Mark had been enamored with Mikey since the moment he first met him when Mikey was 19. When he walked through Mark's parents' door standing beside his sister, looking all nervous and cute, Mark only wanted to get to know him more. And he did. That same day he met Mikey, he heard him talk about how passionate he was about teaching, and how excited he was to work with kids. That passion, love, and care made him fall hard. He'd never been much into younger men--smaller men, sure, but not younger men--but there was just something about Mikey that made him want to protect and care for him. But, knowing Mikey's past, and considering that he was his little brother's girlfriend's little brother (what a mouthful), he stayed quiet. Yet when Mikey showed up at his office three years later, complaining about his brother and sister-in-law, Mark couldn't help himself. He just had to have a taste... literally.
And boy, was it the best thing he'd ever tasted. The amount of times he had jerked off to the thought of Mikey under him--none of it compared to the real thing. He'd had his fair taste of men, more than he could count or remember, and many were used just trying to forget him. But God, he never felt anything like this. Nothing that made him so erratically out of control yet protective at the same time.
When it was over and Mikey was gone, the guilt took hold. It was so immense that he had Felicity, the receptionist, cancel all of his meetings for the rest of the day.
Mikey had already gone through so much. He knew that. Jake had told him everything. How Mikey and Lexie's parents were drug addicts. That they'd been in the foster system since Mikey was 8 and Lexie was 13. That when Lexie turned 18, she fought for custody of Mikey and essentially became like a mother figure to him. Mark knew all of this, but he just had to have him anyways.
Mark decided then and there that this couldn't happen anymore. Not if he still wanted to have a relationship with his brother and to have Mikey still in his life. It was easier said than done, though.
~~~
A month had passed since Mikey had gotten in the argument with Lexie and Jake and he'd had the... exchange with Mark. He hadn't jerked off every day for years, having grown out of the habit just before going off to college. But ever since that day, he had been jerking off, sometimes twice a day, to the memories of their amazing exchange. He couldn't get enough of it.
Mark hadn't contacted him since, and he had expected that to be the case, but it didn't make him any less disappointed. Now, on the day of his graduation, he wasn't sure if he could face him.
The ceremony had gone without issue. He hadn't had time to see his sister, Jake, and Jake's parents (who had become like pseudo-parents to him over the years) beforehand, but he knew they were watching in the stands because Lexie texted him photos of him in his seat in the football stadium every ten minutes with a bunch of heart-eye and graduation cap emojis. He walked the stage and received his diploma, which was really just a piece of paper--the real diploma would be coming in the mail a week later--and ran out the door the moment the ceremony was over. Following a text from Lexie, Mikey met the family in a less crowded area of the parking lot.
"Mikey!" Lexie squealed, running up to him and giving him a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"
Mikey laughed, wrapping his arms around his sister. She seemed to have forgotten that he was moving out in a month, at least for the time being.
Jake came up and joined the hug. They stepped away, and, in that moment, Mikey realized Mark was there as well, sulking behind his parents. A pang of hurt shot through his chest as he watched Mark avoid his gaze. He tried to ignore the sadness growing in his gut as Jake and Mark's parents came up to him.
"So proud of you, son," Dave, their dad, said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"Me, too," Pat exclaimed, teary eyed and pulling him in for a hug. "Now let's head back to the house for the party!"
Mikey made the long trek back to his car, which was parked in one of the student lots. He was the last to arrive at the house, unsurprisingly. Balloons were tied around the mailbox, and a large sign that read "Congratulations grad!" was nailed into the front lawn. Cars littered the streets, and Mikey wondered just who could be invited to the party. He didn't know that many people--at least not enough that weren't also having grad parties that day.
Inside the house, he recognized a number of the Whittiers' family and friends. He'd met them all at past family functions and parties. The moment he walked through the house, he was bombarded with love and excitement. It was all very overwhelming, but he had never felt more loved. This was the first time he ever had a party that was all about him, and it sure did feel great.
The party began to die down, and eventually all that was left were Mikey, Lexie, Jake, Pat, Dave, and Mark. Lexie, Jake, Pat, and Dave were all in deep conversation. About what? Mikey didn't know. All he could pay attention to was Mark.
After a while, Mark got up and walked out of the living room. Mikey decided to follow him. Once they were out of hearing range, he mustered up all of his courage and decided to speak up.
"Why have you been ignoring me all night?" he accused. Mark stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Do you hate me, or did you forget what we did last month?"
Mark grabbed his wrist and opened a door, pulling him into a dark room. Mark turned on the lights, and Mikey, seeing the stairs, realized it wasn't just any room. It was the basement. Mark continued pulling him along, dragging him down the stairs. He pushed Mikey up against the wall, their fronts touching.
