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No matter how well the glucose guardian pays, their relationship with Junmyeon stays from between January and June, and it’s a goodbye after that. From July to December, he’s Yixing’s to go on dates with. And he thoroughly enjoys going on dates with said man for multiple reasons, but the top must be the parties they visit.
Floor twenty, where the cocktail party is being conducted, is taken care of now. Everyone is greeted, made small talk with; time to visit the roof party. Junmyeon feels a little accomplished when they move towards the elevator, and is glad nobody else enters with them. It’s just him and Yixing now.
The moment the elevator doors close and chime, the hand on his back loosens, and Junmyeon has an armful of Yixing slumping against him.
“Junmyeon-ah,” Yixing says, face twisted into a miserable smile. “What do you think would happen if I ran away and staged it as a kidnapping?”
“I’d be the first suspect of your case,” Junmyeon replies, amused. It’s always fun to see this side of Yixing: whiny and seriously contemplating leaving. He doesn’t hate his job, no. On the contrary, Yixing loves his job so much, there’s no texts from him to Junmyeon from January to June, and on 1st of July, there’s a routine of ‘Are you free?’ text followed by a dinner date.
“Right? How would you handle that?” Yixing rests his cheek on Junmyeon’s shoulder, smiling gently at his sugar baby. It’s a fond look, the one which he doesn’t know is the reason for Junmyeon’s other relationship only lasting six months.
“Never considered it,” Junmyeon shrugs the shoulder Yixing isn’t resting on, and carefully fixes the slightly ruffled hair. He’s glad his date is comfortable enough to do this, to be so open about what he doesn’t like. Junmyeon likes to think Yixing feels safe enough to vulnerable around him. “You don’t hate your job, right?”
“Not a single day for six months,” Yixing nods, and he nuzzles against Junmyeon’s neck. He’s very touchy, Yixing; very affectionate and not good for Junmyeon’s heart. “But July comes in and I’m forced to socialise with people who are boring but were kind enough to invest in me and my business.”
Junmyeon has asked why Yixing takes him out on dates when they don’t need to, when there’s no obligation for Yixing to bring a date, and Yixing had replied with a sad pair of eyes. ‘That feels very rude, bringing you just for those boring events.’ and he added his afterthought, ‘Think of it as a reward for suffering events with me.’
“But you meet up with me,” Junmyeon mutters. He doesn’t even try to sound like he’s not hurt. He’s made it very clear that he likes Yixing, but he’s not gotten a single response to it. “Is that forced socializing?”
“Not to me,” Yixing straightens himself when the rooftop is only four floors away, and his left hand finds its way to Junmyeon’s lower back. “But that’s a discussion for another time.”
The elevator doors chime and they’re greeted by a group of tipsy people. Yixing steps out first, and Junmyeon stays right behind — he isn’t the most comfortable with people under influence, and Yixing is kind enough to lead him to the most sober-looking group of people he spots.
He listens to the small talk Yixing makes, turning down any alcohol offers from anyone with a smile, and curls into Yixing’s arm when anyone mentions them as a couple. It’s just an act, obviously, but everyone thinks they’ve been dating for three years. It would’ve been true, but it has been three years of a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship, nothing romantic.
“Where are the thoughts of wedding going?” An elderly gentleman asks with a polite smile.
Junmyeon notices the flash of grimace before Yixing smiles. “It has just been three years, sir.”
“But you seem very in love,” the gentleman replies, and shrugs. “I suppose our generations are different.”
“Should you be chastising him for marrying too early?” Junmyeon jokes, and Yixing’s grip around his waist loosens as he lets out a thankful sigh. “Isn’t your generation all about courtship, sir?”
The group laughs, and Yixing makes an excuse of greeting others to leave.
“Thank you,” he whispers when they’re away from everybody. They separate, and Junmyeon leans his elbow on the railing. He needs a little break from these kinds of parties, but he’ll survive through this. Yixing stands in front of him, looking at the city view with his arms on the railing. “He’s been pestering me to marry these days.”
Staring at Yixing for a while, Junmyeon wonders why it is so difficult for him to answer. He doesn’t really want to pester him, like the old man, but it has been exactly a year since he confessed.
“You know I’ll still come with you if you reject me, right?” He looks away, at the beautiful view Yixing has been staring at, and continues. “You pay me anyway. I’m tired of waiting.”
“I didn’t know that,” Yixing tells him, and Junmyeon doesn’t want to look at him. He blinks away a few tears. “But I don’t want to reject you either.”
“Ha,” Junmyeon scoffs a little, and looks at Yixing. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yixing looks serious. So serious it’s terrifying, just a bit. “You know what polyamorous is, right?”
He nods.
“Do you know being poly means?”
“Kind of,” Junmyeon replies. “Like, having more than one partner?”
“Almost,” Yixing looks away again, at the view. “I can like more than one person at a time. And it’s happened before — I liked someone else when I was already dating. It can get complicated, I don’t want to put you through that.”
“Have you tried it before?”
Yixing nods. “It worked once, for three months.”
“So what’s the problem here?” Junmyeon asks. He moves a little closer to him, their shoulders touching. “What are you really scared of?”
“I don’t know,” Yixing moves away, leaning his side to the railing and crossing his arms over his chest. “Like I said, it can get complicated.”
To be honest, Junmyeon is a little offended that Yixing thinks he can’t handle a complicated situation. He may not have personal experience with a polyamrous relationship, but there’s tonnes of articles on how it works and how to make it work. “What if I want to give it a try anyway?”
“It’s going to suck for the both of us if it doesn’t work,” Yixing sighs.
“It’ll be great for both of us, and someone else, if it happens,” Junmyeon retaliates. He didn’t know Yixing was such a pessimist. He understands being scared of future relationships due to past ones, though. “We can talk if anything comes up. And you do realize you can’t have a poly relationship if you aren’t in a relationship first, right?”
That makes Yixing laugh.
Junmyeon grins. “Exactly.”