teddy bear | markhyuck

⤷thirty

   mark dried his hair with a towel, wearing nothing but a pair of black sweatpants and boxers. he sat down on the bed with his phone in one hand, a soft smile on his face as he read the text message that he received from donghyuck.

donghyuck: three more days <3

mark: then i'll kiss you senseless 

   he smiled as he imagined the light blush that would cover donghyuck's cheeks as he read the message. his hand covered with a sweater paw would come up to his face and cover his mouth and part of his nose. the thought alone made mark wish he was right next to him so he could cuddle him until they both fell asleep.

   a knock on his hotel door was enough to break him out of his thoughts as xiaojun walked in. "taeyong hyung said it's time for lights out," he told him. mark nodded in understanding, "got it, thanks."

   "g'night mark," xiaojun waved over his shoulder, closing the door behind him. the canadian leaned over and turned on the lamp before standing up to turn off the room's lights. then he climbed back into bed and closed his eyes, trying to catch some shut eye. 

   it had only been a minute or two before there was a soft buzzing vibration from his phone. the screen was lit up, momentarily blinding him as the song; good person, filled his ears. ever since he and donghyuck had to split up for the seperate promotion season, he had chosen the song for his ringer. the members made fun of him for a bit when they first realized, but after a while they stopped. having seen how sad mark had been without the sunshine like boy.

   the music came to a stop when mark pressed accept on the call. immediately he woke to his senses as warmth flooded his insides the second he heard the voice on the line.

"hi markie."

"hyuck?"

   the soft sounds of donghyuck giggling on the line made him smile. when his laughing died down, he spoke up, "i miss you, hyung." mark sighed, sitting up in bed and switching the lamp on. he wished he could ignore the sting in his chest but it just wouldn't go away. "what did i tell you about saying that?" there was a pause so mark took his time looking at the shadows cast upon the walls. "i know," donghyuck replied softly.

   "do you...," mark could hear the hesitance in donghyuck's voice already. "do you want to turn on our cameras, maybe? just for a short while be-" "no," mark cut off sternly, "you know the rules."

   another moment passed. it was so quiet that mark could hear the different breathing patterns of the younger. the one that was currently repeating was one he knew too well. "babe," he started, "don't cry. i'll have to hang up." "sorry," donghyuck sniffled. his voice wasn't broken or weak so mark took it as a sign that he hadn't started crying yet.

   the call fell silent. everything that mark or donghyuck wanted to say or do was forbidden. rules that they had strictly chosen and given themselves during calls.

   the first rule was that neither of them were aloud to say i miss you to eachother. over text was fine but on call made the time slip through their fingers. plus, the reality around them would become more serious and harsh to deal with. the next rule was that they could never do video calls. texting distracted them during the day and voice calls took up a lot of time already. looking at eachother through a screen was simply out of the question. the third and final rule was no crying infront of eachother, or they would have to end the call and stick to texting for the rest of the promotion season. unlike the other two, this one made them both break.

   if mark were to cry, it would be because of exhaustion and frustration. he could deal with that on his own. mark would purposely shut himself off from donghyuck just so he could force himself to get a grip. donghyuck on the other hand— donghyuck was a completely different story. if mark were to hear that donghyuck had been crying, he would lose a piece of himself that day trying to make donghyuck feel better. donghyuck — just like mark — was overworked and tired. the only difference was that mark could close down his feelings and become and emotionless workaholic and the younger could not. eventually, he would crumble under the pressure and depression.