#last post for today's morning i swear i just don't feel like studying lmao

[bbugyu]

no one could be prouder or more pleased to be by your side.

classic | epilogue

2.9k | joshua x afab enby!reader, fluff, humor, swearing, eating, josh is the literal sweetest human alive

this is a quick one! i've actually had this written for about a year LMAO but i never posted for some reason 🤕 anyhow, i threw together a title card and cleaned it up a bit to post as a thank you for 1500 followers! i seriously can't believe so many of you find me worthy of a follow, and i genuinely appreciate it so much. thank you! thank you thank you thank you!!!!!! also yes i pulled the name from THE 00s romcom of all time starring ryan reynolds and sandra bullock and YES i used a joshua picture from canada because that movie is set in alaska (it's as close as i could get without using the gum wall pics ok)

*

sometimes, days were just bad. there was no real cause, and nothing to be done about it, but sometimes small things piled up in ways that you couldn't stop thinking about. you stubbed your toe on the dresser first thing in the morning after not sleeping particularly well or long. your subway car was more crowded than you liked, and when you stopped at a cafe to get a coffee a block away from the studio, you realized you had forgotten the memory card for your camera and had to resort to filming on your phone instead. you only worked at maji studio once a week these days, and you were always excited to spend some time with yunhyeong, but he hadn't been able to make it in because his sister and her wife dropped in for a surprise visit, so you didn't even get to see him. it was slightly too hot for spring and you could feel it under your arms. the pollen count was too high and you could feel it in your nose. your shoes were too new to be fully broken in and you could feel it in your achilles.

all this, and one of your best friends had just gotten engaged.

it went without question that you were extremely happy for the couple, and absurdly excited to celebrate with them, but krys had asked her half-brother to be her "maid" of honor (leaving you relieved, karol indignant, and sending joshua into a manic and panicked research spree), and asked you to make the cake. she had shown you pictures of things she liked, you knew her color scheme, and you had spent the last four years getting to know her tastes, so all in all, she was going to be the easiest client you had ever worked with. however - and you would never let her know in fear that she would retract the responsibility - the added baking you had to do for the cake tasting appointment you scheduled with her put just enough on your plate to have a looming stress over your entire week. 

a recipe for disaster, as it were. and when you dropped your lunch leftovers on the sidewalk outside the loft, the pad see ew and swimming rama that you had ordered in an attempt to brighten your mood splattering over the concrete like a crime scene, you just let out a groan in frustration and planted your palms over your face.

"well, diaz-" you slid your hands down to view the source of the familiar voice, joshua walking up to you from where you saw his car parked down the street and studying the food, hands on his hips to imitate the tv detective from one of your favorite sitcoms. "looks like we got a homicide on our hands."

"fuck today," you whined, your foot stomping against the concrete in that cutesy way you only did around him, and he caught the glimmer of tears in your eyes, immediately dropping the joke.

"aw, baby," he cooed, stepping over the food and gathering you in his arms. "don't cry over spilled thai."

you choked out a laugh as you settled into the hug, sniffling and willing the tears back into your ducts. "i'm not crying."

"you okay?" joshua asked, hand rubbing up and down your back, effectively wiping away your stress with his touch. "do you wanna talk about it?"

you buried your face in his neck, fully succumbing to the embrace despite the fact that you were standing outside, and you had a pretty strict aversion to indulging in intimacy in public places. it felt too nice to let go, joshua's warmth and comfort a welcomed juxtaposition to your awful mood. you sighed. "wouldn't even know where to start."

he breathed out a laugh, squeezing you. "long day?"

"really long."

he pulled away slightly to waggle his eyebrows at you, and you laughed, swatting at his chest. he nodded at the door of your apartment building. "you go wash up. i'll deal with the crime scene."

you pouted at him. "are you sure?"

"of course," he said, letting you start towards the door despite holding onto his arms. "best boyfriend ever. don't you forget it."

you tried to hide a smile. "only because seokmin's a fiancé now."

he pointed at the door. "shut up and get inside before i change my mind."

you giggled at him, making him break and smile at you, but you took the instructions nonetheless, after planting a kiss on his cheek.

the shower felt like therapy, scalding water stripping your skin of grime and your brain of pressure. you took a little longer than normal, water dripping down your face from where it was spraying against the back of your head and neck, letting the incessant noise of it make your mind go blank. after your moment of meditation, you shut off the water and went to find something comfy to wear, but joshua intercepted you at the bathroom door.

"hey," he said, a gentle smile on his lips. "do you wanna go get something good for dinner?"

you blinked at him, towel wrapped around you. "like what?"

"well, i was thinking," he started, letting you step past him into the bedroom to begin digging through the closet. "you were telling me about that high end beef place in gangnam the other day-"

"woo tender?" you asked, eyes big. "isn't that a little fancy for a wednesday?"

he pointed at you. "i knew you'd say that. but i looked into it, and turns out they give free dessert if you get engaged during dinner."

you stared at him for a second, thinking about how you had told him in the past that if he even tried to ask you to marry him before year five you would break up with him, and the further caveat that if he tried to propose in public you would say no on principle. "joshua."

"not for real," he said, making a face like you were insane for even thinking he would suggest it. "i just thought you might like today more if we could put on the 'can't wait for marriage' act to get free food."

you pushed our lips to one side of your face, fiddling with your towel and giving him one of those looks that he could never look away from. "that actually sounds really fun."

he made a fist in victory, backing towards the door. "pick out something nice to wear, i'll match you. i have to make sure they have a table real fast. you don't happen to have a ring, do you?"

you looked over to the dresser, where a tray of jewelry sat. "yours wouldn't fit any of my fingers, huh?"

"well, it's only the one finger that matters," joshua pointed out, eyebrows raised, and you giggled at him. "it's fine, we can find a shitty one on the way."

that made you laugh out loud. "so romantic," you said, shoulder popping up to your chin sassily.

"only the best for you," he winked, finger gun being the last thing you saw as he left.

the statement was repeated later, joshua's tone facetious and teasing as he shoved coins into a gacha machine in your local mall, the pair of you being massively overdressed to be betting on which squishy gudetama your spare change was going to gift you. you wanted the rolled omelet - of course, who wouldn't? - but that was exactly why joshua was positive you would never get it. you had already placed the almost convincing ring that had popped out of the previous machine on your finger, it's greatest giveaway being the plastic seam you could feel between your knuckles, but glittered vaguely in the light in a way that you were sure emulated a real stone. if you kept moving, no one would be able to notice that the silver had no depth to it.

joshua sucked his lips between his teeth, exerting much more effort on the reusable capsule than one would think it needed. he huffed when it popped open, displaying the contents as you both peeked in.

"oh my god!" you giggled, immediately picking the little rolled omelet out of the capsule and tearing open the plastic packaging. "gudetamagoyaki!"

joshua stared at you. "that's insane. i've watched seokmin pull eight of the steamed egg squishes out of this exact machine."

you thought for a second. "well, yeah. we're each others' good luck charm."

he laughed, an endeared light in his eyes as he watched you gesture between the two of you. he put the capsule in the provided bin on top of the machines and fell into step beside you as you left the gacha arcade. "please elaborate."

"your promotion," you said immediately, hooking your arm under his as he took the inanimate animated egg from you to squish between his fingers. "you got the editor position because you came back for a proper kiss."

he turned his head to you, and there was a laugh just threatening to burst from his lips at the sight of your proud face. "right, nothing to do with my years of dedicated work, aggressive networking, and sheer ambition. not like i went to college for this exact reason or whatever."

"exactly," you agreed, as if he had just stated that the sky was blue, displaying your ringed finger in front of you as you exited the mall and headed towards the car. "and you were my first viral video."

joshua's head cocked as he stared at your hand. "now that's true."

you looked over to him. "so was the other one."

he smiled at you. "right."

you looked back at the ring. "this is so goofy."

he laughed as you pulled it off your finger, putting it in his outstretched palm as he led you across the parking lot. "it only has to be convincing for half an hour."

you chewed your cheek, spotting joshua's car right where the two of you had left it. "and i have to say yes to get the dessert?"

joshua rolled his eyes dramatically. "alright, you can walk home."

"i'm kidding!" you laughed, tugging on his arm, and he let a sly smile sneak through his annoyed facade, hand fishing in the pocket of his pants to unlock the car. "i won't be able to say no when you ask me for real, so i might not get the chance again."

a smirk stretched across his face as he pulled open the passenger door. "you act like we won't absolutely pull this scam again."

you laughed, telling him he was so right, and rewarding his chivalry with a quick kiss on his upturned lips before dropping into the car.

joshua's hand always found you. it wasn't even a conscious action for him anymore, you were pretty sure - a habit at this point, a natural proclivity to brushing his fingers over the small of your back to prompt you to distractedly step up in line at a café, or rubbing his thumbs into your shoulders when he checked on you while you edited on the weekends. today, his hand slid over your thigh as soon as he had navigated back to a main road, a sign that he had settled into the drive. he peeked over at you when you put your palm over his hand, squeezing at his fingers, and he squeezed your thigh back when you gave him a tiny smile.

"feel any better?" he asked, checking his side mirror quickly as he merged.

you let out a breath. "a lot better. thank you for this."

"i'm being selfish," he said quickly, making you sputter out a laugh that got him to join you. "have you seen their sweets platter? i need to eat those donuts." 

and while the dessert was the purpose of visiting gangnam on this particular wednesday, everything else about the meal was just as beautiful and delicious as you hoped it would be. you felt ridiculous, absolutely, spending way too much money for a gourmet meal on a random week night just for the idea of a free dessert, but perhaps that inside joke was part of what made the evening so fun. being able to make quick eye contact that only had meaning between the two of you, stifling a giggle that made him smile and clear his throat. the plates you had been sharing were almost empty, signifying a nearing end to your stay in gangnam and the question you had been waiting for all night.

"here," joshua said, pushing the entree plate towards you lightly. "the steak was good, you eat the last of it."

you pouted at him. "are you sure? you can have it."

he shook his head at you. "saving space," he said, hand on his stomach and giving you a subtle wink. you giggled and picked up your fork to make the last perfect bite. he watched you stab the last bit of greens and meat, scooping up as much of the sauce as you could before depositing the whole affair in your mouth, and he grinned when you made a noise of enjoyment. "it looks tastier when you eat, anyways."

"this is why i like eating with you," you said after you swallowed, fully savoring the rich sauce and tender meat. "usually i'm the one making other people take the last bite."

he gave you a look - the look, you realized, the one he gave you when he was about to say something brain meltingly cheesy that would always make you giggle and hit him playfully. your name dripped with honey, a sweet song from his lips, and despite knowing exactly what was coming, having already rehearsed your parts of the act in your head before getting seated, you couldn't help but feel slightly caught off guard, heart racing when his hand reached for you across the table and when his eyes met yours. "can you promise to share meals with me for the rest of our lives?"

you blinked helplessly at him, his smile widening at how shell shocked you looked. he slid off his chair, hand still holding yours as he gently got down on one knee beside your table. "joshua, what are you-"

"darling," he interrupted, eyebrows raised playfully at you, one hand reaching back to fish the trinket out of his sports coat's pocket. "i'll always let you have the last bite, so," he paused a second, looking up at you, and you could have sworn there was something genuine behind the almost awe struck chuckle that fell from his curved lips. "do me the honor of staying by my side."

your breath caught, and if you didn't feel the eyes of neighboring tables on you, you probably would have smacked the shit out of him for flustering you like that in public. but you fancied yourself an actor, so instead, you pushed your palm to your face as you conjured tears to your waterline. you even let yourself get caught up in the magic of the moment as he pulled the ring forward, the dim lighting of the restaurant making it even more believable than you had expected, your eyes flashing between it and joshua. you started to nod, small at first, then firmer when you finally laughed out a yes.

people were clapping, you were pretty sure, when joshua scraped the plastic ring onto your finger, grinning wide as you both stood, his arms naturally running up your body and catching you in the kind of hug that could make your knees go weak. and even though you had an innate distaste for the relationship checkpoints society projected on romance, and even though joshua had agreed instantly that he didn't think you were the kind of couple that needed a ring and a piece of paper to prove that they love each other, and even though this was all just a scam to get free dessert, you still broke your rule about public affection. your fingers combed through the hair on the back of his head, and you pulled away from the hug just enough to kiss him.

joshua seemed shocked for just a second by your vigor, and if he commented on it later you would absolutely tell him it was just for the performance, but he sunk into your lips, his hand running over your waist. 

he hummed when you pulled away. "that steak sauce was really good."

"gross, joshua," you laughed, gently pushing him back to his seat with a cheesy grin on his face.

it took less than three minutes for the prophesied dessert platter to arrive, complete with chocolate writing that congratulated you on your (fake) engagement and an assurance that it was on the house from the waitress - though joshua was more interested in the donuts than the sentiment. he immediately swiped the pastry through the chocolate ganache script for the flavor benefit, and for just a moment, a sweet thought floated through your head as his entire face dropped in shock before he solemnly told you they were absolutely insane. you giggled before selecting one yourself, swiping it similarly through the ganache, and though you would never say it out loud, there was no one on the planet you would rather devote the rest of your sweet thoughts to.

even if the engagement was a scam.

#hehe #caratwritersclub #josh #joshua hong imagines #joshua hong scenarios #joshua hong fluff #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen fluff #i wrote dis #classic #hehehehehheheheheheh