It was later in the night than Yizhuo would usually finish a shift. Helping out at her parents' restaurant was fun and all, but sometimes it just got to be too much, especially because she never felt like she could say no. Her modelling career wasn't insanely successful yet, but she certainly made enough money to keep herself afloat and then some. Still, she thought that helping out her parents would help keep her grounded. And, she was a sucker for getting free food at the end of the night.
Tonight was a good example of when helping out got to be too much when the crowd was so rowdy she almost had to kick a few patrons out. To make matters worse, Yizhuo didn't actually get to close up until almost 2 am. The restaurant closes at 11 pm for Gods' sake, how could people leave that much of a mess?
Yizhuo should feel exhausted, being on her feet all night and faking smiles, trying to keep from losing her temper, but by the time she finishes grabbing her things and locking up, she's almost too tired to feel tired at all. Despite her exhaustion and the contempt she feels for the restaurant right now, Yizhuo does have the decency to take the trash out before she finally goes home.
She doesn't notice the presence lurking in the shadows while she locks the door and makes sure her phone is still in her pocket. She doesn't even notice the way the presence follows her as she brings the trash bag out back, throwing it into the dumpster behind the restaurant.
Yizhuo does notice it, however, when she finds herself being pushed up against the building, her back meeting cold brick.
A gasp tumbles past her lips and her eyes widen, panicking as she tries to pull her hands from the stranger's grasp, but their grip is strong and she's stuck in place. It takes her a minute of struggling before she takes a look at her assailant, her heart drops. "Aeri.." she starts nervously, "what are.. what are you doing here?"
Yizhuo hasn't seen Aeri in weeks and she was hoping to keep it that way. Sure, it wasn't the nicest of her to simply ghost Aeri instead of properly breaking up with her, but Yizhuo isn't so sure it would have gone over well. This certainly solidifies that it wouldn't have.
"I've missed you, princess. You've been avoiding me." Aeri's voice is breathy, tinged with a hint of disbelief, as she leans in closer to Yizhuo, her hands pushing the younger woman's wrists up against the building almost painfully. Yizhuo winces, feeling the grain of the brick scrape against her skin. Aeri leans in closer until Yizhuo can feel her lips against her ear, brushing against it when she speaks, "Why have you been avoiding me?"
Yizhuo's eyes fall shut. Aeri being so close to her is dangerous. She's never been good at resisting her, especially not like this. Yizhuo can smell her perfume when she's this close, and she'll never admit it but even if she had been the one to cut things off, it's still her favourite smell. Yizhuo has been wearing the sweater Aeri left the last time she was over around her apartment and it was starting to lose its distinct Aeri-ness. Although the older woman is making her nervous, she can't help but revel in her presence.
Aeri frees Yizhuo's hands from her grip before wrapping one around her throat, squeezing just enough to ensure she has all of her attention. She doesn't want to hurt her, after all. "Answer carefully, Yizhuo. Don't lie. You know how I feel about lying."
"I wasn't—Aeri, I would nev—" Yizhuo is cut off by her own gasp as Aeri pushes her harder against the building, her grip tightening around the younger woman's throat just the slightest. The pressure makes Yizhuo dizzy, and if her pupils could change shape they'd be hearts. The worst part of all this is that she loves Aeri like this. Yizhuo starts to wonder if she pushed Aeri so far on purpose without realizing.
"I said don't lie, princess. Now, let's try again, shall we? Why were you avoiding me?"
Yizhuo tries to recall the last week and a half, give or take. Images of herself hiding in Minjeong's closet when Aeri came over, acting like she wasn't home, texting Jimin frantically and asking if any of her shoots overlapped with Aeri's, ignoring texts and phone calls, and slipping into stores whenever she saw Aeri in public all flash through her mind as she tries to recall why she was avoiding Aeri in the first place.
Truthfully, Yizhuo was avoiding Aeri because she was suffocating and downright obsessive. Aeri's love for her was overwhelming and felt heavy, like it was weighing her down, and she could never tell if it was real love or pure obsession. Yizhuo realized too late that Aeri's version of love gave her a rush she'd never be able to replicate. That she loved the possessive arm around her waist in public, the low voice in her ear giving her a warning whenever she did something Aeri wasn't fond of, the overbearing behaviour. So, after about a week, Yizhou wasn't avoiding Aeri because she didn't love her—that was never true—but because she knew just how angry it would make Aeri that she was avoiding her in the first place.
Telling the truth seems like the best idea overall, of course it is, but the thought of confronting Aeri and telling her that she sometimes feels suffocating makes Yizhuo want to throw up. She opts not to tell the truth, instead getting out a meek "I can't tell you."
The answer makes Aeri tilt her head to the side, her eyebrows knit together and Yizhuo swears she can see a little bit of hurt on her face. Yizhuo also thinks Aeri looks cute like this, like a confused puppy.
"You can't tell me?" Aeri's tone drips with practiced confusion, "Oh, baby. It's really cute that you think you have a choice. You're going to tell me whether you like it or not."
There's no room for debate even though Yizhuo really would like to talk circles around the question until she can get Aeri to forget about it. If it wasn't bad enough to admit you think your girlfriend is suffocating you—is Aeri still her girlfriend?—it's even worse to have to admit that she likes it.
Almost as if Aeri can read Yizhuo's mind, she takes a breath, her features softening. "You know you can tell me anything, right, baby? Don't be shy, I won't be mad."
It gives Yizhuo whiplash, and she can't tell if it's just one of Aeri's tricks to try and get her to tell her or not. She hesitates, but then Aeri's hand moves from her throat and cups her jaw, thumb stroking her cheek. "Don't make me beat it out of you now, sweetheart."
The contrast between Aeri's gentle actions and her violent words makes Yizhuo's head spin and suddenly she's not sure why she would ever avoid Aeri in the first place. Why she would ever even think about it, really. Aeri knew just how to treat her, how to touch her, how to talk to her. And Aeri loves her, she was suffocating, but she loves her.
"I don't know… It was stupid.." Yizhuo trails off, her voice coming out in a whisper and if Aeri wasn't giving all of her attention to the younger woman in this moment, she probably would have missed it. Yizhuo is almost embarrassed to have even thought about ghosting Aeri, let alone the fact that she actually did it.
"That's right. It was stupid, wasn't it, sweetheart? And you won't do it again, will you?" Aeri's thumb brushes against Yizhuo's bottom lip, tugging down a little before releasing it. Yizhuo nods, chasing her touch when Aeri pulls her hand away.
Aeri grins, cat-like, and rushes in to press her lips against Yizhui's in an almost bruising kiss, her hand moving to the back of Yizhuo's head to make sure she doesn't hit it against the hard walls of the building. She couldn't have Yizhuo getting hurt.
If the younger woman was going to be bruised and in pain, it would be for her hand, not this building.
Aeri's hands move to grip Yizhuo's waist, pulling her flush against her. She's desperate and she can't help it. Aeri doesn't care about the fact that they're outside and despite the fact that it's past 2 AM, anyone could walk by and see them. She's missed Yizhuo so much she can't think straight. It's a common misconception among their friends and the people around them that Yizhuo follows Aeri around like a lost puppy, never too far behind her, but really it's the other way around. Without Yizhuo, Aeri would be lost.
In return, Yizhuo kisses Aeri just as fiercely. She missed Aeri too, even if she was the one to avoid her in the first place. She brings her hands up and tangles her fingers in pink hair, tugging slightly, the way she knows Aeri likes.
Yizhuo is lightheaded from being this close to Aeri again, not that she knows the older woman isn't mad at her. She lets Aeri do as she pleases—she always does—feeling one of her hands move up her torso. Aeri gropes at her breasts and she arches, trying to push her chest further into her girlfriend's hand.
Aeri nips at her bottom lip, catching it between her teeth and sucking on it lightly before letting it go with a pop. She moves one from Yizhuo's lips, trailing kisses down her neck and leaving a trail of scattered bruises she knows Yizhuo will whine at her for later. Aeri is anything but gentle as she lets her teeth sink into Yizhuo's flesh, being rewarded with a high-pitched 'Aeri!' in response.
Aeri smiles against Yizhuo's skin, "That's my girl—" she pauses, hearing something in the distance, the night too quiet and the air too still for it to be anything good, especially at this time, and her grip on Yizhuo's waist gets tighter, "but why don't we go back home? I'd much rather be able to see you," she murmurs, pulling away from the younger woman's neck.
Yizhuo is much too busy trying to clear her head from being so close to Aeri again to have heard the noise and she can't do anything but agree, nodding fervently, wanting nothing more than for Aeri to have her underneath her.
Neither Aeri nor Yizhuo notice the flash of a camera for the second time that night, capturing a clear view of what will become tomorrow's big tabloid headline.