♫ three little words (dedicate them to me), cyj
fluff, 4.8k words ୨୧ oh my god they were roommates :0 sorry to any academic weapons reading, im projecting a bit as an academic failure lol
wherein it only takes you about twenty-nine years to realize you're in love with your best friend... at least you got there!
꒰ requested. gender neutral reader (no pronouns or gendered terms used), reader is younger, unspecified age difference (but its implied that theyre very close in age), childhood friends to lovers, nonidol au, roommates, idiots in love, time skips, aging up, alcohol/drinking, a bit dialogue heavy, vomit is mentioned a few times, friend group ot4 ꒱
It’s hard to recall a time without Yeonjun; he appeared one day and stuck to you, almost as if he were a stubborn thorn in your side (said endearingly, of course).
It must’ve been when you were still in kindergarten—right, Yeonjun and his parents had moved in next door, and your moms both became friends and arranged a play date. Yeonjun had brought his PlayStation over and let you play it with him, so, obviously, to five-year-old you, that made the two of you best friends right away.
“Are you almost done?” Yeonjun bemoans from your bedroom floor, urging you to look up from your piles of textbooks and worksheets finally.
“No, I told you I needed to study and that you should go to your own house, you bum. Just ‘cause you don’t give a shit about your education doesn't mean I don’t.”
“You almost flunked last year. And you’re only studying because your mom saw you got a three out of a hundred on your algebra test,” Yeonjun deadpans, “how do you even score that bad?” Ugh, lucky, naturally academically gifted asshole. You roll your eyes and toss a pencil at his stupid face.
“Whatever,” you grumble, it’s not your fault you can’t be an academic weapon, and that school is whooping your ass instead with academics as a weapon. “I feel like my brain is about to start leaking out of my ears anyway, wanna go to yours?”
Yeonjun grins, sitting up from your floor with a start, finally regaining some of his earlier excitement before he had to wait nearly four hours (all of which were spent pestering you) while you attempted to study. “I ditched school yesterday to get a copy of Resident Evil 4 from GameStop.”
“What the hell—and you didn’t invite me?” you whine, “That’s cold, you better let me try it first.”
It’s hours later into the evening when you’re watching Yeonjun attempt to get through the wretched cabin section that you died approximately… thirteen times trying to get through, that he says, “You remember that guy, Taehyun, right? In my AP History class.”
“Mhm,” you hum, blinking your bleary eyes at Yeonjun’s TV screen from your very comfortable spot on his couch.
“He doesn’t usually talk a whole lot to me, but today, I couldn’t get him to shut up,” Yeonjun huffs a laugh as he maneuvers the character, Leon, up the stairs on screen, seemingly making it farther than you could. “He was complaining though, ‘cause he was partnered with this person who was into me. He couldn’t get any work done, they were just bugging him about me.”
You tear your focus from the TV to look at the side of Yeonjun’s face, you can see part of his furrowed brow and pursed lips. “Oh.”
It doesn’t surprise you that a lot of people seem to be interested in Yeonjun at school. In middle school, people started coming up to you, asking if you’d put in a good word for them with Yeonjun, because they ‘like-liked’ him, and you were his best friend. Then, it was at the end of eighth grade that you started telling those people to grow a pair and talk to him themselves.
You suppose you kind of understand. Yeonjun’s nice when he’s not being a little shit… and he’s not horrible to look at, one might even say he’s good-looking.
“Are you into them?” The question seems to roll off your tongue easily, but you’re not even sure why you asked, you don’t think you want to know. For some reason, thinking about it churns your stomach a bit.
“...No, I mean, they’re pretty, but,” Yeonjun sighs, tossing his controller to the side as he dies a second time. “they seem kinda… much. I dunno, Taehyun said they literally wouldn’t talk to him about anything besides me the entire class. It kinda weirded me out.”
“Hm, yeah.” You hum, a weird feeling of… relief washing over you. Yeonjun’s mom comes in to ask if you’re staying for dinner before you can think about it too hard.
Later that night, when you’re stuck staring blankly at your ceiling, you decide you were just relieved that Yeonjun wasn’t going to end up with some overly possessive weirdo. It’d suck to lose your best friend that way.
“Please do not throw up, because if you throw up, then I’m gonna throw up.”
“I’m not gonna throw up,” Yeonjun insists, but it doesn’t sound all too credible with the way he slurs his words, maybe you’ve also had too much to drink, but you swear he looks a little green. “I… am perfectly fine, thank you very much.”
“Uhuh.”
“Don’t ‘uhuh’ me,” Yeonjun grumbles with an attempted glare, you find that you can’t take him all too seriously, though; the flush on his cheeks, his inability to keep his eyes open for more than five seconds, and his perpetual pout make it all too difficult. “Oh, I—I think I’m gonna hurl.” He braces himself against the bar, eyes suddenly more awake.
That would be the reason you end up in a grimy bathroom on your twenty-first, making sure your best friend’s hair is out of the way as he empties the contents of his stomach into a toilet bowl.
“Why’d you drink so much, you know you’re a lightweight.” You ask when Yeonjun seems to be done, frowning as you wipe off his mouth with a paper towel.
“Am not,” he protests petulantly. “I was just—I just felt like it ‘cause I thought it’d make me feel better ‘nd I could stop thinking about other shit.”
“Did something happen?”
“...I stopped seeing that person I told you about.”
“Why? I thought it was going well?” ‘Well’ might be a bit of an overstatement. Like most of Yeonjun’s partners, you didn’t hear a whole lot about this new one, met them once for a brief moment, then didn’t hear of them again. It seems to be a common theme in Yeonjun’s relationships—his fleeting interest, you haven’t figured out if you should say anything about it.
“It was just, um. ‘M not over someone…. I didn’t feel right staying in a relationship knowing I’m still not over someone else.”
Oddly enough, that felt rather sobering to hear. You hum, stomach feeling a little off—you hope you aren’t going to throw up next… “You haven’t told me about that, wanna talk about it? It might feel better than drinking too much and throwing up in a disgusting bathroom. Don’t quote me on that, though.”
Yeonjun blinks slowly, then chuckles, “I’ll tell you about it some other time, I just really want to be in bed right now.”
Instead of getting an Uber or something, you trudge down the sidewalk with a clingier-than-usual Yeonjun, who barely manages to walk in a straight line. You internally celebrate when your apartment building comes into view; one of you seriously needs to get a car.
You have to convince Yeonjun to shower before you, almost like a petulant child.
And apparently, wanting to be in bed means taking up most of your mattress and hogging your blankets for the night, because when you finish showering, you return to your room to find your bed occupied. You could just steal Yeonjun’s bed for the night… but you end up just crawling into bed beside him, listlessly trying to reclaim your covers.
He never ended up telling you about this mystery person he’s not over.
“I just don’t think it’s going to work out.” You sigh.
“But why? I thought things between us were going great, I—”
“I’m sorry, I just don’t see this relationship progressing any further.”
“But, I—I told my mom about you! You can’t leave me, I love you!”
“Ugh, you asshole,” you cry out as Yeonjun pretends to cry hysterically and shakes you by your shoulders, “You’re supposed to be taking this seriously and helping me!”
Yeonjun cackles as you shove him away, “I mean he could react like that, couldn’t he?” Then, he sighs and places his hands on your shoulders—not shaking you this time. “Okay, seriously, it’s going to be fine, you’ll be in a public space, so worst case scenario, he embarrasses himself.”
“You’re right… ugh, I’m gonna be late.”
“You’re the one who wanted to rehearse the conversation again.”
Before sending you off, Yeonjun smushes your face, cooing, “Okay, go dump your boyfriend, my duckling, I’ll be waiting here with takeout and beer.”
“You are a grown-ass man.” You deadpan before you’re finally off.
It’s been a good few months since you started seeing this new guy—his name’s Mark, you realized you liked him enough to make things more official after several good dates. But, you’ve already been considering breaking things off with him for a while now; you seem to have this recurring issue when it comes to relationships… You just can’t seem to envision a future that includes your partner, even when it’s going well you ultimately lose interest.
Mark seems like a good guy, too, which makes you feel worse, but it’d be even worse to just lead him on, right? That’s what you continue reminding yourself as you trudge into a nice café that will be tainted by the memory of you dumping a nice guy for the rest of your life. You’ll never be able to enjoy the sweet treats of ‘Arcadia’ ever again.
“Hey, there you are,” Mark smiles as you take the seat across from him.
“Yeah, uh, sorry, I had to help my roommate out.” A fib, even though your mother tells you honesty is the best policy. Well, she lied about Santa and the tooth fairy; besides, your fib sounds nicer than ‘I was rehearsing how to break up with you with my best friend’.
“No worries.”
“Um,” it’s better to just get it over with, you remind yourself, just rip the bandaid off, “so, I wanted to talk to you.”
“Uh oh, that doesn’t sound too good,” Mark chuckles, then clears his throat and continues when you don’t laugh, “What’s up?”
With a deep breath, you let it spill out all at once, “I don’t think this is going to work out, I just don’t see us—this relationship going any further. I’m sorry and I hope you can understand.” Okay, that wasn’t too scary, if you’re ignoring your shaky, clammy palms against your knees.
Mark nods, then looks down at his lap, then back at you, “I guess I should’ve seen it coming, I mean, I’ve seen the way you and your roommate look at each other.”
“Uh… you what?”
“You don’t have to play dumb about it, it’s obvious the both of you are in love. Guess I just liked you so much I hoped I could change your mind.” Mark sighs, “I think I’m gonna… go, sorry.” He says, then leaves you to spiral.
‘Obvious the both of you are in love’? You and Yeonjun? That’s ridiculous, right?
Leaving what was once your favorite café in a daze, you’re suddenly glad that you’d decided to walk instead of drive; you barely register entering your apartment complex, and unlocking your door.
“Hey,” Yeonjun is on the couch, takeout and a pack of beer spread on the coffee table as promised, “how’d it go?”
“It went fine,” you say with a smile that doesn’t quite make its way to your eyes, “he took it as well as he could have.” It’s weird, that you don’t just word vomit out every small detail, like you tend to with Yeonjun. But somehow, something about divulging everything feels weirder, so in a rare twist of events, you keep quiet.
Seemingly taking the hint that that’s going to be all you say for the time being, Yeonjun changes the topic, “Go change so we can eat, the new episode of The Vampire Diaries is literally about to start in like two seconds.”
“What the hell! I didn’t think I was gone for that long!” You shriek and make a run for it to your room to change out of your outside clothes.
Yeonjun snorts when you return, plopping onto the couch while trying to catch your breath. “I lied, there’s still like half an hour.”
“You’re such an asshole,” you hiss, and pummel him with the nearest throw pillow.
“I’m starting to think I’m gonna end up alone,” with a grunt, you tug your blanket up higher, “why’re we both so bad at relationships?”
“Rude,” Yeonjun flicks your forehead, and if you weren’t so cozy, full of food, and three cans of beer drunker, you might’ve sat up to take your revenge. But alas, moving even a mere inch feels like a herculean effort.
“You’re rude,” you stick your tongue out at him childishly. “Y’know I didn’t mean it like that, though, right?”
“I know.”
“Mm. Maybe…” You focus your bleary eyes on Yeonjun’s face above you. Even from this unfortunate angle, from where your head rests on his lap, he looks so… “If we’re not… If we’re still single by the time we’re thirty-four, I think we should just marry each other.”
Yeonjun laughs, “Okay, I think it’s bedtime, don’t you have work in the morning?”
If you hadn’t fallen asleep right then, you might’ve clapped back with a witty response, or you might’ve sat up, and looked at Yeonjun dead in the eyes and told him that you were serious.
“No, Mom, I am still not in a relationship,” you pause, then sigh, “Yes, I know I’m not getting any younger. And, no, I’m not gonna—wait, what?”
“You heard me, I asked when you’re going to give in and just marry Yeonjun. I like him, he’d be a nice son-in-law, he practically already is at this point!”
Only mothers would have the audacity. You have to pull your phone away from your ear to stare at the outgoing call screen in astonishment. “What… are you talking about?” You ask when you bring your phone back to your ear.
“Oh, c’mon. You’ve been living together since you were what, nineteen? Neither of you dates anymore, you spend all your free time together…You may as well get hitched at this point, instead of denying your poor mother the opportunity of watching her child get married any longer.”
You perk up at the call of your name, seeing two of your coworkers rush over, “Hey—random question—how early do you think is too early to get engaged? Lia’s only been with her partner for like three months, and they’re already engaged! You’ve been with your boyfriend for years, right? And neither of you has proposed?”
“Uh? My… boyfriend?”
“Yeah? Your boyfriend, his name’s Yeonjun, right?”
“Oh, he’s not my… He’s just my best friend.” You’re not sure what’s more embarrassing, the fact that all this time, it seemed like you and Yeonjun were dating, or having to tell two of your coworkers that you are actually painfully single. It doesn’t make it any better that the majority of your coworkers, while nice, are known for gossiping—all mostly harmless.
You expect your mother to make you feel bad about your relationship status (out of love), but not your coworkers.
“It’s weird, lately, I’ve realized that people think me and Yeonjun are together…? My mom even told me to just go and marry him, like?”
“Oh, you poor sweet summer child…”
“Have you still seriously not realized?” Taehyun pipes up beside Kai who regards you with a pitiful look. What’s up with everyone lately? You’re starting to feel like you’re the only one missing something.
“Realized what?”
“Oh, you’re hopeless.” Taehyun laments, looking as if he’s about ready to tear his hair out or reach across the dining table to knock some sense into you.
Ideally, you’d like to think you’re not at all oblivious. But, after many strange occurrences, you can’t help but consider: that you’ve never properly thought of Yeonjun that way—in a romantic sense. He’s always just been Yeonjun; the only person who you know for a fact you can trust with anything, and the only person who will stick with you despite all of your bullshit, like a stubborn thorn you can’t seem to be rid of (not that that’s an issue). He’s your everything, really.
When you imagine your future, you always see him fit in there somehow—but it occurs to you that as someone who’s never had a complete interest in marriage, or any romantic relationships for a long time for that matter, you could imagine walking down the aisle with Yeonjun, and more. Not only that, but you like imagining it.
Oh.
How dense can one be to fail to realize they’ve been in love with their best friend all this time? After nearly three decades of friendship, it’s seriously taken you this long to get to this conclusion? All those failed relationships you tried so hard to make work, it was all for nothing, because you couldn’t realize what you felt for what you already had! So much time wasted…
“Are you feeling okay?” Yeonjun apparates beside you, a palm carefully tracing circles over your upper back.
You feel bad for how you jolt away from him, seeing the surprise and mild hurt pass over his features in a split second. If you didn’t know Yeonjun like the back of your hand, you might’ve missed it. “...Sorry, I dunno—I’ve been kind of out of it lately, I think I just need to relax.”
“You haven’t been overworking yourself again, have you?”
“No…”
Yeonjun gives you a look as though he doesn’t quite believe you, but drops it. This time, you don’t jump away like frightened prey when he touches you—wraps around your side. “Let’s watch something tonight? I’ve been hearing about this new Kdrama called ‘My Demon’.”
“That sounds straight out of Wattpad… I’ll order the food.”
“Happy birthday,” Yeonjun sings as he saunters into your bedroom at… way too early in the morning. But all’s forgiven with the realization he comes bearing gifts—food. “What’s that, thirty-four punches I’m gonna have to give you, now? Fuck, you’re old,” he says as he sets down a delectable-looking plate of your favorite breakfast on your nightstand.
“Shut up, you’re older than me.” You narrow your eyes, sitting up to reach for your birthday breakfast.
“And if you punch me thirty-four times, you will not live to see another day, Choi.”
Getting older has meant that your birthdays have become a lot less eventful, but you haven’t quite minded it. They’re spent with your favorite person, anyway, so no complaints on your end.
Yet, somehow, you end up on a beach on the night of your birthday, sitting on a beach towel Yeonjun had neatly spread out and admiring the night sky. You’d had a simple plan to laze around at home all day, eat something good for dinner, drink a little more than you should, and then sleep like the dead. However, Yeonjun had other plans when he’d announced the night before that he was taking you on a day trip the next morning. ‘It’s only a six-hour drive’, he’d said, because he’s insane.
You suppose you had a little more to your original plan… you guess you also intended to profess your newly realized love for your best friend, and potentially ruin about twenty-nine years of friendship if things happened to go wayward. Well, you still intend on getting that over with.
“Happy birthday,” Yeonjun says once more, as he returns from the car with an unopened bottle of wine and two wine glasses. Huh, you guess that’s why he took so long to grab something to drink from the ‘cooler’, actually... do either of you even own a cooler? “Better appreciate this wine, it was pricey.”
“I distinctly recall telling you not to spend much on me this year,” you sigh, but you’re staring down the bottle, “and you already arranged this impromptu trip.”
“Well, I wanted to, it’s not every day you turn thirty-four.” Yeonjun doesn’t add anything else, as he hands you the bottle of wine; you decide not to call out how he can’t meet your eyes properly.
Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, the bottle reads. You don’t know much about wine—you’re not that old yet—just that it usually tastes good. “Is it good? I don’t think I’ve tried Cabernet Sauvignon, have I?”
“You haven’t, I think you’ll like it. It would’ve gone well with dinner.”
You hum, taking a corkscrew handed to you, as Yeonjun takes a seat beside you.
A couple of glasses later, you blurt, “Thanks. For this—the trip, dinner. And the wine. I like it a lot.” It’s not quite what you’d meant to say, in such a stilted manner. You guess you need a little more liquid courage, as you pour yourself another glass.
“I can tell, that’s like your third glass.”
“Shut up,” you grumble, as Yeonjun snorts into his glass. Cheeks warming, you start internally motivating yourself—if being alive for thirty-four years has taught you anything, it’s that everything’s worth a shot. You miss a hundred of the shots you don’t take… or whatever the saying is. “Do you remember that time I said we should just marry each other if we’re still single by thirty-four?”
After a pause, Yeonjun raises a brow, “Yes?”
“I’m surprised you remember that, considering you passed out right after… Are you saying we should get married, then?” Something passes over his features before he turns to you, and laughs something that isn’t exactly humorous, “I think that might be enough wine for you.”
“I’ve only had two glasses.”
“Two-and-a-half,” you correct after glancing down at your half-full glass. “I’m not drunk, maybe a teensy bit tipsy, but—fuck, that’s not the point.”
“What is the point you’re trying to make then? Yeonjun laughs, it almost looks like that familiar glint has returned to his eyes. You’d appreciate it if you weren’t about to implode.
“I, uh,” you clear your throat. Yeonjun continues to regard you with amusement; you vaguely wonder if he’ll still be amused once you manage to get the words—your confession out, or if you’ll go and ruin everything because of some stupid feelings. “Fuck, this is kinda difficult.”
“Okay, um,” maintaining eye contact is a test of your mental strength, which is why you avert your gaze even though you’ve turned to face Yeonjun, as you utter your next sentence, “So, it’s taken me an embarrassingly long time to realize that I’ve, uh, sort of, kind of been in love with you for probably forever. No, I—”
“I’m in love with you,” you rephrase more confidently, yet you end up shrinking in on yourself when the only response you receive is Yeonjun blinking blankly at you. “So, um, you could say something… right about now. Like, you hate me and are kicking me out? Well, ideally, you could say that you feel the same and—”
“Breathe,” Yeonjun reaches over to squeeze your clammy hand. Taking a breath as instructed, you realize you have not been breathing properly since you began speaking. “I was just—you’re being serious? You aren’t just drunk, and you aren’t fucking with me?”
“Two-and-a-half glasses, I’m tipsy at worst,” you reiterate, “and I’m not fucking with you either.”
“Oh.” Yeonjun breathes, which does nothing to assuage the anxiety that feels like it might have colored your face pallid, as it incessantly knocks against your ribcage.
“Oh? C’mon man, I just confessed my love to you, give me a little more than ‘Oh’, I’m nervous as shit right now.”
“Sorry, I was just…” Yeonjun laughs, the asshole laughs. “We really are best friends, huh? I spent all week trying to figure out how to make your birthday special, and confess my love to you at the end of the night. And here you are, beating me to it.”
“You… oh.”
“C’mon man, give me a little more than ‘Oh’, I just told you your love is reciprocated,” Yeonjun laughs as he repeats your previous words, teasing, “I’m nervous as shit, too.”
So, you down the rest of your glass before setting it aside and scooting too close for comfort, and ask, “Can I kiss you?” Because if thirty-four years of life has taught you anything, it’s to not waste any more time.
“Uh… yes.” Yeonjun’s widened eyes dart from both of your eyes, to your lips, and back.
And, so, you close the distance to kiss him.
Maybe it’s not magical, maybe you don’t feel any supposed sparks or fireworks. But it feels right, like it’s meant to be as you cup Yeonjun’s cheek and shift to curl your hand around his nape. It feels like caressing the petals of a burgundy rose.
(“Have you just always known you loved me? Even when I threw up on you the first time we got drunk?” You ask, a few hours, and a couple more glasses of wine later.
“Ew, but yes, I knew I loved you even then.”
“...Huh. Would you still love me if a witch cursed me and I turned into a worm tomorrow?”
Yeonjun snorts, “A worm?” then he hums in thought, “I would buy the biggest terrarium, and the nicest dirt I can find, and take care of you. I’d find the witch and make her turn you back into a lovely human, too.”
“Good answer,” you smile, leaning over to kiss Yeonjun again, he tastes a little like remnants of Cabernet Sauvignon, deep and red, urging you to kiss him a little deeper. “I love you,” you whisper against his lips when you part.)
Upon thinking about it, not much changes between you and Yeonjun; apart from the kissing, consistently sharing a bed, sober I love you’s, and the other ‘unnecessary PDA’, as Taehyun so kindly put it, while Soobin had fixed the two of you with a disgusted look (you know that deep down somewhere, he’s happy for you both), and Beomgyu shot a thumbs up before going back to hogging the cookies Soobin baked—Kai was more focused on trying to steal some cookies, which he managed.
Your mother had practically wept out of joy when you told her the news, ‘I’m going to see my baby get married! I thought the day would never come!’ she’d cried out, and rushed to tell anyone that would listen to her. Overdramatic, and a little hurtful, by the way… You didn’t even say anything about marriage, either!
“Hm?” You reluctantly blink your eyes open at the call of your name, to see Yeonjun looking at you with a suspicious grin on his face.
“I love you.”
“...What did you do? I love you too, though, even if I have to become an accomplice.”
“I didn’t do anything bad, I just love you.”
“Mm, you loser. I love you more.”
“Hm, are you sure about that?” Yeonjun hums, your eyes follow him as he sits up and reaches for something from his nightstand, “‘Cause I think I love you more? So much that I’m asking if you’d do me the honor of marrying me.” He says so casually, contrasting how he carefully opens a small, velvety box. It gives a quiet creak as it pops open, revealing a simple silver band. A ring. An engagement ring.
After blinking the fatigue out of your eyes, and confirming that you’re not seeing or hearing things, you sit up with a start, “You—
“You dick, why would you propose to me while I’m half-asleep?!”
“Well, if you said no, I could’ve just written it off as you being tired and mishearing me… I’ll get you a nicer wedding ring, too, if you say yes, that is. Well, I already have one—”
Yeonjun grunts as you throw yourself onto him, “You’re such an idiot, I love you. Yes, I’ll marry you, there’s no question about it.”
You can’t recall the moment you started loving Yeonjun; maybe it was the day you met and he let you play his PlayStation. Maybe it was in middle school when more people started to see him, or maybe it was in high school…
Maybe you can’t pinpoint the exact moment, maybe you’ve just always loved Yeonjun. It’d be hard not to love him; he’s as beautiful as a white rose—inside and out—one that you’d pluck from the dirt with your bare hands, thorns and all, just to keep to yourself, even if for a little while. Maybe that’s selfish, but you think that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
You part from Yeonjun as your friends and family cheering fills your ears. Feeling like words can’t do your feelings in that moment justice, you kiss him once more, in hopes to convey them a little better.
“I know. I love you,” he says, because he knows you best.
Grinning so happily that your cheeks begin to ache, you properly part from Yeonjun this time, and walk hand-in-hand down the aisle.
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yaaaay tuna time tuna time. ok so the manga is I Love Amy and its about a yandere girl making friends with the lesbian mc to get closer to her male crush but finds herself really enjoying spending time with her. very good stuff highly recommend. anyway I will be scalping this whole plot for my brainrot! as I'm basing this off a wlw manga please read yan and darling as being the same gender (ex: dazai with a male darling, higuchi with a female darling) thank u.
so, following the aforementioned plot, darling actually starts out as yans TARGET instead of yans crush, accidentally getting on their radar by being seen talking to yans current obsession one too many times during routine reconnaissance (stalking). obviously they need to get rid of them! theyre getting in the way! crush shouldn't ever talk to anyone else but them!!!!
when local freak loner weirdo yan suddenly asks if you want to hang out with them, alone, it occurs to you that you should be a little more cautious- but, truth be told, you've had a crush on them for a while... and you know its probably impossible that they swing your way, but couldn't hurt to give it a shot, right?
with this in mind (and lowkey kinda entranced by how pretty they are up close), you agree.
lucky for you theyre perceptive enough to sniff out that ur a fruit and thus a complete non-threat, so you live another day! and, to their surprise, they find themselves kind of enjoying hanging out with you.
yadda yadda yadda, the two of you strike a deal to help them get in good with their crush, theyve had pretty bad luck with this so far, but they seem to like YOU, so you can get them some one-on-one time! you're pretty bummed you were right about the person you like not being interested, but hey! theyre still your friend! as long as they can be happy, you’ll be happy for them! on their end, theyre just using you (or so they think). sure, you’re ok to hang out with or whatever, but your companionship doesnt mean anything compared to their crush. once they get what they want, youre pretty much donezo.
i wont go on for too much longer about this here but im sure you get the idea, over spending time with them as friends and dedicating so much of your time to trying to help them find their happiness, yan starts turning their attention on YOU instead. they find themself getting irritated when they catch you talking to other boys/girls, what did you suddenly get a s/o or something? are you gonna stop hanging out with them? you cant DO that youre their ONLY friend! or they’ll surprise themself by desperately wanting to pass up spending time with crush to go stay with you instead. or getting REALLY REALLY mad when they see people being rude to you when they used to not care. little things like that. i feel like this concept could be really good for soft yan stuff but you COULD make it darker if you wanna.
characters i think would work with this: bsd - dazai (specifically pm dazai cuz hes a freak with no social skills), akutagawa, poe, ranpo, sigma, higuchi, gin, lucy. genshin - childe, scaramouche, albedo, cyno, eula, ei (i feel a modern au would work best for ei here), rosaria, shenhe
- 🩹
something about the holidays has fried my brain but i cant let your asks go unanswered any longer !!!!! p.s i love amy is just wonderful thank you for the rec ^^ im just gonna go over this with childe because you deserve genshin content from me :< spoilers for childe's real name (tho i think everyone knows it by now lol) unedited!
context: X is the person ajax likes (as you can tell i am very good at coming up with names :>) some things here are taken from i love amy so give it a read !! it's totally worth it i promise~
at the time, you couldn't come up with a single reason why ajax had approached you all those days ago, accompanied only by a menacing look. in fact, you could still recall how the malice in his eyes deepened once he caught sight of you stumbling your way over in his direction.
you had heard the rumors about him (like everyone else had), and while you didn't want to judge someone because of what others had to say, you couldn't deny the fear that consumed you when he stared at you with thinly veiled distaste—right after interrogating you about your relationship with the person you had just been conversing with. it occurred to you far too late that ajax had witnessed the conversation between you and X, and now you were about to be at the receiving end of the terrors you had only heard of in passing.
your brain went into overdrive thinking of an answer. childhood friends? what if he got jealous that you spent so much time with X, time he couldn't have? but if you lied about not knowing X, he'd come after you anyway if he found out the truth, right? so you tried to come up with a lukewarm answer, something to show that you weren't trying to meddle with his…potential relationship. whether you said the two of you were partners for a project, neighbors or family friends, whatever it was, it worked in convincing him that you weren't interested.
but it worked too well, as you soon came to realize, after noticing how ajax was attached to you constantly. at your response, he had lit up and quickly pulled you closer, declaring you would help him by gathering information and helping him plan for the perfect date (and of course, there was not a single moment of consideration for your say in the matter)
even though you insisted over and over again that you'd be no help, with no experience in dating or flirting with anyone, let alone someone as popular as X, and claiming you weren't close enough with them to ask such detailed questions, ajax was far from bothered. perhaps, in his eyes, you were the perfect sidekick—obedient enough to drag around like a sulking pet, but not so compliant that you weren't of some use, at the very least for entertainment. and maybe, just maybe, because he was starting to feel a little lonely.
what he didn't know at the time was that you, despite all the warnings and whispers, had a crush on him. you reasoned with yourself that most people would fall for him, if not for his fixation with X. and although you knew he was 100% infatuated with someone else, you had foolishly thought it wouldn't be the worst idea to be his friend. you had hoped that hanging out with him and being faced with the reality that he would never look twice at you would work as a bitter yet effective remedy to the flustered racing of your heart and the fluttering sensation that seized you.
surprisingly, ajax made for decent company, disregarding the pain of unrequited affection. all your time together was mostly spent talking about X, which you never complained about, but you also learned a little about him, like the fact that he had younger siblings and that he participated in a lot of archery competitions. it occurred to you for a moment, that given his track record, ajax being so well-versed with a weapon probably wouldn't end well, but you shut down that thought almost immediately. he may talk about wanting X all for himself and may have some concerning fantasies, but even he wouldn't go to such lengths, right?
the more time you spent with him, however, the fewer opportunities you actually had to talk to X. still, despite how little use he had for you, ajax still kept you by his side. maybe it was, in his eyes, a good thing that you were staying away from X. some part of you itched to tell him that you wouldn't betray him like that...not like it mattered to him. you knew he was only using you, either as an information source or a test subject, and even if it hurt to know he'd never care about you like he did X, you never once considered distancing yourself from him
you liked to think that he liked your company too, at least as an acquaintance. after all, since that first encounter, he hadn't threatened to snap your arm if you didn't tell him everything you were talking to X about. maybe that time he dragged you away mid-conversation with your friend should have been alarming, or maybe that other time when you woke up tied to a chair in his basement ("don't worry," he had brushed off your concerned look, "i only did this because you kept saying you were too busy to come over. anyways…") should have sent you running, but you justified it to yourself as his odd way of watching out for you.
or more likely, the warning signs just flew over your head because you couldn't imagine that he would be as creepy as the rumors said. you did idolize him to an extent that you tried to justify all his strange habits. it didn't matter much, anyway, since you were well aware this arrangement was temporary—you were only serving as replacement company until he finally got with X, and then your presence in his life would instantly be shut out.
because you were under the impression that it was all temporary, you didn't mind, even when he started overstepping into your personal matters. more than once you had to cancel meet-ups with friends in favor of spending time with him, and the few times you did manage to be away from him, ajax would interrogate you about every detail of your day without him, and at the very end would demand you tell him if you enjoyed being away from him, scowling until you placated him.
and then, the 'practice dates' started feeling a little too real. with him insisting on feeding you spoonfuls of dessert and latching onto your hand uncomfortably tight. but honestly, you couldn't complain, even if you knew something was wrong. going out with X didn't seem as much of a priority as it was a way to convince you that he desperately needed your help in 'practicing'.
all this while, you were under the impression your role was simply to be a good friend to ajax. naturally, when you had an opportunity to talk to X again after such a long time, you jumped to take it. what you didn't expect was for ajax to come up behind you, gently moving you aside to instead tower over X, glaring at the person he'd been pining over so desperately. the words that left him next were similar to the ones you heard all those months ago, except, these were the last words you expected him to say.
"you," he spat out, "what the hell were you talking to [name] about?"
bonus because i have too many thoughts about this :>
you getting an s/o. ajax is upset for many reasons. a) you never told him that you liked someone b) were you really going on weekly dates with your new partner?? you never even hung out with him that consistently! what, were you throwing away your friend just for this new guy? and c) how could you leave him behind like this?! suddenly, your new s/o is bombarded with the sensation that someone was constantly glaring at them, and then at every corner, ajax is standing there...just...watching. maybe he was just shy?
you manage to convince X to give him one chance. one date, so he can try to win them over. what you don't expect is for ajax to try stalling. he comes up with reasons for more practice dates, asks you for more 'tips', and if he absolutely has to go, he doesn't do anything that he was supposed to. the date is a fail, despite all the practicing he did. to you, he claims it was the nerves that got to him. come on, comrade! you gotta help him practice more now!
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