leads: Mark, Jackson, Youngjae aka Markjaeson

rating: T 

genre: College and Coffee Shop AU, Fluff, (but like, not in the ual way), polyamory 

trigger warnings? None.

Note for Lance: I'm really sorry that's it late! I sincerely hope that you like the story and that it's worth the wait.

Doing papers the day before they're due. Getting only ten minutes of sleep in a span of two days. Living off of ramen and coffee. College is where you're really living the life, isn't it?

For Mark and Jackson, the hell hole they call school is much more bearable because they have each other. Without Mark's constant bugging, Jackson probably wouldn't even be passing his classes. And without Jackson's social skills, Mark wouldn't have made all of the friends that he has now, though some of them are a little too strange for his liking; at least they're cool with his quiet personality.

In short, Markson are each other's life vests that are keeping them from dropping out and wasting their lives away playing games and working at minimum wage jobs. They're also what keeps the other from hooking up with random people at the parties that seem to happen every other night, you know, since they're dating and all, but that's a completely different story for another time.

Right now, we need to focus on the matter at hand, that being Jackson currently freaking out the customer in front of him. I mean, come on, the poor consumer just wants his double shot latte, so that he can, like most people, make it through the rest of the day without passing out in class. 

"I want to him," Jackson shamelessly blurted, drool visibly leaking from his mouth.

Clearly, the man was too busy staring at whoever to notice the disgusted look on the customer's face. Jaebum, Jackson's co-worker and long-time friend, scoffed and tended to the still disgusted customer, who was just happy to finally get away from the creepy barista.

"Eyes off, Wang. You already have a boyfriend," he said once the customer left.

Kunpimook, or Bambam as everyone chose to call him, rolled his eyes and gestured to Mark, who had the same creepy look on his face, though it wasn't as unsightly as Jackson's.

"Oh, you mean him?"

"I want to him."

"You two need to stop scaring away the customers before we all get fired."

Jackson clicked his tongue and wagged his finger at Yugyeom. He had walked back to the front counter only to see yet another mortified person backing away with their money. Yeah, they wouldn't be seeing them for a while.

"You'll understand once you stumble upon beauty that surpasses even Aphrodite."

Yugyeom sighed, a little genuine smile replacing the faux one he used for work. "I already have, and he's standing right there."

"Who the do I have to fight?" Bambam already had his fists up and started looking around the room for the man that takes Yugyeom's breath away every time he looks at him.

"It's you, ." He sighed and picked up a container of coffee.

Bam, realizing his mistake, whispered an "oh" and broke out into a wide smile. "Oh my god. That's so sweet."

"I know I am."

Jaebum walked by a minute later, him scratching his head after scanning the room a couple of times. "Have you guys seen Jinyoung? His shift starts in five, and he's usually early."

"Calm your , Mr. Im. Your boyfriend has been over there with my new obsession since they walked in." Jackson was still being a weirdo and staring at the blonde, unnamed boy, while Mark decided on stealing glances as he worked.

At least the customers weren't getting scared off anymore.

~

"Jinyoung hyung, is there something on my face?" inquired a certain blonde freshman. His hands went to his phone to use the camera to find whatever it was that was attracting so much attention from everyone.

"No. Why?"

Discreetly, Youngjae motioned to the baristas, who were shamelessly ogling him from behind the counter. "Those two have been staring at me for a really long time. They're cute, but very, very creepy."

Jinyoung looked up from his textbook and glanced at the aforementioned baristas. He didn't even bother hiding his eye roll when he saw who they were.

"Just ignore them, Jae," he said and continued working on their project.

Youngjae's lips formed a pout, and he looked down at his lap. "They're probably just wondering how someone could look so unattractive."

Jinyoung needed a second to process what he just said, because what the did he just say about himself? Unattractive? Him?

"You're too handsome to say that about yourself."

"And you're too kind, Jinyoung hyung."

Arms crossed, Jinyoung scoffed and flicked the younger on the forehead, eliciting an "ow" from the stunned boy.

"You should know, in the short time we've known each other, that I'm a brutally honest . If I thought you were ugly, I would break it to you in the nicest way possible."

'Anyone else and I would've smacked them in the face with the ugly truth that is their face.'

Youngjae just smiled at him, a smile Jinyoung knew was forced.

One of the countless things that Jinyoung has learned about Youngjae since they first met is that Youngjae, no matter how many times others try to tell him otherwise, thinks he's hideous. If someone compliments his laugh, he'll counter that it sounds too obnoxious. If it's about his smile, he'll tell them to stop joking around. If it's his cuteness, he'll laugh it off and change the subject. If someone mentions another person having a crush on him, he'll be genuinely confused and ask if it's a prank.

All in all, Choi Youngjae is an insecure cinnamon roll that Jinyoung decided to adopt as his own and has made it his life goal to prove to him that he's perfect in every way possible. And now that his child is sad, he knows that one way to cheer him up is sweets.

"I'll be back with your cake," Jinyoung suddenly said, the chair scraping against the floor as he moved to get up.

"But I didn't order cake."

A squeal that didn't go unnoticed by the duo and the rest of the cafe pierced through the air when Youngjae tilted his head in confusion, and it was no surprise when they all looked to see the two creepy baristas making a commotion; the shorter brunette was slapping a hand over the taller one's mouth, while the latter was trying to break free from his grasp.

"But did you see how cute that was?!"

Jinyoung was mentally punching himself in the face for knowing the two idiots. He expected something like this from Yugyeom and Bambam, but he was wrong to think that the other two wouldn't do something just as embarrassing at work.

"If I get scolded for their antics, I'm committing murder," he mumbled under his breath.

"What?"

"I said it's on it's on me," Jinyoung said, a smile adorning his face. 

Before Youngjae had time to protest, Jinyoung got up and speed-walked to the counter, brushing past his co-workers to reach the back room, so that he could change into his uniform. It was almost time for his shift anyway, might as well get started now.

When Jinyoung came back out, he wasn't surprised to see that dumb and dumber were still not working and instead staring at Youngjae. He's pretty sure they've never met before, so why were they already so far gone?

"Stop staring and get back to work, before I hang you by your ."

Jackson, completely dismissive of the threat towards his baby-making machine, continued to stare at the blondie, who was too busy working on some papers to even realize the intensity coming from, not one, but two very attractive waiters. If anything, he probably wouldn't even notice if the fire alarm went off; that's how focused he was, and the fact that he was so into his studies made him somehow even more attractive to Jackson and Mark.

"Jinyoung, I need a name, number, relationship status, and possible kinks."

"Please," Mark added.

Jinyoung, without even looking up from cutting a slice of triple layer chocolate cake, said, "Not happening, creeps."

"Choi Youngjae, number's in my phone, most likely single, and he's probably got a good boy kink."

Bambam's perfectly plucked brows were raised to the max, him obviously being surprised that his boyfriend knew so much about about another guy. Did I mention, Bam's definitely the jealous type. Lucky for him, Yugyeom happens to also be his literal soulmate, meaning he could practically feel the subtle (not really) jealousy starting to radiate off of him.

"We share a dorm room with him. How would I not know anything about him?"

"It's only been a couple days since he moved into our room. What do you expect?"

Now it was time for Yugyeom to raise his eyebrows. "I expected you to be the first to be best buds with him, since you guys are both game addicts."

Bambam dramatically gasped. "Are you telling me I have a potential gaming buddy?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Remember Mark, the one who seemed like the most calm of the two? Well, there he is now, fanboying behind the pastries.

"Do you guys think he plays LOL or maybe even Overwatch?"

Mark looked similar to a child guessing what he got for Christmas, and Jackson is off to the side being reminded again why he loves him.

Soon, Bambam started jumping around with Mark, but by this point, the cafe-goers were all done with their . After all, things like this happen everyday.

"Wait," Bambam paused. "When did you guys become friends?"

"When he first came, I woke up in the middle of the night to pee and saw him gaming on his computer. We talked for a while and bam, instant buddies." Yugyeom shrugged as if he didn't just tell them the story of how he met Mark and Jackson's future lover.

Okay, so it really wasn't that big of a deal but whatever.

"Hey, how'd you find out about his kink?" 

"Lucky guess."

"Jinyoung," Jackson called, "Go test it."

"Just because I know him, do you really think I would go over there just to see if he has a good boy kink?"

Que a short awkward silence.

"Because you're right."

~

"Here's your cake," Jinyoung uncharacteristically chirped once he got to the younger's table.

Youngjae's eyes were practically sparkling when he saw the chocolate delicacy. "Thank you."

While Youngjae began to take forkfuls of cake into his mouth, Jinyoung peered over his shoulder to find that Youngjae's been working pretty hard on the assignment at hand.

"Did you finish that much of our music theory project already?" he asked, surprised that he managed to get so much done in a short time. 

Youngjae just nodded, his fork still in his mouth and the fond smile he had when he ate the cake never leaving his face.

"I'm sorry that I can't help until my shift is over."

Youngjae replied with shaking his head and assuring Jinyoung that he's done a lot of work already. 

For a while, Jinyoung just stood by him, contemplating the best way to bring up the kink. Honestly, how does one test out kinks without coming off as disturbing? 

Hesitantly, Jinyoung began to affectionately ruffle his golden locks, which made the boy instantly tense up.

"You're such a good boy for me."

Death. That's all Jinyoung wanted when the words came out of his mouth, albeit a little too sensual for his liking. It was all worth it though when he spotted Youngjae's bright red ears and flushed cheeks. He was adorable, especially when he tried to hide his smile by looking anywhere but at Jinyoung. 

Mark and Jackson? 

Already dead.

~

From that day onward, Mark and Jackson started sending Youngjae an americano (his favorite cafe drink, as told by Jinyoung) paired with a different pastry every day that he came into the cafe, and each time he asked who it was from, the only answer he would get is a couple of dorks waving at him from across the room, and when Jackson feels bold enough, a wink. 

At first, Youngjae was a little freaked out that the same baristas from the first day were sending him free food. He thought that maybe they were just teasing him or something, because it didn't make sense to self-conscious Youngjae why two handsome upperclassmen were being so nice to him, someone they hadn't even properly met yet. But you know, after meeting them at one of Bam and Yugyeom's "study sessions," which usually meant no studying getting done by the duo until forced to by Jinyoung, Youngjae was relieved to find out that Mark and Jackson weren't some creeps with ulterior motives. They just wanted to be friends (and maybe something more, but that's not what was said in hopes of not scaring him away).

As Mark and Jackson managed to wiggle themselves into Youngjae's life, what was once ramen dinners alone whenever Yugbam had dinner dates turned into Youngjae getting spoiled each time Markson convinced him to go out with them. Youngjae's pure heart always insisted on paying for his own dinner, but all it took was one look at Jackson's puppy eyes and a pout from Mark for him to completely give in.

For their circle of friends, it was strange seeing the perfectly happy Markson couple being even happier whenever Youngjae was around them, yet at the same time, it was satisfying for them to watch how the already perfect puzzle became even better with the addition of more pieces. 

How does Youngjae feel about all of this, you may be asking? 

Terrified. 

He's terrified of the erratic way his heart beats whenever someone so much as mentions either of the two boys. 

He's terrified of how lonely and needy he feels when none of them are near him. 

He's terrified of the way his mind and gaze lingers on those particular hyungs more than anyone else. 

He's terrified of the mushy feelings he knows his heart developed for the both of them. 

He's terrified of love. 

Why?

Because more than anything else, Choi Youngjae is terrified of rejection. 

~

Youngjae may be scared of being rejected, but the tables are turned when Mark and Jackson both confess to him on their two-month anniversary of becoming friends. Two months because of all the insecurity issues, the mystery of Youngjae's uality, Jaebum and Jinyoung getting a temporary divorce but fixing it with cuddles and , and all the angsty you'd usually find in a full-blown book, but since this is a one shot, the author is doing you a favor by skipping to the fluffy parts and shortening this before it bores you to death.

As of now, the ray of sunshine named Youngjae is currently beet red as he stares, dumbfounded at Mark and Jackson, who are both standing in front of his dorm room, flowers and a tub of ice cream in their holds. 

"I- Um..."

Youngjae couldn't muster any coherent sentences at all. Not only was he not expecting a double confession, but he was also trying to figure out how to break it to them that he kind of loves both of them.

Did I forget to mention that no one thought of ever telling Youngjae that Mark and Jackson are dating? 

Well, no one did, and now Youngjae is having an inner dilemma with himself and may also be having a mental breakdown. 

With the pressure of both boys looking at him so intensely, anticipating his answer, Youngjae couldn't take it anymore and blurted, "I'm sorry!"

At this point, both suitors are visibly disappointed and may even have a couple of cracks in their hearts. But you know what they say, it's not over until the beautiful angel in front of you starts explaining why he looks like a tomato that's about to burst.

"I'm sorry," Youngjae repeated, "but I can't choose between you two."

What?

Mark and Jackson looked at each other then at Youngjae, who couldn't look either of them in the eye. 

"The truth is I love both of you, too. I know it's weird, but I can't help it."

Still, Youngjae refused to look at them. It was probably a good thing on his part, since the duo were trying their best not to laugh at his confession. 

It was only when Jackson called his name and lifted his head to look at him did Youngjae stop rambling.

"We're not asking you to choose between us, you silly goose."

Mark cringed at the nickname and looked at Jackson as if he just offended his mom. "Ew, never call him that again."

Oh look, there's Jackson's sassy eye roll. 

"We're asking if you want to go out with both of us."

Oh my lord, there's that confused head tilt that sealed the deal for Mark. (Jackson was gone the moment he saw the boy.)

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty tired of having to kiss Jackson everyday," joked Mark.

A dramatic gasp came out of said boy, who retorted back with, "At least I know how to cuddle properly!"

Mark was about to start firing shots, but a completely lost Youngjae needed clarity asap.

"Are you two dating?"

They both looked at the younger as if he just asked the answer to 2+2.

"We've been dating for a couple of years now."

"Did you not know?"

Youngjae blinked once, then twice. 

"But if you two are dating, why are you confessing to me?" 

Youngjae looked so confused, it was actually endearing. 

"Choi Youngjae," Jackson began, "We're both madly in love with you, and we want you to be a part of our relationship."

Mark took one of Youngjae's hands in his, while Jackson held the other.

"We know it's a little strange, but we're willing to try if it means being with you."

The happiness Youngjae felt was too much for him, and he doesn't remember when, but he did eventually manage a shy "okay." The next thing he knew, he was being spun around in circles and getting the air squeezed from his lungs when the older two finally processed his words. 

"I'm so happy, I could kiss you," Jackson exclaimed.

Both Jackson and Mark noticed how tense Youngjae got at the mention of a kiss.

"Wait."

"Have you not had your first kiss yet?" They asked in disbelief. 

They had their answer once Youngjae brought his hands up to cover his reddening face. 

"I call being his first kiss!"

"That's not fair, Jackson. You can't call shots for a kiss."

"Watch me."

One thing led to another and now Mark and Jackson are arguing over who gets to be his first kiss, while Youngjae is just off to the side, trying to keep his face from combusting. 

Don't you just love threesomes?