Work Text:
“Aaauggghh,” said Yuma, languishing across the entire length of the couch for all he was worth.
The others in the room — currently Fuma, Jo, and Harua — looked over at him with mixed expressions of curiosity, amusement, and tolerance.
“Now what,” Harua asked, with a theatrical eye roll so everyone would know he wasn’t actually annoyed.
Yuma rolled over onto his belly, rested his chin on his hands, and stared at nothing on the wall. “I didn’t think I’d care back when I signed up because I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to make out with someone that much but now I super want to make out with someone and I can’t. And probably won’t get to for aaaaages, since it’s not like I’m going to risk all this for something so tiny and dumb.”
He wasn’t looking at them, any of them, just staring at that wall like it might solve something for him, and that in itself was unusual enough that they straightened up and paid attention. Yuma usually liked to make eye contact when saying really uncomfortable things, because he enjoyed watching everyone squirm.
“Well, I’m sure many idols have felt that way over the years,” said Fuma after a moment, a little guarded. “Maybe you could call up some of our seniors and ask them how they deal with it?”
“Did,” said Yuma mournfully.
“And?” asked Harua, actually interested now.
Finally, Yuma rolled back over and sat up, hands on his knees. “Some of them risked it. Most of them just toughed it out. A couple… uh. Did something else that’s not really on the table here.”
Jo and Fuma understood, but Harua, unfortunately, didn’t. “Something else?” he asked, frowning in soft befuddlement, and they winced.
Yuma, having just expended his single fluid ounce of restraint and diplomacy, said “Took it out on each other, Ruru.”
Harua’s eyes widened, mouth opening a little in a voiceless Ah.
“Yup,” said Yuma. “But I’m not gonna risk that either, so. Guess I just gotta tough it out like everyone else! Ugh.”
Fuma’s silence was getting very loud, they all noticed suddenly. They couldn’t figure out how he did it, but he had some way of generating a heavy presence that demanded attention without moving or saying anything. His arms were crossed, brows furrowed.
“While I’m glad you’re being conscientious,” he said slowly, “I think… that might be a conversation we do need to have, and sooner rather than later. We’ve been avoiding the topic because of how messy it could get, but… we’ve been together for years, now. Even when we fight or get awkward with each other, like you and Nicholas did, we all understand that it’s not going to break anything beyond repair, because we decided on purpose that we weren’t ever going to give up on each other. So it might be time now.”
Yuma and Jo were staring at him, open-mouthed. Harua looked back and forth between them and Fuma, not quite following quickly enough.
“Really?” Yuma said faintly.
Fuma shrugged. “Obviously can’t promise anything. If even one of us isn’t okay with that being on the table, it won’t be, and you know that. So don’t get your hopes up too high.”
Though Yuma made a sincere and obvious effort at aplomb, he failed beautifully, radiating foolish hope and glee. “I won’t,” he lied. “I’ll be totally chill about it,” he lied.
Harua, having caught on, sighed and went to flop down on the couch next to him. “So if everyone is cool with it, who would you want to try it with?”
“You make it sound like you’d be cool with it,” Yuma noted, pleased.
“I’m okay with it being an option, personally, yeah,” Harua confirmed. “Like Fuma-hyung said, we can deal with some awkwardness if we have to. I know we’d all feel safe saying no, at least.”
Jo was nodding, slowly, processing. “I’d never really thought about it,” he said, “but I think I’m okay with it, too? I don’t know if I’d want to myself,” he added, a bit hurriedly, “but… yeah. I don’t think I’d mind.”
“I wouldn’t have said anything if I were really against it,” Fuma said simply.
Yuma clapped his hands in front of his face, grinning delightedly, beginning to bounce a little on his cushion. He turned to Harua. “First? I dunno. I feel like I could pull a name out of a hat and roll with anyone I got.”
Harua snickered and jabbed him in the side. “You’re that desperate?”
Yuma sobered a little. “I mean, yeah,” he said, unashamed, “but also, I just really really love you guys. Is it that weird that I want to smooch y’all about it?”
“No,” said Jo, unexpectedly. “I don’t quite get it, personally, but I don’t think it’s weird.”
“Maybe I’ll start with you, then,” Yuma said, aiming for a joking tone and missing by a few unfortunate degrees.
Jo crossed his hands in front of him. “Need some time to think on that,” he said, smiling a little so everyone would know he wasn’t actually bothered. Their own little language of posture, gesture, expression, timing.
“What did I just say,” Fuma cut in, exasperated. “We need to talk about it all together before you even think about it any further than this.”
“I don’t really think any of the others will say no, though,” Harua said quietly. “Honestly, I think we all assumed you’d be the most against it. We’re already too touchy-feely for your liking. It could get a whole lot worse from here.”
“I trust you all to respect whatever distance I set,” said Fuma, simply.
Which actually meant a lot, to all of them.
Before the atmosphere could get any heavier, Yuma caught it and tossed it back up, leaning back and clutching at his face. “Nooo, Fuma-sannn, stop being so cool, that just makes me want to smooch you more,” he moaned.
There was a moment of stupendous silence where they’d all expected a genial but immediate shutdown. They all turned to stare directly at Fuma, even Jo.
“We’ll see,” Fuma said.
“What,” yelped Yuma, Harua a half-beat behind him. Jo said nothing, only blinked, eyebrows high, on the edge of a smile.
Fuma scowled at them, mostly at Yuma. “Family discussion first. Understood?”
Yuma almost instinctively folded forward into a little bow, hands on his thighs and elbows out, amazed and grateful. “Yessir,” he said, “heard and acknowledged, I’ll behave. Promise.”
Fuma huffed a soft laugh. “Good.”
The others would all be coming home at different times, but they should all be there by nine or so. Plenty of time left for a good honest chat, the kind they were so good at.
Fuma was right. They could survive anything so long as they were all running for the same dream side to side.
Yuma definitely did know who he wanted to kiss first.