The minute they arrive at the house party, Mark slots his hand into Donghyuck's giving it a tight squeeze, "Please don't let go.."

Donghyuck squeezes his hand in response, and hooks his other hand around Mark's upper arm, "Scared you'll lose me?", the model teases and all Mark can do is hum in response.

To be completely honest, he doesn't have the best track record when it comes to house parties. From the last two he went to, he embarrassed him and Mina with the awkward kiss on the cheek, he was dared to kiss lucas which a picture of them locking lips made its way to Donghyuck and Mark almost got into a physical fight with Chanwoo... so yeah, he's holding onto Donghyuck's hand tight tonight and not letting go.

"C'mon!" Renjun pushes to the front of their four man crowd, "I'm not doing this party sober"

Donghyuck chimes in in agreement and following Renjun, he holds onto Jaemin with his free hand, pulling both him and Mark to the refreshments.

~~~

Mark was a couple drinks in now, the atmosphere around him having a fuzzy sort of buzz which left him in a calm daze.

He smiled leisurely as he wraps an arm around Donghyuck's waist, nosing at his boyfriends neck.

Mark feels a laugh ripple through Donghyuck's body as he excuses them both from the conversation Donghyuck was carrying with two of the girls from Mark's year- both of them recognising Donghyuck from his work.

"Markie~" Donghyuck sings lowly, "What are you doing?"

Mark leans further into Donghyuck, his lips moving against the warm skin of his neck, "Pay attention to me.."

Donghyuck smiles at how cutely Mark whines, "You baby..."

"Your baby" Mark emphasises and Donghyuck can't help but smile widely.

"Well, will my baby do me the honours of having this dance?" The soft way in which Donghyuck asks for such a favour juxtaposes the EDM music that is playing through the house speakers, but Mark swears it's because whenever he's with Donghyuck, all he can possibly focus on is the model himself- he's so compelling that Mark looses all track of his surroundings, everything around him just fading to nothing.

Donghyuck picks Mark's hand from where it's sat on his waist and instead gestures for the older to throw his arms around Donghyuck's neck. Mark complies quickly, pulling their bodies flush as Donghyuck then places his hands around Mark's waist- running his hands up and down his sides.

As the music gets louder and the people get rowdier, Donghyuck pulls Mark closer, and Mark becomes hyper aware of the lack of space between him and Donghyuck.

It's captivating and sultry and so damn addicting, with the way Donghyuck's hands move from Mark's waist to his hips as they sway blissfully in time with the music.

Mark doesn't think twice before attaching his lips to Donghyuck's neck- the beat chemical and seemingly pulsing through his veins as it drives him to press himself against his boyfriend, Mark's head spinning at the contact.

They shouldn't stand out- many other pairs are attached in the same way- yet it's something about them both that has eyes seemingly drawn to them, that has people holding their breathes as they watch the two together.

As soon as the song fades into another, Mark eagerly pushes Donghyuck into the corner of the room, hands running wild over his clothes and into his hair. Donghyuck lets out a noise of pleasure as Mark's mouth finally meets his.

It's rushed and dirty and Mark wants to scream when Donghyuck drags his teeth over Mark's lower lip, but instead Mark opts to just squeeze Donghyuck's waist before his hands travel lower and lower until—

"Please can we keep this PG" Renjun whines, suddenly next to the couple as they jump apart, startled by the sudden presence of their friend and completely embarrassed by whatever emotions overcame them in the moment, "I knew you two were crazy about each other but please keep it to the bedroom- and by that I mean your bedroom"

Both boys blush bright as Renjun mutters how 'primitive' the whole thing was before Jaemin swoops in to save Donghyuck and Mark's embarrassment, "People have started to sit outside in the garden, shall we go too?"

Not wanting to miss out on anything, Donghyuck perks up, both him and Jaemin had never been to a party like this before due to entering the industry at such a young age, and so they aimed to make the most of the night, to just act like normal teens.

Mark notices the change in Donghyuck's expression and nods, "Sounds good"

He holds out his hand for Donghyuck to take, but as they began walking to the garden Jaemin pipes up, "I'm just gonna get us some more drinks, anyone have any preferences?"

Renjun asks for a vodka and orange but Mark and Donghyuck stay mute- Renjun chimes in that they shouldn't drink anymore considering the fact that they were about to get it on in the middle of someone's living room, which has Donghyuck spluttering as he drags Mark out to the garden, Renjun laughing as he follows.

~~~

"Sorry, excuse me... yeah, sorry~" Jaemin weaves his way through the crowd, trying his best not to bump into anyone with drinks or any of the girls who squeal and call him over.

He's not sure if they recognise him from his work or if they're just trying to look for a good time but Jaemin doesn't have to energy to entertain any drunk teens tonight~ only Renjun if he drinks so much that he can't get home alone, which he stated before coming here that it might be a possibility.

Finally Jaemin makes his way to the kitchen door but just as he steps into the room, he runs into someone coming from the other direction. The guy's drink spills all over the floor and from the impact Jaemin finds himself losing his balance.

He would've fallen to the floor if the boy he bumped into hadn't dropped the now empty cup he was holding and grabbed ahold of Jaemin's wrists, clumsily pulling the model back to his feet.

"Woah, hey, I'm so sorry about that" The guy apologises and Jaemin's eyes widen as he just shakes his head, completely dazed.

Stood in front of him in all his glory was Lee Jeno.

"Uh, no I'm sorry.." He mutters staring down at the puddle Jeno's drink made, "thank god it isn't a carpet floor"

Jeno chuckles at that before he picks up his cup off of the floor and slides it onto the counter, "True, hey look I'm really sorry about that- I just wasn't looking"

"It's fine, don't worry, you caught me so no harm done... at least to me, the floor is another story" Jaemin offers a small smile to which Jeno returns.

"Well uh, I'm Jeno"

Jaemin nods ahead of introducing himself "Jaemin", before there's a moment of awkward silence between them. Both boys just stood around the puddle of alcohol and too shy to look each other in the eyes.

Jaemin briefly wonders if he should excuse himself to save them both from the tension but Jeno seems to speak up instead

"I haven't seen you round before?" It's a statement but posed as a question yet Jeno knows that Jaemin isn't from Canada, that he's some untouchable celebrity miles away.

"Uh no, just came to visit some friends- Renjun and Mark?" Just like how Jeno knew Jaemin wasn't from around there, Jaemin knew that Jeno was both Mark and Renjun's friend, and therefore hoped to secure a common interest to lead the conversation.

Despite Jeno looking like he could rival most of the models from Jaemin's own company, his desire to befriend the basketball player stemmed mainly from the boy's friendships with both Mark and Renjun. His good looks and friendly mannerisms were merely additional perks. Jaemin came to Canada to get to know Renjun- his hobbies and habits, his friends... and that's exactly what Jaemin plans to do- get along with his future boyfriend's friends.

"Oh yeah I know them, you came with Mark's boyfriend, Donghyuck?"

"Yeah yeah that's right"

It falls silent again but this time it's rather bearable, "Would you maybe wanna get a drink whilst I clean up this mess and then we can talk some more?"

Jaemin nods, and Jeno offers him a smile to which Jaemin couldn't refuse, "Yeah sure why not?"

~~~

"Na Jaemin, did you get lost?" Renjun accuses as Jaemin passes the boy his drink as he lowers himself to the ground, sitting in between Renjun and Donghyuck.

Jaemin hits Renjun's shoulder lightly at the jab, "Nah I ran into Jeno in the kitchen- literally- and so we introduced ourselves"

Mark laughs, "What, for 30 minutes?"

"We had a couple of Jägerbombs okay?" Jaemin lifts his hands in defence, whilst Donghyuck asks how much 'a couple' is.

"Hold on.." Renjun turns to look at Jaemin, "You just did Jägerbombs with Jeno?"

Jaemin shrugs, "I mean I was just gonna go for a couple of shots of Sourz but he had already started pouring the drinks"

Renjun blinks a couple of times as a weird feeling settles in his stomach. He doesn't know what it is about Jaemin saying that he spoke to Jeno that seems to spark something within him, but he doesn't know if he ever wants to witness them both in the same room for himself.

Jaemin drinking with Jeno... Jaemin and Jeno getting tipsy together... Jaemin and Jeno laughing and smiling with each other...  damn, what a pretty sight that would be- wait what...

"Jun, you good?"

"Ah yeah, yeah all good" Renjun shakes his head before he takes a swing of his drink, nestling the glass into the grass once half of its content is gone.

Forget about Jeno and focus on the present.

"So this is what it feels like to be free.." Mark sighs, shoulders slumped as he looks around the garden- groups of people clumped together sitting on the grass, singing, talking, laughing, as light and music pours out from the house.

"Free? Says he who just signed away the rest of his life" Donghyuck jokes, leaning into Mark's side who instinctively wraps an arm around Donghyuck, keeping him close.

Renjun's eyes go wide as he realises what Donghyuck's talking about, "You did it? You signed with them?"

Mark nods, "Yeah yesterday..", his answer is quiet as he notices Renjun's lack of enthusiasm, "And what of it?"

Renjun shakes his head, reaching out for his drink, "No, no, don't get me wrong I'm happy for you but... I don't know, I thought you were thinking of pursuing music"

Donghyuck watches on as Mark shifts a little, somewhat hoping that Mark will reveal some more tonight as he's had a few drinks.

"The offer was just too good to pass up..." He answers truthfully, "But I'm not bound entirely by the contract yet"

Donghyuck straightens up from where he'd be slouched against Mark's side, confusion evident on his face, "What do you mean?"

Mark clears his throat, running a comforting hand up and down Donghyuck's arm, "I mean that... once the season starts and I'm formally introduced- when I play as a member of the team... then I'm legally bound to the contract... I'm in a sorta waiting phase at the minute, technically the contract hasn't started yet"

Donghyuck screws his eyes shut for a moment, trying to make sense of what Mark's telling him, "What does that mean though?"

Mark offers Donghyuck a warm smile, before explaining what he wanted to tell his boyfriend last night, "It means that you were right, I need to try out all of my options before I truly commit to something... we need to go to Seoul and have a great time and hopefully get my music out there... and if it works and someone likes my songs then I'm willing to try, leave my contract and pursue music... if no one shows any interest then at least I've given it a go... and I can commit to Canada national.."

"The contract is like a safety net.." Renjun realises, disbelief apparent in his voice.

"It'll still be damn tricky to get out of the contract I imagine" Jaemin chimes in, "You'll need someone good to look over everything"

Mark hums, "Theres a clause in the contract which states that it's doable... but I was hoping to speak with Mina"

At the comment Renjun nods, "I mean her parents are the best lawyers around, plus they already know and like you"

Renjun takes a swing of his drink, finishing the glass before he turns to Jaemin, pouting at the lack of alcohol in his glass, and with an amused smile, Jaemin hands Renjun his own drink, with a quiet warning of, "Don't drink it too fast"

Donghyuck's head is swimming with what feels like a thousand thoughts, "Mark..."

Mark holds Donghyuck's hands, giving them a tight squeeze before lifting his gaze to meet Donghyuck's, "Remember what you told me when I first said that I was interested in pursuing music?" He asks and Donghyuck nods gently

"I told you that I was scared and you told me that I've done everything I can, I've worked as hard as I could... and that I just need to take that leap of faith and hope that I'm prepared enough to deal with the fall...", Mark reaches out, fingers grazing Donghyuck's cheek and the younger seems to nuzzle into Mark's hand, seeking his comfort, "I'm ready to take that leap, Hyuck"

Donghyuck smiles surely up at Mark, his eyes sparkling, "I promised that I'd be right there besides you, whatever happens we'll deal with it together, I promise"

"I know" Mark whispers, drawing his face closer to Donghyuck's, "There's no one I'd rather do this with"

And just as Mark moves in to kiss his boyfriend, Renjun lets out a laugh, attempting to slap Mark on the back but missing considerably, "You know, when you actually use that one brain cell of yours, you can be pretty smart"

"Gee thanks?"

Jaemin chuckles at the two friends before turning his gaze back to Donghyuck who is sat grinning, "God, Seoul won't know what's hit it with you two wreaking havoc upon SM"

Mark loops his arm back rounds Donghyuck's body with something of a proud look on his face, and Jaemin knows that his best friend is safe and in good hands.

"You'll be there with us though" Mark adds, but when Jaemin's expression falters, Mark's eyebrows begin to furrow, "Won't you?"

Mark's expression juxtaposes that of Donghyuck's who has a knowing look in his eyes, "You've decided"

"Decided what?" Renjun questions, after finishing the last of Jaemin's drink.

Jaemin bites his lip as he turns to face Renjun, not entirely sure if he wants Renjun to be drunk or sober for what he's about to say.

"I was thinking of staying here a little longer... I don't feel ready to go back quite yet"

Renjun blinks owlishly at the confession, not really understanding what Jaemin means until it sinks in a moment later and Renjun's jaw drops, "Wait... stay? You're going to be staying in Canada... here, for a bit?"

There's a pink tint to Jaemin's cheeks as he shrugs shyly, "I mean... if you want me to-"

And before Jaemin can finish his sentence, Renjun all but launches onto him, clambering awkwardly into Jaemin's lap as his eyes light up, "Yes, yes! I want you to, I want that very much!"

Jaemin chuckles as Renjun wraps his arms around the model, giving him a tight hug before going limp in Jaemin's arms, muttering suddenly about how tired he is.

"You need to lie down?" Jaemin asks softly, brushing a stray strand of hair from Renjun's eyes, but the artist just shakes his head, content with staying in Jaemin's lap.

Donghyuck lets out a high pitched shriek watching how Renjun occupies himself with one of Jaemin's hands- intertwining Jaemin's with his, "How much has he drunk?"

Mark shrugs, an amused smile on his face before he addresses Renjun, "Now Renjun, don't let the fact that Jaemin is staying distract you from your job"

The way he talks to Renjun is like how one would talk to a child and Mark knows that if he were to use that tone on his friend whilst he was sober, Mark probably wouldn't live to see another day.

"You got a job?" Jaemin asks, but Renjun doesn't give any verbal response, that task falls onto Mark.

"It's more for work experience, he's going to be helping out at the Vancouver art gallery"

Jaemin nods in understanding whilst Donghyuck whistles loud and clear, "Look at us, adulting and everything"

"And everything" Jaemin echos as Renjun starts giggling, tilting his head to look up at the model, and for a brief second Jaemin swears that he's about to burst from how cute Renjun is acting, however, all that changes when Renjun clasps his hands around Jaemin's neck, eyes locked as he asks innocently, "So, how long are you gonna wait before you kiss me?"

————————————————————————
Notes-

oof this was a long chapter geez

so mark has finally uncovered what his plans are for the future and jaemin is staying in vancouver with renjun for a little while

what do you think of their decisions??

the next chapter will be the dinner with hyuck meeting mark's parents... who's excited??