Smack

“Oof!” You groaned at the impact of Namjoon’s palm striking your back. It wasn’t a strong whack, but it was good enough to give you that burst of adrenaline you needed to avoid falling asleep again.

"Did you even sleep at all last night?” Namjoon raised an eyebrow, going back to jotting down notes on his worn out brown leather notebook. You watched the boy sketch an almost unrecognizable liver on the top right of the page, shrugging at the thought of his other sketches that were way worse.

“I tried. But the report kept me up.” You were both sitting at the very top and end of the lecture hall, the temperature up above made it easier to fall asleep considering how everyone clustered to the front and that made the area colder at the back. It was honestly quite the optimum temperature to fall asleep to. You never knew why Namjoon always agreed to sit with you, wherever you went.

—

The first time you met Namjoon, was exactly where you sat now. It was during biology class and you were both first years back then. You trudged your way to the top of the lecture hall, plonking yourself down on the chair and knocking out cold on the table immediately. It wasn’t your fault that you’d decided to read three books the day before.

You also hadn’t noticed the blonde boy who chose to sit next to you among the other three hundred and fifty-nine seats available. The lecturer had just touched on the anatomy of the brain when you made slight murmuring sounds in your sleep, attracting the attention of the boy. That, was the very first time he gave you a friendly reminder.

It started with a tap on your back and you waking up teary-eyed to him saying, “Everything else she’s said has been pretty much useless, but she’s actually giving good information now.”

You remember his very bright blonde hair, the round spectacles he wore that somehow actually fit the frame of his face, and the smirk that hung casually. You groaned, head diving straight back down onto the table only to have him poke your sides.

“Ow! W-what was that for?” You held your side, whining and glaring at the boy.

“Listen to the next ten minutes and I promise that you’ll be thanking me later.”

And, he was right. You eventually thanked the out of him the moment you handed up the paper of your pop quiz, apologizing and sticking to him for the rest of the day as you found out he was in the rest of your classes for the semester and also, you found out that his name was Namjoon.

Eventually, he’d gotten so used to having to wake you up during lessons that the gentle gesture of a tap on the back upgraded itself into a smack on the back- or head, if you were unlucky. It wasn’t all that bad seeing as you returned the favor whenever Namjoon fell asleep too, usually on the days after he’d binge read manga or challenge a new map in another RPG game. You both were comfortable that way though, only ever relying on each other with the friendship that was built on slaps on each other’s backs.

You also weren’t aware of how close you’d gotten until one day when he responded to your slap on his back with a hand placed on your thigh and mumbles of “stop, I’m sleepy”. It didn’t take long for blood to rush up, red immediately spreading on your cheeks. You simply cleared your throat, continuing to slap Namjoon on his back and eventually waking him up for that lesson. It did leave him pretty much cranky for the rest of the day, but you would never forget the whispers of thank you and sorry when you were both alone, sitting on the floor of your dorm room stuffing your faces with spaghetti from the cafeteria.

—

“Get up, you ,” You whined, having to wake Namjoon up for the fifteenth time- not that you counted- within the three hour timespan of that lecture.

“S-sorry,” Namjoon winced at the soreness of his back, the combination of the 15 slaps and the aftermath of bad sleeping posture during his slumber the night before (not that you could really call a 2-hour nap ‘slumber’). You both had a paper due the next day and as always, it was inevitable that you both stayed up till the wee hours, video calling to keep each other company. Namjoon always needed his full 8-hour beauty sleep, so it wasn’t unexpected that he’d collapsed in bed first without even ending the call.

You weren’t complaining, though, Namjoon was cute when he slept. Especially when he was having extremely cranky-sleepy days like these, he’d snore a lot but in a deep hum that was barely audible anyways. You took it as a special reminder, one that kept you out of dreamland so your reports would be complete the next morning.

—

He’d seen you get through your first college break-up, two years ago. It was two months of killing trees for tissue, forceful blanket removal to get you out of bed, and nights of alcohol and highs that never brought you down. Until the alcohol wore out, at least. That, however, let him see you through your first drunk night. He’d never seen someone go from 100 to 0 that quick, deciding to immediately carry you back into your room and tucking you to sleep.

He’s seen your panic attacks at not having brought pads out with you in public, chuckling as you’d sent him on his way to get you some at the nearest convenient store. You only thanked every heaven- and Namjoon for the pads- when you decided to wear black jeans that day.

He’s also seen you celebrate your way through almost three pizzas when you’d passed your mathematics module when everyone else was sure you’d fail, considering how you never passed a single quiz.

Basically, Namjoon has seen almost every façade of you like a jeweler inspecting a diamond. But now, it’s his first time seeing you not in the seat right next to him with your head on the table. Namjoon could only describe the feeling as uncomfortable. He’d never been anywhere without you next to him, whining about how the blue of the sky made you feel less motivated and how the grass was too green for its own good.

He didn’t have your sleeping self to wake up. He didn’t have you.

It’s great, Namjoon. She’s asleep in her own bed, she’s sick. You can concentrate on your lesson, Namjoon tried lying to himself, fiddling with the pen in his hand. He was fully aware of how he’d usually focus on you when you were around. Your slight shift every few minutes when your position got uncomfortable, how your forehead was always slightly redder after waking up and lifting yourself off the table, and how your half-asleep self was always cute. So this time, when the space next to him was empty, he felt the slight pang in his chest.

“Any questions? No? Your test is tomorrow, good luck.” The lecturer pressed the switch on the table, turning off the whole computer system with that one button, probably damaging the system from the inappropriate machinery handling.

“W-what, tomorrow? -” Namjoon grabbed all his books in a hurry, tripping down the stairs and knocking into several people in his effort to get to the lecturer before she left the hall.

“Professor, I have a question,” Namjoon said slightly breathless but managing to catch up to the lady, “Y/N’s sick today, is there any arrangement for her to do the quiz another day? I don’t think she’ll be able to catch up for the test tomorrow.”

“Well, too bad for her, then. We’re running out of time and there’s no other day for the test. Even if she’s still sick tomorrow and is unable to come for class, she’ll have to forfeit 5% of her overall grade, I’m sorry.” The professor turned away after she’d spoken, walking away immediately and leaving no room for Namjoon to even try to get a rebuttal in the conversation.

“,” Namjoon cursed, rolling his eyes and making his way to your dorm room.

—

It took ten minutes of knocking on your door, thirty unread messages, and 5 missed calls before you were awoken from your hibernation to realise that Namjoon was at your door. You crawled your way to the door, opening the door to see the blonde boy there, a smile on his face the moment your door opened.

“O-oh, Joon. Sorry…I didn’t hear you. Why are you here?” You felt your legs so weak, so you immediately made your way back to your bed to avoid possible cases of contact with the floor- which was falling, really.

“I’m here as the bad guy, having to tell you that 5% of your biology grade is on the line tomorrow,” Namjoon sighed, locking your door behind him and making his way to your table.

“Is it the , again? She won’t even let me off when I’m sick?” You whined, covering your face with your pillow, shuddering at the thought of the big red ‘F’ on your paper.

“Yeah, so I’m here to help you pass,” Namjoon sat on the chair, flipping open his notebook and trying to cram as much information as possible in your hazy brain. You forced yourself up and sat yourself on the other chair by the table as well. It took 45 minutes of explaining from Namjoon for you to get the basics of the chapter down, you only had 40 pages of information left to remember. That’s a 30 out of 100 right there on your paper, still a big red ‘F’.

“I’m never going to get anything in my head, you should just go and study for yourself, Joon,” You cried out, dumping your heavy head on the table. You were waiting for the slap on your back but it never came. You opened one eye to see Namjoon gazing back down at you, a slight smile tugging on his lips.

“What?” You groaned, still in despair, lifting your heavy head- and heart- and making an effort to glare at Namjoon, “You’re not the one in danger of failing a test tomorrow, you know.”

“I’m just…glad to see you, today.”

“You see me every day, what the heck are you even talking about? Did you study too hard, Nam-” It took you a moment in your foggy mind to realise that you were cut off by lips on yours- soft, plump, pink lips, to be exact. A hand reached for your waist just as your hands curled around Namjoon’s neck, your fingers running through his blonde locks.

It also took you another moment before you pulled away, alarmed at your own actions, “Namjoon!” Namjoon’s eyes widened, his hand dropping in slight disappointed at you pulling away.

“If you’re uncomfortable with what I did, I’m sor-” The blonde boy started, retreating back into his own personal space until you grabbed him arm and put it back on your waist as you buried your face into the crook of his neck.

“W-what?” Namjoon was seriously confused, his hands frozen at your waist and his body unmoving from the position.

“I didn’t want to stop you. Okay, I did, but not that way like I mean, kissing while I’m sick doesn’t sound like a good idea, does it?” You chuckled, followed by a squeak escaping you as Namjoon reconnected your lips once again.

It wasn’t as rough you imagined, but it was a nice gentle pace that you could keep up with even in your sickly state of mind. His lips soft and plump, your tongues dancing as you felt the heat grow in your face. You felt Namjoon stand up, though not breaking contact with your lips and slowly lifting you off the chair. You jumped slightly with Namjoon to catch you, your legs immediately hooking around his waist with his hand resting on your to hold you up.

You were gently placed on the bed, Namjoon breaking the kiss to climb into the bed with you and pulling the covers onto both of you. You pulled Namjoon closer to kiss him, feeling him rest his hand on your hip and the grin that grew on his face. This time, the kiss was more passionate, but sleepier. You broke the kiss, feeling a yawn creep up on you.

“We’ll continue with the studying in the morning, babe. We can just skip morning lessons. For now, just sleep.” Namjoon gave you a peck on the forehead, watching as your eyes slowly fluttered.

“What if I don’t wake up on time?” You relented, the yawn finally taking over you.

“I’ll give you a more-than-friendly reminder.”