Work Text:
“Shua, I can't. I have to tell him.”
Jeonghan frantically paces from the lobby of his small cramped shop through to the rear exit and back, followed by a pair of lazy yellow eyes.
“I told you-“
“Shua! Can’t you see I’m in crisis? Help now, gloat later!” A frustrated whine echoes from the store room, head of disheveled blonde hair popping out a moment later- the pleading look in Jeonghan’s eyes is all the prompting Joshua needs. He stands up from his perch on the front counter to stretch languidly before he shifts, jumping off and landing on two human feet. A moment later he has Jeonghan secured in a crushing hug, hoping it would offer enough comfort to soothe the frazzled witch’s nerves.
“Is this helping?” He cracks a grin as Jeonghan fixes him with a withering stare. “Okay, seriously. Yes, you need to tell him, and it might go horribly wrong, and he might totally resent you, and you know what? Maybe he should, did we ever discuss how morally wrong-“
“Shua!”
“I’m just saying! We’ve been together long enough that you should have trusted me when I said you’d win him over naturally... not supernaturally,” he snarks, not holding his laugh back when Jeonghan groans at his half-baked pun.
“I liked you better before I found out you talked.”
-
It takes Jeonghan almost a week to work up the nerve to text Seungcheol, asking him to come by the shop on his way home from work. As expected, the reply is quick and affirmative and cheery in a way that is so uniquely Seungcheol; excited about most things, even more so if Jeonghan was involved. Before he could overthink and tell Seungcheol to forget it, he lifts Joshua from his spot in a sunny patch between two flowerpots by the window and puts his phone down underneath him, fixing him with a look that says not even if I beg. The grey cat simply yawns and settles back down, nestled over the device, listening to Jeonghan’s attempts to keep busy lest he totally lose his mind waiting.
After what simultaneously feels like six hours and six minutes, the bell fixed to the door of the shop rings and Jeonghan can hear Seungcheol immediately cooing at Joshua. He gives himself a moment to steel his nerves before he emerges from the back room, carrying a bundle of fresh cut flowers in feigned nonchalance. The late evening sun coming in through the windows illuminates Seungcheol from behind yet his bright smile still shines through, and Jeonghan curses inwardly as he arranges the flowers in a vase before turning to greet his guest with a smile.
“How was work?” He takes a decidedly tame approach to the oncoming disaster of a conversation, moving behind the counter so he can rest his head in one hand as he listens attentively to Seungcheol recounting the day’s events.
“Did you need help with anything, by the way? You don’t usually ask me to come by,” Seungcheol asks from the other side of the counter, now also leaning against it and dangerously close to Jeonghan’s personal space. The earnest smile he always seems to be wearing falters only when Jeonghan heaves a sigh, quickly replaced by a look of concern. “Is everything alright? Hannie, are you okay?”
“Cheol...” Jeonghan’s eyes follow Joshua as he jumps down from his resting place and darts to the back of the shop, away from sure fire disaster. Some moral support... He sighs again, savoring what he’s accepting as his last moments with Seungcheol in his life. “Do you remember that old glass bottle I gave you a while ago? With the purple liquid inside?”
Jeonghan feels like he has rocks in his stomach as Seungcheol perks up at the memory and nods.
“Did you... um... how did it taste? Sweet?” Now, as he sees Seungcheol’s expression go blank, it feels like the rocks have turned to lead, and he’s sure this is it. Seungcheol has figured out that he gave him a love potion and that explained why he spent more evenings in Jeonghan’s shop than his own home, why he’d picked up an interest in flower meanings out of nowhere and started carrying cat treats in his work bag. This is it, the cozy little lie of a life they cultivated over the past few months is about to come to a screeching halt.
“Taste?” Seungcheol’s confused voice breaks Jeonghan’s train of thought and he nods slowly, dreading what comes next. “Why would I taste it? It’s just been sitting on my desk. I do like to smell it, though. Is it not homemade perfume?”
Oh. Oh, thank the Gods. Jeonghan lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, covered by a laugh that may border on a little frantic. “Yes! Yes, of course it is. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t think it was, um... consumable! Because it’s not!” His nervous laughter and fidgeting must give away more than he intends, because his relief is short lived.
“Jeonghan, what’s this really about? You’re not acting like yourself right now,” Seungcheol fixes him with a suspicious look, and his resolve immediately breaks.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I'm so sorry. It wasn’t perfume, it was- itwasalovepotion.” The last bit is mumbled out in a rush, and his eyes stay cast downward as he apologizes over and over again. The gnawing dread builds again as the seconds go by and Seungcheol says nothing. “I’m really sorry, I know it’s totally unethical and not fair to you at all to take away your free will like that, and I understand and accept that you won’t want me in your life anymore, and-“ Jeonghan’s rambling is cut off by warm hands covering his own shaking ones, his gaze quickly lifts to find Seungcheol- smiling?
“Hannie,” Seungcheol starts, and Jeonghan’s heart jumps at the familiar nickname being said so tenderly in such a frantic moment. “You really thought you needed a love potion? For me?” The playful tone and fake hurt go completely over the blonde’s head and he immediately launches into another round of apologies before Seungcheol stops him again. “Listen, okay? I have to say that I am surprised, and maybe a little offended,“ Seungcheol just laughs at the wounded noise Jeonghan makes, “But... I’m not mad, and I want to make sure you understand that my feelings for you are one hundred percent me. Not from a fancy bottle.”
Jeonghan’s brain is still playing catch up but he nods, looking dazed, until realization hits him. “Wait, aren’t you going to ask how I made a love potion? You know that’s not something everyone can do, right? You have to realize that I’m...”
“I know,” Seungcheol cuts him off with another bright smile, holding Jeonghan’s hands in earnest now. “A few weeks ago you were in the back and your cat talked... scared me half to death at first, but he explained everything.”
“And you’re okay with this? With me?”
“Jeonghan, you could be a monster from the black lagoon and I would still be in love with you.”