Chapter Text
Mark woke up in the middle of the night, noticing a lamp was still on in their room, he looked at his older brother, who was still typing quickly on his computer and taking endless notes on his notebook. He looked for his phone so he could see what time it was. 3:47 a.m.
“Jesus, Tae” he said while stretching his arms “just go to bed already” he complained.
“Don’t worry, Ma. I’m fine, go back to sleep” he replied, eyes never leaving their focus. Mark was too tired to argue, so he just let his tiredness take him back to his sweet dreams.
The younger one woke up the next morning with the sight of his brother sleeping by the desk, his head was on top of his computer and his notebook, forgotten on the floor. Just another morning. He didn’t mind waking him up, he knew his classes just started in the afternoon and he was glad for it. He got ready fast after noticing he was the one late for his own class and left their house without looking back.
Once he got where he was supposed to, he noticed he was way too late to get inside the room. Fuck, two weeks in a row. He rushed to the library to, maybe, do some paperwork in advance. He found one left spot near one of his acquaintances, it’s been a while since he last saw the other man.
The mentioned man was focused on his books, taking notes on its pages and highlighting a bunch of sentences. He kept adjusting his glasses every ten seconds, it was funny to watch him.
“I should probably get you some glasses that fit you” Mark said in a low voice, trying to follow the rules applied for the library.
“Mark, it’s been a while” the other said, a big but tired smile on his face.
“You look like shit, Ten” he said “Haven’t slept?”
“Nah, I need to catch up with some reading. Thanks for the compliment, by the way” it was surprising how the smile never left the other’s face.
“You’re such a nerd, come on” he started, trying to pull the older one from the chair “Let’s get some air, you’re reminding me of my brother and that’s not good. Look, I’ve just got chills” he showed his arm.
“You’ve got a brother?” Ten asked, still trying to remain on the chair.
“Yeah, people always forget it. He’s quiet and stuff” he laughed “Well, since you seem too focused on whatever you’re doing, I’ll leave you alone”
“Thanks” he fixed his glasses again “I’ll see you around”
How could people study this hard? Boring. Mark kept walking around campus, waiting for something interesting to happen, but nothing came around him. He checked his phone, still no sign of his brother. He was getting worried already.
He knew Taeyong was dedicated and goal oriented, it was okay. But his brother’s obsession with his studies was already past limits, to summarize it. He needed to do something that’d help him clear his mind and be more easygoing, he didn’t know what that was yet, but just something that would give him a break with all those responsibilities. He couldn’t come up with anything.
“Hey, Markie” a voice came from nowhere “Have you seen Ten?” he finally saw the other boy sitting by his side on the bench.
“Library” was everything he said, too bored.
“Ugh, boring” the other said “He’s always there”
Yangyang was Ten’s younger brother, that’s how Mark ended up meeting Ten to be honest. He and Yangyang were friends since they met at one of their classes. Actually, since they were both locked outside the room for being late. Just like they were right now.
“Maybe it’s because you don’t let him study at your house” they both laughed “But I get it, I was about to burn Taeyong’s books last night”
“Right? Maybe you should try doing that next time” he stopped speaking and sighed “I don’t know, man. I really wanted Ten to have the college experience, you know? Something more exciting. I’m not saying that he should just drop his studies or anything, but everyone needs a break every once in a while”
“I totally agree with you, I’m so sick and tired of seeing Taeyong studying even on weekends. The man gets like, I don’t know, three hours of sleep a day. How can he live like that?”
Both friends would always vent about their brothers, they were just worried about their well being. Yangyang would always try to bring Ten to some parties, he’d only succeeded once. Still, this was even better than Mark himself, he had never succeeded in doing that with Taeyong. He tried playing some games with him, but Taeyong didn’t really show any interest in that as well.
“Maybe” Yangyang started saying, he had a mischievous smile on his face “they need a girlfriend or something like this”
“Oh, definitely something like this” Mark said between giggles and Yangyang didn’t really understand why “Taeyong is gay, man” he could hear the ‘oh’ from his friend’s mind after getting what he meant and then, he smiled again.
“So is Ten” he kept smiling at Mark, quite excited this time, then he started slapping the other’s arm.
“Ouch, stop it” he tried getting rid of Yangyang’s hands “So what if they’re gay?” he asked, still quite confused.
“How can you be so slow? Mark, YOUR brother needs a boyfriend and MY brother needs a boyfriend. Like, hellooooo???” he finally explained.
“You’re saying… I mean- like Ten and Taeyong being each other’s boyfriend?” he asked and Yangyang shouted a loud HELL YEAH to him “Dude, that’s- that’s fucking smart!” he screamed back.
They were both excited and proud of themselves after coming up with a plan like that. Finally, Mark and Yangyang had something interesting to do and it was something that would be good for literally everybody. They couldn’t wait to start their plan, Yangyang said they needed to start it right away and Mark agreed. He said Taeyong was still home and he was supposed to come back to have lunch with him because he had the car with him for the morning, but Taeyong was supposed to keep it for the rest of the day.
“You and Ten should join us for lunch” he said excitedly, like he’d cracked a code.
“Ohhh, yeah! That would be amazing, let me call him” he got his phone from his bag and called Ten, putting him on the loud speaker “Hi hi, you’re ready for lunch?” Mark and him kept giggling at each other.
“Uhm, I guess so. Why do you sound like this?” Ten answered quickly.
“Mark invited us to have lunch at his house, isn’t it great?” he almost screamed. “So hurry up, we’re guests” Meanwhile, Mark was texting Taeyong to let him know they’d have company.
“Oh, okay. That’s fine, I’ll meet you guys in five” he said and the call ended.
The duo started slapping each other excitedly, too happy that their first move was about to happen. Mark and Yangyang walked to Mark’s car and drove to the library, awaiting Ten. The older one appeared in front of the library, carrying his bag and a bunch of his books, still trying to adjust his glasses even with full hands. He was looking for them.
“Teeeen, we’re here” Yangyang shouted, waving his hand through the car window.
The drive was quiet. Ten kept his eyes on his phone, almost falling asleep on the backseat. Mark and Yangyang whispered some words that he couldn’t comprehend so he didn’t mind keeping track of their conversation.
“Does your brother know we’re coming?” Ten asked once the car was parked.
“Yeah, he was excited about it even” he lied, Taeyong was unbothered “I think people do need human interaction at the end of the day” to which Ten rolled his eyes.
“I don’t think you’ve met him, right?” Yangyang asked his brother and he nodded “He’s really cool, you’ll love him” Ten looked confused, since when did Yangyang care if he liked his friends?
Mark opened the door already looking for his older brother, there were pans on the stove, so he had to be around and he was. Taeyong was coming from their bathroom, a fresh shower taken. His hair was still wet as he tried drying it with a towel, while another one was tied around his waist. Mark was more than happy with it, he knew that other people found his brother quite handsome, so that would probably be a sight for Ten. What a great start.
Ten and Yangyang were behind Mark, who didn’t say anything. He wanted Taeyong to keep the show going on and Yangyang started staring at his own brother, who was trying to avoid looking too much at the other one. It seemed that Ten was having a hard time at his task and Yangyang was more than happy with it already.
“You’re so welcoming, Tae” Mark finally said and Taeyong jumped.
“Fuck, Mark” he ran to their room on the spot, not even looking at the others properly.
“He’s a bit shy, don’t worry” he said to Ten, who didn’t understand why it was directed to him.
Taeyong came back a few minutes later, wearing clothes this time. He was beet red when he saw the other two boys, who were sitting on the couch now.
“I’m sorry about that, uhm, entrance” he said.
“No worries, Yong. How have you been? It’s been forever” Yangyang hugged him.
“You were literally here yesterday, Yang” he hugged him back and then noticed the other one, still staring at him on the couch.
“Yong, this is my brother. Ten, this is Taeyong, Mark’s older brother” he said, finally introducing them.
“Hi” Ten said a bit shyly, still avoiding eye contact with the other Lee “Nice to meet you”
“Hi, same here” they switched a quick handshake. Taeyong seemed smaller in Yangyang’s perspective, as if he was trying to hide from them. He also noticed his brother’s slightly pink cheeks, which was hilarious.
Mark came back from their room, now wearing his pajamas. He looked at the awkward scene and held a laugh, Yangyang was also trying his best. He really wanted to make fun of his older brother, but he had plans.
“I still can’t believe it took you guys this long to meet each other” he started, Taeyong already looked at him with his ‘please, stop it’ eyes “I bet you guys have a lot in common” they couldn’t be subtle at all.
“Right? Like, Tennie is a History major and Taeyong is…” the youngest stopped, waiting for someone to complete his sentence since he didn’t really remember the other’s course.
“Physics” he answered for himself. Ten squeezed his lips in order to avoid a loud laugh and Yangyang sighed.
“Yeah, right. So maybe not in college per se, but I bet you have other things in common” Mark insisted.
“Yeah, probably” Ten whispered.
The older ones weren’t that dumb, they quickly realised what the other two were trying to do. Taeyong wanted to die out of embarrassment, he couldn’t even glance at Ten without looking a mess, he’d been avoiding any contact with him and the fact that Ten was one of the most beautiful people he’s ever seen wasn’t helpful. Yangyang’s brother was as smiley as him and Taeyong thought it was adorable. He kept adjusting his glasses every five minutes, when he thought no one was watching, but he was, he couldn’t stop himself. Ten was definitely interesting. Maybe Mark didn’t deserve to be punched in the face.
On the other hand, Ten was curious, very curious. He’s never seen Taeyong around campus, it made sense since their courses were something they didn’t have in comum, but he wished he had seen him sooner. He thought that Mark’s brother was a perfect walking contradiction, at first sight he was one of those confident looking guys with that astonishing appearance, Ten expected him to be… mysterious? flirty? serious? Something that he couldn’t even name, but Taeyong was definitely the opposite. He spent most of lunch laughing and listening to the youngers’ conversation, he’d pay attention to everything and was always the first one to stand up when someone noticed something was missing on their table. Taeyong was definitely interesting. Maybe Yangyang did make a smart move this time.
They finished their meal a little less awkward than their first greeting, Yangyang kept complimenting Taeyong’s food till he was blushing red, that was when Ten also said “He’s right, it was amazing”. Mark and Yangyang couldn’t hide their grins.
“He’s interested, I know” Mark whispered to Yangyang when Taeyong was out of their sight.
“So is he” he pointed at Ten, who was trying to manage all his books, but continuously dropping something on the floor.
Taeyong appeared again and Mark noticed he had something in his hands, but didn’t say anything. He wanted to see where this would go. His brother walked slowly towards Ten and touched the other’s shoulder before speaking.
“Here” he handed him a bag, it was one of his favorite ones, but nobody needed to know that “It’s better to carry everything” he noticed Ten’s bag was already full and carrying everything like was planning to was really tiring.
“Oh, thanks” he smiled at him and accepted the bag. He organized the rest of his things inside it while the other watched him “I’ll give it back soon”
“Mark, it’s going to happen” Yangyang whispered one more time.