Author's note: not sure if I can update in the next two days so if I can't, I hope everyone has a happy New Year's! <3

‘Presenting a united front’ turns out to mean showing up as a couple to a lot of things.

He had ended up walking with Seunghyun to the Alley’s apparition point – arm in arm, trying very hard to ignore the flashing lights around them – and using it to go to Choi Manor, reassuring his boyfriend’s parents that he was alright before Flooing inside his building. It was an incredibly roundabout way to make his way back home but the last thing he wanted was for those people to find out exactly where he lives.

Youngbae had been waiting for him, pacing and worried and agitated and angry for the first time since Daesung had known him. The older Hufflepuff had insisted on making him dinner and giving him a calming draught, as well as sleeping at his place and walking him to work in the morning. It felt a bit disconcerting to see his friend actually be short and cold towards anyone but if he was honest it had been nice not to be caught alone.

That turned out to be a pattern for the next two weeks. Youngbae stayed over more times than not, and walked with him – usually from the Leaky Cauldron – to Ollivanders’ where his master would glare at anyone who even looked vaguely like a reporter. The Daily Prophet kept pushing the relationship as the story of the month, the hottest piece of gossip, trying to get even more angles on it.

Seungri had written him a letter apologizing over and over for not being able to keep a lid on it, despite it not being his fault. Jiyong had made a very loud, very public announcement of how good a person Daesung was and how glad he was that Seunghyun had found him and how happy they seemed and how perfect for each other they were with the type of tone that dared anyone to disagree with him. Both of their friends kept a tight lid too, for the most part, and his former housemates had nothing but praise for him, much to the reporters’ disappointment.

Of course, on the less personal side of the issue, there were the political repercussions.  While apparently most houses – most ancient and minor both – are keeping themselves neutral and waiting to see how this plays out, a few of them have been very vocal about their disapproval, led by that utterly unpleasant couple they had met at the Yuletide ball. It is, and has always been, very difficult for Daesung to outright hate anyone. He just doesn’t have it in him, really, but those two make his thoughts turn as close to poisonous as they’re ever going to get.

It’s almost the perfect storm of gossip, intrigue and scandal which is probably why it will refuse to die down for a while. And that is why he’s currently sitting there, at the Ministry, having lunch and making small talk with other officials and their spouses or partners. Nothing quite as extravagant as a ball but it sends a loud message all the same, as it basically amounts to Seunghyun showing him off and telling everyone that it’s serious without actually saying so.

They hadn’t done this before because they didn’t feel like they were at that stage yet and, in truth, he feels like they’re rushing it a little but the circumstances pushed them to it. Ideally, Daesung would have liked for both of them to take a little more time and feel entirely comfortable before taking this step. It just wasn’t an option anymore, not really, not with how the press has been acting.

Seunghyun had sat him down an explained the essentials – “they will not risk tarnishing me directly, so their focus will be on you” – including the fact that retreating from the public eye would be the same as admitting he was ashamed of their relationship or thought it lesser and neither of them wanted their actions to be interpreted as that because it was the furthest thing from the truth.

The Hufflepuff would never say or even think that people are stupid, being compassionate to a fault, but sometimes he came close. Someone’s staring at the back of his head, probably a lot of someones and the feeling is a bit disconcerting. He ignores it, focusing on the anecdote the man sitting beside him – his wife works in the Department of International Magic Cooperation – and genuinely laughing at the punch line. 

His robes are fashionable and at the edge of trendy, just the thing for a fashionable young wizard, and a strong pink offset by black – the same ones he’d seen in Hogsmeade months ago, in fact, since Seungri had insisted and Jiyong had taken upon himself to make sure his clothes and his hair and everything about his appearance was perfect for every single one of these little functions and work gatherings.

It means a lot to Daesung, that they’re all willing and eager to help, that they’re all angry on his behalf, that they all stand by him. He had cried a little about it, three days into this mess, and the mere thought makes his eyes start getting watery so he buries it somewhere in the back of his mind as the attention of the table shifts to a woman on the other end of it launching into some tale or another.

Seunghyun sits to his left, as poised and composed and perfect as usual, looking polite but at ease. It’s a lunch function, at his place of work, so they can’t be as affectionate as they might otherwise have been but he’s made no secret of their relationship, introducing Daesung as his boyfriend and gazing at him in open adoration every few minutes, to the point where roughly half of the people there had already chuckled and looked at them knowingly at least once.

A sudden light, polite laughter spreads through the crowd and they both join in despite not having heard the joke. Someone else starts speaking, debating the merits of some new piece of legislation or another and the convoluted legal-speak makes his head hurt. He’s actively trying to listen and understand, though, which is why the whisper right into his ear almost startles him.

“I have cleared my schedule today.”

“… Seunghyun?” his voice is low, mindful of the eyes still staring at them. Daesung has been doing nothing but studying and working and going to these things, trying to remain polite and courteous despite his exhaustion and discomfort. The thing he had wanted the most the last couple of days was to just spend some time relaxing with his boyfriend in a stress-free environment but it hadn’t been possible yet.

“Would you allow me to keep you company after this?”

“Of course,” Daesung blinks and turns his head slightly to look at him, attention shifting away from the main conversation. They always have to keep to themselves during these things which wouldn’t be much of a problem but lately this is the only time they’ve had to spend with each other, other than one or two stolen moments coming to and from gatherings. When he isn’t busy working or studying or being stalked, Seunghyun is preoccupied with something himself.

There’s a bit more of jokes and chatter and political discussion before someone leaves the table, signaling that lunch is over. The new couple rises and bows as they bid farewell to most of the others, making their way out into the Atrium and towards the Floo fireplaces. Neither of them really talk as the world dissolves, turns into green sparkles and ash before forming again. Nor do they talk when their steps echo around inside the building, or when they finally walk inside the apartment.

It’s only when the door’s firmly locked that Daesung sighs tiredly, stretching both arms over his head. He takes the outer robes from Seunghyun and goes to hang them near the door, then makes his way to the bedroom to change into some of his comfortable muggle clothes. It will take a while, he thinks, until he’s as used to wearing fancy robes as his boyfriend always seems to be.

The Syltherin is sitting on the couch when he comes back, hands folded in his lap, paying the utmost attention to D-Lite who seems to be lecturing him entirely in hoots and sharp clicks of his beak while hopping from one end of the coffee table to the other. Daesung blinks, stopping for a moment, torn between being entirely amused at the sight and trying to figure out what in Merlin’s name his owl is doing or why his boyfriend looks like he’s being chastised.

In the end he just shakes his head and makes his way over, sitting on the couch and promptly ignoring the bird’s indignant protests at being interrupted in favour of curling both arms around his boyfriend’s torso and pressing his face against the man’s chest. Daesung feels his cheeks burn hot at his own audacity – it’s the most compromising position they’ve been in, more intimate than in the shop – but it’s been two weeks since they’ve managed anything even close to a proper hug.

Seunghyun tenses in slight surprise for only a second, reclining back against the couch and pulling him closer the next. Slightly cold fingers sneak into the apprentice’s hair, brushing his fringe back again and again in a soothing motion – it feels nice, too nice, and a pleased sort of noise escapes him. A chuckle resonates in the chest beneath his ear, making his face grow even redder.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Drained,” a comfortable but tired silence settles between them for a few moments. His eyelids feel heavy, his mind’s dangerously close to shutting off and granting him sleep when a hand presses against the small of his back, abruptly snapping him back to the present. He raises his head a little, immediately catching Seunghyun’s gaze already on him, weary and concerned but full of affection.  The sight is enough to make him stretch a little, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

The older man exhales, sharply, as if the feeling of it takes him by surprised, as if he’s forgotten what that feels like. Daesung smiles sadly and chuckles to himself, empathizing, before his tired thoughts are interrupted by their mouths pressing together properly. It’s not more than a peck but something warm flutters in his chest.

“I have missed you terribly, Daesung,” the hand in his hair switches to cup at his cheek, even as his own fingers curl around the back of his boyfriend’s neck, lightly. Their lips brush again, softly, then firmly and then stronger still until they’re gasping into each other’s mouths, Daesung’s hands fisted in fine robes, thighs somehow on either side of Seunghyun’s hips as the grip on his waist burns his skin even through the thick shirt.

It’s the only way he can think of to answer the underlying longing in the whispers of his name.