Title: A Childress Christmas - Chapter 3
Current Music: It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Author: forever9218
Pairing: Ennis and Jack
Genre: au, canon
Rating: Adult
Word count: 2486
Disclaimer: Brokeback Mountain is the intellectual property of Ms. Annie Proulx. No money is being made from this work and no copyright infringement is intended. Just trying to paint new horizons for our beloved boys.
Dedication: This story is for the entire Brokeback community who, everyday, live the spirit of Christmas in their hearts and in their generous acts of kindness and advocacy. The idea started as a modest 1700 word entry in the Chocolate Fiction Challenge back in May (I’m sure you’ll identify the role of the popular confection somewhere in Chapter 1), and now has been expanded into four parts, consisting of almost 12,000 words! I have reworked the first chapter, to enhance the Christmas feeling, and to integrate a few plot/thematic devices to carry us through the entire story. I am grateful to all the wonderful folks who continue to keep both the spirit and the magic of this incredible love story alive. If I have been missing in action lately, it is because I have been working on preparing this gift to share with all of you during Christmas week. Beginning today, I’ll be making a daily post through Wednesday, trying to avoid “undue delayed gift syndrome” from setting in. I understand some restless souls actually break out in hives if they don’t get to open their prezzies in a timely manner. So for all the people out there who still believe Brokeback dreams can come true, I hope you’ll be able to come along for the sleigh ride. I wish you all everlasting light and joy and look forward to continuing our friendships into next year, and beyond. I have no beta so I take full responsibility for any reckless acts of literary abandon.
Feedback: Love it!
The warmth of familiar arms encircling him was the first sensation that penetrated his brain. The next was the lingering soreness of an ass pounding he wasn’t likely to soon forget. Jack let his fingers stroke back and forth as they drifted over the tight muscled thigh that was solidly flung over him to keep him in place. He smiled at the futility of such a gesture, as well as the comforting feeling that swelled up inside of him. No one could keep him where he didn’t want to be. And, if his man was awake right now, he’d understand that no amount of force could ever pull them apart. Jack slowly turned around and instinctively cast his bare arm over the sleeping man’s side, nudging in closer, to enjoy the look of utter contentment he rarely saw.
Entranced by the soft snoring breaths coming out in rhythmic spurts, he slowly raked his fingertips across the smooth surface of a tautly firm stomach before ambling through the soft hairs on the sturdy chest above. A face splitting grin appeared when he saw he was within striking distance of the one face that never left his thoughts. He reached up, with the flat of his hand, to let the feeling roll through him the moment he made contact. Unable to resist planting a sweet kiss on slackened lips, Jack scooched up to press their mouths together before whispering the four words he desperately needed to say.
“I love you, Ennis.”
Relaxing back down, Jack exhaled contentedly, easily sinking into the warmth of the covers to keep the chill away.
“Love you too, Jack.”
Ennis quirked a barely there smile before a burst of uncontrollable laughter broke through the silence. Trying to improve his chances of not getting caught, both eyes remained shut while the mattress began to shake from the fierceness of the convulsions now consuming him from head to toe. Remarkable sounds coming out of a man rarely known for smiling, never mind euphoric outbursts.
“What are you so all fired happy about?"
“You! Don’t…don’t even need to see the look on your face… to know that you have that same dazed expression you had when I kissed you under the stairwell of my apartment back in ‘67. Kinda dreamy, but sorta shell-shocked.”
Jack blushed with the memory, and tried to force up some mad before dismissing the attempt as useless. Making sure to pout for a few more seconds to retain some sense of self-respect, he figured it was time to turn the tables a bit more in his favor.
“Don’t know why you’d be surprised to hear the words, anyway. I’ve told them to you before.”
Ennis was now paying ample attention as he arched an eyebrow in challenge. “No, you haven’t.”
“Ennis Del Mar, I’m surprised you don’t remember our first real kiss. Guess all my manly weight pressing down against you didn’t leave much of an impression.” The playfulness that had primed every word, until that instant, quickly abated in favor of a more sedate sensibility. “I grabbed your face in both hands and when….” Jack paused dramatically to come up with just the right words to fully capture the vivid rendition of the night that changed his life forever.
“And when, what?”
Now, Jack lost control; his boisterous laughter filled the air before he rolled over on his side. Ennis tried to get Jack to turn over, but there was no give to his body so he shot out from under the covers and stomped around the footboard to kneel beside the man still giggling out of control.
“C’mon, Jack. When what?”
“Oh, my stomach hurts, Ennis.”
“Serves you right, dumbass.”
“Oh, oh, ahhhh. Woo-hoo that felt good.”
“You got a mean streak in ya, Twist.”
Jack looked up, a sigh escaping from deep inside, before extending his right arm. “Ah, c’mon, snuggle-bear, let’s go back to bed. It’s cold.”
But, Ennis stood up with his arms crossed, not making a move, his tongue poking the inside of his left cheek.
“I’m sorry, Ennis.”
“Just want me around so you don’t freeze your ass off.”
Jack sat up, and patted the mattress beside him. “You know that ain’t true. I’ll tell ya, if you come back to bed.”
Ennis didn’t need asking twice. First, it was damn cold and, secondly, Jack Twist was doing the asking. The fact it was Christmas didn’t even need to be factored into the equation.
After a minute, or so, of gentle tussling, they were now cuddled up tight, each man facing the other with quiet satisfaction and a powerful dose of shared amazement. By the time Jack felt Ennis messing with a curl of thick dark hair behind his right ear he was already returning the appreciation by drawing large lazy circles across a well-toned backside. Before long, Jack’s arm wedged between them as he began to explore a little further south, insouciantly combing through the wiry blond hair down below. Enjoying the feeling of mellow ascendancy, the roaming hand massaged then teased the growing shaft that didn’t take long to make an enthusiastic appearance; the talented dawdling driving Ennis all kinds of crazy with every masterful touch.
“Hmmm. Uhh, not saying I’m not liking what ya doing down there, darlin’. But, ya did make a promise.”
Jack looked back with the innocence of a child, projecting an open-faced sincerity which never failed to make Ennis chuckle.
“Admit it. Ya never said those words to me before today.”
Looking away quickly, Ennis noticed a bit of sadness flash across the storm-tossed blue eyes that were never any good at hiding the deeply felt emotion inside the man. Cupping his hand to tilt the retreating face back to where it belonged, Ennis softly repeated the question once their eyes reconnected. This time no claim was detected in the words, or the tone of the voice, just a need to understand. “Jack, you haven’t said them words before, have ya?”
Taking in a deep, but shaky breath, Jack steeled himself before plunging ahead with the memory that was embedded so profoundly within his heart that words flowed from his lips as if the depicted event had occurred only yesterday.
“Remember that second night in the tent when you let me hold ya and then I rolled the length of my body on top of yours? Well, we kissed long and hard and then I looked down at ya for a moment and… well we both kinda moved towards one another while I pulled you up and kissed ya, again. When our lips separated, I sorta lost my head. Knew you weren’t ready to hear the words. Looked at ya and breathed, more than said them, really. “Love you.” Then my forehead rested on top of yours. Probably, from the sheer release of being able to express what had been growing inside my heart for weeks. I think your blood was rushing from your brain to another part of your anatomy so fast that I expect ya didn’t hear me. Maybe didn’t want to hear me.”
Jack could see the throbbing vein, pulsating at the temple. While the stretched lips twitched like they were straining under the weight of some kind of revelation. The brown eyes that, to Jack, had always looked like two flawless diamonds dipped in melted caramel had, just minutes ago, sparkled with radiant fondness. Now, they were suddenly dulled with something he had never seen before. Like dark clouds forming overhead, ready to burst at any moment.
Ennis’ voice quivered as he tried to get out the solemn words before he stopped breathing. “You mean you’ve loved me since ’63?”
Jack looked over with a long steady gaze, slowly easing his body upward into a sitting position, cross-legged. “I’ve loved you forever, Ennis Del Mar. Never wanted no rear view mirror goodbyes. What do ya think I was hintin’ at when I offered to loan ya some money that last day on Brokeback? I was tryin’ to figure out a way to keep ya in my life.”
“Shit, Jack.”
“Ennis, I’m almost afraid to ask ya this. Know I sometimes jump the gun on stuff. Maybe read things in between the lines that aren’t even there,” Jack looked over to see if Ennis picked up on the postcard reference he was sure had been the answer to his prayers just a few years back, “but ya did come here to Childress to talk about making a life together, didn’t ya? I mean that’s what you meant, last night, when ya said you wanted to talk about us?”
Ennis matched Jack’s position, face to face, then reached down and kissed the palm of his hand. “That’s right.”
With those simple words of affirmation, all the tenseness that had been building suddenly whooshed from their bodies as a relieved Jack collapsed into Ennis. A nearly fifteen year sob escaping from his lips.
“Been waiting a long time, friend. Every time you drove away from one of our trips I’d just stared at that tailgate as it got smaller and smaller. Under my breath, I always hoped those damn brake lights would flash on. Letting me know you had put that damn truck in reverse and were returning to where you needed to be.”
Another sob, then a shuddering sigh. “Don’t much matter now how long it’s taken. You finally came back.”
“Jack, I….”
“Shhhh. Don’t wanna hear about no regrets. We can’t change things, even if we wanted to.”
Jack looked up with a tenderness that squeezed Ennis’ heart. “Let’s curl up and take a short nap. Got a lot to talk about. And, don’t forget about that present under the tree over there.”
“You said, ya didn’t get me no present.”
“That’s right.”
“Then who.…”
“It’s from Bobby.”
_____________
Ennis stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought. Jack quietly asleep by his side, not a care in the world.
Damn that man. Tells me his son gave me a Christmas present and falls asleep like a puppy exhausted from play. Jack’s probably just having some fun with me. He likes to get me riled up. Knows every damn button to push. Well I have a few tricks to get him revved up too.
Leaning over, Ennis started to kiss Jack with more than just a passing fancy, letting him know something serious was about to be rekindled. Soon, the sensual dance was deliberate and unhurried as a slow burning ember smoldered with every simmering movement, each man knowing what had always been shared between them would soon erupt into a wildfire heat. Rubbing up against his favorite tormentor, Jack was already moaning with pleasure, adjusting his body to seek more contact, silently begging for more. When Ennis stopped in mid-grind, Jack lifted his eyes to be met with a want that never seemed to leave either one of them. Along with something more indefinable that was bound up with sweat, spit and semen, and a messy assortment of unresolved questions. Nevertheless, even with all the hard years that had come and gone, and the future uncertainties still choking the air between them, somehow, both men seemed more unified than ever before. The miles apart dwindling as, for once, they looked at what was missing and became comfortable with the notion that the answer could only be found in one another.
Nipping and caressing, once again, long legs slid across sinewy shins and calves, while calloused feet intertwined; large, powerful hands roamed with tender encroachment.
“I want….”
Jack breathed heavily, his face pressed into the flushed skin of Ennis’ neck, needing to know, wanting to give what was being requested. “Want what, cowboy?”
Ennis gently grabbed hold of one of Jack’s hands, and started licking then sucking each finger, slow and needy, like a lamb seeking his momma’s milk. Jack gasped and rolled over onto his back. “Fuuuck. You’re killing me here.”
Grabbing the lube they had placed under the pillow hours before, Ennis continued his generous attention while unscrewing the KY cap and squirting the slick onto his own fingers. Winding his arm over his man’s stomach he half lifted him back onto his side as Jack automatically swept his leg up, knee bent toward the ceiling, his right foot planted on the mattress for easier access. Ennis teased then toyed before nudging in deep, while Jack matched his every thrust and moaned out his pleasure with every prod, pushing back to maximize contact. Every toe curling breach was accented by another grunt louder than the one before.
Suddenly, Ennis pulled out, eliciting a whimper of protest from his dazed partner, and twisted around so his head was at the foot of the bed, his eager mouth swallowing Jack whole, hungrily devouring every smell, taste and sensation. Immediately choking out several profanities, before gaining some sense of the world around him, Jack instinctively took in the delectable solid warmth of Ennis’ need in return. Reflecting what was inside their hearts, each man seemed ready to begin and end this journey together. Eager mouths pumped with full knowing lips as they pulled the other deeper inside.
The moans and grunts, continued to spur on both men as they lay on their left sides and gripped the other closer and tighter. Jack’s body quivered with anticipation as Ennis sucked around the swollen head before his throbbing prize plunged in deeper. Feelings swelled as he could tell Jack was almost there, impatient and demanding, tongue already coated with his man’s leaking seed. Ennis tightened his arm around Jack’s butt, wanting to have all of him, trying to let Jack know this was how it was going to be from now on. This time he would accept everything Jack wanted to give. No holding back.
Now, Jack, now. Let me know you hear me. Let it go, darlin’. I’m staying with ya, this time.
Jack groaned out his coming, a sweet clarion call to Ennis’ ears, as he grabbed on tighter when his man jerked up and screamed out his release. The taste of the familiar, warm salty fluid gushed into the receptive mouth, still fully engaged in sapping all the strength from the man beside him. A split second later, Ennis exploded too, juices overflowing as Jack drunk in deeply and swallowed hard, making sure to communicate that every drop was precious. Only when nothing was left to extract, did a wet tongue softly slide up the entire length of Ennis’ body before a strong arm reached out to pull the teasing provocateur the rest of the way up. Once jagged breaths began to even out, their sweat soaked skin stuck together in a-never-going-to-let-you-go embrace. The hermetic seal of an unbreakable compact secured.
“Hmmmmm,” Ennis yawned sleepily.
Jack quietly reached over to grip Ennis’ right hand snuggly, tenderly interlacing their fingers together.
I hear ya, bud. Always have.
tbc