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It could have been worse and it could have been better. They could have just flown to the next filming location with the rest of the cast but Henry had wanted an adventure and Henry being Henry got what he wanted. Joey told himself it wasn’t because he was the lead with several big-budget films under his belt but because he was more than a little in love with the other man who was genuinely kind and interested in what others had to say, what they were doing with their lives, and-
“Lauren is going to have our bollocks on a tray she’ll make us polish until it bloody blinds us.”
Henry sniffed and looked around. “It’ll be fine.”
They were in Who Knows Where, Hungary and Joey doubted a single soul spoke their mother tongue.
Joey startled as something wet and cold pushed against his hand. Looking down he saw small, dark eyes sparkling up at him. “Christ on his cross, Kal,” Joey hissed but rubbed between the dog’s ears, “nearly gave me a heart attack and I’m already a minute away from an aneurysm bursting, I can feel it.”
Henry huffed a laugh, looking down at his phone. “We could be worse off, actually. There’s a woman here who runs a bed and breakfast of sorts. Let me just…” He tapped away. “Aha. Alright. This way.”
Joey crouched down to look Kal in the eye. “At least one of us knows what’s going on.”
From the look Kal gave him, Joey was the only one who didn’t.
The bed and breakfast consisted of three small rooms built onto the woman’s equally small house. Her husband worked in the nearby wood during the week so she was alone most of the time and enjoyed the feeling of someone else in the house. Joey couldn’t imagine that was too often with how out of the way this little town was. Perhaps he needed to see more of the continent? He was too tired to parse that out now.
If he weren’t so rattled from being forced off the road because a damned storm washed it out, he would have joined her around the fire and made as much small talk as could be had. She would have supplied tea and biscuits while Kal stretched out in front of the fire. Had there even been a chimney? Surely this high up, she’d have to have a fireplace. Why was he even getting this deep into it?
Her English was better than their Hungarian but only just. Henry dutifully followed whatever his phone told him to say and his gentlemanly charm did the rest. The woman returned with linens for the bed and a towel to dry Kal off with. Henry looked her in the eye and said, “Köszönöm.”
Her face transformed for a moment, showing some of the youth she’d had when she’d met her husband. Joey imagined she was milking cows when he came stomping out the forest, rugged as a witcher, and there had gone the rest of her long life.
“Come on,” Henry said, shuffling him down the hall to the last door on the left. “You look dead on your feet, mate.” Kal nosed at his knees. “Easy, bear. We’re getting to it. Not everyone got to lounge in the back seat like a chauffeured prince.” Joey made a dumb noise between a laugh and a sob. He really was exhausted.
“Thank some lord!” he crowed as he caught sight of a small fireplace adjacent to the bed.
Of course, there was only one. At least it wasn’t a single. Joey was honestly looking for the good in all of this. So he pitched forward onto the mattress as Henry set their bags beneath the window and crouched down to soak up the water from Kal’s thick coat.
“Guess we could have stayed in the car until we got things figured out,” Henry mumbled, rubbing the towel into Kal’s scruff before letting it drop to the floor. “That’s as good as you’re going to get, I think.” He stood and looked at Joey, pursing his lips for a long moment before he brought a hand down on Joey’s trouser-clad ass.
Joey yelped, body going taut as a bowstring as it flailed several inches off the bare mattress. “Jesus, Henry!” He reached back to rub the sore spot.
“Up. I need to put the sheets on. Unless you’re fine sleeping like this.”
Joey rubbed his face against the mattress, finally noticing its musty smell. He wrinkled his nose and pushed himself onto his knees. “I guess I’d prefer the sheets.”
While Henry made the bed, Joey pulled his pajamas out of his bag. He was mostly dry but the storm air was seeping in through the window and he couldn’t help sucking in a breath when it touched his bare stomach. Shooting a look to Henry, he saw the other man fidgeting with a dark blue quilt. Joey let his shirt fall against the waistband of his sleep trousers as he came over.
The quilt had delicate lace workings sprinkled throughout and Joey rubbed the fabric gently between his fingers. “Do you suppose she made this?”
Henry looked over, brow furrowed. Joey could see the exhaustion in his half-shut eyes, in the slowness of his blinks. They really should brush their teeth and wash their faces but what a goddamn day. “Probably. Come on. Get in, bard.”
Joey did so, fearing a slap to his other cheek. He pulled the quilt up to his chin and wriggled around only to go still when Henry started to undress. He shrugged off his coat and dropped it in a heap on the floor, followed by his shirt and jeans until he was only in his boxer briefs.
Joey said a brief prayer to the ceiling, swiveling his gaze up to it lest Henry notice his ogling. Christ, he was a goner when it came to his costar. Henry had no bloody right being so… ‘Come on, Batey. You can write. And… and come up with lovely things.’ But he always had a hard time describing Henry.
Henry lifted the edge of the quilt and laid down with a bone-weary groan. He had obviously been working out how they’d get to where they needed to be but had yet to apprise Joey of this information. With a sigh, Henry tucked a hand under his head, bicep bulging, and stared up at the ceiling as well.
“Sorry I dragged you into this. I thought it would be nice for Geralt to get to know his bard a bit better and I led you to some strange woman’s house instead.”
Joey rolled onto his side to face him. “As long as she doesn’t try to fatten us up. Isn’t that what would happen though? Fate’s always throwing a spanner into the White Wolf’s plans.”
The corner of Henry’s mouth lifted. “Maybe you’re right.” He licked his lips and chanced a glance at his bedmate. “You know, when I was a boy I’d lie awake at boarding school and have no idea what my life would be like.”
“You went to boarding school?” Joey tried to imagine what that must have looked like.
“Mmm. I hated it at first but I made a place for myself. I suppose that’s what I’m doing now, wedging my way into the things I want to do.”
Joey thought about them meeting, about something clicking when Henry tilted his head a bit upon seeing him, his eyes sparkling with delight as he smiled. “I still have no bloody idea what I’m doing,” Joey whispered.
It was Henry’s turn to roll over, mirroring Joey’s position. “Want to know a secret? Me neither. I trip into everything I do.”
“Now that’s not true,” Joey said a bit too loudly. With a hard swallow, he lowered his voice before continuing. “You work very hard, Henry. I’ve seen you practicing with your sword.” He coughed at that as Henry shook with laughter.
“Didn’t think I was that open with you.”
Joey put a hand on Henry’s arm. It was like velvet over sun-warmed marble. “You’re not how I thought you’d be.” Henry’s mirth faded a touch. “Didn’t think your beauty would run all the way through you but it does.”
Henry laid his hand across Joey’s jawline, thumb resting against the corner of his eye. He searched his face for several seconds before leaning in to press his lips to Joey’s. Joey parted his own in a gasp and Henry’s tongue swept in. A hand skated up his arm to burrow into Henry’s curls. Henry wrapped said arm around Joey’s waist to pull him in tight as the kiss deepened, grew more feverish. Joey slipped his leg around a muscular thigh and Henry groaned as their cocks rubbed against each other through the soft fabric of their underwear.
Joey pulled away. “Please tell me you have…”
“Um.” Henry looked over to his bag on the floor which had tipped over and was now half covered by a giant dog. “Yeah but we’re gonna have to work for it.”
Henry sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Come on, bear. Up.” Kal didn’t so much as lift his head. “Kal. I know that spot in front of the fire must feel fab but I need something from my bag.” Joey lifted himself up enough to see Henry lie down beside the comfortable beast and tuck a hand into the fluffy fur over his side. “How about I make you a deal?” One of Kal’s ears flicked and Joey saw a small smile pull at Henry’s lips. Whatever was said next never reached him as Henry leaned over Kal to whisper it. When he pulled back, he took Kal’s forepaw in his hand and shook it. “Three treats when we get to where we’re going. Promise.” Kal got up with a yawn and a stretch before shaking out his coat. “Thanks, bear.” Kal pressed against Henry’s side as he unzipped his bag and dug around for what they needed.
Condom and lube set on the edge of the bed, Henry slid off his boxer briefs. Joey felt his pulse in the hollow of his throat and swallowed down any remaining anxiety. He held out his arms as Henry climbed back into bed and kissed him again, dragging a hand up through Joey’s chest hair. “You’re real pretty, you know that?” He dragged Joey’s shirt over his head so he could grip him gently by the throat. Joey was surprised when the anxiety didn’t come flooding back in. “First thing I thought. Pretty songbird. I want you to sing for me.” Henry rubbed his thumb along the underside of Joey’s chin before dragging his hand back down to slip under the band of his trousers and into his underwear.
“Oh… fuck me.”
There was a soft laugh. “We’re getting there. I like… knowing how something works before taking it apart.”
Joey bucked against Henry’s hand, tongue flicking against his lips. “Isn’t it… Christ!” Henry started stroking his cock leisurely. “Isn’t it the other way round?”
Henry was limned by firelight on one side and cool shadow on the other. “Can’t please you unless I do a bit of exploring first.” He leaned down. “Stake my claim and all that.” He pulled his hand loose and Joey whimpered until his trousers and underwear were pulled down and off and Henry’s hot mouth was around the head of his cock, deltoids bunched as he fisted the base.
“Hen…” Anything he might have said was lost in a slurp and a throaty groan.
Henry pulled off with a pop, reaching back for the condom and lube. Joey marveled at the ripple of muscle over his ribs, his bobbing cock. He swallowed and pushed himself up onto his elbow. Henry’s eyes were half-lidded, lips slightly parted. His profile was precise as a Botticelli.
“You’re fine with this?” Henry’s rough voice was edged in eagerness. He motioned to his cock, the pearly drop on the head begging Joey to lap it up.
“Yes, just… stick it in me already.” ‘Again, what are words?’ Joey chided himself but he was dizzy with desire, legs parting shamelessly as Henry drew him onto his thighs as if he wasn’t a body of flesh and blood but diaphanous.
A pair of slick fingers rubbed circles just behind his balls and he wanted to kick out and writhe and push Henry onto his back and mount him all at once.
“Patient, pet. And be a bit more quiet, yeah? Wouldn’t want our gracious host having to kick us out into the rain because you can’t kept your talented mouth shut.”
‘Fuck, if that doesn’t do it for me,’ Joey thought but only until Henry’s fingers circled down to his hole and teased him expertly. Christ but it had been a while and Henry seemed to sense this, adding more lube to his fingers. His dry hand stroked Joey’s thigh as his slick fingers returned to their previous task.
Henry was patient where Joey was eager lust. Joey touched what he could of him, relishing the hair over soft skin and hard muscle. He thought about Henry on set, how much control he had over his well-honed body. Now Joey got to see it without the occlusion of fabric. His knee fell into the crook of Henry’s arm and precome oozed down the length of his cock as Henry’s bicep bulged, a vein standing out across the swell of muscle.
“Ready, love?” Henry’s voice was a husk of itself. He ran a hand up Joey’s thigh and across his belly, stirring the dark hair there. His thumb stroked the edge of his pubic bone and Joey’s entire body shivered.
“Fuck,” Joey hissed, his thighs clenching in anticipation. “Yes.”
The fire flickered in Henry’s eyes as he turned his head slightly but his attention was solely on Joey. He eased himself in, delighting in the tight heat. Joey felt each nerve suffused with molten heat and he dug his nails into Henry’s forearm.
“You feel wonderful.” His head rolled back once he was fully seated and he groaned up at the ceiling as he drew back and then rocked forth.
Joey hadn’t even dreamed of this happening. Any kind of relationship beyond friendship only came in snatches on set, when he could feel the heat pouring off of Henry while they waited for the next take. He told himself that the glimmer in Henry’s blue eyes when he looked at him was simply his innate geniality, something that everyone got to see.
The rain was a counterpoint to the slap of their flesh and Henry leaned over, forearm pinned next to Joey’s shoulder, fingers curling into his sweat-drenched hair as he swallowed each gasp. His tongue flicked against his bottom lip as Joey rubbed his cock against Henry’s hard stomach until the pressure built and built and boiled over into a mind-breaking orgasm that nearly had him getting a foot against Henry to kick him away.
Henry kept rocking into him, hot breath flooding Joey’s ear until he too tumbled off that sweet cliff of release into the cool waters of afterglow. When he pushed himself up, Joey watched his belly heave with breath until he touched his fingertips to it.
“All right?”
Joey could only nod. Henry huffed a laugh and looked over the side of the bed. Kal hadn’t moved an inch once again. When he could muster up the strength, Joey pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked as well.
“Huh. I’m very jealous.”
Henry pressed his lips to Joey’s temple. “So am I. He sleeps like the dead. Which is probably good given what we just did.”
Joey lounged as Henry cleaned them up. Not wanting to sully the woman’s bedding, he wiped them down with the shirt he’d worn that day.
“Ugh. I still feel sticky.”
“Don’t think that can be helped, love. Again, I’m sorry for not going along with everyone else and roping you into this stupid-“
Joey pressed fingers over Henry’s lips only for Henry to kiss them. “I’d go anywhere with you. Haven’t you… noticed how I act around you on set? My feelings must have been obvious.”
Henry shook his head only to bite his lip, brow furrowed in thought. “I didn’t want to fuck things up, not with this.” He swept a thumb over Joey’s eyebrow. “Not with you.”
Joey made a disgusted sound. “You’re perfect, go bloody figure.” He wanted to suck the words back in.
“I’m not,” Henry said softly.
“I know. I’m sorry. I have a habit of putting my foot right into my mouth at every opportunity.”
Henry hummed and pressed against him, shoulder to hip. He reached down blindly to find the edge of the quilt and pull it over them.
“I can be a mess, Joey. My life is busy and complicated and I don’t always handle things as… gracefully as I can or should but,” he paused to press his lips to Joey’s shoulder and gather his thoughts, “I want this.”
Joey brought a hand up to stroke Henry’s curls, catching a few between his fingers and pulling them straight before letting them loose to spring back into shape. His other arm was trapped under Henry’s bulk and would need to be moved before it fell asleep but until then he ran his callused fingertips over the hot, silken skin of his back. His lips caught on the corner of Henry’s eye. He could taste his crow’s feet like finely-aged wine.
The next morning, Joey tilted his head back to take in the sky. There was only a drizzle remaining from the storm. Henry returned with something akin to a Range Rover, capable of taking the unpaved road out of town and toward their destination. Joey knew they were lucky to be on their way so soon and that it was all because of Henry and who he was.
Kal licked his fingers and Joey blinked. Something floated across his right eye and made the sky a polished silver until he blinked. Then it was back to a hazy gray.
“Joey?”
He looked down to find Henry standing not three feet away. “Ready?”
Henry nodded toward the vehicle. “After you, bard.”
Joey walked toward the open passenger door, keeping a wide berth lest his other cheek finally get what it surely had coming.