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Joe followed Yuri through the quiet house, just a half step behind him. The night was silent and still around them and it made Yuri all the more aware of Joe and his light footsteps, shorter and slower than usual to keep pace with Yuri. He showed Joe to the guest bathroom, where the extra towels and toothbrushes were kept, and then made the small journey back to the master bath. Once there, Yuri didn’t rush, partially because he knew he couldn’t, but mostly because he knew he shouldn’t. Nothing good would come from it.
And maybe, Yuri though that he ought to give Joe some more time to think it over. Maybe, Yuri ought to give himself some more time to think it over.
Yuri knew what he had meant when he had asked Joe to stay the night, and he was very confident so had Joe. But maybe he’d been too rash. This kind of thing wasn’t that easy anymore. Yuri’s body wasn’t what it used to be, and as acutely aware of that as he was, he wasn’t sure what that meant to Joe.
He wanted to give Joe some time to think about this -give Joe some time to reconsider and say no-
Ah, he was just stalling now.
He wanted this. And most likely, so did Joe. So really, he should just get back out there.
When Yuri finally reentered his bedroom Joe was already there, sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting. Yuri’s house was large -far too large for one man- and had many, many guest rooms with beds more spacious and comfortable than any of the expensive hotels he had stayed at over the years, traveling from city to city for fights. But those rooms had been empty for a long time, and that wouldn’t change tonight.
“Hey,” Joe said, offering Yuri a small smile as soft as the gentle light that filled the room, and Yuri smiled back. Seated atop the pale bedding of Yuri’s bed Joe exuding that easy confidence he seemed to be born with. Joe’s posture was relaxed, as if he’d done this countless times before. Maybe he had, Yuri didn’t know. There was still so much about Joe that Yuri didn’t know and hadn’t gotten the chance to ask yet.
But that wasn’t for right now. Right now, they were both in Yuri’s bedroom, ready for the next step- and yet, Yuri didn’t move closer.
So Joe moved for them, pushing himself off the edge of the bed and walking towards Yuri -easy and effortlessly- only to stop a few feet away. Joe’s stance was casual, comfortable, and both of his feet were firmly planted on the ground beneath him.
He’d taken off the red dress shirt and now he wore only a thin cotton undershirt and in the low, warm light of the bedroom Yuri was reminded of how attractive the curves of Joe’s muscles were, and the depth and warmth that his brown eyes held. Yuri held Joe’s gaze, letting himself get lost in those eyes that he had seen hold such intensity and passion when in the ring. Memories of their last match -and the fire that had burned in those eyes- washed over him and brought goose bumps to the skin of his arms.
Joe moved, crouching down in front of Yuri’s wheelchair so that they were eye to eye- no, so that he was looking up at Yuri, and gave Yuri one of those dazzling smiles.
“I know you asked me, but you can change your mind,” Joe said, his voice soft and serious, “We don’t have to rush.”
It was a very mature thing to say and Yuri realized that maybe he wasn’t giving Joe enough credit.
“I’m not sure what you’re expecting,” Yuri replied, “It won’t be the same as…” he faded off and shook his head. There had to be better ways to say this, “My body has changed.”
Joe nodded, taking a moment -too short of a moment- to digest that before saying, “If you want to tell me about it, I’ll listen.”
He seemed understanding -of course he did, and Yuri knew he should stop doubting Joe- and Yuri felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. He felt himself relax, “Thank you.”
So Yuri told him. And Joe listened. And at the end, when Yuri asked if Joe still wanted this, Joe’s reply came easy.
“Yes.”
And then after a moment of thought Joe asked, “Do you?”
“Yes.”
Joe rose from the ground, but only so far that now they were eye-to-eye, and then leaned forwards. They were close now, bodies touching at multiple points and Yuri tried not to focus on how he couldn’t feel Joe’s hand against his thighs as much as he wanted to, and instead on the heat that radiated from this body nearly in his lap. Yuri searched Joe’s face and easily found what he was looking for. So he leaned forward and met Joe halfway, bringing their lips together. This contact, Yuri could feel it fully and completely and for a singular, perfect moment, everything felt right.
When Joe broke the kiss he stayed close, close enough that Yuri could see the tiny, thin lines that cut the skin of Joe’s face. Small scars that were easily missed unless you were this close and paid this much attentive to every detail of Joe’s face. Small scars that paled in comparison to the two larger scars on Joe’s face, but not less part of Joe. Small scars as numerous as some people’s freckles, but infinitely more meaningful and Yuri was ready to memorize every tiny, insignificant blemish.
Ah, that might be too much.
“Ready?” Joe asked, a crocked smile gracing the lips that had been on Yuri’s only moments ago.
Yuri nodded, “Yeah.”
Joe stood back up and stretched and the soft cracking of his knees was loud in the otherwise quiet room. And this time they both moved, together, towards the bed.
It still wasn’t easy, and Yuri knew it wouldn’t be for a long time. But he had to live with that, just as he had to live with many things, both new and old, yet it felt different with someone right there. Watching.
But this was Joe. So it would be fine.
Seated on his bed, Yuri propped his pillow against the headboard of the bed and leaned back, expecting Joe to follow, but he didn’t. He hovered by the side of the bed, brow furrowed in thought.
“Lights off or on?” Joe eventually asked, as if it mattered.
“Do you have a preference?” Yuri asked in lieu of an answer, because he didn’t have a preference either way.
“I’d rather it not be completely dark. I want to see you,” Joe admitted.
“I can turn on the lamp here,” Yuri offered, reaching over to the small lamp that sat on the bedside table and turned it on. After a second, Joe nodded and made the short -short for him, but infinitely longer for Yuri now- journey to turn off the lights. The room dimmed, and the light from the small lamp cast long shadows and if Yuri had looked out the window he could have seen how much light was coming from outside provided by the moon and countless stars that the two of them had been under only an or so hour ago. But Yuri was too focused on Joe, who was climbing onto the bed beside him and guiding their lips together again.
They kissed, slow and unhurried, like they had all the time in the world. Because maybe they did. There wasn’t a 3-minute time limit and they had limitless rounds, and yes, maybe some time in the future they would decide that they should stop, but not right now. Right now, all Yuri was inclined to think about was Joe’s lips against his. Warm and solid and good.
Yuri reached forward and held onto Joe, fingers gliding over muscles and the threadbare cotton of Joe’s shirt. It had been a long time since Yuri had held anybody like this -well, maybe he had never held anybody quite like this because nobody was quite like Joe- and it felt different. Not bad, or uncomfortable, but different.
And when Joe pulled back it was only to pull off his thin undershirt and the soft light highlighted the smooth movements of Joe’s muscles as he did so. He was beautiful and Yuri paused for a moment just to stare. This was a body built from hardship, muscles developed due to necessity and hard work, diligently constructed but still rough around the edges. So different from his own body that had been built from specialized training and the best that science had to offer, constructed not for survival but for optimization.
A pressure on his chest broke Yuri out of his thoughts and he looked down to see Joe’s hands fiddling with the top button of Yuri’s dress shirt.
“Can I?” Joe asked.
Instead of answering, or acquiescing to Joe’s foolish request, Yuri pushed Joe’s hand aside to made easy work of the buttons himself. Once the last came undone the fabric was immediately pushed aside and Joe’s hands were on Yuri’s body, pushing the shirt off Yuri’s shoulder and crumpling the fabric and-
“Wait a moment,” Yuri snapped and Joe instantly stopped and pulled back, concern etched onto his face- ah Joe had gotten the wrong idea.
“Let me at least take it off,” Yuri clarified, and when he started pulling his shirt off Joe looked markedly less concerned.
“Sorry,” Joe replied with a cheeky smile, evidently not sorry at all, but he did back up a bit to give Yuri more room, “Guess I just couldn’t wait.”
Yuri shook his head and, after a moment of consideration, dropped his shirt off the side of the bed. It was an expensive shirt and it wrinkled easily, but that wasn’t much of a concern right now.
Fabric now no longer impeding Joe’s moments, his hands migrated down and traveled across Yuri’s shoulders and chest and arms, touching all of the newly exposed skin and Yuri could feel the rough and calloused skin of Joe’s palms.
It took Yuri much too long to realize that Joe was tracing the scars left over from the removal of the integrated gear. Then, for a foolish and fleeting moment Yuri felt self-conscious, worried that Joe would be repulsed at the sight and feel of the disfigured skin, but then he remembered who Joe was. And the way in which Joe touched him all but solidified that. His fingertips glided over the scar tissue with tenderness and care, his touch bordering on reverent.
“It faded,” Joe noted as he traced his fingers along Yuri’s forearm, “Since our fight.”
“It’s healed some, but I don’t expect it will ever heal completely.”
Joe nodded slightly, indicating that he’d heard him but gave nothing more than that.
Yuri placed a hand atop the large scar across the right side of Joe’s chest and Joe’s hands paused their movements to lay motionless on Yuri’s arms. The scar under Yuri’s palm, large and dark and diamond-shaped, had caught Yuri’s eye before. He wondered what had caused it. Had it been from a match? Or something else?
“Do you remember where they all came from?” Yuri asked as his eyes flickered from the large scar to Joe’s face.
Joe shrugged rather dismissively, “Not really. You get enough of them and they start to all seem the same.”
Yuri nodded and let his hand drop back down. It made sense based on what he’d seen of Joe’s body, marred and scared from a hard life and thrown fights.
“But this one,” Joe tapped the scar under his left eye, “I’ll never forget the day I got this one.”
Yuri remembered it well, but certainly not as well as Joe surely did. At the time, Yuri hadn’t thought too much of the encounter and when he had left, he was certain that he would never see that nameless boxer again. His parting words had only been thrown out on a whim, some banter to shut the incessant boxer up.
“If you’re really serious about fighting me again, then you come to me. In my ring.”
Yuri hadn’t believed that Joe would have taken his words to heart and only later had he realized how wrong he had been. Joe was persistent, if anything, and because of that they were here now, together and intertwined, and Yuri was infinitely grateful for that.
So he reached up and brushed the tips of his fingers across the small scar, over the rough skin there, and Joe closed his eyes and leaned into Yuri’s touch. In that moment Joe looked so content and relaxed and Yuri felt an overwhelming feeling of fondness blossom in his chest and take a strong hold of his heart. He pulled Joe’s head down and pressed a soft kiss to the scar tissue under his eye, not apologizing, but acknowledging that it was he who had left this permanent mark on Joe’s face.
When Joe sat back up his face was red, and together with the look of embarrassment plastered on his face, it was enough to make Yuri laugh. Which only served to intensify the redness on Joe’s cheeks.
“Was that too much?” Yuri asked, only partially joking.
“No, it was just-” Joe paused for a second to regain his composure a bit, “-unexpected.”
“Bad unexpected?”
“No,” Joe replied as he ran a finger over the scar where Yuri’s lips had been a minute earlier and Yuri watched a soft smile spread across Joe’s lips.
“Thank you,” Joe said and before Yuri could ask what for Joe was leaning down and they were kissing again. Softly and lightly, almost delicately -if either of them could be described as such- and with each movement of Joe’s lips Yuri felt like he was missing something. He couldn’t help but feel like Joe was trying to say something, trying to get something across to Yuri, but it wasn’t quite getting through.
“Joe,” Yuri said against Joe’s lips, questioning or maybe imploring, but he didn’t know what else to say.
And he felt Joe laugh into the kiss. Again, Yuri felt like it meant something, and maybe he should have pulled back, broken the kiss, and asked, but Joe was deepening the kiss now and Yuri couldn’t find it in himself to stop kissing Joe. It felt good- so damn good, and Yuri never wanted to stop.
Something shifted, and the way Joe now moved above him was hot, hungry, and brimming with desire. Yuri felt his entire body -or what parts of his body he could feel- heat up, and above him Joe felt impossibly hotter. Everywhere Joe touch burned, alighting passion within Yuri that he had rarely, if ever, felt before and he couldn’t get enough of it. He tightened his grip on Joe, pulling the other boxer’s body closer to his own, and every point of contact searing what sensory receptors were still functioning and Yuri fought to not be overwhelmed.
Eventually, when Joe pulled back, panting and sweating as if he was in the middle of a late round of a match, Yuri swore he’d never seen anyone look so beautiful.
“Yuri, I-” Joe panted and Yuri knew exactly what he was saying. He nodded and moved his hands down Joe’s body, down hardened muscles and scared skin until he reached fabric. His fingers paused right above Joe’s pants, wordlessly giving Joe one last out.
“Please,” Joe breathed, hot and heavy, and Yuri complied. Once Joe’s belt had been unfastened Joe shoved his pants down and after a second of though, he pulled them off completely and tossed them aside, underwear following after only a moment of hesitation.
And then Joe paused, as if maybe that had been too much too fast -which was ridiculous- so Yuri reached forward and placed a hand on Joe’s hip, a silent reassurance. So Joe moved again, he swung a leg over Yuri’s outstretched legs and slid closer to Yuri, essentially sitting in his lap now and Yuri could feel Joe’s heat and weight against him. They fit together easily, it felt right.
“Is this okay?”
More than okay, “Yes.”
Joe cracked a smile and captured Yuri’s lips in another kiss. Joe wrapped his arms around Yuri’s broad shoulders and a hardness between them reminded Yuri -as if could ever forget- of the next step. He reached a hand forward and ran a finger up Joe’s length. The skin underneath Yuri’s palm was taut and scalding and even at the slightest touch Joe’s breath hitched and he moaned into Yuri’s mouth.
“Do you want me to do this?” Yuri asked, curling his hand around Joe and gave his cock an experimental tug.
Joe clung tighter to Yuri, his voice breathless as he replied, “Yeah.”
Yuri moved his hand up, and then down, slowly, “How do you like it?”
“Fast. Hard,” Joe said, voice breaking, and then he added after a sharp intake of breath, “You.”
There was desire in Joe’s voice. Want. Need. And it lit a fire in Yuri that he thought had gone out long ago, even before the final round. It was small, albeit, but it was growing with each hitch in Joe’s breathing and each twitch of his body.
Yuri wanted it too. He wanted more.
“How is this?” he whispered in Joe’s ear, not because he didn’t know -if the way Joe was thrusting his hips into Yuri’s hand was any indication- but because he wanted to hear Joe say it. He wanted to hear Joe’s voice. He wanted to hear him speak, breathless and needy.
And Joe delivered, his voice rough and low and heavy, “Good. So good. Don’t stop.”
“How could I when you’re asking me so nicely?” Yuri said, and Joe moaned and clung onto Yuri tighter. He buried his face into Yuri’s shoulder and Yuri could feel Joe’s breath against his skin, hot and rapid. And then after a moment he felt lips against his skin, and then teeth, sinking into the thick muscle of this shoulders.
Yuri’s body jerked involuntarily at the sudden spark of pain and immediately Joe pulled back his teeth.
“Keep going,” Yuri said -when had he gotten so breathless?- and then added after a moment of consideration, “I should have expected stray dogs to bite.”
Joe laughed into Yuri’s shoulder and pressed a quick kiss over the bite, “I heard it’s a sign of affection.”
Yuri was going to answer, but Joe’s teeth sunk into his skin again, higher this time, at the junction of neck and shoulder right where his trapezius disappeared amongst the cordage of his neck muscles, and any words died on Yuri’s lips and were replaced with a low moan.
He could feel Joe’s lips curl into a smile against his skin for a brief moment, before he felt teeth again and fuck- it felt so damn good. Maybe it was what Joe was doing, or maybe it was just because it was Joe, but Yuri was beginning to feel the start of something growing in the base of his stomach.
But he couldn’t forget about Joe, so Yuri began to move again, his hand quick and his grip firm as Joe had asked. Joe came apart in his arms, quicker than excepted -ah the wonders of youth- and when a shaky hand wrapped around Yuri’s and guided his movements at a slightly different rhythm and speed, Yuri easily complied and that was all that Joe needed. He held onto Yuri, strong arms holding impossibly tight, and ended it with a grunt that sounded a lot like Yuri to Yuri’s biased ears. His body shook against Yuri’s, and Yuri coaxed him through it with slow, steady strokes until he was done, and the Yuri moved his hands to Joe’s hips and just held him. And Joe stayed there, clinging to Yuri and breathing heavy. Yuri waited, watching Joe pant and shake and come down and every part of it was beautiful.
He was beautiful.
“Shut up,” Joe snapped without any bite, voice too shaky to be too much of anything, and Yuri realized he must have said that out loud. Which was fine. Maybe it was a weird thing to say to another grown man, but Yuri had never been too concerned with things like that.
Eventually, Joe looked at him, beautiful brown eyes peeking through thick, disheveled hair.
“Hey.”
Yuri chuckled at the simplicity of it.
“Hey,” he replied and pulled Joe down into a soft kiss. Their lips moved against each other, slow and unhurriedly again, and Yuri tried to think of another time in his life where he had been this content.
Joe eventually pulled back, only so far as to be able to speak, and when he did Yuri felt his hot breath against his lips.
“Should I-?” Joe asked, a hand moving down Yuri’s torso towards the waistband of his pants, slow and unsure, and leaving ample time for direction.
“Not tonight,” Yuri said after a beat of hesitation, and Joe’s hand immediately pulled back.
There was an undeniable feeling of loss. At the warmth of Joe’s hand across the skin of his abdomen, and at what could have been. If only it had been six months ago. Ah- but things had been different back then and something like this wouldn’t have been possible.
Yuri closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. He had felt amazing, better than he’d felt in a long time. And that was enough. Right?
“We should clean up,” Yuri said finally, as much to distract himself from that line of thought as it really was necessary. Cooling sweat and other fluids stuck to his skin and reminded him that a shower for both of them was definitely needed.
Joe’s smile, crooked and warm, made Yuri never want to leave this warm embrace.
“Yeah.”
So they did, separately, and when Yuri retuned to his bed Joe was there, waiting for him, smelling like the flowery body wash from the guest bathroom. Six months ago Yuri wouldn’t have thought that that scent would have suited Joe, but the countless bouquets of flowers between then and now had changed Yuri’s mind.
He thought about the flowers sitting on the kitchen table in a glass pitcher and smiled.
For the first time in a long time, Yuri lay down beside someone. It wasn’t bad, just different. And when he fell asleep, everything felt right.
~*~
Yuri had stuck to a very rigorous and repetitive schedule for a very long time, and even now, in retirement, it was hard for his body to break a schedule that was that deeply ingrained into every cell of his being. So even today, he woke up at the same time as he always did, but unlike most mornings, he didn’t get up.
Because beside him, inches away and wrapped up in white linens, was Joe. Still sound asleep.
So Yuri lay there in silence, relaxing as he rarely did, as the sun rose above the horizon and continued its climb into the sky, and Joe breathed gently and rhythmically. All things considered, it was still reasonably early when Joe began to stir, and Yuri realized that it was an odd thing, watching someone wake up.
Being here, right now, brought forth an old memory of a long car ride. Of barely worn-in leather seats, of the familiar smell of new car and of barely there perfume. Of a bump in the road that woke Yukiko only minutes after her head had lolled to the side and her eyes had fluttered shut. The process of her return to consciousness at that time had been a concise and clinical affair, her eyes had snapped open and her rigid posture was swiftly restored. The only lingering proof that he had ever been asleep was this memory and the small, private smile that she had sent Yuri’s way, as if they had just shared a secret.
It was all Yuri had to compare this too. It was similar, on some level -too many levels- yet still so vastly different.
Everything was different now. Yuri was different than he had been back then.
And this was Joe, who was so much different.
Joe woke up slowly, without haste, and without anything to hide. He rolled over once, twice, and then after a small sleepy grunt, he stretched out wildly. Limbs escaped easily from their confines under the soft white sheets and Yuri’s face narrowly evaded Joe’s fist, to which Yuri was thankful Joe wasn’t much of a boxer this early in the morning.
And now, before Joe fully woke up, Yuri gave himself a moment to marvel at how exceptionally unruly Joe’s hair was in the morning.
Eventually, when Joe opened he eyes and faced Yuri, those brown eyes soft and comfortable in the warm morning light, he offered Yuri a smile. It was nothing private, just relaxed and so damn open as if nothing had changed.
“’Morning,” Joe said, his voice low and gravely and laced with sleep, and a truly reckless thought crossed Yuri’s mind.
I could wake up to this every morning.
That notion was entirely premature and definitely too much so Yuri quickly chalked it up to some strange concoction of post-coital bliss and waking up beside someone for the first time in- well, a while.
“Good morning,” Yuri replied and felt a smile cross his lips as Joe buried his face into the pillow. It was entirely too cute and it felt right, as if this was how he was supposed to have been waking up for the past- forever. And now Yuri was just about fed up with these careless thoughts.
“Your bed is really comfy,” Joe spoke into the pillow so his voice came out quiet and muffled, “It makes it really hard to want to get up.”
It was just a bed, with nothing extremely special about it beside it being expensive and that it was currently where both Joe and Yuri resided. Together.
“Hey, don’t you have a dog?”
“He’s staying with Mikio for a bit longer,” Yuri replied, “Until I’m a bit more…settled.”
“Gotcha.”
It was then that Yuri decided that he’d spent enough time doing virtually nothing in bed, and as much as he would love to spend the rest of today in bed with Joe, he was certain he’d loose his mind if he didn’t get up and do something. Even in retirement, something stayed consistent.
“Do you have anything planned for today?” Yuri asked, simultaneously hoping that it didn’t sound too much like an invitation and that Joe would take it as an invitation to stay.
“Not really,” Joe’s reply was simple, non-committal, and still muffled by a pillow.
“Would you like to stay for breakfast?”
Joe pulled his head out of the pillow and smiled -and no matter how many times Yuri got to witness that smile he was sure that he would never, ever, get tired of it.
“Yes.”
~*~
The sunlight streaming into the bedroom danced beautifully over Joe’s dark skin as he slid out of bed and reached for his boxers. In the daylight, and not distracted by other more pressing matters, Yuri had the chance to look over Joe’s naked body, fully and completely and-
Ah, there were scars there too.
Yuri wasn’t sure if he was surprised of not. Maybe he had just never considered the fact that if the upper half of Joe’s body was as scarred as it was, then it made sense that his lower body would match.
“I’ve never noticed those before,” Yuri said for some reason -because of course he hadn’t- and Joe looked over at him in confusion.
“The scars on your legs,” Yuri quickly clarified his previous, needlessly vague statement.
A look of understanding crossed Joe’s face and he let out a breath that almost sounded like a chuckle, “Not many people do.”
It wasn’t an odd response, yet Yuri wasn’t sure how to take it. There was something behind those words, and that tone- ah, but maybe Yuri was just overthinking things. And even if he wasn’t, it hardly seemed like the time and place to delve into that.
“I can lend you some clothes to wear,” Yuri finally chose to say.
~*~
Yuri took his time getting out of bed. He did his morning exercises, he got dressed, he brushed his teeth. He got ready as if there wasn’t someone else in his home. But there was, and no amount of acting like normal would change that. He knew he shouldn’t rush but- it was hard. He felt nervous and giddy, which was ridiculous, because he had had people over before -even if it hadn’t been in a while- but things were so different now and it wasn’t just anyone. It was Joe.
Still. He took a deep breath and continued on as normally as he could. He didn’t rush, and when he entered the kitchen Joe was already there, having found the kettle, and was in the middle of fixing them up some tea.
Yuri and Joe, despite both being boxers of the highest caliber, did not have the same body structure, and because of this the clothing Yuri had offered Joe didn’t necessarily fit. So now Joe was making tea in a shirt that was a good two sizes too large for him and pants that clung desperately to his hips for dear life, lest they become victim to gravity. It was a good look and Yuri didn’t even care that the tea was much too bitter.
“I’m not exactly sure what kind of thing you usually have for breakfast,” Yuri heard Joe say, and when he looked up from his tea he saw Joe surveying the kitchen like it was an opponent he had to fight.
“Joe, I don’t expect you to make us breakfast,” Yuri said, taking another sip of tea. Ugh, it was so bitter.
“Good. Because Pops usually does most of the cooking.”
Yuri thought about the yogurt and granola he usually had for breakfast and suddenly he remembered one of the reasons why he didn’t have guests over very often.
He decided right then and there that he was going to sign up for a cooking class or two.
Yuri made his way over to the fridge and opened the door. Joe leaned over his shoulder and they both took a look at the contents of the fridge, Yuri suddenly wondering if this was what normally happened the morning after and if he should have cleaned up some of the things in his fridge that have been in here for weeks.
“Oh I love this stuff,” Joe pointed at a couple bottles of an absolutely heinous protein shake that sat on the top shelf of the fridge. Mikio had brought some over last time he’d stopped by and Yuri refused to even touch the bottles.
“You can have it,” Yuri said, all too happy to get that atrocious excuse for a high-protein meal supplement out of his fridge, “Have them all.”
Joe’s face lit up as if Yuri had offered him a legitimately good breakfast and Yuri made a note to ask Mikio to bring over some more next time. Just in case Joe came by again, and- well- stayed the night.
“Do you have eggs?” Joe asked, bring Yuri out of the potential future and back into the present, “I can make eggs.”
Yuri thought about it, Joe in his kitchen, wearing his clothes, cooking them breakfast. It was so outrageously domestic. It was nothing Yuri had ever thought he needed or wanted in his life and yet- he wanted to so badly it confused him.
So he pushed a half empty container of spinach to the side and picked up the carton of eggs hiding at the back of the fridge.
“I have eggs.”
~*~
“I didn’t get to give you much of a house tour yesterday,” Yuri said as they cleaned up from breakfast. The kitchen smelt a little burnt, but that was…okay.
“I got a good tour of something else instead,” Joe replied and when Yuri gave him an unimpressed look Joe burst out laughing. It was ridiculous how hard it was for Yuri not to join in.
“Do you have anything planned for today?” Yuri asked again, because now that breakfast was done and over with things might have changed.
Joe shrugged, tossing the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, “Not really,” and then he added, “Nothing important.”
“Would you like to stay for dinner?”
Joe smiled liked he’d been waiting for that question, and answered without an ounce of hesitation, “Yes.”
~*~
Yuri did give Joe a house tour. It was a big house -too big for one- and Yuri had never found it particularly interesting, but Joe seemed intrigued and Yuri wondered recklessly if it was just because it was Yuri’s house that Joe cared. There was no way to tell unless Yuri straight up asked, so instead he opened the door to another guest bedroom and Joe poked his head in.
When they reached Yuri’s home gym Joe was basically vibrating with excitement so they took a small break form the tour to make use of it. Yuri did more of his exercises as Joe played around with the weight machines -undoubtedly equipment that Joe had never had the privilege to use before- but Yuri didn’t need to think about that because it didn’t matter. Joe had won the fight, and nothing leading up to that really mattered.
It didn’t stop Yuri front wanting to know. He had so many questions to ask.
But they had time, this round could be limitless if they so chose, no need to rush things. So Yuri focused on his exercises, focused on movements that had once been so easy that he’d never even thought about it. Ah, how times change.
“I haven’t put on gloves since our fight,” Joe said suddenly, and Yuri looked up from his own work to see Joe looking over at the row of boxing gloves hanging on the wall. Where they hadn’t been touched in half a year and only stayed dust free because of a regular cleaning service.
“Neither have I,” Yuri replied automatically, stupidly, because of course he hadn’t.
But Joe didn’t comment on that, he just nodded and continued to stare at the gloves. From here Yuri couldn’t see what kind of expression Joe was making and he was starting to feel like that was maybe intentional.
“I don’t know if I want to anymore,” Joe said and his voice sounded so small. Any trace of that easy confidence had disappeared and he sounded confused, lost, and young, “I don’t need to anymore.”
That hit Yuri like a physical blow. Whereas he didn’t have a choice in the matter anymore, Joe did. Yuri didn’t want to call himself lucky, but at least his retirement had been decently far into his career, after he’d achieved a substantial amount, and he’d never say he was happy that he couldn’t physically fight anymore, but he couldn’t imagine retiring any other way. There would no other way to stop him from fighting. And, most importantly, he’d gone into that fight knowing what the probable outcome was. Mikio had been sure to let him know the risks.
And then there was Joe, who was just starting his real Megalo Boxing career. He could only go up from here.
“You have the time to think about it,” Yuri finally said, hoping it was the right thing to say. And then he added something that he had learnt recently, “You don’t have to rush.”
The silence between then stretched on, heavy and only the slightest bit uncomfortable, until Joe turned to face Yuri and showed him an expression he’d never seen on Joe before. He looked exhausted in a way that looked nothing like the physical exhaustion of a boxer thirteen rounds deep. This exhaustion looked bone deep, like Joe could feel it his very soul -if Yuri believed that kind of thing existed- and Yuri felt helpless.
And then Joe smiled, but it was nothing like the smiles that Yuri had started to become accustomed to. It was a small, sad smile and Yuri felt like this moment was strangely monumental. Like Joe was allowing Yuri to see something that was usually kept under lock and key.
Part of Yuri expected Joe to cry. But he didn’t. He just gave Yuri a small nod, and said, “I guess you’re right.”
~*~
The ordered in a meal that was something between a late lunch an early supper. The burnt smell from the kitchen had dissipated from the morning but it was safer if Joe didn’t cook and Yuri didn’t want to feed Joe any of his home-cooking yet. Bland food didn’t seem like the right thing to feed a guest.
When Yuri had asked Joe what he’d like to eat Joe had simply shrugged and replied with anything, it doesn’t matter and Yuri figured he was right. Joe had once said he wasn’t a picky eater, so Yuri just made sure that whatever he ordered for Joe was sufficiently salty.
Once the food arrived, they sat at Yuri’s kitchen table and talked, their conversation unsurprisingly making its way to Megalo Box. It wasn’t anything specific, just general banter about something they both loved and were passionate about and Yuri let himself get caught up in the domestic simplicity of it all. Just like everything with Joe it was easy and comfortable and maybe one day Yuri would stop marveling at this thing they had, but not today.
They were almost done eating when Joe brought up the fight between Yuri and Pepe. It wasn’t entirely unprompted, the flow of the conversation seemed to have logically ended up here, but as Joe spoke Yuri noted a shift in the tone of their conversation. Joe’s words were heavier, more serious, more intense.
“The way you moved, it-” Joe paused, like he was re-living the fight in real time, “-it was like nothing I’d ever seen. That was the first time I’d watched you box in person, and I could barely contain myself. It was- I wanted to- I had to hold myself back.”
Even now it seemed like he was holding himself back. He looked wired, muscles pulled taut, and eyes filled with that beautiful intensity Yuri remembered bearing witness to in the ring. His hands were balled into fists so tight that Yuri was worried the chopsticks in Joe’s right hand might break.
“I wanted to be in the ring with you, I thought that Pepe was the luckiest person on earth in that moment.”
Yuri didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing, but Joe continued talking as if he hadn’t expected Yuri to say anything.
“But I was angry,” Joe said, his voice steadily getting louder and Yuri believed him. By now Yuri knew the whole story behind the planned fixed- well, he would probably never know the full story, but Joe had told him about it and Mikio had shared some more information that he’d gotten from Yukiko. Even now, Yuri found it hard to warp his head around. Yuri knew matches got fixed, it happened, but he had never expected it to have been so close to him, or to have happened at such a high level, or to have involved Joe in something as grand Megalonia. But then again, as he had to keep reminding himself, there was a lot about Joe he didn’t know.
“I thought about how I wasn’t going to be able to go up against you,” Joe continued, still agitated, still loud. At least he’d put down his chopsticks, “I was so damn angry. I hated Nanbu, I hated Fujimaki. I hated myself. And I-” his voice cracked, “-I hated Pepe. He was standing where I wanted to be.”
Yuri fought the urge to reach across the table and rest his hands atop Joe’s fists in an attempt to- to what? Calm him down? Reassure him? Exactly. He didn’t know what he was trying to do, or even what he should do, so he didn’t do anything. A silence stretched on between them, tense and not exactly uncomfortable, but empty. Like it had to be filled.
“But you did get there,” Yuri said, finally “In the ring. With me.”
Joe blinked, looking lost for a moment, and then he said, like he still barely believed it, “Yeah, I did.”
“Was it what you expected?” Yuri asked.
Joe nodded and smiled, “And so much more.”
They finished eating in silence and when Yuri put down his chopsticks he looked up to see Joe watching him back. Yuri raised an eyebrow in question and Joe smiled.
“I’m glad I fought you Yuri,” Joe said, and then he added, “Thank you.”
He said those words, thank you, like it had all been Yuri’s doing. Like it had been Yuri who had come up with the ludicrous plan to make it from the bottom all the way to Megalonia. Like it had been Yuri who had trained tirelessly without any resources or a hope in hell. Like it had been Yuri who had fought tooth and nail to crawl out of that helpless, dead-end life.
Like it had been Yuri who had saved Joe’s life.
Was this too much? Did he deserve such sincere thanks? All he’d done was fight a nameless boxer in a putrid underground ring on an egotistical whim. Everything else had been all Joe’s doing.
It had all been Joe.
Yuri thought about the feeling of that last round. The adrenaline and fire coursing through his veins. The pure, animalistic bliss of the fight. The searing pain. The all-consuming desire. He thought about Yukiko’s dream. The weight of her cool eyes on him, and the feel of her hand on his arm- the gear. The emptiness before her. The purpose she had given him. The cold weight of the gear. He thought about waking up beside Joe this morning. The golden morning light bathing them both in warmth. The easy, open smile that graced Joe’s lips. The certainty he felt that this was right.
He thought about the scars on his arms and the numbness of his legs. He thought about what he loss. He thought about what he gained.
“I’m glad I fought you too Joe,” Yuri eventually replied, “Thank you.”
~*~
The sky had been getting progressively cloudier throughout the day and by the evening the thick, gray clouds had opened up and it rained. Hard.
From the couch, Yuri watched the rain hit the big floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto his backyard. Just last night, less than twenty-four hours ago, he and Joe had stood out there watching the stars appear, but it seemed like that had occurred in another lifetime. How had so much changed and yet- it felt like he’d been here forever. It felt natural, like this was how it was supposed to be.
A gust of wind blew by and the rain fell at a sharp angle, hitting the window harder.
“Looks like I’m not riding anywhere tonight,” Joe said, walking up beside the couch. He had just come back from checking on his bike, to make sure it was safe in Yuri’s garage and that the garage didn’t leak or something like that.
“Do you want to stay the night?” Yuri asked. It wasn’t lost to him that he’d essentially asked the same question two nights in a row
“I’m not overstaying my welcome right?” Joe asked, not answering Yuri’s question and Yuri didn’t miss the hesitation and concern in Joe’s voice. He looked up at Joe and saw him looking back with such clear doubt that Yuri had to physically force himself to not say the first thing that came to mind.
You could stay forever. Move in with me.
Again, that was entirely too premature and supremely reckless and the intensity of these thoughts was somewhat alarming. Was this how things like this were supposed to make him feel or did Joe just have that effect?
Regardless, he didn’t want to delve into that right now, especially since Joe was looking down at him with concern and uncertainty. So Yuri instead chose a more measured answer.
“I offered didn’t I?” he said, and then added, to hopefully squash any of Joe’s doubt, “You’re not overstaying your welcome, and I would like you to stay over tonight. If you want.”
Joe blinked, cocked his head, thought about it, and finally said, “Then okay, yeah.”
With a smile, Joe plopped down onto the couch beside Yuri. For a moment they didn’t move, maybe unsure of exactly what to do, but then Joe leaned into Yuri and that felt right. After a minute and a lot of second-guessing, Yuri lifted an arm and draped it around Joe’s shoulders and Yuri’s heart stuttered when Joe instantly melted into the touch.
“I was hoping we’d have a clear night,” Yuri admitted after a moment of comfortable silence.
“Nothing wrong with rain,” Joe replied.
“You can’t see the stars,” Yuri countered, and then when Joe gave him an incredulous look, Yuri clarified, “I have a telescope and I thought that we could look at the stars together. I- uh- stargaze sometimes.”
Joe let out a snort of laughter that sounded suspiciously like the word cute and then gave Yuri a curious smile, laced with something that was hard to decipher and maybe Yuri had never noticed how bad he was at reading people outside of the ring. Maybe it was just Joe.
“Maybe next time.”
Yuri nodded. The implicit promise of Joe’s recurring company should have been obvious by now, but it still made Yuri’s heart do suspicious things and he loved it. So he got Joe to grab the throw blanket that sat on the far end of the couch, perfectly folded and rarely used, and under the faux fur they sat together and watched the rain fall. The silence was relaxed and warm and Yuri figured that this wasn’t such a bad outcome.
The stars could wait.
~*~
They had a light snack, Joe drank one of the protein shakes and Yuri had some granola and fruit. As they ate Yuri pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Mikio to ask him to bring more of that heinous drink, and then put his phone away before he had to read Mikio’s confused and probing reply.
They ended back on the couch, Yuri lying on his back, pressed up between the back of the couch and Joe’s body. They had thrown the blanket over top of them and at some point in time Joe’s head had made its way on to Yuri’s chest and not long after that Yuri had started running a hand through Joe’s hair. Joe was talking about- something. Yuri was admittedly not really listening, he was too occupied with the sheer volume of Joe’s hair and how surprisingly soft it was. Quite tangled and a bit hard to card his fingers through, but soft.
The rain had stopped but the wind had picked up so the trees in the backyard swayed dangerously. It looked positively miserable outside, but Yuri was inside, warm and conformable and content. He closed his eyes and relaxed. Joe had stopped talking and was now running his fingers up Yuri’s arm -the one that wasn’t currently busy running a hand through Joe’s hair- in a way that Yuri recognize. Joe was tracing the scars again.
Yuri couldn’t quite feel it, but he knew Joe’s legs were intertwined with his.
“Half a year ago, I would never have pictured myself here,” Joe said suddenly after a few minutes of relaxed silence, and the statement was so unexpected that it took a moment for Yuri’s brain to process what Joe had just said. And when he finally did, he stayed silent because something was telling him that Joe had more to say.
“Here, with you, doing this. I’m so damn happy. I can barely-” Joe stopped, voice breaking, and Yuri opened his eyes and looked down at the man lying beside him. He couldn’t quite see all of Joe’s face from this angle, but he could just make out a deep frown on his lips.
“Nothing good ever lasts that long for me,” Joe finally said, letting those words tumble from his mouth like they had been a heavy burden.
Again Yuri wanted to reach out and- and what? He had to figure it out sooner or later or he might miss his chance. His fingers twitched -having previously gone still in Joe’s hair- like they wanted to move, to reach down to where Joe’s had had stilled on his arm and hold him.
He wanted to tell Joe that he was an idiot and that things were different now. Joe was the Megalonia champion. He didn’t have to throw fights anymore. He was free. He had Yuri.
I’ll stay with you forever.
But Yuri knew how fleeting certain things in life could be. He had made promises before that he hadn’t kept. He looked down at his legs, hidden under the blanket and presumably tangled up with Joe’s. Oh, how fleeting some things were. His thoughts flashed momentarily to a box pushed to the back of one of the spare rooms. Oh, how had he broken promises.
So instead of speaking, he leaned down as he tilted Joe’s head up and pressed his lips to Joe’s forehead. When he pulled back their eyes met and those brown eyes were big and wide full of so much that it almost hurt. He wanted to look into those eyes for the rest of his life, but he also felt like he had to look away, lest he get lost in the everything that those eyes held.
Joe looked away first and buried his face into Yuri’s neck.
“Yuri?”
“Hm?”
“Are you happy?”
The speed in which Yuri replied startled himself, “Surprisingly so.”
He had more to say but he chose to keep it simple now.
“I’m happy too,” Joe said -not waiting for Yuri to turn the question back on him- and he smiled.
Joe wiggled out from where he lay so that he could reach up and press his lips against Yuri’s forehead. His lips were hot against Yuri’s skin, and after pushing Yuri’s bangs out of the way, Joe kissed him there again, and then a little lower and off to the side, right above Yuri’s temple. And then a short kiss to his cheekbone, and them along his jaw, until Joe finally pressed a short kiss to Yuri’s lips.
“Want to move to your bed?” Joe asked when he pulled back, his lips pulled into a small crooked smile
Yuri smiled back, “I’ll meet you there.”
~*~
They were back in Yuri’s bed and this time it seemed easier. Again, like everything else with Joe, things came easy, became too comfortable too quickly, as if the two of them had been doing it for years. Yuri removed his shirt before Joe could even try to do it for him and Joe quickly followed suite, shedding the shirt Yuri had lent him earlier and tossing it carelessly off the edge of the bed.
The callouses of Joe’s palms were familiar as they touched Yuri’s bare skin, tracing already well-established paths over Yuri’s chest and arms. Yuri was lying on his back with Joe on top of him, on his knees and bent over in like he was praying, hands moving in worship and looking at his body in reverence that was- something. He tried not to think too hard about the way Joe had said thank you when they had been eating dinner.
“Joe,” Yuri said, pulling Joe’s attention back to him and after a second Joe’s gaze flickered up to Yuri’s face. They were suspended in a moment of stasis, occupied only with what they could say through no words at all and Yuri had to search for a moment before he found what he was looking for.
He reached up and brought Joe’s face down to meet his and kissed him, quickly moving from soft and gentle to deep and heated. Joe met him with ease, readily reciprocating the intensity and opening his mouth eagerly when Yuri’s tongue pressed against his lips. Joe’s mouth was hot- burning and Yuri could feel the heat transferring into his own body, the fiery desire for more dominated his thoughts and he kissed Joe deeper and deeper and Joe took it all.
And the Joe was on the move, kissing up Yuri’s jaw, to his ear, and then down his neck, moving with purpose and intent and Yuri wasn’t surprised when he felt the first grazing of teeth against his skin. He let out a pleased hum and Joe pressed down harder, scraping his teeth along the thick cordage of muscle until he bit down, hard.
Yuri rolled his head to the side, baring more of his neck to Joe and Joe took what he was given, biting and sucking and taking ownership of what Yuri had offered him. With each mark Joe made it was as if he was marking his territory, Yuri was his now and he would make sure the world knew.
Maybe Yuri was reading into this wrong, but that notion was supremely arousing.
“You like that huh?” Joe asked, puling away rom Yuri’s neck for a moment and Yuri could just make out a crooked, self-satisfied smile on Joe’s lips.
“I guess,” Yuri replied, finding it very hard to act nonchalant and he could feel Joe’s laugh against his skin, hot and wet before he felt teeth again and Yuri gave up trying to conceal anything. He let himself lose himself in the heat of Joe’s body against his and the sharp pain of his teeth, digging in with the perfect amount of pressure as if Joe knew exactly how Yuri like it already. It was exhilarating, -only because Yuri would never use the word scary- because Joe was wild and unpredictable and yet Yuri knew what he was going to do, and he’s figured out what Yuri liked without needed Yuri to tell him.
And then Joe pressed down especially hard on a particular section of skin just above Yuri’s clavicle and Yuri gasped. He arched up into the touch, -or at least, as much as he could- and fought to keep his eyes open as pleasure rolled throughout his body,
“Fuck, you’re so-” Joe broke off into a low moan and pressed his lips against the mark he had just made, like a promise that he would return there again.
Yuri wanted to ask what Joe was going to say but the moment passed and Joe’s mouth was on him again, kissing down his body now, down his chest and abdomen, lower and lower until Joe ran out of skin and was met with the fabric of Yuri’s pants.
“Joe,” Yuri panted, suddenly breathless, and he pushed himself up and leaned back onto his elbows.
Joe looked up at him, “Can I-”
“Yes-”
“-touch you-”
“-please-”
“-there?”
“-yes.”
They locked eyes and Yuri had to fight not to get lost in the darkness staring back at him, pupils blown so wide that Joe’s eyes almost looked black. He nodded, to clarify that yes, this was what he wanted, and Joe got to work. Joe’s movements were hindered by a hint of uncertainty and Yuri didn’t miss how careful he moved. Joe didn’t have to- he wasn’t going to hurt Yuri, and Yuri almost mentioned it. Almost, because it didn’t seem like the time nor the place, and Yuri wanted nothing more than to lose himself in the feeling of Joe.
Clothing now removed and placed -not as gently as Yuri would have liked- on the floor, Yuri was completely bare and before he could think too much of anything Joe spoke.
“You’re beautiful,” Joe breathed, turning Yuri’s words from last night against himself, yet it sounded different coming from Joe. The word sounded foreign on Joe’s tongue. Beautiful. But that didn’t mean Yuri didn’t believe that was truly what Joe thought. Amidst all the lust and desire swimming in those dark eyes, Joe’s gaze had grown soft, affectionate and -if Yuri allowed himself to be exceptionally hopeful and absurd- loving.
“Can I?” Joe asked, gesturing lower and Yuri nodded. He helped as much as he could to move his legs apart so that Joe could fit between them, although Joe ended up doing most of the work. Yuri made a mental note to focused extra hard on his hip mobility exercises from now on. But for now, it was okay. Joe made himself comfortable between Yuri’s legs and smiled, maybe to himself, before lowering himself down to press a kiss to Yuri’s navel.
Yuri twitched minutely at the contact but otherwise stayed still and silent, watching Joe work, moving progressively lower and lower. It felt good, but it was hard to lose himself in the feeling and fully enjoy this when he looked down and could see himself still completely soft between his legs.
And now Joe has passed onto territory where the nerves had been affected and any sensory information was blunted. Yet Joe didn’t stop, his lips continued down, veering to the side to run down the front of one of Yuri’s thighs, over muscles that had already begun to noticeably atrophy in the months since the last round, even with physical therapy.
“I can’t feel much of that,” Yuri said, finally forcing out those words. Joe knew this, because Yuri had told him last night, along with many other things, but Yuri had to make sure that Joe really knew. Because as lovely as this was, he was still soft, and he didn’t want to ruin this. He didn’t want to let Joe down.
So Joe stopped and looked up at Yuri, they locked eyes. Joe nodded, assuring that he understood and took a moment to reply.
“No, but you can see me touch you,” Joe said after a minute, as he leaned down to press a kiss to the inside of Yuri’s thigh, and then another, and then when he spoke next his voice was low and deep, “Watch me Yuri. Watch me touch you.”
He shivered at the intensity of Joe’s words, and at how Joe looked up at him, eyes dark and bottomless under dark lashes. But Joe didn’t move again, and it took much too long for Yuri to realize that Joe was waiting for Yuri’s permission. So Yuri nodded, not exactly trusting himself to speak on account of a sudden ball of emotion clawing at his throat.
Joe nodded back, and then those eyes fluttered closed and he continued his work, tracing his lips across the smooth skin of the inside of Yuri’s thigh. The touch looked light and not nearly enough that he could feel it, but he kept watching -just as Joe had asked- as the man between his legs pressed kisses along his legs. Moving over muscles and tendons that had once carried Yuri across the ring, helped him climb his way to the top, carrying the weight of her dream. Muscles and tendons that had served him so well for so long, and that had helped him make a name from himself.
Muscles and tendons down rendered virtually useless.
But the way Joe touched him, it didn’t speak to that. There was something about the way Joe moved, his touch reminiscent of how he had traced the scarred skin of Yuri’s arm last night, with reverence, adoration, and- well- love. Like nothing else mattered beside the fact that this was Yuri, he was that fighter, and he wanted Yuri to know that he felt blessed.
Yuri’s breath caught as he watched Joe take the skin of his inner thigh between his teeth and bite, just as he had done to Yuri’s neck. Yuri felt it now, but not where Joe’s teeth had sunk into his skin, but in his chest, behind his ribcage and -if he believed in such a thing- in his soul
Joe stopped his ministrations and looked up at Yuri, with those impossibly dark eyes.
“Yuri?” he asked softly, pressing his lips over the bite in a soft kiss and Yuri felt his chest tighten even more.
“Keep going,” Yuri replied, throat suddenly tight too and he let out a shaky breath. Again, Joe nodded, and continued lower, gently lifting one of Yuri’s legs to press a bite to the inside of Yuri’s knee. The pressure in his chest grew and it started seeping through his body, down to the base of his stomach and further.
So Yuri kept watching, as Joe’s lips and hands travelled all over him. His nerves might have been damaged, but he could feel something. He felt how much Joe wanted him, it bled through Joes fingertips and straight into Yuri’s bloodstream. He felt Joe’s love. It was coursing throughout his whole body now, from the tips of the toes that he could no longer feel all the way up to behind his eyes. It’s wasn’t quite a raging fire, but it was warm, and pleasant and just so right- just like everything else with Joe had felt up to this point.
He could feel the weight behind Joe’s touch, the meaning behind it, and that- that was something.
He felt something. It wasn’t the same as it had been before, and Yuri wasn’t sure if it ever would be, but that was okay. It wasn’t bad. It was different. It was enjoyable. It was enough. It was Joe.
Eventually, Yuri called Joe up, and pulled the other man into a tight embrace. And then they were kissing again, slow now, but still deep, and he swore that if they got any closer their bodies and souls would intertwine and fuse together.
Ah, maybe he was feeling a little manic now. It had been a long time since Yuri had felt this light and he decided to blame that for such a ridiculous though.
Joe noticed that Yuri was distracted, so he pulled back and gave Yuri a questioning look, one of his bushy eyebrows raised in confusion.
“Was that-”
“It was good,” Yuri breathed into Joe’s mouth, pulling them back together, “Very good. Thank you.”
Yuri could feel Joe’s lips curl into a smile as they continued to kiss, and he couldn’t help but follow. He’d never noticed how difficult it was to kiss properly while smiling, yet he found that he didn’t mind in the slightest. It was something that he had been waiting to figure out until Joe came crashing into his life.
Eventually Yuri’s hands found their way to Joe’s pants -Yuri’s pants that Joe was wearing- and easily slid them off Joe’s hips. Joe paused his movements momentarily to shimmy out of the pants and his underwear and throw them both somewhere off the side of the bed, and then quickly went back to kissing Yuri.
After another minute of uninterrupted kissing, Yuri reached below Joe’s body and wrapped his hand around Joe’s length. Immediately, the man above him shuddered at the touch. He was fully hard in his hand, and leaking, and Yuri ran the pad of his thumb across the head to collect the moisture there, and that caused Joe to let out a low, rough moan, so that was a pleasant bonus.
“Is this alright?’ Yuri asked, moving his hand in the way that he remembered Joe directing him last nigh and instead of a concrete answer Joe let out another moan that went straight to Yuri’s heart. So he continued doing what he was doing, and after a minute Joe struggled to say something.
“Yuri- can you-”
Yuri pulled his hand away and let Joe catch his breath, “Yes?”
“Can we- we could- I have lube.”
Yuri raised an eyebrow at that, intrigued.
“What do you want?” he asked, and Joe averted his eyes in what Yuri realized was embarrassment. It was supremely cute, and Yuri had to bite his tongue not to blurt out something so senseless.
Yuri pressed a quick kiss to Joe’s cheek, that had suspiciously turned much redder over the last few seconds, “Tell me Joe, tell me what you want.”
The redness of Joe’s cheeks intensified, but he did meet Yuri’s gaze.
“I want you-” Joe started, breaking off momentarily before continuing, “Inside me.”
Yuri frowned, “Joe-”
“Your fingers,” Joe quickly clarified, now looking at Yuri with determination, darkness returning to those eyes, “I want them inside of me.”
Yuri felt his heartrate skyrocket. Yes, could get on board with that.
“Go get it,” Yuri said, pressing a quick kiss to Joe’s cheek again, still flaming red, before Joe got off him and made his way across the room on noticeably shaky legs.
Joe walked over to where his jacket lay over the back of a chair -it had apparently made its way into the bedroom at some point over the past day without Yuri noticing- and started looking thought the pockets. Yuri took this time to pull himself to the head of the bed and position the pillow against the headboard so that he could sit in a manner similar to last night. He had an idea of how he’d like this to go.
Joe was now making his way back to the bed, a small bottle in his hand. He stopped just short of the bed and raised an eyebrow in question, waiting for Yuri’s direction.
“Sit here,” Yuri gestured to his lap and Joe complied, placing one knee on either side of Yuri’s outstretched legs, once again in a way very similar to last night. He had considered positioning Joe the other way, so he was on his knees between Yuri’s legs, ass facing Yuri. But Yuri enjoyed seeing Joe’s face much too much to have him facing away. Next time perhaps.
Joe gave Yuri a crooked smile as he handed Yuri the bottle of lube, “You know what you’re doing?”
Yuri huffed and rolled his eyes and he popped the cap off the bottle.
“That’s not exactly an answer Yu~ri,” Joe said, clearly taunting Yuri now and Yuri considered asking Joe to turn around so he could slap his ass for that remark. Maybe next time.
“You worried about what I’m about to do to your ass?” Yuri asked, watching Joe watch closely as Yuri coated two fingers in lube. After a moment Joe looked back up to Yuri and smirked.
“Hah, just making sure you don’t need me to tell you how it’s done.”
“Oh, are you a champion at this too?” Yuri was holding back laughter now and he could see Joe was too, “Do you spread your ass as carelessly as you pick fights?”
Joe lost, breaking down into laughter first, “Only for the right man.”
“Is that so?” Yuri said, only letting out a small chuckle.
The lube on his fingers was starting to dip, so he decided it was time to get on with things. He could feel Joe’s eyes on him as he reached a hand between Joe’s legs and pressed the tip of his middle finger to Joe’s entrance. He pressed lightly, running the pad of his finger around the rim, wetting the area and giving Joe a moment to ready himself before he pushed in.
Joe sucked his breath him and shuddered at the intrusion, and then grabbing hold of Yuri’s shoulders when Yuri slid the full length of his finger in.
“That okay?” Yuri asked, leaving the finger in place so that Joe’s body could accommodate the sudden intrusion.
“Yeah,” Joe replied, voice just slightly breathy, and then added quickly, “You can do more. You uh- don’t have to go slow.”
Yuri raised an eyebrow. Slow? They had just started. But Yuri got the sense that he shouldn’t word it as such.
“What if I want to?” Yuri said instead, pitching his voice low, “What if I want to take my time and enjoy this?”
Joe huffed out a laugh, “Whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?” Yuri echoed, mostly in surprise, “Are you just going to roll over and let me do as I please?”
Joe let out a noise Yuri had yet to hear, a growl from low and deep in his throat and Yuri wasn’t completely sure how to read into that. He figured they would have to discuss explicitly sometime about what they both enjoyed. But for now, Yuri figured he could just roll with it because Joe’s face had become a wonderful colour of deep red and he looked almost embarrassed again.
“I just want you,” Joe admitted, his voice quiet and his words spoken like a secret that was only for him and Yuri to know.
“You’re giving me a lot of power,”
“I know.”
“You’ll tell me if there’s something you don’t like.”
Joe laughed, short and sharp,” Sure.”
“I mean it Joe.”
“Sure,” he repeated, not laughing this time, so Yuri chose to believe him. But they really did have to talk later. Just, not right now, as Yuri had a finger up Joe’s ass and Joe was giving him free reign of said ass.
So Yuri moved, sliding the finger in and out, watching Joe’s face for any reaction. Joe noticed and gave Yuri a little smile.
“Hey.”
Yuri smiled back and pulled his finger out, and after applying more lube he pushed two fingers in. There was a bit too much resistance for Yuri’s liking and Joe let out a hiss, but before Yuri could pull back out Joe was pushing his hips down to meet Yuri’s finger, wordlessly asking for more, so Yuri continued.
And he took his time, -feeling a little greedy- wiggling his fingers slowly and then eventually sliding them in and out at a leisurely pace, watching Joe’s face the entire time. He could feel the sweat start to form on Joe’s skin as he moved his hips in time with Yuri’s fingers, trying to get more without having to verbalize it.
“More,” Joe did eventually ask, a slight warble to his words.
“I thought you said I could do whatever I wanted.”
Joe clamped his mouth shut and gave Yuri a pout that was so goddamn cute that Yuri nearly laughed. It was ridiculous and adorable, and Yuri felt an inexplicable fondness burst through his chest. So he leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to the corner of Joe’s lips, “Good thing I love you so much.”
Ah. He hadn’t meant to let that slip out.
So before Joe could say anything on that topic quite yet Yuri chose to start scissoring his fingers and that brought out a wonderful moan from the back of Joe’s throat. Yuri pulled out, added more lube, and then carried on, enjoying the way Joe tighten around his fingers as he scissored them. And then one of his fingers just so happened to graze a certain area and Joe crumpled in his arms.
“Yes,” Joe hissed through clenched teeth, throwing his head back and then asked for more.
When Yuri added a third finger Joe began to fall apart at an accelerated pace. He was panting and sweating and he moved against Yuri with less of a structured rhythm. His arms were wrapped around Yuri’s shoulder now and his face was buried in Yuri’s neck where Yuri could feel his hot breath and the wetness of spit against his skin. He wanted to jerk Joe off but his arms were getting fatigued, so he instructed Joe to do it himself.
Joe pulled his face back from Yuri’s neck to look at Yuri for clarification. His eyes were blown wide and saliva smeared at the corners of his mouth and on his chin. He looked a little lost and entirely overwhelmed.
“Touch yourself,” Yuri repeated, “Go on, show me how good this feels.”
And Joe did, he moved his hand at a frantic pace, barley in time with the movements of his own hips. Yuri placed a hand at Joe’s back not exactly helping in any way but just there, a support. As he watched Joe come undone Yuri idly rand his fingers over where he knew there to be a scar on Joe’s back. He wondered especially hard about that scar, but he figured he had plenty of time to ask about it later -if Joe even remembered where it had come from. Right now, however, Joe’s thighs were twitching and he was contacting around Yuri’s fingers erratically so Yuri moved inside of him, probing for that certain spot again until he found it. And then Joe was spilling all over Yuri, this time it was much more obvious that he was in fact saying Yuri’s name as he did so.
Yuri continued to move inside of Joe until he finished, and then gently slipped his fingers out so that he could wrap both arms around Joe’s shaking body. He held on until he felt Joe relax and heard his breathing even out, and then chose to stay like this a bit longer. His whole body felt fatigued, as if he’d just completed some hellish workout, but in the best possible way. But that also meant he wanted to just fall asleep right then and now, despite how much he knew they needed to shower
Finally, Joe pulled back, looking just as sleepy and sated as Yuri felt.
“Nice,” he said, still a bit breathless, and Yuri laughed before giving Joe a tried kiss.
They did eventually both go and wash up, separately still, and by the time Yuri got back onto the bed he was absolutely exhausted. Joe pulled the comforter up for the both of them and Yuri was already falling asleep.
“I love you too.”
Yuri wasn’t sure if he’d actually heard that of if it was some figment of his near unconscious brain, but he figured it didn’t matter. After all this, maybe he was certain he knew how Joe felt about it, so they didn’t really have to say anything.
~*~
Like clockwork, he woke up early, sun barely peeking through the clouds and past the horizon. But unlike normal, he was still tired. And also exceedingly warm. He looked down to Joe, pressed up against his side, bangs falling over his closed eyes and face completely lax.
Yuri figured could get up, or he could do what he did yesterday and watch Joe sleep for a little longer. But he could already feel his eyelids becoming heavy and Joe’s breathing -slow and even- was so damn soothing. So, he closed his eyes again, relaxed, and let sleep take over again.
~*~
The next time he woke the sun was unnaturally high in the sky and he lay there disoriented for a long moment before he remembered why he was still in bed this late. When he did, he rolled over to find that Joe was no longer beside him.
He looked at his phone to check the time -as he ignored the confused and probing texts he’d received from Mikio- and found that he’d slept in for almost an additional two hours. And he didn’t even mind, it had been a long time since he’d felt this well rested and this good.
Well, until he stretched, and every muscle in his body that he could feel complained. He pulled the comforter off him and then saw the mass of hickies left all over his body. Heh, good thing he wasn’t planning on seeing anyone today except for the person who was responsible for said marks.
When he finally got about of bed and made it to the kitchen Joe was there, back in his own clothes, and seated at the kitchen table. The storm had passed, and the mid-morning sun was illuminating the room and everything in it, but most of all Joe, who appeared to shine with some angelic light. Yuri shook his head, these thoughts were exceptionally out of control this morning. He blamed the two extra hours of sleep. This was why he didn’t sleep in.
The twelve roses sat in their glass pitcher, silently wishing him good morning.
“Hey,” Joe said, smiling at Yuri from across the kitchen, over the rim of his mug, and Yuri couldn’t help but smile back.
“Good morning,” Yuri said, making his way to the table and accepting the cup of tea Joe offered him. If Joe noticed any of the red marks on Yuri’s neck, too high to be covered by the high collared sweater Yuri wore, he didn’t say anything.
“I should get going,” Joe said. He was standing now, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and Yuri nodded in response.
“Sacchio is probably wonder where I am,” Joe added after a second, as if he needed to explain why.
“Of course,” Yuri replied, taking a sip of his tea. It wasn’t nearly as bitter as it had been yesterday, “Would you like stay for breakfast?”
“If I stay for breakfast, you might get me to say for a whole other day,” Joe said with a lopsided grin, “Not that that’s a problem, but- y’know.”
Yuri figured he did.
“Plus, I don’t want to force you to eat any more of my cooking.”
Yuri would have liked to say the eggs weren’t that bad, but he didn’t want to lie to Joe.
“Next time we’ll figure out something better,” Yuri replied. He almost mentioned the cooking classes he was thinking of signing up for, but part of him thought that might be over-sharing. Too much too soon or something like that? But then he remembered saying something ridiculous like I love you last night so that excused didn’t really check out.
He still kept his mouth shut.
Joe nodded and added with a shy smile, “Yeah, next time.”
Joe leaned down and pressed a kiss to Yuri’s cheek. It was oddly clumsy and awkward and when Joe stood back up he looked positively embarrassed. A light blush has settled high on his cheekbones and in the warm morning light Yuri was inclined to think that this was the cutest that Joe had ever looked.
Do that again. Keep doing that forever. Never stop. Don’t leave.
Yuri wanted to ask, what now? How where they doing this? Were they together now? Dating? These had never been questions he’d cared about before, but for some reason he did now. A lot. It must have been because it was Joe, who was so unlike anyone else, and damn him for that. It made Yuri want to ask preposterous questions like You’re mine right? but that didn’t seem right. Joe was wild- a wild animal, freer now that he ever had been, and Yuri want to jump that gun or overstep. It had only been what, forty hours at most since Joe had given Yuri a bouquet of roses -which Yuri still couldn’t quite get over, that was so- so- something- and-
A brush of a finger on his neck pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked to see Joe tracing the hickies that dotted Yuri’s skin.
“Looks good,” Joe said with a crooked smirk. Ah, so he had noticed.
Yuri rolled his eyes, ignoring the heat that was rising to his cheeks, “Of course you’d think that, you’re the one who left those there.”
“Gotta let people know what’s mine,” Joe replied, voice dropping low and that answered Yuri’s unasked question. Of course they were on the same page, and Yuri was foolish for thinking otherwise. It hadn’t been just been forty hours, it had started so much earlier than that. It had been ever since that nameless boxed had challenged him in the rain, at least in some capacity.
“Get out of here,” Yuri said, smacking Joe’s hand away from his neck, but he was smiling. And then they were both laughing, and everything felt right.
“See you later.”
“Yeah,” Joe replied, “See you later.”
Yuri saw Joe to the door and with one final blinding smile Joe was gone. Yuri was by himself again, but he didn’t feel alone. He took a sip of his now cold tea and continued with his day as if he wasn’t in love.