Accidental Soulmate (H2O) [VeeMark]

14~

Not me trying to squeeze in more plot into the last chapter(s), lolz, sorry. I hope it won't be too much of a drag ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Brace yourselves, this chapter was a beast to write and obviously Mark has some serious issues.

Happy reading! ♥

In which Mark comes home.
~~~

"Whoa, careful! You'll fall!"

Alarmed, Vee surges forward and catches Mark by the elbow when the younger man's foot catches against the car door and he stumbles head first out of the cab, ass in the air and the dark ground rushing at him in a blur. Vee quickly pulls Mark backwards with a harsh jerk, so that he can tumble right into him instead of falling flat on his face. Sitting on the sticky bathroom floor of a club was perhaps enough for wallowing in the dirt for one night.

"Ouf!" All air squeezes out of Vee's lungs when they collide, chest to chest, knees knocking.

Mark groans first in pain when his sore ribs get jostled around in the brief confusion, but then he giggles once he realizes their unexpected proximity. Shamelessly taking advantage of it, Mark plasters himself against Vee's front, leaning his whole weight against him, arms sneaking up and around his neck. The senior's body is overpoweringly hot through the layer of clothes, almost feverish, despite the chilly night air. Mark snuggles closer into the furnace, one cheek mushed against his chest where he can hear the solid pounding of Vee's heart, right beneath his dreadful soulmark.

Mark sighs in content, eyelids fluttering tiredly, his consciousness slowly dissociating. It's so peaceful. Having Vee this close soothes his high-strung nerves. For one blissful moment he can stop fighting against the rubber band inside his mind that constantly keeps dragging him back. For now, he can rest.

"Mm... I like your scent Phi..." Mark mumbles dazedly into the soft fabric of Vee's loose tank top that faintly smells of motor oil. Everything feels vague and a little slippery. Syrupy. "Wish you were my soulmate..."

What?

The world stops spinning for one second while Vee's heart trashes madly in his chest like a trapped bird at the ill-timed confession. The tendons at the back of his hands pop out as his grip on Mark's hips tightens, causing the coarse edge of his jeans to cut uncomfortably into Vee's palms. Vee squeezes his eyes harshly and takes a moment to breathe in slowly while counting to ten, ribcage expanding. He reminds himself then, while exhaling just as slowly, that Mark might be too drunk to realize what he's actually saying right now. Vee shouldn't get ahead of himself. There are things they obviously need to discuss first. Mark isn't allowed to cheat like that.

Yet, Vee can't deny the faint flutter in his chest about Mark finally acknowledging what he has been suspecting for several days already, maybe even weeks. Everything has been a messy blur of heightened emotions and new sensations ever since he's had that run-in with Mark by the poolside a few months ago. Vee doesn't even know when it all started. Perhaps it was always there, laying in wait?

The senior clears his throat awkwardly, glancing down at Mark's bulky form burrowed peacefully in the circle of his arms, where he can glimpse a mushed cheek and a pair of squished, rosy lips, bangs fluttering with each soft exhale. Cute. Mark looks too much like a steamed bun right now, all fuzzy and warm.

A playful grin stretches slowly across Vee's face.

He's about to say something innately shameless just to get a rise out of Mark, but then dully realizes that the cab is still there, the motor whirring away faintly in the background. Changing his course of action, Vee hurriedly untangles one of his arms to the sound of Mark's muffled protests and pushes the backseat door shut with a dense bang that reverberates hollowly throughout the neighborhood. Vee signals then singlehandedly to the driver with an apologetic grin that he's free to go and the yellow-and-green cab starts pulling out of the driveway with a flare of bright headlights and a smear of elongated shadows along the pebbled ground, soon leaving them all alone on the private street, burning taillights shrinking rapidly in the distance.