(for rotatingcookie) Finding Mr. Right
For: rotatingcookie
Title: Finding Mr. Right
Pairing: Jongin/Chanyeol/Sehun
Word Count: ~5,000 words
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jongin is trying to find where he belongs, but he doesn’t realize that he’s always been right where he should be.
Author’s Note: Hi! I hope you enjoy this fic, as I had a great time writing it. This is such a great ot3, so I’m glad I got the chance to try them out. I hope I did them justice. I know you preferred nc-17; I couldn’t quite make it fit, but maybe after reveals if you’d like there could be a future sequel type smut thing maybe? Please enjoy!
The wind picked up, tossing multicolored leaves through the air and carrying a chill across the quad. Jongin fussed with his hair, trying to stop the breeze from forcing his over long fringe into his eyes and blocking his view of the tablet in his lap. Preoccupied with focusing on the article, he didn’t notice that his face had settled into a frown with brows furrowed and bottom lip tucked under his teeth, until thin fingers pushed at his forehead. He looked up to where Sehun was sitting two steps above him and scowled even harder at the lanky boy’s grin.
“Sehun, what the hell?”
“If you keep frowning like that you’re going to end up with your face stuck in that position. And then what would we do, if suddenly the world was deprived of your smile?”
Sehun’s grin started to stretch even wider, and Jongin quickly averted his eyes to the wooden double doors of the library at the top of the staircase. Even as he fought to not smile at the implied compliment he could feel his cheeks heating up, and tugged the gray peacoat tighter around himself.
“Fuck, you’re cute when you blush.”
“I’m not blushing you asshole, it’s just cold. My cheeks are numb; I can’t even feel them.”
It was a bald-faced lie with not an ounce of truth and Jongin knew Sehun didn’t believe it. And yet, he still scootched down the steps until he was sitting on the same stair as Jongin and slid the dark blue scarf from where it was tucked under the lapels of his own tan jacket. Jongin began to shift away and insist that Sehun keep his scarf, but aborted the motion when his tablet slipped precariously down his thighs. Frozen in place until he’d secured the technology in hand, he missed his chance to protest. He sighed and was immediately wrapped up entirely in Sehun’s scent- the cinnamon spice of his body soap and something else distinctly him. His eyes drifted shut for a moment, but a shout from across the quad broke the moment. A glance out of the corner of his eye confirmed that though Sehun was staring straight ahead he was smirking like he knew what Jongin had been doing. Oddly enough Jongin didn’t mind that he’d probably been found out.
The air shifted like a layer of reality had been pulled back, leaving the space between them tense with potential. Sehun turned his head to face Jongin at the soft whisper of his name and leaned in. He swiped his tongue across his lips, once out of habit and a second time just to see Jongin’s eyes follow the movement again. He waited, ready for whatever the older boy was going to say, unaware that he was holding his breath.
anD IIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOOOOOOU-
The two boys sprang away from each other, startled by the blasting music. Sehun twisted hard, flinging his arm out to paw at the messenger bag still resting on the step above them. He pulled out his phone and answered the call, cutting off Whitney without checking the caller id. Jongin curled in on himself, feeling foolish for even trying. He knew who that ringtone was for, just like Sehun knew.
“Hey! Yeah, I’m kinda busy right now; a friend and I are studying on the library steps. Or rather, we’re supposed to be studying, but you know how that goes.”
Jongin slipped his tablet into his own shoulder bag and snapped the buckle in the center. Standing he unwrapped the scarf from around his neck; it got caught on his silver chain necklace and it almost felt as if the scarf was as reluctant to part from him as he was to part from it. As he detangled himself, Sehun looked up and saw him packing.
“Uh, hold on- hey wait, why are you leaving? We still have time to-”
Jongin waved his hands dismissively and hoped that constant motion would hide that they were shaking.
“Sorry,” he whispered, “I just remembered I have a thing to do in the science complex; I gotta go.”
“Oh, well then let me walk you there. I can-”
Jongin set his hand on Sehun’s shoulder and gently pushed him back into a sitting position, mind firmly focused on anything other than how broad and warm Sehun felt under his palm.
“It’s fine. Stay, talk on the phone. I’ll see you Wednesday in psych.” And with that Jongin turned and walked down the rest of the stairs. He moved quickly, careful not to break into a sprint until he was sure Sehun couldn’t see him anymore. Sehun had never said he had a boyfriend, but Jongin saw the way his face lit up whenever that particular ringtone came on, the hearts where the other person’s name should have been. How could he have forgotten?
“Sehun? You still there?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah I’m here. Chanyeol, you call at the most inopportune times, I swear; I’m pretty sure this super cute boy was about to tell me he liked me!”
“Oh really? Do you like him?”
Sehun scoffed. “Please. Would I be anywhere near a library to study if I didn’t like him?”
“Right, right, libraries are for research and for midday naps, you’ve told me before; please don’t explain it again.”
Just then the breeze brushed through once more before dying out, managing to push the clouds that had been blocking the sun away. Sehun stretched out and sprawled himself across the stairs in the warm light, and then sighed into the phone.
“Let me guess: the friend you were with is the same kid from your psychology class?”
“Chanyeol. He’s so cute, and kind, and smart, and shy. The three of us like a lot of the same bands, and the same tv shows, and he likes waffles better than pancakes just like I do. And he likes comics! Unfortunately he shares your inferior taste and likes Marvel better than DC, but-”
“Oh Sehun, fight me.”
“Okay, okay, but really,” Sehun laughed at the vehemence of Chanyeol’s words. “Really, though; we’ve been hanging out for about five weeks and I think he could be the one.”
“Do you even know if he likes boys?”
“What part of “he was about to confess to me when you called” do you not understand? There is nothing subtle about my flirting and he always flirts back or blushes. Fuck, it’s adorable when his face goes all red; I can’t wait till you meet him.”
“Sehun, sweetheart,” Chanyeol’s voice was soft and fond, “you’re not totally sure he’s even into men, and it’s not like dating you is as simple as just being your boyfriend. This is a lot to ask of someone.”
“I know, but you’ll see. Just wait till you meet him. You’ll fall for him right away, just like I did, and he’ll fall for you, because you’re amazing. I think this could work.”
Even over the phone he could hear the smile in Sehun’s voice with his next words.
“I think we could be happy.”
Sitting at the computer in his apartment, Chanyeol sighs. For Sehun’s sake, for his own sake, for this other boy’s sake, he hoped Sehun was right.
∞
“So, class, for two lollipops of any flavor, who wants to explain to us what Gestalt theory is?”
Jongin looked down at his notebook and rolled his pencil in his fingers, careful not to make eye contact. History and Systems of Psychology was by far the driest psychology class he had ever taken, but the overly excited grad student that taught them made it bearable with his liberal use of Star Trek analogies, internet memes vaguely related to the lesson, and cat videos. That didn’t make review day any less nerve wracking as Minseok moved around the room with a bucket full of dollar store candy. Class was barely eight minutes in and Minseok was already out of willing volunteers; Jongin could only sigh. What else did the man expect at 8:30 in the morning? Someone settled into the seat next to him and shook him out of his mind with their movement.
“Hey, Jongin!” the happy whisper came close to his ear, warm breath forcing him to fight down a shiver.
Jongin was careful not to lean too far into his classmate as he whispered back, “Hey, Sehun.”
Unfortunately, subtly was not Jongin’s strong suit, and Sehun noticed his studied distance immediately. Trying to avoid the confrontation he knew was coming he sacrificed a bit to lean closer and mutter, “Minseok’s coming, Minseok’s coming, shh,” before curling further into his seat. Sehun immediately did the same and they both held their breath when Minseok stopped adjacent to their row until he called on a girl three seats down.
“You! With the lovely yellow beanie; I’ll give you this lollipop in my hand right now if you’d just tell the class which school of thought was Gestalt’s contemporary rival.”
Jongin and Sehun waited with bated breath for the girl to answer, hoping she would get it correct so Minseok would move on.
“Um, from our notes,” she said while flipping notebook pages far too fast to actually be reading, “it seems that Gestalt ideas were most often in conflict with behaviorism.”
“You’re absolutely correct; catch!”
The two boys sighed together in relief as Minseok walked off, expounding on the differences between the two psychological perspectives. They slouched against each other and Sehun raised one eyebrow. The comfortable way Jongin rested on his shoulder was markedly different from the way Jongin had leaned away when he first walked in. He jostled his arm gently to get Jongin to sit up, forcing back the grin that tried to break out as Jongin pouted.
“Not that I don’t love our cuddles, but you seemed bothered when I came in. What’s up?”
Sehun felt Jongin tense up beside him and almost regretted asking.
“Nothing is wrong.”
Sehun didn’t believe him. But, if there’s one thing he’s learned about Jongin the past month, it’s that pushing would get him nowhere. He had to word his next question carefully if he wanted to get an inkling of what was going on in Jongin’s head. He’s sure Jongin cared for him as much as he cared for Jongin, but there was something holding him back, and Sehun was determined to figure out what it was standing between him and happily ever after.
“How’d your thing in the science complex go?”
“What?” Jongin stuttered before he caught himself, remembering the lie he’d tossed Sehun to escape last Saturday. “Oh, yeah, went great. We got everything we needed to do done, it was fantastic. Really boring though, I hate talking about it. It was really hard but we got it all together in the end; don’t even with asking me to explain though it was tedious and complex.” He was rambling. He knew it and Sehun knew it and when Sehun saved him from himself by cutting him off with a low hold on, Minseok even though Minseok’s on the other side of the room, Jongin fell for him a little bit more.
They stood side by side packing up, review day thankfully behind them, when Sehun caught hold of Jongin’s elbow.
“Hey, that friend who called me while we were on the library steps likes a lot of the same stuff you’re into. We should all get together and hang out when we’re done with classes for the day. You don’t have lab this afternoon, right?”
At the mention of Sehun’s ‘friend’ Jongin tensed the slightest bit, and then started packing faster. His eyes stay glued to his feet as he declined.
“Sorry, I have a lot of homework. Papers and stuff to write, you know how it is; I don’t know when I’m gonna be free to hang out for a while.”
Jongin wanted nothing less in this world than he wants to meet Sehun’s boyfriend. The boyfriend he could never seem to remember exists. He could only be mad at himself, sure that Sehun was just friendly and blunt and he was the one reading too much into it, mistaking it for flirtation. Sehun wasn’t his to have and yet he’d allowed himself to get caught up and he knew that if he looked Sehun in the eye right then the taller boy would see nothing but his heartbreak. He speed shuffled out of the room with his eyes glued to the floor and never looked up to see Sehun deflate at his rejection.
∞
Shaken by the idea of having to watch Sehun and his boyfriend act like a couple, Jongin headed to his favorite computer lab to get some work done. It was empty, as usual, except for the grad student seated behind the desk front and center in the room. Jongin looked up to give his customary hey to the short girl who sits there when his words caught in his throat. The small girl with the high ponytail was gone, and in her place sat one of the most attractive men Jongin had ever seen in his life. The man had red-gold hair that fell around his head in curls so loose they were almost waves. The shorter hair at his temples curled around large ears that Jongin found adorable (since when did he notice people’s ears?). He had on dark horn rimmed glasses with wide black arms, and when he looked up at Jongin and greeted him hello in a voice so deep it had got to be coming from the floor beneath Jongin’s feet, a voice he could feel resonate all the way up his spine, Jongin wondered for the first time if he could let Sehun go.
“Hey; you okay there… what’s your name?”
The man with the deep voice was peering over his classes at him with concern, and it reminded Jongin that when people greet you it’s generally customary to respond.
“Um, yes Jongin hello. Or- hello I’m alright and Jongin. I mean! Hello to you too; yes I’m okay there. Here. I’m fine. I’m Jongin.”
He was blushing, he knew he was, and he cut himself off to rush over to his usual computer. Jongin shook the mouse to wake the monitor up and logged in, eyes focused on the books in his backpack while his fingers flew across the keyboard. After locating and retrieving the materials he needed from his bag Jongin organized the work station around him; finally calm he looked up at his monitor… and made eye contact with Hot Grad Student. His preferred computer was directly in front of the monitor desk, a subtle attempt on his part to have some sort of company while he worked without actually talking to anyone. Internally, Jongin cursed the autopilot his brain goes on when he’s flustered, and then whined because now he can see the upper half of Hot Grad Student’s face over the top of the screen. At least his chuckle, loud in the quiet room, seemed more amused than creeped out.
Jongin forced his eyes down and drags the mouse to the internet browser’s icon. It was gonna be a long evening.
∞
Two weeks later found Jongin rushing to get to the computer lab as his phone vibrated in his hand.
From: Hunnie
Ay, you wanna grab lunch?
Jongin told himself he didn’t, and that he would rather be in the lab working, before texting as much to Sehun. The Hot Grad Student, Chanyeol, had taken over supervising the room after switching schedules with the previous worker. High Ponytail Girl apparently had a research project she needed to sink more time into, and supervising the computer lab in the mornings put her more in sync with her graduate advisor’s schedule. Jongin wasn’t sure what his heart was doing, but he didn’t care. He needed to move on from his crush on Sehun, and he liked Chanyeol well enough. In the fourteen days since they’d met, Jongin and Chanyeol had discovered that they both shared an affinity for massive multiplayer online role playing games and started running Guild War 2 together.
Chanyeol told terrible jokes full of puns that Jongin found hilarious, and had memorized all of Jongin’s favorite snacks and drinks by their fourth meeting. Spending time together felt like a special secret; it wasn’t, of course, and every now and then some other haggard university student would drift in to print something out. But it never put a damper on Jongin’s spirits. Conversation with Chanyeol was easy, even as he was working, and he seemed to get through his assignments more fluidly so he could give Chanyeol his undivided attention after. It was during one such conversation that Chanyeol told him that Marvel was the best and Deadpool was the greatest comic character to read; he was only stating facts giving his opinion, but to Jongin’s ears it sounded like a declaration of love and a marriage proposal. Chanyeol was just too perfect.
He walked inside the computer lab and pocketed his phone. Chanyeol looked up with a smile to greet him and Jongin swore his stomach did a backflip and kicked him in the ribcage.
“Hey, Nini. Who ya textin?”
“Oh, a friend of mine.”
“A good friend? Nice guy? You aren’t getting railroaded into friendships because of your shyness are you?”
Jongin laughed at the good natured ribbing.
“Actually that’s exactly how we met. He decided we would be buddies, and he’s been right so far. He’s a good friend, and a nice guy. Kinda pushy, a bit brash, hopelessly deluded into loving DC, but. It’s not possible to actually be perfect, is it?”
Jongin looked at Chanyeol and saw an amused grin, both of the grad student’s eyebrows nearly hiding in his fringe. The heat was immediate as he flushed. This was the third time Jongin had accidentally gone on a tangent about Sehun in front of Chanyeol and he was ready to kick himself. Who gushed about one of their crushes to their other crush?
“Sounds like you like this guy.”
Oh, he had to salvage this.
“Eh. I did, but the way he acts, it seems like he’s got a boyfriend. That was never going anywhere, and besides, I like someone else right now.”
It took all his courage to look Chanyeol in the eye, as he said the last bit, but the smirk he got in return was worth it.
It was only later, at night, as he was falling asleep and couldn’t quite direct his thoughts as well that his brain betrayed him. It was at night that he imagined Sehun and Chanyeol and himself in the middle. Only in the dark did he admit that he was nowhere near over Sehun, and felt equally for them both.
∞
Chanyeol was just rinsing the last of the conditioner out of his hair when he heard the front door creak open. He waited for Sehun to barge into the bathroom and demand a hug like he always did if Chanyeol was showering when he came home. It’s silly and messy and it gets the floor all wet but the smile on Sehun’s face when he hands Chanyeol a towel, unconcerned about the soaked front of his own t shirt, is so worth it that Chanyeol’s started to look forward to giving out wet hugs. The minutes stretch longer and longer, and then he’s cutting off the water and speed drying. He didn’t bother getting fully dressed; he only pulled on a pair of sweatpants before heading out to find his boyfriend.
“Sehun? Babe, where are you?” He wasn’t in the living room or the bedroom, and just as Chanyeol started to wonder if he imagined the front door opening at all a muffled whine floated out from under the laundry piled in their arm chair.
Chanyeol smiles as he moves aside threadbare t shirts and warm shorts until he finds Sehun’s head. His hair is mussed and his eyes are big and glassy; Chanyeol felt vaguely guilty over how cute he found sad Sehun but he set that thought aside, opting instead to cradle the younger man’s cheek in one hand.
“Why are you buried in laundry?”
“The buzzer on the dryer was about to go off when I walked in. I’d thought that maybe the warmth would sooth my broken heart.”
Sehun always was melodramatic. Careful not to crush the clean clothes and force wrinkles, Chanyeol dug Sehun out of the pile and carried him over to the couch.
“You’re too tall for this.”
“No one told you to move me. Put me back and leave me to my misery.”
With an eyeroll and a significant burst of effort Chanyeol reached the couch and managed to maneuver till he’s tucked into the corner of the couch and the arm rest with a lapful of lanky whiny boyfriend.
“What is it?”
Chanyeol felt warmer than the clothes did, and smelled like apple bodywash. Sehun pressed his face into the crook of his neck and inhaled before speaking, careful to modulate his tone so his voice didn’t crack.
“He has a crush. On someone. Someone not me.”
“Aw, sweetheart…”
“No, no you told me so. I just don’t understand. He liked me, I know he did; he still does. But something kept making him pull away, and I didn’t try to push it because I figured I had time to work things out. And now I’ll never know why.”
“Look, Sehun, sometimes things aren’t meant to be. And even if they are, they don’t always happen right when you want them to.” Chanyeol pushed him until he could look Sehun in the eye. “You were a good friend and respected his boundaries, and there’s nothing bad about that.”
“I was arrogant. I was patient out of respect for his feelings but I can’t deny- I never once considered that it wouldn’t be me, wouldn’t be us. And that was stupid. He’s so cute and caring, of course someone else with the balls to make it happen was going to notice.”
“Hey, I told you, none of that kind of talk.” It was quite between them for a moment while Chanyeol considered Sehun’s profile, eyes roaming down to the hands fidgeting in his lap. “How about this: I’ll take off work tonight and we can watch movies and snuggle, but only if you promise to remember that you didn’t do anything wrong or inadequate.”
Sehun stilled. Chanyeol could see him contemplating, weighing his love for movies nights against the deep urge he held to take responsibility for everything, even things beyond his control.
“Can we have ice cream?”
“Sehun, we can have whatever you like.”
Chanyeol should have expected the strong grip around his neck, but the hug caught him off guard nonetheless.
“No, I don’t want you to miss work for me. It’s enough that you’re willing to, honestly. Just. Let me rant about my lost love?”
Chanyeol looped his arms around Sehun’s waist and leaned back. “About this lost love- how are you sure he likes someone else?”
“I know my best friend, what do you mean how am I sure?” The side eye Sehun was giving Chanyeol was lethal, but years of exposure had made the taller man impervious.
“No really, what happened?”
“He keeps going on about some cool new grad student he plays PC games with. Guild War something. The way he was giggling and blushing was so cute, and I am incensed that it wasn’t directed at me. Or you.”
Chanyeol paused in his seat, and stared down at Sehun. The way he was staring started to make the younger man uncomfortable , and he said so. Chanyeol only laughed loud and long before kissing Sehun’s forehead.
“Babe, I know what’ll make you feel better. Or, at least, I have a hunch. What exactly is your psychology lover’s name?”
Sehun stared with wide eyes. “Have I really never said it? His name is Jongin. What does that have to do with cheering me up?”
Chanyeol only grinned.
“Clean up; I want you to come into the lab with me tonight.”
“Alright, but you have to shower again too. I want my wet hug.”
“Anything at all for you, love.”
∞
Jongin sat in his usual seat and pouted up at the clock. Chanyeol was twenty minutes late; it was entirely unlike him, and it was only as he sat there worried that Jongin realized he never got the older boy’s number. They only talked fact to face or over headsets in-game. He was about ready to give up and head home to mope without getting any work done when Chanyeol strode in. Jongin peered at him, wondering who he was talking to as he motioned for someone to stand out here, just for a second.
Before he could ask, Chanyeol faced him with a finger on his lips, motioning him not to talk. Chanyeol walked around till he was at the station beside Jongin’s and sat down.
“Nini, I figured something out today. I want you to stay calm alright?”
“Why; what’s going on?’
“I just need you to promise not freak out or close up on me; I know when you feel cornered you clam up and try to swallow your feelings- don’t. Can you do that for me?”
Jongin nodded, worried about what was coming but ultimately trusting Chanyeol.
“Alright. Nini, love, do you like me?”
“Yes,” came the soft whisper.
“Do you want to date me?”
Jongin tried to agree, but no sound would come out of his open mouth.
“You do, don’t you, but there’s someone else you want to date too. Your friend with the boyfriend?’
“Yes.” Jongin felt ashamed and he looked down, angry at himself for not being able to commit.
“Hey, hey, I said no clamming up. Now this is going to be a lot to take in. I like you too, and I would like to go out with you,” Chanyeol’s voice was soft as he held Jongin’s jaw in one hand to keep eye contact. “But I also have a boyfriend. And you’re going to meet him right now, because I believe he likes you very much. Babe! Come in now.”
Jongin could feel himself panicking; exactly what he’d tried to avoid with Sehun was happening to him anyway with Chanyeol. He could never catch a break. It felt like there was no air around him, when a voice interrupted all his thoughts.
“Holy fuck. Jonginnie?”
Jongin snapped his head up to see Sehun, and looked back and forth between him and Chanyeol, hardly daring to hope. Life couldn’t be this good, could it?
Sehun let out a peal of laughter.
“I knew it! Fuck, Chanyeol didn’t I say so? I said Jonginnie would love you and you’d love him. You guys didn’t even need me to figure it out!”
Jongin took in a breath he didn’t realize he’d been waiting for. He felt like for once, he didn’t have anything to wait for at all.
∞
The way the three of them fell together was effortless, but that didn’t mean the relationship was easy. Sehun volunteered to live in a hotel until Jongin’s lease ended the next month so no one felt like they were missing all the important things. That only lasted a week before they realized that even with different “homes” they all still spent more time curled up in the king sized bed in the apartment under Chanyeol’s name than anywhere else, and simply moved in. Sometimes Chanyeol got too stressed with grad school and Jongin and Sehun had to escape the heavy atmosphere in the apartment, but when they came back it was always to their favorite take out and sheepish apology. Sehun was occasionally too abrasive; Chanyeol found himself defending Jongin from barbs that barely nettled him and Jongin snapped at Sehun more than once on Chanyeol’s behalf. Sometimes Jongin still found himself feeling insecure and questioning if he could really fit into the four year old dynamic Sehun and Chanyeol had created. He knew the two of them had purposely built their relationship expecting a third person someday; it just seemed too easy and at times he felt more like a convenient jigsaw piece they’d locked into place than a boyfriend. Sehun and Chanyeol were always more than happy to pause their schedules to reaffirm their affection for Jongin, with gifts and hugs, with words and looks, with actions and smiles, with mouths and tongues and fingers.
And then one day, as they all sat at breakfast, Jongin noticed that a day on the calendar had once been circled in red, but since erased.
“Babe?”
Sehun stopped buttering his toast to look up across the table and Chanyeol paused, one arm stretched inside the refrigerator for the water pitcher. The two shared a smile before Chanyeol answered.
“Which one of us are you talking to, Nini?”
“Which ever one of you can tell me what’s supposed to be happening next week that’s been erased.”
Sehun glared Chanyeol down as he spoke to Jongin. “Nothing, Jonginnie, don’t stress about it.” It had taken so long for things to get as casual as they were, and he’d wanted the three of them to be together like this for so long. He’d fight anyone who messed with the tranquility they finally had, Chanyeol and Jongin were included.
Jongin looked back and forth between the two of them before his eyes lit up with understanding.
“Oh! It’s your anniversary isn’t it?”
“Jongin, please.” Sehun’s voice was small.
Chanyeol straightened and shut the fridge door. “Yes, Jongin, it is. But we’re not going to worry about that okay. We love you, and you love us, and the day the three of us got together is all we should focus on now.”
Sehun sent Chanyeol a grateful smile before they both looked over at Jongin. Chanyeol and Sehun weren’t really expecting any particular reaction from him, maybe that bashful smile and blush that always made them want to press him into the mattress until he was flushed all over. They didn’t expect to see him scowling.
“Hey, Nini, what’s wrong?”
“Jonginnie, why are you pissed?”
Jongin jabbed his fork in both their directions, back and forth as he spoke.
“Look here you fart knockers. I didn’t start dating you so you could hit a reset on your relationship, as if the milestones you two shared are somehow less significant because I wasn’t there. Now, your anniversary is important because if you hadn’t gotten together then you wouldn’t have realized you needed me and then you never would have found me.”
Chanyeol felt his heart swell a little; the things Jongin was saying were all the things he’d said to Sehun the week before, but they’d erred on the side of caution in case. To see Jongin this secure and confident in his place with them made him ecstatic; he only had to glance at Sehun to know he was thinking the same thing. The moment was heartfelt and warm, and so Jongin had to ruin it.
“Besides, our six month anniversary isn’t for another eight weeks and I want cake. You will celebrate your anniversary next week, and you will do it with a white sheet cake with chocolate frosting.”
Sehun gaped at Jongin as Chanyeol’s laughter rang out, trailing behind him as he left the kitchen to finish getting dressed for work; Jongin’s smile was smug as mouthed I’m not joking at Sehun.
“Kim Jongin, you adorable little shit.”
“Hunnie, I’m fine. Leave me the cake and go on a date with Chanyeol. It’s been awhile since you two did anything on your own.”
“Alright. I’ll miss you though.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Chanyeol placed his hands on Jongin’s shoulders in silent apology for startling him with his sudden presence, “we’ll go and have a good time and if we miss Nini too much, we can just come home and make love to him till he cries.”
“Once! I cried one time!”
Sehun stood up and stretched, “And we will never let that one time go. It was beautiful and perfect and I am going to find out what it was you liked so much and I’m gonna make you cry again.”
Jongin punched Sehun in the shoulder as he cleaned up his own dishes and got ready for school. He took a look around his home, at his family, and smiled. He finally felt settled.
Title: Finding Mr. Right
Pairing: Jongin/Chanyeol/Sehun
Word Count: ~5,000 words
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jongin is trying to find where he belongs, but he doesn’t realize that he’s always been right where he should be.
Author’s Note: Hi! I hope you enjoy this fic, as I had a great time writing it. This is such a great ot3, so I’m glad I got the chance to try them out. I hope I did them justice. I know you preferred nc-17; I couldn’t quite make it fit, but maybe after reveals if you’d like there could be a future sequel type smut thing maybe? Please enjoy!
The wind picked up, tossing multicolored leaves through the air and carrying a chill across the quad. Jongin fussed with his hair, trying to stop the breeze from forcing his over long fringe into his eyes and blocking his view of the tablet in his lap. Preoccupied with focusing on the article, he didn’t notice that his face had settled into a frown with brows furrowed and bottom lip tucked under his teeth, until thin fingers pushed at his forehead. He looked up to where Sehun was sitting two steps above him and scowled even harder at the lanky boy’s grin.
“Sehun, what the hell?”
“If you keep frowning like that you’re going to end up with your face stuck in that position. And then what would we do, if suddenly the world was deprived of your smile?”
Sehun’s grin started to stretch even wider, and Jongin quickly averted his eyes to the wooden double doors of the library at the top of the staircase. Even as he fought to not smile at the implied compliment he could feel his cheeks heating up, and tugged the gray peacoat tighter around himself.
“Fuck, you’re cute when you blush.”
“I’m not blushing you asshole, it’s just cold. My cheeks are numb; I can’t even feel them.”
It was a bald-faced lie with not an ounce of truth and Jongin knew Sehun didn’t believe it. And yet, he still scootched down the steps until he was sitting on the same stair as Jongin and slid the dark blue scarf from where it was tucked under the lapels of his own tan jacket. Jongin began to shift away and insist that Sehun keep his scarf, but aborted the motion when his tablet slipped precariously down his thighs. Frozen in place until he’d secured the technology in hand, he missed his chance to protest. He sighed and was immediately wrapped up entirely in Sehun’s scent- the cinnamon spice of his body soap and something else distinctly him. His eyes drifted shut for a moment, but a shout from across the quad broke the moment. A glance out of the corner of his eye confirmed that though Sehun was staring straight ahead he was smirking like he knew what Jongin had been doing. Oddly enough Jongin didn’t mind that he’d probably been found out.
The air shifted like a layer of reality had been pulled back, leaving the space between them tense with potential. Sehun turned his head to face Jongin at the soft whisper of his name and leaned in. He swiped his tongue across his lips, once out of habit and a second time just to see Jongin’s eyes follow the movement again. He waited, ready for whatever the older boy was going to say, unaware that he was holding his breath.
anD IIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOOOOOOU-
The two boys sprang away from each other, startled by the blasting music. Sehun twisted hard, flinging his arm out to paw at the messenger bag still resting on the step above them. He pulled out his phone and answered the call, cutting off Whitney without checking the caller id. Jongin curled in on himself, feeling foolish for even trying. He knew who that ringtone was for, just like Sehun knew.
“Hey! Yeah, I’m kinda busy right now; a friend and I are studying on the library steps. Or rather, we’re supposed to be studying, but you know how that goes.”
Jongin slipped his tablet into his own shoulder bag and snapped the buckle in the center. Standing he unwrapped the scarf from around his neck; it got caught on his silver chain necklace and it almost felt as if the scarf was as reluctant to part from him as he was to part from it. As he detangled himself, Sehun looked up and saw him packing.
“Uh, hold on- hey wait, why are you leaving? We still have time to-”
Jongin waved his hands dismissively and hoped that constant motion would hide that they were shaking.
“Sorry,” he whispered, “I just remembered I have a thing to do in the science complex; I gotta go.”
“Oh, well then let me walk you there. I can-”
Jongin set his hand on Sehun’s shoulder and gently pushed him back into a sitting position, mind firmly focused on anything other than how broad and warm Sehun felt under his palm.
“It’s fine. Stay, talk on the phone. I’ll see you Wednesday in psych.” And with that Jongin turned and walked down the rest of the stairs. He moved quickly, careful not to break into a sprint until he was sure Sehun couldn’t see him anymore. Sehun had never said he had a boyfriend, but Jongin saw the way his face lit up whenever that particular ringtone came on, the hearts where the other person’s name should have been. How could he have forgotten?
“Sehun? You still there?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah I’m here. Chanyeol, you call at the most inopportune times, I swear; I’m pretty sure this super cute boy was about to tell me he liked me!”
“Oh really? Do you like him?”
Sehun scoffed. “Please. Would I be anywhere near a library to study if I didn’t like him?”
“Right, right, libraries are for research and for midday naps, you’ve told me before; please don’t explain it again.”
Just then the breeze brushed through once more before dying out, managing to push the clouds that had been blocking the sun away. Sehun stretched out and sprawled himself across the stairs in the warm light, and then sighed into the phone.
“Let me guess: the friend you were with is the same kid from your psychology class?”
“Chanyeol. He’s so cute, and kind, and smart, and shy. The three of us like a lot of the same bands, and the same tv shows, and he likes waffles better than pancakes just like I do. And he likes comics! Unfortunately he shares your inferior taste and likes Marvel better than DC, but-”
“Oh Sehun, fight me.”
“Okay, okay, but really,” Sehun laughed at the vehemence of Chanyeol’s words. “Really, though; we’ve been hanging out for about five weeks and I think he could be the one.”
“Do you even know if he likes boys?”
“What part of “he was about to confess to me when you called” do you not understand? There is nothing subtle about my flirting and he always flirts back or blushes. Fuck, it’s adorable when his face goes all red; I can’t wait till you meet him.”
“Sehun, sweetheart,” Chanyeol’s voice was soft and fond, “you’re not totally sure he’s even into men, and it’s not like dating you is as simple as just being your boyfriend. This is a lot to ask of someone.”
“I know, but you’ll see. Just wait till you meet him. You’ll fall for him right away, just like I did, and he’ll fall for you, because you’re amazing. I think this could work.”
Even over the phone he could hear the smile in Sehun’s voice with his next words.
“I think we could be happy.”
Sitting at the computer in his apartment, Chanyeol sighs. For Sehun’s sake, for his own sake, for this other boy’s sake, he hoped Sehun was right.
∞
“So, class, for two lollipops of any flavor, who wants to explain to us what Gestalt theory is?”
Jongin looked down at his notebook and rolled his pencil in his fingers, careful not to make eye contact. History and Systems of Psychology was by far the driest psychology class he had ever taken, but the overly excited grad student that taught them made it bearable with his liberal use of Star Trek analogies, internet memes vaguely related to the lesson, and cat videos. That didn’t make review day any less nerve wracking as Minseok moved around the room with a bucket full of dollar store candy. Class was barely eight minutes in and Minseok was already out of willing volunteers; Jongin could only sigh. What else did the man expect at 8:30 in the morning? Someone settled into the seat next to him and shook him out of his mind with their movement.
“Hey, Jongin!” the happy whisper came close to his ear, warm breath forcing him to fight down a shiver.
Jongin was careful not to lean too far into his classmate as he whispered back, “Hey, Sehun.”
Unfortunately, subtly was not Jongin’s strong suit, and Sehun noticed his studied distance immediately. Trying to avoid the confrontation he knew was coming he sacrificed a bit to lean closer and mutter, “Minseok’s coming, Minseok’s coming, shh,” before curling further into his seat. Sehun immediately did the same and they both held their breath when Minseok stopped adjacent to their row until he called on a girl three seats down.
“You! With the lovely yellow beanie; I’ll give you this lollipop in my hand right now if you’d just tell the class which school of thought was Gestalt’s contemporary rival.”
Jongin and Sehun waited with bated breath for the girl to answer, hoping she would get it correct so Minseok would move on.
“Um, from our notes,” she said while flipping notebook pages far too fast to actually be reading, “it seems that Gestalt ideas were most often in conflict with behaviorism.”
“You’re absolutely correct; catch!”
The two boys sighed together in relief as Minseok walked off, expounding on the differences between the two psychological perspectives. They slouched against each other and Sehun raised one eyebrow. The comfortable way Jongin rested on his shoulder was markedly different from the way Jongin had leaned away when he first walked in. He jostled his arm gently to get Jongin to sit up, forcing back the grin that tried to break out as Jongin pouted.
“Not that I don’t love our cuddles, but you seemed bothered when I came in. What’s up?”
Sehun felt Jongin tense up beside him and almost regretted asking.
“Nothing is wrong.”
Sehun didn’t believe him. But, if there’s one thing he’s learned about Jongin the past month, it’s that pushing would get him nowhere. He had to word his next question carefully if he wanted to get an inkling of what was going on in Jongin’s head. He’s sure Jongin cared for him as much as he cared for Jongin, but there was something holding him back, and Sehun was determined to figure out what it was standing between him and happily ever after.
“How’d your thing in the science complex go?”
“What?” Jongin stuttered before he caught himself, remembering the lie he’d tossed Sehun to escape last Saturday. “Oh, yeah, went great. We got everything we needed to do done, it was fantastic. Really boring though, I hate talking about it. It was really hard but we got it all together in the end; don’t even with asking me to explain though it was tedious and complex.” He was rambling. He knew it and Sehun knew it and when Sehun saved him from himself by cutting him off with a low hold on, Minseok even though Minseok’s on the other side of the room, Jongin fell for him a little bit more.
They stood side by side packing up, review day thankfully behind them, when Sehun caught hold of Jongin’s elbow.
“Hey, that friend who called me while we were on the library steps likes a lot of the same stuff you’re into. We should all get together and hang out when we’re done with classes for the day. You don’t have lab this afternoon, right?”
At the mention of Sehun’s ‘friend’ Jongin tensed the slightest bit, and then started packing faster. His eyes stay glued to his feet as he declined.
“Sorry, I have a lot of homework. Papers and stuff to write, you know how it is; I don’t know when I’m gonna be free to hang out for a while.”
Jongin wanted nothing less in this world than he wants to meet Sehun’s boyfriend. The boyfriend he could never seem to remember exists. He could only be mad at himself, sure that Sehun was just friendly and blunt and he was the one reading too much into it, mistaking it for flirtation. Sehun wasn’t his to have and yet he’d allowed himself to get caught up and he knew that if he looked Sehun in the eye right then the taller boy would see nothing but his heartbreak. He speed shuffled out of the room with his eyes glued to the floor and never looked up to see Sehun deflate at his rejection.
∞
Shaken by the idea of having to watch Sehun and his boyfriend act like a couple, Jongin headed to his favorite computer lab to get some work done. It was empty, as usual, except for the grad student seated behind the desk front and center in the room. Jongin looked up to give his customary hey to the short girl who sits there when his words caught in his throat. The small girl with the high ponytail was gone, and in her place sat one of the most attractive men Jongin had ever seen in his life. The man had red-gold hair that fell around his head in curls so loose they were almost waves. The shorter hair at his temples curled around large ears that Jongin found adorable (since when did he notice people’s ears?). He had on dark horn rimmed glasses with wide black arms, and when he looked up at Jongin and greeted him hello in a voice so deep it had got to be coming from the floor beneath Jongin’s feet, a voice he could feel resonate all the way up his spine, Jongin wondered for the first time if he could let Sehun go.
“Hey; you okay there… what’s your name?”
The man with the deep voice was peering over his classes at him with concern, and it reminded Jongin that when people greet you it’s generally customary to respond.
“Um, yes Jongin hello. Or- hello I’m alright and Jongin. I mean! Hello to you too; yes I’m okay there. Here. I’m fine. I’m Jongin.”
He was blushing, he knew he was, and he cut himself off to rush over to his usual computer. Jongin shook the mouse to wake the monitor up and logged in, eyes focused on the books in his backpack while his fingers flew across the keyboard. After locating and retrieving the materials he needed from his bag Jongin organized the work station around him; finally calm he looked up at his monitor… and made eye contact with Hot Grad Student. His preferred computer was directly in front of the monitor desk, a subtle attempt on his part to have some sort of company while he worked without actually talking to anyone. Internally, Jongin cursed the autopilot his brain goes on when he’s flustered, and then whined because now he can see the upper half of Hot Grad Student’s face over the top of the screen. At least his chuckle, loud in the quiet room, seemed more amused than creeped out.
Jongin forced his eyes down and drags the mouse to the internet browser’s icon. It was gonna be a long evening.
∞
Two weeks later found Jongin rushing to get to the computer lab as his phone vibrated in his hand.
From: Hunnie
Ay, you wanna grab lunch?
Jongin told himself he didn’t, and that he would rather be in the lab working, before texting as much to Sehun. The Hot Grad Student, Chanyeol, had taken over supervising the room after switching schedules with the previous worker. High Ponytail Girl apparently had a research project she needed to sink more time into, and supervising the computer lab in the mornings put her more in sync with her graduate advisor’s schedule. Jongin wasn’t sure what his heart was doing, but he didn’t care. He needed to move on from his crush on Sehun, and he liked Chanyeol well enough. In the fourteen days since they’d met, Jongin and Chanyeol had discovered that they both shared an affinity for massive multiplayer online role playing games and started running Guild War 2 together.
Chanyeol told terrible jokes full of puns that Jongin found hilarious, and had memorized all of Jongin’s favorite snacks and drinks by their fourth meeting. Spending time together felt like a special secret; it wasn’t, of course, and every now and then some other haggard university student would drift in to print something out. But it never put a damper on Jongin’s spirits. Conversation with Chanyeol was easy, even as he was working, and he seemed to get through his assignments more fluidly so he could give Chanyeol his undivided attention after. It was during one such conversation that Chanyeol told him that Marvel was the best and Deadpool was the greatest comic character to read; he was only stating facts giving his opinion, but to Jongin’s ears it sounded like a declaration of love and a marriage proposal. Chanyeol was just too perfect.
He walked inside the computer lab and pocketed his phone. Chanyeol looked up with a smile to greet him and Jongin swore his stomach did a backflip and kicked him in the ribcage.
“Hey, Nini. Who ya textin?”
“Oh, a friend of mine.”
“A good friend? Nice guy? You aren’t getting railroaded into friendships because of your shyness are you?”
Jongin laughed at the good natured ribbing.
“Actually that’s exactly how we met. He decided we would be buddies, and he’s been right so far. He’s a good friend, and a nice guy. Kinda pushy, a bit brash, hopelessly deluded into loving DC, but. It’s not possible to actually be perfect, is it?”
Jongin looked at Chanyeol and saw an amused grin, both of the grad student’s eyebrows nearly hiding in his fringe. The heat was immediate as he flushed. This was the third time Jongin had accidentally gone on a tangent about Sehun in front of Chanyeol and he was ready to kick himself. Who gushed about one of their crushes to their other crush?
“Sounds like you like this guy.”
Oh, he had to salvage this.
“Eh. I did, but the way he acts, it seems like he’s got a boyfriend. That was never going anywhere, and besides, I like someone else right now.”
It took all his courage to look Chanyeol in the eye, as he said the last bit, but the smirk he got in return was worth it.
It was only later, at night, as he was falling asleep and couldn’t quite direct his thoughts as well that his brain betrayed him. It was at night that he imagined Sehun and Chanyeol and himself in the middle. Only in the dark did he admit that he was nowhere near over Sehun, and felt equally for them both.
∞
Chanyeol was just rinsing the last of the conditioner out of his hair when he heard the front door creak open. He waited for Sehun to barge into the bathroom and demand a hug like he always did if Chanyeol was showering when he came home. It’s silly and messy and it gets the floor all wet but the smile on Sehun’s face when he hands Chanyeol a towel, unconcerned about the soaked front of his own t shirt, is so worth it that Chanyeol’s started to look forward to giving out wet hugs. The minutes stretch longer and longer, and then he’s cutting off the water and speed drying. He didn’t bother getting fully dressed; he only pulled on a pair of sweatpants before heading out to find his boyfriend.
“Sehun? Babe, where are you?” He wasn’t in the living room or the bedroom, and just as Chanyeol started to wonder if he imagined the front door opening at all a muffled whine floated out from under the laundry piled in their arm chair.
Chanyeol smiles as he moves aside threadbare t shirts and warm shorts until he finds Sehun’s head. His hair is mussed and his eyes are big and glassy; Chanyeol felt vaguely guilty over how cute he found sad Sehun but he set that thought aside, opting instead to cradle the younger man’s cheek in one hand.
“Why are you buried in laundry?”
“The buzzer on the dryer was about to go off when I walked in. I’d thought that maybe the warmth would sooth my broken heart.”
Sehun always was melodramatic. Careful not to crush the clean clothes and force wrinkles, Chanyeol dug Sehun out of the pile and carried him over to the couch.
“You’re too tall for this.”
“No one told you to move me. Put me back and leave me to my misery.”
With an eyeroll and a significant burst of effort Chanyeol reached the couch and managed to maneuver till he’s tucked into the corner of the couch and the arm rest with a lapful of lanky whiny boyfriend.
“What is it?”
Chanyeol felt warmer than the clothes did, and smelled like apple bodywash. Sehun pressed his face into the crook of his neck and inhaled before speaking, careful to modulate his tone so his voice didn’t crack.
“He has a crush. On someone. Someone not me.”
“Aw, sweetheart…”
“No, no you told me so. I just don’t understand. He liked me, I know he did; he still does. But something kept making him pull away, and I didn’t try to push it because I figured I had time to work things out. And now I’ll never know why.”
“Look, Sehun, sometimes things aren’t meant to be. And even if they are, they don’t always happen right when you want them to.” Chanyeol pushed him until he could look Sehun in the eye. “You were a good friend and respected his boundaries, and there’s nothing bad about that.”
“I was arrogant. I was patient out of respect for his feelings but I can’t deny- I never once considered that it wouldn’t be me, wouldn’t be us. And that was stupid. He’s so cute and caring, of course someone else with the balls to make it happen was going to notice.”
“Hey, I told you, none of that kind of talk.” It was quite between them for a moment while Chanyeol considered Sehun’s profile, eyes roaming down to the hands fidgeting in his lap. “How about this: I’ll take off work tonight and we can watch movies and snuggle, but only if you promise to remember that you didn’t do anything wrong or inadequate.”
Sehun stilled. Chanyeol could see him contemplating, weighing his love for movies nights against the deep urge he held to take responsibility for everything, even things beyond his control.
“Can we have ice cream?”
“Sehun, we can have whatever you like.”
Chanyeol should have expected the strong grip around his neck, but the hug caught him off guard nonetheless.
“No, I don’t want you to miss work for me. It’s enough that you’re willing to, honestly. Just. Let me rant about my lost love?”
Chanyeol looped his arms around Sehun’s waist and leaned back. “About this lost love- how are you sure he likes someone else?”
“I know my best friend, what do you mean how am I sure?” The side eye Sehun was giving Chanyeol was lethal, but years of exposure had made the taller man impervious.
“No really, what happened?”
“He keeps going on about some cool new grad student he plays PC games with. Guild War something. The way he was giggling and blushing was so cute, and I am incensed that it wasn’t directed at me. Or you.”
Chanyeol paused in his seat, and stared down at Sehun. The way he was staring started to make the younger man uncomfortable , and he said so. Chanyeol only laughed loud and long before kissing Sehun’s forehead.
“Babe, I know what’ll make you feel better. Or, at least, I have a hunch. What exactly is your psychology lover’s name?”
Sehun stared with wide eyes. “Have I really never said it? His name is Jongin. What does that have to do with cheering me up?”
Chanyeol only grinned.
“Clean up; I want you to come into the lab with me tonight.”
“Alright, but you have to shower again too. I want my wet hug.”
“Anything at all for you, love.”
∞
Jongin sat in his usual seat and pouted up at the clock. Chanyeol was twenty minutes late; it was entirely unlike him, and it was only as he sat there worried that Jongin realized he never got the older boy’s number. They only talked fact to face or over headsets in-game. He was about ready to give up and head home to mope without getting any work done when Chanyeol strode in. Jongin peered at him, wondering who he was talking to as he motioned for someone to stand out here, just for a second.
Before he could ask, Chanyeol faced him with a finger on his lips, motioning him not to talk. Chanyeol walked around till he was at the station beside Jongin’s and sat down.
“Nini, I figured something out today. I want you to stay calm alright?”
“Why; what’s going on?’
“I just need you to promise not freak out or close up on me; I know when you feel cornered you clam up and try to swallow your feelings- don’t. Can you do that for me?”
Jongin nodded, worried about what was coming but ultimately trusting Chanyeol.
“Alright. Nini, love, do you like me?”
“Yes,” came the soft whisper.
“Do you want to date me?”
Jongin tried to agree, but no sound would come out of his open mouth.
“You do, don’t you, but there’s someone else you want to date too. Your friend with the boyfriend?’
“Yes.” Jongin felt ashamed and he looked down, angry at himself for not being able to commit.
“Hey, hey, I said no clamming up. Now this is going to be a lot to take in. I like you too, and I would like to go out with you,” Chanyeol’s voice was soft as he held Jongin’s jaw in one hand to keep eye contact. “But I also have a boyfriend. And you’re going to meet him right now, because I believe he likes you very much. Babe! Come in now.”
Jongin could feel himself panicking; exactly what he’d tried to avoid with Sehun was happening to him anyway with Chanyeol. He could never catch a break. It felt like there was no air around him, when a voice interrupted all his thoughts.
“Holy fuck. Jonginnie?”
Jongin snapped his head up to see Sehun, and looked back and forth between him and Chanyeol, hardly daring to hope. Life couldn’t be this good, could it?
Sehun let out a peal of laughter.
“I knew it! Fuck, Chanyeol didn’t I say so? I said Jonginnie would love you and you’d love him. You guys didn’t even need me to figure it out!”
Jongin took in a breath he didn’t realize he’d been waiting for. He felt like for once, he didn’t have anything to wait for at all.
∞
The way the three of them fell together was effortless, but that didn’t mean the relationship was easy. Sehun volunteered to live in a hotel until Jongin’s lease ended the next month so no one felt like they were missing all the important things. That only lasted a week before they realized that even with different “homes” they all still spent more time curled up in the king sized bed in the apartment under Chanyeol’s name than anywhere else, and simply moved in. Sometimes Chanyeol got too stressed with grad school and Jongin and Sehun had to escape the heavy atmosphere in the apartment, but when they came back it was always to their favorite take out and sheepish apology. Sehun was occasionally too abrasive; Chanyeol found himself defending Jongin from barbs that barely nettled him and Jongin snapped at Sehun more than once on Chanyeol’s behalf. Sometimes Jongin still found himself feeling insecure and questioning if he could really fit into the four year old dynamic Sehun and Chanyeol had created. He knew the two of them had purposely built their relationship expecting a third person someday; it just seemed too easy and at times he felt more like a convenient jigsaw piece they’d locked into place than a boyfriend. Sehun and Chanyeol were always more than happy to pause their schedules to reaffirm their affection for Jongin, with gifts and hugs, with words and looks, with actions and smiles, with mouths and tongues and fingers.
And then one day, as they all sat at breakfast, Jongin noticed that a day on the calendar had once been circled in red, but since erased.
“Babe?”
Sehun stopped buttering his toast to look up across the table and Chanyeol paused, one arm stretched inside the refrigerator for the water pitcher. The two shared a smile before Chanyeol answered.
“Which one of us are you talking to, Nini?”
“Which ever one of you can tell me what’s supposed to be happening next week that’s been erased.”
Sehun glared Chanyeol down as he spoke to Jongin. “Nothing, Jonginnie, don’t stress about it.” It had taken so long for things to get as casual as they were, and he’d wanted the three of them to be together like this for so long. He’d fight anyone who messed with the tranquility they finally had, Chanyeol and Jongin were included.
Jongin looked back and forth between the two of them before his eyes lit up with understanding.
“Oh! It’s your anniversary isn’t it?”
“Jongin, please.” Sehun’s voice was small.
Chanyeol straightened and shut the fridge door. “Yes, Jongin, it is. But we’re not going to worry about that okay. We love you, and you love us, and the day the three of us got together is all we should focus on now.”
Sehun sent Chanyeol a grateful smile before they both looked over at Jongin. Chanyeol and Sehun weren’t really expecting any particular reaction from him, maybe that bashful smile and blush that always made them want to press him into the mattress until he was flushed all over. They didn’t expect to see him scowling.
“Hey, Nini, what’s wrong?”
“Jonginnie, why are you pissed?”
Jongin jabbed his fork in both their directions, back and forth as he spoke.
“Look here you fart knockers. I didn’t start dating you so you could hit a reset on your relationship, as if the milestones you two shared are somehow less significant because I wasn’t there. Now, your anniversary is important because if you hadn’t gotten together then you wouldn’t have realized you needed me and then you never would have found me.”
Chanyeol felt his heart swell a little; the things Jongin was saying were all the things he’d said to Sehun the week before, but they’d erred on the side of caution in case. To see Jongin this secure and confident in his place with them made him ecstatic; he only had to glance at Sehun to know he was thinking the same thing. The moment was heartfelt and warm, and so Jongin had to ruin it.
“Besides, our six month anniversary isn’t for another eight weeks and I want cake. You will celebrate your anniversary next week, and you will do it with a white sheet cake with chocolate frosting.”
Sehun gaped at Jongin as Chanyeol’s laughter rang out, trailing behind him as he left the kitchen to finish getting dressed for work; Jongin’s smile was smug as mouthed I’m not joking at Sehun.
“Kim Jongin, you adorable little shit.”
“Hunnie, I’m fine. Leave me the cake and go on a date with Chanyeol. It’s been awhile since you two did anything on your own.”
“Alright. I’ll miss you though.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Chanyeol placed his hands on Jongin’s shoulders in silent apology for startling him with his sudden presence, “we’ll go and have a good time and if we miss Nini too much, we can just come home and make love to him till he cries.”
“Once! I cried one time!”
Sehun stood up and stretched, “And we will never let that one time go. It was beautiful and perfect and I am going to find out what it was you liked so much and I’m gonna make you cry again.”
Jongin punched Sehun in the shoulder as he cleaned up his own dishes and got ready for school. He took a look around his home, at his family, and smiled. He finally felt settled.