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“Did you get the seats I told you to?”
“Yes. The loveseats in the back, just like you demanded, your majesty.”
Donghyuck hums contently and does a 180° turn, completely ignoring the bag of chips Mark was holding for him to take. “Marvelous. Let’s go, sweetcheeks, we don’t wanna be late.”
Mark sighs and wonders what horrible thing did he do in his past life to deserve such a menace of a best friend‒he must’ve been a murderer of some sort for sure, because a curse like this isn’t something a pickpocketer would face. “We have 37 minutes until it starts, Hyuck,” Mark says as he checks the time, “That’s more than enough for us to get there and buy something to drink.” Not that they needed any, Mark’s backpack was already loaded with gummy worms and candy bars as well as drinks.
“No, it’s not.”
“Well, 30 minutes sure sounds like enough time for me to kill you and throw your body away.” He quips while trying to squeeze the bag of chips into his backpack that’s already full to the brim. Fuck Donghyuck and his stupid chips.
“But who’s gonna snuggle you and pamper you with kisses once I’m gone?” The younger innocently asks, stopping when he notices Mark’s not following him. He’s still preoccupied with the bag of chips that’s obviously not going to fit in the backpack.
“Jaemin,” Mark answers right away. He doesn’t even have to think about it; Jaemin is like a taller, bulkier, less evil version of Donghyuck. Still a huge pain in the ass though, with all the kissing and touching and groping. Mark’s never been a fan of skinship but spending time with Jaemin and Donghyuck sure made him immune to all the ass-smacking, hand-holding, cheek-squeezing shit they do on a daily basis. Well, used to make him. He’s been a bit jumpy lately, courtesy of Donghyuck that keeps pestering him more than usual.
“You wound me, Mark. I thought I was your favorite.” Donghyuck whines, throwing himself at the boy. They both almost fall.“Don’t you like my kisses? My soft smooches? I’m way better than Jaemin and those crusty-ass lips of his!”
“Get off of me, demon.” Mark grunts, trying to hold both himself and Donghyuck straight‒which is funny because Donghyuck is as gay as it gets. He’s got scoliosis, too. There’s nothing straight about that boy except the fact that he’s a straight-up asshole. “We’re both going to fall, get off, Donghyuck.”
Donghyuck scoffs but lets Mark go‒it’s not like they have time to fuck around, anyway.
The movie starts in half an hour and Donghyuck likes to get there early enough to go through their sacred movie-date routine which usually goes down like this;
First, after they ever so successfully pass the security (as if they’re bringing a bomb, not Sour Patches) they go to the bathroom to take an obligatory, pre-movie piss. Donghyuck puts his phone on silent immediately after, not wanting to have his phone ringing during the movie, unlike Mark who habitually forgets to do so and then has his phone going ppalgan mat during the movie (it’s usually just Jaemin calling on purpose to embarrass Mark).
Then, after they made sure there won't be any bathroom breaks needed, they head inside, hoping for an empty auditorium. The younger boy hates being late so arriving there early puts his mind at ease (especially if they’re the first ones to arrive). After they settle down, Donghyuck makes fun of Mark as the boy struggles with all the snacks they brought with them, reminding him that he needs to buy a bigger backpack; “This is the bigger backpack!” Mark always bites back. Donghyuck knows that; they’ve been having little movie-dates for a little bit over two years and each time they bring more and more snacks‒Mark’s backpack might be big but the amount of food they bring is bigger. Mark claims they’re going to come with a full-course meal one day and Donghyuck agrees. (If they manage to squeeze it into Mark’s bag, that is.)
They usually continue the routine with a small obligatory bickering session which ends with both of them laughing at each other. Donghyuck then proceeds to take as many pictures as possible while the auditorium’s still empty, even if they end up looking terrible every single time, with a smiley Donghyuck and a blurry, moving Mark in the back who is, yes, still probably struggling with the snacks.
Lastly, after they both part ways and go home, Donghyuck prints one of those horrible pictures out and pins it next to the others on the pinboard he made for him and Mark, as he always does;
Because Donghyuck is (Jaemin claims) a lovesick fool and that’s that.
- ••
They’re 20 minutes early and everything is going according to the plan, much to Donghyuck’s delight. They don’t get kicked out for bringing in their own food (which technically isn’t even illegal, Jeno once said) and they high-five when they’re out of the staff’s sight, happy they managed to smuggle in the food. Their first stop is the bathroom, which takes a bit more than usual because Mark suddenly had to poop.
“It’s that damn ramen Jisung made last night,” Mark whispers from the bathroom stall, “ he used the Lao Gan Ma Chenle brought from China two years ago.”
“You willingly ate something Jisung has made? You wanna die or something?”
“C’mon, Hyuck. He’s been all sulky since Chenle went back to China, I had to make him feel better somehow. If eating Chenle’s ramen does the trick, then so be it.”
Sadly, Donghyuck has to agree on that. “So you two thought that making Chenle’s famous ramen with a 2-year-old chilly sauce is the best way to deal with him missing his best friend.”
“He was sad, Donghyuck,” Mark says from behind the door and Donghyuck understands. A sad Jisung is a dangerous Jisung because no one can resist that pout of his.
“Chenle’s gonna be back in two weeks, I’m sure he’ll survive,” he answeres in the end, “now hurry up before someone comes in.”
Mark quickly finishes his business, washes his hands and pats them dry using his pants. Donghyuck gives him back his backpack and they head inside. Surprisingly, they still end up being the first ones in the auditorium. Donghyuck takes the opportunity to spam the OT7 group chat with pictures of Mark who dropped a whole pack of already opened gummy worms on the floor as soon as he sat down and opened his backpack. The only reason why it’s open in the first place is that Donghyuck opened it while Mark was taking a dump, suddenly craving something sweet. He ate maybe three of the worms before he decided it would probably be better to wait and devour the rest during the movie, so he just shoved the pack back into the bag, not bothering to close it or whatever.
He doesn’t tell that to Mark, of course, and leaves him thinking that the bag opened by itself.
“I don’t get it,” Mark mumbles, “it wasn’t even opened yet. I bought it this morning. The package seemed fine.” He pouts as he collects the gummy worms, clearly upset that they met such fate. It would’ve been better if they ended up in his stomach and not on the floor.
Donghyuck just shrugs and opens a Kit-Kat Mark was hiding in the inner pocket of his backpack as if Donghyuck doesn’t know where his hiding spots are. He takes a bite, moaning at the taste. “Just leave the rest there, the staff’s gonna clean it later. Sit, people are starting to come.”
“But it’s my fault, I’m the one that dropped them,” Mark says.
“So what? They’re gonna have to clean it anyways, it’s their job. C’mon sweets, get up.” Donghyuck grabs the hem of his shirt and pulls him up, moving the snacks temporarily onto his lap, making space for the elder to sit. “I don’t like other people seeing you on your knees,” he adds while smirking.
Mark smacks his hands away, frowning. He’s acting tough but Donghuck can see the faint blush rosing his cheeks. “You’re being nasty again.”
“I’m always nasty, sweetcheeks. Here, hold this‒” he throws the snacks back to Mark, “I wanna cuddle.”
“This is so gay,” Mark complains as if it’s the first time Donghyuck’s glued himself to his side. Donghyuck frowns at the somewhat disgusted tone Mark used. He eyes the people around them; Nobody’s paying attention to them. What’s his problem?
“I am gay.” Donghyuck deadpans. The light finally dims down, signaling the beginning of the movie. Donghyuck is still confused. Never once in his life has Mark said something like that in front of him, not even as a joke like Jaemin often does. Now that he thinks about it, Mark’s been acting weird lately…
“Yeah, but I’m not so please have some respect.”
“Respect is earned,” the younger replies and moves closer, close enough to whisper into Mark’s ear, ”you, my dear friend, are not worthy of my respect.”
Mark shivers involuntarily, trying hard to keep his composure. Truth is that Donghyuck’s been acting weird lately, too; He’s always hanging of off Mark, whispering weird things into his ear, things that have absolutely no sense to Mark.
“What do you mean?” He asks seriously after Donghyuck scoots back to his place.
“What do you mean, what do I mean?” Donghyuck innocently asks but Mark can see right through him. He’s mad. Does he know that Mark knows?
“God,” Mark groans, “You’re insufferable.”
And with that, Donghyuck decides to put Mark’s bag in between them. They shouldn’t have gotten the loveseats. “Insufferable and proud. By the way, did you turn off your phone? If Red Velvet’s Red Flavour starts playing during the movie, again, I’m gonna fucking smash your phone until it stops ringing and then smash your stupid head with the previously smashed phone.”
“That’s an awful lot of smashing.”
Yeah, something we could be doing if you weren’t such a dumbass, Donghyuck thinks to himself but doesn’t say out loud. Not that it would make any difference even if he said it; Mark is just too oblivious for his own damn good, or he’s just pretending to be an oblivious fool, and that is good. It’s great, actually, because Donghyuck keeps slipping and saying shit he shouldn’t be saying and Mark probably thinks it’s just him going through one of his phases.
“Did you turn off your damn phone, Mark.”
“Yes, I did. Stop bullying me, you heathen.”
“Perfect. Now hush, the movie is about to start.”
- ••
People leave the auditorium as soon as the credits start rolling. Donghyuck stretches in his seat, wincing. His back hurts, but it’s not something that out of the ordinary; He’s always slouching and his back is always hurting. Mark even has his number saved under The Hunchback of Notre Dame and if that isn’t love then Donghyuck doesn’t know what is.
He burps after finishing his Cola in one go. “Mhm, we should head out. I kinda need to pee, like, really bad. Too much Coca Cola.” Donghyuck announces as he stands up without sparing a glance to the other, stretching once more. His back is killing him.
“Do you want me to call Renjun to crack you a bit?” Mark asks warily, still sensing the tension between them.
“Only if you want to.”
“I was planning on calling the boys anyway,” Mark reassures, “Does 7 sound okay to you? I was thinking we could have some take-out as well, I’m craving chicken.”
Donghyuck hesitates, unsure. Mark and he don’t fall into arguments that often and even if this wasn’t even a proper fight, he can’t help but feel a bit down and not in the mood to hang out. However, him ignoring Mark would only blow this out of proportion and turn it into a proper fight because if there’s anything that Mark despises it’s being ignored. “Only if we get some beer as well.”
“Of course.” He smiles.
“Sweet.”
They’re the last ones to leave the auditorium. Donghyuck burps once again as they’re leaving, not even bothering to apologize. One of the staff members gives him a stink eye, obviously not impressed and Mark apologizes on his behalf, dragging him out before he further embarrasses them.
They make their way back home (Mark’s home, but Donghyuck is there 24/7 so it’s basically his home as well) in silence, with only an occasional hum leaving Donghyuck’s lips. Can You Feel The Love Tonight is stuck in his head.
“So, what do you think?” Donghyuck finally asks.
“It was alright.” Mark shrugs.
“It was bad, wasn’t it.”
“So bad.”
They immediately start laughing. Donghyuck has tears in his eyes, caught off guard by Mark’s straightforwardness. Mark is laughing too‒ giggling, actually, but Mark always giggles, it’s his default setup and god does Donghyuck love his laugh. It’s moments like these that remind him why he fell for his best friend.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Donghyuck reasons after they calm down, “we just had high expectations.”
“To be honest, I was sleeping with my eyes open for the most part,” Mark admits.
“Mark!”
“What? It’s not like I haven’t seen it before. The animation was impressive I’ll give them that, but there was something missing…”
Donghyuck nods his head, “The animation was maybe a bit too impressive,” he says, “They were too realistic so it was hard for me to connect with them. All I kept doing was trying to see if the lions had balls or not. ”
“I agree. They traded emotions for realism, so it was kind of excepted. I even saw bad reviews online but I wasn’t aware I’d be this disappointed. We might be advanced creatures but we still cannot decipher animal emotions, you know. We only empathize when we see human emotion or expression. That’s why the original seems more impressive because the characters had something more human about them. ”
“I should’ve listened to you when you said we should go and watch the Avengers.”
“Well, you were quite adamant about seeing the Lion King…”
“I thought Beyonce’s gonna make it all worth it.” Donghyuck sulks. “But even Beyonce has her own limits.”
“How about we watch the original to appreciate the masterpiece once more?”
Donghyuck beams at that. “Really?”
“Of course. The boys are coming over anyway. We can have a sleepover, Yukhei’s out of town anyway.”Mark reasons as they make their way up to his apartment, that awkward moment from before long forgotten.
Mark’s apartment is a penthouse, actually, all courtesy of Yukhei, a fellow foreigner Mark met during his freshman year of college. They clicked immediately and a year later when Mark’s parents decided to move back to Canada, Yukhei came to the rescue, asking the boy if he wanted to move in with him. That’s the story of how Mark ended up living in a luxurious penthouse while Donghyuck has to fight three other guys just to take a piss. And it’s not Jeno or Jaemin that are the problem, it’s Renjun who hogs the bathroom almost all the time. When they asked for a valid reason, Renjun just said he likes to jack off in the shower‒Donghyuck’s certain it’s his hiding spot, the only place in their tiny apartment that offers privacy. He’s also 100% sure Renjun has a girlfriend, but he’s not going to say anything to Jaemin or Jeno despite the fact that he’s the residential tattletale (and partially because Renjun would kill him). He will, however, tell Mark because Mark is good at keeping secrets.
“Renjun’s fucking someone,” he nonchalantly says as they’re removing their shoes, completely missing Mark’s shocked face because he’s struggling with his shoelaces.
“You’re kidding me,” Mark groans, “And you’re telling me this why? Now I have even more secrets that I have to keep. God, you must really hate me.”
“If I’m going down, you’re going down with me, baby.” The younger laughs, sweetly kissing Mark on the cheek. Mark wipes his face with the back of his hand almost instantly and scurries to the kitchen. Donghyuck pretends he doesn’t feel his heart breaking little by little.
“So, chicken and beer, right?” Mark asks as if he doesn’t already know the answer.
“Chicken and beer.” Donghyuck agrees.
- ••
It’s seven when the boys barge into Mark’s apartment like stampeding wildebeest, all piling onto Donghyuck who’s peacefully laying on one of the sofas. With that many bodies on top of him, he can’t help but wonder if this is how Mufasa felt when he died. He finally has enough when someone knees him in the groin and he screams for help, not wanting to be crushed to death. Mark ignores all of them and heads to the door, announcing he’s going to the store to buy some beer. Jisung immediately asks if he can come along with him, probably hoping to bribe some ice cream out of the older boy. Mark agrees and with a quick you guys order the chicken they’re out.
Jaemin’s the first one to break the silence. “So, how was the date?”
“It was okay,” Donghyuck mumbles from underneath Jeno. It was certainly not okay, but they don’t have to know that. “the movie kinda sucked.”
Renjun gasps from the kitchen, already off of Donghyuck and with a phone in his hand. He’s probably ordering the chicken. “You’re shitting me! How can The Lion King be bad?!”
“I have to agree with Renjunnie on this one,” Jaemin quips from behind Jeno. He’s snuggling the other boy, obviously enjoying himself. Donghyuck, however, is barely able to breathe.
“C’mon, get off.” He shoves Jeno a bit, hoping he’d get the message. Jeno just smiles and ignores his protests. “Jeno, please!”
That does the thing and both of them are soon off of him, each planting themselves on either side of Donghyuck. Jaemin puts Donghyuck’s head on his lap, threading his fingers softly through the other boy’s hair. It’s slightly damp from all the sweat but it’s 30°C and Jaemin doesn’t seem to mind, humming softly to the tune of some random song that’s playing in the background. Donghyuck recognizes it as one from Mark’s indie playlist, a clear sign he’s spending too much time at his place.
Jeno asks for more details regarding The Lion King because he’s planning on asking Yeeun out again, but after Donghyuck retells Mark’s theory of it being too realistic, he decides that a coffee date should be enough.
They slowly fall into silence again, focusing on the music and the calming buzz of the streets coming from the open window. Jaemin starts massaging Donghyuck’s scalp reminding him that Renjun still has to crack his back a bit but he lets it slide, enjoying the moment too much to break it. Everything’s going well until it doesn’t. Because nothing ever goes well for Donghyuck.
Jaemin stops playing with his hair and sighs. “I know I said I’m not going to meddle into whatever you guys are having, but I can’t help to feel disappointed that my own best friend doesn’t trust me enough to tell me that he’s dating someone.”
Donghyuck, the fool, shoots up immediately. “You know Renjun has a girlfriend?!”
The mentioned boy starts choking somewhere in the kitchen, clearly taken aback. “What?!”
“Renjun has a girlfriend?” Jeno cries out from next to him.
“I thought you guys knew!” Donghyuck defends himself, not understanding what’s going on.
“He was talking about you, you dumbass!” Renjun yells at him aggravatingly.
“Me? Why would he be talking about me?”
“Because you’re dating Mark,” Jeno says as if it’s something obvious.
“I’m dating who?”
“Mark?” Jeno repeats himself but this time it comes out more like a question. “Wait, you guys are not dating?”
“Why would we be dating?!”
“Who’s dating?”
Nobody dares to speak, opting to quietly look at Jisung and Mark who came back with their drinks faster than expected. Mark’s looking at them innocently, not realizing it’s him they’re talking about. Jisung stands behind him holding a bucket of ice cream, looking confused as ever. How on earth did they conclude that Mark and he are dating baffles Donghyuck, but he has no time to have a breakdown nor contemplate his choice of friends when there’s a very confused and slightly worried Mark Lee less than 5 meters away from him, clearly wanting an answer.
“Is this about Renjun?” he ends up asking and Renjun groans, hiding his head between his hands.
“It’s not.” Jaemin comes to the rescue, “It’s nothing important, we were just talking about a classmate of mine. Don’t worry.”
“Oh,” he looks at Donghyuck, “I thought you guys were talking about Renjun. Sorry, Hyuck.”
“So you told him I’m dating someone, huh? You really want me to kill you, Lee.”
“Well, aren’t you?” Donghyuck bites back.
“I am, but tha‒”
“See, I told you!” Donghyuck points an accusing finger at Renjun while looking at Mark. “You’re not as subtle as you think, Huang.”
“You really want me to kill you, huh,” Renjun asks although it wasn’t really a question.
“Boys,” Jeno, clearly uncomfortable, calls for attention, “How about we drop this topic and talk it through when we get home? Does that sound okay?”
“You’re such an ISFJ,” Donghyuck rolls his eyes, acting like a complete asshole, “Thanks for the suggestion.”
“Please don’t bring your astrology shit into this, Donghyuck.” Mark snaps.
“It’s not astrology! It’s an assessment that is believed to measure psychological prefer‒”
“Oookayy, how about we drop this topic for real and set up the movie, the chicken will be here in a couple of minutes and I’d rather we spend this night enjoying ourselves than fighting,” Mark suggests but it sounds more like an order.
“Fine by me,” Renjun says even though it’s clear he’s still pissed. Donghyuck rolls his eyes again. Drama queen.
Things finally simmer down a bit and Jisung raises his hand as if he’s in class, clearly asking for permission to ask a question.
“What do you want?” Donghyuck snaps.
“So, is Renjun, like, really dating someone?”
“ Oh, for fuck’s sake, Jisung.”
- ••
The six of them end up squeezed next to each other on Mark’s sofa looking like a can of sardines. Donghyuck’s squished between Jaemin and Jisung on the left side of the couch, an ever-smiling Jeno sitting in the middle like a barrier between them, Renjun and Mark. Renjun is still angry at Donghyuck for snooping around and Mark is trying to calm him down, softly playing with his fingers. Donghyuck can’t seem to stop staring at their hands, watching carefully how Mark’s slender fingers trace down Renjun’s own, stopping at the birthmark on his hand, softly caressing the weird, dark, bruise looking mole. He can feel his stomach lurching at the sight, feeling incredibly sick all out of the sudden. He finally stops looking after he feels a light touch on his thigh, Jaemin’s quiet way of saying It’s okay. He doesn’t even look at the younger, too ashamed of himself to look at him. It’s irrational, Donghyuck knows it is, but that doesn’t mean he can stop himself from being jealous. It’s just that Mark’s been really unwelcoming lately, pushing Donghyuck away from even the smallest hug. He used to be fine with that when they were younger‒Mark was never a fan of skinship and that’s a fact Donghyuck’s come to accept, but in the last year and a half he seemed more open towards it and Donghyuck was so happy, feeding his little crush on Mark with small touches and tender forehead kisses. However, around three weeks ago Mark started acting like a blushing virgin Mary again, fleeing away from any form of skinship Donghyuck initiated and Donghyuck was just downright miserable because of it.
Jaemin knows about his little crush on Mark and it’s probably the reason why he even thought they were dating in the first place. A small kiss here and there, Donghyuck spending most of his time at Mark’s apartment, those weird bro-dates they keep having… Donghyuck really doesn’t blame Jaemin for assuming. He’s just angry. Angry because he wants it to be true. And he’s jealous. He’s so fucking jealous that it makes him want to smash things. Renjun’s isn’t even gay. Even Mark, for Christ’s sake, isn’t gay. He’s a closeted bi at best, or at least that’s what Donghyuck hopes he is because he did catch him watching gay porn a couple of times.
Yet, he still excuses himself and heads to the bathroom, not being able to watch that torture anymore. They weren’t even doing anything, just holding hands, but it’s enough to piss Donghyuck off.
He speedwalks to the en-suite bathroom in Yukhei’s room knowing it was the one that had a functional lock and locks himself inside. He splashes his face with some water hoping it will calm him down but it doesn’t. God, he really is pathetic, almost crying because two of his friends held hands.
There is this unexplainable need for Mark to touch him, even for a second, just to feel like there’s a single gesture, a moment meant especially for him, like there’s a chance of Mark liking him back. It’s crazy but he can’t help himself, and Mark initiating skinship with Renjun while openly rejecting Donghyuck’s pisses the younger off.
Jaemin texts him soon after, warning that the boys seem worried about him and that Jeno’s planning on going to look for him. He quickly pats his face dry with a towel and flushes the toilet when he hears Jeno calling him from the other side of the door.
“I’m coming!” he yells as he fake-washes his hands, hoping Jeno would back off.
He does, thankfully, and Donghyuck takes his sweet time coming back to the living room, trying not to seem too weird. He smiles at Jisung that’s been saving his seat, ignoring the weird looks Mark and Jeno were sending him. Renjun didn’t even bother looking, and Donghyuck is fine with that. Out of all of them, it’s Renjun and Donghyuck that get into most fights and Donghyuck knows that by tomorrow evening things are going to be as if nothing’s ever happened.
Jeno is commenting something about how unrealistic the size difference between Timon and the bugs is when Jisung suddenly whines, snuggling up to Donghyuck that welcomes him with open arms.
“I miss Chenle.” He mumbles, still hiding his head in the crook of Donghyuck’s neck.
“Where did that come from?” Renjun asks, obviously confused.
“I don’t know.” He sniffles. “It’s just that our apartment feels so lonely without him there and I kinda remembered that scene where Timon and Pumba and Simba all sleep together, cuddling, you know, and I miss Chenle and his cuddles. Chenle gives the best cuddles.”
“You can always cuddle with me,” Jaemin says while patting his back reassuringly.
“Me too,” Jeno adds.
“How about you share the bed with me and Jeno tonight? Does that sound good? Jeno is a mad cuddler, he clings on you like a koala.” Jaemin offers with a smile.
Jisung seems content with that. “Okay.” He agrees. “But we’re taking Yukhei’s bed then, it’s bigger.”
“Of course,” Jeno agrees.
It’s only then that Donghyuck realizes that they were planning on having a real sleepover. There’s no way in hell he’s willingly staying in this apartment for more than an hour more. Panicking, he tries to think of a reason why wouldn’t he be able to stay but Renjun beats him to it.
“So, now that everyone knows that I have a girlfriend, I’d just like to say that I’m not staying here tonight and that you all better not come back home until tomorrow noon.”
“You’re skipping the sleepover?”
“You’re sexiling us?”
“Yes, now shut up and watch the damn movie.”
“Oh look, it’s the Can You Feel The Love Tonight scene! How appropriate!” Jaemin beams.
“Damn, who would’ve thought that Huang Renjun has a better sex life than us,” Donghyuck finally comments.
“You have no right to comment on my sex life when you yourself can’t even get your shit together and do something about that ridiculous crush of yours.” Renjun fires back. “A least I have someone to sleep with.”
“Ha!” Donghyuck scoffs, “As if I don’t. You don’t need to be in a relationship with someone for it to feel good.”
“Someone willingly took you to bed? Damn, they must’ve been really desperate.”
“If I remember correctly, you said Yukhei has some pretty high standards the last time we went to a club.”
“You slept with my roommate?!”
Now, that probably wasn’t the best thing to say considering the fact that both he and Yukhei agreed on keeping it a secret, even though they did casually fuck for a couple of months. They broke it off after Donghyuck started feeling guilty. He couldn’t do it, especially with Mark sleeping right down the hall. To be honest, he’s kind of impressed that they managed to pull it off for that long without anyone noticing. He’s also impressed with the sound insulation this place has because Donghyuck is loud, like loud loud, and not even his highest moans managed to wake Mark up (at least that’s what Yukhei said after asking Mark if he heard anything during the night). Well, either that or Mark’s a ridiculously heavy sleeper.
“Oh my God, Jaemin” Jeno gasps, “we’ve been sleeping on Yukhei’s bed for months now.”
Well, that is true. During sleepovers, Jeno and Jaemin would take Yukhei’s bed, Chenle, Jisung and Renjun would take the sofa’s (Jisung and Chenle on the pull-out, Renjun on the smallest one because he’s the only one that can fit there) and Donghyuck would take Mark’s bed with Mark sleeping on a lousy blow-up mattress next to him. The arrangement might change now that they know Donghyuck’s had his ass pounded on Yukhei’s bed.
“Okay, wow.”
“Eloquently said, Renjun.”
“I didn’t know Yukhei’s gay,” Mark mumbles to himself but Donghyuck hears him and frowns.
“What do you have against gay people all of a sudden, Mark? Do we have a problem?” He snaps. “Also, for the record, Yukhei’s not gay. He’s bi. Just because he liked my ass doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate a good titty, too.”
“Wow, Donghyuck, calm down. I didn’t mean it like that.”
He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, trying not to cry out of frustration. He knows he’s overanalyzing and overreacting but he can’t seem to stop. Not with Mark acting like Donghyuck’s carrying some sort of disease.
“Yeah, sorry.” He apologizes anyway, even though it’s clear he doesn’t mean it.
“Donghyuck,”
“I know, I’m being dramatic again. It’s okay. Just… let’s just watch the movie. There’s only like, 7 minutes left anyway.”
They drop the subject, but Donghyuck can see Renjun giving him the look. His phone buzzes not even a second later.
m sorry for being a bitch. lets talk tmrw, 2pm, tht good boba place across the bakery
Donghyuck doesn’t bother replying but gives a small nod to Renjun, accepting the offer. There’s no point in ignoring Renjun, anyway.
- ••
In short, the movie night ends up being a disaster. They’re halfway through The Lion King 2 when Renjun announces he’s leaving and disappears within seconds. The rest of the guys start yawning soon after, a clear sign for them to head to bed. Surprisingly, nobody complains about having to sleep in Yukhei’s bed. They’re probably too tired to do so.
Jisung is the first one to go, soon followed by Jaemin and then Jeno, who always follows Jaemin wherever they go. Jaemin gives a sweet goodnight kiss to Donghyuck, promising that they’ll talk tomorrow about what’s bothering him. Donghyuck wants to say he already has an intervention with Renjun but the younger boy is long gone before he’s able to complain. That leaves him and Mark alone in the living room, cleaning the mess that the boy’s made.
“Donghyuck?”
“Yes?”
“You’re taking my bed, right?”
“Only if you want me to.” Donghyuck answeres. “I can sleep on the sofa, too. It’s alright.”
“No, no. It’s alright. I want you to take the bed.”
“Then I’ll take the bed.”
“Hey, Donghyuck?”
“What now, Mark?”
“Can I share the bed with you?”
Donghyuck stops wiping the coffee table, caught off guard. Why does Mark want to share a bed with him all of a sudden? They haven’t shared a bed since 2017 after Mark claimed that Donghyuck snored too loudly and kept waking him up‒which was obviously complete bullshit since Mark sleeps like a log. He turns around, thinking about saying no, but with one look at him, he wavers and sighs, agreeing to it. Mark beams, telling him to go wash up and to leave the rest to him.
“Take some of my clothes from the closet, I know you don’t have anything to change into.”
“Alright.”
That’s how he ends up in Mark Lee’s bed, wearing Mark Lee’s clothes with a very stiff Mark Lee laying by his side. It’s awkward and Donghyuck regrets agreeing to it. Finally, after what seemed a decade, Mark turns to his side, facing Donghyuck. He’s so quiet that for a moment Donghyuck thinks he fell asleep, but then Mark carefully takes his hand and brings it to his chest, playing with his fingers like he did with Renjun’s. Donghyuck shifts to his side as well, trying to understand what the older boy was doing.
“You need to stop biting your nails.” Mark scolds, tracing Donghyuck’s ugly fingers with his.
“I know.” He whispers back. It’s a habit he can’t seem to get rid of. Well, it seems like Donghyuck can’t get rid of a lot of things; His feelings for Mark, for an example.
Mark continues to play with his fingers, gently, as if he’s afraid they’ll break. It’s so unlike Mark to be so touchy and Donghyuck can’t help but feel like it’s fake. He tries to pull his hand back but Mark doesn’t let him, pulling him even closer to him instead.
“Donghyuck?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“For hurting you.”
Donghyuck frowns, not liking where this is going. He’s not in the mood to discuss Mark’s potential fuck-ups, his possible internalized homophobia, especially in the middle of the night. He tries to tell him it’s okay, that they should go to sleep, but Mark shakes his head and refuses to let him go.
“I know you like me,” he starts.
“I’ve known for a while now, actually, and I’m not sure how to approach this situation. I-I’m just scared. Our friendship is one of the most valuable things I have in my life and I don’t want to fuck it up. I thought that if I kept my distance your feelings would go away but.. yeah, that’s obviously not happening. I’ve been hurting you deliberately for weeks now and I feel like shit. I‒I’m sorry.”
“Mark…”
“I’m so sorry, Donghyuck. For hurting you. For not being able to give you what you deserve,” his voice breaks a little at those last couple of words. “Please don’t leave me. I can’t promise I’ll love you like you love me, but I’m willing to try.”
“Oh, Mark, you idiot.”
“I love you a lot, Lee Donghyuck,” Mark announces, pulling the younger boy into a hug.
“I know.” Donghyuck answeres.
They fall asleep like that, squished together on Mark’s tiny ass bed. Can You Feel The Love Tonight is still stuck in Donghyuck’s head, and yes, yes he can feel the love. It might not be the kind of love he wants, but if Mark’s willing to try then Donghyuck is willing to wait.