Trust Your Instincts

The first thing Mark felt when he woke up was cold. It took him a few seconds to scan his surroundings and actually recognise where he was, but it was the exact same setting that he woke up to 95% of the time nowadays.

He lay on the left hand side of Jack's double bed, the white walls and bed sheets giving the room a modern and minimalistic vibe. The TV was still on, the faint music from the menu screen of the last game the two played before falling asleep on each other still resonating softly throughout the room.

He looked up to see the window was open. The chilly air spread through the room that was now bathed in a soft orange glow from the rising sun. Mark debated untangling himself from Jack's loose grip to go and close it, but eventually decided against it, instead snuggling into his slim frame for warmth. He felt Jack stir slightly but he didn't wake up.

This was maybe his favourite part of the mornings, when he was able to just lay in Jack's embrace and study his features with no distractions. No activities diverting his attention and no Swedish friends telling him to snap out of it.

It was only ever Felix. Isaac and Ken didn't seem to mind.

But now, he was able to just stare. Watch him breathe, feel his chest rise and fall and listen to the slight snore that slipped out every now and again.

The only things he didn't like about it were that he couldn't see Jack's cerulean eyes, and he couldn't really share the experience with Jack, but Mark was always the first to fall asleep at night anyway, so maybe Jack did the same thing, at night rather than in the morning.

His mind wandered, thinking back to the last time he actually spent a night in his own home, which was at least a week and a half ago now. His dad didn't mind, he never became accustomed to the whole paternal figure sort of role, and as long as Mark was safe and happy, his dad was content. It wasn't as if they didn't text everyday anyway.

Mark was almost 99% certain that his dad was aware that whatever was going on between Jack and himself was more than platonic, but the conversation was never brought up, and so Mark just interpreted that as silent acceptance. He never imagined his free spirited dad to be very homophobic anyway, so coming out was never much of a concern in his mind.

Mark didn't actually know why he hadn't moved in with Jack permanently, but despite already being certain of the answer, he didn't really know the best way to bring up the question. I mean, shouldn't it be Jack who asks, considering it's his own apartment?

His contemplation was cut short, as he felt Jack stirring for a second time beneath him, this time his eyes fluttering open cautiously as a reaction to the dimly lit bedroom. He glanced around his room before his eyes fell on Mark, gazing up at him happily, a small smile growing on his lips as he shifted into a more comfortable position where they were both facing each other.

"Good morning babe," Jack drawled, his voice hoarse but his expression chipper.

"Good morning." Mark replied, leaning forward and kissing him softly.

"How long have you been awake for? You always seem to wake up first." Jack said, his eyes actually filled with concern as he stared into Mark's, as if his slightly later wake up time was a hinderance to his boyfriend.

"Not long." Mark assured him. "Plus, I get to watch you sleep when I... wake up first." Mark almost choked out the last few words, realising how creepy it had came across and causing the other man to blush brightly at the statement, before chuckling slightly and pulling himself closer to Mark in an attempt to calm him down slightly.

"I know what you meant by that... incredibly perverse statement. Don't worry!" Jack cooed, soothingly rubbing the red faced man's back as he buried his head deeper into his bare chest, mumbling some incoherent apology for sounding like such a weirdo.