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Two and a half years ago...

They had all gathered and perched inside an aesthetically pleasing cafe. Holographic-coloured chimes sat beautifully over the door, an avocado-green was painted across the walls, and with that sat similarly shaded utensils on each dark, grey table. The wood and all its knots seemed artificial with how perfectly smooth the surfaces were, so perhaps this was indeed fake elm with a dye through it.

Waitresses were abundant while it appeared the baristas were mostly males. They had black clothes on with green aprons, their chests sporting the badges they'd been given for names and the café's logo.

However, none of this was significant to the conversation at hand. Mark sat with Jaemin across from Chenle, and the feminine adult out of the trio was clearly a bit nervous.

"I knew you looked familiar," Chenle murmured as she played with her long, raven hair. "I...I guess the face mask works well."

"My job is hard in that sense," the actor sighed while lacing his hands together upon the tabletop. "I'm actually glad you couldn't tell initially. You made me feel more normal."

"I suppose there is always the option to give it up," Jaemin hummed almost inaudibly and pretended to yawn while stretching at the same time. It seemed he wasn't done with their prior conversation that the new arrival had interrupted.

"Nana," Mark narrowed his eyes. "Drop it."

With a harsh command like that, as well as a lovely guest in their company, the host had no choice. So he reluctantly sat back into his seat and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"I'm assuming this is an age-old fight, then," Chenle blinked softly. "There's no compromise in the world of work, huh?"

"None," the couple responded simultaneously. Their eyes shot to meet each other's, though the hostility immediately evaporated once they connected and, as usual, they seemed to fall in love all over again.

"I love what I do, Nana. I don't want to give it up."

"Well, I love you. I don't want to give you up either, alright? But even Donghyuck agrees that your disappearing acts for weeks, if not months at a time are tedious and annoying. We're being left behind."

"I always come home. You know that."

"But for how long?" Jaemin sighed and started to solemnly play with his fingers. "You come home...and then you're gone again. I can't even see this stopping in the near future. What if you turn out to be one of those actors who's at it up into old age? Will Donghyuck and I grow old together on our own? And whoever we find along the way? Will you even be there for that?"

"Nana!"

"Guys!" The youngest hissed, trying to motion with a subtle head-tilt that others were starting to hear the conversation. They both recoiled, unable to look at each other again for fear of adding some more fuel to the fire. So, Chenle continued with a small throat clearance. "I don't know either of you all that well, nor do I have the right to step in on this...but," she pursed her lips to think this out a little, "I wouldn't mind acting as a third party. An opinion of sorts to help you clear some of this miscommunication up."

"A therapist?" Jaemin smirked. "You'd be a cute one."

"J-Jaemin..." she blushed darkly, looking out the window to hopefully clear it up. Lele could still remember how they met in the cinema, and he couldn't believe how disappointing it was that the host had a boyfriend. "Let's take this seriously."

"This is as serious as he gets without fighting," Mark informed calmly. "His role at the Sapphire Dome is to be the playful, out-of-reach person. It suits him well."

"I'm not that hard to please," the blonde insisted. "I fell for you, didn't I?"

"Was it so hard, Love?" The older winked with a scoff, and the taller whined while pulling at his arm like a child.

"I should've played harder to get..."

"This," Chenle swirled her wrist over the table to place the whole situation into one bubble, "Is what confuses me. One minute you're arguing, the next you're absolutely fine. And this Donghyuck person...should I know him?"

"Hyuck is our third boyfriend," Jaemin started. "Our romance is somewhat of an adventure, you see. This guy and I," he poked Mark, "Are polyamorous. We fall for multiple people at a time, so our relationship has the foundations to sprout wings and encounter more potential lovers."

"O-Oh," she furrowed her brows. A part of the Chinese was hoping it wasn't awful that she had never heard of polyamory before. But now that she knew, she'd pretend it wasn't a discovery. "Then is Donghyuck like you as well?"

"No. He's a little more complicated than us," the actor explained while subconsciously taking his boyfriend's hand on top of the table and intertwining their fingers. "We don't really like sharing all this stuff with people firsthand, since it's easier for them to see it and make a decision. If they react badly, they aren't the one. If they're a bit more open-minded and can get past the weirdness...maybe they can work."

"Could he possibly be more complicated than me?" Chenle tried to smile, "A strange mixup of a boy and girl, no certainty which one I am. I freak people out all the time...I don't know how much worse it could be." Her expression was along the listless side, but it seemed apparent that she was relieved to be able to speak her mind now. Perhaps this was the first real change she'd been given.

"I think you're beautiful both ways," Jaemin assured her, reaching his free hand out to take the other's. The black-haired adult breathed in sharply and blinked a slight glassiness in her eyes away. When their fingers tentatively touched, a small spark metaphorically flew. A warmth enveloped the interaction, and it made the tallest's heart pound. She wrapped her hand entirely around his and smiled faintly from it, since it had been too long since another person had touched her.

"Thank you..."

"I'm being honest," the host pressed, gliding his thumb along the soft skin covering the back of the younger's hand. "People are fickle and shallow, aren't they? There are a handful of us out there that understand, some that try to understand, and then the minority that are the complication. We're the ones who sit on the other side of the line, and only a few others will bother watching over us for safety."

"I'm sick of being alone..." Chenle sniffed accidentally, cheeks heating up with the need to cry. Her nails dug into the shorter boy's palms, but he didn't mind at all. "You two have each other...and Donghyuck. This fighting you have going isn't cutting it, alright? Nobody will accept you like each other do, so please just work it out. Don't be big babies and just think about where you'll be if this argument shifts from low-key to relationship-wrecking."

Mark swallowed thickly and subtly shot his gaze to his boyfriend who was still fondly staring at their company. It was clear he was rather infatuated with the transvestite, and that alone was enough for the actor. He only wanted his boys to be happy, and to give them everything he could possibly give. Besides, Lele was a welcome distraction from this battle they had never, and would never settle. She was beautiful, kind, clever and strong. He knew he could fall for her, and he knew deep down that Hyuck would warm up to another as well eventually.

"Chenle," he eventually murmured, reaching out to take the ravenette's free hand so that they were all holding onto each other. "Do you like kids, by any chance?"

"Hm? No, not at all. They actually bug the hell out of me...Why?"

The existing couple almost snorted at that statement, glancing to one another with this look of amusement. Yes, that could've been a problem and a reason for the tallest to leave them.

But there was no harm in an introduction to their lover who wasn't present, was there?"

"Okay, new question," Mark then chuckled. "Would you like to come over? To our house, that is. I'm sure we could do with some more counselling."

Jaemin excitedly squealed and pulled his hands away to clap them with a lot of enthusiasm. Chenle swallowed vast amounts of nervousness down and felt her heart practically shatter, rebuild, and skip a beat all at the same time. "I-I mean, sure? But—"

"Ah! Yes~" the blonde boy beamed the most intoxicating and radiant smile either had ever seen. He had a wide grin and pearly, straight teeth that complemented the entirety of his angelic face. How could the youngest deny that smile?

Cute, he and Mark thought together, though without knowing it.

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