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Mark sighs and pushes away from his desk.
The glasses he’s had perched on his nose for the last six hours are starting to give him a headache, and the energy drink he downed only an hour ago already seems to have worn off. His room is dark aside from the lamp glowing on his desk. His phone would surely be lit up too but it’s sitting, turned off, in the drawer of his nightstand. He didn’t particularly like shutting himself completely off like this, but with his huge economics exam coming up - for the minor he took only to satisfy his dad -, he needed complete focus while he studied.
A small classic alarm clock - a gift from his best friend before he left for his first year of university three years ago - takes up space on the bookshelf above his head. Its little arm points at the 2 and the long arm at the 5. Tomorrow— or rather today , was Saturday. And if he quit studying now, ate something, and attempted to sleep for a few hours, he could get back to studying in the afternoon, or in the evening.
The thought of pinched eyebrows and a scowling mouth had him pausing. He could always wait to get back to studying until Sunday. That would still give him two full days before the exam. Enough time to finish his review of the last few chapters.
So, Mark stands from his chair, stretching high toward the ceiling before dropping so his back curves down toward the ground.
His phone takes a moment to power back on, exploding in notifications from his friends begging him to come out for dinner earlier in the evening. A missed call from Renjun makes his forehead crinkle, worry chewing at his bottom lip, and the voicemail doesn’t make that concern wane.
“Hey, Mark. You know I wouldn’t be bothering you in the middle of studying if it wasn’t important. Although I doubt it matters cause the fact you’re not answering anyone’s texts or this call means you’ve probably turned your phone off.” There’s a pause like Renjun was thinking hard, or maybe someone was talking to him. “Um, anyway. He misses you. He’s been real sad all week and grumbly and normally we can handle that, but— HEY!” The message cuts off suddenly, the call dropped.
He can imagine Renjun was probably tackled, his phone ripped from his hands as Donghyuck ended the call. Mark shakes his head, running a hand through his hair.
Hair that really could use a wash.
There are no texts from Donghyuck’s phone, just a message from Renjun’s telling him not to worry about that voicemail. And then one from Jaemin with the suspicious eyes emoji.
Putting aside all the thoughts that those messages conjure in his mind, Mark makes a beeline for his bathroom, intent on getting clean before even attempting to deal with others. His shower is fast, and he finds himself dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt before more than 20 minutes have gone past since he stopped studying for the night.
His phone still sits on his desk, so he quickly types out a message to Renjun, thanking him for taking care of Donghyuck for the night, and not to worry. Then he opens his thread with Hyuck:
markie🦁 2:32 AM
u up?
hyuckster💛 2:33 AM
god i hope this isnt a booty call
markie🦁 2:33 AM
nah
im about 2g2 the store. wanna come?
hyuckster💛 2:35 AM
sure
ill meet you downstairs
markie🦁 2:36 AM
kk
❤️
Mark grabs a jacket and his wallet before locking his dorm door behind him.
Donghyuck is indeed waiting downstairs, curled up on one of the sofas in the community living space. He’s bundled up in a hoodie (one that suspiciously looks similar to a sweatshirt Mark has been missing for a couple weeks now) and jeans, the hood covering his curls. But his face peeks out, eyes closed, mouth parted slightly as he huffs out little breaths. Mark shoves down the urge to run his hand down Hyuck’s face and instead goes to gently shake him back to consciousness.
When the younger sleepily blinks up at Mark, he can’t help smiling. “Hey, Hyuck. Are you sure you don’t wanna just go sleep?”
Donghyuck shakes his head vehemently, getting up from the couch quickly, lifting his arms up to stretch them out, like Mark had earlier. “No. I wanna eat with you. Missed you.”
Mark smiles again, a blush staining his cheeks. He reaches out to tug Hyuck’s - his - sweatshirt down, covering his little tummy back up. “Let’s go then.”
Their favorite convenience store is only a few minutes’ walk away from their dorm. It’s the perfect stop for midnight snacks, alcohol runs before parties, and every once in awhile, date nights. In fact, the table they always sit at outside is the exact spot where Jeno finally asked Jaemin to be his boyfriend. Renjun had been spying from a few tables down and had accidentally blown up the regular group chat, instead of the one made specifically for spying on this date, when he heard them.
They’d all mutually agreed to ban spying on dates. Not that that always stopped them. Hyuck was conniving and Jaemin could be resourceful. And no one could really stay mad at either of them if they were caught anyway. Plus Jaemin would just remind Renjun that he’d ruined Jaemin’s chance to properly announce his relationship to their friends. A Jaemin guilt trip could melt the stoniest of hearts.
Donghyuck lays claim to their table while Mark goes in, the more alert of the two of them.
He quickly picks out their favorites of the hot foods, before grabbing a canned coffee for himself and a tea for Hyuck. He knows he’ll get a glare about the coffee, but he does have to get the both of them home after all. At the checkout counter, he decides to also buy the chocolate Donghyuck likes most. He knows Hyuck’s supply is running low anyway.
Surprisingly, the younger has not fallen asleep on the tabletop. He’s watching something on his phone, headphones in, waiting for Mark. He grins happily when Mark sets the goods down in front of him, slipping out one of the headphones, then reaching into his hoodie pocket to bring out their pack of reusable chopsticks. After Mark has settled in beside him, Hyuck sticks the free headphone into his ear.
For the next several minutes, they quietly eat together, laughing at the video Hyuck chose and commenting on the quality of 3 in the morning convenience food.
When Donghyuck opens up the chocolate, he lets his head fall down onto Mark’s shoulder. The older takes the chance to pull the headphones from both of their ears, pausing the video. Hyuck continues to chew on the piece of sweets in his mouth, concentrating on the serotonin release.
“How have you been sleeping?”
Hyuck hums, shrugging noncommittally.
“Seriously, Hyuck. Tell me.”
Donghyuck lets out a big sigh, removing his head from his best friend and resting one of his elbows on the table. His head sits on top of his palm, avoiding eye contact with Mark as he waits. “Not the best. Renjun can snore sometimes, especially as the weather gets warmer. I guess it’s allergies.”
“You should’ve told me.” Mark lets his head fall. Donghyuck was sacrificing a lot just so Mark could study for this stupid course.
“And what good would that do? You need to study and I don’t have any exams coming up that I have to study that hard for. Don’t be stupid.” Hyuck still avoids Mark’s eyes, even as his lips twitch up into a smirk.
Mark reaches out, lays his hand on Donghyuck’s cheek, and pinches the soft skin there. “So? It’s still your room too.” Mark soothes the skin that’s gone red from his fingers. “Besides, I heard you missed me—”
“Shut up!”
Mark laughs as Donghyuck flails away from his touch, a hand snaking out to smack his chest, only resulting in him laughing harder.
“God, you’re so obnoxious.” Hyuck rolls his eyes, the hint of a smile betraying the feeling of endearment that floods his chest.
“Hey!” Mark grabs ahold of Hyuck’s cheeks in both his hands this time. “You can’t talk to me like that. I just bought you food.”
“Yeah, after waking me up at nearly 3 in the morning.”
Mark’s brows furrow and the teasing in his voice drops away. “You said you were already awake.”
The cheeks under his hands go warm, and the younger’s eyes dart away again. “Well, actually, I never said that. I just said I hoped it wasn’t a booty call.”
“Hyuck, if you were asleep, you shouldn’t have answered.”
Hyuck shrugged, his teeth peeking out to bite on his bottom lip. “My volume was on. I was hoping to hear from you.”
The sigh that comes from Mark is so strong it ruffles the hair on Hyuck’s forehead. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes meet Mark’s once again. “For what?”
“For being a shitty boyfriend recently.”
Donghyuck surges forward, making Mark release his cheeks in shock. Their faces are so close, he can feel Hyuck’s breath all over him. His eyes look dark up close, eyelashes fluttering as his gaze glances around Mark’s face. Mark wants nothing more than to lean closer, but he doesn’t think he really deserves it right now, so he waits. Hyuck, his best friend, his boyfriend, the person that always manages to maintain a happy attitude when the chips are down, he looks so beautiful, and Mark wishes he had had him there while he studied, instead of asking him for space.
“You haven’t been a shitty boyfriend, Mark. I would’ve been shitty if I hadn’t gone to stay with Renjun. I know how important this class is and I know you work best when you can have quiet. And it was sweet of you, to suggest I stay with one of our friends. Cause otherwise you would’ve kept me up or we would’ve fought—”
“But still—”
“No. Shush.” Donghyuck seems to move impossibly closer, still not touching Mark where he really wants, but his breath fans across Mark’s mouth. “Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the people we love. And I know you’ll find some way to make it up to me, right?”
Mark clears his throat, eyes twitching between Hyuck’s. “Me buying snacks didn’t do that?”
The way Hyuck’s face falls so fast into a grimace makes Mark bleat out a shockingly loud laugh. Which makes Donghyuck giggle too. They let themselves laugh together for a moment, before finding each other again.
His hand finds Hyuck’s cheek and he leads him closer, hesitating so that the younger can make the final move.
Their lips slot together perfectly like they always do. Mark’s tongue grazes across the seam of Hyuck’s lips, and Hyuck bites down on him gently. It feels like they haven’t kissed in ages, like they haven’t touched or breathed the same air in centuries. Donghyuck wraps his arms around Mark’s neck and lets Mark take charge, lets him sink into his hold and his mouth, and he sighs, gratefully.
More than a few minutes later, Donghyuck helps Mark gather up their trash, a blush high on his cheeks, and both of their mouths plump and swollen. The hoodie he’d stolen from Mark at the beginning of the semester is pulled funny across his chest.
Their hands intertwine as they start the walk back to their dorm.
When they’d moved in, they’d pushed their beds together and organized the space so they each had their own sides. Luckily they had found sheets big enough to cover both mattresses, and Hyuck went a little crazy with decorative pillows. The alarm clock, that Donghyuck had bought for Mark before he left for school all those years ago, had a heart drawn onto it in permanent marker, around the number that marked the date of when they’d begun dating.
Donghyuck swings their joined hands between them as they walk. “Mark?”
“Hm?” Mark squeezes his hand to let him know he’s listening.
“Can I sleep in our room again?” Donghyuck’s mouth pulls down at the corners, his eyes distressed. “I love Junnie, but I can’t handle that snoring for another night. Now I know why he’s always had a single room.”
“Of course, baby.” Mark tugs him closer, pressing a kiss into Hyuck’s hair. “It’s been awful cold without you.” He pauses, thinking. “Although the quiet has been really great- ow!”
Mark laughs as Hyuck stomps ahead of him, holding onto his shoulder where his boyfriend had punched him.
“I’m just kidding! I miss your incessant talking!” He chases after him but Hyuck only picks up speed.
“Forget it! I’m going back to Renjun. Maybe he’ll be a nicer boyfriend!”
“Hyuckie come back! You know you won’t last another night with that snoring!”
“Shit.”