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Jean couldn't remember the last time he, Marco, and Porco had a lazy evening in their dorm.
For the past two weeks, the three of them had been all over the place, pulling all-nighters and studying for their finals. Hell, Jean could barely even remember the last time they'd sat down and had a proper conversation together. It had to have been right after Armin dropped by to ask for Marco's notes on astrology last week, or was that two weeks? Jean was losing his sense of time, and his grip on reality in general.
But, the semester was finally, finally over. No more staying up in front of textbooks till 3 AM, no more instant noodles for every meal—as much as Jean loved to cook for his helpless-in-the-kitchen boyfriends, he couldn't wait for Niccolo to start bringing them food again, bless his soul—and no more unbearable silence in the dorm. Jean liked his peace and quiet, sure, but it was getting ridiculous.
It also meant they could finally have a movie night.
They argued about the movie, of course; Marco's vote went to some garbage Netflix original about a haunted house, Porco kept insisting on Shrek 2 out of spite, and Jean wouldn't actually mind watching a show instead of a movie.
It was a playful fight, and Jean hadn't realised how much he'd missed all the bickering until it actually happened.
“Porco, I don't care how ‘ahead of its time’ it is, I'm not watching Shrek again,” Marco said.
“You can never watch too much Shr—”
“Four younger siblings,” Marco reminded him of the disaster that was the Bodt family tree, and that didn't even include his two older sisters. “Yes, I can. And I have.”
Porco crossed his arms. “Well, we're not doing your suggestion either, so stop looking so smug.” Jean knew exactly where this was going. “Kirschtein pisses himself during scary movies.”
“First of all, not true, asshole!” Jean said, “And second, if your choices are out, I guess that leaves us with my suggestion.”
“You haven't even chosen a show, Jean,” Marco reminded him.
“Yeah, Jean,” Porco said mockingly, wrapping an arm around Marco's shoulders. “So it's not really a suggestion, is it?”
“You're teaming up now?!”
Marco and Porco only looked at each other for one second before smugly nodding at Jean.
Those assholes.
Jean sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Whatever, that still doesn't tell us we're doing to watch. Unless you'd rather spend the evening in front of a black screen, throwing popcorn at each other.”
Porco shrugged. “That doesn't sound too bad.”
“Okay, I'm not siding with you anymore,” Marco said, leaving Porco's side, but there was no real malice in his voice. He leaned against the kitchen counter, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth as if he was deep in thought. “How about a Ghibli movie?”
“I'm down. Galliard?”
“Sure,” he said. “But not Ponyo.”
There was a 'because I watched Ponyo with Marco back in high school and cried my eyes out for a good ten minutes, and then my head hurt for another thirty' implied there, but none of them mentioned it. Jean hadn't been there when it happened, but Marco had told him all about it the next day.
“Then why not—?"
“If you even dare to suggest Porco Rosso…” Porco interrupted.
Jean grinned. “I was going for Pom Poko, actually…” he said, making sure to add extra emphasis on the second word of the title.
“Jesus!” Porco said, throwing his hands in the air. “One more joke and I'm heading to Marcel's, I promise you—”
“Arriety!” Marco cut him off, and he sounded like he'd just had an epiphany. “We're watching Arriety, no more fighting!”
So they finally had a movie. Snacks were next.
Marco started shuffling through the cupboard until he finally found what he was looking for; the sealed bags of microwave popcorn. “I'm going to make—”
“No!”
Jean and Porco yelled simultaneously, reaching for the popcorn. They managed to grab one bag each, leaving Marco with nothing in his hands. He wasn't to be trusted around microwaves. Or anything used for heating up food, for that matter.
“I burned it once,” Marco pouted.
Jean left his popcorn bag on the counter and wrapped his arms around Marco, as Porco put the other one in the microwave. “Yeah, the popcorn, maybe,” Jean said, pressing a soft kiss on his freckled face. “But you—”
“—can't cook for shit,” Porco finished for him.
“You're one to talk, Mr 'I made you a sandwich for our first date,'” Marco mumbled, his sassy tone not missed even if he was pouting, and buried his face in Jean's shoulder. “And I can cook.”
“We know,” Jean said, kissing the top of his head. He spotted Porco smiling at them with the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but grin too. “We're just messing with you.”
They stood in silence for a bit, the only sound being the microwave as it spun, with the occasional flick of popcorn popping. Jean was playing with Marco's hair, enjoying his soft exhales on the crook of his neck. They'd have to move soon, or the man in his arms would actually fall asleep. That idiot.
Jean's gaze travelled towards Porco at the other side of the kitchen. His back was turned on Jean and Marco, but he could still make out his hands shoved in his pockets, or the slight tiptoeing as he rocked back and forth on his heels. He looked as if he was trying to concentrate really hard on something, but—
Oh. Oh, this was going to be fun.
“Are you watching the popcorn bag rise?”
Porco froze in his tracks, and Jean could have sworn he heard him gasp. “N-No!”
“He is,” Marco mumbled, but he sounded sure of himself.
“Marco!” Porco hissed, turning around. His cheeks were bright red, and his pout was even bigger than Marco's from before. “I was just waiting for it to finish!”
“No, no, you were invested,” Jean said, smiling. “Like it was your first time watching microwave popcorn or something.”
“Shut up!” Porco looked as if he wanted to say more, but it was then that the microwave started beeping. He sharply turned towards it, but took out the popcorn carefully, pinching the bag from the side in order not to burn himself. “I'm gonna set up the movie,” he grumbled. “You put in another bag, or Bodt's not gonna leave any for us.”
That seemed to be enough to shake Marco awake. “Hey!” he said, drawing out the word and chasing after Porco in the living room.
“Marco, what are you—AH!”
Jean could only guess what was going on in the other room, but he didn't need to think too hard to picture Marco tackling Porco to the couch. He shook his head with a smile, putting the second bag of popcorn in for three minutes, and went after them.
He'd been right about the tackling; Marco had trapped Porco under him on the couch, the bag of popcorn long forgotten on the floor. Jean picked it up and set it on the table. “You're making a mess already.”
“He attacked me!” Porco tried to defend himself, throwing out his hands in front of his face to push Marco away, who was attempting to kiss him.
Jean raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you denying Marco his kiss, Galliard?”
“Yeah, Galli,” Marco said with a sassy tone in his voice. “Are you denying me my kiss?”
“I'm just trying to put on the fucking movie!”
Jean sat on the arm of the couch beside Porco's head, exchanging a quick look with Marco. “What do you say, freckles?” he said, passing the TV remote to him. “Are we gonna let him watch his movie?”
Marco grinned. “Dunno.”
“Guys!” Porco practically begged, even though Marco wasn't trying to kiss him anymore, too focused on the TV screen as he looked for the movie. “Please!”
Jean took this as an opportunity to lean in, his face hovering above Porco's. “Say that again.”
It only took a second for a smirk to spread on his face. “You wanna see me beg, Kirschtein?”
Jean returned the smile effortlessly. “Oh, you will.” And then gave Porco what was probably the hardest nuggie he'd ever experienced.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow!” Porco cried out, slapping his hands on Jean's arm. “Jean, for fuck's sake!”
“Don't be rude, Jean,” Marco said the moment Jean barked out a laugh. “We only have one Porco, so don't break him.”
“Says the guy sitting on him,” Jean said, still chuckling. “If anyone's gonna break him, it's you—”
“You're both devils!” Porco said, staring up the ceiling in defeat.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“Yeah, me neither,” Marco agreed. “Sounds to me like you're overreacting.”
They were spared the lecture, as the microwave finally went off in the kitchen. “Hey, Marco, wanna prove yourself?” Porco said, and Marco raised an eyebrow at him. “If you can take the popcorn out the microwave without anything exploding, we might unban you from the kitchen.”
“Ha, ha,” Marco said sarcastically, but stood up anyway. “Don't start without me!”
The moment Marco was out of sight, Porco made an attempt at sitting up. But Jean was quicker. It only took a step to circle around the couch and settle on Porco's lap. “Going somewhere?”
“Dammit!” Porco grumbled, his head falling back on the couch. He looked adorable.
Jean chuckled. “You're not even gonna try to escape?”
Porco crossed his arms. “What makes you think I want to escape?”
Jean smirked. Two can play this game.
“Let's see…” he said, and pretended to be struggling to recall something. “Ah, yes, I think it might have been all the bitching.”
“You're a dick, Jean,” Porco said, and pulled him in by the collar of his shirt to kiss him.
Jean readjusted himself so he was lying on Porco rather than sitting on him, returning the kiss. “Like you're any better.”
Porco hummed a low note in response. “And yet somehow we're dating an angel like Marco.”
Jean smiled into the kiss, not bothering to hold back a laugh. “He isn't any better either.”
“But he has ears,” Marco said from behind the couch. Jean pulled away and sat up normally, ignoring Porco's whining about wanting to kiss him again. “I almost feel bad for interrupting.”
“Yeah, right,” Porco said.
“This wouldn't have happened if you had let me kiss you before, Galli,” Marco reminded him, handing Jean the new bag of popcorn. “Now, make some space for me?”
They ended up letting Marco sit in the middle, the biggest bowl they owned on his lap. Jean and Porco got to pouring the popcorn in it, throwing the empty bags on the table. It didn't take long before they were finally settled down. Jean wrapped his left arm around Marco's back and let it rest on Porco's shoulder, who was already snuggling up to Marco's side. Jean smiled at the scene, before grabbing a handful of popcorn and turning his attention to the TV, and waited.
… and waited.
And waited?
He looked towards his boyfriends again, who were staring back at him with the same look of confusion on their faces.
“Who has the remote?”
It was like watching the climax of a movie unfold right before his eyes. Marco's face cringed in realisation as he threw his head back on the couch, mumbling some quiet mock-up curses—old habits die hard, he supposed—and sighing. “I left it in the kitchen.”
“The kitchen?” Porco said through a mouthful of popcorn.
“Yeah,” Marco said, keeping his eyes closed. “I took it with me when I went to grab the popcorn.”
Jean snorted, kissing his cheek. “Great job, love.”
“Sorry…” Marco muttered.
“Nevermind that,” Porco said. “Jean, go get it.”
“Huh?”
“The remote.”
“No, I got that, but why me?!” Jean asked. “Marco's the one that left it in the kitchen!”
“Yeah, but he's in the middle, and I'm comfortable,” Porco said, and actually went out of his way to snuggle closer to him, resting his head on the crook of Marco's neck.
“I'm comfortable too, asshole!”
“But you're tall,” said Marco, visibly trying to bite back a grin.
Jean tilted his head in confusion. “And? We're the same height, what does this have to do with anything?”
“Yeah, but you look like a stick bug.” Porco joined in Marco's argument so easily that Jean was starting to think they'd talked about this behind his back before. “With your lanky limbs and—”
“Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on!” Jean interrupted. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“It'd take you fewer steps to reach the kitchen,” Marco explained.
What.
“That's it?” Jean said. “That's your reasoning?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
Jean scoffed. “You're kidding.”
“Nope," Porco said, popping the p. “You're literally a noodle-man. Or a crane. Actually, you could probably reach it from here.”
“IT'S IN THE OTHER ROOM?!”
“Then get craning,” Marco said with a giggle, Porco joining him soon after they shared a high five.
If they didn't look so damn cute, Jean would have argued.
Probably.
He sighed deeply as he stood on his feet, already missing the warmth of Marco's body on his side. He grumbled something he didn't even understand himself as he brought the handful of popcorn to his mouth, walking towards the kitchen.
Three steps.
He hated how right they were.
He found the TV remote resting on the counter easily enough, and retraced the same three steps back to the couch. Any grudge he was holding melted away when he saw Marco placing a thousand kisses on Porco's head, whispering something Jean couldn't quite catch.
He settled down again, this time making sure to wrap both of them around his arm. “I get the thing about not wanting to interrupt now,” he whispered to Marco as he shoved the remote in Porco's lap.
“Told you,” Marco said, giving him a quick kiss. Jean smiled, letting his head rest on Marco's. “Ready?”
The question almost didn't register in Jean's head. All he could think about, as he waited for Porco to hit play, was how much wanted this moment with the two people he loved the most in the world to last forever.
But Porco never did start the movie. Instead, he picked his head up from Marco's lap, looking at them with the same terror Marco had on his face when he realised the remote control was missing.
“What's wrong?” Jean replied, almost lazily.
“Who's gonna turn off the lights?”
Needless to say, they did end up having that popcorn fight.