Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If Mark decided to make a list of the worst days of his life, the current one would be in first place for sure.

“You can’t hide this forever. It's already there, you have no choice” Renjun said in a soft voice, or at least he tried, in an attempt to calm Mark down.

“Or just stop being a baby, we knew it would happen sooner or later” Donghyuck wasn't that patient and Renjun wanted to slap him.

And Mark just wanted to go home. Lock himself up in his room, hide under his blankets, eat some ice cream and listen to sad songs. Dramatic and pathetic. But this was so unfair!

Today started just like any other normal day. Mark woke up, got ready, went to school. It was a monday and he hated mondays, but he'd survive. At least that's what he thought.

During chemistry class, Mark felt a sudden itch in his wrist, which he ignored because he was paying attention to the teacher. But, when class ended and he was normally chatting with his friends, Donghyuck and Renjun, the younger of them asked a not-so-normal question.

“Did you write something on your wrist?”

“... No?”

“Dude, check it out” Hyuck grabbed his arm, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt. “Oh, crap, shit, fuck”

“Language!” Renjun scolded him. “What happened?”

“Mark has a mark” Hyuck tried not to laugh but the sentence was just so funny. Maybe that's why he didn't notice Mark's face turning suddenly pale and how he was blankly looking at nowhere.

In this stupid world, everyone is gifted with a soulmate. By fate? God? Who knows. But it's just the biggest bullshit in Mark's opinion.

When both of them are “ready” (like what the fuck does that mean), the mark appears on their wrist, containing each other's birth date.

Mark had 25/01/99. Who the fuck was that?

So that's why he was so upset at the moment. He never wanted a soulmate, he didn't need one! Fate couldn't just choose for him like that, his opinion was important, it's his goddamn life after all.

In some cases, it's just… cute and meant to be. Like Donghyuck and Renjun. They've grown up together, always talking about their future soulmate, wondering who would be, when it'd happen... But when their birth date finally appeared it was just so reliving. “I was afraid because I liked you already, I couldn't just forget about you and look for someone else”, Hyuck told Renjun that day.

But Mark wasn't interested at all. That's why he wanted to ignore all this, or just cut his arm off, anything! He didn't want to go around and fall in love with some stranger. It was just so unfair, he wasn't lucky like his friends.

“I want to cry, am I really being a baby?” Mark said with a pout.

“I know it can be very frustrating, especially when you don't know who's the one” Renjun tried to comfort him once again. “But it's not a bad thing, just look around at everyone else. You're just nervous”

Maybe. But he wouldn't admit.

“I have no idea who could it be…”

“She or He must be around. Let's find your soulmate at lunch” Hyuck said, expecting a high-five but Mark just wasn't in the mood.

“I'll regret this, I'm sure” Mark sighed, hiding his face in his own hands.

Well, maybe, probably, certainly. Mark didn't knew yet, but someone was looking for him around school already.

Chapter Text

Well, they found Mark's soulmate. It was pretty easy, actually.

At lunch break, some rumours were running all over school. “Yukhei’s birth date appeared”, “Yukhei is looking for his soulmate”.

Unfortunately, Mark knew who Yukhei was and he didn't liked him at all.

He was just inexplicably popular, always surrounded by a lot of friends, always with thousands of girls and boys drooling and thirsting over him for whatever reason. Mark didn't need someone like that in his life, how the hell could they be soulmates?

“It can't be him, that's just a coincidence” Mark said, blankly staring at his untouched food.

“That's what you wish” Hyuck rolled his eyes. “Keep telling yourself that”

“He doesn't seem like a bad person, though. I bet you two would look cute together"

“Renjun. Don't. Please, don't” Mark wanted to be even more childish and cover his ears with his hands. Seriously, he just wanted to go home.

“I didn't knew you'd be so reluctant, so I gotta do something” Hyuck looked around, searching for someone. “Where the fuck is Chenle? Ugh, nevermind, that's why technology exists” One second later, Hyuck was with his phone, calling someone. Chenle, obviously.

Mark didn't want any confirmation, he just wanted to run away.

“Hey, can I ask you some questions?” Hyuck said once Chenle picked up. “Is it true Yukhei is looking for his soulmate? Hm? Oh, really? That's really nice to hear… Can you tell me his birth date too? Damn… Thank you, Lele, you're very useful” He said before hanging up.

Mark stared at him, looking kinda terrified, to be honest.

“Its officially you, congratulations”

And that's how his world crashed.

“Oh my god, Hyuck, our Mark is growing up!” Renjun said ironically, but the excitement in his voice was real.

“I'm older than you two. And that's it, I'll just say I'm sick and go home”

“You're not!” Both of them said together.

“You should talk to him, even if it's just how you feel about all this” Renjun explained. “It won't hurt, I'm sure he'll understand”

It would be very awkward. When soulmates finally find each other, it's supposed to be cute and shit like that. And there he was, planning to say something like “I'm sorry, not gonna happen, it's not you, it's me”.

He wished it was someone more… Just like him. Fate, God or whatever must be really high.

“It's kinda funny, though” Renjun smiled. “Both of them look so different…”

“You guys don't look like soulmates too”

“Shut up, we're perfect” Hyuck said back, holding Renjun’s hand and making him roll his eyes.

Mark was getting even more nervous. He needed to talk to his potential soulmate, but the said guy was never alone. Fuck his stupid popularity.

By mentioning that issue, Hyuck said “Oh look, he's done with lunch already, you should go right now”.

“I can't just appear out of nowhere like that!”

“Yes, you can, you're his soulmate and in that case that's what soulmates do” Renjun encouraged. “We're gonna be here! Rooting for you!”

Mark stood up and took a deep breath. “If I have a stroke, I'm blaming both of you”

“Don't be dramatic, come get your man”

“Shut up”

After that, he started making his way to Yukhei’s table, where he was with a few friends, probably laughing about useless stuff. And yes, he was being dramatic but who cares? This whole day was a big unexpected mess.

“Excuse me?” That's what Mark said but no one even heard him. “Excuse me?!” He said louder this time, suddenly having all eyes on him. Shit. “Ahn… Wong Yukhei?”

“That's me” He said with a smirk, even if he didn't had any idea who this cute boy looking for him was.

“I need to talk with you about…”

Ok, he couldn't just say it out loud. Not with Yukhei’s friends staring at him, probably wondering who the fuck he was, just like Yukhei himself.

He pulled up his sleeve again and showed his wrist. That's it, it was easier but also embarrassing. He didn't care about the sounds of shock coming from his friends, but Yukhei’s eyes got wide and he seemed genuinely surprised.

“Guys, I think we need some privacy”

Chapter Text

“Hyuck, do you think he's gonna fuck up?”

“Probably”

It was Mark's business after all. They could try to help him but that's all, Mark was too stubborn sometimes.

Of course Renjun and Hyuck would be watching them from afar, dying to know what they were talking.

Once Yukhei asked for privacy, his friends immediately left, a few of them laughing and probably congratulating him in a ironical way.

“Won't you sit?” Yukhei asked. Mark shook his head, refusing.

“I'll be quick, don't worry” He took a deep breath. “Well, let me at least introduce myself. I'm Mark Lee and you probably don't know who I am, but I know who you are because everyone knows and… Oh shit, I'm rambling” He suddenly stopped talking and put a hand over his mouth, feeling embarrassed. Yukhei thought he was cute.

“It's ok, go on!”

“Anyway… We're the same age and you're probably a senior too, right? We don't have any classes together, though… Can you show me your wrist, please?” He asked politely and Yukhei obeyed instantly, pulling up his sleeve and resting his arm on the table.

It was real, Mark's birth date was there. Permanently on Yukhei’s skin. He wondered what kind of face he was doing, because he made the other laugh again.

“Nice to meet you, Mark. Apparently, fate wants us to be together”

If Mark didn't avoid his gaze, he'd probably blush or shit like that. He didn't and was very thankful.

“So, that's what we need to talk about. I'm not interested”

Yukhei’s smile instantly faded and he looked at him in total confusion. What was that supposed to mean? They were supposed to be together, and they were ready for that, that's why the marks appeared.

“What do you mean?”

“I'm not interested” Mark repeated. “I was wondering if we could just forget about all that”

“What the… You know that's not how things work, Mark”

“Yeah, but I don't want this!” He raised his voice, this wasn't a good sign. “And no, before you ask, you're not the problem. It's not like you're not good enough or I'm disappointed with what fate chose for me and blah blah blah. I'm not saying I'm not attracted to you and… Oh shit, I'm not saying I'm attracted too, ok?! Gosh, I'm rambling again…” Mark hid his face in his hands and for a second Yukhei even forgot he was probably being rejected by his potential soulmate.

“You talk a lot when you're nervous. That's cute… But I don't really understand your point”

“It's not that I'm not interested in you, you're not the problem, I'm just not interested in having a soulmate at all. I don't really need one”

“Oh… It's not like I would ever force you into something or shit like that…” He seemed to understand. But that's not how Yukhei thought that things would be. It was supposed to be easy. “We really don't have to be together by now… One day, maybe?”

Mark didn't knew what to say. Was he really against the idea? Of course he expected someone different and more relatable to him, not the typical-popular-kid, but what to do? Fuck fate, or God, or whatever.

“Maybe” He finally replied, it was the best response for now.

“We can get to know each other better! No need to rush!” He smiled again and this time Mark smiled too. Of course he was relieved, it could be way worse.

They exchanged numbers and, God, it was strange when Yukhei asked to save Mark's name as “Soulmate” because damn, this was real. But Mark agreed anyway because it was nothing but the hard and painful truth. They were each other's soulmates and that's all.

“Will you tell your parents about it?” Yukhei asked.

Of course, it was a big deal and the parents would love to know about it, asking a lot of questions and wanting to meet the said soulmate soon as possible. What a nightmare.

“Oh, no. Please, not now. Can you do that for me?” Mark looked kinda in panic, imagining all the embarrassing questions his mother would ask.

“I can do anything. You need to feel comfortable” He smirked. “I won't say anything too. But let's be careful about our wrists, you know? Don't let anyone see at home”

“Sure, I'll be extra careful. So… I gotta go back to class…”

“It's ok. See you around, I guess?”

“Maybe” He smiled one last time before making his way back to Renjun and Donghyuck, who were probably dying waiting for him.

“Hey, Mark” Yukhei called him.

“Yeah?” He stopped walking and turned around to hear what he had to say.

“I think fate made a good choice”

Damn. His heart probably tripped and died for a few seconds.

“Maybe” He repeated, walking faster this time and feeling uncomfortably shy.

This surely was a hell of a day.

Chapter Text

Let's say things got messed up after that. Like, everything suddenly changed.

On the very next day, Mark went to school and he could notice how everyone looked at him and he could tell they were talking about him too. Usually, he wouldn't give a shit, but yeah, it was uncomfortable and kinda embarrassing.

It's fine, he could perfectly ignore, it was his life, his business. There was too much stuff running on his mind already, no need to stress himself even more.

But of course Donghyuck would bother him about it.

“Man, since when are you so popular? I've heard your name like fifteen times today” He said to Mark during Biology class. He didn't notice how Renjun glared at him, probably ignoring his advice to not talk about that to Mark.

“Not my fault if everyone suddenly thinks my life is that interesting” He tried to sound nonchalant, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious. He needed to ask. “What are they talking about anyway…?”

“Don't worry!” Renjun whispered, since their teacher was a pain in the ass and he wouldn't want to get scolded. “It's just gossip, it's not important”

“It's about me, after all… I have the right to know, though…”

Renjun sighed and Hyuck opened up a wide smile.

“Well! Everyone's wondering how, just how you and Yukhei got tied to each other. And of course there's stupid people with all the butthurt and shit like that… But mostly, everyone's asking why you two aren't together” Hyuck told him. Honestly, Mark was relieved. Since no one was spreading lies about him out there, he couldn't care less.

“Hm…” Mark took a deep breath. “First, I'm wondering about that too, if someone is capable to explain, I'll be very thankful. Second, butthurt? Not my fault. If there's a lot of people still wanting to suck on his dick, go on, I don't own him. And last but not least, we aren't together because I don't want to” He smiled for one brief second and turned his attention to his book, but he wasn't reading at all.

Hyuck and Renjun stayed in silence for several seconds, absorbing everything.

“Wow, you became salty” Hyuck said, looking at Renjun and expecting a better reaction.

“He's pissed, can't you see?” Renjun rolled his eyes. “I told you to not talk about it”

And with his friends arguing in the background, Mark tried to zoom out, wanting to forget about everyone and everything.

**

Two weeks went by and things calmed down, eventually. Mark wondered why.
Maybe Yukhei was sick of it too, it wasn't of anyone's business why him and his soulmate weren't together yet.

Rumours said that Yukhei told everyone they were taking it slow and there's no need to rush because Mark was “his” anyway. Well, kinda true, but still made Mark cringe hard.

And talking about those two, they weren't close at school at all. They weren't before, so there's no reason to suddenly change.
But of course they greeted each other and stuff like that, at the hallways and lunch break. Especially at lunch break, though, Yukhei talked to Mark and his friends everyday before going to his usual table.

“He's nice, tell me why, just why you two aren't together” Hyuck complained for the third time that day.

“Not interested” Mark replied as always. He lost the count of how many times he said that.

Renjun and Donghyuck couldn't understand. Not when everything was just so easy for them.

But Mark and Yukhei began to text, though. That's why they exchanged numbers in the first place.

It sucked at the beginning, because Mark wasn't good at all in maintaining conversations. That's why they just talked about random and daily things, school mostly.

It made him think of how a shit of a soulmate he was. Like, what's wrong with Fate? Mark usually described himself as boring, just boring and pretty normal. It must suck for Yukhei because his soulmate wasn't “interested”, they were nothing alike and even when he tried to get closer, the said soulmate wasn't much of a help.

Everything was supposed to be easy, but it wasn't at all.

Mark complained about that to Renjun and Renjun only because Hyuck would say stuff like “Man up and do what has do be done!” and that's not what he needed right now.

“You need to try harder” That's what Renjun told him. “You guys usually text, right? Poor boy, you suck at that. But you can start like this, trying harder, even if it's just to talk about random and stupid stuff. After all, you guys need to know each other better”

Mark tried, really hard though. And he was thankful because Yukhei was way more social than him.

It's been one month since their birth dates appeared. And at this point, let's just say Mark got way too attached to his phone.

Chapter Text

Getting closer to Yukhei was kind of strange. Mark didn't know why, though.

Maybe because he'd never imagine something like that would ever happen. They were soulmates, fucking soulmates. Well, at least they could say that's Fate’s
main job: To surprise you in the most unexpected ways.

Even if meeting your soulmate and falling in love was something pretty normal that happened literally everyday, Mark found himself googling about it. He knew they'd fall in love at some point, it was inevitable, but they were just friends by now.

When it happens for real, of course he'd want to know the… Symptoms? Yeah, he could call it symptoms.

A lot of websites said that some kind of connection would grow between them, they'd understand themselves easily, and also easily miss each other in case of staying away for several days. That last part wasn't amusing.

They used to understand themselves easily? Mark didn't had the answer. Well, they usually text all the time by now, and Fate was probably in charge of making them get along, that's all. And about the other part… Well, it didn't happen until now. Maybe because they saw each other frequently at school.

Mark closed his laptop right after reading about how the… Physical part was supposed to me amazing and how no one could ever be compared to your soulmate’s touch. Dear god, that's the kind of information he didn't need. It's not like he cared about that stuff before, but it's just… Embarrassing.

Wanting distraction, he looked for his phone. And of course there was new messages from Yukhei, perfect timing.

“hey

let's hang out this saturday”

What? Just like that? He took a deep breath before replying.

“Is that an invitation or you're literally just telling me about it?”

“An invitation, I guess!!”

They never hang out outside school, though. Maybe that's what Renjun would call a new step and how Mark should keep trying harder. He was doing his best, ok?

“what you wanna do?”

“Watch The Incredibles 2, of course!! I've been waiting my whole life for this, you can't understand”

Mark involuntarily smiled to himself.

“Actually I can! I was a kid once, ok?”

“you sound like 50 rn. Damn, my soulmate is old”

Even if more than one month has passed, mentioning that still made Mark feel strange. Strange? Uncomfortable? He didn't know exactly what it was.

“ok you can go by yourself”

“nOoOo. Actually, I was thinking about inviting Hyuck and Renjun… but… I don't wanna be a third wheel

Mark

Pls ):

Don't let me be their third wheel”

“I'm their third wheel all the time! For years! What about it?”

A tiny voice echoed in his head, telling him this wouldn't happen if Mark had someone too, and technically he does. He's just too stubborn.

“Whateveeer, can the four of us go or not?”

“It's ok for me… Ask them too. But, I need to ask something. Is that a double date?”

Don't panic, don't panic, don't pan--

“Since we're all soulmates… There's no problem, right?”

Right?

He left him on read for like five minutes, having a mini breakdown while thinking about it and chanting “Stop being a baby!” to himself several times. Damn, he was lucky he was home alone because he must've look hella stupid.

“Yeah, no problem!”

Renjun should be fucking proud of him.

2 hours later, maybe, Donghyuck called him and the first thing he said once Mark picked up was “We're going on a double date this Saturday?!”.

“Yes, are you surprised?” Mark answered, kinda numb.

“Of course we are, you moron! But I'm proud of you!” He heard Renjun’s voice. Oh, of course, they were always together.

“And man, he invited you to watch The Incredibles 2” Hyuck went on. “That's surely a keeper”

“Shut up or I'll give up”

Come on, he was nervous and drowning in anxiety already, he didn't need his friends making everything worse.

It was just a date. A double date, though! His friends would be there. It's not like he never had dates before.

Not with his soulmate, though…

It's ok, everything would be fine. Fate wouldn't let him fuck it up.

After all, Fate tied them together.

Chapter Text

Saturday ended up, indeed, being an interesting day.

Hyuck and Renjun were drowning in excitement while Mark was just trying to not die, but he felt like he died inside in the moment that damn birth date appeared on his wrist.

“Don't blame us for being excited! It's our first double date, we thought it'd never happen because you'd be single forever” Hyuck told him.

“Good to know you guys have a lot of faith in me” Mark tried to keep it cool, but the betrayal was evident in his voice.

“Oh, of course we have. We believe you won't fuck it up tomorrow”

Well, he didn't. At least, he tried his best.

The four of them went to the mall close to 3 pm, and Mark was afraid of things being awkward. He thought that Yukhei and him would probably third wheel together and that's all.

But if Renjun told Mark that he needed to try harder, someone probably did the same to Yukhei, or not, maybe he didn't need a little push like that.

Mark knew he was trying his best to keep talking to him, to entertain him and mostly to not lose his attention. Well, it wasn't that different when they were texting too.
And thankfully, Hyuck and Renjun were busy in their own world to keep paying attention in everything Mark said or did.

The movie was great, of course they sat side by side, and shared the popcorn. Mark would be a terrible liar if he said he wasn't having fun.

After the movie, they kept wandering around and to be honest, poor Mark almost had a heart attack when Yukhei held his hand.

“Let's not lose each other, ok?” He explained, smiling brightly. Right, the place was crowded, it made sense, but both of them knew this was just an excuse.

It felt nice, though, even if Mark's hand was way smaller. Yukhei thought it was cute, just like him in general.

They ended up losing Hyuck and Renjun. Maybe, just maybe, they did on purpose. Mark and Yukhei didn't care much about it just because they were having fun together and the other two were probably just being a cheesy mess somewhere.

The hours ended up passing faster than expected. Renjun called Mark, who was happily drinking his milk-shake, and asked where they were and that they should meet outside. And even then, Yukhei refused to let go of Mark's hand.

“Today was fun, I'm glad you came” He said during their way to meet Hyuck and Renjun.

Mark smiled a bit while thinking “Yeah, I'm glad I had the guts to say yes because I'm kinda coward and Renjun would beat my ass otherwise”.

“We should hang out again” That's what he said instead. Let's just pretend Yukhei’s face didn't lit up instantly.

“Of course! Next week, maybe, if Renjun and Hyuck want too”

Ok, Mark wasn't that stupid and he knew this was the perfect opportunity to take a new step, as Renjun would say.

“If they don't want to, it's ok, the two of us is just fine…” He hoped Yukhei was capable to listen to him, because honestly, he wouldn't say it again.

“Sure!” He replied like two seconds later, looking genuinely surprised.

Of course Hyuck and Renjun shared looks when they noticed their hands, but didn't said anything about it, thankfully.

It was strange when they had to say goodbye. Too strange.

Mark suddenly didn't want to leave, or to let go of his hand. He really didn't. Especially when Yukhei gave him a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye, making him burn inside in the most foreign way.

Mark didn't want to leave but they eventually did and he felt strange all the way home. Maybe he should talk about it to Renjun, ask if it was a soulmate thing or something like that.

Later that night, still feeling a bit out of himself, he decided to text Yukhei as usual.

“today was fun
we should do it again
really

I was thinking
sorry for everything I said when we first met
i know it was less than 2 months ago but whatever

maybe fate made a good choice, just like you said

Renjun and Hyuck are so happy together y’know
maybe I deserve to be happy with you too”

Mark didn't knew why he sent that text, but he did anyway. Not caring about how he'd probably regret later.

Chapter Text

Yes, Mark kinda regretted sending that text. When he woke up next morning, he had several messages from Yukhei, though.

“I can't believe > YOU < said that!! who are you? I want Mark back, pls!

I'm just kidding lmao

I'm… idk, happy? Like, you're starting to… huhh… accept our… destiny? That's hella cheesy but whatever

If you want to do things… properly from now on, we can! Actually, when we first met, I was really happy and relieved because damn, u looked so cute and lovely, I wanted to ask you out immediately. But you said you weren't interested, it crushed me y’know <//3

Annnd yeah! We can be very happy together. You just have to… Want that. Fate tied us for a reason”

Too much information in such a short period of time, the boy literally opened his eyes five minutes ago and it was a freaking sunday morning.

Usually, Mark would talk to Renjun before anything else. But that was his life, he should be absolutely fully capable in making decisions.

And that's why he replied “Yeah, I want that”. Let's just say Yukhei almost didn't believe.

The strange feeling from yesterday still there anyway. About that specific subject he could talk to his friends because they'd know better than him and probably help.

He went to Hyuck’s house that afternoon so the three of them could talk properly.

It was hard to explain and even harder to say everything out loud.

“Last night, I didn't want to go home for some reason. I didn't want to let go of his hand and when I sent that text to him, I was feeling so, so strange. Is this normal?” Mark almost whispered, avoiding eye contact with his friends.

“It is!” Renjun answered right after. “You guys spent a great time together yesterday, so the connection between you two is finally growing”

“It happened to you two?”

“Yes, but we were always close, so it wasn't much of a difference” Hyuck said this time. “But I started to miss him when we were apart for too long. This bastard went to China for 2 weeks and I almost died”

“Dramatic” Renjun rolled his eyes. “We didn't had the chance to experience some soulmate effects because we already liked each other”

“Really?” Hyuck raised an eyebrow. “I thought we didn't because our marks appeared and 10 minutes later we were making out on the couch”

“Yeah, thanks for ruining our cute story”

Mark smiled involuntarily because once again he thought how things were so easy for them. They were so lucky.

“So, there's nothing wrong with me…?” It wasn't a question but it sounded like one.

“No! It's the opposite! Things are going perfectly fine and honestly, it's so cute to watch you slowly… Fall in love” Renjun’s voice was filled with excitement again.

“I'm not in love with him!” Mark raised his voice. “Slow down!”

“Cut the bullshit, you will anyway” Hyuck rolled his eyes. “Stop worrying so much, you're having all the symptoms already, just let it happen”

Mark sighed. Damn, they were always right.

And that's exactly what he would do. Stop worrying, let things happen, not thinking too much.

Maybe that's why he was feeling way better, even relaxed at school on the very next day. Relaxed but kinda anxious at the same time, it didn't make sense but it doesn't matter.

They ended up encountering Yukhei in one of the hallways, casually against the lockers, chatting with some random people. Of course he'd notice Mark, Renjun and Hyuck’s presence, immediately waving and saying “Hey!”.

That strange feeling hit Mark all over again, stronger this time. He could feel inside his chest, his heart beating way faster.

In this certain moment, he could tell he missed him, so much, and he didn't knew why. Come on, they went out together 2 days ago, it's impossible to miss someone this much in that short period of time.

Well, soulmate stuff. Another “effect” or whatever.

“You wanna talk to him?” Hyuck asked.

“I need to” He answered without thinking.

When Yukhei saw Mark making his way to him, he smiled brightly, expecting a soft “Good morning” or “How was the rest of your weekend?”, perfectly normal.

He didn't expect that Mark would pull him into a hug, a tight one. Honestly, he was shocked. Mark didn't care about anything else, even the fact that people may stare at them. Fuck them.

“Good morning?” Yukhei said, still surprised and obviously hugging him back.

“Shut up” Mark whispered, kind of hiding his face on his neck. “I'm feeling strange, it's all that soulmate shit fault and I hope I'm not the only one”

“If that's your way to say you missed me… Okay then” He ran his fingers through Mark's hair gently.

“Less than 2 days, how the hell is this possible?”

“Soulmate shit” He chuckled. It was nice to stay like that, but Mark let him go way too soon. Yukhei searched for his hand, and thankfully he let him hold it.

“That's all very nice, but can we go to class?” Hyuck suddenly asked, receiving a slap on his arm by Renjun, who said “Don't interrupt them!”.

To be honest, Mark really forgot about his friend's presence.

Having to deal with all this was kinda awkward but it was good at the same time. Well, having a soulmate was supposed to be good.

Maybe he was slowly falling. Or not so slowly at all.

Chapter Text

Things were going perfectly fine. Fine, good, amazing, awesome.

It's been three months since their marks appeared and at this point, any other couple would be in a official and serious relationship. But not them. Oh no, certainly not them.

Ok, it's not like they weren't close, because they were, the closest they ever been. They used to hang out every weekend, have lunch together at school and sometimes hang out after school too. The rumours about them stopped 100% because from outside they looked just like any normal soulmate couple, so there's nothing to talk about anymore.

At this point, Mark and Yukhei used to go to each other's houses often, but it was kinda awkward. Their parents didn't know about them and they had to be extra careful about hiding the mark on their wrists. At least both of their parents approved their so called “friendship”, so it wouldn't be a problem when they find out about the soulmate thing.

Mark thought about how things changed in the past three months. Ok, three months was a considerable amount of time, but whatever. It was almost funny, though, everything was completely natural and it scared him a little. Learning about soulmates and seeing the people around him find their other half was so different from experiencing the effect by himself.

Well, things were way easier when it comes to Yukhei. He was whipped, way too whipped and it was so obvious. Hyuck had to listen to his soft rants almost everyday and it was hella funny, actually. Everyone knew Mark had him wrapped around his pretty little finger.

Basically, they were a couple but without the “fun parts”.

And of course his friends would mock him about it.

“Sooo, how things going?” Hyuck asked casually, sitting on Mark's bed and laying his head on Renjun’s lap.

“Fine?” Mark answered, still trying to focus on his homework. By the way he said it, Mark obviously knew what Hyuck was talking about.

“Just fine? You guys are having fun?”

“If I said everything is fine… Yes, I suppose”

“Ugh, he's asking if you shoved your tongue on Yukhei’s throat already!” Renjun interrupted and Mark choke on his orange juice.

“Oh my God, no!”

“What the… You guys never did anything?” Hyuck sounded shocked.

“What did I say about taking things slow?”

“Three months is too much… At this point, we were--”

“Shut up!” Renjun interrupted again. “Hmm, pushing away the physical stuff for a long time is not really recommended”

“I'm not in a hush. It'll happen anyway” Mark tried to sound perfectly calm and nonchalant about it, even if he was dying inside.

“The thing is, when it happens, I hope you guys have lube and condoms available” Hyuck said in a teasing way.

Mark turned around to throw a pillow into his face. “Get out of my room!”

Well, it happened like one week later. They didn't had condoms and lube “available”, but it's not like they needed to. Ok, maybe they got close to this point.

Everything happened really fast, actually. They were just watching a movie and in the next second, they weren't watching anymore. Mark wasn't even sure who leaned in first, more focused on Yukhei's lips on his, kissing him deeply. Mark knew it was a soulmate thing, because he never felt so needy and kind of desperate and they were just making out, nothing else. Well, for now, because not much later he found himself on Yukhei's lap, with his hands on his waist, controlling the rhythm of how his hips moved.

What made him go back to his normal state of mind was the sound of someone unlocking the door, meaning his mother was home. He nearly jumped, almost falling off the couch, keeping a good distance of Yukhei, trying to look and sound normal as possible, even if he knew how disheveled they could be at the moment.

She didn't suspect at all, and when the movie ended, Yukhei went home.

"I almost had a heart attack today lmao" he texted Mark later.

"i know, i thought she'd be out longer... but it's not like i was planning something to happen!!"

"oh you weren't? :o i wasn't expecting but certainly hoping"

"... congratulations"

"can i call you my boyfriend now?"

Mark stared at his phone, a little smile on his lips.

"is that how you really want to ask me to be your boyfriend?"

"i thought we left formalities behind when you were... hm... dry humping me?"

"oh my god, shut up

i'm never talking to you again"

"we both know you're lyinggggg"

Yeah, because unfortunately they were in "we can't be away for too long or else i'll miss you too much" phase. Having a soulmate was complicated.

"i was serious though........ ):"

"yukhei"

"what"

"i'm your fucking soulmate, isn't that enough?"

"more than enough!"

"and why is it?"

"because you're not leaving anytime soon"

"exactly"

Maybe having a soulmate could be kind of hard sometimes, but falling for them was the easiest thing to do.

Chapter Text

Two weeks later they decided to tell their parents about the whole soulmate thing and how they were officially dating. Finally, as Donghyuck would say.

It wasn't weird at all, everyone thought they were just friends, and they used to hang out at each other's places frequently lately. So when they finally told them, their parents weren't that surprised.

They were just curious about why they hid something that important and that's when Mark explained how he wanted to keep things in a slow pace and fall in love naturally, not because he was kind of obligated.

Also, that was the first time he admitted out loud that he was, in fact, in love with Yukhei. They were soulmates after all, as if nobody could see that coming.

Their parents were relieved, actually. Mark's mom loved Yukhei just like Yukhei's mom loved Mark, so they were happy for them. They were good kids and they would take care of each other.

"It was... pretty easy" Mark said to Yukhei later while cuddling on his bed. "Maybe we could've done this earlier"

"Well, we're soulmates, there's no reason why they wouldn't support us" Yukhei whispered in response, placing a soft kiss on Mark's neck.

"Unless you were a delinquent or something like that" he laughed, closing his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry, Xuxi"

"Why's that?" He asked, kinda confused.

"For being a jerk when we first met"

"You apologized so many times, baby, and I told you it's ok. Finding your soulmate can be hella scary"

"Yeah, I was scared. Because I knew I would fall for you, it was meant to be, but seeing things change, feeling myself change... I wasn't ready"

"And now...?"

"Now I feel happy. And safe" Mark closed his eyes, feeling comfortable, enjoying the warmth they were sharing.

"Well, I'll try my best to always make you happy and safe" Yukhei said while turning Mark around so he could face him and kiss his lips softly. "You said you love me"

"I do"

"Say it again?"

"I love you. Stupid"

"Again!"

"I'm not saying again!" Mark tried to get away but he was stuck in the other's arms. "Fuck you, Xuxi. You know what? Fate wants to fuck with me"

"No, fate wants you to fuck with me"

"Oh my God, you're so stupid!"

"Stupid and your soulmate, how's that?" Yukhei laughed, kissing him again, in that specific way that would make Mark melt in his arms.

Truth is, fate was never wrong. Everything was supposed to happen exactly like that.