"I can't believe you, Matt!" Tai's dark eyes are accusing as he storms out of the bathroom. "How am I supposed to see my parents looking like this?" He bares his neck, exposing the blotchy purple bruises on his throat which continue shamelessly under his collar.
Matt leans back against the headboard and manages to look appropriately contrite. "I'm sorry, babe." He sounds genuinely apologetic. "Guess I just got a little carried away." He doesn't make any move to get out bed just yet. They don't have to be at the train station for another four hours and he would really rather spend that time making amends in bed.
"Carried away? Carried away?!" Tai fumes. "I look I've been mauled!" He turns and glances worriedly into the mirror behind him, hoping the bruises are less clear out of the bright lights of the bathroom. It's hopeless. They stand out even more in sunlight.
"Not mauled, just well-loved," Matt adds helpfully.
Tai glares him down. "Mom is going to know it's you!"
Matt raises his eyebrow. "How?"
They've only been together for a few months, and Tai isn't ready to reveal his new relationship with another boy to his family just yet. Even if it is a boy they've known and liked forever.
"I don't know how," Tai says as he sits down heavily on the edge of the king-size bed. "But she knows. She doesn't let you stay in my room anymore when you're over."
Matt has noticed. The last couple of times when he spent the night at Tai's house, Mrs. Kamiya insisted he sleep on the couch instead of the floor of Tai's bedroom like they used to when they were younger. He didn't put any real thought into why, but now it seems obvious.
He lifts the cover, inviting his beautiful lover to join him in the still-warm bed.
"Why do you have to mark me like this anyway?" Tai pouts as he gives in and spoons himself against Matt's broad, protective frame.
Matt shrugs, wrapping his arms around Tai's thin waist. "You think you were an easy get? It took years for you to even notice I existed. I've been eye-fucking you forever and somehow you managed to stay clueless. So now that I finally have you, I want to stake my claim."
Tai buries his face in the pillows. "I should just get your name tattooed on my body and call it a day."
"This would be a perfect spot." Matt gently nips at the golden skin covering Tai's first vertebrae. "Would you get it in an arrow-heart?" He asks, only half-joking. Tai would look even more beautiful with Matt's name etched permanently on his body.
Tai turns around in his arms, looking incredulous as he faces Matt. "I was being sarcastic!"
It's Matt's turn to pout. "It doesn't have to be my whole name. You could just get my initials on your left ring finger." He lifts the digit in question up and presses a moist kiss against the base. "And when I put a ring on it, you would be able to hide the tattoo."
Tai's heart skips a beat. He knows it's ridiculous that Matt is talking about marriage so quickly. He should be terrified but really, it just feels like the inevitable, perfect conclusion they've always been hurtling towards. His face turns red, and he hides his shame by burying it against Matt's chest. "You're so dumb. And initials on the ring finger are tacky."
Matt smiles as he brushes his lips across Tai's forehead. "Not my initials? How about my last name then? It will be yours one day." He lets out a tiny grunt of pain as Tai digs blunt fingers into his chest.
"Ow… what did you do that for, baby?" He asks, wincing in pain.
Tai is totally unimpressed. "I'm a dude, Matt. I'm going to keep my own last name if we ever do get hitched."
"When," Matt corrects him as he kisses Tai. "Not if. When. And I really like the sound of Taichi Ishida."
"Well, I like the sound of Yamato Kamiya," he argues back even as he's moaning softly into the kiss.
"It doesn't sound bad," Matt agrees as he rolls on top of Tai, laying in between the brunette's naked thighs. "But everyone already knows I'm yours."
Tai's heart flutters. "You are stupid," he murmurs against Matt's lips as he eagerly wraps his legs around the blond's toned waist.