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Haechan was a rather happy boy, but not so much recently. Even being surrounded by other boys in the exact same boat as him with all the stress of being an idol, he still had a nasty habit of bottling all of his negative feelings up. Although he would never abmit it to anyone, himself included, it was clear that Haechan had some sort of nagging anxieties. These anxieties didn't make an appearance until he was so stressed that his body couldn't handle it anymore. This came in the form of violent nightmares and even night terrors, plaguing his sleep--which usually was the only thing that kept him sane.
Luckily, at this point, he had found a few friends which he could crawl into bed with when he was too worked up. Usually it was his roommate, Johnny, but on the occasions that Johnny was out until the early hours of the morning doing god-knows-what, Haechan had to find someone else who was either still awake to stay with, or someone he was comfortable enough to be held by.
Haechan didn't typically have nightmares about the members but usually about himself or some unknown being. This time was different. He was being tormented by the same imagery again and again of someone forcing his hand in torturing his beloved friend, Mark. He wasn't entirely certain as to why it was Mark, but maybe his inner demons knew that this was a person that Haechan genuinely enjoyed the presence of.
Whatever the meaning was, Haechan didn't really want to know. All he wanted was for it to stop.
After waking up in total darkness with a scream caught in his throat and tears flowing down his cheeks in rivers, he let out a whimper and curled up in a ball immediately. He trembled, covering his eyes as he sobbed, his tired mind still convinced it wasn't a dream at all but rather a horrible memory. Upon waking up some more, he realized it was, indeed, a dream and that he really needed to see Mark right now.
Sniffling, he let out a shaky breath as he felt around for his phone and checking the screen for the time when he found it.
3:38AM.
It was early enough in the night for it to be worth sleeping again and getting some genuine rest, but he knew that the nightmare would only repeat if he didn't do something which would truly ease his troubled mind. So, he got up after he was able to calm himself down a bit.
And off he went, his bare feet padding along the cold floor as he made his way to his friend's room. He really hoped he was asleep, but he realized it was quite possible he wasn't, seeing as there wasn't anything scheduled for them early in the morning tomorrow. As long as his roommate, the manager, was asleep, it didn't matter to Haechan.
Haechan stopped at the door and took a deep breath, opening the door carefully as to not make too much noise. Lo and behold, there was a small light from a phone emanating from Mark's bed. He could see Mark's confused and slightly spooked face in the light and he couldn't help but smile slightly. There was, surprisingly, no one in the other bed.
"It's me," Haechan said softly as he made his way in, shutting the door behind him. At his words, he heard Mark sigh in relief.
"Geez, you scared me half to death," Mark said, just as softly. "What do you want?" Mark figured the silly male was here for a bit of banter, and he wasn't entirely interested.
Haechan made his way to Mark's bed calmly, watching the other rest his phone against his chest. "Move over," he said and moved Mark's blanket, placing a knee on the mattress.
"What? Why?" Mark asked and grabbed the blanket defensively.
"Why do you think? Let me in," Haechan responded, moving his knee more onto the bed.
"Dude, no. What's wrong? Sleep in your own bed," Mark said, but his voice was a bit shaky as if he was nervous. Haechan wasn't surprised at this. Mark has never been good with affection, maybe because of his habit of overthinking, but Haechan knew that once he relaxed, Mark actually really enjoyed skinship.
"Scoot, seriously," he said with a tone reflecting how serious he actually was and Mark obliged with a huff, letting his friend crawl into bed next to him.
Haechan slid under the blanket and moved Mark's phone onto the nightstand so he could cuddle close to the male without worrying about the phone getting lost between them. Mark was rather stiff, as nervous as ever, but Haechan didn't mind. It wouldn't be Mark otherwise.
Haechan laid down on his side, grabbing Mark's wrist to guide his arm under Haechan's head so the male could rest his head on Mark's shoulder comfortably. Haechan draped an arm across Mark's waist and shut his eyes, his entire body relaxing immediately. He could feel himself growing a bit emotional now that he was comfortable enough to allow himself to feel a bit more.
There was a long silence but it was comfortable. As Donghyuck sniffled and fought away his tears, Mark was slowly relaxing in his friend's embrace. Noticing that Hyuck was rather upset, he looked to him and rubbed his back awkwardly with the hand which had been wrapped around him. Donghyuck crumbled further with that, tears falling from his eyes and soaking into Mark's sleep-shirt. Hyuck trembled a bit and moved closer when Mark pulled him in more.
Mark was definitely surprised at the whole situation. Sure, they'd seen each other cry before out of frustration or happiness or homesickness but this felt different. It seemed much more out of pain and a deeper sadness that hasn't been purged in a while. He really wasn't certain what to do at first, but he had a feeling that Hyuck wasn't going to stop crying for a while.
Mark turned his body more toward Donghyuck, pulling his friend's face against his chest so he could hold him properly as he cried. And Donghyuck couldn't help the floodgates from opening. His crying grew more vocal and he couldn't even process his thoughts fast enough to understand why he was crying so much. All of the sadness and grief and frustration and insecurities which he had thought he could hide deep inside came pouring out once his soul recognized Mark's embrace as a safe space.
So, Mark held him.
He held him tighter when he wept harder and he shushed him gently as he whined.
He stroked his hair between fits and was patient with him as he worked himself up after calming himself down for a moment.
Mark couldn't help but shed a few tears himself, hating to see his usually-happy friend so upset.
It was quite a while until Donghyuck was finally settled down enough for Mark to pull away a bit, tilting Hyuck's head up by his chin to look at his reddened, swollen face. He looked so pitiful and heartbreaking that Mark couldn't help but hum in pity for his friend. He wiped the wetness from Hyuck's eyes and cheeks before pushing the hair from his face. Donghyuck stared at Mark as he did so, his face so sad but his eyes full of love and appreciation for what his friend just sat through for him.
"Hyuck, what happened?" Mark asked carefully as he stroked his friend's hair gently. Donghyuck sniffled some, tearing up again a bit but he took a deep breath to relax himself before he was ready to answer.
Mark just shushed him gently and gave him another hug.
When he was ready to answer, Donghyuck pulled his face from Mark's wet t-shirt and wiped his own eyes.
"I've j-just...been really stressed and I've hel-held it all in too much," he paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "I've been having really t-terrible night--" he hiccuped a bit, "nightmares and the one I had tonight was r-really upsetting and I had to come here to m-make sure you were okay... I didn't mean for all this to happen. I-I'm sorry...Thank you," Hyuck said and Mark hummed in pity and wiped away the few tears that fell.
Mark understood his pain. It was hard to hold everything in and there are times when he crashed like this, too. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like if someone didn't hold him during those times. Of course he would be here for Hyuck.
"Don't apologize, really. I wanna be here for you, no matter what," Mark said and patted the other's back.
Donghyuck teared up even more at his words and Mark smiled, chuckling a bit as he pulled him in for another hug. Hyuck nuzzled his face against Mark's chest and hugged him tight.
A few minutes later, he peeled himself away from Mark, taking a deep breath. He laid on his back, draping his forearm over his eyes and forehead.
"Headache?" Mark asked, sitting up a bit to prop his head up on his fist as he rubbed Donghyuck's belly comfortingly.
With a nod, Donghyuck confirmed Mark's suspicions. "Yeah...I always get a headache after crying too much."
Mark hummed in acknowledgement and stared into space a few moments before figuring he should probably go grab a few things for Hyuck.
"Wait here, I'll be right back," Mark said and climbed over the other to walk out of the room. The first thing he got was a glass of ice water, then a straw, and finally a rag which he wetted with some cool water to reduce Hyuck's facial swelling. Re-entering the room, he found Hyuck in the same position and breathing steadily. "Sit up," he said.
He made his way to his bed and watched the other sit up against the headboard. He put the glass in Donghyuck's hands and set the rag on the nightstand.
"Drink some," he said lightly as he walked to his dresser. He stripped his wet shirt and tossed it into the hamper before replacing it with a new one. Mark then made his way back to the bed and climbed over Hyuck, grabbing the rag.
Donghyuck had drunk half the glass, now staring into space tiredly. Mark took the glass from his hand and set it on the bedside table, sitting up on his knees to do so. Afterward, he turned Hyuck's face to look at him and used the rag to dab his swollen eyes. Donghyuck let Mark do whatever, trusting him in his sleepy state after what Mark had done for him just now.
Mark, noticing Hyuck was falling asleep while sitting up, told him to lie down while he did this for him. Donghyuck was only laying there for about five minutes before he was asleep, breathing deeply and peacefully. Mark smiled at this and set the rag aside. He laid down beside Hyuck and wasn't surprised that the movement woke him. Hyuck turned over so that he was almost halfway on top of Mark, an arm and leg draped over him.
Mark chuckled at this, laying flat on his back and slipping an arm under Hyuck's head so he could bend his arm and stroke Hyuck's hair comfortably.
Donghyuck fell asleep first for sure but Mark wasn't far behind, drifting off easily and his hand stilling in Hyuck's hair.
Hyuck didn't have the nightmare again and got a great sleep thanks to Mark.
In the morning, upon being discovered by the manager which Mark shared the room with, the manager chuckled at the sight of the two. After snapping a photo, he then walked to the nightstand and turned Mark's phone off to prevent his alarm going off, giving the boys some time to sleep. He allowed them to skip the midday practice schedule and had to wake them up for a late lunch.
Donghyuck and Mark were both really grateful for him allowing them to fully enjoy the best sleep they'd had in a long time.
Maybe they'd do it again this night.