#bps: childhood au daniel

[ennergetics]

the second and final part of the childhood friend! daniel au

(image credit)

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.

one | two

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

“remember lai guanlin”

“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.

[ennergetics]

idk if u know my love daehyun from BAP but daniel is his dongsaeng so as ur friend requesting a fic w y/n as daehyun's sister and he introduces u to daniel (if u can HAHA)

[thank you for bringing this prompt into my life because writing this was a delight! huhu i’m cry daniel is the most precious. also i have a follow-up post in the works!! hehe]

(image credit)

pairing: kang daniel x reader (childhood friends au)genre: fluffsummary: It all starts with a tree, a beetle, and a bug-hating Kang Daniel.

one | two

when you were little, your brother daehyun always played with this boy your age

all you knew about him was that daehyun called him ‘niel-ah’ and he was afraid of bugs

on the first day of grade school, your brother brings you to the classroom and a small boy with a bunny smile runs up to the two of you

“who’s this, daehyun-hyung?” he says, and you pout, pushing him

“he’s my big brother, not yours!”

eventually you and daniel become friends when he gets stuck in a tree and can’t come down because there’s a beetle on the trunk

“come on, Y/N, please!”

and you stick your tongue out at him for a good minute

but you can see the tears welling up in his eyes and you want to see his cute bunny smile again

so you take the beetle and place it on a nearby bush

he comes down and hugs you really tight, and you decide that maybe he’s okay

daniel has the best snacks

he’s also friends with all the school cats and kittens

everyone’s always crowding around him, especially the girls and boys from the higher grades

and you’re okay with that because it gives you time to read, which you can’t do when daniel’s there

“what’s happening now, Y/N? who’s winning?”

he’s a bit of a slow reader, at least compared to you, and you do want peace and quiet sometimes

besides, you know that his time after school is reserved for your adventures with daehyun

and the three of you run around, watch cartoons together, and eat all the ice cream in the fridge

at some point in fourth grade, though, boys and girls start to split into groups, and daniel starts to hang out with other people even after classes

you’re tempted to tell your brother about it but you feel like it won’t make much of a difference

you have a good cry about it one night because you’ve lost your best friend somehow

but after that seeing daniel doesn’t make you angry anymore, just a little bit sad

the other girls ask you about him often, and all you do in response is shrug

“we used to play together when we were kids, i guess, but I don’t really know him”

the next time you really get to talk is when daehyun graduates middle school

there’s a going-away dinner at your house because your brother will be dorming at the performing arts high school he’s attending  

and daniel keeps glancing over at you

you smile blankly at him once or twice but you’ve gotten so used to not talking to him

before he and his family leave, he pulls you aside and tells you that he’s going to the same middle school

and you pretend to look annoyed but inside you’re a little happy because maybe you’ll be friends again

daniel sees how your eyes light up and he grins widely

“i promise we’ll hang out every day,” he says, holding a pinky out

you make a face, not really believing him, but you grasp his pinky with your own anyway

but daniel keeps his promises and you see each other every day, even if it’s just during your walk home together

he always slings his arm around you and it makes your heart skip a beat

when you’re studying together and need to concentrate, you bite your lip, not catching how daniel stares at you

neither of you really has enemies, so no one teases you, but everyone thinks you’re together

on valentine’s day in your ninth grade, right when the school year’s about to end, you decide to get him a gift

you’re at home about to deliver it when he doorbells, holding out exactly the same thing

a valentine’s edition of the gummy snacks the two of you always eat

you’re both grinning like idiots and you pull his shirt so you can give him a kiss on the cheek

“i—“ the both of you start, and you gesture for daniel to go first

‘i like you,’ you expect him to say because that’s what was supposed to come out of your mouth

but he frowns, looking down

“i’m leaving”

and that’s when it all spills out of him

daniel’s going to the same performing arts high school your brother studied at

he applied in secret at the start of the year and didn’t think he’d get in, but he’s on full scholarship

and everyone knew about it except you

and you’re smiling at him but there are tears streaming down your cheeks

“c-congrats,” you say, still smiling, “i have to go”

throughout his first year he keeps trying to visit you, but you don’t really want to see him

it’s unfair to him but you feel like you were left behind, especially because he left you in the dark till the last minute

when your brother’s home, he and daniel spend time together, dancing and singing in his room, and you feel your heart ache

at some point he stops dropping by and though you miss him, you feel a sort of peace

you miss him from time to time but you know your paths are unlikely to intersect, and it’s better if you stop thinking about him

when university application season starts, you apply to a prestigious university in seoul, excited for the opportunity to see a bigger world

you’re accepted, and daehyun swings you around the room proudly when you find out

daehyun brings you to seoul and helps you decorate your dorm room, making sure it’s a little piece of home you can return to

he drops you off at the university on your first day, reminding you not to forget about him and to call him every week

you enter your first classroom for a general math class, taking a seat beside a sleeping boy with peach-coloured hair

when the professor enters, you try to shake him awake

he starts to sleep-talk and you blanch because you would know that voice anywhere

the boy lifts his head up, and here he is, with the same bright smile

“daniel?”