Fic: facing forwards going slowly (Alex/Ryland)
And here is the last of the ficlets in this set. Just to let you know that there will be a little break now from posting as we work on post-beta edits on finished fics and hopefully get cracking on writing some more. But you never know, there might be something planned for Christmas when we will see if you've been naughty or nice...
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Title: facing forwards going slowly
Author: Mistress Kat / kat_lair
Pairing/Characters: Alex/Ryland
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 458
Disclaimer: See Community Introduction Post
Warnings/enticements: d/s dynamic, see Community Introduction Post for further information
Summary: Two sides of the same coin. Background piece.
Author notes: While pushkin666 only paid for 5 ficlets in her help_pakistan bid, I had to write this extra one because Alex and Ryland make me happy in my heart. dreamersdare is on constant beta duty and will therefore get name-checked in every fic post. Title from Sweet Avenue by Jets to Brazil.
They were best friends before they had a chance to learn what it was to not have one; both of them Family kids, both mouthy and precocious and inseparable. Two sides of the same coin, their parents used to say, shaking their heads and smiling indulgently.
Ryland got them into trouble and Alex got them out of it, his brown eyes wide with fake innocence.
“You know what your problem is?” he’d say to Ryland. “You look too sneaky. Like a weasel.”
“I’ll show you sneaky,” Ryland would reply, tackling them both to the ground, taking full advantage of his longer limbs.
Alex always fought dirty and Ryland always let him, because he mostly won anyway. Neither of them cared, because they both knew that winning wasn’t the point. It wasn’t the result that mattered, it was the making; the constant push and pull, the give and take, the sharing.
They grew up, entwined and strong like trees grafted together from young.
When Ryland moved out of his parents’ house he lived alone for three whole days, which was as long as it took Alex to pack all his kitchen appliances.
“What the fuck do we need a pineapple corer for?” Ryland asked. “It looks like a space dildo.”
Alex made a face, snagging it from Ryland’s long fingers. “See if you ever get pineapple upside down cake now, you ingrate.”
Sex was an afterthought. Or rather, sex between them was an afterthought - like an unexpected dessert after an already thoroughly satisfying meal, as Alex put it.
“Jesus Christ, is everything a food metaphor to you?” Ryland lay on his back on the floor, naked and unselfconscious.
Alex nipped his hip bone in mock annoyance. “Remind me why I didn’t just gag you?”
“You... Ah, stop, you...” Alex was licking his way up Ryland’s stomach now and it was difficult to maintain an appropriate level of bitchiness between the giggles. “You were... fuck, gah! ...kind of tied up at the time.”
“Oh yeah, that was it,” Alex grinned down at him, wide and happy.
Ryland met the kiss halfway and when Alex laced their fingers together, he chose not to comment on the utter cheesiness of the move. Anyway, there was a steady glow of something warm and good suffusing his whole body that made Ryland suspect he didn’t have a leg to stand on.
It was probably love, but it didn’t feel that different from before so he figured it wasn’t urgent enough news to justify interrupting what was rapidly turning into a second helping of dessert. He rolled them over, Alex’s nails drawing restless patterns into the skin of his back, making him arch and moan.
There would be time after. There would always be after.