The warm water ran down his whole body and rinsed it. The sound of the water hitting the tiled floor accompanied him.
Mark had just been back from work; the warm shower washed some of his exhaustion away.
After the shower, he put on a comfortable shirt and pants. He knew what he was going to do now; he wanted to see Jinyoung.
Sometimes, he wished Jinyoung had already been back to work, and that would lessen the hours they were apart from each other. But he did not want to force Jinyoung, when the latter had not mentioned, getting back to work, yet.
Mark left his room and went up the stairs, to Jinyoung's room. Inside, Jinyoung was under the sheet, deep asleep. The room was still fairly lit.
Mark closed the door behind him and made his way to the bed. Jinyoung was buried under the sheet, till his chest, and lying on his left side.
Mark gave some thought to whether to just leave because Jinyoung was sleeping or to remain here, even if all he could do would be merely staring at Jinyoung.
What he did, however, was remove the sheet a little from Jinyoung so that he could get under it as well, and get on the bed, before sitting on it with his legs stretched.
He drew Jinyoung's head towards his stomach and leaned against the headboard, while his hand ran through Jinyoung's messy hair and stroked the strands.
Sometimes, all of this felt like a miracle - something he had never expected. Who would have thought that he would fall for someone, who had forced him to learn what was hatred, disgust and grudge? But what could he do when that person also happened to possess his heart?
Till now, he had no certainty whether Jinyoung had feelings for him or not. Jinyoung never denied his touches but never showed eagerness, either. But he could tolerate it. What he feared the most, was Jinyoung taking him as his usual fling, like some day Jinyoung getting tired of him and pushing him away.
Jinyoung dreamed of his mother, singing him a lullaby and caressing him into sleep. And of soft feathers brushing against his skin.
That had been a good nap; Jinyoung fluttered his eyes open and in an instant, sensed someone else's presence on his bed.
Jinyoung turned his eyes upward to see them; Mark's eyes were closed and his body was against the headboard, his hand moving through Jinyoung's hair.
The sight made Jinyoung break into a smile; if possible, he wanted to nuzzle his head against Mark's stomach and wrap his hand around it. But he did not want Mark to know that he was already awake. Mark's touches on his head were so good that he wanted to fall asleep all over again. Letting himself be lulled to sleep.
How long he had been asleep, Jinyoung did not know. But the second nap seemed to have been only a short one. This time he woke up, he could, no longer, feel Mark's stomach against his face nor Mark's hand in his hair.
But when he opened his eyes, he realised Mark was still beside him, this time his whole body lying on the bed and his eyes staring at Jinyoung. They were now gazing at each other, face-to-face, and there were only a few inches between them.
"Awake now?" Mark asked.
"How long have you been here?"
"I guess about an hour. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. Should I get out of the bed or-"
"You're asking me now when you said you've stayed here about an hour already?"
Mark let out a chuckle, "I should continue staying here then. You look so tranquil when you're asleep. It's out of topic, but I wanted to kiss you, like crazy. I restrained myself, only not to wake you up."
Jinyoung tried so hard to put on an indifferent, unaffected face; it would be embarrassing if his whole face was burning red now. And the thought that Mark found him serene when asleep, stirred something in his stomach.
"I think I should get up now."
"Already?"
Jinyoung sat up, but only to be dragged down by Mark. He fell, messily, back onto the bed, and was pressed down by Mark's body, which climbed on him.
"I can't let you go like this. At least, not without a kiss."
Mark steadied himself on Jinyoung's abdomen and his face leaned down, approaching Jinyoung's, till he could feel Jinyoung's uneven breath against his face.
Jinyoung squeezed his eyes tight, expecting something soft would come in contact with his lips soon. Seconds passed but nothing came.
He fluttered his eyes open and found Mark, looking at him with a smile.
"Don't you want to shove me away, Jinyoung? I'm sure you can if you want to. I don't want to force you to always be kissed by me."
Jinyoung felt trapped; he did not want to admit that he liked whatever Mark did to him, but pushing him away was not an option, either.
"What am I to do, Jinyoung? You can just say yes or no."
"Just do whatever you want, please."
Mark ran his hands through Jinyoung's hair and crashed his lips against Jinyoung's. He moved his lips, as if sucking the life out of Jinyoung. His hold on Jinyoung's hair got tighter and his body forced Jinyoung hard down onto the bed. His desperate lips were begging a reaction from Jinyoung's trembling ones.
He felt Jinyoung's hands locking around his neck and slightly pulling him in. Jinyoung was slowly giving in, he could feel it; his lips were parting, on their own, for Mark. The moment Jinyoung's lips starting to move against his, Mark almost halted, out of surprise.
But he continued, like there was never the end. For the first time, he found out what it felt like to kiss someone with all he had, and to be kissed back just the same.
Seconds passed and they slowed down, letting out groans into each other's mouth. Mark slowly pulled away, their lips disconnecting. He moved his lips down Jinyoung's throat and collarbones, and then back to his ear, to give it a gentle tug.
Jinyoung's satisfied moan encouraged him to go further. He sat up straight again and took off his shirt, after undoing the buttons in a hurry. Jinyoung's eyes were on him and his chest was rising and falling unsteadily.
Mark lifted Jinyoung a little and helped him take off his t-shirt. When he hovered back over Jinyoung, their bodies met, bare. Jinyoung's hands wrapped around his neck again; and their lips pressed against each other's skin, everywhere they could reach. Against the shoulders, collarbones, chest, nipples, throat. Soft touches everywhere, racing their heartbeats.
Mark found Jinyoung's lips back while he reached for Jinyoung's pants. Just when he was going to shove it down, his hand was stopped. Mark pulled himself away and looked at Jinyoung's hand gripping his wrist. His eyes turned back to Jinyoung and his eyebrows raised in question.
"Let's not do this. I'm not ready," muttered Jinyoung.
Jinyoung could not read Mark's eyes at that moment; whether it was disappointment or frustration in those eyes. Silence fell, and it became awkward even to stare at each other.
Jinyoung expected some words from Mark, any words that would express what he felt towards Jinyoung's denial. But no word came.
Mark leaned in and brushed his lips against Jinyoung's forehead. Just for a brief moment. Then the bed bounced a little as Mark got out of it. Jinyoung watched him, not knowing what was with this reaction.
After grabbing his shirt back, Mark walked to the door and left the room.
