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“God, Mark, what happened to you?”
He hauls ass in through the bedroom window, wearing the shredded remains of a rented tux and the Spider-Man mask only. “I’m not going to lie, things got out of hand today.”
“You were supposed to be home after lunch!” Renjun says, gripping his arm and yanking him over to the bed, and Mark peels off the mask. “Where the hell have you been? Just a morning round, you promised me just a swing of the city before my parents came over—I’ve been making up lies all day about where you were—”
“I’m sorry, Renjun, really sorry, I really did want to meet them like I said. Did they go already…?”
“Mark, it’s two in the morning! Yes, they went back to their hotel! I told them so much about how good you are to live with, and then you disappear on me all day—and now you come back, wearing whatever the hell you’re wearing, why on earth were you fighting in this?”
Mark grips Renjun’s hand hard, trying to impress on him how sorry he is. “I’m so sorry, I really, really didn’t mean for this to happen. The day totally got away from me.”
Renjun peels the suit jacket away from his shoulders gingerly, sucking in air through his teeth when he sees the angry burns on Mark’s skin. “Mark, what the hell happened? Hang on, I have something to treat those.”
Mark slips off the wreckage of his suit trousers too, grimacing at them. “There’s no way I’m going to be able to afford to pay the rental place for this. I hope Chenle will help me cover it.”
“Who the hell is Chenle?” Renjun asks, sitting down beside him with a tub of burn salve. He uncaps it, and begins treating Mark’s skin with care and patience.
“Dude, if I think about it, this whole day comes down to him. So, earlier, I really was just going to do a swing of the city, right? I totally was, I just went around the block, you know, my normal route where the school is and stuff—but then I got a text from Jeno saying that Firestarter had been spotted downtown, right?
“So I’m like okay, gotta swing there fast, see what that’s about—not that I’m gonna assume the worst about Firestarter, I know he’s not hurt anyone before, but he can’t go around setting fire to buildings, you know? So I go to the last sighting spot, and lo and behold, what do I see, but there’s a trail of smoke in the sky when I get there. Something’s on fire, so I go and investigate as quick as I can, because even if his MO is empty buildings, you’re still putting the local people in danger by setting a huge fire like that.
“When I get there, there’s no Firestarter in sight. But there is a guy outside the burning building and his jacket is kind of on fire, and I’m like, was he caught in the building? Were there other people in the building? So I swing over, and help him get his jacket off real quick, and stamp out the fire. And he turns around and says thank you Spider-Man, and I’m like no problem dude, also do you happen to know if anyone else was in this building? Should I go in? And he’s like no dude, it’s empty, I own the building and it hasn’t been used for years.
“But he’s got this huge grin on his face and I’m thinking okay, pretty weird to look this happy if your building has just been burned down. So I’m like, did you start the fire? And he’s like no! That guy did! And I turn around, and Firestarter is standing in the alley, and he’s got this friend with him. And behind me Chenle shouts you burned down my building! and starts running towards him. And here I realise like, three things at once.
“One, I kinda recognise the grinning guy, because he’s a big fan of Spider-Man! I’ve seen him a few times on TikTok and stuff, he does loads of theories and edits. Two, because he’s a Spider-Man fan, that’s probably why he’s so happy I came to save him, and probably also why he doesn’t have any fear running towards an arsonist, cause he trusts me so much, right? Three, Firestarter’s friend is none other than Jumpstart. Wait, it should be four actually, because the fourth was whether Firestarter and Jumpstart are dating, because they both have ‘start’ in their names, or whether that’s a coincidence. That would make it awkward if they broke up but wanted to continue being supervillains, right?
“Anyway, I run after Chenle—I learned later his name was Chenle, but you know, I knew him as my fan right then—and I catch up pretty easily, but Jumpstart has taken Firestarter and gone back into the burning building. I didn’t know his phase power could work on other people too, but they went right though the wall into the building. And Chenle opens up this door and runs after them, so I run after him, like, don’t run into burning buildings! You’ve got a much worse chance of surviving than the guy who can phase through stuff!
“So I go after him, and pick him up, and go to turn around and get him out. But the building has started collapsing inside, so we can’t go out the door anymore. I’m running through the building, holding this grown man in my arms, and Firestarter and Jumpstart are nowhere to be seen. Eventually I find this window that’s smashed open, big enough for us to go through one at a time, but I’m worried swinging us both through is gonna make more of the building collapse. So I get him to go through first, and he makes it through okay, comes out into the little yard out back. But when I go through, the frame starts to collapse like I thought. I get hit on the head and fall out the window and I’m like, coughing from the smoke, and I’m really dizzy from the hit on the head, and Chenle is panicking. And he pulls off my mask, because I look like I’m really struggling to breathe, I guess.
“That makes me choke more, because I’m so surprised, and Chenle looks more panicked, and I’m still dizzy. And Chenle helps me climb through the window of the opposite building so we can get away from the smoke. But when I can get my breath back, I’m panicking more, because now one of my biggest fans knows my secret identity, right? And Chenle starts talking kinda a lot about how he won’t reveal my secret, and it’s not like he knows my name and all this stuff, and he starts telling me all about himself to try make it even. That’s when I learn his name is Chenle, he comes from the Zhong family, so, you know, no wonder he owned that building. He explained how he had been investigating Firestarter since I fought him last month and tracking him, and he realised he might come for a Zhong building next. He’s been going around checking out his family’s unused property, which is how he happened to be there at that time.
“So I’m there, wheezing through carbon monoxide poisoning, squatting in this abandoned building behind a fire, with my biggest fan who knows my face, and all I’m thinking is… dude. Firestarter is gonna strike again. First he does an isolated building, as a warning sign. Then he does something huge, to try and take down these really wealthy families. And Chenle is babbling on, telling me he’s got this big ball tonight, and I’m like, dude, Firestarter is sooo gonna strike then. You know Jeno had that theory that his last two hits on people like Chenle were meant to kill his targets as well as tear down property? Yeah, I was thinking, he’s right, and Chenle’s family home is gonna be burned down with him in it tonight. But Chenle hadn’t figured out what Jeno had, so he’s just theorising about his family home by the coast being the next target. And I’m like, how do I tell this kid who just tried so hard to save my life, and then to reassure me he wouldn’t compromise me, that he’s gonna be under attack? How can we even prove it to police without a proper pattern of behaviour?
“So I suddenly asked him if I could come with him to his party. Strung some story about being a poor kid who had never been to one, and Chenle seemed soooo stoked about that dude, he was like yeah, of course you can come, how could I ever say no to Spider-Man? Plus, you just saved my life. And I’m like haha, yeah dude, though it might be better for me to come as Mark rather than Spider-Man. And then I’m like oops, just gave away more of my identity, but it’s probably okay, Chenle seems really genuine, and it’s important to the mission!
“Next place we have to go is to the tux rental place, because there's no way I own anything fancy enough for this party, and I get myself a nice suit. And we go back to his place, and he makes me like, an amazing meal, and checks my head wound, and helps me prepare to meet all the fancy rich people who are gonna be at the party. And the whole time I’m just scoping the building out, thinking, where is Firestarter gonna come from, if he’s teaming up with Jumpstart now he can get in anywhere, how do I stop someone who can phase through anything? But Chenle’s place is so huge, and also so interesting, I’m kinda enjoying myself even as the party gets closer and closer. And he teaches me how to dance like the posh people do, and as guests start arriving he tells me who everyone is. He knows all the gossip, Renjun, it’s crazy how much gossip there is about rich people.
“But the night goes on, the party gets going, and you know, Chenle is actually really fun to hang around with. I kinda totally forgot he nearly got me killed then uncovered my secret identity earlier in the day because he’s just so easy to hang out with. But then it all comes crashing back when the fire alarm goes off, and everyone starts to panic and go to leave, and then we realise the entire circumference of Chenle’s mansion is on fire. There’s no way for anyone to get out.
“I knew I had no choice but to find Firestarter to stop the fire. So I quickly get the mask on, and jump up out of one of the windows, and start to climb up the building. I figure they must be somewhere here, because the fire has JUST started. And I get to the roof, and Firestarter and Jumpstart are both there, and Firestarter is focusing on growing the fire.
“First thing I gotta do is web Jumpstart up, get to him before he can make Firestarter untouchable. Web his arms to his sides, and then hang him off the side of the building, that way he can’t phase out of the webs without a thirty-foot fall, and he’s not gonna cause trouble. But spending my time on him means Firestarter has time to notice me and put up a defense.
“By the time Jumpstart is taken care of, my whole tux is on fire. But I haven’t got time to think about that if I’m gonna catch him. So then we start fighting, on this rooftop, in the dark, while I’m on fire. It was INTENSE, I’m telling you. But he’s not much of a fighter, and I think he was taken aback by the fact being on fire didn’t really slow me down, you know? So I use the same trick on him—make sure he’s wrapped up in a web and dangle him from the roof. And he starts screaming, and I tell him, you’re only coming down once you stop the fire! And what do you know, that actually works.
“So I go back to the party to tell Chenle, and he’s somehow directing everyone to evacuate out of the window I left from, climbing up on a table and jumping out onto the lawn. So nearly everyone is out of the party, waiting and watching. And I’m like dude, I got him, tell the cops they’re hanging from the roof when they get here. And he says, you’re still on fire! and tells me to roll around in the grass until it’s all out. Then when it’s out I realise how much I’m hurting, and I’m like… really good party, dude, thanks for having me, but I really gotta get back to Renjun and get patched up. Chenle is like wait! I have to thank you, you saved my life, my family, everything!
“I’m about to protest, but he gives me the most, like, sincere hug I’ve ever had in my life. I think if I hadn’t had my mask on he would’ve kissed me, probably, he seemed so thankful. So I gave him my number and promised I would see him this weekend, I think he wants to take me out to dinner to say thank you, so he’s going to meet me in the lobby later this week and we’ll go to the diner down the road. Then I swung back home—”
“He’s meeting you in our lobby?” Renjun says, and Mark stalls. The salve is now covering every inch of his burning skin. Renjun always has the best remedies—it barely even hurts any more.
“Um, yes?”
“Let me get this straight, then,” Renjun says, hands clasped together. “Today you saved a huge Spider-Man fan, who unmasked you. You gave him your name and went and visited his family home. You danced with him, gossiped with him, and had such a good time you forgot you were there to save his life. You fought a villain while on fire for him. He nearly kissed you at the end of the night. You gave him our address. And you came home.”
“That about sums it up, yeah,” Mark says, scratching his head. “Hey, you’re way better at explaining things than me.”
Renjun intakes a deep breath. “And now you’re dating your biggest fan, too?”
“What? Dude, no, it’s like a thank-you meal. Isn’t it?”
“You just said he was going to kiss you!”
There’s an urgent series of knocks on the door.
Both of them spring up, alert, and Mark gestures for Renjun to stay put as he slides through the apartment in his boxers and the remnants of his fancy shirt. He looks through the peephole, and none other than Chenle is there.
He swings open the door. “Chenle?”
“I just realised as soon as you left,” he says, no preamble. “You knew Firestarter was gonna be there, right? You came to the party to save me.”
“Yeah,” he says, because he’s an honest kind of guy.
Chenle steps forward, takes Mark’s face between his hands, and kisses him on the mouth. Like he really means it.
When he pulls back, wide-eyed, clearing his throat, Chenle is looking up at him with stars in his eyes.
Movement in his peripheral—Renjun emerging into the hallway. He raises his eyebrows, looking between Mark and Chenle.
“Okay, maybe it was,” he says, and Chenle stumbles properly inside, wrapping Mark up in another sincere, warm hug. “But maybe that’s not so bad, right?”
“You’re meeting my parents tomorrow, even if I have to drag your new boyfriend with us,” Renjun says, before turning back into the bedroom.
“Who’s your new boyfriend?” Chenle asks, and Mark looks at his mouth. Alright, so he wants to kiss him again.
“You, I guess?”
“Oh,” Chenle says, breaking into a huge, beaming grin. “Awesome!”
Mark kisses him again, and yeah, actually. Chenle is his boyfriend.
Nice.