How not to fall in love with your best friend: a step by step guide
Pairing: Joshua Hong x y/n
Notes: just pure fluff, best friends to lovers because its my favorite troupe, both are down bad, mutual pining, fem reader, one swear word, short reader, height diff, y/n is a little clumsy, “princess” used as a nickname
It's my first ever attempt at fanfiction and so I hope you enjoy! And please do not copy my work (even with credits), however reblogs and likes and even comments are greatly appreciated :D
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Its getting harder and harder to resist the temptation known as Hong Joshua. His kind eyes, gummy smile, well built arms– the universe has given you many many reasons to fall for the beautiful man.
There’s one issue though, he’s your best friend.
Good thing you came up with a “y/n’s guide on how to not fall in love with your best friend”:
1. Ignore his teasing remarks followed by a far past platonic amount of praise
“You sure you don’t need help?” Joshua chuckles from his seat on the couch, watching you struggling to reach a jug of juice set on one of his ridiculously high shelves.
“No I’m good” you respond, clearly struggling. You reach up, on the tips of your toes, fingers barely grazing the baby pink handle.
Hangouts like this were normal between you and your best friend of many years, just casually lounging around his apartment with some movie was drowned out as white noise.
“Doesn’t look like “you’re good”, you don’t have to keep up such a “cool” facade around me y/nnie,”
“Shut your trap Hong Jisoo,”
2. NO THE NICKNAMES ARE NOT CUTE DO NOT FALL FOR THEM
“Princess, aww don’t be mad at me, I was just trying to be helpful,” he smirked, getting off his comfy place on the couch and walking over to the kitchen counter. His arm rested against the counter, clearly amused.
A smile briefly flashed on your face as you grazed the handle, but you ultimately pushed it further into the shelf. A pout adorned your lips, sighing in defeat as you began to move away from the shelves.
Mid movement you bumped into a strong…wall? It was warm. You looked up, it was Joshua. He smiled down at you, and shifted closer to the shelf, caging you in between him and the shelf.
3. The close proximity means nothing stop imagining having a house and children with him–
His arm rested on your waist, the other reached up to easily grab the jug. You looked up, his face was so close to yours. He looked down at you. Your mind went blank. Not thinking straight, you moved to the right, attempting to create distance and to hide your flushing face. In the process you knocked into his arm, tipping over the jug onto yourself and his sleeve, the jug landing on the floor with a loud clatter.
“Shit y/n I’m so sorry-” he scrambled to grab tissues and gently wiped your face.
“Nono Shua, it's ok, it was my fault,” you sheepishly smiled. His eyes briefly moved from your eyes to your lips, so quickly that you almost didn’t catch it. He cleared his throat and refocused on drying your face and neck.
“You’re blushing”, this time it was his turn to smile, your blush deepening. His smile was too pretty.
“Hush Hong, I’m just naturally this red,”
“Naturally as red as Minghao’s hair in the “hot” music video, mhm seems normal”
“Oh my god!,” you whined, his smile grew even larger. How could you be this endearing?
He decided to stop his teasing as your shirt was still drenched. “Well, just go to my room and pick out whatever, you know the place well enough.” You nodded at his suggestion, walking over to his bedroom and rummaging through his closet.
“The hoodie you like to wear is in the wash but I have a really comfy t-shirt in the bottom drawer on the left,” he called out to you a few moments later from the kitchen where he was wiping away the remains of your earlier encounter.
4. Just because he frequently offers you his clothes doesn't mean it's a sign.
“He knows me so well” instantly popped up in your head as the shirt fell loosely over you, reaching mid thigh over your shorts. It was comfy, warm– very much like Joshua.
The corners of his lips tilted up as he laid his eyes on you. “Comfy?”
“Yeah, very much. Thanks Shua”
His pretty eyes crinkled up at your validation, “that’s good. Come sit down on the sofa, we can pick up from where we left off with weightlifting fairy,”
You took your spot next to him, suddenly hyper aware of his presence right next to you, thighs grazing, shoulder to shoulder.
5. Every best friend duo has their cuddle-ish sessions while still being just friends right?
That's what you tell yourself, 2 episodes in, Joshua’s arm around your waist, your head resting comfortably on his shoulder. This happens to everyone, right?
You don’t miss the way his eyes would linger on you, on your lips, your hands, every so often.
“What do you think of the show?”
“I really like it, they are cute, its nice to watch a relationship flourish,”
“You like best friends to lovers?”
Your eyes lit up, “yes of course! It’s one of my favorite troupes.. Mutual pining and whatnot,”
“Best friends to lovers, hm that sounds pretty nice,”
“Yeah..” you agree, painfully aware of the flutter in your chest, the pounding of your heart that seems to intensify every time his hand brushes against yours. But it's becoming harder, isn’t it? It’s becoming impossible not to feel everything when he's this close, when he's always so effortlessly there.
You don’t want to fall for him. You can’t, but every little thing, every laugh, every look, every touch chips away at that resolve. And now… now you’re starting to realize that maybe you don’t want to resist him anymore.
Your breath catches in your throat as you stare at him, unable to look away as he shifts to face you, that familiar smile of his tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Y/n,” he murmurs, his voice low, like a secret just between the two of you. “I’ve been thinking…”
“About what?” you ask, though you already know the answer.
About you. About him. About this.
He leans in slightly, his face so close now that you can count the lashes on his eyes. Your breath catches again. His hand lifts to your cheek, his thumb gently grazing the skin there, sending a shock of warmth through your whole body.
You think you should pull away. You think you should do anything to preserve the fragile balance you’ve carefully maintained for years. But something inside you snaps, and before you can even stop yourself, your hand moves to his chest, your fingers curling slightly into the soft fabric of his shirt.
“I…” you whisper, your voice barely audible. “I think I’ve been falling for you for a while now.”
6. Give in to the temptation and fall in love with him because the slow burn has slowburnt enough and you both are hopelessly in love with each other.
His eyes soften, his smile turning tender as he leans in closer, until his lips hover just above yours.
“I know,” he murmurs. “I think I have, too.”
And just like that, the world shifts, the lines between best friends and something more blurring in the most natural, inevitable way. His lips find yours in a kiss that feels like both an answer and a promise. A kiss that burns with everything unspoken, everything you’ve both denied for so long.
It’s terrifying. It’s thrilling. But you don’t want to fight it anymore.
You give in, falling into him completely, and you realize that maybe, just maybe, you were never meant to resist the temptation known as Hong Joshua.
