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Two hours after his boyfriend leaves for his company-mandated team-bonding weekend-long spa trip, Donghyuck finds himself dozing on Mark’s couch. He’s making the most of Mark’s surround sound speakers by blasting an RnB mix from Mark’s Spotify Premium, while considering what else of Mark’s he could maximise his solo use of while he’s here.
After two hours of playing with Mark’s excitable mixed breed Archie, as he has so kindly offered to do while his boyfriend is away for the night, it’s well earned.
“Archie,” he groans, as he feels the dog’s wet nose nudge at his neck. “Aren’t you tired yet?”
The dog just sits and pants. He’s already been for a walk, already played with his toys for hours, but much like his owner, Archie just never seems to tire.
Donghyuck doesn’t mind really, of course. Because unfortunately, Donghyuck is as horrendously, tremendously weak for Archie as he is for Archie’s owner.
They play for a little while longer, and Donghyuck makes the most of Mark’s subscriptions by putting some show on in the background until Archie is finally content to curl up on the couch with him. A big, cuddly pillow that almost makes him forget he’s spending the night here alone tonight. He’s never done that before—he’s weirdly kind of nervous. For no good reason, though. He likes Mark’s place more than his own.
The relaxing bliss of a finally resting Archie only lasts all of ten minutes until, for some reason, the front door chimes. Someone has put in the code without even knocking—Mark didn’t tell him to expect anyone today…
He sits up as Archie starts barking, racing towards the front door, around the corner from the sofa and out of sight to Donghyuck. The unexpected visitor closes the door behind them.
Donghyuck looks around for a weapon. Mark is in another city right now, and he’d specifically asked Donghyuck to come and be with Archie so he wouldn’t be alone, so no one should be here, and how many people know Mark’s door code, anyway—
“Hello, hello! Archie, aren’t you good, you look so good, who’s a good boy, who’s a—”
Donghyuck’s body sags, but the urge to pick up a weapon doesn’t go away. Oh, he knows who that is.
“Did Mark leave his TV on, Archie? What a silly boy, huh? What a silly billy stupid wupid—”
Jaemin turns the corner. Donghyuck last saw him a week or so ago, but it looks like he’s re-dyed his blond hair since then, clear glasses Donghyuck knows he doesn’t actually need on his face. He’s got a shopping bag in one hand and an overnight bag on his other shoulder, and he stops in surprise when he sees Donghyuck standing there, waiting, expression unamused.
“Donghyuckie!” Jaemin says brightly, like he’s found a surprise present under his Christmas tree. “What are you doing here?”
“I think I should be asking you that,” Donghyuck says, as Archie bounces around Jaemin’s heels, trying to sniff the shopping bag and scrabble his paws on Jaemin’s knees for attention. “He said I was doing Saturday, and you were doing Sunday.”
Jaemin pauses. “He told me to come Saturday, and you’d be here early Sunday.”
Donghyuck raises his eyes to the heavens, and flops back onto the sofa. Unfortunately, this is absolutely a Mark-typical mix-up, so he can’t even blame Jaemin.
“No,” Donghyuck says, long-suffering. “I can’t believe he’s done this.”
“That’s okay,” Jaemin says brightly. “I can stay the whole weekend, anyway.”
“Must you?”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Jaemin sing-songs. “I brought plenty for dinner, this way we can eat together. I was going to leave leftovers for when Mark got back, but there might still be enough for that too.”
Ah—he can’t complain too much about that, since he did not consider what he might do for dinner today. Mark’s cupboards are infamously difficult to get a real meal out of, and a visit to his apartment almost always means takeout is on the menu.
He wonders if Jaemin always does this—brings the makings of a hot meal with him when he comes over to Mark’s. If this is what Mark experiences when Jaemin comes to stay for the night, a hot meal and a hot night with a hot guy. Not that Donghyuck finds him hot, of course. But Mark must, to go to such lengths to balance two boyfriends.
It’s immaterial. He won’t be outdone by Na Jaemin.
“I’m going to clear up the dirty dishes he so kindly left out, even though I’ve been working so hard entertaining Archie in the time it took you to turn up,” he sniffs, and Jaemin smiles brightly.
“Perfect!”
He failed to foresee that being in the kitchen cleaning up while Jaemin is in there cooking means… having a conversation with him. Standing shoulder to shoulder at times, and having Jaemin’s cologne wafted his way when he reaches over him to give the vegetables a wash in the sink. Archie dances around their feet, effectively getting in the way any time they try to move.
Donghyuck eyes the knife in Jaemin’s hand, and thinks that this would be a very convenient setting for Jaemin to ‘accidentally’ kill Donghyuck if he wanted Mark all to himself. With an assist from Archie, of course. It’s almost a daydream to him, if he’s honest, finding a side of Jaemin that’s less than perfect, a mistake he could never come back from.
Perhaps not one that involves a knife. But while he has no problem with Mark having another boyfriend, he has never not had problems with Na Jaemin.
He fantasises about it briefly. Just one moment to reveal Jaemin as being as human as the rest of them—finding anything Donghyuck can triumph at, some hint of jealousy or weakness or inadequacy from Jaemin to put him on Donghyuck’s level.
In the fifteen years they’ve been rivals, it’s hard to think of many times Donghyuck has excelled where Jaemin hasn’t. Donghyuck devours at karaoke, but no one likes an annoyingly good singer at karaoke. Most of his other talents lie in areas considered ‘annoying’ such as practical jokes, avoiding group chat discussions about plans that are more than two days in advance, and generally getting his way about things.
“Donghyuck?”
He snaps back into reality. He’s not sure how long he’s been cleaning the vegetable peeler.
“Can I have that if you’re done?”
Jaemin is looking at him with amusement, like he might’ve been watching Donghyuck mindlessly clean for a little while now.
Donghyuck hands it over without breaking eye contact, though he can feel his cheeks warm. Damn it. Another point to Na Jaemin, his sworn enemy.
He goes back to entertain Archie until Jaemin is finished with dinner. This is something he’s pretty sure he’s best at, at least. Archie loves him even more than Mark, he swears!
🐕
His rivalry with Na Jaemin all started when they were ten years old. They were at the same swimming club and—he shudders—friendly with each other. Jaemin and he were two of the best swimmers in the 9-11s bracket, essentially each other’s only competition when it came to races or new personal bests.
Jaemin usually won, though. Donghyuck should know, he kept a running tally. That was how the rivalry started. Nothing serious—just Donghyuck keeping track of his own performance, and his only serious opposition happened to be Na Jaemin.
Then at age twelve, they started at the same middle school. They stayed friends, but met other people—Jaemin latched onto Jeno, Donghyuck onto Mark, amongst others. Out of the four of them, Donghyuck often lagged behind in grades. Not that he really cared. Academics were never his strength—but for some reason, he always noticed his inadequacies when it came to Jaemin.
At age fourteen, they would go to the PC Bang every day they could after school and play whatever games they could get their hands on. Though Donghyuck loved it, and had been seriously gaming longer than any of them, he had to admit he was pretty shit. Jaemin often beat his scores with ease.
All that, he could live with. He had hardly even noticed it was a pattern at that point—his pride wasn’t so fragile that having talented friends could bruise it.
The real competition came when they were sixteen. A new student started at their high school, transferred in from China. Huang Renjun—Donghyuck thought he was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. He went out of his way to invite Renjun to sit with them, to show him around the school, to bring him along when they went to the convenience store together after tutoring. Renjun quickly became a part of their little group.
And then, out of nowhere—Renjun and Jaemin were dating.
It was something Donghyuck had only semi-realised he wanted by the time Jaemin got there. The envy had struck him like a baseball bat to the back of the head, seeing their hands linked, sitting on a bench at the edge of school grounds together.
How was Na Jaemin always two steps ahead of him?
He sulked for a while, mostly on his own, a little bit to Mark and Jeno. But he got over it, in the end. Actually made some real moves on Mark when they were nineteen and stupid—it took them a couple of years to properly figure their shit out, but he eventually bagged himself a real boyfriend. Jaemin and Renjun broke up when Renjun went back to China for university. They’re all still good friends, regardless.
And then, just a year ago…
Mark had come to him with a question he was very nervous to ask.
Donghyuck’s mistake was agreeing to the whole ‘second boyfriend’ arrangement before he asked who this other person Mark was interested in actually was.
Na Fucking Jaemin. Of course—because he can never leave anything Donghyuck likes alone, couldn’t let him have this one thing to himself.
But that’s okay. He’s always been more than clear he was okay with Mark and Jaemin’s relationship.
Because this is one thing Donghyuck is never going to relinquish to Na Fucking Jaemin.
This is one game he is going to win—being the best boyfriend Mark has ever had and could ever possibly have. Never mind that Jaemin is so talented at creating domestic bliss, that he’s good in bed (or so he’s heard), that he’s thoughtful and generous and good looking and…
Nothing. Donghyuck was here first, okay?
🐕
Jaemin sets out their meals actually on the dining table. Donghyuck isn’t sure he’s ever eaten there before—he and Mark always eat on the couch while watching something on the TV, which usually leads into lazy kissing when they get bored. Maybe date night with Jaemin is a different affair. Wine, a home cooked meal, and probably talk about supermarket promotions and health insurance and investments, or something. Pssh.
“This feels just like a Thursday night to me,” Jaemin says as he sits, confirming his inner speculation.
Thursday night is Jaemin’s, just like Monday night is Donghyuck’s. So Jaemin isn’t putting on a show to one-up him, he’s genuinely like this. Fascinating.
“It’s nothing like my Mondays,” Donghyuck says, mouth full of food, body relaxing against his will as he savours the taste. One thing he’ll never deny—Jaemin certainly can cook. “I swear an evening that’s not spent entirely on that couch is an anomaly. I think the left seat has my ass shape imprinted on it now.”
“Don’t get me wrong, we do a lot of lying around there together too,” Jaemin says with a smile. “But I enjoy going out for a walk with Archie more, especially when it’s nice weather. I could spend all night walking around Seoul with Mark when the weather is just right—it’s so romantic and such a relaxing thing to do after a long day…”
“I’m more of a couch guy.” Sure, they’ll go out with Archie if Mark hasn’t had the chance to walk him by the time Donghyuck comes over, but it’s hardly part of the usual agenda. He’s a homebody.
Jaemin just hums, unaffected. “I’m aware. Whenever I would come into dance class, you’d always be hogging the couch before class started. I remember that about you. Even though the teacher would scold you every time for lying across it, you’d do it every class anyway.”
Right, there was dance class when they were eleven and twelve, too. That was a chapter he doesn’t factor into their scores so much, since they weren’t ranked by anything in those classes. But Donghyuck was the one who kept up dancing for years, so he’d definitely be better now.
“I was establishing my dominance. I’m sure I remember things about you that you wouldn’t like to remember now, too,” Donghyuck says, challengingly.
“Like what?” Jaemin grins, and Donghyuck blinks.
“Your haircut when you were thirteen.”
“Everyone remembers that. I think that’s my contact photo in Jeno’s phone, actually.”
“The first time you tried soju, and you spat it back out again.”
“Mark was talking about that literally last week.”
“The time you nearly drowned in the pool because you were trying to be a hero. What were you trying to get from the pool floor? A ring, or something?”
Jaemin laughs at that. “Yeah, but that’s not embarrassing. It’s noble.”
“You almost died! It was a hunk of plastic!”
Jaemin just laughs again, then winks at him. “Glad you’re so concerned about my wellbeing. More wine?”
Another score to Na Jaemin. He slumps back into his seat, gesturing for more wine.
🐕
“I heard you and Mark went to Everland last week.”
They’re lounging in front of the TV, his legs thrown across Jaemin’s lap, wasting the evening away entertaining Archie and mindlessly watching the show Donghyuck put on earlier. Donghyuck is honestly doing his best not to fall asleep, because even though he’s basking in the glow of Jaemin’s meal, somehow that feels like it would be more points for him.
He’s already got extra points because Archie chose to cuddle him instead of Donghyuck. This never happens when Donghyuck is over on Mondays. Is it possible Archie likes Jaemin more than him?? His heart aches at the thought. He’s supposed to be Archie’s favourite person in the world!
He grunts an affirmative, half asleep, half sulking about the lack of Archie on his lap right now.
“I was jealous. It’s been years since I’ve been there. The last time I went was with you, actually.”
“For my sixteenth? All five of us went, then. Even Renjun, who’d only been in the country for like, five minutes.”
“Right,” Jaemin says warmly, and Donghyuck glances over at him. He’s got his face cupped in his palm, eyes far away. “Wasn’t that fun?”
“Yeah?”
“I feel like we haven’t done anything as a group in so long. And I can’t remember the last time you and I did something together.”
“Probably before you got with Mark,” he muses.
“Exactly,” Jaemin says, looking at him pointedly.
Donghyuck squints back at him, Jaemin’s eyes imploring. “That’s natural, though. When are we going to hang out without Mark?”
“We could make time. We spend plenty of time with Mark individually.”
“That’s different. We’re dating Mark, not each other.”
There’s a pause, a few beats too long. “I know. But I don’t want to have to sacrifice our friendship as part of dating Mark.”
Donghyuck shakes his head. “Don’t be silly. Our friendship was sacrificed ten years ago when you asked Shin Ryujin to the school dance before I could.”
Jaemin doesn’t laugh like he expects, but he is smiling. “Like she was your type anyway.”
“I hadn’t had my gay awakening then yet, okay?”
Jaemin laughs, and the mood is comfortable. One thing about knowing each other for so long is that, despite their lifelong rivalry, they know each other better than anyone, and conversation always comes easily.
When the easy quiet settles between them, Jaemin rests his head against the couch, so he’s looking at Donghyuck rather than the TV. “I’m going to make more time for us two, okay? I want to.”
“Okay,” Donghyuck says, shrugging. “I’ll see if I can clear my schedule.”
“Your busy League schedule?”
“A rank doesn’t upkeep itself you know!”
🐕
He must fall asleep in the end, because he wakes up an indeterminate amount of time later to Jaemin shaking him awake on the couch. Damn. More points to him.
“Come on, get in the bed and sleep properly. You’ll hurt your neck sleeping like this.”
Archie has disappeared, probably to his own bed. Donghyuck sits up blearily, half-asleep as he follows Jaemin’s instructions to change his clothes and brush his teeth.
It’s only as he’s moving from the bathroom to the bedroom does he realise Jaemin is setting up some blankets on the couch.
“Hey, hey,” he says, suddenly feeling more awake. “Why are you sleeping there? I’ll sleep there.”
“Why?” Jaemin asks, amused, sitting down amongst the blankets and pillows. “You were in the apartment first, it’s fine.”
“No, I’ll take the couch.” He enters the room to grab Jaemin’s hand and drag him up from the sofa, and Jaemin allows him, slightly baffled. “You go, get ready for bed.”
“I’m seriously fine here.”
“So am I.”
“Can’t you accept the gesture without making a fuss?”
“Can you stand not being the bigger man for once?”
They’re standing close together, Donghyuck’s hands on Jaemin’s arms, as Jaemin pauses, eyes roaming across his face.
“Sometimes I can’t tell if you actually have a problem with me, or if this is how you flirt, or if this is a weird third thing I haven’t figured out yet.”
Donghyuck is taken aback enough to freeze in place. “What?”
“You’re not like this with anyone else. Why are you always goading me?”
“Because you’re my love rival.”
Jaemin dismisses this out of hand. “You’ve been like this since before I got with Mark. Though it has gotten more intense. Is that why? Do you have an issue with it?”
“Not at all,” Donghyuck says, meeting his eyes. It’s the truth. “It just elevated you from my normal rival to my love rival.”
Jaemin tilts his head. “But the rival thing is, like, a joke. Right?”
“Well, yeah. But it’s also deadly serious.”
Jaemin laughs like he’s not quite sure what to make of that. “No, but, really, what have we even been rivals in? We’re not even rivals with Mark, that’s different, we’re not competing…”
Donghyuck’s mouth is slightly open. Is he serious? “Like, everything, Jaemin. Swimming class. School grades. Shin Ryujin, Huang Renjun, and now—”
“Renjun?” Jaemin splutters out.
“Yeah, you know. When we were like, sixteen. Not now, obviously.”
“I never even knew you liked Renjun!”
“Neither did I until you started dating him!”
“Huh.” Jaemin looks like he’s thinking about everything he’s ever done in a new light. “We’ve been rivals all this time. Who’s been winning?”
Donghyuck feels hot in the face. He always thought the worst thing would be if he died and Jaemin had a higher tally than him in their rivalry of life. He’s realising now that it’s much worse to have lived his whole life in competition with Jaemin, while Jaemin had no idea they were rivals in the first place.
“I’m not saying.”
“Do you actually know?”
“You’re good at a lot of things, but I still have time to catch up!”
Jaemin laughs out loud, something surprised, something delighted. Donghyuck can’t lie, he loves it when Jaemin gets a bit crazy like this.
“Catch up with what!”
“If I don’t, you and Mark might run off without me.”
He means it as a joke, but it doesn’t entirely land. Jaemin’s eyes are way too intense. They are still standing way too close.
“You know I’d rather run off with you, any day.”
Donghyuck’s eyebrows raise without his consent. Is this actually happening? “That’s points for me. I’m going to tell him about that.”
“He knows,” Jaemin murmurs, voice low, eyes flitting down to Donghyuck’s mouth. “You know, all this time you spent comparing our strengths, you should’ve considered how strong we could be as a couple.”
Donghyuck tilts his chin up to meet Jaemin’s gaze, something hot stirring in his stomach. Fuck.
Even in this, Jaemin got there first—beat him to the punch. He was going to take this to the grave, but he’s not about to concede if Jaemin wants to go here.
“I’ve considered it,” he says, tongue in cheek. “But I will simply be the better kisser, so what’s the point?”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I’m certain.”
“Not going to let me prove myself?”
Fuck it. He’s not going to be the one to back down.
He moves in on Jaemin hard and strong, lips clashing against his, hands on either side of his head. Donghyuck backs him up towards the couch and puts a hand to his shoulder, breaking the kiss to shove him down.
Jaemin goes, bright-eyed, hands out to accept Donghyuck as he climbs into Jaemin’s lap.
The next kiss is much more mutual. Jaemin gets there first, pushing into him, placing one hand on the small of his back to keep him in place on his lap. His lips are plush and soft and not as demanding as Donghyuck expected—but he controls the kiss with a hand on the back of Donghyuck’s head, bringing him in at the right angle for a long, heavy kiss.
His hand on Donghyuck’s back feels hot through his sleep shirt. Jaemin’s tongue pushes into his mouth, and his lips swallow his gasps as their kisses turn hotter and wetter.
Donghyuck grabs some of Jaemin’s hair and pulls at it a little, and Jaemin groans, pulling him down further into his lap. Donghyuck is shallowly grinding against him now, only his thin shorts and Jaemin’s joggers between their bodies.
“Donghyuck,” Jaemin murmurs, pulling away, but he immediately presses a bruising kiss to his collarbone before he can continue. “Fuck,” is all he says when he pulls away, starting on another under his jaw.
“I think we should share the bed,” Donghyuck manages, and Jaemin nods, blinking himself to some clarity.
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
Donghyuck grabs him by the hand and pulls him out of the room without a moment to spare.
🐕
The following morning, Donghyuck wakes up to the sound of the front door chiming.
He’s still half-asleep as he raises his head from the pillow. Jaemin stirs next to him too, frowning.
Okay, now there should definitely not be anyone entering Mark’s apartment. He’s not due back until later tonight—it’s not even 10am—and no one else has reason to be here… really no one else this time.
Archie is barking and skittering about in the hallway, though, and Donghyuck knows him well enough to know that’s his happy barking. He wouldn’t greet a stranger with such enthusiasm.
“Hey, boy! Did you miss me? Yeah, I missed you! Hey, buddy!”
Donghyuck sighs and burrows himself back into the pillows. “What the hell is he doing here,” he mutters.
“It’s his apartment,” Jaemin replies, sounding all too amused.
“Jaemin-ie…?” Mark pushes open the bedroom door and freezes. Donghyuck has one eye cracked open to glare at him.
“Go away. I’m still sleeping. Why are you here?”
“Back early,” is all Mark says, eyes flitting between the two of them with a delighted smile on his face. “Did I miss something?”
“I think he likes me back,” Jaemin says, morning voice all low and gruff and sexy and shit, it distracts Donghyuck from the actual words for a moment. “You’d better watch out, Mark-ie.”
Mark starts to laugh, and Donghyuck rolls his eyes. But he can’t help but smile as he snuggles deeper into the sheets.