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the key to the apartment door clicks, allowing renjun and jeno to step inside from the chilly early summer air. they each have bags of groceries hanging off of their arms, their evening shopping trip successful. jeno sets his bags down on the counter and looks around for jaemin, who stayed at the apartment to finish a physics essay that was due at midnight.
“jaem? where are you?” he calls out, listening for any signs of their absent boyfriend. renjun points to the living room down the hall, where faint cries can be heard. the two give each other a worried glance and quickly make their way to the room. they walk through the doorway and are met with a sobbing jaemin, sitting on the couch with his face in his hands and an empty bottle of soju on the table next to him. renjun knows he can probably blame the hyungs for the alcohol, but he’s not going to bring that up until he makes sure jaemin is alright. jeno has already rushed to jaemin’s left, threading his fingers through his dark hair. renjun takes the right side, rubbing the small of his back.
“can you tell us what’s wrong, darling? are you okay?” renjun asks gently, watching jeno eye the bottle of alcohol.
jaemin peeks up at him, his face red and eyes teary. “it’s- it’s stupid.” he mumbles, leaning into jeno’s touch.
“baby, it’s not. we’re here to listen.” jeno assures him sympathetically.
jaemin nods weakly. “i was thinkin’ about if we got married,” he sniffles, “how would we take names? there’s three of us. renjun na and jeno na are both so cute but then i realized i wouldn’t mind being jaemin lee or jaemin huang–“ he sobs again, slumping to the side. “and i don’t know what to do. i don’t know how we could decide whose name to take. what if people judge us for taking one and not the other? i don’t– i don’t get how it would work.”
jeno and renjun exchange another glance over jaemin’s shoulders. “angel, that’s a long way in the future. you don’t need to worry about that right now.” jeno says carefully, brushing his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair.
jaemin blinks up at him. “yeah, but, how’re we gonna decide then?”
renjun hums a sigh and places a kiss on jaemin’s shoulder. “marriage is probably really different for people in relationships like ours. if you want, the three of us could research how it works, but you need to calm down first, okay baby?”
jaemin nods and sniffles as jeno grabs a tissue and wipes away the tears on his cheeks. renjun eyes the empty bottle of alcohol that surely can be blamed for making jaemin so emotionall.
“where’d you get that soju, babe?” he asks jaemin, who’s grinning as jeno presses a kiss to his now-dry cheek. a simple “yuta-hyung.” is the only answer renjun needs.
“he’s really gotta stop giving us alcohol,” renjun says thoughtfully, “we’ve got so much we don’t know what to do with it. why’d you have some today?”
jaemin shrugs and states, “wanted to relax, i guess. started thinking and then couldn't stop drinking.” he giggles lightly at his rhyme, letting jeno lead him to the couch.
renjun nods, making a mental note to give some of their alcohol supply back to the hyungs so another situation like this could be prevented.
“take a nap baby, we’ll take care of the groceries.” jeno hums, handing him a soft blanket.
renjun and jeno get the groceries put away quickly, and start on dinner for when jaemin wakes up. he naps for a little over an hour, as his two boyfriends try to work together to make a good dinner for him.
eventually jaemin stirs to the smell of chinese hotpot, and makes his way over to the table. he sits down with a quiet yawn, grinning as he waits for the hotpot, straight from mama huang’s recipe.
“smells good, junnie.” jaemin says sleepily, leaning on his hand as he watches the steam rise from the stove. jeno pads over to ruffle his hair, and set pairs of chopsticks on the tabletop.
“your boyfriend is very proud of himself, he says it’ll be the best hotpot he’s ever made.” jeno flashes jaemin a smile and looks over to renjun, who’s leaning over the stove and whistling a little tune. he turns and gives them a determined grin. “damn right! only the best for you two.”
jeno gazes down at jaemin. his face is bright as he giggles at renjun’s enthusiasm. he’s probably still a little sleepy but at least the alcohol has worn off. the ends of jeno’s mouth curl up fondly as jaemin’s bangs fall into his eyes when he yawns. he’ll have to remind him to get a haircut soon. jeno leans to kiss the top of his head, then sits down at his own spot at the table.
once the hotpot is finished simmering, renjun carefully brings the steaming dish over to the table, his steps light until he finally sets the pot in between jaemin and jeno.
jaemin looks up at renjun with tender eyes, wanting to say something before they start eating.
renjun takes a seat to jaemin’s right side, looking to him with a soft smile. “you’re making that face you make when you’re about to say something super cheesy.”
jaemin nods, practically glowing, and takes each of their hands in both of his own, pausing before he speaks to yawn. “i just wanted to let you guys know how much you mean to me. you’re always here for me and you make me feel so safe and loved and i really can’t thank you enough.” he smiles peacefully. “i love you both so much. i’m– i’m so lucky to have you.” the kitchen is quiet, the three basking in the soft warmth of jaemin’s words.
jeno sniffles loudly on his right, eyes teary as he squeezes jaemin’s hand. “babe stop, you’re gonna make me cry.”
renjun giggles gently and wipes his eyes with his sleeve. “me too. we should stop before all of us have emotional breakdowns today.”
jaemin grins, filled to the brim with pure joy. “agreed. all i ask is that you know i mean it.”
jeno nods, kissing jaemin’s palm lightly. “of course we know. i love you too, nana.”
renjun gives a soft chuckle and presses a kiss to jaemin’s knuckles. “i love you too, bǎobèi.”
the three boyfriends spend the rest of their evening enjoying the hotpot and some extra snacks, then motivating jaemin to finish his essay, and rewarding him by watching a disney movie together. they end the night by researching how taking names works in a relationship with three people, all together in their shared queen size bed.
right before they dozed off, they decided.
jaemin lee-huang,
jeno huang-na,
and renjun na-lee
forever and always.