| Phoenix: Chapter 2: Rebirth |
| Saturday morning. Jack wakes up, and he's not alone . . . |
| Jack was having trouble waking up. He distantly registered that as odd � he was usually the kind of type-A personality who jumped out of bed the minute his eyes opened. He had never understood the people who used snooze alarms. But today, everything seemed fuzzy, like his brain was wrapped in cotton. But not a hangover. He knew well what a hangover felt like, and this was definitely not it. Similar, but not quite . . . besides, it had been a long time since he had been drunk enough for a hangover. He became dimly aware of an ache in his right arm and shoulder. He tried to stretch, to work out the kinks, and almost panicked as he realized he couldn�t move the right arm at all. He groggily sat up, blinked and looked around . . . What the hell was Lennie doing in his bed??!!!!!! The memory of the previous day broke through the cotton, hitting him like a ton of bricks . . . The assault. The pain. The terror. The kiss. Oh. OH. But wait; hadn�t Lennie backed off, not wanting to take advantage of Jack�s weakened state? The day had been too traumatic, he had said. Can�t trust that�s it�s really you saying yes. Wait at least until the drugs wore off . . . OK, that explained the cotton. The painkiller he had taken before bed. Then he remembered . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ �NO!!! Dad, NO!!!!!� Jack�s scream cut through the stillness of the night, bringing Lennie instantly awake and running into his friend�s room to see Jack sitting up in bed looking utterly terrified. He sat down on the bed and took Jack into his arms. �It�s OK, Jack, it�s OK. It�s all over now. This is just a nightmare.� He glanced at the clock � 6AM. He thought about getting Jack another of the knockout painkiller pills to help him get back to sleep, but decided it was too late; he�d be asleep all day if he took another one now. So he did his best to calm Jack�s fears, holding him as he had the night before on the couch. After a few minutes, the trembling stopped as Jack came more awake. He took a deep breath and pulled away a bit to look up at Lennie�s face. �Oh, God, it was happening all over again . . .� Lennie reached over to gently brush the hair out of his eyes. Jack smiled weakly at the gesture, his eyes meeting Lennie�s then quickly looking away, almost shy. �You gonna to be able to get back to sleep?� Lennie asked, concerned. Jack looked at his friend, the feelings they had begun to discover yesterday rushing back full force. �Lennie, would you stay with me? I really don�t want to be alone right now.� Lennie hesitated, not sure exactly what Jack was asking. �All right, if you think it will help you sleep,� he hedged. Jack nodded and moved over, this time making his intentions perfectly clear. //Oh, God, in his bed. Take it slow, Lennie boy. It�s a good sign, but it�s still too soon.// Lennie pulled back the covers and crawled into the bed. With Jack�s bad shoulder, it took them a while to find something comfortable for both of them, but eventually they did, and it wasn�t long before Jack was snoring softly, wrapped in Lennie�s arms. Lennie laid awake for a long while, just watching the slow rise and fall of Jack�s chest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jack looked over at the man sleeping beside him. //I guess that wasn�t part of the dream after all,// he thought, remembering. //Do I really want this? I�d better decide soon- it just wouldn�t be fair to Lennie. He�s been such a good friend . . .// But then, so had Claire been a friend first. Claire. He still couldn�t believe that yesterday in his panic he had thought of Lennie, rather than her. It had been 5 years now since she died. Was he finally over it? Or was it just that this was different enough that it didn�t feel like cheating on her? Did it matter? Could he truly love another man? His memory flashed back to the kiss. So much had happened in those brief moments, so many emotions. Longing, to be no longer alone. Love, for the friend who had become so much more. Desire � yes, he had to admit it � the kiss had roused his long dormant passions. But what about Lennie? If word of this ever got out, it could be very bad for a cop. But then, half the world seemed to think they were already lovers, had been ever since Lennie moved in. Maybe it wouldn�t be so risky after all . . . //Claire, what should I do? Is it worth the risk to Lennie? Is it finally time for me to move on? Is it worth the risk to love again?// He could almost hear her sweet voice: //Jack, my love. Know that I will always be with you. Follow your heart and be happy again, my love.// He came out of his reverie and looked again at Lennie sleeping so peacefully beside him. Yes. It would be a new experience, that was for sure. He reached out and gently ran his fingers down Lennie�s cheek. The roughness of the unshaven face felt odd, but that just made it more exciting. New and exciting and wonderful. //But this one-handed thing is going to get old VERY fast. I had a broken arm as a kid too, Lennie. Will you help me change my underwear?// He chuckled at the thought, only a little embarrassed by the response growing between his legs. The sound was enough to wake Lennie, who stretched luxuriously and rolled over onto his side, head propped on one arm, to look at Jack. �And just what are YOU laughing at?� Ulp! Lennie�s attention had kicked the embarrassment � AND the arousal - up several notches; his face was beginning to feel quite warm . . . �Sorry, Lennie. Didn�t mean to wake you. Uh, nothing in particular. Just happy to be alive, I guess.� Lennie�s eyebrow climbed practically off his face. �Right. That�s OK, I�ll let you off the hook this time.� His expression turned serious. �How you feeling?� �OK, Lennie. I think I�m going to be OK. Thanks to you.� He reached over and pushed a stray lock of hair back from Lennie�s face, letting the touch become a caress. Their eyes met, and this time Lennie knew for sure. He sat up and drew Jack into his arms, into the kiss. This time there was no hesitation. Fire coursed through every nerve in his body as their lips closed together, Jack�s tongue pushing into his mouth. The kiss was long and slow as they discovered each other. Lennie couldn�t believe how good this felt. Yeah, he had played around with the fantasy, but the reality was turning out to be infinitely better. If he had had any doubts about getting it on with a man, they were long gone. At least with THIS man. Jack sighed as he released Lennie from the kiss; he was really getting hard now. �Oh, God, Lennie. I can�t believe I�m doing this . . .can you believe I�m nervous?� Lennie traced his fingers from Jack�s neck down the length of his good arm, ultimately taking Jack�s hand in his. He lifted the fingers to his lips in a kiss. �We can take it slow, Jack. No rush. It�s new to me too, we�ll figure it out together.� �Not too slow, Lennie. I haven�t felt like this for so long . . .� He pulled his fingers from Lennie�s and reached out to slide his hand under the pyjama top Lennie wore. �You want to lose the shirt, Lennie? I want to feel YOU. And I�m pretty useless at this undressing/dressing thing right now,� he said with a mischievous grin. �Was that what you were laughing about?� Lennie asked as he slipped off the pyjama top, and in a moment of �what the hell� abandon also shed the pants. �Well, yeah, now that you mention it. Was picturing you . . .� Jack faded to silence as he realized he no longer had to picture Lennie in his mind. Lennie laughed and wrapped his now naked arms around Jack, sliding one hand up his back into that gorgeous silver hair. �Mmmm, that IS better.� He laid down, drawing Jack with him and rolling over so that they laid side by side, bodies touching all the way down. Not having his right arm to balance, Jack slid his leg between Lennie�s for support, not * quite * touching where it counted . . . They kissed again, this time Lennie�s hand roaming down the length of Jack�s back, coming to rest on his ass. He squeezed through the thin cotton briefs, and with a moan Jack answered by moving his leg just enough. The sensations were so familiar, and yet not; the �forbidden fruit� factor made everything, every touch, every response, seem magnified. Lennie gasped as Jack�s thigh made first contact, then kissed him again while squeezing his ass to bring their bodies even closer together. But that damned layer of cotton was still in the way. Lennie brought his arms up and gently rolled Jack onto his back with Lennie on top, straddling him. Making sure not to put his weight onto Jack�s chest and shoulder, he began tracing a line of kisses starting from Jack�s mouth, to throat, then chest, detouring to nibble on the one exposed tight nipple, back to the stomach. He moved toward the foot of the bed then slid his fingers under the elastic waistband of the offending briefs and tugged them downward. Jack eagerly assisted, lifting his hips so that the briefs could be whisked away with a single jerk. Now it was Lennie�s turn to be a little nervous. His hand trembled as he reached out to touch Jack�s cock. He ran his fingertips along the length, from the base to the tip, wringing a moan from Jack. �Oh, God, Lennie . . .!� He had to agree; his own cock was throbbing. This was an unbelievable turn-on. He wrapped his fingers around the shaft, momentarily surprised by the softness of the skin, almost like a woman�s. But decidedly un-feminine underneath . . . Jack moaned again as he began stroking, the pre-cum oozing out. Lennie reached out a finger to capture it and spread it around. Jack�s breathing had become shallow as his arousal increased, his eyes closed with the pleasure. //OK, this is it, Lennie. Go for it.// Lennie repositioned to bring his face down close. He gently kissed the very tip of the head, then licked gingerly at the sides, finally swirling his tongue around the entire head. �Oh, God, yes!� Jack�s breathing became even rougher. Lennie took this as encouragement and dove back in for more. With his tongue, he re-traced that first line from base to tip, then went over the top and took the whole head and top of the shaft into his mouth. Jack gave an incoherent cry as his cock was plunged into the warm wetness of Lennie�s mouth. Trying to remember what felt good on the receiving end, Lennie began to suck gently as he moved up and down the shaft, taking more in with each stroke. He pushed as far as he could, taking the shaft in all the way down to the balls. He gagged slightly, backed off, then did it again. At this point, Jack was practically squirming under him. He brought in his hand to gently caress the ball sack and shaft while he caught his breath. His own cock was so hard he thought he�d explode without being touched soon. He bent down again, his hand working the base of the shaft while he sucked on the top. Jack couldn�t believe the sensations wracking his body. Had it been so long that he simply forgot what pleasure felt like? Or was this different because it was with a man? Or just the first time with a new lover? Who the hell cared, it felt GOOD. Better than good. OH-MY-GOD good, even. His pulse was racing and his breathing ragged as Lennie drove him into a frenzy. In short order, he felt his climax approaching. �Lennie, I�m coming . . .!� Lennie barely heard Jack�s warning, then the hot liquid filled his mouth. He remembered how he hated it when his lovers had backed off at just that moment, but now he understood why. There was just no room to swallow. He stopped sucking, but kept pulling with his hand until Jack stopped shuddering with the orgasm. He moved back up to the top of the bed, lying beside Jack again, pillowing his head on the good shoulder, both of them catching their breath after the exertion. After a few minutes, he rolled back onto his side to face Jack, reaching out to trace the line of his jaw and draw him into a kiss. �God, Lennie, that was good. You sure you never did that before?� �I swear. Never. But DAMN, what a turn-on! I�m just about ready to pop. You got enough energy to return the favor?� Jack grinned. �I think I can manage something. But this damned arm is going to get in the way, can�t lean on it AND have a hand free to assist at the same time.� �Wait a minute � how about this . . .� A little experimentation and they found a position that worked, with Lennie sitting on the edge of the bed and Jack kneeling on the floor in front of him. Now it was Jack�s turn � and for some reason, his earlier nervousness was gone. He decided to surprise Lennie with a full-out attack. Instead of starting out with a gentle fingertip touch, he just bent forward and engulfed Lennie in one move, immediately beginning an up and down thrusting motion. �Holy shit, Jack!� Lennie cried out. �You trying to give me a heart attack or something?! Oh, GOD, oh GOD oh GOD!!� Jack was finding it very difficult to laugh with his mouth full of Lennie�s cock, so he backed off for a moment to catch his breath. He looked up into Lennie�s eyes, his own dancing with laughter, and lost it. He leaned his head against Lennie�s stomach and laughed so hard the tears were streaming down his face. After a few stunned moments, Lennie lost it as well and wrapped his arms around Jack. They laughed together until both were gasping for breath. Lennie laced his fingers through Jack�s hair, lifting his face to look into his eyes. �You EVER do that to me again . . .!� Jack grinned up at him, laughter still dancing around his eyes. �OK, OK, it was a cheap shot. I just couldn�t resist. . .� Lennie just shook his head and tousled Jack�s hair. By now his erection was down to half mast, the urgency long gone. He collapsed back onto the bed, holding his hands out to Jack. �C�mere, you.� Jack got up from the floor and snuggled up beside Lennie back on the bed. �You owe me one later, OK?� �You got it, Lennie.� Jack couldn�t remember when he had last been this happy. He remembered his �conversation� with Claire a little while ago � �Follow your heart and be happy again.� Words to live by. �Lennie? Thanks for staying with me at the hospital yesterday. And here last night. I don�t know what I would have done without you.� But he couldn�t quite say the words haunting the back of his mind . . . Lennie gently drew him back down, kissing the top of his head as he settled back into Lennie�s shoulder. He heard the words Jack couldn�t quite speak yet. He sighed contentedly; all was again good with the world. Continue on to Chapter 3 Send me some feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
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