YUKHEI

"mark," yukhei says quietly, rapping on his door three times over. "can i come in?"

from behind the door, mark sneezes, then sniffs. "no."

"mark," yukhei sighs. "i really am sorry. it was my fault, and i should've remembered."

"and what were you doing in the meantime?" mark asks.

"...walking home with jungwoo."

"yeah, that's what i thought," mark responds, his voice colder than it had been before. "go talk to your boyfriend, yukhei."

"mark,"  yukhei pleads, firmer this time. he gets no response. resigned, he retires to his room to take a nap before trying again later.

his phone buzzes twice. then, once more. he unlocks it and checks his messages.

(10s) jungwoo: wanna hang out in an hour or so?

(10s) bub: please stop trying to get into my room. i don't want you to catch this cold.

(5s) donghyuckie: mark has a cold. if you bring him over to my place, i'll feed him and give him medicine.

yukhei decides to respond to donghyuck first.

(1s) we have food at home, but he won't talk to me. i can't get him anything :// and i'm out of medicine but i wouldn't want to leave him home by himself while i run to the store to get some more

(2s) donghyuckie: hold on, i'll ask him to go to the movies with me tonight. let's just eat at that old diner, and we can pick up some stuff from the pharmacy for his store and then just rendezvous back to yours

(1s) ...okay?

suddenly, he gets another text from mark.

(2s) bub: can you drive me to the movies

(1s) yeah of course. when?

(1s) bub: idk what movie it is but hyuck told me it starts in ten minutes

(1s) i'll get my coat on. go ahead and get dressed

yukhei smiles incredulously, a little amazed by how easily mark had agreed to meet donghyuck. he heaves himself off his bed and staggers to his door, blood rushing to his head in an instant. he has to lean on his bedroom door for support for a few seconds before grabbing his coat off the desk chair in the corner. he shrugs it on, rummages through his pockets for his keys, and goes outside to start his car.

it's cold. unbearably so, especially so late in the evening. the sun is just starting to set, and trees sway and creak under the force of the wind blowing. it hits yukhei's face and stings a little. it also whips at his hair, messing it all about his face, but he can't be bothered to fix it. he gets in his car, turns the heat on high, and waits for mark.

in just a few minutes, mark is hurrying out the door and into the car, hugging his windbreaker tightly around him. he shivers once he gets into the car and presses himself against the side of the car--where the vent is aimed--for warmth.

"do you want music on?" yukhei asks, but mark doesn't respond. he sighs.

"...we need to pick donghyuck up," mark says, so quiet that yukhei can barely even hear him over the roar of the air conditioner. yukhei nods, then backs out. the windows and the windshield fog up from the heat inside the car, and yukhei has to lean forward and wipe the condensation away with his jacket sleeve just so he can see.

mark sneezes, then breaks into a coughing fit. yukhei slams his foot on the breaks and reaches across to pat mark's back like he's done a hundred times before, but mark flinches, pressing himself even closer into the car door and waving yukhei's hand away.

the drive to donghyuck's house is silent—painfully so. when yukhei pulls into donghyuck's driveway, the younger is already bouncing down the steps lining the side of his family's apartment, skipping two steps at a time. he trips, and yukhei can literally hear mark's breath catch in his throat.

mark follows donghyuck's movements, turning his head as donghyuck rounds the side of the car. his lips are parted, and his tongue peeks out through his teeth. his eyes are warm and fond, and the corners of his lips turn upward a little. yukhei wonders if mark knows this is how he looks at donghyuck, if he's consciously staring with such adoration or if he can't even help it.

mark breaks out a grin when donghyuck opens the car door, and he hums contently when the younger climbs inside. "hey," he says softly, his voice hoarse.

"ew," donghyuck wrinkles his nose. "you're gonna get me sick."

mark pouts as yukhei backs out of the parking lot without even greeting donghyuck. yukhei does, however, adjust the rear-view mirror so that he can see donghyuck's face, offering him a knowing smirk and a wink. "no fair," mark grumbles. "you're the one who asked me to go out with you tonight."

they spend the rest of the car ride bickering about getting sick—and, eventually, who loves who the most (which yukhei doesn't understand at all, because they've only been dating for a week)

"turn in here," donghyuck says suddenly, cutting mark off mid-sentence. mark makes a confused noise as yukhei pulls into the parking lot of a small diner and parks, turning the car off.

"xuxi's going to eat with us," donghyuck says brightly, simpering, and mark doesn't even respond. he's just staring at donghyuck's face, smiling softly. "mark? did you hear that?"

donghyuck reaches out, and with two fingers, he lightly taps mark's cheekbone. "hey, loverboy. d'you get that?"

mark blinks, then shakes his head, almost as if he's trying to jump-start  his mind. yukhei vaguely recalls yuta referring to such an action as a "mind etch-a-sketch."

"sorry, what?" mark asks, and yukhei plants his face in his palms because he's still staring at donghyuck.

"xuxi is going to eat with us, and you're going to hear him out," donghyuck says, smiling sweetly at mark in a way that just makes mark smile.

"okay," he says, grinning, not even glancing at xuxi as he climbs out of the car, hugs the edges of his coat close to his torso, and walks around the car to help donghyuck climb out.

and it stays like that—he doesn't pay yukhei any attention once they're inside, taking special care to seat himself in the booth so that he faces donghyuck and only donghyuck.

"mark," donghyuck hisses after the waitress has taken their orders for drinks. "you're here to talk to xuxi, not stare at me."

mark frowns. "fine."

he turns to yukhei, then back to donghyuck. "for the record, you're one of the only people that calls him xuxi."

he turns back to yukhei, laces his fingers, and fixes him with the trademark stare of an angry teenager.

"okay. talk."

—

xodaniel