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1.
Mark does not hear the bedroom door open and close, nor does he feel the bed dip at the added weight. It is the sudden rush of cold air as Donghyuck lifts the edge of the blankets that rouses him from sleep.
"Hmm?" He grumbles as he shuffles back away from the opening, unconsciously allowing Donghyuck more room to slide into the bed beside him. "Hyuck?"
It takes Donghyuck a moment to reply as he settles himself in beside Mark and finally tucks the sheets back down, trapping in the remaining heat.
"Hey, Markie." He mumbles, tired but still fair too peppy for whatever time of night it is.
"What are you doing here?" Mark mutters in reply.
"Johnny-Hyung and Ten-Hyung won't stop talking." Donghyuck grumbles, rolling towards Mark and trying to tuck himself into his side.
In a recent turn of events, the members that were a part of WayV were back in Korea for a few days and although they had been provided with a separate temporary dorm, most of them had decided to stay with the 127 or Dream members. Ten was no exception and had been stuck to Johnny like a magnet since they had arrived from the airport.
Donghyuck had spent the last three hours rolling back and forth in his bed trying to block out the whispers and giggles of Johnny and Ten's conversation in the bed next to his. Eventually he had given up on trying to sleep in his own room and had left to seek refuge in Mark's bed.
"Why my bed?" Mark mumbles.
"Yours' was closest." Donghyuck lies but Mark seems to accept his answer. Donghyuck continues to wriggle around trying to get comfortable in the little space Mark had left for him. Eventually Mark gives in and wraps an arm around Donghyuck's middle, pulling him towards himself and essentially trapping the younger boy in place. Donghyuck hums contently and tucks himself under Mark's chin. Mark rolls his tired eyes but does not comment, only sticks his nose into the hair at the crown of Donghyuck's head and promptly falls back to sleep.
2.
Mark and Donghyuck have always been competitive with each other, maybe sometimes too competitive. This made for good content on variety shows and the fans seemed to adore their cat and mouse relationship but it also put them in situations such as this.
If either of them were to glance at the clock on Mark's bedside table they would realize that it had just got past 2 am, far too late considering they had an interview early the next morning and then a full day of practice after that.
Their current predicament was due to the fact that Donghyuck had challenged Mark to a round of Mario Cart as soon as they had returned to the dorms that afternoon. Now, almost four hours later, they were still perched on the end of Mark's bed, controllers in hand and recklessly shouldering each other back and forth as they raced their characters around the track for the umpteenth time.
They really should have been keeping the volume down in respect for the other members sleeping in the dorm but they were far too riled up to be rational at this point. Taeyong had already been in around midnight to ask them to lower their voices. Dongyoung had come in later, around 1 am to ask the same thing but with a lot more venom in his voice.
It is just before 2:30 am when Jaehyun returns to the dorm, just finishing his night recording at the radio station, and his jaw almost hits the floor when he comes into his and Mark's dorm room only to find the two younger boys still wide awake.
"Bed. Now." He says firmly. Donghyuck tries to whine in protest but gets a swift glare from Jaehyun and he quickly shuts his mouth.
Jaehyun leaves the room briefly to brush his teeth and then drops into his bed as soon as he returns. Donghyuck collaspses back on Mark's bed, complaining that he is too tired to walk to his own bedroom.
"Hyuck, please just go back your own bed." Mark complains.
"But Markie, I'm tired." Donghyuck drawls, the pitch of his voice rising with every syllable.
A grown resounds from Jaehyun's almost lifeless body.
"Go to sleep!" He growls.
Mark's signs in defeat and reclines on his mattress next to Donghyuck.
"You're a real pain, you know that?" He whispers to Donghyuck.
"You love me," Donghyuck whispers back.
Another grumble resounds from the lump on Jaehyun's mattress and the two younger boys stuffle a giggle as Mark pulls the blanket up to their chins.
Mark tries to keep some sort of distance between the two of them but as usual Donghyuck's wriggling get the better of him and soon enough he has the younger pinned in to the circle of his arms, Donghyuck's nose rubbing against Mark's chest every time he breathes in and out again.
3.
Donghyuck wakes with a start and it takes him a moment before he becomes aware of his surroundings. The whistling of the wind around the window frames and Johnny's heavy snoring blend into the background as Donghyuck tries to match his breathing to the ticking of the old fashioned alarm clock on Johnny's bedside table.
He can feel his sleep shirt sticking to his back and damp locks of his fringe tickling his forehead. A nightmare. It had been a while since he had had one of those.
He used to have them a lot more frequently after he first moved to Seoul and joined SM. His first few weeks sleeping in the dorms had led to fits of crying, and shaking himself awake at least three nights a week. Eventually the other members had caught on the cause of the growing dark circles under the young boy's eyes, and Donghyuck had been moved temporarily into the same dorm room as Taeyong and Taeil where the Hyungs could keep an eye on him and be on hand if he woke up in a panic.
Thankfully as time passed and being a trainee became the new normal, the bad dreams became less and less frequent until he rarely had them.
Nowadays Donghyuck had no trouble sleeping through the night and the dark shadows only tainted his dreams on nights when his mind was already wound up with stress.
As of recently they had been preparing for the next lot of Dream promotions, and without Mark alongside them, Donghyuck could not help but feel on edge. Jeno and Renjun were a good team though and Donghyuck knew that he really didn't have anything to worry about but still, he always felt like things were a lot more stable with Mark around. There was a familiarity that came with the older boy.
This was the only explanation that Donghyuck would give for where he goes next. He drags himself out of bed, shrugs off the damp t-shirt and replaces it for the nearest other one he finds on his floordrobe and patters out the door into the hallway.
On autopilot his feet direct him further down the hall, past Taeyong and Taeil's room and into the room at the far end of the hall.
Mark is spread out like a starfish on his bed. His hands and one ankle dangling over the edges in a way that Donghyuck knows he would never allow if he was awake. Mark was twenty years old yet still weary of the 'monster' under his bed.
Normally Donghyuck would tease him but right now the sight of Mark's relaxed face almost causes him to lose his carefully constructed composure.
Careful not to disturb either of the two sleeping boys in the room, Donghyuck slowly lifts the duvet of Mark's bed and slides the boy's limbs back onto the mattress. His intention was to create just enough space that he could slip in next to Mark without waking him, but he should have known better.
No sooner had Donghyuck scooted one leg under the covers did Mark shake himself awake and turn to look blankly up at him.
"Wah?" The older boy asked intelligently.
"Go back to sleep, Hyung." Donghyuck mumbled, hoping Mark would just roll over and go back to sleep. Be there in lays his biggest give away. Donghyuck barely ever called Mark , Hyung, unless he is explicitly told to or it is laced with blantient sarcasm.
"What's wrong Hyuckie?" There is obvious concern under Mark's groggy voice.
"Nothing. It's fine." Donghyuck shuffles down under the covers and turns his back to Mark. But the older boy reaches out to brush Donghyuck's hair out of his eyes and feels the dampness on the younger boy's cheeks.
"Oh, Hyuckie." Mark mumbles, keeping his voice at a whisper so as not to disturb Jaehyun. His room mate still had not really forgiven them for the Mario Cart incident and had been keeping a close eye on both younger boys to see that they had been going to sleep at a reasonable hour the last few nights.
Recognizing that Donghyuck does not really want to talk about why he is upset, Mark instead reaches out and rolls Donghyuck over the face him before pulling the boy towards him and allowing him to press his damp cheeks against Mark's chest.
A few minutes later Mark notices that there is a damp patch spreading across the front of his pajama shirt and Donghyuck's shoulders have begun to shake as the boy sucks in each desperate breath.
Mark still chooses to say nothing, only tugs the boy closer and massages his fingers into the base of Donghyuck's scalp, essentially lulling him to sleep in Mark's arms.
Once he is certain that Donghyuck has returned to a dreamland free of the shadows, Mark repositions his arms so that Donghyuck is resting his head in the juncture between Mark's shoulder and chest. Essentially allowing Mark to sleep on his back whilst still running his fingers through Donghyuck's unruly mop of caramel hair.
Mark hesitates a moment before pressing a feather little kiss against Donghyuck's forehead, the younger boy sighs in his arms but remains soundly asleep and moments later Mark joins him.
4.
Mark and Donghyuck have always bickered about the smallest things. Mark had once ignored Donghyuck for an entire day just because he had used the last of the milk before Mark got to have breakfast, and Donghyuck refused to be in the same van as Mark on the premise that Mark "smelt bad". When in reality he was just mad that Mark had already taken the seat next to Yuta when Donghyuck had wanted to sit there.
As petty as these instances were, the worst thus far was the period of almost three weeks when the two boys flat out refused to even be in the same room as each other and barely interacted even when promotions were running. By this point neither of them could remember why they were fighting in the first place anyway and were only involved in a very intense standoff to see who would give in and apologize first.
Eventually intervention was required as some fans were beginning to catch on to the tension between the two and they were sternly told to make up regardless.
This time however had been just as ridiculous as every other previously mentioned. Mark had gotten up earlier than usual before practice, hoping to have a nice relaxing shower before they had to rush off to schedules for the day.
He was up before Jaehyun's alarm even had a chance to go off and rushed to gather what he needed for his shower and clothes to change into afterwards.
His rush had been for nothing though as he came to a stop outside the bathroom door only the hear the shower already running.
Letting out a defeated groan he rapped his knuckles hard against the door.
"Hey!" He called.
"Yeah?" A voice called from inside the bathroom. Donghyuck.
"Hurry up in there!"
"I only just got in!" Donghyuck complained.
Mark left his belongings outside the bathroom door and turned on his heel, stomping towards the kitchen intending to have breakfast while he waited for Donghyuck to finish in the bathroom.
Woken by the commotion in the hallway, the other members begin to file from their rooms and also start getting ready for the day. Taeyong ruffles Mark's hair as he walks into the kitchen and laughs lightly as Mark tries to dodge his Hyung's hands.
"Why are you up so early?" Taeyong asks.
"Wanted a shower but Donghyuck beat me to it." Mark grumbles, shoveling another mouthful of cereal into his mouth.
"Ah, so that's what the ruckus was about." Johnny comments as he joins them in the kitchen. "I wondered why he got up so early. Stubbed his toe on his way out the door and woke me up."
Mark is unfortunately only halfway through his bowl of cereal when one of the managers comes rushing into the dorm to inform them all that they have to leave early as one of their schedules had been pushed up to fit in an extra interview in the afternoon.
"Can someone go tell Donghyuck to get out of the bathroom!? We're not gonna have time for anymore showers this morning." Johnny calls down the hallway. His call is answered by Jungwoo's affirmative and a resounding whack as Mark's forehead lands against the kitchen counter, a frustrated groan soon follows.
Their schedule was packed enough that day that Mark was able to avoid Donghyuck for the majority of the day, annoyance at missing out on his shower still boiling beneath his skin.
Really he knew that he should not be mad at Donghyuck. He had never explicitly told anyone that he was planning on getting up early to use the bathroom so the younger boy really had no way of knowing.
Mark could see the confusion on Donghyuck face every time Mark brushed passed him without acknowledgement. A couple of times Donghyuck had tried to catch him between schedules but Mark had let his frustration get the better of him and he had had to try his hardest to ignore the look of hurt that flashed behind the younger boy's eyes.
It's late when they return to the dorms and all the boys quickly file off back to bed again. Ready for a night's rest before they start again in the morning. Rinse and repeat.
Mark had been lying awake for the last half hour, he knows why, he's waiting. This is why he isn't surprised when he hears a hesitant knock on his bedroom door. It creaks open to reveal Donghyuck's large brown eyes peeking in through the gap between the door and the frame.
"Come in, Hyuck." Mark calls to him softly and still Donghyuck hesitates a moment before stepping into the room and shutting the door softly behind him.
Donghyuck stands beside Mark's bed, his eyes down cast and not moving until Mark lifts the edge of the blankets, inviting the younger boy to join him in the bed.
Even as he settles next to Mark in the bed, Donghyuck lays perfectly still rather than sticking himself to Mark's side like he usually would.
"Hyuck?" Mark prompts softly.
"I don't like it when you're mad at me." Donghyuck admits to the shadows dancing around the room. His voice is barely a whisper but Mark still hears him.
"I wasn't really mad at you perssay." Mark admits bashfully. "I really wanted to have a shower before we left this morning but you got in before me. I was just frustrated that I got up early for nothing, I'm sorry I took it out of you."
"Oh," Donghyuck hums, seeming to understand. "Okay."
Mark almost wants Donghyuck to get mad at him, to yell at him and tell him he was being selfish because Mark knows that that is what he deserves. But Donghyuck has always been too forgiving.
So instead he shuffles back, allowing Donghyuck a bit more room on the mattress. He opens his arms towards Donghyuck, beckoning him closer. As if he had been waiting for it, Donghyuck rolls quickly towards Mark, wrapping his arms around his middle.
Mark shuffles around getting comfortable and adjusting to accommodate Donghyuck's limbs in a bed that really is too small for two grown males. They're knees and feet knock together and Donghyuck winces, Mark freezes.
"You good?" He asks softly, concerned.
"Yeah," Donghyuck grumbles, hiding his face in Mark's chest. "I stubbed my toe this morning and I think it's bruised."
"You big baby." Mark laughs but wraps Donghyuck tighter up against him.
+1
It's been a long couple of weeks, Mark's brain has been in a constant spin promoting between different groups and still keeping up with practice at the same time.
He was still upset that he had missed the Dreamie's concert while he was in the states. He had FaceTimed them after the concert had ended. The six of them were backstage, abuzz with the post show jitters, the last of their adrenaline running its course. He knew they would crash the moment they got into the van. Jeno and Jaemin would drape themselves over either side of Renjun and the boy now stuck in the middle would grumble and complain that they were heavy. Eventually he would also fall asleep though, content under their added weight and lulled by Jaemin's soft snoring.
Jisung and and Chenle would remain chattering in the front most seat. Chenle's boundless energy keeping Jisung awake until eventually his eyes just drop shut and he sinks against the window.
And Donghyuck, he would be content to rest his forehead against the cool glass of the window, watching the city lights wizz past as SHINee plays through his headphones.
They had all been excited when Mark's face had appeared on the screen. Chenle and Jaemin talk over each other, trying to fill Mark in on everything that has happened during the concert. Both of them unaware that he had watched the whole show on a live stream that he had insisted that one of the staff set up for him. This had been one of the only conditions he was about to make with him missing attending the concert in person.
Renjun soon tells the two very excited boys to shut up which results in him and Chenle starting to bicker in Mandarin. Donghyuck meets Mark's eyes in the back of the frame.
Well done. Mark mouths to him and Donghyuck smiles softly, reassured that Mark was proud of how their concert had gone without him there to cheer them on in person.
Dream promotions had come to an end now too. Mark had heard them arrive back at the dorm almost an hour ago.
Still he lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Jaehyun' s soft snoring and occasional sleep talking keeping him awake as well as the tightness in his chest.
He rolled over again, tucking the covers tightly under his chin and squeezing his eyes shut. Tomorrow they all had a well deserved day off and he intended to make the most of it by getting as much sleep as possible. Currently his mind was not playing along though.
Signing helplessly he threw the covers back, the rush of cold air against his skin making Mark shiver. He reached for his phone, unlocking the screen to check the time. 2:13 am .
Mark sat up abruptly, planting his feet on the ground and shuffling across the carpet and out into the hallway. Donghyuck and Johnny's room is at the other end of the hallway but Mark's feet find their way in the dark with practised ease.
He doesn't bother to knock, letting himself into the room knowing that Johnny will already be sound asleep and Donghyuck, well he has not seen Donghyuck in weeks and he's not about to wait for the other to invite him in.
Mark pushes open the door and there he is, Donghyuck is lying on his side, hair slayed out like a halo on the pillow. He's breathing softly but stirs when Mark closes the door behind himself with a soft click.
"Mark-Hyung?" Donghyuck's voice is heavy and clipped. The after effects of over use over the last few weeks.
Mark stands awkwardly at the end of Donghyuck's bed, toeing at the carpet. This is usually the other way around, it is not often that Mark goes seeking out Donghyuck in the middle of the night. But he hates to say that he's missed the younger boy over the last couple of weeks.
"Mark?" Donghyuck repeats and Mark looks up to find him sitting up in bed. Once he knows that he has Mark's attention he pats the section of empty mattress beside him.
Mark shuffles around the side of the bed and deposits himself on the edge of the mattress. Donghyuck pulls him under the cover and down to lay beside him. This time it is Donghyuck who wraps Mark up in his arms, allowing the older boy to rest his chin against Donghyuck's elbow as the younger wraps himself securely around Mark's back.
Mark lets out a content sigh as he feels Donghyuck settle into place behind him.
"Aww, did you miss me, Markie-Poo?" Donghyuck coos in Mark's ear, his voice lilting in a teasing tone.
"No." Mark says flatly but still grabs tightly to the hand that Donghyuck has knotted into the collar of Mark's sleep shirt.
The room is silent for a moment, still. Both boys simply content to rest in each other's presence. The only sounds Mark can hear are the rush of cars on the busy Seoul roads outside they're building, Johnny turning over in the bed next to them and the gentle puff of Donghyuck's breathing against the shell of his ear.
"I missed you, Hyung." Donghyuck admits. He's always been the braver one of the two of them.
Mark does not reply but gives Donghyuck's hand two firm squeezes. Donghyuck knows what he means even if Mark cannot say it aloud.
I'm glad you're home.