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Yuta brings it up on a regular Wednesday afternoon - they have a day off, so Doyoung and Yuta find themselves in the kitchen, Doyoung making some food for them while Yuta watches on adoringly. It’s clear he half thought of it before, but just now had the full realization.
“Dons…holy shit, I just realized something…”
Doyoung only hums in response, focusing on not burning the food in the pan, and Yuta continues talking.
“Dons, you know how Sungchan and Shotaro pined for months before they got together?”
Everyone and their mother knew that era well - so many lingering touches and gazing at the other for a tad too long. It was endearing and entertaining, yet slightly irritating because neither of them made a move for ages.
“Yeah, it was adorable and you wouldn’t stop crying over how cutely oblivious they were,” Doyoung answers without missing a beat.
“Unimportant,” Yuta waves a hand through the air dismissively. Doyoung thinks it’s vital to remembering the kids’ pining, but he keeps his mouth shut. “But you know who else pined for months?”
Doyoung pauses his movements, shutting the stove off and setting the wooden spoon off to the side, wracking his brain for anyone either of them knew that pined for months before getting together.
“Mark and Renjun,” he says finally, taking out two bowls from the cupboard and placing them on the counter. Yuta sighs in exasperation.
“I mean-- True, but you know who else? I’m going somewhere with this, trust me.”
Doyoung finishes filling the bowls with kimchi jjigae, but pauses again.
“I mean…we did--”
“EXACTLY.” Yuta cuts him off, sounding triumphant. Doyoung turns back to Yuta with an incredulous expression, carefully carrying the bowls to the counter and setting one in front of Yuta.
“Okay, where are you going with this?”
Yuta straightens up in his seat, looking like he’s about to give a big presentation at some huge company meeting when all he’s really doing is comparing two relationships with each other.
“When we pined,” Yuta starts dramatically, “I was a little overbearing, and you’d get flustered easily.” (Okay, Doyoung did not need the reminder, he liked to ignore how flustered he got then, thank you very much.) “When the kids were pining, Sungchan took after me and Shotaro after you - although he just got shy. You, on the other hand, would threaten to castrate me.”
Doyoung huffs. “Yes, well, it was my only defense mechanism at the time.”
“And you know what else? We kept staring at you and Shotaro shamelessly.”
“Yuta, every couple does that…”
🌻
Doyoung and Yuta had watched the live on Doyoung’s phone, just to see how their newest members were doing on Vlive, despite their experience already. It was almost like watching their children perform on stage for the billionth time. It was a VLive with Taeil and Renjun for a second time, they were making food of some sort again - Doyoung couldn’t recall what it was.
God, they were so adorable. Yuta had already nearly burst into tears at one of Shotaro’s giggles.
It was sometime later into the live, when Shotaro was cooking with the pan and Sungchan was standing at his side, watching intently. And then the watching shifted into something more like…gazing at Shotaro instead of the food in the pan, with a soft, adoring look on his face. Doyoung knew the look well, and had been the receiver of it many times, in fact.
Shotaro looked up about 10 seconds later, perceptive as always. Sungchan only glanced away, redirecting his eyes to the pan, then looked back over as if he were letting his eyes wander around. He gave Shotaro a little smile when they made eye contact, and Shotaro ducked his head shyly.
“God, they’re so obvious,” Doyoung muttered, and Yuta lightly punched his shoulder.
“Give the kids some time. At least they’re moving faster than we did.”
“Oh, please do not remind me of that.”
🌻
Yuta raises his eyebrows when he finishes retelling the memory to Doyoung, who remembers it as if it were yesterday.
He lets his mind wander, sifting through memories to find one similar to what Yuta was talking about, and--
Oh.
He’s starting to see it already.
🌻
Doyoung was on his way to finishing his ment, thanking the fans for coming, all that jazz, and he couldn’t remember for the life of him which concert it was. And then he felt someone watching him - he knew all the members were watching him, but this felt…different somehow. More intense. Heavy, but in a good way, almost.
Doyoung glanced over casually and the feeling disappeared in an instant. Then he found Yuta looking away before glancing back with a small smile on his face.
In the moment, Doyoung forgot that this was the same Yuta that was constantly agitating him with all his flirting and teasing, because--
This look felt genuine and almost full of…love, affection, warmth. The fans would read it as Yuta being proud of Doyoung, or something along those lines, but Doyoung knew what it really meant.
Even if he didn’t want to know, at the time.
🌻
“And, and, AND,” Yuta says excitedly. He reminds Doyoung of a small puppy, enthusiastic about anything and everything he’s passionate about.
“…And?”
“Do you remember that one time you walked in on them cuddling on the couch innocently?”
“Yuta, every couple’s gone through that,” Doyoung deadpans and Yuta pouts like that of a small child.
“Dons,” he whines, dragging out the nickname, “just let me have this!”
And only because Doyoung loves Yuta, does he humor him with this conversation.
🌻
Doyoung had not expected to find the younger two on 127’s dorm couch - especially since they were with Dream, so they really had their own couch to themselves. He had heard the TV playing and gone to investigate, but stopped in the hallway where Sungchan and Shotaro couldn’t see him. Shotaro was pressed up against the taller, legs across Sungchan’s lap and head resting on his shoulder, and Sungchan had one arm around his shoulder while his other hand played with Shotaro’s fingers. He wasn’t paying attention to the movie - Doyoung thought it was Deadpool 2 playing - while Shotaro was watching with rapt attention.
Doyoung just stood there for a few seconds, confused as hell, before moving into the living room.
“What the hell are you guys doing--”
Before he could even finish his question, the other two had jumped a mile apart, faces red with…shame? Doyoung had to bite back a laugh, and tried to maintain a straight face. It worked, for the most part.
“No need to be so jumpy, and not that I hate you both, but what are you doing here? Don’t you have your own dorm?”
Shotaro still looked a little embarrassed, but Sungchan answered, embarrassment and shame melting away.
“Jaemin-hyung kicked out everyone except Jeno-hyung,” he huffed in annoyance. “I’m sure you can do the math there.”
Doyoung’s eyes widened in understanding. “Ah, I see. In that case, stay as long as you want, Lord knows what those two are doing.”
The kids at least relax a bit, Doyoung’s comment pulling laughs out of both of them.
(Yuta got a picture of them later when they fell asleep near the end of the movie. He did help wake them up and let them sleep in his bed instead of forcing them to trek all the way back to their own room, but he took the picture first, obviously. Who wouldn’t?)
🌻
Doyoung and Yuta had, essentially, been in the same position. Yuta leaned up against Doyoung with his legs thrown across Doyoung’s lap - the whole nine yards. They had been watching a kdrama of some sort, Doyoung distracted by how soft Yuta’s hair felt against his fingers.
Taeyong had walked in, not noticing them on the couch at first, until Yuta made some sort of strangled noise of surprise and practically launched himself away from Doyoung - nearly falling off the couch in the process. Doyoung himself had felt a streak of embarrassment despite the two of them doing the most innocent thing in the world.
Instead of being gentle like Doyoung had with the two kids, Taeyong only groaned in exasperation before rubbing his hands over his face.
“For the love of God, Nakamoto.” Was all Taeyong said before walking out, muttering something along the lines of ‘I can’t deal with this shit right now.’
🌻
Doyoung sits down beside Yuta at the counter, letting his mind process what Yuta’s just told him.
Dammit.
“Okay, you know what? I see where you’re coming from. And you make a very valid, strong argument.”
Yuta only smiles proudly, “Thank you! Now.” He turns to face Doyoung more, giving Doyoung his best pleading face - wide galaxy eyes paired with a small pout. “Feed me, Kim, I’m a starving man here.”
“Clingy,” Doyoung says fondly, with a roll of his eyes and a small smile.
~
Doyoung’s starting to clean up the dishes when Yuta’s hit with another memory of the kids.
“Hey, remember our first kiss?” Yuta starts casually.
Doyoung glances back at Yuta as he sets the dishes in the sink, “Yeah, of course, angel.”
“Did you ever see the kids’ first kiss?”
Doyoung fully turns around then, cocking an eyebrow at Yuta. “No? You told me all about it when you got home, though.”
“Oh yeah,” Yuta grins, staring off into nothing as the memory comes back, “of course I did.”
🌻
They had been recording for a song that day - the day Yuta has so eloquently dubbed “They Fucking Finally Kissed.” It had just been the three of them left, a couple of the members wandering off to find food, others having gone back to the dorms. Sungchan was called up next as Shotaro left, and it was obvious that Sungchan was still nervous despite the fact he’d already been used to recording for songs.
Yuta was sitting in a spot the younger two had most likely thought would hide them from him. Shotaro picked up on Sungchan’s nerves almost instantly and let the door shut behind him, keeping Sungchan from going into the room. Placing a hand on the back of Sungchan’s neck, Shotaro pulled him down for a quick kiss as an act of encouragement. And by God, it worked.
After Sungchan stopped malfunctioning, of course. Shotaro was bright red, but smiling widely at the younger’s reaction. Before Sungchan could do anything else once his brain decided to restart (he looked like he wanted to pull Shotaro back in for a proper kiss) Shotaro grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the closed door.
“Or you’re gonna get in trouble for being late, go, go, go.” Shotaro said, giggling as Sungchan started protesting.
“You started it!”
“It was for encouragement!”
🌻
“They are…ridiculously cute, I swear my teeth start rotting every time they do anything,” Doyoung sighs, shaking his head.
“You know who else is ridiculously cute?”
“If you say it’s me, I’m leaving.”
“I was gonna say us, actually.”
🌻
It had been just a few days after they confessed. They were cuddling like they usually did in Doyoung’s room as they watched a movie. Their position had given Yuta a wonderful view of Doyoung’s gorgeous face, and his beautifully shaped lips.
His beautifully kissable lips.
Now or never, Yuta told himself before swooping in and planting a kiss on Doyoung’s lips.
Doyoung had frozen up and for a split second, Yuta thought he might’ve fucked up.
But then he saw the blush on Doyoung’s face, reaching down his neck and up to the tips of his ears - a clear sign that Doyoung was merely buffering. Yuta was also turning red, slightly embarrassed at his sudden bold act, and he prayed to God that he could kiss Doyoung again in the next three seconds because holy shit did he need more than the mere peck he gave the other.
“Was that okay--” Yuta started asking nervously, but was then cut off by Doyoung’s lips on his and--
Holy fuck.
A man could definitely get used to this.
🌻
Doyoung sighs again, but it’s more out of embarrassment this time, and he squeezes his eyes shut. “God, I can’t believe I was so shy then.”
Yuta giggles, “I can.” He gets a glare thrown at him before Doyoung turns around to start washing the dishes. Yuta hops up out of his chair to join him at the sink.
“But Doie, do you get what I mean?”
Doyoung turns the water tap on before gracing Yuta with an answer. “Yes, babe, I do.”
~
A week later finds them at a photoshoot with the rest of NCT, and it’s an understatement to say it’s chaotic as fuck. Those not in front of the cameras are catching up with each other, laughing and talking loudly. Doyoung’s pretty sure the kids started some sort of game of tag with complicated rules, but he’s genuinely not sure.
In the midst of the chaos is Sungchan and Shotaro in front of the camera, listening to the photographer’s directions and posing like she wants them to. At one point, she tells them to act natural, relax a bit more for the next photos.
Sungchan seems to take this as a challenge.
As the photographer starts taking more pictures, Sungchan makes it his sole mission to cause Shotaro to break out into giggles and loosen up more. He does this via whispering jokes (or something, Doyoung obviously can’t hear him) and just teasing him in general. One of his comments has Shotaro hitting his shoulder while laughing. They don’t see it, but Doyoung watches as the photographer captures the brief moment - Shotaro laughing while looking at Sungchan and Sungchan smiling at Shotaro with pure fondness. Doyoung almost wants to ask the photographer if he can keep the photo. Eventually, Shotaro’s ten times more relaxed than before and looks so natural being with Sungchan.
And then Sungchan’s fingers brush over Shotaro’s ribs, who breaks out into near hysterics. Instead of being annoyed, the photographer only shakes her head while chuckling.
“You two are cute together, so I’m gonna let that pass, Sungchan-ah.” The two boys freeze up at first, but relax almost instantly.
“God, I really get what you mean,” Doyoung says faintly to Yuta, who’s also been watching the younger two.
Yuta throws his arms in the air and nearly yells, “THANK YOU! FINALLY!”
After that mind-blowing revelation for Doyoung, he starts noticing it more, how he sees himself and Yuta in Shotaro and Sungchan. The next thing he notices, a few days later, is how much Sungchan hypes up Shotaro.
Specifically when it comes to his dancing.
Like right now, he’s helping Shotaro film a tiktok in a practice room - Shotaro’s going over the moves first before even attempting to do anything in front of a camera, but that doesn’t seem to stop Sungchan at all from acting like it’s the final cut instead of just practice. Doyoung can’t even see them but he can certainly hear Sungchan.
“Yes, YES HYUNG, GET IT!” Sungchan cheers over Doja Cat’s voice. Doyoung can picture Shotaro ducking his head shyly before accepting the compliments, and currently he can hear Shotaro’s laugh at Sungchan going above and beyond to hype up his boyfriend.
Woman restarts, and then once the chorus hits, Sungchan’s cheering Shotaro on again, sounding just as enthusiastic as before.
“FUCK YES, YOU ABSOLUTE LEGEND, YOU ARE PERFECTION EMBODIED,” Sungchan shouts, and then the chorus is over, and--
“HOLY SHIT I DID IT!!” Shotaro yells, and then there’s running footsteps. Doyoung can only assume Shotaro ran to hug Sungchan, or even vice versa.
God, they’re just so cute.
“Everything they do is reminding us of ourselves now,” Yuta sighs, with a soft smile on his face, after Doyoung had told him what he heard in the practice room. And he entirely agrees, but it’s honestly intriguing.
🌻
Doyoung was practicing for his drama with Jaehyun, running through lines and getting the feel of how the scene would play out. One of the scenes involved him and the other main character having an argument - one that started out with stiff tension, which bled into a shouting match. As he finished the scene, with his character spitting out one single, quiet line that let him have the last word, Yuta let out cheers as if he were witnessing it live on stage or TV.
“BABY, YOU’RE DOING ABSOLUTELY FUCKING AMAZING WITH YOUR LINES,” Yuta had shouted from where he was watching in the kitchen.
Doyoung had blushed furiously, gritting his teeth as Jaehyun laughed at Yuta’s antics.
“Really, hyung, you’re doing fantastic, I’m surprised you already have all your lines memorized so fast,” Jaehyun said, still smiling and eyes flitting over the script Doyoung had given him.
“Thank you, Jae,” Doyoung muttered, and Yuta chose that moment to make his presence known once again.
“YOU ALL SEE THAT? THAT’S MY MOTHERFUCKING BABY AND HE WENT AND MEMORIZED ALL HIS LINES AND ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NAILED IT!”
“Yuta, so help me God, if you don’t stop--”
“What?” Yuta’s proud smile melted into a wicked grin - the one that made Doyoung a little weak in the knees. “Stop what, Doie? Cheering you on? Hyping you up the way you deserve it? Baby, come on, it’s almost like you don’t know me.”
“I…” Flustered, Doyoung tried to say something, but his last brain cell had effectively up and left him alone. “Shut up,” he finally mumbled, still blushing.
Yuta only hummed happily, clearly not planning on doing so anytime soon.
🌻
“Do you think we’re kind of reaching at this point?” Doyoung asks, huffing out an disbelieving laugh.
Yuta only giggles, “God, no, this is so fun. This is just us, like…seeing ourselves in the kids. How we’re similar, all that shit. And it’s cute, I think.”
And goddammit, Yuta was right, it was cute how similar the kids were to Yuta and himself.
~
Maybe not as cute now, considering the lengths Yuta was now going to continue this conversation of theirs.
It was God knows what time, a week after their last realization, and Doyoung was just trying to fucking sleep.
“Doyoung,” Yuta whispers into the still air, leaning towards Doyoung. “Doie…doie, doie, doie…dons…” A finger pokes at Doyoung’s shoulder, then his cheek. “Dons, dons, dons…dons, dons,” a hand shakes his shoulder then. “Love of my life, angel, my baby--”
Doyoung groans, rolling away from his boyfriend, eying the clock sitting on his nightstand. The numbers mock him. “Nakamoto Yuta,” he starts slowly, “it is 3am in the morning. What in GOD’S NAME do you want?”
Doyoung turns back to Yuta with a frown and pout - he’s tired - to find his boyfriend practically vibrating with excitement, and Doyoung sighs internally.
“I just had another memory,” Yuta starts, “and it was after their first kiss, too, they were in the kitchen, kissing, and then I walked in, and it reminded me of that one time when Hyuckie walked in on us in the kitchen--”
Now, Doyoung loves Yuta a lot. He really does. Loves every part of him, even his flaws. He just has to remind himself of that, as Yuta continues to ramble at 3 o’clock in the morning after ripping Doyoung out of a (wonderful) dream.
Yuta finally finishes the memory, but Doyoung caught absolutely none of it.
“Yuta…I hope you realize I processed absolutely nothing you just said,” Doyoung sighs.
Yuta pouts like that of a child and sighs dramatically, “Fine, I suppose this could wait until tomorrow.”
“You-- you ‘suppose’?” Doyoung asks, incredulous.
“Yes, I suppose,” Yuta huffs before laying back down, curling up against Doyoung’s side. Briefly, Yuta presses a kiss to Doyoung’s shoulder before mumbling a good night. Doyoung kisses the top of Yuta’s head, brain still processing what just happened in the past five minutes (honestly, this isn’t an uncommon occurrence - Doyoung having to keep up with Yuta, he’s always moved fast. Doyoung loves it about him.)
Yuta’s out like a light within a minute and Doyoung follows him soon after.
~
Yuta ambles into the kitchen about six hours later, thanking God and every other entity above for a day off (finally), and finds the love of his life already up and making breakfast for the two of them. Yuta takes a second to just admire his boyfriend working in the kitchen, looking beautiful as ever. God, he’s so lucky, Yuta thinks to himself as he makes his way to Doyoung.
The first thing Yuta gets after his good morning kiss is a pinch in the side.
“That’s what you get for waking me up at ass o’clock in the morning,” Doyoung says simply as yuta squawks, offended.
Oh, that.
Yuta pouts immediately, snuggling back up against Doyoung, making it a tad bit harder for the other to finish making them breakfast. “It was important at the time. Still is. I didn’t wanna forget.”
“Once I have my goddamn coffee, you can tell me then,” and to others Doyoung might sound annoyed as fuck at Yuta, but Yuta can hear the fondness under his words.
“Fine, fine,” Yuta groans. Before he leaves Doyoung’s side to go make himself coffee, he whispers good morning and presses a chaste kiss to Doyoung’s cheek. He doesn’t need to look at Doyoung to know for a damn fact that he’s slightly buffering and flustered.
Ten minutes later finds them sitting at the table with their food, sitting close enough on the bench that their thighs Yuta’s thigh is slung over Doyoung’s and it takes Yuta little to no effort to just rest his head on Doyoung’s shoulder.
“Now,” Doyoung finally says, finishing off his coffee, “what was SO important you had to wake me up at witch’s hour for?”
Yuta lights up immediately, sitting up straighter, “I am so glad you asked. Also I’m pretty sure witch’s hour is midnight, not three am, but whatever. SO,” Yuta says with all the flair of a gossipy high school girl, “this actually happened recently, like a week or so after they got together.”
🌻
Yuta had caught them in the act, standing in the hallway, watching from the kitchen doorway. Shotaro, sweet, sweet Shotaro, was making the two of them a Japanese dish. He was explaining every ingredient, the process involved, even the history of the damn dish. Love really does shit to people, huh?
Sungchan merely sat there, but, boy, was he entranced by Shotaro. His eyes never strayed from Shotaro, eyes nearly sparkling.
God, it was so endearing.
Yuta had arrived just as Shotaro finished making the food - tempura, Yuta realized -, and had begun putting it out onto dishes for Sungchan and himself. When he finally set the food in front of Sungchan on the counter, Sungchan pulled him in for a long, slow, proper, kiss. Either as a thank you or an I love you or both, Yuta couldn’t tell.
And by God, it was clear they’d had practice since they’re first one.
And naturally, Yuta chose that moment to enter the kitchen casually as if he didn’t even notice the younger two.
“Oh my God, Shotaro, is that tempura?” He asked loudly, causing the other two to jump away from each other - a strangled shriek coming out of Shotaro. He bit back a smirk and acted innocent, like he hadn’t witnessed what just happened. “What? Did I interrupt something?”
🌻
When Yuta finishes retelling the memory, Doyoung has his head in his hands. Yuta stiffles a giggle before taking a sip of his coffee.
“You woke me up…for THAT?? Babe, every couple’s gone through that,” Doyoung whines, and Yuta lets out a laugh then.
“Angel, don’t you remember when the exact same thing happened to us?”
🌻
It was quite similar to what happened with Shotaro and Sungchan - Doyoung making Yuta a Korean dish, galbi tang this time, while he explained the ingredients used in the dish and the process of making it, Yuta sitting on the counter, swinging his feet, as he soaked in what Doyoung was saying.
He just loved listening to Doyoung’s voice. Still does, could listen to it for hours on end.
Doyoung brought the galbi tang over once he had finished, and Yuta chose to stay sitting on the counter, so Doyoung sat in one of the chairs beside him. They ate in silence, merely enjoying each other’s presence. After they finished eating - the food was delicious, as per usual with Doyoung’s cooking - Doyoung had made to get up from his seat to put the dishes in the sink, but Yuta stopped him. He pulled Doyoung between his legs for a kiss, despite Doyoung’s noises of protest. Yuta had gotten one quick kiss in before Doyoung tried to pull away.
“Yuta-- the dishes--”
“Fuck the dishes, Doie,” Yuta breathed out, eyes stuck on Doyoung’s lips before pulling him in again. After a few seconds Doyoung relaxed, letting Yuta take the lead. His hands rested lightly on Yuta’s thighs, thumbs rubbing gently over his pants as they kissed slowly, taking their time and keeping it at least somewhat lowkey.
This went on for a couple minutes before Donghyuck had walked in on them. Instead of being a sly tease like Yuta had with the kids, he was just loud about it.
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Donghyuck shrieked upon seeing the other two at the counter. They only flinched at the sudden interruption, pulling away to glare at Donghyuck. The kid ignored the glares, continuing with his dramatics. “YOU HAVE YOUR OWN ROOMS TO DO THAT SHIT, MY GOD!”
At that, Yuta shoved Doyoung away before jumping off the counter, pointing a finger at Donghyuck.
“I know you’re jealous, but-- c’mere you little bastard--” Yuta chased him out of the kitchen as the younger screamed bloody murder. He got away, shouting profanities at Yuta for ruining his ‘peaceful afternoon’ and Yuta made a mental note to get back at Donghyuck.
He strolled back into the kitchen, smiling sweetly as if he hadn’t just been out for murder. Doyoung had been frozen in his spot, and Yuta sauntered right up to him, invading Doyoung’s space.
“Now, where were we?”
🌻
Doyoung’s quiet at first. Then, “You’re certainly more violent than Shotaro, that’s for damn sure.”
Yuta makes a strangled sound of disbelief. “That’s all you got out of that?!”
“…No.”
At this point, Doyoung’s wondering if the kids are just them reincarnated-- okay, not really, but the thought still dances in the back of his mind. However, the facts are obvious.
Both Doyoung and Shotaro are a little more introverted - at least behind the cameras - and are easily flustered by flirting, albeit they react differently to it. They’re also just quiet. Yuta and Sungchan are more verbally open about their feelings, it seems like their only goal in life is to fluster their crush via flirting/teasing. His next thought is how they really fit the ‘like father like son’ trope. God, Doyoung can already see jokes like ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ made by the members if they also start connecting the dots. It’d be cute for a few minutes but after that Doyoung would have to prevent about 20 murders a day.
Doyoung tells Yuta about the ‘like father like son’ thought, and Yuta gasps.
“Why didn’t I think of that, oh my God.” Yuta looks like Doyoung had just unlocked the answers to every question the universe had to offer, smiling widely and eyes shining. “They really are like our kids, huh?”
“Now, don’t take that seriously--”
Yuta rolls his eyes, still smiling, “--I know, I know.”
“--or else the others might never let us hear the end of it.”
“Oh, yeah, good point.”
~
The final revelation for the two of them comes some time later, and this time it’s from Doyoung. It hits him in the middle of them watching a movie - Free Guy, because Yuta had been pestering Doyoung about watching it for ages, since he hadn’t been able to watch it when it came out. To relay this information, Doyoung smacks Yuta’s thigh and gets one on the shoulder in response.
“Now what the fuck was that for?” Yuta asks, as if he didn’t just hit Doyoung back.
“I just had a memory of the kids. Remember when the whole damn group had bets going for them? About who was going to confess first?”
Yuta’s eyes grow wide and he tips his head back laughing, “Oh my God that was so fun.”
“You nearly ripped everyone’s head off who wasn’t betting on Shotaro,” Doyoung points out.
“Because you all had no faith in him!!”
🌻
Taeil eyed the growing list of names warily, watching Donghyuck add more from WayV and Dream. “I still don’t know why we need to bet on the poor kids, can’t we just let them go at their own pace?”
“They ARE going at their own pace, hyung,” Donghyuck huffed, “we’re just kinda here for the ride. And besides,” he turned back to Taeil with an incredulous look, “do you not understand how FUN this is?! It’s young love and everything, they’ve been pining for ages!”
“You’re literally the same age as Shotaro.”
“Yeah, and who’s been in a relationship longer? Exactly.” Donghyuck answered his own question firmly before turning back to the list. “Are you still not betting, hyung?”
“Nope,” Taeil said and Donghyuck muttered something under his breath - probably something like ‘boring’.
Donghyuck turned to Taeyong, “Hyung, are you sure you don’t wanna bet on either of them?”
Taeyong hummed before answering. “Just to make the teams even, I’ll bet on Sungchan.”
Yuta had been absolutely livid at the idea of Shotaro not confessing first - Doyoung had briefly considered restraining him before he up and strangled everyone who was betting on Sungchan.
Now, the rules were quite simple. No interfering with the couple - no prodding or coaxing one of them into confessing. That was it. And it was fair, everyone agreed.
That had been three weeks beforehand, and everyone was already getting slightly antsy, seeing that there seemed to be no progress with Shotaro and Sungchan - they had been acting the same as before.
And then it happened.
Yuta and Doyoung had been walking back to the dorm for a group dinner (with all 23 of them, it was going to be a chaotic hell) when they passed a recording studio that had the door cracked open. Observant as ever, Yuta immediately picked up on two people talking inside. Specifically, Shotaro and Sungchan talking. He caught a brief ‘I have something to tell you, actually’ and immediately grabbed Doyoung’s arm, yanking him to beside the doorway, where the kids couldn’t see them.
“Wh--” Yuta clamped a hand over his mouth before jerking his head towards the door. Oh. OH. Doyoung’s eyes widened and in sync they both moved a little closer to the open door.
“Hyung, did I do something wrong?” And Sungchan’s voice was uncharacteristically small and anxious. Doyoung wanted so badly to pat his head, give him a big hug and then a chocolate cookie. Alas, the most he can do is send out prayers.
“God, no!” Even Shotaro sounded a little anxious, albeit more frantic, not wanting Sungchan to think he did something bad. “It’s more like…I might’ve done something wrong? I don’t know, I know it’s not bad but the fact it’s you I’d hate to fuck this up so bad-“
Doyoung let out a silent groan. Shotaro was going through the ‘I can’t like my best friend, everything’s platonic between us, right?’ phase. He knew it all too well.
“Taro-hyung,” Sungchan cut off Shotaro’s rambling, and Doyoung for the life of him could not read what was in his voice. “Just say it, please. We can work it out together after--”
“Ilikeyou,” Shotaro blurted out then. “A lot.”
Doyoung knew everyone was holding their breath at that - now it was just a matter of what Sungchan’s reaction was. Yuta did a small victory dance beside Doyoung, and he resisted the urge to strangle the older.
“Say again?” Now Sungchan’s voice was full of hope and excitement.
“I like you, and I know that’s bad because we’re just friends and everything we ever do will only be platonic, and--”
Sungchan cut him off with a repeated, “Hyung, hyung, hyun, Taro-hyung!” Shotaro stopped talking, and then, “I like you too.”
The room so quiet Doyoung could’ve heard a pin drop.
“You…you do? You like me back?” Shotaro’s voice was so hopeful but with a tinge of doubt. Doyoung chose that moment to pull Yuta away, wanting to give the kids some privacy.
As they walked away, Doyoung could feel Yuta absolutely brimming with excitement. Once they left the building, Yuta turned to Doyoung with a proud look on his face.
“I told you so. I am getting fucking RICH tonight.”
“You are SO lucky I love you.”
Later, at the dorm as they waited for the rest of the members to file in, Yuta was walking around with a smug grin and not giving one single hint as to what happened. And then it happened.
Shotaro and Sungchan appeared about fifteen minutes after Doyoung and Yuta came into the dorm, holding hands. Taeil had seen them first and said, very offhandedly but loud enough for everyone to hear, “Oh, look, they’re holding hands.”
Everyone froze in their spots, staring at Sungchan and Shotaro. No one moved for exactly two seconds before Sungchan finally said, preening, “I have a boyfriend now.”
Chaos broke throughout the dorm, everyone cheering and congratulating them on fucking finally confessing after about a year or so of pining. Shotaro seemed a little surprised by the sudden outburst and by God was it adorable. Sungchan on the other hand was absolutely thriving.
“Okay, okay, before we move on,” Donghyuck said seriously once the cheering died down. He leaned forward in his seat to stare the two down, and even Sungchan froze under his gaze. “Who confessed first?”
Doyoung could practically feel the whole room holding their breath, and even though he knew the answer the anticipation was simmering under his skin.
“I did,” Shotaro had announced, and chaos broke out once again. Though this time it was a mix of swearing and cheering - it took them both a second to realize what happened, but it clicked for Shotaro once Donghyuck started going around collecting money.
Doubling over with laughter, Shotaro managed to ask, “You guys bet on us?”
“What, you wouldn’t?” Donghyuck asked, rolling his eyes with a small smile on his face. “Now, then,” he finished collecting everyone’s money and piled it on the coffee table, “time to get your money, bitches.”
🌻
“You know who else was bet on?” Doyoung asks, sipping his tea.
It takes Yuta a second, but he turns to Doyoung when it clicks.
“Oh.”
🌻
It was right after NCT 2018 - the whole group was gathered within the 127 dorm, as per tradition - when it finally fucking happened.
There had been some stupid question asked by someone and they all took turns answering - something along the lines of who their type is. Yuta had groaned at the cheesiness of the question, but went along with it anyway. It was their first break in ages it felt like, he was tipsy, everyone was tipsy or at least on the way there, so he had decided ‘fuck it’ and answered it honestly.
“My type? Well,” Yuta threw back a shot before answering, set the glass down, then let his eyes flit across the table to find Doyoung - who was already looking at him. “My type is…” Yuta looked down at the glass he set down, finger trailing around the rim distractedly. “I don’t really have a specific type, but he has to be sweet to everyone. He might be an introvert, but he does everything he can to make other people comfortable, even if it means stepping a little out of his comfort zone. He likes cooking for people, he likes learning their first language to help them feel less homesick, and he also likes to learn lullabies from their country to sing to them at night, because he knows that person has missed them.”
Yuta finally looked up at Doyoung, praying to God Doyoung was able to read in between the lines - he better have, putting his feelings up on a billboard would’ve been less obvious than what he just said.
“He has to be a little taller than me and younger than me. People think he’s a lot like a bunny and he takes my flirting in stride despite the threats he throws my way.” Yuta’s rambling was an absolute mess at that point, and he just hoped Doyoung understood what the fuck he was trying to say.
“That’s…oddly specific,” Doyoung finally said, and Yuta blinked. Let his brain process what his literal soulmate just said. Blinked again.
“You dense motherfucker,” Yuta said faintly and lovingly, “that was entirely about you.”
“It-- what--” If Doyoung wasn’t already blushing from the alcohol before, he was definitely blushing from Yuta’s words now.
“I’ve been flirting with you for the past year - I like you,” Yuta emphasized the last three words by leaning across the table. The rest of the group was watching with baited breath, and for that brief moment Yuta genuinely did not give a fuck who saw this.
Doyoung’s jaw dropped and, shocked, he exclaimed, “I LIKE YOU TOO, WHAT THE FUCK!”
“JESUS CHRIST,” Yuta slumped in his chair as he dragged his hands over his face before sitting up again. He opened his mouth again, but Taeil beat him to it, ever the lightweight.
“FINALLY!!”
Johnny stood up then, “Alright, time to pay up bitches.”
“You bet on us?!” Doyoung shrieked.
🌻
“Their confession was a little more…eloquent than ours, that’s for fucking sure.” Yuta huffs out a laugh before cuddling up more against Doyoung’s side.
“They were so damn wholesome. Still are. We’re just a mess.” Doyoung says, and Yuta giggles.
“Damn right about that. We’re a hot mess though, so it’s fine.”
Later that night, after they finished the movie in relative peace, Yuta’s arms are wrapped around Doyoung’s waist, one hand tracing random patterns against his stomach, when he brings up something else.
“I wonder who’s gonna say I love you first.”
Doyoung hums, a little sleepy already, “They haven’t yet?”
“I don’t think so, we probably would’ve heard of it by now,” Yuta says.
“Who was it that said I love you first of the two of us?” Yuta doesn’t have to raise his head to know Doyoung’s slightly pouting in thought, like he always does when he’s trying to remember something when he’s already tired as fuck.
“It was you, you idiot,” Yuta says affectionately. “I remember it distinctly, it was accidental and you were very sleepy. Like right now, except moreso. It was absolutely adorable and you wouldn’t stop blushing when you realized what you said after.”
Doyoung groans as the memory comes back to him, “Right, how could I forget.” Yuta giggles as he moves up onto his elbow. Leaning down, he presses a kiss to Doyoung’s lips. They kiss for a short while, Doyoung bringing a hand up to play with Yuta’s vibrant red hair as Yuta kept his hand on Doyoung’s waist, now rubbing his thumb against his hip.
“It was sweet, baby,” he says as he pulls away a little. “I loved it, I wouldn't have it any other way, to be honest.”
Doyoung blushes slightly, but he maintains eye contact. “I’m glad, then.”
Then he pulls Yuta down for another kiss, pulling him more into his lap, sleepiness clearly wiped away now.
“I love you,” Doyoung whispers and Yuta smiles before diving back into the kiss.
~
Sungchan fidgets as he waits on the roof for Shotaro. Sungchan had told Shotaro to meet him up there because he had something important to tell him - he was nervous but excited. And the wait was killing him. A door opens up behind him and Sungchand automatically knows who it is.
“Sungchannie?” Shotaro calls out softly as he makes his way to Sungchan. Sungchan turns and, God, even in the dim light of the city lights at 11pm, Shotaro looked absolutely gorgeous. Flawless, even.
“What’s up?” Shotaro tilts his head, shivering a little when a breeze passes by in the warm summer air.
“Just, um…had something to tell you,” Sungchan says, dropping his gaze to Shotaro’s hands. On instinct, he reaches out to grab them, just to hold them. He finds so much comfort in holding Shotaro’s hands, he doesn’t really know why. He simply does.
It’s just three words, what’s so hard about saying them?
“Take your time,” Shotaro says softly, soothingly rubbing his thumb across Sungchan’s skin. “We have all the time in the world, love.”
Ok, this is it.
“I love you.” Shotaro’s breath hitches, and Sungchan looks up to find Shotaro’s wide eyes staring at him.
“God, I was waiting for you to say it, I’ve been wanting to say it for ages,” Shotaro breathes out, cheeks bunching up as he smiles.
“Can you say it, please, please, please--” Sungchan rushes out, wanting so desperately to hear it.
“I love you, Jung Sungchan,” Shotaro declares and wow, Sungchan might’ve stopped breathing?
Instead of saying anything else, way too overwhelmed with emotions, Sungchan leans down to kiss the love of his life. Shotaro’s taken aback, but welcomes it and kisses back with just as much energy.
“Fuck, I love you so much, you would not believe--” Sungchan says when he pulls away slightly, and Shotaro giggles, cutting him off.
“I believe it, trust me.” Sungchan pulls away enough to see a whole fucking galaxy in each of his eyes. “I love you,” Shotaro says before leaning up on his toes to press another kiss to Sungchan’s lips.