The Mechanical Bird, Part 2
Days turn into weeks, and obsessing about his infatuation with Diego and Esperanza turns into obsessing about his project; months later, with Diego almost done and only two of the simpler locks to be done in his set, Jamie agonizes over the perfect smoothness of the mechanism in his songbird, and the decorations on the outer shell of the egg that whatever he tries do not come out perfect, and he needs this to be perfect.
He's still in the workshop one evening when Esperanza comes for Diego, and Jamie frowns because he wants to look up and greet her, and see that smile she reserves for him, and him alone, but he's adjusting one of the bolts in the little bird's wings. It's finicky work and if he looks up now he'll either slip or break it, and that would be a nightmare this far in the process. Diego talks to her, softly, and he half expects to hear the door shut quietly, but instead there are footsteps and a sudden whiff of perfume.
Jamie makes himself release the pressure on the tiny pair of pliers and put it down, carefully, before he allows himself to look up.
'This is amazing,' Esperanza breathes next to him, her thick black hair pushed over one shoulder, flowing, curling down the shape of her towards the surface of the worktable. It glows golden in the light of the lamps he's put on the table in order to have enough light to work with, like black fire. 'Diego said it was coming together beautifully, but this is ... exquisite!'
'Thank you,' Jamie mumbles and tries not to breathe in her perfume, knowing that he'll remember it anyway later that night, as well as the way she's bending over to look at the little bird, her breasts straining against the fabric of her dress and the hair that follows their contours perfectly. The contrast of the delicate zigzag pattern in her dress and the organic flow of the curls is somehow louder than anything else in the room. He stares at it, seeing something more in his mind's eye and struggling to hold onto it when her hand lands on his shoulder and squeezes, and she turns towards him.
'Don't work too late, though,' she says, and winks. 'It's not good for you.'
'I won't,' he says breathlessly. And he won't, in spite of the designs blossoming in his head, but it's better if she never finds out why, because it has nothing much to do with her words.
'Good,' she says, sounding pleased and, with a last pat on the back, leaves him to go out with Diego.
~
He tests the cylinder in a separate music box mechanism for easy access, and when the music, the bird and the egg are all done he integrates them. He sits, watching it, seeing the perfection in his mind overlap with reality, and finds himself strangely disinclined to try it out.
'Is it done?' Master Reyes asks, seeing him idle. Jamie nods. Diego, blinking, unearths from his own progress to look at the two of them, and Jamie sees his focus blossom into excitement.
'Well, play it,' Diego says. 'Won't know if it's perfect unless you try it out.'
Jamie chews on his bottom lip and grabs the egg by its base and turns the handle, once, twice, four times, until he feels resistance. Then he puts it back on the table and releases the latch at the top of the egg. Slowly the egg splits open into five parts that lower themselves until they look like petals upon which a small but highly detailed bird rests. The bird starts moving while the egg opens and starts to sing once it is fully exposed. Diego laughs when he hears the melody and hums along, 'like the phoenix, my love, I will rise up again / even if you should never return...'
'Ah, that explains the flames on the outside,' Master Reyes says and pats Jamie on his shoulder. 'Exquisitely done. Now all we need is for Diego to finish the last of his locks and we can present both your projects to the elders.' Jamie and Diego nod, but instead of going back to work the three of them sit and watch while the bird finishes its song and the egg closes up again.
When Diego and Master Reyes shake themselves and return to their work, Jamie closes the latch and lets his fingers brush the filigree flames and criss-cross pattern on the outside.
'What is going to happen to the bird after I present it?' he asks. Master Reyes pauses, thinking.
'Well, since your bird wasn't commissioned, it will be yours to do with as you please,' he says. 'You could sell it, or keep it-or even gift it to someone. Whatever you want, frankly.'
Jamie flinches; knows instantly he would not want to sell it, but keeping it all to himself doesn't feel quite right either. But ... he glances over at Diego, who is once again fully absorbed in his work, and smiles. The bird wouldn't exist without either Diego or Esperanza, so it's only fitting that he show his ... appreciation by giving it to them. He's pretty sure that one of these days they are going to marry, since that is what people do when they're in love, and perhaps if he pretends to be happy for them by giving them the best thing he ever made, it will make it a little bit more true.
~
Diego finishes his project a few days later. Jamie has been helping Master Reyes with regular orders, but he and Jamie are given a few days to themselves, to rest and enjoy knowing their work is done, and prepare for the examination. Esperanza drags both of them off for a tour of the palace, causing stares and an uncomfortable blush on Jamie's face as the three of them walk around arm in arm, Esperanza in the middle.
When Diego asks her to be there on the day he has to present his masterpiece, she agrees readily as though she'd have come even if he hadn't asked her.
'You're my boys, of course I'll be there,' she says and then points towards a side corridor.
'Here, I want you to see this,' she adds, 'the Queen keeps portraits of some of her more ... illustrious ancestors here. If you want to know why I'm not like other nobles, here's your clue.'
'I thought it was because your father couldn't decide between raising you as a boy or as a girl,' Diego says with a grin and receives a punch in the arm for it.
'That, too, but you don't have to be crass about it,' she says primly. 'Now come laugh at some pompous arses.'
~
They dress in their finest on the day of the examination; Jamie shrugs uncomfortably in his embroidered jerkin and breeches and is glad of the familiar comfort of his coat as they walk through the streets, carrying the bird and the set of locks in two chests. Master Reyes leads the way, with Diego and Esperanza right behind him. Jamie would like to join them, but the streets are too crowded to walk three abreast. Esperanza looks back now and then and smiles encouragement at him, nudging Diego at times as though to prompt him to do the same, but Jamie sees the tension in Diego's shoulders from where he hangs back, in the way he walks, and doesn't blame him for not looking back. His own hands are aching from clenching the box with his bird tight enough, afraid to drop it, that someone is going to have to pry it out of his hands when they arrive.
It's a nice day out, if a bit chilly. Sunny, and the sky is the most brilliant blue. He looks from Diego to Master Reyes and up, to the length of street they have yet to go, the buildings on either side guiding his gaze with their slate roofs, ever higher, to where the Domus and the Palace gleam in the distance. They won't go quite that far, but it reminds him of when he'd just met Diego, and the way he'd known nothing but that he wanted to stay close to Diego. If only he'd known that ten years later he'd look up at the sky again and wonder where the years went, and why it has to end.
He doesn't care about presenting his project to the elders. Well, he does, because it is the best thing he's ever made and they said he couldn't, but it's the thought that after this he's his own master-what will he do, on his own? Master Reyes wouldn't keep him on, would expect him to find a workshop of his own and start a business that, if people keep buying the things he makes like they have been doing so far (not that he's too familiar with what that means, since all his focus has been on working and he might as well have sold nothing, it's just that Diego pointed it out to him) would no doubt do very well.
With the money he would make sure his parents would not have to work anymore, and the three of them would be able to afford a better house. But while that is all good, in its own way, the thought of working all by himself, day in, day out-without Diego, and thus without Esperanza...
If things could just stay the same, he'd be happy-but no, that's a lie. He's not happy. He's happy when he works, because there is no room for anything else when dealing with schematics and numbers and gears and the precision required to turn all of that into a functioning lock or music box or watch. He wonders briefly whether, if his mother has seen it, someone else has seen it; but Master Reyes is not his father, and Diego and Esperanza are too in love, for all that they're his friends.
He jerks out of his thoughts when they stop suddenly, and he looks up at the tall, grey stone building that houses the Locksmiths' Guild. It had been intimidating the first time he'd seen it when he was pledged as apprentice, almost ten years ago, and less so when they'd gone to receive Diego's master project, but doubly so now-now, when this is the end to both their apprenticeships, whether they like it or not. Well, he supposes Diego likes it. Diego would do well as a master locksmith; any idiot can see that. His masterpiece, too, is ingenious; even the simple locks are not crude, and from the outside there is no easy way to tell which are the easier and which the more complicated locks. All of them need keys, of course, most of them different keys, too, which were designed only with subtle differences. Jamie isn't too sure of who, exactly, ordered the set, though Diego must have mentioned it at times. But whoever it is, they will own a pricelessly unique set of locks before the day is over.
One of the elders' assistants let them in and bids them wait out in the hall where Diego and Jamie had waited while the elders denied Master Reyes' request for a master project for Jamie. Jamie swallows hard at the memory but sits down, clutching his chest still. Diego and Esperanza sit down next to him, and when the assistant appears again, Esperanza gives Diego a quick kiss before he and Master Reyes disappear into the elders' council chamber.
Jamie stares at the chest in his hands, both trying to listen and block any sounds coming from inside. He's not afraid Diego will be judged inadequate, not really, but his stomach is doing somersaults nonetheless and his stupid mind comes up with visions of Diego storming out, ashen-faced, teared up...
'Don't fret, Jamie,' Esperanza says and grabs his hand. His fingers protest letting go of the chest but then relax in her warm grip without any conscious effort on his part. 'He'll be fine.'
'I know,' he mumbles, too busy biting his lip. 'I just ... I can't help it.' She laughs softly and pulls him closer; he is suddenly pressed close to her soft warmth, the perfume of her hair wafting up into his nostrils. She is as tall as him when they're both standing, but sitting like this, he realises he is actually a bit taller.
'You're a good friend,' she says and squeezes his hand. 'Or am I reading you wrong and are you more worried about your own project?' He shakes his head at that; well, he is, a little, given the way the elders reacted when Master Reyes suggested it in the first place, but how can he tell her he's more worried about what comes after?
'Either way it's perfectly natural,' she continues. 'I'm nervous as well, even though Master Reyes said his work is flawless, and while I'm no locksmith myself I've seen the set and it's gorgeous, so there's only one way this can end. The same goes for your bird, by the way.' She pokes the chest and his free hand grips it more firmly in response. 'Whether they gave you the assignment or not, there is no way they can deny that this is a masterpiece.'
He tears his eyes away from the chest and looks at her, her dark eyes confident-but then she rarely shows unease or nervousness.
'You're just better at hiding that you're nervous?' he says and she purses her lips, looking pleased.
'Exactly,' she says. 'You know, Diego hasn't figured that out yet.'
'He hasn't?' But as close as they are, the years they've been together, surely they know each other through and through?
'Mm, loving someone doesn't suddenly explain everything about them,' she says. 'I couldn't understand how he didn't see ... well...' She clears her throat and waves her free hand before bringing it down to pat their clasped hands. 'You're quiet, but perceptive. Sometimes I'm not sure you understand all that you see, but then, sometimes I'm proven wrong.'
He doesn't know what to say to that, so he says nothing and they sit in silence, holding hands and waiting. Jamie is intensely aware of her hand in his, slightly clammy to support her claim of being nervous, but warm and still, holding his gently. It turns his thoughts away from the examinations and instead invokes imaged he'd normally allow only at night, and so he stares straight ahead, afraid to look at her and unintentionally show her what he feels. And to lose her friendship, now...
They both look up when the sound of voices and footsteps comes from beyond the door, and then out comes Diego, without his chest but in possession of the widest grin Jamie has ever seen on his face. His own face mimics the smile involuntarily, and drowning out his relief that Diego's project has been approved is the all-encompassing thought that with or without a smile, but especially with, Diego is simply stunning.
Esperanza jumps up and runs at Diego and into his arms, kissing him hard on the mouth; he holds her tight and lifts her up a little, laughing through her kiss. Caught up in Esperanza's momentum and barely knowing what he's doing, Jamie leaves the chest with his bird on the bench and joins their embrace, and before he knows it, before he can remind himself that he's not in the privacy of his own thoughts and this is a mistake, he presses a kiss to Diego's cheek-
And jerks back at the feeling of lips on his own, hungry and fierce.
He stares at Diego, his cheeks hot and his heart heavy, and Diego stares right back, looking ... sheepish, of all things, though his expressions have been harder to gauge because of his beard, still not quite finished yet. The expression melts into surprise and pain as Esperanza lifts a hand and cuffs him on the back of his head.
'You idiot, you're weren't supposed to do it like that!' she says with a glare at Diego and a rather softer, more anxious look for Jamie. 'I'm so sorry Jamie, we were going to talk to you after your examination, but this big oaf here just had to skip ahead.'
'Hey, it worked on you, before, so I figured why not?' Diego protests, unapologetic, but after he winks at her, he looks at Jamie with something like apprehension. Jamie, for his part, still feels Diego's lips on his, and is still trying to make sense of that.
'You kissed me,' he stammers. 'But ... you ... I...'
'Jamie,' Esperanza says softly and releases Diego in favour of wrapping one arm around Jamie's shoulders and giving his cheek a gentle caress. 'Yes, it means what you think it means, but we should talk about this later. I'm sorry for springing this on you, even if Diego's not. We love you, but we don't have the time to work it all out now.' She kisses him on the corner of his mouth, and his thoughts just still, realising he's kissed them both, now-well, both of them have kissed him, but semantics is the farthest thing from his mind.
Behind them, the door opens but Jamie only realises when Diego and Esperanza gently push him away.
'They're ready for you, Jamie,' Master Reyes says behind him and he blinks. The worries that so preyed on his mind before make an attempt to overwhelm him again, but all he can think of is the shape of Esperanza's lips, of the taste of Diego. With an effort he makes himself go pick up his chest and join Master Reyes in the doorway; Master Reyes smiles encouragingly.
'Come on, let's show them what you can do,' he says and lets Jamie through, hanging back to close the door behind them.
It's the same room as before, the same tiles, the same heavy oak table, the same men behind it with guild master Sylleaz in the middle.
'Are you ready to submit your proposal, apprentice Garza?' the guild master asks, eyeing the chest Jamie's carrying curiously. Jamie smiles, suddenly feeling it very easy, and the guild master not nearly as frightening as a year earlier, and he puts the chest on the table, right in front of the guild master. The elders watch him, almost all of them frowning, but all Jamie sees is Diego's grin and Esperanza's sweet smile as he opens the chest and pulls out the bird, covered with a soft linen cloth.
'Reyes, what is this?' the guild master asks then, taking his eye of Jamie to frown at Master Reyes.
'Jamie's masterpiece, sir,' Master Reyes says, perfectly calm. 'Jamie?'
Vaguely amazed at how steady his hand is, Jamie lifts up the cloth and deftly undoes the latch at the top of the egg with the other. He'd wound the bird up before they left the house, and as the little pin holding the egg closed falls away, it slides open and the little bird wakes up, its copper feathers gleaming gold and green. It turns towards the guild master, who watches with wide eyes, and starts to sing.
The room is silent but for the fragile, clear melody. Faintly, voices from outside reach them through the small glass windows, but they fall away again and the silence lasts throughout the song's verse and chorus and for long moments after it has played itself through and the egg has closed again.
Jamie has been looking at the bird, captivated by his own creation, but now he looks up at the elders, not sure what to expect. They're staring, expressions of wonder transforming their old faces into something a little younger-but the guild master is frowning, and Jamie's heart does a funny little skip.
'You do realise, Master Reyes,' the guild master says and looks at Master Reyes heavily, 'that we're completely within our rights to ignore this and demand the boy is assigned an official masterpiece.'
'I do, sir,' Master Reyes says, still so calmly.
'Then you'll appreciate how fortunate you-both-are that we're not going to do that. Congratulations, Master Garza,' the guild master says with a stern look at Jamie. 'Welcome to the Guild.'
~
Master Reyes walks them straight back home, afterwards, where Jamie's parents are waiting. His mother hugs him tightly, uttering an unbroken string of congratulations, turning to the language of her childhood when she threatens to run out of steam. His father gives him a much briefer hug but the proud smile on his face is all Jamie looks for.
They celebrate with an elaborate meal Master Reyes had Mrs Carmona prepare, apparently convinced of the day's outcome. Jamie wonders for a moment, but he was right, after all, and there is food and drink and all his favourite people in one room, even if the commotion makes his head ache after a while.
He steals glances at Diego and Esperanza every now and then, and sees how they always smile back warmly, smiles filled with promise and a secret understanding only the three of them share. Diego and Esperanza keep their affections toned down, though, as though after what happened at the guild house they should wait until Jamie could join in.
And I can, Jamie realizes, and it's the first time that thought crystallizes so clearly, so profoundly, that he completely forgets that he was telling his mother how he decided on the egg's outer decorations.
'To the future,' Master Reyes toasts when Mrs Carmona brings in the main course, and they repeat the toast.
'Speaking of the future, you two have any plans yet?' Jamie's father asks. Jamie opens his mouth but doesn't know what to say-he'd been hoping he didn't have to make any plans, but surely that was too stupid and immature to admit to his parents...
'Actually, I was thinking Jamie and I could open a shop together,' Diego says, and Master Reyes nods, though he does so with a slightly pained look.
'You two'll put me out of business, if you do,' he says. 'But you're full Masters now, nothing I can do to stop you.'
'Now, Jamie, you don't have to, if you don't want to,' his mother says softly, but Jamie barely hears her, eyes only for Diego.
'No,' he managed to make himself say, 'I'd love to.'
His parents leave soon after dinner, having to get up early the next day to ready the shop. Mrs Carmona by then has retired to the attic apartment she shares with her husband, and Master Reyes bids them goodnight not long after; and then the three of them are left in the growing gloom of the sitting room, lit only by the lamps and a trickle of early moonlight filtering in through the windows.
'Well,' Esperanza says and scoots forward in her chair. 'I guess we owe you an explanation, don't we?' But she hesitates then, for what must be the first time since Jamie's known her. His mouth, as always not to be trusted around her, decides to do the talking for her.
'You both want me,' he says, and they blink; Diego clears his throat and Esperanza smiles.
'Why? You two are ... perfect for each other.'
'You and Diego were already perfect long before I came into your lives,' Esperanza says, shaking her head. 'I had to tell Diego what was going on before he'd see it, though, and I think you yourself haven't caught on that long ago.' She looks from Jamie to Diego, and Jamie follows her gaze, wondering why Diego is so silent. And then Diego ducks his head and maybe it's that gesture, or the light, or a combination of factors, but the sudden realisation hits him that Diego is nervous and embarrassed. And that makes him wonder why he isn't nervous, himself. Puzzled, yes, still reeling from their admission and the two brief kisses they've shared, but otherwise he's surprised to find that he's quite calm.
'But I saw the way you look at him, right from the start, and the way he looks out for you. I was very surprised when he kissed me, I can tell you that.' She chuckles. 'I thought he must be confused.'
'I was confused after you finally decided to talk to me about all this,' Diego says with a wince and a brief look at Jamie. 'Can you believe she just let this go for almost a year, and only mentioned it when we were talking about what we'd do after my masterpiece was done?'
'But you ...' Something clicks in Jamie's head and he frowns at Diego. 'Wait, you said she kissed you.'
Diego groans, burying his face in his hand and Esperanza laughs. 'That's what he told you? Well, I may have been flirting with him at the time, but he made the first move.'
Jamie looks at Esperanza then, because she's the only one who seems to know what is going on. 'But you don't mind that I... and that Diego...'
'Jamie, darling, I'm the one who intruded on your relationship,' she says, sounding faintly amused. 'At first, I was afraid you would resent me for getting from Diego what you seemed to want for yourself, but ... I never saw that in you. You were just unfailingly sweet, though I did seem to make you nervous at times. And once I paid more attention to that, I began to see how you were looking at me, looking at us.'
Now his cheeks heat up; to think that all of the times he looked at the two of them and couldn’t stop the thoughts that permeated his dreams, she knew what he was thinking!
'And you still didn't mind?' he asks. He knows the answer to that, has been given the answer to that already, in her kiss and Diego's, but part of him just finds it all too unreal to accept it without hearing it out loud.
'Of course I didn't mind,' she says, leaning forward. 'You're my friend, you and Diego are inseparable and I should never have come between you.' She hesitates, if only briefly. 'And then I started thinking, what would happen if you ... joined us? I ... found I liked that idea, a lot, and then Diego had no idea what had come over me, so I had to tell him.'
'Yeah, that was a wild night,' Diego says; Jamie hears the breathlessness in his voice, and his cheeks fire up another notch.
'So ... what do we do now?' he asks. Esperanza and Diego share a look.
'We'd like to kiss you again, if that's alright with you,' Diego says. Jamie sucks in a breath, trying not to picture it, to remember how Diego's mouth felt, earlier, because if he allows himself that surely he'll be lost. But their hopeful faces tug at him, Diego biting his lip and Esperanza wringing her hands, and really there's only one possible answer, is there?
'Yes,' he manages to say on his exhale. Diego is the first to respond, kneeling before Jamie's chair in the blink of an eye, pulling at Jamie's shoulder and then his face, pulling him into a kiss that's a little clumsy, a little shaky, but eager, so eager, and this kind of passion Jamie would never have dared to expect. Diego's lips are soft but insistent, and when Jamie opens his mouth on a moan, Diego takes the opportunity and chases Jamie's tongue.
Jamie clutches at Diego's doublet, all of them still in their finery-and the thought of clothes brings thoughts of undressing, and Jamie pulls away, regretfully, because breathing is suddenly impossible.
'That's gorgeous,' Esperanza says, balancing on the armrest of his chair; Jamie hadn't even noticed her sitting down there, with all his focus on Diego's kiss. He looks up at her and gets lost in the curves of her, her soft breasts, threatening to spill out of a neckline rather lower than she usually wears, her silken hair, her smiling mouth, her almond eyes. One hand reaches for her on its own, and she meets it halfway, squeezing it briefly before moving her own hand up his arm, beyond his elbow, and the movement guides his hand to her waist. Her skin is warm through her clothes, the fabric exquisitely rich. Her mouth is softer than Diego's, but her kiss more demanding.
He is startled by a sudden touch to his cheek, but it's only Diego, his hand sliding into Jamie's hair and his mouth pressing open kisses to Jamie's cheek and ear. The tickle of breath in his ear makes Jamie gasp into Esperanza's mouth. He is suddenly, painfully aware that his prick has taken an interest in the proceedings, and he bites back on his moan too late. Esperanza chuckles.
'I think we'd better continue this somewhere else,' she says. Jamie feels Diego's nod beside him, though he can't see it, with Diego still pressing kisses down the side of Jamie's neck. He shivers.
Esperanza moves back, grabbing Jamie's hand when it lingers on her hips, and she and Diego pull him out of his chair. He follows them out of the sitting room and up the stairs, though the journey seems to take not more than two heartbeats before they're in Diego's bedroom, where Diego guides him down onto the bed while Esperanza lingers at the door.
He hears a click, but Diego's mouth and hands are too distracting to try and make sense of it. When Esperanza joins them Jamie finds himself lying back and looking up at their kiss, so hungry, so perfectly beautiful; a whimper threatens to escape him and he presses the meat of his hand against his mouth. Beautiful, and better by far than his imagination has promised. But then, his imagination has had him feverish with little more than insinuation and guesswork, and he supposes his lack of experience is what makes this seem magical, because surely the two of them have done this countless times before?
'Did you like that?' Diego asks when Esperanza releases him, sounding pleased and curious all in one. Jamie nods mutely. 'What do you want us to do?'
'I don't ... I've never...' Jamie stammers, and they share another look.
'Well, that's a damn shame,' Esperanza says. 'Really, never? Not even by yourself?'
He hadn't thought his blush could get any worse, but he's wrong and from their looks he can tell that's all the answer they need.
'See, I told you so,' Diego says to Esperanza but before Jamie can respond to that, like take offense, because have they been talking about him like that all this time? Diego leans in and whispers into his ear: 'What do you think about when you touch yourself?'
Jamie squeaks and looks up at Esperanza but finds no help there; she misinterprets his look and taps her lips, looking pleased.
'Me?' she guesses, and Jamie manages to shake his head despite Diego still being there, nuzzling his ear. 'Diego?'
'Both of you,' Jamie whispers, feeling as though it is a terrible confession, and perhaps it is, or should be in more polite company, but all he sees now is Esperanza looking satisfied and thoughtful, and Diego's surprise as he pulls back melting into something hotter.
'Hm,' Esperanza says, drawing Diego's attention. He smiles slowly and gifts Jamie with a conspiratorial look.
'Ah, I know that face,' he says. 'It usually means she's about to have a wonderful idea. I think you'll enjoy this.' He flops down beside Jamie, resting on his elbows, and looks up at Esperanza. 'What are you thinking, my love?'
'I am thinking,' Esperanza replies slowly, sitting up on her knees and resting her hands on her hips, 'of that night we pretended Jamie was with us.'
Jamie feels his eyes widen, and there he goes picturing it again, their shapes intertwining in the dark, whispering his name even though he wasn't there. 'You did what?' he says.
'You heard her,' Diego says with a grin. 'You want to tell him what we did that night?'
'Why don't we show him?' Esperanza counters, sinking down into a more comfortable position. Her gaze is locked to Jamie's; he stares, entranced. She must know what she's doing, she must-but this is so far outside what he's dreamed that he can only hope it's true. 'It starts with the two of you, as it should.'
'Hm-mm,' Diego agrees, and turns to Jamie. 'This is ... long overdue.'
He kisses Jamie again, and somehow Jamie finds the will to move, to touch Diego, because the feeling of him, being kissed like this, Diego's hands roaming all over his chest and catching into the folds at times, is too good to stay still. Even when Diego's hands move with more purpose and unbutton his jerkin between one breath and the next, and then push his undershirt up out of his hose, he copies those movements, but he has to gasp and clutch at Diego when Diego's fingers brush the bare skin of his stomach and ghost upwards.
Diego chuckles and presses a brief kiss to his lips, before scooting down to mouth at the exposed skin, still pushing clothes out of the way until Jamie has lost almost everything but his hose, and Diego has kissed almost every inch of it. Jamie squirms, gasping, grasping for Diego but Diego dodges and does something to one of Jamie's nipples that makes him jerk and curse. He looks down and sees Diego's tongue flicking the little bud. Jamie groans and shakes at the sensations coursing through him, all the way from his chest to his groin, where his prick is harder than ever. If only Diego would touch it, but even anticipating it is almost too much; and then when his hips snap up out of their own accord and his prick brushes Diego's chest, a strange sound escapes him and he presses a hand to his mouth, too late again.
'Don't,' Esperanza says softly, darkly. 'Don't hold back for us.' He twists his head to look at her; one hand is pressed to her mouth, the other clutched to her chest, and her breasts are heaving as she breathes deeply, heavily. 'Diego, I think you're wearing too many clothes.'
'That can be fixed,' Diego says, something like a laugh echoing in his voice. He pulls back and Jamie follows the line of his body from his legs, lingering at where he can see the shape of Diego's prick behind cloth, all the way up to his chest and his arms, stretching to shrug off his doublet and then up, to pull his undershirt over his head. Diego shirtless is every bit as perfect as the statues they saw when Esperanza took them to the palace; not quite as muscled, perhaps, but just enough, and certainly more in shape than Jamie's own skinny frame.
He keeps his eyes on Diego to avoid looking down at his own chest, lest he starts comparing.
And had he looked down, he would have had no warning when Diego ducks down again, burying one hand against the back of Jamie's neck and the other between his legs. Jamie chokes on the gasp and moan that want to come out simultaneously, and he bucks his hips into that touch, clutching at Diego when Diego moves his hand, pressing down and rubbing, and oh-Jamie stiffens, feeling the edge of a climax, already, and part of him wants Diego to stop because he wanted to last longer, but other, more important parts of him at that moment know he'll just start begging if Diego dares to stop now-and then Diego stops kissing him, because Jamie has lost the ability to focus on anything else but the hand on his prick, and grazes his teeth along the side of Jamie's neck, and that's it. Jamie cries out and squeezes his eyes shut and rides it out, rocking against Diego until the last waves have come and gone and he remembers how to breathe.
Diego takes away his hand but doesn't release Jamie, resuming their kiss as he rocks against Jamie's thigh. Belatedly Jamie realizes what Diego must want, but strangely Diego doesn't seem to be in a hurry, content to cling and touch and grind.
A soft moan distracts him and he looks up, finding Esperanza biting her lip and with her own hand buried in the folds of her dress. She smiles shakily when she catches him looking.
'That was perfect,' she says. 'And now it's my turn.' She crawls over to them, her hair spilling down her shoulders, tumbling down her chest and Jamie follows their path but his eyes get stuck on her cleavage. She laughs softly. 'You can touch, if you want.'
Because his hands are still clinging to Diego's warm skin Jamie does the only thing he can think of and pushes his head up, into the shadow beneath her chin, and he presses a kiss to her throat, her clavicle and from there it feels all too natural to follow the taste of her olive skin down. Her breasts are soft, so soft, and move against him as she breathes, and only slight nubs betray her nipples; and that's when he remembers how to use his hands again. She gasps softly when he cups her, feeling out how much of her he can hold in his hand and seeking out those nubs, because when Diego touched his that felt amazing.
'Get me out of this dress,' she whispers, mouthing at his forehead and running her fingers through his hair, but it takes Diego pulling him away before the meaning of her words filters through for Jamie.
Undressing her takes the both of them while she sits, impatiently, squirming and pushing them away when either of them lingers too long on a bit of newly exposed skin. She laughs, though, and Diego laughs with her, so Jamie can only follow their example. They are so comfortable, naked together, and she hides nothing, smiling when she catching his eyes roaming her body from the deep valley between her breasts down across the curves of her stomach and hips. She has hair there, he realizes, and then wonders why he's surprised when he's just the same.
Well, not quite the same. Diego shimmies out of his hose and underpants, and then tugs off Jamie's. For a moment they all just sit there. Jamie's mouth is suddenly dry when he realizes what he wants to do but one of those parts that seem to make up the whole of him is hesitant, worried he'll do it wrong, or that they don't want him to.
'Go on,' Diego says and nudges him towards Esperanza, before pulling him back again for a quick kiss and then pushing him away again. Blushing, Jamie sprawls across Esperanza, but she makes a sound that's almost a purr and pulls him on top of her.
Being chest to chest with her is nothing like it was with Diego, and yet it feels good in the same way it did with Diego. Quite without meaning to he ends up rubbing himself against her leg, kissing her lips, her chin, the soft, salty raised flesh of her nipple. Her stomach is an endless plain, but suddenly his fingers encounter hair and she bucks her hips just like he did when Diego touched him there. When he follows he movement down and encounters wetness, of all things, she chuckles.
'You learn fast,' she says, 'but there's still so much we can show you.'
'Here,' Diego says and puts his hand on top of Jamie's, guiding his fingers until Jamie feels another raised nub that causes a shudder in Esperanza when he brushes it. She moans softly and clings to his arms, biting at his shoulder lightly.
'What is that?' Jamie asks. He keeps up the movement Diego started after Diego takes his hand away. Another shudder rocks Esperanza.
'The best thing about being a woman,' Esperanza gasps out, laughing. 'Oh-don't stop!'
'Sorry,' Jamie says; his finger slipped, and it's tricky to find the right spot again, but find it he does. Tiny as it is, the exact way his finger touches it seems to matter hugely to Esperanza, and so he experiments, tries to make her cling and shake and freeze up like he did only minutes ago. She flings out an arm to grab Diego and kiss him messily, and when she gives up kissing to pant against Diego's mouth instead, Jamie knows she's close. His hand aches, but every move of his fingers sets off a squirm or a moan, and when he looks at Diego he finds him watching avidly, still hard and loosely touching himself. Jamie swallows with difficulty and falters, prompting a loud, wordless protest from Esperanza. He's growing hard again, he realizes, more so by the second as he watches Esperanza writhe to a flick of his finger, as he watches Diego stroke himself to the sight in front of him. Jamie wants to touch himself, too, but this is for Esperanza and he should focus.
She starts babbling, now, closing her eyes and pressing her head against the bed; her hips move restlessly, seeking out his fingers and prompting him to go faster, which he does. Then all of a sudden her eyes fly open and she stops moving, and on instinct Jamie keeps moving, keeps moving faster, and she shudders, cries out and exhales a breath she must have been holding while her body froze up. She shudders one last time and twitches away from his hand, panting and stretching. Jamie finds his eyes riveted to the shape of her breasts like this, gravity pulling them down against her chest, flattening them out a little.
Esperanza moves, suddenly, pushing Jamie back against the bed and pulling Diego along with her. Jamie's hands land on her hips as she straddles him, her face focused but flushed, her eyes warmly sparkling. Her tongue darts out and moistens her lower lip.
'And now for the grand finale,' she says. 'Diego, sit there.'
'Yes, ma'am,' Diego says; Jamie watches them, puzzled, squeezing Esperanza's hips because why not.
'What are you...' he starts to say but loses all words when she reaches down and holds his prick softly. It twitches, once, and then his whole body twitches when she lowers herself. Tight, wet heat envelops him and he bites out a surprised curse, but his twitch sends out shivers and slivers of lust, and apparently his body knows what to do even if he himself doesn't. When Esperanza moves up and then down again he meets her, sparks flashing behind his eyes. Esperanza sighs contentedly and leans to the side to kiss Diego before dropping down to rest on her palms. She looks back up at Diego, and Diego mutters a curse as well before scooting over.
Jamie watches, entranced, as Diego offers his prick to her and she takes it into her mouth, just like that, like it tastes good, like it fits, but the looks of concentration and bliss on both their faces is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. He focuses on that, seeing nothing other than Diego's hips snapping back and forth and Esperanza taking in almost all of him. He lifts one hand from her hips and touches her cheek, feeling them hollow and then something pushes at his fingers. Diego groans and touches her head as well, burying one hand in her dark curls and clasping his other over Jamie's hand. And all the while Esperanza moves, connecting the three of them, sending bright silver sparks up Jamie's spine and doing something probably quite similar to Diego.
His climax sneaks up at him, this time: he only feels it when Diego starts to shudder and hunches forward with his eyes wide open and unseeing. Esperanza hums then moans when Jamie snaps his hips up in response, and she does something, he doesn't even know what, but he's gone, pouring all of himself out into her and the last thing he sees before he can't keep his eyes open is Diego, trembling, clutching at her head and keeping perfectly still while she moves one, two, three more times. Someone shouts, Jamie is not sure which of them.
Esperanza moves off him, causing a less pleasant twitch, but when she lays down beside him, her breasts pressing against his arm, and Diego flops down boneless on his other side, he doesn't care anymore.
'I think,' Esperanza says dreamily, 'that we'd better start looking for a house big enough for the three of us.'
'Like you haven't been doing just that, already,' Diego mumbles and pokes her half-heartedly. A sudden laugh bubbles up in Jamie's chest and, clutching them both, he lets it out. He remembers what his mother said about happiness, and though he still has no idea just how he's going to explain this to her, at least he knows she was right.
This was the best thing to ever happen to him.
Masterpost | Part 1