the way of the work husband 📋 chan x reader.
going back to work after the holidays sucks, but at least you've got your 'work husband' lee chan to get you through it.
★ office worker!chan x f!reader. ★ word count: 1.8k ★ genre/warnings: alternate universe: office, alternate universe: co-workers, fluff/romance. vernon is a menace (affectionately). not proofread. ★ footnotes: been itching to write chan lately and this was the result. dedicating this to my favorite corporate girlie!dinonara @chanranghaeys, who i have been threatening a chan fic with for a little over a week now ෆ sana all may lee chan sa office. 😔 + a special shoutout to @diamonddaze01 for educating me on the how work spouses operate. 🙏
“Is Lee Chan, like, your work husband or something?”
The look on Vernon’s face is perfectly innocent, but his arched eyebrow gives some indication of just how amused he is. You shoot him a scathing glare before turning back to your work-sanctioned laptop.
You don’t answer Vernon’s question. Not at first, anyway. Instead, you opt to wryly ask, “Why do you always have to use his full government name whenever you’re talking about him?”
“Eh. Just ‘Chan’ is too short,” Vernon responds noncommittally. He should be focusing on the grant that he has to write, but he seems intent on quizzing you on your relationship with the company’s newest program assistant.
Vernon leans a little further into his computer chair. He’s always been a pretty amicable seatmate; he just liked to poke the bear every so often.
“So?” he prompts. “Are you and Lee Chan… you know.”
When Vernon makes a vague, crude gesture with his hands, you groan out loud. “Don’t make it weird,” you snap. “And no. Chan and I are just friends, asswipe.”
“But you guys display peak work spouse behavior.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be grant writing?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be getting your afternoon coffee with Mr. Program Assistant?”
Vernon’s rebuttal has you glancing at the digital clock on your desk. Shit.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” you say as you grab your wallet and get to your feet. You hate to admit it, but Vernon is right. You’ve started dedicating your fifteen-minute afternoon breaks to cafeteria trips with Chan.
All in the name of friendship, you insist.
“‘Course it doesn’t,” Vernon sing-songs. Just when you think he’s done, he throws in a final jab.
“I’ll have an itemized list of my observations,” he calls after your retreating back. “Just you wait!”
You don’t turn around to dignify Vernon’s taunt with a response. Instead, you flip him off over your shoulder as you contemplate what coffee to get with Chan today.
Rarely are you late to work. Some mornings are just harrowing, littered with minor inconveniences like your alarm not going off or the bus making one too many stops.
When you finally make it to the office, you can already imagine the CEO’s backhand comment about punctuality. Something like ‘early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable,’ probably.
That’s why you feel an immense pang of relief when you notice a vacant seat near the back of the room, one that you undoubtedly know is yours.
You make your way to the chair as discreetly as you can. The bag atop it is taken off the moment that you arrive, and you flash an appreciative grin at the one who made it possible.
Chan— who is already shifting his bag onto his lap— gives you an exaggerated wink in return.
You mouth a wordless ‘thank you’ at him. He doesn’t respond verbally, just smiles at you in that way that lights up a whole room. It’s the type of grin that has you forgetting just how bad of a morning you had; you’d lose yourself in it if weren’t for the ominous presence of Vernon a couple of seats down.
The meeting grabs your attention soon enough, but not before you notice Vernon inconspicuously typing something into his phone.
☑ You always sit next to each other at meetings
“Who’re you texting?”
“Hm?”
“Hellooo! Pay attention to me!”
There’s a guilty expression on your face as you finally glance up at Seungkwan. “Sorry,” you say meekly. “What were you asking?”
Vernon lets out a huff of laughter at Seungkwan’s side. “I’ll bet a dollar that it’s Lee Chan,” says Vernon.
Seungkwan responds with a roll of his eyes. “That’s a given.”
“Yah,” you begin to protest, ready to justify the way you’ve only been half-present throughout your entire lunch break.
Your attempt falls flat when your phone pings, and the screen lights up.
One (1) new text from Channie. 🦖LOLOL I have the perfect reel for this!! Wait a minute~~ 💖💙
Seungkwan scoffs. Vernon snickers.
Your eye twitches, and you shoot back a text underneath the table in a bid to avoid your friends’ teasing.
☑ You message each other all day long
It’s hard not to laugh when Chan is looking at you like that.
Despite the fact that there’s a whole brainstorming session going on— preparation for the company’s next fundraising event— the two of you can’t help your silent communication.
Especially when Soonyoung starts running his mouth about the fundraiser potentially being tiger-themed.
One glance is all it takes. Chan’s lips are drawn into a thin line, and you know he’s also trying his darndest not to laugh. It’s a mammoth effort to hold back yourself, but you manage— not wanting to suffer from your eccentric boss’ line of questioning.
It’s all free game once the session ends, though.
You make a beeline for Chan. He takes one look at your quirked lip before jerking his head towards the door, urging the two of you to have this discussion somewhere you won’t be lynched.
Still, you and Chan can barely resist your peals of laughter as you leave the meeting room with your heads bowed together. Vernon watches with bemusement as the two of you trade incoherent mumblings about Tigger and Pompompurin.
Not that Vernon has any idea what those have to do with anything.
☑ You exchange knowing glances from across the room ☑ You share inside jokes about work and life
“Hey, Lee Chan, where’s your work wife?”
Chan doesn’t miss a beat. “She’s in a meeting with finance,” he answers without even looking up from his keyboard.
A corner of Vernon’s lip twitches upward. Aha.
Chan seems to pick up on Vernon’s smug silence. The younger boy’s head snaps up, his expression quickly becoming guarded. “Not my work wife,” Chan sputters. “Just— I knew where she was, okay?”
“Riiight.”
There’s a redness in the tips of Chan’s ears as he goes back to the Google Doc he’d been slaving away on. Vernon doesn’t say anything more, but he does feign like he’s texting someone instead of adding to his ever-growing list.
☑ Your other colleagues wonder where the other’s at when you’re not together
It’s a bit of an epilogue in its own right, how Chan is the one to know why you’re out for the morning.
The CEO had asked it mostly as a rhetorical question— has anyone seen her?— but Chan’s easy answer has the meeting coming to a stuttering halt.
“She got stuck at her dentist’s appointment,” he says.
Several pairs of eyes turn to Chan. The look on his face is comically caught.
He fumbles for his phone and waves it around awkwardly. “We were texting,” he adds hastily. “That’s why I know.”
How that was supposed to help Chan’s case, Vernon has no idea.
“Well, tell her that we hope she gets better soon,” the CEO says coolly. A corner of her lip is upturned, like she’s finding this entire interaction a little too amusing.
Chan manages a mumbled “Will do.”
The meeting pushes through. Vernon watches Chan from the corner of his eye. Aside from looking absolutely mortified, there’s just a bit of dullness to the latter’s demeanor. A slower uptake, a dimmer grin.
Gee, Vernon muses as he types away on his laptop. Wonder why.
☑ You’re kind of bummed when they’re out of office ☑ You cover for each other when one is MIA
Vernon’s running list is a fun little gig, but it all comes to head on the evening of the company’s monthly night out.
The table at the speakeasy is full of boisterous laughter and greasy finger food. Everyone’s in high spirits for the upcoming weekend, and Vernon has to hold back on teasing those who he thinks are having just a little too much fun.
You and Chan have spent much of the evening acting like you’re in your own world. Sure, you’re not touching each other— this is technically a work event, after all— but you’ve shared laughter and whispers throughout the night that nobody else is privy to.
And, alright, fine. Maybe your knees knock into each other more often than not. Maybe Chan puts a hand over your ear whenever he wants to point something out, and maybe you lean in just a little more than necessary.
It’s obvious to anybody with two eyes that you two are fond of each other. That much is certain.
That’s what gives Vernon the boost of confidence to play wingman by the end of the night.
“You know,” he says coolly as your group spills out onto the sidewalk. “I think the two of you live in the same neighborhood.”
What Vernon is scheming is plain as day to you. You narrow your eyes at him, but he’s undeterred. He only smiles at you and Chan like the menace that he is.
Chan, for his part, raises his eyebrows ever so slightly. He glances at you with a quizzical expression.
“You’ve never mentioned that.” He raises his hand to his chest, as if feigning hurt at being kept in the dark.
A snort of laughter escapes you. “Didn’t feel like it was particularly important information,” you say dryly.
“Of course it’s important!” Chan’s always been a little louder when he’s drunk, so his voice raises an octave or two. “‘Cause that means we can carpool together, or, like, y’know—”
Vernon interrupts with a sage, “You can probably book the same cab for tonight, actually. Make it a double stop.”
Chan’s face lights up. “Great idea, man!”
Before you can protest, Chan is already whipping out his phone to pull up his ride-hailing app. This is not a battle that you’re going to win.
All the while, Vernon grins triumphantly.
☑ You go home together after happy hour
“Can we—”
“Shhh. No, not yet.”
“But nobody’s looking!”
“Wait until we’ve rounded the corner, idiot—”
And so he does.
But the moment the corner has been rounded, Chan is sagging against your side like he’s wanted to the entire night. “Oh, thank God,” your boyfriend sighs. “I didn’t think I’d survive another minute without touching you.”
You can’t help the giggle that escapes you. The feeling is mutual, though, so you reach out to rest your hand on his knee.
“Commendable self-control tonight,” you note. “All the whispering was a little too obvious, though.”
Chan huffs in protest, but the sound loses its edge as he cuddles up to you in the back of the cab. “No one suspects us. It’s just Vernon,” he complains.
“And Seungkwan,” you say. “And Jeonghan, and Minghao, and Wonwoo—”
Your boyfriend gives a dismissive wave of his hand. “Doesn’t matter.” His hand rests on top of yours, just barely resisting the urge to intertwine your fingers. “They don’t know a thing about us, sweets.”
The smile threatening to fill your face finally breaks. When you laugh, your shoulders shake against Chan’s body. You’re not sure if he’s entirely right— you know of Vernon’s whole iPhone note, after all— but you’re willing to indulge your boyfriend if it makes him happy.
“Yeah,” you concede. “They don’t know a thing.”
