Chapter Text
Yuta has never thought of himself as being lucky.
That’s not to say he doesn’t believe in luck. Life’s thrown him some curveballs that he neither asks for nor deserves. And he’s also very grateful for the privilege he has, which is certainly an effect of luck. He has a healthy, able body that lets him stay active and the opportunity to work not one, but multiple jobs to let him live freely. A luck like that? In this country and in this society? Less likely than you think.
But when it comes to the other things, he’s never been so lucky. So it’s this scene here, of two of the most beautiful boys in the world, dragging their tired feet out of the car, but wearing smiles that outshine the moon as they walk towards him, that makes Yuta rethink if he has the lucky gene in him, after all.
Yuta stands outside his apartment building on the stairwell next to the third floor, waving down below as his keys jingle in his hands.
“Thanks again, for letting us stay the night.”
“Please, no formalities here!”
Yuta throws on a smile before turning around to busy himself with the door. The two boys are simply too ethereal for him to maintain his poise.
There’s Johnny, as wide and as enveloping as the sky. A guy like him absorbs you in into all he does. He doesn’t even need to be near for you to feel his warmth, with his electrifying energy spanning a radius around him. It was the one that captured Yuta from the moment they first met. Out here, in the darkness of the night, Yuta has to do all he can to not physically gravitate towards the sleepy, gentle giant.
And there’s Taeyong, with the depth and feeling of all the stars put together. One whose mere presence brings a smile to Yuta’s face, one who’s so brilliant and so beautiful that you can’t look at him directly, but around him to see all the light he emanates. He’s vast, and he’s varied, and he’s all over the place but he’s also right here, both of them are, an arm’s length away and Yuta wants to pinch himself to make sure he’s not dreaming.
“Help yourselves to anything that’s in the kitchen,” Yuta says as they all make their way inside. “I’ll fetch some towels and spare clothes.”
Ten minutes later, Yuta’s rummaging around the closet for extra blankets when he hears the bathroom door open.
“Whoever’s next, your turn!”
When Yuta glances over, he has to do a double-take. Taeyong’s smiling at him, with the steam from the shower smoking up from behind him and dancing amid the room’s light. Wet strands of hair fall straight down over his forehead, with water droplets pooling onto the shoulders of Yuta’s own grey tee. A trace of pink creeps up on Taeyong’s skin from the shirt’s v-neck collar. Black sweatpants finish the ensemble, a little short on Taeyong’s ankles. Overall, not the best fit. But Taeyong looks absolutely magical.
“Stop staring!” Taeyong shakes his head purposefully, laughing as water sprays onto Yuta’s face.
Instead of flinching, Yuta drops the spare pillow he has in his hands and holds out his arms, his eyes closed, signaling he’s ready for more. Taeyong laughs again, and Yuta sort of decides right then to make it his life goal to keep listening to that sweet sound. Yuta opens his eyes and stands up.
“Let’s get you something to drink.”
Taeyong holds Yuta’s shoulders from the back, shuffling his steps as the latter leads them to the kitchen. To Yuta’s surprise, Taeyong seems to be a night owl. After a long day under the sun, he is feeling even more energetic despite the lateness of the evening.
“You have shorts I can borrow?” Johnny fights to keep his eyes open as they pass him in the hall, a towel thrown over his shoulder. His sleepy face is terribly endearing, and Yuta musters all of his self-control not to bop his nose.
“Left side of the second drawer,” Yuta says, pointing to his room.
Once the two of them make their way into the kitchen, Taeyong lets go of Yuta’s shoulders and leans against the counter.
“We’ve got,” Yuta opens the fridge, “water, milk, and beer.”
“How about something sweeter?”
“Hold on, I remember seeing a can of orange soda somewhere.”
As Yuta sticks his head into the fridge, moving containers about, he feels a presence close to him. He glances over when he feels drops of water fall on him, dampening his shirt.
“You’re gonna get a cold like that,” Yuta props a hand square on Taeyong’s shoulder to push him away.
Taeyong grabs Yuta’s hand before he could take it back. Still holding on, Taeyong tilts his head to look into the fridge, and pulls out a bottle of beer with his free hand before gently pulling Yuta until Taeyong could nudge the fridge door close with a foot.
“I said,” Taeyong gently maneuvers them so that he’s flush against the fridge door and Yuta’s facing him. Taeyong lets go of Yuta’s hand, only to hook a finger into the hem of Yuta’s own sweatpants and pull him closer. He leans his head into Yuta’s ear. His breath is warm, and his freshly washed skin fire-hot. Yuta shivers. “I want something sweeter.”
“Hot chocolate?” Yuta asks.
Taeyong stills, confused. He then pulls his head back to look at Yuta, an expression of mild irritation turning into amusement. And then, the sound of an angel’s laughter again, subdued this time. But it’s more than enough to take Yuta’s breath away. Taeyong wordlessly looks at Yuta for a few seconds more, studying him carefully. And then he lets go.
“Fine with me.”
Taeyong steps away, letting Yuta get the milk. He then begins opening the cupboards to look for the mugs and other ingredients. Once Yuta’s face is back inside the privacy of the fridge, he lets his facade drop and his shoulders fall. He stays that way for a while, taking deep breaths and letting the cool air calm his burning face. His heart is about to beat right out of his chest, and he hopes to god Taeyong couldn’t hear it earlier.
Yuta maneuvers around Taeyong in the kitchen, careful not to bump into him as the latter continues to throw curious glances at him. Soon, a saucepan is boiling on the stove.
“Whose are those?” Taeyong has moved the mugs from the front of a narrow shelf aside, and nods at some cute, animal-themed mugs in the back.
“My roommates’,” Yuta says, pausing his stirring of the milk. “Well, it is theirs, technically. They were gifts from me. But they aren’t super crazy about them. They said how they’re not kids anymore.” He ends with a laugh.
“Must be a long night out for them, huh?” Taeyong asks as he gingerly pulls out two of the mugs. One is shaped like a puppy, and another with the face of a lion. Both have ears that stick out at the top and snouts that protrude slightly on one side. He places them on the counter before peering into the cupboard again. “Which one do you use?”
“Oh, any one’s fine.”
“Come on,” Taeyong looks at Yuta and nods towards the shelf. “Pick your mug of the day.”
Yuta takes a step forward, but Taeyong doesn’t look like he’s going to budge from where he stands directly in front of the shelf, still facing Yuta. With caution, Yuta stretches his arm as far as he can reach without touching Taeyong. He finally grabs hold of a random mug closest to him and sets it next to the others. All the while, Taeyong shakes his head, smiling to himself.
“Dude, are you scared of Taeyong or something?”
“ No,” Yuta’s scoff dies in his throat as he turns towards the third voice.
Johnny has walked into the kitchen with a towel over his head. Unlike Taeyong, his hair is nearly dry. But also unlike Taeyong, he decides to remain shirtless even after his shower, with only a pair of shorts completing the ensemble, shorts that ride up quite a bit farther on his legs than they do on Yuta’s. So Yuta suddenly becomes very interested in the milk he’s stirring.
“For someone who’s big at the flirting game, when it comes down to it, Yuta seems shy, doesn’t he?” Taeyong slides next to Yuta, gently bumping shoulders with him. “Why? Is this not what you wanted?”
When Yuta glances at Taeyong, the latter’s eyes are wide, genuine with its questions. Taeyong is playing with the hem of Yuta’s shirt sleeve, but otherwise keeps some distance between the two of them now. Yuta understands the meaning behind Taeyong’s advances. He also understands that Taeyong honestly thinks Yuta wanted this night to go in a certain direction, and that Taeyong doesn’t judge him for it. But Taeyong is wrong about what Yuta wants.
That’s one difference between Taeyong and himself, Yuta thinks. Where Taeyong has been in past relationships where the parties had different approaches to attraction, Yuta has not. It makes Yuta feel grateful, to see that Taeyong was simply going to follow along wherever Yuta wanted to go, if not for himself, then for Yuta. At the same time, it also brings a sharp pain to his heart. Johnny had told Yuta that Taeyong might not feel that kind of love, but Yuta vows to love Taeyong in ways that he does feel. Because, and this may be Yuta’s melodramatic voice talking after only getting to know him for a day but Yuta stands by it, Taeyong deserves the world.
“I want what you want,” Yuta finally says, motioning at the saucepan before looking back at Taeyong.
This time, Taeyong wrinkles his nose in the most adorable way when he smiles, and Yuta wonders how any hot chocolate can taste sweet after that.
“What’s that?” Johnny nods at the stove as he sweeps up a bag on the counter. He takes the bag’s place, hopping up to sit and brings his head down to look into the pan, inhaling the scent with a blissful expression. This guy doesn’t have a clue about what’s been happening in this kitchen previously, and that allows him to confidently invade Yuta’s personal visual bubble.
“You,” Yuta makes an offhand motion at Johnny’s bare chest. “Go wear a shirt. It’s unhygienic.”
“I literally just showered.” Johnny straightens back up on the counter and begins popping mini marshmallows one after another into his mouth, kicking his legs like a happy child.
“Respect your host’s wishes,” Yuta frowns.
“Or what?”
“Or you’ll face the consequences.” Picking up a can of whipped cream, Yuta holds the spray nozzle with his finger and threateningly hovers it in front of Johnny.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wanna bet?”
Yuta doesn’t mean to actually spray the whipped cream. But something about Johnny’s smirk afterwards silently challenges Yuta to follow through. And follow through, he does.
Taeyong is there to turn off the stove while the rest of the kitchen falls into madness. Johnny bounds off the counter and lands on his feet, trying to get a hold on Yuta’s wrist to prevent the onslaught of attacks. But Yuta’s too nimble for Johnny. He skirts around the other, laughing as Johnny’s lunges do little to the steady stream of whipped cream. Yuta is able to keep himself clean up until the very end.
Eventually, Yuta’s backed up against a counter. But his trusty threat in a can could act as a defense, too. He sticks it out in front of him, waiting. Johnny stands a safe distance away while inspecting the damage. His torso, his arms, his hair, nothing has been left unscathed. Off to the side, Taeyong licks some cream off his forearm, an entertained casualty in the sidelines. Letting out a loud sigh, Johnny shakes his head before looking up. With the weapon still poised in front of him, Yuta rattles the can. It’s clearly almost empty, but this is a game of bluff.
And Johnny calls the bluff.
“What? No, wait-” Yuta stutters, wide-eyed, as open arms and a chest coated in a complete mess approach him.
“There are no winners in a war of whipped cream,” Johnny says as he brings Yuta in a giant hug, enveloping a shrieking Yuta with his entire being. He brings his chest up right against Yuta’s. He runs his arms across Yuta’s back and through his hair. And for good measure, he brings his face down to rub against Yuta’s, cheek to cheek to transfer whatever fate he got.
“Get off!” Yuta finally manages to bring his arms up in between the two of them.
Johnny takes a step back, but has a pleased smile as he marvels at his work. Yuta decides to focus on his own body so he can ignore the one right in front of him. Even though Yuta’s fully clothed, Johnny somehow managed to get some damage into places under his shirt. Yuta peels his collar from his back, grimacing as he feels the stickiness in between cloth and skin. Still avoiding looking at Johnny’s entire physical presence, Yuta grumbles something unintelligible.
“Hey, you’re not the one who has to take a shower twice tonight,” Johnny tilts his head trying to make eye-contact with Yuta.
Taeyong walks up and casually runs a finger across Yuta’s neck, cranking up Yuta’s heart rate again. Holding the scoop of cream, Taeyong dabs it on Johnny’s nose. “Serves you right.”
“Look at this mess!” Yuta raises his hand to wave around, deliberately looking elsewhere in the kitchen. “All because you didn’t wear a shirt.”
“Yuta, look at me.”
Pulling himself together, Yuta does what he’s told. But not without putting on a mask of complete apathy.
“Do you see my body? Well, you can’t see it very well now, but,” Johnny has the audacity to rub his hands across his torso while flexing, an attempt that lands the smeared cream within the crevices of his abs and outlining his pecs. “I work hard on it. See?”
It takes all of Yuta’s concentration to not break into a sweat and manages to spit out a, “So?”
“So,” Johnny stops flexing and pouts. “I wanna show it off a little when I can, okay?”
A cute Johnny, Yuta can deal with. Yuta reduces the gap between the two of them, standing on his tiptoes and lifting his chin up just a bit to bop noses with Johnny, taking some of the cream onto Yuta’s nose. Johnny momentarily gapes before shutting his mouth. Yuta hears cooing from his side, and the tips of Johnny’s ears turn pinker at Taeyong’s voice. But his sad face is gone, replaced by a softly smiling, shy one, and that, Yuta deems, is a success. “Okay. Now go take a shower.”
“You first. I can wait.”
“Or we can just shower at the same time. But hold on,” Yuta turns around and pours the hot chocolate into the three mugs. “Drink this before you go. It’s gonna get cold.”
When Yuta turns back around with a mug in each hand for the other two, he freezes at their expressions. Taeyong is alternating between Johnny and Yuta, his face wholly concerned. Johnny is simply terrified as he stares at the two mugs.
“I mean, I’d rather shower alone.”
“Oh my god,” Yuta relieves a panicked laugh. “I was saying that because this apartment has two bathrooms.”
“ Oh. ” And like that, Johnny’s anxiety is lifted, and placed squarely onto Yuta. Johnny points at the puppy mug on Yuta’s left hand. “I’ll have that one, please.”
The three make their way to the apartment’s balcony, with Yuta leading the herd. The area isn’t enough to fit more than two folding chairs, but a third chair snuck its way in, maxing out the floor capacity. There are a few plus points to this apartment, in Yuta’s eyes - one, is that he gets his own room, and two, this view right here.
With the apartment complex on the edge of a suburb in the rural areas, spread out in front of them is land that’s nearly pitch dark. It’s so dark, in fact, that the sky greets them with several brightly blinking clusters of stars. Yuta sits on one of the chairs. From the open door, there’s enough light to see Johnny take his seat in the third chair, the one easiest to squeeze into. It’s late at night, so the heat from the day has cooled down to a comfortable warm. With the start of summer comes the nostalgic noise of the cicadas. Yuta’s about to take a sip of his drink when the balcony lights turn on.
He whips his head around. “Turn it off! You’ll attract the bugs!”
“And that’s a bad thing?” Taeyong grins, still on the other side of the doorway.
“Taeyong, please! Don’t you remember? I’m already bait as it is.”
“Is that so?” Taeyong mercifully turns the lights back off before stepping into the balcony. He has to perform a bit of gymnastics to get to his chair in the middle, climbing over from the back and hopping onto the seat, itself, before propping down while holding a sloshing mug full of liquid. Once settled, he asks conversationally, “What’s this bait hungry for?”
“For what you two have,” Yuta blurts out before he could stop himself. Both the guys still, and Yuta laughs as he looks down at his mug, playing it off as a joke. “Just kidding.”
“Yuta,” Johnny’s voice is soothing, and Yuta almost hates himself for needing to be coddled. Johnny rests a hand on Taeyong’s knee. “Even we don’t have what the other has. Taeyong loves in his own way, and I in mine.”
Taeyong shifts his mug to faintly poke at Johnny’s hand, and then turns to Yuta with a knowing look. “That’s the thing about any relationship, isn’t it? It’s experienced in different ways by each person in it.”
“I guess.” Yuta shrugs. “I just meant to say that I don’t want to add something new, you know.”
“Yuta, I’m upset,” Taeyong transfers his mug again, now leaning over to loop his arm through Yuta’s. “You never asked me what I want. Or Johnny,” he adds, motioning his mug. “By the way, did you know how much he hated my past boyfriends?”
“They were all terrible human beings,” Johnny solemnly nods his head.
Taeyong half laughs. “You should’ve seen him, Yuta. He smack talked every last one of them, and to their faces, too. He used to throw me these elaborate parties after each breakup.”
Yuta grins, riding a sudden high from the sound of Taeyong’s laughter. “And you never got the idea that it was because he was jealous? Because of his big, fat crush on you?”
Taeyong unloops himself to slap Yuta’s arm. He then leans back against Yuta again, making himself comfortable. “Anyway. I’ve never seen Johnny warm up to someone who’s been so openly interested in me. Not until today.”
“Look,” Johnny says. “I see how happy you make Taeyong. You’re a good person, Yuta. Why wouldn’t we want something new, if that something is you?”
The chirps of the cicadas increase in fervor, filling up the silence in the air. As confident as Yuta portrays himself, he kind of wishes for certain truths to be told out loud, for his own sanity's sake.
“So, if I can get this straight,” Yuta looks at Taeyong. “You like me, because Johnny likes me?”
“Excuse me, I have autonomy, too,” Taeyong grips Yuta’s arm within his own. “I like you for you, Yuta. For all the things Yuta about you, for the things nobody else can replace.”
“Ah,” Yuta’s glad they’re sitting facing outward, so that nobody has to see the shit-eating grin on his face. “And you,” he directs the question at Johnny, “do you like me for those reasons, too?”
“I mean, I also think you’re pretty or whatever,” Johnny shrugs, suddenly focused on squinting into the scenery in front of them.
Taeyong coos again. “Oh, Johnny’s getting shy!”
“You know what?” Johnny gulps down the rest of his hot chocolate, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before leaping up. “I’m gonna take that shower now.”
“Aww, how cute! Johnny’s in love!” Taeyong singsongs as Johnny flees the balcony.
“So,” Yuta begins when the two are alone. Taeyong looks up. “I should probably wash up, too.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Taeyong tightens his grip around Yuta, aggressively cuddling his cheek into the other’s shoulder.
Yuta lets out a puff of air, a smile. “Am I not sticky?”
“Very sticky,” Taeyong sighs in content, resting his empty mug on his lap as he leans in further. “Stick just like that until Johnny’s back. And then I’ll let you go.”
The two sit just like that for some time. The hot chocolate in Yuta’s mug has long gone cold, but he’s gotten his dose of sugar from elsewhere.
“Hey, Taeyong?” He lightly shakes his arm, waking up the one who has dozed off.
“Hmm,” Taeyong hums, still half-asleep.
“About earlier. Well, both times earlier,” There’s still something eating at Yuta. He doesn’t know if he can voice it out just yet, but the knot in his throat is refusing to budge otherwise. He swallows hard. “That time with you first, and then that, um, incident, with Johnny.”
Taeyong shifts, silent.
“I just don’t want anything that you guys don’t want. And I just need y’all to know that.”
Taeyong sits up straight now, and rotates the mug in his hands. “I know you’re being careful. What happened with Johnny, that was just some classic miscommunication,” he looks at Yuta. “But I’ll relay your wishes to him, if that makes you feel better.”
Yuta exhales and nods.
“As for me, what makes you think you know what I want?”
“Oh.” It’s Yuta’s turn to go silent. “I guess I don’t.”
Taeyong reaches over to squeeze Yuta’s hand. “Thank you for being considerate. We’re still learning about each other, aren’t we?”
Yuta nods. “It’s early. But I don’t care how long it takes. I want to know everything about you.”
Taeyong wrinkles his nose, but smiles. “I’ll make sure you’ll always know what I want.”
Yuta turns over his hand so he can weave his fingers through Taeyong’s. “And I’ll ask before making assumptions again.”
Taeyong clasps their hands together in a grasp as he pecks a kiss on his cheek, sending a surge of warmth through Yuta’s body. “That’s all I need.”
It isn’t long after that Johnny replaces Yuta, as the latter heads for the shower.
When Yuta finally steps out of the bathroom, the two have relocated from the balcony to his room. Here, they’ve managed to squeeze themselves into Yuta’s double bed, snuggled close while leaning against the headrest and giggling over a video on a phone. When the two hear the door opening, their heads perk up, and Yuta swears he sees entire galaxies twinkling in their eyes. He feels that force of attraction all over again, as if he belongs in their universe.
But maybe he's just exhausted from the day's events, emotionally more than physically, but the view triggers something in him.
And then that nagging fear rises up, and what if he joins that universe and he self-destructs, or worse, destroys them, and maybe none of this was a good idea and they can just be friends, Yuta could probably live with that, he thinks, or at least get by like he’s always been because when Yuta loves, he loves far too deeply and it’s always been too much for the other person and now there are two of them, so, yeah, he’s just gonna be a thorn at their side and he should probably put an end to this right now-
“Can we push your bed?” Taeyong asks. He points to the two sets of pillows and blankets on the floor that Yuta had neatly prepped earlier that night. “There’s not enough room for a third person down there.”
“Oh,” Yuta pauses. “I’m actually gonna sleep in the living room, so.”
“No, you’re not,” Johnny says, annoyed. “You’re sleeping here.”
Yuta laughs, and the sound is chopped. “I don’t wanna take the bed and make y’all sleep on the floor! One of y’all can take it, if you want. I’m sorry it can’t fit two.”
“You should be sorry it can’t fit three,” Taeyong stresses. He sighs, motioning for Johnny to get up. “Come on, let’s move it together.”
“Wait!” Yuta’s voice cracks as it rises in volume. He clears his throat, and the other two pause their movements. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
Taeyong raises a brow.
“Is there stuff below the bed or something?” Johnny drops to his knees and looks below the frame.
“No, it’s not that, it’s,” Yuta gestures at the room, unwilling to go on.
“If you’re uncomfortable sleeping with us, I understand,” Taeyong smiles kindly.
Johnny pulls his head back up from under the bed to stare at Yuta in confusion. “We’re only- I mean, I’m only interested in cuddling. And if you’re not into cuddling, then, well, that’s a deal-breaker.” Taeyong gives Johnny a look, and Johnny puts his hands up in the air, laughing. “I’m kidding!”
Yuta laughs along, shifting his weight as he looks between the two and the door. “Yeah, I just wanna give you guys some privacy.”
That wipes the smile off of Johnny’s face. He motions at Taeyong towards the bed. “Alright, we’re pushing on three.”
With the floorspace open, Taeyong brings Yuta’s share of his pillow and blankets from the living room, laying them next to the others. All the while, Yuta stands off to the side, his emotions whirling inside him.
The setup is complete, and Johnny does a headfirst dive onto the middle pillow, lying on this stomach while stretching out his limbs. Taeyong takes his place to one side, yawning as he blinks sleepily at Yuta.
“Are you sure about this?” Yuta asks.
“Yuta,” Johnny groans as he rolls onto his back, his head now having taken the other side pillow. He pulls up the blankets at his feet up to his shoulders. “It’s late, I’m tired, and my stomach’s gonna start asking for midnight snacks if I’m not asleep soon. Now can you please come to bed?”
Yuta stares at the now empty middle pillow. “I’m there?”
“Not yet, but you better be soon,” Taeyong yawns again. He pats the space next to him.
“Hold on, I’ll be there in a minute,” Yuta’s actions are done in auto-pilot mode as he goes around the apartment, turning off the lights except for the one for the front porch. His roommates haven’t come back yet, but it’s not unlike them to stay out late.
It’s not until he gets back to his room that the hesitancy bubbles up again. He hovers his hand on the room’s light switch while his eyes are fixated on the space in between the two guys. He closes his eyes before turning off the light.
When he opens them up again, he’s thankful for the darkness where he can pretend he’s alone. He waits a moment for his eyes to adjust. Slowly, he feels his way to his pillow, carefully groping to make sure he steers clear of the two bodies on either side. He lies down on his back with his blanket covering him, and arms at his sides. Here, it becomes harder to pretend he’s still alone, with the sounds of breathing and shifting from around him.
One particularly loud rustling to his side is accompanied with a snaking arm burrowing itself under Yuta’s blanket and wrapping itself around Yuta’s waist.
“You are fine with this, right?” Johnny’s voice is thick with sleepiness. When Yuta turns, Johnny’s face is hardly a foot away, his eyelids heavy and blinking slowly.
“Yeah,” Yuta breathes out.
“Good.” With that, Johnny swings his leg in the air and hooks it around Yuta’s legs, pulling Yuta towards Johnny. Yuta slides across the floor, his body now latched to the other from head to toe.
“Hey, no hogging!” Taeyong whines from the other side, and scooches over. Yuta feels another hand explore his torso, lightly caressing Johnny’s arm before hugging onto Yuta’s shoulder.
“How does this feel?” Taeyong’s breath falls in warm poofs on Yuta’s ears.
Yuta turns in his direction and sees another sleepy face, its features hardly lit up in this darkness, and yet emanating its own light through shining, wanting eyes.
“Nice,” Yuta says after he learns to speak again.
“I’m really happy we found you today.” Johnny rests his chin on Yuta’s shoulder where Taeyong’s hand is, and Taeyong playfully pinches Johnny’s cheek.
“Really?” Yuta brings his hands up to hold Johnny’s on his stomach. “But how can you be so sure? You hardly know me.”
“Really,” Johnny says. “I have a knack for choosing the best people. Case in point, the guy on your other side.”
“And we’ll get to know you,” Taeyong adds. “Just like you’re getting to know us.”
“I already know y’all are the best,” Yuta declares.
Johnny gasps. “Do you, too, have the knack?”
“I guess I do!”
This time, both Taeyong and Johnny gasp in unison, sending all three of them into a fit of giggles. When the giggles subside, there’s some quiet before Johnny speaks up.
“You know, it’s normal to feel unsure about what we have. You’re not alone.”
“Definitely not alone,” Taeyong agrees. “Johnny and I only decided to call ourselves something other than friends a few hours ago. And it wasn’t long after that we added you.”
“It’s just.” Yuta fidgets. “I don’t want to mess things up.”
“Yuta,” Taeyong snuggles up closer. “Just having that thought tells me we’ll be just fine with you.”
“Not just fine,” Johnny corrects, his voice now laced with sleep. “Better.”
Taeyong smiles. “I stand corrected. Better.”
“You think so?” Yuta asks, to himself as much as to those next to him.
Yuta’s last question is answered not in words, but in the warmth of two bodies as they snuggle closer to him, as if he’s the last missing piece to their puzzle.
They’re in the very beginning stages of their relationship, this strange combination of edges and angles that are unfamiliar to Yuta. He thinks back to school and geometry class and he doesn’t think a two-dimensional shape can suffice to describe the three of them. There’s a depth to the three of them. Yuta’s not sure where his place lies on the plane,but he’s sure to hold on to the other two as tightly as he can. And he thinks that, as long as there’s a way for the three of them to connect together, that’s all that matters.