A/N: don't forget, black lives matter! go to blacklivesmatter.carrd.co for more information and things you can do to contribute to the movement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days after Chenle had recovered his brutal hangover, Mark and his friends decided to meet back up in the Mission to hang out at Dolores Park. The summer was beginning to come to a close, and it felt right to hang out as a group where they'd all met. It was warm in the Mission too; a nice reprieve from the cold fog and biting breeze everywhere else in the city. Anyways, Mark’s almost kiss with Donghyuck left him on edge, and he was anxious to see him again.

Chenle wanted boba so they decided to meet at boba guys, the most expensive and pretentious (but also most delicious) boba place in the whole city. Mark and Renjun were the first there, so they got in line.

“Are you okay?” Renjun asked a very smiley Mark.

“Yeah!” He responded. “Just excited to see Hyuck.”

“Did you two ever get that kiss?” Mark shook his head. “Well good luck then dude.”

Mark grinned back at his friend as Chenle and the others cut the line, leaping onto their friend’s backs for a hug.

“Hi!” Chenle cheered.

“It’s nice to see you not throwing up,” Mark responded. Chenle pouted and Jaemin laughed.

“What are you all getting?” Jeno asked.

“I’m not really in the mood for boba,” Renjun responded.

“Let’s go to bi-rite after then. I want ice cream too,” Jisung responded, taking a hit off his juul while they were still in line outside the small store.

Suddenly, Mark felt an arm snake around his waist and breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn’t seen Donghyuck in the crowd of his friends moments earlier.

“Hey,” Donghyuck mumbled softly in Mark’s ear.

“H-hi,” he responded, looking up at Donghyuck. The sun was shining bright that day and Donghyuck was grinning; it brought out his eyes and his skin tone and Mark didn’t think he’d ever looked more beautiful.

“Whatcha getting?”

“Strawberry matcha.”

“Good choice.” They were next in line and Donghyuck stepped in front of Mark.

“I’ll have a Thai tea with boba and a strawberry matcha with boba,” he said to the cashier.

“Hyuck! You don’t have to!” Mark cried out, trying to push some cash to Donghyuck. Donghyuck just shook his head and flicked the money away.

“My treat,” he said, and Mark flushed.

“Why don’t you ever treat me?” Jaemin whined from where he was waiting for his drink.

“Because you’ve got Jeno for that.”

“Come on!”

“See, it's Jeno's job to treat you, and my job to treat Mark.” Mark flushed even deeper but Donghyuck just grinned, unfazed, and grabbed his receipt.

“Thank you,” Mark said shyly.

“It’s really nothing.”

Once they all had their drinks they made their way to bi-rite creamery, where Renjun and Jisung got their hipster soft serve. After everyone had a bite (much to their chagrin) they all went up to Dolores Park, sitting right down on that spot where they’d all met.

The late afternoon sun was bright and warm and the sounds of chatter filled the air, as Mark laid down with his back on the grass. Donghyuck laid down next to him, giving him a longing look before his eyes turned to the sky too. The sounds of his friends began to fade away: Chenle’s giggling, the aerated noise of Jisung’s juul and the scratch of his pencil against notebook paper, Renjun talking softly, Jaemin laughing back, Jeno leaving soft kisses along the back of Jaemin’s neck. The rest of the world fell silent as Mark retreated into his own head, not even thinking at that point except to mull over how nice this all was. It was nice to have more friends, especially ones that were so different from him. It was nice to have Donghyuck in his life. Even if his presence wasn’t to the capacity of what he wanted, it was still nice.

Mark looked over at Donghyuck, noticing the slow pace of how his chest rose and fell with his breaths. He just stared at that for a long while, the tiredness seeping into his skin. Donghyuck was on the verge of sleep and Mark was too, the sun like a blanket over his thin teen boy body.

Mark has no idea how long had passed when Jeno shook him by the shoulder, his eyes shooting open.

“Could we talk to you?” Jaemin was standing just behind where Jeno was crouched over his friend.

“M-hmm,” Mark responded, sitting up and shaking the grass out of his hair. He spared a glance to his right and saw Donghyuck really was asleep. All at once Mark just wanted to lay down next to him, curved around Donghyuck, his head in the crook of his neck. But he tore his eyes away and stood up with a groan, following after Jeno and Jaemin.

They sat down a short distance from their friends, sparing a last glance at Donghyuck’s sleeping form.

“Do you remember when we talked to you earlier this summer? About staying away from Hyuck?” Jeno asked, and Mark nodded.

“Well.... we wanna take that back,” Jaemin spoke. Mark gave them a surprised look.

“Like.... Donghyuck’s great. He’s our best friend and he had his issues, but so do the rest of us,” Jeno explained.

“Anyways, you two are something else, I swear. You’re perfect for him,” Jaemin added.

“Like soulmates or something... I dunno,” Jeno finished, and sighed. “We honestly feel really guilty about saying that earlier.”

“I know! Especially since you guys haven’t even kissed yet and summer’s almost over,” Jaemin said guiltily.

Mark simply nodded, taking in his friend’s words. He’d known Donghyuck was good for him all along, but his friend’s own confirmation helped things a lot. It gave him the confidence he needed for this (hopefully) budding romance.

“Thanks guys,” Mark eventually said. “I needed that.”

“Good. Now let’s go rejoin the others before they think we’re planning a ,” Jaemin said. Mark giggled and they stood up, running back to the others.

“What were you guys doing? Planning a ?” Renjun asked.

“Too late,” Jeno mumbled.

“Without me?” Donghyuck cried; he’d woken up a few minutes ago.

"You wish, hun,” Jaemin responded.

“Donghyuck, Mark! Cmhere; I wanna draw a picture of you two together,” Jisung called, interrupting the previous conversation. Mark and Donghyuck shared a look and sat down in front of Jisung.

“Pick a pose,” Jisung said. Donghyuck casually wrapped his arm around Mark’s shoulders. Mark gave him a smile and Donghyuck giggled back, and Mark couldn’t help but think he was adorable.

Jisung smiled at them and cooed under his breath before starting to draw, the two boys holding mostly still.

The younger boy drew them for much longer than Mark’s solo picture, and when Mark looked over he noticed Jisung was making multiple sketches of them. Mark didn’t mind though; it was nice to just sit here in peace (especially with Donghyuck’s strong arm around him).

By the time Jisung decisively shut his notebook, the sun had begun to set in the sky, casting orange, blue, pink, yellow, lilac over the park.

Jeno yawned and Jaemin mumbled, "cute."

“I think we’re gonna head home,” Jaemin said. “We wanna watch a movie.”

“I’m tired too,” Chenle said. Everyone except Donghyuck and Mark spoke their agreements, and stood up to leave.

“Do you wanna stay with me?” Donghyuck asked quietly. Mark nodded back without question; he was craving alone time with the boy.

Donghyuck told the others he and Mark were staying as Mark texted his mom he was eating at Chenle’s for dinner. The boys cooed and teased them before heading back to their bus stops with gentle waves goodbye. 

Once everyone was gone, Mark and Donghyuck shared a look before staring shyly at their shoes. Mark could feel that tension again, like from the last rave, and he didn’t quite know what to do. All he could tell was that it was nagging at the back of his head, unrelenting. 

He looked up and around him. The park wasn’t nearly as crowded as this afternoon but it was still dotted with people, eating an early dinner or gathering their children to go home. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, the colors even more vibrant than before.

"Mark," Donghyuck said, more seriously than he'd ever heard him speak. The single syllable of his name was carefully spoken, as if Donghyuck was mulling over each letter. 

Mark looked up at him and could barely hold eye contact. There was that tension, that seriousness, and an unnatural nervousness all in Donghyuck's eyes. It was too much and he had to look down at his feet again. 

"Yeah?"

Donghyuck sighed; out of the corner of Mark's eye he could see Donghyuck's tattooed hand was trembling. "I...." He started, then sighed. ", I'm usually much better at this," he groaned. Mark's nerves were growing too; he wasn't sure what was going on but something was building. Donghyuck sighed again, pointedly this time. "I feel like a in' seventh grader right now, but Mark, god I'm just so nervous." Donghyuck chuckled uncomfortably, and now Mark was genuinely worried. 

"What's going on?" He asked breathlessly. 

"I just...I usually am so good at saying this, but if you don't...I-I'll be really hurt, like..., I guess I just never really cared that much before....." Mark just stared at him expectantly and waited for him to spit out his words. Now, Mark was the one looking at Donghyuck, and Donghyuck was staring at his doc marten boots.

", well, here goes -all...." Mark was too nervous to even make fun of Donghyuck for his word choice. "I-I feel like even though I haven't said it already you should know, and if you were like....anyone else we'd already be going out, but you haven't made a move and I don't even know if you feel....well, Renjun assured me you did and that you were just oblivious, and I'd have to straight up tell you or else you'd never get the ing idea..." Donghyuck sighed, yet again, and found the courage to look Mark in the eye. "Mark...I'm into you. Not just into you...really into you. So much, you have no idea." 

Mark had been running the idea in his head of Donghyuck liking him back ever since his crush had first developed, helped by his friend's constant reassurances that yes, Donghyuck liked him. But a part of Mark had never let himself believe it to be true. Deep seated insecurities, founded in his youth and cemented in his fruitless high school years, had cast a veil over his own vision of himself and the way people saw him. In reality, he'd had no idea this day would ever come. 

Most people Mark and Donghyuck's age would've laughed at how dramatic they were being; after all this wasn't middle school any more. But damn it, Mark never got that middle school experience; he was inexperienced and touch starved and he'd been pining so hard this whole summer that his heart almost ached. He deserved to feel this way; this joyous, this nervous, this astounded. 

When Mark finally came to his senses he noticed Donghyuck looked terrified, his hands were shaking more and his expression was one of absolute panic. 

"F-, Donghyuck, I-" He started; he was so surprised at Donghyuck's confession that he'd been silent too long. Now Donghyuck thought he didn't feel the same way. 

", n-never mind," Donghyuck mumbled, reaching for his things. 

"Stop!" Mark cried. Donghyuck froze. "I like you too. I-I'm just really surprised." 

A brief expression of joy flashed over Donghyuck's face before he deadpanned. "You're ing surprised?" 

Mark nodded shyly, pink dotting his cheeks. 

"I thought I was being obvious as hell..., Renjun was right." Donghyuck laughed and it was the happiest noise Mark had ever heard him make. He cast his eyes to Mark and they locked, both unable to keep the nervous smiles off of their faces. Mark bit his lip and looked at the ground before looking back up at Donghyuck's smiling face, his heart beating a little harder in his chest. Donghyuck liked him...like, like-liked him. Cool, charismatic, funny, kind Donghyuck liked him back. He could barely even believe it. 

"Wh-what happens next?" He asked shyly. 

"I dunno, I haven't actually had to straight up confess to someone since freshman year of high school," Donghyuck teased, but Mark couldn't find it in himself to be hurt in the slightest. "But, I would like to kiss you, if you wanted." 

"Y-yeah," Mark stuttered back breathlessly. "I'd like that." 

Mark felt excited and unsure as Donghyuck scooted in closer, resting one of his hands on Mark's waist and the other on his cheek. Mark hadn't kissed anyone since he was, like, fourteen, and he wasn't even sure if he remembered how. Donghyuck gave Mark a quick once over before leaning in, pressing his lips to Mark's. 

A burst of butterflies and adrenaline came over him as Donghyuck's soft lips pressed against his own, forgetting how to breath for a moment before his mouth caught up to his brain and he remembered how to kiss back. It felt good in every way possible: like the end of waiting but the beginning of something new, at the very same time. 

Donghyuck pulled away, panting slightly. "I honestly didn't expect you to be so good at that," he admitted. 

"Can you kiss me again?" Mark simply asked, in a small shy voice. And of course, who was Donghyuck to tell him no?