Chapter Text
The room is dim, the only light coming from the moon slanting through the curtains. Mark gently sets Tong down onto the bed, careful not to jostle him too much. Tong murmurs something sleepy, shifting slightly, the faintest smile on his lips.
Mark freezes for a moment, just watching him. The way his chest rises and falls slowly, how peaceful he looks like this — like the storm of emotions he carries when awake is finally quiet.
Mark swallows hard. He should pull back, walk away, go back to the couch or the other bed — not stand here staring like he’s trying to memorize every line of Tong’s face.
But his feet won’t move.
His fingers twitch at his sides, aching with the urge to brush back the hair from Tong’s forehead, to lean down, close the distance, just once — just to see.
From the other bed, a low snore reminds him they’re not alone.
Mark’s jaw clenches. The tension in his body coils tighter, a battle behind his eyes. He glances at the sleeping friend, then back down at Tong. So close. Close enough that he can see the small scar at the corner of his mouth, the one that only shows when he smiles a certain way.
Mark exhales shakily, his breath catching at the end.
This isn’t the time. This isn’t the place. But god — he wants to. He wants to so badly it makes his teeth ache.
He crouches down beside the bed, resting his forearms on the mattress, gaze fixed on Tong’s face. Whisper-soft, "You have no idea what you’re doing to me, do you?"
He lets his head drop forward, eyes squeezed shut, trying to shove the feeling back down where it belongs.
But it’s winning tonight.
His hand lifts on instinct — almost — before he pulls it back, gripping the edge of the mattress instead. His knuckles go white. He presses a kiss to the blanket by Tong’s side instead, something small, something quiet. A whisper of a moment, stolen from the night.
"Just sleep. Please. Just sleep and don’t wake up and see me like this." Mark whispers mostly to himself.
He stays there a moment longer, a statue made of restraint and longing, before finally pushing himself up and turning toward the other bed.
Still, he glances back once more before lying down.