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mark lee is not lonely.
that's what he tells his friends when they insist for him to go out more, get out of his shell a bit, put himself out there, “your apartment it's too big for you to be here all by yourself!” it's what one of his best friends taeyong always says when he stops by once a week to check up on mark.
mark is not lonely, he's just shy, always busy with essays and tests and internship applications that sometimes he forgets to take care of himself, to answer to his friends’ texts that he's not, in fact, dead.
sometimes he thinks that, yes, it'd be nice to come home to someone, have dinner together, talk about their days and be domestic but he's never had a good relationship historic, so he just deems it impossible, who would want him? he thinks sometimes, just old boring mark lee.
he has friends, really good friends that he can always count on, like johnny, jaehyun, taeyong and doyoung, but as much as he loves them...he gets lonely. sometimes. sometimes he feels like his life is missing something, someone.
that's what he tells johnny one day, at a bar, after drinking one too many beers, words slurring together and eyes closing (mark had always been a lightweight). it's just kinda lonely, you know? he hiccups.
“you ever thought about a companion hybrid?” is what johnny responds, a little more sober than mark, who at that point is already out like a light on his stool.
a few days later, when mark is on his couch watching tangled and eating chips with white wine, he thinks about johnny's words.
companion hybrids weren't uncommon for him. he knew a few of them, like ten, johnny and jaehyun's companion, a black cat who looked like he hated everything and everyone and jungwoo, a cute dog hybrid that he had a few classes with and hung out together sometimes.
he had never considered getting one for himself, always finding the concept of paying for someone's company a little superficial, but after looking at himself; at home on a saturday night, on his bigass apartment that his parents paid for, drinking white wine, wearing only boxers, wishing he had someone to at least make him some company, it didn't seem like a bad idea.
on a whim, he grabbed his laptop from its place on the coffee table and searched for the companion hybrids website, quickly signing up for a interview.
“okay, so,” the man behind behind the table, taeil, adjusts his glasses and squints at the files “you're looking for a quiet, homey and docile companion, preferably your age, right?”
“yes, that's right.” he nods anxiously, trying to peek at the papers.
the man hums to himself for some minutes, reading through a couple of files, leaving the unwanted ones on a pile a little far off.
“there's this new cat, renjun, still a little closed off, but i think you guys would fit well together.” he hands mark a picture of a petite boy, smiling shily, but mark could still notice his snaggletooth. cute.
“and our little jisung, he's quite young, but really mature and responsible,” he keeps talking about potential companions and mark only nods and agrees, not really feeling so sure about anything anymore.
“can i see them?” he asks suddenly, taking the man off guard.
“yes! absolutely!” taeil smiles excitedly “the ones on your age range are at the playroom right now,” he announces and stands up, motioning for mark to follow him.
they get out of the office and walk through the building, having to ride the elevator up, and walking a bit more, until he stops in front of a big glass wall.
when mark looks inside, his eyes widen in surprise.
no more than a dozen boys and girls on a big spacious room, some of them running around, some of them watching tv or reading, some of them napping.
the playroom is big and colorful, with a lot of cushions and beanbags thrown around, a tv with a video game console, a shelf full of books and games and a table on the corner which mark assumed was for drawing.
“this is a false mirror, so they can't see us,” taeil explains “there's jisungie i told you about-” he keeps pointing out a multitude of kids but mark is not even paying attention, eyes focused on an odd pair.
the two boys are a little far from the others, one of them has really wide shoulders, mark notices, but a big toothy smile to compensate, taking up his entire face. his hair is short and black, like his floppy ears and swinging tail. he looks like he's laughing at something, whole body shaking with giggles and mark wishes he could hear the sound.
the other boy, probably the one making him laugh like that, is perched almost on top of him, noticeably smaller, skin shining with gold and hair a cute curly honey-blonde. he's laughing too, but a softer, fonder smile, just like his eyes, looking at the black haired boy.
mark watches them, fascinated by the way they joke around, rolling on the ground, apparently play fighting, the smaller one easily pining the other to the ground and then the two exploding in a fit of giggles, until the bigger turns things around and starts the hustle again. occasionally they'd just stare at each other lovingly, huffing out of air, he could see the bigger one blush when the other kissed his cheek and mark suddenly felt as if he was intruding an intimate moment.
“oh, you found our puppies,” taeil says amusedly.
puppies , that makes sense.
“what are their names?” mark asks, eyes not leaving the pair, who are now back to hustling.
“the bigger one is yukhei, he's your age, and the other is donghyuck, a year younger.”
mark only hums in response, and they spend the next few minutes only watching the puppies playing.
“i honestly didn't think they would get your attention,” taeil lets out a breathy laugh “they don't fit your profile at all.”
“yeah, i kinda figured.” they seemed, to put it simply, wild , and that really wasn't looking for. mark wanted calm movie nights, not play fighting.
“but in my opinion, the three of you would be a great fit,” taeil continued “unexpected, but good for each other.”
mark thought about it for a few moments. having two energetic puppies to take care of would for sure be tiring, both mentally and physically, and he didn't know if he was the most suitable person for it, liking when things were calm and on their place. but on the other side, his apartment was big enough for that, as well as his life, both needing more color.
“do you want to maybe meet them? we have a room closely.” taeil suggests, smiling knowingly.
“i mean…” he scratches the back of his head “if it wouldn't be too much trouble.”
taeil actually squeals before schooling his face to a more professional one and shows mark the meeting room, just by their side.
the space was simple, a big brown couch in one side, coffee table in the middle and a water dispenser by the corner.
“sit tight for a second and i'll go get them.” taeil leads him to the couch and mark almost drowns in it, not expecting it to be so soft.
the man walks away muttering something about how happy the puppies would get!, leaving a fidgeting mark behind.
true to his words, taeil comes back only minutes after, right as mark finishes his cup of water.
he can hear loud voices coming from the small corridor leading to the room, talking animatedly, but he can't make out what's being said.
taeil appears by himself and mark is confused until the older man mouths “they're shy”. mark actually thinks that's the cutest thing.
“boys, come on,” taeil calls, feigning impatience “mr. mark can't wait forever, he's a busy guy.” they share secretive smiles.
suddenly a curly haired head pops up to scan the room, only to disappear before anything could be said.
“he's cute, xuxi,” mark hears a whispered voice, sweet as honey “he's not scary at all!”
after a couple more rushes whispers the two boys finally walk in.
they stand side by side, hands entwined in the middle. there's a noticeable (and cute) size difference between them, and mark also notices that they're wearing similar clothes; gym shorts and t-shirts with a cartoon pattern, combined with matching rainbow socks.
they're both smiling shily, but wide, mark can't help but smile back. they bow respectfully and mark does the same.
“hello, mister mark,” the smaller one says sweetly “i'm donghyuck.”
“and i'm yukhei.” adds the taller.
now up close, mark can scan their faces more clearly. he can see how donghyuck's naturally pouted lips and his cute button nose, as well as yukhei's kind and pretty eyes and his squishy cheeks.
they're both extremely attractive, with boyish yet soft traits and mark could feel how they exhaled confidence. he felt himself blush.
“i'm mark,” he stutters “it's really nice to meet you two.” he pats the empty space beside him on the couch and the boys eagerly hurry to sit, one on each side of him.
“taeil-hyung,” donghyuck calls for the man “can we touch?” his hands are clasped together on his lap and he's biting his bottom lip anxiously.
“you should ask mr. mark, honey, not me.” taeil laughs fondly.
donghyuck turns his gaze to mark, then, puppy eyes pleading, and he can feel yukhei's too “mr. mark,” he starts, voice sickly sweet, bordering a whine “can we touch?”
mark pretends to think for a moment and both boys openly whine, pouting and widening their puppy eyes, sliding closer to him, but never actually touching.
“i don't see why not.” he finally says, and in the blink of an eye he's being squished by both sides, arms holding onto his waist and shoulders “oomph.” he lets out a surprised grunt.
“easy, boys, be gentle,” he hears taeil saying, and they actually listen, moving a little slower.
they move around for some minutes, until the puppies think it's enough, and when mark realizes, he's sitting sideways on the couch, yukhei wrapped on his back, chest glued to it, almost like a baby monkey, hands comfortably laying on mark’s stomach, chin digging on his shoulder.
donghyuck is sitting in the middle of mark's open legs, pretty much on his lap, hands holding mark's own, face so close he can feel him breathing.
truthfully, he can feel both of their breaths, yukhei's on his neck, making a shiver run down his spine, and donghyuck's on his face.
“they're just scenting you, don't worry,” taeil explains from the side “that's enough, pups,” he commands and once again, they comply, easing their hold and not breathing down his neck (literally) like before “you're both well behaved boys, aren't you?”
they both exclaim “yes!” in unison, tails swinging happily.
“show mr. mark, then.”
for the next hours, all they do is talk. about everything. about how donghyuck and yukhei have known each other for more than a decade already, how they have been companions for a little less than three years, about mark's college life, they ask him a million questions about his studies, seeming so interested in what mark has to say he almost gets choked up with how their eyes sparkle. they talk about their friends, donghyuck and yukhei tell mark about chenle and jaemin, their roommates, and mark tells them about his own friends, about how they're more like family to him. taeil sometimes joining in to tell funny and embarrassing stories that made the two puppies cry out and hide their faces.
they talk nonstop until yukhei's slumped over mark's back, dozing off with his head tucked on his shoulder, and hyuck's cheek is squished on mark's thigh, both puppies exhausted.
“i think it's bedtime,” taeil sighs and gets up from his chair “come on, babies.” they whine and don't move.
“i wanna stay with mr. mark,” donghyuck sleepily demands, yukhei grunting in agreement.
“mark needs to rest too, he wakes up really early to go to class, you know,” mark doesn't bother explaining that he doesn't have any morning classes the next day “he'll come visit you guys soon.”
“will you?” yukhei mutters next to his ear “will you come back to see us, markie?”
“of course,” mark answers without even thinking, almost surprising himself, but going along with it, scratching yukhei's ear soothingly, making him sigh contently and donghyuck whine and pat his other hand, demanding scratches as well, which mark gave easily with a fond laugh.
“maybe ask for his number?” taeil suggests and donghyuck's head shots up in interest.
“xuxi, where's our phone?” he asks the sleepy boy, who only mutters “room” before closing his eyes again, donghyuck visibly deflates.
“i'll write it down for you, don't worry.” mark assures, which makes the puppy giggle excitedly and take a hold of his hand again, placing it on top of his head, wordlessly asking for him to start scratching again.
“we gotta go now, hyuckie, come on,” taeil ushers once again, going to yukhei's side to try and pick him up “xuxi, let's go, baby, get up, say bye to markie.”
“bye-bye, markie.” he slurs and clings to taeil, almost taking him down.
“up, hyuckie, let's go.”
donghyuck whines but gets up too, bringing mark up with him by the hand.
“bye, mr. mark,” he kisses the pads of mark's fingers, making his blush “thank you for taking care of us today.” he politely recites and looks up to taeil, who smiles proudly and ruffles the puppy's hair, and mark resists the urge to coo at him.
taeil then says that he'll only take them to bed and then come back to talk, and they leave. donghyuck clinging to taeil’s arm and yukhei still draped over his back.
when taeil gets back, fifteen or so minutes after, he's almost out of breath, but still smiling.
“they're good boys, aren't they?” he says it almost proudly.
“yes, they are.” mark agrees instantly “they're really precious.”
“they liked you a lot,” mark blushes and lowers his head at that “it's true! they kept asking if you'd come back while i tucked them in.”
“i liked them a lot too.”
“i know they're not what you came for, though, mark,” taeil's tone and face becomes serious “they're really high maintenance, really clingy and loud, basically the opposite of what you were looking for.”
“yeah, i understand, but–”
“and if you're thinking of only getting one of them, don't even bother because they refuse to get separated.”
“that haven't even crossed my mind, taeil, seriously,” mark assures the older man “to be honest, i think they are just what i needed.”
mark can't stop smiling the whole car ride home, feeling giddy for some reason, even wishing a good evening to his neighbors on the elevator.
he goes to sleep still smiling, thinking about the two cute puppies, wanting to see them again as soon as possible.
he falls asleep with yukhei's dimples and donghyuck's gentle touch on his mind.
and wakes up to four texts from an unknown number.
unknown (09:43)
good morning mister mark !!!!!! ꈍ .̮ ꈍ
unknown (09:54)
its hyuckie&xuxi !!!!（￣ε￣ʃƪ）
unknown (10:07)
from the companion center !!!!!!!
unknown (10:15)
[image attachment]
it's a selfie taken from a low angle, the two boys squished into the frame together wearing matching wide smiles, and mark's heart jumps happily on his chest, something akin to fondness seeping through his body. mark quickly sets the selfie as both his lockscreen and homescreen.
the next month passes by quickly.
mark makes a habit of visiting yukhei and donghyuck every other day, knowing more about the puppies each visit.
he learns that donghyuck is a lab hybrid (now illegal), rescued from the laboratory he lived since he was born when he was barely seven years old. years of mistreatment still heavy on his emotional.
yukhei on the other hand had hybrid parents, but his situation wasn't all that better; his father left when he was little, and his mom worked for a wealthy family until she passed from illness, leaving him her job at the mansion, until he ran away after too many punishments at age 8.
the two only tell mark that they met each other at a hybrid shelter when they were kids, not giving much detail, but when they left and he was alone with taeil, the older man filled him up on some of it.
he doesn't give any deep details, but mark can feel that he knows more than he tells from how his voice tightens and his eyes get glassy. mark understands though.
at first he thinks is because taeil is afraid he won't want the puppies anymore, which is absolutely wrong, but when he voices that to the man, he only says “they'll tell you everything on their own” , and mark believes him. he'll wait forever if that's what it takes for yukhei and donghyuck to trust him enough for that.
mark doesn't tell his friends he's going to adopt two companion puppies until he's passed all the tests (physical and psychological) and attended all the lectures (he never knew taking care of hybrids could be so complicated).
they do notice that he's smiling more and being more affectionate than usual.
“you're not seeing someone, are you?” taeyong asks with squinted eyes.
two someones, actually , mark almost says, but ends up only denying. his friends aren't that convinced.
mark can't wait for them to meet yukhei and donghyuck, he knows how well they're going to treat the two puppies and his heart swells with fondness when he thinks of all of them together.
soon.
that's what he tells donghyuck and yukhei when they ask if he's taking them home already.
they usually ask when mark has to leave, pouting and whining for him to stay a little more.
“you're staying with us, right?” yukhei questions him once, when taeil leaves to take donghyuck to the bathroom “you're serious, right? not gonna leave us?”
he's making himself look smaller, as he often does when he's nervous, mark knows; long fingers playing with the hem of his shirt, looking down, voice anxious.
“xuxi,” mark calls and the boy instantly looks at him with wide questioning eyes “i'm taking you guys with me as soon as i can, i said that already.” he stresses, cupping yukhei’s curious face with his hands.
“what if you change your mind?” he insists
“i won't.” mark says firmly, looking straight into yukhei's eyes “i'm taking you guys home soon, okay?”
“okay.” yukhei giggles and nods “can you tell hyuckie that? he's scared.”
mark tries to swallow the hurt before asking “did he tell you that?”
“sometimes,” yukhei answers truthfully “but i always tell him that he doesn't need to worry. he still worries though.”
“thank you for trusting me, xuxi.” he pecks the boy's nose, liking the way yukhei scrunches his face cutely.
“hyuck will too, just wait some more.”
“as long as he needs.” mark promises.
at that moment, taeil and donghyuck barge in, the puppy talking animatedly about how he found a certain jiwoo on the way, and how she's also being adopted by another certain sooyoung, leaving the dorms by the end of the week.
“soon it's gonna be you and xuxi,” mark assures him “just wait a little more, yeah?”
donghyuck sighs and smiles dreamily, looking between yukhei and mark for a minute before squealing and hugging them to his chest.
after almost two months of preparation, everything's settled.
mark took his classes and did his homework, learning how to discipline and care for his two puppies, knows that they need at least half an hour of exercise every day or else they'll get restless, that he shouldn't raise his voice or lock the room's doors because donghyuck gets scared, that yukhei gets destructive when he's bored and sometimes forgets how big he is, he knows they shouldn't be alone for too long, having a strong separation anxiety.
he's sweating buckets by the time he makes it to the center, listing off the things he has to know to try and calm his nerves.
“mark! over here!” he hears taeil’s voice and immediately his shoulders drop “are you nervous?” the man laughs and slaps his shoulder playfully.
“is it that obvious?” mark rubs his face with his hands “how are they?”
“we didn't tell yet, they just think you're visiting.” he smiles proudly “you wanna go already?”
“yes, please.” he breathes out and smiles imagining their surprised faces when he tells them they're finally going home.
they're already on the couch when they reach the room, playing a game on their phone, donghyuck cursing yukhei for making him mess up and yukhei sniffing on his neck, obviously trying to distract donghyuck.
they stop after realizing mark and taeil are in the room, pocketing the phone and smiling sweetly at them.
“come here, we missed you.” donghyuck calls and mark smiles fondly before joining the puppies.
“so,” taeil starts “today we're doing something a little different.”
“what?” yukhei's eyes shine in excitement.
“are we getting ice cream again?” donghyuck shakes mark's shoulder.
“never again, hopefully!” taeil shivers just from remembering what happened last time they went out for ice cream.
“it was an accident…” donghyuck mutters with a pout.
“don't worry, hyuckie,” mark pats his head “we can get all the ice cream you want, later.”
“tell us where we're going!” yukhei whines, impatient as ever, throwing himself on top of mark.
“it’s a place you've been dying to go.” taeil helps.
“the ice cream place?”
“it's not about ice cream, hyuckie.” mark laughs and kisses his forehead.
“m-markie’s home?” yukhei asks apprehensively.
they're both looking at him anxiously, face full of hope. mark only nods his head once, and soon they're jumping on him, screaming excitedly and hugging each other. mark can feel his shirt getting wet at some point.
“i've got you guys.” mark whispers “we're going home, okay?”
they only hold him tighter and mark tries to calm them down with hands on their ears and hair, murmuring soothing words.
when they look up, with red faces and messy hair and a smile so big their eyes almost disappear, no one says a thing.
the only thing they do for a couple of minutes is stare at each other with a look that can only be categorized as pure adoration. mark brings his hands to caress the puppies cheeks softly and they nuzzle into his palm.
taeil excuses himself saying that he's going to pick up the boys’ suitcases, leaving the three of them alone for a moment.
“i’m going to take such good care of you two,” mark tells them wholeheartedly “like you deserve.”
after some more loving words, hugs and cuddles, donghyuck and yukhei sign the papers and say goodbye to everyone, promising to visit sometimes.
taeil cries, of course he does.
“you two better behave!” he sniffs “i’m going to miss my best boys so much.” he breaks down again, hugging them tightly.
“you have a scheduled visit in two weeks, hyung.” mark muses and taeil only sobs harder.
when they get to mark's apartment the first thing yukhei and donghyuck do is run around.
they open the refrigerator door, the cabinets, his closet, their own empty closets, snoop everything possible (and impossible).
“xuxi, this is your room,” mark explains once they're inside one of the two guest rooms “hyuck’s is the other one.”
“what.” donghyuck suddenly pales.
“uhm, you can switch if you want?” mark stutters.
“i don't—” he pauses and shakes his head “xuxi can't sleep alone.”
“oh?” mark lets out, surprised “you can bring your things here if you want, then.”
donghyuck doesn't waste any time, hurrying up to bring his suitcase and pillow.
“he's the one who can't sleep alone, isn't he?” mark asks yukhei once hyuck is gone.
“yeah,” he laughs a little “but let him act tough.”
in the end, they end up on mark's king size bed after eating pizza and watching tv.
(“can we have soda?”
“what about some orange juice instead?”)
“i'm really happy.” yukhei says from his place on mark's side, head resting on his stomach and arms hugging his sides.
“me too.” donghyuck's voice is muffled by mark's shoulder, face squished into his neck, occasionally leaving butterfly kisses there.
“me too.” mark sighs happily in the middle. both hands occupied with petting his two puppies and he'd never felt so whole in his life. so wanted.
they fall asleep just like that, all together, mark swears he won't make a habit out of it but he knows it's a lie.
it's the best sleep he's had in a long time.