Feeling Good - Part Two
Marshall and Johnson plus Ian was so much worse than just Marshall and Johnson, Cash thought. The three of them were sitting together in the back seat of the van.
“Hands to yourselves,” Cash warned. “I am officially installing a no sex in the van rule.”
“My van, my rules,” Marshall said, mouthing along Ian’s jaw.
“We all have to live in this van,” Alex argued. “And as much as we love you guys, we don’t need to see how much you love each other. I can feel it just fine.”
“Yeah and on that note, would you please close yourselves off?” Cash said, changing lanes. Johnson huffed a laugh against Marshall’s mouth.
“Sorry,” he said, “we’ll try to keep it to ourselves.”
--
When they stopped in Michigan, Marshall fell into a frozen lake.
“Wait!” Cash shouted, when Johnson moved closer. “Don’t get him out too fast, the shock could kill him.” Johnson eased Marshall slowly out of the lake, and wrapped the blanket Ian had grabbed from the van around him.
“We have to get him to a hospital,” Alex said, helping him into the van. He shot Cash a glance over his shoulder.
“Let me sit next to him,” Cash said, pushing past Johnson.
“I think he’d rather -” Johnson started.
“Trust me,” Cash said through gritted teeth. “Both of you need to get in the back.”
“Cash,” Marshall said, teeth chattering violently, “what are you doing?” Cash ignored him, laying down on the seats in the middle of the van, pulling Marshall down on top of him. Alex got into the driver’s seat and headed into town, following road signs to the hospital.
“Hey, I’m not really cool with that,” Johnson protested, leaning over the seat.
“Oh,” Marshall whispered, his shudders slowly to tremors. “How long have you been able to do that?”
“Always,” Cash said, rubbing his hands up and down Marshall’s arms, warming him slower than he had warmed Alex. Marshall nodded, exhaling slowly and relaxing on top of Cash.
“What?” Ian asked. “What’s he doing?”
“I can control temperature,” Cash replied reluctantly. “But only with two people and I have to be touching them.”
“Thanks for telling us,” Johnson muttered, “it’s been fucking freezing in this van.”
“You managed to keep yourself warm,” Cash said, as Alex pulled into the hospital.
The doctor said that Marshall was fine, that Cash and Johnson’s quick thinking had prevented Marshall being seriously injured.
“I’ve never heard of temperature manipulation before,” the doctor said curiously. “Would you be interested in -”
“No,” Cash replied quickly. “No, thank-you. No studies, no tests. Nothing.”
“Oh but you could -”
“This is why I don’t tell people,” Cash hissed, making a beeline for the door. They clambered into their van, driving off. Marshall pressed close to Cash, who kept him warm and relaxed until they stopped for the night.
--
A week later, Cash was ready to start heading home. He was sick of the awful two-day jobs they were taking to stay on the road, and he missed his family. He was overwhelmed by the amount of relief that hit him from the others when he made the suggestion that they start driving home.
“Oh god, I thought no one was ever going to suggest that,” Ian sighed, sliding into the driver’s seat.
“Alex was two days away from suggesting it,” Marshall said, flipping through a magazine. Alex punched Marshall’s arm, and slumped against Cash. Johnson was up front with Ian fiddling with the radio. Marshall leaned over the front seat to poke Ian in the neck and tug on Johnson’s hair. Cash wrapped his arms around Alex, kissing his temple. He seriously loved his friends.
--
Halfway home they had to stop in a small town for the night.
“None of us are awake enough to drive, and I am not dying in this van,” Marshall insisted. The only place to stay was a dirty motel with a sleazy owner who grabbed Alex’s ass as they walked away.
“We’re checking out and leaving first thing in the morning. I’m waking you all up early and we’re getting the fuck out of here,” Cash scowled, tugging Alex into their room. They showered separately and pulled on semi-clean pyjamas before climbing onto the bed. Alex straddled Cash and leaned down to kiss him.
“So,” he murmured, reaching for the hem of Cash’s pants.
“We just got dressed,” Cash protested.
“And?” Alex said, tugging at the pants.
“Stop,” Cash said, pushing Alex’s hands away. “This place is filthy and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a camera in here somewhere. Do you really want to do this here?”
“Where else do you suggest we do it?”
“Wait until we get home,” Cash said gently. “My bed is clean, it doesn’t smell like piss, and the camera in my room will only be turned on if you want it to be.”
“But I want you to fuck me now,” Alex whined. Cash groaned, pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes. “Come on, I’ll make it worth your while.”
“I don’t doubt that you would,” Cash said, voice strained. “But I am not doing it here.”
“Fine,” Alex huffed, getting off the bed. “I’ll just go jerk off in the bathroom.”
“Can I watch?” Cash asked hopefully, sitting up as Alex closed the bathroom door behind him.
“No,” Alex called back. “Hey! There’s a camera in here!”
--
When they finally reached home, Cash was (again) overwhelmed by the amount of relief that washed over him from the others.
“Oh god,” Marshall said, “my own bed. My own shower.”
“I love you guys, but let’s give it a few days, yeah?” Cash suggested as he climbed out of the van. He took his bags from the back, and held his hand out to Alex. “Are you coming with me?”
“You just said -”
“I didn’t mean you,” Cash replied, snorting. “Or did you want to go home first? I could come pick you up later.”
“Later is good,” Alex said. “I kind of miss my parents.”
“Word,” Johnson said. “Later, Cash.” Cash made his way into his house, and almost collapsed into his mother’s arms. She held him tight for a long time and he returned the hug just as hard.
“I missed you,” she said, holding him out at arm’s length. “You were gone for so long.”
“Yeah,” Cash murmured. “It’s good to be home.”
“You need a shower. And I’m assuming you need several loads of laundry done,” his mother said. Cash nodded emphatically, and handed over his bag to her.
“Thanks,” he sighed. “I’m going to go wash two months of van and cheap motel showers off me.”
--
Cash didn’t end up seeing Alex until a week later - his parents had insisted he spend a decent amount of time with them before seeing the guys he spent two months on the road with. Which, Cash thought, was fair enough. The five of them met up for lunch at a diner, cramming into one booth.
“Missed your stupid face,” Cash murmured against Alex’s lips. Alex laughed, pinching Cash’s arm. “I went from seeing you every day for two months to nothing for a week.”
“Yeah,” Alex replied, pressing himself along Cash’s side. “Missed you too.”
“If you two are done,” Marshall said, raising an eyebrow, “we’d like to eat sometime before next week.”
“Like you can talk,” Alex snorted, “I had to wait in the car for ten minutes so you could blow Ian.”
“Whatever,” Marshall replied flippantly, waving his hand at them. “I think I’ll get the chicken burger.”
“I’ll get the cheeseburger and we can go halves?” Johnson suggested.
“Hey, I wanna get in on that,” Ian said, looking over the menu. “I’ll get the lasagna?”
“Are we completely co-dependant now?” Alex asked. “If I get the fettucine, will someone share with me as well?”
“Yes on both counts,” Marshall said decisively.
“I’ll get the pancakes,” Cash said. “We’ve gotta have dessert, right?”
“Independence is overrated anyway,” Ian said. Cash felt happiness wash over him and squeezed Alex’s hand under the table.