and Wardo looks up when Mark steps through the threshold; 

and Wardo smiles; 

and it’s a real smile; 

Wardo smiles at Mark like it’s a reflex; 

like even when Wardo feels like scared and hurt, Mark makes him happy; 

and then it happens; 

all of it; 

all of the anger; 

it melts; 

so fast; 

so fast he’s dizzy; 

it fills up all of Mark’s limbs; 

and his chest; 

and his throat; 

and his head; 

it happens; 

like that; 

Oh; 

he goes to Wardo; 

kneels in front of Wardo; 

takes his hand; 

he couldn’t stand right now; 

his legs wouldn’t work; 

he’s in love.

- Kept Boy

“Mark…?”

“Uh huh.”

Eduardo swallowed. “Have you um…have you slept with any guys before?”

Mark lifted his head from Eduardo’s shoulder and looked at him, blue eyes wary and defensive. He blinked. “No. Is that a problem?” His voice was his usual flat, indifferent monotone, seemingly devoid of interest or care.

Eduardo knew better.

Quickly, he shook his head and shifted closer to him again. “No, no, no,” he answered emphatically. Smiling a little bit, he glanced down at Mark’s mouth, still wet and red, and he brushed his thumb across his cheek. He leaned in and kissed him warmly, sighing a little when Mark kissed him back. “I wasn’t asking because I had any complaints,” he reassured him, pressing the words into his skin with gentle kisses along his jaw line. Pulling back, he rested his hand on the side of Mark’s neck and met his eyes again. They weren’t quite as hard anymore, but Eduardo could see caution there. He hadn’t expected any less.

Sighing, he frowned a little and shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly. “The other night…if I had known, I…”

“What?” Mark asked. He reached out and laid his hand on Eduardo’s shoulder. “What would you have done differently?”

“I…I don’t know Mark, I just…”

Mark leaned closer. “You didn’t hurt me, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said softly.

Eduardo shook his head again. “No, but…”

This time Mark leaned further in and kissed him. “Candles?” he murmured against Eduardo’s lips.

“Huh?” Too late he noticed Mark’s smirk.

“Would you have lit a bunch of candles? What about rose petals on the bed? Maybe some smooth jazz music?”

Eduardo laughed.

- Space to Breathe

“What fucking party?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on the verge of suicide over Albright?” Dustin cocks his head, shrugging sarcastically. “The party is gonna be so awesomely rad.”

“Dustin. What party?”

Dustin crosses his arms. “My sister is sleeping with one of the Saverin boys and got invited, it’s gonna be at their place and you know how fucking awesome their parties are.”

Mark sighs, rolling his eyes, “No, I don’t Dustin, have you forgotten my last name?”

- Algeria (Romeo&Juliet AU)

Mark stalks forward, puts both hands on the arms of the chair. Saverin will fucking take this seriously. Mark doesn’t give a shit about diplomacy.

“Look, flyboy, I’ll make this simple for you,” Mark bites out, ignoring the rest of the room entirely. The world narrows down, focusing in on Saverin’s wide, brown eyes. “You have the gene we’ve been looking. You have it, and we need it, and that means that you have the opportunity to learn things the human race has only ever dreamed of before. Forget Star Trek—this is real, this is going beyond everything we know and building something new and changing the world. Fuck, changing the whole universe. If you’re an idiot, fine. Turn us down.”

- Pilot

“Everything was manageable when I assumed the situation was temporary,” Mark informs Dustin, unnerved.

Dustin blinks at his monitor, and then up at Mark. “You occasionally sleep with people you don’t give a shit about, clock a 90 hour work week, and viciously resent any achievement of happiness in others. And I’m pretty sure that the looming presence of your superiority complex and sublimated despair are the reason I can’t keep a girlfriend.”

“But I could do that for a 3 or 5 year stretch,” Mark argues, redistributing the weight of the headphones hanging around his neck. “No sweat.”

“Not for the remainder of your natural life, though.”

“That was not in the plan,” Mark admits.

- The Means

Wardo hangs up the phone. His face has fallen, and he looks so upset, Mark stands up to go to him, losing his sheet in the process. He tries to hug Eduardo, who is just as naked, but Eduardo says “No!” and shudders away.

“What’s wrong? What did your dad say to you?” Mark asks, furious.

“What the hell do you think?” Wardo yells. “He found out about us, Mark. He heard we were fucking, and he said ‘no son of mine’. Do you want me to tell you what he said about you? About me? Fuck you, Mark. Fuck you.”

“Hey! This is not my fault. I love you, you idiot, and I think your father is fucking stupid.” Mark shouts back, breathing hard. He grabs his jeans and pulls them on, yanks on his sweatshirt, flipflops (whatever, it’s April).

He turns back to look at Eduardo, who is sitting down, head in his hands and rocking back and forth. He can’t leave now. Mark goes to him, and presses a hand to Eduardo’s shoulder. Wardo leans his cheek against it and keeps rocking.

“Wardo, I’m here for you. I love you.”

Inhaling shakily, Eduardo nods. “I love you too, Mark. I just don’t know what to do.”

- This is a story of loaded glance

“You hesitated.” Eduardo looks at him, right in the eye, and Mark’s stomach sinks like lead.

Eduardo looks shattered. “They asked you.” He doesn’t step any closer. “They asked if you were a victim, Mark, and you hesitated.”

Mark stares at his shoes.

Eduardo’s.

They’re sneakers that in no way match his suit.

If this were any other discussion, Mark would laugh at it.

“Is that what happened?” Eduardo doesn’t come closer but he does bend down in an attempt to force Mark’s gaze to his.

It doesn’t work. “You were there.”

Eduardo bursts in a voice higher than raised, “I wasn’t there, Mark! That wasn’t me!” and Mark tries—he fucking battles not to—but he flinches away, knows instantly that Eduardo’s face has fallen.

“See?” Eduardo says, and he’s staggered back a step, presses his back to the wall. “That, right there.”

“That wasn’t what happened.”

Eduardo begs Mark, “Can you please look me in the eye when you say that.”

So Mark does. He rounds his shoulder and lifts his head and when he says, “That wasn’t what happened, Wardo,” Mark means it, through and through.

Eduardo doesn’t look buoyed at all. “Then kiss me.”

Since that’s a jarring and borderline ridiculous request, Mark scoffs. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

Eduardo instantly smiles, however sadly. “You always tilt your head like that when you lie.”

- Touch

Jesse laughs, soft and faded out by coyote calls and the rush of wind on their faces. “You know,” Jesse says quietly, sobering up from the night, trying to make the shiver of panic into words that might make sense. “I’m not – I’m not better. I still think – I still worry about everything. I’m still half-terrified of – just because I screamed out loud doesn’t mean –”

“I never wanted to heal you –” Andrew says, his voice smoky and low. “I never wanted to. If I’d cured you, I dunno, I think I’d miss you too much.”

- All My Friends are Bad Kids

“Go to sleep.”

Andrew kissed Jesse quickly and reached over to turn the bedside lamp off.

“I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Jesse retook Andrew’s hand, held it over his heart, and asked, “Promise?”

“I promise.”

- Electricity Magic and Touch

Evidently, Chris couldn’t hold out for long on the whole clothes front.

“It’s a bow-tie,” Dustin said, proudly.

On the desk, Eduardo turned around and whistled happily, stamping his little legs as he showed off the bow-tie around his neck. It was obvious that a normal tie would have looked ridiculous on Eduardo but this worked surprisingly well. He stared up at Mark, obviously waiting for something. Mark wasn’t sure what it was.

- On the Path Unwinding