Mark woke up to a face full of Jackson’s chest. He breathed in the familiar soapy smell of his own clothes mixed with the distinct musky scent belonging undoubtedly to Jackson. Somehow he had managed to turn his body around during his sleep, trapping him effectively into Jackson’s embrace. As if to savor the moment, Mark absently leaned in briefly to nudge the side of his face against Jackson’s chest, before he realized what he was doing and quickly came to himself. Calm down don’t panic he chanted over and over again, while he slowly, but surely made his escape out of the tight lock of Jackson’s arms. Once he got himself out of bed, Mark took the opportunity to languidly stretch out his heavy limbs, the cracking of bones sounding startlingly louder in the quiet space of his room. His hand came up to stifle a yawn. The tired college sophomore looked blankly into the air while blinking a few times. He glanced briefly at the younger, whose body was ungraciously sprawled out on the bed. Mark thought offhandedly about how soft and fluffy Jackson’s hair looked without a black cap to cover it. He bit his lower lip as if in deep thought. If he omitted yesterday’s events, Mark couldn’t remember the last time he had slept that well, the notion concerning him only a bit before he proceeded to continue his usual morning routine.

Except this morning another plate was added, two instead of one cup of coffee were brewed, an extra pair of utensils were placed on the table, and an additional portion of toast was readily prepared. Mark would be outright lying if he said he disliked it. He blamed the lack of dislike on having shut himself off the social world for too long, more specifically since the start of the exam session. While frying the eggs that were to go onto the toasts, he found himself humming to a song he’d long forgotten the name of, but the tune of which he undoubtedly still found catchy. Mark’s body swayed unknowingly to the melody as his wrist skillfully twisted inwards and then out in a fluid movement to flip the eggs. But then his body stiffened almost immediately as his eyes caught the sight of a seemingly hung over Jackson, the head of whom peered out suddenly from the door leading into his bedroom. When Jackson’s gaze eventually landed on Mark, he smiled easily and stepped into the kitchen room, moving closer to where the older boy was now staring blankly at the younger. “Hey what’s up man,” followed by a more subdued “I’m really sorry about yesterday”. Jackson had opted for casual but the hand coming out to scratch the back of his neck seemed to indicate otherwise. And was that a hue of pink he saw lightly tinting his cheeks? At least his conscience is still intact Mark thought with an amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, as he felt himself relax visibly “Good morning to you, too”. He couldn’t help but snort at the absurdity of it all. Here he was preparing breakfast for, technically, a complete stranger, he had just met a couple of hours ago, but with whom he had already shared a bed. Mark blushed at the mere thought because who does that.

But then his thought process was broken by Jackson who casually asked if he could use his bathroom to take a quick shower “I promise I will be fast, I just feel really gross right now is all” he smiled apologetically. With one approving nod from Mark, he quickly made his way to the bathroom once the older had gestured towards its general direction. “Oh wait” Mark heard himself say, stalling the younger in his movements, as he turned down the heat on the stove to a bare minimum before shuffling quickly into his bedroom to grab some spare clothes and a clean towel, which he handed over to a bashful yet grateful Jackson. The latter assured Mark once again that he would only be in for two minutes tops before rushing into the bathroom and locking it. Before long, Mark heard the rustling of discarded clothes and the splashing sound of water hitting the tile floor. He felt the blood rush to his cheeks as the fleeting thought of Jackson taking a shower crossed his mind, the image of which he quickly dismissed by resolutely distracting himself with the prompt continuation of where he left off in his cooking session. This entire situation just got a whole lot weirder.

After having finished cooking bacon and eggs and serving them perfectly on two plates with their respective toasts, Mark took out his accounting book and a notebook, before settling down on his kitchen chair. He barely had time to take a bite of his toast, a slurp of his coffee and to finish one page of his book before a freshly showered Jackson sauntered out from the bathroom, clad in Mark’s clothes and pants. They fit him just fine except the shirt hugged Jackson’s sides significantly more than Mark remembered said shirt ever did on him. The startled expression on Mark’s face made Jackson let out a boyish grin “Told you I only needed two minutes”. Mischievous eyes glinted teasingly at the older. With one second’s delay, Mark stripped his distracted gaze away from the stray water drops dripping down alongside Jackson’s temple to instead look at his watch, after which he jokingly said “The clock tells me you needed five?”, a pointed eyebrow was raised as if to accent the question mark. Jackson laughed sheepishly “Close enough” he retorted while leisurely making his way to the kitchen table. He eventually sat down so that he was seated directly across from Mark, one hand coming up to rest under his chin. “So, what are you reading?” he peered curiously at Mark’s accounting book, trying to make sense of the number and tables from where he was sitting. “Ah, well, you know, just accounting, I have another two exams coming up after this weekend” he answered gravely while looking put off, watching the younger nod in understanding. “Hurry up and eat your breakfast before it gets cold” he added, to which the younger immediately complied.

With his mouth half stuffed with food, Jackson led out a content moan of appreciation. “So good!” he hummed happily while looking at Mark with a genuine expression of satisfaction. “Takes me back to America, I swear it’s been forever since I’ve eaten this kind of breakfast” the younger confessed, continuing to dig into the food while still maintaining eye contact with the older boy. Mark nodded in agreement, “Yeah I guess that’s mostly why I make it, it reminds me of home”. Jackson’s eyes widened at this new piece of information “You’re from the US?” Mark smiled at the younger’s facial expression “Yeah, from LA actually... Our family moved to Seoul when I was around 12. But my parents are from Taiwan, so yeah” He finished off lamely, not really knowing what else to say. Lucky for him, Jackson had a talent for keeping a conversation going “What up man, Chinese represent! I’m from Hong Kong by the way” He smiled toothily and raised his hand for Mark to give him a high-five. The latter was finally able to place that distinct accent. The younger boy continued excitedly “That’s why people call me” but was cut off “-Wangkong, right?” Mark found himself finishing off the other’s sentence with a chuckle. “Yeah. Right. Exactly” The younger cracked up and Mark found the sound of his laughter strangely addicting.

“Look Mark, I’m really, really sorry about yesterday. If I could make it up to you, I would. Just tell me whatever you need and I’ll be at your feet” His expression turned serious for a second and the older entertained the idea of having an obedient Jackson bend to his every command for a brief moment. He didn’t dislike it. “Well. You could make it up to me with one of those infamous massages.” He drawled “I heard they were quite good?” He looked at the younger and caught the moment when realization dawned upon Jackson, before he finally gave up on keeping a neutral face. Mark laughed out loud, genuinely and without restraint for the first time since they’ve met. If he hadn’t been laughing so hard w