This chapter is basically all sex talk and smut, so if that's not your thing, you can go ahead and skip it. It won't affect the overall plot or anything. :)
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"You're staring again." Brandon pointed out, his skin glistening with sweat when he pushed himself up from the floor. Without missing a beat, he lowered himself into another push up. With the white sleeveless shirt hitching up along every repetition, exposing a strip smooth skin, and the muscles in his arms flexing.. What else could Steven do but to stare?
"Shh, I'm enjoying the show." Steven murmured, a smirk spreading on his lips and crinkling the corners of his eyes. "You could make it even better by taking off your shirt."
"Steven." Brandon groaned. The skin on his arms flushed red, and Steven knew it wasn't because of the physical exertion. He flipped around on the mat, beginning a series of crunches.
"We have a spare room, and we could turn it into a gym if you want to." Steven offered, his eyes still glued to Brandon's sweating torso.
"With a lock on the door, I hope." Brandon muttered. It made Steven laugh, and when Steven laughed, Brandon couldn't help but join him.
"I'm serious. Just say a word, and it's yours." Steven offered again, causing Brandon to fall flat on his back on the mat and turn to look at Steven. He wasn't wearing his glasses, so he could likely only see a silhouette of Steven, but Steven could read the astonishment on his face just fine. "It's your home too, and I want to make sure you feel at home."
"I already do, with a gym or not." Brandon hummed, then resumed his exercise. Steven let him do so in silence, thinking about other ways he could put that room in use.
He could come up with a few ideas, but one was above the others. Maybe, once he was officially done with his modeling career and they had moved Brandon in, Steven could pick up another project. Having something to plan and work on would do him good.
Brandon was laying on his back, kicking his legs up in turns. Then he was leaning on his elbows and toes, dipping his hips from one side to the other. Steven, who had never much enjoyed working out, was starting to see it in a new light. When Brandon sat up and wiped the sweat from his face with the hem of his shirt, revealing his toned chest and stomach, Steven was wondering if it was just to torture him. He licked his lips, which had turned dry all of a sudden.
"I should.." Brandon began, but trailed off with a confused frown as he saw Steven standing up and making his way to him. Steven placed his palm on Brandon's chest, and gave him a light nudge. Brandon didn't resist, but instead laid down on his back, grinning up at Steven.
"You should do what?" Steven murmured. When Brandon opened his mouth to answer, Steven nibbled his lower lip and successfully shut him up. He kissed Brandon's jaw next, tasting salt on his skin. When he kissed the hollow under Brandon's jaw, Brandon gasped, then chuckled with a low, breathy voice.
"Steven.. Mmh." He mumbled, but despite his resistance, tilted his chin to the side so that Steven could grace his ear with his teeth next. "I really need to take a shower, I stink."
"I beg to disagree." Steven hummed, slipping his fingers under Brandon's shirt. The scent of fresh sweat was such a turn-on to Steven, who associated it with masculinity and, for the lack of other types of exercising in his rather unathletic life, sex.
"Oh, so that's how it is then." Brandon said, a smirk spreading on his lips. It was gratifying to see how often he grinned, smirked or full-on smiled nowadays, compared to his previous tentative smile which only barely tucked up the corners of his mouth. He was less cautious with his movements as well, and he didn't hesitate to lift up his arms and loop them around Steven's neck to pull him closer.
They kissed, their lips moving against each other in slow, teasing motions. Brandon's hands mussed up Steven's hair, his fingernails scraping against Steven's scalp. Just that simple touch was driving Steven wild, and he deepened the kiss.
"Not that I'm expecting anything to happen right now, but.." Steven whispered, breathing hard as he brought their foreheads together. "I don't want to assume anything, and, well, just so that you know.. I'm versatile, so it's fine both ways. Unless, of course, you don't want to go all the way, like now or ever, and that's totally fine as well."
"I can do both." Brandon took his time to answer, and Steven had to pull back to see what kind of expression he had on his face. There was a line between his eyebrows, like something about his answer bothered him.
"Okay, but you don't want to?" Steven guessed, trying to find clues from Brandon's face.
"No, I mean, yes. I do." Brandon whispered, and fixed his gaze to Steven's chin to avoid his eyes.
"Then.." Steven mumbled, practically feeling the wheels in his brain rotating as he tried to come up with an explanation. It felt like he was supposed to know what Brandon meant, and he was frustrated when he couldn't figure out what it was.
As time kept ticking by, and Steven still couldn't come up with anything, Brandon sighed. It was no huff of annoyment or anything that gave away irritation, but more like: Fuck it, I can do this. Then he rolled them around, staring down at Steven with defiance in his brown eyes.
"I like being a top more." Brandon admitted, challenging Steven like he was expecting Steven to object.
"Okay, yeah, I don't mind." Steven told him instead, a grin spreading on his lips. He was prepared to launch into a debate about how height had nothing to do with who topped or that they didn't have to go making a deep analysis about their personalities to decide to whom which role belonged, but Brandon kissed him before he could get into it.
When Brandon tucked at the hem of Steven's shirt, asking for permission to pull it off, Steven had half a mind to tell him again that he wasn't expecting anything to happen right then. That he could wait just as long as Brandon needed, and that any position would be more than fine just as long as he could do it with Brandon. But then Steven's shirt was gone and Brandon's lips on his bare chest sent a shiver through his body, making him arch his back to the touch.
He really was a sucker for Brandon.
Brandon tortured Steven's niples and then licked his way to Steven's stomach, making Steven tuck at his hair and curse. By the time Brandon's hands found the waistband of Steven's shorts, he was a panting mess. This celibacy thing was taking its toll on him, it seemed.
"Mh..wait.." Steven mumbled, gathering all his self-control to pull Brandon back up for a kiss. His lips were pink and swollen by the time he pulled away from Steven, looking down at him with his darkened eyes full of unasked questions. Steven grinned, then laughed breathlessly. "Can you at least lose the shirt first?"
"Yeah, okay." Brandon chuckled, his cheeks heating up as a smile pulled the corners of his mouth upwards. He straddled Steven, so that he could get his hands free, and pulled off his shirt.
Steven needed just a quick visual of that toned, albeit pale upper body, before his self-control snapped and he rolled them around on the mat. Brandon's eyes looked bigger without his glasses, and he had enough eyelashes to make anyone envious. Steven brushed back his hair, trailing his fingers over the scar running along his hairline. When Brandon frowned, likely remembering where he had gotten the scar, Steven kissed the crinkle between his brows.
"I freaking adore you, you know that right?" Steven murmured, kissing the bridge of Brandon's nose. He trailed his palms along Brandon's chest, sides and stomach, making him hum.
Brandon hummed again, smiling with his eyes closed, then pulled Steven for another kiss. It was deep and claiming, the kind that told exactly how Brandon felt without him having to say a word. Steven kissed him back with similar intensity, pressing their bodies together. He slipped his fingers underneath the waistband of Brandon's sweatpants, waiting for a beat for Brandon to tell him no. Brandon only deepened the kiss, breathing hard into Steven's mouth, so Steven deemed it safe to go ahead and free him from his remaining clothes.
"Bedroom?" Brandon gasped, shivering under Steven's touches.
"Yeah." Steven agreed, grinning when he stood up and offered his hand for Brandon. Brandon took it, leaning in for a kiss. Their lips crushed together, when Brandon threw his arm over Steven's shoulders. It was a heated kiss, interrupted only by their laughter and stumbling towards the bedroom.
Somehow Brandon was able to drop Steven's boxers and shorts down on his ankles, and Steven nearly tripped over them while kicking the offending pieces of fabric out of their way. They made out against the wall, groping at each other while their breathing turned heavier still.
Then they fell on the bed, the mattress sagging under them, still kissing. Steven wanted Brandon, but not just in a physical sense. It was more like a thirst that could never be quite fulfilled, a greed for Brandon that demanded for Steven to get more and closer to him. It was such an unfamiliar feeling that for a second it overwhelmed Steven, and he couldn't breathe out of the intensity of it.
"Nightstand, top drawer." Steven managed to say. All those easy, casual one-night stands, and quickies with strangers in the men's rooms, were as good as nothing when it came to the intimate moments with Brandon.
Brandon sat back on his knees, searching something from Steven's face and finding it, as a slow smile lit up his face. He nodded, then craned over Steven to pull open the drawer. Steven couldn't fight back the grin, the sweet anticipation building in his gut, having already forgotten about his earlier mental overload. He was still grinning when he watched Brandon coating a finger with lube, and told him to hold up his knee..
"Oh fuck." Steven gasped, and he wasn't grinning anymore. He let his mouth fall slack, when he threw back his head, and indulged himself in the feeling of Brandon stretching him up. Steven had never much enjoyed the preparation part, but it was, surprise, surprise, different with Brandon. Less rushed, more listening to how the body reacts and all that stuff.
"Please tell me I can fuck you right about now or I'll —" Brandon sounded almost pleading, his eyes wild with need when he lifted his head to look at Steven. With his swollen lips, flushed cheeks and ruffled up hair he could have asked for anything and Steven would have given it in a heartbeat.
"Fuck yes." He cut Brandon short, pulling him up for a heated kiss.
Steven had one hand in Brandon's hair, but with the other he fumbled for the condoms Brandon had set on the bed earlier. Brandon had prepared him, so Steven wanted to return to favor. He guided Brandon to sit back, and Brandon's pupils dilated so wide his brown eyes were all pupils when he realized what Steven had in mind.
Steven ripped open the condom packet and drew the wrapping on the floor. Then Steven rolled the condom on Brandon, making him hiss with pleasure. When Steven fumbled with the lube bottle, they chuckled. Steven loved that; being so comfortable around each other that they didn't have to be all so serious about it.
"Like this?" Steven breathed, his deep and hoarse voice giving away just how unbelievably turned on he was. He tilted Brandon on his back and slung a leg over his hips, because this was how he had dreamed it to happen for so many nights before. When Brandon smiled, mouthing a yes, Steven leaned in for one last kiss.
Steven lowered himself on Brandon slowly, inch by inch. Brandon's hands were on Steven's thighs, his fingers digging in when he shut his eyes and his head rolled to the side. Steven bit his lips, keeping his eyes fixed on Brandon's face, enjoying the burn. Only when Brandon was all the way in, Steven stopped to take a breath and let his eyes flutter shut as well.
"Just.. wait.. okay?" Brandon breathed, his fingers trembling when he dug his nails into Steven's thighs almost convulsively. Steven, who was more than familiar with what Brandon was going through, leaned in and captured his lips for a languid kiss.
Only when Brandon's death grip on his thighs eased, did Steven move again. He lifted himself up, then lowered himself all the way down. Brandon's hands on his thighs guided his speed, and soon they were both moaning and panting at the feeling of each other. Fuck, it was good. Better than that, amazing.
It was rushed at first, Brandon thrusting up his hips to meet Steven halfway, Steven losing his self-control over it. Then it was slower, deeper, tortuous, thrilling. Then, as Steven turned into a puddle in Brandon's arms, Brandon didn't waste his time to roll them around and take the lead. From this position, Brandon could reach deeper, and he kissed Steven to muffle his cries.
Steven had fire pooling in his stomach, and it kept growing as he could feel Brandon pulsing inside of him. It was too much, too good, and there was no way he could last. Then, Steven's vision turned white and he clamped his arms onto Brannon shoulder blades, pulling him closer until their lips, teeth, tongues crushed together. Brandon followed right after, and the sound he made was so delicious Steven couldn't bear to muffle it.
Brandon collapsed on top of Steven, spent and breathing hard. They were a sweaty, sticky mass, tangled together limbs and hot breaths, but Steven didn't mind. He couldn't have made himself move even if he had wanted to, nor could he have wiped away the happy, sated grin from his face. He slid his arm lower, looping it around Brandon's small of the back.
"Was that okay?" Brandon whispered and shifted so that he could brush his fingertips along Steven's chest. The gentle touch made Steven shiver, and it had nothing to do with being cold.
"Okay?" Steven asked, frowning. Was it just 'okay' for Brandon? "Okay? It was beyond words amazing."
"Yeah?" Brandon let out a breath, one that he must have been holding and tilted his head to the side to look at Steven. He was smiling, his cheeks still rosy with color and eyes somehow dark and full of brightness at the same time. Then he buried his face in the crook of Steven's neck and whispered, so softly it was barely audible: "For me too. I don't know what I've done to deserve you."
"After what you just did to me, how dare you question your self-worth?" Steven asked, faking offense as he peppered the top of Brandon's head with kisses. Brandon laughed, shaking his head. Steven told him in a singsong voice: "I'm under your spell, you wonderful, enchanting —"
"Oh my God, shut up." Brandon exclaimed, laughing. Steven couldn't see his face when it was still buried into his neck, but he could see the tips of Brandon's ears turning red.
"You are the light of my life, my —" Steven sang, laughter in his voice.
"That's it, I'm taking a shower." Brandon hopped off the bed.
"No, wait, there's more." Steven rushed after him. "You are the man of my dreams, I couldn't live without you."
"Ugh." Brandon yanked open the bathroom door. Steven held onto his wrist, making him halt.
"Can I come with you?" Steven asked, giving Brandon his best puppy eyes.
"Only if you stop singing."
"I will." Steven promised. He had only wanted to drive away the doubts from Brandon's mind, and it had worked, so he had no trouble getting back into serious mode again. And, showering together was serious business for sure.