Chapter Text
Jeno doesn’t think he’s ever seen so much money under his name in his life.
He has to do a double-take to ensure that the balance written across his screen is accurate and isn’t just a result of his terrible eyesight fooling him once more. Perhaps his brain tricked himself into thinking the decimal was in a different place or that the comma written alongside the numbers had just been a crack in his screen or a piece of lint. It’s none of that, yet Jeno can’t even start to celebrate, still convinced it’s maybe a glitch in the site’s system that has everyone’s balance some odd number. It does change later that night when Jeno decides to check again, except not how Jeno really expects it to. The number is bigger, and Jeno finally gives himself permission to sob in his room alone for five minutes before even thinking of running into Donghyuck’s room across the hall to throw himself at him in celebration.
Jeno was expecting a rise in his subscribers after he uploaded the video shortly after Jaemin had emailed the file to him. Renjun’s a big creator, much more well-known than Jeno thinks he could ever hope to be. Renjun’s made a name for himself in the three years of him creating content. His subscribers are loyal, his numbers only ever seem to grow, and Jeno’s almost tempted to ask him the infamously rude question of “How much money do you make?” because he’s just so shocked over how much money someone really could make with a career like theirs. Jeno expected a rise in subscribers, but not by this much.
It’s midnight. Over a full day has passed since he first hit upload on the video, and although their walls are paper-thin and their neighbors are most likely asleep, he can’t stop himself from slamming Donghyuck’s door open, letting the handle hit the drywall with a loud bang that makes Donghyuck jump from his gaming chair.
“Jesus Christ,” Donghyuck flinches. The monitor in front of him shows some game he’s in the middle of, though his character is very quickly killed due to his two-second inactivity from Jeno’s sudden intrusion into his room. Jeno almost wants to whine, asking Donghyuck why he hadn’t invited him to play, but there are bigger topics at hand that he has to get to first. “Couldn’t you have knocked? I could’ve been beating my dick.”
Jeno doesn’t grace him with a verbal reply (Though if he did, he’d just say something along the lines of them being way past that) just stomps in Donghyuck’s direction, shoving his phone screen into his face. For a second, he’s confused, looking between the screen and Jeno as if asking him what the hell he wants. But then his eyes finally linger on the screen for a couple of seconds longer, and they widen as realization starts to settle into his skin at what exactly Jeno is showing him. “Holy shit,” Donghyuck practically yells. He snatches Jeno’s phone from his hands, pushing the screen closer to his face as if to confirm it was real, which Jeno doesn’t blame him for. “Holy fuck, is this all from that fucking video?”
“All of my past shit, too—People have been going back to buy more after they unlock the one I filmed with Renjun.” Jeno swallows. He can feel his body still trembling, a mixture of so many emotions overwhelming his system. Renjun had convinced him soon after they had finished filming to switch to making people pay for each post rather than paying a once-a-month fee for all of his posts, and although it took it some convincing (Renjun had told Jeno he was hot at least thirty times before Jeno gave in,) Jeno’s glad he had listened to the advice.
Donghyuck’s jumping out of his seat, throwing himself onto Jeno before Jeno can even prepare himself for it. His already shaking body can’t handle the force that Donghyuck tackles him with, and he’s just glad that Donghyuck’s room is so small that they just fall back onto his bed when Jeno’s legs give in on him. Jeno can’t say he minds, though. If anything, Donghyuck’s embrace is exactly what he needed, and he wraps all of his limbs around his body to stop Donghyuck from pulling away. “Holy fuck, Jeno, this is fucking amazing!” Donghyuck practically yells. There’s laughter laced into his words, so overjoyed that he almost doesn’t know what to do with himself.
“I know.” Jeno can barely manage out through his own laughter, though he’s somewhat convinced that it’ll turn to tears the longer he thinks about it. “ I know, I just—I can’t believe it still.” He breathes out. His fists clutch onto the hoodie Donghyuck’s wearing, and he can feel Donghyuck starting to rest more of his body weight on top of Jeno as he figures they won’t be leaving the position they’ve found themselves in for at least a while.
“You have to keep filming with them,” Donghyuck says, and Jeno can’t decipher whether he’s being serious or simply joking with the laughter that still roars from his chest. “Oh my god, dude, as much as I fucking like touching your dick, that shit does not bring in as much money as when Renjun does it.” Jeno unclenches his fist around the fabric of the hoodie, opting to slap Donghyuck’s back but not daring to push him away. The weight atop him is comforting, and Jeno thinks there’s a chance they might fall asleep like that.
It isn’t a bad idea. Collaborating with Renjun, and maybe possibly Jaemin if Jaemin were interested, would do nothing but further the newfound success of his channel. Not to mention the fact that he more than enjoyed the experience. Apart from the sex (Which was incredible— Jeno’s admittedly gotten off in the shower possibly two or three times thinking about it,) Renjun and Jaemin had been terribly sweet towards him throughout the process. Where they could’ve cursed him out, told him he was disgusting for even asking to collaborate with Renjun in the first place, they accepted and did all that they could to make him feel at ease. Where they could’ve kicked Jeno out of their apartment as soon as the cameras turned off, they took their time easing Jeno out of headspace, caring for him until they deemed Jeno was alright enough to head home alone. Jeno doesn’t think he’s ever been treated so nicely after sex, and he can’t help but yearn for the feeling again. Because although Donghyuck is leagues better than his exes whenever he helped him out while filming, he’s also certainly nowhere near the way Renjun and Jaemin treated him. Which Jeno isn’t mad at Donghyuck for—Renjun and Jaemin have years of experience. They know what they’re doing.
Jeno just needs to gain the courage to ask them to collaborate again. Which he can deal with the stress of for a later date—There’s far too much excitement in his body to let any amount of anxiety ruin all of the euphoric feelings he’s experiencing. “Do we still have that bottle of wine you stole from your parents when you saw them over winter break?” Jeno asks, and the question is what finally makes Donghyuck push himself away from Jeno’s body.
“It’s not stealing if it’s from my parents.” Donghyuck huffs, and Jeno doesn’t care enough to argue against his logic. “But we do have it, yeah. You’re lucky I didn’t get into it after midterms.” The corners of his lips curl, and he’s pushing himself further away from Jeno as his brain starts to connect the dots of what Jeno is insinuating. “Time to celebrate?”
It’s maybe a bad idea. It is a bad idea since Jeno has work in the morning before class, but he figures if he has any good reason to celebrate, it’s now. If he has to call out of work in the morning because of a hangover caused by a cheap bottle of grocery store wine, it won’t make the difference between deciding between eating or doing his laundry that week. “Time to celebrate,” Jeno repeats, though his words come out as a statement rather than as a question as Donghyuck’s had.
“ Ugh, if this is how you’re going to act whenever you film with them, then I’m definitely rooting for you to keep sleeping with them.” Donghyuck stands up, not bothering to adjust his crumpled-up hoodie as he heads straight towards the door. “Can you buy us a new TV for the living room now that you’re loaded? The one we have barely fucking works.”
-
The celebrations don’t end with Jeno and Donghyuck wine drunk at two in the morning while sharing a pot of ramen on their kitchen floor. Which is surprising to Jeno for a couple of reasons. One, a part of him expects only him and Donghyuck to care about the income the collaboration gave him. Of course, it’s Jeno’s money, but he and Donghyuck live together, and the excess money Jeno made for the month is surely going towards apartment improvements their place has been needing since they moved in. Two, he figures that Renjun’s numbers aren’t changed all too much because of the collaboration. For Renjun, it’s simply another video that gets uploaded, and Jeno doesn’t have nearly as many subscribers as Renjun for them to make that much of a difference if they decided to check his channel out. Three, he isn’t expecting Jaemin to care all that much either. It isn’t Jaemin’s channel, nor did he do anything other than film and edit the video, so Jeno wasn’t expecting to wake up from a text from both Renjun and Jaemin congratulating him on the video’s success. He also certainly wasn’t expecting them to invite him over for dinner later on in the week so the three of them can celebrate together, but he isn’t complaining about that. Jeno wouldn’t ever say no to free food.
Jeno likes them. It’s something he very quickly comes to the conclusion of, although he’s much closer to Renjun than he is to Jaemin. But he likes both of them—He enjoys their company, even if he’s only known them for a short while and hung out with both of them probably once or twice for their own enjoyment and not only because they had to set things up for the collaboration. Renjun’s easy to get along with, and texting him becomes nearly easy as texting Donghyuck. Because even after the collaboration, Renjun makes an effort to keep connections with him. Checking in on him, answering any and all of Jeno’s questions he might have about their career, entertaining Jeno by replying to the many iMessage games he may send. If Renjun’s annoyed by the several Instagram links of baby animal videos Jeno sends him, he does a very good job at hiding it. Jeno thinks Renjun understands him, perhaps because he sees his younger self in Jeno when he was first starting out with his career, but Renjun’s been nothing but a support system for Jeno since they first started interacting. It’s nice, because although Jeno loves Donghyuck dearly, ranting to him about his issues with his career isn’t nearly as relieving as it is when he does to Renjun, who empathizes with him and understands the troubles their job comes with.
Jeno can’t say he’s close to Jaemin, though. Communication between them is minimal, beginning and ending when Renjun is involved in the conversation or after Jeno replies to Jaemin’s email with the file of their video with a “ thanks!” But Jeno still likes him. There’s still a hint of intimidation that lingers whenever he’s around Jaemin, but far less than when Jeno had met him for the first time and nearly pissed himself over just how terrified he was of him. Jeno thinks it’s the way Jaemin had treated him after their scene that had him so fond of Jaemin. Despite not being involved in either of the videos, he had been nothing but kind towards Jeno, stepping in when Renjun had clearly either been too overwhelmed or genuinely confused over what to do because it had been his first time indulging in his dominant headspace. Jaemin coaxed Jeno out of his headspace so easily, so gently, and almost seamlessly with how caring he was. Jeno felt nothing but comfortable with both of them, but especially Jaemin, as he showered him in praise for doing so well.
So Jeno likes them. It only makes the idea of possibly collaborating with them that much more enticing because Jeno likes the way they treat him. Jeno doesn’t think he could ever go back to his old ways of filming with random hookups who leave him while Jeno’s still dangerously deep into his headspace. Not after experiencing the comfort of what it’s actually like to be treated as he should be by Renjun and Jaemin after their scene. It’s possibly even more enticing than the income he could continue to pull in if he were to keep filming with them. But they’re a couple, and Jeno thinks he’s already asked enough for asking to film with Renjun once. So, for now, he’ll simply enjoy their platonic company, and there’s a slightly excited jitter that rattles his bones as his fist knocks upon the familiar apartment door.
It’s Renjun who answers the door, chirpy and with a grin already plastered onto his face as he swings the door open. The smell of whatever dinner Jaemin is cooking wafts out of the apartment, and Jeno swears he’s about to drool before Renjun throws his arms around Jeno’s neck. “There he is! My favorite OnlyFans creator,” He teases, though he clings onto Jeno until Jeno’s brain finally decides to work, and he’s wrapping his arms around Renjun’s waist to reciprocate the hug. “You’re gonna have to tell us everything you bought. I wanna know what you splurged your hard-earned money on!” Renjun hums. He pulls away, but his hand still reaches for Jeno’s, tugging him inside of the apartment. The scent of Jaemin’s cooking only intensifies as they enter, and the door behind them closes, and Jeno thinks he can get used to this instead of the smell of burnt frozen pizza Donghyuck tried to make.
“Jaemin, babe,” Renjun calls out, though Jeno can clearly see Jaemin as they walk past the kitchen and towards the living room. He has a towel thrown over his shoulder, his fitted white T-shirt probably not meant to be cooked in, the fabric barely blocked by a tiny pink apron that isn’t even tied around his waist. His eyes are focused on the stove, chopsticks mixing around a pan full of veggies, and he only turns to look when he hears Renjun’s voice calling for him. “Jeno’s here.” Renjun doesn’t even need to tell him because Jaemin’s eyes meet his over the small kitchen counter that separates the kitchen and the living room Renjun drags him into.
Jaemin’s furrowed eyebrows ease instantly, his face is shiny with sweat from working so hard in the kitchen, but his lips pull into a grin that makes Jeno curl into himself in timidness as he sees it. Jeno thinks there’s a small laugh that comes out of him, based on the way his upper half bounces ever so slightly and the small shake of his head. It’s as much of a greeting Jaemin gives him as his eyes turn back to the stove. “I’ll be done in just a couple of minutes,” Jaemin says. Jeno’s gaze doesn’t move, letting Renjun drag him wherever he pleases while Jeno keeps his eyes on Jaemin’s back. His shoulders are far broader than he thought, and the white shirt he wears does nothing but emphasize the muscles as he moves his body to continue cooking. Jeno thinks his grip around Renjun’s hand tightens momentarily, but if it does, Renjun doesn’t point it out. He just lets go once he pulls Jeno down onto the couch in their living room.
“So,” Renjun says, and Jeno snaps his head around to face him so fast that he thinks he might be suffering from a mild case of whiplash. Renjun quickly makes himself cozy on the couch, crossing his bare legs onto the couch and pulling the sleeves of his sweat over his hands. His shorts are terribly short, riding up his thighs so much that the hoodie he wears does a better job at concealing his skin than them. But his hoodie doesn’t cover up the fading bruises that liter his flesh that Jeno can see briefly as Renjun shifts around. “How do you feel?” Renjun asks. His eyes are bright, and his smile never leaves his face, and Jeno knows Renjun is expecting nothing other than a positive response from him. Renjun’s excited for Jeno, his joy is genuine, and he almost looks proud as he stares at Jeno, waiting for a reply. He’s clearly expecting Jeno to speak about the almost overwhelming positive reaction their collaboration had gotten even if they had spoken about it briefly when he and Jaemin had first congratulated him.
“Sort of overwhelmed,” Jeno admits, short laughter following his words in awkwardness as he crosses his arms over his body. It’s not the response Renjun was expecting. Jeno can see his expression dropping ever so slightly at Jeno’s words, and he looks as though he’s leaning in, ready to comfort Jeno if anything negative were to be spoken from his lips. “Not in a bad way,” Jeno is quick to clarify, and Renjun eases up a bit. “It’s just a lot. All of my numbers have shot up so much ever since I uploaded the video—I honestly have more money in my account than I really know what to do with.”
“And you deserve it.” Jeno can hear Jaemin’s voice join in on the conversation. He throws his head over his shoulder, once again facing the kitchen to look over at Jaemin, but he isn’t looking back at them. His hands are still moving quickly around the kitchen counter as he plates up their meals, but his ears are tuned in to their conversation. Jeno’s just surprised Jaemin can hear them over the sound of pans clanging against the stove as Jaemin sets them down. “You deserved it even before the collaboration. Renjun and I watched all of your videos together before he messaged you back, trust us when we say you deserve it.” It isn’t new information. Renjun had told it to him before, yet the confession from Jaemin has his cheeks burn. Jeno thinks it’s maybe because of how casually Jaemin says it. How he admits to watching all of his lewd videos in bed with his boyfriend, yet talks about it as if he were simply making conversation about the weather. Jeno supposes it’s just because sex isn’t necessarily a taboo topic between them, and they’re already far past discussing how it looks like it’s going to rain later on in the evening.
“I get it,” Renjun takes a more empathetic route than Jaemin, leaning forward to press a hand to Jeno’s knee. His eyes are soft, looking at him with the same comforting gaze as he did while he and Jaemin were busy trying to gently coax him out of his headspace not even a month ago. The memory makes it hard for his cheeks not to burn up. “I was doing this all on my own before Jaemin and I started dating, and I was sort of in the same position you were in when I had my first big video. I know it’s weird, and I wish I could say you’ll get used to it, but it’ll always be a little unusual looking at your account and seeing that much there. But as Jaemin said, you deserve it. You also deserve to treat yourself a little, and I will not let you leave until you come up with one thing you might wanna splurge on to celebrate.” Renjun’s hand squeezes Jeno’s knee, and his voice quickly goes from soothing and soft to joyful and loud, and Jeno thinks Renjun might be slightly more excited about the whole situation than Jeno is. Jeno doesn’t mind it. In fact, he thinks it’s exactly what he needs—The push to allow himself to splurge a little on him for the first time in years. To pat himself on the back for his own hard work and to feel proud of himself for this moment. Because although he’s celebrated with Donghyuck and now is celebrating with Renjun and Jaemin, he thinks he needs to celebrate with himself and go on a bit of a shopping spree whenever he was able to cover the necessities for the month. It doesn’t diminish all of the guilt for even thinking about updating his wardrobe or buying himself a new game, but it does put him at slight ease.
“My roommate brought up getting a new TV,” Jeno finally says, and Renjun seems to perk up. He can see Jaemin struggling to carry the three plates into the living room, and Jeno’s almost tempted to get up and help him rather than continue talking. But Renjun beats him to it, wordlessly pushing himself out of his seat and taking a few of the platters from Jaemin’s hands but keeping his eyes on Jeno as much as he can to show that he’s still listening. Jeno feels terrible for not helping out, but he figures the two of them would continuously refuse to let him lift a finger if he offered his help. He thinks he might still attempt to help with the dishes after they’re all done with dinner. “I think he meant it as a joke, but we could really use a new one. Ours breaks down all the time, and we haven’t been able to play any of our consoles because the TV would keep shutting down.”
“Donghyuck, right?” Jeno’s surprised to hear the name come from Jaemin as he and Renjun set down their plates onto the coffee table. Renjun’s already rushing back into the kitchen to bring in a couple of their side dishes while Jaemin works to arrange everything nicely on the table. Jeno thinks maybe he should’ve done something special for them to thank them for helping him out so much and inviting him for dinner as he watches Jaemin fuss about with the plate arrangement. He makes a mental note to get them a bouquet the next time he visits and considers possibly getting them the fanciest bottle of wine he can find at the market, but the bottle Renjun struggles to bring out along with the side dishes seems far fancier than anything Jeno would think to get. There’s french written along the label, rather than a market’s name, and that alone is enough for Jeno to fully back away from the idea. “The one you film with sometimes?”
“Yeah,” Jeno nods, and this time he pushes himself off the couch to help Renjun before Jaemin can even think to do so. He grabs the bottle of wine from under Renjun’s arm, taking the three wine glasses from him as well, and settles them onto the table where there’s only a couple of spaces left to set things down. The small coffee table is filled with all sorts of foods, and Jeno doesn’t remember the last time he’s stared down at so much food that he’s actually allowed to eat. “We haven’t filmed together in a while, though. He’s been talking to someone, so I think the last time we filmed together was a couple of months ago, and I’ve just been posting random videos from those times.” Jeno shrugs, and he only feels comfortable enough to sit down at the coffee table when he sees Jaemin and Renjun start to. They sit side by side, and it’s almost reminiscent of when he first met them. They sit right in front of him, eyes trained on him almost expectantly, and although it isn’t as intimidating as it once was, there’s still a hint of anxiety that lingers as he finally sits down.
“Well,” Renjun starts, and there’s a struggle in his voice as he attempts to open the bottle of wine he’s brought in. His eyebrows are furrowed, and his lips are pulled taught into a flat line as he puts all his effort into pulling the cork out of the bottle. Jaemin gently grabs the bottle, and Renjun releases a loud gasp of air as he finally gives up and allows Jaemin to have his chance at trying to open the bottle. “With or without him, your content is great. We’re here to celebrate you and your first big video tonight.” The cork pulls out with a small pop, and Jaemin’s pouring the red wine into each of their glasses, though he barely pours any into his own. Renjun’s quick to pick up his own glass, raising it above the table full of food, and Jeno is quick to do the same. “And I know there’ll be many more to come. Especially if you stick around with us.” He sends Jeno a wink before he tips his glass, clinking it with Jeno’s and then Jaemin’s.
Jeno knows the comment is possibly nothing more than a slight jab at the fact that he and Jaemin would be willing to answer any and all of Jeno’s questions, perhaps help him out with things like equipment or choosing a new layout for all his accounts. Yet it still makes Jeno immediately take a sip of the wine after he clinks his glass with Jaemin’s. It’s far better than the cheap stuff he and Donghyuck shared just a couple of days ago, and he can almost hear Donghyuck encouraging him to steal the rest of the bottle from Renjun and Jaemin somehow just as he did with his parents.
“Thank you,” Jeno says after he swallows and puts down his glass. Renjun and Jaemin direct all their attention onto Jeno. He looks between them for a second, catching onto Renjun’s curious eyes and then the subtle smile on Jaemin’s lips that almost encourages him to continue speaking. They wait for him to finish before they try interjecting, remain patient as Jeno’s brain tries to configure a sentence to express his feelings and his gratitude for them truly. It takes a second, maybe even a minute, but he exhales a breath of air that’s mixed with a short laugh as he picks up on where he left off. “I won’t get too sappy on you guys, but everything you two have done for me has really fucking helped me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you two enough.”
Jeno’s words are only met with smiles from the couple sitting in front of him, fond and sincere, and they turn to look at each other for just a moment before either of them speaks up. “I think I can speak for both of us when I say that you’ve already said thank you enough. We’re glad we could’ve helped you, and we’re thankful that we were able to try something different in our relationship at the same time,” Jaemin says, and Renjun only nods along with his words, his eyes switching between Jaemin and Jeno. He looks as if he wants to say something, parting his lips to speak, but he stops himself when he looks back at Jaemin. Jaemin mouths something to him, and Jeno can just barely read the “later” on Jaemin’s lips before both of them return their sight to him.
“Now, let’s eat,” Renjun says, lifting his glass once more, though he doesn’t tilt it to clink it with theirs again. “You had a shift before coming here, didn’t you? I’m sure you’re starving. Didn’t you say it was like a forty-five-minute bus ride from there to here?”
Dinner goes on, and Jeno’s unsure if it’s the wine that makes him ease up or if something about the atmosphere they’ve created makes Renjun and Jaemin’s presence so comfortable. Renjun leads most of the conversation, letting go of the questions and discussions about work in favor of trying to learn more about Jeno outside of his puplee persona. Yet he never pushes, never tests the boundaries of what Jeno is, and isn’t okay with answering. Jeno answers all of his curious questions and listens as Renjun is quick to make even more conversation with something Jeno says. Jaemin isn’t nearly as talkative, but Jeno’s learn to expect it and not be so intimidated by it. His voice joins the conversation randomly, though it doesn’t startle him when he does. He slips into the conversation naturally, and Jeno can almost expect when he’ll hear Jaemin’s voice the further into dinner they get. When their plates start to empty, Jeno starts to feel full, and the alcohol in their glasses starts to disappear. Renjun’s lips are stained a deep red from the two glasses of wine he’s consumed, and it’s hard to keep his eyes away from them as Renjun talks.
Jeno can’t describe it as anything other than comfortable. Renjun and Jaemin have always done everything they can to try and make Jeno feel at ease, welcome, but something tells Jeno that they really don’t have to do much for Jeno to feel that way around them anymore. It naturally happens, the atmosphere that almost makes Jeno believe that he’s known them for years rather than just a little over a month. Even as dinner comes to an end, they push the idea of cleaning up aside in favor of not disrupting the conversation they’ve created. Renjun lets loose, resting half of his body against Jaemin’s as they relax on the other side of the table, but Jeno can’t blame them, letting his muscles let loose as he leans back against the couch right behind him. Being with them feels right, and Jeno doesn’t want to start to think about having to take the bus back home anytime soon.
Even as silence fills the air, it isn’t unpleasant. Their voices and laughter die down for a few short seconds, and Jeno already knows it won’t be long until someone sparks up a new conversation that’ll have the three of them chattering and their cheeks hurting from the jokes they exchange. At least it’s what Jeno is expecting. But Renjun and Jaemin turn to look towards each other, sending silent signals that he supposes come with a long and healthy relationship, until Jaemin nods and they both face Jeno again.
“We wanted to ask you something,” Jaemin takes the lead, and his posture straightens as he starts. Renjun pushes himself away from Jaemin’s body, and Jeno can suddenly feel his muscles tensing at the sudden change in atmosphere. From lighthearted and carefree to slightly sour and anxiety-inducing, Jeno doesn’t understand why he’s so nervous when he knows the two of them wouldn’t ask anything that would make him uneasy. “We’re not asking for an answer right away, so don’t feel pressured to give one to us right now. You can take all the time you need, and no matter what it is, both Renjun and I will still be willing to help you out with your channel in whatever ways that may be.”
“Don’t feel pressured to say yes, either,” Renjun interjects. He leans closer to the table, his elbows resting against the small amount of empty space that’s left. “If anything, we sort of want you to think it over. We don’t want you to feel pressured to say yes because we’re here with you right now, or you feel like you owe us something or anything like that.” Jeno only nods along to let them know he’s listening, but he can feel his heart drumming in his chest and hopes that both of them would just get on with it so he doesn’t have to feel the anxiety that has his hands sweating. “We wanted to maybe film with you again. Except, this time, we were hoping maybe Jaemin can join in on the video as well instead of just filming.”
“Which is a lot to ask. I understand if you aren’t up for that. If you did want to film again but weren’t okay with me joining, I’ll be more than happy to just film you guys again.” Jaemin quickly adds on. It’s so quick that Jeno can barely process everything they’re asking and saying, and he can only blink, keeping his lips parted as if he’s going to speak as he listens to them. “But we really enjoyed last time. A lot more than either of us were expecting. It was fun, it was hot, your numbers went up, Renjun’s numbers went up. We couldn’t come up with any downsides.”
“And if that collaboration went well, we thought maybe we could make it a recurring thing. We film videos together. Either all three of us, or just you and me, or even just you and Jaemin—Whatever you’re comfortable with. Like we said, you don’t have to give us an answer now, and we can even take it video by video if it makes you feel any better.” Renjun and Jaemin bounce off of each other too much, and Jeno feels dizzy switching his gaze from both of them too much as they speak. Though as Renjun’s sentence drops and silence fills the room again, Jeno finally allows himself to take in a deep breath and a moment to process everything that they’ve said and how he feels.
They want to collaborate again. It’s exactly what Jeno had wanted, though he knows he would’ve never had the guts to actually ask that of them again. So it’s a good thing all of them are on the same page and asked him about it instead. The second thing he has to process is that Jaemin wants to join them. While Jeno had probably fingered himself one too many times thinking about Jaemin fucking him whenever he watched Renjun’s videos before contacting him (And, admittedly, after as well because Jaemin is hot,) he would’ve never even thought about bringing it up to them. Asking to fuck one of them was enough. Asking to fuck (Or be fucked) by both of them would simply be asking for too much. The third thing is that they want to make it a regular thing. Jeno never even considered it, but he can’t say he’s opposed to it. There aren’t any downsides to it, just as Jaemin had said. His numbers would only continue to grow, the sex is good , and if their videos do as well as their last one did, Jeno thinks he might actually be able to quit his other job. Which, while he loves the elderly owners who always treat him to free meals on the clock, would finally give him a break. No more sleepless nights of trying to catch up on assignments after twelve-hour shifts that eventually catch up to Jeno days later when he finally breaks down.
But he tries not to let his eagerness show too much as he clears his throat, his back straightening as he looks ahead at both of them. They both look mildly uneasy, anxious as they await Jeno’s response. Renjun more so than Jaemin, tugging at his lower lip that’s stained wine red with his teeth. Jaemin’s hands just slide over to Renjun’s thigh, squeezing it in an attempt to comfort not only Renjun but himself as well. Jeno knows, or at least he thinks, that their nervousness doesn’t come from the possibility of rejection, rather from the possibility of making him uncomfortable. “Did you—Did you have something in mind for another collaboration?” Jeno finally speaks up.
Renjun and Jaemin seem to ease up at the sound of Jeno’s voice. Jaemin’s fingers loosen their grip on Renjun’s thigh, and Renjun finally lets go of his lower lip that looks like it might bleed if he continues to gnaw at it any longer. “Do you know what shibari is?” Jaemin asks, and his hand rubs at the skin he was just pressing against to try and soothe the flesh.
Of course, Jeno knows what shibari is. Jeno hasn’t been able to try out many kinks for himself, still trying to figure out what he does and doesn’t like, but that doesn’t mean he’s never heard of them before. He’s seen it a couple of times, especially on Renjun’s channel. Though it doesn’t make an appearance as often as other kinks, Jeno thinks he’s watched the videos enough times for them to pop up in his search bar the second he types in the letter ‘S.’ It’s incredibly embarrassing when he’s out in public with his old laptop and SUB TIED UP BY DOM THEN FUCKED (SHIBARI) pops up.
Jeno chooses not to tell them that, and instead, he decides to just nod. Jaemin accepts the response with his own nod before he speaks up again. “Renjun isn’t that big of a fan of being restrained, so the ties I usually do on him don’t usually revolve around restricting movement. They’re more of an aesthetic thing, really.” He starts. Jaemin leans into the table, and now both he and Renjun are only inches away from him. He can see Jaemin’s long eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks with every blink, can see every strand of hair that falls into Renjun’s eyes even after his several attempts of pushing it back with his hand. “But my mentor has taught me a couple of new ties that restrict movement that I’ve been wanting to do on someone—I think you can see where I’m going with this.”
Jeno can, and he doesn’t think it’s ever been so hard to tell his own dick to stay down at the thought of Jaemin tying him up. The most he had ever been tied up with was a tie around his wrists or even the pair of handcuffs Renjun had used on him the last time they had filmed together. Never rope, and never anything as intricate as shibari. Jeno can imagine the feeling of the rope gliding across his skin as Jaemin wraps it around him, the knots binding his arms together, making him completely vulnerable to whatever it is Jaemin and Renjun want to do with him.
“Then after that, we can continue as normal, and how most of our videos go—Someone gets fucked, we all cum and go to bed happy.” Renjun jokes, and there’s a short laugh that comes out of Jeno and Jaemin. “But if you’re not okay with that, we can do something else if you still wanted to collaborate. So let us know what you need, what you want, and we’re both willing to accommodate. We want this to be fun for you as well, just like last time.” Both of them seem far more relieved now that they’ve gotten everything off of their chest, and Jeno didn’t realize the slight tension in their muscles during dinner until he sees them both go fully lax after speaking to him.
“I wanna do it,” Jeno responds, and perhaps slightly too quickly because Jaemin and Renjun seemed to be shocked over it. They certainly hadn’t been expecting a response so soon, and it’s apparent in their slightly widened eyes and parted lips after Jeno speaks up. “I know you guys said I don’t have to answer right away, but,” Jeno looks down for a second, picking at the fraying edge of the hoodie he wears. “I was sort of thinking the same—About doing another collab with you guys. Donghyuck sort of passed it off as a joke when I showed him the number of our last video, but I didn’t think it was a terrible idea. It did well, I had a good time and felt comfortable with you guys. I just don’t know if I would’ve had the courage anytime soon to actually ask you guys. I thought it would be asking too much of you both since I already asked you once. But I want to do it.”
“Okay,” Renjun nods, the corners of his lips quirk up into a smile, and the atmosphere brightens back up to its previous lighthearted feeling. The air isn’t as tense, and Jeno feels like he can finally take in a deep breath. A quick glance over at Jaemin shows that he’s eased up as well, his shoulders slump back down from their previous tense state, and there’s a glint of relief and joy that sparkles in his eyes as he looks across the table at Jeno. “Then it sounds like a plan. We don’t have to film right away or figure out all of the details right now since we just posted our last collab—Jaemin and I haven’t even started filming anything new for my next couple of uploads. But just let us know when you’re free, and we can work things out.”
Right. Of course, filming wouldn’t happen for a while—It hasn’t even been a month since they last filmed. If anything, prolonging the next collaboration was the best thing to do to create a bit more demand. But it leaves Jeno just slightly disappointed, excitement over another collaboration at the thought of having to wait longer and having to go back to his old content for a few weeks before posting another video with Renjun, and this time, Jaemin as well, dissipating almost immediately. He’s back to filming with his phone, in his tiny bedroom, with just his hands and a couple of toys to hopefully keep his subscribers, old and new alike, entertained. Jeno can only hope it’s enough—Jeno doesn’t think he’ll self-esteem could ever recover if he were to lose hundreds of subscribers overnight.
“But, anyway,” Renjun hums, pushing himself off the ground. He stretches, throwing his arms up over his head and letting out an exaggerated moan as his joints crack from being on the ground for so long before looking down at Jeno and Jaemin. “I have a tub of ice cream in the freezer if you had any room left for dessert.” He reaches down, picking up a few of their dishes, and Jaemin looks as if he’s about to follow his lead, but Jeno beats him to it.
“You cooked dinner,” Jeno swallows, piling the plates on top of each other. Jaemin’s about to refuse, but Jeno doesn’t let him. “It’s the least I can do—It’s okay.” He sends Jaemin a reassuring smile, and it looks to be enough for Jaemin to settle back down. Yet he can’t stop himself from completely not helping, piling things together on the table to make it easier for Jeno and Renjun to carry them back to the kitchen.
“You mean the ice cream you wouldn’t let me touch?” Jaemin jokes, lifting a stack of smaller dishes for Renjun to take. “Oh, Jeno, you should’ve seen him. He looked like he was about to cut off my hand when I went in with a spoon last night to try and get a bite—He’s not as nice as he seems. Just wait until you guys get closer and he starts being mean to you too. I think you should run while you can. There’s only so much I can do to protect you from him.”
“Jeno’s a guest . He can have some of my ice cream. He deserves it after how well his video did. Besides, it’s strawberry. You fucking hate strawberry. I don’t even know why you were trying to have a scoop anyway.” Renjun bites back, though he quickly covers up his words with a laugh as he turns his attention towards Jeno. He nods his head towards the kitchen before his socked feet make steps against the hardwood in its direction. “But I can never be mean to Jeno. He’s too cute. You, on the other hand….” Renjun trails off. Jeno watches as Jaemin tries to reach forward, swinging a spare cloth napkin at Renjun’s ass, but Renjun’s stepped too far away by the time he attempts.
“Brat,” Jaemin scoffs underneath his breath, shaking his head as he looks in Jeno’s direction. “Do you see what I have to deal with?” Jaemin rolls his eyes, but he turns to look back at Renjun with a smile. His gaze is full of love, despite the bickering the two do, and Jeno’s heart flutters at the strange show of affection between the two. Jeno almost feels like he’s intruding—That he’s interrupting an intimate moment between the two, and although it’s nice seeing Jaemin and Renjun exchange affection, he feels awkward knowing he’s probably third-wheeling what would’ve been an evening between just the two of them if they hadn’t invited Jeno for dinner. Jeno understands why Donghyuck complained so much whenever he brought his ex around, and they invited Donghyuck along with them. He makes a mental note to apologize to him later on when he gets home.
“You love me,” Renjun says, a proud smile on his face. The dishes clatter together as Renjun places them in the sink, and he waits for the noise to go down before he speaks up again. The noise breaks Jeno out of his trance, and he’s suddenly all too aware of the plates he holds in his hands and the task he was supposed to get done. He shuffles against the hardwood and into the kitchen where Renjun’s waiting for him, grabbing a few of the plates at the top of Jeno’s pile to help him out. “Ignore him. I will gladly share my ice cream with you, and we can watch a movie or something if you wanted to stick around longer.” Renjun hums, placing dishes into the sink, and Jeno follows suit.
Jeno knows he should maybe head home. If he stays too late, he’ll miss the last bus, which meant he’d either have to pay for a cab or walk the three miles back to his place when it’s pitch black and temperatures have undoubtedly dropped. But he wants to stay, enjoys Renjun and Jaemin’s presence too much to call it a night, and the thirty-dollar cab ride wouldn’t make too much of a dent in the number written in his bank account. If Renjun and Jaemin are willing to have him, even if he’ll feel like somewhat of a third wheel, then he’ll stay. “Yeah,” Jeno nods, swallowing as he watches Renjun open the cabinets underneath the sink. He pulls out two pairs of pink dish gloves, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows afterward. “That sounds good.”
“Great! Jaemin’s a little picky when it comes to what we watch, though. Even though he’s probably gone through the whole Netflix catalog twice now.” Renjun shrugs, pulling on the gloves before looking over at Jeno. “I can wash while you dry. Sound good?” Jeno only nods along, though part of his brain doesn’t really know what it’s agreeing to until Renjun shoves a washcloth and a pair of gloves into his hands.
Jeno thinks it’s funny. A couple of weeks ago, Renjun was playing with his dick in front of a camera while his boyfriend filmed. A few weeks before that, Jeno was an active viewer of Renjun’s, watching his dick get played with on video as soon as he uploaded them. Yet Jeno’s somehow found himself in Renjun and Jaemin’s kitchen, wearing a pair of pink dish gloves as he and Renjun wash the dishes from their dinner. Jaemin entertains them from the living room as he scrolls through Netflix, throwing out suggestions on what they should watch, and he and Renjun somehow end up bantering again. It feels nice, and Jeno’s stuck in a weird middle ground of his thoughts of feeling like a third wheel, but also somehow feeling like he belongs. He listens to their bickering, a fond smile on his face, and Jeno knows he can get used to Renjun and Jaemin’s presence in his life.