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Jeno doesn’t really watch their group’s content. When he was younger, more nervous and susceptible to people’s opinions, he would religiously scour their videos to make sure he wasn’t making a fool of himself, but he got over that a few years in. Why would he watch something when he was literally there? Sometimes he’ll maybe put a random content on as background noise while he scrolls or games, but even then he’s not really paying attention.
In this moment, however, his brows furrow as he takes in the scene on his phone screen.
Jeno doesn’t really watch their group’s content, let alone the 127 hyungs’, but it doesn’t stop him from stumbling upon clips of their recent release while scrolling after a long day of practicing for his fanmeeting with Jaemin.
The clip shows Donghyuck, squatting over a large barbell with his hyungs watching over him, lips stretched in fond smiles and warm laughter, very clearly endeared by their youngest’s struggle to show his strength as he huffs and puffs through pouted lips and drowns in a pink polo shirt a couple sizes too big for him.
Jeno knows he needs to sleep before his flight in a few hours, but he boots up his PC and searches up the video at a concerning speed as soon as he sees it. The concept is the three members acting as each other while they work out, teasing each other with copied speech and mannerisms, even down to the outfits they wear.
The outfits, or outfit, was what stopped Jeno in the first place. Donghyuck comes into focus again, supposedly in an outfit of Johnny, and Jeno can only stare at his shirt. It’s pink, clearly not Donghyuck’s size, and very, very familiar. In fact, its pair currently sits in Jeno’s closet just a few steps away from him. Jeno doesn’t even know when that shirt was left by itself, its partner stolen away by his.
Jeno’s chest fills with warmth seeing Hyuck jump around in his shirt, a stirring feeling in his gut at the way his collarbones peek through the shirt’s loose collar. It’s nice to see the version of Hyuck he is with his hyungs, being teased and teasing in return. Jeno laughs to himself as Hyuck tries to lift the barbell unsuccessfully for the second time and mindlessly scrolls through the comments.
“haechan-ah got into his johnny-hyung’s closet, the shirt is swallowing him whole..”
“size difference meal…”
“haechanie watch out there are wolves!!”
“jaehyun really has that haechan impersonation down. and the way he looks at him?”
“#jaehyuck stocks are rising”
And the thing is, comments don’t really get to Jeno. He's now been doing this for 10 years, and while he used to care early on, he wouldn’t have been able to make it this far if he let stupid meaningless hate or spam get to him. He tends to ignore them overall, and he so wishes he had now as a prickling feeling starts to settle deeply under his skin. But he continues reading.
One would think for as long as he and Donghyuck have been together, silly feelings like jealousy would dwindle as years pass, but Jeno can’t help it. Seeing his boyfriend in his shirt would usually fill him with pride, but seeing everyone think it’s someone else’s just doesn’t quite feel right. The hyungs look at Donghyuck with love he deserves, and his Hyuck deserves all the love in the world, but it feels unbearable for Jeno to have to send his own through a screen.
Dream activities have slowed and focus has shifted to their individual schedules, and once again Donghyuck has been more involved in 127 schedules as more of their hyungs are discharged. Jeno knows his boyfriend missed them deeply, and he’s happy for him. But he reads the comments over and over again until his stomach churns.
And maybe Jeno’s gotten greedy.
The past few years Dream has been chugging through schedules nonstop, comeback after comeback, tour after tour. And yes, it’s busy and soul-draining, but if he compared it to those days when they were young and uncertain of their future with Donghyuck being whisked away to 127 schedules before Jeno could even get a word in, when he and Donghyuck were nothing but friends and the feelings they had but refused to share? Well, of course it goes without saying that he’d take anything over that.
So, yeah, Jeno’s greedy when it comes to Donghyuck, but how can he not be?
Through these busy days still he had seen Donghyuck more often than not, gotten to spend nights cuddled up in a hotel room, unwinding after shows and letting off steam the way they know best. He helped Donghyuck move into his spacious apartment a few years ago and it’s like a second home to Jeno, even more so with Donghyuck in it. He pretty much has a set of everything he needs there and helps him move around his furniture when Donghyuck once again goes back and forth between his own furniture and those his mom picked. They gently scrub each other’s backs and scalps in the shower and Jeno ends his nights helping a drowsy Donghyuck apply that sweet scented lotion of his from head to toe. Jeno eats Donghyuck’s home cooked meals and then eats him and feels a satisfaction that can be matched by nothing and no one else.
Anyone who’s known what it’s like to hold Donghyuck, to taste Donghyuck, to love Donghyuck the way Jeno has and be pulled into that sunshine-warm orbit would be greedy. Jeno’s knows it’s only him, and for that he is always grateful, but even the idea of it being anyone else has always made him feel a bit nauseous.
His focus comes again to the video as Donghyuck hops onto the bar to do a pull-up, how the sleeves fall down his shoulders, his arms not even close to filling up the sleeve. Jeno could fit his whole fist in the gap between the fabric and Donghyuck’s skin. God, he wants to. He’s so, so greedy.
Just the other week he got to spend the night with Donghyuck tucked in his arms during the Dreamies’ trip to Jeju, fingers fitting anywhere warm skin ran as they lazed around in the comfortable sheets. Every inch of skin that shows on his screen just makes him want, want, want.
He so badly wants to go to Donghyuck, but Jeno has a flight to Japan in a few hours he knows he’ll be killed for if he misses and Donghyuck is abroad and warm under the Bali sun and not in Jeno’s arms.
The video closes with Jaehyun expressing how much he cares for Donghyuck despite all the teasing, and Jeno can see Hyuck’s satisfaction even through the eyerolls and mask of indifference he tries to sport.
It comes to an end, and it’s as if he’s under a spell when he pulls out his phone and calls. The call connects just before the third ring.
“Puppy?”
And instantaneously Jeno feels like he can breathe.
“Hyuckie..”
“What’s wrong, baby?”
Donghyuck’s voice is so soft, so sweet. Jeno aches, and turns off his PC before moving to settle on his bed.
“Tell me, c’mon now.”
“I watched your content with the hyungs.”
“Oh yeah?” Donghyuck sounds surprised, probably because he knows Jeno doesn’t watch their content. “How was it?”
“Pretty funny. You looked happy.” Jeno hopes he doesn’t sound bitter, because he’s not. He likes seeing Donghyuck happy always, but it’s just hard when he’s not there to be the cause of it.
“I was happy, I missed them a lot.”
“Mm. I could tell they missed you, too.”
“Of course they’d miss me,” Donghyuck voice is teasing, confident like he knows there’s always something to miss about him when he’s gone. Jeno misses him even more.
“When did you take my shirt?”
Donghyuck lets out a small laugh. “I knew you’d mention it, you’re so easy to read, baby.” Jeno smiles at the sound of Donghyuck’s laughter even when it’s directed at him. He doesn’t mind being easy to read. Jeno would let Donghyuck bind him page by page into a book meant to be read by his eyes only.
“I was the one who told you to buy them, remember? So it’s technically mine anyways. What’s yours is mine and mine is yours or whatever the hell they say, right?”
“Yeah,” he agrees, and the pleased coo Donghyuck makes at the lack of push back is all it takes for any tension to leave Jeno completely. He’s so easy, but the casual reassurance that what they have is only for them unties the knots in Jeno’s gut so easily as if they were silk ribbons incapable of holding them in the first place.
“Are you all packed for your flight? You should sleep soon, Jeno-yah.”
But Jeno wants to talk more, to hear Donghyuck's voice more. He wants to close his eyes and pretend like Donghyuck is right next to him, so he changes the subject quickly.
“I’m packed. But how are you, Hyuckie? How’s Bali?”
And again, Donghyuck can read Jeno like a language he’s fluent in.
So Donghyuck talks and talks, his sweet, soft tone mellowing as the minutes pass and sleep fills their words, and soon Jeno is sunk his pillows, soft breaths leaving him steadily. Donghyuck yawns, giggling when he hears a small snort from the speaker, picturing the way Jeno sometimes twitches in his sleep as he dozes off. The lull of Donghyuck’s voice puts Jeno’s heart and mind to rest and it’s only a matter of time until his body follows.
Jeno’s alarm sounds a few hours later and it’s a struggle as he drags himself out of bed.
He plugs his phone in and stares at it for a second, zoning out as he tries to shake the last bits of sleep from his eyes. On his phone is a single notification.
☀︎♡ - 04:06am
>hope u dream of me tonight
Jeno knows he’s never been good with words, that’s always been Hyuck’s thing. But Jeno always speaks with his actions, and he knows right away what he wants to do when he pads up to his closet to change into his airport clothes.
After making up for his lack of sleep on their flight to Japan, he and Jaemin make their way into a van waiting to take them to their hotel. They both tap away mindlessly at their phones to pass the time, and Jeno looks over at Jaemin curiously when he lets out an amused breath through his nose.
Jaemin is already looking at him, his phone screen tilted so Jeno can see what's on it.
“You guys are unbelievable.”
On it is a post with two pictures. First is a shot of Donghyuck from the 127 content, looking cute and cozy in the oversized pink polo. The second is of Jeno from earlier in the day, walking through the Incheon airport sporting the matching polo, identical to Donghyuck’s in every way except its white color and perfect fit on Jeno's frame.
Jeno just shrugs and turns back to his phone, but he has to fight a smile. His phone vibrates with a KakaoTalk notification and already the battle of holding down the smile is lost.
Donghyuck sent a post, on it the same two pictures, but with a caption that reads “these two are always in couple items.” He scrolls down to the replies, seeing one that sends satisfaction running through his bloodstream.
“OMG haechan wore jeno’s shirt in the 127 content??”
Another few notifications come through.
☀︎♡ - 06:23pm
>i miss you too you big baby
>ill see you when we’re back
>safe travels, i love you
Jeno replies with a selfie of the top half of his face and lets the warmth spreading in his chest dull the longing in his aching bones. He lays his head against the window, closes his eyes, and continues his countdown to when they can see each other again.