I was writing a special chapter over one thing and then another happened. So basically this has two chapters put into one :)
Sorry if it gets too long.

-

As Donghyuck put his hand to his side, taking a deep breath and took a step back to get into a line, he felt someone stop right behind him. With a sigh, Donghyuck listened carefully for the beat, trying his best to ignore how close Mark was standing next to him. For some weird reason — Mark chooses not to disclose the cause for his actions — Mark had been cutting down the distance between them when they performed superhuman. At first, Donghyuck had assumed that Mark had accidentally taken a step too close to him and couldn't go back without the fans going crazy and assuming things. But then when Mark purposely pressed his body against Donghyuck's, breathing down his neck and laughed whenever he caught Donghyuck's eyes, he realised it wasn't an accident.

This time, Mark stood behind him, their arms by their sides but Mark had leaned forward, close enough to blow air over his ear. Donghyuck moved a beat too early, cursing in his mind as he did so before continuing to crouch down. He felt a hand hit his butt and he tilted his head to the side to send a glare in Mark's direction. All he got was a cheeky smile in return.

The song continued and Donghyuck tried his best to ignore the flutter in his heart every time Mark would get close to him or even just smile at him. Time passed and heartbreaker started. Donghyuck walked over to Mark, immediately throwing his arms around him and stared at him directly. He smiled at Mark as he watched his face reddened by the second. The small grin that was playing on his lips finally widen as Donghyuck snapped his head back whenever Mark would push it away.

"Stop," Mark whispered away from his mic, but Donghyuck paid no mind to it. They pulled apart and did their handshake, their hearts swelling as the fans got hyped up because of them and then walked past each other. Donghyuck smiled as he stared into the crowd. Not that long ago he had been sulking because Mark was not with him during the Dream Show. But now Mark was here with him, all giggly and smiley, and Donghyuck felt happier than he did before.

"You guys play around too much," Johnny groaned once they all stepped down from the stage, hastily taking off their microphones and getting changed. The concert had ended and they were on their way to the hotel. They had to sleep as soon as they reached there since they had a flight early in the morning back to Korea. "It's nearly annoying."

"Nearly?" Yuta perked up at the use of that term, "It's really annoying! The number of times the staff have told us to stop being so chaotic onstage."

"You say that when you're worse than them," Jaehyun scoffed and pushed Yuta off his chair, immediately taking a seat on it and reached over for the wipes to clean his makeup off.

"I'm not!" Yuta denied and began to poke Jaehyun's sides, trying to get a reaction out of him.

"To be very honest," Taeil started, getting up from his seat in the corner (and no one even questioned how he got dressed in casual clothes so quickly and where the hell his makeup went). "Our seniors are a lot wilder than we are."

"True," Taeyong agreed and Donghyuck glanced over at Mark, catching his eye and sent a smile his way. It was returned before Mark got dragged out of the dressing room and towards the van.

The rest of the things went by in a flash and Donghyuck found himself pressed against Mark's chest, his cheek flat against Mark's sweater and his legs tugged into Mark's. He felt a hand brush through his hair and relaxed into the touch. Normally, the members wouldn't let Donghyuck and Mark be roommates, claiming that they were too young to be left alone in a room (though they shared a bedroom once and had been roommates for nearly every other occasion before they started dating).

"I missed this," Mark mumbled. Sleep was taking over him fairly quickly and Donghyuck hurriedly pulled himself up until he was facing Mark properly.

"I missed this too," Donghyuck replied, leaning forwards and captured Mark's lips with his own, choosing to set the pace slow since they both were exhausted and honestly needed sleep more than anything. "Missed cuddling with you."

"We never even cuddled that much," Mark giggled, pressing his lips against Donghyuck's again once he finished speaking. "Unless you count all the times you forced your way into my bed and strangled me until we both fell asleep."

"Wouldn't have strangled you if you just accepted my affection," Donghyuck huffed but immediately felt bad as Marks smile dropped. Ever since they both had cleared out the issue of rejecting Donghyuck and his affection, they hadn't spoken about it at all. Donghyuck knew Mark felt guilt and regret for his actions in the past years, so he did what a best friend would do when their friend was feeling bad about something. He chose to ignore it. By acknowledging it any further he would've probably hurt Mark, more than he already had when he didn't speak to him.

"I'm sorry," Mark apologised again and all of a sudden Donghyuck wanted to slap him on the face. "I really do regret pushing you away all the time. You know, I liked your hugs and stuff but… you know about how the fans portrayed our relationship as something else. I didn't mind it! Of course, I didn't, but I was just scared you would."

"Mark," Donghyuck said — and he was pinched in the stomach for dropping the honorifics — cutting off the older and held him by his shoulder (which was really awkward as their elbows clashed). "I already told you that you don't have to apologise. I've already forgiven you for what you did. We've moved on from it."

"Yeah but—"

"Nope! Shush, I'm trying to sleep," Donghyuck shook his head and turned around in the bed, smiling as he felt Mark's arms snake around his waist.

"Okay, okay," Mark sighed and shuffled forward, closing the gap Donghyuck created when he turned around. "Sleep well, baby."

"How many times have I told you not to—"

"Can you guys please just shut up and sleep!" Johnny yelled from the bed next to theirs. "People are trying to sleep here!"

-

Donghyuck sneezed as he ran down the stage, holding his hands between his thighs in an attempt to heat them up. His eyes felt droopy but he forced them open. The world seemed to be spinning but Donghyuck paid no mind to it. He didn't have time to worry about this. The staff led him and the other members to a waiting area, which happened to be in the open air, and they all gathered together. Donghyuck pulled on his velvet jacket, cursing as it failed to provide any heat for him and huffed out a puff of steam.

He glanced around and saw that everyone was as cold as he was, maybe even worse. With a shake of his head, Donghyuck stuffed his hands into his pocket before resorting to jumping on the spot to get warm. Johnny shuffled over to his side and asked him if he was cold.

"Yeah," Donghyuck managed to stutter out through his gritted teeth. Before he could say anything else, Johnny jumped into a long speech about how he thought indoor stages were much better. The chances of rain ruining the stage were less, the halls would be warmer and no one would be freezing as they were right now. "I agree."

"Come on," Jeno said as he walked past the two. "We have to go up."

"Ah, yeah," Donghyuck tried to shake off the strange grip some invisible force had over his chest and followed Jeno up the stage.

The fans were yelling and screaming and Donghyuck questioned in his mind as to how they all weren't cold. Most of them had jackets but there were some wearing near to no extra clothing. The rehearsal went by quickly, and Donghyuck thanked the members for not making any mistakes, and they were all rushed out of the venue. With their puffy jackets on, the group ran towards the vans, in a hurry because of how rapidly their temperatures were dropping.

It made sense to be this cold. It was the end of December, the middle of winter and their outfits weren't getting any thicker. "Look what I found," Mark said as they neared the van. Donghyuck forced his stiff neck to look to his left and stared down at the ring in Mark's hand.

"Mark Lee," Donghyuck dramatically placed a hand over his chest, although he regretted taking it out of his pocket. "Isn't this too quick? Already proposing to me, and in the worst way possible?"

"Oh shut up, Hyuck," Mark rolled his eyes, but his cheeks lit up. Donghyuck smiled as he knew he managed to heat Mark up (in an odd way, yes, but it worked) before running ahead of Mark and straight into the van.

The ride to the SM building wasn't long and they all rushed into the cafe, eager to get some food. Donghyuck rubbed his face with his hands and tried to wake himself up. He reminded himself that the others were tired as well, they were also cold. Donghyuck didn't stop shivering even as he sat in between Jeno and Jaemin, completely squashed by the two bodies. They gave off warmth but he didn't feel his body absorbing any of that.

"Gosh, Donghyuck," Jaemin said after a while, turning his body around to throw a leg over the shorter and envelope him in a hug. "You're like a human heater."

"I am?" Donghyuck questioned, surprised that his body was still giving off heat even though he felt like his body was dipped in ice. "That's weird."

"Jaemin's right," Jeno said after a while of staring at the two from the corner of his eye. He shuffled closer to Donghyuck and tilted his head down. "You're really warm, are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine!" Donghyuck chuckled and shook off the two from his side, pretending as if he didn't care about the fact that his two sources of heat had just left him. "My body's probably warming up because of the sudden change of temperature."

"Is that how science works?" Jisung asked, and only now did Donghyuck realise the whole table had been listening to the trio.

"Shut up, Jisung. No one cares about science right now," Chenle rolled his eyes and playfully hit Jisung on his arm, and he rolled his eyes a second time when the younger feigned hurt.

"Hyuck," Mark said once they all finished eating and headed out for the venue once again. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Mark hyung! No need to worry," Donghyuck flashed him a smile before grabbing his hand and ran out into the cold. If Mark noticed how Donghyuck's boiling hot hand tightened around his, and how his body immediately shrunk when the wind hit him, he chose to say nothing about it.

-

"You are going to take a break!" Taeyong huffed and put his hands on Donghyuck's shoulders, forcing him back onto the bed and quickly pulled the blanket up to his chin.

"No, hyung, I'm fine!" Donghyuck tried to reason, but as soon as he finished his sentence he began to sneeze again. He sniffled and rubbed his eyes to try and stay awake, but none of it helped.

"You aren't, Hyuck," Doyoung said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his thigh comfortingly. "And that's fine. You need to get your rest and have some medicine, then you'll be fine before you know it!"

"But the concert—"

"That doesn't matter more than your health," Mark interrupted and his tone was stern. The others nodded along and Mark crouched down beside him. "You're sick and can't participate in the concert. That's fine, okay? We have many others to attend as well, so don't stress over this one. If you're worried about the fans getting upset over this, don't. They'll understand. So, Donghyuck, stay in bed and go to sleep."

After receiving a nod, the members all said their goodbyes and left the room. Donghyuck lay in bed, head facing the ceiling as the time ticked by. The sleep he had washed away as he got reminded of the time he couldn't join the Seoul concert because of his injury. He missed out on their first concert and now he had to miss out on their first concert of the year. He shut his eyes as they began to sting and turned around in his bed, reaching over for his phone and brought it to himself.

He tapped a contact number and hoped they would pick up. If anyone could cheer him up, it would probably be him.

"Donghyuck-ie?" Jungwoo's voice rang in his ear and he sniffled into the phone. "Hey, baby, are you okay?"

"No. I'm sick," Donghyuck coughed a little and Jungwoo began to say comforting things. "What about you, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Jungwoo replied, and silence filled them. Their breathing was the only thing heard and Donghyuck's mind began to wander off to the concert again. They were all going to interact with the fans, probably have a lot of fun. As tiring as the concerts were, they were still a bunch of fun. "Hey, baby?"

"Yeah?" Donghyuck wiped a hand over his face to get rid of the tears before they could spill.

"You wanna go to the concert, don't you?"

Donghyuck wanted to say, yes! Yes, I want to go, but I can't because I'm sick. But then he remembered that Jungwoo was also missing out. He hadn't been able to join them since summer and even missed out on some key events for the year. Donghyuck felt as if he was in no place to talk about being left out when Jungwoo wasn't even in Japan with them.

"No," Donghyuck answered, and his voice wavered slightly and he grimaced when he heard Jungwoo sigh.

"Donghyuck," Jungwoo started, his voice sounding softer than before (if that was even possible in his case). "It's okay to feel like that. I understand exactly what you're thinking. You're probably worried about how they're having fun without you, and how it's a repeat of what happened last year. But think of it this way: you've gotten a short break, you can get some rest, have some medicine. Maybe even catch up with shows, but I'd recommend against it because you need rest more than anything right now."

Donghyuck didn't reply as Jungwoo spoke. He closed his eyes and took quiet breaths. Jungwoo was right. He should be using this break as an excuse to get some rest and feel better.

"And you should tell the managers that you're tired and need a less packed schedule," Donghyuck's eyes snapped open at this and he hurriedly shook his head.

"No, no, no, no, no," Donghyuck said. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Well," Donghyuck sighed. "It's not fair to the others. Just because I'm tired I don't want them to have fewer events. Dream—" Donghyuck paused, realising he slipped up and quickly covered it up, "Dream missed out a lot last year, and it was probably because I was busy with 127. Me complaining about this is just showing how ungrateful I am. Jaemin, Jeno and Renjun are the same age as much but don't have a schedule even nearly as packed as mine."

"It wasn't your fault Dream missed out last year," Jungwoo first clarified. "SM didn't want them to have any comebacks and that's on them, not you. Don't blame yourself for that. You, and the whole of 127 need rest. Stop thinking so negatively, it won't bring you any good. Take a rest, ask for more breaks, and don't blame yourself for it at all. You're doing you're best, Donghyuck."

The sleep that had been draining out of him previously came back in a rush. Donghyuck yawned and heard Jungwoo chuckle at the sound.

"Now sleep," Jungwoo ordered and within seconds, Donghyuck closed his eyes and fell unconscious. His last words beings, "What's up with everyone calling me baby lately?".

-

Donghyuck woke up to find Mark asleep beside him, their bodies glued to each other and a cloud of green was in his face. Donghyuck pulled away from him and looked down at Mark's face. His mouth was parted and steady breaths were coming out. Donghyuck watched as Mark scrunched his nose up when his hair fell over his face. A giggle escaped Donghyuck as Mark continued to try to move the piece of hair without using his hands.

He raised his finger, slowly caressing Mark's cheek and pushed aside the stray hair, smiling as Marks face calmed down. Without a second thought, Donghyuck leaned forward and placed a kiss on Mark's cheek, then on his other, then on his forehead, then on his eyes and then—

"Can you just kiss me properly?" Mark opened his eyes and stopped Donghyuck from doing anything else.

"No," Donghyuck replied with a large grin, only to get jerked forward by Mark and pulled into a kiss. They both chuckled and kissed softly before pulling apart again. Mark shuffled back into Donghyuck's arm and mumbled something about being too tired to do anything else. "Well then stop being so cute and I might consider toning my love down."

"Shut up," Mark muttered and tightened his grip on Donghyuck's shirt, bringing him impossibly closer than before.

Donghyuck's head still felt dizzy and he was still sick, but having Mark in his arms after everything that happened that day, he felt a lot better than before.