Chapter Text
After seventeen years, Jaehyun had long stopped bothering to knock.
Taeyong blinked once. Twice. He cast a look back upstairs to his bedroom where he had paused in the middle of his movie, thinking that he would go downstairs and find the leftover spaghetti that his mother made before leaving for her business trip last night.
Instead, he found an intruder in his kitchen. It would probably scare him more if it wasn’t happening for the third time over the past couple of weeks.
“You need to go grocery shopping soon.” Jaehyun informed Taeyong tactfully. His cheeks were puffed up, red sauce smeared all over lips. Taeyong let his gaze trail down from the mysterious wet patch on his shirt to the plate of leftover spaghetti in his hands. He wasn’t in the mood for this. Jaehyun grinned.
“This breaking and entering.” Taeyong said flatly. He just wanted a peaceful night in.
“Technically, I was only entering.” Jaehyun garbled through a mouthful of food, pointing his fork to the key still stuck in the doorknob. Taeyong sighed, sitting across the table from him, swiping the fork and cutting off a piece for himself.
He chewed aggressively, shooting him a pointed look. “I shouldn’t have told you where the spare key was,” Taeyong groused. “It’s too much power.”
“If you still keep the spare key under a pot,” Jaehyun laughed, taking the fork back. “I think you deserve to have your house broken into.”
Taeyong scowled, choosing to ignore that statement. He watched Jaehyun stand up, unfolding his uselessly long legs from under the table and walking towards the fridge. “Go home.” Taeyong groaned as Jaehyun rummaged through the shelves of food. “You live literally ten meters away.”
“Can’t. Jeno has the nose of a bloodhound.” Jaehyun straightened up, holding a carton of chocolate milk. He shot a sleazy smile over his shoulder.
Taeyong wrinkled his nose. Of course. He smelled like a tequila blender.
“What are we watching tonight?” Jaehyun sat back down, drinking straight from the carton like the barbarian that he was. Taeyong scoffed, crossing his arms. “ I’m watching High School Musical.”
Jaehyun raised his eyebrows.
“And no, I’m not doing it because of you.” Taeyong narrowed his eyes. High School Musical was everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure movie. Jaehyun was just a little more shameless than most when it comes to his taste in music and film.
Jaehyun set down the carton of chocolate milk, now empty. “You do care,” he grinned. “I was starting to think that all these years meant nothing to you.”
Taeyong huffed, reaching over to swipe the empty plate and fork away. He stomped towards the sink to wash them off, ignoring Jaehyun’s cackle behind him. He could feel his mouth pinching in the expression that Ten had coined as his ‘angry kitty’ face.
“I don’t understand why you go to those parties when you just end up leaving to bother me after an hour or two,” he groused.
“Good music, good company -” He could hear Jaehyun tossing the carton into the recyclable bin. Taeyong scoffed at that. He knew the kind of parties that they - meaning Jaehyun, Johnny and Ten - frequent. Good music? Company? Hardly likely.
“Okay, fine. ” Jaehyun conceded. “I go for the alcohol.”
“You’re not even supposed to drink yet,” Taeyong pointed out.
“Ten’s younger than me and you never said anything to him ,” Jaehyun complained childishly. If only his fangirls could hear him now, Taeyong thought savagely, rinsing the plate with more force than necessary.
“Your parents have my number,” he scowled, putting the plate out in the drying rack to dry. The thought of Uncle Yunho finding out that Jaehyun had started drinking at the age of sixteen sent a shiver down his spine. “Your dad would freak out if they ever know the kind of shit you get up to.”
“I have a feeling my papa knows.” Jaehyun hummed.
Taeyong turned around in time to see Jaehyun stepping away from the fridge. At the bottom of the shopping list pinned on its metallic door was Jaehyun’s handwriting, large, sprawling and entirely too pretty for someone who spent a lot of his time roughhousing on the court.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did,” He agreed. They started walking upstairs to Taeyong’s room, Jaehyun hot on his heels.
“I was just starting the third movie,” Taeyong informed him as they entered his room. Jaehyun made a beeline towards his closet. He pointed a warning finger at him, “I’m not going back to the first movie just so you can sing along to Breaking Free again.”
“That’s not fair!” Jaehyun complained, not looking up from where he was rummaging through his clothes. Taeyong rolled his eyes. How old was this guy, really?
He turned around, setting his laptop on his bedside drawer and working on pulling his pillows and blankets to the floor. His bed was too small for the two of them to comfortably watch a movie together, ‘laptop-on-stomach-double-chin-on’ watching a movie. Spooning was an option but Taeyong was never going to able to look beyond Jaehyun’s broader frame if he were to be the big spoon. And he’d rather die than be the small spoon and subject himself to Jaehyun’s awful habit of blowing raspberries on his neck.
“Don’t even try,” He snapped, turning in time to slap Jaehyun’s hand away from his laptop. Jaehyun pulled a face. Taeyong warned, “Not in my household.”
“You suck,” Jaehyun sank to the floor.
“And you have cooties,” Taeyong snorted, setting his laptop a good foot away from them as he sat beside Jaehyun, backs resting against his bed.
“If anyone would have cooties, it would be you.” Jaehyun snorted. Taeyong kicked his shin as he threw a duvet over his legs. “You had your first kiss at eight years old. Slut.”
“We literally had our first kisses with the same person.” Taeyong huffed.
“I’m not sure that’s how it - wait,” Jaehyun suddenly sat straight up, eyes wide. Taeyong cautiously braced himself. He knew that posture. That how’s Jaehyun sat when he’s suddenly hit with a dumb “philosophical” realization. He would recognize it anywhere.
“ Are cooties just how adults warn children against STDs?” Jaehyun whispered.
“Fuck off.” Taeyong sighed, hitting pause on that conversation by hitting play on the laptop. He knew that there was no stopping Jaehyun from bringing it up later when they’re about to sleep at three in the morning.
“Even if we did kiss the same person, you’ve kissed a lot of other guys anyway.” Jaehyun commented. “There was Yunjin, then it was Suho, then -”
Taeyong wrinkled his nose at the thought of his past.
“- it was Jeongcheol a couple of years ago, then you met Seo -”
“Don’t,” Taeyong clapped a hand over Jaehyun’s mouth. He raised an eyebrow at him.
Jaehyun slowly reached up and pried his fingers away, looking at him with an expression caught between genuine concern and, because he’s an asshole, slight amusement. “Taeyong, are you still -?” Jaehyun started asking.
“No,” He retorted, rolling his eyes. “It’s been months.”
Taeyong dutifully ignored Jaehyun’s gaze as he watched the movie unfold. Seventeen years together had given him a PhD in Lee Taeyong Behavioral Studies and, unlike Johnny, Jaehyun wasn’t scared of Taeyong’s threats to go on a cooking strike whenever they try to get him to face a problem he didn’t want to deal with just yet. He could cook just fine on his own.
“It’s been a while since you’ve last dated someone.” Jaehyun said delicately, a few minutes later. He may be an asshole, but he was tactful enough not to point out that it had been the longest it has been since they entered high school that Taeyong wasn’t falling in and out of mad infatuation.
“Yeah,” Taeyong sighed, sitting straight up. “I need to get back into it.”
“Maybe Johnny would know someone,” Jaehyun mused out loud. Taeyong made an acknowledging noise at the back of his throat, giving the thought an honest consideration. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Johnny did - he seemed to know everyone.
But - “I don’t think so.” Taeyong dismissed the idea.
“Why?” Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows.
“Because,” He sighed exasperatedly, straightening up, jabbing a finger at Troy and Gabriella looking longingly at each other. “I want that -”
Jaehyun looked at the screen, then back at him. He had a perplexed expression on his face that Taeyong desperately wanted to smack right off. “You want to be a het?”
He was met with a pillow to the face.
“What the fuck - no!” Taeyong scowled.
“It doesn’t really suit you, anyway.” Jaehyun murmured, tucking the cushion under his chin.
Taeyong only scowled at him. “I want romance -” He stressed the word. “I want someone to walk me to my classes, to go to those dumb basketball games with, invite me to prom, sneak out with me at nights, go on weekend road trips with -”
“You know,” Jaehyun exhaled. “The chances of that are a bit low if your ex-boyfriends wouldn’t even go to school.”
He raised his hands up in surrender at the venomous glare Taeyong shot him.
“I’m just saying,” He pointed out, once the murderous glint had left Taeyong’s eyes. “You don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to dating.”
“I know,” Taeyong grumbled, tucking his knees under his chin. His eyes watched the screen longingly. “I just, I don’t know - I - it would be nice,” he mumbled.
He could feel Jaehyun look away from him and at the screen. It wasn’t the first time they talked about this and he could tell by the creases on Jaehyun’s forehead that he was either thinking - which, considering that it was about midnight at that point, was highly unlikely - or more than just about done with the subject but, still -
Taeyong mumbled against the fabric of his sweatpants. “It’s our last year of high school, Jae. I know that people think it’s overrated but -”
I need to know.
Jaehyun was quiet for a minute, face unreadable. Taeyong exhaled. He looked down at his feet. His hands reached up to cradle his cheek.
“Date me, then.”
Taeyong blinked, turning his head slowly at Jaehyun who wasn’t looking away from the screen at all. On screen, Chad was looking mischievously at Troy under the hot afternoon sun as the starting chords of The Boys are Back started playing. He must’ve misheard because Jaehyun would never - oh.
“ Pffttt - yeah, right.” He giggled, way ahead of the punchline.
“What?” Jaehyun turned to look at him, eyebrow arched. “What’s so funny about that?”
Taeyong’s laughter died out the longer that Jaehyun stared at him. His eyes widened once he realized that Jaehyun wasn’t going to laugh or crack a joke anytime soon so -
“Wait,” he straightened up, incredulous. “ Seriously ?”
“Yeah,” Jaehyun shrugged, turning back to where Troy was running after Gabriella. Casually. As though he hadn’t made the most ridiculous suggestion in the history of -
Taeyong slapped a hand over his forehead. “Jung Jaehyun, are you drunk ?”
“I’m not drunk .” Jaehyun scoffed loftily, looking at Taeyong as though he was offended by the accusation. He lowered the volume of the movie.
“How many drinks have you had tonight?” Taeyong eyed him. He didn’t look drunk at all. His hair was starting break from the usual slicked back style he wore for parties and he was wearing a shirt that Taeyong hadn’t worn since middle school.
“I can have three bottles of soju and not be blackout drunk.” Jaehyun said dryly before stealing a look at Taeyong. “Unlike a certain someone.”
He sputtered at the sheer audacity when Jaehyun turned back to the screen.
“Date me. It’s not a big deal.” He repeated.
Taeyong stared at him for a few minutes, disbelievingly.
Jaehyun sighed, pausing the film. Taeyong jumped a little when he turned towards him, face drawn in clear exasperation. “Are you sure you’re not drunk?”
“I’m not drunk.” Taeyong scowled, burrowing a little further into his blanket.
“Then what’s the problem?” He pressed. Taeyong ducked his head, refusing to meet his inquiring gaze. Were they seriously talking about this?
“It’s just that - well, uh, we’re friends -” He stammered. “And, don’t you - I mean -”
Jaehyun raised his eyebrows, clearly perplexed. Taeyong grumbled, trying to get his thoughts in order, too flustered to think clearly because what the heck -
“It’s weird !” Taeyong whined, reaching over to nudge Jaehyun’s face away from his direction. He didn’t budge, staring at Taeyong with an unreadable expression. Taeyong was starting to feel too warm - did he not open a window or something? His eyes flickered everywhere else in his room that’s not Jaehyun.
A lavender hoodie, way long overdue for a wash, hanging over the back of his chair. Jaehyun left it there one afternoon when they got caught in a sudden summer rain a couple of weeks ago. The plastic fork that Taeyong used to poke Jaehyun yesterday. They were watching Ponyo for the hundredth time that summer and Jaehyun had the sheer nerve to fall asleep. The stuffed toys on the shelf hanging over the bed, won for him by Johnny … and Jaehyun.
Taeyong groaned inwardly, questioning his dependence on his bestfriends.
“I get it,” he turned to see Jaehyun leaning back, head on Taeyong’s mattress as he stared up at the glow-in-the-dark star stickers on his ceiling. Jaehyun seemed to be reconsidering the situation. “We’ve been friends for so long,” he conceded. “It would be weird to just suddenly start dating.”
Relieved, Taeyong let out a breathy laugh, drawing his knees up to his chest.
“I mean, if we broke up, that would be awkward as hell.” Jaehyun contemplated. Taeyong let his head rest back on his mattress too and they stared up at the glowing neon stars together. “We would have to introduce each other as our ex from that point on, draw up a treaty to discuss the territory of your house and mine -”
“Ruby’s dog house would the demilitarized zone,” he mused. Jaehyun had been the one to accompany him to the animal shelter, helping ten-year-old Taeyong pick out the sniveling pup at the corner of the cage to take home. He had also been the one to help raise Ruby all these years, so it wouldn’t feel right to call her his dog, really.
“Not to mention the custody battle for our friends .” Jaehyun visibly shuddered. Taeyong giggled, turning his head to look at Jaehyun who was lamenting, “ We would have to decide who keeps Johnny -”
“You.” Taeyong said flatly. Jaehyun sniggered, voice low and throaty. “Keep him.”
“I’m serious.” He grumbled as Jaehyun laughed harder. Taeyong watched Jaehyun’s features scrunch up as he snickered at Johnny’s expense.
“And I’m not even your type,” Jaehyun mused. Humming, Taeyong let his head fall back on the bed. He thought about all the boys that he had dated in the past and, in a move that felt completely, absolutely blasphemous - thought about Jaehyun.
Taeyong was a little surprised that he came up blank at the idea of what would it be like to date one of his best friends. It wasn’t the warm, fuzzy feelings that he got when he had imagined going out with one of his beaus in the past, but it wasn’t the overwhelming dread that filled his stomach at dating someone like, say, Johnny.
So what would it be like to date Jaehyun?
What would Jaehyun be like as a boyfriend?
“Let me see: I don’t have any daddy issues. I’ve never been in jail. I don’t even own a leather jacket. Or a moleskine journal! ” Jaehyun stretched his arms out, careful not to touch Taeyong without permission. “I don’t wear beanies and run a blog about our capitalist society and maybe an indie band like -,”
“Indie bands like?” Taeyong prompted, smiling now.
“Like, I don’t know -” Jaehyun made an aborted hand gesture at the empty air. “Fucking, like, Arctic Monkeys or some shit.”
“ Arctic Monkey s.” Taeyong wheezed. Jaehyun looked at him, grinning. The movie continued to play in the background, completely forgotten at this point. “That’s, like, the most un-obscure Indie band there is.”
“Aw, shucks.” Jaehyun laughed. “Guess I’m really not your type, then.”
“You’re really not.” Taeyong agreed. They both giggled at that, Taeyong’s laughter tinged with a bit of relief. Dating Jaehyun …
Really. Taeyong thought, snorting inwardly.
He shook his head. Jaehyun was Jaehyun. He was that snotty kid who cried when his mom left and made Taeyong hold his hand during their first day in kindergarten. The same ten-year-old brat that used to sleep walk into the kitchen in the middle of the night to drink milk straight out of the carton. Everything about the idea of dating Jaehyun should be in the area of his mind going Nope. Nada. Zilch.
Still …. Taeyong paused.
“I’m not a very exciting guy.” Jaehyun admitted, looking up at the ceiling, at the glow-in-the-dark stars that he had in his own bedroom the next house over. “I’m not like any of your exes who had that air of mystery you always seemed to obsess over - everything about me, every event that shaped me into who I am today, bad or good, all of them happened with you by my side. You know me already.”
He looked at him and Taeyong realized just then that he had been staring at him..
“It’s up to you if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Jaehyun murmured. Ridiculous , Taeyong thought. Everything was completely and utterly going in a way that he never expected that evening to go. It should feel weird, it should trigger all of Taeyong’s warning signs. If it were anyone else, he would’ve laughed nervously by now, shut down the conversation at the first opportunity he got.
You know me. Of course he did. It was Jaehyun. Taeyong knew him like the back of his hand. He knew that Jaehyun had a penchant for badly written, predictable late night dramas and that he always rooted for the second male lead despite all the odds. He was overly, stupidly competitive, going as far as to stomp on Taeyong’s feet just to win at a game of Mario Kart. He was simple-minded, yes or no, angry or not - the type of person who would say what he wanted to eat when prompted. Jaehyun was uncomplicated. Safe.
Jaehyun always made Taeyong feel safe.
“I can’t promise that I would be your most exciting, most passionate love story.” Taeyong swallowed at Jaehyun’s words. He was straightforward. He had always meant what he said. Jaehyun stared at him right in the eye. “But you deserve at least one relationship that doesn’t end in a total catastrophe.”
Hey. Fragments of a memory - one that Taeyong doesn’t particularly like to dwell on - suddenly came to mind. He breathed in deeply.
“Let me be the one you won’t regret.” Jaehyun requested.
Taeyong exhaled. Of course.
It’s just me.