Chapter Text
Mark squeezes his eyes and groans, snuffling himself into his pillow. He rolls over, trying to slither his arm around Jinyoung’s waist like he does every morning. But the space next to him is empty.
Mark’s eyes pop open. He sits up.
He pats around the space where Jinyoung should be. It’s still warm and slightly indented. Jinyoung must not have gotten up that long ago.
Mark looks out through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of their room. It’s still dark outside, navy blue painting the sky and sea in its dark hues. He feels around for his phone and taps it on, 4:22 a.m.
It’s way too early to be alive, he thinks. Then, oh my God, where is Jinyoung? Mark calls him right away, hands sweaty, heart beating out of his ribs.
“Mark?” Jinyoung says.
“Jinyoung,” Mark replies. He breathes out a long exhale. “Jinyoung, where are you?”
“Can’t you hear?” Jinyoung’s voice gets farther away; Mark hears crackling, movement, and then silence. He presses the phone closer to his face to hear whatever it is Jinyoung’s trying to show him. He closes his eyes. It washes over him, the crashing of waves on the shore, the rumble and break of water on sand.
“You went out to the beach?” Mark’s voice pitches. “This early?”
“I wanted to see the first sunrise after…you know.”
Mark breathes out another long sigh. “Okay.” They share the silence, Mark and Jinyoung’s breathing rolling with the ocean waves. “Okay, give me a sec. I’ll come out.” Jinyoung hears Mark shuffling around, and he loves him.
“Don’t make me wait too long,” Jinyoung says, smile seeping into his voice.
“Yeah, yeah,” Mark replies. Jinyoung can hear his eye roll. “I’m walking to you now. See you in a bit, babe.”
🌊
Jinyoung looks over the ocean, the tide sweeping itself in and out. He hears Mark’s sandals crunch against the sand and then Mark’s arms are around him, his chin propped up on Jinyoung’s shoulder. He adjusts a blanket around them, and Jinyoung thanks him for the extra warmth.
“You could’ve left a note or woken me up or something…” Mark yawns. “I got so scared when you weren’t there…”
“Sorry,” Jinyoung says. He presses a kiss to the side of Mark’s face. “I didn’t mean to.” He grabs Mark’s hand and intertwines their fingers, rubbing his thumb over Mark’s. “I didn’t want to wake you. I did kiss the top of your head before leaving though.”
“What, did you think that was going to show up in my dream to warn me or something?” Mark furrows his eyebrows and grinds his chin on Jinyoung’s shoulder.
Jinyoung laughs at the feel of Mark’s stubble through his thin cotton shirt. “No…but somehow, I knew you’d wake up and find me.”
“Yes, now that we’re legally husbands, I guess I have to wake up and find you every morning from now on, huh?”
“You better,” Jinyoung warns, squeezing Mark’s fingers. “Not that you didn’t already do that anyway.” Mark snickers and pulls Jinyoung closer to him. They stand alongside the water, wind ruffling through their clothes and blanket. It’s quiet other than the waves rolling in to greet them. Forever passes through them and then in the next moment, the sky breaks. Through the haze of dark blue, orange spills onto the horizon.
“Happy first sunrise Jinyoung,” Mark says and kisses Jinyoung’s neck. “I love you so much.”
“Happy first sunrise Mark,” Jinyoung squeezes their hands and leans back into the circle of Mark’s arms. He presses a kiss to Mark’s cheek. “I love you. Let’s spend every daybreak together for the rest of our lives.”