Work Text:
Donghyuck’s just finished putting his pie in the oven when he hears a clattering sound from his bedroom. He frowns, glancing over at the front door. His mom isn’t supposed to come home for a few hours and he didn’t see anyone else coming in.
There’s another sound, one that sounds suspiciously like Donghyuck’s giant Lego set getting pushed over, and a quiet swear. Donghyuck leaves the kitchen, grabbing a knife on his way out. If he’s about to get robbed, he at least wants to be protected.
His door is cracked open but he can’t see that far inside, so he kicks it with his foot and holds the knife out in front of him.
“Wait!” the figure in his room exclaims, turning around with their hands up. “It’s just me!”
Donghyuck lowers the knife, frowning. “...Mark?”
Mark nods sheepishly as he puts his hands down. Now the lack of front door usage makes sense. Donghyuck always leaves his window open, mainly because they’re five floors up and he likes the breeze, and Mark can easily get in if he wants to.
“What are you doing here?” Donghyuck asks.
But it only takes a second for him to put the pieces together himself. Mark’s in his room, still in his Spider-man suit, with his mask clutched in one hand and his backpack in the other. There’s blood all over him, some half-drying on his suit, and some slowly dripping down his chin from his still-bleeding nose.
“What happened?” Donghyuck exclaims, putting the knife down on his desk and taking a few steps forward.
Mark just shakes his head. “Sorry. I just— Your place was closer and I didn’t know where else to go.”
“And you thought I would be the best idea?”
Some blood falls from Mark’s chin onto the carpet and he grimaces, dropping his backpack and bringing his hand up to wipe his face.
“Sorry,” he says again.
Donghyuck sighs and reaches out, grabbing Mark’s hand and pulling him towards the bathroom. He sits Mark down on the toilet seat and starts rummaging through the cabinet for supplies.
“You should be more careful,” he says quietly.
He finds the first-aid kit and pulls it out, dumping its contents on the counter to look through it all.
“You’re gonna make a mess,” Mark tells him, his voice half muffled by his hand, and Donghyuck shoots him a glare.
“You’re the one who’s bleeding all over my apartment,” he replies. “You’re not in a position to judge me right now.”
Mark blushes, looking down at the mess on his suit.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he offers weakly. “I’ll heal pretty quickly. I was just…I bled more than I thought I would.”
“Yeah, because you’re stupid,” Donghyuck answers, trying to sound more confident than he feels. His voice wavers a little anyway.
He gives up on digging through the supplies and grabs a washcloth instead, running it under some water, before moving over to stand between Mark’s legs, looking down at him. Mark’s nose seems to have stopped bleeding, which is good, but his face and hand are still covered in blood.
Donghyuck reaches out, cupping Mark’s cheek in one hand.
“Stay still,” he murmurs.
He brings the washcloth to Mark’s face and starts gently cleaning the blood. Mark winces but doesn’t try to pull away, instead just closes his eyes and breathes slowly. Donghyuck tries to ignore the pounding in his chest.
Once Mark’s face is free from blood, Donghyuck takes his hand and wipes it carefully. Mark opens his eyes, watching with a mess of embarrassment and intrigue. Donghyuck runs his thumb over Mark’s knuckles briefly before pulling back.
“There,” he says, his voice much quieter than he meant for it to be. “Now you’re clean.”
Mark looks down at his suit and Donghyuck feels his cheeks heat up. Right. It’s not only his face that they need to worry about.
“Are you hurt?” Donghyuck asks him. “Did you get stabbed or something?”
Mark shakes his head. “No, I just— I’ll be fine. It’s probably healed by now. I’m just…”
They both look at his suit. Even if he’s fine, he’s still covered in blood.
“Okay,” Donghyuck replies.
“Okay?” Mark looks up at him in confusion.
Donghyuck grabs his hand, pulling him to his feet, and leads him back into his bedroom. He pushes Mark onto the bed and opens his closet. As he opens the door, he trips on a piece of Lego.
“Dude,” he says, unimpressed. “You broke my Lego. You couldn’t have been more careful?”
“Sorry,” Mark replies, and he really does sound apologetic. “You can—Uh—You can always rebuild it?”
Donghyuck rolls his eyes, grabbing a shirt and some sweatpants. He turns around and throws them at Mark.
“I’m gonna make you do it for me,” he declares.
It’s an empty threat and they both know it. Donghyuck likes building stuff. He’s just annoyed. Mark still has the decency to duck his head and look ashamed.
“Just change into my stuff,” Donghyuck says, gesturing to the clothes on Mark’s lap. “I’ll just—”
An alarm on Donghyuck’s phone starts going off in the kitchen and he sighs.
“What’s that?” Mark asks, sitting up straighter like there’s some threat he needs to take down. Typical. As if Donghyuck wouldn’t be able to handle himself.
“It’s my pie, you loser,” Donghyuck replies, unimpressed. “Stay here and get changed. I just have to take it out of the oven.”
He leaves the room, closing the door behind him to give Mark some semblance of privacy. The sweet smell of pie is filling the kitchen and he grins as he pulls it out of the oven. It looks a lot better than the last one he made, which isn’t that high of a bar to pass, but still. He’s allowed to be proud of himself.
“What’s that?” Mark asks from behind him.
“Jesus Christ!” Donghyuck exclaims. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“Sorry,” Mark replies, but he’s smiling and not at all sorry. “But what is that?”
“Strawberry pie,” Donghyuck says proudly. “Do you want some?”
“Since when did you bake?” Mark asks, and Donghyuck scowls at the lack of an immediate ‘yes.’
“I thought I would try it,” he replies defensively. “It’s a good stress reliever. And I know someone who gives me a lot of stress.”
Mark blushes. Good. He should be embarrassed.
“Just sit down and I’ll give you some,” Donghyuck says, pushing Mark towards a chair. “And you have to lie and tell me it’s good even if it sucks, otherwise I’ll beat you up. Do you really want to go for round two?”
“I’m not sure you could take me,” Mark laughs, sitting down.
“Yeah, that’s what I want you to think,” Donghyuck huffs.
He grabs two plates and a knife and starts cutting the pie. It’s too hot and he really shouldn’t be trying to eat any right now, but he doesn’t care. Who has the time to wait for it to cool down?
He brings both plates over to the table and sits across from Mark, waiting for him to take the first bite.
“Listen, Donghyuck…” Mark says quietly. “I was supposed to meet up with Jaemin later but…I don’t think showing up like this…”
“Yeah, yeah,” Donghyuck replies, rolling his eyes. “I’ll be your alibi.”
“Thanks.”
Mark looks up at him and smiles, so bright that it takes over his whole face, and Donghyuck’s stomach flutters.
“Shut up,” he mutters, crossing his arms. “Just eat my pie and tell me it’s the best thing you’ve ever had.”