Archive of Our Own

06:07 PM

Music thumps through the walls, framed pictures bouncing with the beat. Mark never imagined he’d see his three month old apartment like this so soon, dim save for the colorful LED lights and the sunlight streaming in from the evening sun, glinting off of the plastic cups stacked on his kitchen counter. The living room carpet has been rolled up, the coffee table clear of any magazines and potted plants that risk damage. 

The bassy music suddenly stops and after a beat of silence switches to a slower song. A second later, the LED lights are switched off, the room transforming with it into something Mark thinks is nothing short of magical, the sunset overtaking the wooden planks in burning hues of red and gold. It’s the epitome of romance, Mark thinks, as he turns to the stereo system by the far wall behind him and catches sight of Jaemin in his half-done costume.

“Excited?” Mark asks, moving towards him, itching to get his arms around Jaemin’s impossibly snatched waist.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Jaemin replies, placing his phone face down by the speaker system. His face is still bare from having spent the best part of the last hour contouring Mark’s already defined cheekbones beyond recognition, but he has a flowy white shirt on, the top two buttons undone, and Mark would be lying if he said he didn’t feel like smothering him in kisses right there.

Mark finally gets his arms around Jaemin when they’re close enough,  Jaemin giggles, the soft material of his sweatpants brushing over Mark’s thighs, before pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Mark’s lips. Mark sighs, and peels back slightly as to get a better look at Jaemin. His own upper body casts a shadow over Jaemin’s features, so he subtly turns them just enough for the sunlight to hit Jaemin’s eyes, lighting the usually dark brown up so he can see the difference between Jaemin’s pupils and irises.

“You’re officially holding your first ever Halloween party,” Jaemin starts again, when Mark stays silent, half-lidded eyes peering obviously at Mark’s lips but not making any moves (much to Mark’s frustration). “It’s cool.”

Mark only hums in response, vision still glued on Jaemin’s lips, but refusing to advance in case Jaemin denies it. He’d been off since he arrived, switching between sticking himself to Mark and peppering him with kisses to being completely zoned out, to the point where he almost brushed bright pink blush along Mark’s jaw instead of bronzer. 

Now, Jaemin seems to be stuck in the middle, staring at Mark’s lips, but not entirely in the moment. Mark brings his hands to cup Jaemin’s waist and squeezes gently, a small tug to bring Jaemin back to the moment. “How are you feeling?” he asks softly. 

Jaemin shrugs then seems to rethink it, and tries to cover it with a smile that he knows Mark will never buy. “I’m fine,” he says anyways, though it’s clear he feels otherwise.

Still, Mark doesn’t push, and watches as Jaemin disappears into the bedroom again on the count of needing to sort out some stuff for the party. The door shuts behind him, and Mark is left alone once more. He busies himself by triple-checking that nothing valuable or breakable is still set out, the feeling of helplessness following him around as he does.

06:34 PM

The sun is almost halfway below the horizon now, the sphere of light roughly chopped between the buildings of the city on the other side of the small river. The curtains are pulled to the side to showcase the little skeleton and jack-o-lantern figures Jaemin placed on the windowsill. Soon, their friends will come ringing at the door, carrying more decorations from Donghyuck's storage and special makeup from the studio Renjun interns at. Halloween has always been a sort of tradition for the seven of them, the parties usually held at Jaemin's place having been moved to Mark's to celebrate his first solo residence.

"Mark!" Jaemin saunters out from the bedroom, still dressed in sweatpants and his shirt, but with crimson contacts in his eyes now, and sharp, black lines around his eyes. A bright grin plays on his lips. "How's the liner?"

The switch in energy is sudden and unexpected, but Mark decides against acknowledging it in hopes that it’ll stay that way. "It's perfect," he replies.

"Mm, I know," Jaemin flaunts, then places a quick kiss on the corner of Mark's lips before turning back to the bedroom. "The guys should be over soon, so be prepared!" He announces as the door clicks shut behind him.

Mark sighs, unable to stop worrying about Jaemin despite his toothy smile. 

As if on cue, the intercom by the front door buzzes. Mark slides over in his socks, casting aside his worry once more, and presses the button by the small screen. 

“ Mark Lee!” Mark flinches at the staticky voice that bursts from the speaker.

"Hi Hyuck,” He replies, the screen next to the speaker bursting to life, Donghyuck’s face taking up at least 90% of the rectangular space with a bright grin. “Anyone else with you?”

Donghyuck pulls back from the camera to reveal two others behind him, both waving with equally as excited smiles on their faces, arms full of decorations of different ages that Mark recognizes from past parties. He greets them with a grin they can’t see, then utters a quick greeting before letting them up.

A few minutes later, Mark is welcoming his also half-ready best friends into his new apartment for the first time since he finished furnishing it just the week before. 

“Wow,” Renjun breathes, carefully setting his canvas bag of goods on the floor by the sofa. He’s wearing a yellow hoodie on top of black ripped jeans, the ends of a devil headband peeking out from the bag he just put down. “I love it.”

Mark thanks him, feeling proud of himself as his three friends begin wandering the cozy space. He watches as Jeno steps over to the table with the makeshift sound system, squinting at the buttons with angel wings in his arms. Renjun, on the other hand, has gravitated naturally towards the window, savoring the last few slivers of sunset light.

“Where’s Jaem?” Donghyuck asks, rummaging through one of the few bags they brought in. Mark turns his attention to his best friend of nine years to find him yanking out a bottle of fake blood and a palette of bright colors you wouldn’t catch any of them dead using outside of Halloween day. 

“Getting ready,” Mark replies, automatically taking the bottle of blood from Donghyuck’s wordlessly outstretched hand. “Why?”

Donghyuck gestures towards the blood bottle in Mark’s hand with his head as he pulls out a bag that looks like it was once clear if it weren’t for the makeup smearing its insides. “He needs it, and he needs to help Renjun put it on.” He adds with a smirk. 

“I do not need help,” Renjun butts in, snatching the brush bag from Donghyuck with a glare. ”I’m literally a makeup artist. This is my stuff.”

Renjun and Donghyuck spiral into one of their many insignificant bickers just as Mark hears the intercom go off again. Though he barely needs to take five steps to reach it, the buzzing noise bursts three times, the person on the other side clearly impatient. Mark presses the button. 

“Yo, Mark!” 

The person is clearly Chenle. 

“Mark hyung!”

…and Jisung. 

“Hi guys,” Make greets, the screen lighting up once more and showing that neither of them are completely ready for the party too, dressed in clothes that look too odd to be part of a daily outfit but too casual to be a full-on costume. Just as tradition goes. “Come on up!”

And so the tradition begins. 

When the front door clicks shut behind the two youngest and Jaemin finally makes his appearance way further into the costume process than anyone else, the seven of them fall easily into their yearly routine of dragging chairs from all parts of the apartment (a slight change from the carpeted expanse of Jaemin’s home bedroom) around the dining table, and blasting early 2000s music as they go about it.

Makeup tools are passed around the table, as well as some pre-party drinks to get the fun started early. Everyone has changed into their costumes now, having taken turns using Mark’s bedroom and his bathroom, and Mark is hit by an unexpected wave of nostalgia as he watches his friends, hit with the sudden realization of just how much they’ve grown up. The freckles Renjun is dotting along Donghyuck’s nose bridge are immaculately placed, the perfect product of the professional training Renjun had dreamed of ever since he was young. 

Mark laughs to himself, remembering the mess that was Halloween of his junior year, 16 year olds Donghyuck and Renjun arguing because Renjun took an hour to do Hyuck’s eyeliner, the outcome looking absolutely terrible.

This year, his eyeliner application was the first thing done, a trivial task in the process. 

“Mark,” Jaemin’s voice pops Mark out of his stupor, whirling around to where Jaemin is sitting by the window, cradling Jisung’s jaw with one hand. Jisung’s eyes are shut, and Mark wonders just when his jaw got so defined. “Pass me that brush.”

Wordlessly, Mark passes a small brush to Jaemin, who goes back to work on Jisung’s eyelids right away. He watches as Jisung mutters something too quiet for him to hear, and Jaemin laughs in response, loud and glittery. 

He’s fine, Mark thinks to himself with a deep breath, Jaemin’s odd behavior from earlier making its way to the forefront of his mind again. He’s fine.

Mark twists on his seat, and is met with a mega-zoomed version of Donghyuck’s heavily blushed face, wide eyes slanted and sparkling with suspicion and glittery eyeshadow. 

“You look great,” Mark says, pressing his back into the chair as Donghyuck pulls back slightly. 

“Thanks,” Donghyuck replies, fiddling with the fairy ears attached to the shell of his own. “Can’t say the same for you though.”

“Ouch.”

“No, no! Not in the costume sense. You make a hot pirate,” Mark rolls his eyes. “Honestly- like the eyeliner is great! You just look like a… like a very anxious pirate right now.”

To that, Mark has no response. 

Donghyuck sighs, fully sitting back in his own chair. He has a knowing look on his face that Mark knows he cannot avoid. “What’s up?”

Still, he tries. “Nothing.”

Donghyuck’s eyes remain slanted.

“I’m serious! Don’t worry about it,” Mark laughs, but it comes out sounding pinched, and he’s forced under Donghyuck’s almost accusatory-looking gaze for a painfully long time, until Donghyuck finally gets tugged away by Jeno’s call. 

Mark promises then, to himself, that he really won’t worry about it. If anything is wrong, Jaemin would tell me, he thinks. There’s no point in sucking the fun out of Halloween with something that probably doesn’t exist. 

He repeats the thought like a mantra as time ticks by, finishing touches being put on their get-ups and the apartment. Ever so slowly, his doorbell starts ringing again, buzzing every so often as familiar friends trickle into his apartment in their own costumes. Drinks are passed around, and the bassy music from before is back, Jaemin’s phone tucked safely into the drawer beneath the speaker.

At some point in the first hour or so of the party, the worry for Jaemin disappears completely. If you asked for a specific point, Mark wouldn’t be able to tell you. It happened somewhere between his first and third cup, when everyone’s laughter got louder and their dancing got worse. Somewhere between jumping in the middle of the room and slumping, sweaty and exhausted onto Mark’s (surprisingly empty) brand new sofa. 

10:27 PM

“-should’ve seen his face!” The group dissolves into mindless laughter for the umpteenth time, dotted around the comfortable living space as Donghyuck recalls yet another embarrassing story about Renjun on campus. 

Mark feels a soft tap on his thigh as his laughter dies down, and tilts his head to where Jaemin is tucked comfortably into his side. 

“I’m gonna go get another drink,” Jaemin says softly, blowing at Mark’s ear. If Mark didn’t know better, he would think Jaemin’s half-closed eyes are only that way because he’s tired. 

But this is Na Jaemin, his boyfriend of almost four years and best friend for longer, and there’s a fire that burns somewhere in those hooded eyes that means something else completely. Mark can feel it too, in the way Jaemin’s fingers linger on his thigh, tracing swirls through the material, sending goosebumps running across every inch of Mark’s rapidly heating skin, heat already beginning to pool in his lower abdomen.

“W-we’re gonna get drinks,” Mark says loudly, to which no one but Jaemin takes note with a grin, their fingers instantly twisting together as the latter drags them into the direction of the kitchen, cups in hand, knocking into Jeno’s knees as they do.

Jeno, fully occupied with the hypnotizing swirl of his surprisingly still drink, pays no attention to the rushing couple. Instead, he ignores the feeling of his knees being crushed together, angel wings on his back pressed into the back of the sofa that has now gone from three occupants to one. He hasn’t drunk much, only enough to feel the dread of incoming deadlines fade into static at the back of his mind, but it’s only a matter of time until one of them convinces everyone else to get absolutely wasted , if they don’t start doing something more interesting.

(Somewhere behind the buzz in his head, a memory of last year- was it two years ago?- plays, of waking up with his legs trapped under Donghyuck’s back and a bad ache in his shoulder, pressed to the cold, marble floor of Jaemin’s huge living room.)

A shiver travels up his back.

He feels another weight shift in his knees, but this time it’s Renjun, flopping on the floor between his legs. Jeno smiles softly when Renjun turns around to flash him a bright smile, before almost instantly being pulled back into the debate of who in their group would survive the snap, started by dear Donghyuck. His subconscious takes over from there, sliding Renjun’s headband off of his brushed back two-toned hair, so he can replace it with his own fingers carding through the soft- though slightly sweaty- strands. 

With how cuddly Renjun usually is, you’d think that he likes attention like this all the time, but he tends to turn the affection down several notches when in public, or even just their group of friends. It’s something Jeno is far from used to since they’ve been friends for a long while, but it’s also something he wishes had changed when they started dating. Still, he doesn’t push. It’s nice enough that he can finally do this outside of the confines of their dorms, probably due to the little attention Renjun is giving him right now.

Jeno watches quietly as his friends get a little too serious with the debate, Renjun slipping in and out of his hold when he’s trying to make a point. It’s like watching a silent movie, except full of color, the music and their words and the conversations all around him blurring into one incoherent blob of noise.

At some point he’s unwillingly yanked back by a sharp shout, who he realizes is from Chenle, who has somehow found himself in a heated argument with a kid Jeno barely even recognizes, any MCU-related thought clearly discarded.

“Hey,” Jisung starts loudly, somehow capturing everyone’s attention. The kid- was it Jay? - scutters off when Chenle gives him a second to breathe.

Chenle catches the movement from the corner of his eye. “Hey! I wasn’t-”

“Where are Mark and Jaemin?”

Chenle reluctantly returns his attention to his friends, the lines of his scarecrow lips mostly faded from drinking.

“Huh,” he mutters, relaxing in his space next to Donghyuck, seemingly having forgotten about the fight completely. “I think they went to get more drinks?”

“It’s been a long while, though,” Renjun adds, leaning back into Jeno’s legs. Chenle shrugs. 

Donghyuck straightens with an excited gasp. “What if they’re doing… the thing .”

Jisung almost chokes, eyes bulging from his head. “The what .”

“The Thing ,” Donghyuck elaborates, one of his silicon ears falling off. He finally computes Jisung’s shocked reaction as he picks the ear up, stuttering to save himself, “What?- No, no! Not that thing… at least, I don’t think so?”

“Oh God-”

“The other thing!” Donghyuck cuts, sliding his ear back on, “you know? We talked about it a few months ago, about- about having a themed party one day and having to find clues. Like human treasure hunt!”

“Pretty sure there’s a word for that,” Renjun mutters.

Donghyuck ignores it. “When would it be better to do it than during a Halloween party? ”

The group goes silent; Donghyuck has a point. It was Mark who brought up the idea initially, which then led him to facing hours of relentless teasing about it being ‘childish’ before the rest of them finally agreed.

(Jeno had liked the idea from the start, but it was fun seeing Mark get so worked up sometimes.)

So, yes, Donghyuck’s right. When better to do a themed mystery hunt day than during Halloween? The day they dedicated to celebrating their friendship, the one part of their childhood that they could bring into the big, scary world. 

“I don’t think so,” Chenle says, chugging down the remains of his cup, “pretty sure they just went to get drinks.” 

“Okay then why is it taking them so long?” Donghyuck bites back.

“I don’t know-”

“Could I really be that off?” Chenle looks like he’s about to explode if Donghyuck interrupts him one more time. “Like, c’mon, it’s such a Halloween thing. Our kind of Halloween thing, you know?”

Jeno watches in silence as memories of past Halloween parties start playing in all of his friend’s heads, of pranks with fake blood and flickering lights and screams of horror, and especially of laughter. Lots and lots of laughter. 

“‘In the name of Halloween spirit’,” Jeno says his first phrase of the night, recalling the night almost three years ago when they had all broken down crying about him, Renjun, Donghyuck and Jaemin going to college, promising each other in a mess of tears that they will always have Halloween.

“Exactly,” Donghyuck’s voice is soft.

“Okay,” Renjun starts, sitting up. “Say it is a mystery hunt. There would have to be clues, right? Where are the clues?” 

The living room is silent.

Then Jeno spies something sparkly out of the corner of his eye.

“Hey,” he leans over and picks out a silver chain from the crease between couch cushions beside him, a few chains woven along it. “Isn’t this Jaemin’s bracelet?”

Donghyuck leaps from his seat, “Aha! See!” He’s giggling now, stumbling over to Jeno with unsteady steps before snatching the bracelet from Jeno’s fingers. It’s a pretty thing, slim and sophisticated like its owner, though severely out of character for someone dressed as a vampire.

“Okay,” Chenle says, dead set on disproving whatever the rest of his friends are saying. Jeno thinks it might be his love for arguments. “But they really could’ve just gone to make out somewhere.” 

The room goes quiet again.

Then everyone bursts out laughing. They laugh for longer than the line deserved, thankfully ignored as Donghyuck clutches his stomach complaining about it hurting now, doubled over. 

“Yeah, I’m starting to believe Donghyuck hyung now,” Jisung says, wiping tears from his eyes.

“What?”

“Yeah, like why would Mark and Jaemin ditch a party on Halloween out of all days?” Renjun adds, leaning his head on Jeno’s knee. 

Several murmurs go around the group, much to Chenle’s disappointment, all of them coming to the conclusion that Donghyuck is, in fact, right.

(Probably.)

The first one to move is Renjun, using Jeno’s thigh as a means to lift himself off of the ground, setting his cup down on the glass table.

“C’mon Jen,” he starts, wrapping his hand around Jeno’s wrist and pulling him up so they’re standing. Jeno’s head spins for a second and he stumbles, but Renjun is there to steady him anyway. “Let's win this thing.”

“Wait what,” Jisung stands too, his tail swinging with the movement. “Are we not doing this together-”

“That’s a great idea!” Donghyuck interrupts, “First team to find Mark and Jaemin gets free lunch for a week from the losing team. Sound good?” 

“Perfect,” Renjun says, and then he and Jeno disappear into the ocean of bodies.

Donghyuck shuffles over to Jisung, habitually fixing the lion ear headband. He then turns to Chenle, who is stock-still at the edge of the living room. 

“You coming?” Donghyuck asks, expectant.

Chenle sighs, but remains unmoving. “I’m telling you, you’re probably gonna regret doing this when you find them making out in a dark corner, or something.” 

Jisung purses his lips. “So… is that a no?”

One look around the now empty living room- save for a couple that came out of nowhere canoodling on the edge of the couch- makes Chenle groan.

“Ah, fuck it.”

10:29 PM -- let the game begin!

The kitchen is relatively empty, which is a shock, seeing as there’s a makeshift self-serving bar set up (courtesy of Mark’s cousin Johnny’s many lessons on throwing a great party) with a relatively diverse selection of alcohol for a college- post-college?- party. 

But Mark guesses it’s a good thing, because within a second of placing their cups on the counter, he feels a warm blow beneath his ear, and the sound of a low giggle echoes afterwards, making him shiver. 

“Which- what drink do you want?” Mark stutters, trying not to give in, for a reason he hasn’t figured out yet himself, seeing as that’s his boyfriend , and being intimate is nothing out of the ordinary.

“That one,” Jaemin mumbles into his neck, loosely pointing at the drink closest to Mark’s hand. Usually, Mark could hold his own for a decent amount of time, loving the thrill of Jaemin growing increasingly frustrated at his failing attempts, but under the haze of multiple drinks and the constant buzz under his skin, he’s rendered useless in a second, Jaemin’s hands travelling up and down his sides slowly.

Still, he tries his best to refill their drinks, the task the only thing keeping him from dropping everything and locking them in his bedroom. 

Another soft blow at his ear. “Mark.”

Mark stumbles, amber liquid sloshing onto the counter.

“Babe,” Jaemin tries, snaking his arms around Mark’s waist. He presses his lips against Mark’s neck, who honest to god feels it everywhere . “Oh hey, you’re missing an earring-”

Mark sets the drinks in hand down gently, and wriggles around to face Jaemin, who places another sudden kiss to Mark’s lips. 

“Woah, okay- hey-”

“Let’s ditch.”

Mark blinks, ignoring the dull ache of his lower back pressing into the counter. He’s still trapped against the counter, Jaemin’s palms flat on the counter on either of his sides, and only breaks eye contact when a group of Powerpuff girls enter the kitchen. He offers them a strained smile, and tries to push Jaemin off a little out of embarrassment, but finds his efforts refuted. 

“Hey, eyes on me,” Jaemin complains, standing up straighter. Mark feels the entirety of Jaemin’s torso press against his own, white-hot and full of adrenaline, a perfect reflection to the burning in his eyes that has only grown since they left the living room. “Let’s ditch,” he repeats.

“We- I can’t leave my party,” Mark reasons, yet can’t help but think about the fact that his bedroom is right there, locked, and therefore empty. The key in his back pocket suddenly feels heavy. It would be so easy…. “Let’s just- let’s go back to the guys-”

Jaemin leans back slightly, and Mark is allowed a moment to catch his breath until he feels one arm tight around him, the other creeping down his back, fingers itchy to get something, somewhere, making him squirm, a wildfire starting in his veins. It’s times like these where he realizes just how long he and Jaemin have been together, having memorized every look, every move, every shift of the eyes down to the smallest detail, knowing there is only one ending to this.

Jaemin’s fingers crawl further, slipping innocently into Mark’s back pocket. Mark doesn’t recall telling Jaemin about the key, yet there he is, acting upon an assumption cultivated from years of casual observation, and pulling out the final piece of Mark’s resolve to stay at the party. He feels his lips moving, meaningless words about the rest of their friends waiting spilling uncontrollably, a weak attempt at convincing both of them to go back.

“Oh, please,” Jaemin says, voice so low Mark feels it more than hears it, “We’ve done this for years , and we’ll always have next year,” his voice trails, and Mark swallows dryly. He leans to Mark’s ear, “They won’t even realize we’re gone.”

Jaemin pulls back again, and the key dangles from the space between his middle finger and thumb, a smirk clear behind it as Mark finally releases the tension from his shoulders. 

“Jaem….” Mark trails off, a final try at winning a fight he’s already lost.

And so, when Jaemin pouts, the kitchen lights glinting off of his earrings, Mark can’t help but kiss Jaemin, hard, the shift of weight so abrupt that he practically falls onto the counter. The pain at the base of his spine flares up, but there’s a haze around Mark’s thoughts, hot and wild, needing to go somewhere where they can be alone.

“So?” Jaemin breathes, pulling back, panting heavily. He’s gorgeous.

Mark takes his hand and drags them to the bedroom.

10:38 PM

Jeno half-stumbles into the kitchen, tripping over his own feet from the force at which Renjun dragged him.

“Why the kitchen?” Jeno pants, cheeks flush from the embarrassment as he fixes the wings he’d accidentally whacked half of the party crowd with.

“They left to get drinks, right?” Renjun starts, not paying any attention to his struggling boyfriend. “So they must’ve left something here… are those cups theirs?” 

They stop by the counter, not knowing it was only recently vacated. There sits two cups, red and half-full, seemingly innocent. 

“How do we know if it’s theirs?” Jeno asks.

“Hm,” Renjun lifts a cup, inspecting the rim for any clues. Jeno follows suit with the other cup, but they’re clean as new, lacking lip stains and any other tells. Renjun sighs, “maybe we should just take a chance?”

“Wait,” Jeno starts, eyes lighting up, “Jaemin would never leave his cup like this.”

Renjun frowns. “Are you saying these aren’t theirs?” 

Jeno shakes his head, “No, no, I just remembered that he likes to make sure that everyone knows it’s not their cup by-”

“-writing under it!” Renjun finishes, before nudging Jeno a little hard with his elbow. “You’re a genius, Jen.” Jeno practically glows from the praise, watching as Renjun picks up a cup, finding a messily drawn star in purple under it.

“Nice!” Renjun says. He moves to set it down, but seems to re-think it last minute. He shoves the cup in Jeno’s direction. “Drink it. We have to destroy the evidence before the others come.”

“Are you sure?” Jeno takes the cup precariously. “What if Jaemin still wants his drink?”

Renjun waves him off, “He can grab another cup. Besides, I doubt he’ll be coming back to this since it’s a clue for the hunt.”

Jeno looks into the cup. It’s fairly unsuspecting, only just over half-full. Still, he’s had quite a bit to drink already, and is honestly still doubtful about his alcohol tolerance that he’s unsure whether or not he’ll be able to walk after this.

“Why do I have to drink it?” Jeno asks, swirling the contents of the cup.

“Because I can’t think straight when I’m drunk,” Renjun says, as if stating the obvious.

“Neither can I?”

“Plus, you’re more affectionate when you’re tipsy, so….”

Jeno winces, the comment feeling like an offhand stab at him. “Am I not affectionate enough?”

Renjun seems to snap out of his competitive rush, hearing Jeno’s change in tone. “No, no!” He shakes his head, the panic in his eyes genuine. “You’re plenty affectionate-”

“If anything, you’re not affectionate enough with me , Jun,” Jeno frowns.

Guilt washes over him momentarily when Renjun purses his lips, eyes fluttering around the room. Jeno merely watches, wanting to take it back, but also curious as to what Renjun will do now. It’s not often that he gets angry, and he’s not angry right now, per se, just a little more... communicative , fueled by alcohol.

Wordlessly, Renjun huffs, locking eyes with Jeno for a second before taking the cup from Jeno’s hand and downing at least two-thirds of the content. He wipes at his lips with the back of his hand, fake blood smearing over his birthmark. 

“That’s all I can do without losing my edge right now,” he says gently, before tiptoeing to press a kiss to Jeno’s cheek. He pulls back with a meaningful smile, holding the cup out. “I’ll try harder.”

Jeno smiles as he drinks the rest, knowing Renjun isn’t talking about the game.

10:42 PM

“What exactly are we looking for?” Chenle asks, unimpressed, as he watches his friends search every nook and cranny around the dining table. It’s now clean of the makeup station and chairs, relatively dark and only slightly occupied now by what looks like a zombie and Hello Kitty.

“Anything really,” Donghyuck replies, pushing a chair back into its spot, ignoring the dirty looks he’s getting from the zombie and their girlfriend, clearly wanting some privacy.

“I’m not gonna lie,” Jisung grunts, standing from where he had been searching the floor on the other side of the table. “I feel like we look like idiots right now.”

“No shit,” Chenle rolls his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. “I wish I refilled my cup.”

“Just search,” Donghyuck scolds, peering behind one of the pulled back curtains.

So he and Jisung do, accompanied by a fairly useless Chenle, who stays silent. It’s only after two rounds of the table and the two occupants leaving that something useful is found.

“Hyung,” Jisung calls. Donghyuck turns to the voice to see Jisung pick up something small from the ground by the table leg. He rounds the table, and Chenle, as bored as he is, comes over too, in hopes of something entertaining. 

“It’s Mark’s earring!” Donghyuck says, recognizing the set he’d seen dangling from the pirate’s ears during their conversation earlier. 

“Must’ve fallen off,” Chenle mutters.

“What does it mean?”

There’s a pause as they stare at the dainty thing limp in Donghyuck’s palm.

Then Jisung straightens suddenly, grabbing Donghyuck’s outstretched wrist, eyes wide in realization. 

Donghyuck watches as Jisung takes the earring. “What?”

“It’s gold, but Mark hyung only ever buys silver jewelry, meaning he borrowed this from Jaemin hyung,” Jisung starts, so excited he almost trips over his words. He grins. “You know what else he’s borrowing from Jaemin hyung?”

“Everything?” Chenle deadpans.

Donghyuck groans, head flopping, “you’re right.”

“No, guys, he’s using Jaemin’s eyeliner tonight.” Chenle and Donghyuck just blink at him, so he continues with, “The eyeliner, along with the rest of Jaemin’s stuff, is in the-”

“-BEDROOM!” Donghyuck suddenly shouts, making Chenle and a few unsuspecting party-goers jump. “Nice one,” Donghyuck says, punching Jisung’s shoulder before they start heading towards the bedroom.

“I have a bad feeling about the bedroom,” Chenle sblurts, making the two stop. There’s a moment of contemplation before Donghyuck brushes it off.

“I don’t think the hunt would end that fast,” he says, “I’m sure they’re not even there.”

“So we take our chances?” Jisung looks at him. Donghyuck hesitates initially, then nods with a smile. They both turn to Chenle then, that damned expectant look to their puppy-eyes making him give in.

Chenle groans, before mumbling, “I don’t think I have a choice,” ushering them through the main crowd.

11:03 PM -- it's a little hot in here.

The distance between the kitchen and the bedroom isn’t much, but feels like far too long when your boyfriend looks the way Jaemin does, acts the way Jaemin is acting, and before Mark realizes it they’re flush against each other against the locked bedroom door, lips moving in a rush as Mark fumbles with the key. Jaemin pulls back and takes the key again, slotting in the door and pushing it open in one swift motion, not letting Mark think about how hot that was before kissing him again, bumping into the door as they go.

Mark kicks the door shut, and it’s a blur from there. He’s barely paying attention when he feels the back of his knees knock against the side of his bed, falling back as Jaemin crawls over him, lips still pressed together hard enough that their teeth clash. 

Jaemin pulls back to breathe, but Mark is so dizzy he doesn’t realize Jaemin is slowly slipping out of the moment, only hearing an uncharacteristically weak, “It’s so hot in here.”

Mark hums in response, hands tight around Jaemin’s waist, pressing another kiss to his lips. They go on like that for a while longer, until Jaemin pulls back again, stronger this time, and completely out of breath.

“Okay, it- it’s actually really hot in here.” Jaemin pants, eyes shining with what might just be guilt, the soft light of the bedroom glowing around his silhouette like a halo.

Mark frowns then, realizing something is wrong, brows creasing in concern as he tries to search Jaemin’s eyes, but finds it too dark to do so. He sits up then, carefully holding Jaemin so he doesn’t fall back off of the bed, still straddling Mark’s lap. 

“Are you okay?” He asks, hands pressed against Jaemin’s back to stop him from slipping. 

At first, Jaemin nods, then seems to re-think it and shakes his head instead. Mark is suddenly reminded of his odd behavior before the party, in-and-out of moments just like this, and is he pale? Mark thinks, taking a moment to really bring himself out of his heated daze so he can properly pay attention.

He swallows, his worry from before the party coming back, sobering him up like a splash of cold water to the face. Jaemin really is pale. Frighteningly so.

“Do you wanna go for a walk?” Mark asks softly.

Jaemin nods wordlessly again, so Mark helps him off the bed carefully. He watches Jaemin avoid eye contact as he does so, so out of character that Mark forgets about what they were doing immediately. He’s left with the task of trying to figure out what’s going on, sure that the sudden switch in mood is merely a reflection of the behavior from earlier. Jaemin doesn’t seem like he wants to talk about it right now, though, and that’s fine. They should take a while to breathe, anyway.

The two leave the bedroom, not bothering to re-lock the door or switch the lights off. They wrestle through the crowd, Jaemin’s fingers laced with Mark’s as they go. Halfway to the front door, Mark stops, eyes catching on the darkness that looms beyond the window to his right. 

“Let me get something from storage before we go,” he says.

Jaemin frowns when Mark lets go. “What’s in storage?”

“You stay here, okay?” Mark says, offering a reassuring smile. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

Then he’s off towards the little storage room in the far back, leaving Jaemin at the edge of the sea of bodies.

11:03 PM

Renjun bursts into the bathroom next to Mark’s bedroom. He immediately regrets being so careless about his entrance to the bathroom, upon seeing a girl and a guy he recognizes from an event the previous year, deep in a seemingly serious conversation.

“We need to use the bathroom,” he says, out of breath in his rush to get there. The two look at Renjun, then Jeno behind him, then back to Renjun before exchanging a look and slipping out.

Jeno flushes red as they push past him, muttering to each other. “Wait-” he stutters, spinning on his heel, “we- he didn’t mean it like that- we’re not doing anything-!” His futile attempt is only met with Renjun’s laughter. Jeno sighs then, and steps further into the bathroom, feeling embarrassed for the nth time that night. 

“It’s fine, Jen,” Renjun assures him. Jeno gets over it fast enough, remembering more embarrassing times. “Search that side. I’ll take this one.”

They fall into a quiet search. Usually, Jeno wouldn’t take something as silly as this seriously, but with Renjun, the little part of him that is competitive burns bright, and by now, he’s just as determined to win the hunt. 

They’d concluded earlier that this was the next destination, seeing as the spill on the counter was either pointing to here, or the bedroom a few steps down the hall. Upon remembering that Mark likes to lock his bedroom door during parties, Jeno and Renjun decided to check the bathroom, not paying attention to the light spilling from under the door, and having completely missed the sound of that door slamming shut just seconds earlier

The bathroom door is slightly ajar for circulation, the few people milling in the narrow hallway probably wondering what the hell the devil and angel in the bathroom are doing, who are clearly together but not doing anything… couple-at-a-party-esque. The two remain unfazed, Renjun with his head in the mirror cabinet, and Jeno almost falling into the bath-tub.

There’s a mirror cabinet above the sink, and it sparks hope in Renjun, only for him to find it mostly empty. Aside from a contact lens solution and a spare tube of toothpaste, Mark doesn’t seem to store anything in here, as convenient as it is. 

I’ll have to give him some tips, Renjun thinks, clicking the cabinet shut. 

“Hey look,” Jeno starts, making Renjun turn. He pushes the bathroom door close, the small space immediately feeling stuffy. The discomfort is soon forgotten when he spies dark red spots on the floor by the wall. 

“Is that fake blood?” Renjun crouches down, spying the familiar-looking dried-out goo.

“Yep.”

“And the only two people using fake blood in our group are me and Jaem, meaning, this has to be from him!” Renjun stands, the words playing back in his head, then winces at how ridiculous he probably sounds right now. “It… is from Jaemin, right?”

Jeno pauses, seeming to harbor the same doubts. “I mean, we are at a Halloween party.” 

“And loads of people use fake blood at Halloween parties.” 

The two stare at the splatter of red on the floor. 

“Then again-”

“I mean-”

They say at the same time, thoughtful silence filling the cramped space before they both start laughing, sweat condensing at the back of their necks from the lack of circulation.

“Let’s just take the chance,” Renjun says. Jeno nods in agreement, wiping a bead of sweat from his hairline as he reopens the door. There are less people outside, to his relief.

“Could the splatter be the clue?” He asks, both of them sighing contently as the comparingly cool air from the hallway pours back into the bathroom.

Renjun pauses to think for a moment, before shaking his head. “I doubt they’d use another splatter direction as a clue, it’s too easy. Besides, it’s pretty much circular.”

Jeno nods somberly, realizing that they’re back to square one about what the clue might be. They resort back to a relatively silent search again, but after another round of the whole bathroom, spot nothing out of the ordinary. 

“I don’t know what the clue is, but Mark seriously needs new toothpaste,” Jeno says, picking up the more-or-less empty tube by the sink.

Renjun perks up at that. “Oh my God Jeno you’re a genius.” He stumbles over to where Jeno stands by the sink. 

Jeno blinks, “Uh, okay, I don’t know what would warrant that -” Renjun throws the mirror cabinet open with a self-satisfied huff, and Jeno almost melts at how cute it is, unable to help the fond smile tugging at his lips. He looks into the little box when Renjun elbows him to pay attention . “Oh hey, spare toothpaste.”

“Yup,” Renjun says, grinning. “In the cabinet.”

Jeno’s smile falters. “Okay…?”

“ Stored in the cabinet,” Renjun adds, clearly leading up to something.

Jeno remains confused. “I… I think I’m losing you-”

“Okay,” Renjun starts, “The mirror cabinet is basically a mini-storage room, right?” Jeno nods. “And if we think about it, the larger, proportional equivalent of a mirror cabinet to toothpaste could be…?” 

“A dog and its house?” Jeno tries, wincing at how ridiculous it sounds. 

“A human and the storage room!” 

There’s a beat of silence as Renjun waits for realization to dawn upon Jeno.

But the angel only parts his lips wordlessly, not knowing what to say. Renjun just stares, waiting for a response. Jeno clamps his mouth shut, then blurts, “don’t you think it’s a bit of a reach?” 

“You got a better idea, Lee?” Renjun counters, raising a brow. Jeno can’t help but shake his head, coming up blank. “Then let’s go. I’m sure there’s something in there.”

11:13 PM

“Do we knock?”

Chenle wrestles his way through the hallway, only mildly furious at his friends for letting him get stuck in the swaying crowd when Jaemin’s party playlist started playing slower music. He pushes the door with a single finger. It opens smoothly.

“I think they’re smart enough to know when to close the door when they’re… you know,” Chenle says, to which Jisung shivers, the memory of him accidentally walking into Jaemin’s room a few years back still unwillingly engraved into his brain tissue. 

“Yeah, and we’d know by the sounds,” Donghyuck adds, pushing through.

“Ew?”

They step in, and scan the condition of the room. Everything is relatively neat, apart from the bed, the grey duvet once neatly spread over it now a total mess. 

“Maybe the bed is the clue?” Jisung offers with a wince. 

Donghyuck shakes his head, scanning the bedside table. “They probably got… distracted.”

“Yeah, and clues are meant to be useful,” Chenle adds.

“Oh?” Donghyuck starts, turning to where Chenle is leaning against the doorway. “Finally decide to join in on the fun, Lele?” 

“Please,” Chenle rolls his eyes, arms crossed. “I just want this stupidity to be done with.”

Donghyuck laughs, “Come on, man, just admit we’re right and you’re having fun.”

“Yeah, I’m having fun seeing you idiots bust your asses trying to figure out something that doesn’t exist .” Chenle shoots back.

Jisung, on the other side of the bed, feels a change in the air, the room suddenly growing warmer. He watches on in silent fear.

Donghyuck flinches, taken aback. “Damn, Chenle. If you don’t wanna do this then why are you here?”

“Because you asked me?”

“Yeah, so that you wouldn’t be left alone,” Donghyuck says, moving towards the door, his own arms coming over his chest. He’s starting to look like a very angry Tinkerbell. “All you’re doing is ruining the fun. It’s Halloween for heaven's sake.”

Chenle shrugs, “I’m just… aren’t we a little too old for this?”

This time Donghyuck looks like he’s been physically struck, brows perking up in utter shock. “What?”

“I said, aren’t we-” Chenle exhales deeply, lowering the volume of his voice, “aren’t we too old for this?” He waits for Donghyuck to respond, and Jisung watches, horrified, at the way Donghyuck is speechless for once. There’s almost no emotion in his eyes now, devoid of anger or surprise. It’s somewhat scary, at least for Jisung, because Chenle either doesn’t see it or doesn’t care enough that he keeps talking. 

“Jisung and I are actually in college now, you guys are halfway through, and Mark graduated , for heaven's sake,” His voice is growing louder, but he doesn’t seem to realize it. “We should be enjoying the party like normal college kids- drinking, talking, laughing about past stories. Not running around like little kids looking for lost toys,” he spits.

It’s then that Chenle seems to register the odd silence that has settled in the bedroom. Jisung watches his throat bob. “Hyuck?” 

“I… I didn’t know you thought that way, Chenle,” Donghyuck starts, his voice so soft that Jisung thinks he might break down into tears any moment now. “What happened?”

“Huh?”

“What happened to ‘in the name of Halloween spirit’?” His words are stronger now, anger laced with hurt he wouldn’t admit to. “Are we too old for that too?” 

Chenle doesn’t respond. 

“Even as we were preparing for one of the biggest exams of our lives, we still planned to scare Jeno and Renjun before the Halloween party three years ago.” Donghyuck’s words hit home, Jisung can see it in the way Chenle’s cheeks grow pink when he’s been sober for twenty minutes. “When Mark got into college, we sprayed silly string over him when he walked through the front door, Jisung in tow. And the year after? When the four of us got into college? Do you remember how we disappeared minutes into the party, convinced you guys we wanted out, cut the power-”

Chenle winces, something like guilt washing over his features. “Okay, okay, I get it-”

“No, I don’t think you do, Chenle,” The hurt is clearer now. “It’s been, what, seven? Eight years? Eight years of pranks, orchestrated by us- you and me. Even that year where we played it on you guys, it was inspired by something you’d shown me a few weeks prior. It’s always been you and me.

“And maybe this seems childish, the way I’m embarrassingly at the edge of tears right now, but forgive me for being emotional.” Donghyuck’s voice cracks as he speaks. “Life now? It kinda sucks. College is fun sometimes, but I’m struggling, I really am, with deadlines and all-nighters and being separated from my best friends most of the time.”

“Hyuck-”

“Halloween is the one time, the one time , I can forget about it, and go back to the days of trick-or-treating around Jaemin’s stupidly big neighborhood. I get to forget about how much we’ve grown and how much has changed.”

The room is silent again as Donghyuck turns away in favor of examining the bedside table once more, and Jisung watches as he blinks excessively, probably willing the tears away. It’s a little hot now, and Jisung can almost feel the painted whiskers on his face smearing on his cheeks, but he’s too afraid to move, so comfortably invisible. Donghyuck rarely has outbursts like this, all serious and full of emotion, and it feels so separate from the vibrant and happy soul he usually is. 

But Jisung has been here before, they all have, and they know Donghyuck feels deeply about a lot of things, though he may not show it. 

Guilt permeates Chenle’s features, seeming to have felt the same thing, and he turns to Jisung. It’s then that Jisung remembers that he isn’t actually invisible, and settles for shooting Chenle a pointed look, jerking his head towards Donghyuck’s hunched back.

“You’re right,” Chenle finally sighs, apologetic. Donghyuck doesn’t turn. “I was so swept up in the whole idea of being an adult that I’d forgotten. Halloween is for escaping life, the one time a year that we’re sure to come together and do something grand, and this year, I’m blowing it.” He says, slumping. “For that, I’m sorry.”

Donghyuck stands now, and offers Chenle a tilted smile. “I… may have been a little dramatic.”

Chenle reassures him with a shake of his head, “no, I get it, I really do. I love Halloween too. I guess it all just... got away from me, I guess.”

“If you really want to, you can go back to the living room and wait until we’re done?” Donghyuck offers. There’s an obvious lilt to his voice, an almost-childlike hope glittering in his eyes.

Chenle snorts, “what, and hang out with a bunch of drunk people I barely know? No thanks.”

Donghyuck grins. “Well then you’re gonna have to actually join in if you wanna stay, right Jisung?” 

Jisung, still slightly rattled from the whole argument and a little slow in processing the change in mood, just nods. 

“Deal,” Chenle grins. He’s met with a bright laugh, familiar, and a tight hug that makes him wheeze.

“Hey,” Jisung starts, feeling that it’s safe to talk. “Love everything that’s going on right now, but Renjun and Jeno- while blur separately- are a surprisingly good pair when put together, so we’re on a little time crunch here,” Jisung’s shoulders loosen, less tense than he was a few minutes prior.

So they return to the search, almost as if nothing happened, except this time, Chenle is crawling around too, peering into Jaemin’s makeup bag and around the jackets hanging on the door. 

“Hey,” he spots something on the floor as he rummages through one of Mark’s hoodie pockets. “What’s that?”

Jisung turns to where Chenle is standing by the doorway, pointing at something on the floor. The three of them convene there, Jisung picking up what seems like yet another piece of jewelry.

“Hm,” Jisung inspects it under the white lights, and finds that it’s a bracelet. “Didn’t Jeno hyung find this in the living room earlier?”

“No, that was Jaemin’s birthday bracelet.” Unlike the previous one, this one is slightly thinner, and much more plain. “This is just daily jewelry.”

Jisung perks up suddenly. “The earring earlier was gold, right?” The other two nod. “And though Mark hyung may suck at coordinating outfits sometimes, Jaemin hyung would never let him clash metals, meaning this is his bracelet.”

“Another one?” Chenle scoffs.

“I guess?” Jisung shrugs. “I saw him put it on when we were finishing up with makeup.”

“And Jaemin sat closest to the big window,” Donghyuck adds with a satisfied smile.

Chenle takes the small thing from Jisung and pockets it. The other two stare at him like he’s grown another head, but the grins on their faces are filled with joy. 

“What are we waiting for?” Chenle says, feeling a little trapped under their gazes. “Let’s go.”

11:21 PM -- time for a walk.

A dust bunny dislodges itself from the side of a box, making Mark sneeze loudly. It’s dim in the storage room, the only light coming from the slightly open door. A group of friends that he’d hoped would ignore him if he kept the lights off (they didn’t), keep taking random peeks at him, as if he wouldn’t notice. He doesn’t know them, but vaguely remembers agreeing to Jungwoo’s plea on inviting some of his friends too, and assumes that’s them, though the guy himself isn’t there.

“Hey,” Mark strains, trying to be a good host despite barely holding himself up against the edge of a shelf. “Hope you’re enjoying the party,” He belatedly realizes how messy the storage room is, having remained untouched and uncleaned since he first moved in, and flushes in embarrassment as they nod and leave. He sighs in relief, and returns to his search.

No more than a minute later, he’s interrupted again.

“Hey, handsome.” 

Mark stumbles at the proximity of the voice, and trips over a pile of folded cardboard he’d planned on recycling, but just never had the time to. When he’s up again, he finds Jaemin standing in the doorway, weakly lit by the glow of the bright hall lights.

“Jaemin- hey! Didn’t I tell you to wait in the living area?”

Jaemin shrugs, “It’s kinda crowded. What are you looking for?”

“A, uh, something for the walk,” Mark replies. He avoids telling Jaemin what it is, knowing the boy would just tell him to forget it, and then regret not bringing it later on.

“Mm, okay…” Jaemin is clearly unconvinced, but doesn’t push. “At least switch the lights on.”

There’s a sound of a switch flicking, and before he knows it, the small space is flooded with weak white light from the singular bulb in the ceiling. Mark gets a good look at Jaemin’s face then, and feels something settle heavily in his chest when he sees how pale the other boy still is. He fights a frown, knowing Jaemin will catch it instantly, and smiles gently. 

“Give me a sec, okay?” Jaemin returns the smile, clearly tired, and heads back to the living room.

Mark pulls open a drawer at his right, spotting exactly what he wanted, and takes it, not bothering to shut the drawer again as he makes his way to the living room.

11:26 PM

By the time Jeno and Renjun get there, all they find is soft light trickling from the gap between the door and the doorframe. The hallway is surprisingly empty, with it being a perfect place for mini-games and private conversations, but they don’t pay much mind, grateful to be able to investigate without people staring at them.

“Probably part of the clue, right?” Renjun gestures to the slightly open door. Jeno shrugs, watching as Renjun pulls the door open anyways, and gets to searching.

It’s a small space, and easily the messiest room in the apartment, making it difficult to maneuver. Jeno naturally falls into silence and lets Renjun do his thing, gracefully stepping between boxes and old decorations Mark seems to have lost use for. 

A few minutes in, Renjun suddenly stands from his place across the sea of boxes, spinning to where Jeno is quietly standing at the door.

“Are you alright?”

Jeno blinks, not expecting the question. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Renjun seems unconvinced, lips bunching to one side. Jeno thinks it’s cute, but knows it’s not the time to laugh when Renjun is serious. 

“Are you having fun?”

“Yes, Renjun,” Jeno laughs, “I am.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

Still, Renjun frowns.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier,” he says, shuffling to get better footing between toppled objects. 

“Hm?”

“About not being affectionate enough,” Renjun almost shrinks with the words, and Jeno can tell that he hasn’t stopped thinking about it since that moment in the kitchen. Guilt rolls through him in shallow waves. He stands by what he said earlier, having felt that way for years now, but hates the idea of Renjun beating himself up over it. Nothing is worth seeing Renjun upset.

“It was a light joke, Junnie.” Jeno waves it off as nonchalantly as possible. “Don’t think about it.”

“Didn’t sound like that when you said it,” Renjun grumbles.

“You’re fine , Renjun.” Jeno reassures him, despite not entirely feeling that way, “We’re fine.” 

Stubborn as ever, Renjun doesn’t let up. He continues to frown, and Jeno wants to smooth down the harsh lines that form from it, missing Renjun’s excited smile. Instead, he watches, not moving, as Renjun surveys the space between them for a second, and begins stepping through once more.

Just as he’s come relatively close to Jeno, Renjun missteps onto a flat piece of cardboard, the slippery surface causing his foot to slide. He yelps, but Jeno’s there, catching him before he realizes it, arms on his waist. Stable. Renjun uses the support to stand up properly, and out of habit Jeno lets go once he’s upright, but Renjun only wraps his arms around the back of Jeno’s neck.

“I’m sorry,” Renjun says softly, holding tight. Though the hall behind them is empty, Jeno freezes for a moment, not used to Renjun so clearly and willingly hugging him like this in a public space. He feels a rush at the thought, brought back to their first few months of dating again, when they would rarely let go.

So, even though a plastic horn almost shot up his nose, he hugs Renjun back.

“I like this,” Jeno says simply.

Renjun tightens his hold for a second, before pulling away just enough so he can see Jeno’s face, slightly cross-eyed.

“I love your hugs, and your kisses, and when you randomly hold my hand, or grab my waist for no reason,” he says, eyes flickering across Jeno’s features. 

Jeno thinks this is when he’s prettiest- in Jeno’s arms, smiling, eyes a perfect mirror of the love they share. 

“I know I push you away instinctively, and I’m sorry.” Jeno tries to shake his head, but Renjun stops him, soft palms resting on his cheeks. “If you’re bummed about it, that’s fine. It means a lot to you, so it means a lot to me. I’ll try harder, I promise.”

Jeno smiles now, unable to help himself to a kiss. “I love you,” he mumbles into Renjun’s lips, feeling the arms curl around his neck again.

“I love you too,” Renjun hums, the delighted vibrations skittering down Jeno’s spine. Too soon, Renjun pulls away. “We should probably get going if we wanna win, though.”

Jeno groans. “Sometimes I wish you weren’t so competitive,” Still, he lets Renjun wriggle from his grip.

Renjun chuckles. “Sorry babe, that’s one thing that’ll never change.”

He doesn’t go far this time, only to the right wall, leaning over an open drawer. “There are blankets in these, but there’s an obvious gap where one used to be folded.” Jeno watches as Renjun pushes the drawer close and meets him in the doorway again, pensive. “The only time blankets were something other than sleeping equipment was on the first weekend of Christmas break, last year.”

Jeno smiles at the memory, “I remember we pulled blankets from Mark’s storage and walked to the park at sunset for a dinner picnic.”

“Yeah, it was so cold we walked to the park with blankets over our jackets.” Renjun laughs, remembering. 

There’s a small pause, before they catch each other’s eyes at the same time, undoubtedly thinking the same thing. Jeno grins.

“I guess it’s time to go on a walk, huh?”

11:32 PM

Donghyuck drags a finger along the wide window sill and inspects it dramatically. It comes up clean.

 Though trivial in the matter of cool apartment features, this specific window is easily his favorite. It’s clear, big, and offers the perfect view of the sunset. Now, with night having fallen upon the city, he can see buildings sparkling a ways into the distance, their own windows glowing like artificial stars. Momentarily, he wonders if there’s someone there thinking the same about this one.

“Sorry, coming through, sorry, oh hey, hi,” Jisung’s voice grows closer, but Donghyuck keeps his attention on the view. “Hyung, hyung.”

Reluctantly, Donghyuck tears his focus away and to Jisung. “Did you find anything?” Jisung shakes his head. Out of the corner of his eye, Donghyuck spies Chenle approaching, and asks the same question. He receives the same answer.

“We’re sure the clue is the window, right?” Jisung approaches the sill, lifting a mini jack-o-lantern that was once filled with little chocolates. 

Donghyuck shrugs. “It’s the only plausible destination.”

“Hey,” Chenle starts suddenly. When the two turn to him, he’s staring out of the window like a puppy with its sights on a butterfly. “What if the clue isn’t the window itself, but what’s outside it?”

The three of them near the sill, and look down. It’s unsurprisingly empty, with only a few cars passing every now and again. On the other side of the road is another street, which leads to a relatively large park towards their right, with a playground across the street from it, along the side of Mark’s apartment building. 

“The playground seems like a likely place for a final clue, don’t you think?” Chenle says. They’re all peering down. If you lean far enough, like the press-your-face-against-the-window kind of far, open-the-window kind of far, you’d probably spot the edge of a climbing dome, peeking out from the back of the apartment complex.

“Well?” Chenle starts again, upon being met with silence. “Shall we?”

The three slip past the crowd and out the front door.

11:49 PM -- full circle.

The night is chilly, as expected from a late October night. The monkey bars beneath Mark and Jaemin are just as cold, initially unforgivingly so, but they’d warmed up soon enough, wrapped in a blanket next to each other, legs swinging below them. Beyond, the view of an empty park and the bustling city keep them company, the far off cacophony of car honks like background music. 

“You could’ve just brought me a jacket, you know,” Jaemin says, sniffling. Mark is beginning to second guess the offer to go on a walk. It’s almost ridiculous, he thinks, the way he thought it would be a good idea to come out here as it creeps closer to winter, when Jaemin had clearly not been feeling well. 

“And risk ruining your vampire aesthetic?” He says, successfully getting Jaemin to smile. “At least the blanket kinda looks like a cape.” Jaemin laughs, and Mark feels his chest lighten. After all, Jaemin had told him on the way here that he was glad to get some fresh air. It should be fine. “Besides, I doubt you’d want fake blood on either of our jackets.”

To this, Jaemin hums in agreement, and they return to silence. Mark doesn’t hide his staring, a perk of finally escaping the sad pining he endured for months in high school. Jaemin looks miles better than he did earlier, no longer flush and pale at the same time. But there are eyebags that Mark hadn’t noticed before, and a dullness to his eyes that makes Mark’s heart ache again.

“How are you feeling?” He finally asks, an evening of worry spilling out in four words. “You’ve been on and off today, and I’ve been wanting to ask you, but you just- you just changed moods so fast -”

Jaemin cuts him off with a weak laugh, followed by another sniffle. “Honestly? I… I dunno.”

Mark arches a brow, and Jaemin looks at him helplessly for a second before sighing, back curving into a ‘c’. 

“Okay fine,” he relents, “I don’t think I’ve been getting enough sleep recently.”

“Do you know why?”

Jaemin pauses to think. “I think it might be from stress? I’m struggling with adjusting to the new semester and, I dunno, it just feels like a lot more than before.” Mark hums in understanding. “Everything feels so… so big, you know? Like, life-threateningly big.”

“Life-threatening?”

“Okay more like life-dependently big.” Jaemin seems to slump impossibly further with another sniff, and Mark wraps his arm around Jaemin’s waist, tightening their warm little bubble. “What am I going to do after this?”

Mark frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I’m graduating in less than a year, and I have no idea what I want to do,” Jaemin swings his legs harder, exasperated. “We’re inching closer and closer to being thrown out into the real world, a cruel and unforgiving world, and I have no clue what lies ahead for me.” He finishes, voice having shrunk to the point where Mark has to strain to hear him. “It’s terrifying.”

Mark exhales heavily, finding himself at a loss for words. He remembers feeling like this, helpless, scared with how the world seems to be moving so fast. For a moment, he can only sit there, trying to gather his thoughts, rubbing small circles on Jaemin’s lower back through the thin fabric of his shirt. 

“Remember the night after you guys graduated high school?” Mark finally says.

✩

3 years ago

The screen room is packed tonight, a stark contrast to its usual state. Usually, the seven boys prefer to sleep in Jaemin’s extensive bedroom for their sleepovers.

Today, it’s special. After spending the actual graduation day with their families, taking photos, having celebratory dinners and a mini party, the raucous group decided that they would have their own celebration, in the form of a whole day of games, ending the night with a horror movie on the big screen in the cinema room downstairs, much to Jisung’s displeasure. It was by pure luck that Mark managed to come home from college for the weekend, determined to be at his best friends’s graduation.

It’s well past three in the morning when Mark wakes, his neck feeling stiff at the too-thick pillow under his head. The room is relatively quiet now, long rid of the chaos and noise from the earlier hours of the night, with the gentle hum of the air conditioner and Chenle’s snoring to take its place. Donghyuck is slumped on the chair in front of the sofa Chenle is sleeping on, fast asleep in his cocoon of blankets, though Mark knows it’s only a matter of time before he shifts into a position that borders on acrobatic. On the chair next to him, Jisung is tucked away, feet poking out from the blanket. Despite the dark, Mark can see that his sweatpants have grown too short for him, having not had time to go shopping for new clothes post-growth spurt. 

The ground is just as comfortable, Mr. Na having provided them with spare mattresses, as high quality and comfortable as the ones in the upstairs bedrooms. The other four decided to sleep here. When Mark sits up, rolling out the cricks from his neck, he finds Jeno and Renjun pressed together, a far cry from earlier that night when they had put a pillow between them, trying to prove a useless point. Mark laughs to himself. I knew it .

Beside him, he expects to find a head of soft pink hair, but is instead met with an empty pillow, the blanket thrown off. He presses a hand to the space there, and finds it cold, growing concerned about where its tenant could have gone. As quietly as possible, Mark crawls over the mess they made, and exits into the house, heading towards the steps to the main floor.

He reaches the spacious living room, the large chandelier in the center sending crystals of moonlight cascading across the marble floor. It’s cold when Mark steps onto it, feeling winter on his soles despite it being mid-June. 

Though the house is big, he has a feeling he knows where Jaemin might be. Sure, they might have only been dating for about a year, but they’ve been best friends for much longer, and the Na residence is no stranger to him. 

So Mark creeps across the living room and approaches the curving staircase, blissfully carpeted to save his soles from freezing. The second floor is almost just as large, the space is split into roughly two sections by the bridge-like part that overlooks the main living room downstairs. Mark takes a left, and tiptoes as quietly down the hallway as he can, and finds Jaemin’s bedroom door slightly open.

But he doesn’t go in there. Instead, he passes the door and heads towards the french doors at the end of the wide hallway, thrown open to let the wind of the summer night float in. The sky is pitch black, save for a smattering of stars, only visible from this high up on a hill, far enough from the light pollution of the busy city.

When Mark steps outside, he finds that familiar head of pink hair, the boy it belongs to sitting on the thick balcony fencing, back to the door. He sighs, silent as he watches the wind card through baby pink strands, as if it knows Jaemin is stressed. The balcony floor is much warmer than inside, and Mark weaves past a collection of outdoor furniture to reach where Jaemin sits. Jaemin only spares him a short sidelong glance, before returning his focus to the view beyond- of palm trees swaying, of the three or four slightly identical houses dotted down the hill before laying out into roads leading to the heart of the city.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Mark asks, leaning on his elbows. Jaemin hugs one knee to his chest, a dangerous feat on the edge of something very high up, but Mark doesn’t fear him falling, having seen him do this enough times, having been out here just as many times. 

“Two years ago, I didn’t even want to go to college,” Jaemin whispers, words fluttering with the breeze. His arm brushes against Mark’s shoulder, but they don’t move. “I didn’t want to do anything .”

“And yet here you are,” Mark says, his vision trained on the view ahead but focused on Jaemin. “Accepted into one of the best colleges in the country.”

Jaemin is silent for a moment.

“I’m scared.” 

Mark jumps up and shuffles close to him, thighs brushing through their pajama pants. They stay like that for hours and hours, all the way until the sun starts changing, turning bruise purple before brightening with swathes of orange and yellow, the intensity of the sun filtered through a few well-placed clouds. They talk about everything and anything, and know that they won’t remember half of it in the morning on the count of sleep deprivation. 

When they’re found, they’re fast asleep on the outdoor sofa, wrapped together in the small space at eight in the morning. They endure endless teasing, the first of two couples (they just didn’t know) in their friend group. It was exciting, and Jaemin woke up laughing despite being exhausted out of his mind, and it took one smile in Mark’s direction to make Mark fall in love all over again.

✩

Mark misses it. Back then, when they only lived a twenty-minute, grueling bike journey away from each other. He guesses it’s nice now that Mark found an apartment close to Jaemin’s college, so that they’re within two subway stops from each other, instead of an hour-long drive.

“Take your time,” Mark says, rubbing Jaemin’s shoulder. “You still have the rest of your time in college to figure out what you want to do, and the guys and I are here to help you! Besides, there’s no rush to get out there and settle. You can float for a bit, see what you enjoy, and one day, it’ll come to you.”

“Hopefully,” Jaemin laughs humorlessly, lips pressing into a thin line. 

Mark leans Jaemin’s head towards him and kisses his temple, “you’ll be okay.” 

Jaemin takes the opportunity to drop his head down to Mark’s shoulder with a sigh. He’s grown quite a bit over the years, and at this point, Mark thinks doing this is more out of habit than comfort, but he doesn’t mention it. He trails his hand down Jaemin’s arm again, then settles on a bar behind him for support.

“I’m sorry,” Jaemin’s voice is soft.

“Why?”

“For ruining the mood.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Mark tsks.

Jaemin lifts his head, frowning. “But, you know… ‘in the name of Halloween spirit’.” He says, fingers fluttering dramatically. He pauses, then lets out a big sigh. “I think it’s all catching up to me now.”

Mark feels his chest ache. “What is?”

“The lack of sleep, maybe. Like, I get cold easily, and have a constant throbbing in the back of my eyes like there’s a headache coming on but not really, and I’m just… I’m just tired” Jaemin slumps, and Mark watches his eyes flutter shut, feathery lashes fanning over his cheeks.

“Is this why you didn’t tell me earlier?” Mark asks softly. Jaemin hesitates for a second, then nods, blinking slowly. Mark makes a mental note to watch that Jaemin doesn’t fall off. “Don’t do that,” he says gently, “don't struggle on your own. Tell me, or Jeno, or any of the guys, really.”

Jaemin frowns. “Everyone’s so busy though.”

“You do know that would do anything for you, right?”

Jaemin seems more awake now, an unconvinced arch to his brow. “Like?”

Now it’s Mark’s turn to frown. “Don’t do that.”

Jaemin laughs dryly, “yeah, they would.”

When silence descends upon them once more, Mark is taken back to another memory, one where the sun is beating down on them as children run around the school playground. Jaemin was 11, Mark was 12, and climbing the monkey bars seemed like a good idea at the time to him, especially when there was a mysterious boy with a pretty smile up there. Mark later found out he was the king in a game he was playing with his best friends Jeno and Donghyuck, both of whom took a liking to Mark immediately. They invited him to play with them, and he said yes. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sitting here, on a different set of monkey bars in a very quiet playground, Mark thinks that they’ve come full circle.

“Hey,” Jaemin snaps Mark back to reality, staring at a point a little ways ahead. Mark follows his line of sight and is confused at what he sees. “Is that…?”

Mark squints to see. “Huh. I think so.”

Jaemin turns to Mark, shrugging off the blanket. “Are they…?”

Mark follows suit, momentarily basking in the chill hitting his back before it gets too cold.

“I think so?” He repeats, an amused smile tugging at his lips. He checks the watch on his wrist, the one he forgot to take off before the party started, and checks the time. 12:03 AM .

They pause, and exchange a look.

Jaemin grins.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Mark mirrors the grin, and starts bundling up the blanket.

11:56 PM

“Holy shit, it’s cold,” Renjun says, arms coming around his chest. It’s this Halloween out of all Halloweens that he decided to finally use a mesh top as part of his costume, not bothering with a thicker t-shirt over top. His bones, feeling the chill deep within them, reprimand him. “We should’ve brought jackets.”

“We should’ve,” Jeno agrees. He unwraps his arms from himself and brings them both around Renjun like a cover instead, which is wildly inefficient since they’re walking down the street and their steps are out of sync, but little warmth is better than no warmth at all.

A car passes by them, but besides that, it’s a peaceful night. If they look up, they would see a window five floors up, curtains peeled back, colors from the inside shifting from red all the way down the rainbow to purple. 

Another car passes, and the moonlight hits the window just right so that Jeno gets a look at the person in the passenger seat, staring right at them, with a funny look on their face. At first, he assumes that it’s the way they’re walking, but then he feels the wires of his angel wings poke at the bottom of his neck and is made acutely aware of their get-up. 

“We look hot, Jeno,” Renjun says, as if reading his mind. “Don’t sweat it.”

So Jeno doesn’t, and instead cuddles closer, smiling. “Where do you think the next clue is?” he asks.

“I was thinking of the park,” Renjun starts, “but it could be the playground too because the play structures might be a fun place to put clues.” 

“Okay, so we check the park first, then steer to the playground?” Renjun nods. 

They continue their walk in silence, the dark green expanse of grass already coming into view, the trees around it rustling with the sharp breeze. He remembers a few months ago when they’d gathered at that very park, making fun of Mark for the idea of a human treasure hunt. It’s like they’ve come full circle.

“You know what,” Renjun starts again. Jeno hums, acknowledging him. “We make a pretty good team.”

Jeno grins, bringing his arm down to Renjun’s waist instead, and hugging him there, having felt the early stages of a cramp start up in his shoulder. It’s practical for him, and Jeno remains unaware of the smile on Renjun’s lips growing, his heart beating warmly, everso in love with the angel wrapped around him.

12:01 AM

“Man, it is cold ,” Jisung says, rubbing his arms as soon as they’re out of the apartment building doors. There had been traffic at the elevator, some partygoers already dragging their friends out as the party lost its fun. Donghyuck laughs and throws his arms over the two boys on either side of him, pulling them close. It’s pretty nice, at least for Chenle, but Jisung feels his balance topple at the sudden change in height.

Donghyuck releases them soon enough, but hooks his arms through theirs instead, still in need of warmth. Neither boy complains, both feeling the same in their Wizard of Oz costumes. Jisung momentarily wonders how Donghyuck is even walking right now, having had the crazy idea to wear khaki shorts as part of the costume.

(“It was the only thing in my closet that I could use to be an elfen-fairy, okay?” Donghyuck had said, once met with the disbelieving stares of his friends when he changed.)

“Hey,” Donghyuck starts, voice suddenly somber, “even if we don’t win, I want you guys to know that I had loads of fun running around.”

Chenle laughs, “man, Hyuck, if I didn’t know better I’d think you’re dying or something.” He’s met with silence, Donghyuck suddenly dropping his vision to the concrete below. Chenle’s eyes grow wide. “You’re not dying, right?”

“No, you idiot,” Donghyuck responds, unhooking his arm for a moment to rustle Chenle’s hair. “I was just thinking about how fun it’s been doing these silly things. I hope that Halloween will always be our day to just be kids, even when we’re old and married.”

“Of course!”

“Well, duh.”

“Yeah,” Jisung nods, “Either Mark or Jaemin host Halloween anyways, and they’ll probably end up living together for the rest of their lives, so….”

The atmosphere suddenly shifts, a weight settling upon the trio as their steps slow. 

“Man… they’re gonna get married,” Chenle says, monotonous.

Donghyuck kisses his teeth. “Yep. No doubt about it.”

“Wow,” Jisung’s voice is just above a whisper. “We really grew up.”

The realization hits them like a truck, a terrible force crashing into their happy reality like a rude awakening from a dream. It’s almost paradoxical, how they’re thinking about how fast time has gone by while they’re playing a game. How long has it been since they first coined ‘in the name of Halloween spirit?’.

Out of the corner of his eye, Donghyuck catches a movement, a blur of pink, almost and squints to focus. When he finally sees it, his eyes grow wide.

“Guys,” he elbows the two, snapping them out of their own daze, and jerks his head in the direction of the crossing ahead, where they spy a tangled mix of red and white crossing the street. 

They exchange glances.

“ Go, go, go! ”

12:06 AM -- human treasure hunt

By the time they reach the playground, the five of them are completely out of breath, the paired team having sprinted over when they heard the storm of their friends’ footsteps. Donghyuck watches as Jeno fixes his shirt, buttoning an extra button as if it would help shield him from the cold. Behind him, Renjun adjusts the wings on his back, still panting, making sure that Jeno is comfortable.

He has a weird feeling that they’ve been through just as much as his own little trio did in the course of the game.

“Last stretch,” Chenle breathes, hands on his knees. His stamina has never been great, despite being a stellar basketball player. “This has to be the end.”

Everyone nods, the hum of healthy competition like an electric current in the air around them. 

“Only one team can win.”

The five scatter after Donghyuck’s words, ignoring the bite of the October air in hopes of finding the clue. More often than not, Donghyuck finds himself wishing he was back in the safety of Mark’s relatively warm apartment, tempted to give up on finding a clue and forfeiting. It’s not like him, no, but his knees feel like glass, frozen and bare, like they might shatter with a single step.

Just as he’s about to go find Jisung and Chenle he’s giving up, he hears a hiss from behind him.

“Jeno!” The voice whisper-shouts. It’s Renjun, urgently beckoning Jeno over to where he’s standing beneath the navy blue slide. Donghyuck crouches, bending behind a rocking horse in hopes that he won’t attract attention. It’s a perfect vantage point for him to hear what the other two are talking about.

Donghyuck watches carefully, straining to see under the weak streetlights. Renjun pulls something into his line of vision, and Donghyuck’s jaw almost drops. He knows that blanket.

The wind decides to blow noisily then, not only feeling like a million needles piercing Donghyuck’s bare skin, but also cutting out the audio of the two under the slide. It stops quickly enough because Donghyuck thinks he catches the better part of the conversation.

“-the blanket from storage,” Renjun finishes.

“They must’ve been here!” Jeno exclaims excitedly, wings bouncing as he does. Renjun shushes him profusely, and he immediately hunches in apology.

“Where could it lead?” Renjun asks, holding it out. Donghyuck tries not to get distracted with the warmth that blanket could probably give him.

“Well, we only use these blankets for picnics or movies.”

“And if we’re thinking about Mark’s place….”

“... the only place we watch movies is-”

“The living room!” Both Renjun and Donghyuck shout at the same time.

Jeno and Renjun startle, frowning when they see Donghyuck emerge from his (fairly useless) hiding spot with a smirk.

“Hey!” Renjun pouts, passing Jeno the blanket. “Hint stealer,” he spits.

Donghyuck shrugs, putting on the smuggest smile he can. “Your fault for being so loud .”

At this point, Jisung and Chenle have gathered around the slide too, curious at what the sudden outburst was about. It ends up with the five of them in some sort of showdown-like circle, staring at each other, unmoving, waiting for someone to make a move.

They all wait in terse silence, the energy around them dialing up in intensity. 

“So,” Jisung starts, “the living room, huh.”

They stay still for a second, waiting for one to snap.

Jeno grabs Renjun’s wrist and runs.

“AFTER THEM!”

A chase ensues, feeling almost like a cartoon comedy, like Tom and Jerry, except there’s way more of them. Chenle is the fastest of the trio, and catches up fast enough, since Jeno fell behind Renjun to let himself be dragged instead. 

(Donghyuck likes to say it’s disgusting how in love Jeno is, but inside, he wishes for the same. You would never get him to admit it, though.)

When they’ve reached the glass doors of the apartment lobby, Renjun punching in the code Mark told them about as soon as they had settled down before the party, the situation is like this:

Renjun, fingers shaking from adrenaline and cold, stabbing at an equally as cold metal keypad that beeps in satisfaction, the locks on the glass doors clicking open.

Jeno, right behind him.

Chenle, shoving right past Jeno before he can get through the door, Donghyuck hot on his tail.

Jisung (despite having objectively the longest legs) coming in at a slightly slower jog, at the end.

Jeno laughs when Jisung comes in, and looks towards the elevator as he lets the glass doors close behind him, engulfing them in warmth. Renjun is standing there at the door, a kind smile on his face almost fooling Jeno that he’s totally fine after the run if it weren’t for the ragged up and down of his chest. He’s holding the door open, ignoring the protests from the other two in the metal box behind him, waiting for the other two to get in. Or at least, Jeno.

“Aw, thanks hyung,” Jisung grins, earning a fond pinch on the cheek from Renjun in return.

The journey up is quite literally hell. If it was a slight hum of electricity in the playground earlier, they’ve been struck with a livewire now, the tension having sped up as fast as their heartbeats from the run. It’s silent save for uneven breathing, and the slow tick of floors counting up to the fifth one almost feels taunting. 

When the doors do slide open eventually, the first one out is Renjun, bolting into the empty hallway and down to apartment 507. Jisung is next, and Chenle and Donghyuck are about to follow suit, only to be blocked by Jeno at the elevator doors, bumping into him hard enough that they stumble. Jeno, on the other hand, is unfazed, eyes curved as innocently as the smile on his lips.

“Hey!” Chenle shouts, needing to hold onto the wall to stabilize himself.

Jeno gives them one more smile and then takes off as suddenly as he had stopped.

By the time Donghyuck and Chenle reach the apartment, the front door is ajar, and Renjun and Jisung are in.

🎃 12:14 AM

Mark and Jaemin are cuddled on the sofa when the apartment capacity returns to seven again, any trace of anyone else gone save for a few cups and a tame mess left behind. 

“Oh hey guys,” Jaemin says, checking his nails out as if they’ve been freshly done.

(There’s nothing on them). 

“Where were you guys?” Mark adds, fighting the urge to smile. 

The five arrivals merely blink, most of them doubled over from the short sprint it took to get to the door. They exchange looks, and it’s enough confirmation for Mark and Jaemin, that their earlier assumption was correct, and the choice to round the back of the building to get back was the right choice to make.

“Wha- where is everyone?” Donghyuck asks, face scrunched up in confusion and exhaustion. He doesn’t look too happy, but little does anyone know that he’s never loved running more than today, the burst of exercise giving him much-needed warmth. He’s starting to feel his toes again.

Jaemin drops his hand, leaning into Mark’s side. “Party just ended.”

“We thought you guys ditched,” Mark adds. He wonders if they’re sounding a little too much like they’re on a script, but doesn’t worry too much because no one seems to be paying attention to that. 

Instead, they all just look… confused. 

“We… you what?” Jisung says, unable to believe what they’re saying.

“We were looking for you guys,” Mark says.

Renjun frowns, the most composed out of the five since he had arrived first, struck by the unexpected sight of the empty apartment and the touchy couple on the couch. 

“We… we were looking for you guys,” Renjun blinks.

Mark feigns confusion. “What? Why?”

“Wait, this isn’t human treasure hunt?” It’s Jeno this time, who swears he’s never felt more confused in his entire life. 

Jaemin raises a brow, holding back a laugh. He delivers the final blow.

“A human what-now?”

Silence drops on the group like an anvil. The disheveled boys just stand there, costumes and makeup a mess from the running, dust having collected on some of their clothes, makeup more than slightly smudged. But the feature that remains identical on all of their faces is the largest case of disbelief Mark has ever seen in his life. 

“Oh my God, I was right,” Chenle mutters under his breath. 

The room is silent, almost everyone unable to believe what they’re hearing.

“OH MY GOD I WAS RIGHT!” Chenle bursts out laughing. 

And he takes the whole room down with him. 

🎃

It feels like hours later when they finally stop laughing, tears pouring from their eyes, legs rendered useless as they drop to the ground recalling the night, gifting Jaemin and Mark with everything they missed. From the accidental clues down to completely missing out on the fact that they miraculously didn’t bump into each other at all, they laugh at the last two-ish hours, wondering about the chances of such a complicated feat being pulled off unintentionally. 

They spend another hour or so cleaning up the place and themselves, a promise they made to each other when they started inviting people outside of their friend group to parties. By the time the apartment is relatively clean, it’s far into the night, and all the adrenaline has worn off. More often than not, Mark would find the evidence in his friends’ states. He’d spied Donghyuck dozing off midway through wiping away his faux freckles, Chenle almost knocking his head on the coffee table as he wiped it down, and Renjun literally sprawled on his stomach in the space that was the makeshift dance floor, a cup he found under the couch loosely held in his hand. 

The only person who seems to have any energy at all is Jaemin, who goes along throwing things away and storing any spare booze, humming along to the soft song playing he started playing on the speakers. His face is clear of makeup, dressed back down to his casual wear as his hair dries naturally post-shower and he looks content. As if he’d detected Mark staring, Jaemin turns, flashing him a small smile before returning to his task. Mark almost melts. 

It takes a while, but Mark finally gets his friends out of the apartment, ending with half-carrying the last of Renjun out of the door, eyes shut as Jeno basically drags him away. Renjun gives the two in the apartment quick hugs before he and Jeno leave, a promise of one night at Jeno’s place in the process of being made. 

When the door shuts, Jaemin turns to Mark, a grin on his lips. 

“Well that was fun,” he says, hooking an arm through Mark’s. 

Mark laughs. “To think they actually did it.”

“I honestly forgot we ever talked about that human treasure hunt thing back then,” Jaemin adds. 

“Wow, thanks,” Mark mumbles, rolling his eyes obviously enough to show he doesn’t mean it. 

Jaemin laughs, and then sighs contentedly. “I wonder what would’ve become of the night if we hadn’t spotted Jeno and Renjun searching for us across the street.“

“I can’t believe our guess was right,” Mark laughs. He flicks the switch to the living room light off, and watches as his living room disappears with the night, the only remaining light coming from his bedroom. 

“In the name of Halloween spirit, right?”

“I think we summoned a spirit.”

They laugh again, everything feeling light and easy, like home. 

Mark coins the night a success, easily one of the best Halloweens they’ve ever had. He remains unaware of the conversation Jeno and Renjun had, or the argument Chenle and Donghyuck had. In the same way, the rest of them didn’t hear of each other’s hardships of the night either, collectively skimming past those details when recounting. 

Perhaps it’s a good thing. In some sense, they’ve all gotten closer without being together at all. 

Warmth brews in Mark’s stomach.

“To Halloween,” he says, guiding the two of them to bed. He’s exhausted to the bone, looking forward to a full night’s rest, and waking up to the most beautiful boy in his arms. 

The beautiful boy grins.

“To Halloween!”