1: Basketball

Tommy would never be able to show his face at the courts ever again.

He’d fumbled passes, could barely hold onto the fucking ball, missed easy hoop shots, and had zero defence for every single thing.

Well, zero defence that anybody else would accept without mercilessly razzing him for the rest of his mortal life.

Evan ran by, those incredible long legs of his eating the distance, and sure, he played basketball like a damn linebacker but the guys had caught onto Tommy’s incredibly obvious weakness and used it against him with no remorse whatsoever. The ball whizzed by Tommy’s head, Evan caught it, and despite an adorable little fumble—which, how, the man was almost eye-level with the fucking basket, how was he so bad at this game—he sunk the shot. Unfortunately the successful hoop was accompanied by a tantalising view of Evan’s sweaty torso courtesy of the gaping armpit holes of his tank top, and Tommy almost tripped over his own fucking feet.

The jeers picked up and Tommy rolled his eyes, praying Evan wouldn’t notice, and heaving no small sigh of relief when he darted by without a care, high on the gloating rush of victory, smirking and high-fiving the traitors that picked Evan for their team.

Tommy was a grown ass adult human man, who was apparently incapable of catching fleeting glimpses of Evan’s delicious body without forgetting how to function. He blamed it on clashing shifts and nowhere near enough time spent together to sate the honeymoon phase lust.

At least, that would be the version of events Tommy would be sticking with til his dying breath.

The basketball thunked Tommy in the gut hard enough to wind him and he coughed and scrambled to get a grip on the damn thing.

2: The Gym

Tommy’s phone lit up with the adorable photo of Evan assigned to his contact, and he swiped to answer without even thinking, a casual “Hey” falling from his mouth.

“Hey!” Evan said happily around apparent shortness of breath. “You answered!”

“Yeah?” Tommy laughed and put the phone on speaker to keep scrubbing his kitchen hands-free. “Did you not think I would?”

“Nah, I thought you’d be sleeping.”

“I wish. Miss me?”

“Always,” Evan said playfully, at which point the audible sound of someone else’s bored sigh came down the line.

“Tell Eddie I said hi.”

“How did you– you can feel his eye roll through the phone, can’t you?”

Tommy laughed. “Definitely.”

“Anyway,” Evan said, breezing past the gentle mocking, “I wanted– god, would you turn on FaceTime already?”

There really wasn’t that many years between them—barely a decade, which was a drop in the ocean, and they were technically both millennials—but when it came to giving a fuck about technology, it may as well have been three centuries. Evan’s obsession with video chat was just as confusing to Tommy as it had been when they started seeing each other a few weeks ago, but it made the guy happy, and Tommy was refusing to admit to himself just how much he’d do to make Evan happy.

“Tommy,” Evan whined as the lack of video chat went on.

“I’m regrouting my kitchen,” Tommy said by way of answer. “All you’re gonna see is a mess.”

“So?”

“Aren’t you at work?”

Evan sighed gustily. “Technically, yes, but I have a minute to chat to a hot guy. Seems like you don’t though.”

Tommy was swiping on the video chat buttons with dirty fingers before he consciously realised he’d moved. The video turned on to show Evan’s handsomely smug grin, and annoyingly also showed Tommy a little preview of himself, exactly as grimy as expected. His hair was a fluffy mess and of course he’d managed to get grout and something white smeared across his cheek. For Evan’s part, his cheeks were flushed pink, and there was a noticeable lack of collared work shirt…

Oh no.

On no planet was Tommy dumb enough to agree to workout with Evan if they had anywhere to be, or an audience. Sure, in the few weeks they’d been doing whatever they were doing, the invitation had come up a couple of times, and Tommy had always declined, very sensibly, as he was very aware of exactly how attractive he found Evan. Whatever poor soul happened to be in the same room as them didn’t deserve the psychic damage of witnessing exactly how hot Tommy was for the guy, hence, no working out together. And no more basketball together, either, though that was more for Tommy’s dignity than anything else.

Evan, delightful, sunshine, hot as all fuck Evan, was either the most clueless guy around or the smartest asshole around, and Tommy didn’t care either way. Tommy could barely remember his own name either way, because finally having got his way, Evan stretched his phone away from his victorious grin to show off… the background. Something. It could have been a volcano bursting through the floor of the firehouse and Tommy would not have known nor cared, because in broadening the field of vision, Evan showed off his shirtless body.

The boyish tilt to Evan’s smile fooled a lot of people, Tommy knew. It was all happy puppy innocence, paired with those baby blues and the fluttering lashes, but underneath that sunshine smile was a fucking hulk of a man with bulging traps—must be shoulders and arms day, he mused distantly—and a healthy sheen of sweat picking up the light. The chest hair had been a mouth-watering surprise the first time Tommy had pushed Evan’s shirt up and he wasn’t too proud to admit he’d immediately put his face between Evan’s pecs and breathed him in deep. That scent memory took over Tommy’s brain entirely as he stared at Evan’s flexing muscles and didn’t hear a damn word coming out of the guy’s mouth.

“Tommy? You ok?” Evan’s smile dimmed into one of concern.

Tommy blinked and realised what he looked like: unwell. “Yeah, baby, sorry,” he managed despite his heavy tongue and sudden deprivation of blood to his upstairs brain.

“You sure? Maybe you should sleep.”

The very last thing Tommy wanted was to sleep. His veins were full of energy, all for Evan, and it twisted something in his gut to know that he wouldn’t get to see his—whatever, in the flesh for at least another thirty-six hours. “I’m fine. Just… zoned out. Sorry. What were you saying?”

Evan clearly didn’t quite believe him but he let it go, possibly because Eddie was still lurking around somewhere. “I just wanted to brag that I beat Eddie’s PB, and he says he can bench more than you.”

“He lied to your face, babe,” Tommy said firmly. Better to rag on Eddie than even consider the possibility that Evan could bench as much as he claimed. No wonder his biceps looked extra huge, every ridge and bulge of his arms begging for Tommy’s tongue to trace– he blinked and resurfaced to see Evan mocking a very indignant Eddie.

“Come prove it,” Eddie said, shoving in beside Evan to look at Tommy down the call. Eddie was just as sweaty and shiny as Evan and thankfully reminded Tommy to stay on task and not… whatever he’d been while daydreaming about Evan’s delectable body. “C’mon man, you know Cap won’t mind if you stop by the gym, and maybe Buck will shut the hell up about you for five minutes.”

Evan scowled. “Traitor.”

“Maybe some other time,” Tommy said warmly, and sort of meant it. If he could figure out a way to watch Evan lift anything heavier than a quart of milk without popping a totally inappropriate semi, it might actually be fun to have gym friends again. Picking up his phone, Tommy got to tidying up his latest home renovations. “We still on for the fight next week?”

“Hey,” Evan said, shoving Eddie out of the way and filling the screen with his playful glare, “organise bro time on your own time, I’m on the phone with– with Tommy.”

“With who?” Eddie repeated. Tommy didn’t need to see his face to hear the fondness in the mocking. “Who’s on the phone? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Shut up,” Evan shot back, grinning all the while. The camera bounced as he moved away from the gym set up at the One-Eighteen and Tommy did his best to focus on sealing off all the bits and pieces of his project with one hand, and not staring at Evan’s hairy, sweaty chest.

“I feel like there’s a story there,” Tommy said slowly, working the last sealant tube closed.

Evan went all bashful and so fucking adorable. “I don’t wanna tell you, it’s stupid.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Tommy assured him. He leaned back against the bench, giving the phone in his hand—and the gorgeous man on the screen—his full attention.

“It’s not like, serious or anything, just… super embarrassing for me?”

“Oh, is that all?”

Evan laughed, ducking his head, and Tommy nearly picked up his damn keys to drive to the station. “They’ve got a tally going,” he admitted eventually.

“A tally? Of what?”

“Of…” Evan made a show of looking around before continuing, “of how many times I say your name in a shift. Closest guess wins the pot.”

“Let me guess: Hen’s playing bookie.”

“Yeah, how–” realisation dawned just like the smile across Evan’s face. “Sometimes I forget you worked with her.”

Tommy smiled, and if it was a little sad, he just hoped Evan didn’t notice. “I won’t tell her you think she’s forgettable.”

“Oh my god!” Evan was horrified and Tommy laughed, feeling immediately bad for the joke.

“Relax, Evan, I would never.”

Evan pouted. Full on, lower lip sticking all the way out, eyes downcast, pouted. “You’re so mean.”

“I’m mean?” Tommy repeated, raising a single judgemental eyebrow. “Baby, you’re the one who called me without a shirt on, out of breath, and then stood there like a goddamn Adonis…” he trailed off as the impact of his words became obvious. Evan’s mouth popped open in a surprised little ‘o’, his eyes were wide and heated, and he looked down at himself.

“That’s why you won’t come to the gym with me,” Evan said quietly. The surprise gave way to a knowing smirk and he was on the move again, the firehouse blurring behind him.

Tommy could have kicked himself for handing over such an obvious advantage, and if it was to anyone other than Evan, maybe he would have, but… it was Evan. Evan, who smashed through his every self-imposed rule without even knowing it. “It’s a real problem,” Tommy said, semi-seriously.

“Is that right?” Flirty Evan was a force to be reckoned with, and he knew it. He bit his lip and looked down at himself again, eventually lifting his gaze to look up at Tommy through thick lashes.

“Evan,” Tommy tried to inject a warning tone but given the way Evan barely suppressed a shiver, it wasn’t exactly the kind of warning he’d intended.

“Tommy.”

Tommy opened his mouth to reply but the camera moved oh-so-slowly, bringing Evan’s body into frame, showing off the rise and fall of his hairy chest, all his little tattoos that Tommy was nowhere near as familiar with as he’d like to be. All thoughts fled to be replaced with need, with fire, with the memory of Evan’s sweaty skin beneath his tongue, the little noise he made in the back of his throat when Tommy licked over his nipples.

“Thirty-five hours, forty-three minutes,” Evan said, his voice so low Tommy almost missed it.

“Hm?”

“Til I can see you,” Evan explained. The camera hadn’t panned back up to his face yet, in fact it seemed to be lingering on his chest and belly. “But…” Evan’s hand appeared in frame, toying with the edge of his gym shorts.

“But?” Tommy barely breathed.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t see me before then.”

Tommy choked on his own tongue. Surely he didn’t mean–

Evan cupped the front of his shorts, pulling the fabric tight, before pulling the camera back up to his face, showing off bitten-pink lips and heavy eyelids and a look that had fiery claws ripping down Tommy’s spine.

Tommy dropped his phone.

The bright sound of Evan’s laughter echoed up from the floor.

3: Badge and Ladder Bar

An unusual amount of strategy was required for Tommy to remain something like normal, or at least acceptable in polite society, whenever he went out with Evan. Especially if they happened to be somewhere with alcohol. Evan’s baseline level of tactile was nothing short of breathtaking—Tommy very genuinely couldn’t remember ever being with someone so unashamedly touchy in public—and a few drinks in, Evan was approaching handsy. Still, not exactly a problem, unless factoring in Tommy’s frankly undeniable reciprocating nature. He’d forced himself to leave Evan alone to play pool with Howie and their probie—Ravi? Raffi? No, definitely Ravi—and Tommy stood chatting at the bar with Hen and Karen, his back resolutely turned on the pool table.

His self-control was almost entirely disrespected by both Hen and her wife, and they seemed to be making a game of making distracting expressions while looking over his shoulder at the game behind him.

“I can’t believe you’d rather be here talking to us instead of over there with your—whatever you two are doing,” Karen said with a shrewd look over Tommy’s shoulder.

“I’m not taking the bait,” Tommy told her loftily.

“Your boy’s bait, alright,” Hen snarked.

Tommy bit his tongue and sipped his beer. “I know. Believe me.”

Hen laughed into her drink. “You’re hopeless.”

“Yep. Which is exactly why I’m watching the game and chatting with you.” Tommy flashed a grin and made a point of glancing at the screens behind Hen. He didn’t see shit, and hoped there wouldn’t be any follow up questions.

“Do you even know what sport is on right now?”

Damnit. “No clue.”

“Hopeless,” Karen said, giggling with Hen about the whole thing, which. Ouch, but fair.

“I’m surprised you two are out tonight,” Hen said thoughtfully. “The way Buck tells it, you haven’t seen each other for eighty-four years.”

“He hasn’t even seen that movie,” Tommy protested, realised what he was doing, and sighed, resigned to his fate. “It was my idea.”

Karen snorted and said, “You like suffering?”

“It wasn’t exactly what I had planned for tonight.”

“I’ll bet it wasn’t.” Karen waggled her brows and Hen practically guffawed.

Tommy just sighed, a wry smile on his face, and told them, “Evan was really excited for me to hang out with everybody, to see how… how the One-Eighteen is, these days.”

“Mmhmm.” Hen fixed him with that all-knowing, slightly-judging look, and said, “And you’ll do anything for that boy, won’t you?”

“Fraid so.” Tommy could only shrug helplessly before a cheer behind caught his attention. He made the mistake of turning around to see Evan posing like a weightlifter, his arms up and bulging, lifting his shirt enough to reveal a strip of pale skin and happy trail above his jeans. Tommy knew that if he pressed his tongue down the length of that trail it made Evan squirm and gasp so fucking pretty, even moreso if Tommy was pinning his hips down–

“Earth to Tommy,” Hen singsonged between chortles.

Tommy blinked and sipped his beer. Or, at least, he intended to sip his beer, but instead he just poured it down his own shirt.

Karen was kind enough to cover her laugh with a hand, but Hen had no such reservations, laughing good and loud, and honestly, Tommy couldn’t blame her.

4: First Aid

“It’s nothing,” Evan insisted tiredly, if not goodnaturedly, as Maddie pestered him over brunch.

“You’re sitting funny, and Howie said–”

“Maddie, I promise,” Evan said firmly, “it’s nothing. Hen and Chim checked me out.” He spared a moment to glare at the back of Howie’s head, as the man was wisely queueing up to order for the table and avoid the whole situation, and continued, “They decided I will probably live, and I definitely don’t need stitches or surgery or a really worried big sister.”

Tommy put a reassuring hand on Evan’s knee beneath the table and squeezed. “So you don’t need coffee then?” he asked with a teasing smirk and got exactly the reaction he’d hoped for: stunned outrage.

“Wait a second, I did not say that!”

“Say what?” Howie asked as he took a seat beside Maddie and Jee-yun.

“You got me coffee, right?” Evan asked. The intensity rolling off him in waves was the familiar passion of a first responder recognising their caffeine supply might be in danger.

Howie’s response was one of a fellow first responder recognising his life might be on the line if he gave the wrong answer. He smiled wide and helped Jee-yun climb onto his lap and said, “I sure did, Buckaroo.”

Evan sighed in relief and sat back, only to wince immediately as he jostled the emphatically stated minor injury. Tommy couldn’t hide his own flinch of concern and Evan caught it, as he caught most things, and sighed again, but in a much more ‘fed up with everyone’s fussy bullshit’ sort of way. “Seriously?” Evan demanded and slouched over the table. “Et tu?”

“I’m a normal amount of worried,” Tommy tried to reassure him. “Evan, if you skin your knee at basketball, I’m gonna be worried. The normal amount, but still.”

Howie snorted and said, “The way the guys tell it, you’re more likely to go as– uh, backside up on the court these days.” Maddie smiled fondly at the sort of swear word catch.

Tommy glared, but there was no real heat to it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What are you?” Jee-yun asked, possibly apropos of nothing but it was kind of hard to tell sometimes.

“Tommy’s my boyfriend, remember?” Evan said easily, a big smile gracing his beautiful face. Tommy knew a similarly adoring look was on his face; how far Evan had come in such a short time genuinely impressed him, and made his stomach do all sorts of stupid shit like ‘somersaults’ and ‘have butterflies’.

“No, you,” Jee-yun said and pointed at Evan. “Mama says you need a bandaid.”

“Seriously.” Evan glared at his sister, who was totally unphased and stared right back. “You brought my niece into this?”

“I was worried,” Maddie told him with a tight smile, her voice hard as steel.

Evan pushed his chair back and got to his feet, turned and lifted the edge of his shirt. What should have caught Tommy’s attention immediately was the scraped skin and spreading bruise across the top of Evan’s hip from a harness yanking too tight too fast, but Tommy was, unfortunately, only a man. A man very much enamoured with his hot as fuck boyfriend. Evan didn’t exactly hide his bulk under his clothes but the very visual reminder of the thick torso, of all that strength and power in Evan’s body, the shadow of v lines down his hips despite the very solid build of him… Tommy’s mouth was dry as a desert, and he’d missed the last thirty seconds of conversation, if not more, and before he could catch up on a damn thing, Evan pulled his shirt back down and sat with a sullen pout on his full lips, and Tommy had to clench his hands in his lap to stay still and not do something incredibly inappropriate for brunch, like maul Evan in front of his immediate family and probably scar a child for life.

The choked laughter from across the table informed Tommy in no uncertain terms that he’d done a piss poor job of controlling himself in public. He nearly mauled Evan anyway, but then Jee-yun wanted to know what a bruise was, and Tommy grinned as Evan and Maddie launched into Medicine For Toddlers. Howie only laughed a little bit when Tommy poured salt into his coffee.

5: Celebrity Chef

The knife was a silver blur in Evan’s hand as he diced bright red bell peppers across the board. He had his fingers tucked in tight and the cubed pepper was almost perfectly shaped. The last pepper was meeting its fate when Evan asked, “What’s next, Chef?”

Tommy blinked and steadied Jee-yun on his knee, which she’d decided had the best view of Evan in the kitchen, and shuffled them both closer to the table to study the besmirched recipe book Evan had tasked them with reading. “What d’you think, Chef?” Tommy asked her, and it was too damn cute the way her little nose scrunched up as she looked at the densely packed lines of text.

“Mmm…” Jee-yun traced her tiny finger along the words like she’d probably seen her parents doing, before apparently reaching some sort of decision: she slapped the page and announced, “This!”

“Thanks Chef!” Evan grinned and glanced at Tommy. “How about you, babe? You got anything to offer?”

“Uh, probably?”

Evan rolled his eyes and stacked the peppers to one side. “I meant, from the recipe.”

“Of course.” Tommy smirked and tried to read down the ingredients list again. “Let’s see here… ok, you got the veggies all done? Then start on sauce. Right, Chef?” he asked Jee-yun, her serious little face watching him closely, and she nodded. “First on the sauce list is…” Tommy made sure to trace the words on the page with his finger, more than a bit smitten when Jee-yun followed the movement, and slowly read out, “Soy sauce. Got soy sauce in here?”

“I’m offended you’d even ask,” Evan said snootily. He lifted his nose in the air and strutted to the cupboard, the silly pantomime making Jee-yun giggle, and pulled a fresh bottle down from the shelf. “Does this answer your question?”

“It’ll do.”

Evan poked his tongue out, unscrewed the lid of the sauce, and pulled the ring top seal off with enough flourish that dark brown sauce spattered his shirt, above the top of his apron. “Oops. I’ll be right back.” He slipped the apron off and left it on the bench, and Tommy thought he’d survive the kitchen disrobing, but he was sorely mistaken.

Rather than wait til he was in his bedroom to shed the shirt, Evan stripped off right as he walked by Tommy, his arms and belly and back all flexing with the smooth movement, and there he was, half-naked and so fucking gorgeous. Strolling to the stairs then bounding up them gave Tommy the best kind of view of Evan’s broad shoulders and the dip of his lower back that was very fun for both parties when Tommy sucked bruises onto the soft skin.

“Tommy?” Evan called as his foot hit the top stair.

“Yeah?”

“Jee wants her juice,” Evan said, clearly confused as he looked over his shoulder.

Tommy looked down to find Jee-yun reaching pathetically for the juice that was a safe distance away on the table. “Sorry, Chef,” he apologised and picked it up for her.

“Thanks baby.”

“No problem.” Tommy made the mistake of looking back at Evan, still on that top stair, still wonderfully shirt-free, looking at Tommy some kind of way that made his chest a bit tight and his eyes probably had hearts or something in them.

The flash of panic on Evan’s face was Tommy’s only clue that things were about to go wrong.

Jee-yun reached for the cup in Tommy’s hand and Tommy didn’t allow for the enthusiastic collision, what with far too much of his attention on Evan, and really, it was a miracle he didn’t upend the whole cup on himself. Tommy couldn’t do anything but laugh, which stunned Jee-yun from her momentary panic, thank goodness, and she laughed, too.

“Good job, babe,” Evan said as he laughed. “You need a hand?”

“I need you to put a shirt on,” Tommy said honestly.

“That’s not what you said last night–”

“Go,” Tommy cut him off but the grin on his face definitely undercut the strict tone he was hoping for.

Evan raised his hands in surrender and disappeared into his room.

“I’m thirsty,” Jee-yun reminded Tommy.

“I know the feeling.”

+1: The Hike

The sun and physical exertion of a moderately intense hike was to blame for the sweat glueing Evan’s shirt to his sculpted body. Translucent fabric taunted Tommy, a pace behind Evan as they neared the bottom of the trail, with glimpses of muscles flexing and rolling. Evan was truly a sight to behold and Tommy was beholding as much as practically possible in the semi-public setting of a not particularly popular hiking spot. A bead of sweat travelled down the back of Evan’s neck, crossing the hot skin like Tommy’s tongue ached to. After a languid lick of Evan’s salted skin he’d probably bite Evan’s shoulder—gently, but firmly, just enough to make him squirm and maybe whimper. There was something outright addictive about Evan’s body, so strong and broad and built to work, melting for Tommy’s pleasure.

“Tommy?”

Tommy’s eyes flew up from admiring the sturdy, biteable ass filling out Evan’s little shorts, and said, very articulately, “What?”

“You ok?” Evan drew closer, examining Tommy for signs of something other than outright lust. “Did you not drink enough water?”

“I’m fine, just… enjoying the view.”

Evan’s worry vanished in an instant to be replaced with a slightly pink-cheeked smirk. “Just don’t trip this close to the end, that would be really embarrassing for you.”

“You saying you couldn’t carry me out of here?”

“Oh, I could definitely carry you,” Evan said confidently. “I just don’t think your pride could handle it.”

Tommy laughed and deliberately did not go in for a kiss; if he started now, he might never stop. “C’mon, there’s a shower calling my name somewhere in this city.”

Evan grinned and strode off, possibly sticking out his ass for Tommy’s benefit. They were so close to the end of the trail, literally a few yards from the lot, when it happened.

A bird flew too close, and a second later, a streak of shit appeared down Evan’s shirt, and he laughed. “Thank god the car’s right there,” Evan said with a smile. “Did you know it’s supposed to be good luck to get pooped on by a bird?”

It was entirely possible that Evan was still talking, but Tommy couldn’t hear a thing over the rushing blood in his ears, because Evan was taking his shirt off, right there, in the middle of polite society that was about to become a whole lot less polite. The defined muscles rippling across Evan’s back and shoulders captivated Tommy entirely; there was just so much of Evan to admire and drool over and bite and Tommy wanted it all. So what if they’d only crawled out of absolutely ruined sheets a few hours ago to get fresh air and sunshine? Evan was a revelation, sex on gorgeous strong legs, and the merest glimpse of his flesh was enough to obliterate what Tommy used to call a refractory period. He was helpless to do anything but follow Evan robotically down the last yards and onto asphalt, stopping only when Evan did, belatedly realising that Evan was leaning against Tommy’s truck and the keys were firmly in Tommy’s pocket.

“Earth to Tommy?” Evan wheedled with a smirk on his face.

Tommy blinked. His skin buzzed with need and heat, and Evan’s furry chest was right there– he cut a quick look around the lot, realised it was empty, and said, “Get in.”

Evan smiled, confused. “What?”

“Get in,” Tommy said, barely recognising his own voice. He stepped closer, stopping at the first hint of Evan’s chest touching his own, and bracketed Evan in against the door. “Please, Evan.”

“You really can’t wait til we get back to your place?” The knowing tilt to Evan’s smirk did absolutely nothing to quench Tommy’s lust.

Tommy huffed and leaned into Evan’s body with just enough pressure to tease the fabric of Evan’s shorts across his dick. “Can you?” he asked, pitching his voice low and making sure to let his breath tickle Evan’s ear.

“Tommy,” Evan practically whined and pitched his hips forward. “Babe, we’re– this is– if we get caught–”

The dirty little laugh was out of Tommy’s mouth before he could overthink it, and he was fumbling for the keys in his pocket. “The windows are tinted,” he murmured against Evan’s ear, smug as all fuck when Evan shuddered against him, “and the suspension is second to none.”

“You’re a terrible influence,” Evan tried to scold him and failed utterly, the quick little grind of his dick into Tommy’s hip giving him away.

Tommy finally got the backdoor unlocked and manhandled Evan out of the way to wrench it open. “Be a good boy and get in the goddamn car.”

Evan choked on a moan and clambered in, Tommy close behind and yanking the door shut, encasing them in gloom. A quick flick of the key fob let Tommy get a window down an inch for air and he ditched the keys to the floor of the cab, kicking his shoes and socks off and grinning at long-limbed Evan flailing to do the same. The quick excited breath panting from Evan’s plush lips was an incredible aphrodisiac, like Tommy needed the help, and he shucked off his shirt and plastered himself to Evan’s chest. Maybe he’d overestimated how much room he and Evan took up in the car when sense and reason had been completely replaced by blinding lust, but he needed Evan too much to get bogged down in practicalities. He pulled Evan to him, adjusting to hook one leg over Evan’s and press his thigh up against Evan’s regrettably covered bulge, and kissed the remaining air from his lungs. Evan kissed him deep and rough, hips twitching against Tommy’s thigh, hands clutching at Tommy’s hips and ass and back.

It came as zero surprise to Tommy that the needy little sounds filling the cabin were from him, pouring up his throat and right into Evan’s mouth, and Evan swallowed them all. His huge hand came up to cradle Tommy’s jaw as he licked the pleasured hums from behind his teeth, and if Tommy wasn’t already falling hard, that would have done it; no one treasured him like Evan did, treated him like he was something worth being careful with. He was all too aware of the expectations that came with looking like he did, and mostly it didn’t bother him, but there was something fucking earthshattering about Evan’s acceptance of all the shit that didn’t fit a certain kind of mold.

“Fuck me,” Tommy panted into Evan’s mouth. “Please–”

“Yeah, yeah,” Evan mumbled and nodded and grinned, all while pretty well stuck to Tommy, their lips brushing with every movement. Evan sunk into Tommy’s mouth again for a hot second, and frankly no one could blame Tommy for the filthy moan that escaped him, which embarrassingly enough turned into a whine when Evan pulled back. “I got you, I got you, but– we gotta get naked, and– how do you want it? Do you even have lube coz I didn’t bring any.”

Tommy laughed in spite of the raging hardon taking up precious blood supply. “Of course I have lube, what do you take me for?”

“Someone who can keep it in his pants when I take my shirt off?” Evan challenged with far too much heat in his eyes to be taken seriously.

“That’s where you’re wrong, baby.”

“Uh, yeah, I figured,” Evan said and laughed. He shuffled back far enough to start working his shorts and underwear down and Tommy moved before he could get completely distracted. Again.

The lube and condoms were exactly where Tommy had wisely stashed them in the centre console a week ago, and he ignored Evan’s knowing smile to throw the supplies at him. Evan just laughed adorably and settled into the seat, bare assed, his thick heavy cock well and truly on display, and Tommy licked his lips like a starving man eyeing off a buffet. Because Evan was a justifiably confident man, he wrapped a loose fist around his dick and stroked lazily, putting on a show totally not required to get Tommy hard and interested. His default state around Evan was hard and interested for fuck’s sake, and Evan knew it. A prickling shiver stole over Tommy’s body and he dragged the last of his clothes off.

“God, Tommy,” Evan moaned. The fist around his dick tightened, the strokes sped up and Tommy preened; he was on the wrong side of forty and Evan was stunning, could have anyone he wanted in the world, and somehow he wanted Tommy.

Tommy wanted Evan right back, right now. He leaned in and captured Evan in a needy kiss, aching to have Evan inside him, and he pulled back to try and figure out how to make his dreams come true. “I wanna see you.”

Evan grinned like someone just gave him ten million dollars. “Anything you want.”

Other than the obvious—orgasms and sensory overload and marking Evan’s gorgeous body—Tommy fucking loved how fun sex with Evan was, the pair of them laughing and snorting the whole awkward time they tried to figure out how the fuck to fuck in a car that was never going to be big enough for them. It took some seriously unsexy shuffling and careful placement of elbows but somehow no one got seriously injured in the process to get Tommy sort of on his back on the backseat, and Evan mostly on top of him, balancing with one knee between Tommy’s thighs and his other foot safety planted on the floor.

“Are you even gonna be able to come like this?” Evan asked ruefully.

“Absolutely.”

“You’re pretty confident for a man one flinch away from a leg cramp.”

“You’re pretty fucking hot for a man not currently fucking me.”

Evan laughed and kissed him, any pretence at hesitance melting like ice on the stove. He lowered himself down to press against Tommy’s whole body with his, trapping their cocks between them, and Tommy immediately tried to rock his hips. The angle wasn’t right—it was going to be challenging to get anything on the right angle in the backseat but Tommy was nothing if not determined and really fucking horny. With a grunt he wrenched his leg free of the divot of the seat and curled around Evan’s hip, encouraging a proper sweaty thrust against him and promptly moaning happily about it.

“Where’s the lube?” Evan asked a little desperately, rutting up against Tommy.

Tommy groped the floor for the reliable little tube and pressed it into Evan’s hand. Evan sat back enough to get a condom on and slick himself up, watching Tommy’s eyes on him the entire time, kissable lips parted in an adorably surprised look that Evan had a lot when they were naked together. There was every damn chance Tommy looked just as stunned.

“Ok?” Evan asked breathlessly as he braced himself on one hand right beside Tommy’s head.

“Yeah, baby.” Tommy grinned and cupped Evan’s jaw in one hand.

“You need me to–”

Tommy shook his head and bit his lip, turning Evan’s favourite move back on him. It had been less than twelve hours since Evan was last in him, and he told him, “I wanna feel you.”

Evan’s laugh was borderline hysterical and he nodded, and looked down to line himself up. Taking a deep breath, Tommy willed himself to relax, tamping down the thrill of Evan’s cock teasing his ass. For a second he tried to focus on the leather seat sticking to his sweaty back and the press of a seatbelt buckle under his shoulder, anything to buy time before surrendering himself to the haze of pleasure, but it was a lost cause. The instant Evan’s cock squeezed inside him, Tommy was on borrowed time.

“Evan,” Tommy groaned as the heavy pressure eased its way deeper inside him. His body yielded for Evan, the burn of the intrusion smoothing away to leave the promising embers of pleasure. Tommy lifted up one arm to push against the door, blindly seeking out leverage to better roll with Evan’s movements, slow and agonising and incredible. His knees lifted toward his shoulders and Evan let out a shaky breath sexily close to a moan as he sunk even deeper into Tommy.

“So fucking tight,” Evan said through gritted teeth. He shuddered and stared at the connection between them, the muscles in his jaw working overtime, and a fresh rush of need poured through Tommy.

The flex of Evan’s shoulders and chest was mesmerizing, and his arms bulged as he braced over Tommy, still slowly fucking his way into him, and Tommy needed more. Digging his heels into Evan’s ass and tilting his hips up as much as the fucking backseat of his car would allow finally got the message across and Evan started rolling his hips in earnest. Tommy was stuffed full of Evan, surrounded by him, practically pinned down by his strength and size and heat, and it still wasn’t enough.

Evan’s hips finally pressing into Tommy’s ass was almost enough. The way Evan dropped his head onto Tommy’s chest, breathing hard, was getting close. Tommy nosed into Evan’s hair, damp with sweat, hardly daring to believe his luck for about the millionth time. The power Evan had over him was terrifying and exhilarating all at once—holding anything back was impossible and with Evan so hard and hot inside him, teasing him toward shivering release, Tommy quit trying to be anything other than Evan’s. He brought his free hand under Evan’s arm to hold on for the ride, raking blunt nails over his heated flesh; Tommy was flayed open and stuffed full of dynamite, desperate for the strike of flint on tinder, positively fucking yearning for a spark to set him free.

“God, Tommy,” Evan whined. He eased into a steady, shallow pace, hot breath puffing against Tommy’s sweat-slick skin. “You feel so– so good, so good.”

Tommy groaned, the only reply he was capable of thanks to Evan’s dick nudging his prostate. Every careful thrust sent a tantalising tremble through him and he needed more, needed to really feel every inch of Evan inside him. “Baby, harder, please?”

“Harder?” Evan repeated a little incredulously. Thank fuck he didn’t stop his slow fucking into Tommy as he tried to argue, “Baby I’m not about to fuck your head through the–”

Impatient in the way he only ever felt with Evan inside him, Tommy squeezed and thrust hard into Evan’s rhythm and grinned when his expression morphed into a mask of bliss. “Harder,” Tommy growled.

Evan gave up resisting him, thank fuck, and leaned in to slip a hand between Tommy’s sweaty shoulder and the creaking leather and hold on tight. They were pressed so close together, Tommy’s cock getting barely any friction, every slide of their bodies doing nothing other than make him really fucking aware that it wasn’t quite enough. His needy little sounds must have given Evan a hint because he moved faster, snapping his hips and shifting til he hit his target and Tommy curled up into him with a long moan. Burning heavy pleasure spread through him like lava, rolling over anything and everything in its path til all Tommy could feel was Evan.

“That it, baby?” Evan grunted out between increasingly hard thrusts. “Is that– oh god– is that what you need?”

Tommy nodded, clinging onto Evan’s huge sweaty back like a lifeline. “God yes, yes, Evan, that’s so fucking perfect, you’re so– oh fuck– so perfect, just like that.”

“Uh-huh,” Evan whimpered. He faltered at the praise, like Tommy knew he would, and fuck if it didn’t get him hotter than he’d thought possible.

The end was so close but Tommy held out, always greedy for the moments when Evan was so deep inside him he could taste it, fucking him til he screamed, and staring at him like he couldn’t believe his luck. “You’re so gorgeous, baby, so fucking beautiful,” Tommy said in a rush before the next wave of muscle-locking tension could take over.

Evan groaned and lost his rhythm for a second, and bit down on Tommy’s shoulder. “You trying to make me– oh shit– trying to make me come?”

“Literally, yes, that’s kind of the point.”

“Smartass,” Evan muttered. Tommy barely had the chance to draw breath before Evan picked up speed, driving into him so hard and fast he saw stars.

Somewhere in the distant corners of his mind Tommy knew the car was rocking with the force of Evan’s thrusts but there just wasn’t enough working brain cells to care. Evan was grunting with every slam of his hips against Tommy’s ass, the most amazing telltale sign that he was holding on by the skin of his teeth, and knowing he was so close pushed Tommy right up to the edge. He whined, he couldn’t help it, his orgasm just out of reach but the ride was still so incredible.

“Tom, Tommy please–” Evan sounded so desperate and so fucking hot. “Please I’m close, are you?”

“Baby, it’s ok–”

Evan grunted out the cutest little nuh-uh and lifted himself up just enough to get a rough hand around Tommy’s aching cock. “I asked you a question,” Evan growled as he stripped Tommy’s cock with earth-shattering skill, “are you fucking close?”

The shout that tore its way out of Tommy’s throat would have to be answer enough. Evan’s grip on his dick worked in perfect fucking harmony with the relentless pressure and pleasure in his ass and suddenly Tommy was done. The dam inside him broke and his vision went white as his orgasm roared through him. Evan never stopped moving and wave after wave of toe-curling bliss rolled over Tommy while he sucked in air around hoarse gasps, doing his best to survive the incredible experience of sex with the most amazing man.

Just as the stars behind Tommy’s eyes were starting to clear, and his brain cells returned from the far-flung euphoric heights of a damn good orgasm, Evan’s desperate, strangled whine filled the air.

“Evan, yes, baby,” Tommy gasped, cursing his dry throat that rendered his words a croaking whisper. “Yes, come on, come in me, Evan, just like that–”

Evan moaned and shuddered and curled tight around Tommy, riding out his own high deep inside him for long, perfect moments. Making Evan come was an endlessly incredible feeling; every time Tommy got the privilege of seeing Evan come undone, it stoked the burning heat in his chest that Tommy was fast becoming aware could turn into love if he wasn’t careful.

Slowly but surely, Evan’s breathing slowed, and he slumped onto Tommy, his fucked-out attempts at breathing sending cooling little puffs across Tommy’s chest. It was that moment that he realised he was absolutely dripping with sweat, as was Evan, and every breath in was like soup in his lungs. Then there was the drying come all over his chest and stomach, now firmly smushed between them and probably working its way in between every single hair on both their bodies. More endorphins trickled out and a dawning awareness of the belt buckle in his back did more than trickle in.

“Ouch,” Tommy muttered.

Evan immediately tried to sit up, realised he had noodles for arms—giant noodles, but still structurally useless noodles—and clung to the headrest on the backseat to lever himself sort of off Tommy’s chest. “What’s wrong? Did I–”

“Buckle,” Tommy said quickly to try and cut off the panic. “On the seat, currently trying to work its way through my shoulder.”

Evan’s worry was promptly replaced by flat glare. “This was your idea.”

“I regret nothing.” Tommy shifted his shoulder an eighth of an inch and winced. “I regret very little about coming on your cock.”

Evan ducked his head shyly, as if the cock in question wasn’t still literally in Tommy’s ass. “Good to know. That was pretty fucking hot.”

“Yeah?” Tommy grinned hugely, like a probably-falling-in-lovesick idiot. He stroked his hands over Evan’s waist and down—slippery with sweat, failing to find it anything other than really fucking sexy—and realised that the poor guy still had a foot awkwardly pressed into the floor of the car. “God, we gotta move. Is your leg ok?”

“I think so.” Evan reached between them to hold the condom as he pulled out. The pout of his full, pink lips was so fucking cute Tommy nearly melted. The melting was put on pause when Evan sat back, winced, and then practically tumbled back to the far side of the seat, his face a mask of pain. “Ow, ow, ow.”

“Baby what is it?” Tommy moved too fast for his own apparent sex-related misfortunes and quickly hissed at the tenderness of his ass, not to mention the tight muscles threatening to cramp in his legs and shoulder. He really didn’t make it very far but surely it was the thought that counted.

“Cramp, just– just a goddamn cramp.”

Tommy laughed, and Evan pouted even more, somehow, which made Tommy laugh harder and then flinch at the flare of discomfort from far too many nerve endings. How dare his body complain now that the delicious orgasms were done? “Maybe sex inside a hot car after a hike wasn’t my best idea.”

“I have very few regrets,” Evan informed him while he tried to stretch out his leg. “Not none, but very few.”

“Good to know.”

Evan laughed and relaxed back a little, his warm gaze raking over Tommy.

Tommy, who tried to shift so the scar over his ribs was less obvious, who was suddenly very aware of the drying come on his skin and everything else that tended to drive men away.

“Hey,” Evan said quietly, and reached out to tangle his fingers with Tommy’s. “I… I really like you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“No, I mean…” Evan inched closer despite the awkward angle of his leg. “I really like you. I really like sex with you, and… all the other stuff.”

Tommy’s heart skipped a beat and he let his fingers wind around Evan’s. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Evan’s grin was like the sun, bright and radiant, and the warmth of it seeped into Tommy’s skin. “You’re– god, I don’t even know how I’m supposed to like, talk about it? Everything just sounds stupid in my head–”

“Nothing you ever say out loud is stupid,” Tommy told him. “I can’t speak for what the first draft up there sounds like, but I promise you, you never sound stupid to me.”

“See, that, right there,” Evan said, a little awed or maybe somehow surprised that Tommy thought so highly of him. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got your come in my ear right now and I’m gonna need an epsom salt bath for my leg, and all I can think about is…”

“What?” Tommy asked eventually.

“I just…” Evan laughed at himself and said, “Fuck it. All I can think about is how much I love you.”

Oh. Tommy blinked. “Oh.”

“You don’t have to–”

“I’m not gonna be able to walk right for at least twenty-four hours after getting fucked like that, not to mention the hike, and I have no idea how to explain the weird bruise that’s gonna be on my back by my next shift, and I just– I love you too.”

Nobody on God’s green earth could smile like Evan when he was happy, and Tommy grinned right back before pulling him in for a tired kiss.

“If I ever try to talk you into car sex again,” Tommy said slowly, “please remind me of how much this aftermath sucks.”

“Hey, you’re the one who can’t resist a little skin.”

“As long as you keep your shirt on, we’ll be fine.”

“You can’t expect me to put that shirt back on, there’s poop on it.”

Tommy laughed. “Getting shit on by a bird sure turned out to be lucky for me.”

“Babe. That was terrible.”

“Yeah.” Tommy grinned. “But you love me anyway.”

Evan practically glowed. “Yeah, I do.”