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Chapter 33: Pew Pew Pew!

Mason and Mark were seated on a couch in the basement, their feet the only point of contact between them. Unlike usual, Mason wasn't over to sleep with Mark. Aaron and Aiden's anniversary party was the next day and Jasmine had brought up the idea that Mason stay over the night before and go there with her, Mark, and their older sisters. Not only did Mason think it would be fun, but he thought it would be a good opportunity to hang out with Jasmine again.

Unfortunately, not much hanging out was happening between them since Mason had been here. Jasmine and Mason were alone together for a bit when he first arrived, but Mason didn't have much to say and once Mark joined them, Jasmine made herself scarce. In the end, Mason honestly did feel more comfortable sitting next to Mark and saying nothing. Somehow, there was tension when he was around Jasmine and he did not know why. Mason was still contemplating the odd situation with his best friend when Mark nudged him with his shoulder, getting Mason's attention.

"Hey Mason, do you know what time Aaron and Aiden's anniversary party is supposed to start?" Mark asked him, still staring at his phone. Mason said a quiet 'uhh' to fill the space as he thought. Finally giving up, he went to his messages.

"This says 3:30 so being there at 3 would probably be good." Mason told him having checked the messages he received from Aiden. "Though Francesca will probably try to get us ready for 2:30, knowing how much time we all take."

Mark chuckled, thinking about days as a kid trying to get all of their family members somewhere on time.

"That's just how large families work I suppose." Mark commented with a nostalgic smile. "It takes another half an hour to do anything together."

Mason didn't really know what Mark was talking about. While he looked Yemeni, he was raised in a white middle class family with two kids. It was rare that they were ever late. Still, Mason smiled, watching Mark reminisce. After a few moments, Mark started looking around the room, checking if the two of them were alone before he got this mischievous gleam in his eyes as his gaze landed on Mason. Slowly, he shifted himself closer to Mason, throwing his left arm over his shoulder.

"You know, both of our families are very perceptive." Mark began, somehow making the normal words sound flirty. "We're probably going to have to keep our distance tomorrow so they don't catch on."

Mason shrugged at the proposition. He and Mark were keeping their arrangement a secret so it was normal for them to keep the touchiness to a minimum around other people. Now, it just made him wonder why Mark was bringing it up in the first place.

"I think I deserve a bit of extra affection to make up for it, don't you?"

With a grin, Mark snagged Mason's chin, pulling him into an intense kiss. When Mason pulled away, his eyes were wide open, scanning the room around them in alarm.

"But your sisters are here. They could walk in at any time." Mason argued, pointedly keeping his eyes off of Mark, who probably looked even sexier than usual. Mark didn't seem to think the whole making out in a common room thing was a big deal and just shrugged his shoulders.

"So? If they see, they see. We'll deal with it if it comes up." Mark replied easily, dipping down to catch Mason's lips again.

Pulling back just enough to dodge Mark's mouth, Mason stared at the man in front of him, completely stunned.

"You're okay with people finding out?" Mason whispered in surprise. He searched Mark's face, looking for a sign that he had misunderstood the man, but no such thing arose. Mark seemed confident in his words, and satisfied with what they meant.

"I'm not going to go out of my way to tell people we're friends with benefits but if someone walks in on us, it's not going to be the end of the world."

Even though Mason could see how certain Mark was about all of this, he still found it hard to believe.

"You were dead set on keeping this a secret the first time we talked about it. What made you change your mind?" Mason said, feeling the need to ask.

Staring down into Mason's large brown eyes, Mark immediately knew the answer.

You

Is what he wanted to say, but he went for an answer that wouldn't mess up their relationship.

"I have no reason to be ashamed about what we're doing and I think the friends we have would be okay with it." Mark answered. This wasn't why he changed his mind, but it was a good enough answer because it brought a bright smile to Mason's face.

"Yeah." Mason whispered. He was probably jumping to conclusions, but knowing that Mark changed his mind about this gave him hope. Maybe Mark's feelings about him would change too. Now with his heart bursting from happiness and hope, Mason pulled Mark down into another kiss, far more passionate than the last.

—————

"I have arrived with the children." Meaghan declared dramatically in her British accent as she marched into the lobby.

"Actually I have arrived with the children, Meaghan included." Francesca joked, confidently coming into the room behind her younger sister.

Mason heard all of this occur from the other side of the door. Mason and Jasmine were taking a bit longer to get out of the car so Mason waited for them from outside of the laser tag place. The large black building stretched far on either side, with colorful spray paint adorning the walls. It definitely looked fun with plenty of space to play.

Mason was startled a bit when Jasmine grabbed his arm, pulling him towards her.

"Should we surprise Clark?" She asked him, an excited smile on her face. Mason couldn't help himself and began smiling as well.

"Should we? We haven't done it in ages." He asked her nervously. Even though he sounded like he was against it, the eager way Mason looked into the store betrayed his desire to do it anyway.

Rolling her eyes, Jasmine didn't even answer him and spoke the rules.

"Whoever gets to Clark first gets five bucks, deal?" She asked him, her left eyebrow quirked.

"Deal."

Not even a second after the words had left his mouth were the two of them sprinting, running straight towards an unsuspecting Clark. He had his back turned towards them when they ran up and actually fell over thanks to their combined force. Even though Mason had lost and would have to pay up a few minutes later, he was still happy to have done something they used to do all of the time when they were kids, following in their older siblings footsteps.

With their arms still encircling Clark, the two of them greeted their friend. But he, likely still annoyed by the attack, simply said 'off' and waited for them to get up.

"Why aren't you guys greeting the people we all came here for?" Clark chided them the second he stood up. Of course Clark would think like that. The guy took everything a bit too seriously and rarely took things for granted thanks to his special circumstances. Mason didn't feel the need to go and say hi to people he saw at least once a month and shrugged as a response.

Clark clearly wasn't pleased with that so luckily, Jasmine gave him a verbal response.

"I'll talk to Aiden and my brother, who is the most amazing guy in the world, soon." She told Clark, her voice sickly sweet as she spoke.

Mason had to hold back a laugh. He'd forgotten about the thing she was doing for Aaron as payment for allowing her to invite Clark's new boyfriend. She had to give him about 50 over the top compliments before the end of the day, which brought everyone, including Aaron, lots of amusement.

Noticing a lull in our conversation, Mark began creeping up on Clark and grabbed the shorter boy before pulling him into a noogie. Mark wasn't usually this rough but he saw Clark as a little brother (despite Clark being older than all of us) and really liked to tease him.

"Mark, stop!" Clark groaned desperately, fighting against Mark's hold. Mason decided to leave them alone and go to greet some other people he hadn't seen in a while. Apart from their family members, Ethan, and Clark, Aiden and Aaron had invited a lot of their other friends. Mason knew most of them, men, women, and people from work and the occasional neighbor Aiden had gotten close to. Just about everyone very important in their lives was here and Mason suspected that had something to do with their temporary move to the U.S.

As Mason was saying hi to a woman named Dana, an older indigenous woman who owned a house close to Aiden's, when he heard someone say his name.

Turning to see where it came from, Mason found his eyes locked in with Mark's. Mason was caught off guard, and thus forgot that he was supposed to be being discreet. He stared at Mark silently while the other man did the same. After a while of blank staring, a smirk appeared on Mark's face and Mason found his expression shifting to match. Mark began wiggling his eyebrows and Mason just had to laugh, finally breaking the connection between the two of them. Mark was acting like a goofy idiot and it made Mason want to kiss him.

Luckily, Aaron provided him with a good distraction.

"Alright everyone, we're going to head to laser tag."

Their large group ended up playing two rounds of laser tag, both turning out to be equally draining and intense. The critical mistake on their part was allowing Aaron and his older sister Francesca to be on separate teams. The two older siblings were simultaneously the most athletic and most competitive ones in their family. They both played sports in their free time and even resembled each other in looks, Francesca being a tall, aromantic woman who preferred button downs and pants over dresses any day.

The day ended somewhat inconclusively with Francy's team winning the first ound and Aaron's team winning the second. Regardless, everyone had a good time and were eager to get to the restaurant for dinner.

Mason, Mark, Jasmine, and Clark were the first ones to leave the laser tag dressing room where people took off their vests and guns. The four of them stood in a hallway near the lobby, sitting down on a few plastic chairs when Jasmine sighed out tiredly.

"Who knew laser tag could be so tiring." Jasmine complained jokingly, resting her elbows on her knees. "I don't remember all of this running around when I was a kid."

"Well you didn't have to deal with Aaron and Francy battling each other and forcing everyone to act like it was a war when you were a kid." Mark explained with a laugh, rubbing a hand down his damp face.

"Isn't that a given?" Mason asked. "When those two aren't hugging each other they are at each other's throats."

"Yup," Clark agreed with a sigh. "Sibling love."

They all laughed at the sentiment. Although it seemed kind of ironic, that was truly how those two expressed their love. Overly heated competition. From the corner of his eye, Mason saw Jasmine nudge Mark's arm. He wasn't sure what the signal went, but regardless it spurred Mark to suddenly blurt out:

"I have to go help Aiden." Mark looked at his wrist as he said this, only to realize that he didn't have a watch and pulled out his phone instead, looking at it as if checking the time. "Uh Mason, could you help me out?"

Mason was pretty confused at the sudden request. What could Aiden possibly need help with and why would Mason have to help as well?

"Uh, I don't think-" Mason started, trying to express his confusion when Jasmine cut him off.

"Yeah, you should go!" Jasmine interrupted him loudly, stopping his words from being heard even if he had continued.

Mason still wanted to argue and say his piece but Mark was already grabbing his arm and dragging him away.

Now Mason was really confused. Where was this sense of urgency coming from? It really didn't seem necessary from Mason's point of view. Mark quickly dragged him into the family restroom, a single room with a toilet and station to change a baby's diaper. It also doubled as a bathroom for nonbinary people. Right now, it was where Mark took Mason for some privacy.

"Why did you drag me here?" Mason asked, a brow raised as he crossed his arms. Mark at least had the sense to look bashful.

"You're not going to like my answer." He told Mason, a nervous smile on his face as he stared down at the floor.

"What?" Mason pressed, moving closer to Mark. He placed his hands on Mark's wrists and stroked his forearms with his thumbs. The touch made Mark lift up his eyes and catch Mason's stare, reminding him of why he felt the need to be alone with Mason.

"I wanted to touch you." Mark lied easily, placing his right hand on Mason's hip. "Can I?"

Mason relented easily, slipping his arms around Mark's neck and pulling the taller man in for a kiss. Mark kissed Mason desperately, trying to chase away his worries in his lover's lips. The truth was that Mark wanted more than just Mason's lips or body, and that fact terrified him.

Oddly enough, while they were playing laser tag, Mark kind of felt jealous. Not of an actual person but of the idea of Mason finding a partner in the future. It was so nice, seeing Mason have so much fun with everyone. The curly haired boy just looked relaxed and at ease, no care at all in his mind which was a nice change compared to the days when Mason lets his thoughts run away from him.

But, Mark felt acutely aware of the fact that Mason had his own life. They were super close but as friends, there were certain things Mark would never know, things Mason would never confide in Mark. And that stung. Mark felt this undeniable need to assure himself that even though he didn't have all of Mason, he at least had his body.

Unfortunately, they did not make out for long. Mark became distracted by the sound of people gathering in the lobby. He tried to ignore it at first until he heard some discussions about a boyfriend. Mason seemed to hear the same thing because he pulled away from Mark with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry to cut this short but I think something's happening outside." Mason explained, a curious look on his face as he stared at the door.

"Agreed." Mark sighed. He actually had been enjoying the kissing. With Mark's approval, Mason raced out of the room. When he came jogging into the lobby, he found most of Aiden and Aaron's guests watching curiously as Clark sputtered next to a cute Asian guy. Liam.

Clark's boyfriend.

Oh.

"What's going on?" Mason asked as he joined the group.

Clark's previously panicked expression turned into one of curiosity as he scanned Mason's appearance. It was only then that Mason realized how messy he looked. His curls were messed up, his collar slanted, and--most obvious of all--his mouth puffy and pink.

Seeing Mason seemed to calm Clark down and a mischievous gleam suddenly appeared in his eye. Suddenly a paragon of calm, cool, and collected, Clark leaned into Liam with a relaxed smile.

"Liam and I are going out and it turns out people didn't know. I would've thought that everyone would be used to it." Clark joked, gaining some chuckles around the room. "And no one seems to be talking about why we're here, Aiden and Aaron's five year anniversary. Plus their big announcement."

"What big announcement?" Matthew Tyler, Mark's dad, asked. Joining the conversation for the first time. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Aaron sighed deeply, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He was shooting Clark a dark look and Clark just tried to avoid his eyes.

"We'll tell everyone during dinner." Aaron announced, trying to appease his curious family and friends. "Dinner that we have to leave for right now."

Mason was a bit taken aback. Aiden had already told him about their plans but he didn't know how Clark knew. He looked over at Clark and when he saw the surprised look on the older boy's face, he understood. Clark had just been saying anything to get the attention off of him. He had no idea Aiden and Aaron actually had a big announcement.

Mason chuckled to himself when Mark came up next to him.

"You ready to go?" Mark asked him, his hand going to the small of Mason's back. Mason smiled at the touch, enjoying the intimacy.

"Yeah, I am."

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Okay, so this is only a day late! I think that's pretty good!

I hope those of you that read Running From Him enjoyed the trip down memory lane. This chapter in Running From Him (Chapter 7 specifically) contributed greatly to the direction that I took this story in.

Also, is Mark catching feelings????

I adore these two, I swear.

Anywhy,

Vote, Comment, Share Follow, anything else you can do with this book and I'll see you next time. Bye!!!

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