Broken Circuits (VeeMark)

Chapter Six

"I am not getting out of this car."

Mark refused to move, staying in his seat after Vee had parked the car. At this point, Vee had climbed out of the door and was trying to open the passenger side door from the outside. It was not opening, mainly because Mark had locked it from the inside.

"Mark, come on," Vee sighed, tapping on the window.

Mark shook his head, turning away and petulantly folding his arms. He was pretending that he couldn't hear Vee outside.

"Are you kidding me? This is kind of childish, don't you think?" Vee muttered, not as irritated as his words made him sound.

It appeared to be the right thing to say. Mark immediately pushed the car door open, lightly slamming it into Vee's legs when the man didn't jump back fast enough. His eyes were burning as he glared at Vee, his whole body tense.

"I'm the childish one? Me?!"

"Uh, yes?"

Mark couldn't form a response to that. Did Vee really not see how childish his behaviour was? The man was beyond idiotic.

"This way," Vee murmured, grabbing Mark's wrist to drag him along.

Once they entered the shop Mark yanked his arm away. Vee looked a little surprised at the action but recovered quickly, pulling on his charming mask as he greeted the owner. Mark watched as they interacted and felt that same discomfort as he had in Vee's presence during the first week. There was something about Vee's face and voice that just seemed wrong to Mark.

Vee and Mark followed the owner to a private changing area at the back of the shop. It was set away from the normal changing rooms, obviously some kind of VIP area. Mark was getting more and more uncomfortable being there. This was definitely out of his price range, but he was not going to let Vee pay. He was waiting to argue with Vee until the owner left, feeling too shy to do it with him there.

When the owner finally walked away after dropping off some suits for Mark to try, Mark turned to Vee, hissing, "This is not happening."

"It kind of looks like it is happening," Vee smirked, settling on the sofa in a self-confident, relaxed pose.

"Oh, you!" Mark groaned, "You might be able to take me here, but you can't make me buy anything."

"That's true. As I told you, though, I will buy it."

"I don't want you to. I'm not going to wear any of these on, so you can buy one if you want, but it won't be for me."

Vee sighed, leaning forward. This was not how he was expecting this to go. Mark was the only person he had ever met that was this angry at the thought of someone buying something for him. Vee had plenty of money and he really didn't mind spending it on gifts for people he cared about. People he cared about? Oh, Vee could almost hear Bar's teasing voice in his head, "You care about Mark, then, huh?"

"Mark, this suit is a useful purchase. You can wear it for other formal occasions."

Mark's anger nearly completely disappeared. Vee's voice and face had changed back to the way he had been in the early afternoon when it had been just Mark and Vee in the office. Something about it relaxed Mark, and when they made eye-contact his heart fluttered in his chest.

"It's not fair to make you buy it," Mark whispered, swallowing and shifting on his voice, obviously nervous about what he said.

Vee laughed gently, "You're not making me buy it. I want to, as a gift."

Mark blushed a little and slowly nodded, reluctantly agreeing. He snatched up one of the suits and disappeared into the changing room, feeling the need to hide.

Vee smiled as he watched Mark being adorably shy. He hadn't expected Mark to agree to Vee buying him a suit as a gift but was very happy that Mark had. Usually, Vee would have said something else to convince someone. This time, however, he had allowed himself to just say what he wanted to, not expecting it to work.

Vee could no longer deny that he felt something for Mark. It became clear to him when Mark walked out in a suit to nervously ask Vee if it was okay. Mark's actions were cute, but his look? He looked handsome, really handsome. Vee swallowed, feeling his face get hot and his heart start beating quickly.

"Looks good. You want to try another one?" Vee croaked, roughly sending a hand through his hair.

"Okay," Mark grinned, actually starting to enjoy shopping.

Mark had never gone shopping for clothes with another person before. It was nice as he could ask Vee for his opinion. At first, Vee seemed hot or uncomfortable, but after a while he started to be more open about what he thought. While his comments made Mark blush, Mark still enjoyed them.

"I think this is the one," Vee murmured, eyeing Mark up and down.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you look sexy."

Mark spluttered in shock; Vee hadn't said that before.

"That's, um, good," Mark whispered, racing back into the changing room.

Mark was desperately trying to calm down, not realising how long he had been in the changing room. Vee was starting to get a little worried, so he walked over to the changing room.

"Mark, are you okay in there?"