He was sitting in his usual spot in his favourite cafe just simply enjoying his coffee and a good book. He liked this cafe for multiple reasons. There were the usual reasons like the smell of coffee, the cafe usually not being that busy and the coziness and quiet he got. But there was also another reason.

Jinyoung himself would of course, never admit to it being a reason for him to visit the cafe as often as he did, but he knew pretty damn well that it was. It was because another particular person liked to visit the cafe too. He had had a crush on Mark for quite some time now. They weren't necessarily friends, but you could say they were acquainted.

He lived for the little hello's and good mornings they exchanged, or the little conversations they had at school. He wasn't exactly sure whether Mark really knew who he was, or noticed him for that matter, but for now this was enough.

So he just sat at the cafe, sipping his coffee, and observed Mark.

He was getting pretty deep into the book when he heard the familiar bell of the cafe ring and saw his favourite person come in. He watched him take off his coat and to his dismay take off the coat of another person. He was with a girl. He almost choked on his coffee, but managed to keep a straight face and he quickly hid behind his book hoping that Mark didn't notice him.

His eyes followed them as they ordered and sat down. They seemed to be having fun, sometimes he heard them laughing, sometimes he picked up little things they said. When he looked up again, his eyes met Mark's. Mark slightly smiled at him and luckily he managed to smile back before hiding behind his book again.

Great. Mark has a date. And that rhymes. Stop being so stupid Jinyoung. Of course he has a date. Isn't he allowed to date or something. What are you even thinking.

He didn't really manage to focus on his book anymore because he was constantly throwing glances at Mark and his date. He sighed and decided to get up and leave. While he walked out he felt Mark's eyes burning on his back.

~

He was sitting in the cafe again. It was a sunny day and he was casually trying to finish some homework while enjoying his smoothie. Of course he was also hoping to see a certain person, but on the other hand he wasn't. He had an important assignment to finish and he couldn't be distracted.

As always his computer wasn't really cooperating and he might say that he got a little frustrated. He heard the familiar bell of the door again and looked up to see Mark coming in, again with a girl. It was the same girl as he had seen him with a few days ago.

He watched them sit down and order a drink. The atmosphere between them seemed tense and he couldn't understand why. The girl started talking and she seemed angry. She stopped for a while when they got their drinks but almost immediately continued once the waiter had left. He saw that Mark was trying to calm her down but she got so mad that she threw her smoothie over Mark's head and left.

Weren't things like that only supposed to happen in movies? He watched Mark try to clean a little bit off of his shirt, but he was actually only making it worse. Jinyoung chuckled a little. He was feeling really angry and really happy at the same time. He was angry at the girl for treating Mark like that, but deep down he was quite happy that Mark now seemed to be single again. He looked back at his computer screen again and continued his assignment.

~

Today was a rainy day. Well, not completely. The threat of rain had been in the air for the entire day, but it hadn't actually rained yet. Of course not until Jinyoung had to leave school. He decided to use the rain as an excuse to find shelter at his cafe. He dropped himself on one of the soft sofas and ordered a coffee.

He decided to make the most of his time and took out some homework assignments he had to finish. While lazily sipping his coffee, he scanned through the pages of his history textbook. It was quite interesting, he admits. So interesting he was completely lost in thought until a waiter brought him what seemed to be another cup of coffee. He quickly stopped the waiter with a hand.

"Excuse me, I didn't order that" he said with a polite smile. Maybe the waiter had just made a mistake.

"Oh no, it's from the man over there" the waiter explained while pointing at a table near the window. He looked over to the table as the waiter walked away to find Mark sitting at it. When he saw Jinyoung looking he gave him a bright smile. Jinyoung shyly smiled back and mouthed a little thanks.

He had no idea why Mark would buy him another cup of coffee. He had thought Mark didn't even know of his existence. Well, that's not entirely true. They had talked before, at school, about school related stuff. Yeah, it wasn't great, but it was everything Jinyoung was emotionally capable of.

When it got too late to wait for the rain to end he decided to pack up his homework and at last leave the cafe. He said goodbye to a few familiar waiters and made his way outside. He stopped under the overhang of the shop and looked at the raindrops slowly falling down. Suddenly an umbrella hovered over his head. He looked up to see Mark holding the umbrella. He jumped a little.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" Mark said sheepishly with a little smile that made Jinyoung's knees weak.

"Oh no, that's okay, you just startled me a little," he answered also with a smile on his face. Mark nodded.

"Are you headed home," he asked. Now it was Jinyoung's time to nod.

"Yes. It's only a short walk," he lied. He didn't want Mark to feel obligated to him home. That wasn't necessary at all and Jinyoung would probably not survive that either.

"That's not true, is it" Mark asked with a little chuckle. Jinyoung looked at him with a questioning look on his face. Mark didn't answer him but just kept talking.

"Let me take you home. I mean you won't get wet that way" Mark said and Jinyoung could see he was getting a bit shy now too.

"No you don't have to do that. I appreciate the offer but I don't want to bother you" Jinyoung admitted.

"That's fine, you're not bothering me" Mark answered and pulled him with him. Jinyoung didn't ask him how he knew where he lived, basically he didn't say anything for the entire walk. When they finally arrived at Jinyoung's home he turned around and looked at Mark with a smile.

"Thank you, Mark'' he said on purposely adding Mark's name at the end. Mark smiled when he heard his name.

"You're welcome Jinyoung'' he answered. Jinyoung smiled and turned towards, opened it, and went inside. When he closed the door, he slid down to the floor and hid his face in his knees all while smiling like crazy. That just happened. Although he had no idea why that just happened. Didn't mean he couldn't be happy.

~

You probably know the drill by now. He was sitting in the cafe again, per usual, drinking his coffee and reading a book. He saw Mark coming in, again with a girl. He immediately got disappointed. He followed them with his eyes. The girl was very pretty but Mark seemed uncomfortable. When his eyes landed on him, he gave him a weak smile.

The girl started talking, and then Mark said something and apparently the girl didn’t really like what he had said. She seemed to get angrier and angrier until the event of last week repeated itself and Mark ended up with a smoothie on top of his head. Luckily he was prepared for it this time.

Before he could say anything the girl had left. He got up and quickly pased towards Mark.

“Hey are you okay” He carefully asked. Mark looked up at him his face colouring red.

“Yeah I’m fine. Sorry you had to see that, it’s kind of embarrassing” he said with a sheepish smile.

“I have a spare shirt in my bag. If you want you can borrow it” he suggested. Just maybe he had put that shirt in on purpose. Yes the chance something like this would happen again had been small, but still, it had happened again.

“Really?” Mark asked “that would be great” he said.

Jinyoung quickly went back to his seat and grabbed the shirt. He rushed back to Mark and handed him the clean shirt. Mark left for the bathroom to change and Jinyoung returned to his seat. When he came back Jinyoung was stunned for a moment. He had always liked that shirt, but Mark wore it ten times better.

“Thanks again, I’ll make sure to return it to you” Mark said smiling brightly. So did that mean they would see each other again? He sat back down and ordered a new drink. He sat down at Jinyoung’s table. No he wasn’t internally freaking out. Of course not.

“Why was she so angry” Jinyoung asked. He had actually not wanted to ask but his curiosity had won over. Mark looked up at him while sipping his drink.

“Well I’m assuming you saw the first time this happened too” Jinyoung nodded. “My friends keep trying to set me up with girls, but actually” He paused and looked down “I just keep turning them down because I’m gay, and they don’t seem to like that a lot” He looked up again smiling sheepishly. Jinyoung liked that smile.

“Ah, it’s like that” Jinyoung said “I still don’t get why they would throw their drink on you. Isn’t that something that only happens in movies” He remarked. Mark smiled at him when he didn’t question anything Mark had just said.

“Yeah I wonder too” he answered with a smile. They continued drinking their drinks in silence until Mark spotted Jinyoung’s book.

“What are you reading” he asked, genuinely interested. Jinyoung looked up in surprise and began talking about his book enthusiastically. Mark listened and actually asked a couple of really good questions. Jinyoung wasn’t feeling uncomfortable anymore and actually managed to enjoy his time with Mark a lot without blushing all too much.

“Oh” Mark said as he looked at his watch “it’s getting late, I should probably go” He said.

“Oh that’s okay, I should go too” Jinyoung admitted when he saw the time. His mother would probably be worrying by now.

“Shall I walk you home” Mark asked shyly. Jinyoung smiled at him.

“It would be my pleasure” He answered as he threw on his coat and grabbed his stuff. He and Mark left together and spent the walk talking about all sorts of stuff. Finally they reached Jinyoung’s home and Jinyoung was a little disappointed his time with Mark was over already. He turned around to face Mark.

“I’ll see you at school then” He asked. Mark smiled at him.

“Sure” he answered and turned around. He still gave Jinyoung a little wave before he disappeared from view.

~

Same old he was going to the café again only this time when he got in Mark was already there. He waved at Jinyoung as soon as he got in. He made his way to Mark and dropped himself in the seat opposite of Mark.

“Hi” Mark greeted him with a smile.

“Hey” He said. Suddenly Mark moved and took Jinyoung’s shirt from his bag.

“Here, thanks again for having me borrow it” he said while handing Jinyoung the shirt. He quickly put it back into his bag.

“No worries” he answered.

“Let me pay you back with a drink” Mark suggested. Jinyoung looked at him and he saw Mark was again shyly smiling at him.

“No that’s not necessary” he answered also smiling.

“I insist” Mark said with a teasing smile.

“Well alright, if you insist” Jinyoung said with a smile reflecting Mark’s. They both ordered drinks and drank in silence.

“Hey do you mind me asking for your number, I mean we’ve been seeing each other around a lot and it would just be useful” Jinyoung asked. He was surprised by his own gut but he had actually wanted to ask for Mark’s phone number for a while now. Mark looked up to him in surprise and for a moment he thought he had screwed up. Then Mark smiled.

“Yes of course” he said while taking out his phone. They exchanged numbers and talked a little about school.

“Why actually did your friends set you up with girls when they know you’re gay” Jinyoung asked a question he had been meaning to ask for a while now. Mark’s expression changed.

“They don’t really know” he said, guilt visible on his face “and those that do don’t really take it seriously” he admitted. “I’m quite afraid to tell them you know, I feel like some of them won’t support me” he said his face a little sad.

“Oh I’m sorry” Jinyoung said “but for the record, I do support you” he said with a smile. Mark smiled back at him but Jinyoung wasn’t convinced. “actually….. I’m gay too” he admitted. Mark was the first he told about him being gay, but he felt like Mark of all people would understand. Mark looked at him in surprise.

“Really” he asked “have you told anyone” he continued.

“You’re the first” he admitted.

“I’m honoured” Mark said with a hand on his heart.

“You should be” Jinyoung said with a teasing smile. Mark smiled back at him.

~

He wasn’t at the café today. What a surprise! Actually he was taking a walk in the park nearby, together with, you guessed it, Mark. It was pretty chilly. Jinyoung was wearing the shirt he had recently lend out to Mark, and that had become his favourite shirt just because it still faintly smelled like Mark. He shivered a little. He enjoyed winter, but that didn’t mean he was freeze-proof.

“Hey Jinyoung” Mark started “why are you always at the café” Mark asked.

“I like it there. It’s not that busy and their coffee is nice. And well, you come there often” he said without completely noticing what he had said. Mark looked at him and he felt his face redden.

“Really” Mark asked the amusement audible in his voice.

“What. No” Jinyoung stuttered.

“I have to admit, I like that café a lot more because of one particular person too” Mark said. Now it was Jinyoung’s turn to look at Mark. “but I don’t think he likes me that much, I have embarrassed myself in front of him quite a lot” he said with a chuckle.

“He’s a lucky guy” Jinyoung admitted trying to keep his voice steady.

“You’re really dense aren’t you” Mark asked with another chuckle. Jinyoung looked up at him and saw a strange sort of determination in Mark’s eyes.

“I used to come to that café so often because you seemed to always be there. After school you were there, on the weekends you were there. And so I was. It’s quite enjoyable watching you while you’re concentrated, you look cute” Mark said. It dawned on Jinyoung that Mark had been at the café for the exact same reason that Jinyoung had been there, to silently watch the other. He started laughing because he couldn’t hold in his nervousness anymore. Mark looked at him strangely.

“I’m sorry” he said when he was done laughing “it’s just really funny that we were both there technically doing the exact same thing, without even noticing it” he admitted.

“You came there to look at me” Mark asked. Now Jinyoung turned red. Mark hadn’t been embarrassed about his confession at all, but of course Jinyoung had to go and blush his face off.

“Maybe” he said softly. Mark now started laughing and soon Jinyoung joined in too. They were a rather odd bunch of people, rather dense too.

“I really made a fool of myself didn’t I” Mark asked.

"No you're all good. It's kind of cute" Jinyoung said. Mark looked at him and silently grabbed his hand.

"You think I'm cute" Mark asked teasingly while bringing his face a little closer.

"Very. Especially with a smoothie on top of your head" Jinyoung answered teasingly. Then suddenly he realized how close their faces were.

"Do I now" Mark said softly as he planted a little kiss just next to Jinyoung's lips.

~

When he got into the café Mark was already waiting for him. They hadn’t agreed to meet up there, it was just habit. He quickly made his way towards Mark and his usual table and basically fell into a chair.

“You look terrible” Mark remarked.

“Thank you for reminding me” Jinyoung said with a little smile.

“No seriously, have you even been eating” Mark asked, worry in his voice.

“Yes, it’s just the exams and stuff” Jinyoung huffed out.

“Want to go for a walk” Mark asked. He nodded and they both got up again. As they got outside Mark’s hand immediately found his and he smiled a little. When they reached a bench in the park the both dropped themselves on it. Mark pulled Jinyoung towards him and placed his head on his lap tracing his fingers though Jinyoung’s hair. Jinyoung relaxed and let out a sigh. Suddenly Mark bent down and placed a little kiss on his forehead.

“What was that for” he exclaimed. Mark just smiled at him.

“I love you” Mark whispered at him and Jinyoung’s face lit up.

“I love you too” he said and just after he had said it Mark placed a little kiss on his lips. He could barely feel it but it was definitely there. He smiled up at him brightly and Mark returned the smile just as bright.

“But you’re really stupid, you need to take good care of yourself” Mark said teasingly.

“Says the person that has been looking at me for god knows how long without saying anything” Jinyoung remarked.

“Same goes for you” Mark laughed.

“Yeah, true” Jinyoung admitted and quickly placed another kiss on Mark’s lips.