Mark was just coming to his senses when he felt a familiar warmth curled up beside him. He noticed tingling in his arm, proving his arm had fell asleep upon bearing the weight of another male all night. The blond winced quietly when the numbness soon turned into a sharp pins and needles feeling, leaving Mark desperate to shift positions. The last thing he wanted to do, however, was wake the male beside him who looked utterly content in his arms. Not to mention the fact Mark himself didn't want to waste the opportunity to enjoy more time being so close to the ravenette.

 

So here Mark was, biting his lip to keep from eliciting any type of uncomfortable noise that could possibly escape his mouth due to the incessant throbbing going on all the way up his arm.

 

"Damn.." He breathed, silently praying Jinyoung would receive some sort of telepathic message in his dreams to shift his damn position to let Mark free his limb. The older couldn't deny the fact that Jinyoung's peaceful sleeping face made Mark temporarily forget about all the pain he was currently experiencing, but the pins and needles would immediately overcome the beating in his heart.

 

 

These questions remained unanswered as both males refused to move a muscle. To Mark's luck, he was temporarily distracted from his struggle as he heard footsteps outside the door. The handle turned sluggishly, the person pushing the door open and making their way inside the room with a large garbage bag. Mark froze, as if he wasn't already frozen in his uncomfortable position, and stared at the figure several feet away.

 

The male didn't seem to notice the two figures tangled with each other on the bed at first, but once he took a few steps inside his gaze naturally landed on the occupants of the room. "Mark?"

 

"J-Jaebum? What are you doing?"

 

Said male chuckled, placing the garbage bag down on the floor. "I think the more important question here is what are you doing?" Jaebum's eyes drifted toward a sleeping Jinyoung cuddled up against Mark, his eyebrows raising with amusement.

 

Flustered, the blond forgot all about staying still and quickly made some distance between Jinyoung and himself on the mattress. Mark tried to suppress a hiss at the throbbing feeling of blood finally circulating through his limb properly. "N-nothing! Jaebum, why are you still looking at me like that? I-It's not like anything happened..."

 

"Ok ok! Chill out, I'm not accusing you or anything. But by the way you're getting all defensive it's like you want me to be suspicious or something." Jaebum laughed, crossing his arms and eyeing an extraordinarily red Mark.

 

Mark was so caught up in his embarrassment that he barely heard the groaning noises beside him, indicating that a certain somebody was just waking up. "Ahh... Mark-hyung?"

 

The addressed male quickly moved his gaze to Jinyoung. His eyes were still closed, and he seemed to be reaching out in protest of the older's absence. "Jinyoungie, are you awake?"

 

"Look, I really don't mean to interru-"

 

"Jaebum-hyung?" The youngest's eyes finally parted reluctantly, squinting harshly at the bright sunlight that filled the room.

 

"Sorry Jinyoung, I didn't mean to crash your little..." Jaebum paused, trying to find the best word to fit the situation they were currently in, "sleepover. I'm just here to clean up. I fell asleep drunk on the sofa last night and now Sungjin-hyung is telling me this is my punishment for inviting too many people to his house." He grinned, grabbing a cup from the bedside table. "But you guys can't deny that last night was pretty fun. Or were you too busy doing something el-"

 

"That's enough." Mark stood, completely flushed and a look of annoyance clearly displayed on his face. "If I remember correctly, you spent almost the entire night building up the courage to speak to Youngjae. Did you ever manage to? Or did you wimp out again?"

 

Now it was Jaebum's turn to be red. Mark had a way of turning the situation around on someone despite barely ever talking himself. "I-I didn't.." He cleared his throat. "I made the first move."

 

Mark perked up at that. If he was being honest, he didn't think Jaebum would manage to do anything. He was pleasantly surprised. "Really? No way... What happened?"

 

Jaebum bit his lip, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly as he eyed the floor. "I-I told him that he looked really good last night and then that he looked really good all the time anyway and then we kinda...k-kissed, a bit.."

 

Mark heard a clap from behind him, turning to see Jinyoung grinning widely up at Jaebum. He hadn't even thought the younger was listening, since he was clearly half asleep not even a minute ago. "Jaebum-hyung, this is fantastic news!"

 

"Y-yeah... But he was a little tipsy. He might have just felt influenced by the alcohol."

 

"You really are an idiot." Mark laughed, standing up to pat his friend on the back. "Nice job. So what, are you two dating now? Or-"

 

"I'm not really sure." He laughed awkwardly, "we didn't really specify.."

 

"Well either way, this is a step in the right direction for you two. I knew you guys would end up together eventually." Jinyoung chuckled, getting up from the bed and standing awfully close to Mark. Jaebum seemed to notice, since his gaze flickered back and forth between them a few times, but he didn't say anything about it.

 

"Yeah.. W-well anyway, I better get back to cleaning. Hyung's gonna kill me if I don't finish cleaning up before his parents come to visit him." Jaebum grabbed the garbage bag and turned to make his way to the door, "oh and you guys might wanna head out soon. Everyone else who stayed over already left."

 

The door closed behind him, leaving Mark and Jinyoung in an atmosphere that wasn't awkward but wasn't quite comfortable either. 

 

"We should go then.." Mark muttered and Jinyoung nodded, leading the way toward the door. Neither spoke about the night before which somewhat concerned the older. The last thing he wanted was for Jinyoung to act like the previous night had never happened, especially the part where he told Mark he would break up with Jackson. 

 

The two made their way back to the campus in silence until Jinyoung finally broke it.

 

"I'm gonna do it today."

 

"Huh?" Mark glanced at the other male, confused.

 

"Jackson. I'm gonna break up with him today." Mark stayed silent, but inside he was thanking God Jinyoung meant what he said last night. "It's our anniversary. We made plans for tonight. I was gonna cook for him at my dorm but instead I'm gonna tell him I think we should break up."

 

Mark frowned. He knew Jinyoung was putting up a strong front, while inside it was probably hurting like hell to make this decision. "I'm really proud of you, Jinyoungie."

 

The younger smiled to himself, his gaze fixated on the ground in front of him. Mark soon felt a hand snake into his, squeezing tightly as Jinyoung's smile slowly faded. "At first I thought I'd cook for him anyway and then tell him, but I'm not gonna do that." Jinyoung gave Mark's hand another gentle squeeze. "He doesn't deserve it anyway."

 

Mark could clearly see the pain engraved into Jinyoung's facial features, causing his heart to unpleasantly clench. "I believe in you." The blond muttered before placing a gentle kiss atop Jinyoung's head.

 

And that was all the motivation Jinyoung needed.

 

---

 

Mark sat on the couch, crossing his legs and tapping his finger on the arm rest. His phone rested on his knee, screen black and notification-free. His tapping became slightly impatient and his gaze never left the small device. As soon as his screen lit up with a message, he rushed to open it without even reading who it was from.

 

 

 

Mark sighed, replying with a quick "ok" and returning his phone to its place on his knee.

 

It had been 2 hours since Jinyoung left Mark's side to meet with Jackson. The blond knew Jinyoung needed to muster up as much courage as he could to do what he planned on doing that night, and Mark could only pray that the younger wouldn't change his mind once he saw his boyfriend. It was their anniversary after all, who knew what tricks Jackson had up his sleeve to keep the ravenette his.

 

"I know you can do it, Jinyoung.." Mark muttered quietly to himself, his tapping becoming even more rapid.

 

His phone lit up.

 

 

 

Mark replied faster than he'd ever replied to anyone in his life.

 

 

 

It was only a matter of time until the younger showed up at Mark's door. Although it was only minutes, it felt like an eternity to the blond as he stood close by the door and waited.

 

A knock startled Mark despite expecting it, and he quickly strode to the door to open it. Jinyoung stood outside, looking half as tall as he usually is as his shoulders slumped and his gaze rested on the floor. As soon as the door opened and he noticed Mark's presence, however, Jinyoung immediately looked up and wrapped his arms around the older. Tears began to make their way down his cheeks as he clutched Mark tightly, refusing to let go. The blond wasn't too surprised with Jinyoung's actions. He had a feeling the younger would act in this type of manner after that night, so he hugged the male back affectionately and pulled him inside before closing the door.

 

"Jinyoungie," Mark cooed sweetly, "how did it go? Did you break up with him?"

 

Sobs prevented Jinyoung from answering properly, so instead of speaking he just shook his head.

 

"You didn't?" Mark pulled away slightly, looking Jinyoung directly in the eyes.

 

The younger shook his head again, tears continuously streaming down his cheeks. "H-he broke u-up w-with me!"

 

Mark's heart sunk as he wiped Jinyoung's tears away with his thumbs. He knew making the first move and breaking up with Jackson was hard for Jinyoung to do, yet he ended up mustering all that courage just for Jackson to have the upper hand on the situation in the end. But Mark knew who broke up with who wouldn't make any difference; Jinyoung would have took it the same either way.

 

Mark pulled Jinyoung into him again, holding his head between his shoulder and neck so he was securely in his grasp. He wanted Jinyoung to feel safe in his arms. He wanted to protect him from the pain. He had to ignore his heartbeat at a time like this. He needed to help Jinyoung get through this, this wasn't a time to be getting flustered by their proximity. "I'm so sorry Jinyoung."

 

Said male just shook his head again. He seemed to be calming down a bit in Mark's arms. "I-I'm okay.." Mark felt the younger's fingers clutch the fabric of his shirt. "I-I was w-wimping out anyway..." He hiccuped. "I-if he hadn't w-we would still be t-together."

 

Mark pet the ravenette's hair lovingly, swaying back and forth to help calm Jinyoung down. He lowered himself onto the couch, bringing the younger down with him as he immediately cuddled to his side. A few minutes passed with them in that position until Jinyoung's sobs slowly came to an end.

 

"H-hyung..." The younger quietly muttered after a long period of silence. Mark hummed in response to show he was listening. "I-I'm happy right now. With you."

 

The blond felt blood rush to his face and his heart surely skipped a beat at Jinyoung's words. "I'm glad you're happy, Jinyoungie."

 

Jinyoung smiled to himself, hugging his arms around Mark's thin torso tighter. For some reason, though Jinyoung couldn't place what it was, he was happy. He just met the end of a long and serious relationship, yet he was happy.

 

How bizarre.

 

---

 

Mark leaned against the wall, rolling his paper program up into a small tube out of boredom as he waited for his roommate. He was surprised how many people showed up at the dance competition; their dance club was fairly small, but Mark supposed their network of friends ranged largely throughout the college. Not to mention the other college's dance club that they were competing with along with their network of friends as well. Mark wasn't one to mingle, so he just silently stood on the sidelines until Yugyeom finally came and found him.

 

"Hyung, you made it!" The younger beamed, already holding a bouquet of flowers from someone else.

 

Mark smiled, ruffling Yugyeom's hair. It was slightly damp from sweat. "Of course I made it, you're my roommate. Congrats! You guys deserved that win." He gave Yugyeom two playful thumbs-up and grinned which the younger just laughed at.

 

"Thanks, hyung. Our hard work paid off. I'm gonna go say hi to a few more people, so you can head back to the dorm first. Thanks for coming!" Yugyeom smiled as he waved and made his way back into the crowd.

 

As Mark was turning to leave, he noticed two familiar figures near the exit. Jackson was hugging Bambam tightly, the younger grinning widely at the contact. Bambam pulled away when he felt Jackson tickle his sides. They both broke into a fit of laughter as they playfully teased each other.

 

The sight made Mark sick. Sure, they were free to flirt as much as they wanted now, but the blond couldn't accept how Jackson had practically been cheating on Jinyoung before he broke up with him. Nevertheless, the two lovebirds seemed happy now and as long as Jinyoung was happy as well, Mark would be satisfied. 

 

Mark made his way to the exit, but not without being noticed by Jackson. Neither said anything, but they both exchange a look that neither could fully decipher. It would take time for Mark to be friendly with Jackson again after what he did to his best friend.

 

---

 

The academic year was coming to an end and with it came prize night, the night were students as well as professors can be recognized for their achievements throughout the year. Mark was indifferent to the occasion since he never won anything, but it had been tradition in his group of friends to dress up and all go together.

 

"I really don't have anything to wear.." Youngjae sighed, resting his chin on his palm as his eyes scanned through his SNS on his phone.

 

"It's ok, it's only a semi-formal event." Jinyoung reminded the younger as he munched on a banana he had just finished peeling. 

 

"I barely have casual clothes, what makes you think I'd have semi-formal clothes, hyung?" Youngjae joked with an loud yet infectious laugh and Mark almost gagged at how widely Jaebum grinned at the boy, ruffling his hair lovingly. "Yah JB hyung, you'll mess up my hair!"

 

They immediately got shushed by the nearby studiers and Mark wondered how exactly his group of friends hadn't been kicked out of the library for good at this point considering how often they'd disrupted the quiet and calm atmosphere.

 

"Hey," Jinyoung made sure he lowered his voice when he spoke this time despite not being the one to cause the ruckus in the first place, "maybe we should all go shopping later to find prize night outfits."

 

"That sounds like fun!" Youngjae exclaimed, thankfully in a whisper this time.

 

"I'm in." Jaebum immediately chirped, which Mark presumed was only because Youngjae was going.

 

"Mark hyung?" Jinyoung was now turned to him, wide-eyed with an expecting look on his face that made Mark feel all sorts of butterflies.

 

"Sure.." He muttered, still pretty indifferent to the whole prize night thing but somehow agreeing right away anyway. Mark tried to convince himself he hadn't agreed for the same reason Jaebum did. It didn't work.

 

So there they were, leisurely strolling through the local mall with a few bags already in hand. Youngjae and Jaebum had managed to find their outfits already, but Mark had only bought a tie so far. Truthfully, he could just opt to wear a white button down and dress pants if he wanted to, but the blond had a hard time admitting that he liked the double-date vibe he was getting from the whole situation. 

 

The two 'couples' eventually split up when Youngjae briefly mentioned he was hungry and Jaebum immediately whisked him away to find the food court. Now it was just Jinyoung and Mark alone, which made it feel even more like this was a date.

 

"Ooh, wanna look in there? It looks like they have nice button downs." Jinyoung pointed to a store on the other side of the small island residing in the middle of the room. Mark nodded, realizing Jinyoung also hadn't had much luck finding what to wear(he claimed he would know when the perfect outfit presented itself to him). As they wandered around the neatly decorated store, Mark couldn't help but observe his best friend as the ravenette ran his fingers along the fabric that hung from the clothing racks. His expression was looking brighter than it had a couple days ago. Jinyoung was taking the breakup surprisingly well and didn't even have trouble explaining what had happened to Jaebum and Youngjae the next day when they started asking questions. Mark was proud of the younger for knowing when a relationship was about to turn toxic and evading before it was able to, and he couldn't help but admire Jinyoung even more because of this, if that was even possible.

 

"Hyung-"

 

Mark was broken out of his trance by the familiar voice of his crush. Jinyoung was looking directly at him, holding up a clean cut black and white button down.

 

"I'm gonna go try this on. Will you tell me what you think after?"

 

Mark already knew he'd look amazing in the shirt. Jinyoung always looked amazing. But instead of saying that, the blond simply nodded and followed him to the fitting rooms. When Jinyoung stepped out of the small stall in the shirt that flawlessly clung to his body, Mark tried to ignore his rapid heartbeat and gave his friend the 'okay' symbol with his hands. Jinyoung smiled, but his gaze soon found the floor as he fiddled with the bottom button of the shirt.

 

"Is something wrong?" Mark asked, surprised by Jinyoung's sudden mood swing. When Jinyoung hesitated to answer, the older instinctively took a step closer to get a better look at the other male's face. A blush was beginning to form on the younger's cheeks, sending warmth to Mark's stomach. He began to mildly panic. Just what was Jinyoung getting flustered about?

 

"M-mark hyung..." He began after a few moments.

 

The blond remained silent, waiting for Jinyoung to continue to find out exactly what he was trying to say.

 

"Mark hyung," he repeated with a bit more conviction this time, "will you be my boyfriend?"

 

Boyfriend.

 

 

---

 

A/n: sorry I really don't have an excuse for being so inactive lmaoo