Johnny and Taeil were maybe a little too excited for the day at hand. 

Later the dealers had an appointment with Mark. Yes, the couple loved Mark a lot and enjoyed spending time with him, but seeing him at the usual time didn't merit this much excitement. 

What did merit their excitement was the friend Mark had decided to bring a long: finally, they were going to meet Donghyuck. The Lee Donghyuck, Mark's best friend and the object of his undying affection, who Johnny and Taeil had been waiting forever to meet. 

Johnny and Taeil had seen a couple photos, but there was nothing like seeing him in the flesh (aka scoping him out to see if he was good enough for Mark, let alone if he returned any of Mark's feelings). Luckily, though, Johnny and Taeil had a cover for their weirdness: along with Mark telling his best friend he just wanted him to meet his other senior friends, Donghyuck also needed some more weed, and his normal dealer was on a long vacation. Johnny and Taeil were free to grill him under the pretense that they just wanted to make sure he was safe to sell to. 

The couple were setting up their living room, just minutes before the two freshman were supposed to arrive, getting everything ready from their adopted little brother and his little crush.

"He better be nice," Taeil mumbled. 

"I know, right. It would be hard to have to tell Mark he's not a good guy, or that he doesn't like him back." 

"Does Mark really need our approval?" 

"No, but he wants it. Badly." 

Taeil sighed. "We're not his parents." 

"We kind of are, at this point." Johnny looked around the clean and inviting living room with a smile before back hugging his boyfriend, placing a soft kiss on his neck. 

"I'm not ready to be a father!" Taeil jokingly whined. 

"Mark doesn't have to know he was an accident." 

Taeil chuckled just as a knock on the door brought the couple out of little fantasy, sharing a grin before opening up. 

And, standing before them, was Donghyuck. The Lee Donghyuck. 

Literally the first thing Johnny noticed about Donghyuck was not anything about him as a person, but how absolutely ing whipped Mark was for him. Playing with his fingers almost ridiculously, wearing the gentlest of smiles, his gaze alternating between Donghyuck's face and the floor. There was no way Donghyuck didn't know how Mark felt. 

Johnny quickly forced his attention back to Donghyuck, and yup: the freshman was exactly like Mark had described (and what he'd imagined). He had a fluffy mullet, and a leather jacket covered in buttons and patches (Johnny could pick out a couple David Bowie and strangeaeons pins), and dark jeans and black boots with a very, very tasteful masculine heel. 

They were an odd couple, that was for sure. Mark's style was intensely straight while Donghyuck was visibly queer in the hippest way possible. But Johnny could see that Donghyuck was more than just a crush or a love to Mark. Donghyuck was also the person Mark aspired to be, the sort of person he was inside. He just wasn't brave enough to put it on the outside yet. 

Johnny knew in a few years, with a little less time in his hometown and a little more adventures with Donghyuck, he would be. 

The dealer was surprised about one thing though: in his mind, and based on what Mark described, he had just assumed Donghyuck would be tall. But even with the very tasteful masculine heel he wasn't as tall as Mark, and he was barely even taller than Taeil (who was the world's most adorably tiny person, in Johnny's book). But it wasn't something Johnny noticed right away; his confident aura and style made his height one of the last things you noticed about him. 

Donghyuck looked up at him. "I think it's very rude of you to be so tall." 

"I think so too," Taeil answered. 

Everyone laughed and immediately Johnny was endeared, introductions going all around before the group of four made their way into Johnny and Taeil's living room. 

"You okay?" Johnny heard Donghyuck mumble. Johnny tried to surreptitiously look at the two; they were still close to the door. Donghyuck was gently touching Mark's arm, and if Johnny didn't know better, he would have assumed they already were a couple. 

Mark was nervous, obviously so. Johnny had been right, knowing that Mark needed Taeil and Johnny's approval. But the fact that Donghyuck picked up on it won him points immediately, in Johnny's book. 

"Mmh...yeah. Don't worry." 

"Can't help it," Donghyuck answered, barely above a whisper. As soon as he was sure Donghyuck and Mark wouldn't see, Taeil made a face of oh my god I'm dying how are they so cute at Johnny. Johnny returned that expression before putting a normal person smile on his face. 

"So...shall we smoke some weed?" 

"Please," Donghyuck answered with a sigh. "I need to be high this instant." 

~~~~~~~~~~

While Donghyuck's high didn't come instantaneously it came fairly quickly (although not nearly as quickly as Mark's did; it was obvious Donghyuck had some experience with weed in high school). Soon enough, though, Johnny and Taeil followed, and everyone was nice and relaxed and laughing in their living room. 

Johnny and Taeil didn't need to say anything. Oh, they more than approved of Donghyuck, and the way Mark relaxed around him, despite his butterflies, despite his nerves. It was inherent: Donghyuck's teasing was a blanket of comfort to Mark's perpetually anxious nature. This whole thing was just easy: it had been as easy to bring Donghyuck into the fold as it had been to bring Mark. 

"I...I'm gonna pee," Mark suddenly said, staggering up and slowly walking toward the bathroom. 

"Need help?" Donghyuck asked. Mark just gave him a bright grin, shook his head, and made his way. 

All three of them stared silently off down the hallway where Mark disappeared to, thoughts swirling in their clouded minds. 

Donghyuck turned to Taeil, then back to Johnny, then back to Taeil. "I'm so in love with him." 

It was that tone just above a whisper, only so Mark wouldn't hear. 

Johnny looked back at him, expressionless. 

"He's in love with you too." 

Donghyuck whipped toward him, eyes wide with shock. 

Taeil released a soft, little happy breath of laughter. "Y-you didn't realize?" 

"I thought so, but I didn't want to assume....didn't want to make him uncomfortable. It's all so..."

"I know," Johnny finished. 

"He must know how I feel though..." 

Johnny and Taeil shared a look before laughing and shaking their heads.

"No way," Taeil spoke. 

"He doesn't even have a clue," Johnny finished. 

Donghyuck snorted. "There's no way..." 

"There is a way. He is just that oblivious." 

Donghyuck leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling and let out a groan. But Johnny and Taeil could see a grin appearing on his face that wouldn't go away for a while. 

"How long?" 

"Huh?" 

"How long as he..." 

"Oh. I met him like a week or two into the school year and even then he wouldn't shut up about you," Johnny explained. 

"Oh my-" 

"But I don't think he even fully realized back then," Johnny finished. 

"Ah. I see." They were all silent for another moment. "Is this what having a soulmate is like? Because...it's a lot of...feelings. It's kind of annoying." 

"Oh, agreed. One hundred percent," Taeil answered. Johnny and Taeil shared one of those too loud stoner giggles, just as an ever clueless Mark walked back into the living room. 

Obviously, there was a weird tension; Mark was the only one who wasn't up to date with all of the revelations. But he was too stoned to notice the weirdness, just standing in the doorway with red eyes. 

"Long piss, my dude," Johnny spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence. 

Mark laughed a little too loud, like usual but even more because of the weed. Johnny and Taeil could practically see Donghyuck melt into a pile of goo. "Yeah," Mark answered. 

Suddenly, Donghyuck smiled at Mark. "Really? I....wow..." 

"Wait, what? Did I do something wrong?" The smile had fallen off of Mark's face, replace by panic, and Donghyuck leapt up to soothe it. 

"No, no, baby, no, you didn't do anything wrong, just, let me go tell you something outside." Donghyuck wrapped his hand around Mark's wrist and led him out of Johnny and Taeil's apartment. 

"Thanks for everything," Donghyuck called as he took a very confused Mark outside, shutting the door behind him. 

"Wait! Don't you wanna buy some weed?" Johnny yelled, but Mark and Donghyuck were long distracted, long outside, with something even more important to discuss than weed. 

But if Johnny and Taeil could hear Mark and Donghyuck in the elevator room through the thin walls of their apartment, lips smacking together and high pitched giggles resounding, they would pretend not to hear.