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Before Mark even knew when Jaemin's sisters' wedding date was, he knew that he would probably be introduced to Jaemin's other boyfriend at some point before the wedding, especially since Mina told Jaemin to bring both of them. She'd mentioned that he had older brother privileges or something like that, it's been so long that Mark can't recall the exact wording, but Jaemin was really happy that he wouldn't have to choose which of them to bring.
He was also happy about the fact that bringing both of them meant that he didn't have to worry as much about either of them attending most of the event alone and instead could attend together.
The intention was for them to have lunch together sometime to get each other's numbers and text a little bit before the wedding.
What Mark hadn't expected was for the wedding to sneak up on all of them so quickly, that they were never able to find a time that was good for Jaemin to introduce them to each other, especially not between his and Jaemin's jobs.
A week before the wedding, Jaemin had apologized profusely when he realized that they were never able to set up a meeting before the wedding, but Mark reassured him that it was fine. It's not like there was anything any of them could do about it now, and Mark can't be mad about it.
Besides, meeting just before the wedding might actually be for the best in Mark's regard, because it'll force him to get over his nerves and may potentially be easier than if Jaemin were sitting there between them in a cafe or something (he really has no idea, he's just trying to quell his anxiety over the situation).
Ironically enough, the wedding environment seems to already be helping with his awkwardness, and he's sure that he can spend some time bonding with Jeno over their mutual boyfriend "abandoning" them at the wedding.
This leads to the current situation taking place. Mark and Jaemin arrived early to the hotel, so they've had a few hours to get settled into their room already.
Mark is sitting in the armchair by the window, just watching as more people arrive at the hotel, probably for the wedding, while Jaemin paces back and forth in the small room as he stares down at his phone. He's probably triple-checking the wedding itinerary. Again.
Jeno is supposed to be meeting them any minute now, and Mark is trying to be as normal about the situation as he possibly can, otherwise he might send himself into a spiral right before his boyfriend is about to leave for however many hours the pre-wedding events will take.
Realistically speaking, there's not much for Mark to be nervous about, because he thinks that if Jaemin deems Jeno good enough to date and call his boyfriend, then clearly he isn't a bad person.
Though that also implies that Jeno knows about Mark, and based on everything Mark knows about his boyfriend, Jaemin would never paint him in a bad light. Hell, Jaemin struggles to say anything about Mark's flaws, which Mark knows he has, and Jaemin would much rather worship the ground that he walks on. Mark can't say he's mad about it.
There was a time earlier in their relationship that things were kind of rocky for a while, and Mark doesn't like to think about it too much, because if he had done anything differently, then he and Jaemin may not have made it this fair in their relationship, but with better communication and understanding the other, their relationship is stronger than most others.
It helped allow them to lead the conversation realizing that they both found other people attractive, which led them to being more open and honest with each other, and Mark is grateful, even if that period was a difficult one.
He's had the chance to explore other aspects of his sexuality and to get to know other people. What he does know is that even though most of the people he's gone out with are nice, is that he couldn't see most of them in his future with Jaemin alongside it.
His most recent date is promising, though, and Mark definitely can't stop thinking about him, and he's expressed to Jaemin that he thinks the two of them would get along very well, and that he wants to possibly introduce them to each other if the next few dates go as well as the first one did.
Jaemin being the ever supportive and open boyfriend that he is, expressed nothing but interest and excitement that Mark was comfortable enough in the fact that he definitely wanted to see this person again, and potentially even date him as well.
A knock at the door pulls Mark from his thoughts, and Jaemin looks up from his phone. (A quick glance at the screen as Jaemin turns to put it in his pocket tells Mark that he was correct in his assumption that Jaemin was looking at the wedding itinerary. Honestly, his compulsive planning is one of the reasons Mark loves him, and he's sure that it's probably one of the reasons why Jeno at least likes Jaemin as well. At least, he hopes so. Fingers crossed).
"That's probably Jeno," Jaemin says as he makes his way to the door, "I really wish you guys could have met before Min's wedding, but it'll be alright," Jaemin keeps speaking into the space of the hallway, appearing a bit sheepish once again and maybe a little frazzled with the time crunch he's on.
It's not a bad look on him, but then again, Mark doesn't think there's a circumstance in which his boyfriend could look bad, but maybe that's the rose-tinted glasses his friends say he's always wearing when it comes to Jaemin (if only they knew the shit they went through to get them to this point). He personally disagrees, because Jaemin has never truly looked bad a day in his life, even at his worst moments, and Mark will die on that hill.
Jaemin finally opens the door to Jeno standing there with a raised fist as though he's about to knock again.
He looks a little surprised, and Mark's first thought is that it's really cute, before Jeno is hidden from his vision as Jaemin pulls him in for a hug.
Mark observes the way they touch each other, feeling his heart begin to beat a little faster when he catches Jeno's hands going to the small of Jaemin's back. He briefly wonders if he'll have that with someone other than Jaemin too (he also finds that maybe if he and Jeno get along well that he wouldn't mind if that person happens to be Jeno).
Brushing that thought away, Mark stands to greet Jeno, because he's nothing if not polite and afraid of making a bad first impression with someone so important to his boyfriend.
Jaemin and Jeno separate a few seconds later, after Jaemin gives Jeno a quick kiss on the cheek. He turns to face Mark as he leads Jeno further into the room.
"Jeno, this is Mark, Mark, this is Jeno. Okay, I have to go now, Mina is calling me and you both know how she gets when she's stressed," Mark kindly does not mention that Jaemin looks as stressed as Mina probably is, and his eyes flit over to Jeno.
"See you guys later!" Jaemin bounces forward to squeeze Mark's hand before rushing out of the room as he picks up the call, and then the door shuts, blanketing the room in silence.
Mark takes the time to get a better look at Jeno, and wow, he can see why Jaemin seems so enamored by him, because he is exactly his boyfriend's type (Mark ignores the fact that Jeno is his type as well). Even through the loose clothes Jeno is wearing, Mark can see the toned musculature of Jeno's body and how he holds himself, sure of who he is and something Mark may have absolutely gone for if he hadn't met Jaemin earlier.
His eyes trail up to Jeno's face, and Mark is struck by the way he looks kind of like a confused puppy, because it's such a cute look on him, and he thinks that it was definitely part of the reason why Jaemin went for Jeno if he didn't have any other reasons. He looks like he wouldn't hurt a fly, and Mark already finds himself more intrigued and wanting to know more about him.
"Um, like he said, I'm Mark. It's really nice to meet you, Jeno. Jaemin's told me a lot about you," Mark decides to be the one to break the silence between them, the words spilling out easily because they ring true. It is nice to meet Jeno, and Jaemin has told Mark a lot about him.
He gives Jeno an awkward, but sure smile, and hopes that it eases the slight discomfort. Mark feels like it does when Jeno cracks a tiny smile back, and even just that small smile makes his eyes turn into crescents, and Mark is so endeared already, feeling his heartstrings being pulled every which way as his heart goes haywire in Jeno's presence. He can definitely see why Jaemin is attracted to Jeno.
"Mark, hi. It's nice to meet you too. And same. About Jaemin telling me a lot about you," Jeno stumbles over his words a little bit, which only further endears Mark. He pretends to not see the pink dusting Jeno's cheekbones, however, and Jeno seems to be thankful that Mark doesn't point it out. Instead, Mark tries to branch away from the awkward introductions and to steer the conversation towards more comfortable territory, like Jaemin.
"Yeah? All good things, I hope?" Mark's tone is teasing, and he grins at the way Jeno's body tenses and the momentary dumbstruck look on his face. Jeno blinks several times as he realizes that Mark isn't actually being that serious before his muscles relax again and huffs out a laugh.
"Oh yeah, he's told me so much about you, that I've been so curious to get to know you on my own," Jeno turns serious as he looks at Mark.
That makes Mark's ears go red, and he has to avert his eyes so he doesn't go super awkward again, because Jeno is still technically a stranger to him, being Jaemin's boyfriend doesn't change that, and really, what they both have in common is that they're both dating Jaemin.
Mark's not sure that he'll survive the embarrassment that he's sure will follow much of their conversations the rest of the day.
The next time that Mark sees Jaemin is in the evening, long after dinner has concluded since he had the rehearsal dinner for the bridal party. It unfortunately meant that both Mark and Jeno couldn't attend, and Jaemin felt absolutely awful about it, apologies spilling from his lips the moment he steps into the room. Both for the fact that they couldn't spend dinner with him, as well as for taking so long to get back after being free from wedding responsibilities for the night.
He had already apologized to Mark about it before they left for the wedding, and Mark is sure that Jeno also received many apologies for the same reason.
Mark continued to reassure Jaemin that it was fine, and that he had a good time with Jeno and getting to know him, and that he's sure that Jeno feels the same way.
Jeno's room actually happens to be next to theirs, and Jaemin's sister had even arranged for them to having a door to the other's room, so they wouldn't have to step out into the hallway every time one of them wanted to go next door. It meant that Jeno was within earshot of Jaemin's apologies without actually being in the room with them, and Jaemin had flushed red when he realized that he didn't have to send the texts he'd already sent to Jeno with his apologies.
There's not much energy between the three of them by the time Jaemin is back, especially since they all had to travel to get to the hotel earlier that day, so they all turn in for bed, Jaemin going to shower get and scrub days dirt and grime away.
While he's showering, Mark goes to the door connecting their rooms and knocks. The door is cracked and Jeno lets out a hum that sounds like he's distracted with something, but indicating to whoever it is can come in.
"I just wanted to say goodnight," Mark opens the door just enough that he can peek into the room. He sees Jeno sitting in bed wearing glasses as he reads. The sight feels so intimate that it makes Mark want to shy away, like he's not supposed to see Jeno like this, but he doesn't.
Jeno looks up from the page he's reading, appearing a little surprised. He probably wasn't expecting it to be Mark knocking on his door, but he recovers quickly and gives him a small, but shy smile.
"Well, goodnight," Mark feels awkward once again, going back to his default state.
"Goodnight, Mark," Jeno responds in an amused tone, and god, Mark likes it, "I really enjoyed getting to know you today."
"You too," Mark mumbles, ignoring the way his face is a furious shade of red and turns back to his own room. He does not think about how Jeno's eyes scrunched up in amusement at his awkwardness. He definitely doesn't think about how cute it was.
Mark throws himself face down on the bed in the middle of the room, choosing to wallow in self-pity at how much of a gay wreck he is.
That's how Jaemin finds him when he exits the bathroom in a cloud of steam ten minutes later. Mark can already see the look Jaemin is giving him, probably a combination of confusion and amusement. It's a look that he commonly gives Mark, and if Mark wasn't currently wallowing, he'd find it funny. But alas.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Mark has to give Jaemin credit for at least attempting to keep the amusement out of his voice, but it doesn't work very well, and Mark groans loudly into the bedspread before finally turning around. He was starting to have trouble breathing, so it would have had to happen eventually.
"Nothings wrong," Mark finally meets Jaemin's eyes, and by the look of Jaemin raising a brow at him tells Mark that he doesn't believe a single word that just came out of his mouth. Mark ignores it.
"Seriously! Nothing is wrong, Jaem," Jaemin nods slowly, like Mark is an upset child that he's trying not to further upset. He still doesn't believe him, and Mark doesn't care. He changes the subject.
"Is Jeno okay with staying in his room by himself?" Mark frowns, and Jaemin's gaze turns inquisitive, as though he hadn't considered that before (Mark knows he has, but his boyfriend likes to be dramatic sometimes).
"I'm sure it's fine, Mark. I already talked to him about it, and he said it was okay," the sound of Jaemin's voice tells Mark that he's not entirely content with the situation, but Mark doesn't push. Jaemin is already stressed and he doesn't want to make things worse.
"Okay, well go tell him goodnight before he falls asleep," Mark pushes Jaemin's side with his toes, and Jaemin yelps, trying to get away from the touch.
Mark just laughs at Jaemin as does what he told him.
As it turns out, the day of the wedding is even more hectic for Jaemin than the days leading up to it, which makes sense since he's so close to his sister and a part of the wedding party.
That's why Mark only gets a few minutes in the morning with him when he gets up to get ready for the day. Mark sits up in bed to watch him as he changes with tired eyes, and before Jaemin goes to leave, he comes to Mark's side of the bed with a sheepish look. It's likely because he already feels bad about leaving Mark on his own for the majority of the weekend.
"Stop that. It's fine, I promise," Mark shuts it down as gently as he possibly can without making Jaemin feel worse than he already does about it, because he knows that Jaemin will still feel guilty about it regardless, so he just leaves it at that,
"I know, but I'm still sorry. I love you, you know," Jaemin mumbles as he leaves a kiss on Mark's head, burying his face in the impressive bedhead for a few moments, cherishing the quiet intimacy.
"I love you too," Mark brushes his thumb over Jaemin's knuckles softly, thankful for the little moments they can have like this. It wasn't always this easy, but Mark wouldn't trade their past for the world, and he honestly can't imagine a future without Jaemin by his side.
"Alright," Jaemin starts and pulls away from Mark reluctantly, "I've gotta go say bye to Jen, but I'll see you later yeah?" Mark feels his heart jump at the mention of Jeno, and he's not quite sure he wants to explore what it means so early in the morning, so he ignores it and instead nods at Jaemin, who lifts Mark's hand to leave a soft kiss on his knuckles before moving away towards the door that connects their room to Jeno's.
Jaemin knocks softly before opening the door quietly, and then he's out of Mark's line of vision. He knows that he probably won't see Jaemin until the ceremony, and he knows that realistically he won't get a chance to talk to Jaemin again until sometime during the reception.
Mark can hear the distant sound of words being shared between Jaemin and Jeno and Mark imagines the conversation goes similarly to the one he and Jaemin just shared. Their hushed voices are all he hears for a few minutes before there's the sound of Jeno's door opening, and only then, Mark is sure that Jaemin has left for the day.
His heart does give a tiny pang knowing that he'll be kind of attending the wedding alone. Only kind of, because even though he and Jeno hung out a little bit last night, they still don't know each other very well, and Jaemin is both their connection to the wedding itself.
He does acknowledge the little flutter his heart does at the though of spending the day with Jeno, of getting to know him, however, and it makes the fact that Jaemin will be busy a little more manageable knowing that he won't really be alone all day.
A few hours later, after Mark dozed off for a little while longer and he's had time to properly shower and wake up, there's a knock coming from the door where his and Jeno's rooms meet.
He looks up from where he's working on his laptop at the desk to see that the door is open a crack, and thinks that Jaemin must have left it like that when he went to Jeno's room. Mark feels his face flush when he remembers that Jeno is so close, but he lets out a quiet come in.
In the next moment, the door opens further and Jeno is popping his head into the room. Mark frowns to himself when Jeno doesn't enter and avoids meeting his eyes.
"Hey, Mark, I was uh, wondering if you would like to go to brunch with me downstairs? I figure we could use the time to get something to eat and to get to know each other a little more? Only if you want to, of course!" Jeno's face deepens several shades of red the longer he speaks, and Mark finds himself incredibly endeared by the sight.
He gives Jeno a smile, which appears to help calm his nerves.
"Yeah, Jeno, I'd like that," Jeno blinks in surprise, almost like he wasn't expecting Mark to agree to going to brunch with him. On one hand, Mark understands him, a little anxious to spend time with someone he hardly knows, but on the other, he wouldn't mind branching out and getting to know his boyfriend's other boyfriend.
"Oh, uh, that's great then! Meet outside our rooms in like ten minutes then?" Jeno manages to recover from his initial shyness pretty fast, and in just the last few minutes of observing him, Mark can see more reasons why Jaemin likes Jeno.
He spends the next few minutes putting together the final pieces of his outfit for the day, spraying his cologne (that he definitely doesn't hope Jeno likes on him), and gathering his wallet and phone, before stepping out into the hall. He leaves his suit jacket off, intending to come back for it before the ceremony later, and it seems like Jeno has the same idea, coming out of his room a couple seconds after Mark.
Mark unconsciously drags his eyes up Jeno's body, checking out not only his outfit, but the way the clothes fit on him. He looks good, and Mark feels his mouth water slightly at the sight of Jeno's thighs in his slacks.
He's brought back to the moment by the sound of a cough, and Mark's eyes flit upward to Jeno's face, that is significantly more pink than it was just moments before, and Mark feels his own face burn with the realizing that he was just openly checking out Jeno, and that it could look kind of judgmental. He hopes that Jeno didn't read it that way.
"Ready?" Mark breaks the awkward silence that has settled over them in the last minute and a half, and of course, his voice decides right then is the moment to crack in the middle of the word, which makes his ears turn red. Jeno purses his lips when he hears it, and Mark is grateful that he has enough consideration to not laugh in his face about it, but he can tell that it lightened the mood significantly.
"Yeah," Jeno lets out an airy laugh, and Mark can see his muscles loosen from the way they'd tensed under Mark's gaze.
Brunch is a simple affair at the restaurant attached to the hotel. They're at a table that seats just two people, and to Mark it feel very reminiscent of a date, and he finds that he doesn't mind it at all and it helps to further break the ice between them.
Having gone through the awkward introductions the night prior, Mark finds that he can relax in Jeno's presence now, finding that conversation comes more easily between them, especially in the daytime after they've both gotten the chance to get proper rest.
Jeno seems to agree, laughing more openly and his eyes scrunching when he smiles at Mark, and Mark can feel himself falling with each one that's directed at him. He knows he's going to have to talk to Jaemin later about he's feeling, and he ignores the sinking feeling of everything going wrong. Mark does his best to push that feeling aside, and instead remains in the moment with Jeno, thoroughly enjoying their time together, while also lamenting with him that they both miss Jaemin and wish he was able to spend a little bit more time with them that morning.
Other than that, though, brunch goes well, and Mark finds that he's enjoying his time with Jeno a lot more than he thought he would, and looks forward to spending the rest of the day with him.
They catch Jaemin as he's leaving with the wedding party for photos, and he squeezes both their hands before he's swept away.
The action in front of Jaemin's family leaves the two of them blushing, and avoiding prying eyes that are curious about the two of them. Yeah, so attending with Jeno was definitely better than attending on his own, because Mark is certain that if he were to attend the ceremony by himself, or if Jeno hadn't come at all, then Jaemin's nosy aunt that won't stop staring at him would have absolutely come up to him to ask who he was to Jaemin.
But right now, being with Jeno is like a shield that is keeping them from being brazen about their nosiness. Rather, they're staring and staying away. Mark would much rather that they mind their business entirely and not openly stare at him when his boyfriend shows a hint of affection, but this is the best outcome anyway.
He subconsciously steps closer to Jeno as they begin walking to the cocktail area, and they brush arms. Jeno glance over at him, with a questioning look. It's almost like he's asking Mark if he's alright, without saying anything, and Mark is grateful for the fact that Jeno already seems to read his emotions well.
They don't say anything until they both having champagne flutes in their hands and the alcohol has begun to sooth the anxiety that's begun to bubble in the pit of Mark's stomach.
"You know, Mark, I can see why Jaemin is in love with you," the statement is so unexpected that Mark fully freezes for several seconds. His body reacts before him, dusting his cheekbones in a deep shade of pink and his mouth falls open into a small 'o' shape. Finally, his mind catches up with his body, and Mark sets down his glass from where it was halfway to his lips before he drops it.
He meets Jeno's eye, slightly wide-eyed. Jeno can see why Jaemin is in love with me, which means he must like me too?, he thinks to himself.
"Wh-what?" His voice cracking is the least of his worries right now, and Mark is sure that he looks like a fish out of water as he struggles to find a proper response to Jeno's non question.
"Jaemin loves you a lot. I can understand why he fell," this time, Jeno's face flushes pink, matching Mark's, and he averts his eyes. Mark doesn't want to assume anything, but he's sure that this has to mean something.
"Yeah, he does. I can see why he likes you too, you know," Mark forces the words out before overthinking them, needing Jeno to understand that he knows exactly what he's getting at with his words.
"Yeah?" Jeno smiles then, and Mark lifts his glass once again, this time to hide his growing smile.
"Yeah."
After dinner and the cake-cutting, Jaemin finds his way to the table that Mark and Jeno have found refuge in, the two of them speaking quietly amongst each other with their heads close. They've been using the time to really get to know what the other likes, and just getting to know each other, seeing what Jaemin sees in the other.
Jaemin stops just before he can be seen by either one of them, really taking in the moment and basking in the happiness that his two boyfriends are clearly getting along quite well. A moment of just watching is enough for him, and he really just misses them after not getting much time to spend with them for the last 48 hours, so he finally makes his presence known.
"Excuse me, my handsome boyfriends, but I think I'll be stealing Markie away for a dance or two," he stretches a hand out in Mark's direction, who takes the offered hand with a light flush on his cheekbones at the action. Jaemin leans over to give Jeno a kiss on the cheek and whispers something that has Jeno blushing deeply and nodding in response, suddenly shy with whatever Jaemin had just said to him.
His free hand caresses the side of Jeno's neck for a moment as Mark stands to follow Jaemin to the dance floor, leaving Jeno sitting alone at the table. He feels a pang in his chest at the thought of leaving Jeno out, even if it's for something as short as a few songs, and even though he knows Jaemin won't forget to ask Jeno for a dance either.
As they easily lean into each other as a slow song begins to play, Mark turns his head to speak quietly into Jaemin's ear.
"I really, really like Jeno, Jaem. I wouldn't mind getting to know him more if that's alright with you, to maybe see where this goes with the three of us?" the sentence ends more like a question, becoming a little more unsure as he gets the words out.
Will Jaemin think he's ridiculous for wanting to maybe date his other boyfriend too? He honestly can't say, and this is an aspect of their relationship that they haven't really discussed.
Jaemin seems to be caught by surprise at the question, not necessarily taken aback perse, but he does lean away from Mark enough that he can look at him properly. His eyes are slightly wide and his mouth is open, and based on the expression alone, Mark knows he's happy with the outcome. Mark feels a weight lift off his shoulders, especially when Jaemin's mouth curves into a smile.
"Really? I was honestly nervous to leave you two together because what if you ended up hating each other? I can't have my sweet boyfriends hating each other, you know," he sounds like he's still in disbelief that Mark not only likes Jeno, but that he likes him enough to potentially date him too. Mark feels his own mouth fall into a smile, feeling so endeared by the man in front of him and his beginning ramblings.
"This is even better than I'd hope would happen, come on, I need to talk about this with Jeno too, lets go!" he loosens his arms from where they're wrapped around Mark's waist to take him by the hand once again, similarly to just a few minutes earlier, and pulls Mark in the direction of the tables where they left Jeno, who happens to be watching them with a soft smile on his face.
When he realizes that Mark and Jaemin are coming back to the table, he sits up straighter with a face-splitting smile—almost like a puppy when it's owner finally comes home from a long day at work, and god it's so cute, that Mark just wants to squeeze him. He doesn't do that, though, choosing to keep his cuteness aggression at bay so he doesn't scare Jeno off (although, Jaemin would have done that already if he didn't like it, he thinks belatedly).
Mark feels a giddiness he hasn't felt since he first started seeing Jaemin when he meets Jeno's eye, excited to begin this new chapter in his life with Jeno in it (and maybe even the person he's been wanting to introduce to Jaemin will find a place in between the three of them as well).