Fic: The Art Of Digression (Glee RPS, Mark Salling/Chris Colfer, NC17)
Title: The Art Of Digression
Fandom: Glee RPS
Pairing: Mark Salling/Chris Colfer
Rating: NC17
Summary: Chris likes to act like he eats up the drama of Kurt's storyline, but Mark can see when the stress starts to get to him. ~5700 words.
Warnings: Unprotected sex. (I don't know why that's a thing for me when it comes to RPS. I guess because in RL people are kind of morons a lot of the time?)
A/N: This all started when I accidentally read an article where Chris talked about eating cookies to deal with the stress of his current storyline. How I got from cookies to Mark Salling porn is anybody's guess. With many thanks to cinderlily for the hand-holding and reassurance. AO3 link, if you prefer.
It doesn’t take long for the stress of Kurt’s storyline to start wearing on Chris. He tries to act like it doesn’t, like he’s eating up the drama, and for the most part that’s true. But it takes a lot of energy out of him, doing a million takes of a scene where he has to act scared and surprised and sort of helpless, all at the same time. It probably doesn’t help that Max is really selling it on his end -- it helps the show, sure, but it doesn't help Chris’ nerves -- and by the time they get around to filming episode eight, he mostly just looks exhausted.
Mark’s not the only one who notices. He’s not even the first, probably, because the girls are better at catching when something’s up with one of the cast. And mostly Chris is fine, still laughing and joking around, but every once in awhile he stops and closes his eyes, just for a second before he snaps them open again and goes right back to pretending everything’s cool.
Mark doesn’t usually hang around the set when he’s not in a scene, so he hasn’t watched Chris through most of his storyline. He’s not even sure why he’s on set the day they’re filming his scene with Max, the one where Karofsky stares him down in the hall and goes all creepy rapist on him before he takes off with the cake topper Kurt’s holding. And it’s a fucking cake topper, so Mark actually thought it was kind of funny during the read-through.
Then he sees it in action, and he’s not laughing anymore.
And it’s just Max and Chris, two guys he knows pretty well and likes a lot, so it shouldn’t be as hard to watch as it is. But Max is really selling it, because apparently he’s a decent actor -- who knew, right? -- and when they finally wrap Mark sees the moment when all eyes are off Chris for the first time, and he kind of shudders and squeezes his eyes shut for a second before he’s right back to smiling.
Right back to Chris, the baby-faced overnight sensation, media darling and America’s new favorite homo. When Neil Patrick Harris was on set he even joked about how Chris had stolen his gay thunder in the press, but Mark kind of got the feeling it wasn’t totally a joke.
After they wrap Chris heads off set, and Mark expects him to go find Dianna or maybe Lea for a little mothering. So it’s a surprise when he heads for his own trailer, and for a second Mark considers going to find Dianna or Lea himself and sending one of them -- maybe even both -- after Chris. Or Amber, or Kevin even, because everybody wants to take care of Chris, and he knows all he’d have to do is find one of them and mention seeing Chris taking off alone and they’d be all over it.
Then again, maybe that’s exactly what Chris is avoiding, because as much as he eats up the attention most of the time, it has to get old, having people hovering all the damn time. So Mark doesn’t call in reinforcements, but he does swing by the craft services table and snags a plate of cookies when nobody’s watching, then he follows Chris to his trailer.
And maybe he’s no different than the rest of them; maybe he’s been hovering just as much, because he knows without even thinking about it that when Chris is stressed or amped up or jittery, what he wants is sugar. It’s probably the worst thing for him, but hey, Mark’s not judging. He’s not even sure why he knows what kind of cookies Chris likes, other than the fact that they spend all their time together.
The door to Chris’ trailer is closed when he gets there, but none of them ever lock their doors -- which is how Mark and Naya managed to get sex banned from the set in the first place -- so Mark knocks and then lets himself in. Chris is sitting on the edge of the bed at the back of the trailer, elbows on his knees and hands in his hair and Mark feels a little guilty for just letting himself in.
He’s already lost the ugly plaid jacket wardrobe stuck him in for the scene, so all he’s got on is a pair of black pants and a black button-down. It’s weird, seeing him without any crazy colors or anything, even though Mark knows that when they’re not on set Chris is as likely as he is to pull on jeans and a ratty t-shirt.
“Hey," he says, ignoring the weird sound of his own voice and closing the door behind him. “Thought you could use a hit.”
Chris looks up at him and smiles, working hard to look like he’s cool, that everything’s fine and he’s just tired or whatever. Except he’s still pretty new at all of this, and in a lot of ways his overnight success has been every new actor’s dream come true, but it has to be pretty overwhelming.
And okay, yeah, it’s not like Mark’s got such an impressive resume himself, but he's a little older than Chris, so he’s had a few more years to learn what it feels like to have doors slammed in your face over and over. He’s had a few years to develop a pretty thick skin, and Chris...well, all anybody has to do is look at him to see exactly how close to the surface all his emotions run.
That’s what people like so much about him, Mark’s pretty sure. It’s what makes people want to protect him, too, and it turns out Mark’s no exception. He wonders if Chris got this a lot before he was famous, people fussing over him like he’s breakable, or if it’s just because in Hollywood nobody’s that pure.
He crosses to the bed and sits down next to Chris, holds out the plate of cookies and grins when Chris laughs and takes one. “I don’t think stress eating is the way to sell the part of the storyline where Kurt’s supposed to be losing weight from all the stress.”
It’s a totally circular argument, and the fact that Mark manages to follow it just goes to show how much time he spends with Chris these days. “If anybody can afford a few cookies it’s you,” Mark says. “Besides, considering, I think you get a pass on the junk food for now.”
“That obvious?”
Mark shrugs and sets the plate on the table near the bed, then he leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees and...Jesus, watch Chris eat a fucking cookie like he baked it himself or something. “It’s a pretty intense storyline. Anybody would get a little rattled after awhile.”
Chris shrugs and doesn’t answer, but Mark can tell he doesn’t buy it. Not that it matters, because Chris is the one playing the part, so he’s the only one who’s ever going to know what it feels like.
“You want to crash Cory’s trailer and commandeer his XBox?”
Chris laughs, but he shakes his head, and Mark can’t decide whether he's disappointed or not. “Thanks, but I’m fine, I promise.”
“Funny, I don’t remember asking how you were doing,” Mark says, swaying close enough to bump his shoulder against Chris’, and when Chris blushes he wonders what the hell he’s doing.
Because the thing is, he’s not really into guys. Not all that often, anyway, and not enough to do anything about it when it’s just easier to date women. He’s not even sure why he’s here; he just knows he doesn’t like seeing Chris looking so rattled.
It’s not like he’s never flirted with Chris before. It happens more often than he really wants to admit, even to himself. At first it’s a joke, just Tweeting videos he stumbles across on Youtube about Kurt and Puck, laughing about the crazy stuff the fans come up with and pretending like their secret’s out. It’s about their characters, sure, but it always makes Chris laugh and blush and cast those funny sideways glances at him for awhile, so Mark keeps doing it.
So it starts as a joke, but then he discovers that he kind of likes being the center of Chris’ attention. And it would still be nothing, just a way to get a rise out of Chris, if he hadn’t laid off the innuendo the whole time he was dating Naya.
He’s pretty sure nobody else even notices, except maybe Chris, and it’s not like he’s going to say anything, right? But once Mark and Naya call things off he goes right back to the casual flirting, and Chris just smiles and...lets him.
“Look, Mark, thanks, really. I’m fine, honestly. Just a little tense is all.”
The sound of Chris' voice snaps Mark back to the reality that he’s sitting shoulder to shoulder with Chris in a trailer he shares with two other people. And he doesn’t know where Jenna and Kevin are right now, but they could walk in any second. They could walk in and find him shifting on the thin mattress, turning into Chris until he can reach out and grip Chris’ shoulders from behind.
He can feel the tension in Chris’ neck, feels it get a little tighter when Mark touches him, just for a second. Then Mark digs his hands into Chris’ shoulders and Chris sighs and bends his head forward to let Mark push his thumbs into the knot at the base of Chris’ neck.
“Feels like more than a little tense to me, man,” Mark says.
He lets his hands move down Chris’ back, along the length of his spine and back up to his shoulders, over and over until Chris is sighing and leaning back into his touch. When he’s got the worst of the knots worked out he pulls his hands away, and he expects Chris to look back at him, to say something to make this okay, but Chris just stays right where he is, head down and his back to Mark like if he just stays still enough, none of this is really happening.
And Mark knows he should get up, that he should tell Chris to get some rest and then let himself out of the trailer and go find something to take his mind off whatever just happened until it’s just another memory he doesn’t let himself think about. Instead he slides off the shitty mattress and onto his knees in front of Chris, hands on his thighs and when Chris turns to look at him Mark reaches for the button on his pants.
“Mark,” Chris says, voice kind of strangled, but he doesn’t reach out to stop Mark from tugging his pants open. “You don’t have to.”
“I know,” Mark says. “But can I?”
Chris doesn’t answer, at least not with words. But he sucks in a sharp breath, then he nods once, and Mark takes that as a yes. He slides his hand into Chris’ pants, closing his fist around Chris’ cock and pulling it out.
It’s no big deal, he tells himself. He’s just...doing a favor for a friend. Just helping Chris relax after a tough shoot; it doesn’t have to mean anything. Except that Chris is already hard when Mark slides his cock out of his pants, lip caught between his teeth and leaning back on his hands and Mark’s already wondering what it would take to make him come apart.
He doesn’t know how many guys have been here before him. Chris comes off pretty innocent, but he’s a guy, and anyway Mark knows as well as anybody that the line to get in Chris’ pants is longer than any of the rest of theirs. Hollywood eats up Chris’ kind of innocence, swallows it whole and doesn’t let up until there’s nothing left but a hard look in pretty eyes and a whole lot of regret.
Mark doesn’t want that to happen to Chris, and that’s the best reason he can think of to get up off his knees and tell Chris he’s sorry, that Mark loves him probably more than he should, which is exactly why he can’t do this.
Instead he leans over and takes a deep breath, then he swallows Chris’ cock.
The only sound Chris makes is a choked little gasp, but his hand comes up to trace Mark’s scalp, barely touching like maybe he’s afraid if he reminds Mark he’s there, Mark will stop. Which is just stupid, because the whole point of this is to get Chris to relax.
Mark rests his hands on Chris’ hips, right at the top of the pants he’s still wearing. He’s working his mouth up and down the length of Chris’ cock, taking his time at the top and dragging little hitching breaths out of Chris when he dips his tongue into the slit. When Chris bites back a moan and thrusts up a little Mark figures he’s making some progress in the relaxation department, at least.
He looks up, expecting to find Chris’ eyes closed and his head back, maybe watch that pretty pink flush in his cheeks spread down his neck and under his shirt collar. But Chris is watching, lips parted and when Mark looks up he does blush, but he doesn’t look away or even close his eyes. Like he wants to remember the way Mark’s mouth looks stretched around his dick, and when Mark imagines Chris jerking off to the memory later when he’s alone in his bed, his own dick twitches.
There was no real plan when Mark showed up at Chris’ trailer, but even once Mark made the decision to blow him, he wasn’t thinking about getting himself off too. He’s never gotten hard just from sucking another guy’s cock before; it’s not exactly his favorite thing to do, and anyway this is supposed to be about Chris.
But there’s something about the way Chris is looking at him, like maybe he’s pictured this before and wondered what it would be like, that’s really hot. It makes him wonder what else Chris has been imagining -- what else he'd let Mark do -- and what it would take to get Chris to say it out loud.
He's picturing stuff he shouldn't be thinking about, stuff he's ignored the few times it's crossed his mind in the past. Stuff he told himself he wasn't even interested in, that he shouldn't want because this is Chris, one of his best friends on the show and pretty much ever, when it comes right down to it. He's still a kid in a lot of ways, and if Mark isn't careful he's going to fuck up everything.
This is supposed to be about getting Chris to unwind, to let go of all Kurt's baggage and just feel like himself again. Then Chris makes a needy little noise in the back of his throat and spreads his legs wider, and suddenly it's not just about getting him to chill anymore.
Mark pulls his mouth off Chris and wraps a hand around Chris' cock, pushes up on his knees to kiss Chris while he strokes him. And kissing definitely wasn't part of the plan; kissing takes this thing to a whole new level, one Mark's pretty sure he's not ready for. But even if he wanted to take it back, he couldn't, not when Chris is gasping against his mouth and running his fingers over Mark's scalp like he's just been waiting for permission.
He's close already, hips pushing up off the mattress to fuck the circle of Mark's fist. Mark doesn't know if he's close because he's stressed or if it's the shock that this is happening, or if it's just been awhile. Not that it matters; what matters is that he's not ready for this to be over, not by a long shot.
Mark pulls back to look at Chris, runs his thumb over the head of Chris' cock just to watch him shudder and close his eyes for a second. He leans in to brush another kiss against Chris' mouth, softer this time, then he lets go of Chris and stands up.
"Don't go anywhere."
Chris laughs, raw and kind of high and the sound goes straight to Mark's cock. He crosses to the door and turns the lock, then he ducks into the seriously tiny fucking bathroom and digs through the only cabinet until he finds something that will pass for lube. In the end he goes with a bottle of fruity smelling lotion, and it's probably Jenna's, but he figures, hey, desperate times and all.
When he gets back to the bed Chris is lying on his back with his eyes closed. His feet are still planted on the floor, shirt riding up his stomach and his cock's pressed against his belly. He looks hot and definitely more relaxed, and a lot less innocent than the Chris most people get to see.
Mark knows if he wants to take it back, this is his last chance. It'll be awkward and kind of weird between them for awhile, but if he stops right now they might have a chance of getting back where they were eventually. Then Chris opens his eyes and looks up at him, and Mark knows he's not going to take it back.
He drops to his knees in front of Chris again and hooks his thumbs in the top of Chris' pants, and Chris lifts his hips off the mattress to let Mark pull them off. When Mark looks at him Chris is leaning back on his elbows, just watching like he's waiting to see what Mark will do. Waiting to see how far Mark will go, maybe. And the answer to that question depends on how far Chris will let him go, but Mark doesn't say so.
Instead he leans in and presses a kiss to the inside of Chris' thigh, mouthing his way up pale skin until he reaches Chris' cock again. He licks a hot stripe up the length of Chris’ dick, then he closes his mouth around the head and slides his lips back down Chris’ length. He’s not an expert cocksucker or anything; he’s only done it a few times before, and always when he was too drunk to care if he was any good at it.
But he wants this time to be good, wants Chris to like it enough to keep thinking about it once he’s back home, away from the set and the rest of the cast and all the baggage that goes along with playing Kurt. Which means he wants this to be about more than just getting Chris to uncoil, and the thought makes his hands tremble a little where they’re resting on Chris’ thighs.
Chris’ hand is back on his scalp again, and Mark wonders if he’s the kind of guy who likes to wrap his fingers around hair and direct the action. Wonders if he’d be a hair-puller, if Mark had any to tug on, or if he’s just petting Mark’s scalp because it’s the only part of Mark he can reach.
He’s making those noises in the back of his throat again, the ones that tell Mark just how bad he wants this. Chris is innocence and youthful enthusiasm wrapped up in a dorky little package, or at least that’s the way he comes off in every interview he’s ever done. But Mark’s seen a few photo shoots that tell him different, and now he’s seen this -- Chris laid out in front of him, legs spread wide and his shirt still on while he thrusts up into the wet heat of Mark’s mouth -- and he knows better.
Mark reaches for the lotion and flips the cap open without taking his mouth off Chris’ dick, then he manages to squeeze a little on his fingers. He drops the bottle on the mattress next to Chris’ thigh and slides a hand between his legs, presses a slick finger against his hole and pulls his mouth off Chris’ dick.
“Is this okay?” he asks, because he’s not about to push Chris for anything he’s not cool with. But Chris just nods against the mattress, head moving kind of erratically, like he’s too turned on to try to talk. And that’s pretty hot too, knowing he can get Chris worked up enough to leave him speechless.
He watches Chris’ face as he pushes a finger inside, sees his lips part on a sigh Mark doesn’t hear and feels his own dick pressing hard against the front of his jeans when Chris bends a knee and plants his foot on the mattress to give Mark better access. Mark presses his mouth against Chris’ thigh again, scraping his teeth along pale skin and then following up with his tongue, breathing hot against wet skin and dragging a little shiver out of Chris.
He kisses his way back up to Chris’ cock, finger working in and out of him easy now, and when he swallows Chris’ dick again he feels the way Chris tenses around the finger buried inside him. He can feel Chris’ heartbeat, imagines what it would be like to feel all that tight heat around his dick and reaches down to palm his cock through his jeans.
Mark’s never actually fucked another guy before. It’s pretty obvious Chris has, though, and he’s glad, because he’s not sure he’s got enough control to deal with the blushing virgin routine right now. And there’s no way he’s ever going to hurt Chris, at least not like that, so he’s glad at least one of them knows what they’re doing.
Chris moans above him and spreads his legs wider, his other foot planted on the mattress now too and he’s wide open. For Mark, like he wants this enough to take it without a single question about what it means. And Mark knows he should hate himself a little for not having an answer for the questions Chris isn’t asking, but he can’t make himself care when Chris is giving him everything he asks for without even blinking an eye.
Mark pushes a second finger in to join the first, burying them as deep as he can get and then spreading them wide just to hear Chris moan and grind down against his hand. It’s hotter than it should be -- hotter than Mark’s expecting, because Chris is Chris and all, but he’s still a guy, and Mark’s never wanted another guy enough to ignore every single reason this is the worst idea he’s had since he moved to Hollywood.
And it’s not like he’s suddenly gay for Chris Colfer or anything, because that whole ‘I’m not into guys, it’s just him’ line is bullshit and everybody knows it. Mark’s always known he was a little bi, it’s just that he’s always been able to ignore it and get on with his life. So he’s not gay for Chris, but it turns out Chris is the first guy who turns him on so much he can’t resist, and that’s a problem.
Partly because they work together, yeah, and partly because Ryan’s already proven he can live without Puck just fine, so they all know who’s getting fired if anybody catches Mark breaking the ‘no sex in the trailers’ rule again. But the biggest problem with Mark’s sudden addiction to making Chris moan under him and fuck up into the heat of Mark’s mouth is that Chris is his friend, and if he fucks this up, he’s losing a lot more than a hot piece of ass.
Then Chris moans his name and Mark’s heart twists hard in his chest, and when Chris thrusts up a little harder and breathes out, “Mark, I need...” he knows it’s already too late. He pushes his fingers into Chris over and over, picking up the speed and sucking hard on his dick until Chris is gasping out a warning and coming in his mouth. And that’s not Mark’s favorite thing either, but it makes it easier to contain the mess, so he waits until Chris stops coming and slides his mouth off Chris’ dick to spit in his hand.
He opens his jeans with one hand, sighing in relief at the sudden lack of pressure on his cock. He uses his free hand to pull himself out of his underwear, then he slicks his dick with Chris’ come. When he looks up again Chris is watching, pupils blown and his hair’s sticking up kind of funny on one side and Mark really wants to kiss him again. Which is pretty fucked up, but he doesn’t think too hard about it.
Instead he pushes himself up off the floor and crawls over Chris, leaning in to press their mouths together and push his tongue past Chris’ teeth to let him taste himself on Mark’s tongue. Chris’ hands are on his hips, shoving his jeans down until they’re around his thighs. And it’s tempting to just do him like this, with his jeans still half on and zero technique. But Mark’s still got a reputation here, and anyway, if they’re going to do this, he’s damn well planning to do it right.
He stands up long enough to kick off his shoes, then he shoves his jeans and underwear down to land in a messy pile on the floor. When he climbs over Chris again a pair of hands pushes up under his shirt, and Mark leans up long enough to pull it off and toss it on the mattress. Then Chris’ hands are on his chest, tracing the lines of his muscles like he’s been thinking about doing that for awhile, too.
Mark wants to ask just how much time he’s spent thinking about getting Mark naked and just how hopeless Chris figured it was, but he doesn’t. Instead he lets Chris pull him in for another kiss, and when Chris’ hand closes around his dick and guides him between Chris’ legs, he has to run through the list of Corvidae species in his head just to keep from coming right then.
He gets as far as the Holarctic magpies before Chris angles his hips up and hooks a leg around Mark’s waist, one arm around Mark’s back and whispering please like he thinks maybe Mark’s going to change his mind. For a second Mark thinks he might lose his mind just from the feeling of tight, tight heat drawing him in, then he’s buried balls-deep in Chris and he doesn’t even remember how it happened.
“Jesus, Chris,” he hears himself murmur, then, “fuck,” and Chris lets out a shaky laugh and says, “that’s the idea, yes.” Mark laughs too, sharp and surprised and his chest swells a little when he opens his eyes to find Chris watching him. Smiling at him the way he does sometimes when Mark’s talking about his album or his family or just something dumb Cory said to him on set.
And just like that they’re back on solid ground, back to just Mark and Chris, except that they’re...more, now. What he’s not exactly sure of yet, but he knows they’ll figure it out. Mark pushes forward to kiss Chris, pulling almost all the way out of him, and he hears the shaky sigh Chris lets out. So he angles his hips a little and slides back into tight heat, tongue fucking Chris’ mouth in time to the slow thrusts of Mark’s cock.
By the time he pulls back to look Chris is panting under him, eyes closed and mouth open, cheeks flushed and Mark can tell the blush goes all the way down his chest. He reaches between them to fumble the buttons on Chris’ shirt open, pulling too hard and popping a couple loose and wardrobe’s going to flip when they get this shirt back, but Mark doesn’t even care. Because he wants to see Chris’ blush, wants to feel smooth, pale skin against his own when Chris arches up to get more of Mark inside him.
He’s been hard for awhile now, so he knows he’s not going to last all that long. Not when Chris is moaning into each thrust, hands wrapped around Mark’s forearms and meeting each thrust like he can’t get Mark far enough inside him. It’s hot and crazy and terrifying, and Mark knows already that once isn’t going to be enough. He knows he’ll keep coming back for more as long as Chris will let him, and he knows what that means.
Because he knows Chris, and even if he says he’s okay with casual hook-ups, mutual stress relief or whatever, he’ll be lying. To both of them, maybe, at least for awhile, but eventually he’ll have to admit that just hooking up isn’t enough. And Mark knows it, because he knows what a romantic Chris is. Takes one to know one, he thinks, then he buries his face in Chris’ neck and thrusts forward one last time and comes.
Chris lets out a sigh and tightens around him, drawing Mark even further inside and just holding him there, like he doesn’t want this moment to end. And Mark doesn’t either, because this is the part where things get weird. Where they either pretend it didn’t happen and try to pretend they can go back to whatever they were before this, or they start working out what they are now.
Mark doesn’t know the answers to any of those questions, so instead of manning up and dealing with the mess he’s made, he stays buried inside Chris, mouth moving on the side of his neck and his fingers threaded together with Chris’ on the mattress. And he doesn’t know when that happened, but it feels pretty nice, so he doesn’t pull his hand away.
Then Chris’ hand is on the back of his neck, and Chris turns his head until he finds Mark’s mouth and kisses him again. Soft, slow and thorough, like they’ve got all the time in the world. They don’t, because even though they’re both done filming for the day, they’re still on set, which means somebody’s going to come looking for them eventually.
Mark takes his time kissing Chris anyway, his hand sliding out of Chris’ to trail down his arm and then his side, landing on Chris’ hip and sliding under his knee to hook Chris’ leg a little tighter around his waist. He hears the sigh when he slips out of Chris, and he wants to reach between them and push his fingers back inside, feel the slickness of his own come mingled with Chris’. Instead he turns onto his side, dragging Chris with him to press together on the thin mattress and pulling back to look at Chris.
“I have to say, you certainly know how to get a guy to relax.”
Mark laughs and presses forward to curve his lips against Chris’ shy smile. “What are friends for?”
He feels Chris tense against him; he doesn’t try to pull away or anything, but suddenly it feels like there’s space between them all the same. And Mark knows Chris is expecting him to try to take it all back, to play it off like this is just something friends do to help each other blow off steam. He has a feeling Chris would let him, even, and it sucks that Chris is so unsure about the way Mark feels, but he can’t really blame him, considering Mark doesn’t even know how the hell he feels.
He knows he loves Chris, though, and he knows he likes fucking him, and there are way worse ways to start a relationship. So he presses another kiss to the corner of Chris’ mouth, then he wraps his arm around Chris’ neck and pushes his fingers through soft, sex-mussed hair.
“You busy tonight? I’ve got this major craving for beef fajitas. I was thinking about hitting Marix later.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?” Chris asks, and he sounds like he’s just teasing, but Mark’s known him long enough to hear how nervous he is.
And Mark’s not sure he’s ready to date Chris -- he’s not sure he’s ready to date anybody, which was the whole problem with Naya -- but he’s sure as hell not ready to give this up, so if dating is what it takes to keep it, he’s willing to give it a try.
He shrugs against the mattress and pushes Chris’ hair back off his forehead. “What if I am?”
“Then I’d say the answer is definitely yes.”
Mark laughs when Chris smiles at him, leaning in to kiss him again. He knows they should get up, that he should put his clothes back on and let Chris shower so he can get his outfit back to wardrobe. He should go back to his own trailer and clean up, or maybe just find the rest of the cast and hang out for awhile, just so no one starts asking a bunch of questions about where he and Chris have been for the past hour.
But all Mark really wants to do is stay right here with Chris wrapped around him, Chris’ hands on his skin and his mouth moving against Mark’s, murmuring promises Mark can’t hear but understands anyway. He’s pretty sure they won’t be able to keep this a secret for long, and when it comes out -- when Ryan finds out -- he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. But whatever it is, they’re in it together, so Mark figures it’ll work out okay in the end.
Fandom: Glee RPS
Pairing: Mark Salling/Chris Colfer
Rating: NC17
Summary: Chris likes to act like he eats up the drama of Kurt's storyline, but Mark can see when the stress starts to get to him. ~5700 words.
Warnings: Unprotected sex. (I don't know why that's a thing for me when it comes to RPS. I guess because in RL people are kind of morons a lot of the time?)
A/N: This all started when I accidentally read an article where Chris talked about eating cookies to deal with the stress of his current storyline. How I got from cookies to Mark Salling porn is anybody's guess. With many thanks to cinderlily for the hand-holding and reassurance. AO3 link, if you prefer.
It doesn’t take long for the stress of Kurt’s storyline to start wearing on Chris. He tries to act like it doesn’t, like he’s eating up the drama, and for the most part that’s true. But it takes a lot of energy out of him, doing a million takes of a scene where he has to act scared and surprised and sort of helpless, all at the same time. It probably doesn’t help that Max is really selling it on his end -- it helps the show, sure, but it doesn't help Chris’ nerves -- and by the time they get around to filming episode eight, he mostly just looks exhausted.
Mark’s not the only one who notices. He’s not even the first, probably, because the girls are better at catching when something’s up with one of the cast. And mostly Chris is fine, still laughing and joking around, but every once in awhile he stops and closes his eyes, just for a second before he snaps them open again and goes right back to pretending everything’s cool.
Mark doesn’t usually hang around the set when he’s not in a scene, so he hasn’t watched Chris through most of his storyline. He’s not even sure why he’s on set the day they’re filming his scene with Max, the one where Karofsky stares him down in the hall and goes all creepy rapist on him before he takes off with the cake topper Kurt’s holding. And it’s a fucking cake topper, so Mark actually thought it was kind of funny during the read-through.
Then he sees it in action, and he’s not laughing anymore.
And it’s just Max and Chris, two guys he knows pretty well and likes a lot, so it shouldn’t be as hard to watch as it is. But Max is really selling it, because apparently he’s a decent actor -- who knew, right? -- and when they finally wrap Mark sees the moment when all eyes are off Chris for the first time, and he kind of shudders and squeezes his eyes shut for a second before he’s right back to smiling.
Right back to Chris, the baby-faced overnight sensation, media darling and America’s new favorite homo. When Neil Patrick Harris was on set he even joked about how Chris had stolen his gay thunder in the press, but Mark kind of got the feeling it wasn’t totally a joke.
After they wrap Chris heads off set, and Mark expects him to go find Dianna or maybe Lea for a little mothering. So it’s a surprise when he heads for his own trailer, and for a second Mark considers going to find Dianna or Lea himself and sending one of them -- maybe even both -- after Chris. Or Amber, or Kevin even, because everybody wants to take care of Chris, and he knows all he’d have to do is find one of them and mention seeing Chris taking off alone and they’d be all over it.
Then again, maybe that’s exactly what Chris is avoiding, because as much as he eats up the attention most of the time, it has to get old, having people hovering all the damn time. So Mark doesn’t call in reinforcements, but he does swing by the craft services table and snags a plate of cookies when nobody’s watching, then he follows Chris to his trailer.
And maybe he’s no different than the rest of them; maybe he’s been hovering just as much, because he knows without even thinking about it that when Chris is stressed or amped up or jittery, what he wants is sugar. It’s probably the worst thing for him, but hey, Mark’s not judging. He’s not even sure why he knows what kind of cookies Chris likes, other than the fact that they spend all their time together.
The door to Chris’ trailer is closed when he gets there, but none of them ever lock their doors -- which is how Mark and Naya managed to get sex banned from the set in the first place -- so Mark knocks and then lets himself in. Chris is sitting on the edge of the bed at the back of the trailer, elbows on his knees and hands in his hair and Mark feels a little guilty for just letting himself in.
He’s already lost the ugly plaid jacket wardrobe stuck him in for the scene, so all he’s got on is a pair of black pants and a black button-down. It’s weird, seeing him without any crazy colors or anything, even though Mark knows that when they’re not on set Chris is as likely as he is to pull on jeans and a ratty t-shirt.
“Hey," he says, ignoring the weird sound of his own voice and closing the door behind him. “Thought you could use a hit.”
Chris looks up at him and smiles, working hard to look like he’s cool, that everything’s fine and he’s just tired or whatever. Except he’s still pretty new at all of this, and in a lot of ways his overnight success has been every new actor’s dream come true, but it has to be pretty overwhelming.
And okay, yeah, it’s not like Mark’s got such an impressive resume himself, but he's a little older than Chris, so he’s had a few more years to learn what it feels like to have doors slammed in your face over and over. He’s had a few years to develop a pretty thick skin, and Chris...well, all anybody has to do is look at him to see exactly how close to the surface all his emotions run.
That’s what people like so much about him, Mark’s pretty sure. It’s what makes people want to protect him, too, and it turns out Mark’s no exception. He wonders if Chris got this a lot before he was famous, people fussing over him like he’s breakable, or if it’s just because in Hollywood nobody’s that pure.
He crosses to the bed and sits down next to Chris, holds out the plate of cookies and grins when Chris laughs and takes one. “I don’t think stress eating is the way to sell the part of the storyline where Kurt’s supposed to be losing weight from all the stress.”
It’s a totally circular argument, and the fact that Mark manages to follow it just goes to show how much time he spends with Chris these days. “If anybody can afford a few cookies it’s you,” Mark says. “Besides, considering, I think you get a pass on the junk food for now.”
“That obvious?”
Mark shrugs and sets the plate on the table near the bed, then he leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees and...Jesus, watch Chris eat a fucking cookie like he baked it himself or something. “It’s a pretty intense storyline. Anybody would get a little rattled after awhile.”
Chris shrugs and doesn’t answer, but Mark can tell he doesn’t buy it. Not that it matters, because Chris is the one playing the part, so he’s the only one who’s ever going to know what it feels like.
“You want to crash Cory’s trailer and commandeer his XBox?”
Chris laughs, but he shakes his head, and Mark can’t decide whether he's disappointed or not. “Thanks, but I’m fine, I promise.”
“Funny, I don’t remember asking how you were doing,” Mark says, swaying close enough to bump his shoulder against Chris’, and when Chris blushes he wonders what the hell he’s doing.
Because the thing is, he’s not really into guys. Not all that often, anyway, and not enough to do anything about it when it’s just easier to date women. He’s not even sure why he’s here; he just knows he doesn’t like seeing Chris looking so rattled.
It’s not like he’s never flirted with Chris before. It happens more often than he really wants to admit, even to himself. At first it’s a joke, just Tweeting videos he stumbles across on Youtube about Kurt and Puck, laughing about the crazy stuff the fans come up with and pretending like their secret’s out. It’s about their characters, sure, but it always makes Chris laugh and blush and cast those funny sideways glances at him for awhile, so Mark keeps doing it.
So it starts as a joke, but then he discovers that he kind of likes being the center of Chris’ attention. And it would still be nothing, just a way to get a rise out of Chris, if he hadn’t laid off the innuendo the whole time he was dating Naya.
He’s pretty sure nobody else even notices, except maybe Chris, and it’s not like he’s going to say anything, right? But once Mark and Naya call things off he goes right back to the casual flirting, and Chris just smiles and...lets him.
“Look, Mark, thanks, really. I’m fine, honestly. Just a little tense is all.”
The sound of Chris' voice snaps Mark back to the reality that he’s sitting shoulder to shoulder with Chris in a trailer he shares with two other people. And he doesn’t know where Jenna and Kevin are right now, but they could walk in any second. They could walk in and find him shifting on the thin mattress, turning into Chris until he can reach out and grip Chris’ shoulders from behind.
He can feel the tension in Chris’ neck, feels it get a little tighter when Mark touches him, just for a second. Then Mark digs his hands into Chris’ shoulders and Chris sighs and bends his head forward to let Mark push his thumbs into the knot at the base of Chris’ neck.
“Feels like more than a little tense to me, man,” Mark says.
He lets his hands move down Chris’ back, along the length of his spine and back up to his shoulders, over and over until Chris is sighing and leaning back into his touch. When he’s got the worst of the knots worked out he pulls his hands away, and he expects Chris to look back at him, to say something to make this okay, but Chris just stays right where he is, head down and his back to Mark like if he just stays still enough, none of this is really happening.
And Mark knows he should get up, that he should tell Chris to get some rest and then let himself out of the trailer and go find something to take his mind off whatever just happened until it’s just another memory he doesn’t let himself think about. Instead he slides off the shitty mattress and onto his knees in front of Chris, hands on his thighs and when Chris turns to look at him Mark reaches for the button on his pants.
“Mark,” Chris says, voice kind of strangled, but he doesn’t reach out to stop Mark from tugging his pants open. “You don’t have to.”
“I know,” Mark says. “But can I?”
Chris doesn’t answer, at least not with words. But he sucks in a sharp breath, then he nods once, and Mark takes that as a yes. He slides his hand into Chris’ pants, closing his fist around Chris’ cock and pulling it out.
It’s no big deal, he tells himself. He’s just...doing a favor for a friend. Just helping Chris relax after a tough shoot; it doesn’t have to mean anything. Except that Chris is already hard when Mark slides his cock out of his pants, lip caught between his teeth and leaning back on his hands and Mark’s already wondering what it would take to make him come apart.
He doesn’t know how many guys have been here before him. Chris comes off pretty innocent, but he’s a guy, and anyway Mark knows as well as anybody that the line to get in Chris’ pants is longer than any of the rest of theirs. Hollywood eats up Chris’ kind of innocence, swallows it whole and doesn’t let up until there’s nothing left but a hard look in pretty eyes and a whole lot of regret.
Mark doesn’t want that to happen to Chris, and that’s the best reason he can think of to get up off his knees and tell Chris he’s sorry, that Mark loves him probably more than he should, which is exactly why he can’t do this.
Instead he leans over and takes a deep breath, then he swallows Chris’ cock.
The only sound Chris makes is a choked little gasp, but his hand comes up to trace Mark’s scalp, barely touching like maybe he’s afraid if he reminds Mark he’s there, Mark will stop. Which is just stupid, because the whole point of this is to get Chris to relax.
Mark rests his hands on Chris’ hips, right at the top of the pants he’s still wearing. He’s working his mouth up and down the length of Chris’ cock, taking his time at the top and dragging little hitching breaths out of Chris when he dips his tongue into the slit. When Chris bites back a moan and thrusts up a little Mark figures he’s making some progress in the relaxation department, at least.
He looks up, expecting to find Chris’ eyes closed and his head back, maybe watch that pretty pink flush in his cheeks spread down his neck and under his shirt collar. But Chris is watching, lips parted and when Mark looks up he does blush, but he doesn’t look away or even close his eyes. Like he wants to remember the way Mark’s mouth looks stretched around his dick, and when Mark imagines Chris jerking off to the memory later when he’s alone in his bed, his own dick twitches.
There was no real plan when Mark showed up at Chris’ trailer, but even once Mark made the decision to blow him, he wasn’t thinking about getting himself off too. He’s never gotten hard just from sucking another guy’s cock before; it’s not exactly his favorite thing to do, and anyway this is supposed to be about Chris.
But there’s something about the way Chris is looking at him, like maybe he’s pictured this before and wondered what it would be like, that’s really hot. It makes him wonder what else Chris has been imagining -- what else he'd let Mark do -- and what it would take to get Chris to say it out loud.
He's picturing stuff he shouldn't be thinking about, stuff he's ignored the few times it's crossed his mind in the past. Stuff he told himself he wasn't even interested in, that he shouldn't want because this is Chris, one of his best friends on the show and pretty much ever, when it comes right down to it. He's still a kid in a lot of ways, and if Mark isn't careful he's going to fuck up everything.
This is supposed to be about getting Chris to unwind, to let go of all Kurt's baggage and just feel like himself again. Then Chris makes a needy little noise in the back of his throat and spreads his legs wider, and suddenly it's not just about getting him to chill anymore.
Mark pulls his mouth off Chris and wraps a hand around Chris' cock, pushes up on his knees to kiss Chris while he strokes him. And kissing definitely wasn't part of the plan; kissing takes this thing to a whole new level, one Mark's pretty sure he's not ready for. But even if he wanted to take it back, he couldn't, not when Chris is gasping against his mouth and running his fingers over Mark's scalp like he's just been waiting for permission.
He's close already, hips pushing up off the mattress to fuck the circle of Mark's fist. Mark doesn't know if he's close because he's stressed or if it's the shock that this is happening, or if it's just been awhile. Not that it matters; what matters is that he's not ready for this to be over, not by a long shot.
Mark pulls back to look at Chris, runs his thumb over the head of Chris' cock just to watch him shudder and close his eyes for a second. He leans in to brush another kiss against Chris' mouth, softer this time, then he lets go of Chris and stands up.
"Don't go anywhere."
Chris laughs, raw and kind of high and the sound goes straight to Mark's cock. He crosses to the door and turns the lock, then he ducks into the seriously tiny fucking bathroom and digs through the only cabinet until he finds something that will pass for lube. In the end he goes with a bottle of fruity smelling lotion, and it's probably Jenna's, but he figures, hey, desperate times and all.
When he gets back to the bed Chris is lying on his back with his eyes closed. His feet are still planted on the floor, shirt riding up his stomach and his cock's pressed against his belly. He looks hot and definitely more relaxed, and a lot less innocent than the Chris most people get to see.
Mark knows if he wants to take it back, this is his last chance. It'll be awkward and kind of weird between them for awhile, but if he stops right now they might have a chance of getting back where they were eventually. Then Chris opens his eyes and looks up at him, and Mark knows he's not going to take it back.
He drops to his knees in front of Chris again and hooks his thumbs in the top of Chris' pants, and Chris lifts his hips off the mattress to let Mark pull them off. When Mark looks at him Chris is leaning back on his elbows, just watching like he's waiting to see what Mark will do. Waiting to see how far Mark will go, maybe. And the answer to that question depends on how far Chris will let him go, but Mark doesn't say so.
Instead he leans in and presses a kiss to the inside of Chris' thigh, mouthing his way up pale skin until he reaches Chris' cock again. He licks a hot stripe up the length of Chris’ dick, then he closes his mouth around the head and slides his lips back down Chris’ length. He’s not an expert cocksucker or anything; he’s only done it a few times before, and always when he was too drunk to care if he was any good at it.
But he wants this time to be good, wants Chris to like it enough to keep thinking about it once he’s back home, away from the set and the rest of the cast and all the baggage that goes along with playing Kurt. Which means he wants this to be about more than just getting Chris to uncoil, and the thought makes his hands tremble a little where they’re resting on Chris’ thighs.
Chris’ hand is back on his scalp again, and Mark wonders if he’s the kind of guy who likes to wrap his fingers around hair and direct the action. Wonders if he’d be a hair-puller, if Mark had any to tug on, or if he’s just petting Mark’s scalp because it’s the only part of Mark he can reach.
He’s making those noises in the back of his throat again, the ones that tell Mark just how bad he wants this. Chris is innocence and youthful enthusiasm wrapped up in a dorky little package, or at least that’s the way he comes off in every interview he’s ever done. But Mark’s seen a few photo shoots that tell him different, and now he’s seen this -- Chris laid out in front of him, legs spread wide and his shirt still on while he thrusts up into the wet heat of Mark’s mouth -- and he knows better.
Mark reaches for the lotion and flips the cap open without taking his mouth off Chris’ dick, then he manages to squeeze a little on his fingers. He drops the bottle on the mattress next to Chris’ thigh and slides a hand between his legs, presses a slick finger against his hole and pulls his mouth off Chris’ dick.
“Is this okay?” he asks, because he’s not about to push Chris for anything he’s not cool with. But Chris just nods against the mattress, head moving kind of erratically, like he’s too turned on to try to talk. And that’s pretty hot too, knowing he can get Chris worked up enough to leave him speechless.
He watches Chris’ face as he pushes a finger inside, sees his lips part on a sigh Mark doesn’t hear and feels his own dick pressing hard against the front of his jeans when Chris bends a knee and plants his foot on the mattress to give Mark better access. Mark presses his mouth against Chris’ thigh again, scraping his teeth along pale skin and then following up with his tongue, breathing hot against wet skin and dragging a little shiver out of Chris.
He kisses his way back up to Chris’ cock, finger working in and out of him easy now, and when he swallows Chris’ dick again he feels the way Chris tenses around the finger buried inside him. He can feel Chris’ heartbeat, imagines what it would be like to feel all that tight heat around his dick and reaches down to palm his cock through his jeans.
Mark’s never actually fucked another guy before. It’s pretty obvious Chris has, though, and he’s glad, because he’s not sure he’s got enough control to deal with the blushing virgin routine right now. And there’s no way he’s ever going to hurt Chris, at least not like that, so he’s glad at least one of them knows what they’re doing.
Chris moans above him and spreads his legs wider, his other foot planted on the mattress now too and he’s wide open. For Mark, like he wants this enough to take it without a single question about what it means. And Mark knows he should hate himself a little for not having an answer for the questions Chris isn’t asking, but he can’t make himself care when Chris is giving him everything he asks for without even blinking an eye.
Mark pushes a second finger in to join the first, burying them as deep as he can get and then spreading them wide just to hear Chris moan and grind down against his hand. It’s hotter than it should be -- hotter than Mark’s expecting, because Chris is Chris and all, but he’s still a guy, and Mark’s never wanted another guy enough to ignore every single reason this is the worst idea he’s had since he moved to Hollywood.
And it’s not like he’s suddenly gay for Chris Colfer or anything, because that whole ‘I’m not into guys, it’s just him’ line is bullshit and everybody knows it. Mark’s always known he was a little bi, it’s just that he’s always been able to ignore it and get on with his life. So he’s not gay for Chris, but it turns out Chris is the first guy who turns him on so much he can’t resist, and that’s a problem.
Partly because they work together, yeah, and partly because Ryan’s already proven he can live without Puck just fine, so they all know who’s getting fired if anybody catches Mark breaking the ‘no sex in the trailers’ rule again. But the biggest problem with Mark’s sudden addiction to making Chris moan under him and fuck up into the heat of Mark’s mouth is that Chris is his friend, and if he fucks this up, he’s losing a lot more than a hot piece of ass.
Then Chris moans his name and Mark’s heart twists hard in his chest, and when Chris thrusts up a little harder and breathes out, “Mark, I need...” he knows it’s already too late. He pushes his fingers into Chris over and over, picking up the speed and sucking hard on his dick until Chris is gasping out a warning and coming in his mouth. And that’s not Mark’s favorite thing either, but it makes it easier to contain the mess, so he waits until Chris stops coming and slides his mouth off Chris’ dick to spit in his hand.
He opens his jeans with one hand, sighing in relief at the sudden lack of pressure on his cock. He uses his free hand to pull himself out of his underwear, then he slicks his dick with Chris’ come. When he looks up again Chris is watching, pupils blown and his hair’s sticking up kind of funny on one side and Mark really wants to kiss him again. Which is pretty fucked up, but he doesn’t think too hard about it.
Instead he pushes himself up off the floor and crawls over Chris, leaning in to press their mouths together and push his tongue past Chris’ teeth to let him taste himself on Mark’s tongue. Chris’ hands are on his hips, shoving his jeans down until they’re around his thighs. And it’s tempting to just do him like this, with his jeans still half on and zero technique. But Mark’s still got a reputation here, and anyway, if they’re going to do this, he’s damn well planning to do it right.
He stands up long enough to kick off his shoes, then he shoves his jeans and underwear down to land in a messy pile on the floor. When he climbs over Chris again a pair of hands pushes up under his shirt, and Mark leans up long enough to pull it off and toss it on the mattress. Then Chris’ hands are on his chest, tracing the lines of his muscles like he’s been thinking about doing that for awhile, too.
Mark wants to ask just how much time he’s spent thinking about getting Mark naked and just how hopeless Chris figured it was, but he doesn’t. Instead he lets Chris pull him in for another kiss, and when Chris’ hand closes around his dick and guides him between Chris’ legs, he has to run through the list of Corvidae species in his head just to keep from coming right then.
He gets as far as the Holarctic magpies before Chris angles his hips up and hooks a leg around Mark’s waist, one arm around Mark’s back and whispering please like he thinks maybe Mark’s going to change his mind. For a second Mark thinks he might lose his mind just from the feeling of tight, tight heat drawing him in, then he’s buried balls-deep in Chris and he doesn’t even remember how it happened.
“Jesus, Chris,” he hears himself murmur, then, “fuck,” and Chris lets out a shaky laugh and says, “that’s the idea, yes.” Mark laughs too, sharp and surprised and his chest swells a little when he opens his eyes to find Chris watching him. Smiling at him the way he does sometimes when Mark’s talking about his album or his family or just something dumb Cory said to him on set.
And just like that they’re back on solid ground, back to just Mark and Chris, except that they’re...more, now. What he’s not exactly sure of yet, but he knows they’ll figure it out. Mark pushes forward to kiss Chris, pulling almost all the way out of him, and he hears the shaky sigh Chris lets out. So he angles his hips a little and slides back into tight heat, tongue fucking Chris’ mouth in time to the slow thrusts of Mark’s cock.
By the time he pulls back to look Chris is panting under him, eyes closed and mouth open, cheeks flushed and Mark can tell the blush goes all the way down his chest. He reaches between them to fumble the buttons on Chris’ shirt open, pulling too hard and popping a couple loose and wardrobe’s going to flip when they get this shirt back, but Mark doesn’t even care. Because he wants to see Chris’ blush, wants to feel smooth, pale skin against his own when Chris arches up to get more of Mark inside him.
He’s been hard for awhile now, so he knows he’s not going to last all that long. Not when Chris is moaning into each thrust, hands wrapped around Mark’s forearms and meeting each thrust like he can’t get Mark far enough inside him. It’s hot and crazy and terrifying, and Mark knows already that once isn’t going to be enough. He knows he’ll keep coming back for more as long as Chris will let him, and he knows what that means.
Because he knows Chris, and even if he says he’s okay with casual hook-ups, mutual stress relief or whatever, he’ll be lying. To both of them, maybe, at least for awhile, but eventually he’ll have to admit that just hooking up isn’t enough. And Mark knows it, because he knows what a romantic Chris is. Takes one to know one, he thinks, then he buries his face in Chris’ neck and thrusts forward one last time and comes.
Chris lets out a sigh and tightens around him, drawing Mark even further inside and just holding him there, like he doesn’t want this moment to end. And Mark doesn’t either, because this is the part where things get weird. Where they either pretend it didn’t happen and try to pretend they can go back to whatever they were before this, or they start working out what they are now.
Mark doesn’t know the answers to any of those questions, so instead of manning up and dealing with the mess he’s made, he stays buried inside Chris, mouth moving on the side of his neck and his fingers threaded together with Chris’ on the mattress. And he doesn’t know when that happened, but it feels pretty nice, so he doesn’t pull his hand away.
Then Chris’ hand is on the back of his neck, and Chris turns his head until he finds Mark’s mouth and kisses him again. Soft, slow and thorough, like they’ve got all the time in the world. They don’t, because even though they’re both done filming for the day, they’re still on set, which means somebody’s going to come looking for them eventually.
Mark takes his time kissing Chris anyway, his hand sliding out of Chris’ to trail down his arm and then his side, landing on Chris’ hip and sliding under his knee to hook Chris’ leg a little tighter around his waist. He hears the sigh when he slips out of Chris, and he wants to reach between them and push his fingers back inside, feel the slickness of his own come mingled with Chris’. Instead he turns onto his side, dragging Chris with him to press together on the thin mattress and pulling back to look at Chris.
“I have to say, you certainly know how to get a guy to relax.”
Mark laughs and presses forward to curve his lips against Chris’ shy smile. “What are friends for?”
He feels Chris tense against him; he doesn’t try to pull away or anything, but suddenly it feels like there’s space between them all the same. And Mark knows Chris is expecting him to try to take it all back, to play it off like this is just something friends do to help each other blow off steam. He has a feeling Chris would let him, even, and it sucks that Chris is so unsure about the way Mark feels, but he can’t really blame him, considering Mark doesn’t even know how the hell he feels.
He knows he loves Chris, though, and he knows he likes fucking him, and there are way worse ways to start a relationship. So he presses another kiss to the corner of Chris’ mouth, then he wraps his arm around Chris’ neck and pushes his fingers through soft, sex-mussed hair.
“You busy tonight? I’ve got this major craving for beef fajitas. I was thinking about hitting Marix later.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?” Chris asks, and he sounds like he’s just teasing, but Mark’s known him long enough to hear how nervous he is.
And Mark’s not sure he’s ready to date Chris -- he’s not sure he’s ready to date anybody, which was the whole problem with Naya -- but he’s sure as hell not ready to give this up, so if dating is what it takes to keep it, he’s willing to give it a try.
He shrugs against the mattress and pushes Chris’ hair back off his forehead. “What if I am?”
“Then I’d say the answer is definitely yes.”
Mark laughs when Chris smiles at him, leaning in to kiss him again. He knows they should get up, that he should put his clothes back on and let Chris shower so he can get his outfit back to wardrobe. He should go back to his own trailer and clean up, or maybe just find the rest of the cast and hang out for awhile, just so no one starts asking a bunch of questions about where he and Chris have been for the past hour.
But all Mark really wants to do is stay right here with Chris wrapped around him, Chris’ hands on his skin and his mouth moving against Mark’s, murmuring promises Mark can’t hear but understands anyway. He’s pretty sure they won’t be able to keep this a secret for long, and when it comes out -- when Ryan finds out -- he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. But whatever it is, they’re in it together, so Mark figures it’ll work out okay in the end.