the time for just the two of us has come
i've waited for this day more than anyone else
today, i'll show you my heart that no one has known before

there's no need to explain with words
with just our eyes meeting,
i can feel everything, i can know everything
how much you've fallen for me

A/N: Thanks for reading and following, and I'm glad so many of you are going back and reading Old Wounds and Watch out for Rivals! as well T^T My schedule is starting to go back to normal, so I hope I can be more regular with my updates!

4. All Night Long

Jinyoung sat on Mark’s bed, watching as Mark tossed a pair of jeans into his open suitcase. It should have been a happy occasion, since Mark was heading off to spend a week with his parents in Jeju after not seeing them since Christmas, but Jinyoung couldn’t help but feel a little solemn as Mark went through his things and decided what he wanted to pack. After being with each other almost nonstop for weeks, having anything to disrupt that seemed almost unfair, even if it was a happy interruption. More than anything, he had his qualms about persisting to keep things ambiguous between them before Mark left. As delusional as it was, he kept on imagining Mark hooking up with a tourist on Jeju, which pretty much proved he watched way too many romance dramas, as much as he denied it.

The one thing that stopped him was the issue of Mark’s parents. Mark naturally had only nice things to say about them, but that didn’t change Jinyoung’s nervousness at the possibility of them changing things. With his track record, it was difficult to think of parents as anything else but roadblocks. It was always their lack of approval on which so many things hinged. No matter who else people disappointed, it was always their parents’ disapproval they feared the most. Perhaps it had been an excuse in some cases, but most of Jinyoung’s breakups had to do with parents and their various expectations for grandchildren, daughter-in-laws, marriage matchmaking, social mobility, everything that Jinyoung would only ruin. He couldn’t help but think that even if Mark was enjoying some casual flirtation for now, that could all change once his family was in the picture again.

“I’m only going away for a week,” Mark said, smirking at Jinyoung. “You don’t have to act like someone’s died.”

Jinyoung glared at him. “You know, I got by for most of my life without speaking to you. I think I can survive.”

“You’re right. I’m the one who should be worried. By time I come back, you’ll probably be seeing one of your ually-insecures.”

“I thought I said I’d wait to clear my next romance with you.”

“If the next person is good enough, maybe you won’t want to wait.”

“I will.” Jinyoung tilted his head back, staring up at the ceiling. “You must be excited to see your parents again.”

“Of course. And this will be my first time in Jeju, too.”

“You’re going at the right time of year. It’ll be sunny and warm, but not as hot as the summer.”

“Hey, I lived in LA before. I’ve got nothing against the heat.” He zipped up his suitcase and hopped up onto the bed with Jinyoung. “Come and see me when I’m back next weekend. Here, at my house. We can eat something together.”

“Won’t you be jet lagged?”

“From an hour flight?”

“Travel lagged, then.”

“Not so much that I won’t be able to see you. Besides, there’s something I want to show you. Assuming you’re not tied down at that point.”

Jinyoung lifted an eyebrow. “That sounds promising. If I have to be single to see it, I have to suspect it involves .”

Mark burst out laughing. “Not quite. Or who knows, maybe. Consider it optional.”

“Now I’m even more curious.”

“Good. That means you’ll be waiting for me to get back.”

Jinyoung didn’t say anything to that, so Mark started poking his hand, humming “Jinyoungie~” Jinyoung still persisted in being silent, not wanting to give into the temptation to tackle Mark and kiss him right at that moment. He knew it would be a mistake. Whether or not it worked out, there would still be an awkward gap between it happening and Mark coming back from Jeju, and that gap could allow for a major breakdown in communication if it wanted to. But then Mark stubbornly grabbed the hand he’d been poking, teasingly squeezing Jinyoung’s figures in his own and tugging them to get his attention, and Jinyoung felt so many things welling up inside him that it was only natural for one to accidentally spill out.

“Hey,” he said, finally meeting Mark’s eyes. “You can’t just do that.”

“Can’t I?”

“I mean, it’s hard to keep things ambiguous this way.”

Mark tilted his head. “You want to stay like this forever, then?”

“I want…” He trailed off, gathering his thoughts. “Here’s the thing. I like you.”

Mark’s grip on his fingers tightened just perceptibly, and his eyes widened for a second before a smile broke out on his face. “Yeah?”

“And you’re acting a lot like you like me.”

“A safe assumption.”

“But you’re not…”

“Not what? Not attractive enough? Or if it’s you, not ually insecure enough?”

“Forget insecurity. You’re not even gay.”

Mark sighed at that, shaking his head. “You know what, I knew you had bad spidey senses, but this is too much. Have I not been laying it on thick enough? You already figured out one part of it. And you are a guy. What does that tell you?”

“That you’re experiencing some ual confusion?”

“Try again.”

Jinyoung stared at him. “Seriously? And you didn’t think me coming out to you would have been a good time to inform me of this?”

Mark shrugged. “I thought you should have better self-awareness on your own. Besides, you seem to have a good idea for when people who like you approach you. Hence the long list of boyfriends. I thought you’d figure this all out eventually”

“But you didn’t like me yet when you approached me.”

“Your senses are like a new level of bad, Jinyoung.”

“You did like me?” Jinyoung stared at him in bewilderment. “How? How could you like that person who showed up at 1000₩ brokenhearted and idiotic? I didn’t even like me all that much back then.”

Mark looked baffled for a moment, as if he’d never considered this question for himself. “I told you, after I stopped thinking you were crazy or a jerk, I started paying more attention to you. Putting all the breakup theatrics aside, there was more than just that to see about you. There was you being hurt, of course, but other than that? You believed in love. No matter how hurt you wound up, you kept on trying and trying to find it. And, I don’t know, it just seemed like you were so much above all the people who crushed your feelings, because even though you overdosed on pizza and beer and made a scene in front of me and everyone, you’d pick yourself back up and try again.”  Mark smiled. “Isn’t that something worth being attracted to, Jinyoung? Maybe I couldn’t call it what it was, but I was just waiting, you know. For what comes after.”

“How to keep someone in your life once you want them to stay there,” Jinyoung said slowly.

“Yeah. That’s what I was hoping all of this has been.”

“God,” Jinyoung murmured. “That’s what this has been.”

Mark nodded. “But I also told you that you had to say no to the next person who asked you out, didn’t I? At least until you were absolutely sure they wouldn’t do the same thing to you that everyone else has done.”

“Yes?”

“So I’m not going to ask you out. You’re not absolutely sure yet.”

Jinyoung was about to protest, but then remembered what he’d been thinking of just minutes earlier, about the issue of Mark’s parents, and shut his mouth.

“So that’s why,” Mark continued, “I’ll hope you’ll wait for me the week I’m gone so we can talk about it again when I’m back.”

“I’ll wait,” Jinyoung said firmly. “I was going to from the beginning. But even more now.” He paused. “But shouldn’t you also be worried about me not doing to you what I did to everyone else I dated? Not knowing them well enough, I mean? You’ve been paying attention to me for a while, but I’ve been… I’ve been an idiot.”

“If you didn’t know me or didn’t like me any more than you liked those other guys, you wouldn’t have put up with the ambiguity this long, would you?”

Jinyoung laughed. “Probably not. I guess that’s a good sign.”

“I’m hoping so.” Mark squeezed his hand one last time and then finally let it go. “Now, I should probably keep some distance between us, because if not, I will kiss you.”

This, for some reason, jolted Jinyoung into the realization that this—this whole thing, from start to where it was right now—was really happening. He bit down on his lip and flushed pink, turning his face away from Mark. He didn’t get like this, nervous over the prospect of kissing or having someone who wanted him. Until now, apparently. Now his hands were sweating and his heart rate was increasing, and he wanted to tell Mark to stop caring so much about waiting until everything was settled before they dove right in. But Mark cleared his throat at his side, as if he knew exactly what Jinyoung was thinking.

“I don’t want to wait either,” Mark said, his voice sounding slightly different. Deeper, somehow. “But I want you to believe in me 100%.”

“Ninety nine and a half is no good?”

“Nope. I want allll of Jinyoungie.” He slid off the bed and onto his suitcase, Jinyoung following him with his eyes. He really was so beautiful, every part of him better than nice, better than anything. He wondered how it could have possibly took him so long to notice. He wondered how much better his life would have been if he’d just opened his eyes when it had really counted. He’d been around Mark since he was sixteen, and all of that time he’d barely realized or cared. He didn’t really deserve this happening to him now, but he was grateful it was.

“Mark?”

“Yeah?”

“Just so you know, the ninety nine and a half isn’t a weak ninety nine and a half. It’s a ninety nine and a half that likes you so much that I want to find that last half, without a doubt.”

Mark grinned. “I know. But you don’t have to find it. What good am I if I can’t at least show you myself?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll see, Jinyoungie. You’ll see.”

0

The days passed with excruciating slowness with Mark gone. Jinyoung tried to keep himself busy—he hung out with BamBam after school, spent his evenings at 1000₩ with the remains of the pizza crew (Yugyeom was subbing for Mark at the bus boy position and whining about it nonstop), and threw himself into his homework. Mark texted him from time to time with pictures of the island, which looked even sunnier and more beautiful because he was there. It was pointless to try not thinking about Mark, so Jinyoung didn’t bother. Whenever he had a moment, he’d pull out his phone and look at the pictures, remembering that those hands had held his, that those lips had confessed to Jinyoung that his hopes weren't in vain.

“You’re a love struck maiden,” Jackson commented smugly during one of Jinyoung’s outings to 1000₩. “You’d be so embarrassed if you could see your face right now.”

“Oh god, please tell me you haven’t fallen in love again,” Jaebum groaned. “We just cured you of your breakup problems, do you really need to be doing this again?”

“It’s Mark this time,” Jackson explained, for once in his life turning down the radio—playing a 2PM slow jam, as if Jinyoung needed to think more about how much he wanted Mark—so Jaebum could hear him. “It’s different.”

Jaebum raised an eyebrow. “Wow, so you’re finally taking pity on the poor guy? He’s only been waiting for this since you guys were teenagers.”

Jinyoung frowned. “You guys knew about that?”

“Mark isn’t exactly subtle.”

“He’s good at not talking, but the staring and not talking was a dead giveaway,” Jackson said. “Besides, he used to get so pissed whenever you had a breakup. We could hear him muttering about it whenever he took out the trash.”

“Which is kinda sweet,” Youngjae said, poking his head out from the back. “Even though he liked you, he didn’t want anyone to breakup with you because he knew it would make you upset.”

“Although he took a lot whining from BamBam and me to actually talk to you, finally,” Yugyeom groaned. “He thought there was no way you’d ever fall in love with an 1000₩ bus boy. Looks like you finally managed to prove him wrong.”

 “Our first 1000₩ romance,” Youngjae sighed.

“You make it sound like they’re a cheap romance novel,” Jaebum said, smacking him on the head.

“It could happen,” Jackson said. “They just need a little more shirt ripping and maybe a rich fiancée and they’ll be there.”

Jinyoung sighed. He wasn’t sure how thrilled he was to have every single one of them in on his business, but it was something he could put up with for the sake of knowing that Mark had been thinking of him so often, for so long.

“Have you guys met Mark’s parents before, by the way?” Jinyoung asked.

“They’re great,” Yugyeom said. “Seriously, they’re like my second parents. It’s too bad they didn’t drop by here, this time. We haven’t seen them in ages.”

“You’ll like them a lot,” Jaebum added. “They’re about as friendly as they come. Plus, they’re great customers. Every time they stop by, they order a huge pie to go around.”

Jinyoung froze. “Wait, they’ve never been here during one of my, um, breakup episodes, have they?”

“I don’t think so. I feel like Mr. Tuan would have challenged you to a pizza binge eating contest if he ever saw you in your element.”

“Since you guys all know about me and Mark, is it at all possible… I mean, I don’t think he’d just tell them, but do they know? That he’s…?”

“That he’s in the mood for your man tail?” Jackson finished, charmingly. “I don’t know. Do they know?” He glanced around at all the others, who shrugged. Great.

“They seem like they’d be okay with it?” Yugyeom hedged. “Maybe?”

“They’ve already got grandchildren,” Youngjae offered.

“And Mark hasn’t dated anyone since meeting you, so it’s not like they have any big expectations,” Jaebum mused.

 “I don’t know if he ever mentioned dating anyone before meeting you either,” Jackson added. “Gotta hand it to him, the boy is loyal.”

Jinyoung shifted. If Mark was loyal, he didn’t want to know what they thought of him, the serial dater.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Jaebum said, patting Jinyoung on the back. “And yeah, I know that people have broken up with you over the parent excuse before. But Mark isn’t that kind of guy. He’s more stubborn than that. There’s no way he’d put you through that after watching you go through it for years.”

“I know,” Jinyoung said. And he really did believe it, right then and there. The remaining half of the faith he was looking for hadn’t fallen completely into place, but if there was one thing he knew, it was that the person who had waited for him for so long—quietly, hopelessly—already knew that there was a price for love, and that if you really, truly loved someone, that it would never be too high to pay.

0

The morning Mark was scheduled to come back, Jinyoung received a text from him. Just arrived at the airport. At home in an hour. Meet me at my house twenty minutes after that.

Jinyoung immediately felt a rush going through him. Finally, he was home. He had no words for how badly he wanted to see Mark’s face, to hold it between his hands and just take in the feel of his skin, the warm, beating heart underneath. An hour and twenty minutes was a short amount of time put in perspective, but it felt too far away, like a destination he would never reach if he just sat still. He went to the bathroom and pulled a comb through his hair, neatening his clothes so he looked just as good as he felt.

It was a short walk to Mark’s, so he left not much before the time Mark had asked him to come. He remembered Mark had said he wanted to show him something—something where was optional, though he could have just been joking—but Jinyoung had no idea what it would be. Was it the last bit of proof Mark had promised to show him? He wanted it to be, even though he had no idea what form it would take.

When he rang the doorbell, Mark quickly answered. “Good, you’re here,” he said, sliding his arm around Jinyoung waist. He had a fresh, sea salt smell to him that reminded Jinyoung of the time they had gone swimming together in the neighborhood pool, Mark’s hand touching his ankle below the surface and how he’d only just started wanting to know the person that touch belonged to, back then. It wasn’t that long ago, but somehow it felt as if the entire world had changed between then and now.

“I missed you,” Jinyoung said softly.

“Me too.” Mark squeezed him closer. “But we’ll talk about that later. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Before Jinyoung could respond, Mark steered him into his TV room. Sitting on the couch were an older couple, studying the window of a digital camera between them. Once they looked up, Jinyoung recognized them immediately. They were Mark’s parents, the same couple who had appeared with Mark in his shots from Jeju and were in the photographs held up with magnets on his refrigerator. Jinyoung froze in his tracks.

“Mom, Dad,” Mark said in English, steering an immobile Jinyoung in front of them. “This is Park Jinyoung.”

Mr. and Mrs. Tuan got to their feet, their faces already lit up with warm smiles. “Very nice to meet you,” Mrs. Tuan said in stilted Korean. “So handsome. Just like Mark said.”

“Mark has only good things to say,” Mr. Tuan said, pumping Jinyoung’s hand. “Thank you for looking after him.”

“Of course,” Jinyoung said, his lips feeling numb. He didn’t think he’d actually done much looking after Mark compared to how much looking after Mark had done for him, but the words remained stubbornly on his tongue, as he was still reeling from the shock of seeing Mark’s parents here at all.

“You like curry?” Mrs. Tuan asked, lifting up a takeout bag. “Mark invite you over to eat with us.”

“They had a layover,” Mark explained. “They don’t have to be back in Incheon for a few hours, so we thought we’d grab some food.”

“O-okay,” Jinyoung said.

“Great.” Mark leaned into him as they made their way towards the kitchen. “You don’t have to be worried, you know,” he whispered.

“They’re your parents. Yes I do.”

“No,” Mark repeated firmly. “You don’t. Trust me.”

Jinyoung took a deep breath and tried to calm down as Mark set the table for them. He was still terrified, but if Mark wanted him to trust him, he would trust him.

“So, Jinyoung,” Mr. Tuan said, continuing on in his basic Korean. “Mark says you never been to America.”

Jinyoung shook his head. “I’ve never been outside of the country at all.”

“Next time Mark come, you come. You will like.” He pulled out his phone and started showing him pictures of their house in LA. Jinyoung was impressed. Mark had seemed so casual about deciding to stay in Korea, but he’d really left a lot behind. Jinyoung wasn’t a materialistic person, but he’d still have to think twice about leaving such a nice place behind for a one bedroom apartment in Korea.

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Jinyoung said, eyes widening at the pictures of the Tuans’ pool, much nicer than the one on the ground floor of his apartment. Mark translated this for his father, who waved his hands dismissively. “No trouble, no trouble. Mark’s important person always welcome.”

Jinyoung flushed a little. He wondered if this was how Mark described him, as an important person, or at least one important enough to warrant a guest bedroom offer after only five minutes of knowing each other. Mark wasn’t saying anything else, only looking from his father’s phone and back to Jinyoung, a small smile on his face. It made him wonder if it would ever happen, him going to LA, soaking up the sun at that pool, seeing that beautiful shoreline stretching out infinitely. It seemed like a privilege he hadn’t even begun to earn yet, but it all came down to if Mark wanted him there, not just an important person, but as everything they wanted to become.

“I’m so happy,” Mrs. Tuan said suddenly from across the table. “That our Mark found such a nice person, I’m so happy.”

Jinyoung looked up from Mr. Tuan’s phone abruptly, blinking in surprise. Had he heard her right? Or more specifically, had she phrased herself incorrectly since she was using an unfamiliar language? It had sounded so much like she had meant Mark had “found” him as more than just someone finding a new close friend, but he couldn’t imagine why she would say it so happily if she really knew.

“He been alone for so long, it’s about time,” Mr. Tuan laughed. “He like you forever.”

“You can feel free not to announce that all the time,” Mark grumbled. “You make me sound desperate.”

“I tell it like I see.”

Jinyoung stared at all of them dumbly. They knew. And not only did they know about right now, they knew about before, about Mark liking him for years. More than that, they knew and were happy about it. It was almost too much for Jinyoung to process. He turned and stared at Mark, heart pounding.

Mark slid his hand over Jinyoung’s under the table. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “It’s fine.”

“Yes,” Jinyoung whispered back. And it was fine. Better than fine, as everything about Mark was. Mark had taken the part of dating no one else had been brave enough to confront and handled it even before he’d handled confessing his feelings. He’d known from watching Jinyoung time and time again just what had been the most painful to him, the words he’d had to hear until he couldn’t take it anymore, and he'd outright avoided puting him in a situation where he'd need to hear them again. Mark had been the first one to love him and understand what loving really meant. No one who really loves you would qualify it by saying it has to end before it gets worse.

Jinyoung turned back to Mr. and Mrs. Tuan. “Thank you,” he said softly. “I’m happy, too.”

“Good,” Mr. Tuan said firmly. “Then one day you come to LA, come meet the rest of family. We throw you party.”

“I’d love to come,” Jinyoung said, finally smiling. “Can you really see famous people walking around in LA?”

The four of them talked easily through dinner, Mark translating for any gaps in language, though Jinyoung was sure that Mr. Tuan tried to tell embarrassing stories once or twice that Mark wasn’t accurately translating back. He was surprised at how enjoyable it was. It felt strange not having to hide anything, to be able to speak honestly and not have to lie to the people who you could only get away with lying to for so long.

Mr. and Mrs. Tuan left in the late afternoon. Both Jinyoung and Mark offered to take the train to Incheon with them, but they waved them off, telling them to relax and enjoy the rest of their day. Mark had some unpacking to do, and was probably tired out from his early morning at the airport, they said, but Jinyoung had a feeling resting was the last thing on Mark's mind.

“So,” Jinyoung said as Mark came back from the landing after seeing his parents off. “That was what you wanted to show me. How long have they known, exactly?”

Mark sat down beside him on the couch, considering. “You and I never really talked about your love issues, did we? But you talked to Jackson a lot when you were drunk. You mentioned Youngdal a lot. About how things ended between you.”

“Ah,” Jinyoung said, wincing.

“And when I started realizing how you made me feel, it got me thinking. Why make someone suffer for something it’s in your power to deal with? I mean, I know there are good reasons not to tell someone outright. It’s not just being brave or being a coward, because there are safety concerns and things. But I trusted my family.  And I thought taking that risk would be worth it if it gave whoever I fell in love with some peace of mind, you know. So I told them.”

Jinyoung wasn’t sure he had any coherent words to describe his gratitude to Mark, so he grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, kissing him for the sake of everything he couldn’t say. He thought in his head it would be a brief peck, but his body resisted that notion almost the moment Mark was touching him. He’d kissed people before and naturally knew what to expect, but this kiss was different. The only time he’d ever kissed someone he both loved and trusted this much, it had been a secret and exciting because of that and because it was a first, the first time he’d given into who he knew he was, but this was something bigger. It was a kiss given with all his renewed faith in love, all his gratitude to Mark for being the one to prove that love was more, so much more than he’d imagined it. It may not have been a first kiss, but it was the first kiss where he’d ever felt like this.

He pulled away for a moment, lifting his eyes to meet Mark’s. “Thank you,” he whispered. “So much.”

Mark only smiled, placing a hand around Jinyoung’s neck and pulling him in again. His tongue brushed against Jinyoung’s lips and he parted them, breath catching at the warmth of his touch, the way his fingers felt like fire on his skin. They kissed slowly at first, feeling each other out, listening for what felt good and simply treasuring the fact that it was happening, that they were together with all 100% of love and faith between them. Little by little, Mark’s hands found his waist and pulled him closer, and Jinyoung looped his arms around Mark’s neck, deepening their kiss.

It wasn’t long before close wasn’t close enough. Mark leaned into him more, and Jinyoung slid down, his back hitting the arm rest of the couch. He grabbed onto Mark’s back for balance, and Mark murmured lightly into the kiss, pulling away for a moment. “OK?” he asked quietly.

“Do I look like I’m not enjoying myself?” Jinyoung laughed breathlessly.

“No.” Mark ran a finger against his slightly swollen lips. “You look too good.”

“Then why are you stopping?”

“Because you’re not an easy man.”

Jinyoung glared at him. “It’s just kissing.”

“If we keep this up, it’s not going to be ‘just kissing,’ Park Jinyoung.”

“I see.” Jinyoung slid his tongue against his bottom lip, thinking. “Being with someone I love wouldn’t make me an easy man, would it?”

Mark’s eyebrows shot up. “Love?”

“Yes.”

“You love me.”

“Yes.”

“God.” Mark leaned down, grabbing his chin and kissing him slowly for a minute. When he pulled away, he seemed a little more composed. “Not as much as I love you.”

“Sure about that?”

“Yes.”

“Want to show me how sure you are?”

“Yes.” Mark pinned him down again, hitching Jinyoung's legs up onto the couch. He cupped Jinyoung’s face, lips hovering close before swooping down to kiss his chin, his neck, his adam’s apple, his collar bones. Jinyoung ran his fingers through Mark’s hair, biting his lips. As if he could stop right now, like this. He’d wanted this before, but he hadn’t realized how much, how his body would respond to even the simplest things like Mark whispering his name in between kisses or how soft his hair was between his fingers.

Jinyoung trailed his hand down Mark’s stomach, hesitating as he reached the hem of his shirt. Did he want to go up and under, directly feeling the skin underneath, preferably against his if he could get Mark off him for long enough to take his shirt off? Or did he want to go down, fueling everything between them, making it happen faster, sooner?

As Jinyoung paused, hand lingering around Mark’s waist, Mark pulled away from him. “Hey,” he said, clearing his throat. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

“Right.” Jinyoung collected his breath and stood up. Mark grabbed his hands, not as roughly as Jinyoung would have thought, and gently pulled him to the back of the apartment.

“Not in a rush anymore?” Jinyoung asked, trying not to sound bothered by Mark’s sudden calmness.

“A reminder that I’ve never done this before, Jinyoung,” Mark said carefully. “It’ll be better for both of us if I make at least some small effort to keep my cool.” He sat Jinyoung down on the bed. “Before things go too far, I’m going to hop in the shower for five minutes. I probably smell from this morning.”

“Like the sea,” Jinyoung protested. “It’s fine. Besides, we’re, um, both going to get sweaty.”

Mark bent down and kissed him. “Humor me, please. A first timer wants it to be perfect, right? Besides, I feel like I should give you one last chance to get out while you still can. Not that I won’t chase you down if you do.”

“Fair enough. I’ll wait for you. Or not.”

“I’ll just have to see what it will be.”

While Mark went into the bathroom, Jinyoung slipped into his bed. It felt different from the last time he slept there, the first time he and Mark properly talked. That time, he’d only been taking comfort from Mark, using him to fill a space with his presence without consciously giving anything back in return. Now he was willing to give back everything. He wanted to give to Mark as much care and concern as he’d been unknowingly receiving over the past few years.

The bedroom was also colder than the first time Jinyoung had spent the night. He’d noticed Mark had had the AC pumped back then, but it had been late August, so it hadn’t been as jarring as it was now. Jinyoung crept beneath the sheets, cocooning himself into them. Still shivering, he listened to water pattering down on Mark from the next room over. Showers always sounded so soothing at a distance, the water sounds slightly muffled by doors and wall and forming a lulling melody, like quiet rainfall late at night. He turned his head, fixing his eyes on the strip of light spilling out into the dim room from the bottom of the bathroom door and the warmth slowly streaming from it. He was still cold, but his skin was little by little flushing in anticipation. When he heard the water shut off, he slowly began ing his shirt, peeling it off and exposing himself to the cold.

Mark left the bathroom, still dripping and from the waist up, his lower half covered by a white towel. Jinyoung sat up in bed, his lips curving up in a smile. He’d been too shy the first time he’d seen Mark like this at the swimming pool, but the atmosphere was as different as it could possibly be right now, and he was intending to take full advantage of that.

He extended his hand to Mark, pulling him down on top of him. The drops of water falling from his hair and body only made Jinyoung colder, but he didn’t mind. He didn’t think anything would bother him, at that point. Still, he made a show of shivering. “You’re cold,” he said, the damp strands of Mark’s hair.

“Shall I warm you up, then?”

“Still waiting for you to start.”

Mark laughed lightly, pressing his lips against Jinyoung’s and wrapping his arms around his bare torso. Already, Jinyoung could feel the body heat between them increasing and the freezing cold of the room slipping away. There really was nothing warmer than the touch of another person, or maybe at least this particular person.

Mark unwrapped Jinyoung from his cocoon and pulled him up for a kiss, fingers ranging over his skin before finally reaching his waist and unbuckling his jeans. Sighing sharply, Jinyoung grabbed the towel around Mark’s waist and tugged it. Better than nice. From top to toe. Mark snorted at Jinyoung’s hungry expression and pushed him back down onto the bed.

“I’ll make you feel good,” he murmured, bearing his hips down on Jinyoung. “So good you’ll only be able to have me from now on.”

“That’s a tall order for a beginner,” Jinyoung said, biting back a moan. “Think you can handle it?”

“If it’s you, Jinyoung, anything.”

“I’ll hold you to that, then.” Jinyoung grabbed onto his back. “I don’t want anyone else but you, anyways.”

“God, I love you.”

“Yes. Yes. Just show me.”

Jinyoung had less experience in this part than in dating or kissing, both of which he was technically a well-seasoned expert in, but he knew enough to realize from the moment they were joined that how it felt with Mark was different from how it had ever felt before. The first time with a person in his experience had always been fumbling and a little awkward, with too much time wasted figuring out what to do and how to get the other person to respond to you the way you wanted them to. Perhaps because he’d already gone through those uncomfortable encounters, admittedly with people he hadn’t known all that well, he knew to toss the extraneous worries out and just feel, and that his instinctual reactions to everything Mark was doing to him would spur Mark on more than anything else. He didn’t hide his voice or face or behave shyly when it felt good. He didn’t beg Mark to stop whispering things in his ears, even when the words coming from him made him flush in embarrassment.

As for Mark, he also seemed to set aside any nervousness he might have had. It wasn't the perfection he'd jokingly said he'd wanted, but he was good at figuring Jinyoung out, just as he'd always been. He covered his body with hot touches and kisses which made the once freezing room feel like it had been filled with a sweet steam, which only grew stronger and stronger between them. And even more than that, the way he moved was glorious. There was no lack of certainty there. His face showed every little bit of how good he was feeling, and when he found where it was best for Jinyoung, he did everything to take him over the edge, chasing the overwhelming sense of pleasure right along with with.

And when they came—both close enough together where it wasn’t uneven, one person enjoying themselves more than the other—Jinyoung was filled with a comforting feeling that this wasn’t something that had happened with someone he would only be saying goodbye to within a matter of weeks. He could feel by the way Mark held him tightly in his arms afterwards that he wasn’t intending to let go.

“You warm yet?” Mark murmured into his ear, somewhat out of breath. Jinyoung elbowed him playfully in the ribs, which only made Mark hold onto him tighter, if that was even possible.

“Your hair is still dripping on me,” he said, just to be contrary.

“Mmm. I’m making you wet, huh?”

“ert.”

“Uh-huh. You liked it.”

“Maybe.” He rested his head on Mark’s chest. “You said it would be good enough that I wouldn’t be able to have anyone else but you. But you’re the one who’s not allowed to leave me. Everyone does. But I’m not letting you.”

“You know I won’t.”

“I know.” He angled his head up for a kiss, which Mark obligingly took. “We both have to learn this part for this first time. What comes after falling in love with someone is making them stay in your life. And what comes after that is making them stay forever. Or for at least for as long as you love them. That’s what we need to do.”

“I think step one is to not stop loving them,” Mark whispered, kissing his hand. “And I’ve had a lot of practice at that, with you.”

“I’ll try to catch up with you, then,” Jinyoung said, shifting on top of Mark. “Hey. I’m cold.”

“Again?”

“This room is freezing. It’s your fault. Who pumps their AC this much in the fall? Unless this is what you wanted to happen? Me not being warm enough to make it through the night without you making it better.”

“Mhmm. You caught me.”

“If you’re not going to do something about it, I am.”

“Oh?” He smoothed his hands over Jinyoung’s thighs. “If this is another step in your plan to get me to stay forever, I approve.”

“Just one of many,” Jinyoung said, closing his eyes. “You’ll find the rest if you stay long enough. So don't go anywhere. Please.”