"ITVR: Chapter 94"
Meals.
By Jadedoll, Penumbren, & Raising Kane
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�I told you I was going to be difficult, sweetheart." Difficult? This was difficult? Adam pushing himself a little too much while cooking them a fantastic-smelling dinner? �Cos wow, yes, Chris was going to find it such a terrible hardship to put up with a lover causing him agony with this kind of behaviour. Maybe if Adam kept re-enacting all of those thousand fantasies of his, then Chris would be forced to complain long and hard about their relationship and its future. Tightening his arms around Adam�s middle for a brief moment, careful in case he caused a hiss of pain rather than a sigh of pleasure, Chris closed his eyes and took a deep long breath of this downright delightful man in his embrace. He smelled of cotton, warm skin, soy and shampoo. The now dry hair returned to its former glory after the ravages of blood, glue and no shower for twenty hours. If CJ didn�t know himself better, he�d have sentimentally said Adam smelled like home. Of course, it was actually more like dinner. Chris� stomach agreed. �I love you Chris and I�m sorry if this is going to drive you nuts...� Yep. There�s another reason to break-up right there. Not enough affection or consideration for each others feelings. Or� hmmm� kissing. Chris smiled faintly as he stepped back and allowed Adam to finish off his food preparations. He was glad he�d gone for trusting Adam�s judgment over the cooking and not started getting creatively insulting, because if cooking really did relax his lover and help him feel better, Chris was all for letting Adam go to town. Maybe he could order a chef�s uniform, Adam would look strangely adorable in those check pants and white jacket� or maybe just the hat. Yeah. Adam, cooking, naked save for the hat. Maybe not the safest course of action, for either the food or Adam, but damn, it would look good. �� for sex later on... I demand that you do so or I'll have to find something else to keep me occupied..." CJ watched in a moments dumbfounded silence as Adam�s delicious ass followed the delicious food out of the kitchen. His mind blurred with a myriad of possibilities for his lover�s �something else�, ranging from the wickedly obscene to the incredibly mundane. Although CJ doubted Adam would decide to do the vacuuming, just because Chris hadn�t asked him for some lovin�. Getting two cold drinks, complete with tinkling ice and slices of lemon, Chris trailed after the scent of food and found Adam just about finished. �� I really like you in tight jeans� sit on my lap so I can feed you� .?" CJ stopped a few feet into the room and frowned in thought, giving the suggestion his full concentration. It would be a lie to say he�d never eaten food while perched on another man�s lap, although he�d never tried it at a dining table, the event normally taking place in bed and involving chocolate cake or honey. His smile going wicked, Chris watched as Adam sat down and sent Valentino a mental thank-you for distracting that green-eyed gaze for a second or two. �Lap sounds good to me.� Setting their drinks down beside the serving dishes, Chris moved directly into Adam�s personal space and straddled his lover�s lap, jeans pulling tightly across his ass. He had enough room to rest his lower back on the table, could reach his lovers mouth with ease, his drink was within reach and, as long as Adam�s legs were as strong as they looked, CJ had the best seat in the house. Literally. �He wouldn�t dare Babe,� Chris smiled into Adam�s slowly darkening green eyes and leaned back so one elbow supported him on the table. �He may be mutant-like in his hugeness, but Valentino isn�t a beggar of scraps. I think it�s beneath him.� Chris shot an indulgent look at his black monster and settled his butt more comfortably on his well-muscled chair. His bare left foot drew back and forth across the floor beside the seat, a relaxed habit that also served to repeatedly bring his knee into closer contact with Adam�s hip. �I�ll give him some chicken later, right now I think he�s just trying to decide what rank you are.� The first morsel of food approached his mouth, so Chris parted his lips and offered the tip of his tongue in request. Beautiful. Rolling his eyes, then letting them close, Chris savoured the flavour of the first home cooked-meal he�d had in� what� weeks? �Delicious Babe.� Chris complimented, delivering a Szechwan tasting kiss to his lover�s grinning mouth. �You officially have my permission to relax in the kitchen as much as you�d like. But�� Chris accepted another mouthful of beef and continued after swallowing, ��I�ll do breakfast, you sleep in or laze around reading. Deal?� **** Damn. Who would've thought that the sight of a big, bad, scary man blushing would be enough to send shivers through him? Shawn had never found the sight of Kevin blushing anything but amusing, regardless of Scott's reaction to the sight. Although� he could remember being very appreciative of the rare sight of Hunter blushing. That hadn't occurred very often, though� in fact, the only times he could really remember seeing it were during the relatively short-lived Blue Blood era, and then only when Hunt had caught sight of Shawn watching him practice that bow. Hmm. That was food for thought, wasn't it? Shawn found himself wondering suddenly how long Hunter had loved him. Not that it made any difference, but his curiousity had just been provoked. His own feelings for Hunt had been a part of him for so long that he couldn't even remember a specific moment when he'd realised just what those feelings were. Although� early on, when Jo had been paired up with Hunter before DX had even been thought of, he could remember having to fight back a huge surge of jealousy at the possessive arm she'd draped around Hunt� In fact, he could still distinctly remember wanting to remove her hand at the shoulder after she'd openly groped Hunter's ass on the ramp one night. Somewhere along the line, he'd just sort of settled into the bittersweet knowledge that he was in love with his best friend. "Of course you could save your shirt next time by taking it off before you provoke the animal in me." Raising an eyebrow at his lover, Shawn filed that comment away for future reference. Dave certainly wasn't complaining, was he? Not that it had been that wild of a guess, after the discussion in the limo on the way here as well all the hints they'd been dropping for the last two days, but he had been a little� uncertain� at the instant before raising the belt for the first time. That had almost immediately been wiped away, from Dave's reactions, and any lingering uncertainty was wiped away by that not-so-subtle invitation� order?� from his lover. Lips curving in a slight smile, Shawn watched Dave dress. The slight pause as the man picked up a pair of underwear told him that his earlier words hadn't gone unnoticed, and he couldn't help but wonder if the choice was a sly dare on Dave's part. Probably not, since Dave seemed to be someone who was thorough by nature� not to mention someone who had yet to make those sorts of dares quietly. "I feel, as your lover and loyal friend, that I should give you the same warning Shawn gave me the first time I joined the McMahon family for one of Stephanie�s dinners." His smile widening, Shawn watched the horrified expression on Dave's face as Hunter imparted his warning in all seriousness. That first dinner had been� interesting. Shawn had been absolutely dead-on with his warning that night, unfortunately for Hunter, who had been forced to gulp down any number of over-cooked, half-cooked, and generally not well-cooked foods in front of Vince and Linda without saying a word about it. He still wondered if Vince hadn't used that night as a test, measuring Hunter's tactfulness under stressful situations. Shawn was positive that Vince had done that with the first time he'd had dinner with the McMahon family, but he'd already been Steph's friend for quite a while at that point and there was no way in hell he was going to tell her what he'd actually thought of the food. Hunt was having far too much fun with it for Shawn to ruin things by pointing out that Steph had actually taken cooking lessons� and besides, last time he'd had dinner with them, the warning had been more true than not. Not that he'd ever make the mistake of criticizing Steph's cooking to her face; the wide, watery, puppy-dog eyes full of hurt that the woman could muster up on command were more painful than that right hook most of the time. The last time he'd had those eyes used on him, he'd ended up escorting her to one of the family's damned formal gatherings when Hunter had been out of the country, and she had spent the entire night whispering naughty things in his ear about each and every one of their business associates. The woman delighted in watching the men in her life squirm. Entering the parlour, Shawn hugged Meg after she'd been introduced to Dave before wrapping an arm around Stephanie's shoulders for a moment. Sharing a mischievous grin, Shawn just nodded at the soft whisper demanding details later. The girl wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't tell her something� but he wasn't about to tell her everything, and Steph knew that. She was an insatiable gossip, but fortunately for all of them, her circle of intimates was pretty much in the room, and even Steph wouldn't tell her mother about her husband's sex life� probably. Stepping up to Linda, Shawn greeted her courteously, relieved when she gave him a genuine smile, before leaving her to the papers that Meg had given her. Linda undoubtedly knew all about everything that had happened yesterday, and that smile told him that she didn't care one bit about their personal lives, except possibly to be happy for them. Hunter was firmly caught in the girls' clutches for the moment, and Shawn used their distraction to take a place beside Dave at the window. Their lover was looking a little uncomfortable, and Shawn suspected it was for more than one reason. He couldn't do much about the one, but he could at least try to put Dave more at ease in his surroundings. Leaning against Dave's side, he draped his arm around his lover's back, his hand resting on one broad shoulder. Speaking in an undertone, he said, "It's okay to relax, Dave. Really. I know it'll take a while to get used to, but you're part of the family now." The wry tone in his voice came from his own memories of the awkward days of adjusting to that fact after Stephanie had "adopted" him. His relationship with Vince had only added further twists to that while it lasted, but the wonderful woman that was Vince's wife had never been anything but a gracious lady who understood far more than most people ever suspected, and at the time, Vince's children had been more oblivious than not, although even they had been unable to miss some of the signs. Pushing away those memories, not wanting to let himself get bogged down in a time that he remembered with mixed feelings of bitterness and happiness, his attention was caught by another car pulling into the drive. Frowning a little, he could at least be sure that it wasn't Vince, but� Turning his head slightly, he raised his voice enough that Steph would be able to hear him. "Are we expecting another guest tonight, Steph?" **** Hunter enveloped Megan in a warm hug the moment the woman switched her professional face over to her friendly one. The small blonde with the ability to steal and keep Stephanie�s heart, had forged herself a brilliant and enviable career within the headquarters of the McMahon Empire and wasn�t about to let her work slide just because she was sleeping with the boss� daughter. Hunt understood and respected that complication with the sympathy of the similarly situated and was always careful to let Meg keep her work at a distance from these family occasions. The world might not know that Stephanie was enamoured of her personal assistant, but Meg did and she wouldn�t use that relationship to better her career in any way, shape or form. �Busy?� he asked quietly, looking down into the pretty blue eyes that had caught his wife�s attention so completely. �No more than usual Hunt,� Meg replied with a wry smile. There were various levels of the term �busy� when it came to working for the WWE. Rumour had it that Pat Patterson once tried to define them, but only reached �hellishly busy� and �I�m gonna kill the next person who speaks to me busy�, before giving up. And that had been before they�d switched the �F� to an �E�. �Although you should have seen us three hours ago, Steph fronted up to a room full of Horse Breeders and had them begging me to take her away within ten minutes.� The P.A. shot a proud look at the indomitable brunette heading their way armed with drinks and a wicked grin. �I�ve never seen so many cowboy hats in a twist in my lifetime.� Hunter processed that disconcerting information while accepting his lime and soda from Stephanie. His wife was in charge of any number of divisions within the corporation known as World Wrestling Entertainment, but one of her favorite roles was working with the Marketing and Development Department. �You bought a horse? Should I ask why or will it turn me grey?� Hunt teased his wife as they walked over to join Linda, who had just finished signing a small stack of papers. Long fingernails scratched their way through his hair as Stephanie made a huge show of looking for any sign of grey. �You�ll never be grey My Love, if you start getting old; I�ll just send you to Philippe and his �Magnificent Dyes�.� Hunter winced as he considered recent discussions between them over Stephanie�s stylist, Philippe, suggesting the woman might consider going blonde. She thought it was a wonderful idea; Meg was yet to comment, Hunter thought she�d just look weird. �Hunter will age gracefully Stephanie and look as handsome as always while doing so. Leave his hair alone.� Linda smiled her perfect executive smile as she accepted Hunter�s gallant kiss to her hand. Hunt never knew how he�d managed to acquire the support of the two McMahon lionesses, maybe it was something to do with the courtesy he always showed them, but he was eternally grateful for that backing. In all his wrangling with Vince and Co. over the years, Hunt would find himself with an unexpected victory after the intervention of one lady or the other. If he�d meant to do it, cozy up to the woman of the house knowing they held greater influence than it seemed, he would have earned the name Cerebral Assassin and borne it proudly. But he hadn�t. He�d never even thought about it. They�d adopted Hunter into their circle the moment he�d politely shaken their hands at Shawn�s introduction and never really looked back. �Thank you Linda, I intend to stay as far from dyes and scalpels as possible.� Because if the CEO could look like a normal human woman, then who was Hunter to argue with her philosophy? Particularly if anyone could be said to be ageing gracefully, it was Linda McMahon. �Humph, well I wasn�t saying you need it yet and you�ve already seen way more surgeries than I ever will, Husband mine.� A small poke to the ribs accompanied that comment. Hunt was about to reply when Shawn�s voice called to them from across the room. "Are we expecting another guest tonight, Steph?" Hunt had sensed Dave�s retreat from the people in the room and had sent mental gratitude to Shawn for reassuring their lover as to his place in this household. Dave didn�t know it yet, but the Lionesses were looking to bring a new male into their pride and Dave Batista was the �animal� they�d set their sights on. Hunter�s lips twitched self-mockingly at his continued analogy. The simple fact was the girls, Steph and Linda, had met and adored Shawn years ago, through him they�d grabbed Hunter and now through their two adopted boys were about to unleash their family on the unsuspecting man by the window. Good thing he and Shawn could run interference, with his wife�s boundless enthusiasm and Linda�s personification of velvet glove over iron fist, the poor man didn�t stand a chance. �It�s Shane,� Stephanie replied, looking at the expensive golden watch around her slim wrist, ��and he�s late so we�ll go in now and leave him the last seat.� Linda�s placid expression became a shade indulgent at this display of sibling one-upmanship, but her mild eye-roll in Hunter�s direction was filled with affection. The older woman could hardly be ashamed of the children she�d raised, when they were the male and female definitions of �working heirs�. With Stephanie�s ultimatum, the group moved to the formal dining room and busied themselves getting seated while the sound of Shane�s arrival could be heard from the front hall. Hunt and Shawn bracketed Dave between them to offer some protection from Stephanie, while Hunter gallantly pulled out Linda�s chair for her and was rewarded with an enquiring arched brow. Hunter had little doubt that his wife had informed her mother about the latest change in his sleeping arrangements, but whether the woman would have an opinion on the subject remained to be seen. Her husband had made his displeasure known in no uncertain terms, but everyone knew Linda played her cards much closer to her chest. If he needed to show her the proper respect and hope her opinion, and the power behind it, would once again fall to his banner. �I didn�t know Shane was even in the country,� Hunter murmured to Shawn as Marina led the son of Linda and Vince McMahon into the room. Rising to his feet and ignoring a cowering look from his wife, Hunter offered his hand to his long-time friend as Shane approached his mother�s seat. �Back so soon Buddy? I thought you were jet setting for the next week or so?� **** Kevin was thoroughly enjoying their dinner. Watching Scotty squirm from his clean-up efforts, listening to his lover's breathing hitch, the slightly spicy taste of Scott's skin lingering on his tongue... and the food was good, too. Even listening to Scott's commentary on the eye candy in the movie they were half-watching was fun. Evenings like this had been one of the things he'd missed the most over the last few years; just spending time together was going to be precious to him for probably the rest of his life. The fact that he was also getting to spend the time driving his lover out of his mind was just a bonus. With that in his mind, he smiled at Scott's kiss before frowning in mild confusion as Scotty got up and left the room. What in the world was... oh. The Styrofoam container in Scott's hands as he returned just as quickly answered his question, although it nearly made him groan at the sight. The Choco Taco was really good... but whenever Scott had too much sugar, he could be almost as bad as Kid. Then again... Thinking that through, Kevin's smile returned. If Scott came down with a serious case of hyper, there were all manner of ways that he could use up that energy. As Scott settled on his lap, Kevin wrapped an arm around his waist, partly for support and partly just to soak in the presence of his lover. They might have been back together for more than a few days, but it was really like re-living the first few months of their relationship... only better. In all likelihood, Kevin would never really get over the sheer togetherness they had now, and he very much hoped that he wouldn't. Taking things for granted had only been one of the problems they'd had before, but it had led to others. "I know this isn't exactly the dessert you were thinking about, but we really should finish off the rest of the meal properly first," Raising an eyebrow as he leaned forward, Kevin closed his lips around the spoon, sucking the cold treat off the metal with a deliberate motion. If Scott wanted to try to tease him, he'd just tease right back... although he could already think of better ways to eat the ice cream dessert than with a spoon. "He's got really great hair, don't ya think? Kinda makes my fingers itch," The other eyebrow joined its fellow at the comment. It was far from subtle, but Kevin found himself appreciating Scott's playful mood. If his lover wanted to try to push buttons, who was he to stop him? Allowing the hand at Scott's hip to curve around the warm skin it was touching, he idly stroked the area as he reached up with his free hand and tangled his fingers in dark curls. Letting a slow smile curve his lips, he watched as Scott's eyes darkened a little and slowly licked his hips. "It's okay. But I've always preferred curls," he said, before caressing the scalp underneath his fingers. Scott didn't have the same reaction he did to the touch, but it was still something he enjoyed... and Kevin found himself in no hurry to end their slow teasing. It wasn't the same sort of build up as it had been yesterday, but he knew that it would end with them wrapped around each other in the comfort of their bed. As much as he was looking forward to that, he wasn't going to hurry to reach that stage. Closing the short distance between them, Kevin pressed a soft kiss to Scott's lips before drawing back slightly and glancing down at the dessert. His voice a little rough, from the emotions he was dealing with and from the slowly rising heat that Scott always caused within him, he said, "The ice cream is going to melt." **** "You�ll never be grey My Love, if you start getting old; I�ll just send you to Philippe and his �Magnificent Dyes�." Hiding his smirk by continuing to look out the window, Dave could almost predict Hunter's reaction to that little offer. He'd heard Hunter grumbling more than once about his wife's stylist and some of his more insane ideas. Hunter would likely end up a redhead or even scarier... rainbow hair Jeff Hardy-style in spikes projecting a foot from his head in various directions. It would certainly be a look, but would hardly fit in with Hunter's refined style... and Dave would be worried about having an eye poked out while they were getting busy. Deciding that pursuing that subject would lead to thoughts inappropriate for the present company, he focused on the actual view out the window. Steph and Hunt had a huge freaking lawn. He wondered how long it would actually take to mow that monster. Dave took care of his own yard work when he was home and hired it out to a couple of the neighborhood kids when he wasn't home often enough to do it himself. If he were going to be spending more time with Shawn and Hunt at their homes, he'd be hiring it out more often. They were definitely not to the point where he was going to consider selling his house so he'd also have to find someone to stay there to keep an eye on things, go through his mail and let him know if it contained anything important, and have someone handle his bills. He'd offer the position to Darlene first and if she weren't interested then he'd have to find someone else. The warmth of an arm settling against his back made him smile, though he didn't take his gaze from the window. Shawn had more than likely figured out the reasons behind his retreat to this position, though there was little that his lover could do to ease the causes. There was nothing that his lover could do to remedy the slight discomfort he was experiencing from their earlier bout of lovemaking. The tension of being around so many people that he was unfamiliar would fade with time, once he'd had a chance to determine how they felt about his role in Shawn and Hunter's lives. He was already feeling that tension ease between he and Stephanie, though her teasing was likely to have him blushing for awhile yet. From the way she had reacted to finding out about them, Dave figured she was definitely on their side. Meg and Linda on the other hand were unknowns as of yet. He knew next to nothing about Meg, but it was obvious from the greetings when they'd entered the room that she adored Hunter and that she was fond of Shawn as well. She didn't know him and that could only be remedied by giving her time to get to know him and decide if he was acceptable to be with the two men. Linda he knew from work, but mostly in the business sense. She had always been friendly towards him and that hadn't seemed to change, but there was always the chance that whatever Vince had against him could sway her. He really needed to have that talk with Vince and find out what his problem was. Sunday... he'd find some time to talk to the man alone and find out what bug had crawled up his ass where Dave was concerned. He couldn't think of a single thing the man might have against him, unless he'd heard a tale or two of things that had gone on with him and Sean or Ty down at OVW and he really couldn't see Vince getting his drawers in a twist over a little bit of adventurous sex. It had to be something else... "It's okay to relax, Dave. Really. I know it'll take a while to get used to, but you're part of the family now." Turning to smile at his lover, he let his thoughts about Vince go. Shawn had figured out what his issue was... or one of them in any case, just as Dave had known he would. He knew that Shawn meant well and he would try to relax around this motley group, but until he settled things with Hunter's father-in-law he wasn't going to take his acceptance for granted. Being a part of this 'family' sounded incredibly wonderful considering how alone he'd been lately... if not a bit scary. Stephanie had the makings of a perfect little sister though... with her teasing and all. He was about to explain to Shawn that he was just feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all when they noticed the car pulling into the drive. "Are we expecting another guest tonight, Steph?" He tensed slightly as he waited for the answer. It obviously wouldn't be Vince since he was tied up in meetings, but there were any number of possibilities over whom it could be. At Stephanie's announcement, he relaxed. Shane had always been friendly towards him and he honestly couldn't see the younger McMahon reacting like his father had or even caring who Hunter was sleeping with as long as it didn't adversely affect his sister's life. As they headed towards the door to move into the dining room, he lowered his voice to set Shawn's mind at ease about his reaction earlier. "I promise to try to relax, Shawn. I'm just not used to being surrounded by so many people like we have been the last day or so. I've kept to myself a lot lately on the road and it's just a bit overwhelming. I'm not going to bolt, but if I wander off once in awhile don't take it personally, sweetheart. It's just me being me." With a gentle squeeze, he followed the others to the dining room and let himself be tucked in the middle of Shawn and Hunter. He wasn't a coward by any means, but if Shawn and Hunt were going to run interference for him with Stephanie, he'd take it gladly... at least until he figured out how to control his reactions to her teasing. Watching Hunt hold Linda's chair for her made him smile. Such a little gentleman was their Hunter. The word 'their' made his smile even wider. God it was good to be able to say that after suppressing it for so damn long... although in his mind at the time he'd been using the singular 'his'. 'Their' was much better to his way of thinking. Shane walked into the room just then and Dave instinctively tensed as he waited to see how the man would react to his presence. The smirk on the Boy Wonder's face as he greeted them wiped away any thoughts that Shane objected to their relationship and Dave acknowledged him with a smile and a nod. "Shane, good to see you." As Shane settled into the only chair left at the table, the first course was brought in and set before them. Dave eyed the dish curiously but wasn't sure he could identify the contents. It didn't look dangerous or terribly scary, but he wasn't going to take the first bite. Watching Shawn and Hunt carefully, he reached for his glass and took a sip to give him an excuse for not picking up his fork. **** "Lap sounds good to me." Tearing his gaze from the demon cat, Adam smiled as Chris settled into his lap. Now this was more like what he'd had planned from the beginning when he'd invited Chris home with him. Romantic, cuddly, getting to know you time... that's what he'd wanted and despite his injuries he was determined that they'd have it. Thankfully Chris was falling right in with his plans without fuss because if he'd insisted on sitting in his own seat due to his ribs Adam would have cheerfully gone looking for Terry... just to beat the piss out of him. Reaching around his lover, he served up a bit from each dish on a single plate. The soup might prove interesting to eat this way, but he'd figure out something so that he didn't end up scalding either one of them... adding to their injuries was definitely not in his plan. "He wouldn't dare Babe." Good. Because he'd been completely serious about his threat. If Chris objected he could always point out that that was a mild retaliation in comparison to feeding the feline to the Chow down the street. "He may be mutant-like in his hugeness, but Valentino isn't a beggar of scraps. I think it's beneath him... trying to decide what rank you are." He managed to refrain from snorting... just barely, though he couldn't refrain from rolling his eyes a bit. That was exactly what he needed in his home... a demon furball with a lordly attitude. Reaching for a fork, he speared a piece of Szechwan beef and offered it up to his lover. Enjoying the subtle bump of Chris' knee against his hip, he decided that he had better things to think about than Valentino's mental state. "Delicious Babe." He enjoyed the compliment, but not as much as the simple kiss that followed. Licking the sauce from his lips, he decided that the taste was infinitely better when sampled from his blond bombshell versus a fork. It was like a special secret ingredient. Too bad he couldn't bottle Chris' flavor... he'd be filthy rich in no time at all. Offering up another bite, he grinned over his thoughts as Chris chewed. "You officially have my permission to relax in the kitchen as much as you'd like. But... I'll do breakfast, you sleep in or laze around reading. Deal?" Shaking his head slightly at his lover's phrasing, he decided not to take issue with the 'permission' bit. He knew what his lover meant and was happy that Chris wasn't going to go overboard on the whole 'bed rest' issue. Thank goodness he was being reasonable, because Adam would have chaffed terribly if Chris had insisted that he stay in bed 24/7. That also answered his question about whether or not Chris could cook... or so he hoped. Even if his lover's breakfast resembled the sad attempts that he'd made for Mark, Adam would eat it with a smile. "I wouldn't count on me sleeping in, not with the hours we normally have, but I'll find something suitably restful to keep me occupied," he conceded. Chris was being reasonable and he could be too, if he really tried. "Speaking of restful," he said as he offered up a tidbit of baby corn and pea pod, "remind me to call Eric later... not Bischoff... the neighbor-kid. We have a standing game on Friday's after the kids get home from school," he explained. "And while cooking is not on my 'idiotic things to do while you are recovering from a rib injury' list, playing one-on-one with a bunch of rowdy teenagers is." See... he could be reasonable when he wanted to. Taking a quick bite of chicken and then offering another bite to Chris, he laid the fork down next to the plate for a moment and ran his hands firmly over Chris' jean-clad behind. Taking a moment to grab a taste of Chris-flavored Moo Goo Gai Pan via a lingering kiss, he pulled away and picked up the spoon and bowl of soup. Holding it between them, he carefully lifted a spoonful to Chris' mouth. "I guess I should hire out the lawn work instead of trying to do it myself too," he said with a wink, knowing that Chris would most definitely object to him pushing a lawn mower in the hot sun, even if it weren't really stressful. "Eric's almost fifteen and has an agreement with his parents to go halves on a car even if he won't be able to drive it alone until he's at least sixteen. I was considering giving him the job so he could save up faster anyway. He's got his eye on a '68 Mustang Coupe at the antique lot and asked if I'd help with the restoration. If you like that kind of thing, we could always use another hand..." Setting the bowl and spoon back on the table, he took a sip of his drink and then decided that the food really did taste better from Chris' lips. Another sample was definitely in order. Wrapping his arms around Chris' waist, he pulled him closer and initiated a tender exploration of his mouth. As the kiss ended, he leaned his forehead against Chris' and smiled sweetly. "You know, if I could figure out a way to bottle the taste of Chris Jericho, I'd add it to every single dish that I made. Delicious, sweetheart..." **** Bringing the car to a stop and shutting it off, Shane sighed, resting his head against the back of the seat as his eyes closed. While he didn't mind having dinner with his family, even if Steph was cooking, he really didn't think he was in the right frame of mind to truly enjoy it. Not that he ever was, lately. But it had been a while since he'd seen his baby sister, and after the phone call yesterday, he had a debt to collect. When Stephanie had married Hunter, Shane had known from the beginning that it was a cover for Meg, and he couldn't be happier for his sister finding someone to love. The fact that she'd married another person whom she loved completely and who returned that feeling, even if it wasn't in the traditional husband-wife sense, was reassuring. That hadn't stopped him from betting Steph a hundred bucks that the frustrated tension he'd watched build between her husband and Shawn for the last several years would eventually lead to something... probably at Shawn's instigation, since the man wasn't known for his patience. That it had taken this long was the surprising part. Finding out that they'd included Dave... that was surprising, too, but somehow not unexpected, since upon reflection he'd been able to see any number of signs between the three of them that had shown mutual interest over the last year or so. Too bad he couldn't see anything like that in his own life. Sighing again, Shane straightened up and got out of the car, heading to the trunk to pull out his overnight bag. He needed to head to his own house soon to see Declan and check in with Marissa. As much as he was looking forward to spending some time with his son, his house just didn't feel like "home"... because it wasn't. His own marriage was as much a sham as his sister's, although he and Marissa had been friends going into it and they still were. They'd only gone through the motions until Declan had come along. His son was the light of his life and they'd discussed having another child, through artificial insemination most likely, but the chances of it happening were pretty low, at least for the moment. Peering up at the house, he could see figures in the bay window looking over the drive. Narrowing his eyes a bit, he could just make out that one of them was Shawn... so the other one must be Dave. Smiling a little at the sight, he wondered just what kind of hell Steph was giving her husband at the moment. The girl wasn't about to stand back and watch the trio without some sort of commentary, after the shit Hunt had given her about Meg. Glancing at his watch, he realised he was late and that he would undoubtedly hear about it from his sister... if she even left him room at the table. Not, he mused as he entered the house with a smile at Marina, that that would necessarily be a bad thing. Leaving his bag in the hallway, Shane managed to restrain himself from making a face when he saw everyone else seated. The last thing he needed right now was his mother frowning at him like he was a child. Making his way around the table, he leaned down and gave Linda a quick hug, a genuine smile coming to his face as he did. He might have his issues with his father, but the only thing he'd ever felt toward his mother was love.�Turning to the rest of the dinner guests, he hugged Steph and Meg as well before turning to the other three men present, nodding in response to Dave's greeting. "Hunter, Shawn, Dave... good to see you could make it. Steph told me you'd be here." Hopefully that would let them know that he did indeed know about their new "arrangement", as well as conveying his good wishes for them. He genuinely liked all three men, even if he didn't know Dave very well yet, but he'd known Hunter and Shawn for years now... and even though catching Shawn and his father in some... compromising situations had coloured his view of Shawn for a long time, he'd come to terms with that as he'd gotten older and seen what the business he was going to inherit was really like. Knowing that Shawn had tried, along with Hunter and Mark and Austin and a few others, to put an end to those sorts of games, and had pretty much succeeded, didn't hurt, either. �Back so soon Buddy? I thought you were jet setting for the next week or so?� Fighting back the sudden urge to growl at Hunter for bringing the subject up, Shane shook his head as he accepted the hand Hunter was holding out and shook it in greeting. "Nope. I just spent about a week in Britain setting things up, some time in Canada, and a few interviews along the way. Flew in from Calgary, and then I'm back home until after Bad Blood." He managed not to bite his tongue as soon as he mentioned Calgary, but only barely. Dammit. Taking his seat in the hope of avoiding any more talk about where he'd been, he looked at the plate in front of him rather doubtfully, but speared one of the... mushrooms?... with his fork and took a bite. Swallowing, he looked at Steph and grinned. "Wow, Steph... you must've hired a cook. These are actually edible tonight." **** Kev was killing him. It wasn't so much one little thing as a combination of many. The warm touch at his hip, the hand tangling in his hair, and that Big Sexy smile that had been known to prod men and women alike into doing things that they wouldn't normally consider... any of those things could have been responsible for the slight hitch in his breathing, the tingling in his skin, but put them all together and Scott was turning to putty in the big man's hands. His lover knew it too. Scott wasn't sure what had given him away, but the way Kevin licked his lips so slowly was a sure sign that his lover had picked up on something and was ready to push even more buttons. "It's okay. But I've always preferred curls." And that was Kev's way of telling him that he knew exactly what Scott was up to. That wasn't a problem though because even if Kev knew he was pushing buttons, there were so many he had to choose from that eventually he'd hit one that his lover wasn't expecting and then he'd get the reaction that he was craving. The trick was to find that particular button before Kevin found the one that would set him off instead. He just barely managed to avoid curling his head into the gentle massage of his scalp with a purr. The gentle kiss sent a steady hum through his veins and when Kev spoke again it took him a moment to decipher what his lover was talking about. "The ice cream is going to melt." Ice cream? Oh, right. Luckily Kevin hadn't ended up wearing the dessert, because it had completely slipped Scott's mind for a moment that he was holding it. Letting his eyes linger for a moment on Kevin's lips, he dipped the spoon in the mess of chocolate, banana, and cream. Lifting it to Kevin's mouth, he waited for his lover's lips to part before slipping the spoon between them. By design he left traces of the sweet sticky dessert on those lovely lips and then leaned forward purposefully to remove them... with his tongue, of course. "That's okay Kev, because it tastes better when mixed with Big Sexy anyway," he murmured against the corner of Kevin's mouth. Offering up yet another bite, this time making it between lips and into the opened mouth, he swiftly chased after lingering bits with a deep searching kiss. And while he was wallowing in the taste of banana, chocolate, and Kevin... he came up with a plan. In fact, it was something he'd already received a warning about earlier in the day, with a twist. As he pulled away, he licked the crease of Kevin's lips on the pretext of cleaning up any lingering chocolate. Trotting out his accent, he started on the first phase of his plan to drive Kevin nuts. "Amo tu boca," he said quietly, his eyes firmly fastened on his lover's mouth. Setting the desert on the cushions beside them, he lifted his hands and threaded them lightly through the blond waves of Kevin's hair. Lifting one lock to his lips, he kissed it and then let it drift through his fingers like water going over falls. "Amo tu pelo," he purred. Looking into darkening pools of green, he ran his fingers lightly around the edges of Kevin's eyes, tracing his eyelids as they fluttered closed. "Amo tus ojos," he whispered, leaning in to press kisses against each eyelid, the lashes tickling against his lips. Dropping his hands to his lover's broad shoulders, he waited until Kevin opened his eyes once again. With every bit of feeling in his heart, his voice dropping to a husky tone, he stared deep into Kevin's eyes and said, "Te amo, Kev." Letting his lips curve upward into a smirk, he ran his hands over the dancing muscles in Kevin's chest and swiftly shifted position so that he could slip between Kevin's knees. He knelt there and skimmed his hands up tensing thighs until he reached the apex. One hand ran lovingly over the bulge contained within the tight jeans and with desire lighting his eyes, he leaned in to press a kiss to the hard ridge. "M�res... siempre tan caliente y duro para m�." Another kiss closer to the tip and then he reached for the button and zipper, quickly unfastening them both. "Tu riata es hermosa," he said as he grabbed the top of the jeans and gave a sharp tug. Kevin's hips lifted almost automatically and Scott smiled at the slight hitch in his lover's breathing. Oh yeah, this was working very well. Running his tongue up the front of the hot, hard shaft, he pressed a kiss to the tip before slipping his tongue around the edge. "Deseo aspiratu," he murmured against the heated flesh a bare second before wrapping his lips around the head and drawing Kevin's cock deep into his mouth. Keeping his eyes locked with Kevin's he slowly bobbed his head several times before letting Kevin's cock slip from his mouth and running his tongue up the front of his shaft. "Amo la manera que te pruebas... as� caliente, as� dulce," he whispered as he reached the tip once again. Then he swallowed his lover's thick shaft to the hilt with a quiet hum. **** �Thank you Linda, I intend to stay as far from dyes and scalpels as possible." Biting back the comments that sprang to his lips, Shawn remained where he was and watched as the car door opened. He recognized the figure that emerged immediately, and wondered if Steph had been expecting Shane and just hadn't told them; the girl certainly hadn't "forgotten" to tell them. She only forgot things that involved her personally so that she could spring that well-rehearsed innocent look on anyone who later brought them up. It was one of the most effective forms of self-defense that Shawn had ever witnessed... too bad so many of the things he'd like to forget had been far too public to do so with. Lips curling slightly, he wondered as he walked with Dave to the dining room just how many things Bret would like to forget. That relationship had been short, bright, and much better off�dead and buried than it had ever been for them while it was occurring... but those memories, combined with later ones, always left Shawn cynical at best. Bret was wonderful at using people. While they'd been together, however briefly it had been, Shawn had felt like the center of Bret's universe. Wrestlemania XII had shown him better, however, when Bret's true, selfish side had emerged in a surprisingly direct way. Unfortunately for Bret, he'd been proven wrong when he'd predicted that Shawn's star would fizzle out quickly... and even more fortunately for Shawn, when he'd predicted that Shawn would be lonely for the rest of his life because he was too shallow and selfish for anyone to love. A sideways glance at Dave's face both reassured Shawn of just how wrong Bret had been and put him solidly back in the moment. No sense in dwelling on someone who'd done nothing but cause misery---especially not here. If hell ever froze over and Bret agreed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, they'd have to be in the same room for at least half an hour... That was probably outside the realm of probability, but at least that'd be the worst that could happen. "if I wander off once in awhile don't take it personally, sweetheart. It's just me being me." Smiling at the gentle squeeze, Shawn returned it to show his understanding. As much as he loved being the center of attention, even though he was most at home around people... he still needed times to himself. HBK was demanding, but also emotionally draining for him at times. If Dave needed some alone time, Shawn would have no problem with that whatsoever. He did have a book in his suitcase, after all, since he'd been expecting a couple of quiet nights in his hotel room by himself. It was good to be wrong sometimes, he thought as he took Hunter's unspoken cue and sat on Dave's other side. Watching Hunt's dealings with his mother-in-law only made his smile linger. Early on in their friendship, Hunt had been almost terrified of meeting the entire McMahon family, let alone having dinner with them, and only after extensive reassurance had Shawn been able to persuade him into accepting Vince's not-quite-order to do just that. Linda had probably been Hunter's saving grace that night. With�a slightly raised eyebrow�and a small quirk of her lips, she'd covered his initial reaction to Stephanie's cooking and relieved him of the threatening embarrassed blush with a shared sparkle of amused commiseration in her eyes. And just look at him now. Leaning back slightly, Shawn did just that, only realising that his expression had become a little more than simply appreciative when Stephanie giggled from across the table at him. Blinking, he recovered himself at the entertained expression on her face and shook his head at her. They might have a standing agreement to share the good gossip, but her amusement wasn't going to stop him from appreciating something he'd had to wait for a decade to have. A quick glance at Linda showed him that she'd noticed his preoccupation too, but the only visible reaction from the McMahon matriarch was a glint of amusement in those all-seeing eyes. Shrugging slightly, as if to say, "Well... what do you expect?", Shawn's attention was caught as Hunter leaned down next to him for a minute. �I didn�t know Shane was even in the country,� Raising his eyebrows at his lover, Shane's entrance into the room interrupted his question. Shane's being out of the country was more common than not these days, and Shawn had to wonder how it had been affecting his marriage. From what he'd seen of the "happy couple", they'd never been quite as happy together as they'd seemed to the general public, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was going on there. Of course, he didn't see Shane as often as he had a few years back before Shane-O's promotion, but then, they'd never been as close as he and Stephanie were, either. Shane's catching him and Vince more than once in not-so-innocent positions---thank God, never anything beyond a kiss---certainly hadn't encouraged a much-younger Shane to look upon him welcomingly, although that understandable initial chilliness had mellowed over the years. Now... God only knew what their relationship could be called. "Hunter, Shawn, Dave... good to see you could make it. Steph told me you'd be here." She had, had she? Another look at the Billion-Dollar Princess only confirmed the mischievous smirk on her face, and Shawn couldn't help but smile as he looked back at his lovers. Shane's wording told him that Steph had indeed called her brother, probably as soon as she'd escaped her meeting-slash-argument with Vince, and told him everything she knew about the situation... and that he wasn't displeased by the knowledge. As Shane took his seat, Shawn watched Dave look rather dubiously at the plates set in front of them before reaching for his glass. Hiding a smirk, since the Animal had obviously taken Hunt's warning to heart, Shawn was about to try the rolled concoction only for Shane to beat him to it. "Wow, Steph... you must've hired a cook. These are actually edible tonight." Despite his best efforts, the smirk escaped at Steph's outraged huff. Meg's eyes crinkled in otherwise carefully-repressed amusement, and Shawn suspected that only the hand that the slight blonde put�on Steph's shoulder and the quietly murmured words in her ear saved Shane from having his plate dumped over his head. The grin on the Boy Wonder's face only proved that he'd deliberately provoked his sister, undoubtedly taking advantage of his Older Brother status. The immediate crisis seemingly averted as Linda simply looked at her children, creating an immediate cooling of sibling hostilities, Shawn speared one of the rolls with his fork and tried it. Well... it wasn't going to choke him, but he rather doubted that it was really supposed to taste quite like that. Glancing at Dave, he shrugged slightly and finished it before reaching for his own drink. Maybe the mushrooms would be better. **** Keeping his smile firmly plastered on his face as he ushered the delivery boy out the door, Mark waited until the door was shut and locked to exhale loudly. The boy had volunteered to help him put the food away, an offer that Mark appreciated due to the abnormally large amount he'd ended up ordering, but something that frustrated him at the same time---it was just one more delay before he could talk to Jeff. The extra tip that he'd given the boy for his assistance had brought him a delighted smile, managing to head off his illogical resentment of the young man, as well as an enthusiastic thanks and offer to help out whenever needed. While Mark had thanked him for the offer, he had no plans of taking him up on it anytime soon... if Jeff showed up. If he did, Mark suspected they wouldn't want too many other people around for a while, and not just for the obvious three-letter reason. Keeping Jeff's warning in mind, Mark could only hope that the hurts they were bound to inflict on each other would be minor at best... and really, Jeff had already hit on all the big ones, he thought with an ironic twist of his lips. At least he'd managed to convince the man that he wasn't a substitute for his "long-lost love", Shawn... at least, Mark hoped that he had. Crossing the room and picking up the torn envelope he'd so hastily scribbled on as Adam had given him the numbers, he looked at it for a long moment before glancing up at the clock. With the time difference between Texas and South Carolina, there was a better than good chance that he'd be calling during the dinner hour, but if he delayed, there was an even better chance that he'd chicken out altogether and not call at all. That decided him. One thing he was not was a coward, dammit. Not even if he was scared half to death at the prospect of opening his heart to the young Storm Hardy. Taking the cordless phone with him, Mark walked into the living room and eased down into the overstuffed easy chair in the corner, pulling out the foot rest as he did to take the pressure off his knee. He hadn't injured it lately, but between his acrobatics last night and the plane ride this afternoon, followed closely by his contortions while trying to fix the sink, it was less than happy with him. Flicking the corner lamp on, Mark slowly dialed the number for Jeff's cell phone. At least if they were at dinner, that had a good chance of having been turned off, so there was less chance of him interrupting the family. Phone pressed to his ear, Mark listened to the ringing and wondered how Jeff was doing. Hopefully he was handling things better than Mark was so far... his attempts to distract himself by dealing with the leaky sink and filling the food cupboards had done nothing but irritate him, forcing his mind onto more pleasant thoughts of the young man he found himself missing. Hopefully... The sound of the phone picking up pulled him out of his thoughts and he said in a slow drawl, "Jeff? It's Mark."
to be continued... |