Narrator's P.O.V.
Ariel and Marcos spent the entire day doing various things so they could make the most of the time they were spending together. They watched movies, talked, ate together, and many times simply did nothing at all. Of course, after the confessions they had both made that morning, they were absurdly closer and kissed at any and every opportunity they got; after all, they had been waiting for that for a long time, so...
What harm could there be in making up for lost time, right?
The curly-haired boy had never felt so good with someone else's presence in his house. He was considerably unaccustomed to all the incredible sensations Marcos was providing him, so no one could judge him. He'd even risk saying he had never felt that way before. He had been involved with other people, but nothing came close to this, since he had never truly fallen in love with someone. Both knew that even though it was new, they couldn't be careless or rushed, but that day they just wanted to enjoy each other and would think about the rest later!
They were so immersed in each other that by the time they remembered to check the time, it was already almost ten at night. They had been sitting on the apartment balcony for a while, talking about life and getting to know each other better. Ariel discovered that Marcos, being a direct descendant of Chinese people—he was even born in China and spent a good part of his childhood there, which he hadn't liked so much since physically he wasn't as similar to the Chinese, earning him some terrible memories—had to do many things throughout his life that were quite unusual for Brazilians.
In fact, almost all the members of Marcos's family had some very different, and even strange, customs. The worst ones were definitely about food, but what the Asian man liked the most was their habit of singing and dancing to traditional songs on certain occasions because of the region he and his parents came from. Those were important customs to them!
Marcos, on the other hand, found out that Ariel hadn't been as lucky with his family as he had. The curly-haired boy told him that his parents and other relatives were never the most pleasant or loving toward him, which undoubtedly left him deeply indignant. How could they treat someone like Ariel in such a cruel and unfair way? Especially him, who was extremely helpful, affectionate, friendly... it was so unfair!
Several times he could see the pain his eyes revealed when touching upon certain subjects, no matter how hard the curly-haired boy tried to hide it. So many bad situations... but if it were up to him, from that day on Ariel would only have good things in his life. It was the least someone as good as him deserved!
"Look, in the end, it wasn't that bad..." Marcos had gotten really angry after everything the younger boy had told him, so at that moment, Ariel was trying his best to calm the Asian man down.
"It wasn't that bad?! Ariel, they kicked you out of the house just for being gay! That's absurd!" he scolded. He was truly furious, which was somewhat funny to the younger boy.
"You look cute when you're mad. Your eyes become more visible," he laughed. He took advantage of the fact that the other seemed to calm down—probably because of the little jokes Ariel always cracked when he felt he needed to lighten the mood—to squeeze his cheeks.
"Ari, this is no time to make jokes about my eyes. I know they're small." He even tried to keep a straight face, but ended up laughing too.
"I prefer it this way. I can barely see your eyes because you're always smiling, and that's how I want to see you. They aren't small, they get small because you smile, and I love that," he emphasized.
Ariel went over to the other with a silly smile playing on his lips. He took advantage of Marcos's good sitting position on the floor to sit on his lap, which quickly shifted Chen's mood. The curly-haired boy held both sides of the Asian man's face, making him pout, only to give him a delicate peck right after. That made the older man smile even more. He was loving finally being able to be close to Ariel like he always wanted, and he especially loved being able to act with him however he pleased. Kissing was definitely the best part, but those little things the younger boy did also made him incredibly happy.
In the end, he didn't want to rush anything, but he knew it was a matter of time before he wanted to take the next step. Because if it were up to him, they would have been dating for a long, long time already. Chen really cherished that boy, and having him all to himself was a wonderfully tempting idea. In those almost two years, he had observed Ariel in many ways and seen several examples of his strength, kindness, and determination. His personality was absurdly captivating, even if he wasn't that flashy or extravagant. In fact, he hated drawing attention, but that was exactly why Marcos had easily gotten attached to him. He liked that boy way too much!
"You know... I had to learn not to care about the bad things that happen to me. I had no choice. That's why I say it wasn't that bad, because it could have been a thousand times worse. I actually did pretty well." Resting his head on the taller man's shoulder, he spoke in a mild tone, almost like a whisper.
"You did very well, Ari. You are very strong. I'm really proud of you," he replied so naturally that it was almost as if he always said that, which made the other smile.
"I never imagined we would be like this, you know?" He closed his eyes when Marcos started to caress his face. Ariel really wanted to appreciate those touches. He was enjoying them way too much.
"Swear? I've been imagining this since the day I saw you," he said, letting out a chuckle.
"For almost two years?" he asked, surprised.
"For almost two years!" he laughed.
"You should have told me earlier, Chen! Do you know how long I've been waiting?!" he scolded, standing up to look at him. Ariel crossed his arms and scowled, which made Marcos laugh even harder because he found it extremely cute.
"Hey! In my defense, I didn't have the confidence to hit on a man as beautiful as you," he defended himself. "Have you looked in the mirror? Too beautiful and hot!"
"You say that, but you barely arrived at my house and you were already touching me," he reminded him.
"I was actually pissed because of those marks! And by the way..." Speaking of those damn marks... "Do you really not know where they came from?"
"No..." He stepped back a little so Marcos could look at his marks again.
"This is very strange. How do you sleep and this appears?" The Asian man analyzed them once more, noticing that by that point they were already much softer.
"I had some weird dreams... do you think it has something to do with it?" he asked.
Vague flashes crossed his mind, slowly making him remember that "dream". Ariel looked at Marcos, his face heating up slowly as more and more images came to his mind. He was getting so embarrassed he didn't even know what to say.
"What kind of dreams?" Marcos looked at him with curiosity.
"I don't know. I can't remember properly..." He actually did remember what the dream was about, even if he didn't remember the details, but he was too embarrassed to tell him. "But I woke up really tired," he said.
"Are you sure you don't remember anything? Absolutely sure?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I don't remember." He shrugged, but the older man knew he was lying.
"Ariel, I've been watching you for a long time, and I know exactly when you're lying," he said.
"I'm not lying."
"No? Then look me in the eyes and tell me you don't remember what you dreamed about." Yeah... Marcos really knew how to beat the curly-haired boy's stubbornness.
"Fine! Maybe I hooked up with someone... in that... dream..." he muttered, hoping the Asian man wouldn't hear him, but he definitely did.
"With who? Ariel!" he scolded.
"Okay, okay, I get it! I hooked up with you! Happy now, Chen?" Marcos burst out laughing. He liked it when Ariel got embarrassed. It was too cute, he had to admit.
"Are you embarrassed about hooking up with me?" he teased.
"It was a dream!" he defended himself.
"Sure..." Marcos poked him in the ribs, making the boy let out a giggle. "You know, Ariel... what if it's an incubus? I don't know why, but I just thought of that." He spoke as he slowly stopped laughing. "A bit random, but..."
"Incubus? What's that?" he asked, cutting him off. His curiosity tingling.
"Well... there are several versions in various cultures, but basically, it's a kind of male sexual demon. The female ones are called succubi. They come during your sleep and have sex with you in your dreams," he explained.
"If they come to have sex, then they're good, right?" he laughed.
"No. They fuck and suck out your vital energy at the same time. They usually leave a lot of marks on the body. Marks like those." He pointed to the marks, which were now a very light shade of purple.
"That's a bit weird. I don't think that's it. I don't really believe in those things," he said simply.
"I believe in those things, and just because you don't believe in them doesn't mean they aren't real. In Chinese culture, we have a strong belief in demons and their actions, especially since it happens quite a lot. They have many names and there are many versions. Some of them we call Yāo Guài, and those are the worst because they can harm humans and... you know... anyway, be careful. These demons are dangerous and opportunistic!" Marcos seemed so serious that for a moment the curly-haired boy wondered if the Asian man might be right.
"You worrying about me warms my heart," he said, kissing him on the forehead. That subject didn't please him at all, so he was just going to change it as if nothing had happened. "Speaking of danger, it's getting late, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's almost ten-thirty. I need to head back, otherwise it'll be hard to get home," he sighed.
"Why don't you sleep here? We don't have work tomorrow anyway," he suggested, adjusting himself better on his lap.
"Hm... tempting, but I'll let you rest tonight. I can come back tomorrow for lunch, how about that?"
"I think that's perfect, even though I don't want you to leave." He pouted.
Marcos laughed. He liked that needy side of the curly-haired boy. He stood up with Ariel still on his lap and went to the living room, leaving the younger one on the couch while he gathered his things so he could go home. He really didn't want to leave, and the other didn't want him to leave either, but he couldn't force it or rush things too much. It was great the way it was and would get even better with time. But it would be good if it took time, so he didn't want to skip too many steps, since he wanted it to work out perfectly!