Work Text:
Donghyuck hates acting like a whiny child.
No, that’s wrong. He loves acting like a whiny child, but hates being treated like one.
“But what do you mean you have to cover Renjun’s shift?” He demands for the fifth time, arms crossed tightly across his chest. “Are they even allowed to do that?”
Mark pauses, still standing in front of his closet. He’s midway through pulling his ugly blue uniform shirt over his head, and Donghyuck’s so irritated that he can’t even appreciate the long, slim length of Mark’s bare torso on display in front of him. Okay, so maybe he can appreciate it a little bit, especially when Mark twists to face him and the muscles in his stomach pull taut. Nice.
“Doyoung hyung said he wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t urgent,” Mark says, unfairly calm, “And I could use the gas money anyways. We can always go out next weekend.”
“Next weekend’s graduation,” Donghyuck grumbles, huddling closer to the wall. Mark’s bed is a good six inches away from it, and his ass is kind of hanging in the limbo between the wall and the mattress, but he wants to be as far away from Mark as the small bedroom will allow.
“And then we’ll have all the time in the world,” Mark says, finally pulling the shirt on completely. “Do you want to walk home or do you need me to drop you off on my way to the store?”
Donghyuck throws his nametag at him with much more force than necessary, and his foul mood only worsens when Mark catches it nimbly. “I can’t go home,” he sighs melodramatically, “No one’s there and I didn’t bring my keys.”
“Then hang out here,” Mark says, pinning the tag to his shirt. “Or come to work with me. It’ll probably be busy, but there’s free bubble tea.”
“It’s not free if they take it out of your paycheck later,” Donghyuck mutters, but he stands up. “It’s fine, I’ll just raid your fridge and look at your search history and try to find porn that isn’t that weird furry hentai shit.”
“Did someone say furry hentai shit?”
Mark’s eyes widen to the size of saucers immediately, and he lunges forward to lock the door, but before he can, there’s some tiny guy swerving past his attempt to keep him out and running into the center of the room.
“Uh,” Donghyuck says very eloquently.
Donghyuck’s met Mark’s stepbrother’s boyfriend three, maybe four times at most, and every one of those occasions had been equally as strange. The most recent had been walking into Mark’s house a couple weeks ago to get some of their chemistry final project done, and he’d found Ten and Johnny barely clothed and very obviously about to go at it right there on Mrs. Lee’s favorite leather couch. Donghyuck hasn’t sat on the couch or looked Johnny in the eye since.
“Anyways,” Ten is already saying, “I was eavesdropping in the hallway because I thought you guys were doing something spicy, but I overheard that Mark’s going to work and abandoning his poor adorable boyfriend. Shame on you, Mark. But also take me with you because I’m supposed to be meeting my friend for bubble tea.”
Mark looks like he wants nothing more than to have the floor split open at his feet and swallow him down into it.
Donghyuck’s not exactly sure what happens next- one second he’s standing in the middle of Mark’s room, a Ten shaped whirlwind blowing around the room, and the next, he’s waving goodbye to Mark and Ten as they get into his car and drive off, with absolutely no idea of what had happened in the middle except for Ten’s overexcited voice goading Mark on about porn and bubble tea.
Ten has that effect on people.
“Sorry about him,” a voice says from behind him. Naturally, Donghyuck shrieks, pivots on the spot, and trips over the carpet, falling face first into the coatrack Mark’s mom insists is quaint.
Or he would have, except that Johnny catches his arm (holy shit, Donghyuck thinks, because Johnny’s fingers wrap all the way around his forearm) and hauls him back swiftly.
“Thanks,” Donghyuck manages, slightly breathless.
“No problem,” Johnny says cheerfully, letting him go and making his way towards the kitchen. “I guess we’ve both been abandoned. You want something to eat?”
“What I want is for Mark to get his head out of his ass,” Donghyuck whines, but trails after Johnny nonetheless. “I had a whole date planned, and he totally just ditched me.”
“Ouch,” Johnny says sympathetically, swinging open the fridge. He grabs a bottle of water and drinks it all down in one go.
“I even got tickets to the space museum because I know Mark likes the planetarium show about aliens.” Donghyuck sighs, hopping up onto a barstool. “This really sucks.”
Johnny hums softly. “Well…” he says slowly, “I could go with you to the alien thing.”
Donghyuck gapes. Somewhere, in some universe, there’s a twelve-year-old Donghyuck on the verge of spontaneously combusting because he senses a disturbance in the force.
The thing is this. Donghyuck’s first significant memory of Johnny is from back in middle school, and promptly following it is a two-year long crush that had burned slowly but surely into the very beginning of high school. Of course, it had faded with time. It had been a childish first crush, but Donghyuck knows objectively, even now, that Johnny’s really cute.
So he chokes out a weak, “okay,” at the proposition.
“Great,” Johnny grins, “It’s a date.”
Little alternate dimension twelve-year-old Donghyuck drops dead.
-
Johnny’s obviously not as into space as Mark is (but then again, no one is as into space as Mark is, the fucking dork) but he still makes an effort for Donghyuck.
He appropriately oohs and ahhs at the alien conspiracy tapes, as well as makes Donghyuck name as many constellations as he can in the planetarium, and even buys him freeze dried ice cream from the gift shop.
“Why are you a better date than Mark?” Donghyuck wonders, linking his arm through Johnny’s as they walk from the moon landing display to the escalator.
“Experience,” Johnny says wisely, “Though I have to admit, I prefer art to moon rocks and aliens.”
“Noted,” Donghyuck snarks, “You know, for our second date.”
“Ah,” Johnny quips, “So I get a second date? Lucky me.”
Donghyuck squints. “I’m still thinking about it. Maybe if you buy me something to drink.”
They’ve just exited the museum, so Johnny looks around idly. “There,” he says, pointing towards a little café nestled between two bigger restaurants.
It’s odd how easily he and Johnny get along. Johnny’s an actual adult, unlike him, who just turned eighteen the previous week and keeps forgetting it until Jaemin reminds him. Johnny’s almost finished with college and has his own apartment and has his shit together (well, kind of. Donghyuck saw him crying over their pet goldfish dying a couple months ago, and since then, the whole mature responsible adult image has kind of been tarnished.)
But Johnny’s easy to talk to, and they’ve known each other forever, even if they’ve never been particularly close. Donghyuck remembers Johnny helping him and Mark learn how to ride their bikes, driving them to their first day of high school, staying up all night with them to finish a science project.
Actually sitting down and having coffee with him is strange for multiple reasons. Both his brothers are younger than him, and it’s weird hanging out with someone a whole six years older than him. Does he treat Johnny like an adult or like he does Mark or Jaemin?
“Dude,” Johnny says as he sits down, placing Donghyuck’s iced latte in front of him, “Calm down, you look like you’re about to start hyperventilating.”
Those words sound so much like Mark that it makes him snap out of it.
“Right,” he mutters, taking a sip of his coffee. “I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“You know,” Donghyuck says slowly, heat rising in his cheeks. He’s never going to live this down if Johnny decides to tell Mark, but he takes the risk anyways, “I used to have the biggest crush on you.”
Johnny blinks. Then takes a sip of his coffee. Then blinks again. “Me?” He says finally, “A crush?”
“When I was like, twelve,” Donghyuck explains quickly, “It was like a dumb middle school thing.”
“But still,” Johnny says, utterly bewildered, “Why me?”
“Uhh,” Donghyuck crosses his ankles, tucks them under the chair, and shoves his straw in his mouth, if only to give him some time to think, “I think it was around the time that Mark used to get teased a lot? Remember how he got tall really late? And he was like, really skinny and weird looking?”
Johnny’s mouth quirks into a smile, but he nods. “The summer before he started playing basketball.”
“Yeah,” Donghyuck remembers it well. Mark with his shiny silver braces and thick glasses, awkward and shy and sweet, stuttering over his words whenever Donghyuck or Jaemin flirted with him, just to see him become flustered. “I remember once, some kid from the grade above us was bullying him pretty bad, and he was calling Mark names or something, but then you showed up out of nowhere with your car and basketball jersey and you grabbed the guy and said you’d beat the shit out of him if he ever talked to Mark again.”
Johnny chokes over his drink. “I would never,” he protests, but then scrunches his brows together in thought. “Okay, maybe I would have when I was seventeen and stupid. No offense.”
“I’m eighteen,” Donghyuck corrects cheerfully, “But yeah, you were pretty cool back in the day.”
“I’m still cool,” Johnny huffs, but the cardigan he’s wearing sort of ruins the effect.
“Well, that’s when I had a crush on you,” Donghyuck shrugs, “But obviously I got over it.”
“Obviously.” Johnny muses. “It’s weird how different Mark is these days, isn’t it?”
“He’s too cocky,” Donghyuck grumbles, sitting back in his seat. “I need stupid nerdy Mark back.” Ever since he’d joined the team and hit his growth spurt, Mark’s full of heart-stopping smirks and that accursed word that sets Donghyuck’s nerves on fire every time it spills from his mouth; baby.
Johnny’s smile softens. “I’m glad he’s getting out of his shell because of you. He’s always been a shy kid. I remember we used to worry about what would happen to him because he’d always been so withdrawn after his dad died. It’s good that he seems so self-assured and happy nowadays.”
Mark’s dad. Donghyuck remembers him very vaguely. He’d died before they’d become very close friends, and Donghyuck doesn’t really remember Mark before his death, nor does he remember Mark directly after his death. All Donghyuck really knows is that he’d died when Mark had been little and then Mark’s mom had married Johnny’s dad some time after.
He always prides himself in knowing Mark so well, but he’s never thought to ask about this. What kind of boyfriend, no, what kind of best friend, does that make him?
Donghyuck takes a deep breath around the weight in his chest. It comes out shaky. Johnny picks up on his mood quickly and clamps a warm hand over his shoulder. “Come on, Hyuck,” he says gently, “There’s no way you can change the past. He’s moving on, and that’s good for him.”
Donghyuck can’t stop thinking about it. Mark, sitting alone at lunch until Jeno had invited him to sit with them. Mark sitting on the steps in front of his house, quietly scribbling into a journal instead of playing with the neighborhood kids. “He must have been so lonely,” Donghyuck whispers, fingers tightening on the glass. The cold condensation-fogged glass numbs his hand, but he doesn’t pull away.
Johnny inclines his head forward. “Probably,” he agrees, “But that’s not your fault, you know. What matters is that now he knows he’s loved. He’s got you and his other friends.”
Love. The words that have been eager to spill from Donghyuck’s lips, that flutter around his ribcage like a trapped bird. He’s too much of a coward to just let them escape.
Then Johnny says in a much brighter voice, “You want some cake to go with that coffee? I heard that this place has really good chocolate cake.”
Donghyuck forces down the shame growing inside him and tries for a smile. “Only if you buy.”
-
By the time they exit the coffeeshop, the sky’s a kaleidoscope of deep oranges and smudges of dark indigo, the last rays of the warm summer sun bathing everything golden. Donghyuck checks his phone. “Mark must be getting off his shift now,” he says.
“You wanna come over?”
“On the first date? Aren’t you moving fast?” Donghyuck asks dryly, but then follows after him.
Johnny’s car is much nicer than Mark’s, with air conditioning that actually works and a passenger seat big enough for Donghyuck to comfortably cross his legs in. “I forgot what A/C felt like,” he groans the second the cool airflow hits his skin.
“Don’t get too used to it,” Johnny deadpans, “Mark’s the one driving you home.”
“That hurts,” Donghyuck says solemnly, hand pressed over his chest. “Looks like you’re not getting a second date after all.”
“Damn, and here I thought this was going well.”
Donghyuck hesitates. “Hey,” he says softly, when the banter’s died down a little. “What if I told you I haven’t exactly told Mark how much I like him.”
Johnny glances at him out of the corner of his eye. “You’re dating,” he says, eyebrows scrunching together.
“Yeah, but like… you know, I haven’t said that I… you know. Love him and stuff.” He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, pulling the seatbelt strap and fiddling with it aimlessly.
“But do you love him?”
“Yeah, but-“
“Then you should just say it. I know Mark definitely loves you. He’s probably just afraid of saying it.”
“What if it’s too soon?”
“Hyuck, didn’t you guys meet when you were like six?” Johnny raises an eyebrow. Damn it. He has a point.
“I’m just scared,” Donghyuck sighs, turning away and towards the window.
When Johnny pulls into their driveway, Mark’s car is already in its usual spot by the garage. Donghyuck bites his lip hard, throws Johnny a pleading look. “I don’t even know what to say,” he groans.
“Just tell him how you really feel,” Johnny smiles, ruffling his hair. “Now go, before Mom and Dad get home and ruin it.”
Donghyuck’s heart pounds against his ribcage, his palms sweaty, but he nods. “Thanks,” he whispers, and Johnny smiles back.
“Anything for that second date,” he winks, and then begins backing out of the driveway again. “If anyone asks, I’m going over to Ten’s.”
The entire walk up to the front door, Donghyuck’s breath comes shorter and shorter until it’s a small, struggling gasp every time he exhales. He hasn’t been this nervous since the first time he and Mark had admitted they liked each other as more than friends.
Donghyuck does love Mark. With all his heart, probably since they’d first entered high school and Mark had slowly come out of his shell, smiling more and more, teasing him back instead of going silent every time Donghyuck jokes around with him. He loves kissing Mark and holding Mark’s hand and sneaking out to drive around with Mark in the middle of the night, and he’s fairly sure Mark feels the same way. He’s never so indulgent with anyone else the way he is with Donghyuck.
He lets himself in with the spare key they keep hidden under the doormat, climbs every creaky step slowly. Mark’s passed out in his bed, uniform shirt pooled on the floor. His shoulders are bare under the blanket, and Donghyuck swallows hard. As if he needs that distraction.
He looks heartbreakingly small all curled up under his blankets, one arm half-shielding his face, and Donghyuck’s reminded of a younger, smaller Mark. A lonelier Mark.
He calms his nerves as much as he can, then reaches forward, shakes Mark awake.
Mark’s always been a light sleeper, waking up the earliest at sleep overs and offering to drive everyone home. Donghyuck just has to pat his shoulder a couple times and he’s blinking, lashes fluttering, clarity returning to his eyes.
“Hey,” he mumbles, “I’m sorry I had to work today.” He sits up, smiles at Donghyuck sleepily, hair disheveled, eyes drooping shut, and Donghyuck has never loved him more.
He sits down on the bed and catches Mark’s wrist as he goes to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
“Hyuck?” Mark says, slightly puzzled.
Donghyuck can’t breathe properly, anxiety eating him alive, but he forces the words out. “You’re always there for me when I need you, and I just, sometimes I feel like I can’t do the same and it makes me sad. I want to be there for you whenever you need me, and I want so bad for you to need me sometimes. I wish you would confide in me when you’re scared or lonely or sad, because I want to help, if I can. And if I can’t, I want to just stay with you and wait until it gets better.”
Mark blinks several times. “Where is all this coming from?” He asks in a gentle voice, carefully pulling his hands from Donghyuck’s grip. He intertwines their fingers instead, holding their hands loosely between them.
“I was talking with Johnny hyung today when we went out, and he just reminded me of some important things.” Donghyuck takes a deep breath. It’s now or never. “I need you to know that I love you.”
He shuts his eyes tight, too scared to look Mark in the face. He waits for a response, but nothing comes. After several moments of silence, Donghyuck slits his eyes open, dares to glance at Mark. His face is unreadable, mouth set neutrally, eyes averted down to his lap.
“Say something,” he manages to get out.
Mark’s voice breaks over the words. “You said it first,” he whispers.
“Yes, I said it first,” Donghyuck says impatiently. “Now please tell me if I’m making a fool of myself or not.”
“Hyuck,” Mark says, as if at a loss, “I’ve been in love with you since middle school.”
Donghyuck freezes. “Oh,” he says in a tiny voice. Middle school Mark, hiding his shy giggles under his bony fist, eyes wide behind the lenses of his glasses, braces glinting silver when he smiles too big, in love with Donghyuck.
Mark laughs a little nervously, rolling his shoulders. “Now what?”
Donghyuck can’t stand him and his stupid sweetness and his dumb broad shoulders. He pushes the older boy back down against the bed, pins his wrists down against the sheets. “Say it again,” he demands, staring into Mark’s wide eyes, “Say that you love me.”
“I love you,” Mark says through a smile, “Is that okay?”
Donghyuck doesn’t bothering answering- he presses their lips together, and it’s that much sweeter after the words have been said. It’s like he can taste it on Mark’s mouth.
“I love you too,” Donghyuck breathes into his mouth, because once he’s said the words, once he’s giddy on the feeling, he can’t stop. “I love you, I love you, god I fucking love you.”
Mark shifts suddenly, sitting up and taking Donghyuck along with him, until Donghyuck’s sitting in his lap. He cups Donghyuck’s cheek in his palm, feels the warm skin heat up under his. “When I was younger, I used to dream about this,” Mark admits, “but I always thought you were out of my league because you were so cool.”
Donghyuck scoffs, “I’m not cool.”
“I know that now,” Mark grins, yelps when Donghyuck tightens his arms around his neck and pretends to choke him. “But you had other stuff on your mind.”
“You’re the one who dated other people,” Donghyuck reminds him gently, then kisses him again, coaxing his mouth open with his tongue. Mark kisses back for a while, then pulls away with a soft smile.
“Because I thought you’d never be interested in me. I didn’t know you’d get jealous.”
“Well I was,” Donghyuck whispers, curling his fingers around Mark’s neck. “That I wasn’t your first boyfriend. That I didn’t get to see your face the first time someone kissed you. That I wasn’t the first one you slept with. I think about it all the time.”
Mark goes silent at that. “I don’t want them,” he says finally, “They passed the time, but I was never in love with them. I’m so happy I was your first kiss, and that maybe I’ll be your first time, if you want.”
Donghyuck’s breath feels stuck in his throat. “I do want,” he whispers, ducking down to connect their mouths again. His fingers slide down the length of Mark’s neck and find some healing hickeys, press into them teasingly, and then lower to Mark’s chest. He makes it all the way down to the tensed, bunched up muscles of Mark’s abdomen before he stops, continuing, “When I’m ready, I know that I want it to be you.”
Mark’s chest is rising and falling unsteadily, cheeks flushed with something that takes Donghyuck to process as arousal. Oh shit. Mark Lee, with his cocky smile and his pet names, turned on by him.
“Cute,” Donghyuck mumbles, fingers catching in Mark’s hair to pull him into another kiss. “I bet the furry hentai shit can’t do that.”
Mark’s blush deepens in color. “It was one time,” he complains. “I’m not even that into it.”
Suddenly, before Donghyuck can respond, the door to Mark’s room bursts open and Ten comes barreling into the room again. “I heard someone say furry hentai shit again,” he says, and then actually looks at the scene before him. Mark, breathless and obviously hard in his jeans, Donghyuck sitting in his lap.
“Oh,” Ten says, a sly smile creeping onto his lips. “Looks like we’re even for last week.”
Johnny appears seconds later, grabbing his boyfriend’s arm and half-dragging him from the room. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes, eyes very obviously averted, but as he shuts the door behind them, he calls, “Be safe and use lots of lube!”
It’s only when the door slams shut that Donghyuck lets himself collapse back onto the bed, shaking with giggles. Mark stays sitting, looking absolutely mortified.
The giggles subside slowly, and then Donghyuck says, “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you what I did today!”
Mark looks at his shut door, then eyes Donghyuck warily. “What did you do?”
He sits up, grins wide and shameless, and says, “I went on a date with your brother.”
“What?”