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Donghyuck is in trouble.
He is in really big trouble.
Gaping at the sleeping person beside him, his brain tries to come up with a master plan about what to do next.
Maybe he could move to a different country, take on the maiden name of his mother and become a dog sitter. He likes dogs! Loves them, even. Cats too, he’s not too picky.
Or maybe he could apply to be one of those people being shot into space to colonize Mars. It’s probably nice up there - not too many people, no climate change, and even better: no Mark. Probably no wifi too, though. But well, Donghyuck’s likes reading, so he could always pass time by bringing enough books, right? Maybe some video games?
Or maybe, as a far less dramatic solution: he could just pretend to not remember anything from last night - and honestly, from the way his head is pounding right now, it doesn’t even seem that far-fetched.
For now, Donghyuck decides to just slide out of bed before the boy beside him wakes from his deep slumber, and to flee from the scene, hoping no one is going to see him.
No witness, no crime, right?
At least Donghyuck is still wearing his underwear, so… it could be worse.
Probably.
He takes a deep breath and carefully lifts the blanket, slowly wiggling towards the edge of the bed. Before he can successfully escape though, Mark beside him sighs in his sleep and wraps one arm around Donghyuck’s waist to pull him close to his own warm body again. Donghyuck almost squeals, but quickly presses his lips together to stifle the noise.
Mark’s breathing is soft and steady - so for now, he’s still deeply asleep, but Donghyuck needs to get away from him as quickly as possible. So he tries to escape for a second time, carefully prying the other boy’s arm away from his body and gently placing it back on the mattress. This time, Donghyuck successfully manages to slide out of bed, silently landing on his feet and almost losing his balance - he is in desperate need of water, it seems. Dehydration is truly no joke. Quietly, he slips into his jeans and grabs his shirt dangling from a bedpost. He also looks for his jacket, but after being unable to locate it, he finally tiptoes out of the room. As soon as he’s managed to close the door behind him, Donghyuck exhales, relief spreading through his entire body.
He’s fine, he’s good, he’s almost out of here!
He pretty much runs towards the bathroom, and suppresses a groan once he sees his tired, hangover face staring back at him in the mirror. After drinking some water straight from the tap, he quickly washes his face to wake himself further, and finally deems himself ready to leave the solidarity of the bathroom again - and to face whoever’s already awake.
The frat house is almost eerily quiet at this time of day, so Donghyuck tries not to make any sound while sneaking downstairs, cringing whenever one of the steps creaks under his weight. He sighs in relief once he’s finally made it downstairs, and begins to smile when he spots his jacket hanging over the back of a chair. To Donghyuck’s delight, the keys to his flat, his wallet and phone are all still there. Maybe the world isn’t as bad of a place as he sometimes makes it out to be.
“Morning.”
Donghyuck squeals and turns around, hand clutching his chest. Johnny chuckles when he sees the younger boy’s shocked expression, and silently toasts Donghyuck with the cup he is holding in one hand. “Well, don’t you look lovely so early in the morning,” he teases, and Donghyuck sticks out his tongue at him. “I’m very sorry to inform you that not everyone has been blessed with a perfect morning face, oh dear Adonis,” he replies sarcastically, and Johnny grins. “Want some coffee?” he then asks, already reaching for a second mug, but halts in his movement once he notices Donghyuck hesitant expression. Donghyuck’s eyes slide towards the stairwell and back at the young man in front of him again. “I- I should go,” he finally says, and Johnny just nods, hand falling away from the coffee pot. “Sure. Have a nice day, then.” For some reason, he sounds disappointed, but Donghyuck tries not to give it too much thought. Instead, he just smiles at the man opposite him before ducking out into the hallway to grab his shoes, quickly leaving the frat house behind.
It’s a cold morning for early autumn, mist hanging between the trees and making it difficult to see, and Donghyuck buries both hands in his pockets while walking towards the direction of his flat. It’s weirdly quiet, and he’s almost regretting his decision to leave the house so abruptly, even though it was probably the more… sensible thing to do. He has a long, complicated history with Mark - missed opportunities, bad timing, broken hearts. For some reason, it just never seems to work out with them. There’s always either another person standing between them, or some kind of miscommunication happens, or Mark is suddenly leaving to spend a term abroad in Canada or or or… the list goes on and on. They have somehow never managed to find their way to each other.
Yesterday was Mark’s welcome back party, and as part of the “inner circle”, Donghyuck had of course been invited to join the surprise gathering as well. Donghyuck truly loves and adores all the young men living at the frat house, even though he wants to smack Yuta pretty much 24/7, really dislikes Jonny’s perfect face and superior smirk whenever he plays beer pong against him, and is almost a little annoyed at Jungwoo’s cuteness (Donghyuck would probably let him get away with literal murder). He also cannot believe the amount of food Jaehyun manages to eat in a day, and has long lost count of how many times he’s had to drag Doyoung out of the cave he calls his room so he finally sees the sun again and gets some vitamin D. Taeyong is the only one Donghyuck would never say anything against, the man being too sweet (and cute) for his own good. He is just sunshine personified. Donghyuck would legit burn down cities to protect him.
He had met them all during his freshman year, all thanks to his then new roommate and his now best friend Jaemin, Jaehyun’s younger brother. The others had pretty much accepted Donghyuck with open arms, and almost just as quickly, he had fallen head over heels for Mark Lee. But who could ever blame him? Not only is Mark incredibly handsome, but also funny, witty, smart and always down to clown. Donghyuck’s perfect man in the shape of a talented, beautiful, very clumsy goofball. And ever since their first meeting, Mark has been more than interested in Donghyuck as well, sometimes shamelessly flirting with Donghyuck, touching and teasing him more than necessary, and just generally being a total sweetheart towards him.
And yet -… and yet… for some reason, they never made it past the friendship stage. Fate is simply against them, apparently.
Exhausted, Donghyuck unlocks the front door to the flat he shares with Jaemin, hoping his roommate is either still at Jeno’s place or deeply asleep. All Donghyuck wants right now is a long, hot shower and some quality time on his own afterwards.
And coffee, lots of it. Or tea. One or the other, he’s honestly not picky right now.
Sadly, fate is against Donghyuck once again: Jaemin sits at the kitchen table, dark eyes almost entirely hidden by too long hair falling into his handsome face. He should really get a haircut. As soon as he lays eyes on Donghyuck, he gives him a cheeky smile. “Good moooorning,” Jaemin says, tone of voice way too cheery so early in the day.
Donghyuck sighs internally, but gives him a small smile in return and murmurs a greeting back. “You look awful,” his roommate then states, and Donghyuck rolls his eyes at him. “I guess my exterior reflects my inner self, then,” he grumbles, and takes the mug Jaemin is sliding his way with a curt nod of his head. “Rough night?” Jaemin asks, lips twitching. Donghyuck gives him a critical look, gnawing on his bottom lip. Jaemin had left the party around 1am, his best friend (and not-so-secret crush) Jeno getting tired and finally wanting to go home to his cats.
So how much does Jaemin actually know? Is he just bluffing?
But knowing the frat boys, and Jaehyun specifically… they might have instantly texted Jaemin, telling him about Donghyuck staying the night.
With Mark.
In Mark’s room.
After not having seen him for six months.
After pretty much having confessed to him only seconds before he had to take a cab to the airport to leave for a term abroad.
Timing has truly never been one of Donghyuck‘s strong suits. He’s always had a flair for the dramatic.
Jaemin is still staring at him, obviously waiting for an answer. Donghyuck snaps out of his thoughts and takes a sip of his coffee. He grimaces once the bitter taste hits his taste buds; Jaemin always likes his coffee a lot stronger than him. Pretty much the only strong thing about him though. “It was… long,” Donghyuck finally says, and places the mug back on the kitchen table, “And I really need a shower now.” With that, he quickly leaves the kitchen again, ignoring his roommate’s low chuckle.
Oh that bastard so knows.
Meaning Donghyuck has to add a few names to his death note.
. . . . . . .
Monday is the worst day of the week.
Monday should just cease to exist. Why can’t the week just start with a nice, relaxed Tuesday?
Donghyuck likes Tuesdays. Tuesdays are cool.
Mondays on the other hand… They just don’t sit well with him.
“JAEMIN, I SWEAR TO GOD, YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS BEFORE I’M GOING TO BREAK DOWN THIS GODDAMN DOOR!” he yells, and continues to hit his fist against the locked bathroom door.
Jaemin has been in there for almost an hour now, probably using up all the hot water. Truly peak Leo energy. Still, Donghyuck can’t believe his best friend is doing this to him right now. There’s only about twenty minutes left before Donghyuck has to leave for his first class, and he definitely needs a hot shower and some hair gel. Maybe a miracle. Where’s his make-over-sequence when he needs it?! Why is he not a young hero in a quirky rom-com, then he’d probably look perfectly styled all the time. But no, he’ll probably have to go to class with greasy third-day-hair, sweatpants and the biggest eye bags the world has ever seen. Fifty shades of dark circles under his eyes - the perfect movie title should his life ever get turned into one. Probably a solid 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, maybe 15% if any of the viewers feel generous. Donghyuck’s life just ain’t that interesting so far.
“JAE-FUCKING-MIN!” Donghyuck kicks the door - or well, he wants to. Because in that exact second, his roommate finally decides to emerge from the bathroom, so Donghyuck accidentally kicks Jaemin’s shin instead of the door. Jaemin yelps, and doubles over in pain. “Hey, I thought you were a pacifist. Violence is never the answer and all that stuff!” he complains, voice laced with pain, and Donghyuck feels like, 20% sorry. Or maybe only 15% once he takes in Jaemin's appearance. No one should be that beautiful, especially not on a Monday, and especially not at 7.30am. “It’s your own fault if you take half an eternity to get ready,” Donghyuck scoffs, and squeezes past Jaemin to get inside the bathroom and finally take his long awaited shower. “Well, aren’t you a joy to be around in the morning,” his best friend just sighs, and Donghyuck simply flips him off before closing the door in his stupidly handsome face.
Donghyuck is almost late to class, but not because he took too long in the bathroom, oh no. This is Jaemin’s fault once again - being the annoying person that his roommate simply is, he used up the last of Donghyuck’s favorite tea, meaning Donghyuck had to search through the kitchen cabinets to find his less tasty emergency back-up tea. Looking for it had taken way too long, because about two weeks ago, at 3am in the morning, Jaemin had randomly decided to reorganize their kitchen, and now Donghyuck can’t find shit anymore. Jaemin should really get a hobby or two. Or finally confess to Jeno to get himself a boyfriend.
Donghyuck is out of breath by the time he reaches the lecture hall, and almost frozen to death due to the temperature dropping over night. His hair is still wet because he didn’t have time to blow dry it this morning, so he knows he’ll look like a crazy warlock in approximately half an hour. Having unruly hair is fun.
“Hey, Hyuckie!” someone yells as soon as he walks through the door, and Donghyuck almost jumps out of his skin, coming close to spilling his back-up tea all over himself. Thankfully, he manages to maneuver the small thermos flask away from his body, so the hot liquid spills onto the floor instead of his clothes. He shoots a silent apology to the cleaning staff before his eyes zone in on the person responsible for his near-death-experience. He immediately groans when Renjun flashes him a cheeky smile. It’s way too early to deal with demons, Donghyuck decides, and is about to turn around and search for a more welcoming or even unfamiliar face in the crowd of students, when Jeno appears at his side, mirroring Renjun’s gleeful expression.
“Hell’s empty and all the devils are here,” he mutters under his breath, and Jeno chuckles before shoving him towards the empty seat beside Renjun. “Stop quoting Shakespeare, you nerdy drama queen,” Renjun says while Jeno takes the seat on Donghyuck’s other side. “I still don’t understand why you had to enroll in the same class as me this term. There are endless other lectures you could have chosen. Endless, I’m telling you!” Donghyuck mutters, expression grumpy. Jeno just chuckles. “And rid you of our extremely pleasant company and highly amusing commentary? Never, we’re not that cruel.”
Donghyuck just scoffs and opens his backpack, rummaging through it until he finds his small notebook and pen. Call him old fashioned, but he actually likes taking notes by hand, eyeing Renjun’s sleek MacBook Pro with slight distaste (and maybe a hint of envy). Jeno’s doing… better, Donghyuck guesses, because he too is taking notes by hand, but he just has a random assortment of loose paper instead of a bound notebook. Donghyuck already knows Jeno will have lost half his notes by the end of the day and will probably ask to borrow his. Oh that sweet chaos boy. Jaemin really is a bad influence on him.
“So, how was the rest of your weekend?” Renjun suddenly asks, drumming his fingers against the desk while he narrows his eyes at Donghyuck, “You were gone by the time everyone got up on Saturday, people were really sad and disappointed by your sudden disappearance, you know.” His tone of voice is innocent, too innocent. Donghyuck knows exactly who 'people' includes. Oh, he knows it way too well. “I had things to do,” he answers curtly, eyes stubbornly trained at the front of the room where the teacher is just trying to set up his laptop. Donghyuck hopes he’ll hurry, because he really doesn't want to continue talking to Jeno and Renjun. But apparently, the teacher is a hopeless case, looking at the different cables with a big question mark on his face. What is it with boomers and technology, honestly.
“Come on, my dude. Please hurry,” Donghyuck whispers, watching the man intensely, both eyebrows drawn together. He tries to send him mental strength, because the teacher actually looks like he’s about to cry. Donghyuck would maybe even go and help him if he wasn’t sitting at the very back of the lecture hall. Jeno pokes his cheek, and Donghyuck jumps. “Answer us, coward,” his friend says, sounding way too pleased. “My weekend was fine. The hangover was annoying, but I spent the rest of the day destroying Jaemin at Mario Kart and eating greasy food, so it could have been worse. Sunday was uneventful, I just caught up with my reading materials for class,” Donghyuck recaps his last two days in a flat voice, “How about you guys?”
“Those were the oh-so-important things you 'had to do'? Groundbreaking, truly.”
Donghyuck ignores Renjun’s sarcasm and begins playing with the cap of his pen. “Well, we stopped by the frat house to help clean everything after Mark’s welcome home party, because we're just nice like that." Donghyuck barely suppresses a snort. "And then he showed us some of the pictures he took in Canada - there was this really cute one where he was cuddling a bear cub, I’m sure you’d love it,” Jeno finishes smugly, and Donghyuck is this close to kicking him.
How dare he put the mental image of Mark cuddling a baby bear in his head. Donghyuck hates how much he loves it. Just because he really likes bears of course, this has nothing to do with Mark himself. If he repeats it over and over again, he might actually believe it one day. Probably not. Ugh, Jeno and Renjun are truly the worst possible friends Donghyuck could ask for. Who needs enemies when he has friends like these.
“Cool,” Donghyuck just murmurs, and thanks the Heavens above when he sees that a student has finally taken mercy on their teacher and is helping him set up. Soon after, the lecture begins, and as annoying as Renjun and Jeno can be, they usually do take their studies seriously, so they finally shut up and leave Donghyuck be. He sighs in relief, and begins taking notes as well.
. . . . . . .
Donghyuck doesn’t even know why he agreed to come.
He doesn't want to be here.
At the frat house.
Again.
He was just here last week, and everyone knows how that ended.
Donghyuck somehow managed to avoid seeing Mark all week - not that it was difficult, seeing as they don’t share a single class. But Mark hasn’t texted Donghyuck either, and Donghyuck would be lying if he said he wasn't actually a teeny tiny bit disappointed.
Right now, he‘s gritting his teeth while cursing Jaemin and his stupidly cute pout and doe eyes. Donghyuck hates to admit it, but he’s prepared to give Jaemin just about anything whenever his best friend looks at him with his deep brown eyes while pushing his bottom lip forward. Honestly, what did the Universe think all those years ago, bringing him into Donghyuck’s life?! Why couldn’t someone, anyone else have answered his ad about looking for a new roommate? Why did it have to be Jaemin?
This whole mess is really just Jaemin’s fault.
If it weren’t for him, Donghyuck would probably never have met the perfection that is Mark Lee.
“Are you trying to set the house on fire by staring at it? Because I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m pretty sure it ain’t gonna work,” Jaemin says, voice laced with barely hidden glee.
He knows how much Donghyuck hates being here. He only agreed to come after Jaemin had promised him Mark wouldn’t be here this evening. Pinky-promised, even! But Donghyuck already sees Mark’s beat-up car parked outside the frat house, and that can only mean one thing - Jaemin has betrayed him.
That bastard.
This is how Jesus must have felt when he found out about Judas’s betrayal. Or Caesar, when he was stabbed by those closest to him, including his own son Brutus. Donghyuck really can’t trust other men. His heart aches for his other best friend Yeri, but of course she just had to graduate top of her class and therefore go attend the most prestigious university in the entire country. Meaning she’s about a thousand miles away from Donghyuck right now. In the end, he really can’t trust anyone, huh. But especially not men. And especially not Jaemin.
“You’re less funny than you think,” Donghyuck just answers flatly, and his roommate scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous, Hyuckie. We both know the Universe has blessed me with both devilishly handsome looks and an amazing and unique humor,” he replies loftily, and now Donghyuck really wants to smack him. But being a self-proclaimed pacifist, he just takes a deep breath and decides to only think about all the ways he would murder Jaemin if he was a cold-blooded killer instead of a usually mild tempered college student. “Come on, don’t be a party pooper and let’s finally go inside, I’m freezing.” And with that, Donghyuck’s best friend simply drags him towards the front door.
Judas and Brutus have nothing on Jaemin, Donghyuck decides.
Because the second they step inside the living room of the frat house, Donghyuck is greeted by Mark’s bare arms. It’s way too cold to be wearing a sleeveless shirt, but Mark didn’t get the memo apparently. Or maybe it’s because he’s just so hot, he doesn’t get cold, like ever.
Donghyuck grimaces at his own lame joke, even though he thankfully didn’t say it out loud. That would have been way too embarrassing.
Quite a few other people are already assembled inside the frat’s living room, maybe about 15 in total, and everyone greets Donghyuck and Jaemin warmly. Donghyuck smiles and returns hugs, and before he knows it, Yuta has already handed him wine in a red plastic cup. How very fancy, he truly feels special tonight. Yuta then pushes him towards the four old, mismatched sofas taking up most of the living room space, and orders Donghyuck to sit down. He is so surprised by Yuta‘s commanding tone, he actually follows the request without much protest.
For a few minutes, Donghyuck just stays quiet and observes the small crowd of people, taking a sip of wine from time to time. It’s dry, too dry for his liking, and he’d rather have a cup of tea right now. Or well, on second thought, maybe a shot of vodka - because suddenly, Mark is making his way towards him. Donghyuck’s eyes dart around the room, and he desperately tries not to stare at the other boy. He looks so good. Too good. No one needs that much beauty, it's truly just excessive. His black hair looks so shiny, Donghyuck just wants to run his fingers through it. And his deep dark eyes, perfect to drown in. Donghyuck just wants to touch Mark’s arms and see if the muscles he usually hides under big hoodies are as hard as they look. He even has a perfectly cute smile, that bastard. It’s just too much, he’s just too much.
Before Donghyuck can get up and flee from the scene, Mark falls onto the ground beside him, and gives him his signature cheery smile. His lips look incredibly kissable in the dimly lit room.
Ugh.
Donghyuck quickly looks away.
“Hi,” Mark says, his deep voice sending a shiver down Donghyuck’s spine. Mark truly has too much power over him, and he doesn’t even know it. “Hi yourself,” Donghyuck answers quietly. “How have you been? We haven’t seen each other all week,” Mark asks, leaning closer, his arm brushing against Donghyuck’s in the process. Instantly, heat ripples through Donghyuck's body, short-circuiting any rational thoughts he might have had. Mark smells really good, and Donghyuck can’t help but inhale deeply. “Yeah, well, I’ve been quite busy,” he then explains, still avoiding to look at the other boy, but out of the corner of his eye, he sees how Mark raises both eyebrows. “Busy? It’s only the second week of class. I didn’t know you’ve become such a geek while I was gone,” he says, but his soft smile indicates he’s just joking. Donghyuck shrugs, and takes another sip of the too dry wine. He grimaces again.
It’s disgusting, really, and he doesn't even know why he’s still drinking it.
Mark takes the cup out of Donghyuck’s hand, and eyes it suspiciously before taking a sip as well. His face says it all, the wine truly is disgusting. “What is this!? A liquid from Hell?!” he asks and shudders, and Donghyuck breaks into a smile. “Considering you’re friends with at least two demons, it’s probably not that far-fetched,” Donghyuck answers, and Mark tilts his head to one side. “What did Renjun and Jeno do now?” he sighs, and Donghyuck shrugs. “They were themselves.” Mark chuckles, mumbles “That actually says it all” under his breath and leans back against the sofa.
He’s still looking at Donghyuck, and Donghyuck feels a blush creep onto his cheeks. Really uncool of his body to just betray him like that. Mind over matter, he thinks, and dares the blush to just go away and leave him be. It doesn’t work though. Years of evolution and he’s still unable to command his body the way he wants to. How incredibly rude. Darwin would surely be so disappointed.
“You know… I really missed you, Hyuck,” Mark suddenly says, his voice barely above a whisper. Donghyuck finally turns towards him, and locks eyes with him. Mark’s expression is tender, and his eyes earnest. Donghyuck clears his throat before giving him the smallest of smiles. “I… well, I missed you too,” he finally confesses, heart fluttering once Mark breaks into a bright smile. He lifts his hand to brush some of Donghyuck’s hair behind his ear, all while still intensely looking at him. Donghyuck’s heart rate immediately flatlines, and he fears he might have a very spontaneous case of strong asthma, because his lungs are apparently giving up on him as well. He basically drowns in Mark’s eyes, their warm brown so familiar.
“GOOD EVENING, MY DEAR FRIENDS,” Johnny suddenly yells, making both him and Mark jump. Donghyuck hurriedly brings some space between them, almost having forgotten about not being alone in the room. He feels more than sees Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin looking at him, all three sporting matching, shit-eating grins.
Maybe being a pacifist is not the right way to go through life after all, because right now, Donghyuck just really wants to punch them.
“Thank you for joining us on this wonderful Friday evening, and welcome to this month’s game night! I see most of you have already found their seats, so everyone who’s still standing, please go and sit down so we can finally start with our program, thank you very much.” Johnny grins and waits for everyone to follow his words. He should really consider quitting law school to become a TV host instead of a lawyer, Donghyuck thinks. When everyone’s finally seated, Johnny grabs an empty bowl from the shelf behind him and holds it up into the air, its blue glass catching the light. “Everyone, please write down your names on the slips of paper provided to you, and then we shall begin playing our first game of the night.”
It takes almost ten minutes for everyone to write down their names, mostly because there aren’t enough pens for everyone, so people keep fighting over them. After everyone’s finally done, Johnny collects everyone’s names and puts them inside the blue bowl, shuffling through them. “First game of the night is Seven Minutes in Heaven,” he announces with a cheeky smile, winking at a girl to his left who immediately breaks into a giggling fit. Johnny usually has that effect on people, always the charmer.
Donghyuck just groans internally. Johnny cannot actually be serious about the first game of the night. But apparently, he is - because he fumbles for two paper slips, about to declare the first names. “Fingers crossed it‘s going to be Jeno and Jaemin, just because I literally cannot stand them silently pining after each other anymore,” Donghyuck mutters, and Mark beside him chuckles. “Yeah, let‘s hope,” he replies in a low voice, leaning closer so Donghyuck can still hear him clearly.
Donghyuck gulps nervously, and is just about to answer when Johnny clears his throat. „Donghyuck, Mark? Did you not listen?” he asks innocently, and they both turn towards him, expressions questioning. For someone so nice looking, Johnny can be really evil sometimes, his smile almost devilish right now. “You’re the first ones up. Now go, have fun. Your seven minutes will begin as soon as the door closes behind you.”
Donghyuck is actually speechless for once, just gaping at the young man in front of him. This can’t be happening. Johnny cannot be serious. There is no way this is a coincidence. Donghyuck knows Johnny and his other friends too well for that. God, he really should have written all their names into his death note when he had the chance. He’s about to demand for Johnny to show him the names in his hand, when -
“Uh, well… Let’s go, then,” Mark suddenly says, curling his fingers around Donghyuck’s wrist to help him up from the floor and drag him towards the little broom cabinet under the stairs.
How very Harry Potter-like.
The last thing Donghyuck sees before Johnny closes the door in his face, is the other man‘s stupid smirk.
Oh how much Donghyuck hates him and the others right now.
It’s dark inside the cabinet, the only source of light coming from the slight gaps around the door. Still, it’s too dim to see anything clearly. Dust tickles Donghyuck’s nose, and he has to suppress a sneeze. Mark standing opposite him clears his throat. “So,” he says, and Donghyuck shifts from one foot to the other. The cabinet is small enough for their bodies to be almost touching. He can feel the heat radiating off Mark, and wants nothing more than to cuddle to his chest.
“So,” Donghyuck finally repeats. “Here we are,” Mark continues. Donghyuck just chuckles and nervously rubs the palms of his hands together, the air between him and the other boy thick with tension. Before he can say anything else, Mark takes a step closer, hot breath fanning over Donghyuck’s face. He smells like mint mixed with alcohol. It’s a nice combination, Donghyuck thinks. But then again, he always likes anything about Mark, no matter what.
He’s Mark, after all.
His Mark.
Donghyuck shivers involuntarily, Mark’s close proximity making him almost a little dizzy. “Are you cold?” the other boy murmurs, voice low and silky. Goosebumps rise all over Donghyuck’s body, and he shakes his head - until he remembers Mark can’t actually see him in the darkness of the closet. “Not really,” he quickly whispers back, breath hitching when Mark suddenly wraps both arms around his waist to pull him close to his chest. Donghyuck can feel Mark’s rapid heartbeat underneath the palm of his hand, mirroring his own.
“Why did you leave last week?” Mark asks, sounding more vulnerable than Donghyuck has ever heard before. He gulps and bites down on his bottom lip. Guilt washes over him. “Technically, you left first - for Canada, remember?” Donghyuck finally shoots back, a really weak and sad attempt if he’s being honest. “You know I never would have left if I didn’t have to,” Mark says, and Donghyuck sighs. He knows that, of course he does. Mark is a nice, good guy, a really nice, good guy. It had been stupid of Donghyuck to confess his love for him right before the other boy had to leave. In the end, Donghyuck‘s broken heart had been no one’s fault except his own.
He takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to do - I wasn’t sure how you’d react, waking up next to me after all those months of not even talking,” he finally confesses, voice soft and tiny, and ducks his head.
Mark brushes his knuckles against Donghyuck’s cheek before he lifts the smaller boy’s chin with two fingers. “First of all, the not-talking was kind of your fault. I did try calling you multiple times and sent you at least 50 texts you left unanswered,“ Mark sounds both reprimanding and teasing, but before Donghyuck can defend himself, he quickly continues: „And I would have been happy to wake up beside you last Saturday. I would have kissed you good morning before making you some coffee. And then, I would have stayed in bed all day, cuddling you and showing you all the cool pictures I took in Canada.”
Mark’s thumb is tracing gentle patterns on Donghyuck’s cheek, which is very distracting. Donghyuck’s thoughts are a jumbled mess, so he exhales, trying to calm himself. Even in his own ears, it sounds wobbly. “That would have been nice,” he finally answers, and can almost feel Mark’s bright and relieved smile. “Well, tomorrow is Saturday again. So maybe we can just have a do-over,” the other boy suggests, lips awfully close to Donghyuck’s now. “I think I’d like that - I’d really like that,” Donghyuck mumbles against Mark’s lips, and then - finally - they’re kissing.
Fireworks burst behind Donghyuck’s closed eyelids, and he quickly wraps both arms around Mark’s neck to pull the other boy even closer. Now that they’ve started, it seems they can’t get enough of each other - what begins as a slow, romantic kiss quickly becomes a clashing of tongues and teeth, and when Mark bites down on Donghyuck’s bottom lip, he can’t help but moan into the older boy’s mouth, a hot, tingling feeling coursing through his entire body. All he can think of right now is that he never wants this moment to end - he’s been waiting for this to happen for such a long time. He’s been waiting for Mark to finally find his way back to him for so long. And he himself is just so, so tired of running away from Mark. Never before has anything ever felt so right.
They’re interrupted by a sudden knock on the door, and immediately jump apart, breaking the kiss. They’re both breathless, chests heaving, and even though Donghyuck can’t see right now, he knows his hair is probably a total mess while his lips are swollen and both cheeks flushed.
“Your seven minutes are over, so you better be decent!” Jaemin says from the other side, and before either Donghyuck or Mark can reply, their friend has already opened the door.
Light floods the tiny cabinet, and they blink against it, feeling like deers caught in headlights. The first thing Donghyuck sees when his eyes have finally adjusted to the sudden brightness, is Jaemin’s shit-eating grin. His roommate stands in the hallway with his arms crossed and head tilted to one side. “Well, well, well. Heaven sure seems to be as magical as they say, huh?” he just says, and Donghyuck really wants to smack the grin off his stupidly handsome face.
“Well, maybe you and Jeno should visit Heaven too then,” Donghyuck just sneers, but before Jaemin can reply, Mark starts laughing and reaches for Donghyuck’s hand. He lifts their interlaced fingers to his lips and brushes a soft kiss against Donghyuck‘s knuckles. Donghyuck is ready to just faint right there and then, knees almost buckling from the sweet gesture. Who cares about Jaemin’s stupid grin when Mark is being perfect again.
“Truly magical, yes, I can 100% confirm,” Mark says good-humoredly, and tugs Donghyuck out of the broom closet, “And if you’d excuse us now.” With that, he simply drags Donghyuck up the stairs and towards his room. “Hey, where are you going?!” Jaemin and Jeno yell in unison, and Donghyuck looks over his shoulder to give them a cheeky grin. “Mark has some pictures he wants to show me - someone told me there’s this very cute one where he’s cuddling a bear cub, and I really want to have a look at that right now,” Donghyuck answers innocently, and winks at his friends.
Mark just laughs and quickly pulls him close to kiss him again. Donghyuck ignores the cheers and laughter from the others downstairs. God, their friends are really embarrassing sometimes. But maybe he’s not that sorry about not having written any of them into his death note anymore. Because as stupid and embarrassing as they might often be, Donghyuck does truly adore every single one of them.
“You know what, I think that particular picture would make a really cute wallpaper for your phone,” Mark murmurs against his lips once they break apart again, and Donghyuck raises both eyebrows. “Oh, I bet,” he just answers, and smiles at Mark.
…Spoiler alert: it’s actually the perfect wallpaper for Donghyuck’s phone.