Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wooyoung's screen time skyrocketed during the holidays.

Don't get him wrong: he'd slept a whole lot back at his parents' house, and he's been smooched and cuddled senseless for all he was worth. 

However, on his last day before taking the train back to Seoul, Kyungmin had climbed into his bed wearing one of his million-dollar-worthy Chrome Hearts shirt and a shit eating grin.

- Hyung! Come look at this cool website I found! 

At first, Wooyoung doesn't pay him any mind; he's playing League, and he's used to his younger brother coming by just to make him lose a match. However, Kyungmin's gone suspiciously silent, so he pauses his Nintendo to look at what's got him so focused. 

What he hears next changes his life forever.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Wooyoung calls an emergency meeting as soon as everyone's back at the dorms from Chuseok.

Hongjoong, the last to arrive since his flight got delayed, nearly takes down the door as he enters.

- What is it?! - he grips Wooyoung's shoulders, breathless and wide-eyed, not bothering with taking off his shoes. - Were you seen with someone? Did you get someone pregnant?!

Wooyoung makes a disgusted face and gently slides out of his grip.

- Ew, hyung. You think so lowly of me, I'm wounded!

Seonghwa fixes him with a nasty stare.

- An emergency meeting is for serious stuff, Woo. You better have a good reason for this.

Wooyoung smiles triumphantly, connecting his phone to the big TV screen and mirroring the contents. It opens on a slideshow, the first one showing a big table with over a hundred lines and six columns.

Yeosang squints, trying to read.

- What's this? 

Wooyoung sports a shit-eating grin as he announces.

- These, gentlemen… - he claps his hands once for extra effect. - Are the 100 top ships of 2024 on ao3.

All the members look at him like he's finally gone mad.

- What does that mean and why does it concern us?

Wooyoung makes a show out of putting on his glasses and pulls out a laser pointer, ready for his presentation.

- I'm so glad you asked!

It takes him fifteen minutes to explain to his baffled members (minus San, who already knew it existed and actively engaged in fandom spaces since he was 14) what is fanfiction, what is ao3, and how it could boost their popularity in real life.

- You see! If we get good rankings on the top ships, people will wonder about us! And they'll look it up, and hear our music, and see Mingi shirtless, and then BOOM! New fans!!

Hongjoong keeps looking at him like he's seriously considering kicking him out of the dorm, but the other members seem to be in varying degrees of seeing his point. 

- You see, our most popular ship is Matz, at the 49º position. A whooping seven spots up if you compare it to the 2023 ranking! - Wooyoung points to the slide with his laser. 

Seonghwa smiles shyly and blushes. Hongjoong pretends to gag.

- Then we got YunGi at 99. - he points lower in the screen. - Which, by the way, fuck you. WooSan was there before you took our spot and now we're no longer on top 100! Sannie, we gotta do something!

San looks up at him like he might ask if he had any ideas for that, but all the free space in the cramped up living room is taken by the two giants, jumping around and screaming in joy.

- Yun! People really are shipping us!! - Mingi exclaims, grabbing Yunho by the waist and hoisting him up in the air. 

- I know! I started it!! - Yunho exclaims, just as ecstatic. - But wait!

Mingi puts him down, and Yunho stands in the middle of the room, fixing the two oldest with a nasty stare.

- How is Matz more popular than us? Me and Mingi are always together and touchy-feely and-

- Exactly. - Hongjoong interrupts nonchalantly, smoothly sliding an arm behind Seonghwa's shoulders on the couch. - You give them too much content. Couldn't be us. Gotta keep the fans wondering, you know? Give them something to fantasize about.

Wooyoung applauds his logic. Jongho scoffs.

- Then Sangie and I should be the highest ranking ship!

Wooyoung rolls his eyes.

- No, because you give them nothing at all! JongSangers are starving, y'all gotta step it up a bit more!

San pouts.

- What about us, then?

Wooyoung runs a hand through his hair, defeated.

- I don't know why YunGi passed us. But obviously we can't leave it at that! 

Hongjoong raises a hand.

- I really don't think it's that serious-

- Yes it is! - Seonghwa shushes him. - I agree with Woo. This could be beneficial for the group as a whole. Aren't we always seeking more exposure? This is perfect, and it's for free! We just gotta convince atinys to write more about us!

There are nods and murmuring agreements all over the room. Yeosang pipes up.

- But how do we do that?

Wooyoung jumps up from his seat again, gathering some copies of the material he carefully put together along with his brother (an 'expert in the field', as Kyungmin called it himself).

- I'm so glad you asked! Minnie and I crafted a five-step-plan tailored to each one of our ships, y'all just gotta study and eventually make some changes-

San gently pulls him back down to his lap.

- Babe, calm down. What if we make it a challenge instead?

Seven pairs of eyes look at him.

- What?

San's eyes glisten with mischief.

- Let's make a bet. Each pair of us should make their own strategy, and then…

(Mingi starts dancing and singing strategy by Twice in the corner. San ignores him)

- …At the end of the next year we'll see who got more new fics. The ship placed last in the ranking has to buy everyone else dinner at that fancy barbecue.

Yunho raises his hand.

- Are there rules?

Wooyoung shrugs.

- As long as you don't get, like, expelled from the group or cause a major crashout, I don't think so.

- So, like, the Hunger Games, but for fanfiction? - Mingi chimes in. 

Wooyoung high-fives him.

- Genius! We'll call it The Shipper Games!

No one seems particularly excited about that name, but they turn to look at Hongjoong for the last word of approval all the same.

The leader sighs heavily and sinks down more on the couch.

- …Fine.

Everyone cheers loudly, the pairs already coming together to think of a thousand ways to be the fandom's biggest object of attention. Even Hongjoong drops down his unbothered facade and takes a notepad to start writing it down.

They order chicken and beer, and the rest of the night is spent in utter concentration, the government assigned ships scattered across the living room, planning and scheming and testing and eventually giving away ideas that they liked but didn't suit their ship specifically. As the clock strikes midnight, Wooyoung gets up again and claps to get everyone's attention.

- Alright, let it be known! - he announces commically, with a grave voice in a dialect only ever heard in historical dramas. - I hereby declare open this Shipper Games season. May the odds be ever in our favor, and may the best ship win!

Chapter Text

When Hongjoong finally comes back to the dorm at three in the morning, he tiptoes as always, hoping not to wake up his sleeping members. He's well past the phase of sleeping in the couch so as to not disturb Seonghwa; now that each of them have their own rooms, there's no need for that, but he might or might not have chosen his room as the last one far down the corridor just so he can make sure, on his way to bed, that all the others are asleep and well.

So it puzzles him to see the light to Seonghwa's room still on when he passes by; sweet, pristine Seonghwa, who never went to bed past midnight if he could help it, up and about at this hour?

Hongjoong knocks very softly on the door to check on him. When no answer is given, he wonders if maybe he'd just been so tired that he fell asleep with the lights on; he opens the door slightly, just enough to check and, if that's the case, turn them off for him; However, he finds him wide awake instead, wrapped in his fluffiest blanket and with a face mask on, reading on his Kindle so avidly that he doesn't even notice him at first. Hongjoong's brows furrow, and he steps into the room.

- Hwa? - he whispers gently, trying to take a look at what he's reading. - Is everything okay?

Seonghwa startles so bad the Kindle falls from his hands into the sheets. Before Hongjoong can look any longer, he scrambles to get it and close its case, hiding it under the pillow for good measure.

- Joong-ah! - he whisper-yells, sitting up straighter. - What are you, a ghost?!

Hongjoong snorts and crosses his arms.

- What's got you so jumpy? And why are you awake at this ungodly hour?

Seonghwa huffs.

- Why are you awake to see i'm also awake at this ungodly hour?

He rolls his eyes.

- I was working and you know it.

Seonghwa takes some strands of hair out of his face petulantly.

- Well I was also working!

Hongjoong raises a brow.

- With a Kindle?

- Well yeah! They can be quite useful, you know-

In a swift movement, Hongjoong snatches the Kindle from under his pillow and opens it.

It asks for a password. Hongjoong frowns.

- Since when have you set up a password for your kindle?

Seonghwa huffs.

- Since Wooyoung helped me set some… stuff.

Hongjoong fixes him with a conspiratorial look.

- Is my good hyung reading erotica novels per any chance, is that it? You don't need to hide that, you know. No one is a virgin here anymore.

Seonghwa blushes and sputters a nonsensical answer. He throws a pillow at him.

- What would you know about that! Get out!

Hongjoong easily dodges the pillow and sits down on the edge of the bed.

- Come on, our Seonghwa~ tell your Hongjoongie what you're reading~ I could use some recs~

Seonghwa whines, mortified. He brings his long ddeongbyoli pillow up to hide his face and mutters something into it. Hongjoong chuckles and gently pushes it out of the way.

- What was that~ I can't hear you~

- It's our strategy!! - Seonghwa whispers, mortified, a bit louder this time. Hongjoong pauses.

- Our… what?

- Did you forget already?! - he whispers. - No no no. We have to win this, Joongie. It's our honour in the line!

Hongjoong squints at him like he's crazy for a few seconds before it dawns on him.

- …You're talking about Wooyoung's silly ship thing? You can't be serious.

Seonghwa straightens his back and takes off his face mask. It somehow makes him look even more intimidating.

- Kim Hongjoong, we're doing this, and you'll be giving it your all. Understood?

Hongjoong gulps. This was serious business then.

- Yes, boss.

Seonghwa fixes him for another moment before his expression softens and he smiles.

- Good. - he lays down again, getting cozy under the blankets. - Now give me back my fic.

Hongjoong automatically does as he's told but freezes midway on his way out.

- Your… fic?

Seonghwa's eyes widen.

- M-my Kindle! You obviously heard it wrong-

- Park Seonghwa. - Hongjoong turns back to him, amused. - Are you reading fanfiction? Of us?

Seonghwa blushes.

- It's purely for research purposes! You know, market study-

Hongjoong laughs, thoroughly amused.

- Oh, I'm sure. Please do text me the results of your… market study, after you finish it. I wouldn't want to fall behind in our little venture, now would I?

He closes the door behind him with a smirk.

As he goes off to his room, he can hear Seonghwa's embarrassed scream being muffled into his poor ddeongbyoli pillow.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Hongjoong was foreved indebted to Yeosang for insisting they should buy a massage chair for the dorms. Since it arrived, almost all his free time (which was virtually next to nothing but oh well) was spent there, eyes closed, feeling the buzz working the perpetually sore spots all over his muscles.

It was a lazy saturday afternoon; most of the members had gone off to a gaming match against some other idols, but Hongjoong and Seonghwa had chosen to stay home. He hadn't seen the eldest in hours; Hongjoong muses he was off to built his newest Lego set.

So, without an ounce of shame, he takes up the massage chair, comfortable and fresh in his boxers and a loose sleeveless shirt, and sets it to its maximum intensity.

He hums delightedly as it starts working down his remaining ore spots and worries, reducing him to something slightly more solid than a puddle. He's startled out of his mind when he feels a hand gently sneaking up his thigh.

- Hongjoongie~ - Seonghwa singsongs, and oh, if Hongjoong wasn't fucking fucked right now. He curses, trying to move away, to put some distance between them, but he's fucking tiny and the chair is fucking gigantic and he sinks right into it.

Right into Seonghwa's trap.

- Hmm, no no, bad Joongie. Stay put. - He giggles, perching himself up on the armchair. The distinguishable smell of flavoured soju hits Hongjoong, and he sighs. Of course.

Seonghwa only ever drinks when the kids aren't home, and it's been months since their last weekend of; of course he'd indulge a bit. He tries to mantain an ounce of his dignity (as much as he could, being almost naked and definitely interested in the giggly man above him) and gently pushes his hand away.

- Hwa. - he talks to him softly, as he's learned it was best in times like this. - Have you been drinking?

Seonghwa hums, eyes almost closed in small crescent moons. Hongjoong smiles despite himself. His hyung was so so so pretty. He knew that, of course, but in the rough of their packed daily schedules he didn't always have the time to admire him like he deserved.

- How many? - he coaxes, gently directing his cheek so he'd look at him.

- Three or four?

- Glasses?

- Bottles. - Seonghwa giggles, leaving his weight heavily into him. Hongjoong lets him be.

- Hwa, don't you think you should maybe start getting ready for bed -

- Shhhh. - The older man pushes a finger against his lips. - Not Hwa.

Hongjoong's brows furrow in confusion.

- Not… Hwa..? - he repeats, trying to understand.

Seonghwa nods, clumsily moving until he's more or less straddling him, strong thighs propped up on the armchairs.

- They make you call me lots of things, ya know? - he rambles drunkenly, and Hongjoong distantly wonders if he could die out of sheer will. But thinking of it, this was probably the closest to heaven he'd even get, so he nods as if he understands and gently rests his hands on his waist to steady him. - They write it so beautifully. In those stories… you call me some very cute names.

Hongjoong's eyes widen. It seems like Seonghwa has been reading way more fanfiction than he led him to believe.

- You call me petal. - He whispers with a pout, and Hongjoong's breath hitches at the sight. - You call me star, and darling, and sweetheart, and a lot of other things. - He leans closer, pout growing bigger, his voice whiny and clearly dissatisfied. - I wish you'd call me that in real life. I think I'd like it… Just like I do in the stories.

Hongjoong is frozen in place, physycally and methaphorically. He couldn't move a muscle if he tried, and suddenly all the stimulus from the massaging chair, along with the soft, enticing press of Seonghwa's body, becomes too much for him to bear. He lets out the tiniest whimper, still processing his words.

- You... want me to call you... petnames..?

Seonghwa hums, clearly too out of it to care. 

Something in Hongjoong's chest tightens. Now that he thinks about it, it seems a very temptating thing to do. But he shouldn't. It was... not very appropriate. Like... at all.

Yeah.

- Darl... Seonghwa. - he sighs and pats his butt affectionately, gulping down the urge to sink his fingers into the plump flesh instead, and adjusts his shirt so it covers (albeit very poorly) his crotch area. - Come on. Let's get you to bed.

Seonghwa whines poorly, but is drunk enough to be easily bribed, and he lets Hongjoong tuck him in without any major disasters.

As he closes the door and moves back to the living room, Hongjoong swears colorfully.

Fuck Wooyoung and his fucking ideas.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Once they're back to work, Seonghwa snatches him away from the producing team at lunchtime to debrief on their strategy.

- So. - he places his iPad in front of his kimchi jiggae to show a mindmap. - first of all, according to my research, the fans seem to really like this push and pull thing we've got going on, so I say we keep it.

- Yeah? Did you have fun with your research? - Hongjoong teases, munching on a piece.

Seonghwa blushes and ignores him.

- I do, however, have a few points of improvement. First one is definitely more yearning. We should step up the light touches, like, hm, they really love it when you grab my waist, and-

- They like it? - Hongjoong teases again. - You mean it makes no difference for you if I move you by the waist or not?

Seonghwa hits him weakly on the shoulder.

- Shut up, oh my god, I'm trying to work seriously here!

- Are you really though?

Hongjoong is being way too smug about this whole thing. It can't be. Seonghwa takes a deep breath before he steps up his game, aiming to throw him off balance too, just enough that he could get back to their strategy. He hunches over a bit in his seat, making himself slightly smaller, and looking at him with round boba eyes. Then he chooses a weapon he stole from the many fics he's read over the past days, and whispers.

"Yes, my captain ~"

Hongjoong drops his chopsticks.

- What did you just say?!

Seonghwa blinks innocently, getting another clean pair and setting it back next to his plate for him.

- I just agreed with you~

Hongjoong isn't having it. He leans closer, a burning look in his eyes.

- No. The captain part.

Seonghwa bites down a smirk. Exactly as he'd planned.

- What? Aren't you our captain? - he bats his eyelashes.

He can see the gears turning inside Hongjoong's head, can hear the deep intake of air. Heat coils in his tummy.

- Yes. Yes I am your captain. But you never address me as such, so what's your business with this?

Seonghwa puts on his most innocent face yet, silently thankful for their acting classes predebut.

- Maybe I haven't been giving you the respect you deserve… my captain.

Hongjoong visibly tenses at that, a tiny gasp escaping his lips. He gets up, turns on his heels and bolts back to his studio, leaving his half-eaten lunch without a word, but Seonghwa isn't bothered by it in the slightest. Actually, it's the most fun he's had in ages, and he quickly notes down a text to Wooyoung to let him know how it's going.

Pretty Hyung

Phase 1 running smoothtly

Bet 20.00 won he's going to beat one at his studio rn

Wooyo

told u hyung

😈

i'll tell mingi to go barge in

he's not gonna get it that easily

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

On their first concert after the Games were put in place, Hongjoong didn't have a single second of peace.

All things considered, between singing and dancing and interacting with fans and making sure everyone else is alive and well and not getting second degree burns from the flamethrowers on stage, he's always busy at concerts; however, any spare second he could possibly have, Seonghwa had a way of making it about himself.

Not directly, of course, because it'd ruin their strategy; the only time they stand side by side is for the encore song, and Seonghwa makes a show out of fixing his beanie (which was perfectly well worn!) just as an excuse to touch him.

Other than that, they spend the entire concert in a game of hide and seek, lingering touches during the calmer songs and steamy glances mid-performance. Hongjoong plays his part as well, making sure the atinys at baricade catch him staring at Seonghwa's backside as he moves to interact with the fans on the other side of the stage, going as far as licking his lips for an extra hungry facade.

But it wasn't really a facade if he really was thirsting over his teammate, right? It was easier that way.

When it's over and they're back at the dorm, Seonghwa comes to have an improptu sleepover in his room, and they go late into the night giggling over atiny's franctic tweets, even the lightest of their earlier touches being overanalysed and zoomed in and replayed all over the timeline.

- Joong-ah~ Look at this funny tweet~- Seonghwa giggles and pushes his phone towards him. Hongjoong catches it but barely glances at the screen, too focused on their shoulders touching.

- Oh, back to 'Joong-ah' now? What happened to ' my captain'?

Seonghwa rolls his eyes and takes his phone back with a defiant smirk.

- Well it's not an everyday thing. You gotta earn it, you know?

- Oh yeah?

In a swift movement, Hongjoong rolls him over so he's got his back pressed against the bed, face close to his. Seonghwa wonders briefly, wide-eyed, if this is all it takes, if he's finally going to kiss him now; but Hongjoong dips his face to whisper in his ear instead.

- And how exactly am I supposed to earn it… sweetheart? - he purrs.

Seonghwa gasps, body shivering slightly against his will. Fuck, it did feel amazing to be called that. His brain short-circuits, and he's not sure what he's supposed to do. Pull him closer? Laugh it off? Tackle him to the matress instead?

Hongjoong doesn't give him any time to decide, however. He presses a barely-there kiss to his neck - a fucking neck kiss!! - and gets off him completely, pulling the blankets to the side and arranging them nicely around himself.

- Goodnight, Seonghwa~ There's an extra blanket in the drawer if you wanna stay the night~

Seonghwa bristles. This tiny fucker and his teasing tendencies. He was planning on staying, yes, but decides to go back to his room out of pure spite. In his head, all his brain power was already being redirected to think of ways of getting him back for that.

He stomps like a child all the way out and stops briefly at the door.

- Goodnight, captain. Sweet dreams.

Chapter Text

Yeosang is roaming the dorm in his boxers and an oversized shirt he stole right from the clothesline (was it Yunho's? Mingi's? Who knows?) with a warm mug of tea in his hand when Jongho calls him over.

- Hey, hyung! People are saying I should send you to dance practice with a vibrator up your ass!

Yeosang jumps, the hot tea falling all over his hands and wrists and thighs. Jongho immediately leaves his computer and rushes over to him, countless apologies leaving his lips. He tugs his own soft cotton shirt off and uses it to dry Yeosang up, fussing over him and promising to make him a new mug.

- Did you get burnt? Should I go get the burn cream? Wait, I'll be right back-

Yeosang tugs at his wrist.

- I'm fine, really. But I'm curious. Where'd you get that, hm… that impression..?

Jongho giggles but tugs him closer to see the screen, both squeezed together with their thighs touching.

- From Tumblr. I was scrolling through our tag and-

- Tumblr? Isn't that a bottle?

Jongho chuckles fondly.

- No, that would be a tumbler. Tumblr is a site where gays and perverts share their ideas.

Yeosang nods gravelly as if he's being talked through a college-level lesson.

- I see. And people talk about us there? Are we the gays or the perverts?

Jongho sighs heavily.

- Both, hyung.

Yeosang nods again, not seeming very surprised. He gestures for Jongho to go on.

- Okay, look! It says: jongsang headcanons. MDNI. I don't know what that means. First bullet point: "jongho totally makes yeo wear a vibe during dance practice on the days he's feeling extra possessive, to better stake his claim, making him crumble and lose focus during the hardest parts of the choreography." - he chuckles and wiggles his brows playfully. - What do you think?

Yeosang muses.

- I don't know about dance practice, that looks like it'd hurt. It must be quite fun to try it on other moments. Why don't we?

Jongho chokes.

- W-whAT-?!

Yeosang giggles, mischievous, and pats his back as he gets up with what's left of his tea.

- You're so funny when you believe me blindly, maknae-yah.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Yeosang's music taste was, in many ways, similar to a white teenager's. Jongho found it rather endearing.

So, when the Imagine Dragons tour notice comes up, he promptly gets them two VIP tickets and eagerly waits for the older to get home so he could deliver him the news.

Yeosang comes back drenched in sweat from the gym, and Jongho spends half a second checking out his biceps. They'd gotten bigger, the creamy skin looking very nice and-

Yeah, well. Jongho was still stronger though. That's why he was looking: he had to make sure he'd stay in his role as the strongest guy in ateez, even as his teammates got bigger. That's all. Yeah.

- Maknae-yah~ Whatchu doin' in my room~ - Yeosang singsongs, clearly in a good mood.

Jongho sighs, a bit shy now that the moment has come, and tries to look as nonchalant as possible as he holds up the tickets. Yeosang tilts his head like a puppy as he reads it, then his eyes widen and light up. He drops his gym bag on the floor and comes closer.

- Jjongie… are those really…?

Jongho grins smugly, feeling confident again.

- Yeah, hyung. It's your day off, isn't it? My singing lessons got cancelled, so I thought we could go together.

(That was a complete lie. He literally begged his vocal instructor to reschedule and even bribed him with his favorite meat pieces before he finally managed to get the day free to go)

Yeosang smiles big and claps his hands like a toddler. That's one of the many things Jongho admired in him: the childlike, careless joy of his hyung behind closed doors. He loved even more to be the source of it.

- Thank you, maknae-yah~ You're the best! - Yeosang beams, taking the tickets and kissing his cheek.

Jongho pretends to be annoyed and gets up from Yeosang's bed, immediately missing the warmth and the unique smell of it. He sticks his tongue out and stops at the door.

- Hyung better tell the 99z they could never be me. I'm still your favorite, right?

Yeosang chuckles as he nonchalantly gets rid of his sweaty shirt and Jongho chokes.

- Of course, Jjongie. The only one ever.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Yeosang buys them matching Imagine Dragons merch shirts to attend the concert.

Jongho pretends to hate it, but buys a brand new pair of jeans just to match the shade of the shirts and paints his nails accordingly.

Since their last group meeting, Matz had recently taken the internet by storm as they appeared together with matching Lego keyrings, and Wooyoung's been nagging at him nonstop to step up their situation about the Shipper Games, so Jongho comes up with a solution.

They attend the concert as planned, but decide to film a logbook too while they were at it.

As they're getting ready to go, Yeosang discreetly slips a small bag into Jongho's hands.

- A treat, if you will. You know hyungie would never do you harm, yeah?

Jongho raises a brow, suspicious, and peeks inside. His cheeks get bright red as he realizes what lies inside.

- H-hyung! What does this even mean-

Yeosang shrugs like he'd just gifted him a bracelet and not a vibrating plug.

- Hyung, you know I'm straight!

Yeosang puts his hands up in surrender.

- Never said you weren't! It isn't gay if I'm not the one putting it in you!

Jongho bristles.

- A real man would never put anything inside to begin with-

- That's bullshit and you know it. - Yeosang interrupts him firmly. Jongho wonders distantly why it sounded so hot. - Look, no one is forcing you to do it. But you seemed rather interested in the idea when you told me about it.

Jongho pouts.

- It sounded interesting when it was me doing it to you!

Yeosang raises a bleached brow that takes a whole body shiver up Jongho's spine.

- Welp! I'm sure that was a VERY straight interest indeed!

Jongho is mortified as he closes the bathroom door. He knows he's not under any obligations to do this, but something in Yeosang's tone had sounded so hot and sure and commanding that he found out he didn't want to say no. It left a funny feeling on his belly, one he hadn't felt in a long time and surely not near men, and he opens up the lube packet before he can think too much about it.

He knows more or less the logistics of it (a hole is a hole if you don't think about it too hard), but it's still unpleasant and cold and weird, and he's almost giving up when the thickest part of the plug finally slips inside. He shudders, letting out a relieved breath and bringing his leg back down from where it was perched up on the sink for easier access.

As he stands up again, an involuntary moan leaves his lips and he braces a hand on the wall to keep his balance. It feels weird, but a good weird, and he feels so full and the fire in his belly only grows stronger.

- Maknae-yah~ Everything alright in there? - Yeosang's deep voice resonates through the door and Jongho bites his lip to hold back another moan.

What the fuck. This is a man. It's Yeosang of all people. Your hyung. You've been too dry for too long, that's all.

- Coming, hyung~ - he says with some difficulty as he opens the door. Yeosang fixes him with a smug expression and just then he realizes the innuendo in his own words.

- N-not like that! - he rushes to explain, cheeks reddening as shame rises within his gut.

Yeosang merely giggles and offers him his arm to hold onto.

- Are you feeling alright? - his tone softens, devoid of any judgement or teasing. Jongho eagerly hooks their arms and shyly blurts out.

- Bit weird. But full. Not bad, actually.

Yeosang smiles and pats his hand.

- That's good, Jjongie. Tell hyung if anything changes, okay?

Jongho stays tense during the whole way to the stadium, waiting for Yeosang to turn on the vibrations, but it never comes. With time, he relaxes, and aside from the tiny whimper he lets out when they leave the car and the plug moves inside of him, he think he manages it like a champ.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Yeosang is always pleasant to be around, all soft giggles and witty remarks. His eyes light up as the chords for the first song start to ring around the venue, and Jongho's eyes light up watching him.

What was the point of working so hard if he couldn't spoil his hyung every once in a while, right?

They lose themselves in the music, bouncing around together in their VIP booth and feeding each other snacks. Dan Reynolds looks glorious without a shirt, and Jongho catches himself wondering how much the man could deadlift, and if he could beat him in a fistfight. In a totally straight way, of course.

The jumbotron shows images of small children on their parents' shoulders to get a better view, and Yeosang coos. He'd always soften near kids, as much as Jongho found them insufferable.

Suddenly, the screen's edges turn pink and a big title surrounded by hearts appears.

𖹭 Loom Tour Kiss Cam 𖹭 ㅤ

Yeosang shakes his head in amusement. He's never understood the hype of kiss cams, but whatever gets the crowd going, he guesses.

An olive falls from his sandwich and he bends down to get it.

The crowd becomes significantly louder, and when Yeosang looks up, it takes him half a second to find out why.

The kiss cam was pointed directly at them now.

He freezes. His first reaction was to just duck under the chairs, but that'd spur the media and the boatos; they should seize this opportunity to go up on their rankings, after all. He weakly grabs Jongho's collar, intending to plant a chaste kiss on his squishy cheeks, but has no chance to go on with his plans.

Jongho grabs him by the waist on both sides and turns them around, covering Yeosang completely from view with his broad back. Then he leans in, takes a few seconds, and moves back to his earlier spot with a smirk. Yeosang's red cheeks are broadcasted live to thousands of people, and would later be replayed half a million times on social media. It leaves the people wondering.

Did Jongho kiss his lips? His cheek? His forehead? Somewhere else? Did he even kiss him at all?

The crowd would never know.

But Yeosang knew.

The millimeters of skin between his lips and cheek where Jongho kissed him stays burning long after they've returned to the dorms.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Back home, Wooyoung is waiting for them with a party blower on his lips.

- Holy shit! Baby bear finally stepped up his game! I'm sorry I ever doubted you! - he grins and blows, looking borderline ridiculous.

- What..? - Yeosang furrows his brows. Before he can complete his question, Wooyoung is shoving his tablet's screen on their faces.

- People are going batshit crazy! The tag JongSang went mainstream and is going viral even outside of fandom spaces! There's seven WIPs announced already, and counting!

Yeosang blinks, confused.

- Out of all these years working our asses off, what gets us to go viral is a pretend kiss?

Jongho grins smugly.

- Well obviously we've trended before, hyung, but I think this is our main trending moment as a ship-

Yeosang's had enough of his big ego and his teasing touches throughout the whole night, so he reaches into his pocket and turns on the vibrations at the lowest setting. It's light, barely nothing, but Jongho's completely unprepared and unused to it, so his knees buckle and he lets out a whimper, which he promptly tries to cover up with a cough. Yeosang holds him up with a sure, strong arm, mantaining his perfect resting bitch face.

Wooyoung keeps yapping about their rising numbers and barely notices when Jongho excuses himself to the bathroom with a high-pitched voice.

When Yeosang hears the lock click, he counts up to five and amps it up one more level.

Chapter Text

The entire dorm is woken up by San's high-pitched noise at 8am on a Saturday.

Hongjoong is on his feet in a second, kicking the door of his bedroom and checking him over franctically, sleepy eyes wide with worry. San makes a disgruntled noise and weakly slaps his hand away.

- Sannie, what was that? Nightmare, sweetheart? Are you hurt? Should I go get Wooyoungie?

San only whines and shakes his head, dropping his phone onto the mattress and running a hand through his face.

- It has come to my attention that atinys think I'm a 'hard dom'. ME! - San wails, mortified. - They're saying I spank people! ME! When my butt is still red from the last time Woo decided to have fun-

Hongjoong's eyes harden and he stands up straight, the worry giving way to frustration.

- That's what this was about? You got me genuinely scared!

- I got spooked! I don't know why they see me like this!

Hongjoong crosses his arms.

- Why do you think you're a member of the demon line?

San pouts and opens his arms. Hongjoong huffs and rolls his eyes, but can't quite resist that deadly combination, and San's chest had become so pillowy and comfortable and he's sleepy and feeling clingy, so he climbs into bed and lets San spoon him until Seonghwa wakes them up again for lunch with a fond smile.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

At the lunch table, Wooyoung moans obscenely each time he takes a bite, earning a pinch on the side from Mingi.

- Stop being a pervert at mealtime.

- I'm showing appreciation to my hyung's amazing food! You're the pervert if you have a problem with it!

- Moaning for food and moaning for other stuff is very different but you don't seem to mind!

- Can we not… - Seonghwa starts, but San interrupts him.

- So I've been doing research and I think it goes way messier than we thought.

Hongjoong was about to scold him for interrupting but Seonghwa raises a hand to let him know it's okay. The leader sighs.

- Yeah, Sannie, tell the guys about what you found out.

San blushes a bit at the attention but goes on.

- …Yeah so, ao3 is an archive, right? And archives have sorting systems. This one has tags. You can tag anything in your story to make it easier to find. Usually people use it for tropes, like 'friends to lovers' or 'there was only one bed', but I've found some… very interesting tags too. About our, hm, characters..?

Mingi furrows his brows.

- Our characters? There's Bbyongming fanfiction going around?!

Wooyoung snorts.

- That's a great idea actually, I'd read that!

San facepalms.

- Not the aniteez characters. OUR characters. Like… how they portray us. For example… Hongjoongie hyung as a pirate captain, which is a popular occurence actually! It becomes the tag 'Pirate Captain Kim Hongjoong'. You know what I mean?

Yunho, who had been awfully quiet up to that point, chirps in.

- So, they make characters out of us? We're not always idols?

Wooyoung cackles.

- Dude, I've seen more than one where I'm half a cat! They're very fun, by the way. I think I'd look killer with a tail and black cat ears. I've found one where Seonghwa hyung is a cat too and he imprints on me!

- What's an imprint? - Seonghwa furrows his brows. Before Wooyoung can explain, Hongjoong mutters something.

- I'm sorry, what was that? - Seonghwa pokes him.

- I said I've read it too. It's… quite cute. - he admits gruffly.

Wooyoung grins diabolically.

- Been doing your research, hyung? Did you like the idea of Hwa hyung being feral and walking around naked with a tail?

Seonghwa makes a choked sound. Hongjoong throws a paper towel at him.

- Shut up! I stumbled upon it. It was on the Matz tag, that's all.

Seonghwa looks at him with round, delightfully surprised eyes.

- You've been reading fics about us as well..?

Hongjoong huffs.

- Just a bit. I like the way they write me, okay? I'm a badass tattoo artist with a killer flirt game in one of them. They clearly managed to capture my bad boy essence well.

Yunho snorts.

- Your bad boy essence? You can't even look hyung in the eyes, twitter is always calling you a loser with zero diamonds-

- Hey! I've got plenty of money if I wanted to buy diamonds, but what does it have to do with me and Seonghwa-

- Ooooh. - Mingi chuckles. - 'Sugar Daddy Hongjoong'. Look. 38 fics, hyung. I don't think the masses agree.

San giggles as he types something into his phone.

- 'Kim Hongjoong is Bad at Feelings'. 703 works. They're onto something here- OW! - he yelps as the leader hits his arm.

- Stop searching! Why is this even a tag?!

- No, look, this shit is nuts. We've got such a creative fandom. Look at these tags, man. 'MILF Kang Yeosang'. 'Incorrect use of the cromer', what the fuck? 'Jeong Yunho Has a Big Dick'-

- That's true though. - Wooyoung argues. San squints at him.

- What's true?

- The one about Yunho having a big dick, obvioulsy. And damn does he know how to use it-

- Why are you talking about me like I'm not even here?

- WHY would you know that?! - San wails.

- What? Don't you think I've got big dick energy? - Yunho pouts.

- Well I don't know, why would I even think about it-

- You don't have to THINK about it, just look down next time the stylists put him on leather pants-

- Why are YOU looking down when I've got leather pants on?!

- Well pretty things should be appreciated and I miss having it deep inside me-

- JUNG WOOYOUNG! - Seonghwa covers his mouth with his hand. - Dear lord. You had it inside just last week, we heard you just fine and against our will. Please have some decorum.

- Y'all had fun without me?! - Mingi gasps, betrayed. San flies himself into his arms.

- AND without me! We should get some revenge, Mingi-yah-

- Fuck yeah we should. -Mingi pouts, bringing San into his lap. Wooyoung scoffs.

- Two bottoms! What are you gonna do, rub your dicks together?

San flips him off and Mingi bursts out laughing.

- How'd you know? I could get Sannie off just fine. Watch me-

- Please don't. - Hongjoong intervenes, pale. - Leave your bottom-off for later, pretty please. Let's go back to the main issue.

- Right. - Yeosang sits up straighter. - I think we should focus on developing some of these tags too, aside from the ship ones. I can't let the masses believe I'm a mean top.

- You're barely a top at all! - Woooung argues.

- Not with you! Switches exist!

- Have they considered that we simply get home and roll a dice to decide who is taking it up the ass that night? - Mingi chirps in.

Yunho giggles.

- It's a pretty efficient method. I wish hyungs would join. - He drapes himself over Seonghwa's lap and gives him his best puppy eyes. - Hyung… pretty please? I could be so good for you-

Seonghwa blushes and stutters. Hongjoong clears his throat much louder than needed, giving Yunho a nasty glance.

- No one will be joining such thing. You 99z can keep your fun dice activities between yourselves.

San and Yunho groan in disappointment. Wooyoung merely smirks and picks up the screen, still open on the ao3 dashboard.

- Okay, back to business. As our Sannie well observed, there's a tag system, and they use it to attribute us a personality within the story. I don't understand half of it, though.

Seonghwa looks over his shoulder curiously as he pets Yunho's hair, blissfully ignorant of Hongjoong's piercing glare at the gesture.

- 'Alpha Kim Hongjoong'. What does this mean?

- Wait wait I know that one! - Yunho gets up excitedly and runs to his room. He comes back with his baby blue Holy Bible, focused, searching for something. Wooyoung groans.

- Yuyu, now really isn't the time for religious guilt or some shit-

- No, no, shh, I've got it! Listen. - a long finger points to the small letters in the page. - Book of Revelation, 22:13. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." So maybe Alpha Hongjoong means he's the main character?

Jongho facepalms.

- Hyung, I don't think that's what it means in this context-

- Here! - Mingi intervenes. - I searched it up on urban dictionary!

Mingi starts to read it out loud, but stops mid-sentence and keeps reading silently. His face becomes more and more distressed as he goes, and in the end he sits back on the couch with a strangled 'what the actual fuck?' leaving his lips.

- Listen. - Wooyoung sighs. - I'll just call Kyungminnie, okay? He's a pro. He'll be able to explain that.

- PA.BO.YA! - his younger brother greets with a squeaky laugh as soon as the call connects, his round face and baby cheeks taking up the whole screen. - What do you want?

Wooyoung rolls his eyes.

- Brat. The guys are here too. - he turns the phone around and Kyungmin immediately lights up and softens his voice.

- Hyungnims, hi~ long time no see~

Wooyoung gasps, offended by the clear favoritism, but his protests are swallowed up by the rest of the group crowding around the screen to dote on his brother.

- YAH! Enough of that. - he brings the phone back to his chest. - Minnie, we're on a mission. That ao3 stuff.

Kyungmin immediatelly sobers up, sitting up straight. He props his phone up on the table and nods.

- Shoot, hyung!

An 'aack' of pure pride growls in Wooyoungs throat and he smiles.

- That's my baby. So, what's an alpha?

Kyungmin widens his eyes and doubles over in laughter. The eight of them just watch, puzzled.

- You just found out about it? Took you long enough!

Before Wooyoung can scold him, he continues.

- This is part the ABO dynamics. Alpha, Beta, Omega.

- Like the greek letters? - Seonghwa raises his hand. Kyungmin makes a face.

- That's not my field, I wouldn't know. So. It's kind of a world where people are half wolves, but not really werewolves..! They, hm, have an inner wolf. And this inner wolf can be an alpha, all dominant and all, or an omega, all submissive and breedable-

- Kyungmin! - Wooyoung reprehends him. - You're in no age to say such things! Who taught you that?!

Kyungmin rolls his eyes.

- Do you want to know or not?

Wooyoung huffs like he wants to argue, but San covers his mouth with a hand.

- …That's what I thought. So, there are also the Betas and the Enigmas… - Kyungmin goes on about the topic, frequently stopping to giggle about their reactions. By the end of his small TED Talk, everyone was thoroughly informed, although in varying levels of traumatized.

Kyungmin disconnects the call because he's got a math test to study for and they're all left marinating on the information. Mingi types quickly into his phone.

- Wait. 'Omega Song Mingi'… 276 fics. 'Alpha Song Mingi'… 424 fics. Okay, my stage persona is paying off-

- 'Pregnant Omega Jongho', what the fuck is this! - Jongho yelps. - …17 occurences! I would never in a million years be an omega-

- So the mpreg part is not an issue? - Yeosang teases. Jongho bites down hard on his left arm in retaliation.

- Kim… Oh my god. - Yunho dissolves into a fit of giggles and pinches Hongjoong's cheeks. - Pack Luna Kim Hongjoong. Hyung, you're the omegaest Omega to ever exist-

Hongjoong swats him away, cursing under his breath.

- I'm obviously Pack Alpha! Seonghwa is the Luna!

Seonghwa blushes as well.

- Me? Why?!

Hongjoong rolls his eyes like it's obvious.

- Well you're soft and delicate, you take care of everyone, and Kyungminnie said the Luna is the Pack Alpha's wife so really it couldn't be anyone else-

- So I'm your wife? - Seonghwa smirks at his slip up and Hongjoong frantically shakes his hands in denial.

- I-I mean, in the fandom's eyes, of course, I thought that was implied-

- Is it implied that I'm the only one with enough authority to defy your sayings… Alpha? - Seonghwa purrs, climbing into Hongjoong's lap.

The rest of the group hollers and whistles, a chant of 'get him, hyung!' and 'get a room!' filling their ears. Hongjoong, bright red all the way down his neck, all but lifts Seonghwa by the waist and immediately exchanges him by a pillow instead.

- Shut up, all of you! Fucking brats!

- That's a tag actually! - Yeosang takes mercy on him. - 'brat Park Seonghwa'. 'brat Jung Wooyoung'… - he lifts his eyebrows. - 'brat Kim Hongjoong'.

- Nonsense! - the leader argues, voice still half a tone more pitched. - A top can't brat!

- Because you're not a top in a lot of cases, hyung~- Mingi sings, desviando from the pillow Hongjoong throws at him. - There's a whole fest called 'bottom hongjoong week' and it's quite popular-

- Enough with all that! - Hongjoong protests, but gets sumarily ignored.

Wooyoung makes a noise of triumph.

- Here! 'Take this quiz and find out for sure if you're an alfa, a beta, an omega or an enigma'. I'm sending the link to the groupchat!

- I won't be subjetced to such siliness-

- Whoever finishes last has to watch the dishes!

Hongjoong curses out loud and reaches for his phone, careful to keep the pillow over his lap. Wooyoung spends the whole quiz wiggling his brows from across the room, but he pretends not to notice.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

They spend the afternoon in contemplation of the whole new world that's been opened before their eyes and gather again at night to update their strategies.

- So, let me get this straight. - Hongjoong starts, pressing on his creased brows.

Wooyoung raises a hand.

- Nothing about you is straight, hyung!

The group giggles and Hongjoong throws a pillow at him.

- …As I was saying. Aside from the ship tags, each one of us will choose an individual character tag to promote. Is that right?

- Yup! - Mingi grins. - The one with the most organic growth on their individual tag gets a reward!

- What reward? - Yeosang tilts his head. Yunho wiggles his eyebrows.

- We're working on it, trust.

Seonghwa claps once to get their attention.

- Okay. What tags did everyone choose?

- Why don't you start, hyung?

Seonghwa leans back on the couch, cheeks slightly red.

- …I vote that we just write it down instead.

Mingi sits up straighter with a devilish grin.

- Ah, no, not fun. Now I'm even more curious.

- Yeah, hyung, come on! - Yunho laughs. - Okay, I'll break the ice then. I'm obviously going for the 'Jeong Yunho Has a Big Dick' tag.

A few snorts sound around the circle.

- Of course you would. Mine is Alpha Song Mingi.

- You're not an alpha, like, at all! - Jongho protests.

Mingi waves a hand dismissively.

- Of course not. I'm an omega with jasmine scented slick and strawberry undertones. But I like the tag and I want it to be more popular.

Jongho nods gravelly.

- Fair enough. Mine is Bear Hybrid Choi Jongho.

- I'm going with Fairy Kang Yeosang!

The whole table coos.

- I'm obviously promoting the Jung Wooyoung is a Brat agenda. - Wooyoung grins proudly.

- And I chose the Omega Choi San. I'm wounded with the amount of Alpha Choi San fics!

- I'm choosing the Pack Alpha Kim Hongjoong. - the leader huffs. - This Luna Hongjoong nonsense is spreading too fast.

- Hyung, come on! - Yeosang nudges Seonghwa. - You're the only one left!

The eldest blushes and mutters something under his breath.

- Hyung~~ We can't hear youu~~

Seonghwa sighs and gives his phone to Wooyoung so he could read it out loud. However, he gets into a fit of giggles and doesn't manage to speak up between lufs of air, so Jongho does it for him.

- 164 works in 'Park Seonghwa has a Vagina'. - a moment of silence passes. - That's, hum. That's certainly… a choice, hyung.

Seonghwa gets up, face red, and runs to hide in his room, followed by a very amused Wooyoung.

Beside his now empty seat, Hongjoong's eyes darken and he excuses himself to the bathroom, taking a lot of care in never letting anyone see the front of his trousers in the process.

Chapter Text

San should’ve known something was up when Wooyoung went skipping into his room, all giggly and honey-voiced.

- San-ah~ Can I get your kakao account to make a new email?

But he's immersed in his League match with Yeonjun, so all he does is nod and hand him his phone.

- Sure, love. But what would even you need a new email for? You barely use the one you already have..?

- To make a new twitter account~ - Wooyoung unlocks San's phone with his digital. - Mine is always in the same bubble because of the algoritm, and I wanna know what people are really saying~

San only hums, not really paying attention. Wooyoung makes quick work of his new account setting, creating yet another fake account on twitter and immediately getting to work.

Soon, his for you page gets flooded with new content, from politics to cute cat pics to memes, and finally, finally!, stan accounts.

He giggles and kicks his socked feet against San's bed as he reads thread after thread of him being a brat to all his members just to get railed right after. His brows furrow as he reads a particularly nasty paragraph of him begging for pardon on his knees as he gets spanked.

- I would never do that!! - he mumbles, offended. He stumbles upon a bit more of mischaracterizating tweets before he's officially done and opening Fromm.

hi everyone

what are my wives doing??

oooo ice cream

nice!!!

oh me?

he smirks. time to spark things up a bit.

i'm laying beside sanni

yeah yeah

sani's right here ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

he sends a picture of San's arm resting on the table. It doesn't show much except for his biceps practically bursting out of his sleeves, but he knows it's more than enough to get them to go feral.

yep yep he's gaming

he's not paying attention to me ㅠㅠ

He keeps up the drama for a few seconds and smirks. He's 100% sure that, in a few hours, his timeline would have at least three new socmed aus about him teasing his gamer boyfriend under the table or something.

He pretends to chat normally for a while before he says what he really came to say.

everyone ㅋㅋㅋㅋ do you think i'm too bratty?

A flood of messages come in and Wooyoung smirks. Atinys were too easy to bait.

be careful of how you portray me, everyone ~ i'm always watching~

He logs out with a laugh. Thousands of messages flood the chat, asking what he means by that, how did he know, how they should portray him then. He giggles and rolls over on the bed until he's at touching distance from his boyfriend.

- Sannie~ what are you doing~

San only hums, his nimble fingers moving at lightning speed through the keyboard as he keeps his eyes fixed on the screen. Wooyoung sighs and opens his chat with Seonghwa.

Pretty Hyung

Wooyo

Wooyo emergency

Fuck

He slept without a shirt on tonight

Wooyo

🤨🏳️‍🌈❓

how'd you even know that

Pretty Hyung

…irrelevant

said he was cold and wanted cuddles

Wooyo

HELL YEA HYUNG

WHY DIDN'T YOU START WITH THAT

PEW PEW PEW 🧨🧨🧨

Pretty Hyung

you'd call me a whore

Wooyo

?

aren't you?

Pretty Hyung

????

OBVIOUSLY NOT TF

ok maybe sometimes

Wooyo

literally yesterday you were whining in my arms about how you want him to rearrange your guts but ok

so let me get this right

he was cold and asked for cuddles

without a shirt?

Pretty Hyung

…when you put it like that

it does sound suspicious

Wooyo

suspicious?

hyung he was begging for you to make a move

Pretty Hyung

well i did!

i laid on his chest

god its so soft i want him biblically

Wooyo

AW HOW CUTE

did u bite him

Pretty Hyung

?

no why would i

Wooyo

sigh

stay where you are.

i have a plan

After he's done with Seonghwa, Wooyoung goes back to pestering San. He lays on his bed on his stomach, making sure his butt looks great as he swings his legs innocently.

- Sannie~ Come play with me~

- Lemme just finish this one, baby. - San mutters, the clacking of the keyboard almost overpowering his voice.

Wooyoung sighs and opens twitter again.

Right on the first tweet, there's an old picture of him, a fansign from 2022 when they'd made him wear a fox costume. The text is barely intelligible, with a bunch of words that didn't seem to make sense. He squints his eyes, wondering it that would be a foreign language he's never heard of, but then it clicks.

wccycng. scn. For some reason, people were replacing vogals in their names with the letter C…?

Curious, he copies and pastes it on the search bar.

A whole new world opens up right before his eyes.

The first tweet is a blurry picture. He clicks on the bottom right button that says 'show it' and is flashed with a glorious drawing of him drilling San into a bed.

His eyes widen and he sucks in a breath.

He's seen fanarts before, obviously, some even spicy, but never something so explicit. It's always a bit awkward, to see himself in a way that isn't really him, but he finds himself staring for a long moment and notices a low feeling starting to grow in his belly.

Perhaps he doesn't hate it after all.

He scrolls through the censored posts, eyes widening at what he reads and sees, seeing some things that were way too freaky even for his standards, and discovering a lot of new words.

Well shit. It seems like they'd build themselves a fandom that wasn't afraid to match their freak at all.

He finds a really well-drawn fanart of the recent pepero game he played with Yunho, except that, in the drawing, they were indeed kissing, and it makes him giggle. He sends the link to Yunho's burner account and scrolls on.

A tweet in capital letters catches his attention. It reads:

WOOSAN TOGETHER AT YESTERDAY'S FANSIGN! I'M NOT A CHILD OF DIVORCE ANYMORE!

Attached, there's a cute video of him and San hugging at their latest fansign. Wooyoung smiles at the memory, then tilts his head. What did that even mean?

He types 'wccscn divorce' at the search bar and gets speechless all over again.

Apparently there was a whole joke going around about how he and San interacted less and less on camera, and people were… mourning the supposed end of their relationship?

Wooyoung scoffs and closes his phone just in time to feel himself be squished by San's weight as his boyfriend finally leaves his computer and lays on top of him like a very big and clingy cat.

He hums in contentment, melting into the mattress and reveling in the way San's weight squishes all his worries from him.

- What are you doing? - San's rich and deep voice reaches his ears and Wooyoung smiles.

- Snooping around. You got some freaky ass fans. Did you know there's people out there wanting to drink your-

- Don't even finish that sentence. - San groans. - I do know. Kinda wish I didn't.

- They're saying we're divorced. - with some struggle, Wooyoung turns around under him so they can see each other's faces. - Us! The longest couple in the group!

- And the only official one so far. - San reminds him with a smile full of dimples and kisses his forehead. - But I think I understand why they'd think that.

- Why?!

San shrugs and smiles down at him.

- I think… as our relationship progresses, we've gotten more private. - he delivers a peck to his lips. - We're closer than ever, but they can't see that.

Wooyoung muses and reminisces their recent interactions in public. It does make sense after all. San runs a hand through his hair.

- There's a lot of angsty fics about us. I think we deserve more fluff in our tags, don't you think?

Wooyoung smiles and hooks a hand behind his neck, pulling him in for a kiss.

- Come fluff me up now, then.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Next time they step on a stage, Wooyoung makes sure to act extra babygirlish, jutting out his hip and pouting at any given chance. San is never very subtle at checking him out, so it's not difficult to make it even more obvious now that this is their goal. Wooyoung takes any given opportunity to grind on, hug, or bite all the other members loud and clear in front of the cameras, taking the opportunity to promote his 'Jung Wooyoung is a Brat' tag, yet he doesn't touch San at all. They stay pushing and pulling, undressing each other with their eyes, and San's feline orbs squint a bit in very real jealousy when Wooyoung decides to take off his jacket.

Slowly.

Teasingly.

While biting his lip.

He comes to stand in front of him, blocking the view from the hundreds of cameras and prying eyes.

He looks down at Wooyoung with a warning look that says very clearly, you're tresspassing the limits.

So Wooyoung grins wolfishly and lets his jacket fall to the ground and stands there, in all his shirtless glory.

San's head mic is too well positioned, and it doesn't fail to catch and amplify the deep groan that San lets out at the sight.

The whole venue goes nuts.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Yeosang finds him later sprawled on the dressing room couch, typing away quickly as they wait for the other members to head home together.

- Watchu doin'? - Yeosang says, sitting down on his stomach. Wooyoung doesn't mind it one bit.

- Pushing the power bottom omega Wooyoung agenda AND the woosan jealousy era~

Yeosang's brows furrow and it takes him a hot minute to decipher all those words and their meaning.

- …I see. Are you being successful?

Wooyoung grins and looks away from the screen for a second to face him.

- I've been cancelled three times and people have quoted my tweets calling me a bitch in at least seven different languages. I've gained 200 followers though, and many more people commenting I'm right! So a win is a win!

Yeosang snorts and leaves him be. No one was as prone to get high on online drama as Wooyoung.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Later that week, Wooyoung has a bit of a time window between group practice and his vocal lesson, so he goes live for a bit to chat with atinys.

There's a minimal number of livestreams that the company required from them, but Wooyoung never worried about it. He easily surpassed it every month, to the point that once he was told to go live less frequently. He ignored it, of course, because he found it genuinely enjoyable to connect with his fans, thrived on their attention, and reveled in their funny comments.

Besides, one of his favorite hobbies was to tell white lies just for fun, and he found it hilarious that even after all this time people would still fall for it. So he chats for a bit while he waits for more atinys to join and answers some questions with only half of his mind, already cooking up what harmless thing he would make up for today's stream.

- Ah, my hair? Yeah, guess I've been letting it grow out a bit, yeah. Hmmm you wanna know if I'll die it? - he smirks and puts a finger over his lips, acting cutely. - Se-cret~

The door to the practice room opens and he looks up. The camera is facing him and away from the door, so he's the only one blessed enough to see the view of Yeosang and San back from working out, their gyms bag carelessly thrown over their shoulders; by the light limp on San's step, however, he suspects that maybe they weren't only lifting weights, if barely at all.

- Oh look everyone! Sannie and Sangie just got here! - Wooyoung singsongs, still not making any effort to turn the camera and actually show them.

Off frame, Yeosang raises a brow and asks if he's live. Wooyoung nods and grins.

- Come say hi~

Yeosang approaches hesitantly, showing only his waving hand to the camera and letting his deep voice be heard in a polite "Hello atiny!". Wooyung isn't having any of that.

- Ack, that's not nice to atiny, is it? Come say hi properly!

Wooyoung flips him off off camera but does as he's told, kneeling beside Wooyoung to get at eye level with the camera propped up on the table.

- Hi everyone! Just got back from working out! How's everyone doing..?

As Yeosang answers a few comments, Wooyoung turns to look back at San, wondering why he hadn't joined yet. His face looks pretty flushed, even considering that he's straight out from a workout, and Wooyoung distantly worries if he's starting to get sick. He's one step away from checking on him when he notices.

San breathes heavily through his mouth, squirming and bracing an arm on the wall. Yeosang's got an almost imperceptible smirk on his face, but Wooyoung knows him, knows his domming signs, and his suspicions are only confirmed when Yeosang's hand goes to the pocket of his pants, followed immediately from a low whimper from San.

They weren't done with their fun, then. Wooyoung smirks at the realization, but tries to school his expression back to normal before the fans notice; he was still in frame, after all. Yeosang quickly bids goodbye to the people watching and gets up again, going off frame and locking the door.

Wooyoung doesn't notice it at first, once again enthralled with the comments and the jokes sent on the chat. A weird noise makes him look up and he freezes so perfectly that the people watching think that it's the live that froze instead.

San's pants are pooled around his ankles, the vibrator clearly on a high setting inside him. Yeosang is right behind him, one large hand stroking San's red and hard length as the other is firmly clamper over his mouth to keep him shut, looking at Wooyoung with a teasing eye. Wooyoung's eyes darken and he turns back to the camera, already fumbling for the end button.

- Uh, so, everyone! It was really nice to talk to you, but I'm late to practice, I should go, bye bye!

It probably looks rushed. His manager would certainly scold him later for not saying goodbye properly and for using such a lame excuse. He couldn't care, though; the sight of his best friend using his boyfriend so prettily in front of him was too much, and Wooyoung was only human.

So he shuts off his phone, to make absolute sure San's moans wouldn't be heard by anyone else…

… And then he joins them, making sure he makes him moan three times louder.

Chapter Text

Mingi and Yunho don't keep secrets from each other.

That's the promise they made all the way before they were even in the final debut lineup. Along the way, especially on the first years, it was still a bit too difficult to keep, considering that they were still learning what feelings meant and what they meant to each other; once that was solved, however, everything started to move swiftly.

We don't have secrets, remember, Min?, Yunho whispered on Mingi's ear on their first night together, as he surprised him fresh from a shower and took off his towel. No secrets. Let me see you, hm?

They spent a few months like that, giggly handjobs and messy blowjobs before they finally worked up the courage for fingering. Mingi was still too afraid, so Yunho took one for the team, laying on his too-small bed, all flushed and naked and exposed as Mingi awkwardly figured out how much lube and how much patience he should use for something like that. It hurt and it stinged but it felt good, and since then they'd spent the past years becoming experts in each other's bodies and minds.

Sometimes, when one of them was going through a hard time, it takes one some time to understand their own feelings. Mingi tended to be more open about his confusion, while Yunho usually preferred to stay recluded until he figured it out himself, to only then talk about it.

No matter what, they could always tell when the other was lying, and even a small difference in behaviour was enough of a tell that something new was up and they should probably check in on each other. Still, they frequently argued and played and had petty disagreements, but it never lasted long, as they couldn't keep away from each other for more than a few days anways.

So, when Mingi enters his room withouth knocking like he always does and Yunho immediatelly jumps on his seat and slams shut his laptop, Mingi raises a brow at him.

- What was that?

Yunho spins around on the spinning chair, the tips of his ears red as he averts his gaze.

- What was what?

Mingi puts a hand on the back of the chair to make it stop spinning. He leans down, their faces inches apart in the way he knows makes Yunho feel petite and dainty and small, and asks again.

- I'm going to repeat myself only once, Yun. What. Was. That?

Yunho stutters, clearly aroused by his assertiveness, and simply hands him the computer. Mingi takes it, muterring a "that's my good boy" and opening it again.

The screen shows ao3, but a page layout he's never seen before. It's not opened on a fic, or in the search page.

Mingi has to read it all over to understand.

- Yun.. are you… writing fanfiction of us?

Yunho squeals, hiding his face under his hands, but Mingi isn't mad. He's… intrigued, yes, but very pleased.

- Hey, pup, look up here. This is not your first rodeo, is it?

Yunho peeks from behind his hands and shakes his head. Mingi chuckles.

- Hey, hey, no need to hide. That's cute, love. Can I see..?

Yunho looks like he's about to say no, but reconsiders. What's done is done, and they did agree not to have secrets.

He lets go of any fight and sits back on his gaming chair while Mingi silently runs his eyes through the tags and summaries.

- Friends to lovers… fluff… angst with a happy ending… - he stops and smiles, a full dimple smile, at Yunho. - Yun, that's so cute! Pregnant Yunho… oh baby. - he puts down the computer for a moment and pulls Yunho up and against him. - You really liked the whole mpreg concept, didn't you?

Yunho stays silent, his cheeks ad the tips of his ears all red.

- My beautiful Yuyu. - he kisses the tip of his nose affectionately. - I'd love to put a baby in you.

His large hand comes to rest over Yunho's soft belly, and Yunho sucks in a breath.

- You'd look so pretty, all swollen and round and soft, hm? - Mingi whispers into his ear, hand gently rubbing his stomach. - Such a good dad. Actually, you're very girl dad coded, don't you think?

Yunho lets out a tiny whimper and Mingi holds him closer.

- One day, when we're older and richer and not as busy… I can totally see us raising a baby girl. Don't you?

Yunho turns to him with teary eyes and a red nose.

- Min…

- I mean it. - Mingi whispers, and Yunho knows he does. He nods, not really knowing what to say, but he doesn't need to. Mingi keeps going. - You know we're soulmates. Dust particles of the same dead star. My atoms vibrate in the same frequency as yours. It's only natural we multiply the love we have to give.

Yunho nods his head. He feels like exploding into a million pieces, and that each of those pieces would come right back to Mingi and se fundir to him. The bond they have goes so beyond anything that 'romantic' or 'platonic' or any other words could ever describe, they'd felt it since forever. They were One.

And Yunho couldn't wait for them to become three.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Yunho megaknights Mingi when he sees him lounging around on his bed. Mingi squeals, high pitched and girly and embarrassing, but relents as Yunho giggles and drops kisses all over his face to make up for the jumpscare.

Yunho rolls his hips experimentally and Mingi moans.

- Y-yun, fuck-

Yunho smirks.

- You're insatiable, aren't you princess? - he teases. - Greedy. Don't think I didn't see Sannie and Woo ganging up on you after practice. Was it fun, hm? - he leans down to plant a hickey right on the base of his neck, the kind that would require Mingi to wear a turtleneck for the next few days. - They can have fun, princess, but you're all mine. Aren't you?

Mingi whimpers.

- Yuyu… p-please…

Yunho chuckles, condescending.

- Please what, hm, love?

Mingi squirms under him. He could easily overpower him any time, of course, but Yunho knows he won't.

- T-too sensitive… A-and… Gotta meet Maddox hyung in 15-

- Aww, such a shame. - Yunho takes mercy on him and stops moving, feeling him already half-hard under him. - Want me to suck you off? You now I only need seven minutes.

Mingi groans.

- Fuck, don't remind me. But… I really don't think I can come again right now…

Yunho coos.

- My poor Min, all used up. It's okay, princess. - he leaves a reverent kiss to his temple and pats his side. - Go take a cold shower then. Maddox gets nippy when he has to wait.

Mingi whines a bit more just for the sake of it, pouty lips stealing one more peck before he reluctantly gets up and disappears into the bathroom.

While he waits for Mingi to shower, Yunho goes on Fromm to chat for a bit.

hello everyone!

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Ah yes, it's Pepero Day today!

He just sits and waits. He knows what's bound to happen.

Ah, the Pepero game?

Did someone surpass the record by me and Wooyoung?

He already knew that, of course. The variety program was quite popular in their dorm, they'd watched the episode as soon as it came out.

They did?

Oh!

0,3cm?

We can beat that, yeah!

Should we make a new record?

He giggles in delight as he watches the chat going crazy, so many messages flooding in that he can barely read them before they'd already been replaced my new ones.

That Pepero Game with Wooyoung was indeed a hit on the internet, even bursting the bubble of atiny's spaces. If the camera angle made it look like they were kissing, well, maybe they did make it on purpose, as a joke, to see if it would sparkle up the long forgotten 'Jeong Yunho/Jung Wooyoung tag'. Apparently, it worked out wonderfully, almost surpassing the official ship tags that week.

Yunho gets up and reaches for his computer. Nerdy as he is, he couldn't quite pass up the chance to create a software that would monitor, in real time, the growth of each of their ship tags, with additional info on medium length, number of chapters and most frequent additional tags.

He smiles as he opens it and sees the updated stats.

Of course their main genre was still friends to lovers. Yunho felt endeared by it (he's contributed to those statistics with his own fics, after all), and he really loved to read all about the fan's theories on how they got together. None of them were quite right, of course, but it was still delightful to read.

Then his eyes drift lower into the page, to look at their individual tags. He frowns.

0 new works this week on the tag 'Jeong Yunho has a Big Dick'.

That was unnaceptable. He had an ego to feed and a competition to win!

He texts the stylist right away, asking for some subtle changes on his costume for their next show.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The next show in Japan is a complete blast.

Yunho's really proud of his Japanese skills, being the most fluent of the group, but that also means he gets more than a little flustered as he understand some of the signs held up by the fans. He gets especially mortified as he catches glimpse of a sign saying 'YEOSANG PLEASE GIVE ME A HEADLOCK' to the far right of the crowd.

Freaky ass atinys.

The venue is sold out, the lightinys are shining in full blast, the atmosphere is magical. Yunho loves being on stage - he was clearly born for that. As much as they performed the same songs and uttered the same words again and again and again, it never felt less meaningful or like a chore; even seven years into their carrer, he still got butterflies as he stepped up on stage.

Around the middle of Utopia, his in-ear stops working. It's nothing he hasn't handled before, so he doesn't panic; he takes out the small device and makes a discreet signal to the staff, who he hopes is already working on it. As he does that, he can hear the whole stadium chanting along, even to Seonghwa's high notes; It runs a chill down his spine, and his eyes shine a little with a sudden emotion. He's here, and he's made it; Little, scrankly teenager Yunho would be so proud.

Always the attentive leader, Hongjoong comes to discreetly check on him as they all scatter along the extended stage. Yunho nods, signaling that he's more than fine, and signals once again about faulty earpiece. His part is approaching, and while he could do it just fine without the metronome, it was always risky, so when it's his time to sing, he stays on beat, guided mostly by the steady thrum of Hongjoong's fingers against his shoulder as the elder hugs him in a disguise from the cameras. He ruffles Hongjoong's hair to thank him when he's done, and jumps away to the opposite side of the stage to interact with the fans there.

At some point, Mingi joins him, and they perform an impromptu dance battle for Now This House Ain't a Home. It was such a sentimental song, so Yunho mostly bounced around to it to avoid thinking about the lyrics too hard. He wasn't really in the mood to be photographed while crying.

As the song changes to Bouncy, Mingi stays by his side, and Yunho covers his head mic so he could scream freely to his rap. He watches, mesmerized, as Mingi does his part with abundante confidence, carrying himself like a sex god, which he might as well be. It was so different from the shy, awkward, pliant Mingi he had in his arms almost every night, but it endeared him all the same.

As the song progresses, Mingi comes closer, draping an arm around his shoulders. Yunho keeps having fun and interacting with his fans, thinking nothing of it, because Mingi was always touchy with him, even in public; this time, however, he was really committing to the bit.

Mingi tugs at his arm to make him spin like a ballrom dancer and he goes willingly, giggling as he hears the crown going wild next to them. Mingi winks at him and Yunho's heart does a flip. He's always up to some mischief when he does that.

Mingi fixes someone with a professional camera in the third row of seats.

He makes sure the focus is on them before he starts grinding down on Yunho. Not a performative provocative dance; a full-blown foreplay act.

Yunho matches his freak, of course, even if in his head there's a repeated chant of what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck. He can feel Mingi's half-hard against his butt - he knew the man got off at being wild on stage, and even more at being wild with him - but he wasn't too worried about that, no.

He was more worried about himself.

With the last minute change of wardrobe, his crotch was a bit less hidden from the public than usual. The tight leather pants didn't leave a lot of room for imagination (which was exactly his orignal intent, since he wanted to promote his individual tag, but oh well), and Mingi's little playful act was enough to get Yunho way too excited for what he should be in the middle of a concert. He needed to hide a bit, buy some time as he thinks of the most unflattering things ever to will his erection down while still keeping their hype up.

So he drops down low and bounces. It kind of works, because now everyone's so busy looking at his ass and hips that they don't quite notice his dick.

But Mingi does, of course. He makes a gesture, two fingers moving back and forth, that would be seen by the public as just his stage persona getting freaky and wild as usual, but Mingi knew what it meant.

Mingi would get him nice and hard as soon as they were backstage.

It makes it extra difficult for Yunho to will down his erection until the show ends.

This fucker.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The first snow of the year comes when Mingi is deep into a creative pull at his studio. He doesn't notice it at first, with his nose almost buried into the screen, wearing both sides of his headphones and bopping his head to the beat as he works, the incessant click click click of the mouse the only sound in the otherwise silent room. After God knows how many hours in the exact same slumped position, he stops for a second to crack his back and cranes his neck to one side, then the other, to stretch it a bit.

He turns to the window, most of it covered by the closet curtain, but a small part remained open. His eyes widen as he finally registers the sight outside.

The city is covered in a thin layer of snow, the snowflakes still falling beautifully. Mingi grins. He doesn't really like the cold, or the numb sensation it caused on his nose and fingertips, or the overwhelming layers of clothing he was obligated to wear as a consequence. But Yunho liked the snow, so he couldn't bring himself to hate it as much.

Wait.

Yunho!

Mingi grabs his overcoat from the hanger at the door and runs.

Most people at the company are used to his shenanigans at this point, so he doesn't earn too many nasty stares as he bolts through the hallways until he gets to the underground parking. He grabs the keys to his car, gets in, and buckles the belt as he maneuvers out of the garage and into the street.

Traffic was always a bit more hectic when it rained or snowed, of course, but today it looked like something else was up. The never-ending line of cars in front of him simply wouldn't move - not even for a milimeter! -, the snow was starting to thin and Mingi was starting to get restless. He calls Yunho, but he doesn't pick up, and his heart starts beating out of his chest in anxiety.

His eyes scan the area, restless, looking for an alternate route. The trip from the company building to their dorm was relatively short, about seven minutes by car; and he was still fairly close to the company, not having managed to cover much distance in that horrible traffic. There were, maybe, seven minutes left by car, which would be something like fifteen minutes by feet.

Mingi looks out again to see the snowfall is way less strong than it had been. He is willing to take his chances.

He shoots a quick message to his manager.

Lil something came up. Left the car at Seogang-ro. The keys are under the driver's rug. Can you get it back safely?

I'lll owe you one

:D

Mingi flinches as the cold hits him tenfold when he locks the door to his car. The hoodie he was wearing and the thin shirt he had underneath, even combined to the overcoat, don’t stand a chance against that cold. He didn't have time to waste, though, and running would warm him up, or so he hoped.

So Mingi takes out running through the busy streets of Seoul, praying that everyone would be too busy living their own lives to mind for the somewhat crazy strangers running in dress clothes.

Thanks to his frequent and extenuant workouts, needed for his idol life, he doesn't struggle much at maintaining his pace; he does make a wrong turn, because it's been so long since he had covered this on foot, but even then he manages to get back on track and, in fourteen minutes, he's heaving at their dorm door.

He takes a few seconds with his hands on his knees to catch his breath and bolts through the door again, straight to Yunho's room.

Yunho's a heavy sleeper, and not even Mingi almost tearing the door down manages to wake him. Mingi softens at the sight; Yunho always looks so angelical when he's in dreamland, all soft snores and fluttering eyelashes, glued tight to his pudeongie plushie.

Mingi carefully approaches the bed with a soft voice.

- Yunho-yah. Come on, baby. - he leaves a kiss to each of his eyelids, feeling them move when he wakes up disoriented. - It's the first snow of the year.

Yunho only groans, not fully awake yet, and definitaly not registering his words.

- Yuyu~ Do you hear me~ Get uppp~ - Mingi chants cutely, shaking his shoulders gently. He reaches for the wardrobe, making sure to dress his sleepy Yunho in warm, fuzzy socks, a heavy coat, ear warmers, a cute dog beanie and its matching scarf. Yunho just lets him move him around and dress him up, too soft and pliant and comfy to make any real effort. One look at his face tells Mingi that he's already awake, but keeps playing the doll part; Mingi doesn't mind.

- There we go. My pretty prince all warm and ready to go. - he pokes his ribs. Yunho laughs and squirms, but doesn't make any effort to get up, so Mingi effortlessly lifts him up bridal style and carries him out of the room.

- Mini, you're not going outside like that. - Seonghwa interrupts them from the corridor. - Oh, I see you did a good job of packing our Yunnie up!

Mingi blushes at the praise, still carrying Yunho in his arms, and rolls his eyes with fond affection as Seonghwa grabs another beanie and scarf to wrap around him since his arms were busy. Seonghwa presses a kiss to both their foreheads and smiles warmly.

- Now you're ready to go. Have fun!

Mingi giggles and runs outside. The whole team has long known about this tradition; ever since their first year studying together, back when their dreams of being idols were just a silly thing in the horizon, Yunho and Mingi would spend the first snow of the year together, no matter what. It was one of their many small rituals, meant for their eyes and no one else's, a cute way to warm their hearts in such a cold weather.

Yunho jumps from his arms, finally standing up, and stretches with a smile on his face as some snowflakes fall around them. The snow is almost subsiding now, and Mingi is still a bit out of breath as he watches his love spinning around happily with his hands to the sky. Yunho manages to catch a snowflake and runs to gently deposit it in Mingi's nose, and he laughs.

- You iungrateful brat. It's cold, you know?

Yunho encolhe his shoulders shyly like he always does when he's feeling bashful.

- That's a you issue. My Mangi dressed me very warmly, I'm not cold at all~

Mingi can't help but let out a low chuckle and reach for his waist to bring him closer.

- Then my Yuyu should come and warm me up, hm?

Yunho giggles against his lips as he kisses him. Mingi's fingertips and the tip of his nose are numb, and his toes are freezing, and the scarf Seonghwa chose was super itchy, but none of it mattered.

He kisses his Yuyu back until the snow stops falling.

Chapter Text

The dorm is quiet. Seonghwa takes yet another glance at the box Wooyoung delivered him a few weeks earlier. It stayed right under his bed, covered in shame and a thin layer of dust. Yes, Seonghwa was a clean freak, but even he didn't dare touch the box since it became his. It brought too many embarrassing memories.

- Hyung. - Wooyoung had said. - This is war! We've been at this for seven years, and counting! He wants you, you know that. I know that. Tinytown knows that. You just gotta make him admit it out loud.

Seonghwa whined petulantly and kicked his feet.

- It's been seven years! It's not that bad, honestly, we could just stay like this, what if he's not ready-

- HE'LL NEVER BE! - Wooyoung shook him by his shoulders. - Joong hyung is the most oblivious man on earth. He's a sack of banana flavoured candy. He'll never take the first step, and that's what you have to do it!

Seonghwa furrowed his brows, offended.

- A sack of banana flavoured-?

- Hyung, not the point! - Wooyoung whined. - Focus! Hongjoong. You. His dick inside you. His heart in your hands. Blah blah blah. Come on! I'm a proud matchmaker. You gotta listen to me, okay?

Then Wooyoung had handed him this large box and sat him down for a very embarrassing lesson on seduction methods and 'whorish tatics'. Seonghwa wanted to die of embarrassment through all of it, but he had begrudgingly been paying attention and hanging to every word, just in case it could be useful. Now, he scruches his nose and massages his temples to aliviate some of the stress.

He's tried the more bland suggestions, and it all seemed to be useless. But he was tired of waiting, and Hongjoong obviously liked him back, and maybe Wooyoung was right after all.

He sighs and fishes the box from under his bed.

It's exactly like Wooyoung had left it - everything meticulously folded and fragrant and expensive, the materials so soft and inviting that Seonghwa couldn't help running a reverent hand through it. He had no doubt he'd rock it; he's grown beautifully over the years, and he's learned to love himself plenty, and he'd started to experiment with more feminine clothing and he likes it. Hongjoong had his own genderless fashion concept going on, so Seonghwa knew he wouldn't find the sight off-putting or anything.

With this in mind, he summons him to his room and goes to take a shower, taking the box to the bathroom with him.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Hongjoong's brows furrow as he stares at Seonghwa's message like it personally bit his ass or something.

Hi

Sleep together tonight?

It wasn't odd for the members to sleep together in the most various arrangements. They were friends, after all, some more than that, and by living together all this time they've learned pretty fast to rely on each other for comfort and cuddles.

Hell, more often than not he'd wake up to a clingy San or a drooling Wooyoung on his shoulder, a babbling Yeosang, a handsy Yunho or even to Mingi almost crushing him with his weight, but that was mostly it. Jongho never really cuddled him up, even when he was awake, and Seonghwa only ever slept by his side on the nights they'd had an intense, emotional conversation, usually about the future of the group, which almost always resulted in Seonghwa crying himself to sleep in his arms. So to be summoned like this, in a conscious plan to sleep beside him, was unsettling, to say the least.

He takes an everything shower, just to be sure. Yeah. He wouldn't want Seonghwa to find him stinky or for his stubble for his stubble to scratch him now that they would, theorethically, snuggle together while still fully conscious. Or maybe he was overthinking all of this and Seonghwa had just decided to schedule their existential crisis instead of letting it explode at the least convenient hour.

Whatever, man.

He dresses comfortably, in some cotton shorts and an oversized shirt, probably long stolen from Yunho's wardrobe. Puts on deodorant one more time, just to be sure. Thinks about perfume, but that'd be a bit too much and look like he was trying too hard. No need to smell that good while you cry all your emotions away.

He hesitates, not sure if he should simply spawn into Seonghwa's room or wait for him to come find him. He decides for the first, since Seonghwa had already gone through the trouble of texting him anyways.

He crosses the few steps between his room and Seonghwa's and feels like his heart is about to beat out of his chest. He doesn't understand why.

- Seonghwa? - he asks softly as he knocks on the door softly. - Can I come in?

He hears a sharp inhale, like Seonghwa was somewhat surprised, even if he was the one to call for him; then a sigh, and then his soft, nervous voice telling him to come in.

He pushes the door open, cautious, half expecting to see Seonghwa already tearing up. What he finds, however, makes him tear up instead. Not from the eyes. Hum. Yeah.

Seonghwa is standing up on his full glory, wearing a long, see-through black nightgown that hinted to another, shorter and more fit nightgown underneath. Only half a second seeing him like that already had Hongjoong feeling dizzy. He scrambles to close the door shut and hurriedly turns his back to him, aiming to respect his privacy even if he was dying to look at that view forever.

- I-I, uh, I can come back later, I thought… I didn't know when I should come, or if you'd like to come to my room, b-but you're clearly busy so I'll wait for you there-

- Hongjoong. - Seonghwa says lowly and he can hear his steps as he sneaks up behind him, not quite touching, but so close that he could if he wanted to. - Does this bother you?

Hongjoong is sweating. His brain is turned off and he can't think of a socially acceptable answer.

- W-what?

- Do you find it weird to see me like this? Do you find… me weird for wearing this?

Hongjoong turns around so fast that black dots appear in his vision. He's too focused on reassuring Seonghwa to worry about it, though.

- Absolutely not! No. Like, at all. No weird. You should wear everything you want, anything you want, yeah, I'm always a big supporter of you exploring new fashion-

- Hongjoong. - Seonghwa interrupts him again, more firmly this time, a nervous glint in his eyes. - I'm not asking my captain. I'm not asking you this as a leader, or as a shareholder of the company, or even as a coworker. I'm asking my Hongjoongie, my ex-roomate, my friend. I know I can experiment with fashion. But do you, personally, like to see me like this?

Hongjoong takes a deep gulp of air, and yet it feels like no oxygen is getting to his lungs. He opens his mouth like a fish out of water, lost, aroused, panicked and so fucking gone.

All he manages to do is nod enthusiastically.

Seonghwa's shoulders relax, like he, too, was nervous about the answer. He smiles, feline.

- Yeah? Like it when I dress as your wife, captain?

Hongjoong takes a step back, but his back hits the door.

- Seonghwa, shit, you can't-

- Oh, but I can. - Seonghwa takes a step closer. - You called me 'wife' in one of your recent interviews. Loud and clear. Now you're scared about some real wifery, hm..?

- N-not scared. Never scared. Not of you. - Hongjoong mutters, wide eyes looking up at him in a mix of wonder and disbelief. - You look… godly. I kind of get it when the fans say you don't quite seem real.

- I am very real. - Seonghwa whispers. He takes Hongjoong's hand and guides it to rest over his chest. - And I am here. I was not busy when you came in. You did not catch me in the middle of something. I was not going to change before meeting you, Hongjoong. - Hongjoong inhales sharply, hand trembling against the fabric as he keeps listening.

- I actually dressed up like this to see you.

Good thing Hongjoong is already pressed against the door, otherwise his knees would've given out.

- For… For me..? - he manages, voice high-pitched and airy. Seonghwa giggles.

- Yes. Would you like a house tour?

He steps away and spins around slowly, the outer nightgown fluttering with the movement and exposing his bare legs and the tight piece underneath. Was there another layer under that? Hongjoong was dying to find out.

- See, this is cute and bouncy. - He moves his arms and the flared sleeves flutter around as well. - It's charming and warms me up just right in this chilly weather. I feel very pretty in it.

Hongjoong blinks, hands itching to touch, but he stays put.

- You look pretty. So pretty. Magnificent… darling.

He makes a face after he says it, cringing, but Seonghwa's eyes widen adorably and he smiles.

- 'Darling'..? - he jumps excitedly then remember he's supposed to act sexy and sobers up again. - You remembered!

Hongjoong huffs, but a smile still grazes his lips.

- Of course. I just can't go around calling you sweet things in front of the whole world.

Seonghwa softens.

- So that means you'll call me cute things when it's just us?

Hongjoong crosses his arms and begrudgingly smiles.

- Perhaps, sweetheart.

Seonghwa squeals, sexy persona be damned. Maybe they're really, really, finally getting somewhere tonight. He twirls a strand of his long hair and pulls Hongjoong closer.

- Come on, feel up the fabric. Isn't it soft?

Hongjoong distractedly touches the fabric of the nightgown in his arms, but his attention is alsewhere. His dark brown orbs stay fixed on Seonghwa's face: his blushing cheeks, his carefully drawn eyebrows, his wide eyes, his pouty lips. He avoids being too close to Seonghwa, because being close meant he had no choice but to start noticing, and noticing too much led him to admiring, and he was a walking disaster at trying to keep the lovesick puppy stare away from his face.

- Y-yes… It is… Very soft… - he feels up the muscle of his bicep and sighs. Oh, how he wanted to sink his teeth into it.

Seonghwa notices. He always notices.

- Oh. Is the gown bothering you, captain? - he smirks and unties open the satin tie. One wide motion of his arms is enough to get it to fall down his shoulders and pool around his bent elbows.

Hongjoong's mouth feels dry.

- Seonghwa. - he gulps. - Are you… Am I reading this right?

In response, Seonghwa drops his arms and slowly lets the nightgown slide completely off him untill it pools on the floor at his feet.

- I don't know. How are you reading this, Joong?

Hongjoong bites his lip. Seonghwa sees the moment his eyes flicker with the fire he was so clearly trying to contain before.

- Seonghwa. My darling. Are you trying to end me? To erase me from existence? You want me to die so you can have the role of leader or what-

Seonghwa chuckles and brings him closer by the shirt.

- Can't a wife want her husband's attention? Hm?

Hongjoong loses it.

He reaches with one hand under Seonghwa's knees and lifts him up in a swift movement, throwing him down on the mattress.

- You want my attention? - he hisses, voice low, eyes fiery. - You want your husband's attention, Park Seonghwa? - he climbs after him, straddling his hips and sitting down on his stomach. - You're going to have my attention. All night. And you're going to be a good wife and thank me for it after I'm done with you.

Seonghwa gasps, cheeks flushing as he finally gets Hongjoong where he wanted him. He supposed the guy was freaky, yes, but heat pooled on his belly as he waited to find out exactly how freaky was it.

Hongjoong dives low, face hovering over his collarbones like he wanted to bite, but he doesn't. He stays there, breathing heavily, fists gripping the bedsheets like he was making an immense effort to hold back.

A low whine rips through Seonghwa's throat.

- What are you waiting for? - he pouts and bats his eyelashes. Hongjoong curses.

- Seonghwa. - his voice sounds low and raspy and dripping with want. Seonghwa is already obsessed with it. - I can't… This is not how we're doing this.

Seonghwa's face falls. Was he being rejected?!

- W-what do you mean? - he asks, eyes burning with unshed, shameful tears. Hongjoong rushes to shush him and gently runs his thumbs over his cheeks.

- Hey, hey, no. Look at me, baby. - he gently takes one arm in his hands and presses a soft, reverent kiss to the inside of his wrist. - I will be going to manhandle you around in this bed and fuck you until you see stars. - he grins, affectionate. - It just won't be today. - he settles the arm back onto the sheets, careful and unhurried, and mirrors the gesture on the other wrist, another soft kiss in the same spot. - The first time I take you will be slow, and gentle, and careful. - he guides the other wrist down too, pressing his thumbs in the places he'd just kissed, and joins them above his head, keeping them secured with one hand. - But that won't be today, either.

Seonghwa is about to protest, but Hongjoong raises a finger.

- You dressed up prettily for me. Tonight, let me worship you, my star. Can I do that?

Seonghwa breathes sharply. That wasn't what he expected. Actually he didn't know what he expected, but this was so much better. Holy shit, he wanted maybe a kiss, and now he's getting worshipped? Count him the fuck in.

Hongjoong stays exactly as he is, and Seonghwa realizes that he's waiting for explicit permission to continue. Of course he is. Such a respectful and mindful lover.

- Yes, captain. - he whispers.

- Such a good wife. - Hongjoong says as he dips down to press the first kiss right in the middle of his sternum. The inner nightgown had a low, deep neckline that permitted him access to a good portion of Seonghwa's chest, and he was slow and methodic at kissing every inch of skin, running his tongue over his collarbones and leaving tiny, markless bites all over.

Seonghwa shivered and squirmed under him, but kept his arms up and together like he was implicitly told to, even long after Hongjoong had let go of his wrists. Honjoong tugs at the strap of the inner nightgown.

- Can I..?

As Seonghwa nods, he takes his time in lowering one side, then the other, and then he gently, albeit impatiently, lowers the fabric down. His breath catches again at the sight of the lacy bralette hugging his muscled chest.

- Fuck, Seonghwa. - he groans, head falling to rest on his shoulder. - You're fucking with me.

- I wish I was fucking you, indeed - he retorts playfully, earning himself a light smack to his butt. - Do you like it? My boobs are getting heavy, I should start wearing these more often-

- I'll rip them off you. - Hongjoong growls. - Fuck, I'm trying to be a gentleman here. You're not making this easy.

- If I make it easy, you won't even have worked for it~

Hongjoong raises a brow and rolls a nipple to shut him up.

- Cheeky wife. Let me resume my work, will you?

Seonghwa gasps and shuts up for the time being.

Hongjoong whispers soft praises against his skin as he goes deeper and lower, and at some point he started going beyond just his appearance.

- So attentive. - a kiss to his shoulders. - Always taking such care of the kids, and of me as well. - a lick to his neck. - So hardworking, staying for practice even after we're all done. - a soft bite to his bicep. - You don't need to push yourself this hard, you know. You're already perfect, my lo- darling.

Before he knows, Seonghwa is tearing up again. He drops his head lower, trying to keep it in, but Hongjoong raises from his current position on his stomach to gently run his thumbs over his eyes again.

- It's okay, let it out. I got you. - he kisses his cheek and leans away to look at him with an impossibly fond smile.

Seonghwa sniffles, an emotional tear running down his face, but he impatiently bucks his hips to let him know he's ready for more.

Hongjoong seeks his hand and intertwines their fingers as he scoots even lower. He gently parts Seonghwa's legs open, causing the already short gown to ride up even more and reveal his underwear.

Hongjoong brings up his free hand to muffle the borderline pornographic moan he lets out.

That's it. That's how he dies.

Seonghwa's not wearing boxers.

He's wearing panties.

Red panties, the type that you'd wear when you want to be comfortable, not when you're trying to be sexy. It makes it all even more endearing in Hongjoong's eyes.

He giggles and presses a kiss right above where Seonghwa's already hard cock is straining against the fabric. Seonghwa moans, squirming against the sheets, and Hongjoong gently slides the panties to the side.

Then he stops.

Tilts his head to the side, confused, and squints to see if his eyes aren't tricking him.

Then he giggles.

Under the panties, there's a smaller, sexier pair of lace panties.

- Oh, my darling. - Hongjoong rests his head fondly on Seonghwa's inner tigh, warmth lingering in his smile as his laughter fades. - You're so cheeky, hm?

Seonghwa covers his face with his hands, mortified.

- Look, I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't think you'd come this far-

- I love it. - Hongjoong presses a kiss to his inner thigh and he squirms. - I'm endeared by every part of you. Especially this playful side.

He hooks his fingers under the two pantie's waistbands and pulls them down and off him. The he snorts.

Under these two, there's a final, minuscule thong, which absolutely does not cover anything. The sight would be enticing, yes, but the concept of wearing not one, not two, but three panties is a bit too much for Hongjoong to keep his composture.

He gets into another fit of giggles, feeling so so endeared by his teammate that his chest grows warm.

- Seonghwa. - he manages through airy breaths. - What are you, a matrioshka?

Seonghwa whines in embarrassment.

- Shut up, it's ruining my sexy image! - he laughs, mortified, and tries to close his legs. Hongjoong firmly plants his palms above each one, keeping them in place.

- Nuh-uh. No hiding. If anything, it makes you sexier. Sex doesn’t come with a script, darling. And I love to see you just being you.

Seonghwa lets his head fall back to his pillow, still a bit embarrassed but unmistakably relieved and feeling all warm and fuzzy. He still couldn't quite believe he really got what he wanted, that finally, finally Hongjoong is looking at him with something beyond friendship. Or so he hoped.

The thong stays on as Hongjoong's mouth descends on his cock in the least friendly way possible.

Chapter Text

Jongho makes sure the whole dorm is deep asleep before he pulls up his laptop in minimum screen brightness and an incognito tab.

His fingers hover over the keyboard for a long moment.

bisexuality

He knows what bisexuality is, of course. He's not really sure what he's looking for, but he knows he has to find an explanation for all the funny feelings he's been having lately.

There's a lot of posts on tumblr recounting personal experiences. He's read them all, and some helped while some did not, but what he wanted in fact was a post that said 'YES YOU ARE BISEXUAL. STOP OVERTHINKING IT' so he could call it a day and go to sleep.

He didn't find any.

So he opens another tab.

am i bisexual quizz

There's a lot of options. He clicks on the first one, and after the most random questions he's seen in his life (what the fuck did they mean by 'skibidi rizz' and how was it relevant?) it returns that he's 62% bisexual. Jongho frowns. That didn't look too convincing.

So he clicks on the next search result.

This time, it says he's 78% bisexual. Well, that was definitely something then.

He puts the laptop down for a moment and breathes. Inhale, hold for five, exhale, repeat. He gets down from his bed and into the cold, nice floor, a relief to his overwhelmed senses, and lazily goes through his yoga routine. The boys used to tease him for it at first, but now some of them even copied his exercises. It was good for when you wanted to think without falling into a spiral.

He decides to start from scratch.

He'd been a trainee since he was 11, before puberty even hit him, so when the hormones finally kicked in, he was too busy trying not to drop out to have real, proper crushes.

Sure, some girls at his school were pretty, and one would always leave him chocolates on Valentine's day; he found her nice, endearing even, and even gave her chocolate too. She shyly pecked his lips after gym class once that day, but that was it. Jongho sighs. He can't remember if it felt good or if he was just nervous. After her, there were many other suitors, especially after his debut, but Jongho was so much of a scaredy cat that he refused all advances, terrified of a scandal ruining their already so fragile careers.

Yeah, so not much would come out from that then. He decides to change directions and look closely to the people in his life.

Hongjoong was scary and cool, bossy in a way that made him feel secure and cared for, but that was it. Mingi was too masculine. Seonghwa was pretty, but pretty in a way that one would use to describe Aphrodite, not in a 'wow please kiss me senseless' way.

However…

Yeosang hyung was so pretty, Jongho wished he was a girl sometimes. He wasn't sure why, though; he wasn't very good at dealing with girls either. But that fateful day of the Imagine Dragons concert did something to him, and while he was locked in the bathroom after they came back home and after Yeosang had so rudely increased the vibrations without even warning him, he scrambled to get it out, and he wished for a few seconds that it was Yeosang's hand doing the job. Which was weird, but not weird weird, because well, he had grown up being raised by the entirety of Ateez being queer; it was just, well… suspicious.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The next day, Jongho foregoes flip-flops to roam around the house. He'd forgotten his charger in the living room, and he planned on going to sleep for a bit longer after plugging in his phone, so he moves on autopilot, silent legs taking him to the couch, where his charger lies forgotten.

On his way back to his room, he hears giggles. It's none of his business, but well, he's nosy and his brain is still half asleep.

He tiptoes up to the kitchen door and bites his hand to muffle his gasp.

It's dark, and he can only see the sillhouettes of two people. One, tall and lean and long-haired, has to be Seonghwa. He has someone pressed up on the kitchen counter, giggling and kissing their lips. Jongho squints his eyes. Seonghwa usually preferred to take his dates to sleep in a hotel, and he's never brought someone home before. It might be getting serious, then, he thinks. He risks getting caught in his fact-finding mission and steps a bit closer to try and see if he knows the person by any chance.

No need for all that.

Seonghwa slots his knee between the person's leg and a low moan is enough to cause Jongho brain damage for the next three years.

Hongjoong hyung?!

He runs to his room, not caring if he can be heard or not. After seven unending years, his oldest hyungs were finally together, it seems. And against all popular belief, it was Seonghwa who had Hongjoong at his mercy.

Jongho rubs his eyes a bit less sleepily and sends out a quick apology to Seonghwa's spirit.

Sorry for calling you a bottom, hyung. I was not familiar with your game.

He falls asleep without plugging his phone to the charger.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The dreams started plaguing him not too long after that.

The first night, he dreams of their early days, of the first time his hyungs took him out to drink after he became of age. Back then, Seonghwa was strict about how much he could consume, and never let him go beyond three shots. With time, Jongho proved to be a responsible drinker, and the one amongst them who could drink the most, so now he didn't have these kinds of rules anymore.

What he didn't tell the others, though, is that that wasn't really his first night drinking.

On the dusk of his birthday, late and tired from work, Yeosang has sneaked him out of the dorm. He took him to the Han River, where they sat on a small blanket laid out on the ground and shared his very first bottle of soju.

Yeosang wasn't much of a drinker, but he knew how excited Jongho was to finally taste it, so he had done it for him. It was nice, to drink and inevitably choke at the strong taste of it beside someone who he knew wouldn't make fun of him for it. Jongho reeled, refusing the drink at first after a single sip, and Yeosang had merely chuckled and moved the bottle away from him, reassuring him that he wasn't any less Korean for not wanting to engage in active drinking like many people did.

They stayed there watching the city lights, hands brushing together and easy smiles on their faces. At some point in the night, Jongho decided he would be a big boy and drink more; under Yeosang's hardly stern watching and endeared touches, he drank more and more, until his taste buds stopped protesting the bitterness.

Yeosang brought him home and took care of him. Jongho doesn't remember much aside from waking up cozy and in fresh clothes in Yeosang's bed, cuddled up in Yeosang's arms and smelling like Yeosang's shampoo.

When he wakes up now, it's in his own bed, downed in his own perfume. Suddenly he hates it.

He pulls out his maknae card to barge into Yeosang's room and cuddle close under the guise of a nightmare.

It wasn't a nightmare at all, but the light pull of guilt he felt for lying was immediately drowned by his hyung fussing over him, bringing him under his comforter and prompting him to lay his head down on his big arm.

The second night, it starts as one of those random dreams your mind conjures when you're most tired.

First, he's running in a flower field. Then he finds a bed. He lays down, but suddenly the bed moves and he's in a movie theater. He hates the movie that's playing on the big screen. He runs and runs until he's standing at the Seven Eleven under the KQ building, and there's another bed. This time he sleeps, and when he wakes up, Yeosang is on top of him, shaking his shoulders, dressed as the blue bird from Rio 2.

Jongho wakes up feeling dizzy before his alarm even rings.

What the fuck.

On the third day, he lays down for a quick nap after lunch. Big mistake.

He falls into a light, restless sleep, and Yeosang is there again. It looks lik they're at the KQ gym, but Jongho's not really there, it's like he's an onipresent being. Yeosang is alone, humming out Alan Walker songs while he prepares the chest press machine, loading one weight plate after another, and yet it never seems enough. He lays down on it, and the booty shorts he's wearing do nothing at all to hide the way his thighs tremble with the effort. Jongho feels lightheaded. He's only gone to the gym with the boys once or twice, as he preferred to go alone, but holy shit if that wasn't a hell of a view. When he wakes up, it's with an embarrassing morning wood, and he runs to his bathroom like a criminal on the run; the pleasure of relieving himself feels a lot more like it usually did, and fuck, he was so doomed.

At least he didn't have to worry about being uncertain anymore.

When his manager drops him by the company building for his afternoon schedule, he's showered, wearing nice clothes and way too much cologne for a simple dance practice. The BB Tripping hyungs look at him with teasing smirks but he ignores them, making a beeline straight for the rest of his members, who were already gathered around the screen, revising some steps.

- Hyungs. - he clears his throat, the nerves only now starting to get to him. So much for being so confident a few minutes ago.

Wooyoung distractedly kisses his cheek and Seonghwa ruffles his hair, eyes still fixed on the screen. Normally, it would've been enough, even nice to have his presence recognized like this; now, however, he wanted attention.

Full attention.

He tries to speak up again, but then Yunho's calling the start of practice, and he's got that performance director look in his face. Jongho knows better than to interrupt when he's like this, so he obediently dances along.

When they're done, he tries again, but gets cut off by San's hungry whines.

Jongho sighs.

Maybe he's making too big of a fuss out of this.

When they get home, he follows Yeosang to his room and locks the door as soon as they're inside. Yeosang startles at the sound, like he's only now registering his presence, but his eyes soon soften and he drops his bag.

- Maknae-yah ~- Yeosang chirps, opening his arms. Jongho flings himself onto them, not realizing until now how badly he needed the reassurance, and basks into the warmth of his embrace.

Yeosang hums, the low vibration carrying through the room, and Jongho feels the knot in his chest start to unravel. He sighs, and Yeosang simply waits.

- What's got my Jjongie so worked up, hm? You stimmed a lot more than normal today. - Yeosang says softly, voice devoid of any judgement and full of understanding. - Comeback season is always bit too much, isn't it?

Jongho shakes his head, and the action makes his cheek rub around Yeosang's shirt like a cat. It feels stupid but funny, and Jongho smiles a bit as Yeosang's hand comes to gently pet his hair.

- It's not that, hyung. - he briefly wonders if he should disentangle from his arms to drop the news, but decides against it. It was too comfy there. - Hyung, I think I'm bisexual.

Yeosang's hand stills in his hair for a fraction of seconds, and Jongho wonders if somehow he fucked up. But then his hyung giggles, soft and nice, and his heartbeat goes back to its normal frequency.

- I know, baby.

Jongho steps back from his hold.

- Excuse me?

Yeosang gently coaxes him back and sits on the edge of the bed, bringing him to lay down with his head on his lap.

- It was kind of obvious, baby. But I'm so proud of you for figuring it out.

Jongho pouts but basks in the affection all the same.

- I'm still not sure that's the best label, but I wanted to try saying it out loud.

Yeosang nods.

- And how does it feel?

Jongho blushes slightly.

- …Freeing, I guess. It felt suffocationg keeping it to myself for some reason.

Yeosang hums.

- Am I the first one you're telling this to?

Jongho nods.

- I tried to tell everyone during practice today, but it was so busy and…

Yeosang grins.

- Well. You wanna tell them?

Jongho muses.

- Yeah. I think I do.

Yeosang smirks mischievously.

- Then we're gonna do it crazy style, baby.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Jongho is shaking with excitement.

Yeosang, bless his mischievous heart, is planning a whole ass party for his coming out. In a way, it's more of a gender reveal party, but sexuality wise. They've gone shopping for blue, pink and purple confetti, ordered a cake in the colors of the flag, and even crafted a poll game for everyone to vote on which sexuality they think he'd reveal. It was so stupid, but brought him so much joy, and it completely wiped out whatever leftover feeings of anxiety he harbored.

When the day comes, all the boys are gathered in the living room, very clueless but very excited upon seeing the decoration. Apparently, Yeosang didn't tell them what exactly this was all about, but they were about to find out anyway.

First of all, a QR code appreared on the TV screen, and they all eagerly scanned it. It lead to a Kahoot page with questions about Jongho's sexuality, and by the end of it everyone was cackling.

Only then is Jongho allowed to show up, dressed comically formal in a suit in his own home, but Yeosang insisted it was for the aesthetic. He cuts the three-layers cake, the big moment of the reveal, and for the first time in years, his teammates dodge the food to come dote on him instead. They all come for a collective hug, strong arms pressing against him everywhere, and his eyes fill with emotion. He surely had the best hyungs ever, no doubt.

- Aww, our maknae~already so grown up~ - Wooyoung fakes a tear and Jongho rolls his eyes fondly.

- Mingi-yah, pay up~- Yunho singsongs from behnd him. Jongho turns around to face him, escandalizado.

- Did you guys bet on my sexuality?!

Mingi shakes his hands in protest.

- Of course not, we'd never do that! It's such a personal thing, and-

- We bet on how long it'd take you to figure it out. - Yunho cuts him off and Mingi pouts at him. Jongho huffs just for the sake of it, but can't bother to be really mad at them. Maybe he was one oblivious man after all.

- Jongho-yah~ Come give hyung a kiss~ - Wooyoung teases, making kissy noises at him. Jongho yelps, running around the table to put up some space in between them, but Wooyoung chases him around with a screeching laugh. Jongho tries to hide behind San's muscular, wide shoulders, but the man only holds him tight in place for Wooyoung to attack.

Jongho trashes around and whines for the sake of it, but in reality he finds out that he's rather comfortable being manhandled by his hyungs. Wooyoung leaves a wet kiss on his cheek, and he sticks out his tongue at him all the same, but stays right there where he is. He's still stronger than all of them, and could easily make his way out if he wanted; besides, he knows they're only teasing and would release him at the second he asked, but he finds that he doesn't want to.

He stays in their arms until Yeosang comes to collect him for bed.

Chapter Text

Yeosang has a very methodic night routine.

He had learned from Seonghwa, very early on their trainee days, that he should never lie on his bed while wearing his outside clothes, and never ever ever go to sleep after walking around the house barefoot.

So, when they come back from a variety show filming schedule, all tired and drained and exhausted, he simply takes his bag to its designated place and heads for his bathroom. The new dorm was amazing, because now all eight of them had a suite, which meant no longer fighting over who gets to shower first or being interrupted while blowing one in the shower.

He used to have his bath products lined up in order of use, but now they're ordered by height and it makes him feel so much better. The scentless body cream he's been using since middle school had been discontinued, and this was the last bottle from the stash he’d managed to save up, which meant he now had to look for another one. The thought was lowkey terrifying, and he felt dizzy just thinking about the new textures he'd have to endure until he finds a worthy substitute.

When they're cuddling after a schedule, he distractedly mentions his intentions to Yunho, which only makes a disgruntled noise and nuzzles further into his hand so he could resume his head pats. Yeosang chuckles lowly and makes himself busy by braiding the shiny black hair.

- It's getting long, Yaya.

He can't remember exactly when 'Yunho-yah' turned into 'Yaya', but it was cute and easy to say even when Yeosang was feeling nonverbal, which tended to happen a lot now that he felt more and more comfortable to stop masking around his members. Yunho clearly loves it, by far the number one nickname lover in the group.

- Right?! I feel lovely every time I look in the mirror.

Yeosang hums.

- You should. Oh, you'd look great with those long hair wigs for a historical drama.

Yunho bites his lower lip.

- I'd love to be casted for one. I'd look great in a king's red costume- ow!

Yeosang laughs and flicks his forehead.

- Don't get cocky. And I think you'd fit the role of an assassin best.

Yunho sighs heavily.

- You're right. And atiny seems to like it when I go a bit psycho anyways.

Yeosang hums and a beat of silence passes.

- You could be my damsel in distress~ - Yunho teases, making exaggerated kissy noises up at him.

Yeosang pretends to gag.

- Only if it's slow burn. If the couple is already making babies by the third chapter, I don't want it! Bring back the old dramas where it took them 15 episodes to hold hands!

Yunho gets into a fit of giggles, endeared.

- You're such a grandma, Sangie~

Yeosang pouts.

- I mean it! Writers gotta bring back men who properly yearn!

Yunho slides from his place to the cold floor on his knees and looks up at him with mischievous puppy eyes, head tilted in the way he knows makes him look irresistible.

- Have I been yearning enough for you, Sangie?

Yeosang blushes. Yes, he wants to say, but he's feeling bold, and he knows Yunho enjoyes the chase.

- No. Try harder.

Yunho lets out a tiny whimper and rests his cheek on his thigh, not breaking eye contact.

- Got it, Your Highness. This unworthy servant will do his best to please his mistress.

A jolt of eletricity runs down Yeosang's spine and he brings down a hand to gently caress Yunho's fluffy hair.

- Good boy, Yaya.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Yeosang is not sure when he realized he probably wasn't cis, but he remembers that Yunho figured it first.

Seonghwa had always been referred to as their 'mother' by all of them, because of his nurturing and caring nature and for the way he took on the role to raise them right on their early teenage days. He used to be uncomfortable around feminine terms, but it changed over time, and now he even felt proud to be associated to feminine things.

Since those days, Yeosang found his heartbeat increasing each time he heard the terms, with something he first misread as discomfort but later recognized as yearning. He wanted to be called that too, wanted to be associated with all things feminine.

When one of his high school friends came out as trans, Yeosang thought that maybe this was it. Panic raised in his throat, the concept that he would have to hide forever if that was the case, but one conversation with said friend was enough to soothe him. It wasn't his case. He didn't feel repulsed by masculinity; he thrived in it, some days, and he reveled in growing out his muscular body and being called a man.

It all gets pushed to the back of his head as comeback season approaches and lays forgotten in his head until their prolongued break in january.

He starts helping out Seonghwa more and more in his 'motherly duties', half out of kindness and half out of interest in being referred the same as him. His members don't get the hint at first, only thanking him nicely, but his world goes spinning one day as Yunho calls him a sweet older sister for brewing him a cup of afternoon tea.

Yeosang's hand freezes midair, keetle still in hand, as warmth settles in his chest.

It wasn't embarrassment. It wasn't shame. It felt right.

Yeosang loved it.

Mingi and Jongho are laughing, thinking it'd be a joke, but it doesn't feel like one. Yunho, ever the attentive friend, immediately realizes something is off. He kicks the other two out of the kitchen and gently takes the kettle out of Yeosang's hand, afraid he might burn himself with the shock.

Yunho settles the kettle down safely and gently sneaks a hand loosely around Yeosang's muscled waist.

- You good? - he asks, earnest, seeking his face for any micro signs of discomfort. He doesn't find any.

Yeosang smiles shyly and nods. Yunho, ever the quick thinker, takes no time to put the pieces together.

- You like it… noona? - he offers, voice devoid of judgement, eyes soft. - You want us to call you that from now on?

Now that was a big question.

- Yes. No. Uh, not all the time. But sometimes. Yeah. Sorry, I don't… I'm still- - Yeosang rambles, panicked.

- It's okay. - Yunho smiles, reassuring and loving and proud, and Yeosang feels so safe he could cry. He leans back, pressing himself closer to his hold, seeking his warmth, and Yunho immediately indulges, holding him tighter against his chest. - It's okay, no need to hurry. I'll use it only sometimes then. Let me know if I ever use it on the wrong day, okay?

Yeosang nods, mind still spinning from his newfound discovery. He wants to tell Yunho how thrilling it feels, how right it settles in his chest. Wants to thak him for being so understanding. But he can't quite articulate it in words right now, and he knows Yunho understands that too. The taller presses a kiss to his temple as finishes brewing their mugs of tea.

- You look so pretty today, noona.

Not handsome, not beautiful. Pretty. Yeosang beams.

That's the end of the conversation. Yunho holds him close as they nurse their tea together, back pressed up against his chest as they watch a random historical drama. Yunho always has this way of making the people around him feel secure and protected, and Yeosang adored it immensely.

The next day, Yunho takes him out shopping for body cream, and tries all the possible candidates before him to let him know what to expect of the textures. It makes the process widely less overwhelming, and Yeosang makes him tea again when they come back home as a thank you.

From that day on, Yunho periodically used feminine terms with him - noona, pretty, mommy when they were feeling intimate - without never leaving behind his open appreciation of his manliness and raw strength. One day, he suggests him to look up the term 'genderfluid', which Yeosang briefly does; it feels like a warm blanket, but doesn't answer all his questions, and Yeosang closes the search tab feeling somewhat at peace with himself..

It was as the masses say. He was probably non-binary, but at the moment he was a bit too employed to care.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

One suspicious whisper and one side glance is all it takes for Wooyoung to figure him out.

He says nothing at first, and Yeosang foolishly believes he's going to let it drop, but at the first opportunity he's being dragged away to a shopping mall.

- We're buying skirts! - Wooyoung announces loudly as he drags him by the hand.

Yeosang sputters, planting his heels on the floor and trying to offer some resistence, but that little gremlin is surprisingly strong when he wants to be.

- Woo-yah, this is not needed, like at all-

- Well then I'M buying skirts and YOU'RE here to sit still and look pretty while I do it! - Wooyoung cuts him off. - I'm telling you, next time I fuck Sannie, it's going to be with both of us wearing skirts, but if you don't want to join the fun then that's fine~

Yeosang rolls his eyes.

- Freaky.

Wooyoung grins, mischievous.

- You love it.

He gets dragged to so many stores he stops keeping count. He tries to stay true to his word, he really does, but watching Wooyoung try on all those pretty garments is doing irreparable damage to his brain.

At last, he gives up on keeping up the tough act and rips a pleated miniskirt from his bestfriend's hands.

- I'm putting it on. Just this once. You better be paying attention when I come out of the dressing room.

Wooyoung claps excitedly and jumps his way to the dressing room chair, waiting expectantly.

Yeosang closes the door, takes off his shirt and undoes the zipper of his pants.

They fall losely to the foor, and he works up the courage to step out of them and into the skirt.

It feels so freeing.

He does as much acrobatics as he manages in the confined space, thrilled that nothing was getting in the way of his leg movements. It would be amazing to wear this for dance practice.

He rotates his hips and looks in the mirror, mesmerized with the way the fabric flutters around him. He's wore half skirts on stage before, sure, but always with something underneath, and always with so little time to fully enjoy it.

Now, as he looks at his reflection, all smooth skin and long hair and skirt, he truly feels like a girl, and he loves it.

Before he can overthink it, he snaps a picture and sends it to Yunho. The response he gets is the cherry on top, making him feel so right on his own skin that he wants to cry.

wow noona

so pretty

your boobs are growing bigger

and i love the skirt ❣️

can you wear it for me next?

Impatient, Woo barges into the dressing room stall, and whistles lowly.

- Holy shit. Can I fuck you in it too-

Yeosang laughs, rich an deep, and slaps his shoulder.

- Can you stop thinking with your dick for a moment? I'm having an epiphany here!

Wooyoung starts signing Epiphany by BTS.

Yeosang kicks him out of the store and pays for his skirt, apologizing to the staff for the noise.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

It takes him a few weeks to work up the courage to actually wear the skirt to dance practice.

Obviously, his goal wasn't to flash anyone, so even after Wooyoung's protests, he puts on a pair of lycra shorts underneath.

He chooses a day when only the eight of them woud be practicing, without a choreographer or any backup dancers. Rationally, he knew his members would never make fun of him for it, but his mind still reacted all the way to the company like it was being held at gunpoint.

Wooyoung senses his nerves and takes his hand, strutting into the room confidently, and Yeosang almost trips on his own feet, but manages to stay upright. The members obviously notice, eyes bulging out at the view, but no one says anything. He knows Yunho would be the first to compliment him, but the taller man doesn't know if he's okay with such public displays, so he merely gives him a dimple smile and a thumbs up.

During practice, the members keep messing up more than usual, and Seonghwa's voice cracks thrice. Jongho asks if he needs some throat medicine, but Seonghwa shrugs and mentions for them to go again. This time, Honjoong falls face first during his rap, and all of them run to his aid, startled. He curses as he gets up, swearing under his breath. Mingi asks if there's a problem with his mic and Hongjoong mutters an answer meant only for Mingi to hear. Yeosang catches it anyways.

- No, there aren't any tech issues. It's Yeosang and his fucking skirt-

- Her. - Yeosang bravely cuts him off, voice wavering.

Hongjoong looks at him like he's gone mad. All the members fix him curiously, besides Yunho and Wooyoung, that gently move to hold his hands in silent support.

- Her..?

Yeosang gulps. He started it, might as well take the whole band-aid off.

- Her skirt. I would like… for you to refer to me as a she today.

Hongjoong blinks, clearly taken aback. Yeosang is trembling like a leaf, but stands his ground, and he sees the exact moments the gears turn in the leader's head and he smiles.

- Of course, Yeosang-ah. Come on, back to practice. Ladies first.

Just like that, the weight was lifted off Yeosang's shoulders. He didn't quite feel the need to put a label over himself, and his members adapted surprisingly quickly to the new reality, be it Hongjoong always using neutral language until he referred to himself a certain way or Jongho waking him up with kisses and asking if he had a hyung or a noona that day. Yeosang felt loved, felt seen, and felt respected in a way he wouldn't dream was possible.

He wasn't too employed for that.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Surprisingly or not, Mingi was the most instrospective member after him, so they had crafted their own silent routine to hang out when their social battery was low.

Tonight, Yeosang takes his Pompompurin beauty bag and waddles to Mingi's room, claded in his matching Pompompurin pajamas and slippers. Mingi is waiting for him, cross-legged on his bed, wearing a Hello Kitty headband to keep his hair away from his face and matching pajamas.

They go over the same motions - they've got each other's skincare routine memorized for ages now -, each applying the respective products to the other's face. They let their face masks sit as they paint each other's nails, silent and content after a full day of too much sensorial stimulli.

Mingi has been experimenting with nail art now, and Yeosang is more than glad to be his canvas. It was a shame that, more often than not, he'd have it wiped out in the next morning because of a schedule, but still he kept a folder in his gallery completely dedicated to Mingi's designs.

Tonight, he observes Mingi's tongue peeking out from his lips as he concentrates in making the perfect Bbyeongming drawing on his thumbnail. It comes out a little shaky and ends up smudging, but it's endearing all the same, and Mingi looks so proud of his art that Yeosang smiles too, despite being so tired he can barely think.

They fall asleep cuddled together on Yeosang's bed, since he didn't like sleeping on the one he’d just gotten his nails done in, and Mingi gladly uses him as an overgrown body pillow until their alarm rings in the morning.

Yeosang feels the most special when he's loved quietly.

Chapter Text

Mingi has been put in charge of transforming their living room into a pillow fort.

Actually, Wooyoung's exact words were "Mangi-yah, make us a pack nest for a game night!", but he looked it up and a pack nest was actually more or less just a pillow fort, so here he was.

Every wednesday night, the group had their so-called 'getting-along' meetings (even if it had an embarrassing rate of 67% of them ending up with fights). Each week, a member was responsible for planning the schedule for the night, be it watching a movie, cooking something together or playing a game. Tonight, it was Wooyoung's turn, which meant everyone was a little nervous.

Wooyoung-led nights had a 100% rate of fight-or-fuck results.

He'd never admit it, but Mingi looked forward to it almost more than he looked forward to his own nights. Set on his task, he goes around their dorm stealing pillows and blankets and plushies, and is very satisfied with the results of his hunter-gatherer abilities.

He throws the couch cushions into the floor along with two more matresses, making room for all eight of them to gather comfortably, and arranges the pillows and blankets, leaving a pile of plushies to be shared around. Then he moves on to the aesthetic part of the fort, hanging Yunho's Pochacco themed sheets from the ceiling so they could fall around the edges of the fort like a tent. He goes all out, hanging some fairy lights too, smoothing the wrinkles on the blankets and making sure everything was perfect.

No one could say even a word about his nest-making abilities. He was a very skilled omega, and a proud one at that.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

They're all already gathered in the fort-nest when Wooyoung comes in with an insane amount of beer bottles.

Seonghwa's eyes widen.

"Young-ah, be reasonable. We've got work tomorrow."

Wooyoung only laughs as he lays them down in the center of the nest.

"Ah, hyung, it's nothing we haven't done before. Besides, if you're a lightweight, just don't drink~"

Hongjoong looks at him suspiciously.

"So what you've got planned is not a drinking game?"

Wooyoung clicks his tongue.

"Aish, so anxious. But okay, I'll explain the rules since everyone's so curious~ "

He turns on a portable wall projector and connects his phone to it. The only visible wall from the fort is now filled with a screen they're long familiar now, ao3. It's opened on a specific work, and Wooyoung grins devilishly.

"Here's what we're gonna do. When it's your turn, you read one paragraph of this lovely fic I chose. But not just read. You gotta deliver it. Give me passion. Give me drama. Give me everything! If you don't read, you drink. If you read, but we vote your acting not good enough… you drink as well. Oh! And if it's an action scene, you gotta act it out too."

He turns to Seonghwa with an angelic expression, like he hadn't just unleashed hell with his little game.

"See, hyung? If you don't wanna drink, just don't fail!"

Seonghwa already looks like he's considering murder. Yunho, San and Yeosang are licking their lips in antecipation. Even Jongho can't hide his excitement.

Even Hongjoong seems to like the idea, already reaching for a bottle.

"Come on, I'll start. Just give me a minute. I can't do it sober."

His face scrunches up and he groans dramatically as the bitter taste burns down his throat. He clears it up, Addam's apple bobbing up and down, and he starts, mimicking the tone of a true crime podcaster:

Hongjoong came into his life on a rainy spring afternoon, with his stupid bleached undercut and school bag full of dangling charms. He smiled shyly at first, seating beside him on the lecture hall, getting out a plain notebook when everyone else still had theirs stamped with movie characters or cute Sanrio drawings.

"Wait. That's kinda cute. I'm cute!" he beams, clapping excitedly. The group giggles at their leader's obvious excitement over something as simple as a fanfiction of himself.

Mingi's next in the circle, and his part is also considerably tame as the narrative settles into place. His naturally deep voice seems to go well with the story.

Wooyoung's eyes almost got stuck in he back of his head from how hard he rolled them as he saw Hongjoong in the halls. He'd gotten tanner in the summer, his always-changing hair now a deep red, shorter than the last time Wooyound had seem him. He scoffs, muttering under his breath that wearing such a bright color as a simple architecture major in the first day of class was downright ridiculous.

Mingi raises his brows in surprise as he finishes.

"I can excuse bright red hair, but I draw the line at Joong-hyung being an architecture major. That's nuts"

Jongho rolls his eyes as he drinks a warm-up shot.

"Hyung, let them be. Writers like to project their sucesses and problems onto us. Maybe who wrote this is an architecture major!"

Seonghwa chimes in.

"Shut up, go on. Now I'm invested"

Jongho wiggles his eyebrows teasingly but reads his part, as requested.

It goes like that for a while, some of them being forced to take a shot for laughing and cringing in the middle of their parts, and by the time they reach the middle of the fic, everyone's already tipsy.

San reads his part sluggishly and giggling several times. He's made to drink yet another shot when he manages to finish it:

Hongjoong smirks.

- Don't do what? Don't get dicked down? Oh but you've got such a nice ass, and pretty round eyes perfect for begging. Such a shame, really.

Wooyoung's brain malfunctions. What the actual fuck did that freak just say?

- I don't bottom. And I don't hook up with guys.

"That's literally Jongho!", Wooyoung claps, excited. Jongho throws a bottle cap at him.

Hongjoong slides a hand around Wooyoung's waist, bringing him closer to him and away from the juniors.

"No no no, look! This deserves to be acted out!" Seonghwa laughs and gets up on wobbly legs. "I'm Wooyoung!"

"I'll be Hongjoong!" Yunho volunteers, just as eager. "Come here, my dear hyung ~"

He reaches for Seonghwa's waist, doing his best to make a jealous face just like it happens it the fic. The whole group hollers and cheers, but the real Hongjoong only huffs, looking away from the scene and downing one more shot with a bitter expression.

He gasps softly when Hongjoong's strong thigh slots between his legs, causing his skirt to ride up and his cheeks to flush red.

Yunho grins maniacally as he nonchalantly slides one thigh right under Seonghwa's crotch, the purposeful friction eliciting a gasp from the elder.

"Wait wait wait! He's supposed to be wearing a skirt!" San objects.

Seonghwa pulls himself together enough to protest.

"I don't have a skirt-"

"We do! Lots! San-ah, go grab them for hyung-"

Before Wooyoung can finish his sentence, San is already bolting for his room. He comes back with three mini skirts and a grin.

"Come on, hyung! Get into character!"

Sober Seonghwa would probably have objected. Tipsy Seonghwa, however, is eager to shamelessly strip off his sweatpants and step into the frilly skirt.

San helps him pull it up and throws the discarded sweatpants carelessly to the side, and they fall right on Hongjoong's face. They smell like Seonghwa, and Hongjoong sniffs it once again before he recovers his decency and takes them out of his eyesight.

(Fuck, he's so fucked.)

Back to the scene, Yunho and Seonghwa grind messily and tipsily against each other in the middle of the living room. Seonghwa's skirt, predictably, rises up and flutters around as his hips move, a sight everyone has their eyes transfixed in. It's funny but weirdly sensual, and the both of them were clearly but surely getting off on it.

"Sangie! You've got a sexy deep voice. Do the next part!"

Yeosang protests.

"But it's not even my turn..?!"

"Irrelevant!" Jongho argues, in a whisper. "Your voice matches the mood best. Deep. Sexy."

Yeosang raises a brow but bites the bait. A pretty blush coats his cheeks as he reads the next paragraph out loud, voice low and sensual.

Wooyoung gets high on it, grinding a bit harder before he realizes what he's doing and who he's doing it with. He stops, glaring at the other man, but it just felt too good, and he's whispering on his ear about how much of a fast learner he is, about how he was made for that, so his hips stutter and resume their movement. Wooyoung closes his eyes, panting softly against the other's neck.

In front of them, Yunho and Seonghwa interpret their roles dutifully. Seonghwa grinds like he wants to stop but can't, and Yunho invokes his lower register to whisper in his ear, albeit loud enough for everyone to hear.

"So good for me, hyung", he muses, wide hands gripping Seonghwa's waist tighter. "So quick to please me, hm?"

Seonghwa drops his head to Yunho's shoulder, and Hongjoongs clenches his fists into the blankets, wondering how much of that was acting and how much Seonghwa was actually enjoying it. His knuckles turn white from the force, and he's left to figure out if the coil burning at the pitch of his stomach is jealousy or something else entirely.

Yeosang, egged on by the others, goes ahead.

Hongjoong coos when Wooyoung lets out his first breathless moan, and that only makes him grind harder, try harder, anything to hear more of that sweet tone-

Wooyoung protests.

"I'd never moan so fast!"

Yunho and Seonghwa take a break from their incessant movements to giggle at the outburst. San looks like he wants to argue, and Mingi finally lifts his head from his nth bottle of soju.

"Come on, rules are rules. Hyung, you gotta moan!"

Seonghwa flips him off and Yunho giggles, but Jongho presses on.

"He's right! They have to be faithful. If hyung doesn't moan, he has to drink!"

The chant echoes through the living room.

"Drink, drink, drink, drink!"

Seonghwa sticks his tongue out at them and releases the most poor attempt at a moan.

The younger members boo at him.

"That didn't count! Do better or drink!"

"Drink, drink, drink, drink!"

Seonghwa sighs and scoots closer to Yunho until they're in their original grinding positions again. He lays his head on Yunho's shoulders, like the fic described, but makes sure he's staring straight into Hongjoong's eyes as he moans again.

A better, louder, clearer moan. The one Hongjoong had struggled so much to get him to do for the recording of In Your Fantasy. The exact moan they were used to hearing in their in-ears when performing the song, and very close to the actual moans Hongjoong had managed to pull out of him on their first night together after the three-panties incident.

That's it. Hongjoong's had enough.

He abruptly stands up, eyes set on Seonghwa, and tugs him off of Yunho's leg.

"Time to go to bed." He says, voice raspy and contained, like he's doing a great effort in staying composed. Seonghwa whines and pouts, drunkenly clinging to Yunho, and Hongjoong sighs.

"Seonghwa." He repeats, dangerous. "I'm not going to say this again. Time. For. Bed. Come with me."

Seonghwa's eyes widen a bit in a moment of clarity, but he still resists. Hongjoong is a minute away from dragging him out with pure strength.

"Sweetheart." He tries, voice softer but still firm. "Darling. Come with me. Please"

This time, Seonghwa trips onto the blackets in his eagerness to get into his arms. Of course, Hongjoong scoffs fondly. Of course he'd listen to the pet names only.

His shoulders relax as soon as Seonghwa's safe and sound in his arms, hands wrapping possessively around his waist. He can't help but notice the difference between Yunho's hands, that almost closed around Seonghwa's waist, and his own hands, tinier but veinier. One look at Seonghwa's blissed face tells him that the taller seemed to like feeling the touch of both.

A wave of possessiveness runs down Hongjoong's spine. He hears distantly the sound of the boys' voices, telling him to drop that, to stop ruining the fun. He suddenly understands why alphas were always growling in omegaverse fics.

Not that he was an alpha, of course. And not that Seonghwa was his omega or anything.

Anyways.

Impulsively, he grips the back of Seonghwa's thighs. When the elder doesn't get the hint, Hongjoong taps gently, and then Seonghwa jumps, all his weight being supported by the leader.

"Fuck, that's hot" he hears Wooyoung say, but his eyes are elsewhere. Seonghwa is looking at him with the biggest boba eyes known to man, and Hongjoong almost disintegrates right then and there.

"Captain" he whispers, some syllables stuttered because of his heavy tongue. "Will you put your wife to bed?"

Hongjoong sucks in a harsh breath.

"Yeah. Yeah, sweetheart." He adjusts his grip and starts carrying him away, deaf to the members' protests. "Captain's gonna put his wife to bed, nice and cozy. Just hang onto me, I've got you"

Seonghwa hums unworriedly and nuzzles his face on Hongjoong's neck. Hongjoong barely breathes, stunned, wishing the moment never ended, as he pushes the door to his room open with his hip and carries him inside.

He gently deposits Seonghwa on the bed, leaning down to join their foreheads.

"Did you have fun?" He asks, low and dangerous. "Did you think it was funny, wearing this fucking skirt-" he drags a hand down Seonghwa's body until it rests on the waistband of the pale pink skirt. "Grinding like that on a man you know isn't yours. Looking at your captain while you moaned, loud and clear. Was it funny to your tipsy little head, darling?

Seonghwa pouts petulantly.

"Yunho is open to everyone. And my captain is not my man, not in that sense".

Hongjoong's eyes darken.

"Say that again. I dare you"

Seonghwa lifts himself up on his elbows to look at him.

"I said… I'm a free man. And if I want to wear pink skirts and grind on Yunho until we both come, then I will."

Hongjoong's fingers tighten on the waistband of the skirt, but he resists the urge to pull it down.

"Would you?" He asks, almost vulnerable. "Would you grind on him until you both came, if I had left you there?"

Seonghwa hums.

"Perhaps. Would that have bothered you?"

Hongjoong sits bak on his heels with a crease between his brows.

His first instict is to say that yes, obviously, he'd never sleep again if that happened, but the more thinks about it, the more he finds that maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world after all. That, maybe, just maybe, the tightness he felt in his gut was closer to desire than to jealousy.

"I don't know." He answers, honest and vulnerable.

Seonghwa, even through his tipsiness, softens. He reaches for Hongjoong's neck to pull him closer.

"It's okay. I wouldn't like to choose, but if I had to, I'd obviously choose you. Always."

Hongjoong sucks in a breath at the raw truth in Seonghwa's eyes.

"You don't have to, darling. I'd never make you choose."

"But I would. You're dealing with all of this pretty well, Hongjoong. I'm impressed."

Hongjoong smiles shyly and pecks his nose.

"Your fault, once again. There you go, always making me realize more things about myself than I'd like to, my star~"

Seonghwa giggles and pulls him down for a quick peck.

"You know you'd be nothing without me, captain~"

Hongjoong pretends to roll his eyes.

"Nonsense- fuck!"

The breath is pushed out of his lungs as Seonghwa inverts their positions, straddling him with a grin.

"What were you saying, oh brave captain?"

It takes a few seconds for Hongjoong to stop staring at him like a fool and remembers to answer.

"T-that I could be perfectly fine withou-"

He cuts himself off with a deep moan as Seonghwa grinds his hips down against him. Hongjoong's hands fly to his waist, sneaking up under Seonghwa's shirt and feeling up his hot skin.

"Darling. Sweetheart. Can I have one small wish, my star?" he pleads, voice devoid of all the previous cockiness, wide eyes looking up at Seonghwa with nothing but devotion and desperation.

Seonghwa takes pity on him and stops moving for a second.

"Well, that depends. What do you wish for, my captain?"

Hongjoong whimpers under him, doing his best to mimic Yunho's expert puppy eyes.

"While we don't figure out this whole… sharing thing… Can I make them hear you moan for me just for tonight..?"

Seonghwa giggles at the proposition and nods, long hair tickling Hongjoong's skin.

"I suppose I can allow that. It's nothing they haven't heard anyway, is it?"

Hongjoong grins wickedly as he rolls them again, getting back on top.

"Oh, wifey. The rehearsed moans they've heard until now are nothing compared to the real thing. They're about to find out~"

Chapter Text

Jongho waddles cautiously through the corridor, peeking his head through the living room door before revealing himself hesitantly. Yeosang looks up from her book with a smile of acknowegdement and turns back to whatever she was reading.

Jongho stands next to the couch dumbly like a The Sims character for a few moments, then sighs nervously. His eyes run through Yeosang's side profile, and warmth fills his chest. So soft and delicate and pretty. How was Yeosang even real?

He'd noticed a pattern. On the days Yeosang was feeling more inclined towards feminine words and pronouns, she'd usually wear a cute hairclip, one Seonghwa had gifted her on the same week she came out to them.

And Yeosang was wearing it today.

He hesitantly sits down on the arm of the couch and peeks, trying to see what book she was reading. Yeosang senses him getting closer and tilts her head to look up at him, and now they were embarassingly close. Jongho's eyes flit to her birthmark, then to her lips, then back to her eyes. A sudden sense of urgency and pure wanting washes through him.

- Noona. - he whispers, breathless.

Yeosang merely hums. Jongho grips the couch arm as he battles his inner demons for a few more seconds.

Yeosang has already turned her attention back to her book.

Infuriating.

- Noona, can I kiss you?

Yeosang's breath catches almost imperceptibly, and she slams her book closed with a bit too much enthusiasm. She looks up at him with wide, cautious eyes.

- Do you want to kiss me or do you want to kiss a man?

Jongho shrugs.

- I want to kiss whatever gender you're feeling right now.

Yeosang blushes beautifully at that. She cautiously rests her book into the coffee table and reclines back into he seat, tapping her thighs in invitation.

- What type of kisser are you, Jjongie?

Jongho looks at her thick, inviting things and gulps, the weight of his inexperience looming like a cloud. He doesn't dare to move, not yet.

- Uh. I guess I'm not much of a kisser at all…

Yeosang smiles comfortingly and spreads her legs a bit.

- That's okay, baby. Would you be comfortable in my lap?

This time, with a direct invitation, Jongho doesn't need to be told twice.

He clumsily climbs into her lap, knees digging into the couch cushion as he holds himself a bit above her so as to not deposit all his weight onto her.

Yeosang isn't having it.

She holds his waist and pulls him down to settle down fully on top of her legs.

- Don't worry your head, Jjongie baby. Noona's strong. I can take you.

Those simple words are enough to ignite a fire low on Jongho's belly. He squirms a bit, flustered, and Yeosang clearly revels on it.

They stay just like that for a while, Jongho's anxious breaths as loud as a scream in the otherwise quiet dorm. Yeosang smiles up at him and gently raises a hand to caress his hair.

- Do you want to dye it for the next comeback, baby?

Jongho relaxes as the topic changes from kisses, even if he's been the one to bring it out at first.

- I don't think so, noona. - he leans into her touch. - Maybe a lighter brown, but nothing too drastic.

Yeosang giggles.

- My healthy baby. You're going to be the only one with hair when we're all bald in our early 40s.

Jongho chuckles.

- You'd look lovely even if you're bald, noona.

Yeosang rolls her eyes.

- No, I'd look like an egg. But that's okay.

Jongho breaks into a gummy smile and bravely presses a quick kiss to the tip of her nose.

- I wouldn't mind cuddling an egg sometimes.

Yeosang's eyes soften, though she doesn't really know how to respond. None of them are quite eloquent as they'd like to be, but in their own way, it works.

Feeling more secure, Jongho tries leaving tiny little kisses to other places. Yeosang's eyelids, Yeosang's cheeks, the rosy birthmark near her ear - he kisses it all, feeling a flutter in his chest like a schoolboy with his first real crush.

This was ridiculous.

He loved it.

Yeosang grows increasingly more flushed at each press of his lips, and by the time Jongho works up the courage to finally kiss the corner of her lips, her breaths are as laboured as his. Her hands tighten on his waist and Jongho squirms again.

- Feeling affected, baby? - she whispers, and Jongho nods. Yeosang has half a mind to tell him to move his hips, but decides against it. Her baby bear deserved to be guided slowly.

She lets him explore at his pace, sighing in pleasure as he presses kisses down her throat. She lets her head fall to the couch cushions, giving him more space, and he whispers a breathy "thank you" against her skin.

- So polite, Jjongie. - she pats the back of his head approvingly and Jongho shivers at the proud tone of her voice.

- N-noona… - he looks up at her hesitantly. - Your birthmark… - he gently hovers his fingers over the mark in her face. - This is not the only one, right?

Yeosang tenses for a second under him but relaxes again.

- … Yeah. There's a few more.

Jongho smiles and pokes a finger between her third and fourth left ribs.

- There's another one here, right?

Yeosang's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

- How'd you know that?

Of course, throughout all these years, all eight of them had seen each other naked plenty of times, some in intimate moments and some in the hurry of a costume change in the middle of a concert. But Yeosang didn't expect anyone to pay any special attention enough to notice her other rosy spots.

- I find it endearing. - Jongho confesses shyly. - I never look too much, because I don't want you to think I'm being creepy or anything, but… I like it a lot. Can I kiss it too?

Yeosang's breath hitches.

- Baby, you don't really have to-

Jongho pouts as he tugs on the hem of her shirt.

- But I'd love to. Pretty please, noona..?

Yeosang couldn't possibly tell him no when he pulls that stunt. She nods and lifts her upper body a bit, a little nervous about being shirtless right in the open of the living room and under the light of day, but cute, mindful Jongho doesn't pull off her shirt entirely, aware that probably none of them was quite ready for that just yet. He merely lifts it up enough to reveal the birthmark, pretty and otherwordly, and presses a long, hot kiss to it.

Yeosang gasps at the feeling. She's been kissed before, she's been loved, but never like this. Never had someone paid so much care and attention to something she tried to hide for the most part of her life.

Jongho presses another kiss there, this time with tongue, like he wanted to taste it, to make out with her tainted skin. It was a bit ridiculous, but it was so hot, and before she knew it Yeosang caught herself pressing further into his mouth. Jongho hums, the vibrations running across her skin, and pressed a final peck there before looking up again.

- Is there more?

Yeosang nods breathlessly.

- Where?

Yeosang looks down in the general direction of her thighs. Jongho's breathing picks up.

Wordlessly, he gets off her lap and slides to the floor on his knees. Yeosang tries to stop him, beyond flustered, but Jongho only tsks.

- Noona, I'm fine. I have strong knees. Pretty please?

Yeosang's brain is about to shut off. Jongho, baby Jongho, hot-as-fuck Jongho is on his knees. For her. Begging for her birthmarks.

She could die a happy person.

She only nods, barely blinking, stunned as Jongho's eyes light up at the green light. He slowly, almost reverently, pushes up the edge of his sweatshorts, eyes attentive and seeking for another mark.

He can't resist the urge to dig his fingers into the soft flesh as he does, mouth hovering over, eager to bite.

He lets himself go and bites. Just once. Right above the knee.

Yeosang yelps, surprised, and squirms a bit at the sensation.

- J-jjongie…

Jongho licks to soothe the pain, and Yeosang's head spins so bad from all the sensations. She squirms, but Jongho holds her down firmly, lifting her shorts up further in search for the birthmarks. The fabric goes up, up, up, and still no sight. Jongho's mouth starts to feel empty again, he considers sinking down his teeth again…

There it is.

Dangerously close to Yeosang's crotch. Almost at the edge of his bokers.

Jongho dives right in.

He bites and licks and sucks, making out with her skin in a way that should be classified as illegal.

Yeosang shivers and bites a pillow she found scattered over the couch to stop the moans that form in her throat. This was too good. Insanely good. She would melt into a puddle before Jongho was even done with all her marks.

When he looks up, satisfied with his attack, he asks if there's more.

Intead of answering, Yeosang gently holds the side of his face and pulls him up, breathing heavily and with a new glint to her deep brown eyes.

- Jjong, baby. I'd never rush you, but if you're ready, noona kinda craves your lips on hers right now.

Jongho blushes and nods.

- Yeah. Me too. I just… I don't know how…

- Shh, it's okay. - Yeosang smiles lovingly. - I'll do it. Can I?

Jongho nods.

- Yes, please, noona.

Yeosang hums, satisfied, as she leans in.

- What a polite, good boy.

Jongho's so busy freaking out that he forgets he's supposed to move his lips too.

Chapter Text

The day Yeosang came out to them, Seonghwa insisted on dragging her to his room when it was time to sleep.

He let her choose among his growing collection of nightgowns and knee-high socks, watching with immense fondness as Yeosang's eyes, all round and curious and yearning, reached for piece after piece, feeling up the fabrics and textures and trying on whichever felt right, like they were on their own private fashion show. Suddenly, Seonghwa wished he had more to offer, more options for Yeosang to choose from-

Wait, that's it!

He takes her out first thing in the morning.

Dresses her up in a cute, soft pastel sweater and some wide leg jeans, feeling his heart warm up as she twirls around shyly and gives him a thumbs up. On a rare occurrence, Seonghwa actually drives them to the mall, playing TWICE's songs loudly on the aux and resting his hand on Yeosang's thigh the whole way there, not as a flirting act, but as a comforting reminder of his promise.

He takes her to a few discreet stores he's got to know himself for his previous purchases and lets her roam freely, a soft smile on his face to be witnessing what was probably the first time Yeosang actually roamed the so-called 'feminine' section. At first, she's shy and embarrassed and barely touches anything, just looking at the mannequins longingly. Seonghwa understands it all too well, seeing his younger version all over again; but his younger self was alone at the time. Yeosang isn't, and he's gonna make it count.

- Sangie, look at this one. - he starts small, holding up a deep purple tank top with a feminine cut. - Your shoulders would look killer in it, sweetheart.

Yeosang approaches shyly, feeling up the fabric to gather whether it woud be something she'd mind feeling against her skin. She eyes up the piece cautiously, like at any given moment it could become alive and bite her in the ass.

- It's… pretty, hyung. Uh. Oppa. Aish, that's weird! - she softly taps her cheeks in embarrassment, only making them further red. She looks up at him with big round eyes, like she's half expecting Seonghwa to scold her for it. - Is… Is that okay? To call you oppa?

Seonghwa feels another wave of warmth fill his insides. It felt so right, and so cute to hear her say it, so different from how their overeager fans would sometimes call him Oppa as well.

- Of course, Sangie. Oppa sounds lovely coming from you. Although…

Now it was Seonghwa who was blushing a bit.

- I'm quite comfortable with how things are right now, you know. I don't think I quite want to make a big change yet. But… When it's just the two of us… I don't think I'd mind if you call me Unnie, either.

Yeosang smiles widely and throws herself into Seonghwa's arms. He sways a bit with the impact, but holds her tight, feeling like a weight was lifted from his shoulders as well. He might not be genderfluid like Yeosang was, but he certainly wasn't cis; he was just too employed to care right now. However, he can't deny how his heart beats faster in his chest when the word finally leaves Yeosang's lips for the first time.

- Okay, unnie~

Seonghwa lets out a little squeal of joy. Yeosang giggles and finally takes the tank top and puts it on her 'for trying' basket. Everything seems to run smoothly from there, as both Seonghwa and Yeosang selected pieces for the younger to try. Seonghwa eyes longingly some things for himself, but brushes it off; this was Yeosang's day, after all.

At some point during their hunt, Yeosang finds two flowy dresses right their respective sizes. She holds them up with shining eyes.

- Hyun- Unnie! - she calls for Seonghwa, who's all the way across the store. - Can we match? They've got pockets!

Seonghwa smiles fondly and comes over, feeling like a child getting their Christmas present at the thought of Yeosang wanting to wear matching clothes with him. It's not really the style he prefers, but hell if he's going to pass it up just for some simple differences in taste.

- Of course, baby. They're so pretty, you found them well! - he pats Yeosang's head affectionately and moves a strand of hair behind her ear. He looks at the overflowing basket with the pieces they'd already selected and tilts his head towards the dressing room. - Shall we try those on?

He sits on a chair right outside the dressing room and waits eagerly. Yeosang shyly gives him a fashion show, growing more confident at every new outfit, encouraged by Seonghwa's loud cheers and soft words.

By the end of it, Yeosang agrees to take home astounding eight new pieces. As they get them ready for chekout, Seonghwa's eyes fall on a plaid skirt on the to-buy pile.

- Hey baby, I don't remember you trying this one on. - He comments, curious, and Yeosang's cheeks grow two shades darker as she quickly scrambles to hide it among the other pieces.

- Ah, unnie, it's nothing. It's, hm, a gift for Woo! Yeah! - she stutters and runs for the chekout booth.

Seonghwa smiles knowingly. That wasn't Wooyoung's size at all. But if Yeosang is not ready to share, he would wait until she was. He was a patient unnie, after all.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

They stop by an ice cream booth, adn Seonghwa treats her to passionfruit cream, as they both catch up on the gossip. Yeosang shared that one of the BB Trippin members just got engaged, while Seonghwa adds that he heard she's actually pregnant and running to get married before the baby arrives.

- Aish, Sangie, you're too cute. - Seonghwa reaches out and wipes some ice cream from Yeosang's cheek with his thumb. - You always eat like a baby.

Yeosang blushes and looks down. Seonghwa panics and shakes her hands.

- No, no, baby, it's not a bad thing! - he reassures. - It just triggers my cuteness agressin, that's all. I would probably squish you all the time, if I could.

Yeosang smiles bashfully.

- I don't think you're squishing me nearly enough, unnie.

Seonghwa tackles her down as soon as she's finished with her cone.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Next, Seonghwa takes Yeosang to a jewelry store. They already had plenty of earrings and necklacs, but Seonghwa had a specific item in mind.

He takes Yeosang right to the hairpin section, where lay some of the prettiest and most expensive-looking items Yeosang had ever seen. Before this whole thing, Yeosang had never even allowed her eyes to wander to such articles, but now that she's free to do so, she finds herself yearning for the opportunity to wear one. She misses her Bouncy era, with long, shiny hair and pretty styling. Thinking back on it, there was no way she could have been blind about her gender this long. It was right on her face.

Seonghwa coaxes her into choosing a pin.

- Ah, no, unnie. - Yeosang waves his hands dismissively, even if a part of her is screaming in despair at the mere possibility of leaving the store without at least one. - Those are too much, we can get a cheaper one, I really don't mind-

- But I do. - Seonghwa's voice sounds different, deeper and almost stern, as it does when he's scolding one of the members for not taking their shoes off at the dorm. - Oppa's got the money, and oppa wants to spoil you. Will you choose one, or do you want Oppa to do it for you?

A shiver of something pleasantly unknown runs down Yeosang's spine. She was no stranger to Seonghwa's assertiveness and possessive tendencies, but it felt… lovely to have it directed at her firsthand.

Yeosang was good at taking the lead when needed. Craved it, even. But something about the edge of Seonghwa's voice has her scrambling to give it all out and just be. To not need to overthink everything all the time.

Oppa knows best.

Yeosang nods hesitantly. Seonghwa's eyes soften, and he leans down to press a chaste kiss on her temple.

- Oppa's got you, baby. Let's see. - he searches, almost clinically, and Yeosang feels blissful to just stand there and wait. She takes her time observing Seonghwa's features, his focused eyes and pouty lips and pointed nose, and a feeling of absolute peace washes over her. Seonghwa keeps one of his hands clasped firmly over hers, as if to say, no need to worry, oppa's got you.

- This one's beautiful, Sangie. - Seonghwa smiles, holding up a golden piece with ruby stones in the shape of a flower. - What do you think?

Yeosang doesn't look away from his face when she answers.

- Very beautiful, indeed, oppa.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Seonghwa should've seen it coming.

Yeosang might be shy at first about the things he wants, but once he's comfortable, chaos breaks loose.

It all starts in a slow morning. They'd only have a schedule in the late afternoon, so the members took the opportunity to sleep in well into the day. Seonghwa usually preferred to relax by reading something or playing animal crossing, which was exactly what he planned to do after a nice tea for breakfast.

In the corner of his eyes, the sight of a skirt moving away gets his attention. It wasn't uncommon for San or Wooyoung to wear skirts at home, and Seonghwa himself even wore comfy dresses from time to time, so he doesn't think much of it. He keeps nursing his tea, watching tiktoks on his phone and letting his thoughts wander.

When he's almost done with his mug, he hears footsteps approaching. At this hour, it could only be Hongjoong, since he knew for a fact that the others would surely sleep in. When he hears the footsteps get to the kitchen, he greets teasingly, not bothering to take his eyes off his phone.

- Good morning, captain. Had sweet dreams after our lovely activities last night?

A deep, surprised giggle startles his soul out of him.

- Oh? Is that what you and Hongjoong-hyung are doing now?

Seonghwa looks up wide-eyed, mortified to have let it slip to one of the younger members. He's ready to make up a ridiculous lie and say that no, he didn't mean those kind of activities, but his words all die in his throat as his eyes actually register the sight before him.

Yeosang's shirtless. Which was not an uncommon occurrence in the dorms, but still a sight to behold every time. Even worse, he was wearing the infamous skirt he tried to hide that day at the store. It's ridiculously short, barely covering his ass, and leading to a peek of lacy underwear underneath. Seonghwa's mind short-circuits. He doesn't remember buying Yeosang any mint green lingerie.

Yeosang smiles wickedly and turns around to grab something from the fridge. He bends down, which is completely unnecessary considering his batch of banana milk was right on the upper shelf, but Seonghwa positively gasps when more of the lingerie is exposed. Those were his panties.

- Sangie, baby. Are those… You're so… - he's at a loss for words, brain trying to catch up to all those enticing visuals and still trying to be considerate of Yeosang's preferred words for the day.

Yeosang giggles, clearly having the time of his life watching him struggle.

- He/him today, hyung. I'm just feeling slutty, that's all.

Seonghwa's Addam apple bobs up and down hungrily.

- I… I see. Are these Hyung's undies, pretty boy?

Yeosang turns around again and fucking shakes his ass.

- Yes, they are. Don't they look pretty on me? I thought hyung wouldn't mind sharing a bit~

Seonghwa's eyes darken and he tentatively reaches for Yeosang's waist, hot palm burning against the bare skin as he pulls him closer.

- Yeah, hyung really doesn't mind sharing, you know that. - he whispers lowly, delighted to see a shiver running down Yeosang's spine as he guides him to straddle his thigh. - But as much as I love those on you, I'm a bit mad at them. They're obstructing my view. - he carefully slides a hand down Yeosang's back, feeling the hard muscles, giving him plenty of time to react until it rests right above his ass. He squeeezes tentatively, and smirks when Yeosang lets out a breathless gasp and presses further into him.

- Can I take these off, Sangie? You've been rather naughty for hyung, baby.

Yeosang smirks, the fucker. He leaves a hesitant kiss to Seonghwa's collarbones and wiggles his hips against his thigh.

- Thought you'd never ask~

Chapter Text

Wooyoung is wearing his bright yellow shorts to the gym for the third time that week when San finally decides to say something about it.

- Young-ah. My love. Light of my life. Shiniest sun in the universe. Why must you submit me to such terrible sight -

Wooyoung's loud laugh echoes in the otherwise empty gym as he resumes his squat reps.

- What? They were on sale!

San facepalms.

- Baby, we've got money now. There's no need for you to buy heinous things just because they're on sale.

- It's not heinous! It's shady. I'm a trendsetter. If the streets saw me like this, it'll become a new normal to see people wearing bright neon gym clothes-

- I beg you to not. - San rolls his eyes, but can't quite hide his fond smile. Such a silly boyfriend he had.

- Ooh, Sannie, you know I love it when you beg! - Wooyoung makes an exaggerated kissy face and arches his butt out way more than necessary for the squats.

San lands a sharp, playful smack down on his ass.

- Brat. I really can't fathom how you can be a brand ambassador for Courrèges one day and wear these… monstruous things the very next.

- Well aren't you proud to have a versatile boyfriend? - Wooyoung winks, doube meaning clearly intended.

San sighs fondly and hands him his water bottle when he finishes his set.

- I'll add five more reps to your Bulgarian if you keep being this cheeky.

Wooyoung immediately straightens up and waves his hands defensively. San did not play around when he was on personal trainer mode.

- Nuh uh I'll be good! Anything but the Bulgarian!

San smiles and tenderly wipes off the sweat on Wooyoung's neck with a towel.

- Good baby. You're doing so well today.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

They shower together at the gym bathroom after they're done with their workout, on a rather tight schedule considering they had group practice in thirty minutes.

The gym showers are all lined up with no walls or dividers in between. It used to traumatize them back when they were shy, prudish trainees, but at this point they’re so used to it they barely remember what privacy even feels like anymore.

- Hello pretty~ Come here often? - Wooyoung teases, washing his hair as San strips and hops into the shower next to his.

- Hm, fairly often. I have a boyfriend though~ - San purrs, joining his little game.

Wooyoung smacks his butt with a hand full of shampoo.

- Oh, doll, he doesn't have to know~

San laughs and directs the showerhead right to his face in retaliation.

- Dumb ass bottom. I love you.

Wooyoung sticks his tongue out at him but inches closer to kiss his wet cheek.

- You weren't complaining about this 'dumb ass bottom' when you were balls deep in it yesterday-

San gasps.

- Yeah, well, you weren't complaining either!

- This fine ass of yours is mine tonight though. - Wooyoung claims casually as he rinses his hair. - It looks bigger. Have you been working out your glutes, baby?

San scoffs.

- Yes, and they're hurting. You're not getting anywhere near them tonight.

Wooyoung pouts in sympathy and steps out of his shower, having finished his own washing, and hops into San's to help him. He gently takes the soap and runs his hands over San's body with a tenderness that could only be found between soulmates.

- Oh, poor Sannie~ Working so hard~- he leaves a kiss to his collarbone and smiles, a hint of pride glistening in his eyes. - You know you're perfect, right, love? No matter how much you work out or how you look like. It's important to me that you know that.

San hums, tired, and leans against the tiles, happy to let Wooyoung clean him up even if he wasn't the one who worked out just now.

- I know, you tell me plenty. But I like it.

Wooyoung kisses him tenderly under the stream and hisses as the water turns cold.

- Come on, let's go. Yunho's going to skin us alive if we're late to practice.

San whines, content in just staying all mushy and lazy in his boyfriend's arms. He lets Wooyoung dry him up and dress him, feeling pliant and floaty, slipping into his preferred hazy state faster than usual. Wooyoung indulges him, always attentive to his partner's tells, whispering soft praises and leaving tender kisses all over his skin. He feels so honored whenever San gets like this, when he lets go completely because he knows Wooyoung would be there to catch him.

- My bestest boy. Are you feeling all soft and cloudy, Sannie? - he coos, coaxing him into wearing one of his own hoodies. - That's okay. You'll need to come up in a bit, but for now we can just enjoy it, yeah?

He grabs the small bag he keeps in his gym locker and gets his skincare products out. With some struggle, he hoists San up - the bigger man simply holding onto his neck as he's lifted - and over the sink, slotting between his legs and nuzzling their noses together in an affectionate display.

He hums a random melody as he goes over San's skincare routine, that he knew by heart by now. It's wasn't practical by any means, as they would still have a day full of practice and classes and fittings before taking another shower and only then going to sleep, but Wooyoung wasn't doing this for San's skin.

He was doing it for his heart.

His fingers glide across the sunkissed skin, soft and unhurried, applying step after step of the routine. He smiles as he notices a small pimple starting to appear next to his hairline and gently covers it up with a purple, star-shaped pimple patch. San's eyes flutter closed, his mind going blissfully quiet, chest feeling all warm at being cared for like this. When Wooyoung's done, he wets his fingers with the cold tap water and gently starts rubbing it on San's wrists to bring him back to himself.

- Hi, baby. - he kisses San's temple softly. - You back with me now?

San hums, eyes open in small crescents as he looks down at his lover. He gently presses him between his strong thighs in a silent thank you, and Wooyoung caresses his legs tenderly.

- Come on, big boy. Are you still feeling a bit hazy? Shall we take the elevator?

That effectively does the job of waking him up for real. San, Yeosang and Mingi had a bet going on who could spend the longer only using the stairs to move around the company building, and so far Mingi was winning by three occurrences.

San would never admit defeat.

He slaps Wooyoung's ass as he runs past him, then thinks better of it. He comes back, steals a kiss off his lips, and takes off running again towards the stairs.

- I'll get there before you do!

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

San is passing time on twitter while Wooyoung and Yunho get down some tricky steps in the practice room.

As soon as they're done, he blurts out:

- Young-ah. What are your thought on having a pussy?

Wooyoung keeps drinking his water like thsi was a normal conversation about the weather.

- Must be nice, having double the possibilities of being stuffed full. I'd miss fucking you though.

San nods gravelly.

- Yeah, I think so too. But having a pussy sometimes comes with having a period, and I'd definitely pass that.

Wooyoung grimaces.

- So real. Having a period in the great year of 2025? Unfathomable.

San nods towards his phone.

- Atinys seem to share your vision. Apparently, when they're having cramps, they project them onto us.

Wooyoung's brows shoot up and he comes closer.

- How so?

San shows him a thread of drawings of all of the members in different positions, all hurting or cursing or both, some carrying a hot pack or a plushie to hel ease the pain.

Wooyoung's eyes soften.

- Aish, our poor fans. I'd take all the pain away from them if I could.

San snorts and teases him.

- That sounds exactly like what a performative male would say.

Wooyoung slaps his shoulder.

- Keep this up and I'll perform insane things on your dick tonight!

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

San plops down on Wooyoung's bed before he even gets the chance when they finally get home.

- Young-ah. I have a proposal.

Wooyoung drops his bag and sits down on the floor, since he refuses to touch the bed in his outside clothes.

- Shoot.

San smirks mischievously.

- One week without sex.

Wooyoung glares daggers at him.

- Do you hate me, is that it?

- No, no, hear me out! - San offers, excited. - I asked Yunho to share his tag monitoring software. Our individual tags are barely growing. So, a deal. A whole week to dedicate ourselves entirely to the game. The one with the most tag growth by the end gets to top the other!

Wooyoung blinks, unimpressed.

- What fun is that? We can just decide it through rock-paper-scissors like grown men!

San sighs.

- You're not seeing the vision! - he gestures widely with his hands like he's pitching a revolutionary idea on Shark Tank. - We'll be both pent up, and horny, and therefore more lethal in every public appeareance. Atinys will have no choice but to look at us!

Wooyoung grimaces.

- I still think this is a bit drastic-

San stomps his foot like a spoiled child.

- Come on, Yunho and Mingi are doing it too. We gotta show them who's the real!

Wooyoung's eyes darken.

- Well, then. Counterproposal: whoever gets the most tag growth by the end gets to top the other three.

San's cheeks blush, but he nods, eager.

- Real fucking deal!