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when Namjoon walks in, early the next morning, Jin can barely look him in the eye. he can feel his ears burning red, hopes that his hair falls enough over them that Namjoon won't be able to see. the door shuts quietly, and Namjoon wraps himself in Jin's blanket and picks up his tea like nothing is wrong. Jin blinks, and the imprint of the cut of Namjoon's hips flashes behind his eyes.
"are you okay?" Namjoon asks, when Jin doesn't greet him with his usual smile. Jin blinks hair out of his eyes, and looks at Namjoon, and finds that it's easy to separate this soft, sleep-mussed boy from the prince he'd seen in the courtyard. he smiles, and the set of Namjoon's shoulders relaxes deeply.
"sorry," Jin says. "long day."
"tell me about it," Namjoon laughs. instead of hopping up onto the counter, he presses himself against Jin's side, inspecting the ingredients Jin has spread out around them. he's warm and eager, stroking gentle fingers along the curve of a bottle of cream. "what are we making?"
"scones." they're fast and simple; it will give him more time to work on other things, before they're forced to give the kitchen up to the baker this afternoon. "you like lemon, right?"
"i like everything you make," Namjoon says softly. Jin goes a little warm with the praise.
"this one's easy, i'll show you," Jin says, when he isn't sure what's supposed to come next. it reminds him a little of trying to teach Minyoung, sullen as he might have been the few times Jin had been allowed to teach him a recipe. Namjoon takes to it easily, though, reaching to hand Jin ingredients as Jin walks him through every step, the base chemistry of how the flour joins with the butter, the cream, to make dough.
"the wedding is tomorrow," Namjoon says, when the scones have been shaped and cut, after he's licked the excess dough off his thumb. Jin picks up the peel, familiarly balanced, and nods as he slips the tray into the oven. they're a quick bake, too, so he pours himself another cup of tea and settles against the counter, as Namjoon leans forward to peer into the orange glow of the oven.
"it is," Jin agrees. something heavy settles over his chest, shallows out his breathing, as he thinks about what that means.
one morning left in the kitchen with Namjoon. one day left with lighter responsibilities, with time to waste with his closest friends. one day left of Yoongi and Hoseok, who might barely be around anyway.
"will you tell me more?" Namjoon asks, like he isn't sure the answer will be yes. "about what you wanted to do, when you were young."
Jin thinks, shrugs one shoulder, takes a careful sip of his sweetened tea.
"there's not much to tell," he says. "i would read Yoongi's books, sometimes, about all the places i've never been to. i wanted to go, and more when i started getting recipes from farther away. but that's not how things work, in the castle."
