by Austin Bates
They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, the whites of Tommy's eyes showing all around the blue. Damien coughed again, unable to stand looking at the emotions swirling in those eyes but unable to look away. In the distance, sirens wailed, and he jerked out of his trance.
"I should get back to work," he said, his eyes sliding to Tommy's left ear. "It was good to see you. Maybe we can get together again before you leave." With his mouth going on autopilot, Damien backed away, turning the corner and striding quickly toward the fire station.
If Tommy said anything, he didn't hear it.
***
"See you tomorrow, man," Rafe said as they walked out of the station. "Damn, it's cold."
The snow had started around midnight, and it was already ankle deep in places. The winds had disappeared, though, and the flakes drifted in picture perfect clumps. The silence was absolute, even the noise from Jerry's was just a murmur in the distance.
Damien waved as Rafe headed down the street, heading the opposite direction. When he got to the corner, he paused, fiddling with his phone. Against his better judgment, he'd entered Tommy's number in as soon as he'd gotten back to the station. It had been a mistake.
“Did U see the snow?”
He reminded himself that normal people were asleep at this hour, shoving his phone into his jacket. He wasn't even halfway across the street when it buzzed, and he almost fumbled it as he yanked it back out of his pocket.
“Yes. Wishing I'd brought my car.”
Damien's lips twitched as he read the text twice, still standing in the middle of the crosswalk.
“UR being 2 grown up”
Stepping up onto the curb, he leaned against the street light on the corner and waited for a reply.
“Fine. I'll make snow angels in the morning. Happy?”
Before he could think about it, he hit dial.
"I'm not going to go out and make snow angels in the middle of the night," Tommy said as the call connected. "I don't care what you bribe me with."
"Not even the big three?" Damien asked, trying to keep the smile out of his voice. There was a pause, fabric rustling in the background, and something hot flared to life in his stomach.
"I give," Tommy said a moment later. "What are the big three?"
Damien smirked, licking his lips. "Money, sex, and chocolate." Tommy choked, the noises muted as he cursed and coughed. "Sorry. I couldn't resist."
"Can I just say," Tommy said, his voice strangled, "that I love how chocolate is the last resort?"
"Can you honestly tell me that you would pick sex over Belgian chocolate?" He laughed as the moment stretched.
"That depends entirely on who is doing the offering."
"That's not an answer," he said. "How about the best-case scenario?" The wind picked up slightly, and he turned and walked down the street to get away from it. His apartment was in the opposite direction, but he could easily loop back around at the next intersection.
"Best-case scenario," Tommy said, his voice warm, "I get both." He laughed when Damien groaned.
"That's cheating. You're always such a cheater." Damien paused in the shelter of a bus stop, staring at the light of the highway, just barely visible through the thinner patches of snowfall in the distance. "What if it was me?"
The line was quiet for so long that he wondered if Tommy had hung up on him.
"Chocolate," Tommy said, but his voice was shaking.
"Liar." Damien let his feet carry him forward, refusing to look at where he was going even as the sign for the Hilton loomed overhead. "You'd pass me over for chocolate?" Fabric rustled, and he had to stop to adjust his erection.
"In a heartbeat," came the breathy reply.
"I guess I'll have to buy some chocolate on the way up to your room, then." There was no excuse for the insanity that had gripped him except for the way the snow cut off the real world and made it seem like anything could happen in his little pocket of unreality.
Tommy swallowed, his throat clicking against the white noise of the phone call. "Presumptuous much?"
"Only when it comes to you, baby," he said, staring at the lobby of the hotel through the glass doors. "If you want me to leave, I will, but I don't think you do. I don't think you'd pick chocolate over me."
"It must have been hard to find a helmet that would fit over that swollen head," Tommy said, his voice thready.
"Tell me your room number, and I'll be there in thirty seconds. Or I can go home, and we go on just like we have been."
"Damien..."
"Pick me, Tommy. For once, pick me." Damien waited, his heart pounding in his throat.
"210," Tommy said, and the line went dead.
Chapter Nine
When the knock came, Tommy just stared at the door. He couldn't do this, could he? As if in a dream, he watched his hand reach out and turn the knob.
"Hi."
Damien's deep voice twisted his gut into knots, and Tommy licked his lips. "Hi."
"Can I come in?" Clumps of snow clung to Damien's hair and eyelashes, and Tommy wanted to lick it off.
"Right," he said, stepping aside and clasping his hands behind his back nervously.
Damien didn't waste any time as he stripped off his jacket, draping it over the back of the tiny arm chair. He stretched, the muscles flexing under his skin in a way that made Tommy's heart pound. Catching Tommy's eye, he smirked, lust burning in his black eyes. There was no warmth in that fire, a million miles between that desire and the loving looks that they'd shared in high school.
"What are you doing here, Damien?" Licking his lips, Tommy glanced out the window. The snow was coming down steadily, blanketing the world in white. They'd lived for days like this, staying up all night in anticipation of the announcement over the radio that school was closed.
Damien raised an eyebrow and stepped up close enough that Tommy could smell the lingering smoke on his skin, the heat rising from him making the room too warm. "Been a while?" He hooked his hand in the front of Tommy's sleep shirt and began pulling it up.
Catching his wrist, Tommy stared at him. "You really want this?"
"I've been waiting ten years for this," Damien said, leaning in and brushing his lips feather light against Tommy's lips.
Tommy groaned, leaning into the kiss. Damien tasted like fire, all spice and burn on the tip of his tongue. Ten years had changed them both, and Damien jumped when Tommy refused to yield to him, nipping his thick lower lip.
Laughing into the kiss, Damien yanked Tommy's shirt over his head, tangling his hand in the strands at the nape of his neck. Held in place, Tommy fought dirty, sucking on Damien's tongue until the alpha pulled back with a rumble of pleasure. "Tell me you have condoms," he said, tracing the plain gold chain hanging down the middle of his chest. He toed off his shoes, his dress socks coming off just as easily.
Tommy's heart quivered, goosebumps rising on his arms in the wake of that gentle touch. "I think I have one in my wallet," he said, his voice shaking. He wanted to close his eyes, to pretend that this was everything he'd ever wanted, but as Damien backed him toward the bed, one hand running down his back, he remembered why that was a terrible idea. Fingertips traced the line of elastic along his hip, and he shivered. "What about you?" Stroking his fingers over the front of Damien's shirt, he tried to smile.
Damien clenched his jaw, looking off to the side for a moment. "Go for it, babe," he said finally, the smirk barely creasing his cheek.
The buttons were slick, and Tommy had to focus to get them through the buttonholes with his shaking hands. Peeling the fabric away from that gorgeous chest, he swallowed hard as the muscles jumped under his touch. There were more hard lines and edges than Tommy remembered, the muscles so well defined that he could trace the lines between them with the tip of his finger. Under his fingers, the dark skin felt like velvet, warm and soft. Watching Damien's ribs expand as he sucked in a deep breath was practically a spiritual experience.
His finger bumped over a flaw, a crack i
n the carefully maintained facade of statuesque perfection. The scar cut jaggedly across Damien's abs. If he hadn't known what to look for, he wouldn't have noticed the way it traced the shape of a boot perfectly.
The words swam in his gut, hot and shameful, blending with the fire of this moment so perfectly that he couldn't breathe. He couldn't say it, but there were other ways to communicate.
Sinking to his knees, Tommy pressed his lips to that scar, ignoring the way Damien tried to pull him back to his feet. He pressed his guilt, his yearning, into every touch as he kissed his way across that delicious six pack to the scar curling around Damien's hip.
"You know," Damien drawled, his voice mostly steady, "if you're going to be down there, I know a couple better things you could do with your time."
Pressing one last kiss against the pucker of a surgery scar, Tommy rubbed his cheek against the crease of Damien's waist. "You want to waste time with a blowjob?"
"I've never heard a blowjob described as a waste of time before," Damien said, trying again to pull Tommy to his feet.
Tommy ignored him, reaching for his belt. There was a lot more to apologize for, even if Damien was determined to ignore what he was doing. The belt came loose easily, and as he peeled Damien's jeans down, he stared in opened mouth shock at the scars peppering his skin like confetti. One tiny part of his mind noted that Damien wasn't wearing any underwear, and his cock was just as beautiful as Tommy had always imagined.
Damien took advantage of his surprise to pull him to his feet. "Is there a problem?"
"What happened?" Now that he was looking, he could see scars all over Damien's arms, too. He traced one of them gently, and Damien sighed.
"Burns scar worse than almost any other injury." Tucking his fingers under Tommy's chin, he urged his head back until Tommy couldn't see anything but his face. "They also tend to look bad, even when they aren't." Something warm and affectionate flickered in the back of those black eyes, and Tommy's heart twisted.
Pushing up onto his toes, he pressed their lips together so hard that he tasted blood. Damien met him push for push, growling under his breath as he laid Tommy out on the bed. Tommy arched on the bed as hot palms dragged down his thighs, sending his pajama pants into a puddle on the floor.
"You're so fucking gorgeous," Damien said, breaking the kiss to stare down Tommy's body. "Jesus, baby. I want to lick every one of those tattoos and see if they taste different."
Moaning, Tommy pulled Damien against him, reveling in the weight pushing him into the mattress. "Later." He sank his teeth into the fleshy part of Damien's shoulder as he traced the red ribbon around the curve of Tommy's waist.
"You're the one holding up this train, sweetheart." Damien pulled away slightly, and Tommy dug his teeth in harder. Laughing, Damien tapped him on the nose. "Where's that condom?"
Feeling a little like a puppy trying to take a bite out of a lion, Tommy pulled back and pouted when the marks from his teeth faded away almost immediately. "My wallet's on the dresser," he said, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that told him this was a terrible idea. He'd been waiting ten years for this, too.
Damien climbed gracefully out of bed, his muscles gilded in the light from the lamp. Settling more comfortably on the bed, Tommy curled a hand around his half-hard cock and stroked idly. He was used to the company of his own hand, but having Damien in the room made the touch electric. Using the moisture beading at the tip to slick the way, he hummed in pleasure as he twisted his fingers around the head, coming to full hardness.
"Damn."
Cracking one eye open, Tommy smiled at the awestruck look on Damien's face. Power thrummed through his body, and he spread his legs to give the big alpha a better view.
Cursing, Damien ripped open Tommy's wallet, digging the condom out of its hiding spot without hesitating. Another piece of paper came with it, and he hesitated, staring at the paper before shoving it back in the tiny pocket. Tommy tried to remember if he'd left any receipts for sex toys in his wallet or something. Maybe it was his blood test results.
Thoughts scattered as crawled up the bed and leaned over him, batting his hand away from his cock and licking the tip on the way up. Tommy hissed, arching up to rub against that gorgeous body.
"Is this going to be enough lube for you?" Setting the lubricated condom beside Tommy's head, Damien leaned in and kissed him before he could answer. "Fuck, I should have done this a long time ago," he said, kissing his way down to Tommy's neck.
Gathering enough brain power to answer, Tommy fumbled with the nightstand drawer. "Lube," he grunted as Damien pulled a hickey up on the sensitive skin of his throat.
Damien leaned up on his elbow and fished the tube out of the drawer with a lazy smile. Tommy couldn't help but kiss the expression off his face, stroking his tongue against Damien's as the alpha took control of the inside of his mouth.
One slick finger pressed against Tommy's crack, tracing back and forth against the sensitive tissues, a barely-there tease that made him want more. Jerking his head to the side, he gasped for breath. "Damien," he whispered, a note of pleading curling through his voice.
"That's right, baby. It's me," Damien said, making light swirls until Tommy was bucking beneath him, trying to get him deeper, more, anything.
"Please," he cried, his voice cracking, and Damien chuckled.
One finger slid in to the knuckle, and Tommy hissed at the pleasurable burn of something where there hadn't been anything in too long. Through slitted eyes, he watched Damien watch him, dark eyes taking in every twitch of his expression as he drove his finger in and out. He looked so close in that moment, almost the Damien that he'd known. Tommy whined, begging for more as he sank into the fantasy.
Sliding another finger in with the first, Damien stroked across the perfect spot. Tommy writhed, nonsense spilling out of his mouth as he tried to get him to do it again. Smirking, the blur of sweat and tears making him look like a smug teenager again, Damien worked that spot until Tommy could think of nothing but the feel of those hot hands on him and the smell of smoke curling off his skin.
Damien leaned down and pressed his lips against one of Tommy's nipples, his tongue stroking over the pebbled nub as his free hand tugged gently on the other.
"Damien, please," Tommy cried, the pleasure overwhelming him.
"I've got you, Tommy," Damien whispered, panting against his lips as he fumbled the condom on.
Swallowing hard, Tommy stared into Damien's eyes, unable to look away. They stayed connected like that as Damien pressed into him, both of them groaning at the feeling.
"Jesus, I've missed you," Damien said, pressing their lips together as he gave Tommy a moment to settle. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"
"I was ready ten years ago," Tommy snapped, squirming underneath him. "Move."
Damien threw his head back and laughed, a deep, booming laugh that shook them both and made Tommy grit his teeth with the way it shot pleasure up his spine. "Whatever you want, beautiful."
Drawing back carefully, Damien shouted when Tommy hooked his ankles around his hips and pulled him back in hard. "Move," he repeated, bucking against Damien's chest. His hand snuck down his chest to curl frantically around his cock. Finally having Damien was too much for him. He wasn't going to last.
One hard thrust became two, and soon Damien was pounding into him, shuddering with pleasure. "Shit," he said through gritted teeth. "Close already."
Tommy keened in his throat, the whole world narrowing down to the sight of Damien straining over him with sweat shining in the dark hair on his chest. His body clenched as Damien drove into him again, and he was gone. Pleasure swept him under with a wordless cry. His throat worked noiselessly with each punishing thrust as Damien worked to reach his own pleasure, driving him higher until he collapsed bonelessly against the sheets.
Above him, Damien was still straining, his face clenched tight. Reaching up with one trembling hand, he cupped the curve of his solid jaw. "I've got you," he whispered. Damien'
s eyes popped open, and they stared at each other for a frozen heartbeat. His pupils were blown wide, and a single bead of sweat traced a path down his cheek as time held still, stretching the moment until Tommy could feel the weight of it pressing in on him.
Damien gave one more thrust and then froze, their eyes still locked as he shouted his pleasure to the impassive snow outside. He shook violently with the force of his pleasure, sending tingling aftershocks through Tommy where their skin rubbed together. Tommy’s hands trembled as he stroked them over the alpha’s overheated skin and rock hard muscles, soothing him as he sucked a breath through his teeth.
Finally, the storm seemed to pass, the tension draining out of Damien’s body, leaving only the occasional oversensitive gasp. Tommy held him as he slumped, their chests heaving.
They didn't say anything as they caught their breath, and Tommy was too wrung out to move. Over the imperfect curve of Damien's shoulder, marred by a long, thin scar, Tommy watched the snow fall past the window. It was thicker now, a bit of wind drawing it by at an inconsistent angle.
Unsure what to expect, Tommy was surprised when Damien rolled off him only enough to toss the condom. The alpha arranged them so that he could tuck Tommy against his side, and they watched the snow fall together in silence.
"In ten years," Damien said, jerking Tommy out of a contented doze, "do you know what I missed the most?"
Tommy swallowed against the tightness that welled up in his throat. He hadn't heard Damien sound so lost since the day at the hospice when all the beeping and lights that had come to be as much a part of Tommy's mom as her freckles and crooked teeth had stopped. He couldn't speak any more now than he had then, so he shook his head, brushing his lips against the curve of bicep under his cheek.
"The smell of your hair. Isn't that stupid?" Damien tucked his nose against the back of Tommy's ear and breathed deep, the tickle of it making tears tremble on Tommy's eyelashes.
