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“This coffee tastes like shit.”
“That’s water.”
“Explains the see-through colour.”
Doyoung looked up from his papers, peering over his glasses to eye Ten bemusedly.
“Exactly how much sleep have you had, Ten Lee?”
Ten thought for a moment.
“How long is the car ride from Great Avenue to here?”
Doyoung sighed and put his pen down, swivelling on his office chair to reach Ten’s desk, setting down a freshly made cup of coffee next to the half-asleep man. He nudged the Thai softly, causing him to jolt and perk up when he gratefully sipped the warm beverage.
“And why exactly have you only had about half an hour of sleep?”
Ten groaned, startling Doyoung, and ran a hand tiredly through his long black hair, which he didn’t bother to comb this morning.
“My whole family’s coming over in two days.”
“And the bad thing is...?”
“They forced me to host a get-together at my apartment.”
“Well, other than the potential food-poisoning no doubt at least 10 cousins will receive, I still don’t see the problem.”
Ten groaned again, smacking his head against the table a couple of times, not stopping until Doyoung forcefully pulled him back up.
“Have you prepared for the reunion?,” Doyoung asked, saw the look on Ten’s face, and proceeded to take out his phone , “ I’m pretty sure Johnny’s done these sort of things before,” he muttered to himself, texting away to the said colleague about Ten’s problem and lack of organisation skills. Ten just huffed a tired thank you and fiddled with his pen, sipping his coffee worriedly.
“I’m literally going to cry,” Ten muttered, his head in his hands, “ I can’t deal with this shit right now.”
“Is this about the typical family pressure thing, “ Doyoung inquired, aware that he had no clue how this conversation was going to end up because this was Ten he was talking to.
“Yes.”
“They expect you to have a partner?”
“ My mother expected a grandchild by now, not a young adult whose middle name is ‘late night parties’ and vents to his cats,”
“Don’t forget he’s hopelessly in love with a co-worker and has been desperately pining after him ever since he was employed.”
“I’m not that desperate,” Ten lied- this situation Doyoung brought up was another headache.
“Taeyong’s coming this way.”
“Quick, Do I have stubble on my chin?”
“If desperate people do, then yes.”
“Ugh,” Ten groaned, slumping in his chair, “ Don’t make me panicked like that again.”
“Don’t lie to my face again.”
Ten just muttered curses under his breath as he forced himself to concentrate on the computer screen that seemed to contain all the languages he knew combined, and many more that seemed to be a mix of commas and the number 5. Doyoung turned back to his paper, still beside Ten, and didn’t say anything when Ten rested his head in his arms on the desk, because the poor man needed sleep. Ten was thankful for the quiet Doyoung gave, because his friend knew not to disturb him and he liked that.
But then someone suddenly tapped Ten’s shoulder, just as Ten was about to escape into the land where fruits didn’t exist and a certain pink-haired man cooked him pancakes every morning. It was a gentle, almost hesitant tap, as if the person didn’t want to disturb Ten but needed him to wake up, but Ten nevertheless jolted up with a start, his teeth gritting and squinting his eyes, turned to the perpetrator.
“Doie, What the hell do you want-“
“I’m so sorry, Ten, but I really need you to look at these sheets for me...”
Wait. That voice wasn’t Doyoung’s. It was soft and gentle and deep, not like the sarcastic and frustrated tone the spectacled man would always use. It was a voice that Ten knew and loved and oh - it’s Taeyong. Ten blinked the sleep out of his eyes, feeling his heart pumping as he registered the beautiful angel in front of him. Taeyong’s baby pink hair wasn’t styled in those sickly partings most coworkers had, but neatly brushed and on the brink of messy, some strands falling over his big brown eyes gently. His tight white shirt and black office wear didn’t take away any of the natural beauty Taeyong had, his sharp but soft features accentuated on his small face. Oh my god he was hot.
“I really didn’t want to disturb you,” Taeyong blabbered, and by god how it was cute, “ I just wanted you to check yesterday’s charts and Doyoung here said it was ok to wake you up so...”
Of course he did.
“I hope it’s no trouble..” Taeyong looked like he was close to crying, and Ten finally realised that his sleepy squinting looked like angry glaring from Taeyong's point of view and he cursed himself for panicking the poor guy. Though that wasn’t fair because Taeyong has successfully panicked Ten ever since the latter dropped a donut on the former and told Ten that it was ok and when he fumbled in his bag for tissues, Ten saw his lock screen was his dog and the beautiful, wide grin Taeyong had when Ten questioned him about that made Ten realise he was in trouble.
“Of course it isn’t, Taeyong,” Ten reassured, aware that he had been silent for some time and probably making Taeyong feel even more guilty, “ I wasn’t really sleeping anyway.”
“You weren’t?”
“Nah, I was just...,” Ten blinked, “...smelling the table.”
“Ah.”
He heard a snicker behind him and Ten felt his cheeks go red but he couldn’t yell at Doyoung right now because the big relieved smile on Taeyong’s face was too distracting.
“Mine smells like Mark’s cheese and jam baguettes,” Taeyong offered, and Ten laughed because he was actually weirded out by the boy’s preferences in food. He took another sip of his coffee, but was still giggling and found it hard to swallow it. He turned with a smile to Taeyong, who was staring at him with a strange look on his face, and Ten felt his cheeks heat up at the intensity of the look.
“So, about the papers...?” Ten asked awkwardly, and grinned fondly when Taeyong suddenly coughed and rustled the sheets in his hand frantically (and with red cheeks, Ten noticed.)
“Ah, Yes,” Taeyong spluttered, handing over a couple of sheets to Ten, who placed them on his desk and scrutinised them with a frown. “I’ve already talked about this to Deputy Manager Park, but he felt I needed to go through it with another person skilled in the department.”
“So you came to me?”
“Yeah.”
Ten looked up to smile at Taeyong, who was already looking at him.
“I’m flattered.”
Taeyong coughed and murmured a cracked yeah, but Ten had spotted an anomaly in the graphs on the documents and was racking his brain trying to figure out the reason.
“Taeyong, you see here,” Ten pointed at the anomaly, “ The results for section F came out as contradiction to last week’s, albeit a slight contradiction.”
Taeyong peered at the sheet, searching for the bar Ten was talking about, but didn’t seem to be able to find it, so he decided to do something that kinda killed Ten.
He went behind the Thai, leaned over him and placed his hands on the desk for support, so Ten could perfectly smell his delicate scent of roses and dried cinnamon that was more intoxicating than any drink Ten had ever laid his hands upon. Ten tried not to lean his head on Taeyong’s sturdy chest that was dangerously close, enough to leave Ten a blushing mess. He tried to concentrate on whatever beautiful crap Taeyong was telling him, but he couldn’t because he swore Taeyong’s hands were shaking as he tried to mark out the sections in the files.
For the next 10 minutes it was just Ten struggling to form words and Taeyong strangely stuttering a lot in his speech, and Ten almost gave a breath of relief as he felt Taeyong finally draw back, though a part of him desperately wanted him close again.
“I think we might need more time to sort this out,” Ten remarked, ignoring how red Taeyong’s ears were.
“Oh, yeah,” Taeyong said, collecting up the papers. He turned to look at Ten, a small smile on his lips, “ Are you down to go through them on Sunday?”
Ten looked at Taeyong’s beautiful figure for a minute and found himself saying:
“I’m down to do anything if it’s with you.”
Oh shit.
“O-ok.” Taeyong’s squeak barely reached Ten’s ears, as the latter was too busy contemplating whether he still had enough coffee to drown himself in. The older man hurriedly took his papers, said goodbye to the frozen Thai and almost ran out of the room.
“Well, you’re awake now aren’t you?”
“Shut up, Doyoung.”
****************************************************
“I promise all the food I got is takeout.”
“Good, because I don’t want to be associated with a food-poisoner.”
Ten scoffed, hanging up the last string of lights near the door. His apartment had been decorated rather well by a smug Johnny, and all the preparation for the upcoming reunion was complete, much to Ten’s relief. However, there still was the problem of his lack of partnership, which he had phoned up to Doyoung to vent about and pull out a solution from his smartass friend.
“I can try to say I’m seeing someone right now?” Ten suggested.
“You and I both know that won’t work.”
Ten sighed.
“You’re right,” he muttered, falling onto the couch, “ If I say that, my mother’s going to demand we go ring-shopping next Friday,”
“Speaking of rings, how was your date with Taeyong?”
“Firstly, it wasn’t a date,” Ten sighed to himself, “and secondly, I cancelled.”
“Is this really Ten Lee I’m talking to? The one who would do anything to spend even two minutes with Lee Taeyong?”
“It’s not like I wanted to!” Ten huffed, “ I was just so panicked with this whole situation, I didn’t feel it was fair for him to meet up just for me to not concentrate throughout the whole ordeal, so I told him I was sick and was really sorry about everything.”
“I wish you had this same caring mindset with me.”
“I have no idea what you’re complaining about.”
There was silence on the other end of the line, which Ten was grateful for because it gave him time to suddenly think of an idea.
“Hold up, “ Ten said, a grin forming on his face, “I’ve just thought of something.”
“I’m actually shaking now.”
“Just listen,” Ten sat up,” You know those things they do in movies? Where they’re all like ‘ Oh no! My family expects me to be married by now but I’m still single! Wait a minute, how about I use a fake date?’ You know what I mean?”
“I’m not being your fake date.”
“I was thinking of someone like Jaehyun.”
“You are not using my boyfriend as your fake date.”
“Alright, alright,” Ten said with a laugh, “ I would take Johnny, but I don’t trust him in front of my parents.”
“What about the guy you’re ‘down for anything with’?”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Do I look like I kid?”
“There is absolutely no way I’m taking Taeyong,” Ten almost yelled, his cheeks going red at the very thought.
“Why? I can’t say he’ll refuse.”
“Just no, Doyoung, no.”
“If you insist.”
They talked for a few more minutes until Doyoung had to go yell at a panicked Jaehyun who set fire to the toaster again, but the suggestion Doyoung had said before refused to leave Ten’s mind. His mother would immediately take to Taeyong, because he was a gentleman and a sweetheart, and his father would like him as well, because Taeyong had that certain manliness that was humble and smooth, a feature his father liked in people. And the fact that Taeyong was incredibly handsome would shut up all his cousins who wouldn’t stop flashing around their own partners as if they were accessories.
Ten shook his head before he could convince himself to ask Taeyong to be his date. That was never going to happen if he could help it.
Never.
**************
“So, where’s your partner?”
Ten thought he was mentally prepared for this question, but the moment it left his mother’s mouth, he found himself panicking all over again. There was no way Ten was going to say he was single, not with practically his whole family and relatives peering at him. So, yes, Ten Lee lies.
“He’s running a bit late, right now,” Ten said coolly, aware that his statement sounded more like a question.
“So he’s a tardy one, eh?” His father asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, not at all,” Ten said hurriedly, “ He needed to finish up some work, yet promised me he’d still attend.” Ten smiled awkwardly,” He’s a man of his word, he is.”
Ten’s father nodded his head, iimpresses, completely missing the fact that Ten was dying on the inside. He wanted to lock himself in his room and scream into his pillow, but one of his little nephew had found his way into there and Ten made a mental note to clean the sheets before he slept in them.
“What is he like?” His mother inquired, refusing to drop the subject.
Ten cried.
On the inside.
“He’s, uh,” Ten started, “ He has a really handsome face,” and suddenly someone appeared in Ten’s mind, “ almost angelic really. He has the softest hair ever, a shade of baby pink, and he’s a couple of centimetres taller than me. His eyes are really big and bright and his lips are small and rosy,” Ten smiled, “ he’s beautiful.”
“And his personality?” One of Ten’s teen cousins asked him, pushing her glasses up her nose, “His personality is what counts.”, causing another cousin to scoff.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Ten said softly, his smile big, “ He’s the most sweetest person you’ll ever meet. He’s kind and caring and a bit tsundere, but he’s also hardworking and smart and helpful. Like I said, a practical angel in the body of a hot young man.”
“You’re whipped,” remarked another girl, and Ten rolled his eyes but his grin never left off his face.
“You really do love him, don’t you Ten?” His mother asked softly, watching as her son’s smile turned soft and his eyes turned into crescents.
“Yeah.”
“Speaking of love,” one of Ten’s aunts pulled out her phone from her pocket, “ Look at this new trainee for Galactic Entertainment!”
“Mum, no.”
Ten laughed as bickering ensued, happy that the subject was finally dropped. He was aware that this was only the case because he practically described Taeyong to his family, but he wasn’t that worried. After all, what were the chances of Ten’s family somehow meeting Taeyong?
The doorbell suddenly rang, and Ten excused himself to go open, saying it’s probably the hairdryer he had recently ordered.
“Hi, how can I-“ Ten started with a smile, which instantly turned to a look of horror as he realised who was at his front door.
Lee Taeyong.
It was fucking Lee Taeyong, the very man Ten had been love-sickly describing to his family only minutes ago. He had the baby pink hair, the beautiful eyes, the rosy lips, and , to make matters worse, he was wearing his suit, exactly what Ten said he would be in.
Shit shit shit shit and shit.
“Hi Ten, “ Taeyong began awkwardly, scratching his neck in a cute way that would have made Ten melt if only his soul hadn’t left his body, “ I had just cooked some soup,” Ten finally registered he was holding a small pot,” and I remembered you were sick, so I thought of bringing some over for you.”
Ok, that was it. Ten was a goner. The fact that Taeyong cooked soup and brought it all the way just to make Ten feel better made the Thai feel all mushy on the inside, and he realised how hard he fell for the flustered man in front of him. And then he realised that all he had to do was take the soup, thank Taeyong, and the older would be on his way and Ten would narrowly escape having to dive into a whole new mess that would be created if his mum ever laid eyes on the pink haired man.
But no, things won’t ever be easy like that would they?
“Tennie, who’s at the-“ his mother began, but then stopped when she saw Taeyong. Her mouth fell open, and her eyes turned into sauceres, completely mesmerised by the awkward beauty in front of her (Ten could relate.)
“Ten Lee,” his mother whispered, a big smile breaking out on her face, “You were right,” she turned to him , “ he is beautiful.”
Taeyong suddenly coughed, his cheeks flushed.
“Wait, Ten said I’m-“ Taeyong spluttered, but Ten refused to let this go where he knew it was heading.
“Taeyong, this is my mother,” he gestured to the still gaping woman next to him, and Taeyong gave a little wave, “ Mum, this is Taeyong, who has a lot of work today and decided to drop by for 2 minutes and needs to get going.” Ten hurriedly said the last sentence, praying that Taeyong would take the hint and bid them goodbye, but his mother spotted the pot in his hands.
“Oh, and you brought food!” His mother squealed, practically grabbing it out of the startled man’s hands, winking at Ten as she gestured Taeyong to come inside, “ He’s a keeper.”
Ten choked on air and prayed Taeyong hadn’t heard that, but, judging from the red ears the latter possessed, he had heard it. Ten wanted to cry as he followed Taeyong and his mother into the living room, desperately hoping by the end of this nightmare Taeyong would still somehow want to speak to him.
“Look who’s here~” his mother practically sang, and Ten face-palmed when he saw how everyone’s jaws fell to the floor as they laid eyes on Ten’s ‘partner’
“Holy shit,” one of his cousins whisper-yelled, and Taeyong just laughed panickedly and bowed.
“And he’s polite,” murmured the cousin that had previously told Ten that personality mattered more than looks.
“Well, Taeyong,” his mother cooed,” you’re right in time for dinner.” And then she proceeded to make him sit right in between Ten and one of his divorced aunts who couldn’t keep her eyes offhim (again, Ten could relate.) Soon, the table was filled with chatting and laughing people, munching down various foods and delights, and occasionally whispering awe-struck about the pink-haired man who was shyly bonding with Ten’s uncle over overpriced hair dyes.
Ten was dazed at the moment, utterly confused at how everything was going, and extremely concerned at why Taeyong hadn’t questioned anything yet. Or maybe it was because no one had said anything about Ten lying about Taeyong being his boyfriend . If this carries on, Ten might just be able to survive the night (the keyword being might.) He took a sip of his water, smiling as he watched Taeyong laugh at something his cousins had said, but then he instantly frowned when Taeyong glanced at him with a sly grin and he realized they were talking about him. Before he could open his mouth, his father decided it was time to shine.
“So Taeyong, “ his father started, leaning towards the said man, “ will you ever cheat on Ten?l”
Ten spat out his water.
He ignored the disgusted complaints of his nephew opposite him, whipping his head around to face the pink-haired man whose face was a tomato shade of red and who was glancing at him with panic.
“What do you say,” Ten’s father continued, unaware of the unnatural colour on Taeyong’s face, “ Do you promise to always take good care of Ten?”
“Of course, Mr Lee,” Ten was surprised at the confidence in his voice, “ Ten deserves nothing else except the best after all.” Ten felt his face warm up as Taeyong cast a sideways glance at him, his own cheeks a light pink.
Ten’s father didn’t seem completely satisfied with the answer.
“I admire the sincerity in your voice,” he applauded, “ but I need full confirmation that me entrusting my son into your hands is the right and safe decision.”
“Dad, I-“
“Sir, I would never hurt Ten,” the interruption caught Ten off guard, “I don’t know if anyone else has in any other way, but I can assure you that all my feelings and emotions towards your son are entirely wholesome and positive.” Taeyong turned to look at Ten, his eyes shining, “I look at him and I see a ray of sunshine walking, a person who puts himself before others and is caring and bright. I would never dream of hurting such a wonderful human being.” Taeyong turned back towards his father, with a grin, “His family would be after my head otherwise.”
Everyone laughed, and Ten’s father leaned back, pleased at the pink-haired man sitting in front of him. Ten let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, but the shock from the situation refused to leave him. Taeyong had talked as if he was truly Ten’s partner, and the emotion and sincerity in his eyes made Ten breathless.
“Tennie! You have the most loving boyfriend in the world!” His mother squealed, clapping her hands together.
Taeyong shrieked.
“B-boyfriend?”
Ten felt an alarm clenching his chest.
“Mum, Taeyong isn’t my boyfriend-“ Ten tried to explain
“What? He’s exactly how you described him though,” his mother frowned, gesturing towards the frozen man, “ Baby pink hair, big wide eyes, handsome face. You said the person that looked like this was your boyfriend.”
Taeyong turned towards Ten, his eyes wide and glassy, and Ten felt like crying because how the hell was he going to get out of this one.
He opened his mouth, but suddenly, one of his cousins spilled fish curry all over another one, and the adults proceeded to fuss over them and try to calm down the crying one, so no one really cared when Taeyong excused himself to go out of the room. Ten scrambled to follow, catching up with the man in the corridor outside his apartment.
“Taeyong, wait!” Ten called, trying to put on his shoes as he pleaded the older to stop. Taeyong turned around, and Ten’s head hurt when he saw the look of pain and frustration on his face.
“Yes, Ten?” He said quietly.
“Taeyong, first of all, I’m so sorry,” Ten was stumbling over his words, “ I really didn’t mean for you to have been in that situation, with my whole family interrogating you and-“
He was interrupted from a frustrated sigh by Taeyong.
“Ten, I don’t mind that!” He was struggling to keep his tone low, “ I’m not upset about your family making me sit down and questioning me!”
Ten kept quiet, just letting Taeyong talk because he deserves this.
“Damnit Ten, I was practically cat-fishing!”
“W-what?”
“I was impersonating your boyfriend!” Taeyong said, and now he was yelling, “ I was pretending to be some other guy who was close to you, and I’m hurt because I have no idea how this happened and I had no idea you had a boyfriend in the first place and if I had knew I would have stopped hoping-“
“But Taeyong-“
“I wouldn’t have read in between the lines and try to get closer to you in the way I wanted to,” Taeyong continued, seemingly not having heard Ten, “I wouldn’t have thought about us and ponder whether you would mind if I asked you to come with me to the fair one day. I wouldn’t have drank three bottles of soju just to drunkenly promise Yuta I would talk to you. I-Shit I just-“
Taeyong frustratedly ran a hand through his hair, and made a turn to leave, but Ten grabbed onto his arm, holding on gently but firmly
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Ten’s quiet statement echoed throughout the hallway that had previously been filled by Taeyong’s hurt rants. Ten felt the other go stiff in his grip.
“You don’t have a boyfriend?” Taeyong asked, still with his back towards Ten.
“No.”
“Then why-“
Ten gently pulled Taeyong round to face him, still holding on to his wrist. They were at close proximity now, Taeyong’s rapid breath tickling his cheeks.
“I was describing you,” Ten blurted out, and he felt a whole weight lift off his chest, “ My mother was interrogating me about this non-existent partner of mine, and all I could do was lie. I started rambling about this made-up man, and I” Ten took a deep breath, “ I thought of you.”
“Why?” Taeyong whispered, raspy and cracked, but hopeful.
“Because you are the perfect man. You are all I want in someone. You are everything I’ve ever wanted and ever needed, and I knew my parents would love you as well. So I started talking about you, your hair, your eyes, your smile, your kind nature, your caring attitude. Everything I love about you.” Ten felt his heart beating in his ears, and he felt that he could hear Taeyong’s as well.
He loosened his grip on Taeyong’s arm, his fingers hesitantly drawing back, and he increased the distance between them. Taeyong was staring at him, his eyes wide, his hair stuck onto his forehead. He was quivering, and Ten knew that he had just killed whatever they had between them in the first place. He couldn’t bear going back to just ogling Taeyong from a distance, but he had no right to hope for their relationship to still be salvaged.
Ten had tears in his eyes as he backed up, turning around to make his way back into his apartment to cry in the arms of his mother. But suddenly a hand grabbed his wrist and spun him around, and Ten felt Taeyong’s soft lips on his own.
He was still for a minute, in shock, as Taeyong’s mouth moved against his, soft and caring and delicate and Ten loved it. So he reciprocated. They moved in cohesion, mouths perfectly slotted against each other. Ten wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s neck to pull him closer, and the latter wrapped his arms around his waist. They both reluctantly pulled away for breath, and Ten shivered when Taeyong bit his bottom lip as they pulled away to smile at each other.
“I love you.”
“I figured.”
Taeyong laughed and pulled Ten close to peck his lips again, causing the shorter one to smile and lean his forehead under his chin. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Ten heard his mother calling for him. He looked up to peer at Taeyong, who seemed a bit scared.
“Ready to face my dad again?”
“Oh God, I nearly pissed myself last time.”
Ten laughed and intertwined his fingers with Taeyong’s.
“But you’re still going into the lion’s den? That’s brave.”
“I’m going to have to get used to it. Don’t want to make a fool of myself when I ask for your hand right?”
Ten spluttered and Taeyong just smirked and kissed his hand, leading him back into his apartment. They were greeted with the sight of Ten’s family sitting rather stiffly around the table, everyone with blank looks on their face and their backs straightened. Ten raised an eyebrow at one of his aunt, who, when she spotted their intertwined hands, gave a little scream. Ten sighed as he and Taeyong sat down.
“You guys saw everything right?”
“It was cute,” his mother admitted, several other heads nodding.
“At least now we know only approximately 6 adults can place their ear on the door to listen to occurrences outside,” one of his uncles remarked, and Taeyong chuckled.
“So would you want a girl or boy, Taeyong?”
Taeyong stopped chuckling.
“Dad, stop!” Ten squeaked, his cheeks going red as he patted Taeyong on the back who was now choking.
“Never.”