"So what are you going to wear?"

 "...."

"Nothing? Bold statement, but I like it. Definitely makes an impression."

 Jinki taps his pen against the notepad and continues to pretend he's listening to music and can't hear Taemin's suggestions. 

 "I bet you there's eau de catnip somewhere. Put some behind your ear and let him sniff you."

 "...."

"Wear a little bell and collar."

 "..."

"We could make a pet tag for you in advance. So when you confess you can have a prop."

 Jinki stifles the urge to sigh, knowing it would acknowledge that he could hear Taemin, and only ersely encourage him. The sky is only just starting to brighten for the opening shift, and in a few minutes they'll have to turn on the music, and open the doors for the similarly tired and world-weary looking for some kind of stimulant. How and why Taemin is using his dark, inhuman wakefulness for a constant patter of teasing at this hour is something Jinki won't deal with until he absolutely has to. 

Hopefully, at that point, there will be customers and, equally hopefully, at that point Taemin would have to resort to texting his teasing, which is easier to ignore. 

Taemin flings himself into the limited counter space Jinki is using and tugs his earbud out, glee filling his next suggestion. 

"You could shape Joyonghan's into a heart. Romantic, right?"

"You know we don't have a suggestion box for a reason."

Taemin shrugs and pulls the notepad out from beneath his leg, expectation on his face turning rapidly into disappointment. He shakes it in Jinki's face before dropping it. 

"This is terrible poetry."

"It's the inventory."

"Still terrible. Who's going to get wooed over coffee filters? Think about your available options. We sell bananas too. "

Jinki has been doing his absolute best for the last 16 hours to avoid this topic and think about it in reasonable, quiet times, but it seems like he has had zero of that since meeting Kibum. He wonders, blackly, if this is a portent of any future relationship they have. 

If they have a future relationship. Taemin, in his own strange way, certainly seems optimistic about it. 

"Go pick the music, please," he offers for a temporary reprieve. Taemin lights up and goes to the back, and Jinki breathes a little easier. 

The cafe is bright and clean, the windows are drawn up, and all that's left is to turn the light on. It's just like the day before, except now he has a running countdown clock until he sees Kibum again. Whether it's an ominous countdown clock, or an excited one, his stomach still hadn't settled on it. It seemed either one resulted in a loss of appetite. 

He replayed their last interaction the day before in lieu of sleep. It had resulted in a level of tired truly unknowable and incomprehensible, but he couldn't persuade himself to not do it. He had played over every potentiality for behavior: his own, Kibum's, even Joyonghan's.

He had run through the possibility of Kibum rejecting him, Kibum suddenly becoming allergic to cats, Joyonghan setting fire to the building (in that, he had had a flame at the end of his tail), and even the outlandish possibility of an unexpected coma taking him in the middle of confessing. 

(In that one, Kibum had waited by his insensate side for about 5 minutes before adopting Joyonghan and moving to the countryside.)

His final, exhausted thought that bled into his dreams, was the one where Kibum asked him out. The sleep he had gotten, fueled by that lucky final thought, was undisturbed, up until the alarm 2 hours later. 

When he flips on the OPEN sign and unlocks the door, he takes in the cool, damp air and closes his eyes against it gratefully. The morning mist is so thick he can feel the droplets of moisture landing on his skin. Struck by the feeling, and knowing it was his only opportunity, he wriggles his phone out and takes a photo of it, the neon sign being by small curling tendrils. 

In a fit of pique after snapping, he steps outside into it, shivering, and turns the front-facing camera on. He cranes his head back and shakes it gently before coming back up and taking a photo of himself, head tilted to the side so his hair fans out, damp and messy. 

The music, settling into a selection after a few minutes of headache-inducing tuning, comes on loud and Jinki quickly posts the photos before tucking his phone back into his jeans, ready to scold Taemin for blasting the volume before most people could even form words. 

"What the ," Kibum heartily whispers into his phone. He leans against the sink for strength. 

He had been scrolling through his various feeds and pulled up IG, idly checking Jinki's account for any updates. The first photo that popped up was a moody mist-filled view from the cafe. It made him picture the man sleepy and tired, cutely rubbing at his eyes as he puttered around preparing for the day. 

Noticing it was a multi-photo post, he swiped right, expecting another view of the street.

Instead, what he has before him is Jinki, eyes closed dreamily, drops of dew highlighted along his jaw from the streetlight. His hair is dotted with moisture as well, swung loose across his shoulder, practically inviting someone to run his fingers through it. His lips are slightly parted, his tongue just slightly visible as if to taste the condensation. 

He hasn't even turned the shower on yet, so it is absolutely unreasonable for Kibum to feel steam caressing his skin intimately. He puts down the phone, only slightly shakily, his thumb sliding across the still active screen.

The hot water pulses over him, the rivulets streaming down his , and he tries to ignore his brain helpfully imagining Jinki joining him to warm up. 

When he rubs shampoo into his hair, he closes his eyes. When his fingers catch in the small tangles, it's easier to imagine it's Jinki who is carefully, tenderly fixing it, before running his own hands through it just for the sensation. 

He groans to himself. Leaning against the wall, he stares down accusingly at his suddenly alert . 

He really does not have time for this, but the fantasy of Jinki being in his shower becomes more detailed: a familiar, comfortable portrait, where the other man patiently lets Kibum move him until he stands beneath the showerhead, the spray sending his hair to flop over his eyes; Kibum pushing it away from his face, revealing Jinki smiling at him with nothing but affection and love in his eyes as he draws him into a kiss. 

Maybe he doesn't have time, but that picture has sent him into a spiral he isn't alert enough to resist. He braces himself against the wall, closes his eyes, and imagines it's Jinki's hand wrapping hungry fingers around his waiting . 

Jinki's phone buzzes with a notification soon after he posts the photos, but with the cafe officially open he doesn't have time to check it. So, when Taemin asks him to call his phone, because he misplaced it again, somewhere in between running back and forth from the kitchen to the tables, he doesn't think twice about opening it in front of the younger man. 

doc_and_key l iked your photo

He closes it as fast as he can, but Taemin is turning incredulous eyes to him, and the damage is done. His cheeks are stone cold traitors with their pinkness. 

Taemin's phone rings somewhere in the dining room, but the man stays glued to Jinki's side. 

"No," Jinki says. He pries himself loose as the door rings with a customer entering. Greeting the woman, he can only ignore Taemin the best he can as he goes through the transaction while his heart beats a stutter-stop rhythm in his chest.

When Jinki gives her the small coffee, Taemin sweeps in, tapping at his phone screen insistently, as though the rhythm will draw Jinki in. 

It works, but he doesn't have to admit that to anyone. He has a right to confer with his coworkers. 

"Did you create an account just for this?" he asks disbelievingly as Taemin pulls up the app. 

"Well, you weren't doing anything."

Jinki grouses, but doesn't look away as Taemin scrolls down. There's some photos of (his stomach grumbles) delicious-looking food; a couple of Kibum, one of which has receptionist, Minho, making a face in the background. There's one of Jonghyun playing outside the cafe that makes Jinki wonder if that was some time before this week, if their paths had come closer than he had imagined. When Taemin goes to the next picture, Jinki finds himself looking at two small dogs, sleeping against what must be Kibum's legs.  

There's an interminable amount of distress filling his senses at the innocent photo. Jinki doesn't have a problem with dogs, but Joyonghan by and large does. Even the calmest of the calm raises Joyonghan's ire, and drowning while standing dry-bone in a cafe feels like a distinct possibility when Taemin goes to the next post and finds it a video, the two dogs pulling against a leash eagerly as Kibum laughs, high-pitched, in the background.

Maybe this was the ultimate portent, he concludes as a customer calls for help and Taemin turns away - it wasn't his anxiety getting the better of him, it was a warning from the universe that he was crushing on a dog person. For all he knows, those small innocent fuzzy faces hid viciously cat-baiting instincts. 

He goes back to what he should be doing: working, mechanically smiling, and not thinking about Kibum. 

The listlessness manages to carry him all the way to lunch, when he goes for a walk so he doesn't have to talk about this with Taemin. It's also so he can submit to the siren call of his own phone without interruption.  It's bound to betray him as well, but he can't help it. 

He pulls up doc_and_key - Key > Kibum - and forces himself to look at the photos. Little pin-stabs of pain prick against his soft parts when he goes over the ones clearly taken at Kibum's home: a view out the window, his fingers tracing the condensation; a boiling pot of pasta; his socked feet, toes stretched and just touching a pair of trendy shoes; his dogs curled up at his side.

The last one is captioned "embarrassing kids". The pin-stab of pain turns into a gut punch.

They were his kids. Joyonghan was Jinki's kid. Parents couldn't be selfish and date if their kids didn't get along.  

The phone having achieved its singular goal of hurting him, he lets himself process its contents for a few minutes and work through his thoughts. They feel like they're sloshing right out of his head as he points his walk back towards the cafe. 

 Jonghyun is on the last verse of one of Jinki's favorite songs when he waves him down, waiting as patiently as he can manage for the musician to wrap up and politely request a break of his attendant audience. 

He sits at the driest chair as Jonghyun settles in, all smiles to Jinki's quiet solemnity.

Carefully and reverently, Jinki puts his phone on the table between them, the photo of Kibum's kids pulled up.

It takes a moment for Jonghyun to go "oh" and look at him sympathetically. A flash of irritation rushes over Jinki at the sudden thought that Jonghyun likely knew about the dogs and still tried his hand at matchmaking. But he can't find it in himself to hold onto the upset, because Jinki's the one who went and was dumb enough to crush on someone without knowing their pet situation. 

Still, he pulls himself together, because in the course of a 15-minute grief cycle he's found a course of action within himself. As awkward as he once found it, he has to pull at the string of questions if he's truly considering a situation that, if not examined critically angle by angle, could put his beloved cat in peril. 

He should probably have just done this earlier and simplified the whole matter.

"Did you date?" he asks. 

"What? No..." Jonghyun answers, eyebrows knitting together, confused.

"No or no?" he stresses the question on the second one, watching his face carefully for any betrayal. He's not expecting it at all when the other man goes from confusion to amusement, his nose crinkling as he giggles. 

"God, in the same place too -"

Jinki looks at him, expressionless, and Jonghyun takes pity on him. 

"No, we didn't date. We - me and Roo - started going to his office a few months ago. We're friends."

The most uncomfortable question is ejected violently from Jinki's mouth.

"Were you trying to set us up?"

Jonghyun's face takes on a vaguely awkward cast before it flutters off, replaced with abashed resolution. 

"Sort of."

Jinki's nerve ends seem to have migrated up his throat, so high he can taste it and he has to clear his voice around their fragmented ends.

"Did you think I needed help?"

"Jinki," Jonghyun says softly. "Of course not-"

"I do," he says suddenly, a dry throat making his next word slightly raspy and slightly pathetic to his ears. "So - um. Help."

Jonghyun blinks, and slowly reaches out to brush Jinki's hair out of his eyes. There's some dust across the top of his cheekbone that Jonghyun wipes carefully away as well. His words come out weighted down with sincerity and affection. 

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. No, you don't."

Jinki stares at him incomprehensibly.

"I just had a feeling that you two would get along, that's all. He's kind of," he sighs, a small smile gracing his features as he gestures one way. "And you're - " he gestures the other way. "So he needs someone out there - " he tips to the left and right like he's a scale balancing out. "And you could do with someone over there. It doesn't matter if you two ended up being friends or friends with benefits or boyfriends. Seemed like you both could use each other."

"Then - why not just ask him to come out here?"

"I did! But did he ever come out, no, he just stalled and stalled and finally, you mentioned needing a vet, and," he shrugs. "It seemed like an opportunity. But really, Jinki - you have to believe me. I didn't do this out of pity or anything like that. I just thought you two would be better off knowing each other."

Jinki looks at his hands for a long time, how they fiddle and fit into one another and have, for a long time, only had each other.

"But you sent me a winky face," he says, weakly, pointing at his phone. "You asked me what I thought, with a winky face. That doesn't seem very platonic."

His friend's face colors a pretty pink. 

"Well, I had my preferences for how it turned out. I'm sorry it pressured you."

He waves away the apology, knowing full well in retrospect he was already heedlessly doomed by that point. A few of his questions addressed, he sits and lets the sounds rush over him. The next question sounds forlorn even to his ears.

"What about his dogs? Are they nice?"

"The nicest."

"Okay....okay."

Jinki has to believe he's thinking over this new information rationally, but his brain feels like very panicked oatmeal - very panicked oatmeal trying to deal with the prospect of a reciprocated crush that could work out, pets included.

"I should go back to work," he finally says. "Thanks." 

"OK," Jonghyun says, before continuing cautiously. "Before you do - do you remember what I said yesterday?"

Jinki remembers a lot of internalized screaming, but he thinks that would be worrying to say, so he goes with "Not really" instead. 

"I said - that things could turn out better than you expect," Jonghyun looks at him steadily. "So - just keep that in mind."

Thinking of Taemin's text, and Jonghyun's lack of text, and Kibum choosing to talk to him, the blush on his face, his promise to bring Joyonghan's treat - Jinki has a balloon going up, but it's simultaneously tugged down by his own anxiety and concerns about the historical precedent of cats v. dogs, and Joyonghan v. most living things. But Jonghyun is endorsing the dogs, and Jinki is at last conceding what hewants - Kibum to smile at him, to catch the glow of his happiness and be the cause of it. He wants cheesy photos of the two of them.

He wants to make toast for Kibum. 

"I'm trying," he says, quite honestly. "I am."

Jonghyun smiles at him. 

"Good," he pinches Jinki's cheek and shoos him. "Now go. Rescue those poor people from Taemin's coffee. But," he holds out his hands as Jinki gets up. "Keep the lovestruck look - it's really good on you."

Wednesdays are one odd duck of a day, but today is an odd-duck loving kind of day for Kibum. If an actual weird Anatidae waddled into the office this morning, he would be downright tickled and take as many photos as possible.  

Because - this weird day has no intestinal parasites, but it has the promised appearance of a very sweet, very cute pet parent, who is going to catch Kibum looking as nice as he can when there's an ample amount of bodily fluids just waiting for an opportunity to land on him. He can't put on anything too scented, because of the sensitivity of various animals - and it would betray his own senses - but he had done his best, enough to get Minho biting his lip to restrain the comment. Unscented moisturizer is his best friend.

There is very little to dampen his mood. He has charm, he has grace, and he has a bag full of cat treats stashed away in his locker for strategic deployment. All he needs to do is keep himself occupied with work so that the time passes quickly. 

"Your turn," he tells Minho around noon, flapping his hands towards the door. 

Minho raises his eyebrow at him.

"Are you sure? Today's - " he cuts himself off as Kibum glares. "Today's a normal day in which you might enjoy a nice walk, because there is nothing of note happening here."

Kibum refuses, shaking his head emphatically. It had been a very real temptation that morning - instead of pre-occupying himself with nice daydreams, he could swing by and see the real deal, his fingers nervous and soft as they drummed against the counter.

The last thought of the temptation had been how cute Jinki would look eating a cookie, but Kibum has phenomenal willpower when he puts his mind to it, especially when it could potentially wreck his slow-burn flirtation plan. 

He could use that as justification, but no one needs to know that Jinki works at the cafe, especially not Minho, who has never even gone there for food and would never let Kibum hear the end of it. 

"Just go," he says, fluttering his hands towards the door without glancing away from his phone. "And don't forget the drinks."

Minho backs out of the lobby, his hands facing each other as he imitates one squawking at the other, the other hand cringing away. 

Kibum flips him off, and Minho cheerfully returns it. 

The emptiness of the lobby fills up his senses once Minho gets out of the view of the windows. He shakes his head slightly, trying to regain his focus. Jinki's - Joyonghan's - appointment isn't until the early evening and he has to have some semblance of patience.

He wonders, absently, if Jinki is having any of the same problems. He can only assume that he is working today, though he supposed that he could have a half-day. If there was - his fingers twitch towards his phone - there's a possibility he's updated his instagram. It couldn't hurt to look, he tells himself. He settles into Minho's chair and pulls out his phone. 

The red heart beneath Jinki's latest photoset nearly makes him drop it. 

It's a stupid, novice mistake, and one worse for the fact he can't figure out when he did it. But he clearly he did, and he doesn't have time to mull over the how when there's damage control to be executed. 

Thinking rapidly, he clicks through to the other accounts who've liked it, hoping against hope that he's not the odd name out, that perhaps Jinki somehow has a bevy of followers he doesn't know personally. To his dismay, there are only five names besides his, and a quick scroll through his other photos shows them to be frequent, familiar commenters. 

He's officially Jinki's instagram creep, with the worst timing, only a few hours - at least a day, he cringes to realize - before a potentially singular opportunity to move along the low-pressure flirting. He wonders, a pinch desperately, at how he's not blocked yet - how that might be a good sign of his creeping not being creepy. But that small hope is butting up against everything he knows about Jinki: that he's a little shy, a little awkward, a little private. He's certainly doesn't seem like the kind of person who wants semi-strangers stalking his personal photos before they've even so much hung out together. 

A frustrated sigh escapes him. He has to get back on the path on correcting such a dumb mistake. He could text Jonghyun, who may know if Jinki has been put off by this. There's even a small chance Jinki doesn't check his accounts too often, which would square with his impression. But barring more potential privacy violations, he doesn't really know anything. 

Although - he could know something, if he can swallow his pride. He pulls up his texts with an unfathomable sense of resignation. 

@offki:  where are you

@minhoooooal: ramyeon

@offki: not anymore. go here. 

He forwards the cafe's address. 

@offki: don't talk to anyone except jonghyun. 

@minhoooooal: but y

Kibum is in physical pain. 

@offki: lee jinki works there

@offki: i need you to see if he's acting weird. ask jonghyun if he's said anything. 

@minhoooooal: yeah

@minhoooooal: MY TIME IS NOW

@minhoooooal: thank you for letting me be part of this it is a treasure

@minhoooooal: r u sure i can't talk to him??

@minhoooooal: what if he talks to me

@minhoooooal: do i flee the scene 

@minhoooooal: he will recognize me. im very tall

@minhoooooal: in case you weren't aware. somehow.

@offki: you have two cm on me. please get over yourself

@offki: if he says anything just play dumb

@offki: ie be yourself

@minhoooooal: rude but i forgive you for this is a mission of love

@ minhoooooal: radio silence. target is in sight. 

He has to put his phone away for his own personal sanity at this point. He doesn't have an appointment to concentrate on, so he gets up to pace the hall, shoes squeaking against the linoleum. The closet, he thinks victoriously. The closet could use organizing. 

Boxes of surgical gloves are providing his own personal fort of distraction when his phone buzzes; his haste to extract it brings the whole construct tumbling down, and sends a stack of file folders cascading across the floor like an angular trail of beige vomit. Kibum doesn't care, sitting back on the floor as he stares at his phone apprehensively. 

@minhoooooal: not here. 

@minhoooooal: met his roommate tho

@minhoooooal: taemin? 

@offki: please do not tell me you talked to him

@minhoooooal: i did not talk to him

@minhoooooal: i talked to jonghyun who was talking to him

@offki: why are you such an idiot

@minhoooooal: i am an idiot with lunch

@minhoooooal:  and jonghyun says hi

Kibum is, objectively speaking, in a right funk when Minho gets back. He explains his sordid problem over an entirely too dejected sandwich. 

"Okay, so his appointment is in five -" Minho says thoughtfully.

"Four."

"Four hours," Minho finishes. "I don't know what else you can do."

"You're so helpful. I'm really glad I shared this with you."

"Did you think that you might not have to do anything? Just - don't mention it to him when he comes in. Play it cool."

"You have no idea how embarrassing this is," Kibum sniffs.

"Yeah, because I wouldn't be so dumb," he responds, ignoring Kibum's glare. "Look, this is only a problem if he says it is. You haven't even talked to him since then."

"I'm such an idiot," he mutters. 

The doorbell rings, and Minho gets up and clasps Kibum by the shoulder, holding onto it until the other man finally looks up. 

"Don't give up," he offers sincerely. "Maybe he's into idiots."

The afternoon passes very, very slowly. 

Jinki hugs the pet carrier to his chest and looks up at the bright, shining letters for the clinic. He takes a deep breath, opening the door with his hip and nodding a greeting to the receptionist, Minho - and he trips when he doesn't lift his foot high enough over the sill, sending Joyonghan in his carrier skidding across the floor, banging his knees painfully against the hard floor. 

"Whoa, hey," he hears a deep voice coming at him, and large hands are gently helping him up. Blinking back, he finds himself being placed on one of the waiting chairs before Minho approaches the spitting, unhappy Joyonghan. 

"He's just - " he starts, worry and concern cutting him off when Minho places the carrier in his lap. He bunches up his knees through the pain so to balance it and flips open the door. Joyonghan is backed into the corner, pupils blown wide and muscles tense. 

"It's okay, it's okay," he coos, wanting to reach in, let him know he's still there, that he doesn't have anything to worry about, but he knows better than that. His stomach flip-flops in guilt, that his distraction caused even more upset. 

"Here," another voice comes from above him. 

Kibum, framed by the fluorescent lights, is a backlit angel with cat treats. Jinki stares uncomprehendingly up at him, because his knees hurt, his cat is in distress, and his brain is instead focusing on how deep and warm Kibum's eyes are when they're gazing down at him. The longer they linger on Jinki, the warmer and itchier his sweater feels. 

"Um," Minho says. "Seems like you have this under control, Dr. Kim. So I'll just...okay."

Jinki reaches up to pluck the proffered treat - their fingers brush, and as Kibum withdraws, he just skims his skin, and it's super soft. He tries to remember if they shook hands last time, and if it was that soft last time, or if he did something special that makes his skin feels like a lotion commercial sounds. With a soft thanks, he pushes it inside the carrier for Joyonghan to nibble at, teeth grazing the edges of his fingertips. When he takes it completely, Jinki rub comfortingly beneath his ears and lets him reposition his weight even though where he ultimately chooses to plop puts pressure right on Jinki's tender knees. He manages to hold back a whimper and winces instead. 

Kibum's gaze, still locked onto Jinki, breaks a tiny bit. He lifts up his eyebrows as he extends his hand towards the handle, in a wordless question. Jinki hastens to cooperate, eager to move out of this moment before he says something stupid. He lets Joyonghan push his head against his hand one last time, gratified to feel the smallest vibration of a purr as he his hand up his skull and down his neck to his back. When he extracts his hand, it's with relief that he latches the door shut. Kibum lifts it up and turns back to face Minho. 

Minho, Jinki can't help but notice, suddenly looks very busy shuffling papers and isn't looking at the pair of them, but as soon as Kibum passes him, he shoots Jinki a quick thumbs-up.

Blinking back surprise, he follows Kibum into the exam room. 

"So," Kibum starts, gently setting the carrier on the counter. He takes a beige folder from the cabinet and opens it, splaying his hand over it so he can rotate for Jinki's benefit. Jinki fiddles with the hem of his sweater. His nerves feel like they're free-floating beneath his skin and his small voice is antsy in his chest. "The test-"

"Do you have dogs?" Jinki interrupts in a rush. 

Kibum's hand stills. The air seems to pause and Jinki hastens to fill in the silence. 

"I'm sorry," he says; he can feel his face heating at his own impatience. "I - you handle Joyonghan so well. Thought maybe you had that at home."

He is such a bad liar. It makes no sense - why ask about dogs when there's only ever been a cat between them? And Kibum can obviously tell it's a poor excuse - he looks incredulous as Jinki bites his lip in embarrassment. 

"Yes," he says. "Two dogs."

"Do you," he plows ahead over the confirmation, because he might as well, he's already broken the conversational . "Do you like cats?"

Kibum, to his relief, laughs. 

"Yes," he answers, unlatching Joyonghan's carrier and dangling another treat to lure him out. "I had one a few years ago, but she passed away."

Jinki just barely manages to tamp down on the instinctual "great!" at the revelation that Kibum has owned a cat, likely successfully with his dogs. Even if Kibum is into him, he feels like reacting enthusiastically to a deceased pet would be a irredeemable misstep.

Having managed a fumbling recovery from the initial interruption, he's starting to feel unseemly levels of bright with encouragement, like a filament is overloading behind his ribcage. It just as much burns out of his courage, letting Kibum fuss over Joyonghan without comment. 

"As I was saying," Kibum continues. "The test has come back and it's good news. Joyonghan is clean. Barring eating whatever caused the issue in the first place again, you shouldn't be seeing any more issues."

 "Oh! Good - " he starts, genuinely pleased, until that small voice flails for his attention, screeching no more appointments! , and his voice falters midway through. Joyonghan plaintively meows when Kibum his back.

Same, he thinks towards Joyonghan. The cat flickers his tail at him in what seems like sympathy.  

"Yes," Kibum says, beckoning Jinki closer with a wave of his hand, pointing down at the good-bad news report. "See, right here..."

Jinki's only half-listening when he shuffles over, because as consequence of the motion their shoulders are brushing. Joyonghan is staring at him - at them. He can feel the emotional pressure to do something lying heavy at the back of his tongue, but it's frozen and dry at the sheer proximity.

"...Mr. Lee?" Kibum is saying, inquisitive and concerned at Jinki's apparent sudden-onset muteness. He's blinking, his eyes dark with concern, or possibly wariness. Jinki's doomed either way. 

"Jinki," he says, his voice slightly strangled as his priorities shift violently. "Jinki is fine."

He has really good new priorities, he concludes, because a pleased, soft look takes over the vet's face.  Kibum shifts his weight as he straightens up. 

"Then Kibum is fine too," he says kindly.

"Not Key?" he blurts. Kibum tilts his head.

"It is, but I don't believe I've told you that," he says, and that's definite wariness in his eyes now. 

"You - um. You didn't. But - " Jinki can either disclose Jonghyun or that he's played accomplice to social media stalking, but both seem bad. He gathers up Joyonghan and hugs him close to his chest, grateful for the irritated claws digging into his chest. The pain lessens his ability to panic.

But Kibum is bolder than Jinki, because he gets there first.

"You must have seen that I liked your photo - photos," he corrects. "I hope it didn't bother you. It was beautifully taken."

Jinki should just say thanks, like a normal person.

What comes out of his mouth instead is a sincerely curious "Why would it bother me?"

Kibum looks pink around the ears again, just like he did on Monday, the voice crows, but he seems to be chewing on his words.

"I'm glad," Jinki fills in the space when Kibum doesn't say anything. "That you liked it. And it's not private. So - that's bound to happen, nowadays. People finding you online. I don't think it can even be considered creepy anymore when everyone does it."

Not that he does, but Jinki doesn't say it.

It would also be a deeply poor excuse when Taemin does his dirty work for him. 

"I can understand if it put you off," Kibum says, with a small touch of apology in his voice.

"It didn't," Jinki says, quick to assure with a fervent shake of his head. His hair falls a little in his face and he blows a puff of air that pushes it away and shows Kibum to be smiling right at him, sweet and small. It goes straight to his head like a shot.

"Because it was you."

Kibum stares at Jinki's resolute, red-encroaching face.

"Because it was me?" he repeats back the other man's words, only semi-faintly to his relief. It requires both clarification and confirmation that they were, in fact, words that had been spoken. 

Joyonghan crawls up Jinki's chest and sits proudly on his shoulder, his tail curling around and tickling beneath his owner's chin. Jinki doesn't even seem to notice, taking in a deep breath that puffs out his chest distractingly. 

"I mean - " Joyonghan burrows his head against Jinki's ear. "We're not really strangers, are we? You've been helping Joyonghan."

"Right..." he says. 

"And we were talking the other day, too - "

"Yeah," Kibum says, his rapidly inflated hope slowly, painfully deflating. 

"And...you're very - "

He reaches up to pet Joyonghan, his motions edgy as he trails off. His eyes look slightly hunted.  

"I like coming here," he says finally. "Joyonghan does too. It's nice and all, but it's all because of you."

"Thank you," he cautiously responds. Kibum has a few things he wants to say, but Jinki looks like he's on a verbal precipice and he's not sure if saying something will ruin whatever is happening.

"And that doesn't happen often for - either of us. Doctors being nice to him. Listening to me. So thank you for...that whole thing. You're a really good doctor."

"Thank you," Kibum murmurs, touched. He dips his head silently as Joyonghan begins to chew on Jinki's hair. The other man doesn't seem quite finished yet. 

"Do you - I don't think this is going to come around right," Jinki says, half to himself and frustrated.

The whole rapid inflation of hope process takes place again, right in Kibum's chest. 

"Can I make you some tea? At the cafe? You didn't get any last time, but - "

"Yes."

Jinki grins, wide and pleased, anxiety visibly falling off his face, and Kibum feels wholly wrong-footed. His low-key drawn-out plan has suddenly and unexpectedly self-shortened, and Jinki is smiling potently and sweetly right at him. He's not complaining, exactly, but it's definitely outside the most optimistic outlook. 

He might as well push his luck. 

"You're my last appointment of the day, actually," Kibum clears his throat. "If you don't already have plans."

"Oh," Jinki says. 

Joyonghan jumps off Jinki's shoulder and promptly begins to hack up a hairball right at Kibum's feet. 

Kibum ignores Jinki's flustered apologies, grabbing the paper towels and mopping up. Jinki drops to his knees, with Joyonghan between him. 

"I'm so sorry," he says again, pulling the now-vomit free cat into his lap and nervously him. 

"It's fine, really," Kibum says. "I've seen much worse."

He has, but he can't help but feel his decision to push luck is what has resulted in a pale yellow soaking through the towels, instead of an accepted invitation for a quasi-date. 

"He never does that."

"Really?" Kibum says. "Convenient he's here then. Has he had a normal appetite? Is he being less active?"

"No, nothing strange," Jinki says, his brow furrowed together. "And his poop has been fine."

"Somehow we keep circling back to that," Kibum says, laughing. He hears Jinki huff a quiet laugh as well. "He's most likely fine then." He gets up to throw away the paper towels and turns around, finds Jinki cradling Joyonghan to his chest again. 

"I'd like that," Jinki says sheepishly. "For you to come."

At Kibum's raised eyebrow, he hurries to clarify.

"To the cafe. With me, I mean. If you want to."

"Let me clean up," Kibum says, stripping off his gloves efficiently, hyperconscious of how Jinki is watching his every motion and how he probably has regurgitated hair on his sleeves. "Can you wait a few minutes?"

"Yes, of course. I'll - we'll wait in the lobby."

 Jinki has to put his head between his knees for a few minutes. 

"Are you OK?" Minho calls from his desk. 

"Oh, I'm fine," he says to the floor. "Just breathing."

There's a clatter of steps, and a pair of feet in front of Jinki's head. 

"That's a good habit," Minho says carefully and cautiously. "Did the appointment go well?"

A disbelieving laugh comes out Jinki's mouth as he nods. 

"I think I have a date."

"Please excuse me for a moment," Minho says overly carefully. Jinki watches his shoes back up, with the undeniable impression he's pushing down on the urge to run. "Ring the bell if you or Joyonghan need anything."

 The door bangs open. 

"I can't believe you ing asked him out," Minho rounds the corner and stares at Kibum with too much glee in his face.

Kibum makes a grab for his phone, but the other man holds it high above his head, grinning wildly. 

"What did I even tell you," he crows, following Kibum as he turns with a huff to stuff his things back in his bag. "He's totally into hopeless idiots and you didn't have anything to worry about. Did you scare him into going out with you?"

"He asked me out, you dolt."

Kibum suddenly finds himself being lifted into the air from Minho's back hug, high-pitched laughter ringing right in his ear. 

"Put me down."

"I can only do that physically," Minho says, failing at keeping his face straight. "I can't help it if you float up to your own private cloud with your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," he says, waspish as he can to cover up pleasure. 

"Yet," Minho insists. He eyes Kibum's hair critically and reaches out a hand, only to pull it back as Kibum slaps at it. 

"...I'm not going to get ahead of myself."

"Okay, Bummie," Minho says placidly, the wide grin visible even in the reflection when Kibum turns away from him. "Have fun with your not-boyfriend."

Kibum sniffs dismissively, trying and failing to hide his smile as Minho gets in one last side-hug before heading for the door.

 Jinki is very thankful that he stopped breathing between his legs only a moment before Kibum comes out, a bag slung over his shoulder. It's primarily because he stopped breathing again at the sight of him. He scrambles to get up.

"Are we walking?" Kibum asks curiously. 

"Oh," Jinki says blankly. "I drove. But if you want to walk, I don't mind."

"But you'd have to walk back here to get it."

"I don't mind."

Kibum looks amused downwards, and Joyonghan meows. 

"Neither does he. He likes the fresh air."

Jinki is grateful for Kibum's accepting nod - it's a little surprised, but once again he believes Jinki's knowledge about his cat instead of insisting he knows better. It's a nice reminder of why he took to Kibum in the first place. 

"It's because he's an indoor cat," he explains as he holds the door open and Kibum squeezes past him. He tries to ignore the way his blood is rushing to his hand after Kibum grazes against it. 

"Ah, it's a treat," the other man says understandingly. 

"Exactly."

The sky above them is clear and the night air is only slightly cool as they walk together. Jinki wonders if he's supposed to be saying anything, glancing at Kibum every few steps, but the other man seems content to be walking in silence. The traffic passing by would drown out anything he has to say, anyway. 

It feels surreal, he admits to himself as they wait to cross the street. Kibum is adjusting the lapels of his jacket, pulling them up so he can squish down into his jacket for warmth. It's absurdly cute and only adds to the surreality. He, Lee Jinki, asked out Kibum, successfully, and then Kibum asked him out, also successfully. And now they're walking together so Jinki can prove his quality as a suitor with tea.

Aside from the vomiting, it was perfect. 

They make it to the cafe only a few minutes later, and Kibum looks around suspiciously as they enter, hoping Jinki doesn't spot it. 

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"I'm looking for your friend," he says, trying to sound innocuous. 

"Taemin? He doesn't work nights on Wednesdays," Jinki says. 

 "That's....too bad," Kibum says evenly, and Jinki's lip twitches up. 

"I'm sure he's disappointed he missed you too."

Kibum is delighted at the small teasing lilt in his voice - he settles into his chair, and pulls out his phone as Jinki heads to the counter. 

@minhoooooal: i won't wait up

He rolls his eyes, but doesn't respond, content to let Minho sit on the read notice for the rest of the night. He sneaks a look at the counter and spots Jinki peeking around the corner. The other man waves awkwardly when Kibum makes eye contact, ducking away a half-second later. It's goofy as hell, but endearing, which seems to be Jinki's standard operating procedure and one that makes Kibum feel soft and affectionate. He thinks he could get used to that feeling.

When Jinki returns a few minutes later, it's with a mug clutched between his hands and a cautiously interested expression on his face as Kibum looks up from his phone. 

"Thanks," he says, reaching up for it. He breathes it in deep and looks up, surprised. "Mint?"

"Peppermint," Jinki says. "But we have lavender, or chamomile, or - "

He cuts himself off when Kibum brings it up his mouth and takes a grateful sip. 

"It's really good," he says. "Not a first choice for a lot of people, though. You took a risk."

"I don't think so," Jinki says. 

"No?" Kibum asks, curious, before he takes a deep sip. "Why not?"

"It's not for everyone, no, but - that just means the people who like it have an uncommon taste. There's ordinary flavors and then there's - the extraordinary," he says. "You seem like you fit the extraordinary."

He's not even sure if the compliment is on purpose at first, but he catches a glimpse of Jinki's smile as he sips at his own drink. Kibum is pleasantly surprised for the third time in less than an hour.

"I wanted to do something," Jinki says suddenly, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "To equal things out."

Kibum watches as Jinki pulls up Instagram and almost squirms when he goes to the post that nearly put a spike in everything. He sees him select Kibum's name and pull up his account. 

"Okay," he says, and then he goes on a spree, double-tapping so fast at Kibum's most recent posts that it takes him to the fourth one before Kibum thinks to ask. 

"What are you doing?"

"You were really embarrassed earlier," Jinki says. "About liking one photo. So I'm liking all your photos."

Kibum blinks. 

"You could just like one."

Jinki shakes his head seriously.

"No, because I'm only doing this after we're already out together. So now we have context and the same level of embarrassment wouldn't be there, right? It has to weigh out."

Kibum laughs disbelievingly, the scent of peppermint wafting up between the two of them as Jinki carefully double-taps a photo of Kibum's dogs. 

"You have a unique way of looking at things."

"Is that going to be a problem?" Jinki asks guardedly, pulling his hand back. 

Kibum shakes his head, reaching out to push the phone back underneath Jinki's finger with a smile. 

"Not at all."

It's a few Wednesdays after that when they reach a crux. 

"Are you sure about this?" Taemin yells from his bedroom. 

Jinki shushes him on his way to the door. 

"Hi," he says as he opens it. 

Kibum smiles back at him, a touch of nerves at the edge that helps Jinki feel slightly better about his own case of nerves. 

"This is Commes des," Kibum says as he walks in, holding up the leash leading to the darker of the two dogs. The lighter one is sniffing at Jinki's feet curiously. "And that's Garcon."

"Nice to meet you both," Jinki says politely as Kibum takes his shoes off. His anxiety manifests as he fiddles with the edge of his sleeves. 

Kibum grabs at his hand and Jinki takes a deep breath. 

"Where is he?"

He tilts his head towards the living room and they walk in, a strong grip onto the two leashes. 

Joyonghan is at his highest perch, staring down at the quartet suspiciously. 

There's the noise of footsteps behind him, and Jinki turns to find Taemin lurking in the hallway, his phone pulled out. Jinki mouths "NO" as emphatically as he can. 

"Do you want to get him down?" Kibum asks apprehensively. 

Jinki shrugs, slightly distracted by the buzzing in his pocket. Commes de and Garcon have noticed Joyonghan and are straining at the leashes. 

@taeinthemirror: if this works ur going to want this footage

@onewyaong: please stop

@onewyaong: :( please

Taemin pulls a face, but backs up marginally; Jinki just has to trust that he will do more, because he has to get back to Joyonghan. He takes a deep breath and goes to prostrate himself. 

"Joyonghan," he calls, stretching up. "It's okay. It won't be that bad."

Commes de lets out an excited bark, and Jinki winces. 

I promise they won't hurt you, he thinks towards him, hoping the sincerity will carry through the interspecies telepathy. 

Kibum moves up beside him, leaning his head on his shoulder. Jinki can feel his breath puffing out unevenly with anticipation. 

Just give them a chance, he asks.

Joyonghan stands up and stretches, pacing the small length of his perch. 

"Do you want to try a different time?" Kibum says in a low voice against his ear. Jinki shivers it off. 

Joyonghan leans over the side to sniff at Jinki's dog-touching fingertips. 

"No," he says, determined. "This has to happen at some point."

For me, he thinks as locks eyes with the cat.

Joyonghan jumps into Jinki's arms, to a chorus of thrilled barking and Kibum's gasp of surprise. Jinki nuzzles his face into the soft fur of his back. 

Thank you, he thinks.

Joyonghan purrs against his chest.

Several Wednesdays after that, Jinki is gasping against Kibum's lips when the other man lets out a muffled noise of displeasure. 

"What?" he says, stopping immediately. "Is this okay?"

"It's fine," Kibum reassures him, his shoulders jumping up and down in laughter. "But we should probably close the door."

Jinki cranes his neck as best he can.

There's a line of furry bodies in the door, staring at the pair of them. 

He lets his head fall, and Kibum coos and pets his hair. 

"You wanted them to get along," he laughs as he kisses his cheek. 

"Not like this," he complains, groping along the bed for something to reach the door without giving up their position. "This is a terrible hobby to share."

Kibum gently pushes at him until he can see above Jinki's shoulder.

"Commes des, Garcon," he says commandingly, snapping his fingers and pointing. "Go."

The small pat-pat of feet tells Jinki it's a success. 

"Bossy," he compliments Kibum, smiling as he threads fingers through his hair. As he pulls, Kibum tilts his head back, allowing access to his neck, his Adam's apple trembling as Jinki noses at the curve. 

"Two-thirds bossy," the other man corrects. "There's just no persuading some."

Joyonghan meows in agreement. 

He groans, but Kibum just pulls the blanket up over the two of them. 

"Don't worry about it," he says, the warmth making sweat pop at his neck. Jinki's tongue darts out to taste.  

Kibum's orders are worth following, he thinks, hazy and love-drunk. 

"Yes, doctor."