"stop. thinking. about. that!" donghyuck muttered under his breath, hitting his forehead with each of his words.

super m had officially left new york city four days ago, making a stop in washington to visit the capital of the united states and perform in front of their fans. and they were now on the plane to atlanta, their third stop on the super m us tour.

"stupid mind! i said stop!"

and here was donghyuck, growling and repeatedly hitting himself.

what for? for not being able to forget his and mark's interaction in central park, four days ago.

since the second after he had been set back to his feet, donghyuck hadn't been able to get out of his mind the image of mark's face being so close to his.

surprisingly, this fall – that mark had somehow prevented – had hit donghyuck with realisation. he had never noticed how handsome mark looked from up-close, whether it was his dark hair that was all over the place, or his big confused eyes that would turn into crescents whenever he would smile, or his high cheekbones that fitted perfectly with the boy's sharp jawline to make him look like a man, or even his lips, so pink, so glossy, so tempting.

don't get donghyuck started on those lips.

long story short, they were the main reason of donghyuck's current malfunction. when he was halfway laying on mark's lap, just after his fall, donghyuck had innocently stared at every detail of mark's gorgeous face, and his eyes eventually fell on the boy's plump lips. and that's when he lost control.

he had found himself wondering what would those lips taste like, and if the feeling of mark's lips pressed against his would make his inside more jittery than they already were. he had been so caught up in the moment that he had found himself leaning forwards, as if to confirm his suspicions, but taeyong had interrupted their moments, making donghyuck realise what was about to happen.

and since these events occurred, donghyuck hadn't been able to prevent his mind from making images of mark's face up-close flash in the most random moments, which was why he was in a full gay-panic.

"you're going to lose all of your neurons if you keep hitting your head like that." a voice said, startling the tanned male.

"oh my god, ten, you scared me." he replied, placing a hand on his heart.

"sorry." the thai male giggled. "can i sit next to you? the others are sleeping or want to stay on their own, it's boring." he declared.

"sure." donghyuck nodded, pulling his bag off the seat next to him so that the older boy could sit down.

ten took a seat on the beige leather, immediately placing his elbows on the armrest between his and donghyuck's seats and plopping his chin on his palms while he stared at donghyuck with a smile that ressembled the cheshire cat's.

"h-huh...?" donghyuck blinked, his cheeks becoming slightly pink because of ten's stare.

"so, tell me, donghyuck." ten's smile widened, if possible. "what has you hitting your head this hard?"

"n-nothing important." donghyuck stuttered, making ten raise a brow.

"sure." he nodded. "and without any lie?"

donghyuck thought for a few seconds, trying to find a plausible answer in the smallest amount of time possible.

"i... i was trying to rehearse my lines in english for the concert, but i keep messing up." donghyuck replied with a small smile, internally proud of himself for finding such a good excuse.

"oh, that's bad..." ten let out. "wait, let me call mark, he's fluent in english so he'll help- "

"no! no! no!" donghyuck's eyes widened as he pulled onto ten's arm to make the thai male sit back down on his seat. "there's no need to call mark!" he continued, shaking his head energetically.

ten smirked at donghyuck's overexaggerated reaction. "so, it's mark..."

"no, it's not!" donghyuck squeaked.

"so, you're going to tell me that you aren't affected in any way by mark?" ten raised a brow again.

"exactly." donghyuck nodded, his voice shaky because of the lie.

"well, then..." ten coughed. "MAR-!"

"okay! okay! okay!" donghyuck gasped, slamming his hand on top of ten's mouth to prevent the noise from going out. "it's mark that has me in this state."

ten grinned, using his hand to push donghyuck's palm away from his mouth. "don't ever lie to me again."

"yeah, sorry." donghyuck rolled his eyes.

"so, tell me everything. why mark? what did he do?" ten questioned, his cheshire cat smile back on.

the tanned male took a few breaths, fidgeting with his fingers in nervousness.

"well... he's... he's mark..." he said with a shrug.

"no shit sherlock. i've been living with him for more than two years, and i don't see any charm in this confused boy. so, there has to be something." ten huffed.

"he's just... so kind... and thoughtful... and he's very careful around me, as if he wants to make sure i'm always doing alright. he's taking care of me so well, even if he has no reason to do so." donghyuck explained, his mind in a daze as it replayed moments he shared with mark?

"okay, you fell for him." ten stated without hesitation, making donghyuck almost choke on his saliva.

"n-n-no!" he shook his head.

"let me see... stutter... flushed cheeks... nervousness... silly smile... gay panic..." ten listed, looking at donghyuck up and down. "yes, you fell for him. i know it."

donghyuck's face became even redder as he diverted his eyes from ten to the landscape outside of the plane's window.

"okay, maybe i did..." he mumbled shyly.

"that's great!" ten smiled brightly. "you and mark have such a cute dynamic. no offense, but you fit ten times better with mark than you do with lucas."

"really?" donghyuck blinked in confusion.

"yeah. lucas is too... huh... he's too much lucas, you know? like goofiness, clumsiness, carelessness and all of those things that makes him a good boyfriend for someone who's robust and capable of getting hit in the head by accident multiple times. and... you don't really fit in this description according to me."

donghyuck chuckled, envisioning perfectly the scene of lucas moving around and suddenly lifting an arm, making him hit straight in the nose the person just next to him. ten's description of lucas was indeed perfectly accurate.

"so, you like mark. that's great." ten repeated once donghyuck had stopped laughing. "are you going to tell him?"

"what?!" donghyuck gasped. "no! of course not!"

"calm down, i was just suggesting..." ten lifted both of his hands in surrender.

"he doesn't feel the same, and i'm not ready to get rejected when i have to spend the next month with him." donghyuck explained.

"yeah, or he could return your feelings, and you'd have a whole month to be all lovey-dovey together in your bedroom." ten smirked.

"you're a pervert." donghyuck hit ten's shoulder.

"i know." ten laughed. "but i'm also a very good love counsellor, and i'm advising you to talk it out with mark."

"i thought i had told you i didn't want to be rejected." donghyuck rolled his eyes.

"okay, if you don't want to tell him, then just observe his actions." ten sighed. "see how he acts around you, and around the other members in the future."

donghyuck stayed silent for a few seconds.

"and realise he's acting the same with the others?" the tanned male asked.

ten grinned at donghyuck's obliviousness. "oh, you'll be surprised by what you'll witness..."

♪

"each of you take your room key and take your luggage up in your room. you can hang around the city with your face covered until 7:30pm, time when i want all of you back here, understood?" the manager spoke, handing each of the boys a card to unlock their room.

"yes." a few boys exclaimed in chorus, making the manager nod.

the tanned male followed the super m members towards the lift, dragging his suitcase behind him.

"sweet, the lift is broken." taemin declared one he had pressed five times on the button before noticing the little panel signalling that they were currently repairing the lift.

"you're joking, right?" ten asked, pushing a few boys to stare at the panel before groaning loudly.

"i'm on the first floor, that's fine." kai declared after looking at his room number. "rip to those who are on the fifth."

"okay, let's take the stairs then." baekhyun exclaimed as the super m members all headed towards the staircase.

donghyuck placed his suitcase by his side before pulling his cardkey out of his pocket and looking at the number, somehow praying that he was on the first floor, because his suitcase was super heavy and he wasn't sure he'll even be able to take it up one floor using the stairs.

"oh, fuck my life..." he groaned when he realised his room number started with a '5', indicating that he was the luck guy that was on the fifth floor.

heaving out a long and loud sigh, donghyuck dragged his feet and his heavy suitcase towards the staircase in which the members of super m had disappeared a few seconds earlier. he glanced up at the stairs, a desperate groan slipping past his lips when he realised how long it would take for him to climb up to the first floor.

after a few more sighs and mini-internal motivator speeches, donghyuck finally walked up the stairs, taking longer each time to place his heavy suitcase on the same step as his feet. the tanned male occasionally stopped climbing up those horrendous stairs to massage his sore arms and legs that weren't used to such effort.

"finnaly...!" the boy exclaimed once he had arrived at the top of the stairs. "...i reached... i reached floor..." squinting his eyes to adjust his view and read the number of the floor, donghyuck let out another desperate moan at the number he read. "...floor 1, ugh..."

tiredly, donghyuck let his body lean forwards until his forehead was resting against the wall while he reflected about his life, and the time and energy he would need to do the same effort as the one he just did four more times to reach floor five.

"everything alright here?"

donghyuck jumped away from the wall, standing up straight and tightening his grip on the suitcase's handle as he threw the other a smile. "mark! huh... yeah... i was just looking... looking for my room... but obviously... it's not on this floor... haha..."

"you're very red. and out of breath too." mark pointed out with a brow raised. "what's your room number?"

"h-huh..." donghyuck blinked before lowering his head in shyness. "501..."

"so, you're on the fifth floor too." mark smiled. "let me help you with your suitcase then." he added, walking next to donghyuck and grabbing the handle.

"no, no, i can do it!" donghyuck shook his head. "plus, the suitcase is very..."

"okay, let's go!" mark exclaimed, lifting the suitcase with one hand easily and climbing up the stairs in a record time while donghyuck stared at him with his mouth agape.

"...heavy..."

thanks to mark's very useful help, donghyuck was in front of his bedroom door in a minute, his suitcase by his side, and his lungs in a better state that they could have been.

"thank you so much for the help, mark." donghyuck said as he pulled his card out to unlock his bedroom.

"it's nothing. you looked like you needed help." the canadian replied with a chuckle.

with those words, donghyuck walked inside his room while mark got away, surely to go to his own room. after closing the door behind his back, donghyuck pushed his luggage inside and laid it down on the floor to open it and change his clothes – it was necessary considering how much sweat his body had produced while he had dragged his suitcase up one floor.

after a few seconds in his room only, he was interrupted by a knock.however, this knock didn't come from the front door of his room, neither from his window. it came from a second door inside the bedroom, just next to the cupboard on which was placed a small television.

donghyuck abandoned his messy suitcase open in the middle of the room as he walked to this door and unlocked it before pulling it open to see who had interrupted him.

"hello again."

"mark!" donghyuck exclaimed with a chuckle. "what are you doing here?"

"well, i'm in my room. it seems like we have connected rooms." the idol replied. "anyway, i'm thinking of walking around atlanta to visit, would you like to tag along?" the canadian asked.

"sure!" donghyuck nodded. "let me change my clothes really quick and i'm coming."

"why would you change? you look perfect in those clothes."

donghyuck's body froze as he looked down at his clothes since the beginning of the day: a pair of fluffy beige sweatpants paired with an oversized white long-sleeved shirt, the perfect outfit to be comfortable while travelling. but if donghyuck ever had to describe this look, the world 'perfect' would never be coming to his mind. he looked messy, goofy, like a child, bad, but certainly not perfect.

"h-huh..." donghyuck stuttered, his cheeks reddening at the attention mark was giving him once again. this boy was definitely never going to stop making his heart flutter and his mind go crazy. "i-i'll go shoewer!" he added in his panicked state before closing the door between his and mark's room but not locking it.

the tanned male leant against the door he had just closed, letting out a long sigh as he let himself slide down against the wooden material until he was sitting on the floor.

while he tried calming his erratic heart down, he could even hear mark chuckling on the other side of the door.

he wasn't sure he'd be surviving if he spent some more time with mark.

♪

mark was lying down inside his bed, the white sheets covering his legs while his back rest against the headboard. the remote control of the tv was in his right hand as he zapped through the channels to find something to watch. the sound of water running could be heard in the background as donghyuck was having a shower inside his own bedroom but had left the door between his and mark's rooms open.

they had come back from their walk around atlanta a few hours ago, and after that, they had had dinner with the remaining members of super m before coming back to the hotel for the night.

it wasn't that late yet, but the rhythm of a tour was always hard on idols' bodies, meaning that they had to rest a lot, which explained why they were in their beds this early.

"what are we watching?"

mark diverted his eyes from the tv to the tanned male that had appeared in his room, almost dropping the remote at the sight of the younger boy.

donghyuck looked divinely cute in his pyjamas, a set composed of brown loose and flowy trousers and a brown long-sleeved t-shirt that reached past his hands. and to top it all, donghyuck's honey curls were dripping with water as they were freshly washed.

"h-huh..."

this time, it was mark who was at loss for words as his eyes couldn't leave the younger's perfect features. he was seeing and discovering more of donghyuck every day, and he was slowly getting addicted to it.

"mark?" donghyuck asked, waving his hand in front of the older boy's eyes to wake him up from his trance.

"huh, yeah!" mark exclaimed, forgetting about his day dream as he zapped through the channels again. "i don't know what we can watch."

donghyuck hummed, plopping on the bed on mark's left and resting on his tummy, with his chin on his palms and his feet dangling in the air while mark continued pressing the remote control to change channels and find something to watch.

"AWWW PIKACHU!!" donghyuck exclaimed out of nowhere, jumping on his knees excitedly while pointing at the tv that had displayed the yellow pokémon for a quick second.

mark hurriedly changed channels until he found the one donghyuck had caught a glimpse of pikachu on.

"oh my god! detective pikachu! can we watch it? please!!!" donghyuck asked excitedly, bounding up and down on mark's bed.

"yeah, sure." mark replied with a smile, not really caring what he would watch on tv anymore since he knows very well his whole attention will be on donghyuck.

donghyuck giggled lightly before getting back in his previous position, his stomach on top of mark's sheets, his chin propped on his palms, and his feet in the air to watch detective pikachu.

as he had guessed it, mark didn't pay much attention to the tv. he had never really played pokémon, and the idea of people making a whole movie on this didn't pique his interest particularly.

instead, his main activity for the night was only staring at donghyuck and smiling each time he would squeal or coo at the sight of a pokémon. the tanned male really was the epitome of cuteness and innocence in mark's mind, and he wanted to keep him that way forever.

"i'm cold..." donghyuck whined as the movie got cut by advertisement.

"get under the covers, then." mark declared, lifting the sheets up to signal donghyuck to slide under them.

the tanned male did as he was told immediately, a frown appearing on his face again when he lied on his back under the covers.

"the sheets are cold..." he pouted, making mark smile like an idiot as his heartbeat accelerated.

"come here." he told, patting the space right next to him.

donghyuck looked up into mark's eyes blinking a few times before slowly moving towards mark's body, his cheeks getting redder with each centimetre he got closer to mark.

"i-it's b-better..." the tanned male stuttered, his body still shivering.

mark sighed; he knew donghyuck would keep some space between their bodies, surely because he was shy and respectful, meaning he didn't want to invade mark's personal space. but little did he know that when it was about donghyuck, there was no personal space for mark.

"you didn't understand..." mark declared.

before donghyuck could question these words, mark's arms wrapped themselves around donghyuck's torso, the idol immediately pulling the tanned male closer so that mark could heat him up with his body temperature.

at that point, mark was still seated against the headboard of the bed, and donghyuck had his body glued to mark's with his head and part of his upper body resting on the idol's torso. donghyuck still had his arms frozen against his sides.

"now, isn't it better?" mark asked.

"i-it i-is..." donghyuck admitted shyly.

"great then." mark smiled, not even caring about the fact donghyuck's head was right on top of his heart, and that he surely could hear his heart beating madly.

it took a few minutes for the movie to start again, and so, both boys got back to their previous activities. donghyuck watched detective pikachu attentively while mark. stared at the golden boy that was now lying in his arms.

both mark and donghyuck felt so at ease and peaceful in that moment, as if it had always meant to be that way. the ambiguity and tension that had started developing around them was still present, but it seemed like it was slowly morphing into something better, with more power, and which promised to be amazing.

and so, as both boy's heartbeats went erratic because of their proximity and their growing feelings, they enjoyed their night, not even realising that donghyuck's arms had wrapped around mark's torso, neither that their legs had intertwined on their own or that they had started dozing to sleep in each other's loving embrace.