The first week went by quickly. The two hadn't done much together. Mostly they just sat in one of the apartments or in the studio. Right now they were in John's apartment. Mark was sitting on the sofa, one of his guitars on his lap. It was a yellow PRS guitar. John liked it a lot. Mark had only recently bought it, so he hadn't used it much. His favourite was usually a red Fender Stratocaster. John leaned in the doorway and watched him for a while.

"I'll take a bath, honey!" He called and went into the bathroom. The only answer was soft sounds coming out of the guitar. Even though Mark hadn't plugged in an amplifier, John could still hear every note when he lay in the full bath a few minutes later. He closed his eyes and smiled. He loved the soft melodies that Mark's fingers could coax out of simple steel strings. It was a simple melody that John was soon humming along to. The bassist was almost asleep when, after 30 minutes, there was a knock on the door. John raised his head sleepily and yawned a little.

"John?" He heard Mark's voice outside the door.

"What's wrong?" The bassist asked and yawned again.

"I... uh... I have to go to the bathroom." John couldn't help but grin a little. "How long do you need?"

"Just come in, Mark."

"But you said you were taking a bath."

"Just come in." John laughed. The door slowly opened and Mark's head came through the door. John was sitting in the bathtub, giggling and looking over at him. Mark's face turned red when he saw John in the bathtub, even though he could only see his upper body.

"I can wait, that's no problem, I..." John reached out his hand to him, giggling.

"Come here." Mark walked uncertainly towards him and knelt on the floor next to the bathtub. John gently took Mark's hands in his. "Mark, you're my boyfriend, okay?" Mark bit his lip.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have your privacy." John smiled.

"I really appreciate that, honey." He kissed Mark gently on the lips. John knew Mark was very shy. Calling him honey, made him blush, he only held hands at home and even then he wasn't quite sure if he should do that. This relationship was not easy for Mark, as he still had his father's opinion hammered into his head: men shouldn't be in love with other men. "But you worry too much. Look, there's foam in the bathtub." John picked up a handful of it and dropped it back into the tub. "So you don't have to worry. And if your presence had bothered me, I wouldn't have told you to come in, okay?" Mark nodded silently. "Now use the toilet, I'm not looking." Mark giggled a little. John turned on his side in the bathtub and looked at the tiled wall. "Mark?"

"Mh?" Mark grumbled.

"I thought maybe we could... go out for dinner. Today or tomorrow. What do you think?" There was silence for a while.

"A date?" John giggled.

"Yes, Knopfler. A date. I mean, we've known each other for 15 years, but that's exactly what makes our relationship a little more difficult. Don't you think?"

"I don't know." Mark mumbled.

"Honey, is it because us being a couple in public? I already told you that's perfectly normal. No one will care." When he got no answer, John turned around and looked at Mark. The guitarist was standing at the sink washing his hands. His fingertips ran over his wrist. John felt a pang in his heart. Mark still felt bad about his missing soul mark. "Darling, come here." Mark dried his hands and knelt next to John again. "Give me your hand." Mark held out his left hand. "No, the other one." The bassist gently stroked the scars and then kissed them. The blond man shuddered a little when he felt his lover's lips on the spot. "I love you, okay? I fully understand your fears. We can work on them together. But don't shut me out, okay? We have to work together." Mark bit his lip. "A week ago you were anything but shy, Mark. What has changed? Is it really that different between the two of us? I act differently towards you, that's true. Does that bother you?"

"No! I...I don't know." Mark sighed and looked at the floor. "I...shit John, I really like you." John was a little sad because Mark hadn't said "I love you" yet, but the bassist assumed he wasn't ready. "I just don't know how to deal with it. I have seen you and Keller, I have seen other male couples. Female couples too. And you are right, it doesn't bother anyone outside. But...I still find it..." Mark took a deep breath. "I still find it difficult. And it's not your fault or anything, it's just..." John stroked Mark's wrist gently.

"It's just still difficult for you to accept that you have a partner now after so long and that he's male." The bassist completed. Mark bit his lip and nodded. "Honey, I understand completely. And I want to support you on your journey, but you have to let me help, okay?" Mark nodded. John pulled him into a gentle kiss and stroked Mark's wrist. When they pulled away, the guitarist smiled shyly. He took a deep breath and giggled. "Do you feel better now? I suspected all along that something was bothering you." Mark nodded.

"Yes, I...I'm glad you know about it." The blond man stood up. "Pizzeria?" He asked out of nowhere. It took John a few seconds to understand what the younger man meant before he nodded and laughed.

*

An hour later, the two musicians were walking through the city. As it was getting colder and it was already autumn, Mark was wearing a large, long blue coat that reached down to his mid-calf. The guitarist had lowered his head and was looking at the ground. Also he had turned up the collar of his coat. Whenever he walked through the streets, he was worried about being surprised by reporters. John was wearing a simple jacket and was walking next to him. The bassist slowly reached out his hand and put it in Mark's coat pocket. The younger man raised his head in surprise. John smiled at him and pulled Mark's hand out of his pocket before lacing their fingers together and stroking the back of Mark's hand with his thumb. The guitarist blushed and wanted to pull his hand back, but John applied a little pressure before stroking the back of his hand again.

"It's okay." He said quietly and smiled encouragingly at Mark. Mark took a deep breath and nodded. They strolled along the sidewalk for a while before they arrived at the restaurant where Mark had reserved a table. John followed the smaller man to the counter.

"Good evening." The waiter greeted politely.

"Hello." Mark smiled at him. "I reserved a table." The waiter nodded quickly and pulled out a book.

"Your name?"

"Knopfler." Mark said confidently. The man briefly raised his head with wide eyes. Mark bit his lip. Shit, sometimes he hated being famous. In the past, absolutely no one would have cared who he was. The waiter quickly recovered and leafed through his book.

"Yes, I have it here. Table number 18. That's the table over there." The waiter pointed to a round table that was a little away from the other tables. Mark smiled. That was perfect. There they could enjoy their evening in peace. The two musicians set off. Mark wanted to help John out of his jacket, but the older man waved him off.

"I'm older, you know? I'll take care of you." He giggled and took Mark's coat off before hanging it on the coat rack along with his jacket. The singer blushed a little when they sat down opposite each other. John looked around a bit. It was very nicely decorated. Plants and paintings. The walls were painted limoncello yellow. "It's nice here." He said before turning his eyes to Mark. The older man had grabbed the small glass that held a candle and was playing with it. John giggled. Mark always had to do something with his fingers. He just couldn't keep them still. "How did you come up with this restaurant?" Mark was still running his fingers over the small glass, completely lost in thought. John nudged him gently under the table with his foot. The guitarist raised his head in shock. John giggled.

"What did you ask?"

"How did you find this restaurant?"

"Oh." Mark scratched his head a little. "Well, David told me that he was here with his classmates at his last class reunion. He really raved about it." The blond man shrugged. "And then I reserved a table." John smiled. Suddenly a waiter stood next to them. He smiled at them.

"Good evening gentlemen. What can I get you to drink?" John turned his head and looked at Mark.

"Red wine?" He asked. Mark shrugged. He didn't really like wine, but he knew John liked it a lot.

"We have Chianti, Amarone, Brunello and Baorolo." The waiter explained politely. Mark raised an eyebrow. What the hell was that supposed to tell him?

"Amarone sounds good." John smiled. The waiter nodded.

"A bottle?" John nodded. The waiter smiled, placed menus in front of them and then made his way to the counter.

"Amarone? What the hell is that, John?" Mark asked in surprise. The bassist started to laugh.

"That's red wine. Never heard of it?"

"I never drink wine." Mark grumbled and folded his arms in front of his chest. "I'm more of a whiskey guy." John giggled.

"A Scot through and through, aren't you?"

"Once a Scot, always a Scot." Mark grinned, as he had been born in Glasgow. John smiled before turning his eyes to the menu. There was silence between the two for a while as they considered what they would order for dinner.

"Have you found anything yet?" John asked.

"Mh." Mark hummed. "I think I'll have a pizza with pineapple."

"Pineapple? You're at a Italian restaurant, Mark!" John laughed. "They'll kill you for that!"

"I'm just kidding." Mark grinned. John smiled lovingly when he saw that beautiful smile. He loved Mark's smile. It touched his eyes. He didn't know many people whose smiles touched their eyes. "I think I'll have a pizza anyway."

"Mh. Lasagna sounds good to me." The bassist closed the menu and put it aside. Mark read on. It took him a while before he decided. The waiter came back with two glasses and the wine bottle. He put a glass in front of each of the musicians and then poured a little wine before putting the bottle on the table. He took the orders and then went back to his work. Mark wanted to pick up the glass, but John stopped him. "You're doing it wrong." He said quickly. John lifted his glass by the stem and held it between his thumb and index finger. "You have to hold the glass like this." Mark slowly followed. Since Mark held his glass in his left hand and John held his in his right hand, clinking glasses was a little more difficult than usual, but they managed it. While John swirled the sip of wine in the glass, Mark simply drank it and put his glass back on the table. "Mh. The consistency is good." The bassist thought and sniffed his glass a little. "What do you think, Mark?" With wide eyes, the older man noticed that Mark had already finished drinking. "Mark! You shouldn't drink it like water!" Mark looked at him apologetically.

"I was thirsty."

"If you drink it so quickly, I'll have to walk you home later." The guitarist giggled a little.

*

After a while, their food arrived. It was very tasty and it didn't take long for them to eat it all. They shared another dessert. It was an ice cream. After a little argument about who would pay, Mark finally did. They put their jackets back on and made their way back. John took Mark's hand in his again.

"John?" Mark asked quietly after a while.

"Mh."

"I... I was wondering if... if I should get a tattoo."

"What made you think that?" Asked the bassist, confused. "You always said that you don't like tattoos at all." Mark bit his lip and let go of John's hand before showing him his wrist. John's brain clicked. "You want to get the soul mark tattooed?"

"I...I feel so bad that you can't see your name on my wrist." Mark murmured. "I know it means a lot to you. And I'm still so sorry I took it off, I...shit, it was just so damn stupid of me. I just wanted to protect you and..."

"Shh." John whispered and hugged Mark gently. Mark tried to break free of the hug. Shit, they were in the middle of a park and there were a lot of people around them. John kissed Mark's cheek, but didn't let go. "I love you for caring so much about what I like. But don't do that, Mark. You don't like tattoos. And I don't want you to do anything you don't like. I know we belong together and...that's all I need." John pulled him into a gentle kiss. The guitarist tensed. They were in public! "I love you, Mark Freuder Knopfler."

"I...I like you a lot too." Mark's cheeks turned dark red. John giggled as he took Mark's hand again and laced their fingers together.