Work Text:
to jiwoo, yoona and jinsol were like angels sent down from heaven.
but, of course, jiwoo could never bring herself to say anything about that. her nerves would win over, causing her to freeze up and blurt out something random, instead of the meaningful words she had meant to say.
despite her (probably) unrequited feelings, jiwoo couldn’t help but always feel comfortable around her two best friends. they took care of her, and each other, never left her out of anything, and involved her in practically every date they went on.
there was just one small issue:
yoona and jinsol were dating.
and jiwoo was not theirs.
but true to her loving personality, jiwoo couldn’t help but give in every time they asked her to come over, to help plan a date, to just be present with them.
so naturally, when yoona invited her and jinsol over one friday evening- how was jiwoo going to say no?
———
when yoona and jiwoo had explained everything about the past timelines to jinsol, they had expected disbelief, confusion, horror, etc.
instead, what they got was a simple, “oh, okay, that makes sense,” and a shrug from jinsol, who then proceeded to hug them and ask if they were okay, if they needed anything from her, and how she could help.
as yoona had went about assuring jinsol that they had actual time in this timeline, jiwoo had just stood awkwardly off to the side, remembering her status in this relationship as the strange third wheel.
this was the first time jiwoo had really noticed it. the distance. the strange feelings growing even worse in the pit of her stomach. but she stamped them down and resolved to be a good friend in this timeline. because for some reason, the one thing yoona and jinsol never remembered…
was their relationship with jiwoo.
so jiwoo resolved to herself that she would be their best friend, their confidant. she would help them plan dates, anniversaries, picnics, anything they wanted. and she would be content to just watch them be happy.
so when she got that invite from yoona, she knew it would be good day, even if she was only allowed to watch from the sidelines.
———
yoona had planned everything out, it seemed- from the snacks laid out on the coffee table, to the movie already set up and ready to view. when she answered the door, jinsol already by her side, jiwoo’s heart skipped a beat.
as they ushered her inside, draping a blanket around her shoulders with accompanying giggles, jiwoo felt those familiar butterflies once again.
they settled onto the couch together, jiwoo sitting ramrod straight in the center cushion, feeling overly conscious about how she looked, smelled, acted… as they watched the film, she felt their eyes on her every once in a while, but when she would turn to look, it was as if nothing had happened. if anything, all jiwoo could say was that she was confused.
dying inside from all the tension, jiwoo stood up abruptly, mumbling something about “getting more drinks from the kitchen”, before leaving yoona and jinsol by themselves for a moment.
as soon as she arrived in the kitchen, jiwoo braced herself on the counter, trying to steady her breathing. of course, by now yoona would remember everything, as she was a whole year older than jiwoo, so they were familiar with each other to an extent. however, due to the lack of memories regarding their relationship on yoona’s part, jiwoo had been forcing herself to bite her tongue every time her and jinsol joked about jiwoo being their “wifey”, or anything even remotely flirty.
she knew it was just a joke to them, that she was just their cute friend who got flustered whenever they made a joke every once in a while. as she struggled to choke back the tears threatening to come up, jiwoo heard hushed voices coming from the living room. she knew they were probably talking about her sudden disappearance, and were genuinely just worried about her, but she felt the nausea coming back just the same.
grabbing a small armful of drinks from the cooler, jiwoo steeled her nerves, took a deep breath, and walked back out into the living room. rather than the weird looks she had expected, instead she was greeted by the soft and understanding faces of her girls. both welcoming her back and fondly admiring her.
jinsol looked like she was halfway to sleeping in her spot, while yoona had a dazed look in her eye, both of them just gazing over at jiwoo herself.
“c’mere, my jjyu,” jinsol muttered sleepily, making grabbing hand motions at jiwoo. she patted the spot between her and yoona emphatically.
jiwoo froze. her brain and her heart were fighting again- the logical part of her brain saying that they were just being friendly, while her heart was beating too loudly for her to hear her own thoughts.
“are- are you sure?” she asked softly, setting the drinks down on yoona’s coffee table.
“of course, jjyu.” yoona patted the cushion. “come, sit. get some cuddles in before we inevitably fall asleep.”
jiwoo couldn’t help the smile that spread slowly across her face, her positive emotions overwhelming her and stopping the conflicted feelings from bubbling up. she stepped over jinsol’s extended legs and flopped down onto the sofa between her two favorite people. jiwoo felt herself immediately being enveloped by their arms as she let out a sigh of relief.
———
when jiwoo woke up, she panicked.
not because anything had actually happened while they were asleep, but because the dreams had started up again. they were all too real, extremely vivid. it all felt disorienting and out of place.
she had long theorized that if she told yoona and jinsol about their past, like she had in the dreams, it would mess with the timeline. they nearly died every time in those dreams. jiwoo was not going to risk that now.
so, as a panicking 19 year old does, jiwoo woke with a start and nearly threw both herself and jinsol off the couch.
“woah, woah, jjyu, it’s okay,” jinsol said, gently grasping jiwoo’s flailing hands. she held them close to her chest, breathing slowly. “breathe with me, jjyu, breathe.”
jiwoo followed jinsol’s cadence of breath, slowly calming herself down, but still subtly feeling the dread rise up in her stomach.
yoona, roused by the sudden movements, sat up sleepily. “what’s going on?” she asked groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. when she noticed the panic written on jiwoo’s face and the confusion in jinsol’s own, she frowned. “are you guys okay?”
jiwoo felt her breath speed up again, but jinsol was faster, pulling her close to her chest. “hey, hey, just listen to my heartbeat. it’s a good rhythm, right?” as jiwoo slowly breathed in and out, jinsol made eye contact with yoona over jinsol’s shoulder, silently communicating that something was wrong.
yoona began gently rubbing jiwoo’s back, scratching every so often so as to bring some level of comfort to the girl. she swallowed down her own panic and focused solely on helping jiwoo through her panic attack.
“i feel like we’ve done this before,” she whispered, her head aching in a strange manner. that must’ve been enough to set jiwoo off again, because she suddenly shot up, eyes wide and unblinking.
“hey, jjyu-yah, what’s going on?” yoona asked, followed by jinsol grabbing yoona’s hand in a slight panic. “everything’s okay, we’re good, safe-”
“no, you guys don’t- ugh,” jiwoo groaned out in frustration, hands in her hair, as she stood up. she began to pace back and forth, wringing her hands. “neither of you remember, but i can’t tell you. it’s just…” she halted her pacing and looked at them both. “it’s hard, okay? i don’t want to mess anything up.”
jinsol stood slowly, followed closely by yoona. they both walked carefully over to jiwoo, as if she was fragile, about to break. jinsol reached out and brushed down jiwoo’s mussed up hair, smoothing it out as yoona gently fixed jiwoo’s bangs.
“did i mess it up?” jiwoo asked, looking up at them with what one could only describe as puppy dog eyes.
“no, jiwoo, you don’t get it, i-“ yoona cut herself off, turning toward jiwoo. there was a determined look in her eye. “you say we don’t remember something, but you refuse to tell us what it is. but what you also don’t get is that you’re not subtle.” yoona smiled. “and that’s a good thing.”
jiwoo tilted her head in that signature puppy-like way. “huh-” she began, but was stopped swiftly by yoona pulling her in by the waist.
yoona’s eyes flicked between jiwoo’s eyes and mouth briefly before she leaned down and firmly captured jiwoo’s lips with her own. jiwoo’s eyes slammed shut as she realized what was actually happening, her hands immediately shooting up and tangling into yoona’s hair, her body working on pure muscle memory.
when yoona went to pull away, jiwoo exhaled sharply through her nose and instead pulled her back in, intent to finish what yoona started. yoona gasped into the next kiss, surprised at jiwoo’s own pull.
jiwoo pulled back from the kiss breathlessly, her chest heaving. “oh.”
yoona’s pupils were severely dilated and jinsol, to the side of her, was no better off. even from just watching, jinsol herself seemed to be out of breath.
“now do you get it, jiwoo-yah?” yoona gasped out, her eyes flickering between jiwoo and jinsol. she pulled jinsol forward, giving her a look jiwoo had never seen before. “i think she’ll understand if you help out, sol-ah.” and with that, she gently nudged jinsol toward jiwoo.
licking her lips, jinsol glanced down at jiwoo nervously. “uh- i mean- if you’re okay with this, i-“ she was cut off by yoona gently squeezing her arm. with that little bit of extra courage, jinsol took a deep breath and let it out before staring jiwoo deep in the eyes. “i’m gonna kiss you now, okay?”
all jiwoo could do was nod before she felt jinsol’s lips on her own, moving gently compared to yoona’s initial kiss. jiwoo couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her as she began to kiss back, her hands moving to grasp at the back of jinsol’s neck.
jinsol kissed different, but her feelings were obvious just the same. as jiwoo fell into the old, familiar rhythm of jinsol, she felt her waist being grasped again, her body feeling the familiarity all around. as yoona came over and held her from behind, hands grasping jinsol’s over her waist, she felt an overwhelming sense of calm overtake her whole being.
jinsol pulled back slowly, her eyes searching both jiwoo’s and yoona’s own, as if seeking approval. jiwoo swallowed heavily, feeling the emotions she had tried to bury attempt to make their way forth.
“you did good, sol-ah,” yoona murmured, her breath tickling jiwoo’s neck. jiwoo shivered, still holding tight to jinsol’s neck with one hand, but moving the other to clasp one of yoona’s hands in her own.
“we… we should probably talk,” jiwoo said breathlessly. “about why i’m like this and… stuff.” she couldn’t even think clearly, too overwhelmed by the fact that they reciprocated, finally, in this universe.
yoona nodded against the back of jiwoo’s neck. “okay,” she said quietly, “yeah, let’s talk.”
jinsol rubbed a thumb against jiwoo’s waist. “let’s go back to the couch. we’ll be more comfortable there.”
———
jiwoo didn’t know how she ended up here.
they had been talking, discussing how yoona remembered everything but their relationship, talking over how jiwoo remembered everything, including their relationship, and filling jinsol in on all the gaps.
but now,
one minute they were telling jinsol about how the timelines had started to merge,
and the next,
jiwoo was on top of yoona, kissing her until they couldn’t breathe, with jinsol kissing her own way down jiwoo’s neck.
“hold on, i’m getting a cramp,” yoona said with a laugh, pulling away slowly from jiwoo and jinsol’s holds. jiwoo laughed, knocking her forehead against yoona’s and then eventually burying her head in jinsol’s neck- an awkward position, but one that made her smile.
“c’mon,” jinsol said softly, standing up and holding out her hands to pull the other two up, “we don’t have to do anything, but let’s just go lay down on the bed.”
the trio began to head down the short hall, hands intertwined. they only stopped when jiwoo halted her steps briefly, pulling on their hands to slow them down with her.
“what if,” jiwoo began, her eyes tracing both yoona and jinsol up and down, “what if i do want to do something?”
jinsol grinned just as yoona smiled, both of them simply tugging her forward.
as jiwoo was pulled by yoona and jinsol into their room, she felt a smirk growing on her own face.
she was fairly certain none of them would forget this.
———
years down the road, after monopole’s defeat and their subsequent reunion with each other, jiwoo would look back, reminiscing on all that they went through to find each other…
and then she would smile and curl back up into the arms of her two greatest loves.
happy.
content.
safe.
together.