Work Text:
“Do you think Nace could spare you for a night?” Jure asked, fingers tapping against the check-out counter as he waited for Jan to scan his groceries.
“What for?” His best friend glanced at him shortly.
“Movie night,” Jure grinned as he started shoving spaghetti ingredients in his backpack. “I miss my best friend, we don’t spend nearly as much time together nowadays.”
“Kitty, you were over at my place literally three days ago,” the cashier pointed out, but he was already smiling.
“Exactly! It’s been ages,” the older man insisted. “I deserve regular cuddles.”
Jan had already finished scanning everything, so his attention was entirely on his friend as he laughed and shook his head in endearment. But then he sighed deeply and nodded.
“Alright then, movie night it is,” he agreed. “But I wanna pick the movie this time.”
“You got it, boss,” Jure grinned and finally reached for his wallet - he’d been ready to hold his payment hostage in case Jan tried to argue. “Give me cigarettes too though.”
“What kind?”
“Are you fucking serious?” His smile fell as he rolled his eyes. “The same ones as yesterday. And the day before yesterday, and last week, and the past ten years of my life.”
“Which is..?” Jan prompted, lips curved in a playful smirk.
“Would it kill you to remember it?” Jure whined. “Marlboro Touch. Happy?”
“I’d be happier if you said please,” the cashier shrugged, but reached to pick a box from the cigarettes rack and scan it. “Anyway, I’ll come over after I finish my shift, okay?”
Jure nodded as he took out his card to pay for the groceries. Kris had let them go early for the day, so he knew his best friend had a couple more hours to go.
“I know how long it takes you to reach my place,” he said, half-hearted attempt at a joking threat. “Don’t make me call Nace and look for you.”
“Oh fuck off,” Jan laughed. “I’ll come as soon as I can.”
So Jure decided to trust his best friend and made his way out of the store and towards his home.
Now, it wasn’t that he was in any way unhappy that Jan and Nace were finally dating. A year later, they were as disgustingly in love as on day one, minus the awkward blushing and obliviousness and Jure couldn’t be happier for them.
But Jan had less time for him now. It wasn’t that big of a difference, they still had their Friday beers, still had their movie nights and slept over at each other’s places. But more often than not, Nace would join them too whenever they were at Jan’s and as cute as they were, Jure wasn’t made of stone. He wanted cuddles and attention too.
And though he refused to think about the cause of the noises he sometimes heard from his best friend’s room, though he was a self-sufficient man, he sometimes found himself longing for the intimacy too.
He’d given a shot to Tinder again, this time more seriously. But despite what he’d told Nace all that time ago, it didn’t really bother him whether the guys were hot or not. It just didn’t feel right. It felt like he was looking for something that just wasn’t there.
So he gave up and clung to Jan whenever he managed to get him away from Nace for more than an hour, and spent most of his time with Mark.
But Jure didn’t like thinking about loneliness, so as soon as he reached his house, he got himself busy tidying around a little bit so he and Jan could settle comfortably in the living room and watch a movie. As the clock informed him Jan should be arriving shortly, he set on making spaghetti.
Jan arrived just a little after he’d finished cooking and soon enough, they were settled on the couch, Jure cozily tucked by his best friend’s side, arms wrapped around his waist and Jan’s hand petting his hair as they watched some dumb comedy Jan had picked.
Jure had watched it before, not particularly impressed by anything it contained, but he’d promised that the younger man could pick this time, so he was only half-way paying attention and focused on the comfort of the other’s body next to him.
His phone vibrated by his side and caught his attention, so he glanced at the screen to see a message from Mark. He quickly reached to take the little device and open it to read the text informing him that his friend was arguing with Kiki about whose wedding was more likely to happen first - Bojan and Kris or Jan and Nace, and asking his opinion.
Jure considered the question for a bit, before typing his response: ‘30 bucks on Jan and Nace,’ then quickly followed it up with a bitter ‘unless Kris and Bojan get married in secret and inform us at their tenth anniversary or something.’
Mark sent a few laughing emojis in response, then ‘Bojan can’t keep his mouth shut that well’ and after that ‘Kiki said he’s willing to take our bet.’ Our bet, which implied Mark agreed with him, and that made Jure smile to himself.
“Who is it?” Jan asked by his side, tying to steal a glance at the screen.
“Mark,” the blonde informed, typing a quick ‘it’s on’ back and setting his phone down. “You better be planning the wedding already.”
“Don’t tell me you’re betting on that now,” Jan rolled his eyes with a huff. Jure grinned in response. “As far as I’ve heard, Kris has it planned already.”
“Yeah, I heard so too,” Jure hummed. “So you better get the ball rolling, y’know? Mark and I are counting on you.”
“Of course,” his best friend scoffed, but smiled nonetheless. “I can’t with you two sometimes.” The older raised his eyebrows in question. “Well, if anything, it’s you who are like an old married couple already. You hang out so much and I swear, it’s like you can read each other’s minds sometimes.”
“We have a lot in common,” Jure laughed. “I spend a lot of time with you too, yet you’re getting married to Nace.”
“Can we leave the topic of my wedding at least for after one of us proposes?” Jan chuckled. “I’m just saying, you’re like a couple aside from the fact that you’re not.”
“I hope you realise that statement doesn’t make much sense,” Jure pointed out in amusement. But he had to admit he couldn’t quite argue with it either way.
Jan simply shrugged and focused his attention back on the movie, so the blonde snuggled a little more into him and sighed contentedly.
They stayed up for a while after the movie ended, talking about nothing important and everything in general, somehow ended up in a deep conversation about the value of art and only moved to Jure’s bed when Jan’s eyes started drooping too heavy with sleep.
His best friend easily curled into him and dozed off, yet Jure found himself unable to fall asleep quite as fast. Instead, his mind drifted off to what Jan had mentioned earlier - him and Mark.
He liked Mark, of course, he was fun to be around, they did share quite a lot in common and got along well. They’d started hanging out more after Jan and Nace got together, but if Jure had to think back, he’d always preferred his company during shifts.
Mark had been the first one to take Jure on his bets and never turned him down, even if he was offering to put money on wether it would be sunny that day. He was nowhere near as affectionate as Jan, but never turned Jure away if he asked for a hug, he treated him to sweets whenever he noticed the blonde’s mood was down.
And he always noticed, saw through the cracks of Jure’s forced cheeriness and stood by his side with quiet sense of security. The more he thought about it, Jure remembered more and more instances where he’d sought out Mark’s company over Jan’s when he needed support in the past year.
A familiar face swam up in his mind, smiling at him cheerfully as if to welcome him to the realisation that he was in love with Mark. It made so much sense now, why he never seemed to find what he was looking for online and why he never looked for anything else when he was with Mark. How had he never thought about it before?! How was Jan, his hopelessly oblivious best friend, the one to make him realise it?
Easy, he thought to himself - Jan was right when he’d said they were almost like a couple already. Jure was so used to it, so comfortable with it that he didn’t consider it.
He gave his imagination a little bit of creative freedom - tried to picture himself next to Mark, cuddled by his side, on the cringiest date he could think of, kissing him or perhaps even doing something more. His stomach did a small flip of its own at the imagery and he quickly had to shoo the thoughts away, he was trying to figure out his feelings, not get horny.
He tried to picture himself kissing Jan, someone he knew he’d never held romantic feelings for. Scratch that, he’d done it already. He tried to picture Nace instead (and Jan would have to forgive him, it was in the name of science). And though he could see it, wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea, it didn’t give him the same kind of tingling sensation.
A silly smile spread on his lips on its own as he allowed his mind to circle back to the version with Mark. It was a funny thought, being in love with Mark. It didn’t change anything, and yet being aware of it sent warmth through Jure’s limbs. It was almost comforting, like a piece of his puzzle falling into its place, allowing him to finally drift off to sleep.
———
Arriving on site the next day for his shift, Jure was almost surprised by how little the realisation changed. Of course, he’d never be like Jan who would become a stuttering mess whenever Nace walked in the store, and he wasn’t quite like Kris and Bojan who could stare at each other longingly for hours on. But he was prepared to feel at least some sense of awkwardness around Mark now. Instead, at the sight of the man, all he felt was excited happiness.
The same sense of comfort was there as they walked up the endless stairs of the nearly finished apartment complex to reach a room which was still unfinished, the same easiness as they chatted while they worked.
Now, Jure wasn’t irresponsible enough to talk about feelings while working. So he walked out on the little balcony of the apartment they were in and glanced down. Sixteen floors difference from the ground forced him to strain his eyes a bit, but then he leaned in back to the room.
“Jan’s here, wanna take a smoke break?” he offered cheerfully and Mark chuckled as he followed him outside.
The man glanced down as well to double-check that Kris wasn’t paying them attention, then leaned back on the railing as Jure lit a cigarette.
“Maks put money on them getting married first,” he informed. Jure didn’t need to check to know that Bojan was also taking advantage of Jan’s visit to cling onto his boyfriend while he was softened by his afternoon coffee.
But Jure wasn’t really interested in their relationship at this moment. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Mark as he observed him thoughtfully, one more time, just to be sure.
“Jure?” the older man called out in confusion. “All good?”
Instead of responding, the blonde reached up and pulled off the cap that Mark always wore. He flinched in surprise and Jure giggled as he reached up to ruffle his hair. It looked cute, he decided and loosely placed the cap back on, taking a drag from his cigarette.
“What was that for?” the older asked as he fixed the cap properly, just a couple of hair strands sticking out.
“Listen Mark,” Jure started as he flicked the cigarette. “I think I like you. Like, in a not dude-bro way.” Mark blinked at him. “Wanna try it out?”
Mark simply stared at him, in confusion or without a single thought in his mind, Jure couldn’t tell. When he finally spoke, it was a short and uncertain: “What?”
“I’m asking you out, man,” the blonde laughed and rolled his eyes, though he braced himself for rejection. “No pressure or anything, but it might be fun?”
“Okay, sure,” Mark agreed instead with a small shrug. “I’ll come pick you up tomorrow around seven and we can go for dinner and a drink?”
Jure nodded happily, before switching the topic as he finished his cigarette. Neither of them brought up the date for the rest of the day, but they did ask for Martin’s opinion on the marriage question. It was more than a relief when he placed his bets on Jan and Nace.
The ease with which Mark had accepted was enough to not allow him to get stressed out as he was getting ready to go out the next day - either Mark was also interested, or they’d be able to be chill about it if it didn’t work out.
A dinner and a drink was rather vague in terms of how fancy he had to dress up but he figured a nice shirt would do as long as Mark didn’t take them to a McDonald’s.
Just a little past seven, he received a text to come out and he giggled to himself as he picked up his keys and wallet and made his way out.
Mark was waiting outside his car, leaned back on the vehicle and with a bouquet of red flowers in his hand. He’d put on a black t-shirt, a pair of black jeans and a leather jacket, and had also switched the cap to a black beanie. As he walked over to him, Jure had to admit he liked the look.
“You got me flowers?” he asked happily as soon as he was close enough to not have to shout it. “You didn’t have to.”
“When you said ‘a not dude-bro way’, I assumed that meant romantically,” the other man laughed as he handed him the bouquet, which turned out to be tulips. “You don’t seem like a red roses kind of guy, lady at the store said these should also get the point across.”
“Well, they’re lovely,” the blonde smiled as he took the flowers. “Thank you. I’ll just go back to put them in water real quick, okay?”
It didn’t take him more than a couple minutes to go back up to his apartment, put the bouquet in a glass of water and make his way down again. Mark had already started the car, so he slipped in on the passenger seat and they took off.
“So where are we going?” Jure asked curiously. “Or is that a secret?”
“Oh, no,” Mark smiled. “You remember the restaurant Kris booked after we finished work on that fancy office building?”
“Oh, I loved that place,” the younger man exclaimed. “It’s a pity it’s so far from my house, I’d go there every week if I could.”
“I know.” There was a pleased half-smile on Mark’s lips, as if he was proud of himself for getting it right.
Jure’s mouth fell open in silent surprise. For the first time he felt like he might understand how Jan could get flustered enough around Nace that he would forget how to speak. His heart skipped and he felt the same flutter in his stomach as when he’d been in his bed, imagining what a date with Mark could be like. He didn’t fight his smile, even if he didn’t find words to respond.
The ride was pleasantly silent, even if Jure wasn’t used to not talking to Mark. As they finally reached the restaurant, Mark parked the car as close by as he could find a spot and turned the engine off, yet didn’t immediately move to get out. Instead, he turned to look at the other man, as if considering something.
“Listen, Jure,” he started.
“Oh no, you’re not turning me down before we’ve even started the date, are you?” Jure laughed, lighthearted in an attempt to mask the slight anxiousness he felt at the thought.
“I’m not,” Mark chuckled, shaking his head, and Jure tried to cover the relieved sigh he let out. “I have to admit that until yesterday I hadn’t thought about you this way. I thought about it last night and I maybe like you too.”
“In a not dude-bro way?” Jure prompted jokingly and the other man rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless.
“Yeah, but how about we leave that phrase aside for a moment?” The blonde nodded. “My point is, I like you and I’m happy we’re doing this, but I don’t want to force it and hurt you.”
“Dude,” Jure grinned. “No need to force anything. I figured this shit out like three days ago, because Jan informed me we already are practically a couple. I didn’t ask you out so we’d start acting all romantic and lovey-dovey, I just wanna see what it’s like if I don’t just think of you as my friend.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been called ‘dude’ by my date before,” Mark laughed. “So we’re cool?” Jure nodded with a smile. “And I didn’t have to bring you flowers?”
“Well, you didn't, but I’m happy you did,” the blonde responded. “I still like the romantic shit. It’s just not necessarily what we have to do.”
“Alright then,” Mark hummed. “Let’s go in.”
———
If either of them had any second thoughts at all, not even a month later they were gone and forgotten. They didn’t bother making it official, the crew didn’t question it. Jan figured it out within a week, after the third time Mark accompanied Jure for his groceries run with the clear intention of going home with him after that.
“Am I allowed to bet on your wedding?” was his only acknowledgment of the change.
“Nope,” Jure replied easily. “You’re already involved in the wedding bet, it would be a conflict of interests. Nace, Kris and Bojan aren’t allowed in either.”
The cashier simply shrugged, through he smiled at his best friend proudly as he handed him the receipt. After that, Nace was the only one to congratulate them happily, but judging by the knowing glances they got from Bojan sometimes, the information had spread quickly.
Jure couldn’t complain. Their relationship didn’t change, aside from the fact that he came to find that Mark was more than willing to indulge his clinginess. And even despite the conversation they’d had in the car, Mark was also surprisingly good at small romantic gestures.
Or at least that’s what Jure considered the packs of cigarettes he got if Mark made a trip to the store, the boxes of candy he received instead of good morning sometimes and the literal cake he showed up with when Jure called him one night, lonely and sick in bed.
For some unknown reason, though, most of the crew started avoiding the part of the construction they were working on. Not that they’d ever given them a reason, as far as Jure could remember. But, well, he decided to make use of it.
“Hey Mark,” he called out, setting down his paint roller.
He only allowed the man enough time to acknowledge him approaching, before pressing him against the still uncovered part of the wall and kissing him. Mark’s tool pressed against his side when the man wrapped his arms around his waist, but Jure didn’t pay it attention.
“What was that for?” the older man chuckled when he pulled away.
“Just wanted to try it,” the blonde giggled.
“Fair enough,” Mark shrugged, then a small smile quirked his lips. “Try it again, hm?”
Jure didn’t need another invitation to lean back in, deepening the kiss this time.
“Jure, do you know—” Kris cut himself off almost as quickly as he’d appeared. “Is this why you’re always behind schedule?”
Jure pulled away from his boyfriend with a sigh and turned to their supervisor, who was staring at them in a mix of shock and disappointment.
“The one time I decide to have a little fun at work,” Jure let out an exaggerated huff, then broke into a giggle at the blank look Kris sent him. “Do I know what?”
“I need the keys for the crane,” Kris said, shaking his head. “You were the last one to use it.”
“Right, sure.” The blonde dug through his pocket and handed him the keys
“Thanks,” the supervisor hummed. “Get back to work. And no making out at the work place!”
“Oh please, like we don’t know you and Bojan do it in the office.”
Kris had already turned around to walk away when the words reached him and he spun around immediately, a scandalised expression on his face. Mark shook with laughter behind the giggling Jure.
“He has a distinctly self-satisfied look sometimes when he’s coming back from breaks,” he pointed out and Jure wanted to kiss him again. “You’re not that good at hiding.”
Embarrassment and horror were visibly fighting for dominance in Kris, but finally he sighed in defeat.
“You won’t really let that go, will you?” he asked, voice wavering as he tried to keep his composure.
“Not for two more years at least, no,” Jure grinned.
“Fine,” Kris sighed again. “Please get back to work.”
The two men nodded responsibly and he walked away. They allowed him enough time to be two or three floors away before picking up what he’d interrupted.