be my first || johnyong

five,

The next morning, Johnny woke to the feel of a hand shaking his shoulder.

It was pitch black in the room and he could see from the glaring red numbers on his alarm clock that it was just after five.

"What-?" he said groggily. "What is it?"

"Get up. Let's go get some breakfast."

It took Johnny a moment to recognize Sehun's voice and another to process what he'd said.

"Breakfast?" he repeated, incredulous. "It's five in the morning."

"Can't sleep."

Johnny made a sound of protest as his blankets were yanked away. He buried his face in his pillow and grumbled into the material.

"Give me another hour at least."

"Nope. Come on, Johnny. We need to talk."

That brought Johnny's head up. Sehun's tone was serious, and there could only be one thing he wanted to discuss.

"Okay," he said. "I'll meet you at the car in ten."

||

They were sitting in the same diner that Taeyong and Johnny had gone to for lunch a few days before.

The sky had lightened considerably since they'd left the house, but the diner was nearly empty.

As far as Johnny was concerned, it was a bit too early in the day for a breakfast.

Johnny was in the middle of taking a sip of coffee when Sehun abruptly put his spoon down and met his eyes across the table.

"I want you to do it," Sehun said without any preamble. "I want you to do what Taeyong asked."

Johnny choked and spluttered into his cup. There was a minute or two of coughing and chest pounding before he'd collected himself enough to speak.

"You what?"

"Look, you and I both know how stubborn Taeyong is. If he said he'd find someone else, then you know he eventually will. I thought about it a lot last night, and, if he's determined to do it this way, I'd rather it be with you than anyone else. I mean, can you imagine if he lets Yuta..."

Sehun paused and drew in a deep breath through his nostrils.

"You said he wants someone he can trust. Well, he trusts you. I trust you."

"But..." Johnny trailed off somewhat helplessly, dropping his gaze to his half-eaten toast. "But I thought that you wouldn't want—"

"I'm not going to say that it won't be weird," Sehun interrupted. "And I definitely don't want to see or hear about any of it. But if Taeyong wants you, and if you're cool with it, then I'm willing to turn a blind eye to the whole thing. I know you would never do wrong by my brother."

"Of course I wouldn't." Johnny shook his head. "But I can't have this be something that wrecks our friendship, Sehun. We've known each other too long."

"This is not going to affect us," Sehun said firmly. "You and me, we're fine."

Johnny looked up.

Both Sehun's face and eyes were solemn, and they didn't waver as Johnny met his gaze.

Sehun nodded. "We'll be fine."

Johnny didn't feel as certain as Sehun appeared to be. The whole conversation was almost too surreal to be believed.

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely." Sehun hesitated for a moment then continued, "And you want him, too, don't you? Taeyong."

Johnny felt his eyes widen and his stomach drop. "I..."

Sehun reached across the table and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I could hear it in your voice yesterday. Don't worry about it, okay? I don't mind."

"You don't?" Johnny said in surprise.

Sehun shook his head. "It's like I just said, I know you wouldn't do wrong by him. And, honestly, Johnny? If I had to pick someone for him, I can't think of anyone better than you."

He smiled and gave a slight shrug.

"It'll be a little odd, yeah. But you're my best friend. I've kept you around for a reason, you know? You're a good guy."

Johnny returned the smile as the tension in his stomach eased.

"So this is why you've kept me around all these years?" he teased. "And here I thought I was just your token gay friend so you could score sensitivity points with the ladies."

Sehun's smile evolved into a full-out grin. "That too."