the second and final part of the childhood friend! daniel au
pairing: kang daniel x reader (featuring kang dongho)
genre: fluff, angst
summary: You’ve never let your relationship with Kang Daniel move beyond the fun and physical, especially since he’s your brother’s best friend. Throw in a distraction, some sexy stubble, and a meddling brother, and you have a recipe for disaster.
you don’t expect to meet your childhood friend kang daniel again at university, but when you do, it’s only a matter of time till you become friends again
it’s a little different now, your old hide and seek games replaced by lazy afternoons at his apartment, his arm comfortably around your shoulders and his cats on both your laps
it doesn’t take long for the two of you to fall into a rhythm, and by your third year, you've taken five general classes together despite having different majors
when you enter your basic philosophy and logic class, daniel’s already taken a seat beside a pretty girl in a sundress, which has you swallowing down the drop of jealousy building up in your throat and sitting elsewhere
to your left is an boy—no, man, you think—with stubble dark against his pale skin and an expression so bored it’s intimidating, and you don’t realize you’re staring till he looks at you and smirks, like a tiger spotting prey
you bite your lip and smile, feeling the tips of your ears turning warm, because he may not be your usual type, but that tattoo peeking from beneath the low collar of his white shirt is attractive as hell
when the professor asks all of you to pair up and you see daniel talking to the girl next to him, you shrug and turn to mr. sexy tiger, as you’ve taken to calling him in your head
his name is kang dongho, and though you’re a little worried about whether he’ll be a good project partner, soon you’re saving his number and pointedly not looking at daniel, who’s been glancing at you with a frown
later that day, you’re at daniel’s apartment, his hand at the back of your neck and drawing you closer
you and daniel make out every so often whenever neither of you are dating, and that’s completely normal between friends, isn’t it?
but you pull back, asking him whether he’s thinking of seriously dating the girl from philosophy class because you need to know if your arrangement has to change any time soon
he says no, and you pull him into the kiss, and he tastes like the gummy candies he likes to eat, some sugar on the corner of his lip for you to lick, and you’ve never had a sweet tooth but daniel’s mouth is more addictive than candy
afterwards, you’re texting dongho about your meeting the next day, and daniel is laughing because kang dongho is the complete opposite of all the boys you’ve gone for throughout your three years at university
“sTOP HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HE WAS SO YOUNG”
you stick your tongue out at him and call him an idiot, but at midnight, daniel insists on walking you back to your dorm, and you ignore the little voice in your head that tells you how easy it would be to pull him close and finally confess what had been at the tip of your tongue over six years ago
that weekend, you’re at the library with dongho, reminding yourself that you’re an adult, there to study and not to ogle the exposed area of his chest nor the way he bites his pen in thought
then you get texts from daniel asking for help with the assignment, and you roll your eyes before sending the relevant book titles since you and dongho have practically finished your project
[5:40 PM] cat daniel: ur rly so hot when ur being competent
you’re grinning at your phone, choosing the appropriate sticker to send, when dongho asks you if you want to get barbecue with him tonight
“as partners?” you say, confused, and dongho smirks in that way that makes you melt, laughing at you, and your cheeks turn pink
“i’ll get the car,” he says, taking your stunned silence as affirmation, and you’re still smiling when daniel texts you again, telling you to come over, but you only have enough time to send a sad face and ‘can’t, bbq with the tiger’ before dongho says he’s outside
back at his apartment, daniel begins to feel uneasy because you’ve only ever taken your dates to cute, trendy little places like cafes and diners, and they’ve always been lanky younger boys like sewoon and jihoon, not men who look at you like they want to devour you like this kang dongho
daniel knows it’s hypocritical to feel this way when he can never get enough of your lips, when he’s always glad to see you wearing those off-shoulder tops you like so much because it’s easier for him to mouth at your neck and collarbones, and he tells himself that he’s worried and not jealous, no not at all
you’re back at the dorm with ramen and beer from the nearby convenience store because you’d been too shy to eat like you wanted in front of dongho, when you get a call from your older brother
“what’s this i hear about you dating a bad boy?” daehyun says in a teasing tone, but you can hear the warning in his voice, and you’re angry because only one person knew that you were going out tonight
“what did daniel tell you about dongho, oppa?” you say, trying to keep your voice level
your brother sighs, saying, “he called your date bad news. are you going over to daniel’s apartment? we need to talk about this later, Y/N,” and you grunt in response before hanging up, pulling on a hoodie and rubber shoes and rushing to daniel’s apartment to give him a piece of your mind
when he opens the door, you storm inside, your arms crossed over your chest as you seethe and say, “what the fuck?” and daniel smiles uncomfortably, shrugging
the two of you stand in awkward silence, and for the first time since you met him you see daniel’s face turn serious
“i don’t think your brother would approve of you dating him,” he says, looking away because both of you know that it’s bullshit, but before you can call him out, he asks, “have you kissed him?"
your fists are at your side and you shut your eyes tight, holding back the waves of frustration and hurt and anger that are making it difficult to breathe
“that’s none of my brother’s business, and it’s certainly not yours,” you say, narrowing your eyes at him, and you can’t stop yourself from poking him in the chest, your face near his as you hiss, “and do you fucking think he’d approve of you sticking your tongue down my throat every tuesday, asshole?”
“it’s different with us,” he says lamely, still not looking you in the eye, and all the fight drains out of you, leaving you feeling exhausted
“of course it is, daniel,” you say, the hurt palpable in your voice, “because i know it’ll never be anything more for you.”
you don’t look at him when you leave his apartment, and when he texts you throughout the week you delete his messages without reading them
kang dongho takes you out on one more date, this time to the zoo, but all you can think about when you see the lions and tigers are daniel’s cats, and you find yourself tearing up, apologizing to dongho and telling him it’s better if you stay friends
“it was worth a shot,” he says before taking you home, and you’re sorry you and dongho have so little in common because he’s really quite sweet under that intimidating exterior
you tell yourself it has nothing to do with a certain b-boying idiot
but later that night you remember how early on in your freshman year, you and daniel had ended up at an ice cream parlor past ten in the evening after terrible dates with other people, how the wet asphalt had glistened under the street lights, the way daniel’s eyes twinkled as he took your hand and brought you back to his place
that first time, he’d tasted like cupcake sprinkles and home, but you’d pulled back and laughed it off, and you had been the one to bring up the arrangement because ‘friends who make out every so often’ sounded better to you than the unknown you’d have to face if you’d admitted any feelings
daniel is awake thinking back to the same moment, the space on his couch feeling empty without you in it, and he realizes you deserve more than what he’s been willing to give you, more than the bits and pieces of himself no one else is willing to accept, that flirtatious texts and kissing sessions are not all he wants with you
two days later, you’re at your dorm studying when someone knocks, and you open the door to kang daniel, looking more nervous than you’ve ever seen him
before you can shut the door, he says, “i’m an idiot,” and you narrow your eyes, gesturing for him to continue, “i’m an idiot who wanted your heart without asking, who wanted all the best parts of you without showing you the best parts of me. i’m a coward who couldn’t tell you six years ago when i left, or three years ago when i met you again, or two weeks ago when i called your brother instead, that i like you and want to be with you—are you—are you crying?”
and he pulls you to his chest like he has every time you’ve cried in front of him, and you can feel in the tightness of his embrace that he would do anything in his power to make things okay again
“you’re a big fucking idiot,” you mumble into his chest, and he laughs, his hand rubbing soothing circles onto your lower back
“i’m sorry,” daniel says, “i really like you,” and you stay like that for a while, feeling lighter than you have in ages
you pull back to smile up at him, stroking his cheek, watching his face for his reaction to your next words
“you’re telling my brother”
and his eyes go wide, the colour draining from his face, but you’re laughing at him, relaxing in his arms, and daniel knows two things:
first, that meeting you fifteen years ago was one of the best things to happen to him
and second, that the many years ahead will be that much sweeter with you by his side.