Work Text:
yizhuo isn’t dumb.
she can see it. see how aeri’s been glued to her phone, smiling to herself as her fingers fly across the keyboard.
yizhuo’s fingers tighten around the juice box in her hand, eyebrows knitting together into a frown as she stands at the entrance of the kitchen, just staring at aeri sprawled across the couch (albeit irritated). can whoever’s on the other side just stop texting aeri?
something wet drips onto her foot.
yizhuo looks down, yelping softly and taking a hurried step back when she realises that her orange juice is leaking out from the poor, scrunched-up box in her hand, splatters of orange liquid on the floor near her foot.
“you good, ning?”
yizhuo’s head snaps back up, locking eyes with aeri who had finally looked up from her phone screen.
“yeah,” yizhuo answers lamely, tearing her gaze away. i don’t wanna talk to you, idiot!
she turns, sucking out the rest of her juice before aggressively hurling it into the bin, hearing a dull thud and the crinkle of plastic as the empty box hits the bottom. grabbing a cloth off the counter, she throws it on the floor, stepping on it and swiping it across the spilt juice with her foot. she feels aeri’s gaze still on her, and she focuses her eyes on the purple cloth underneath her foot, determined to avoid aeri.
go talk to your girlfriend. or boyfriend, i don’t care!
♡
“hey, you’re all dressed up. where are you going at this hour?” jimin turns from the tv. yizhuo’s eyes follow, heart racing when she spots aeri by the dinner table. she’s clad in a simple black dress and gold accessories, wavy locks cascading down her exposed back. on the table next to her is the bag that yizhuo gifted her on her birthday last year, the one that yizhuo willingly dropped a fortune on just because aeri mentioned it once .
“dinner with a friend.” aeri slides her bag over her shoulder, heading over to the door to yank on a pair of heels.
“the one you keep texting?”
“yup,” aeri throws a little wave over her shoulder. “bye!”
the door shuts.
“i thought we were eating dinner together tonight,” yizhuo grumbles under her breath, mood immediately soured. she slumps into the couch, crossing her arms. it’s rare that they’re all home for dinner, and yet aeri has to ruin it all and go on a little date.
jimin laughs, pulling yizhuo into her side as she turns back to the drama still playing on the television. she rests her hand on yizhuo’s hip, patting it like a mother would to her child. “guess not. cheer up, i’ll make pasta later.”
yizhuo huffs, but she does smile a little at the thought of jimin’s homemade pasta.
♡
yizhuo is just about to put her phone down and go to bed when she hears the front door open. she glances at the time. it’s already past midnight.
the door to the room creaks open, and aeri peeks her head in.
“ning? why aren’t you sleeping yet?” she steps in, setting her bag down on the table next to the door. the chain makes a soft sound against the wood, echoing across the otherwise quiet room.
“i should be asking you why you’re back so late.” yizhuo carelessly throws her phone onto her bedside table, avoiding aeri’s gaze.
“sorry,” aeri gives her a sheepish smile. “we got a little carried away and had a really long chat.”
“a little,” yizhuo mocks under her breath.
“hm?”
“nothing!”
aeri closes the door behind her quietly, giving yizhuo an amused look. “you’re acting weird.”
she shuffles towards the closet, and yizhuo kinda hates how her bed is right next to it, turning her head away from aeri haughtily, not unlike a petulant child as aeri pulls out a towel and clothes. she’s about to tuck herself into bed, but then she catches a whiff of an unfamiliar, saccharine sweet scent.
“is that your perfume? you don’t wear sweet scents.” she swivels her head, staring at aeri’s back almost accusingly.
“oh, it must be my friend’s.” aeri slides the closet door shut, disappearing into the shower. yizhuo just stares at the closed door, a little dumbfounded, hearing the sound of the shower being turned on, before wondering, why do i care?
with an annoyed huff, yizhuo flops back into her bed, yanking the blanket up to her chin.
♡
yizhuo doesn’t know why she’s been feeling this way.
sure, she has a crush on aeri. she knows full well. hell, jimin and minjeong probably already picked up on it. but the last time she checked, she had absolutely no right to be jealous over aeri. aeri can go out with whoever she wants. aeri can text whoever she wants. aeri can smile over whoever she wants.
it’s just that yizhuo just can’t help the ugly feeling that rises in her whenever aeri does literally anything with her “friend”.
why can’t you only smile at me?
yizhuo wants aeri to talk about her. wants her perfume to linger on aeri. wants to dress up for aeri. wants to feel aeri’s gentle touch.
yizhuo just wants aeri.
why can’t you just love me back? you—
she smacks both her palms on her face, dragging them down as she lets out a loud groan, more for herself. toppling down onto the couch, she grabs a pillow and smothers her face with it, trying to get aeri out of her head.
“she’s gone mad.” yizhuo hears jimin whisper to minjeong from the dining table.
the sound of an apple crunching echoes through the room.
“about time,” minjeong snickers back, sounding like she’s mumbling around something.
“shut up,” yizhuo grouses into the pillow, voice muffled.
♡
“one last pose, please!”
yizhuo looks straight into the camera lens, a natural smile settling on her lips as she strikes a pose. the shutter goes off with a beep, a bright light filling up the whole studio for a brief moment.
“alright, thank you! next is winter!”
yizhuo bows to the director, politely thanking him before hopping off the platform. her heels are honestly killing her, and she just wants to change out of her top because the zipper keeps digging into her back uncomfortably. and also, she’s positively starving .
“i’ll go to the back,” yizhuo whispers to jimin as she passes by. jimin gives her a small smile and a nod, before turning back to yell compliments to minjeong.
“you’re so pretty, minjeong-ah!” jimin’s voice fades into the background as yizhuo makes her way down the corridor and into her and aeri’s shared changing room. she couldn’t find her hoodie back in the studio; maybe aeri had seen it.
yizhuo yanks the door handle down, pushing it open.
“aeri unnie, did you see my—”
she stops short, hand releasing the handle when she’s greeted by the sight of a complete stranger standing right before aeri in their changing room.
maybe this is yizhuo’s last straw.
“oh,” yizhuo’s eyes widen a little. “sorry.”
“just come in, ning,” comes aeri’s amused voice, right before yizhuo was about to slam the door shut and run back to jimin.
“i think it’s my cue to leave.” the woman, who is holding two huge paper bags in her hands, gives yizhuo a once over. “i would hate to disturb.”
i’m the one that feels like a disturbance now, lady!
“don’t say that,” aeri gives her a gentle smile, reaching over to take the bags from her. “you’re always welcome. and thank you, again, for these.”
yizhuo just stands by the door awkwardly, somehow feeling very much like a third wheel. she and aeri are a pair; always have been, everyone knows, but it really looks like yizhuo is the odd one out right now.
stop smiling at her like that!
unconsciously, yizhuo’s fingers curl into a fist by her side.
“i’ll bring you there next time,” the woman giggles, lightly touching aeri’s arm.
okay, yizhuo really wants to run away and gouge her eyeballs out. and also, next time ? what do you mean, next time ?
“i’ll get going, then. don’t wanna be late for my meeting.” the woman shoots aeri a saccharine sweet smile, before turning on her heel to leave.
“i’ll text you later,” aeri answers, setting the pastries down on the table. “drive safely!”
yizhuo scrambles into a corner of the room to let the woman pass, door shutting behind her as she leaves. the room immediately goes silent, yizhuo awkwardly standing against the wall with her hands behind her back. a few moments pass, and before yizhuo can ask, aeri beats her to it.
“she’s the friend that i went out with that day,” aeri explains. “she dropped by to give us some pastries to eat.”
“i see,” yizhuo’s voice is quiet. she’s trying her very best to suppress the ugly feeling bubbling up her throat, threatening to overspill.
“by the way, what were you saying just now?” aeri rummages through the paper bags, pulling out some pastries.
“it’s nothing,” yizhuo quickly replies. she looks to the couch, and lo and behold, her hoodie is lying atop the armrest. she walks over, picking it up, before turning to aeri’s back. “i, um, i’m gonna change. can you…”
“just change now, i promise i won’t look.” the sound of plastic ripping reverberates through the air, before aeri takes a bite out of a pastry. “mhm! this is really good!”
yizhuo holds the hoodie to her chest, suddenly hyper aware of aeri’s presence. it used to be normal, changing around aeri, for they’re always sharing a room, but this time, yizhuo somehow feels… shy. embarrassed even.
“d— don’t turn around!” yizhuo hastily stutters out, before unzipping her top in record-breaking speed and yanking the hoodie over her head. “done!”
“great,” aeri finally turns around to face yizhuo, holding out a huge cream puff in her hand. “you’ll definitely like this one. try it!”
yizhuo hates how nonchalant aeri is right now. hates how aeri can talk to her like there’s nothing wrong yet yizhuo’s heart is thumping so loudly in her chest she can feel it in her ears.
she takes it from aeri wordlessly, making sure that their hands don’t touch.
“i should send something back to thank her,” aeri says to no one in particular, lifting up the half-eaten cream puff in her hand and munching on it. “i was thinking a bracelet.”
aeri pulls out her phone, thumbing through it before shoving the screen in yizhuo’s direction. “it’s pretty, right?” there’s a hint of delight in her voice. she leans her hip against the table behind her.
okay, that’s it.
are you seriously asking me for my opinions on a gift for someone else?
“yeah,” yizhuo agrees half-heartedly. crossing the room, she reaches for the paper bag, other hand already opening the door. “i’ll bring these out to the rest, join us later.”
with that, she slips out of the room.
♡
yizhuo’s not avoiding aeri; she swears she isn’t.
except that she is.
just a quick recap: when aeri offered her a bite of yizhuo’s favourite, mango pie, yizhuo immediately said no. when yizhuo accidentally struck her wrist against the edge of the table, she swatted aeri’s concerned hand away and instead turned to their manager for help. and, when minjeong and aeri both offered her their blankets when yizhuo said she was cold, she took minjeong’s instead of aeri’s.
“hey.” jimin comes up behind her, giving her rump a pat. “why’re you acting weird?”
“me?” yizhuo sinks her teeth into her third eclair of the day. fine, she doesn’t like the woman, but it doesn’t mean that she can’t enjoy these pastries. they didn’t do anything to her.
“yes, you. you’ve been avoiding aeri, we can tell. what’s wrong?”
“oh.”
frankly, yizhuo can’t stop thinking about that woman and the way she touched aeri so naturally and that stupid smile aeri always has around her and the way she didn’t even spare yizhuo a glance the whole time in that room. you could at least be nice; i didn’t even do anything to you!
“it’s,” yizhuo sighs. “it’s nothing.”
jimin nods slowly, understanding. “okay, but if you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me. you know that, right?”
“thanks, unnie.” yizhuo smiles at her, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
♡
the car ride back was silent.
well, at least in the back. the front was still very much lively, minjeong and jimin chatting with their manager nonstop.
yizhuo pulls the blanket further up her body till it’s right underneath her chin, tucking her knees to her chest till she’s curled up into a ball. aeri is silent too, just scrolling on her phone right beside yizhuo, screen dimly illuminating her face in the dark, but yizhuo can feel aeri’s gaze on her occasionally. shes just choosing to ignore it.
scooting closer to the side of the car, she closes her eyes, leaning her head against the window. the glass feels cool, almost numbing, but she simply prays that the cold will freeze her mind. she’s tired of thinking about aeri all the time, not to mention her, well, girlfriend .
fine, i don’t care!
oh, yizhuo can be so childish sometimes, when she's in love.
♡
“wakey wakey, ning!”
yizhuo startles awake, head jerking away from the window. she must’ve fallen asleep to the gentle lull of the car. rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she slips her shoes back on, before standing up (albeit shakily).
“careful,” aeri finally speaks. yizhuo feels a warm hand against her waist, steadying her, and she almost enjoys it, until she remembers that she’s supposed to be avoiding aeri. she ducks her head, hopping out of the car silently, hearing the crackle of tiny rocks scratching against the gravel underneath her shoe.
without waiting for aeri, she bounds towards minjeong, who is already in the lift lobby. you can have jimin.
minjeong inches closer to yizhuo, before nudging her with her shoulder. “you should talk to aeri unnie, whatever it is.”
“not you too,” yizhuo laments, looking down at her feet.
“okay, okay, i get it,” minjeong laughs. aeri’s voice and jimin’s laughter approaches from behind. “but seriously though, we hate seeing any of us fight, so.”
the lift dings just as jimin and aeri arrive, and minjeong gives her a firm pat on the shoulder before stepping into the lift.
♡
to be very honest, yizhuo is not looking forward to nighttime.
after actually seeing aeri interact with her friend with her own two eyes, yizhuo simply can’t bring herself to act normal and share a bedroom with her anymore. that woman is so clearly into aeri, and yizhuo is almost sure that aeri feels the same way about her, but she just doesn’t know how to push her feelings aside.
why do i even like you, uchinaga aeri?
sighing to herself, yizhuo steps into the apartment, kicking off her shoes before heading straight to her room. better hop into the shower before aeri comes in so she doesn’t have to face her. even if it’s just for the night, yizhuo will take it. yes, she's that desperate. she just wants to get rid of that erratic beating in her heart every time she sees aeri.
♡
the hot water pouring from the shower does calm her down a little. warmth flows down her hair and drips down onto the wet floor, and yizhuo tilts her head back, letting the water hit her face.
get yourself together, yizhuo.
♡
when yizhuo finally yanks the bathroom door open, she’s immediately met with the sight of aeri, sitting on the corner of her bed, swinging her legs and waiting for yizhuo to come out. yizhuo pauses for a moment, before brushing past aeri, flopping into the chair and grabbing the hairdryer off the table. the deafening whirring of the hairdryer fills up the otherwise uncomfortable silence in the room, and yizhuo finds it easier to pretend that she isn’t within a two metre radius of aeri.
there’s a faint shuffle, and the door to the bathroom clicks shut.
i’ll be in bed before you even come out.
♡
turns out, aeri showers a lot faster than yizhuo thinks she does. or maybe yizhuo just has too much hair, either one. point is, yizhuo did not make it into bed before aeri came out.
she takes a peek at aeri, then instantly whips her head back, because what the hell . aeri is clad in a loose silk camisole and shorts, and this view never fails to make yizhuo’s mind run to places it shouldn’t be in. focus, yizhuo.
she turns the hairdryer off and is about to go to bed, but suddenly aeri’s beside her, a hand on the back of the chair as she stops yizhuo from getting up.
“move,” yizhuo says quietly. she herself got caught off guard by how stable her voice was; it didn’t waver one bit.
“not until you talk to me.” aeri is unrelenting. “what’s wrong, ning?”
yizhuo swallows. aeri is so close, yizhuo can smell the flowery scent of her soap on her. “i have nothing to say to you.”
she scrapes the chair back, forcing aeri’s hand off as she stands up, about to sidestep her and just go to bed. seriously, she really just wants to go to bed. she can’t do this tonight, can't put up with aeri.
“ning.” apparently, aeri can’t put up with her anymore either. she takes hold of yizhuo’s arm, pulling her back in and cornering her to the table, both hands planted on the wood on either side of her.
this position…
“talk to me.” there’s something in aeri’s gaze that yizhuo has never seen before, and it scares her. aeri is usually so gentle, but the look in her eyes tells yizhuo that she’s… mad.
aeri is mad at yizhuo.
oh no.
now yizhuo is starting to regret her actions. she's never seen aeri like this before, so irritated, a frown marring her pretty face.
yizhuo instinctively leans back, a hand scrambling on the table to hold her weight up. all of a sudden everything else in the room is interesting; she’s avoiding aeri’s heated gaze like her life depends on it. it’s a serious moment, and the last thing she wants is to turn into a blushing, stuttering mess before aeri. that’s just embarrassing.
“what’s wrong?” aeri asks. “is it something i did?”
“n— no…” yizhuo’s throat suddenly feels parched.
“then what’s wrong?” aeri pleads, almost desperately. “why have you been avoiding me? i hate it, ning, hate this . i just want to talk to you like how we used to, but… i don’t know what changed, ning. so please, tell me…”
the air is so thick that yizhuo feels she might choke on it, and the way aeri is trapping her against the table, leaving her with no space to move, isn’t helping. she feels hot— from their proximity, from the surge of emotions in her, from the pressure to speak, knowing that aeri is impatient before her.
it’s all too much.
“i don’t like her!” yizhuo abruptly cries out. “i don’t like how you’re always on your phone texting her, smiling and giggling, when you should be eating lunch with me! and i don’t like how you’re so busy nowadays, to the point where you can’t even watch a single movie with me at night, because you’re out on a date ! and just now, the way she looked at you… i just hate it!”
tears are starting to well in her eyes, threatening to spill over. her voice is wavering now, her bottom lip is trembling, and her head is spinning from her outburst.
“i know i shouldn’t be caring about who you date, but i just— i just can’t help but feel this way. i just want you , aeri. i want to be the only one you smile at, the only one you touch, the only one who can touch you… i can’t stop this feeling and i don’t know wh—”
warm hands cup her face, tilting it up, and she’s cut off by a soft pair of lips on hers.
yizhuo’s whole body stiffens. her hand flies up to grip at aeri’s arm, pushing at her till she breaks the kiss. her eyes are blown wide, frantically searching aeri’s.
“aeri, what—”
“i love you, ning,” aeri’s gaze is fervent. her thumb gently wipes away the tears staining the corners of her eyes. “only you. you’re the one i’ve wanted since the very start. i’m so in love with you, ning, you have no idea—”
this time, aeri is the one being cut off. yizhuo slips a hand around her neck, drawing her in for a bruising kiss. it’s so long overdue, and aeri’s hand finds its way to yizhuo’s waist, pulling her in with such desperation till she’s flush against aeri’s front, relishing in the way yizhuo fits so perfectly. her lips move against aeri’s like its natural, like it’s a tango.
she gasps when aeri nips at her lip, chest heaving as aeri pulls back slightly. yizhuo drinks in the sight of the wrecked expression on aeri’s face, her lips a striking crimson and glistening under the faint light of the lamp. her own face is flushed, and her whole body feels so hot she might just catch on fire.
“i love you,” aeri whispers, leaning forward to muzzle into the crook of yizhuo’s neck. “i love you, i love you. i only love you. no one else matters except for you, ning. and i’m sorry, for neglecting you. i’ll give you all of my attention, okay?”
“that sounds like you’re a psycho that’s obsessed with me,” yizhuo murmurs, running her fingers through aeri’s hair. her other arm is wrapped around aeri’s neck, holding her close.
“but i am a psycho that’s obsessed with you, ning,” aeri mumbles against her neck. it tickles a little, but yizhuo doesn’t mind.
“i wanna sleep in your bed tonight.” yizhuo noses into her crown, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. it smells sweet, like apricot, and yizhuo thinks this scent belongs to aeri.
“okay.” aeri pulls back, and before yizhuo knows it, she's being hoisted up. she lets out a small sound of surprise, wrapping her legs around aeri’s waist as aeri carries her to the bed. she doesn’t even put yizhuo down, just rolls onto the bed with yizhuo still in her arms.
yizhuo snuggles into aeri, loving the way aeri’s warmth seeps into her and the way aeri holds her so tight, like she might fly away if she ‘s let go of. honestly, yizhuo could get used to this.
“we’ll talk more tomorrow,” aeri whispers against her hair. “but for now, good night, my love.”
yizhuo feels like her heart is going to explode into a million bubbles, and her head is giddy with pure bliss.
the gentle rise and fall of aeri’s chest lulls her to sleep, and aeri’s arm is a steady weight on her waist, keeping her grounded.
and she knows that if she falls, aeri will be there to catch her.
fin.