"Is it true that you're married?" a female co-worker whispered to Donghae as they sat in the canteen during lunch.

Donghae inwardly cursed the world, having heard the exact same question far too often for the past days. He slammed his fork onto the wooden table, making the woman flinch and earning the attention of their colleagues.

"Yes, it is true. Lee Hyukjae and I are married. Anyone got a problem with that?" he said loudly for everyone to hear.

The others exchanged a few looks, no one daring to say a word though.

Donghae forced a smile, "I'm glad we went over that then."

"You look like you could kill someone," Kyuhyun chortled and nudged him.

"Shut up, Cho," Donghae scowled, kicking him under the table.

The other yelped in pain and hissed at him, "!"

Donghae chuckled triumphantly.

"Hey, guys!" Henry from the marketing department joined them."What's up?" 

"Nothing much," Sungmin half-smiled and gave him a warning look.

Oblivious to the atmosphere, Henry turned to Donghae with a huge grin. "Donghae, man, you sure are one hell of a lucky guy! Congrats, dude."

Donghae gritted his teeth, "thanks."

"So," Henry blabbered on, "show us your ring, will you?"

Donghae felt his stomach sink and crossed the arms over his chest to hid his hands, hoping no one noticed he wasn't even wearing one (their wedding ring was a plastic ring that Hyukjae got from a gumball machine and there was no way he would keep that on his finger). 

"Actually, we're quite curious as well," Sungmin dared to say, even Kyuhyun looking at him in anticipation.

Donghae bit the inside of his cheeks. God dammit.

"Come on, don't be shy here," Henry teased and eagerly leaned closer.

"Uh, you see-"

"Donghae!"

Everyone's attention turned to the exit, Hyukjae standing there with a stern expression. 

"You. In my office. Now," he said, ignoring his employees' stares and swirling around to walk away.

Briefly closing his eyes to keep his composure, Donghae in a deep breath and put on a sweet smile.

"Sorry, guys. Maybe later," he excused himself and hurried after their boss, slamming the door shut once they were in Hyukjae's office.

"Called for me, Hubby?" he deadpanned.

"I did, Wifey," Hyukjae retorted, causing Donghae to stumble as he was about to sit down.

"Touché," he acknowledged once he claimed the chair. "So, what do you want? And don't tell me you wanted to save me from the situation because you certainly did not. You made it worse even, there's going to be so much gossip-,"

"-Donghae," Hyukjae interrupted him.

The latter raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

"Alright, I don't really want to admit this but it seems like I underestimated the situation a bit," Hyukjae confessed, playing with the eraser lying on his desk.

"Underestimated the situation in what way?"

"Well, I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to fake, you know, being married, but turns out I've got no clue about this. Or specifically, about you.

"People have been asking me so many questions about you which made me realise that I pretty much don't know anything about your personal life—hell not even your favourite colour. Not to mention details about the wedding or us dating before. Everyone in our office knows that we've been fighting like cat and mouse and I'm really wondering what I'm supposed to say if someone asks about us."

Donghae watched the other for a moment longer, their eyes meeting when Donghae leaned forward.

"Blue," he said.

"What?" Hyukjae asked dumbly.

"Blue. My favourite colour is blue," Donghae repeated. "And you've got a point there. I think we should settle the fronts and clarify about the dating and the wedding."

Hyukjae smiled, "And I probably should get to know you better, right?"

"Yes, you should," Donghae agreed. "Luckily I already know a lot about you—which, by the way, you should appreciate. You're not an easy person to deal with after all."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, as if you wouldn't know that I'm talking about your narcissism," Dongahe remarked which made the latter scoff.

"You're full of ."

Donghae rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Lee Hyukjae."

"You little-" Hyukjae stopped himself and sighed. "Actually, there's something else we need to talk about."

"Shoot me."

"My parents want to meet you," he blurted out. "They asked to visit them on the weekend. And they want us to stay the night."

"It's kind of very pretty," Donghae admitted with a small smile while eyeing the silver ring that circled his third finger.

"Let's take it and leave this place then," Hyukjae muttered.

Donghae sighed, "Can you at least try to sound pleased? Why are you so grumpy today?"

Not receiving an answer, Donghae grimaced when the other turned his back to him.

"Also fine if you won't talk to me, you little ," he hissed, walking to the counter where a young employee politely smiled at him.

"Do you like them, Sir?" she asked.

"Yes, we would like to take them, please," he replied and placed two rings on the glass shelf. 

"Wonderful choice!" she beamed and slightly leaned closer to him. "You two look very cute together, congratulations on your marriage," she whispered, Donghae feeling the tips of his ears turning red.

"Uh, thank you," he half-smiled and cleared his throat to change the topic. "Is it possible to engrave something into them?"

"Of course. If you have the time we can do it within twenty minutes," the woman said.

Donghae glanced to his side when he felt Hyukjae coming to stand next to him.

"Yeah, sure, we've got time," Hyukjae mumbled flatly, Donghae encouragingly patting his shoulder only to dig his nails into the other's skin afterwards.

About half an hour later, the couple eventually left the jeweller, each of them wearing a silver ring that had the engraving Lee Donghae & Lee Hyukjae on the inside. Donghae looked at his hand once again, biting his tongue.

"Welp, first step done, huh?" Hyukjae said and walked past him, heading for his car parked across the street.

Donghae grabbed him by the arm.

"What?" Hyukjae eyed him.

"I'm hungry, won't you buy me lunch?" Donghae asked, his tone more like an order though.

"Why would I?"

"Because I say so."

"You-" before Hyukjae could curse him out, Donghae dragged him into the opposite direction of the car and entered a coffee shop.

Pulling him into the seat in front of him, Donghae crossed his arms and squinted at him. "So?"

Hyukjae blankly stared at him, "so what?"

Donghae heaved a breath as an attempt to calm down.

"Tell me what the hell is going on with you," he said. "Is it about your parents wanting to see me?"

"Kinda," the latter mumbled.

Donghae couldn't help but smile at his stubborn attitude, he felt as he was interrogating a teenager or something. Placing his elbows on the table to support his chin, he studied Hyukjae' expression.

"I'm guessing you feel bad to be lying to them?"

"Well, yeah, but- Ugh, I don't know," Hyukjae sighed. "Somehow I also feel sorry for dragging you into this?"

"You're sorry?" Donghae scoffed. "Please don't get all sentimental on me here. You didn't force me to anything nor did you drag me into this. We made a deal and I was very aware of what I was doing, okay?" 

The other finally raised his head to meet his eyes, a small smile tugging on his lips. "How come we're suddenly on the same side? Didn't we always hate each other?"

"Can't I hate you even though we're on the same side?" Donghae pointed out.

"Is that possible?" Hyukjae wondered, frowning.

"Beats me," Donghae shrugged and leaned back into the chair. "But I sure as hell won't stop tormenting you."

Hyukjae's face cracked into a huge grin.

"We're on mutual terms here."

"Good, because I'm seeing it as my mission to make your life miserable."

"You're doing a great job, I can tell you that."

Donghae stifled a laugh, "I'm glad you appreciate my hard work."

The other rolled his eyes. "Jackass."

"Here are the documents you asked for, tomorrow's schedule and a Starbucks coffee—whipped cream, 1/3 milk and four sugar cubes," Donghae rattled on while neatly placing the said things on Hyukjae's desk.

The latter had his eyes glued onto the computer screen in front of him, simply humming in acknowledgement.

"Is there anything else you need?" the secretary asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Leave."

Donghae pressed his lips together, telling himself to keep smiling.

"You know where to find me then," he turned to leave.

"Ah!" Hyukjae snapped out of his concentration. "Donghae?"

The other halted in front of the door. "Yeah?"

"When your shift is done later wait for me in the lobby, okay?"

Donghae raised an eyebrow, "what for?"

"We will go out for dinner," Hyukjae replied with a boyish grin.

"Are you-"

"-joking? Hardly," he remarked.

"Why are we doing this?" Donghae asked, looking as if he was about to cry.

"I will give you two words; Public. Affection."

Donghae glower at him. "Ew."

Hyukjae snorted and turned back to his work, fingers flying over the keyboard. 

"Don't worry, I'll take you somewhere nice. Chinese sounds fine?"

"Fine!" Donghae exclaimed in surrender and grudgingly accepted the offer. "But mark my words, Lee Hyukjae. Try anything funny and you're dead."

"I won't, I promise," Hyukjae smiled sweetly but crossed his fingers for Donghae to see.

Letting out a frustrated groan, Dongahe left the office and thrashed around his clenched fists.

"Dear God, why have you forsaken me?" he cried. "Just what have I done, huh? Huh?"

Donghae yelped when someone cleared their throat, Mr Cho his supervisor standing at the end of the hallway and giving him a disapproving look.

Nearly choking on his own spit, Donghae fixed his hair and forced a polite smile. 

"Good morning, Mr Cho," he sputtered.

The man clicked his tongue and walked straight past him. "Pathetic," he muttered.

Donghae's expression faltered, knuckles turning white as he dug his nails into his skin.

"Have a nice day, too," he whispered, chuckling bitterly.

Once he was back in his office, he released a long sigh when Kyuhyun greeted him with a lazy wave.

"Yo." 

"What are you doing here?" Donghae deadpanned and went to his desk, starting to sort through a bunch of folders.

"Guess who managed to get his hands on two tickets for the game tonight?" Kyuhyun chortled, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

"Sorry, I've got plans already," the latter turned him down.

"Donghae," Kyuhyun gasped. "The Samsung Lions are playing against the Kia Tigers! Don't tell me you're going to miss this!" 

"I told you I have plans."

"But!" 

"Kyuhyun, please," Donghae pleaded, suddenly feeling worn out.

The other eyed him, "You sure you won't make it?"

"Nope."

"I guess I will have to ask Sungmin or Henry then."

"I'm sure one of them will come along."

Kyuhyun continued to watch him, Donghae trying his best to ignore him as he read through the papers.

"How long do you plan on standing there?" he asked after a while.

"You okay?" Kyuhyun asked him instead. "You seem a little off."

The latter glanced at him, smiling at his worried expression.

"Sure I am. Probably still a little shocked though as Hyukjae asked me out for dinner tonight."

Kyuhyun snorted. "A public appearance, huh?"

"Something like this, yeah," Donghae confirmed.

His friend shook his head. "You two are insane."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, at least try to eat as much as possible so your dear husband can pay a load of money."

Donghae grinned, "I like your way of thinking."

"Good night, Donghae," one of his colleagues waved at him as she was about to leave through the entrance.

"Night, see you tomorrow," he smiled at her.

Checking his watch, he pursed his lips and impatiently tapped his foot on the lobby floor. When he was still waiting fifteen minutes later, he slipped his phone out of his pocket and punched in a number.

"Hello?" a voice chortled once the other line picked up.

"You're late, ," Donghae grunted.

"I'll be down soon, I just need to finish something," Hyukjae replied.

"I give five minutes or else I'm going home."

A sigh. "Fine, I'm coming."

Sure enough, Hyukjae came tottered down within a few minutes, looking (Donghae had to admit) very stunning in a black suit.

"Why the hell did you get changed?"

"Well," Hyukjae grinned, flicking his fringe away and striking a pose, "I gotta look the best for my husband, right?"

Unfazed, Donghae stared at him.

"Okay, let get this over with," he mumbled and left the other behind.

Seated in Hyukjae's car, they drove in silence for a while until Hyukjae decided to turn on the radio, forgetting though that one of his CD's was still in the drive. The speakers blasted with NSYNC's Bye Bye Bye, Hyukjae frantically trying to turn off the player while Donghae stopped him from doing so.

"You're an ," Hyukjae hissed.

Donghae fell into uncontrollable laughter. "Why? It's a good song," he remarked once he caught his breath.

"This is a 90's classic collection, just so you know," Hyukjae tried to defend himself.

"Alright, alright, I got it," Donghae surrendered, still snickering.

A while after, they arrived at the restaurant and Donghae hopped out of the car the second it came to a halt.

"I planned to be all gentlemanly and open the door for you but you just ruined everything," Hyukjae said, grinning when the other gave him a look over his shoulder.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry," Donghae feigned an apologetic smile.

"Well, a kiss might make up for it," Hyukjae remarked.

Donghae snorted loudly. "I think the not."

His grin growing even wider, Hyukjae caught up to the latter and wrapped his arm around Donghae's waist.

Donghae raised a warning eyebrow at him. "What on earth do you think you're doing?"

"Being a protective lover?" Hyukjae replied, eyeing the people around them who stopped to stare.

"You mean possessive," Donghae muttered darkly and jabbed him into the ribs.

Hyukjae yelped but tightened his hold to drag the younger into the restaurant.

"Good evening, Gentlemen. Do you have a reservation?" a waiter welcomed them.

"On the name Lee Hyukjae."

"Ah, yes," the man checked the customer list. "Please follow me," he said and led the couple to a table at the back of the room, slightly zoned for more privacy. 

"This place is very nice," Donghae remarked and looked around once they were seated.

"Yeah," Hyukjae agreed. "It is."

Silently stealing a few glanced at the other and playing with the ring on his finger, Donghae felt somewhat tense.

Hyukjae seemed to notice and awkwardly cleared his throat. "So," he wore an unsure smile, "err, any plans for the weekend yet?"

Donghae raised an eyebrow, "Your parents want to meet me, remember?"

"Right, my parents," Hyukjae mumbled, leaning into his chair.

Donghae cracked a small smile.

"What do they like?" he asked and straightened his posture.

Hyukjae looked at him. "Why are you asking?"

"Because I want to get them a present."

"Nah, there is no need for that," Hyukjae waved the latter off with a gesture of the hand.

"You want them to hate me? It's a sign of respect, of course I have to."

"Then give them a leech, they love everything that's just like them—gruesome and bloodsucking," Hyukjae replied which had Donghae laughing, half in disbelief and half in amusement.

"That's really encouraging to know, thank you very much."

With that the ice of awkwardness got broken, new topics naturally flowing into their conversation. They stayed at the restaurant for hours, chatting and laughing (and insulting each other), and Donghae eating like a black hole since he still had a promise to keep. 

The drive back to the secretary's apartment was quiet but not uncomfortable, Donghae constantly trying to hide his smile while Hyukjae softly sang along to Michael Jackson songs.

"We're here now," Hyukjae pointed out as he pulled over to an apartment complex.

"Thanks for the ride," Donghae replied and jumped out of the car, bending down to look at the other. "See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, good night," Hyukjae said and gave him a little wave.

Donghae grinned. "You, too."

lol sorry for the somewhat late update—got my wisdom teeth out and living my life as a hamster now.

Anyway, I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for so many subs and comments, you make me a happy glittering unicorn♥