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Maybe Donghyuck should have listened to his brother’s lecture about underage drinking and partying in college but sue him, he’s a teenager. He’s allowed at least some freedom to make mistakes. He is eighteen years old. Technically, still a teenager.
Besides, he’s in college, Taeyong honestly shouldn’t have expected anything else.
Will Donghyuck regret getting hammered on a Wednesday night when he’s got an 8am lecture the next day?
Yes, okay, there’s a high possibility of that happening.
But, right now? He can’t help but thank his lucky stars that he managed to get drunk enough to barely feel the chill of the winter breeze through his thin sweater as he heads back to his dorm. Lucky for him, the residence where the party had taken place was right next to his dorm building so he didn’t really have to walk (read: stumble around) that far.
Donghyuck doesn’t even have to fear running into his room advisor and getting reprimanded for underage drinking because his room is on the ground level. He can sneak in without having to go through the lobby and past the advisor’s room, which makes it extra convenient considering the fact that that’s all Donghyuck has been doing ever since he’s gotten there.
Sure, he’s got an eight page paper due in two days that he hasn’t even looked at... but he’ll manage somehow. He always does. Luck’s almost always on his side, unless he’s drunk and privy to making stupid decisions like returning to his dorm room, drunk, at 3am, barely able to stand.
Eventually, he does manage to find the gate that leads directly back to the shared patio connected to his room so it all works out. If Donghyuck remembers correctly, it should be unlocked just as how he had left it. So he pushes, fully expecting it to open only for it to remain closed.
He tries again, only to end up with the same result.
At this point, if Donghyuck had been sober, he probably would have called his room advisor or something a lot saner than what he was about to do because: a.) he doesn't have his keys and b.) his friends are also just as drunk as he is, so he doubts he can crash at anyone else’s place.
Instead of doing that, Donghyuck does what he arguably does best.
Sing.
“When the moon hits your eye-”
Then he forgets the rest of the words so he just ends up humming and making up the words as he goes along. He hopes it’ll wake someone up. Preferably people in the ground floor. More specifically, the person who shares the patio with him, so they can let him in to soak up the warmth of the building. But until then, Donghyuck continues to sing as much as he can.
“That’s amore-”
When he finishes the song, and no one’s responded except for some asshat on the street yelling out something about shutting the fuck up, he starts to sing another one. The one he’s heard his neighbour play obnoxiously, ten times a week for the three months that Donghyuck’s been in university.
“And I was like baby, baby, baby. Ooh-“
And as if that was the magical song, his neighbour’s lights turn on and Donghyuck finds himself singing louder to draw their attention, keeping his eye on the silhouette that’s milling about in the room. If there’s anything bound to draw his neighbour out, it would be this song wouldn’t it?
He waves around a hand, just as his neighbour’s back door opens. “Thought you’d always be mine-”
A guy with a severe case of bed hair shuffles out, clad in a haphazardly worn winter jacket, a white shirt, and some boxers. He looks somewhat cute when he’s irritated. How Donghyuck manages to recognize that when his vision’s gone slightly blurry at the edges is a mystery in and of itself. But then again, he’s drunk enough to think that a lawn gnome is watching him, so maybe he’s not at his best condition right now.
His neighbour looks around for the source of the noise, eyes blearily blinking. He looks like the very definition of disgruntled and again, if Donghyuck was sober he probably would’ve toned his voice down or at the very least apologize, but he isn’t.
Donghyuck waves, “Neighbour! neighbour!” he yells out.
His voice progressively getting louder and louder until his neighbour finally focuses on him and Donghyuck does his best to appear pitiful. He’s got the whole flushed and pathetic look down, all he needs is the right tone of voice to be the very cartoon definition of ‘helpless’.
He pushes his bottom lip out, looks up as slow as he can and with the slightest tremor affecting his voice, he says, “Please let me in, I left my key in my dorm room because I thought the gate would be open but someone shut it-“
His neighbour fully steps out of his room, looking unamused in a ratty pair of slippers to complete his messy ensemble before glaring at Donghyuck. “Yeah, I did.”
Suddenly, he looks a lot less attractive.
Donghyuck lets out a dramatic gasp, “Why.”
“Because we’ll be ransacked, you dipshit.”
‘Rude’ Donghyuck thinks to himself then repeats it again, but this time out loud because why not? His neighbour was being rude. But he’s really not in a position where he can say any more than that, so he refrains from making a rude comeback and opts to say, “Anyways, please please open the gate.”
His neighbour merely raises an eyebrow, before scoffing. “No way, man.”
He makes a move to turn back, probably would’ve gone back to sleep if Donghyuck didn’t obnoxiously start to sing another Justin Bieber song. “As long as you love me! I’ll be your platinum! I’ll be your silver! and I’ll be your gold!”
His neighbour stops in his tracks, before turning around to direct a glare at Donghyuck who simply shoots him a grin. “I’m going to keep singing, if you don’t open the gate.”
To his surprise, his neighbour merely smirks before replying. “By all means go ahead, your voice actually sounded pretty nice. I’ll even sing along with you if you want. As long as you love me-”
Donghyuck’s tempted to sing again right then and there to make the threat seem more imminent, but even in his drunken stupor, he knows that other people could call the police on them and he could be arrested for much worse, so he quickly adds on. “I swear, I can prove I live in this residence. Just look at my name plate on the door, and this ID.”
Donghyuck feels around in his pockets for the tiny piece of plastic, before handing it to his neighbour, smiling proudly. Thank god for Renjun and his nagging tendencies.
His neighbour glances back and forth between Donghyuck and the ID, before grumbling out a reluctant. “Fine.”
It takes hours.
Realistically, it probably only took a couple of minutes, but Donghyuck could only distract himself for so long and just as he starts to think that his neighbour just went back to sleep with his only form of identification, revving himself up to start another verse of a different Justin Bieber song, his neighbour walks back out again, opening the gate to hand him his ID back and let him in.
Donghyuck grins, thanking him loudly and marching towards his room. It’s only when he tries to open the back door to his dorm room, that he finds it locked. His door automatically locking itself five minutes after he had left. His key which he usually leaves under the pot of a dead plant is gone and he vaguely remembers leaving it in his room.
He really didn’t think this through.
Regrettably, Donghyuck looks back over his shoulder to see his neighbour giving him an amused look. When he directs another pitiful look at him, the guy merely rolls his eyes before opening the door wider to his own room. “C’mon,”
Donghyuck walks up to him, before patting his cheek. “Thank you, seagull-brow man.”
His neighbour lets out a loud snort before replying, “It’s Mark.”
Donghyuck grins, before stumbling into Mark’s dorm room and flopping down onto his couch. He closes his eyes, hears Mark shuffle around. His eyes are just about to close before he’s briefly roused from his nap.
“Here.”
Mark quickly tucks a pillow underneath Donghyuck’s head, covering him with a fuzzy blanket before walking back to what Donghyuck presumes to be his own bedroom. Donghyuck with his eyes already shut, buries himself deeper into the blanket, and murmurs a quiet. “Thank you, Mark.”
Before he blacks out.
///
Donghyuck wakes up to the smell of burning eggs.
Now Donghyuck knows that he’s not a professional chef by any means, but he’d never burn eggs. So he knows, that it’s not him who’s cooked it or burnt it, rather. He’d never fall asleep in the middle of cooking.
He’s not that stupid. And despite his tendency to make shitty decisions about his sleeping schedule, Donghyuck’s actually a great cook. So, he knows it’s either he’s been kidnapped or someone’s broken into his dorm and decided to randomly cook eggs.
Obviously, the only two rational possibilities, given that he’s in a college dorm room and it really wouldn’t be surprising if it were to happen. Stranger things have happened with college students before. But, it really only takes another two minutes for his senses to fully kick in.
He sits up abruptly, grabs the pillow he was just drooling on, in case he sees the intruder. Then spots a glass of water and an aspirin tablet on the coffee table, and it all rushes to come back to him in the form of a massive headache and an intense case of ‘dry mouth’.
Right.
Donghyuck groans, slumping back on the couch. He contemplates just sneaking out the door and pretending it never happened. He was, actually well on his way into making that choice happen but then Mark comes out of the kitchen and raises an eyebrow at him.
Really, the shitty morning (evening?) light of 3am, doesn’t do Mark justice. Even with sleep in his eyes, and a massive hangover, Donghyuck can tell that he’s severely underestimated how good-looking his neighbour is. Badly dyed hair and characteristic eyebrows aside, Mark was pretty attractive with his prominent cheekbones, charming dimples and easy smile.
Donghyuck really wouldn’t mind a future of waking up to him.
Mark raises his other eyebrow, looking like he’s desperately trying to hold back a laugh and asks. “There’s a spare toothbrush and some mouthwash in the washroom over there, if you want to freshen up?”
Donghyuck lets out an embarrassed laugh, before he smiles, and nods instead of responding verbally to save Mark from the full-force of his morning breath. Mark heads back into the kitchen, presumably to set up his breakfast and Donghyuck does exactly as Mark suggested.
He groans when he looks in the bathroom mirror and sees his smudged eyeliner, swollen eyes and dried drool crusted over the corner of his mouth. Donghyuck’s well aware that Mark’s already had a first impression of him and that he really couldn’t control how he looked like in the morning after a night of getting hammered but that doesn’t deter the embarrassed flush that’s taken up residence on his face.
He gargles, brushes his teeth several times, tries to get rid of the dry feeling in his mouth by overdoing it with the mouthwash, rinses his face roughly, and spends an extra ten minutes fixing his fringe until he deems himself presentable enough.
Mark greets him with a smile as soon as he’s out of the washroom, “Good morning, want some?”
He gestures to the large serving of burnt eggs on the small table provided with the dorm. Donghyuck is tempted to say ‘no’ but his mother raised him with better manners than that and despite its awful appearance, it’s very clear that Mark cooked them for two, so Donghyuck really has no choice but to accept.
The eggs are somehow both burnt and undercooked at the same time but something about Mark’s lame jokes or overt attempts to make Donghyuck as comfortable as he can be by pointedly not mentioning what happened the night before, has Donghyuck staying until he literally has 10 minutes to get ready before his afternoon class, waving a hesitant goodbye, with a promise to meet him again.
///
A promise, Donghyuck didn’t actually think was going to come true until it did.
It happens the next week, on a Monday night. Donghyuck’s contemplating the importance of getting a head start on another long-ass paper that’s due on Wednesday or just giving up altogether to get some sleep when someone knocks on his door.
Grateful for the reprieve, Donghyuck all but runs to open the front door only to see Mark with a sheepish smile on his face. He holds up a bag, “Hey! Uh, I just got off my shift and I have a bunch of leftovers from the bakery I work at- stuff they didn’t get to sell. Do you want some?”
Donghyuck snorts, takes this as a sign to leave his school work for another day before quickly grabbing his keys, exiting his room and rushing Mark towards his. If a cute guy willingly striking up conversation and offering him desserts wasn’t a sign to give up on his homework, he doesn’t know what is.
“Am I interested? Me, a broke college student. In free food? Is that even a question?”
Mark shrugs, “I wouldn’t know if you’re broke or not. You didn’t mention anything the last time we met,”
Donghyuck gives him a dry look, “You mean when I was hungover and was desperately trying not to seem like it by endlessly insulting your food? Oh yeah, forgive me for not mentioning it. Speaking of which, you didn’t cook these ones right?”
Mark rolls his eyes but answers with a loud laugh, finally opening the door to his dorm room. “Nah, I’m just a cashier. So, don’t worry I didn’t make this. Anyways, my food wasn’t that bad-”
Donghyuck merely pats his cheek, nodding before heading in. “Of course it wasn’t, Mark.”
///
The next time they meet, Donghyuck plans it.
Mark had mentioned working at a bakery near their campus, but he hadn’t specified which.
So, maybe Donghyuck spent an entire day going to every cafe within walking distance of the university until he found the one Mark works at. No one can prove it.
By the time Donghyuck finds the cafe, he’s pretty much given up. So, when the store’s bell signals his arrival, he’s fully expecting someone who’s not Mark to be running the cashier only to be completely mistaken.
Mark’s fiddling with the cash register so he hasn’t had the chance to see him yet which gives Donghyuck the chance to fix his hair and straighten out his clothes. First impressions may count, but so does every other one after that. Just because Mark has seen him at his worst, doesn’t mean Donghyuck had to keep presenting himself in the same way.
He walks up to the counter, making sure that the heels of his boots click loudly against the linoleum floor. It’s about time for Mark to look up from whatever the heck he’s doing and at him, and look up he does, doing a double-take so quick that Donghyuck would have missed it if he hadn’t been paying attention to Mark himself.
Donghyuck smiles, tilting his head. “So, this is where the great Mark Lee works?”
Mark grins, “The great Mark Lee huh? I don’t know what brought this on, but it sounds great coming out from your mouth- Ah, that sounds a bit.”
He blushes, embarrassed, but continues to hold his chin up regardless. The tips of his ears have turned red, and it’s so clear that he’s barely managing to keep his cool that Donghyuck restrains a giggle from bursting out just for his sake, biting his lip to keep it in.
Fluttering his eyelashes, Donghyuck flips his fringe out of his eyes. “Do you talk to all of your customers this way or is it just me?”
Mark rolls his eyes, groaning. “Shut up, how can I help you.”
Donghyuck leans back, assessing the desserts on display. They’re all pretty minimal with the designs, cake-wise and description-wise and he knows they’re all good so it doesn’t really matter what he picks. But after going to so many dessert shops, he’s not really inclined to get another dessert to end his journey with.
“Do you have any cold drinks? Maybe something with whipped cream or something? Little to no caffeine?”
Mark crosses his arms, “Like a frappuccino?”
The way his uniform pulls tightly across his broad shoulders has Donghyuck distracted for a moment before he finally reacts to what Mark is saying and makes a show out of it by loudly scoffing and looking away. “There’s lots of other drinks out there that are cold, have whipped cream, and little to no caffeine.”
Donghyuck was thinking of a frappuccino when he was describing it, but the smug way Mark says it pushes him to say otherwise. Besides, it’s not like Mark would actually ask him to name some.
Mark places his hands against the counter, leaning in. “Name one.”
For a moment, Donghyuck struggles, wracking his mind over all the coffee drinks he knows and has seen that vaguely resemble the description that he gave. Then Mark snorts, breaks into a fit of laughter and he gives up.
Donghyuck pouts, “You suck. You knew I’d have no answer to that.”
“It doesn’t hurt to prove you wrong from time to time.” He replies, shrugging before pushing away from the counter in order to start making a drink. Donghyuck is absorbed in the process of it all before he recognizes exactly what he’s making.
“Hey, I haven’t paid for that yet-”
Mark turns away from the machine for a moment with an easy smile, “Don’t sweat it, it’s on the house. Spend my break with me?”
And really, how was Donghyuck supposed to say no to that.
///
Mark’s existence just seems to compliment his, in every way possible.
Where Donghyuck could be short-tempered or impatient with a tendency to procrastinate on assignments or things to do until the very day they are due, Mark is the exact opposite. Often persuading Donghyuck to study with him through bribery with the pastries he brings home from the bakery or just with his company.
This also means that whenever Mark is too strung-up in all the work and extracurriculars he manages to find himself a part of, Donghyuck is there to help him relax. Even cooking an extra meal for him when he knows Mark doesn’t have the time to. More often than not, Donghyuck ends up at his place to hang around anyway so he’s gotten free reign over the dorm even when Mark is not around and vice versa.
It’s not perfect. They bicker a lot and their conversations are mostly just them arguing back and forth over really petty things but Donghyuck wouldn’t have it any other way. The fact that he gets on Mark’s nerves so easily leaves him feeling pleased more than anything else.
They fit so well together that their habits start to rub off on each other and before Donghyuck knows it, he’s putting off and refusing invitations to go to parties for a quiet night in with Mark. He goes to about two more before he decides it’s just not for him, and he’d much rather make fun of Mark’s embarrassing habit of staring off into space with his mouth wide open while they try to find something worthwhile to do.
Jeno likes to call him whipped, and Donghyuck just rolls his eyes back at him, lacking a response. He’s well aware of his growing crush on Mark, but figures it’ll probably die down once they spend more time together.
A year later, after they’ve developed a habit of meeting about five out of the seven days of the week, Donghyuck realizes just how much his habits have changed and how his crush has not only grown, but has developed into something infinitely more serious.
It’s his sophomore year, and instead of cramming some last minute lessons into his head for his test tomorrow. Donghyuck has his feet comfortably perched on Mark’s thighs, while an episode of ‘Cake Boss’ plays in the background.
They spent hours studying over the weekend until Donghyuck was confident that he’d be able to pass the test with flying colours and now they’re just lazing around, switching channels between TLC and the channel with the house hunting shows, in their flat.
That’s another thing they did: move into a flat together. After a year of knowing each other, Donghyuck somehow managed to convince Mark that it was cheaper than renting a dorm (it was, to his luck) and lured him in further by saying he’d never have to cook unless Donghyuck had been sick.
Needless to say, he got Mark to agree within half an hour.
Now, Mark is in the middle of making another off-handed comment on the creepy cake figurine meant to mimic some B-level celebrity’s face and they’ve just finished eating the curry that Donghyuck’s cooked. He’s got Donghyuck’s feet in his lap, tickling them every time Donghyuck opens his mouth to make fun of him. They’ve been trading horrible puns about cake back and forth for a while now, his stomach aching from all giggling he’s done and his face hurts from the smile that’s been stuck on his face for hours.
It all just feels horribly domestic and weirdly romantic. Exactly how Donghyuck imagines they would be if they were an actual couple, except with more kisses and cuddling.
Donghyuck wants to have a dramatic startle like the protagonists in those cliche rom-com movies as if he’s all just realizing how he’s gone way beyond the territory of ‘liking’ Mark, and that he’s well on his way to ‘loving’ Mark. But, all he really manages to do is bury himself deeper into the pillows of the couch with a quiet murmur of “Massage my feet, please.” and Mark complying with a slight hum.
Another half hour passes by, and just as Donghyuck’s about to fall asleep, content in the warm domestic atmosphere of the entire thing, he feels his phone buzz against his thigh. With a low whine, Donghyuck musters the energy to take his phone out of his basketball shorts and read the message from Jeno.
From: Jeno
I know, you live the domestic life with your neighbour in the dorms now- but do you want to go to a party after finals? I’m giving you plenty of notice, so you can’t bullshit and say that you can’t. it’s at the residence, Jaemin’s? A block away from your flat (still can’t believe you chose to share a flat with him over me - your childhood friend, by the way) so it’s not that far and you can even bring neighbour boy ;)
To: Jeno
you know his name. you’ve met him, dumbass. mark’s a great roommate who actually helps me clean up the place, something that you’d never manage to do… but, i’ll text you if we can.
Jeno sends back a single middle-finger emoji and Donghyuck doesn’t even bother replying.
He highly doubts Mark would want to go, because he’s never shown an interest in partying before but it doesn’t hurt to ask. “Hey Mark, y’wanna go to a party sometime after the finals?”
Mark looks reluctant, keeping his eyes trained elsewhere. A habit he tends to do when he tries to find a way out of things. Normally, Donghyuck doesn’t try to push him out of his comfort zone but it’s been a while since he’s met up with his friends. So, he pauses and finds himself saying. “...It’s free drinks?"
Mark laughs, poking his thigh. “Nice try,”
Donghyuck whines, "Please?"
He pauses before looking back at Donghyuck with a slight smile, “Depends, am I going as your date?”
Donghyuck flushes, putting pressure into the heels of his feet until they dig deeper into Mark’s thighs and he flinches. It sucks that Mark’s mostly joking about it, because if he’d seriously asked, Donghyuck would have said yes in a heartbeat.
His crush is getting a tad too embarrassing to be honest.
“Don’t be an asshole, yes or no?”
Mark makes a show of thinking about it, eyebrows deeply furrowing, before he smirks and resumes massaging Donghyuck’s feet again. “Sure, why not?”
Donghyuck groans, “Mark, just say yes or no.”
This time it’s Mark who rolls his eyes, smiling in what Donghyuck likes to call his ‘you’re annoying as fuck, but I like you enough to not comment on it’ smile before he tweaks Donghyuck’s pinky toe.
Donghyuck tries really hard to stamp down the endeared smile that tries to makes its way onto his face, but the way Mark is currently grinning shows that he really didn’t succeed all too well.
Mark shakes his head, saying. “Now, who’s being a dipshit? Anyways, yes.”
He sounds hesitant and like he’d prefer to literally be anywhere else but Donghyuck can’t help but pump his fist before he settles down and huffs, lightly kicking Mark’s leg with his foot, “Honestly, why do you make things so hard for me.”
When he says it, he knows he’s being unnecessarily dramatic.
He knows that, that sentence alone is enough to lure Mark into light-hearted argument with him but something about the way Mark reacts when he acts like this, with a fond eye roll and a smile that threatens to break his face, has Donghyuck doing it over and over again, until Mark’s gently grabbing his foot and placing it back on his lap, laughing. “Stop kicking me, you’re such a baby honestly.”
“I’m not a baby, you’re just vague as fuck.” Donghyuck protests, kicking again when Mark starts tickling his feet.
Mark lets his feet go, in favour of wrapping it around his ankles to prevent him from kicking. “I said ‘sure’, you’re just being a little shit, baby.”
Donghyuck sits up, shaking Mark’s grip off of his foot, “Did you just fucking call me a ‘little shit baby’?”
Again, Donghyuck is well aware that, that wasn’t what Mark meant to say, but his mouth runs regardless and he watches in glee as Mark’s face twists into an ugly annoyed expression.
“Donghyuck, I swear to god-”
Donghyuck sniffs, “You’re so mean-”
Mark pushes Donghyuck back down on the couch with a quick shove, leaning over him to pin him down, tickling his neck and his waist. “You’re so annoying, if you don't stop kicking me, then I won't stop tickling you.”
Donghyuck just laughs, and kicks him again, fully aware that he’s not going to stop anytime soon.
///
Their finals fly by and before Donghyuck knows it, it’s the day of the party and they’re both on their way to the neighbouring residence. Mark in his bright yellow shirt, black beanie and faded jeans and Donghyuck in his red and black plaid hooded shirt and dark skinny jeans. He also spent a bit of time, and actually put more effort into putting on his makeup.
When Mark had seen him, he looked him up and down with raised eyebrows until Donghyuck blushed and punched his shoulder. “Do my eyes deceive me or did one Donghyuck Lee actually make an effort tonight? Are those jeans actually clean? A shirt without a stain? Wow.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
Mark shakes his head, “No can do baby, it’s very rare that I see you out of your regular sweats and t-shirt attire. I feel like this is an occasion that should be photographed-”
He takes out his phone out of his pocket, only to get it nearly slapped to the ground by Donghyuck, “Stop calling me baby.”
Mark snorts, but relents, tucking his phone back into his pocket. “You like being called baby though, you told me.”
Donghyuck feels the heat rise up to his cheeks, “You can’t use the things I say against me when I say it while I was drunk and tired. I have celebratory ‘finals are finally fucking done’ drinks with you, one time and this is what I get. I didn’t mean that.”
The fact that Donghyuck had even said it is embarrassing enough.
It was admittedly a very weak moment of his where he had been very close to just leaning in and placing a kiss on an equally drunk Mark’s lips but he didn’t. Instead, he’d chosen to confess this very embarrassing thing, that Mark unfortunately remembers and continues to torment him with.
Of course, he’d enjoyed every time Mark had affectionately said it, even the times he said it just to be annoying, but that doesn’t mean he had to let him know. He’d just prefer to be called the nickname in a more romantic setting.
Mark shoots him a knowing smile, before gesturing to the sidewalk. “We both know you do, but lead the way!”
///
They get to the party when its mid-swing.
The bass is thumping loud enough to make the drinks in the apartment pulse in time with the beat, the strobe lights flashing in an increasingly alarming fashion and Donghyuck suddenly feels the aching need to grab a beer to cope with the sensation overload.
Beside him, Mark gently grabs his elbow to get his attention, “I’m gonna go grab a drink then probably talk to Renjun and Jaemin right over there, but I’ll be back. You want any drinks?”
Donghyuck nods, “Just a beer, please.”
Mark smiles, before leaving with a quiet, “Got it, baby.”
He manages to get away before Donghyuck could even hit him and just as Jeno sidles up beside him with a smug grin, clearly overhearing the conversation. He nudges Donghyuck with his elbow, “Wow, I’d say you guys are moving too fast, but you’ve already moved in together. It was only a matter of time until you started calling each other cheesy nicknames too.”
Donghyuck groans, “Shut up,”
“What do you call him? Honey? Wait, knowing you, you probably just call him ‘cutie’ mockingly even though you wholeheartedly mean it- Ow, stop hitting me!”
“Talk shit, get hit.”
Jeno rubs his abused arm, saying. “Is it really shit, if it’s true? Honestly, just admit that you like him.”
Donghyuck purposely ignores him, commenting on the cruddy playlist that’s been chosen by the host that gets Jeno to rant for a few minutes, before he brings up the subject again.
“I’m serious Donghyuck, you guys are practically dating. You’re living together, taking care of each other, seeing each other off before class starts- for fuck’s sake, you guys even cuddle together when Mark feels ‘cold’! Trust me when I say, all you have to do is tell each other and it’s official!
Donghyuck thinks about ignoring him once again, but by the look on Jeno’s face, he doesn’t seem to be willing to drop it any time soon. So, he merely sighs before muttering. “Not so fucking loud, he’s in here you know that right? I don’t like Mark, okay? I mean, I do- but not in that way.”
Then, he leaves, moving further into the room towards the dancing crowd, hoping that he’d somehow lose Jeno amongst the writhing bodies. If the asshole insists on talking about it, he might as well do it in a place with more privacy.
Donghyuck finally stops at a relatively empty corner where he finds Renjun and Jaemin, “Hey, did you guys see Mark? I think, I might just head home and he has the keys.”
Renjun shakes his head, “He stopped to talk to us for like two minutes? Before leaving to go find you.”
“What? I didn’t see-”
Jeno catches up quickly, gripping Donghyuck’s shoulder to steady himself when he gets jostled by the people dancing around them. “Hey man, why did you leave without Mark?
“What do you mean? Mark was here talking with Renjun and Jaemin.”
Jeno furrows his eyebrows, “Uh no, dude he was coming up right behind you before you left-”
“What? Well, where is he now?
“He left, when you went off to go by yourself.” he replies.
Donghyuck slaps a hand over his forehead, resigned. “Why didn’t you stop him? Did he look drunk?”
“No, he just said he needed to leave. I wouldn’t let him leave without someone if he was drunk, you know that.”
That’s all Donghyuck needs to hear before he leaves the party and makes his way back home.
///
The lights are off in their flat when Donghyuck gets back, which is worrying to say the least.
Mark’s usually up for another hour after drinking, watching random infomercials and getting lured into buying ridiculous things like kinetic sand toys. He does it, mostly because he thinks he can sober up within that time so he wouldn’t wake up with a hangover. It never works, but it’s cute how he tries.
Donghyuck looks around, and everything else seems to be in order and Mark’s shoes are by the entryway so he’s definitely there. He heads to Mark’s room, quietly knocks, waits for a response, but never gets any any.
He knows Mark’s probably sleeping but he opens the door anyway to make sure. Mark’s lying on his side, bundled up on his pillowless bed. Donghyuck quickly goes to the kitchen and grabs a glass of water and some aspirin before placing it on Mark’s nightstand.
He takes another quick glance to see Mark peacefully asleep, before he gives into the temptation of gently combing the stray pieces of hair covering his face back in its place, before he whispers a ‘good night’ and shuffles back into his room.
The party really must not have been Mark’s cup of tea, if he’d left without even letting Donghyuck know.
///
Donghyuck wakes up to an empty apartment, and his alarm clock loudly beeping.
That’s odd.
After a few minutes, he gets up to see that Mark’s already left, shoes gone and dirty dishes left in the sink. Usually, he at least comes by Donghyuck’s room to wake him up and tell him he’s leaving, but he really must’ve been in a hurry if he didn’t even manage that.
Donghyuck shrugs off the odd feeling of not waking up to Mark’s voice reminding him of the things he has to do that day, before he goes on with his day.
Probably late again. Donghyuck thinks to himself, sending off a quick text asking Mark if he woke up alright, before resuming his routine. Hopefully, Donghyuck sees him before he heads off to his shift later on in the day.
Unfortunately, when Donghyuck gets home from his classes Mark’s already left for his shift. So, he starts making dinner for the two of them. He makes an extra serving, knowing that Mark has the most stressful schedule on that day and stays up until the time Mark usually gets home before retiring to his room when it reaches 3am and Mark still isn’t home.
It’s only when Donghyuck sends Mark another text asking him if he’s okay before he goes to sleep and wakes up with a brief text that says ‘yes’, that he starts worrying.
He tries again and again to catch Mark whenever he’s usually home, only to miss him every single time. Donghyuck knows he’s still staying at their flat, because he still sleeps in his room, but he never sees him awake or manages to talk to him.
At one point, Donghyuck even tries to corner him at his workplace or one of his classes only to somewhat miss him every single time. Either swept away by the horde of students coming out of the lecture halls, or because Mark is always conveniently ‘taking out the trash’.
After two weeks of Mark ignoring him, Donghyuck makes the wise decision to get absolutely smashed. Of course, because he’s underaged, he doesn’t actually get to do it in an appropriate bar setting where he could rant to a bartender about all his woes. So, he settles for Jeno’s dorm room.
He spends the entire night drinking his sorrows away with a semi-sympathetic Jeno getting halfway drunk with him and even though he has to get up early the next day, Jeno actually tries to keep up. Donghyuck doesn’t really cry, but he has been tearing up ever since he started. His voice starting to waver with every sip he takes.
This goes on for the rest of the night until Donghyuck’s too drunk to even form a full sentence and Jeno uses his cellphone to call someone up. He vaguely heard him say, ‘this is your fault, fix it.’, before he all but passes out on Jeno’s couch.
When Donghyuck wakes up again, Mark’s gently placing him down on a bed and his ability to speak somewhat coherently comes back to him as he sits up again, pointing aggressively to Mark’s chest, slurring. “You don’t get to do that- not to me. You don’t get to practically live a domestic life with me for the majority of the year then avoid me like that- you spent a year taking c-care of me then you avoid me for no reason the next day? You’re such a fucking jerk, Mark Lee.”
Then Donghyuck starts hiccuping, and his eyes are starting to get wet as he continues on. “I hate you.”
Mark frowns, a hurt look taking up most of his face. Donghyuck briefly thinks, 'Good, he deserves it' before hiccuping yet again. Then Mark shakes his head, pushes Donghyuck slightly to get him lying down and brings the blanket up to his chin.
There’s a brief lull of silence where Donghyuck just lets himself be tucked in, before Mark finally opens his mouth to reply but stops, shaking his head instead. “We’re talking about this tomorrow. Not while you’re drunk, not like this.”
///
Donghyuck wakes up with a severe headache and to the familiar sight of a glass of water and aspirin in front of him. He regrettably remembers everything that happens the night before, groaning when he sits up to grab the drink and swallow the tablet.
He waits for the aspirin to take its effect before finally getting up to ready himself for the confrontation that’s waiting to happen. Donghyuck doubts Mark is even there. After the last few weeks, it really wouldn’t be that surprising if he somehow managed to avoid him again.
He steps out of the washroom and into the living room, calling out. “Mark?”
And gets no reply.
He scoffs and purses his lips, feeling hurt. Donghyuck really doesn’t know what he’s done for Mark to get mad. Even at his angriest, Mark’s never outright ignored him like this and at the very least, he always texts him back.
Mark has always been the one who prefers to talk it out over giving the cold shoulder, so it’s pretty hypocritical of him to do the exact thing he’s always said he would never do. Donghyuck turns on the tv, switching the channel to a cheesy rom-com movie, and lies down on the couch. He’s pretty much accepted that the rest of the day (and week, probably) will be spent sulking on this very couch when the door to their flat opens.
The scent of freshly made food fills their apartment when Mark enters with a paper bag from a local diner they’ve taken to going to. Donghyuck sits up, fully prepared to glare at him only to be met with Mark’s sheepish smile. “I brought breakfast?”
Donghyuck huffs, turning away and directing his attention on the tv. For a moment, only the quiet rustling of Mark taking off his shoes at the foyer and the sound of Allie passionately confessing her love to Noah is all that can be heard. Then, food is being laid out on the coffee table in front of Donghyuck and Mark is taking a seat right beside him on the couch.
“The Notebook, huh?”
Donghyuck sniffs, grabbing the remote to turn the volume up higher before haphazardly tossing it back on the couch. Beside him, Mark sighs, gets up briefly to grab two glasses of water, places it down on the coffee table and sits back down beside Donghyuck.
With his fingers tapping against his thighs, Mark speaks up again. “I’m sorry I treated you like shit and ignored you instead of talking this out like we usually do- it wasn’t right, and I should have known better. I-”
Donghyuck makes another move to grab the remote, fully intending to turn the volume up even higher, only to see that it’s gone. He turns to glare at Mark once he sees that he’s snatched it, and pressed mute. Mark smiles at him briefly, before he touches his hand, hesitant.
When Donghyuck doesn’t move his hand away, Mark takes the initiative and intertwines their fingers together. “I’m sorry I ignored you without any explanation whatsoever, you didn’t do anything. It was me, I just needed time to… to collect myself."
He takes a deep breath, "I love you Donghyuck, and I know you don’t love me in the same way. I just, I needed to say that before this argument gets any worse. I know this probably doesn't make any sense to you. I’m sorry that I hurt you, and I promise I’ll do everything I can to make it up to y-”
That’s as far as Mark gets mid-rant before Donghyuck holds up his other hand to stop him, “What the heck do you mean I don’t love you the same way,”
“At the party, when you were talking to Jeno-”
Donghyuck groans, slumping before moving closer to Mark to lean his head on his shoulder. Of course, their first serious argument and confessions happen as a result of miscommunication. He knew going to that party was a bad idea. Donghyuck can’t even revel in the moment of having his feelings reciprocated because he knows that Mark is waiting for his response, heaving a heavy sigh.
Mark cards a hand through his hair, “I- it's no pressure, if you want me to stay away because this makes you uncomfortable, I can. But, are you okay?”
Donghyuck nods as much as he can from where he’s perched on Mark’s shoulder, hiding a smile from the sweet gesture. As considerate as Mark is trying to be, Donghyuck should probably let him know that his feelings are not unwelcome. He lets out another tired sigh, letting go of Mark’s hand briefly only to straddle his lap just so he could be closer.
Leaning his forehead against Mark's, Donghyuck whispers. “I didn’t want the first time I finally said that ‘I love you’ to be at a shitty house party. I wanted to tell you first, preferably in a romantic setting like our home or where we first met or something… Not with my best friend who decided that the best way to ask me is through confronting me at a party filled with drunk college students.”
Mark nods along, adjusting himself a bit to accommodate Donghyuck before he realizes what Donghyuck’s said and replies with a very succinct. “Oh,”
Donghyuck snorts, bringing up his hands to pat Mark’s cheeks fondly, “Yes, oh. I love you.”
“Oh,” Mark says again. This time, he grins giddily, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck’s waist to pull him in.
Donghyuck smiles, lets himself get pulled in, leans in even closer until they’re sharing the same breath. “Do you love me too?”
Mark nods, gaze flickering back and forth between his eyes and lips. “I do, I love you.”
He makes a move to presumably kiss him before he stops short of Donghyuck’s lips, “Can I kiss you?”
Donghyuck nods, his heart fluttering as Mark closes the distance in between them and finally, kisses him.