RENDEZVOUS

40 | daisy chains

"y'all better be available to celebrate my birthday, or i'm disowning all of you as friends."

it was one of those lazy summer afternoons in the park where time seemed to slow down and everything looked like it was straight out of a painting. it was like the sun would never set, and the conversation would never run dry. donghyuck had the brightness up on his phone to plan out the food for his birthday party, renjun and jeno were making crowns for each other out of daisy chains, and jaemin had fallen asleep under a stephen king novel. chenle, jisung and daehwi were a few yards away on the concrete, trying to learn how to skateboard with mark and lucas trying to teach them.

"if it's next weekend, me and renjun aren't coming," jeno told him absently, focusing on the daisy stem he was struggling to thread through another.

donghyuck half expected jaemin to wake up and correct it to 'renjun and i' but he didn't, so donghyuck did it for him.

"it's renjun and i," he said in the most infuriatingly whiny tone of voice, "and i know, you've told me a million times that your mom is taking you and renjun to the seoul pride parade. jesus, it's almost like you think i don't have ears."

"wait, you do?" renjun piped up in mock surprise.

donghyuck went to through a weak punch at him, but backed down as soon as jeno began to square up. "have you been working out, jen?" he asked instead, hurriedly diverting the topic. "you've really, um, bulked up."

"hyuck," renjun laughed, "you go from hitting me to hitting on my man, so i'd really stop digging if i were you."

"wouldn't date jeno even if i was gay," donghyuck grumbled, and went back to the long list of food he was debating over for his birthday celebrations.

"that is such a lie," jeno scoffed. he flexed his arm and shot donghyuck a wink to prove his point, which made donghyuck snort and kick him back.

"anyway," renjun went on, trying not to laugh at the other two, "shouldn't xiyeon be planning your birthday party, hyuckie? you organised hers, after all."

"she is helping," donghyuck insisted, "...from a cruise in the south pacific. her parents went on holiday again, and actually decided to take her with them this time. anyway, xiyeon's organising the guest list so be nice to her or you're not coming."

"wouldn't that be a shame," jeno drawled, and then let out a chain of expletives because his daisy crown promptly broke.

"was that sarcasm? is lee jeno getting smart now?" donghyuck stuck his tongue out, and shuffled away from him on the grass in the most petty move in the history of wit battles.

renjun rolled his eyes at the two of them and pushed jaemin gently with his foot. "jae, the girls are squabbling again," he complained, waking jaemin from his slumber.

jaemin stirred in his sleep and the stephen king novel fell off his face onto the grass. "are they fighting again?" he yawned, opening his eyes one by one. "what is this - a love triangle that doesn't involve me? not fair."

"guys, i'm straight."

"everyone's a little bit gay," jeno reasoned.

renjun laughed and looked up from the daisy chain he was working on. "let's be honest, hyuck's only straight because he doesn't want a poly relationship with all of us at once," he joked.

"ha ha," donghyuck replied dryly. "all of you go back to your boyfriends and leave the poor hetero alone."

having had his fun bothering donghyuck by now, renjun turned back to jeno and helped him fix the daisy chain he'd broken, putting matching flower crowns on each of their heads. donghyuck continued to muse over how much food was actually reasonable to order for one birthday party, and jaemin sat up and stretched in the afternoon sunlight.