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John was decidedly not awoken by the distant noise of movement in the kitchen or the quiet humming that tends to accompany Donghyuck completing just about any household duty but especially cooking. No, John wasn't woken by Donghyuck's harmless bustling noises. But Yuta clearly was. John was awoken by Yuta. More specially his exaggerated tossing and turning and grumping and grousing about Donghyuck's noises.
"I thought you said he was off on some promotion tour," Yuta complained testily, propping his chin up on his pillow with a frown. John, on the other hand, was grinning delightedly.
"That's what I thought," he said, rubbing his eyes. He let out a loud yawn, stretching leisurely. "He told me that he wouldn't be back until tomorrow at the earliest."
"That little fuckin liar," Yuta sniffed without bite. He snuck one hand under the sheet twisted between them, running it over John's naked chest and back, around until he had a good grip on John's ass. Yuta pulled him closer with a wicked smile but John only rolled his eyes.
"It's a nice surprise. Don't be an ass," he said solemnly, doggedly refusing to indulge Yuta with a reaction as his hands began to roam. "I'm sure that's what he was going for."
"And I would be going for round 3 if some little fuckin liar hadn't of-"
"Good morning! Good mor~ning!" Donghyuck sang, banging the door open with wild abandon. "Rise and shine sleepy heads!"
"Well I've got the first part taken care of," Yuta murmured smugly, taking hold of John's hand and pressing it over his morning wood. He cackled in amusement when John tsked at him, pulling away.
"Food's ready," Donghyuck continued, completely undeterred by both Yuta's lack of enthusiasm and their general nakedity. "I was going to sneak in to surprise you as soon as I got in but you both looked so adorable and peaceful~ I just had to let you sleep."
"Who are you calling adorable?" Yuta demanded like it was an insult. He reached around, throwing a spare pillow toward the door. Donghyuck dodged it easily, throwing his head back laughing.
"You, cutie," he said slyly, shooting Yuta a wink over his shoulder as he disappeared from view. "Now get your ass up before breakfast gets cold!"
John beamed after him lovingly, leaning into Yuta when he grumbled, rubbing it in.
"Get your ass up, 'cutie'," he teased, wheezing out a laugh when Yuta shoved his face roughly into a pillow.
"Just because you're obsessed with him doesn't mean I have to be."
Early on in their respective couplings, John had instinctively pushed a lot of double dates. Why not? He and Yuta lived together, Donghyuck and Doyoung were attached at the hip, and Donghyuck seemed to appear at John's elbow at nearly every unscheduled moment.
Plus they'd all fucked six ways to Sunday in every possible combination of the four of them. Well, except one.
John had been prodding Yuta into joining him and Donghyuck at some outing - a farmer's market or something similarly basic and gay - when, cross and exasperated, Yuta had hit him with that wounding blow. John remembered sitting back to consider this. Obviously it was true - it's not like Yuta had to date Donghyuck just because John was. But also, why not? Yuta and John had always had pretty similar taste and tons of overlap in the boys they dated or slept with. Why wouldn't Yuta want to hang out with them?
"To be fair, Donghyuck is much more obsessed with John than John is with him," Doyoung had piped up, sticking up for John and effectively knocking him out of his puzzling. John remembered smiling widely, leaning in to kiss Doyoung red in the face in appreciation while Yuta wolf whistled and cheered them on.
John had been reminded of this incident more and more frequently lately.
They were fighting again. Or, more accurately, Yuta was making backhanded jabs at Donghyuck disguised as jokes and Donghyuck was meeting him at his level, cheerfully jabbing back. Donghyuck seemed content, so John had let it be through most of brunch but it was starting to wear on him.
"So Doyoung and I were talking and since he'll either be working or down with his family for most of the holidays, we were saying that we should all go in on a mutual Christmas gift together. Like a trip or outing after the new year maybe," Donghyuck offered, gobbling down his eggs.
"I already got something for Doyoung," Yuta said shortly, sipping his mimosa.
"Oh okay! I mean that's fine, we can do it however you want. Maybe the three of us could go in on something for John then!"
John made a noise of complaint, crunching down on his lox bagel. Donghyuck shot him a sheepish smile.
"Don't worry, we won't say what we're actually getting you," he said, reaching to give John's hand a reassuring pat.
"I have some ideas of what to get John from Doyoung and I," Yuta said casually, taking a bite of roasted veggies. John held in a sigh and Donghyuck pursed his lips in frustration. He quickly swallowed it, though, fixing Yuta with a brilliant smile,
"That's cool. Doyoung, John, and I can just chip in for yours then. Do you have any requests?"
"I really don't need anything~" Yuta said sweetly. The concluding 'from you' remained unsaid. John really did sigh this time.
"Aw come on~ there's gotta be something you've got your heart set on," Donghyuck shot back, grinning harder.
"I'm very content actually~"
"What to get the man who's got it all~"
"Lucky for you Doyoung is a top tier gift giver~ If anything you'll probably be able to lean on him~~"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"What the hell do you think it means?"
Fed up, John brought the butt of his knife down hard on the table. They both looked around in surprise.
"You know what I really want for Christmas?" John demanded calmly. Donghyuck deflated, appearing appropriately chastised while Yuta only looked away. "The gift I would like from the two of you for the rest of the stupid holiday season is to stop with this childish bullshit and make an effort to get along."
"I think I could manage that," Donghyuck agreed immediately with excessive enthusiasm. "Plus you know I love scoring a good gift at a discount. A deal."
Yuta's gaze was glued to his plate as he took to inhaling as much food into his mouth as he could fit.
John sat in silence, watching him patiently until Yuta finally cracked.
"Fine," he conceded around the mountain of food he was chewing. His gaze slid briefly over to Donghyuck. "Sorry."
Donghyuck lit up like a Christmas tree, as if he had not just received the absolute bare minimum truce. Yuta returned his eyes to his plate, chewing dutifully for another minute before he fixed John with a dubious look,
"That doesn't mean we have to start right now though, right?"
"Yuta!"
"Fine," he said, holding up his hands placatingly. "I'm just asking for a grace period. I'm out of practice."
Donghyuck snorted, leaning into Yuta with his chin in his hand,
"What? Being nice to me?"
"Precisely."
To their credit they both remained mostly civil throughout the rest of brunch. Yuta eventually excused himself (to his great relief), thanking Donghyuck politely for cooking before skulking off to his room, leaving the two of them to wash up.
"How can someone so painfully hot be such a huge bitch?" Donghyuck mused cheerfully as he scrubbed and rinsed each of their plates, handing them off to John to dry.
There were a lot of things John could say to that. In the end he just chuckled, bumping Donghyuck lightly with his hip.
"That's what you always say about Doyoung too. And Ten. And Renjun, now that I think about it."
"Holy shit, I do, don't I?" Donghyuck marveled, his scrubbing slowing to a halt as he considered this. He looked over at John in alarm. "Oh my god… Do I have a type??"
John laughed in his face, leaning in to press a kiss to his jaw and another to his lips.
"Sure seems that way," John teased, flicking soap bubbles onto his shirt. Donghyuck shrieked, dancing out of reach and dripping dish water all over the floor as he did. They paused to wipe it up, chatting and grab-assing and giggling until the dishes were done.
🎁
"I'd better go, my mom is about to start dinner and I promised to help her," Doyoung said with a smile, peering out at them from Yuta's phone screen. John and Donghyuck crowded in as best they could over his shoulders, waving merrily. "Have fun with your Christmas shopping. You all look really cute in your little outfits!"
"Yeah but I look the cutest right?" Yuta asked slyly, waiting for affirmation. Doyoung just blinked at him innocently and Donghyuck stifled a snort as Yuta's grin faded.
"We're all cute but I'm the cutest right?" he demanded. Doyoung only smiled sagely. "Right babe??"
"Actually I feel like the hat and scarf combo John's got going on is really-" Doyoung started, bursting into amused laughter at Yuta's outraged sputtering.
"Fuck you, I'm dumping you for your brother," Yuta informed him venomously, which only set Doyoung laughing harder. "Tell your mom I love her so much more than you, bye."
He hung up with a scoff, turning to look John up and down, unimpressed,
"And I'll bet you're very satisfied with yourself now, aren't you?"
"Oh absolutely," John said with a grin, pulling the ears of his hat down snugly. Yuta tsked poutily, shoving his phone back into his pocket.
"Well I think you're the cutest," Donghyuck said, teasing and flirty as he wrapped both arms around Yuta's. Yuta immediately opened his mouth with a jab but he caught himself, eyes darting over toward John guiltily. Yuta closed his mouth again, letting his expression melt into one of simpering seduction.
"Aw, what a sweet thing to say," he purred, leaning his face close to Donghyuck's with a predatory grin. John fought a smile as Donghyuck froze, lips parting in surprise. He giggled as he watched Donghyuck swallow.
Yuta gently shook himself from Donghyuck's grip, turning up the collar of his coat and shoving his hands into the pockets,
"Come on. My hand warmers are barely hanging on and we still have to make it a couple more blocks."
With that, Yuta was off like a shot, breezing ahead of them with ease. John shuffled over to grab Donghyuck, who had come to a near stop, wrapping an arm around his waist and pushing him forward gently with the flow of traffic.
"You okay there, stud? You gonna make it?" John teased.
"That was mean," Donghyuck said a little breathlessly. He shook himself out of it, glowering over at John in frustration. "Why is he like that?? Him 'getting along with me' is meaner than when he's mean to me!"
"Beggars can't be choosers," John teased, earning himself a rough hip bump. "I hate to say this but I think it's because he likes you-"
"What?"
"-even though he doesn't want to like you."
"Why the hell not?" Donghyuck demanded, incensed. "I'm a goddamn delight!"
"I'm not totally sure, I never asked him," John said with a shrug, spotting Yuta's long blue ponytail bobbing about half a block ahead. "But he doesn't usually get like this with my boyfriends. And historically he also hasn't repeatedly fucked or spent time with many of my boyfriends. Well, at least the ones that we didn't share."
"Interesting, interesting," Donghyuck said thoughtfully, looking over the handful of people in front of them to catch sight of Yuta. "An unexpected development."
"Maybe you should ask him," John said, pulling him close enough to tuck his hand into Donghyuck's coat pocket. "Why he doesn't want to like you, I mean."
Donghyuck hummed, leaning into John as he mulled it over.
By the time they finally reached the store, Yuta was huddled outside the door waiting for them, scrolling through his phone. He was grinning widely at whatever was on his screen, occasionally bursting into ecstatic laughter. Donghyuck came to a full stop, jerking John back with him. He stared at Yuta for a few moments in awe before finally nodding to himself firmly.
"Maybe I will," he muttered to himself. John didn't bother to hide his grin. He rubbed his wind chilled nose over Donghyuck's cheek affectionately, earning a loud squeak of surprise that caught Yuta's attention.
"Finally," he said, straightening up. He was trying to sound annoyed but the laughter still lingered - in his voice, on his face. Donghyuck was staring again. "Took you long enough. Let's find some decorations."
🎁
“Stop being such a damn cock tease and tell us what you want!” Donghyuck accused in a heated whisper, phone so close to his face at all John could make out were lips and nostrils. Yuta remained unimpressed.
“I can’t do that,” he shot back breezily, wrapping his arms around John’s chest. He rested his chin heavily on John’s shoulder with a smirk. He raised his voice slightly, “Annoying you and being a COCK TEASE are my only true joys in life."
Donghyuck nearly dropped his phone in his hurry to turn down the volume. He juggled it, glancing over his shoulder to check that none of his castmates were paying attention.
“You fucker,” he said, peering at the two of them through his screen. John thought he sounded just a little more affectionate than he probably meant to.
“Fine, fine, fine,” Yuta said, grinning suspiciously wide. “If you really insist on getting me something-”
“Not just any old thing! Something you actually want!” Donghyuck interrupted hotly. John beamed.
“-if you really and truly insist on getting me something I want… that I could get some good use out of… that I could play with to my little heart’s desire,” Yuta said, pausing dramatically. Donghyuck leaned closer to his phone in anticipation while John merely shot him an impatient look. “Why don’t you have our boys tie you up and slip you under the tree?”
Yuta gave Donghyuck a greasy wink, untangling himself from John. He ruffled John’s hair before disappearing down the hallway toward his room. John chuckled under his breath, turning back to see the video call had frozen.
Oh no wait. That was just Donghyuck.
“Why does he dooooo this to meeee?” he wailed, flinging himself back onto the ground and flailing his limbs with wild abandon. John looked away from his phone to avoid motion sickness.
“I thought you liked teasing?” John said innocently when Donghyuck calmed down. Donghyuck gave him a look as he fought a grin.
“This isn’t teasing it’s torture!” Donghyuck insisted, sounding more defeated than anything. John’s smile faltered. “He isn’t nice to me when I’m nice, he shoots me down when I flirt with him but he turns around and says shit like THAT when I’m not there to do anything about it…”
“Plus he yells ‘cock tease’ when you’re on facetime in front of all your coworkers at rehearsal,” John added helpfully, grinning again when Donghyuck groaned. “Listen - all I asked was that you two get along, I never said you had to court the man. If getting along means you see less of each other and chill out as acquaintances, that’s-”
“I made Doyoung ask him why he doesn’t want to like me,” Donghyuck interrupted in a conspiratorial whisper. John bit his tongue to keep from teasing. “And Doyoung said that Yuta said he liked me just fine but Doyoung also said that when Yuta said that, he was lying.”
“Not entirely helpful,” John offered wryly.
“But! If it’s serious enough to lie to Doyoung about, you must be right,” Donghyuck said, sounding oddly excited. “He likes me but he's fighting it! So all I have to do is figure out the ‘why’.”
“Okay, Nancy Drew. That’s exactly what I told you before,” John said, rolling his eyes with a smile.
“Please! Obviously I'm Murder, She Wrote! I’ve always wanted to reprise a Dame Angela Lansbury role,” Donghyuck beamed.
He was quickly called back to rehearse, saying hurried goodbyes with loud kissy noises.
John leaned back in his chair, looking around at their kitchen and living room - already decorated with lights and knickknacks and garlands. Their tree was real but small and still bare. Doyoung had cleared one day from his busy schedule to come over and hang ornaments. And so they would wait. John stretched his arms over his head before wandering leisurely down the hall.
He pushed Yuta’s door open without knocking, unsurprised to find him sprawled out over his bed, reading a manga. Yuta noticed him right away but didn’t put his book down.
“May I help you~” he asked sweetly, pointedly flipping a page.
“Are you friends with Donghyuck?” John asked, tilting his head when Yuta made a face, finally turning to meet his eye.
“No way,” he said flatly. “He’s loud and annoying. Too needy. You and Doie are enough for him, I’d say.”
“Okay,” John said evenly, tsking when Yuta looked surprised. “What did you think I was gonna lecture you? I’m not your mom. But I think you should tell him that. Because Donghyuck likes you. A lot. So he’ll probably keep trying to make you like him back if you let him.”
Yuta pursed his lips, grabbing his book and plopping it over his face with a loud sigh. John’s lips twitched, amused.
“Sure whatever. I’ll do that,” Yuta said, muffled by paper.
“Thanks baby,” John crooned with a victorious click of his tongue. He laughed when Yuta groaned louder. He turned, closing the door behind him.
John padded back into the kitchen, whistling a Christmas song under his breath. He pulled the carton of eggnog from the fridge and poured it into a small pot on the stove. He dumped in more cinnamon and nutmeg because it was premade and awful, then dug around for a bottle of rum.
John pretended not to hear Yuta’s door creak open or the soft thud of his footsteps. He pretended not to notice when Yuta stopped directly behind him, watching John yank the lid off and pour far too much alcohol into the mixture.
“You know that brand comes already spiked,” Yuta said nonchalantly, resting his chin on John’s shoulder.
“Wait really?” John said, snatching up the carton and examining it carefully. Fuck it did. Well they’d certainly have a fun shift later…
Yuta nipped roughly at the shell of John’s ear, making him jump in surprise. He took the opportunity to elbow John aside, grabbing a pair of matching Christmas mugs and filling them carefully to the brim with the highly questionable concoction.
Yuta handed one over, raising his mug to cheers before downing a large gulp. For his part, John took a tentative sip, watching Yuta carefully for a reaction. He swallowed, grimacing heavily.
“Every time you bring up adding holiday drinks to the menu, I’m going to remind you of this,” he teased. John pursed his lips, taking a bigger swig. Yuta watched him closely, eyebrow raised, expectant. John kept his face perfectly expressionless. Then he hacked out a cough, then another.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he complained. He could already feel his face starting to heat ever so slightly.
Yuta just snorted, prodding him gently with two fingers.
“Come on, let’s finish up the decorating in here,” he offered, pushing past John and into the living room.
“But they boys aren’t-”
“We’ll just put the lights on the tree and hang the stockings, that's all,” Yuta interrupted, raising his glass toward John with a grin. “That way when you pass out from finishing this whole drink, I’ll just have to drag your sorry ass onto the couch instead of all the way to bed~”
“Shut up,” John told him, lip twitching. “...don’t let me sleep through the shift though if… I just so happen to rest my eyes for a while.”
“Roger that, boss,” Yuta teased, heading for the mantle. He set his mug down on the coffee table, digging through one of the shopping bags beside the tree.
“I picked up a stocking for Donghyuck when I was out last,” he added like an afterthought. Yuta barely spared him a glance before moving over to open the box of decorations sitting beside the tree. “I couldn’t find one that matched ours so I matched it to Doyoung’s. Kinda suits them I guess.”
“And us,” John piped up, not bothering to hide his wide grin. Yuta only sniffed. John crowded up behind him once he stood up, bouncing on his toes to plant a grateful kiss on Yuta’s cheek.
“It’s nothing,” Yuta complained. “Get your ass over here and help me.”
“Whatever you say~”
They hung the lights and the stockings. John finished his eggnog and passed out on the couch as predicted. He woke up in the dark, halfway through their bar shift. When he finally ran downstairs, both Yuta and their barback Jamie just laughed at him when he tried to be mad.
He put up with endless teasing from them and a few of their regulars until closing.
🎁
“Hyung! I think this is the last of them,” Jaehyun called out, plopping two enormous boxes onto a nearby table.
“Are you sure?” John asked, poking around in the one on top. “We still can’t find the stupid tree topper. I thought there were a few more smaller boxes tucked back under the thingy… you know what I mean. I thought the stupid tree topper was in there.”
“I checked the whole basement over pretty good but, I mean, I can check again,” Jaehyun offered, moving to peer into the box over John’s shoulder.
“Forget it, forget it. I’m sure you would have seen it if it was there,” John said, brushing him off. “If we can’t find the damn star and we’ve got a bare tree tit, so be it.”
Jaehyun laughed in surprise, a low rumble John could barely hear over the commotion over his entire staff and several enthusiastic volunteers getting the place decorated.
“I honestly don’t mind though, aside from the basement being super creepy,” Jaehyun said with a smile, taking a step back as John turned around. He raised his arm, flexing exaggeratedly. “If you need anything else carried, hefted, or lugged, I’m your man.”
John snorted.
“You’re just showing off now,” he accused, slipping his hand up Jaehyun’s sleeve to grip over his bicep appreciatively.
“Maybe,” Jae admitted quietly but John was barely listening. Donghyuck’s first assessment of Jaehyun came to mind: ‘Face, body, and bi? Imagine being God’s favorite.’ John chuckled to himself, looking around. Speaking of Donghyuck, where had he gotten to?
“Boyfriend?” Jae asked kindly. John made an affirming noise, still looking. “I think he’s over in the corner there. With Yuta, see?”
John did see. They were clear across the room so there was no way he could hear them but from the looks of it they were bickering. Surprise, surprise. To be fair, it did seem mostly harmless. And at least they were working together, getting all the icicle lights untangled.
“Uh… hyung?” Jaehyun said, a bit hesitant , his breath hitting John’s ear with a puff, making him jump. Jae was the only one who called him that.
John looked back, realizing to his mild embarrassment that he was still hanging on Jaehyun’s arm. His hand hovered awkwardly over John’s hip, uncertain what to do with itself. John dropped him in a flash, laughing as he took a step back,
“Man, sorry about that. I’m just full on groping you over here, I swear I didn’t mean-”
“No! It’s fine, like. It wasn’t like that, you don’t have to…” Jaehyun insisted before trailing off. John laughed again, reaching over to tweak Jae’s ear, a little affectionate, a little apologetic. It was hot beneath his touch, the tips going red.
“I know, but... you know,” John said sheepishly.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Since all the boxes are in, wanna go help Sara get all the Hanukkah stuff packed up and put away?”
“Sure, thing. On it,” Jae blurted out, disappearing in a flash. John let out a small sigh. He turned digging through both of the boxes he’d left, finally locating the stupid tree topper. Well that was good, at least.
Flush with success, John wandered around checking that everyone was set in their tasks before finally making his way over to Donghyuck and Yuta.
They were on the ladder - which was instantly concerning - starting to hang lights along the back wall. Well, Donghyuck was hanging and Yuta was directing from a lower rung. He was holding onto Donghyuck’s shin with one hand, as if that made the situation safer at all, pointing aggressively with the other.
“See all the nails that are up from last year? Just drape them over those,” Yuta bossed as John approached.
“I’m draping, I’m draping,” Donghyuck muttered, earning him a sharp flick to the thigh. He giggled, glancing down at Yuta with a frustrated laugh. “Just tell me how you like it. You didn’t want me to pull it tight in a straight line, you didn’t like when it was too loose so how-”
Donghyuck spotted John walking up, hitting him with heart eyes and a face-splitting grin,
“Johnny Suh! Where have you been, I missed you!”
John opened his mouth to answer but Yuta, who had not taken his eyes off of Donghyuck or the lights, gave Donghyuck’s ass a small punishing smack. Yuta stepped one rung higher, moving to grip Donghyuck’s thigh firmly.
“Nope! No ‘Johnny Suh, light of my life, precious meow meow’, your ass is gonna fall. Eyes up!” Yuta ordered, pressing his other hand to said ass to hold Donghyuck steady. John did note the way Yuta’s thumb had suspiciously disappeared from view though. Donghyuck’s eyes widened, shooting John a brief look of pure panic before he forced himself to return his attention to the lights.
“Yes, sir,” Donghyuck managed, giving his voice a dramatic wobble. Yuta shoved his thumb upward, between the cheeks, and Donghyuck let out an alarmed squeak.
John sighed heavily. He wasn’t sure if this was better or worse than the old way. At least they were trying.
“Are you sure it’s any safer with you up there?” John pointed out, taking hold of the rails of the ladder and holding them tight. Yuta scoffed, giving John a dirty look over his shoulder.
“Are you concerned about your boy?” he taunted, grabbing Donghyuck’s back pocket and giving him a shake. Donghyuck let out a terrified wail. Yuta shushed him, stroking over his waist ‘reassuringly’ before grabbing him again. Yuta shot him a victorious look but John merely smirked,
“Seems like you’re a lot more concerned with my boy, to be honest.”
Yuta scowled, turning away from him with a scoff. They made their slow, painful way across the entire length of the wall before Donghyuck was finally allowed down.
“Oh thank god!” he cried, leaping into John’s arms. “I’d kiss the floor but I’ve seen what happens after karaoke night so I’ll kiss you instead.”
Donghyuck planted two noisy smacks onto John’s cheeks before kissing him sweetly on the lips.
“Oh gimme a break,” Yuta grumped, rolling his eyes. “Quit acting like I put you in danger. Did you die?”
“Awww, sounds like someone feels left out!” Donghyuck crooned, throwing himself at Yuta. “Do you need a little attention? Did you want a kiss too?”
Yuta groaned exaggeratedly, grumbling and avoiding Donghyuck’s aggressive pecks. John watched Yuta drag a laughing Donghyuck, who was still hanging off him heavily, around the bar. He chuckled to himself. Better or worse… at least they were amusing.
🎁
John wasn’t very good at ice skating but it had always been one of Yuta’s favorite winter activities, so he had gone countless times over the years. Donghyuck happened to enjoy it as well (and why not, when you’re good at everything?), so John figured he wouldn’t have to scheme very hard to convince them to come out together. And he was right.
Yuta came straight from seeing Doyoung off to the train station for the nth time that season. They didn’t go to the biggin by the famous tree, crowded with tourists - Donghyuck wouldn’t be able to go two minutes without being bombarded there. The neighborhood rink was nicer anyway.
They all walked together from their apartment, Yuta with his own well-worn pair dangling over his shoulder. When John met him, Yuta still had his old hockey skates from college and refused to wear anything else. John smiled to himself. Those were probably still somewhere in the back of Yuta’s disaster of a closet, falling apart at the seams.
Yuta got himself laced up while Donghyuck and John went to rent a pair each. John laughed and Yuta scowled when Donghyuck insisted on checking over John’s handiwork, cooing and simpering at him lovingly. Yuta then immediately took to critiquing Donghyuck’s own laces, forcing him back onto the bench while he redid the entire thing. Donghyuck remained agreeable, shooting John wide-eyed, knowing looks over the top of Yuta’s head. This earned him a sharp pinch to the inner thigh when Yuta eventually noticed.
Out on the ice, Yuta took off like a shot, racing a few laps around, expertly avoiding all the families, couples, and wobbly first timers littered across his path. Donghyuck scooped John’s hand into his own, tugging him along enthusiastically. Donghyuck laughed when he refused to let go of the wall fully, beckoning him farther and farther away, skating backwards slowly, letting John grip tightly onto both of his forearms.
“What’s the worst that could happen? We’re going negative four miles per hour,” Donghyuck teased as John squeezed his wrists to keep from slipping.
“I’ll land on my ass!”
“Your ass is padded,” Donghyuck teased, reaching over to swat it, much to John’s dismay.
“What if I fall on my face then?”
“God no! Now that would be a travesty. Hang onto me, we can’t have you damaging a national treasure.”
Yuta blew past them, nudging Donghyuck as he went, spending him wiggling and flailing to keep balance. John dove for the wall, watching with apprehensive amusement as Donghyuck struggled like a cartoon character to right himself.
“Jackass!” Donghyuck yelled after Yuta once he had, skating over to join John. Yuta laughed obnoxiously and John gave Donghyuck a smack, pointing out a gaggle of 3-6 year olds with ice walkers making their way past. Donghyuck snorted, elbowing him back but his attention immediately returned to Yuta. He sped around to the far end of the rink, bobbing and weaving, skating forward and backward. He moved toward the middle of the ice - clear of people - practicing a few careful jumps. When he got comfortable he went for a shaky spin, catching himself on a rough patch. Yuta stumbled but managed not to fall, bursting into delighted laughter at his own expense. John grinned, shaking his head. He glanced over to find Donghyuck staring.
“He’s pretty good, huh?” he prompted innocently, watching as Donghyuck’s eyes remained glued to Yuta, following him around the rink.
“He’s so-” Donghyuck started, with feeling. He glanced over at John, who was smirking slightly. He cleared his throat. “He’s really athletic. I always assumed he was one of those ‘lays around eating snacks and drinking alcohol but always stays skin and bones out of pure spite’ kind of people.”
“He’s very athletic,” John agreed, ignoring the jab entirely. “You two have that in common. He also played soccer, actually. You should ask him about it.”
“Oh really?” Donghyuck asked distantly, eyes back on Yuta. John tried not to feel smug but it was tough.
“Excuse me… you’re Donghyuck Lee, right?” came a timid voice from the other side of the wall. They both looked around to see a trio of teenagers watching them hopefully. “We saw you in the show last spring! With Doyoung Kim and Amber Gray? Could we get a picture?”
“Sure, sure. Let’s take it quickly,” Donghyuck said amicably, fixing his hair and beckoning them in. John eased back, watching with a smile as they all struggled to lean over the wall and fit together for a few selfies. He saw Yuta coming with a strangely determined expression but Donghyuck didn’t. He smacked into the wall with an ‘oof’ when Yuta hit him, not bothering to slow down. He plastered a big smile over his face, leaning in to photobomb the last picture.
“We appreciate the love but I’m afraid I’m going to have to steal Donghyuck away now,” Yuta said matter-of-factly, offering a charming smile to the group as compensation. “He’s supposed to be capturing the holiday spirit with us, you know how it is.”
“Oh is this your-” one of them asked curiously. They all looked between Donghyuck and Yuta quizzically, with interest.
“Oh. Erm. Yes. This is my boyfriend’s-” Donghyuck started, thumbing toward John, looking and sounding exceedingly perplexed. Yuta cut him off,
“His boyfriend, exactly! Going to have to play the boyfriend card on this one! Have a great night!”
The teens nodded, backing away respectfully with a chorus of thank you’s for the pictures.
“You’re both so handsome!” one of them called over their shoulder.
“I can’t believe we met Donghyuck Lee’s boyfriend!” John heard one of the others whisper gleefully. “We should have asked his name.”
“What’s this? You’re my boyfriend now?” Donghyuck teased, turning on Yuta with a sly grin. Yuta froze, letting his hands slip off Donghyuck’s shoulders and into the pockets of his jacket.
“Shut up, I was just saving you from fans,” Yuta grumbled, frowning when Donghyuck’s grin only widened. John rested both hands on the wall, leaning back to watch them, beaming. “You’re supposed to be spending time with us soaking up the goddamn Christmas cheer. The last thing we need is for this night to turn into a photo op. And I’m not going to sit here and explain to strangers that I’m actually your boyfriend’s nesting partner when I was just trying to express to them that I do, in fact, have the authority to-”
“Whatever you say ‘boyfriend’,” Donghyuck sang out smugly, retrieving one of Yuta’s hands from his pocket and swinging it between them happily. “Let’s soak up our boyfriend time being Christmas boyfriends while we ice skate in tribute to our lord and savior, Santa Claus!”
Yuta rolled his eyes so hard, John was concerned he might hurt himself. Then his expression turned devilish. Donghyuck’s smile immediately dropped while John’s only widened.
“Fine~ You want to skate? We’ll skate~~” Yuta announced innocently.
“Wait-” Donghyuck tried to say but Yuta was already off, cackling in absolute delight as he raced around the rink at breakneck speeds, dragging a wobbly, wailing Donghyuck behind him.
John’s face hurt from smiling, at once devastatingly fond and infinitely relieved that he got to remain there clinging to the wall.
With the two of them sufficiently distracted by each other, John snuck off the ice, changing out of his skates and wandering over to claim a chair with a decent view of the proceedings.
Eventually Yuta took pity on Donghyuck, directing them back toward the middle. He tried to remove Donghyuck from his person but he refused, clinging onto Yuta like a barnacle. They started bickering again and John rolled his eyes with a grin, trying to guess what they were saying. From the gesturing, he was betting that Yuta was attempting to convince Donghyuck to release him so that he could show him some jumps. Donghyuck shook his head roughly, babbling on, probably berating Yuta for scaring the shit out of him at high speeds. Eventually they settled on Yuta spinning them slowly in circles, clearly trying to explain to Donghyuck how it was done. Donghyuck seemed very content to simply hold him, resting his head on Yuta’s shoulder and hugging him close.
John couldn’t be sure but from the two inch square of Yuta’s face that he could make out from where he was sitting, he was pretty sure he looked a little pink. Eventually Yuta tried squirming out of Donghyuck’s grip but he wasn’t having it. Yuta started complaining loudly and Donghyuck just clung to him tighter. Then he decided to fight dirty, and that was his downfall - literally. Yuta reached up under Donghyuck’s puffer jacket, pinching and tickling in an attempt to escape. Donghyuck flailed excessively and, in a second, they were on the ice in a crumpled heap. John was instantly up, leaning over the wall.
“Are you guys okay?” he called out worriedly, ignoring the looks from the people skating by. They didn’t hear him, but Donghyuck was babbling, checking Yuta over carefully, touching his head and face and body in concern. Yuta just looked up at him, flat on his back. His face was bright red now and he grabbed Donghyuck’s wrist, rubbing his shoulder to calm him down. John watched as Donghyuck's expression immediately melted into relief. It was only then that he seemed to notice that he was laying on top of Yuta, their legs tangled up and their bodies pressed together. John half expected him to go red and frazzled and scramble away. Instead Donghyuck licked his lips nervously, moving to cup Yuta’s face with such affection. John shivered in delight, his chest swelling tightly to match. Finally Yuta eased himself up and Donghyuck backed off. They sat there for a couple more minutes, talking quietly before Yuta clambered to his feet and helped Donghyuck do the same. They both looked around for John, spotting him in unison. They shot him identical bashful grins, skating carefully over to join him.
“Ready to go?” was all John asked but he couldn’t stop grinning.
🎁
“Hyung, do we have any more sparkling wine chilled, I just popped the last- Oh, shit sorry,” Jaehyun said sheepishly, freezing with the kitchen door propped totally open. John grunted, trying to offer him an apologetic look over his shoulder but Donghyuck held his chin in place, recapturing his lips with an evil smirk.
“I don’t mind if you stand there and stare but I’d rather this doesn’t turn into a show for the whole bar,” Donghyuck teased, reaching both hands down to grab John’s ass super obviously and squeeze. Jaehyun shook himself out of it roughly. He stepped through the door fully and turned away from them to stare awkwardly at the far wall.
“Mm-top, stop. Jae, I’m sorry about that,” John said, fighting off a pouty Donghyuck to excessive complaint. “We got a little carried away. What were you looking for again?”
“Booty… Bubbly!” Jaehyun blurted out, head falling back in embarrassment as Donghyuck howled with laughter. “Sorry, I- Just. Sorry.”
“I’ll let you get back to hosting,” Donghyuck said, looping his arms lovingly around John’s waist, leaning in to plant one last kiss onto his lips. “I’d better go show my face. You know, make the rounds before Yuta starts bitching. See you around, stud.”
Donghyuck reached out to give Jaehyun a smart pinch on the cheek as he walked by, chuckling at his humiliated groan. John could see the tips of Jaehyun’s ears glowing red.
“How many bottles did we have out to start?” John asked brightly, unaffected. Jaehyun cleared his throat, counting on his fingers as he turned to face John.
“Six I think? There’s only around 20 of us and that’s not all they’ve been drinking so I figured it would last a little longer but…”
“I think I set 12 bottles aside for tonight,” John said, laughing when Jaehyun whistled appreciatively. “Come ‘ere, I’ll show you.”
They dug the wine out of one of the smaller chillers, loading them into a spare dish bin to bring out front.
John followed Jaehyun over to the drinks table they’d set out for their guests. John didn’t like to work his staff much at the annual Christmas Eve party but he was technically paying them, so he didn’t mind Jae helping out and keeping things restocked and organized. He looked around, admiring the festivities. It was mostly close friends and former employees, as well as some of their regulars who didn’t have anywhere to go for Christmas.
“John Moooon! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, baby!” Hyoyeon cried excitedly, dragging Taeyeon behind her as she glomped him in a tight hug. She smacked a drunken smooch onto his cheek as Taeyeon shook her head with an exasperated grin. John beamed, opening his arms to Taeyeon who obliged him in a hug.
“No wonder we’re already having to refill the champagne,” John teased, laughing when Hyoyeon gave his ass a punishing smack.
“As long as I’m having fun, right?” Hyoyeon asked with a self-satisfied smirk. She glanced over, spotting Jaehyun who was attempting to make conversation with Taeyeon, though he looked a little flustered. “Jaehyun, baby! I already saw you but I miss you already!”
She bounced up on her toes to kiss his face as well, whining until Taeyeon did the same.
“Thanks for the great party, as always,” Taeyeon called, dragging Hyoyeon away with an affectionate smile.
John glanced over at Jaehyun who rubbed over his face roughly. He was bright red down to his neck now.
“You okay there, slick?” John asked innocently, sidling up beside him.
“Why is everyone giving me such a hard time tonight,” he mumbled into his hands before finally letting them drop, shooting John a pained look.
“You’re just too easy to tease,” he explained with a grin. John glanced around once more.
“It’s a shame Doyoung isn’t here. He’d love all the holiday spirit. And he’d probably love gathering blackmail material on everyone even more. Look at Rachel over there in the corner! And Kevin, he… damn he tied up his shirt and his hair in pigtails like Hit Me Baby Britney for karaoke. And over there! Look at those two losers sucking face in front of every-”
John trailed off when he realized those two exhibitionist losers were, in fact, Yuta and Donghyuck.
“It’s your losers!” Jaehyun said cheerfully, probably happy that he wasn’t the one being embarrassed for once.
Damn, John knew he said get along but the way Yuta had Donghyuck pressed against the wall, it was a lot closer to ‘get it on’.
Well, he was happy they were happy. He hoped this enthusiasm would hold up when he got them in private later.
“It’s 12 seconds to midnight!” someone called out excitedly! “Ten! Nine!”
John looked around in dismay as everyone immediately began coupling up, screaming the countdown at the top of their lungs. Yuta and Donghyuck remained entirely unaffected by their surroundings. John was pretty sure he saw Donghyuck’s hand creep down the back of Yuta’s pants.
“Why are they counting down like it’s New Years?” John asked cluelessly, looking around. Jaehyun shrugged, licking his lips and moving in a little closer to John.
“They’re drunk,” he said with a grin, laughing when the count hit 1 and everyone screamed "Merry Christmas!" before they all started kissing. John rolled his eyes but chuckled, shaking his head.
“It's not a bad idea, anyway. Jae, do you want-"
He turned to find Jaehyun right beside him, so close that John petered off in surprise. Jaehyun's hand was outstretched like he wanted to grab hold of John but he couldn't quite believe he was allowed.
"Really, hyung? You'd let me kiss you?" he asked, moving in somehow even closer. His expression was almost grave in his intensity. John took an unintentional step back, looking up at him imploringly, caught somewhere between disbelief and amusement. Oh. Dammit, his boyfriends were right. John really was oblivious.
"Only if you'd let me kiss you back," John teased with a smile, taking Jaehyun's face in his hands. Jae moved in a flash, grabbing John in big handfuls like he was worried someone would try to take him away.
"Merry Christmas," he murmured with a wide, dimpled smile, pressing their lips and bodies flush together. John let himself be wrapped up, tasting bourbon and Christmas punch on his tongue. He sucked in a gasp through his nose as Jaehyun backed him up against a nearby booth, lips never parting as he continued to kiss him greedily. Somewhere in the distance he heard Hyoyeon heckling them lovingly as the couples began to separate and take notice. John only grinned, licking into Jaehyun's mouth. His loser boyfriends weren't the only ones who could shamelessly put on a show.
They finally parted, breathing heavy. Jaehyun's cheeks were pink and he held onto John, smiling down at him so tenderly.
There was a shrill whistle followed by loud hooting cheers.
"Way to go Johnny Suh!" Donghyuck hollered, using Yuta's shoulder for balance as he bounced around, waving at them frantically. John grinned and beside him Jaehyun chuckled bashfully. Yuta only beamed, shooting them a wink and a nod before turning on Donghyuck once more.
John gave Jaehyun's waist a squeeze, still smiling,
"Merry Christmas to me~"