Mediterranean Kiss ~ Taeten

Red Cheeks

A gentle shake roused Taeyong and he opened his eyes to see Mark smiling down at him. He thought he had heard Mark and Johnny arguing about something just before, but maybe that was just a weird dream as both Mark and Johnny looked like their cheery usual selves.

Taeyong grabbed Mark’s hand who helped him up into a sitting position. That's when he saw Ten peek out from around the hallway with a wide smile on his face.

“Hi babe!” Ten greeted Taeyong in a velvety tone as he swept him up in his arms.

Taeyong melted into his embrace and let his hands sweep up Ten’s back and curl in his hair, momentarily forgetting Mark and Johnny were in the room until Mark cleared his throat loudly. Ten chuckled and kissed him on the neck before releasing him.

“Did you want to grab something to eat?” Ten asked, his hands resting on Taeyong's shoulders.

At the mention of food Taeyong’s stomach growled, remembering that he hadn't eaten in a while. He blushed at his body's reaction but nodded eagerly. Ten took him by the hand and led him to the door, waving goodbye to Mark and Johnny.

“We’ll see you guys later.” Taeyong said, smiling at his friends, unable to keep the excitement from showing on his face.

Whenever he was around Ten he felt excitement, nervousness and arousal all jumbled together. He had to admit it was a weird combination of feelings but he didn't care, he just wanted to spend as much time as he could with Ten, knowing there was only three more days left of their cruise.

Ten released his grip on Taeyong's hand as they entered the hallway.

“Are we going to go to the buffet for food?” Taeyong asked.

“Yeah, if that's fine with you.” Ten replied, smiling sweetly at him.

Taeyong nodded and felt his cheeks grow warm as he gazed at Ten. Blushing seemed to be his body's automatic response whenever Ten smiled like that at him.

They soon reached the stairway and Taeyong jogged up them, taking the stairs two at a time. As he reached the second flight he looked over his shoulder to ask Ten what he was going to eat, but he was gone. Taeyong frowned, looking around.

“Ten?”

He walked back down the stairs. Other people were walking by but he couldn't spot the man with the angelic smile anywhere. Then he noticed a bathroom. Had Ten gone in there? Surely he would have told Taeyong instead of just disappearing. He decided to find out and opened the door to the bathroom. What he saw when he stepped inside shocked him.

Ten was backed up against one of the sinks and another guy had him by his shirt pushing him against the mirror. Looking closer, the guy had on the same uniform as Ten usually wore. He was taller and bigger than Ten and stood over him with a menacing glare on his face.

“Get off him!” Taeyong shouted as he ran over. He pushed the guy as hard as he could. Luckily, it was enough to push him off balance and he loosened his hold on Ten who wriggled out of his grip and shoved him away.

Ten stood protectively in between Taeyong and his colleague as he stalked over to them. He stopped, his face inches from Ten’s.

“Don't think you're going to last much longer on this cruise ship buddy.” He spat, jabbing his finger into Ten’s chest. “I guarantee you once I'm done your sorry ass won't be able to get a job on any ship ever again.” He shot a glare at Taeyong before bringing his attention back to Ten. “You better hope he’s worth it.” He said darkly.

He shoved Ten one final time before stalking out of the bathroom, letting the door slam shut behind him.

Glad that he was gone, Taeyong exhaled and made sure Ten was okay.

“He didn't hurt you, did he?” He asked as he examined Ten for any sign of physical damage.

“No, he didn't get a chance to, thanks to you.” Ten replied. He seemed quite calm given the situation.

“Who was that?” Taeyong asked, reaching out to clasp Ten’s hand. Unlike Ten, his heart was still racing and touching Ten seemed to help calm him down and reassure him that he was fine.

“Jefrey. He's a cabin attendant too, and I share a cabin with him and some others.” Ten explained, squeezing Taeyong’s hand. “He found out about you and I and he’s clearly not impressed about it.”

Taeyong frowned at him. “Why though? He seemed really mad about it.”

“Well, it's kind of against staff policy to sleep with the customers.” Ten replied with a cheeky smile.

“So then when he threatened you earlier about not working on the ship for much longer, he meant he could actually get you fired?” Taeyong asked, raising his eyebrows. Ten nodded. “So you're going to get fired because of me?!”

That wasn't okay. While Taeyong had been busy thinking about himself and his feelings for Ten, he hadn't stopped to think about how them being together could impact on Ten and his job. Taeyong shook his head as guilt started to swirl in the pit of his stomach.

Ten shook him gently out of his thoughts. “It's not your fault Tae, so please don't blame yourself. I was the one who initiated things between us remember? I was the one who made the first move and I haven't exactly been trying to keep us a secret.”

He rested a hand against Taeyong’s cheek and looked intently into his eyes as he spoke. “I don't care if I get fired for this. I like you and I want you and I wouldn't trade this” - he placed a passionate kiss on Taeyong’s lips - “for anything.”

Ten’s impassioned confession made Taeyong’s heart skip a beat and he was unable to look away from Ten’s gaze. All of the guilt he was feeling disappeared, replaced with warmth and the desire to hold onto the beautiful man standing before him.

He placed his arms around Ten’s neck and hugged him tightly. “I like you too Ten and I'm glad you did make the first move.” Taeyong could feel the heat in his cheeks, feeling embarrassed about what he was saying. “I probably wouldn't have been able to.”

Ten chuckled and Taeyong felt it reverberate through his chest. “You know, you really are cute when you’re nervous and flustered.”

Taeyong let go of Ten and they stared silently at each other for a moment, lost in each other's eyes. Ten reached up and raked his fingers through Taeyong's hair, a small smile forming on his lips.

“Are you ready to go and get food now?” He asked, flashing a radiant smile at Taeyong, with his head tilted slightly to the side.

Taeyong bit his lip, worried that they might come across other staff members who didn't approve of their relationship.

“Or, I can get some room service and we can eat out on your balcony instead?” Ten suggested, catching on to Taeyong’s worried expression.

“Are you sure?” Taeyong asked. “You're not even in your uniform though.”

“It's fine.  While there may be some people on board that don't agree with what I'm doing, I still have plenty of friends who will stand by me and my choices.” Ten replied with a smile. He kissed Taeyong’s cheek. “I'll meet you back at your cabin in five.”