Hello! Here's a Markson house search no one asked for. Sorry if it's boring, but I hope you enjoy.

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“You’re going like that?” Jackson asked as he buttoned his shirt. His hair was styled off of his face. His pants were a bearably tight, and his shoes gleamed impressively.

 

“Yeah why?” Mark said as he looked at his phone while laying on his bed. He wore black jeans, an oversized, black, long sleeved shirt, and eventually some tennis shoes. Jackson usually complimented him on looking youthful but apparently not today.

 

“We have to meet the realtor-” Jackson said exasperatedly. He was fighting to tie his tie. Mark walked over and swatted at Jackson’s hands.

 

“I know. It’s a pretty casual thing.” Mark deftly knotted the tie then smoothed out the lapels on Jackson’s suit. He looked up and smiled at his husband.

 

“Will they even take you seriously if you wear such casual stuff?”

 

“I’ve known them for a couple of years. I dress professionally all the time so I don’t have to wear such stuffy things all the time. I have a life.”

 

“Every time I meet with a realtor or a banker or anyone that is participating in my business plan, I wear professional clothes.”

 

“That’s you.”

 

“You’re so frustrating.”

 

Mark just hummed and continued doing whatever on his phone. “At least I’ll blend in during the opening tonight.”

 

Jackson sighed as he buttoned the middle button of his jacket. Why they’d scheduled a meeting with a realtor the same night as his new club opening, he didn’t know. He was never clear headed on opening night, but this was the only appointment they could get with this realtor for the next couple of weeks. Mark had insisted that house hunting could take a long time so it was better to start sooner rather than later. Jackson should have insisted that they use the realtor he used when he was finding property, but that woman only liked to find things that were big, expensive, and up and coming. Whatever, he was resigned to his fate, the one where he’d meet the realtor for an hour with Mark right before the grand opening of his club. “You’re lucky I love you,” Jackson said exasperatedly.

 

Mark laughed. “I don’t consider myself that lucky.” Jackson glared at him. “I love you too. Just don’t forget getting a house together was your idea.”

 

After their engagement, and throwing themselves into wedding planning, something felt off. Jackson wanted to make their future even more concrete, and there was no better way to do that then buying a house that would probably (most definitely) be too big and way too expensive. Plus, being with Mark in home they created together made his domestic heart beat quickly.

 

“Let’s go. We have a lot to do, and I’d rather get this out of the way.”

 

Mark got up and stuffed his feet in shoes after stuffing his phone in his pocket. He grabbed a large pouch, at least that what Jackson called his leather document folder, and made his way to their fancy car (a Mercedes Benz Mercedes-AMG GT) used only for special events. It was sleek, silver, and fast. Mark sat in the passenger seat as he texted the realtors that they were on their way.

 

“Mark! It’s so good to see you.” The high-heeled, pencil skirt wearing lady marched towards the door of their office. Her partner stayed where he was at the conference area. “It’s been awhile.”

 

Mark gave her a hug.“Too long in fact.” He smiled brightly at her. “You guys haven’t hired me in awhile.”

 

“I know. We’re awful.” She ushered Mark to sit across from her partner. Their receptionist took his drink request and scuttled away. “Lately our clients have been buying land and doing ridiculous renovation properties. I’m talking hotel reconstruction. We only give you our best clients and let me say the one’s we’ve had lately a major s.”

 

Mark just laughed.

 

Jackson was walking in from parking the car. As his husband chatted amicably with the realtors. He didn’t really know who he was meeting until he saw them. “Serena, Luke. I didn’t know we were meeting you guys.” Jackson walked over and hugged them before sitting next to his husband. The couple had been at their wedding and several double dates in the past.

 

“Mark didn’t tell you?” Luke asked with a quirked eyebrow.

 

As he sipped his water, “He never asked.” Mark pushed to folder with their important documents towards their realtors. “Let’s get started. We have a big party to go to.”

 

“Ah yes, the grand opening. I wish we were still at the age where clubs were our scene. We only go to wine bars now,” Luke said simply.

 

“Well then, let’s get down to business,” Serena said. She and her fiancé looked over the documents quickly before starting their process. “What are each of you looking for in a house?”

 

Jackson had been thinking about this question for weeks now. He’d come up with some concrete answers but other than that he was pretty open. “I definitely want a house that we decorate during Christmas time. I want to be able to completely deck out the front and inside.”

 

“So something traditional and large?”

 

“Yes, but not too large since it’s only the two of us. I also want a yard. I think we’d both like a dog. Plus we like throwing parties.”

 

“We don’t throw parties.”

 

“Correction: We want to throw parties.” Mark glared at him. He didn’t necessarily want to throw parties. Sure maybe some holiday or birthday celebrations throughout the year, but not much more than that. Jackson wanted to throw parties.

 

The realtor took the statements and jotted notes on his laptop. “So good entertaining space inside and out, plus a decent amount of green space.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Anything else?”

 

Jackson pondered for a little while before continuing, “At least three bedrooms and three bathrooms. My family lives abroad so I’d like them to have a great place to stay with us. Mark also has a lot of family, but they’re less likely to spend the night. Oh, we also need space for a couple of cars. We have three now but I might get another one depending on a lot of things. Also I want to be close to my restaurants which are in the lively, urban parts of the city.”

 

“Okay… What size of a house are you looking for?”

 

“Not a ridiculously large house. I was thinking like 3,000-4,000 sq ft. I want a house like in the movies. I want it to be the quintessential home.”

 

Mark preened as he listened to his husband. “I didn’t know you knew the word quintessential.”

 

Jackson pouted. “I’ve made it this far not only off of my good lucks.”

 

Mark Jackson’s cheek until he stopped pouting. “Of course dear.”

 

Serena interrupted the moment naturally. “What do you want Mark?”

 

“I want a really big house so we don’t have to move for at least a couple of decades. I also want an open floor plan with great flow since we can be all over the place at any time. I’d love to have great indoor and outdoor space. A pool would be awesome. A large, chef’s style kitchen would be great even though neither of us cook that much. I’d also like at least one fireplace. I want at least four bedrooms so we can make one of the rooms into an office. Three bathrooms as well. I would prefer a light and bright design with some interesting. And in regards to location, as long as it's an approximately at maximum about an hour commute, I’m all for it.”

 

“You speak really are an expert.” The realtor couple looked at their notes for a couple seconds before asking the dreaded question. “So what’s the price range?”

 

“We could probably go up to $10 million,” Mark said simply.

 

“No! I was thinking more along the lines of $2.5-3.5 million at most. Even that sounds like too much.” Jackson wholeheartedly disagreed. They’d be throwing so much money into something that sounded very expensive and very large. He’d rather spend money on fun vacations or something not so expensive.

 

“We make more than enough money to have a larger budget. You’ve been really successful with your businesses so you should reap the benefits. I’ve also saved a lot so money really isn’t an issue.”

 

“Just because I make a lot of money doesn’t mean I should put so much into a house.” Jackson folded his arms.

 

“You know all about investments so our future home shouldn’t be one to skimp on.” Mark said pointedly.

 

“You’re talking $10 million dollars. That’s like several restaurants.”

 

“We’ll isn’t the foundation of our new life together worth that sort of investment? Plus over the next twenty to forty years, you won’t even notice the price. In the future, the house could be worth much more.”

 

“Yes, but we can find something later that suits our needs better at different stages of our lives.”

 

“I don’t want to move from whatever house we buy for the next thirty years.”

 

“Thirty years? That’s such a long time. So many things could change by then.”

 

“If things do change I’d rather have a solid investment to rely on. If your restaurants fail, or you retire or something, this future house would be so awesome to have.”

 

“I understand what you’re saying, but I’m extremely resolute on not spending over $3.5 million.”

 

“Seriously?” Mark was incredulous. He couldn’t believe Jackson was being this way. He was always under scrutiny to show off his success, but he wouldn’t splurge for a house that would meet all of their criteria plus more.

 

“So what’s our budget?”

 

“$3.5 million,” Jackson said. Mark didn’t make any effort to argue. He was trying his best to not burst out in anger. He’d probably settle with a bad attitude during the car ride and tense avoidance during the party.

 

Serena and Luke looked at each other“Great! We’ll see what we can find.” They shook their clients hands and led them to the door. “Goodbye! See you later.”

 

“This is going to be tough.”

 

“Yeah, but Mark will probably work magic on Jackson. He’s got some serious skills in coercion.”

 

The house hunting search had not gone as smoothly as Jackson would have hoped. They’d been searching for four months and were no where close to making an offer on any home. Mark seemed to find a problem, no matter how small it was, with each house they’d seen so far. Most of the houses weren’t big enough for him while Jackson thought they were fine. Sometimes the neighborhood wasn’t quite right for either of them. If there seemed to be even a semblance of additional work that had to be done, even if meant repainting a wall, Mark automatically rejected it. If the outside of the house didn’t suit their tastes, they didn’t look inside. Weird layouts, unflattering designs, and other  The house hunt showed that they were two different people. They were having more arguments about not settling for whatever house closely matched the other’s taste and not compromising.

 

“I don’t understand why you won’t compromise.” Jackson said exasperatedly. Jackson attempted to cook dinner but was failing as his mind was preoccupied. Arguing with Mark took all of his focus.

 

“Why should I compromise when there a better options out there.” Mark said as he designed an interior for a client on his tablet. Arguing with Jackson, about the same thing over and over again, was draining; luckily, his job was something he enjoyed doing.

 

“I want to move on from apartment living. You’re stubbornly hanging onto a fantasy.”

 

“It’s not a fantasy if it's achievable.”

 

Jackson sighed and turned around to face Mark. Mark was in his sweats folded up, with notes surrounding him on the couch. He seemed to serenely be drawing, but Jackson could tell by the way he was holding his shoulders, he wasn’t calm.  “If it's so ‘achievable’ then why haven’t we found ‘the house’ yet?”

 

Mark scoffed. “I can’t believe you used air quotes twice in one sentence. Actually I can because you’re a serial air quotes user.” Mark took a deep breath. He was about to fuel the fire of their argument. “It’s achievable if we increased the budget. I know you don’t want to, but its pissing me off that you don’t mind spending your money on anything except a house that satisfies both of our wishes.”

 

“It’s a starter home.”

 

“Should our first home be crappy and suit our lives for the foreseeable next three years so that we’re forced to move again? Should our last home be crappy since we’ll die in it anyways? What makes you think this is just a starter home? I want this house to be as permanent as possible. Who knows what will happen in the future. I’d rather have myself established for whatever life throws at us in the future.” Mark paused. “We don’t have outlandish requests, but you refuse to see my side of things.”

 

Jackson scoffed. “Do you even understand my side?”

 

“Yes, you don’t want to jump in head first. You also don’t want to give a little to gain much more.”

 

“That might be what it looks like but that’s not the truth.”

 

“Then what’s the truth?”
 

Jackson knew Mark was baiting him. He always did that when we argued. Mark asked the question to get to the heart of the argument. It always to Jackson a lot of effort to argue with him because of that. “The truth is that I feel spending millions and millions of dollars on a house is excessive. I also feel that maybe we’re moving too fast buying a forever home. We should just buy what we need and maybe a little extra. You want a lot more than what I want, and I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”

 

Mark sighed. He walked over to Jackson who was death gripping a wooden spoon while trying not to let tears spill. He understood that putting money, hard-earned money, into a place you’re going to live in for at least more than five years is scary. It’s even scarier when you don’t know what the future holds. Mark rubbed Jackson’s back as he leaned against him.

 

“You don’t want to commit too much right? That would mean committing to a future between us.”

 

Jackson nodded. Even though they’d made the largest commitment by getting married, buying  a house was a very large representation of that commitment. When it came to property, Jackson was used to interacting with investors, and if it didn’t go well or he became interested in another business, he could walk away. This house would be theirs. It would be his. They would have to leave behind their city lifestyle for the suburbs. There would be less city adventures and more time with each other. That was the scariest part. What if being with each other, with no sort of buffer, made Mark hate him? Even if that sounded crazy, Jackson couldn’t help but let those type of thoughts creep in.

 

“Come here.” Mark pulled Jackson into his arms. Jackson reciprocated the hug and wrapped his arms around Mark’s waist. He was still holding the spoon.  Mark played with the hair at the the nape of Jackson’s neck and rocked them back and forth. “I bet you’re scared-”

 

“I’m not scared,” Jackson mumbled into Mark’s neck. “I’m apprehensive.”

 

Mark chuckled. Jackson was most definitely scared. He’d been with him long enough to know. “Okay apprehensive.” Jackson nodded. “We’ll be living a completely different lifestyle. We’ll have a yard to take care of, windows to clean, and a freestanding mailbox. Life in the suburbs is going to be crazy; it’ll be wild. There will be yard sales, bake sales, block parties, and who knows what other crazy things. If things aren’t going great between us or the neighbors or something else, it’s not so easy to bail out. We’re going to be stuck in closed quarters without a glitzy place to escape to. We’ll have to make an effort to go to the city. I bet you’re thinking that being at home more will make us see flaws in each other that we didn’t see before. While that may be true, that doesn’t mean learning more about each other is a bad thing. Seeing more flaws shouldn’t hurt us since we’re meant to be. I believe it. Do you?”

 

Jackson removed his face from the crook of Mark’s neck. He looked deep into Mark’s eyes. This position reminded him of their first dance together as a married couple. How could he doubt all their years together? How could he doubt the man who had made him settle down. “Yeah of course. You’re my one true love Mark Tuan. I love you.”

 

“I love you too.” Mark started humming some random song while they continued to hug. His mind started to wander far away from their argument. Jackson should listen to music when he cooks. With music, I’d be able to tell if he was cooking way before he started screaming, cursing, and jumping around. Maybe I’d be willing to help more. Even though Jackson was the primary chef in their relationship, there was rarely a day where everything turned out right. During their first couple of months dating, Jackson accidentally sliced his finger which resulted in a hospital trip and an embarrassed Jackson. Ever since then, Jackson usually ended up having a mishap.

 

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

 

“Huh?” Mark was pulled out of his reverie. He attempted to process the words that came out of his husband’s mouth. “How did I know what you were thinking? Once you told me it was hard committing to future between us, I logically knew what steps to follow along your train of thought.”

 

“You’re amazing,” Jackson beamed at him. Mark couldn’t help but smile back, almost blinding Jackson with its beauty. Sometimes he forgot how lucky he was.

 

Suddenly Mark’s smile changed. It was smaller and a different type of beautiful. It disappeared and changed to Mark biting his bottom lip. Jackson was weak when he did that. He already knew he was in for it. Mark moved to attack Jackson's neck with slow, sensual kisses along his jawline. He bit Jackson’s earlobe, causing him to drop the spoon and grip Mark harder. Pulling away slowly, “So about the budget…”

 

“I’m so glad you decided to increase your budget.”

 

Jackson grumbled, but he stopped as soon as he saw Mark shoot him a bone chilling smile. The smile didn’t reach his eyes.

 

“I’m happy too.” Mark sounded genuine this time. After the big argument, the house hunting search was a lot less divided.  It definitely hadn’t gone anywhere. No place had been just right. Jackson started to agree with Mark that the in each house there was something wrong. The issues ranged from the staircase being weird, the walls were ugly, the color scheme was too dark, or the design of the house was awkward. Five months in, the hunt was losing its appeal, but Mark was optimistic. Their budget had increased to the great $6 million that Mark had desired. Well he wanted a $10 million budget, but compromise was key in any relationship.I t had taken a lot of convincing to get Jackson to change his mind.

 

Mark kissed along Jackson’s jaw. Jackson’s hands kneaded Mark’s . They were on the couch in the living room of their apartment. Mark was wearing an oversized shirt that exposed his collarbones. Jackson was obsessed with his collarbones. Mark rolled his hips to create friction with Jackson’s crotch. He moved back to Jackson’s lips and pulled his hair tightly as they involved themselves in a deep kiss. Mark was doing everything Jackson liked.

 

Jackson was simple to seduce. He had five things that were enough to push him past the point of no return: collarbones (Mark caught Jackson looking a lot before they started dating), short shorts (Jackson liked to touch his thighs and ), dominance (Jackson liked Mark to do the work), hair tugging, and kissing. When all these things were combined,  Jackson was easy to manipulate. Mark had gotten a lot of things he’d wanted by doing these things. This time was no different.

 

“Jackson,” Mark whispered into his husband’s ear. He rocked his hips more so that there’d be more contact between their crotches. Jackson was nibbling on his collarbone. There’d probably be hickeys there tomorrow. “Let’s increase the budget.”

 

Jackson pulled away from his neck and looked up at Mark. They looked at each other. Mark made sure his eyes were dewey with attraction. Jackson had a weak will when it came to Mark. Mark was the same. They were in love. Mark increased the pace of his grinding. They were both hard, and Mark really wanted to move on to the fun stuff.

 

“Mark…”

 

“Don’t worry it’ll be okay.” Mark resumed kissing Jackson’s jaw before kissing his chin and his neck. He moved his mouth to the corner of his jaw close to Jackson’s ear and on it. Jackson let out a whine and then bucked his hips up. Mark was no longer creating delicious friction between them. Jackson was needy. He wanted more.

 

“How much?”

 

“$10 million.”

 

“No.” Jackson was needy but he wasn’t desperate. “$4 million.”

 

“No.” Mark grinded down on Jackson. Their faces were close. Jackson’s eyes were closed as they enjoyed each other physically. This was a war of wills and Mark was more determined. “$7 million.”’

 

“$5 million.”

 

“$6”

 

“$6?”

 

“$6”

 

“Fine.”

 

Mark smiled and kissed Jackson. “I love you.” He pulled Jackson up and lowered himself back into his husband’s lap. They kissed slowly. Their lips meeting carefully before deepening.

 

Jackson gripped Mark’s and stood up.“Let’s go somewhere more comfortable. I expect you to finish what you started, especially since you got your way.” Mark just smiled before kissing Jackson and walked through their bedroom door.

 

“Well with this budget, I think I have the perfect place for you.” Serena paused. “Jackson, I think you’ll be resistant at first, but I think you’ll fall in love with it. The house is very charming.”

 

The couple rode in the back seat of their realtor’s car. Mark played with Jackson’s fingers as they made small talk with the realtor. She turned a couple of corners before pulling into a nice neighborhood. A couple of houses down a street, the car began to slow down. The house they stopped in front of was huge.

 

“So this is the property I want to show you today. It’s priced at $4.7 million. There are six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and a little less than 7,000 sq ft. There’s a large, beautiful kitchen,  great backyard entertaining space, and many more luxurious feature.”

 

“Where are we exactly?” Jackson asked after they got out of the car. Mark’s eyes were sparkling as he walked in front of the gate that cut off the driveway.

 

“Encino.”

 

“Encino?! No way! That’s so far. On a good day it’s like more than an hour from where I work.” Jackson was definitely going to resist, considering how far he’d have to travel  and how many miles he’d put on his car every year. “Mark, we shouldn’t even look. You’d have to drive forty-five minutes.”

 

“Jackson, I know its far. Its far from where I work too, but just imagine us living here.” Mark was amazed at how beautiful the place was.

 

“Serena, there was nowhere closer you could have chosen? Pasadena or Glendale would have been better.”

 

“I understand your concerns Jackson, but places like this, at least for this price don’t exist. Yes Encino is somewhat far, but this house could be worth it. This is an option so you don’t have to commit to it. Why don’t we just look? Mark seems to be curious.”

 

Jackson was dying. His husband was looking at the house like it was the biggest, best gift ever. His eyes sparkled. Jackson didn’t remember the last time they sparkled like that. How could he deny him such happiness. Jackson took a deep breath, telling himself they were only looking. “Fine, but I’m not going to make any promises.”

 

“Great! Let’s get inside.” Serena punched in the code for the gate. The gate was white with a automate barn-like door design. It slid back and revealed the bottom half of the house. “Once again, this house is 6,920 sq ft with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. It’s priced under $5 million.

 

“What?” Jackson was astounded at how affordable the place was. Other places, like this, closer to the city were very expensive. Mark was probably even more convinced.

 

“It’s $4.7 million. I would recommend offering closer to $4.3.”

 

Jackson’s soul tried to escape his body. Serena continued her sales pitch. “The backyard is magnificent; I can’t wait to show you. As you can see there is a three-car garage, plus the driveway, with the gate closed, can accommodate three cars. “

 

The driveway was immaculate. Concrete rectangles were outlined by pristine grass. There was a small front yard that would be great for gardening, and a large tree that would be fun to climb. Jackson and Mark were both enamoured. Mark tugged on Jackson’s arm as they walked toward the front door. The house even had a porch. Honestly, it was exactly what they wanted. It was white and traditional. The roof had many slopes, perfect for hanging Christmas decorations. But, the outside didn’t hold a candle to the inside.

 

“Here is the foyer. As you can see the floor plan of this house is very open. You can see right to the back of the house. To your right is the formal living room with a fireplace. The fireplace has a beautiful custom mantle with a dark marble trim.”

 

Mark was salivating. His designing spirit was in love. The gray-brown wood floors gave a light, comfortable feel to the house. The contrast of the black marble with the white-gray color scheme was stunning. He couldn’t wait to see more.

 

“From here is the formal dining room.” The dining room was adorned with two large crystal chandeliers. The entrance way from the living room to the dining room was adorned with a custom cabinet that would display fine glasses and plates. Mark was sure this house would be theirs. The large table could hold ten people comfortably. They could also get a larger table that could hold twelve.

 

“This is your wet bar area, behind the stairs. This is the kitchen with a great eat-in area, a lot of counter space, and a breakfast nook. The glass room in the middle of this house is the wine closet. ”

 

“That’s the biggest closet I’ve ever seen.” There was a large wine rack and a couple of lounge chairs in the room. Jackson barely drank wine. They didn’t need a wine closet at all. “What would we even use it for?”

 

“You could entertain those investors of yours. They seem like the people with high-caliber taste,” Mark said mockingly. Some of Jackson’s investors were wine connoisseurs. Others were college buddies he’d partied with back in those days.

 

Jackson just rolled his eyes.

 

Ignoring the couple’s spat, “This is the family room which is good for casual relaxation. Through that door is your movie room with a state of the art projector and speaker system.” They walked into the movie room. Mark plopped down and squealed with delight at the comfort. “It’s been sound proofed as well. The seats are custom theater-style chairs.” The realtor lead them out of the movie room to look at the large glass sliding doors that gave an unobstructed view of the backyard. It wasn’t so much of a backyard, but was more like an oasis.

 

“This backyard is more than what you wanted or expected right? It has a beautiful pool and jacuzzi, green space, a luxurious outdoor kitchen, and a shed that has been renovated into an indoor space. The icing on the cake is the full-size basketball/tennis court.”

 

Mark was in love. This backyard satisfied every possible wish and desire. It was beautifully designed. Jackson on the other hand was impressed, but very aware of the opulence.

 

“This is so amazing. There’s a basketball court Jackson! A basketball court. You love basketball.”

 

“I do like to play basketball, but I don’t mind going to the park or something. Is all of this something we really need?”

 

Mark shrugged. They definitely didn’t need a basketball court, but what was the harm? The  followed Serena into the house. They toured all of the bedrooms. The master suite was beautiful, large, and had its own fireplace and deck. The bathrooms were gorgeous. One of them had a black color-scheme and Mark was surprisingly in love with it. He seemed to try and absorb every detail. Jackson’s senses were overloaded.

 

They left the house and eventually made it back to their apartment. They didn’t talk the entire car ride home. When riding with the realtor, Mark excitedly talked about everything he loved about the house. All the things he loved happened to be almost everything he could remember. On the car ride back Mark was buzzing with happiness. He hummed along to every song on the radio and was smiling ear to ear.

 

Jackson was screwed. Don’t get him wrong, Jackson liked the house, but it seemed like too much. They were a two person family and almost 7,000 sq ft of living space definitely seemed to be too much. The backyard was ridiculously awesome, but they probably wouldn’t be able to utilize it to its greatest potential. Something was telling Jackson not to give in, and he was listening.

 

The were in their apartment, waiting for the food they ordered to arrive. Mark was texting someone happily, probably one of his sisters or parents, telling them about the house they saw.

 

“Mark, can we talk?” This conversation wasn’t going to be easy.

 

“Sure.” Mark placed his phone down. He was glowing with happiness. Jackson was dying a little inside, thinking about what he was going to say.

 

“About this house, I think-”

 

“It’s perfect right? Jackson, the ceilings were so high, the marble countertops were everywhere, and the bedrooms were so beautiful. My nieces would have a great place to stay. Your parents would be able to rest comfortably. I think it’s a place we can really make into a home.”

 

Jackson hesitantly said, “I’m not so sure.”

 

“What?” Mark’s face crashed. His demeanor became dark as his focused in on Jackson. He was tearing his husband apart with just his eyes. He was trying to pick apart what issues Jackson could possibly have with the house.

 

“It’s so big and expensive and far away from my businesses. Don’t you think it’s too much for us? We won’t have guests all the time. Sure it goes above and beyond, but do we need all those amenities?’

 

“The formal areas are nice. I would like to have a movie room.” Mark couldn’t seem to fathom how Jackson could not be completely head over heels for this house. It was perfect. “It’s a place that will suit us for the next stage in life.”

 

“Still, don’t you think we should work our way up to something like that.”

 

“I have worked. I’ve been doing my job for almost ten years. I’ve lived in apartments for the past twelve years. I dated too many people who weren’t worth it. I was in pursuit of a goal, a dream.  I’ve dreamed of buying a beautiful house with my spouse and creating a life with them. I don’t want to hop from house to house. I want to settle down. Jackson, I’m thirty-two. We’ve been married for almost two years. I’m not getting any younger. I’m ready to settle down.”

 

Sometimes Jackson forgot Mark was older. Jackson was twenty-eight. Although their age difference was slight, it was apparent sometimes. Jackson could have justifiably lived the bachelor lifestyle for a while longer, but he decided to get married. He decided to cut himself off from the indulgences. That house reminded him of the indulgences he used to partake in. Mark, on the other hand, was at the age where being a bachelor wasn’t what he wanted. Moving from house to house was reminiscent of the bachelor life. It wasn’t permanent enough. Jackson was trying to be rational, but Mark wanted this house. Jackson was only objecting because he thought it was the sensible thing to do.

 

As a last ditch effort, “The drive though.”

 

Mark reached up and Jackson’s face. “You’ll just have more expensive leases on your cars.”

 

Jackson pouted. “I don’t care about that. I’ll be spending less time with you.”

 

“Married people need time to themselves.” Jackson continued to pout. “I’ll be even more excited waiting for you to come home.” Jackson didn’t believe that, but his heart still skipped at the thought. “I swear I’ll love you forever.”

 

“You promised that at our wedding.”

 

Mark smiled. “Yeah, but I mean it this time,” he teased. “Seriously though, I really want to live in this house. It’s perfect for whatever the future holds for us.”

 

“It’s expensive?” Jackson couldn’t even say it with conviction since technically it was under budget.

 

“It’s less than $5 million. It’s only $4,679,000. Plus it has so many great features.”

 

“Expensive!”

 

Mark smiled again. “Money isn’t worth more than our happiness or the future. Life is short, why dwell so much on money. We won’t be able to enjoy it when we’re dead.”

 

“Buying it will make me that much closer to death.”

 

Mark rolled his eyes. He kissed Jackson softly on his lips. “ it up. I want to put in an offer tomorrow.”

 

Jackson sighed. He was defeated. “Fine. You’re lucky I love you.”

 

“I am.”

 

“Aren’t you glad we got this house?” Mark rubbed his growing belly as he walked around the newly furnished nursery.

 

“Yes. The basketball court is more fun than I anticipated.” Jackson said as he hung up curtains.

 

“Just imagine if we were in a starter home, it’d be so cramped. I’d probably go insane. Your parents would have been so disappointed knowing their future grandchild would be born in such an unhappy home.”

 

Jackson sighed as he got off the step stool. He took Mark’s hands and laced their fingers together. “I was wrong. This house is great. Raising our daughter in this home will be such a privilege. I’m lucky to have you helping me through life. I’d be lost without you.”

“Yes you are.” Mark leaned forward and kissed Jackson. Their family would grow beautifully in this home for a long time.

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So when I'm creating a stroyline, sometimes (most of the time) I like to find houses or cars that I believe suit the storyline and characters. Since this story is set in Los Angeles, CA, I decided to make their lives luxurious. I'm basing there lifestyle on the assumption Jackson makes a lot of money with his clubs, bars, a restaurants. Here's the link for the house. The car I mentioned can be found with this link . I only wrote this becuase I enjoy watching house-hunting shows. In the future, expect a JJP version of this scenario. One day, I will actually write the background of this stroyline like I promised. Thank you for continuing to read these stories. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for subscribing. Thank you for voting. I will try to write more in the future.