Jake's thumb kept tracing small circles across Felix's cheekbone, grounding them both in the moment. He studied him closely—as if looking for something—and finally murmured, "You look different."
Felix opened his eyes, meeting that unwavering gaze. "Bad different or good different?"
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Jake's lips—a rare soft expression that made Felix's heart skip a beat even after everything they'd already shared. "Good different."
Felix let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, feeling tension leave his shoulders at the assurance. It mattered—somehow
Jake took in the subtle change in Felix's demeanor, sensing some deeper meaning beneath his initial question. He drew his hand away from Felix's cheek, fingers tracing a path down his jawline towards the mating mark he'd left on his neck.
"You're more relaxed," he said softly, his touch now a ghostly caress against the sensitive skin. "It suits you."
Felix shivered involuntarily at the touch, his skin still oversensitive from the night before. He tried to play it cool, shrugging as much as possible under the circumstances—a difficult task considering he was still firmly locked in place by Jake's embrace.
"Maybe I'm just tired," he said, aiming for nonchalant and missing the mark entirely.
Jake let out a low chuckle, his fingers dancing over Felix's skin now with purpose, teasing rather than soothing. "Liar."
"You're glowing," Jake murmured, his hand sliding down to rest over Felix's chest—right above his heartbeat. "Like you've finally stopped running."
Felix swallowed hard. He didn't trust himself to speak.
Because Jake was right.
For years, he'd been moving—dodging eyes, hiding feelings, fleeing anything that felt too real. But now? Now he wasn't running.
He was *home*.
And it showed—in the way his body curled naturally into Jake's touch, in the ease of his breathing, in the softness around his eyes that hadn't been there before last night.
Jake saw it all. And he *cherished* it.
"You're beautiful like this," he whispered against Felix's ear before nipping gently at the lobe—just enough to make him gasp and squirm closer without thinking. "Mine… and completely unafraid."
Felix turned in his arms then—not pulling away but shifting until they were face-to-face again—and pressed their foreheads together one more time as if sealing a vow written not on paper but deep within bone marrow and blood
"I'm not afraid anymore," he breathed shakily "Not of you… not of this…" His fingers found Jake's where they rested over his heart giving gentle squeeze echo same pulse same rhythm life shared now forever entwined
"Because I finally know what love feels like."
And outside—the city woke below them unaware world had changed irrevocably high above glass walls where two souls once lonely lost broken now healed quiet embrace morning light rising promise unwritten future bright bold fearless beginning
Forever Mine
Always together
Never apart
Jake smiled. It was a small smile—barely more than a twitch—but it lit up his face like a sunrise. He reached up with his free hand to trace the edge of Felix's jaw, thumb lingering at the corner of his mouth.
"Good," he murmured, his touch gentle but firm, like he was still trying to convince Felix it was real—*he* was real. "Because you're stuck with me now."
Felix let out an involuntary laugh at that. "Is that so?"
Jake's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Oh, absolutely." He leaned in, closing the remaining distance between them until their noses were almost touching again. "You're mine, remember? And I don't share what's mine."
Felix's heart skipped a beat at the possessive tone in his voice, heat spreading across his cheeks. "Oh, is that so?" he echoed weakly, trying for sass and ending up somewhere closer to flustered.
Jake hummed approvingly, his thumb slipping down to trace the outline of Felix's chin. "Uh-huh. And I protect what's mine."
Felix's breath caught in his throat at the intensity in Jake's gaze. He wanted to protest—to say he didn't *need* protecting—but the look in those golden eyes told him it would be useless.
So instead, he smirked, a little shaky but still defiant. "I'm not a damsel in distress, you know."
"Never said you were," Jake replied easily, still tracing lazy circles on Felix's jaw like he had all the time in the world.
Felix hated how good it felt—the way his body instinctively leaned into that touch even as he fought to sound defiant.
*This wasn't fair.*
"I can take care of myself," he insisted stubbornly.
"Of course you can." Jake's thumb traced lower now, sliding over Felix's pulse point—a light touch that still sent sparks through him. "You're strong, smart, capable. But that doesn't mean you have to do everything alone."
Felix's head was spinning—partly from the contact, partly from the words. He wanted to argue, to tell Jake he didn't need anyone's help—that relying on others was a mistake, a weakness—but something in the depth of Jake's gaze kept him quiet.
"Let me protect you *because* I can," Jake said softly, pressing a kiss just below Felix's ear. "Not because you're weak. But because I'm strong—and I want to use that strength for you."
Felix shivered, his breath catching at the warmth of those words against his skin. He didn't know what to say—no one had ever framed protection as something given freely, not as control masked in concern.
Jake pulled back just enough to meet his eyes again, thumb brushing over Felix's bottom lip—one silent question asked without words: *Can you let me?*
And after a heartbeat... two...
Felix exhaled softly and leaned forward until their foreheads touched once more.
"...Okay."
A whisper. A surrender. A beginning.
Outside, the city hummed on—unaware that somewhere high above it all, love had rewritten fate with nothing but touch and truth and trust between two hearts finally beating as one.
Jake's smile was a slow, blinding thing as he heard the quiet surrender.
"*Good*."
The word hung in the air—simple, final. As if that single sound was the only answer needed. And then he was moving again, hands shifting to pull Felix into his lap, bodies fitting together like pieces of a puzzle made just for them.
Felix's hands rested on Jake's shoulders, anchoring himself in the moment—grounding himself in this new reality between them. All thoughts of running were long forgotten.
**Forever Mine**