The last thing Yixing ever expected was getting caught in a love triangle between his best friend and his boyfriend.

Yifan hadn't looked at him once during the party and Yixing felt a pain stabbing in his chest at the mere thought of how their friendship of so many years had turned into this shell of one. How was he supposed to know that the elder man had feelings for him? Yixing was known for his obliviousness, and now that reputation was biting him in the , Yifan refusing to look―let alone speak―to him.

"Yifan," Yixing tries for what feels like the hundredth time that night, his voice soft and pleading. The taller man still isn't looking at him. He's only a foot away but he won't even acknowledge his best friend. Yixing tries not to let that fact hurt him, but it does, it hurts him a lot. It always did.

"Yifan," he begs again, "please, please, look at me." His voice cracks when a sob escapes his lips, causing Yifan to flinch at the sound. Happiness bubbles in Yixing chest now that he'd finally garnered his friend's attention.

The elder turns slowly, regarding Yixing with an irritated glare. "What?" he asks gruffly, like talking to his best friend was the last thing he'd like to do. Tears sting Yixing's eyes, his hand recoiling from Yifan's under the elder’s harsh stare; he tries to hide the hurt from showing on his face but his soft features betray him, eyes watering and lips trembling.

"S-Sorry," Yixing stammers, eyes turning to the floor. The older man has the decency to feel bad, pain flooding his face as he reaches to grab Yixing's hand before he pulls away completely.

"I―" he hesitates for a few beats. "I'm sorry, Xing," Yifan finally apologizes, and the discomfort in his expression is genuine.

Yixing's heart flutters at the nickname and with a small, shaky smile, he replies, "I-It's fine. I just need to talk to you."

Then Yifan's expression hardens almost immediately. "There's nothing to talk about," he says with a sense of finality. "I love you, but you love Sehun, and he loves you back. End of story." He's already beginning to let go of the shorter man's hand, but Yixing doesn't―won't―let him.

Exasperated, he pleas, "Yifan, you don’t understand, I do love you, and I can't just leave our friendship to rot like this―"

"Yixing-ge."

Sehun's sudden appearance startles the older two, Yixing letting go of Yifan's hand immediately. He regrets the action instantly when he catches Yifan's wounded expression, but Sehun is already talking again before he can mend what he'd broken.

"What's going on?"

Still surprised, Yixing's cheeks tint pink, stumbling over his words as he replies, "N-Nothing Sehun-ah."

Unconvinced, Sehun turns his impassive eyes to Yifan, and Yixing catches the spark in them that show that he is anything but; he's angry and Yixing's heart aches terribly because there was nothing he wanted more than for his best friend and boyfriend to get along.

It had proved to be an impossible task.

"Ge," Sehun says to Yifan, not an ounce of hesitation in his voice as he continues, "ge, I won't let you have him. Yixing-ge ismine."

Yixing simultaneously feels both elation and sadness at those words, but he lets Sehun take his hand and pull him away without resistance. Yixing chances a glance back, his gaze locking with Yifan's for a breath of a moment before the elder looks away. His expression is defeated, and a prickle of panic goes up Yixing spine before his view of Yifan disappears behind a crowd of people and he has to look away.

"Yixing-ge," Sehun says when they're finally outside of the party and alone in the cool night air. He's looking straight at Yixing, eyes sincere. "I love you. Please don't talk to Yifan." He'll take you away from me, he doesn't say, but Yixing can hear the words with his heart because they were true.

Yixing lets a few tears stream down his cheeks before wiping them away. "Yeah," he mumbles, sniffing as he tries to stand straighter. The least he can do for his boyfriend is to at least try. "Yeah, okay." He attempts a smile but it trembles too much and he gives up. Sehun looks just as upset as Yixing feels, and he moves forward to press their lips together softly. The older man feels the sparks of the kiss all the way to his toes.

"I'm sorry," Sehun murmurs, their lips brushing against each other tenderly as he speaks, "for taking you away from your best friend."

Yixing isn't sure what to say, and when he opens his mouth to speak, someone yanks him backwards away from his boyfriend. Frightened, Yixing turns around and is shocked to see Yifan. His eyes are wide and desperate and he looks at Yixing like he has something to say.

"Yifan!" Yixing gasps. The older man crashes their lips together and familiar sparks blast through Yixing’s veins and make his heart stutter in his chest.

"I can't do this," the eldest confesses. "I can't just give up on you."

For a blessed second, Yixing is happy that Yifan hasn’t given up, his heart soaring high in his chest, but then he feels himself being pulled away again, this time towards Sehun.

"He's already mine," his boyfriend growls.

Yifan tugs Yixing back to himself. "He's been mine for years."

"I'm not giving up."

"Neither am I."

The tension between the three of them is so palpable that Yixing can't even breathe, even in the cool winter air. The two of them are playing tug-of-war with his heart and it hurts, it hurts him so much that he can no longer take it. Yixing’s knees give away from under him, buckling from the weight as he falls. Tears begin to fall freely from his eyes, sobs wracking his small body. "I can't do this," he cries, and can feel the concern and love from both men as they crowd over him, strong hands soothing against his back and gentle fingers wiping the tears from his cheeks.

And for this one, blissful moment, he feels completely at peace. The two men that he loves more than anything in the world are holding him together before he breaks apart before them. He realizes something in that moment—he loves Yifan and Sehun so much, too much to live without one or the other. Just knowing the fact that the decision ultimately lay with him made Yixing’s heart clench painfully.

"Don't make me choose," Yixing finally chokes out, and he stands suddenly, backing away from the other two. They look at him, shocked and eyes widened almost comically as they reach for him.

"W-Where are you going?" Sehun is the first to ask, and Yifan echoes him.

"Away from here," Yixing responds simply, turning around, hugging himself. His heart is tearing into two and he needed to breathe. "I just... I need to leave."

"Yixing, wait―" Yifan begins, hesitant before he resumes, "you don't have to choose." The silence that befalls the trio is profound. "Y-You can have both of us."

Yixing gasps softly. "No, I couldn't do that to you two. That would be―"

"Give it a chance, ge," Sehun unexpectedly speaks up, and the older man is shocked into silence by his agreement. "I don't... wedon't want to hurt you."

Sehun and Yifan are harmonizing on something and Yixing thought that he would never see the day that the two of them would gang up on him. Rendered speechless, Yixing allows them to approach him, both somewhat cautious of each other even as they move to take either of Yixing's hands.

"I love you," they say at the same time, completely on accident but then they're looking at each other with a newfound sense respect for the first time since they laid eyes on each other. It’s been a long time since Yifan had finally smiled down at Yixing like was doing now, and Sehun no longer looks as depressed because of the toll their relationship had taken on his boyfriend.

And suddenly, Yixing can see the three of them, flash forward a few years from now, still together, happy.

"Okay," he finally says, gripping their hands in his tightly. "I... I'll try."






a/n: I literally took one look at those gifs and this story bloomed in my mind so fast that i wrote the beginning of it in my tags on tumblr lol. but wow, okay, not sure what just happened with this fic. it was going to be angsty!kray and end with ing but somehow it changed into krayhun??? idk, but my mind is an odd place. i don't think i've ever written a before that doesn't involve , so i hope you guys enjoyed! ^^