Work Text:
“open your window.”
“open my- what?”
“open- open your window-” it’s mark’s voice, slightly breathless, panting through the receiver of donghyuck’s cell phone. “now, hyuck!”
“fucking... hell,” hyuck mumbles groggily, but hastily pulls himself out of bed to stagger over to his bedroom window and slide it open anyway, his cell pressed between his cheek and shoulder.
and surely enough, he can just make out the distant outline of mark lee standing in his backyard, the light of his cellphone at his ear the only source of light in the darkness of the night, reflecting in blue flecks in his round glasses. it’s just enough so that donghyuck can make out his stupid loopy grin as he beams upward.
donghyuck forces his smile away as he turns to the side, ignoring the boy below. “what are you doing here?” he mutters into his phone, trying to sound annoyed, but the corner of his mouth twitches anyway. “fuck outta my yard, lee.”
mark’s laugh tickles his ear. “air con at my place stopped working. let me up?”
“bull.”
“dead ass!” mark giggling again. he giggles at anything and everything, high pitched and bubbly, and it’s always annoying. “and jin stole, like, all the electric fans and set ‘em up in his room and arranged them in like, this cult circle- around his bed- like stonehenge-“
donghyuck chuckles into the receiver as he runs a hand through his hair. “fucking christ, man. did you tell him you wanted one?”
“ obviously. i was like, ‘hyung, you’re not the only one sweating in this heat, let me have a fan for my damn room.’ and then he told me to suck his cock.”
“did you?”
“ew!” donghyuck can hear the disgust in mark’s voice. “ you’re so nasty- that’s my brother, you prick!”
donghyuck stifles a laugh. “i know, i know.”
“ so are you gonna let me come up or what?”
donghyuck peers out the window once more. in the flickering light of mark’s cellphone on his ear, donghyuck can make out a trembling pout on his face, all shining eyes and puckering lips. “pretty please?”
“fine.”
donghyuck tosses his cell away one he’s hung up and turns to the rest of his room. the place is a mess as it always is- his dirty laundry all over the floor, cords and chargers tangled on his desk, peeling MTV posters on the walls, grimy basketball at the foot of his bed. in an effort to clean up at least a little bit, he clears his bedside of two lotion bottles and some crumpled dollar bills and shoves them into his desk drawer, even though he knows mark wouldn’t care for the clutter.
he catches his reflection in the mirror he passes. he only looks kind of a mess- the purple bandaid on his forehead is wearing away slightly, there’s a shadow of stubble on his chin, and his hair is all over the place, sticking up in the back form sleep. he hastily flattens it down and makes a mental note to shave in the morning.
he hears a familiar whisper from the opposite side of the room. “oy, hyuck… give me a hand...”
donghyuck hurries to the window, reaching for mark’s outstretched forearm. mark’s grinning up at him from where he’s balanced on the ledge below, his glasses slightly crooked on his nose. “hi,” he whispers, a stupid smile on his face.
donghyuck rolls his eyes and pulls mark through, being careful not to move too fast as to trip him as he climbs in. despite his effort, mark trips anyway, the tip of his adidas sandal catching on the ledge. “ ack-!”
and a moment later, they’re both sprawled out on the floor, donghyuck sandwiched between the carpet floor and mark’s chest. “- fuck,” donghyuck bites out with a groan. “goddammit... what the hell’s wrong with you?”
mark giggles, propping himself up on his elbows. the sleeves of his sweatshirt are way too big on him, and a moment later, donghyuck realizes it’s his sweatshirt, a UCLA hoodie that was never returned to it's original owner. mark pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, grinning. “sorry. my slide caught on the thing- the window thing.” his brow furrows as he inspects donghyuck’s face. “man, you need to shave.”
“yeah, i know. and you need to lay off the pop-tarts, you’re heavy as fuck.”
mark laughs, his eyes fluttering shut as he leans in, pressing his lips to donghyuck’s in greeting. “mhmm.” he pulls away, his lips tinted pink. “and you’re a jerk.”
donghyuck laughs, tucking a stray strand of jet colored hair back behind mark’s ear where it had escaped, unable to stop a teasing smile from growing on his face. “so what? i’m still the one letting you in my air-conditioned room, boy.”
mark pulls himself to his feet, stretching. “you got me there.” his sweatshirt rides upwards when he stretches his arms, and donghyuck watches shamelessly. “aah, that’s nice.” mark sighs contentedly, finally collapsing onto donghyuck’s bed. “real A/C. this is the life.”
donghyuck snorts, shoving mark in the side. “move over, i need to sleep too.”
mark tosses the blanket over the both of them once donghyuck’s settled in, giggling. “heh, it’s like a sleepover.”
“you say that every fucking time you come over,” donghyuck sighs, shutting his eyes. “sleep.”
mark hums in agreement. “mkay. night.”
but it’s mark lee, so of course it doesn’t end there.
a few moments later, donghyuck feels a pair of cold hands playing at the hem of his tank top, sneaking up his torso, rubbing quietly at his waist. he opens an eye, unamused, and mark grins sheepishly back at him, not removing his hands. “sorry. couldn’t help it. your skin’s so soft…”
“go to sleep.”
it’s silent for a few more minutes, save the whirring of the air conditioning.
“hyuck?”
“what?”
“i want a slurpee.”
++
“dollar twenty five is your change,” the drowsy cashier tells mark, dropping the amount into his hand.
“thanks, man,” mark tells him cheerfully, accepting the blue raspberry flavored drink on the counter. “hey, you need a hand fan or something? it’s hot as balls tonight.”
the cashier looks surprised. “n-no, i’m good bro. we got air con.”
“it’s kind of shit though? you should drink some water when you go on break.” mark tosses his change into the tip jar. “i heard it’s 105 down by the shore.”
“it’s supposed to be 105 down by the city too,” the cashier tells him. “fricking crazy, bro.”
mark stares. “yeah? no way. i’m gonna have to buy a fan too... for real. have a nice night.”
“you too, man.”
donghyuck’s waiting for him just outside the seven-eleven, one hand jammed into the pocket of his sweats and the other holding his phone as he scrolls aimlessly through NBA video posts on his instagram. he looks up when he hears the door jingle, his messy chestnut colored hair all in his eyes, adorably disheveled. “ready?”
mark shows him his medium-sized cup, beaming, and hyuck nods back, jerking his head towards the boardwalk. “walk?”
the shore is quiet as they stroll along the walkway, save for the occasional slurp of mark’s drink. it’s especially pretty tonight- the moon twinkling in the bare black of the sky as the warm air brushes against their legs and the back of their necks.
“heard it’s 105 down in the city,” mark says conversationally as he balances on the ledge, his arms extended for balance. “hot as balls.”
donghyuck watches mark’s antics reproachfully, holding mark underneath his shoulder so that he doesn’t fall. “yeah? sounds like we’re gonna be roasting tomorrow at jaemin’s volleyball game.”
“ jaemin’s gonna be roasting at jaemin’s volleyball game.” mark jumps down from the ledge, careful not to spill his drink. “hopefully they don’t cancel.”
“naw, we wouldn’t miss jaemin’s game for the world.” donghyuck pulls mark closer by the waist, his hand slipping instinctively into the butt pocket of mark’s shorts, but he does a double take a second later, his eyes widening. “holy- your shorts have ass pockets?”
“urban outfitters,” mark giggles, offering his slurpee out, which donghyuck takes a small sip out of, his nose scrunching as he swallows.
“urban...” donghyuck wipes the corner of his mouth, furrowing his brow at the blue colored stain it produces. “so it was crazy expensive, then?”
“duh.” mark leans into the crook of donghyuck’s shoulder, his free hand shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. “but worth it. they’re butt pockets, man! why wouldn’t i?”
“mmm. fair.” donghyuck stops in his tracks, staring off-path. “is that a basketball?”
on the empty blacktop, an orange colored leather ball sits abandoned at the half-court line. mark squints, adjusting his glasses on his nose. “i think so.”
donghyuck’s eyes light up. “dude- let’s fucking go!”
mark frowns, his fingers curling around his slurpee. “but it’s late. it’s gotta be like 3:30 in the morning by now.”
donghyuck gives him an incredulous look. “you’re fucking kidding me. you’re the one that wanted to out! forget it, we’re going.”
“ hyuck-”
but a second later, mark’s being dragged by the sleeve of his sweatshirt to the empty court, which is only dimly illuminated by a single yellowish lamppost. donghyuck’s scooped up the ball, dribbling it between his legs, then pivoting around like he’s dodging an invisible opponent. “ lee for three-”
the chains of the basketball net jingle as the ball swooshes through. donghyuck kisses the edge of his fist and jogs along the sides of the court like he’s some big shot. mark laughs, leaning against a metal trashcan near the sideline, gently holding his cold paper cup through his hoodie sleeves so his hands don’t freeze. “you’re fucking lame, hyuck!”
donghyuck gives him a mock offended look as he balances the ball on the top of his hand, rolling it up to his shoulder and back, like he’s doing the wave. “babe- cruel.” he’s back to professional mode in a flash, bouncing the ball behind and through his legs as he weaves through the court. he ends up at the central round.
he nods at mark, winking. “this one’s for you, baby.”
and he lobs the ball at the net. predictably enough, he misses horribly, and the ball sails through the air like a brick, not even hitting the backboard at least. donghyuck pretends like he’s made the winning point, jumping up and down, victorious as he mimics the rasp of the imaginary crowd. “ holy fuck- he’s done it-”
mark is content watching donghyuck have fun until he catches his eye, and donghyuck’s suddenly running towards him, scooping him into his arms, and mark yelps loudly in surprise. “god fuck- hyuck, put me down-!”
“but i made the winning shot,” donghyuck complains, burying his face into the crook of mark’s neck, leaving a trail of feather-light kisses up and down the side of his neck.
“no, you airballed- ah, hyuck-”
his voice breaks into an embarrassing whimper as donghyuck’s lips ghost over the underside of his jaw. mark feels his ears burn at the sensation. “fucking- stop.”
donghyuck’s smirking, still hovering over the spot. “stop?”
“not- not here, dude.”
so donghyuck finally sets him down, still grinning devilishly. “okay. sorry. my bad.”
mark groans, tugging the hood of his sweatshirt over his reddening ears. “you’re a jerk.”
++
at the intersection of donghyuck’s street and the next one over, they bump into a familiar face.
donghyuck’s jaw tightens, shoving mark behind him. “shinae.”
shinae moon is sitting on the curb, taking a long drag from a silvery pen. she’s got a simple crop top and nike short combination on, a pajama set for a hot night, and her usually straight blonde hair falls across her shoulders in waves instead. her eyes narrow. “fuck are you two doing here at three in the morning?”
“i fucking live here,” donghyuck spits. mark can practically see the steam coming out of his ears, so he reaches tentatively for his shoulder, quiet. “hyuck…”
“no, no.” shinae shoves her pen away, her expression unreadable as she stands. “let him talk. you got something to say to me, donghyuck? motherfucking say it.”
“you’re lucky i’d never hit a fucking girl,” donghyuck breathes. “or i’d let you have it.”
shinae snorts. “yeah? not like i want to be touched by either of you freaks anyway. you decided yet, mark?”
mark flinches when he’s suddenly addressed, trying his best not to show his nerve on his face. “i told you- that’s- that’s not how it works.” his voice shakes regardless, betraying him, and donghyuck steps in front of him immediately, blocking the girl off.
“don’t fucking talk to him,” donghyuck snarls. “fuck off. he deserved better than you anyway.”
shinae glares back. “fuck you! you don’t understand shit- all i did was ask him to choose , you fucking asshole! is he gay or not? that’s all i wanted to fucking-”
but she breaks in a scream when donghyuck suddenly lunges at her, held back only by mark who had grabbed onto his elbow at the last second. “shinae- go-” he urges, and shiane finally gets the message and scrambles off in the direction of her house a few blocks down.
mark decides it’s safe to finally let donghyuck go when he can no longer see the fuzzy outline of his ex-girlfriend in the distance. hyuck’s gasping, wiping the corner of his mouth with his sweater sleeve.“you should’ve let me have her,” he's panting, his eyes still dark. “you fucking should have. i can’t believe you dated that bitch.”
mark sighs, running a hand through his hair. “i know.”
donghyuck straightens back up quickly, his eyes soft. he brushes the bangs out of mark’s eyes. “hey... you okay? fuck. i’m so fucking sorry. our luck is ass tonight, i guess.”
mark wipes the snot that’s suddenly gathered in his nose. “‘s fine. really,” he adds, when donghyuck looks unconvinced. “i’m just glad you didn’t hit her, ha.”
“hey.” donghyuck’s cupping mark’s face, pressing a quick kiss to his bangs, then checking back, his face set. “she’s done. you know she’s moving downtown next month. she’s done. gone. you don’t have to deal with her stupid ass anymore.”
mark’s immediately warm at donghyuck gentleness. “hey, i know, i know. shinae couldn’t ruin my fucking night, dude. it’s gonna take a lot more than some bitchy ex to do that.”
“just making sure.” donghyuck gently tilts mark’s head upwards. “you have me, you know,” he says softly. “and i fucking love you.”
mark giggles. “fucking... sap. so fucking gross, dude.”
donghyuck’s face splits into a grin, and a second later mark’s being peppered with kisses- on both cheeks, nose, eyelids, the corner of his mouth, his forehead. “ ack- hyuck, stop, holy shit -”
donghyuck pulls away, slightly breathless, his cheeks pink. “shall we call it a night, continue at my place?”
“actually…” mark turns to the bright orb in the sky, still twinkling down at them with all its might, and then back to hyuck, grinning sheepishly. “can we stay out for a bit? i kind of fucking like this heat.”
donghyuck hums in response, pulling mark close, his hand slipping back into the pocket of mark’s shorts. “sure. i kind of fucking love it too.”