“Not again,” you groaned as you lifted yourself upright from the crumpled position on your couch, looking at the man who had been beneath you still draped across it, breathing evenly in his slumber. Smiling softly, you attempted to get up without knocking into him, but your foot was entangled between his, and you squeaked when you lost your footing and fell back down.

Sleepily, Jae caught you in his arms, his eyes slowly opening to the morning light. He let out a wheeze, and you cringed, realising you had winded him. “Sorry!”

“It’s alright. I caught you.” A lazy smile crossed his lips as he closed his eyes again.

“Jaeeeee,” you whined, trying to pull one of his arms around you off. “Don’t fall back asleep! I have to get to work.”

“Mm. Ten more minutes.”

“Ten more seconds is all I’m giving you before I’m yanking us both up off this couch.”

“It’s my couch.”

“Says who? This is my apartment,” you corrected, and Jae peeked out of an eyelid, letting you go so his hand could come up to his squinting gaze and rub the sleep away.

“Aw, man. We fell asleep again.”

“This couch wasn’t made for a good night’s rest either,” you chortled, sitting up again.

Jae smirked. “Next time, let’s move the console to your bedroom then.”

“Jae!” you exclaimed as his husky laughter filled your space, your hand flinging out to slap him playfully on the chest.

After letting out a groan from your attack, Jae pulled you back to him and dumped you underneath his long limbs. You looked up at him expectantly. “You know it would be easier to sleep with a teddy bear instead. Still the same softness as you, but-”

“Don’t finish that sentence! And get up! We both have to get to work!”

Jae pouted as you shimmied out from under him and over to your front door, his languid approach frustrating you. Finally, he reached your side and smiled. “Morning Five-Oh-Seven.”

“Get back over to your own apartment, Five-Oh-Eight.”

Jae rocked on his heels. “No morning kiss goodbye?”

“Honestly!”

He chuckled and waved you off, slumping over to his front door and unlocking it. After closing your door, you couldn’t help but grin.

Mornings were cute with Jae.

In fact, as the days went by, you enjoyed spending more time with your neighbour, to the point you had declined Brian and his late-night desires twice just to hang out with Jae after work instead. You could always count on him to have you laughing all night long and forgetting all about your feelings for Brian.

It didn’t take you long to find Brian within the building when you arrived at work, and unlike the usual simple greeting, Brian took your lower arm gently in his and led you down the hallway to one of the conference rooms.

“What the-”

As soon as the door was closed, his lips were on yours, a moan accompanying them. You blinked once before falling into mutual need, kissing the man back just as hungrily as he was devouring you. When he pulled back, Brian cursed lowly. “What’s got you so busy lately that I’m missing out on tasting your body?”

You shivered with the lust laced within his tone, gazing up at the man with seductive eyes. “Easy now, we’re in our place of professional conduct.”

“The fact that I’m thinking entirely unprofessional right now is a bother.”

“I’ll come over tonight.”

“Good. I’ll wine and dine you.”

“Or on me?”

“Jesus, Y/N. Don’t be such a tease,” Brian complained, lowering his head to your shoulder. “Who knew I’d become this addicted to you?”

“Not me.”

“You’re enjoying it, though, right?”

“Our mutual agreement?” you clarified, watching as Brian lifted his head back up and stared at you. You couldn’t quite read his expression. He remained silent for a minute longer, simply looking at you. It made you feel under a spotlight, and you laughed lightly. “Brian, come on. We need to clock in.”

“You promise I can have all your attention tonight?”

“One-hundred percent.”

Relaxing, Brian nodded and pecked your lips. “Go show your department just how lucky they are to have you.”

---

 

As promised, you met Brian in the foyer, his hand going to the small of your back. Glancing up at him, you then looked around at the other staff members milling around. “Shouldn’t we wait until we’re out of here?”

“I can’t not have you in my arms,” he murmured into your ear, his voice tight.

He didn’t even wait until you were buckled into the passenger seat of his car before lurching towards you with passion.

Dessert also came before the wining and dining. Curled up on his couch in just one of his shirts much later into the evening, you smiled as you took the glass of wine Brian offered you. As he sat down beside you, you lifted the glass to your lips and took a sip before speaking the first thing that came to mind. “I could get used to this.”

“Us?”

“Could there be an us outside of our agreement?” you wondered with a soft laugh, staring at the glass you held. The crimson liquid swirled softly in the glass.

You weren’t much of a drinker, only when you were with Brian or his family. You hadn’t even shared an alcoholic beverage with Jae yet. You pondered what kind of drink he would like, a small smile forming on your lips.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Hm?” you hummed, looking at Brian and blinking away Jae’s antics in your mind. As you looked at the man next to you, you realised whilst you knew a lot about his family, and what he liked to drink and eat, you didn’t know a lot about him outside of the bedroom. Sitting up and placing your glass on the coffee table, you swivelled to face Brian. “Do you play games?”

“Games?” You nodded, and Brian chuckled. “When would I have time to play games? Maybe when we were teens, Y/N.”

“Ah,” you replied, wondering what else to ask him.

You knew everything about Jae and his hobbies. What he liked and didn’t like. The type of things that riled him up, and equally the ones that excited him. And you had only known your neighbour for several weeks.

Ten years had gone by with you crushing on the man staring back at you, and you couldn’t say the same about him. Brian was more of a mystery than you realised.

“You seem different these days,” Brian commented, his expression guarded. “More carefree.”

“Do I? Maybe I feel validated as a person.”

“I validate you that much, huh?”

You blinked, realising you had imagined Jae when you thought about how at ease you were. Looking at the man beside you, your body grew cold despite the warmth of the apartment. Just what were you doing here? What did you even mean to Brian?

With Jae, you knew it was a level field. You knew what to expect from him, and what you gave him in return. You enjoyed that. Cherished it. And as you sat staring back at the man who had been the star of your dreams for so long now, you wondered where along the way he had started to fade into the background.

Whilst Jae shone in front.