translucent [markson]

[Fifteen] Date

Two days later, Jackson found himself spending nearly all of his time with Mark. The two had been non stop talking over the past couple days, much to Jackson's surprise, and it had naturally come up that Mark almost never did anything that wasn't school related. Mark was always too busy studying and doing schoolwork to enjoy himself, so Jackson took it upon himself to make Mark have fun during their time off.

The moment Jackson woke up, he rushed to get himself ready and just about sprinted to Mark's room. Mark was already awake, changed, and sat on his bed with a book in his lap when Jackson charged into his room. Since no one was around, they rarely ever kept their doors locked, which only allowed Jackson to interrupt Mark at whatever time he felt like it.

"Markipoo!" Jackson called out, jumping onto the bed. Mark bounced a little as the bed responded to the sudden movement.

"Hey! Be careful," Mark scolded, his hand on a glass of water sitting next to him.

"It's not my fault you thought it'd be a good idea to put water on a not-flat surface." Jackson rolled his eyes and took the glass of water from Mark to put it on the desk across the room. Mark's heart fluttered at Jackson's gesture, even if it was small thing that any normal person who hated soaked sheets would do.

"Why are you here anyway? It's only eight."

"Because we," Jackson paused and stared dramatically into Mark's eyes, "are going to have fun today. I'll take you to all these cute little shops and cafes! It'll be great."

Jackson continued to ramble about all the activities he had planned, but Mark couldn't listen. Something had changed in him after talking to Jackson, something that he both hated and loved. He noticed all the little things Jackson did, from how he always bit his cheek to how his eyes seemed to sparkle when he was excited. Everything about Jackson was extremely cute to Mark, and he couldn't understand how he made it so far into the year without noticing it before.

"Are you even listening?" Jackson whined, throwing his arms up in the air. His lip was jut out and his big eyes were staring at Mark sadly.

"I'm sorry, okay? So don't do that!" Mark flicked Jackson's lip, causing Jackson to feign an offended look.

"How dare you hurt me! Looks like someone isn't going to get to eat the breakfast I was planning on making for us." At the sound of breakfast, Mark scrambled his way to Jackson.

"Please, no. I'm sorry. I'll listen to you from now on. I'll help you make breakfast. Let's go now," Mark rushed out. He quickly grabbed Jackson's hand and dragged him to the door.

"Okay, then. That worked," Jackson mumbled.

In no time, the two arrived at the communal kitchen on their dorm's floor. They somehow just knew what to make without telling each other, Mark immediately going towards the eggs and Jackson towards the bacon. Everything was fresh, since Jackson had bought groceries the night before and made sure he got only the best ingredients for an American breakfast.

To Mark, an American breakfast was like being at home again. Despite his parents keeping their strong Taiwanese roots, they had assimilated enough that things like breakfast and hints of the language slipped into their home. Since Mark was incredibly homesick, he was thankful that Jackson had planned such a thoughtful breakfast.

To Jackson, an American breakfast was a trip back to his life when he was ten. When he first moved to Korea, his parents had hired him a nanny that recently moved from America. As distant as they were, she had still made him food and taught him English, two things he would always be grateful for.

Neither of them really knew what to say, and just focused on cooking. While Jackson cooked, the smell of bacon overwhelmed Mark to the point that he could feel his eyes sting. Jackson had his back to Mark as Mark moved his eggs to the table behind them, so he couldn't see the tears that began to drip down Mark's cheeks. But he did hear the sniffles.