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spaceyaceface · 11 months

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Snow, Scarves, and Schemes

Sebastian Sallow x f!Reader (unspecified Hogwarts House)

Word Count: 14.8k (oops)

Content Warnings: Slight angst

Summary: Y/N is sick of Leander Prewett trying to court her. Luckily, she has a best friend named Sebastian Sallow who would love to help put an end to it. They devise a plan to pretend to court up until the Yule Ball. Should be simple, right? If only.

Or, the classic friends to lovers, idiots in love, fake dating scenario.

Also available on AO3

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Y/N paced back and forth nervously in the Undercroft. This was a stupid idea. Utterly rubbish. She considered going back to her common room, but knew it was already too late–she’d sent him an owl, after all. A bloody owl with a bloody note asking for help and to meet her in the Undercroft. She couldn’t flee now; he’d just track her down and badger her about later.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the door to the Undercroft opened with the boy she was waiting for waltzing through. He’d shot up in height the summer after their fifth year—he now nearly had to duck coming in the doorway. He’d been a twig for a brief moment after his growth spurt (a fact that Y/N had taken to her advantage and teased him with) but he had quickly filled out in the months that followed. Now, Sebastian Sallow stood tall and broad before her, the changes from the last two years evident to her eyes. It made her feel a little intimidated. Not that Sebastian himself was intimidating—she knew him too well to ever fear him. And he knew her well enough that she wouldn’t put up with any of his nonsense. The last two years of friendship had made them very close—of everyone in Hogwarts, Sebastian was easily the person she trusted the most, despite some of the difficulties throughout their time together. He’d really come far in proving himself redeemed—the fact that Anne now spoke to him attesting to his progress. It was her trust in him that led to this moment now.

“I got your owl, what’s happened?” He’d seen her nervous only a handful of times before. For the most part, Y/N was a girl who didn’t let things get to her—she made a habit of running headfirst into danger, thinking of the consequences only in passing. So, the way she was wringing her hands was most unusual. “You said you needed help, are the poachers back around Hogwarts?”

She shook her head quickly, finally meeting her eyes. “No, nothing like that. It’s just—oh this is stupid, I shouldn’t have sent that owl—”

“Too late,” Sebastian teased. “I know something’s afoot, I won’t rest until I find out what it is.”

“I know, I know!” She sighed. “You can’t laugh, alright?”

A signature smirk settled on his face. “No promises.”

She groaned. “Look, you know Leander Prewett, right?”

The events leading up to Y/N’s hastily scribbled note came back full force. Leander had followed her from her Herbology class down to Potions. Most of the time, Y/N had Sebastian and Ominis by her side, and could quickly dismiss the arrogant Gryffindor. But today, Sebastian had ‘accidently’ spilled a bag of dung all over Garreth Weasley’s feet, and Professor Garlick had insisted Sebastian stay behind to clean it up. Poor Ominis, guilty only by association, had been roped in as well. So Leander had taken his chance and walked out of the classroom with Y/N.

Because their conversations were usually cut off by Y/N running off to Sebastian and Ominis, Leander would typically ask how she was, make some snide remark about a Slytherin, and then ask her out. Sometimes she answered with a simple “No, thank you,” sometimes she made excuses of how busy she was, and sometimes, when she was really at her wit’s end, she’d pretend she hadn’t heard the question before claiming she saw Ominis’s blond hair up ahead and running off. But today she couldn’t find a reason to run.

And so, Leander strode up to her in the hall. “How are you, Y/N?”

“Just fine, thank you,” she stated simply, not even meeting eyes with the red-headed boy.

“Pretty low of Sallow to dump that dung all over. Typical Slytherin. Serves him right to have to clean it all up.”

She didn’t give him a reply this time, electing to roll her eyes instead. The whole Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry had always seemed pointless and melodramatic to her, though she had to admit she disliked it coming from Leander a lot more than hearing it from Sebastian or Ominis.

“What would you say to a trip to the Three Broomsticks with me this weekend, eh? My treat, of course. Could make a date of it.”

She let out a sigh. “I’d say no thank you, Leander.”

He scowled a bit. It was no secret to the majority of the students in their year that Leander had been chasing after Y/N for some time now. Ever since she became the “hero of Hogwarts” (a title she loathed to be remembered by), he’d had his eye on her. She had always felt it was less than actual attraction and more of a claim to fame that had him on her tail. But he was persistent.

“Why won’t you let me take you out, Y/N? We could end up enjoying ourselves, you know. I pride myself in being good company.”

“Because I don’t want to , Leander.” She was growing exasperated with him quickly.

“Want to? Or don’t think you can?” Leander frowned at her. “I know your friends with Sallow, and if I’d hazard a guess, I’d say he’s trying to poison you against me.”

She stopped walking, aghast. “I’d say it’s yourself who led to any ill-feelings I have toward you.”

“Then why not give a chance at settling some of those ill-feelings?”

Her fists clenched at her sides, and before she knew what she was saying, the words came tumbling out of her mouth—the words she almost immediately grew to regret.

And now in the present, Sebastian's eyes narrowed. “That prat? What about him?”

Y/N couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at his sour reaction. “Well, it’s to do with him. You see, he keeps asking me out—”

“You’re not planning on saying yes, are you?” he asked, an edge to his voice. Ah, that Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry.

“Of course not! Like you said, he’s a prat. A prat who won’t take no for an answer. Well, at least he wouldn’t, until I told him was already seeing someone…” She bit her lip, looking away from him.

Sebastian’s eyebrows raised. “You’re seeing someone? That’s news to him and me both, though I thought as your best friend I’d be a bit more entitled to that information.”

“That’s the whole problem, Sebastian! I’m not seeing anyone. I just needed a way to get him off my back, and now he’s suspicious, it was obvious he didn’t believe me—”

She was interrupted by a laugh. Sebastian was holding his arms over his stomach, nearly bent in half with the laughter shaking his body.

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

“I said no such thing.” He stood up straight again, still chuckling. “So, you need someone to pretend to be courting you, is that it?”

She blushed deeply, covering her face with her hands. “Yes, Sebastian. That’s what I need help with.”

“Well, I’m honored.” He grinned ear to ear. “What made you choose me over Ominis, if I may ask?”

“For one, most everyone has heard he’s courting Anne now, which would add some tension if he was supposedly courting both of us—”

“Ah, right,” Sebastian conceded. Ominis and Anne’s developing relationship was rather new, one that had completely blindsided Sebastian (which was ridiculous in Y/N’s opinion, she could see it from a mile away. The protective twin had simply been in denial), though he had approved nonetheless.

“And secondly, to be quite frank, Prewett… has a stronger distaste for you than for Ominis. I figured it would throw him off his game a bit more.”

“Strategic. I like it.” He clapped his hands together. “So, when do we start?”

Y/N brightened. “You’ll help me then?”

“Of course. You’re my best friend, Y/N, I’m happy to keep a slimy chap like Prewett off your back any day.”

She launched herself forward, tackling Sebastian in a hug. “Oh, thank you! You’re bloody brilliant, you know that?”

He gave a sly smile. “‘Course I do, though it’s nice to be reminded of it now and again.”

The two sat side by side, snacking on some of the nicked food they’d stored in the Undercroft. After practicing spells for a bit, they had gotten hungry and decided to take a break. Y/N broke a roll she was holding in half, setting one part into Sebastian’s outstretched hand. It was an unspoken system between them—always sharing what they ate.

“So,” Sebastian said between bites. “We should probably discuss the details of our arrangement, shouldn’t we?”

She glared at him. “You want some sort of payment for it?”

He put his hands up in surrender. “Not at all. I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart. And seeing Prewett’s humiliated face.” He smiled at the chuckle this brought out of her. “I meant things like how long we plan to ‘court’, or how we want to go about… displaying it.”

She nodded, thinking. “Well, the Yule Ball is coming up. I think it’s part of why he’s upping his game.”

He hummed in agreement. “That’s in what, three weeks, is it?”

“Precisely. I figured we could court until a few days before the ball, then ‘break it off’. That way, you could ask whoever you wanted to be your date, and I could attend with Ominis as he helps me through my devastating heartbreak, like the true friend he is.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Sensible. Speaking of Ominis, you know we’re going to have to tell him we’re faking it, don’t you?”

“Oh, absolutely. He wouldn’t believe it otherwise. He’d call it out for what it was, and it’d all crumble before it started!”

Sebastian laughed. “He’s a decent liar. And he hates Prewett too, he won’t have any qualms with it.”

A chuckle made its way past her lips as she pressed another bit of food into Sebastian’s hand. “Now, as far as the ‘displaying it’ nonsense goes…”

Sebastian nodded solemnly. “This will be the most difficult part. I’ll have to tolerate your company, won’t I?”

The shove she gave him nearly tipped him over.

“Come on now! You know I’m joking!”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s me that tolerates you , we both know that. We’ll have to do a bit more than tolerate, anyway. I don’t imagine it’ll be too much, though. Perhaps holding hands, and occasional loving embrace, that sort of thing.”

“So I’m not getting a proper snog out of you is what I’m hearing?”

This time, the shove did tip him over. “You’re nothing but an overconfident rake, Sebastian Sallow!” Even as she said it, she smiled down at him.

“I’m not, and you know it. I’m a right and proper gentleman.”

“Right and proper gentlemen don’t talk about snogging in front of young ladies.”

“You’re my best friend, Y/N, you hardly count as a lady.”

There was a slight twinge of pain in her chest as he said those words. Since when did she not count as a lady? Sure, she preferred trousers to skirts and dresses, but they were simply more practical. She could out duel any witch or wizard who stood against her, but she liked to think she kept some amount of poise while doing so. And she thought herself quite respectable, at least until she got talking to Sebastian… perhaps he had a bit of a point. Most ladies would be aghast at arranging a fake-courting situation, and talking so plainly while doing so, but it was Sebastian . He felt more of an extension of herself at times than a boy she had met just over two years ago.

Y/N was in the middle of rolling her eyes when another voice joined the conversation. “What was that about snogging? Do the two of you need a moment alone?”

She grinned at the sight of Ominis walking toward them, his wand outstretched. “Oh, thank God you’re here Ominis. I don’t know if I could have spent another moment in the hell that is Sebastian’s company.”

“If that’s really how you feel, Y/N, our plan is doomed to fail,” Sebastian said, gathering more of their nicked food to share with the new addition.

“Plan? What trouble are you trying to get me into now?” Ominis asked as he sat on the floor beside them. Sebastian pressed an apple tart into his hand.

“Oh, nothing horrible, unless you think giving Prewett a heart attack is indecent,” Sebastian said.

“As… un-fond of Prewett I am, I still need to know what’s happening before I let anything proceed. What is it?”

Y/N sighed. “Well, Ominis, as someone who shares similar sentiments about Prewett, I… needed a way to get him to stop asking to take me out. I stupidly told him I was seeing someone, and Sebastian has graciously decided to step in and be that someone. Pretend to be that someone, I guess I should say.”

Ominis frowned. “And you need my help in what way?”

“Not in any way, really. Just go with it. Confirm it if people ask. Spread rumors when possible,” Sebastian said.

Ominis thought hard. Y/N could practically see the gears turning in his head, calculating every which way things could backfire. After a few moments, he seemed to come to the conclusion that nothing could go too terribly wrong. “All right. Whatever keeps Prewett at bay.”

Y/N threw an arm around him, startling him a bit. “Thank you, Ominis.”

He chuckled. “Anything for you. Now, if only I had someone to place bets with on how long the pair of you last.”

Ominis and Sebastian walked side by side back to the Slytherin common room. Y/N had departed a while before them, needing to catch up on a bit of her homework.

“Seems like an interesting plan the two of you have conceived,” Ominis said.

“Interesting indeed. Though I do have to say, it was pretty much Y/N who conceived it,” Sebastian replied easily.

“It’ll be… fascinating to see the two of you pretend to be a couple.” Ominis sounded thoughtful.

Sebastian frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, if I’m honest, there’s been times I thought the two of you might have something between you.” Ominis tilted his head to face Sebastian a little bit more. “Never certain of it, though. Should I have been certain of it?”

His frown deepened. “Are you trying to say that one of us has feelings for the other?”

Ominis shrugged. “More or less. Any truth to that?”

Sebastian found himself thinking about the thought of that. Truth be told, he hadn’t done much of it before. He enjoyed spending time with Y/N, of course. It was always fun to throw her off by saying something unexpected. What was more was how well she did the same thing back. It kept him on his toes, always letting him expect the unexpected. She was talented, too, of course. He’d never forget that first duel they had, nor the ones they fought side by side in afterwards. She was an incredible witch. Beautiful, too, though that was common knowledge among most of the students in their year. It was just a fact. A statement. Y/N was beautiful, talented, funny, and exciting. Sebastian knew all of these things–-that didn’t mean he liked her, did it?

He realized there had been a bit too much of a pause after Ominis’s question. He quickly spat out the conclusion he had drawn to. “No, Ominis. She’s my best friend, right beside you. I haven’t felt that way, and I seriously doubt she’d ever feel that way towards me. Purely platonic.”

Ominis nodded, seeming like he expected as much. “Figured. Was just curious if this whole arrangement would bring anything out of the two of you. Perhaps it’s for the best—if the two of you really did start courting, I have a feeling the very walls of Hogwarts would have their days numbered.”

“Are you saying we’d be an awful couple?”

“Awful, or perfect together. I don’t think the castle would stand a chance at your mayhem in either case.”

Sebastian chuckled before changing the subject. What he had told Ominis had been true… hadn’t it? She was his best friend. They were nothing more, never had been, and never would be.

So why was he so glad Ominis couldn’t see how flushed he’d gotten at the thought?

Y/N picked at her breakfast the next morning—she’d only eaten a couple bites of her tart before setting it back on her plate, moving her eggs around instead. She imagined this is what it felt like for those on the Quidditch teams before a match. It was only by sheer luck that none of her friends around her seemed to notice her unease; perhaps they figured she got a bad night of sleep or something. They talked animatedly to one another. Y/N tried to listen, but found herself distracted with constant glances at the door.

It was very usual for Sebastian to be late to breakfast—or at times to miss it entirely. With all his late night mischief, he tended to sleep in as much as possible before coming down at the last minute to grab some leftover pastry and rush off to class. She started to wonder if he would show at all before they had to start heading to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

As if the thought had brought him into existence, Sebastian Sallow strode through the doors of the Great Hall, Ominis trailing behind. He glanced quickly around the room before his eyes landed on Y/N, a smile appearing on his face as he walked over.

Seeing him let something settle in Y/N’s stomach. What was she so worried about? Of course he would show up for her. He always had, hadn’t he?

Sebastian arrived at Y/N’s table and didn’t hesitate to reach over her, grabbing an apple off her plate. “Lovely morning, isn’t it?”

Y/N scoffed. “Have you even looked outside yet? It’s a blizzard out there. I’m only grateful we don’t have to walk to Herbology in this mess.”

He shrugged. “Just because it’s snowing doesn’t mean it’s not lovely.”

A chuckle escaped her lips. “I suppose.”

He held out a hand to her, a prompting to head to class. “Come on then. Best we start our way over.”

The gesture wasn’t unusual coming from him, so she dedn’t hesitate to take his hand and stand. However, instead of letting their hands slide apart, his grip tightened as he laced his fingers between hers.

She turned away from him quickly, heading straight for the door. With their hands interlocked, he had no choice but to follow. She hoped she had turned quickly enough to keep him from seeing the blush that had crept up her cheeks. He had done that so… naturally. It stirred something inside her. She figured it was just her being impressed with his acting skills, and God knows Sebastian’s ego was already big enough—no need to let him know her astonishment of his actions to boost it further.

Once she felt she had collected herself enough, she turned her head to face him. “Did you finish your essay yet?”

He frowned. “What essay?”

“The one Professor Sharp assigned us in Veritaserum. Figured you’d find the topic interesting.”

His eyes lit up a bit. “Ah, yes, that one. Haven’t even started it, actually. Though I’m not nervous—I’d say the both of us know plenty to fill eleven inches of parchment.” He winked down at her, eliciting a smile on her lips. He was right about that. There was a period of time in their sixth year where Sebastian became determined to brew as many restricted potions as he could get the ingredients for. Veritaserum had been included in these, and the batch had resulted in an interesting night with Sebastian, Ominis, and Y/N spilling secret opinions on their classmates. “Perhaps we should brew another batch. I have a feeling Ominis isn’t telling me all the details of his letters with Anne.”

Y/N laughed and bumped shoulders with him, their interlocked hands keeping them both balanced. “Don’t torture your best friend for details about love letters, with you sister, no less.”

“Exactly! She’s my sister, I have a right to know!”

“I have the distinct feeling you wouldn’t want to know all the mushy things they write to each other.”

He rolls his eyes, but any annoyance comes across as ingenuine with the grin plastered on his face. “I’m not going to admit it, but maybe you’re right.” He leads them into the classroom, walking to the desk where Ominis already sat. Sebastian pulled out Y/N’s chair, allowing her to sit before taking his own beside her. A nice touch, she thought. Very in character.

Ominis chuckled to Y/N’s side. “The rumors have already begun. I overheard Poppy whispering about the two of you holding hands to someone, now that she’s got ahold of it, it’ll spread fast.”

Y/N grinned, meeting eyes with Sebastian beside her to see the smirk that had settled on his face. He stretched his arm above him, letting it settle on Y/N’s chair behind her. This was all too simple

The rest of the day continued on much the same. Sebastian was quick to hold her hand between classes, and with that the whispers around them became increasingly pronounced. It seemed too easy, really—Y/N supposed her close friendship to the boy leading up to this gave them some credibility as a believable pair.

By dinner, she couldn’t help but notice Leander Prewett positively fuming at the sight of them. He glared past all the tables, seemingly unable to tear his gaze away from Sebastian as he helped load food onto Y/N’s plate. She had to stifle a laugh.

“God, would you look at the awful sight of him?” she said, pulling her plate in front of her. “He’s livid.”

Sebastian smiled mischievously. “It’s beautiful to behold, really.”

Ominis frowned. “Well don’t leave me out of it.”

“Oh, you’re not missing much,” Sebastian replied, finishing up with his own plate and getting ready to dive into the meal. “Just Prewett tried to curse me with his glare alone. I suppose I should be grateful he never took to nonverbal spells.”

It wasn’t long until Imelda came over to the trio, Poppy and Natty trailing close behind her. Y/N held back a wince. Besides the two boys sat on either side of her, these three were her best friends. It was inevitable that they would confront her—especially with Imelda being, well, Imelda.

Her arms were crossed over her chest, a determined look in her eye. Natty stood off to one side, looking fairly unconcerned. Poppy, on the other hand, seemed nearly fearful.

“So,” Imelda said, looking between Y/N and Sebastian. “There have been rumors.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “About me? Pray tell.”

“About the two of you. ” She gave a tilt of her head to indicate Sebastian.

“I’m right here, you know,” he said.

“So am I,” Ominis interjected. “Though go on treating me like a broken broom, if you’d like.”

Y/N held back a laugh, trying to remain serious. Imelda rolled her eyes. “Just tell us if it’s true or not. Are the two of you… courting?”

Y/N shot a quick glance at Sebastian. The slight up-ticks in the corners of his mouth were all the reassurance she needed. “That we are. I’m surprised it took you all the entire day to ask me about it.”

Poppy let herself smile a bit behind Imelda. Funny, Y/N thought. She looked pretty happy about the development.

“We were surprised we weren’t the first to know,” Natty said.

“Well, to be fair, it’s a very new thing.”

“Long time coming, though,” Ominis mumbled.

Imelda’s suspicious eyes softened. “Well, alright. We just wanted to… confirm it, I suppose. It all seems a bit out of the blue, to be fair.”

Y/N shrugged, thinking fast. “These sort of things almost always are, aren’t they?”

“Not usually,” Poppy piped up.

“Well, this one was. In any case, I promise I’ll tell you all the whole story soon enough.”

“You better, L/N, or I’ll knock you off your broom,” Imelda said, smiling.

Y/N grinned back. “If you can catch me, that is.”

Imelda chuckled, waving a quick goodbye and leaving. Natty followed, but Poppy lingered for a moment. “She means well, you know. And for the record, I think the two of you complement each other.” After that, she scurried away.

Y/N turned back to Sebastian. Was his face a bit red? No, couldn’t be… though she admitted that last comment from Poppy had thrown her off a bit. “Well, the cat’s out of the bag.”

Sebastian smiled. “That it is. Seems like you have a story to come up with, too. I only ask you don’t make me too pathetic.”

Y/N groaned. “Bloody hell.”

When the next morning rolled around, Y/N somehow wasn’t surprised to see Sebastian standing at the entrance to the Great Hall. It seemed that his dedication to ‘courting’ her had trumped his need for a little more extra sleep. As she walked toward him, she watched his eyes scan the throng of students rushing back and forth. Something stirred in her stomach as she saw how intently he looked through everyone—the fact that his eyes were searching for none other than her.

How wonderful to have a friend who looked forward to seeing her that much.

Finally, his eyes landed on her. He… lit up, for the lack of a better term. A smile settled onto his face, and he pushed off of the wall he’d been leaning on, standing straighter. It was only a moment later he met her by her side.

“Morning, darling,” he said, as if he’d been waiting since the day before to say it.

That silly feeling in her stomach flared up again. “Good morning. I see the weather hasn’t gotten you down.”

His grin widened. “Down? You’re joking me, you know I love the snow.”

That much is true. She’d been teasing him all winter for that very fact; he’d looked like a child when Mr. Moon had started putting out the Christmas decorations—that elation only grew as the first flakes of snow settled on the castle grounds.

“It’s beautiful, Y/N, I seriously can’t see how you dislike it,” he says, taking her hand and leading her to the table.

“I don’t dislike it, it’s just… cold,” she replied. It was an honest answer. She’d always appreciated the snow from the distance; it was quite lovely to see Hogwarts and the surrounding hamlets covered in a blanket of snow. However, she wasn’t a fan of the chill–-it greatly limited her ability to go out and explore.

Sebastian sat down beside her. “Well then, I’ll take it as my responsibility as your companion to keep you warm.”

She wished she had something witty to reply back with. Instead, a blush fought its way to her face and she frowned. “You… yes. Do that, then.” She cleared her throat, looking around. “Where’s Ominis at?”

“Common room. He’ll be down shortly, he was just sending another letter to Anne before coming.”

She nodded. “We have Herbology today.”

“That we do.” He chuckled. “Merlin, am I excited to see Prewett’s face up close.”

“I hope it’s not too close. I wouldn’t put it past him if he were to try to duel you.”

“I almost hope he does,” Sebastian said, pulling some of the food off of Y/N’s plate. She slapped his hand away, but it was already too late. “I’d love to hex him onto his arse again.”

She shot him a warning glare. “Don’t you go starting anything. Ominis would kill us both if he had to pull his strings.”

He puts his hands up in a surrender. “Any spells I cast will be in self-defense only. I promise you that.”

It’s not long after that Ominis joins them, and then they were off to class. Once again, Sebastian’s hand found Y/N’s. There was still that slight pull in her stomach, a trace of unease in his fingertips. Normal things, she was sure, to have when holding hands with your best friend.

When they arrived in Herbology, the trio set themselves up at a table. The rest of the students came piling in and Y/N distinctly ignored the piercing gaze of Leander Prewett. She felt it on the back of her neck as class began and Professor Garlick gave instructions. It lingered as Sebastian pulled the pot they would be sharing onto the table, not giving her the chance to do it herself. And as the three of them spread soil into the pot, it bore into her still, not letting up for even a moment.

She felt she was about to combust from the heat of it when she noticed Sebastian’s grin beside her. Of course he was enjoying the whole thing—she’d have been a fool to think he’d feel any differently. She lightly slaped his arm with her gloved hand.

His eyebrows raised, not even phased by the ‘attack’, if one could consider it that. “And what was that for?”

“You’re enjoying yourself entirely too much .”

“Really? I was about to step it up a notch, I feel I’m not enjoying the moment to its fullest.”

And obviously, she couldn’t help but laugh at that. She always seemed to have a weakness for his quick remarks. His grin stretched further, if possible.

“Now, my dear, allow me to gather some seeds.” His face became terribly serious. “Don’t fret, I’ll only be gone a moment.”

She wanted to roll her eyes as he left, but instead, another chuckle made its way through her. Ominis let out a sigh. “And I thought he was insufferable before the two of you started this nonsense.”

The class carried on and Y/N found herself baffled again and again by Sebastian’s antics. First he insisted on not letting her leave the table for anything, running back and forth in the classroom to gather supplies. (Ominis didn’t complain about this aspect; he was completely content letting him weave through the tables like a mad-man.) Then he pulled the bag of soil away from her. When she tried to reason with him, he rattled on about how no lovely lady like her should get her hands dirty, to which she reminded him of all of the many, many times she’d proved herself most unlady-like in that sense. He didn’t relent. And finally, when class was over, he stood faster than a blink, offering his hand to help her up—to which, she rolled her eyes and took. It wasn’t this that surprised her—no, helping her up wasn’t extreme. It wasn’t something she would have even found outside of their friendship on a normal day. What caught her off guard was the bow he bent into as she stood, and the lips that pressed lightly, so very lightly , on the back of her hand. Her eyes widened.

He really was insistent on milking every last ounce of Prewett’s agony, wasn’t he?

In the bustle of students getting up and heading to the door, she doubted that many, if any at all, had seen this supposed display of affection. Even so, a tingle shot throughout her, settling right onto her warm cheeks. It was nerves, she reasoned. She was nervous about being caught in the scandal of one such as Sebastian Sallow being so physically affectionate toward her.

But as a figure stormed out of class, she realized the action had not gone completely unnoticed—as was the intention, she was sure. Leander Prewett strode past them, ears redder than the accents on his robes.

She’d have slapped the self-satisfied smirk off of Sebastian’s face if it didn’t look so bloody good on him. You know, in a completely platonic way.

Obviously.

They walked to Potions, and Y/N couldn’t help but notice that Ominis seemed in an awfully good mood, too. “I’m assuming the tantrum-like stomping I heard leaving the class was Prewett?”

“Tantrum-like,” Sebastian echoed. “A fitting way to describe him.”

“The two of you are awful, you know that?” Y/N said. She couldn’t help but be quite pleased with the outcome as well, though.

“‘Course we know that,” Sebastian replied.

Ominis grinned. “We’re not in Slytherin for nothing. Though to be a little fair to Prewett, I myself was getting a bit nauseous in there listening to the two of you. I only kept it together knowing it’s an over-the-top ruse.”

Sebastian scoffed. “Over-the-top. Not in the slightest, my dear Ominis. You just don’t know the first thing about romance.”

Y/N made no comment, though she was fairly certain Sebastian didn’t know much more about romance, either… He was doing a decent job at pretending to know, though.

They were fast approaching the classroom, and she winced to see Leander standing in the corridor leading up to class, arms folded and leaning against the wall in a sulk. His eyes shot up when he heard their footsteps, and he glared daggers directly at Sebastian. As they approached, he stood straighter, glancing between the three of them. She could see the nerves hidden behind his eyes.

“Could I talk to you, Y/N?” His eyes narrowed at Sebastian coldly. “ Privately?”

Sebastian tensed beside her. She was well aware of his protective streak. It was as deeply rooted in him as his charm, immovable as the freckles on his face. It was a part of her dear friend she both admired and grew tiresome of. But she was (almost) always good at talking him down, wasn’t she?

She tightened her grip on his hand. This time, it was a gesture of reassurance, not any sort of display for Leander–-though it could easily be taken as such. She looked up at him. “Go ahead into class. I’ll be right there, alright?”

He took a deep breath. It shuddered a bit on the way out. After a moment, he nodded. “Alright. But if it takes more than a few minutes, I’m coming back for you.”

He let go of her hand, and she found herself missing the comfort of the contact as he and Ominis continued down the corridor. She now faced Leander alone. “What is it you wanted to speak about?”

The red-head’s frown deepened. “It… seems,” he started, speaking as if each word physically pained him. “That you and Sallow are… involved. ”

About as much as she had been expecting. “And how is that your business?”

He gaped at her, as if she dare question his involvement in her affairs. “Because I thought you were a sensible person, Y/N. I still think you are, you’re just lost in this… nonsense.”

A small flame flickered somewhere in her chest. “Nonsense, you say?”

“Alright. It’s more than nonsense. It’s complete and utter rubbish. You’re blinded by Sallow, his false charm and party tricks.” Leanders fist clenched at his side, voice growing louder. “You’re better than this. Better than him. ”

Her jaw tightened. The flicker grew, sending heat down her arms and legs. “You’ll stop talking now, if you know what’s good for you.”

“No, Y/N. It’s I who knows what’s good for you. And what isn’t good for you is that conniving, sorry prick with no life ahead of him. He’s in detention every night. He’s ambitious for nothing but trouble, bound for nothing but a penniless life and an early grave.”

She hadn’t realized she’d pulled her wand out until it was aimed squarely at the Gryffindor’s chest. A raging fire burned inside of her, aching, needing to burst in a wave of fury. She had never felt anything like it.

It surprised her how steady the words were when she spoke them, how in control she was of the fire. “You are a fraction of the man Sebastian Sallow is. You know nothing of who he is, how it’s me who is undeserving of him . I would happily live a thousand penniless lives by his side before I ever even considered wasting a mere moment with you. So I’d suggest doing the greatest kindness you have the ability to provide, and piss off.”

Leander Prewett was stunned speechless. He stared at the girl–-no, the beast stood in front of him, at the wand poised to end him, and in the wisest decision he’d ever make, fled.

Y/N stood in the hall, just breathing for a moment. How dare he—how dare he even suggest he knew a single thing about her Sebastian? He saw only what he chose to, only what his jealousy allowed him. He was wrong.

It was a minute or two before she walked toward the classroom, still half-blind in her anger. It was this blindness that kept her from seeing the figure using a poor disillusionment charm, just a few steps down the hall.

Sebastian slipped into the classroom just after Y/N, charm dispelling as he entered the door. He saw Ominis’s head face toward them, and he’s sure he can feel the anger rolling off of her in waves. It was so tangible that there was no need for sight in sensing it.

She plopped into her usual seat next to Natty, not noticing how Sebastian sat after her at his own desk, even when he had been given very specific instructions to go on ahead of her.

As for his part in the incident, he was stunned .

He didn’t think he’d ever taken a Stupefy that had affected him as much as this.

While Ominis had continued down to the classroom, Sebastian had cast a disillusionment charm over himself and hid against the wall. He was very aware that this was likely an invasion of privacy, and that Ominis was right in scoffing and rolling his eyes at the action, but he was Sebastian Sallow, for Salazar’s sake. How could he resist listening in to a conversation bound to be about him, especially when the circumstances for eavesdropping were so simple?

(There was also the fact that something could go wrong. And if it did, he couldn’t leave the girl he was supposed to be courting to fend off Prewett on her own, as capable as she was.)

He’d heard every word leave Prewett’s mouth. He’d been ready to jump out and defend his honor when Y/N had done so for him.

And what a bang-up job she’d done, hadn’t she?

The words still echoed in his head. A thousand lifetimes… the ridiculous claim that she didn’t deserve him. He couldn’t wrap his head around any of it.

Ominis leaned over to whisper, pulling Sebastian out of his head and into the reality of Sharp’s droning about their assignment. “Seems like the conversation went swimmingly. Is she mad at you for butting in?”

“I didn’t butt in,” Sebastian whispered back. “She handled herself just fine.”

“It is Y/N we’re talking about, we’ve both known she’s completely capable for years now,” Ominis said. He frowned. “She’s still angry, though, isn’t she?”

“Oh she’s fuming. ” It was true. Natsai was looking quizzically at her friend, concerned at her stiff posture and clenched jaw.

“What is it she’s mad about?”

“She—” He found himself not wanting to say it. Not wanting Ominis to read into the things she had said, make them into something they weren’t.

He didn’t want to allow himself to read into it, either.

“Prewett was being a pratt. Said he knew her better, tried to convince her he knew better than she did. She told him to piss off. ”

That was enough of the truth, wasn’t it?

Ominis seemed to think so, giving a low hum. “Serves him right.”

Y/N didn’t calm down, even when the instructions were over and she and Natty went to gather the ingredients for their potions. Sebastian kept an eye on her, watching her chop ginger with much more force than was necessary. It doesn’t look like she told Natty anything–-the poor Gryffindor looked at her friend, completely at a loss. Blimey, he might’ve thought he was looking in a mirror. Sebastian decided he better do something about the situation.

He abandoned his meager start to the assignment and strided over to Y/N’s table, approaching her from behind. “I do believe the textbook says to cut the ginger into even slices, not to mutilate it.”

She gave a small start, turning to face him. He sees just a bit of the fury drop off her shoulders as they meet eyes. She let out a sigh, looking down at the ginger and wincing. “I’ve made a mess of it, haven’t I?”

“I bit, if I have to admit it.”

She groaned. “I’m sorry, he’s just… it was infuriating.”

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to your poor ginger. Let’s put it out of its misery, shall we?” He pulled out his wand, vanishing the sorry mess on her table before summoning the untouched ingredient he’d left on his desk. He set it down, smiling at her. “There. A fresh start.”

“Thank you.” He can tell by the look in her eyes that it’s more than just the ginger she’s talking about

“No, thank you.” As if it had a mind of its own, his hand found hers, giving it a light squeeze. “I quite hope he takes your advice and pisses off for the foreseeable future.”

Her mouth dropped open, but before she could say a word, he winked and walked back to his table.

The next few days went off without a hitch. Y/N and Sebastian played the part of the ideal courting couple, and none were the wiser. With each passing day, it became easier to hold hands, to lean in close and share conspiring whispers, to flirt and blush and play pretend.

(Curiously, the strange feeling in her stomach didn’t stop, as natural as these things became. Always nervous someone would see through it, she supposed.)

The rumors that had once been the very exciting topic of meals and corridor whispers turned slowly into accepted truth. There seemed to be no denying it. And as the Yule Ball loomed nearer, Y/N felt more and more at ease that she would not be asked to attend with Leander Prewett. He’d kept his distance since the Incident, as she’d taken to calling it, but felt that she’d be celebrating too soon if she thought he was done for good.

The Incident seemed not only to have an effect on Prewett. She hadn’t foreseen the consequences of Sebastian overhearing what she said, but really she didn’t think she would go back and change a single word she’d uttered. It had all been true. She knew him very well, as a friend, and she’d spend a thousand lifetimes with him, as a friend, and she sure as hell didn’t deserve him, as the bloody brilliant and completely wonderful friend he was.

Sebastian knew that.

Neither of them had spoken about it. They didn’t need to. There was nothing to address. Prewett had been stupid, Y/N had defended Sebastian, like a good friend , end of story.

So why did she still feel the weight of it whenever she saw him?

She figured it must be the leftover anger that coursed through her when she thought of Leander’s words, or the guilt that he had ever had to hear such things said about him. Yes, that was it. She wanted to reassure him. Say it straight to his face that that prat Prewett had it all wrong, and that he shouldn’t ever even consider things he said as truth. But that would have been an awkward conversation, and it was all implied anyway, so each time she thought about the Incident, she’d push it to the back of her mind.

She had been doing just that when Imelda caught her arm in the courtyard. “There you are! We’ve been trying to talk to you for ages .”

Y/N smiled at her, seeing Poppy in tow. “Oh? What about?”

Imelda rolled her eyes. “Don’t play coy, L/N. You still never told us the story about you and Sebastian. I mean, it's increasingly obvious the two of you are courting, but how? When? Why?”

“And have you kissed him yet?” Poppy added, grinning.

Y/N’s eyes went wide. “Poppy!”

The Hufflepuff smiled not-so-innocently.

Y/N shook her head in exasperation. “Look, it’s not as exciting as you both seem to think it is. We were walking together one day, he said he cared for me a bit more than friends, I said I felt the same, and here we are. And no, we haven’t kissed.” She’d thought carefully about the story she’d tell them, coming to the conclusion that a short, safe story was best. Fleshing it out with extreme detail would make it outlandish.

It was also hard for Y/N to think about how she and Sebastian might get together, for some reason. It caused that silly feeling in her stomach to turn.

Imelda frowned. “If I’m honest, I expected there to be a bit more to it. It is Sallow we’re talking about.”

Oh dear. Y/N shrugged, trying to hide any discomfort in the action. “Don’t know what to tell you. Sorry to disappoint.”

“You two have been getting along, though, haven’t you?” Poppy asked. “It seems like you are.”

“Of course we have been,” Y/N answered. “I mean, we were best friends before. Most of it feels… natural, really. Just a few added things. It’s… nice.” She was surprised that she didn’t get that uneasy feeling she normally had when telling a lie at those words.

They stopped pestering her about Sebastian (thankfully, she wasn't as good at coming up with lies on the spot as he is) and instead caught up on other things—homework, poachers, Quidditch, the usual. It was good spending some time with them. She almost didn’t notice the cold of the courtyard. Almost.

She started shivering at some point—with just her uniform and robe, the chill was quick to settle in. The slight breeze didn’t help, either, whipping away any warmth before she could keep it.

“And just what are you doing out here without a proper coat?” a voice said from behind her. She felt a bit warmer already. Sebastian smirked from beside her, looking over her shivering frame.

“I wasn’t planning on spending a lot of time here, we just… happened to meet,” Y/N explained.

He gave a playful scoff. “Ridiculous. Here, take this,” he said, removing the scarf from around his neck. Her hand opened to grab it, but… there was no need. Instead, he stood directly in front of her, passing the scarf over her shoulders and tying it snuggly without a word. He ran a hand against it, smoothing it out and pushing her hair out of her face. “There we go. Color suits you pretty nicely, too.”

He seemed very satisfied with his handiwork, taking a small step back to admire it. There were several moments of silence until Y/N realized she should probably say something.

“Um, thank you. That’s… much better now.” She was in fact, very warm now.

He chuckled. “I’ll see you later, darling.” And with that, he left.

She didn’t feel the chill at all anymore. Her stomach fluttered with that silly feeling, and her head spun with the scent of old parchment and fireplaces.

The snow fell in gentle flakes around her, and she realized it really was beautiful when she could feel the cold.

The Yule Ball was now only ten days away. It had come up faster than Sebastian thought it would—very recently, three weeks had seemed like a lifetime. Now each day went faster than the last.

With the winter chill growing ever stronger, Y/N had taken to wearing Sebastian’s scarf constantly. She could have swapped her own scarf out and returned his own, but… she hadn’t. He reminded himself that it added a very believable level to their act. It was physical proof that they were tied together, present even when they weren’t standing side by side. When they were apart, Sebastian sometimes thought of her somewhere off in the castle, his scarf tied around her neck, and Ominis would have to tap his shoulder out of his distant thoughts.

He wasn’t really sure what that was all about.

But right now, Y/N was by his side, sitting in the grass as they listened to Professor Garlick’s lecture. Herbology was mostly a hands-on event, but as they progressed toward their N.E.W.T.s, there were some plants to study that even Professor Garlick hesitated to put in front of them. Today she had ushered them outside, insisting that if they had to listen to her ramble on, they should at least feel the sun while doing so.

The snow had melted over the last couple of days, leaving the ground drier than it had been all winter. Sebastian missed the white blanket that had coated the trees and fields. He hoped it would snow again before Christmas. While the sun was out, it was still rather cool. Which was why, even in her coat and scarf ( his scarf), Y/N had begun to shiver.

Sebastian chuckled. “Still cold, are we?”

She frowned, giving him a small glare. “What gave it away?” She looked back at Professor Garlick. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it through class without turning into a block of ice.”

“I’ve got an idea. Come here,” he said, scooting closer to her. Before she could protest, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her softly into his side.

He wasn’t sure what had made him do it. Instinct? His natural and irresistible flirtatious charm? Who knows. But as soon as he had done it, the weight of it settled on him. Other things had become normal. But this, Y/N pressed against his chest, where she could likely feel his rapidly beating heart, this was new. His body stiffened at the realization. Was this ok? Had he gone too far?

For a moment, she also seemed surprised—but only for a moment. He felt her body relax a bit against his, allowing herself to lean into his warmth. He let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding and did the same.

Class continued, and Y/N stopped shivering. (Sebastian found this very fulfilling.) He was hyper aware of her breathing; he’d never heard it so close for so long. Over and over again he found his gaze drifting down to look at her, eyes unconsciously following the slope of her nose and curve of her lips. As soon as he’d realize he was staring, he’d whip his head forward again, begging himself to keep it that way. It never seemed to work.

After what felt like eternity, class ended. Y/N moved to stand, but Sebastian was quicker, jumping to his feet to offer his hand. A mischievous glint twinkled in her eye. She laid back on the ground, reaching up for his hand lazily. “The class really took it out of me. I’m not sure I can go on.”

Sebastian feigned annoyance. “Are you trying to take advantage of my kindness?” He grabbed her hand anyway, attempting to pull her up. She acted like a limp doll. He couldn’t help but laugh at the way she slumped forward when he finally pulled her into an upright sitting position. She stuck her tongue out at him. Leaning down, he grasped her other hand, forcing her to her feet. Still halfway committed to her game, she rose off balance, and to steady her, Sebastian placed a hand on her waist.

When she finally stood straight, he noticed how close the action had made them.

He was still holding her hand, still gripping her waist. He could feel her breath on his lips—it made his heart lurch. For a split second, he could only think of getting closer, seeing how not only her breath felt, but her lips against his—

His hands dropped to his side and he took a large step back. He couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t see the expression she was wearing. He didn’t know what he wanted to find.

So instead, he cleared his throat. “Lot of work to get you on your feet. Come on, those potions won’t brew themselves.”

Smooth, Sebastian.

Ominis Gaunt was no idiot. In fact, he fancied himself pretty sharp, especially when it came to certain topics.

One of these topics happened to be Sebastian Sallow.

He didn’t need working eyes to see that something was changing . Well, less changing, really, and more uncovering what had been there all along. He could hear it in the tone of Sebastian’s voice when he spoke to her, the way it went all soft. He felt it in the way Sebastian froze in place every time she entered a room. There was this small stupid sigh he’d let out when he couldn’t walk her to her next class, a lingering frown that wormed its way into his speech every time she wasn’t around.

They were little things. But they were there.

And now, after that Herbology class, his friend walked beside him in silence . It was something he had scarcely beheld.

Ominis wasn’t completely sure—not yet. But if he’d hazard a guess, he’d say his best friend had fallen in love—he just didn’t know it yet.

It finally hit her when she realized she missed his smell on his scarf.

She’d worn it every day since he gave it to her—it was cold out, why wouldn’t she? Why not appreciate the gift her friend had given her?

Why not take the chance to always feel he was near her, even when he wasn’t?

Over the days, the scent of fireplaces, old parchment, and a trace of his cologne faded away. She sat in her room and took a deep breath, realizing in that moment that she had spent every moment she could basking in it. It was in the absence that she finally figured out that silly feeling in her stomach. And now that she had a name for it, it was painful.

She wasn’t supposed to feel this way for a friend—her best friend . She wasn’t supposed to be excited when he held her hand, wasn’t supposed to feel the burn of his hold on her waist, wasn’t supposed to wish he had closed the distance and kissed the life out of her .

She wasn’t supposed to be in love with him.

Because that’s what it had been all along, hadn’t it? She couldn’t even trace back to the beginning of the feeling, it was like it had been there all along, lingering, waiting to be discovered.

Now that she had, she worried it would destroy her.

There was no chance he felt the same—he would never have agreed to her stupid plan if those feelings had existed. He would have said something a long time ago. Perhaps he would have kissed her in Herbology.

Where was she supposed to go from here? How could she continue with their awful, awful plan, longing in every moment that it was the truth?

How could she give up the chance to pretend it was real, if only for a few days more?

She wouldn’t ruin this. The plan. Their friendship. She would continue on, and when the day came for it to end, she’d be heartbroken, and pretend to be that damn good at acting . She’d get over it, and she’d never let anyone know that she had ever been in love with Sebastian Sallow.

Ominis bounded into the Great Hall, which was a distinctly un-Ominis thing to do. Sebastian raised an eyebrow as his friend approached, grinning ear to ear. “Have you gotten a letter from Anne?”

“I haven’t checked my post yet,” Sebastian answered as Ominis sat in one of the empty seats beside him. Y/N hadn’t come down yet, which was a distinctly un-Y/N thing to do. Blimey, was everyone off today?

“Then I’ll do the pleasure of sharing the good news myself. She’s been feeling well these last several days, and if it keeps up, she plans to come to the Yule Ball!”

Sebastian understood his friend’s good mood immediately—his own heart soared at the thought of his sister enjoying herself and dancing the night away, and didn’t even feel bothered that it would likely be in Ominis’s arms (he had given his approval, after all). “Really? Have you asked her then, officially?”

“Of course. I’ll be right beside her, Sebastian. You won’t have to worry.”

Sebastian patted his oldest friend on the shoulder, grinning right back at him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“This does leave a bit of a complication, though, doesn’t it?” Ominis said.

Sebastian frowned. “What do you mean?”

His friend sighed. “I was supposed to be going with Y/N after the two of you broke it off… it wasn’t official, or anything, but—”

“Don’t worry about it, Ominis. She wouldn’t want you to miss going with Anne.” Sebastian thought for a moment. “It is rather close to the ball, anyway. Perhaps it would be best if I went with her. Left the ‘breaking it off’ until afterwards.” Why did that thought make his heart beat faster? “If she’ll have me, of course.”

A strange expression crossed Ominis’s face. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. Why don’t you ask her once she arrives?”

“I will.”

For some reason, it became infinitely harder to eat after that conversation. Each bite of Sebastian’s toast had lost its taste, no matter how much butter he put on it. His pumpkin juice was the same.

What if she said no? What if she was disappointed to go with him, her longing lying elsewhere?

And why did he care so much if it did?

He pushed those thoughts aside as she arrived in the Great Hall, uniform slightly rumpled and hair askew. Had she stayed up too late studying?

In any case, he had a question he needed to ask. He rose to meet her, unable to wait for her to sit at the table. She started a bit, looking up at him.

“Morning, Sebastian,” she said.

“Morning. I had… a question to ask you.”

She tilted her head. He wondered if she heard the worried tone in his voice and quickly cleared his throat, trying to get it to leave.

“What’s the question?”

“Well, you see, there’s a bit of great news, and a little bad news that comes with this question.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “Anne is feeling well–well enough that she plans to attend the Yule Ball.”

Her eyes lit up. (He was glad he got to tell her, just so he could see that.) “That’s wonderful! I’ll be so excited to see her! What’s the bad in all of this?”

“She plans to attend with Ominis, who was going to be your date.”

She shakes her head. “That’s alright. I would never want to come between the two of them, I can stay in that night. Be heartbroken, and all that.”

Sebastian shifted on his feet, nervously. His arms came up to cross over his chest in a protective gesture. “But that’s where my question comes in. I thought—and, please feel free to say no to this—that we could go together? Most people would be expecting it anyways, and we could push off the end of our courting a bit, I wouldn’t mind. And it would keep Prewett trying to ask you last minute, I wouldn’t put it past—”

“Sebastian,” Y/N said, smiling. “That sounds wonderful. I’ll look forward to going with you.”

He held back a wide grin. “Good. I figured it would beat sitting in your dormitory being miserable.”

She laughed, and something shifted inside him. “That it will.”

And with that, he took her hand and led her to the table, his smile refusing to be hidden any longer.

The week leading up to the Yule Ball was a frenzy. Students were restless in class, whispering about who was going with who, figuring out if someone didn’t have a date yet, making plans on buying dresses and robes and discussing how to style hair. By the time the last class was out, a mere three days before the dance, the professors were sick of it. There was an excitement in the air—it was difficult not to get swept up into it.

It was inevitable, Y/N realized, that she wound up in the dress shop in Hogsmeade. Imelda, Poppy, and Natty were with her, all trying to find dresses of their own. Poppy had settled on a lovely gown with a light floral print. Natty found a deep maroon one, accented with flecks of gold–-the perfect dress for a proud Gryffindor. Imelda was set on a navy dress, a little less fancy than some of the other ones, insisting she needed to be able to move properly to dance.

Y/N, on the other hand, was at a loss. She felt like she had tried at least a dozen gowns on and hated every single one. She was nervous—more than she’d like to admit. She knew Sebastian didn’t feel the same for her as she did him, but she still wanted to put her best self forward. And part of that meant the perfect dress.

She sighed as the shopkeeper put away yet another reject—this one a frilly pink number than Y/N had nearly vomited on. She buried her face in her hands. “It’s hopeless.”

Poppy came to her side. “Of course it isn’t! We just have to keep looking!”

“What about this one?” Natty asked, pulling a dress forward for them to view. The Gryffindor had a proud glint in her eye, as if she already knew she had won. “I’m sure he’ll love the color.”

That much was sure to be true. It was a deep emerald green, one that Y/N thought would compliment Sebastian’s lovely brown hair nicely. She blushed at the thought, looking closer at the dress. “I can try it on and see.”

As the shopkeeper helped lace up the back, Y/N knew before looking in the mirror that this was the dress she would wear. It was a simple, but a little scandalous—the neckline allowed her collarbones and tops of her shoulders to be put on display, and the short flowing sleeves showed off her arms. It was lovely. She felt lovely.

When she was dressed, her friends grinned at her. “If you don’t get that dress, I’ll force you into it,” Imelda said.

“No need for force,” Y/N said. “I love it.”

She could only hope Sebastian loved it, too—even if it was just as a friend.

Sebastian’s fingers drummed on the table as he stared at the ground of the Undercroft. Ominis gave an annoyed hum. “If you don’t stop that tapping, I may have to blast your fingers off.”

He frowned at his friend, but stopped his tapping. “You act like I killed your puffskein.”

“If I had a puffskein, and you killed it, I promise I’d act much worse. ”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, trying to read the book on the table in front of him. The words had no meaning to him.

“You’re tapping again.”

Sebastian groaned. “I can’t help it.”

Ominis raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t used to get so antsy without seeing her all day.”

“Y/N’s been gone for hours . Aren’t you a little concerned?”

“She’s dress shopping, Sebastian. I hardly think that’s an event to worry over.”

Sebastian pouted, arms crossed to keep from drumming the table.

“I didn’t say who her was, by the way.”

His head shot over to look at Ominis. “What do you mean?”

“I never mentioned who you were antsy about not seeing. Could have been Anne. Could have been Professor Weasley, for all the context there was. But you thought of Y/N. ” Ominis smiled to himself. “I wonder if it means what I think it means.”

Sebastian swallowed thickly. “And what exactly do you think it means?”

He shrugged. “That you love her.”

It was like a fire ignited inside his chest. “What are you—why would—I don’t— ”

“With that reaction, I rescind my previous statement.” Ominis grinned. “It’s no longer what I think it means. It’s what I know it means.”

“You don’t know anything, Ominis. I’ve told you before, she's my best friend, I don’t…” he trailed off. He couldn’t say he didn’t.

“Are you quite certain of that?” Ominis closed the book he’d been tracing his wand over with a gentle thud . “Let’s review the facts before we come to a conclusion, dear friend. You’re nervous about the dance tomorrow.”

“It’s a ball, why wouldn’t I be–”

“Hush now, Sebastian. You’re going to listen to me for once in your life. You’re nervous because of her . Think back, is there anyone else you would have asked to the ball?”

Of course there bloody wasn’t. But that was a rule Sebastian made for himself, wasn’t it? Not to think about it? Not to let his heart race, his days revolve around her. Not to admit what these things meant.

“You’re insufferable when she’s gone—and believe me, I know the difference between normal Sebastian and insufferable Sebastian. You trusted her from the moment you saw her. You’d do anything for her, including torturing yourself by going along with this ridiculous scheme of hers. You lie to yourself, again and again, and for what? To protect her? To protect yourself? You love her, Sebastian.”

Sebastian held his head in his hands. He’d put up so many barriers, so many walls around that truth, that he felt himself crumbling. He couldn’t love Y/N, not because she wasn’t worthy of it, not because he didn’t, but because he couldn’t bear the thought of living without her. That was torture. That was insufferable.

The walls had been demolished. The rules all broken. The truth was out there now, spoken into existence by Ominis, and as much as Sebastian longed to put it back in the careful little corner he’d made for it, he couldn’t.

He was supposed to deny every word Ominis said. He was supposed to push these things aside and lie and go back to the way things were. But instead, his voice came out small, uneven, and raw.

“What am I going to do, Ominis?”

For all the snark he gave, Ominis truly cared for his friend. At the sound of his weak voice, he placed a gentle hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “Telling her would be a good start.”

Sebastian gave a humorless laugh. “As if that wouldn’t ruin everything.”

“I seriously doubt admitting you care for her deeply would result in her hating you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Ominis said. “If she had the capability to hate you, I feel you would have crossed that line long ago.”

“Which is exactly why she could never feel the same.”

Ominis sighed. “Sebastian, throughout everything, she has always been right at your side. I’d say that loyalty reflects feelings a bit deeper than friendship on her part.”

Sebastian didn’t have a reply to that. Admitting to Ominis, to himself, the feelings he had for Y/N had been challenge enough. To consider that Y/N might feel the same… It was too much. Ominis seemed to recognize that. “Look, just… think about it, alright? Go to the ball with her tomorrow. Let yourself enjoy it. Stop acting for one night, and see how it goes.”

Ominis gave him a pat on the shoulder, then rose to his feet. “I’m going to the dormitory. Anne is arriving tomorrow; it’s best if we both get our sleep.”

Sebastian scoffed as his friend left. As if he’d sleep at all after any of that.

The ball was only an hour away. After greeting Anne, Natty, Poppy, and Imelda had whisked Y/N away to begin getting ready. At first, Y/N didn’t understand why so much time was necessary—but as the minutes ticked away, she found herself nervously scrambling to pin her hair. They had all settled themselves in the Room of Requirement, figuring it was the perfect space for all of them to prepare. The other three girls had left just minutes ago, rushing off to see the other girls their year, and Y/N couldn’t help but admire their lovely gowns.

As she was leaving that morning, Y/N had hastily explained to Anne how to get to the room; she could only hope her instructions were clear. Evidently, they were—Anne came bursting into the room, bright smile on her face. She held a dress in her arms. Y/N tore her stare away from the mirror in front of her to turn to the girl. “Anne! You’ve made it! You haven’t left much time to get ready, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” she said, settling in front of the mirror beside her. “But I couldn’t tear myself away. It was wonderful seeing Ominis again.”

“I’m sure he made up for the hardship of seeing your brother,” Y/N joked.

Anne laughed. “And then some. Sebastian left a while ago to get ready. I’m glad he’s taking you, seeing as I stole your intended companion. Quite the plan the three of you had, hm?”

Y/N froze with a pin clutched between her fingers. “Ominis told you about it?”

“He did. I have to say, I’m sorry I missed seeing Prewett’s reaction. From what I’ve heard, you gave him quite the talking to.” Anne turned to the mirror, beginning the work on her own hair.

“O-oh? Well, um, yes, I suppose I did,” Y/N said, trying to distract herself by looking at her reflection. “I do appreciate Sebastian’s help with all of it.”

“He’s horrid, but he’s always there when it truly matters.” Anne glanced over at her. “Your hair looks perfect, why do you keep fidgeting with it?”

Y/N shrugged, trying to maintain a look of innocence. “I just want to look my best.”

“Nervous, are we?”

She froze. “W-why would I be nervous?”

Anne gasped, reaching out to grab Y/N’s arm. “You are nervous! Please, you must tell me, do you fancy him?”

“That… that’s ludicrous, Anne, he’s my best friend, you know that.”

The brunette smirked, and it looked much too like her brother—mischievous glint and all. “I won’t tell him.”

“I…”

Oh, what was the point? Why try to keep it in any longer—it was bound to drive her mad, might as well let someone know why she was doomed for an asylum.

“I do fancy him, Anne. In fact, I fancy him so much, I hardly know what to do with myself.” She sighed heavily. “It’s maddening . I’ve only realized it recently, though I now know I’ve felt this way for much longer than that. And now, with this idiotic plan—” She held her face in her hands. “Well, it’s easy to see how things… how it could be , if he only felt the same.”

She was too busy wallowing in her misery to see Anne’s grin widen with her words. “Perhaps tonight will change things.”

Y/N groaned. “I doubt that. He only asked me because he wanted to make sure Prewett didn’t.”

“And why would he want to make sure Prewett didn’t?”

“Because… because he’s a good friend, Anne.”

Anne shrugged. “I’m going to ask you to do something tonight, Y/N. Oh, quit groaning like you’ve been cursed, it’s not difficult —keep an open mind. That’s all. Try to see what’s there, and not what you’ve been so focused on avoiding. Let yourself be happy tonight.” Anne turned back to the mirror, finishing up her hair. “I won’t push you any more on the subject as long as you try to do that.”

Y/N didn’t think she had much choice but to accept.

As they walked to the ballroom, Y/N could only repeat the words don’t trip over and over again in her mind. Anne had gotten ready quickly, and she looked stunning in her blue dress. Her health had improved greatly in the past few months—a nurse and St. Mungos had been experimenting with different potions to ease her pain, and it had been working. Her face was no longer as thin, and Y/N could finally see her as the trouble-making girl she had always heard about.

Together, they turned the corner that led to the top of the stairs. Ominis and Sebastian stood at the bottom, speaking to one another. They hadn’t noticed them yet. The sight of Sebastian’s well-fitted black suit left her a bit breathless. She took Anne’s hand as they began down the stairs. Sebastian looked up.

If she thought she had been breathless a moment ago, now she was simply drowning . There was a softness in his eyes that traced over her, looking down at her gown and then back up to her face. For a moment, he seemed too stunned to move. And then, he smiled.

Oh, God, Y/N. Really don’t trip now.

He walked with Ominis to the bottom of the stairs. He didn’t take his eyes off of her. He took a deep breath, she thought, and then… relaxed. Something about his disposition changed, ever so slightly.

Her hand slid into his as he offered it. “I can’t begin to describe how wonderful you look.”

His words made her heart race. “You clean up nicely yourself.”

He grinned, holding up his arm to escort her. “Shall we?”

She looped her arm through his. Anne and Ominis followed them. Y/N smiled. “They look happy together, don’t they?” she said softly.

Sebastian hummed in agreement. “There’s a part of me that thinks I should disapprove, but really, I couldn’t ask for someone better for my sister.”

The ballroom was decked ceiling to floor in Christmas decor. Floating lights twinkled through the air, making Y/N stare in in wonder. “It’s beautiful.”

“It is,” Sebastian said quietly. She turned to face him, his own head swiveling away from her. Around them, couples were preparing to dance. He cleared his throat. “May I take this dance?” he said in an overly posh voice, bowing to her.

She laughed. “Careful, you’re sounding a bit like Ominis there.”

He grinned before taking her hand, leading her to the floor. A wave of nerves came over her—she wasn’t much of a dancer. Sebastian seemed to notice this. “Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you if you step on my feet. For long.”

She hit him on the shoulder. Rolling his eyes, he brought her into position, stepping closer to her. His free hand came to settle on her waist. He held it softly—she could barely feel the weight of it. It wasn’t hesitant, but… gentle. It was careful. She brought her own hand up to his shoulder—only then did she realize how close they truly were.

She could have counted every freckle on his face—and wouldn’t have minded the time it took to do so. His lashes were longer than she remembered. And his eyes—had they always had those flecks of green in them?

The music started, and he began to lead her in a dance.

Any nerves she had felt faded away once she realized how competent of a dancer Sebastian was. He led her effortlessly, bringing her in and out of twists and spins with ease. She found herself getting lost in the motions; it was rather like a duel, in some ways. Her awareness of her body was heightened, having to be ready to react to each move Sebastian made. She and Sebastian had proven themselves to be excellent dueling partners—why would dancing have been any different?

He pulled her into the basic position as the song shifted from one to another. This one was slower, less complex. It allowed them to stay face to face. Y/N grinned. “You never told me you could dance.”

He smirked a bit. “You never asked. My parents taught Anne and I when we were young. Thought it would only be proper for us to know, they at least tried to raise a gentleman.”

She chuckled. “Their efforts have been noticed. Although, it does make me wonder what other secrets my Sebastian might be hiding from me.”

His eyebrows raised. “Oh? Your Sebastian, is it?”

Her mouth opened quickly and then closed. A blush fought its way to her face. “I… This is about you and your secrets, Sebastian. Don’t try to change the subject.”

He laughed. “All in due time, my Y/N .” He didn’t give her the time to reply, pulling her into a quick spin that left her dizzy.

Several more songs came and went, each leaving the pair more restless than the last. It was only with great hesitation that Y/N asked to stop for a drink, thoroughly enjoying the exhilaration of it all. Sebastian led her to a table, returning a moment later with Butterbeer for each of them. Y/N sipped at it eagerly.

“Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, don’t they?” Y/N said, watching Imelda dance stiffly with the Ravenclaw boy she had come with. As well as she flew, she didn’t move nearly as well on the ground. However, this fact didn’t keep her from smiling and laughing as she danced.

Sebastian nodded from beside her. “It is a bit crowded, though, don’t you think?”

She couldn’t help but agree. The room was nearly stifling. “It is a bit warm.”

“Then let’s go somewhere to cool off for a bit.” He smiled down at her, twinkle in his eye.

“Oh? Do you have something in mind?” she asked with a tilt of the head.

“You’ll see in just a moment.”

He led her out of the ballroom, and even the hallway alone gave her some fresh air she desperately needed. But they didn’t stop there. Instead, he dragged her through hallways and up staircases (and she didn’t even care how far it was—she’d go anywhere with him) until finally, they were at the top of the Astronomy tower.

The cool air hit her skin as she took deep, appreciative breaths. It had been a while since she had been up here—she hadn’t pursued a N.E.W.T. on the subject. The view was astonishing—how had she forgotten it?

Sebastian sat on the ground, overlooking the world around them. He patted the ground beside him, a clear indication to join him.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been up here,” she said, sitting. The moon was dancing in and out of the clouds, its pale light reflecting off of the Black Lake below them.

“I still sneak up here sometimes, to think.”

“Isn’t that what the Undercroft’s for?”

He smiled. “Sure. But sometimes a little risk of getting caught makes things a bit more worth it. Besides, the Undercroft has nothing to this view.”

She hummed in agreement. The heat of the ballroom had disappeared by now, and she found herself starting to shiver in the cold winter air. At the very first trace of this, Sebastian removed his coat, leaning over to wrap it around her shoulders. She was grateful the moon had hidden behind a cloud, concealing the redness in her face. Old parchment and fireplaces. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” He laid back on the ground, staring up at the sky above. “I’m going to be sore until next Tuesday with all that dancing we did.”

She fell back, laying beside him. “Maybe that’s their plan. Tire us all out at the beginning of the break so we don’t have energy to cause any mischief.”

He snorted. “You really think a lack of energy is enough to stop me?”

“Absolutely not. But perhaps the professors underestimated you.”

“Then I’ll have to show them how wrong they are then, won’t I?” He shifted, bringing one arm up behind his neck, resting his head on it. The other—the one next to her— stayed stretched out by his side.

She mirrored his position. “Don’t go too far. Ominis might have your head if he has to save you from expulsion. Again. ”

“He’ll forgive me. He always does.”

It was then she finally felt the heat of his gaze. She turned her head to look at him, meeting his eyes. How long had he been staring at her? There was a softness there—one that had been there all evening. She hadn’t realized it until then, but it dawned on her that the uneasiness, the fear that she had felt before the ball, had disappeared completely from the moment he smiled at her. It occurred to her that she should do something with that courage. She looked him right in the eye, a voice whispering in her mind— tell him. Just tell him you love him.

But he looked away, back up into the clouds. She let out a small sigh, doing the same. Was it really all so hopeless?

A warmth overtook her fingertips as Sebastian took her hand in his. Their fingers intertwined. She could feel the calluses of his thumb brush against her knuckle.

“It’s snowing,” he said softly, barely more than a whisper.

It was. The flakes came down slowly in fluttering paths that made her head spin as she stared up at them. They caught the moonlight, flickering just like the lights in the ballroom.

“It is,” she said. “And you were right. It really is lovely.”

She half expected some witty remark, a Sebastian-esque reply of obviously , he’s always right.

But instead, he just tightened his grip on her hand and watched the snow fall around them.

Four days. That’s how long it had been since the ball, since something had shifted.

Y/N didn’t know how to explain it–-her and Sebastian hadn’t spoken about that night, yet the weight of it was felt in every moment they spent together. They both continued on, pretending to be more than friends, while toeing that very line in reality. The first day or so, this shift had given her hope. Perhaps Sebastian did feel the same. He had held her hand without the world watching. He had looked at her with that softness. It had to mean something, didn’t it?

But the days continued to pass and nothing else changed. If they were still following the initial plan, they were supposed to break the whole thing off any day now. And yet… neither of them had brought it up.

She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t keep living with this in-between thing, caught between a blissful lie and a heartbreaking truth. With every passing hour, it felt heavier and heavier. The words between them piled up. She worried she would soon drown in them.

They were in the courtyard when it finally happened. With the Christmas break, most students had returned home—the quiet wouldn’t last long, though. They would all be back for class the next day. Maybe the thought of the coming hustle and bustle is what drove Sebastian to speak. Y/N had cleared off a bench for the pair of them to sit at, snow lazily falling around them.

“What are we doing?”

Her eyebrows furrowed at his question. “I thought we came out here to enjoy the snow. Isn’t that what we planned on?”

He shook his head, sighing. He couldn’t meet her eyes. “I think we both know that’s not what I’m trying to talk about.”

Oh. Oh. “I… I’m not sure, Sebastian. If… if you want to break it off before everyone gets back, I understand. It would cause less of a stir that way.” I don’t want to break it off. I want to start over. I want to do it right this time around.

“You really want to break it off? After everything?” Where had that softness in his eyes gone?

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Sebastian. Wasn’t that the plan?” Why was she getting angry at him? If he felt the same thing she did, why couldn’t he just say it?

“That damn plan. Is this really all that’s about?” His voice rose in volume. “Still some stupid ploy to keep Prewett away?” He stood up from the bench, moving to pace in front of her.

“I…” She faltered. She watched his movements, back and forth, the way his brow furrowed and his lips fell down into a frown. “I don’t know, Sebastian. Maybe this was all too much to ask from you, but you’re my best friend and I—”

He interrupted her with a scoff. “ Friend. Don’t you know how it kills me to hear you say that?” He turned to face her, eyes aflame. “Since that bloody ball, every time I’ve even thought about you in that way, it tears me to bits. Each time I look at you, all I see is that night in the Astronomy tower, you, and the snow in your hair. It took everything in me not to kiss you that night, don’t you know that?”

She swore she could hear each snowflake hit the ground in the silence that followed. “You… you wanted to kiss me?” Her voice was timid. “Why?”

“Because I love you, Y/N. That’s why.”

And there it was.

Like a dam bursting, the truth poured out. “You asked me to help you with Prewett, and of course I agreed. You’re everything to me, why would I not help you? But then I realize, well I realize it’s you, and it’s always been you. I want it to be real, Y/N. Every last bit of it. I want—”

He hadn’t processed her jumping up from the bench until her lips were pressed against his in a short kiss. He didn’t even have time to close his eyes before she pulled away. Her hand still held his cheek.

He gaped at the girl in front of him. “I… I want… what was I saying?”

She smiled— really smiled, one of those ones done more with the eyes than the mouth. “I'm pretty sure you were telling me that you love me. You kept going on about it, though, so I thought I’d interrupt to say I love you, too.”

He didn’t waste another moment before kissing her. His hands cupped her face, pulling her closer than she ever thought possible. Her own hand skimmed across his cheek and then on the back of his neck, and goodness, was his hair as soft as it looked . The other hand held tightly onto the front of his coat—she swore it was the only thing keeping her on the planet.

It was him who broke the kiss, and she instinctively leaned forward to chase after his lips. He chuckled, pressing his forehead on hers. “I’ve had a thought,” he said, breathless. “I think I’d like to court you, if you’re interested.”

She laughed as he kissed the corner of her lips. “We’ve gone a bit out of order, don’t you think?”

“I couldn’t care less,” he said, moving to kiss her again.

The last coherent thought she could make was that the snow made for a very, very lovely morning.

When the students all arrived the next day to continue classes, no one paid much attention to Y/N L/N and Sebastian Sallow. Old news. An obvious pairing, looking back at it. No one really cared that she wasn’t just sporting a Slytherin scarf around her neck, but a green sweater that was much too big on her.To most, there was no difference in the grins on their faces, the excitement in their voices. Well, no one except Ominis.

When Sebastian took a seat beside him, Ominis chuckled. “Seems I was right. Absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but his wide grin countered any annoyance he might have felt. “Don’t start.”

As Y/N sat beside him, giving a quick kiss for good morning, he thought that maybe it was ok that Ominis was right every once in a while.

A/N: I really hope you all enjoyed this! I definitely had a lot of fun writing it. This is my first work with Sebastian, and I’m very much looking forward to writing more! I have plans for a few mores oneshots and a series, so stay tuned for those! Thanks for reading :)

#sebastian sallow x reader #sebastian sallow #sebastian sallow x mc #hogwarts legacy #sebastian sallow hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy sebastian #hogwarts legacy mc #ominis gaunt x anne sallow #fake dating au #fluff #angst #friends to lovers #idiots in love #first kiss

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youneedsomeprompts · 10 months

Text

~ FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT ~ FAKE DATING AU PROMPTS

requested by: @nothums-from-tj

Feel free to use and reblog!

"I knew you would get together someday! What took you two so long?"

dating feels totally natural

getting flustered when they try to fake physical affection

going overboard with nicknames

kicking/pinching each other when the other goes too far

already bickering like an old married couple

"Honey Boo, why don't you tell them how you fell in love with me?"

enjoying that the other is not allowed to be mean to them for once (bonus: they most of all enjoy seeing the other struggle and biting their tongue)

A asks B to be their fake date while B is secretly in love with A

"You're such a cute couple!"

making up a detailed back story so that nothing can go wrong

actually it was meant for one night but it's quite practical so they just keep up the appearances

"You don't know how glad I am this is not real. I would lose my mind if you were my actual gf/bf/partner."

their parents are so happy their child finally is in a (happy) relationship but now they want to see more of the fake partner

"You need a fake date? But I would never kiss you!" "I never said you had to..."

never letting go of the other's hand because they're too stressed by the whole fake dating thing

"How much will I get for the hour?"

not noticing how they dread the night and the deal to end

"But then you owe me one!"

being a professional fake date until one day, they fall in love

#fake dating au #fake dating prompts #otp prompts #writing prompts #prompt list #prompts #otp #writing inspiration #writing ideas #writeblr #writers on tumblr #fluff prompts #setting prompts #dialogue prompts #dating prompts #20 prompts

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fcthots · 4 months

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thinking about fake dating jason and falling in love.

it happens slowly and quietly, so slow you don’t even notice it.

and then you turn around and you’re head over heels for him, no idea how it happened.

-🍓

Anon, if i ever gain the ability to write full fics, this is the first thing i'm writing.

might turn this into an au and let y'all request scenes (tattooartist!jason style)

It started off simple. He needed a date to the gala. the press was brutal and he was a Wayne. He didn't want to put anyone in that sort of spotlight. He had a dark past and didn't want anyone to get dragged into it. You were bored, needed a date to a wedding, and you cared about your friend. Also, it helped that he was willing to pay you because he felt bad about the whole press thing. It was nothing more than an arrangement between friends, a way for you to help him out. He's always been there for you, no matter what. You didn't think twice about returning the favor.

He was sweet in public. Held your hand, kissed your cheek, always asked if you were up for a kiss when he thought it was necessary. His hand was always warm and comforting on your waist. It grounded. you, kept you in the moment with him. You loved hanging out with him. The arrangement had let allowed you to hand out with him all the time, anywhere and everywhere. There were some comments made about you in the press, but the negative ones didn't bother you (how could they think you were the bad influence, secret identity or not, he was the one with murders under his belt!) and there were some nice things. You ha your past delved into, which wasn't exactly fun, but Jason had warned you it would happen and oracle made sure everything traceable wasn't bad. Overall, it was fun. You got to hang out with your best friend 24/7 and you got some new instagram followers and fun edits made of you along the way.

When it did inevitably get a little rough, Jason was there for you, like always. He took care of all the truly nasty things the press had to say about you. He always respected your boundaries, and he took you on vacation when it all got too much, even if he had to leave early for a Gotham emergency.

Things had to be believable, of course, so there needed to be couple's pictures on your social media. He needed to lay down with you. He needed to press his body up against yours. he needed to wrap his arms around you. He needed to draw you so close to him that there wasn't any given one inch of space in between you. He needed to press his face to your chest and close his eyes.

Right?

He just needed the picture to look believable. That was all.

So why did he stay cuddled into you? Why did he fall asleep there like he was made to fit? Like it was the only place he's ever wanted to be?

And why did it make you want.

After that, you spent all of your time wanting. Wanting more. The arrangement was perfect. It gave you everything it was supposed to. So why did you want more? Why did you wish Jason would stop apologizing when he said he had to kiss you? Why did your heart sink when his hands left yours after you were away from prying eyes? When did the edits people made of you go from fun to painful, a reminder of the way you wished he really looked at you? Why did you wish he wasn't faking it.

And, fuck that hurt, because he was just faking it all, right? He only looked at you like you were his world when someone else was looking. He didn't want you.

Not like you wanted him.

"Why do you look like that?" His voice shakes you out of your thoughts. Your eyes drift to him where he's sitting on the couch, his phone long forgotten timing out and turning off in his hand.

"What?" Your eyebrows had just lightly drawn together, your voice duller than usual.

"You look sad. What's on your mind?" His face looks a little worried. His eyes searched yours. You hope he can't see the truth lying beneath them.

What were you supposed to tell him? That this wasn't just a game to you anymore? That you can't stomach him holding your hand not because he means it? That you're taking advantage of him? That when he kisses you, you pretend it's real?

You don't meet his eyes. "I can't do this anymore."

#fake dating au #fakeboyfriend!jason #fake boyfriend!jason #saph’s love letters #jason todd #jason todd x reader #red hood #red hood x reader #saph’s thots #jason todd imagine #jason todd x you #red hood imagine #red hood x you #jason todd angst #jason todd x reader angst #red hood x reader angst #red hood angst #angst #🍓 anon

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piratefishmama · 7 months

Text

Fake it 'Till you Make it | Part 14

“Eye Spy… with my little eye… something beginning wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiith T”

“Is it tree?”

“God, how do you keep doing that?”

“That’s been your fifth tree in six rounds, Eddie.”

“There’s loads of trees!!”

Steve was driving, he’d taken the driver’s seat of the rental car, Eddie calling shotgun putting his parents in the back seat, which neither really minded as they still had a few things to work out that they’d put on the back burner to allow Steve and Eddie to take those middle seats on the plane.

“Okay my turn, eye spy, with my little eye, something beginning with… T.”

“Is it tree?”

Steve sniggered but shook his head no. “No it’s not tree.”

“Can I have a hint?”

“It’s black.”

“T and black… can I have another hint?”

“You only get two hints are you sure you wanna use it now?” It was actually quite cute how Eddie hesitated, hand lifting to his chin, fingernails caught on his bottom teeth. “Maybe try another guess?”

“T and black…” Eddie looked down, and around himself, there was nothing outside that fit the bill, so it had to be inside the car. “T… and black… it’s definitely black, and begins with T… Teeelevision?”

“Do you see a television?”

“No.”

“No, Eddie, it’s not a television” he clicked his fingers in disappointment, as if it were actually a plausible guess.

“Tuuuuuaardvark.”

“What the hell is a tuaardvark?”

“An aardvark with a Tu at the beginning.” Steve really was trying to focus on the road, but Eddie was so effortlessly funny that it was impossible not to laugh. “Okay gimmie the hint, and make it a juicy one. An I do mean juicy, it needs to rival your—”

“Eddie!”

“Your juicy personality, get thy glorious head and its voluminous hair out of the gutter, baby.” He got a quiet giggle out of Lynda with that one, both parents trying not to get involved. They had things to do, even a getaway had work involved.

“For that alone I’m only going to tell you that there’s a few of them.” But he was going to smile about it, because he couldn’t stop himself from smiling, it was just… to hard to not smile around Eddie. His enjoyment was as infectious as his happiness.

“Awh shit, I always knew I’d be my own undoing. Go on then, put me out of my misery.”

“You sure you don’t want one more guess?”

“Do you think that’d help?”

“I think if you really look you could get it.”

“God you have such confidence in me, where was this support when I was trying to graduate? Okay.” Eddie pulled his long legs up and awkwardly crossed them in his seat, eyes skimming the surrounding area, then dipping down, brows furrowed in thought. A black few things beginning with T… a black few things, beginning with T… Teeee tee-tee-tee-tee-teeeee…teeeeshirt?”

“No, it’s not T-shirt.”

“Shit. Okay, not T-shirt” he reached up his hand and scratched his cheekbone, and out of the corner of his eye— he gasped sharply and yelled, “tattoo!!”

“Ladies and gentlemen of the car, he’s GOT IT!” There was a polite round of applause from the back seat that Eddie turned back to bow to, hands clasped together in victory. “Ooh, we’re almost there, one more round I think, and don’t pick a tree.”

“Okay! Okay lemme think, let me think, leeet me…OOH, eye spy, with my little eye, something beginning with M.”

“It’s mole isn’t it?”

“GodDAMMIT!”

Eddie had no idea what to expect when they started their journey, he had no idea what their end result would look like, he had a vague idea that it’d probably be extravagant, and that maybe he wouldn’t like the look of it purely going off of the Harrington’s house back in Hawkins, that place looked cold.

It looked empty.

What sat nestled at the end of a long woodland driveway, was nothing like the Harrington House.

Sure, it was large, could probably fit a good few families in there with room to spare, but it was styled like a log-cabin, just, bigger. It was all wood undoubtedly farmed from the surrounding areas, natural stone work making up the foundation and the chimney probably mined from the mountains around them, and glass windows.

It looked… huge but still so cosy.

Like the inside would probably smell a little like Christmas and warm every inch of you just by standing in it.

“Okay,” Eddie turned around in his seat to look into the back, and really did try and school his tone into something as respectful as he possibly could manage “not to disrespect your house in Hawkins but why would you live there in that if you have this out here?” Hawkins was a shithole in Eddie’s opinion, it was full of backwards thinking angry church types with vendettas against fun and honestly nothing happened there.

The most exciting thing to happen in Hawkins in the history of ever, was when an owl attacked Eleanor Gillespie’s hair because it looked suspiciously like a nest.

They had no creepy ghost stories, no weird happenings, no strange people unless you count himself and maybe a few of the hellfire kids, maybe his bandmates, but it was boring. He wanted out. The only thing keeping him there was… well… his Uncle.

“It’s not ours” John answered as the car pulled to a stop outside of the slowly opening garage, the eldest Harrington putting his things back into his bag and unclipping the seatbelt. “It’s Steven’s.” And that wide-eyed stare was immediately switched from the elder Harrington’s to the youngest, the sheepishly smiling Steve.

“It belonged to my grandparents, or well… my grandpa. He left it to me in the will, but we’ve been coming here to spend time with them for years this is just… the second year now without either of them here.” They had a maintenance guy, or multiple guys on retainer who’d go in once every two weeks to keep the place clean, but other than that it remained empty. Eddie couldn’t stop himself from placing a comforting hand on Steve’s shoulder, expression softening, Steve shook his head though, “sorry, that just set a weird mood, let’s just… get inside and get settled, yeah? I’ll even let you pick our room.”

“Room as in… one room? For the both of us? That’s—that’s uhm” he looked back at the parents “that’s okay with you guys?”

“Sure, again it’s not our house.” And even if it was, both John and Lynda figured Steve would wind up in Eddie’s room anyway “we’d prefer it though if you picked one on the other side of the house to ours.” John opened the car door, catching Eddie’s attention again “we’ve been burned by those old wooden walls before.” And then he was out of the car, followed by Lynda who he helped climb out, leaving both men in the car alone while they made their way to the house.

Steve pulled forwards into the vacant garage, the door to shut behind them, and a light automatically switched on, replacing the darkness of the garage with a warm white light.

“They’re not the only ones who’ve been burned, trust me.” Steve shook his head with an amused smile as he cut the engine. “Is the one room okay, Eddie? It’s not like… crossing any lines with you, is it?” His parents weren’t there, they couldnt hear them, there was no reason to pretend, even if he did want to try and make it as realistic as possible as per Robin’s idea, he had to keep checking in with Eddie to make sure he was okay.

“No! No, no it’s okay… I’ve never… I haven’t really… shared a room with anyone before” only child, and Wayne had given him the only room in the trailer “is it like… a two bed situation or—”

“One bed, Eddie… one room, one bed, there’s only one room in that house with multiple beds in it and it’s full of bunk beds from when I was twelve an all the cousins used to visit around the same time… it might seem a bit weird if we pick that one.” He was going to be spending an entire week… sleeping in the same bed as Steve Harrington, in what was essentially a dream house nestled in the woods.

He was going to get used to it. He was going to get used to it all, and it was going to kill him to leave it all at the end of the week. It was going to destroy him to lose it all.

“Heh… maybe—maybe someday we could bring the kids up, they could stay in the bunk bed room” grin and bear it, maybe it’d all work out if he just… went with the flow. Wishful thinking usually went against the good ol Munson Doctrine, but… everything Steve had been doing since they first started their whacky plan had flown in the face of that stupid doctrine so… maybe deviating from it wouldn’t hurt as bad as it could if he just… went with it.

“I mean… we could force them to use the bunkbeds, an that could be pretty funny”

They probably wouldn’t be as psyched to stay in bunkbeds as they would have been back when they were all tiny, squishy middle schoolers, although it’d probably be easier to get their parents to agree to the trip now they were older.

“Payback for all the shit they’ve thrown at us over the years.”

“It’s like you’re in my brain.”

Part 16

#PirateWrites #FakeItTillYouMakeItFiclet #Steddie #No Upside Down AU #Fake Dating AU

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namjoonscoffeeshop · 1 month

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Deep | M.YG

✧ Pairing: Min Yoongi x reader ✧ warning(s): explicit language, oral sex[female/male receiving], unprotected sex,spanking ✧ genre: angst,fluff,smut,fake dating au,contract ✧ synopsis; you're in love with your childhood friend but he does not see you more than just a friend. One day you ask him to be more than just friends, he agrees. ✧ Theme song: Fri(end)s by V a/n: comment to be in permanent taglist!

↳ chapter index ⇢ 01|02|03|04|05|06|07|

not complete (15%) crossposted: wattpad / AO3 handbook

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Friends ⇢ Myfirstconfession

Together ... Apart ...

#bts smut #bts angst #bts fluff #min yoongi smut #jungkook smut #min yoongi x reader #jungkook x reader #min yoongi fanfic #bts au #fake dating au #contract au #yoongi fic #M.YG/Deep #namjoonscoffeeshop #Spotify

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goldencuffs · 3 months

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fake dating au chapter twenty-one

after all this time, here it is: chapter twenty-one of in the absence of a king

part one and part two because it was too long to post in one go

thank you so much to everyone who continued to care about this fic. your support means everything 💖

#captive prince #damen x laurent #my writing #my fic #in the absence of a king #fake dating au #im so sorry for the wait i know its been crazy long #im very nervous about posting this lol

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leejihoonownsmyheart · 2 years

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New Rules

Title: New Rules

Genre: basketballplayer!mingyu, collegestudent!reader, fakedating!au, fluff, angst, s2l, smut

Tags/Warnings: Cheating, heartbreak, gender neutral reader, slow burn, smut, creampie, unprotected :/, general arguments between the reader and some characters, alcohol drinking, hurt and comfort, 26k words

This is a part of a sports collaboration being hosted by @gyukult . Thank you so much for the opportunity to write this I seriously never would have come up with this idea and written this had it not been for this collab!

Summary:

Kim Mingyu is the star basketball player of your schools' team, and one of the most popular boys in your entire University. You’re just a college student with the best boyfriend in the world.

You stared at the lake in front of you, your eyebrows furrowing in concentration. You felt the breeze blow through the trees, and you shivered a little despite the warm fall sun beating down on you.

You weren’t cold for long, after only a moment warm arms wrapped around your body, tugging you close. You smiled, a giggle leaving your lips.

“Come on, I’m trying to enjoy the view while it lasts.”

“I’m not distracting you.”

A fleeting kiss was pressed to your cheek, which you tried to laugh off. You wiggled against him, trying to get out of his grasp but ended up being unsuccessful. You struggled a little more in his arms only to be spun towards him, pulled into a deep kiss.

You smiled against his lips.

“You’re stupid,” you mumbled.

“Shhh I’m trying to kiss you.”

You wished that days like this never ended. You wanted to stay like this until the end of time. You wanted to feel the sun on your skin and hold onto the love of your life. But you knew that you two couldn’t stay like this forever. You pulled away from him and looked at your boyfriend of five years.

“I never want this day to end.”

Donghyun looked at you like you were everything he had ever wanted in life.

“Me neither.”

You two stared at one another for a few moments before Donghyun finally sighed, pulling you close against his chest.

“But, unfortunately, we have to finish this hike and get home before it gets too dark out.”

A pout crossed your lips, but you knew he was right. You pulled away again and reached up to mess with his hair. He had dyed it blonde recently, at first you hadn’t thought it would look very good on him, but upon having it dyed for a while you had grown to like it. His hair was kind of long too, falling past his ears.

You reached over and tucked a few strands behind his ear. When you finally thought that his appearance was appeasing again you slid your hand into his and began to drag him forward.

“Are you ready to get back to school?” He asked. “I bet you miss Jaeyun and Rei.”

You smiled at the mention of your friends, but you decided to play it off coyly.

“Hm, I bet they miss me more,” you mumbled. A laughed erupted from Donghyun’s chest and you two’s hands swung between each other. “It’ll be nice to be back on a schedule. I miss going to classes and working.”

Again a laugh came from Donghyun.

“That’s what I love about you,” he said in awe. “You actually miss working. I would rather be here on vacation forever.”

He swung you around in front of him causing you to giggle and leaned in close to you, pressing a kiss to your lips.

“As long as you were here with me that is.”

You rolled your eyes.

Donghyun was a romantic. He had been for as long as you had known him, even if he wouldn’t admit it. While you tended to get lost in your studies and hardly messaged him, he was always planning extravagant evenings and telling you just how much he loved and needed you in his life.

Five years ago, relationships hadn’t been your thing. Now, you were happier than you had ever imagined you could be.

“You’re dumb Donghyun.”

He hummed, nodding in agreement.

“Maybe,” he mumbled. “I’m going to a party the day after we get back.”

“Quite the way to start the semester,” you teased. He rolled his eyes.

“You’re just jealous that’s all.”

“I’d rather be studying then stuffed between a bunch of stuffy college students who smell like weed and alcohol,” you said. Donghyun laughed again.

“You and your books,” he said affectionately. He took another look at the lake in front of you two and shook his head.

“I guess everything has to end at some point.”

“There you are,” Jaeyun said, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest. “Gone for a weekend and you still think you’re too good for us huh?”

“Not a single message or picture,” Rei agreed joining him by his side. A teasing pout crossed your lips.

“Aw did you guys miss me?” You whined teasingly. “How domestic.”

You laughed as they both rushed up to you, lightly hitting you with their fists.

“Okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you apologized. “I missed you guys too, but you know how I am.”

Both Rei and Jaeyun pulled away from you, their fake expressions of anger gone from their faces.

“I don’t suppose you are going to come to the party tonight as a formal apology?” Rei asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively. You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, that’s plausible.”

Jaeyun groaned.

“You are no fun, Donghyun is going, and I bet he would love to have you there.”

You highly doubted that was true. Whenever you had been dragged to parties by Rei and Jaeyun they had all abandoned you, and Donghyun had just near pretended that you weren’t there. It was fine, he liked his time with his friends, and you didn’t blame him for that. You liked to have time away from him too and that was something that he respected you for.

“You guys will be fine without me,” you said with a roll of your eyes.

“Hm.”

Rei didn’t look to happy about that response, but Jaeyun was already done with the topic.

Jaeyun and Rei were your two best friends in the entire world. While Jaeyun was a tall boy who was constantly dying his hair different colors, Rei was a level-headed skater girl with shoulder length hair that was currently the same shade of purple as Jaeyun’s.

The two had tried to convince you to dye your hair too but in no universe were you willing to dye your hair purple.

Your schedule was pretty much the same every day. You went to classes, studied between, ate lunch with your friends and then went to work for the day. Your schedule was strict, but it made you feel like you had more control in your life. You didn’t like it when things happened that were out of your control.

Luckily for you, pretty much everyone in your life knew that and they were careful to make sure you stayed comfortable in your own skin.

When you got home from work and your phone went off you weren’t very amused. You had told your friends a million times that you didn’t want any part of their party, but when you saw the message from Jaeyun it was a little different then you were expecting.

Your boyfriend is wasted, you should come pick him up

You sighed; you didn’t often have to pick up Donghyun from parties. He was a pretty responsible drinker. So, you didn’t mind having to every once in a while.

You threw on some normal clothes and grabbed your keys, heading straight to the party.

There were too many people at the party for you to be able to find Rei or Jaeyun, much less Donghyun. You weaved through people for about ten minutes before finally you just started asking people if they had seen him.

“Donghyun? Is that him over there with Jennie?”

You could almost swear that time stopped when you turned around.

You had never had your heart broken before. You had the perfect life. The perfect grades, the perfect friends, the perfect boyfriend.

You had never really imagined what it would be like if Donghyun betrayed your trust because no part of you had imagined he was capable of it. He loved you. That was something that you believed undoubtedly. He gave you his time, his energy, he remembered the things about you that no one else remembered.

He hadn’t been bad to you. He never raised his voice or got angry with you. Everyone you had met had always been so jealous and Donghyun’s eyes had never even strayed from yours.

“How long do you think we are going to be together?” You whispered, burying your face in Donghyun’s chest. You couldn’t see his face, but you could feel his heart beating, and feel as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer.

“Forever.”

You didn’t even realize that you were still looking at him until someone bumped into you. Then it was like the sight of what was before you finally set in. Donghyun had his arms wrapped around Jennie, his face hidden beneath hers.

The guy beside you laughed and nudged you in the side roughly.

“Yo, just wait until the person dating Donghyun sees this!”

He looked over at you, his smile faltering.

“Wait, aren’t you...?”

That was what snapped Donghyun into the present. You watched as he pulled away from Jennie, pulling her tighter against his body as their hips swayed together. He laughed victoriously to his friends, as if he had done something spectacular and no one around could really believe it.

And then his eyes met yours.

You stood in front of the mirror, frowning as you ran your hand down your shirt.

“Do you like this?” You asked. “I don’t kn-”

You interrupted yourself with a sigh. Who were you kidding? You hated how you looked in this outfit. It hardly flattered your figure and you felt like it made you look bigger than you really were-

“You look beautiful,” Donghyun said, coming up behind you and spinning you away from the mirror. He whistled and shook his head as he got a better look at you. “How on Earth did I get someone as beautiful as you?”

Your face flushed red, and you dropped your eyes from Donghyun’s.

“Shu-”

Before you could finish what you said, Donghyun had his fingers gripping your chin, turning your gaze back to his.

“Seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as beautiful as you.”

“Shit.”

You didn’t think you had ever seen Donghyun move faster. He scrambled to get himself unraveled from Jennie, his hands flying to his hair as if that would change the fact that her hands had been in it moments before.

“Shit babe, it’s not what it looks like.”

You didn’t move, you couldn’t think. You felt something salty seep between your lips. You sniffled and raised your hands to your face, wiping the tears over your cheeks.

You turned from Donghyun- You couldn’t look at him anymore. You felt yourself beginning to move through the crowd of people, moving faster as you heard him growing closer.

“Come on, don’t-” He bumped into someone. “Stop- Let me just explain-”

You didn’t respond, you just started running faster. You pushed past people, tears running down your cheeks so rapidly you couldn’t see. You had to be close to the door now, then all you had to do was get out of here and go home and-

You slammed into someone’s hard chest. You would have fallen but the person caught your wrist steadying you with a hearty laugh.

“Woah there, careful where you’re-”

You looked up and he stopped talking. It was a little hard to figure out who was standing there in front of you with all the tears in your eyes. All you could see was that he was tall, and his hair was dark, and his grip on you was tight.

“Are you...?”

Before he could finish Donghyun let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank god, look it’s not what it looked like-” You felt his hand touch your shoulder and it forced a sob from out of your lips. You pressed your lips together firmly and pushed yourself further into the guy that had caught you as you choked out the first words that you could muster:

“Leave me alone.”

Donghyun didn’t try to touch you again but you could hear his breathing nonetheless. He was close to you. He was too close to you.

“Come on, please let me just talk to you,” Donghyun pleaded. “I can explain everything.”

You didn’t respond. You didn’t trust your own voice. Honestly, you didn’t even trust your own mind. Had your eyes really seen Donghyun kissing Jennie? Surely not. They were just friends, and he had never given you any reason to suspect that he thought of her as anything else. You had trusted him. But maybe that was the problem right there. You trusted him. Why weren’t you trusting him right now? Maybe he could explain it.

You sniffled and peeked from out of the strangers chest, risking a look at Donghyun. His eyes were red. He looked desperate for you to give him a chance. You could visibly see him breath in relief at having seen you.

“You were kissing Jennie,” you whispered, your voice broken. He nodded and held his hand out to you.

“Let me explain, let me explain,” he mumbled. “I love you more than anyone, you know that?”

Of course, you knew that Donghyun loved you. He had been with you the longest of anyone. He was your biggest supporter, always by your side. You loved him too. Without him you were nothing. You sniffled and nodded.

“You can explain?” You asked.

“I can explain,” he repeated. You started to pull yourself away from the person that you had run into but before you could make it very far, the grip on your forearm tightened.

“I know I should stay out of it but I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” You looked up at the person. He looked so familiar, but your vision was still blurry.

“What the fuck dude, back off.”

That was odd. You looked over at Donghyun your eyes wide. You had never heard him address someone so angrily before. His eyes flitted towards you and it was like he could hear your thoughts. His expression softened.

“Babe, who are you going to listen to? Him?” He gestured towards the person that was holding you still. “Or me?”

He spread his arms out in such an inviting way. All you wanted right now was to hug him. Maybe if you did you would be able to pretend like this hadn’t happened. You could close your eyes and go back to the you that hadn’t seen him kissing Jennie.

“Hey.” You looked up at the boy who was holding you. He leaned in close to you so that you could feel his breath on your ear. “Cheaters never change.”

Your eyes flickered to Donghyun who was watching you two with large eyes.

“You can let him manipulate you into going back to him, and you can get your heartbroken or-” His other hand rose slowly to your waist. He was careful touching you, and to be completely honest it felt weird to have someone’s hand there with Donghyun standing so close to you. “You can kiss me, and let Donghyun get a little taste of his own medicine.”

You looked up at the man in front of you. God you really couldn’t shake how come he looked so familiar. You pursed your lips in concentration, trying to search his eyes for any indication of how you knew him. Instead, you found something else there.

You got to the tips of your toes and nodded.

“Okay.”

And before you could think about it you pressed your lips to his.

His lips tasted like beer, and he didn’t kiss anything like how Donghyun did. Having kissed Donghyun for so many years his lips were the only ones you knew so you weren’t really sure what you were doing with this guy. You felt like you were sloppy, and your eyebrows were scrunched in concentration.

Before you could think about it too much the person pulled away from you. He let you turn and look over at Donghyun who to your surprise didn’t look hurt. He looked angry.

“Cute,” he spat. His eyes looked to you. “Let’s go before you do something else stupid.”

You had never seen Donghyun look at you like that. You pressed your lips together uncertainly, and began to pull away from the boy you had just kissed. You cleared your throat, but before you could pull away you felt the guy beneath you tug you lightly. You looked back up at him.

“Date me.”

Your eyes widened.

“What?” You said at the same time as Donghyun said it. The confusion must have been extremely clear as the boy spun you so that his back was to Donghyun’s. He winked. Trust me, he mouthed.

You had never been able to imagine a life without Donghyun. Not since he had entered into yours. You two had planned each other’s futures together. Trusting Donghyun had gotten you here. Crying at a party because he had been kissing another girl. Trusting the person that made sense had gotten your heart broken.

It was time to do something dumb for a change.

“Donghyun,” you said, tearing your eyes away from the person in front of you. “We’re over.”

A laugh erupted from the stranger who... You supposed you needed to get to know now as he turned to Donghyun.

“Now I have an excuse to do this...” He tilted his head from side to side and stretched out his arms, cracking his hands. He shuffled you behind him, and as he took a step towards Donghyun a large number of boys around him rushed forward.

“Mingyu-”

“Bro-

“It’s not worth it-”

Their protests didn’t matter. He pulled his fist back and it collided with Donghyun’s face.

“Aren’t you worried that I’ll hurt you?”

The question caught you a little off guard. You rolled over in the bed to look at Donghyun. Despite the odd question you couldn’t see anything suspicious in his eyes.

“No,” you replied pointedly. He laughed his eyebrows scrunching slightly in thought.

“Why do you trust me that much?”

“Because you’re Donghyun, and you love me,” you replied confidently. Donghyun hummed in agreement.

“It’s true. You know me so well.”

After the party you didn’t see much of your new “boyfriend”. Everyone rushed to the two boys’ sides. Most of the people ran up to the person who had punched Donghyun. You didn’t stay around to see how it played out.

You didn’t really know how to feel. From Donghyun kissing Jennie, to a guy punching Donghyun for cheating on you... It had been too much.

You went home and you cried yourself to sleep.

The next day when you woke up you had almost forgotten about everything. You woke up and you got ready and you smiled at yourself and you looked to your phone to message Donghyun and...

You didn’t even want to leave.

But regardless you knew you had to.

You dragged yourself out of bed and to school.

“Hey!”

Rei and Jaeyun rushed over to you as soon as they saw you, concerned riddled across their faces.

“What are you doing at school? You should have stayed home today,” Jaeyun said. Rei nodded in agreement, brushing some of her hair out of her face.

“Seriously, your grades would be fine if you missed one day.”

You shrugged.

“I have a quiz today,” you mumbled. “Besides, it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything.”

That was a lie, it was a huge deal. You and Donghyun had spent five years of your life together. He was your first and only boyfriend. You had spent the better part of your life dedicated to him and him only.

How were you supposed to heal after having lost the one thing in your life that had stayed the same over five years.

A pang of hurt ran through your chest and you cleared your throat, feeling warm tears pricking at your eyes.

“Better now anyways. More time to study.”

“Stop pretending it’s not a big deal,” Jaeyun insisted. “It’s okay to be upset.”

“I’m not upset,” you said. “It’s better this way.”

Both Rei and Jaeyun stared at you snd you hated that look in their eyes. It was just pity. You loathed pity. Yeah you were a mess, yes you wanted no more than to curl up in a ball and cry and miss Donghyun but that didn’t mean you needed someone’s pity.

You were fully intent on telling them just that when suddenly, you were all interrupted.

“There they are; my beautiful partner.”

Your eyes widened as you were enveloped in the arms of a large man. He kissed your cheek cheerily and then placed his head over yours.

You were a little too surprise to react at first, and such a reaction must have been transparent as he leaned in close to your ear.

“You’re not really selling this fake relationship.”

You swallowed. You couldn’t believe that this was actually real. The party felt like it had been years ago at this point. You couldn’t believe that everything there had actually happened.

A flash of the night shot through your brain, but for once it wasn’t the memory of Donghyun kissing Jennie, it was of you kissing a stranger.

“I haven’t seen you since the party.”

You thought you sounded a little robotic but your friends eyes widened.

“Oh my god, you’re dating Mingyu?”

Your heart stopped.

“I’m dating...?”

You whipped around and your mouth literally dropped open.

The man standing behind you was none other than Kim Mingyu. You weren’t sure what to do or say, you just stared at him dumbly. He didn’t seem to be too bothered by your reaction, in fact he looked a little amused by it.

Kim Mingyu was one of the most popular boys at your University. He was a star player on the basketball team. Even people across the country knew his name. People from your high school would have paid thousands of dollars to be simply in the same room with him. Girls in other countries dreamed of being able to even brush shoulders with him.

You had only ever seen him before at a distance. That must have been why he seemed so familiar the night before. How had you not recognized Kim Mingyu?

A gasp left your mouth and you smacked your hand over it.

Oh my god, had you kissed Kim Mingyu?

You swallowed hard and tried to gain composure of yourself, hoping that your extremely obvious rapid change of emotions wasn’t too obvious.

“Yeah, Mingyu and I are dating,” you agreed. You figured that after that, frankly, embarrassing display you had to be really convincing to really sell it at this point. You turned back towards Mingyu and after hesitating for a good second you leaned up and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Part of you expected Mingyu to get mad at you at that. Maybe to make fun of you and say that you were an idiot for thinking that he would ever fake date you. But he didn’t say that. As you pulled away he leaned forward, his lips ghosting your ear.

“You’re not really selling it.”

You swallowed hard and turned to your friends.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow, yeah?”

Rei and Jaeyun stared at you like they were seeing a completely different side of you.

“You’ve moved on already?” Rei blurted. You stared back at Rei and Jaeyun not really sure what to say to sell this. They knew you the best of anyone in the world. They knew better than anyone that there was no way you were over Donghyun and they knew that you would never date someone again so fast.

But they also knew that you didn’t lie and they probably thought that pretending to be in a relationship had no benefits to you.

And you had to use that to your advantage.

“It’s hard… To not be with Donghyun but Mingyu is really nice,” you glanced at him. He was looking at you with a curious look on his face. “I think that he’ll take care of me and be there for me while I heal.”

It was utter bullshit, but judging by the way that Rei and Jaeyun’s shoulders relaxed in relief you figured your lie was good enough.

“Well then Mingyu,” Jaeyun said, standing up to shake his hand. “If you break our friend’s heart… We’ll get some other basketball player to punch you in the face.”

Mingyu laughed, his whole body shaking with it.

“How about this: I’ll punch myself if that happens.”

“Okay, okay.”

You placed a hand against the door that you had just closed, breathing like you had just run a marathon.

“Oh my god.”

You looked up at him.

“You’re Kim Mingyu,” you said, your eyes wide. “You are the Kim Mingyu.”

He didn’t even look embarrassed. He just smiled, crossing his arms.

“Yeah.”

A squeak left your mouth.

“You kissed me,” you blurted. A near scream left your lips. “You punched Donghyun.”

“Is that his name?” He wrinkled his nose. “If I could I would have punched him again.”

Your eyes widened.

“Mingyu.”

He rolled his eyes.

“You sound like my friends...” He trailed off. “And my coach.”

You scoffed and looked at him.

“Why do you want me to fake date you?” You asked suddenly. That actually caught him off guard.

“Do I have to have a reason?” He asked. Everything he did made no sense to you. When a random person runs into you at a party you don’t get involved in their business. You don’t worry about their relationship drama or offer to kiss them for revenge or punch their ex.

He did need to have a reason. Everything you did had reasons. Everything that Donghyun had ever done had a reason.

Your heart stopped as you saw him again. At that party, Jennie’s brown hair brushing against his shoulder, their lips pressed together. Your eyes dropped to the ground.

“I guess not,” you mumbled.

MIngyu seemed to sense the sudden mood drop and he cleared his throat.

“I mean... It’ll be good for my image,” he said. “I’m sort of known as a wild child. Party all night, kiss random people, punch dudes at parties.”

You snorted.

“Sounds exactly like you.”

Mingyu grunted.

“That’s the point. I’m more likely to get scouted by the pros if I clean up my reputation,” he said. “And you seem...”

His eyebrows scrunched as he looked at you.

“You seem good.”

You pressed your lips together firmly.

“I still don’t even know if this is a good idea for me,” you said. “I don’t want to make Donghyun jealous.”

Mingyu snorted.

“It’s really none of my business but he kissed some girl at a party, he’s an asshole,” Mingyu snapped. “And you seem nice, and you almost went back to him. After he cheated on you? This is for your own good.”

You looked at him.

“If you are fake dating me you can’t go back to him. If he tries to talk to you, you bring in me, you need time to heal, and you can’t go back to that relationship.”

You knew Mingyu was right, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sting.

You had been in love with Donghyun... You still loved Donghyun. He meant everything to you. You didn’t really know who you were without him. You wanted to go to him so badly. Hear him out, listen to his excuses. You wanted him back.

“Hey.”

You looked up at Mingyu.

“You deserve better.”

You looked away from him.

“We need rules,” you said. A sound of surprise left his mouth.

“Rules?”

“Yeah, like...” You trailed off. “I don’t like pda.”

A snort left Mingyu’s mouth, but when you looked at him, he sobered up.

“You’re serious?”

“It’s no ones’ business who I’m kissing,” you mumbled. “I never used to kiss Donghyun in front of people.”

“I kiss people left and right,” Mingyu said. “We need some common ground because no one will believe we are dating if we don’t kiss each other.”

Your nose scrunched.

“I’ve only ever kissed Donghyun,” you mumbled looking at Mingyu, a mischievous smile crossed his lips.

“Oh it does not show.”

Color spread to your cheeks, and you looked away from Mingyu.

“Okay, one kiss a day.”

Mingyu grunted.

“Four kisses a day.”

“What? No.”

“Fine, three kisses a day.”

“Mingyu.”

“Two kisses, one at anytime, one good bye every single time we see each other, even if it’s multiple times a day.”

You chewed on your bottom lip nervously in thought.

“Fine, but not where too many people can see.”

“You have to kiss me at my first game.”

You didn’t think that Mingyu was very good at this negotiating thing.

“But there will be-”

“No one will believe we are dating! We kiss one game a month, and it trumps how many kisses we have that week. One kiss at a game equals no kisses that week other than the game kiss.” You scrunched your nose.

“Okay, fine.”

“What about other signs of PDA? Hand holding, hugging?” Mingyu asked. You thought about it for a second.

“If we keep the kissing down I guess it’s fine in front of people,” you decided. “But don’t go crazy with it. I don’t really like being touched.”

Mingyu hummed and nodded.

“And how often do I get to see you?” He asked.

“We can schedule dates that need to be public. I don’t really see any need to hang out outside of that,” you said. Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You have to come to my games.”

Your eyebrows furrowed.

“Why?”

“You’re fake dating a basketball player,” Mingyu said like it was obvious. “What kind of significant other doesn’t come to their boyfriends basketball games?”

You supposed he had a point but you didn’t like it. You were starting to think that the relationship you had with Donghyun was to be treasured more than you realized. You hadn’t had to do things with Donghyun. You didn’t need to see him on certain days or kiss him in public. He wasn’t really touchy unless you two were... Say on vacation.

You sighed. It felt like years ago that you had been on vacation with Donghyun. Taking long hikes and waiting for him to write his poetry every time he saw something beautiful. Finding out that most of the time that poetry was about you.

You wished you could go back in time.

“Where are we going to go on vacation next?” Donghyun asked you as you two sat in the hot tub, your shoulders brushing against one another. You hummed.

“I don’t know, the Netherlands?”

“I think we should go to Paris. The most romantic city in the world,” he said dreamily. You rolled your eyes.

“Paris is actually not that beautiful. There’s supposedly trash everywhere and french people are mean to-”

Before you could finish what you were saying Donghyun interrupted you with a deep kiss. When he pulled away your brows furrowed.

“You’re so pragmatic,” he stated. “I love you.”

“Okay I’ll go to your games, but I know nothing about basketball.”

Mingyu shrugged.

“When I get a ball in the basket you cheer. It’s not too hard,” he said. “Any other rules?”

“No surprises,” you said immediately. “I hate surprises.”

Donghyun lifted his hand to Jennie’s hair as he deepened the kiss, holding her close like he used to hold you.

“Done,” Mingyu agreed. “PDA only when necessary and you come to my games but I never surprise you.”

You nodded.

“Yeah, okay that’s okay.”

Mingyu seemed happy with your agreements.

“Phone number?”

You watched as Mingyu put his phone number into your phone, making a cute face as he took a picture of himself for a contact picture. He stared at your phone for a few seconds.

“You have to change your screensaver,” he said after a moment. Your eyebrows furrowed.

“Why?”

He turned your phone to you as a response and your heart sank.

How had you forgotten that your screensaver was a picture of you and Donghyun?

“Right.”

“We should take one. Come here.”

He gestured for you to join him, and you didn’t feel like arguing.

“I’m just going to touch you for a second, okay?”

You nodded and he wrapped his arms around you. You both smiled at the camera as he took a picture. He started talking again as he let go of you and started to mess with your phone some more. You weren’t listening at all. Despite Mingyu’s explanation this still didn’t make sense to you.

This was Kim Mingyu after all. He was handsome and popular, he could date literally any boy or girl in the school that he wanted to. So why you? You were nothing spectacular. Sure you were attractive, but not attractive enough for someone like Kim Mingyu. You cared more about grades then parties. You barely spent your free time with people. It just didn’t make any sense.

“Are you sure about this?”

You must have interrupted him because Mingyu looked surprised by the sudden outburst. His nose scrunched ever so slightly.

“Sure about what?”

“Me,” you replied. “I’m just some random person, I’m nothing spectacular. Why me?”

Mingyu stared at you for a few seconds, his mind clearly racing. He sighed and walked over to you, handing you his phone.

“How long did you date Donghyun?” He asked you. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, but you decided to humor Mingyu.

“Five years.”

Mingyu nodded.

“Let’s get coffee tomorrow,” Mingyu said, instead of explaining his thought process or answering your question. “If we are going to be fake dating, we have to know a little bit about each other.”

You nodded numbly. He smiled.

“I’ll text you.”

And then he was gone.

“There you are.”

You looked up from your book furrowing your eyebrows when you saw Donghyun was standing in front of you with two cups of coffee.

“Hey babe,” you greeted. Your eyebrows furrowed. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought I would surprise you with some coffee!” He replied.

“I don’t like surprises,” was all you said. Donghyun laughed.

“I know I’m sorry. I won’t do it again okay?”

He set the cup of coffee down in front of you.

“I just missed you.”

“What kind of coffee do you like?”

You looked up at Mingyu and shrugged.

“Anything really,” you said. “Iced lattes.”

Mingyu nodded and wandered away to order two drinks for you two. You noticed that as he walked up a number of people in the coffee shop started whispering to each other, watching him with wide excited eyes.

You thought it was weird that so many people knew him from basketball. Even if you were into sports, you didn’t think you would ever be able to keep straight the players in the game and that being said you hardly believed you would recognize them when they were out.

You only knew who Mingyu was at all because Rei was obsessed with sports and as weird as you thought it was Kim Mingyu was a household name.

When Mingyu wandered back he handed you your drink and tilted his cup towards you. He smiled.

“I got the same thing,” he said, sounding like a child trying to impress their parent. You pressed your lips into a smile and took your drink taking a sip. He sat down across from you and leaned forward.

“So… Tell me about yourself.”

There wasn’t really much to know about you, but you told him everything you thought was important. You started off by telling him about Rei and Jaeyun. You told him about your relationship with Donghyun. You told him about your family and what you did for work.

The whole time Mingyu just watched you, nodding accordingly, his attention never straying. You could hardly believe he was taking this so seriously.

“And what else?”

You shrugged, toying with your straw.

“I don’t there is much else to talk about.”

“What about your favorite color?” Mingyu prodded. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“What? Why do you need to know that?” You asked. Mingyu scoffed.

“You’re telling me you didn’t know Dong-douches favorite color?”

You rolled your eyes.

“Why would I need to know Donghyun’s favorite color?”

“It’s important! That way I can figure out what color notebook to buy you next year when you send me shopping for a notebook for one of your lectures.”

“Mingyu this is a fake relationship.”

Mingyu exhaled in frustration.

“You know what I mean.”

You didn’t really know what he meant, but considering he was so passionate about it you decided to just give in and tell him your favorite color.

“What is your favorite color?” You asked him. He hummed.

“Red,” he said without missing a beat. “What’s your favorite food?”

“This is stupid,” you insisted. “I didn’t know that about Donghyun.”

Mingyu didn’t really seem to care what you thought.

“I’m going to be a better fake boyfriend then Donghyun ever was a real one,” he said insistently.

“Donghyun wasn’t that-”

“Babe?” Your head shot up and you looked at Donghyun who had just walked into the room. He was staring at you with such wide eyes. It felt like you hadn’t seen him in such a long time.

“Donghyun,” you exclaimed. You looked at Mingyu and then Donghyun and scrambled to your feet. “It’s not-” “You’re actually dating this guy?” Donghyun blurted. He stepped closer to you two and looked at Mingyu. “Seriously, he punched me. He would rather make someone feel small then have a conversation with them. Hardly your type.”

As Donghyun spoke he gestured towards his eye, which was admittedly different shades of blue and purple and horribly swollen. He turned to Mingyu.

“You’re lucky I don’t sue you for punching me.”

Mingyu just rolled his eyes.

“Stop playing these games,” Donghyun said, turning his attention back to you. “Haven’t we been fighting long enough? I love you. I made a mistake. I just want you back.”

You stared at Donghyun, feeling tears welling in your eyes.

“Donghyun, I-” love you too. I miss you so much, I don’t want to fight either I just want you back too.

Your mind raced with all of the things that you wanted to say to Donghyun. You felt tears running down your cheeks and you took a step towards Donghyun. That was when Mingyu got involved. He stood up, placing himself between you and Donghyun.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” he said. “I think you’ve forgotten that your ex is dating me now and I’m not going to break their heart.”

Mingyu looked back at you. He looked so angry, and you could tell that he was holding himself back. You didn’t really know what he was so mad for. It wasn’t really any of his business what happened between you and Donghyun. You still couldn’t understand why he had gotten involved with you in the first place.

Mingyu very carefully reached forward, his hands rubbing the tears from your cheeks.

“Let’s go.”

His tone was stiff. You nodded.

“Yeah.”

He grabbed you by your wrist and began to practically drag you out of the coffee shop. You couldn’t keep your eyes away from Donghyun.

“What was that?” Mingyu blurted once the two of you were alone. You winced a little.

“Your grip is too tight,” you muttered. Mingyu immediately withdrew his hand from your wrist.

“Sorry I just...” He grunted in frustration. “He cheated on you.”

“It was just one kiss,” you insisted. “Besides he said he could explain-”

“It wasn’t just one kiss,” Mingyu blurted. Your heart skipped a beat and your eyebrows furrowed.

“Wh-what?” “Every time he goes to a party he goes alone in a room with Jennie,” Mingyu explained. “I-I didn’t know he was dating anyone... Before you ask, I don’t think your friends knew.”

You stumbled and your nose scrunched.

“Really?”

“You need rules,” Mingyu said, instead of responding. “Whenever you see Donghyun you’re like two words away from marrying him. You can’t go back to that dick.”

You didn’t respond. You felt numb.

Every party? Had Donghyun really cheated on you that much? Surely it wasn’t true.

“Delete his phone number and his texts, and block him,” Mingyu started. “Block him on everything you don’t need any reminder of him to make you want him back.”

You nodded and searched for your phone, beginning to do what he had asked.

“You can’t be his friend anymore. You can’t even talk to him,” Mingyu continued. “You’ll just want him back more.”

You hated that. You wanted nothing more than to have Donghyun stay in your life. You missed spending time with him. You missed confiding in him. You missed him.

“I know it hurts,” Mingyu said, his voice going soft for the first time since he had gotten you away from Donghyun. “Get rid of things that remind you of him. Gifts he may have given you, anything.”

“But-”

“No buts! If you go back to him he will hurt you again, that’s a fact,” Mingyu said. You fell silent. “Don’t give him that power.”

“What would you do if we ever broke up?”

You rolled your eyes at the question. Donghyun was always asking you such dumb speculative questions.

“I highly doubt that will happen,” you said. “Why are you even asking me that?” Donghyun shrugged.

“Just wondering if you would ever leave me.”

You turned to face him, a smile tugging at the corner of your lips.

“I would never leave you Lee Donghyun.”

You felt sick to your stomach, but you still nodded slowly.

“That’s... That’s fair.”

You felt tears running down your cheeks again.

“Mingyu have you ever loved anyone before?”

Mingyu was quiet for a few seconds, so you finally looked up at him. He shook his head slowly.

“Not like you loved Donghyun.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever love anyone again,” you mumbled.

You had never actually been to one of your University’s basketball games. Mostly because they were so confusing to you. It was hard to get tickets and you knew that the games were all just loud and crowded and honestly a waste of time. But even so, there wasn’t much that you could do if you wanted to help Mingyu out with his end of the fake relationship pact.

You still weren’t really sure why he felt the need to get into it with you. He was probably so much better asking one of the many other people in the school to be his significant other for this façade, but he had chosen you. And you knew he was right. Being in this fake situation with him would certainly make Donghyun back off of trying to win you back.

Mingyu was... Much stronger than Donghyun, and even though he had threatened to sue you knew he wouldn’t. He was scared of Mingyu. That was good for you.

Mingyu was right, and you knew that your friends would agree with him if they knew that you would take back Donghyun in a heartbeat. You shouldn’t go back to a cheater. If they cheated once they would cheat again. People don’t change.

But you trusted in Donghyun. You had trusted in him for five years. It was hard to just turn your back on him.

So that’s why you needed to do these things.

These things that Donghyun would never make you do.

And Rei was ecstatic.

“I have been dreaming of the day that you would come to a basketball game with us,” she gushed. “This is going to be so fun.”

It didn’t feel as exciting to you as it did her, but to be fair that made sense, she actually liked basketball. She knew the in’s and out’s. She led you to the student section and made sure that you all got there early enough that Mingyu would be able to see where you were sitting and she even showed you where the bathrooms were.

Mingyu’s game plan was simple. At the end of the game when they won (he was confident that they would win) he would run up into the student section, pick you up and kiss you in excitement.

It was all a bit extravagant to you but Mingyu had insisted that would be the most realistic way for him to react if he was actually dating someone and you figured that one huge kiss being made a spectacle wouldn’t exactly kill you.

And yet still you were feeling nervous. There was a reason you didn’t bother at parties, and mostly kept to yourself. Crowds made you anxious. As the basketball game started you were stuck between hundreds of sweaty college students, painted in your school colors, and screaming at the top of their lungs. You could hardly think or move or even hear as Rei tried to point out who was who on the court.

Mingyu was pretty easy to keep track of. He was tallest of everyone on his team and his coach Seungcheol was always on his feet, running up and down the court as the team did so he was easy to pick out too. Then there was Jihoon also easy to pick out due to his height. Everyone else may as well have been the same person because you couldn’t figure out for the life of you who was Jun and who was Soonyoung when they were both running side by side down the court and were so far away that you could barely make out their faces.

So amongst trying to remember the names that Rei told you as the team members switched on and off the bench and start running up and down the court you had to try to pair those names with faces.

For goodness sakes you knew nothing about basketball and none of this was helping you figure it out.

As the first half of the game came to an end you were left feeling like you were being crushed by the room around you, and like you knew less about basketball than you had known going in and that was making it harder to breath in itself.

“Donghyun? Hey Donghyun.”

You tugged at Donghyun’s sleeve and he glanced back at you over his shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“I want to go,” you murmured, your eyes flitting to the ground. “I’m...”

You didn’t want Donghyun to know that you were stressed. Even after five years of dating you never wanted him to know how stressed you were.

“If you want to go we can go,” Donghyun agreed. His brows furrowed slightly in confusion at your behavior, but he turned to say good bye to his friends anyways.

You were knocked out of your racing thoughts by Rei elbowing you lightly. You looked over at her and she gestured down to the court. You were confused as to why at first and then you noticed that Mingyu was standing at the bottom of the student section. There was a half-heartedly placed barrier there that Mingyu was leaning on as he talked to a handful of girls down in the crowd.

Your first thought was that he must have decided he didn’t need your fake relationship anymore and was going to do something with someone else but then his eyes flickered up to you. When you two made eye contact he tilted his head to the side.

“I think he wants you to go down there, he’s been staring at you,” Rei explained. You nodded numbly and began to push your way through the crowd.

When you got down to him your heart was beating so loudly in your chest that you could have sworn everyone in the room could hear it. When you got down to Mingyu he waved away the people he was talking to and wandered over to you.

“Hey,” he greeted. “You look stressed.”

Your heart skipped a beat in your chest and for just a second you really did forget how to breath. How did he know that? Were you really that transparent? Could Rei and Jaeyun tell too?

“We don’t have to do this,” Mingyu continued before you could respond. Your eyes widened slightly at the suggestion.

“What do you mean? If we don’t do this no one will know that we are dating and there would be no point in us fake dating at all.”

Mingyu shrugged it off.

“You’re stressed, this seems like it is really far out of your comfort zone. I don’t want to stress you out,” Mingyu explained. “We can talk about it later. We don’t need to do this today.”

You couldn’t believe he was saying this, but mostly because you were probably one of the most stubborn people that you knew. You hated that people could change their minds so easily, because it meant you never knew what someone wanted from you.

You had thought you understood what Mingyu wanted from you but now he was going back on what he said before and you were as confused as ever.

“No, we still have to-” You didn’t get the opportunity to finish what you were saying as Seungcheol walked over to Mingyu. He glanced at you, barely paying any attention to you at all. He probably thought you were just a random fan of Mingyu’s. He said something to Mingyu too quiet for you to hear, and Mingyu glanced at you and began to walk away.

“Wait, Mingyu fuck-” He wasn’t listening to you at all as he followed Seungcheol back over to the bench. You knew that you had to do something to stop him from not announcing your relationship at this game. You were here after all, he was doing you a huge favor and you wanted to do him a favor too. All you had to do was convince him to kiss you but you knew that it wasn’t going to work unless-

You hopped over the barrier, alerting that of the staff around you. Luckily when they said something to you, rather loudly, Mingyu turned around. You didn’t waste a second. You rushed over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck.

You felt like the whole world was looking at you.

But before you could stress too much about it you slammed your eyes shut and pressed your lips to Mingyu’s.

Kissing him was nothing like it was like kissing Donghyun. You still weren’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. You felt like you didn’t know what to do, like at any second you would be harassed for doing something wrong or being a subpar kisser.

Instead of that, you were interrupted from your rampaging thoughts by Mingyu laughing against your lips. You pulled away, your face dark in color.

“Okay, I get it now,” he mumbled. “Once you’ve made your mind up on something you’ve made your mind up on it.”

That didn’t help to cull your embarrassment. You took a deep breath and looked away from him.

“What am I supposed to do now? Donghyun and I never did things like this,” you murmured. He laughed.

“Tell me not to lose.”

“Kim Mingyu.”

You felt like you were going to pull your hair out of your head if you heard Mingyu’s full name being said to you again in astonishment. You glanced back at your coworker with a mostly unamused look and he shrugged innocently.

“I just can’t believe it,” Sehun replied. “You went from dating Donghyun-”

Sehun looked disgusted for a few moments.

“To dating the basketball star handsome model prodigy himself.”

Sehun sighed dreamily.

“A man could only dream.”

“He’s just another guy,” you said. “I mean...” You kept forgetting that you were supposed to be pretending that you liked Mingyu. “He’s great, I just am tired of people making a huge deal about it.”

“It is a big deal,” Sehun exclaimed. “I thought that when you broke up with Donghyun you would be broken hearted forever but instead you went on to date a fucking 100.”

You shot Sehun another glare and he sighed.

“Okay fine,” he stated. “I’ll shut up, but you have to tell me about Mingyu at least a little!”

You knew that Sehun wouldn’t leave you alone until you had told him some things, so you decided to rack your brain for something to tell him about.

“There’s not much to say. He’s nice,” you said softly. “Pays attention to me. His favorite color is red.”

You thought the last statement would be enough to make Sehun call you out on the fact that you were the worst person at pretending you were in a relationship, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, a smile crossed his lips.

“Oooh you know his favorite color?” He teased. “Someone has been having late night pillow talk conversations.”

You had no clue what Sehun was trying to insinuate with that, and you did not want to know. You laughed nervously and looked at your computer.

“Focus on your work Sehun.”

Sehun rolled his eyes and scooted his chair closer to you.

“You’re no fun,” he insisted. “You just going to keep all that juicy information about Mingyu to yourself? How’d you wrangle him up?”

You thought maybe if you ignored Sehun he would let the conversation topic drop, but instead he popped his blonde head around you to shut your laptop.

“You went from Donghyun to Mingyu in a heartbeat...” He trailed off. “Did you know Mingyu before you broke up with Donghyun?”

The exclamation was absolutely ridiculous, but regardless you decided to play into his hands.

“We were friends. Never knew he liked me until he asked me out at that party.”

Sehun laughed in disbelief.

“I didn’t know you had it in you,” he insisted. “How many other famous basketball players are you hiding from me?”

Considering you didn’t even know who the other basketball players were you didn’t think that this conversation was going well for you.

“Sehun how are things with your boyfriend?” You asked, trying to redirect the conversation. Sehun groaned.

“Annoying,” Sehun admitted. “We’re fighting right now because he missed our date night.”

He shrugged.

“But that’s just how relationships are right?”

You nodded. You had fought with Donghyun a fair number of times. All things that looked pale in comparison now that you two were broken up. He had always figured out some way to sweet talk you into forgiving him. Now you were wondering if you should’ve stayed angrier at him for the ways that he messed up.

Or maybe forgiving him was just another reason why you two had worked for so long. What was love without squabbles and resolutions?

You wanted to tell Sehun that you missed Donghyun but you knew that you couldn’t tell him that. You couldn’t tell anyone that. If everyone was going to believe that you were actually in this fake relationship you couldn’t be missing Donghyun.

And you didn’t think there was much sympathy for someone who missed a cheater, even if Sehun didn’t know that part.

“Mina did you hear about our coworker's newest flame?” Sehun baited. Mina stopped walking, pressing her clipboard against her chest. To your dismay she wasn’t the only one standing there. Next to her were Sowon, Eunbi, and Wendy. They all stopped to give Sehun their attention.

“You’re not dating Donghyun anymore? He seemed nice,” Mina said, her eyes widening.

“Nope, our innocent little child here is dating Kim Mingyu.”

All of the girls gasped.

“Are you serious?” Eunbi whispered. Color rose to your cheeks, and you dropped your eyes to the ground.

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

And you only wished that were true.

“So how are things going with Mingyu?”

You wanted to shove your face into a wall.

“Why’s everyone always asking me about Mingyu? Hardly anyone asked me about Donghyun,” you mumbled in annoyance. If Rei and Jaeyun noticed your frustration, they didn’t comment on it.

“It’s because Donghyun was mid,” Jaeyun replied. “And Mingyu is Mingyu.”

Rei elbowed Jaeyun in the side.

“And you sort of just hopped into a relationship after getting out of a long one. How are you feeling?” You felt empty.

Donghyun had been a piece of you. You had always thought that he was the person that you hadn’t known you needed in life. The person you hadn’t even thought you wanted at first. How were you supposed to go on everyday without him?

“You know I thought I would be sad,” You admitted. “Donghyun and I were together for so long. But being with Mingyu is a dream. I can’t imagine being with anyone else right now.”

A smile slowly spread across Rei’s face. For once neither of them were teasing you or freaking out about the fact that you were dating Kim Mingyu. They seemed scarily serious.

“I’m happy for you,” Rei said softly.

Jaeyun nodded.

“Me too,” he said. “He seems really attentive of you.”

You shrugged off the statement and it seemed like Jaeyun and Rei were finally satisfied with changing the topic. A new movie was coming out this weekend that they wanted to see so they started talking about it. Just as you had finally relaxed and stopped thinking about Mingyu, your phone vibrated.

Mingyu: Hey we haven’t made any appearances together since the game, my friends are starting to think we made this thing up

A frown riddled across your face.

We did make it up

Mingyu: I want you to meet my friends, is that okay?

You bit down on your lip nervously.

When?

Mingyu: This Friday. Is that okay?

I guess

There was a few moments were you didn’t receive any message from him, and then your phone vibrated again.

Hey are you okay?

You decided not to respond to him.

When you left your last class of the day you immediately knew that something was wrong, and that was because when you left the room half of the class was huddled into a circle together. Normally you didn’t bother with seeing what was going on when things like that happened but this time... You couldn’t just keep to yourself.

You wandered over to the group of people and couldn’t help but roll your eyes when you saw that it was Mingyu that they were all talking to. You were thinking about just walking away and pretending like you hadn’t seen him at all, but before you could do that he spotted you.

“Babe!”

A pang of hurt ran through you at being called that, but you did your best not to let it show. You smiled at Mingyu as he rushed to you.

“Hey,” you greeted softly. He smiled.

“Now I know you don’t like surprises, but I thought that I could walk you home.”

The group of people around you all awed and an irritated expression crossed over Mingyu’s face. He took you by your hand and quickly began to lead you away from all of the people. Once you were alone an apologetic expression crossed over his face.

“Practice got out early and I just thought it would be fun to hang out with you outside of being public for my games and stuff.”

He let go of your hand and raised his hand to the back of his neck.

“I didn’t mean to cause a scene.”

You still didn’t quite get Mingyu but you figured there was no point in being mad at him. After all, he was acting very genuine to you and so far he had been very respectful of your boundaries.

“It’s okay,” you replied. Silence fell between you two and you wondered again why Mingyu was here. He seemed to read your thoughts.

“Look it’s just... Jun pointed out something to me,” he said. “You were cheated on by your boyfriend of five years and then immediately got pushed into a fake relationship you don’t really seem like you want any part of. Are you okay?”

The question surprised you.

“Of course, I’m okay,” you lied. “It’s just different.”

“You don’t have to lie to me,” Mingyu said with a sigh. “Look I know we don’t know each other but even Rei and Jaeyun don’t know this is fake-”

“You remember Rei and Jaeyun?”

“Of course, they are your best friends,” he said dismissively. “You have to have someone to support you but you don’t have anyone. Have you even really given yourself a chance to feel sad?”

You had nothing to say, so Mingyu sighed.

“What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” Mingyu asked you. Your eyebrows furrowed thinking this was another one of his stupid ice breaker questions.

“What’s it matter?”

“We’re going to buy you some ice cream and we are going to go to go over to my apartment or yours and we are going to watch movies and you are going to cry and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Mingyu explained. You just stared at him.

“Why would we do that?” You asked. He shrugged.

“So you can give yourself some time to actually feel your emotions,” Mingyu explained. He stopped walking and turned to you, giving you a serious look.

“Someone who was sobbing when they found out their boyfriend if five years was cheating and then almost went back to him needs to heal,” Mingyu said, his voice soft but firm. “It’s okay to be upset. You’re allowed to miss him, to want him back. You’ll never stop missing him if you don’t get the opportunity to feel sad that he’s gone.”

You thought that what he was saying was stupid, and you felt like that was obvious from the look on your face, but to your dismay you felt something salty meet your lips.

“Shit,” you mumbled turning your face away from Mingyu. You weren’t going to cry, you didn’t want to cry, you just-

And before you could try fighting it anymore you felt Mingyu’s hand touch your shoulder.

“My favorite’s mint chocolate chip,” he said softly. You turned your face into Mingyu’s chest trying to muffle your sobs. At first he seemed surprised but he wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight.

“I thought you didn’t like to be touched,” he said with a soft laugh. You wrapped your arms around him tighter.

“Everyone likes to be held every once in a while.”

Another laugh vibrated through Mingyu’s body.

“I’ll remember you said that.”

You felt a bit calmer from the feeling of Mingyu laughing against you. You pulled away from him, your eyes falling to the ground.

“So… Ice cream?”

You couldn’t begin to grapple with what motivated Mingyu to do the things he did. When he dragged you to the store he didn’t just get two huge pints of ice cream- you decided to try his favorite ice cream instead of getting your own- he bought a bunch of sweet and salty snacks for you two to munch on as well.

“Mingyu I’m going to gain like ten pounds if I eat all of this.”

“It’s a part of the healing process.”

You decided to let Mingyu come to your apartment. Mostly because you thought you would be happier on your own coach then someone else’s.

Mingyu didn’t really care either way. He was happy to fall you into your apartment, kicking off his shoes and asking you to make sure that you grabbed a lot of pillows and blankets for the night.

When you came back in the room he already had a movie queued up. You groaned.

“That movie is supposed to be sad Mingyu,” you mumbled. He nodded.

“That’s exactly the point. If you start crying about something else maybe you’ll finally let yourself cry about Donghyun.”

And he was right. You started sobbing about the movie (albeit Mingyu did too) but even as the credits started rolling you realized that you couldn’t stop crying.

One of the things you hated most was crying in front of people. Mostly because you hated how weak and emotional it made you look. You tried your hardest not to ever let anyone see you crying, or emotional or weak and for some reason Mingyu brought out the worst in you.

“... Do you want to talk about it?” Mingyu murmured. You stared down at the slowly melting ice cream in your hands.

“Not really.”

“You should really try talking about your feelings,” Mingyu suggested. You turned and glared at him.

“I feel like you are really fucking annoying,” you said bluntly. Mingyu didn’t even crack a smile, he just nodded seriously.

You sighed.

“I don’t know, I just miss him,” you said softly. “What more can I say? I feel like a piece of me is missing without him. He was a part of my life for five years.”

“He went through the biggest transition of your life with you.”

You nodded, tears running down your cheeks even faster at the reminder.

“We planned together where we would go to college. We applied to the same places...”

You groaned and buried your face in your hands.

“I would never do that for someone but I thought-” A sob wracked through your body. “Mingyu I was going to marry him.”

You were enveloped in Mingyu’s warmth again and you didn’t even bother to complain about it. When you hugged people you generally cut it off pretty quick. Unless you and Donghyun were cuddling you didn’t really hug for that long.

You weren’t sure what it was about Mingyu holding you but despite the fact that you hardly knew him you felt so safe there in his arms.

You honestly wanted Mingyu to hold you forever.

“I know it’s hard right now, but you’ll wake up one day and you won’t miss him,” Mingyu whispered into your hair. You wrapped your arms tighter around him.

“Shut up.”

You hoped he was right.

A few hours later you two had turned on a movie that was less sad. A silence had fallen between the two of you. You took a scoop of your ice cream, looking down at the counter that was only a quarter full. You sighed.

“I hate that this ice cream is actually good,” you murmured. Mingyu’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Isn’t it the best?” He asked. You threw a hand in the air.

“Not the best,” you denied. “But still pretty good.”

Mingyu seemed to take that as a personal victory. He sat up and began to rummage through his bag.

“Now, let’s see, what do you do for fun?” He asked. You shrugged, taking another large scoop of ice cream.

“I don’t know, watch movies, play games, what everyone does,” you replied. Mingyu scooted closer to you, brandishing a switch with a large smile on his face.

“Mario Kart?”

There was something to be said about hanging out with Mingyu. He sure knew how to bring a smile to your face. He was stupid, and he thought it was funny when he knocked you off the course on Rainbow Road but you couldn’t help but find yourself laughing when you lapped him regardless.

When you first met Mingyu you hadn’t really imagined that you two would get along all that well. After all he was a sports guy, and you... Well, you didn’t know the first thing about sports. But despite it all when you woke up the next day, tangled between blankets with two empty cartoons of ice cream on the floor you couldn’t help but smile.

You reached out to try and hit Mingyu but when you only met your couch cushions, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. You sat up and looked around your living room but he wasn’t there. You heard a clatter in your kitchen and your confusion only grew. You got to your feet, fixing your shirt that was definitely not supposed to be worn to sleep and peeked into your kitchen.

Mingyu was standing at your stove, your milk and flour on the counter and all of your cabinet doors opened. He was humming softly to himself, bobbing his head as he cooked.

“Hey,” you said, still feeling surprised by your find. He looked back at you over his shoulder.

“Good morning sleepy head,” Mingyu greeted giving you a toothy smile. “I made pancakes!”

You laughed at his bright attitude.

“Why?” You asked. He shrugged.

“Long night thought you would like some sustenance,” he replied. He turned his back to you and took some of his pancakes, putting them on a plate and handing them to you. “Luckily you had all the ingredients.”

You took the plate of pancakes from him and hopped up on your counter.

“Give me syrup,” you said, making grabby hands towards your syrup. Mingyu rolled his eyes with a smile on his face and handed you the syrup.

“So, tell me Kim Mingyu,” you started. “You are scary in touch with people’s emotions, kind, always looking out for others, can cook-”

“What are you getting at?” Mingyu interrupted, looking fairly amused by your words.

“Why do you need a fake relationship?” You asked. “You hardly seem like you aren’t ready to settle down, and it’s not like you don’t have options.”

Mingyu fell silent for a few moments, the only sound between the two of you the sound of the pancake batter sizzling on the pan. You were about to call off the question completely, you were starting to feel bad after all. He had been nothing but nice to you and he had been pretty respectful of your boundaries. Maybe you had gone too far.

“I want to find the right person,” Mingyu finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Yeah I could date anyone but I feel like everyone just wants me because I’m Kim Mingyu the basketball star.”

Minyu sighed and turned back around, running his fingers through his hair.

“I don’t really have any friends, did ya know that?” He asked. “All of my friends are from the team.”

He shrugged.

“It’s hard to get close to people when everyone thinks I am this god among men,” he admitted.

You weren’t really sure what to say to him about that, and it didn’t seem like he was looking for an answer.

“But you’re different.”

“Yeah?” You murmured. He nodded.

“Yeah.”

As you stood in front of Mingyu’s apartment door you ran through Mingyu’s friends again, desperate to remember all of their names.

Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Jihoon, Minghao, Seokmin, Seungkwan, Hansol, Chan.

You tried to picture their faces with their names but after staring at the pictures for so long you weren’t really sure if you had been able to get them all straight or if you had confused them all more. Before coming you had also run through some news article things that you had found about Mingyu, trying to find out the stupid little things that he thought were so important.

Sure you knew a few things that he had told you but certainly not enough. You had to pretend you were a good significant other. He liked to clean, he played the bass in high school, he preferred pig feet to pork belly, he really wanted to visit Latin America, his favorite number-

The front door to Mingyu’s apartment swung open, startling you out of your thoughts. Standing before you... Your brain went blank for a scary second as you scrambled to put a name to the face.

“... Joshua?”

The boy before you smiled, his head falling to the side ever so slightly.

“You know my name?” He asked. A huge sigh of relief left your lips.

“Of course,” you replied. “Mingyu tells me so much about you guys how could I not put a name to the face?”

Mingyu popped up behing him at that. He beamed when he saw you.

“Hey, babe!” He exclaimed. He pushed past Joshua and grabbed your hand, pulling you into the room. You forced a smile onto your face as Mingyu dragged you through the group of people, trying to introduce you to all of them. Luckily for you, your studying had paid off. You were able to beat Mingyu at everyone’s name, and the further that you got into the group the more confident you were on who was who.

When you had finally gotten through everyone, Mingyu and you had stopped to talk to Jihoon. The conversation quickly turned to basketball and... You really wanted a moment to yourself.

“Hey... Babe?” You felt like you said it a little weird, but neither of them showed that on their faces. “I’m going to get something to drink okay?”

Mingyu smiled and patted you on the head.

“Yeah, don’t worry about sticking by me all night. You can do what you want,” he said. You nodded and got onto your tiptoes, pressing your lips to his in a brief kiss. You gave Jihoon a smile in farewell and then wandered to the kitchen.

You got to feel the joy of being away from Mingyu for exactly... Two seconds. You were just grabbing a cup from the cabinet when someone cleared their throat behind you. When you turned around... Jun was standing there.

“Hi,” you said. “Sorry, were you trying to-”

“Are you in love with Mingyu?” Jun interrupted. Your eyes widened. You and Mingyu hadn’t talked about this, you had no clue what to say. Were you supposed to be in love with Mingyu?

“I mean, it’s too early to say for sure,” you said with a nervous laugh.

“Right,” Jun said. His eyes narrowed towards you. “Look, you may have everyone else convinced but you don’t have me convinced.”

Jun wandered closer to you, leaning close to your ear.

“You aren’t really dating Mingyu.”

A laugh was ripped from your chest, and you backed away from Jun.

“Why would I not actually be dating Mingyu?” You blurted. You were worried for a second that you had been too loud, but to your relief nobody around you seemed to have heard. “Seriously what kind of accusation is that?”

“It’s not an accusation, it’s a fact,” Jun said bluntly. “You’re just using him as a rebound.”

Now that accusation was interesting. You stared at Jun blankly.

“What?”

“I heard all about your thing with Donghyun,” Jun said. “Now, this can go one of two ways. Either you tell Mingyu that you don’t actually like him or I do.”

You weren’t even sure what to say to him and apparently silence was the wrong way to go about it.

“Ming-”

You leaped forward, throwing yourself on Jun. You both tumbled to the floor and Jun looked up at you with a surprised look on his face.

“What-”

“You can’t say anything it’s a fake relationship,” you hissed. Jun’s face lit up.

“I knew-”

“We are both faking it. Mingyu knows because it was his idea.”

This time Jun fell silent. He stared at you motionlessly for a few moments and then he nodded slowly.

“I sense that I have made a mistake,” he said slowly. You nodded. “You can get off of me now.”

“Oh, sorry.”

You scrambled away from him but you didn’t stand back up. Jun’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He sat up on his elbows.

“It was his idea?”

You nodded.

Jun stared at you a little longer.

“Why?”

So you told him everything.

You told him about Donghyun, and about Jennie. You told him about running into Mingyu and him coming up with this rouse to help you stay out of a relationship with Donghyun. The whole time Jun nodded slowly, finally coming to sit right beside you on the floor in the kitchen.

You decided to leave out the ice cream night. You didn’t think he needed to know about that.

“I can’t believe that he just forced you into a relationship like that,” Jun mumbled. “You got away from a cheater just to be stuck with Mingyu.”

You laughed.

“No, it was good that this happened,” you said. “Mingyu is right, I would have gone right back to Donghyun.”

“And he was right about his reputation,” Jun mumbled. “Even the others are taking him more seriously now that he has you.”

He stared at you.

“So how long are you two going to keep the charade going. Aren’t you going to want to try and fall in love again?”

A pang echoed through your heart at the question.

Could you ever fall in love again? You had been feeling a little better about the breakup since you had talked to Mingyu the other night, but even so the fact that you had been in love with Donghyun still remained. You missed him less. You had more fun with Mingyu then you had ever had with Donghyun in one night then with him in five years but regardless... There was still that part of you that wondered if you should still be with him.

“However long Mingyu wants to.”

Jun glanced at you.

“You’re going to be good to my friend, aren’t you?” He asked. You looked across the room at Mingyu who was currently making Jihoon look like he hated his life.

“Yeah, I’ll be good to him.”

You and Rei slowly began to stand up as Mingyu took the ball from the opposing team. Your eyes widened and you straightened up, throwing your hands in the air.

“Yes, yes, yes-”

The ball was stolen from Mingyu and the entire team started to run the other way. Minghao knocked the ball out of one of the players hands, and tossed it to Jihoon, who dribbled it a few feet and tossed it to Mingyu. Mingyu took off down the court again, growing closer to the net.

There were only a few seconds left in the game. You felt your mouth hanging open in anticipation. One of the other players came up right behind Mingyu, about to knock the ball out of his hand.

He jumped and tossed the ball and it went-

A scream ripped itself from your throat as you rushed down the bleachers to the edge of the fence. The timer went off through the court.

They had won.

You hopped over the fence, and this time security didn’t even bother to stop you. You rushed up to the team that was cheering among themselves in a circle. Soonyoung nudged you in the side, a huge smile spread across his face and you ignored him so that you could press yourself up against Mingyu, giving him a long dramatic kiss.

When you pulled away, Mingyu had the biggest, dumb smile on his face.

“Did I do good?” He asked teasingly. You rolled your eyes.

“You did the best.”

“So... Since I did the best, does that mean you are going to buy me as many scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream as I want?” Mingyu said teasingly as you two walked down the street. You rolled your eyes.

“You are really pushing your luck with that Mingyu.”

After you two had said goodbye to Mingyu’s team you had decided to go out for ice cream. For some reason Mingyu was obsessed with mint chocolate chip and practically begged you for any reason to get ice cream.

“Please it was a really hard game I deserve it!”

“Seungcheol wouldn’t be very happy.”

“Seungcheol doesn’t have to know.”

Secretly you liked that he was always making you get Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. The more you got it with him the more that you started to like it and honestly you were happy to get him the ice cream. Usually Mingyu was on a diet, and he actually tried to stick with it pretty carefully.

So any excuse to make him break the stupid diet was a pro in your book.

“Have you heard from any recruiters yet?”

“Not yet,” Mingyu replied between licks of his ice cream cone. “But Seungcheol said the media is looking at me completely differently now so it’s looking pretty good.”

“Good,” you said warmly. “That’s really good.”

Your favorite thing about hanging out with Mingyu was that he loved to talk. Donghyun was more introverted then he was. He tended to keep to himself and you two settled for just spending quality time together in silence. You had always thought that you liked it best that way, but you loved how Mingyu talked about his friends.

You loved listening to him gush about the latest song that Jihoon had written, and the painting that Minghao had done. He always apologized for talking about meaningless stuff, but you didn’t mind at all. You loved that he talked about meaningless things. You were starting to understand why he was so insistent on knowing your favorite color and your favorite food.

A part of his love language was the little things.

And you were so happy to be his friend.

“And then he-”

Jaeyun interrupted you with a laugh, a smile spread across his face.

“What did Mingyu do next?”

A pout crossed your face.

“Why are you making fun of me?”

Rei laughed too.

“Probably because we have been hanging out for two hours and you have brought up Mingyu practically every minute since we started.”

You rolled your eyes.

“That’s so-”

“And then Jihoon stole his video game and he came crying to me-”

“And he made pancakes again he is so good at making pancakes-”

“And he picked me up after class and we got his favorite ice cream-”

“Mint chocolate chip,” they both cooed together.

Your face flooded with warmth.

“Okay, okay, I guess I have been talking about him a little bit more than normal,” you admitted.

“Honestly, it’s cute,” Jaeyun said with a shrug. “It’s nice to see you so excited about someone. You were never like this with Donghyun.”

“What do you-”

“We only ever knew that you were hanging out with Donghyun when we ran into you two hanging out ourselves,” Rei explained.

Jaeyun nodded.

“It was like we only knew that you two were dating because, everyone knew that you two were dating.”

“I talked about Donghyun,” you argued. Rei shrugged.

“It’s not a bad thing. Mingyu and Donghyun are really different people,” Rei said. You leaned back.

“Who would you chose?” You asked. “I mean if Donghyun had never cheated on me, who do you think is better?”

“No question, Mingyu,” Rei replied. “Donghyun cared about you and he treated you well but... Mingyu treats you like you are the most important person in his life.”

“Donghyun treated me like-”

“Like you were important but not essential,” Jaeyun disagreed. “You need someone who would do anything just to make you smile, and Mingyu is that person.”

It wasn’t often that you asked Mingyu to do something for you. So he was pretty excited when you invited him to go to a party with you. Personally you didn’t think it would be fun and you didn’t want to go but when you were complaining about having been invited to it, Rei brought up a good point.

“Look if the problem is that Donghyun is going to be there just invite Mingyu,” she stated. You frowned.

“Why would I do that?” You asked. “It’s not like I want to make him jealous.”

“No but you should still live your life, it’s Taeyeon’s birthday and she wants you to be there. If Mingyu is there Donghyun won’t bother you, and who knows maybe you’ll have fun.”

So Mingyu had been ecstatic and you had been nervous. You didn’t tell Mingyu that Donghyun was going to be there. You didn’t want to cause a scene, but you also didn’t want to just not go because Donghyun was going to be there.

You were trying to be more social with Mingyu.

While you still had a lot of social anxiety, having Mingyu there culled your stress level a lot, with him at your side you thought that tonight had the chance to be bearable.

“Who’s birthday is it again?” Mingyu asked, his nose scrunching in thought. You rolled your eyes.

“It’s Taeyeon’s birthday.”

He nodded slowly.

“... Family friend... Loves to party, nice but you only see her every once in a while,” he mumbled. You nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know why you are always trying to one up me,” you murmured. “My memory for people sucks.”

“You remember all thirteen of my friends,” Mingyu argued. You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah just their names, you remember how I met my friends, all of their favorite foods and the last time the girls had their periods.”

Mingyu laughed.

“Shut up,” he said lightly. “We’re here.”

Mingyu led you into a crowded room, people dancing on every side of you. The music in the room was loud, too loud for you to really think. You found yourself reaching for Mingyu’s hand as you two moved through the crowd. You let Mingyu take the lead. You figured he knew parties a bit better then you, and along with that, you figured he was probably taking you to Taeyon, and even if he wasn’t... You would find her at some point.

Mingyu was popular. You supposed you had forgotten just how popular. You two had to stop at pretty much every person you ran by. Most of them greeted Mingyu very familiarly, probably from other parties. Others just got excited to be in the same place as the Kim Mingyu.

Mingyu avoided introducing you to people. He mostly just made an off-handed comment that he was there with you, and then proceeded to make no move to let them meet you. You weren’t sure if that was because he was being respectful of your social anxiety or something else.

You didn’t question it. You were happy to not meet new people.

“Taeyon!” Mingyu said triumphantly. Taeyon turned around from the person she had been talking to, a puzzled expression spread over her face.

“Kim Mingyu?” She addressed with wide eyes. Mingyu was tuned to her confusion. He pulled you around him with a smile on his face and you waved.

“Taeyon,” you greeted. “Happy birthday!”

She grinned and brushed her long hair out of her face.

“Pink for the birthday girl,” she said brightly. “I almost thought those rumors about you dating Kim Mingyu were fake but...”

She gestured towards the two of you.

“Here you are.”

You suddenly became a little self-conscious about the fact that you were still holding Mingyu’s hand. You pulled your hand away from him, your face bright red.

“Yeah, I know it’s not really what people expect,” you said with a nervous laugh. Mingyu seemed to sense that despite the fact you had pulled your hand away you were still uncomfortable as he grew closer to you, draping his arm over your shoulders.

“Happy birthday Taeyon,” he said softly. “Thank you for inviting us.”

From there Taeyon directed all of her attention to Mingyu, giving you the opportunity to let your mind run blank again.

After all the last time you were at a party you had seen...

Fuck.

You slammed your eyes shut thinking that maybe you had been imagining everything. You opened your eyes again and sure enough there he was.

Donghyun. Your Donghyun, wrapped around Jennie all over again.

Your face was red, tears begin to stream down your cheeks. As if sensing you, he looked up, the smile that was on his lips completely disappearing when he saw you. He pushed Jennie away and gestured for you to come over and you wanted to so badly. You were ready to tell Mingyu that you were going to try and find snacks, and drag Donghyun in a room and finally hear him out. You wanted so badly to hear him out.

But you remembered Mingyu’s rules.

You sniffled and looked away from Donghyun.

“Hey,” you mumbled. “I want to go now.”

You looked at Taeyon.

“Thank you for the invite, I hope you had a great day.”

Taeyon looked disappointed that you were leaving, but understanding crossed through her eyes.

“Yeah, ‘course. Thanks for making an appearance.”

You looked to Mingyu, who looked confused by your sudden drastic change of mood. He reached forward and tenderly wiped your face free of tears.

“We’ll go then.”

He looked up as he said that, clearly searching for the reason that you had started to cry. Your eyes widened.

“Okay lets-”

And then his shoulders squared and you knew he had seen.

“Give me a second,” he mumbled. He started to pull away from you. You grabbed at his wrist, tugging him like you had the strength to physically stop him.

“No Mingyu you’ve already done enough let’s just go.”

“But-”

“Mingyu.”

Mingyu didn’t look happy about that but he nodded and let you drag him out of the party.

You may not have been physically strong enough to pull him but apparently you were convincing enough. You two walked in silence for a little. Tears still running down your face, Mingyu looking over now and then to wipe your tears from your face.

“You knew that Donghyun was going to be there, didn’t you?”

You nodded slowly, letting your shoulder run into Mingyu’s side.

“You didn’t kill him, that was nice,” you murmured back. Mingyu sighed.

“Yeah, well, when you tell me that I can’t kill someone I have to listen,” he grumbled. “I’m a good fake boyfriend.”

You nodded solemnly.

“You are a great fake boyfriend,” you agreed. Silence fell between the two of you, a silence that allowed you to... Unfortunately think.

Donghyun had moved on so fast. You knew that he had been cheating on you, so maybe he had moved on a long time before you had caught him cheating Jennie at that party but still. To see him with her... After he had tried to win you back it-

“It hurts huh?” Mingyu mumbled. You looked up at him, color rising to your cheeks.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” you denied. Mingyu shrugged.

“Y’know you don’t have to be like that with me,” Mingyu said softly. “Donghyun is a dirty cheater. Fuck him.”

A smile flickered across your face.

“Why’re you so supportive all of the time?” You asked him. “Our relationship is purely beneficial. We don’t have to be friends.”

“You don’t want to be friends?” Mingyu asked, a flicker of hurt crossing his face. You laughed.

“Well, maybe not before, but now I do,” you admitted. “I just don’t understand why you would want to be friends.”

For once your words seemed to have an affect on Mingyu. He looked away from you, swallowing hard.

“Why not be friends?” He asked after a few moments.

“Now you know that’s not a good enough answer for me,” you replied. Mingyu huffed.

“You’re cool, you know that,” he mumbled. “Who wouldn’t want you as a friend?”

You thought that was a weird answer. You didn’t really think that most people thought that about you but you decided not to dwell on it.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight, Mingyu.”

He turned to look at you, a serious expression on his face.

“Anything for you.”

You thought you were really lucky to have Mingyu.

You couldn’t believe it when Mingyu invited you to go to a party with him, and you especially couldn’t believe it when you agreed to it. He had made you a few promises. He knew the person that was throwing the party and they had promised not to let Donghyun in, and that all of Mingyu’s friends would be there.

You thought it would be nice to see the boys again, and you figured that if you got bored and wanted some time away from Mingyu then you could try talking to Jun again. He had been fairly nice at the first party.

Mingyu was pretty excited that you had agreed to go to the party with him, and when he started drinking he had gotten a little carried away. While you sat next to Jun and watched Mingyu bounce around the party you couldn’t help but laugh. You had never actually seen him drunk before.

If you had thought he was clingy before, you were in for a whole new world seeing him right now.

“Babbbbbbeeeeeeee,” he called out, rushing over to you. You waved him away, trying to persuade him not to come over but it did nothing. He scooped you up, laughing as he drew you close and made a show of kissing you.

“Ew stop,” you said, still laughing. He pulled away and pouted at you so you rolled your eyes and gave him another kiss.

As you kissed him, your heart leaped, and your mind wasn’t on the people watching, but Mingyu himself.

“Can we make some soup dumplings?” Jaeyun asked, rolling over on your couch to look at you. You shrugged and looked over at Rei who was fiddling with her switch.

“I’m okay with that, are you?”

Rei shrugged.

“I could eat.”

You nodded and got up to start making the food when there was a knock at your door. A puzzled expression crossed your face as you walked up to the door, surprised to find that Mingyu was standing there.

“Hey, now I know you don’t like surprises but I thought maybe we could hangout? I brought my switch.”

You laughed at the puppy dog look on Mingyu’s face and leaned on the frame of your door.

“Mingyu, my friends are over,” you said. You gestured behind you to Rei and Jaeyun who were peering at you two from the living room. Mingyu’s face fell.

“Oh,” he said.

“And that’s why you should message me before you come over,” you said softly. “I would love to hang out, but not right now. You could come over later if you want?”

And just like that, Mingyu’s face lit up again.

“It’s a date!”

He started to turn away, but before he could completely he grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him around so that you could press a kiss to his lips.

Butterflies sprouted in your belly.

“Okay, see ya.”

You closed the door before Mingyu could say anything, honestly feeling warm at just having gotten to see him today. When you looked across the hall at your friends they were looking at you with the biggest shit eating grins on their faces. You rolled your eyes.

“Okay let me hear it.”

“No, no, nothing,” Rei said with a laugh. She tried to give you a serious expression but a smile kept breaking through. “It’s just interesting to see the person who hates pda, and surprises be so happy with it.”

“I’m not...” You trailed off. When had you become so okay with all of these things. With Donghyun you had never entertained surprises or pda, but with Mingyu you actually looked forward to it. You loved his friendship with you, you loved it when he showed up places you didn’t expect him because you just loved to see him.

And when he kissed you...

“Oh my god I’m in love with him.”

You slammed your hand over your mouth, your eyes widening.

“Wait I-”

Rei and Jaeyun practically tripped over themselves to scramble over to you. Rei grabbed your wrist.

“Oh my god,” she said. “Have you said that to him yet?”

To them it was a big deal in a completely different way than it was for you. It had taken you a full year to tell Donghyun that you loved him, and then you had only said it because he was ready, and you just wanted to humor him when he was ready. It was two years in before you were ready to say it to him, and that wasn’t because you hadn’t loved him, you just hadn’t been ready yet.

But you realized now that you were so in love with Kim Mingyu. You loved his smile, you loved how he teased you when the two of you were alone but defended the hell out of you to everyone else. You loved it when he held you when you cried, and when he let you hold his hand at parties and now every time that you had initiated a kiss made sense.

“Hey,” you looked up at your boss, who was giving you a skeptical look. You felt panic shoot through your body. Had you forgotten to do some paper work? Had you missed a deadline?

“I’m almost done with the report that’s due next week,” you said quickly. “I-”

“No, that’s not it,” your boss said with a sigh. “You have a visitor... Just wanted to make sure you actually knew him.”

Your eyebrows furrowed.

“A visitor...?”

Your boss gestured down the hall behind him, and you peeked around him. Mingyu was standing there, his fingers toying with a cup of pens on the welcome desk. He accidentally knocked it over, and his eyes widened as he scrambled to gather all of them. Once they were all back in the cup he looked around to see if anyone had seen and he made eye contact with you. His eyes widened, and he raised his hand in an excited wave.

A smile crossed your lips as butterflies sprouted in your stomach.

“That’s my boyfriend,” you explained, turning your attention back to his boss. “He won’t bother me too much, I can take my lunch break right now.”

Your boss sighed.

“I guess that’s okay.”

You thanked him and walked down the hall, opening the door to your center of offices. You smiled at Mingyu.

“Look who it is,” you said softly. Mingyu eagerly closed the distance between you two, giving you a kiss to the corner of your lips. Your face reddened in embarrassment.

“I missed you,” he whined. “Why did Jaeyun and Rei stay for so long last night?”

“I’m sorry,” you said with a laugh. “We just lost track of time and then it was so late that it was better that they stayed the night.”

Mingyu rolled his eyes, but he didn’t argue with you. Instead, he reached forward, holding his hand out for you to take.

You felt your heart leap at the gesture. You usually didn’t mind showing those little signs of affection, but now... You felt your body burning.

You decided to pretend that you didn’t know what he wanted. You turned around and gestured for him to follow you.

“I just need one more second,” you said. “You can...”

You reached for a spare chair and pulled it up to the corner of your desk. You led Mingyu to the chair, pushing him down in it and patted his shoulders.

“Stay there.”

You returned to your work, Mingyu sitting silently beside you. You started typing, the sound of your fingers dancing across the keyboard filling the air. The silence only lasted for a second. You heard Sehun clear his throat and you sighed.

“Yes Sehun.”

You looked up to find him, Sowon, Mina, Eunbi, and Wendy all staring at you with wide eyes.

“Are you going to introduce us?” Sehun said, gesturing towards Mingyu. You looked at Mingyu who had a smile spread across his face. You rolled your eyes.

“No.”

A laugh erupted from Mingyu, and he stood up.

“I’m Kim Mingyu, the boyfriend,” he introduced. As if to prove it he leaned down, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. Your eyes widened at the kiss. You felt your fingers falter and your eyes flickered up to him in surprise. “Sorry, I think someone’s jealous that I’m giving you attention.”

His hand landed on your head, and he beamed at your coworkers.

“I’m not jealous,” you mumbled, but even as you said it your chest tightened. A weird feeling in itself. You never got jealous of people. In fact, when you had been dating Donghyun he had been the one who got jealous.

You didn’t see a reason in feeling jealous when someone interacted with someone.

Maybe... Maybe it was because this wasn’t real.

You looked up at Mingyu, who was looking back down at you.

“Mingyu and I are just going to get lunch,” you said, ripping your eyes from Mingyu. “But babe, I actually... I have a lot more work than I thought I did. I don’t think I have time to go out.”

A disappointed look flickered across Mingyu’s face.

“What? But-”

“That’s why you shouldn’t surprise me,” you said pointedly. “I’ll be at your game next week; we can hang out after the game, right?”

The disappointment was still evident on Mingyu’s face, but he seemed reserved to the fact that you had made your decision.

“Okay,” he said with a sigh. He leaned forward to give you a kiss, but you didn’t think your heart could handle it, you turned away as if you hadn’t noticed.

“I’ll see you!”

You glanced back at Mingyu, noticing that he had a weird look on his face. His eyebrows were pinched, and he was looking at you like you were a completely different person.

“Yeah, I’ll see you.”

You felt nervous all of a sudden. A buzzing in your brain that was different than what you were used to when you were socially interacting with people. Whenever you were near Mingyu, you felt like your body was screaming at you.

Make it real.

It took everything in you to keep your hands off of Mingyu. Even though you wanted it so badly you avoided touching him, and kissing him, and honestly being around him too much. It took everything in you not to run and hug him every time you saw him because you had just missed him so much.

You were so frustrated by these feelings. Even when you had first been with Donghyun it hadn’t been this bad.

The butterflies in your stomach, the way you couldn’t even hold his eye contact. And it didn’t help that he was literally the perfect fake boyfriend. For goodness sake you were two were making up this whole relationship. Did he know he didn’t actually need to be amazing?

He was always atune to your feelings and ducked you two out of social situations when you were too stressed. He made excuses to see you... Even though you kept reminding him you hated surprises he surprised you left and right... And you didn’t really hate it. It had gotten to the point where you hoped he would show up for your lunch break.

But you never asked him.

You gritted your teeth.

It was fake. It was fake. It was-

“And this is my better half,” Mingyu introduced, shuffling you forward ever-so-slightly. Your face reddened and you rolled your eyes.

“Hello,” you greeted. “He’s a little dramatic.”

“Oh I am not dramatic. I’m lost without you.”

Your heart leaped, but you tried to keep your composure. You were starting to wonder if he had forgotten it was fake.

“You’re acting weird.”

You glanced over at Jun who was sitting next to you on the counter of Seungcheol’s kitchen island. He was staring at you, his eyebrows furrowed.

“I’m not acting weird,” you denied. Jun looked away from you.

“You and Mingyu haven’t kissed today,” he replied. You shrugged.

“So? It’s a fake relationship. Our kisses are meticulously planned out-”

Jun barked out a laugh.

“We don’t need to kiss in front of you guys anymore,” you finished.

Jun hummed.

“Maybe.”

He didn’t sound very convinced. He let silence fall between you two. Only for a few minutes.

“You’re staring at him a lot.”

“He’s drinking a lot,” you said back. “This would be a toxic fake relationship if I didn’t watch out for him.”

“He comes to you when he’s too drunk because you have to make him feel better for your arrangement,” Jun stated. “You don’t have to watch him so closely to make sure he’s okay.”

You decided the best way to avoid Jun was to ignore him. That turned out to be the wrong decision.

Jun suddenly leaned in close to you. He looked at you with a mischievous smile on his face.

“You like him.”

You sighed.

“Don’t be stupid.”

Jun laughed at that. Leaning back on his hands.

“You never used to blush so much around him,” Jun said. “It’s very telling. You don’t want your relationship to be fake anymore.”

It was true, and hearing it out loud made it even worse.

“You’re annoying Jun.”

Jun sighed, and rolled his head back.

“You’re just mad because I’m right. You like me better than everyone else here.”

“That’s true,” you agreed with a laugh. You and Jun watched in silence for a moment as Mingyu and Soonyoung both shot gunned a bear together.

“You know, I think you two would be good for each other.”

You looked at Jun.

“We are good for each other. Remember? Fake relationship.”

Jun rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, don’t you think it’s a little too perfect. Lies are clunky and awkward. But you two have made it work so well and so easy, it’s almost like it hasn’t even been fake from the beginning.”

You were starting to think Jun was missing the point.

“But it was fake.”

Jun sighed.

“If it’s fake, Mingyu won’t get jealous.”

You frowned.

“Jealous of wh-”

Before you could even finish speaking Jun had leaned forward again. He placed his hand flat on the counter between your legs, his chest brushing against your arm. His lips grew closer to yours, his hot breath mingling with yours. You weren’t impressed. You weren’t even flustered.

“Trying to be a homewrecker Jun?”

But before he could answer, you two were being forcibly separated. Arms wrapped tightly around your body, and dragged you close to what you knew had to be Mingyu’s chest.

“What are you two doing?” Mingyu whined. He looked down at you, his eyes wide. “Did you forget that you were dating me?”

“There was something on your shirt,” Jun said, directing the comment to you. He looked up at Mingyu. “I was just trying to get it off.”

He acted innocent, but you could tell but the slight twitch of his lips. This is exactly what he had wanted.

“Mingyu you know you are the only one that I want,” you said softly. Mingyu looked frustrated so you sighed.

You leaned up, and very tenderly gave him a kiss.

“Remember? We’re in this together.”

That seemed to make Mingyu happy. He dipped down again, giving you another deeper kiss. It was a little sloppy, probably because of how drunk he was, but you didn’t care at all. You couldn’t help but smile as you batted him away.

“You taste like alcohol.”

Which reminded Mingyu of his prior activity. He gave you a pat on the head and rushed back over to Soonyoung. You joined Jun back on the counter, trying to ignore the huge grin on his face.

“So if it’s so fake, why did he-”

“Just shut up Jun.”

The craziest thing to come from your relationship with Mingyu was the fact that you had started to actually enjoy his basketball games. A few months ago you wouldn’t have been able to say how many points a person got from shooting the ball in the hoop.

Now you were calling out penalties, and screaming as one of Mingyu’s teammates got the ball as they were running down the court. You felt your heart beating in your chest as the teams ran up and down the court, and you couldn’t help the smile on your face when Mingyu’s team won yet again.

Now you thought it was expected for you to leap over the barrier to go greet Mingyu after a game. You two were actually infamous for it. Even that one girl on tiktok who duetted cute couples had duetted a video of you two, angrily slamming her pillow into her bed.

It was weird to think that most people looked forward to the hug and kiss you gave Mingyu after a winning game.

Some people thought you were his lucky charm. They were unbeatable this season.

“I’m going to go change and I’ll be right back okay?” Mingyu said. You nodded, squeezing his hand.

“Yeah, I’ll be right here.”

After every game you and Mingyu went out to get ice cream. His team always tagged along, and Mingyu always made a huge point of complaining about how he just wanted to spend time with you, but you two had loved it anyways. It had helped make your relationship seem more real to have Mingyu isolate you at a table pretending like he didn’t know the twelve other boys in the ice cream parlor.

You watched as him and the other boys disappeared into the locker room, Jun sticking his tongue out at you as he passed. You rolled your eyes, and surfed the crowd for Rei and Jaeyun. You saw them, giving you a wave good bye as they walked out with the crowd. You smiled.

You sort of regretted not coming out with them to games before. God it was fun.

“Hey. We need to talk.”

You turned around, your smile disappearing from your lips as you came face to face with the last person that you wanted to see.

“I don’t have anything to say to you Donghyun.”

Your mind raced to remember all of Mingyu’s rules. You couldn’t be talking to Donghyun, you had to-

“Stop avoiding me,” Donghyun snapped. “You haven’t let me explain myself, you blocked my number, you blocked me on social media-”

“You’re dating Jennie now, isn’t that enough?” You demanded. Donghyun pressed his lips together tightly.

“I’m just dating Jennie to make you jealous,” Donghyun exclaimed in frustration. “I don’t want Jennie, I want you, and I know that you want me too-”

You stopped listening to him, you just tried to brace yourself from the feelings that were sure to surge up. The longing in your heart to take Donghyun back, the wish to just be in his arms again, but... It never came.

“So? Are you finally going to listen to me? Stop frolicking around with some basketball player with no brains-”

“Don’t talk about Mingyu like that,” you interrupted. “Say whatever dumb excuse you want to give me for cheating on me but don’t talk bad about Mingyu.”

Donghyun scoffed.

“Are you serious? Are you pretending that you actually care about him? I know you are just trying to make me jealous.”

“Jealous?!” You blurted. You couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not trying to make you jealous, Donghyun I don’t even care about you anymore.”

A thick silence fell between the two of you. Donghyun looked more surprised than you had ever seen him in his life, and you understood why. He had always been a master of your feelings. He always won arguments because he played to whatever made you happiest, unless he thought that he could win.

“That’s not true,” Donghyun mumbled. “You’re nothing without me. You have no friends. You have no social life. You have nothing.”

A frown crossed your face.

“I don’t ever want to see you again,” you mumbled. “I can’t believe-”

“What’s going on?” You had never felt your heart sink faster. You looked across the room, suddenly acutely aware of the fact that you were standing inches away from Donghyun and... When had Donghyun’s hand gotten on your wrist?

You ripped yourself away from Donghyun.

“Mingyu, it’s nothing,” you insisted. He completely ignored you. He stormed towards you, stretching out his arms like he was about to punch Donghyun.

“How many times do I have to tell you to get lost?” Mingyu demanded. You rushed up to him, throwing your hands on his chest. Considering Mingyu’s strength you thought that would do absolutely nothing. But Mingyu stopped moving as soon as your hands touched him. “I swear to god I’m going to-”

“Legally, he’s lying,” you said. You slapped your hand across Mingyu’s chest. “We’re leaving.”

“But-”

“We’re leaving,” you repeated. Mingyu turned around as you directed, letting you drag him all the way back to his locker room. You shut the door behind him, and took a deep breath. “Look before you freak out-”

“What was that?” Mingyu demanded. You hated that he was yelling at you, but you understood why he was upset. He thought that you were going back to a cheater, after building such a strong relationship with him it felt like you were falling backwards.

But you weren’t falling backwards.

“It was nothing,” you insisted. “He just wanted to talk-”

“Your rules-”

“I tried to follow them I just-”

“You know he’s just going to break your heart again,” Mingyu said. You looked away from him. You hated to fight. You could feel the tears beginning to run down your cheeks.

“He’s not going to break my heart,” you denied.

“He did it once, he’ll do it again,” Mingyu replied. He looked a little sad. He reached forward, gingerly rubbing a tear from your cheek. “People don’t change.”

You didn’t reply, which didn’t seem to make Mingyu forget what he had walked in on. You could see the frustration furrowed into his brow. He groaned and pulled away from you.

“I just don’t get why you would even want that asshole back, ” Mingyu blurted.

“I don’t want him back Mingyu.”

“Right, of course you don’t.”

“I’m serious.”

“Then why were you making googly eyes at him?”

“For fucks sake Mingyu I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Mingyu looked at you like his whole world had just come to an end and it made your heart break just a little. You looked away from him.

“And look I know you don’t feel the same way-“

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t want to ruin our friendship,” you explained. “But you’ve got to understand-“

“Shut up,” Mingyu repeated.

“I don’t even miss Donghyun anymore. I used to think that I needed him, but now I know I don’t and I want you-“

“Do you listen at all?” Mingyu demanded. You decided to keep ignoring him.

“I understand if you want to end the fake relationship,” you whispered. “I just want-“

“I said shut up.”

Before you could speak again Mingyu had surged forward, one of his hands slipped around your waist to hold the small of your back and his other hand tangled itself in your hair as he pushed his lips to yours. You hadn’t realized exactly how desperate you had been for Mingyu until his lips were on yours, and then it was like you could only breath when he was kissing you.

There was no denying the electricity sparking between the two of you as you panted against one another’s mouths. A whine ripped from your mouth as Mingyu wrapped his arm around your back, pulling you closer to him.

“Does this mean-”

Mingyu interrupted you by deepening the kiss. He backed you two slowly up against the wall, his hands traveling your body. After a few long moments, he pulled back.

“I love you too,” he mumbled. “I do I have I hated everything being fake.”

You still couldn’t breathe, and it wasn’t because the kiss had completely knocked the breath from your lungs.

“You mean you want-”

“You,” Mingyu interrupted. “I want to be a cliché, strangers to friends to lovers.”

You couldn’t help the laugh the erupted from your chest causing Mingyu to pull away, a smile spread over his lips.

“Are you making fun of me?”

You were still laughing but you pressed a kiss to Mingyu’s lips.

“It’s not that,” you said. “I just- you sound so cheesy.”

“Are you surprised?” Mingyu asked mirroring your smile. You shook your head.

“No.”

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as you stared at each other. You weren’t really sure what to do, you were just so excited to be there with him, to be officially official.

“We should go,” you said softly. “The others will get suspicious if we aren’t there for ice cream.”

Mingyu nodded.

“Right.”

He didn’t move, instead he just stared at you, that same goofy smile on his face.

“You know, you’re...” You cleared your throat. “You are really close.”

Mingyu snickered.

“We’ve kissed how many times? But now we’re too close?” He asked teasingly. You gave him a small glare.

“You’re annoying.”

“You love me,” he said happily. “Besides do you really want me to pull away?”

He made no move to pull away from you, and you made no move to move yourself. Your eyes flickered to the ground.

“Stupid,” you mumbled. “I guess you can stay there if you want.”

Mingyu laughed, and leaned forward, burying his face in your neck. You smiled warmly, wrapping your arms around his body.

“You really sure you want to date me?” You asked him, your voice soft. “It’s not too late to back out you know.”

Mingyu shook his head, his lips pressing briefly to your neck. You shivered slightly, but... You rested your head on Mingyu’s.

“I’m happy with us,” he said. “I think we’ve already proved that we work.”

“That was fake,” you replied. You felt Mingyu’s lips move, you could only imagine it was to smile.

“Was it fake?” He asked. He pulled away from you and looked up at you. “We kissed a lot for a fake relationship.”

“We did kiss a lot,” you said with a laugh. “And I told you I didn’t like pda.”

“You initiated most of them!” Mingyu denied. You raised an eyebrow at him.

“When you were drunk-”

“You knew what you were getting into fake dating me,” Mingyu insisted. “I punched your ex-boyfriend when I was drunk once.”

You couldn’t help but smile.

“You sure know how to win my heart.”

Real dating Mingyu wasn’t that different then fake dating him.

Maybe that’s how you knew that you had been really bad at faking your relationship. You had gone into your situation-ship with him with such real feelings, and he had been so supportive and perfect. It’s was no wonder to you that you had fallen in love with him.

And yet, it almost sucked that you two had been fake dating in the first place because it meant that you didn’t really have anyone to tell that you two were official to. Well, no one except...

“Jun.”

Jun kept walking his earbuds in his ears. You sighed, trying very hard not to look like an over excited fan.

“Jun.”

You finally caught up to him, tapping his shoulder. He glanced at you; his eyes widening slightly when he realized it was you.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I asked Mingyu for your schedule,” you replied. You didn’t offer him much more of an explanation and you two walked for a minute in silence. “Mingyu and I are dating now.”

“I knew it,” Jun exclaimed excitedly. You rolled your eyes, pretending to be annoyed but in reality... You were so happy with his response. You wanted this so badly. To be able to tell people that you were dating Mingyu and for them to be excited for you. You had really taken advantage of it before.

“What did I tell you?” Jun continued. “You and Mingyu like each other and what did you say-”

“Yeah, yeah,” you said with a roll of your eyes. “I get it, you were right.”

A troubled look spread over Jun’s face.

“I should have made a bet with you,” he mumbled. “I could have gotten something out of this.”

You laughed and he started to walk forward, you fell in step beside him, not really having anything to do other than hang out with Jun at the moment.

“So, now that you two aren’t fake...” A mischievous expression crossed Jun’s face. “When are you going to... You know.”

You stared at him blankly.

“I don’t know.”

Jun rolled his eyes.

“Well before you Mingyu was a very.... sexually active-”

Your eyes widened.

“Shut up-”

“I’m just saying, Mingyu is a very attractive man.”

Color flooded your face.

“We like just started dating,” you stammered. He laughed.

“But technically you’ve been fake dating for a long time now,” Jun said. “You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

You wished you could tell Jun you hadn’t thought about it. When you were fake dating, it was all pondered for curiosity. Just a seed of thought in your brain that was pretty easy to ignore, but now.

The color on your face was all the evidence that Jun needed.

“Just saying, Mingyu is rough in bed,” he said with a whistle. “I hope that you can handle it.”

Ever since your stupid conversation with stupid Jun, things had become more awkward then ever around Mingyu.

There was of course the puppy dog phase between the two of you, excited to be officially dating, but there was also an underlying narrative that just kept running through your head. Whenever his fingers brushed against your body or his lips were on yours... You wanted more.

“Babe,” you looked up from the card game between you and Jun, giving Mingyu a smile.

“What’s up Gyu?” You asked him, setting your cards on the table.

“Jihoon won’t play mario kart with me,” he whined. He came up behind you, burying his face in your neck. He pressed a kiss there, his teeth grazing your neck. Heat crept up your face.

“That sucks,” you said, trying to keep your voice even. Jun’s eyebrows raised as he looked at you a smile spreading over his lips. “But Mingyu, I can’t make him play with you.”

Mingyu whined against your neck, causing your eyes to widen even more. You raised your hand to pat against his head, hoping it would get him to move because if he kept whining into your neck, you would have a serious problem.

Lucky for you, he pulled away from you.

“It’s not fair,” he mumbled. You nodded, pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips.

“We can play later, okay?”

That satisfied him and he bounded back over to the other side of the room, beginning to loudly brag about how you always play games with him. You turned your attention back to Jun, your face still red.

“Don’t say anything,” you murmured. Jun shrugged innocently.

“There’s an empty room down the hall if you need to-”

You threw the deck of cards at Jun’s face.

“Hey Mingyu,” you murmured, glancing at Mingyu from across the room. He had come over to hang out, but you had been busy studying all day, you finally had a chance to breath, and you wanted to see what he was up to. He glanced up at you, and then back down at his switch.

“Just playing Fall Guys,” he said. “You want to watch?”

You nodded eagerly and wandered over to the couch. You craned your neck to look over at Mingyu’s screen, but he only let you sit there next to him.

“Come closer,” he mumbled. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled up onto his lap. He trapped you between his arms and peeked his head around yours so that he could look at the game. You couldn’t even bare to focus on what was before. You tried your best to look at the pastel-colored game, but you couldn’t focus on it.

All you could focus on was Mingyu’s hot breath on your neck and... You willed yourself not to think about what you knew you had to be sitting on. You were so close to him; you could practically hear your heart pounding in your chest.

You tried your best to focus.

“You’re not doing very good,” you observed as his character fell off one of the wheels. Mingyu huffed.

“I’m better then you are.”

You supposed that was true. After all, he wasn’t hard, and you... You were progressively getting wetter and wetter.

“Babe,” Mingyu called, running towards you from across the hall, you blinked in surprise at the sight of him. He didn’t explain anything, instead he grabbed a fistful of your shirt and dragged you close to him. Without any explanation he pressed his lips to yours. He had been gone for the last few days, at a game hours away from where you were.

You were surprised to see him back so soon.

You practically melted under his touch, wishing that his hands were touching you more then they already were. You wrapped your arms around him and as you did Mingyu pulled away from you, resting his forehead against yours.

“I missed you so much, you’re coming with me next time,” Mingyu said. You rolled your eyes.

“I have class Mingyu, I don’t get exceptions like you.”

Your body was burning. You missed him too, you were so glad he was back.

“I hate being away from you,” Mingyu mumbled.

You couldn’t understand how you had gotten so lucky.

When you and Donghyun broke up in that moment your entire world had ended. For just a moment you didn’t think that you would ever be happy again. But Mingyu had saved you. Despite not knowing you at all he had caught you when you fell, he had been there for you when you needed him the most, and he was probably one of the best people that you had ever met in your life.

“I should never have let you cook,” Mingyu said, laughing as you patted out the fire on your oven. You shot him a glare over your shoulder.

“I’m not usually this much of a disaster,” you murmured. “It was just one time.”

“And I have never set something on fire in the kitchen,” Mingyu replied. “So, who should have cooked again?”

You grabbed some flour from a bowl and threw it at Mingyu’s face. He laughed in surprise.

“Hey,” he complained. “Now my shirt is all dirty.”

“Why don’t you just take it off,” you mocked back. “It’s just a shirt.”

Mingyu’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“You would like that wouldn’t you?” He teased lightly. “You’ve just been begging me to take my shirt off.”

You rolled your eyes.

“You sound like Jun,” you said without thinking about it.

“You and Jun talk about me being shirtless?” Mingyu asked you. Your eyes widened when you realized what you had implied.

“I plead the fifth.”

Mingyu laughed and shrugged.

“Well, I actually am going to take my shirt off,” he said. “Because you did ruin it and frankly I don’t want to wear it anymore.”

The reasonable part of you knew that you should argue with him and tell him to keep it on, but the part of you that wanted to see him shirtless didn’t care. You tried to pretend you weren’t interested by looking away from him, but it didn’t really matter. He wasn’t looking at you in the first place.

“Well, what are we going to eat for dinner then?” You asked. Mingyu laughed.

“We’ll just order a pizza. I can call them right now.”

You nodded and walked into your front room, sitting down on your couch.

“Get pepperoni.”

It only took Mingyu a few minutes to finish ordering the pizza, and then he came and joined you on the couch. You took one look at him and rolled your eyes.

“Mingyu put your shirt back on,” you said. He shook his head.

“Uh, no. You got my shirt dirty; you have to deal with me not wearing a shirt.”

“But it’s so annoying,” you whined. “You’re distracting me.”

Mingyu laughed.

“What am I too attractive?”

You scoffed.

“More like you are too ugly.”

Mingyu didn’t respond for a moment and then he took you by your shoulders pushing you down onto the couch. You looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Are you sure that I am still too ugly?” He asked teasingly.

You felt your heart thumping in your chest as you looked up at Mingyu, he was staring at you with an unreadable expression, his lips so close to you that all you would have to do would be to tilt your head and your lips would touch.

“You should stay the night,” you murmured, your face blazing hot. Mingyu’s lips twitched upwards.

“Yeah, and what are we going to do then?”

Mingyu pulled back slightly, his hand traveled down to your waist and his fingers dipped under your shirt. You shivered under his touch.

“Well...” You trailed off; you were so embarrassed. “You know.”

“Watch a movie?” Mingyu asked, his tone low and teasing. “Read books? Eat ice cream? Get some sleep.”

He knew what he was doing, and you knew he could feel how embarrassed you were by the heat of your skin, but he was not doing you any favors.

“I want you to touch me,” you whispered. His eyebrows rose in amusement.

“Oh?”

His fingers dipped deeper within your shirt, his hands splaying over your chest.

“You want me to touch you? Where?” He asked teasingly. A whine left your lips and you arched your back into his touch.

“Just... Touch me,” you murmured. He smiled and began to run his fingers lightly up and down your sides, making your body tingle under his touch.

“You know how badly I’ve been wanting to feel your body?” Mingyu asked you softly. You looked up at him, your face still burning. “You know how absolutely beautiful you are?”

You raised your hands to your face, covering it so Mingyu couldn’t see you. He let out a noise of disappointment at that and his fingers retracted from your body. Your hands shot out so that you could grab his wrists.

“Don’t stop,” you blurted. A sound of amusement left his lips.

“Then don’t cover your face.”

You nodded and let go of Mingyu’s hands, hiding your hands behind your back. He smiled and his hands returned to your body, his fingers slid up to the edge of your bra and he lowered his hands to your back and unclasped it.

A squeak left your lips, but Mingyu paid it no mind.

“Sit up,” he instructed softly. You did as he said, and he slowly pulled your shirt off. You felt cool air on your hot skin and you shivered, reaching forward to hold onto Mingyu’s shoulders. He smiled and leaned forward, his lips attaching to your neck again. He peppered kiss after kiss across your collarbone, every once in a while, stopping to bite down lightly on your neck, always soothing over it with his tongue.

With each kiss, every touch, you felt yourself shiver and tighten your grip on Mingyu as if that would do anything for you. He wasn’t paying much attention to your desperation as his lips trailed down your body. You heard a small sound of desperation leave your lips as Mingyu’s lips trailed over your breasts, his tongue darting out to flick over your tits.

Mingyu laughed at the sound, peaking his head up to look at you.

“There something you want?” He asked you teasingly. You shot him a glare.

“Why are you-”

Before you could finish talking, he dipped his head again, lips latching onto your breast. His tongue darted from his mouth, dancing over your nipple. Your fingers buried into Mingyu’s hair, whining as he began to suck your nipples, his teeth nipping at you briefly.

“Fuck Mingyu,” you mumbled softly. He laughed against you.

“That’s not a very good word babe. Somebody should do something about that mouth of yours.”

Mingyu trailed back up your body, his lips pressing firmly against yours. You whined into his mouth, tightening your grip in his hair so that you could press him closer to you. He pulled away sooner then you liked.

“But I can kiss you anywhere anytime huh? Let’s do something more fun.”

Finally, Mingyu’s mouth began to trail lower down your body. He hummed when he got to your waist.

“You have too much on,” he murmured.

“Mingyu I’m shirtless,” you blurted. He shrugged.

“But what I want to do with you doesn’t end with your shirt being off.”

You didn’t really need to be told twice. You got up, shuffling out of your clothes. Mingyu did too, but he was much faster. By the time that you were naked he was sitting on the couch again. You looked over at him, embarrassed by the way he was looking at you.

“What?” You murmured, your face burning. A smile slowly crossed his lips.

“You’re just beautiful.”

Your eyes widened and you looked away from him.

“Shut-”

Mingyu wrapped his arms around you, suddenly pulling you flush against his body. His nose brushed against yours and he gave you a chaste kiss.

“I’m so lucky to have you,” he mumbled. He dragged you closer to him, turning you so that you were laying on the couch again. He lowered his lips to your neck again and his fingers prodded between your legs. At first his fingers just slowly slid up and down your folds, barely pushing in to feel the wetness between your thighs. You let out a soft whine as he dipped a finger into your pussy. Your hips wiggled making Mingyu press a hand on your pelvis to hold you still.

“You seem a little desperate babe,” he mumbled. You bit down hard on your lip to prevent yourself from telling him to stop teasing you so much. You thought that if you did, he would stop touching you and... You really didn’t want him to stop touching you.

Mingyu didn’t seem to mind this, instead he focused on pressing another finger into you. His fingers bent up inside of you, making you want to try and arch your back again. Unluckily for you, Mingyu was a bit too strong.

“Mingyu I want to-”

You were interrupted by your own strangled moan when Mingyu pushed his fingers deep inside of you again, scissoring his fingers in and out of you. The stretch sent a burn of pleasure soaring through your body. You wiggled underneath him more.

“I want to move,” you whined when you finally found your voice again. Mingyu snorted.

“I think you’re fine,” he said. “Unless you want to tell me that you want me to stop, I think you’re fine being held in place while I finger you.”

You whined again, but you didn’t want him to stop.

“I-I can bear with it,” you agreed breathlessly. He laughed. He leaned down, his tongue darting out to flick over your clit, causing you to cry out. “Fuck maybe I can’t.”

Mingyu laughed again and looked up at you as he slid a third finger into you.

“I’ve got to keep you still so that I can open you up for me,” he said teasingly. You groaned, thrusting your head back against the cushions.

“Fuck you,” you mumbled.

“No babe, I’m fucking you.”

He dipped his head again, his lips attaching to your clit. You moaned loudly, your fingers balling.

“Please, fuck, I need you to do more than just fucking tease me,” you blurted. Mingyu hummed against your clit which did not change your level of urgency. “Please just fuck me already.”

Mingyu peaked up at you.

“What did you want exactly?”

His fingers spread deep inside of you.

“I want your dick inside me please Mingyu, please, please, please,” you begged. As cruel as Mingyu seemed he still pulled his fingers from you, lightly tapping your pussy with his hand.

“Well since you insist, I suppose I could do something for you.”

Mingyu pulled away from him, positioning himself between your legs. He took a deep breath and looked at you.

“You sure?” He asked softly. “I should be safe and find a condom-”

“No,” you interrupted your face blazing red. “I don’t need- You can just- You know-”

Mingyu smiled at you and nodded.

“Okay,” he said softly. “You ready?”

You nodded.

“Ready.”

Mingyu slowly slid into you, making your back arch in a mix of pleasure and pain. You pressed your hands against Mingyu’s chest as he came fully seated in you.

“J-Just- One sec-second,” you murmured. “I just-”

“Take your time,” Mingyu replied softly. He dipped his head, placing a few soft kisses to your neck. You whined at the touch, feeling yourself begin to feel a little more comfortable on him. You wiggled your hips a little, forcing the stretch a bit more.

“You’re just... Bigger than I’m used to,” you mumbled. Mingyu chuckled.

“Let me guess, Donghyun couldn’t compare?” He asked. You could tell that was just an ego boost for him, so you decided to just completely ignore the question. Even if it was true. You only needed a few more minutes, you wiggled your hips and the burn was only pleasurable. You wrapped your arms around Mingyu’s body.

“O-Okay,” you murmured. Mingyu began to slowly slide himself out of you, the burn sending shoots of pleasure through your body, and low moans left your lips as he slowly began to push himself back in. His pace was slow, probably to make sure that you didn’t get hurt. You appreciated it but...

“I uhm...” You bit down on your lip and looked away from Mingyu. “I heard you like it rough. You can... You can be a little rougher.”

A chuckle left Mingyu’s lips.

“Are you sure you can handle it?” He asked you. You shot him a glare.

“I’m not made of glass Mingyu.”

“You’re not,” he agreed. “But I’d hate for you to go from little vanilla Donghyun to-”

“Just fuck me Mingyu.”

“Only if you say please-”

Mingyu came at a full stop inside of you, his cock pressed deep within you. You squirmed underneath him.

“Mingyu just-”

“I won’t move until you ask nicely,” Mingyu replied. “Unless you want me to just go ahead and pull out- There are other things-”

“Okay, okay,” you interrupted. You looked up at Mingyu. “Please fuck me.”

A grin spread over Mingyu’s face.

“Well since you begged so prettily-”

He cut himself off by pulling his dick almost entirely out and then slamming it back inside of you. You cried out in surprise, throwing your hand over your mouth. Mingyu looked down at you, a dark look in his eyes.

“I want to hear you baby,” he murmured. “And you know to just say something if it becomes too much.”

You nodded and moved your hand from your mouth, but you didn’t get much time to recover from the surprise of his first thrust. Mingyu wasted no time, beginning to set a cruel fast pace, his hips pressing his cock deep inside of you fast. Noises you didn’t even know you could make were leaving your mouth, each thrust making tears of pleasure sprout at the corners of your eyes.

“Baby,” Mingyu mumbled, leaning down to catch your lips with his. “You feel so good, you know that?”

Mingyu’s voice was rough, and lower than you were used to hearing it, and it only made the pleasure coil even more in your stomach.

“M-Ming-gyu,” you stammered, slamming your eyes shut. “It feels so good, please I want- Harder- More-”

You sounded like an idiot, barely able to form a coherent sentence, but you didn’t even care, as you spoke Mingyu pushed down on your pelvis, pushing one of your legs further out with his hand. It just proved to push him deeper inside of you. You whined, your fingers digging into Mingyu’s back.

“You’re so good for me baby, taking so much,” he murmured. “You’re so wet too, absolutely dripping, how badly have you been wanting this?”

“S-So badly Mingyu,” you admitted. “I’ve been wanting you so badly.”

A low growl left his lips as he surged forward, his lips pressing against yours again. Usually when Mingyu kissed you he was fairly gentle, even when you two were making out it was more passion then desperation, but right now. You felt like you could barely breath, each thrust made you pant against his lips, and he didn’t even seem to care as his tongue prodded yours.

“M-Mingyu, I can’t- I’m going to-”

“Good,” Mingyu interupted you. His hips stuttered a little. “Want to feel you cum around my cock okay?”

You nodded wordlessly, and it only took Mingyu a few more thrusts before you were coming around him, your walls spasming out of your control. You buried your face in Mingyu’s neck to avoid screaming too loudly. He fucked you through your orgasm until your toes curled from the sensation of still having him seated deeply inside of you. You whined out in pleasure and oversensitivity.

“Pl-Please, c-cum to, you’ve gotta c-cum too-”

Before you could even finish your nonsensical begging Mingyu pulled his cock out of you, he gave himself a few pumps and buried his fingers in your hair. He gave you a small tug.

“On your knees, mouth open, don’t break eye contact.”

You scrambled to get into position, your body still shaking a little and your mouth panting as you tried to catch your breath. Mingyu only gave himself a few more pumps before his cum began to spray on your face. A few ropes falling on your tongue and a few landing on your cheeks. You waited until Mingyu’s hand in your hair relaxed and he knelt down in front of you, pressing a kiss to your lips, tasting himself on your tongue.

You buried your own hands in his hair as you deepened the kiss, your pussy suddenly feeling empty without his cock buried inside of it.

“Mingyu,” you mumbled, against his lips. He pulled back, not answering you. Instead, he pressed a kiss to your cheek, cleaning his semen off of you. HIs fingers travelled down your body, his fingers slowly sliding over your folds.

“You okay?”

You nodded against him.

“Sensitive.”

He dipped his fingers briefly inside of you and then raised them to his lips, sucking his fingers into his mouth. Your nose wrinkled and he laughed.

“What? You taste good.”

His fingers dipped briefly into your pussy again and he held his soaked fingers up to your face.

“Taste,” he said. You opened your mouth to protest but that only resulted in him pushing his fingers into your mouth. You sucked them clean, your face burning at the embarrassment of licking your own juices off of his fingers.

Mingyu didn’t ask you how it tasted. Instead his eyes flickered to your lips and he leaned forward, dragging you into another deep kiss. As he pressed closer to you his knee pressed between your legs, brushing up against your folds. You whined against his lips and involuntarily rolled your hips against his leg. He laughed and pulled back.

“Still horny huh?”

You buried your face into his neck.

“Shut-“

You were cut off by yourself gasping lightly as a result of Mingyu pressing you back into the couch and sliding his cock back inside of you.

Your lips pressed against Mingyu’s skin as you tried to muffle the desperate moans that were falling from your lips. His first thrust was slow, but he didn’t bother with being careful as soon as he had pressed all the way in.

He did one hard thrust, and then a second one faster. Loud moans at every thrust tumbled from your mouth as you tightened your grip on Mingyu yet again to keep from falling onto the couch cushions.

“You’re so good for me,” Mingyu mumbled. “So good.”

You nodded against Mingyu’s skin, bouncing back and forth as he thrust in and out of you.

He was fucking you a lot rougher this time then the first time but his words were all the same.

“So good.”

“You sound so pretty.”

“You feel so good, baby.”

You moaned at his words.

“Please,” you murmured. “H-Harder.”

Mingyu’s hand snacked between your bodies, his finger coming to play with your clit sloppily.

“You sound so dirty baby,” he said, amusement dancing in his voice. “You really want it harder? I’m already fucking you so hard.”

You mewled against Mingyu’s skin.

“You’re annoying,” you mumbled.

“And yet you're begging me to fuck you harder,” he replied. “That means you’re going to be good for me and cum, aren’t you?”

You didn’t care that he was teasing you. You nodded frantically against his neck feeling coils of pleasure curl in your stomach. It was like he could read your mind, you had no clue how he had known you were close.

“I’ll be good,” you agreed breathlessly. “I can be- I'll be so good.”

Mingyu’s own voice was starting to cut off to, his own moans tumbling from his lips as he grew closer too. You tugged Mingyu closer to you.

“Mingyu, please cum, please cum,” you began to beg. “C-cum inside me please.”

You could tell that Mingyu was shocked by your words by the way that his free hand rose to your hair and tightened in your strands.

“I can’t do that,” he mumbled. You nodded and peeked up at him.

“You can, please, it’ll be okay, I want it, I want to feel you inside of me.”

Mingyu searched your eyes, his own dark with pleasure. He sighed.

“Fine,” he murmured. “Since you want to beg for it like a slut-”

A small cry ripped through your body as you started to cum at the word. Mingyu’s grip in your hair tightened and he tilted your head back so that he could drag you into another airless kiss and it only took a few seconds before Mingyu’s thrusts were getting sloppily and you felt his cum start to coat your insides.

You were practically crying in pleasure against Mingyu’s mouth, feeling his hips stutter against you until finally coming to a stop deep inside of you. You felt your toes curl as you broke the kiss, panting heavily against Mingyu. He let you down on the couch, pressing soft kisses to your face.

“You, okay?” He asked softly, his own breath coming heavy and somewhat strained. You nodded.

“Tired,” you mumbled. He nodded with a laugh.

“Yeah, I’m sure you are,” he agreed. “You’re deceptively kinky, aren’t you?”

You groaned.

“Are you done teasing me?”

“Did you really cum when I called you a slut?”

“It was a coincidence!” You protested. He laughed.

“Alright sure, we’ll just test it next time.”

Mingyu laid down next to you, slowly pulling his cock out of you. You whined when he slipped out of you, your feelings balling against his back. You turned and buried your face in his neck.

“Feels weird,” you mumbled. “To have your cum inside of me.”

Mingyu bounced against your chest with laughter.

“You begged for it.”

“I liked it,” you agreed. “Still weird.”

Mingyu hummed and slid down your body, his lips pressing against your pussy lips. His tongue darted out against your sensitive pussy as he slowly began to clean out your pussy, licking the semen out of it. You whined.

“M-Mingyu,” you murmured. He ignored you and instead stayed licking out your pussy for a little bit. Not stopping until semen had stopped dripping out from inside of you.

“You want to take a shower?” He asked. You shook your head.

“Come back up here,” you said instead. Mingyu hummed and crawled back up, wrapping his arms around your body. You pressed your face into his chest. He seemed fairly amused.

“You going to go to sleep naked on your couch?” He asked. You nodded.

“And you’re not going to leave, okay?”

Mingyu nodded.

“I’m not going to even try.”

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door, and you groaned, burying your face further into Mingyu’s chest.

“Who is that?” He asked. You shrugged.

“The pizza? Maybe they’ll go away.”

They knocked again.

Mingyu laughed and began to pull away from you, you whined in protest but he just placed a hand on your head.

“I’ll be right back.”

He pulled his pants back on but didn’t bother with a shirt. He walked up to you door and you heard him unlock and open it.

“Hey stupid you left your pizza out- Mingyu?”

There was a moment of silence between Jun talking and Mingyu standing at your door without a shirt on. He laughed.

“I knew it.”

Your face burned red as you shot up, pulling a shirt over your head and pulling pants on. You rushed to the door.

“Shut up Jun, what are you even doing here?”

Jun held out your earbuds, a cocky smirk on his face.

“You left these with me the other day and I was around so…”

He trailed off as you snatched the ear buds from him.

“You know you look like a wreck-“

You pulled Mingyu by his wrist and slammed the door in Jun’s face. Mingyu laughed at you, pulling you close to his body.

“Jun knew what now?” He asked his voice full of mirth.

“Shut up,” you mumbled.

The best thing about dating Mingyu was dates.

Mingyu was a huge romantic and he loved taking you out on dates whenever he got the chance. As much as he enjoyed sitting around and gaming with you he much preferred to take you out to dinners, or take you on elaborate nights out.

Tonight was nothing elaborate. Ice cream with the guys to celebrate a win out of town. But still you were pretty excited about it.

You were so excited in fact that you weren’t really paying attention to where you were going.

You felt yourself bump into someone and as you were about to say sorry for doing so, you stopped.

“Donghyun-” Your eyes widened as you backed up a little. You glanced down at your phone. You were running late. “Look I don’t really have the time, I’m-”

“Meeting Mingyu for a date?” Donghyun asked, his voice low. “Right. You know he’s just using you right?”

You rolled your eyes. You thought it was a little desperate of him to try this now. Maybe when you two had first started this crazy fake relationship you would have thought about this, but Mingyu had been nothing but respectful of your space and general wishes. No part of you thought that he was capable of using you.

“Donghyun I don’t care what you think about him,” you said. “You’re just jealous for whatever dumb reason you justify with yourself to go to sleep at night.”

“Mingyu is a known fuck boy,” Donghyun said. “Let me guess. You’re fucking him, right?”

Color flooded your face.

“H-Hey, shut u-”

“You’re a slut,” Donghyun said with a shrug. “And he’s using you.”

“I’m so fucking tired of your bullshit Donghyun,” you mumbled. “You can’t just come in here and ask me about my business and my life when you long forfeited the rights to know what I’m doing.”

Hurt flashed through Donghyun’s eyes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” you mumbled. “Seriously, you cheated on me, why are you acting like I suddenly left you for no reason?”

“You never even let me explain!” Donghyun protested.

“Okay then, explain,” you blurted. “Tell me your amazing excuse for why I caught you kissing someone else.”

“Because I was bored,” Donghyun yelled right back. Your anger dissipated, and you frowned.

“What?”

“You’re so boring, do you even know how boring it is to be in a relationship with you?” Donghyun asked. “For five years we dated, and you would barely do anything.”

“I am not boring,” you argued back.

“All you ever do is study! You never went to parties with me, and you hated kissing in public. You got upset if I tried to show you off-”

The more that Donghyun argued with you the more you began to realize something very important. All of the things that Donghyun argued about were things that you did with Mingyu. You didn’t care when Mingyu showed you off or kissing him in public, you went to parties with him every week...

You laughed once in disbelief and then again. Donghyun stopped in the middle of his sentence.

“What is so funny?” He asked. You shrugged.

“I just... I do all of those things with Mingyu,” you replied softly. “And I love him.”

That hurt look crossed Donghyun’s face again.

“Don’t say that,” he murmured. “It took you a year to say that you love me. Don’t tell me that you are already in love with him.”

You shrugged.

“Then fine, I won’t.”

You almost weren’t surprised when you turned around and saw that Mingyu was standing in the doorway. He didn’t look angry, simply amused.

“Is he really still bothering you?” He asked. You shrugged.

“Can’t leave me alone,” you replied. You bounced over to Mingyu, wrapping your arms around his body. The hurt of being called boring echoed through your mind and Mingyu placed his hand over your head protectively.

“Can I punch him?” He asked you. Tears pricked at your eyes and you shook your head in his chest.

“No,” you mumbled.

“But-”

“Seungcheol will kill you and it’s not good for your reputation,” you continued firmly. “Let’s just go.”

“The guys are expecting you for ice cream,” Mingyu agreed. “But... Won’t you just leave me for a moment?”

“Not alone,” you argued. Mingyu looked down at you, his hand prodding at your chin. You looked up at him, baby tears smeared on your cheeks.

“Seriously, just going to talk to him,” he promised. “Don’t you trust me?”

Unfortunately, you did.

“I won’t talk to you for a week if you punch him.”

“Just meet me for ice cream, okay?” He asked you.

You nodded and peeled off of him.

“But if you aren’t there ten minutes after I get in-”

Mingyu waved you off.

“I’ll see you in a moment.”

When you got to the others Jun seemed to sense that you had something on your mind.

“Are you actually thinking about the kind of ice cream you want?” He asked. “Don’t you always just get Mingyu’s favorite?”

“I can’t believe I actually like mint chocolate chip now,” you said with a disappointed sigh. “But no... I left Mingyu with Donghyun.”

Jun shrugged and licked his ice cream cone, so you thought maybe he hadn’t heard you.

“Mingyu is with Donghyun,” you repeated.

“So?” Jun asked. “Did you ask him not to do anything?”

“Well, yeah,” you replied.

“Then it’ll be fine. He listens to you.”

As if on cue Mingyu walked into the ice cream parlor. You looked at him and raised an eyebrow towards him. He just smiled at you.

“What? We just talked that’s all,” Mingyu assured. “He’s not going to bother you anymore.”

You eyed Mingyu suspiciously.

“And how’d you convince him of that?”

“How else? With my charming personality and award-winning smile.”

You rolled your eyes, but even as you did, you couldn’t escape Mingyu pulling you into his arms and giving you a large, long kiss.

“What was that for?” You asked, slapping at his chest as if you hadn’t liked it. He laughed.

“Just appreciating what I have,” Mingyu said softly. Disgust spread over your fast.

“You are disgustingly sappy sometimes,” you mumbled.

“Yeah, but you love it,” Mingyu said.

You smiled.

You really did.

6K notes · View notes

austinshotbutlers · 1 year

Text

The Wedding Date - Part Two

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Fem!BAU!Reader

Summary: Your sister’s wedding is approaching fast and the thought of showing your boyfriend off to you family and your ex-boyfriend seems like a very appealing idea. The only problem is… you don’t have a boyfriend. Luckily your stony faced, serious, sexy boss has agreed to be your fake boyfriend for the weekend. What could possibly go wrong?

Word count: 4.1k

TW: Mentions and allusions to sex, swear words and bad writing?

A/N: Part two is here!!! I’ve tagged everyone who commented on part one but let me know if you want to be removed. The love i have received for part one has meant so much, I didn’t think it would blow up as much as it did. Thank you so much to every single one of you! There will be a part three! Part one can be found here

“Maybe we should hold hands?” You suggested as your smoothed down the red, silky dress you had picked for the party as you made your way into the extremely expensive looking lounge bar. You adjusted your hair slightly to ensure it looked perfect and once again smoothed the surface of your dress.

“Stop fidgeting, you look beautiful.” Aaron smiled and he took your hand in his.

You walked through the large doors into a gorgeous, old fashioned style bar. Family and friends were mingling all around nursing all kinds of alcoholic beverages. A waiter with a tray of champagne flutes passed and you quickly grabbed two, handing one to Aaron. You knocked it back in one, ready to face the challenges of the evening.

“You might want to slow down just a little bit.” Aaron laughed as he took a small sip from his own flute.

You were about to respond but the shrill sound of your sister cut you off.

“EEEEK!” She squealed as she ran over. “My sister is here! Who’s the hunk?” She attempted to whisper so Aaron couldn’t hear but failed miserably. “I’m getting married! I’m getting married!” And before you could respond, your slightly intoxicated sister ran off to hound someone else.

“She is going to be so drunk by the end of the night.” You say to Aaron, rolling your eyes jokingly.

“I’m just going to step outside and give Jack a call. Is that ok?” Aaron asks, pulling his phone out his suit pocket.

“Oh god yes! Go call him!” You ushered him away to let him phone Jack. This was your chance to go and refresh yourself and you made your way to the restroom. You looked at yourself in the mirror, tucking some loose hair back behind your ear before retouching your lipstick. You smiled to yourself as you remembered Hotch saying you looked beautiful, heat rose to your cheeks and you fanned your face to calm down. Once you had collected your thoughts and you had finished touching up your makeup, you headed straight out the restroom door and walked smack into someone.

“God I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was…” you looked up and immediately recognised the cold steely eyes that were staring back at you. “Luke….” You laughed nervously. “Hi.”

He loosened his tie slightly before he spoke. “Er… Y/N, hi.”

You both stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds as you took in his appearance. He had aged quite a bit since you had last seen him; the start of a receding hairline, a messy, unkempt beard and still wearing ill fitting suits. You took a mental note of how much better Aaron wore a suit.

“Where’s this boyfriend I’ve been hearing about?” He asked abruptly.

You were quite taken aback. “He’s somewhere in the bar. He wasn’t going to escort me to the bathroom.” You replied bluntly.

He was just about to say something else when the uncanny voice of your cousin filled the small hallway.

“Oh my god!! If it isn’t my favourite cousin ever!” She yelled, running over and embracing you tightly. “Seriously, nearly two years since I last saw you. I have ex-boyfriends I see more than you.”

You laughed as you pulled back from the hug. “Oh Livvy I’ve missed you.”

She smiled at you before turning to face Luke. “Hello asshole.” She says in a moody tone. “Hope it’s alright if I just steal my cousin away.” And before Luke could utter a single word, Liv was dragging you up the stairs back to the party.

“Thank god you came when you did. I think he was about to play 21 questions with me about my new boyfriend.” You huffed.

“I will always rescue you from that asshole.” Liv replied and picked up a glass of champagne. “Now here,” she passed it to you. “Drink! God knows you’re going to need it.”

You sipped at the drink and scanned the room to see if Aaron had joined the party again. Just then, you saw him on the arm of your mother as she introduced him to all of your aunts. She had clearly cornered him when he came back to the party and insisted on introducing him to all the family. You smiled as he said something which made the group laugh, all your aunts seeming to take an instant liking to him.

“Ok, spill! Who is the sexy boyfriend of yours then? How did you meet?” Liv asked as she watched Aaron as well.

“We work together at the BAU. He’s the Unit Chief.” You replied without a second thought.

“Dating the boss? Sounds like something I would do.” She laughed.

You shook your head with a laugh and then looked up to see that Aaron had managed to escape your mother’s death grip and was making his way over to you. When he reached you, he placed his hand on your hip and ducked down to place a kiss on your cheek.

“How was Jack?” You asked breathlessly, the tingle of Aaron’s lips still lingering on your cheek.

“Yeah he’s good. Tired from a long day playing soccer.” Aaron replied with a smile.

Your cousin coughed to remind you of her presence.

“Liv!” You burst out, moving to the side so Aaron could see her properly. “Aaron, this is my cousin Liv.” You introduced them. Aaron put his hand out and Liv shook it enthusiastically.

“Nice to meet you Aaron. I’m so glad Y/N finally got over that pathetic loser and decided to get herself a real man.”

“Liv!” You hissed at her as she embarrassed you but Aaron just smiled and moved so he could wrap his arm around your waist. “Let’s go get another drink.” You say to him and you both wondered over to the bar.

“What would you like?” Aaron asked as he caught the attention of the bartender.

“Anything that’s stronger than champagne.” You groaned.

“Two scotches please.” Aaron asked the bartender and he speedily poured out two tumblers of amber liquid.

“Thanks.” You murmured just loud enough for Aaron to hear. He placed his arm back around your waist, taking a sip of his scotch.

You started to giggle to yourself and Aaron looked at you quizzically. “What’s so funny?”

“Well it’s just…” you laughed a bit harder. “Hotch drinking scotch.”

Aaron rolled his eyes, trying his best to suppress the smile that was slowly forming on his face. “It’s not even funny Y/N.”

“Say that to the smile on your face.” You laughed harder and Aaron gave in, laughing with you. “I think the alcohol is finally working, I’m going to go and get some fresh air,” and you slowly made your way out to the patio, taking a deep breath in.

***

Aaron smiled as he watched you glide across the floor, heading to the opened doors. If someone had told him a month ago that he would be in LA with you, pretending to be your boyfriend, he would have said they were insane. This was so out of character for him yet it felt so right being here with you. Everything about you made his heart swell; your smile and laugh, your bad jokes, the way you tuck your hair behind your ears. But tonight, the way you looked in that red dress just took his breath away, you were simply stunning.

He turned back to the bar and asked for another scotch which the bartender handed over.

“I’ll have the same.” Someone said from beside him, he turned to look at the man. He had a long overgrown beard that definitely needed trimming and a rather bad fitting suit on. “Partying alone?” The man asked Aaron.

“No, my girlfriend has just gone to get a breath of fresh air.” He replied. “You?”

“All by myself tonight being painfully taunted by my ex-girlfriend.” Said the man with a sigh, taking a large gulp of his scotch.

‘Surely this isn’t Luke?’ Aaron thought to himself as he attempted to profile his mannerisms and appearance.

“Yeah she seems to be trying to make me jealous. She claims she has a boyfriend but I’m yet to see him with her. She’s desperate to show me what I’m certainly not missing.” He continued and Aaron immediately realised that this was indeed your ex-boyfriend. The bitter tone as he spoke about you so rudely was enough to make Aaron want to use all his FBI combat training but he refrained so not to cause a scene. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Aaron saw you striding effortlessly in your heels across the room to him.

*** You looked over the gorgeous gardens as you stood in the early evening, the sun beginning to set. While your sister may be an insufferable bridezilla, she knew how to pick a beautiful venue. You downed the last drop of your scotch and turned to look back inside at the party. Your sister and her fiancé Thomas were chatting to your dad, your mom was telling some extravagant story to a group of people who were laughing along and Aaron…

You looked for him and saw him where you had left him at the bar and talking to…Luke!

“Oh shit!“ you shouted out loud and received a couple of unimpressed stares from some guests who were admiring the gardens as well. You put the glass in your hand down on the nearest table you could find and hastily strode across the room to get to them. Without taking a single look at Luke, you wrapped your arms around Aaron and kissed him hard on the lips. His initial shock wore off almost instantly as he melted into the kiss, placing his free hand on the small of your back, kissing you back. It felt so perfect, so right and little did you know, Aaron felt the exact same.

You pulled back abruptly and turned to see Luke with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“Luke!” You faked surprise. “I didn’t see you there. Have you two met?” You asked, motioning between him and Aaron.

“Not… not formally.” Luke replied bluntly.

“Oh! Well Luke, this is my boyfriend Aaron.” You smiled, moving so Aaron could offer his usual handshake which Luke shook reluctantly.

“I… er, I should go and find Thomas.” Luke said monotonously and he scampered away before you or Aaron could say anything to him.

As soon as he was out of earshot, you turned to Aaron. “Oh my god! That wasn’t too much was it?” You asked him frantically and Aaron just laughed.

“No, not at all. It was just a surprise is all.” He smiled sweetly.

“God I’m so sorry! And I’ve got lipstick all on your lips, hang on.” You frantically grabbed a napkin from the bar and started to wipe his lips clean of your red lipstick.

The concentration on your face made Aaron smile and he watched you with such adoration.

“Thank you.” He murmured and you looked too see him smiling at you. Heat rose to your cheeks, the way he looked you made you feel like a pre-teen again. You were about to speak when the sound of a glass being tapped silenced everyone in the bar.

“If I could please have your attention.” The voice of your mother filled the room.

“Jesus. Prepare yourself for the second-hand embarrassment from my mother speaking publicly.” You whispered to Aaron and he chuckled.

“Thank you all for coming to celebrate the engagement of my beautiful daughter Sarah and her fiancé Thomas. We have been waiting for a wedding in this family for a very long time now. We of course thought Y/N would be the first one down the aisle.” The mention of your name immediately caused a lot of looks from around the room focused on you, a couple of murmurs too and you cursed in your head whoever let your mom make a speech while feeling the affects of alcohol. However, the feeling of Aaron snaking his arm around your hips and holding you close made you relax and you tried to ignore your mom’s speech but luckily, your dad interjected and took over.

“To Sarah and Thomas!” He cheered raising a class and everyone followed suit.

“Are you ok?” Aaron whispered quietly into your ear and all you could do was nod.

***

As soon as you walked into your bedroom, you kicked off you heels and threw yourself onto the bed. Aaron walked in a couple of seconds later, loosening his tie and undoing his top button.

“That was simply awful.” You groaned into the pillow.

“It wasn’t that bad.” Aaron said as he sat down next to you on the bed, starting to unlace his shoes.

“Easy for you to say.” You huffed. “When you were talking to Luke, what was he saying?”

Aaron hesitated, debating whether or not to share the whole conversation but he settled on telling the truth. “He said you were trying hard to make him jealous and he didn’t believe you had a boyfriend.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing and sat up abruptly. “He is such a dick!” You exclaim. “How did I deal with it for 5 years?”

“What exactly happened when he broke up with you?” Aaron asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

You took a deep breath. It was about time you shared the full story, no one knew it other than you and Luke. You hadn’t realised but Aaron had placed his hand on top of yours and engulfed it completely.

“It’s ok. Take your time.” He said with such care and kindness in his voice.

“Well, it was on our anniversary of all days. I guess we had been having some rocky patches, he didn’t like the idea of me moving to Washington and he especially didn’t like the idea of me joining the FBI. Luke is the reason it took me so long to apply for the BAU and when I finally did and told him, he was so annoyed!” Tears started to well in your eyes as you remember just how horrible the fight was and Aaron’s grip on your hand tightened which comforted you. “I ignored just how bad the fight was because everyone said it was normal but looking back, he was such a…”

“Fucking asshole.” Aaron interjected.

“Exactly. He’s exactly that.” You say. “The day he dumped me, everyone had got inside my head saying he was going to propose. My mom, sister and even his mom thought he was proposing. That’s why it hurt so bad, we were even… intimate the night before he dumped me.” Anger flared inside Aaron. How could anyone ever treat you like that? If he didn’t already hate Luke from his brief meeting with him this morning, he definitely hated him now. “No one really knew what to say to me, I was so heartbroken. I had to move back in with my parents and that’s when I decided I’d had enough and I packed up everything to come to Washington.”

“And thank god you did.” Aaron said with a smile. “The team wouldn’t work without you.” And you laughed.

“I’m going to go and get ready for bed.” You said, standing up and heading to the bathroom.

Once you locked yourself in the bathroom, you released a breath that you didn’t know you were holding. You just spilled your guts to Aaron and yet, you still knew so little about him.

***

Aaron was laying in bed when you came back from fetching a glass of water from the kitchen and you laughed.

“What’s funny now?” He asked, his voice slightly muffled from how he was laying with his head deep in the pillow.

“You’re too tall for the bed.” You giggled, walking round and placing the glass down on the bedside cabinet. You then pulled back the covers to climb in yourself. “When there’s two people in the bed, it makes me realise just how small it is.”

“I can sleep on the floor if that would be better?” Aaron offered, preparing to get out of bed.

“Don’t be stupid. You’ll get a bad back.” You said, shuffling to reposition more comfortably. “We’re just going to have to squeeze together. This is so cliché. The one bed trope from those cheesy romance books I read in college.” You groaned. “Thank you, again, for doing this for me though.”

“Stop thanking me Y/N, I wanted to help you.” Aaron replied, rolling over so he could face you.

Maybe it was the liquid courage still flowing through you from the party, but you lifted you hand and placed it on Aaron’s cheek, taking in all his features.

“You’re so handsome.” You mumbled, running your thumb across his lips and heat rose to Aaron’s cheeks before you leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. Aaron immediately reciprocated, his hand moving to your hip so naturally, gripping it tightly as the kiss grew more heated between you. His mouth trailed down your neck, sucking lightly at the base which elicited a small moan from your lips. This was the most intimate you had been with someone in a long time and it felt so right to be doing it with Aaron. But suddenly and abruptly, Aaron pulled away.

“Wha… what’s wrong?” You asked breathlessly, lips still tingling from the kiss.

“Maybe we should stop before we do something we’ll regret.” He replied, moving his hand from your hip.

“But?…” you paused. Maybe he was right, sex could make things awkward. Sex could ruin your friendship. Sex could fuck up this whole arrangement. “Yeah… yeah you’re right. Erm, goodnight Aaron.” You said reluctantly and turned over to face the wall.

“Night Y/N.” You heard Aaron mumble before you drifted off to sleep.

***

Aaron woke from the bright Los Angeles sun peeking through the gap in the curtain, he looked next to him at you. You had manoeuvred during the night and were sweetly nestled into Aaron’s torso, his arm wrapped around you.

‘It was right to stop last night.’ Aaron tried to convince himself. ‘If we had slept together, it would have only overcomplicated things.’

Aaron kept these thought stirring in his head to persuade himself that he made the right call. He leaned backwards carefully so not to disturb you to reach his watch. The hands read 6:08am. He was always an early bird as it was these early mornings where Aaron felt most at ease. He carefully moved his arm from where it was wrapped around you, trying his best not to wake you. You stirred a little before rolling over, still sound asleep. He grabbed his running gear he had packed with him just in case and began to change, glancing around the room for some paper. Once he was fully dressed, he wandered over to the desk and opened a draw to reveal a stack of bright pink post-it notes. Pink was clearly your favourite colour growing up he noted in his head. He scribbled down a message on the post-it and stuck it on the empty glass on your cabinet.

He quietly walked down the stairs, trying not to disturb your parents but was shocked when he saw your dad sat at the dinning table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

“We haven’t scared you off have we?” Your dad asked with a laugh.

“No sir.” Aaron chuckled. “Just heading out for a run before Y/N wakes up.”

“I’d ask to join you but my running days are behind me.” Your dad said. “Venice Beach was always my favourite place to run, I recommend it for your route today.”

“Thank you sir, I’ll keep it in mind.”

***

You woke up surprised to find the bed empty, the mattress cold. You stretched to try and wake yourself up before turning to the bedside cabinet to check the time on the clock but a pink post-it caught your attention. You picked it up and read Aaron’s scruffy handwriting: ‘Gone for a run, back soon x’. The kiss at the end taunted you as memories of yesterday flashed through your head. Kissing Aaron Hotchner was something you never thought would happen in a million years, yet here you were.

You pulled the duvet back and climbed out of bed, grabbing your phone and trying to turn it on but it was out of charge.

“For fucks sake.” You mutter and scavenge through your bags to find the charger. “It has to be somewhere!” You thought out loud.

“What are you looking for?” Came the deep voice of Aaron out of nowhere.

“Shit! You made me jump!” You exclaim and stand up, turning to look at him. Your breath hitched in your throat as you took in his appearance. The tight shirt he was wearing accentuated his arms and the running shorts showed off his muscular thighs. The glimmer of sweat on his face and the glow of heat from the exercise made him look even more handsome than usual. This was a look you could get used to seeing everyday.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” He chuckled. “If you’re looking for your charger, it’s in the big suitcase over there.” He pointed to the case that sat near the wardrobe.

“Thanks.” You say and unzip the case, reaching in to look for the cable. As soon as you fished it out the case, you plugged it in quickly and waited for the phone to get some charge.

“I’m just going to have a quick shower and then I thought we could head out for some breakfast?” Aaron suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds good. We’ve been here a day and I already need a couple of hours away from my family.” You joked and Aaron nodded with understanding.

Immediately after he closed the door to the bathroom and you heard the water running, you turned your phone on and quickly typed a message out to Emily.

7:54AM | Y/N L/N: Help!!! I think I’m falling in love with Aaron.

7:57AM | Emily Prentiss: I did warn you it would happen! What went down at the engagement party?

7:59AM | Y/N L/N: My ex is still a dick as predicted. I kissed Aaron right in front of him and you should have seen his face LOL!

8:01AM |Emily Prentiss: Did anything other than kissing happen last night? ;)

8:02AM | Y/N L/N: Shut up.

8:04AM | Emily Prentiss: Ha! You didn’t answer my question which tells me YES! Something else did happen! Spill!

8:07AM | Y/N L/N: Fine! We made out a little after the party and I think we were going to have sex but Aaron said we should stop before we did something we might regret which was of course the right decision.

8:10AM | Emily Prentiss: OH MY GOD! Of course he said that, he is so down bad for you. He knows once you have sex with each other, there is no running away from his feelings. You need to sleep with him, I bet he’s actually quite good in bed. Do you think he’s as authoritative in bed as he is when we’re on a case?

8:12AM | Y/N L/N: Emily! Stop it! I have to go, I can hear Aaron coming out the shower.

And you switched your phone off before another text could come through from Emily. She was so enjoying this too much.

***

“Any idea where we should go for breakfast?” Aaron asked you.

“There’s this really amazing brunch bar near Santa Monica pier, I used to go there all the time with Sarah.”

“Sounds perfect.” He smiled as you reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Y/N? Is that you?” Your mom called from the kitchen.

You and Aaron saw her standing at the kitchen island drinking a fluorescent green smoothie.

“What’s up mom?”

“Ahh perfect! You’re both here. Sarah wanted me to ask you if you and Aaron could join her and Thomas for one of their last minute dance lessons.” She said excitedly.

You groaned like a miserable teenager. “Do we really have to? Aaron was just about to take me for brunch.”

“Yes! It will be great fun.”

You knew then, there was absolutely no getting out of this one.

***

The Wedding Date Taglist: @wanniiieeee @notsopersonalcharlie @blackeyedangel9805 @preciousbabypeter @stxlemate @twilightlover2007 @justarandommom @impala1967dwinchester @spencermiromantiko @julyhoney @thecubanator2 @xphantomphanphanaticx @lawlesshedgehog @louderfortheback @ssamorganhotchner @essenceproxima @lespendy @stiles-argent24 @rousethemouse @tvdstelenaforever @wandererseye @bibella8swan @yourfavunsub @bibimangines @lou-the-confused-bisexual @realm8626 @sophiaj650 @bylones @howabouticallyou @madz-19 @hotchnerxo @supercriminalbean @jayxox @sweetpeterparker @mina2000alex

I tagged those who commented and reblogged part one. Let me know if you want to be removed or tagged🫶🏻

***

Part three

#aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner x y/n #aaron hotchner x bau!reader #aaron hotch fic #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotch #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner #hotch x y/n #hotch x reader #ssa aaron hotchner #criminal minds #fake dating #fake dating au #the wedding date

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lloydfrontera · 4 months

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seeing as lloyd is exactly the kind of son who can't bring himself to correct his parents when they're legitimately excited about something because 'what if it hurts their feelings :(' imagine if one day arcos and marbella very sweetly tell him that they're so happy he and javier are together and that they support them wholeheartedly seriously they've been wondering for ages when they would finally get to it this is great news just give the word and they'll start planning the wedding

and lloyd is just sitting there like "yup :) that's us :)) me and javier :))) finally together yup totally :))))" while screaming on the inside and already planning on how to break to javier the news that they're now in a courtship and need to set the date for their impending wedding. because it's either that or javier has to find a way to let his parents down gently because there's no fucking way lloyd's gonna do it he's kept that pink teddy bear in his room for the past couple years to not hurt marbella marrying javier to keep them happy is nothing

cut to them fake dating because javier is just as much of a wimp as lloyd is when it comes to keeping arcos and marbella happy and really it can't be that hard to pretend to be in love with each other right?

no. no it really isn't that hard. in fact it comes very easily to both of them. almost naturally, without effort, much like breathing one might say.

#i talk a lot <3 #tged #the greatest estate developer #lloyd frontera #javier asrahan #llojavi #listen. you can pry away that quote from me from my cold dead hands and not a minute earlier.#fake dating au

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kwallanghae · 1 year

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twenty two days before we go our separate ways (twenty two days of not falling for you) | yoon jeonghan

content: fluff; angst (because ofc); fake dating; friends to lovers; some joshua x reader; adults who are in their 30s and have jobs;

word count: 20.3k

summary: there’s a special bond between you and jeonghan, and no one was surprised when you announced you were together. to you, it’s a surprise no one realised it wasn’t real.

warnings: language; allusions to sex and suggestive language; (brief) descriptions of vomiting; jealousy and possessiveness;

after a five month hiatus i have returned with a HOLY WHY IS THIS SO LONG fic hope you enjoy :)

also i’ve decided i want to label my fics the same way fob write song titles

D-1

“You have got to be kidding me.”

His eyes widened, then slowly closed in embarrassment. “Look, you’re the only person I could ask…”

“There is no way I’m going to fake date you, Jeonghan!”

In all the years that you had spent knowing Jeonghan, you had never gotten fully used to the shenanigans and plots, half of which you were a pawn in, half were levied against you. Right now, it was easy to say you preferred the latter. Especially given that unlike your mutual friend Soonyoung, he never went too far. Jeonghan had a perfect skill for being outlandish but never unacceptable. Although, this time felt too far. This time felt ridiculous.

“It’s only for three weeks!”

“Twenty two days! Three weeks! Thats three separate, wait no FOUR separate Saturdays I’ll have to spend cozied up to you, pretending to- ugh.”

“Don’t gag.”

“Huoh.”

Gagging was excessive, in all fairness. Jeonghan was a gorgeous man, and the string of broken hearts he carried on his shoulder was evidence enough, which made you so much more suspicious of his words. Why were you the only person available?

“I just need to get this girl off my back at Wonwoo’s wedding, and it has to be believable, because you know that Jun and Seungcheol cannot keep a secret, so if they know then Jiwon will know, and if Jiwon knows then I’m trapped. Cmon, please.”

“Three weeks is so long.” You whined, throwing yourself down on the couch. You had always been one for the dramatics. Perhaps thats what drew you to Jeonghan, why you were good friends.

FRIENDS. Specifically.

“Look it’s not like you wouldn’t get anything out of it!” Jeonghan begged, kneeling in front of you in a desperate attempt to have you look his way. “It would make Joshua so jealous.”

“He would only be jealous if he actually had feelings for me, Han, and we both know he doesn’t.”

“That’s not true, I am so completely sure he has feelings for you, he just doesn’t know it yet.” Jeonghan’s hand was on your shoulder, rubbing it soothingly, as you were reminded of how helpless and pathetic you felt when it came to Joshua. The gorgeous American who never seemed to spare a glance in your direction. Sure, you were all friends, and he obviously cared about you, but only as a friend. It was clear the way he looked at other people, it was a way he had never looked at you. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out, and for the most part you would like to say you were pretty good at spotting when people had feelings for you.

When you were eleven and there was pesky Seokmin who kept throwing pencils at you when he thought you weren’t looking, it was obvious he had feelings for you, which you quickly shut down because who would want to go out with someone who had to resort to petty violence to get your attention? And Mingyu, who would avoid you like the plague all of year 12 until he could muster up the courage to tell you about his feelings for you, which you had obviously seen coming. You were always one step ahead - you didn’t like being caught off guard. Jeonghan was the only person you felt like you could trust to trick you, if that made sense at all. Even when he was being a menace, you still felt somewhat safe. And that was really working against you at the moment.

“You know,” He spoke with a glint in his eye that you couldn’t have missed, even if you wanted to. Oh, how desperately you wanted to. After being friends for so long, you could read Jeonghan too well. “He’s just broken up with Heejin. I bet we could try to make him jealous? Make him realise his feelings for you?”

You sniffled slightly, burying a laugh at Jeonghan’s cunning expression. “You’re just saying that so I’ll agree to go out with you.”

“Maybe. Is it working?”

You pondered for a moment. When Jihoon got married just a few months prior, you didn’t have anyone to go with, and you felt devastated watching the gorgeous boy hanging off Joshua’s shoulder. Jeonghan was quick to offer to ditch his date for you, but it didn’t make the ache in your chest dull any faster. You didn’t want to relive that, and you definitely didn’t want to seem lonely and desperate - you didn’t miss the concerned glance from Joshua last time. It would be nice to seem more desired, even if it was fake. It’s all about image, right?

“You know if we do this you won’t be able to flirt with anyone at the party.” You reminded him. “We’ll have to keep up the ruse that you’re actually interested in me.”

“Is it too late to take it back?”

“Yah, Jeonghan!”

“Kidding! Who wouldn’t be into you? Well…” He trailed off teasingly, and it’s moments like this where your glare settles in across from him that he feels so lucky to be secure in your friendship. “I wouldn’t dream of ditching you.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” You whispered to your ceiling, and you didn’t miss the grin that spread across Jeonghan’s face. Lucky bastard. “Fine, starting from tomorrow we will be fake dating.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you Y/N!” He grabbed your hands, pulling you up from the sofa to celebrate with him. “I will drive you everywhere, don’t worry, and whenever you don’t feel like cooking I’ll cook for you, and-“

“Woah, slow down, I’ll pass on the food. I’ve seen you in a kitchen.” You hushed your friend, letting him settle. “Besides, if we’re going to do this, we need rules. Everything needs to be out in the open.”

You never liked being caught off guard, and you were going to make sure you weren’t.

You settled back down onto the couch, and Jeonghan disappeared to grab something from out of your fridge before settling against you, cuddling to your side. “So what’s the backstory? People are definitely going to ask how we got together, we should probably get a story established.”

“Hmm, what about, you watched me kill it at karaoke, and you were so overcome with adoration and horniness that you confessed your undying love for me, and-“

“Absolutely not. I refuse to say any of that.”

“That’s okay, I’ll tell them.”

“No way!” You shoved him playfully, groaning as he elbowed you in retaliation. “Low blow, Han. Let’s try to think of something more realistic. What about you went on a date and it made me jealous, so I confessed?”

“Yeah, except we’ve both dated other people and it’s never caused jealousy before, I don’t think anyone would fall for it.” He told you, and you cursed under your breath because he was right. “What about we got tipsy and made out? And then realised we liked each other?”

“That works, I guess. It’s a little crass but it’ll do.” You nodded at Jeonghan, and grabbed a piece of paper from your coffee table. “Now rules: obviously we can’t tell anyone.”

“No shit.”

“Don’t be rude, we have to write the obvious too.” You rolled your eyes at Jeonghan, jotting down the words escaping your mind onto paper. No one can know this is fake.

“What about once it’s all over? You know, when you’re off being married to Joshua, and I’ve got myself a new sexy partner?” Jeonghan questioned, wiggling his eyebrows and nudging you.

“Ew? Why did I agree to this?”

“Because deep down you love me and my shenanigans.” Jeonghan popped a cherry in his mouth, chewing on it slightly, staining his lips red. You looked in disgust as a sliver of crimson drool slipped down the corner of his mouth.

“Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down.”

“Didn’t deny it.” He winked. “So can we tell people eventually? Or are we taking this to the grave?”

“Okay, how about this? No one can know this is fake until we’re married to other people. There, that gives us plenty of time.” Jeonghan nodded thoughtfully, and you quickly jotted down the addition.

“Oh, pass me the pen, I have a good one.”

You let the pen drop out of your hands, pushing it to Jeonghan, who started scribbling something down. You looked over his shoulder, reading out the words…

“…We can’t be cliche and fall in love with each other- are you taking this seriously at all Han?”

He laughed, and you swear he would have spit cherries all over you. You cursed slightly, feeling suddenly very tempted to push him off the bed. “Dickhead.”

“A future junior partner at Kim-Byun Legal Services shouldn’t be using that kind of language, Y/N.” Jeonghan teased, smirking at your frustrated expression.

“Shut it Yoon. And take this seriously! If we fuck up everyone will find out, including Jiwon.”

He shuddered at the mention of her name. “God and she won’t leave me alone. Fine, what other rules do we need?”

“Hmm, we need to post each other on social media. Instagram is a must.” You told him, and to your surprise he hummed in agreement - you really were expecting more of a pushback. Jeonghan never liked tainting his single and available persona, and he was yet to ever post a S/O photo anywhere. “You don’t sound upset?”

“You’re right. It won’t be believable if there’s nothing online, at least on your social media. Besides, the more we commit, the more jealous Joshua will get, and the more Jiwon will realise she needs to back off.”

You nodded, writing it down. “That means we’ll probably have to pose for photos, go on dates and such.”

“Eh, we already hang out loads, we’ll just have to add cheesy captions. Doesn’t sound difficult at all.”

Jeonghan was right. You had spent way too many years being friends with him to ever feel uncomfortable around him, and with that boundaries were out of the window. Half of your outings looked like dates, and this wasn’t even the first time the two of you had used that ambiguity to convince others you or he wasn’t available. It was the first time you were actively deceiving people though. Perhaps that was why you felt on edge. All the other times, you had just let people come to their own conclusions, this time you would be lying. Was that why your heart was beating more? Was that what was causing the sudden discomfort as you laid in Jeonghan’s arms?

“Okay, that’s three rules, do we need anything else? Is there anything we’re forgetting?”

He thought about it for a moment, then brushed it off, letting the thought roll away from his shoulders, while yours stayed tensed and rigid. “We can probably add as we go along. Leave it on your fridge, oh but hide it when you get guests.”

“Well duh.” You rolled your eyes at him, grabbing a cherry out of his bowl. You chewed it softly, and groaned in surprise at the way it burst open. “God these are way too ripe, why are you eating them?”

“They still taste good, and they make me look like a vampire.” He grinned at you, showing off his stained canines (and chin, but you decided not to focus on that). “Just spray me with body glitter and I’ll have hoards of fangirls.”

“You already have hoards of fangirls, and fanboys.” You reminded him, rubbing at the corner of your mouth where cherry juice exploded down.

Jeonghan watched as you missed the trail of juice that had begun to dry on your skin. He smiled, and before you knew it he had licked his thumb, wiping away the red line from your mouth. Your breath hitched as you watched his eyes, trained on you, the part of your cheek right next to your lips, so much so that it felt like that’s all he was looking at. He smiled, drawing his finger back, with a satisfied look on his face.

“There,” He whispered, barely audible had you not been pressed up against him. “You can get a taste of the Yoon Jeonghan Boyfriend Treatment early.”

“Gross, you got your saliva all over me.” You whined, pushing him away. “I gotta wash my face now.” You ignored his chuckles as you made a beeline for the bathroom, eager to get him off of you, in every sense.

“You better get used to my saliva babe!” He laughed as you walked away from him. Cute.

It’s a strange feeling to ponder on your time with someone, but that’s what you watched yourself do in the hour before you were, technically, officially going out with him. The hour until midnight struck, you were in bed, teeth brushed, pajamas on, and only Jeonghan on your mind.

You’ve spent more of your life with him in it than without him. He was in the year above you at school, but you and him always gravitated to the same napping spot under the bleachers, and from there a comfort was born. Even before that, he was always around, his friends were the older brothers of your friends, and you had known each other by association, which made it easier to grow into an easy friendship come middle school. Half of the times you had suspected someone’s growing crush on you, it was Jeonghan whispering rumours into your ear. He had always looked out for you, and as the two of you aged and grew closer, you looked out for him too, until you two felt most comfortable together, and not with anyone else.

It had never stopped the two of you from dating, of course. He was hot, you were hot, and other people realised it. In your case though, it had been a force driving boyfriends away. They could never quite get used to how close you and Jeonghan were, and you had been accused of cheating or leading them on more times than you could count. Meanwhile, Jeonghan’s flings always came rushing to you on advice and inside intel, seemingly loving your presence - until they realised that he would never put them above you, and suddenly you were the bitter best friend who could never let him date in peace.

And you had friends, mutual friends who in turn formed a large group that you welcomed and blossomed with. But no one could ever come in between you and Jeonghan. The two of you existed in a little bubble, never to be popped or disturbed. You could imagine the delight some of your friends would express once you told them you two were an item, they were always the teasing that you two were secretly dating and hiding it from the world.

But you were an adult now, the two of you had been out of high school and university for several years now, and still you weren’t dating, despite being so close, it drove your friends mad. You knew that you didn’t need to explain it, as long as you and Jeonghan were on the same page. Boyfriends would come and go, but Jeonghan was always your priority. It had always been platonic, but you knew that if nothing else lasted, your friendship with Jeonghan would. He knew it too.

You turned, groaning into your pillow. How were you going to go to this wedding? Part of the beauty of your relationship with Jeonghan was that it was simple. It had never once felt complicated to you, just because other people didn’t understand it doesn’t mean you didn’t. But not dating for over a decade and suddenly starting to go out? Only to break it off three weeks later? That felt too complicated to explain, or even comprehend. Would people even believe it?

You were so tempted to text Jeonghan to call it off, to find another stunning specimen to hang off his arm and scare away Jiwon. She was all bark, no bite - no matter what hurtful words she had spat at Jeonghan when he tried calling their thing off, she wouldn’t go up and make light of those threats. Ultimately, she was harmless, but terrible at taking hints. Hence why he’s created this dumb plan. It wasn’t too late to back out was it? You grabbed your phone, and it dinged in your hand.

12:01. Shit.

And there it was, a text from your loving boyfriend.

Hannie: Happy first day of dating, baby ;)

No backing out now.

Day 1 - Saturday 3rd November

After the reminder Jeonghan had sent of your month long promise, you had rolled around your bed until you finally nodded off, and then subsequently overslept, which was only made clear as a banging on your door began to wake you.

Jeonghan was here.

The knock (which was always made with the full force of his fists - you swore that one day he was going to break your door down) was nothing other than courtesy. Jeonghan had his own set of keys to your apartment, and he wasn’t shy about using them. You could already hear him fumbling with the keys, and the muttered curses under his breath. You couldn’t wait to make partner and get out of this place and to somewhere with more soundproofing, you were certainly sick of hearing the muffled grunts and moans of your neighbours who had nothing better to do than spend the nights in each other(’s arms). But it did allow you those few seconds of awareness before Jeonghan barged into your home.

The door finally swung open, and there he was in his full glory - your new boyfriend. Even thinking the word in association with Jeonghan gave you a shudder. There was something about thinking of Jeonghan that way that just felt so… alien. It wasn’t like you had never had those wandering thoughts, but that was all they were: visitors who didn’t stay long. Now, the label was here for three weeks, and you were way too tired to comprehend just how long that really was.

“Why aren’t you up? Don’t you remember we’re helping Minghao set up the venue today? We’ve also got to make an all so important announcement, in case you forgot.”

You groaned, smoothing down your bedhead as best you could to be semi presentable. “I know, I just overslept. Struggled to fall asleep last night.”

He looked over at you as you stumbled out of bed, grabbing the coat hanger that had your outfit off your dresser as you walked slowly to the bathroom. “Just give me 20 minutes to get ready.”

“Are you feeling okay Y/N?” He asked carefully, walking closer to you. “It’s not too late to call it off, I don’t want to stress you out, especially with everything going on with work.”

It was certainly a tempting offer, and one you had been considering just the previous night. But looking back at Jeonghan’s concerned expression, you were reminded of why you even agreed in the first place. Yes, you wanted to make Joshua jealous, and that was your main goal, but Jeonghan had never let you down, and you weren’t going to let him down either.

“Don’t worry. Wonwoo’s wedding is on the 24th. Four Saturdays, I can definitely last that long.” You told him, blinking away the puffiness in your eyes. He didn’t seem too convinced, but you knew Jeonghan was too far in it to say anything else. “Twenty minutes, then we’ll go.”

Day 1 (cont.)

You weren’t too sure when it happened, but somewhere along the car ride, Jeonghan’s spare hand had nestled into yours. It felt somewhat romantic. You were no stranger to holding his hand, but it meant something different this time. Of course, something deceptive, but still different.

As the car pulled to the stop, you squeezed his hand comfortingly.

“Ready?”

You and Jeonghan smiled at each other, and to anyone who could see past the tinted windows, you were putting on your best show even before you walked out of the car. Of course, knowing Seungcheol, he was probably waiting outside the venue, and this sort of attention to detail that Jeonghan had mastered was crucial considering your friends.

“Ready.”

Your hands detached as the two of you got out of the car, only to join once more as Jeonghan rushed to your side, draping his arm across your shoulder and kissing your hand. You were almost shocked by his actions, the ones that felt so loving, until you heard the all too familiar screech of his would be best friend (had that title not been taken by you, long ago).

“Yoon Jeonghan! Did you and Y/N finally confess your love to each other?!” Seungcheol yelled across the parking lot, jogging up to you.

“Showtime.” Jeonghan whispered in your ear, nuzzling his nose against your skin. It was so sickeningly puppy love, you had to hold yourself back and be reminded that this is your life for the next month. “Seungcheol!”

He walked up and hugged his friend, and you followed suit, before settling back at Jeonghan’s side. Seungcheol couldn’t hide his grin, going on and on. “I knew it! For years, you guys said there was nothing there, but I knew it would happen eventually! I told you so, didn’t I Jeonghan? And all you ever said, Y/N and I are just friends, they would never see me that way, but HAH! I was right!”

Seungcheol kept rambling, barely even speaking to you, truthfully it felt more like he was yelling at characters on a screen rather than friends he had known for all his life (at least in Jeonghan’s case - you only got to know Seungcheol as you got closer to Jeonghan).

“Everyone’s going to be so shocked, even more so than when Wonwoo finally proposed.”

You scoffed. “No one was surprised when Wonwoo proposed, we were all surprised he hadn’t proposed sooner.”

“Same sentiment they’ll have with us, I guess.” Jeonghan shrugged, tightening his grip around you. You held your bated breath as you thought about just how close you were to Jeonghan, that if you reached out just a little you could tuck that stray hair that was in front of his face away, you always thought he looked so much nicer when his face wasn’t covered-

“…dating?” Seungcheol’s sentence finally trailed off, and you realised he was waiting for your answer. Shit, you hadn’t paid any attention, and it was clearly evident by your lost expression. “God you two are still in the honeymoon phase, pay attention to me as well, not just your boyfriend.”

Your nose almost curled so instinctively at that word. Boyfriend. It still felt so wrong to use for Jeonghan, and by the way he tensed only ever so slightly beside you, you knew he felt the same. As if you were claiming him, but you knew Jeonghan wouldn’t want that, that’s why he froze. Wasn’t it?

“Come on, let’s go inside, you can tell everyone you’re finally dating!”

You and Jeonghan followed Seungcheol, who chattered away to Jeonghan as you walked in silence. You were always the more quiet of the pair. Not exactly introverted or shy, but picky with your words. You hated the idea of saying something you didn’t mean. Jeonghan was careful too, but it was like he had everything ready before anything else was ever said. Jeonghan was always careful, always clever.

He had never been the boyfriend type. Everyone knew it. He had flings, some that even lasted months, but never relationships. He went on dates, but only those that ended up in a hookup. The word boyfriend had never been used to describe him, only used as a wish others had hoped he would fulfill. Your friends would always tease, of course, that he could never be a boyfriend to anyone else because he was too busy being a boyfriend for you, but the two of you knew it wasn’t that. No, Jeonghan could never be a boyfriend to anyone because he didn’t want the expectations that came with it. Jeonghan did as he wanted, on his own terms. But a boyfriend has a role to play, and Jeonghan would die before he gave into that. It was always frustrating for him that his friends never seemed to understand that, but now it played right into his plan. And you understood, so did anyone else need to?

As Seungcheol ushered you in, you were surprised to see just how many of your friends were already gathered, moving chairs and dusting the floors, with Minghao set in the centre, directing everyone. Wonwoo and his fiancee were doing their best to cut costs, with Minghao acting as wedding planner, and all their friends chipping in to help out where they could, which of course is how you all ended up setting up a wedding venue inside a dusty old warehouse. Minghao assured them it would look beautiful, if and only if everyone listened carefully to every instruction he gave, without deviation. To say you and Jeonghan were scared of pissing him off was definitely an understatement.

Eyes snapped to you and Jeonghan at the sound of the door closing, and even more gathered in your direction as Seungcheol started yelling about an announcement.

“Y/N and Jeonghan have something to say!” He yelled across the crowds (well, 30 or so friends), apologising silently to Minghao as he glared at the older boy.

You froze, hiding your head in Jeonghan’s arm as the pressure of being watched suddenly settled into you. He smiled at you, and wagged your hand held in his at everyone. “Y/N and I are dating!”

Everyone erupted into gasps and shouts, but were all effectively shut up by Minghao’s yell. “Get this place clean first, then gossip!”

Jun walked up to you, handing you a mop and reading off instructions Minghao had given him on everything that needed to be done today. “But seriously, I am so happy for you guys. Good luck fielding everyone off though, everyone’s gonna have so many questions.”

You walked over with Jun to where Chan, Yeeun, Sakura, and Seungkwan were all mopping the floors. The youngest pushed you gently, grinning at you.

“I can’t believe you and Jeonghan are finally dating!” Chan grinned. “Took you guys long enough.”

“I guess it’s been a long time coming.” You hummed, as you started cleaning the floors with them. You looked back to where Jeonghan was, now surrounded by friends who were congratulating him. It filled you with a strange pride to know you were a prize to be congratulated for winning. Of course, they don’t know it’s not real. But the illusion still felt victorious.

“Is everyone here? It’s been ages since we all met up.”

“Yeah! Oh, everyone but Joshua, he had to cancel last minute.” You felt your shoulders threaten to drop at the news Soonyoung shared. “Of course, the day we’re cleaning away the dust and mould, he can’t make it.”

Sakura hit his shoulder softly. “He would come if he could. There was an emergency at his firm.”

There was no skylight, but you were sure that if there was one, the clouds would have covered the sunlight.

You were only a year younger than Joshua, only a year younger than Jeonghan, but he had already been a junior partner at his firm for three years now, while you were spending every spare hour at your office in a desperate attempt to prove to the asses behind the desks in the floor above yours how much you deserved to be partner.

You weren’t surprised when Joshua was made partner. He was incredible, a talented lawyer who saw shortcuts and loopholes no one else realised were there. He was so dedicated, and smart, and dreamy, although you were sure that last part wasn’t one of the qualifying traits for partnership.

Your whole life, you were a step behind him. Most of that was just the fact that he was a year ahead of you: he graduated first, he took his bar exam first, he joined a firm first. Meanwhile you were the sad kid following him from place to place.

It was no secret Joshua cared for you like a younger sibling. Of course, he wasn’t always around, he couldn’t be. He had too much to do, too many places to be. But he cared about you, and always made sure you knew. What was a secret were the feelings you had for him, locked in a cage next to your heart, with a bluebird that sang love songs to fuel your adoration for him. Only Jeonghan knew, and he had been sworn to secrecy. (It didn’t matter that he had been - he could keep a secret easily, and he would have never given away one of yours.)

When you were seventeen, and Joshua left you to go to university, that was the first moment you realised just how much you cared for him. You ended up in the same university, and then later the same law school, and now the same city. The years you shared in law school, cuddled up in sofas trying to decipher notes from lectures, and questioning the sanity of professors formed a budding love, and one that you only realised when he left you once more. You followed him and Jeonghan place to place, in a desperate attempt to have him realise just how you felt, and he never did. You were his Y/N, always around, always there for him, but never an option. And while he dated, you did too, but no one seemed to replace him. All your exes blamed Jeonghan for your failed relationships, when they should have blamed Joshua.

And now here you were once again, back home from cleaning up Wonwoo’s rented warehouse, once again wishing he had noticed you, wishing that he would finally see you in a different light.

Day 2 - Sunday 4th November

“You have to pose more like you’re my boyfriend.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know! But you’re not very good at this.”

Jeonghan groaned, shoving your phone away from his face like a disgraced celebrity. The two of you had met out for coffee and, in your case, highlighting case notes and writing out forms, while Jeonghan edited scripts. You always thought Jeonghan should have gone into law like you and Joshua, he certainly had the intelligence for it, but he didn’t particularly have a drive to become a lawyer, and in his eyes it was too much work if he wasn’t motivated. Times like this convince you that perhaps he was correct.

Except now that the two of you were dating, there was also the task of creating the evidence necessary to post your relationship, and it was tedious and confusing having to show the difference between you as friends and you dating when nothing has changed.

“We might as well just post a photo of you or I in lingerie if you want to make it look more like a real relationship.” Jeonghan said teasingly, although you didn’t miss the hint of frustration in the growl of his voice.

“Gross.”

“Let me see the photos you’ve taken at least.” You handed your phone to Jeonghan, moving your attention back to the case in front of you. Malcom Optics vs. Kim and Hogan. You wanted to tear your eyes out. “These are boyfriend-y enough!”

“They look like all the other photos I have of you!”

“Everyone else was convinced we were dating beforehand, that’s definitely relationship kindling.”

You reached our for your phone from his hands, grabbing a highlighter. “It’s not enough. Apparently, something has changed.”

“Fine then. Kiss me.”

You dropped your highlighter, and it clacked to the floor.

“Excuse me?”

“You wanted to show that something has changed, what do people in relationships do? They kiss.” Jeonghan explained nonchalantly, leaning down to grab your highlighter. “We can post a kissing photo, you’re right, it’s more believable this way.”

“B-But…”

“It’s not like we’ve never kissed before, anyway.”

He was right, and you cringed at the memory of being drunk with Jeonghan. The two of you had spent a couple of nights in university drinking your problems away on the floor of your dorm when your roommate was away (and considering the sheer number of parties she spent her time at, you and Jeonghan had a semi frequent tradition), and one such night after an emotional day of being accused of cheating, you ended up making out with an equally wasted Jeonghan, only for the two of you to wake up with an insurmountable feeling of dread and regret. The two of you had always known whatever relationship between the two of you was platonic, but that night destroyed any sort of wondering. There was no way you had feelings for him if it resulted in that awful dread. And it made you so nervous to experience it once more.

“Y/N?”

“Fine.”

You got up from the desk to sit on Jeonghan’s lap. The seats at this coffee shop were comfortable, but not enough for two people to sit together. Jeonghan felt himself tense up as you settled into his lap. It had been way too long since the two of you kissed, and a strange feeling settled in his stomach.

“Ready?” You asked him, moving your phone into position.

“Guess I have to be.”

Jeonghan placed his hand so his thumb nestled just in front of your ear, holding the back of your neck securely, and closed his eyes as he kissed you, waiting for the click of your phone camera, which came quickly. You quickly pulled away to look at the results, ignoring the way your stomach dropped. It meant nothing. But why was it lingering?

“This actually looks good. We look like we could actually be dating here.”

You hummed in satisfaction, moving back to your desk to focus once more on this case, and you hoped Jeonghan missed the coy smile on your lips.

He was too busy thinking about how his own felt.

Day 7 - Friday 9th November

“Sofia is hosting a party, we’re going once you’re free from work.” Jeonghan’s voice was gravelly over the phone, and the reception in your office was so bad, you were barely getting every other word.

“Who’s Sofia again?” You asked, hardly paying attention to the question. Instead, your attention was trained on the office door on the other side of your office, where your coworker, Eunwoo, resided. You just watched as two senior partners had stepped in, and it had been now 26 minutes since the door closed. Were they going to promote him over you? Or perhaps he was getting fired? You had seen him grab one too many pens from the office storage room, he could have been selling them to make a bit of side money. Probably not. But could he?

“Vernon’s sister, try to keep up.”

“Right yeah, sister.”

“Who’s sister?”

“Umm…”

Jeonghan sighed on the phone, and you winced at his tone. “You’re working too hard. Or overthinking. One of the two. Either way, you need this party.”

“I’ve got so much work to do, Hannie.” You told him, taking note of the time. There were two shadows by the base of Eunwoo’s door. Someone’s feet? Was the meeting over yet?

“But it’s a Friday! You can work on the weekend. I’ll drive you, and I’ll stay sober so I can take you home. Besides, Joshua is going to be there.”

You perked up at the sound of his name. “Really? He’s actually coming?”

“Yeah, he called me earlier to make sure you and I were coming, and I told him you were. You don’t wanna flake on him, do you?”

You sighed. Your resolve was always diminished when Joshua was involved.

“Fine.” You smiled, imagining Jeonghan celebrating on the other side of the line. “I have to stay back late though, can you bring me a change of clothes? Something comfy though.”

“Got it, I’ll bring dinner and your sexiest ensemble. Bye!”

“Wait-“

Day 7 (cont.)

Just like he promised, at 7:43, Jeonghan showed up at your office door, with your clothes (which were a lot tighter than you would have liked) in a bag and a pizza box in the other. He settled on the other side of your desk as you finished up, and listened as you bitched about the meeting Eunwoo had which lasted a whole 34 minutes, which is insane for what looked like an unscheduled meeting, and were they really going to pick Eunwoo over you? I mean he’s a good lawyer but the pens!

Eventually he managed to get you to stop talking and follow him to his car before driving you over to Sofia’s new place. She had just moved, to a much more relaxed neighbourhood, hence the big party. While you and your friends were close to or had just reached their 30s, with you being on the cusp at 29 (Jeonghan is old and is already in the decade ahead of you, a fact you have mentioned to him several times), Sofia was still in her early 20s, and that was definitely reflected in the party she had set up (with the help of Vernon, who was perpetually stuck at 16). Music was blaring from the house, and you silently cursed Jeonghan for dragging you out. You knew exactly how this party was going to end - with you drunk, having embarrassed yourself in at least three different ways, and passed out somewhere to nurse a major hangover in the morning. At least this time Jeonghan would stay sober, true to his word, and could take care of you. Hopefully that comes with making sure you don’t embarrass yourself, but you wouldn’t bet on it.

You instinctively reached for his hand as Jeonghan led you to the house, and you were reminded of your job. This was a big party, your friends would be there, you had to play the role you were given. Beside you, Jeonghan was reminded of the same fact.

You almost forgot everything as you approached the front door, and saw him waiting for you. Joshua waved you over, and you felt the air knocked out of you as you and Jeonghan walked up and he engulfed you two in his arms.

“I heard you guys finally started going out! Took you long enough to ask them out, Jeonghan.” Joshua’s voice was honey mellow and so soothing, you were sure just like honey it was antibacterial. You hadn’t even entered the house, and you already felt drunk on his touch. Yet your heart seemed to drop at the fact that Josh didn’t seem at all jealous or upset at this development. That’s probably a good thing? But it definitely wasn’t the outcome you wanted.

“We should get Y/N to the kitchen, I’m sure they want something to get their mind off of work.” Jeonghan told Joshua, who let you slip out of his arms as he led the two of you inside the house.

“Tough week Y/N?” Joshua asked delicately, placing his hand on your shoulder, and every worry you had seemed to drain away, only for the reminder of Eunwoo’s closed door to come right back.

“Just feel like I’m putting in effort that will never be recognised.” You grumbled, and leaned closer into Jeonghan’s side. Joshua’s sweet gaze reminded you of your goal: you wanted so desperately for him to be jealous, so you nuzzled your forehead against Jeonghan’s bicep. “Luckily I’ve had my boyfriend here to make everything better.”

You don’t think you could ever get used to that word, and evidently neither could Jeonghan, who felt as though he was choking on air. You felt the vibrations of his discomfort, but Joshua didn’t seem to notice.

“Ahh, young love. Or, I suppose newfound love. I really am surprised you two didn’t start dating earlier.” Seungcheol’s voice suddenly permeated the air, and you watched as he settled next to Joshua, facing you and Jeonghan with a friendly gaze. “You drinking tonight, Jeonghan?”

“Designated driver.” He told him, running his thumb up and down your arm. Jeonghan didn’t miss the way Joshua looked at that small action, and he felt a glimmer of pride under his skin. “I think Y/N will want a drink though?”

“Oh god yes, Seungcheol, will you mix me something? Put those bartender days to use.” You hooked your arm around Seungcheol’s and let him guide you to the drink station (Sofia’s kitchen island which had a cupboard fully stocked with alcohol and mixers).

“Wow, you and Y/N.” Joshua smiled, and Jeonghan grinned coyly at his friend. “Why’d you finally ask them out?”

He stole a glance to you and Seungcheol. You didn’t notice his gaze, and why would you? You were too far away. But you seemed so in your world, like you always had been, something Jeonghan found endearing.

“Just realised I wanted more. Didn’t want to lose them to someone else.”

“As if you would ever lose Y/N, you two are stuck together. Honestly, I was a little jealous of it growing up, they would always pick you over me, guess this is another case of that.” Jeonghan hadn’t realised until now how Joshua’s skin was tinted pink, the blush of alcohol settling over his cheekbones. Was that why he was rambling like this? “But then I realised I had to find my own Y/N, make my own soulmate. Anyway, I’m glad you finally asked them out!”

Joshua stumbled back towards the drink station where you and Seungcheol were waiting for him. Yeah, Jeonghan wasn’t too sure he would be able to make Joshua jealous. But he owed it to you to try anyway. You weren’t always as aware as you wanted to think you were, but Jeonghan was, and he was acutely aware of the way you froze and smiled as Joshua approached you.

Over a decade had passed since you were seventeen, and you were still completely whipped for Joshua Hong.

Jeonghan knew this, he went into this knowing it, but why did it feel different now?

Day 7 (cont.)

Two hours in and you were officially drunk. It didn’t take much - you were out of practise from your days of drinking through the night as an undergrad, and too often your nights our were at charity functions and galas where you had to stay on the safe side of tipsy, and not let loose like you were currently doing.

You had lost Jeonghan a while ago, instead having spent most of the night with Joshua, catching up and taking shots together. He’d been having a stressful time at his own firm, and was happy to accompany you as you drank your worries about Eunwoo and making partner away.

“It’s just so stupid, cause Eunwoo is my age! He’s not more qualified than me, and he’s definitely not a better lawyer than me, cause he steals pens!”

“You mentioned the pens!”

“It’s important!”

You felt a tear roll down your cheek as you drunkenly recalled the events of the day, and before it several more followed. Joshua didn’t notice, you made no sound, but the stress of being at the office for 53 hours this past week only to get no recognition became so overwhelming so quickly, too quickly for your drunken self to register.

“Josh, did you make Y/N cry?”

You barely registered that Jeonghan had walked up to you until you heard his voice, the voice you had been missing for the whole party.

“H-Hannie…” You choked out in sobs, reaching your arms out for him. He obliged, pulling you close to him, letting you cry into his torso.

“Y/N, you’re crying?” Joshua questioned, but you could barely hear him, your face pressed against the fabric of Jeonghan’s shirt. It wasn’t a comfortable position, to cry sitting down into someone’s chest, but right now you weren’t thinking about that.

“Hannie w-where did you g-go, I miss- I missed you.” You sobbed, barely sounding out the words. “St-stupid Eunwoo and h-his stupid pens.”

Jeonghan cooed, running his hand through your hair soothingly. “Maybe we should go home? You need to get to bed. Josh, I’ll see you tomorrow? Say goodnight to Seungcheol for me.”

Jeonghan grasped your hand, pulling you up, and guided you out of the house to the car.

“Why are we l-leaving?”

“You’re way too drunk. Besides, we’re helping set up Wonwoo’s venue tomorrow, better get some sleep.” Jeonghan reminded you, tucking you into the passenger’s seat and clipping the seat belt around you. You hummed, shuffling until you felt comfy, and curled up as close as you could. Your eyes fluttered closed as the car started, and soon you felt yourself dozing off, the salty tears slipping past your lips.

“You’re such a good boyfriend, Hannie.”

Had you not been so drunk, maybe you wouldn’t have said it so easily. Maybe he would have felt more uneasy about the term. He hadn’t even noticed it until you were well and truly passed out, gone to the world.

Day 8 - Saturday 10th November

The streaming sunlight that peeked through your blinds was enough to awaken the deep nausea within you, yet the banging in your head begged you to stay in bed. This was such a gross hangover, and one you hadn’t had to deal with in years.

Who let you drink this much?

With as much strength as you could muster, you stumbled to the bathroom, luckily you had an ensuite, and felt the contents of your stomach escape up and out through your throat into the toilet bowl. The base of your throat burned, and so did your eyes, as more tears threatened to escape over the fiery sensation. You stayed there, waiting for another wave of nausea, when you felt Jeonghan’s hands push back the hair from your face, and rub your back soothingly.

“Why did I drink so much…” You whispered, your voice hoarse and sore.

“You’re just too out of practise, Y/N.” Jeonghan told you, pulling you up slowly. “You need to spend more nights drinking with me and not at the office.”

He handed you a glass of water, which you greedily took from his hands, gulping it down as fast as you could without suffocating, until you went to fast and started coughing it all up.

“God you’re a mess when you’re hungover.”

“Thanks, Jeonghan.”

He grabbed the box of panadol in your bottom cupboard drawer, handing it to you. God, he was far too familiar with your apartment, although you were fairly familiar with his. Well, actually not quite as familiar, because he still has a roommate (and according to Jeonghan, they are necessary for the nicer apartment he lives in on his salary, even though you’ve told him is useless since he spends most of his time here) that you never wanted to bother.

“We have to be at Wonwoo’s venue in three hours, you think that’s enough time to get ready?” You nodded, swallowing the pills quickly.

“That should be enough time for the panadol to kick in.”

“Good, because I’m only being this nice to you until then.”

You frowned mockingly. “Don’t you have to be the sweet and caring boyfriend?” You cringed at the way that word sounded as it came out of your mouth, and watched as Jeonghan did too. “God, I don’t think twenty days is enough time to get used to that.”

“I don’t think a lifetime is enough time.” Jeonghan let himself out of the bathroom, leaving you alone on the tiled floor. “Take a shower, then come and get some food!” He yelled, and you closed the door behind you, terrified of whatever horror he had cooked up (and you used the term cooked very loosely here).

Day 8 (cont.)

It had become a tradition for you to start holding hands with Jeonghan when he would drive you. Somewhere along the car ride, his hand met yours, and they joined, not a word to be said. You didn’t think about it. You wondered if he did.

The venue wasn’t too dissimilar to last week, but it was way cleaner. Once again, you and Jeonghan were separated, sent to do different jobs under the watchful eye of Minghao (and his faithful minions Jun and Jihoon).

“Do you think he gets stressed out or is he just like that?” Sakura whispered to you. She was friends with Wonwoo’s fiance, and wasn’t all too familiar with Wonwoo’s friends. You felt for her, most of the people here were on his side, and you were one of the only people Sakura knew here, having met previously in university.

“Both? He is a little bit like that, but Wonwoo is a close friend, I think he just wants everything to go well.” You told her in hushed breath. “We all want it to go well. Wonwoo is such a good guy, so is Eliza.”

“I know!” Sakura gushed, a little loud but not enough to catch the attention of Minghao. “They’re so cute together, I was so excited when she told me she finally got engaged.”

You smiled, making marks with electrical tape at each measure for Seungcheol to place chairs at later on.

“What about you though? Are you going to get engaged any time soon?”

You gulped, feeling awkward under the heat of her questioning gaze. “Jeonghan and I have only started dating, marriage is so out of the picture right now.”

“Don’t be modest! Chan told me you and Jeonghan have basically been together since high school.”

“That’s an exaggeration.” You told her, not meeting her eyes. It felt so strange, so deceitful, to keep up this lie. Were you a bad person for this? It was harmless, just a little lie to keep Jeonghan from Jiwon, but it followed you everywhere.

“We were just friends back then.” We’re just friends now. “We’ve just always been close.”

“Uh huh, and did you have feelings for him all this time?”

Wrong guy.

“I’ve always loved him.” You told Sakura, and she began to giggle once more.

That one wasn’t a lie. You have loved Jeonghan for a very long time. It’s just always been a platonic, simple love. You wondered if it still was, and then you wondered why it wouldn’t be.

But it was clear that no matter what it is, it was no longer simple.

Day 11 - Tuesday 13th November

“Hello?”

“Y/N! It’s Wonwoo.”

“Oh, hey Wonwoo! What’s up?”

“Nothing, nothing! Look, I know I haven’t been hanging out much-“

“Stop, don’t apologise! You’ve been planning a wedding, and we’re all so excited for it!”

“You’re too sweet, Y/N. Anyway, I wanted to congratulate you and Jeonghan!”

“Oh, you heard?”

“Can’t stop hearing about it. Mingyu was being a little pissy when he found out, kept saying this must have been why you didn’t like him back in year 12, instead of the fact that he face planted into a pool in front of the entire year group two days before he confessed to you.”

“I forgot about that!”

“Don’t worry, I put him in his place.”

“Ahh, thank you Wonwoo.”

“Of course. How did it go, by the way? Who asked who out?”

“Oh, I don’t wanna waste your time…”

“No no! Eliza wants to know too, go on.”

“Ahh, well, we were just hanging out one night and… one thing led to another…”

“My god did you fuck him on your leather couch because that poor piece of furniture has seen more than enough-“

“No! No, we made out, jesus Wonwoo.”

“Sorry, sorry, go on.”

“Wait what do you mean seen more than enough?”

“Okay you didn’t hear this from me but you should ask Soonyoung what he got up to that week two years ago when he was house sitting for you.”

“Oh god oh god...”

“Anyway the story?”

“I’m burning that couch.”

“Moving on.”

“Right, well we realised we both had feelings for each other, so we just decided to go for it.”

“That’s so cute! That reminds me of when we were all in uni, I got this call from Jeonghan in the middle of the night-“

“Sorry Wonwoo, the doorbell’s just rung, that’ll be Jeonghan. Do you wanna say hi?”

“Nah, I should get back to wedding planning. Have a good night Y/N!”

“Night Wonwoo.”

You hung up the phone as your door opened, Jeonghan’s figure standing in the doorway.

“I got kebabs!”

You ran up to rip the food out of his hands. “God I love you.”

He grinned smugly. “I know. Let’s eat!”

“Don’t sit there!”

Day 12 - Wednesday 14th November

cheolie_cherries: you guys are sickeningly cute 🤮 🤮 sunshineseok: about time you started dating! julijuli33: oh my god he’s actually taken 😭 good for y/n but we lost today wonworld: congrats guys!!

You couldn’t help but smile at the comments on Jeonghan’s instagram post of the two of you. There was a sneaky one he had taken of you working (which you had called and immediately asked him to take down, and of course he refused), as well as the kiss photo, to really prove the two of you were dating. Looking at it now sent flutters to your stomach. You had never seen yourself like this. Sure, you had dated, but it never really got all that serious, and you weren’t one for PDA, so photos like this were rare. That was probably what was causing this feeling. Right?

“Earth to Y/N.”

You snapped your head up to see Eunchae, your newest paralegal, at the doorway between your office and the hallway, grinning at you with a stack of files in her hand. She walked in, placing them on your desk.

“These need to be checked for errors.” She told you, and you waved her off.

“Got it. Anything else I can help you with?”

“Hmm, you could tell me what it is that’s on your phone making you look so giddy?”

“Nothing!” You quickly yelled, cringing at the volume your voice was raised to. “It was nothing, just having a good morning.”

“Mmm, sure…” She smiled knowingly at you, before walking away, closing the door softly behind her. When you heard the click of the door, you groaned, letting your body fall against the desk. That was too close.

Why were you even ogling? You had work to do, and you would be damned if you spent too long staring at your phone and it cost you the promotion.

They were announcing the newest junior partner next Friday, making the decision at the end of this week. You had to win. So you turned your phone onto silent and placed it face down on the furthest corner of your desk, burying your head into the paralegal’s work. No matter how much it beckoned you back, you would not lose.

Day 15 - Saturday 17th November

When you and Jeonghan stepped into Wonwoo’s venue the Saturday before the wedding, you were practically expecting a fairytale, and that’s almost what you saw. Minghao had dedicated so much time, you knew Eliza and Wonwoo would be so shocked when they finally saw the finished product.

Still, there was much to be done, and with less and less time, everyone was rushing even more to get as much as they could done. This time, you and Sakura were stringing up fairy lights across the pews for the optimal mood lighting, as Minghao called it, and a fire hazard as Jihoon called it (so they compromised to have it on the ceiling above the pews, meaning you had to stand on a 3 decade old ladder while Sakura tried her best to guarantee it didn’t collapse).

You slowly got down from the stairs, guided down by Sakura, when you saw Joshua waiting for you, and you felt your heart beat out of your chest.

“Hey Y/N, can I borrow you for a sec?” He asked, his deep brown eyes looked through you, as if they knew all your secrets.

“Yeah, I mean, Sakura do you…?”

“No, go ahead, I need a break anyway.”

Joshua offered you his arm, to which you took, and he led you to the corridor, secluded, hidden from prying eyes.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” You asked, waiting for Joshua as he glanced away from your view.

“Look, I really am happy for you, I promise,” He began, and you recoiled slightly, holding your elbows. What was he going to say? “But I’m questioning Jeonghan.”

“Like, as a person?”

“No, as a boyfriend.” The word dripped with malice from Joshua’s lips. “Look, I know you’ve only just started going out, but he went out with a lot of people before you,”

“So did I.”

“Yeah but that’s not the point, Y/N. I’m just saying, he’s putting on this whole show of being a good boyfriend, and being faithful and kind, but he never has been before.” You stood there silently, rocking slightly, but it didn’t seem to stop Joshua. “He’s known you practically all his life, he could have had you at any point, why now? And why is he suddenly acting so different compared to his past relationships?”

Joshua put a hand on your arm gently. “I’m not trying to hurt you, but if I were you, I’d be more suspicious of his motives.” He began rubbing circles into your forearm. “I love you, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“What about Jeonghan? Don’t you care if he gets hurt?” You asked, your voice barely a whisper.

“He’s not the one I’m most worried about.”

You stepped back, and Joshua’s hand quickly dropped from your arm. “I need to go.”

You turned away, and walked back to the venue before he could say anything.

“Just think about what I said, Y/N!” Joshua yelled behind you, but that was the last thing you wanted to do.

Day 15 (cont.)

You were quiet the rest of the day, feeling more drained from that interaction than the intense physical labour Minghao was making you do (maybe it was the combination of both that killed you). You don’t think anyone noticed, aside from Sakura, who realised you weren’t talking but didn’t say much, but you were terrified of someone else realising, so when Jeonghan approached you with his car keys in his hand you didn’t hesitate to drag him out to the car park before anyone else could follow.

The two of you had been on the road for ten minutes in silence before Jeonghan finally broke it. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Who said anything’s wrong?” You did your best to speak nonchalantly, but Jeonghan didn’t miss the quiver in your voice.

“I’m not an idiot, I can tell when you’re upset.” You were still five minutes from your apartment, you couldn’t dance around it for that long. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Joshua pulled me to the side, asked me if we could talk, and then he told me I should be suspicious of you and your motives.” You admitted, looking out the passenger window. You felt choked up. How could he think like this?

“That’s what you’re worried about, Y/N?” Jeonghan questioned, a slight smile on his lips.

“You’re not?”

“Josh has been super stressed at his firm right? It’s cause one of the senior partners was caught embezzling. That, and he’s the only one of us going to Wonwoo’s wedding without a date.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, of course he’s going to act weirdly.” He brushed off your concerns with such an ease you forgot why they upset you in the first place. “Don’t take it to heart, I’m sure he’ll get back to normal soon.”

You breathed out a shaky sigh, feeling your doubts subside and settle.

“It’s cute you were so upset though.” He teased, and you groaned, cupping your face with your hands. “You were so worried about what people thought about me, about your boyfriend.”

“Shut up, Yoon.”

“How can I? My partner cares about me too much.”

“I regret everything.”

He chuckled, stopping his remarks as he watched you calm out the corner of his eye. A secondary realisation as to why Joshua was acting like this was on the front of his mind, but it was nowhere near as comforting. No, this thought was one that was now threatening, and could result in losing you forever.

Jeonghan didn’t want to think about the implications of Joshua being jealous. Instead, he focused on you, and the way you stared out the passenger window.

Day 15 (cont.)

“Have you still got that 12-pack at the back of your fridge?”

“Go nuts.” You told him, kicking your shoes off and lying down on the carpet on the floor. You and Jeonghan had made a mutual decision to pretend the couch wasn’t there until after Wonwoo’s wedding, then you could go shopping for a new one, and until then there was always the floor. “I haven’t been drinking much, trying to just get through this wedding and the promotion.”

“How’s that going?” Jeonghan asked, and you heard the faint pop of a bottle opener from your kitchen.

“They said they would make their decision on who would be the next junior partner by the end of the week, and make the announcement the next week. It’s Saturday now, and I haven’t heard anything, so I know what that means.”

Jeonghan settled next to you, handing you an opened beer bottle and clinking it against his own before taking a swig. “Don’t be too worried, maybe they’ll tell you you’re getting the promotion on Monday.”

“Maybe.”

“You give your everything to that firm. They’d be stupid to not want you as partner.”

“They would be stupid! How’s your boss?”

The two of you spent your evening reminiscing and complaining (two of your favourite pastimes) as you drank more and more, getting gradually more drunk, unlike on the night of Sofia’s party where you got embarrassingly shitfaced way too quickly. At some point in the night, you had cozied up to Jeonghan, and now you were nuzzled up in his arms, too comfortable to even consider moving.

“God, this whole thing is so stupid!” You yelled, throwing your pillow across the room with as much force as you could gather, sending it a few feet ahead of you. “We gotta fake date to get people off your back and onto mine, meanwhile Joshua’s not gotten jealous once and we haven’t even seen Jiwon!”

“Don’t say her name three times, or she’s gonna appear.” Jeonghan told you, wide eyed, taking a quick look around the room just to confirm she wasn’t there.

“Pussy.”

“She’s coming to the rehearsal dinner though!” Jeonghan told you, wagging his pointer finger in the air, making you giggle. “And that’s Friday, so it’s coming up soon.”

“Ahh the rehearsal dinner. What are we rehearsing again?”

“We’re rehearsing how to fake date, Y/N, we’ve been over this.”

“And we have a whole dinner for it?”

“Yes! How kind of Wonwoo.”

You burst into fits of laughter, lolling your head into the crook of Jeonghan’s shoulder as you laughed, and he followed suit. Moments like this were ones where you felt so comfortable with him, like the bubble was intact once more.

“We should start rehearsals now!” Jeonghan exclaimed, grabbing your elbows excitedly. “What do people in relationships do?”

You shrugged, and his arms moved with your shoulders. “I don’t know, you’re basically my first boyfriend.”

“Well you’re the first time I’m being a boyfriend.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” He admitted, giggling. The two of you were so far gone, and neither of you had the capacity to realise it. “But I know people in relationships kiss! Kiss me Y/N!”

“Ew gross, you have cooties.” You pushed away his pouted lips.

“No I don’t! I’m vaccinated against cooties!” He whined, pulling you closer to him.

“What if I have cooties?”

“Just kiss me!”

Jeonghan grabbed your face, guiding it to his own, where his lips met yours in a kiss. It was delicate, a kiss for the sake of kissing, and you relished in the feeling. There was a comfort to kissing Jeonghan, a comfort you hadn’t felt for several years. He was comfort, and his kisses were a perfect specimen of that comfort. Kissing him was returning home after a winter’s day.

But decisions were sobering, and the feeling of your lips against his suddenly drained all the alcohol from Jeonghan’s body. He pulled away slowly to see you still half lidded, barely aware of your surroundings. He stole a glance at the clock on the wall, 2AM. Maybe the two of you should end the night here, before you did something you couldn’t go back from.

“Time to sleep, Y/N.”

“Don’t wanna.” You shrugged him off. “Wanna kiss you more!”

Jeonghan chuckled. “Me too. But we can’t.”

As he tucked you into bed, you were already on the verge of passing out, but he was wide awake. Jeonghan found himself hoping the hangover would be a bad one, a distraction from the memories he knew would flood back. He didn’t need to be reminded of how stupid he could be.

Day 16 - Sunday 18th November

Your hangover wasn’t as bad as last Saturday, but you still didn’t feel like dealing with the pounding headache. This time, as you went to wash your face and drink water in the bathroom, there was no Jeonghan to hold your hair back and give you panadol. He wasn’t in the kitchen causing a mess (cooking) either. No, your apartment was strangely quiet without his presence. As the pain in your head began to subside, you checked your phone to see a message sent three hours prior.

Hannie: work emergency - had to leave early. drink lots of water <3

Something felt so off about the message. Jeonghan’s boss was fairly laidback, and he had never had work emergencies that made him go to the studio on weekends. But you were also way too hungover to question it.

You hoped Jeonghan’s hangover had already passed.

Day 18 - Monday 20th November

You called Jeonghan twice. It went to voicemail both times.

Day 19 - Wednesday 21st November

There was a flurry among the paralegals that day. You tried to ignore it, to keep your head down, but the amount of papers flapping in the air made you feel like there was a hoard of pigeons down the corridor. You hated the ‘open door unless in a meeting’ policy at work: half of the lawyers your level didn’t even follow the rule anyway. You wouldn’t have followed it had you not wanted so desperately to show what a good team member you were, and yet here you were, on a Wednesday afternoon, with nothing to show you it.

There was an annoying rap against your open door, and you briefly lifted your head to see Cha Eunwoo leaning against your doorframe. Eugh. Cha Eunwoo. The two of you were in the same cohort: graduated from high school in the same year, graduated from uni at the same time, went to the same law school, and both went straight to Kim-Byun Legal Services, where you’ve spent the entirety of your careers. And throughout law school and now work, you have wanted to beat Cha Eunwoo no matter the cost, and you never managed it.

“Can I help you? I’ve got quite a bit of work to complete.”

Eunwoo waltzed right in, taking the seat in front of your desk. “I have news, but you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

“Do I even get a chance to say no? Not interested?”

Eunwoo was smart. You were smart too, but you liked to think (and Jeonghan liked to tell you) that you were smarter than most of those law students you competed against. Sure, they studied hard, they were good lawyers. But you were quick witted, and they couldn’t keep up. Eunwoo could. If it were anyone else, you wouldn’t be opposed to playing dirty, to pulling little tricks where you could to show him up, but Eunwoo would catch on. The only thing he didn’t seem to notice was how desperate you were to beat him. He never realised the battle you constantly fought, and it killed you. So you had to work twice as hard, three times as much, and play by the rules, just to win a challenge where you were the only one competing.

“I made partner!”

(At this point you stopped writing. This was the first time Eunwoo had ever managed to completely distract you.)

“I’m not supposed to tell anyone before Friday, that’s when they’re announcing it. But I get the new contract this evening, and you and I came in together, I know you would tell me if it was you!”

No shit you would. You would love to act all classy and poised, only to rub it in his face that you won! You did better! But no, Eunwoo won. Throughout everything, this was the first concrete time he’s won, and it’s shattered your reserve. You’re a good actor though, something that helped you get through this job, so you keep your head down.

“That’s great Eunwoo, congratulations. We’ll celebrate properly next week, I’ve got a rehearsal dinner on Friday though.” You met his gaze with a smile, even though there was rage behind it. Eunwoo didn’t seem to notice. “Now, I’ve got to get back to work.”

He nodded, barely containing his grin, shuffling out of your office. “See you later Y/N.”

God you wanted to cry. You wanted to yell and scream, cursing the world, the senior partners, and most of all Cha Eunwoo, who had showed you up once more.Your composure was slipping, a veil that threatened to fall off your head and reveal your facade to the world, but you refused to lose it at work. Instead, you closed the door as gently as you could, and hoped to god that the third time you called him, Jeonghan would pick up.

“Please, please, please pick up…” You whispered, as if you were summoning him.

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

Fuck. Voicemail. Once again.

You heard a beep and considered hanging up, but instead decided to send a message.

“Hey, um, I don’t know if you’re just busy, or you’re mad at me, I really hope it’s not the second. I haven’t heard from you in a while. That’s why I’m calling, I guess. Oh, and I’m not gonna be partner. I got passed over for it. Cha fucking Eunwoo made partner. Fuck. Sorry, I’m rambling now. I hope you’re doing okay? You know you can always come to me, but if you don’t want to that’s okay I guess, I’ll leave you be.”

Day 19 (cont.)

When you went home that day to punch your pillows and scream about Cha Eunwoo, the last thing you expected was to see Yoon Jeonghan walk in with chicken and beer as if nothing had happened, which was especially strange, as it was so expected on a normal day. But something was off. Something had changed. You just couldn’t quite put your thumb on what it was.

“Are you mad at me?” You asked, your eyes more glassy than you realised. You could barely see Jeonghan, but you knew he had that stupid damn smile. Right now it was infuriating. “Is that why you disappeared?”

“No, never.” He told you, setting the chicken down on your dinner table. “Things really have just been so busy at work, I’ve barely had time for anyone.”

“But you have time to drop by with chicken?”

“Cha Eunwoo is an idiot compared to you.” Jeonghan told you, opening the can of beer with a hiss. “They missed out on not promoting you.”

You didn’t say anything in response, just stuffing your mouth with chicken. Jeonghan passed you a beer can. “Maybe I shouldn’t. I’ve got work in the morning, and last time we drank I didn’t remember anything after we started bitching about that one actor, Park Sunwoo.”

Jeonghan smiled at you, but you barely noticed, your expression trained on the can in front of you.

“Yeah, I don’t remember either,” He told you. “But one can’t hurt. We drank way too much last time, I’ll keep you in check.”

You shrugged, opening the can, and clinking it against Jeonghan’s. “Thanks boyfriend.” The metal made a satisfying clank noise, and you missed the way Jeonghan looked over at you. Maybe it’s changed, or maybe you’ve been missing it for a long time.

Jeonghan is your blind spot. You didn’t like surprises, you didn’t like feeling caught out, and you would always make sure you weren’t, until it came to Jeonghan. No matter how fast you ran, he always seemed to beat you by a few seconds. No matter how strong you were, he could always lift more. You and Jeonghan both had that same competitive drive, but you could never quite match him. As a teenager it pushed you to be better and better, but you’ve come to accept it. You’ll never beat Jeonghan. That’s why it’s always better to be on his side.

You were observant, but you let your guard down around him. That was how Jeonghan won. He never let his guard down around anyone. He didn’t need to have it up around you, he didn’t keep secrets from you (and you didn’t keep them from him). But he kept everything close to his chest, and he wouldn’t let himself get caught out at any moment.

You wondered if it was hard for him to never reveal himself fully. You knew he still kept to himself around you. It was the only way he could still play tricks, pull pranks, and he loved it. He wouldn’t stay reserved if he didn’t want to. Still, it’s tough to feel like you can never fully reveal your facade.

But there were moments he did. Like tonight, as he tucked you into bed once you fell asleep, and kissed your forehead with a sweetness he didn’t know was there. Maybe he would reveal it to you one day, but all in good time.

You didn’t like feeling caught out. Jeonghan hated it with everything he’s got.

Day 21 - Friday 23rd November

“How are you feeling about seeing Jiwon?” Jeonghan didn’t answer, but the grip he had on your hand tightened as he stared down at the road.

He and Jiwon were a bad match. He knew that, he knew that from the moment they met and she started talking about having a husband around at home to help with the kids one day. Jeonghan knew he could never be that. Sure, he had daydreamed about settling down, raising a family. Jeonghan could never be the husband Jiwon wanted him to be. Could never be the husband he wanted to become. But she was just so pretty, and she would stare down at him with a feverish grin that just made him weak in the knees, how could he say no to her?

So for three weeks, they went out, which for Jeonghan just meant promises of another day he never intended to keep so he could get back to her apartment. But she fully intended on keeping those promises, and soon she was the one setting up dates, and changing her name in his phone (which really freaked Jeonghan out, because, when did she have access to his phone?) to seem more like a girlfriend. Maybe Jeonghan wanted a girlfriend, but he definitely didn’t want to be a boyfriend, and now he was stuck acting one.

Jiwon didn’t believe him when he told her weeks later that they were incompatible. Why would she? She believed every lie that dripped from his lips, and couldn’t wrap her head around why it suddenly changed overnight. She thought he was lying, just trying to keep her away, but a good girlfriend doesn’t give up so easily.

And so began the midnight calls, the uninvited show ups to his workplace or his apartment (Seungcheol definitely had a fun time telling her off, not that it kept her away), and the letters slid under your door begging for your help getting Jeonghan back. This is what led to the whole thing. She seemed to calm down once Jeonghan posted you on his instagram, but neither of you could predict what she would do when she saw you together.

She was Eliza’s sister in law (Eliza’s brother’s wife’s sister, who just had to attend), so her attendance was expected, and you knew it made Jeonghan all the more nervous, especially in the way he would speed round corners. It didn’t frighten you, but worry for your friend escaped you anyway, and you squeezed his hand whenever the car revved.

Jeonghan pulled into the street along Wonwoo’s house, seeing cars littered along the side, and Jeonghan pulled the car into park. You took his hand off the gear shift and brought it to your lips, kissing it comfortingly. “Everything’s gonna be alright. I promise.”

“You promise?” He took a glance at you, and smiled cheekily. “Well what happens if you break the promise? What do I get?”

“I’ll cook you an actually decent brekkie to apologise, not those rubber pancakes you’ve been serving me these past few weeks.”

“Hey! You love those pancakes!”

“The texture is so chewy and terrible Jeonghan, I’m begging you to just use a recipe.”

“I don’t need one.” He huffed, but he never let go of your hand.

You rolled your eyes at his dramatics. Honestly, he was right. You did love the pancakes. Of course, they were way too chewy and tasted of nothing without lashings of sugar and lemon, but you loved that Jeonghan had been making them for you all the past mornings you had spent together.

“Cmon, it’s time to head inside.”

The two of you walked hand in hand towards the door, and you could feel the deep breaths Jeonghan took to calm his pulsing heart. He really didn’t want to cause a scene or do anything to ruin Wonwoo’s rehearsal dinner (or god forbid the actual wedding), but he felt so much more secure with your hand in his.

You weren’t surprised to see Wonwoo’s place completely packed. He and Eliza were having a fairly small wedding, but with the sheer number of family members on Eliza’s side, their starter apartment was bursting at the seams. You held onto Jeonghan as tightly as you could, and still you felt like he was slipping from your grasp.

“Y/N! Jeonghan!” A familiar voice greeted you, and you turned to see Jun greet you. You hugged him gently as he started going on about seating plans (there wasn’t much of a plan, with half of the guests eating off of paper plates on the floor, but Wonwoo had made sure to save his nice carpet for you and a few of his friends). “Don’t worry, the two of you are together, of course. Minghao stayed up all night setting up this seating chart.” You scanned your eyes to see who was attending, and saw most of your friends, minus one.

“Is Joshua here?” You cut Jun off with a worried look. “He was acting really weird last Saturday.”

“Yeah, he’s helping out in the kitchen.” Jun told you, pointing down past the archway to where there was (hopefully steam) pouring out. “He seemed fine to me though, he’s probably over whatever it was. Oh! Mingyu’s just arrived. He’s so late, that goddamn best man should have been here an hour ago! Got to run.”

Jun rushed past you, leaving Jeonghan and you hand in hand in the entryway. Jeonghan turned to look at you. “Is this a I want to see Joshua and flaunt our thriving and perfect relationship at him so he gets jealous?”

You pushed his shoulder. “No. It’s an I think I should be avoiding him thing. I’m still a little shocked by what he told me.”

Jeonghan smiled down at you. “Good luck avoiding him when we’re sitting with him at dinner.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you really have to pay more attention to Jun’s rambles. They often contain useful information.”

You groaned, leaning your head against his arm. He smiled, leading you towards the carpet, where Seokmin and Seungkwan were already seated. You waved a hello towards them, not wanting to remove yourself from Jeonghan’s side.

“God these two are way too cute together.” Seokmin spoke, nudging Jeonghan’s side.

You blushed, hiding your face as much as you could. Jeonghan was almost shocked at your display, you were far too good at playing the doting S/O, but it was working. He watched the way Joshua stared at you from the kitchen doorway. He knew without a doubt from the way Joshua looked over at you how jealous he was. That was what he wanted, right?

After a few minutes of small talk, Joshua eventually sat down next to you (even though there was a free space between to Jeonghan and Seokmin, which Jihoon ended up filling, with his husband settling in next to him) and the rehearsal dinner began. Luckily, with Minghao as wedding planner, there was never a free moment for Joshua to steal your attention. Jeonghan wasn’t sure if you or him was more glad about the fact, but he kept an arm around you at all times, separating your shoulder from Joshua’s.

As the dinner went on, with less formality and more people moving around the space to congratulate the future couple and catch up with old friends, your ‘table’ settled into a comfortable talk. Jun was right, Joshua seemed fine, which only made Jeonghan feel more uneasy. It helped settle your nerves though, and Jeonghan realised your grip on his side had loosened, and you were leaning towards Joshua ever so slightly. No one else at the table would realise, but Jeonghan knew, and he was sure Joshua did too.

“Honestly I’m still surprised Jeonghan actually had the guts to ask Y/N out.” Seokmin said offhandedly, and you looked up at Jeonghan with a cute grin. You were so good at playing the role, but why didn’t it feel like a role anymore? Jeonghan must be losing his touch if he was falling for your act.

Joshua took a sip of his wine, smiling as he spoke. “We all thought you two would never get a date before you realised you liked each other. Good thing you finally manned up to it, Jeonghan.”

Your gaze suddenly snapped towards the crowd. “Why does everyone always assume Jeonghan asked me out?” Jeonghan tensed, and everyone surrounding you looked away from your inquisitive gaze. Joshua opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by Jiwon’s commanding presence.

She was so short and petite, keeping to herself, but she walked with such a force that commanded attention. Her eyes were trained not on Jeonghan, but instead focused closely on you.

“And who did ask who out?” She asked sweetly, but you felt your tongue go numb under her gaze.

Jeonghan held you closer to his side, and you settled into him with comfort. “We kissed, and both decided to go for it. It was mutual.”

She hummed, still staring at you. “Well. I’m happy for you two.” And with that, she turned on the ball of her foot, walking away like nothing happened. You let out a shaky breath, and felt Jeonghan do the same. As Seungkwan and Seokmin started hissing gossip about Jiwon, you reached out for Jeonghan’s hand, relishing in the comfort of his touch.

“God she’s terrifying.” You told him in a whisper. “At least it’s over.”

He grinned at you. “Damn, I was looking forward to your breakfast in bed special.”

“You think I’m serving you in my bed? You would spill it everywhere, no way am I cleaning up that mess.”

“You wound me, babe.”

Jeonghan knew Joshua was staring, maybe that’s why when the urge to kiss you overcame him, he took it, placing a kiss on your cheek, as close to your lips as he could get. You let him, only to wonder why well and truly after.

Day 22 - Saturday 24th November

You were awoken by the now familiar smell of Jeonghan’s rubber chicken pancakes, and you followed the smell out to the kitchen.

“How do you always manage to wake up before me?”

“You always sleep in way too late.” He told you, flipping a pancake onto your plate and pushing it towards you. “Last day!”

“Huh?”

“It’s the wedding today. After today, we will no longer be officially dating.”

“Oh, right.”

You didn’t realise how quickly three weeks could pass. There was a strange sense of dread that passed through your system, although you blamed the pancakes. It felt weird that after everything, tomorrow all would be as it was before, as if this whole ordeal never happened.

“We’re gonna have to stage a breakup, of course.” Jeonghan told you, still flipping pancakes. “But we can plan that out tomorrow. In the meantime eat up! We’ll have to leave in an hour.”

You nodded along, feeling too tired to speak so early in the morning (10:30). Jeonghan sat down next to you, shovelling down pancakes as quickly as he could (how he managed to chew through those was a mystery to you) before excusing himself to your bathroom while you continued eating. God, why were these so salty today? Jeonghan’s latest prank, you suspected, but you didn’t have the strength to confront him, especially once you heard the splash of the shower turning on. You began cleaning dishes, not waiting for Jeonghan to finish showering before you stole the hot water, and giggled as you heard his shrieks. Hopefully the wedding would give you a little bit more energy.

Day 22 (cont.)

You and Jeonghan arrived at the warehouse at 11:40. You still had a few minutes before the ceremony would begin, and knowing how these things tended to go, you knew you had plenty of time. You walked hand in hand with Jeonghan, and tried not to think about how this was the last time you would be able to as you settled into a pew. Soon after, Joshua sat down next to you, clearly dateless. He didn’t say anything, and aside from a nod of recognition, you didn’t say anything to him either, instead choosing to rest your head on Jeonghan’s shoulder.

Silence is comforting, whenever it’s done right. With you and Jeonghan, silence never felt awkward, it was just a frame of being with him. It was relaxed, you felt no need to fill the air with meaningless speak. Your silence was interrupted as Seungcheol ran up to Jeonghan.

“Han, we need your help. Wonwoo can’t find his cufflinks, he’s dropped them somewhere, and it is freaking Mingyu out, please come look.”

Jeonghan looked at you, but you smiled. “Go help them. I’ll be right here.” He hurriedly followed Seungcheol to Wonwoo’s dressing room, cursing him under his breath.

You were left alone with Joshua, and the silence suddenly felt suffocating. It didn’t seem to bother him, as he spoke quietly about the venue. “Isn’t it all so gorgeous? Minghao really did a great job pulling this off.”

You hummed, leaning over to point out the fairy lights strung along the ceiling. “See those? That was all me.”

“Ahh, I was wondering. They’re my favourite.”

You smiled, and Joshua turned to face you properly. “I’m sorry about what I said, Y/N. I didn’t mean to scare you. I think I was just jealous.”

Your eyes widened. You felt strangely off guard. “Jealous?”

“Yeah. I just broke things off with Heejin, and then having not dated anyone seriously in, I think ever, Jeonghan suddenly lands a great person like you.” He admitted shyly, squeezing your shoulder with his hand.

“I landed him, too.” You reminded him, but you could barely process what you were saying as you realised he hadn’t moved his hand.

“Of course. You two are good together.” He told you, and you smiled.

“We are.”

Day 22 (cont.)

The pop of a champagne bottle was one you couldn’t miss. As you entered the reception hall, your eyes gravitated towards the bar, and you pulled Jeonghan along with you.

“I can’t believe how many of our friends are married now.” You told Jeonghan as you waited for the bartender to return with your drinks (or water, in Jeonghan’s case. He was determined to stick to his word until the very end). “First Seungcheol, then Soonyoung - who even saw that one coming - then Jihoon and now Wonwoo.”

“We’re getting into that phase of our lives.” He shrugged. “Makes sense to me.”

“Yeah but what about you and me? We’ve never even properly dated.” You pouted. “What happens when they all leave us?”

“Then we’ll have each other.” He told you. “Have you already started drinking? The reception’s only just begun.”

You grinned sheepishly. “We got here late! Anyway, it’s been such a hellish few weeks! Let me have this.” The bartender approached you with a shot glass that you quickly downed, and you pulled Jeonghan to your assigned seats (next to each other, of course). You were greeted by the same table as the night before, and you waved to Seokmin and Jihoon who sat opposite you.

“Where’s Joshua?” You asked, and giggled when Seungkwan pointed towards the flailing figure on the dance floor.

“He’s already drunk and living his best life.”

“Good for him!”

At the mention of his name, Joshua stumbled over, grabbing your hands in an attempt to pull you to the dance floor with him. You looked over at Jeonghan, your boyfriend for only a few more hours, but he waved you off. “Go enjoy yourself.”

You grinned, letting Joshua lead you. Jeonghan smiled as he watched you, his chest tugging with a strange feeling.

“Why’d you let him take Y/N?” Jihoon asked. “You know he likes them.”

The tugging in his chest felt stronger, but Jeonghan ignored it. “As long as they’re having fun.”

It doesn’t matter anyway. They like him too.

Seokmin and Seungkwan eventually joined them, and Jihoon and his husband went dancing as well. Jeonghan instead placed his attention on his phone, flipping through all the stories of Wonwoo’s wedding venue he had been tagged in. There was one, posted by Soonyoung, that he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from. You were in the corner, next to Jeonghan, and there was something so sweet about the way you stared at him. It was dangerous, convincing him of something that wasn’t real.

“Hey Jeongie.”

Jeonghan looked up to see Jiwon, sat in the seat that once belonged to you. She had that same cat like gaze that made him fall for her initially, but now he felt nothing. He really was bad at committing, he couldn’t even commit to finding Jiwon attractive.

“Hi Jiwon. What are you doing here?”

She cooed, running her hand up and down his arm, much to Jeonghan’s discomfort. He looked away, breaking the eye contact she was trying to keep.

“Did you leave me for Y/N?” She asked, tutting under her breath. “I remember everything you told me, how they’ve never really dated. They’re not partner material, Jeongie, I am.”

“I didn’t leave you for Y/N,” He began, a shiver trailing up his spine. “We ended it because I didn’t want to date you any more. Y/N came after that.”

Jiwon leaned close, her lips barely separate from Jeonghan’s ear, and he couldn’t lean any further back in his chair. “Maybe not for long. They don’t seem to like the way we’re talking.”

Jeonghan tore Jiwon’s hand from his arm, looking to the dance floor to see tears close to spilling out of your eyes. When you met his gaze, you ran away, not willing to let him see you like this. Why did it feel this way? Joshua glared at Jeonghan, and quickly followed you as you ran down the corridor.

“Jiwon just stop!” Jeonghan raised his voice, cringing at the volume (and the heads that turned towards the commotion). “It’s over, just leave me alone, please.”

He ignored her whimpered sobs as he got out of his seat and scrambled to find you, but the sounds of Jiwon crying made him feel awful. He didn’t exactly handle their relationship well, and he wasn’t handling what was left of yours well either.

As he ran to find you, his heard lurched when he heard your own voice muffled by cries.

“It’s s-so dumb…”

“Clearly he was just trying to make her jealous, Y/N.” What was Joshua telling you?

“He wasn’t doing that.”

“You don’t deserve someone who will use you.”

Jeonghan couldn’t deny the guilt those words caused on his poor heart. Sure, you knew what was happening, but he was still using you, wasn’t he? It was his idea to start this whole fake dating thing.

“I wouldn’t use you like that.”

“Josh…”

Just as he had caught up to the sound of your voice, Jeonghan caught a glimpse of you in Joshua’s embrace, with his lips on yours. And his aching heart shattered.

You pulled away from Joshua to see Jeonghan’s forlorn expression, a sight you don’t think you had ever seen before.

“Hannie, I promise, it’s not what it-“

“Looks like? What a cliche Y/N.” He scoffed, moving away from you.

“Hey man, I kissed them.” Joshua spoke, dropping a protective arm over you, one that weighed you down and you wriggled out of quickly. “Besides, serves you right for using Y/N to make Jiwon jealous.”

“You’re so fucking stupid Joshua.” Jeonghan spat. “They were using me to make you jealous, looks like it worked, huh?”

“No, Jeonghan, wait-“

“Deal’s off, Y/N. We’re no longer dating.”

And he ran. And no matter how fast you ran too, you knew you wouldn’t be able to catch up to him.

Day 23 - Sunday 25th November

You woke up on Wonwoo’s couch with a massive headache and chest pain, although you knew only one of those was due to your hangover. He and Eliza ended up taking you home, luckily they weren’t going on their honeymoon for another week. Wonwoo was rubbing your back as you vomited, and the worst pain was knowing that it would never be Jeonghan doing this role anymore.

“I still don’t get it.” He admitted. “Although most of these weeks have been a blur for me.”

“I’m not really supposed to tell you.” You told him, sipping the glass of water in your hands. “We made these rules.”

“Tell me anyway, because no matter what it is it’s not worth losing him forever.”

You sighed, and settled against the tiled floor. “It’s a long story.”

“It’s a Sunday. Quit stalling and tell me what happened.”

“Fine fine!” You gasped, shoving Wonwoo slightly. “So pushy.”

“You know how Jiwon wouldn’t leave Jeonghan alone?” Wonwoo nodded along with your story. “Well, we knew she would be at the wedding, and Jeonghan really wanted her to take the hint that he wasn’t interested, so we decided to date. Well, fake date. Just to get her off his back.”

“And you agreed to this?”

“I didn’t really want to? But…”

“You were in love with Joshua.” You stared at Wonwoo in shock. He smiled back at you. “You’re not as difficult to read as you like to think you are. Maybe the other idiots we call friends can’t see it, but it was fairly obvious to me.”

“But you didn’t realise Jeonghan and I weren’t actually together?”

“Just continue the story already.”

“Well yeah. Jeonghan convinced me we could make Joshua jealous, so I agreed. We said we wouldn’t tell anyone, and we would post about it online so everyone believed it was real, and then once Jiwon backed off at the wedding, we would call it off.” You recalled the story, rubbing your head as the pain settled and you felt like your skull was cracking open. “God do you have any painkillers?”

“I don’t really get hangovers.”

“You lucky bitch.”

“What happened at the reception, Y/N?”

You cringed at the flood of memories. Most of the time when you got drunk and made bad decisions, your brain saved you the embarrassment of remembering everything. This time, you couldn’t escape the images. Of Jiwon and Jeonghan, of the way Jeonghan looked at you, the way he ran away from you.

“Joshua and I were dancing, and when I looked back I saw Jiwon flirting with Jeonghan.” You gulped, feeling an all too familiar lump in your throat. “And I ran off.”

“Why’d you run?”

“I don’t know. And then Joshua kissed me, and I thought it would be perfect, but it felt wrong.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know! And then Jeonghan saw, and I don’t know why but he was so upset, and then he left. He left me, Wonwoo.”

“You really don’t know why he was upset?” Wonwoo questioned, and you met his gaze with a confused expression. “Even after all this time, Jeonghan can still surprise you, wow.”

“What do you know?”

“I know that just like you, Jeonghan is not as difficult to read as he thinks he is.” Wonwoo told you, stroking your hair. “Nine years ago, at 2:30 in the morning, I got a call from Jeonghan, who was so excited because he finally got the nerve to kiss you, and he went for it. And then the next day, nothing. And you two continued this dance around never going out, even when everyone could see how much you liked each other.”

“That’s not true, I don’t like Jeonghan.”

“Then why is Jiwon bothering you? Why did you even agree to this whole thing? There are easier ways to get close to Joshua that don’t involve pretending to date your best friend.”

“I…” For once, you didn’t have anything to say.

“You do know, Y/N. You have to stop acting so blind when it comes to Jeonghan. All the signs are there, you just don’t want to address them.”

He offered you his hand, pulling you up off of the bathroom floor. “Want to know why we all thought Jeonghan asked you out? It’s because we all knew he likes you. It’s actually pretty obvious.”

Day 24 - Monday 26th November

There was a knocking at your door. This wasn’t like Jeonghan’s courtesy knocks before he let himself into your house, this was a gentle knock that barely reverberated through the room.

You walked up to let Joshua into your house. He was shocked to see you like this - tear stricken cheeks, eyes and nose red and running.

“You look…”

“Shit, I know.” You finished for him. “What do you want, Joshua?”

“I wanted to apologise.” He looked over your shoulder expectantly.

“Fine, come in, but you can’t come any further than the entryway. I just don’t want everyone to be spectators of this.”

Joshua followed you in, shuffling awkwardly. He acted as if he had never been in your apartment before. You weren’t entirely sure he had been. You let him shut the door gently behind him, and you leaned against the wall, blocking him from moving any closer in.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you while you were dating Jeonghan. I’m sorry.”

You clicked your tongue, not moving position. “Yeah, that was messed up. You’re Jeonghan’s friend. You’re my friend. I felt like you were just fighting over me to compete with him.”

“Y/N, that’s not true.” He reached his hand out to caress your arm, but you pulled it back.

“What’s even been going on with you?” You asked. “I’ve barely seen you since your breakup, none of us have, and you were a total dick the whole time Jeonghan and I were dating.”

Joshua scoffed, and you gasped at his attitude. “Yeah well you guys weren’t actually together though, right?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does!” He raised his voice as he began to yell. “Why are you upset? It’s not like you were cheating or anything, it wasn’t real.”

“Are you kidding? You didn’t know we weren’t actually together! What’s your excuse?”

“My excuse is that according to Jeonghan, the only reason you were even pretending to date was to make me jealous, and now you’re upset that it worked? I’m jealous. I’m jealous that Jeonghan got to go out with you and play the part of boyfriend, even if it was fake.”

“That’s not the reason.”

“Oh, so you didn’t want to make me jealous?”

He was staring at you with an intensity you hadn’t seen since law school, and it reminded you of the Joshua you once knew. The Joshua you fell for. And as you met his gaze, you realised all your feelings for him were gone. Every desire for him to fall for you like you had fallen for him had dissipated, because you weren’t sure you had ever fallen for him. You loved his drive, maybe that was all you loved.

“I did.”

“So what changed?”

“What do you think, Josh?”

He scoffed, dropping his gaze to the floor. “Of course. Of course I can’t beat him.”

“Joshua…”

“No, just,” He sighed, shuffling away from you. “Why do you always choose him?”

“I don’t, but I’m choosing him now.” You told him, And you were. After twenty two days with Jeonghan, Joshua didn’t feel as important to you anymore.

Joshua turned to leave your apartment. “Josh.” He looked at you, and you met his gaze for the last time. “You should have kissed me all the years I was pining after you, not once I wasn’t an option anymore. Maybe it would have been different.”

He left without another word, and your door shut so gently as he left.

Day 25 - Tuesday 27th November

You hadn’t been blocked. You could still see the messages, you knew he was reading them, he just wouldn’t respond. He wasn’t picking up either.

“Cmon Jeonghan…” You whispered under your breath. “Please just pick up.”

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

You groaned at the now too familiar sound of his voicemail. Was he ever going to talk to you again?

Okay, it was kind of your fault. Had it been anyone else, this would have felt so obvious, but you were so oblivious when it came to Jeonghan, and now here you were, pining for your best friend, hoping he would finally return.

“Hey Han,” You started talking, but you had no idea what to say. The only thoughts running through your mind were please just come back to me, but you weren’t sure how to say that without bursting into tears. “I, uh, I really want to talk to you, please. I miss you.”

You hung up, only to find your fingers reaching for the contact once more.

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“Hi again. I want you to know that, umm, I spoke to Wonwoo. He called me an idiot, basically.” You chuckled as you recounted that morning, although you knew Jeonghan probably wouldn’t be laughing as he listened. If he listened. If you two weren’t… wherever this had led you, you know he would probably laugh at that, but he wasn’t here anymore. “I didn’t know. I should have known, but I didn’t, and I just really want to talk to you. Please.”

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“Hey, um, I didn’t like the kiss. The one with Joshua. I think I did kiss him back? But I didn’t like it. I would choose our posed cafe kiss so much sooner than the one he gave me. I don’t even want it. Please talk to me.”

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“It was so stupid of me to be jealous of Jiwon. I know you don’t like her, I just, I was so drunk and stressed out, I freaked out. It was so so stupid, and I’m sorry, but I hope you know that it was jealousy because I wanted to be in her place. God, this is so embarrassing.”

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“I don’t think I like Joshua? I know, drastic turn. I think I just looked up to him, growing up. He’s always been so out of reach and ahead of everyone else, I think I mistook it for love when it wasn’t. I don’t love him.”

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“I know I fucked up. Well, Joshua fucked up most of all, but I shouldn’t have run off like that. But you ran too. You didn’t let me explain. And last week, you disappeared. I know you said you were busy but it felt like you were running from me? And I fucked up because I ran, so you’re no better than me.”

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“Please ignore what I just said. I’m not upset with you. Well, actually, I am. I think I’m mostly upset with myself? Or mostly upset with Joshua? But I’m still a little upset with you. Please can we just talk?”

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“I’ll leave you alone after this one, I promise. I just… I miss you. And I think I need an explanation, because I’ve been clueless about this for way too long.”

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“I love you. In every sense of the word.”

Day 26 - Wednesday 28th November

You felt so strange in front of Jeonghan’s door. Although he spent so much time with you in your house, very rarely would you visit him in his. You and him would always blame his roommate, but truthfully you knew it wasn’t that. Even though Vernon wasn’t the tidiest or most respectful of privacy, you were happy when he was around. No, Jeonghan’s house was a barrier between the two of you, a final wall he had placed to protect himself. And now you were destroying the that sanctity.

You almost felt bad, but you were so desperate for him to talk to you again. Sure, the two of you had arguments, but nothing like this, and you weren’t sure that without drastic measures, you would ever even see Jeonghan again. So here you were, your knuckles rapt against Jeonghan’s door, waiting to see him.

The door swung open, but Jeonghan wasn’t there. Instead stood Vernon, who looked like he had only rolled out of bed at the sound of your knocking. Honestly, had it been true, it wouldn’t have surprised you, despite it being 8:30 in the evening. You had no idea what this boy’s schedule was, if he even followed a set one.

“Oh, hey Vernon.”

“Hey Y/N.’

You shuffled on your feet. You and Vernon were friends - you practically grew up together, why did this feel so awkward?

“Cool party, by the way.” He cocked his head in confusion. “Sofia’s party! Two weeks ago, I know you helped her set it up. It was fun, from what I remember, Jeonghan dragged me along to it and I got very drunk very quickly.” Okay, you were rambling now. That helped. “Speaking of, is he here?”

“He?”

“Jeonghan? Is he home?”

“Nah, he’s um..” Vernon trailed off, and you cringed. Clearly he had told Vernon to ward you away. “He’s staying back late at work. Do you, do you want me to tell him you were here?”

You sighed, feeling your shoulders slump. “Don’t bother. Have a good evening, Hansol.”

“See you around Y/N.”

Vernon let the door shut in front of him, He hated lying, and unlike his roommate, he was absolutely terrible at it.

“If Y/N comes, just tell her I’m out.”

Jeonghan wouldn’t talk to Vernon. He barely spoke to Seungcheol, who was dropping by every night to check up on his friend. He hadn’t seen him for more than a few minutes every day as he left for work and stumbled back home afterwards. All Vernon could hope for was that you solved your issues with him soon. A grumpy Jeonghan was a nightmare, a heartbroken Jeonghan was a ghost.

Day 27 - Thursday 29th November

Eunwoo’s office had been mostly empty for a few days now, but today he picked up the last two boxes to take to his new office, a floor above. Instead of seeing his smug face across from your office door, all you saw was a clean desk, no files or loose papers across the surface like there had been before. It felt like a cruel reminder of what you were so close to gaining. Partnership. Jeonghan. You couldn’t tell which was making you more depressed currently.

You barely noticed when Eunchae walked up to your office, knocking gently against your open door. “You alright, Y/N?”

“Hmm? Yeah I’m fine Eunchae. Can I help you with anything?” You spoke, not lifting your head to meet her gaze. You didn’t want her to see the bags that had formed under your puffy eyes. It’s hard to fall asleep these days.

“I just wanted to say you should have been the next junior partner, not Eunwoo.” She barely whispered, and you understood why. The office behind her was practically haunted by Eunwoo’s cheery spirit. “He’s a good lawyer, but he barely pays attention to us and the newer lawyers. You take good care of us.”

You smiled at her words. “Thanks Eunchae.”

She walked in, letting the door close behind her. You had given up all pretence of following the dumb rules like commandments, and Eunchae caught on quick. “That’s why you’ve been so sad this week, right?”

“That’s.. half of it. How have you noticed?”

She shrugged. “I’m smarter than they are. What’s the other half?”

“Boy troubles, I guess.”

She leaned in. “Is this about your boyfriend? The one you posted on insta?” You nodded, and she smiled, pleased with her detective skills. “What happened?”

“He didn’t tell me he liked me until too late, and now I’m realising that I like him too, but he won’t talk to me.”

“I’m sorry, why doesn’t your boyfriend already know you like him?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Okay..” She trailed off. “Have you told him how you really feel?”

“Yeah, but he won’t talk to me anyway.”

“Tell him again.” She advised. “People are stupid, they don’t believe what’s right in front of him. What have you got to lose, anyway?”

Day 27 (cont.)

“Hey, this is Jeonghan. I can’t come to the phone right now…”

“I don’t want to fill your inbox, so I swear, if you don’t respond to this, I’ll leave you alone forever. But god I’m going to miss you if you leave. You’re such a heartbreaker, Hannie, you’re about to break mine. I’m in love with you. I’m sorry it took me so long to see it. Please just, let me know if you feel the same, or if everyone was wrong. I guess if I don’t hear from you again I’ve gotten my answer. I.. Goodnight, Jeonghan.”

Day 28 - Friday 30th November

You hadn’t heard anything from Jeonghan. All night, you stayed up, staring at your phone, hoping it would light up with a call, a text, anything. God, you would even settle for a subtweet, but nothing. When 5AM hit and the light of dawn peered in through your blinds you had given up. Jeonghan wanted nothing to do with you.

You called in sick to work. It wasn’t difficult, crying will make you sound all stuffy and blocked. You hoped the sniffles that slipped from your lips weren’t understood as what they truly were: forming scars. Whatever, it gave you an excuse to stay in bed all day.

You kept your promise, not to bother Jeonghan again, but couldn’t find it in yourself to delete conversations or photos. Your heart was shattered, and the pieces were lost deep in the text messages he sent, you couldn’t delete them so easily.

You made one phone call, to Wonwoo, when you woke again at 5PM.

“He hates me, Woo. I think I lost him forever.”

“If that’s really the case then he’s an idiot. Just like you.”

You felt no desire to reach out to anyone else, or let anyone know you were alive. You didn’t feel alive. All you wanted was to sink into your mattress and hide from the world. The blankets covering your face would have to do in the meantime. It was a weak shield, but you were hidden all the same, and that’s all you needed.

Someone came to check on you earlier, or perhaps it was just your neighbour. You heard the knocks, but pretended no one was home. They left quickly. You felt so forgettable, so discarded. What a pathetic existence.

9:21 PM flashed across your phone screen, but you didn’t seem to notice it. It was silenced on your kitchen counter, far away from you, because you knew if you kept it nearby you would do something stupid. And you were careful. You needed to be even more careful than before, now that you were nursing a broken heart.

When the knocks on your door sounded you hid even further away. They would go away, they all did. And the knocks did subside, replaced instead by the clink of keys. Fuck, was it your landlord? What was he doing here? The door opened, and you pulled the sheets tight over your head. Hopefully he would just leave.

You heard footsteps slowly lead to your room. Fuck, was this a home invasion? Maybe you should be more scared, but you couldn’t find it in you to do anything but stay in a frozen position. Your bedroom door creaked open, and you felt your heartbeat in your eyes.

This was it. You were going to die, and you couldn’t even see Jeonghan one last time before some stranger took you out in your own home. Well, the apartment you had rented for years. God, you were almost thirty, and you were about to die alone in a starter apartment you never bothered to leave. Why was this world so cruel?

“Y/N.”

Fuck. It wasn’t your landlord. It was Jeonghan. Somehow, when being confronted with the person you’ve been trying to reach for days, your confidence disappears.

“I know you’re not sleeping, Y/N.”

Maybe if you didn’t respond he would go away? Did you even want him to? Why weren’t you doing anything?

“I saw you left your phone in the kitchen. You’ve got a voicemail, by the way. It’s from an hour ago. I’m gonna play it for you, okay?”

“Hey Y/N. It’s me, obviously. I um, you’re right. I shouldn’t have run away. I was being a coward. I’ve been a coward the entire time we’ve been friends, because I don’t know when, but at some point I feel so hopelessly in love with you and I’ve been hiding it this entire time. Fuck, I really need to see you. Can I come over?”

Your protective sheets were pulled from your head, and you were met with the sight of Jeonghan, who’s eyes were as puffy as your own. He smiled down at you.

“You look like shit.”

“So do you.”

“Yeah, well, I was heartbroken.” Jeonghan grinned as he spoke. God, he was so beautiful. “I thought my best friend who I’ve loved for years didn’t love me back.”

You sat up, reaching for Jeonghan’s hand, which he gladly gave you. “Why didn’t you ever tell me before now?”

“Had to protect my fragile heart.” He told you, locking into your eyes. You were frozen in place once more. You had never once thought of Jeonghan as fragile, yet here he was, baring his soul to you, like a glass canary had been placed in your hands. “I was so content to just hide it all my life, watch as you fall deeper in love with Joshua, and then I discovered I really loved being your fake boyfriend. I never thought I would enjoy being a boyfriend, but something about being with you makes it so easy.”

All the walls you swore you would put up had been torn down by Jeonghan before you could even begin construction.

“Besides, what exactly was I supposed to think when you hated our first kiss?”

You gasped. “I didn’t hate it! We both agreed it felt weird the next morning.”

“Sure, I definitely thought that, and wasn’t just agreeing with you to save myself the embarrassment of rejection.”

You cringed as you thought of that fateful day. “I don’t know Hannie, when I woke up that morning things felt as if they had changed, and it scared me.” You blushed, feeling regretful of your naivety. “I was so scared of things changing for the worse I never considered that they could get better.”

Jeonghan’s hand met your jaw, pulling you towards him with such a sense of nostalgia. “What about now? Are you still scared?”

“A little.” You whispered. You didn’t need to say it any louder, you knew he could hear you. “But I don’t want my fears to hold me back any more.”

“Oh yeah? Show me.”

You rolled your eyes at Jeonghan, before doing exactly that, and capturing his lips with your own. No fireworks, no eruptions. Kissing him was the comfort you had craved for years. Jeonghan was your home.

You pulled away from him, letting your eyes flutter open. “That count as proof?”

He hummed. “I don’t know, why don’t you show me again?”

“You’re such a loser, Yoon.” You teased, but did exactly as he wanted.

Day 1 (of forever to come) - Saturday 1st December

This past month had no shortage of you waking with Jeonghan in your apartment, but this was the first time you had woken up beside him, arms tangled together. Your phone was buzzing incessantly under your pillow, and who thought it was a good idea to interrupt your sleep so early in the morning?

Oh, Wonwoo. You should probably give him peace of mind, after everything he’s done for you.

“Hello?” You spoke groggily, trying as best as you could to whisper so as to not wake Jeonghan, still asleep next to you.

“Y/N? Have you seen Jeonghan recently? I know you guys are fighting, but Vernon told me he left last night without saying anything and he’s still not back yet, it’s already 10.”

“Wow, Vernon’s up early on a Saturday. I’m not even out of bed yet.”

Wonwoo hissed through your speakers. “Take this seriously! Your best friend is missing!”

Jeonghan stirred, and before you could say anything, he spoke instead. “Y/N, tell your friend to hush, I’m trying to sleep.”

You stayed silent, and Wonwoo was silenced too.

“Is that…”

“Yeah, he’s here with me. He’s not missing, you can tell Vernon he’s alright.”

“Holy shit! He’s in bed with you?”

“He stayed the night…”

“Get it.”

“Shut up Wonwoo.”

Jeonghan reached his hand over to you. “Lemme talk to him.” You obliged, handing the phone to him.

“Hey Wonwoo, no nothing happened. Well, Y/N confessed their undying feelings for me and told me how incredibly attractive and sexy I am and how I’ve ruined anyone else’s love-“

“JEONGHAN!”

“Yep gotta go, bye Wonwoo!”

You snatched the phone from Jeonghan, only to see the call had already ended. “You snake! Stop badmouthing me to our friends!”

He gasped in mock offense. “Bad mouthing? Never! That’s basically what happened last night, anyway.”

“You’re missing the part where you confessed first.” You reminded him, pushing against his arm, but he resisted your force, instead wrapping his arms around you and holding you as you squirmed. “Let go of me you weasel.”

“Weasel? Are you gonna pay for the damages you’re causing my heart?” He pouted, and you wanted to badly to shove (kiss…) that pout off his face.

“More like ego.”

“Wonwoo has always known how incredibly whipped I am for you, he doesn’t need a reminder.” Jeonghan whispered above you. “Do you?”

You nodded slyly. “You’ve got a decade of reminders to make up for hiding this from me for so long. You better get cracking.”

Jeonghan leaned over to kiss your forehead. “Why rush it? We’ve got the rest of our lives, and I’m going to make sure you never forget just how much I love you.”

AN: i think this is the first time i’ve ever written a happy ending but goddamn i love this fic

+ read the university kiss scene here!!

#caratwritersclub #seventeen fic #jeonghan fic #fake dating au #seventeen fake dating #svt fluff #svt scenario #jeonghan scenario #svt angst #seventeen angst #jeonghan angst #seventeen friends to lovers #yoon jeonghan #joshua #joshua x reader #jeonghan x reader #jeonghan x you

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