Chapter Text
Namjoon blinks at Yoongi, unable to process whether he heard him right or not. Yoongi can tell that sleep is still heavy in his best friend’s brain and that he is focusing most of his energy on keeping his eyes open. He smiles a little, endeared by the sight even as anxiety bubbles in his chest.
“What?” Namjoon asks and then yawns. He is in his underwear, holding onto the door frame and on the verge of falling asleep again right where he stands. He honestly would have never expected his best friend, Yoongi, to be the one knocking on his door at 5 am on a Saturday. Much less would he have ever expected what said best friend begs of him.
“I need you to come with me and pretend to be my boyfriend for my family vacation.” Yoongi repeats, the blush across his face deepening the longer Namjoon stays quiet. Yoongi pleads, his hands clutched in front of his chest as Namjoon closes his eyes for a second, then straightens back up and nods.
“Um, yeah, I mean, sure I guess,” Namjoon shrugs, blinking slowly at his friend.
“Good.” Yoongi exhales, infinitely relieved. “I’ll help you pack your bag, our flight leaves in an hour,” he says, pushing past Namjoon and heading straight to the man’s bedroom.
“Wh- wait, you mean right now?” Namjoon asks, confused even as he helps Yoongi fold some clothes into the suitcase he had stuffed in the back of his closet.
“What are you two doing?” Namjoon’s roommate, Seokjin, yawns from the doorway.
“I’m going to be his boyfriend,” Namjoon explains, his eyes falling closed where he holds a t-shirt against his chest. Seokjin hums, snickering at a quiet Yoongi who takes the shirt from Namjoon and packs it.
“Fake-boyfriend,” Yoongi says, fumbling with Namjoon’s underwear. “It’s an emergency,” Seokjin nods, putting on a serious face despite the playful smile that tugs on his lips.
“Sure. So you’re going to kiss?”
“No,” Yoongi sputters, “wake up!” he nudges Namjoon and pushes against his chest some clothes for him to change into. Namjoon startles, he looks down at the clothes in his hands, smiles at Yoongi, and starts taking off his pyjamas.
Yoongi rushes out of the room, pulling an amused Seokjin with him and the packed suitcase in his other hand.
“You’re going to end up kissing,” Jin says as he watches Yoongi collect Namjoon’s toiletries from the bathroom.
“No, we’re not. I don’t like him like that,” Yoongi retorts even though he knows Jin can read through his lies like an open book.
“Oh, yeah, and the sky is green. If you two don’t end-up confessing during your little performance I’ll take you out to dinner every day for a month,” Jin says with a roll of his eyes and Yoongi turns to him.
“And you’ll pay?” he asks and Seokjin nods.
“I’ll pay.”
“Fine,” they shake hands, each fully confident that they’ll win this bet.
–--
Yoongi can see the exact moment Namjoon realizes what he has agreed to. It’s a bit over half an hour later while they’re waiting for their flight at the airport. Right after Namjoon takes a sip of his coffee, scalds his tongue with the heat and Yoongi laughs at his expression.
“You want me to be your fake boyfriend?” Namjoon asks, eyes wide and scandalized like they haven’t been holding hands since they left his apartment. “Why?” He asks with a deep frown, clearly confused as he takes another sip from the hot coffee and makes a face again.
Because I love you . This is what Yoongi thinks, quickly averting his gaze and clearing his throat.
“Just… you know my family,” Yoongi says with a sigh, rubbing his temples because the mere idea of the awkward conversation with them makes his head ache. “If my aunt tries to set me up with another one of his friends’ kids I’m actually going to jump off the plane on my way back.” Namjoon chuckles, he has heard enough of the horror stories that have come from that to understand Yoongi’s frustration. “Also… ah, well, I’ve kind of been telling my mom we’ve been dating for the last three months,” Yoongi speaks fast, if Namjoon can’t understand him maybe he won’t press him for details, and he slumps further on the metal bench they’re sitting at.
Namjoon’s laugh is loud in response and Yoongi groans.
“Yoongi!” He says in disbelief, holding a hand to his mouth to attempt to muffle the laugh that keeps bubbling in his chest. “Why would you do that?”
Because if I pretend for long enough it might come true.
Yoongi shrugs.
“Oh god, seriously, you’re unbelievable.” Namjoon smiles, leaning back on his seat and continuing to drink his coffee while they wait for their flight to be called.
Yoongi shifts, letting go of Namjoon's hand to rummage in his carry-on for his phone. He needs something to do with his hands, else he might end up falling for Namjoon's warm atmosphere and confess his eternal love to him right here in the middle of the airport.
He takes a deep breath to calm his nerves when he notices he already has two missing calls from his mother and quickly calls her back.
"Are you on your flight already?" She asks as soon as she picks up.
"Not yet, but it shouldn't take much longer."
"Are you sure it's not delayed? Have you checked?" Yoongi sighs, but gets up to ask the flight attendant anyway. She assures him the flight is on time and that they'll be boarding shortly and he relays the information to his mother.
"Did you pick up Namjoon at his apartment? You said he doesn't have a car, you better have been a gentleman and offered to drive him."
"Yeah, eomma-" Yoongi stops, exasperated, he takes another calming breath before continuing, "I did."
"Good. I'm so excited to meet him already! It was so nice of him to decide to join us in the end!" She says happily and Yoongi bites his tongue. Of course, he told his mom that Namjoon chose to come with them at the last minute and not that Yoongi practically kidnapped him while he was still too sleepy to understand where they were going.
His mother continues to gush excitedly about meeting Yoongi's boyfriend but her voice starts sounding further and further away in Yoongi's ears. His eyes are on Namjoon instead, as is his entire focus. Yoongi still stands by the flight attendant's desk, a safe distance away from Namjoon and the hypnotising dimples on his cheeks when he smiles at Yoongi. Yoongi smiles back, dopey and silly, warmth spreading all over his chest as he wonders what it'd be like to kiss those dimples.
He hums to whatever his mom is still going on on the other side of the line, actually thinking of how sweet it indeed was of Namjoon to accept coming with him and pretending to date for a couple of weeks. Then his breath hitches when Namjoon lifts his right hand to wave at him and the red string on his middle finger is as clear as Yoongi has ever seen it. He averts his eyes quickly, tracing the delicate string with his gaze and following it all the way back to his own hand, the one that grips his phone tighter as he presses it to his ear. Yoongi waves back at Namjoon before turning on his heels to stare at an opposite wall. His whole face is burning red, and he can feel even on his fingertips the need to kiss Namjoon so hard that the string won't ever fade anymore.
Yoongi is still trying to get his emotions and impulses in check when their flight is finally announced for them to board. He cuts off his mother in the middle of her sentence to let her know he has to leave and hangs up after saying goodbye. But for another moment Yoongi doesn't move, the phone still clutched in his hand and pressed to his ear.
"Let's go," Namjoon says with a smile, a hand on Yoongi's tense shoulder as he hands him his bag. Yoongi slowly lowers his phone, scared he'll still be able to see the dumb string on his finger. A sigh of relief escapes his lips when he doesn't see it anymore and he accepts his bag from Namjoon's hand.
Underneath the smiles and the comfort of Namjoon enthusiastically telling Yoongi about the new series he is watching, the flight is still awkward. Yoongi keeps looking at their hands, panicking and turning to look out the window whenever the string becomes visible in the slightest.
If Yoongi ever told anyone about the fact that he can see fate connecting him to his best friend, whom he's been crushing on since the day they met, they'd probably be very excited for him. They'd say it's a blessing that fate has paired him with someone that not only does he already know, but someone he already likes.
But yoongi feels like it's more of a curse. Why did it have to be Namjoon? Yoongi already loves him, he is kind and smart and he is always there for Yoongi when he needs him. And that's exactly the problem. Namjoon is everything Yoongi has ever wanted, and their relationship is perfect as it is. They already hold hands, they've spent the night in each other's bed, and they've accidentally seen each other naked a handful of times too. But this whole fate thing is such a big compromise. Yoongi has read all about it straining relationships when both parties aren't ready to see the other that way and well, what if Namjoon isn't ready?
Yoongi can't lose him. Because he fears he'd lose himself in the process. Why did it have to be Namjoon? Why did it have to be the only person holding Yoongi together?
Yoongi takes in a shaky breath and looks at Namjoon, who happily eats peanuts and watches some dumb romance movie attentively. It's unfair. The amount of responsibility he's already placed on his oblivious best friend is already a lot. He can't tell him about the string and risk Namjoon either thinking it's too much and leaving or staying simply because he doesn't want to hurt Yoongi and not because he actually wants to. Making Namjoon unhappy is something Yoongi would never forgive himself for.
He has kept the secret long enough. Surely he can keep his lips shut and his emotions at bay for a handful of days, especially now that there’s a month of free food on the line. Namjoon chuckles at the movie, tilting his head to look at Yoongi and offer him some of his peanuts.
He can do this.