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“Ugh,” Momo sputters from Nayeon’s right. Her face contorts in disgust, matching the faces of the other five women in the room as the liquor glides down her throat. “I swear Jeong, it’s like every round gets stronger. What kind of alcohol are you pouring in here? Isoproyl?”
“Momoring, that round went down smooth! Don’t tell me you can’t hang anymore,” Sana laughs. “Are you getting old on us?”
Momo pouts, folding her arms across her chest as she leans back against the sofa. “I’m only a month older than you Satang.”
Chaeyoung shakes her head at the two women’s banter. She sits up abruptly. “I think m going to get some air. It’s hot in here.” She announces to the others, voice rising in volume to float above the music reverberating through the room.
Nayeon can only agree. The room is ten degrees hotter. The alcohol and the thumping bass line of whatever song Momo plays does nothing to cool her burning skin… or the searing thoughts flashing across her mind. Really, there’s only one remedy. She desperately needs-
“Congratulations again Nayeon unnie,” Chaeyoung chirps, reaching over to wrap an arm around the other woman’s shoulders and place a kiss against her temple. “We’ll take another shot when I come back.”
Momo groans in response, eyes briefly leaving the dancer in front of her as she throws her head back in exasperation. “Please, no more.”
Jihyo laughs, her two hands wrapping around Momo’s shoulders to shake the girl playfully. “Come on Momo, the night is still young. Your best friend only gets married once… hopefully.”
Nayeon manages a sarcastic laugh. Her eyes briefly look down at her phone screen for what feels like the hundredth time in 15 minutes. She locks it once more, the phone letting out a loud click before she shuts her eyes and leans her head back against the couch. Aaaaany minute now.
“But seriously unnie, I really am happy for you.” Jihyo says earnestly, sliding into the seat beside Nayeon and leaning her head on the older woman’s shoulder. “I’ve always liked Tzuyu and as much as she tries to hide it, she’s head over heels for you.”
“Yeah, so don’t fuck up with that one,” Jeongyeon playfully warns, sliding two glass bottles in front of the two women. Her eyes briefly glancing over the half naked bodies dancing in rhythm to the bass blaring through the speakers.
Jihyo’s eyes follow Jeongyeon’s gaze. She winces slightly before turning back to Nayeon. “Yeahh… sorry unnie. I thought Sana and Chaengie said the plan was to go to the strip club after, not bring the dancers here.”
“Okay but after tonight,” Jeongeyon cuts in, turning back towards Nayeon, pointing a finger at the older woman. “Don’t fuck it up, seriously.”
Nayeon is sure some would have found Jeongyeon's tone intimidating. She just finds it amusing. “Really Jeong?” Nayeon scoffs. “Over 15 years of friendship and you still don’t trust-”
“Nayeon unnie! Nayeon unnie!” Chaeyoung’s frantic voice cuts her off as she dashes into the living room, legs carrying her as fast as they possibly can.
Which isn’t very fast considering the countless shots in her system, but that’s a story for another day.
The girl all but collapses, one hand on her knee and the other grasping at her chest as she pants out. Jeongyeon watches in amusement, ready to laugh at the younger one’s poor stamina. But the room falls silent when Chaeyoung finally opens her mouth to speak.
"Unnie! Tzu- Tzuyu is outside!" She manages to spit out, gulping as if the very sentence took her last bit of strength from her.
Momo pauses the music immediately, eyes wide as she glances around the room. The floor is littered with loose feathers fallen off of pink, blue, green, and purple boas, glitter covers every surface. Really, it's the least ideal situation for your fiancée to find you in mere days before your wedding.
"Damn it! Who the hell called her?" Sana hisses, voice full of panic as she rushes to the front door. “Momo, help me!”
Jihyo hops to her feet, immediately ushering the dancers to the next room. Eyes to the ceiling to avoid landing on oiled up chests and body parts stuffed in leopard thongs and speedos. Heart rate through the roof as she moves with maximum efficiency. “Okay everyone! Quick in here- Jeongyeon what are you doing?”
Jeongyeon shushes her harshly, one leg suspended in mid-air as she prepares to hop over Jihyo’s wooden bar. “Shhh, Jihyo! Can’t you keep it down? Tzuyu-ah gets scary when she’s mad.” She swings her other leg over, quickly crouching to hide behind the bar. Jeongyeon, expediently, does her best to avoid getting caught in the inevitable crossfire of Chou Tzuyu and Im Nayeon. But she figures the least she can do is line up another round of shots for the poor unfortunate souls who won’t be able to avoid it.
“Sana unnie,” she hears Tzuyu’s calm voice echo past the doorway, “Where’s Nayeon?”
From the looks of things… Sana, Momo, and Nayeon will definitely be at the top of the list.
—-----
“So yes, she is in there. But don't worry Tzu, I will make sure things don’t get too far out of hand. You can trust me,” Sana says, speaking with as much conviction as she can possibly muster. Tzuyu isn’t convinced, but she figures she’ll indulge her anyway. “And really, in a sense, this can only strengthen your future marriage don’t you think? It’s kind of symbolic. Tonight she does all the partying she can possibly do, then as soon as she comes home she leaves all that behind. She’s a new woman, one that is completely devoted to loving you and only you for the rest of her life. Think of it as an investment! Yeah, an investment.” She finishes, flashing a bright smile in an attempt to draw Tzuyu’s attention from the fact that she is desperately trying to shield the doorway with her body. She tugs on the front door pulling it closer to her.
Tzuyu huffs, crossing her arms across her chest. “Are you done, unnie?”
“Yes.” Sana nods slowly. Hushed mutters followed by the sound of glass shattering breaks open the brief silence between the two. Sana casts a quick glance over her shoulder. She turns back to Tzuyu in a panic as the latter weaves her head above Sana’s, searching for the source of the commotion.
“Wait no! No!” Slowly, Sana takes a step towards Tzuyu, closing the door behind her as she heaves a forlorn sigh. “Tzuyu, Nayeon unnie really really loves you. You know that right? Nayeon unnie, she’s so special. And you are too! So gracious and so kind…” Tzuyu glares at the drunken girl, trying her best to stop herself from producing the world’s longest eye roll as Sana continues rambling on. Sana places a gentle hand on Tzuyu’s shoulder and Tzuyu makes a mental note to kill Nayeon once they’re home for putting her in such a predicament.
“And I am so so happy that you two found each other. I truly do love you both.” Sana looks up at Tzuyu pleadingly. From where Tzuyu is standing, she can tell Sana is desperately trying to force tears out of her eyes. She has to give the woman credit. If she didn't know any better, Sana would have really sold the performance.
“Oookay,” Tzuyu says, patting the older woman’s hand on her shoulder. “Thank you Sana unnie, I will keep that in mind.” Tzuyu quickly pushes past the woman, shoving the door open to reveal a panicked Momo hiding behind it. Seriously, did her life become some type of sitcom overnight?
Tzuyu casts a backwards glance at Sana, whose gaze is fixed on her feet, then back at Momo, who suddenly finds the high ceilings in Jihyo’s house to be the most intriguing sight in all the world. With the alcohol in their system, one of them has to break. Tzuyu just needs to find the right approach, the right angle.
So she stands up straighter, pushes her shoulders back, and decides to bring out the big guns. After all, she is the group's baby. And try as they may, no one can quite resist her charms when she turns them on.
She lets out a heavy sigh, running her hand through her hair as she brings her right hand to stroke aimlessly at her left forearm. A melancholy look crosses her face as she musters up the most poignant tone she could manage. Dahyun would be so proud.
“Sana unnie. Momo unnie… please. I just want to know where my fiancée is.”
—-----
Nayeon’s eyes dart towards the entrance, her breath catching in her throat as Tzuyu walks in. Her hair falls in waves past her collarbone, leather jacket tugged over her shoulders as her tired, and evidently, irritated gaze takes in the scene before her. Momo and Sana follow in right behind, heads bowed low like two dejected puppies. Briefly, she wonders what type of weapon Tzuyu must have pulled out of her arsenal on the two. Nayeon would’ve felt bad if it all wasn’t just so comical.
“Sorry unnie, we tried,” Momo mumbles, immediately casting her gaze downwards to avoid Tzuyu’s impending stare.
Tzuyu gives Momo and Sana a once over before her eyes quickly scan the bar, to the messy floor, to the guilty faces of the four other women in the room, to the strippers trying, and failing, to hide themselves behind the living room curtains and pillows, before landing squarely on Nayeon. Her face gives nothing away, but judging by the subtle tapping of her foot and the clenching of her jaw, it doesn’t take much for the ladies to figure out Tzuyu is not pleased. Still, her stone-faced expression does nothing to calm down Nayeon’s racing heart. And even in the midst of what one could, very modestly, describe to be an unfortunate predicament… Nayeon can only swoon at her fiancée. She cannot believe she gets to marry this woman in a few days.
“Nayeonnie?” Tzuyu asks, voice even. “Are you ready?”
Nayeon brings a hand to scratch lightly at the back of her neck. “Oh. Umm. Well-”
“Nayeon- We’re going now.” Tzuyu cuts the woman off. Her tone low and scarily calm as she crosses the floor. She grips Nayeon’s wrist, gently, but firmly, as she tugs the woman behind her. She keeps her gaze straight ahead, ignoring the alarmed and apologetic looks of the other women in the room.
“Bye everyone! Thank you! See you later!” Nayeon stops briefly to wave at their friends. Her feet struggle to keep up with Tzuyu, prompting the taller woman to lift her over her shoulder in stride as she continues to the front door.
Tzuyu steps out into the cool night air, taking a deep inhale as the large wooden door closes forcefully behind them. Carefully, she sets Nayeon down and fishes for the car keys in her jacket pocket.
Nayeon straightens her dress and adjusts her sash, watching Tzuyu intently. “You look good,” Nayeon praises, looking the other woman up and down unabashedly before flashing her a megawatt smile.
Tzuyu stares at Nayeon incredulously. “Really? That’s all you have to say after that?” She jerks her head back toward the direction of Jihyo’s house.
“What? You do,” Nayeon shrugs, her arms coming to wrap around the taller woman as she presses a chaste kiss on her neck. “The possessive, commanding lover role you pulled back there? Very sexy. I might need you to pull that one back out on our wedding night.”
Tzuyu’s breath catches, she turns her face away from Nayeon in an attempt to hide the shade of pink that begins to coat the tips of her ears. Nayeon sees it, her boisterous laughter rips through the silence of the night.
Tzuyu groans, “You do know you could have just told them you were ready to go home right? Instead of having me drag you out of here like some scorned lover or supervillain or something.”
“You’re not a supervillain, baby. You’re the opposite, you’re my hero.” She says sweetly, lurching forward to press a kiss along the taller woman’s jawline.
Tzuyu lets out a short snort at the older woman’s antics, ignoring the way her skin heats up under Nayeon’s lips. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. But still. Why didn’t you just tell them you were ready to come home?”
“And say what? I can’t tell my bridesmaids I want to leave my bachelorette party early, that’s like… against the rules or whatever.” She says with a dismissive wave of the hand. “They’d probably hold me hostage until morning.”
“You could've said I had an emergency or something.”
“Right, then Momo would call Dahyun or Sana would call Mina to ask if they were with you. And we both know those two can never lie.”
“So make me to be the bad guy so you don’t look like one?”
Nayeon gasps in faux shock, her head lifting from Tzuyu’s shoulder. “Of course not… I’m making you out to be the bad girl. We’re women Tzuyu-ssi.”
Tzuyu sucks her teeth. Her eyes trained forward as she gently peels Nayeon off of her. She steps forward and makes a beeline to the car. Irritation laced across her features.
But Nayeon, in all her drunken glory, speeds up. She rushes in front of Tzuyu, standing on her tippy toes and wrapping her arms around the taller woman’s neck as she presses their bodies together.
“Aww come on Tzuyu-ah! Don’t be like that! Besides, are you really going to tell me you didn’t miss me too?”
“No.”
“No?” she asks with a pout. Tzuyu hates how attractive she finds it. How can the woman be so cute yet so sexy all at the same time? Suddenly she starts forgetting she’s supposed to be irritated. Nayeon senses it. She always does.
“You didn’t miss me?” Nayeon’s voice lowers in tone as she pulls Tzuyu closer to her body.
It takes considerable effort for Tzuyu to ignore the fact that Nayeon is practically melded into her at this point. She closes her eyes and takes a slow, steadying breath. She will not be painted as the strict, cold wife to all their friends. Not solely for the expense of Nayeon’s reputation as the fun, playful unnie. No, tonight she puts her foot down. Even if she did miss Nayeon, Nayeon doesn’t have to know that. The woman must be taught a lesson.
But when she opens her eyes and catches sight of the bright chocolate irises staring back at her through half hooded lids, the plan flies out the window. Her resolve crumbles at the speed of light. Damn this woman.
Tzuyu lets out a shaky sigh, her arms automatically flying up to find their rightful place around Nayeon’s waist. Hands softly gripping her skin as if they had a mind of their own. “No, I’m not going to tell you I didn’t miss you.”
“Oh?” Nayeon asks, smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “So you did miss me?” She brings her nails up to lightly scratch the back of Tzuyu’s neck. It’s unfair, really.
Tzuyu lets out a contented sigh, her head falling back slightly to melt into the older woman’s touch. “I missed you baby.”
“Mmm. I missed you too. Now, are you going to continue laying into me in the middle of this driveway, or can we go home now?” Her tone is sickly sweet and she leaves a lingering peck on Tzuyu’s lips. Then she leans back, her eyes never leaving Tzuyu as her hand slowly reaches into her bag, pulling out a pair of handcuffs she stealthily pocketed from the cop… stripper? Stripper cop? Whatever the proper term is… it’s the final stab into Tzuyu’s already weakened armor.
Tzuyu reaches down to hook her arm under the backs of Nayeon’s thighs. Swiftly, she hoists Nayeon up, eliciting a squeal of delight from the older woman. She buries her face into Tzuyu’s neck as she sprints down the driveway.
“Where’s Mina and Dahyun?” Nayeon asks, tone low and raspy as her breath ghosts the taller woman’s earlobe.
“I asked them if we could rain check as soon as I got the text.”
Nayeon brings a hand up to playfully smack Tzuyu’s shoulder. “So you knew?! I didn’t even say anything in the text! I just said-“
“‘Babyyy come get me,’” Tzuyu recites in a whiny tone, chuckling as Nayeon rolls her eyes in response. “You were drinking tequila. I had a hunch,” she pauses to place a quick peck on Nayeon’s lips. “Remind me to thank Jeongyeon unnie for the shots in the morning.”
Tzuyu sets Nayeon in the passenger seat. She quickly closes the door as she rounds the car to climb in behind the steering wheel. She clicks on her seatbelt and turns on the ignition. The engine roars to life as Tzuyu places her hand on Nayeon’s thigh. She pulls away from the sidewalk and races back home.
It was going to be a loooong night.