Chapter Text
“Out of all the things I’ve seen that I could’ve gone my whole life without seeing, Mark jerking his dick on the campus stories snapchat takes the fucking cake,” Yuta says, shaking his head as he shoves the rest of his burger in his mouth. Donghyuck rolls his eyes as Mark’s nude scandal gets brought up for the second time this dinner alone. It had been a whole week already and still his friends were weirdly fascinated by Mark Lee’s leaked nudes.
Yuta, Johnny, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Taeyong, Doyoung, Taeil, Jaemin, Jisung, and Renjun all sat around him at a table in the campus cafeteria, eating dinner on a Monday night. Lucas, Chenle, Jeno, and of course Mark were all at basketball practice, therefore the object of the conversation wasn’t here to blush furiously at the mention of his dick for probably the 100th time between their friend circle.
“Wait, Mark’s dick vids are higher up on your list than that time Lucas blew one of the Tau Beta Zeta guys at their finals party last semester and the p.o.v video somehow ended up on PornHub?” Jaehyun asks. Donghyuck shudders at the memory, and Jungwoo glares at Jaehyun for bringing up the topic.
“Wow, thanks Jaehyun, I had finally repressed the memory, thank you so very fucking much for bringing that up again,” Taeil says as he throws a french fry at the other boy’s face. Jaehyun just laughs and eats the french fry, completely unfazed.
“In our business management course earlier, these girls that sit behind us were giggling the whole time and making heart-eyes at Mark. They were being really obvious and whispering crude things. It was rude and disrespectful if you ask me, but Mark didn't even seem to care that much,” Taeyong says, his lips turning down into a frown.
“See that’s what I don’t get! Mark’s just so chill about it. He shrugs and says ‘so what, the entire campus has seen my dick. I guess it could be worse.’ Like no, actually, I don’t think it can bud.” Jungwoo, surprisingly, chimes in between sips of his milkshake.
“You guys are weirdly fascinated on this topic. I’m sure if I wasn’t still brain dead from my psych exam this morning I’d be able to psychoanalyze this into a Freudian response,” Renjun mutters from Donghyuck’s left. That’s the last straw for him.
“Hasn’t it been a week already? Like, shouldn’t the rest of campus be over it by now? Shouldn’t you all be over it by now?” Donghyuck asks, glancing around the circular table. He hears Jaemin scoff from beside Renjun and looks over to where his roommate is sitting, already making eye contact with the pink haired boy.
"Dude no. Everyone is still gagging for Mark. He'll be lucky if it dies down by, like, next semester.” The rest of his friends murmur in agreement and Donghyuck is beyond confused.
“What? Why? You really think it’ll last that long?”
“Didn't you see it? Trust me, I'd never fuck Mark in a million years—I've known the dude since he was wearing snapbacks and DCs and he thought he was gangster—but I could totally see why anyone else would.” Hyuck hears more like everyone else from the other side of the table, but he blocks it out, shaking his head.
“Of course I haven’t seen it, idiot. Who watches their best friend’s leaked nudes?” Hyuck glances around the table and sees guilty faces staring back at him and it’s in that moment he realizes that 1) literally all of their friends have seen Mark’s nudes except him, and 2) he’s fucked up by admitting he didn’t see it based on the shit-eating grin on Johnny’s face.
“Oh my god, you haven’t seen it?" It’s a rhetorical question because before Hyuck can even answer, Johnny is digging his phone out of his pocket, pulling the video up, and shoving it in Donghyuck’s face.
“Wait, the fuck, why do you have that saved, Johnny?" Doyoung asks.
"It’s good blackmail material."
But Donghyuck has already blocked them all out because fuck. There’s Mark, laying on the same plaid comforter they’ve both sat on and played Mario Kart and drank shitty beer countless times. He’s shirtless and all Donghyuck can see at first is his strong jawline, his pink lips, his collarbones (jesus, his collarbones) and the defined rivets of Mark’s abs. But then the camera goes lower, lower, until-
Donghyuck’s heart stops as he sees Mark holding his dick in his hand, stroking it slowly, teasingly. There’s a vein running along the side and it matches the veins on Mark’s arms which are also bulging and wow that’s hot. Donghyuck can’t tear his eyes away as he watches Mark’s hand stop right over the head, his thumb teasing the slit of his dick and fuck he’s leaking already. God, he can hear the low rumble of Mark moaning through the shitty phone speakers and he wonders how it sounds in person, maybe right against his ear and-
Johnny pulls the phone back and Hyuck is suddenly pulled back to reality, which hits him like a bucket of ice. He just thirsted over his best friend’s nudes, right in front of the rest of their friends. "You good, Hyuck?" Jaehyun’s voice is smug and he’s smirking and Donghyuck wants to throttle him right now, but he feels his cheeks absolutely burning up and he knows dealing with Jaehyun will have to wait until later unless he wants to sacrifice the remaining shred of his dignity.
“Y-yeah. Yeah, of course. I, uh, really didn’t need to see that. You’re right Yuta.” His comment just throws his friends into more conversation about whose sexcapade was worse, Lucas or Mark, but it’s all too much for Donghyuck to even pretend he’s listening because he REALLY didn’t need to see that. Now, the only thing he can think about is Mark’s dick. His mind wanders, thinking about wrapping his lips around Mark’s dick. He thinks about how hot and heavy Mark would be on his tongue. God, he can just imagine his tongue teasing the same way Mark had used his thumb, licking across the slit and tasting the bit of precum that was beading at the tip. And the way Mark moaned, he can almost imagine that sound falling off Mark’s lips as he looks down at Hyuck and threads his fingers in his hair as Donghyuck sinks deeper on his dick-
He stands up before he can let himself think any further because at this rate, he really won’t have any dignity left at the end of this dinner. His friends stop talking at the sound of his chair pushing back. “I’m sorry guys, I totally forgot I have this essay due for Greek mythology tomorrow that I haven’t even started yet.” He grabs his hoodie off the back of the chair and is almost free when Jisung, for the first time that entire evening, speaks up.
"What? No we don't. I thought our next essay is the one due next week? You know, the one that's on the symbolism of Icarus and analogy to modern characters or something like that?"
Hyuck panics, his eyes going wide as he wracks his brain for something to say, but he doesn’t need to as Jaemin’s voice cuts through the silence. “Hyuck, you mean the one on Eros? The greek god of lust and sexual desire? You better get started."
Donghyuck wants to simultaneously kill and kiss his roommate because Jaemin has a god damn Cheshire grin spread across his lips and his eyes are twinkling with the satisfaction at making Donghyuck's life just that much harder, but his gratitude and self preservation weighs out in the end because all he says is “yeah, that one.”
"Wait, are you serious? Aw man, I must’ve missed that on the syllabus. Gotta go, guys.” He’s gathering his things before Hyuck can protest and soon enough, the two of them are leaving as Jaemin yells after them to ‘have fun’ and ‘do thorough research’. Donghyuck is definitely going to kill him later.
They’re out of the cafeteria and almost to the doors when Donghyuck hears a voice yell from behind them, “Jisung! Donghyuck! Where you going?” Donghyuck glances over his shoulder and sure enough, Jeno, Chenle, Lucas, and Mark fucking Lee are all standing at the cafeteria entrance.
Before either of them can say anything, Chenle is bounding up to the two of them. He latches onto Jisung’s arm, eyes wide and lips all pouty and Donghyuck sees Jisung crack in an instant. Jisung is nothing if not whipped for Chenle. “Jisung, come eat with meeeee.”
“Fuck it, I’ll just skip tomorrow and take the L. Good luck Donghyuck!” And with that, Jeno, Lucas, Chenle, and Jisung go into the cafeteria. Mark doesn’t, though. Before Donghyuck can turn around and run out the doors (to freedom), Mark is walking up to him, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, his hair still lightly messed up from practice, and just overall unfairly attractive. And fuck, Mark is smiling at Donghyuck the way he usually does, so warm and friendly, and it does things to Donghyuck’s heart in light of his recent epiphany approximately 4 and a half minutes ago that his best friend is hot.
"Hey Hyuck, what was Jisung talking about?" Donghyuck takes the time to really look at Mark. He's wearing a black hoodie and grey Nike sweatpants and Donghyuck, being Donghyuck, is absolutely, positively weak for grey sweats. The dick print is just too obvious to ignore and he just wants to get on his knees and pull that waistband down and-
“Uh gotta go! Eros, lust, yeah.” For once in his fucking life, Donghyuck is kind of glad for his lack of brain-to-mouth filter. Mark’s face twists in confusion but before he can even say anything, Donghyuck is all but running out the doors and headed back to the dorms, trying to push the mental image of sucking Mark Lee (his best fucking friend) off.
It’s not until a little bit later, after Donghyuck has been staring at the ceiling for a solid hour, that his phone vibrates with a text message.
Mark Lee [8:38 p.m.]
good luck with that greek myth essay haha :)
Donghyuck hears the door cracking open and he looks up to meet eyes with Jaemin, who looks over-the-moon, fucking ecstatic. His teeth are shining in the same annoying ass grin from earlier and they stare at each other for a good 10 seconds before Jaemin starts cackling and Donghyuck groans, throwing a pillow at his roommate’s face.
“You totally want to suck his dick now.” Donghyuck opens his mouth to deny it but Jaemin just shakes his head as he pushes into the room, diving onto the bed next to Donghyuck. “Don’t even deny it, I know you too much for that.” And, well, he's right. On all accounts.
"You had to choose Eros? Really? You just HAD to pick the god of sex? You’re such a dick, dude.” Donghyuck runs his fingers through his hair in frustration, digging his fingertips into his scalp. Jaemin just giggles until Donghyuck kicks him in the shin.
"Hey I covered for you! And Jisung even ended up coming back. He’s totally gonna skip tomorrow so you're in the clear. Well, until the next time you see Mark, at least."
“Too late, dude. Saw him outside the cafeteria. I literally almost got hard because he was wearing grey sweatpants,” Donghyuck groans out, pressing his palms to his eyes in an effort to block out the mental picture of Mark earlier. Nope, not working.
“Okay, first, ew. Second, grey sweatpants are the ultimate thirst trap so I’ll give you that one. But if you thought that was bad, just wait until the game on Friday when he’s all sweaty and he’s being all hot-shot basketball captain. Talk about a thirst trap.” Donghyuck had completely forgotten about the game. He can’t even imagine sitting through a whole game, watching Mark be, well, hot. As a result, he shoves his face into a pillow and screams, and Jaemin just starts cackling again beside him.
It’s been a few days since the incident, as Donghyuck has come to call it, and he hasn’t been able to focus for the life of him. Now that he’s seen the videos, he’s much more attuned to all the whisperings in his classes. It’s always Mark Lee this, Mark Lee that. For fuck’s sake, he was in his physics course earlier that day when the girl beside him leaned over and whispered to him: “So you’re, like, really good friends with Mark Lee, right? Do you know if he’d ever be down for a threesome because me and my sorority sister both saw his videos and we really don’t mind sharing”. Safe to say Donghyuck couldn’t focus for the rest of the period, so here he is, trying to find viable sources for his final project at the on-campus coffee shop. It’s 6 o’clock at night and for the most part, students seem to have better places to be because the coffeeshop is deserted and Donghyuck can finally focus on quantum entanglement and wave-particle duality with no distractions and no interruptions.
“Hey Hyuckie.” Donghyuck looks up at the soft-spoken words and standing next to his table is Mark Lee. He’s wearing a red crewneck with the name Lee and the number 8 on the back, the word ‘captain’ going down the sleeve. His hair is a fluffy mess as if he’d just woken up from a nap (and knowing Mark, he just might’ve). He has a cup of iced coffee in one hand, that same crooked smile pulling at his lips, and Donghyuck’s heart leaps into his throat because fuck if Mark isn’t cute. “I haven’t really seen you around the past few days. You haven’t been at dinner ever since Monday.”
“Yeah, I've been pretty busy lately. I’m sorry.” It’s a blatant lie and Donghyuck is a terrible liar when it comes to Mark. It feels forced and judging by Mark’s semi-skeptical look, Donghyuck knows it sounds forced too. But Mark, being the kind of person he is, lets it go.
“No, I get it. Semester is picking up and all, right? Well, I gotta get going. I have a night class in a few minutes but I saw you sitting here and I wanted to check and see if you were still coming to the game tomorrow? I was thinking we could have a chill night in and, like, play some video games afterwards because Johnny and Jaehyun keep asking if I'll go to their house for the afterparty but the last time I ended up at the NEO house I blacked out and lost my Air Jordans so I'm really just not feeling it and was hoping you'd bail me out.” Mark is totally pulling the puppy-dog eyes card, his eyes big and wide and his bottom lip pouting out insanely and Donghyuck literally can’t say no.
Mark beams when Donghyuck agrees. "Thanks Hyuck! I owe you one". Then everything goes to shit as Donghyuck watches Mark bring the coffee up to his lips, the straw slipping between Mark’s lips as he sucks the drink through the straw. It’s an innocent action, really, but Donghyuck’s mind is so convoluted and suddenly, he’s thinking of Mark with his lips wrapped around Donghyuck’s dick and his eyes staring up at Donghyuck, sucking his dick just like that.
And that’s enough for Donghyuck to choke on literally nothing. Mark leans towards him, reaching a hand out. "Yo, Hyuck, you good?" It takes a few moments for Donghyuck to recover, Mark’s eyes full of concern and it just makes him feel guilty because was he really fantasizing about his best friend sucking him off while he was standing right in front of him? That's gotta be a new low. Donghyuck feels his cheeks burn, turning pink at the embarassment, and he’s glad he can play it off as a lack of air supply.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he says after a minute to catch his breath. “I just, uh...this article just got suspenseful.” Donghyuck regrets it the second Mark leans over, eyes flitting over the page.
“Hyuck, this is an article on quantum physics...."
“It’s not just any article, it’s about quantum entanglement! There are particles out there that kind of refuse to separate no matter what the world throws at them. How cool is that?” He’s glad he took the chance to read through the introduction paragraph at the very least. Mark just looks at him like he always does, half-amused and half-exasperated and Donghyuck’s heart aches just the tiniest at the fond expression because while every other aspect of his friendship with Mark Lee is falling apart, at least this is the same.
“Alright, Hyuck, whatever you say. I gotta run but I’ll see you after the game tomorrow, yeah? Wait up for me!” And with that he gives Donghyuck one last smile and then he’s gone. Donghyuck lets out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. And he knows, then, that he’s never been more fucked in his life.
“Dude I dont know what I'm gonna do. How did you and Jeno do this?” Donghyuck sighs as he throws himself down on the couch. Jaemin is on the other end of the couch, textbooks and worksheets splayed out around him, his laptop precariously balancing on his knees.
"I don’t know what to tell you, man. I just looked at him one day and realized wow I wouldn’t mind sucking his dick and when we went to that basketball kickback last semester I just… did it. The feelings came after all that.” Jaemin just shrugs, talking about it like he’s talking about the weather, really, before turning his attention back to his schoolwork.
“What’s that supposed to mean? It’s the same situation! I literally just realized, like, four days ago that I want to suck Mark’s dick. And I mean, I wouldn’t mind him sucking my dick either, but that’s besides the point.” Jaemin just gives him a heavy, judgmental side-eye before resuming typing.
“It’s really not, Hyuck. You’ve been whipped for Mark Lee ever since puberty hit him like a truck. I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid.”
“Wait, aren’t those the same things?”
“That’s so not the point, dude.” Jaemin just sighs before picking up his laptop and placing it on the coffee table in front of them, giving up on any academic productivity. “My point is that you actually have feelings for Mark. Like, the feelings came before the thirst, not the other way around like me and Jeno. You might be deep in denial but it’s true that it’s not just a sexual thing between you two.” And damn, Donghyuck really wasn’t expecting his friend to go so deep and to expose him like that.
“Okay, I might have, like, the tiniest friend-crush on Mark, but who doesn’t?” It’s true, there’s no use denying it. Donghyuck’s heart literally jumps everytime Mark says 'Hyuck' in that voice that's reserved just for him, softly and fondly, and maybe he's noticed that Mark's eyes sparkle (like actually fucking sparkle, like the stars or some shit) and it makes him just a little breathless, but that’s normal… right?
“Dude, literally everybody except you. I can promise you that you’re the only one that thinks of Mark even a little bit romantically.” Jaemin glances down at the watch on his wrist, swearing as he slams his laptop shut and stands up. “I gotta go, I’ve got a date with Jeno tonight and I really don’t want to be late. But, uh, good luck with the Mark thing. I think you should just kiss and hold hands already but hey, if not, just tell him you really want to suck his dick. You guys might not be like me and Jeno but it worked out for us pretty well. Bye Hyuck!” And with that, his roommate shuffles into their room to get ready for his date and Donghyuck is left alone with his thoughts, dreading tomorrow night more and more with every second.
“GO JENO!! Did you guys see that? My baby is killing it tonight.” Jaemin sits back down on the bleachers, still clapping and grinning at the block Jeno had made as he stole the ball back from the opposing team. Donghyuck rolls his eyes at his roommate. Jeno has been playing well, but their team is only up by 5 points and it’s still early in the second half. Lucas has been giving away the ball more often than not in bad passes and the team is struggling to make up the points.
“Lucas is playing like shit though, he needs to get it together,” Jungwoo mutters, biting his nails and watching his boyfriend on the court anxiously.
“Yeah he does, Chenle has been carrying this team on his back all game. There’s only so much he can do defensively.” Jisung chimes in this time, which causes some bickering between the three of them on whose boyfriend is actually better.
“Yeah, yeah, all your boyfriends are hot and you think they’re all the best and want to suck their dicks. Can we just focus on the game?” Renjun says. The three of them all stop talking, exchanging guilty looks before focusing back on the game.
“I’m really glad you’re here tonight. I don’t think I could deal with the three of them alone,” Donghyuck says, leaning over towards Renjun. Renjun usually passes on the basketball games, but after some begging from Chenle to come watch him at least once this season, he caved easily.
“They all know Mark’s the best player, they just don’t want to admit it,” Renjun says before looking back to the court. Donghyuck follows his eyes, watching as Mark shouts at his teammates. He’s got his jersey on, Lee #8 printed on the back. The sleeveless jersey means his arms are on full display, and he looks ridiculously good. Like, devastatingly good. He's sweaty from running back and forth constantly, his black hair held up and out of his eyes with a headband and Donghyuck is absolutely weak. This game is doing nothing to help him with his I’m-suddenly-attracted-to-my-best-friend crisis.
“Shit, Mark looks so good tonight,” Donghyuck hears a girl’s voice behind him and resists the urge to turn around and see who it is.
A second voice speaks then: “I know, right? I feel bad I never really noticed him before the video, but I definitely wouldn’t mind hooking up with him now.” There’s a giggle and it’s so obnoxious that Donghyuck really wants to scoff and turn around just to tell them to shut the fuck up, but he doesn’t want to cause a scene so he doesn't.
“Right?” The first girl is back again. “Like, imagine hooking up with him after the game when he’s still all hot and sweaty. Like, it'd be kind of gross but that’s what makes it lowkey hot, you know?”
“Wait, no, but what about in the showers though? Now that would be hot.”
And fuck, now Donghyuck is thinking about it. He can imagine Mark, smirking at him all cocky because he’s hot and he knows it, pressing him against the tiled walls of the locker room showers. He’d have one leg hitched around Mark’s waist as he kisses down Hyuck’s throat, his tongue leaving a hot trail down, down, down, until his lips stop right where Donghyuck's neck meets his collarbone. He can imagine Mark biting and sucking on the sensitive skin there, the skin turning bright red as Mark’s hands travel lower, one hand wrapping around his cock and pumping softly, the other slipping right inside him and-
There’s a sharp nudge to his ribcage and he winces, looking over at Renjun who’s staring at him, confusion etched on his features. ‘Shit did I say that out loud?’ He panics for a second, but then Renjun is talking. “Dude, Mark just scored a three pointer with a fadeaway. Are you even watching the game?”
Donghyuck looks over and sure enough, the scoreboard has changed and some of the fans in their section are still clapping and cheering. It must’ve been a good play because Jaemin, Jisung, and Jungwoo are all still on their feet cheering for their friend. Donghyuck glances down at the court and Mark’s playing with a huge smile on his face and it tugs on Donghyuck’s heartstrings in the worst way.
"You know what?” Donghyuck says, standing up. He hears the two girls behind him shout annoyances at their view getting blocked but he doesn’t really give a shit. “I could use some fresh air. I’ll be right back!” And with that he’s stepping out to the aisle and bounding down the stairs two at a time.
He can't keep thinking about Mark like this. He doesn’t know how to stop, but he knows he has to. They're supposed to hang out later, for fuck’s sake, how is he supposed to be alone with Mark, in Mark’s room, on Mark’s bed , when his mind keeps betraying him and imaging all the ways he wants Mark to fuck him. Once he's outside, he takes a deep breath of the cool, crisp air and looks up at the cloudy night sky. He’s glad none of his friends had offered to come with him because he needs a moment alone to just figure this out.
Really, it had been a long time coming. Just as Jaemin had said, even though he's denied it for a while he really does have feelings for Mark. He doesn’t want to, he never meant to, but it’s obvious in all of the little things he does, says, feels; the way he always looks at Mark first when he tells a joke to see if the other boy laughed; or the way he'll automatically take some watermelon for Mark without even thinking about it when Mark is still at practice before the cafe runs out because he knows that's Mark’s favorite; or even just the way his heart fucking drops to his stomach like it's on a 90 foot free-fall everytime Mark gives him that one smile that's just all teeth, completely charming and just so Mark and yeah, maybe he’s a little too deep for ‘crush’ to even describe it. He has Feelings for Mark, with a capital F, and if anything the past few days have just pushed him further into them.
But Mark is also his best friend. He was there when Donghyuck got waitlisted for their university and was absolutely torn up about it (He ended up getting in, but that’s not what matters to Donghyuck. What matters is that Mark had sat there, his own acceptance letter laying forgotten on the table, and said “They’d be dumb not to take you, Donghyuck. You’ll get in, I know you will.” And well, here they are). He was there in the front row when Donghyuck got a part in the school play junior year of high school, a bouquet of sunflowers in his hands and the loudest cheers at the end of the play, yelling “that’s my best friend!” above all the other voices. He was there when Donghyuck was confused and scared and pushing everyone in his life away because he realized the thought of kissing guys didn't gross him out at all and he really wouldn't mind it, actually. But that was different than everything he’d ever known, everything he’d ever thought about himself, and as a result he started alienating himself from his friends, pushing away everyone who gave a shit and could see that something was wrong. At least he was until Mark snuck into his room at 11 o’clock on a Sunday night and told him, "You can push everyone away, everyone but me. I know you better than anyone else and you can take all the time you need to trust me, to tell me, but I'm not gonna let my best friend push me out of his life when I know he needs me the most”. That night, Donghyuck told him everything. The kiss at the party with a boy, the fact that he liked it, the fact he was scared that he liked it, and that he was terrified his friends, his family even, might hate him (it went unsaid that he was scared Mark might hate him, too, and that's part of what scared him the most). The whole time he talked and cried, Mark just held his hand through it all. He sat there, rubbing his thumb over the back of Hyuck’s hand, listening to every single word. And when he had let it all out, no more words or tears left, Mark had thrown his arms around Donghyuck and had held him so close, so tight, and told him, "There's nothing in this world that would ever make me hate you, Hyuck. Nothing is ever going to change the way I feel about you."
Mark is his best friend above anything else, and he's not gonna let what-the-fuck-ever is going on with him ruin them. So he shoves his thoughts, his feelings, to the back of his mind as he shoves his hands in his pockets. He takes one more deep breath and walks back into the gym just in time to see Jeno passing the ball to Mark and Mark, despite being double teamed, scoring 2 more points effortlessly. The crowd cheers and the boys keep running around the court and Mark catches Hyuck's eye and gives him that smile—that beautiful, breathtaking smile—and Hyuck smiles back, ignoring the pins and needles that stab at his heart and remind him of what he'll never have.
Donghyuck is outside the locker room with Jungwoo, waiting for Mark and Lucas to come out. They’re the last two players left. Jeno had been the first one out and nobody was surprised when Jaemin practically dragged him away immediately, without so much as a goodbye. Chenle had been next, latching on to Jisung and pressing a noisy kiss to his cheek as the other boy softly complimented his game, pink tinging his cheeks.
The two of them are making small talk, just stuff about their classes and approaching finals, when the doors finally open and Mark and Lucas walk out. "Oh, hey Donghyuck! I heard you're bailing Mark out of the afterparty tonight," Lucas jokes as he grins down at the tan-skinned boy, going to stand next to his boyfriend as Mark walks over to stand next Donghyuck.
"Yeah alright, more like Mark's stuck with me after I convinced him to stay in.”
"Trust me, I doubt that took a lot of convincing. Mark is so whipp-"
"Whiped out!” Jungwoo yells, interrupting Lucas. “I mean, you guys must be exhausted. That was such a close game,” he follows up, grabbing Lucas’ hand and lacing their fingers together.
Mark laughs as he throws an arm around Donghyuck's shoulders, but it's much more of a fake laugh compared to his real one. "You’re right about that! Well, we better get going, video games aren't gonna play themselves. Bye guys, have fun at the afterparty!” He and Donghyuck start walking towards the doors but before they make it out, Lucas is yelling after them.
"Have a great night you two, make good choices!" Donghyuck looks back to see Jungwoo smacking Lucas on the shoulder before the doors shut behind them.
"What does he mean by that?" Donghguck asks, glancing over at Mark. Mark just shrugs, and Donghyuck takes the time to give his friend a once-over. His hair is fluffy from the post-game shower and Mark has taken the liberty to style it up, exposing his forehead and he looks really good like this (a voice in the back of his mind comments that 'Mark always looks good' and he tells it to shut the fuck up).
"You're a terrible influence on me, you know. I used to be an innocent boy." Hyuck nearly cackles at that, leaning over to catch his breath.
"Yeah ok. I'm not the one who convinced Jeno he'd be perfectly fine if he did a backflip off the beer pong table into the NEO pool during orientation week freshman year. He ended up breaking his leg and he missed the fall dance showcase because of it. But like you said, those video games aren't gonna play themselves and I'm so kicking your ass at Mario Kart." Donghyuck finds himself laughing as he sprints away from Mark down the sidewalk towards Mark's dorm building. He hears Mark yelling 'it was one time' behind him before he hears footsteps falling on the pavement in the same rhythm as his heartbeat, which is going way too fast for his own good.
For once in his life, Donghyuck is actually losing to Mark Lee. At Mario Kart of all things.
It's not his fault. Really. He's just distracted in the biggest way.
Upon arriving back to his dorm, Mark had changed into the same grey sweatpants from earlier that week (knowing Mark he probably hadn't even washed them yet—probably hasn't washed them in over a week, actually—but Donghyuck is willing to overlook that fact) and Donghyuck is about 90% sure that Mark's not wearing anything underneath them and he kind of wants to die, just a little bit. Mark's also wearing a white t-shirt that's just the slightest bit loose on him to the point where Donghyuck can see the other's collarbones and he can't stop thinking about running his tongue along the defined bones, pressing his lips against Mark's pulse point, maybe leaving just the faintest splash of red and purple right there—
"Dude are you kidding? I did not just beat you on Rainbow Road. That's your favorite track of all time." Donghyuck takes a good look at the screen and sure enough, Mark was in first place. With TOAD of all fucking characters. Daisy usually owns this track and yet Toad is sitting there on screen, gloating in Daisy and Donghyuck's faces because Donghyuck can't seem to get out of his own head.
"I guess I've just got a lot on my mind lately." It's not a lie. Not really. He does have a lot on his mind. Like Mark, Mark's dick, and many other things he'd really rather not tell his best friend.
"It's not good to keep things bottled up, you know? Why don't you tell me about it? It might help to get it off your chest," Mark says, throwing his controller to the side and leaning back on his bed. He throws a hand behind his head as he lays on his pillow and god he's even more attractive like this which Donghyuck really didn't think was possible and really didn't need, but here they are.
"It's nothing, really." Mark levels him with a look, silently calling him out on his bullshit, but Donghyuck refuses to budge. Time seems to drag on in that moment as the Mario Kart music plays in the background, neither one of them willing to compromise.
"You're a shit liar, dude. Especially with me." And Donghyuck winces because he knows it's true, but he doesn't know what else to do. Mark sighs and runs his hands over his face in frustration before threading one of his hands into his hair and he's effortlessly hot like this. He's frustrated and angry, but if anything that does nothing to help the mental image Donghguck has right now of him sitting in Mark's lap, riding Mark's cock lazily, just bouncing up and down. Mark seems like the type to like it wet and messy, so the slide would be so fucking smooth and so fucking good and he can just picture-
"Hyuck, what the fuck." Mark's voice snaps him out of it again and Donghyuck meets Mark's eyes instantly. He feels guilt seep through his limbs at the look of pure hurt that's on his best friend's face. "Did you hear anything I just said?"
Donghyuck can't help but look down at his lap, playing with his hands and picking at a hangnail to distract himself from the overwhelming shame that's boiling over and consuming him. "Uh, no." It's so quiet in the moment that follows. "I'm sorry."
"Is it something I did?" Hyuck snaps his neck up to look at Mark because he had sounded so heartbroken and Donghyuck sees that he looks it, too—his eyebrows are furrowed together, his features wrinkled in concern, frustration, anger, but more than anything, sadness. His bottom lip is pouting out just the slightest bit and all Donghyuck wants to do is take the other's face in his hands and reassure him. But he knows he can't.
"No, Mark. You didn't do anything."
"Really? Because I've asked literally everybody else and you've been acting fine around them. It's just me." He says it so quietly and time seems to stretch in the silence that follows because Donghyuck can't seem to find the words to fix this. "I thought we didn't keep secrets."
"I… we don't." Mark glares at him so cold and steely that Donghyuck feels like actually flinching from the force of it. He looks away from Mark because every second of eye contact is slowly killing him and he feels guilt, shame, and every other emotion of the like filling him up, and up, and up. "I mean… I didn't mean to."
"So what's your problem with me?" Donghyuck wants to say anything to make it better, to make it go away, but he sits there in silence because he's powerless. He can't lie to Mark. He just can't. But he can't tell the truth either, so what other options does he have? "Is it the nude thing?" Again, Donghyuck snaps his head up to look at the other boy and it must give him away because the hurt look on Mark's face is ten-fold now and Donghyuck hates himself for it. "Wow," Mark says lowly, "I didn't think you'd be the kind of person to judge me for that but I guess I don't know you that well, huh Hyuckie." The usual friendly nickname is dripping with venom and Donghyuck's heart is beating in his throat, his stomach is somewhere near his feet, and his head is reeling and spinning.
"No! Mark, you know me. You know me better than anyone else, you said so yourself." He sees as Mark's face softens a little at the memory of that night, years ago now, and Donghyuck clings onto that moment of weakness in desperation. "I would never judge you for anything, Mark. Remember what you said? There's nothing in this world that would make you hate me? Well there's literally nothing in this world that can make me hate you either, or think lesser of you. There's nothing in this world that could change how I feel about you." And God, Mark doesn't know just how much Donghyuck means that.
"So what's the problem then? Is it because Mina's the one who had them? I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it, but we were only talking for a few weeks before I ended it because I lov-" Mark cuts himself off, clearing his throat and looking away from him for a moment before turning back. "Because I lost interest. We just didn't vibe, I guess. I wasn't feeling it anymore but when I told her that she took it hard and, well. Yeah." There's a stiff silence between the two of them as Donghyuck processes the information and Mark lets him. He's not mad that Mark didn't tell him. Anyone with eyes saw how Mina was hooked on Mark after orientation week. She's had her target set on him for months, he just didn't know it was a two-way street.
"It's not about her. I mean, I knew she was into you. I didn't know you were into her, too, but I'm not like... mad about it."
"I can't think of any other problem, then, Hyuck. Just… just tell me." Marks voice is soft, pleading, and it breaks Donghyuck's heart a little bit but he doesn't want to lose Mark. He can't. So he just bites his lip and shakes his head. Mark leans back, the same hurt flooding his features and Donghyuck hates it but there's nothing he can do or say that won't make things worse.
"Well then I think you should leave because I need some time." Mark's voice is so fucking cold and Donghyuck feels his heart stop.
"No, Mark, wait don't-"
"Don't what, Donghyuck? What else am I supposed to do? You tell me it's not about Mina, you tell me you won't—or didn't—judge me, but you won't tell me what your fucking problem is?" Mark's voice is getting louder and louder until he's practically yelling.
"Mark, please-"
"Obviously there's something wrong with me. Obviously I'm the fucking problem, so if you're just gonna sit here and ignore it then get out and leave me the fuck alone." Mark stands up and goes towards his door, and Donghyuck panics because he knows if he leaves he's really gonna lose Mark for good. The panic chokes him, climbs up his throat and slips off his tongue and—
"The problem is that it's all I can think about because you're actually super fucking hot and I'm really attracted to you—all I can think about lately is you and me and us and just… FUCK!"
It's out before Hyuck can even think, and he feels his blood freeze as Mark stops in his tracks, eyes wide and jaw dropping just a bit. That's when Donghyuck knows he just fucked everything up. He feels tears stinging at his eyes like a knee-jerk reaction and he stands up, keeping his eyes glued to the floor because he can't bear seeing disappointment or disgust in his friend's face. He goes to push past Mark and leave his friend alone like he'd asked in the first place, but before he can make it to the door he feels Mark grab his arm, keeping him in place.
"Mark, let go." His eyes are still glued to the floor, the tears have already begun spilling over onto his eyelashes and blurring his vision, but he doesn't want to look up—doesn't want to face the reality that he just ruined the most important friendship in his life all because of a stupid fucking video.
"Do you mean that? All of it?" Mark's voice is hushed, soft and quiet and almost reverent and the way he speaks makes Donghyuck chance a glance up at him and for once in his life, he can't read Mark Lee.
"Yeah. Yeah, I did."
And then Mark's lips are on his and his brain short-circuits because what the fuck