#nonranghaes.nct

[nonranghaes]

heads up! alcohol mentions (reader was drinking with coworkers before fic.)

the moment you walk into your apartment, you hear the immediate sounds of yelling. you stop where you are, looking at where your boyfriend is sitting on your couch, cheeks burning red while all of his friends are cackling around him. he sinks into the couch, notably avoiding your gaze as he pulls his beanie down tighter over his head. you've seen donghyuck be loud with his friends regardless of your presence, but shy? over you coming home?

"you can't hide it anymore!" mark yells, pushing donghyuck's shoulder. "you gotta show them!"

oh, this is gonna be good. you slip out of your work shoes and into your house slippers, stepping up and making your way forward. there's a slight uneasiness in the way you walk, still slightly tipsy from the few drinks you had with your coworkers to celebrate the end of the work week. you spot the way renjun looks up from his phone, about to move when donghyuck darts off the couch toward you.

you don't need him to steady you, but you think it's sweet all the same. "hi, baby," you giggle. "what are you showing me?"

"nothing," he says with the tiniest pout. "it was dumb."

you stare at him. "... a tattoo?"

"no!" donghyuck shakes his head, "nothing that permanent. just..." he sighs, one arm wrapped around you still as he reaches up to yank his beanie off. he winces, apparently having yanked his own hair in the process, but you're too busy staring at the bright pink mess to check on him.

what? when... how? you stare at him, dumbfounded for a moment. but you know who won whatever bet resulted in this. "renjun."

immediately you hear mark cackle. "see! see! i fuckin' told y'all, they were gonna know!"

you'll have to hear the story from him later. you just snicker a little more, wrapping one arm around his neck. "donghyuckie?" you put on a playful pout. "can they go? i'm sleepy."

it is late at this point, and your boyfriend just wraps his other arm around you to tug you in closer. he rests his cheek against you, looking back at his friends. "guys, it's kinda late-"

sure enough, they all agree to go their separate ways--even if it does net donghyuck an eye-roll and a comment that he's whipped for you. soon, the apartment is empty aside from the two of you, and he just stands there to hold you for a minute longer.

"does it look good?"

"everything looks good on you, silly." you peck the tip of his nose. "can we cuddle? i missed you today."

and he just chuckles, holding you close. "yeah," he says, voice a little raspier now, "we can cuddle. i missed you, too."

[nonranghaes]

heads up: mark calls reader 'bro' but readers gender is never stated/this is still gn!reader, mark is just being mark

"okay... like, don't freak out, but..."

mark's voice is quiet over your phone's speaker, and you think it's because it's almost one in the morning right now. he has roommates, you (luckily) don't, hence why you can talk relatively normally compared to mark's hushed whispers. this isn't the first time he's said something like this, your best friend always dragging you into something crazy or dumb or both. but this time he hesitates a little.

either this is really stupid or he's actually nervous.

"what if..." a pause. you can hear his lips smack together as he licks them nervously. you've seen him do it enough times when he's around you, and it's always punctuated by you rolling your eyes and digging into your pockets for the second stick of chapstick labeled MARK'S that you carry for him. "what if..."

"you're killing me, lee." and maybe he is, but you don't mind. not if it's mark.

"what if..." he pauses yet again, and he really is trying to kill you, isn't he? "we, like... we kissed?"

you jolt up out of bed, immediately looking at your phone. "what?"

"haha, yeah, it's stupid. anyway, what if we go fuck around the aquarium again? you can point at the ugly fish and say they're me if you want--"

your mind is racing. what if we kissed? what--where did--huh? when did he...? he's still rambling about the aquarium as he's recounting all the shit you did the last time you went. you'd been caught staring at him and pretended you were looking at the fish right behind his head--saying the dorky little thing reminded you of mark. and maybe, in a way, it did, but...

"hey, mark?" you speak up after a moment. when did your voice become so small? so shy? "i'm going to the park."

"bro, it's like--it's one in the morning."

you're already getting out of bed, pulling on sweatpants. "then i guess it'd be nice if i had someone to meet me there."

"what, like johnny--ohhh." and you wonder if he's smiling now. you think you hear it in his voice when he speaks again: "yeah. i'll meet you there."

[nonranghaes]

“do you want my fruit cup?”

this is the fifth day in a row that you’ve offered up your watermelon cup to mark. he’s not complaining in the slightest, and he accepts it after a quick “you sure?” to make sure you’re serious. he pops it open, already stabbing a plastic fork into a cube. its sweet. maybe as sweet as you are, always offering it to him rather than anyone else.

“you know,” he stabs another piece, “you always pack too much, huh?”

you blink. “what?”

“in your lunch,” he nods toward your bag. “like—i like the watermelon, so its not going to waste, but i thought you would have stopped packing so much.”

you avert your gaze. “i guess i always think i’m gonna be hungrier.”

“for the love of—” renjun sighs from a nearby table. “they’re bringing it for you, mark.”

immediately, you whirl around to face renjun. “dude, what the hell?”

“this is painful,” donghyuck frowns. “mark, they like you back. ask them out already.”

mark looks at you. “wait, wait, wait… legit?” he’s wide-eyed now. “oh my god, bro, i thought you just never wanted the watermelon—i wasn’t gonna turn it down!”

your face is burning hot now all because of two of your coworkers butting in. “you get all excited, so…”

“we’ll figure it out after work, alright?” his eyes twinkle with glee as he offers out a cube of watermelon to you. “if you want.”

you accept the cube with your fingers, smiling at him. “i’d like that.”

[nonranghaes]

"hey, yo... if i make this shot... you gotta go out with me, alright?"

mark smiles at you brighter than any star in the sky as he continues to bounce the basketball. it's just the two of you now--the rest of your friends have gone their separate ways. it feels like nights always end with just you and mark nowadays. not that you're complaining: you adore the guy. you just smile at first, knowing that you'd say yes regardless of this silly deal (and the twinkle in mark's eyes tells you that he knows this, too: he just needs to show off).

"alright," you say, hands tucked into your hoodie pocket. "go for it."

he swells a little with pride before he takes the shot... and immediately misses. his smile falls into genuine, unabashed shock as he turns to you. you're already cackling, turning to run after the ball before it can get too far away.

"yo, i practiced! i literally practiced and got it--the guys can tell you! i'm good at this, i swear--"

you calm down, smiling at him as you hold the ball in your hands. "okay. so if i make this... you gotta go on a date with me."

mark smiles wide, so cutely flustered but he nods. "alright. bet."

you line up the shot, taking a deep breath. after a moment, you throw the ball through the air, watching as it just barely bounces off the rim. it sends mark into endless cackles, and you immediately rush toward him, burying your face in his jacket as you laugh.

"oh my god," he gasps out between cackles, arms wrapping around you. "i wish i got that on camera." he squeezes you tighter. "alrightalrightalright," he says too many times, blending together as he draws back from you just enough to see your face. "c'mon. i'll buy food."

(donghyuck later reports to the group chat that both of you are indeed idiots, having heard the story from mark... but at least you're idiots together now.)

[nonranghaes]

mark hears your giggling before he ever sees you. it felt weird being at this party without you, but now that he hears you, so satisfied with whatever plans you'd strung together with his friends... he finds himself giddy with excitement. donghyuck tells him to stop looking for you quickly, acting as though you hadn't given yourself away.

he hears your voice before anyone else joins in: "haaaappy birthday to you..."

and then he sees you, carrying a cake with lit candles. the rest joins in, and mark's smiling harder than before. he sees the way the light reflects in your eyes as you make your way forward, leading the charge. he knows the cake in your hands is homemade, too, because you'd been casually asking him little questions for weeks now. what flavor he'd want, the colors, any decorations...

you could have literally bought him a crummy store-bought cupcake and he'd love you as much as he does now.

you set the cake down in front of him, and for a moment, he just wants to quickly kiss you before going back to the party. but he feels the way you lean in for a second, giving him a lingering kiss on the cheek.

"happy birthday, cutie," you giggle, "i love you."

he doesn't say it back--not now. not unless he wants to get teased by his friends for how in love with you he really is. when he says it to you later, you just smile and give him this cheeky "i know."

"all i have to do is look at you to know," you tease, stealing a kiss from him during this quiet moment the two of you have together. you giggle, leaning against him when he curls an arm around you. "no wonder your friends tease you so much."

(and his subsequent giggles say it loud and proud, too: he adores you with everything he is.)