Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Thanos first sees him, it’s by complete happenstance. Club Pentagon doesn’t exactly promote photography locations, but when the opportunity comes calling, the management is more than happy to clear out a room or two to cater to the customer. Thanos isn’t even there to hang out and relax like usual; he’s neck-deep in a new album and Se-mi will kill him if he doesn‘r provide her with something by the end of the night. He’s only stopping in because Gyeong-su, his former unbearable roommate turned best friend slash fanboy, had snagged the wrong set of keys on his way to work, and Thanos was the only one who still had a spare set.

It’s there in the middle of Pentagon, his arm held out towards Gyeong-su with keys dangling, that he freezes like a fucking idiot deer in headlights. Because, wow. Holy shit. He didn’t think the universe made people like that anymore.

“Thanos? Dude!” Gyeong-su says, snapping his fingers in front of Thanos’ face. He startles, his gaze flying away from the angel across the room for only a second, practically tossing the keys against Gyeong-su’s chest. “The hell’s up with you, man?” Gyeong-su pouts, rubbing at his chest.

“Who’s that?” Thanos asks instead of answering, nodding his head towards where cameras are flashing and someone is shouting instructions. Gyeong-su blinks at him in confusion before he looks over as well, straining over the bar to see where Thanos is staring.

It takes a moment before Gyeong-su seems to realize who Thanos is talking about. “Oh, the model? I dunno, man. My boss doesn’t tell me anything, you know that.”

A model. Yeah, that makes sense.

He’s gorgeous.

His hair looks soft, loose black waves framing his face before settling just at the base of his neck. His skin is almost glowing, and Thanos isn’t sure if that’s the product of makeup or the lights or just this guy’s natural look. At the request of the photographer, the model turns his head to the side, showing off his profile. His cheekbones are high, casting a slight shadow across his face and accentuating his sharp jawline. His Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows, and Thanos barely resists the urge to sigh in appreciation. The photographer shouts something again, and the model turns back to face towards the cameras. And that’s when it happens—

The man looks past the cameras, past the people instructing him on how to move and where to look, and locks eyes with Thanos from across the room.

His look is almost feline-esque. His dark eyes completely narrow their focus on Thanos even as he adjusts into a new pose. His pretty, pink lips part on a breath, immediately followed by the clamoring of assistants and the flash of cameras. The photographer say something else, Thanos can barely comprehend it, and the model turns in place. His back is mainly facing the camera now, but his eyes dart over his shoulder and immediately find Thanos’ gaze again.

Suddenly, there’s a hand in the way of his view. Thanos snaps out of his daze, glaring over towards Gyeong-su as the man stops waving in his face. “Bro, snap out of it,” Gyeong-su laughs, sending a look towards the photoshoot set, “you look like a creep.”

Thanos clears his throat in embarrassment, ducking his head, but he can’t stop himself from grabbing one last look. The model is still looking at him, and when Thanos locks their eyes again, his posture straightens up. The photographer shouts for a new pose, the man effortlessly moves, and Thanos seriously cannot fucking breathe.

The model finally looks away from him, supposedly due to the photographer snapping her fingers to bring his attention to her. But just before he completely disconnects their gazes, the model’s lips lift in a subtle smirk and the fucker winks.

“Gyeong-su,” Thanos says in awe, “you can be best man at our wedding if you can somehow, someway, introduce us.”

Gyeong-su sputters, looking between Thanos and the model who is still engulfed by the photoshoot and the people shouting instructions at him. “Introduce you? I don’t even know who he is!”

“Well then, it looks like we better find out,” Thanos counters, already stepping away from the bar to get closer to the photo set. Gyeong-su makes an exasperated sound behind him but comes trailing after anyway.

Thanos lets himself get just close enough to where he can finally hear what the photographer and the other various people surrounding the model are saying. Gyeong-su stands beside him with a roll of his eyes, “I can’t believe you, seriously.”

“You gonna get in the way of true love, man?” Thanos asked, grinning at Gyeong-su like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. Gyeong-su just rolled his eyes again, throwing his hands up in the air with a scoff.

“Face left, please,” the photographer instructs, and the model turns, locking their gazes once again. The guy’s eyes widen almost like he’s shocked that Thanos has suddenly gotten closer. He collects himself quickly, but he doesn’t break his stare.

“Nam-gyu, at the camera, thank you,” the photographer says, clicking her tongue in disappointment at the model’s apparent distraction.

“Nam-gyu,” Thanos breathed softly, testing the name on his tongue. He’s not close enough for the model to hear him, but Nam-gyu’s pupils still dilate like he understood him perfectly. When the photographer let out a frustrated huff, Nam-gyu abruptly looked away from him, a pretty blush rising up on his cheeks.

The photographer makes a happy little sound, and the camera shutters go wild. “Perfect, Nam-gyu, keep that blush.”

Nam-gyu turns towards her with a single raised eyebrow. “If you want me to keep it then stop telling me to only look at the cameras.”

Some of the people around the photoshoot laugh like his sass is a normal occurrence, and the photographer sighs but stays quiet. As soon as she seems to give permission, Nam-gyu is looking back towards Thanos.

Gyeong-su starts nudging at Thanos’ arm frantically, “dude, he’s looking at you!”

“Shut up, Gyeong-su! I know that!” Thanos snaps, smacking away his hands while trying to keep his eyes on Nam-gyu. The model quirks a smile at the display, that blush returning.

The photographer seems to find Nam-gyu’s new focus and moves to adjust. People move the lighting equipment alongside her, and Thanos suddenly feels like he’s at a concert, millions of people watching him. But it’s only Nam-gyu, his eyes sparkling with interest.

“What’s your name?” Nam-gyu asks, his voice clear over the hustle and bustle of the shoot. Thanos balks, turns to glance over his shoulder, before looking back and pointing at himself in surprise. Nam-gyu laughs, and god, he’s so fucking pretty. His laugh ends with a little snort, his nose scrunching up, and Thanos wants to shower him in gifts and write him songs and kiss him slow and sweet until he can see how far down that blush goes.

“Yes, I mean you,” Nam-gyu clarifies, head tilting to the side in curiosity.

Gyeong-su nudges him a little harder, making a frustrated noise like he can’t believe that Thanos isn’t already telling Nam-gyu his name and also his address and maybe his bank information while he was at it.

“Thanos,” he finally says, awe-struck.

Nam-gyu’s eyes crinkle at the ends as he smiles again. “Thanos, like the rapper?” He asks, adjusting into another equally as beautiful and effortless pose.

“Yeah!” Gyeong-su interrupts, “that’s him! He’s the rapper.”

Nam-gyu laughs again, and Thanos can’t decide whether he wants to listen to him laugh forever or drown in the way Nam-guy’s eyes rove down his figure before snapping back to his face.

“What’s your real name, then?” Nam-gyu asks, something challenging in his stare, “if you’ll tell me, that is.”

Thanos doesn’t give people his real name, not unless they’re extremely close. But Gyeong-su is shaking him again, looking overly excited for someone who’s basically a third wheel, so—

“Su-bong,” he admits, “Choi Su-bong.”

Nam-gyu’s face lights up at the easy answer. Then, he slowly raises one hand to run it through his dark hair, his eyes going half-lidded as he bites at his bottom lip. Thanos wants to devour him. The cameras go fucking wild. “Su-bong,” Nam-gyu purrs, licking his lips like he’s tasting the name, “suits you.”

“We got it!” The photographer suddenly shouts, “that’s a wrap.”

People are immediately rushing to take down the set, some rushing up to the photographer to look over the pictures, others running to strike down the lighting. All the while, Nam-gyu holds his gaze with an indulgent smirk.

Eventually, an older man steps to Nam-gyu’s side, handing the model a pair of glasses. Thanos almost fucking faints as Nam-gyu’s slides them over his nose. It’s probably unhealthy how little oxygen he’s gotten in the past fifteen minutes. Still looking at Thanos, Nam-gyu leans over and whispers something in the man’s ear. The man looks confused, glances over at Thanos, and then rolls his eyes, but nods.

Then, Nam-gyu shoots him a wink again, waving with—holy god, Thanos is fucked—painted nails. “Until next time, Su-bong,” he says, strutting off like he’s on a runway. Thanos whines as he disappears from sight, leaning on Gyeong-su and pouting like a disappointed child.

He’s about to complain about the one that got away when the man that had been talking to Nam-gyu sidles up to them. He holds a hand out for Thanos to shake, and he does so in mild confusion. “I’m Cho Sang-woo, Nam-gyu’s agent,” he clarifies, “despite my better judgement, he wants me to give you this.”

He grabs Thanos’ wrist and pulls it towards him, uncapping a pen with his teeth. Thanos only watches in disbelief as the man writes down a number, a fucking phone number. Once he’s finished, Sang-woo steps back and nods to him and Gyeong-su. “Gentleman,” he says in clear dismissal, before turning on his heel and walking away.

Thanos and Gyeong-su stare after him before they both look down at the number written on Thanos’ wrist.

“Dude,” Gyeong-su says, looking more excited than he has in years.

“Did that just happen?” Thanos asks, staring at the number like it was going to disappear from his skin.

Gyeong-su just nods, grinning wildly. “Thanos, fucking text him! I’m supposed to be your best man!”

Thanos nods blankly, scrambling to pull him phone from his pocket as Gyeong-su continued to shake him like an excited puppy. “Jesus Christ, Gyeong-su, calm down! I’m texting him,” he snapped, shoving the man away from him as the other began to laugh.

He hesitates once he has the number typed in and the text box open. What were the chances Nam-gyu saw how smitten he was and had decided to fuck with him? People didn’t do that to Thanos, not anymore, but they would certainly do it to Su-bong. The bites at his bottom lip, worrying his thumb down the side of his phone until Gyeong-su makes an impatient noise.

With an uncertain breath, Thanos slowly typed out a single word.

hey

As soon as the message was sent, he locked his phone and shoved it in his pocket, cheeks burning. Gyeong-su squawked in protest, “come on, don’t you wanna see what he says?”

“Oh piss off, he’s probably just fucking with me,” Thanos snapped back, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. What the fuck was he even doing?

And then his phone buzzed.

Thanos froze, his hand flying to his pocket. Gyeong-su looked excited again, practically bouncing on his heels. He carefully took his phone from his pocket and raised it up.

Hello, Su-bong :)

Thanos was going to keel over right then and there.

A second buzz.

Are you free tomorrow?

Gyeong-su exploded into motion, jumping around like a madman as Thanos gaped at his phone. “Holy shit, holy shit, dude! Fucking get in there, bro!”

Thanos shoved Gyeong-su away, clearing his throat as he read the text over and over.

depends, what did you have in mind?

Thanos felt like he was in a fucking rom-com. He was waiting for people to pop out of the walls with cameras and yell ‘sike’ or some shit.

A buzz.

Come pick me up at 6 and you can find out

Gyeong-su shrieked like a teenager, startling a few people near them. All Thanos could do was smile in anticipation as Nam-gyu sent one last text: an address.

Chapter Text

“He’s a model, Mi-na! I can’t just show up looking like I crawled out of the studio,” Thanos shouted, rifling through his drawers with the fervor of a mad man. As the clock inched towards 4PM, he let himself delve into his panic.

Mi-na sighed exasperatedly, grabbing his frantic arms and forcibly pulling him away from where he was haphazardly tossing clothes around. “Thanos, calm down!” She snapped, smacking him away as soon as he tried to scramble back towards his drawers, “he thought you were cute when you’d just rolled out of bed to give your stupid friend his keys.”

“Yeah, but,” he sputtered, running a hand through his hair, “maybe he didn’t see me because of all the camera flashes or something.”

Mi-na smacked him on the back of the head with a scowl. “If you think this guy is so shallow, maybe you shouldn’t be interested in him at all.”

“What? Wait, no—I didn’t mean,” Thanos faltered before groaning and burying his head in his hands. “Just, will you please help me?”

Mi-na cocked her hip out, raising an eyebrow before she rolled her eyes and stomped over to his closet. “I bet you fifty dollars that he’s gonna be completely dressed down when you see him. Pretty people like to do that,” she explained, thumbing through his closet, “he’s testing you basically. Trying to make sure you’re not just interested in the fact that he’s a model.”

Thanos squinted at her in confusion. “That’s stupid—why do people do that?”

Mi-na abruptly flung a shirt at him, standing with her hands on her hips. “I just said, moron, it’s a test. A quick way to tell him if you’re legit into him or just in it for the model stuff.”

Thanos turned the shirt in his hands over, huffing at her words. “Mi-na, this is my depression shirt,” he sighed, “I only wear this when I’m miserable.”

“And you look good while doing it,” Mi-na countered with a roll of her eyes, “put some dark-washed jeans on with it, comfy shoes, and a few more piercings if you’re feeling daring.”

“Don’t you think that’s way too casual?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Once again, I bet you fifty dollars he’ll be dressed down,” she repeated, “and he will be pleasantly surprised that you didn’t freak out about trying to impress him just because he’s hotter than the sun.”

Thanos groaned, falling back on his bed. “God, I’m gonna weird him out, Mi-na. He’s gonna make some excuse to get away from me or something.”

“Stop trying to dig your own grave, mister, and start thinking about what movies you want playing in the background while you make out with him,” Mi-na stated, closing his closet with a very final slam.

Thanos groaned again, his hands flying up to cover his quickly flushing face.

Thanos was panicking. He was so out of his depth here. He was famous for god’s sake, but random groupies and fans vying for his attention didn’t make him feel like a lovesick child trying to ask someone out to their first ever school dance. He and Mi-na had continued arguing until it hit 5:30PM, then she proceeded to shove him out of his apartment with a stern reminder that he would owe her fifty dollars.

And now, here he was, standing in front of a random house like a fucking stalker. Slowly, with uncharacteristically shaky hands, he stepped up to the door and pressed the doorbell. He could hear it ring from outside, a cheery little jingle that would probably annoy the hell out of him if he had to hear it every day.

A beat, two—

“Coming!” A voice called, and Thanos felt like he was going to fucking puke. He wasn’t dressed well enough, this was actually a huge practical joke and he would have to go into hiding, he’d been cursed by a witch to hallucinate the man of his dreams, he—

The door opened, and it was like the world fell away.

Thanos would need to thank Mi-na on bended knee.

Nam-gyu looked soft, that was his first thought. In the photoshoot, he was all sharp edges and perfection, something unattainable and otherworldly. He’d made Thanos’ heart stop. But now…

“Hi,” Thanos breathed out, awestruck.

He was dressed in a comfy looking sweater, and those glasses that Thanos had only gotten a glimpse of yesterday were back. They were perched on the bridge of his nose, and they made Nam-gyu’s dark eyes even bigger. The subtle makeup from the photoshoot was gone, but it didn’t do anything to take away from how beautiful he looked. Instead, it finally let Thanos see the faint freckles on Nam-gyu’s face, peppered like tiny stars across his cheekbones. His hair wasn’t as curly, but Thanos still wanted to bury his fingers in it to see if it was as soft as it looked.

It seemed that all of Nam-gyu’s suave confidence from the photoshoot had dissipated into hesitant hope. He leaned against the door frame, his hands halfway hidden in his sleeves as he bit his lip.

Thanos wanted to lay him down and worship every inch of him. This beautiful boy didn’t deserve to look so unsure.

“Hi,” Nam-gyu said back, looking down shyly. God, Thanos was in so fucking deep. “Sorry if I’m not quite up to standard like I was yesterday.”

“You’re…everything, Nam-gyu,” Thanos responded, and Nam-gyu face lit up in a blush, “you have freckles.”

Nam-gyu ducked his head again, but he’d lost that hesitant gleam in his eyes, replaced by an attractive glint of mischief. “Hah, yeah,” he mumbled, one hand tucking his hair behind his ear, “the makeup usually covers them.”

“They suit you,” Thanos said quietly, swallowing in an attempt to wet his dry throat.

“You’d be the first to say that,” Nam-gyu continued.

“That’s a shame,” Thanos countered, “you should show them off more.”

Nam-gyu bit his bottom lip again—Thanos wanted to lick along the skin and smooth away the indents of his teeth—and stepped back to reach for something behind the door frame. “I’m afraid I didn’t make any plans, but—“

“Actually,” Thanos interrupted, “I picked out a few movies we could maybe watch? And I have the number of a really good delivery place if you’re hungry.”

Nam-gyu looked taken off guard, pretty eyes wide in shock. Had no one ever treated him with the love he deserved? Thanos hated that he seemed so thrown off by such simple kindness.

“Oh!” Nam-gyu said, a little louder than he intended given how he shrunk back after he spoke, “yeah, that sounds—yeah.”

“Can I come in?” Thanos asked, shifting on his heels.

Nam-gyu’s unsure look finally morphed into a blinding smile. “Of course! Make yourself at home.” He stepped back and gestures for Thanos to come inside.

As they both stepped inside, Thanos could see Nam-gyu watching him out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t sure what the other man was looking for, but Thanos couldn’t take his eyes off of him for even a moment to figure it out. After a couple seconds, Nam-gyu seemed satisfied with what he’d found because he looked away with a grin.

“Do you wanna order the food first and then set up the movies?” Thanos asked, walking at Nam-gyu’s side as he led him further into the house.

Nam-gyu looked surprised again, like he was expecting his dinner and a movie spiel to be code for something else. Slowly, that shock melted into happiness. Thanos felt like he couldn’t breathe again. Joy looked good on him.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Nam-gyu responded as they stepped into another room. There was a plush couch in the middle of the room, with a large flatscreen TV mounted to the wall in front of it. Thanos was sure it probably felt like you were in a movie theater watching stuff in here.

Nam-gyu led him to the couch with a brush of his hand on his arm, and Thanos barely caught himself from swaying closer to keep Nam-gyu’s touch on him. When they sat down, Thanos stayed close, but kept a respectable distance. He didn’t want to scare Nam-gyu off, and this lovely, incredible boy deserved to know that Thanos was here to treat him, not just to get something in return.

It didn’t take them long to pick out what they wanted to eat. Their tastes were fairly similar, so they narrowed their choices down to a couple different dishes and decided to share once they arrived. It was only when they got to payment that Nam-gyu attempted to raise a fuss.

“Oh, I can pay for it,” Nam-gyu cut in as soon as he saw Thanos inputting his card information.

Thanos looked up incredulously, “what? No, no, this is my treat, Nam, don’t worry about it.”

Nam-gyu furrowed his eyebrows, pouting a little. Thanos was once again hit with the sudden urge to kiss that frown away. “But—“

“No buts,” Thanos interrupted, “let me do this for you, okay?”

Nam-gyu blinked in shock for a moment before he relaxed back against the couch, his cheeks burning red. “Oh, okay…” Thanos wanted to throttle whoever had made him think that he didn’t deserve to be taken care of.

By the time the food arrived, they had already settled on a silly horror comedy that had recently been released to streaming. They were only fifteen minutes in when the doorbell rang, and Thanos automatically stood to go grab the food. Nam-gyu almost instantly started to protest, trying to pull Thanos back down so he could go grab the food instead.

Thanos raised an eyebrow and gently pushed Nam-gyu back down. “Sit, Nam, I’ll be right back.” As he walked back to the front door, he could see Nam-gyu sitting in shock again, eyes wide and face flushed like he couldn’t believe that Thanos would want to do something for him.

Like Thanos had always preferred, the delivery was quick and easy, and he was soon able to settle back down next to Nam-gyu with their food set out in front of them on the coffee table. This time, he let himself sit a little closer, if only because Nam-gyu had obviously been squirming a little to try to get their shoulders to brush.

Forty minutes in to the movie, food gone, and Thanos took a chance. He yawned dramatically, stretching his hands above his head so he could wrap his arm around Nam-gyu’s shoulders. Nam-gyu laughed softly in response, but he instantly cuddled closer, situating himself with his head against Thanos’ chest like he’d always belonged there.

An hour in and Thanos had shifted to lay down on the couch, Nam-gyu settling between his legs with his head on his chest. Thanos hoped the other man couldn’t feel and hear how fast his heart was beating, but judging by the indulgent little grin on Nam-gyu’s face, he definitely knew.

An hour and a half in, and Thanos’ brain was completely offline.

Nam-gyu fit perfectly in his lap, his legs locked around Thanos’ hips as he wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Thanos’ hands roamed freely under Nam-gyu’s sweater, trailing his fingernails down the man’s spine and delighting in the little shivers his touch created. They weren’t really kissing, just breathing against each other’s lips as they stared half-lidded into one another’s eyes. The next step felt almost impossible, but Thanos wanted to cross the line more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.

It was Nam-gyu who finally took the plunge, one sweater covered hand moving to hold Thanos’ cheek and slowly encourage him even closer. When their lips met, it was chaste and innocent, but it was enough to send Thanos’ stomach flipping and his heart racing. It was nothing but a brush of touch, but Nam-gyu melted into him like it was the only time anyone had ever shown him such affection. Thanos hoped that wasn’t true.

They both took a breath before Nam-gyu pressed forward again. This time, Thanos settled warm hands around Nam-gyu’s waist, pulling him even closer and tilting his head to encourage the kiss to deepen. Nam-gyu let out a devastated little noise, his lips parting with a gasp before he slotted their mouths together. Thanos hummed deep in his chest, nibbling along Nam-gyu’s bottom lip before he slid their tongues together. Nam-gyu whined lowly, one hand moving to tangle in Thanos’ hair as they melted together.

Thanos pet along Nam-gyu’s teeth with his tongue, humming in approval when Nam-gyu jolted at the sensation and sucked at Thanos’ tongue. Thanos felt lightheaded, floating somewhere between heaven and earth with an angel whimpering in his arms. He held Nam-gyu’s waist a little tighter, smiling when Nam-gyu shuddered in his grip.

Thanos pulled back with a loud smack of their lips, a string of saliva connecting them before it broke in the middle. Nam-gyu was panting, eyes half-lidded and face aflame. “God, look at you,” Thanos murmured, swiping his thumb over a cluster of freckles on Nam-gyu’s cheek.

Nam-gyu trembled again, tugging at Thanos’ hair to pull him back in. Thanos went willingly, kissing up Nam-gyu’s jaw until he could press their lips together once more. This time, Thanos didn’t hesitate before tangling their tongues together. He was eager to explore the man in his lap, starting with the warmth of his mouth, tasting those pretty little sighs that escaped Nam-gyu with each swipe of his tongue.

When Thanos pulled back with a nip to Nam-gyu’s bottom lip, the other man gasped and rocked his hips forward. Thanos grabbed his waist hard, preventing Nam-gyu from grinding forward again. Nam-gyu whined, eyes opening and lips curling into a pout, “Su-bong?” Thanos took a deep breath, leaning forward to nuzzle his nose against the side of Nam-gyu’s jaw.

“Nam-gyu,” he began, voice airy, “I really, really like you. I don’t want this to just be some one-off thing.”

Nam-gyu blinked up at him, eyes shining with want. “Yeah?”

Thanos nodded. “Yeah,” he confirmed, pressing a chaste kiss to Nam-gyu’s cheek, “and god, I really wanna make you feel good right now. You’d probably sing so pretty for me. But I want you to know I’m serious.”

Nam-gyu shivered at his words, moving his head to press their lips together again in a short kiss. “Baby, you ruin me,” he murmured quietly.

Thanos smiled softly, running a comforting hand up and down Nam-gyu’s back. “Not yet, okay? Let me worship you. Let me show you how you should be loved.”

Nam-gyu sighed shakily, their foreheads pressed together as his breathing slowed and his heart calmed. “Yeah, okay,” he responded, “show me.”