Idiots - to - lovers ? (Gyubrick)

Chapter 6

The date is fine. Fake date. Whatever. Hao just stays the fuck away from every single furry creature in sight, mentally cursing Gyuvin out every time Ricky shoots him a questioning look. This is why he prefers sea creatures. This is exactly why.

"I didn't sleep well last night," is the brilliant excuse he manages to come up with.

"I believe you," says Ricky, because he is an angel.

What's not fine is what happens after the two get home, when Ricky is slipping his coat off of his shoulders and draping it over the backrest of his desk chair. Hao slides into his regular spot on his bed, and just as he's about to reach for his laptop to get some good quality reading in for the night, he notices that Ricky still hasn't moved.

Hao blinks. "Ricky?"

"What? Oh," says Ricky, evidently snapping out of whatever trance he had been in. He looks over his shoulder and smiles. "Sorry, Hao. Did you need something?"

"Are you..." A pause. How To Ask Your Friend And Roommate About What's Bothering Them. "...okay?"

"Oh, yeah," says Ricky, waving a hand out in front of his chest. "I'm fine. I think my pajamas are in the laundry, though—mind if I borrow yours?"

"Go ahead," Hao nods, tilting his head over in the direction of his cupboard.

The next time he looks up, Ricky is standing in the middle of the room. Hao peers at him closely, nodding in approval at the plain t-shirt and shorts he's chosen for the night. They're a bit big on his figure, but whatever. It isn't like anyone else is going to see. Ricky's arms hang by his sides and his eyes are downcast, trailing onto the floor.

Hao's never really been very good at reading people, but this is Ricky. Ricky, who always plasters on a bubbly smile whether or not happiness is what he's feeling at the time. Ricky, who always manages to look at the big picture in life, barely ever finding flaws in the moment.

And well, Hao has two options right now.

Ignore him. He probably isn't expecting Hao to do or say anything. Actually, he definitely isn't expecting Hao to do or say anything. Hao can turn around and go to sleep right now, and the two will wake up tomorrow morning like nothing happened at all.

This.

Hao, like he's been possessed, opens his arms and says, "Come here."

Ricky whips around to stare at him, his eyes widening incredulously. "W-what?"

Hao grunts, "I'm not saying it again."

Ricky looks at him for a long time, and with every passing second, Hao's level of embarrassment creeps higher and higher. What the fuck is he doing, offering Ricky a stupid hug like this? Have they ever even hugged before? Definitely not. Hao doesn't think he's ever hugged anyone in his life.

But then Ricky is moving, walking right up to Hao's bed, climbing onto it, and wrapping his arms around Hao's waist.

It's a bit awkward at first. Scratch that. It's very awkward at first. Hao has no idea where he's supposed to put his hands, and he doesn't know how to sit properly to make sure they can be comfortable. It takes all of three minutes for the initial panic to subside, and then Ricky is leaning into his side and burying his nose into the crook of his neck.

Hao stiffens. "What's wrong with you?"

Ricky makes a strangled sound. Then, "When I asked him to give suggestions for our next date, I didn't think he actually would."

Oh fuck. Oh god. Abort mission. Abort fucking mission.

"Who, Gyuvin?"

"I know he doesn't like me like that," Ricky continues, like a grade A idiot, "but it just...now I know he doesn't like me like that."

It's times like this when Hao very badly wants to call it quits and tell Ricky that no, Gyuvin is actually head-over-boots in love with him, and that the only reason he suggested that the two go to the cat café is because he holds a personal grudge against Hao.

But unfortunately, Hao is actually a very good fucking person. So.

"He's an idiot," he says instead, and it isn't even a lie so whatever. "A fool, actually. An entire fucking coward."

This makes Ricky smile. "I don't suppose this kind of stuff happens in the fanfictions you read."

"Sometimes," says Hao.

"Did you learn this hugging technique from them too?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Guess you'll never know."

"Maybe I should try reading some. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Nope," says Hao, and then there's a knock on the door.

"Ricky, I'm coming in!"

It's almost comical, the way Hao immediately freezes. Oh fuck no. He knows that voice. It's the same voice that frequently haunts his nightmares, night after night after night.

Sometimes, Hao wonders how and why Gyuvin has a key to his and Ricky's dorm. Then he remembers that this is, in fact, also Ricky's dorm, so of course Gyuvin would have one. Ricky probably specifically requested for another spare for this very purpose.

So, on a fine Tuesday evening, Hao finds himself wrapped in a one hundred-percent platonic embrace with the roommate he's pretending to date, with the person said roommate actually wants to date standing a few feet away.

Gyuvin freezes in the doorway, his fingers resting on the knob tightening considerably as he takes in the sight before him. And god, this time is probably even worse than when the two had stumbled out of that godforsaken closet together.

Which also means that Hao's death this time around will probably be twice as painful.

Ricky peeks up and over Hao's shoulder, his mouth so close to his ear that Hao can hear his sharp inhale of breath.

"Qubing!"

Gyuvin stares between them, unmoving. "...Ricky."

"What are you doing here?" Ricky exclaims as he scrambles out of Hao's grasp and stands up to his feet. Hao coughs, noticing how Gyuvin's eye trails down across Ricky's body, inevitably taking in the sight of him dressed in Hao's clothes. There's no way they'd be mistaken, either, considering how they're all fucking pastel.

"You invited me to study tonight," Gyuvin says calmly, but Hao isn't fooled. Oh no. "I can. Come back later. Tomorrow."

"No!" says Ricky quickly. "Let me just—we can sit on my bed, wait."

Then he scurries over to his bed and starts smoothing out the fucking sheets, holy fuck. Holy shit. Hao is screwed. Figuratively, and in Gyuvin's mind, literally.

He's never offering anyone a hug ever again, what the hell.

Ricky gestures to the mattress. "Sit! Please!"

Gyuvin stares at him, then down to the bed. "No thank you, Ricky." He turns to shoot Hao the dirtiest look he's ever seen in his life, and Hao wants very much to dissipate into thin air.

So.

This is how it ends.

"I'm leaving," he announces, scooting off of his own bed and smoothing out his shorts. "Goodbye."

"Wait," comes Ricky's voice from somewhere behind him, but Hao is already halfway out the door. "Hao, wait—"

"Goodbye," Hao repeats, and then he swings the door shut and stomps away.