KissFromARose

JC sighed in frustration, untying his smock and throwing it on the ground. He threw his paintbrush against the wall, watching as black streaked the white paint like a scar. Looking back at the painting before him, JC cringed and sighed in disappointment. It was horrible, at least to him it was. There was no life in it; just lines, dots, blobs and splatters of black and gray. It was just meaningless paint on paper.

JC went to the cabinet, looking around for a good sized bottle of Jack
Daniel's. Finding only an old bottle of champagne, he sighed and grabbed it, heading out the back door and onto his balcony that overlooked the ocean. He took a large gulp of the alcoholic beverage and wiped his mouth, sitting down on a lawn chair. The sky was a perfect shade of light blue, and without a cloud in sight. The waves were calm and soft, splashing onto the white sandy shores almost playfully.

JC sighed and took another drink. It was gorgeous out here, the exact reason he had come when the group got a short vacation, and yet all he could paint was depressing pictures consisting of black and gray. While he was no where near a professional artist, JC had always been proud of the way his paintings held so much emotion and meaning in them. He could take one out that he did months ago, look at it, and remember exactly what he had been feeling when he did it. Now though, he wasn't sure he wanted to be reminded of this time.

'Maybe I don't want so much peace and quiet after all,' he thought to
himself. 'I came up here to get away from everything and everyone, and it sucks.' He sighed and set the champagne down. 'Time for a little inspiration.'

JC jogged into the house and picked up his phone, dialing the number he knew by heart. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

JC's heart skipped a beat and he felt himself smiling already, just at the
sound of his lover's voice. "Hey Justin," he said quietly.

"Josh!" came Justin's excited voice over the line. "What's up?"

JC smiled and sat down on his couch, pulling his legs up to his chest. He shrugged even though Justin couldn't see him.

"Nothing," he said. "I just miss you. A lot."

He could hear Justin's smile over the phone, and it warmed his heart. "I miss you too, baby. *So* much." He sighed loudly, causing a minute of static. "This break thing sucks."

JC bit his lip. "Yeah, it does," he said softly. "Hey! What don't you come down here? We have another week off, and I need to see you."

Justin was a bit hesitant, but JC could hear the hope in his voice. "Are you sure Josh?" he asked. "I mean, you went to your hideaway to be alone and paint. I don't want to distract you."

"You won't distract me," said JC, a little too quickly. Justin laughed and JC blushed. "So, will you come?"

This time, he *knew* Justin was smiling. "Yes, Josh, I'll come."

~*~
JC tried painting some more, sure that hearing Justin's voice would inspire him again. However, his results were still gray and boring. He sighed and decided to forget about it for now. Instead, he focused on making the place look good for Justin's arrival. Up until the next day, JC cleaned, washed, scrubbed, moved and fixed things all around the house, wanting everything to look perfect for his boyfriend. He even went in town and bought new sheets for the bed in the master bedroom, silky blue ones that were smooth on his skin.

It was 10:00 at night, and JC was starting a fire in the fireplace when he heard a car door shut outside the front of the house. He knew it was Justin's cab, and he rushed to the door. Throwing it open, he leaped down the steps and nearly tackled Justin. The younger man laughed and hugged his lover tightly, waving the cab driver off. He bent his knees and grabbed his bags as JC wrapped his legs around Justin's waist. Justin waddled towards the door, but sighed when he reached the steps.

"Ain't no way in hell I'm even trying," he mumbled to himself as he dropped his luggage on the ground. He held JC tightly and sprinted up the steps and into the house, landing on the couch with a soft plop.

JC sighed as his lips met Justin's, their hands becoming reacquainted with each other's bodies after a week of being apart. Their tongues dueled slowly, and their clothed chests rubbed against one another, causing friction between their bodies in more places than one. Justin pulled back first, his sparkling eyes roaming around the room and then back down at his lover.

"You did all of this for me?" he asked, pushing JC's hair out of his eyes.

JC sighed happily and nodded, leaning into Justin's touch. Their lips met briefly as Justin pulled JC onto his lap.

"I was going to say we should go upstairs," said Justin, his hands running up and down JC's back, "but now I think we should stay here and cuddle by the fire for a bit."

JC nodded in agreement, his head resting comfortably on top of Justin's as they stared into the vast flames.

~*~
JC awoke the next morning in his bed, and with Justin asleep beside him. He yawned and let his eyes roam over the beautiful boy next to him. Justin's face was buried in the crook of JC's neck, and JC kissed his forehead softly, just because he could. He resisted running his hands down Justin's sculpted chest, not wanting to wake him up.

He slipped quietly out of bed, pulling the silk sheets and warm covers over Justin's naked body. JC put his boxers and a bathrobe on, tiptoeing quietly out of the room. He went downstairs and straight to his canvas of gray. He grabbed a new paintbrush, dipped it in water and bit of red, and began painting over his old work. He worked for hours, the ideas, emotions and feelings just flowing out of him and onto the paper. Not once did he stop and critique what he was doing.

JC finished just as sunlight was beginning to light the room. He took a deep breath and stepped back a few feet, looking over his work. Where there was once clouds of gray, there was now blue sky, the color of Justin's eyes. Where there used to be stripes and dots of black, there was now rays of yellow and gold, the color of Justin's skin. In the very middle of the page, where there used to be nothing, there was a blood red rose. It was the color of Justin's lips, and a symbol of JC's love.

JC stood perfectly still, his lips turned in a soft smile as a lone tear
slipped down his cheek. He turned and made his way back up the stairs and into the master bedroom. He shed the bathrobe and slipped into bed, curling against Justin's body and kissing his love's neck.

He had found his inspiration in Justin, their love, and a kiss from a rose.

THE END