Chapter Text
“It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s not quite either! He might not fly but that certainly doesn’t make him any less ‘super’-”
“- appeared in our time of need. However, we can’t begin to imagine what the existence of these ‘super humans’ might do the sociopolitical climate in the years to come.”
“And he just came out of nowhere! Like a bat out of hell, I tell ya. Sucker punched that thing right in the face and then he-“
“Yes, and I get what you mean but we have to consider that where there are heroes there will always be villains. Are we really that much safer? Have you considered, perhaps, that he’s the reason they attacked in the first place?”
“Civilians love him, killer mutant insects hate him. Learn everything you need to know and about the man that the locals are calling ‘Fully Capable’.”
“… Here at 7: ‘Hero Capable: The Masked Mystery’-“
“-fully capable…”
“Hero Capable.”
*
“You got here so fast.” Donghyuck purrs, using one hand to toy with the lapels of Mark’s dress shirt while the other is woven tightly into the downy hair at the back of his neck. There’s a rattling pressure at the back of his head. It might be from the clubby dance-remix filtering out onto the lawn or it might be the tendrils of an oncoming headache. Either way, the party pulses behind him like a living, breathing thing, bathing Mark’s face in a bluish glow every time someone pushes through the front door. Donghyuck lets himself drift closer to the reliable solidity that is Mark Lee.
“Did you run?” He asks lowly, and his eyes get stuck on the wide-open expression, searching for cracks in his demeanor that might suggest that he’s unhappy to be here. He really did get there fast.
“I didn’t run. I was around when you called.” He lies easily. His clothes look a bit rumpled as if he put them on in a hurry. There’s a tiny bruise under the corner of his jaw and Donghyuck moves his hands to the side of his neck to thumb at it curiously. Mark’s pulse thrums under his fingers.
He’s warm and solid and real, with sharp clean edges that stay in focus as the rest of Donghyuck’s vision blurs. He hears cheers and chanting from inside the house before a cracking sound that echoes all the way down the sidewalk. He doesn’t need to be sober to know that Yukhei probably just broke his fourth beer-pong table this semester: an all-time high. Kudos to Yukhei.
Mark seems to come to the same conclusion, “Should I go check on them?” He asks, his eyebrows are pulled together in genuine concern.
Donghyuck frowns, “You’re not in charge of him tonight. You’re in charge of me.” Mark hates parties like this, but he’s also the type of guy to disregard his own comfort to make sure his big, dumb friend isn’t concussed on a sticky frat house floor.
If they walk back into that house, Mark will be too polite to turn down all the attention he will inevitably receive because he’s Mark and he’s sweet and a tiny bit mysterious, and handsome boys who keep to themselves are worth their weight in gold on nights like this. Donghyuck will lose him to the winding bodies and the strobe lights and Mark’s own tendency to mother Yukhei and his reckless behavior.
Donghyuck isn’t keen on sharing Mark’s attention. Not tonight. Not ever, really.
“You’re right.” Mark smiles, “How could I forget?” And he swipes a damp curl away from Donghyuck’s feverish forehead. He blames his shiver on the sheen of sweat that is starting to cool on his body. Tonight is unusually cold for this time of year. “Time to go home?” Mark asks. He just nods in response, cherry-liquor tongue frozen to the roof of his mouth.
They really don’t live far; the walk to their apartment complex is only a little more than fifteen minutes if he walks slow. Donghyuck probably could have found his way back on his own, but Mark gets weird about things like this. His eyes get serious and he presses his lips into a thin, disapproving line.
“I wish you would have called me. You don’t know what kind of people are out there, Donghyuck.” He had told him once, a crease forming in the valley between his eyes. Worry, Donghyuck had identified.
“And you do?” He bit back, angry that his independence was being called into question and uncomfortable with the way that Mark’s intensity seemed to permeate the air between them.
“No.” He had lied, and Donghyuck could see the tension in his neck and the white of his knuckles.
Tonight, Mark smells like the expensive cologne he had gotten for Christmas. He said that wearing it made him feel more ‘adult’ and Donghyuck had teased him relentlessly for it until one night, not unlike this one, he had taken one large, clumsy inhale from the base of Mark’s throat and the resulting arousal that sizzled underneath his skin was so overwhelming that it sent him reeling, literally, right back into a pool table where he would bruise his left ass cheek and Mark would bring it up as often as physically possible.
Mark keeps a steadying hand on him at all times, because he’s genuinely convinced that Donghyuck is a clumsy drunk. It’s an assumption that Donghyuck will just have to live with. It’s much better than admitting that he has a filthy Pavlovian response to Ralph Lauren Polo Blue. That falls into the very short list of things even uninhibited Drunk-Hyuck is unwilling to say out loud.
“Hyuckie.” Mark murmurs, and his palm is burning through his silky shirt where his hand is placed appropriately high on Donghyuck’s back and Mark smells so fucking good. Donghyuck wants to run the tip of his nose along the tendon on his neck. He’s never had to exercise so much drunken restraint in his life.
“You’re so fast, getting to me. Like a superhero.” He feels Mark stiffen beside him and tries to wrestle with the fact that maybe Mark is uncomfortable with Donghyuck’s drunken gratitude. But the sounds of the party are fading into the distance as they walk and Donghyuck feels like affection is building up behind his teeth and weighing down his tongue. He might choke. “Will the city be okay, Minhyung? While you’re out here rescuing me?”
Mark’s face contorts for a second, but then his nose is scrunching up and he’s letting out an exasperated laugh and reaching over to pinch Donghyuck’s ear, “You’re embarrassing.”
Donghyuck squeals and tries to dodge Mark’s hands, and nearly falls off the side of the curb before Mark reels him back upright. Because he’s Mark Lee, and he would never let Donghyuck fall on purpose.
“Mark?”
They’re home now, and Mark is busy shaking out a couple of painkillers to leave on Donghyuck’s bedside table. For the headache tomorrow, you little lush, he had explained.
Mark hums.
“Do I bother you?”
“Every god damn day.”
Donghyuck sits up a little in his bed and Mark screws the cap back onto the medicine, “Minhyung. Do I bother you?” He asks again, and this time Mark is looking, and he can see the way that Donghyuck is anxiously pulling at his own fingers.
“What? Hyuckie, no. What made you think that?” Mark looks worried. Mark always looks worried these days. Worry makes him look older.
Donghyuck doesn’t answer that, even though he’s the one that started asking questions, “I really didn’t have much fun, I’m not sure why I go.” He says instead, and Mark looks down at him from where he’s perched on the edge of the bed. Worry, worry, worry. “It’s no fun when you’re not there.” This, for some reason, makes the tension bleed from Mark’s shoulders. Donghyuck thinks it’s because this is a problem with an easy fix.
“I’ll come next time then. It’s been a while since I saw our friends.” Our friends, Mark says, as if he and Donghyuck are simply continuities of each other. What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine. Donghyuck wants to press his fingers to his temples, where a headache is starting to bloom.
“You don’t like parties.”
“But I like you,” Mark says, and he gives Donghyuck the most gut-wrenchingly boyish grin he’s ever seen in his whole life.
Donghyuck’s drunken mind thinks that in another life, Mark might have been an excellent doctor. Or maybe a teacher. Or maybe he could have been the nation's sweetheart playing professional soccer like he used to talk about when they were younger.
Mark’s lips graze the burning skin of his forehead, “Get some sleep Donghyuckie.”
“You too. You should also get some sleep.” He murmurs from the cocoon of his blankets as Mark slips into the hallway. He looks tired. Sometimes he drags himself in and out of rooms like he’s haunting them.
Donghyuck knows that Mark thinks it goes unnoticed when he slips out the front door only a few minutes later. If Donghyuck was a regular roommate, he probably wouldn’t notice or care. But Donghyuck is not a normal roommate, he thinks, as he hears the whisper-soft sound of the front door locking, he isn’t a normal roommate at all.
Mark is keeping secrets from Donghyuck. This is a fact. However, Donghyuck is also technically keeping secrets from Mark, so he feels unjustified in how upset it makes him. The lying and sneaking around is a new development in their friendship, one that Donghyuck is infinitely uncomfortable with. There was a time when Donghyuck would have argued that he knew Mark Lee better than anyone on the planet.
Mark comes home late, and sometimes he doesn’t come home at all. Lately, the sheets on his bed stay neat and cold and his room feels unlived in. Donghyuck can practically see the trinkets on his shelves gathering dust, tiny little pointless things he used to occupy himself with back when he lived there more often. He makes an abundance of excuses. He says he’s at the library. He says he’s with Ten and Johnny. One time he had even said that he was crashing at Jeno’s place, but when Donghyuck had called the next morning, Jeno said he hadn’t seen Mark in days.
I’m sorry Donghyuckie, I’ve just been busy lately.
Hyuck I’m stuck at the library, don’t wait up.
I can’t make movie night tonight; I’ll make it up to you?
He comes home with bruises that aren’t even bruises, they’re mostly just red marks that look like they’ll fade by the next day. And fade they do, until Donghyuck can no longer see them peeking out from under the collar of his sweaters. He tries not to think too hard about what (who) exactly could be leaving marks all over Mark's body; it’s a losing battle.
Mark leaves at odd hours, and he stays out all night. Donghyuck tries to reconcile the fact that he’s sneaking off to see some lover in the dead of night, like some sort of rebellious teenager. He’s a grown man. Why does he hide like this? Why won’t he tell Donghyuck the truth? Why did he pick up Donghyuck at three in the morning looking bruised and rumpled instead of telling him that he’s busy?
These little crumbs of evidence that there’s another person taking up Mark’s time almost make Donghyuck feel guilty when he monopolizes Mark’s attention when he demands that Mark drop everything for him just to prove to himself that he still can. When he slips into Mark’s empty bedroom the morning after the party to bury himself in Mark’s empty sheets just to breathe him in, he almost feels bad. Almost. But there’s a pounding in his head and a fissuring in his chest but all he can smell is Ralph Lauren Polo Blue.
“Hyuckie, wake up.” Donghyuck feels a hand on his hip, shaking him awake, “The thermostat is turned way down, you’re going to get sick. What are you thinking?”
Mark’s in a cream-colored sweater and it should look dorky but it doesn’t because Mark’s shoulders fill it out nicely and it looks good with his hair. Mark is blonde these days, and it’s distressingly charming.
The apartment is indeed very cold. Donghyuck burrows the frozen tip of his nose back under the blankets and Mark chuckles from somewhere beside him.
It’s already past dusk and the alleyway outside of Mark’s room is alight with a gossamer pink glow. Donghyuck can see the colors across the high, tight arches of Mark’s cheekbones. He lifts the covers like an invitation, “Come lay with me.”
Something breaks across Mark’s face, and the space between his eyes crumples inwards, “I- I’m heading out.”
Donghyuck jerks up, “Again? You were gone all night.” Accusation bleeds into his tone and he knows it isn’t fair.
Mark’s mouth forms a little ‘o’ before he reaches back to scratch the back of his neck, “I thought you were asleep.” This translates to ‘I thought you wouldn’t notice’.
Donghyuck doesn’t dignify that with a response, remaining silent as he sits and lets the sleep-soft heat of his skin frost over. The light in the alleyway has changed to an icy blue and everything is cold even though the radiator is loud and rattling in the next room.
Donghyuck isn’t sure what this says about the nature of Mark’s secret relationship; that he must sneak around like a criminal and lie to his best friend. Donghyuck is comfortable with pretending like that is the reason he’s upset.
“Hyuckie I’m sorry-“
“Don’t do that. It’s whatever, I get it.” Donghyuck won’t look at Mark as he lets the blankets crumple to the floor at his feet.
“We can lay down for a minute.”
“I think I’m going out,” Donghyuck says. He’s not sure why. He hadn’t originally planned on leaving the house this entire weekend, but he decides that one more night alone here was worse than a night alone literally anywhere else. He snatches a thick hoodie off Mark’s bedpost out of spite. It’s one of Mark’s favorites; serves him right.
Mark trails behind Donghyuck cautiously as he swipes his keys from the counter and slips on his shoes beside the door.
“You’re really- Donghyuck it’s late.”
“Three in the morning is also late, Minhyung, but that didn’t stop you.” It’s a petty thing to say, and it would give too much away if Mark took the time to read into it.
“It’s not the same.”
Donghyuck scoffs, “Yeah that’s for sure.”
“Just listen-“
“No Mark, I’m a grown adult and I am leaving.”
Mark looks a tiny bit taken aback, but then he looks angry as Donghyuck wrenches open the door, “Don’t fucking- it’s not safe. You don’t get it. Why can’t you just listen to me for fucking once, Donghyuck!”
Donghyuck blinks once, and then he blinks again, and then suddenly he’s blinking away tears and coppery devastation stains his tongue and his teeth and the back of his throat. Mark has never yelled at him. Never. Not even when Donghyuck spilled acrylic paint all over his new shoes, or made fun of his haircut, or accidentally turned all his white socks pink.
Donghyuck sniffles indignantly, like a small child, and clenches his fists until the keys in his hand bite at the soft skin of his palms. He hopes it bleeds a little. He wants a physical manifestation of the way his heart is thunk-thunking in his chest like an old car motor.
Mark’s face is draining of color, “Hyuckie.” He breathes, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean it-“
Donghyuck likes a dramatic exit, no matter how gross his face looks and how much dignity he’s lost from bursting into tears, so he swiftly turns and closes the door right in Mark Lee’s stricken face. Small victories, and all that.
*
Donghyuck was right there when the city had been attacked for the first time. He was right in the thick of the action, a breath away from the clicking of pincers and rustling of tattered paper wings. From the large bay windows of a coffee shop on the corner of Lighthouse and College, he watched as something godless dug itself from underneath the asphalt, and its first call into the open-air shattered the glass in front of him. The shards needled inwards like an inhale from the building. Donghyuck couldn’t even feel it as they sliced him up.
There was a ringing in his ears, and the sound of screaming pedestrians registered like he was underwater, and he stumbled backward into an overturned table, head colliding against something solid and unyielding. He smeared blood out of his eyes with trembling hands. It was everywhere; his palms and his clothes and he could feel it drip down the cleft of his lip and into his mouth.
That thing, that massive insect, took a swing. Its hooked tail clipped the streetlight and send it hurtling into the storefront next door. Its sticky wings flopped pathetically against the road, and it screamed.
Donghyuck’s vision blurred and then there were hands on him. Renjun. He had gone to the restroom just moments before. He hadn’t been anywhere near the window.
“What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck.” When he looked up, Renjun’s eyes were so large he could see the reflection of the tattered storefront, like little, horrified mirrors.
He watched almost absently as his pale nimble fingers slipped through the blood on his phone screen and smeared it across his cheek when he pressed it to his ear. He carded a shaky hand through Donghyuck’s hair, gingerly avoiding a particularly large gash disappearing straight into his hairline.
“Mark. Holy fuck, I don’t know. Something’s happening in town and… I left for a second and then… oh fuck Hyuckie, oh my god there’s so much blood, Mark what do I do… -hyuck? Donghyuck? Hyuckie stay awake, oh my god.”
“Fuck.” Donghyuck grumbles and Renjun lets out a wet chuckle. He doesn’t know when Renjun started crying. Renjun never cries.
“Shut up,” He sniffs.
“Be nice to me ‘m bloody.” There’s a spot in his vision, right in the center in front of his face, and then there are two spots, and then there are three. His head hurt something fierce.
“You sure are, champ. I don’t know.” Renjun pauses, “I don’t fucking know, Mark Lee. I didn’t know who else to call! There’s nobody here.” He snaps and jostles Donghyuck whiles he’s at it. Renjun punches a button of the phone and Donghyuck feels his body relax when he hears Mark on the other line. He’s audibly upset and talking fast in a way that makes his head spin.
“Minhyung, I don’t know what you’re saying.” He complains, and despite the circumstances, Renjun snorts.
“I’m sorry, Hyuckie. Can you tell me where you’re hurt?”
Donghyuck ignores him, “Where are you?”
“I’m on my way, baby.”
Five spots. Ten spots. Donghyuck’s eyes feel very tired, and his skin is starting to sting like he’s on fire. He can feel all those cuts now that the adrenaline is wearing off and he vaguely wonders if they’ll scar. He certainly hopes not. “Mark? Are you coming for me?”
Donghyuck, in hindsight, will argue that he didn’t fall that far. He didn’t even hit his head that hard. But it’s cold today, for March, and there’s no window anymore to block out the wind chill or the sound of monsters wreaking havoc on the city. Donghyuck shivers. Mark is still talking. There’s a woman screaming something outside. There are no sirens, not even one.
“Baby, stay awake.”
Hyuck?
Donghyuck?
*
Tonight is much colder than it should be this time of year, enough so that Donghyuck has to rethink his previous plan to just wander around until he feels like he could finally return back home. Mark’s hoodie bunches up around his wrists as he shoves his fingers deep into the pockets of his sweats and hunches his body against the bitter wind.
He should have checked the weather before he decided to throw a fit and run away from home. Now he was sad and cold, and he had no choice but to linger out here until Mark left to wherever he usually leaves to for the night.
The thought makes his stomach churn; Mark spending the duration of this poor weather in someone else’s arms and someone else’s home while he himself kicked asphalt pebbles down Main Street. It’s not like Mark was trying to hurt him, he reasoned with himself, he was just oblivious to Donghyuck’s obvious pining and didn’t realize how little time he had been spending with him lately. But then again, Mark wasn’t stupid, and he seemed so apologetic. Did he know? Was he sneaking around trying to let him down easy instead of parading around his partner?
It was a very Mark thing to do; inconveniencing himself to save Donghyuck’s feelings. He had always been careful and accommodating, especially since that accident rang his bell last year. Mark only grew more anxiously protective, as if he was constantly toeing the line between looking out for him and locking him at home so he couldn’t get hurt again.
The thought makes him feel even colder. Mark was, in some way, still just trying to look out for him. Regardless, he didn’t have to be such a fucking idiot about it.
He got so tense when Donghyuck went out to parties or walked around alone at night, or even when he went out to the bars with Renjun and the others. But typically, he seemed to know that keeping Donghyuck secluded away from the world was wholly unreasonable and he would just leave him with a pleading ‘Be safe don’t do anything too crazy’. Mark had never snapped at him like he did tonight.
And who was he to keep Donghyuck all alone and ‘safe’ while he ran around and did what he wanted with who he wanted? It wasn’t fair, Donghyuck decided, and he was not some accident-prone invalid that needed Mark Lee as his keeper.
Further down the road, he spots a man with a magazine cart trying to catch his eye, “Hey kid! I got prime Hero Capable content right here. Took the pictures myself.” He says proudly, and gestures to the display of brightly colored booklets, each plastered with a blurry action shot of Capable himself.
Donghyuck stops to look for a second, “What? Do you follow him around or something?”
He shrugs, “Got nothin’ better to do.”
Donghyuck raises his eyebrow, “So you spend all day chasing around a superhero just to get-“ He peers at one of the covers, “Bad pictures?”
“Hey, come off it,” Cart Guy looks genuinely offended, “I’ll have you know that even spotting Hero Capable is virtually impossible. Only professionals and dedicated fans can get proper footage. It’s not like he just going to walk up the street and-“ The peddler stops talking and his jaw drops at something over Donghyuck’s shoulder, and his face is turning a worrying shade of purple.
Donghyuck looks around and- ah. He’s much shorter in person. Not actually much taller than Donghyuck himself. He had always assumed Hero Capable would be huge, but it turns out he’s actually regular-human shaped and he’s also headed straight towards the magazine peddler and his cart.
“How are you fine folks this evening?” His voice is muffled through the fabric of his mask and pitched down lower in a way that sounds unnatural. Donghyuck reckons he would have to for the sake of his secret identity and all that.
He glances at the peddler whose mouth is still gaping and whose face is still oddly colored, “He- But you’re-“
“Take your time.” Donghyuck sneers.
The peddler glares at him, “Show some respect.” He snaps.
Donghyuck turns to blink back at Capable, “Uh, do I thank you for your service?”
“I’d rather you didn’t. I never know how to respond to that.” He gingerly picks up one of the booklets with a red-gloved hand and flips through the series of blurry images, “Did you take these?”
“Y-yes.” Magazine Man croaks and then, “Yes, I did.” He says more confidently, straightening his spine.
Capable opens to his own ‘About’ section and he jerks his head to peer closer, “You think I’m thirty-five.” He asks, incredulous.
“W-well I took a p-poll and I analyzed your phrasing and tone and we- well I assumed you were 35 to 40 years of age based on all… that.”
“I’m 22.” Capable says softly, and the hurt that creeps into his voice makes Donghyuck snort.
“Well this has been fun, and also fucking weird, but it’s high time that I go anywhere but here.” Donghyuck is trying to shake off the surreal feeling that he’s getting from standing two feet away from a city legend, it’s making him feel oddly giddy when he should be off sulking by himself. Donghyuck is not one of Capable’s fanboys, and he has overstayed his welcome in this conversation.
He quickly veers around the cart, earning one last affronted glare from the cart owner, and heads back further down the dark street towards a dimly lit coffee shop about a block away. His student mentor Doyoung usually works the graveyard shift and only complains a little when Donghyuck lingers until closing. Donghyuck thinks he’s secretly grateful for the company.
“Hey, wait!” Comes a muffled voice from behind him, and then the light sound of footsteps.
He turns around and Capable’s almost directly in front of him, close enough that Donghyuck can see the threading on his suit, “What?”
“You… I’ve heard some reports of suspicious activity in the area and-“
Donghyuck narrows his eyes, “And you think I’m the suspicious activity?”
“What? No, of course not!” He holds up his hands placatingly, “I’m just saying it’s pretty late and it’s not safe out and-“
“And?”
“Can I walk you home?” Donghyuck’s stomach drops down to his feet and he hopes to every god in the sky that he’s not beginning to look like the cart peddler did, “You can say no! It’s just an offer.”
“What about Cart Guy? You didn’t offer to walk him home.” Donghyuck points out, and they both watch as Cart Guy slowly pushes his ugly magazines down the street.
Capable laughs and Donghyuck pales at the feeling of butterflies in his stomach. He blames it on the sensory onslaught of fighting with Mark and then meeting the savior of the city all in the same night, “He has the cart to keep him company.”
“So you’re saying that you are the security equivalent of a portable magazine stand?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. We even look alike.” He gestures up and down to himself.
This startles a laugh out of Donghyuck, “Well I was actually going to get some coffee.”
“It’s 11 p.m.?”
“It’s looking to be a long night for me,” Donghyuck says softly.
“I’ll buy you coffee.” Capable says resolutely.
Donghyuck raises an eyebrow, “If you think I’m pretty you could just say so.”
“I think you’re pretty. Let me buy you coffee.”
A blush spreads across his cheeks and he looks down at the way he’s swimming in Mark’s NCU hoodie and a ratty pair of sweatpants, “Sure Hero Capable. How about you buy me coffee.”
*
“Welcome to Neo Grind.” Doyoung turns to face them and nearly drops the mug that he’s drying, “What in the fresh fuck?”
Donghyuck looks up at Capable, who seems to be making eye contact with Doyoung through the lenses of his mask. He gets the odd feeling that he’s missing something when he glances back at Doyoung who is cautiously placing the mug on the counter and fixing the hero with a flat gaze.
“Did you make a friend, Duckie?”
“I’m just here for the free caffeine. Do you two know each other?”
Doyoung shrugs and moves to meet Donghyuck at the register, “Hero Capable likes his coffee. Shall I put this on your tab?”
Capable scratches the back of his head and shuffles his feet, looking oddly nervous in front of tall, lanky, barista Doyoung from the NCU Biomedical department, “Yeah. Thanks, Doyoung.” He says quietly.
The tension in the air thankfully only lasts until they are seated across from each other in the corner of the room, Donghyuck’s hands cupped thankfully around his caramel latte. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Doyoung occasionally casting disdainful glances towards the two of them.
He takes a sip, “So you know Doyoung.”
Capable shrugs, “I do like my coffee. And I really do have a tab. I can’t really carry money; this thing doesn’t have pockets.” It’s not a good answer and it does nothing to quell Donghyuck’s curiosity, but he supposes that superheroes are bound to have their fair share of secrets and he knows he’s not exactly privy to the inner workings of Capable’s life.
“I can’t believe you don’t get free coffee.”
“Doyoung is the only one who makes me pay here.”
Donghyuck laughs, “What a dick.” He says loud enough for Doyoung to hear, earning himself a sharp glare from behind the register.
Donghyuck glances around, “You’re not busy tonight? Being- you know?” He makes a vague gesture around with his hands.
The other man casually fiddles with the label of Donghyuck’s cup, “I think maybe the city will be okay. Probably. For a minute.”
After twenty more minutes of intriguing yet vague back-and-forth, the clock ticks towards 12:30 am and the caffeine is definitely not doing its job. He can feel his body sagging into the plush of the booth behind him and there’s a heaviness to his eyelids that gives him the sneaking suspicion that Doyoung slipped him decaf.
Despite the comfortable warmth tingling under his skin, Donghyuck can’t help the dis-ease that churns in his stomach as he thinks about walking home, and the minuscule yet daunting likelihood of running into his roommate.
He tugs the sweater tighter around himself and stands to take his leave, “Well… this has been surprisingly lovely considering that you’re dressed in spandex and it’s the middle of the night and Doyoung had been glaring at us for the last hour.” Doyoung whips his head in the other direction and busies himself with yet another mug to dry.
“Should I walk you?”
“No, I-“ He thinks of Mark’s empty bed and the neon lights of the alleyway and the way he might toss and turn and listen through the thin walls for the sound of the door like an eager house-pet, and he feels a little sick, “I’m staying with a friend. It’s pretty close so I’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ve got city-saving shit to do anyway.”
“Oh.“ Capable stills where he’s standing and for a moment the air itself seems to freeze, and then all at once he’s moving again, casting a quiet goodnight in Doyoung’s direction and leading Donghyuck out into the cold with a hand hovering above the small of his back.
“Thank you for the coffee. And the conversation, I guess. Good luck with your hero stuff.”
“Get back safe, Sunshine.” He hears over his shoulder, as Donghyuck turns his back on both Hero Capable and Mark Lee, making his way towards Renjun’s apartment under the spotlight of the full moon.
*
Jaemin met Capable in person once, and he bragged about it for approximately one entire month.
“He’s so- He’s a little short, okay? A little too short for my taste and I’m happily in love but oh my god I would willingly put myself in harm’s way just so I can see his ass in spandex again. Dear Jesus.” He places a hand on Jeno’s thigh, “I’m sorry baby.”
“No, I totally get it.” Jeno nods sagely, “But maybe avoid danger. For my sake at least.” He tacks on quickly.
“How do you feel about a super threesome?” Jaemin asks.
“You’re a fucking degenerate.” Donghyuck grumbles.
“I know you’re busy being in love with Mark, but have you ever considered getting some superhero dick?”
Renjun looks up from his book to watch everything unfold but Donghyuck decides not to indulge Jaemin’s obvious bait, “Seems more unattainable than Mark.” He shrugs.
“That’s simply not true! I think you could pull a superhero, Duckie. You’re like the fifth prettiest boy I know!”
Donghyuck makes an aborted sound in the back of his throat, “Fifth!”
“Well Jeno’s first, obviously. And then me. And then Injunnie. And then Lee Taeyong, from the statistics department. And then you!”
Donghyuck can’t even be upset, really. He’s right underneath Accounting Taeyong and that’s a feat on its own. “What about Mark?”
Jaemin scoffs, “Mark is handsome, not pretty. Like Yukhei and Jaehyun from the coffee shop.”
Renjun interrupts right as Donghyuck opens his mouth, “Don’t argue with him. It’s a weird thing to argue about.”
“How old do you think he is?” Renjun asks after a moment.
“Jaehyun from the coffee shop? Like twenty-five or something.”
“No, idiot. Capable.”
“Oh, I mean I choose to believe he’s young and spry but I’m comfortable with assuming that he’s DILF age as well.”
Donghyuck snorts, “Capable is not a DILF.”
“You don’t know that!” Jaemin defends, “He would be an excellent father. He helps cats out of trees!”
“I think this goes beyond civilian gratitude. I hope he gets a restraining order against you.”
Jeno rubs Jaemin’s back, “He doesn’t mean it, Nana. I’m sure he would understand if he met Capable.”
Donghyuck scoffs, “I would behave like a normal, well-adjusted, adult. Thank you.”
He really meant it too. Sure, Capable was cool and strong and did nice things, but idolizing anybody was a dangerous game, and Donghyuck wasn’t convinced that Capable’s ridiculous spandex-covered super-body could absolve him of that. Donghyuck chose to have a healthy appreciation for the man. He certainly didn’t want to be the one saving the city.
*
The benefit to crashing at Renjun and Jaemin’s place while he was angry with (read: running away from) Mark was that Jaemin spent most nights over at Jeno’s which means that Renjun almost always has a spare bed for Donghyuck to sleep in. The con was that Mark’s older brother Johnny and his boyfriend lived in that very same building, meaning that his chances of bumping into Mark were higher than if he were to just sleep at Jeno’s on his horrible leather couch.
It’s a nice place, really. With a brick façade facing the mountains and a small courtyard sprawling between the buildings. The rent is high though. Johnny and Ten afford it with their adult money, and Jaemin is a child business prodigy with a hefty trust. Mark and Donghyuck’s apartment building has an empty concrete pool that’s been out of operation for the entire year and all of their windows face directly into the brick wall of a seedy law firm next door. They never really needed anything but each other though, and maybe a fully functioning stovetop.
“I wish I could move us somewhere nicer.” Mark had said once, while they were lounging on the couch watching a rerun of an old western show that Mark loved and Donghyuck hated.
Donghyuck raised an eyebrow, “What? You don’t like our home, Mark Lee?”
He blushed and vehemently backtracked, “No, no, no, I mean- I think you deserve somewhere with a view.” He shrugged, and Donghyuck felt warmth stirring in the pit of his stomach.
Donghyuck leaned his head against Mark’s shoulder, “I think we might have everything we need.”
He hummed in response and carded a hair through Donghyuck’s curls.
“But I mean… If you wanted to move me to a big house in the hills then I wouldn’t say no-“
Mark laughed at this, big and bright enough to fill up every room.
*
It’s been a long, Mark-less week when Donghyuck begrudgingly finds himself standing outside of Johnny and Ten’s door with a bottle of wine as any proper house guest should. Ten likes wine, especially when it comes in odd, aesthetically pleasing bottles. Maybe if he bribed him, the other man wouldn’t peer too deep down into his soul. He wasn’t sure how much unraveling he could handle tonight. His nerves were fried, and he was loath to admit that it was partially due to the fact that he hadn’t talked to Mark since Saturday. Donghyuck had been studiously ignoring his calls and messages until eventually, they stopped coming.
He knew eventually they would need to talk it out. Eventually, he would need to go home for new clothes at least, and Mark would corner him and coax out a conversation. That’s how it usually went when Donghyuck got upset enough to storm out.
Ten grins from ear to ear when he sees the bottle clutched in Donghyuck’s hand. He reaches for it with two small hands and welcomes the other boy inside.
“Welcome, welcome. We’re glad you came. Johnny is cooking tonight.”
Johnny is an excellent cook; he’s excellent at just about everything. Donghyuck thinks it must run in their blood because Mark is similarly talented in a mind-boggling way.
Johnny is much, much taller than his brother and considerably less keyed up. Mark has an almost constant current of nervous energy, whereas Johnny is predisposed to relaxing. It makes him wonder how he ended up with someone like Ten, whose energy keeps him on, day in and day out. On second thought, maybe they’re good for each other.
Johnny is warm and solid in the same way Mark is, and it makes him just a little bit homesick when Johnny slings a casual arm over Donghyuck’s slight shoulders.
“Long time no see, kiddo,” he says warmly.
“Especially since Mark’s in the doghouse,” Ten quips.
Johnny shoots him a look, “Chittaphon-“
Donghyuck sighs, “If this is going to be an interrogation, I might just go back to Renjun’s.”
Johnny looks sad for a split second and then the expression clears off his face and he smiles, raising his hands in a placating gesture, “No interrogation, no intervention, we’re just getting our parent fix.”
Ten nods eagerly, “Hurry, and let’s start eating, babe. Our child is starving.” He pushes a bony finger into Donghyuck’s cheek, “He’s on death’s doorbell.”
“Doorstep, baby. It’s doorstep.”
Ten rolls his eyes with a muttered ‘whatever’ as he ushers Donghyuck towards the kitchen table.
Dinner really is nice, Donghyuck talks about class, Renjun, Jaemin, and all three of Jeno’s cats that his landlord doesn’t know about. Ten’s eyes sparkle and he sighs about wanting pets. Donghyuck is content to listen to Johnny and Ten bicker, or more like, Ten bickers, and Johnny placates him fondly. It’s all very endearing, and the food is excellent. He can’t remember the last time he had a warm meal that he didn’t have to cook for himself.
Afterward, Donghyuck is curled up on the couch, lazing off his large meal and idly gazing at the TV as a news channel covers the latest Capable sighting. The video is shaky and poor quality, but Donghyuck recognizes the shock of red spandex and the tattered brick of his own apartment building. He feels worry building up in his chest. What business does Capable have on their side of town? How long has it been since the last attack?
Johnny and Ten are watching from the kitchen, eyebrows pinched. He wonders if they’re thinking the same thing.
“I don’t think it’s fair.” He mutters into his arm, where his face is pressed up against it as he’s sprawled across the couch.
“What’s not fair?” Ten comes to sit on the floor near Donghyuck’s head.
“It’s not fair to put all that pressure on one person, you know?” Donghyuck worries sometimes. He had experienced those monsters firsthand. Capable had to face them every time they came. “Who takes care of the guy who takes care of everyone else?” Donghyuck’s eyes feel heavy, and his stomach is full. Ten weaves their fingers together and the contact chokes him up.
“Capable’s got some help, I’m sure. Are you offering your services?” Ten smirks, and Donghyuck huffs.
“I’ve got my plate full, I think. I don’t think a superhero would need my input.”
“I’d say he’s more of a vigilante.” Ten runs his finger over the back of Donghyuck’s hand, “You’d be surprised. I think we could all use a little bit of Donghyuckie.” He says fondly. Donghyuck smiles.
Ten eventually gets up and returns to the circle of Johnny’s arms. On the screen, Capable lifts an old woman’s heavy groceries in his gloved hand. Donghyuck lets himself drift off to sleep.
Donghyuck hears the front door unlock. The sound of frantic whispers pulls him out of his sleep. He’s groggy and he can’t see the door, but he would recognize that voice anywhere.
“Ta-da.” He says quietly.
There’s a sharp intake of breath, “What the fuck, Mark.” It’s Johnny, and he sounds uncharacteristically upset.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“I’m just off my game today.”
“You look like shit. When’s the last time you slept or ate a vegetable?” Ten’s whisper is a stage whisper. He would sound angry if it weren’t for all the worry that bleeds through his voice.
“Be nice to me.” There’s a pause, “Is Hyuckie here?”
“He’s on the couch. Sleeping. So be quiet.”
“Is he-“
“Fine. We fed him and he fell asleep. He’s fine. But I’m sure he would be a lot better if he would just let himself go home.” Ten says pointedly.
“I’m working on it.”
“Clearly, was that before or after you got the shit beat out of you?”
“Media caught you over by the complex. It’s not a big deal just try to remember that Donghyuck doesn’t live in a vacuum. You don’t get to decide what he sees and doesn’t see. If you insist on lying to him, at least make it believable.”
Everyone’s quiet for a minute. Donghyuck can hear the shifting of feet and the sound of Johnny tinkering with something in the kitchen. “I brought him some more clothes. And this.” Mark must hold up something Donghyuck can’t see, “He likes to steal this one.”
There are footsteps and the rustle of something near his head. Donghyuck’s heart beats frantically as comes to the realization that this is the closest he’s been to Mark in nearly a week. He feels fingers ghost across his cheek, close enough to feel the warmth but too far to feel the skin.
Soon, he decided. He would go home soon. And they would talk about Mark’s flurry of secrets even if it breaks Donghyuck’s heart. They would clear the air and Donghyuck would pick up the pieces.
Their conversation continues in the kitchen, but Donghyuck is already drifting back off.
“Hyuckie. Here’s the thing babe.” Jaemin crouches, eye level with Donghyuck who is curled up miserably on Renjun’s bed. It’s been exactly one day since Donghyuck spent the night at Ten and Johnny’s, and he had been in a little bit of a funk ever since.
Donghyuck moves to push his palm against Jaemin’s big, charming moon-face, “Get the fuck away from me.”
“We’re going to the bar tonight. Injunnie is going to get some Yukhei dick. You’re going to dip halfway through the night and go get some Mark dick. And I’m getting Jeno dick no matter what.” He grins devilishly and Donghyuck can see Jeno blush in the corner of the room.
“I’m not getting Mark anything. He’s fucking someone else anyways.” Someone else. As in someone who isn’t Donghyuck. It’s absolutely damning to say out loud.
“What?” Renjun snaps from where he’s leaning against the doorway. Donghyuck didn’t even hear him come in.
Donghyuck glares at the wall, “He’s got some super-secret lover than to traipses off to in the middle of the night.”
They all three share a look. Together. It’s infuriating.
“That-“ Jaemin says tentatively, “Seems unrealistic.”
“So what? He can do whatever he wants. I’m not his mom I just wish he would be honest about it or something.”
“I just mean, Mark-“
“Nana.” Jeno warns.
“No, I know. It just seems like something Mark wouldn’t do, you know?”
“Well believe it. What time are we leaving?” Donghyuck asks, and a devious smile spreads across Jaemin’s face.
“There he is.”
Lee Donghyuck is 1) excessively intoxicated off six too many tequila shots 2) a little bit turned around in his drunken adventure back to Renjun’s (empty) apartment and 3) about sick and tired of these jeans that he practically poured himself into four hours ago.
And his feet hurt. His feet hurt so bad.
He’s considering taking off his heels and chucking them into oncoming traffic. In fact, that’s exactly what he’s going to do. He leans heavily on the nearest building, right underneath a glowing pink neon sign that’s way too close to the road. He reaches down to the zipper at his ankle, and it immediately catches, nearly sending him face first into traffic if not for the two solid hands that secure him at the hips.
“Do you need help?” A muffled voice says from behind, and he whips around.
Donghyuck curls his lip, “No, obviously not. Look at me. I’m thriving.”
Capable snorts and it comes out sort of soft, “I can see that.”
“The media never mentioned that you’re a dick.”
He shrugs, “Don’t believe everything you see on TV.”
“Sure thing, mom.” Donghyuck wonders which part of his brain is getting its kicks from snarking off to somebody who could snap him in half like a dry branch.
The lights are making his headache worse, and he presses his palm to his forehead, “Oh Jesus Christ.” He groans.
“You really shouldn’t be out walking alone in your condition.”
“Hey.” Donghyuck snaps, “Can it, Mr. Incredible. I didn’t come here for a lecture.”
“Then why did you come here? To the uh-“ he cranes his neck up slightly to read the sign over Donghyuck’s head, “- Pulsing Desire Love Motel?”
Donghyuck can feel his face heat but he straightens his spine, “To fulfill my pulsing desires!”
The other man stays silent and lets Donghyuck squirm for a second, “So… would you like me to take you home.”
“Yes. Yes, I would like that. But you will have to carry me the entire time and I’m definitely going to complain.”
“I’m equipped to handle that.” Capable sighs and doesn’t even give Donghyuck any sort of heads up before he’s swooping him up into a bridal style carry. His chest is so broad, and his arms are so strong, and he even smells good. Oh sweet Jesus, Donghyuck thinks. Or maybe he says it out loud because he can feel Capable huff out an amused breath.
“So where do you live, sunshine?”
Donghyuck absentmindedly traces the threaded pattern on the other man’s suit, “Nowhere. I’m a nomad. I go where the wind takes me.”
“Not in those heels, you don’t.”
“… just take me to Mountainview.” He mumbles.
“Ah.” Capable says, almost too quietly for Donghyuck to hear, “Do you live at Mountainview?” He inquires after a second.
“Oh no. We definitely can’t afford that. Not right now anyways.” Donghyuck thinks about Mark wanting to take Donghyuck somewhere with a view. It makes him sad. He misses Mark. Mark would be livid if he found out that Donghyuck had made a mad dash from the bar to strike out on his own. He wonders what Mark would think about Donghyuck getting lugged home by a literal superhero.
“My friend thinks you’re a DILF.” Donghyuck offers after a moment of silence, and Capable nearly trips over his own feet.
“A DILF? I’m not a father, though? I’m definitely not a DILF.”
“Well then tell Jaemin that. He’s willing to offer you a threesome opportunity with him and his boyfriend.”
Capable chuckles, “I’m going to have to decline, but I appreciate the consideration.”
“You made the right decision, Mr. Capable.”
He groaned, “Ugh don’t call me that it makes me feel old.”
“Oh?” Donghyuck gasps, poking him right in the middle of his stupidly muscular chest, “Do you have an elderly complex?”
“Do people really think I’m old?” Capable sounds horrified, and his voice pitches up to a more natural octave. “Really?”
Donghyuck nods seriously, “It’s been hotly debated. I’m sorry you found out like this.”
“Set them straight, Sunshine. Stop these lies.”
Donghyuck puts a finger to his chin, “No, I don’t think I will.”
“I’ll drop you.” He warns.
“You would never.”
“Yeah,” Capable says quietly, “You’re probably right.”
Capable walks somewhat slow for a man with such an urgent job. He wonders if working as a superhero is like working at the hospital. A lot of hurry up and wait, and then a whole lot of pressure. Donghyuck doesn’t mind the pace though. He thinks if he moved any faster, he might vomit everywhere and that would be the worst-case scenario.
“I think your job sucks,” Donghyuck mutters into his chest. He’s feeling tired and weighed down now like he would sink straight through the concrete if Capable wasn’t holding him up. It’s been a while since he’s been close to another warm body and the way Capable has his fingers curled protectively near his knee feels vaguely familiar.
“You think so?” He asks, “Most people think it’s cool.”
“I was there for the first attack.” Donghyuck says quietly, “And I definitely didn’t think that was cool.”
“Were you scared?” He murmurs back. Donghyuck isn’t sure why they’re both speaking so quietly but it feels necessary, somehow, as if he needs to whisper while confiding in a stranger.
“I mean fuck yeah, I got pretty messed up and I hit my head, so I obviously don’t remember much but I dream about it sometimes.” Donghyuck reaches up to absentmindedly touch the jagged scar leading up into his hairline, “It’s not like I thought I was going to die or anything, but I really worried my friends and that sucks.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you.” He says sincerely.
Donghyuck smiles a little, “Ah, don’t be.” Capable is looking a little off to the side. Donghyuck tries to imagine the set to his jaw or maybe the curve to his eyebrows, “Do you ever think about it? You know, the stuff you have to see.”
“Yes,” He begins carefully, “But it’s part of the job. All in a day’s work.”
Understanding settles within Donghyuck, “Ah. You’re a workaholic. I know someone like you.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, my roommate. He’s bad at taking breaks. I think he’s spreading himself too thin, but he doesn’t listen to me.”
“Maybe he’s just-“ Capable takes a deep breath, “- an idiot.”
Donghyuck lets out a startled laugh, “I thought you were going to say something helpful.”
“Maybe he’s just caught up… in his own sense of duty?” He adds carefully.
“Ah, how unusually perceptive for a total stranger.”
“Thank you. It’s in the job description.”
The silence stretches on, although comfortably. Donghyuck watches the stars overhead, and he thinks maybe, on second thought, he wouldn’t mind idolizing someone like Hero Capable who helps old ladies with their groceries and carries drunk boys home. He wonders how the world chooses whose going to have ridiculous powers and who is going to be normal, like Donghyuck. Maybe the universe got it right, maybe it put power in the right hands.
Maybe.
He’s fast asleep before they even get to the front door.
Donghyuck wakes up rather gently to sunlight filtering through his window in a familiar apartment that is definitely not Renjun’s. He jerks upright and stumbles to his feet, “Oh shit. Oh, fuck.”
Johnny is already up, cooking something that smells like eggs. He turns around and his eyes widen, “Oh you’re awake.”
Donghyuck opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, “I- how? I’m here?”
Johnny looks suspicious, like a deer in the headlights, “Uh-“
“We met your friend last night, Donghyuckie. Very nice boy. Found him knocking on Injunnie’s door.” Ten comes into vision, snatching a coffee mug gratefully from Johnny’s hands. Donghyuck doesn’t know how this could be, he can’t remember if he gave Capable the room number or not.
“I fell asleep.” Donghyuck breathes.
“You sure did, kiddo.” He grins.
“Why would you be on the second floor? At two in the morning?” The color drains from Johnny’s face but Ten just smiles.
“Vending machine is down there.” He says easily.
Donghyuck gets the prickly feeling that he’s missing something for the umpteenth time this week, but it’s almost completely washed out by the embarrassment he feels, “Oh my fucking god. Oh my god. He found me outside of a love motel.”
Ten melts, “Awe, like a little stray sex kitten.” Johnny chokes on his coffee.
“Please. Please don’t even call me a sex kitten ever again.” Donghyuck begs.
“But it’s true! It took a minute for us to pry your little claws off the front of his suit.” He simpers.
Donghyuck felt faint, “Oh my god.” He whispered.
“You should send him a fruit basket. Or your number. He seemed a little smitten to be honest-“
“Chittaphon-“ Johnny warns, and Ten only continues to grin.
“Baby! Loosen up. This is a. Positive. Development.”
Donghyuck spots the clothes from last night folded neatly on the coffee table and he looks down to see that he’s swimming in Mark’s SMU basketball hoodie, “Who undressed me last night?”
“Me!” Ten says cheerfully, and Donghyuck breathes a sigh of relief, “I considered cutting those pants off you, though. How did you even get them on?”
Donghyuck shrugs, “I dunno, olive oil, and prayers?” Ten guffaws and Donghyuck snatches up the rest of his things, “Well, thank you, I suppose. For receiving me last night from the arms of a total stranger and letting me crash here. I’m mortified and hungover, so I’m going to go let Renjun know I’m alive and then I’m going to go home and literally never leave again. Goodbye.”
Johnny gently catches his arm on his way out the door, “Home?” He asks hopefully.
Donghyuck nods, “Yeah. I think it’s time to go home.”
“Good. Good, I’m happy to hear that.” Johnny lets out a sigh of relief so massive that he seems to shrink a few inches, “Get home safe, Donghyuck.”
Donghyuck remembers the first time he stepped foot in his apartment and not much has changed since then. The paint is still chipping and there are scorch marks on the stovetop. But there are trinkets and useless objects everywhere now and there’s an ugly rug in front of the TV that Donghyuck and Mark have both grown an unusual attachment to.
Still, stepping into it now feels new somehow, as if the world had reset in the seven days that he had been gone and the air had been replaced with something more fragile.
Donghyuck’s bed still has too many pillows and blankets, and a few very questionable stuffed animals. But there is also a person sleeping in it right now and Donghyuck is sure they weren’t there when he left.
He lifts a corner of the covers and slips underneath. Mark is still dead to the world and his body is burning like a furnace. Donghyuck would worry if he weren’t like this all the time.
The warmth, the smell, the way his shoulders fit back into Mark’s chest, the ugly brick outside of his window, it all makes him so simultaneously comforted and deeply sad that he fights back the stinging of tears behind his eyes. An arm snakes around his front until Mark’s elbow holds him back securely and the heat of his palm rests against the side of Donghyuck’s neck. If he were awake, Mark could have felt the contented stutter of Donghyuck’s heartbeat. Donghyuck curls his fingers around his bicep, and they’re entangled so perfectly that he drifts off to sleep as well. Something settles in his chest just as his consciousness fades away, a suspicion and a realization, but he’s much too tired to consider it.
Donghyuck wakes for the second time that day with a hand stroking his hair and Mark’s forehead pressed to the nape of his neck. Mark startles when Donghyuck yawns but continues to run his fingers through the fluffy curls at his forehead when they settle back down.
“You’re home.” He says carefully, “I missed you.”
He sighs, “I missed you too, Markie.”
He feels Mark take a deep breath more than he hears it, “I’m sorry. I’ve been neglecting you. I don’t want to make excuses; things have just been weird for me lately.”
“I can tell when you’re lying to me. I just want you to be honest.”
“I want to. I want to so bad, Hyuck.”
Donghyuck turns around to look him in the eyes, hovering over him slightly and searching for honesty in his face.
He steels himself, “Mark you’re a grown man, and I- I know you have your needs. But is it really that good of a relationship if you have to sneak around all of the time?”
Mark’s eyes widen, “What?”
Donghyuck frowns, “Don’t play dumb. You’re never home, you lie about where you are, you’re constantly in disarray when you come back, and I’ve seen those marks that they leave on you, Mark Lee.” He glares down until suddenly he’s on his back again, looking up at Mark Lee who has an elbow propped up by his head.
“Donghyuck.”
“Minhyung.”
“I’m not sleeping with anyone.”
“What?”
“I’m not sleeping with anyone. I don’t have some secret lover, are you serious?” Mark’s smiling, almost laughing.
“Don’t trivialize my concerns! It was a perfectly valid conclusion, you dick!”
“No, no, no baby you’re right.” Mark closes his mouth and reaches out to trace his pointer finger down the bridge of Donghyuck’s nose, “Actually you’re wrong. Very wrong.” He corrects.
“I still don’t hear you explaining yourself, Mark Lee.”
The smile slips off his face, “I got a very shitty job with terrible hours. And this job causes me stress.”
Donghyuck is smart. He’s aware that this is a lie by omission. But his stupid little pining heart is safe for the time being and he decides he will let it slide in favor of wrapping himself up in Mark again, sooner rather than later.
Donghyuck purses his lips in a way that’s uncomfortably Ten-ish, “You yelled at me.”
Mark’s face falls, “I’m so sorry. I get so worried, especially after last year with the coffee shop incident and-“
Donghyuck strokes his knuckles over Mark’s cheek, “It happened. We can’t change that. And look at me! I’m fine.” Mark runs a finger down the scar on his forehead unhappily, “I’m not made of glass, and you can’t protect me from everything.”
“I can try,” Mark says resolutely.
“Sure. But you can also start making up for a week’s worth of cuddles that I’ve missed.” Donghyuck turns back around, and Mark presses an obnoxiously loud kiss to his cheek.
“Hold me, you dickhead.” Donghyuck complains, and he hears Mark outright laugh for the first time in weeks.
He and Mark slip back into the old routine as they tend to do, and Donghyuck puzzles over the complexities of their situation. He tries to reconcile the fact that while one miscommunication had been cleared, a different kind of secret must be at bay. Donghyuck isn’t typically the type to overexert himself worrying about technicalities, but he knew that technically his issue with Mark Lee had not yet been solved and it was only a matter of time before Donghyuck caught scent of the whole truth.
Lee Donghyuck didn’t chase answers. Answers chased him. He was confident that the rest of the story would come unraveling if he pulled the right strings, considering that Mark was, and always had been, a terrible liar.
In the meantime, half of his attention had been monopolized by an overly invested superhero with a tendency for cute nicknames and blatantly romantic gestures. They developed an interesting dynamic where Hero Capable openly waxed poetic about him, while Donghyuck pretended to read it as friendship.
A pretty thing like you? Out here all by yourself?
You look so nice in that color; it compliments your skin.
Did you do your hair differently? It looks so soft.
Ah, Sunshine. I feel like I met you in my past life.
In all honesty, half the syrupy shit that spewed out of his masked mouth should sound greasy and unbearably obvious, and coming from almost anybody else Donghyuck would have really given them a piece of his mind. But the sincerity with which he said it was so genuine that Donghyuck couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit sympathetic to his plight.
“Aw, he has a crush on you.” Ten had cooed when Donghyuck had lamented to them one night. Mark said he would be gone for a while and Donghyuck needed Ten’s maternal instincts for comfort.
“No. No, he does not. He’s fixating on me because I embarrassed myself in front of him and now, he thinks we’re friends.” He straight-up lies.
Ten nods sagely, and Donghyuck thinks the conversation is over until one week later when he and Mark are both enjoying a Johnny-cooked meal when Ten opens his big fat mouth once again.
“Markie.”
“Hmm?” Mark’s stuffing his face like a man possessed. Johnny is looking at him proudly. Cute, Donghyuck thinks.
“Did you know that Hero Capable has a crush on our little Donghyuckie?”
Mark chokes on his food. Johnny jumps to rescue him. Donghyuck hopes the floor will split open and swallow him whole. And Ten observes his handiwork with glee in his evil little eyes.
“He what?” Mark croaks. He’s flushed red all the way down his neck.
“A superhero is in love with Donghyuck. What are you going to do about it?”
“I guess I’ll have to kill him,” Mark says seriously, and Donghyuck groans.
Johnny leaves the table muttering something about the conversation being too meta for his tastes. He decides to leave his baby brother to suffer Ten’s wrath by himself.
“Remember that thing I said, Duckie? About you being a funky little stray sex kitten?”
“I sure wish to fuck that I didn’t.”
“A what?” He hears Mark ask faintly.
“You know! A sex kitten. Personally, I consider myself part of the Donghyuck-bratty-bottom coalition. Not to be confused with the Donghyuck-leather-twink agenda. That’s me and Jaemin and I’m the founder.”
“Donghyuck?“ Mark chokes out.
“And those jeans Donghyuck! Remember the jeans? They were so tight I almost had to call Capable back up to come peel them off of you-“
“Okay! We’re leaving forever. Come on, Mark. Ten needs to sit and think about what he’s done.” Donghyuck announces, and with that, they make their hasty escape into the bitter November air.
“So… sex kitten-“
“Not another word, Minhyung.” He snaps.
There’s tension when they get home. It’s thick and warm and viscous and Donghyuck paces a little as Mark puts the leftovers away in the fridge.
He crosses the living room to peer out the window into the alleyway, where the neon sign is alternating between a vicious red and a softer lavender. It’s a terrible combination, he wonders why anybody would willingly program that.
There’s warmth behind him and then he feels the press of Mark against his back, arms winding around the curve of his waist. It’s almost second nature, the way Donghyuck relaxes into the hold, letting his head fall back against Mark’s shoulder.
Mark’s grip tightens and he grazes the skin of Donghyuck’s neck with his lips, moving from the knob of his clavicle to the soft spot behind his ear. Donghyuck melts under the heat of his breath.
“Would you really have wanted that tool to peel your clothes off for you?” Mark murmurs into the quiet heat of their apartment.
“Isn’t he supposed to be the savior of the city? I don’t think he would have taken advantage of little ole me.” Donghyuck struggles to keep his breathing even as Mark rubs small circles across the skin of his hip.
“So you don’t think he’s a tool?” He tugs Donghyuck further backward by his belt loops.
“Well I wouldn’t say that-“ , and for some reason this makes Mark grin against his neck.
“So, you do think he’s a tool?”
“The spandex is kind of tacky.”
“I’m sure there are pros and cons.” Mark slides his palms over Donghyuck’s bare abdomen.
He gasps and leans back further, “Minhyung, what’s gotten into you, tonight? Are you touch starved? Do I not hold you enough?”
“Uh-huh let’s go with that.” Mark breathes, and then, “Do you mind if I take the first shower… kitten?” Donghyuck turns around to meet his shit-eating grin.
“Slip and fall, Mark Lee.” He growls.
“What do you think of Capable?”
Jeno peers at him over the lid of his coffee cup, “The superhero?”
“No. The used-car salesman.”
“Maybe this is why everyone bullies you. You’re kind of a dick.”
“Jeno-“ Donghyuck whines.
“No! I’m not indulging your superhero hyper fixation.”
Donghyuck huffs, “Fine. So anyway, I’ve been stupid horny lately and Mark is-“
“No. Nope. We are in a coffee shop, and I am not doing this with you. Go ask Renjun.”
“Injunnie what-“
“No.”
“Alright.”
Donghyuck bursts through Jaemin’s bedroom door, “I need to talk about superheroes and my sex life.”
Jaemin’s face splits into a slow grin and he spreads his arms out wide, “You’ve come to the right place, baby!”
Mark is already in bed when Donghyuck gets home later that night. He slips under the covers and sighs contentedly as the other boy rubs lazy circles on his back.
“Where were you? How was your night?” He asks groggily.
Donghyuck smiles against his neck, “I just hung out with Jaem for a while. It was nice.”
Mark yawns and Donghyuck can see a large bruise forming under his chin, “That’s good. I’m glad.”
Donghyuck pets his cheek, “Sleepy?”
“Mhm.” Mark sighs into his hair.
“Why’s that?”
“M’dunno, worlds gone crazy.” He mumbles a touch incoherently.
“M’kay, go to sleep Markie.” Donghyuck whispers.
“Uh-huh,” Mark grumbles, “G’night Sunshine.”
Donghyuck’s eyes snap open. Ah.
Donghyuck makes an important phone call the next morning. Doyoung picks up on the second ring.
“We need to talk.” He says.
Doyoung agrees.