[FOR ENDONUCLEASES] DO IT YOURSELF: PROJECT PROM
RECIPIENT endonucleases
TITLE: Do It Yourself: Project Prom
RATING: PG-13
LENGTH: 4000 words
WARNINGS: N/A
SUMMARY: There are many reasons why prom night without your best friend sucks. This is just one of them.
FINAL NOTES: N/A
There were moments in life when a guy just really needed his best friend and this was definitely one of them.
After what felt like more than five minutes of continuous knocking and pressing the buzzer of the bell, the door in front of Yixing finally opened to greet him with the sight of Luhan’s harried looking mother and the loud sounds of the TV. For a second the woman’s eyes widened in surprise - not unexpected, considering the fact that she knew he was supposed to be at his prom, a prom she had forbidden her son to go to - before she narrowed them at him with something that sounded suspiciously like a snarl.
“If you’re here to try to convince me to let Luhan go to that damned prom with you after all, you chose the right moment. That kid is driving me batshit crazy, but the answer is still no. I know it seems unfair to you, having to go without your best friend, but you know what he did! It’s a miracle they didn’t throw him out of school with only a month to go before graduation! He broke into the headmaster’s car, for God’s sake! He hotwired it and parked it on the soccer field! He’s not going to that prom! As a matter of fact he’s not leaving this house except for school and doing chores. Not until the end of the month!”
Looking at Mrs. Lu now, it wasn’t hard to imagine where Luhan had gotten his scary temper from. And while Yixing would have beaten a hasty retreat under normal circumstances, he simply let his shoulders slump down in defeat this time.
“I’m not here to take Luhan to prom. As a matter of fact that’s where I’m coming from and I have no intention of going back.”
Something in his tone and expression must have pierced through Mrs. Lu’s annoyance, as he watched - with more than just a little relief - her face soften and a worried look exchanging the scary scowl.
“Yixing, are you alright?”
“I… know Luhan is grounded. I know he deserves it and isn’t actually allowed to have any visitors, but I really need to talk to my best friend right now.”
Yixing had a feeling the only reasons he had made it through the Lu’s front door were the miserable slump of his shoulders and pathetic expression on his face, but he wasn’t going to question it. He had gotten inside and that was all that mattered.
Stepping into the spacious living room, followed by Luhan’s mother, the first sight that greeted him was Luhan sprawled out on the couch, TV turned up to such a blaring volume, it was no wonder he hadn’t heard the doorbell a few moments ago. His best friend was dressed in an old Iron Man t-shirt and black sweats, recently dyed copper hair a total mess and expression grim, bordering on sour. It should have made him look like a complete slob, but in reality he just looked indifferent, grumpy and still annoyingly attractive. With his mood still in a slump, Yixing found himself cursing Luhan for being so damn good-looking. It was frustrating on so many levels, with his smarting pride at the thought of what he would look like in a similar get-up being just one of them.
“Now that I don’t have to worry about you doing something stupid like sneaking out to meet a certain friend,” a quick, amused glance at Yixing, “I’m meeting your father for dinner. I don’t know when we’ll be home, just behave and don’t do anything that’ll make this grounding last any longer than it already has. You’re not the only one who’s suffering.”
Luhan’s mother’s tone suggested that Luhan was being unnecessarily impossible and Yixing could just imagine his best friend acting like a complete brat to his parents. Any other day it would have made him grin or crack a dumb joke, but right then he could barely muster up the strength to pull the corners of his mouth up into the resemblance of a smile.
Luhan on the other hand gave no sign of having heard his mother’s words, eyes still focused completely on the TV, but after a few defiant moments his smooth voice could be be clearly heard over the screeching noises of the high-speed car chase on the screen.
“Sure, go out, have fun and leave me alone. It’s not as if I’m stuck here while my best friend is having the time of his life at prom… without me.”
Luhan’s mother’s long-suffering sigh was almost drowned out by the sound of a sudden on-screen explosion.
“I seriously have no idea where you got that over-dramatic streak from.”
She gave her son - who hadn’t bothered with a reply - a last exasperated glance, before she left with an eye-roll and a quick, oddly comforting pat to Yixing’s shoulder. A second later he let himself plop down on the little space Luhan had left on the couch, making the slightly older boy jump in surprise and snap his head around to stare at him with big, startled eyes.
“Unless you have another best friend I don’t know about, you don’t have to worry about being the only one missing out on all the fun.”
He had aimed for a nonchalant tone, but judging by the immediate furrowing of Luhan’s brow and the flash of concern in his dark brown eyes, Yixing wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding his emotions.
“What are you doing here? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“This date was a disaster.” With that he let himself slump sideways, sprawling out over Luhan’s lap, with a sigh he hoped didn’t actually sound as pitiful as it did to him. “And no, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Squirming around until he could face the TV, Yixing cut off his best friend’s question he was sure had been in the coming.
“Let’s just watch this movie.”
Twenty minutes later Luhan obviously came to the decision that he’d had enough of Yixing’s moping and continuous sighing.
“Alright, out with it. What happened? You’ve been nauseatingly cheerful ever since Dongjun asked you to prom two weeks ago, so why are you looking and acting like this right now?”
Yixing was actually surprised Luhan had been able to hold back that long before asking again, after all his best friend wasn’t exactly known for his patience.
With his cheek still pressed into the upholstery of the couch, he mumbled a quiet, “I said I didn’t want to talk about it."
“Xing, don’t make me haul out the big guns.”
One look at Luhan and the way he was narrowing his eyes at Yixing’s neck and the younger boy was sitting bolt upright and hastily scooting away from his friend, shoulders drawn up for extra protection. Unfortunately he knew from personal experience that Luhan wasn’t above taking shameless advantage of his weakness - also known as his cursedly sensitive neck - so he knew he might as well cough up all the embarrassing details. Lying wasn’t an option either, since his best friend seemed to have the uncanny ability to realize whenever Yixing was dishing up anything but the truth.
He had been able to do that since the first time they met, during their first year of pre-school, when Luhan had joined him at the edge of the room and Yixing had tried to convince the other boy he wasn’t lonely all on his own. But Yixing and Luhan had taken one look at each other and it had pretty much been friendship at first sight. They had been inseparable ever since. Luhan had been there when Yixing woke up after getting his appendix removed at the age of 9. In middle school, Yixing had participated in the soccer try outs because Luhan had been too nervous to do it alone, despite the fact that Luhan was an amazing player and Yixing was… not. They had even gotten their first kiss on the same day, within, what they had later found out, a mere twenty minutes of each other. So when Yixing had heard the news that Luhan wouldn’t be allowed to attend prom, the younger of the two had been literally heartbroken. And judging by the frown Luhan had worn on his face for the last two weeks - ever since his infuriated parents had grounded him - his best friend felt exactly the same.
It wasn’t that prom was that special to them. They would be heading to the same college in the fall, but it was still the last big high school event for them and Yixing had looked forward to enjoying it together with his best friend. Being asked out by Dongjun had softened the blow a bit, but that hadn’t turned out too well in the end.
With a sigh, Yixing let his shoulders drop and started talking, hurried along by the impatience flashing in Luhan’s eyes.
“Like I said, the date was a disaster. I’m pretty sure Dongjun and his friends were already well on their way to being drunk off their asses by the time I picked them up with my car and let’s just say it didn’t get better after we arrived at school.”
The scowl on Luhan’s face turned him from ridiculously handsome, to slightly more intimidating, but still ridiculously handsome and when the elder scooted over this time, pressing their thighs and shoulders together in a clear show of support, Yixing felt no renewed urge to back away. Instead he let himself lean a bit more heavily on Luhan and gave another sigh when his best friend patted his knee comfortingly.
“As it turned out, Dongjun wasn’t the least bit interested in dancing or having an actual conversation with me. He just tried to grope my ass and shove his tongue down my throat after he pulled me outside.”
Luhan’s scowl turned into a full-blown snarl in the blink of an eye and suddenly there was nothing left of the pretty boy so many people saw him as.
“He did what? I’m gonna kill that asshole.”
For some reason that almost put a smile on Yixing’s face.
“Yeah well, I wasn’t too happy either, so I ditched him and went back inside. I danced and tried to have some fun with Minseok, Jongdae and the others for a while, but I was afraid my mood would bring them down, so I decided to call it quits and come here so we could mope around together.”
The expression on Luhan’s face was still slightly murderous, but as it seemed one look at the disappointed drop of the younger boy’s shoulders was enough to have his instinctive need to comfort Yixing shove aside any imminent plans of dismemberment.
“I’m sorry, Xing.”
“I… I just wanted to have a good time. I admit, I let myself get fooled by everyone’s talk about how magical and unforgettable prom night would be. I had this stupid notion of an amazing night, spent dancing and having a good time with my friends, concluded by a kiss on my front porch, but I was clearly deluding myself.”
For the second time that evening he felt Luhan tense up next to him.
“You would have actually let that asshole kiss you?”
“I… probably.” Thinking about it now made him feel all kinds of pathetic and ridiculous. “I know it was foolish to expect much from this date, considering the fact that I don’t even like Dongjun all that much. I liked the thought of a perfect prom a lot more than I liked my date. All I wanted was to have a good time, to eat crappy food and be okay with it, to laugh, to dance and yes, to get that kiss at the end of the evening. Pretty pathetic, huh?”
“Xing…, ” at the sound of the familiar nickname Yixing let himself sink farther into Luhan’s one-armed embrace, pressing deeper into his side, and rested his slightly aching head against the older boy’s shoulder. “It’s normal to want to have a great time. That’s not pathetic and neither are you.”
But he was. Yixing knew that all too well, because even though he had been extremely flattered when Dongjun had asked him to prom and had let his imagination get away with him, deep down he had always known that a ‘perfect’ prom just wouldn’t be possible. Not without Luhan by side. He had never really wanted to dance and laugh with Dongjun, had never wanted to make fun of the horrible food with him and he had certainly never really wanted to kiss him. Because the only person he had truly wanted at his side through all of that was Luhan, his best friend and no one else.
As if he could read Yixing’s mind - something the younger boy had considered more than just once in their many years of friendship - Luhan’s next words actually had his lips pulling up into a small smile, even through the haze of woeful self-pity.
“I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there. I would have made sure to insult the food, make fun of people’s get-ups and dance with you as much as you wanted.”
In the end, that was all that truly mattered.
By the time the credits started rolling Yixing thought he was mostly over himself. So he had been on a bad date, it wasn’t the end of the world. And the way Luhan had his arm slung around his shoulder and leg carelessly thrown over one of his slightly spread thighs, made it pretty much impossible to feel anything but thoroughly comforted. The familiar warmth seeping into him and the feeling of Luhan’s fingers tracing unconscious patterns on his arm did an amazing job of reminding him that even though prom had turned out to be a disaster, he still had someone who loved him more than anyone else on this planet right at his side.
Which was why he had to work hard to keep the frown off his face when Luhan pulled away and got up with a groan that belied his prided jock-status. But instead of heading to the kitchen like Yixing had expected, Luhan simply turned around and held out his hand, palm up in a clear invitation for Luhan to grab it.
“What?” he asked, blinking up at his best friend in confusion.
“Just get your ass off the couch, Xing.”
Reaching out, he let Luhan pull him to his feet and drag him around the coffee table, where Yixing almost proceeded to tackle Luhan to the ground, as the older boy abruptly stopped and turned around without warning. The next moment he was pulled up against Luhan, awkwardly stumbling forward, until the elder’s careful hand on his waist steadied him. Opening his mouth, he was cut off before he could even get a word out.
“Be quiet. This is already embarrassing enough.”
With that Luhan cupped the back of Yixing’s head and gently, but insistently pulled it down until his cheek was resting on his shoulder. It took him only a few moments to realize what Luhan was doing and like the complete fool he was, Yixing was entirely unprepared for the wave of affection and gratefulness that hit him. Turning his head until his face was firmly buried against Luhan’s shoulder, he mumbled a choked-up “thank you” into the soft fabric of the older boy’s t-shirt. The only reply he got was the subtle tightening of Luhan’s hold on him.
It should have probably felt awkward, slow-dancing like that with his best friend, background music of the movie’s ending credits a few beats too fast for their gentle swaying, but Yixing honestly didn’t care. Luhan’s chest was warm and firm against his own, arms secure around his waist and his scent familiar and loved with every slow, measured breath the younger boy drew in through his nose.
He wasn’t even sure how long they stayed that way, bodies pressed together, moving out of sync to the music from the TV and not giving a damn, but by the time they stopped, the movie’s credits were long over, DVD skipped back to its menu.
“Well, that was unexpected”, Yixing eventually broke the silence, leaning back slightly so he could look at Luhan’s face, instead of actually taking a step away and moving out of his friend’s hold. It was hard to stifle his smile when he noticed that Luhan made no move to pull away from Yixing either, so he didn’t even try and let his lips pull up in a slightly self-conscious grin.
He knew that Luhan must be able to feel the traitorous, wild thumping of his heart, but with the reassuring sensation of his friend’s heart matching the hastened beat where their chests were still pressed up against each other, it just didn’t seem like something worth hiding.
“It seemed important to you to get that dance, so… whatever.”
He knew Luhan would have strangled him if he had dared to say it out loud, but with the deliberately nonchalant expression and gaze that wasn’t quite able to meet his own, Luhan looked ridiculously cute at the moment and Yixing just couldn’t keep his smile from growing impossibly wider, throat alarmingly tight at his best friend’s thoughtful gesture.
“Thank you.”
“Are you laughing at me? You’re laughing at me, aren’t you?”
He couldn’t believe it, but there was an actual blush rising to Luhan’s cheek - something that hadn’t happened in years - and the sight had his heart giving another fond, hopelessly infatuated thump.
“I’m not laughing at you, I’m smiling. That’s what people do when they’re happy.”
“So you didn’t think it was a stupid idea?” Luhan asked, voice oddly hesitant and eyes flashing with uncertainty. “You said you were looking forward to dancing tonight and this was all I could think of, to be honest.”
“It wasn’t the least bit stupid. It might actually be the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for me.” As expected the words had Luhan squirming with uncomfortable, but undeniable pride. “But if I remember correctly I was looking forward to something else as well. So does that mean you’re going to kiss me too?”
It had been supposed to be a joke, meant to snap the strange tension between them that was stirring emotions in Yixing’s chest he knew he probably wasn’t supposed to feel, but instead of putting a grin on Luhan’s face, the words had the older boy’s gaze dropping to Yixing’s lips and that certainly didn’t help with the want unfurling inside of him. The darkening look in Luhan’s eyes had Yixing swiping his tongue over his dry bottom lip on a shuddering breath, nervous habit making a completely unsurprising appearance, but it was the almost pained sound of surrender from his best friend that had heat exploding low in his belly.
“Probably.”
It was almost unfathomable, how quickly a single word could change the mood, but the hoarse admission shot through Yixing like an electrical current, leaving nothing but prickling excitement, painful longing and the faint sizzle of panic in its wake.
“I thought about it. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it for the past two years, trying to decide if it’s worth risking our friendship for, but I’m pretty sure I’m done thinking now.”
“Are you?”
He would have probably been embarrassed by the breathy unsteadiness of his voice, if he had just been able to focus enough to actually care. But as it was, Yixing was simply too distracted by the conflict in Luhan’s eyes rapidly giving way to an exhilarating kind of determination.
“Yeah. I mean… there’s no reason to stop being best friends just because I feel like kissing you about ten times a day.”
Yixing needed to remind himself to breathe.
“B-best friends don’t kiss.”
He also really needed to shut up. He didn’t even know why he was trying to talk Luhan out of kissing him, when all he really wanted was to pull the elder close and kiss him until they were both too breathless and dizzy to care about something stupid like friendship-rules.
“Says who?”
“Everyone!”
Why was he still protesting?
“Alright, then how about boyfriends? Boyfriends kiss all the time, right?”
Yixing wasn’t entirely sure if the sound leaving his throat could still be considered human, but somehow Luhan correctly identified it as his cue to continue, expression growing more confident by the second.
“So we’ll just be both. Best friends and boyfriends. Problem solved.”
He looked entirely too satisfied with himself and his solution for their little ‘problem’, smile spreading on his gorgeous face.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. Unless you’re about to tell me you don’t like me that way, but let’s be honest… that’s not gonna happen.”
Yixing knew he should lie and tell Luhan he wasn’t the least bit attracted, just to spite his cocky, insolent best friend and wipe that damned smirk off his face, but that would be close to impossible, seeing how he couldn’t even keep from staring at those pink lips moving just a few inches away from his.
“Aren’t you a bit too sure about yourself? No, wait. Nevermind. Let’s talk about this later, please.” Yixing was convinced he was about three seconds away from begging. There was just no way he would be able to stand any more of this torture. Being so close to Luhan, feeling his breath hit his face and hands still firmly settled on his waist, having those hungry eyes on him, but doing nothing but talk was driving him more than just a little bit crazy. “Would you just kiss me already?”
“First you have to think about and agree to the bff-boyfriend deal.”
“Deal!”
“You didn’t even think about it.”
“I’ve been doing enough thinking all through high school.”
And with that and a very distinct, very decisive thought of screw this Yixing reached up, buried his fingers in Luhan’s hair and pulled his best friend down for a kiss that felt so long overdue, it had them both sighing with something more than simple relief.
Luhan didn’t even hesitate. The second their lips met one of his arms went around the small of Yixing’s back, holding him close and steady, while his other hand gently stroked up his spine, before he cupped the younger’s nape and had Yixing all but melting into him. There was something wonderfully familiar and reassuring about the gentle embrace, a complete contrast to the way the press of their lips had Yixing’s heart beating like crazy in his chest.
He shouldn’t be surprised that kissing Luhan and being held by him felt this good, after all his best friend had always given the best hugs and cuddles. But then Luhan pulled away again, out of breath and eyes flashing with mischief, and Yixing almost growled in protest.
“Wait. I had this whole speech prepared and it was a really good one too.”
“Later,” Yixing ground out, half out of his mind from the way Luhan’s warm breath stroked over his lips with every frustrating word, and he didn’t even care that he was all but arching up against his best friend like a touch-hungry cat. “You can tell me all about it later. But now I need you to kiss me again.”
Fortunately that was all the encouragement Luhan needed to lean back in and continue kissing the breath right out of Yixing. His last conscious thought, right before his mind blanked at the way Luhan sucked down on his full lower lip, was that his failed prom date had been entirely worth it.
TITLE: Do It Yourself: Project Prom
RATING: PG-13
LENGTH: 4000 words
WARNINGS: N/A
SUMMARY: There are many reasons why prom night without your best friend sucks. This is just one of them.
FINAL NOTES: N/A
There were moments in life when a guy just really needed his best friend and this was definitely one of them.
After what felt like more than five minutes of continuous knocking and pressing the buzzer of the bell, the door in front of Yixing finally opened to greet him with the sight of Luhan’s harried looking mother and the loud sounds of the TV. For a second the woman’s eyes widened in surprise - not unexpected, considering the fact that she knew he was supposed to be at his prom, a prom she had forbidden her son to go to - before she narrowed them at him with something that sounded suspiciously like a snarl.
“If you’re here to try to convince me to let Luhan go to that damned prom with you after all, you chose the right moment. That kid is driving me batshit crazy, but the answer is still no. I know it seems unfair to you, having to go without your best friend, but you know what he did! It’s a miracle they didn’t throw him out of school with only a month to go before graduation! He broke into the headmaster’s car, for God’s sake! He hotwired it and parked it on the soccer field! He’s not going to that prom! As a matter of fact he’s not leaving this house except for school and doing chores. Not until the end of the month!”
Looking at Mrs. Lu now, it wasn’t hard to imagine where Luhan had gotten his scary temper from. And while Yixing would have beaten a hasty retreat under normal circumstances, he simply let his shoulders slump down in defeat this time.
“I’m not here to take Luhan to prom. As a matter of fact that’s where I’m coming from and I have no intention of going back.”
Something in his tone and expression must have pierced through Mrs. Lu’s annoyance, as he watched - with more than just a little relief - her face soften and a worried look exchanging the scary scowl.
“Yixing, are you alright?”
“I… know Luhan is grounded. I know he deserves it and isn’t actually allowed to have any visitors, but I really need to talk to my best friend right now.”
Yixing had a feeling the only reasons he had made it through the Lu’s front door were the miserable slump of his shoulders and pathetic expression on his face, but he wasn’t going to question it. He had gotten inside and that was all that mattered.
Stepping into the spacious living room, followed by Luhan’s mother, the first sight that greeted him was Luhan sprawled out on the couch, TV turned up to such a blaring volume, it was no wonder he hadn’t heard the doorbell a few moments ago. His best friend was dressed in an old Iron Man t-shirt and black sweats, recently dyed copper hair a total mess and expression grim, bordering on sour. It should have made him look like a complete slob, but in reality he just looked indifferent, grumpy and still annoyingly attractive. With his mood still in a slump, Yixing found himself cursing Luhan for being so damn good-looking. It was frustrating on so many levels, with his smarting pride at the thought of what he would look like in a similar get-up being just one of them.
“Now that I don’t have to worry about you doing something stupid like sneaking out to meet a certain friend,” a quick, amused glance at Yixing, “I’m meeting your father for dinner. I don’t know when we’ll be home, just behave and don’t do anything that’ll make this grounding last any longer than it already has. You’re not the only one who’s suffering.”
Luhan’s mother’s tone suggested that Luhan was being unnecessarily impossible and Yixing could just imagine his best friend acting like a complete brat to his parents. Any other day it would have made him grin or crack a dumb joke, but right then he could barely muster up the strength to pull the corners of his mouth up into the resemblance of a smile.
Luhan on the other hand gave no sign of having heard his mother’s words, eyes still focused completely on the TV, but after a few defiant moments his smooth voice could be be clearly heard over the screeching noises of the high-speed car chase on the screen.
“Sure, go out, have fun and leave me alone. It’s not as if I’m stuck here while my best friend is having the time of his life at prom… without me.”
Luhan’s mother’s long-suffering sigh was almost drowned out by the sound of a sudden on-screen explosion.
“I seriously have no idea where you got that over-dramatic streak from.”
She gave her son - who hadn’t bothered with a reply - a last exasperated glance, before she left with an eye-roll and a quick, oddly comforting pat to Yixing’s shoulder. A second later he let himself plop down on the little space Luhan had left on the couch, making the slightly older boy jump in surprise and snap his head around to stare at him with big, startled eyes.
“Unless you have another best friend I don’t know about, you don’t have to worry about being the only one missing out on all the fun.”
He had aimed for a nonchalant tone, but judging by the immediate furrowing of Luhan’s brow and the flash of concern in his dark brown eyes, Yixing wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding his emotions.
“What are you doing here? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“This date was a disaster.” With that he let himself slump sideways, sprawling out over Luhan’s lap, with a sigh he hoped didn’t actually sound as pitiful as it did to him. “And no, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Squirming around until he could face the TV, Yixing cut off his best friend’s question he was sure had been in the coming.
“Let’s just watch this movie.”
Twenty minutes later Luhan obviously came to the decision that he’d had enough of Yixing’s moping and continuous sighing.
“Alright, out with it. What happened? You’ve been nauseatingly cheerful ever since Dongjun asked you to prom two weeks ago, so why are you looking and acting like this right now?”
Yixing was actually surprised Luhan had been able to hold back that long before asking again, after all his best friend wasn’t exactly known for his patience.
With his cheek still pressed into the upholstery of the couch, he mumbled a quiet, “I said I didn’t want to talk about it."
“Xing, don’t make me haul out the big guns.”
One look at Luhan and the way he was narrowing his eyes at Yixing’s neck and the younger boy was sitting bolt upright and hastily scooting away from his friend, shoulders drawn up for extra protection. Unfortunately he knew from personal experience that Luhan wasn’t above taking shameless advantage of his weakness - also known as his cursedly sensitive neck - so he knew he might as well cough up all the embarrassing details. Lying wasn’t an option either, since his best friend seemed to have the uncanny ability to realize whenever Yixing was dishing up anything but the truth.
He had been able to do that since the first time they met, during their first year of pre-school, when Luhan had joined him at the edge of the room and Yixing had tried to convince the other boy he wasn’t lonely all on his own. But Yixing and Luhan had taken one look at each other and it had pretty much been friendship at first sight. They had been inseparable ever since. Luhan had been there when Yixing woke up after getting his appendix removed at the age of 9. In middle school, Yixing had participated in the soccer try outs because Luhan had been too nervous to do it alone, despite the fact that Luhan was an amazing player and Yixing was… not. They had even gotten their first kiss on the same day, within, what they had later found out, a mere twenty minutes of each other. So when Yixing had heard the news that Luhan wouldn’t be allowed to attend prom, the younger of the two had been literally heartbroken. And judging by the frown Luhan had worn on his face for the last two weeks - ever since his infuriated parents had grounded him - his best friend felt exactly the same.
It wasn’t that prom was that special to them. They would be heading to the same college in the fall, but it was still the last big high school event for them and Yixing had looked forward to enjoying it together with his best friend. Being asked out by Dongjun had softened the blow a bit, but that hadn’t turned out too well in the end.
With a sigh, Yixing let his shoulders drop and started talking, hurried along by the impatience flashing in Luhan’s eyes.
“Like I said, the date was a disaster. I’m pretty sure Dongjun and his friends were already well on their way to being drunk off their asses by the time I picked them up with my car and let’s just say it didn’t get better after we arrived at school.”
The scowl on Luhan’s face turned him from ridiculously handsome, to slightly more intimidating, but still ridiculously handsome and when the elder scooted over this time, pressing their thighs and shoulders together in a clear show of support, Yixing felt no renewed urge to back away. Instead he let himself lean a bit more heavily on Luhan and gave another sigh when his best friend patted his knee comfortingly.
“As it turned out, Dongjun wasn’t the least bit interested in dancing or having an actual conversation with me. He just tried to grope my ass and shove his tongue down my throat after he pulled me outside.”
Luhan’s scowl turned into a full-blown snarl in the blink of an eye and suddenly there was nothing left of the pretty boy so many people saw him as.
“He did what? I’m gonna kill that asshole.”
For some reason that almost put a smile on Yixing’s face.
“Yeah well, I wasn’t too happy either, so I ditched him and went back inside. I danced and tried to have some fun with Minseok, Jongdae and the others for a while, but I was afraid my mood would bring them down, so I decided to call it quits and come here so we could mope around together.”
The expression on Luhan’s face was still slightly murderous, but as it seemed one look at the disappointed drop of the younger boy’s shoulders was enough to have his instinctive need to comfort Yixing shove aside any imminent plans of dismemberment.
“I’m sorry, Xing.”
“I… I just wanted to have a good time. I admit, I let myself get fooled by everyone’s talk about how magical and unforgettable prom night would be. I had this stupid notion of an amazing night, spent dancing and having a good time with my friends, concluded by a kiss on my front porch, but I was clearly deluding myself.”
For the second time that evening he felt Luhan tense up next to him.
“You would have actually let that asshole kiss you?”
“I… probably.” Thinking about it now made him feel all kinds of pathetic and ridiculous. “I know it was foolish to expect much from this date, considering the fact that I don’t even like Dongjun all that much. I liked the thought of a perfect prom a lot more than I liked my date. All I wanted was to have a good time, to eat crappy food and be okay with it, to laugh, to dance and yes, to get that kiss at the end of the evening. Pretty pathetic, huh?”
“Xing…, ” at the sound of the familiar nickname Yixing let himself sink farther into Luhan’s one-armed embrace, pressing deeper into his side, and rested his slightly aching head against the older boy’s shoulder. “It’s normal to want to have a great time. That’s not pathetic and neither are you.”
But he was. Yixing knew that all too well, because even though he had been extremely flattered when Dongjun had asked him to prom and had let his imagination get away with him, deep down he had always known that a ‘perfect’ prom just wouldn’t be possible. Not without Luhan by side. He had never really wanted to dance and laugh with Dongjun, had never wanted to make fun of the horrible food with him and he had certainly never really wanted to kiss him. Because the only person he had truly wanted at his side through all of that was Luhan, his best friend and no one else.
As if he could read Yixing’s mind - something the younger boy had considered more than just once in their many years of friendship - Luhan’s next words actually had his lips pulling up into a small smile, even through the haze of woeful self-pity.
“I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there. I would have made sure to insult the food, make fun of people’s get-ups and dance with you as much as you wanted.”
In the end, that was all that truly mattered.
By the time the credits started rolling Yixing thought he was mostly over himself. So he had been on a bad date, it wasn’t the end of the world. And the way Luhan had his arm slung around his shoulder and leg carelessly thrown over one of his slightly spread thighs, made it pretty much impossible to feel anything but thoroughly comforted. The familiar warmth seeping into him and the feeling of Luhan’s fingers tracing unconscious patterns on his arm did an amazing job of reminding him that even though prom had turned out to be a disaster, he still had someone who loved him more than anyone else on this planet right at his side.
Which was why he had to work hard to keep the frown off his face when Luhan pulled away and got up with a groan that belied his prided jock-status. But instead of heading to the kitchen like Yixing had expected, Luhan simply turned around and held out his hand, palm up in a clear invitation for Luhan to grab it.
“What?” he asked, blinking up at his best friend in confusion.
“Just get your ass off the couch, Xing.”
Reaching out, he let Luhan pull him to his feet and drag him around the coffee table, where Yixing almost proceeded to tackle Luhan to the ground, as the older boy abruptly stopped and turned around without warning. The next moment he was pulled up against Luhan, awkwardly stumbling forward, until the elder’s careful hand on his waist steadied him. Opening his mouth, he was cut off before he could even get a word out.
“Be quiet. This is already embarrassing enough.”
With that Luhan cupped the back of Yixing’s head and gently, but insistently pulled it down until his cheek was resting on his shoulder. It took him only a few moments to realize what Luhan was doing and like the complete fool he was, Yixing was entirely unprepared for the wave of affection and gratefulness that hit him. Turning his head until his face was firmly buried against Luhan’s shoulder, he mumbled a choked-up “thank you” into the soft fabric of the older boy’s t-shirt. The only reply he got was the subtle tightening of Luhan’s hold on him.
It should have probably felt awkward, slow-dancing like that with his best friend, background music of the movie’s ending credits a few beats too fast for their gentle swaying, but Yixing honestly didn’t care. Luhan’s chest was warm and firm against his own, arms secure around his waist and his scent familiar and loved with every slow, measured breath the younger boy drew in through his nose.
He wasn’t even sure how long they stayed that way, bodies pressed together, moving out of sync to the music from the TV and not giving a damn, but by the time they stopped, the movie’s credits were long over, DVD skipped back to its menu.
“Well, that was unexpected”, Yixing eventually broke the silence, leaning back slightly so he could look at Luhan’s face, instead of actually taking a step away and moving out of his friend’s hold. It was hard to stifle his smile when he noticed that Luhan made no move to pull away from Yixing either, so he didn’t even try and let his lips pull up in a slightly self-conscious grin.
He knew that Luhan must be able to feel the traitorous, wild thumping of his heart, but with the reassuring sensation of his friend’s heart matching the hastened beat where their chests were still pressed up against each other, it just didn’t seem like something worth hiding.
“It seemed important to you to get that dance, so… whatever.”
He knew Luhan would have strangled him if he had dared to say it out loud, but with the deliberately nonchalant expression and gaze that wasn’t quite able to meet his own, Luhan looked ridiculously cute at the moment and Yixing just couldn’t keep his smile from growing impossibly wider, throat alarmingly tight at his best friend’s thoughtful gesture.
“Thank you.”
“Are you laughing at me? You’re laughing at me, aren’t you?”
He couldn’t believe it, but there was an actual blush rising to Luhan’s cheek - something that hadn’t happened in years - and the sight had his heart giving another fond, hopelessly infatuated thump.
“I’m not laughing at you, I’m smiling. That’s what people do when they’re happy.”
“So you didn’t think it was a stupid idea?” Luhan asked, voice oddly hesitant and eyes flashing with uncertainty. “You said you were looking forward to dancing tonight and this was all I could think of, to be honest.”
“It wasn’t the least bit stupid. It might actually be the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for me.” As expected the words had Luhan squirming with uncomfortable, but undeniable pride. “But if I remember correctly I was looking forward to something else as well. So does that mean you’re going to kiss me too?”
It had been supposed to be a joke, meant to snap the strange tension between them that was stirring emotions in Yixing’s chest he knew he probably wasn’t supposed to feel, but instead of putting a grin on Luhan’s face, the words had the older boy’s gaze dropping to Yixing’s lips and that certainly didn’t help with the want unfurling inside of him. The darkening look in Luhan’s eyes had Yixing swiping his tongue over his dry bottom lip on a shuddering breath, nervous habit making a completely unsurprising appearance, but it was the almost pained sound of surrender from his best friend that had heat exploding low in his belly.
“Probably.”
It was almost unfathomable, how quickly a single word could change the mood, but the hoarse admission shot through Yixing like an electrical current, leaving nothing but prickling excitement, painful longing and the faint sizzle of panic in its wake.
“I thought about it. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it for the past two years, trying to decide if it’s worth risking our friendship for, but I’m pretty sure I’m done thinking now.”
“Are you?”
He would have probably been embarrassed by the breathy unsteadiness of his voice, if he had just been able to focus enough to actually care. But as it was, Yixing was simply too distracted by the conflict in Luhan’s eyes rapidly giving way to an exhilarating kind of determination.
“Yeah. I mean… there’s no reason to stop being best friends just because I feel like kissing you about ten times a day.”
Yixing needed to remind himself to breathe.
“B-best friends don’t kiss.”
He also really needed to shut up. He didn’t even know why he was trying to talk Luhan out of kissing him, when all he really wanted was to pull the elder close and kiss him until they were both too breathless and dizzy to care about something stupid like friendship-rules.
“Says who?”
“Everyone!”
Why was he still protesting?
“Alright, then how about boyfriends? Boyfriends kiss all the time, right?”
Yixing wasn’t entirely sure if the sound leaving his throat could still be considered human, but somehow Luhan correctly identified it as his cue to continue, expression growing more confident by the second.
“So we’ll just be both. Best friends and boyfriends. Problem solved.”
He looked entirely too satisfied with himself and his solution for their little ‘problem’, smile spreading on his gorgeous face.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. Unless you’re about to tell me you don’t like me that way, but let’s be honest… that’s not gonna happen.”
Yixing knew he should lie and tell Luhan he wasn’t the least bit attracted, just to spite his cocky, insolent best friend and wipe that damned smirk off his face, but that would be close to impossible, seeing how he couldn’t even keep from staring at those pink lips moving just a few inches away from his.
“Aren’t you a bit too sure about yourself? No, wait. Nevermind. Let’s talk about this later, please.” Yixing was convinced he was about three seconds away from begging. There was just no way he would be able to stand any more of this torture. Being so close to Luhan, feeling his breath hit his face and hands still firmly settled on his waist, having those hungry eyes on him, but doing nothing but talk was driving him more than just a little bit crazy. “Would you just kiss me already?”
“First you have to think about and agree to the bff-boyfriend deal.”
“Deal!”
“You didn’t even think about it.”
“I’ve been doing enough thinking all through high school.”
And with that and a very distinct, very decisive thought of screw this Yixing reached up, buried his fingers in Luhan’s hair and pulled his best friend down for a kiss that felt so long overdue, it had them both sighing with something more than simple relief.
Luhan didn’t even hesitate. The second their lips met one of his arms went around the small of Yixing’s back, holding him close and steady, while his other hand gently stroked up his spine, before he cupped the younger’s nape and had Yixing all but melting into him. There was something wonderfully familiar and reassuring about the gentle embrace, a complete contrast to the way the press of their lips had Yixing’s heart beating like crazy in his chest.
He shouldn’t be surprised that kissing Luhan and being held by him felt this good, after all his best friend had always given the best hugs and cuddles. But then Luhan pulled away again, out of breath and eyes flashing with mischief, and Yixing almost growled in protest.
“Wait. I had this whole speech prepared and it was a really good one too.”
“Later,” Yixing ground out, half out of his mind from the way Luhan’s warm breath stroked over his lips with every frustrating word, and he didn’t even care that he was all but arching up against his best friend like a touch-hungry cat. “You can tell me all about it later. But now I need you to kiss me again.”
Fortunately that was all the encouragement Luhan needed to lean back in and continue kissing the breath right out of Yixing. His last conscious thought, right before his mind blanked at the way Luhan sucked down on his full lower lip, was that his failed prom date had been entirely worth it.