Markus, even with his face a deep shade of red, sighed and shook his head. "Not kiddin' about your eyes lookin' like hematite. But I don' need fixed up, ya know. Nothin' really hurts all that bad." A lie. While it wasn't the worst he'd ever faced, it definitely wasn't pleasant, the throbbing in his face or the spots of pain along his chest where he'd been hit. There was no way he was letting Nikolas know that, after watching him get pissed about it earlier, though. Even if he still didn't quite understand why it bugged Nikolas so bad.
My Other Half // PRIVATE with Crocs
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Nikolas said nothing, just shook his head. He was stopping whether Markus wanted to or not. It didn't take long before he started seeing signs of civilization, and he found an old dirt road leading into some woods to pull into. After a minute of driving, he turned the car into a small clearing in the trees and parked it, turning off the vehicle as a final 'this is what we're doing' before looking over at Markus with an arched brow. "Fight me if you want, I have my ways of getting you to do what I think you should do."
"That sounds threatenin', and I kinda wanna test ya on that." Markus said, ever difficult even when it was best not to be. He crossed his arms over his chest, arching a brow at Nikolas right back. "I'm fine, Niky. See, not even bleedin' anymore." He tilted his head as though gesturing to his face without actually moving his arms. He couldn't not keep up appearances.
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"Stubborn as always," Nikolas murmured, mostly to himself, "Father would be proud." He then sighed and locked eyes with Markus, not backing down either as he turned his body to face the boy with an arm resting against the wheel. "It's not a threat, but a promise. We're not leaving here until you let me clean off that blood and get you a clean shirt. And if we don't leave, then we don't get food. If you want to test me, then I might speed up your decision making process. Your choice, Markus." He really wanted to check for injuries and help Markus heal them, but that would reveal his magic for one, and it would be a waste of time because of Markus' stubbornness and insistence that he was fine.
Markus opened his mouth, paused, then closed it with a huff. "God dammit. Fuck you, man." He huffed, slouching and uncrossing his arms. "Fine. Do your thing, I guess. I just wanna eat. But seriously, Niky, I'm fine." He grumbled, his scowl deepening as his stomach growled loudly. "This is your damn fault."
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Nikolas smiled grimly, his lips lopsided as he tipped his way in the same lopsided manner. "Love you too, babe." He then unbuckled himself and reached over to do the same for Markus. "C'mon, this will be over before you know it, and then I'll buy you the whole damn menu if you want." Without further ado, Nikolas opened his door and got out, closing it behind him as he started for the back of the car to the trunk.
Markus blinked. And then his cheeks were flaming again, eyes wide as his heart did something that felt like combusting. Whether it was from being called babe, or from the words 'Love you too', no matter how joking, he wasn't sure. He wasn't quite sure what to think about that. The emotions tumbling around his chest were confusing to say the least, half of them flustered and warm and weirdly excited, and the other half…guilty. Tess and Lily told you it's not something to feel guilty for. Nikolas hasn't been struck by lightening yet. It took him a bit too long to climb out of the car, but he managed, dragging his hand over his head. "I'm holdin' ya to that, y'know."
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Nikolas hadn't even registered the words he had spoken as anything but playful banter between friends. And—despite what the occasional kiss here and there, as well as that night in the treehouse—that's what he felt safe classifying them as. Friends. That's all they were, that's all Markus would want them to be. He looked up from the open first aid kit sitting on top of the closed trunk, hearing Markus finally meander his way over to Nikolas. He didn't wait for him to argue, just grabbed his shirt and directed him in front of Nikolas and against the car. He kept him standing, as he'd be even taller when up on the car, and Nikolas didn't exactly want to be reminded even more of his shorter height.
Markus let Nikolas drag him along by his shirt, somewhat used to that now. Once he was in the spot Nikolas wanted him in, he shoved his hands in his pockets, slouching slightly and bringing them just barely closer in height. "Still think this ain't necessary, but if it gets ya off my back and gets us t' food…" He shook his head, lips quirking up slightly into a small smile.
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Nikolas shook his head with a exasperated sigh. "Just shut up and let me work." He grabbed some disinfectant wipes from the kit and started to clean off the remaining blood on Markus' skin, keeping away from his split lip for now. Once he only saw bruises and clean skin on his arms and face, Nikolas tugged up Markus' shirt, arched brow asking for permission. Always asking if it was okay, always asking for permission.
Markus' eyes widened as Nikolas made to pull his shirt up, but he nodded once, giving him permission.
While his face had gotten the worst of it, the blood and split lip, his chest hadn't been exactly spared. Covered in mottled dark bruises not hidden by his skin, it looked like an abstract painting of the colors purple and blue and black. "Least I can walk this time." Markus muttered, mostly to himself. Previous fights, whether actual sanctioned fights in the ring or ones started outside of it, had ended not so great when he'd first started.
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Nikolas deftly lifted and removed Markus' shirt, tossing it off somewhere on top of the car as he examined the bruises with emotionless eyes. Unfortunately, he knew this painting well. Unfortunately, he's seen worse on dear friends and lost allies. He said nothing, just controlled his breathing and thought of a way to help Markus without revealing too much. Fuck it, I'll answer questions later.
He stepped closer to Markus, practically standing between his legs, and let his hands skim over the skin of the boy's stomach. His touch was all his magic needed, silently and stealthily slipping through and mending the wounds without completely healing them. That would be too suspicious. Nikolas couldn't help it; he got a little more spontaneous. He refused to look up at Markus, afraid that if he did, he'd chicken out. His lips soon found a bruise on Markus' chest, his magic doing the same thing.
Markus' first thought was 'what is he doing'. His second thought was more along the lines of TV static. One moment, he was questioning the fact that his wounds were healing a bit faster than they should be, losing the tight pain he was accustomed to at a rate that was abnormal, and the next he was sort of…blank. Because Nikolas' lips were on his chest, and that shouldn't feel as…whatever he would call that, as it did. Markus' hands tightened into fists in his pockets, and he inhaled sharply, carefully not moving. He wasn't sure if he was afraid Nikolas would move closer or further away, but either one might have very well been it.
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Kiss after kiss, touch after touch, Nikolas slowly healed Markus' bruises on his chest until there was nothing more he could risk doing. He was on autopilot, moving up without thinking about it to work on Markus' face. He slid a hand up and cupped it around the back of the other male's neck so he could pull him down some to reach better, his other hand lightly grasping Markus' arm. He tipped his head up, their chests just barely a hair's breadth apart, and was about to kiss that split lip away when…
I can't.
Nikolas stopped, lips slightly parted, then smoothly kissed Markus' jaw as the hand on his arm moved up to brush over his lips, fixing the split. Soon, there was nothing more he could do, so he let go of Markus and leaned away some, though he didn't bring himself to take a step back.
Markus' brain was frazzled. Which might have been was caused him to do what he did next. Could anyone really blame him though, with a boy like Nikolas standing so close, kissing his chest and jaw like that? Well, maybe. His parents and foster parents definitely could. But they weren't there. His parents were dead, and his foster parents…any of them, past or present, why should he care what they thought?
So without giving himself any time to overthink, if he even could, he reached up, gently pushing Nikolas' hand away from his face. Then he leaned down, pausing just a breath away from Nikolas' lips, eyes on his. "I wanna kiss ya, more'n I think I've ever wanted t' do somethin'." He whispered, leaving the statement open ended. A question. Asking if Nikolas would let him, if he wanted to at all.
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That was the last thing Nikolas had expected from Markus. His mind went blank, startled and confused and solely focused on the boy standing so close to him, their breath mingling from how close they were. A part of him wanted to just swoop in and kiss Markus, but he didn't. He couldn't. He wanted to—gods, did he want to—but he just couldn't move. He could barely breathe. "O Zéous, sas chrostáo éna," he breathed, his Greek accent thickening greatly, and it didn't go away as he whispered, "Then take what you want."
"If you ain't givin' this freely, cut it off. Ya hear?" Markus murmured, dark eyes flickering over Nikolas' face. Looking for something. Searching for any sign that this wasn't what he wanted. And he found none. Slowly, he closed the distance left between them, lips ever so gently pressing to Nikolas'. It was such a bare touch, like he was afraid either one of them would change their minds. But it was incredible, to finally ease that need to kiss him.
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The fact that Markus was giving him a choice, that he was telling him to stop it if he didn't want this, probably made him fall even harder for this boy. Markus had no idea how much that meant to Nikolas, but that was fine. It was good for Nikolas to know how Markus respected his wishes without knowing that part of him. So when he felt that bare touch to his lips, felt Markus get even closer, Nikolas didn't hesitate to hook an arm around the boy's neck and tilt his head into the kiss, letting him know he was okay with this without pushing Markus into something more than what he started with.
Markus blinked in surprise as Nikolas hooked an arm around his neck, lips quirking up just slightly. Carefully, he pressed into the kiss, leaving it obvious that if Nikolas decided to pull away, he could and even should. But until then, Markus wrapped an arm hesitantly around his waist, drawing him closer. If he was going to hell for this, then so be it. Because kissing Nikolas felt worth facing the pits of hell.
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Yes yes yes. With Markus, it'd always be yes, even if he didn't outright ask. It was clear he was still letting Nikolas decide what he wanted. He gladly let Markus pull him closer, happily deepening the cautious kiss, greedily savored this moment. His eyes fluttered closed as his free hand lightly pressed against Markus' chest, mindful of his bruises and careful to not make it seem like he wanted to get away. He didn't. He wanted to stay here. It was better than food, honestly.
Everything seemed like a yes. Like affirmation that this was okay. From Nikolas not backing up, the most obvious sign, to him deepening the kiss, a more subtle sign. And Markus couldn't have been happier. He could have stayed like that forever, the world kept away by a bubble that had formed around them. It was just them, troubles and worries a distant thing.
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Nikolas, however much he loved this, reluctantly and slowly broke the kiss. His lips didn't stray very far, however, just barely brushing over the other boy's lips as he breathed slowly. He glanced up at Markus, a question in his silver eyes. Was this okay for Markus? It was definitely okay for Nikolas, he really wanted to lean back in and kiss those lips again, but it was up to Markus now. He was the one that was still questioning his sexuality, after all, and kissing a guy wasn't exactly the straightest thing he could do.
"God, I really hope those two were right. 'Cause I wanna kiss you over'n over." Markus admitted quietly, his hold on Nikolas' waist tightening for just a moment, tugging Nikolas even closer. He didn't want to let go. If Nikolas asked him to, he would, of course, but he really didn't want to let go as long as he was allowed to keep holding onto him. "My parents'd be rollin' in their graves righ' now, y'know that? Or wherever the hell they ended up. Tell me I'm goin' straight t' hell. An' I still wanna kiss ya."
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The arm around Markus' neck slipped down so Nikolas could rest his hand against Markus' cheek, fingers feeling the line of his jaw. He pressed himself against Markus when he felt that arm tugging him even closer, fixing the problem. "You're not the only one going to hell," he murmured with a flicker of a smirk, then silenced them both by standing on his toes and pressing his lips to Markus' again. Ah, what a wonder it was to be the short one. It was almost fun, a different point of view.
Markus’ soft laugh was cut off by Nikolas’ kissing him again, but he wasn’t all that upset. In fact, he was perfectly happy with that. While a small part of him was still caught up on the idea of going to hell, the guilt and shame, another part of him whispered that if something was so wrong, how could it feel so natural, like the right thing? So instead of focusing on that, he kissed Nikolas. Kissed him like this was the last thing he might ever get to do.
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Nikolas couldn't want more in this moment, didn't think it could get better than this. He was kissing Markus, who was kissing him almost desperately, and he was pressed against his body and in his arms. What more could he want? "You Americans and your Christianity," he murmured against Markus' lips, "Us Greeks might be bipolar as hell, but at least we got gods that aren't any better than us." Nikolas chuckled and wrapped an arm around the other boy's waist. The hand on Markus' face stayed where it was, running his thumb over his cheekbone.
“Makes it easier t’ pretend things happen for a reason.” Markus murmured, leaning into Nikolas’ touch slightly as he kissed him. “Ya gotta tell me ‘bout your gods at some point.” He said, his other hand coming around to loop lightly around Nikolas. He leaned back against the car, allowing himself to hold onto Nikolas a bit better as he kissed him.
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"Fun fact: I didn't believe in them until I came here."I shouldn't be telling him all of this. It was one secret after another spilling from his lips, but Nikolas couldn't find it in himself to be scared about that casual unraveling of his lies and walls, not with Markus. He allowed himself to indulge in his kiss with Markus for some time before he pulled away again, pressing his hands against the other boy's chest and leaning back before he was tempted to taste those lips again. "As much as I want to keep doing this, I know you want to be fed."
Markus arched a brow at that, but didn't say anything, figuring it best not to. It seemed like something to be admitted but not discussed. At least not yet. When Nikolas pulled away, a small sound of what might have been disappointment left his lips, causing his cheeks to burn as he nodded. "Right. Yeah. Food sounds great." I'd give up food just to kiss you. The guilt was fading slowly, disappearing, or at least finding itself less prevalent in his mind.
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A slow smirk crept up his lips as Nikolas looked up at Markus, hearing that sound of disappointment and those adorably rosy cheeks. Nikolas caved in and pulled Markus back down, kissing him again. He could do this all the time. He wanted to keep kissing him, to kiss and cuddle and—yes—let Markus pick him up whenever he wanted. He wanted more nights like last night. That was a lot to want for a kid like him, and he was slightly scared it'd all disappear.