i miss laughing in the rain

donghyuck's car is incredibly small, adorned with a dingy paint job that's long since been all-but-partly scratched away. mark doesn't mind, though, when the younger pulls into his driveway and rolls down his window, sticking his head out. instantly, his hair becomes damp from the rain that's gently falling. he sputters.

"put your head back inside the car!" mark laughs, running through the rain with his hands held high above his head, serving as some sort of useless protection against the rain. he enters the car as quickly as possible, then scrubs at his now-damp clothes. donghyuck towels at his own hair using only his fingers, but it just flings rainwater everywhere. he groans.

mark grins. "where to?"

eyes alight, donghyuck backs out of mark's driveway and begins to drive towards town. "you look nice," is all he says. mark furrows his eyebrows.

"you, too."

he's not wearing anything special, so he doesn't really understand why donghyuck is complimenting him. he's wearing a loose black shirt and washed jeans, which is the most casual date outfit that he could find in his closet.

donghyuck, surprisingly, is wearing the exact same thing, but he has on a white windbreaker that brings out his features and contrasts the outfit. it looks great, looks a hundred times better than mark could ever look. shaking his head, he turns to look out the window.

donghyuck makes a sharp turn and parks in a large lot. turning the car key and pulling it out of the ignition, he grins at mark.

"what are we doing?" mark asks.

"what do you think we're doing?"

mark knits his brows in confusion. he can't see any actual sign on the old building in front of the lot. "uh...?"

the boy's face lights up. "bowling!"

a smile makes its way onto mark's face. he unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car, making his way towards donghyuck, who hooks his arm around mark's and pulls him forward.

the alley is larger and nicer than mark presumed. he stares at the neon signs lining the wall, mesmerized by the colors and designs.

donghyuck insists on paying for their shoes as well as the bowling balls, and once they get fitted with shoes, he drags mark over towards and alley and proudly presents it to him. mark grins.

"can you even bowl?"

"i have never been bowling in my entire life," donghyuck laughs.

"come here. i'll show you how," mark says, beckoning donghyuck towards him. he picks up a fairly light ball and hands it to donghyuck.

the younger stands still, ready to throw the ball. mark positions himself at his side, taking donghyuck's bowling arm in his hand gently and guiding it backwards slowly.

"kind of swing it, just like this," mark instructs. realizing the position he's in, he quiets his voice. donghyuck is silent, and only then does mark realize how intimate this looks. "line the ball up with the center pin," he resolves.

donghyuck adjusts his aim, and mark can't help but stare at the quiet boy. a blush dusts the apples of his cheeks, and he's trying hard not to smile—the corners of his mouth turn upward ever-so-slightly.

"when you're ready, just let go of the ball," mark says.

donghyuck swings the ball back once more, mark's hand still on his arm, and releases the ball.

it hits the lane with a loud thud, then quickly rolls towards the center of the back, crashing into the middle.

nine pins fall down, leaving one teetering pin behind. it shudders on its base, and suddenly, it, too, falls backward.

"yes!" donghyuck shouts, eyes slight with mirth. his arms suddenly wrap around mark's torso and squeeze tightly. he doesn't let go.

mark can't tell for sure, but he thinks he melts a little bit.

when they finally part, donghyuck stares up at him with shining eyes and a wide grin. "thanks."

mark just smiles in return, and their game continues well into the evening.

when they finish, rain is hammering down on the roof of the building, and mark approached the door cautiously.

"i'm gonna get the car and bring it up to the curb so that you won't get too wet."

"what?" mark exclaims. "no. we're gonna get equally soaked. no man left behind."

donghyuck laughs. "if that's what you want."

taking mark's hand, he pushes the door wide open and sprints into the pouring rain.

"that was the worst idea i've ever had," donghyuck sighs once the two are finally in the car. mark can feel the water in his clothes soaking into the seat, and the cold around him chills him to the bone. there's a long silence that follows, but it's quickly broken by mark bursting into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. donghyuck, too, begins to laugh.

when mark calms down, he doesn't even realize that donghyuck's hand now rests on his knee.

smooth.

"here," donghyuck says, voice light with laughter as he turns the ignition and starts the car. he turns the heat all the way up, and mark revels in the blast of warmth that suddenly circulates through the car. donghyuck turns the radio on, and an old song begins to softly play.

mark is faintly reminded of the day that he and xuxi visited the cemetery. this is different, though. it was hot and dry and sorrowful there. here, it's cold and pouring rain and there's something bright and lovely in the air that makes mark want to sing.

and so he does.

"do i wanna know—if this feeling flows both ways?"

donghyuck opens his mouth to sing with him, and out comes the most beautiful voice mark has ever heard.

"sad to see you go—was sorta hopin' that you'd stayed."

mark smiles, and soon they begin to harmonize.

"baby, we both know that the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow-day..."

the ride home is fun, what with donghyuck all-but screaming song lyrics and somehow making it sound beautiful. it's a talent.

"thank you, donghyuck." mark unbuckles his seatbelt as the younger pulls into his driveway. "i had a lot of fun."

"hyuck," donghyuck says quietly.

"what?"

"hyuck," the boy repeats, a bit quieter this time. "it's, uh—it's what my friends call me."

"thanks, hyuck, i had a nice time," mark says softly, opening the car door. "can we do this again sometime?"

donghyuck nods, his cheeks pink. mark smiles and shuts the car door.

the younger watches mark go, and right before he shuts his front door, donghyuck does some strange peace-clap-point gesture succeeded by a small wave goodbye. mark thinks it's cute.

laughing to himself, mark shuts his front door.

he'll have to reassess all his previous thoughts about donghyuck. the boy isn't just cute, and he's not just pretty.

he's angelic.

―

xodaniel