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It was getting late, and the group of four had all eaten the amazing food Renjun had prepared, as well as talked for hours on end.....mostly with their hands.
It wasn't until darkness had fallen that Mark truly noticed the time.
"Oh, it's almost ten?" He signed, eyes trained on the window.
"Seems that way," Renjun responded, a little upset that it was already time for him to go. It was always a blast catching up with the older.
Jaemin had to admit, Mark wasn't as bad as he had previously pinned him to be. After Jeno bribed him into being nicer, the blonde started to notice how genuinely fond of Renjun Mark was. Platonically, of course. It was like looking in a mirror sometimes.
Jeno stood up to clean everything up. He wracked his brain for the correct signs, and tried his best when using them. Mark watched closely, adoring how the younger was giving sign language a go.
"Thank you for visiting...."
The blonde clapped, and Renjun got up to give the brunette a hug. "That was pretty good," he chirped happily, "You're getting much better these days."
"Not as good as Jaemin who can actually talk now," he sighed, but was quite proud of himself for his efforts.
"But I could speak already," the youngest reminded, "It was my voice that didn't work, not the language."
Mark started to wander towards the door, smiling to himself now that he knew what sort of people Renjun had found. He was glad he had one protective love and one responsible one. His best friend was in good hands.
"I hate to see you leave," the Chinese pouted as the older opened the door, "It'll probably be another couple of months before I see you."
"Don't worry about it," Mark beamed, hugging the younger once more, then pulling away to sign, "You won't be able to get rid of me. Plus," he looked over his shoulder at Jaemin who was pestering Jeno at the end of the hall, "You have your hands full."
"Do you like them? They're really good to me..."
The oldest chuckled, caressing Renjun's cheek fondly and nodding, "Of course I like them. I'm jealous."
"Get yourself a man, then!"
"It's hard enough as it is trying to be sexy and deaf at the same time," Mark laughed, holding his ears like they were his downfall.
Renjun giggled too, having found him beautiful all along even without his hearing. "Anyone would be lucky to have you. Don't give up."
"I won't," the blonde nodded, smiling while waving as he exited the home.
Renjun watched his back as he marched down the hall confidently. God, he wished Mark could be happy. He was the one who was hard on himself, not anyone else.
Jeno closed the door for him out of nowhere, pulling the Chinese back into the main living area. "I liked him. I hope he visits more often."
The oldest gasped, "Seriously? You liked him?!"
Jaemin folded his arms, "I suppose he wasn't as bad as I presumed."
All three collapsed down on the couch, now alone and left to be together. The room was warm from central heating, so Jeno threw his head back and breathed deeply.
Renjun was nestled into his side while Jaemin's arm was around the brunette's neck.
"I know it's getting late," the blonde murmured gently, leaning in and kissing Jeno's cheek, "But I don't want to go to bed."
Renjun hummed in agreement, "What should we do? I'm too awake to sleep."
Jeno groaned, now seeing that he was the only one welcoming sleep. There was no compromising with either of them either, so there was a late night ahead of him. "You two watch some television. I'll sleep here."
"You're so old, Jeno!" Jaemin whined, "Where is the teenage energy? Huh? How is your body so weak?"
"I didn't eat healthily for years, on top of sleeping for about two hours a night," he argued, "I'm catching up on the normal things I never got."
The oldest stifled a laugh, "Well now you'll have to adapt to our sleep schedule, hm? We're night owls."
"I'm more of a hibernation creature....."
Jaemin pinched his cheek, "I'll keep you awake the painful way if I must. Please last until at least eleven."
Renjun suddenly sat up, with a plan in mind, and started to kiss him slowly, placing his hand on the younger's chest and feeling his heartbeat speed up just like he had intended it to.
He didn't pull away, only deepening the angle and pressing his body closer to the other's. Jaemin shook his head, not being the type to just sit and watch.
He too leaned in and started placing gentle kisses along Renjun's jaw. His lips felt warm against the Chinese's skin, making the older hum softly into Jeno's mouth.
One of Jeno's hands laced around Renjun's neck while the other got tangled in Jaemin's hair. All three started to lose their sense of place, like everything around them didn't matter or exist, and all that was important was being lost in one another's arms.
Needing air, the oldest pulled away, breathing harshly and moving down to litter Jeno's jaw with nips and kisses.
The youngest then moved to the brunette's lips, being a little rougher than Renjun was, and sliding his hand up his shirt.
This was their first encounter with sharing each other, and so far it wasn't as difficult as they had imagined it'd be.
They continued to stay like this, adventuring into the shallows, though never running out too far into the deep end.
A shared understanding settled between them, knowing not to argue or fight in situations like this. Learning to pace themselves was possibly the hard part, but for now even small acts like kissing were enough.
