wine stains

till death do us part

A few more months passed, and spring was upon the city. Zach had spent Christmas and New Year's in Pennsylvania with Jack's family. The company prospered under his guidance.

Jack had cut his hair once more and dyed it platinum blond. The two took a few weeks off and travelled a bit together. Zach served as a fantastic tour guide.

And now they laid in their bed. Jack was wide awake as the sun hit their bed just right. Zach was still sleeping. He looks so peaceful that Jack almost feels guilty about looking at him.

The blond reached in his nightstand and grabbed an emerald green box. He opens it and looks at it. It was a white gold band with encrusted alexandrite. The gem that's emerald by day and ruby by night. In a way, it's a reflection of both.
Jack is Ruby, a representation of intensity. And Zach is Emerald, a mirror of hope.

Jack takes it out of the box and slides it on Zach's left ring finger. He has been doing this for a while. To see if the perfect scenario for the proposal strikes him. But to no avail: Jack has no idea how to propose.

Then, it hits him. He could just... wait until he wakes up and looks at the ring. Jack nods softly: That's what he'll do.

So he waits patiently. His lover tosses and turns as Jack thinks of the right words to say to him when he eventually wakes up.

Zach finally stirs awake and hums as he stretches his body. Jack holds his breath. The brunet scratches his eyes and sighs happily. Once he finally opens them, he sees Jack looking at him. He smiles. "Good morning, honey." Zach pecks him.

Jack looks at him expectantly. Zach raises an eyebrow. "Is there something on my face?" He touches his face only to feel a bit of cold on his finger.

He furrows his eyebrows and looks at his hands. Zach's eyes widen to the size of plates.

Jack nudges him. "Be mine." He smiles widely.

Zach could only nod as he moved to hug him and kiss him and cry– too many emotions flashed in his brain that he could barely keep up.

The blond kisses his head. "So... is that a yes?"

"That was a really dumb question, Jack." His voice was weak as he pouts adorably. The two chuckle as they smile through emotional tears.

"I love you." Zach says into the crook of his neck.

"Uhmm, I love you more." Jack defies him.

The brunet pulls away from their hug. "We'll see about that."

***

Zach comes home after another long day at the company. He takes off his dress shoes and his coat and puts on his bunny slippers.

"Honey, I'm home!" Zach announces. He senses the smell of food and directs himself to the kitchen. Jack was in there making dinner.

He approaches him and pecks his cheek. Jack finally turns to him. "Give your fiancé a proper kiss." He pouts.

Zach smiles and kisses him sweetly. "What's for dinner?" He asks, oggling the pans.

"You'll see." Jack smiles. "Go change clothes, I want you comfortable." He nudges him with his hip.

Zach hugs him and kisses his shoulder before moving to change clothes. When he returned, he saw that Jack had set the table in the same way as their first date.

Dinner was on the table, so he sat in front of Jack. The blond clears his throat."This is my adaptation of Melt-In-Your-Mouth chicken." He opens the lid and presents his dish.

Zach claps his hands excitedly. The two eat as they tell each other about their day.

After cleaning the dishes together, the two sit on their couch. It's so comfortable and cosy that Jack truly feels himself relaxed. The brunet excuses himself to go to their bedroom.

When he returns, he covers Jack's eyes. He opens a small box with his right hand and gets closer to his ear. He uncovers his eyes, and Jack smiles widely.

It was a band with an encrusted Ruby. He could see something engraved in the ring. "Till death do us part." Is what it said.

Jack happily slides the ring on his finger and admires it. "If I'm yours, then you're mine, right?" Zach asks. He nods, turning to kiss his cheek. "Then enlighten me." He starts. "Why stop at thirty-four?"

Time suddenly seems to go by really slowly.

Thump...

Thump Thump.

Jack feels his blood run cold, and his face pale. He chuckles nervously. "Thirty-four what, darling?"

Zach chuckles humourlessly. "Don't play dumb, honey." His voice sounds so sweet. He pecks his cheek. "You know better than anyone else that a journalist can dig."

The blond gulps. "Darling, really..." He looks at everywhere but him. "What are you talking-"

Zach grabs him by the jaw and forces him to look to the side. "I won't snitch. I got everything I wanted." He sighs happily and lets go of him.

Zach walks in front of him and pins him to the couch, making sure to rest a knee in between Jack's legs. Like he was dominating him, taking control. "You're a very lucky man, Jack." His voice feels like velvet entering his ears and making itself comfortable within his brain.

His knee inches closer to his manhood, and his index finger moves to slowly trace his jawline. "You got me wrapped around that finger of yours." He tips his head with his index. Jack's head drops back into his finger. "So wrapped I can't bring myself to snitch on you." He smiles gently.

Jack gulps as he somehow feels a drop of arousal cause waves within him."Why not?" He finds the courage to ask.

Zach smirks deviously. God, that sure is a look on him. "Well, I want you to live in guilt... that you sent an innocent man to jail." Zach kisses his teeth. "I want you to bow before me. Because I can dictate your future. I have you in the palm of my hand, honey."

The blond opens his legs wider and strikes back with his most powerful grin. It's as if he is telling him: do your worse."I already belong to you, darling." He grabs him by his shirt and forces him towards his personal space. "Don't you think you've got the last laugh. We have each other at a stand-off. You have dirt on me, and I have dirt on you."

Zach scoffs and allows Jack to continue. "But sure, I'll worship the ground you step on... till death do us part." With that, he pats his face twice.

The tension between them was unbearable. The brunet crashes their lips together, starting a heated make-out.

Jack pulls him to his lap, and between kisses, Zach bites his lip hard enough that it starts bleeding. The blond hisses into the kiss and makes him lay down on the couch. He moves towards his neck, leaving a slight trail of blood in his wake.

Zach tugs him by the hair back to his lips and licks the blood off of his chin. "Till death do us part."

Love ensues the same way wine stains a white table cloth: it makes home within the fabric of one's soul and leaves stains in its wake.

Neither were no longer sure who stained who. Did Jack spark him to be a rouge wine that easily leaves marks? Or did Zach allow Jack to see that the stains never leave a white cloth?

All they know is that they are, in fact, stained. Either with wine or blood, it doesn't matter–they're the same colour. Such different liquids with the same colour. Such different ways to obtain said liquids.

Jack bites his lover's bite with the same intensity as he did, and blood pours out when the layers of skin are breached. He allows Zach to give him the same treatment of bloody love bites across his neck.

They're passionate and worship each other in their rough display of intimacy. Jack leaves all types of bruises on his body and Zach all types of scratches. They finally let their true instincts run wild and take what they want for themselves.

Their lips are stained with blood by the time they finish. Zach rests his head on Jack's chest and listens to his heartbeat. The blond breaks the silence. "I love you."

Zach smiles softly. Despite everything, being stained by Jack's love isn't necessarily a bad thing. "I love you."

So yes, love ensues the same way wine stains a white table cloth: it makes home within the fabric of one's soul and leaves stains in its wake.

the end.