A Spoonful of Sugar
Title: A Spoonful of Sugar (Prompt: Ice cream)
Pairing: Jo Bonnier/Wolfgang von Trips
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1,879
Disclaimer Didn’t happen, don’t own
Summary: Taffy's latest hospital stay has an unexpected perk.
A/N: Written for retro_f1's Summer Challenge 2012.
Taffy hated hospitals.
From the overpowering sterile smell that seemed to cling to everything, to the horrible rigid beds that had you seeking a chiropractor the moment you could leave; there was absolutely nothing pleasant about them.
Worst of all was the food. It was bland and uninspiring, much like the same four walls he was forced to stare at day after day. And it never got any better; not in all the years he’d been getting himself into trouble. His mother used to say it served him right for scaring her, that it was the least he deserved after breaking another bone or concussing himself for the umpteenth time.
And really, he couldn’t argue with that, but Taffy loved his food. It was his one true vice. To him, having to endure a hospital’s poor imitation of it was just down right torture.
During his most recent stint, after a rather nasty crash during practice at the Nürburgring for a 1000km race, he was once again presented with steamed vegetables and a small, unrecognizable piece of meat for dinner. The sight alone made him feel worse and he mentally ticked the nauseous box next to his list of symptoms.
Fortunately, this time, there was one unforeseen saving grace; a small bowl of vanilla ice cream that came with each otherwise ghastly meal. It was the creamiest ice cream he’d ever tasted, even better than anything he’d been fortunate enough to try at the numerous ice cream parlours scattered throughout Modena or sold at the quaint little English seaside towns Peter and Mike used to take him to.
He’d even managed to charm the nurses into giving him extra helpings. His sweet-tooth wasn’t about to let the opportunity to take a sneaky bit of advantage slip away, not when he was so devoid of any sort entertainment on top of everything else. In fact, seeing just how many people he could charm had descended in to a surprisingly fun game: ten points for every different nurse, double for getting the same one twice due to the risk of being caught, and a massive thirty for a doctor or someone of equal status.
Clearly he had too much time on his hands.
He was halfway through his latest cheekily obtained bowl when there was a knock at the door to his hospital room. His heart jumped in excitement upon realising who it was. How could he have forgotten?
“Jo!” Taffy’s face lit up the moment he saw the tall Swede. He let the spoon he’d been clutching clatter down against the ceramic dish in delight. “Oh, thank God you’re here.”
“Bored, by any chance?” Jo smirked. He was wrapped up in his usual stylish mac and silk scarf; a welcome familiarity to the impersonal room Taffy had been confined to since his accident. Despite the various cards and gifts from well-wishers dotted about, it was still extremely clinical. Jo had already made it a lot warmer.
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Taffy admitted as he pushed himself up and eyed the bag Jo was carrying with interest. “What did you bring me?”
“And here I thought my company would be enough,” Jo joked. Taffy gave him a perfectly schooled blank look. “Chocolate and books,” he sighed with fondness.
“I love you,” Taffy said seriously.
Jo chuckled. “I picked up you up a new notepad as well,” he added as he slipped coat off his coat. “I assumed you’d have filled up the last one already.”
“Finished it within a few days,” Taffy revealed with a crooked grin. “You know me far too well.”
“Probably,” he agreed and brushed his fingers over Taffy’s chin. “You need to shave.”
Taffy leant into Jo’s touch, a blissful smile stretched across his face as the scent of the other man’s cologne curled around him. “I quite like it,” he said and blinked innocently up at him.
“Let me reiterate, you need to shave,” Jo repeated and elegantly folded himself into the chair positioned by Taffy’s bed.
Taffy harrumphed. “Why do people keep saying that?” he mumbled. “Louise was genuinely horrified.” Peter had been no better. The Matron hadn’t been too pleased with the couple's really quite unnecessarily loud laughter over his new look.
“I don’t blame her,” Jo said distractedly as he looked around the room, a slight wrinkle to his nose as he did so; no doubt already planning to request something bigger on Taffy’s behalf. Not that he needed one. At least his status title and growing fame counted for something.
His eyes came to rest on a pile of stacked ice cream bowls on the bedside table. Taffy managed a shrug and attempted to hide the remaining one in his lap without much success. “It’s the only decent thing to eat in this place,” he explained before Jo could ask. Today had been a particularly rough day, and feigning a sore throat had gifted him with an almost endless supply. It was indulgent, even by his standards, but so what? He was in hospital, after all.
“Taffy, there are four bowls,” Jo pointed out. “And here I thought I was bringing you a treat. I suppose I’ll just have to take these back with me.” He tipped the bag he’d been carrying over onto his lap and two large bars of chocolate fell out followed by a scattering of individual treats. Taffy recognised the purple and gold striped wrapping; they were from a small French chocolate shop he and Jo discovered in the heart of Paris last year. Taffy had fallen in love with their raspberry crème filled truffles especially and whenever they found themselves in the city, a pit stop at the shop was an unspoken necessity.
“No, Jo,” Taffy begged. “Please.” The mere thought of chocolate made his mouth water and if Jo had bought his favourites, well, all the better.
“You'll get fat,” Jo chided, barely able to keep a straight face.
Taffy scrunched up his nose. “But you’re the one who brought me-”
“Wolfgang,” Jo interrupted firmly, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
Taffy immediately shut his mouth.
Sweeping the chocolates back into the bag, Jo leant across and gripped Taffy’s ankle through the thin bed sheet. He squeezed once, twice, and then began to teasingly run his hand all the way up his leg. Taffy bit down hard on his bottom lip, trying to stay as still as possible as Jo went higher and higher, leaving behind a tingling trail of warmth in his wake.
Much too soon for Taffy’s own liking, Jo came to a stop just above his knee. He left his hand laying there, the heat from his palm bleeding through the cotton and warming his skin. Taffy was about to protest, when Jo suddenly scooped up the forgotten bowl that had been left balancing on his thighs.
He took a spoonful of now rapidly melting ice cream and popped it into his mouth. Taffy watched helplessly as Jo hummed and sat back in the chair, the flirtatious touch had been the first flicker of intimacy he’d received in weeks and the deliberate nature of it when straight to his groin.
“That’s actually not bad,” Jo admitted. He proceeded to lick the spoon clean, smirking around it when finished.
Taffy pouted, unable to help a pink flush from colouring his cheeks. “It’s been my one little slither of enjoyment in this hell hole,” he shared. “I’m going insane, Jo.”
Jo’s face softened. He sat in the small space next to Taffy’s side and wound an arm around his shoulders, tugging him gently against his chest.
“I would’ve come sooner if I knew,” he said into Taffy’s hair.
Taffy sighed and cracked a small smile. “Don’t be silly, I know you’ve been busy.”
“Never too busy for you.”
Taffy ducked his head and huffed an embarrassed, but pleased, laugh before Jo finally drew him into a kiss. Taffy moaned as their lips met and gripped the front of Jo’s shirt, keeping him in place. Jo smiled and slipped his hand under the bed sheet. Taffy wriggled about, trying to press closer.
“Mind your back,” Jo murmured against his lips.
“But you taste really good,” Taffy all but whined, the dull ache in his spine now very much a secondary thought.
Jo rolled his eyes at Taffy’s seemingly obsessive preoccupation with the icy treat. “Just taste?” He wormed his hand inside Taffy’s loose hospital gown, making Taffy gasp into his mouth.
“More of that would be great,” he said breathlessly as Jo wordlessly complied by skimming his fingers across Taffy’s stomach and then dipping down between his thighs.
Taffy shivered at the gentle caresses, already pleasantly lightheaded from each well-placed kiss and touch. It seemed like forever since Jo had been this close, and Taffy couldn’t help but wonder how he’d survived so long without him. But the affection and need and want was rushing back to him at full force, filling him up until he felt like bursting.
Body now on autopilot, Taffy went to pull Jo fully on top of him. But as he did, Jo kicked the bedside table and sent a metal container flying off the other side. It went loudly crashing to the floor and they both froze at the sudden, ear piercing noise.
Inevitably, there soon came a concerned knock at the door. Taffy quickly covered his very obvious arousal with a pillow as Jo scrambled to his feet and straightened out his clothes. A young nurse tentatively popped her head in and smiled politely at the two of them, clearly none the wiser.
“Sorry to interrupt, gentlemen, but is everything okay?”
“We're fine, thank you nurse, just a little accident,” Jo said as he picked up the offending item and placed it back on the table. “But could I possibly ask for an hour with my colleague here in private? There’s a lot I need to catch him up with.” Taffy could barely keep his giggles under control. Jo, on the other hand, was the picture of composure; polite and steady-voiced as always.
Taffy pursed his lips and looked out the window.
“Of course, Mr. Bonnier, I'll make sure you're not disturbed,” she said somewhat flustered. “Do you need anything before I leave, Wolfgang?” She directed towards Taffy. He was tempted to carry on with his game and nab himself another twenty points, but Jo gave him a look that promised him a lot more than some brief amusement.
Taffy cleared his throat and offered her a warm smile instead. “I’m absolutely perfect.”
“Thank you again,” Jo said and inclined his head slightly, visibly relaxing when the door finally clicked shut.
“An hour?” Taffy squeaked once they were alone. “Jo, I can hardly move.”
Jo delicately toed off his shoes and nudged them under Taffy’s bed out of the way. “I know,” he agreed. “But let me worry about that.” He then promptly tugged off his overshirt, ruffling up his pristinely combed back hair in the process, and folded it over his coat.
Taffy’s mouth dropped open at the sight. “Oh,” he said inarticulately. “Carry on, then,” he finished with a huge grin.
Maybe he needed to start revaluating his opinion on hospitals.
Pairing: Jo Bonnier/Wolfgang von Trips
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1,879
Disclaimer Didn’t happen, don’t own
Summary: Taffy's latest hospital stay has an unexpected perk.
A/N: Written for retro_f1's Summer Challenge 2012.
Taffy hated hospitals.
From the overpowering sterile smell that seemed to cling to everything, to the horrible rigid beds that had you seeking a chiropractor the moment you could leave; there was absolutely nothing pleasant about them.
Worst of all was the food. It was bland and uninspiring, much like the same four walls he was forced to stare at day after day. And it never got any better; not in all the years he’d been getting himself into trouble. His mother used to say it served him right for scaring her, that it was the least he deserved after breaking another bone or concussing himself for the umpteenth time.
And really, he couldn’t argue with that, but Taffy loved his food. It was his one true vice. To him, having to endure a hospital’s poor imitation of it was just down right torture.
During his most recent stint, after a rather nasty crash during practice at the Nürburgring for a 1000km race, he was once again presented with steamed vegetables and a small, unrecognizable piece of meat for dinner. The sight alone made him feel worse and he mentally ticked the nauseous box next to his list of symptoms.
Fortunately, this time, there was one unforeseen saving grace; a small bowl of vanilla ice cream that came with each otherwise ghastly meal. It was the creamiest ice cream he’d ever tasted, even better than anything he’d been fortunate enough to try at the numerous ice cream parlours scattered throughout Modena or sold at the quaint little English seaside towns Peter and Mike used to take him to.
He’d even managed to charm the nurses into giving him extra helpings. His sweet-tooth wasn’t about to let the opportunity to take a sneaky bit of advantage slip away, not when he was so devoid of any sort entertainment on top of everything else. In fact, seeing just how many people he could charm had descended in to a surprisingly fun game: ten points for every different nurse, double for getting the same one twice due to the risk of being caught, and a massive thirty for a doctor or someone of equal status.
Clearly he had too much time on his hands.
He was halfway through his latest cheekily obtained bowl when there was a knock at the door to his hospital room. His heart jumped in excitement upon realising who it was. How could he have forgotten?
“Jo!” Taffy’s face lit up the moment he saw the tall Swede. He let the spoon he’d been clutching clatter down against the ceramic dish in delight. “Oh, thank God you’re here.”
“Bored, by any chance?” Jo smirked. He was wrapped up in his usual stylish mac and silk scarf; a welcome familiarity to the impersonal room Taffy had been confined to since his accident. Despite the various cards and gifts from well-wishers dotted about, it was still extremely clinical. Jo had already made it a lot warmer.
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Taffy admitted as he pushed himself up and eyed the bag Jo was carrying with interest. “What did you bring me?”
“And here I thought my company would be enough,” Jo joked. Taffy gave him a perfectly schooled blank look. “Chocolate and books,” he sighed with fondness.
“I love you,” Taffy said seriously.
Jo chuckled. “I picked up you up a new notepad as well,” he added as he slipped coat off his coat. “I assumed you’d have filled up the last one already.”
“Finished it within a few days,” Taffy revealed with a crooked grin. “You know me far too well.”
“Probably,” he agreed and brushed his fingers over Taffy’s chin. “You need to shave.”
Taffy leant into Jo’s touch, a blissful smile stretched across his face as the scent of the other man’s cologne curled around him. “I quite like it,” he said and blinked innocently up at him.
“Let me reiterate, you need to shave,” Jo repeated and elegantly folded himself into the chair positioned by Taffy’s bed.
Taffy harrumphed. “Why do people keep saying that?” he mumbled. “Louise was genuinely horrified.” Peter had been no better. The Matron hadn’t been too pleased with the couple's really quite unnecessarily loud laughter over his new look.
“I don’t blame her,” Jo said distractedly as he looked around the room, a slight wrinkle to his nose as he did so; no doubt already planning to request something bigger on Taffy’s behalf. Not that he needed one. At least his status title and growing fame counted for something.
His eyes came to rest on a pile of stacked ice cream bowls on the bedside table. Taffy managed a shrug and attempted to hide the remaining one in his lap without much success. “It’s the only decent thing to eat in this place,” he explained before Jo could ask. Today had been a particularly rough day, and feigning a sore throat had gifted him with an almost endless supply. It was indulgent, even by his standards, but so what? He was in hospital, after all.
“Taffy, there are four bowls,” Jo pointed out. “And here I thought I was bringing you a treat. I suppose I’ll just have to take these back with me.” He tipped the bag he’d been carrying over onto his lap and two large bars of chocolate fell out followed by a scattering of individual treats. Taffy recognised the purple and gold striped wrapping; they were from a small French chocolate shop he and Jo discovered in the heart of Paris last year. Taffy had fallen in love with their raspberry crème filled truffles especially and whenever they found themselves in the city, a pit stop at the shop was an unspoken necessity.
“No, Jo,” Taffy begged. “Please.” The mere thought of chocolate made his mouth water and if Jo had bought his favourites, well, all the better.
“You'll get fat,” Jo chided, barely able to keep a straight face.
Taffy scrunched up his nose. “But you’re the one who brought me-”
“Wolfgang,” Jo interrupted firmly, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
Taffy immediately shut his mouth.
Sweeping the chocolates back into the bag, Jo leant across and gripped Taffy’s ankle through the thin bed sheet. He squeezed once, twice, and then began to teasingly run his hand all the way up his leg. Taffy bit down hard on his bottom lip, trying to stay as still as possible as Jo went higher and higher, leaving behind a tingling trail of warmth in his wake.
Much too soon for Taffy’s own liking, Jo came to a stop just above his knee. He left his hand laying there, the heat from his palm bleeding through the cotton and warming his skin. Taffy was about to protest, when Jo suddenly scooped up the forgotten bowl that had been left balancing on his thighs.
He took a spoonful of now rapidly melting ice cream and popped it into his mouth. Taffy watched helplessly as Jo hummed and sat back in the chair, the flirtatious touch had been the first flicker of intimacy he’d received in weeks and the deliberate nature of it when straight to his groin.
“That’s actually not bad,” Jo admitted. He proceeded to lick the spoon clean, smirking around it when finished.
Taffy pouted, unable to help a pink flush from colouring his cheeks. “It’s been my one little slither of enjoyment in this hell hole,” he shared. “I’m going insane, Jo.”
Jo’s face softened. He sat in the small space next to Taffy’s side and wound an arm around his shoulders, tugging him gently against his chest.
“I would’ve come sooner if I knew,” he said into Taffy’s hair.
Taffy sighed and cracked a small smile. “Don’t be silly, I know you’ve been busy.”
“Never too busy for you.”
Taffy ducked his head and huffed an embarrassed, but pleased, laugh before Jo finally drew him into a kiss. Taffy moaned as their lips met and gripped the front of Jo’s shirt, keeping him in place. Jo smiled and slipped his hand under the bed sheet. Taffy wriggled about, trying to press closer.
“Mind your back,” Jo murmured against his lips.
“But you taste really good,” Taffy all but whined, the dull ache in his spine now very much a secondary thought.
Jo rolled his eyes at Taffy’s seemingly obsessive preoccupation with the icy treat. “Just taste?” He wormed his hand inside Taffy’s loose hospital gown, making Taffy gasp into his mouth.
“More of that would be great,” he said breathlessly as Jo wordlessly complied by skimming his fingers across Taffy’s stomach and then dipping down between his thighs.
Taffy shivered at the gentle caresses, already pleasantly lightheaded from each well-placed kiss and touch. It seemed like forever since Jo had been this close, and Taffy couldn’t help but wonder how he’d survived so long without him. But the affection and need and want was rushing back to him at full force, filling him up until he felt like bursting.
Body now on autopilot, Taffy went to pull Jo fully on top of him. But as he did, Jo kicked the bedside table and sent a metal container flying off the other side. It went loudly crashing to the floor and they both froze at the sudden, ear piercing noise.
Inevitably, there soon came a concerned knock at the door. Taffy quickly covered his very obvious arousal with a pillow as Jo scrambled to his feet and straightened out his clothes. A young nurse tentatively popped her head in and smiled politely at the two of them, clearly none the wiser.
“Sorry to interrupt, gentlemen, but is everything okay?”
“We're fine, thank you nurse, just a little accident,” Jo said as he picked up the offending item and placed it back on the table. “But could I possibly ask for an hour with my colleague here in private? There’s a lot I need to catch him up with.” Taffy could barely keep his giggles under control. Jo, on the other hand, was the picture of composure; polite and steady-voiced as always.
Taffy pursed his lips and looked out the window.
“Of course, Mr. Bonnier, I'll make sure you're not disturbed,” she said somewhat flustered. “Do you need anything before I leave, Wolfgang?” She directed towards Taffy. He was tempted to carry on with his game and nab himself another twenty points, but Jo gave him a look that promised him a lot more than some brief amusement.
Taffy cleared his throat and offered her a warm smile instead. “I’m absolutely perfect.”
“Thank you again,” Jo said and inclined his head slightly, visibly relaxing when the door finally clicked shut.
“An hour?” Taffy squeaked once they were alone. “Jo, I can hardly move.”
Jo delicately toed off his shoes and nudged them under Taffy’s bed out of the way. “I know,” he agreed. “But let me worry about that.” He then promptly tugged off his overshirt, ruffling up his pristinely combed back hair in the process, and folded it over his coat.
Taffy’s mouth dropped open at the sight. “Oh,” he said inarticulately. “Carry on, then,” he finished with a huge grin.
Maybe he needed to start revaluating his opinion on hospitals.