love frequency
title love frequency
pairing Sehun/Zitao
rating PG-13
length 4,570
summary Sehun's a wallflower, and Zitao's a social butterfly.
a/n Originally written for sadtao at taohunation. This wasn't really an experiment, more like going back to what I know, and I love how this one turned out. I think I'm just happier when I write fluff. Who knew.
“Cute. Very cute. Possibly cute without the hat.”
When Sehun glances away from his draft, he spots Zitao wandering in the hallway, mumbling to himself as he scrolls through his Instagram feed for the tenth time this minute. Sehun chooses to ignore the hopeful look on Zitao’s face when he catches him watching, and tries even harder to ignore the giant weight on his arm when Zitao latches onto him.
“Sehun,” Zitao whines. “You’ve been on your laptop for two hours now. Aren’t you bored of it?”
Sehun pinches at his forehead. “I’m working on my essay right now. Which by the way, you should be working on too.” He points over to Zitao’s pink laptop, abandoned on the couch in favor of whipped cream and a mess of bad decisions.
“I’m already done,” Zitao says proudly. “Don’t look so surprised Sehun.” Zitao lets go of his arm and Sehun exhales softly at the loss of warmth.
“I worry about you sometimes,” Sehun says as Zitao titters at the concern in his voice.
“You do have a heart.”
Sehun immediately deadpans. “You better not mention this to anyone.”
Zitao promises that he’ll keep his mouth shut, but knowing him, it’s only a matter of time before Junmyeon comes into their apartment and rant on about how Sehun should keep up this change of behavior to present himself as a model member of society. Or some bullshit like that, Sehun usually tunes him out when he goes on about boring topics.
“So anyways,” Zitao rolls over the couch pillows to lay on the cushions. “I have a new theory.”
“Here we go.”
“Hear me out on this one,” Zitao says quickly. “Anyways my theory is...If we put Junmyeon in a wig, he will look like an attractive girl.”
Sehun throws in a scoff with his eye roll.
“I’m telling you it’s spot on.”
“Okay, can we talk about something else now?” Sehun grumbles as he finally saves his draft. “Something other than the party too.”
Zitao juts out his lower lip for a pout and Sehun has to tear his eyes away because Zitao’s cuteness has always been a powerful tool. It’s very concerning. “But Chanyeol invited you! He says it’s going to be a small party so you won’t have to see anyone you don’t know.” Zitao’s voice is slowly turning into a whine.
“You know I don’t like going to parties,” Sehun says quietly.
Zitao sulks. “Well what if I go?” Sehun turns to him with a pointed stare, but like every time before, it doesn’t deter Zitao one bit. “I mean then you’ll have a reason to go because you’ll be going with me, and to be honest, what better would there be really?”
“Zitao.”
“It wouldn’t even be a party. It’s more like a kickback anyways.” Zitao’s eyes sparkle as he inches closer to Sehun. “Come on.”
“I,” Sehun starts, sighing when he finally decides he’s had enough of Zitao’s pleading. “Alright, alright. I’ll… I’ll think about it.”
Zitao claps his hands happily and immediately starts typing away a text. Always the social butterfly. It isn’t even five seconds before Sehun gets a text message from Chanyeol saying that he’s ‘happy that Sehun’s finally taken that stick out of his ass’ and ‘finally wants to have a social life’.
To be fair, Sehun does have a social life, and it revolves entirely around Zitao and his odd collection of friends that somehow believe they are Sehun’s friend too.
“Chanyeol seems happy about it,” Zitao says, as he hops over to Sehun’s side and peeps at his screen.
Sehun quickly pockets his phone. “He wasn’t as much of an ass this time.” He says, pausing a beat before adding, “I hope you told him I’ll think about it. I’m still not sure if I really want to go.”
The fact that Sehun is even considering leaving the flat for something other than food and necessary education seems to amaze Zitao, to the point where he’s already planning what Sehun should wear when he goes. When he’s like this, he always acquires a bit of tunnel vision-it’s annoying.
“I think you should go with the zebra print snapback,” Zitao says as he holds up two hands, one in each hand as he weighs the options. “But then again, this is your first major appearance in a long time. You should make a statement.”
“It’s not a big deal Zitao,” Sehun says.
Zitao gasps. “But it is though! I know you Sehun. I know it’s a big deal if you actually agree to go to anything like this.” He face flickers with amusement. “I just want you to have a good time.”
“This is Chanyeol we’re talking about though. Do you really think it’s going to be fun?”
“It could be,” Zitao replies, before sliding one of the snapbacks over his hair. “Since I’ll be there.”
Clearly Chanyeol cannot comprehend simple words because a ‘kickback’ and a ‘few friends’ turns out to be a wild party filled with possibly the entire student body not swamped with studies (or maybe even a few just looking to get away from the books).
Sehun arrived with Zitao sometime during the middle of the party, and quickly lost sight of him in the crowd, falling back to his favorite party game, ‘wallflower’. Parties just aren’t Sehun’s scene. He tried them back when he was in high school, and that single moment managed to confirm Sehun’s image of being a socially awkward teenager, and now a socially awkward adult.
Red cup in hand, Sehun sips on the dollar store mix Chanyeol’s managed to concoct for the party, and the fruity red punch stains his lips with each swallow. The air is sticky, and the sound of pounding bass fills his ears. It’s literally the opposite of what Sehun would call a fun time.
Zitao emerges from the crowd after a few minutes of isolation, red cups in hand and a paper crown on his head. Curiously, his snapback is nowhere to be found.
“Sehun,” he slurs, eyes curving into feline crescents. “Are you having fun?”
Sehun raises both of his eyebrows. “I’m having a blast. Me and this punch have been hitting it off.” He takes another sip. “It’s a real charmer.”
Zitao blinks at him. “What?”
Sehun blinks back. “What?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Which part?”
“What does-” Zitao fumbles around his words as he tries to figure out the translation. “What does charmer mean?”
Sehun taps his chin with the rim of the cup, to gather what little Mandarin he can remember from late night teaching sessions with Zitao. “It’s like, friendly…” His words are rough, and it’s clear, from the way Zitao sways in place, that it doesn’t really matter right now. “Never mind. How many cups did you drink?”
“Five,” Zitao answers as he counts his fingers. “No wait, seven. Eight?” His eyes widen as the realization hits through his daze. “Eight! That’s a new record.”
“Congratulations, you’ve succeeded in making yourself drunker than our resident record holder.” Sehun peers over the crowd and sure enough, there’s Chanyeol in all six feet of his uncoordinated glory. His eyes are glazed over in some form of drunken stupor, and his body sways dangerously with each step.
It’s kind of hard to watch.
“Drunk? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sehun swishes the liquid around in his cup. “Really? Cause I think you do.” He can’t stay mad at Zitao for long though, and his adoration slowly returns the longer Zitao gazes at him with that stupid smile. The smile he reserves only for Sehun. “Could you pass a sobriety test right now?”
“You know I don’t understand some of things you say sometimes,” Zitao says with a giggle, muffling it a beat later with an open hand.
Sehun prods at his shoulder with two fingers and Zitao’s swaying back on his heels, all giddy and excited as he plays along. Definitely not sober enough to pass, but not drunk enough that he’ll pass out.
Zitao’s enjoying himself though. A hiccup here. A snort there. It’s like he can’t contain the happiness inside of him. It bubbles deep within him and escapes through his laughs, little sounds that Sehun catches and holds close to his heart. Zitao’s teeth slowly reveal themselves through a feline smile and suddenly the room is illuminated-but only Sehun is blinded.
“I think you’ve had enough for one night,” he says as he pulls the cup away from Zitao, despite the small protests that bubble into tiny whimpers. “Trust me, you’ll thank me for this later.”
Even under the haze of alcohol, Zitao still trusts him enough to know when to stop, and he doesn’t fight back. Instead, Zitao takes his phone out with unnecessary flair, and slides up next to Sehun’s side all poised and ready for picture taking.
Sehun tries not to notice how warm Zitao’s body is next to his. How Zitao’s breath feels hot against his neck as he breathes in shallow pants. It’s enough to almost make Sehun spill his drink. Almost.
“I’m sure my followers will love this,” Zitao purrs as he takes too many photos, Sehun obliging because he knows Zitao will end up deleting all of it and then some the next day.
Once Zitao’s satisfied, Sehun returns to sipping his drink. “Just don’t post any ugly ones okay?”
“No promises.”
Sehun doesn’t really use Instagram that much, but it’s the perfect platform for a social butterfly like Zitao, even if he tries every single day to get Sehun to join him.
It’s a lot of fun, he’d tell Sehun, like that’s supposed to convince him.
Fun seems to have a different definition depending on the person because Sehun swears his version of fun is radically different from everyone else’s. For example-Zitao and Instagram. It’s not that Sehun doesn’t think it looks interesting, it’s more like he doesn’t really see the fun in posting photos for billions of people. People he doesn’t even know.
Not that it really mattered.
It doesn’t deter Zitao one bit as he practically flies from his bedroom to where Sehun’s sitting at, shaking his phone vigorously in front of Sehun’s face to point out whatever was on his screen. “Look! Look!”
Squinting, Sehun makes out the familiar layout of Zitao’s Instagram feed, and almost does an eye-roll, until he actually notices what’s on the screen. It’s a photo from last night, at the party. Splashed with an ugly vintage filter is Sehun standing awkwardly in front of a wall, caught with his drink raised up to his lips.
Reading further down, Sehun sees the caption for the photo, this adorable cutie, adorned with lots of heart emojis.
“Looks how many likes you got!” Zitao notes excitedly. “Twelve thousand and counting!”
The numbers fall on deaf ears. The only thing Sehun can think about right now is the words Zitao used to describe him, and the fact that Zitao uploaded a solo picture of him on his Instagram. He can’t stop staring at the photo, and it pulls at the corners of his lips, the first real tug at his heartstrings.
“I think a lot of people like you!”
It’s only later he realizes that Zitao never deleted any of the photos.
“Where are you taking me?” Sehun asks begrudgingly.
It’s a bit past lunchtime, and Sehun was hoping for a nice, quiet meal at their apartment. Preferably away from prying eyes. Zitao doesn’t seem to be on the same wavelength as he drags Sehun along by the wrist, weaving past couples and working adults.
“It’s a surprise,” Zitao answers, following up with a wink. It’s anything but reassuring.
Sehun deadpans. “You know I don’t like surprises.”
“You’ll like this one,” Zitao says. “Trust me.”
While Zitao fully trusts Sehun with his life, Sehun has a harder time believing in his words. Zitao’s a tricky one. He has good intentions, and his heart is always in the right place, but sometimes there’s moments where maybe he should really think his actions through a bit better. Save them both the headaches.
“If this is another of your schemes to get me to make a profile, I’m letting you know now you’re going to be very disappointed.”
Zitao snorts. “You should have more faith in me. But it would make me happy if you did make one.”
Before Sehun can think of a million reasons on why he doesn’t want to, Zitao’s leads them to the small corner cat café down the street, a bit far from where they’re staying at. It’s charming on the outside, like one of those family owned businesses that Sehun remembers frequenting back when he was a kid. And this confuses him because, why are they here again?
“I thought we’d eat out today,” Zitao says. “It’s been a while since we’ve sat down somewhere besides our living room for lunch.”
Sehun doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with that if he was being honest with himself. Their living room is comfortable, quiet, and most importantly, away from other people. But if it makes Zitao happy, he’ll concede just like he has in the past.
“And you chose this place?” Sehun asks as they brush past the exiting couple, immediately finding relief in the cozy atmosphere inside.
It’s one of those modern, artistic cat cafés that favor minimalist designs and soft cream colors. Potted trees and low lights. Cat motifs are splashed shamelessly throughout the building, from the cat dolls on the shelves, to the paw prints that litter the wallpaper and ceiling. Even the waiters here have cat ears as a part of their uniforms. They must really love their cats.
“I’ve been here a couple of times before. The cats here are just the cutest.” Zitao’s face is already lighting up at the thought. “You’ll love it. Trust me.”
Slipping into their slippers, Sehun lets Zitao take his hand and guide him through the room, weaving past mewling cats and customers who’re eager to play with them. He has to hand it to Zitao; the guy really knows how to pick a good lunch date place. Not that this is a lunch date. It’s just as platonic as the rest of their lunches before.
After a few minutes, they manage to secure a nice little couple table on the second floor, away from the noise of the student crowd below, and thankfully, in a corner where it’s just the two of them. Sehun doesn’t think too long about how intimate it feels.
“What do they serve here?” Sehun asks as he uncurls his scarf and sets it on the chair. The frost nips at the window beside them, taunting them with delicate patterns on glass.
Zitao copies him and throws his scarf haphazardly on his chair before opening his menu. “Just the standard coffee and pastries. The usual. I’ll order something to get us started okay?” When Zitao waves one of the waiters over, his smile is too obvious for Sehun to ignore.
The waiter is a bit of a handsome guy, with sharp cheekbones and a dashing smile to go with them. The cat café uniform is a bit bright, a soft pink apron with a paw print smack in the center, but it fits well on the waiter. Frumpy curls bounce with each step and as he gets closer to their table, the smile on his face only widens.
“Zitao!” the waiter greets him, laughter breaking the quiet as he swoops in for a hug. The cat ears on his head threaten to fall off when he leans forward. “I thought you were busy?”
Zitao rises halfway into the hug, still partially in his chair as he pats the other on the back before breaking apart. “I told you I’d stop by.” When he sits back down, he motions over to where Sehun is. “This is Sehun by the way. Sehun, this is Jongdae. He’s a good friend of mine.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sehun says with a nod.
Jongdae offers him a handshake. “Likewise.”
When Sehun reaches forward to return the action, he tries not to notice how warm Jongdae’s hands are and how easily their fingers fit together. How Jongdae lingers a bit longer as they try to part. How Jongdae watches him curiously with a sly smile.
As Jongdae leaves for their orders, looking back over his shoulder with a not so casual wink, Sehun tries to hold back the questions that are sprouting in his mind. Why does he seem so happy talking to them? Is he always this friendly? Why is that cat chasing its own tail and running into people? Is he friendly to everyone or is there something Sehun isn’t seeing right now?
“Jongdae’s been working here for a while.” Zitao points out as he rubs the cat that jumped onto his lap. The cat nuzzles into his fingers, purring happily as it curls into its secured land. “Sometimes I stop by to say hello and to give him some business when it’s slow.”
“You come here a lot then?” Sehun asks, bristling when he feels Zitao’s toe brushing against his leg.
For a brief moment Sehun wonders if being in such a secluded corner with his longtime crush slash friend might actually be a bad thing. See the thing about having a crush on your best friend is that little trips to places like this turn into a chaotic mess of unanswered feelings on the inside.
He should be used to this by now, and yet…
“Every once in a while,” Zitao answers, dropping his hold on the black cat. “I think the cats have taken a shine to me. It’s like I’m their sibling or something.”
Sehun hums, drumming his fingers on the menu. “So how did you meet Jongdae?”
“How?” Zitao looks a bit confused at the question, but shrugs it off. “I think we met at one of Chanyeol’s parties. He’s studying Mandarin and from there, I think we just clicked.” His tone drops with the next sentence. “I think he’s single too.”
At first, this flew right over Sehun’s head, but it started creeping back into his thoughts the longer they stayed at the café.
Jongdae returned not too long after the few customers on their floor started to leave, a tray of two coffee mugs in one hand. Zitao left unceremoniously to freshen up in the bathroom, but really Sehun knows he really means he’s going to take a few selcas around the café.
“So are you enjoying yourself?” Jongdae asks, slowly placing their order down on the table.
He smells nice. That’s the first thing Sehun notices as Jongdae leans in to line up their cups. The next thing he notices is that Jongdae’s teeth are really white.
“I am,” Sehun answers quietly. He’s not really used to talking to other people without Zitao, so this much attention is still alien to him.
Jongdae’s face lights up. “I’m glad.” There’s an almost seductive drawl to his voice. “You have a very nice face. Very nice.”
Well that wasn’t subtle at all. “Uh thanks?” Sehun isn’t sure how to answer because he’s never received a compliment before. He doesn’t fish for them, choosing to just hide in the background so situations like this do not happen. “You do too?”
That might’ve been the wrong comment to say because Jongdae’s face is too hopeful now. “I get that a lot.” He’s leaning against the table now, curving his back in an almost sinful way. Too obvious. Too bad Sehun isn’t interested. “Are you single?”
“No,” Sehun says as he brings his cup closer. “I’m not really uh, looking right now?”
“Really?” And there it is. The disappointment.
Sehun shrinks further into his seat. “Yeah. Sorry.”
Jongdae rises slowly from his perch, stretching out the wrinkles in his clothing. “That’s too bad.” But instead of the anger that Sehun usually expects, Jongdae just smiles that signature smile. It’s a huge relief off of his shoulders. “You’re really cute.” He’s keeping the tray close to his chest, and Sehun will admit, whoever decides to date Jongdae will be lucky enough. “If you’re ever interested, hit me up?”
“Sure,” Sehun chuckles before dragging his coffee to his lips.
It’s sweet.
“Did you know Jongdae has a crush on me?” Sehun asks when Zitao returns from his little adventure.
There’s too many notifications blowing up his phone from this angle, and Sehun wonders if it’s possible for a person to get addicted to social media. Or if there’s a type of intervention center for these sorts of things. He could send Zitao to one of them.
Zitao nods slowly like this isn’t brand new information. “Actually he asked me about you when I went to the bathroom.”
Okay, but who really spends that much time in the bathroom?
“He was like, ‘isn’t he that one guy you went to the party with?’ and I was like, he is. Why don’t you go say hi? Sehun’s a cool guy and he’s a bit shy sometimes.” He taps the edge of his phone on his chin. “I didn’t think he’d try to ask you out though.” Zitao’s expression turns apologetic as he adds, “Was he weird to you? Do I need to dropkick someone?”
Sehun laughs brightly. “No, it’s cool. Jongdae’s a nice guy. But it wouldn’t have worked out. He’s not really my type.”
At this, Zitao raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you had one.”
This isn’t a surprise. There’s certain things that are kept secret for a reason. Sehun’s too secretive with this sort of information because he doesn’t trust anyone enough to know it. Especially the one person that it revolves around.
“Yeah,” Sehun adds. “I already have someone else in mind.”
Zitao hums as he calls over one of the cats. “Well I’m sure whoever it is, they’re one lucky person.”
“It’s you.”
Frankly speaking, this wasn’t a well thought out idea in the first place. They’re in a cat café, it’s lunchtime, and Sehun just turned out the attractive waiter. But sometimes staying quiet can only work for so long. When these chances come by, they have to be taken and pursued because what if they never come back? Sometimes you just have to take a chance and live with the consequences.
For better or for worse.
Zitao freezes up. “Me?”
“Yes,” Sehun says as he draws in a deep breath. “I’ve actually… It’s been like this for a while now. I really like you. Ever since that time when we you picked me to be on your dodgeball team in middle school.” Sehun slaps himself mentally because wow this is actually kind of embarrassing.
Zitao seems to be on the same wavelength because he’s giggling. “How romantic.”
“Shut up,” Sehun says as he loosens into the relaxing atmosphere. “I’m trying to be cute and confess here.”
“I know,” Zitao says, warmer. He’s placing a hand on top of Sehun’s and kneading his knuckles. “Would you believe me if I said the same thing? Not the middle school part, but the liking part?”
Sehun swallows the last drops of fear. “I wouldn’t, because it would be a dream come true.”
“Well, you’re not dreaming anymore.” Zitao’s taking both of Sehun’s hands in his own and they just fit so well together. “So what do you say? Would you be my boyfriend?”
“You don’t have to make it cheesy because you already know my answer,” Sehun says. “I’m the one who confessed to you.”
Zitao laughs loudly. “I know. I’m glad by the way. I was waiting for you to make the first move.”
“You asshole!” Sehun taps at his shoulder. “You liked me all this time and didn’t say anything?”
“Sorry. I was, a bit scared. I didn’t know if you felt the same way, and I didn’t want to lose you as a friend. It means a lot to me you know?”
This has Sehun feelings all warm inside. While their friendship has been strong ever since they were children, the fact that they mean so much to each other just lets him know that they really were meant to be something more.
“I know. You mean a lot to me too.” Sehun wipes at the corner of his eye. “I’m starting to tear up at all of this cheesiness.”
“You’re crying because your boyfriend is amazing.”
The next tap has Zitao slipping out of his seat, but there’s only laughter in the air.
“So, does this mean I can tag you as my boyfriend now?”
Zitao has officially succeeded in his master plan and convinced Sehun to finally make an Instagram. It was a hard road in the beginning because Sehun was new to the social platform, and he kept asking the most banal of questions to Zitao. But it was worth it because Zitao got to be Sehun’s first follower, and stuff like that is most important.
“Only if you stop adding so many hashtags.” Sehun quips as he tries to take a good profile picture. “I don’t think we need five pages of them on every photo.”
Zitao pouts, but then he’s holding up his phone and of course he’d turn it into a selca. “I think everyone likes us as a couple. We can be like the power couple of Instagram.”
“Hold on there, I’m still having trouble picking a filter. We have a long way to go until then.”
“Okay,” Zitao says. “But until then, we always have cheesy couple photos.”
“What cheesy photos?”
“Like this one.”
As soon as those words leave Zitao’s lips, he’s leaning over on their couch and pecking Sehun on the cheek, taking a photo at the same time. As expected, Sehun’s expression is definitely very surprised.
“You look so cute here.” Zitao’s giggling way too much over one photo.
Sehun scrambles across the couch to take a look at the photo. Sure enough, it really is a cute photo. Zitao’s face is nothing but adoration as he kisses Sehun’s cheek, and Sehun can’t believe how happy he himself looks. It’s like Zitao’s captured a little piece of their happiness and Sehun thinks he can live with this.
“I think we can do better,” Sehun admits.
Zitao’s about to ask what he means, but then Sehun’s closing the gap between them, finding the warmth in his lips as he presses forward. Their lips are only brushing slightly against one another, but it grows as Zitao drops his phone to bring his hands up behind Sehun’s neck, pulling him in until their bodies are flush against one another.
This throws Sehun off balance, and he’s falling back onto the couch, lying flat as Zitao drags his body over him. When their lips finally part, breaths just short of pants escaping their throats, they manage to get a good look at each other.
It’s what they’ve both wanted for a long time, and now that it’s finally in their grasp, they’re never going to let go.
“Oh, I think we can do way better,” Zitao drawls and he’s chasing after Sehun’s lips once more.
The last photo Sehun manages to take is with Zitao sprawled on top of him, bare shoulders and lust filled smiles to which he captions:
with my one and only <3 #boyfriend
♔
pairing Sehun/Zitao
rating PG-13
length 4,570
summary Sehun's a wallflower, and Zitao's a social butterfly.
a/n Originally written for sadtao at taohunation. This wasn't really an experiment, more like going back to what I know, and I love how this one turned out. I think I'm just happier when I write fluff. Who knew.
“Cute. Very cute. Possibly cute without the hat.”
When Sehun glances away from his draft, he spots Zitao wandering in the hallway, mumbling to himself as he scrolls through his Instagram feed for the tenth time this minute. Sehun chooses to ignore the hopeful look on Zitao’s face when he catches him watching, and tries even harder to ignore the giant weight on his arm when Zitao latches onto him.
“Sehun,” Zitao whines. “You’ve been on your laptop for two hours now. Aren’t you bored of it?”
Sehun pinches at his forehead. “I’m working on my essay right now. Which by the way, you should be working on too.” He points over to Zitao’s pink laptop, abandoned on the couch in favor of whipped cream and a mess of bad decisions.
“I’m already done,” Zitao says proudly. “Don’t look so surprised Sehun.” Zitao lets go of his arm and Sehun exhales softly at the loss of warmth.
“I worry about you sometimes,” Sehun says as Zitao titters at the concern in his voice.
“You do have a heart.”
Sehun immediately deadpans. “You better not mention this to anyone.”
Zitao promises that he’ll keep his mouth shut, but knowing him, it’s only a matter of time before Junmyeon comes into their apartment and rant on about how Sehun should keep up this change of behavior to present himself as a model member of society. Or some bullshit like that, Sehun usually tunes him out when he goes on about boring topics.
“So anyways,” Zitao rolls over the couch pillows to lay on the cushions. “I have a new theory.”
“Here we go.”
“Hear me out on this one,” Zitao says quickly. “Anyways my theory is...If we put Junmyeon in a wig, he will look like an attractive girl.”
Sehun throws in a scoff with his eye roll.
“I’m telling you it’s spot on.”
“Okay, can we talk about something else now?” Sehun grumbles as he finally saves his draft. “Something other than the party too.”
Zitao juts out his lower lip for a pout and Sehun has to tear his eyes away because Zitao’s cuteness has always been a powerful tool. It’s very concerning. “But Chanyeol invited you! He says it’s going to be a small party so you won’t have to see anyone you don’t know.” Zitao’s voice is slowly turning into a whine.
“You know I don’t like going to parties,” Sehun says quietly.
Zitao sulks. “Well what if I go?” Sehun turns to him with a pointed stare, but like every time before, it doesn’t deter Zitao one bit. “I mean then you’ll have a reason to go because you’ll be going with me, and to be honest, what better would there be really?”
“Zitao.”
“It wouldn’t even be a party. It’s more like a kickback anyways.” Zitao’s eyes sparkle as he inches closer to Sehun. “Come on.”
“I,” Sehun starts, sighing when he finally decides he’s had enough of Zitao’s pleading. “Alright, alright. I’ll… I’ll think about it.”
Zitao claps his hands happily and immediately starts typing away a text. Always the social butterfly. It isn’t even five seconds before Sehun gets a text message from Chanyeol saying that he’s ‘happy that Sehun’s finally taken that stick out of his ass’ and ‘finally wants to have a social life’.
To be fair, Sehun does have a social life, and it revolves entirely around Zitao and his odd collection of friends that somehow believe they are Sehun’s friend too.
“Chanyeol seems happy about it,” Zitao says, as he hops over to Sehun’s side and peeps at his screen.
Sehun quickly pockets his phone. “He wasn’t as much of an ass this time.” He says, pausing a beat before adding, “I hope you told him I’ll think about it. I’m still not sure if I really want to go.”
The fact that Sehun is even considering leaving the flat for something other than food and necessary education seems to amaze Zitao, to the point where he’s already planning what Sehun should wear when he goes. When he’s like this, he always acquires a bit of tunnel vision-it’s annoying.
“I think you should go with the zebra print snapback,” Zitao says as he holds up two hands, one in each hand as he weighs the options. “But then again, this is your first major appearance in a long time. You should make a statement.”
“It’s not a big deal Zitao,” Sehun says.
Zitao gasps. “But it is though! I know you Sehun. I know it’s a big deal if you actually agree to go to anything like this.” He face flickers with amusement. “I just want you to have a good time.”
“This is Chanyeol we’re talking about though. Do you really think it’s going to be fun?”
“It could be,” Zitao replies, before sliding one of the snapbacks over his hair. “Since I’ll be there.”
Clearly Chanyeol cannot comprehend simple words because a ‘kickback’ and a ‘few friends’ turns out to be a wild party filled with possibly the entire student body not swamped with studies (or maybe even a few just looking to get away from the books).
Sehun arrived with Zitao sometime during the middle of the party, and quickly lost sight of him in the crowd, falling back to his favorite party game, ‘wallflower’. Parties just aren’t Sehun’s scene. He tried them back when he was in high school, and that single moment managed to confirm Sehun’s image of being a socially awkward teenager, and now a socially awkward adult.
Red cup in hand, Sehun sips on the dollar store mix Chanyeol’s managed to concoct for the party, and the fruity red punch stains his lips with each swallow. The air is sticky, and the sound of pounding bass fills his ears. It’s literally the opposite of what Sehun would call a fun time.
Zitao emerges from the crowd after a few minutes of isolation, red cups in hand and a paper crown on his head. Curiously, his snapback is nowhere to be found.
“Sehun,” he slurs, eyes curving into feline crescents. “Are you having fun?”
Sehun raises both of his eyebrows. “I’m having a blast. Me and this punch have been hitting it off.” He takes another sip. “It’s a real charmer.”
Zitao blinks at him. “What?”
Sehun blinks back. “What?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Which part?”
“What does-” Zitao fumbles around his words as he tries to figure out the translation. “What does charmer mean?”
Sehun taps his chin with the rim of the cup, to gather what little Mandarin he can remember from late night teaching sessions with Zitao. “It’s like, friendly…” His words are rough, and it’s clear, from the way Zitao sways in place, that it doesn’t really matter right now. “Never mind. How many cups did you drink?”
“Five,” Zitao answers as he counts his fingers. “No wait, seven. Eight?” His eyes widen as the realization hits through his daze. “Eight! That’s a new record.”
“Congratulations, you’ve succeeded in making yourself drunker than our resident record holder.” Sehun peers over the crowd and sure enough, there’s Chanyeol in all six feet of his uncoordinated glory. His eyes are glazed over in some form of drunken stupor, and his body sways dangerously with each step.
It’s kind of hard to watch.
“Drunk? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sehun swishes the liquid around in his cup. “Really? Cause I think you do.” He can’t stay mad at Zitao for long though, and his adoration slowly returns the longer Zitao gazes at him with that stupid smile. The smile he reserves only for Sehun. “Could you pass a sobriety test right now?”
“You know I don’t understand some of things you say sometimes,” Zitao says with a giggle, muffling it a beat later with an open hand.
Sehun prods at his shoulder with two fingers and Zitao’s swaying back on his heels, all giddy and excited as he plays along. Definitely not sober enough to pass, but not drunk enough that he’ll pass out.
Zitao’s enjoying himself though. A hiccup here. A snort there. It’s like he can’t contain the happiness inside of him. It bubbles deep within him and escapes through his laughs, little sounds that Sehun catches and holds close to his heart. Zitao’s teeth slowly reveal themselves through a feline smile and suddenly the room is illuminated-but only Sehun is blinded.
“I think you’ve had enough for one night,” he says as he pulls the cup away from Zitao, despite the small protests that bubble into tiny whimpers. “Trust me, you’ll thank me for this later.”
Even under the haze of alcohol, Zitao still trusts him enough to know when to stop, and he doesn’t fight back. Instead, Zitao takes his phone out with unnecessary flair, and slides up next to Sehun’s side all poised and ready for picture taking.
Sehun tries not to notice how warm Zitao’s body is next to his. How Zitao’s breath feels hot against his neck as he breathes in shallow pants. It’s enough to almost make Sehun spill his drink. Almost.
“I’m sure my followers will love this,” Zitao purrs as he takes too many photos, Sehun obliging because he knows Zitao will end up deleting all of it and then some the next day.
Once Zitao’s satisfied, Sehun returns to sipping his drink. “Just don’t post any ugly ones okay?”
“No promises.”
Sehun doesn’t really use Instagram that much, but it’s the perfect platform for a social butterfly like Zitao, even if he tries every single day to get Sehun to join him.
It’s a lot of fun, he’d tell Sehun, like that’s supposed to convince him.
Fun seems to have a different definition depending on the person because Sehun swears his version of fun is radically different from everyone else’s. For example-Zitao and Instagram. It’s not that Sehun doesn’t think it looks interesting, it’s more like he doesn’t really see the fun in posting photos for billions of people. People he doesn’t even know.
Not that it really mattered.
It doesn’t deter Zitao one bit as he practically flies from his bedroom to where Sehun’s sitting at, shaking his phone vigorously in front of Sehun’s face to point out whatever was on his screen. “Look! Look!”
Squinting, Sehun makes out the familiar layout of Zitao’s Instagram feed, and almost does an eye-roll, until he actually notices what’s on the screen. It’s a photo from last night, at the party. Splashed with an ugly vintage filter is Sehun standing awkwardly in front of a wall, caught with his drink raised up to his lips.
Reading further down, Sehun sees the caption for the photo, this adorable cutie, adorned with lots of heart emojis.
“Looks how many likes you got!” Zitao notes excitedly. “Twelve thousand and counting!”
The numbers fall on deaf ears. The only thing Sehun can think about right now is the words Zitao used to describe him, and the fact that Zitao uploaded a solo picture of him on his Instagram. He can’t stop staring at the photo, and it pulls at the corners of his lips, the first real tug at his heartstrings.
“I think a lot of people like you!”
It’s only later he realizes that Zitao never deleted any of the photos.
“Where are you taking me?” Sehun asks begrudgingly.
It’s a bit past lunchtime, and Sehun was hoping for a nice, quiet meal at their apartment. Preferably away from prying eyes. Zitao doesn’t seem to be on the same wavelength as he drags Sehun along by the wrist, weaving past couples and working adults.
“It’s a surprise,” Zitao answers, following up with a wink. It’s anything but reassuring.
Sehun deadpans. “You know I don’t like surprises.”
“You’ll like this one,” Zitao says. “Trust me.”
While Zitao fully trusts Sehun with his life, Sehun has a harder time believing in his words. Zitao’s a tricky one. He has good intentions, and his heart is always in the right place, but sometimes there’s moments where maybe he should really think his actions through a bit better. Save them both the headaches.
“If this is another of your schemes to get me to make a profile, I’m letting you know now you’re going to be very disappointed.”
Zitao snorts. “You should have more faith in me. But it would make me happy if you did make one.”
Before Sehun can think of a million reasons on why he doesn’t want to, Zitao’s leads them to the small corner cat café down the street, a bit far from where they’re staying at. It’s charming on the outside, like one of those family owned businesses that Sehun remembers frequenting back when he was a kid. And this confuses him because, why are they here again?
“I thought we’d eat out today,” Zitao says. “It’s been a while since we’ve sat down somewhere besides our living room for lunch.”
Sehun doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with that if he was being honest with himself. Their living room is comfortable, quiet, and most importantly, away from other people. But if it makes Zitao happy, he’ll concede just like he has in the past.
“And you chose this place?” Sehun asks as they brush past the exiting couple, immediately finding relief in the cozy atmosphere inside.
It’s one of those modern, artistic cat cafés that favor minimalist designs and soft cream colors. Potted trees and low lights. Cat motifs are splashed shamelessly throughout the building, from the cat dolls on the shelves, to the paw prints that litter the wallpaper and ceiling. Even the waiters here have cat ears as a part of their uniforms. They must really love their cats.
“I’ve been here a couple of times before. The cats here are just the cutest.” Zitao’s face is already lighting up at the thought. “You’ll love it. Trust me.”
Slipping into their slippers, Sehun lets Zitao take his hand and guide him through the room, weaving past mewling cats and customers who’re eager to play with them. He has to hand it to Zitao; the guy really knows how to pick a good lunch date place. Not that this is a lunch date. It’s just as platonic as the rest of their lunches before.
After a few minutes, they manage to secure a nice little couple table on the second floor, away from the noise of the student crowd below, and thankfully, in a corner where it’s just the two of them. Sehun doesn’t think too long about how intimate it feels.
“What do they serve here?” Sehun asks as he uncurls his scarf and sets it on the chair. The frost nips at the window beside them, taunting them with delicate patterns on glass.
Zitao copies him and throws his scarf haphazardly on his chair before opening his menu. “Just the standard coffee and pastries. The usual. I’ll order something to get us started okay?” When Zitao waves one of the waiters over, his smile is too obvious for Sehun to ignore.
The waiter is a bit of a handsome guy, with sharp cheekbones and a dashing smile to go with them. The cat café uniform is a bit bright, a soft pink apron with a paw print smack in the center, but it fits well on the waiter. Frumpy curls bounce with each step and as he gets closer to their table, the smile on his face only widens.
“Zitao!” the waiter greets him, laughter breaking the quiet as he swoops in for a hug. The cat ears on his head threaten to fall off when he leans forward. “I thought you were busy?”
Zitao rises halfway into the hug, still partially in his chair as he pats the other on the back before breaking apart. “I told you I’d stop by.” When he sits back down, he motions over to where Sehun is. “This is Sehun by the way. Sehun, this is Jongdae. He’s a good friend of mine.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sehun says with a nod.
Jongdae offers him a handshake. “Likewise.”
When Sehun reaches forward to return the action, he tries not to notice how warm Jongdae’s hands are and how easily their fingers fit together. How Jongdae lingers a bit longer as they try to part. How Jongdae watches him curiously with a sly smile.
As Jongdae leaves for their orders, looking back over his shoulder with a not so casual wink, Sehun tries to hold back the questions that are sprouting in his mind. Why does he seem so happy talking to them? Is he always this friendly? Why is that cat chasing its own tail and running into people? Is he friendly to everyone or is there something Sehun isn’t seeing right now?
“Jongdae’s been working here for a while.” Zitao points out as he rubs the cat that jumped onto his lap. The cat nuzzles into his fingers, purring happily as it curls into its secured land. “Sometimes I stop by to say hello and to give him some business when it’s slow.”
“You come here a lot then?” Sehun asks, bristling when he feels Zitao’s toe brushing against his leg.
For a brief moment Sehun wonders if being in such a secluded corner with his longtime crush slash friend might actually be a bad thing. See the thing about having a crush on your best friend is that little trips to places like this turn into a chaotic mess of unanswered feelings on the inside.
He should be used to this by now, and yet…
“Every once in a while,” Zitao answers, dropping his hold on the black cat. “I think the cats have taken a shine to me. It’s like I’m their sibling or something.”
Sehun hums, drumming his fingers on the menu. “So how did you meet Jongdae?”
“How?” Zitao looks a bit confused at the question, but shrugs it off. “I think we met at one of Chanyeol’s parties. He’s studying Mandarin and from there, I think we just clicked.” His tone drops with the next sentence. “I think he’s single too.”
At first, this flew right over Sehun’s head, but it started creeping back into his thoughts the longer they stayed at the café.
Jongdae returned not too long after the few customers on their floor started to leave, a tray of two coffee mugs in one hand. Zitao left unceremoniously to freshen up in the bathroom, but really Sehun knows he really means he’s going to take a few selcas around the café.
“So are you enjoying yourself?” Jongdae asks, slowly placing their order down on the table.
He smells nice. That’s the first thing Sehun notices as Jongdae leans in to line up their cups. The next thing he notices is that Jongdae’s teeth are really white.
“I am,” Sehun answers quietly. He’s not really used to talking to other people without Zitao, so this much attention is still alien to him.
Jongdae’s face lights up. “I’m glad.” There’s an almost seductive drawl to his voice. “You have a very nice face. Very nice.”
Well that wasn’t subtle at all. “Uh thanks?” Sehun isn’t sure how to answer because he’s never received a compliment before. He doesn’t fish for them, choosing to just hide in the background so situations like this do not happen. “You do too?”
That might’ve been the wrong comment to say because Jongdae’s face is too hopeful now. “I get that a lot.” He’s leaning against the table now, curving his back in an almost sinful way. Too obvious. Too bad Sehun isn’t interested. “Are you single?”
“No,” Sehun says as he brings his cup closer. “I’m not really uh, looking right now?”
“Really?” And there it is. The disappointment.
Sehun shrinks further into his seat. “Yeah. Sorry.”
Jongdae rises slowly from his perch, stretching out the wrinkles in his clothing. “That’s too bad.” But instead of the anger that Sehun usually expects, Jongdae just smiles that signature smile. It’s a huge relief off of his shoulders. “You’re really cute.” He’s keeping the tray close to his chest, and Sehun will admit, whoever decides to date Jongdae will be lucky enough. “If you’re ever interested, hit me up?”
“Sure,” Sehun chuckles before dragging his coffee to his lips.
It’s sweet.
“Did you know Jongdae has a crush on me?” Sehun asks when Zitao returns from his little adventure.
There’s too many notifications blowing up his phone from this angle, and Sehun wonders if it’s possible for a person to get addicted to social media. Or if there’s a type of intervention center for these sorts of things. He could send Zitao to one of them.
Zitao nods slowly like this isn’t brand new information. “Actually he asked me about you when I went to the bathroom.”
Okay, but who really spends that much time in the bathroom?
“He was like, ‘isn’t he that one guy you went to the party with?’ and I was like, he is. Why don’t you go say hi? Sehun’s a cool guy and he’s a bit shy sometimes.” He taps the edge of his phone on his chin. “I didn’t think he’d try to ask you out though.” Zitao’s expression turns apologetic as he adds, “Was he weird to you? Do I need to dropkick someone?”
Sehun laughs brightly. “No, it’s cool. Jongdae’s a nice guy. But it wouldn’t have worked out. He’s not really my type.”
At this, Zitao raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you had one.”
This isn’t a surprise. There’s certain things that are kept secret for a reason. Sehun’s too secretive with this sort of information because he doesn’t trust anyone enough to know it. Especially the one person that it revolves around.
“Yeah,” Sehun adds. “I already have someone else in mind.”
Zitao hums as he calls over one of the cats. “Well I’m sure whoever it is, they’re one lucky person.”
“It’s you.”
Frankly speaking, this wasn’t a well thought out idea in the first place. They’re in a cat café, it’s lunchtime, and Sehun just turned out the attractive waiter. But sometimes staying quiet can only work for so long. When these chances come by, they have to be taken and pursued because what if they never come back? Sometimes you just have to take a chance and live with the consequences.
For better or for worse.
Zitao freezes up. “Me?”
“Yes,” Sehun says as he draws in a deep breath. “I’ve actually… It’s been like this for a while now. I really like you. Ever since that time when we you picked me to be on your dodgeball team in middle school.” Sehun slaps himself mentally because wow this is actually kind of embarrassing.
Zitao seems to be on the same wavelength because he’s giggling. “How romantic.”
“Shut up,” Sehun says as he loosens into the relaxing atmosphere. “I’m trying to be cute and confess here.”
“I know,” Zitao says, warmer. He’s placing a hand on top of Sehun’s and kneading his knuckles. “Would you believe me if I said the same thing? Not the middle school part, but the liking part?”
Sehun swallows the last drops of fear. “I wouldn’t, because it would be a dream come true.”
“Well, you’re not dreaming anymore.” Zitao’s taking both of Sehun’s hands in his own and they just fit so well together. “So what do you say? Would you be my boyfriend?”
“You don’t have to make it cheesy because you already know my answer,” Sehun says. “I’m the one who confessed to you.”
Zitao laughs loudly. “I know. I’m glad by the way. I was waiting for you to make the first move.”
“You asshole!” Sehun taps at his shoulder. “You liked me all this time and didn’t say anything?”
“Sorry. I was, a bit scared. I didn’t know if you felt the same way, and I didn’t want to lose you as a friend. It means a lot to me you know?”
This has Sehun feelings all warm inside. While their friendship has been strong ever since they were children, the fact that they mean so much to each other just lets him know that they really were meant to be something more.
“I know. You mean a lot to me too.” Sehun wipes at the corner of his eye. “I’m starting to tear up at all of this cheesiness.”
“You’re crying because your boyfriend is amazing.”
The next tap has Zitao slipping out of his seat, but there’s only laughter in the air.
“So, does this mean I can tag you as my boyfriend now?”
Zitao has officially succeeded in his master plan and convinced Sehun to finally make an Instagram. It was a hard road in the beginning because Sehun was new to the social platform, and he kept asking the most banal of questions to Zitao. But it was worth it because Zitao got to be Sehun’s first follower, and stuff like that is most important.
“Only if you stop adding so many hashtags.” Sehun quips as he tries to take a good profile picture. “I don’t think we need five pages of them on every photo.”
Zitao pouts, but then he’s holding up his phone and of course he’d turn it into a selca. “I think everyone likes us as a couple. We can be like the power couple of Instagram.”
“Hold on there, I’m still having trouble picking a filter. We have a long way to go until then.”
“Okay,” Zitao says. “But until then, we always have cheesy couple photos.”
“What cheesy photos?”
“Like this one.”
As soon as those words leave Zitao’s lips, he’s leaning over on their couch and pecking Sehun on the cheek, taking a photo at the same time. As expected, Sehun’s expression is definitely very surprised.
“You look so cute here.” Zitao’s giggling way too much over one photo.
Sehun scrambles across the couch to take a look at the photo. Sure enough, it really is a cute photo. Zitao’s face is nothing but adoration as he kisses Sehun’s cheek, and Sehun can’t believe how happy he himself looks. It’s like Zitao’s captured a little piece of their happiness and Sehun thinks he can live with this.
“I think we can do better,” Sehun admits.
Zitao’s about to ask what he means, but then Sehun’s closing the gap between them, finding the warmth in his lips as he presses forward. Their lips are only brushing slightly against one another, but it grows as Zitao drops his phone to bring his hands up behind Sehun’s neck, pulling him in until their bodies are flush against one another.
This throws Sehun off balance, and he’s falling back onto the couch, lying flat as Zitao drags his body over him. When their lips finally part, breaths just short of pants escaping their throats, they manage to get a good look at each other.
It’s what they’ve both wanted for a long time, and now that it’s finally in their grasp, they’re never going to let go.
“Oh, I think we can do way better,” Zitao drawls and he’s chasing after Sehun’s lips once more.
The last photo Sehun manages to take is with Zitao sprawled on top of him, bare shoulders and lust filled smiles to which he captions:
with my one and only <3 #boyfriend
♔