(Y/N) POV:

The way he was sitting there reminded me of a tiger, all sleek muscles and his posture was tight and coiled- ready to pounce. And I couldn't decide in that moment whether I found him more frightening or attractive. His eyes were narrowed and sharp as they slowly trailed down before refocusing on my face. He was sprawled there with a careless grace, body propped up by his hands, arms tightly fisting into my sheets, the veins prominent.

My own hands fisted unconsciously, hanging limply on either side as I stood there wondering what he was thinking with the way he was slowly examining me.

"W-what is it Tae?" unable to help the way my voice wavered, frankly I wasn't too sure why his gaze alone was affecting me so much, but it was. There was no denying it.

Silence. Except I could see the muscle in his jaw tick slightly.

But now that I realised, we were alone, my earlier concerns for him came rising back to the surface. Now was the perfect time to check up on him.

"Have you been alright Tae? Is there something that has been bothering you these past few days, you seem...distant?" I ask, watching as his features soften slightly and I don't miss the flash of vulnerability that lights up his eyes.

The sight of seeing him so open propels my feet to move, carrying me across the room until I'm standing in front of him, looking down as he tilts his head back, the movement exposing the strong column of his throat.

I reach out, my hands hovering over him uncertainly before I decide that Tae is what matters at the moment, if he's uncomfortable then he can push me away. But until he himself does that, I'm going to comfort him.

I softly brush back a few strands of hair out of his eyes, watch as they rest on his brow, his eyes still trained on me although they do widen with slight surprise when I continue to play with his hair.

"I wanted to check up on you, you haven't been smiling or laughing as much. And I haven't been able to spend as much time as I wanted with you, it's made me hurt here." I say softly, hand going to rub at my chest, feeling a phantom pain ghost along my heart, at the emptiness I had been feeling. And I realise- it was Tae, both his emotions and the lack of closeness my soul had been craving for, calling for.

He's still silent, maybe he doesn't want to speak. But that's fine. I'm more than happy to just talk to him.

"And your eyes haven't sparkled at their brightest, your lips haven't been in their usual beautiful smile..." I continue, fingers gently fluttering over his eyes which drift shut at my touch and then softly ghost over his lips. But all of a sudden, my words are cut off when Tae's own hand comes to grab at my own, the same one I had been using to trace over his face with.

A flash of hurt strikes through me, before I push it to the back of my mind, compelling myself to focus on Tae- maybe he hadn't liked my touch. But that thought is almost instantly dismissed when his grip on my hand doesn't loosen nor does he drop it in disgust.

My eyes slide back to Tae's, shocked at the sudden intensity he is staring at me with.

"Do I...do I not matter (Y/N)-ah?" he breathes.

I startle, stunned by his question.

"Do...do you not want me?" he adds, voice still light but there's something so utterly vulnerable and shattered in his voice, that I break.

My hands quickly and desperately reach to cup his face, holding him still as I look down at him. My eyes are stinging but I focus on Tae, focus on the way he's looking at me.

"Of course I do. You were the first one for me." I whisper.

His hands come to clutch at my wrists, almost bruising in their grip. But he's trying to reassure himself that I'm there.

"I wanted to be all your soft firsts." He says but his voice is now regaining his usual strength, the low voice stirring up a fluttery feeling in my stomach.

My heart breaks. When it finally clicks, that all of his behaviour these past few days could be explained and understood when I realised that he'd been feeling left out and unwanted.

And I couldn't have that. He was the one who'd insistently stayed by my side, fluttering, and hovering by me- long before he knew I was their soulmate. So willing and open to me. He'd been the one who took the first step. And now I knew I needed to here.

"I swear to you Tae, that I wanted you. I never wanted you to feel like you didn't matter. You do, so, so much." I whisper, my words washing over him in a promise.

And when I see his eyes light up, stiffness leaving his posture and his beautiful boxy smile gracing his lips. I know we'll be fine.

TAE POV:

Talking it out with (Y/N) lightens my heart and soul. It gets rid of the fist like grip over my heart and makes breathing easier and natural. I feel joy bubbling up inside me, threatening to burst out in laughter and smiles and coddles. I just want to keep (Y/N) here with me, trapped within this bubble of happiness.

I can feel the bond between us practically singing at the close proximity between the two of us. And now that my heart is unburdened, I remember the feeling of being breathless when she'd first walked in, wash over me again. But its stronger, washing over me in strong tides that swamp me and pull me under, and the sensation of drowning is like feeling entirely submerged in the pure feeling that is just (Y/N).

I sit up, our bodies infinitely closer, watching the way (Y/N) visibly shivers. I stare at her, just silently admiring her, watching as a flush begins to decorate the highs of her cheeks.

"Can I kiss you?" I breathe, a prayer on my lips.

"Please." She replies, and with that one word all of my self-restraint disappears.

I grab her waist, pulling her onto my lap immediately. Her legs wrap around my waist automatically- maintaining her balance whilst she stares at me with parted lips. I surge my head up to meet her lips with my own, soft short kisses as I shower them with small pecks, each time our lips meet- the soft plush pressure reminding me, telling me that it's real. She whines into my mouth, a sound that sends tingles across my body before I'm drawing her mouth to mine in a tender long kiss, lips sliding over each other, exploring each other with a slow unhurried pace. Each slide of our lips sends a deep burning sensation to light across my skin, a furious need and want to build up inside me.

I claim her lips again, her fuller bottom lip caressed between my own, feeling the softness of it give way as I bite down gently, teeth sinking in before my tongue is immediately stroking over it, wiping away any trace of stinging. I could lose myself in this feeling. It's her tongue that brushes against my mouth, teasing me with small licks until I groan into her mouth with impatience and part my own lips to draw her tongue into my mouth with my own. Our tongues caress and slide over each other, a slow battle of control that (Y/N) quickly gives up on, her mouth going pliant as I stroke in further, claiming it. Each time my tongue touches her own, it sends sparks shooting through my body, I can't get enough of her. Of this.

My lips meet hers in a heated collision, slanting over each other's as she presses in further and I tilt my head upwards to deepen it, crackles of desire that shoot up my spine. She pants into my mouth but kisses back with the same fervour, it's like an ember that's ignited and slowly gains strength, flames that crackle, and burn brighter and harder and hotter. Our lips are melded together in a furious tangle, merging her lips to mine and mine to hers, memorising the shape and dip of each curve of them with my own, committing it to my mind and inscribing it across my soul.

We part, both of our chests heaving for breath, mouths parted as we stare at each other with the same heat that our lips had just shared. Her pupils are blown wide, dilated with the same need and want that are reflected in my own. Her lips are a deep pink, bitten and sucked until they are swollen and glistening.

She looks at me like she wants me. She looks at me like there's only me.

(Y/N) POV:

I can feel my chest heaving, desperate to fill some air into my lungs but I can't bring my eyes to part from his own, gorgeous brown pools which are staring deep into me. I reach out to draw a thumb slowly across his lips, his tongue comes out to gently caress the pad of my finger and it flashes into my mind- about the same way my tongue had accidentally done so to his fingers. I feel my face heat but I don't withdraw my thumb, just watch as his tongue slides back in. We haven't broken eye contact.

I don't feel hesitant or uncomfortable. In fact, I've never felt so at ease and so cherished. And when his hands come to grip at the bottom of my thighs, I don't flinch. His hands are large and warm on the under of my legs, heat which spreads throughout and sends a feeling of want in me. My legs are still locked around his waist, but my breath gets caught in my throat when he suddenly spins. For a moment, my body is weightless, and then being cushioned by the soft sheets as my back makes contact with the bed. I'm now looking up at him, the way his hair falls forward, framing his face as he leans down.

His mouth gently traces the shell of my ear, hot breath that fans across before he gently and briefly tugs my earlobe between his teeth and then he's moving down, mouthing along my jaw, pressing soft open-mouthed kisses that causes my own mouth to drop open at the sensation. I whimper when he kisses down my neck, soft suckles that leave me breathless. Just then Tae's mouth stops at just on top of my collarbone, and its with even more intensity that he kisses along the skin before he just stops. A wave of confusion pushes through the cloudy haze over my mind before he suddenly bites, a sharp sudden sting that causes me to cry out and then he's tugging the skin between his teeth, harshly sucking at it, a pressure and intensity that causes the whimpers to bubble out of my mouth unrestrained. Then his tongue is stroking over it, each stroke deliberate and unhurried and all I can do is grip at his hair.

When he raises his head, there's both happiness and pride that fill his eyes.

"The first mark." He says, lips tugging up into a smile, the pure innocent joy in his face in stark contrast to the passionate, desiring gaze he'd been drowning me with.

My body feels boneless, like I'm floating but the way Tae is in my sight, hovering over me causes my own lips to break out into a soft, blissed out smile. My body is thrumming with happiness, after kissing Tae it was like the bond between us had glowed, blindingly so, and firmed the tether between us even further.

The heat is gone but the warmth remains, hovering over us in a bubble that cocoons and keeps me within this moment with him. Tae's hands brush down my sides, grazing and skimming over the silky fabric before they come to rest at my waist, touching my skin because my silky top has risen up at some point. His fingers draw large and wide circles into my skin, sparks trailing behind. They slip up a bit higher and suddenly brush against my mark.

My body archs off the bed, taut, as the lower half of my body presses firmly into Tae's, chests grazing each other as I try to breathe past the overwhelming sense of tingles and sheer utter pleasure that is fanning across my body stemming from my mark which is now burning with a new intensity.

I hadn't realised skin contact with soul marks could be so sensitive. So pleasurable. And from the way Tae's eyes are blown wide with both wonder and need- I realise that he knew. At least to some extent.

"So sensitive jagi. Is this the first time one of us have touched it?" he asks, voice low and husky.

I nod, body sagging before I sink back onto the bed, mind swimming.

"Another first." He croons against my skin where he places a soft kiss.

I lean into the touch.

Tae's body comes to lie beside my own, arms immediately drawing me into his hold as I lie on top of him. I can hear the strong steady beating of his heart under my ears, my fingers splayed across his t-shirt. Our legs thread together and I just bask in the moment.

Dimly in the back of my mind it registers that the others are waiting for us. Our other soulmates. But at the moment all I feel is Tae.

But fate has other plans, and it comes stumbling through the room, door thrown wide open and in the form of six flustered faces.

(THIS CHAPTER WAS ENTIRELY JUST TAE AND (Y/N) BUT I HAVE NOT A SINGLE REGRET! WHY? BECAUSE THIS MOMENT WAS LONG SINCE COMING FOR TAE, OUR POOR LOVE, WHO HAS BEEN WAITING FOR LIKE THE PAST HOW MANY CHAPTERS? SINCE HE SAW KOOKIE KISSING HER...THIS MOMENT HAS BEEN MOUNTING AND BUILDING UP UNTIL IT HAS FINALLY BURST. AND OOF! I'M GLAD IT DID. BUT BOY...CAN WE OPEN SOME WINDOWS IN HERE? TAE HAS TURNED UP THE GAME! AND THERE WE HAVE IT. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S TOO INTENSE TO READ, OR SUDDENLY THROWING HER INTO THAT END BUT I FEEL IT FITS...TAE WANTED TO BE HER FIRST KISS BUT ENDED UP BEING THE LAST FIRST KISS FROM HER SOULMATES- IF THAT MAKES SENSE. SO HELL'S YES HE'S GLAD HE WAS THE FIRST ONE TO LEAVE A MARK- AND SOME SMALL OTHER ONES AND THE FIRST ONE TO TOUCH HER MARK. WHAT MORE COULD HE WANT? HE IS VERY MUCH THE CAT WHO FINALLY GOT THE CREAM! LEMME KNOW HOW YOU FOUND IT LOVELIES! AND THANK YOU FOR NOW REACHING 97K READS! SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE. *EXISTS BLUSHING*)

Every single one of you is beautiful, we have to see with our mind's and heart's eye- not the eyes of a judgemental society.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3