Fic: "Infinite Possibilities" (part 2) for [livejournal.com profile] dizzydame in the 200

Dec. 31st, 2009 11:59 am
[identity profile] slashababy-mod.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] slashababy
Title: Infinite Possibilities, part 2
Recipient: [livejournal.com profile] dizzydame
Author: [livejournal.com profile] elmathelas
Pairing: Billy/Dom
Rating: NC-17
Mod Note: Because of its length, this story is posted in three parts: for story notes, see part 1.

part 1

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit, non-commercial work of fiction using the names and likenesses of real individuals. This fictional story is not intended to imply that the events herein actually occurred, or that the attitudes or behaviors described are engaged in or condoned by the real persons whose names are used without permission.


5.

They'd talked in the kitchen until Billy felt his arse going numb against the hard wood of the chair and suggested that they go into the lounge. There they'd made themselves comfortable on opposite ends of the sofa, sinking in to the old corduroy. Billy had suggested that they might put a film on, but two hours later and they hadn't stopped talking, skipping from topic to topic in a way that felt natural. Billy felt settled into the sofa, warm and comfortable. He watched as Dom rubbed at his upper arm, pushing the fabric there up, revealing black words inked on to his skin.

"What does it say?" he asked, leaning forward.

Dom hesitated, then pushed up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo-- living is easy with eyes closed, written on his skin in no particular font.

"Is that your own handwriting?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, it is," Dom said, looking down at the tattoo for a moment before lowering his sleeve.

"Do you really think so?" Billy asked.

Dom tilted his head to one side. "It's a line from 'Strawberry Fields,'" he said slowly.

"I know what it is," Billy said, "but if you had it inked on you permanently it kind of implies that you believe it, right?"

"Or maybe I just really love 'Strawberry Fields'." It was the fist time Billy had seen Dom look truly uncomfortable, and he wished he could take away the last few moments of their conversation.

"When did you get it?" Billy asked, unable to see a way out of the line of thought he'd started them on.

"After I finished Hetty, the job offers weren't exactly rolling in and for a month or so I was pretty depressed." The way he said it made Billy think he wasn't taking the term lightly, but he went on. "I decided to go get this tattoo when I finally pulled my head out of my arse and went looking for work as something other than an actor. I decided it wasn't giving up, it was just moving on, being active as a person living in the world. It was actually the whole verse that I wanted, but I decided that one line fit better. You read the line and you sort of hear the rest of it." He sang softly, "misunderstanding all you see, it's getting hard to be someone but it all works out, well it doesn't matter much to me." He shrugged. "It fit, you know? It is hard to get to be someone. My agent was fairly irritated about the ink but I've done mostly voice and commercial work since then, so it all worked out."

"I've thought about getting a tattoo but I've never gone through with it," Billy said, "just as well, I don't think any of my original ideas would still be anything I'd want at this point."

"That's the thing, they're pretty permanent," Dom said.

"I've always wondered if the skin feels different where the ink is."

"What, you've never dated a bird with a tramp stamp?"

Billy thought for a moment. "No, I suppose I haven't."

"Well here." Dom rolled up his sleeve. "Find out."

Billy had to lean forward across the empty centre cushion of the sofa, the high tight feeling in the top of his stomach the same as the feeling he'd had earlier that day when he'd seen Dom come in to the auditorium. He brushed his fingers over the words, lightly, just enough to feel the warmth of Dom's skin. The texture didn't seem to be any different and yet he kept expecting it to be. He closed his eyes, pressed a little tighter, trying to tell if he could feel a difference.

"Feels the same," he said. He opened his eyes, found himself staring at Dom, face to face now that he'd leaned forward.

"Billy," Dom said, slow, careful, like he was gearing up for something. Billy found he couldn't move his hand away.

"Yeah?"

"I usually think I'm pretty good at reading people. But right now I'm not so sure."

"About me?" Billy asked, his hand shifting from just lying flat against Dom's skin to actually grasping the top of his arm.

"About you," Dom said, "the thing is, are you at all interested? In me?"

Billy felt a rapid fire of emotions at that-- first surprise, then relief, that the butterflies he felt around Dom weren't for nothing, then happy excitement, bursting out under his sternum to warm his whole chest.

"Yes," he said, letting go of Dom's arm only so he could grab the back of the sofa and haul himself out of the corner he'd been backed into. He planted a knee in the middle of the sofa, moving closer. Dom shifted a bit towards the middle too and Billy paused, unbalanced for a moment, then swung his leg over Dom's lap so he was sitting on Dom's thighs, a knee to either side of him. He rested his hands on Dom's shoulders, thumbs rubbing soft circles over the warm cotton. "I'm interested."

Dom put his hands at the small of Billy's back, fingernails scratching lightly against his shirt. It was tucked in to his jeans and Billy wanted to reach back, tear it out so Dom could put his hands flat against his skin, but there would be time for that later.

"Brilliant," Dom said, his hands coming up to gently cup the back of Billy's head, pulling him down. Billy's fingers tightened on Dom's shoulders, an equal mix of fear and anticipation making his blood run cold as quickly as it had warmed, but instead of pulling him in for a kiss Dom just rested their foreheads together, the palms of his hands gentle on Billy's cheeks, fingers threaded through his hair.

He felt safe, like time had slowed down enough to give him time to think. Their breathing synchronised quickly, deep and slow, and except for his hands moving minutely against his face, Billy might have thought Dom had fallen asleep, his dark lashes fluttering softly against his cheeks.

"You ever kiss a bloke before?" Dom asked, eyes still closed.

"No," Billy said, the confession easy.

"You wanna start?" Dom opened his eyes and looked up at Billy, his face the very picture of patience.

"Yeah, I do." He sat up straighter as Dom let go of his head. Dom leaned back against the sofa, his face tilted up.

"Go ahead, then." Dom's hands were linked around his lower back again, too low to exert any pressure for him to move forward. He leaned in, eyes open, watching as Dom tilted his head to one side, making room for their noses. The hot and cold that had been running through him seemed to war inside him, clashing, and he had the brief thought that he was too old, too old to be doing this for the first time, to old to feel like this, but he shut his eyes, leaned forward, closed the gap between them. The first press of their lips together quieted the tumult inside him, smoothed out the hot and cold into something warm, spreading over him as Dom let his hands trace a path up and down his back. He pressed harder, Dom's mouth opening just slightly under the pressure, thin line of warm wet soft that Billy traced with just the tip of his tongue.

Dom opened his mouth, then, leaned back, pressed back and pulled closer. Billy held tighter to his shoulders, feeling like he was falling in, tumbling down something even as Dom's hands on his back told him he was still upright. Dom's tongue flickered out to trace the back of his front teeth, pushed against him but it didn't feel like fighting for dominance the way he'd thought it might, just an equal push push pull that he found himself moving with. Every time they pulled apart for a moment there was a tiny scrape, a rasp of their late evening stubble against skin, contrast that only served to make Dom's lips feel softer.

Dom pulled back, and Billy had to sit up straight for his face to come back into focus. His lips were wet, a darker red now than they had been before.

"Not bad, huh?" he asked.

"You could say that."

Dom grinned and shoved his hands into the back pockets of Billy's jeans, pulling him closer, scraping denim across denim as Billy leaned in to kiss him again.

Dom's mouth tasted a little like bitter beer, a little like the spice from the curry, but mostly like something else, something that was just warm and clean, neutral as the inside of his own mouth but just different enough. Dom's hands were firm against his arse, fingers flexing inside the pockets. Dom laughed, a low sound that vibrated through his mouth just as Billy was tasting the soft hot place under his tongue.

"Tickle?" he asked, pulling away.

"No, just your arse. It's as terrific as I thought it would be." He squeezed hard, the pressure seeming to shoot straight to Billy's prick. He groaned softly, lowered his head and felt his forehead bump into Dom's. "Should I slow down?" Dom asked, his breath warm against Billy's mouth.

"I'm just dizzy," Billy said.

"All the blood left your brain, then, hey?" Dom's arms wrapped around him and pulled him to the side, one of his arms coming up to shield Billy's head as he laid them down on the sofa. They both had to struggle and shift against the soft cushions to fit, though they both fit the length of the sofa just fine. Billy wound up flat on his back, Dom wedged between the back of the sofa and his side, leaning over him. Billy could feel the hard line of Dom's cock against his hip, and it was comforting even as it was scary, knowing that Dom was reacting as strongly as him. "You alright?"

"I'm good," Billy said, shifting so that Dom could half-lie on him more completely, his eyes fluttering closed when Dom's thigh pressed down over his cock. "I should be asking you. You're the young pup that I'm taking advantage of."

"Doesn't feel like you're taking advantage," Dom said, moving against him so slowly it could never be said to be grinding, yet it made him see sparks behind his closed eyes. He lifted his head, seeking Dom's mouth, and Dom slipped a hand behind his head as they kissed, his other hand running up and down Billy's side. Dom pulled back just far enough to speak. "Can I take your shirt off?"

"Yeah."

Dom held himself up on one arm while he undid the buttons with the other, fingers quick until he got to trying to pull the shirt out of Billy's jeans.

"Wait," Billy said, "wait." He undid his belt and the top button of his jeans, arched his back to help when Dom pulled the shirt free, grabbed the hem of the vest he was wearing himself and tossed it to the side of the sofa.

"Excellent," Dom breathed, pulling his own tee off over his head. Billy reached up and set his hands flat against Dom's chest, fingers splayed out over his ribcage, traced down to the sharp taper of his waist, the v of where his hips disappeared into his jeans. He let his thumbs rest against the top of Dom's waistband, stared at the obvious arc of his cock straining against the denim.

"Do you mind if I, um," Dom asked, his own hands going to his fly, toying with the top button.

"Go ahead," Billy said, watching as Dom undid the first two buttons.

"Just the pressure, you know," he said as he laid back down, warm skin against Billy's own chest, one hand cupped around his shoulder as Dom began kissing him again.

Now it wasn't just their mouths, it was the soft yet wiry texture of the hair on their chests as they slid together, Dom's hand kneading the muscles in the back of his neck and his shoulder, and then their hips moving in a subtle counterpoint, Billy's cock snug up against Dom's thigh, Dom's body turned so his cock was rubbing up against the side of Billy's arse. Billy had his arms wrapped around Dom's back, used that slight leverage to move Dom more fully on top of him, thought about what it would be like if instead of just rubbing against each other they were lined up, cock to cock, and just the thought made him shudder, a full body shake that Dom couldn't help but notice.

"Alright?" he asked, pulling back. When he pushed himself up on his arms it only served to press his cock harder against Billy.

Billy took a deep breath. Now that Dom had pulled away from him he could feel a cooling wet spot on his stomach and his cock was throbbing harder than ever.

"Might need to, ah, stop," Billy said, the words seeming to come slowly.

"You not up for coming in your jeans tonight?" Dom asked, one eyebrow quirking up.

"Not really, no," Billy said, the blunt way Dom asked drawing a shaky laugh out of him.

"Doesn't have to be in your jeans," Dom said, settling down next to him. "If you'd like." He rested his hand on the top of Billy's thigh, fingertips just a hair's breadth from his cock.

Billy breathed in, out, looked at the ceiling, tried to think of a good reason to say no. He couldn't.

"I would," he said.

Dom smiled, pressed a kiss to the side of Billy's mouth before he got down to the business of unbuttoning his jeans. He laid open the fly, pushed the fabric off to either side so that when he wrapped his hand around the shaft there was nothing touching him but skin.

Billy hissed in a breath through his teeth-- as hard as he'd been Dom's touch had made him even harder, his skin felt hot, tight, Dom's touch was too much and yet he would die if Dom took his hand away.

"Lovely," Dom murmured, stroking from the base to the head, smearing his thumb around the pre-come there and dragging it down the vein that ran along the back.

"Never had anyone call it lovely," Billy managed to gasp out.

"Why not," Dom mused, "you've got a really lovely prick." He kept his grip loose, jacking his hand up and down the shaft, running the pad of his thumb over the slit to gather up more moisture.

Billy closed his eyes, his breathing ragged, back arching up as the ball of heat in his stomach seemed to pulse and expand, teasing him, almost there and then not quite enough.

"Tighter," Billy rasped out, "make your hand tighter."

Dom did as he asked, leaning over him more, changing the angle, pulling hard so that with every pass of his hand Billy's foreskin slipped up over the head, then pulled tight, straining, almost painful with Dom's too-dry hand circling him.

"Close, aren'tcha," Dom said, voice warm at his ear, and that was it, he was over the edge, ragged groan escaping as he came.

When he opened his eyes Dom was sitting up straight, looking slightly perplexed as he tucked Billy gently back into his jeans.

"What is it?" Billy asked.

"I tried to catch it," Dom said, but when he looked down Billy did too-- Dom had clearly caught the brunt of Billy's come on his stomach.

"Here," Billy said, reaching over the side of the sofa for his vest.

"Your shirt," Dom said, but Billy cut his protest short.

"I don't want you out of reach."

Dom grinned, then, and carefully used a corner of the vest to wipe his stomach off. "Alright." He twisted round and settled in still half on Billy, but with his back to him this time. "You right handed?"

"Yeah," Billy said.

"Assuming you've never done this before, this should be a suitable angle." He lifted his arse as he pushed his jeans down to his knees. Billy set his right hand on Dom's stomach, tracing over the damp patch where his own come had been and then down, the backs of his fingers bumping against the curve of Dom's cock.

Grasping it did feel a bit like taking his own cock in hand, only with the odd feeling of not being able to feel his own touch. He felt clumsy, but tried to remember what Dom had done, traced his fingers through the slick surface of the head of Dom's cock, dragged his fingers down against the shaft and realised why it felt odd. He strained to look over Dom's shoulder, confirming what he had felt.

"Yeah, I'm circumcised," Dom said, turning to look at Billy.

"It's alright," Billy said, "I just wasn't expecting it."

"It's OK, here," Dom said, wrapping his fingers around Billy's wrist and bringing Billy's palm up to his mouth. He licked Billy's palm with broad strokes of his tongue. "That should be plenty. I like it a little rough." He smiled, so close that he looked out of focus, and Billy let his head lean back on the arm of the sofa, no longer trying to look at Dom as he moved his hand.

It was easier than he'd thought, and with Dom's back pressed against him easy to tell when he did something Dom liked a lot, a certain twist of the wrist or his fingernails just grazing over his slit. He was close, back tense against him, his tongue flickering out to wet his lips as he rested his head against Billy's chest. Billy tightened his hand, moved faster, harder, pleased when his instincts seemed correct, when Dom just rolled his hips to accentuate Billy's movements. Billy bent his head and placed a line of kisses up the side of Dom's neck, up the tendons that were straining up under his skin, placed his mouth at the sweet pink shell of his ear.

"Good, Dom?" he asked, letting his lips brush against Dom's ear.

Dom tried to answer but all that came out was a high pitched moan, then he was pulsing and twitching in Billy's hand, groaning loud as he came on his own stomach.

He relaxed slowly, in stages, becoming heavier against Billy's chest. Billy took his hand away slowly, too, not sure what to do with it now. Dom laughed as he pulled himself up to sit, shifting awkwardly as he sat on Billy's shins.

"I'm not having much luck," he said, gesturing to his stomach.

"Go on, you love it," Billy said, groping for the vest they'd already used to clean him up.

"I sort of do," Dom admitted, slowly dragging his fingers across his stomach, making lines in the come. Billy stared, knowing he should have found it disgusting, yet feeling his cock stir at the sight.

He was startled out of that thought by the sound of something large and metal falling over. Dom jumped off the sofa, stood crouched there with his jeans around his ankles, trying not to lose his balance.

"What was that?" he whispered.

"Billy, what's in front of the door?" Maggie yelled through the part of the door she could open.

"Just a minute," he called out, his voice slightly hysterical. He tossed the vest to Dom while he could hear her trying to budge the bicycle from out in front of the door. "Don't try to move it, I'll be right there." He buttoned up his jeans and threw his shirt on, but couldn't manage to do the buttons; in his haste he supposed the two middle ones would be fine. He hurried to the front door, aware that in the lounge Dom was struggling to find a place to hide the vest but at least he was buttoned up with his tee shirt on.

"Whose bicycle is this?" Margaret asked.

"It's Dom's," Billy said, righting it and wheeling it out of the way.

"Oh, Dom is here?" she asked, then looked at her brother, took in his half-buttoned shirt, mussed hair, and probably, Billy thought, knowing himself, his guilty expression, and smirked. "Is he decent?"

"As I ever am," Dom said, cheeky grin on his face as he stood in the doorway to the lounge, hair mussed but otherwise looking far more put together than Billy, whose belt was also undone and hanging from his belt loops.

"I just came home for a second," Margaret said, "wanted to grab some clothes for tomorrow morning. Don't let me bother you."

Billy stood there frozen while she went up the stairs to her room.

"Billy, fix your belt," Dom prompted him. He came to stand in front of him, and undid the buttons which were in the wrong holes anyway. "Come on now."

Billy fixed it with numb fingers, feeling shaky as he listened to Margaret moving about upstairs. She was downstairs in a moment with an overnight bag slung over her arm. Dom disappeared to the kitchen while Billy faced her by the door.

"Billy," she said, "you look like you've seen a ghost."

"No, I'm alright," he said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She reached out, squeezed his shoulder, then dropped her bag to the floor and hugged him, impulsively, like she hadn't done since they were much younger. "He's a nice guy," she said, "have fun. Be careful." She stepped back and waited for him to get over his shock.

"Maggie, we're not, we weren't," he stammered.

"I meant, be careful with your heart." She picked up the bag. "But the other thing too." She paused and looked sharply at him. "Do you need," she began.

"Maggie! Whatever you were going to ask me, please, don't finish that sentence. I'm sure I'm fine."

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow." She opened the front door, then leaned back for a moment. "Bye Dom! Nice seeing you again!"

Dom popped out of the kitchen. "Bye Maggie!"

The door shut and Billy stood in the hallway, still feeling frozen.

"Good thing my bike was there, huh?" Dom asked.

"Right," Billy said.

"I'm getting myself a glass of water, do you want one?"

Billy nodded and followed Dom into the kitchen, sat down at the table and let himself be served.

"What's bothering you?" Dom asked.

Billy took a long drink and tried to figure that out. It had been embarrassing to be caught by his sister, sure, but he wasn't ashamed. She wasn't angry or upset. He didn't regret anything that they had done. He didn't feel guilty. And yet, there was something.

"My sister," he said slowly, "something she said the other day, thinking about it now, makes me wonder if she knew I was gay before I did."

Dom put his glass down heavily. "I know you said you'd never kissed a bloke before me, but really, you didn't have any inkling that you might swing this way?"

"Maybe a little? But I liked women too. So it seemed like it would never be an issue. Why go chasing trouble?"

"You think this is trouble?" Dom asked mildly.

"Not now," Billy said, "or not much, but when I was growing up, here in Glasgow, it would have been trouble. A lot of trouble. I'm older than you by enough to remember when things were far worse than they are now, and Scotland, Glasgow in particular, has always been a lot more conservative than England."

"More conservative than Manchester?" Dom challenged.

"Maybe not," Billy allowed.

"Not all of England is London," Dom gently reminded him. "You said this is trouble," he said. "But what is this?"

What was it, Billy thought. Some kissing on a Saturday night. Didn't have to be anything big. But when he looked at Dom's carefully neutral expression he knew he wanted it to be something more than just that.

"A really nice time, for starters," Billy said, "but that doesn't have to be all that it is."

Dom smiled. "Yeah? Are you saying I might come around again some time?"

"I'd like that," Billy said.

Dom finished his water. "Can I come round tomorrow? Or maybe you want to see where I live. I warn you though, it's small and there's three of us living there."

"You're not going home," Billy said.

"No?" Dom raised his eyebrows.

"It's black as pitch out there and there's practically no way for you to get home other than by the major roads. I'd drive you home but then I'd be stuck with your bike here. So it seems to me that you're staying."

"At least we already know that I fit on the sofa," Dom said.

Billy thought about how it felt to have Dom's back pressed against him, how warm and solid he was, what it might be like to lie next to him on a bed that had room for the both of them to lie flat. Then again, it wouldn't do to look too easy.

"There is that," he agreed, and watched something flicker in Dom's eyes when he said so. A little challenge, like Dom had been expecting him to offer him a spot in his bed, like maybe he still expected it. "Maybe we'd better go double check." He walked into the living room.

"You just want to snog me again," Dom said.

Billy flopped down on the sofa, thinking that really, the cushions were far too soft to be used as a proper bed. It might put a person's back out.

"I do want that," Billy said, patting the spot next to him. "Come on over."

6.

Billy woke up on his back, right arm thrown towards the middle of the bed, as usual, but this time it seemed gently pinned down by something, and there was a warm weight on his chest. He looked down, realised that it was Dom's head resting on his chest. One of Dom's arms was flung over Billy's chest, the other wrapped up around his shoulders, the curve under his armpit the only reason Billy's outstretched arm had not gone completely numb. They hadn't started out like that. They'd retired to bed after Billy noted that his mouth was starting to feel raw from kissing. He'd found a new toothbrush in the bathroom cupboard and Dom had accepted the gift with a gravitas that it perhaps did not deserve, and they had curled up under the covers, only to meet in the middle, Billy's hands seemingly having a mind of their own as they roamed over Dom's body, finding the grooves between muscles, tracing curves that led to other curves, a never-ending map that his hands wanted to learn right away.

Under the covers he'd kicked his trousers off readily enough, feeling covered. Dom had tried to wriggle out of the soft jogging bottoms Billy had loaned him but wound up jumping out of bed in frustration, just ripping them off, leaving himself naked and outlined in the pale blue light from the streetlamps outside. Billy had stared, Dom had preened, and they'd both laughed as Dom pulled back the covers and crawled back in. Dom had rolled on top of him, a murmured "my turn" before he started kissing him, legs tangling together until Dom found a place he was comfortable, both of his legs between Billy's, and the sudden feeling of being spread open under him was too much; Billy had pulled his head away, broken the kiss.

"Wait," he said, taking in a deep breath. Dom's cock was lined up next to his, another centimetre and they'd be rubbing together, and he knew that once that happened talking would be right off the list of things he could reliably do. "There is something I don't want to do."

"Yeah?" Dom had pulled back far enough that they could look at each other, and Billy wondered if his blush was visible in the low light. Probably not, but his face felt hot enough that he was sure Dom could feel it. "What is it, Billy, just tell me. Do you want me to get off you?" He started to roll away but Billy pressed his hand to Dom's lower back.

"No, stay. It's just that, I need you to know. I don't want," and he paused, knowing what it was he didn't want, but not sure of the right way to say it. Dom just stared down at him, patient, and maybe a little amused. Billy took another deep breath and went for the blunt approach. "Anal sex is right out."

Dom grinned at him. "Don't worry, Billy, no one's getting fucked tonight." He lowered himself down so they were chest to chest again, started rocking minutely against him. "Maybe not ever. There's plenty of other things." He slipped a hand between them, gently nudged Billy's cock so that it came in line with his, and Billy shivered at that, the feeling of that firm flesh pressed against his. He pushed back, marvelling that it didn't feel weird. They seemed to fit together, even just lined up like this, but the hot drag of his cock against Dom's was a little too dry.

"Wait," he said, "I've got something."

"What?" Dom said, rolling off of him. "What do you have?"

Billy was reaching over the edge of the bed, groping around under the bed frame when what he'd said hit him. "Not, I've got something as in an STD, which I haven't, thank you, but I've got something, as in this." He tossed the small bottle of unscented hand lotion at Dom who caught it easily.

"Scared me for a minute Billy," Dom said, grinning as he squeezed a generous amount into his palm. "I'm clean too, by the way."

"Probably should have asked before I let you crawl naked into my bed," Billy mused.

"Probably," Dom said, working the lotion between his hands, warming it up. He reached down towards Billy but set his hand just to one side of Billy's dick, teasingly spreading the lotion over his pelvis, tracing out the lines of the bones under the skin, swooping his hand over one hip, then sliding down, teasing his fingernails through the sight thatch of hair before moving on to the other side, his hand skimming just under the curve of his cock.

"Fucking prick tease," Billy gritted out, his arse lifting up off the bed as he tried to follow Dom's hand.

"You've already come once, and I'm a prick tease?" Dom asked, leaning back, well out of reach. He wrapped his hand around his own cock, giving it a slow luxurious pull. "Nothing teasing about this, Billy." He lowered himself slowly, one hand wrapped around the base of his cock, holding it steady as he traced the head along the side of Billy's cock. Billy shuddered, arched up, muscles tense enough to drive the sharp cut of his hip right into Dom's, hard enough to bruise, until he shifted the essential inch to one side that let them fit together, hard friction and slick slide, all tempered by something soft and smooth. Blood pounded in his ears so loudly that he could barely hear Dom's low voice, I got you Billy as he pressed his hand to the sweat slick skin at the small of his back, holding them together.


Dom spoke against his chest.

"You're awake," he said, "I can hear you thinking from over here."

"What am I thinking about?" Billy asked. It felt like the most natural thing in the world for him to lift his trapped arm slightly, bending his elbow so he could reach up and stroke Dom's hair.

"Thinking you'd like your arm back?" Dom ventured.

"Thinking about last night," Billy said.

"Which part?" Dom's voice was carefully noncommittal, as if he expected Billy to run screaming at any moment. Billy smiled, knowing how unlikely that would be.

"The part where you somehow managed to end up covered in come for the third time in an evening," he said.

Dom laughed and rolled away from him, letting him take his arm back. Billy flexed his fingers-- they were a little asleep after all.

"You had a good deal on you as well," he pointed out.

"You had more."

Dom snickered. "True. At least my skin is silky smooth now." Under the covers he seemed to be scratching idly at his stomach.

"Yeah, that's what I keep the Nivea around for," Billy said.

Dom swung his legs out of the bed and pulled on the jogging bottoms Billy had loaned him. "I'd snog you now but I'm pretty sure something crawled in my mouth and died, so if you'll excuse me," he said, walking off towards the bathroom.

"Classy," Billy remarked to the ceiling, but he couldn't stop smiling.

Dom came back and sat on the end of the bed, out of reach, until Billy got up and went to brush his own teeth, then ran down the stairs to the kitchen, yelling something about wanting to murder an omelet.

When Billy got there Dom was standing in the middle of the room.

"Are you making me an omelet?" Billy asked.

"Thought I might want to ask, first," Dom said, "even though my first thought was just to throw open the fridge."

Billy walked over and looked in. "There's no cheese," he said, "why is there no cheese?"

Dom came to look over his shoulder, watching as Billy shifted through the contents of the salad drawer.

"Fry up it is then," Dom said.

Billy sat at the table and watched as Dom sliced up a tomato and a handful of mushrooms that he'd thought had seen better days, but under Dom's knife work looked perfectly passable for a fry up.

"What's with the thousand yard stare?" Dom asked.

"I'm thinking there's something I ought to be doing," Billy said.

"It's Sunday morning," Dom said. "What could you possibly be meant to be doing? Unless it's church." He turned suddenly. "Am I keeping you from church?"

Billy chuckled and shook his head. "No. I was just thinking, shouldn't I be having some kind of big gay crisis or something?"

"Well," Dom said, not laughing it off the way Billy had expected him to. "You already knew you were attracted to men. You just never did anything about it. Or you never had a chance to do anything about it. Either way, it's not a revelation, it's just," he shrugged, turned back to the pan and slid the mushrooms in. "It is what it is, you know?"

"So I can skip the big gay crisis then?" Billy asked.

"Please do." Dom plucked the bacon from the pan and set it on a paper towel. "Put some coffee on?"

Billy filled the coffee pot at the sink, Dom bumping his hip against him as they both moved in the small space. He ducked his head to hide his smile but looked at Dom when he turned around, caught Dom looking at him and couldn't help it, grinned outright.

7.

Billy sat on the edge of the ratty old sofa that had somehow wound up in the corner of their recording space, itself just a large empty room that had once been part of a garage. He held his acoustic guitar loosely, picking his way through a series of first position chords, nothing like an actual song, just killing time until the rest of the band arrived. One of the collators at the factory had gone totally off-line, and while there would be hell to pay at the end of the week when they were scrambling to catch up, at least he'd managed to get out of work early for once. He set the guitar aside as his phone buzzed in his pocket, glanced down and saw Dom's name.

"Hi Dom," he said, the warm feeling that he always got talking to Dom settling over him like a comfortable weight.

"I'm off my rocker with boredom," Dom said, by way of greeting, "I'm out of my head with it. I've been cycling around Glasgow all day and people keep asking me for directions and half the time I have no idea. An American family just started walking towards me so I got my phone out."

"So I'm just part of your ruse," Billy said, amused. "Lovely. Where are you?"

"I'm in George Square," Dom said, "you know, I've lived in Glasgow almost a year and I've never actually been here?"

"Never?" Billy asked, a little surprised, then reflected that he didn't have much cause to go their either, unless it was for Hogmanay or the Christmas fair, and that hadn't been for many years.

"I've been by it but never really through it," Dom clarified.

"I'm not that far from there myself," Billy said, "I'm in the rehearsal space on Osborne St."

"Can I come see you?" Dom asked.

Billy glanced at the time on the face of his phone-- still almost half an hour until the others would be expected. "Might have to kick you out when the others get here," Billy said.

"I don't want to be your Yoko Ono," Dom said. "Where is Osborne Street?"

Billy thought for a moment. "Southeast of you," he said. "It's off of Queen Street."

"I'm staring at the map like a bloody tourist," Dom said, "the things I do for you."

"Right," Billy said, "I'm a pack of trouble."

"Found it," Dom said. "What's it look like?"

"It's an old garage, one of the arches, about four down," Billy said. "The door is cracked open right now."

"Be there in a bit, Billy," Dom said. "Can't talk and ride."

"Well, you could, but I'd prefer it if you didn't," Billy pointed out.

"Right. Be there soon."

Billy fought the urge to pace around the small space, opting instead to work on a new song, but his attention wandered. Over the last week Dom had spent the night at his house twice and he'd spent an evening in Dom's apartment, but the fact that his roommates were a good ten years younger than Billy made him feel like a dirty old man. That and his house afforded more privacy, even with Margaret living there, but there was always the issue of Dom's bicycle and the fact that he lived some six miles away along busy roads. They'd worked out that if the front wheel of the bike was taken off and the handlebars adjusted to their lowest point it would just fit in the back seat of Billy's car, provided that the passenger seat was pulled all the way forward. Still, the desire to be with Dom all the time, to keep him near, both thrilled and disturbed Billy. It wasn't like Dom was a pet that could just be kept to hand, to be there at the end of a long day, but he was available more often than not and Billy was getting used to the sight of him.

It had been hardly any time at all when there was a knock at the arched doorway, then a tentative push, the wooden door creaking on rusty hinges.

"Billy?"

"Yeah, it's me," he said, coming forward. Dom set his bike just inside the door, then turned around, his arms already open. Billy stepped into the hug, wrapping one arm over Dom's shoulders, one under, the circles of their arms fitting them together like two links in a chain. Dom tightened his arms so hard that Billy could feel the subtle motion of his ribs moving in, could feel the pounding of Dom's heart against his chest, his own heartbeat a slower counterpoint. Dom loosened his grip, pulled back just enough to kiss him, a firm quick press of their lips before he stepped back entirely, looking around the large room.

"You've got a real piano," he said, already gravitating towards it.

"Yeah, BJ usually uses his own keyboard, but this one is in tune," Billy said.

Dom sat down on the bench and opened the key cover, running through the same scales Billy had heard him do at the other studio, warming up his hands.

"Do you not have a piano at your apartment?" Billy asked, suddenly realising something.

"Where would I put it?" Dom asked, walking his hands through a twelve bar blue progression.

"But I mean, you don't have a keyboard either?" Billy asked.

"The life of an itinerant voice over artist does not really allow for electric pianos," Dom said, "I did have an old Casio but one of my roommates stepped on it and it hasn't really been the same since." He played slower, segueing from one chord to another easily. "I could find more steady work, I suppose, but I seem to find a piano somewhere every few days." He looked up at Billy and smiled. "We should do a number."

"What do you fancy?" Billy asked. He hadn't stood at the side of a piano and sung without a guitar in his own hands for years, since school, and he felt nostalgic and fond of Dom all at once.

"Sexy Sadie?" Dom asked.

Billy shrugged. "I think I remember the words."

He made it through the first verse, Dom taking McCartney's part, before he realised he didn't know the words to the rest of it.

"Dom," he started, but Dom shook his head, grinning. "Listen." He slowed down the progression, changed the pattern but kept the chords the same. Billy furrowed his eyebrows, trying to place it. Dom looked up at him and began to sing.

"Karma Police, arrest this man, he talks in maths, he buzzes like a fridge," he paused, waiting for the penny to drop.

"I never noticed that before," Billy admitted, sitting down next to Dom on the bench.

"What do you want to hear?" Dom asked.

"You a lounge singer now?" Billy asked, a momentary pang when he thought of his father, who had tried to be, once upon a time.

"Don't rule it out," Dom said, "me, a tux, a dinner club. It could happen."

"Why not." Billy stood up, stretched his back. "My dad liked Beyond the Sea."

Dom started the opening chords. "It's a little anaemic without a band," he said, "but it sounds alright."

Billy nodded, let the verse come around again, started to sing. He looked at Dom, and suddenly the words about someone being meant just for him didn't seem so schmaltzy. Dom nodded at him when the key change came around, as if he might not have heard it, and he just smiled to realise that really, he might have missed it but he knew just what Dom meant at that moment. Dom was improvising a bridge to approximate the big band sound, leaning over the keys, tossing his head at Billy when it was time for him to come back in. Billy was on the we'll meet, I know we'll meet when the door opened. Out of the corner of his eye he could see John and Rick, back-lit from the street, looking bemused as Billy ended with no longer I'll go sailing.

Dom looked up at Billy, the subdued heat in his eyes implying that he might just be thinking of standing up and snogging him senseless. To avoid the potential awkwardness of that situation, Billy cleared his throat and looked over at Rick and John.

"Hi," Dom said, slightly dazed.

"Dom, right? Good to see you again."

"Hi Rick, John," Dom said, glancing quickly at Billy to make sure he had it right. Billy nodded.

"Hi Dom," John said, "BJ not here yet?"

"No," Billy said, "he might still be at work."

"It's getting harder and harder to come up with a night when we can all be here," John remarked, taking his place behind the drum kit.

"Is that what they call growing up?" Billy asked, putting his guitar strap back over his shoulder and plugging in the pickup.

"I think that might have something to do with why I actually have to go back to work after practise is over," Rick said. "Month end is a whore."

Billy rocked back on his heels. "If we're going to practise the newer stuff we should wait for BJ," he said.

"We could just warm up with something familiar," Rick said, "I kind of need to get back by eight."

Billy thought of Rick's wife and son and nodded. "Alright, um."

Dom piped up. "If you want to do This is Not an Exit or Radio, I can accompany you," Dom offered.

"Ah, This is Not an Exit," John said, "that's a good one to start with."

"Thought you might like that one," Dom said, "I'll do up the bit with the strings with the right hand, OK?"

"Sure," Rick said, surprised.

Dom grinned over at Billy, started nice and easy, just plucking the notes out, his foot over the middle pedal so that each hammer struck just one string, the closest it might come on an acoustic piano to approximating a string section.

It went off without a hitch, Dom joining in on the last round of harmonies, making his voice louder, the other two following suit, making it bolder, drawing it out longer, finally coming to a stop just as the door opened.

Billy turned to where BJ stood.

"Starting without me?" BJ asked, his voice low, but carrying easily.

Rick turned towards him. "I asked to get started right away, BJ, I have to get back to work."

"And I was a little late, from work," BJ said, "and I get here and apparently I've been replaced."

Dom stood up from behind the piano, his hands raised just over his waist. "I'm just here to hang out," he said, "I'm not replacing anyone."

"Right." BJ turned to John. "Just happened to show up, again, right?"

"BJ," John said, warning in his voice.

"He didn't just happen to show up," Billy said, "I was here early and I asked him to come over."

"Seems like he's been coming over," BJ said, something dangerous in his voice.

"BJ, not now," Rick said.

"Why not now?" Billy asked, taking his guitar off and setting it in its stand. "What do you have to say to me?"

"Are you two fucking?" BJ asked.

Billy felt his head snap back, minutely, but as hard as if he had actually be slapped. Out of the corner of his eye Billy could see John scrubbing his hand over his face, Rick looking up at the ceiling.

Billy stepped closer. "Want to tell me why you think it's any of your fucking business?"

"It's affecting the band," BJ said, "the band I've been in for almost ten years. Therefore, it is my fucking business."

"Whoa, BJ, whoa whoa," John said, standing up, walking towards him.

"Stay out of it," BJ snapped.

"How the fuck is it affecting the band?" Billy yelled.

"Because for years people have suspected that you're bent and we've been known as that band with the poofter in it," BJ said.

"Well, fuck that noise," Billy yelled, "I hadn't ever been bent before this."

"Obviously you were," BJ shot back, "and you didn't bother telling us."

"I hardly knew myself," Billy said, trying to lower his voice, "and I still don't know what the hell you're on about."

Dom slid off the bench and walked around the piano, walking over to Billy. "Like I said, I'm going home," he said. He turned towards BJ. "It was never my intention to stay."

He walked away without touching Billy, a loss Billy felt keenly. He walked steadily towards the door, not slowing as he got near BJ, but Billy could see the line of tension across his shoulders. As he stepped past BJ, BJ leaned over and bumped him with his shoulder, throwing him off his stride. Dom stumbled, Billy stepped forward, Rick stood up straighter, and Dom stopped for a moment. He and BJ locked eyes, then Dom turned back towards the door and walked his bike outside.

Billy waited until the door was closed to cross the floor in two strides, standing nose to nose with BJ.

"What the fuck?" he snapped.

"I might ask you the same thing," BJ said, "you've barely been mentally present over the last few weeks."

"Anyone in a new relationship gets a little moony," John said, trying to placate him.

"Shut up, John," BJ said. "I'm not talking about moony, I'm talking about not even here."

"That's not fair," Rick started.

"What's not fair is Billy acting like he's fucking führer, and then not even carrying his own weight, much less the entire band the way he thinks he does."

"You need your head looked at," Billy said.

"Fuck you," BJ said, "I'm not crazy and I'm not the only one who notices, you know." He turned to John. "Isn't that right?"

John sighed. "Billy, I don't have a problem with who you're seeing. All I said was that it seemed like you were distracted lately."

"And I'm not afraid to say that we know why," BJ said.

"If Dom was a bird?" Billy asked.

"If he was then we wouldn't be fighting the label of that gay band, now would we?"

"I'm not going to change who I am just because of some fucking gossip," Billy said.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it, and it doesn't mean I have to like you skiving off every other moment to be with Dom." He turned and stomped out.

Billy sighed, feeling deflated, feeling hit, in no physical pain but the same sort of mental exhaustion he used to feel after scrapping with someone bigger than himself. When he looked up, both Rick and John were looking at him, expectant, waiting for instruction, which, he thought, might sort of prove part of BJ's point.

"John," he said, "maybe you should go and talk to BJ."

"Right," he said. He paused before the door. "I'm guessing we're probably not having a practise tonight?"

"I'm guessing not," Billy said, glancing at Rick. "You can get back to work now, I suppose."

"See you later, then," John said. He shut the door behind him, pushing until it latched.

"BJ was completely out of order," Rick said, taking his bass off. "It's none of his concern who you're seeing."

"Have I been mentally absent?" Billy asked, seething.

Rick shook his head. "No, or no more so than when I started going out with Janey. It's just part of being with someone new." He put his bass in its case, then stood up, apparently now at a loss for something to do with his hands. He walked over to the piano and sat down on the bench, pulling the cover down over the keys. "It doesn't matter to me that it's a bloke."

"Seems to matter to BJ," Billy said.

"I think BJ cares about what other people think about you and by proxy the band far more than he cares about who you're actually seeing. But no, he doesn't seem to be taking it in stride."

"He said people had been saying I was bent for a while," Billy said.

Rick looked up at him. "You have to have known that," he said.

"Never crossed my mind," Billy told him. "Or my ears, apparently."

"A couple of guys around town have had eyes for you, over the years," Rick pointed out. "You never seemed interested."

"I wasn't," Billy said, "wasn't bent. At least, not for them." He sighed and sat down on a folding chair. "Who, anyway?"

"The only one that comes to mind is Edward, over at The 13th Note," Rick said, inclining his head. Edward was the manager, and had booked them to play there many times. Billy had found him likable enough, obviously gay but he'd never sensed any interest.

"I knew he was gay but I didn't think he was interested in me," Billy said.

"Well, you were dating Ali at the time," Rick said, " and that seemed like it was going to be a sure thing. I told him I thought you were only into women."

"He asked you?" Billy said, bemused despite himself.

"Well, yeah, I think he knew better than to ask BJ."

Billy nodded. BJ had always been reticent about playing at The 13th Note, despite the fact that it actually paid fairly well and the crowd was always good. Billy had never thought that it was because of Edward, but it seemed clear now.

"He's got a problem with gay men?" Billy asked, though at this point it hardly even seemed to be a question.

"Oddly, it's never really come up before now," Rick said. "He tells John more than he tells me but I think he might have a problem with you being gay, as opposed to gay men in general." He looked away, then back at Billy, then away again, like he couldn't make up his mind about something.

"What?" Billy asked.

"Are you gay?"

Billy laughed. "I don't know what to call myself. Seems a bit like I'm trying to keep my options open if I say I'm bi at this point, don't you think?"

"Like, it seems greedy?" Rick asked, smiling but confused.

"Well, a bit," Billy said, "and maybe a bit like I don't really believe in what I've got."

"And you do," Rick said, "you really like this guy."

"I really do."

Rick nodded, stood up. "For what it's worth I like him too," Rick said. "And I don't see why BJ is so threatened by him."

"Unless BJ is harbouring a secret crush on me," Billy said, hoping, as soon as the words left his mouth, that Rick would brush them off as nonsense.

"Can't say I didn't consider the possibility," Rick said. "But he'll never tell, if he does. And I don't think so, to be honest. It's just that, like I said, he really cares what other people think."

"Even if that's all that it is, it's not going to be easy to convince him to change."

Rick shook his head as he stood up. "That and no one else wants to say it, and John never will, but Dom is a better piano player than BJ."

"I didn't," Billy began.

"I know, you don't have any designs on replacing BJ. And he's a fine musician. It's just that Dom is better, and I think that scares BJ more than he's willing to admit."

"Terrific. Could this get any more fucked up?"

"I don't know," Rick said gently, "I'm guessing it could. Meet back here next Tuesday? We don't have a gig this weekend. The Halt Bar was going to get back to Ted but I'll call and tell him not to bother pressing the issue."

"We could do with a weekend off," Billy agreed.

"Let BJ pull his head out of his arse," Rick said. "I'm going back to work."

"Enjoy," Billy said. Working in a factory was dead boring most of the time but at least he didn't have to commit himself to hours of work outside his regular day.

He walked out into the street with Rick. There was a thick line of bright pink clouds in the sky overlying the darker blue. It was getting dark and Dom would be almost home by now.

"Who's that leaning on your car?" Rick asked, looking up the street.

Billy turned his head, afraid that it would be BJ, but it was Dom, his head bent over his mobile phone as he texted.

"It's Dom," he said.

Rick nodded. "See you next week." He walked the other way down the street to his car as Billy jogged over to where Dom was standing, his bicycle carefully propped against the side of the car by just the rubberised hand grip on the handlebar.

"Dom!"

When Dom looked up it wasn't with the smile Billy had been expecting. His face looked guarded, shut off, like he was wary of what Billy might be about to say.

"You didn't leave," Billy said.

"Wanted to make sure you were okay," Dom said, "then I started thinking, if I keep waiting out here, how late is it going to be, so I was about to go." He shifted. "I saw John and BJ leave. I thought you might be coming right after them."

"Did they see you?" Billy asked.

"John did, he steered BJ away from me," Dom said, "I think they went over to the pub." He stood and stretched, leaning back so his shirt rode up just enough to show off a pale strip of skin. Billy's hand twitched, wanting to reach out, trace his fingers over it, but he held back. They were standing in the middle of the street and this wasn't the time anyway.

"Then I guess the pub is right out," Billy said, "you want to go home?"

"Yeah, can I have a lift?" Dom asked.

"Of course." They broke down the bike quickly, placing the wheel in the trunk and moving the passenger seat up to allow the bike to fit in the back seat at an odd angle. Dom climbed in to the passenger side, his knees touching the dashboard.

Billy started driving back to his house, glancing over at Dom who was looking out the window."

"Are you driving us back to yours?" Dom asked.

"Shite," Billy said, realising too late that he was already on the A8.

"No, it's alright," Dom said, "I just wasn't sure if that was where you wanted to go."

Billy reached over and set his hand on Dom's knee, let his thumb rub circles over the small hole in his jeans, worrying the frayed edges.

"More room at mine," Billy pointed out.

"Not sure you'd want me around tonight," Dom said.

"Believe me," Billy said, "I want you around."


part 3

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Slasha, Baby - LotRiPS holiday fic exchange

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