Work Text:
Wooyoung has been friends with Yeosang for as long as he can remember. They grew up together and went to school together. Wooyoung can still remember how shy and quiet Yeosang was at first but Wooyoung had instantly taken a liking to him and declared them to be best friends. They had held hands as Wooyoung declared this. Yeosang was shy but he had a small smile on his face and both of their parents found it super adorable.
They did everything together after that day. They went to school together, they joined the dance club together, they learned to skateboard together…well Yeosang learned while Wooyoung just fell over all the time.
Wooyoung cannot think of a moment where they were separated.
And Wooyoung also cannot remember a moment when he wasn’t in love with Yeosang.
God, he had it bad.
Yeosang would smile and Wooyoung’s heart would be ready to explode. Yeosang would show Wooyoung a dance routine he was practicing and he would be unable to tear his eyes from the way Yeosang moved. Yeosang was graceful and fluid with his movements and it hypnotised Wooyoung.
San, his other best friend would shake his head at the way Wooyoung stared at Yeosang.
“Can’t you just tell him you love him?” San whispers while they watch Yeosang dance,
“San!” Wooyoung whispers/yells “You can’t say that out loud!”
“It’s so obvious though”
“Shh!”
San pouts and just watches Yeosang dance while Wooyoung practically has heart eyes while looking at Yeosang.
Just as he finishes, there is a knock on the door. Yunho comes in and San jumps up in joy before jumping into Yunho’s arms.
“Glad to see you too, Sannie”
“I’ve been third wheeling all evening”
“San! Shhh!”
Yunho just laughs while Wooyoung panics looking at Yeosang who is too busy drinking water. Wooyoung sighs in relief and shoos the two roommates out of the dance studio.
“Have a good night you two!” Yunho calls out and Yeosang waves at the two of them.
“You want to do one more routine before we leave?” Yeosang asks and Wooyoung thinks about it for a second before nodding.
“Cool, I will play the music for you. What do you want?” Yeosang says as he wipes the sweat from his brow.
Wooyoung has to do his best not to let his jaw drop and quickly mumbles a song before running into the middle of the studio getting ready. Wooyoung is glad when the music starts and he lets it take over him and starts to move. Despite all the built up feeling, dancing helps him release all that. He puts his soul into it as he moves to the beat, hitting each move with precision.
Wooyoung has shut off everything as he just focuses on the music and as it comes to an end, he comes back to reality. He comes back to Yeosang staring at him in awe.
“That was amazing, Woo” Yeosang says with a bright smile.
“Thanks, Yeo” Wooyoung says softly, his heart pounding in his ears. He is unsure if it’s because of his dancing or if it’s the way Yeosang was looking at him with full attention.
His eyes had something in them which Wooyoung had not seen before or maybe he hadn’t noticed before. Wooyoung almost gets his hope up for a second but he pushes that thought away. Of course Yeosang loves him but just as anyone would love their best friend. That was enough for Wooyoung.
“Come on than, it’s time to get food!” Wooyoung says cheerfully as he skips over to Yeosang, puts his arm around his shoulder and rubs his face against Yeosang’s.
“Ew! Get your sweaty face away from me!” Yeosang says and tries to shove Wooyoung away but he just laughs and rubs his face some more.
Yeosang rolls his eyes but eventually his arm find their way around Wooyoung’s waist and rubs his face back.
They eventually make it back to their shared flat despite their bickering. The night air feels cool against Wooyoung’s skin and he is thankful for it. He is afraid Yeosang would figure out that he is burning under his touch.
Wooyoung would have to sort out his feelings.
His solution comes in the form of a weekend job at the small florist. This gives him a chance of having time away from Yeosang and time with himself. They were always joined at the hip and Wooyoung sometimes felt like he was walking on egg shells while trying to keep his feelings at bay.
He instantly falls in love with his new job. It’s peaceful and relaxing. He got to talk to lots of different people and learn about small snippets of their lives like why they were getting flowers and who they were getting them for. Wooyoung really loved it. He also loved learning about all their different kids of flowers and different arrangements.
He didn’t think he would take such a liking to it but he really found it calming. Dancing was a way to release stress for him and he loved it but being surrounded by flowers felt soothing. It was like someone was always with and listening to him.
…like Yeosang was always with him and listening to him.
Okay, this wasn’t working. Even when he was away from Yeosang, he was still thinking of Yeosang!
He would be doing stock checks of the flowers and he would see one which would remind him of Yeosang. He would shake his head and move on and then he would see another flower which he thinks would look good in Yeosang’s soft hair. He wants to make a flower crown and place it on his head like he used to with wild daisies when they were little. He wants to tuck another flower behind Yeosang’s ear and caress his cheek and maybe kiss him—
Wooyoung shakes his head and focuses on work.
Gosh, Yeosang had to leave Wooyoung’s thought before he literally jumps his best friend and kiss him. Not like he doesn’t do that already but he wants to kiss his lips and not his cheek like normal.
He takes a deep breath and calms himself down before zoning out and only thinking of work.
His new weekend job meant that he had less time to hang out with Yeosang. He told Yeosang he was going to study or work on an essay at the library and then disappear for the day. Yeosang had just nodded at first and told him to have a good day . They had also gotten busy with their uni work as their second year was coming to an end. They both had deadlines to meet and exams to study for so this gave Wooyoung the opportunity to evade Yeosang as much as possible.
Unfortunately, Yeosang notices and catches on far too quickly.
They were in the library working on their different essays when Yeosang brings up the topic.
“Are you seeing someone in secret?”
“W— ?! No!” Wooyoung chokes on nothing as he denies it.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course! Don’t you think I would tell you if I had someone special in my life?”
Yeosang lets it go in the end which Wooyoung is glad about. Wooyoung doesn’t like lying to Yeosang but he wasn’t sure how Yeosang would react to his new job. He knows that Yeosang wasn’t the type to laugh but he still got worried as it was such an out of character job for someone like Wooyoung. If anything, Wooyoung is sure that Yeosang would fit better as a florist. After all, Wooyoung tough if Yeosang as a lovely bouquet of flowers.
Wooyoung’s favourite flower was Yeosang.
Wooyoung smiles stupidly at the thought while looking at Yeosang who has turned his focus on his essay.
“Sorry, I just got a little worried” Yeosang finally speaks up.
Wooyoung looks at him in surprise. He stopped typing when Yeosang spoke up.
“Things are changing…well things are always changing but so many people drift apart in uni. I was scared that we were drifting apart slowly but surely”
Oh, Wooyoung feels like shit. He had hurt Yeosang without thinking. Of course he didn’t think about Yeosang, he was too busy focusing on his own feelings.
“I’ll always be your best friend, Yeosang” Wooyoung says as he places his hand on Yeosang’s.
Yeosang turns his hand and intertwines their fingers and smiles.
“I’ll always be your best friend too” Yeosang says and those words are enough to make Wooyoung want to burst in tears.
Wooyoung had been so scared to tell Yeosang how he felt because he was scared that he would ruin their friendship. He was scared of losing Yeosang but hearing Yeosang say that he would always be his best friend made him feel a million times lighter.
“Are you crying?”
“No, my eyes are just sweating”
Yeosang rolls his eyes and pulls Wooyoung into a hug and pats his head slowly. Wooyoung sobs quietly as they are still in the library and Yeosang stays right there holding him tightly. He starts running his fingers through Wooyoung’s hair and whispers “it’s ok” and “I’m here” softly into Wooyoung’s ear.
Wooyoung knows he is so lucky to have Yeosang and he feels silly for trying to distance himself from Yeosang.
He was happy just to be Yeosang’s best friend.
It was enough.
Wooyoung keeps working at the florist though. He really did love the job and he was going to enjoy every moment of it while he still could. He was humming a song while making an arrangement. San had some to visit him at work.
“So what? You just won’t say anything?” San asks, his elbow resting on the table and his head resting on his hand.
“Yeah, this is just fine”
“But fine isn’t good enough” San says and Wooyoung rolls his eyes.
“It’s fine, we are good as we are”
“You can be better together”
“San”
“Wooyoung”
“What happens when someone else comes and swoops Yeosang off his feet? What happens when he falls in love with someone else and never knows how you feel? What if this new person breaks his heart and cheats on him like the last asshole?”
Wooyoung snaps a flower’s stem in half. He remembers. He remembers it too well. Yeosang was supposed to spend the night with his partner at the time and Wooyoung was ready to game all night with San, Yunho and Mingi. He had his head set on and was stretching his arms getting ready when he had heard the door open and slam shut.
He slowly gets out of his room and moves into the living room. He sees a figure lying face down on the sofa and he carefully approached them until he hears soft sobbing from the figure. He doesn’t think twice because he knows who it is. Wooyoung only knew of one person who would cry quietly alone and not share what he was going through. He throws himself on top and holds Yeosang tightly.
“Not right now, Wooyoung”
“Shh, let me just stay with you” Wooyoung says and just hugs him tighter.
He lets Yeosang cry and he just stays there. He doesn’t ask questions. He is aware that Yeosang wasn’t going to talk about what had happened. They ended up sleeping on the sofa that night, Wooyoung is still holding Yeosang when they wake up. Yeosang eventually tells him that he had found his partner with someone else in his flat and Wooyoung is ready to go fight but Yeosang tells him that it wasn’t worth it.
Turns out it’s Seonghaw who punches Yeosang’s ex and Hongjoong has to hold him back. The sweet Seonghwa has just seen red when he found out. Wooyoung knew there was a reason he liked him so much.
All their friends had come together in the end to comfort Yeosang and he thanked everyone for their kind words and support. Yeosang declared himself as the luckiest person in the world with the greatest friends and everyone just agreed that Yeosang was precious and needed protection. Wooyoung was all for it.
After that Yeosang had admitted to Wooyoung that being cheated on made him feel horrible and worthless. It had made Yeosang feel like he was replaceable.
Wooyoung remembers his heart hurting for Yeosang or maybe it was anger.
“You’re about to ruin your arrangement” San brings Wooyoung back to reality.
“Shit” Wooyoung realising that he has snapped more than a few stems and bruised some of the flowers.
“You should talk to him about your feelings”
“You should mind your own business!”
Okay so San was probably right because despite him saying he was fine just being Yeosang’s best friend, he feels extra annoyed at the way Jongho seems to make Yeosang laugh so easily. He watched them make stupid dad jokes and laugh at each other. The grip on his pen tighten and he can feel San smirking.
They were supposed to be studying together but here he was watching Jongho and Yeosang laugh together and San feeling extra smug.
“Talk to him” San coughs and Wooyoung is ready to commit murder.
But Wooyoung is stubborn and still really scared of losing Yeosang so he comes up with a different plan instead.
San gives him a “are you fucking serious look?” when Yeosang approaches the two of them with a bouquet of lilacs and white gardenias.
“Flowers for me, Yeosangie? You shouldn’t have” Wooyoung gasps dramatically.
“You know what, I’m too tired for this” San mumbles to himself and walks away. Yeosang raises a brow but Wooyoung ignores it.
“I’m flattered” Wooyoung says in a very high pitched and sweet tone.
Yeosang rolls his eyes and simply says “No”
“Oh! A confession then!”
“No” Yeosang says again but passes him a note this time.
It takes everything in Wooyoung to not let his hand shake as he takes the note and pretends to read it for the first time. As if he hadn’t spent all night wondering what to write, writing, getting frustrated, crumpling up the paper, then re writing the note again, then getting frustrated again, and agin and again.
Words cannot describe how I feel about you. Forgive me for being a coward.
“There’s no name on it”
“No shit, Sherlock” Yeosang says with another eye roll.
“Aw, don’t be like that. Let’s go get the flowers in some water before they wilt, yeah?” Wooyoung says cheerfully as he places his arm around Yeosang’s shoulder before dragging him away.
“So any ideas who they could be from?” Wooyoung asks calmly on the outside but on the inside he is freaking out and if Yeosang took a good look at Wooyoung he would probably notice how much he was sweating from nervousness but his attention seems to still be on the flowers.
“No idea…”
Wooyoung hums in response, feeling relief wash over him.
“I do wish they were from someone I know though” Yeosang says softly, eyes still on the flowers and Wooyoung’s heart breaks.
He didn’t know that there was someone he was interested in. Why had he not said anything to Wooyoung? Did Yeosang not trust him?
“Oh yeah? Who?”
“No one interesting”
“Oh come on, they must be interesting if they got you interested” Wooyoung says with a smirk but on the inside he is dying.
“I’m not telling you” Yeosang says and Wooyoung pouts.
“Is it someone I know?” Wooyoung asks, his heart is in his throat.
“Yeah, you know them really well actually”
Jongho’s face flashes in Wooyoung’s head and he has to take a deep breath to calm himself down. Wooyoung has to let it go or he is either going to cry or going to hunt Jongho down and scream at him.
They get home, talking about other things to keep Wooyoung distracted and for once he thanks all the gods for Yeosang’s shy and quiet nature because Yeosang easily lets the topic go too. He can tell Yeosang is more relaxed too now that he has let the topic go.
“Right, can you get me some scissors and a vase? I will sort these flowers for you” Wooyoung says once they get home.
Yeosang nods and goes to get the things Wooyoung asked for while Wooyoung places the bouquet down on their small coffee table. He sits down and stretches his hands getting ready to get in the zone. Yeosang comes back and hands him the things he had asked for. Wooyoung thanks him before cutting the plastic wrap around the bouquet to spread the flowers out.
Yeosang watches him from the sofa. He had pulled his knees into his chest and hugged his legs. He looked cute and Wooyoung would definitely admit it.
Wooyoung cuts off the stems of all the flowers and starts to arrange them carefully in the vase. He trims away some of the leaves and cuts off more of the stem when he wanted some of the flowers to be shorter for the arrangement. His hands move automatically but they move with intent.
“Did you know that lilacs are a symbol of first love” Wooyoung says softly.
Yeosang looks up.
“Really?”
“Yeah” Wooyoung nods. He can feel Yeosang’s gaze is on him but he doesn’t look up at Yeosang. He knows if he looks up all his hidden feelings were going to tumble out of his mouth.
“What about the gardenias?”
“They are just pretty to look at” Wooyoung says with a cheeky smile.
Yeosang rolls his eyes.
“It expresses the sender’s love for the receiver” Wooyoung says.
Yeosang doesn’t respond. Wooyoung can guess that his mind is running a mile a minute trying to figure out who the flowers could be from. Wooyoung has to take another deep breath to calm his heart down.
If Yeosang figured out right there and then, Wooyoung doesn’t know what he would do. Perhaps he would just quietly give in and confess or maybe he will straight out deny it and say he would never do such cheesy things and leave Yeosang alone.
“Wooyoung?”
“Let me guess, how do I know?” Wooyoung asks with a small smile on his face.
“I could do with an explanation” Yeosang said.
Wooyoung sighs as he places the last new flowers in the vase before finally looking at Yeosang. Yeosang was looking at him with a small smile and happy eyes. Wooyoung returns his smile before he starts to speak.
“It’s something I learned from my weekend job at a small florist” Wooyoung says softly.
Yoesang takes a few minutes to let that information sink in.
“Is that where you have been?” is the first thing Yeosang says.
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t mean to keep it a secret from you” Wooyoung says as he stands up and sits next to Yeosang.
“I think it suits you”
“Huh?”
“I can see it, you as a florist. And you have arranges those flowers beautifully” Yeosang says, his smile growing as he nods to himself.
Wooyoung can feel himself blushing at Yeosang’s compliment.
“They are beautiful flowers, I just arranged them to let them all shine” Wooyoung says as he scratches the back of his head.
“Just learn to take the compliment” Yeosang says with a smile and he leans towards Wooyoung and places his head on his shoulder.
Yeosang lets one of his hand wander and find one of Wooyoung’s hand. He intertwines their fingers and squeezes Wooyoung’s hand.
“Thank you”
“You are welcome” Wooyoung says and Yeosang laughs. Wooyoung is a bit confused as to why he is laughing.
“Do you know why I’m thinking you?”
“For arranging the flowers?”
Yeosang laughs again.
“That too, but I want to thank you for the actual flowers too”
“What?”
“They are from you aren’t they?” Yeosang asks as he sits up and looks at Wooyoung.
Wooyoung’s heart is in his throat, ready to escape. He tries to avoid eye contact with Yeosang but he can’t escape. Yeosang’s eyes are searching for the truth, no his eyes are looking for confirmation. He knows he is right as there is a knowing look in his eyes.
Wooyoung deflates on the spot.
“Yeah, they are from me. I’m sorry” Wooyoung whispers.
Wooyoung thinks this is the end. The end of their friendship, the end of his time with Yeosang. He has made things awkward and now they would go their separate ways and they will be awkward every time they hang out with their mutual friends. Maybe Wooyoung will move out and crash at San and Yunho’s place. Or maybe Yeosang will confess to Jongho and they will move into this flat together and he will move in with Mingi.
Yeah that is what he was going to do.
He was going to let Yeosang go and he will wallow in despair. Hopefully Mingi won’t mind that.
“Wooyoung, stop!”
Wooyoung’s head jerks up and looks at Yeosang who is looking at him, a smile still plaster on his face.
“Stop what?” Wooyoung asks in confusion.
“I can literally see you over thinking everything” Yeosang says with a laugh.
Was he saying his thought out loud?
“The person I was hoping the flowers were from was you” Yeosang says softly as he leans into Wooyoung’s space once again.
“What?”
“It’s you, it’s always been you”
Wooyoung’s stomach has about a million butterflies and his heart is beating faster than it ever has in his whole life.
“What are you saying?” Wooyoung asks as he turns to face Yeosang.
Yeosang smiles and lays his forehead on his shoulder. He takes a deep breath while Wooyoung holds his breath.
Yeosang looks up at Woyoung.
“I’m so in love with, always have been”
If Wooyoung died on the spot he would die a happy man. All this time he had been worried about ruining his friendship with Yeosang but it seems like he was worried for no reason.
“I’m in love with you too”
“Good” Yeosang says as he leans in closer to him.
“I’m sorry it took so long to figure this out” Wooyoung says softly as he too sits to lean in towards Yeosang.
“It’s ok…we are just idiots in love” Yeosang says with a laugh.
That laugh hits Wooyoung differently now. It’s a laugh he can proudly say is from the person he is so totally in love with. He makes a silent wish of hoping that he never has to stop hearing Yeosang’s laugh.
Wooyoung watches as Yeosang’s eyes flutter close. Wooyoung really was lucky to have Yeosang and even luckier he was to be the person Yeosang was in love with.
Their first kiss is the softest of kisses ever. It’s a little clumsy but neither of them care as they both finally realise what they have been missing out on. They don’t get the cliche firework feeling described in every romantic movie but they both get the feeling that this is exactly where they are supposed to be. They belonged right here, next to each other and they couldn’t be happier.
Their hands find their way around each other’s bodies as Wooyoung takes the liberty of deepening their kiss. They pull each other closer, if that was even possible.
Yeosang melts into the kiss and groans into the kiss when Wooyoung gently bites Yeosang’s lower lip.
Yeosang places his hand on Wooyoung’s chest and taps him twice and Wooyoung pulls away.
“Sorry, I got way too into it” Wooyoung says with a smirk making Yeosang roll his eyes.
“At least try to look sorry” Yeosang says and smacks his shoulder with a smile on his face.
I’m not sorry though”
Yeosang rolls his eyes again.
“Just kiss me again, you idiot”
Wooyoung laughs.
“I’m your idiot now” Wooyoung whispers after pulling Yeosang back into his arms and resting their foreheads together.
“I love you”
“I love you too”
And their lips meet once more as Yeosang tumbles back onto the sofa. They break off the kiss to giggle together before their lips meet again.
They had to make up for all the lost time and then Wooyoung had to make sure Yeosang knows that he is loved very much and that he is not replaceable.
Wooyoung makes a mental note to tell Yeosang’s ex to fuck off and show off how wonderful Yeosang is.
_______
“So what have me learned from this experience?”
“That Choi San is always right” Wooyoung says with a pout while San has a smug look on his face.
“And what will happened if you break Yeosang’s heart?”
“Seonghwa will beat the living daylights out of me” Wooyoung says and Seonghwa gives him satisfied smile.
“And Jongho will send you into another dimension” Jongho adds.
Yeosang laugh as he watched his best friend, soulmate and his now boyfriend kneels on the floor while being surrounded by their friends.
He was lucky to have his friends, he knew it when he had the worst break up of his life and he is even more sure now that their friends were the best. He knew that their friends just wanted the best for both of them. Hongjoong pats his shoulder.
“Be good to each other, yeah?”
“You don’t have to tell me twice…I have loved him for so long and through so much, I don’t think I can stop it” Yeosang says honestly and Hongjoong gives him a wide smile before he starts to wipe away pretend tears from his face.
“Oh my babies are all grown up”
Before he can give a sarcastic response he hears Wooyoung scream in terror. Both Yeosang and Hongjoong look up to see Yunho and Mingi towering over poor Wooyoung. They two best friends are both doing an evil laugh together and Yeosang can only guess what playful threat they made to make Wooyoung scream in terror.
“You should probably save him” Hongjoong says with an amused smile.
“I’m on it” Yeosang says before standing up from where he was sitting and grabbing Wooyoung by his shirt and pulling him up.
“Alright that’s enough protective family acting, you are scaring him for real now” Yeosang says.
“Who said it was acting?” Seonghwa asks and Wooyoung hides behind Yeosang.
“Yes, we were serious about tickling him to death!” Mingi pipes in.
Yoesang has to hold back a laugh.
“I’m glad you guys are my friends, I’m really luck to have all of you”
“Awwww!”
“But luckier I am to be the person Wooyoung is in love with”
“Blegh!!!!” their group of friends all star gagging, pretending they were vomiting.
“Let’s run while they are distracted” Yeosang whispers into Wooyoung’s ear before holding his hand and making a run for it together.
They are laughing as they run down the streets.
“Yeosang!” Wooyoung yells out as they are still running.
They feel like they are just kids once again, running around in the garden playing games. The two of them couldn’t be happier.
“Wooyoung!” Yeosang yells out, disregarding the looks they get from the people on the streets.
“I love you!”
“I love you too, you silly!”