Accidental Soulmate (H2O) [VeeMark]

8~

In which Mark thinks he loses something but then he gains it back.
~~~

Mark lays sprawled out on his stomach across the bed, basking in the afterglow, muscles loose and skin warm. He's still a tiny bit out of breath, with beads of sweat pooling along his hairline. The white sheets are tangled between his legs, barely covering his lower back. He has one flushed cheek glued against the warm skin of Vee's sturdy chest that's rising and falling slowly beneath him in a steady pattern. In turn, Vee's arm is looped securely around his waist, each finger leaving a hot imprint against Mark's bare skin where he holds him, pressing their sticky bodies together. It's nice, especially with the setting sun filtering lazily through the bedroom window, bathing the messy bed in hues of shimmering gold and warm orange, putting an ethereal filter on the hard reality around them.

There's a trail of discarded clothes on the floor that curves halfway around the bed like a praying circle, before leading out of the room and disappearing somewhere amidst the faint shadows of the living room. Mark's fuzzy sweater hangs off one corner of the square mattress, all tangled and inside-out, with its seams visible and there's a pillow that's been kicked down onto the floor.

The bed is like a safe island amidst his broken life, Mark thinks unguardedly whilst coming down from his high, dark lashes fluttering in content. It feels as if tomorrow and all the troubles it would bring, could wait. In this quiet afternoon, as their hearts beat in tandem, breaths aligned, it definitely feels as if they are the two last people left in the entire world.

As if they've fallen out of time.

"I didn't know you were half Japanese," Vee says, breaking the tranquility of their bubble, voice kept light and airy. He jolts Mark out of his daze when he glances down at the crown of his messy head with an imploring little sound, letting the soft strands tickle his chin. Vee has to however squint with one eye because of the burning sun that's shining straight at them, settling over the tiny room like a bleeding wound.

It might be blinding Vee, but it also sets Mark's unmarried skin aglow in the most exquisite way, exposing every dip and groove where it glides over his upper back and then dances across his wide shoulders, until it finally loses itself with a dazzling shimmer amidst his wild, black hair. Mark's lips are puffy and flushed an angry red from their rough kisses from where Vee can catch a glimpse of them.

"Mm," Mark hums in acknowledgment as he absently traces Vee's soulmark with his stubby fingertips and then rubs softly at it, pulling at the bruised skin right above Vee's heart in a foolish attempt to erase the damning words. Mark had impulsively sunk his blunt teeth into it when Vee had thrust especially hard into him, unable to fully wrap his head around the heady need surging inside of him to posses, to taste Vee's soulmark on his tongue, to make it his own.

The fluttery touch tickles and Vee grabs his hand reproachfully to still his motions, fingers curling loosely around Mark's hand, cradling it against the valley of his chest. The younger man doesn't lose a beat and in turn, turns his hand around within Vee's grasp, lacing their fingers together.

There's a light whoosh of warm air that ruffles Mark's hair when Vee's breath suddenly hitches in his throat, unprepared for Mark to reciprocate. They might have shared more than a few dozen needy kisses during these last couple of weeks but they've never done something like this, and despite having been buried deep inside of Mark mere minutes ago, Vee can admit to himself that this feels even more intimate, fragile in its own way.

Mark stares absently at their entwined hands too, his own heart racing a bit faster at the unprompted sight. His pale fingers are noticeably shorter than Vee's honeyed ones. The senior's palm is broad and callused but it's still soft and safe enough to make Mark feel grounded, at peace. It's strange because he isn't usually the one to cuddle after a one-night stand, or whatever this is that they have going. He curls his fingers in an attempt to decipher his own mixed feelings, and Vee's grip tightens in reply, revealing more of the mangled soulmark etched across his skin.