Devil's Drop

A Harsh Dose of Reality

Another week away from YRS had passed by in a blur, and Mike couldn't believe he was already walking back in the front doors of the big house again. It's been a better week, though. Things have been good at home. This will be an easy weekend. Ches has been more like himself since that day it stormed. Memories of their lovemaking in the piano room filtered through his mind slowly and Mike smiled to himself. Fuck Mark. He can't have everything between us. He doesn't get anything important, just what we show him. He squeezed his boyfriend's hand reassuringly as they made their way inside, pausing to greet Adam before they headed upstairs to drop off their bags.

The air in their bedroom felt stale, and Mike crossed over to the window to let some fresh air in. The window slid up easily and he stood there for a minute, looking out over the pool, wondering where they'd be shooting this weekend. He hadn't seen a script yet. "Hey, Ches? Are we on this morning or afternoon? Do you know?"

Chester was at the closet, making sure everything was still in order. "This morning, I thought. Not sure," he mumbled before he shut the closet door and turned around. He let out a long breath as he stared at Mike's back, and the way his boyfriend was looking out the window at the bright morning sun. "I like shooting in the mornings," Chester said as he crossed the room and stood behind Mike, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. He leaned his chin on the shoulder of Mike's flannel shirt. "It gets it out of the way, so then the rest of the day is free and open."

"Yeah... I guess." There was never a time of day that Mike could say he liked to get their work done. It still made his skin crawl when he thought about it too much, so he tried not to think about what they did in terms of timing and cameras. It was easier to pretend those cameras weren't there, to let himself imagine he and Chester were alone. It was the complete opposite of how Chester approached their shoots, but it was the only way it worked for him.

He held onto Chester's arms around his stomach and closed his eyes. "You probably want to go downstairs, huh? Talk to the guys a little bit?" He knew being with the others was something Chester enjoyed, the little social interactions they had that weren't porn related. Even though he'd rather hide away in their room until it was time for them to work, Mike wanted to make Chester happy. He wanted him to be relaxed and comfortable.

Chester turned his head and kissed Mike's neck before he let him go and took a step back. "We should. Find out what's going on for the day. I like knowing. Surprises aren't my thing. . .here," he added before he held out his hand for his boyfriend to take.

Mike laughed under his breath as he grabbed the offered hand. "I know. Okay, lead the way, babe. Maybe we can get a snack while we're at it," he said hopefully.

Chester smiled as he led them out of the room and into the hallway. "Answer me this, Sexy Boy, how can you always be so hungry? We just ate eggs and hashbrowns and toast and you even had sausage with yours," he said, glancing Mike's way. "Maybe you have a tapeworm. Have you thought about that? Brad had one once. He ate, like, non-stop for two weeks until he finally went to the doctor, or, well, it was a witch doctor, but still! They figured out it was a tapeworm!"

"I DO NOT have a tapeworm," Mike fussed, waving his free hand around. "Witch doctors? I swear, Brad is so weird." He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Chester. "He didn't find out about the blankets and pillows, right? I mean, not that I believe in all that. But I don't want to give him any more reason to freak out about stuff." Mike looked around as they walked through the house, ready to change the subject if anyone got close enough to overhear them.

Chester shook his head as they headed toward the kitchen. "Not that I know of," he said, "but you shouldn't dismiss the tapeworm theory. We can ask Brad, if you want? He might be able to get a reading on your belly," he decided quickly as he stopped their walk long enough to lay his hand over Mike's stomach.