Here's a fluff overload oneshot featuring Nicholas and EJ, built on the classic trope:
☕ "Only One Mug Left" + "You're grumpy without coffee and I'm the only one who knows how to fix it."
Expect warm mugs, sleepy smiles, and soft domestic chaos.  by jungOnesJay Let's go:
Pairing: Nicholas & EJ
Trope: Coffee, Comfort, and Unspoken Things

*****

"I thought you said sleep was better than coffee."

*****

It was too early.

Way too early.

Nicholas stumbled into the dorm kitchen wearing one sock, a hoodie too big even for him, and the universal expression of "do not speak to me unless you are caffeine."

The lights were dim. The sky outside was still more grey than blue. The dorm was blissfully quiet—except for the faint sound of the refrigerator humming and someone humming along with it.

EJ stood by the counter, already dressed, already awake, already perfect. He was stirring something in a mug, the steam curling up around his face like it was drawn to him.

Nicholas blinked.

Then blinked again.

There were no mugs left.

He shuffled forward. "Don't tell me..."

EJ glanced over his shoulder, clearly trying not to smile. "Morning."

Nicholas squinted at the countertop. "Are you seriously holding the last clean mug?"

EJ tilted the mug in his hand slightly. "I might be."

Nicholas groaned like it was the end of the world. "I haven't had coffee in 7 hours. Do you want me to collapse?"

"I thought you said sleep was better than coffee."

"That was a lie. A delusion. A dream-state lie."

EJ turned to face him fully, mug still in hand.

"Here," he said, offering it.

Nicholas blinked again. "You're giving it to me?"

"You need it more."

Nicholas took the mug reverently, like it was a rare artifact.

He took one sip—burned his tongue slightly—and sighed like his soul had returned to his body.

EJ leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "You really are impossible before coffee."

Nicholas grinned sleepily. "You like me anyway."

EJ shrugged. "Unfortunately."

They stood in the kitchen like that—quiet and easy.

Nicholas held the mug in both hands, letting the warmth bleed into his fingers. He was still waking up, but his eyes drifted lazily to EJ now and then, like they always did.

EJ didn't say much. He never had to.

He just moved around the kitchen with calm and quiet competence, grabbing toast for himself and yogurt for Nicholas because he always remembered who hated mornings and who needed breakfast in small, non-threatening doses.

Nicholas watched him like he was trying not to.

"So," Nicholas mumbled, halfway through the mug, "how long have you been up?"

"Since six."

Nicholas winced. "Why."

EJ shrugged. "Habit."

"Ew."

"You're welcome for the coffee."

"You get one pass," Nicholas said, eyes half-lidded, "for being the most put-together person in this house."

"Only one?"

"And also," Nicholas added softly, "because you smiled when you handed me this. And you only smile like that for me."

EJ paused mid-bite of toast.

His ears turned slightly pink.

Nicholas hid a smug grin behind the mug. "I'm right, huh?"

EJ tried to glare, but it melted halfway. "You're annoying."

"And you're soft."

The toast was forgotten. The yogurt untouched. The room warm in a way that had nothing to do with the weather.

Nicholas set the mug down and leaned on the counter next to EJ, shoulder brushing his.

"You don't let anyone else make you late," he said casually. "But you waited here this morning. Just to give me coffee."

EJ glanced sideways at him. "I knew you'd come in grumpy. I was trying to avoid a team-wide crisis."

Nicholas bumped his shoulder lightly. "Don't pretend it wasn't sweet."

EJ didn't reply.

Instead, he grabbed the spoon from the yogurt cup and offered it to Nicholas wordlessly.

Nicholas raised a brow. "Feeding me now?"

EJ just gave him that look.

The one that said "eat before I actually start worrying."

So Nicholas took the spoon. And smiled.

Somewhere in the distance, footsteps echoed—other members waking up, day beginning, chaos slowly approaching.

But for now, in the soft bubble of the kitchen and the early morning quiet, it was just them.

Nicholas nudged the mug toward EJ. "You want the last sip?"

EJ looked at it. Then at Nicholas.

Then took it, without a word.

Their fingers brushed.

And maybe it wasn't dramatic or loud or obvious, but Nicholas didn't need it to be.

Because he knew.

The way EJ always left the lights low when he knew Nicholas had a headache.
The way he always claimed the bunk farthest from the door so Nicholas could sleep in peace.
The way he always saved him the last mug, the best spoon, the softest towel—

None of it was loud.

But it was love.

The quiet kind.

"Thanks," Nicholas said softly.

EJ just nodded.

Nicholas leaned his head against EJ's shoulder.

And for the first time that morning, EJ smiled—

The soft kind.

The kind he really did only give to Nicholas.

End.

☕ Alternate title options that nearly made it:

"Caffeinated and Flirtatious"

"Nicholas Is Useless Before 9AM, But It's Okay Because EJ Isn't"

"Only One Mug Left, But Two Hearts Full"

Would you like a Part 2 where the team catches them mid-morning cuddles?
Or a late-night version where EJ is the one sleep-deprived and Nicholas has to take care of him?

Let me know! Fluff is forever stocked ☁️🫶✨