Completed Fic - Rainbows Come Smiling Through - PopSlash
Woo! It's Gonna Be May.
Happy May 2nd, and thanks to the challenge that gave me that final poke to get this done already! :)
Rainbows Come Smiling Through
a Big Gay Smutty Epilogue by SnarkyLlama
6,000 words
(JoeC, adult)
This stands as an epilogue to my MTYG fic, My Big Gay Disney Courtship
This is all pretend.
If you can get a Princess away from her entourage of managers and stylists, handlers and Disney execs, she'll tell you the truth. When Prince Charming's hands are warm and familiar on her back, and her lips are tingling from his kisses, "happily ever after" is easy. It's a crystal bauble, a golden apple hanging on a low branch. Things change, though, when Prince Charming slips away to go do... whatever it is that princes do.
JC knows this, and he's not even a princess.
Happiness is something to be worked at and damn Joey for having to leave before JC was well-and-truly swept off his feet. It would have been nice to float in a steamy, dreamy bubble of Joey wants me! for an hour or two before it burst and tumbled him back to the doubts and detritus of everyday life.
In real life, some forms of happiness shouldn't be pursued. But in real life, it's also bad form to break promises--especially promises made to good friends. So, tingling lips and misgivings aside, he has a phone call to make.
Yes. So... better get to it.
JC carefully folds Briahna's Princess shirt and tucks it safely by his sewing machine. He picks up his phone and stares at it, turns it over in his hands, then pockets it and heads across the hall to the nearest balcony. Once outside, he stands for a moment and thinks about pitching his phone over the edge.
If he calls Kelly--
No, he's promised. When he calls Kelly, he will have to stop dreaming.
He props his elbows on the balcony's railing and gnaws on a thumbnail. Joey is a dreamer--a crazy, scheming, wonderful dreamer--and with him, JC can be one, too. But Kelly will bring back his sensible side.
Kelly is fun and sexy in the same smart-and-sharp-edged way that Lance is sexy. But she is also a mom. That means she's pragmatic and tough, and JC's pretty sure that if you play with mothers, you'll just get burned.
But...
Joey wouldn't lie. So... Kelly must want this, too.
And that's too much. It's so much more than he'd hoped for, but... maybe... exactly what he wanted. Could he--could they really be a family like that?
Most people are stuck with the families they were born into, but JC has been twice blessed, welcomed to be part of something more. Each time, it was the absolute most-scary, wonderful thing that had ever happened to him. Should he try for three-times lucky?
He could.
But...
Joey wouldn't lie, but Joey could be mistaken. Kelly might not be okay with this. And Joey... let's face it, Joey's always been a flirt, but he's never seemed the least bit interested in guys. Maybe the kissing is a fluke or... maybe kissing is all Joey wants, maybe...
Maybe thinking about it was making it worse.
He drums his fingers against the rail.
Tap. Tap tap.
Tap. Tap tap.
Hmm...
He calls Justin.
#
"C, wassup?"
Kelly's private business is different than JC's and Joey's. It isn't something to share with J, so he's got to come up with some other way of talking about--
"Have you ever thought about a threesome?"
Shit. That's not what he meant to say.
Justin laughs. "I've got a dick, yo. It ain't shy."
"No. No, man."
"I mean, really. You have to ask?"
"Yeah, I've gotta ask... 'cause, you know, I'm not... I don't. I'm not dissing serious relationships, but... I'm a 'fun and everyone goes home happy' guy."
"That's what I've heard."
"So," JC says, "a threesome? Not for like a night or a weekend in Rio or--"
Justin isn't laughing anymore.
"C, I'm not... You're. I love you, man, but you're not hooking up with Jessica."
Oh, fuck no.
"Not like that! I swear, J, never. I'm not--"
"I love her, C. Like... really love her. You don't do shit like that when you're in love."
Justin so wasn't the right person to ask about this. JC spends the next ten minutes assuring Justin that it was cool that he was in love, and no, man, I really do hope she's the one for you.
JC doesn't really believe in "the one," but for J, he can. And also?
JC is really more of a Jessica-Alba guy. Because Dark Angel? Jessica Alba and Jensen Ackles as a matched set of genetically-engineered cat people? Hell, yeah. JC wants to get with that. There's no room in JC's heart for any other Jessica.
He knows he's done well when Justin starts laughing again.
"Dark Angel? Dude. You were probably all into that episode with Max's clone, weren't you? Yeah..." Justin starts singing. "Some girls dance with their clones knowing that it gets them attention--"
"If you guys can't sing my songs without laughing--"
"No, no. It's cool. It would be just like your video with the female Nelson twins."
"My video with... what--No! Their wigs had bangs, man. They were nothing like Nel--"
"Hey," Justin says. "You know we're not laughing at your songs, right?"
No. JC didn't.
"They're just so... you. And that's cool. Not everyone can do that, can make something that's never going to sound right coming from anyone else."
Shit like this is why JC will never resent Justin his success. He's a good kid.
They talk until Justin has to go. It isn't productive, but it's a good distraction. Then he's left wondering what to do next.
There's no point in calling Lance or Chris. Lance would just tell him not to fuck with Joey, without clarifying if actually fucking Joey automatically counts as "fucking with." And Chris would be all "Yes, I fucking knew she was kinky!" and ready to take JC's place if he was stupid enough to freak out again.
So, there's nothing to do but call Kelly.
#
It's well after midnight in Orlando, but Kelly sounds bright and awake when she answers the phone.
"Hey, C."
"Hi, Kel."
"It's a bit later than I expected you to call, so I guess you are freaking out, huh?"
"Did I wake you? I can call tomorrow."
"Oh, no, I'm okay. Don't worry about it."
"But... the Princesses. You..."
"Oh, dear." Kelly chuckles softly. "C, honey, are you okay?"
"Joey said. The three of us. And the Princess Plan? Kelly, that's... it's..."
"Hmm, well, that answers that. You're not okay."
The laughter fades from Kelly's voice and she suddenly sounds like a mom. JC thinks maybe that should freak him out more, but he appreciates it. He knows how to behave around mothers. He's not at all sure how to behave around... whatever else it is that Kelly is to him now.
"Okay, C. You listening to me?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now, here's what we need to do..." There's a pause, and JC hears a faint sound, something rustling in the background. "You still have those webcams set up?"
"Well, I only set up the one."
"Is it still set up?"
"Yeah, mostly. In the living room."
"Good. I want you to go there."
"I'll need my laptop."
"Whatever you need, hon. Just hurry up 'cause we need to have this conversation face-to-face. It'll make you feel better."
JC's not sure about that, but...
"Okay," he says. "I should go--"
"Don't you hang up on me!"
"--do that. Geez, Kel, you're like... Scary Mom."
Kelly laughs. "Sorry, sorry."
Laughing, she sounds like the old Kelly again.
"Seriously scary," JC says. "Like a lioness, man... which makes sense 'cause if Joey's Mufasa--"
"C, are you getting your laptop or are you just--"
"No, no, I'm getting my things. I'm good. I'm going to the living room, just... Disney Princesses, Kelly? I mean, really."
While JC gets his computer and the cables and the power cord, Kelly explains that she really does have deep misgivings about the Princesses, regardless of whatever twist Joey had put on the whole thing.
"Well, I hope I put your mind at ease... at least about the movies," JC says.
"Yes, you did. But C, come on, your house isn't that big. Why aren't you in the living room yet?"
"I am! I've just gotta..." His laptop's up and running, he just has to open the program and... "Shit!"
"C?"
"Aww, fuck."
"JC? What--"
"Blue screen of death," JC says and waves his hand at the computer screen like Kelly can actually see it and know he's not lying. "I don't know. It worked before, I just--I don't--"
"C."
"It's--fuck."
"C, it's okay. Stop stressing. Okay?"
"But..." But the blue screen is glaring at him like an ogreishly ill-tempered omen. And yeah, he knows omens aren't real--except for when they are. And he can't tell her that 'cause he'll sound crazy.
"I thought seeing me would help you calm down, but it's okay. We can talk like this, right? I don't have a sexy *NSYNC voice or anything, but talking to me isn't so bad, is it?"
"No, Kel, you've got a nice voice."
"Mmm, that's a real compliment coming from you."
JC can hear the pleasure in her voice. It makes her sound all warm--and also, yeah, a little sexy... and it's going to be a while before he feels okay actually thinking something like that about a friend's wife. It's a good thing most of his friends are single--or Justin, who dates women JC is so not interested in.
"You still there, C?"
"Hmm? Yeah, yeah... sorry."
"Why don't you curl up on one of your nice, comfy couches and tell me why this has you in such a tizzy?"
"People still say 'tizzy'?"
"Yeah, and some people still think it's cool to go around calling women 'Shorty,' so imagine that."
JC laughs. "All right, all right. A tizzy it is."
"And it's... um..." There's a pause and it sounds like Kelly's moving. When she speaks again, her voice is quieter. "It's a bit of a surprise, C. I thought... I thought you'd be really into it. So, I've got to think... is it me?"
"You?"
"It's okay, if you're not interested. I know I'm not everyone's type."
"Oh," JC says. "No, that's not a problem. You're uh... plenty hot--"
She was. Not his usual type at all, but very curvy, and he liked her hair and her laugh and her attitude. And, yeah, she was short, but that didn't seem to stop Joey, and it wasn't like JC couldn't think--right off the top of his head--of several fun ways to get their shit perfectly aligned, but...
"--really hot," JC says. "But you're Joey's wife."
"Oh, okay." She coughs, and then sounds all bright again. "Okay. That's good. We can work with that."
"You're Joey's wife, and Joey's kinda straight, you know, and I don't... well..."
"Oh, honey--"
"I don't think he's going to be into sharing you, you know? 'Cause why would you guys get married if you were still... open to things like that, and I don't want to mess with that. You guys are so good, and he'll end up hating me if I... if I fuck that up."
JC stops and breathes deeply.
"Okay," Kelly says. "That's great. There's a lot of issues to address right there."
"Yeah."
"No. Let me talk now."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Yeah, that's good." He hears Kelly shift again. "Okay. One, Joey loves you. He loves you a lot and he's not going to hate you, no matter what."
"But--"
"No matter what, C. Don't even try to argue with me here. I've known you both a real long time."
JC nods. He knows Kelly can't see him, but he doesn't dare argue with the mom voice.
"Two, uh... to paraphrase Miracle Max here, kinda straight isn't all straight."
"'Miracle Max'?"
"Oh, Jesus. Men. Honestly, you can't even pick up a simple Princess Bride reference."
"Um... Sorry?"
"You should be." Kelly laughs. "Anyway... there's a big difference between mostly straight and all straight. Mostly straight is slightly bent, hon. And, uh, I'm not entirely sure how bent, but the bend is definitely in your direction."
That, coming from Kelly, makes JC blush. He's really glad for the blue screen of death now.
"Um... if you say so, Kel."
"I do," she says. "And the last thing, I shouldn't even have to tell you. You should know this, C."
"I should?"
"People get married for lots of different reasons. It's not all about monogamy and protecting an antiquated patriarchal structure that developed out of men being big pussies afraid that if they didn't fucking own their own women, they'd never ever get laid."
"Oh," JC says, feeling the heat rise further. "Would it be... inappropriate to say that you're...uh... really hot when you talk like that?"
"No," Kelly purrs. "Not at all."
"So..." JC coughs. "So, it's... fidelity, not monogamy?"
"Something like that, yes. And you don't have to worry. Joey and I have discussed this, a lot. We're all good here."
"But there's nothing in it for you."
"Oh, C, you're... you're too much." JC can hear the smile in her voice. "You're a good friend of mine. You love my husband and my daughter--unconditionally, I bet."
"Yeah."
"You're also incredibly gorgeous and intriguingly kinky. Seriously, what's not to like?"
"Well..." If she put it that way...
"Don't answer that," she says. "Instead, think about this. You want him, right?"
"I want all of you, Kel."
"Oh." She sounds pleasantly surprised. "Then we're all lucky because you can have us, but you have to take this step first."
"But not at your expense, I don't want to hurt you. This is bound to hurt--"
"Okay, you need to stop. There's no way you'd ever hurt Briahna, we all know that. And Joey and I are grown-ups. We make our own decisions, all right?"
"But--"
"If it helps you, think of it differently. Joey and I are doing this. We're going to share you. We're making you part of us."
"Well, that's--hmm." He was going to say that was just fiddling with semantics, but maybe she had something there...
"You want it, JC--" He did. A lot. "--so let us do this."
And that was that as far as Kelly was concerned.
After Kelly hangs up, JC sits there on the couch, flexing his hand. He opens and closes his fist and stares hard at his palm like he can see the kiss Joey pressed there before he left. How can he possibly deserve this?
His ears are ringing with Kelly's voice. She's so confident and sensible and ready to break this thing down into little baby steps to prove he's got it all wrong, that it's not crazy at all. She's so straight-forward and yet she plotted this whole thing with Joey... so she's... more like Lance than is good for his brain.
So... maybe he needs to accept this. He's not convinced it's going to work, but... maybe he can do this. He can do this as an act of faith, show that he trusts Joey as much as he loves him. That he trusts Kelly, too.
Yeah.
It's crazy, but he thinks he can do that.
And that means Joey's going to come home at some point--
Wait. Come home? No, now JC's getting way ahead of himself.
Joey is going to return at some point, and they're going to kiss some more, and then--if Kelly's right--there's going to be some really hot sex. With Joey.
Really hot sex with Joey.
Guh.
It's enough to melt JC's brain, but he doesn't have time for that now because he's not ready. He needs to get ready. He needs... he needs... Well, first step first, right?
JC showers and carefully shaves. Some guys love the scrape of stubble against their skin, but if Joey hasn't done this before--this guy thing--it might put him off, and JC doesn't want that. Not at all.
Oh, but imagine Joey with a bit of beard burn...
Oh.
Joey on JC's tangled blue sheets. Joey sprawled out like he so often does, unafraid to take up as much space as he possibly can. Joey with his legs spread wide and his thigh just a little red from JC's over-enthusiasm in going down on him.
Oh, oh yeah. Too bad he's shaved. It's too late for that now, but there's always next time.
Oh God. There might be a next time.
This is really too much. He's been given too much, he doesn't deserve it, something's going to take it away, something, something...
No.
He needs to stop thinking like that. It's not helpful and it's not... well, come on, it's Joey. Is there any such thing as too much sex with Joey? Joey loves sex more than anyone JC knows and that's really saying something, since JC was hardly surrounded by shy-and-retiring types--and that's not even counting JC himself.
He shakes his head and wanders through the house.
Are his sheets clean? He better check. They have to be fresh, but not too perfect. Nothing should look like a stage setting.
And where is Tyler?
JC has to give him some warning. He'll be traumatized if he walks in on something. Tyler's seen a lot, but this would be pushing it. He's always been a little weird around Chris after catching them together that time. Maybe it would be different if the guys hadn't used the "we're all brothers" line so much...
He spends five minutes looking for Tyler before he remembers that he's gone out for the night.
He feels like a butterfly--no, a humming bird. JC's a humming bird flitting from flower to flower. Flit, flit, flit. Can't stop, can't stop, and he can hear Justin's laughter now.
You're such a sweet, sweet girl, C. All rainbows and crystal waterfalls, and... and pink hearts, blue diamonds, and purple horseshoes.
But humming birds are full of masculine energy. How could they be anything else with their long, thin beaks sipping from the sweet, shadowed depths of a thousand beautiful flowers before always moving on to the next?
God.
JC is buzzing with anticipation and nerves. Joey had better get back before he completely loses it. Maybe a little something to calm him down... Or... he could get himself off before Joey returned. Would that be cheating? He could last longer if--
A door closes somewhere and JC hears the burr of a voice. It's Joey, half-humming, half-singing something to himself.
Oh, thank God.
JC turns on his heel and heads for him.
"C," Joey calls out. "I'm making myself at home."
JC finds him in the kitchen, pulling a bottle of water out of the refrigerator.
"Hey, Joey, mi casa es--"
Joey pounces, and JC's swept up and swung around till he's on the counter with one heel banging into the open 'fridge door and the other hooked around Joey's thighs, and he's clinging to Joey who kisses like a... like a tsunami. He's all focused power and so fucking breathtaking that JC couldn't care less if his head bangs against the cupboard and the water bottle is trapped beneath his thigh.
Joey must have been dancing. He's a bit sweaty and a little salty, and JC must be absorbing his scent through his tongue like a snake or maybe through his fingers 'cause he sure doesn't have the breath to actually smell anything, and then Joey pulls back and smiles.
"Hey," Joey says.
JC's suddenly boneless without Joey's arms tight around him. He slumps back and his head knocks against the cupboard again.
Joey laughs, a little huff of sound, and cups the back of JC's head.
"Hey, hey, careful there, C."
JC tips his head, happy to simply have Joey's fingers in his hair while he tries to catch his breath.
"Hey, Joey," he says after a moment. "You're back."
"Yeah," Joey says. "Your grasp of the obvious is still-"
"Hmmph."
JC shifts and yanks the bottled water out from under him and twists off its cap. Joey steals it from him, swallows half of it down in one go, and then wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
Oh. JC wishes he hadn't done that.
He darts forward and licks Joey's bottom lip. Hmm...
He licks it again, a quick, slick slide, then checks his work. Mmm, yeah. It looks so much better wet, all glistening and waiting. He raises his hand and touches Joey's mouth, presses a finger against that full bottom lip, and Joey grins around his finger, licks it, and laughs.
"What?" JC says.
"Nothing, I'm just happy."
"Hmm..." JC says. "More like 'just greedy.'"
He takes the water back from Joey 'cause he needs something cool and wet after all that hot. He sips slowly, taking his time so he can just look at Joey.
Joey does look happy. Really happy. He looks... a bit like he did when Briahna was born and when he got married. How could anyone ever hurt this man when his happiness is like... like... JC doesn't know. Like something that can knock all the similes straight out of JC's head.
Hmm... Yeah.
It's strange, but JC likes the feeling. His head is a much quieter place than usual, his heart's pounding a little, and he never wants to be farther from Joey than this. So, he just drinks his water like it's perfectly normal to do so while perched on the counter with his leg hooked around Joey.
Joey's quiet, too, just stroking the back of JC's head a little and smiling to himself.
It's really nice.
"Were you raised in a barn?" JC asks when the water is gone. "Close the 'fridge, man."
"Nag, nag, nag."
"You love me," JC says. And, hey wow, he's said that before, but it maybe means more this time and that's just... wow.
Joey nods. "I must or I wouldn't put up with this abuse."
"'Abuse'?"
"Molested in the kitchen like--"
"Hey, I was the one ravished here!"
"That wasn't ravishment. That was a hello kiss."
"Shit," JC says and leans back against the cupboards.
"Hmm?"
Joey takes one of JC's hands and plays with it. He folds their fingers together, then unlinks them, weaves them together differently and locks them again. Together, apart, together--like he's working a Rubik's cube, looking for the perfect fit.
"If that was just 'hello'--" JC says.
Joey kisses him again, a quick press at the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, lover," Joey says.
JC tugs him close and twists his fingers in Joey's hair. It's a bit damp. Joey was definitely doing something that worked up a sweat. JC doesn't mind, though. He's hoping Joey will sweat a lot more before the night's over.
"You are a sap," he tells Joey. "A big, sweet sap."
Joey thumbs across JC's lips. "You like it."
JC makes a face.
"Eh, not really--" Oh, um. That didn't come out right, did it? "--I mean, I like it fine, but not usually when it's uh... aimed at me."
Joey thumps him gently, just a quick tap of his thumb against JC's cheek.
"Uh oh, C, I think someone's got the big, bad sap ray gun aimed straight at ya."
JC laughs.
"Is it your gun? I'm okay if it's yours, 'cause..." He touches the outer curve of Joey's ear. "I like you."
"Yeah? Enough to take me to bed?"
"Hmm..." JC wraps his other leg around Joey. "I think you should take me to bed."
"I'm not your beast of burden."
JC laughs and sings. "Come on, baby, make sweet love to me."
Joey skips ahead a few lines to sing, "Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty girl." It makes JC laugh even more.
"We need to find a more appropriate song."
"Yeah," Joey says. He works his hands under JC. "If you shift your ass, we can go look for one."
JC wiggles and bumps their hips together. "Mmm, yeah," he breathes. "Good idea."
Joey's hands clench on his ass.
"That's not what I meant."
"But it's good," JC says, and Joey doesn't move away.
"I spent all night working, baby. Let's go to bed."
JC kisses him.
"Okay," he says after a moment. "On one condition."
"What's th--"
"You can't call me 'baby.'"
Joey calls Kelly baby. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but JC doesn't want to go there.
"But I'll let you call me 'sugar,'" Joey says.
"No."
"Come on, baby, don't ignore me. I know what you're feeling for me."
"You guys have got to stop stealing my lines."
"Never," Joey says.
"Let's go negotiate," JC says and reluctantly unwraps himself from Joey.
Joey laughs and leers. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"
#
They go up to the bedroom together. JC's never had a first time like this--a first time that wasn't also an only time, a one-night thing. The start of something meaningful has always been awkward before, and this... this is like being dropped into the middle of a relationship, like coming home to an old lover.
It's so comfortable, it's a little unsettling. JC's never had an old lover to return to. Old friends and fuck buddies, yeah, but this is different. This... this is...
JC doesn't know what this is. If he didn't have better things to think about right now, he'd be freaked out. But, he does, so...
JC shrugs the niggling strangeness away and focuses on the important things like slipping Joey's jacket off his shoulders and oh... suspenders. JC likes suspenders. They're old-fashioned and quirky--just like bowties--and totally appealing to the part of him that wants to ravish and corrupt things, that wants to mess up someone all staid and proper--which isn't like Joey at all, but it's still fun to feel like that, to play at it.
"Mmm," he says. "Handles."
Joey laughs, until JC slips his hands under the suspenders and smoothes them up and down Joey's chest. Then his breath catches, and JC pauses.
"Ticklish?" JC asks.
"No."
"No? Not even a little?" He rubs his thumbs over Joey's nipples.
"No," Joey growls and catches his hands. He drags them to the buttons of Joey's shirt. "And that would feel a lot better if I wasn't wearing so much. Got me?"
"Got you," JC says. He really likes the sound of that. He says it again as he starts to work on Joey's buttons. "I've got you."
It's nice getting to slowly peel Joey out of his clothes. He doesn't go formal--or even wear button-downs--very often, so this is an extra-special treat. When he's got Joey's shirt open and un-tucked, he slips his arms inside, around his waist, and says it yet again. "I've got you." And it kinda... hits him and he's scared. He could so mess this up, mess everything up.
He presses his face in tight against Joey's neck, and Joey holds him, holds him like he understands. After a long moment, Joey hums something quietly and JC harmonizes with him without thought. It's what they do.
He listens to the two of them and slowly relaxes. This is real. Joey rubs his back for a while, and then pushes at the hem of his T-shirt.
"Let's get this off of you," Joey says.
"Okay."
JC lifts his arms and helps him, then steps back and unbuttons his jeans. Joey slides them all the way off, strips him till he's standing naked before him--and Joey's still more than half dressed, and his eyes are hot and his hands are warm as he nudges JC, turning him slightly.
"Joe?"
Joey shakes his head, turns JC more and then steps up close behind him. His arms snake around JC's sides, and he rests his palms flat and low on JC's belly. One of his thumbs just barely grazes JC's navel, and JC sucks in a breath that shudders through him.
"Joey?"
Joey shifts against him. In his mind's eye, JC sees him peering over his shoulder, looking down at JC's body, at his cock rising up to almost touch his belly. JC imagines that Joey must be looking at it just like he'd look at his own. And he must be right, because Joey's hand moves lower. Joey skims past his aching dick and, oh... cups his balls.
"Joey," he breathes. It's a song in just one word.
"I've never done this before," Joey says.
Well, that answers one quest--
Oh.
Oh.
He thrusts into Joey's hand as soon as it closes around him.
"I... I..." JC can't talk, can't... not like this. He rests his hand on top of Joey's, not to stop him or guide him. He just wants them to move together.
"I wondered," he manages after a minute. "I wondered if that was the case."
He feels Joey nod, his beard tickling at JC's cheek.
"You're gorgeous like this," Joey says. He hooks a finger over the head of JC's cock, and JC suspects that 'like this' means 'hard and aching.'
"I knew you would be," Joey says. "I used to think about it."
"Yeah?" JC gasps.
"Yeah. I used to watch you, too. Did you know?"
JC shakes his head.
"Yeah. Sometimes, you'd hook up with a girl and there was just something about how you looked... And I'd watch you'd leave together and think about asking..."
"Asking--oh, yeah... like that." For someone who claims not to masturbate, Joey's got a real sure hand. "Ask what?"
"Ask if I could watch--"
Oh, God. Can you imagine? That would have been so--
"So good, Joe... so..."
"But that never seemed right, you know? 'Cause I kinda knew it wasn't a threesome or a foursome I was wanting. I just... wanted to watch. Watch you. And you're so private about some things, C. I didn't think I should... uh... try to be a part of that."
JC's been letting Joey talk while he shamelessly fucks Joey's hand. If he gets off once, he can make this better for Joey. He's close, so close. And then Joey stops.
"No," JC begs. "Please--"
Joey spins him 'round and kisses him. It's hard and desperate, and oh... Somehow JC's been rubbing himself against the hard bulge in Joey's pants without it really registering, but now that it's poking his belly... Joey's got too many clothes on. Like seriously too many.
JC fumbles with the buttons of Joey's fly, and Joey licks his jaw and nips at his ear, and his fingers dig into JC's muscles.
"I want to fuck you," Joey says.
"Okay."
Joey's arms clamp around him tighter and stronger than he'd imagined.
"No, no. I can't just... We've got to discuss it," Joey says.
"No, we--"
"I can't just assume we're going to fuck. There's lots of options--"
"Joey."
"--and maybe you're not into that."
JC pushes at him. "Joey!"
"I mean, you're not even gay, and--"
"If you don't shut up and--"
"--I want to--"
"--fuck me."
"--do this right... C?"
JC pushes him to the bed, shoves him down and climbs on top.
"I. Want you. To fuck me."
Joey's eyes flash. "Like this?"
He rocks up against JC. Their cocks press together, and JC yanks at Joey's pants, drags them down another inch or two, and then abandons the effort with a "Get rid of these!" and digs in the bedside drawer for his condoms and the Wet.
Time bends and folds, and JC feels like it's both just a second later and long ages later when their cocks are slick and sliding against each other and his legs are clamped around Joey's bare thighs. He rocks and twists his hips, putting on a show until Joey's laughing and groaning--and his hands are so tight on JC's hips that there will be bruises--and then he leans low, skating his hands across Joey's chest and over his shoulders, and kisses him.
"I want," JC says and worries that he's too late. Joey looks like he's maybe past the point of understanding words. "I want--" JC's almost past the point of words himself. "--to be under you. So bad."
Joey surges up. Strong man, beautiful man, JC thinks. Thank God he still understands English. And they roll, and JC's exactly where he wants to be.
"Fuck," he says, but he can barely hear himself. "Please. Like this. You know how?"
Joey must know, because he helps him. He presses JC's knees up till JC easily hooks them over his shoulders. And JC's swept away with the help of Joey's tongue and lips and slick fingers and thrusting cock and JC takes it, takes everything, wants everything, thank God Joey wanted to fuck him 'cause JC can't do anything else. Not now.
Later. Later, he'll make it up to him. Make it... Oh, God. Right there. Fuck. Joey.
JC's glad his body is so strong and flexible 'cause it means he can take it all. He wants it all, and he tells Joey that. He doesn't know what he's saying, but it sounds really good, his voice blending with the sounds Joey makes.
"Come on. Come on, I'm strong. I'm really strong, you know. I want to be fucking overwhelmed. Makes me feel so solid. You make me feel. So real. Joey, you know? I'm a rock and you're the ocean. Fucking immense ocean, man. Rocking. Beating, pounding against me."
Joey's teeth scrape along his jaw, and he growls, "Stop."
"What?" JC blinks and clings to Joey, his nails scoring along Joey's back. There can't be talk about stopping, not now. But Joey's not stopping, so, so... "What?" he gasps.
"You're trying to turn this--" Joey thrusts again, hard, like he's letting his hips and cock make his point for him. It's so good, JC can't help but claw his back some more, and that turns Joey good and fierce. "--Fuck. Yeah, C. Fuck--" Joey growls even more. "Mark me. Fuckin' mark--"
JC comes.
When he opens his eyes, Joey's licking at his own fingers, a strange look of... curiosity? on his face. JC's still a bit hazy, but...
"Are you...?" JC says. Joey couldn't really be... could he?
"Oh, hey," Joey says and kisses him.
And yeah, JC can taste himself, so Joey was and that's just mind-blowing.
"You good now?" Joey asks.
JC nods.
"So I can finish this?"
Joey rocks his hips, and JC's so, so glad he's got a man with stamina. Joey's a keeper, he thinks, he's such a keeper. It's not something JC has thought very often.
"Oh yeah, man, please. Help yourself. I'm all yours."
Joey beams at him and does just as he's told.
#
Later--after Joey's declared that they're both rather good at this, but just wait until they've had some more practice--JC's playing with Joey's hair and thinking all sorts of warm, fuzzy thoughts.
"Hey," he asks, suddenly remembering. "Why'd you say stop before?"
"Hmm?"
"You said 'stop.'"
"I did?"
"Yeah..." JC slides his hand down to Joey's back and traces the lines he left there. "Right before you told me to mark you."
"Mmm," Joey purrs.
"You remember?"
"Oh, yeah." From the look on Joey's face, JC doesn't think he's remembering his words at all. He'll have to remember that a few scratches can turn Joey all sexy and stupid. It's a good, good thing to know.
He rolls enough that he can kiss the worst of the marks.
"Why'd you say it?"
"Oh," Joey says and waves his hand vaguely. "You were like... turning the whole thing into a Chris Isaak video. I couldn't work under those conditions."
JC laughs. He's the luckiest man in the world because Joey is the same Joey as always. JC hasn't ruined a thing. Not at all.
[end]
[this fic now has a sequel Put Them Together and What Have You Got?]
If you're wondering where the title came from:
Have faith in your dream and someday,
Your rainbow will come smiling through.
No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on believing,
The dream that you wish will come true.
~"A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Disney's Snow White
+This 'verse owes so much to nopseud. Thank you for all your encouragement, insight, and restrained prodding. You help make this something I'm proud of.
+Thanks also to kira_j for her encouraging feedback. I'm making it one of my secret missions to entertain you with non-angsty fluff, you know. :)
Happy May 2nd, and thanks to the challenge that gave me that final poke to get this done already! :)
Rainbows Come Smiling Through
a Big Gay Smutty Epilogue by SnarkyLlama
6,000 words
(JoeC, adult)
This stands as an epilogue to my MTYG fic, My Big Gay Disney Courtship
This is all pretend.
If you can get a Princess away from her entourage of managers and stylists, handlers and Disney execs, she'll tell you the truth. When Prince Charming's hands are warm and familiar on her back, and her lips are tingling from his kisses, "happily ever after" is easy. It's a crystal bauble, a golden apple hanging on a low branch. Things change, though, when Prince Charming slips away to go do... whatever it is that princes do.
JC knows this, and he's not even a princess.
Happiness is something to be worked at and damn Joey for having to leave before JC was well-and-truly swept off his feet. It would have been nice to float in a steamy, dreamy bubble of Joey wants me! for an hour or two before it burst and tumbled him back to the doubts and detritus of everyday life.
In real life, some forms of happiness shouldn't be pursued. But in real life, it's also bad form to break promises--especially promises made to good friends. So, tingling lips and misgivings aside, he has a phone call to make.
Yes. So... better get to it.
JC carefully folds Briahna's Princess shirt and tucks it safely by his sewing machine. He picks up his phone and stares at it, turns it over in his hands, then pockets it and heads across the hall to the nearest balcony. Once outside, he stands for a moment and thinks about pitching his phone over the edge.
If he calls Kelly--
No, he's promised. When he calls Kelly, he will have to stop dreaming.
He props his elbows on the balcony's railing and gnaws on a thumbnail. Joey is a dreamer--a crazy, scheming, wonderful dreamer--and with him, JC can be one, too. But Kelly will bring back his sensible side.
Kelly is fun and sexy in the same smart-and-sharp-edged way that Lance is sexy. But she is also a mom. That means she's pragmatic and tough, and JC's pretty sure that if you play with mothers, you'll just get burned.
But...
Joey wouldn't lie. So... Kelly must want this, too.
And that's too much. It's so much more than he'd hoped for, but... maybe... exactly what he wanted. Could he--could they really be a family like that?
Most people are stuck with the families they were born into, but JC has been twice blessed, welcomed to be part of something more. Each time, it was the absolute most-scary, wonderful thing that had ever happened to him. Should he try for three-times lucky?
He could.
But...
Joey wouldn't lie, but Joey could be mistaken. Kelly might not be okay with this. And Joey... let's face it, Joey's always been a flirt, but he's never seemed the least bit interested in guys. Maybe the kissing is a fluke or... maybe kissing is all Joey wants, maybe...
Maybe thinking about it was making it worse.
He drums his fingers against the rail.
Tap. Tap tap.
Tap. Tap tap.
Hmm...
He calls Justin.
#
"C, wassup?"
Kelly's private business is different than JC's and Joey's. It isn't something to share with J, so he's got to come up with some other way of talking about--
"Have you ever thought about a threesome?"
Shit. That's not what he meant to say.
Justin laughs. "I've got a dick, yo. It ain't shy."
"No. No, man."
"I mean, really. You have to ask?"
"Yeah, I've gotta ask... 'cause, you know, I'm not... I don't. I'm not dissing serious relationships, but... I'm a 'fun and everyone goes home happy' guy."
"That's what I've heard."
"So," JC says, "a threesome? Not for like a night or a weekend in Rio or--"
Justin isn't laughing anymore.
"C, I'm not... You're. I love you, man, but you're not hooking up with Jessica."
Oh, fuck no.
"Not like that! I swear, J, never. I'm not--"
"I love her, C. Like... really love her. You don't do shit like that when you're in love."
Justin so wasn't the right person to ask about this. JC spends the next ten minutes assuring Justin that it was cool that he was in love, and no, man, I really do hope she's the one for you.
JC doesn't really believe in "the one," but for J, he can. And also?
JC is really more of a Jessica-Alba guy. Because Dark Angel? Jessica Alba and Jensen Ackles as a matched set of genetically-engineered cat people? Hell, yeah. JC wants to get with that. There's no room in JC's heart for any other Jessica.
He knows he's done well when Justin starts laughing again.
"Dark Angel? Dude. You were probably all into that episode with Max's clone, weren't you? Yeah..." Justin starts singing. "Some girls dance with their clones knowing that it gets them attention--"
"If you guys can't sing my songs without laughing--"
"No, no. It's cool. It would be just like your video with the female Nelson twins."
"My video with... what--No! Their wigs had bangs, man. They were nothing like Nel--"
"Hey," Justin says. "You know we're not laughing at your songs, right?"
No. JC didn't.
"They're just so... you. And that's cool. Not everyone can do that, can make something that's never going to sound right coming from anyone else."
Shit like this is why JC will never resent Justin his success. He's a good kid.
They talk until Justin has to go. It isn't productive, but it's a good distraction. Then he's left wondering what to do next.
There's no point in calling Lance or Chris. Lance would just tell him not to fuck with Joey, without clarifying if actually fucking Joey automatically counts as "fucking with." And Chris would be all "Yes, I fucking knew she was kinky!" and ready to take JC's place if he was stupid enough to freak out again.
So, there's nothing to do but call Kelly.
#
It's well after midnight in Orlando, but Kelly sounds bright and awake when she answers the phone.
"Hey, C."
"Hi, Kel."
"It's a bit later than I expected you to call, so I guess you are freaking out, huh?"
"Did I wake you? I can call tomorrow."
"Oh, no, I'm okay. Don't worry about it."
"But... the Princesses. You..."
"Oh, dear." Kelly chuckles softly. "C, honey, are you okay?"
"Joey said. The three of us. And the Princess Plan? Kelly, that's... it's..."
"Hmm, well, that answers that. You're not okay."
The laughter fades from Kelly's voice and she suddenly sounds like a mom. JC thinks maybe that should freak him out more, but he appreciates it. He knows how to behave around mothers. He's not at all sure how to behave around... whatever else it is that Kelly is to him now.
"Okay, C. You listening to me?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now, here's what we need to do..." There's a pause, and JC hears a faint sound, something rustling in the background. "You still have those webcams set up?"
"Well, I only set up the one."
"Is it still set up?"
"Yeah, mostly. In the living room."
"Good. I want you to go there."
"I'll need my laptop."
"Whatever you need, hon. Just hurry up 'cause we need to have this conversation face-to-face. It'll make you feel better."
JC's not sure about that, but...
"Okay," he says. "I should go--"
"Don't you hang up on me!"
"--do that. Geez, Kel, you're like... Scary Mom."
Kelly laughs. "Sorry, sorry."
Laughing, she sounds like the old Kelly again.
"Seriously scary," JC says. "Like a lioness, man... which makes sense 'cause if Joey's Mufasa--"
"C, are you getting your laptop or are you just--"
"No, no, I'm getting my things. I'm good. I'm going to the living room, just... Disney Princesses, Kelly? I mean, really."
While JC gets his computer and the cables and the power cord, Kelly explains that she really does have deep misgivings about the Princesses, regardless of whatever twist Joey had put on the whole thing.
"Well, I hope I put your mind at ease... at least about the movies," JC says.
"Yes, you did. But C, come on, your house isn't that big. Why aren't you in the living room yet?"
"I am! I've just gotta..." His laptop's up and running, he just has to open the program and... "Shit!"
"C?"
"Aww, fuck."
"JC? What--"
"Blue screen of death," JC says and waves his hand at the computer screen like Kelly can actually see it and know he's not lying. "I don't know. It worked before, I just--I don't--"
"C."
"It's--fuck."
"C, it's okay. Stop stressing. Okay?"
"But..." But the blue screen is glaring at him like an ogreishly ill-tempered omen. And yeah, he knows omens aren't real--except for when they are. And he can't tell her that 'cause he'll sound crazy.
"I thought seeing me would help you calm down, but it's okay. We can talk like this, right? I don't have a sexy *NSYNC voice or anything, but talking to me isn't so bad, is it?"
"No, Kel, you've got a nice voice."
"Mmm, that's a real compliment coming from you."
JC can hear the pleasure in her voice. It makes her sound all warm--and also, yeah, a little sexy... and it's going to be a while before he feels okay actually thinking something like that about a friend's wife. It's a good thing most of his friends are single--or Justin, who dates women JC is so not interested in.
"You still there, C?"
"Hmm? Yeah, yeah... sorry."
"Why don't you curl up on one of your nice, comfy couches and tell me why this has you in such a tizzy?"
"People still say 'tizzy'?"
"Yeah, and some people still think it's cool to go around calling women 'Shorty,' so imagine that."
JC laughs. "All right, all right. A tizzy it is."
"And it's... um..." There's a pause and it sounds like Kelly's moving. When she speaks again, her voice is quieter. "It's a bit of a surprise, C. I thought... I thought you'd be really into it. So, I've got to think... is it me?"
"You?"
"It's okay, if you're not interested. I know I'm not everyone's type."
"Oh," JC says. "No, that's not a problem. You're uh... plenty hot--"
She was. Not his usual type at all, but very curvy, and he liked her hair and her laugh and her attitude. And, yeah, she was short, but that didn't seem to stop Joey, and it wasn't like JC couldn't think--right off the top of his head--of several fun ways to get their shit perfectly aligned, but...
"--really hot," JC says. "But you're Joey's wife."
"Oh, okay." She coughs, and then sounds all bright again. "Okay. That's good. We can work with that."
"You're Joey's wife, and Joey's kinda straight, you know, and I don't... well..."
"Oh, honey--"
"I don't think he's going to be into sharing you, you know? 'Cause why would you guys get married if you were still... open to things like that, and I don't want to mess with that. You guys are so good, and he'll end up hating me if I... if I fuck that up."
JC stops and breathes deeply.
"Okay," Kelly says. "That's great. There's a lot of issues to address right there."
"Yeah."
"No. Let me talk now."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Yeah, that's good." He hears Kelly shift again. "Okay. One, Joey loves you. He loves you a lot and he's not going to hate you, no matter what."
"But--"
"No matter what, C. Don't even try to argue with me here. I've known you both a real long time."
JC nods. He knows Kelly can't see him, but he doesn't dare argue with the mom voice.
"Two, uh... to paraphrase Miracle Max here, kinda straight isn't all straight."
"'Miracle Max'?"
"Oh, Jesus. Men. Honestly, you can't even pick up a simple Princess Bride reference."
"Um... Sorry?"
"You should be." Kelly laughs. "Anyway... there's a big difference between mostly straight and all straight. Mostly straight is slightly bent, hon. And, uh, I'm not entirely sure how bent, but the bend is definitely in your direction."
That, coming from Kelly, makes JC blush. He's really glad for the blue screen of death now.
"Um... if you say so, Kel."
"I do," she says. "And the last thing, I shouldn't even have to tell you. You should know this, C."
"I should?"
"People get married for lots of different reasons. It's not all about monogamy and protecting an antiquated patriarchal structure that developed out of men being big pussies afraid that if they didn't fucking own their own women, they'd never ever get laid."
"Oh," JC says, feeling the heat rise further. "Would it be... inappropriate to say that you're...uh... really hot when you talk like that?"
"No," Kelly purrs. "Not at all."
"So..." JC coughs. "So, it's... fidelity, not monogamy?"
"Something like that, yes. And you don't have to worry. Joey and I have discussed this, a lot. We're all good here."
"But there's nothing in it for you."
"Oh, C, you're... you're too much." JC can hear the smile in her voice. "You're a good friend of mine. You love my husband and my daughter--unconditionally, I bet."
"Yeah."
"You're also incredibly gorgeous and intriguingly kinky. Seriously, what's not to like?"
"Well..." If she put it that way...
"Don't answer that," she says. "Instead, think about this. You want him, right?"
"I want all of you, Kel."
"Oh." She sounds pleasantly surprised. "Then we're all lucky because you can have us, but you have to take this step first."
"But not at your expense, I don't want to hurt you. This is bound to hurt--"
"Okay, you need to stop. There's no way you'd ever hurt Briahna, we all know that. And Joey and I are grown-ups. We make our own decisions, all right?"
"But--"
"If it helps you, think of it differently. Joey and I are doing this. We're going to share you. We're making you part of us."
"Well, that's--hmm." He was going to say that was just fiddling with semantics, but maybe she had something there...
"You want it, JC--" He did. A lot. "--so let us do this."
And that was that as far as Kelly was concerned.
After Kelly hangs up, JC sits there on the couch, flexing his hand. He opens and closes his fist and stares hard at his palm like he can see the kiss Joey pressed there before he left. How can he possibly deserve this?
His ears are ringing with Kelly's voice. She's so confident and sensible and ready to break this thing down into little baby steps to prove he's got it all wrong, that it's not crazy at all. She's so straight-forward and yet she plotted this whole thing with Joey... so she's... more like Lance than is good for his brain.
So... maybe he needs to accept this. He's not convinced it's going to work, but... maybe he can do this. He can do this as an act of faith, show that he trusts Joey as much as he loves him. That he trusts Kelly, too.
Yeah.
It's crazy, but he thinks he can do that.
And that means Joey's going to come home at some point--
Wait. Come home? No, now JC's getting way ahead of himself.
Joey is going to return at some point, and they're going to kiss some more, and then--if Kelly's right--there's going to be some really hot sex. With Joey.
Really hot sex with Joey.
Guh.
It's enough to melt JC's brain, but he doesn't have time for that now because he's not ready. He needs to get ready. He needs... he needs... Well, first step first, right?
JC showers and carefully shaves. Some guys love the scrape of stubble against their skin, but if Joey hasn't done this before--this guy thing--it might put him off, and JC doesn't want that. Not at all.
Oh, but imagine Joey with a bit of beard burn...
Oh.
Joey on JC's tangled blue sheets. Joey sprawled out like he so often does, unafraid to take up as much space as he possibly can. Joey with his legs spread wide and his thigh just a little red from JC's over-enthusiasm in going down on him.
Oh, oh yeah. Too bad he's shaved. It's too late for that now, but there's always next time.
Oh God. There might be a next time.
This is really too much. He's been given too much, he doesn't deserve it, something's going to take it away, something, something...
No.
He needs to stop thinking like that. It's not helpful and it's not... well, come on, it's Joey. Is there any such thing as too much sex with Joey? Joey loves sex more than anyone JC knows and that's really saying something, since JC was hardly surrounded by shy-and-retiring types--and that's not even counting JC himself.
He shakes his head and wanders through the house.
Are his sheets clean? He better check. They have to be fresh, but not too perfect. Nothing should look like a stage setting.
And where is Tyler?
JC has to give him some warning. He'll be traumatized if he walks in on something. Tyler's seen a lot, but this would be pushing it. He's always been a little weird around Chris after catching them together that time. Maybe it would be different if the guys hadn't used the "we're all brothers" line so much...
He spends five minutes looking for Tyler before he remembers that he's gone out for the night.
He feels like a butterfly--no, a humming bird. JC's a humming bird flitting from flower to flower. Flit, flit, flit. Can't stop, can't stop, and he can hear Justin's laughter now.
You're such a sweet, sweet girl, C. All rainbows and crystal waterfalls, and... and pink hearts, blue diamonds, and purple horseshoes.
But humming birds are full of masculine energy. How could they be anything else with their long, thin beaks sipping from the sweet, shadowed depths of a thousand beautiful flowers before always moving on to the next?
God.
JC is buzzing with anticipation and nerves. Joey had better get back before he completely loses it. Maybe a little something to calm him down... Or... he could get himself off before Joey returned. Would that be cheating? He could last longer if--
A door closes somewhere and JC hears the burr of a voice. It's Joey, half-humming, half-singing something to himself.
Oh, thank God.
JC turns on his heel and heads for him.
"C," Joey calls out. "I'm making myself at home."
JC finds him in the kitchen, pulling a bottle of water out of the refrigerator.
"Hey, Joey, mi casa es--"
Joey pounces, and JC's swept up and swung around till he's on the counter with one heel banging into the open 'fridge door and the other hooked around Joey's thighs, and he's clinging to Joey who kisses like a... like a tsunami. He's all focused power and so fucking breathtaking that JC couldn't care less if his head bangs against the cupboard and the water bottle is trapped beneath his thigh.
Joey must have been dancing. He's a bit sweaty and a little salty, and JC must be absorbing his scent through his tongue like a snake or maybe through his fingers 'cause he sure doesn't have the breath to actually smell anything, and then Joey pulls back and smiles.
"Hey," Joey says.
JC's suddenly boneless without Joey's arms tight around him. He slumps back and his head knocks against the cupboard again.
Joey laughs, a little huff of sound, and cups the back of JC's head.
"Hey, hey, careful there, C."
JC tips his head, happy to simply have Joey's fingers in his hair while he tries to catch his breath.
"Hey, Joey," he says after a moment. "You're back."
"Yeah," Joey says. "Your grasp of the obvious is still-"
"Hmmph."
JC shifts and yanks the bottled water out from under him and twists off its cap. Joey steals it from him, swallows half of it down in one go, and then wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
Oh. JC wishes he hadn't done that.
He darts forward and licks Joey's bottom lip. Hmm...
He licks it again, a quick, slick slide, then checks his work. Mmm, yeah. It looks so much better wet, all glistening and waiting. He raises his hand and touches Joey's mouth, presses a finger against that full bottom lip, and Joey grins around his finger, licks it, and laughs.
"What?" JC says.
"Nothing, I'm just happy."
"Hmm..." JC says. "More like 'just greedy.'"
He takes the water back from Joey 'cause he needs something cool and wet after all that hot. He sips slowly, taking his time so he can just look at Joey.
Joey does look happy. Really happy. He looks... a bit like he did when Briahna was born and when he got married. How could anyone ever hurt this man when his happiness is like... like... JC doesn't know. Like something that can knock all the similes straight out of JC's head.
Hmm... Yeah.
It's strange, but JC likes the feeling. His head is a much quieter place than usual, his heart's pounding a little, and he never wants to be farther from Joey than this. So, he just drinks his water like it's perfectly normal to do so while perched on the counter with his leg hooked around Joey.
Joey's quiet, too, just stroking the back of JC's head a little and smiling to himself.
It's really nice.
"Were you raised in a barn?" JC asks when the water is gone. "Close the 'fridge, man."
"Nag, nag, nag."
"You love me," JC says. And, hey wow, he's said that before, but it maybe means more this time and that's just... wow.
Joey nods. "I must or I wouldn't put up with this abuse."
"'Abuse'?"
"Molested in the kitchen like--"
"Hey, I was the one ravished here!"
"That wasn't ravishment. That was a hello kiss."
"Shit," JC says and leans back against the cupboards.
"Hmm?"
Joey takes one of JC's hands and plays with it. He folds their fingers together, then unlinks them, weaves them together differently and locks them again. Together, apart, together--like he's working a Rubik's cube, looking for the perfect fit.
"If that was just 'hello'--" JC says.
Joey kisses him again, a quick press at the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, lover," Joey says.
JC tugs him close and twists his fingers in Joey's hair. It's a bit damp. Joey was definitely doing something that worked up a sweat. JC doesn't mind, though. He's hoping Joey will sweat a lot more before the night's over.
"You are a sap," he tells Joey. "A big, sweet sap."
Joey thumbs across JC's lips. "You like it."
JC makes a face.
"Eh, not really--" Oh, um. That didn't come out right, did it? "--I mean, I like it fine, but not usually when it's uh... aimed at me."
Joey thumps him gently, just a quick tap of his thumb against JC's cheek.
"Uh oh, C, I think someone's got the big, bad sap ray gun aimed straight at ya."
JC laughs.
"Is it your gun? I'm okay if it's yours, 'cause..." He touches the outer curve of Joey's ear. "I like you."
"Yeah? Enough to take me to bed?"
"Hmm..." JC wraps his other leg around Joey. "I think you should take me to bed."
"I'm not your beast of burden."
JC laughs and sings. "Come on, baby, make sweet love to me."
Joey skips ahead a few lines to sing, "Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty girl." It makes JC laugh even more.
"We need to find a more appropriate song."
"Yeah," Joey says. He works his hands under JC. "If you shift your ass, we can go look for one."
JC wiggles and bumps their hips together. "Mmm, yeah," he breathes. "Good idea."
Joey's hands clench on his ass.
"That's not what I meant."
"But it's good," JC says, and Joey doesn't move away.
"I spent all night working, baby. Let's go to bed."
JC kisses him.
"Okay," he says after a moment. "On one condition."
"What's th--"
"You can't call me 'baby.'"
Joey calls Kelly baby. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but JC doesn't want to go there.
"But I'll let you call me 'sugar,'" Joey says.
"No."
"Come on, baby, don't ignore me. I know what you're feeling for me."
"You guys have got to stop stealing my lines."
"Never," Joey says.
"Let's go negotiate," JC says and reluctantly unwraps himself from Joey.
Joey laughs and leers. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"
#
They go up to the bedroom together. JC's never had a first time like this--a first time that wasn't also an only time, a one-night thing. The start of something meaningful has always been awkward before, and this... this is like being dropped into the middle of a relationship, like coming home to an old lover.
It's so comfortable, it's a little unsettling. JC's never had an old lover to return to. Old friends and fuck buddies, yeah, but this is different. This... this is...
JC doesn't know what this is. If he didn't have better things to think about right now, he'd be freaked out. But, he does, so...
JC shrugs the niggling strangeness away and focuses on the important things like slipping Joey's jacket off his shoulders and oh... suspenders. JC likes suspenders. They're old-fashioned and quirky--just like bowties--and totally appealing to the part of him that wants to ravish and corrupt things, that wants to mess up someone all staid and proper--which isn't like Joey at all, but it's still fun to feel like that, to play at it.
"Mmm," he says. "Handles."
Joey laughs, until JC slips his hands under the suspenders and smoothes them up and down Joey's chest. Then his breath catches, and JC pauses.
"Ticklish?" JC asks.
"No."
"No? Not even a little?" He rubs his thumbs over Joey's nipples.
"No," Joey growls and catches his hands. He drags them to the buttons of Joey's shirt. "And that would feel a lot better if I wasn't wearing so much. Got me?"
"Got you," JC says. He really likes the sound of that. He says it again as he starts to work on Joey's buttons. "I've got you."
It's nice getting to slowly peel Joey out of his clothes. He doesn't go formal--or even wear button-downs--very often, so this is an extra-special treat. When he's got Joey's shirt open and un-tucked, he slips his arms inside, around his waist, and says it yet again. "I've got you." And it kinda... hits him and he's scared. He could so mess this up, mess everything up.
He presses his face in tight against Joey's neck, and Joey holds him, holds him like he understands. After a long moment, Joey hums something quietly and JC harmonizes with him without thought. It's what they do.
He listens to the two of them and slowly relaxes. This is real. Joey rubs his back for a while, and then pushes at the hem of his T-shirt.
"Let's get this off of you," Joey says.
"Okay."
JC lifts his arms and helps him, then steps back and unbuttons his jeans. Joey slides them all the way off, strips him till he's standing naked before him--and Joey's still more than half dressed, and his eyes are hot and his hands are warm as he nudges JC, turning him slightly.
"Joe?"
Joey shakes his head, turns JC more and then steps up close behind him. His arms snake around JC's sides, and he rests his palms flat and low on JC's belly. One of his thumbs just barely grazes JC's navel, and JC sucks in a breath that shudders through him.
"Joey?"
Joey shifts against him. In his mind's eye, JC sees him peering over his shoulder, looking down at JC's body, at his cock rising up to almost touch his belly. JC imagines that Joey must be looking at it just like he'd look at his own. And he must be right, because Joey's hand moves lower. Joey skims past his aching dick and, oh... cups his balls.
"Joey," he breathes. It's a song in just one word.
"I've never done this before," Joey says.
Well, that answers one quest--
Oh.
Oh.
He thrusts into Joey's hand as soon as it closes around him.
"I... I..." JC can't talk, can't... not like this. He rests his hand on top of Joey's, not to stop him or guide him. He just wants them to move together.
"I wondered," he manages after a minute. "I wondered if that was the case."
He feels Joey nod, his beard tickling at JC's cheek.
"You're gorgeous like this," Joey says. He hooks a finger over the head of JC's cock, and JC suspects that 'like this' means 'hard and aching.'
"I knew you would be," Joey says. "I used to think about it."
"Yeah?" JC gasps.
"Yeah. I used to watch you, too. Did you know?"
JC shakes his head.
"Yeah. Sometimes, you'd hook up with a girl and there was just something about how you looked... And I'd watch you'd leave together and think about asking..."
"Asking--oh, yeah... like that." For someone who claims not to masturbate, Joey's got a real sure hand. "Ask what?"
"Ask if I could watch--"
Oh, God. Can you imagine? That would have been so--
"So good, Joe... so..."
"But that never seemed right, you know? 'Cause I kinda knew it wasn't a threesome or a foursome I was wanting. I just... wanted to watch. Watch you. And you're so private about some things, C. I didn't think I should... uh... try to be a part of that."
JC's been letting Joey talk while he shamelessly fucks Joey's hand. If he gets off once, he can make this better for Joey. He's close, so close. And then Joey stops.
"No," JC begs. "Please--"
Joey spins him 'round and kisses him. It's hard and desperate, and oh... Somehow JC's been rubbing himself against the hard bulge in Joey's pants without it really registering, but now that it's poking his belly... Joey's got too many clothes on. Like seriously too many.
JC fumbles with the buttons of Joey's fly, and Joey licks his jaw and nips at his ear, and his fingers dig into JC's muscles.
"I want to fuck you," Joey says.
"Okay."
Joey's arms clamp around him tighter and stronger than he'd imagined.
"No, no. I can't just... We've got to discuss it," Joey says.
"No, we--"
"I can't just assume we're going to fuck. There's lots of options--"
"Joey."
"--and maybe you're not into that."
JC pushes at him. "Joey!"
"I mean, you're not even gay, and--"
"If you don't shut up and--"
"--I want to--"
"--fuck me."
"--do this right... C?"
JC pushes him to the bed, shoves him down and climbs on top.
"I. Want you. To fuck me."
Joey's eyes flash. "Like this?"
He rocks up against JC. Their cocks press together, and JC yanks at Joey's pants, drags them down another inch or two, and then abandons the effort with a "Get rid of these!" and digs in the bedside drawer for his condoms and the Wet.
Time bends and folds, and JC feels like it's both just a second later and long ages later when their cocks are slick and sliding against each other and his legs are clamped around Joey's bare thighs. He rocks and twists his hips, putting on a show until Joey's laughing and groaning--and his hands are so tight on JC's hips that there will be bruises--and then he leans low, skating his hands across Joey's chest and over his shoulders, and kisses him.
"I want," JC says and worries that he's too late. Joey looks like he's maybe past the point of understanding words. "I want--" JC's almost past the point of words himself. "--to be under you. So bad."
Joey surges up. Strong man, beautiful man, JC thinks. Thank God he still understands English. And they roll, and JC's exactly where he wants to be.
"Fuck," he says, but he can barely hear himself. "Please. Like this. You know how?"
Joey must know, because he helps him. He presses JC's knees up till JC easily hooks them over his shoulders. And JC's swept away with the help of Joey's tongue and lips and slick fingers and thrusting cock and JC takes it, takes everything, wants everything, thank God Joey wanted to fuck him 'cause JC can't do anything else. Not now.
Later. Later, he'll make it up to him. Make it... Oh, God. Right there. Fuck. Joey.
JC's glad his body is so strong and flexible 'cause it means he can take it all. He wants it all, and he tells Joey that. He doesn't know what he's saying, but it sounds really good, his voice blending with the sounds Joey makes.
"Come on. Come on, I'm strong. I'm really strong, you know. I want to be fucking overwhelmed. Makes me feel so solid. You make me feel. So real. Joey, you know? I'm a rock and you're the ocean. Fucking immense ocean, man. Rocking. Beating, pounding against me."
Joey's teeth scrape along his jaw, and he growls, "Stop."
"What?" JC blinks and clings to Joey, his nails scoring along Joey's back. There can't be talk about stopping, not now. But Joey's not stopping, so, so... "What?" he gasps.
"You're trying to turn this--" Joey thrusts again, hard, like he's letting his hips and cock make his point for him. It's so good, JC can't help but claw his back some more, and that turns Joey good and fierce. "--Fuck. Yeah, C. Fuck--" Joey growls even more. "Mark me. Fuckin' mark--"
JC comes.
When he opens his eyes, Joey's licking at his own fingers, a strange look of... curiosity? on his face. JC's still a bit hazy, but...
"Are you...?" JC says. Joey couldn't really be... could he?
"Oh, hey," Joey says and kisses him.
And yeah, JC can taste himself, so Joey was and that's just mind-blowing.
"You good now?" Joey asks.
JC nods.
"So I can finish this?"
Joey rocks his hips, and JC's so, so glad he's got a man with stamina. Joey's a keeper, he thinks, he's such a keeper. It's not something JC has thought very often.
"Oh yeah, man, please. Help yourself. I'm all yours."
Joey beams at him and does just as he's told.
#
Later--after Joey's declared that they're both rather good at this, but just wait until they've had some more practice--JC's playing with Joey's hair and thinking all sorts of warm, fuzzy thoughts.
"Hey," he asks, suddenly remembering. "Why'd you say stop before?"
"Hmm?"
"You said 'stop.'"
"I did?"
"Yeah..." JC slides his hand down to Joey's back and traces the lines he left there. "Right before you told me to mark you."
"Mmm," Joey purrs.
"You remember?"
"Oh, yeah." From the look on Joey's face, JC doesn't think he's remembering his words at all. He'll have to remember that a few scratches can turn Joey all sexy and stupid. It's a good, good thing to know.
He rolls enough that he can kiss the worst of the marks.
"Why'd you say it?"
"Oh," Joey says and waves his hand vaguely. "You were like... turning the whole thing into a Chris Isaak video. I couldn't work under those conditions."
JC laughs. He's the luckiest man in the world because Joey is the same Joey as always. JC hasn't ruined a thing. Not at all.
[end]
[this fic now has a sequel Put Them Together and What Have You Got?]
If you're wondering where the title came from:
Have faith in your dream and someday,
Your rainbow will come smiling through.
No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on believing,
The dream that you wish will come true.
~"A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Disney's Snow White
+This 'verse owes so much to nopseud. Thank you for all your encouragement, insight, and restrained prodding. You help make this something I'm proud of.
+Thanks also to kira_j for her encouraging feedback. I'm making it one of my secret missions to entertain you with non-angsty fluff, you know. :)