This was a double-update! If you haven't read chapter 17 first, please do. I hope you enjoy the ending!

It’s been a couple of months now. The bruises painted so lovingly onto Mark’s hip have disappeared, but the memories haven’t.

That’s not such a bad thing, though.

Sure, Mark sometimes feels a phantom throb along his hip, the odd sensation of tingling across the smooth expanse of skin. Sometimes, he swears he can see the bruises again, yellowed and dying, but one blink later and they’re gone. It makes him feel a little silly sometimes, a little stupid, even, but… he doesn’t mind so much anymore.

He’s just grateful it’s all over.

Mark remembers that fateful night like it was just yesterday. Everyone was huddled in their living room, warm bodies stockpiled around Mark almost protectively. The sensation was nice, comfortable—even made Mark feel a little floaty, after a while— so they faced no complaints but, eventually, that peace broke to give way for something far more permanent.

And all it took was one call.

Donghyuck was the one to answer it, and the gradual change in his expression was terrifying, at the time—now, Mark knows better, and he feels a little dumb for not being able to realize it sooner.

(He wouldn't ever tell Donghyuck, though. The brunette would probably just smack him.)

“Are you sure?” Donghyuck asked, and the minute stutter of his voice drew everyone's attention to him, like moths to a flame.

(Mark likes that comparison, though he prefers to tweak it just a little; Donghyuck isn’t just a flame, he’s fire at its height, roaring flames emblazoned with fiery orange. Donghyuck isn’t quiet or subdued, no; he’s powerful and, yet, so beautiful.

But Mark’s getting ahead of himself.)

“It’s over.” Donghyuck finally said, phone tucked away as he sagged back into the couch. Breaths hitched and hands trembled as they waited. "He's gone, he's gone."

Mark doesn’t remember much after that, save for the warmth of his arm around his waist, the tears budding in Renjun’s eyes and Chenle’s wails of relief that still echo in his ears, to this day.

It was all very sudden, but Mark felt, at that moment, like he’d been waiting for it his entire life.

All of them were and, when it finally happened, it was nothing short of glorious.

“What’re you thinking about?” A low voice interrupts his train of thought, making Mark startle, memories slipping away.

“Oh, Jeno.” He breathes out slightly in relief, shoulders slumping minutely. “You scared me!”

“Sorry.” The boy apologizes, his silver strands gleaming still in the dim light. “It’s just… you had that Face on again. Renjun got kind of worried.”

“What face?” Mark purses his lips innocently. Jeno just looks at him, unamused. “Okay, fine. It’s just… hard to believe this is actually happening. That we're here now, you know?”

“Yeah, I get what you mean.” Jeno shifts slightly, body angled out, towards open air, “I’m just glad, honestly. Really, really glad.”

“That makes two of us!” Donghyuck’s nasal tone is a welcome addition to the conversation, and Mark shoots him a small smile that’s thankfully returned, for once. “What brought this on? Wait, was Mark making the Face again?”

“Why is this a thing, even?” Mark grumbles good-naturedly, crossing his arms. But then, a small, niggling doubt enters his mind, and the words fall easily off his lips. “If it’s really bothering everyone this much, then I’ll—”

“Shut up.” Donghyuck cuts in quickly, just as Jeno makes a weird noise in the back of his throat. Sometimes, the things they do to make each other shut up is just… unbelievable. Acting like a total child, apparently, isn’t off the cards either, so that's good to know, he supposes.

“You’re so rude to your hyung.” Mark teases, trying to recover from the dual attack. “Is that any way to talk to someone older than you, huh Hyuckie?”

“Let’s be real, you hate it when I call you hyung.” Donghyuck sasses him, and Jeno’s eyes go wide as he quickly backs out of the conversation—literally, by walking away. “But if you insist…”

“I don’t!” Mark squeaks quickly, recognizing the brewing darkness in Donghyuck’s glare; unfortunately, the admission goes unacknowledged.

“Alright, hyung, what did we all agree on about thinking about the Incident?” Donghyuck crosses his arms, the epitome of impatience.

Mark drops his eyes, feeling the guilt crawling over his skin, fighting to claw its way into his heart again. But Mark isn't going to let it win.

“…to talk to the others about it.” He murmurs petulantly, feeling like a child again, “But—!”

“And what were you doing? Hyung?” Donghyuck interrupts, saccharine smile never leaving his lips.

“I wasn’t talking about it.” Mark admits, wishing his pants had pockets. “But it wasn’t anything bad this time!”

He knows why they've established that system. Everyone’s been pretty on edge ever since the fight broke out with Instructor Kim (“that pile of trash”) and remembering it has only ever brought back less-than-stellar memories.

For Mark, especially, it’s not always good. There are just some days where he’ll lay curled up in bed, tremors running down his spine as he trembles, unmoving. There are times when he’ll be doing the most mundane thing—like pouring out a glass of milk—and someone will startle him and he’ll drop everything and flinch instinctively, waiting for a strike that’ll never come. There are days when Mark just doesn’t want to talk, just wants his mind to eat him alive, to let the memories consume him until there’s nothing left.

Those are rare, though. Incredibly rare. The majority of the time, though, it’s still okay—which is why Mark doesn’t mind it so much.

He knows it freaks the others out, though. He knows Renjun’s pleaded with him countless times to talk to someone, during those days, but usually Mark can’t find it in him to respond. The company isn’t providing him with a counselor or anything either, and Mark is too afraid to go out on his own to get that kind of help, not knowing who’ll leak what.

Learning to trust again is hard.

And that’s why they have this rule; to talk, to let those burdens roll off their shoulders and leave it up to everyone else to contribute to holding them up as well, to lend them a hand. It’s not just for Mark, even if he finds himself needing it the most; everyone is supporting everyone else. And sometimes he really hates himself for it, which is why he bites back the complaints, and forces on a smile instead.

Unfortunately, that's what makes Donghyuck distrustful now.

“I promise.” Mark repeats himself in the face of Donghyuck’s doubt. “It’s nothing bad Hyuck. You know I wouldn’t hide anything from you.”

Not unless it was really bad. But you’d still see right through me, wouldn’t you?

“Yeah?” Donghyuck raises a brow. “Then what about, exactly?”

Mark lifts a shoulder carelessly in a shrug, as he watches Chenle meander precariously close to the edges of the curtains before retreating.

“That phone call.” He answers honestly, and it goes to show how well Donghyuck knows him when his eyes widen immediately in understanding. “All we’d ever gotten was radio silence, and then it just hit us out of nowhere. Like, bam!”

He makes the sound effect to prompt a little smile from Donghyuck, who delivers rather predictably.

“Yeah.” Donghyuck agrees, voice turning pensive, “I guess so. I was just happy you didn’t have to deal with that anymore.”

“It wasn’t just me.” Mark shakes his head automatically.

“And Taeyong hyung.” Donghyuck amends, rolling his eyes, but Mark doesn’t stop shaking his head.

“No.” He emphasizes, before pausing. “Well, yes, but I wasn’t talking about that Hyuckie.”

And now it's time to say something incredibly sappy that’ll have Donghyuck chucking him off the stage.

“I was talking about all of us.” He lets out in one breath, Donghyuck blinking, “It wasn’t just me. It was hard on everyone, wasn’t it? Including you?”

“I…” Donghyuck blinks again, once, twice. “I guess? It just annoyed me that you were being hurt the entire time and I couldn't—”

His voice chokes up, and Mark’s eyes widen.

“I’m sorry!” He apologizes frantically as Donghyuck blinks his wet eyes rapidly, face tilted upwards to not ruin his makeup. “I didn’t mean to make you cry!”

“Shut up, idiot.” Donghyuck doesn’t say anything much beyond that, breathing deeply. “We can talk about this later.”

“Yeah.” Mark agrees easily, catching sight of their manager waving hysterically at them, “We need to huddle up first!”

“I’ll go get the babies.” Donghyuck grins reassuringly, though his eyes still shine glossily. “Wouldn’t want to miss our cue, right?”

“You're right.” Mark smiles back easily. “You always are, Hyuckie.”

He easily catches Jeno and Renjun, the latter frantically touching up his makeup as his friend snickers quietly behind a hand.

“Oh, is it time?” Renjun asks, hand playing with his blonde locks. His stylist is more than likely going to be annoyed, Mark figures.

“Yep!” He answers cheerfully, “Manager-nim’s calling for us. I think we’re up next.”

“It’ll be just a couple of hours, now.” Jeno gently teases Renjun, making the blonde scowl.

“Shut it.” He says, though with how thin his voice is, it doesn’t really sound so threatening. His eyes slide over to Mark, and they quickly widen in alarm. “Are you okay, hyung?”

“Uh, yeah?” Mark’s brows furrow at the sudden concern, though it’s not entirely unexpected; Renjun’s been on edge for the past couple of months, sometimes being overprotective to the point of suffocation. “Why?”

“You… look like you were crying.” Jeno answers for him, mouth pressed into a thin line as he surveys Mark's face carefully. “I mean, I can’t say for sure, but…”

“I wasn’t!” Mark quickly refutes, the surprise making his voice boom. Luckily though, he realizes and manages to tone it down. “Don’t worry, I’m alright. We’ve got to go now, though, alright?”

“Okay.” Renjun eyes him scrutinizingly, though he obligingly slides off the vanity table, “Let’s go then.”

“And the Babies?” Jeno asks as they migrate to where the manager’s waiting.

“Donghyuck.” Mark bites back a smile. He, Donghyuck and Jeno have taken to calling Jisung and Chenle the Babies, much to their annoyance. It’s true, though: and the past months have only further solidified this. He doesn't know where the rest of them would be without the maknae's sometimes silent, sometimes boisterous, support.

“Ah, gotcha.” Jeno nods. “Man, I wish Jaemin were here.”

“I know.” Mark sighs heavily, the thought of the younger boy’s back injury being up to the forefront of his mind. And to think he didn't even realize... “Soon, though.”

“That’s right.” Renjun looks determined and, for that, Mark’s thankful. He used to hate the almost constant redness ringing his eyes, and the shakiness of his limbs, and he’s so incredibly relieved every time he sees Renjun act a bit more like himself. “We’ll set the stage on fire for him!”

“Yeah.” Jeno relents with a small smile. "Look at you, being all fired up!"

"Okay, no more fire puns." Mark says hurriedly, and the three of them chuckle.

They reach the stairs where the manager’s waiting, Donghyuck and the Babies in tow. Jisung looks disgruntled, the minor puffiness of his cheeks showing he’s been napping, while Chenle’s just b with energy, bouncing impatiently on his toes.

“You’ve got five.” Their manager says brusquely, and Mark nods in return.

They congregate as one, huddling close to each other as everyone falls silent, waiting for Mark to speak.

“We’ve got this.” He says, though a little grin plays up the corner of his lips. “Jaemin’s out there, you guys, and he’s waiting for us to blow his mind—and that’s what we’re going to do. The past few months have been…pretty tight, but we’ve held ourselves together for this long, and I’m proud.”

He looks around at the faces of s, heart nearly bursting at the sight of them, the determined set of their mouths. Mark’s so grateful he gets to see this.

“We got through that, so what’s stopping us now?”

“Nothing!” Chenle yells, and everyone laughs, a little more relaxed. Never let it be said that Zhong Chenle allows tension before a stage - utterly preposterous.

“Exactly.” A soft smile softens Mark’s features as he acknowledges his dongsaeng. “There’s nothing that’s going to stop us now, so let’s show everyone what we’ve got, yeah? I love you guys.”

“Oh my god, you just had to.” Donghyuck mutters, as Jisung rolls his eyes in accompaniment. Mark doesn’t mind though, not when the both of them are grinning wider than ever before, not when Jeno’s looking at him with bright eyes and Renjun’s shooting him an even brighter smile. “Couldn't stop yourself, could you? Well, get on with it, then.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mark huffs out in amusement, “So impatient.”

He looks at all of them again, committing their expressions to memory. This is what he wants to remember, this is what he wants to fuel himself with, for years to come.

This is them.

He takes in a deep breath, heart singing.

.

.

.

“YOOOOO DREAM!"