"How does daddy look, (Y/n)?"

Youngjae stood standing in front of the full body mirror, turning once every few seconds to get a better look at his outfit. His clothes weren't actually that fancy or anything like that, just some black jeans, a simple black t-shirt, and his favorite watch on his wrist. He didn't want to overdress, so he went for the safe route of simplicity.

"Handsome!" The little girl exclaimed, watching her dad excitedly from the bed. Heck, she was probably even more excited about the whole thing than Youngjae was. He, instead, was more nervous than excited. It's understandable, considering it would be his first date in years.

A rhythmic knocking on their door broke Youngjae's attention away from the mirror and caused a nervous chill to run down his spine. He began to rush to make sure everything about him looked presentable and finally opened the door when he felt that he didn't look all that bad.

"Good afternoon, sunshine."

Youngjae's shoulders slumped when he realized that the person behind the door was only Jackson. He had called him to come babysit (Y/N) while he was gone, and the blonde was quick to accept the offer. Youngjae would've normally called Jaebum to come and babysit, but the dance studio was usually packed with lessons on Saturdays, so calling Jaebum wasn't an option.

"Thank you so much for the warm welcome," Jackson said, adding an eye roll as he let himself inside.

Youngjae mumbled a half-hearted apology and closed the door.

"(Y/n)! Your favorite uncle is here!" Jackson opened his arms wide, waiting for the little girl to give him a big hug, but when she saw him, she tilted her head in confusion.

"Where's Uncle Mark?"

"I'll let myself out."

Testing (Y/n)'s love for him, Jackson went to open the door and fake leaving, but instead, he stopped in his tracks as he came face-to-face with Mark, who had quite the delicious-looking fruit bouquet in his hand.

"Hey there, Markie-pooh. Please, come in."

Mark swatted Jackson's hand away when he tried to reach for one of the chocolate covered strawberries and walked over to his date.

"I heard from a little birdie that flowers aren't your thing, because of the pollen, so I got you these."

With a soft smile, Youngjae took the colorful assortment of chocolate covered fruits from Mark and stared at the basket. Youngjae was amazed, to say the least. He's never seen fruit so prettily arranged like the ones he was gifted. He almost didn't want to eat it and ruin its beauty.

"Thank you, Mark hyung. It's beautiful."

"But not as beautiful as you."

Both Mark and Youngjae looked at each other wide-eyed and with reddening cheeks. Mark didn't mean to say that, well actually, he did, but not aloud! It just came out automatically and so smoothly.

Both Jackson and (Y/n) were squealing and "ooo-ing" at this point, their excitement getting the best of them as they voiced their giddiness.

Youngjae wanted to smack Jackson for being so embarrassing, but he didn't move from his spot in front of Mark. His eyes shifted from his face to down at the bouquet in his hands, a smile unconsciously gracing his lips. He couldn't help it, because he was honestly really happy that Mark thought that he was beautiful. A beautiful man like Mark complementing him on his looks was enough for his own heart to beat like crazy and give a considerable boost to his self-confidence.

Mark, noticing how soft and smiley Youngjae became, took note of how little things like compliments made Youngjae happy. He'd definitely make sure to drown the man in compliments if it meant seeing him smile.

"Okay, you youngsters. Go out and have fun before it gets dark," Jackson said, ushering the two out the door.

"Not that you can't have fun after dark." The suggestive tone in his voice was enough to earn him a slap to the chest, though he claimed it was worth it when he saw their flushed cheeks and unsteady gazes. He chuckled and took the bouquet from Youngjae's hands and called (Y/n) over to kiss him goodbye.

"Have fun, daddy! You too, Uncle Mark!" She kissed both of their cheeks and laughed when Youngjae peppered her face with little kisses, too.

"Call me if your uncle gets into trouble, okay?"

"Excuse you?" Jackson was appalled. "I'm a very responsible adult, capable of keeping myself and my niece out of trouble, thank you very much."

Youngjae raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You dyed my daughter pink, and it took a week for it to all go away."

"It was one time! And that wasn't even my fault. It was the bath bomb."

Youngjae rested a hand on his hip, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"The balloons."

"..."

Youngjae rolled his eyes at Jackson's speechlessness and took Mark's hand into his own to lead him away before Jackson could spout any more nonsense. He didn't even notice that he grabbed Mark's hand and just went with it.

Mark, however, did notice when Youngjae's amazingly soft hand took his and laced their fingers together, a feeling that Mark liked very much. If he could, he probably wouldn't ever let go of his hand, as creepy as it sounds.

Youngjae stopped suddenly when the couple reached a few feet out of the apartment complex, causing Mark to almost trip on the sidewalk. He was confused as to why the younger suddenly stopped walking, and it was only when Youngjae turned to him with a sheepish smile did he understand.

"Where exactly are we going?"

----------

"You're joking," Mark managed to say in between his fit of laughter.

"Nope. It's 100% true. The last time I let Jackson hyung babysit, he and Bambam tied balloons to (Y/n) to see if she would fly."

"And you're telling me that it actually worked?"

"Sadly, yes."

The two broke into more laughter as they walked side by side to their date place, each person taking turns sharing embarrassing stories of their blonde goof of a friend. Every now and then, Mark would even get a sudden boost of confidence and slip in a few compliments that had Youngjae smiling from ear to ear.

They hadn't even reached their actual destination yet, and their date was already going swimmingly well. If anything, it could only get better.

"Mark hyung, are you still not going to tell me where you're taking me?" Youngjae asked after some time of walking along the streets. He didn't really mind the walking, he actually loved it, but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Well, I heard from the same birdie that you've never been bowling before, and I'm about to change that."

When the couple arrived at the bowling alley, Youngjae was a bit surprised to see that it wasn't dark or had neon lights lighting up the place. After all, that's what he always saw when he saw pictures online. He was just glad that they were able to pick out a spot that was away from all the other people there.

Being a newbie to everything and all, Youngjae waited patiently in their section of the alleyway while Mark set everything up.

"Ready?" Mark asked when he finished.

Even though he nodded his head, Youngjae was nervous, because he didn't want to look like a newb in front of Mark, even though he technically was. Lucky for him, Mark was a total sweetheart and always gave pointers to Youngjae to bowl better. They would sometimes just sit there, Mark teaching him about the rules and Youngjae holding on to every word he said. The two would also cheer each other on and high-five, even if someone got a gutter ball.

It was an overall fun and memorable experience for Youngjae, and it was even better with Mark by his side.

----------

"I still think that if you didn't try to do those fancy spins, you would've gotten way more points," Youngjae said matter of factly as he playfully swung their intertwined hands.

"Yeah, but you got so excited whenever you saw it, so I couldn't resist."

Yes, you heard it here, folks. Mark Tuan, an expert at bowling, spent the whole time trying to impress Youngjae with bowling trick shots. No one can say about it though, because the sunshine was exceptionally impressed with them.

After their bowling session was over, Mark took Youngjae out for lunch at one of the many famous burger joints in the city. Now, according to popular belief, burgers on a first date aren't exactly ideal due to having to eat with your hands and being plain messy. But you know what? That is utter bull, because not only were both men much more comfortable talking and getting to know each other there, but they also ate some pretty good burgers.

The only real "issue" that was bound to occur on this practically perfect first date would have to be--

"I'll pay."

Mark and Youngjae stared at each other, each person with their wallets already out. Oh yes, the classic "who's paying" argument. This argument didn't even occur at the burger joint, so it was likely to happen here at the ice cream parlor.

"Hyung, you already paid for the bowling and lunch, so let me pay for the ice cream."

"First of all, we split the bill for lunch, so that doesn't count. Second, I'm the one who took you bowling, so it was only right that I paid."

"And I thank you for that. Now, it's my turn to treat you." Youngjae then pulled out a crisp bill and handed it to the cashier, who was watching their quarrel in amusement.

"But--"

Before Mark could put in another word, the worker was already handing them their frozen treats.

"Thank you, come again!"

Both men took their cones and let their hands automatically connect once more when they headed outside.

"You're cute when you pout." Youngjae giggled when Mark's cheeks showed the faintest of flushes spreading across them. It was a new sight for him, and he was loving it.

"Don't tease me," he grumbled.

"Then stop being cute."

Mark sighed, half frustrated and half lovingly. He was supposed to be the one making Youngjae flustered today, but he guessed a turn of events wasn't too bad.

"Hey, since we ate lunch at like 3, doesn't that make it not lunch."

Mark bit the last part of his cone and thought about it for a moment.

"Then what would it be called? Linner?"

"Ew, no! It sounds so weird."

Mark shook his head at the adorable way that Youngjae scrunched up hid face. "How about--"

"Oh my god!"

Mark was rudely cut off, and Youngjae began to drag the confused man all the way across the street to the park. He didn't know why, but he just let him drag him along without question.

Kidding. Mark knows exactly why he let it happen.

"Mark hyung, look! It's a dog!"

Was Mark mad for being hauled across the street in a rush just to see a furry animal? Definitely not. Was he feeling butterflies just by looking at how endearing Youngjae looked when he was excited? Hell yeah.

After all the trouble (no, not really) of bringing them to park, Mark didn't understand why Youngjae was merely standing there with him, rather than going to ask to pet the dog. When he asked, Youngjae told him he was allergic to fur. Mark could see his longing eyes and felt his heart clench a little.

To distract the younger, Mark pinched his cheek with his free hand, causing a yelp to come out of Youngjae. He was going to respond with a deserved slap to the arm, but Mark's words stopped him.

"Don't be sad when you're with me, sunshine. Otherwise I'll just have to kiss your frown away."

The intensity in Mark's gaze was enough to captivate him, just like the first time they met. He couldn't nor did he want to look away, and the only thing more entrancing than Mark's eyes in that moment were his lips.

Youngjae took one good look at Mark's plump lips, a look Youngjae knew Mark took himself.

"I'd love to see you try."