end off his finger, but really, it brought Seokjin rushing over, looking fifteen different shades of concerned, so maybe Namjoon couldn’t help but feel a little bit like he’d made an achievement.

Still, though, when everyone else in the class seemed to be improving, Namjoon was beginning to find himself frustrated. He had a brother to look after – Tae was a beautiful kid, really, but he was just a little bit strange sometimes, and definitely needed looking after – and he had to feed himself too and wow but this cooking thing was hard. He suddenly found himself wishing he’d tossed away his pride like Taehyung and clung to Hoseok’s leg as their one chef walked straight out the door. 

“Are you okay, Joonie?” Seokjin’s soft voice floated to Namjoon’s ear as Seokjin’s hand came down on his shoulder. Only Seokjin called him Joonie. It was… almost cute. 
“I, yeah.” Namjoon responded dumbly. Being in Jin’s presence had done that a lot to him lately. 

All it took was a quirk of Jin’s eyebrow to get Namjoon spilling everything. Since when could Jin read him so well? After Namjoon’s tirade, Jin’s glance was sympathetic. Namjoon didn’t think Jin had ever been in this position himself. Everything Seokjin did in the kitchen came natural, and it wouldn’t exactly be a lie to say Namjoon was a bit jealous of the steady grace with which Seokjin moved. 

Namjoon himself was more likely to trip over, send the knife skidding off the bench, barely missing his toes by inches, but managing to bring down a row of pans instead. People didn’t call him the god of destruction for no reason. 

“Would you…maybe like some extra lessons?” Jin asked him. “I have a lot of free time lately. If you…if you want to come over to my place, I can give you lessons one on one?” 

Okay, so maybe Namjoon didn’t really need to know that, truthfully, Jin didn’t have that much free time. He’d somehow find a way to make it work though, especially when Namjoon was smiling at him with those dimples oh my god. Namjoon didn’t really need to know either, that truthfully, this was just an excuse to get closer to the endearingly clumsy blonde with the beautiful smile and the more beautiful heart. 

“Yeah. Yeah that’d be cool.” Namjoon responded. 

And that was how Namjoon found himself outside of Seokjin’s dark wooden front door, phone clutched tightly, but not too tightly, in his slightly sweaty hand. He’d been using it for the directions to Seokjin’s apartment building. He didn’t really want to admit that he was nervous, but oh he was. Firstly, Seokjin was insanely beautiful – the kind of beautiful that made you wonder what the hell angels were supposed to look like, if one person could look so beautiful. Secondly, Jin’s apartment complex was a lot nicer than his. He’d hate to do any damage. Thirdly, he had to remind himself, despite his potentially maybe crush on Kim Seokjin, this was just an extra lesson, nothing else. 

He gave himself a quick onceover in the mirror at the end of the hall before raising a fist to knock. He’d just finished the second knock when the door flung open. Namjoon blinked at Seokjin in surprise. He’d had to have been walking right past the front door as he arrived. (Actually, Jin was waiting – somewhat anxiously - by the door, but this was another one of those things Namjoon didn’t need to know.)

“Hey, Jin-hyung!” Namjoon greeted, trying to be casual. 
“Joonie! Come inside, come inside!” Jin returned, ushering the blonde through the door, barely giving Namjoon enough time to kick off his shoes before Jin was already on his way to the kitchen. 

Namjoon hadn’t noticed until then that Jin had already been wearing an apron. How Jin managed to get a Super Mario brothers apron, covered with little Mario and Liugi heads, interspersed with green and red mushrooms, was beyond Namjoon. Really, he didn’t think things like that existed. 

Still, the apron brought a smile to Namjoon’s face, because god damn it, it was cute. 

Their lesson went relatively smoothly, Namjoon thought. Especially considering the way Jin would press up against him when he would take control of Namjoon’s hands in some way to show him some new technique because “wow Namjoon. Who cuts onions like that?”

Jin had invited him to stay and try what they’d cooked together afterward, and Namjoon couldn’t find it in him to refuse, even though Taehyung was probably wondering where he was. He quickly typed Taehyung a message, Taehyung quickly responding back that it was okay because he was with Jimin anyway. 

Namjoon had to supress a laugh at that. When wasn’t Taehyung with Jimin? He knew Taehyung tried not to be obvious, but to his ‘hyung-eyes’ it was obvious his brother had the hots for a certain Park Jimin. 

“What is it?” Jin asked, seeing the expression on Namjoon’s face. 
“My brother.” Namjoon answered automatically. “He’s so in love and he thinks he’s hiding it. He’s so obvious it’s a wonder Jimin hasn’t noticed already.”
“Oh?” Jin continued. “That’s cute. Jimin’s pretty lucky, if your brother is anything like you.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks? I guess?” Namjoon stammered as a response. Jin just continued to look at him with his chin propped up in his hand, sleek chopsticks in the other. 

“And what about you?” Jin asked after a while. “Anyone special in your life?”
“No. Not really.” Namjoon rubbed the back of his neck, partially from embarrassment and partly to stop himself from saying something stupid, like he wished there would be. That he wished the man sitting across from him would just grab him and kiss him stupid. He didn’t really think that Seokjin would appreciate that all that much. He loved spending time with Seokjin, and didn’t really want that to change after one private lesson. Also, he still had to learn how to cook. 

It had been easier, Namjoon realised later. Cooking with Jin, without all the eyes of the other students on him, was much more relaxing. He’d managed not to break anything in Jin’s presence, which he was eternally grateful for. Breaking or denting the school’s equipment was one thing…

The lessons continued on like that for many more weeks – Namjoon attending class during the week, then getting extra help from Jin on the weekends. Occasionally they’d move the lessons over to Namjoon’s apartment. The first time that happened, Seokjin had found an overgrown koala clinging to his leg as he was preparing to leave. An overgrown koala named Kim Taehyung, who was in the process of begging Jin to never leave them ever because his food was magic. Thankfully, Jin had laughed it off and promised to come back until Namjoon’s food was magic too. That seemed to pacify Taehyung for a while, at least. 

“Hoseok. You need to help me.” Namjoon said, the second the other picked up the phone. 
“Namjoon, what?” Hoseok asked, sleep roughening his voice. “Is it Taehyung? Is everything okay? There was no glue involved this time right?” Hoseok’s voice became more alert with every possible scenario he imagined. 
“What? No. No. it’s not an emergency it’s just…” Namjoon wasn’t even sure anymore that this was a good idea. Not really. “It’s just that…It’s Jin-hyung’s birthday soon and I wanted to do something special for him.”
“And? Why the is this so important that you had to wake us up at o’clock?”
“Hey Yoongi-hyung.” Namjoon laughed. He could hear Hoseok squawking in the background –“Hyuuung give it backkk Namjoonie’s in trouble!” – which really wanted to make Namjoon laugh harder. 
“It’s important because I want to cook him dinner.” 
“Oh. Oh no.” Namjoon could hear a rustle on the other line, indicating the phone had been shoved back at Hoseok. 
“I’d love to help you!” Hoseok chirped as soon as the phone was back in his hands. He’d been able to get the gist of the conversation through his phone’s speaker after it had been so unceremoniously stolen. 

And that was how Namjoon spent the next three days in the lead up to Jin’s birthday. Practicing all of Jin’s favourites with an overeager Hoseok and a very happy guineapig in Taehyung. Hoseok had managed to work out, in that time, that Namjoon was harbouring more than a little crush on a certain Kim Seokjin. It wasn’t long before Taehyung knew, so Jimin knew, and Yoongi knew it as well. They weren’t so kind as to forget about it either, slipping causal jokes into the conversation. 

Still, it was at the end of the third day when Hoseok brushed his hair out of his eyes, satisfied smile in place, before he clapped Namjoon on the shoulder.
“Knock him dead, Joon-ah. You’ve got this.”
“Thanks, Seok.”

Namjoon woke up the next day feeling nervous. He’d already invited Jin over for his birthday several days beforehand, and Jin had eagerly affirmed his presence. Now, as Namjoon lay rolling around in bed, all he had to do was make sure he remembered everything Hoseok taught him – every little bit of feedback Taehyung had hummed at him as he patted an overfull stomach. He could do this, he reminded himself. 

And it was, to Namjoon’s great surprise, all going surprisingly well. Sure he’d maybe cut himself once already, but he put that down to nerves. He hadn’t burnt anything and that was what was important. He’d tried to remember how both Hoseok and Jin had told him to season the foods and so far, so good. 

Of course, that didn’t stop him from nearly sticking the knife through his hand again when the doorbell rang, making Namjoon jolt in surprise. 

Mercifully, Taehyung was already by the door and flung it open, given that he was on his way out to hang around with Jimin for the evening. 

“Joonie?” Jin called from what Namjoon pinpointed as the living room.
“Kitchen.” Namjoon called back, listening for Jin’s quick light steps as the elder made his way to the kitchen. 
“Sorry, I’m a bit early.” Jin said, sounding almost sheepish. “Smells amazing though.”

Namjoon turned around to look at Jin and almost wished he hadn’t. 

Jin was looking nothing short of amazing, his hair styled so that the tips fell just short of his eyes. He was wearing a simple white and grey striped sweater that brought out all Namjoon’s favourite things about him, including those broad shoulders, and his black pants clung in all the right places, showing Namjoon visions of long, delicate yet muscular legs. Namjoon tried not to think about what it would be like to have those legs all to himself for a night. 

“Joonie,” Jin prompted with a quiet laugh that bordered more on a giggle, “you’re staring.”
“I…sorry.” Namjoon apologised, feeling the colour rising in his cheeks as he ducked his head bashfully. “It’s just…you’re so…wow.” 

Queue Namjoon wanting to slap himself in the face. 

“Yeah, you too.” Jin responded with a gentle smile before taking a seat at the table. Had Namjoon not turned back to the stove to hide the embarrassed flush colouring his cheeks he might have seen the way Jin’s gaze gentled further as it looked at him, his smile widening almost imperceptibly.

It wasn’t long before Namjoon was serving the food, trying his best not to drop anything. Thankfully, everything made it to the table in one piece, and Namjoon didn’t fail, this time, to notice the way Seokjin’s eyes lit up. 
“Jonnie, you’ve done so well!” Jin praised. 
“Say that after you’ve tasted it.” Namjoon couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. Sure, even he had to admit, the food looked amazing – better than anything he’d cooked so far – but he’d not been game enough to taste it up until now. 

“Wow, Joonie.” Jin said, after all the dishes had been cleared from the table. “That was…I don’t think you need me anymore.” Was it just Namjoon’s imagination, or did Jin sound almost…sad... at the prospect. 

Namjoon resisted the urge to wipe his slightly sweaty hands against his jeans. The thought of not seeing Jin again – it stung. There was no way Namjoon was ever going to let that happen. He’d been thinking about it all night – them – and he was almost certain that there was even a tiny part of Jin that had to like him the way Namjoon did. Their evening was drawing to a close and it really was a kind of now or never situation. 

“I’ll always need you.” Namjoon said quietly, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. 
“Joonie – what?” Jin said, looking surprised. “Did you just-?”
“Yeah. I did.” Namjoon confessed, kneeling opposite where Seokjin was sitting on the sofa, his hands automatically reaching for Jin’s. “I’ll always need you. I want to spend every waking minute with you, and even those where I’m not awake. I want to dream about you, and your face is the first thing I want to see in the mornings. I really…”

 Namjoon found himself taking a deep breath. Time to take the proverbial plunge. “I really like you, Jin. And I can understand if you don’t feel the same, because I’m clumsy, and awkward, and you must have been carved by angels or some , because you’re perfect, but I-” 

“Joonie.” Jin said sternly, cutting the blonde off with the simple syllables of his name. “I think I’ve been in love with you since you walked through my kitchen doors and nearly tripped over your own feet.”

Namjoon didn’t get much of a chance to protest – didn’t really even get time to process the words at all, before Jin pulled Namjoon forward, lips crashing together in a slow but sweet kiss. 

“Don’t you ever think I’d leave you.”