Archive of Our Own

A tip for anyone who’s made the mistake of getting involved with the annoyingly carefree, dazzled smiled mess that’s also known as Nakamoto Yuta; don’t let him convince you to go to a party, especially one where you barely know anyone. Sicheng would know, since that’s where he had now wounded up, stuck in a predicament as a consequence of his inability to refuse when Yuta resorted to using his puppy eyes and pouting. Sicheng would never admit it, not even in his now slightly intoxicated state, but he always crumbled under the slightest coaxing from the elder. It had always been like this, he had a tendency to never be able to turn down his best friend. This time however it was bad, he wasn’t only stuck in a room where Yuta was one of the only people he even knew the name of, he had also been lured into playing a horrifying mix of spin the bottle and truth or dare.

The mass of people that had shown up the party congregated in the, thankfully, huge living room cramming themselves down on the couches and the floor as Yuta turned the boisterous music down a bit and grabbed a discarded empty beer bottle. The wretched Sicheng opted for the floor placing himself beside Kun, the only other person he could actually state knowing and a kid with tan golden skin and hazel hair who Sicheng only had seen standing in the kitchen conversing loudly with a few others throughout the whole evening. He felt incredibly amiss but he couldn’t leave now, not that he’d actually be able to bring himself to leave without Yuta anyways.

“Okay guys, everyone familiar with the rules right?” Yuta questioned and got sounds of approval from the majority as he sat himself down between Taeyong and Doyoung, two out of the four “mothers” as Sicheng had dubbed them the same instant they snatched all the beer the freshmen were drinking even though they were more than old enough to drink it.

That placed Yuta across from Sicheng giving the younger a clear path to study the elders sharp features, something that was not appreciated now that Sicheng was a few beers in and feeling a bit heady. Purple and pink shades of iridescent light were making its way through the curtains of the room illuminating the curve of the Japanese’s high cheekbones making the elder look elysian, like he belonged in an art museum and not a party for ex and current college students. His lips were parted, saying something to Doyoung beside him and Sicheng couldn’t help but unconsciously lick his own at the sight of those candy colored lips. He wanted to know what they tasted like, caramel and sugar or mint and coffee? At that he quickly broke that train of thought. His hazy brain was dangerous, he shouldn’t think like that and he definitely shouldn't drink much more if he wanted to keep his damned feelings in shack. You see, Sicheng’s relation to Yuta was far more intricate than one might think. Yuta wasn’t just Sicheng’s best friend since the younger had arrived in Korea. Back when he barely knew anything about the new country and with his parents too busy, themselves trying to adapt to the new culture, Yuta had taken it upon himself to teach young Sicheng everything. Sicheng had always felt great reverence towards the elder for everything he’d done for him and that gratitude and admiration blossoming into love wasn’t surprising but Sicheng still blamed himself for being so weak as to fall in love with someone so inaccessible. It was as cliché as it could get and Sicheng despised being a cliché. But it was indisputably and no matter how vehemently Sicheng would deny it, Yuta had become like a mirage, always right there but never belonging to Sicheng.   

The game finally begun and the first few rounds went by swiftly, Yuta spun the bottle and it landed on Renjun, a junior Sicheng used to tutor in Korean when he himself was still in college. He didn't strike Sicheng as the party type but by the way the badious haired, wide smiled kid on Renjun’s left side was clinging unbridledly to the brunette he guessed poor Renjun had been a fellow victim to pouting and wide begging eyes.

Renjun, bless him, played safe and picked truth which resulted in him having to tell the group who the last person he kissed was. He shrugged casually and answered that it was some girl in middle school before sipping on his drink (coke and ice since he’d fallen victim for Taeyong’s unnecessary fussing) absentmindedly, a slight pink hue dancing on his cheeks as his friend nuzzled further into his shoulder.

Next round the bottle stopped on Johnny, the upperclassmen from America whose house they were currently located in. He had merely been known to Sicheng as the ridiculously tall and broad fellow exchange student prior to the party and he couldn’t deny that he had felt slightly intimidated by the thought of invading his house. Johnny had however greeted him with a toothy grin, high cheekbones on display and slightly disheveled hair at the door motioning for him to come inside informing him that Yuta had been waiting for him. True to his infamous courageous nature, Johnny picked dare and as a result had to select someone to sit on his lap for the next three rounds. The victim chosen was Ten, this short and lithe dancer from Thailand with a way too complicated name for anyone to pronounce, hence the nickname. The explanation given from a, surprisingly to Sicheng, slightly flustered Johnny was that he’s the smallest . Sicheng was no idiot however, the pink dusting Johnny’s cheeks and Ten acting a bit too frolic easily gave away that the reticent American in reality had other motives.

The next victim of the bottle was Taeyong, 1/4 of the exclusive mom squad. The supple boy had currently curled himself up in the lap of his boyfriend’s, a guy with deep dimples and ears burning red. Taeyong’s cheeks seemed a bit too pink for him to be sober but he seemed to still have some consciousness as he did the wise choice of picking truth. No one picks dare when Johnny’s the one with your fate in his ridiculously large palms. At least that’s what the golden skin boy with moles splattered all across his face and neck like stars on a clear night next to Sicheng had whispered dramatically into his ear when the bottle had stopped on Taeyong. Unfortunately however it seems as though Taeyong’s fate wasn’t saved by his good judgement after all when Johnny’s plump lips curled into a sly smile which reflected nothing but illwill.

“Who’s the bottom in your relationship, you or Jaehyun?”

Sicheng saw Doyoung hide a giggle behind his hand from across the room and Taeyong’s face turned the same shade as his dark red hair. After a few moments of contemplating whether he’d rather answer the question or take a shot, the former probably being the smartest option since Taeyong appeared to be the biggest lightweight known to mankind, he mumbled out his answer before hiding in Jaehyun’s neck. Johnny was not satisfied however as Jaehyun was probably the only one who even heard it and he obviously already knew the answer.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you?” He grinned wickedly and Ten bounced slightly up and down on his lap in delight.

“Me…” Was the slightly louder response that could be heard muffled from Jaehyun’s neck as the redhead clenched his fists into the soft material of Jaehyun’s shirt. The dolphin kid Renjun had mentioned to Sicheng a few times, Chenle, filled the room with his high pitched shirlling laugh making the whole room smile along and Johnny leaned back with a smug look on his face. Sicheng stifled a smile as he stubbornly stopped his mind from wandering to himself and a certain brunette that sat across the room. Magical thinking wouldn’t get him anywhere.

When Taeyong had managed to shut down both Chenle’s and the mole-kid next to Sicheng’s laughter the elder boy spun the bottle with a huff, cheeks still very much aflame. The bottle went round and round several times making Sicheng slightly dizzy before all blood was drained from his face, it had stopped on him. He snapped his eyes up to meet Taeyong’s dark but warm eyes, whispering out a weak truth . He did his best at ordering his brain to give the elder what he hoped looked like a pleading look and prayed to the higher powers that he had earned a spot as his favorite child even though Taeyong only had known him for a few hours. He must be very good at looking like a kicked puppy because thankfully Taeyong gave him a reassuring smile followed by a boring question according to everyone else but a relieving question to a very thankful Sicheng.

“Who are you most comfortable doing skinship with?”

Sicheng let his eyes scan the room for possible options, Doyoung and Taeil had been nice to him this far but both either gave him bonecrushingly tight hugs or touched Sicheng way too often for his liking. Then there’s Kun, Sicheng has known him for fairly a long time after all and he was also one of the only ones he actually knew here… He let his eyes continue sweeping over the mass, not missing the expectant look Yuta gave him. Sicheng felt a light shiver down his spine, Yuta was definitely not the person he was most comfortable with at the moment, his heart raced just thinking about it. He heaved out a sigh and opted for a neutral answer that wouldn’t need any specific explanation.

“Mark” He shrugged hoping no one would question him and quickly reached for the bottle. Mark was after all about as keen on skinship as Sicheng himself and he had known him briefly a while back when they had been in the same dancing club back in high school. As he spun the bottle however he couldn’t miss the way Yuta defleated a bit in the corner of his eye. He wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault Sicheng was an idiot but knew he couldn’t do that without a rather tough explanation that would ruin everything.  

The next victim of the bottle was Yukhei, the kid Sicheng would describe as “tall, dark and handsome”, only switching the “dark” for “loud” since he seemed to possess the power to drown out anyone else talking within a ten meter radius. He had somehow made it into their group of friends and Sicheng had met him a few times but the younger boy had always favored the kids, that being Mark, dolphin-kid aka Chenle, mole-kid who was seated beside Sicheng, the kid with the unique eye smile, Renjun along with his ginger friend Sicheng didn’t know the name of and the youngest with blue hair or smurf-kid as Sicheng liked to call him. That meant Sicheng still didn’t know him that well and looked around the room for help when the younger chose truth. Johnny, who still had Ten in his lap even though the three rounds were up, scooched closer to Sicheng to whisper a proposition.

“I am not asking that” Sicheng spluttered with red cheeks after Johnny pulled away, Ten snickering at his antics as he had heard the obscure question.

“Fine, I’ll ask him” Johnny grinned and turned to Yukhei with a worrying gleam in his eyes. “Hey, Yukhei what kind of porn do you favor getting off to?”

Someone had definitely had one to many beers, at least judging from the way Yukhei laughed obnoxiously before answering with a disturbing smirk.

“Rick and Morty is the fucking shit dude”

The room was quiet for a moment before the bronze skinned boy next to Sicheng chortled loudly as everyone looked at Yukhei in horror who had begun cackling obnoxiously again.

“What’s Rick and Morty?” Chenle quietly nudged his blue haired friend who just put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. You don’t wanna know he mouthed and then looked as if he was having war flashbacks.

“Jesus christ I’m kidding stop looking at me like I’m some fucking alien” Yukhei finally wailed after he had calmed down and then reached for one of the shots on the messy table full of empty bottles and cans, downing it quickly. That kid was going to be fucking gone in a minute Sicheng thought in mild amusement.

Apparently Yukhei had an unknown so called ‘’friend” among the players which was quickly discovered when the bottle stopped at it’s next target, Jungwoo. Now, Sicheng had talked to Jungwoo a few times and quickly learned that Jungwoo was one confusing individual. He consisted of 40 % soft voice, 40 % soft smiles and the rest was just-, sound effects. But this Jungwoo that was seated next to Yukhei was a whole new experience. He was fucking shitfaced and wobbly turned to Yukhei with fluttering eyelashes and one of his trademark soft smiles. He seemed to have trouble focusing on what Yukhei was saying because he kept zooning out with his mouth hanging slightly open and Sicheng could’ve sworn he saw equations floating around the air surrounding him. At last he chose truth and Sicheng dubbed Yukhei the new master of truth and dare because finally something interesting was happening.

“Have you-… Have you ever- um... given head?”

It took him a few tries but at last Yukhei managed to utter that simple sentence after pausing a few times to gather his scattered thoughts. Sicheng could tell the younger was beginning to slip into the drunken void and was probably not going to return for a while after that. Jungwoo giggled sweetly and looked up at Yukhei with a foxy expression under his thick eyelashes. Oh, Sicheng knew where this was going the same second Jungwoo let out a soft yeah biting his lip. You see, a drunk confident gay and a wasted loud bisexual was probably not a great combination in this situation which was quickly confirmed when the two’s lips were connected in a messy, teeth clashing make out session seconds later. Johnny and Ten cheered on excitedly, accompanied by Taeyong and Yuta until Kun managed to break the two apart, a disappointed look on his face. Mom number three in action Sicheng thought in delight as he allowed himself to take another sip of his beer.

“We do not want to witness you two ruin Johnny’s couch please” He muttered, eyes averted to the floor as he was met with Jungwoo’s big pout and glossy eyes. Everyone cooed at him as he snuggled into Yukhei’s chest and sniffed, Yukhei throwing a protective arms around the elder. Sicheng snorted and rolled his eyes at the two acting profusely petulant, he swore he had heard Yukhei huff out a puff of air in annoyance.

“They can ruin my bed!” Johnny suddenly hollered in agony and the proposition was quickly taken advantage off as the two youngers dashed from the couch, Jungwoo with his legs wrapped around Yukhei’s hips giggling wildly.

The group of friends looked expectantly at Johnny but he showed no sign of disagreeance as he happily reached for the bottle to spin for Jungwoo who had just disappeared to do something much more enjoyable than this.

When the bottle stopped this time the bottleneck was pointed to Doyoung who excitedly clapped his hands a gummy smile showing on his fair skinned face.

“ Finally , I choose dare unlike you cowards” He said with a smug quirk of his lips. Oh how he would regret that decision in just a few seconds. He must’ve forgotten Johnny was the one giving him the dare and to add on the elder had consumed a lot of liquor. The poor bunny faced boy’s punishment for his daredevil actions was four shots. Sicheng watched in awe as mom number 2 downed them all without even flinching. However, it didn’t take long before Doyoung’s coinsioussess seemed to falter. After Yuta had located the beer bottle from under the sofa where Johnny had accidently knocked it to and handed it over to the younger he was already looking a bit hazy.

Doyoung managed to spin the bottle without falling over at least and it stopped on the boy that was clinging to Renjun who Sicheng still didn’t know the name of. It turned out to be Jaemin and he also turned out to be an idiot because he chose dare from a greatly intoxicated Doyoung who now had no filter between his thoughts and mouth.

“I want… I want you to…” Doyoung put his chin in his hand as if he was thinking deeply about what genius dare he should give the younger boy. The room waited in anticipation as Doyoung zooned out for a while, some of his jet black hair falling softly down against his forehead before he finally gathered his intoxicated thoughts.  

“Hmm… I want you to… Kiss-kiss Renjunnie!” Doyoung finally announced proudly and bursted into a fit of giggles afterwards throwing himself to his left landing in Taeil’s lap who just shook his head amused at the younger. Jaemin surprised everyone however by serenly letting go of the arm he had been squeezing up until now, grabbing Renjun’s warm cheeks determinately with a slight look of coyness and softly pressing their lips together. Renjun’s hands stuttered a bit by his sides before they found their place on the thighs of Jaemin’s crossed legs. Doyoung clapped his hands together like a seal from his place lying on Taeil’s lap and Sicheng swore to God he saw Taeyong swipe a fake tear from the corner of his eye. Dramatic fucks. When they finally broke apart Renjun seemed like his tongue was in knots and he kept licking his lips nervously until Jaemin chuckled softly and laced their hands together.

After Jeno, the kid with eyes that turned into crescent moons if you made him smile, had deemed Taeyong as the prettiest out of the players the game was apparently dying. At least according to the drunk/whipped squad as Sicheng had now dubbed Doyoung, Ten, Johnny, Taeyong and Jaehyun. He swore to God he, Mark and Kun were the only sane ones left at this God forsaken party. The solution, which as a matter of fact was insane , was to alter the game rules and from now on there was only dares. To add on to Sicheng’s misery you also had to take double the shots if you refused your assigned dare .

The first unfortunate victim was poor, sweet, innocent Chenle who looked at the bottle with uneasy childlike eyes. Taeyong and Taeil cooed at the younger and turned to Jeno with a look that said don’t you dare make this sweet baby angel sent by the gods do anything traumatizing . Jeno gulped and scratched the back of his neck as Chenle stared him down with glossy ingenuous eyes.

“Um… Hold... Jisung’s hand?” He said, more like questioned hesitantly and threw a look in Taeyong’s direction for confirmation. The redhead gave him an approving nod before nuzzling back into Jaehyun’s caramel locks and the game was thankfully able to proceed without any murder victims.  

Chenle’s turn was up next and as they soon found out when it stopped on mole-kid or Donghyuck which Sicheng finally learned his name was, Chenle was not a “sweet baby angel”, he was the fucking spawn of satan. Or he was easily swayed by the spawn of satan at least. The blue haired kid, Jisung, who was seated next to Chenle whispered something in the slightly older boy’s ear and it wasn’t anything pleasant judging by the smile ghosting around the corners of his mouth and the slap of amusement Chenle gave his shoulder followed by another one of his high pitched screeches.

“Haechannie, I dare you to kiss the person you have a crush on” Chenle beamed happily and got a pat on the shoulder from Jisung as encouragement accompanied by a stifled laugh from the mouse-like younger.  

“Wait, wait you have a crush on someone in here?” Jaemin perked up and threw Donghyuck an accusing look. Judging by the blood languidly trickling to his cheeks tinting them a raspberry pink, the accusation was correct and Jaemin squealed in excitement showing of all of his pearly white teeth.  

“I fucking trusted you, you fetus!” Donghyuck whined angrily eyes and nose scrunched in discomfort. Jisung simply leaned back in his spot on the couch, sipping his drink and throwing an arm over Chenle’s shoulders getting ready to watch hell break loose. Sicheng shuddered, making a mental note to himself to never upset this Jisung kid. He was fucking terrifying. Donghyuck was right below him on the scale, fuming and face redder than Taeyong’s hair as he reached for the shot glasses. He was quickly stopped however when a pale hand shot out to grip his wrist. The boy craned his neck to be met by Mark’s disappointed gaze.

“Donghyuck… You remember what you promised right?” The elder asked in a low tone the situation taking an even greater turn of events. Someone let out a low whistle and Donghyuck’s cheeks got, if even possible at this point, ever the darker and he huffed out an annoyed breath before snatching his hand back from the Canadian.

“Everybody is shutting their fucking eyes and if I see anyone peeking you don’t wanna know what’ll happen to your sorry asses” Donghyuck gritted between his teeth, dark eyes on fire.

No one, not even Jisung dared to protest against the burning gaze in his eyes and soon everyone was closing their eyes obediently. There’s some shuffling around and a deep sigh is heard, probably from Donghyuck regretting his whole existence. Sicheng strains his ears and soon he hears a surprised yelp and the sound of lips being pressed against someone else’s. However it doesn’t stop there, they meet over and over again. There’s some more shuffling, the sounds of mouths moving against each other not faltering, that is until Donghyuck suddenly shrieks in horror.

“You fucking looked I can’t believe you Na Jaemin!”

Sicheng quickly opened his eyes to see what all the commotion was about and was met with Donghyuck curled up into a corner eyes piercing Jaemin who was rolling around on the floor cackling and then Mark with wet and swollen lips along with eyes wider than fucking plates and a dazed look on his face is if he was floating on clouds.

“Oh my god it was Mark I knew it, Mark get some!” Johnny wailed excitedly and roughly dunked the still shocked Mark between his shoulder blades. At that the brunette finally seemed to come back to reality and red crept up his neck all the way to his ears.

“It wasn’t me at all!” He exclaimed hurriedly, but he didn’t get much of a chance to defend himself before he had to stop Donghyuck from strangling Jaemin. After a few minutes everybody had finally calmed down and under all the commotion Yukhei along with Jungwoo who was painted in uncountable amounts of red and purple blotches managed to sneak themselves back onto their spots on the couch. Their timing was remarkable, had they chosen any other time to return they would’ve been bombarded. Sicheng did notice though but got nothing but a flushed look from Jungwoo and a sheepish smile from Yukhei when he gave them a raised eyebrow at Jungwoo’s purple and red honey skin.  

An irate Donghyuck finally spun the bottle and Sicheng prayed he wouldn’t get picked as he was certain he wouldn’t get away as easy as he had done with Taeyong. Donghyuck looked like he was ready to fight anyone who breathed too loud.

The air was thick with trepidation as everybody held their breath watching the bottle spin round and round, the whole room quiet except from Doyoung giggling at nothing. The bottle finally stopped and Donghyuck snapped his eyes up to met the drunken gaze of Jaehyun who was petting Taeyong’s hair affectionately not knowing he was about to get cursed by the devil.

“ Jaehyunnie ~~” Donghyuck called, tone dripping of saccharine. Shiver ran down Sicheng’s spine, this was not going to end well for Jaehyun.

“I want you to…” Donghyuck was dragging this out, the anticipation in the room laying thick like a blanket of smoke. “Spank Taeyong. Ten times” The younger finally finished his sentence and threw a wicked grin in the drunken elders direction.

In any other situation, Jaehyun would’ve burned his ears of in embarrassment and profantly refused but in his drunken state he just grinned happily like a child and turned to Taeyong who also seemed too intoxicated to rethink what they were about to do. Now the thing is, Taeyong and Jaehyun weren’t too big on PDA, but as they both were wasted they obediently got into position no matter how furiously Sicheng silently begged Jaehyun would just take the shots. No one answered his prayers and soon Taeyong on his elbows and knees, ass up in the air and his back arched with Jaehyun on his knees at the elders left side, devoid of any shame whatsoever. You’d think Jaehyun wouldn’t be able to land any good hits in his hazy state, but that was unfortunately not the case. The sound of Jaehyun’s large palm meeting the fabric of Taeyong’s tight jeans echoed through the room and Sicheng saw Kun quickly rushing to covered Jeno’s eyes and later ears when Taeyong suddenly started moaning obscurely. Sicheng cringed at the dissipated sounds and looked around to thankfully see Renjun with closed eyes covering a pouting Jaemin from the scene, Mark doing the same for Donghyuck and on the couch Chenle and Jisung was covering for each other (though Sicheng had to give Jisung a stern look when he saw the youngest peeking). When Taeil finally managed pull Jaehyun away and distract him with some stupid video from Facebook (Taeil was probably the only one who still used that app) Sicheng let out a sigh of thankfulness, the opposite of Johnny and Yukhei who whined in disappointment. Fucking voyeurists.

Sicheng should’ve known he wouldn’t get away forever. When it was Kun’s turn to complete a dare Ten, that fucking traitor, chimed in that Sicheng hasn’t done anything yet resulting in him now sitting on the middle of the floor, Kun spraying whipped cream all over his neck.

“I’m sorry Sicheng you know I’m not good with alcohol” The fellow Chinese boy smiled apologetically and a bit uncomfortably. Sicheng squirmed at the coolness of the whipped cream and gave Kun a look indicating he understood. Kun was driving all the youngsters home after all and Sicheng could handle taking one for the team.

“Less talking more porn!” Doyoung hollered from his place across the room and was quieted down by Taeil pressing his hand over the tallers mouth, an unwise choice as the elder ended up with a sticky hand from Doyoung licking it. It’s scary what alcohol could do to a person, poor sweet Doyoung who was fussing over everything prior to the game was now a giggling spaced out mess.

Kun took a deep breath, eyes gleaming nervously before he leaned forward to glide his tongue over Sicheng’s neck, the warmth of the wet muscle contrasting the coldness of the whipped cream. Sicheng scrunched up his eyes in discomfort a tremor shooting through his body. He was grateful that it at least was Kun and not someone hammered and perverted like Yukhei. The cream got raked from his body streak after streak and it’s not until Kun pulls back, licking his lips clean from the excessive white substance that he once again feels the, this time searing, gaze from a certain Japanese boy. Sicheng scooched back to his place without even throwing him a look. He didn’t dare to look his way, he was good at hiding his feelings but he must not forget that his eyes speak louder. He just got comfortable on the floor while rubbing his neck with a bothered expression from the stickiness that could be felt under his fingertips.   

Kun’s spin stops at Jisung and being the responsible mom of the youngsters in the room that he is he says that he’s giving Jisung a free pass which is followed by a loud shrill protest from Donghyuck.

“He’s the fucking devil he doesn’t deserve a free pass!” He complains with a scowl on his round face, heart-shaped lips pursed accusingly. Kun just gives him a cheeky look as he hands the bottle over to Jisung.

“That’s what you get for stealing my ice cream the other day” He grinned and Donghyuck crossed his arms with a melodramatic huff.

Jisung’s quick to flick the bottle around and it stops on… Poor, poor Taeil. One of the only merely tipsy people left. He has to do this dare, he can’t leave Sicheng alone with all these drunken vixens. Jisung’s known by now to not hold back on the dares and Taeil’s visibly squirming in his spot on the floor next to Doyoung who’s swaying back and forth with his hands around his feet, legs crossed.

“I dare you to…” Jisung pauses to drum his hands against his thighs for a dramatic effect, Chenle briefly joining in. “Make out with bunny face over there!”

At Jisung’s words Doyoung finally snaps back into reality and he lets out a delighted squeal turning to Taeil with one of his infamous gummy smiles. Taeil gives Jisung a panicked look before the bunny-faced boy pounces on him, pushing them both to the floor while clashing their lips together. Doyoung’s hands quickly find Taeil’s waist and the elder hesitantly winds his arms around the tallers neck. It turns messy quickly, Doyoung frantically licking into Taeil’s mouth irking soft sounds from the boy under him. They show no sign of stopping so they all decide to just leave it to them.

Johnny once again takes action by leaning forward to spin the bottle and to his, and probably everyone else’s, delight it lands on the person they’ve all been waiting for, Mark. The naturally pale boy turns even paler as Johnny chuckles darkly.

“Oh Markie~~” He coos melodically and untangles Ten from his body to slide up behind Mark and place his large hands on the much smaller boys shoulders. Mark is as stiff as a stick by now, back straighter than all of them (pun much intended).

“I’m gonna give you a chance to slink your way out of this one Markie” Johnny begins as he kneads Mark’s shoulders roughly. “But the catch is you can’t chose the shots, deal?”

Mark opens his mouth to speak after swallowing thickly but he’s interrupted by Johnny who won’t even let him decide his own answer to that question.

“Great!” He instead says and slams his palms against the youngers shoulders again. The room is quiet for a few moments except from the sound of the cars driving by outside the house.

“Here’s what I’m thinking buddy. Donghyuck kissed someone earlier right?” Mark already visibly pales further at the statement. “If you were the one he kissed, you need to give lover boy over there a hickey. If not I’m giving you a pass and you don’t have to do anything, not even drink!” Sicheng stifles a chuckle, poor Mark looks like he’s about to pass out eyes flickering all over the room clammy hands clenching and unclenching. Mark gulpes dryly and suddenly a dark aura makes itself present. Right, there’s someone else involved in this dare too. Sicheng shudders involuntarily and turns to his right where Donghyuck is located and oh Johnny won’t live to see the next day. The youngers eyes are darker than onyx and Sicheng feels so bad for Mark who just awkwardly turns to look at Johnny with pleading eyes. The elder just pats the youngers head, apparently free from bad conscience caused by ruining a poor teenage boy’s life. He merely goes back to his spot on the floor, dragging Ten back onto his lap in the process while not giving a shit about his life apparently. Mark silently whimpers closing his eyes in agony before crawling over to Donghyuck, full of shame which is made even worse when all the youngers cheer, accompanied by Taeyong half heartedly hollering as he’s partly passed out by now. Mark reaches Donghyuck whose skin looks like it’s burning and eyes which are avoiding Mark’s.

“Where should I do it?” Mark mumbled throwing a look backwards at Johnny, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt nervously.

“I was thinking the neck but if you were thinking of somewhere else you’re welcome to do it where ever you want” Johnny grins, combing his fingers through Ten’s hair basking happily in the way Mark groans and hides his face in his hands. After a few seconds of looking like he’s contemplating whether he should just bolt out the window which is admittedly located on the second floor of Johnny’s house he just looks up at Donghyuck and gives the younger an uneasy smile.

“Um… I think the collarbones are easier to make a mark on since you’re so ticklish on the neck-”

He’s interrupted by everyone cooing at the thoughtfulness and Mark groans in embarrassment again. Donghyuck seems like he’s trying to act calm but when he pushes his shirt down slightly to expose his collarbones, his hands are visibly shaking. Mark’s eyes dart to the youngers bronzed skin and he licks his lips before placing his hands on Donghyuck’s shoulders, slowly leaning in breath ghosting over the youngers skin causing a shiver to run down his spine as he arches his back a bit so Mark can reach easier. Everything erupts into madness at this point, even Sicheng joins in on the screaming as Mark sucks a dark mark into Donghyuck’s skin who throws his head back and muffles a whimper behind his hand, eyes screwed shut causing wrinkles to form around them. It takes a good thirty seconds before Mark finally pulls back again, licking his lips and studying the bright red mark that he’s left behind.

“Yo Mark just fucking claimed Donghyuck this is getting wild!” Yukhei screams as he jumps up and down in his seat on the couch Jungwoo watching with a dazed look of amusement, his own hickies on display.

Mark and Donghyuck quickly move away from each other and Mark hastily grabs the bottle to change the subject before they all decide to tease the living shit out of both of them. He fumbles a bit but finally manages to spin it and it stops at Johnny and Ten. Mark takes a shaky breath and looks at Johnny with surprisingly strong vengeance in his eyes.

“Ten. I dare you to suck whipped cream off of Yuta’s fingers”

The room goes quiet at Mark’s boldness the only sound being the heaving of the Canadian boy’s heavy breathing. Jaehyun is the one to break it by saying that that’s a great dare actually. It’s true, it’s a great way to get revenge on Johnny, what Mark doesn’t know though is that he’s punishing someone else with his dare too; Sicheng. Ten doesn’t even hesitate in sliding of Johnny’s lap, skipping over to Yuta who, to Sicheng’s great disappointment, doesn’t look too bothered either. Sicheng felt his head spin unhinged as Jaehyun snatches the discarded tube of whipped cream and Yuta holds out his index and middle finger to the taller boy. Ten watches eagerly and instantly takes them in his mouth as soon as Yuta holds them out to him, swirling his tongue around the two fingers like a starved man. Slurping sounds fill the room and while some of them is cringing Sicheng’s gut is burning. He can’t find it in himself to stop staring though, his gaze probably dark and revealing everything he’s been trying to hide for so long. The scene in front of him makes the burning intensify, Ten on his knees in front of Yuta on the floor who’s looking at the younger intensely. There’s a pungent taste in Sicheng’s mouth, like coffee that’s been made too strong with no sugar or cream. Suddenly Yuta’s gaze flicks up to meet Sicheng’s. Time seemingly stands still for about three seconds and then Yuta breaks the eye contact retracting his fingers from Ten’s mouth. The latter licks his lips clean from any residue and then skips back to his place on Johnny’s lap who posessively sheathed his arms around the younger. Sicheng can’t help but wish Yuta would do the same to him. Wishful thinking. That’s dangerous.  

At this point there’s barely anyone left that’s still conscious. Sicheng would’ve had no problem ending it all there, going to sleep in Johnny’s guest room and just try to forget about everything. But of course Ten had to be an even further idiot and make Sicheng’s life so much worse. He couldn’t just accept Johnny’s proposition of everyone either going home of finding somewhere to sleep in his house, instead he had to all of the sudden get a surge of energy perking his head up.

“Wait! Yuta still hasn't gotten a dare?” He protested while rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was quickly backed up by Jaemin, Yukhei, Jungwoo and a barely alive Doyoung. Sicheng felt his soul leave his body, of course God wouldn’t be on his side this time either. Yuta who seemed to be fairly intoxicated didn’t have any objections and thus begun the last round of the evening. Jaehyun was the one who spoke up first and Sicheng was slightly surprised he was still alive at this point.

“Hey, hey Yuta why don’t you tell us all about your crush!” He slurred and Yuta visibly tensed seeming as he actually was more diligent than Sicheng had thought at first glance. He tried to ignore the burning feeling in his gut at Jaehyun’s words but especially at Yuta’s reaction. Sicheng didn’t know what was worst, that Yuta had a crush on someone or that Sicheng seemed to be the only one left in the dark on the topic. He was Yuta’s best friend, wasn’t he?

“I don’t think that’s a good id-” The Japanese begun but was cut off by Ten excitedly scrambling from Johnny’s lap.

“Yeah! Why don’t you tell him? Now’s the perfect time to stop pining you loser”

Yuta looked like he wanted to sink through the floor, incredibly uncomfortable which further left a feeling of hollowness inside Sicheng. Everyone except from him seemed to know about this, why was Yuta so reluctant about telling everyone if Sicheng was the only one who didn’t know.  His stomach churned as Donghyuck put in the final blow.

“There’s no way Sicheng doesn’t know though? Right?”

The hazel haired boy had turned to look at him but Sicheng could only stare in disbelief at Yuta across the room. The elder was avoiding his gaze, dark lashes grazing the creamy skin of his cheeks, an incredibly uneasy look plastered across his face.

“No fucking way”

That was all that could make its way out of Sicheng’s mouth. He didn’t even register it leaving his lips, he couldn’t hear anything except the rushing of his own blood in his ears, like he was under water.

“You’re all kidding right? It’s not very funny but I’ll forgive your sorry asses if you come clean now”

Sicheng looked around the room but all of them were avoiding his gaze, no one uttering a word. Donghyuck looked, to Sicheng’s further horror, guilty and even Doyoung who had been close to passed out minutes prior looked fully aware of what was going on. His gaze finally came to a stop at Yuta and the static sound in his ears switched to a low piercing sound at the look on Yuta’s face. His friend looked so remorseful and piteous where he sat on the floor, impossibly small in the dim light of the moon shining through Johnny’s curtains, his milky pale skin bathed in silver like he’d taken a dip in the moonlight. The expression on Sicheng’s face couldn’t have been a good one because the Chinese could swear he saw something break right then and there in the elder, that usual glint of mischief and jollyness right behind his pupils suddenly burned out and left was merely the reflection of Sicheng staring back at himself. A soft I’m so sorry was all that left the brunette’s plump lips and then he was gone, fleeing out the door out into the streets.

There was a few painful seconds of utter quiet, Sicheng never knew silence could be so loud as the look on Yuta’s face permanently carved itself into the inside of his eyelids. No matter how many times he blinked it stayed right where it was, refusing to leave him alone. Those insufferable seconds finally ended and he was brought back to real life where all of Yuta’s friends were staring worriedly at him. Suddenly his body moved on its own and he dashed out the door to follow Yuta. The front door was not on his side and struggled against his clammy palms along with the three steps that lead down to Johnny’s front lawn which almost tripped him over twice. Sicheng couldn’t hear anything except his own heavy gasps for air as his eyes darted back and forth in search of either a mop of brown hair or a hint of the plaid shirt Yuta had been wearing around his hips. He grunted in frustration when he found neither and dragged a hand through his now disheveled hair. He took a chance and begun sprinting down the dead block to his right and thankfully something was on his side today because a few meters in front of him was the crestfallen Yuta walking hastily, palms clamped into fists. He looked like he belonged in some sort of poem, walking alone in the dead of the night tense from emotions threatening to spill over and Sicheng’s heart clenched repeatedly at the sight like someone was treating his heart like child playing too roughly with a doll.

Sicheng didn’t enjoy skinship as much as the regular average person and with Yuta it had been ever the harder since every hug and affectionate grasp of his hand, which was basically every time the elder was near him, made that small flame called false hope cling to life deep down in the pits of Sicheng’s soul, locked away in a box with a big sign reading “do not open” hammered in on top of it. Sicheng despised himself for letting his guard drop low enough to fall in love with Yuta. The elder would never reciprocate his feelings, he could have anyone he wanted so why would he settle for someone as mediocre as Sicheng. He should know Yuta’s seemingly affectionate looks and actions towards him was merely amible, he would hug anyone he had known for more than 2 minutes, probably less. But the thing was, Yuta had never left him, stubbornly sticking to his side even after all of Sicheng’s attempt to chase him off. He’d helped him learn Korean properly which not even his parents would bother doing and he had fended off the bullies who made fun of Sicheng’s braces and poor pronunciation. Yuta had been there for every milestone in Sicheng’s life, always that same fond smile carved permanently onto his lips like Sicheng was the little brother Yuta never had. It was bittersweet that smile, it made fireworks go off in the pit off Sicheng’s stomach but also left a rotten taste in his mouth because that was all he’d ever be to Yuta, someone he took care of like a big brother. However, all the evenings events leading up to this moment had thrown everything Sicheng thought he knew about the elders feelings towards him out the fucking window and all he’d done was stare . Dumbfoundedly and in disbelief which was the worst thing he could’ve done. But he knew how to fix it. Hopefully.  

“Yuta!” Sicheng yelled at the top of his lungs and said boy went stiff like a stick. He seemed to debate whether he should bolt for it or just accept his fate and thankfully he seemed to settle for the latter. Sicheng panted loudly as he reached the male crashing himself into Yuta’s frame in a suffocatingly tight hug. Sicheng was never good with words, or actions for that matter but all that mattered right now was for Yuta to stay so he did his best at channeling everything he had ever felt and still felt for the elder into the small space he had created for him and Yuta. Every emotion ever induced by the elder was put into that hug and he might not be able to confess his feelings for Yuta through this but hopefully it’ll save their friendship that was balancing dangerously back and forth on a small passage above the abyss. Sicheng pressed his face into the crook of Yuta’s neck, the musky smell of the elder’s cologne filling his senses as he desperately waited for the all too familiar feeling of the slightly shorter male’s arm snaking around his waist. The moon was watching in anticipation, casting a pale shine over the two males stood in the middle of the sidewalk way past midnight. The sky was a pitch black, ominous clouds looming by the outskirts of the canopy that was the above, a silent promise of rain to come after the long days of unbearable heat. The smell of rain about to fall was in the air of the murky night. A lone street light flickered.

Yuta’s arms finally moved and Sicheng was about to let out a relieved sigh, but then realised that Yuta’s arms wasn’t returning his embrace. They were pushing gently against his chest. Sicheng stepped back abruptly in confusion to stare at Yuta who was looking off to the side out into the dead road. The street light flickered again, Yuta’s face looking even paler than usual in the moonlight encasing them with its sickening glow. His eyes were pitch black and filled by anguish, glossed over with a fresh set of tears about to fall. A lone crow cackled gleefully somewhere behind the forlorn Chinese boy.

“It’s okay Winwinnie. Don’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. I don’t want you to do things like that just because you want me to be happy. It’d be selfish of me to accept something you don’t really want just because I can’t keep myself in check”

Yuta’s voice was cold like the first frost piercing its claws into you when winter makes itself known. The nickname pierced through Sicheng’s heart like venom, the thick substance spreading through his veins like poison. Yuta hadn’t called him that in ages, the name had been left and forgotten, abandoned in the rubbles of their childhood. Or at least that’s what he thought but now that it had left Yuta’s plump lips it all felt too real, exacerbating what Sicheng feared the most. Yuta wasn’t believing him and he was about to leave all that had just played out behind them, maybe even more than the feelings that accidently had been revealed.

“No, Yuta I-”

Sicheng tried to protest, he really did but the sharp flicker of Yuta’s eyes shut him up. Yuta was an explosive individual, always acting on his feelings and his change in mood could be frightening. Sicheng would always have a hard time understanding why the elder was upset with him when they were kids but had slowly learned how to handle the sometimes painfully opaque Japanese. This look however was hard to dismantle. There was anger in his onyx eyes but Sicheng knew that wasn’t the real emotion Yuta was feeling. Behind that wall of defense was hurt and Sicheng felt as if someone had punched him in the gut when the tears in the others eyes suddenly welled up again and fell down the smooth skin of his cheeks, finally coming to a stop at the tip of the elders sharp chin before falling and exploding when they hit the ground. Sicheng felt sick as he watched the boy in front of him cry, the tears on the ground reflecting the emotions spilling from the elder. Yuta never let his defense fall on his own, it always took a lot of coaxing and the right words for his resolve to crack. But here the elder stood suddenly sniffling, a broken sob escaping his chapped lips.

“Why did you look so utterly disgusted at the thought of me liking you?”

Yuta’s sobs echoed in the empty night and Sicheng stood helplessly, his arms limp by his sides. Disgust? Was that what his face had displayed?.

“I mean what if I actually had feelings for you Sicheng?”

“ What if?” Sicheng echoed hollowly irking another sob from the elders trembling lips. The same crow screeched again and the wind tousled Yuta’s hair making him look so much younger than he actually was. The child in him was there for a brief moment. Round chubby cheeks and large gleaming eyes which with the years had turned into hollow cheeks, sharp jawline and murky eyes. Sicheng suddenly wished he could go back to those days, the most complicated thing he had to handle back then was four-syllable words.

“ Fuck it. Not what if , how do you think I feel after seeing that expression on your face after finding out I like you. I like you Sicheng, so much and it hurts like hell to know you’d never even consider reciprocating my feelings. That the mere thought of it brought out that reaction”

The world was quiet except for the sound of Yuta’s sobs wrecking Sicheng’s body in waves as realization washed over him. The looks and subtle touches hadn’t just been his imagination, the elder actually liked him. Flashbacks of him and Yuta as kids suddenly and frankly unwanted flashed by, Yuta taking care of Sicheng’s scraped knee after he had tripped and fallen out in the forest when he had tried to run away from home. Yuta had held his hand through the whole procedure, giving it a chaste kiss followed by one of his healing smiles when Sicheng finally had stopped crying. Then there was when Yuta just had begun middle school leaving Sicheng alone in elementary. Those years had been incredibly hard for Sicheng since he didn’t have any other friends except from Kun who went to a whole different school. Still, Yuta had come to pick him up from school everyday , chatting away about how different everything was at the new school and making sure that Sicheng was feeling happy. It was just a plus that those trips home always included Yuta’s slightly bigger hand holding Sicheng’s the whole way. Last scene was from when they were around fifteen respective seventeen and Yuta had found Sicheng crying in the courtyard. That was the day those upperclassmen had laughed out loud at Sicheng in the middle of class when he was presenting because of his new braces combined with still being fairly new to the language and Sicheng had been devastated. Stil Yuta had found him somehow and he had skipped with Sicheng for the rest of the day to buy him ice cream and then watch his favorite anime, doting him and placing warm kisses all over his face until Sicheng’s parents threw him out. He hadn’t left however without pressing a final soft kiss to Sicheng’s forehead. That was the night Sicheng had found out that 1) he liked boys and 2) he liked one boy and that boy was his best friend. And now said best friend was standing in front of him thinking Sicheng would never even consider having feelings for him.  

“Yuta please I-”

Sicheng tried to explain himself but was cut short once again by Yuta recoiling, wrapping his arms protectively around himself while shaking his head and taking a few steps back.

“Don’t Winwin. It’s not your fault. I’m always the one feeling too much. I’ll always like you more than you like me. That’s just how I am, I get too attached and end up breaking into a million pieces but it’s my own fault” Yuta shivered slightly at the chilly air and flashed a smile at Sicheng that could’ve fooled anyone, but not the younger. The smile never reached his pitch black eyes where the flame still was missing. Sicheng was the cause of that, he had done it.

It was after that night of anime, kisses and discovering his feelings for the elder that Sicheng had started opposing skin ship, mostly from Yuta. He became furtive, scared of what he had found out and especially terrified that Yuta would find out what he was if Sicheng allowed himself to hug back and let Yuta press that kiss to his cheek he always was allowed to before. Sicheng figured those years of neglect must’ve been what slowly made Yuta believe Sicheng was disgusted by him and now here he was, crying while Sicheng still couldn’t get a single one of those words out.

“Don’t look so sad. We’ll just pretend like this didn’t happen and go back to being friends. Just like it’s always been. I’ve been hiding my feelings for years, I can keep going until they finally fade away”

Yuta’s voice cracked slightly at the last word and Sicheng knew he had to do something now. The elder was shooting an apologetic smile his way as he began to turn around, the moon casting shadows across his sharp features that same damned crow still croaking doomingly somewhere out in the night. Sicheng’s heart thumped loudly in his chest as he lunged forwards to pull Yuta back and wrap his arms around the shocked brunette’s neck again. Yuta’s lips was slightly chapped but still soft and plump against Sicheng’s own. It tasted of the salt from the elders tears but also like the rain hanging in the air. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Sicheng pulled away in diffidence to see the elders reaction but it still managed to make Sicheng feel like someone had popped a bottle of champagne inside of him which was currently mixing with the horrible anxiety coursing through his body.

Yuta didn’t do anything, he simply watched Sicheng in disbelief. The latter licked his lips and pulled him slightly closer by his grip around his shoulders.

“Kiss me again” Sicheng mumbled sounding a bit too desperate for his own liking but it didn’t matter at the moment. The moon watching the exchange held its breath along with Sicheng, waiting for Yuta’s reaction. A cricket had begun chirping somewhere in the grass beside them and a waft of air blew by them making Sicheng shiver slightly, but he held his ground. After what felt like aeons Yuta leaned forward to catch Sicheng’s lips between his own. Elation rushed though the youngers veins and he let a shudder run down his spine as Yuta’s hands found their place around Sicheng’s waist, right where they were supposed to be, and the Japanese begun licking into his mouth. He tasted of the vodka he had been drinking during the cursed truth-or-dare-spin-the-bottle game but also like the sureness of sunrise. It tasted of reassurance and Sicheng felt like crying, letting out a muffled dry sob against his best friends wet lips. Yuta was the one to pull away first but he leaned forward to place a chaste kiss against the corner of Sicheng’s mouth before retreating fully back into his own space, Sicheng’s stomach churning at the sight of his wet and now slightly swollen lips. They were both panting heavily for a few seconds until Sicheng realized the other was waiting for him to say something. Panic flared up inside his already burning chest; Yuta still wasn’t convinced. He had never seen the elder so vulnerable and raw with something like hope almost but not fully shining through those inky eyes. Sicheng swallowed down the lump in his throat and tried to gather his scattered thoughts, still slightly dizzy from the kiss.

“I-I’m not good with words Yuta. I’m so, so sorry I made you believe I was disgusted by the thought of you liking me” Sicheng’s eyebrows furrowed at the word, it just didn’t fit in at all . “It’s the complete opposite actually… I was just in such utter disbelief since I’ve been convincing myself that you’d never like me back for so many years I wouldn’t even believe it when it came from you directly”

It was quiet again, Sicheng held his breath and tried to look as ernest as he possibly could, watching Yuta’s face go from warily to a slowly growing bright grin. The glowing smile and the meaning behind it was written down in Sicheng’s memory, always one of his most precious ones.  

“You’re so silly, why did you think I stuck to you like glue through our whole relationship? None of the stuff I did to you would be considered friendly, not by anyone”

Sicheng’s face heated up and he squirmed uncomfortably in his spot but it was all worth it when Yuta threw himself around him in a tight loving hug ensconcing Sicheng with his reassuring embrace, a blinding smile on his face and a soft I forgive you Winko whispered in his ear. Sicheng had always (fake) hated that nickname but now it was mellifluous. A car drove by them and the same streetlight flickered again. Suddenly rain began pouring from the sky, mother nature crying tears of joy as Yuta would tell anyone who dared to ask how he and Sicheng met.

“Guys, Doyoung passed out again”

“Shut up Taeil I’m trying to focus!”

“Move I can’t see anything you gigant!”

“I’m sorry your parents made you a gnome not all of us can be lucky ones”

“Yukhei! That was rude he’s older than you apologize right now”

“...Sorry…”

“ Whipped ”

“Shut the fuck up Jaemin!”

“All of you shut the fuck up my babies are finally about to stop being idiots and I’m not going to let two other idiots ruin it”

“...Sorry Taeyong…”

“You all might want to shut up and come over here they’re coming back and they’re holding hands like some damn sappy ending of a crappy fanfic”

“WHAT, move the fuck over right now!”

“Ouch Taeyong! You were the one who said-”

“Just leave it Donghyuck there’s no stopping him now”

Donghyuck puffed out his cheeks in annoyance and folded his arms over his chest. Jeno was going to get back for not supporting him. That was however forgotten quickly when Ten, Yukhei and Taeyong who was in the front, face pressed against the window, bolted back towards the middle of the living room, everyone putting themselves in an as “unobvious We-totally-weren’t-spying-on-you-guys-just-a-few-seconds-ago” poses as possible. Johnny begun gesticulating wildly while making up some bullshit story about his friend’s cat and gave everyone a wink at his genius plan. The door was flung open and a drenched Yuta followed by an even wetter Sicheng came trudging in a dangerous look on the latters face.

“You’re all lucky Sicheng has a big fat crush on me too or I would be after all of your asses with a fucking spear. Especially you Donghyuck” Yuta gave the younger boy a threatening glance suggestivly flicking his eyes between him and Mark who was sitting beside him but thankfully he didn’t have the chance to do anything more with that threat because everyone was now cooing at Sicheng who had turned the same color as a fucking cherry at Yuta’s, admittedly, a bit too honest words. He muttered something in Chinese, his bottom lip stuck out which earned him a snort of amusement from Kun and a light slap on the arm from Yuta.

“That was mean, apologize now!”

The room waited in anticipation as Sicheng gave Yuta a bratty look. To everyone’s surprise however, a soft sorry left Sicheng’s lips the next second and they all stared in awe.

“Why is everyone so goddamn whipped”

It was Renjun who had made the mistake of making a snide remark from his spot on the couch. He was immediately met with the fierce gaze of a light pink Sicheng squinting sardonically at his and the sleeping Jaemin by his side’s intertwined hands.

Donghyuck snorted in amusement and let his head fall down to his left to hit Mark’s unexpecting shoulder. They were all whipped, some fucked up kind of gay cult. Yeah, that’s exactly what they were. But Donghyuck didn’t have any problem with that.