donghyuck knew that life was full of surprises. and he had mixed feelings about those surprises that life gave him.

he would rather not wake up one morning, only to learn that one of his friends had been kidnapped or tortured by some psycho. no, this was an unpleasant surprise, and he hated those.

but he'd die to wake up to a notification on his phone warning him of a new comeback or a new concert he would be able to go to. yes, this was a pleasant surprise, and he loved those.

but never in his whole life he imagined he would be so pleasantly surprised this early in the morning.

today, right after his body had woken up, donghyuck had kept his eyes closed for a few seconds more, to enjoy the warmth of his bed and the heavenly smell lingering on the sheets.

but when donghyuck had decided to open his eyes, he hadn't expected to find himself in such a position, and even less to enjoy this moment more than any other.

the tanned male wasn't alone in the bed, another male figure was by his side, still sleeping soundly and breathing regularly. a simple glance up allowed donghyuck to realise the source of warmth and body sleeping next to him belong to the one and only mark lee.

the idol was pressed against donghyuck's body, their legs intertwined, and one of mark's arms tucked under donghyuck's head as a pillow while the other loosely hung around donghyuck's waist. the younger had his face buried into mark's chest; his nose pushed against mark's shirt from where the heavenly scent donghyuck liked so much emerged.

donghyuck had already seen such scenes in movies or read them in books. he recalls the protagonist pushing themselves away as if the other's body was burning to get away from each other, and even though he had never imagined this would happen to him one day, he had asked himself countless of times how he would have reacted if he had woken up next to someone else. but he had the answer now.

the feeling of being held against someone's body in their sleep was so heart-whelming and comfortable that donghyuck would want to stay in this embrace all day. but what made everything even better was the identity of this hugger.

mark lee had been making donghyuck's mind go crazy for days if not weeks, and being so close to him had ignited something into the pit of donghyuck's stomach. perhaps was it untold feelings that donghyuck realised were real now? the fact that he had wanted to kiss mark on the lips in central park and that he would want to kiss him more from now on? the need he always had to be close to the older male that wouldn't stop so soon? all those ambiguous moments that the two boys shared? everything was there to make donghyuck realise that yes, he had feelings for mark lee, and more than having him being a mere crush, mark was the person he wanted to be with and to build a future with.

it had always been about mark since donghyuck had met super m.

sure, donghyuck was obsessed by lucas, but in a musical way. lucas was his favourite member artistically speaking, but he wasn't friendly speaking.

mark had caught donghyuck's eye for the first time when they were having breakfast during the 'one day with super m' program.

he can still recall mark's intense stare while he was swinging on his chair, and how meeting eyes with the older had made him panic internally, causing him to fall to the floor.

and let's not mention all those times he made donghyuck embarrass himself because he complimented him or told him how beautiful he was.

donghyuck had really started getting more interested as they hung out alone in the park, when he had admitted to the boy that he was gay. and this growing interest had developed as both boys exchanged text messages.

there had always been some kind of interest between the two boys, but now, it had grown into something more powerful, something like love.

as hard as he tried, donghyuck definitely couldn't push his and ten's conversation in the plane out of his head.

the thai male had read right through him so easily, immediately understanding that donghyuck had a thing for mark despite 'dating' lucas. and he had been very supportive, explaining that he could see donghyuck better with mark than with lucas.

and he had added something very important and non-negligible. he had said something along the lines of 'mark likes you back' which donghyuck had immediately denied, because who would like him, a clumsy cry baby who hated to be the centre of attention and didn't know how to deal with his own problems? but to that, he had added that mark's feelings for him were very noticeable – which donghyuck had denied too. and ten had finished by 'just observe his actions, see how he acts around you and around the other members in the future. you'll be surprised by what you'll witness...'.

so, donghyuck had tried doing as ten asked him to do and analysing mark's actions.

with the other members, mark would joke around, playfully hit shoulders, curse and act like a normal young adult surrounded by his friends.

and mark would be much more reserved and calmer when he was around donghyuck. mark would ask questions calmly and keep eye-contact with donghyuck all the time. he would smile at the younger boy and place comforting hands on his shoulders. he would help him each time he could, whether it was to speak english or to carry his stuff. mark would also always take his opinion into consideration, before he decided to do something that could have an impact on him or his life; and he kept making sure everything was alright for donghyuck, checking that he hadn't become the centre of attention unnecessarily or that he didn't feel embarrassed about something.

these attitudes reminded donghyuck of how a gentleman acted, and at first, donghyuck would have never pointed mark out to be the gentleman type.

and ten was right on that; mark acted like a gentleman for donghyuck, but like a regular man for his friends.

mark held doors open for donghyuck while he slammed them in his friends' faces.

mark waited for donghyuck to catch up when climbing stairs while he raced his friends to the top.

mark complimented donghyuck's beauty and his every act while he didn't hesitate to roast is friends for anything.

mark made sure donghyuck's stuff for the concert was always organised while he had no care in the world about his friends' stuff.

mark often gave donghyuck some of his food while he picked food for him from his friends' plate.

and there was so much more that donghyuc could think of...

so, yes, ten was right; mark liked donghyuck romantically while he liked his friends platonically.

realisation hit donghyuck square in the face and his breath hitched as his heart beat madly in his ribcage. his body was still pressed against mark's, and both of them were entangled in mark's bed, with mark sleeping soundly.

a wave of panic ran through donghyuck as he told himself that his heart was beating so madly that its beats would wake up mark if he didn't unglue himself from him.

so, that's why he tried to do.

donghyuck wiggled slowly, leaving mark's embrace in the most silent and delicate way possible to leave the older asleep alone in his own bed.

however, clumsiness was a synonym of donghyuck, and just as he had managed to escape mark's embrace, he didn't realise that he had reached the end of the bed, causing him to put his knee in the void, just a few centimetres away from the mattress, and to fall on the wooden floor in a loud thud – plus a small yelp of surprise and a groan at the impact.

inevitably, mark's senses awoke and the canadian male was soon sitting up on the bed, tiredness still obvious in his eyes while he looked around the room to see the reason of the commotion.

donghyuck sat up, rubbing his back with a groan before using the bed to help himself standing up. "ouch..."

"donghyuck!" mark exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

donghyuck gulped hard, both because he had woken mark up and that he was currently having a staring contest with a very handsome mark, his raven hair dishevelled and his shirt all crumpled while sleepiness slowly disappeared of his features, but also because – damn – mark's morning voice was one of the hottest things he had ever heard. it was so low and so raspy that it had sent shivers down donghyuck's spine; and as surprising as it seems, it sounded nothing like the voice mark had whenever he would rap in his low voice – which was hot too, but another kind of hot.

"sorry... i woke you up..." donghyuck lowered his head. it seemed like he was back to embarrassing himself in front of the idol, just like in the old times.

"no, no, it's okay." mark shook his head. "are you okay? what happened?"

"i just fell off the bed, nothing too dramatic..." donghyuck shrugged before standing properly and wincing because of his hurting back.

"wow, you're hurt!" mark declared. "how bad is it?"

"it's fine... just a small fall but it's nothing..." the tanned male replied, trying not to show how much it hurt him.

"let me see."

"w-what? n-no, it's o-okay..." donghyuck's eyes widened as mark crawled on the bed until he was sat on the edge of the bed, just in front of donghyuck.

"donghyuck, let me see." he repeated, placing his hands on donghyuck's waist and turning the boy around.

donghyuck didn't protest and let himself being turned around by mark's hands. his palms were gently pressing against his sides, and the tanned male could even feel the very soft brushing of mark's fingers as he pulled donghyuck's shirt up to get a view of his skin.

"you hit yourself pretty hard..." mark voiced out as a small gasp slipped past his lips. donghyuck's back was indeed red and slowly starting to bruise because of the fall.

"r-really?" donghyuck questioned, turning his head as much as he could to look at his back.

"yeah." mark nodded, placing his hand over the red splotch and pressing the wound lightly.

"ouch!" the tanned male exclaimed, jumping away from mark at the sudden wave of pain.

"it's starting to form a bruise." mark sighed. "take your shirt off and get on your stomach on the bed. i have a lotion that could help prevent the bruising."

"w-w-what?!" donghyuck stammered as mark stood up.

"do as i say." mark told before walking inside his bathroom.

reluctantly, the tanned male gripped the hem of his shirt to pull it off and he slowly peeled the soft fabric off his bruising skin, leaving him shirtless. following mark's previous orders, he laid down on his stomach on the bed, resting his chin over the back of his hands.

"okay, it might feel cold, i'm sorry." mark informed as he came out of the bathroom with a half-empty tube of lotion.

the canadian male took a seat on the bed, right by donghyuck's side, as he squirted a good amount of lotion on his hand.

donghyuck hissed at the unexpected feeling of the freezing cold lotion against his burning skin, his body flinching immediately.

"sorry." mark said right after, pulling his hand away.

"i-it's okay... i wasn't expecting it." donghyuck coughed.

"i'm going to spread the cream on your back, now." mark explained before slowly reaching for donghyuck's back again.

this time, donghyuck didn't flinch as hard since he had been warned and since he had gotten used to the coldness of the lotion, but he still did, and his skin soon got littered with goosebumps.

mark made sure to be careful and gentle as he applied the lotion all over donghyuck's back, putting more ointment on the bruising parts of it. even once donghyuck's full back had been covered with a thick layer of lotion, mark kept his hands on the smooth and tanned skin, simply massaging it with all the delicateness he was capable of.

unintentionally, the lotion-applying session transformed into a massage session that had donghyuck softly groaning and even moaning sometimes. mark had godly hands, and they were doing him so much good...

"aghn..." donghyuck moaned louder than he had before, making him widen his eyes and slam both hands on his mouth in embarrassment.

"am i hurting you?" mark asked worriedly.

"n-no..." donghyuck mumbled. "a-are you done?"

"huh... yeah." mark nodded as he stood up again, allowing donghyuck to sit up and put on his shirt again, his cheeks still flaming red because of the sound that had just escaped his mouth.

"so..." donghyuck started after a while to get rid of the silence and get his head out of his thoughts about mark.

"are we- "

sadly – or thankfully – a loud knock on the door interrupted this awkward and ambiguous moment, causing both boys to flinch.

"mark! get ready, we're leaving to visit the city in less than 10 minutes!" kai's voice rang from outside the corridor.

"yeah, okay!" mark yelled back.

"and i'll let you tell donghyuck too since you guys are the closest!" the older super m member added before mark and donghyuck heard his footsteps dying in the distance.

"so... i guess we need to get dressed..." mark stated, not really knowing where to look at.

"y-yeah..." donghyuck nodded.

"huh... do you... need me to lend you something, perhaps?" mark asked.

"lend me something?" donghyuck frowned, not really understanding the question.

mark passed a hand though his hair. "yeah, like a shirt or something."

"w-well... i have my clothes in my room." donghyuck replied, pointing at the open door between the two rooms.

"oh, yeah, of course!" mark smiled. "yeah, this makes sense. i'm sorry."

donghyuck smiled shyly. "i'll be back in a few." he added, heading towards his own bedroom before closing the door behind his back to get changed.

once the boy had left, mark sighed loudly, hitting his head multiple times.

"how stupid are you, mark?!" he mumbled as he asked himself why the idea of lending donghyuck some of his clothes had crossed his mind.

sure, he knew he would love seeing donghyuck wearing his clothes, not only because they probably would look a bit oversize on him and he'll look cute, but also because it would mean donghyuck had a part of mark with him, and it will show the others how mark would like donghyuck to be his and no one else's – damn love at first sight...

after a few minutes of mark badmouthing himself and getting ready, the door between the two rooms opened again, and donghyuck walked in with a shirt and a pair of jeans. he looked amazing, just like he always did, and the tight jeans hugged his curves so nicely, making him look even more attractive than he already was in mark's mind.

"y-you look very beautiful." mark blurted out, his cheeks tinting red right after.

"thank you." donghyuck chuckled in shyness.

"but... aren't you going to be cold? the weather is quite chilly outside." mark informed.

"yeah, about that..." donghyuck smiled sheepishly. "since you seemed like you wanted to lend me some clothes... how about you lend me a sweater...?"

mark's eyes widened as he realised what donghyuck had said.

in a matter of seconds, he was standing in front of donghyuck with his collection of sweaters in hand.

"of course, i'll lend you a sweater. which colour do you prefer?"

and donghyuck couldn't imagine being happier.

he was about to visit atlanta by mark's side, wearing one of his sweaters, while both of them were still in this ambiguous phase, not knowing whether to confess or keep everything to themselves.

♪

"mark! you still have my charger!" taeyong exclaimed. "and i need it!"

"yeah, yeah, i know!" mark yelled back to his member as he climbed up the stairs of the hotel to reach the fifth floor. "just come and get it whenever you'd like! my door will be open!"

the canadian didn't bother listening to taeyong's answer as he ran across the staircase, eager to see donghyuck again. the tanned male had left dinner a bit earlier than the super m mebers since walking around atlanta had tired him out a lot, and he needed his beauty sleep to feel good for the concert the next day.

mark – who had been looking forward to the end of the dinner since donghyuck had left the table – knew that the tanned male would surely already be asleep by the time he comes back to the room or at least, ready to go to bed, but he couldn't help looking forward to spending some more time with him.

donghyuck had really been the only thing on mark's mind these past days, and the fact they had communicating rooms was – in mark's opinion – a sign from the gods who judged it was time for them to spend more time together, and perhaps in a more intimate way. he couldn't let this opportunity slip between his fingers, which was why he was so quick to get back to his bedroom to hopefully find donghyuck still awake.

"donghyuck?" mark whispered, pushing the door of his bedroom open and peeking inside.

the lights were on and the door between his and donghyuck's rooms was open, sign that the tanned male hadn't gone to bed yet. with a smile, mark faced his door to shut it close before turning around and almost having a heart attack at the sight of donghyuck – who seemed to be surprised as well by mark's sudden appearance.

"oh, mark!" donghyuck giggled, lifting his hand – hidden by a sweater paw – to his mouth to hide his laugh. "i hadn't heard you coming back."

"i-i... yeah..." mark stammered, his neurons refusing to cope with each other as he studied donghyuck up and down.

the fanboy was standing a few meters away from mark, his eyes already full of sleepiness and his hair slightly messed up. he wasn't wearing his long and flowy brown pyjama set tonight, but instead, his chest was covered by a large sweater that reached past his wrists – giving him adorable sweater paws – and almost mid-thigh, thus hiding the boxers or shorts that he was surely wearing.

and if mark's heart wasn't already going completely crazy because of the cute yet hot boy standing in his bedroom, the fact that he recognised this sweater surely didn't help. the sweater was a simple navy blue one, with the word 'vancouver' sewn in capital letters on the chest area. the sweater belonged to mark, one of his aunts had gifted it to him a few years ago, claiming that she had bought a very large size so that mark would still be able to wear it years after leaving canada to remember his country. the sweater had become some kind of lucky charm for him, he never really wore it – the piece of clothing was still too big on him – but he brought it to each and every of his tours or during important phases of his life.

and seeing the sweater engulfing so perfectly donghyuck's body just made him realise how fitting all of this was. him and donghyuck, alone in those communicating rooms, far away from korea, with donghyuck wearing mark's lucky charm and looking ravishingly beautiful. this had to mean the stars were aligned for something to happen...

"i'm so sorry, i borrowed your sweater, i can take it off immediately if you don't want me to wear it!"donghyuck panicked when he saw mark's eyes staring at the piece of clothing so intensely. "it's just that i made my pyjamas fall in the sink while brushing my teeth, and they're all wet so i can't wear them to bed... but i'll wear something else, i'm so sorry i went through your stuff and- "

"donghyuck, calm down..." mark cut donghyuck's rambling, taking quick steps towards the younger boy and tugging on the hem of his sweatshirt to prevent donghyuck taking it off completely. "you can take anything you want from my suitcase, i told you already."

the tanned male nodded shyly, looking down at his hands that were fidgeting with the sweater paws while his cheeks regained their natural colour.

mark took a few more seconds to admire donghyuck from up close, his eyes diverting between each of donghyuck's gorgeous features.

"god, you're so beautiful..." mark mumbled, his fingers reaching for donghyuck's chin to tilt his head up so that he could look into his mesmerizing eyes.

"t-thank you..." donghyuck replied, his irises glowing with happiness and innocence even if a hint of shyness could still be deciphered in them.

the canadian male continued his admiration of the piece of art that was lee donghyuck, his second hand reaching for donghyuck's honey curls on the side of his face that he tucked behind the boy's ear.

donghyuck's body was slowly melting both because of shyness and overexcitement.

he couldn't put words on the emotions he felt as mark was getting so intimate and gentle with him. it all felt like a dream, but donghyuck was aware that it was real.

this was all very real, and it was the same painful reality as the one in which donghyuck was fake-dating lucas from super m while having undeniable feelings for mark lee. and donghyuck wasn't sure he'd be able to hold himself for much longer.

"donghyuck, are you crying?" mark asked, his eyes widening in panic immediately when he caught a glimpse of the tears forming in donghyuck's eyes.

the younger's answer first came with a sniffle, and then with a hug.

donghyuck leant forward, gluing his body against mark's while wrapping both of his arms around mark's neck for support. at that point, he didn't care if mark didn't want to hug him, he needed someone to hold him for a while, just so that he didn't broke down completely.

unfortunately, in his rush of emotions, donghyuck body collided with mark's with quite some force, knocking both of them over and causing mark to land on his back on his own bed with donghyuck on top of him, between his arms.

"hey, donghyuck, what's happening? why are you crying?" mark questioned alarmed by the sudden change of emotions from the younger.

"i-i'm happy..." donghyuck mumbled against mark's neck, his cold tears wetting mark's skin.

he wasn't lying. this sudden breakdown was a simple rush of emotions: being so close to mark, being on the other side of the world, being with his favourite idols, being forced to be famous, and being confronted to his feelings for the canadian male that was taking care of him. and even if all those things didn't contribute to his happiness, he found this exact moment perfect, and would change it for nothing.

"you're happy?" mark frowned. "you cry when you're happy?" he chuckled, pulling donghyuck's face away from his neck to look at him.

"yeah... i guess so." donghyuck sniffed again. "i don't know, everything is so confusing..."

"what is confusing?" mark asked calmly, looking fondly at the younger boy in his arms.

"my life... like, how i went from being anonymous to fake-dating a boy whom i idolised, and how i am now in the united states on tour with my favourite group... and don't get me started on you."

mark raised a brow, a small smile tugging his lips as he reached for donghyuck's cheek with his thumb to wipe a tear. "on me?"

"yeah..." donghyuck nodded. he was still lying on mark's stomach while the older boy was lying on his back on the mattress. their legs had entangled themselves on their own, and one of mark's arms was wrapped around donghyuck's waist while donghyuck's were on mark's chest to keep himself up a bit. "you're so sweet with me... it's not a bad thing, it's very good, i like it actually, but sometimes, i get confused, and i feel like... like everything is ambiguous..."

mark hummed, wiping donghyuck's cheeks again. "how so?"

"well..." donghyuck thought for a while. "when you gave me your number when it's supposed to be forbidden, for example... or when you gifted me a v.i.p. ticket to your concert... and also when you keep checking on me, or helping me with everything i do..." donghyuck glanced at mark, only to find the older staring right into his eyes. the tanned male gulped before going on. "and of course, when you say i-i'm beautiful... or when you hold me against you... or all those things you do that make me happy and feel like i have a normal life..."

"and do you mind me being like this with you?" mark asked.

donghyuck shook his head. "i like it. but... i need to tell you something... i have no experience, and... and all those things you do are making me shy and nervous, and... a-and it's ambiguous, b-but... i c-can't help thinking that t-these are things p-people are supposed to do for their... t-their boyfriend..."he explained, his cheeks faming hot by then, and his eyes looking everywhere but into mark's. he wasn't really confessing his love to the older boy, but just trying to make him understand that he should stop all of this if he didn't care about donghyuck, because the boy didn't want to end up hurt.

mark let out a deep chuckle, making donghyuck even shyer than he already was.

without losing much time, the canadian male reached for donghyuck's cheek, cupping it with his hand and forcing the boy to look at him in the eye.

"well, maybe that i'm doing all of those things because i want you to be my boyfriend..." he whispered, pulling donghyuck's face closer to his.

"h-huh?!" donghyuck's eyes widened as his heart became uncontrollable. had he really heard right? and was mark really approaching their faces right now? was donghyuck's wishes about to come true?!

"here." mark breathed against donghyuck's lips, making the younger squint to look at his lips. "let me show you."

and before donghyuck could think of an answer, mark had glued their mouths together, his lips moulding gently against donghyuck's in a slow and loving dance.

their eyes closed as soft breaths escaped their noses while they enjoyed fully the intimate feeling of the other's lips on theirs. the waves of desire that this kiss had made come over them were intense and yet so pleasing that both of them wished it would never end.

the kiss seemed to be all that they had longed for, all those weeks both of them had been turning around each other without really daring to make the first move. but now the first move had been made, and both though the same thing: there would be no step back.

"mark!"

of course, both boys were too engrossed in their kiss to recall that they weren't alone in this world. and so, none of them had the time to pull away when the door of mark's room slammed open.

"my phone has 1% left, where the hell is my..."

lee taeyong had just ruined the most intimate moment donghyuck and mark had ever had, not only pissing mark off, but also sending donghyuck in full panic mode.

"...charger?"