Y'all know that Jackson ain't ripped and buff in this, right? Like this is a teenage Jackson who has lean muscle but recently stopped working out so much (cause he's not as stressed!!) And Mark is lean too, with the body of a gymnast. So they're on pretty level playing fields here, just a reminder. 

~

Jackson was already sweating, and they hadn't even made it inside the gym yet. 

Mark had picked him up on his new motorbike - something he was very proud of - and Jackson kept having to remind him to slow down if he didn't want their gym bags to go flying. And even when they had arrived, and Jackson's legs were on solid ground, he still felt a little wobbly. He blamed it partially on his nerves, of course.

For some reason, this felt like more of an actual date, since Mark had finally verbally stated that he was into boys.

It was supposed to be a day of acrobatics, but Jackson suddenly felt like a clumsy amateur, and at the start, he settled for half heartedly stretching.

He watched as Mark finished his warm up, and immediately jumped into a few simple flips.

Jackson was considering faking an ankle sprain, just so he wouldn't embarrass himself, but he couldn't decide the best way to do it. Besides, he didn't want to cut the date short.

Was it technically a date though? He wasn't really sure, but he'd like to think it was, that all of them were.

Mark noticed that Jackson hadn't stood up, and he squatted next to him, brushing his bangs to the side before focusing on Jackson.

"Is something wrong?"

Jackson sighed, "is it better for me to embarrass myself or fake an injury right now?"

Mark laughed, "why would you embarrass yourself?"

"Because you're here."

Mark smiled, casually laying a hand on Jackson's knee. "What do you mean? We've done this so many times already. I've seen you fall on your butt, you've seen me fall on my face. There's nothing to worry about."

"I guess you're right," Jackson pouted, "but I'm nervous."

Mark leaned in, pressing his lips to Jackson's for a second. "There. Does that help?"

Jackson squealed, covering his face with his hands, and Mark smiled in happy embarrassment.

Jackson peeked out between his fingers, "no, that doesn't help my nerves at all. But maybe the next one will?"

Mark laughed, standing up and holding a hand out.

"We have to save some for when I take you home, so let's take advantage of this hour," Mark noticed Jackson smirk, "appropriately."

Jackson let out an exaggerated huff, grabbing Mark's hand and letting him hoist him up. "Fine. But only because that's the first time you've kissed me in front of so many people. I'm proud of you."

Mark let out a sheepish laugh, "yeah well, the first of many, I hope."

Jackson grinned, "yeah, if you're lucky."