Chapter Text
chan was nervous.
he had been running between vernon and seungkwan’s rooms for around 30 minutes now and was exhausted, his suit slightly crumpled as he took his place at vernon’s side.
vernon gripped his hand.
“you nervous?” vernon whispered, and chan scoffed.
the church was full of people and, scanning them, chan saw people he knew, people from two families, neither of which was his own.
“you’re the one getting married,” chan said, watching as someone down the aisle gestured for him to come down.
he squeezed vernon’s hand for the last time before walking down the aisle to join the wedding procession.
he never thought that when he met the two, they would be getting married.
chan was small and naïve, thinking he could trust people easily, that they wouldn’t hurt him. those ideals had landed him here, crying, in his school’s bathroom.
“maybe we should vernon. he looks really sad. we should help him.”
chan could hear voices outside of the bathroom. it seemed he wasn’t being as quiet as he thought he was.
“it’s none of our business kwannie, we should leave him alone,” another voice said.
“well i’m going in,” the first voice said, and the door opened, one determined face and one skeptical face coming into view.
“hi!” one said, and chan looked away from the two.
“why are you crying?” he asked, and chan mumbled something even he didn’t understand.
“hmm?” the other boy stepped closer, his friend still lagging behind.
“i...it’s nothing. just some people being mean,” chan said, shuffling around a bit in his spot.
“hm, well, they suck. i’m seungkwan. he’s vernon. we’re gonna be your new friends.”
“we’re what?” vernon said, and chan curled into himself more.
seungkwan glared back at vernon and held out his hand to chan. “vernon’s my dongsaeng, so he has to listen to me. also, i’m his only friend, so he has to follow me around. but, if you become friends with us, then vernon will have another friend! right, vernon?” seungkwan looks back at his friend with a pointed glare.
“yeah, ok, chan, we’re now your friends,” vernon says, and chan looks up at them.
“ok,” he says, and all three of them smile slightly.
little did chan know, these people he just met, these friends he just made, would be with him for a long time.
“how are you doing?” chan asked seungkwan, who’s breathing was a bit abnormal.
seungkwan grabbed onto chan’s hand, not the hand that vernon had grabbed, but the other one.
chan supposed it was habit, the three always walked with chan in the middle, seungkwan on one side, vernon on the other.
chan pulled seungkwan into a hug, careful not to crush the pink roses on his and seungkwan’s chests.
“hey, you’ve got this” chan said, pulling seungkwan’s other hand into his and going close to his face. “you’ll be ok.”
seungkwan looked down at chan’s hands and rubbed the silver ring sitting on his ring finger and sighing.
“we’ll be fine,” he whispered, looking up at chan.
“i’m so happy you’ve been here though this whole thing, chan. i don’t think we could have done this without you,” seungkwan pulled him into another hug, and chan thought about how damn true that was.
seungkwan and vernon would have fallen apart multiple times if it wasn’t for him.
like that time in fifth grade where they fought and weren’t talking and chan had to shove them in a closet. or that time in eleventh grade where they were both pining and thought each was in love with someone else and chan had to forcibly push them together.
and then there was that time in college. he still didn’t know what happened.
“i’m not fucking talking to him chan, let it go,” vernon snapped, and walked out of chan’s room in the shared apartment, out to the living room.
chan could hear the tv turn on, then the fridge open, then a loud thump as vernon sat him on the couch.
chan shot a longing glance across the hall at vernon and seungkwan’s room. the door had been closed ever since seungkwan had exploded at vernon and stormed out.
chan hadn’t heard the whole argument, just the tail end, words like “if you won’t tell me what’s fucking wrong, you don’t have to, but i’m your damn boyfriend and i have been for three years. you should at least care enough to tell me when something’s bothering you, because this is causing a rift in us.” and “nothing’s fucking happening. jesus, i don’t get why you’re so wound up about this shit.” being thrown at each other, back and forth until seungkwan got fed up and left, heading over to where chan later learned was jun, hao, and soonyoung’s apartment.
chan was sick of it.
first of all, he didn’t even know why they were fighting, because seungkwan wasn’t answering his phone, and vernon wouldn’t tell him for the life of him.
he sighed and flopped down on his bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
he woke up the next day to hushed voices coming from the living room, and shuffled out wrapped in a blanket.
it seemed they heard him coming, because as soon as he took a step into the room both seungkwan and vernon snapped their heads towards him. he gave them a look.
“you two good?” he mumbled, and they seemed to stare at him wistfully. a boy could only hope.
“yeah,” seungkwan said.
“thank you,” vernon added.
“mind telling me what was going on? y’know, before you thank me for something i didn’t even know i did,” chan asked, and the two looked at each other.
“relationship problems.” “nothing. don’t worry.”
chan shot them a withering glance and shuffled into the kitchen, listening as the hushed voices continued.
he caught a whispered, “no, he’d hate us.” before he busied himself with making himself breakfast in the kitchen, drowning the whispering out with clinking mugs and the sound of feet on tile.
watching your two childhood best friends get married was a real experience.
chan think he shed more tears than the grooms did, the sight of seungkwan and his white suit paired with vernon and his black suit at the altar too much for him to handle.
he raised a hand to his mouth at the vows, and he knew his ring glinted in the light of the church. he saw both seungkwan and vernon glance at it, along with the small smile they shared at his tears.
he smiled so widely as he watched them share their first kiss as a married couple, the two both smiling widely at the cheers that surrounded them.
chan felt his heart exploding with happiness while also dropping to the floor and shattering into a million little pieces.
god, as long as they were happy, he’d be happy too.