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Chenle can hear the buttons on the keypad of his front door being pressed - knows someone is about to walk in - but he chooses to ignore it in favor of burrowing further into the blanket he’s currently wrapped up in and letting his eyes close again. He doesn’t know what time it is, doesn’t even know what time it was when he fell asleep either. What he does know is he’s still tired.
The keypad lets out a final beep, and the door is pushed open carefully by his visitor. Chenle hears the sound of Daegal scampering over to the door, greeting whoever has just walked in.
“Hi baby,” a voice coos at her softly. Chenle recognizes it as Mark’s. He’s not surprised - he remembered Mark had texted earlier that he’d be over tonight.
Chenle hears muffled footsteps, headed towards the kitchen, and Daegal following close behind. Plastic bags rustle as they’re set down on his counter. Muffled noises of things being shuffled around. It gets quiet again, and Chenle supposes he should finally get up.
“Oh shit-” Mark says under his breath.
Chenle sits upright, whipping his head to look towards the kitchen. Mark’s attention is drawn to the sudden movement and thinks he’s woken him up. His eyes are
“Dude, I’m so sorry,” Mark flusters, words spilling out of his mouth almost faster than he can keep up, “I didn’t mean to wake you up-”
“S’okay,” Chenle says groggily. He waves his hand, like he’s waving away the disturbance. As if Mark could ever actually disturb him. “Everything good in there?” he asks, eyebrow quirked in question.
“Yeah…” Mark trails off, looking down at the mess he’d made. “I kinda broke one of your glasses.”
“ Maaaark ,” Chenle groans, drawing his name out in faux agony. “Again?” He snickers when Mark grimaces at him.
“I’m sorry,” Mark repeats, voice going softer this time. He walks towards the couch, half-sitting on the arm of it. Whether he means to or not, he pouts at Chenle.
“It’s ok,” Chenle replies, failing to suppress the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He means it. He reaches out and pinches Mark’s cheek until he’s smiling too.
“Go back to your nap, I’ll be quiet. I promise.”
“But you’re here now,” Chenle replies, voice dangerously close to a whine.
“I’ll be here when you wake up.” Mark assures him. His hand is on Chenle’s shoulder now, gently trying to persuade him to lay back down. “You need to rest.” Mark looks at him with those big, concerned eyes of his and Chenle finally folds after being blinked at a few times.
“Fine, fine.” Chenle concedes with a huff, “But if I don’t fall asleep in 5 minutes, I’m getting up again.”
“Ok, deal.” Mark agrees, brushing Chenle’s bangs away from his eyes. He leans over and places a kiss on the top of his head, short and sweet, before walking back to the kitchen.
Chenle drifts back to sleep easily once he lays back down. He’s soothed by the sound of someone else - of Mark - quietly occupying his house.
Chenle’s not sure how long he slept. But when opens his eyes, he can tell the sun had set while he was out. Mark had closed the blinds and turned on the lamp. Daegal was curled up in her own bed, favorite toy next to her. Mark had made himself comfortable on the floor, wedged in between the couch and the coffee table.
“ Hey ,” he says, all fond smile and soft eyes when he notices Chenle is awake again. He puts his phone down, attention totally shifted.
“Hi.” Chenle scrubs a hand over his face and through his already messy hair.
“You sleep like an angel,” Mark practically giggles.
“Shut up,” Chenle scoffs, lightly kicking him with his good leg. Mark laughs again.
“Seriously though,” Mark starts, voice going serious, “Are you feeling ok?”
“Mmm,” Chenle hums in half-answer, stretching his arms above him and trying to shake the sleep from his body. Mark accepts his response for now, peeling himself off the floor to join Chenle on the couch.
“Are you hungry? There’s food!” Mark says cheerily.
Chenle shoots him a skeptical look. Laughter bubbles out of Mark before he reaches out and ruffles Chenle’s hair.
“Don’t worry, I ordered it. Your kitchen is fine.”
“I mean, you did already break something today,” Chenle reminds him, voice teasing and smiling a little smugly. Mark winces lightly and scrunches up his face in displeasure.
“I’ll definitely replace that…”
They ate together on the couch with the tv absently playing some sitcom. After the plates have been cleared, Chenle moves to stand up, and Mark shoots up off of the couch before he has the chance to get up.
“What do you need? I’ll grab it for you,” he offers, eagerness written all over his face. Chenle rolls his eyes, but sits back down. He's always willing to humor Mark.
“Water, please,” Chenle says, “And my meds. They’re on the counter.” Mark disappears into the kitchen momentarily.
“Does it still hurt?” Mark asks when he returns, gesturing to Chenle's ankle. He hands Chenle the water and the bottle of painkillers the doctor had prescribed.
“Not much anymore,” Chenle shoots back, “Especially after I take these. ” He shakes the bottle of pills to emphasize his point.
Mark joins him on the couch, the weight of him causing the cushion to dip and Chenle to slide towards him. Chenle feels Mark’s arms embrace him, squeezing him tight and rubbing circles on his back.
"I'm sorry this happened," he says into the crook of Chenle's neck, voice earnest as ever. All of the concern exuding out of him makes Chenle melt.
"It is what it is," Chenle replies lightly, shrugging his shoulders.
Mark pulls back to look at him, brows knitted with concern and eyes searching for a glimmer of sadness - any hint of an attempt to bury his real feelings that Chenle is known to do.
But, Chenle’s already made his peace with the situation. He had tried to push through his injury, then sulked around the house when he got the news that he couldn’t fully perform. In the end, he was just happy he was in good enough condition to join promotions at all - and he told Mark as much.
“Still,” Mark said, “I know you worked hard rehearsing. It’s too bad.”
“There’ll be other chances,” Chenle reminds him.
Mark squeezes Chenle’s hand at that, trying to silently tell him how much he admires him. Nothing keeps Chenle down for long, and that attitude is infectious.
"Thank you for spending the day with me," Chenle. He knows it was probably difficult to arrange. Mark likely had to plead with both managers to get away from practice for the afternoon.
"Of course," Mark replies, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.
He lifts Chenle’s hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. The act of it feels almost too intimate for Chenle.
“Can I help you with anything?” Mark asks, ever the polite houseguest. Chenle taps his chin, thinking things over. There’s nothing , but he can tell from Mark’s expression that he wants to feel useful.
“Daegal needs walked,” Chenle finally replies. Mark smiles at that, excited. Daegal perks up at the mention of it, scampering over to the two of them.
"I can definitely do that for you,” Mark says. He springs off the couch and looks down at Daegal happily. “You want to go for a walk?”
Daegal prances over to the door in response. Chenle points to where her collar and leash are hanging by the door.
“Just around the neighborhood," he reminds Mark. Mark nods in understanding and takes the leash down from the hook.
As Mark gets Daegal ready, Chenle takes it in for a second -- Mark holding the leash of his precious Daegal, smiling brightly as he watches her wiggle in excitement. His two favorite people. He waves them off as they head out the door.
In their absence, the house seems too quiet. Chenle returns to marinating on his couch. He tosses his phone away after mindlessly scrolling for too long, ignoring messages from Kun trying to check in on him. He stares up at his ceiling and lets his mind wander.
Chenle remembers countless nights where Mark would show up at his place, exhausted and needing to be taken care of, but not saying so. He didn’t have to. Chenle would feed him, hold him, and tell him everything would be alright. Despite his attempts to be aloof, it comes naturally to him. Chenle’s face flushes as he recognizes the same tenderness in Mark’s actions today.
Chenle’s always happily taken care of the others. His members have become family to him, and he loves the feeling he gets when he gets to take. He supposes he never stopped to consider having someone take care of him would feel equally as pleasant -- give him the same warm feeling in his chest. It’s hard for him sometimes, to verbalize what he feels or what he wants. Mark has always been good at understanding what he needs. Chenle thinks too hard about it.
Chenle starts getting restless, his day spent on his couch starting to catch up with him. He wants to move around, so he does. He jumps off the couch and heads straight to the kitchen, intent on doing the dishes he and Mark had left behind.
He ignores the dull pain in his ankle.
“What are you doing?” Mark’s voice rings out through the room. He's standing in the entryway of the kitchen, Daegal’s leash dangling in his hand as Daegal herself scuttles off elsewhere. Chenle hadn’t heard them come back in.
“You’re supposed to stay off your ankle,” Mark says as sternly as he can muster - like he’s trying to scold Chenle, but the concern in his voice is too apparent to be effective. He hangs Daegal’s things back up and approaches Chenle with tenacity. Mark is right, but Chenle is stubborn.
“It really doesn’t hurt that much!” Chenle tries to protest, resisting the way Mark tries to maneuver him back to the couch. He's really no match for Mark’s abnormal strength, despite his more recent trips to the gym.
Mark successfully slings Chenle’s arm over his shoulders, supporting half of his weight easily. All Chenle can do is grumble as they make their way back to the living room.
“I can walk fine, y’know.” he finally says once he’s seated again on the couch.
“But you shouldn’t .” Mark reminds him. He places a pillow on the coffee table and gently guides Chenle to elevate his injured leg. Chenle lets him. “The more you strain it, the longer you’ll take to recover,” Mark tries to reason with him. Chenle sighs, stubbornness momentarily leaving his body as he exhales.
“I know,” Chenle finally admits, with a nod. “You’re right.”
“So,” Mark says, easily lightening the mood, “What do you wanna do?”
“Movie?” Chenle suggests, feeling pretty sick of empty sitcom episodes by this point. Mark suddenly looks at him through his lashes, the way he does when he’s being charming or wants something - sometimes on purpose.
“You wanna watch Spiderman…” Mark asks, voice lilting. Chenle huffs out a laugh at that, a smile breaking across his face.
“Yes,” he nods as he says it, crossing his arms in front of him, “ Of course . What else would we watch?"
“Which one?” Mark asks, already searching for the movie with the remote. Chenle taps his chin in thought, considering their options.
“Far from home,” he finally decides. Mark nods in agreement, pressing play and sitting back. Mark knows Chenle has a soft spot for the newer movies.
Chenle sinks further into the couch, melting into the cushions and his beloved blanket. Mark wiggles in next to him, comfortably slinging an arm around Chenle. He hugs him closer with a playful squeeze before resting his head on Chenle’s shoulder. His warmth seeps into Chenle.
When Chenle slowly blinks awake, the movie credits are still rolling. Mark is still leaning against him, fast asleep. The screen illuminates the living room, catching the angles of his face as he sleeps and making them more pronounced. Mark’s face has started to change again, Chenle had noticed a while ago. It’s more handsome than ever - stepping further into adulthood. Chenle wonders if his own face has been changing without him noticing.
Daegal lets out a huff in her sleep, capturing his attention. Somewhere along the way she had made her way onto the couch, settled next to the two of them comfortably. Chenle takes in the moment, admiring his little makeshift family. It makes his heart full.
He pokes Mark’s cheek, and watches his eyes flutter open and blink up at him. Chenle reaches out to play with the short hair at his nape.
“Did we fall asleep?” Mark asks sleepily, yawning.
"Mmm,” Chenle hums in response, “Let's go to bed."
Chenle finally lets Mark help him to the room - lets him support his weight and sleepily stagger down the hallway. He lets Mark peel back the covers on the right side of his bed and tuck Chenle in before climbing into the left side himself. He lets Mark lay flush to him and sling an arm over his waist before he drifts back to sleep again.
Chenle wakes up to Mark leaning over him, pressing a kiss to his temple. It's gentle, heart-wrenchingly gentle. He brushes Chenle’s hair back, whispering apologies for having to leave followed by promises to call him later.