valessa

there are people who would be described as two peas in a pot, the half of the other, siblings from another mother -- the idea that they complete each other, that they work so well together that they must be of the same thread.

to describe your relationship with beomgyu, those metaphors would never even have came up in the light of day because you guys just don't work. you like what he likes and he likes what you like. you do what he does, and he does what you do. for heavensake, you've known each other since highschool and you still ended up in the same dream university, in the same dream careers, in the same fast food job! and that is exactly why you don't work. the arguments that fester from being just a little too similar got extreme back when you were teenagers, terribly extreme you couldn't even blame it on hormones.

girls who'd be interested in beomgyu every three weeks would come up to you at the randomest times to ask if there was anything going on between you two and the first couple girls, your friends would die of laughter because of how inaccurate the assumption was. "her and beomgyu? beomgyu with the long hair? him and y/n? the y/n that's standing next to us right now?"

it was safe to say that after a while, the entire engineering major knew you and beomgyu would never happen. and you were content with that.

that is until that day happened, the day you lost the bet.

you were feeling lots of things before he'd decide on a what you'd do - fear, fear was a big one.

"hey, go easy on me." you reluctantly said quietly.

"huh?" he put a hand behind his ear, "what'd you say?"

it was embarrassing enough that you couldn't complete the software in time when you're known in the major for being the fastest, but it was even worse to give beomgyu the satisfaction of you being scared. you already caught a smirk on his face, fucker.

"i said...go easy on me you prick."

"okay okay here, since you're begging, i'll give you a deal." he folded his arms, acting like he was thinking of this on the spot. "i'll go easy on you if you don't ask any questions about my dare." and that was when you knew that he had this planned out - you took the bait anyway, just of the small chance you might avoid jumping off a cliff.

"okay, i accept the deal, whats the dare?"

"take me, choi beomgyu..." he was elongating every vowel and you'd hate to admit it but every time he does it, as annoying as it is, it does manage to do its job and keeps you on your toes to want to know what he'd say next.

but the long pause that day was way more annoying than usual.

"just say it!", you yelled.

"on a date!" he yelled immediately in response. "jesus christ you're so impatient."

beomgyu saw you open your mouth to say something and he anticipated it so he quickly shut you up with a finger on your lips.

"no questions, remember?", you rolled your eyes and snatched his finger off your lip. "here are the rules. one, you're paying for everything-"

"broke ass." you cursed under your breath and he caught it.

"who's working three shifts again?" well, that got you quiet. "two, it has to be the best date i've ever been on. like spectacular, jaw dropping, 5 star restaurant. you know i'm a wanted, highly desirable man. and three, if you break the rules, you'll have to try again. but hey, i trust you'll get it on the first try. i'm going to go easy on you."

and that is how you find yourself on the 9th try of trying to woo beomgyu with a date and finally get the dare over with. i'm going to go easy on you? bullshit.

the first three times, it was aggravating to know that you failed and had to go on another date. the next four to eight times, you viewed it as another assignment to overcome - like a game? that period was ambitious (hello, you literally drove four hours for one of the dates once) so when even those failed, you entered your nine times to how many the fuck you know times. you've never went on this many dates with someone you weren't even in a relationship with.

and by now you'd figured that beomgyu was just freeloading off of you. that asshole. you would totally do something like that..

like it was the devil's calling, beomgyu came through the door of the desserted cafe that you part timed at.

"hey! welcome to bist-- beomgyu." you said his name grimly, staring at him walk over to your register.

"oh my god, i did not know you worked here! fancy seeing you partner!"

"beomgyu, you literally used to work with me-- you know what? no. i just took the last order. we're closing the store."

he looked at his wrist, like he was reading a watch but when he dropped his hand down, there was indeed, no real watch.

"it's seven on a thursday, you aren't fooling me."

you groan dramatically like a child, frustrated. "what do you want beomgyu? i can't afford to hear your voice one more time this week, i'm serious i think i need to get myself checked out before i'm driven to insanity." you mumbled as he looked up at the menu, his iris going left and right trying to decipher which one would be the cheapest, and not taste like total shit. "can i get a...hmm...this is a lot of options..."

"a triple shot soy decaf vanilla latte with whipped cream?", you filled in.

"no not--wait, hold on. that sounds really good."

"because it is good." you said rolling your eyes playfully, this time.

"is it cheap?"

"the cheapest." you said, cracking a smirk. it was times like these where you remember that you and beomgyu are still the friends part of the frenemy title you both chose to adopt.

a more genuine fond smile warmed up on beomgyu's face, because he had the same exact thought.

"well its not technically the cheapest--" he started.

"don't ruin the moment beomgyu." you said heading to the backroom.

"i'm just saying, you were being deceitful! also there was no moment!" you heard beomgyu call out. secretly, you let out a quick chuckle to that.

when you finally got him his order, you expected him to leave...but of course, you thought too highly of him. because there he was, elbows on the counter, sipping his coffee (milkshake) really..really loudly. it was like his sole purpose was to annoy the fuck out of you.

"do you want me to direct you to a table mr. choi?" you said in your fake nice voice sarcastically as your back was turned from him to wash the tools that you used.

"y/n i have a question."

"answer mines first."

"when is the next date--i mean, like, your next, um..attempt? try? what are we calling it?"

you exhale, you knew he was going to mention it.

"it's today. surprise!" you turned around with a terrifying toothy smile, doing jazz hands.

"you just decided this last minute didn't you?" you shook your head, still keeping up a smile. "also stop smiling like that oh my god."

and the smile was dropped. "okay, so what if i decided just now? you know, the cheapest dates are the best dates."

"literally nobody has ever said that." he said, taking another sip of his drink, shaking his head slowly disapprovingly.

"no, yeah you're right i don't know why i just did." you said, very much perplexed those words came out of your mouth -- you'll call it your first stage of insanity.

"look, i'm going to be completely honest, i don't think you'll ever top the paris hot balloon date with that cute foreign chick."

you scoffed, coming closer to the counter with your arms crossed. "um pfft, i thought we collectively, we as in the whole world by the way, agreed that you made that date up."

"you're the only one who thinks it didn't happen, i literally showed you pictures! and it's not that hard to believe, i am universally hot stuff." he shrugged, and you rolled your eyes. "wait hey, i think i still have the pictures, let me show you."

his eyes were narrowed, scrolling on his phone.

"okay okay, enough. also don't call yourself hot stuff again." you covered his phone screen and he looks up at you confused. "lets say it did happen.."

"it did happen!"

"...if you knew i wasn't going to top your extravagant paris date, why'd you even add the second rule?"

for the first time, beomgyu didn't have an immediate response. he was quiet, way too quiet.

"look, you can just tell me you were trying to freeload off of me." beomgyu looks taken back, his face scrunched up, so you add more to clarify, "i would be pissed but you don't have to be all secretive about it. i can get over it if you pay me four hundred dollars in cash--"

"let's say i was freeloading off you, which by the way, i should've thought of that--"

"correction, you were freeloading off of me."

beomgyu ignores you. "you know what, i just thought of something. there is one way you could top the hot balloon paris date."

your interest was piqued but you try not to show how your ears perked up, and clear your throat. "what is it?"

despite your attempt to seem disinterested, when beomgyu motions to bring your head closer so he can whisper something, you don't hesitate.

"i don't know, maybe it'll be too hard on you...like it takes a lot of courage--"

"just say it!" you yelled impatiently.

"say i liiike you beomgyu-ah~" he said with what you think is a pout, and top of that you'd bet a hundred bucks that he was fluttering his long lashes too.

you pull your head away. "beomgyu."

he shrugged. "i'm giving you a very easy task, take it or leave it."

you exhale, its true. it isn't that bad. "i'm not doing the aegyo though."

"thats the entire point! just don't do it at all then."

"oh, okay. bye, it wasn't pleasant seeing you beomgyu, as always." you waved him away and start untying your apron to leave your shift, but beomgyu was still there. because you've heard the third groan in a row.

you, however, didn't notice that he came to the back in the register area until you felt his hand touching your struggling ones that were trying to untie your apron for the past..three minutes now.

you dropped them to your sides, feeling a little awkward at the sudden proximity.

"were you actually going to close?" he asked as you felt beomgyu trying to untangle the knot.

"no that was a lie, i'm leaving because my shift ended."

"huh. you know i was about to apologize for bothering you. and i never apologize."

"who said you weren't bothering me anyway? in fact, you've been bothering me this whole month more than normal."

you looked back to beomgyu, "why'd you stop? can you try to untie it faster?"

"alright alright, jesus."

the rest of the time that he spent untying the knot, it was quiet. oddly.

"done. i have to go now though, homework and stuff." he said backing away.

you stopped him by holding his wrist back. "hey, are you mad? it's kind of weird, i've never seen you mad."

he looked back at you with a raised brow. you rolled your eyes, correcting yourself. "okay, well i've never seen you mad this month"

you let go of his wrist because hes fully turned to face you, with his arm crossed.

"maybe, maybe i wasn't mad because i didn't see hanging out with you to be the biggest nuisance in the world."

"well..you're mad now."

"say i like you."

"huh?"

"you don't have to do the aegyo, i'm exempting it because i am a very nice friend."

okay, so now you're lost. you don't know what's going on, at all. but hey at least you'll get a perk of ending the dare!

do you...want to end the dare?

okay, what the actual fuck. why are you having that thought?

"i like you beomgyu-ah." you mumbled reluctantly in the most monotone, robotic voice ever. and his previous sorta serious face morphs into a fit of laughter.. KNEE slapping laughter.

"god you should've--you should've seen your face!" he said pointing at you while he uses his other hand to hold his stomach. like an elementary bully ad.

and the fit of laughter continued.

"was that whole im mad act fake? you're...ugh." you groaned. another day, another beomgyu being a total dick.

you took beomgyu by the wrist again to push him out of the back. "bye! it's time for you to leave!" you said loudly.

"alright alright i'm leaving--ow!"

you had to go through seeing him laughing all the way to the exit door, but hey, at least he was gone. you sigh, relieved.

but then you hear the ding again.

"i like you too by the way" beomgyu shouted out. and then left again.

typical annoying, irritating, choi beomgyu. leaving you to make an analysis of what he meant by saying that... for the entire night.

Regulus didn’t say anything, but Evan took this as an opportunity to continue. “Honestly, that skirt makes me lose all rational thought, if I didn’t actually like you Reggie I would’ve taken my chance with her and-”

“Shut up,” Regulus said, making Louie drop his quill and look over at the two boys. Of course, he loses his cool the one day Louie is in the office. Shit, he thought, did Louie hear what Evan had said? Surely Louie wouldn’t be able to figure out their bet just from one conversation, but Regulus’ stomach was suddenly tied in a knot. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, looking over at Louie who continued with his work. 

“Mate, are you okay?” Evan asked, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. 

“I’m fine, I just,” Regulus didn’t really know what was wrong and even if he wanted to try to figure it out, he didn’t want to try to figure it out with Evan and Louie present so he shook his head. “I’ve barely got two months left and I haven’t done anything, it’s getting to me.” 

That was something Evan seemed to understand. 

“Don’t stress, mate,” he said, patting his friend's shoulder, “your Regulus Black, remember?” Just as he said those words she walked out from the breakroom and gave him a funny look. Evan turned to her and then turned to Regulus and then back to her before he finally turned around and went back to his work. 

On Tuesday Louie came back in with a big folder for her and Regulus. 

“It worked,” he said and they both smiled at him.

“The healing potion?” She asked and he nodded. 

Reglus put his palm out in front of her and they high fived. 

“Good job,” he said. 

“But the hair removal potion hasn’t been a great success.” 

“Oh,” she said, visibly deflating. That was her first potion, she wanted it to succeed. Regulus wanted to tell her it was okay, they’d fix it, but Louie continued before he could say anything. 

“When the hair is removed it grows back, they want it gone forever.” “We’ll work on it,” Regulus said and Louie went back to his desk. 

Regulus thought that this was the most he had ever seen Louie in the office and he made a mental note to think before he spoke his usual rubbish to Evan. 

“What about caterpillar?” She said immediately and Regulus gave her a confused look. “It’s got shrinking properties, so once they do the spell for the target area, it should technically shrink the hair follicle and then hair won’t be able to grow.”

Regulus was once again impressed. He thought it would take them the whole week to figure it out, but it barely took her a minute. 

“Yeah, we could try that. But I think we should add some cowbane as well so the caterpillar doesn’t impact the boomslang skin.”

“Oh, good idea,” she exclaimed, getting her quill out and writing it down on a piece of parchment. She was excited and Regulus thought it was fun having someone who was just as excited as him about potions. 

Evan always lent an ear to listen to him ramble on about his potions, but she actually understood what he meant and got excited with him and he found himself smiling as he started filling out the paperwork for the potion. 

On Wednesday before the meeting, more unicorn hair arrived and Evan started putting it away. 

“I got it just for you,” he said to her as he came back from the brewing room.

“You’re so kind,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him and walking past him into the breakout room for their meeting. 

“Regulus,” he whispered into his friend's ear, “promise me you’ll get that stick out of her ass.” Regulus laughed. He had become accustomed to getting to know her without anything up her ass, but he understood that for whatever reason, she was still tightly wound up when it came to Evan. 

“I can’t perform miracles, mate.” She was sitting at the front next to the safety manager, and while they were whispering, they knew she wouldn’t hear them. 

“It’ll be a miracle if you get her to bed,” he said, “hence the five hundred galleons.” Regulus didn’t say anything, but when he looked around the room, he realised Louie was sitting behind them and he mentally cursed himself. And Evan. 

They were still whispering, so surely Louie hadn’t heard them. Regardless, that was twice this week where he may have heard, they needed to be more careful. 

After the meeting, Regulus couldn’t help but watch the way Louie came up to her and started speaking to her. 

It was lunch time, by the time the meeting finished so Regulus and Evan went out to get their lunch, only to come straight back in and go straight to the microwave. She was walking out with Louie and she gave him a small smile as she walked past. 

Regulus watched through the windows as she got her lunch, still talking to Louie as he got his from the other side of the room. 

“Are you jealous or something, mate relax.” 

“Shut up, Evan,” he scoffed, “just making sure there’s no competition.” But really, he was scared that Louie was telling her what he had overheard this week.

They both came into the breakroom which Regulus thought was weird considering Louie had never eaten lunch with them, but she sat down next to him forcing Regulus to sit across from her instead. 

She still smiled at him and she still engaged with his small talk that now ended with looks that lasted a little too long and a hint of playfulness that peaked through everytime one of them made a joke. 

When lunch was finished, they went back to work on the method for the hair potion and find an incantation for their unlucky potion. 

“You were always better at charms than me, so maybe you can continue and I’ll fill in the paper work for the hair potion trial?”

She laughed, she wanted to tell him that she was better than him at every subject, but she didn’t know how to make it sound nice and so she didn’t. 

“Sure,” she said, now sitting back at her desk, “but I can’t promise I’ll find anything.”

The paperwork took Regulus the rest of the day, but she still hadn’t had any luck finding an incantation until Thursday afternoon when she exclaimed, “I’ve got it!”

Regulus was already excited. 

“Well I don’t have it, but I have an idea.” She pushed the book to the middle where the desks touched and told him about this old charm that was said to cause the person to make the wrong decisions and resulted in unlucky outcomes. They had never heard of it, but it would be worth a shot. 

She finished filling out the paperwork and handed it to her boss. 

“I feel like we haven’t brewed a potion in so long,” she complained when she came back to her office. 

“I know,” Regulus said, “I’m looking forward to it.” 

“Me too,” she said because she was looking forward to it, especially considering their unlucky potion required an hour wait time and she was looking forward to the conversation they would have during that time. 

Regulus was also looking forward to spending more time with her. Whenever they spent time alone it always ends up working in his favour and the quicker he got this over and done with the better for him. Firstly, because he’d be five hundred galleons richer, but because he also felt like Louie somehow knew what he was doing and that didn’t make Regulus feel good. 

He was okay being a dick around Evan, but he didn’t want anyone else thinking he was a dick because he wasn’t. Evan just brought out the worst in him. 

On Friday they were finally in the brewing room, getting the ingredients ready for the potion. They were starting with the hair removal potion because they were confident with the method and it only had a half hour waiting time, so it would give them an opportunity to prepare for the next potion. 

This time, the potion finished with a dark pink appearance and they started putting it into vials. 

“I hope this one works,” she said. 

“Me too,” he replied, “but if it doesn’t, we’ll just do it again.”

“I like doing things once and getting it right.” She said and Regulus found it humorous that barely two months ago he would’ve rolled his eyes at that and said something stupid back, but this time he smiled at her. 

“Okay, little miss perfectionist.” His tone was teasing and she was suddenly quiet at his words. A funny feeling began forming in her stomach and she did the cleaning spell, mainly to give her time to think of what to say. 

It didn’t work, she still didn’t know what to say. Instead she said, “I’ll get the cauldron for the next potion.” 

Regulus had found his new favourite thing. Making her flustered. He was so used to her always having something witty and smart to say back to him, but he liked leaving her speechless, he liked having that effect on her. 

The ingredients were already prepared so they just had to put them in. Regulus was putting away the vials so she started putting the ingredients into the cauldron. She had put in the flobberworm mucus and valerian in and she was just about to put in the herbaria when a hand closed around her wrist. 

“What are you doing?” There was genuine curiosity behind his voice, but for some reason she still froze as if she had done something wrong. 

“Putting the herbaria in.”

“That’s not herbaria.” She went to argue with him but she turned the glass tube in her hand to see that it was actually mallowsweet.

“Oh,” she said, turning to look up at Regulus who still had her wrist in his hand. “Thanks, that would have blown up in my face. Again.” 

He nodded before he said, “Yes, and you would have found some way to put the blame on me, so I can’t have that happening.” 

“And then the whole office would think you have it out for me because two accidents are believable, but a third one? Forget about it.” He laughed before he noticed that he was still holding her wrist in his hand. 

“Sorry,” he said, finally letting go.

Merlin, he thought, why was that so awkward? She told him it was okay, but really, it wasn’t because the skin on her wrist was still tingling and she had to ball her hand up in a fist to stop it from shaking. 

She got the right ingredients and Regulus stood beside her and watched her. She double checked every ingredient until it was time to actually add in the mallowsweet. Regulus had the stirrer in his hand so she stepped away and he stirred it counterclockwise thirteen times. 

When he finished, they were in their usual position. Regulus leaning against the bench with his hands folded over his chest, and her standing in front of him. 

Regulus once more, began to admire her beauty. He hadn’t really thought about it until Evan had brought it up, but he thought that maybe she had always been beautiful, it was just a shame that it was hidden by her arrogance and pride. 

But Regulus always knew how to spot a pretty girl and he couldn’t help but be surprised that he hadn’t noticed this earlier. 

“Do you have any plans for this weekend?” She asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. 

“Might get started on some Christmas shopping,” he said, knowing that the only Christmas present he was buying was for his mother. And maybe something stupid for Evan 

“Oh that’s smart,” she replied, “I always leave mine to the last minute, I should really start thinking about it.” There was a pause. “Is your family big on Christmas?” 

“Yeah,” he said, “kinda.” She didn’t say anything so he continued. “My mother likes it because it’s a family thing so she always goes over the top for it and we usually go to my aunts, but it almost always ends with my brother storming out.”

She gave him a sympathetic look. 

“I’m sorry,” she said because she wasn’t sure what else to say. Regulus was cursing himself. He was only playing into his own theory. He was only making them closer by talking about his bad relationship with his family. 

It was fine for her to do it, because then Regulus knew she was interested in at least being friends, but him doing it was only going to lead her on and that was not part of the plan. 

“What about your family?” He said, trying to redirect the conversation. 

“Well it’s just me,” she shrugged, “I don’t have any cousins, so it’s just my parents and me.” Regulus could sympathise with that. He had his brother, but Sirius left when he was young and Regulus felt like the only child for a long time and he knew how isolating that was. “But we have an image to uphold so we still have our Christmas party, but on Christmas we just open our presents, eat lunch and then it’s just like a regular day.” 

He almost felt bad for her. Even if his Christmas always ended with his mother crying to him, the day began with high spirits as almost everyone was surrounded by people they loved. Or at least people they called family. 

“Ah,” he said, once more trying to redirect the conversation. “I’ve heard about your family's infamous Christmas party.” She rolled her eyes. 

“And how would you know about it?”

“What?” Regulus scoffed, a smile already on his lips. “Am I so beneath your family that you’re surprised I know about your Christmas party?”

She laughed, a cheeky grin on her face that Regulus was trying hard to memorise. 

“Yes,” she said, giving him a pointed look, “it is only for the most elite and noblest.”

“Wow,” he said, his head falling back ever so slightly, “well then,” he said sarcastically, “I’ve only ever heard bad things about it.” She rolled her eyes at him again. 

“I wish I could tell you good things,” she sighed once their laughter died down. 

“Not a fan of the Christmas party?”

“Not really.” For a second, she wanted to tell him how she hated having to talk to the most elite and noblest because they were always judging her and her choices. Of course, the daughter of two of the most respected people in the wizarding world was under constant scrutiny and she hated being thrown into the centre of it at these things. Instead she went with, “I don’t know, it’s a lot of pressure.”

“The party?” Regulus asked, sitting up slightly as she turned away to look at him. She’d never told anyone this so she wasn’t sure why Regulus Black was the first to hear this. 

“Yes,” she said, “it has to be perfect otherwise people will talk, but people also talk about me regardless." She said it so softly Regulus struggled to hear her, especially as she turned to look away from him. 

He knew that people spoke about her, Merlin, for most of his life he was talking about her and judging everything she did, even if it was completely normal. But she was so uptight and high maintenance that he never really considered how she felt. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure she had feelings until this year. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, repeating the sentiment she had given him when he shared his familial woes. 

“So,” she dragged out the last syllable, “what Christmas presents are you getting?”

“Probably just something for my mother, there was a new book she wanted so maybe that.” Regulus was downplaying it. He knew what he was getting his mother. There were a few new books she wanted and Regulus had been annotating a book that made him think of her for the past month. Then, there were the usual gifts. The massage voucher and the perfume that she loves as well as those chocolates that she never buys for herself even though they were her favourite. 

“That’s cute,” she said.  “I know what I want for Christmas, but I have no idea what I’m getting everyone else.” Regulus laughed. Of course she knew what she wanted for Christmas. 

They had 47 minutes left until they were ready to continue the potion and so Regulus told her to humour him and tell him what was on her Christmas wish list. 

And when they finished talking about Christmas the conversation naturally followed to New Years. She told Regulus how her family never really did anything for New Years and sometimes, they didn’t even stay up to midnight on New Years Eve and Regulus told her how Evan usually had New Years Eve parties at his house.

Regulus knew what this was leading up to. He didn't even have a second to consider it because he knew if he hesitated, it would make the invitation insincere. 

“You should come to Evan’s,” he said and he could see her blinking fast through her glasses. 

“Oh, that’s okay,” she said, “I don’t think Evan would want me there.” She felt weird accepting an invitation to Evan’s party from Regulus because even if she was friendly with Regulus and therefore friendly by association with Evan, she didn’t think Evan had warmed up to her the way Regulus had. 

“Who cares what Evan wants?” Regulus said. “He’ll be too drunk to notice if you’re there or not.”

“I feel bad,” she admitted. 

“Why?” She shrugged. She couldn’t explain it. She felt like she was pushing herself into their life when they had spent the last almost ten years pushing her out. “I’m inviting you, I probably spend more time at the house than Evan, it’s fine.” 

If she learnt one thing from her St Mungo’s visit with Regulus, it was that she liked it when people stood up for her. She had been doing it her whole life so it was nice to see someone else cared enough to do it for her. So when Regulus said, “and he won’t say anything if I invited you, trust me,” how could she say no?

“Okay,” she said. She was going to say that she’d have to ask her parents but she caught herself before she did so. “Okay,” she repeated more confidently. 

Regulus smiled at her. 

Good. 

There weren’t many situations Regulus could think of where they would be alone together for anything to happen between them from now until Christmas. Sure, there was the office Christmas party, but Regulus wasn’t sure if she’d be ready to get in his bed by then. Then, they had two weeks off over the holidays so there was nothing going on then and so Regulus would only have two weeks to get five hundred galleons richer. 

New Years Eve was a backup, that was all. It would be more relaxed, and if anything did happen at the office Christmas party, he could always tell her that Evan was sick and the party was called off. It would be fine. 

“What is the party like?” She asked, and Regulus explained how it was exactly how she’d imagine a party hosted by Evan Rosier to be. People blackout drunk and still drinking more.

He started talking about the past New Years Eve parties and when she started laughing about the time Evan somehow woke up with the inability to speak, the timer went off and they continued their potion. 

It was a dark shade of black which they took as a good sign as she cast the incantation and Regulus bottled it up. 

It had only taken two weeks and she was feeling good about it as Regulus cast the cleaning spell and they walked back out to the office. 

It was lunch time, so they made their way to the breakroom and met Evan who was already heating up his lunch. 

Regulus was used to chatting away his Friday afternoon. He and Evan usually talked about the game on the weekend or their plans to go out and meet up with various girls they’d met throughout their years. But today, he talked his friday afternoon off with her. 

Both of them had a textbook in front of them, trying to get inspiration for their own potion, until Regulus leant over and asked, “What do you know about lobalug venom?” To which she told him about this study she had read that said it might have aphrodisiac properties. 

Regulus, of course, already knew this, but he wanted to plant something in her mind and when she whispered aphrodisiac properties to him, he knew he had planted the seed. But then Regulus asked what the difference between that and moonstone would be. They talked about it and brainstormed, but then the conversation changed when they heard Evan’s heavy breaths and realised he had fallen asleep and then it changed again when she admitted that she struggles to stay up late and Regulus called her a grandmother for going to bed at ten. But she wasn’t going to stand for that and in the end Regulus admitted that his grandfather tendency was that he hates loud places because he can’t hear people speak. 

And the conversation flowed and ebbed from there until the clock struck three and Evan magically woke up, said goodbye, and apparated away. 

They laughed at that while they packed their things away and Regulus said goodbye as if he wasn’t going straight to Evan’s.

When he untucked his shirt, got a snack out of the fridge and sat at the dining table Regulus said, “I invited her to New Years Eve.” 

“Ugh,” Evan moaned, “is she going to ruin everything by telling us that it isn’t appropriate.” He said in a mocking tone. Regulus rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep her away from your fun.”

“Ah, I see,” Evan said, taking a seat across from Regulus, “you’ll be keeping her busy.” He winked at Regulus and for some reason, something tightened in his chest. 

“That’s the plan,” he mumbled, looking down at the table. 

“That’s a great plan, actually,” Evan said, “start the new year with a nice five hundred galleon paycheck and then you won’t have to see her for another week. Although, it will probably be awkward when you get back, but I know you-”

Evan kept rambling but Regulus wasn’t listening. When he agreed to this bet he hadn’t considered that he’d still have to see her after they fucked. 

He’d have to go to work and see her in her pretty little outfits and he’d have to share his ideas with her and watch her chop up the ingredients and stand with her for however long it took for their potion to rest. 

For the first time, Regulus wished he had never listened to Evan.

He spent the rest of the weekend thinking about it. Merlin, he was such an idiot. He almost felt guilty on Monday morning when she came in wearing a tight fitted dress, saying good morning to Regulus as she took her coat off and put it on the back of her chair. 

“Good morning,” he said, not looking up from his book. 

“Are you okay?” She asked instinctively at the tone of his voice. 

“I’m okay, sorry, just a bit tired,” he said quickly, finally looking up from the textbook. He took in the dress she was wearing. 

Fuck, he thought, she has to know what she’s doing. 

She did know what she was doing. Her and Regulus had been sharing things she’d never shared with anyone and she was getting angsty with the Christmas break coming up. She was hoping something would happen before then and she was so anxious about it and Regulus’ words about doing his Christmas shopping that weekend were stuck in her head so she had gone therapy shopping on the weekend. 

When she saw this dress, she had one person in mind and she knew she had to have it. 

“Nice dress,” were the first words Evan said as he walked in, she was still standing, but at his words she sat down. She frowned slightly, this dress was not for Evan. 

“Thanks,” she said, “it’s new.” Evan nodded, but he wasn’t looking at her as he went to sit at his desk. 

Regulus saw the little frown form on her face from his friend's words and he wished Evan knew how to shut his mouth. 

But Regulus had to agree, it was a nice dress. Because when she lent over her desk to ask Regulus about nux mysteria, a new potion ingredient that had just been discovered, he could look down and see more than the piece of parchment he was meant to be looking at. 

He had been thinking about this view since the last time she wore a loose top and suddenly, he didn’t feel so bad about the bet. 

He had to keep reminding himself. It was just a quick fuck. That was all. He’d get it over and done with, get his money and move on with his life. And if she ever brought it up, Regulus would just tell her the truth. He wasn’t looking for anything serious right now. 

He kept convincing himself this, but ultimately, he was trying to push it out of his mind because he was finding it hard to have a conversation with her without feeling like the five hundred galleons were literally on his shoulders. 

She wished she could make a potion that could help you read someone’s thoughts. She knew exactly who she’d use it on and she thought that every time she looked up to find Regulus already looking at her. 

She thought she was going to lose her mind, especially now that they were back to working independently and there weren’t a lot of times for her and Regulus to be alone. 

But there was still the office Christmas party that they were reminded about on Wednesday during their meeting. 

“I promise you, it will be amazing.” Were the last words the boss said to them before they left for lunch. 

It was being held at a nicer restaurant in Diagon Alley and she was already mentally going through her wardrobe, trying to figure out which dress to wear, but her thoughts were interrupted by Louie coming up to her. 

“Good news,” he said, and when his eyes flickered behind her, she saw that he was also talking to Regulus, “your hair removal potion was a success.” She beamed at Regulus. “But unfortunately, your unlucky potion isn’t working. It makes them unlucky for half an hour, but then they fall asleep.” It was probably because they had started with ingredients in the sleeping draught, but she only frowned at Louie while Regulus promised they’d work on it. 

“That’s a shame,” she sighed. 

“It’s a difficult potion,” he said, “it’s bound to take us some time.”

“Maybe for you, Regulus,” she said, “but I’m usually good at hard things.” 

Regulus thought he was the strongest man alive. If that was anyone else he’d never let them live it down. If this was any other hot girl he was trying to get into his bed he’d smirk at her and probably ask her to show him just how good she was with hard things. But she didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with what she had said. 

Regulus wondered if she really was clueless or if she was just trying to brush it off. “You’re usually good at hard things?” He questioned, a slight tease in his tone. She gave him a confused look that made Regulus realise that she was actually clueless. 

“Yeah, you know what I’m like.” And like most times, she was right. Regulus did know what she was like. 

But now he was starting to question it. Was she just that innocent or had she really never done anything?

If she was still a virgin this complicated things. It was one thing to sleep with someone for a bet, but it was a whole other thing to take someone’s virginity for a bet. Sure, it didn’t make a frequent appearance, but Regulus did have a conscience. 

He wanted to bring it up to Evan. If she was a virgin then unfortunately, the bet was off. But he had a feeling that Evan wouldn’t understand. 

“Mate,” he’d say, “why are you complaining? Virgins are hot, fuck, I’ll even do it with her and then you can complete the bet without a guilty conscience.” 

Yeah, he would not be telling Evan this. But how could he find out if she was a virgin, that wasn’t something he could come out and ask.

He figured he’d put it to the back of his mind and cross that road when it appeared, even if he could see the road coming up in the distance. 

They spent the rest of the day trying to swap out some of their ingredients, but it was difficult considering they were working from nothing. 

“We could try fanged geranium?” She had asked when they had been staring at a blank parchment for well over an hour. 

“They just did a study on it and it’s meant to have poisonous properties.” 

“Oh,” she frowned, flicking back through the textbook before she put a sticky note with that new information on it. 

“I think we should try niffler’s fancy because theoretically it should prevent the flobberworm from having sleeping properties, but should still slow down their brain which will help the potion act.” She didn’t want to admit it, but she thought this unlucky potion was making her unlucky because she was having no luck trying to figure out any good ideas for it. This was all Regulus’ doing.  

“That sounds good,” she said, not looking up from her textbook. Regulus wrote it down on their blank parchment, but that was all they had on it for the day. 

Nothing else came to them on Thursday either so there was no potion making on Friday so they instead, tried to think of more methods and by the end of Friday, their page was half full. 

“At least we have something,” Regulus said to her when they had packed up and were ready to go home. 

“Better than nothing,” she agreed. 

“So I’ll see you tomorrow night?” He asked, standing in front of her. 

Sure, Soobin seems to be more comfortable with the idea of sharing some physical contact. He'll hug you from behind and keep you close when you're with your friends, and he'll hold your hand and kiss your face to look like a loving boyfriend. He also doesn't complain when you're alone and your head falls on his shoulder, and he's fallen asleep on your shoulder a fair number of times too. You're okay with all of that. You're touchy with all of your friends, and Soobin is no exception, though you need to be a little more careful with him.

However, sometimes you notice how you get entranced just watching him. You won't admit it out loud, but there have been times when you lost to him at some random game just because you got distracted by his presence. The last time the two of you agreed to have a "study date", you couldn't stay focused for too long, because he decided to start working on his lyrics when he was done studying, and your eyes kept wandering in his direction, observing his face of pure concentration.

Why did you have to find an attractive creature such as Choi Soobin to play the role of your fake boyfriend for three whole months? This wouldn't be happening right now if you had picked someone less endearing.

It doesn't help that your friends seem to be getting on your case about the lack of kisses in public. Not that they wanna watch a full-on make-out session, but it was awkward when you two met up with Giselle, Jisung, Sunoo and Yeonjun for lunch on the previous Friday, and your best friend would constantly kiss her boyfriend briefly, while the best you could show them was your body leaning against Soobin's as if you were tired. You know Sunoo is smart, and you don't really want him to find out this is nothing but a ruse. But how can you find a middle ground for that? 

So that's your current dilemma. You wanna kiss someone to get rid of those thoughts in your head, but you don't want that someone to be Soobin, because that would only make things complicated. However, now you kind of have to kiss him at least once in public to look more convincing before someone calls you out. You've been "officially together" for a month and a half — which means you're halfway done with this whole clownery — and nobody has seen you kiss him once, not even a peck. Sunoo even made a light-hearted joke about it, further confirming your suspicions: he's definitely onto something.

A sigh escapes from your lips, drawing Soobin's curious eyes to you.

"Um… You know we're gonna have to actually kiss at some point, right? Before our friends catch up and all," you remind him as he takes a sip of his hot chocolate.

See, the weather decided to get a little "colder" today — well, not cold, you're still in the middle of spring, but it's kind of chilly —, so after spending hours playing games in front of his television to "accidentally forget" the dounle date Beomgyu asked for, the two of you decided to make yourselves something warm. 

Your words make him nearly choke on the drink, so he places his mug on the table as he tries to stop the coughing fit you just caused. You stifle a laugh and bite your lips to hold it back while he punches his own chest a few times.

"Wow, am I that undesirable in your eyes? I should feel offended." Are you deliberately throwing a trick question at him? Absolutely. If he's gonna cloud your thoughts, he deserves to suffer as well.

"No, it's not th– It's–" He coughs a couple more times and then takes a deep breath. "It's not about you," he answers firmly, but vaguely enough to dodge that curveball.

You squint your eyes in a judgmental expression. If it's not about you, then what's his problem? Why would he have such an exaggerated reaction? 

Oh, wait. 

He's always been so shy, so maybe… No, it couldn't be.

"You've kissed people before, right? You know how to kiss… right? You had a girlfriend! Don't tell me your relationship with that psycho was based on only holding hands, you were a teenager already!" You refuse to believe someone who looks like him has never kissed anyone. No matter how shy he is, it's unacceptable. Especially with those lips… Not that you're paying much attention to them, it's just that they look very kissable, objectively speaking. Besides, he said he was with Jiwon for two years, so he must have kissed her multiple times. Ugh, you don't even wanna think about it. Wait, that's not the point right now.

"Of course I know how to kiss!" He sounds defensive at first, but quickly backs off a little. "It's just… Well, I haven't done it in a while," he mumbles.

"How long is 'a while', Choi Soobin?" You inquire, and he sighs and drags his mug on the table, passing it from one hand to another without ever lifting it off the surface.

"Like a little over two years? Maybe almost three?" He says sheepishly, eyes focused on the hot chocolate.

"The last time you kissed someone you weren't even in college yet? For real? With that face? Is that what you're telling me?" That's terrible, isn't it? "Oh, God, was Jiwon the last person you kissed?"

He shrugs, avoiding your eyes, his cheeks slightly tinted in pink. 

"Jesus, it actually was?" You question in disbelief. 

No, that's unacceptable! Did he never think of maybe going out with someone else? Was that why his friends wanted to literally pay him to find a girlfriend? It kind of makes more sense now. And must you solve everything by yourself in this agreement you have with him? More than that, do you want to solve that problem? Because, as you said, you're gonna have to kiss him eventually, but you have to do it just like the actors do: professionally, without second thoughts or intentions. This is a business transaction.

No, okay, it's fine, you can totally do it!

"Get up," you say as you make your way around the table to stand next to him. 

His gaze follows you, looking hesitant.

"What are you doing?" He questions and you gesture to rush him.

"We're practicing. Get up."

"Practicing?" His eyes widen as realization dawns on him. "N-no, I don't… I don't wanna… do that right now." 

"We need to look believable, Soob," you reason. "I'm pretty sure Sunoo is suspecting that we're up to something, he's been acting weird lately and we still got a whole month and a half ahead of us. So I need to make sure you can kiss me without malfunctioning in front of everyone, okay? It's just for show, just a quick kiss will do. Come on, just pretend this is some theater class or something. I'm not gonna eat you alive."

He pouts and mumbles something unintelligible, but stands up and faces you nonetheless. He's a lot taller, so you have to look up, but you're used to it by now. Maybe next time you could pick a fake boyfriend who's not a living tower. But then again, he's a pretty decent choice and has been a good friend so far, so you can't complain — except for the part where he messes with your brain sometimes.

You can already feel the regret creeping up your thoughts before you even do anything, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

"Ok, now imagine we're out with our friends. Sunoo says something like, oh you guys are so adorable together!" You try your best to sound like your friend. "So we smile and I say 'yeah, we are' and then I pull you closer like this to act like a cute girlfriend who's totally in love with you." You reach up to his face and bring him a little closer, standing on your tiptoes. "And I give you a quick peck like this to show them how adorable we are." You do just what you said, placing your lips on his for a quick innocent kiss.

Okay, that wasn't as hard as you thought it would be for you. Maybe a little awkward, sure, but it could've been a good start, and it should be alright, except Soobin is completely frozen, staring at you. 

"Soob, come on, at least try," you whine as soon as your mouth is away from him again. "It's just a peck."

"I just feel weird doing this," he admits, kind of pouting once more. "You're my friend."

You get where he's coming from, but it would be a lot easier if both of you just did it without giving it much thought, which is why you're in a rush to get it over with. Just a quick practice and then a few occasional kisses here and there over the next six or seven weeks and boom, done, problem solved.

"Okay, let's forget the hypothetical scenarios and practice the important part. Close your eyes."

"But–"

You sigh out of frustration, but you don't wanna be harassing him, do you? You know how he is, and if it's already awkward for you, it's probably ten times worse for him. Maybe you should just back off, you can keep kissing his face whenever you need to look cute. It's been working so far, anyway, so if Sunoo pressures you about it, you can just claim Soobin is shy.

"Fine, if you really don't wanna do this, we can stop right now," you give in, not wanting to force him into something against his will, and you're about to turn around, but he holds you by the wrist.

That move takes you by surprise, freezing you in place, and you just stare at his face for a moment. He then sighs and shakes his head, apparently changing his mind.

"No, let's– Let's do it. It's part of our roles, and we should know how to play them. It's a matter of pride now, right?" He says, so you twist your lips. "It's just pretend, like you said. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Are you sure?" You insist, just to be safe.

"Yeah, just… be patient, please."

You nod. You're always patient with him, anyway, so it wouldn't be different right now. You want him to be comfortable.

"Okay. Close your eyes." You repeat, more softly, and reach up again, this time gently covering his eyes with your hands, which makes him chuckle. "I'm gonna kiss you now, is that alright?"

"Okay."

You give him another peck, and this time he reacts more naturally, so you smile.

"Hands on my waist now, loverboy," you instruct him and he complies, bringing your body closer to his, and you have to ignore the feeling it brings to your chest. "You gotta look like you want me really close to you, so try to picture me as someone you have a hard crush on." After another gentle peck, you remove your hands from his eyes and place them on the sides of his neck. "Can I kiss you for a little longer now?" You whisper, with your lips practically brushing over his.

He nods to give you permission, so you close the gap between the two of you, kissing him gently.

Though hesitant at first, he slowly starts to let go of his own tension as his lips move in a newfound synchrony with yours, and it feels… good. It's sweet, it's gentle, it's innocent and comfortable. His fingers calmly run up and down your sides when he manages to relax enough, and maybe you let the kiss last just a little longer than it should, but it feels so nice that you don't really wanna stop, despite knowing you have to.

When you finally break away, you keep your eyes closed and your face close to his. The rush inside of you is similar to the one you felt on your last night at your family's house with him, but you're sure it just means you've been needing some physical attention and some kisses for a while, and your body is finally getting a quick taste of it. There's nothing wrong with that, right?

"See? It wasn't so bad, you got the hang of it quickly," you murmur, and you feel him unconsciously pressing you closer to him once again, as if he doesn't wanna let go yet.

"I, uh– I don't think I did, actually. It's… um, it's still kind of weird." His hands are still absentmindedly caressing your waist, and you can feel his breath fanning your face. 

You chuckle, not sure whether he means it or if he's just as needy as you've been lately. Judging by all the stammering and the tone of his voice, you assume he's probably blushing right now, but you don't open your eyes to check. You can't judge him, can you?  

"Yeah? Wanna try again?" You offer quietly, and he shyly hums in agreement, so you kiss him one more time. 

It feels different this time, as he holds you very close to his body, and your mouths slowly seem to find a new sense of urgency within that kiss. Sure, it started just as gently as the previous one, his lips adjusting to yours as his hands keep doing the same soft movement over your waist, probably trying to stay on safe grounds, but this time the slow pace starts to dissolve gradually. You run a hand through his hair, on the back of his head, and you can feel his mouth getting greedier, though everything still feels pretty sweet. 

There's a voice inside your head telling you to stop, but you give it little to no attention at all. You see, your recent kiss deprivation is hitting you hard now that your mouth has been connected to another, and, to be honest, it doesn't help that his lips are so pretty and soft and overall kissable as fuck, and that his fingers keep running over your body gently, giving you a little boost of pleasure from that whole thing.

At some point, he sighs against your mouth, slightly parting his lips, and you take the opportunity to put your tongue to good use, looking for his own, and he doesn't try to stop you. On the contrary, as a soft, quiet groan leaves his throat, his grasp on you gets firmer, causing a whole new streak of sensations to hit your body.

He carefully turns you just enough to lift your body and sit you up on top of the table, and one of his big hands finds its way up to your hair, at the back of your head, while the other is pressed against your lower back, once again in an attempt to keep you close. 

With him standing between your legs, you catch yourself wondering how a simple kiss practice session turned into a full make out session, but you're not about to complain. You don't know why things escalated so quickly, but your body feels hot, especially when you hear a soft whimper leaving his throat.

The way Soobin kisses you makes it clear that what he said about not kissing anyone in a long time is true. Not because he's bad at it — mind you, he's doing a fantastic job at making your heart race and your temperature rise right now —, but because he's kissing you like your lips are the only thing that can save his life right now. He kisses you like he needs this, like he needs you, like he's been craving this for way too long.

It's like fireworks going off in a beautiful starry night sky. You can't put your finger on it, but there's something there. His lips are warm and like hot chocolate and future regret, and the more you get from him, the more you want.

You tug at the roots of his hair and he groans quietly, and the muffled sound of that sends a whole wave of electricity through your body as his right hand slides from your back to your waist and then down to your thigh and his body gets pressed against yours. You're finding a whole different side of Choi Soobin, one you never even thought was real, but now that he's here, something inside of you wants to see more.

God, why is he so tempting?

Both of you only seem to come back to your senses when you pause a little to catch your breath, and reality hits you like a brick of ice.

For fuck's sake, what were you doing? Okay, just play it cool.

"Good job," you say playfully, slightly out of breath, and poke his stomach gently. You open your eyes, but his are still closed. 

"Thanks," he replies timidly, panting softly, and even the sound of his irregular breathing causes some type of reaction inside of you.

You run a thumb over his plump lower lip, and it takes all your mental strength to not kiss him again. If it were up to you, you'd taste his mouth for the rest of the night, but you know you can't. You shouldn't.

It's not like you didn't know Soobin is beautiful — that was actually one of the first things you noticed about him when you first saw him, and it's a thought that's been haunting you lately as well —, it's just that right now he looks like temptation and sin, and the way his lips look even pinker than before — matching the color of his ears and cheeks — while he's still trying to get the rhythm of his own breathing under control is like an open invitation for you to jump right back into what you were just doing.

Still, you must respect the boundaries between the two of you. He's not a hookup, he's not someone you met at a party. He's your friend, your partner in that crazy mission you set up for yourself.

You give him a moment of silence, not moving away just yet. If he wants to kiss you again, that's his chance. You hope he does, because you want more of whatever he has to offer. But he stays still, not moving, not opening his eyes, not taking his hands off of you, not doing anything. Maybe you went a little over the top.

"I should go now." You gently push him, so he lets go of you and finally opens his eyes.

You can see the exact moment when realization hits him as well, just by the way his gaze shifts and he hurriedly pulls away from you.

"Yeah, uh, it's getting late." He grabs his mug and scurries away from the table to take the piece of ceramic to the sink, probably to gain himself a moment to recover.

"Kiss me like that when we're out and everyone's gonna believe us." You tease and he laughs awkwardly.

"Sorry about that," he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

When he comes back to where you are, you shrug.

"It's cool. I guess you missed kissing someone. It's cute." You slide off the table and smile at him, which makes him get even more flustered. 

"So, um, see you tomorrow? We're… having lunch together, right?" It sounds like he's just trying to change the subject quickly, but you don't comment on it, because you don't want him to freak out right there.

"Yeah, Gigi will be there with Jisung as well and they're like… really into PDA, so be aware of that. It's gonna be gross," you warn him as you grab your bag and he nods. "That also means we're gonna be snuggling a lot." When you start to leave, he trails along.

"Okay, noted."

"We can even test this whole kissing thing, huh?"

"Ah– Well, uh, I, um– sure, yeah."

The rest of the walk to his front door is totally silent, filled only with the soft sound of both of you trying to breathe at a regular pace. Have you gone too far? Should you have cut the kissing session off earlier?

He opens the door for you as soon as you put your shoes on, and though he can't look you in the eyes, his gaze still follows your movements.

"See you tomorrow, loverboy."

"See ya, Y/N." He bows his head slightly and you do the same to show politeness, as if you weren't sucking each other's faces just a moment ago, before you finally leave.

It's awkward, and you don't wanna think about it.

Unfortunately for you, the thought of him and how his lips felt on yours follows you all the way home. You can still hear the soft sounds in your head and feel his large hands on your skin, like a ghost tempting you.

Unfortunately for him, and unbeknownst to you, this whole ordeal just made him wanna think of any excuse to kiss you while playing pretend just to taste your lips again, and he hates himself for it.