Matching the Matchmaker | YunKi

02;; How to matchmake a matchmaker

02;;  How to matchmake a matchmaker

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"You want a drink? I have some apple juice in the fridge," Jake gestures towards the kitchen, the door open which allowed Riki to peer in.

Riki fumbles with the pancakes on his plate, watching the sticky syrup fold into golden layers onto the white plate. He stabs his fork into the short stack before pulling it out again and fiddling with the toppings again.

"Riki?" Jake leans over and attempts to look at Riki, but his head was tilted down, too busy fixing the positing of his food, "Riki?..." He calls out again, Riki snapping his focus back up at Jake as he cleared his throat. He smiles meekly at him and shakes his head, unable to look at Jake for more than a few seconds.

He felt bad (of course) but what else was he supposed to do? Riki couldn't tell Jake, it would disregard the rules that they always followed but shouldn't this have its own rules. This was definitely not the same.

"You haven't spoken more than a word to me since you woke up, something wrong?" Jake asks.

"No," Riki chuckles uneasily, "I'm just, a little tired that's all." The older looks at him dubiously, smiling warmly before he turns back to his plate.

"That's good," Jake responds after taking a sip of his water, "you've finally gotten this Minsong thing out of your head," Riki stiffens.

"Yeah..." Riki nods slowly, brows furrowing as he lowers his gaze once again, "Jake, what day is it today again?" he suddenly asks but it thankfully doesn't take Jake by surprise.

"Saturday," He didn't look at Riki when he responded and just shrugged the question off.

Riki hums softly in response, drumming his fingers against the table as an awkward silence drift in (or at least he thinks so). He's unsure of what to say or how to act, all he knows is that he must think of a plan and fast.

"Since it's a Saturday," Jake nods slowly, "Can I stay over?" Riki is confident in his question but internally he's screaming.

"Sure," Riki smiles shyly, twiddling with his fingers under the table. His voice is caught in his throat so he just nods, "but I didn't really think you'd want to though," he admits.

"Why not?"

"Well because... never mind," He takes another bite of his pancake and lets his eyes wander around the living room. Riki can't help but think about what Jake was about to say but then again, he wasn't being so straightforward himself, "my parents are out, and I can't really cook very well," he jokes.

"Pizza isn't so bad," Riki teases and smiles at how naturally his words come to him, "and we can always call Jay."

"I don't think Jay would be very happy though," Jake points out.

"True," The two chuckle mindlessly together and let a comforting silence sink in as they finish up their meals. Riki jugs down the still cold water that washes away his thirst, wiping away the water from his lips, "well, I'm done." He pushes out the chair and takes the plate with him along with the empty glass.

Jake follows him to the kitchen with his dirty cutlery, "Just leave the plates, I'll wash them." He smiles warmly. Riki compiles and leaves the dishes in the sink, leaving Jake to clean up. Only one thought swarms through Riki's head at that exact moment, but it feels wrong to say aloud. He glances over at Jake for a split second before he counties walking, a subtle smile folding on his lips.

"I'm just going to use the bathroom," And with that, Riki quickly succories up the stairs before Jake can respond with a hum.

Riki looks around and heads into Jakes room instead of the bathroom to let out his confusion and feelings. He shuts the door behind him and thankfully this time, Layla doesn't scare him (wasn't she sleeping(?) but that's the least of his worries. He takes a seat on Jake bed, his curtains drawn and letting the morning light filter in onto his skin.