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It was nearing a Saturday midnight and so close to the special performance that the dance club was going to give the school on their opening day for the new batch of high schoolers that they would be taking in next year. He knew that he only had a few more days to practice and he wanted to get everything out of it, even if it meant avoiding sleep because he had been chosen for a centre position-
The ringing of his phone brought him out of the intense focused mindset that he had previously been in while dancing and caused him to lose his balance and fall on the floor, desperately crawling to his bag in the corner of the practice room to pull his phone out. He didn’t even bother to look at the caller ID and opted to just put his phone on speaker, laying on the floor with his phone on his chest.
What a life I have right now…I have to do everything I can to make sure I don’t stuff up this centre position otherwise they’ll never let me be a centre again-
“Jeno? Baby? What the hell are you still doing awake?” A concerned voice that was quite deep but still higher than his own interrupted his thoughts. “You do realise that it’s like midnight, right?”
“I could ask why you’re awake too, Nana,” He responded, sitting up and catching his phone before it fell to the ground. “I’m practicing my centre.”
“Jeno, you’ll do fine with your centre position. You need to rest,” Jaemin stated, exasperated tone twirling around his words before he sighed. “Injun is super worried about you. He came over to me crying because you hadn’t texted him that you were done practicing.”
“That’s because I’m not done practicing yet,” He retaliated, Jaemin’s words stabbing at his heart as guilt overflowed his being. “Is Injun holding up though?”
“He’s currently sleeping on my lap with tears down his cheeks. He’s been sleeping like this for two hours, Jeno,” Jaemin hissed out and he felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of his older boyfriend crying because of him. “You’re lucky my parents are out of town until next week otherwise they would have killed you for making him cry like this.”
“Yeah, I know…just…take care of him for me?” He asked the other, not knowing why he needed to ask when it was obvious that the other would take care of Renjun when he couldn’t.
“You know I will but I need to look after you too.” Was Jaemin’s reply, voice barely above a whisper that sent more guilt rushing into Jeno’s stomach than he would prefer. “We all need to look after each other.”
“Okay, quit making me feel guilty,” He complained, standing up while keeping his phone close to him so that he could still talk to his younger boyfriend. “I’m on my way home.”
“Isn’t your place really far away from the studio?” Jaemin asked him, whispering something to someone (probably Renjun) on his side of the line.
“It isn’t too far. Just half an hour walk since I don’t have my bus pass on me,” He stated, slinging his bag on his shoulder and quietly exiting the building before locking the door.
“Jeno,” Jaemin deadpanned, slight sigh coming out after. “It’s midnight and you’re probably tired as hell.”
“It’s not too bad, Min,” He reasoned, shivering slightly in the cold night air as he tried to get his teeth to stop chattering.
“Are you…Jeno…you’re not wearing a jacket, are you?” Jaemin asked him, making Jeno shake his head before answering with a small ‘no’ when he realised that Jaemin couldn’t see him. He heard the other sigh for umpteenth time during that phone call before some rustling of clothes was all he could hear from the other line. “Stay in front of the dance studio for five minutes. Please.”
“Why?” He asked, the beeping noise that signalled the other had hung up answering him instead of the voice of his younger boyfriend. Don’t tell me that he’s going to…it’s midnight. Even though Jaemin’s place is closer than mine…he shouldn’t…
“Jeno!”
Turning his head to the left, he saw his younger boyfriend running towards him in his fluffy pyjama pants and oversized jumper that had previously been Jeno’s. He didn’t expect the younger male to jump towards him, nor did he expect the tight hug that he had received after as his hands automatically made their way underneath Jaemin’s thighs to stabilise him while he clung onto Jeno’s waist with his legs.
“We were so worried…” He heard Jaemin mumble against his neck before the younger male jumped off him, giving him a disapproving stare. “Here, wear it.” Letting his eyes drop lower than Jaemin’s face, Jeno saw the large jacket that was in the other’s outstretched arm and vaguely recognised it to be the jacket that he had forgotten at Jaemin’s house the week prior. Slowly, he took the jacket off the younger and put it on, finally seeing a smile make its way onto Jaemin’s face when he put the hood up. Before any of them could say a word, Jaemin’s phone began to ring loudly as Jeno watched the other scramble to answer it in amusement and put the call on speaker mode.
“Injun…” Jaemin whispered between them as their older boyfriend simply grumbled on the other side of the line.
“Hurry up and get back here. It’s cold outside.” Was all they heard before the call was ended by the caller.
“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Jeno commented, earning soft chuckle from Jaemin before the younger grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go home.”
~ ~ ~
“Jeno…oh and Jaemin…”
Jeno could only chuckle at the adorable sight of his older boyfriend who was curled up on the couch and rubbing his eyes in one of Jeno’s hoodies and a pair of Jaemin’s sweat pants. The larger clothes made Renjun look so much smaller than what he really was but also made the older look so much more adorable.
“I’ll get you some hot chocolate. It’s freezing out there,” Jaemin stated, patting him on the back before disappearing into his kitchen and starting to make the drink. Jeno didn’t even notice Renjun lift himself from the couch to make his way towards him until the smaller male was hugging his waist and burying his face into his chest.
“What were you doing at the studio at midnight, baby?” He heard Renjun ask him sleepily, biting down on his tongue just to not coo at the adorable sight. “You’re warm…”
“And you’re clearly sleepy,” He stated, picking up the smaller male as if he were a princess and gently carrying him to the couch where he positioned his back on the armrest and pulled Renjun close between his legs. “What are you still doing up?”
“Waiting for you…” Renjun sleepily mumbled, yawning loudly after and snuggling more into Jeno’s chest. “Wanted to make sure you were safe…” Okay, this is too much for me…too cute to handle!
“You didn’t have to do that, baobei,” He exasperated, kissing the top of Renjun’s head as the older male’s breath began to even out.
“I…wanted to…” He heard Renjun mumble just as Jaemin entered the living room again, mug of hot chocolate in his hands as he set it on the coffee table beside the couch.
“Careful, it’s still hot,” Jaemin informed him, settling down next to Renjun who was now happily sleeping on Jeno’s chest. “You’ve been here for two minutes maximum and he’s already sleeping?”
“Yeah, well…you know how much crying can tire him out,” He replied, carefully handing Renjun over to Jaemin to allow the smaller male to cuddle up against him as he drank his hot chocolate in small sips.
“Jeno…please tell me that you’re not going to pull a stunt like this again…” Jaemin whispered to him, eyes pleading as Renjun seemed to hug Jaemin tighter in agreement. They gang up on me even when one of them is asleep…wow…
“I’ll try not to,” He answered, not knowing if he could enable himself to withdraw from practicing until late at night ever again.
“Jeno, what about your parents? What about Injun? What about…” He watched as Jaemin took a deep breath, his hold on Renjun tightening as he stared into Jeno’s eyes. “What about us?”
“My parents don’t notice when I leave the house anyway,” He replied bitterly before setting his empty mug back down the table and leaning over to give Jaemin a slow and steady kiss, hand coming between them to comb through Renjun’s hair. “And we will be as compatible as ever.” He flashed Jaemin one of his signature grins and received one of Jaemin’s beautiful smiles in return.
“Here, take the precious cargo,” Jaemin said, gently passing Renjun to him before he got up and took the mug to the kitchen. “Carry him to the bedroom! I’ll meet you there!” He heard Jaemin shout at him from where he was in the kitchen, leaving him to sigh and carry his older boyfriend like a princess once more.
It wasn’t long before he had reached Jaemin’s bedroom and carefully placed Renjun down on the bed before he joined the other as quietly as he could. He couldn’t prevent smiling to himself when Renjun whined and turned towards him, inching closer to warmth in his sleep and burying his face into Jeno’s chest once more as Jeno cradled his waist. How did I get this lucky?
“I swear Injun secretly likes you more than me.” Jaemin’s voice cut through the air as the lights went out and he felt the bed dip behind him, a pair of arms snaked around his waist and squeezed. “He never waits for me like that.” He heard Jaemin complain half-heartedly as the younger male buried his face his shoulder.
“You know Injun adores you,” He stated before he felt his eyelids become heavy and didn’t bother to wake up his muscles as they relaxed.
“Good night, Jeno.” He heard Jaemin whisper in his ear as he closed his eyes. “I hope you sleep well.”
~ ~ ~
The wonderful smell of bulgogi seasoning made its way over to him as he sleepily wandered into Jaemin’s kitchen the next morning. He heard light humming as well and wasn’t surprised to see that Renjun was filling three plates with bulgogi, the rice already on the plates as he wore Jaemin’s bright pink apron. Chuckling to himself, he surprised the older by wrapping his arms around Renjun’s waist from behind and resting his chin on the top of Renjun’s head.
“What the-“ Renjun exclaimed, abruptly turning around in his arms but relaxing once he saw that it was just Jeno. “Oh, it’s just you.”
“Wow, morning to you too,” He huffed out in reply, already turning to go back to the bedroom where Jaemin was sleeping soundly.
“Wait!” Renjun cried out from behind him, lurching forward to wrap his arms around Jeno’s waist from behind. “I…I’m glad that you got back safe. I thought that you were going to stay there all night.”
“I probably would have if you didn’t run to Jaemin crying,” He informed the other, turning around and combing his fingers through the smaller male’s hair. “Thank you, Injun.”
“Just doing my job that I don’t get paid for,” Renjun replied, teasing smile being directed at him before the smaller male leaned up and pecked his lips. “And it just so happens that my volunteer work requires me to get some food in you!” Jeno watched fondly as Renjun grabbed two of the plates and placed them on the table, quickly running back to get the last one when he saw Jeno step towards it.
“Thanks for the breakfast, baobei,” He whispered to Renjun, kissing his temple before taking a seat at the table as Jaemin entered the dining room.
“Why the hell are you two so loud this early in the morning?” The youngest complained, kissing Renjun’s nose after and flicking Jeno’s head as his morning greetings. “Eat up, baby.”
“Was planning to,” He shot back, finally beginning to focus on how to scoop up his meal and eat it without spilling anything.
“Is it…is it good?” Renjun asked him, hesitantly placing some of his cooking in his own mouth as he concentrated on the taste. “I…I wasn’t sure if I did it right because I’m not that great at cooking Korean food and Jaemin did say that it was your favourite meal-“
“Renjun, baobei,” He started, reaching out to cup the older’s cheek as Jaemin smiled at them with admiration. “This is the best bulgogi I’ve had in my entire life.”
“And you’re lying…wow,” Renjun deadpanned, swatting away Jeno’s hand as he turned away from him but the red tips of his ears told Jeno all that he needed to know.
“Aw, Jun! You’re so adorable!” He heard Jaemin exclaim as the younger began to tease the oldest for his poorly hidden blush.
“Oh my god, stop!” Renjun protested (adorably) as he flicked Jaemin’s forehead, quickly turning to Jeno who was in the middle of chewing. “You’re an idiot.” Hurriedly swallowing, Jeno only looked at his older boyfriend in disbelief before Jaemin smirked at him.
“The biggest idiot,” Jaemin teased, still smirking at him as he rested his chin on his hand.
“So make sure that you take care of yourself, Jeno,” Renjun stated, pouting cutely at the end as Jaemin’s smile grew wider.
“Or you can not take care of yourself and we’ll do all the taking care of yourself for you,” Jaemin added, receiving a glare from Renjun and simply winking at him. Chuckling, Jeno leaned forward to place one hand on top of each of their heads.
“I’ll do my best to take care of myself but if I can’t…” He started before sliding down his hands to cup the side of their faces and taking a moment to stare at both of them in awe because since when was I this lucky?! “Then I’ll trust you two to take care of me.”
“And like I said, you’re an idiot,” Renjun stated, smiling softly and leaning into Jeno’s touch as Jaemin licked his palm, laughing when Jeno recoiled and wiped it on the napkin beside him.
“Of course we’ll take care of you! We’ll do what we did last night over and over again if it means that you’ll be safe, Jeno,” Jaemin said softly, smiling an identical smile to Renjun’s as he began to eat once more. “All we ask is that you take care of us too, if need be.” Smiling to himself, Jeno began to eat some of the breakfast that Renjun had prepared and decided to savour it since it really was the best that he had ever tasted before in his life.
“Now you two are the idiots. Of course I’ll take care of you too.”