⤷ minghao had become your best friend, but found himself in love instead
pairing / xu minghao “the8″ x reader
fluff / angst / smut
warnings: strong language, as always, and that’s pretty much it for this one
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Minghao’s first instinct was to distance himself from you. He wanted to place a wall between the both of you so he could figure out what the hell these feelings were.
“Being apart only makes the heart yearn.” Mingyu told him one day. He didn’t know what he was talking about.
You had managed to become one of his best friends in a couple of days. The two of you were basically attached at the hip; and even then, most days you ended up sleeping alongside him in his bed because “he’s always so warm”. Minghao didn’t mind.
He did mind how he could feel his heart beat faster whenever you touched him, however. He minded how whenever your eyes met his, he could only see you. He minded how incredibly infatuated he was with you.
But you were his friend. Only a friend.
Not only that, but Hansol’s best friend.
Minghao would not allow himself to.. catch feelings for you. He had only known you for a couple of weeks or so, barely even a month. There was absolutely no way he would allow himself to fall into this crush deeper.
So he distanced himself. For weeks he disappeared, basically ghosting you. Whenever you would come into a room, he would find a reason to leave. He spent most of the time distracting himself with practicing or with Junhui or finding a new hobby like painting and drawing.
That was until spring arrived.
The group was on a short break, they were allowed a week to themselves for rest and heal in between promotions. At the same time, flowers started to bloom and the sun stayed out longer. With pollen in the air, Minghao found himself craving you.
You had noticed his absence, of course. But Hansol was the one to tell you that Minghao was naturally more introverted and not to worry too much. It wasn’t something to stress over, you decided; even though you missed the man you had become close to.
That’s why you were surprised when Minghao had asked you to hang out for the day one morning.
He found you in the kitchen, putting a cup in the sink. Most of the members had already found something to do for the day and were either gone or preparing to leave. It was a good day, sun already beaming in the early morning.
“Are you doing anything today?” he asked, nearly startling you at his abrupt entrance.
You turned to him, a hint of a smile on your face. “Luckily for you, dear Hao, I happen to be completely free. What are we doing today?”
He almost broke out in a complete smile when he realized you said “we”.
“There’s a.. uh.. new museum that just opened up in the city and I wanted to check it out and I asked both Hansol and Wonwoo to come with me but they both said that they were busy and then I asked Mingyu but he said he was going out with the 97 liners, and I didn’t want to get ramen today so I decided not to go, and I’m glad I ran into you because I miss hanging out with you sorry about not talking to you a lot but...”
“Hao, you’re babbling.” you giggled. He paused, embarrassment blushing his cheeks. “A museum sounds amazing. Let me get ready and we can head out in like 20?”
He nodded, still kind of embarrassed. He always ended up rambling, babbling on and on, when he’s nervous or anxious. Why was he so nervous around you?
You pat his arm on your way to Hansol’s room to get ready.
--
The museum was beautiful. It wasn’t a huge building, just four floors high and each floor correlating with a different form of art. Completely free as well.
Most of the time, the two of you stood together in silence. The art museum was quiet, not many people there other than workers who stood around to make sure the rules are being followed. You wondered how he found a place like this.
You looked over to see Minghao staring adoringly at one painting, his eyes bright as they scanned the piece. You smiled.
“Do you want me to take some pictures of you in front of it?” you offered, catching him off guard.
“Yes, please.” he handed you the camera that hung around his neck.
He quickly showed you how to properly use the camera (which you already knew how to do, but let him explain anyway) before going to pose. You took a couple, and then took some of him in front of another that was next to it. He definitely had a very aesthetic vibe to him, and it felt good to be a part of it.
Once you thought you took enough good ones he could choose from, you jokingly took a selfie with it. You stood a couple of feet away, holding the camera up in hopes it got both of you, and snapped it. Both of you were laughing in it, the piece barely visible behind your head. You took a couple, knowing a majority of them would be blurry as you shook with laughter.
Minghao laughed, taking the camera back before you used the rest of his film.
An older woman came to you two, interrupting the laughter as you asked Minghao if you could see the pictures. Her eyes wrinkled in a smile as she asked, “Would you like me to take a picture of both of you together?”
She was so sweet, he couldn’t say no.
You posted next to the painting that caught his attention at first. The woman took a couple, and handed the camera back to Minghao. You thanked her, smiling at the cute old woman.
“I love seeing young couples enjoy art. You don’t really see that much these days.” she had explained as she said goodbye.
He didn’t correct her.
--
The city streets were far different than the nearly empty museum, full of life and a harmony of voices.
His mind wandered as you walked beside him. Was he standing too close? Was it okay that he had just brushed his shoulder against yours? Were you starting to get too hot? Too cold? Were you hungry?
Get your shit together, he told himself.
As you walked towards the dorms, he found himself joking around with you and just talking casually. It felt good to be back to normal with you.
“Hao, can I tell you something?” you asked as you turned the corner.
“Of course.”
You stopped suddenly, causing him to stop too. He looked down at you, his nervousness and anxiety skyrocketing.
“I just want to tell you that I am here for you.” you said sincerely, looking into his eyes and beaming into his soul. “I might not be staying for much longer, but even if I’m not staying with you guys, I’m here for you. Hansol told me not to worry because you’re naturally on the shy side, but I needed you to know that I consider us friends and it sucks when a friend just stops talking to each other.”
He freezed. Of course you had noticed his recent distance, it was just as the two of you had started to become closer.
“I just needed you to know that.” You grabbed his hands, and he thought that he was going to crumble onto the ground “We are friends, right?”
“We’re friends.” Minghao echoed, an out of body experience. “And I know you’re here for me, I do.”
“Good. Now lets get back because I promised Soonyoung a movie and I didn’t really understand what he said with his fast Korean, but I’m pretty sure he said he would kill me if I didn’t come back before dark.”
Minghao let out a laugh, and started to walk again. Your hands fell out of his, but he still felt the warmth.
--
Once the day was over, Minghao was in his room looking through the pictures of the museum. The pictures of him that you took were excellent, and he would definitely post most of them on twitter later.
He let out a small chuckle at the selfies, blurry and both of your heads at the very bottom of the frame. Cute.
And then he came across a picture. It was one the woman took. Neither of you were ready for it, trying to figure out what pose to do. His arm was hovering around your waist, and your arm was behind his back; he was looking down at you, in full discussion, and you were smiling and looking back up at him. Oh.
hello~! I just recently binge read BOTS and fell in love, so now I happen to be reading all of your works 😂. Keep up the wonderful work and I hope you stay healthy and enjoy yourself!
ahhh thank you so so much!!! can’t exactly say that i’m healthy atm (i think i jinxed myself haha) but that’s v kind of you :”)
yes !! @tooruluv is my new anime account! feel free to go follow if you wanna & if you like anime too! i’m definitely going to be WAY more active on there than this account as i’ve been back in my Anime Phase since miss rona decided to join the party hskshsk
for those who are going through a difficult time, you will get through it. the world may seemingly be against you, throwing every possible obstacle in your way. you will thrive.
2019 is not over. it’s just beginning. this will be your year.
resist the urge to give up.
you are strong. you’ve made it this far. keep going. i believe in you, you have to believe in you too.
love from,
a friend
i’ll be here for you. i’m cheering for you. we all are.
