Chapter Text
The very first thing that Jake becomes aware of as soon as he opens his eyes is that his shoulders burn and ache, and as he twists himself around to tiredly stretch out his body's tight joints, he hisses as his bare skin rubs against his sheet and blanket. He squints his eyes during the discomfort, while mentally cursing himself for forgetting to put sunscreen on anywhere and everywhere else other than his face, and then he's kicking out his legs for leverage to sit upright.
Dark waves of strands come flooding down in his partially blurred line of vision, and he blows them out of the way with a mild yawn, before twisting to his left to grab at his glasses he discarded last night on his bedside table. His sore shoulder loosens with the stretch, and when he's finally got them situated on the bridge of his nose and his hair is pushed back, Jake's kneeing himself over to the end of his bed and then pushing himself up onto his feet. Artificial light bleeds its way in through the slight crack underneath his closed door, and when he twists it open, he grimaces and raises an arm to block the brightness.
Jake's running his other hand down their short hallway's wall to blindly smack at the surface for the light switch, and he sighs in relief when he finds the cool to the touch flicker. He blinks rapidly as a deep-in-sleep Riki comes into view on their sofa, and his lips raise as he takes in his best friend curled almost underneath him. Riki had somehow managed to sneak a handful of beers into one of the coolers when Jay hadn't been looking, and as a result, him and his boyfriend got tipsy on the beach. Jake had ended up leading the younger two back to their shared dorm in the almost pitch black on his own, and as Riki quietly snores into the cushion underneath his linen imprinted face, he wonders if all of the soreness is really from the sun, or if it's mostly just from carrying the taller's weight on his back the way on up the flight of stairs and into their living room.
Jake shivers as the coldness of their floor seeps in through the loosely knit fibers of his socks, and he hurries into the kitchen for warmth, before glancing at their dining table. Sunoo's borrowed notebook lays open and discarded, and as Jake shuffles over, bright ink appears messily scrawled over the lined paper. Despite Sunoo not being fully coherent last night, he had still insisted on their weeklong plan getting documented correctly, which led to them being hunched over finished wood past midnight and with streaks of ink staining the sides of their fingers and wrists. Everything from uneven checkmarks in earlier carefully drawn squares to clumsily indented and highlighted notes are left behind, and Jake rests his hip against the table as his eyes run themselves over the totality of the first day.
Gentle nervousness creates a wave in his middle as the checkmarks continue over what Sunoo had originally thought their skinship would amount out to, since that means that another activity will be added on to one of the days. Jake restlessly runs a fingertip over the permanently altered sheet, and then he turns around to start a pot of coffee, to try and get his mind off of what he knows is to come. The tips of his eyelashes make contact with the lenses of his glasses as he tilts his head down to measure out the coffee grounds, and as he shifts the power button to on, he lightly flinches as the machine loudly comes to life. He had hoped that the sound of their blasting air conditioner would be able to drown out the sound, but as feet pad towards where he's stood, he's proven wrong.
Sunoo's hair is pressed down flat against his forehead, a blonde almost white the complete juxtaposition to his beautifully tanned skin, and he sends his best friend a glare as Jake's lips twitch in amusement. "You know, there's red bull in the fridge."
His voice is a sleep laden grumble, but it softens at the end with his own smile, and Sunoo bumps his elbow with his as he makes his way over to the table. He plops down with a groan and leans forward to rest his head on a stretched-out arm, before tiredly blinking over at the other. "And you went over my estimation, you know what that means." He exaggerates his words by blindly tapping at the notebook beneath his palm, and his fingernails glint under the natural light pillowing itself through their half-opened blinds.
"Good morning to you too," Jake greets instead of fully answering, and he turns to face the coffee machine in excuse to further stretch out the time. He reaches for two mugs hanging off of hooks underneath the nearest cabinet, and he pours the dark liquid into the ceramic as soon as it fills the measuring cup to the brim. He finishes their drinks on almost auto pilot, and he curls his legs to rest on the wooden chair beneath him as soon as he sits down next to Sunoo and carefully pushes his roommate's own mug over. "What torture do you have planned out for me?"
Sunoo joins his hands in a clasp around his coffee for warmth, and he closes his eyes momentarily to savor his first sip, before snapping them back open. There's an undercurrent of energy in his dark irises, even though he's barely been awake for more than five minutes, and Jake prepares himself for the worst as the other straightens himself up in his chair. "Well, let me think," he starts, his words coming off of his tongue slowly, the tip of it reddened from the sweetened drink. Jake huffs around a disbelieving laugh and then lifts his own mug, and he nearly chokes as Sunoo finishes. "Ask them on dates after you all study, for days four and five."
"You said to spend individual time with them, not to ask them out on dates!" Jake sputters, gulping needily around the large mouthful he almost projects out. He raises the neckline of his shirt with his free hand to wipe at his chin, and his brows furrow as he feels his fingertips dampen with the movement.
"All you have to do is add a label to what you agreed to do anyway," Sunoo brushes off, before fully going lax and raising a leg to rest a calf on the wooden fixture. "Besides, we all know how slow Heeseung is to do it. They've been skirting around each other way longer than they've been crushing on you."
Jake bites back the urge to disagree, and hums in light accordance instead. Their entire friend group and more know of how the two have gotten closer over the last year or more, yet refuse to make anything official. Neither of them have ever explained why or have gone into detail, at least with Jake around, and it's left him with nothing but feeling confused. Jake shifts in place and then looks down, his features resting in an expression almost downtrodden as his thumbs press themselves against the only current source of warmth. "I just don't see how me trying to push things along is going to help, if none of you who have known them longer than I have, have gotten through to them yet," he murmurs, as his fingers become whiter and begin to match the ceramic. "I think you're giving me a lot more credit and importance than I deserve right now."
Sunoo can't hold back his scoff, and he straightens out his leg to lightly tap the other with it. Jake lifts his head at the touch, and the unamused look he's met with has his cheeks warming. "I've never met anyone as oblivious as you, and it's as adorable as it is infuriating," he deadpans, although affection bleeds through it. Sunoo raises an eyebrow and leans forward once again, before grinning confidently. "I'll make a deal with you. If you don't get the reaction you're hoping for by asking them out individually, we'll end this tonight, contact torn and all."
Jake looks at him deeply from across the table, and his eyes trace over inch of his best friend's face, before he settles back into his chair and clutches his mug to his chest. Uncertainty and doubt fill his head, but as Sunoo looks back at him with so much conviction, he can't help but to hopefully agree. "No loopholes, no double sided promises." Jake solidifies, straight out, and something unfurls in his chest when Sunoo automatically agrees, akin to relief.
"You can end this whenever you want, Jake-ah. This is for you, way more than it is for me or anyone else," Sunoo softens his voice to an almost whisper, and Jake loosens his hold on his drink with it. The scent of the milky espresso wafts up to his nose, and the combination of the comforting tone and the smell has the older almost closing his eyes again. "I just want you three to all be happy together, contracts and tests aside. And I need you to finally see how much they truly care about you, and what you actually mean to them."
"I'm just nervous," Jake confesses, and his breath stutters in his chest as he shakily exhales around a broken sigh. "I get that all of you can see that they care for me, and I know that, I can accept that. But being in love with someone is completely different from caring about somebody as a friend, especially when there's someone else already involved, and you have feelings for the both of them."
"I'm putting a lot on the line here, and as much as I want to just be upfront and tell them how I feel, a bigger part of me is scared and expecting rejection." Jake continues after a moment of silence, and he rests his mug on the table, before wringing his hands and placing them on his lap. Sunoo quietly stands, and then travels the short distance between them, his drink almost already finished and the rest abandoned. He squats down and then reaches forward, to rest a hand on top of Jake's unsteady ones, and he sends him a comforting smile.
"This is why we're doing this, to help you get over that fear, and to figure it all out," Sunoo comforts, and Jake nods quickly, as if the movement could physically shake the rest of his nerves off. "You aren't alone in this. You've got me and Riki and the rest of the group, and even if this doesn't work out, the result isn't going to take away their love. It just might change it."
Jake swallows thickly, and the slightly sweetened coffee's aftertaste is bitter as he imagines the worst, before his thoughts teeter off to become more positive, with Sunoo's words helping to put him at partial ease.
There's a small beeping noise coming from the wall nearest to them, an alarm or a notification of something being started or finished, and Sunoo's thumb presses itself into his knuckle with a caress, as a new source of warmth. But this time it's constant, and it grounds the other enough for him to straighten himself out in his chair and to reciprocate the hold. He can feel his pulse rapidly press itself against Sunoo's, his own slow and steady, and Jake decides that he's ready. Because even if he doesn't get the response he wants, at least it'll be what he needs to hear to begin to move on.
"Help me get ready?" Jake asks timidly, and the cheer Sunoo lets out has his boyfriend groaning from the room over. Sunoo winces in sympathy, before excitedly clapping his best friend on the shoulder, and the sound he lets out in response has Sunoo's earlier exclamation sounding like a whisper.
"Sorry, sorry!"
★・・・・・・★
The books in his hands feel heavy like lead as he tiredly trudges, with a good majority of his coffee having ended up so cold that it was undrinkable, and because of how late everyone had stayed up. The sun is just barely fully risen in the sky as Jake descends the stairs to the senior's floor, with the older students having more leeway to sneak out and venture that way. The lack of breeze makes the slowly rising heat more apparent as he comes to a stop near the end of the flight, and he narrowly misses a slightly familiar looking student as they race by. A yelled out apology echoes in his ears as he shoulders one of the entryway doors to the dorm room area open and looks around for a guided sign, and he presses forward through a small crowd when he finds one.
Regardless of the few times he's been at their place, almost every single dorm room door looks the exact same on the outside. Aside from the few students that have pride and tack on their jersey numbers or photo collages of their best friends, they're usually just a plain blue or black. The dozens of smaller ones are nearly side by side, and they get bigger with more space between them the farther you walk down. By the time Jake's at their front door and near the end of the seemingly never-ending hallway, the thin material of his shirt has become a fourth layer of skin, and his curls are tucking themselves in past the barrier of his glasses.
He uses his handfuls of books to knock against the dark blue door and nearly presses himself into it, as a group of senior boys take up entirely too much space as they leisurely walk by and talk loudly. Only a few seconds pass before a faint sound of a chain being slid out of its place is heard, and then Jake's almost falling face first into Sunghoon's chest. A large cool hand is pressing itself into his hip to help stabilize him, and as soon as Jake takes a step back, he's met with a tiredly amused face.
"Don't tell me you ended up having a drink with the demons last night too," Sunghoon teases, a faint hint of sharp teeth peeking through his plush lips as he grins and beckons him in. The taller uses his free hand to pluck a stack of books out of Jake's own one as his hand remains dormant on his side, and Jake blushes as Sunghoon moves behind him to push the door to a close. His chest brushes against his back as he guides him towards their couch, and Jake's heart races as the taller's chin grazes the top of his head. By the time Jake's fully sat and his books are splayed out in front of him on the table, his cheeks are a bright red, and the ghost of Sunghoon's hold tingles right under his ribcage. "Heeseung's still sleeping, even though we have practice in two hours. But I'll make sure he joins us soon."
His last few words are intentionally loud, and Jake ducks his head with a smile as his ears catch the sound of Heeseung slowly rousing awake in another room. Jake reaches for the nearest book to keep his restless hands occupied, and when he speaks up, he absentmindedly thumbs it open. "I don't mind if it's just you and me for a little while, you know."
Jake looks up from the miscellaneous page after a few seconds too long of silence, and he looks up just in time to see Sunghoon looking at him with wide eyes and parted lips, before reaching for a book of his own. "Right." The other mutters, the one word sounding like it'd been punched out of him and full of awe at the same time. Jake hums in response around an amused and small grin, and as he twists his fingers around a page of printed paper, footsteps make themselves known in the hallway.
Heeseung's bright red hair is standing up in all directions, and his eyes are barely open, yet he still beams as soon as he sees Jake. His white t-shirt and basketball shorts are rumpled up and only fall back in place as he walks over to where the younger's sitting, and Jakes cheeks ablaze when the older practically plasters himself to his side.
A bare knee gently collides with his own as an arm is tossed over the back of the sofa near his head, and Heeseung's smile softens at the edges when Jake slowly presses his weight into his side. "Morning, puppy." Heeseung murmurs in a greeting, the words sounding raspy and grated, and they vibrate against the outer part of Jake's right bicep as he fully leans into him. Sunghoon's eyes meet the other senior's and his smile turns into something even more delicate, before falling back down to the junior sat down beside him.
"Morning, hyung," Jake whispers something soft, and he shakes his curls out of the way as he begins to actually read. There's a moment where Heeseung leaves momentarily to search for his backpack, and when he does, Jake decides to no longer wait for the next round of skinship and to do something on his own. He looks up after bookmarking the page with his thumb, and tilts his head to the left when Sunghoon peers over at him from over his own. "Come join me."
Sunghoon studies him for a moment, and Jake's skin prickles with it, it feeling as if though he's sat out in the glaring sun once again, and then the other is standing up and collecting his own material. The table isn't large and there isn't too much room left on the sofa, but they make do, and when Heeseung comes back out with a stack halfway up to his chin of his own books, he pauses mid step.
Because it isn't a new view, Jake enveloped in Sunghoon's arms, but the very obvious space they'd left for him and his belongings feels otherworldly, like they'd fully let him in. The oldest is quiet as he makes his way back over and places down his things, and when Jake straightens himself up to equally press himself against the both of them, it causes his heart to race and for his lips to uncontrollably rise.
It's quiet for a while, with the only sounds coming from pages being turned, or from one of them leaning forward to write down a note or highlight a sentence, but it's peaceful and comfortable. Like the nights they've spent walking Jake home after one of their games or when all three of their schedules align, and it makes the time go by quickly. Jake's halfway through a practice packet and his self-assigned chapters when an alarm goes off, and it nearly causes him to jump out of his skin. Sunghoon can't hold back his laugh, and Heeseung presses his large grin into the side of Jake's temple as he pouts.
Sunghoon lowers his book to press his right thumb into Jake's cheek, and it dimples when he smiles in response to his touch. He nearly forgets to shut it off, and when he looks down at his phone screen, Sunghoon's own grin wavers. "Twenty minutes." He reminds Heeseung, leaning back to meet the other's eyes, and they soften when they do. Jake sucks in a deep breath when their hands meet at the low of his back behind him, and he leans back into their touch when they rest their joined hold near his spine.
Sunoo's earlier words wrap themselves along his thoughts once again, and Jake bites his bottom lip as he silently braves himself to speak up. He goes to pin his lips together and to continue reading, but then there's a gentle thumb curving itself into a divot of his spine, and then it's lowering itself with a delicate caress, and he feels safe and wanted. Sunghoon hums as he finds an answer to something he'd been looking for, and Jake looks to his right to find a growing and answering smile on his hyung's lips he knew he'd find from the endearing sound.
"I want to take you two out," Jake blurts, and his eyes widen at how forceful the words sound. Heeseung pauses mid page swipe and Sunghoon looks at him with amused confusion, his eyebrow raising as Jake lifts a palm up to rest it against his forehead in defeat. "Oh God."
"I thought we were having a good time," Sunghoon says in a fake sad tone, and Heeseung adds onto it with a deep frown and lidded eyes. "I guess I couldn't read the room."
Jake huffs in exasperation and lightly smacks at his chest, and he can't help but to smile as Heeseung leans into him with a loud laugh and throws his head back. "You guys are the worst." He complains, and Heeseung only lets up when he runs out of air to bellow out. Sunghoon's got a wide grin on his face, and he's fully relaxed back as he watches the other struggle to catch his breath.
Tears threaten to fall from Heeseung's eyes and Jake rolls his own, before dropping his book down onto his lap and twisting to the right to cup the other's face in his hands. Heeseung's eyes go wide as he goes still, and the hold Sunghoon had on his hip earlier comes back as Jake lightly wipes the wetness away. Heeseung licks his lips as he traces every inch of Jake's face attentively with amorous eyes, and he only comes out of his stupor when Jake slowly lets go.
Jake's thumbs gently caress his jawline as they fall, and the fists they turn into lightly touch the older's chest, before they retreat back onto his lap. "I was trying to say that I," Jake starts again, his chest twisting with anxiousness he knows will only go away if he continues to push through. "I want to take you two out on dates, individually. Just to see."
"Just to see," Sunghoon parrots, and when Jake turns to look at him, he finds the other to be in a stunned sort of shock. His eyes are large and glassy, and his hand that isn't around him is clutching tightly onto a book. Heeseung seems to be no better off, staring blankly ahead as his lips mimic the words in what seems to be a temporary trance. "To see if you like us?" Sunghoon asks, his words sounding slurred and unsure, while also hesitant and fearful.
Jake quickly shakes his head. "No, I already know that I do." He admits before he can stop himself, and he goes ramrod straight after. Heeseung sucks in a deep breath as Sunghoon chokes one out, and Jake's is completely stuck in his chest. There's a moment where he feels himself be on the verge of a panic attack, a feeling he hasn't felt in such a long time. The tightness in his chest refuses to relent and his eyes begin to water, and then two different hands are clasping themselves around his and familiar voices are gently bringing him back.
"Sweetheart, it's alright, I promise," Heeseung is whispering, the one hand of his not holding onto his own wrapped around his wrist, as if he's counting his pulse. He's no longer sat beside him but now on his knees in front, and his eyes are desperate to hold onto his as Jake gasps to find his breath. Sunghoon's hold on his hip turns into an arm around his waist, and Jake welcomes the added weight as he slowly comes back to. "You have nothing to worry about, okay?"
Sunghoon's lips graze his left temple as he reassures him on his own, and Jake's finally able to breathe as he takes them both in. "In and out, just like that." Jake fights back the urge to close his eyes in mortification and embarrassment at losing it after failing to properly confess, then the words that he's least expecting are meeting his ears, and then he's being hugged.
"We would love to go on dates with you." Heeseung's arms are all encompassing and grounding, and Jake can't help but to burrow into the crook of his neck as they securely wrap around his shoulders and bring him in. The relief he feels is palpable and easily overpowers the slight twinge of pain, and it takes everything in him to not cry, as Sunghoon squeezes his middle and kisses the side of his head.
"Please don't just agree to this because you're afraid of making me sad." Jake pleads, and the look he's met with after Heeseung partially detaches from him is enough for him to bite his tongue.
"You don't know how long we've waited for this." Sunghoon responds in disbelief, and he runs his left hand down his face, before pressing it against his neck and laughing. It doesn't sound taunting or playful, it sounds jovial, astonished. Like he can't believe this is real, while Jake attempts to fully wrap his head around all that is going on at once.
"How long you've waited?" Jake blinks rapidly as Heeseung goes back to kneeling, and doesn't let go of his hand.
"We've basically liked you since we all met," Sunghoon confesses, his tone wistful. Jake's eye latch onto Heeseung's for any sign of deception, but all he finds is equal longing and yearning, and it hits harder than Jake would have expected, even in his wildest dreams. "Hyung and I were already talking at that point about getting together, and when we met you, it completely changed things. Suddenly, it didn't matter that we weren't officially together, because it wouldn't have changed anything except for adding on a label. All that we really wanted was you at that point, and for you to be with us."
"And that doesn't mean that us having feelings for you and being interested takes anything away from me wanting to be with Sunghoon, I still love him just as much as I did before you came along." Sunghoon turns sheepish and dips his head, the expression so rare and intimate that Jake has the urge to almost turn away, like he's interrupting.
"We got to know you, and we just couldn't help it," Sunghoon continues, his gaze intent on his lap as his thumb rubs figure eights into the right side of Jake's waist. "But we didn't want to rush things. You've barely been here for a year and it's a completely different country, and the idea of pushing you or further complicating things had us waiting for you to speak up first instead."
Heeseung's hold is constant and just the right amount of warm, and his smile is as teary as it is bright with newfound emotion. "We've tried to hold back and to just be your friend, but with the amount of times that we hold and touch you a day, it's been a little obvious." Jake's lips shakily lift as Sunghoon exhales gentle laughter, and Jake leans into his side as he lifts his head.
"To everyone but me, apparently." Jake mumbles, and he shakes his head at his own obliviousness. Heeseung tsks and tugs on his hold until Jake loosens up his fist, and he can intertwine their fingers together.
"Yes. Because you being the sweetest, most cheerful and accommodating person to be around is just the worst," Sunghoon drones sarcastically, and the sharpness in his voice strengthens Jake's smile. Heeseung's shoulders shake with laughter as he sputters, and the sound is more than enough to ease away the remnants of the tightness in his chest. "We just care about you too much to want to ruin this, and the only reason why we haven't made anything official between us, is because we didn't want the title to make you feel like you aren't as equally included in everything we do."
The thoughtfulness makes Jake's eyes water and his breath shake, and he has to squeeze his eyes shut to hold his tears back.
"Hey, none of that." Heeseung tuts, and he mirrors the position Jake had them in earlier, but with only one hand, and the lightly calloused fingertip that gently rubs beneath his eyelid almost feels like a kiss. Jake turns his head to press his cheek into his awaiting palm, and Sunghoon molds himself to his side as Heeseung brings himself closer.
"I didn't say anything about my feelings because I was scared," Jake finally admits, and he reopens his eyes to glance at them both, a light flutter in his stomach strengthening when he already finds them both looking at him adoringly. "You two not making anything official made me think that you two weren't looking for anything serious, and you never made me feel like anything more than a friend, other than with the skinship and nicknames. But that didn't stop me from liking you two any less, and now I'm here asking you two out on individual dates while basically crying on your guys' couch."
The gaze Heeseung levels him with is nothing less than full of affection, and Sunghoon's grin is obvious in his voice when he speaks up. "It's second-hand, and Heeseung already answered for the both of us," He muses, his sharp teeth and dimples on fully display as his happiness is unbridled and apparent. "But I'll say it for you if you need the reassurance, Jakey. I would love to go on a date with you. Just to see."
His last few words have Jake groaning and Heeseung swallowing around a poorly hidden laugh, and it goes momentarily quiet when a second alarm sounds. Heeseung begrudgingly stands up and arranges his books out of the way of Jake's and shoves his bag around, and Sunghoon is slow to disentangle himself from Jake entirely. For the first few minutes after he's done so, it still feels like he's holding on, and it comforts Jake as he messily piles his own books and items in order of size and weight.
"Just to see doesn't mean that I'm not taking this seriously," Jake gently insists, as they help him collect and carry his things to their front door. Heeseung lowers his head with a grin and chuckles when Sunghoon elbows him, and as the latter opens the door for him, it all begins to feel more real. Because they're no longer just going to be in the comfortable confines of their dorm room alone together, and soon they're going to be going on dates and telling their friends about their confessions. A small spike of uneasiness is sharp in his stomach, but then it dissipates, because as new as this may be, it's all he's ever wanted. "I'll see you guys later." He tries to rush, only to get tugged back in by Sunghoon.
The taller wraps an arm around his middle and brings him in close, and Jake sighs as his forehead makes contact with the front of his hoodie, right alongside his collarbone and the source of his racing heartbeat. "Don't go running away from us, okay? We'll see you at lunch tomorrow, where we'll start planning our dates."
"And even if you try to run, we'll just catch you." Heeseung jokes, and he bends down to kiss Jake's cheek, causing his heart to catapult in his chest. He can feel the heat begin to spread from his chest up to his ears and cheeks, and he's uncaring about not properly saying goodbye as he flees, while Heeseung and Sunghoon hold onto each other in laughter in the doorway.
Jake doesn't slow down until he realizes that he's gone the wrong way, and when he does, he breathes out deeply. His shoulders lower and his lungs clear and his cheeks hurt from smiling, and he's happy. And as he turns back around to backtrack back to his and Sunoo's dorm room, he has to rush to the right and yell out an apology this time around, with him being too much in his head all at once that he almost runs into someone else.
He wonders if the girl he almost crashed into earlier was as happy as he is now, as he runs up the stairs, and he hopes.
God, does he hope.