Work Text:
For the first time in what felt like months the sun was shining brightly over Seoul. It was still a little cold but simply having the sun shining above put Jimin in the best possible mood, either that or he was just excited to spend the afternoon with Taehyung. It definitely had been weeks since he’d had a chance to hang out with his best friend. They’d both been so busy with work, it had seemed impossible to find the time to see each other. So when Taehyung had suggested they do a pottery class together Jimin had jumped at the chance, despite not being interested in pottery at all. They would make it fun no matter what.
Taehyung was waiting outside the little studio where the class was being held, his hair was a curly mess, a little wild a lot like the man himself. Jimin couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face at the sight of him, Taehyung mirroring it the moment he spotted Jimin.
He didn’t even get a chance to say hello before Taehyung was enveloping him in a bear hug.
"Tae, need to breathe." Jimin mumbled from where his face was smushed into his friend’s chest. With one last squeeze he let Jimin go, beaming at him.
"Sorry, I missed you." Taehyung said with a sheepish grin.
"Missed you too baby bear."
"We should probably head inside." Taehyung said as a couple of girls walked passed them into the studio. With a nod from Jimin they followed the girls inside.
The studio was kinda small but cosy. It had a sort of welcoming feel to it, messy but somehow organised at the same time. The walls were lined with wooden shelves brimming with various pots and clay sculptures, a mismatch of shapes and sizes and very clearly made by hand. Jimin thought if it were a store he would’ve bought some of the unique creations to decorate his apartment. There were a few tables set up in a half circle around a smaller table in the centre. Each of the tables was set up with a little stool and potters wheel, Jimin hoped to god that he would be able to avoid using those wheels. He wasn’t exactly the most artist or hands on person to begin with, he really didn’t need to be left in charge of a piece of clay in motion. He could just imagine how he would make a fool of himself sending clay spinning off the wheel as he lost control. Hopefully the teacher would be happy with him to just play with it on the normal table like he used to do with play-doh as a kid.
Along with the two girls they’d followed inside there were four others, all chatting while they, Jimin assumed, waited for the teacher. Taehyung immediately dropped his bag on one table and headed over to a display of what looked like cups. Jimin felt a little awkward standing on his own by the door so he looked around the studio a little. In the spaces that weren’t filled by shelves the walls had art prints tacked up, and a few pretty black and white photos. He recognised some of the places in the photos as Seoul, they were all very pretty and arty. Taehyung would love them. He was just about to call him over when a deep voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Good afternoon everyone."
Jimin spun around to see a young man, removing his jacket. He couldn’t have been much older than he and Taehyung, no way was this their teacher?! The man finished hanging his coat on a hook near the door and turned to look directly towards Jimin. The moment he turned around Jimin could’ve sworn his heart actually skipped a beat. The man was pretty, very pretty and Jimin could feel his cheeks warming in an instant as the man greeted him with a gentle smile. Flustered Jimin looked away before scurrying over to where Taehyung stood.
"Sorry I’m a little late, I needed to fuel my caffeine addiction." The man said, indicating the cup of iced coffee clutched in his hand. A few of their classmates laughed, others nodding in understanding.
"If you’d all like to grab and apron and take a seat, we’ll get started."
Jimin followed Taehyung as he got himself an apron and then to the table where he’d dropped his bag, each of them taking a seat. Jimin was glad he was at the end of the row, he didn’t think he could’ve coped sitting directly in the middle and right where the teacher would be looking.
"You okay?" Taehyung asked as they all got settled.
"Wha- uh yeah I’m fine." Jimin lied.
He didn’t need his friend knowing that he was crushing on their teacher. It would only lead to further embarrassment, and he really didn’t need his face going any redder. It was ridiculous really, it’s not like Jimin had never seen an attractive man before, hell his best friend was Kim Taehyung. He needed to get a grip of himself, yes the teacher was pretty, really really pretty with feline eyes and pouty lips, but he could handle it. He was a grown-ass man, he was fine.
"Let’s introduce ourselves first, yeah? I’ll start, I’m Min Yoongi, and I’ll be your teacher for today’s lesson."
One by one they introduced themselves, and Jimin tried to calm his nerves. All he had to do was say his name, that wasn’t hard. Park Jimin. That was it. Even if all his mind could focus on was the deep voice that had introduced himself as Min Yoongi, and the gummy smile that had followed it. Taehyung kicked him all of a sudden and Jimin’s eyes shot up from where they’d been focussed on his knees to see the class waiting on him. Fuck.
"S-sorry, I’m Jimin."
"Nice to meet you Jimin-ssi." Yoongi said and Jimin could feel his face burning.
He knew Taehyung was looking at him, knew that he had already figured out exactly what was going on but Jimin refused to meet his friend's eyes.
"Okay that’s the awkward part out of the way. Let’s talk clay." Yoongi said. He went through the basics of working with clay, and Jimin tried his best to pay attention.
"It’s been a while since I’ve seen you this flustered over a guy." Taehyung said as they went over to get some clay to work with from the massive sack of the stuff in the back corner of the studio.
"I’m not flustered!" Jimin argued.
"Tell that to your face." Taehyung teased as he reached into the sack and pulled out a chunk of clay, dropping it into Jimin’s waiting hands.
"Shut up!"
Once they all had their clay and were seated again Yoongi talked them through some basic shaping techniques.
"You need to take it slow, clay can be quite temperamental and fragile. But at the same time you need to be firm, don’t be afraid to add some pressure."
For the next half an hour they tried moulding the clay into various shapes, Yoongi said they needed to simply ‘get the feel of it’ before moving to the wheel. Jimin could tell Taehyung was itching to have a try on the wheel, the opposite of how Jimin was feeling. Avoiding using the wheel was ever more prominent in Jimin’s mind. He’d already managed to make a complete fool of himself once, he didn’t need an opportunity to do it again. As the minutes ticked by he found himself quite enjoying playing with the clay. It was weirdly relaxing moulding it into different shapes. His shapes didn’t really look like anything, unlike Taehyung who had managed to get his lump of clay looking like a little rabbit somehow. But he was still enjoying it.
"Okay, now that you’ve got a feel for it why don’t we have a go on the wheels?" Yoongi said after a little while. "Feel free to grab some more clay or you can just use what you’ve already got."
Taehyung jumped to his feet excitedly, hurrying over and getting himself another large lump of clay, a few others doing the same. Jimin just stayed where he was, eying the wheel with a lot of fear. Maybe he could just continue what he was doing, surely that wouldn’t be a problem? He was happy making his little shapes, but when everyone else moved to be sat at their pottery wheels Jimin felt too awkward and out of place not following suit.
"We’re gonna start slow on the wheels, they can be a little scary at first but it’s okay. Everyone messes up on their first go." Yoongi said.
Jimin didn’t really believe him. It wasn’t okay.
"Before you move your clay onto the wheel have a go of using the peddle, that way you can get an idea of how much pressure you need to get it going."
Jimin looked down at the peddle beside his foot. It was covered in old clay stains. He cautiously put his foot onto it, very gently he pressed down and the wheel began to rotate. His heart was racing as he did it but he was a little relieved to see it didn’t go as fast as he had expected.
"The harder you press down, the faster the wheel will go but even then it doesn’t go that hard." Yoongi was saying.
Jimin gave it a few tries before looking up to see Taehyung already working at a bit of clay on his. He couldn’t help but envy his fearlessness and artistic nature. The lump was already starting to take on a new shape. Jimin looked over a his lump where it sat on his table, he couldn’t help but feel a little contempt towards it. That lifeless lump that was probably gonna be an aid to Jimin’s demise. With a sigh he reached over and grabbed it, plopping it down onto the wheel. He tried to remember what Yoongi had said about how to get started, but he’d found it very hard to concentrate as the teacher had been rolling up his sleeves at the time. He really wished their teacher had a been a middle-aged woman like he’d expected. He didn’t know why he’d expected that, maybe it was his own in-built misandry. There of course was nothing wrong with a young man being a pottery teacher, and any other time Jimin would have celebrated it. But right in that moment he really wished he wasn’t so Jimin’s concentration a little more focussed.
"Relax and just take it slowly." Taehyung said as Jimin panicked the second he started to spin the wheel and pulled his foot away. He’d finally plucked up the courage to start only to freak out the second his clay had began to rotate.
"I can’t do this Tae." Jimin whined.
"Yes you can, you have a masters in mechanical engineering. You can handle a bit of clay on a wheel."
"That it is in no way the same thing. That’s maths. This, this is chaos waiting to happen." Jimin insisted, to which Taehyung simply rolled his eyes.
"Then ask the teacher for help."
"No."
"I don’t know why you’re embarrassed about asking for help, look teacher is helping Wheein right now, it literally what he’s here for." Taehyung said.
"I’m fine."
"Okay then stop being a whiney bitch and spin the damn wheel." He said before getting up to get some more clay.
Jimin glanced over at where Yoongi was showing the girl at the farthest end of the half circle how to shape a bowl. She didn’t seem flustered by being in such close proximity to their teacher like Jimin knew he would be. Why did he have to be such a gay mess?
After a few more pathetic attempts Jimin finally got the nerve up to keep the wheel spinning for more than three seconds. It wasn’t going well.
He looked over at Taehyung who made it look so easy. His big hands moulding the clay with the most gentle touches. He looked down at his own dirty hands. They were so much smaller, maybe that was problem? He looked over at the girls again, the one Taehyung had said was Wheein was proudly showing her friend the bowl she’d made and Jimin couldn’t help but see that her hands were little like his. He looked back down at his hands and the mess of clay in front of him. It wasn’t his hands that were the problem, he was just bad at this.
"How’s it going over here?" The deep voice pulled Jimin from his revery.
He looked up to see Yoongi standing in front of them. He smiled as Taehyung showed him the vase he’d been working on.
"That’s great, you’ve picked it up really quickly. A bit of a natural I think." He said, leaving Taehyung beaming.
Jimin looked down at his mess again, a natural he was definitely not.
"And what about you Jimin-ssi?"
Jimin’s head shot up to find Yoongi directly in front of him.
"Um, yeah I’m really bad at this." He said, feeling his cheeks warm yet again.
"Nonsense, you just need a bit of practice that’s all. Why don’t I help you a little hm?" Yoongi said. Before Jimin could protest he moved around the side of the table and pulled up another stool, setting it right next to Jimin. He was so close their legs grazed each other and Jimin could feel his cheeks growing impossibly warmer.
“I know it’s scary at first, but you just need to trust yourself.” Yoongi said, “let me show you.”
He reached over to Jimin’s little pile of clay and wrapped his hands around it, his very large hands, Jimin’s brain provided. God why did he have to have such nice hands, that really wasn’t gonna help him right now. He was already struggling not to be a flustered mess, the thought of Yoongi’s big hands wrapping around him really didn’t need to be at the forefront of his mind right now.
“If you just press down on the wheel a little.” Yoongi said.
“You want me to do it?” Jimin asked, eyes going wide at the thought of being in control of the wheel while Yoongi worked.
“Yep, trust yourself Jimin-ssi, it’s okay.” Yoongi assured with an encouraging smile.
Jimin cautiously pressed his foot down on the peddle. The wheel sputtered a bit as as it came to life, but Yoongi didn’t comment on Jimin’s inability to even press his foot down on a pedal properly, instead he just focused on the clay in his hands. Jimin watched as he used his hands to mould the clay into a cylindrical shape and it took all of Jimin’s will power not to think dirty thoughts at the sight.
“You see, it doesn’t go that fast. It’s all about keeping the speed steady more than anything and that in itself takes a little practice.” Yoongi told him. “Why don’t you have a turn now?”
“Okay.” Jimin said.
Yoongi pulled his hands away and gave Jimin an encouraging smile. Tentatively Jimin wrapped his hands around the clay, it was warm where Yoongi’s hands had been working at it.
“Now press down on the pedal, don't think about making anything in particular, just get used to the feeling of the clay in motion.” Yoongi said.
Jimin did as he was told and very carefully pressed down on the pedal, the wheel began to spin and he immediately began to feel panicked, he went to pull away but Yoongi stopped him, wrapping his own hands around Jimin’s.
“It’s okay, just keep your foot on the pedal.” Yoongi said.
Once again Jimin was left fighting for his life. The feeling of Yoongi’s large hands wrapped around his small ones felt far too good and he could barely concentrate as Yoongi guided his hands to shape the clay. He was acutely aware of how close Yoongi was, their thighs pressed up against each other as Yoongi leaned in to help him. Of course he knew his face must be bright red, he felt like it was on fire. His whole body felt like it was on fire. He could only imagine the looks Taehyung was giving him right now.
“That’s it, see you can do it.” Yoongi said and Jimin looked at him.
Yoongi was smiling at him and oh if that didn’t make Jimin’s heart flutter. He had the prettiest and cutest little smile. God, why was he so whipped for this man he didn’t even know? He’s never been like this over a guy before, not to this extent and definitely not this quickly. What magic powers does this clay wielding man possess to make him simp this much?
“Uh, thanks teacher.” Jimin mumbled.
“It’s what I’m here for, do you feel okay to have a go by yourself now?” Yoongi asked.
“I’ll try.”
Yoongi gave him another smile and pulled his hands away, it was weird how cold his own hands now felt without them. Although, while Yoongi had pulled his hands away he still stayed close to Jimin, their thighs still pressed against one another. Jimin tried to focus on the clay, not on the way Yoongi’s body felt against his and how he wanted to feel more of it.
“Remember, just take it slow and don’t worry about messing up. That’s just part of the fun.” Yoongi told him.
Jimin took a deep breath and put his foot back down on the pedal, once more it stuttered to life but this time he ignored the feeling of panic and kept his hands wrapped around the clay. Slowly he began to get used to the feeling, it had been a lot easier with Yoongi’s hands guiding his but he kept at it, helped a lot by Yoongi’s encouraging words.
“Okay, now use your thumbs and just press into the top.” Yoongi instructed.
Jimin did as he was told and pressed his thumbs carefully down on the top of the cylinder. He was surprised at how easily the clay moulded itself, and soon it was looking more like a cup.
“That’s great!” Yoongi said beaming at him, “here let me just…”
Yoongi reached over again and wrapped his hands around Jimin’s once more, helping him guide the clay. Soon enough an actual shape began to form and Jimin felt a little more confident in what he was doing.
“Teacher! Can you show me how to make an edge?” The voice came from one of the girls sat on the other side of the studio.
“Of course.” Yoongi said. He pulled his hands away from Jimin’s and for a split second Jimin felt like maybe there had been a little reluctance in the movement. “You’re doing great Jimin-ssi, keep up the good work.”
“Thank you.” Jimin said as Yoongi got up and headed over to the girls, not before giving Jimin another cute smile.
Jimin went back to his clay, forcing himself not to watch as Yoongi walked away, no matter how nice the view was he was not going to be a creep and stare at his teacher’s ass. The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled his attention and Jimin turned to see Taehyung looking at him with raised eyebrows.
“What?”
“What exactly.” Taehyung said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t. If Hyejin hadn’t asked for teacher’s help just there pretty sure I was gonna have to give you two some privacy.”
“Shut up! It wasn’t like that.” Jimin whispered, trying to hush his friend.
“Oh come on, you can not deny that there was some heavy flirting going on there.” Taehyung said, completely ignoring Jimin’s pleas for him to be quiet.
“He was just helping me like he did with the others.”
“I didn’t see him wrapping his hands around the others like that scene from Ghost though.”
“Taehyung! He wasn’t doing that at all, get out of your imagination.” Jimin tried to insist, even if he didn’t quite believe the words he was saying.
In truth that particular scene from that movie had come to mind as Yoongi helped him, and of course the romantic and erotic implications. In fact he’d been trying very hard not to think about that scene the entire time, it had only been fuelling how hot and flustered he felt. Now Taehyung mentioning it again was just reminding him of how much he’d felt like he was in a movie with a hot guy with very nice hands touching him in a weirdly intimate way.
“Okay if you insist, but just know it is definitely only you he’s gotten that close and handsy with.” Taehyung said before turning back to his pottery wheel.
Jimin glared at him before turning back to his own creation. It sort of resembled a pot, Jimin decided it was going to be a flower pot, albeit a very small one. He tried to stay focussed on it for the remainder of the class, following Yoongi’s guidance as he explained ways to decorate their work. He wouldn’t admit that he had been fairly disappointed when Yoongi didn’t come back over to him, but he was. Though he had no right to be, he had an entire class to teach, of course he wasn’t gonna spend all his time helping Jimin. He was at least happy as the class drew to a close that Yoongi comment how well they’d all done, and as they all put their work on the shelves ready to be fired later that day, he’d specifically told Jimin how good his pot had turned out.
After they’d washed up and took of their aprons Jimin found himself a little reluctant to leave. He’d actually ended up enjoying the class, even if he’d spent the majority of it a blushing mess. It had been fun and he’d gotten to spend some time with Taehyung.
“It was really great to have you all, I hope you had fun. I’ll send an email when your pieces are ready to be collected.” Yoongi said as they all pulled on their coats. They all murmured their thanks and headed out.
***
It took Jimin a few days to get Yoongi out of his mind. It kept straying back to the pottery teacher whenever he had a quiet moment, and sometimes when he didn’t. Taehyung had been right when he said it had been a long time since he was that flustered over a guy. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had a silly little crush like that, and while it had only lasted a few hours while he was at the class it had felt nice. He’d forgotten how nice it felt to feel that rush of a crush, to want to have someone’s attention the way he had with Yoongi. Soon enough though his mind became to occupied with real life things to be left wondering what could have been with Yoongi. Instead he had to focus on his job and trying to keep up with the new project he was leading. He didn’t have time to daydream about the cute guy who’d had a pretty smile and hands to die for. Jimin had to get on with his life, it’s not like he would ever see him again anyway, it had been a fleeting crush and now it was back to the real world.
By the time the message came along Jimin had forgotten all about the pottery. Work had gotten so busy pretty much everything had been pushed to the back of his mind, so when Taehyung messaged him it had came as a pleasant surprise.
KTH - hey jiminie, I got the email to say we can collect our pottery. I was gonna suggest we could go together and grab a drink or something but I’m so busy at work right now :((
KTH - I’m sorry but d’you mind just picking them on your own?
PJM - hey tete, yeah that’s not a problem! Dw maybe you could come over when work is not as crazy and we’ll have a movie night or something? :)
KTH - YES I am so down for movie night, I’ll bring Tannie and we can snuggle :D
PJM - Sounds perfect <3
KTH - you remember where the studio is right? I’ll forward you the email anyways just in case
PJM - :) <3
Jimin hadn’t gave it a second thought when he agreed to collect the pottery, it wasn’t until an hour or so after when he was getting ready to leave the office that he realised he would see Yoongi again. Oh god he was gonna have to see him again and this time he was going to be on his own. Panic began to build as he pulled on his coat, he needed to be cool and not embarrass himself. Was that even possible? Not to mention he looked a mess after being stuck in the office all day. At that thought he made a detour into the toilets to check his appearance. Yep, as he expected he looked a mess. He quickly hunted around in his bag to see if he had any makeup or anything to cover the bags under his eyes, but no, nothing. He splashed his face with cool water in an attempt to refresh himself, and faffed about with his hair a little trying to get it to look somewhat okay. He really didn’t feel like he looked his best but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He didn’t have time to go home and change first, with a resigned sigh he headed out.
The closer he got to the studio the more nervous he felt, it was ridiculous. He was just going to collect some pottery, he shouldn’t be this worked up, and all over some guy. He was truly a mess. He needed to pull himself together, he was a proud confident gay man and not a pathetic mess with a crush. He could do this! When the sign for the studio came into view his stomach clenched, and the panic that had been bubbling under the surface seemed to explode through him. He felt too hot and overly aware of himself. When he reached the door he could see a few people inside, was there a class on? Shit, he hadn’t even thought of that? Was he supposed to just go in? Surely that would just interrupt the class, which would be even more embarrassing. Maybe he should’ve called ahead, was he supposed to call ahead?
He was just about to pull out his phone to check the email Taehyung had forwarded to him when the door opened.
“Oh sorry, excuse me.” Said the girl who’d just opened the door. Jimin stammered an apology and stepped out of the way quickly while she and her friend exited the studio. He caught a glimpse of the inside once they’d moved passed him and he could see the people inside pulling on coats. The class must have just ended, so as another couple of people left he took the opportunity to slip inside. He needed to get their pottery before another class started. There were a few people milling about chatting but he couldn’t see the teacher. Jimin felt incredibly awkward as he stood waiting by the door. He just wanted to get the whole thing over with and avoid facing Yoongi, he tried to look over at the shelves to see if he could spot his and Taehyung’s pots but he didn’t recognise any of them from where he stood. He tried to edge his way towards the shelves, trying to remain unnoticed by the group of students.
“Jimin-ssi?”
He froze at the sound of the familiar voice, the girl in front of him stepped aside to reveal him fully and he turned to see Yoongi. Somehow he managed to look even better than Jimin remembered. His blond hair was pushed back under a beanie and Jimin could see his face fully, it was amazing really the difference an exposed forehead could create. He was even more handsome without the soft hair framing his face. Jimin felt himself blushing again, the heat spreading across his cheeks as Yoongi made his way over to him.
“Hi, I- um- came to collect our pots?” Jimin stuttered, god he was such an embarrassment.
Yoongi smiled brightly at him, how could someones teeth be cute? Why did Jimin think his teeth were cute, he was losing the plot.
“Ah yes, I’ll be with you in a minute.” Yoongi said.
Jimin waited while Yoongi said goodbye to the remaining students. The studio hadn’t changed much since their class though he did notice a large cactus in one corner that hadn’t been there before, it stood in a delicately patterned pot and Jimin wondered if Yoongi had made it himself. He thought back to lumpy pot he had made during their class and couldn’t help but cringe at the thought of it. He would blame the fact that he had been too distracted during the class, maybe if he’d had a less attractive teacher he would’ve done a better job. Yes, that was the reason he had made a mess of his pot, and not at all because he was severely un-artistic.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Yoongi said when he’d finally seen the last of his students off.
“It’s okay.” Jimin assured.
“Your pot came out really well.” Yoongi said leading him over to the back wall of the studio.
Another row of shelves sat covered with crudely made pots, he could see now these were the ones definitely made by amateurs. The ones he’d been looking at on the side shelves were more expertly made, probably by Yoongi himself.
“You don’t need to lie teacher, I’m sure mine is terrible.” Jimin said.
“I’m not, you did really well once you got more comfortable with the wheel.” He assured, though Jimin was sure he was just being nice. “You’re too hard on yourself.”
“Or you’re too nice.” Jimin said with a laugh.
Yoongi shook his head but he was smiling. He reached up and took down a pot and handed it over to Jimin. Surprisingly it didn’t look too bad, to the point where he was about to ask if he was sure it was his.
“Your initials are on the bottom.” Yoongi said, as though reading his mind.
“Do you have some kind of magic oven that makes them better while they cook?”
“That would make my job a whole lot easier, but no.” Yoongi said, laughing, “you just did a good job, Jimin-ah.”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Jimin said, trying not to preen too much at Yoongi’s kind words.
Part of him was glad Taehyung wasn’t with him because he would be teasing him about his praise kink over that. He was so busy trying not to let it effect him that he didn’t even realise that Yoongi had dropped the honorifics, if he had that would’ve sent him spiralling further.
“Are you picking up your boyfriend’s as well?” Yoongi asked.
“Boyfriend?” Jimin asked surprised, he shouldn’t have been really. It wasn’t the first time he and Taehyung had been mistaken for boyfriends. “Oh you mean Tae? He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Oh, good. I mean, sorry.”
Good? It was good that Taehyung wasn’t his boyfriend? Yoongi had turned back to the shelves busying himself with grabbing Tae’s pots but Jimin could’ve sworn he saw a flash of pink on his cheeks before he turned away. Jimin was suddenly thrown with the prospect of Yoongi being interested in him, had Taehyung been right? Had he gave Jimin more attention during their class than the others? Had it been because he found Jimin attractive?
“Your friend’s pots.” Yoongi said, finally turning back and handing Jimin the two pots that Taehyung had made.
Though this time Yoongi didn’t meet Jimin’s eye, instead looking off to the side cutely, and Jimin noted there was a definite hint of pink across his cheeks. Jimin bit his lips to stop himself from smiling as he took the pots.
“I can- I can get you a box to carry them in.” Yoongi said before hurrying into the back room.
Jimin stood awkwardly holding the pots, his mind running a mile a minute at the prospect of Yoongi liking him. He had definitely been blushing and flustered after Jimin had told him Taehyung wasn’t his boyfriend. And Tae had insisted that Yoongi hadn’t paid any of the other people in the class as much attention as he had Jimin, nor had he gotten as up close and personal. His mind strayed back to the feeling of Yoongi’s thigh pressed up against his and his hands wrapped around his own. Those hands…
No, he wouldn’t let his mind fixate on that again. It was bad enough that he’d had a rather vivid dream about them the night after the class. His stupid horny brain didn’t need to focus on it right now. He needed to focus on not being a complete disaster gay and turn on his confident gay. He took a deep breath.
“You can do this Park Jimin.” He said to himself.
“What was that?” Yoongi asked, reappearing in the studio.
“Nothing!” He said, hoping Yoongi hadn’t actually heard his stupid pep-talk.
“This box should be big enough, it’ll be easier to carry them this way.” Yoongi said.
He put the box on one of the tables and went to grab a bag of what looked like shredded paper. He pulled some of the paper from the bag and put it into the box.
“This will protect them.” Yoongi explained.
Jimin put the pots into the box as Yoongi continued to put more shredded paper in, making sure the pots were well packed. As Jimin pulled his hand free it brushed against Yoongi’s and he had to hold back a smile as Yoongi’s face flushed further. Okay, that was definitely a blush caused by him, and Jimin wanted to scream at how much cuter it made Yoongi, as if he wasn’t cute enough already.
“Thank you.” Jimin said, when Yoongi had taped up the box lid.
“It’s no problem.”
They stood awkwardly for a moment. Jimin wanted to stay longer, maybe try and flirt a little but he didn’t really have a reason for staying anymore.
“Do you have another class?” He asked, desperately thinking of things to prolong their time together.
“No, not tonight. I’m all done for today.” Yoongi said.
“Okay.” Jimin was floundering, he didn’t know what else to say.
Yoongi fidgeted with a piece of clay that had been left on the table, his fingers working over the pliant material with practiced ease.
“I um- I really enjoyed the class.” Jimin said. “I didn’t say anything then, but I did, even if I wasn’t very good.”
“I’m really glad.” Yoongi said, perking up at Jimin’s comment. “And you need to stop saying you weren’t good. You did really well, especially for a beginner.”
“Only with your help.”
“That’s what I was there for, I was happy to help you.”
“I really liked it when you helped me.”
The words came out without him realising how it sounded. Yoongi looked up at him, and Jimin knew he was the one blushing now.
“I mean-“
“I really liked helping you.” Yoongi interjected.
Jimin's eyes went wide, did he mean…? Jimin had meant it that way, but did Yoongi? When he had said he liked Yoongi helping him he had very much meant he liked Yoongi being all close to him and touching him, he didn’t really care about the pottery, had Yoongi meant the same? That he had liked being close to him? Or was he just being a good teacher? Jimin hated how unsure he felt, and how awkward the whole thing was. Taehyung was right, he hadn’t been this flustered over a guy in a long time, or ever really. Yet Yoongi was making him feel a complete bumbling mess. Jimin probably wouldn’t have been that much of a mess if Yoongi had just been good looking, good looking he could deal with, but he was sweet and nice and Jimin wanted to get to know him. Wanted to hold his hand and kiss his pretty lips.
“Would you like to get a coffee with me?” Jimin blurted out.
He didn’t know where the bravery came from, all he knew was he needed to shoot his shot. All that could happen was he could say yes or no. He hoped to god he would say yes, but at least if he didn’t he knew he’d tried. No regrets if you give it your best shot.
“Like a date?” Yoongi said quietly.
“If you’d like it to be, yes.”
Jimin held his breath as he waited for Yoongi’s answer. He really hoped he hadn’t misjudged the whole thing, and if he had he was blaming Taehyung for putting the idea in his head and bringing him here in the first place.
“I’d like that, yes.”
Jimin couldn’t stop the smile that spread of his face at Yoongi’s reply. He could’ve sworn his heart swelled to twice its size. He said yes! He wanted to go on a date with him! This crazy hot guy with the cutest face wanted to get coffee with him. He felt a little dizzy with how happy he felt.
***
They ended up in a cafe quite close to the studio. Yoongi had been the one to choose where they went as he was more familiar with the area than Jimin. It felt surreal to be walking along with Yoongi, Yoongi who had insisted on carrying the box of pottery for Jimin like some kind of chivalrous gentleman. It made his heart flutter. The cafe was a cute place, the kind you saw on instagram with all the aesthetic photos. Something he pointed out to Yoongi as when they sat down.
“Yeah, it’s kind of why I like the place. It’s pretty.” He said.
“There’s a cafe like that near my office, for some reason I don’t go very often even though it’s a really nice place.” Jimin told him.
“Maybe we could go there next time.”
“There’s gonna be a next time?” Jimin asked.
Yoongi's eyes went wide as he realised what he said but Jimin just smiled. A rush of warmth and affection flooding through him. Yoongi was already thinking of a next time, it made Jimin want to scream with glee. It was wild enough that he’d actually managed to get a date with a gorgeous and lovely guy like him, adding on that he was already thinking about seeing Jimin again was insane. Insane but amazing.
“I mean- if you want there to be.” Yoongi said softly.
“I think that would be nice.” Jimin said, and the smile that Yoongi gave him in return made his heart skip a beat.
It was a little awkward to begin with, but once they got the conversation going they fell into an easy rhythm and Jimin was amazed at how easy it was to talk to Yoongi. He told him all about working at the pottery studio, and how he decided to open it after his friends had made him give them all a lesson. He’d found out how much he enjoyed it, even if his friends were a chaotic mess. Jimin told him about his job as an engineer, and how much he loved it despite how demanding it could be. They talked about their lives outside of work, how Yoongi had a poodle called Holly and Jimin cooed at the pictures he showed him. Hours went by without them noticing and it wasn’t until one of the staff came up to inform them they’d be closing soon that Jimin realised how long they’d been there.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you so late.” He said as they made their way to the subway station together.
“Don’t be sorry, I had a good time.” Yoongi assured.
“So about that next time?” Jimin asked, quietly hopeful.
He really wanted to see Yoongi again. Now that he’d gotten over his initial embarrassment and hadn’t been as much of a flustered mess, he’d been really comfortable with Yoongi. He was happy when Yoongi had said he had a good time, he’d had a good time himself and he wanted it to happen again. Yoongi was a great guy from what he’d learned already, and there was just something about him that made Jimin believe there was something special about him. He wanted to see if that was true. He wanted to spend more time with him, to learn everything about him. He wanted to make him smile that adorable gummy smile again and again, and maybe get to kiss those lips like he’d been imagining.
Yoongi gave him one of those gummy smiles before answering, “When are you free?”