“Mmm, I doubt that.” Markus hummed, arching a brow as Nikolas’ fingers dug into his chest. Harrumphing, Markus swept his tongue in a circle to get him back, before nibbling lightly, never enough to make a mark, but enough to definitely leave behind a bit more feeling. “‘Cause didn’t ya say the same thing last night?”
My Other Half // PRIVATE with Crocs
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"Shit," Nikolas hissed, head tilting back. He really wanted to pull back and get off Markus' lap before it turned into last night all over again, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. So he stayed, wishing he had something to grab onto as Markus's tongue and teeth came into the mix. He couldn't think straight (ha), couldn't function anymore. Markus had found another weak spot and Nikolas was powerless to stop him.
Markus huffed a laugh at Nikolas’ response, lightly abusing the skin on his neck just a little bit longer before pulling away. Maybe to keep things from getting further, maybe to tease Nikolas. The world might never actually know. “Y’know, we should probably be gettin’ up right about now. We’ve passed gettin’ that worm, but I’m still hungry.”
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Nikolas let out a small whine when Markus left, his skin already missing his lips. His sigh had a drop of a disappointed scoff as he leaned forward and pressed his face into the crook of Markus' neck. "You are a cruel human being," he grumbled, "Incredibly cruel." He couldn't make himself get up and off of Markus, so he simply lifted himself just enough to be able to roll to the side, flopping onto his side of the bed, lying on his stomach. He buried his face into the pillow and hugged it slightly, finally getting something he could grab.
This time, Markus actually laughed out loud. That was his good laugh, the one that lit up the room around him, with an extra added bit of morning roughness. “Aw, sorry darlin’. I just thought ya might want some coffee, maybe some food.” He cooed, leaning over Nikolas to press one last teasing kiss to the back of his neck before he slid from the bed. “Guess I’ll just have t’ go get coffee myself. All alone.”
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Nikolas smiled at the kiss to the back of his neck, then turned his head slightly to watch Markus. God, that laugh. He'd kill to have that laugh more often. Just another thing to add to the list of things that made Markus better than anyone else. He sighed and groaned dramatically, then pushed himself up and crawled over the bed to follow Markus. One arm wrapped around the boy's waist. "Wait. Gimme two seconds."
Markus smiled, placing his hands on Nikolas’ arm and squeezing lightly. “Two seconds’re possible, yeah.” He said, nodding once. “Then we’ll go get coffee. Any preference where?” He asked, tilting his head and turning it slightly to look at Nikolas out of the corner of his eye.
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"No." Nikolas gave himself exactly two seconds, then pulled himself up and slipped off the bed, letting go of Markus. He opened his mouth as he ran his fingers through his messy hair, tousling it even more, if that was even possible. No words came out, though, so he shut his mouth and swallowed. Now was probably the start of their ignorance of what just happened. He didn't know how he felt about that, but he supposed it was up to Markus from this point on.
Now we pretend nothing happened. That's probably what he's expecting, so… Markus closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the lingering warmth from Nikolas' arm. Once that comfort had faded, though, he was left with nothing but the morning's chill, all the more cold at the sudden lack of warmth. "I know a diner. Lily'n I go there after late shifts at the clinic sometimes." He said, looking around for his shirt. Suddenly, it was hard to meet Nikolas' eyes, and he hated that.
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Nikolas silently watched Markus, then sighed heavily and walked to the other side of the bedroom, crouching down and opening the large trunk he had sitting against the wall. Inside was some clothes, more meant for comfort than style. He pulled out a baby blue sweatshirt and some grey sweatpants, not bothering with a shirt. "Sounds good," he eventually said, trying not to be disappointed by the sudden mood shift. He doesn't want to be gay, so what's the point in even trying? At least I got a night.
He decided not to dwell on that as he stood, striding over to Markus with a false smirk on his lips. "We'll call it a date," he chirped, playfully poking Markus's chest before heading downstairs to the bathroom. He gave the other boy the bedroom to change in, figuring he'd want privacy.
"I wish we could." Markus murmured, once he was sure Nikolas was gone. His eyes were still a bit wide, and his cheeks were red, but it felt just a bit more normal, the flirting. Well, minus how painstakingly uncomfortable both of them were with the change in atmosphere.
Shaking his head, Markus changed quickly, heading down the stairs to look around a bit. Without actually getting into anything, obviously. He'd never do that, not after getting his ass handed to him multiple times in foster homes for even stepping into the wrong room.
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The treehouse was laid out simply. The majority of the main floor was the living room, decked out with a cozy loveseat facing the fake brick electric fireplace. A soft rug sat beneath the loveseat and the wood and resin coffee table sitting right in front of the piece of furniture. The living room seamlessly flowed into the small kitchen, the room clearly meant for prepping food only and not lingering to eat. On the other side of the treehouse was the bathroom, which is where Nikolas was. The bedroom was the only room upstairs.
It was such a cozy place, like something out of home catalogue, or a young Markus' fantasies about having a home he could stay in. It was almost funny, actually, just how similar to that mental picture Nikolas' place was. Baby Markus would have been ecstatic, would have killed for a place like this. To know someone like Nikolas, even though baby Markus would have only thought 'friends'. Now, older Markus would kill just to hold his hand or cuddle on the loveseat with him.
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Nikolas came out of the bathroom with the sweatshirt and sweatpants, barefoot for the time being. He spotted Markus in the living room and smiled softly, staying there and silently watching him. His fingers itched to touch him again, to hug him. And so he did. He silently came up behind the distracted male and wrapped his arms around Markus, his face pressed against his back.
Markus stilled when Nikolas wrapped his arms around him, but instead of freezing, he relaxed, hands finding his arms once more to settle there and squeeze lightly. There it was. That warm feeling, the feeling that everything was suddenly right and perfect. Safe. Even as he continued looking around, that piece of the puzzle had returned, the one that disappeared every time he tried to pretend he didn't want to hold Nikolas and be held. Even while everything else about this was so confusing, that wasn't. It was the one thing he understood. That Nikolas felt right. "Heya, darlin'."
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"Hey." Nikolas didn't want to move, didn't want to let go anytime soon. He didn't want to pretend that nothing happened, that neither one of them felt anything towards the other. It didn't sit well with him. He wanted to be able to do this whenever he wanted, wanted to be able to give and receive those wonderous neck kisses, wanted to feel Markus' hands on his spine. "We should…" he started hesitantly, biting his lip, "We should talk, shouldn't we?"
Markus breathed a sigh, nodding once. "Yeah. Yeah, we pro'ly should." He grew quiet for a second, before turning carefully in Nikolas' arms and scooping him up suddenly. His lips quirked up in a half smile as he carried Nikolas over to the loveseat, plopping down and situating Nikolas so that he was sitting in his lap, the other boy's back pressed to his chest as he tucked his face into his neck. He stayed like that for a moment before moving his head to plop his chin on Nikolas' shoulder, eyes on the fireplace. "I wanna be able t' do this whenever."
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Nikolas couldn't help how his heart sped up a few notches when Markus picked him up again. It continued to race as his body didn't bother fighting when the boy sat down and maneuvered Nikolas. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back and slightly to the side, resting it against Markus' head. He really did like sitting in the male's lap with his arms wrapped around his waist and his chin on his shoulder. "So do I," he murmured, opening his eyes to gaze at the fireplace.
"So if I…proposed we think 'bout what we are, to each other an' what we're comfy with bein', you'd be a'ight with that?" Markus asked, cuddling Nikolas a bit closer to his chest. He couldn't help but imagine doing this every day, every morning after they woke up, every night before going to bed, in the winter to fight the chill, with blankets and hot chocolate and each other.
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(Okay, so I lied. Last one, I promise)
Nikolas got himself comfy in Markus' lap, one hand absentmindedly reaching up to cup the side of Markus' face before slipping back down to Nikolas' side. He, too, wanted to keep doing this, to be able to cuddle with Markus whenever he wanted. "I'd be alright with that, yeah," he murmured, mostly distracted by the male's accent and warm body behind Nikolas' back.
"Then I guess I gotta ask…what is this? What're we doin'?" Markus asked softly, fingers tracing those same circles into Nikolas' side, touch light and absentminded. "And what d'you want us t' be?" I want us to be more, but I'm not sure what that means. What was there? What were the labels, and did they really need labels? They were already soulmates, which felt like a label enough.
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Nikolas opened his mouth, then shut it and closed his eyes, tilting his head back so his throat was inadvertently exposed to Markus. "I don't know, to any of that. I don't want to make you feel like you have to be with me just because I want you to. I know you aren't exactly… sure… of being with a guy." He let out a sigh and held an arm against one of Markus'. "Honestly, I want to keep doing this, whatever it is. Call it fooling around or testing the waters, I don't care. As long as I get to stay like this."
Markus was quiet for a bit, thinking and mulling over Nikolas' words and his own feelings. Testing the waters. That sounded like a decent idea. Maybe it would take a bit more testing to figure out what they were to each other, beyond a bond they were supposed to give in to according to fate. With a 'hmph' of agreement, he pressed his lips to Nikolas' throat, scattering light kisses along his skin. "Then let's stay like this for now, see where things take us. Sound good?"
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Nikolas felt a chill go through his body when he felt those lips on his throat. He let out a hum of agreement, barely nodding, before turning his head slightly so he could kiss Markus' neck as well. He made sure, however, that his piercing made an appearance as well against the boy's skin. "Fine with me," he whispered, adjusting his body so he was facing Markus a little better. His hand came up again to cup the side of the boy's face, fingers slipping over the skin like silk.
Markus muttered something unintelligible as Nikolas' piercing met his skin, huffing. He obviously wasn't upset, though, if the way he smiled and leaned into Nikolas' hand was any indication. That, and last night had made it obvious he enjoyed that more than he was willing to admit. One more kiss, and then he was fully pressing his cheek into Nikolas's hand. "Mmm, we really should get goin', but I kinda wanna just sit here a bit."
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Nikolas smiled in satisfaction, hearing Markus' reaction to his kiss. He opened his eyes and looked up at Markus, his thumb moving back and forth over the boy's cheek when he fully leaned into Nikolas' hand. "Me too." He frowned and looked around the room. "What day is it?" Shit, if it's the weekend, I'll have to hurry and get to the tracks. What to I tell Markus if that's the case?
"Well, yesterday was Friday, so I'd like to think today would be Saturday." Markus said after a moment of struggling to think. His brain was muddled thanks to the feeling of Nikolas' touch. "Ya got somewhere else t' be, darlin'? We can put off coffee for another day."
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Nikolas swore under his breath and pushed himself up, reluctantly pulling himself out of Markus' breath. "Uh, yeah. My job. Sorta." He ran his hand through his hair and looked up at the stairs, antsy to get changed and going. Fuck it. "I'm a street racer. I do it every weekend. Mornings on Saturdays and nights on Sunday."
"Why does that not surprise me." Markus said, shaking his head after a moment of surprise. In all honesty, that seemed like such a Nikolas thing to do that it just fit right in to the collage of him he already had in his head. "Go get changed, sweetheart. Just means I'll have time t' kill 'till work, even if I can't spend it with you like I was hopin'." He shot him a smile, rubbing the back of his neck and standing from the couch.
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Nikolas hesitated, then said slowly, "You can come with me." He honestly wanted to bring Markus along. He wanted to show him this side of him. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his sweatpants, waiting anxiously for Markus' answer.