I turn back to the cage before my brain decides to make that into something bigger than it already is.
“Want a hand?” Mark asks.
I shake my head, already pulling out the worst of the soiled shavings with kitchen roll. “No, it’s fine. This is already… significantly more than you probably expected from a hook up.”
The words are out before I think too hard about them.
“Hey.” His voice is quiet. Close.
I look up.
Mark is right there now, one hand lifting, fingers settling lightly beneath my chin. Not forceful. Just enough to tip my gaze back to his.
“This isn’t just a hook up,” he says.
For a second, I don’t have anything to say to that.
Which is new.
His thumb brushes once, just at the edge of my jaw, and then he leans in.
The kiss is nothing like the one in the garage.
It’s softer.
Slower.
Like he’s not trying to prove anything, just… confirm it.
I feel it before I can think about it, that quiet, steady pull tightening somewhere low in my chest. My hand stills mid-movement, kitchen roll forgotten completely as I lean into it without meaning to.
It only lasts a moment.
A breath, maybe two.
Then he pulls back, not far, just enough that I can see his expression again.
I’m aware, suddenly, that I’m staring at him.
That my heart is doing something slightly unreasonable for the situation.
That I have absolutely no idea how to categorise any of this anymore.
I clear my throat, turning back to the cage before I say something deeply unhelpful.
“Okay,” I mutter. “Right. Let’s… deal with this.”
I try to focus on the job at hand.
Out with the ruined shavings. Kitchen roll lining the base for now. The wooden cave gets a wiping down, then a more thorough clean, rinsed carefully at the sink. It’ll need to dry, which is less than ideal, but it’s better than putting it back as it was.
Mark stays nearby, quiet, not hovering, just… present.
I’m aware of him in a way that feels disproportionate.
Of the way he’s still holding the beanie. Of the fact that he hasn’t made a joke, hasn’t made light of any of this beyond that first laugh.
Of the way he said this isn’t a hook up like it wasn’t even up for debate.
