Saturday Morning — Marcus's Crib
Devonte was half passed out still, arm thrown over Marcus's waist.
Marcus sat on the bed, scrolling his phone, squinting at the notifications blowing up.
He rubbed his eyes like he was trippin.
But nah.
It was real.
His name.
Devonte's name.
#BlkSoulAfterDark trending on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram... even Reddit.
Over 2.7 million views overnight.
Tamia's messy ass TikTok was EVERYWHERE.
The caption?
> "When yo homeboys ain't just 'homeboys' no mo'"
#CaughtIn4K #SoulmatesOrRoommates #BlackBoyJoy
The comments were even worse:
"THEM NIGGAS WAS DOIN GROWN FOLK BUSINESS!!!"
"If this ain't love, ion want it."
"Marcus swallowed that man's SOUL, ion care what nobody say."
"Netflix better be READY to pitch 'Soulmates' season 2!!"
Marcus covered his mouth, half laughing, half mortified.
"These muthafuckas crazy, bruh."
---
Devonte Groaned Awake
"What time is it?" he muttered into Marcus's thigh.
Marcus couldn't help it — he busted out laughing.
Devonte peeked up at him with one eye open, confused as hell.
"What you laughin' at? Why my phone buzzin like a damn earthquake?"
Marcus tossed him his phone.
"Nigga... we famous."
Devonte frowned, unlocking it — then went still.
He scrolled.
And scrolled.
Eyes getting bigger every second.
"Aw HELL naw."
---
The Group Chat BLEW UP
Tamia:
> "GOOD MORNING STARS. THE WORLD KNOW Y'ALL FUCKIN."
Malik:
> "My gay cousins said they STAN. They making edits already."
Cierra:
> "Yall gonna have fanfics. Yall gonna have WATTAPAD STORIES."
Devonte (texting back):
> "Delete that TikTok, Tamia!"
Tamia:
> "NIGGA IT GOT 2 MIL VIEWS. It's not mine no mo. It belongs to the STREETS."
Marcus just lay back, covering his face.
"We cooked," he mumbled.
"We cooked WELL DONE," Devonte agreed.
---
Meanwhile, on Twitter
Some fan made an edit of Marcus and Devonte clips set to Beyoncé's "Cuff It."
Marcus's DMs were a disaster:
thirst traps
rainbow flags
memes
marriage proposals
somebody offering to name their firstborn "Devonte Jr."
Devonte's DMs were even worse:
"Sit on my face KING."
"Let Marcus go, he MINE now."
"If y'all break up, I'm fighting air."
---
They Had to Deal With Netflix
Around noon, Marcus's agent called.
Her voice was bright and fake as hell:
"Soooo... crazy night, huh? Good news, the internet loves you guys! Bad news... you're booked for a press tour. Starting Monday."
Marcus blinked.
"Press tour? Like...interviews n shit?"
"Mhm! Podcasts. Radio shows. Good Morning America. Jimmy Fallon. The Shade Room already slid into our email. TikTok is writing articles about your 'undeniable chemistry.'"
Devonte yelled from across the room:
"Bitch, we about to be on GOOD MORNING AMERICA???"
Marcus laughed til he couldn't breathe.
---
Later That Day — Planning
Tamia came over, banging on the door like she was the feds.
"Open up, you nasty hoes!"
They let her in, and she walked in like she owned the place.
Sunglasses on.
Starbucks cup in hand.
iPhone ready.
"Okay," she said, serious as hell, "we need a PLAN. You two are now America's Favorite Black Gay Couple. Period. You need coordinated outfits, matching captions, maybe a YouTube channel?"
Devonte rolled his eyes.
"Tamia, we not Beyoncé and Jay-Z."
She side-eyed him.
"No, you WORSE. Cuz y'all REAL."
Marcus shrugged.
"She lowkey right tho."
Devonte groaned and dropped onto the couch.
"I hate it here."
---
At That Moment
Tamia snapped a pic of Marcus sitting between Devonte's legs on the floor, Devonte braiding his hair.
Posted it instantly.
Caption:
> "Soft Black Love will save the WORLD."
Another 1.8 million likes by nightfall.
---
Meanwhile, the Whole World Watched
On TikTok:
Compilations of Devonte staring at Marcus like he hung the stars.
"When he braids your hair after eating you alive" trending sounds.
People putting fake wedding dresses on their photos.
On Twitter:
Fan cams.
Sketches.
Somebody photoshopped Marcus and Devonte on the cover of GQ Magazine.
On Instagram:
Black celebrities started following them.
Zendaya liked a post.
Even Drake commented:
> "Y'all vibin. Respect."
Marcus almost threw his damn phone across the room.
"Drake know we exist, bro."
Devonte looked like he wanted to evaporate.
"I'm stayin inside forever."
---
Nighttime — Just Them Again
After everybody left, after all the noise died down, they lay on the couch together.
Netflix buzzing their phones about contract negotiations and talk shows.
Social media blowing up every second.
The whole world watching.
But right there, in that moment, it was just them.
Devonte kissed Marcus's temple, soft.
"Still just us, baby."
Marcus smiled and kissed him back.
"Always."