Work Text:
Cheap booze. The smell of it hung heavy in the air. The smell of it hung heavy on Mark's breath. The smell of it hung heavy on Jeno's. It was everywhere.
Mark swayed awkwardly to the music. He was off beat, quite far from it, but he didn't care. Jeno laughed, leaning in, bringing their chests to touch. Mark slung an arm around Jeno's neck, his other arm, resting on his waist. Their noses were just close enough to touch. Jeno wasn't sure how long they had been dancing or how many drinks they had, but he knew that he was happy and Mark was holding him and they were dancing and everything felt right. Mark threw his head back and swung his hips.
"You look so fucking stupid." Jeno said, resting his head on Mark's shoulder.
"I'm just having fun. Are you not?" Mark asked, his fingers tracing little circles on the back of Jeno's neck.
"I'm having a lot of fun. It's fun laughing at you." Jeno teased before leaning forward and pressing a small kiss to the tip of Mark's nose. Mark smiled and laughed before pulling Jeno in for a proper kiss. They bumped into the people around them and stepped on people's toes but nothing mattered. There were people everywhere and it somehow felt like it was just them.
They danced a while longer before song changed and something slower came on. Mark pulled away slightly and slipped his hand into Jeno's. He lead him through the rest of the dancing bodies and to the couch on the far wall. When they reached it, Mark sat down and Jeno joined him. They were pressed against each other, no gap between them. Mark put his arm around Jeno's shoulders and leaned his head against his.
"I hope you don't mind that I stopped giving you something to laugh at." Mark told him, his other hand finding Jeno's and playing with his fingers.
"You give me plenty of things to laugh at." Jeno said, looking down at their hands.
"Oh, yeah? Like what?"
"I could start with the fact that you're wearing my beanie. Not very well, I should add." Jeno teased. Mark reached up and felt the edge of it, his cheeks growing pinker. "I could laugh at the little baby mustache you have from not shaving for the past few days. I could laugh at the fact that you haven't even had that many drinks are you're already buzzed. I could laugh at how you look at me like I hung the stars." Jeno took Mark's hand again and moved impossibly closer. He leaned against him and sighed. They were both hot and the room was far too warm from all of the sweaty bodies but Jeno didn't care.
"And what's so funny about that? The way I look at you." Mark hummed, interlocking their fingers.
"It's cheesy and gross and sappy." Jeno said, turning and looking directly at him. "And I love it." He leaned in and gave him another kiss before snatching the beanie off of his head and pulling it onto his own. He had laughed when Mark had first put it on earlier that evening. It looked strange and his ears stuck out but just the sight of him still made Jeno's heart flutter.
"You're quite affectionate when you're drunk." Mark said, his cheeks bright red. It was true. Neither of them were much for public displays of affection. Their friends had doubted that they were in fact dating when they got together. It took a few months before anyone actually believed them. Jeno never felt the need for other people to be involved in their business. What him and Mark did was their own business and he didn't need everyone to see them. With the addition of alcohol however, all bets were off and he didn't care who saw what.
"I'm not drunk." Was all he could argue back.
Sick of the sweaty bodies and loud music, they pair found themselves outside in the backyard, trying to cool down. There were a few people outside with them, most of them being crowded by the door, smoking. The smell of cigarettes took the place of the smell of cheap booze and Jeno wasn't sure which was worse.
"I don't think he'll actually do it though. He can say it all he wants, but there's no way he's going to make a move." Jeno said, thinking of all of the times Donghyuck had made the blod claim of asking Jaemin out on a date. He looked up at the sky. It could have been a beautiful starry night had it not been for the clouds drifting by.
"Who knows. He seemed pretty serious about it. Maybe this is his year." Mark said, giving Jeno's hand a slight squeeze. He let go and sat up before hugging his knees and rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Jeno sat up as well and looked over at him.
"You're tired already? It's almost time."
"Yeah." Mark sighed, watching the clouds. "Do you remember when we first met?" He asked suddenly.
Jeno laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah. I signed up for guitar lessons and you were teaching me." Jeno said, smiling at the thought of the first time Mark handed him the guitar. The way he adjusted his fingers to make sure they were in the right place. The practice room in the shop with the peeling blue paint.
"I guess I got pretty lucky that I got to be your instructor, huh?" Mark joked, grinning at Jeno who just gave him a serious look.
"Mark, I've been playing quitar since I was a kid. I only singed up so you could be my instructor." He told him. Mark's cheeks grew red and he shook his head. Jeno tried to hold back a laugh at Mark's confused face.
"No no no. No way." He insisted, not believing what Jeno was telling him.
"Dude, I begged the lady to make sure you taught me." Jeno said. Mark buried his head in his hands and began laughing. Jeno laughed too and wrapped his arms around Mark.
"You're kidding. Oh my god, the money you wasted!" Mark groaned out. Jeno swatted his arm and let him go. The pair laughed and fell back onto the grass. "I cannot believe you."
"What? I didn't care about the money. I just thought you were really cute!" Jeno said. He ran his hand over the rough grass below them.
"You went through all of that and it still took you a long time to actually ask me out?" Mark asked. Jeno shrugged, grabbing Mark's hand again and holding it between them.
"I didn't know if you actually liked me or not."
"Dumbass, of course I liked you. How could I not like you?" Mark asked. Jeno blushed, thinking of the way Mark would watch him as he played chords Mark had "taught" him. The same way he looked at him now. As if he was the only other person in the world.
There was chanting coming from inside. A countdown.
"10... 9..." Jeno turned to look at Mark. "8... 7..." Mark looked at Jeno. "6... 5..." Jeno wasn't sure how he got so lucky. "4... 3..." Mark didn't think he needed anything else in the world. "2... 1..." Jeno pressed his lips to Mark's as cheers erupted from inside. "Happy new year!" He pulled away and looked into his eyes.
"Happy one year. Here's to another good one."