solaria proper

@lee mark ⋆ jeno couldn't help but snort, his grin spreading wide, a genuine light of amusement sparkling in his eyes.

/a child./

a term of endearment and irritation rolled into one, especially amusing considering their mere year of age difference – and how jeno’s been buried in his one too many times to count.

“maybe it is a curse.”

he found himself leaning in for another kiss, this one as spontaneous as it was tender. his arms found their way around mark's waist, drawing him closer in a gentle embrace.

"if you're wielding such magic," jeno teased, his breath warm against mark's ear, “could you maybe use it to make my mornings less dreadful? a bedside coffee would suffice, but if you're feeling particularly generous—"

his voice dropped to a whisper, laced with a playful daring.

"waking up to find you there would indeed be a dream come true."

quite literally.

jeno carried with him a secret, a dream so vivid it felt like a memory from a future yet to unfold. on the dawn of his birthday, he found himself on bended knee, a ring in hand, proposing to mark under a sky ablaze with stars. this wasn't just any dream; it was one that refused to fade with the morning light, instead weaving itself into the very essence of his day-to-day existence.

this dream clung to him with unexpected persistence, casting a subtle shadow over every laugh they shared, every glance exchanged. it added a weight to his words, a depth to his smiles.

*jeno wanted to make this dream a reality, so he guarded it closely.*

a silent vow held within his heart, waiting for the perfect moment – the perfect alignment of stars, to make this dream their truth. until then, he would keep these thoughts, these hopes, tucked away, until he could finally place that ring on mark's finger and seal their promise beneath the starlit sky.

"take me home with you?" he asked, tightening his hold around mark as they reached the end of the evening.

@lee jeno ᵖʳⁱᵐᵉ ✹ “might be,” mark mused, letting his hands frame jeno's face and squeezing his cheeks, blowing raspberry against the other's face, trusting the matcha & mint ice-cream he finished earlier would be enough to cover the smell of garlic and spices.

mostly it would not.

and most certainly jeno would not be deterred by such a thing.

“here I'm,” he pressed a feathery light kiss on jeno's lips, “dragging a healthy and extremely young — a child, if you will,” and he narrowed his eyes, grinning.

nothing would change his conviction.

jeno was indeed a child to him.

“twenty two is like what? a young adult? like an adult who is learning to be an adult. you know. overgrown baby.

“anyways, kids should be playing around and having fun but here you are—”

and he kissed jeno for a longer period this time, aware that the time to part was upon them and it would be almost two days later when they would meet again.

he had grown greedy. too greedy.

(tell him!)

(soon!)

“taking long night walks instead of crashing hard in a club. your Friday nights have become tame.”

@lee mark ⋆ /it's on me if i force you to use that on me./

it had been months since then and jeno hadn't found any reason to invoke his influence.

"an ancient dark spell, was it?" he began, his voice laced with mock astonishment and a hint of mischief sparkling in his eyes.

"and here i thought it was your charm that had me losing sleep— that and your kisses, and that . clearly, it's just your dark arts at play."

the rumour mill didn't spare jeno, its whispers reaching from the corridors of his workplace to the circles he socialised in. surprisingly, or perhaps not so much, his parents merely confirmed what everyone seemed to think, offering nothing more than a supportive 'finally'.

but really, he found the whole idea too amusing to take to heart.

jeno seized an impromptu moment to pin mark against a tree, tugging his forearm. the twilight canopy above them seemed to approve with the evening shadows casting a soft light around them.

"you know, i did wonder why i suddenly developed a keen interest in star gazing and poetry. it's the spell, isn't it? you've turned me into a hopeless romantic, you fiend."

he stared at mark’s pretty browns.

they hold entire galaxies. falling into them was a risk jeno was willing to take, every single time.

it dawned on him—

/there was a warmth to mark that seeped into his bones.

there was something in touch that made him feel like he was coming home.

and then there was mark's smile – his mischievous little smile that told him mark was up to no good, and jeno couldn’t help but want to join in... on whatever it was./

—perhaps he truly was a hopeless romantic at heart.

"although," he mused, adopting a mock serious tone, "i do have to question your methods— where's the drama? where are the ominous thunderclouds? the swirling vortexes? the lightning bolts? you've really slacked off on the theatrics.”

he shook his head, tsk-tsking.

“instead, i get...what? a penchant for long walks and an unexpected appreciation for your burps? if this is your idea of a curse, you might want to revisit your spellbook.”

jeno’s smile, wide and infectious, brightened his face, his eyes sparkling with a blend of jest and affection.

@lee jeno ᵖʳⁱᵐᵉ ✹ mark shifted to wrap his hands around jeno's neck, no longer giving a damn about the consequences of giving in to his desires, the temptation named lee jeno swallowing him whole in sweet euphoria and mark wanted more, “you have that voice, don't you? it's on me if I force you to use that on me. now back to kiss—”

things changed after that day between jeno & him which didn't go unnoticed by the people around them and especially the ones vying for the desirable young alpha who couldn't shut their gossipy mouths about lee jeno, bewitched by a mere beta from the luna pack, might be settling down in a matter of one or two years.

mark was aware of every little gossip — while he hated getting any kind of attention on himself, his existence should have been insignificant and ignored — but he did nothing to stop them from spreading and wouldn't admit aloud how amusing the whole thing was.

“they say I casted ancient dark spell on you,” mark was enjoying the quiet street of the park with his arm wrapped around jeno's, a small burp leaving his mouth.

@lee mark ⋆ the kiss seemed to pause time itself. it left jeno entranced, spellbound.

he felt his usual composure slipping through his fingers, finding himself gravitating forward – his subconscious guiding him back towards mark's lips even with the kiss concluded.

"okay," he whispered back, barely a thread of sound.

his gaze lingered on the soft curve of mark's lips.

each encounter with mark, year after year, had left jeno bewitched – and today was no exception; he was smitten all over again.

call it naivety, but jeno believed him.

mark was here now, trying to make amends.

that meant something, right?

his hands found mark’s hips, anchoring him close as if reaffirming to himself that mark was truly there, tangible and within reach; holding him as though he were something precious and long lost.

“okay,” jeno stated again, this time with conviction, eyes meeting.

/it meant the world./

he rose to his full height, overshadowing the space between them. their lips collided anew; it was jeno's intention that drove the moment – seeking to reclaim lost time, to pen a new chapter in the urgency of the present.

“and what happens if your words don't hold?" he breathed into the heat of mark's mouth, bending over the beta, hands sliding up his waist support.

@lee jeno ᵖʳⁱᵐᵉ ✹ mark had not been amused for ages.

“hah!”

he didn't pull away, breathing in the sweetness.

it was ridiculous.

mark wasted not another moment and made his hands cradle jeno's head, his mouth fitting perfectly against jeno's.

mark refused to believe until then that he had any chance of happiness. he had been anxious as he watched jeno grow up, on the edge of insanity. he had waited for jeno to walk up to him one day and slash his throat or lodging bullets into his body.

but none of that happened.

“—” he pulled back, breathed in.

the past wouldn't catch up to him.

“okay,” mark.

“okay. I won't. I'm not going to be an .”

@lee mark ⋆ jeno found himself at a loss for words, caught off guard by the honesty mark had just laid bare before him. it was a vulnerability he hadn't dared hope for, a glimpse into the depths he hadn't seen in mark for too long.

was he a fool for holding on?

was it the spirit of adventure in him that refused to let go?

perhaps it was a bit of both.

(if being a fool means holding onto the hope of mark, then jeno might just embrace that title with open arms.)

“then, yes,” jeno whispered, a truth laid bare with no shields or pretence.

yet, in his eyes, there was no bitterness.

“i was upset.”

not because he missed a date on the calendar, not over the missed.

it was the silence that followed after.

jeno was upset because, despite everything, how even in his absence, mark was present in everything jeno did, in every thought.

upset by his own expectations, by the silent hopes he had naively nurtured over the years.

upset at the countless nights spent pondering, at the uncertainty, the not knowing which had slowly eaten away at him.

ideally, he would've ‘had some fun with other people’, hoping to erase the memory of 'one of a beta’ from his mind. but alas, he'd missed that one of a beta.

"it just doesn't work… when….”

his eyes delved into the depths of mark's browns, inching closer until the faintest brush of breath against his lips, until he could almost taste the words on mark's lips.

“when you're the one i end up thinking about."

"so, could you… not let it happen again?"

@lee jeno ᵖʳⁱᵐᵉ ✹ mark was not sane. he knew that much.

his fears. his desires. they clashed and instead of swallowing the other, they blended perfectly like a piece of colourful and messy art drawn by child. swirls of red and black, blessing into each other.

he should not.

he should walk out.

this was not his best decision.

(not the worst though. unlike before.)

and mark couldn't help but feel the sparks coiling in his gut.

alive. warm. fresh. the weight on him so comforting.

Yohan was a deadman. he wouldn't be coming back.

(do it.)

jeno was alive. he would never find out.

(do it.)

"yes."

Mart uttered with certainty. unlike before when he called jeno names and avoide his gaze.

(or maybe he no longer fears the rejection. he got this motherers kids — another obsession fulfilled. it grounded him more than mark ever thought. yeah. Yohan and his bull.)

"yes."

mark indulged in. he dragged the chair closer, breathing in jeno's personal space.

"the 'I' right now would make up for it. I know I'm an — and you know it too, yet here you are. i don't know whether to call you a fool of adventurous.

"but yes. thought you had some fun with other people. surely, you wouldn't miss one of a beta."

@lee mark ⋆ the question was bold.

“upset?” an echo of countless emotions left unaddressed.

was he upset?

jeno found himself momentarily lost in thought, his gaze inadvertently drawn to the leg beside him. instinctively, his fingers began a gentle, contemplating line along mark's calf.

those very thighs have always looked the prettiest when they bore the marks of his affection; looked the prettiest wrapped around his hips, embracing him tightly, shaking with delight, welcoming him in.

so incredibly pretty.

his fingers ceased their journey just before reaching the crest of mark's knee, gripping the lower thigh.

/possessive./

"upset," he mulled over the word as if tasting it for the first time.

inadequate, but that was one word for it.

made him realise perhaps, to mark, he was just another person with just another birthday. but—

"suppose i was upset," jeno ventured, his voice a soft murmur.

and then what?

he shifted, placing his hand atop mark's knee, not just as a pivot for his leaning posture but as a bridge, reducing the distance between them. his head found a comfortable spot against his hand, his cheek pressing lightly against the knuckles while his forearm draped effortlessly over mark's thigh.

his eyes, alight with curiosity and defiance, met mark's once more jeno he lifted his gaze.

“would that somehow undo the silence? would that have brought you back any sooner?”

/or are we just playing hypotheticals to ease our consciences?/

[post deleted by owner]

@lee jeno ᵖʳⁱᵐᵉ ✹ mark had no intention of presenting himself as a man of manners. sophistication be damned.

he felt the keyboard pressing against his hips and it was discomfortable but that would mean showing vulnerability and accepting he was acting like a — he wasn't a — and hotheaded. he wouldn't give jeno that satisfaction.

it.

mark gritted his teeth, staring down at jeno.

and motherer had gotten more handsome. his frame broader. his neck — mark swallowed and prayed to the universe he wasn't being obvious because what in the ing hell the jugulars were more prominent, proof of jeno approaching his prime and working out on his body.

he felt the flush.

(think about the babies. think about the babies. think about the babies.)

(the pooping babies!)

that somewhat helped him to calm down.

his gaze shifted to jeno's face.

(pooping babies. pooping babies. pooping babies—)

"what conversations, jeno?"

it was hitting mark that he let this petty knock him up.

(but they're cute.)

(they are.)

"be real. are you upset I ghosted you on your twenty first b'day? say it—"

say it and I will.....

mark held his breath.

@lee mark ⋆ his meticulously organised office, a bastion of order and authority, had abruptly transformed into the backdrop for mark's theatrical entrance.

jeno raised an eyebrow at the audacity of the man before him. a subtle twitch at the corners of his mouth betrayed his underlying satisfaction at having successfully lured mark into his domain after such a prolonged absence.

it had been over a year since he'd last seen the beta; the absence had not prepared him for the wave of emotions that crashed over him now.

and mark's scent was peculiar today – plums soaked in milk with a hint of baby powder. strange, yet not an unwelcome amalgamation.

"did i do coke when i turned twenty one?" the younger repeated, allowing the absurdity of the question to hang in the air, imbued with a touch of ridicule.

(̶n̶o̶, a̶n̶d̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶’s̶ n̶o̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶ o̶n̶l̶y̶ t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ i̶ d̶i̶d̶n̶’t̶ d̶o̶.)̶

"i'm thrilled you've decided to grace us with a conversation. the vision, you ask?"

reclining on his chair, his gaze lifted to meet mark's, who had audaciously claimed a spot on his desk, effectively caging him with his legs. jeno's amusement only grew and so did his smile.

“i was merely inspired to ensure our company's actions are as visible and tangible as i've always wished your inputs could be,” he mused out loud, a reflective tone to his voice. “thought it'd be novel to have a plan that sticks around – kind of the opposite of your recent approach to, well, everything. you know?"

and if jeno wasn’t obvious enough…

"i’m aware you’ve granted exclusive rights for some of your projects,” his voice carried a hint of knowing.

with a casual shrug, jeno feigned indifference, though his keen eyes didn't plan on missing the nuances of mark's response.

“such a tricky thing, isn't it? to think, all of this could've been avoided with a simple conversation. but here we are."

(a simple conversation, was it?)

( ….. )

(was that all it would have taken?)