for you page × chensung

sixteen

[ domestic doesn't mean boring, it means familiar. and sometimes familiar is all we need ]

Chenle scrolled through his Snapchat notifications, absentmindedly brushing his fingers through Renjun's sweaty hair. He and Jisung returned from their usual Sunday night escapade at the studio about an hour after Chenle settled on the couch, sweaty and panting like they ran from a group of rhinoceros. Jisung immediately called dibs on the only shower in their apartment, and Renjun flopped onto Chenle's lap with a quiet curse that Chenle elected to ignore.

"How was practice today, Junnie?" Chenle asked, powering off his phone and setting it aside. He braided the longer pieces of Renjun's hair and listened as his brother rambled about pointe turns, Jisung falling on his butt, and how pretty the outfits were.

Renjun decided about two months after Jisung was released from the hospital that hip-hop was not his style and begged Jisung to teach him ballet. They both struggled in the beginning, Jisung because of his lingering injuries and Renjun because of his balance. It was a repeat of getting up, falling, getting up, falling, until they both mastered, or in Jisung's case, remastered the basics.

The shower stopped, and Renjun bolted towards the bathroom door. He almost slammed into Jisung's bare chest in his haste to claim the bathroom before Jaemin got home.

"Jesus, what's his rush?" Jisung chuckled fondly, holding his phone in one hand and a hairbrush in the other. His phone dinged, and his eyes widened, presumably in shock. "Holy shit, Lele. Look what popped up in my one year ago today."

Jisung lifted Chenle's legs to sit down and cuddled into Chenle's side like Renjun was before. His phone was playing a video on repeat, and Chenle grabbed it from his hands. It was the video that started everything, with Jisung dancing, Chenle's colorful head of hair, and Renjun's cute chubby cheeks.

"I almost killed him for that video, actually," Jaemin commented, and Chenle screamed, dropping Jisung's phone to the carpeted floor.

"Fuck Jaemin! When did you get home?" Chenle cursed, shoving a laughing Jisung to the floor with his stupid phone. Chenle reeked of sweaty boy from Renjun, which was faintly combatted by Jisung's Old Spice deodorant.

"About ten minutes ago. You can grab a shower if you want, and I'll start dinner with Renjun. Felix gave me a new chicken recipe to try." Jaemin clapped his hands excitedly, and Chenle nodded. He ran off towards the kitchen with Renjun on his tail, and Chenle noticed they were wearing a matching set of cat pajamas that concealed Jaemin's fading bruises. 

Jaemin healed quicker than Jisung, physically, at least, with minor abrasions but severe internal bruising. Mentally was an entirely different story. The foster system messed Jaemin up enough to warrant counseling, but between raising Jisung and working full-time, finding the time for mental help wasn't a top priority on his to-do list. The only reason he agreed to counseling was because he had no other choice. He insisted he was fine during his entire stay at the hospital, but the doctors saw through his empty words. They gave him an ultimatum, go to counseling or face jail time. Jaemin took one glance at Jisung's beaten body in the hospital bed next to his and agreed to talk to someone.

Four months later, he found a job at a small daycare down the road from their new apartment, and he loved every second of it. Jaemin and Jisung had a natural bond with children from their years in the foster system, and it melted Chenle's heart every time he saw Renjun and Jaemin interact. And they interacted frequently. Renjun latched onto Jaemin the moment he met him and refused to go home that day, which led to Jaemin and Renjun's weekly Saturday sleepover. Chenle's mom dropped him off Saturday morning on her way out and he and Jaemin spent all night watching movies, eating the food Jaemin cooked, and giggling about who-knows-what. Chenle figured that's how Renjun learned some of his newer curse words but didn't comment on it. Then, on Sunday, when Jaemin went to work in the afternoon to prep the daycare for Monday, Jisung took Renjun to the studio.

"Fuck!" Jaemin hissed from the kitchen, knocking Chenle from his thoughts. Yeah, Renjun definitely learned a thing or two from his precious Jaeminnie. "Sorry, sorry! Ignore me."

"Already doing that," Jisung cheekily replied, and Renjun burst into a fit of giggles by Jaemin's side. "Go take a shower, babe. No offense, but you smell like a boy's locker room." Jisung crinkled his nose and playfully pulled Chenle on top of his chest. Thank God for carpets, or Jisung would be feeling the ache in his spine tomorrow.

"Now you smell like a boys locker room, too." Chenle leaned down and kissed Jisung's cherry-covered lips. "Does that mean you'll join me?"

"You don't have to ask me twice." Jisung grabbed Chenle's hand and pulled him towards the steamy bathroom, ignoring Jaemin's groan and Renjun's gag. He turned the dial to hot and peeled his sweatpants off his legs. Chenle couldn't help but grimace at the scars lining his legs like zebra stripes. They weren't ugly, God no, but they reminded him of a terrifying moment in everybody's life. He thought he lost the man he loved, Jaemin almost lost his brother, Renjun could have lost his best friend. How would Chenle explain to Renjun why Mister Jisung wasn't teaching on Saturdays anymore?

Jisung noticed him staring and pulled him into a lazy kiss. "Don't worry, my love. I'm here, I'm alive."

"I know, but-"

Jisung shook his head. "Nope, but nothing. The only butt I want to talk about is yours and why you still have your clothes on."

Chenle blushed and smacked Jisung's arm. "Park Jisung!"

"Park Chenle!"

"Do you mean that?" Chenle asked, tossing his t-shirt on the counter. They talked before about marriage and kids, very briefly, and both agreed they wanted to adopt. Preferably adopt an older kid, like Jisung, who had witnessed the brutality of the system longer than the babies.

"One day, I promise. Let's try to survive college first, shall we?" Jisung stepped into the shower, wiggling his eyebrows like an idiot.

"Oh, we're surviving college just fine. The only struggle is how famous we are, obviously." Chenle flipped his imaginary hair over his bare shoulder and climbed in after Jisung. His words weren't entirely incorrect. He and Jisung had done a few interviews since Jisung was released and were prepping for another worldwide fan meet. Tiktok was the majority of their income, besides Jaemin's job and the occasional dollar his mother insisted she sent, but it worked.

"Are we going to keep talking? Or are you gonna fuck me against the shower wall because I'm okay with either." Chenle teased, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest.

Jisung stared at Chenle, processing, until he keeled over laughing. "God, you make me so happy," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "And to think, this all started with the for you page."

[ the end ]