Mediterranean Kiss ~ Taeten

Good Morning

Warm early morning light peeked through the curtains. Ten was quietly getting ready for another day of work. Taeyong lay in bed, sleepily listening to him move around the cabin and the bathroom. He had already showered, so it wouldn’t be long before he had to leave. Taeyong wished he could spend another day with them, like he had in Mykonos.

Today they were in Sarandë, a coastal town located on a horseshoe-shaped bay in Albania. Tomorrow they would be in Dubrovnik, Croatia, then the following day the cruise ship would be anchored back in Venice and they would be flying back to Seoul.

Taeyong heard Ten’s soft footsteps come around his side of the bed. He reached out to grab his arm as he went to pick up his phone from the bedside table. Ten jumped a little at Taeyong’s sudden movement.

“I thought you were asleep.” Ten whispered. He knelt down next to the bed and brushed Taeyong’s hair off his face.

“I am, kinda.” Taeyong replied in a husky tone. He slowly opened one eye and found Ten with his chin perched on top of the bed smiling sweetly at him.

Taeyong moved his hand from Ten’s arm and entwined his fingers in his. “Do you have to go?” He asked quietly. Still not fully awake, he let his eye shut; the handsome image of Ten lingering in his mind.

“I do babe.” Ten clasped onto his hand and lightly skimmed his other hand over Taeyong’s cheek. Taeyong’s skin tingled under his touch. “Now go back to sleep. The ship doesn’t anchor until 10am.”

Taeyong felt a soft kiss on his forehead and he smiled sleepily. “Mkay.” He replied as sleep sent him drifting off again.

***

Now fully awake, showered and breakfasted, Taeyong gulped down the last mouthful of liquid from his water bottle and stepped out onto his balcony to admire the view.

The water was a deep blue, something he’d become familiar with seeing in the Mediterranean. The ship had stopped and as he leaned over the railing to look down he noticed a few of the small lifeboats being lowered into the water. He guessed that was how they were going to be taken to shore, as looking at the town there wasn’t really room for a huge cruise ship to moore; there were plenty of good looking spots for a swim though.

“Hey Johnny, come look. They're lowering the lifeboats.”

Taeyong leaned out and looked around the balcony divider to see Mark staring down at the boats below, his phone in his hand taking pictures. Johnny then appeared next to him.

“Cool. They look so little from all the way up here.” Johnny stated as he watched them.

“Morning guys.” Taeyong greeted them.

Mark jumped, clearly caught by surprise, and nearly dropped his phone. “Jesus, Taeyong! You scared the shit out of me!”

Taeyong grinned at Mark's reaction and noticed Johnny do the same.

“Can you please put your phone inside? I'll never hear the end of your moaning if you drop it into the sea.” Johnny asked.

Taeyong had to agree. Mark would complain and sulk for the rest of their trip if that happened.

“Fine.” Mark huffed, handing his phone over to Johnny.

“So what do you want to do today?” Taeyong asked them once Johnny had come back out onto their balcony.

Mark rested his arms against the railing and continued to watch the lifeboats as they speedily glided along the water, creating white streams of bubbles behind them. “I kind of feel like relaxing today. I mean, look at the beaches all along the bay and all this water, don't you guys just want to jump right into it?”

“That does sound enticing.” Johnny hummed.

Mark looked at Taeyong with his eyebrows raised, waiting for a response.

“I think relaxing at the beach is a great idea.” Taeyong agreed. They had spent the last six days exploring every city they travelled to which was quite tiring. Although it would be interesting to wander around the town of Sarandë, a day of sunbathing would be a nice change.