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“I messed up big time, didn’t I?” Joshua murmurs. The first words he’s said in the almost thirty minutes that he’s been occupying Jeonghan’s bed.
The older looks away from his phone to check on him. Joshua’s lips are turned down, eyes lowered to where his hands play with the fingers of Jeonghan’s free hand. His gaze seems vacant. Jeonghan takes a deep breath and lets the air out slowly.
“Seungcheol’s been distant,” Joshua continues, “I don’t know what to do.”
It’s true. He knows, mostly because their boyfriend keeps whining to him about it, as well as sharing his genuine concerns and feelings. Though Jeonghan also knows how much it hurts Seungcheol as well to be cold to Joshua. If Seungcheol voluntarily cancels a date, it means something is seriously wrong.
There’s only one Jeonghan for two crying boyfriends too. He has no idea what he’d do if the eldest of them had not insisted that he needs to be alone, if he had to choose who to comfort and who to leave to stew in his misery alone.
“Well, you did go to a show and asked another man to put you in a chokehold, baby,” Jeonghan reminds him, setting the phone down. The man resting his head on his stomach turns to look at him.
“But I told you where I’m going,” Joshua argues, “And I told you it might get wild. And I wasn’t exactly subtle about wanting to do something to mess with you. You teased me so much lately.”
Jeonghan runs a hand through his boyfriend’s hair. He knows this whole thing is blown out of proportions, pettiness upon pettiness, based on deep insecurities as well as bad timing. Shit just happens.
“Yeah, you did - and we did,” he acknowledges, “But let me tell you we weren’t expecting that . Be glad Cheol isn’t sulky about the other questionable things that happened there.”
Joshua groans, letting Jeonghan’s hand fall from his grasp to cover his face with his hands.
“You’re not helping,” he whines. Jeonghan chuckles.
“For what it’s worth, I told him the same thing you told me now,” he takes mercy on his boyfriend, who uncovers his face to look at him hopefully, “It just didn’t do much. Also let it be known that you telling us is part of the reason why you’re only dealing with one of us sulking.”
Joshua frowns, his hands grasping Jeonghan’s again.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”
Jeonghan shakes his head and squeezes Joshua’s hand. They always bicker. About the smallest things, about nothing at all. This time he just decided to be nice and give in first.
“Don’t worry about it. If it hurt me that bad, I’d tell you,” he reassures, “Did you plan that, though?”
Joshua shakes his head with a sigh.
“No, I didn’t,” he admits, “Honestly I was just teasing you. I thought that joking around about joining his circle would be it. Then it, uhm, it got out of hand.”
“Yeah, I could see that,” Jeonghan huffs, “Despite Hao’s best efforts. Our boyfriend is so bratty when he’s drunk.”
“Jeonghan!” Joshua whines, giving him the desperate puppy look that always melts his heart. Today’s no exception. So when his boyfriend rolls onto his stomach, getting close enough to kiss, Jeonghan does exactly as the younger wants.
“I’m fine, baby,” he smiles, “My ego got bruised a little, but I’m sure you can do something to fix it later.”
“I’m really sorry. You didn’t say anything after we talked initially and you didn’t act off at all so I-”
“Shua,” Jeonghan stops him before he can start rambling, “I’m really fine. Seungcheol took it harder. He’s the one you should be concerned about.”
He frowns again. With Jeonghan, the issue is he might say he’s fine just because he’s embarrassed that he’s not fine. But it’s also pointless to pry, so he lies his head on Jeonghan’s chest.
“Did he tell you something?” he inquires.
“We talked,” Jeonghan shrugs, “He got jealous and upset and needed to vent to someone. He knows he’s overacting a little.”
Joshua returns to his previous position, now gripping Jeonghan’s hand like a lifeline. Jeonghan gives him space to think.
“Is he, though?” he sighs, “I mean, it was just for fun. And I was curious about it, you don’t get a chance like that much.”
“I know, baby,” Jeonghan smiles patiently, “But you know Cheol.”
“I do,” Joshua signs, “I should’ve… I don’t know.”
More silence.
“I apologized already. I communicated everything, I thought we talked it out,” Joshua mumbles, treating Jeonghan’s fingers as a stress-relief toy, “I was more affectionate with him too. I really tried.”
“I know,” Jeonghan whispers, in turn playing with Joshua’s hair.
“I promise I’ll make it up to you too-”
“No need,” Jeonghan chuckles, “I think I’ll play it a little like Cheol is and edge you until you beg me to choke you.”
Joshua glares at him for a moment before his expression shifts.
“Is that what he’s doing?” his voice sounds half-hopeful, half-annoyed.
“Not really,” Jeonghan shrugs, “He’s genuinely upset. But I think it wouldn’t make the situation worse if his very apologetic boyfriend came up to him and begged him to be put in a rearchoke.”
Joshua pouts. Jeonghan can see the gears turning in his head. Eventually, he deflates again.
“I didn’t think it’d hurt you,” he murmurs, “I guess I didn’t think much at the moment, though.”
“Hey,” Jeonghan nudges him and receives another sad look, “He really knows it’s not that deep. But you know him.”
“He just got a little self-conscious. You know how he gets,” Jeonghan continues, “He’s been stressed lately. And on top of that he reached that phase where he’s not putting on muscle as quickly as he’d like and it makes him question the way he looks.”
Joshua gets quiet, eerily so. Maybe Jeonghan shouldn’t even tell him this much. But he’s tired. And he knows Seungcheol won’t admit anything.
“Why wouldn’t he tell me?” he whispers, “I- I’m trying so hard and I didn’t notice anything.”
“Because he doesn’t want you to know - so don’t tell him I told you. You should see the way he beams after he works out with you,” Jeonghan smiles knowingly, “He loves the way you compliment him and flirt with him at the gym. He wants it to be genuine. And he thinks if you knew, you’d do it out of pity.”
Joshua groans, gripping his hair so tightly Jeonghan worries he’ll rip them out.
“You’re impossible. You’re both horrible,” he sounds completely and utterly done. Jeonghan pokes his side with a pout. “I mean it. You’re so bad at this. Seungcheol overthinks himself into a spiral and you never say anything when there’s something going on.”
“Hey, you’re not perfect either,” Jeonghan protests.
“Yeah, but I’m trying. I wait until I’m not sensitive, so I don’t say things out of anger. But I always communicate what’s going on,” Joshua snaps back.
“That’s why we work so well,” Jeonghan tries to diffuse the situation, bringing Joshua’s hand to his lips, “Because you show us how to be better and hold us together.”
Joshua sighs, clearly giving in despite his reservation against letting Jeonghan win over him.
“Anyway, you should go talk to Cheol when he comes home. He’s hurt but he’s also open to making up I think,” the older chuckles, kissing Joshua’s knuckles, “I know you already did and he’s just sulking, but that’s how our boyfriend is.”
“Yeah,” Joshua sighs fondly, “You’re both so clingy.”
Jeonghan grins, acting innocent.
Joshua hesitates in front of the closed door. Somehow it already makes him feel rejected, and he’s honestly not sure if he can handle another unsuccessful attempt at making things right. The called off date stang. The distance his boyfriend puts between them stings. He supposes it’d be worse if he was openly affectionate with Jeonghan in front of him, but for the time being it seems the consensus is to be more lowkey until things settle.
He knocks, holding his breath. Seungcheol takes a while to respond and while Joshua knows it’s likely only because he’s in the middle of a game, it does nothing to soothe his nerves. And when the invitation comes, he finds himself bracing himself for… something.
Seungcheol turns his head to look who is it that comes inside, mouthing that the match is almost done. No hostility, no frown. Joshua supposes that’s a good sign. He takes a seat at the small sofa pushed against the wall and tries to stay patient, watching Seungcheol play. He’s so laser focused that it makes him look incredibly cute. It leads him to win the match - his focus, not his cuteness. And after a short final debrief with his teammates, he turns to Joshua.
“Can we talk?” Joshua asks, a little awkwardly. His voice wavers despite his attempt to control himself.
That seems to break something in Seungcheol, who sighs and pats his thighs. Joshua smiles, coming easily, perching on his boyfriend’s thighs. That’s not good enough for Seungcheol, who helps him straddle his lap. His arms wrap around his waist, his head rests against Joshua’s shoulder.
“I missed you,” Seungcheol says, unprompted, “I’m sorry about the date. It was stupid. It was a bad day and I was mad.”
Joshua is momentarily speechless. This is already going better than he expected.
“I’m sorry too,” he smiles sadly, “I didn’t mean to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable. It was all fun, I just wanted to get back at you a little bit and it got out of hand.”
“You never told us that you want to be put in a rearchoke,” Seungcheol grumbles. But right after he kisses his shoulder and Joshua, and it’s so embarrassing, feels butterflies swarming in his belly.
“I told you - and let you do - other things,” Joshua nuzzles into his hair. It’s so pathetic, the way he preens when Seungcheol pulls him closer.
“I guess,” his boyfriend hums, “You’re only ours, right? I mean, I know you are but-”
“Of course I am,” he kisses the top of his head, hiding his smile, “I love you - and Han. There’s nobody else. Never could be.”
Seungcheol lifts his head, Joshua follows his lead and merges their lips together. The kiss is slow, lingering.
“I could show you what I learned,” Joshua whispers against Seungcheol’s lips, “So you can try it on me too.”
His boyfriend groans, stealing one more kiss.
“Did you propose that to Hannie too?” Seungcheol wonders, “I think he’d love it.”
“You think?” he purrs, “I’d love it too. Twice as fun when it’s both of you.”
Seungcheol cups the back of his neck, bringing his forehead to rest against his own. His eyes are warm like hot chocolate, watching Joshua with enough love to make up for the distance he was putting between them. Almost.
“I’ll make it up to you,” Seungcheol promises, “Pick a restaurant. Anything. I’ll take you anywhere you want, just you and me.”
It doesn’t make him worry, though he thought he would get some uneasy feeling when he’s asked on another date, and he’s happy to realize his trust in Seungcheol wasn’t shaken. However…
“Could we actually make it a date for all three of us? Together?” Joshua suggests, shyly, “And maybe another one just for us two.”
Seungcheol looks like he’ll melt into a puddle. It’s a wonder he lasted as long as he did, distancing himself from Joshua. How could he? When his boyfriend smells so nice and fits into his lap just right. He brushes some hair away from his pretty face.
“Of course,” he smiles, “That would be great.”
“Yeah, I think we could all use some quality time together,” Joshua presses himself closer, “And then you could both take me home and let me properly apologize for making you feel anything but desirable.”
And still Seungcheol looks at him like he hung the stars and the moon, the love never outweighed by lust. Though the squeeze on his waist is a clear indication that his boyfriend very much likes the idea.
“You looked really good in that position,” Seungcheol admits, his lips trailing across Joshua’s jaw, “We were losing our minds with Hannie.”
Joshua chuckles. He can imagine that, though it’s a shame there’s no recording of it. And of course, a shame that all of this mess ended up happening.
“Well, you can put me in it yourself,” he says, a little breathless, “Or ruin me while Hannie does.”
A knock on the door, the man in question walks in without hesitation. He observes them with a smirk before slowly making his way to his two boyfriends.
“So I take it you’re okay now?” Jeonghan asks, standing right behind Joshua. He tugs on his hair to make him tilt his head back and leans down to kiss him, taking just a little pleasure in the quiet gasp Joshua makes.
“We’re planning a date now,” Seungcheol mentions, rubbing Joshua’s thighs, “Anywhere you’d like to go?”
“I’m invited?” he asks in surprise. This time he plants a kiss to Joshua’s forehead before caving it and tasting his lips again.
“Shua said he’d like to apologize to us properly, ” Seungcheol keeps his voice light.
His hands slip to the inside of Joshua’s open thighs and the soft, breathless moans the simple action draws out from the man in his lap is so delightful he might need to hear more.
Jeonghan pulls away, lets go of Joshua’s hair so he can straighten his neck before his hand returns to the younger’s hair to massage his scalp.
“Is it worth going anywhere? We can have more fun here,” Jeonghan considers.
“But he could get all dolled up for us,” Seungcheol tempts him, “And we’d have a pretty gift to unwrap.”
“Now that you put it like that…” Jeonghan smirks and looks down at Joshua who watches them fondly, “What do you think?”
“Maybe we should have fun at home first, then go on the date,” Joshua licks his lips, chuckles when he has to stop Seungcheol from kissing him, “Maybe you’d have more patience then.”
The two exchange a look, then focus on Joshua again. That is enough for him to know everything, and so he slips down from Seungcheol’s lap and lets Jeonghan steady him. He doesn’t take one step before they both have a hand on the small of his back as they lead him to the bedroom.