The Time Taken to Understand (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Twenty-Six~ Alec

"He's too old for you," Mark grumbled to Cassy, who was sitting on the right side of him. Alec had been listening to the two of the bicker for the last hour and a half as he worried about the living room, organizing each individual thing as they waited for Mark's parents to get home. It was finally Christmas, which meant presents and sweaters (Mark's mother had knit him a red one this year) and family. He wasn't excited about the family.

He didn't dislike Mark's family, so that wasn't the problem. The problem was that this would be the first time that Alec saw many of them since Mark's recent outing, and it was kind of hard to hug someone's grandmother and not think about the fact that her grandson had bent him over the washing machine two nights before. Oh god. Alec went to once again fix the tree shirt, but Mark caught his waist on his way over, tuning Alec towards him and forcing him to drop onto his lap, straddling him. Their faces were suddenly very close and Mark's arms slid around his waist. "You need to calm down".

"That's easy for you to say," Alec grumbled, but he pressed his face into Mark's shoulder and tried to relax.

There were footsteps coming through the house and the sound of someone dropping down onto the chair. "You're so gay".

"Hi Penny," Alec said, feeling sane for the first time that day.

Penny had been staying with Mark and his family, and Alec, of course, since the first night they had arrived. Alec wasn't sure what had happened, only that Penny didn't feel comfortable staying at Adam's, and Adam and her had talked about it, and neither did he. This unfortunately also meant that Adam was practically living with them as well. Mark's mother was a saint.

"When will Adam be here?" Mark asked quietly, as if talking any louder would disturb Alec, who in response to his voice held onto him tighter. Mark acknowledged this by slipping his hand under Alec's shirt and brushing his fingers up his back.

"Soon... ish. Probably," Penny said, and Mark hummed in response. Alec felt Mark's head turn and a soft kiss was pressed against his temple.

"How come you can be happy and I can't?" Cassy asked Mark, once again bringing up this topic. Ever since they had found out who Casey's boyfriend was, Mark wasn't letting it go, and neither was she. Alec turned his face into Mark's neck and placed a gentle kiss there.

"Because I'm older and I know what I want," Mark said, shifting underneath Alec into a more comfortable position. "I've done a lot of thinking".

"And you think I haven't?" Cassy argued, and Alec continued to kiss Mark's neck, his tongue occasionally moving over the hot skin there. "Just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean that I don't know what I want".

"Yes it does," Mark said simply. "It means a lot of things".

"Like?" Cassy asked, her voice disbelieving. Alec gently bit Mark's neck and immediately soothed it over with his tongue.

"Like," Mark began, "I can drink. You can't. I can smoke. You can't. I can drive. You can't. I can have sex. You can't". As if to solidify the fact that he was having sex, Mark addressed the next part of his speech to Alec. "If you keep doing that I'm going to get hard and you know better than anyone that does not go down easy". Penny snorted and Alec sighed, pulling away from Mark's neck and sitting straight so he was simply seated on the boy, no longer leaning against him for support.

"Ew," Cassy said, though she didn't look at all disgusted with them, just a tad bit annoyed.

Casey entered the room then, and went to sit on the chair next to Penny, who immediately turned to her and began talking about some television show that Alec didn't care to understand. Instead of listening to either of the conversations, he thought about the past week.