Marcus wakes to the smell of pancakes and crawls out of bed in search of the source. In the kitchen, Esca's at the stove, barefoot, in his jeans and a sleeveless undershirt. But what catches Marcus's attention - aside from the arms that Esca's been hiding beneath long sleeved shirts during class - is the fact that their usually biohazard-level disaster area of a kitchen is clean. Drip drying dishes piled on a towel on one half of the table, counters wiped down, sink full of sudsy water and more dishesand from god knows where, Esca has rustled up enough ingredients to make pancakes. "Oh, hey," Esca says over his shoulder. "Morning."
"Wow," Marcus says, rubbing his eyes.
"I figured it was the least I could do, seeing as how generous you were with your hospitality."
"I hope you didn't use the milk in the fridge for those."
"Considering it was a solid and not a liquid, no, I popped round to the store up the street and got a few staples. The Bisquick was expired, but not by much."
The kitchen isn't exactly spotless, but it's cleaner than he can remember seeing it since he moved in. "You didn't have to do all this."
Esca shrugs and slides a few more pancakes onto the stack on a plate. "No trouble at all. Here." He sets a plate at the table then pours a couple glasses of milk and hands one to Marcus.
Marcus clinks their glasses and drinks, then sits and starts in on the pancakes. When he's halfway through, he looks up to find Esca pulling on his sweater from the night before. "You going somewhere?"
"I've got to go pick up my car, clear my things out of her place and figure out my next move. Thanks for the place to crash."
"Whoa, hold up," Marcus says, pushing his chair back with a loud scrape. "You got somewhere to stay?"
"I'll figure something out. Maybe," his shoulders sink, "I don't know. Maybe I'll swallow my pride and see if she'll take me back. I don't know."
"Don't do that."
"My work study job barely covers gas and food on good days. Scholarship covers tuition, but I haven't got a lot of options. I put all my savings into getting a car because she had the apartment covered, and now..."
"We've got a bed here," Marcus says. "All it's doing is holding up my laundry since Carl left."
Esca sticks his hands in his pockets. "I can't pay you rent."
Marcus waves a hand at him. "I was already planning on covering Carl's half of the room for the rest of the semester."
"I can't take your charity," Esca says, more firmly, and it doesn't sound like it's negotiable.
"But you could take hers?"
"That's different. We were sleeping together. You saying I could pay you back in trade?"
Marcus - like the idiot that he is - feels his face heat up when he catches on to exactly what Esca means. But he covers by waggling his eyebrows and saying, "You said it, not me."
"Tempting," Esca says dryly, "But I'll pass." Then his expression softens. "Seriously, though, I appreciate the offer, but I've got a... a certain code that I live by. I'll not be beholden to any man. I can't abide it. I don't expect you to understand. So thank you, and consider the light housekeeping my payment for last night's hospitality."
As Esca turns and heads for the door, Marcus's heart races. He feels like he's going to throw up and sure, part of that's probably the hangover, but it's also the fact that he really, really doesn't want to see Esca go. It makes no sense, because it's not like Marcus hasn't dealt with crushes before. He doesn't even really know this guy, but something fierce and deep in his gut is telling him a) avoid everclear punch at all costs but more importantly b) do not let this guy walk out the door.
Then, all at once, it hits him. "Wait. I've got a proposition."
Esca pauses. He's balancing on one leg, in the process of tugging one of his sneakers onto a sockless foot. "I thought we covered that already."
"Yeah, thanks, I don't really need your half-hearted blowjobs."
"Who says they'd be half-hearted?"
Marcus fights down that lovely mental image. "I do just fine in the getting laid department, believe or not. What I do need help with Is housework. We've tried making a schedule, but it never sticks. You're obviously good at it. What if you took care of the cleaning and I don't know, maybe the laundry, and we call it even."
Esca lowers his foot to the floor and gives Marcus a slow, appraising look. "You're bloody serious, aren't you?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You don't know the first thing about me, and you're inviting me into your home. Into your room."
Marcus shrugs. "You seem all right. You need a place to stay. We could use some help around the place. What've you got to lose?"
Esca crosses his arms. "What's the catch?"
Marcus shakes his head and sits back down at the table, cuts off a forkful of delicious fluffy goodness and stuffs it in his mouth. "No catch," he says, after washing it down with some milk. "I like you and I wanna help you. Take it or leave it, I don't mind. Or go check out your other options, the offer stands." He's proud of how nonchalant he sounds, considering that thing in his gut is whispering, 'make him stay, keep him close, get to know him.'
"Hmm," Esca says, jamming his foot into his other shoe. He balances on one foot again as he ties his shoe, then he scratches at his neck. He's unreadable when he says, "Thanks for the offer. I'll see you class."
"I guess so," Marcus says, holding the disappointment out of his voice the best he can. Then he's watching the door swing closed behind Esca. He drops his fork on his plate and leans back from the table. The pancakes have turned to lead in his stomach, and he feels stupid for -- well, he's not even sure what. It's probably better this way. He doesn't need the distraction of some gorgeous, prickly, straight guy in the bed across from him, He doesn't need a constant reminder of this pointless crush that's come out of nowhere and hit him like nothing he's felt since junior year of high school, when the captain of his wresting team left him tongue tied and unable to think straight.
Hah, think straight, he says to himself as he sets his plate on the counter and heads back upstairs. He can't even really blame the boy - he had no way of knowing that for Marcus it wasn't an experiment. It wasn't just something to pass the time in the back of the bus on long night time drives back from competitions. He had no way of knowing that when he headed off to college and never even bothered to return Marcus's emails, let alone call when he came back to town that he was breaking Marcus's stupid heart - even as Marcus tried to tell himself that it meant nothing.
No, Marcus is smarter than that now. He nips that shit in bud, and the fact that Esca is the opposite of his type - fair instead of dark, shorter and slender instead of Marcus's size or bigger, aloof instead of the kind of easy going dude that usually catches Marcus's eye. - all that probably contributed to this thing slipping under his skin without warning. Marcus noticed the guy was attractive, sure, but this ... whatever this feeling was, it was different. But, he figures as he starts stripping for the shower, ultimately just as pointless as fooling around with Rodrigo back in high school.
It's not even hard, once he's in the shower, to put Esca out of his mind. He gets his washing out of the way, then twists the shower head to pulse mode and stands under the pounding heat until his shoulders start to loosen up. His thoughts drift to the girls in the latest update on CumGirls.com. A pair of petite blondes, one with big tits, the other nearly flat chested with these sweet, super pointy little nipples, sharing the guy's cock and giggling so much, they were probably high when they shot the video. But they were obviously having a great time, not even faking it.
He grabs a squirt of someone's conditioner and takes his cock in hand, stroking it hard as he thinks about the way the flat-chested one licked the other one's pussy, how wet it got, how she's squirmed and giggled some more when the licking moved to her tight, little pucker. He strokes faster as he imagines getting down beside her, taking over the task of licking and sucking and tongue-fucking her asshole open, imagines the first girl jacking him till he's hard as a rock. Then, he pictures her still going to town on the guy in the video, a sloppy, enthusiastic, throat-fucking as Marcus lines up the head of his cock with her ass, just wet and opened up enough that he knows he'll slide right in.
He gets closer as he imagines teasing her, sliding his cock up underneath those pretty pussy lips, dragging it up the wet slit and over her clit until her back arches and she's moaning for him to just do it. And then. Then the scene shifts. He's still got his cock up between smooth thighs, still teasing open that pucker with his thumb, but the back is more angles than curves. The hair still blond but shorter, and rubbing along the top of his cock is another one, rigid and hot, and the base of his cock presses up against a full, heavy, fuzzy pair of balls.
"Fuckin' do it," Esca says in that thick accent, and Marcus imagines flipping him to his back, bending him in half and squeezing the head of his cock inside that tight, tight ring of muscle, watching as Esca throws his head back, offering up that long, gorgeous arc of neck. Marcus leans down and drags his teeth along it, sucking hard at the the spot where neck meet shoulder, thrusting in, in, then those last few inches till he's buried balls deep and Esca is rutting and writhing against him, begging incoherently for more, deeper. But Marcus just holds him there, pinned, feeling him struggle not to get free, but to get closer. "Come in me," Esca begs, and it slams into him like linebacker, knocking the breath from his lungs as he shoots and shoots and shoots in his fist.
Well fuck, he thinks as he flings the mess to the tub then rinses off his hand. Not the best idea, but not exactly a surprise either. He rolls his head, cracking his neck, and stays under the water for a few minutes longer, enjoying the post orgasm buzz and the looseness of his muscles. It's not the first time Esca's invaded his jack off sessions, and it probably won't be the last. This thing will pass, like they all do, and he'll find himself a girlfriend and fill up his spank bank with recent memories, not pointless theoretical fucking. This thing he's got for Esca may feel different, but it isn't. It's just a novelty, that's all. That and the fact that he hasn't gotten laid since he was home this summer. And that, at least, he can do something about.
After rinsing and turning off the shower, he slings his towel around his shoulders and opens the bathroom door, ready to drip dry as he heads back to his room. He's expecting to maybe take a nap for a few more hours, and if he feels up to it later, maybe finish the dishes. He is not expecting to find Esca in the hallway, leaning back against the opposite wall with his arms crossed and a wry smile twisting his lips.
"I've decided I'm being foolish," Esca says.
"Hey! Hi, um," Marcus scrambles to wrap the towel around his hips.
"Hi," Esca says, smile growing wider. "Your offer still stand?"
"Sure. Of course."
"And you don't have to run it by your housemates?"
"They won't care. As long as you don't take a crap in someone else's bed when you're pissed."
"Can't say that I do."
"And, um," he slides past and heads toward his room, nodding for Esca to follow, "We're not that good about quiet hours, so if you need--"
"I've got headphones. And the library."
"I mean," Marcus digs through the pile of unfolded laundry in front of his dresser, then drops his towel and tugs on a pair of sweats before turning back to Esca, "We can try it for a month, and we'll reassess then."
"Sounds fair."
"You mind if I ask what changed your mind?"
"I live two blocks from here. She'd already packed all my crap into my car and left my keys on the front seat. I figured, why not do this the easy way?"
"The easy way. Right." Marcus can't help it, Esca's smile is infectious and he grins back. "Well then, welcome aboard, roomie." He holds out his hand.
Esca shakes it firmly, then his expression turns serious. "Thank you."
"No prob." Marcus tries to let go.
But Esca doesn't release his hand. Instead, he gives it another squeeze and says, "Really. Thank you." After a few more moments of Esca searching his eyes for God knows what, he releases Marcus and says, "I'll just go grab my stuff."
And that's how they became roommates. Marcus would like to say he didn't know what he was getting into that afternoon, but the truth is, as he sat heavily on his bed and listened to Esca trotting down the stairs, he had a pretty good idea that he was getting in over his head.
Today was supposed to be one of the last Sundays off for the rest of the season, and Marcus had been looking forward to doing nothing more strenuous than getting Esca acquainted with the house and introducing him the rest of his new housemates - whenever they managed to get back. He's just pointed out the trap-door to the attic and pulled it down with an ominous creak when his cell buzzes in his back pocket. "Hold on a sec," he says, once he sees it's coach.
Esca shrugs and unfolds the stairs the rest of the way down, disappears up into the ceiling as Marcus takes the call. "New intel on the Blue Seals," the coach barks. "Locker room in one hour." The Blue Seals are the Eagles' biggest rivals in the division, and even though Marcus groans inwardly, he's excited to hear that maybe - just maybe - they've got something that might help them turn around their 0 and 7 record against those tricky bastards. "Gotcha, coach," he says. There's a small crash overhead and he climbs the stairs to find Esca cramming artificial Christmas tree parts and red tinsel garlands back in a waist high box.
"Oops," Esca says with a shrug.
"Don't worry about it. Most of the crap up here was left by old tenants. We'll get around to Ebaying it one of these days." He has to bend down to stand up here, but Esca can get away with just ducking his head. "Look, I hate to do this, but that was my coach and I've gotta go in for an emergency meeting."
"A football emergency?" Esca looks dubious.
"He says jump, we say 'how high, sir'? That's just how it works."
"No, I get it. I've served under some demanding taskmasters in my day." He smirks, and opens his mouth as if to add something, but then he just shakes his head. "Run along, then. Unless there are any other vital house rules I should know."
"Uh, no smoking in the house. Well, no cigarettes."
"Gotcha."
"Oh, and no crapping in the downstairs toilet. Or toilet paper. Or anything but pee, really. It's tempermental."
"No crapping on the beds or in the downstairs toilet. Gotcha."
"Great. I guess I'll see you later then."
"I guess you will," Esca says with a crooked smile.
*
A few yards away, one guy is barfing into a garbage can, and most of Marcus's teammates are bent over at the waist, gasping for air. Turns out the coach's intel was a ruse, since it consisted of, "If half of you pansy asses slackers can party hard enough to get the cops called, you can do laps. The Blue Seals aren't taking the day off, and that's why they keep kicking your ass. Now *move*, And if I hear one peep of whining, I will keep your sorry asses here till midnight. *Is that understood?*"
Marcus's whole body burns from exertion and he can feel a cramp coming on in his left calf, but Esca's crooked smile keeps popping into his head, And the fact that twenty four hours ago, he was moping around his living room, trying to pretend he wasn't put out over Esca's girlfriend. Now - not that it means anything - Esca isn't just single, he's going to be living with Marcus. In his room. It's awesome and horrible, but at least it means he'll get over this thing quicker - he's got to, right? Desensitization and all that.
"What the fuck are you so happy about, Farkus?" Gary asks him as they both struggle to catch their breath. "Coach catches you looking all goofy and shit like that, he'll give us all another five laps." And Gary's right, their coach is a sadist - according to him, if you don't look miserable, you're not working hard enough.
Marcus scrubs at his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Jesus, you're hopeless. What, are you getting laid later?"
"Depends. Is your mom in town?"
Gary gives him a hard shove and he slips in the mud, landing on his ass. For that, they get ten extra laps, by which point Marcus is way too tired to smile like an idiot, or think of much besides a hot shower and his bed.
*
Coach doesn't let them go until 9:30pm, and Marcus is pretty much a rubber legged zombie by the time he gets home. The steps up the front porch are a challenge that requires a pause half-way through, and that's when he hears the shouting inside. "You bastard!" comes Esca's voice, accent thicker than usual, "You fucking prick."
"Wow," Marcus says, rubbing his eyes.
"I figured it was the least I could do, seeing as how generous you were with your hospitality."
"I hope you didn't use the milk in the fridge for those."
"Considering it was a solid and not a liquid, no, I popped round to the store up the street and got a few staples. The Bisquick was expired, but not by much."
The kitchen isn't exactly spotless, but it's cleaner than he can remember seeing it since he moved in. "You didn't have to do all this."
Esca shrugs and slides a few more pancakes onto the stack on a plate. "No trouble at all. Here." He sets a plate at the table then pours a couple glasses of milk and hands one to Marcus.
Marcus clinks their glasses and drinks, then sits and starts in on the pancakes. When he's halfway through, he looks up to find Esca pulling on his sweater from the night before. "You going somewhere?"
"I've got to go pick up my car, clear my things out of her place and figure out my next move. Thanks for the place to crash."
"Whoa, hold up," Marcus says, pushing his chair back with a loud scrape. "You got somewhere to stay?"
"I'll figure something out. Maybe," his shoulders sink, "I don't know. Maybe I'll swallow my pride and see if she'll take me back. I don't know."
"Don't do that."
"My work study job barely covers gas and food on good days. Scholarship covers tuition, but I haven't got a lot of options. I put all my savings into getting a car because she had the apartment covered, and now..."
"We've got a bed here," Marcus says. "All it's doing is holding up my laundry since Carl left."
Esca sticks his hands in his pockets. "I can't pay you rent."
Marcus waves a hand at him. "I was already planning on covering Carl's half of the room for the rest of the semester."
"I can't take your charity," Esca says, more firmly, and it doesn't sound like it's negotiable.
"But you could take hers?"
"That's different. We were sleeping together. You saying I could pay you back in trade?"
Marcus - like the idiot that he is - feels his face heat up when he catches on to exactly what Esca means. But he covers by waggling his eyebrows and saying, "You said it, not me."
"Tempting," Esca says dryly, "But I'll pass." Then his expression softens. "Seriously, though, I appreciate the offer, but I've got a... a certain code that I live by. I'll not be beholden to any man. I can't abide it. I don't expect you to understand. So thank you, and consider the light housekeeping my payment for last night's hospitality."
As Esca turns and heads for the door, Marcus's heart races. He feels like he's going to throw up and sure, part of that's probably the hangover, but it's also the fact that he really, really doesn't want to see Esca go. It makes no sense, because it's not like Marcus hasn't dealt with crushes before. He doesn't even really know this guy, but something fierce and deep in his gut is telling him a) avoid everclear punch at all costs but more importantly b) do not let this guy walk out the door.
Then, all at once, it hits him. "Wait. I've got a proposition."
Esca pauses. He's balancing on one leg, in the process of tugging one of his sneakers onto a sockless foot. "I thought we covered that already."
"Yeah, thanks, I don't really need your half-hearted blowjobs."
"Who says they'd be half-hearted?"
Marcus fights down that lovely mental image. "I do just fine in the getting laid department, believe or not. What I do need help with Is housework. We've tried making a schedule, but it never sticks. You're obviously good at it. What if you took care of the cleaning and I don't know, maybe the laundry, and we call it even."
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"Yeah, thanks, I don't really need your half-hearted blowjobs."
"Who says they'd be half-hearted?"
Marcus fights down that lovely mental image.
Don't fight that lovely image. Just let it come. :D
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how wonderful is this
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*
Esca lowers his foot to the floor and gives Marcus a slow, appraising look. "You're bloody serious, aren't you?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You don't know the first thing about me, and you're inviting me into your home. Into your room."
Marcus shrugs. "You seem all right. You need a place to stay. We could use some help around the place. What've you got to lose?"
Esca crosses his arms. "What's the catch?"
Marcus shakes his head and sits back down at the table, cuts off a forkful of delicious fluffy goodness and stuffs it in his mouth. "No catch," he says, after washing it down with some milk. "I like you and I wanna help you. Take it or leave it, I don't mind. Or go check out your other options, the offer stands." He's proud of how nonchalant he sounds, considering that thing in his gut is whispering, 'make him stay, keep him close, get to know him.'
"Hmm," Esca says, jamming his foot into his other shoe. He balances on one foot again as he ties his shoe, then he scratches at his neck. He's unreadable when he says, "Thanks for the offer. I'll see you class."
"I guess so," Marcus says, holding the disappointment out of his voice the best he can. Then he's watching the door swing closed behind Esca. He drops his fork on his plate and leans back from the table. The pancakes have turned to lead in his stomach, and he feels stupid for -- well, he's not even sure what. It's probably better this way. He doesn't need the distraction of some gorgeous, prickly, straight guy in the bed across from him, He doesn't need a constant reminder of this pointless crush that's come out of nowhere and hit him like nothing he's felt since junior year of high school, when the captain of his wresting team left him tongue tied and unable to think straight.
Hah, think straight, he says to himself as he sets his plate on the counter and heads back upstairs. He can't even really blame the boy - he had no way of knowing that for Marcus it wasn't an experiment. It wasn't just something to pass the time in the back of the bus on long night time drives back from competitions. He had no way of knowing that when he headed off to college and never even bothered to return Marcus's emails, let alone call when he came back to town that he was breaking Marcus's stupid heart - even as Marcus tried to tell himself that it meant nothing.
No, Marcus is smarter than that now. He nips that shit in bud, and the fact that Esca is the opposite of his type - fair instead of dark, shorter and slender instead of Marcus's size or bigger, aloof instead of the kind of easy going dude that usually catches Marcus's eye. - all that probably contributed to this thing slipping under his skin without warning. Marcus noticed the guy was attractive, sure, but this ... whatever this feeling was, it was different. But, he figures as he starts stripping for the shower, ultimately just as pointless as fooling around with Rodrigo back in high school.
It's not even hard, once he's in the shower, to put Esca out of his mind. He gets his washing out of the way, then twists the shower head to pulse mode and stands under the pounding heat until his shoulders start to loosen up. His thoughts drift to the girls in the latest update on CumGirls.com. A pair of petite blondes, one with big tits, the other nearly flat chested with these sweet, super pointy little nipples, sharing the guy's cock and giggling so much, they were probably high when they shot the video. But they were obviously having a great time, not even faking it.
He grabs a squirt of someone's conditioner and takes his cock in hand, stroking it hard as he thinks about the way the flat-chested one licked the other one's pussy, how wet it got, how she's squirmed and giggled some more when the licking moved to her tight, little pucker. He strokes faster as he imagines getting down beside her, taking over the task of licking and sucking and tongue-fucking her asshole open, imagines the first girl jacking him till he's hard as a rock. Then, he pictures her still going to town on the guy in the video, a sloppy, enthusiastic, throat-fucking as Marcus lines up the head of his cock with her ass, just wet and opened up enough that he knows he'll slide right in.
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"Fuckin' do it," Esca says in that thick accent, and Marcus imagines flipping him to his back, bending him in half and squeezing the head of his cock inside that tight, tight ring of muscle, watching as Esca throws his head back, offering up that long, gorgeous arc of neck. Marcus leans down and drags his teeth along it, sucking hard at the the spot where neck meet shoulder, thrusting in, in, then those last few inches till he's buried balls deep and Esca is rutting and writhing against him, begging incoherently for more, deeper. But Marcus just holds him there, pinned, feeling him struggle not to get free, but to get closer. "Come in me," Esca begs, and it slams into him like linebacker, knocking the breath from his lungs as he shoots and shoots and shoots in his fist.
Well fuck, he thinks as he flings the mess to the tub then rinses off his hand. Not the best idea, but not exactly a surprise either. He rolls his head, cracking his neck, and stays under the water for a few minutes longer, enjoying the post orgasm buzz and the looseness of his muscles. It's not the first time Esca's invaded his jack off sessions, and it probably won't be the last. This thing will pass, like they all do, and he'll find himself a girlfriend and fill up his spank bank with recent memories, not pointless theoretical fucking. This thing he's got for Esca may feel different, but it isn't. It's just a novelty, that's all. That and the fact that he hasn't gotten laid since he was home this summer. And that, at least, he can do something about.
After rinsing and turning off the shower, he slings his towel around his shoulders and opens the bathroom door, ready to drip dry as he heads back to his room. He's expecting to maybe take a nap for a few more hours, and if he feels up to it later, maybe finish the dishes. He is not expecting to find Esca in the hallway, leaning back against the opposite wall with his arms crossed and a wry smile twisting his lips.
"I've decided I'm being foolish," Esca says.
"Hey! Hi, um," Marcus scrambles to wrap the towel around his hips.
"Hi," Esca says, smile growing wider. "Your offer still stand?"
"Sure. Of course."
"And you don't have to run it by your housemates?"
"They won't care. As long as you don't take a crap in someone else's bed when you're pissed."
"Can't say that I do."
"And, um," he slides past and heads toward his room, nodding for Esca to follow, "We're not that good about quiet hours, so if you need--"
"I've got headphones. And the library."
"I mean," Marcus digs through the pile of unfolded laundry in front of his dresser, then drops his towel and tugs on a pair of sweats before turning back to Esca, "We can try it for a month, and we'll reassess then."
"Sounds fair."
"You mind if I ask what changed your mind?"
"I live two blocks from here. She'd already packed all my crap into my car and left my keys on the front seat. I figured, why not do this the easy way?"
"The easy way. Right." Marcus can't help it, Esca's smile is infectious and he grins back. "Well then, welcome aboard, roomie." He holds out his hand.
Esca shakes it firmly, then his expression turns serious. "Thank you."
"No prob." Marcus tries to let go.
But Esca doesn't release his hand. Instead, he gives it another squeeze and says, "Really. Thank you." After a few more moments of Esca searching his eyes for God knows what, he releases Marcus and says, "I'll just go grab my stuff."
And that's how they became roommates. Marcus would like to say he didn't know what he was getting into that afternoon, but the truth is, as he sat heavily on his bed and listened to Esca trotting down the stairs, he had a pretty good idea that he was getting in over his head.
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esca is the biggest badass in the land! ♥ and marcus, oh, marcus. your life is so hard.
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Esca shrugs and unfolds the stairs the rest of the way down, disappears up into the ceiling as Marcus takes the call. "New intel on the Blue Seals," the coach barks. "Locker room in one hour." The Blue Seals are the Eagles' biggest rivals in the division, and even though Marcus groans inwardly, he's excited to hear that maybe - just maybe - they've got something that might help them turn around their 0 and 7 record against those tricky bastards. "Gotcha, coach," he says. There's a small crash overhead and he climbs the stairs to find Esca cramming artificial Christmas tree parts and red tinsel garlands back in a waist high box.
"Oops," Esca says with a shrug.
"Don't worry about it. Most of the crap up here was left by old tenants. We'll get around to Ebaying it one of these days." He has to bend down to stand up here, but Esca can get away with just ducking his head. "Look, I hate to do this, but that was my coach and I've gotta go in for an emergency meeting."
"A football emergency?" Esca looks dubious.
"He says jump, we say 'how high, sir'? That's just how it works."
"No, I get it. I've served under some demanding taskmasters in my day." He smirks, and opens his mouth as if to add something, but then he just shakes his head. "Run along, then. Unless there are any other vital house rules I should know."
"Uh, no smoking in the house. Well, no cigarettes."
"Gotcha."
"Oh, and no crapping in the downstairs toilet. Or toilet paper. Or anything but pee, really. It's tempermental."
"No crapping on the beds or in the downstairs toilet. Gotcha."
"Great. I guess I'll see you later then."
"I guess you will," Esca says with a crooked smile.
*
A few yards away, one guy is barfing into a garbage can, and most of Marcus's teammates are bent over at the waist, gasping for air. Turns out the coach's intel was a ruse, since it consisted of, "If half of you pansy asses slackers can party hard enough to get the cops called, you can do laps. The Blue Seals aren't taking the day off, and that's why they keep kicking your ass. Now *move*, And if I hear one peep of whining, I will keep your sorry asses here till midnight. *Is that understood?*"
Marcus's whole body burns from exertion and he can feel a cramp coming on in his left calf, but Esca's crooked smile keeps popping into his head, And the fact that twenty four hours ago, he was moping around his living room, trying to pretend he wasn't put out over Esca's girlfriend. Now - not that it means anything - Esca isn't just single, he's going to be living with Marcus. In his room. It's awesome and horrible, but at least it means he'll get over this thing quicker - he's got to, right? Desensitization and all that.
"What the fuck are you so happy about, Farkus?" Gary asks him as they both struggle to catch their breath. "Coach catches you looking all goofy and shit like that, he'll give us all another five laps." And Gary's right, their coach is a sadist - according to him, if you don't look miserable, you're not working hard enough.
Marcus scrubs at his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Jesus, you're hopeless. What, are you getting laid later?"
"Depends. Is your mom in town?"
Gary gives him a hard shove and he slips in the mud, landing on his ass. For that, they get ten extra laps, by which point Marcus is way too tired to smile like an idiot, or think of much besides a hot shower and his bed.
*
Coach doesn't let them go until 9:30pm, and Marcus is pretty much a rubber legged zombie by the time he gets home. The steps up the front porch are a challenge that requires a pause half-way through, and that's when he hears the shouting inside. "You bastard!" comes Esca's voice, accent thicker than usual, "You fucking prick."
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