Archive of Our Own ^beta

₊˚⊹ ᰔ 1 ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

It all started that fateful day, at Changbin’s birthday party. Chan is giddy to bring Minho as his date—not because their relationship is that new, but because they’re both very close with Changbin and are looking forward to teasing him.

What Chan didn’t expect, was to see just about the cutest man alive sitting on Changbin’s couch. Cutest man alive after Minho, of course, but he’s certainly up there. 

“Hi, I’m Han Jisung,” the man says, introducing himself with a little bow. It’s not often that Minho and Chan are at a loss of words, but they both spend a moment to look over Jisung before sharing a look.

The name sounds familiar from Changbin’s stories, and Chan briefly wonders where this man has been all of his life, but then Jisung looks at them with wide and curious eyes, probably wondering why they aren’t reciprocating the introduction.

“Hi! Uhm. I’m Bang Chan. Long-time friend of Changbin’s, nice to meet you,” he quickly bows his head as well. Jisung smiles.

“I’m Lee Minho, I’m—” Minho begins, but Jisung interrupts him with a bright expression.

“You’re also Changbin’s friend! He talks about you a lot. Both of you. And—Uhm, a lot of it is jokes so, uhm, I hope to see what’s real and what’s not,” he says with an awkward chuckle, his cheeks bunching up in the process. Chan glances at Minho and can already tell from his gaze that he wants to bite into the swell of them. 

“Why have we never seen you before?” Minho asks, a little intensely, if Jisung’s reaction is anything to judge by. Chan wonders if there’s something in the air, or if it’s just Jisung’s cute face. It triggers something inside Chan he decides to call a protective instinct for now.

“Oh. Uhm. I—I’m not sure. I’m a bit of a homebody, maybe, so I haven’t really met any of Changbin’s friends yet,” he explains. “I— I’m a high school friend of his. We happened to bump into each other and caught up a couple of months ago.”

“Ah! You’ve met Jisungie! Great!” Changbin pops into the conversation before they can utter another word. “Let’s have cake and drinks and celebrate me now, okay? You guys can talk all you want later.” 

The man throws his head back and laughs, earning himself a punch in the arm from Minho and adorable laughter from Jisung. Chan watches it all with a fond expression, and he can’t help but wrap his arms around Changbin and hug him tightly, wishing him a happy birthday.

“Channie hyung is always like that,” he hears Minho whisper, already making conversation with Jisung. 

They celebrate Changbin’s birthday with cake and drinks, games and conversations, all of Changbin’s closest friends playing with each other and laughing. Chan knows everyone except for Jisung, but he quickly learns that the man is just as lovable as Changbin’s other friends.

He learns that Jisung makes music, that he’s smart and funny, and that he has a pretty low alcohol tolerance—even lower than Minho, who gets flushed after one glass of soju, but not drunk. Jisung, however, seems to already be drunk after one glass.

It’s quite endearing to see him with blush on his cheeks, wide pupils, laughing with his whole body, and being clingy with Changbin. It reminds Chan of drunk Minho, except then a little clingier and a little less incomprehensible, and that thought fills him with a kind of sweetness he can’t quite place.

Chan prefers not to drink—mostly so that he can take care of his friends if needed, and can bring Minho home safely—and tonight, that comes in handy. Minho isn’t too drunk to function, but Changbin is, and most of his other friends, including Jisung, are, too.

“Okay. Time to wrap up,” Chan announces with a laugh, looking around Changbin’s living room. The conversations have become incomprehensible, and the birthday boy has fallen fast asleep, cheek squished against Felix’s shoulder. “Does everyone have a way to go home?”

Seungmin lives within ten minutes by foot, and Jeongin and Hyunjin note that they will crash at his place, Felix will stay and sleep over at Changbin’s, and Minho will go home with him, of course, but Jisung stays silent. 

“Jisung-ah?” Minho snaps his fingers in front of the man’s face. Jisung blinks, eyes a little red as he looks at Minho. Something inside Chan stirs. “Are you staying here? Or going home?”

“Uhmmm…” Jisung tilts his head, blinking slowly. He seems dizzy. Chan silently leaves to get him a glass of water. Jisung drinks it, adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. He wipes his lips afterwards. “I don’t know~ Hmmm… forgot to ask hyung.” 

Minho looks over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows at Chan in a way that Chan knows means ‘what should we do?’. 

“We’ll bring you home, come on,” Chan suggests, offering his hand for Jisung to take. It’s the right thing to do, after all. A friend of Changbin’s is a friend of theirs. 

Minho holds out his hand, too, and the two of them pull Jisung off the couch. Jisung stumbles, almost tripping over his feet, so Chan hooks his shoulder under Jisung’s arm to support him on the way out.

Jisung giggles and mumbles something Chan doesn’t quite get, but whatever he says makes Minho laugh, so it automatically makes Chan smile. Once they’re in the car, it takes them a while to get Jisung to remember his address, but eventually, he gives them the area and the name of the street, and Chan gets driving.

Jisung almost falls asleep a couple of times, but Minho manages to keep him awake. Minho also whispers to Chan that he’s going to put their numbers into Jisung’s phone so they can keep in touch with him after this. Chan wholeheartedly agrees with that action. 

They drop him off at his apartment, grab a glass of water for him, and then bid the man goodbye after making him promise to call them if he needs anything else. 

“Isn’t this pretty domestic?” Minho snickers and holds onto Chan’s arm. Minho is still a little flushed, so he must not be completely sober yet. (Chan is actively ignoring his own very sober blush that is creeping up his neck.)

“We’re— We’re doing what Changbin would do for our friends and family, too,” Chan tells him with a laugh, but it doesn’t quite sound genuine even to himself, although he isn’t entirely sure why. Minho simply hums in response.

They don’t talk about Jisung any further, but the man doesn’t quite leave Chan’s mind for the rest of the night. Not until the next morning, when Jisung texts them to thank them for taking him home.

₊˚⊹ ᰔ 2 ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

Jisung doesn’t quite disappear from their lives. In fact, he calls Minho the evening after Changbin’s birthday party to ask if he can come over to bring him his jacket. When he arrives—seemingly surprised that Chan is there, too—he thanks them about a thousand extra times, and tells them that they shouldn’t have gone through the trouble to bring him home.

Minho tells him not to worry about it, that a friend of Changbin’s is a friend of theirs, and that Jisung can treat them as such. And now that he’s there, Minho thinks it’s appropriate the man meets their pets.

If Jisung was adorable just normally existing, then he’s out of this world when he interacts with Soonie, Doongie, Dori, and Berry. Minho tries his hardest not to melt into a puddle of mush and cuteness aggression, but neither he nor Chan are succeeding very well, if the way they are squeezing each other’s hands and arms is anything to go by.

Jisung is very friendly with the pets, albeit a bit careful at first. The cats seem to like him, however, and if Minho didn’t already like him, he’d certainly do so now. At some point, however, Jisung starts sniffling and sneezing a suspicious amount.

“Are—Are you allergic, Jisung-ah?” Chan asks him, and Jisung, with his big brown beautiful eyes, looks at them and nods.

“Uhm. Yes. But they’re so cute! I—I should probably go and take some medicine, but, uhm… Please send me a lot of pictures!” he stammers with a slightly awkward bow. Minho wants to tell him not to be so formal, but he’s already thanking them again and then scurrying away.

Minho already misses him— No, he does not. That’s just his brain tricking him because his cats like him. He’ll get over it. 

But he doesn’t really get over it. 

They send Jisung plenty of pictures of their pets. Some nights, Chan and he look at each other while playing with their pets, and, simultaneously, they’ll open their group chat with Jisung to spam him with pictures and coo over their own pets at the same time.

They don’t really see Jisung in person, until they are invited to Jisung, Felix, and Seungmin’s  joint birthday gathering at Felix’s place. Apparently the three of them aren’t only born in the same year, but also within 8 days of each other. 

He and Chan prepare a cake for them together, and find out that Jisung has a big sweet tooth and even bigger love for cheesecake. Minho feels like that is information he should remember.

After a loud and off-tune birthday song for the three men, and some cake, Felix announces that he’ll make drinks for everyone. Minho notices that Jisung gets something without much alcohol, which makes him snicker to himself.

“Come, Chan hyung, we’ll go talk to Jisungie some more,” he suggests, tugging on Chan’s arm before plopping down on the couch next to the man in question, his drink in hand. Jisung’s eyes widen and he smiles. 

“Hi, Minho hyung. And— And Chan hyung.” Minho can’t believe someone can be so pretty and endearing while just saying their names, but Jisung’s heart-shaped lips, round cheeks, floofy hair and sharp jaw, prove to Minho that someone can infact still mesmerize him, after Chan.

Okay, that sounds like Chan is some kind of long lost ex boyfriend. He is still very much Minho’s current boyfriend and Minho is still very much infatuated with him. 

But Jisung still captures him. The way he talks about his favorite anime, music, or fun facts he picked up, is enchanting. Minho feels at ease with him. 

“Can I get you two something else to drink? Something special for the birthday boy?” Chan asks after over an hour of nonstop talking and laughing. Jisung presses his lips together and hums. 

“I don't know,” he replies with a chuckle, cheeks pink. Minho wonders if it's because of his alcohol tolerance. 

“You can get me my favorite, right?” Minho turns to Chan and blinks. Chan squints. 

“No,” he says, but Minho can already tell he doesn't mean it. He glares anyway, eliciting a laugh from Chan. “Okay, fine. I’ll get you your favorite, you spoiled cat.”

Chan leans forward and places a brief yet sweet kiss on Minho's lips. He then stands up to face Jisung again, whose big eyes suddenly look like they've become even wider. “You sure I can't get you anything?”

“Ah, uhm… Actually! Please get me something sweet. Doesn’t really matter what. Thank you, hyung,” he says with a smile, his shoulders sagging a little bit. Minho wonders what made him change his mind, but perhaps he’s just thirsty. 

Chan brings them their drinks, and Minho watches Jisung become drunker by the sip, clinging on to Changbin and spouting stuff even Minho can’t understand. He leans over to his boyfriend and asks, “Did you give him something strong?” 

“I didn’t! I—Well, I mixed some soju with some juices. It… I didn’t think it’d have such an effect on him,” Chan says with a chuckle, his ears are red and Minho grabs the shell to tug on it. 

“Oh well, I guess it’ll give us an excuse to carry him home again.” He laughs, as if it’s a joke. It’s not a joke, and Chan doesn’t take it as one, either. For some reason, Jisung has that effect on them. 

At the end of the night, Chan is the only sober one left, again. Minho isn’t drunk, because he doesn’t like dealing with the aftermath, but he’s not entirely sober anymore. Changbin has fallen asleep, again, and so has Hyunjin. Seungmin is still singing birthday songs with Felix, and Jeongin is playing a game on Felix’s switch. Minho wonders where he even got that thing.

Chan goes through the routine—asking everyone if they’ve got a place to sleep and a way to get home. Seungmin tells him that he’ll get a taxi for him, Jeongin, and whoever else wants it (probably Hyunjin), in a bit. Felix says that he won’t wake Changbin up and that he’ll let him sleep here. 

Jisung is left, who seems a little too drunk to properly think. Minho sighs and pats the man’s head, gently ruffling his hair. “You don’t have to answer, we’ll bring you home.”

Jisung looks up at him with wide eyes, and Minho feels like he’s about to melt into a puddle. It should genuinely be illegal for someone to affect him this much— It’s probably because he’s tipsy. Yeah, that must be it. 

“Are you sure, hyungs? Am I not… I don’t know~~” Jisung says before slurring something incomprehensible. Minho shrugs and shakes his head.

“I don’t know what you said, but you should go home with us, drink some water and sleep in your soft lovely bed? We’ll gladly take you home~” Minho responds with a chuckle. Chan comes to stand next to him and the two of them grab his arms to pull him up. Jisung doesn’t protest and lets them pull him with them.

Minho sits in the back of the car with Jisung, who is trying to stay awake, blinking his eyes. Minho decides to help him by talking about anime and poking the man’s cheek with his pointer finger. Every time he catches Chan looking at them through the rearview mirror, the man is smiling.

Once Jisung is home, they bring him a glass of water again and stay to make sure he drinks it and sobers up a little. Jisung doesn’t make any eye contact with them, but there’s something about his shy expression—his plump lower lip, long lashes, round cheeks—that makes Minho’s heart flutter.

“Will you be okay, Jisung-ah?” Chan asks him, his voice soft and gentle. It’s the same voice he uses on Minho whenever he’s soothing him, and it makes Minho shiver, goosebumps on his arms.

“Yeah, I will. Thanks for being so kind to me, hyungs. I— I’ll repay you—” Jisung begins, but Minho immediately shushes him, bringing a finger to the man’s lips. 

“No need. We’re friends, after all,” he says. Jisung pouts a little. It’s bad for Minho’s health, so he looks away. It’s time to wish him good night and ignore the feelings jittering in Minho’s chest. “But if you insist… You could repay us with a good time—anime and music. We’ll bring food.”

“Huh? But—?” Jisung blinks, cutting himself off when Minho quickly turns around and tugs Chan away with him. He’s embarrassed for some reason.

“Good night, Jisung-ah! See you tomorrow!” he exclaims, holding onto Chan’s arm while the latter waves Jisung goodbye. Chan laughs as they leave the building.

“You are so cute, Minho-yah,” he says. And he doesn’t have to say it, because Minho knows they’re both thinking the same, so in his head, he adds, and so is Jisungie.

₊˚⊹ ᰔ 3 ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

Jisung remembers what happened the night of his birthday party, and he can’t seem to get rid of his habit of thanking Minho and Chan way too much every time they bring him home. It makes him even more adorable than he already is.

Chan feels like he and Minho have been majorly sucked into Jisung’s orbit, and now they’re twirling around him, caught by his gravity. He simply fits so well into their lives already. Chan and Minho have weekly anime nights, where they cuddle up and watch their favorite animes or catch up on new episodes, but having an anime marathon with Jisung and Minho feels natural, as if he’s a puzzle piece they’ve been missing in the picture of their relationship.

Not only that, but he’s also a very talented musician, and Chan feels like they’d work together well. Whenever he talks to Jisung about music, it feels like they’ve known each other for longer than a mere month.

The three of them listen to music, from the charts to obscure underground artists, forgetting about time until their stomachs remind them to eat. 

At the end of the day, Chan thinks he might be in love with Jisung. 

He doesn’t tell Minho, but he thinks that his boyfriend might already be aware of his feelings. He might even feel the same, which is a thought that brings Chan a lot of comfort, because he loves Minho a lot and values his opinion.

Therefore, it’s only natural that they invite Jisung to Chan’s birthday dinner. What Chan doesn't realize, however, is that it means that Jisung will prepare him a gift. 

Usually, Chan tells everyone that he doesn't want to receive anything and that their presence is enough, and he tells Jisung the same, expecting him to leave it at that, because how long do they really know each other? 

But then Jisung rings their doorbell and enters his and Minho's apartment with a guitar on his back and a shy smile on his face. It's Minho who opens the door initially, but Chan finds himself drawn to Jisung’s voice and Minho's laughter like a moth to a flame. 

“Hi hyung, happy birthday!” Jisung tells him, quickly putting down his guitar case before jumping in Chan’s arms for a hug. Chan all but melts against him, his heart making a whole fuss about it.

“Hi Jisung-ah, glad you could make it. We got some cheesecake in the kitchen, Minho will get you some,” Chan tells him, a blush creeping up his neck. Jisung’s eyes widen, lighting up like fireworks at the mention of cheesecake. Chan’s ears grow warm.

“Thank you! I—I have a present for you, so I’ll give it to you after I eat. Is that okay?” Jisung offers, shuffling on his feet. He seems a bit nervous, and Chan wonders if it has something to do with his guitar. He recognizes the case from Jisung’s home, so that cannot be the present, and the only thing else he can think of is a song.

Surely Jisung’s present isn’t a song, right?

Right?

But it is. At some point, when everyone has arrived and has gotten some cake and a drink, Jisung sits him (and Minho) down, guitar on his lap, lower lip caught between his teeth. Changbin and Minho shush everyone who dares to make any noise.

There’s a flush on Jisung’s cheeks, and Chan feels warm, his heart throbbing in his ears. He’s buzzing in anticipation, and after what feels like a lifetime, Jisung finally clears his throat to announce the song he’s going to song. The song he wrote in a month. For him. For his birthday.

He sings it with so much feeling—about being clumsy yet finding a friend in an unexpected place—it makes Chan choke up. There’s something melancholic about the song, or maybe about the way Jisung sings it, but Chan can’t quite place the feeling.

Before he knows it, however, tears are streaming down his face. Tears of joy, gratitude, some other things in the soup of emotions he can’t give a name to at this moment. 

As soon as the song ends, everyone starts clapping for Jisung, who smiles, his eyes bright and full of relief. Minho grabs Chan by the shoulders and shakes him, cackling when he sees that Chan is crying.

“Come on, jagi. Don’t cry! It’s a happy day!” he says, and Chan nods, wiping his tears.

“I know! I know. Thank you so much, Jisung-ah. It— It was beautiful. Genuinely.” He takes a couple of deep breaths and will himself to smile. Jisung puts his guitar away and welcomes Chan into his arms for a grateful hug. 

“I’m glad you liked it, hyung. I… I was nervous, but I should have known you’d appreciate it,” Jisung whispers, letting Chan squeeze him tight for a moment. Then, he pulls away and grins, his lips spreading into a heart. “Happy birthday!”

Chan’s heart is going crazy. As Jisung smiles, Chan realizes that he wants to kiss him. He wants to kiss Jisung more than anything in the world—wants to cup his cheeks and pull him close, showing him just how much this means to him.

The feeling pulls on him, yet he stays frozen in the moment, looking into Jisung’s dark eyes.

“Okay! Let us get started on dinner. Chan-ah, will you help me for just a second?” Minho announces, pulling Chan from his trance. He swallows and hums in confirmation, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

Minho takes his hand and pulls him towards the kitchen. Chan doesn’t know where to look, but he glances over his shoulder to see Jisung’s expression, which has dimmed. For a second, he fears Minho’s reaction — what if he noticed Chan’s thoughts? — but when he gathers the courage to face him, he is met with a sunny and giddy smile.

“Argh, I don’t know if I want to yell because I’m so happy or because I’m jealous you got serenaded by Jisungie.” Minho grabs his shoulders and shakes him again. Chan snorts.

“I— It’s just because it’s my birthday, love. He’d do the same for you,” he says, trying to be casual, but his heart is going completely haywire. Minho purses his lips and shrugs, but his ears are pink— Does he feel the same?

“I… I hope so, but today is not about me. You should be indulging, should be happy. And I think you were. I saw that look in your eyes. A look I know all too well,” Minho tells him, a slight smirk on his face. Yet, there’s something curious in his look. Chan can’t lie to his boyfriend, so he decides to spill.

“I am. I— In fact, I think his song might have unleashed something in me. I mean, we were both fond of him from the beginning, right?” Chan pauses, raising his brows at Minho, heart hammering against his ribs in anticipation. Minho softens and nods, his expression granting Chan some relief.

“Yes. And I think that fondness has only grown over the past weeks. I think we both like him a lot, and he fits so well in our friend group, fits well with our life. And—” Chan takes a deep breath, hoping it will calm his beating heart a little. “Just now, when he was singing… Or actually after he sang, I realized that I really want to kiss him. I want him, Minho-yah. Is that bad? Is that a bad thing? Am I—”

“If wanting him or wanting to kiss him is a bad thing, then I’m just as bad as you are, Chan-ah,” Minho blurts, ears red like fresh peppers. Chan almost chokes on his spit. 

“You—You feel the same?” he whispers, the corners of his lips twitching up into a smile. Minho nods, a lopsided smile on his face. Chan steps forward and hugs Minho tight, relief seeping into his muscles. “God—I love you so much, Minho-yah.”

Minho laughs as he wraps his arms around Chan’s waist. “I don’t know what prompted this, but I love you, too, jagi.”

“Now, go back and celebrate,” Minho presses a firm kiss onto Chan’s lips and pats his butt. Chan lets out a noise of confusion.

“Didn’t you want me to help you out?” Chan asks with a chuckle. Minho snickers and shakes his head, squeezing Chan’s butt and eliciting a squeak from him.

“That was an excuse for me to talk to you about Jisungie~ I wouldn’t let you cook on your own birthday. Now go on!” Minho slaps his behind again, and Chan laughs before kissing Minho’s cheek and returning to the living room with renewed vigor.

He bumps into Jisung on his way, gasping in surprise. His heart stutters—Did Jisung hear anything they discussed in there just now? 

“Jisung-ah! Can I help you with something?” Chan asks with a chuckle, hoping that Jisung won’t notice his blush. Jisung seems just as caught off guard as he is, but he blinks and shakes his head.

“I was just seeing if I could get myself something to drink,” he explains, mindlessly scratching his arm, as if he’s asking Chan to build him a bomb. 

“Let me do it! Is there anyone else who wants something? What would you like?” Chan quickly assures him. 

“Sure. I’d like what you made me on my birthday,” he requests, surprisingly, because last time he ended up drunk with it. If he says so, though, Chan won’t decline. “Yes, I’m sure. I can handle it, hyung!”

Jisung laughs and Chan mirrors it. “That wasn’t my concern! Although, maybe a little. But all right, then. I’ll make you something. Go sit down and I’ll join you guys in a minute.”

Jisung cannot really handle his drink. Maybe it’s because he took a sip of whatever Felix was drinking, too, but at the end of the dinner, he’s his adorably flushed, slow, clingy, and loud drunk self again. 

He’s the only one who’s tipsy enough to be worried about, and Chan hopes that he’s all right. Even Changbin seems a bit concerned about him.

“He usually doesn’t get drunk at all. He doesn’t even like the taste of alcohol,” Changbin says, nodding his head at his friend, who is lying face down on the couch. “I’ll take him home.”

“You don’t have to. It’s been kind of a tradition for us to do it—even if we’ve only done it twice,” Minho says, crossing his arms, and looking at Jisung with a fond look in his eyes. Changbin opens his mouth to protest, but he pauses and closes it again.

“Oh. Okay, yeah, fine. If you want to, go ahead.” A smirk grows on the man’s face, and Chan wonders if he’s onto them. If he is, he doesn’t say it.

Jisung falls asleep in the car on their way to his apartment. Minho is driving this time, allowing Chan to sit next to Jisung to keep an eye on him.

“I think we should tell Jisung, shouldn’t we?” he wonders out loud, eyes focused on the way Jisung’s cheek is squished against his shoulder. Minho hums, gaze straying to look at them through the rearview mirror. 

“Yeah. Maybe we should give him some hints first, though. Not— Not like we haven’t been showing how fond we are already, but I think we can crank up the flirtation dial,” he says with a laugh, keeping his voice down so they don’t wake Jisung. 

Chan holds a hand in front of his mouth as he chuckles. “Okay. It could be fun, I guess. I hope it won’t make him uncomfortable, though,” he admits.

“Let’s trust him to tell us to back off,” Minho responds. “For tonight, I think just tucking him into bed will be enough.”

Chan carries Jisung into his apartment, while Minho gets him a glass of water. They put him in the kitchen and Chan gently pats his cheeks to wake him up. “Hey, Jisung-ah. Wake up for a second, all right? You should drink some water and brush your teeth.”

Jisung groggily blinks open his eyes, disoriented and probably enduring a headache. He grabs the glass of water Minho hands him and gulps it down, adam’s apple bobbing. “Ah— Thank you, hyung-ah. I don’t deserve you,” he slurs softly, pushing the empty glass back into Minho’s hands.

“You do. We’re doing this out of free will,” Minho retorts. He looks at Chan and cocks his head towards Jisung, signaling him to hand over his tooth-brush. Jisung accepts it and brushes his teeth, seemingly operating on about five percent capacity.

Chan and Minho simply stand together, shoulder to shoulder, and look at him. Chan imagines what it would be like to have him in their apartment like this, sleepily sat on the counters, brushing his teeth. His stomach flips.

He still remembers how affected he was when he and Minho started to be domestic. And now, he gets a sneak peek of how it is to have Jisung with them.

Jisung manages to redress himself into his pajamas, but he falls asleep, face down on top of his bed. After fondly admiring the sight, Chan and Minho tuck him in, leaving a peck on top of his head before leaving.

Chan feels like today has been a very good birthday. 

₊˚⊹ ᰔ 4 ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

Minho has been looking forward to today ever since Chan’s birthday. The day after, Jisung stopped by with two beautiful flowers and a bag full of takeout, to thank them for bringing him home and to apologize for the inconvenience on Chan’s birthday.

“Bullshit,” Minho said, a bit bluntly, but he had to get a point across. Chan took the flowers and put them in the nicest vase he could find. “Changbin offered to take you home, but we told him we wanted to do it.”

“Okay, well I hope you'll still accept my show of gratitude? We could eat and watch something together if you have time?” Jisung had responded, sounding unsure of himself as if he was aware of how excited Minho and Chan were to see him again so soon after discussing their feelings for the man. 

They sat on either side of him as they watched an animated movie, ignoring Jisung’s protests and telling him that they cuddle all the time. 

Jisung didn't get the hint. 

He still doesn't seem to get it, which is why Minho thinks his own birthday is the perfect opportunity to crank up their flirtation. Jisung gifts him mangas for his birthday, and Minho makes sure to thank him properly, by telling him how sweet he is and patting him under his chin in gratitude.

He bought cheesecake, especially for Jisung, too. Chan makes him his special drink (only a single drop of alcohol, this time) and they make sure to be extra touchy with him. Jisung’s face is red throughout the night, and Minho can tell that their friends really want to speak up, but he’s glad that they don’t. This is between him, Chan, and Jisung.

Although Jisung does not seem to respond well. It’s not like he seems disgusted, in fact, he seems to subconsciously lean into their touches, but when he realizes what he’s doing he freezes up. 

“Hey, Jisung-ah, relax. You can cuddle with us, it’s okay. It’s my birthday dinner,” Minho assures him, throwing an arm around his shoulder and tapping his cheek. Chan hums and places his hand on Jisung’s thigh.

“I—I know, but, I don’t know, I feel like I’m overstepping, sitting between you two like this,” Jisung admits with a chuckle. He’s fidgeting with his fingers, as if he’s afraid of touching them more than he already is. 

“You’re not,” Chan tells him firmly, fingers grazing Jisung’s hands. Jisung takes a deep breath, eyes flicking around. He grabs a drink from the coffee table and gulps it down. That wasn’t his drink.

“H-Hey! That’s mine!” Changbin complains with a pout. The rest of their friends start cackling and Jisung apologizes after wiping his lips. “What is up with you, Jisung-ah! You never drink like this.”

“Sorry! I’m sorry, hyung. I just—” Jisung begins, swallowing thickly, but Changbin waves him off. 

“No, it’s all right. I guess I put it in a weird spot. I’ll get something else to drink,” he says with a shrug. Minho briefly wonders what made him change his mind. Maybe he realizes that it could have been an honest mistake.

“Well. I’ll get some more food for all of us!” Minho says with a clap of his hands, but before he stands up, he turns to face Jisung and whispers, “Hey. If we’re crossing a line here, please just tell us, all right?”

Jisung’s eyes are wide and nods. “It’s—It’s fine. You’re being sweet,” he says, and although he doesn’t seem to be lying, Minho feels like this isn’t the entire truth. Maybe they shouldn’t have this conversation in front of everyone.

“Okay. Good,” Minho smiles and briefly caresses Jisung’s warm cheek. Jisung looks into Minho’s eyes with a hopeful gaze. He looks beautiful, as always, and Minho is reluctant to leave him. 

When Minho returns with the food, Jisung is draped over Chan’s lap, head in his hands, slurring something about Changbin’s drink being too strong. Minho laughs, his heart bursting with fondness for him.

The night ends late, due to the eight of them not being able to shut up around each other. There aren’t as much tipsy people as usual, so they all can get home by themselves. Jisung, too. He’s not drunk anymore—Minho and Chan made sure to feed him enough—but he is tipsy. 

Therefore, Minho and Chan still insist on bringing him home. Jisung says they’ve done enough, but Minho assures him that they want to.

“Why are you two so sweet to me?” Jisung asks with a slight pout. Minho snickers and pats his hand.

“Is there anything wrong with being sweet?” he responds, raising an eyebrow at the younger, who shakes his head. 

“No, there’s not. It’s just that… Ahh~ I don’t know,” Jisung says with a long sigh. 

“It’s all right, you’re very cute and lovely and kind, too, so we’re glad to be sweet to you,” Chan adds, and Minho wholeheartedly agrees. And now, with Jisung pouting, he can’t deny that he wants to kiss the man absolutely silly.  

Once at Jisung’s apartment, they perform the same routine as always—fill a glass of water for Jisung, and make sure he brushes his teeth—but this time, Jisung isn’t as drunk, but he does look sleepier than usual.

And perhaps he looks sad, somehow, and Minho can’t help but wonder if it’s his fault, if he made a mistake by flirting with him. 

The three of them sit in the kitchen as Jisung sips down his water, Chan and Minho with a matching drink in their hands. The latter two share a look, silently asking each other what to do. 

Chan is the first to act, stepping forward and putting his glass down before placing his hand on Jisung’s shoulder. “Are you okay, Jisung-ah? Should we… Should we stay with you, tonight?”

Minho’s heart stutters at the suggestion Chan makes, but he isn’t sure how Jisung feels. Before the younger can answer, Minho adds, “We wouldn’t offer if we wouldn’t want to. We want to. The question is if you want to.”

“I want to. But if I say yes, I might do something stupid,” Jisung mumbles, leaning against the cupboards, his eyes drooping. “I’m embarrassed about the way I always act around you two. You always have to clean up for me and take care of me.”

“We don’t mind,” Chan states, carding a hand through Jisung’s hair. The action seems to make Jisung sleepier by the second, and the man simply hums. Minho watches the scene with his heart up in his throat. 

He doesn’t think Jisung is a burden. Actually, he thinks taking care of Jisung is just what he and Chan need. Chan likes helping people, but Minho’s love language is acts of service as well, so they often go back and forth to decide who gets to do something for the other this time.

They’ve gotten pretty good at accepting help or acts of service from one another by this point, but Minho feels like having Jisung with them, having his affection, sweet words, and similar hobbies, added to their dynamic, will only allow them to grow even more.

Jisung almost falls asleep about five times while he’s washing up, and he’s out as soon as he touches his bed. Minho and Chan decide to stay, to make him see that even if he’s embarrassed, they have genuinely grown to like him a lot. 

And so they tuck Jisung in before grabbing a futon from his closet to share. Minho has good hope that they’ll be able to confess to Jisung soon, they just need to find the right time.

₊˚⊹ ᰔ (+1) ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

Jisung wakes up without a headache, today. He wasn’t drunk when he left, but he did embarrass himself once again. Minho and Chan have been so damn kind to him, after all, and Jisung doesn’t know how to handle it.

He’s been drowning in feelings and false hope, hopelessly switching between indulging in their affection and trying to fence it off, lest he commit horrible deeds and kiss them. 

Jisung blinks his eyes open and sighs, but then, he sees a futon next to his bed, and then, he smells food. 

This can only mean one of two very, very bad things: either there's a burglar who made themselves cozy in his house, or Minho and Chan stayed over. 

Holy fuck. 

Jisung puts his head in his hands and takes a deep breath, trying to remember if he did something stupid or embarrassing or totally out of line last night. He doesn't think he did, and yet his heart is going into overdrive. 

He jumps up from his bed and peeks out of the door to see Chan and Minho in his tiny little kitchen corner. He gasps. Oh gosh. 

Chan and Minho turn to look in his direction and Jisung panics. “What—? What are you doing?” he blurts, running towards the kitchen. He then slaps himself. “Am— Am I still dreaming?”

“Huh? No? We’re making you—and ourselves—some breakfast. You don’t have much to work with, but I’ll make do,” Minho tells him with a satisfied smile. Jisung’s heart does a triple flip, and he hides his face between his hands. “Hey, don’t be embarrassed. We’d be gone if we didn’t want this.”

“I know! I know! Just— You’re going to give me false hope,” Jisung tells them with a huff. He runs a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath, willing himself to look at Chan and Minho. His heart is hammering against his ribs as he waits for the two to answer.

Minho promptly turns off the stove, while Chan simply stares. “F-False hope? What for?” Chan asks. Jisung’s stomach drops. Great. This is all the confirmation he needs to know that they see him as nothing more than a friend. They don’t even know what he could be hopeful for!

“What for? You two are the most handsome, kind, sweet, attractive, attentive, fun, and lovely people on this planet! You’ve been taking care of me and you’ve given me all these feelings I can’t release!” Jisung blurts. “I— You guys are giving me hope that these feelings could ever be reciprocated when I know they can’t, because you have each other.” 

Chan and Minho are silent for what feels like a lifetime, and Jisung feels like he’s going to throw up his heart. “Please say something?”

“Right! Right. We— We were flirting with you, you know? Yesterday, especially. So this is great news, actually,” Chan says with a laugh. His ears are a firey red, and so are Minho’s. Jisung’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open. 

“What?!” he blurts. He watches Chan tug on the warm shell of his ear, Minho grinning like he won the lottery. “Flirting? With me? Why?”

“Because you’re attractive, lovely, weird, and we like you a lot,” Minho says, fidgeting a bit with his fingers. They’re nervous, too, it seems, and that thought manages to calm Jisung a bit. 

“You do? But you’re together?” Jisung still can’t quite wrap his head around it. He subtly pinches his arm to make sure he isn’t dreaming. 

“Yeah, we are. But we talked about it, and we think you’d fit well with us, if you’d like that. We really are quite fond of you, after all,” Chan offers, something hopeful shining in his eyes. Jisung’s heart stutters, skips about three beats in a row, and takes another moment to realize that they really aren’t kidding. 

“Well—Yes! Absolutely! I—I have been so hopelessly falling for you it’s honestly embarrassing. The— My first three versions of the song I wrote for Chan hyung bordered a little too close on a love song so I scrapped them until I hoped you wouldn’t notice anymore. And— And I kept getting drunk hoping that I wouldn’t have to deal with my feelings, but you two kept being so considerate and sweet… I ended up wishing to have you here with me more, that I could be part of what you have. So yes. Yes, I’d love that,” Jisung admits, his cheeks burning. 

Minho and Chan share a look and beam at each other before dashing up to Jisung and pulling him into a tight hug between the two of them. Jisung lets out a breath and melts into their touch, allowing himself to believe that he can join the relationship between the two people he’s so incredibly fond of. 

He pulls back and presses a firm kiss on both of their cheeks. Butterflies swirl in his stomach when he sees Minho and Chan’s grateful looks. The two of them trap him between them and press a simultaneous kiss on his cheeks in return, squishing him in the best way possible. 

The three of them sit down for breakfast afterwards, spilling all of the feelings that have built up during the past two months. Jisung can’t believe that they were already purposefully pursuing him, ever since Chan’s birthday dinner, that his song might have contributed to that.

His mind strays, wondering what it’ll be like to be with Chan and Minho. He doesn’t think much will change between them, because they’ve already been hanging out a lot, cuddling and eating together. Hell—Jisung has already given them flowers. 

They talk about how to go forward, Chan and Minho insist on taking Jisung on dates to give him the full experience, while Jisung says that he’ll only accept that if he can plan a date or two as well.

“And… What about kissing? Can I kiss you?” Jisung asks, just because he can’t help it. He feels like Chan and Minho have been looking at him with such fondness in their eyes, he has to kiss them. 

“Why on earth would we say no to that?! Of course you can!” Minho tells him, wrapping an arm around Jisung and pulling him close. Chan nods, and oh how Jisung wishes they would know exactly what they do to him. Perhaps, he could tell them through a kiss.

“We’d be lucky to have you, Jisung-ah,” he adds, eyes roaming Jisung’s face and making Jisung’s stomach flip. 

“Well? What are you waiting for?” Minho elbows Jisung with a chuckle, making his whip his head around again, only to see Minho looking at him with his big round and beautiful eyes. Jisung thinks he might melt under their warm (bordering hot) gazes.

He finds himself frozen between them. Minho’s eyes flick down to Jisung’s lips, but then he glances past him, probably asking Chan for silent permission. “Go ahead,” Chan whispers, and Minho dips down, pausing only mere centimeters away from Jisung, their noses touching.

Jisung gasps, his heart begging for Minho to close the gap already, he’s beeng longing for this to happen for weeks. Minho exhales through his nose, meeting Jisung’s eyes with a lidded gaze. “Finally,” he whispers, his lips curling up into a smile.

Minho finally closes the gap, slotting their lips together in a soft and sweet kiss. Their lips stay connected for a while, just because Jisung doesn’t want to pull away. He wants to stay right here, with Minho’s hands on his hips, the tip of his sharp nose against his cheek, gently kissing each other.

But their breath only holds for so long, and there’s someone else Jisung wants to kiss as well. Yet it’s Minho who parts first, a big goofy smile on his flushed face. He’s adorable, and oh so beautiful. 

“Go kiss Channie hyung, now,” Minho tells him, stealing another quick tiny kiss before grabbing his shoulders and turning him to face Chan, whose face is pink as well, expression soft.

“Hi, hyung,” Jisung says with a big grin. Chan cups his cheeks and Jisung melts into his touch. He wraps his arms around Chan’s middle. He’s too impatient, so he leans forward to press their lips together. Where Minho is a little rougher, yet his lips are so impossibly soft, Chan is the opposite. 

His lips are drier, a bit chapped, yet the way he handles Jisung is so gentle. He doesn’t know what he prefers. He thinks both have their own unique charms, and he thinks both are quite addicting. 

Chan runs his thumbs along Jisung’s warm cheeks, and Jisung feels like home, being in their arms. Perhaps they were right, and he does fit in well. 

₊˚⊹ ᰔ Fin ₊˚⊹ ᰔ