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The evening isn't going well. The whole point of this - or, at least, the point of him coming here - was to see the very same human that keeps being swept away by someone else every time he's about to try striking up a conversation with him. It's not that he thinks Marco will react well to his presence, but he had tried to give him a chance in the past, and Star had convinced him that he could get the boy to do so again. From where he stands, lightly leaning against the snack table where he had been left behind in his last attempt to talk to the human, he can see Marco laugh at some probably unfunny joke told by the blonde girl who had guided him back the the small circle of people that gathered in the centre of the sitting room and away from Tom without even giving him a chance to say hi and test how the human would react. He can feel the beginnings of anger bubbling up in his chest, lamenting not being close enough to hear the musical sound as he watches them interact, but it's mostly counteracted by sheer frustration. That, and he's starting to grow more and more nervous with each failed attempt. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
The entire house is dimly lit, people depending on the colourful flashing lights to get around. The music is... Bearable. Not loud enough to make people have to yell at each other to have an intelligible conversation, as Tom had been promised by the host, but, well, it's not Love Sentence. He takes mental note of that as one possible topic of conversation. It's one of many that will probably be forgotten the second he gets a chance to actually speak with the human - if he does, and at this point, he's seriously starting to doubt it as he continues gazing at Marco, three eyes now focused on the slight movement of the boy's hair.
"So..." Star's voice carries a knowing undertone, and for a moment Tom wishes she hadn't kept her promise so he could pretend not to hear it. "Are you actually gonna talk to him, or did you come just to stare?"
He turns to look at her. She's wearing a sparkly dark blue dress, despite having insisted everyone just wore their normal clothes. It's one Tom recognises, because it had been a gift from him. It used to be a bit loose, but presently it fits almost a bit snugly. The fact that she's wearing it now, well after the conclusion of their romantic relationship, is a distinct symbol of the friendship they had struggled to construct together, one that Tom can very much appreciate. He smiles and greets her with a kiss on the cheek, but his defences are still up, and as she brings up the topic of his most recent love interest again, he lowers his head.
"I'm trying, alright?" He's desperate to hide it, but he's very aware that Star likely knows he is pouting. He wants to go on a very descriptive spiel about each and every time his efforts to approach Marco had been shut down tonight, but a hand on his shoulder stops him.
"I have an idea."
He doesn't have the sense to be scared.
Which, in hindsight, he regrets.
"Who's there?"
The closet is dark and cramped, definitely less than ideal, but Marco's voice still makes Tom's knees wobble.
"Less talking, more smooching!" Star calls from the other side of the door.
Her brilliant idea had been to put both males in confinement together for the estimated length of seven minutes and... Apply peer pressure until they snogged? And apparently, humans considered that a game! It sounded so ludicrous that a part of him sincerely hoped it would work.
"Who's there?" Marco asks, in a whisper this time, looking sincerely amused even in the darkness of the small closet.
There's no protest from Star this time, but Tom doesn't respond. He takes a step forward, trapping the human between himself and the door, and in a bold act of half bravery and half desperation, he captures soft lips in a brief, tentative kiss.
Marco doesn't respond; doesn't have the time to even process what's happening, really. He has all intentions of breaking away from the unidentified stranger, but the second their lips touch, a spark courses through his whole body. Then the other is pulling back, and Marco firmly wraps his arms around his neck and initiates another kiss.
The party seems so distant now, they can hardly hear the muffled music over the sounds of their breathing. Marco feels a familiar warmth taint his cheeks, and he is glad they're too close for the other - whoever they are - to notice. He would never have seen himself as someone to be kissing in a closet simply because it feels good, especially not with such passion and enthusiasm. For some reason, he's not the least bit surprised that, as this does happen, it has something to do with Star, but he's not wondering what was her motivation behind the impulsive gesture of pressuring him to have this experience with a potential stranger. For all he knows, this person could be a deranged lunatic, a stalker, or worse. He's not thinking about that either, partially because, deep down, he trusts Star's judgement. He's learnt to, over the past few months.
What he is thinking about, however, is much more embarrassing, and probably the reason for his reddened cheeks. He is silently glad for the lips sealing his own and stopping him from making any stupid comments, but he can't help but notice how they seem to fit together, like the other's body was made to press against his, hold him in place even now as he has no thought to escape. He enjoys it - the warm lips, warm body, warmth irradiating from their propinquity. It's almost too much, and yet he feels a deep sensation akin to huger or thirst. Marco wants more, and it seems like the stranger does too.
The kiss is deepened, and he notices something unusual, which he will later register as being the different, inhuman shape of his partner's tongue and the sharpness of his teeth as they gently nip. For now, though, either because of his inexperience or because of the raw want to keep going, the realisation is pushed to the back of his mind and overlooked. A few noises escape him. They come from the back of his throat and serve as nothing but encouragement for his partner, whose body vibrates in a silent laugh during one of the short moments in which they are apart before leaning back in.
He tangles his hands in the stranger's hair - it's short, so he doesn't really have anything to hold onto until his fingers slide upwards and find the other's... Horns?
Marco isn't the one to break the kiss, but instead Tom pulls back immediately as his horns are touched. Of course, he's been found out. What did he expect? Things had been going so well, too... But it was over now. The human would probably never want to talk to him ever again, and the euphoria he had been feeling was slowly replaced by a sinking feeling of despair. He feels regretful, nauseated, and so so stupid for even trying something like this. If he could go back in time and impede this course of events, he would immediately-
"Tom?"
The demon shrieks, a highly undignified sound, but says nothing.
"I know it's you." Marco keeps his head down, concealing his expression, and the tone of his voice doesn't reveal much either.
Tom prepares to say something - he has no idea what, but still - and as he clears his throat, he notices the Marco's shoulders visibly shaking, a strangled sound leaving the human. He wets his lips nervously, a hand extending to offer comfort but stopping midway. Did he really just make Marco cry? The thought almost brings tears to his own eyes, but then he is thoroughly confused as Marco tilts his head back, and the demon discerns that his lips are parted in laughter.
"Okay, what? " Tom demands, and repents as soon as he sees Marco's grin.
"Oh, so now you talk." The human teases, taking a step forward in the other's direction. There's no space for Tom to back away, and he's too startled to protest as Marco tugs him down to peck his lips - the boy misses, but it's close enough that Tom knows what he tried to do. "I didn't know you wanted to kiss me that bad." Marco's lips twist around the word "kiss" like it was supposed to mean something else, and it's Tom's turns to blush.
"It's not... I didn't just want a kiss, you know." He would never have risked a future completely void of Marco in his life for a mere kiss, it being an impulsive decision or not.
"I know." The human smiles gently, and he really seems to understand. Tom smiles too. And then: "... So, are the seven minutes up?"
They exit the closet together, and as they face a room full of people who either noticed they had been in there for far too long or had simply forgotten about the silly game at this point, Marco reaches for the demon's hand, his expression smug and satisfied. The way the group of humans were looking at them now coupled with Marco's reaction to the revelation of whom he had been kissing made Tom think that Star might not have been as secretive with his confidence (to which she liked to refer as him having "the biggest crush" on the human) as she would have him think. That was only intensified by the boy's next words.
"You got what you wanted, Star!" He declares, voice loud and proud. She isn't in the room, but Tom isn't about to ruin this for Marco; plus, he is sure she will hear about it. "Tom and I are officially a couple now." His last words are drowned out by the small crowd cheering, but neither of them mind it too much, and Tom offers no protest.
The words "officially" and "couple" echo in his mind even as they go to sit down. Star's idea hadn't been so bad after all.