And Life With Me is Never Easy (to figure out, to love) *redux*
Pairing: BangDae
Rated: M
Length: 4.2K
***I actually prefer the EXO version to this one, I don't think this one flows as well as the original. But I spent like an hour editing it and dammit that's an hour I will never get back so you're getting this is a bonus fic.***
There was nothing Bang Yongguk liked more than his early morning cup of coffee. The rest of his day could go to complete shit with the world falling apart around him, but as long as he had that first steaming hot cup then he knew he would be okay.
So it was not starting out a good day when he was awoken at 7:30 in the morning and told he was needed on site as soon as possible.
"I'm sorry Yongguk, the photographer we hired quit after fifteen minutes and you're the only one I can depend on."
He rubbed his sleepy eyes and swung his long legs over the side of the bed. "You mean I'm the only one who hasn't blocked your number yet."
"Pretty much."
"It's too early to be up, Himchan." Yongguk stretched his back and sighed at the much needed pops it made. "Let me make some coffee and I'll be there in an hour."
Himchan squeaked unnaturally loud in his ear. "No! We need you right now! He's already in his trailer screaming that he's going to walk out and I can't lose this shoot! The magazine will fire me!"
"Who is it?" With another sigh of resignation, Yongguk realized he wasn't going to be getting that deliciously calming cup of coffee this morning. He slid last night's jeans on as he headed towards the bathroom.
"Daehyun." Himchan replied with reluctance.
Yongguk froze and took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Nope." He turned and headed back to his comfortable bed, already planning on telling his longtime friend where he could stick his friendship.
"Please! Please Yongguk… You're the best photographer around and you're the only one who wouldn't let this brat run them over. I would have asked you to begin with but I knew you had that late night shoot scheduled last night." His voice turned quiet. "I wouldn't be begging you if I had any other choice."
Hating his friend for the guilt trip he was throwing at him, Yongguk childishly kicked his feet on the bed. "Give me twenty minutes to get there."
So much for a good start to his day.
---
Himchan met him at the security gate to the shoot and ushered him past the pre-teen fangirls, hands flailing as he tried to hurriedly explain the concept. "Basically we wanted a black and white theme. Light-dark, angel-devil, just anything to show opposites. Clichéd I know, but Daehyun's always type-casted as an innocent character and I wanted to showcase another side. Because we all know he's a bitch behind the scenes." Himchan muttered under his breath. "We're doing the angel side first." He pointed to the trailer across the lot from them. "The princess is in there. He hasn't come out since the first photographer started crying and left."
Yongguk nodded as he started to unpack his camera. "Give me about ten minutes to set my stuff up and check the levels."
Pale arms wrapped around his waist and tried to lift him off the ground. "You are the best!”
He pushed the other boy away and concentrated on his camera, making sure the lighting was the best for it and checking the white balance.
“Where’s the new idiot?” He heard a loud voice booming through the set before the reason for his coffee-less morning stormed towards him. “You! You look like a teenager, why the hell would they hire you for this? Go back to your high school!”
Daehyun, one of the most popular movie stars in the country, angrily propped his hands on his hips and glared at Yongguk like he was nothing more than the dirt on his shoe.
Fortunately, Yongguk had other photographer friends who had worked with the tiny dynamo before and had filled him with war stories over how much of a terror Daehyun was and he didn’t even flinch.
“Good morning, Daehyun-ssi.” He replied calmly, taking a few test shots to see how the smaller boy’s newly-dyed blonde hair looked in his lens. “If you’re ready to start I think Himchan wanted to begin soon.”
Sputtering, the shocked boy’s mouth dropped open when he wasn’t rewarded with the sight of another quitting photographer. Surely he didn’t think that a few rude words would scare him off, Yongguk mused to himself, the corner of his lips quirking up at the red-face.
With a final huff, Daehyun stalked off towards the first set, a cramped dirty bedroom where he was supposed to stare angelically out the window in his pristine snow white outfit. White slacks and a white long-sleeved sweater paired with his lightened hair made him appear like quite the angel. But Yongguk and everyone else on set knew differently.
To the rest of the world, twenty-one year old Daehyun was the picture of the boy next door. A large smile and soft brown eyes made him the adoration of every teenage girl in Asia. His role in three romantic comedies, and two twenty-episode dramas had him permanently type-casted.
But to all the workers behind the scenes, Daehyun was a raging devil who had fired more stylists than he had fingers and kept all of his cast mates in fear of being next on his torture list. The only reason the public hadn’t caught wind of his true personality was because of his hard-working manager who had been with him since the beginning and seemed to be the only person in the world that could stand Daehyun.
“Just remember you have tomorrow off.” His manager soothed him as Daehyun stood stonily on the set, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. “All you have to do is get through today and you have twenty-four hours all to yourself.”
Daehyun nodded, his eyes focused on the spider webbed glass. “I’m fine, Youngjae.” He turned and gave a rarely seen in real life smile to the other man. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Youngjae patted his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at Yongguk. “You any good?” He questioned bluntly.
“He’s amazing!” Himchan jumped into the conversation, chattering as he led the man away from the room so that Yongguk could get to work. “He’s won several awards over the last year and we’ve hired him for six major photo shoots for the magazine and-“
His voice trailed off as he finally moved far enough away to leave Daehyun and Yongguk in silence in the room. One of Daehyun’s clauses for shoots was that he wanted the fewest amount of people on set that he could get away with. That was probably the only thing about him that Yongguk respected. He also preferred to shoot one on one with no distractions.
“Are you going to take pictures or just stare creepily at me all day?” Daehyun’s sharp voice broke him out of his spell and he smiled as he lifted the camera up to his eyes.
“Just thinking.” Yongguk replied easily. “I like to think about all the shots I take and only capture the ones worth keeping. It’s a waste of ink to print out 300 pictures of your scowls.”
Daehyun turned to look directly at the camera letting Yongguk snap the shocked look on his face.
“You’re not scared of me at all.” He breathed out, head tilting in surprise. “Why are you not scared of me?”
Yongguk shrugged and motioned for him to turn around again. “You come up to my armpits. I could crush you with one fist if I wanted to. Why should I be scared?”
The sun burst through the gloomy clouds outside the window and cast a beam of light directly beside Daehyun. He closed his eyes and tilted his face into the warmth, his tired expression turning into one of complete and utter beauty that Yongguk hurriedly took a dozen pictures of it before the light disappeared and the room was plunged into gray shades again.
“How old are you?” Daehyun didn’t think the man responsible for his magazine cover looked a day over seventeen and he was a little worried.
“Twenty-four.” Yongguk answered distractedly, dropping down to his knees and judging the way the stage lights hit the floor. “Lay on the bed on your stomach and hang over the edge. I want to see how your hair looks brushing the floor.”
Daehyun complied without complaint, his face turned to the side as he stared up at the taller boy. He would never admit it but he actually kind of enjoyed watching Yongguk work. The intense concentration was obvious in the furrow of his brows and his full bottom lip was swollen and red from being chewed on as Yongguk thought over every shot he took. He could tell Yongguk took his job seriously and he liked that. It was something he did too, even though he knew he didn’t act like it all the time.
“You’re really stunning.” Yongguk told him suddenly and without embarrassment. “This is a really good concept for you. Your eyes can go from sweet and bashful to deviant and cunning in a moment’s time. You should make a serious flick. You would do amazing as a serial killer.”
Well then. Daehyun felt his ego fall a little at the brash words.
“At least I don’t look like I collect small children’s heads in my free time.” He retorted, pulling himself back up on the bed with a pout. “You probably have packets of candy in your bag to Pied Piper innocent kids to their doom.”
Yongguk laughed suddenly, the loud sound booming in the small room. He turned around to grab at the shoulder bag he had dropped by the door. “I work late hours and need sugar to keep my energy up.” He explained, opening it for Daehyun to see the stacked boxes of chocolate and lollipops in the bottom.
“Everything okay?” Youngjae popped his head back inside, worry marring his face. No one ever laughed after being left alone with Daehyun for thirty minutes. Not unless they were driven to madness and the laugh was accompanied by cackles and a straightjacket.
Daehyun rolled his eyes and waved his manager off. “We’re just talking. Go back to whatever it is you do while I pay you obscenely amounts of money, Jae.”
“I think I’m done with this scene anyways.” Yongguk flipped through the shots he had taken and grinned at his handiwork. “I really am good at this.”
With a scoff, Daehyun brushed his legs off and reached into Yongguk’s bag to snag a candy bar. “We’ll see about that, gramps.” He looked up at him through long lashes and smirked, his cheeks red from the blood rushing towards it as he leaned over the bed for so long. “You still have to do my naughty side.”
Yongguk’s body stiffened at the double meaning to the casual words. The only question was whether the imp was flirting with him or just trying to get under his skin. He really had no problem pushing him to the floor and fucking him until he went cross-eyed though. Daehyun was adorable and they both knew it. “You’re about as naughty as a kitten.” He murmured to Daehyun’s flushed face.
“You think so?” Daehyun’s head cocked to the side as he plastered on a fake innocent expression. He took a step towards Yongguk, his eyes glittering with delight at their sudden game. “I’m pretty sure I could have you purr-“
“Are you two done with this scene yet?” Himchan stood in the doorway, his face naïve as he eyed the two boys standing closer together than was needed. “We’ve got the evil shoot ready to go.” He blinked at their murderous expressions towards him. “What? What’d I do?”
Daehyun hissed under his breath when he pushed past him, storming towards his trailer and screaming at Youngjae to bring him an iced coffee with two shots of vanilla and three teaspoons of caramel.
With confusion, Himchan shrugged his shoulders at Yongguk. “What’s his problem now? Did you get any good shots?”
He never did understand why Yongguk stomped painfully hard on his foot as he left.
---
The second shoot had both boys on their best behavior. Well, best was a relative term when it came to Daehyun. He still yelled shrilly at anyone who got in his way but at least he hadn’t made anyone cry again. Little things, Yongguk told himself.
Himchan was really getting into this whole devil thing, Yongguk laughed to himself as he took a break to change the battery in his camera. Not only did he have Daehyun in a pair of skintight black leather jeans and red wife-beater, but he had also told the make-up artists to give him a punk rock look complete with smoky eyes and overly gelled hair. The finishing touch to his new outfit was a dog collar. Yongguk’s stomach tightened and he tried to blink back the haze threatening to cover his eyes.
He looked hot, Yongguk wasn’t blind, but he kind of preferred the other look. The innocent outfit coupled with the smartass mouth amused him.
“You look like you just found out your favorite video game has a sequel.” Daehyun told him dryly.
Yongguk pushed him over the pristine cream colored couch and stood between his legs, aiming for a higher viewed shot.
He looked over the top of his camera and smiled at the smudged eyeliner and wilting hair. “And you look like you were just fucked face first against the floor.”
Daehyun sputtered and blushed as his hands came up to grip nervously at his shirt. “I really don’t think it’s appropriate for you to speak to me like that!”
It was pretty cute how he pretended to be offended.
“I could have you fired for this.” Daehyun continued, glaring into the camera lens, his eyebrows furrowed and lips pouting up at him.
Yongguk nodded. “Okay.”
Pissing Daehyun off was fun, Yongguk realized. He wished they had more to shoot so that he could see just how far his teasing would take the other boy before he broke down and really did fire him.
“I think you should have enough good pictures by now.” Youngjae swooped in right when the vein in Daehyun’s forehead was starting to bulge. “Come on, Daehyun. Let’s get you home.” He pulled Daehyun out of the room without a single backwards glance at Yongguk.
Rolling his eyes in amusement, Yongguk packed his camera up and ignored all of Himchan’s fawning from behind him. “Himchan, I’m going to head out and go back to sleep. I had a long night and I worked through breakfast and lunch today.”
Himchan nodded and waved his hands around as he thanked Yongguk over and over and professed his undying devotion and promised Yongguk that he would always be his favorite friend.
“Spare it, Chan. I’ll see you later.”
Usually he liked to go out after shoots for a drink with some of the other behind the scenes workers but he was exhausted and just wanted to go home and crash into his bed after a hot shower and a quick meal of take-out noodles.
By the time he got home and ate it was only six in the evening but he figured that was as good a time as any to call it a night. So after dutifully unloading all of his equipment he went to sleep and tried to forget all about long eyelashes and deep brown eyes and smirks that made his dick twitch.
---
Yongguk successfully hid his shock when he saw Daehyun standing uncertainly on the other side of his door the next morning. He covered up his expression by taking a long sip of his coffee and letting his eyes roam up the boy’s denim clad legs and plain, but obviously way too expensive, white t-shirt.
They stared awkwardly at each other while Yongguk waited for Daehyun to explain why he came there.
“Youngjae got your address from Himchan.” He told him haughtily, as if he had all the right in the world to demand someone’s address without permission. “I wanted…” Daehyun bit his lip shyly before the superior look Yongguk had come to know so well covered his face again. “I just wanted to make sure you actually took some decent pictures of me and that it wasn’t just a waste of my whole day.” He pushed past Yongguk and into the apartment as if he owned it. “Where are they at?”
Yongguk’s lips twitched in amusement at the nerve of the tiny boy, but was curious enough to just roll with it. “In my darkroom. Come on.”
He led them towards the smaller spare bedroom he had converted into a darkroom and shut the door behind them, plunging the room into the red-glow from his safelight. Daehyun’s eyes glowed softly in this lighting and his angry expression evaporated as he glanced around at the dozens of shots hanging around the walls.
“Wow.” Daehyun tentatively reached up to a shot of him looking up at the camera with his hair in his face and his eyes widened as he was spread out wantonly underneath Yongguk’s lenses. “I look really-“
“Sexy.” Yongguk interrupted, taking a sip of his coffee and leaning back against the door. “I’m not going to use that shot. It’s a little too much for Himchan’s magazine, I think.”
“And yet you printed it out anyways.” Daehyun’s smirk was knowing as he stepped towards the still stoic Yongguk. “Maybe you wanted it for your own personal reasons?”
Yongguk placed his mug down on the table and shrugged his shoulders. He stayed quiet as Daehyun ended toe to toe with him, doe eyes glittering up towards him.
“I don’t like you.” Daehyun was painfully blunt, his hands warm as they slid up Yongguk’s arms. “Your smile is too big and you’re misleadingly quiet when it’s obvious you’re secretly some weird freak.”
His fingers tickled the back of Yongguk’s neck, causing the taller boy to instinctively lean into the touch, the small smile never leaving his face.
“But you’re hot.” Daehyun continued, not fazed in the least by the other boy’s silence. He tugged Yongguk’s t-shirt collar towards him until their faces were inches apart. “Yongguk…”
Shutting him up with his lips was the only thing Yongguk could think to do. To be honest, he liked the brat’s chatter. It was cute. But right now his skin was burning from the feel of Daehyun’s touch and if his mouth was going to be open then Yongguk’s tongue had better be in it.
“I don’t like you much either.” Yongguk murmured teasingly, arms slipping around Daehyun’s waist to pull him in closer. Daehyun bit sharply on his lip in retaliation, causing Yongguk to growl against his mouth.
Daehyun tasted like lattes and chocolate and Yongguk was worried that he could get drunk off the flavor of his tongue if he wasn’t careful.
Fortunately, Daehyun must have had the same thought, pulling away with a wet smack, his mouth sliding across Yongguk’s jaw to breathe hotly into his ear.
“Suck me off?”
Yongguk laughed loudly at Daehyun’s brazen attitude and nodded a quick yes before dropping to his knees. His cheek nuzzled against the rough denim, ignoring Daehyun’s half-missed whisper to hurry up. “Shh.” He muttered as he carefully unzipped his jeans and pulled them down to mid-thigh.
Daehyun fell back against the door with a loud groan at the heat of Yongguk’s mouth as he tongued him through the dark grey briefs. “Hurry up!” Daehyun stammered, his fingers digging painfully into Yongguk’s uncombed hair.
The brief’s slipped over his hips, his whimper low in his throat as he was finally enclosed inside Yongguk’s tight fist.
“God, if you don’t stop fucking around I’m going to-“ He broke off with a gasp as a slick tongue flattened against his tip and dragged itself upward.
Yongguk thought hard about teasing him until he had the other boy screaming curses at him, but the hips under his palms were already quivering and threatening to collapse out from under him. “Please.” Daehyun’s voice cracked above him.
His mouth encircled the tip, slowly sliding him in, bit by bit, until his nose brushed against Daehyun’s skin. He hummed around his length and chuckled at the way Daehyun’s small moans grew louder with every breath until his voice was shrill in the tiny room. His noises sailed straight through Yongguk’s ears and right into his thankfully loose gym shorts.
“Yongguk!”
He didn’t answer, only bobbed his head faster over him, finger tips digging against Daehyun’s pale flesh.
He had a fleeting thought that this was the first time in a while for Daehyun to be in this position because God knows not many people could stand him long enough to get this close. The knowledge that he was the only one that Daehyun trusted enough to break down this completely in front of sent a thrill through him and he jerked him tighter against his body.
Pulling back long enough to lick his lips and grin at the whine Daehyun gave at the loss he closed his mouth around him again and swallowed repeatedly until Daehyun was crying out his name embarrassingly high. Fingers tugged against Yongguk’s scalp as he released, not quieting until he had filled Yongguk’s throat and was slumped against the wall trying to pull his clothes back on.
Yongguk sat back on his heels and gently helped him, pushing Daehyun’s shaky hands away to do it himself. “You want some breakfast?”
Daehyun blinked at him in confusion before finally nodding slowly when he had processed the question.
“Come on. I’ll make some waffles.” Yongguk stood up, ignoring the painful ache in his boxers and grabbed Daehyun’s elbow pulling him along into the kitchen. “Do you like strawberries or blueberries?”
“Blueberries.” Daehyun whispered, standing awkwardly beside him at the counter.
Yongguk wondered why Daehyun had grown so quiet. He almost missed the sassy attitude. It had grown on him and it was cute making Daehyun so flustered when he interrupted his rants.
“You’re stirring too hard.” And here came the angry little imp again. “They’re going to be too tough.” Yongguk ignored him and stirred even harder. “I’m not going to eat them when they taste like rubber.”
With a huff he jerked the bowl out of Yongguk’s hands and gently whisked the batter together, shooting Yongguk dirty looks as the taller boy gathered plates and glasses for them.
They ate in comfortable silence, Daehyun checking his phone for messages and Yongguk absentmindedly flipping through his slides from yesterday.
“Thanks.” Daehyun finally grumbled as they did the dishes together. He grabbed a plate from the dish drainer and passed a towel over it before placing it on the counter. “For breakfast. Or lunch, I guess. It’s after twelve.”
Yongguk smiled and nudged him with his shoulder. “You’re making supper.”
Daehyun almost dropped the bowl he was holding before he recovered his composure and dried it a little extra hard. He chewed on his cheek trying to hide his smile. “What are you doing for the rest of the day?” He asked, pulling at a loose string on the towel and refusing to lift his eyes.
Shrugging his shoulders, Yongguk leaned back against the sink. He watched Daehyun’s eyes dart nervously around the room and once again chuckled to himself at how adorable the other boy was.
“Just messing around in my darkroom. I can get pretty obsessed with the pictures until I’m finished with them.” His gaze started to wander when he remembered the different edits and changes he wanted to make to some of the shots. “I really loved the one of you leaning over the bed with your hair brushing the floor. I think putting it in black and white and softening the lines would make it amazing.”
“You’re really into this photography thing.”
He turned towards Daehyun and trapped him against the counter. “Don’t you enjoy your job?” Daehyun froze as teeth nipped playfully at his ear. “You get to stand around and scream at people all day. That probably gets you off or something.”
Lips curled up against his cheek. “Careful now. Maybe I’m not as big of an asshole as you all think I am.” He flicked his tongue lightly against the taller boy’s jaw, arms sliding around his neck to draw him in closer.
“I never really thought you were an asshole anyways.” Yongguk’s voice was soft and deep as he cupped Daehyun’s jaw in his palm. “Your manager seems pretty fond of you so you can’t be all bad.”
Daehyun snorted. “Jae is a pussycat. He’s been my best friend since we started school together. Plus I pay him a lot of money to put up with me.”
“Still.” Yongguk closed the distance between them and pressed their lips together. All he could taste was the sugary sweet syrup this time but it was just as delicious as the first kiss. “Go chill out on my couch for the day. Calm your angry little body down while I do some work, okay?”
“And then supper?” His voice rose in hope and Yongguk had to bite down the smile.
“Well you are the one cooking.”