Work Text:
Taehyung stretches in his ergonomic, fancy chair and rubs his eyes as he turns off the computer. It is well past dusk and he is finally finished with all the tasks for the day, the office buzz in the large and airy open space quietened down to a few people typing away, chasing their deadlines. Working as a sought after, experienced app designer for one of the hottest startups means a nice paycheck and benefits, but also implies long hours spent sitting in front of a screen, and sometimes Taehyung forgets the time, lost in work. Luckily, today his phone keeps buzzing off with messages from his friends and he opens up their group chat, “3 non blondes”.
6:08pm
Jimin: Taeeeeee
6.35pm
Jimin: Tae baby
6.57pm
Jimin: Kim Taehyung
Yoongi: give it up, he is lost somewhere in his virtual world
7.08pm
Taehyung: hey I am done for the day, what’s up?
Jimin: YES HE IS ALIVE! will you hang out with us tonight?
Taehyung: sure, where are we going?
Yoongi: well, today is Wednesday.. and on Wednesdays we go to our yoga class :)
Taehyung: not that again, I am not going! Yoga is just not my thing, too boring.. I’d sooner take up pole dancing lol
Jimin: pole dancing, we should def try that!
Yoongi: no please no
Taehyung: :))
Yoongi: Jimin get back with the programme.. which is yoga and later some beers, tonight. Tae come on, you sat at your desk for what, 12 hours?
Taehyung: how do yoga and drinking go together?
Yoongi: it’s all about balance
Jimin: Tae you could use a stretch, you know. Also, do I have to tell you once again your eyes will rest just by looking at our yoga teacher who looks like an angel.. a hot, bendy angel
Yoongi: he is very flexible
Jimin: you drooled as well when you first saw him, admit it
Yoongi: okay yes true
Jimin: when am I wrong?
Taehyung: you won’t let me live until I join you for one of these classes huh?
Jimin: nope :)
Yoongi: Jimin really won’t
Taehyung: ok ok.. where and when.. I’m only going today but only because my back is sore, I need to do something about it
Jimin: yayyy see you soon! it starts at 8.30pm
(attaches location and info)
Taehyung: see you there
Taehyung: what the fk did I sign up for
Yoongi: you stood no chance
Jimin: :))
Taehyung manages to get home quickly to change into something he deems yoga-appropriate because he has no clue what that would be: his trusty green, retro Adidas track pants and a t-shirt with an unicorn shooting finger gun rainbows. He puts a newsboy-style cap on his blonde, curly hair and checks his reflection in the mirror. Anyone with a working pair of eyes would call him handsome: tall, with dark, almond-shaped eyes and sensual lips, all golden skin and slim build. Still, his best feature is his big, boxy smile that lights up his whole face and makes the recipient of it feel like they’re bathing in rays of sunshine.
Being a very environmentally conscious guy, he rides his bicycle to the yoga studio, which turns out to be not far from his neighbourhood, and he manages to get there on time.
In front of a very hipster-yet-zen walnut door above which stands “Rainbow yoga” in a quirky, purple, 1970s style bold font, Taehyung can see two blonde heads focusing on something on a phone one of them is holding.
“Hey guys!” Taehyung greets his friends Jimin and Yoongi.
Jimin raises his eyes from the phone screen and greets him with a smile and a big hug, “You made it!” while Yoongi just gives him a small smile and a nod.
“What were you looking at?”
“Take a wild guess at what Jimin's been staring at for the last 10 minutes” Yoongi says dryly, with laughter in his voice.
“Jiminie, did tinydancerjk97 post a new selfie?” Taehyung smirks while Jimin sighs with consternation in his voice “So what? I am only human. And it was a shirtless selfie! No shirt, barely any pants.. also an exercise video with Namjoon was in his stories.” Jimin’s gaze drifts off into the distance.
Yoongi rolls his eyes, “I hope you ask him out finally, for all our sake.”
“We’re all colleagues! He dances at the same studio, it wouldn’t be professional..” Jimin starts, and gets interrupted by people filing out of the studio, as the class before theirs is finished.
As soon as people clear out, they enter the studio, done in different shades of purple, with lots of greenery and plants everywhere.
Taehyung looks around, “Why is it.. so purple here?”
“Ah it’s Jin hyung’s favorite color” Yoongi replies, as they change in the wardrobe. Taehyung just takes off his cap and sneakers, looking confusedly at his friends changing into high tech dry fit tights and t-shirts, “Can I go like this? I just brought a nicer t-shirt for later to change, for the bar.”
Jimin looks at him fondly with a laugh and says, “Of course! Retro yoga style is in”
Taehyung pouts at their smiles, “You could have told me I need to have special gear for this thing”, as they file into the main practice room.
“Oh hi guys! Glad you could make it.”
He stops in his tracks when he registers the owner of the sweet, melodic voice and goes silent. Taehyung has seen (and dated and been hit on by) handsome men, but the creature in front of him is just beyond good looking. Tall, athletic yet slim, with a face of an angel, plump lips like cherries and big, doe brown eyes. His fair skin is offset with dark, ruffled hair pushed away from his face with a thin hairband, and he is dressed in a matching purple hoodie and loose yoga pants. Jimin and - gasp! - even Yoongi hurry to give the man hugs, all heart-eyed, while Taehyung gets his bearings and starts after them.
“Jin hyung, this is our friend we told you about, Taehyung” Jimin pushes Taehyung in front of him, to land right before the man who eyes him with a small smile.
“I have heard so much about you from Jiminie and Yoongichi, pleased to meet you.” Taehyung barely registers the pet names for his friends as he tries to gain back the gift of speech.
“Um.. hi.. Nice to… meet you.” he feels his cheeks are heating up as he stutters.
Seokjin observes him with his warm brown eyes and Taehyung stares back, unable to look away. “So tell me, Taehyung, have you ever done yoga before?”
“No.. never.”
“Don’t worry, I will ease you into it slowly.” Seokjin’s smile is still as beatific as before but Taehyung hears his friends snickering behind his back. His thoughts get distracted by Seokjin asking him the usual questions about possible health issues etc, and as more people come into the studio, it is time to start the class.
The group is not too big, so there is plenty of room for the dozen or so people settling on their mats as Seokjin greets them.
He also puts Taehyung, much to his horror, on the mat right in front of him, “to be able to better assist and observe Taehyung’s first practice”. Jimin and Yoongi are having a ball watching their obviously flustered friend and Taehyung has a sneaking suspicion they were so adamant he came to the class just to get a kick out of teasing him.
Seokjin takes off his hoodie to reveal a wide, perfect set of shoulders in a loose black tank top that contrasts his fair skin well. He starts the class with some breathing exercises which Taehyung finds helpful because he has trouble coming up for air in Seokjin’s vicinity.
As Seokjin guides them slowly through their first flows, and Taehyung scrambles to follow, despite his will to impress the teacher, he gets confused and mixes up a couple of movements. Seokjin sees his confusion and with a kind smile, signals with his hand that he will be with him in a minute.
“Okay, and now we will do the same cycle starting with the right leg. Please do it at your own pace.”
Taehyung is trying to straighten his back in the downward-facing dog pose, but it feels stiff and sore from his day spent sitting and working.
“Good job, but perhaps we can deepen your stance a little”, he suddenly hears a whisper close to his ear, and feels a pair of warm hands pushing his back down firmly but gently. “Try to go further into the position with the help of your breath”, Seokjin explains and Taehyung feels the stretch and how his back is loosening up a little, but the only thing he can focus on is Seokjin's touch. He twists his head a bit so he can look up, and sees Seokjin focused on his back, with pink luscious lips half open in concentration.
“You’re doing great, Taehyung, that’s it!” Seokjin smiles at him with encouragement, and adds quietly, “By the way, great t-shirt”, and winks at him as he returns to his mat, looking a little flushed.
Taehyung almost loses control over his limbs but luckily avoids an accident, and manages to return to the standing position almost gracefully, in his humble opinion. With a corner of his eye he catches Jimin giving him an exaggerated wink while Yoongi lifts his eyebrows mockingly and he wants to punch their annoying expressions off their faces, but remembers this practice is about finding inner peace, so he will avoid succumbing to these demons. At least until after the class.
“Everyone, can you move onto your hands and knees? Cat pose is next.” Taehyung hates his brain and why everything sounds dirty to him at the moment because he hasn’t gotten laid in a while and the definition of what would stand in the dictionary under “Taehyung’s temptation” is right in front of him, doing all sorts of wonderful things. He also wonders if it is physically possible to push your ass out as much as Seokjin did, as if his life depended on it.
He sees another opportunity to get the teacher's attention and does a shoddy job in stretching his back upwards, sighs and pouts at Seokjin, “I don’t think I am doing this correctly?”. Seokjin obliges and comes to his aid, patiently explains what to do and even demonstrates how to push your stomach down, and the shoulders and ass up. “Good, now push your stomach down a bit more” Seokjin tells him and puts one palm on his lower back, and one on his stomach to monitor the movement. “Now reverse the movement, pull your stomach in and fold the shoulders inside.”
Taehyung decides he can multitask and bats his long, thick eyelashes at Seokjin, “Thank you, this feels so good”, he whispers and finally succeeds in flustering his teacher. Seokjin pulls his hands away and nods with a shy smile, moving back to his mat, his eyes landing back on Taehyung more often than is probably necessary.
As they go through different sets of yoga positions and exercises, Taehyung realises what Jimin and Yoongi meant when they described Seokjin as bendy: the man can fold in any direction, stretch his leg over his head, do a perfect “bridge”... by the end of the class, Taehyung feels both relaxed from the workout and also quite turned on. He is thanking all the deities in heaven he is wearing loose track pants or this would be very embarrassing for him.
Along the way he has decided to enroll into every class Seokjin teaches and propose marriage as soon as deemed appropriate. Before that he should probably at least invite him for drinks and his brain is working overtime trying to think of when and how he could ask Seokjin to join them after class. They are wrapping up the practice and Seokjin greets them with the cutest bow and “Namaste” before dismissing the class, and Taehyung reluctantly gets up.
“Sooo? How did you like the class?” Jimin approaches him with a knowing smile. Taehyung is well aware he can’t hide anything from Jimin, so he just replies “I loved it. Yoga is my new love, I am certain of it.” he smirks at his friend wagging his brows.
“I take it you’ll be signing up for Seokjin’s classes?” Yoongi elbows him jokingly. Taehyung answers earnestly “Yes, all of them!” ignoring his friends teasing.
“But before that, can we ask Seokjin to join us tonight?” Taehyung’s eyes are focused on Seokjin who was greeting some of the other people from the group as they were getting ready to leave. He also looks like he might be aware he is the sole target of one intense gaze and seems a little bit flustered but soldiers on, smiling and chatting with his students.
Jimin starts laughing, “You look like a man on a mission, Tae.”
Taehyung levels his gaze at his best friend, “you brought me here for this reason, and, what can I say, mission accomplished. You know me too well.”
“Let’s go to the locker room and change, guys. I need those beers” Yoongi says, adding smugly as he walks off, “also, we already invited Jin hyung and he is joining us later.”
Taehyung gapes at his friends in surprise, “You sneaky fuckers!” he punches Jimin in the shoulder, “I’ll get you for this.”
“If by that you mean buy us drinks later, sure” Jimin adds, following Yoongi to the locker room, while Taehyung hesitantly starts walking as well, throwing one last look over his shoulder at Seokjin. He finally catches his eye and Seokjin’s lips curve up into a smile, and he winks?! at Taehyung. He confusedly wanders off to get freshened up and changed, excitement over the upcoming evening already coursing through him.
Thank god I chose my lucky shirt, Taehyung thinks, pulling a black t-shirt with an abstract-looking face hand painted on it.
“Lucky t-shirt I see? Jin hyung stands no chance tonight” Jimin snickers at Tae’s outfit as they exit the yoga studio.
Taehyung narrows his eyes at him, “And you call yourself my best friend.”
The night is warm and quiet, and they enjoy their walk to a bar that has become a sort of a base for them, partly because their friend Hoseok bartends there, partly because Yoongi has a crush on the said bartender but is procrastinating doing anything about it.
Taehyung pushes his bike to the bar and locks it up in front, and they enter the warm large space done up in dark wood with some industrial touches. They sidle up at the bar, grab their seats and wait for Hoseok to finish serving up other customers.
As the beautiful, dark haired bartender with a sunny smile notices them, he moves across the bar and leans over the counter to give each of them a hug. “Guys, you made it! I am so happy to see you!” The last to give him the hug is Yoongi, and he is reluctant to let Hoseok go which causes snickers from Taehyung and Jimin. Hoseok doesn’t seem to mind the extra hug time. “Hey Yoongs, how have you been?” he says with a small smile and Yoongi tries to unsuccessfully hide the smile caused by Hoseok’s attention. Uncharacteristically, all he musters is “Good, not complaining.”
They catch up as Hoseok brings them their beers and use the precious time with their friend until the bar gets crowded and he has to go back to work. Taehyung is enjoying the time spent catching up with his friends, but is also casting nervous glances to the front door, in expectation. The exercise has made him thirsty so he is on his third beer before he spots the man he has been waiting for enter the bar. He is hard to miss because he changed from a purple tracksuit into an identical, peach colored one, which does wonders for his beautiful complexion.
“You think Jin hyung’s skin is beautiful?” Yoongi nudges him with his elbow.
Taehyung blinks in surprise, “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” which causes Jimin to start laughing even harder, head in his hands on the bar, “No, we’re mind readers”.
“You did,” Yoongi helpfully adds.
“You love to torture me-” Taehyung sighs.
“Are they ganging up on you, Taehyungie? Hyung can help.” he hears Seokjin’s melodious voice over his shoulder, and turns quickly around in his bar stool, flustered by the cute nickname he already earned, and feeling oddly happy about it. Seokjin is standing close which makes it hard for Taehyung to resist the urge to stare at him without even blinking, the alcohol giving him a little liquid courage.
“Hi hyung.. I don’t know these demon spawns, they aren’t my friends. Will you be my friend?” he pouts at Seokjin, batting his eyelashes.
The man’s reaction at his blatant flirting is instant, he lets out a flustered laugh as his ears turn beet read, “Aish.. has anyone ever said no to you?”
“Many, many times, yes.” Jimin adds helpfully and earns a half-hearted smack on his shoulder from Taehyung.
“Do you see what I have to deal with?”
“Horrible, sad excuses for humans, yes! They should at least buy us drinks for this.” Seokjin regains his composure and falls easily into their banter.
He settles at the bar between Jimin and Taehyung, with Yoongi sitting next to Jimin, as they continue to talk and drink. Taehyung learns his friends and Seokjin have gotten pretty close over the last year of them attending his classes, as they chat and tease each other in equal measure.
After a few drinks, Seokjin becomes louder and his laughter rises in pitch along with how his cheeks gain a pinkish tone, and Taehyung is completely mesmerized. He was never the subtle type and drunk Taehyung is just a bolder and clingier version, as he leans on Seokjin or touches his hand, any chance he gets. Jimin and Yoongi are still with them but have moved a little bit further down the bar to talk to Hoseok.
Seokjin tells him the story of how he started doing yoga at the start of university, where he studied to become an actor, but by the end of his education, he has grown to love it so much he decided to become a teacher and make it his profession.
“No wonder you went to drama school, hyung. You have a face for the big screen.”
“Taehyungah, you are such a flatterer!”
Taehyung leans on his elbow, admiring Seokjin and his red ears, “I’m serious.”
Seokjin laughs shyly, slapping his arm, “Ahh, you’re too much!”
“Do you really think so?” Taehyung decides to try the power of his pout once more, since it worked in his favor previously.
Seokjin observes him, suddenly looking more serious, “I’m starting to think you might be just right.” Taehyung’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise as he musters the courage to move closer to Seokjin, until there is just a breath of space between their faces.
They look at each other in wonder, and Seokjin’s heavy gaze settles on Taehyung’s lips.
“I know this is fast but.. can I..?” Taehyung silently nods his answer and Seokjin closes the distance between them and kisses him. His lips are as soft and luscious as Taehyung imagined, and the kiss feels so exciting and so good, not yet aggressive, but curious and exploring. Their warm and wet tongues meet to tease, and Taehyung sighs as he feels Seokjin’s tongue exploring and tracing over his teeth. After a little while, they slowly separate, remembering where they are, staring into each other’s eyes in wonder.
“That was..”
“Amazing?” Seokjin finishes Taehyung’s thought, then quickly adding, blushing, “for me, at least.”
Taehyung stops him, grabbing Seokjin’s hands in his, “For me as well, hyung. I have already decided on wooing you by attending every class you teach, but perhaps you would.. go out with me?”
Seokjin laughs at Taehyung’s honesty, “Taehyung, do you know why everyone loves yoga teachers?”
Taehyung looks at him, confused. “No?”
“Because they will bend over backwards for you.” Seokjin dissolves into laughter over his own silly joke while Taehyung’s confusion melts away and he can’t help but laugh at the corny joke. “Hyung, YOU are too much!”
“So I’ve been told.” Seokjin seems a little bit embarrassed but continues, “I would love to go out with you Taehyungah, if the offer still stands.”
Taehyung gives him the biggest boxy smile his mouth can physically produce, as he nods, “Of course it does. How about tomorrow?”
“Sure.” Seokjin laughs in disbelief at his eagerness.
Then the bar staff are calling for the last rounds before the place closes, and everyone gears up to leave. Taehyung and Seokjin exchange their numbers and a few kisses in front of the bar to the whistles and teasing from their friends, and finally say good night. Seokjin drives off into the night in a taxi, while Taehyung gets his bicycle. He starts pedalling home, humming along, enjoying the cool breeze and muted colors of the city under streetlights.
This does feel right, he thinks and speeds up, rushing to get to the next evening.