(A/N)
This is the Era I'm talking
"Let's get you unpacked, c'mon," he smiled. I couldn't help but smile either. He took my hand as we grabbed my things and lead me to the second floor of the narrow house. There were 2 bedrooms, one was empty and the other had to be Mark's, it was a bit messy but it was his own.
"You can put your things in the other room, or we can share mine if you like. I don't mind," his tone sounded like he wanted me to stay with him. He always seemed to be smiling.
"I. I guess I'll stay with you. If you're sure you wouldn't mind, I don't want to intru-"
"Tom," he stopped me. "Like I said before, if I wasn't sure then I wouldn't offer. Now c'mon, let's get you set up." His small smile turned to a bright grin as he pushed the door further open and set my guitar case by the wall.
"There should be extra space in the closet with coat hangers and stuff. I know I have a few extra drawers. You can put all your clothes in there and your other stuff where you see fit. Make yourself at home." He paused for a moment.
"This can be your new home." His words were quiet and slow. He seemed sure of his words. He grabbed some coat hangers from the closet and set them in his bed, along with my duffel bag. I the big flap and was met with the smiling faces of my siblings and I. That photo was taken at my grandpa's pond last summer. My parents weren't fighting and we were all together for more than a few hours. I wish I could go back to that time. When everything seemed to be perfect. But now I don't have that. But I have Mark, and right now, he's all I have. He's all I need. My guardian angel.
I set the photo face down next to the bag and went through my clothes. I wasn't able to pack much. I had a little over 10 shirts and a few pairs of shorts and pants. Thankfully I remembered to pack socks and boxers. I put the things on hangers and Mark helped as well, putting my pants and those types of things in the drawers. I brought out some of my CD's. Just a few by Descendents and Screeching Weasel and a few other bands. I had a few books, notebooks and some stuff about space, others simply fairytales that I read when things got to be too much.
I put those things where Mark kept his. We had a few of the same discs. He had a lot of books and I put mine near them. I finished unpacking after about 20 minutes and put the bag on the floor. I sat down on the bed and no Mark came and sat next to me. I grabbed the frame that held the old picture and just stared at it. I miss them a lot.
"Who are they," Mark asked, putting his arm around me.
"That's my brother and sister, Shon and Kari. I miss them," my voice cracked and Mark just scooted closer, letting my rest my head on his side. I set the photo down and Mark laid down. I put the photo on the bedside table and took a spot next to Mark between him and the wall. He opened his arms and I settled down. He wrapped himself around he and I put my arm over his midsection.
I looked up at him. "What's your family life like?"
"Well. My name is Mark Allan Hoppus. I moved out 4 years ago when I was 18. My parents divorced when I was in third grade and that was hard on me as it would be for anybody. I've got a little sister named Anne, she's 17. I lived with my dad for most of my life and Anne lived with my mom. We saw each other pretty often, though. I started playing bass when I was about 12 or 13. I've got a dog named Josie. She sleeps a lot but she's around here somewhere. I really fucking love octopi. My favorite color is pink and I enjoy skateboarding. I usually act like a dumbass and get myself into trouble a lot. I like Star Wars a lot and there's not much else to it. Now how about you?"
"My name is Thomas Matthew DeLonge Jr. (Yes he is a junior, i checked, and ive been laughing my ass off for 20 minutes) You know about my parents and siblings. I started playing guitar when I was in 7th grade. It worked as an escape for me. I played that thing for hours at a time and fell asleep with it on my chest most nights. I used to skateboard a lot until my board got stolen. I like dogs a lot. I really fucking space and stuff. I like the color yellow. I also act like a dumbass. I like reading and listening to music. My favorite band is Descendents and yeah, I guess that's it."
"You're a pretty rad dude, Tom."
"So are you," I yawned.
"Ah, little Tommy is tired," he chuckled. "You wanna take a nap?"
I rubbed my eyes and set my arm back on his chest. I nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."
And with that he closed the shades and got us comfortable again. He ran his fingers through my hair and everything just felt, I don't know. Right? I don't know. I was happy, and he was happy, and even though we weren't doing anything, it seemed like everything went away. It was us and a bed and a radio. "Nothing With You" played and god damn did that seem fitting. I felt him kiss my forehead as I nuzzled into him. And as I found myself in the warm embrace of the man that saved me, I fell asleep, and I've never felt happier.
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I woke up on his chest. His hand tangled in my hair and my arms around him. His breathing was deep and slow and I still heard the low snores from his mouth. I put my hand up by his ear, moving my thumb gently around his temple, pulling myself up to kiss his chin or the side of his mouth. It was dark now, and at the angle I was I could see the see the sky through the blinds if I turned my head. I always loved the stars. They brought peace and kept me going. The universe is infinite and it made me feel better about my own home, knowing that I'm not alone, floating in a black sea of nothingness like the empty planets of our solar system.
Mark began to wake up after a little bit. His lips smacked like the judge of a cooking show as he blinked his eyes a few times. I went up to kiss his cheek and a goofy grin came on his face. I went up so I was at eye level with him. He took his hand from my hair and pulled my chin toward his. I felt his breath on my face as he looked into my eyes.
"Did you sleep okay, love," he asked as he moved his hand to my chest.
"Better than I have in a long time, and I guess I owe that to you." He smiled at that and looked down at his hand on my chest before looking back up at me. "How did you sleep?"
"Very well. You make a good teddy bear," he chuckled. "Well, it's," he paused to look at the clock behind him, "a little after 10. We slept for like 5 hours. Are you hungry?"
"Yeah. Food sounds great."
"You're so weird," he chuckled, getting out from under the blanket.
I rolled my eyes, "Look who's talking."
"Good point. Get your shoes on, I think I know a few places that are still open."
I got out of the bed and put on my checkered Vans, stuffing the laces in the sides. I pushed my hair back and straightening my shirt. I went out of the room and Mark was leaning against the wall, keys in hand. He smiled when he saw me. He put his keys in his pocket and grabbed my hands. He leaned back on the wall and just looked back at me, the lopsided smile still on his face, making me smile too.
"Can I kiss you right now," he asked, furrowing his brows.
I chuckled. "You can do that any time you want."
And with that, he put his arms around my neck and I put mine around mid waist and he pulled my down to meet his mouth. The somewhat familiar taste came flooding back and I felt like he was the only thing in the world. The kiss was simple, mouths closed and hands not roaming too far down. I pulled away after a minute or two and his arms dropped from my neck, finding my hand and lacing his fingers within mine.
He opened the door and we went down the few steps to the pavement before walking over to his car. He opened the door for me like he did a few hours ago before going to his side and starting the car. He switched tapes from "I Don't Want to Grow Up" to "Three Imaginary Boys" by the Cure.
"I don't think I've gotten a chance to listen to this album all the way through," I said, looking at the streets ahead.
Mark gave an exaggerated jump (SHOOK) and put his hand over his chest.
"Tom! Dude! This is one of the greatest albums to fucking exist!"
"Woah, woah, there, boy," I chuckled, "I'll have to."
"You bet your ass. We'll finish the album after dinner. And don't you laugh at me! This is a serious fucking matter! You've gotta be fucking blessed by the god known as Robert J. Smith."
By then I was laughing my as off in the passenger seat and he just flicked my ear before laughing himself. After another minute or so, we pulled into a dimly lit parking lot of a small restaurant called Sombrero's.
Mark got out of the car first and I quickly followed. We walked to the door and he opened the door for me which I quickly thanked him for. The place was dead, the only sound being some generic mariachi music playing and a guy on his Gameboy. He looked up once he heard us.
"Hey! Mark. How's it going," he asked. He had a slight accent which I thought was kinda cool.
"Hey, Lucas. I'm doing great. You?"
"Wonderful. Thanks. Who's this," he said, pointing his eyes towards me.
He put his arm around my back, "This is Tom, my- He's not usually around this part of town so I thought I'd take him out."
Mark quickly stopped and tried to make a quick cover up, although it didn't work too well on my end. Mark and I hadn't really discussed what we "were." Housemates that hold eahcother? Friends that occasionally fondle? Kids that kiss with passion? I don't know what you'd really call us, seeing as we've only been in this limbo for about 10 hours. I guess that's a discussion for another time.
"Nice to meet you, Tom," he said, shaking my hand.
"Same to you," I nodded.
He turned back to Mark, "The usual?"
"Yep, but make it 2."
"Sounds good. And you come here all the time, this one's on the house."
"Really? Thank you!"
"Anytime, Mark. Now go take a seat, I'll be there with your food in a few minutes," he said, handing us some paper cups and lids to go to the soda machine.
Marl thanked him again as we went to the fountain. I got Dr. Pepper and Mark got Sprite. We popped the lids onto our cups before Mark chose a booth in the corner of the small establishment.
"Thanks for taking me out tonight... and everything else," I trailed off.
"Of course, Tom. I couldn't be happier with you."
I blushed and looked down at the table as Lukas brought out our food on a green tray.
"Two chicken supreme burritos with sour cream and guac on the side. You two have a goodnight," he smiled before going back behind the counter.
"Wait, shit. You don't have any allergies or anything, right? Wait, fuck, do you like Mexican food?" Mark was scattered and worried and I just shook my head with any laugh.
"Nope. No allergies. And yeah, I love Mexican food. Don't worry so much," I said, bumping his leg under the table.
"Thank God," he breathed. He passed me one of the foil covered burritos before grabbing the other himself, unwrapping the giant rectangle and grabbing the little cups of guacamole and sour cream. He opened them and put them on the side and I followed his lead. I opened up the foil and holy shit these things were huge.
Mark looked at me with anticipation. "What," I asked confused.
"Take a bite, I wanna see your reaction," he said excitedly.
"You're so weird."
And with that I took a bite of the thing and god damn. Fucking foodgasm. There was chicken and cheese and lettuce and fucking french fries and hot sauce that was made by God himself.
"Holy shit, this is great."
"Yes!" He smiled.
We finished our food making some small talk between bites and sips. We said goodbye to Lucas as we made our way back to the Jeep, Mark opening the door like usual. He hopped in on his side and out the keys in the ignition and began to turn them before he paused.
"Hey Tom. This is gonna sound like a weird idea, but would you be opposed to just listening to music in the back seat? Wait, fuck it, never mind, it's stupi-"
"Mark," I stopped him. "I'd love to."
"You're wonderful, you know that?"
"Well, you're the only one to tell me that, but I guess I can trust you."
He shook his head before starting the car, changing the Cure tape for the radio, "Saving the music for our destination."
After driving for a little while, we ended up in the middle of no where in front of a field. Mark parked the car and put the tape back in before we went to the back seat of his car. I sat in the corner and he put my head in his lap, looking up at me and holding my hand with both of his. I used my other to pet his hair.
"Hey. Uhm, can we, uh, talk about something," I asked hesitantly.
"Of course," he said, kissing my hand, "anything."
"I heard your words at the restaurant and you stopped and I just. I don't really know how to phrase the question."
"Just do your best and I'll understand, okay?"
I nodded. "Okay. Just. What are we?"
"Well, that's a bit of a weighted question. What do you want us to be Tom?"
"I told you today, Mark. I'll be anything and everything you want me to be." His blue eyes were staring deep into mine now. He sat up and turned to me, crossing his legs on the seat.
"Be my boyfriend Tom."
"I think I can do that."
And with that he turned up the music and closed the gap between us. This was very different from the other times. There was more want in this. Kisses were sloppier and mouths progressively opened more. His tounge went at my bottom lip and I allowed him, following his lead when it came to that. I felt him leaning back and I followed again, soon falling on top of him as he let his hands roam. The music was beautiful and played to this moment made it even more wonderful. His hands roamed my chest and back and occasionally went under my shirt but never attempting to take it off. He would tug at the hem but never more than that. I took that as a sign enough and pulled away, sitting up and taking it off and Mark did the same. His hands roamed my chest and stomach and arms.
"You're beautiful, Tom DeLonge."
And there I kissed him. I kissed him out of joy and years of self hatred that all seemed to slip down the drain right as those simple words came out of his mouth. And that night, we never went further than that make out session, but God damn was that fucking magical.
We drove back to his house and went straight to bed, falling asleep in the embrace of the other and enjoying the skin to skin contact that was a new territory. I stared at the ceiling, repeating hid words over and over and over again.
Evidently, Mark wasn't asleep yet. He put his hand in my hair. "What are you thinking about, darling?"
"Nothing but you, Mark."
"You're beautiful inside and out Tom. Now get to sleep, I can't wait to see your pretty face in the morning."
A/N
Am I cheesy or what. It took me forever to write this and I'm too damn tired to edit so if you see and errors, tell me in the comments. Thanks for reading, love you, my little windmills.