Chapter Text
The air outside the wedding hall smells faintly of marigolds and car exhaust.
Sea is leaning against his car like he’s in a cologne advertisement he didn’t get paid for. Sleeves rolled up. Tie hanging loose around his neck. Watching the entrance like he’s waiting for something inevitable.
Keen walks up the steps without looking at him.
“You’re late,” Sea says.
“I’m on time. You’re just early.”
Sea straightens. “You look good.”
Keen stops mid-step.
He wasn’t expecting that.
He adjusts his cuff instead of reacting. “Don’t start.”
“I haven’t even started yet.”
Keen exhales. “Remember. This is fake.”
Sea studies him for a second too long. “Right.”
They stand there in that almost-silence. The kind where both people are aware of each other’s breathing.
Sea steps closer, lifting his hands toward Keen’s collar. “Hold still.”
“I can fix my own tie.”
“I know. I just don’t trust you.”
Keen narrows his eyes but doesn’t move.
Sea’s fingers slide beneath the fabric at Keen’s throat, tightening the knot gently. His knuckles brush against Keen’s skin. Slow. Accidental. Not accidental.
Keen’s pulse jumps.
Sea notices.
He doesn’t comment.
“There,” Sea murmurs, smoothing the tie down his chest. His hand lingers half a second longer than necessary.
Keen steps back first.
“Don’t overdo it,” he says quietly.
Sea tilts his head. “Overdo what?”
“The boyfriend thing.”
Sea smiles. Soft. Dangerous. “You think I can’t?”
“I know you can’t.”
Sea offers his hand.
Keen looks at it.
Then at Sea.
“Because you begged,” Keen says flatly.
Sea’s mouth twitches.
He doesn’t argue.
He just waits.
Keen sighs and slips his hand into Sea’s.
Sea’s fingers close around his like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
And that’s what unsettles Keen.
---
Inside, the hall is warm and bright and loud with laughter.
Sea doesn’t hesitate. His arm settles around Keen’s waist as they walk through the crowd. Not showy. Not exaggerated. Just there.
Keen stiffens instinctively.
Sea leans down slightly. “Relax.”
“I am relaxed.”
“You look like you’re being held hostage.”
“You’re enjoying this too much.”
Sea hums. “You agreed.”
“You begged.”
This time Sea laughs — soft, close to Keen’s ear.
An aunt approaches, eyes sharp with curiosity.
Sea’s grip tightens just slightly.
“This is Keen,” Sea says, voice smooth. “My boyfriend.”
The word lands between them.
Boyfriend.
Keen smiles politely, greeting the aunt with practiced warmth. But he can feel Sea’s thumb drawing absent lines against his waist. Small. Repetitive.
Possessive.
It shouldn’t feel real.
It does.
---
Later, at their table, the noise dulls into background hum.
Sea leans back in his chair, watching Keen argue with one of his cousins about whether pineapple belongs on pizza.
“It absolutely does not,” Keen insists.
“It adds flavor.”
“It adds betrayal.”
Sea laughs under his breath, eyes fixed on Keen’s animated expression.
Keen notices.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Why are you staring?”
“I like when you’re dramatic.”
“I am not dramatic.”
Sea raises a brow.
Keen kicks him under the table.
Sea’s knee presses back in retaliation.
Neither moves away.
The contact stays.
---
The shift happens slowly.
Someone approaches Sea. Pretty. Confident. Too comfortable.
Keen watches from across the table, swirling his drink lazily.
He tells himself he doesn’t care.
Sea smiles politely. Says something that makes the stranger laugh.
Keen looks away.
When Sea returns, he doesn’t sit across from Keen.
He sits closer.
Close enough that their shoulders touch.
“Bored without me?” Sea asks lightly.
“I was thriving.”
“Liar.”
Keen doesn’t respond.
Sea glances down.
Keen’s fingers are curled tightly around his glass.
Sea reaches under the table and nudges Keen’s hand gently.
“Hey.”
Keen looks up.
Sea’s expression is different now. Less teasing.
“You’re squeezing that thing like it insulted you.”
“I’m fine.”
Sea watches him for a moment.
Then he slides his hand into Keen’s again.
Not for show.
No one is looking.
Their fingers lace slowly.
Keen inhales.
Sea’s thumb strokes over his knuckles once.
“Committed to the bit?” Sea murmurs.
Keen doesn’t look at him.
“Yes.”
Sea’s voice drops softer.
“Okay.”
---
On the dance floor, the music fades into something softer.
Too soft.
Sea places his hand at Keen’s waist again, but this time it’s careful. Like he’s asking.
Keen lets him.
They sway.
The world feels distant. Blurry.
Sea is looking at him again.
Not playful.
Not teasing.
Just looking.
Keen feels it like heat under his skin.
“Stop,” Keen whispers.
“Stop what?”
“Looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
Keen swallows.
“Like you mean it”
Sea doesn’t answer immediately.
The noise of the hall swells around them — laughter, clinking glasses, distant music — but inside the small space between them, it feels muted.
“I’m supposed to mean it,” Sea says carefully. “That’s the whole point.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Sea searches his face.
Keen hates that he does that — looks like he’s trying to understand instead of deflect.
Keen steps back first.
Sea’s hand falls away from his waist.
It feels colder immediately.
“This is getting too real,” Keen mutters.
Sea’s expression flickers. “It’s just acting.”
“No,” Keen says quietly. “You’re not that good.”
Sea’s mouth parts slightly.
The words weren’t meant as a compliment.
They weren’t meant as anything.
But they land like one.
---
They don’t talk much after that.
Back at the table, there’s space between their chairs now.
Not much.
Just enough to notice.
Sea answers relatives smoothly, still charming, still easy.
Keen laughs when he’s supposed to.
Smiles when expected.
But he doesn’t reach for Sea again.
And Sea doesn’t force it.
---
Outside, later, the night air feels sharp against their skin.
The music from inside is muffled now.
They stand near the car again.
Back where they started.
Sea loosens his tie this time.
Keen watches the movement without meaning to.
“You were convincing,” Sea says quietly.
Keen huffs. “Obviously.”
“No,” Sea says. “I mean it.”
The words sit between them.
Too similar to earlier.
Keen looks away.
“You don’t get to blur lines and then act confused when I react.”
Sea’s jaw tightens slightly. “I wasn’t blurring anything.”
“You were.”
“How?”
“You looked at me like…” Keen stops himself.
“Like what?” Sea presses, softer now.
Keen laughs once, humorless. “Like this wasn’t temporary.”
Sea’s silence stretches.
Car headlights pass across their faces briefly, then disappear.
“It isn’t,” Sea says finally.
Keen’s heart stutters.
Then Sea continues.
“The wedding isn’t temporary. They’ll talk about this for months.”
Something in Keen’s chest drops.
Oh.
That’s what he meant.
“Right,” Keen says evenly. “PR strategy.”
Sea frowns slightly. “That’s not what I—”
“It’s fine,” Keen cuts in. “It worked.”
The space between them feels wider now.
Sea takes a step forward, then stops himself.
“You think I’d play with you like that?” he asks quietly.
Keen shrugs. “You wanted something. I helped. End of story.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Neither is looking at me like that if you don’t mean it.”
Sea’s composure cracks just slightly.
“I don’t do things halfway,” he says, voice lower now.
“Exactly,” Keen replies.
Silence again.
Heavy.
Loaded.
Sea exhales slowly. “If I meant it… what would you do?”
Keen freezes.
The question isn’t teasing.
It isn’t playful.
It’s real.
And that’s the problem.
Keen forces a small smile. “Good thing you don’t.”
Sea watches him for a long moment.
Like he’s trying to decide something.
Like he’s fighting something.
In the end, he steps back.
Opens the car door.
“Let me drop you home.”
Keen nods.
The drive is quiet.
Not hostile.
Just full.
Full of almost.
When they reach Keen’s place, neither moves immediately.
Sea’s hands stay on the steering wheel.
Keen stares ahead.
“You did great tonight,” Sea says softly.
Keen nods. “So did you.”
A beat.
“Sea,” Keen says carefully.
“Yeah?”
“Next time… don’t make it feel real.”
Sea doesn’t answer right away.
When he does, his voice is barely above a whisper.
“I didn’t have to try.”
Keen’s breath catches.
He doesn’t look at Sea.
If he does, he might stay.
So he opens the door.
Steps out.
Closes it gently.
Sea watches him walk to the building entrance.
Keen doesn’t turn around.
But he feels it.
That look.
And this time, it definitely wasn’t fake.