Ships Passing In The Night ｜Markhyuck (OT21 AU)

Chapter 55

The distance.

The trust that had been lost.

Donghyuck just hoped that it hadn't been lost forever. He still wasn't sure how to fix this, how to convince Jisung of something that, by all logic, should be impossible, but he hadn't given up just yet. If time was what Jisung needed, Donghyuck would happily wait as long as it took. After all, he was still not much closer to leaving this reality than he had been when he'd arrived, so he had time. He could be patient.

"Hyuck?"

Blinking as he dragged his eyes from the side of Jisung's pale face, Donghyuck glanced across the table to where Mark sat beside Jeno. Mark was watching him expectantly, so he quickly flashed the boy an apologetic smile. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"Here." Mark held out a hand towards him, a pile of crumpled grey fabric spilling through his fingers as he moved. Donghyuck took it, frowning down at the familiar logo emblazoned across the hoodie as it landed in his lap, but Mark just continued to smile happily at him. "Jaehyun-hyung said you left this in his room last time you were there. He wanted me to give it back to you."

"Oh." He glanced down at the piece of clothing again, vaguely recalling that he'd taken it off while watching television with Jungwoo and Yuta in the Annex living room a few weeks back. He wasn't quite sure how it had ended up in Jaehyun's room, but he figured someone must have tidied it up when he wasn't looking. Probably Taeil. Heavens knew the rest of them didn't help with chores unless coerced or threatened. "Thanks."

"It's no problem."

He really was a sucker for Mark's smile, Donghyuck thought, as he watched the other boy continue to beam at him like he'd just offered up the greatest compliment in the world. A thought struck him as he tried not to melt into a puddle of feelings in the middle of the cafeteria, and he frowned a little. "Did you go and see your brother this week then?"

"Uh..." Mark appeared taken aback by Donghyuck's question, but he recovered quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"Cool." Donghyuck was still a little distracted by the way the tiny lights in Mark's eyes seemed to dance as he spoke, so he ignored the hesitation in his answer. "Next time you go, let me know and we can carpool, okay? It'll save you some money on the bus fare if I drive."

"Uh, sure." Mark looked like he wanted to say something more, but the bell announcing the end of lunch chose that moment to interrupt them. Instead, Mark just sighed and pulled part of his lower lip between his teeth thoughtfully, before getting to his feet and starting to clear away the remains of his food.

"You've got soccer after school today, right?" Donghyuck heard Jaemin asking Jeno somewhere behind him, as he followed Mark towards where he could dispose of his tray. Jeno must have made some noise in the affirmative, because Jaemin continued. "Can I get a ride home after? I have dance until six, but Junie wants to stay later to work on his project for History."

"Of course. You don't even need to ask, baby."

Donghyuck let the low hum of familiar conversation wash over him as he slotted his tray in on top of Mark's, and then headed back to the table to grab his bag. Mark made it before he could, passing the bag up with another easy smile that made Donghyuck's heart skip a beat. He then retrieved his own, and the two of them followed the rest of their friends out into the hallway.

"Hey, Hyuck?" For the second time in about as many minutes, Donghyuck found himself pausing what he was doing to focus on Mark's expectant, wide-eyed expression. This time, Mark didn't offer him clothing, but there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes that Donghyuck couldn't quite place.