Archive of Our Own ^beta

Donghyuck wakes with a strong arm pinned across his chest. Light streams in from the gaps in the shades that he never bothered closing all the way last night. Little red and orange spots dance before his eyes as he adjusts to the brightness. He groans, wanting to fight it and go back to sleep, but the blaring alarm noise from somewhere to the left makes it impossible. He throws out an arm to reach for his phone and smacks his palm on the corner of the nightstand instead.

“Fuck,” he yells, louder than intended, clutching his hand. The arm around his chest squeezes tighter, pulling him closer into the sturdy body next to him. Jeno’s familiar low grumbling reaches his ears.

“Turn it off,” he moans, pathetic.

“Ease up then,” Donghyuck says, pushing at his arm. Jeno doesn’t let go. The alarm keeps ringing. Donghyuck pushes again and Jeno goes limp, letting him roll over and snatch his phone without further injury. He flops back in bed and Jeno latches onto him immediately, muffling his continued mumbling into the crook of Donghyuck’s neck as Donghyuck hastily turns off the alarm. The room plunges into soothing silence that Jeno’s soft sigh of relief is audible, his breath tickling against the sliver of bare skin above the collar of Donghyuck’s shirt.

“It’s not gonna go off again is it?” Jeno asks after the silence stretches on almost too long.

Donghyuck turns off the three other alarms he usually sets every night to get up on time for work. “Nope,” he says. “But that means you can’t go back to sleep.”

Another pathetic moan. Donghyuck laughs and reaches up his fingers to gently brush through Jeno’s long, dark hair. He’s so cute in the mornings. He’s cute most of the time, but especially like this while he’s curled up against Donghyuck like a shrimp and avoiding facing the day for as long as he can.

“We have work,” he reminds him, though it only annoys him to think about it too. He’d much rather stay in bed with Jeno all day.

Jeno finally emerges from Donghyuck’s neck to peer down at him with his soft, sleepy puppy eyes. “What if we skipped?” he says.

Donghyuck raises a brow. He pushes Jeno’s hair back from where it hangs in his face. “Oh?” he says, letting his gaze travel from Jeno’s eyes toward his pink mouth. “And what would we do with our day off?”

Jeno shrugs. The blankets slip down from his shoulders to reveal his toned, bare arms and chest. He never bothers with shirts when he sleeps over, which has become increasingly often.

“I’m sure you can think of a couple of things to keep us occupied,” he says slowly, sinking back down onto the bed and stretching his arms over his head. Donghyuck’s gaze travels up to his biceps, down to the beautiful lines of the muscles along the sides of his ribs, and down further still to where his morning arousal is straining the front of his sweats.

“Hm, as appealing as that sounds,” Donghyuck says, “Don’t you think we’re past the age to skip work for sex?”

Jeno shrugs again and says nothing. He drops his arms, one hand landing on Donghyuck’s thigh over the covers. He squeezes. A brow lifts pointedly.

Donghyuck tosses his phone back onto the nightstand and climbs right into Jeno’s lap. “All right, puppy,” he says. “We’ve got some time to take care of this at least.” He reaches down past the waistband of Jeno’s sweats to grasp his cock, made easier because he never bothers to wear underwear when they sleep either.

Jeno keens as Donghyuck strokes him with a loose fist, once, twice. He whines when Donghyuck pulls his hand out but it dies halfway through as Donghyuck licks a wet stripe up the flat of his palm, then takes him back into his hand again, saliva making the slide a little easier. Jeno’s lashes flutter and his hips jerk up for more until Donghyuck adjusts his weight and presses his knees into his hips, pinning him in place.

“Don’t move,” Donghyuck says when Jeno lets out the cutest little whimper. He rubs his thumb over the head of his cock, already dripping precome even though Donghyuck’s barely touched him. “Fuck, Jeno, you’re so sensitive in the mornings, aren’t you?” he says, stroking him faster. “You could come like this, couldn’t you? Just from my hand? Just from me talking to you like this. You don’t need anything else.”

“N-No—” Jeno shakes his head, reaches out to clutch at Donghyuck’s thigh, fingers digging into his skin where Donghyuck’s shorts have ridden up and exposed his legs. “Hyuck—More—”

“Hmm?” Donghyuck gives his cock a little squeeze and grins at the way it makes Jeno nearly jump. He’s stronger than Donghyuck by a lot, he could knock him off his lap if he wanted, but he likes this, being pinned beneath him, being at Donghyuck’s mercy. Donghyuck likes it too.

“You want more, puppy? What do you want?” He leans close, breath ghosting across his lips. “A kiss?” He gives him one, chaste, sweet. Jeno chases after him as he pulls away.

“Or do you want my mouth on your cock?” he asks, snaking down Jeno’s legs, releasing his cock so he can drag Jeno’s sweats down to his ankles, off over his feet and to the floor. “Or maybe you want my fingers in you? My cock?”

“Kinda want you to shut up, actually,” Jeno grumbles, brows furrowing. With the pink flush across his cheeks and his messy hair, he looks about as intimidating as a puppy, and Donghyuck can only laugh. He reaches up to pinch his cheeks, cooing at him, and squawks in surprise when Jeno grabs his wrist to pull his hands away, only to bring his fingers to his mouth and bite down around two of them.

“Hey! Bad puppy,” Donghyuck says, trying and failing to yank his hand away. Jeno’s grip is strong, maybe even enough to bruise if he holds on long enough. Donghyuck distantly thinks he wouldn’t mind, just as he doesn’t mind the way Jeno lets his tongue slip between his fingers, soothing the lingering sting of his teeth.

“Now I kinda want my dick in your mouth,” Donghyuck breathes, pressing his fingers down against Jeno’s tongue.

Jeno pulls Donghyuck’s fingers out of his mouth with a wet noise that goes straight to Donghyuck’s neglected dick. “No,” Jeno says, petulantly. “Want you to fuck me. I’ve decided.”

Donghyuck lets out a huff of a laugh and grips Jeno’s thighs with his hands, pushing them apart so he can kneel between them. “You wanna be fucked?” he asks. “Will you even last, puppy? With how sensitive you already are?” He slides his hands slowly toward Jeno’s hips and Jeno’s cock visibly jerks against his stomach, leaking precome over his ridiculously toned abs. “I could get you off so easily with my mouth instead.”

“Fuck me, or I’m leaving,” Jeno says, deadpan. “And you can deal with this—” He reaches out to grab Donghyuck’s cock through his shorts, smirking when Donghyuck hisses in surprise. “—by yourself.”

“Well, you drive a hard bargain,” Donghyuck says with the air of someone incredibly put-upon, only to yelp when Jeno retaliates by squeezing his fingers firmly around his cock.

“Get the lube already,” he says with a sweet little smile like he’s not trying to rip off Donghyuck’s dick. He squeezes him again and the pressure has arousal soaring through Donghyuck’s veins, lashes fluttering, hips jerking forward, enjoying that strange, delicious intersection of pleasure and pain.

He’s gasping when Jeno releases him. Jeno’s grin is wide and smug across his face. Donghyuck huffs and lets him have the upper hand for a little moment, reaching over him for the lube. It’s easy to grab because they never put it away after Donghyuck fucked Jeno last night, left right there on the nightstand beside his phone.

“You’re insatiable, aren’t you?” Donghyuck says as he settles back between Jeno’s thighs. “It wasn’t enough last night, was it? You always wanna be fucked.”

“Yeah,” Jeno sighs, easy, shameless. He stretches his legs out, presses his knees into Donghyuck’s sides. “I like it. Like feeling you in me.” He slides a hand down his taut stomach, teasing, coaxing for Donghyuck to fill him up right where he wants.

“Fuck,” Donghyuck groans as he finally coats his fingers with lube and slips them between Jeno’s legs. He opens him up with quick, practiced fingers. He’s still soft, loose from the night before, and so sensitive.

So fucking sensitive everywhere, clutching at the sheets as Donghyuck curls his fingers just right, twisting his head to the side to whine into the pillow, hips rocking down for more. Donghyuck drinks in the sight like a man starved, memorizing every tremble of Jeno’s body, every quiver of his thighs, every bite of his lips.

When Jeno finally whimpers, “Hyuckie—More—” Donghyuck slips his fingers out and replaces them with his cock. They moan together as Donghyuck sinks in all the way, one smooth glide, hands gripping Jeno’s svelte waist. He’s so hot around him, squeezing his cock so tight, so perfect, it takes a moment to gather his wits about him, to pull slowly out halfway and thrust back in.

Jeno comes just like that, fast and sudden, spilling white all over his abs, up the center of his chest. His face flushes a deep pink as his lashes flutter and he goes boneless, shaky fingers releasing the bedsheets in favor of grasping at Donghyuck’s wrists. Donghyuck lets out a low, disbelieving laugh.

“Already?” he mocks, even though his cock pulses inside of Jeno’s hot clutch, unable to look away from the incredible view in front of him. “Fuck, baby, you’re so sexy,” he breathes, starting up a slow, steady pace of his hips. He knows Jeno can take it. He knows Jeno wants it. “You can’t help it, can you? How sensitive you are.”

He takes Jeno’s cock in his hand, rubbing spilled come over the head. Jeno lets out a low, needy moan and trembles all over. He squeezes even tighter around Donghyuck’s cock, drawing a hiss from between his hips as he thrusts harder, deeper.

Donghyuck strokes Jeno’s cock through the lingering aftershocks, feels him slowly start to chub up in his palm. He grins wickedly, leaning forward to find his mouth in a hard, rough kiss. Jeno moans again, throatier, wraps a long leg around Donghyuck’s waist, heel pressing into his lower back to push him even closer.

“Oh, fuck,” he sighs as Donghyuck grinds in deep, teeth catching on Jeno’s lower lip as his own arousal builds fast, rushing through his veins like a raging wildfire. “Hyuckie—”

“I got you, baby,” Donghyuck groans, leaning back so he can jerk Jeno off easier, his cock already back to half-mast. “You’re fucking crazy, Jeno-yah.”

“Yeah,” Jeno agrees in a breathless gasp, fingers grasping a handful of Donghyuck’s hair at the back of his head. A little smirk dances at the corner of Jeno’s mouth when Donghyuck lets out a low hiss, cock throbbing from the pleasure-pain. “You like that about me, don’t you?”

“I like a lot about you,” Donghyuck murmurs, brain-to-mouth filter loose from all the endorphins running through his veins, turning stupid with his cock buried in Jeno’s delicious heat. He surges forward to kiss him again so Jeno can’t linger too much on what he said, words that are far too close to a truth Donghyuck valiantly tries to keep hidden. He jerks Jeno’s cock a little harder, faster, drawing out whimpering noises with ease, grateful that Jeno doesn’t bring it up again.

Instead, he pulls Donghyuck closer, rolls his hips down to feel him even deeper. Whimpers into his mouth, “Fuck—So good, Hyuckie—More, please—”

“More?” Donghyuck laughs breathlessly, propping himself up with a hand braced above Jeno’s shoulder, staring down at him, taking in the pretty flush across his cheeks, the wetness that clings to his lashes.

“This isn’t enough?” he asks, snapping his hips in a pointed thrust, letting his hand around Jeno’s cock squeeze a little tighter. Jeno makes a low, reedy noise, head tossed back, long expanse of neck on display. Donghyuck’s teeth ache with the urge to mark him up, leave behind the evidence of this moment, something for Jeno to see in the morning or days later, and think of him.

He doesn’t though. He grinds his teeth together and focuses on making Jeno come instead. “You’re so greedy, aren’t you?” he murmurs.

“N-No,” Jeno protests, but it’s weak.

“You are,” Donghyuck insists, “but it’s okay, baby. It’s fucking sexy. How much you want. How easy you take me.”

He thrusts harder, his rhythm turning erratic the more his arousal builds, burning through his veins all the way down to his toes. Jeno is beautiful and pliant beneath him, taking everything Donghyuck gives him and still wanting more, so perfect, so good. He releases Jeno’s cock just to press his hand to the flat of his stomach, says, “You feel how deep I am inside you?”

Jeno lets out a sharp moan, clenches even tighter around Donghyuck’s cock. “Donghyuck—” he cries.

“You’re gonna come again, aren’t you, baby?” Donghyuck says, taking Jeno’s cock back in his hand, stroking him with purpose, thumb rubbing over the sensitive head. “Come on, Jeno, come with me this time.”

And because he’s so good, so perfect, Jeno does. He comes, just like that, Donghyuck stroking him through it, spilling over his fingers and adding to the mess already spread across his stomach. Jeno moans low and long as he finishes, thighs trembling around Donghyuck’s hips, sweat beading along his hairline, in the grooves of his collarbones.

His lashes flutter as he meets Donghyuck’s gaze, tears dripping from the corner of his eyes in a way that has Donghyuck’s cock pulsing hard inside him, amazed by how he’s able to reduce Jeno to this—beautiful and brimming with pleasure, begging Donghyuck to kiss him in his sweet, needy voice.

Donghyuck releases Jeno’s cock, finding purchase against the bed, and leans forward to kiss him again. Jeno pulls him into his chest, like he can’t stand even the smallest inch of space between them, kissing sloppy and wet, panting into Donghyuck’s mouth. And Donghyuck can’t hold it back, the need to come so strong, so potent, he can taste it on his tongue. He thrusts into Jeno again and again, then stills, pressed in as deep as possible as he spills hot and hard inside him, Jeno swallowing up his sharp, aching moan.

Silence rings in his ears in the aftermath, punctuated only by the sound of their heavy breathing, practically in sync. For a long moment, neither of them move, then Jeno slowly starts threading his fingers through the hair at Donghyuck’s nape. Donghyuck sighs, slumping down against him, snickering into his chest at Jeno’s cute, disgruntled groan. He retaliates by tugging his hair instead.

“Alright, alright,” Donghyuck laughs, slipping out of Jeno before rolling over to land on the bed beside him. “Fuck—That was—”

“So good,” Jeno says, curling up against his shoulder. He presses a little kiss there, soft and gentle in a way that makes Donghyuck’s heart stutter in his chest, his stomach coil tight, uncomfortable.

He swallows and tries not to think about it too deeply. Jeno cuddles closer, like he’s considering going right back to sleep, and Donghyuck focuses on that instead, forcing out another laugh and shaking Jeno’s shoulder, careful about pushing him away without making it too obvious.

“You can’t go back to sleep,” he says, and a real smile stretches across his lips at the way Jeno immediately whines. “We both have work. Get up, baby.” He slaps Jeno’s thigh and rolls off the bed before Jeno can latch himself back to his side and make it impossible to leave at all.

Jeno huffs and puffs about it, but still follows Donghyuck out of bed and into the bathroom, moving around the space like it’s his own. Donghyuck tries not to think about how Jeno’s here so often that he has his own toothbrush in the little cup by the sink or his own bits and pieces of skincare lined up by the mirror.

In the shower, he crowds Donghyuck up against the tile to kiss him, slow and sweet, and washes Donghyuck’s hair for him, smiling his cute, puppy smile when Donghyuck returns the favor, throat too tight to speak.

Afterwards, Jeno dresses easily in his usual uniform of workout clothes he brought with him in his gym bag the night before while Donghyuck roots around his closet for jeans and a clean shirt. He tosses a cardigan over it for warmth and finds Jeno already by the door, bundled up in his puffer coat and tugging on his shoes.

Donghyuck leans against the adjacent wall and watches him for a moment before asking, “Not gonna stay for some coffee?”

Jeno lets out a small laugh and shakes his head. His hair’s gotten long and it flops around his face like puppy ears. He stands to his full height, hefts his bag on his shoulder and grins down at Donghyuck.

“Nah, I gotta get going or I’ll miss my first session,” he says. “Thanks for this morning,” he adds, smile turning a little shy around the corners. He opens the door, but leans toward Donghyuck for a quick kiss to the mouth. “See you soon?”

“Yeah, ‘course,” Donghyuck says, holding the door open for him and watching as Jeno heads down the hall with a wave.

Once he disappears around the corner, Donghyuck shuts the door and drops his forehead against it, the sudden silence of his apartment suffocating, so completely different to how it felt earlier, basking in the post-coital quiet, Jeno’s breathing in his ear.

He shakes his head and goes about gathering what he needs for work. He tries not to think about it, but he isn’t very successful. When did this whole friends with benefits thing with Jeno go from being something easy and casual to something that leaves him aching every time they part?

His phone pings with a text notification by the time he’s leaving his apartment, bundled up for the winter cold and struggling with locking his door. In the elevator, he leans against the glass wall and pulls out his phone.

from: puppy
made it halfway to the gym before my client canceled :(
i could’ve stayed for coffee :(
or we could’ve fucked in the shower at least :(

Donghyuck laughs despite the sick feeling in his gut.

from: hyuckie
is that all u think about

from: puppy
no :)
it’s cold out btw make sure you dress warmly

Donghyuck glances up to assess his appearance in the elevator’s mirrored walls. He pulls the scarf around his neck up to cover his mouth, snaps a photo. He sends it to Jeno without thinking too hard about it and gets back a reply in under a minute, a selfie from Jeno.

He’s pulled the hood of his coat over his head and the collar up to his chin. He’s smiling cutely at the screen, eyes curved. Donghyuck’s chest grows heavy against his lungs, like he can’t quite breathe. The elevator dings as it reaches the first floor.

He hearts the photo, but doesn’t reply, stuffing his phone into his pocket along with that weird feeling that he can’t quite shake, the one he isn’t ready to name even though he knows exactly what it is and exactly how it could ruin everything.

It’s not like they always have sex. Part of being friends with benefits is just being friends, after all.

Nights when they’re not together, they often stay up late gaming and yelling into each other’s ears. They hang out with their friends on the weekends—a group of seven of them that has lasted since college—enjoying movie nights or bar crawls, clinging to each other as they stumble down the streets.

Sometimes, Jeno comes over after work and he quietly helps Donghyuck cook and they’ll eat together, chatting about latest friend group gossip. Jeno will show him silly memes or TikTok videos and Donghyuck will dig his toes into Jeno’s thigh, legs spread out across the couch, until Jeno tosses his phone aside and flattens him to the cushions, trading gentle kisses until their jaws ache and their lips are swollen.

Those nights never turn into anything more. Instead, they crawl into bed after washing up and Jeno curls himself into a little ball, letting Donghyuck wrap his arms from behind and they fall asleep like that, warm and comfortable, heart beats aligned.

Donghyuck refuses to think about those nights. The nights they spend together but don’t fuck. The nights where Jeno’s quiet presence is like a soothing balm after a long day or hellish week. The nights where they get lost in gaming together until the sun rises, or the nights where they marathon horror movies, cuddled beside each other on the couch, yelling at the screen in between shoveling mouthfuls of take out.

Nights where Donghyuck lets himself into Jeno’s apartment after work—because of course he has his own key—and freshens up in Jeno’s shower and steals Jeno’s clothes from his closet. Nights where Donghyuck will lounge in his bed, waiting for Jeno to finish up with his last client, but ends up falling asleep, waking a handful of hours later to Jeno wrapped around him, breathing softly against the back of his neck.

It’s a night like that tonight. Jeno lets himself into Donghyuck’s apartment, while Donghyuck’s at the stove, putting together something quick for dinner.

“Smells good,” he says as he walks up, shifting the strap of his duffle bag on his shoulder. “Need any help?”

“I got it,” Donghyuck says, flashing Jeno a smile that he matches, grin wide but tired around the edges. He waves him off toward the hall. “Go shower, you look like you need it.”

“You have no idea,” Jeno groans, running a hand through his hair. He turns to leave, but then stops and looks back at Donghyuck for a moment, almost like he’s waiting for something, eyes soft and contemplative.

“What is it?” Donghyuck asks with a small laugh, but Jeno shakes his head with a small smile.

“Nothing,” he says and heads down the hall. Donghyuck stares after him until he hears the bathroom door open and close, then the sound of the shower turning on.

He shakes his head and focuses back on cooking, figuring whatever it was that Jeno wanted to say, he’ll find out later. Jeno’s like that sometimes, keeping things locked away until he’s found the exact words to use to express his thoughts. Donghyuck doesn’t mind waiting. He can be patient, sometimes.

He’s finishing up dinner when Jeno finally emerges from the bathroom, wandering back into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around Donghyuck’s waist, laughing into his ear when Donghyuck almost drops the pan in his hand.

“Asshole,” he mutters without any heat and Jeno laughs a little louder, digs his chin into Donghyuck’s shoulder. He smells like Donghyuck’s citrus body wash.

“You’re wearing the hoodie I got you,” Jeno murmurs into his neck after a moment, hands at Donghyuck’s stomach rubbing over the soft fabric. Donghyuck swallows, trying not to dwell on how pleased Jeno sounds.

“It’s comfy,” he says with a small shrug.

“Looks good on you,” Jeno says, like it isn’t just a plain black hoodie, and Donghyuck lets out a laugh. He turns the stove off before spinning around in Jeno’s arms, letting his hands sink into Jeno’s slightly damp hair.

“‘Course it does,” he says, grinning. “I look good in everything.” When Jeno rolls his eyes, Donghyuck draws him down into a kiss, something almost too sweet and too gentle, that doesn’t build into anything more. He ignores the way his stomach ties itself into knots.

He pulls away. Jeno’s got that sweet little smile on his face, the one that makes him look all cute like a puppy. Donghyuck swallows, running a hand through his hair as he turns back to the stove. “I’m almost done with this if you wanna grab some plates and stuff,” he says.

“Sure,” Jeno says, giving Donghyuck’s hip a little pat before he steps away. Donghyuck finds it much easier to breathe, but still he craves the heat of Jeno’s body pressed against his back. “Did you wanna watch a movie?”

“Yeah,” he says, tossing an easy smile over his shoulder. “Pick something fun, puppy.”

Jeno puts on the first Final Destination movie which makes Donghyuck snort, but he doesn’t complain. It is a fun movie, and it’s even more fun watching with Jeno who makes unexpectedly snide commentary and snickers at some of the most outlandish death scenes.

They eat together on the couch while they watch. When Jeno finishes his food first, he sets his plate onto the coffee table and wriggles over to Donghyuck’s side, dropping his head on his shoulder and an arm around his waist.

They somehow end up spending the entire last act of the film making out instead, Jeno pinning Donghyuck to the couch, a hand up his hoodie and his tongue in Donghyuck’s mouth. It doesn’t lead anywhere.

Instead, Jeno pulls away with one final peck, dragging Donghyuck up with him despite his protests. But there’s something so warm about unwinding with Jeno like this, flicking water at each other at the kitchen sink as they wash the dishes or in the bathroom while they brush their teeth. The feeling sinks deep within Donghyuck’s bone, an all-encompassing sense of fulfillment that has him smiling as he wraps all his limbs around Jeno’s middle when they finally curl up in bed to sleep.

And okay, maybe Donghyuck does fuck a sleepy, bleary-eyed Jeno over the kitchen counter in the morning, all soft and warm against the cool crisp air. His deep moans land like arrows to Donghyuck’s heart as he makes Jeno come against his fingers in five minutes flat, so it is about the sex sometimes, too.

“C’mon, Hyuckie,” Jeno chides as he easily places the weights back onto the rack. “You’re the one who said you wanted to work out more.”

Donghyuck groans as he sits up, struggling to catch his breath as he grabs his water bottle and chugs down a few big mouthfuls. He glares at Jeno but it’s weak. “Yeah, but I meant, like, I don’t know! A dance class or something! Not weightlifting.”

“It’s good for you,” Jeno encourages with one of his sweet smiles. How he’s so alert and chipper at nine in the morning on a Sunday is beyond Donghyuck. “Builds muscles,” he continues, ignoring Donghyuck’s increasing sulk. “Makes you strong.”

“I’m plenty strong.”

Jeno snorts. “Yeah, sure.”

Donghyuck takes another drink of water, eyeing Jeno up and down. He’s wearing a fitted, sleeveless athletic top that hugs his abs and slim black joggers. Sweat glistens against his temples and the thick curves of his arms in a way that makes Donghyuyck’s throat kind of dry. Jeno looks good. Donghyuck kind of thinks there’s a much more enjoyable method of working out they could’ve engaged in this morning instead of being dragged to the gym, but instead, here they are.

“I don’t know, puppy,” he says after a moment, dropping his voice to a whisper. The gym’s not that crowded and most other attendees have headphones on, but Donghyuck doesn’t want to be overheard. “You don’t seem to complain about my strength when I have you under me.”

A warm, rosy flush spreads across Jeno’s cheeks. Donghyuck doesn’t bother hiding his pleased smirk. He sips at his water, wondering if Jeno will give up on this whole gym thing and take him back home, but instead, Jeno braces himself against the rack and leans forward so he can speak against Donghyuck’s ear.

“And you like knowing that I could still take control whenever I want, but I let you have it,” he says, breath hot against Donghyuck’s skin. “Don’t you, Donghyuck?”

Well, fuck.

Donghyuck snaps the top of his water bottle closed with a huff and bats Jeno away with his hand.

“Whatever,” he grumbles as Jeno backs up with a laugh. “Just—show me what the fuck to do here.”

“Gladly,” Jeno says, that sweet smile back on his face. He adjusts the weights on the bar for Donghyuck before he even asks, like he knew Donghyuck was going to complain it was too heavy, then helps spot him as he lifts the bar over his head.

He keeps count of each rep and offers easy, consistent encouragement until Donghyuck’s sweating and his arms shake and he makes it through a complete set. Jeno claps like he just won a gold medal at the Olympics, a bright smile plastered on his face that has Donghyuck flushing hot all over for an entirely different reason.

Then Jeno asks, sly, “Can you do two more?” and Donghyuck lets out a noise that’s somewhere between an incredulous laugh and a wheeze. He shoves at Jeno’s shoulder, but his arm feels like a noodle so it’s more of a pathetic swat and Jeno grins at him, catching his hand and squeezing his fingers.

“Fuck off,” Donghyuck mutters, but he doesn’t pull his hand away. It feels nice. He knows how much Jeno likes holding hands, how he’s always reaching for Donghyuck’s whenever they’re together. It’s cute. His heart thumps against his chest, a constant, aching rhythm, different from how it was beating while he was lifting weights.

“C’mon, you can do one more, right?” Jeno coaxes. “One more and then we’ll switch.”

Donghyuck narrows his eyes at him, but Jeno stares back with the placidity of a mountain lake. After a few long moments, Donghyuck gives in. “Fine!” he says, “One more.” He points at Jeno with his free hand and Jeno nods.

“Promise.”

Donghyuck gives Jeno’s hand a little squeeze before releasing it, and takes another gulp of water before he settles back onto the bench for one more set. It goes by much faster than the previous one which is a relief, and Jeno looks unfairly proud of him yet again when he’s done.

“You did great, Hyuckie,” he says, patting Donghyuck’s shoulder and Donghyuck waves off the compliment with a scrunch of his nose.

“Okay, okay, enough with the compliments. You’re going overboard,” he says.

Jeno laughs as he switches out the weights Donghyuck was using for heavier ones. “How else am I supposed to get you to come back here with me?”

“Ah, so that’s why you’ve been so nice to me all morning,” Donghyuck teases instead of admitting that he would probably come again anytime if Jeno asked. There are few things he wouldn’t do if Jeno asked.
Jeno straddles the bench with another laugh and doesn’t refute it. He lies back and beams up at Donghyuck in a way that makes Donghyuck want to kiss him, erase the smugness from the curl of his lips into something more desperate.

Instead, he rolls his eyes and mutters, “Don’t give me that look. I know your true intentions now.”

Jeno shrugs, like he’s not bothered. Still smiling as he grips the bar with his long fingers. “Don’t sulk,” he returns easily, then drops his voice lower. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

White-hot heat drips down Donghyuck’s spine like molten lava. Jeno stares up at him, eyes dark and full of promise. A little smirk pulls at the corner of his lips. Donghyuck wants to kiss him until they’re bruised and swollen. Jeno looks at him like he knows.

“Start counting, Hyuckie,” he says easily through a small laugh, already turning his attention back to his workout, leaving Donghyuck to shake the arousal out of his system and catch up.

He doesn’t think he does a very good job at spotting—distracted in part by Jeno’s promise of later, and distracted by watching the delicious sight of Jeno’s muscles as he lifts and lowers the weights.

Jeno likes the attention though and he only has to snap at Donghyuck to focus like, three times, which is pretty fair in Donghyuck’s book. By the time they finish all of Jeno’s sets, he has sweat dripping down his temples and soaked into the collar of his shirt. There’s a slight grimace on his face as he finally sits up, stretching his arms over his head and heaving a satisfying sigh as he slowly lowers them.

“You’re insane,” Donghyuck says, shaking his head, part amazed, part disbelief. Jeno gets that smug look on his face again and lifts an arm up to flex. Donghyuck groans. “Show off,” he grumbles, snatching his water bottle from the floor. “Fuck you. I’m gonna go fill this up.”

Jeno’s laughter follows him as he stomps toward the water fountain across the gym. There’s a pleasant ache to his arms and shoulders from his workout. He’s tried lifting weights before but he always found it so boring. It’s not so bad with Jeno, though. Maybe he could be convinced to do this more regularly.

He considers it as he fills up his water bottle, turning back to check on Jeno only to find him talking with another man. This guy is even taller than Jeno and wearing a similar outfit that shows off equally toned arms. He laughs at something Jeno says and Jeno manages a small smile back that has Donghyuck’s gut souring instantly. The guy says something else that has Jeno waving a hand at him, cheeks flushing the way he does when someone compliments him.

Donghyuck is so distracted he doesn’t realize his water bottle is overflowing until the cool water starts dripping over his fingers. He jolts back to attention, muttering a curse under his breath, and catches sight of a young woman in his periphery, holding a water bottle of her own. “Oh, sorry,” he says, flashing her a smile. “I’ll be out of your way soon.”

She waves a hand at him with a cute smile. “No worries,” she says. “I’m not in a rush.”

He grins at her before turning away. He carefully tips out some water from the top of his bottle, then screws the lid back on with a sigh. He shakes his wet hand out over the drain, then wipes the rest off over the fabric of his shorts, stepping aside with a flourish for the girl waiting like he’s presenting her for a red carpet. She giggles and thanks him, and Donghyuck heads back to find Jeno is still talking with that guy.

He’s hot, Donghyuck will give him that. Nice, symmetrical face. Strong brows. He has fucking dimples when he smiles, what the hell? Actually, Donghyuck kind of wants to punch this guy in the nose.

Especially when he gets close enough to hear him ask Jeno if he’d like to grab some coffee from the place next door if he’s done with his workout.

Donghyuck pauses, unsure if he should intervene. Maybe Jeno thinks this guy’s cute too. Maybe he wants to go get coffee with him. It’s not like he and Donghyuck are official or anything. Jeno can have a coffee date with whoever he wants. Who is Donghyuck to get in his way?

Except, Jeno politely smiles at the guy and says, “It’s nice of you to ask, but I’m sorry I can’t. I’m with a friend today and I can’t ditch him.”

Friend. It shouldn’t sting, but it does. They are friends. That’s all they are.

Donghyuck takes the chance to plaster a smile on his face and make himself known, walking up noisily with a, “Hey, Jeno, ready to go—Oh! Sorry, was I interrupting something?” He looks between Jeno and the other man with raised brows.

It’s the man who speaks up, offering Jeno a small smile as he says, “No, I was just leaving. It was nice talking with you Jeno. Maybe we can get that coffee another time.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Jeno says, voice soft and non-committal. He waves as the man walks away, pulling headphones over his ears as he heads for the treadmills. Jeno lets out a deep sigh when he’s gone.

Donghyuck nudges him with an elbow. “Are you sure I wasn’t interrupting? You could’ve gone with him if you wanted.”

“I wasn’t interested,” Jeno says and a weight lifts from the pit of Donghyuck’s stomach.

He hopes he doesn’t look as relieved as he feels. “Really?” he says, deflecting. “He was cute.”

When Jeno shrugs like he hadn’t noticed, Donghyuck laughs and teases, “You’re cute too, puppy. Bet that happens to you all the time, huh?”

“I wish it didn’t,” Jeno mutters, running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, being hot must be such a burden,” Donghyuck says and his heart grows warm as Jeno cracks a smile. “I wouldn’t mind that happening to me more often.”

Jeno blinks at him, smile dropping from his face. Donghyuck stares back questioningly until Jeno snorts and shakes his head. “You didn’t notice—That girl, earlier—Literally everyone kept staring at your legs today?” he says, sounding somewhat incredulous and teasing at the same time. He leans close as his voice drops to a hushed whisper, “You should be more careful wearing those out.”

His gaze drops pointedly to Donghyuck’s legs and then slowly travels back up. The familiar heat of arousal from earlier returns, sizzling under Donghyuck’s skin.

“Yeah?” Donghyuck says, quirking a brow. “What are you gonna do about it?”

Jeno’s eyes grow dark, sharp, the way they get when he’s unafraid to match Donghyuck’s teasing. The way they get when he knows exactly what he wants and he’ll do anything to get it.

He is surprised, however, that all Jeno says is, “I have an idea,” then walks briskly past him toward the locker rooms.

Donghyuck swallows and rushes after, trying not to look too eager, too conspicuous. He flashes a smile toward the few people they pass, but the locker rooms are blissfully empty, still early enough for a weekend that the usual gym crowd hasn’t quite arrived.

By the time he reaches his locker, Jeno has already rifled through his, leaning against the metal with a towel over his shoulder as he waits for Donghyuck. He watches Donghyuck with casual ease and Donghyuck slams his locker door shut a little harder than necessary, skin burning under Jeno’s attention.

“Are you gonna tell me your idea or what?” Donghyuck asks, taking advantage of the fact that they’re alone to step right up into Jeno’s space, angling his mouth towards Jeno’s.

Jeno’s lips stretch into a grin. He lets Donghyuck kiss him, once, twice, soft and chaste, barely anything to satiate the urge building in Donghyuck’s veins. His hands fall to Donghyuck’s hips and squeeze, then gently guides him away. Donghyuck gapes at him as Jeno pushes himself off the lockers. “Just wait,” he says as he heads for the showers, “See you in a bit.”

He can’t be serious, and yet Jeno disappears behind one of the curtained showers without another word, leaving Donghyuck once again to catch up. He stomps over to the next shower, grumbling under his breath just loud enough that Jeno laughs from the next stall.

“Shut up,” Donghyuck snaps back as he strips out of his clothes and shoves them into the small cubby next to the stall. He hangs up his towel and ducks into the shower, yanking the curtain shut.

Under the cool water, he takes a few deep breaths, willing the arousal still simmering throughout his body to die down. He can’t believe he let Jeno work him up so easily, can’t believe a part of him expected Jeno to—He’s not sure. Get down on his knees right there in the locker room? Fuck. Imagining that is not helping.

He’s halfway through lathering soap over his body when the curtain suddenly slides open and Jeno steps in.

“Oh my god,” Donghyuck yelps, “What the fuck are you—”

The rest of his words are swallowed right up by Jeno’s mouth. A firm hand cups the nape of his neck while another snakes around to the small of his back, pressing Donghyuck right up against Jeno’s equally naked, slick body. He groans into his mouth, lashes fluttering as his eyes close, as he gives into the pleasure, the wet, hot press of Jeno’s tongue, the warm, gentle plush of his lips.

His hands grasp at Jeno’s little waist, fingers slipping against the slippery surface until he can really dig his nails in and get a good grip. It makes Jeno groan softly into the mouth, a sound that runs like an electric current straight to Donghyuck’s cock. He jerks his hips forward and pulls Jeno closer at the same time, gasping when his cock brushes up against Jeno’s thigh, already stirring to life.

And then, as quickly as Jeno slipped into his stall, he’s backing off—but not away. Donghyuck barely has the chance to catch his breath as his lungs fill with air before Jeno is dropping straight to his knees in front of him, water sloshing from the showerhead and plastering his long hair to his face.

Still, like this, he’s fucking gorgeous, blinking up at Donghyuck with dark eyes framed by even darker, longer lashes. His lips are already swollen from kissing. His hands reach out to grab Donghyuck’s thighs and squeeze.

“Fuck,” Donghyuck sighs, head tipping back against the tiled wall. He slides a hand through Jeno’s hair. “This was your idea? Seriously?”

“What?” Jeno asks, voice low under the sound of water pelting the tile beneath his knees. They’re gonna be so bruised after this. Donghyuck swallows, imagining how red they will look when Jeno inevitably wanders around his apartment in nothing but boxer briefs, wonders how long they'll last.

His cock pulses in the hot, damp air between them, and Jeno notices, a little smirk pulling at his lips. He wraps his long, pretty fingers around it, light, gentle, and says, “You don’t want it?”

“I didn’t say that,” Donghyuck retorts, but it’s too fast. Too eager.

Jeno grins, that smug way he does when he bests Donghyuck at video games so well it leaves Donghyuck sulking for hours afterward. “That’s what I thought,” he says, then takes Donghyuck’s cock in his mouth.

Donghyuck moans loud enough that the sound nearly echoes off the tiled walls, louder than the rush of the shower, too loud for this very public place. Jeno quirks a brow up at him and Donghyuck can only swallow down his next moan, fingers gripping Jeno’s hair as he works his mouth along his length. He’s too good at this—always has been—and he knows what Donghyuck likes to make him come hard and fast.

Combined with the knowledge that anyone could walk past, that another too-loud noise could make it obvious what they’re doing, has heat rushing through Donghyuck’s veins like a current.

“Fuck, this is crazy,” he groans, a little incredulous. Jeno blinks up at him like he isn’t remotely affected, but when Donghyuck tugs at his hair and presses his hips forward, Jeno’s lashes flutter and his eyes glaze over. His fingers curl tight around the base of Donghyuck’s cock. Donghyuck curses under his breath and Jeno eases off him with a schlick sound and a short, wrecked laugh.

“Be quiet, Hyuckie,” Jeno murmurs, breath hot against the head of Donghyuck’s cock. He licks delicately at the tip and down the side, letting the wet, heaviness of it glide against his smooth cheek. Donghyuck curses again, louder, and Jeno huffs at him like he’s disappointed.

He squeezes the base of his cock with his fingers again. “Maybe put your fingers in your mouth,” he offers, like he’s suggesting a place for them to get lunch after. “Don’t want anyone to hear you.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come in here to begin with,” Donghyuck hisses back, tilting his head against the wall.

“But look how hard you are,” Jeno says, stroking him now with a firm grip, like he’s trying to draw Donghyuck’s orgasm straight out of him. He stares up at Donghyuck with his sweet little puppy eyes and flushed cheeks, Donghyuck’s cock burning where it touches his skin. “You like this, don’t you?”

He doesn’t really give Donghyuck the chance to answer, not when he slides a hand up Donghyuck’s leg and pulls it over his shoulder so he can get even closer. Donghyuck clutches at Jeno’s hair for something to hold onto, struggling to keep his balance and his voice down at the same time. Only it becomes increasingly impossible as Jeno seems intent on drawing out every single whine and whimper from deep in his chest. His hips jerk forward when Jeno sinks his teeth into the fleshiest part of his thigh, then soothes over it with the flat of his tongue. Donghyuck groans. His cock pulses, precome gathering at the tip and smearing against their stomachs.

“You really like this, huh?” Jeno says once he’s left another mark of his teeth into Donghyuck’s thigh. He sounds infuriatingly smug, and he looks it too, when Donghyuck manages to blink through the haze of arousal and catches his gaze.

“Sh-Shut up,” he grits out, tugging Jeno by the hair toward his cock again. Thankfully Jeno takes the hint, sinking back down around Donghyuck’s length, straight to the base. “Oh, fuck, Jeno—”

Jeno doesn’t let up, fingers digging into Donghyuck’s hips, pinning him in place, throat working along his cock, sucking him down with purpose. A vicious groan threatens to spill from Donghyuck’s throat and he remembers what Jeno suggested at just the last moment, stuffing his own fingers into his mouth to muffle the noise.

Jeno stares up at him with wide, blown pupils, makes a low rumbling sound like he finds Donghyuck’s pleasure equally arousing, and slides one hand from his hip back to his thigh, rubbing over the spots where he had sunk in his teeth.

That does it. The sting of pain from Jeno’s thumb against his bruises combined with the delicious heat of his mouth around his cock has Donghyuck coming fast and hard, clutching at Jeno’s wet hair with a tight fist, hips jerking forward as he spills down Jeno’s throat. And Jeno takes it all like the crazy fucking good boy that he is, a low moan vibrating along Donghyuck’s length and lashes fluttering beneath droplets of water as he swallows everything with ease.

For a moment, Donghyuck is filled with the desperate, intense urge to keep Jeno like this for himself. He doesn’t want anyone else to see him like this. He doesn’t want anyone else to know how good he is.

Then Jeno slowly slips off his cock, tongue swirling around the tip one last time before he licks his lips and blinks up at Donghyuck, pupils blown, flush spread wide across the bridge of his nose and the high points of his cheeks.

“Good?” he asks, voice rough and infuriatingly sexy.

And maybe Jeno isn’t so much as good as he is a menace. Donghyuck yanks at his hair until Jeno is slinking up to his feet, crowding him right back up against the tiled wall with such a smug grin that Donghyuck aches to kiss it off him, but he doesn’t give in. That’s exactly what Jeno wants.

Instead, he bites down on his collarbone and grumbles over Jeno’s sharp exhale, “You fucking know it was good, you goddamn freak.”

“You’re a freak, too, Hyuckie,” Jeno says, rutting his hips forward until Donghyuck can feel his cock bumping up against his stomach. “I know you liked it.”

Donghyuck lets out a small laugh. He reaches down to wrap his fingers around Jeno’s hard cock. “I think you liked it even more, puppy,” he says and lets Jeno close the space between them in a harsh, wet kiss.

It only takes a few firm pulls of Donghyuck’s hand around Jeno’s cock for him to come, clearly worked up from having Donghyuck in his mouth because he’s incredible like that.

He digs his fingers into Donghyuck’s hips and buries his face into the crook of Donghyuck’s neck, teeth working against his shoulder, and he comes quietly over Donghyuck’s deft fingers, spilling onto the tiles.

They don’t move. Water continues to rain down from the shower, barely rinsing away the evidence of their activities. Jeno’s breathing is hot against his neck, but his grip around Donghyuck’s waist has softened. He rubs his thumb over the skin like a soothing balm.

Donghyuck slides his hand through Jeno’s hair, squeezing the nape of his neck. Jeno lifts his face and meets Donghyuck’s gaze with his sweet brown eyes, tinged with pleasure, desire. The kiss he gives Donghyuck is almost too gentle for what they’ve just done, leaving Donghyuck’s chest heavy and aching.

They’re quiet and fast as they properly wash up, then sneaky about leaving the shower one by one so as to avoid any attention. By the time they’re dressed, Jeno is crowding Donghyuck up against the lockers again for another little kiss. He whispers, “Come back to my place?”

Donghyuck was planning to go home. He has a list of things he needs to get done—groceries to pick up, clothes to throw in the laundry, a drama he’s been meaning to marathon—but Jeno looks at him so hopefully and Donghyuck thinks about how much he wants Jeno for himself and he’s saying yes before he even knows it.

Jeno grins like he knew that was going to be his answer. Donghyuck pulls him in for another kiss, just because he can. Because he wants. Because it’s all that he can have.

“I think I’m in love with Jeno,” Donghyuck says without preamble.

Across the table in the small cafe, Mark and Jaemin stop mid-action to stare at him. Or, well, Jaemin stops and stares, Mark nearly drops his cup of coffee all over his lap but catches it last-minute with his freaky superhero reflexes, his eyes growing wide as he exclaims, “Dude, what?”

“I said—”

“I know what you said!” Mark says, voice edging too close to a screech. “You can’t just drop that out of nowhere!”

“What do you mean you think you’re in love with him?” Jaemin asks coolly, narrowing his eyes at Donghyuck for a moment, before he turns to help Mark set his coffee down and easily mop up the liquid that spilled over with a few napkins. He pats Mark’s thigh and smiles sweetly at him when Mark offers his thanks, but it’s gone the second he turns his attention back to Donghyuck. He raises a brow and waits for Donghyuck to answer.

Donghyuck sips his coffee just to make him wait. He’s not surprised Jaemin has his hackles raised. He’s Jeno’s overprotective best friend. He knew coming to Jaemin and Mark with this problem would be a risk, but he doesn’t know what else to do. People say an outside perspective is useful. Donghyuck has been in this friends with benefits thing with Jeno for so long that maybe he’s just mistaking his feelings for something else. Totally possible, right?

“Donghyuck,” Jaemin says when the silence stretches on too long. His voice is hard like steel. Donghyuck almost laughs. Jaemin’s scowl turns deadly.

Mark reaches over to pat Jaemin’s cheek and Jaemin practically melts at the touch. The boyfriend effect in action, or maybe it’s just the Mark Lee effect. Donghyuck would probably do the same. Mark is just like that. He says, “What Jaemin means is that you’re either in love with Jeno or you’re not, so what exactly do you mean by you think?”

Donghyuck figures he’s let this go on long enough so he sets his cup down and sighs, an uncomfortable heat climbing up the back of his neck. “I don’t know, okay?” he admits. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you guys. Like, Jeno and I—we’ve been fucking around for awhile now and it’s really good. Like, really good, like oh my god, Jeno is so—”

“We get it,” Mark cuts in with a high voice, but he rolls his eyes when Donghyuck flashes him a satisfied grin.

“Well, like, I guess sometimes I think about wanting more?” Donghyuck continues. “Not just the sex, but, like, the whole package? I don’t know. Do I love him? Or am I just getting too comfortable with what we have? Fuck, maybe I should end it.”

“Are you fucking stupid,” Jaemin says.

Mark bursts into short giggles that he badly hides behind a hand. Before Donghyuck has a chance to feel offended, Mark jumps in to say, “Why would you do that, dude? If you think you’re in love with him, you should tell him!”

A part of Donghyuck would rather eat glass than have to confront Jeno with his feelings. He groans and slumps back in his seat. “Are you sure that’s my only option?” he says.

“If you want to keep living, then yes,” Jaemin mutters in a low, terrifying voice. “You end things with Jeno and you hurt him, then I’m gonna have to hurt you.”

“Babe,” Mark laughs, winding an arm around Jaemin’s shoulders and shaking him like he thinks the threat of bodily harm is adorable when it comes from his boyfriend.

“Why would Jeno be hurt if I ended things anyway?” Donghyuck grumbles, grabbing his cup to sip at his coffee again.

“Oh my god,” Jaemin says, throwing his arms up in the air. He turns to Mark with wide, agonized eyes and adds, like Donghyuck isn’t even there, “He really is stupid.”

Mark laughs again, the traitor. Donghyuck needs a new best friend. Maybe new friends in general. He should’ve asked Renjun to meet him instead. No, Jisung. Jisung wouldn’t be so mean.

“I’m leaving,” Donghyuck says, making a show of slamming his empty cup down on the table and getting to his feet, but Mark shoots out a hand to grab his wrist and doesn’t let him go. “Marrr,” he whines, “Your boyfriend is a dick.”

“And you know he does it on purpose to rile you up,” Mark returns easily, not giving into Donghyuck’s performance. He points at Donghyuck’s chair and lifts a brow until Donghyuck sits back down. With a big, satisfied grin, he finally releases Donghyuck’s wrist and pats his hand. “He’s not wrong, either.”

Donghyuck once again gets half-way to his feet before Mark laughs and reaches right over the table to shove him back down by the shoulders. “Now you’re being a dick, too,” Donghyuck says, crossing his arms like a sulky child. “Let me leave if you’re just gonna insult me.”

“You can’t break up with Jeno,” Jaemin says like he’s having to explain something to a toddler.

“It wouldn’t be breaking up when we’re not even dating,” Donghyuck protests.

“You could be dating!” Mark says with far too much enthusiasm. He leans over the table with his big, sparkling eyes like he can change Donghyuck’s mind with sheer insistence. “Just tell him, Hyuck! You guys are practically dating already, don’t you think? Like you’re exclusive friends with benefits and you keep blowing off hanging out with me these days because you’re with Jeno!”

“He’s prettier than you,” Donghyuck sniffs. He knows there’s no reason to refute it when Mark has a point that he could back up with an unfortunate amount of evidence.

Mark rolls his eyes again. “Don’t deflect,” he says. “You like him. You want to be with him! What exactly is stopping you?”

Donghyuck sweats under the combined weight of Mark and Jaemin’s expectant stares. His skin prickles as he struggles to organize the thoughts and feelings that have become all jumbled up inside him for days, weeks. Maybe months now. “What if it fucks everything up?” he admits finally, wincing at the way his voice comes out smaller than he intended, the way the question feels embarrassingly juvenile.

“What if it makes it better?” Jaemin says, sounding much less antagonistic than earlier. He’s shifted to lean his head on Mark’s shoulder and gazes at Donghyuck with soft, encouraging eyes. Donghyuck reaches for his empty cup of coffee and swirls the straw around the melting ice at the bottom, ears burning.

“Don’t be a coward,” Mark says much more bluntly. “You came to us about this for a reason, Donghyuck. You know what you want, so don’t psyche yourself out. Besides, if you and Jeno get together, the four of us could go on so many double dates!”

Jaemin grimaces like he would rather do anything else, but Mark’s vibrating excitement has him smiling and nodding anyway. Donghyuck can’t help but laugh, the thought of going on an actual date with Jeno so farfetched he can’t even imagine what a double date would be like. He thinks he’d go through with it though, just to spite Jaemin.

“Of all the benefits you could think up,” Donghyuck mutters, setting his cup back down with a sigh. “Mark Lee, you’re adorable.”

“Hey, no flirting with my boyfriend,” Jaemin says. He links arms with Mark like he’s staking his claim and glares at Donghyuck over the table.

Donghyuck slowly grins back as Mark exhales and mourns, “Now you’ve done it, babe,” before holding up a hand in an attempt to stop Donghyuck’s next move. Except he realizes his mistake at the last second, eyes widening as Donghyuck snatches his hand from the air to clasp between both of his, holding on with dear life when Mark tries to tug his hand back.

“Mark,” Donghyuck trills. Mark sighs again while Jaemin’s gaze grows murderous. “I love you.”

“Save it for Jeno, dude,” Mark says.

“You’re so cute,” Donghyuck continues. “You could do so much better than Jaemin.”

“Hey,” Jaemin says in a low voice.

“No, I really couldn’t,” Mark says, soppy and sweet, turning to look at Jaemin with his stupid sparkly eyes. Jaemin’s expression transforms from hardened steel to tender, loving softness. Donghyuck groans loudly and releases Mark’s hand like he’s touched something dirty.

“You guys make me sick,” he says, even though his chest squeezes around his heart too tight, a niggling reminder. He could have that too, if he tried. He could have that with Jeno.

He shoves the thought aside and gets to his feet. This time, neither of his friends try to stop him. “I’m gonna go. Thanks for hearing me out, I guess.”

“Donghyuck,” Jaemin says, once he’s taken a few steps away. He turns back to find Jaemin looking over his shoulder, something unexpectedly reassuring in his gaze. “You don’t have to worry too much, you know? Just tell Jeno the truth.”

Donghyuck swallows. He’s not sure what to say, what else there even is to say. He nods. Jaemin nods back, a small smile tugging at his face. Mark gives him a cheerful wave and Donghyuck returns it before turning on his heel and heading out of the cafe, heart pounding.

The conversation with Mark and Jaemin lingers in his mind the entire way home and Donghyuck isn’t any closer to an answer. End his arrangement with Jeno and put some space between them in the hope that Donghyuck will get over his feelings? Or tell Jeno how he feels and risk both rejection and their arrangement ending anyway? Neither option sounds particularly appealing.

Ending things as they are without admitting his feelings would probably hurt. Jeno would be confused but he’d get over it with some time. He’s pretty, well-liked, he could find another guy to hook up with in days if he tried. And Donghyuck, well, he might let himself wallow for a bit, then redownload one of those dating apps and see who bites. Isn’t the best way to get over someone by getting under someone else?

The thought leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth as he trudges up the stairs to his apartment. Just as sour as the thought of sitting Jeno down and spilling his guts. I like you. No, I love you. Wanna go on a date? He cringes just thinking about it, but his heart aches in his chest, yearning, wanting, hopeful.

Would Jeno laugh in his face? No, he’s not that kind of person. He’d let Donghyuck down gently, tell him they should probably stop fucking around, that he didn’t sign up for dating. That’s what they agreed on when they started this. Donghyuck’s the one who broke the rules.

He lets himself into his apartment and finds Jeno sprawled out across the couch, watching an F1 race on the television. He lifts his head from the armrest when he hears Donghyuck enter and smiles widely at him.

“Welcome home,” he says, like it’s totally normal. Like they live together, or something. Like it isn’t out of place whatsoever for Jeno to have let himself into Donghyuck’s apartment with a key that Donghyuck gave him well before they even started hooking up and oh my god maybe Mark was right. Maybe they really have been dating this whole time.

Donghyuck’s brain is fried. He can practically hear it sizzling in his ears as he robotically takes off his shoes, dumps his phone and wallet onto the coffee table, and collapses on top of Jeno like he’s part of the couch. Jeno lets out a deep groan but doesn’t shove him off. He bears Donghyuck’s weight with his deceptively sturdy frame hidden beneath a large hoodie and winds his arms around Donghyuck’s waist without question. Donghyuck tucks his face into the crook of Jeno’s neck and lets out a long, aching breath.

“Everything okay, Hyuckie?” Jeno asks, gentle, sweet, perfect.

Donghyuck wishes he wasn’t thinking about how nice it feels to come home to someone, to come home to Jeno specifically. Being able to feel his arms around him everyday like this or hear the soothing tone of his voice and feel the solid heat from his body. Wishes that Jeno wasn’t so gentle or so sweet because maybe then Donghyuck wouldn’t be fucking in love with him and he could just enjoy this without feeling like his heart is being ripped to shreds in his chest.

“Yeah,” he mutters, probably too late, but Jeno waited for him, didn’t push, didn’t press, just rubbed a hand down Donghyuck’s back. He leans up to get a look at his face, Jeno’s soft gaze, the mole beside his eye, the slightly amused curve to his mouth like he knows Donghyuck’s full of shit, but he’s letting him get away with it for now. “Just a long day.”

Jeno hums, nods. He squeezes Donghyuck tighter, almost too tight, wrapping his long legs around him while he’s at it like he’s trying to trap Donghyuck between his limbs. Donghyuck’s laughter drowns out the screeching sound of tires from the race on the television and he slaps at Jeno’s shoulder until he’s finally released, wheezing and flushed, suddenly feeling so much lighter than when he first walked into the room.

Donghyuck kisses Jeno on the mouth, a little too tender, a little too telling. Jeno kisses back, going all pliant beneath him, such a lovely, docile thing, but when Donghyuck pulls away first, he whines low and needy and tugs Donghyuck back with his teeth. Donghyuck laughs into his mouth, but he lets Jeno have his way, because he likes that Jeno too, when he’s a little sulky, when he demands more. He likes when Jeno falls apart so easily in his hands, but he likes when Jeno fights back too, that he isn’t afraid to tackle him to the ground or grab him too hard, pinning him in place.

He likes a lot about Jeno. He’s so fucking screwed.

Donghyuck breaks their kiss again, catching his breath as he struggles to organize his thoughts. His heart beats wildly in his chest. He looks at Jeno—flushed and beautiful beneath him—and for a moment, the words are there, bubbling up his throat, too close to the surface.

He swallows them down, almost chokes on them. Buries his face into Jeno’s neck again, bites his tongue so hard he tastes blood. Fuck. Fuck.

Jeno’s fingers thread through his hair. A sudden burst of applause from the TV cuts through the tension. Donghyuck lifts his head to watch as someone in an orange and black racesuit steps out of his car.

“I hate that guy,” Jeno says, so deadpan that Donghyuck breaks out into giggles, pressing his forehead to Jeno’s shoulder as he shakes in laughter.

Jeno is grinning when Donghyuck finally collects himself, eyes warm like honey the way he stares at Donghyuck almost like he’s something precious. Donghyuck, for once, doesn’t look away. Jeno’s smile only grows as he asks, “Feeling better?”

Donghyuck nods, and flops back down to rest against Jeno’s chest. He doesn’t feel like moving one bit. Jeno goes right back to gently running his fingers through Donghyuck’s hair. Donghyuck closes his eyes and feels himself slowly start to drift, unsure what it was that he was so worried about an hour ago.

“Did you wanna go out for dinner later?” Jeno asks quietly.

“Sure,” Donghyuck sighs. “Can we just stay like this for awhile longer?”

“Yeah, Hyuckie,” Jeno says, and he shifts just enough to grab the remote off the coffee table and turn the volume on the TV down. “Whatever you want.” He presses a kiss to Donghyuck’s head and Donghyuck’s heart grows, swells, blooms, then settles.

Over the next few days, not much changes. Donghyuck continues burying his feelings as deep inside him as possible, with little success. Jeno greets him in the morning with his sweet little smile and an equally sweet kiss and it’s like the sun is shining directly inside his apartment.

They get dinner one evening and Jeno teasingly plays footsie with him under the table and Donghyuck feels like a teenager again, with his first ever puppy love. Jeno fucks him on a cozy Sunday afternoon right on his couch because they’re too lazy to make it to the bedroom and Donghyuck’s whole body is alight with pleasure that lingers even after they’ve finished, Jeno resting his head on his lap while they watch a movie, playing with Donghyuck’s fingers between his own.

He could have this and more, if he could be honest. If he could pluck up the courage to tell Jeno the truth. I don’t want to keep doing this anymore, he runs through in his head. Can’t we date for real?

He cooks them pancakes for breakfast one weekend and Jeno sits at the counter and traps him between his legs every few minutes to beg for a kiss and Donghyuck almost spills it all out then, in between sharing bites of strawberries, Jeno’s lips stained red.

Jeno drags him to the gym again and Donghyuck almost says it then, when Jeno helps correct his form with his careful hands and steady voice, but he swallows the words down at the last second because it’s not the right time or place for such a conversation.

And maybe the universe is conspiring against him too, because even when the mood is right, even when it’s just the two of them alone in Donghyuck’s apartment, getting ready for bed or playing video games in the living room, the moment never comes to fruition. Jeno’s mom calls just as the words form on the tip of Donghyuck’s tongue. Donghyuck’s elderly neighbor knocks on the door to see if they’ve seen her cat and they spend an hour helping her find the fluffy little thing hiding in the stairwell.

It’s getting ridiculous. This goes on for long enough that even Jaemin starts obnoxiously texting Donghyuck increasingly threatening messages asking why he hasn’t confessed to Jeno yet, which is maybe only marginally less effective than Mark, who has started sending Donghyuck every exciting date idea he comes across on TikTok.

“It’s not like I’m not trying,” Donghyuck whines on a rare Tuesday evening when he and Jeno aren’t together. His apartment feels extra quiet without Jeno around making his cute little noises while he plays a game on his Switch or bothers Donghyuck in the kitchen as he fixes up dinner that he accidentally makes for two people.

“Well, try harder,” comes Jaemin’s aggravated voice because of course Mark put him on speaker.

“Mark, is nothing sacred to you?” Donghyuck sighs, but Mark’s too busy giggling to hear him. He hangs up, because it’s not like he was getting much support anyway, and eats his dinner alone on the couch, wondering what Jeno’s doing, if Jeno feels the distance between them when they’re not together like a physical ache.

Fuck. This is pathetic.

Donghyuck takes a photo of his dinner and sends it to Jeno, saying he accidentally made too much so Jeno better come over soon to eat the rest. He stares at his phone for a few minutes, waiting, but Jeno doesn’t respond. It’s not all that surprising because Jeno’s a bad texter in general, but it doesn’t help his mood. He tosses his phone aside and glumly eats his dinner while watching an old 90s romcom playing on TV that he’s never seen before.

By the time he’s getting ready for bed, he’s made up his mind. He can’t keep this up. As much as he hates to admit it, Mark and Jaemin are right. Donghyuck needs to tell Jeno the truth. It might fuck up what they have going on, but maybe—just maybe—Jeno likes Donghyuck enough to give dating a try. And if not, then well, at least Donghyuck can say he tried, instead of withering away in his feelings.

He checks his phone before he sleeps and finds a message from Jeno that he must’ve missed. It’s a selfie of him in bed, already messy haired and sleepy-eyed, surrounded by blankets. If Jeno had been there next to him, looking like that, Donghyuck would’ve kissed the living daylights out of him and probably gotten kicked off the bed for his trouble. He smiles as he reads the accompanying text: come over tomorrow.

This is it. His chance to finally talk to Jeno and address that ache in his chest. He sends back a thumbs up emoji and sets his phone away, falling asleep soon after filled with a determination that still lingers come morning.

He goes to work and thinks about Jeno. He has lunch with a few colleagues and thinks about Jeno. He zones out during a meeting thinking about Jeno.

He’s pumped himself up so much for tonight that he’s practically vibrating with nerves by the time he makes it to Jeno’s apartment, so when Donghyuck lets himself in with his key and finds Jeno on the couch surrounded by Renjun, Jisung, and Chenle, his heart sinks straight to his stomach.

Jeno shoots up from the couch with a bright, if apologetic grin. “Hey! You’re here!” he exclaims, making his way over to wrap Donghyuck up in his arms. Donghyuck squeezes him back a bit belatedly, aware of their friends’ eyes on him. “Sorry,” Jeno says in more of a hushed whisper when he pulls back. “They showed up like five minutes ago without warning.”

When he looks so miserable like that, puppy eyes on full force, how can Donghyuck even be disappointed? He laughs and pats Jeno’s cheek, pushing aside the urge to kiss his pout away. Their friends know they fuck around, but they tend to keep their affection to a minimum in groups.

“It’s okay,” he says. “It’s not like we had any real plans.”

Jeno’s pout grows stronger, like he’s just as disappointed by this turn of events. Donghyuck pokes his lower lip and Jeno jerks back in surprise, then lets out a deep laugh. “I guess,” he mutters, but the look he gives Donghyuck is so telling. He definitely had plans. Now Donghyuck kind of hates their friends for showing up for a whole other reason.

“Behave, puppy,” Donghyuck says in a low voice. “Let’s hang out with our friends for awhile and then you can gracefully kick them out.”

Jeno sighs but nods. Donghyuck finally kicks off his shoes, drops his bag off at the dining table, and joins the others. “What’re you guys even doing here?” he asks, squeezing himself onto the couch next to Renjun and wrapping all his limbs around him in greeting.

“Good to see you too, Hyuck,” Renjun wheezes, smacking him in the thigh, but Donghyuck just squeezes him harder.

“We wanted to go get some drinks and came to drag Jeno out with us because he never leaves his apartment unless he’s going to see you,” Chenle says. Jeno protests a weak, “That’s not true,” from the kitchen where he’s grabbing beers for everyone from the fridge, but no one acknowledges him. They know Chenle’s right. Donghyuck fights back a smug smile and probably fails if the look Chenle gives him is any indication. “But then he said you were coming over so he couldn’t leave so we decided to just stick around.”

“Lucky me,” Donghyuck drawls. Renjun finally manages to jam his elbow back into Donghyuck’s gut and he releases him with an exaggerated groan, gasping as he collapses over himself.

“Did you kill him?” Jeno asks as he returns to the living room, setting beers over the coffee table. “Weak.”

“Shut up,” Donghyuck mutters while Jisung bursts into laughter and Chenle cackles over him. “Not everyone can have abs of steel like you.”

“So true,” Chenle agrees. He waves Jeno over to where he’s sitting in the single armchair on the other side of the couch. Jeno goes easily, and jumps in surprise when Chenle sticks a hand right up his shirt to feel him up. “Yeah,” he says with a satisfied nod. “Missed this.” His other hand climbs up Jeno’s arm to squeeze his bicep.

Jeno lets out a long-suffering sigh but his cheeks are rapidly turning pink. Donghyuck gives up on his comedic act and narrows his eyes at him. He catches Donghyuck’s gaze and shrugs a shoulder like there’s nothing he can do about it, but Donghyuck knows he enjoys the attention, the acknowledgment of all his hard work at the gym. He could shove Chenle off if he wanted. Something hot and vile slithers through Donghyuck’s insides. He kind of wants to rip Chenle’s arms off his body so he can’t touch Jeno at all.

As if Chenle can read his thoughts—or perhaps just the aggravated look on his face—he smirks, glancing between them, and then pulls Jeno straight into his lap on the armchair. Jeno yelps, blushing harder, but like the touch-starved puppy he is, he lets himself get manhandled into place, Chenle’s palm flat on his stomach.

“Don’t give me that look,” Chenle says. “You’ve been hogging him. Let the rest of us have a chance.”

Donghyuck scoffs. He forces himself to appear unaffected, drags his gaze away from where Chenle is very deliberately inching his hand up toward Jeno’s chest. They’re all watching him now, like they’re expecting Donghyuck to get up and pull Jeno away, but Jeno and Donghyuck aren’t dating. Donghyuck has no place to do such a thing, even if that’s exactly what he wants.

Instead, he pulls his phone from his pocket and says, “You guys wanna order some food? I’m fucking starving.”

Renjun snorts from beside him like he can see right through the front Donghyuck is valiantly putting on, but Jisung easily agrees with Donghyuck’s offer and when Donghyuck lifts his gaze back to Chenle, raising a brow, Chenle releases a deep sigh and drops his hand from Jeno’s torso.

“You’re no fun,” he says, pouting.

“You’re just a menace,” Jeno returns, tugging his shirt back down and flashing a relieved smile at Donghyuck. “Keep your hands to yourself.”

“Boooo,” Chenle whines, but he listens for once, climbing off the armchair in favor of digging through Jeno’s collection of video games. “Jisung, what do you want to play?”

Donghyuck lets out a small breath he didn’t realize he was holding. With Chenle’s attention successfully diverted, the tight grip around his chest slowly loosens and he feels much less like he wants to throw his phone across the room. He turns to Renjun with a big grin and opens up a delivery app. “What’re you thinking, Junnie?” he asks, resting his head on Renjun’s shoulder.

They bicker goodnaturedly over what to order, Chenle shouting his dissent, Jeno quietly offering up something different, hovering over Donghyuck’s shoulder to see his screen. They settle on Thai from a nearby place and Renjun even texts Jaemin to see if he and Mark want to join them, but gets a ridiculous message full of flower and heart emoji to announce that he and Mark are on a date and not to disturb them again. Donghyuck snorts at the text and vows to send Jaemin updates every twenty minutes for the rest of the night.

In the kitchen, he digs around Jeno’s cupboards for some snacks until their food arrives, but only manages a few moments alone before Jeno is there, too, crowding him up against the counter and kissing him on the mouth like he’s been starved for it. Donghyuck drops the bag of chips in his hands and instead pulls Jeno against him, fingers digging into his little waist.

Jeno pulls back first and drops his head onto Donghyuck’s shoulder with a heavy sigh that pulls a laugh from Donghyuck’s throat. He pets the nape of Jeno’s neck and mutters, “Tired already, puppy? It’s barely been an hour.”

“I wasn’t prepared to be hosting tonight,” Jeno complains like the true introvert he is. “It was supposed to just be us.”

“Aww, you wanted to be alone with me that bad, huh?” Donghyuck teases, pinching Jeno’s cheek. Jeno scrapes his teeth against the visible skin of Donghyuck’s neck and laughs when Donghyuck yelps. “Bad puppy,” Donghyuck says, tugging Jeno away with a hand fisted in his hair. “Be nice.”

“I’m always nice,” Jeno says.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes, but Jeno’s gentle fingers graze along his cheek, holding him in place as he kisses him again, something sweeter than minutes earlier, warm and cloying as it melts through Donghyuck’s veins, coats his heart in honey. He sighs, turns soft under Jeno’s touch. It feels like hours pass in the next few moments, and Donghyuck would be perfectly happy to stay like this all night, but they’re not alone in Jeno’s apartment, so it’s only a matter of time before they’re interrupted.

Jisung’s awkward cough is enough to have Jeno jerk back. He looks between them like he would rather be anywhere else. “Sorry,” he mutters. “I was just gonna get another beer, but I can, uh, wait—”

“It’s fine, Jisungie,” Donghyuck says, pressing a firm hand to Jeno’s shoulder and pushing him back. He picks up the forgotten bag of chips and then opens the fridge, grabbing a couple of beers. Jisung still looks nervous when Donghyuck hands them over. “You don’t have to look so scandalized,” he teases. “Is our Jisungie spooked by a little kissing? Want me to kiss you to get you used to it?”

Jisung turns pink but he scoffs at Donghyuck’s usual teasing, fussing with his bangs as he glances over at Jeno behind Donghyuck’s shoulder, then back at Donghyuck. “Please don’t,” he mutters, pretending to gag, then laughs when Donghyuck punches him in the shoulder. “Besides, I don’t think Jeno would like that very much.”

Donghyuck shrugs, not daring to look back to see whatever expression is on Jeno’s face. He probably doesn’t actually care. Why would he? Instead, Donghyuck clings to Jisung’s arm and drags him back toward the living room, trying and failing to sneak in a kiss, and gets dumped into Renjun’s laugh for his troubles. Jeno joins them with a placid smile on his face, squeezing into the space on Donghyuck’s other side, hand on his thigh, knees pressed together. Donghyuck swallows the thickness in his throat and takes a long drink from his beer.

Thankfully the rest of the night passes by much more uneventfully. They eat and play a few rounds of a game before getting halfway through watching a horror movie when Renjun seems to realize it’s still a Wednesday night and they all have early mornings, dragging a sleepy Jisung and a sulky Chenle to the door.

“We gotta have a rematch soon,” Chenle grumbles to Donghyuck, still pissed off about the game he lost earlier and Donghyuck just laughs and pets his head like Chenle is a cute kitten.

“Sure, baby,” he coos. “Let me know when you’re free.”

He makes similar promises to Jisung and one to Renjun to get lunch soon, and wonders if maybe he should head home for the night too, since his original plan was so unexpectedly thwarted. He watches as Chenle squeezes Jeno’s bicep in goodbye and already knows he’s lost the determination to sit Jeno down and tell him how he feels tonight. Just as he turns to grab his things, Jeno loops an arm around his waist and pulls him back, whiny voice in his ear as he says, “Stay the night? Please.”

And how can Donghyuck say no to that?

So he stays, and helps Jeno clean up the mess around the apartment that their friends left behind while some mellow playlist fills the quiet between them from Jeno’s phone. They make out in the kitchen again instead of washing any dishes and somehow make it into Jeno’s bedroom like that, clinging together, laughing into each other’s mouths.

Jeno pulls out one of Donghyuck’s sleep shorts that he must’ve left here at some point and hands him one of his own shirts to change into and it hangs loose and long over him, practically hiding the shorts underneath entirely. Jeno seems to enjoy the sight a bit too much because he can’t keep his hands—or mouth—to himself as they crowd up beside each other in the bathroom to brush their teeth.

It’s not like Donghyuck’s much better though, not when Jeno puts on a plain white singlet that has gaping holes for the arms and he feels a little like Chenle when he squeezes Jeno’s bicep between his fingers, toothpaste in the corners of his mouth.

“You’re as bad as Chenle,” Jeno mutters, but he doesn’t seem all that bothered, smiling as he slathers moisturizer across his cheeks.

Donghyuck gasps in mock outrage and spits into the sink, then rinses his mouth. “Take that back,” he says, pointing his toothbrush at Jeno. “He’s definitely worse.”

Jeno shrugs, and Donghyuck flicks water at him from the faucet. Jeno laughs, the sound filling up the small space and Donghyuck’s heart, and as Jeno retaliates by smearing an excessive amount of moisturizer over Donghyuck’s face, he’s hit with how fucking domestic this is. If Jaemin saw them right now, he would probably kill Donghyuck for being so goddamn stupid. But Donghyuck just—he doesn’t know for sure how Jeno feels. They’ve been doing this for so long now it’s become second nature. They’re friends. Maybe a little—a lot—more friendly than most friends are, but this has never once felt weird with Jeno, not even when they first started hooking up.

By the time they actually make it into bed, the determination that Donghyuck built up for that night comes back to him in spades. He wraps his arms around Jeno from behind, pressing his nose into the nape of his neck and wonders if he should just say it, right now. I like you. It should be so easy, but he can’t make himself open his mouth.

Jeno’s phone screen casts a cool glow around them as Donghyuck tries to get over himself. He can hear Jeno tapping away and mutters, “Who’s texting you so late?”

“Chenle,” Jeno says with a sigh. “And if I don’t answer, he’ll just spam me.”

Donghyuck hums because he knows it’s true. He presses his lips against the soft skin beneath Jeno’s ear and squeezes his arms tighter around his middle, patting over his toned stomach the way Chenle had done earlier. His gut twists and he blurts out, “Have you and Chenle ever—You know—”

Jeno is so surprised he drops his phone. The screen lands facing up, making it easier to take in Jeno’s wide eyes when he turns to look at Donghyuck over his shoulder. “What? No,” he says, like he’s amazed he even has to say this.

Donghyuck should nod and let it go, relieved, but now that he’s started, he can’t stop, which is so ironic considering he’d been trying this whole time to open his mouth to tell Jeno something else entirely. What comes out instead is: “Do you, like, want to, because, I mean, it’s not like we’re serious so—”

“What the fuck,” Jeno cuts in, but the light from his phone dims for a moment before it goes completely black, leaving them in complete darkness. “No, I don’t want to hook up with Chenle, what the hell?”

“Okay, okay,” Donghyuck says quickly, grasping for Jeno’s hands in an effort to appease him. Jeno recoils at first, but then relaxes and Donghyuck lets out a breath as he squeezes his fingers. “Sorry,” he says, and he means it, he can’t even believe he said anything. “I was just thinking—I don’t know.”

Jeno snorts. “That’s your problem,” he grumbles. “You shouldn’t think.”

“Hey,” Donghyuck protests, but it’s weak.

Jeno rifles through the sheets and picks up his phone again. The light illuminates his face, handsome even under the harsh glow. He taps on the screen a few times and says, “Chenle’s like an annoying little brother. Cute but harmless. You know this.”

Donghyuck sighs. He buries his head into Jeno’s shoulder, annoyed and ashamed all at once.

“And if I wanted to fuck anyone else, I would tell you,” Jeno says with finality. Just the thought makes Donghyuck’s insides curl up into knots. “Unfortunately,” he says, his voice taking on a more teasing tone, “I kinda like what we have going on.”

That settles something in Donghyuck’s heart, just a little. It’s not really what he wants to hear, not completely, but it’s reassuring all the same. “Yeah,” he mutters. “Me too.”

“Good,” Jeno says, then sets his phone aside onto the night stand, sending them back into the dark.

Jeno wriggles around until he’s on his side facing Donghyuck. They can barely see each other like this, but Donghyuck is pretty certain of the expression on Jeno’s face: exasperated but soft, a sweet smile curling at his lips.

“Just forget I said anything, okay?” Donghyuck says after a moment of silence, and Jeno lets out a laugh and finds Donghyuck’s face in the darkness, squishing his cheeks between his fingers until his mouth is pursed up.

“You’re so stupid, Hyuckie,” Jeno says, but he plants a wet kiss to Donghyuck’s lips before he can even attempt to protest.

“You’re stupid,” Donghyuck retorts like a five-year-old, which easily sends Jeno into a peel of laughter.

Things settle down after that, back to normal. The knots in Donghyuck’s gut slowly unravel as Jeno kisses him again, and again, then finally buries his head into the crook of Donghyuck’s shoulder and closes his eyes. For a few long moments, it’s quiet. Just Jeno’s breathing and the sound of Donghyuck’s own steady heartbeat in his ears.

Then, Jeno lifts his head and says, “Hey, what’re you up to this weekend? Saturday?”

Donghyuck blinks, runs through his mental schedule. “Nothing,” he says. “Figured we’d probably hang out or something. I think Mark wanted to get brunch on Sunday, but other than that I’m free. Why?”

“There’s somewhere I wanted to go together,” Jeno says, and Donghyuck’s eyes have gotten used to the darkness enough that he can see Jeno’s face much more clearly now, the brightness in his eyes, and an easy smile on his lips. “Saturday evening. Keep it open for me, okay?”

Jeno wanting to go out together is admittedly pretty rare, homebody that he is. Donghyuck’s interest is naturally piqued. “Really?” he asks. “Where?”

Jeno shakes his head. “Nope, not telling you,” he says with all his cute puppylike defiance. “Just say yes.”

“You’re being so weird,” Donghyuck says, but when Jeno pinches his nipple through his shirt—how did he find that with complete accuracy in the dark?!—he laughs and amends, “Okay, okay! Yes! I’ll keep Saturday free for you, baby.”

“Great,” Jeno says, cuddling back into Donghyuck’s chest. “It’s a date.”

Donghyuck goes through the rest of the week in a daze. All he can think about is the coming weekend and whatever Jeno has apparently planned for them. For their date, if he can even really call it that.

Jeno must’ve meant it right? He’s not the type of person to call something a date if it really isn’t, not the way Donghyuck calls his monthly brunch with Renjun a date or the way he’ll sometimes drag Mark out for a dinner and movie date when Jaemin’s hogged him too much. Jeno doesn’t like going out and he’s not usually the one who plans things, much more of the obedient follower type who might grumble about the effort but still shows up when anyone asks with his sweet smile. Jeno calling this a date must mean it really is one.

Right?

SEE!! Mark texts back after Donghyuck finally gives into his worry and spams him late Friday night. he likes you too!! this is ur chance!!

Barely thirty seconds later, because Mark can’t keep anything to himself, he gets a text from Jaemin too:

don’t fuck it up

Donghyuck groans. Mark is too excited about this, which makes Donghyuck nervous. Jaemin’s too ominous, which makes Donghyuck wary. He slumps back in his bed and rolls side to side, stuffing his face into a pillow to muffle another groan. He might be losing his mind.

His phone pings with another message and he rolls over, expecting to find more of Mark’s over-the-top enthusiasm waiting for him, but instead it’s Jeno. A sleepy bed selfie greets him when he opens the chat and Donghyuck lets out another pathetic groan, dropping his forehead against the frame of his phone once, twice, like maybe he can beat the agonizing feeling of love out of him. It doesn’t work, but he didn’t have much faith that it would.

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before he looks back at the screen. Jeno’s sweet face smiles back at him and Donghyuck wishes he was over there right now so he could see it in person, could kiss the little mole by his eye and croon a lullaby to him until Jeno tried smothering him with a pillow. He laughs just imagining it and finally scrolls down to see the messages underneath:

have a good night
don’t be late tomorrow

It’s followed by a reminder of the time and place they agreed to meet. He thumbs up the message, then holds up his phone to take a similar, sleepy selfie, lips puckered up in a kiss, before sending that off too. He tosses his phone aside because he already knows Jeno’s unlikely to respond, and rolls over to try to sleep, still wondering if this is a date or not.

In the end, he decides that if Jeno called it a date, then it’s a date. As much as friends with benefits can go on a date anyway, which isn’t much. Regardless, Donghyuck dresses like he’s going on a date. He puts actual effort into styling his hair and picking out clothes he doesn’t usually wear—jeans that hug his thighs and show off the length of his legs, a deep red top that complements his skin, and a leather jacket.

It’s finally proper spring weather now, warm but still cool enough to warrant an outer layer, especially in the evenings. He wears boots with a tiny heel to complete the look and stares at himself in the mirror for ten minutes, wondering if he’s trying too hard, before he realizes he’s going to be late and rushes out the door.

Jeno said to meet him at the nearby mall, which is not at all what Donghyuck expected, but he parks and waits by the coffee shop at the east entrance like instructed, glancing at his watch every few minutes. He’s early, but he doesn’t have to wait long. Jeno walks over barely five minutes later, looking like he stepped off the runway in dark wash jeans and a soft knit sweater under a matching denim jacket, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair is neatly combed and he’s wearing glasses.

Donghyuck’s mouth goes dry. It’s not like he’s never seen Jeno dress like this before, but it has admittedly been awhile. The Jeno he sees on a regular basis is in athleisure almost 98% of the time, primarily due to the fact that he works as a personal trainer and because he never leaves his house. He likes oversized sweatshirts with sleeves that hang over his fingers and hoods he pulls up over his head. He still wears sweatpants he owned in college, faded logo on the thigh and all.

To be fair, Donghyuck is kind of the same. He’s simultaneously gratified that Jeno dressed up and nervous about what it means. He’s also glad he took the time to get ready too. Imagine if he showed up in his typical Adidas track pants and slides?!

“Wow, Hyuckie, you look great,” Jeno says by way of greeting as he comes to a stop in front of him, smile widening as he eyes Donghyuck up and down. “Who knew you cleaned up so well?”

“Shut up,” Donghyuck laughs, lightly shoving Jeno’s sturdy shoulder. “You’ve seen me dress like this before.”

“Not recently,” Jeno says, which is true enough.

Donghyuck hums and leans forward. The little heels of his boots means he doesn’t have to tiptoe to get into Jeno’s face as usual. Jeno’s eyes widen. A little thrill runs up Donghyuck’s spine.

“Maybe I just wanted to dress up for you, baby,” he says, voice light, smirk twisting at his lips, delighted by the pretty pink flush spreading across Jeno’s cheeks. “Cutie,” he teases, reaching up to squeeze Jeno’s face, only to get slapped away by Jeno’s flapping hands.

“Come on,” Jeno says, catching one of Donghyuck’s hands and lacing their fingers together with ease. A smile tugs at his lips as he leads Donghyuck toward the escalators. “We should get going before it gets too late.”

“Where are you even taking me?” Donghyuck says, eyes narrowed. He hasn’t been to this mall in years, probably, and he stares at the various stores with curiosity. But Jeno passes by most of the retail shops and even the foodcourt, and they end up on the top floor that has access to the movie theater and a couple of restaurants. Jeno doesn’t take him to any of those spots either and Donghyuck is growing even more confused. “What else is even here? Are you taking me to the roof? Are you planning to murder me and leave me there for someone to find?”

Jeno snorts but otherwise doesn’t deign Donghyuck’s absurd questions with an answer. He merely holds Donghyuck’s hand and leads him on.

“Your silence doesn’t evoke confidence,” Donghyuck says. “Just saying. A murderer wouldn’t admit his plans even if his victim guessed correctly.”

“Oh my god, Hyuck, I did not dress up this nicely to murder you,” Jeno laughs. “If you had even an ounce of patience—”

“I’m patient!”

“—then you’d realize we’re here,” Jeno finishes and Donghyuck staggers to a stop, nearly running into Jeno’s shoulder. He blinks up at him, then turns toward the open front entrance to a large arcade that Donghyuck didn’t even know was here.

“Is this place new?” he asks, surprised, then punches Jeno in the arm with his free hand. “What the hell?! Why didn’t you just tell me? An arcade? Really?”

“What?” Jeno says, lifting a brow. “Are you scared to lose?”

“Me? Scared?” Donghyuck scoffs. “I’m gonna make you eat those words, puppy.” He grips Jeno’s hand tighter and drags him into the arcade as Jeno laughs after him.

Turns out Jeno heard about this place opening recently from one of his clients and since Donghyuck never brought it up first, he figured Donghyuck had no idea about it either. “Thought it might be fun,” Jeno says with an embarrassed little shrug as they feed a couple of bills into the token machine. “We both like gaming and all.”

He’s so cute. This time when Donghyuck reaches up to squeeze his face, Jeno doesn’t manage to slap him away in time and Donghyuck pinches his cheeks between his fingers as he coos.

“You’re adorable, baby,” he says, trying not to think too deeply about what any of this means. Jeno could’ve asked any of their friends to come here with him. Chenle or Mark would’ve loved it. He could’ve made it a whole group thing. Instead, he kept it to himself and surprised Donghyuck specifically.

Fuck. Donghyuck really is in love with him.

“Thanks for thinking of me,” Donghyuck manages to say, pushing the rest of his feelings aside. He gives Jeno’s cheek a final little pat and then gathers up the tokens from the machine. “So, where do you wanna start?”

The arcade has a good mix of old and new games and it’s not too busy for a Saturday night, which makes it easier for Donghyuck and Jeno to move around as they please. Donghyuck doesn’t remember the last time he was even at an arcade and it’s much more fun than he remembers. That probably has more to do with the company than anything.

They’re both competitive enough to make things exciting but not so much to become a sore loser and ruin the vibes. Jeno kicks Donghyuck’s butt at the basketball game, but Donghyuck wipes the floor with him on the old DDR machine and even kisses the pout off Jeno’s lips afterward. Jeno slides up behind him at one of those shooting games, hands on Donghyuck’s waist to position him properly. Donghyuck misses completely, but somehow still feels like he won with Jeno’s laugh low in his ear, his fingers digging into the soft skin underneath the hem of Donghyuck’s shirt.

They play skeeball and air hockey and forget about competing so much as trying to sabotage each other just for the sake of it. Donghyuck digs his fingers into Jeno’s armpits to hear him squeal and Jeno retaliates by literally lifting Donghyuck off the floor and tossing him aside like he weighs nothing. That doesn’t really have the desired effect because Donghyuck slinks back to him, slipping a hand into the back pocket of Jeno’s jeans and squeezing his ass.

“How about we get out of here?” he says, low, but Jeno only laughs, reaching back to yank Donghyuck’s hand out of his pocket.

“The date’s not over yet, Hyuckie,” Jeno says, giving Donghyuck’s fingers a little squeeze.

And it’s right there, on the tip of his tongue. Is this a date?

But Jeno has already walked away before he can get it out, waving at Donghyuck to follow him. Donghyuck swallows down the question and follows, a smile plastered on his face, heart hammering in his chest at the way Jeno looks at him, waiting.

It must be a date. It definitely feels like a date. Jeno is cute and affectionate, holding his hand every chance he gets, teasing whenever Donghyuck loses at a game but comforting him with sweet little kisses and giving into his whining when he demands a rematch. They probably spend a good few hours there, amassing an obscene amount of tickets that they take up to the front to exchange for some absolutely ridiculous prizes.

Jeno, predictably, gets a handful of candy, while Donghyuck gets a mini slinky for the nostalgia of it all. He spends a good chunk of his earnings on a cute puppy plushie that he holds up to Jeno’s face and says, “The resemblance is uncanny!” and thrusts into Jeno’s chest. “For you.”

Jeno scoffs, but he looks down at the plushie with soft eyes and carries it out of the arcade tucked gently under his arm like it’s precious. They end up at the food court two floors down to stuff their faces with Korean fried chicken and fries, the puppy plushie sitting at the end of the table watching over them the whole time.

Donghyuck whips out his phone to take a few selfies, catching Jeno off guard with sauce around his mouth that he wishes he could lean over and lick off with his tongue. Jeno must know exactly what he’s thinking because he wipes the mess with his thumb and sticks it in his mouth, staring Donghyuck down until Donghyuck tips back in his chair with a loud groan.

Jeno’s laugh is bright and beautiful amongst the noisy tin of other people. He lightly taps Donghyuck’s ankle with his shoe under the table. Donghyuck stares back at him with the kind of desire that aches deep within his very bones.

“We should do this more often,” he says as he sits back up and dunks a couple of fries into ketchup. “It’s fun, right?”

Jeno nods. “It is,” he agrees. “Maybe every once in awhile is okay.”

Donghyuck narrows his eyes. “How often is every once in awhile?”

“Every two months?”

“How’s that any different than usual!”

Jeno bursts into laughter that shakes his shoulders and scrunches his face up cutely, gathering attention from the family of four sitting at the table nearby. Donghyuck flashes them a smile and they turn away. Jeno sips on his drink with a little pink flush on his cheeks that makes Donghyuck want to kiss him again. He could really give that family something to watch.

He snorts at his own thoughts and grins at the way Jeno tilts his head, questioning. “It’s nothing,” he says, then points at the fries still on Jeno’s tray. “You gonna finish these?”

They demolish the rest of their food and end up walking around the mall for a bit to burn off the calories. Donghyuck drags Jeno into a store to look for a new pair of shoes, and Jeno enlists Donghyuck’s help to find a birthday present for his sister.

Donghyuck wraps an arm around Jeno’s shoulders as they walk and Jeno keeps letting his hands brush along Donghyuck’s waist, murmuring his opinions into his ear when Donghyuck assesses a new jacket in a mirror. Donghyuck’s itching with a sort of trembling need that started when Jeno lifted him up earlier—or perhaps even before that, when Jeno first walked up that evening, looking infuriatingly sexy and blushing so prettily from Donghyuck’s words.

So when they pass by a BaskinRobbins and Donghyuck offers to get them something and Jeno slinks up beside him to whisper, “I’d rather have you for dessert,” he doesn’t think he’s ever been so relieved.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “Did you drive?”

Jeno shakes his head. “Jaemin dropped me off actually.”

Donghyuck lets out a deep sigh, tries to quell the fire slowly spreading in his veins. “My place or yours?”

“Mine’s closer.”

“Okay,” he says, grabbing Jeno’s hand and dragging him toward the nearest exit. “Let’s go.”

The drive to Jeno’s apartment seems to take hours even though it’s only twenty minutes, an unrelenting kind of desperation clawing at Donghyuck from the inside out, begging to be satisfied. Jeno keeps up easy conversation, relaying funny stories about their friends or singing along with the music that plays from Donghyuck’s bluetooth. Donghyuck isn’t sure he’ll remember a single word that Jeno said, but he can’t help it, gripping the steering wheel tight in his hands that his knuckles start to go white.

He’d almost think that Jeno wasn’t at all affected if Jeno didn’t pin him to the door the second it closed behind them, securing them safely in the privacy of Jeno’s apartment. His mouth comes down against Donghyuck’s with practiced ease, hot and slick as Donghyuck moans and melts into it, the back of his head slamming a little too hard against the door but the feel of Jeno’s tongue in his mouth enough to make up for it.

Still, Jeno slips a hand up along Donghyuck’s nape, then pillows his head in his palm. Donghyuck sighs into his mouth, curls his fists into the lapels of Jeno’s denim jacket and yanks him closer, kissing him like he’s wanted to all night. Deep, hard, bone-tingling. Pouring all the want and longing into every press of their lips.

“Donghyuck—” Jeno groans.

“What is it, puppy?” Donghyuck says, voice coming out more like a gasp. He slides his hands up the front of Jeno’s jacket, pushing it over his shoulders and down his arms. It lands around their feet with a soft noise. Donghyuck’s leather jacket joins it within seconds, Jeno’s hands warm against his arms. “Do you want to stop?”

“Fuck, no,” Jeno says so quickly it pulls a laugh out of Donghyuck’s lungs. “Just—”

Whatever he wants, he doesn’t actually say, preferring instead to capture Donghyuck’s mouth with his again, kissing even harder and deeper this time around. Hands scramble at each other’s shoulders, waists. Jeno lets out a low moan when Donghyuck sticks his fingers under the hem of his shirt and feels the defined ridges of Jeno’s abs.

“Ah—Hyuck—Bedroom?” Jeno manages to get out between kisses.

“Carry me,” Donghyuck says, looping his arms around Jeno’s neck, ready to whine until Jeno gives in, but Jeno doesn’t even hesitate. He scoops Donghyuck up into his arms with ease, taking a step back to find his balance, and laughing at the surprised squeak that falls from Donghyuck’s mouth.

“Show off!” Donghyuck exclaims as Jeno turns toward the bedroom.

“Didn’t you want this?” Jeno teases. “I could just drop you.”

He lets his grip go a little slack. Donghyuck clings harder around his shoulders. “Don’t you dare, puppy,” he says, eyes narrowed. “See if I suck your dick after that.”

Jeno laughs all the way to the bedroom.

He drops Donghyuck onto the bed and climbs right up on top of him, the mattress groaning under their weight but easily lost under the sound of Donghyuck’s heartbeat and the wet, slick sounds of Jeno’s mouth as they kiss again. Labored breaths fill in the air around them and cling to Donghyuck’s heated skin as pleasured moans slowly escape from their throats. Donghyuck tugs Jeno’s shirt up to his chest and Jeno dutifully sits back long enough to yank it off over his head, diving back down to continue making out like he hadn’t stopped at all.

Donghyuck slides his hands up Jeno’s bare sides, tracing along defined muscles and smooth plain. He rubs a thumb over a nipple and laughs at the breathy whine that escapes Jeno’s mouth. He hooks a leg around Jeno’s waist and rolls them over in the bed. Jeno lets it happen without question, easily malleable when he wants to be, staring up at Donghyuck with wide, hungry eyes as Donghyuck pins Jeno’s hands to the bed above his head and grins down at him.

“That’s a good puppy,” he says, giving Jeno’s wrists a little squeeze before he releases his grip. Jeno leaves his hands where Donghyuck placed them. Fuck, he really is so good. “So,” he continues, lifting his own shirt up his stomach and off over his head. He shakes out his hair, tosses the garment aside. “How do you wanna do this?”

He slides his hands down Jeno’s chest, slow, considering. “Want me to fuck you, baby?” he asks, leaning close to speak against Jeno’s kiss-swollen lips. “Or did you wanna fuck me?”

Jeno groans. “Yeah,” he breathes, bucking his hips up enough that Donghyuck can feel the swell of his cock through his jeans against his ass. “Wanna fuck you, Hyuck. Please.”

“So polite,” Donghyuck coos. “So sweet.”

“Come on,” Jeno urges. “Please, Hyuck.”

“Since you’re asking so nicely,” Donghyuck says and closes the space between them with another heated kiss.

It doesn’t last as long this time. They’re both too worked up, too eager to get the show going. Donghyuck shimmies back enough to get his hands on the button and zipper of Jeno’s jeans, then climbs off his lap entirely to tug them down his legs. Shoes come off that they forgot to remove earlier, too distracted by each other to even remember removing them by the door. The rest of their clothes follow—Jeno’s hands squeezing Donghyuck’s thighs the moment they’re exposed—leaving them skin to delicious skin, warm and sensuous as arousal burns in their veins.

Donghyuck grabs the lube from the drawer in the nightstand where he knows Jeno keeps it, settling back in his lap with his chest aching, desperate to feel Jeno inside him already.

“You gonna be good for me, puppy?” he asks, squeezing lube onto his fingers. “I’ll ride you like this, what do you think?”

“Yeah,” Jeno breathes, watching with dark, eager eyes as Donghyuck reaches back to carefully work himself open. “I like that.”

A little laugh tumbles from Donghyuck’s lips, but it morphs easily into a moan. It’s been awhile since he’s done this; Jeno prefers to bottom and Donghyuck loves giving him what he wants. Still, there’s something so sexy about the way Jeno’s gaze never falters, the way he grips Donghyuck’s thighs and doesn’t move, doesn’t even attempt to take control, just waits like a good boy for Donghyuck to give him his treat.

And he does, soon enough. Maybe too soon, honestly, as he slips his fingers free and wraps a hand around Jeno’s cock, feels the hard and heavy length of him. Whatever, Donghyuck thinks as he slides Jeno’s cock through the excess lube between his legs, then notches the head against his hole.

“Hyuck—” Jeno grits out, jaw tense.

Donghyuck sinks down onto him with practiced ease. A low moan rumbles in his throat as he’s filled completely, an intense kind of heat that fills his veins like a wave of fire.

“Fuck,” Donghyuck says. “I always forget how big you are.”

Jeno’s ears grow a vibrant pink. He looks like he’s trying so hard not to jerk his hips up, his fingers really digging into Donghyuck’s thighs. It’s so cute. “You okay?” he asks, a little furrow between his brows that Donghyuck smooths away with a thumb.

“Just give me a minute, baby,” Donghyuck says, running a hand through his hair. He tests the waters with a little circle of his hips and a jolt of pleasurepain snaps up his spine. Fuck, it’s good, but he definitely rushed the prep. “You know I can take you.”

Jeno rolls his eyes. “Get on with it then,” he says, a little petulant pout to his lips.

Donghyuck glowers down at him, but Jeno must be too used to the look because he stares back, unblinking, until Donghyuck shifts his hips up just enough and then slams back down, squeezing Jeno’s cock. A low curse falls from Jeno’s mouth as he tips his head back, exposing the beautiful long line of his neck, a thick vein pulsing down the side. Donghyuck grins, wicked, and grabs Jeno’s hands from his thighs, pinning them right back down onto the bed above his head.

“Yeah, stay like that, baby,” he asks, starting up a slow, deliberate roll of his hips. “Let me use you, okay? But you can’t come until I’m done.”

Jeno lets out a strangled moan, something between a protest and a plea. He doesn’t fight Donghyuck off. His long lashes flutter against his flushed cheeks for a few moments before he meets Donghyuck’s eyes, gaze hazy, heavy with want. “Please,” he murmurs, his fingers prying at Donghyuck’s grip until he’s able to lace their hands together. “Please—Just—”

“Yeah? What is it? What do you want, baby?”

“Kiss me—Hyuck—”

Fuck. How is Donghyuck going to say no to that? He swoops down to swallow the last of Jeno’s pleas between his lips, kissing him with all the urgency and hunger that’s flooding his veins. Time seems to slow down and speed up all at once as Donghyuck gets lost in the pleasure—the heat of Jeno’s cock as he thrusts inside him, the slick caress of his tongue, the delicious friction of his own cock rubbing between their stomachs, smearing precome all over Jeno’s abs.

When Donghyuck pulls back to catch his breath, Jeno lets out a cute little whine that has him huffing out a laugh into the thick air between them. He squeezes Jeno’s hands and slowly tugs his fingers free from Jeno’s firm grip, sliding his hands down strong, sinewy arms, over muscled shoulders, and across Jeno’s defined chest, sitting up in Jeno’s lap to get a proper look down at him.

And what a view—the pink flush in his cheeks has spread down his neck and dusted across sharp collarbones. His lips are red and swollen, eyes dazed as he blinks up at Donghyuck with desperation.

Donghyuck doesn’t think he’ll ever tire of seeing Jeno like this. He wants this sight for himself for the rest of his life, along with every other iteration of Jeno he’s come to discover over the years. The sweet, sensitive Jeno that greets him in the mornings. The handsome, cool Jeno that takes him on surprise arcade dates. Even the sulky, homebody Jeno that complains when Donghyuck tries to get him to leave the house.

He’s greedy. He wants them all.

It’s on the tip of his tongue again—those words, the confession he’s been trying to get out for days. Weeks. He swallows it down quickly because there’s no way he’s going to say it like this, he’d never live it down, and focuses instead on the wanton look in Jeno’s eyes.

“You close already, puppy?” he asks, rubbing a thumb over one of Jeno’s nipples, smirking at the way he keens, arches, his cock pushing deeper inside. “You can hold out a little longer, can’t you? You’re doing so well for me.”

Jeno groans. With his freed hands, he grabs Donghyuck’s hips and plants his feet on the mattress, thrusts him into him even harder, deeper. A surprised whine rolls off Donghyuck’s tongue, pleasure spiking in his gut, and he grasps at his cock with a shaky hand, strokes his palm down from tip to the base.

“Yeah, just like that,” he says. “You’re doing so well for me. Gonna let me come all over you?”

“Fuck—yeah—Please, Hyuck—come already,” Jeno begs, voice low and wrecked, eager and desperate. He blinks up at Donghyuck through wet lashes, looking every bit sinful as he is beautiful, and just the view could be enough to get Donghyuck off.

As it is, Jeno’s cock pulses inside him as Donghyuck increases his rhythm, grinding down against him, angling his hips just right to have Jeno hitting that delicious spot inside him. Arousal builds and builds like a crescendo as he tightens his grip around his cock and strokes faster, and all it takes is Jeno’s soft whisper of his name to make Donghyuck come, spilling stripes of white over Jeno’s stomach and up his sternum.

“Oh, fuck, fuck,” he moans, thighs trembling, body aching, thumb pressed into the slit of his cock, fingers wet and dripping.

“Hyuckie—Come here,” Jeno says, and Donghyuck goes easily, melting into his chest, into his mouth, soft, tender press of their lips. One of Jeno’s hands travels gently up his spine into his hair, holding him in place as he shakes through his orgasm, heart pounding in his ears.

Only once Donghyuck’s breathing starts to even out does Jeno make any attempt to move, smoothly rolling them over until Donghyuck’s blinking up at the ceiling before finding Jeno’s face. “Can I—” he asks, so sweet, so cute. His jaw is tense as he pushes one of Donghyuck’s legs toward his chest, sweat beading at his temples, and Donghyuck wriggles back more comfortably against the sheets, nodding.

“C’mon puppy,” he says. “Fill me up.”

Jeno lets out a soft laugh that turns into a moan as he pushes back inside, one hand braced against the mattress over Donghyuck’s shoulder while the other catches Donghyuck’s fingers again, lacing them together. Donghyuck brings their hands up to his mouth, kisses Jeno’s knuckles in a move that is far too romantic, but he can’t help it—His heart too big in his chest, every fiber of his body attuned to where Jeno’s touching him, the sound of Jeno’s harsh breathing, the perfect way he fucks him.

A fresh wave of arousal simmers under Donghyuck’s skin. If this goes on too long, they’ll be here all night and while that doesn’t sound terrible, the bone-deep satisfaction of his orgasm is starting to take over, making his limbs all languid and his eyelids droopy. So he pulls two of Jeno’s fingers into his mouth and slips his tongue between them, rolls his hips down to meet Jeno’s next thrust.

Jeno’s eyes go round, his mouth slack. His rhythm falters, his breath catching. Donghyuck lets his teeth bite down over Jeno’s knuckles and it’s over—Jeno slams in deep and comes hard, tugging his fingers out from Donghyuck’s mouth in favor of grasping his face and kissing him with the same intensity.

Donghyuck moans into it, twisting his legs around Jeno’s hips, squeezing around him until Jeno makes a noise that sounds like a dying whale. Their kiss breaks apart as Donghyuck falls into laughter, his heart so light it feels like he might float away at any moment, so he wraps his arms around Jeno’s back to stay grounded, sweat sticking them together.

“Fuck, that was—” Jeno mutters into Donghyuck’s shoulder as he collapses on top of him. “Fuck.”

“Ah, so eloquent,” Donghyuck snorts. “Love a man who has a way with words.”

“Shut up,” Jeno says, reaching a hand down to pinch Donghyuck’s waist. Donghyuck squeals and thrashes, but that only jostles Jeno’s cock still inside him, and they both moan from the movement, immediately going still. Jeno presses a little kiss to Donghyuck’s neck, then carefully eases off him, slipping out and rolling to the side with a thump of the mattress.

Donghyuck misses the heat of him instantly, turning onto his side to get a little closer, taking in the way Jeno’s chest heaves with his breaths and the damp hair that clings to his forehead. He reaches over to brush it away and a small smile tugs at Jeno’s lips as he turns his head to look at him, and there’s something in his eyes that is so soft, so tender, that Donghyuck pulls his hand back like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t.

Jeno doesn’t seem to think so, because he grabs Donghyuck’s hand out of the air and squeezes his fingers. Then he pulls Donghyuck’s hand to his mouth and kisses his knuckles the way Donghyuck did earlier.

Panic bubbles up inside of Donghyuck so fast it’s like he’s been hit in the back of the head with it, completely erasing the bliss of a good fuck from his veins. He suddenly feels like he can’t look at Jeno at all, dropping his gaze to an empty spot on the sheets. He wants to pull his hand away. He wants to ask Jeno what it means when he looks at him like that, when he kisses him like that. It’s too sweet, it’s too romantic. Jeno doesn’t feel the same way, right? So then why—

“Hey,” Jeno’s voice cuts through Donghyuck’s turbulent thoughts. “You okay?”

Donghyuck swallows down the questions clogging up his throat. He forces his gaze back up to Jeno’s face. “Yeah, I’m great,” he says with a laugh. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He gives Jeno a little smirk and adds, “After you fucked me so well, puppy,” tugging his hand from Jeno’s so he can pinch his cheek.

Jeno swats his hand away with a roll of his eyes, but he still smiles at Donghyuck all softly after like Donghyuck’s teasing is cute. Donghyuck feels stuck again, torn between admitting all his feelings right here or grabbing all his clothes and running away.

He does neither. Jeno makes the next decision for them, stretching his arms over his head with a deep sigh and then rolling off the bed, reaching back to grab Donghyuck by the ankle and pull him off too.

“Let’s clean up,” he says, dragging Donghyuck to the bathroom, and Donghyuck goes, because of course he does. He doesn’t want to leave, not really. Except it’s getting harder and harder to stay, when every gentle touch feels like a promise and every whispering kiss under the shower a confession.

They wash up with comfortable ease and Donghyuck finds a pair of his own sweats and a t-shirt in Jeno’s closet to throw on after, damp hair dripping onto the collar until he snags one of Jeno’s hoodies to wear too. A part of him still itches to run away, to grab his clothes off the floor and mutter and goodbye, but he pushes it back. It’s normal for him to stick around after they fuck. It’d be weird if he left and then Jeno would ask questions that Donghyuck can’t answer.

Instead he ventures to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He doesn’t realize just how deep into his thoughts he’s sunk until Jeno joins him, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck’s waist from behind and asking, “You’re being really quiet. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Donghyuck grips the glass in his hand as he sets it back on the counter. He twists a bit out of Jeno’s arms, so they’re facing each other instead, but Jeno leaves one arm around his waist, a weight that’s usually comforting now feeling like it weighs ten pounds. It’s worse when he meets Jeno’s gaze. He didn’t want Jeno to worry by suddenly leaving, but he’s worrying anyway, it’s etched there in the furrow of his brows and the little pout to his pink, swollen lips.

Lips that Donghyuck was just kissing, happy and sated in bed. Lips that Donghyuck wants to kiss again and again, everyday for the rest of his life. And the longer he looks at Jeno, the harder it becomes to push it back—the words that have been threatening to spill from the bleeding scraps of his heart ever since he met Jeno for their date.

“Hyuck?” Jeno says, soft, reaching up to brush Donghyuck’s hair out of his face, and this time Donghyuck can’t hold it back, he can’t, he can’t—

“I can’t do this anymore,” he blurts out, his voice ringing loudly in the otherwise quiet apartment, shocking them both into silence.

Ice drips down Donghyuck’s spine because what the fuck that’s not what he meant to say, not even a little, and yet he can’t find the words to take it back. Jeno’s arm drops from his waist and he feels even colder, all the warmth he felt over the course of the night vanishing before his very eyes as Jeno stares at him with utter confusion.

“Wait, what?” he asks. “What do you mean?”

Donghyuck steps away, running a hand through his hair as he tries to string the right words together. “Fuck,” he mutters, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

“But you said it,” Jeno whispers and there’s something so wounded in his voice that makes Donghyuck’s chest ache. He looks at Donghyuck less like he’s bewildered and more like Donghyuck just cut out his heart, which is exactly how Donghyuck feels too. “You can’t just take it back,” Jeno adds. “You want to stop what we’ve been doing? Is that it? But I thought…”

He trails off, looking down at the tiled floor of the kitchen. Donghyuck swallows and forces out the truth. “I don’t want to stop,” he says, voice plain and honest. Jeno immediately looks back up, eyes widening. “I just—Fuck.” Donghyuck scrubs at his face with his palms, mumbles into them, “I’m so stupid, I don’t know why it’s so hard to say this—”

And Jeno is there, closing the space between them again, gentle fingers wrapping around Donghyuck’s wrists and tugging them from his face. He holds his hands between them, grounding, soothing, familiar, and says, “It’s not stupid. Whatever it is—Just tell me, Hyuck. Don’t say you want to stop this because I don’t want to stop this so—I mean—If that’s what you really want, I need to know why—”

“It’s because I love you, Jeno,” Donghyuck says, finally laying everything out in the open, clasping Jeno’s hands tighter in his like he’s handing him his heart straight from his chest. “I fucking love you.”

For a terrible, agonizing second, Jeno stares at him, jaw slack, eyes wide. Then, like the words finally register, his whole demeanor transforms: his lips stretch into a slow grin, his gaze melts like honey, warm and soft as he squeezes Donghyuck’s hands.

“You love me,” he repeats, sounding gleeful instead of surprised.

“Oh my god,” Donghyuck moans. He tries to leave, to pull his hands out of Jeno’s grip, but Jeno is stronger and Donghyuck doesn’t really want to leave, anyway. He’s pulled even closer to Jeno’s chest, staring up at the wide, handsome grin that’s taken over Jeno’s face.

“You love me,” he says again.

“Are you gonna keep fucking saying it.”

“Maybe.” A pause. “You really love me?” This time, it comes out a little uncertain, a lot hopeful.

Donghyuck sulks. “Not right now I don’t,” he mutters, turning his head away with a pout.

“Liar,” Jeno whispers, and he leans down to catch Donghyuck’s mouth in a swift kiss before he can deny it any further, stealing the air from Donghyuck’s lungs and all the mortification along with it. His heart settles back into a steady rhythm, his stomach untangles itself from all the knots. A soft sigh falls from his lips as he kisses Jeno back.

It only lasts a few moments. Donghyuck makes a little whine of protest when Jeno breaks away, but it’s swallowed down when Jeno meets his eyes and says, “I love you, too.”

“You—What?”

“I love you,” Jeno says again, like it’s as easy as breathing. He lets out an amused little laugh. “What? Is that supposed to be news?”

“Yes?! What the fuck!” Donghyuck drops Jeno’s hands so he can throw his into the air, spinning around in place as the absurdity of this whole conversation starts to hit him. Jeno loves him?!

“Hyuck,” Jeno says, pulling Donghyuck back to him by the hips. “I planned a date tonight. A date. Me. The guy who never wants to go out. I planned it with you in mind.”

Heat creeps up Donghyuck’s nape. “I didn’t know you really meant it like a date,” he admits.

Jeno smiles like he knows. “You’re so stupid,” he laughs.

Donghyuck shoves at his shoulders with a disgruntled, “Hey,” but Jeno tightens his grip around his waist, keeping him right there beside him.

“It’s cute,” Jeno says. “You’re cute. I really like you.”

Oh god, Donghyuck can’t believe how giddy hearing those words makes him feel. A smile tugs at his lips and his heart seems to take up all the space in his chest, trying to burst through his ribcage. “You don’t just like me, right?” he teases, “You love me.”

“Yeah,” Jeno agrees, looking just as pleased about it as Donghyuck feels. “I do.”

“Fuck, I can’t believe this,” Donghyuck wails. He slumps dramatically against the counter with a moan. “Have we been dating this whole time? Was Jaemin actually right?”

Jeno snorts. He threads his fingers through Donghyuck’s hair. “Yeah, basically.”

Donghyuck turns to peer up at him and the sweet little smile on Jeno’s face kind of takes his breath away. He feels crazy. Happy. And a bit like he might be dreaming, like maybe they went to sleep after the shower and none of this ever happened. Except the gentle touch of Jeno’s fingers in his hair and the affectionate look in his eyes feel far too real to be a fantasy.

He shuffles back into Jeno’s chest, dropping his forehead against his shoulder with a sigh. Jeno’s low laugh tickles his ear but his arms are strong and comforting as they wind around his waist. “Sorry it took me a while to figure it out,” he mumbles.

“It’s okay,” Jeno says, patting his back. “I’m just glad you were freaking out because you loved me and not because you wanted to, like, break up.”

“Is it really breaking up if I thought we were friends with benefits this whole time?”

Jeno hands come up to cup his face and pull him back so he can pin him with a pointed look. “Hyuck, I think we stopped being friends with benefits when I slept over at your place for a whole week and you kept making me breakfast every morning before I left for work.”

A warm flush floods Donghyuck’s cheeks. He remembers that. It was barely two months into their whole arrangement. “Oh my god,” he groans.

“You used to kiss me goodbye at the door.”

“Ahhh, stop,” Donghyuck cries, thumping his face into Jeno’s chest with defeat. “I get it. I’m an actual idiot.”

“Well, it’s not all your fault,” Jeno says. “I should’ve said something too. I liked what we had going on though, and maybe I was afraid too. That you wouldn’t want it to be a real relationship.”

Donghyuck steps out of Jeno’s arms and makes sure to meet his eyes when he says, “I do want that. A real relationship. With you.”

The smile that Jeno gives him is nothing short of blinding. “Good,” he says with a nod. “That’s what I want too.”

And Donghyuck presses Jeno right up against the counter to kiss him as if to seal the deal.

It’s not until later, after Donghyuck whipped together a quick breakfast and Jeno poured them some coffee, that some of the implications of a real relationship start to hit him. He doesn’t think a lot will change, if he’s honest. He and Jeno already share most of their lives together—their worries, their successes, their laughter, their dreams..

However, there is one thing.

“You realize us dating means actually going on dates, right?” Donghyuck asks, poking Jeno in the thigh with his toes from where they’re spread out on the couch.

Jeno laughs. “Yeah, I know that,” he says. He pats Donghyuck’s ankle, then wraps his fingers around it and squeezes. “I think it’s worth it,” he continues with a shrug, shyly meeting Donghyuck’s eyes. “If it means I can call you my boyfriend.”

“Aww, puppy,” Donghyuck coos, making grabby hands at him while Jeno rolls his eyes. “You’re so cute! I’ll be your boyfriend. I’ll be whatever you want.”

Jeno assesses him for a moment, eyes traveling down from his face to his knees and then back up. He tightens his grip around Donghyuck’s ankle and pulls, until Donghyuck is flat on his back on the couch and Jeno is crawling right over him, slotting against his body like he was always meant to be there.

“Hyuck?” he says as Donghyuck winds his arms around his back and welcomes him in, slipping fingers into Jeno’s hair and relishing in the delicious heat of him. “Be quiet.”

“Yeah, okay,” Donghyuck agrees as Jeno finds his mouth for a silencing kiss, because if that’s what his boyfriend wants, then that’s what he gets. He can’t imagine a better start to their relationship than this.

“I seriously cannot believe you agreed to this,” Donghyuck grumbles. “You don’t even like regular dates.”

Beside him, Jeno pouts and shakes Donghyuck’s arm, their fingers laced between them. “That’s not true,” he says. “I like going on dates with you. And this will be fun! They’re our friends.”

“Actually, Jaemin is my enemy,” Donghyuck says loudly, and a few feet in front of them, Jaemin whips around to look at them.

Jeno doesn’t seem to notice, too busy giving Donghyuck his most pathetic puppy eyes.

“Don’t do that,” Donghyuck groans, holding up his free hand over Jeno’s face to shield himself. “You know I can’t say no when you look at me like that.”

Jeno pulls Donghyuck’s hand away with a grin. “Exactly,” he says. “C’mon, Hyuckie, we were already thinking of coming here anyway. Besides, don’t you wanna see Mark freak out on the rides?”

Donghyuck glances over at where Mark is waving at them to hurry up, far too excited about this double date than he has any right being. Ever since he learned about Donghyuck and Jeno getting together properly, he’s been trying to make this happen. A month was as long as Donghyuck could manage to evade his pleas before Jaemin stepped in and arranged the whole thing on Mark’s behalf.

And it’s true. He and Jeno were already considering going to the theme park as a date when plans with the whole friend group fell through. He didn’t think Jaemin and Mark would take the opportunity to turn it into a double date, but he figures he can’t be too mad about it.

“Okay, fine, you make a good point,” Donghyuck concedes to Jeno’s wide grin. “But I can’t be blamed if I accidentally push Jaemin off a rollercoaster.”

Jeno snorts like he thinks Donghyuck’s totally real threat of homicide is cute. He presses a little kiss to Donghyuck’s cheek and says, “I’d like to see you try.”

“Hey,” Donghyuck whines, offended, but Jeno only laughs and releases his hand to bounce up to Mark, throwing an arm around his shoulders and leaving Donghyuck with Jaemin, who falls easily into step beside him. He sighs. “You’re not about to give me the shovel talk now, are you? Because I don’t wanna hear it.”

“I don’t need to,” Jaemin says. “You already know what I could do to you if you make Jeno sad.”

Donghyuck pretends to shiver. “So scary,” he says, though he admits, he is a little unnerved. Jaemin is so weird. “I’m still surprised you planned this whole thing.”

“Yeah, well,” Jaemin shrugs, looking a bit embarrassed now, but his expression turns fond when he glances up at Mark. “He really wanted it and I can’t exactly say no to him.” Donghyuck knows the feeling. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him turn it into a regular thing.”

“Thank god for that,” Donghyuck says, taking Jaemin’s hand in both of his and shaking it as if in promise. Jaemin lets out a surprised laugh that draws the attention of their boyfriends, Jeno’s brow arching in amusement, but Jaemin makes a show of yanking his hand away, which only has Donghyuck reaching for it again and holding on extra tight.

Jaemin sighs. In front of them, Mark and Jeno are copying them while giggling. Donghyuck’s heart glows warm in his chest at the sight of Jeno’s bright smile.

“I’m glad you guys worked things out, you know,” Jaemin says after a moment.

Donghyuck glances at him, the genuine sincerity in his eyes, and laughs, squeezing Jaemin’s fingers again just to see him grimace. “Yeah,” he says, just as Mark yells at them to hurry up, “me too.”

He releases Jaemin to find Jeno again, who welcomes him with a grin. “Hey,” he says, quiet enough for only Jeno to hear. “I love you.”

A flash of surprise crosses Jeno’s eyes, but it’s replaced by that affectionate gaze that Donghyuck’s grown increasingly used to seeing these days. His smile widens and he pulls Donghyuck close with an arm around his waist. “Love you too, Hyuckie,” he says, and kisses him oh so sweetly.

It tastes like home.