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pemini · 6 years ago

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Masked | Mark Lee

「 every ‘what if’ and ‘I wish’ amounted to him 」

⇢ Word count: 3,103

⇢ Genre: fluff, comedy, some angst

⇢ Warnings: swearing, fire

⇢ Pairing: Spiderman!Mark x reader

You have always been a terrible cook. Your mother's failed attempts to teach you how to cook rice back when you were thirteen brought that to light. The first time, the rice burnt to literal ashes, and the next, it was barely edible. At sixteen, you tried baking a cake for your best friend Donghyuck’s birthday, only to end up being seconds away from burning your house down. It was no surprise to anyone, but yourself, when one of your culinary endeavors really did result in flames. It was in your and Donghyuck’s shared apartment, at the age of nineteen.

You and Donghyuck had known each other since you were born. The two of you proudly boasted that fact with the framed pictures of both of you in diapers, bathing in the same tub, celebrating your birthdays together and graduating highschool in the same class all placed around your apartment and hung up on your walls. In first grade, Donghyuck became friends with Mark, resulting in great jealousy on your part, because Mark was “stealing” your best friend. That problem solved itself, and the three of you became inseparable. Mark made frequent appearances in the pictures around the house, as well as your apartment itself, since he spent more time in it than in his own. Despite your apartment being his second home, he refused to live with you and Donghyuck, partly because you were both extremely messy and loud, but also because he knew he would “get sick of you” if he saw you that frequently. At least, that’s what his excuse was.

Mark was an extremely busy nineteen year old. In fact, you would argue that he’s too busy for a nineteen year old. With him being a biochemistry major, it was no surprise. His apartment was littered with notes and diagrams and he rarely left his home without at least one of his textbooks, in case he had some time to do some extra revision. On top of all the studying, he always seemed to be at the gym. It was almost as if his own home was a pit stop between school, the gym and you and Donghyuck’s apartment. It was never a surprise when he cancelled on study sessions and arcade hangouts last minute, at some point you stopped asking why and simply blamed it on his busy schedule.

It was just past sunset when you decided to bake cupcakes, for no particular reason but sheer boredom. Donghyuck was holed up in his bedroom playing video games and Mark was too busy to come over, leaving you to entertain yourself. You looked up a recipe online, making sure to add “for beginners” at the end of the search. After all, you weren’t completely unaware of your talent for messing up your cooking- but, you were optimistic. Hence, you choosing to bake for fun in the first place. Two hours of “perfecting” the (awfully clumpy) batter later, the tray went into the oven. You patted yourself on the back for your efforts, and smiled at the thought of the perfect cupcakes that you would rub in Mark and Donghyuck’s faces in half an hour. Five minutes later, you were sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep. Not long after, your slumber was interrupted by Donghyuck’s frantic screams and the deafening sound of the fire alarm. The kitchen was in flames. Donghyuck was emptying water bottles on the growing fire while shouting at someone on the phone. He was a great multitasker.

“That dumbass tried baking and fell asleep, who the fuck does that? She hasn’t even woken up.” You bolted up from the comfort of the couch, now in complete panic, and began running around the two bedroom apartment in search for a fire extinguisher. You could hear Donghyuck’s obnoxious voice over the blaring fire alarm and the sound of the approaching firetrucks, which did not help your case.

“I am literally going to burn to death because I’m roommates with a crackhead who can’t cook, I’m going to die, Mark, this is how I die-“ In the midst of his rant and water bottle emptying, his sleeve caught on fire. His voice had already risen up three octaves and his water bottle supply was proving useless, and now the poor boy was on fire. “Y/n- Oh my God, where the fuck are you?”

“I found the fire extinguisher, I’m coming- fuck, wait-“ You screamed back, scrambling into the kitchen and tripping over your own feet. You looked up to see Donghyuck flailing around wildly, which would’ve made for great entertainment if you weren’t trapped in an oven.

“Hurry up I’m on fire I’m burning I’m going to die- Mark! He hung up, I’m going to die alone-“ Just as you began extinguish him, you heard the sound of shattering glass, followed by the sound of the door being busted open as firefighters stomped into your apartment.

You froze in place, the orders barked by the firefighters barely processed in your mind, the smoke settling into your lungs and your watering eyes proved to be too much of a distraction. Your breathing had long sped up, shortened and frantic, you could barely see your own hands amidst the smoke. Just as you were about to break into full panic, you felt a pair of steady arms wrap around your waist. Mere seconds later, you were lifted off of the ground in someone’s arms, with your cheek flush against their chest. You were faced with New York City’s landscape, the buildings that towered over you were now at face level. The night was no darker than usual; not quite moonlit, yet not as artificial as it seemed to be. For a second you could see the silhouettes of strangers inside the buildings surrounding you, the potential wonder of “can they see me to?” Had no time to be fulfilled, as you closed your eyes and screamed as if it would change the fact that you were already midair. You were dangling between buildings in the strangers arms, not flying, just dangling. You held your savior closer, mumbling prayers for safety.

“You okay?” The male chuckled. His laugh reverberated through his chest, eliciting chills in your entire body. The familiarity of his voice silenced you. It was warm; soothing, almost making you forget about your situation. You finally took a moment to breathe before opening her eyes, only to be greeted by a vibrant mask.

“What the fuck,” You exhaled, studying the mask’s large white eyes and its web detailing. “you’re Spiderman?”

“Yes, I’m Spiderman.” He giggled. “And you are?”

“I am a big fan.” You let out a clumsy combination of a sigh and a giggle, “and you’re Spiderman.”

“Yes, I think we’ve already gone through that.” Just as those words left his lips, the wind stopped blowing through your hair and the comforting pressure of his arms around your waist ceases. He gently placed you back on the ground, and although you failed to notice the close proximity, you were mere centimeters apart and his hand lay resting on your waist. You forgot your arms still laying on his shoulders with your fingers tangled behind his neck, too distracted by the warmth of his body and the faint outline of the eyes behind the mask. As well as the shock of being meters above the ground and caught in a fire minutes earlier.

“What the fuck?” Donghyuck’s voice snapped you out of your daze. The hand on your hip suddenly felt heavy, as well as your newfound awareness of your arms around the superhero’s neck. Both of you hastily pulled your hands away from each other, placing them awkwardly at your sides as you turned to Donghyuck. “So, you’re telling me that the Spiderman had the time to save you out of a burning building, but I was left to burn to death?” He pointed his finger accusingly, first at you, then Spiderman, and then placed it solemnly on his chest. You reminded yourself not to roll your eyes- just to save yourself from another influx of drama.

“I have two hands, and I doubt you would’ve enjoyed hanging onto my leg.” He laughed, stretching his arms as he spoke. “Besides, you look fine!” The way his shoulders shook when he laughed could’ve given you deja vu. His movements, his scent and the wight of his arms that were once around you formed into an unknown syllable at the tip of your tongue. It was as if you’ve collected every puzzle piece, yet couldn’t fit any of the pieces together.

“Sure, whatever. I’m gonna go call Mark so he can pick us up. We’re staying over at his place tonight.” Donghyuck said. He looked you up and down, smirking to himself. “Too bad you can’t get changed.” Your eyes widened the second you looked down at what you were wearing. Your oversized 2011 Justin Bieber t-shirt with matching purple pajama bottoms and crocs were your go to stay in outfit. In your defense, you could have never predicted that your kitchen would light on fire and that Spiderman would break in and save you. Yet in that moment, you still deeply regretted buying those pajamas back in 2011.

Much to your discontent, Spiderman directed his attention to your clothing as well, laughing. “I know I just saved you out of a burning building and all, but are you really wearing crocs?”

You scoffed, lightly pushing his chest. “They’re comfortable! You’re wearing spandex.”

Just as he was about to reply, the song Love Yourself by Justin Bieber started playing. Right from his spandex pocket. Spiderman glanced at you briefly before he took the phone out of his pocket, reluctantly answering the phone call. The syllable caught in your tongue turned to a word, the puzzle pieces slowly clicking together. You could hear Donghyuck’s voice on the other end, talking about staying over for the night.

“Mark?” He turned to you at the mention of the name, telling Donghyuck he would be on his way and ending the call. His head was hung low as he took a few steps closer to you.

“That’s me.” His replied. The confidence that radiated off of him ceased, instead replaced by tense shoulders and fidgeting fingers. “Can we talk somewhere else?”

The walk to wherever Mark was taking you was silent, an unusual contrast to almost every moment you spent together. Mark was in a constant fit of giggles over something you said or did, and vice versa. Every conversation you had led to another, and you were both convinced the you would never run out of things to talk about. Every word between you was already said, except for three words you kept dear to yourself. Mark meant a lot to you, more than you would like to admit. At some point, you considered it almost embarrassing how big of a role he played in your life. The situation in which you met was nearly as awkward as this one- the cliche ‘guy spills coffee on a girl in a café, promises to make it up to her, they end up as lovers’ trope- except, you were not lovers. Although, the line between best friends and lovers was terribly blurred in everyone else’s eyes, (especially Donghyuck’s, who never misses the little smile dancing on your lips when Mark says something stupid, or the way Mark’s eyes shine when you trips over your words.) neither of you noticed that there should have been something more in your story. The coffee spill should’ve lead to a date, which should’ve lead to a kiss, which should’ve lead to more. Alas, your story was never meant to be generic, and at the point you were at, there was no changing it.

Mark lead you into a secluded alleyway, pressing his back against the wall with a sigh. You stood in front of him, the past events replaying in your mind all to form a singular question. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to- I swear to God- there were so many times when I was alone with you and I just wanted to tell you but I- I couldn’t do it.” At that moment, everything about him screamed uncertainty. From the tapping of his foot and his fidgeting fingers, to his shaky voice. You’ve known Mark longer than you’ve really known yourself, yet you’ve never seen him like this- so insecure, so.. apprehensive. You could tell he had stressed about this exact moment millions of times before, that the outcome could break him. “I don’t want you to see me differently.”

“Mark, this doesn’t change how I see you- ” You paused, taking a moment to collect your thoughts. The same way this exact moment clouded his mind daily, it made home in your mind as well. Thoughts about the day you tell Mark how you feel were constant. They took place in a considerable amount of your daydreams, they intruded your less stressful thoughts while you conversed with Mark, and they occasionally popped up when you should have been focusing in class, only making it harder for you to pretend that you were fine with being “just friends”. In fact, the thought of you and Mark being nothing but friends, the thought of watching him fall in love with someone else, that thought clung onto your lungs like an iron fist and you were just about to run out of oxygen. “You’re my best friend. I don’t care if you’re half spider, or whatever. I just want to be there for you, can’t you see that? I do everything I can just to show you how much I care about you- how much I fucking love you- and it just feels like a waste, because you weren’t even honest with me. You hid half of your life from me, Mark, and it hurts.”

“You love me?” He barely whispered, his body went still, looking at you through his mask expectantly. The fist around your lungs tightened and you could feel your heart drop right beneath your feet. The silence that followed his question felt like an eternity, you could hear every flicker of the street lamps and every laugh from every stranger passing by the alleyway, yet it felt like it was just the two of you. To you, the world had stopped entirely and it lay in his hand. After he decided the silence dragged on long enough, he pushed himself off the wall and took a few gradual steps towards you. “Do you want to take it off?”

“What?” His question was, needless to say, unexpected and confusing, though somewhat unsurprising; Mark had a tendency of switching between one thing to another at pace that’s hard for the average person to keep up with. You repeated the question in your mind and your mouth went dry as you stared at the outline of his eyes, hands shaking. Mark reached out and put your hand in his, lifting it up to his cheek.

“Take the mask off, I mean.” He chuckled, yet you could practically sense his nerves from miles away, betraying his confident demeanor. With his assistance, you traced your fingertips down to the edge of his mask, right at his jaw, and carefully tugged it off of his head. That night, was when you saw him for the first time, really saw him for all that he is. And at that moment, he was doing anything at all, but you could’ve sworn that his eyes held all the stars you’ve ever seen. His disheveled hair, up in angles that would’ve made you laugh if it weren’t for the current situation framed his face perfectly, and it was like your hand had a mind of its own when you reached out to run your hand through it. The light sheen of sweat covering his face only made him look so much more angelic under the moonlight. And his lips, curled up into the little smile you’ve grown to love so much. You barely noticed his face inching closer to your own, too caught up in his eyes, his lips, him. Before you could remind yourself to breathe, after noticing your breath had been caught in your throat for the past minute, his eyes were closed and his lips were on yours and you knew you would never again worry about what should have been. Every ‘what if’ and ‘I wish’ amounted to him with his arm around your waist and his hand placed your cheek, and you knew you have found your forever in the taste of his lips. He pulled away too soon.

“I love you too, y/n. I love you so, so much and I’m so sorry. I know I should face told you, I just- the thought of losing you was eating at me and I was so insecure and afraid and I am so sorry, please don’t be mad at me, I-” You cut his rambling off with a kiss, his wide eyes and furrows brows melting your heart, you could feel him smile into the kiss. You both broke into a fit of laughter mid way, starry eyes on each other with puffy lips, and he couldn’t help but cup your cheeks and smother you with kisses till you could barely breathe. You found heaven.

The too familiar tune of Love Yourself by Justin Bieber blared from his pocket once again. Your laughter died down, “Let’s go get Hyuck before he beats us up.” He said, taking hold of your hand and starting to lead you out of the alleyway.

“Mark, your mask.” You reminded him, only to earn a shrug and a “fuck it” in return.

“It’s okay, I’m going to tell Hyuck about it, too.”

“No, I mean there’s news reporters outside our apartment building, you really don’t want them to know you’re Spiderman.” You flicked his forehead lightly and handed him the mask. And with that, he quickly placed it back onto his head, and walked with you, hand in hand, into the city, and into your long awaited- not so generic- love story.

“As if I didn’t already know, it was obvious as fuck. I thought y/n would catch on sooner.”

“Come on, Hyuck, you had no clue, don’t lie!”

“Dude, I got you Spiderman socks on your birthday on purpose, I am Lee Donghyuck, I know everything.”

“Sure you do, what else do you know?”

“That the two of you are dating and haven’t told me yet.”

“What the fuck.”