Work Text:
There's nothing more petrifying for Beomgyu than a particular Slytherin boy approaching him at a preternatural speed with a look in his face that he'd rather not name at all because he looked so smitten, it was really scary. He wondered for a moment if he'd done anything wrong that day, it was just after breakfast, and Merlin forbid but he was trying his best to just get over sixth year as peacefully as he can possibly go without tripping himself over the thought of the same Slytherin that was running towards him, that's bringing him back to—
"Oof," Beomgyu spluttered, his soul taking a trip down Diagon Alley when Taehyun threw himself on him barely keeping himself steady on his feet. A bit of credit to Huening Kai for holding out his index finger and pressing it right behind his shoulder blade.
He was very, particularly, reasonably bewildered and perturbed having the rather cool and collected Taehyun gripping him tightly like he'd disappear if he ever loosen his hold, in which Beomgyu relished in before Taehyun suddenly spoke in a high pitched voice he might've never heard before.
"You," Taehyun said, looking up at him from his slumped position on Beomgyu's torso, his eyes were shining and he was looking at Beomgyu like Beomgyu hung the stars and made the sun shine every waking morning, which was puzzling enough because Beomgyu was sure Taehyun sees him as someone who would foolishly befriend the Whomping Willow, thinking he was good enough and have himself slaughtered by it only five seconds later. Taehyun even thought he was generous enough to give Beomgyu five seconds before losing his life. "You are a lovely human being." Taehyun said feverishly.
"What—"
"Shh, I'm not done." Taehyun shook his head and held his index finger to Beomgyu's lips that unleashed a plethora of butterflies all over his stomach. "Your stupid hair is always bouncing when you walk around you make me want to sink my fingers in them, but you're not actually stupid, I love you so much I wouldn't call you that at all, you're fairly smart yourself." He said and Beomgyu decided Taehyun looked quite high. All the muscles holding the stern expression on Taehyun's face wasn't anywhere to be found, all he can see were heart eyes and flushing cheeks, so much that Beomgyu thought he was daydreaming, or that he fell asleep in the Great Hall and dreamt of Taehyun, as Taehyun-deprived as he was already.
Beomgyu was pulled out of his trance when Taehyun's friends hurried from the direction of the Great Hall and started pulling their friend away from him like he'd done something terrible to their precious friend. Beomgyu was surprised when it took the two of Taehyun's friends to pry him off of him with the strength of his grip almost bruising Beomgyu's arm, so much for his lithe frame.
Taehyun was fighting off of Soobin's arms, he was kicking and punching the air, both his friends grimacing at Taehyun's fight.
"Let me go! Let me hold the love of my life!" Taehyun shrieked and it was unpleasant in the ear, even for Beomgyu who certainly adored every piece of Taehyun despite all the deliberate bullying he gets from the same person. "Yeonjun, I'm telling you, I'd burn all of your Quidditch magazines if you don't tell this barmy person behind me to let me go!" He demanded and from where Beomgyu stood, he could see the offended look on Soobin's face that he almost let go of his friend.
"Shut your arse, Kang Taehyun, you've gone mad!" Yeonjun exclaimed as he rubbed his hand down his face, clearly exasperated.
Beomgyu hadn't noticed his brows furrowing at the bizarreness of the situation. "What is happening?" He asked when he fortunately finally found his voice.
"Taehyun's fallen in love with you, finally." Huening Kai muttered unhelpfully. Beomgyu elbowed him, miffed that he only found his voice when he'd needed it earlier to keep his mind down. What friend he calls himself.
"He's drugged." Yeonjun said his eyes landed on Taehyun's besotted face as he looked at Beomgyu, visually vomiting and disgusted.
"What do you mean he's drugged?" Beomgyu asked.
"I meant it as it is. He's drugged." Yeonjun scoffed.
"Let me go, I have to hold Beomgyu in my arms, I have to kiss him, I need him." Taehyun then suddenly had an outburst and broke free from Soobin's hold and tackled Beomgyu to the ground. It had his heart racing away from his ribs that it was almost horrible to the feeling. "Oh Beomgyu, my dear Beomgyu, you are so lovely, I hope you know that." Taehyun gushed, cupping the sides of his face and smiling quite dementedly.
"Yeah, what is happening to you?" He murmured. Taehyun shook his head fondly and raised himself, his lips right in front of Beomgyu's forehead. He froze, feeling the soft pair of lips pressed to his forehead, a shiver running down his spine at the sudden contact, like having Taehyun straddling him to the ground wasn't prickling his skin and making him quiver enough.
"You are what happened to me, Beomgyu, you little lovely person, you caused me lots of confusion but it's alright now because I love you and I don't blame you." Taehyun kissed him once again on the forehead but didn't stop then, Taehyun lowered himself and kissed his right cheek, his left cheek, the tip of his nose and then it was only a hair's breadth between their lips, Beomgyu's eyes crossing at the proximity. They were so close that his mind started to wander to things like how would Taehyun's lips feel on mine? Would I feel sparks, see the stars while my eyes were closed, would there be fireworks that would muffle every sound and nothing else would matter? I would definitely lose my head when this happened, that he forgot to think rationally since he was clearly required to, and because he was in the right mind considering Yeonjun just told him Taehyun's drugged.
Beomgyu was rid of the answers his mind formulated when Huening Kai yanked Taehyun up and held him straight. He'd remember to hit his dear Hufflepuff friend later and tell him how much he just bereft Beomgyu of his happiness. He was grateful, nonetheless, he wouldn't want to kiss Taehyun in a situation when he was clearly at a disadvantage and out of both his mind and judgement.
He got up and swept down his robe, he dusted his trousers and straightened himself, looking back at the two flabbergasted Slytherins.
"What?" He asked, losing a bit of footing from the situation.
"Well—"
"You are not speaking Soobin." Yeonjun hushed his friend, his brows furrowing, hard.
"I'm just saying—" Soobin was then again cut off by Yeonjun spluttering.
"Shut. Just shut!"
Beomgyu was rather entertained to see how these Slytherins interact with each other. Were they always like this?
"He might be confused, he deserves—"
"He deserves nothing!"
"You will not cut me off once again or I will hit you straight in the face that not only Taehyun would end up in the Hospital Wing I swear to Salazar, Yeonjun!" Soobin roared, his face reddening and his voice ringing along the hallway. It was surprising how they were the only people around, the convenience of it all.
Beomgyu was nonplussed but the irritation he was feeling was much overpowering. As much as he'd like to watch this show, he wanted to get to the end already, it might be Saturday but he had essays to finish and he wasn't going to get all mushy now that Taehyun was suddenly having heart eyes on him. He was still a complete right arse to him on normal days, and this one isn't counted as a normal day at all, not with all the unsolicited affection, hearts on sleeves, uncontrolled emotion, expressions that shows Beomgyu things he only sees in his imagination—Love Potion.
He stood still, only then realizing the symptoms Taehyun was showing, he noticed the boy was a bit pale when he'd jumped onto him, if not sickly, he was acting as if he was overfilled with love for Beomgyu, like he was hit by the purest ray of sunlight that it was unnerving.
"Who gave him that?" He then asked, abruptly hit by the seriousness of the situation.
"Gave him what?" Yeonjun blurted, like he was exactly caught as the culprit. Beomgyu eyed him suspiciously before turning his gaze to Soobin, trusting him to have better ratiocination that he would choose not to lie to Beomgyu in the slightest bit.
"Why would we even tell you anything?" Soobin sneered and Beomgyu immediately took back what he just thought and erased from his memory that he ever thought Soobin would be better.
"Just shut up Soobin, let's just take him to the Hospital Wing, I can't bare to look at him looking so enamoured by this Gryffindor—"
"I dare you." Beomgyu noted, holding his gaze on Yeonjun who was no doubt in advantage when it comes to strength and height but he was not having any insults today, not even a little.
Yeonjun rolled his eyes and looked back at Taehyun who was now sobbing because Huening Kai had apparently been "denying me of my happiness" which was Beomgyu's exact thought just a bit earlier. He shook himself inwardly and faced the two Slytherin seemingly not knowing what to do.
"He can be hurt, you know. I just hope you do not do this again for the sake of entertainment." He said, shaking his head a bit.
"How'd you even know it's for entertainment?" Yeonjun asked, crossing his arms.
"Oh, was it?" He pondered, looking narrowly at Yeonjun who huffed indignantly. "Bring him to the Hospital Wing immediately, don't let him out of your sight. Be responsible for what you did." He said accusingly and didn't feel weird about it at all.
After Taehyun's limp form was handed over to Soobin, Beomgyu started to march forward dragging Huening Kai behind him, all while refusing to look back because he might wrench Taehyun off his friends and take him himself to the Hospital Wing, attend to him all day and neglect all the works he had to do.
When he turned the corner, he let go of Huening Kai's hand before puffing his cheeks in confusion and concern. He had the right to be mad, maybe, Taehyun might have been put in danger if it wasn't him who Taehyun had eyes for.
He paused, eyes widening in another episode of realizing things quite a bit late.
A Love Potion, when ingested, causes a person to act obsessively towards the subject of their affection, as far as Beomgyu knows. Adding two with two, deducting rationality out of his head, Beomgyu thinks that he was the subject of Taehyun's affection.
"Are you alright?" Huening Kai asked, looking at him with observing eyes.
"I need to think more." He said before marching forward towards the library, once again, Huening Kai followed him with a confused frown.
———
Sunday morning, Beomgyu wasn't feeling exactly well, he barely had any sleep last night, just rewinding all the things that had happened yesterday. He was able to finish all his homework due on Monday and was a great help in Transfigurations, as Huening Kai said, so that's good.
Repeatedly, last night, he had to refrain himself from thinking about Taehyun. About what the boy said, all of them. He even had to stop himself from wishing the words Taehyun said to be true and all that, because it was probably a joke the Slytherins wanted to play to amuse themselves, the Love Potion Taehyun undoubtedly consumed was just one of the evidences. Taehyun, for all his Pureblood nobility, wouldn't act that foolishly, not in a million years.
Now sitting at breakfast, he was rather put off by the noise he was hearing around him, he wanted to be somewhere silent and alone to be upset.
"Elbows off the table." Laura, Beomgyu's senior, said when she took the seat directly across from him and saw him balancing his head on his left palm.
He took his elbows down and started to pick on the roasted beef on his plate.
"What's wrong?" She asked. Beomgyu looked up at her and smiled, there was concern flooding the lines of her face and truly, she was someone Beomgyu could call a sister, she has been nothing but nice to him and he was a bit sad knowing she won't be around anymore next year. "You're smiling so you don't have to tell me anything but your eyes tell me you are very upset." She confided, filling her plate with potatoes and chickens.
"Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed." He said, finally taking a bite from his beef. He hated how observant she was, how she knew exactly what he was thinking. But he was grateful, nonetheless.
"For all I know, you didn't even sleep, so how'd you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" She shrugged and started digging in on her food.
"How?" He trailed off.
"The smudge under your eye speaks louder than you today." She said and Beomgyu chuckled.
"I hate you." He muttered playfully.
They both fell in a comfortable silence, eating their food and sometimes talking to the people sitting close to them. Beomgyu was on his last bite when his eyes fell across the Great Hall, by the Slytherin table. His eyes caught Taehyun already looking back at him. Shocked, he snapped his head faster than light could travel through space, almost hurting himself in the process.
"Are you sick?" Laura asked once again, holding the back of her palm on his forehead.
"What, no, I'm not." He stuttered, his heart stuttering as well. He refuses to acknowledge the weird look on Taehyun's eyes that he could only name as a mix of concern and fondness. He hated it, hated that his gut somersaulted at the bare eye contact they made. How mad is he for Taehyun?
"You're red."
"It's just hot in here." He waved away Laura's hand and refused to answer any of her questions until breakfast ended and he practically ran off the Great Hall in search of peace.
He stopped running-walking when he reached the turn of the hallway only to be slammed back onto the wall, the uneven jut of the stones digging at the back of his robes and into every part of his back. He shut his eyes and opened them slowly with an uncomfortable grimace on his face.
Standing in front of him was Taehyun, who looked unapologetic at what he did to Beomgyu, at all.
"What?" Beomgyu was surprised he had his voice this time, nor the coherence to even ask a non-babbled word when Taehyun was standing in front of him with all his glory, completely sober this time.
Oh how embarrassing, he would never confess to how he was borderline worshipping Taehyun already when he's completely and properly declared that he was indifferent to other Slytherins.
When Taehyun continued to stare at him like a predator does to its prey before surging forward and devouring the poor little thing, Beomgyu felt his blood coloring the apple of his cheeks and was even more flustered when he saw a small smirk on Taehyun's lips, probably noticing the effect he had on him. Ugh.
"What?" He croaked, barely a whisper now.
"You look tired." And he felt even worn out just by those words Taehyun said. How come the boy could make Beomgyu feel utter irritation in a moment and bumbling affection the next that he becomes exhausted from it?
"Because I am." He said, proud that he was still holding his voice despite the waver earlier.
"I was looking at you over breakfast—"
"Kinda saw that." He muttered.
"And you look so upset."
"Because I was. Still am."
"What are you upset about?"
Beomgyu took a deep breath, lifting his gaze up at the ceiling. He pondered for a moment, he was already in his sixth year, next year would be his last and that's probably going to be the last time he'd see Taehyun, the next time would maybe be on a page in The Daily Prophet announcing his wedding. Oh how that sole thought made his heart break silently in a zillion pieces.
"Are you alright?" Taehyun asked, concern laced on his voice.
Beomgyu looked back at him, staring at those large beautiful eyes that had accidentally caught him by the platform back in third year. Those eyes were luring him to his death and he gladly followed the song until he was drowning and he knew there was no going back. He sighed at his own thoughts and smiled at Taehyun, which caught the other a little off guard.
"I was wondering if you remember all the things you said yesterday morning." Beomgyu said in a hushed voice, following Taehyun's eyes on him.
"I do. Soobin and Yeonjun made me remember everything."
It was do or die knowing Taehyun hadn't known he was deeply and madly in love with him and not know if there was some sort of chance he got although he already knew the moment he put a name on what he was feeling that his chances were zero to none. It was now that his Gryffindor bravery should be put to use, he wasn't sorted in this house for nothing.
"I was wondering if they still stand true today." He said it as nonchalantly as he could, although his heart was beating wildly inside his chest and he could only pray to Merlin that Taehyun wasn't hearing that.
"It is."
Beomgyu's breath was caught in his throat. If he knew one thing about Taehyun, it was his bluntness. How many times was he ever called out by the boy, always unapologetic by his insights and remarks, he just didn't expect it now of all times.
"Are you serious?" He asked, almost sounding pitiful, like a crup abandoned by its mother.
"I know I'm a Slytherin but what I'm saying is true." Taehyun said rather smugly and Beomgyu was washed by a sense of warmth that he had Taehyun inside his arms the moment he finished his sentence, burying his head on the side of Taehyun's head and inhaling the scent of lemon he grew familiar with whenever Taehyun would pass by and he'd catch a whiff of his scent.
When he got enough, although it was actually barely enough, he let go of Taehyun who was grinning.
"That was uncalled for." He said straightening his robes when Beomgyu had accidentally rumpled it a bit.
"I'm sorry—I, err, just a bit overwhelmed." He said, scratching his neck. The ability to speak articulately, again, fading from his person.
"I haven't even given you an answer, and you haven't even started courting me yet you are so excited like I already gave you my hand in marriage." Beomgyu thought Taehyun meant for it to sound mean but it didn't feel like anything at all. He gawked for a moment, examining Taehyun's expression and engraving his face on the back of his mind in case he forgets.
He hated Sunday because after Sundays are Mondays, and that means school, he didn't hate school, he just doesn't like it. But right after today, he might celebrate every Sunday there is to come.
"What?" It was Taehyun's turn to ask, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at Beomgyu with a failing scoff.
"I'm thinking, maybe," Beomgyu paused, gathering his thoughts and keeping the barmy grin on his face. "D'you want to go to Hogsmeade with me some time next weekend?"