Erase Me 10/10
Howard tried fingering Vince a few times before actually sticking it in. He'd been reading pamphlets and his mother's Cosmos, so he had some idea of what he needed to do. Unfortunately, his partner was tiny and nervous. Once the fingers were in, Vince was in heaven. He bucked and moaned in a way that tested Howard's resolve not to take things too quickly, but before the moans of ecstasy, came a lot of grimaces and "ouches".
When he finally had the nerve to try, after buying Vince a Kiss patch and a bag of jelly tots, he had to use enough olive oil to fuel an orgy just to get three fingers inside. Vince was literally begging for it, using dirty words and sounding as fake as a porn star.
When he tried to enter Vince, it was like hitting a brick wall. No amount of stretching seemed to get him loose enough for Howard. He was about halfway in when Vince's eyes started welling with tears, but being the eternal optimist, Vince assured Howard it was all right.
When he was completely buried inside, Howard kissed Vince until the smaller man started to relax. It was a much tighter fit than with a woman, and it was nearly impossible to last. Only pride kept Howard from coming within the first two minutes. He was determined to get Vince off. He ended up coming well before Vince, but stayed hard and pulsating inside of his partner while Vince jerked off. Vince was amazing in that moment. He ground himself on Howard's sensitive dick and stroked himself with abandon. When he finally came on Howard's belly, he was a sweaty, red-faced mess. It wasn't a full twenty minutes before Howard was back on top of him.
xxx
Howard stripped off his gear and laid down on the bed. He looked stiff and uncomfortable, but not like a flight risk.
"There's lots of things we can do," Vince offered, "Whatever you like."
Howard stared at the ceiling, "I trust you. I'd like to try."
It was the best possible thing Howard could have said. He trusted Vince.
Vince was fastidious. He rolled Howard onto his stomach and gave him a full backrub, kneading the tense muscles until Howard was putty in Vince's hands. When he moved below the waist, Vince massaged Howard's healthy bottom and thighs until his friend was nearly relaxed.
Howard was never comfortable letting Vince touch him. Even in bed, Howard liked to do the touching and got awkward when he received return petting and loving. Even with Gideon, Howard seemed to struggle with control issues. Vince knew the effort it was taking Howard to just be passive.
When Vince dipped his fingers between Howard's cheeks, his partner tensed up and apologized. Vince dismissed the apologies and set his sites on fitting his fingers (which suddenly looked awfully stubby and fat) into Howard's tightly puckered rear. He was so focused on getting Howard good and slippery without hurting him, he had no idea how long his partner had been staring at the photo on the ground beside their bed. Vince was ready to throw something on top of it, not wanting Howard to be looking at Gideon with three fingers of Vince in his arse, but then he realized it was the other photo. Howard was examining the picture of himself, looking dashing and handsome.
"I took that," Vince explained, "for your mum. She wanted a 'nice' photo for the wall, and you were too cheap to have one done, so I took it. I done your hair and the lighting and everything. Then I gave you a framed copy for Christmas!"
Howard chuckled, but the laugh was strangled as Vince was seeking out his prostate.
"I wondered why I... oh..." Vince had found his prostate, "That's... well, sir..."
"I didn't think you kept it," Vince continued, "Figured you just chucked it, but then you gave it to me when we thought the zoo was closing."
Howard looked thoughtful, "I wondered why I had a framed photo of myself... I don't think I meant..."
Howard closed his eyes and shuddered as Vince stroked with his fingers, finding every sensitive spot.
"It's all right, Howard," Vince promised.
"I'm pretty sure I hid that picture there to remind me that you were the one," Howard explained.
"Which one?"
"The one. The one I should be pursuing," Howard explained, "It was always you, but I was so hung up and confused. I'm sorry."
Howard stopped talking (and breathing) as Vince moved his fingers faster. He'd been so angry that Howard kept a picture of himself kissing Gideon, the meaning of the photo was just starting to hit Vince.
Howard had written a note to himself that he had been with Gideon and it would never work.
And he had written, "Don't forget that Vince is precious."
"What does it mean?" Vince asked as Howard squirmed beneath him, making guttural noises as Vince worked his prostate, "Why did you write that I was precious?"
"I think I'm... Oh, Christy, I'm nearly there. Now, Vince."
Vince slicked himself up quickly, sinking into Howard with surprising ease. He felt like he was being swallowed whole by the velvety heat and pressure. Howard was like an ermine covered vice.
Vince was awkwardly straddling Howard as he fucked him. He was using the pain in his leg to keep himself from coming too quickly. Howard wasn't just tight, he was also throwing himself into the action, thrusting back and trying to draw Vince in even deeper. Howard was almostflat on his belly, not giving Vince a chance to stroke his cock, but it didn't seem to be a problem. Howard was humping the sheets and moaning. Vince was happy enough to see the back of Howard's curly haired head, but when he turned his head... Vince had never seen anything as beautiful as Howard's red face, grimacing as he tried to find just the right rhythm. When Howard fucked Vince, he always looked calm, lost in whatever thoughts that helped him be so goddamn good at screwing Vince's brains out. He probably thought about jazz charts and Tommy's big cheese head when he was trying to last, but now, he was totally giving in to the moment. Vince wanted to know what Howard was thinking, but he was pretty sure that if he asked, he would come before Howard was done answering.
"Beautiful," Vince muttered as he tried to focus on the cramp forming in his thigh and NOT on Howard's arching back.
Howard made a noise of agreement before whispering, "Harder."
Vince gripped Howard's waist and tried to be a stud, he tried to give him the kind of bumming that would turn his legs to jelly and make him forget how to speak. Vince wanted to roger him senseless. He hoped it wouldn't take long, because he was dying to get off.
Howard grabbed a pillow and used it to cover his face as he cried out. His muscles suddenly tightened around Vince's cock, making him come immediately. When Vince was done panting (and drooling a bit) as he sprawled across Howard's back, he reflected on their timing. Impeccable as always.
"That was some double act magic, there," Vince weakly joked. Howard laughed. He was looking a bit shy, ducking his head and avoiding Vince's eyes, but he looked happy and well-spent. It would probably take Howard a while to get used to losing control. It really wasn't his forte. Vince arranged them until he was wrapped in Howard's long arms, feeling safe and warm.
"Down the road, when all your memories are back and you're pissed at me for being such a little shit..."
Howard laughed but didn't interrupt.
"Remember how much I need you. I'm sorry."
Howard shushed him, "What matters is we're together now, and I will never take you for granted again."
Vince breathed in Howard's tweedy smell and sighed. Then he fell asleep.
xxx
Howard sat in his flat and wondered if Naboo's magic would really work. It had worked for Vanessa, but she was already a bit flighty. As much as Howard longed to be special, he noticed that truly brilliant people tended to be a bit... off.
There was a photo of him kissing Vanessa on his bureau. Joey Moose had taken it the week after Vanessa left her husband. Howard knew he should burn it. That part of his life was well and truly over. Vanessa looked through him like a ghost while flirting with Vince, and Vince spitefully encouraged her attentions at every turn.
He'd destroyed Vanessa's marriage with a false promise. He'd never been able to keep his hands off of Vince for long. As much as he respected her intellect and was charmed by her eccentricities, Vanessa had a fatal flaw: She was not Vince Noir. Howard knew he deserved everything she'd ever yelled at him, and he deserved to be scorned by both her and Vince. He ruined his friendship with Vince, though he could occasionally still get him naked, and he'd driven Gideon to clear her memory of Howard Moon. He deserved to be alone.
Howard turned the photo over and wrote himself a brief message, just in case the spell worked. Just in case he tried to make the same mistake twice. He hid the photo behind the framed photo of himself he'd been given by Vince. Like everything that reminded him of Vince, the photo made him smile. Vince always made Howard smile and Howard always made Vince cry. Maybe the new Howard would be an improvement. Even at his angriest, Vince could never resist Howard. He was inexplicably drawn to Howard, despite his many flaws. Now, he'd have a new Howard to mould into a proper boyfriend.
Howard laid down on his bed, staring at the picture of himself and thinking about Vince and their "photo shoot". Vince had fussed over him, playing with his hair and posing him in different, pretentious poses.
They would never understand how much he loved them both. If he'd never known Vince, maybe Howard could have made Vanessa happy.
If he were a different person entirely, maybe he could have made his Little Man happy.
It took several hours and bottle of Scotch for Howard to fall asleep.
xxx
Howard remembered hating himself when he went to Naboo for a reboot. He hadn't expected to end up wearing Hawaiian shirts or going into 'jazz trances', but Naboo's spell worked. Howard became a different person, a better person. Someone who defined being a man by his character and not by his sexual partners.
Lying in Vince's arms, feeling equal parts safe and vulnerable, Howard couldn't regret any of his decisions. He'd done everything wrong, but now he was with Vince, giving himself to his partner in a way he could never have done before the spell.
Howard stroked Vince's black hair and smiled at the way Vince instinctively moved in to the touch, even as he slept. The occasional sensation of his brain bursting into flames was a small price to pay to have Vince back in his arms.
Howard had almost dosed off when he heard a knock at the door. He quickly pulled up the duvet to cover himself and his sleeping partner, but Naboo simply yelled through the door.
"So, you ballbags actually planning to open the shop at some point? I'm trying to run a business, ya know."
xxx
Vanessa Gideon could never properly explain why her marriage fell apart. She'd been too young, he'd been too old, but she couldn't point to any real reason for their demise. Her only clue was a photo she kept in her bedside drawer. She didn't know where it came from, but it was her handwriting on the back that said, "He's a lying, cheating bastard." The mystery rather revolved around the identity of the lying, cheating bastard. She didn't think it was her ex-husband, Gerald. She had no memory of him being unfaithful.
For possibly the millionth time, Vanessa looked at the grainy Polaroid. The charming Vince Noir was on his knees, naked, his face the very image of ecstasy as he was taken from behind by a broad shouldered man. The face of the second man was obscured by angry slashes of black marker and the photo had clearly been stabbed (more than once) with a pair of scissors. She often thought that if she knew the identity of Vince's lover, the rest of the story would fall into place. She remembered the handsome young mod had often been in the company of another zoo keeper. She couldn't remember the other man's face or name, just a vague image of a bit of pink ephemera above a zoo uniform. She'd heard Vince and his friend were living together in Dalston, so maybe the faceless man in the photo was his companion from the zoo. If that were true, it was of no use to Vanessa, as he was clearly not the type of man to make a woman stab his face out of a picture with a pair of scissors. It took a special kind of man to inspire that level of hatred.
Vanessa would surely remember a guy like that.