Fist To The Heart

Chapter Fourteen – My Plus-One

He should not have cared for Yanis and the likes of that fucker, but Ruslan was insistent. And, after a short struggle that had ended up with him fucking his pretty lover up against the wall, and Ruslan biting into his shoulder hard while coming just as hard, there he was.

Johnny wished he could just shake away the unpleasant feeling he had about Yanis. Ruslan had teased him, called him jealous, and that he was. He couldn’t stand the thought that the fucker had been Ruslan’s first guy and also his fuck buddy for so long. It was like Yanis was permanent in Ruslan’s life, and he wasn’t.

He had no real reason to be jealous. Yanis would tie the knot with his woman, and Ruslan had no reason to hook up with that fucker ever again. It was all in the past. So how come he could be this stupid?

It wasn’t like he didn’t know why. Johnny knew Ruslan had gotten pretty deep under his skin. And the fact that Ruslan was such close friends with Yanis was just something he needed to accept.

Under different circumstances, he would have had nothing against the man. He was rough and tough, he belonged more to his world than Ruslan seemed to, and he was talking Johnny’s language. With his fists.

“So he’s hanging around this old place?” he pointed out at the dilapidated building. “Don’t tell me the fucker loses all the money you give him gambling or something?”

Ruslan looped one arm around his elbow. “It’s good cover. When it’s like this, you don’t want the wrong people coming around and asking you where the hell your cash comes from.”

That was actually good thinking.

“Say it to me again why we’re here,” Johnny said.

“C’mon,” Ruslan laughed, “we must assist Yanis with his wedding and stuff.”

“Knowing that fucker, he’ll want to make me the flower bearer or something.”

Ruslan guffawed. “I promise I won’t let him do the unthinkable, heavens forbid. You will be there as my plus-one, and besides looking like arm candy, you’ll have nothing else to worry about.”

“Arm candy?” Johnny grinned. “Are you sure it’s not the other way around, pretty? ‘Cause I’m sure I’m no sweet thing like you are.”

Ruslan leaned against him and smiled. “Aw, Johnny, am I really sweet?”

Johnny laughed. “Sweet like friggin’ candy, baby. C’mon, let’s get this over with.”

“Please, behave. The man’s just getting married,” Ruslan joked. “So we’re the support network,” he added brightly.

“Support network,” Johnny said under his breath. “Is this a nice way of saying that we need to take care of moving chairs and whatnot while he goes make himself pretty at the spa or something?”

Ruslan snickered. “No. That will be all taken care of by the people we hire for the wedding. I told you, you’re my arm candy. I bet everyone will envy me. My companion will surely be the most handsome of them all,” he said and carefully straightened Johnny’s lapel.

After much deliberation and begging from Ruslan, Johnny now wore a new coat, paid for by his lover. It did make him look somewhat distinguished, not like his usual clothes. He had expected to feel uncomfortable and out of place in it, but he didn’t. Actually, it seemed like just one thing he found easy to get accustomed to, now that he was Ruslan’s official boyfriend.

Between training with Douglas and Martin, going back home to Ruslan and what looked like pretty good home cooking for a guy who worked as an accountant most of the day, and winning match after match at the tournament, life was pretty awesome. His mom seemed to be on the mend, too, eating a little, still lying in bed, but apparently stable. He hadn’t tried to ask her now about his father and that, as she said, Davenport woman.

For the first time in a long, long time, he felt happy, truly happy, and he didn’t want to jinx it. Let sleeping dogs lie, he thought, as he looked at Ruslan, and his lover looked back with stars in his eyes.

He wasn’t in his rights to think of all this being possible, but there he was. Johnny ‘Snake’ Bryne would amount to more than just a stupid fighter lucky to end up with at least half a brain when he couldn’t fight in a ring no more.

He slung one arm over Ruslan’s shoulders. “Let’s just get this over with, then.”

“Let’s,” Ruslan said with a small, all-knowing smile.

***

Now that was a bit of a surprise. On the outside, the building didn’t look like much, just the kind of industrial place forgotten for decades and run over by weeds, but, on the inside, a bunch of guys seemed busy training at some quite good quality equipment.

“Ah, welcome to my lair,” Yanis said to them, as he sauntered down from a ring where two dudes were busy giving each other some serious punches and kicks.

Yanis looked exactly like what he was. Now he was wearing a tracksuit, the jacket opened in front, to let people see his white tee and the muscles beneath through it.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Ruslan replied and hurried to embrace his friend. “Working out some last-minute jitters?”

“Nah, man, I’m good.” Yanis smirked and looked over at Johnny who was standing a few steps behind. “I see you brought your boyfriend over.”

“Of course. We’re coming as a couple at your wedding, as you know, and we’re here to help with some last minute stuff.”

Johnny sustained Yanis’s stern gaze. And was taken by surprise when he moved quickly past Ruslan and pulled him into a strong hug. “Thank you for taking care of Ruslan, man.”

“You’re welcome,” Johnny replied, a bit stiffly. “But it’s not like I’m doing it for you.”

Yanis laughed and patted him on the back. “Please step into my office while we let Ruslan talk a little to the guys. They’ve been sneaking about lately. I bet it’s all about my bachelor’s party. So I’m supposed to know shit about it.”

Johnny looked over Yanis’s shoulder, taking in, with some displeasure, how Ruslan was getting chummy with some of the guys. It seemed like Ruslan knew everyone well. Also, that he had deliberately let Johnny deal with Yanis.

He sighed. He had promised that he would make an effort to get along with the fucker, and he needed to keep to that promise. So he followed Yanis into a side room that looked appointed as an office of sorts, indeed.

“So,” Yanis sat behind the desk and gestured for Johnny to sit on a comfortable sofa placed flush against a wall, “you and Ruslan are going at it big time, eh?”

Without asking him, Yanis reached inside a drawer and took out a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He walked over and handed one full glass to Johnny and clinked his against it. “For the future!” Yanis threw his head back and grimaced.

Johnny wasn’t sure what to make of this change in behavior in the fucker, but took a sip, too.

“Man, I heard you got that scumbag good. I tell Ruslan all the time these fancy dudes are all fucking perverts. In my book, if you dig someone and that someone doesn’t dig you back, well, tough luck. There’s no point in wasting your time.”

Johnny nodded in agreement.

“So, no kayos? For real?” Yanis grinned and gestured with the empty glass at him while leaning against his desk. “You’re some big shot, Snake.”

Johnny shrugged and downed the rest of his glass.

“Ruslan told me you wouldn’t warm up to me that easily,” Yanis said with a sigh. “So, man, I’m going to tell it straight to your ugly mutt face. You’re a brother to me now. You saved Ruslan; you can do no wrong in my book. So, friends?”

Johnny looked at the outstretched hand and took it.

“Good,” Yanis said. “So, assuming that my gang and Ruslan have not yet finished arranging that stupid bachelor party, how about a game?”

“What game?” Johnny asked, looking around.

“A game of chess,” Yanis said brightly.

“Do you play chess?” Johnny snorted.

“Nah, I was just pulling your leg. I have a game room, though. Let’s go.”

Johnny followed Yanis, feeling a bit relieved. Not that it wouldn’t be nice to wipe that smirk of the guy’s face by beating him into submission at any game. Well, Yanis would marry soon. So he needed to get used to losing more often than not.

“How come you don’t want to face me in that ring outside?” Johnny gestured with his chin over one shoulder.

Yanis seemed to ponder for a while as he turned on the console and plopped down on the sofa next to him. “What can I say, man? I ain’t stupid.”

Johnny grinned. “I can still beat your ass at any game.”

“Let’s just see about that.”

Yanis added nothing else as the game loading screen popped up. Johnny had no troubles with going for a win, only that this time, he wouldn’t do it to spite Yanis. He no longer felt that threatened by the fucker, and he was willing to use that term as endearingly as possible.

“So, you and Ruslan,” he started, his eyes focused on the screen. “Fucking since you were in your teens or something.”

Yanis grunted in response. “He told you that?”

“Yeah, he kinda told me everything.”

“Well, it was what it was. It just happened, I guess.”

“So, you have a thing for dudes?” Johnny probed further. Making conversation was bullcrap. But there were some things he wanted to find out and without asking them to the guy’s face.

“Nah, only Ruslan. But don’t worry, man, I’m not going to steal your bride,” Yanis joked and executed Johnny’s character on the screen with a stupidly simple move. “Gotcha!”

Johnny shook his head. For a moment there, he hadn’t paid attention. Yanis had a devilish grin on his face when he looked at him.

“What’s next, my dude? Are we going to braid our hair and talk about feels?”

Johnny swatted the fucker upside the head. “Stop being a smartass,” he said, with a grin of his own.

“Ready for another beating?” Yanis sneaked one hand behind and smacked him back.

“Just you wait,” Johnny said.

Now he could have his entire attention trained on the game. Yanis wasn’t that bad, after all. Although, he was still a smug fucker.

***

“So, how was it?” Ruslan hanged on his arm.

Johnny smiled wryly. “You sure know how to play me, pretty. But okay, I get it. I’m okay with that fucker.”

Ruslan grimaced. “Right. So he’s still ‘that fucker’ to you?”

“It’s just a habit,” Johnny replied. “We’re all a big happy family now. Is this better?”

“Much better,” Ruslan agreed. “Now, we need to go find some really nice matching suits for the wedding.”

“Matching suits?” Johnny asked, feeling alarmed. “Ah, you fooled me that meeting Yanis and his gang was such a big thing when all you wanted was to soften me up for cruising clothing stores and such?”

“Yeah, pretty much, yeah,” Ruslan said. “Now, don’t give me lip and let’s go. I know just the perfect place.”

“What am I going to do with you?” Johnny shook his head. “I’ll find myself with some silk leash around my neck pretty soon, right?”

Ruslan smiled sweetly at him while he pretended to be all innocent. “How do you know you’re not already collared, Snake?” he leaned in and whispered into Johnny’s ear.

“Snakes don’t get collared,” Johnny replied with a smirk.

“Hmm, I must be good with them, then,” Ruslan concluded and kissed Johnny right on the lips, in the middle of the street.

Johnny looked around, pretending he was busy checking the perimeter. It was just a small try to hide how he felt.

***

“So you two are getting ready for your wedding?” the seamstress asked while moving around Johnny and adjusting a few things here and there.

Johnny was sure the suit was already perfect, but the woman with a tailor’s tape around her neck seemed to find the minutest flaws with hawk-like eyes. Her question took him by surprise.

“Just a wedding. Some friend’s,” he said cautiously.

“Ah,” the woman commented, and somehow she sounded disappointed.

They had been together for a while now, that was true. But wedding? Like in marriage? He had no idea what the seamstress was talking about.

“You two make such a nice couple,” the woman went on, while almost stabbing Johnny with a small sharp needle. “Mr. Kent has been our client for a long time. It is a pleasure to serve his partner, as well.”

Partner sounded okay. Seeing how Johnny remained quiet, the woman eventually resumed working in silence, as well. Johnny had never gotten a suit, let alone one that was made-to-measure. Maybe he was expected to make conversation. He had no idea about such things. This was Ruslan’s world, and, sometimes, Johnny felt like a fish out of water in it.

***

Ruslan was more than pleased with how Johnny looked. It troubled him much to see a frown etched deeply into that rough face, nonetheless.

“You look amazing,” he said, trying to get Johnny to smile.

His lover nodded shortly. “How long will this take?”

“Johnny, what’s wrong?” Ruslan decided to grab the bull by the horns.

Johnny looked away. Ruslan placed one hand on his cheek and made him turn so they could look each other in the eye.

“I don’t know, pretty. It’s like it’s too good to be true, right?”

“Stop talking nonsense. Everything is new to me, too. I’ve been, how should I say, committed like this never in my life.”

“I’m not talking about you and me,” Johnny said and placed one hand over Ruslan’s. “When we’re at home, just us, it’s great. But outside, how do people look at us?”

“Do you really care?” Ruslan shrugged. “I don’t. And I know who I am and who you are. And frankly, that’s enough for me. Isn’t it for you?”

It was a bit funny to see a man like Johnny, of his stature and strength, look so confused. But Ruslan could understand the source of his lover’s dilemma.

“Yeah, it is. But is this going somewhere? Anywhere?” Johnny asked, and Ruslan’s smile faded as he took in his lover’s troubled eyes.

“This?” Ruslan asked. “What do you mean?”

“Forget it. It’s stupid.” Johnny shook his head. “I should be glad, right?”

“I don’t really get you,” Ruslan said slowly. “Is this about the suit? Is it too much? I’m sorry I tend to go overboard like this. I just want to show you off a little. I’m proud of you. And I’m proud of being with you. Is this making any sense to you? Because I really want it to make sense to you.”

Johnny laughed and pushed a strand of hair behind Ruslan’s ear. “I guess. Tell me again why you’re with me, pretty?”

“Hmm, let’s see,” Ruslan pretended to be suddenly preoccupied, “first, you’re handsome, second, you’re tough as nails, third, you have such an awesome big cock, fourth, you know what to do with it --”

Johnny grinned. “Ah, damn, it’s all about what I can do in the ring and between the sheets, right?”

“Not only,” Ruslan said with tenderness and caressed the other’s cheek. “I told you, Johnny, you’re a good man. I value that more than everything else.”

Johnny’s hug was comforting, but Ruslan could tell there was still a bit of hesitation in there. It wasn’t like Johnny to be hesitant. He would find out what the guy was thinking, but that had to wait. For now, they had a wedding to attend.

He looked into the full-sized mirror, taking in both Johnny and himself. They did look nice like that. He smiled, and Johnny’s reflection returned the smile.

“The woman at the store thought we were going to get hitched or something,” Johnny mumbled.

Ruslan turned to look at his lover. “Don’t worry about her. She’s awesome at what she does, but a bit of a gossiper. And she’s always looking for extra business.”

Johnny’s eyes set on him, dark and full of meaning. Ruslan cocked his head to one side. “Did it bother you?”

Johnny shrugged. “Nah, it was just weird what she said, that’s all.”

Ruslan nodded. Of course, in Johnny’s world, probably dudes didn’t get hitched with other dudes. They were just fucking each other’s brains out. And that meant that their relationship or whatever that was between them had an expiration date, somewhere.

As much as that thought was suddenly making him feel sad, he needed not to dwell on it. “I suppose it was,” he said, hiding everything with a small smile.

***

“Who is that?” Johnny heard someone murmuring not far from him.

Some people sucked at gossiping. He wasn’t one for such things himself, but the least these people could do was to keep their voices down. They were already seated and waiting for Yanis and his woman to say their vows.

“That’s Ruslan’s lover,” someone else replied to the first woman talking.

“Are you serious? I had no idea Ruslan Kent was gay. I did find it strange to see them together, though.”

“Such a shame, right? What, did you hope you could seduce him or something?” the man snickered.

“Well, he’s like the most handsome and also the richest guy around. How come someone like Yanis knows him?”

“Beats me. They met when Ruslan needed some security detail or something. Now, let’s just watch Yanis and Anya getting hitched.”

The woman sighed exaggeratedly. “How come the best guys are either married, or gay?”

“Seriously? What am I then?”

“My lucky charm,” the woman added with a small giggle. “And I know you’re actually a bad boy,” she purred.

“What? Now that you know you have no chance with Ruslan, you want me? You may still try your luck.”

“Did you look at them?” The woman replied. “How could I break up such a nice couple?”

Nice couple, Johnny thought. Everyone from dressmakers to random people at weddings thought so. But what could Ruslan really think? Was Johnny just a guy who happened to stick around a little more? And was he seriously thinking about weddings, and marriages, and all that bullcrap? Maybe he needed to ask Yanis to smack him upside the head so that he could wake up and stop having wide-eyed dreams like some thirteen-year-old girl.

Ruslan sat next to him. “Sorry about this. Sometimes catering employees need a bit of straightening up. What did I miss?”

“Nothing yet,” Johnny replied.

Ruslan leaned against him and looped one arm around his. On the dais, Yanis was starting saying crap about how much he would love his woman when they were both going to be one hundred or something.

Later, as Ruslan walked with him hand in hand, to meet the newlyweds, Johnny could feel a few curious looks thrown their way. As it seemed, neither Ruslan’s orientation nor his relationship with Yanis, was common knowledge. That was little comfort seeing how they appeared to be the main focus of the conversation.

Yanis grinned broadly as they greeted him. “How did you like my little poem? I wrote it.”

The woman next to him looked Johnny up and down with curious eyes. She was a tiny thing, now almost drowning in white ruffles and whatnot, but by how she was staring at him, she was the fiery kind.

“Sure, sure,” Ruslan laughed, “it was amazing. Shakespeare has nothing on you. Congratulations, guys. Anya, you look so beautiful.”

The woman took Ruslan’s hands after a short, calculated moment of hesitation and blew air kisses on his cheeks.

“I know very well that you found that poem for Yanis on some website,” she said. “You guys have never really fooled me while sneaking behind my back.”

Ouch, Johnny thought and threw a nervous look at Yanis. The fucker seemed completely relaxed, and couldn’t care about his wife’s little pointed jabs.

Ruslan hurried to smooth things over. “We have only a few details to talk about so that you guys can go and spend an awesome honeymoon.”

“Great. So you need to talk about it some more,” Anya said brightly. “Seeing how this is supposed to be the most beautiful day of my life, I am allowed not to care about such details. Ruslan, do you mind if I steal your boyfriend for a minute while you go over the trip stuff with Yanis? Thank you,” she added without really waiting for a reply and taking Johnny’s arm swiftly.

Ruslan threw Johnny a strained smile.

“It’s okay,” Johnny found himself talking. “Just go see about that honeymoon trip. I suppose I’m in good hands.” He looked pointedly at the tiny woman hanging by his arm.

Anya didn’t look down. As it seemed, she needed to talk to Johnny, and he had a feeling that he wanted to hear her out.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Ruslan replied and stole a careful glance at Anya.

“Don’t worry, Ruslan. Johnny is in good hands, indeed,” she said.

Ruslan nodded shortly and let himself almost dragged away by Yanis. Johnny found such moments of insecurity endearing in his boyfriend, but Ruslan had nothing to worry about. As soon as the guys were out of earshot, he turned toward Anya.

“So, what you wanted to talk about?” he asked roughly.

Anya squinted while looking up at him. “Straight to the point, aren’t you?”

Johnny shrugged. “Yeah.”

“You know what’s been going on between those two, right?” Anya gestured with her chin in a vague direction.

“Whatever it was, it’s no more,” Johnny replied.

“Are you sure?” Anya stared at him with pleading eyes.

“The punk married you,” Johnny pointed out. “And it’s kind of late for you to get cold feet, don’t you think?”

Anya sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, I do have this beautiful dress and Yanis said all those beautiful words, but even for that, he had to lean on his fuck buddy,” she explained, her lips pursed.

Johnny would have lied to say he was surprised to hear Anya talking so directly. Both Yanis’s and his bride’s guests were clearly not some upper class.

“No longer his fuck buddy. I can guarantee that,” Johnny said curtly.

“For real?” Anya’s eyes seemed hopeful. “You two look good together. And I thought Ruslan didn’t do relationships. I could not even hope that he would, too, get hitched someday, and forget about Yanis.”

“They’re best friends. That’s all,” Johnny said.

It was strange to give a bride the reassurance she needed, when, for some time now, he had felt like the one in need of the same thing.

“You have nothing to worry about,” he added, with a bit more conviction than before. “You should trust your husband.”

“I know.” Anya looked away, the corners of her mouth dropping. “But this thing between them, it’s like deep and weird … I just don’t get it. And I frigging hate it.”

“They’ve come a long way together. I suppose that’s why,” Johnny said matter-of-factly.

“Don’t you ever feel threatened?” Anya asked, looking at him again. “I mean, I suppose not. Guys are not meant to feel threatened,” she added with a small scoff. “And gay guys don’t have the same troubles as women do, I suppose. So my question is: how do you do it?”

Johnny placed one hand over hers. “It’s all in the past. You can’t change that. Those two will be like peas in a pod forever. But they’re just best friends. If a fucker like Yanis chose you and managed somehow to trick you into dragging you to the altar, that means he must be serious about you. There’s no doubt.”

Anya smiled and cocked her head to the side. “Yanis says you’re some big shot fighter. But talking to you like this makes me feel better than talking to all my girlfriends. I’ve never told anyone about Yanis and Ruslan, but I did complain about how I suspected my boyfriend and later soon to be husband was cheating on me. Everyone I knew told me to dump his ass.”

“Yet, here you are, wedding gown and all.”

“That I am,” Anya replied and wiped away a discreet tear from one eye. “I guess I love him.”

“Then do your best,” Johnny said. “And, don’t worry. I’ll take care of things from this side,” he joked.

“So you’ll keep Ruslan busy?” Anya asked, his eyes lit up.

Johnny grinned. “Plenty busy.”

“Okay,” she said, and this time, she sighed in relief. “I suppose I should go get ready for my honeymoon. I’m glad I met you, Johnny,” Anya pushed herself up on her toes to reach his cheek and plant a small kiss on it.

Johnny nodded briefly. So much conversation was already making his head hurt. For a while, he stood there, watching the guests milling about. Well, it hadn’t been that bad.

“Ready to go home?” Ruslan interrupted his reverie.

“Sure,” he replied with a small shrug.

Ruslan took his arm and looked at him pointedly. “So,” he tried to sound casual, “what did you and Anya talk about?”

“This and that,” Johnny decided to keep it vague on purpose.

He could sense Ruslan squirming a little, and he found it a bit funny.

“Did she tell you what an insensitive careless douche I am or something like that?” Ruslan asked directly.

Johnny burst into laughter. “Why? Did she ever tell you anything like that?”

“Yeah, while throwing some pretty heavy objects in my direction,” Ruslan replied dryly.

“I suppose your papa taught you not to hit women. So how did that end?” Johnny asked.

“Yanis managed to drag her back into the house. And I dodge well,” Ruslan said and grinned. “You’re not going to keep me in the dark about what she said, right?”

“I won’t,” Johnny replied. “She’s just insecure or something. I suppose it wasn’t easy on her to know Yanis was screwing your brains out behind her back.”

Ruslan shook his head. “Yanis and I --”

“Yeah, I know,” Johnny interrupted him. “Best friends forever, right? But no longer with benefits because I’m sure I can do a much better job at kicking Yanis’s ass than Anya’s attempts to kick yours.”

“Wow, Johnny,” Ruslan laughed, “you still have it bad for Yanis, huh? You know you have nothing to worry about. Right?” He shook Johnny’s arm, waiting for a confirmation.

“I trust you,” Johnny said curtly. “Plus, I know I keep you too busy to have time to hook up with your best friend. But, seriously, the fucker should do right by his woman. Tell her and stuff.”

“Wasn’t the wedding nice enough? That’s Yanis’s way of doing right by her.”

“Ah, well, she might need the words and all that. Just saying,” Johnny said.

“Aren’t you an expert in reading women’s minds now?” Ruslan laughed.

“No mind reading. She just expressed her doubts directly. So tell the fucker, next time you have some best friends talk with him, that he has to pay his dues.”

“All right, if you insist,” Ruslan said and squeezed his arm. “So really, no word from her that I’m a basic bitch?”

“None. I don’t think she hates you or anything. For some reason, she’s in love with that fucker. Beats me why, but that’s how it is.”

“Then that’s good for Yanis. Because in his own way, he loves her, too.”

“Are we done with this crap, then?” Johnny asked. “Frankly, I feel a bit hungry, and I want to get out of this suit.”

Ruslan laughed. “Say no more. But how come you’re hungry? There was food around to feed an army.”

“Everyone was staring at us so much; I didn’t want them to have even more to gossip about how I eat like a pig or something.”

“Johnny, how come you’re so rough and tough, but you care about what others think?”

“I don’t want to reflect badly on you; that’s all.”

Ruslan placed a quick kiss on his cheek. “We really need to solve this. It’s bothering you way too much.”

“It’s nothing,” Johnny protested.

Great, instead of eating and fucking, there was even more conversation waiting for him at home. Ruslan’s home. He was getting used to everything way too much.

***

Ruslan placed a plate full of food in front of Johnny and patted him on the back. “Dig in.”

“You’re not eating?”

“Unlike you, I wasn’t aware that I would be a hot topic of conversation at the wedding if there were something stuck in my teeth. I had enough.”

“How come you make such good food, yet you’re so skinny?”

“Complaints about my weight, again?” Ruslan rolled his eyes. “Cooking is a basic skill. Everyone should know it.”

Johnny just nodded. Ruslan watched him for a while, pondering over how he would attack the thing that was bothering his lover so much lately. The best strategy was to be direct.

He waited until Johnny finished his food and took the plate to wash it in the sink.

“What’s bothering you, Johnny? Last chance to say it first. Or I’ll start talking.”

“People staring. Talking shit. Stuff like that.”

“If I think you’re good enough for me, that’s all that matters. But that’s not it, is it?”

Johnny didn’t look directly at him.

Ruslan sighed. “I’m joking about putting a leash on you. Snakes don’t get collared, and that’s not what’s happening. But I won’t joke anymore. If you’re so afraid people will start talking about how you got tamed or something, here’s the deal. The door is open, anytime you want to go. I won’t say a word.”

The last bit was a lie. Ruslan knew he would hurt and he would bawl like a child if Johnny left him, but that was precisely what his lover was afraid of right now. So he needed to stop thinking about himself and see things from Johnny’s perspective.

Johnny worked his jaw. “The door is open, huh?”

Ruslan frowned. Why was Johnny pissed about now? He was just trying to leave the guy’s options open, and he was a douche about it. “Well, yeah, it is. No need to feel your freedom threatened or anything.”

“How about you go shut that door?” Johnny said roughly.

Ruslan shook his head. “Um, what?”

“You heard me. Go and shut the damn door. It’s high time you stopped joking.”

“I don’t get it. I just told you I wouldn’t joke about collaring you --”

“As I said, stop joking. Bring on that frigging leash already. Do I need to spell it for you?”

Ruslan’s mouth fell slack. Johnny’s eyes were burning coals, set on him. He moved with predatory grace as he stood up and pushed back the chair. Ruslan almost felt a tiny impulse to run. There was something aggressive and determined in how Johnny moved, and he could feel his knees wobbling a little.

He let out a small gasp when Johnny grabbed him and kissed him on the lips. A firm hand was in his hair while the other was squeezing his ass hard.

Ruslan felt pretty much like a doll in Johnny’s strong arms. Almost effortlessly, he dragged him out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

It was unnerving to be pushed down on his knees, right there on the carpeted floor. He had thought that they would take things to the bedroom, but it looked like Johnny believed there was no time for that.

He reached blindly for the other’s crotch, but his hands were pushed away. He tried to look up and ask ‘what the hell?’, but Johnny was quick to push him on his back and then turn him.

“Oh, wow,” Ruslan commented. “Do you want to do it like this? My knees will kinda hurt.”

Johnny grunted in response and pulled his pants down. Ruslan yelped when a heavy hand swatted his naked ass hard. “Can’t we, just, you know, use the bed?”

“Shut up, pretty,” Johnny replied, and his voice was heavy, loaded with something that made Ruslan shudder.

A hand was back in his hair, and he was forced with his ass up. He heard his lover spitting. So Johnny was in for a rough ride today. Not that he minded. No, he couldn’t do that. Johnny often had troubles speaking up, not because he wasn’t the kind to speak his mind, but because words sometimes didn’t come to him.

So Ruslan knew this was the actual answer Johnny was giving him. He jolted as he felt something wet against his ass. He didn’t have to look to know that his lover intended to make it just a little less rough.

He whimpered softly, as Johnny’s tongue pushed inside his ass. It was just so damn good. Johnny had nothing to worry about. And if he wanted to be collared, after all, that would happen. Ruslan was more than happy to oblige.

“Sorry, pretty, but it’s just how it is,” Johnny said as he straightened up and replaced his tongue with the big head of his cock.

“Don’t worry,” Ruslan murmured in reply.

Johnny’s breathing deepened as he pushed inside. He was holding Ruslan, one hand in his hair, the other digging deep into one hip, but he did his best to take it slowly.

Ruslan willed himself to relax. A few times, Johnny withdrew to add more spit, but came back at it, relentlessly. Ruslan loved it, even if his ass wasn’t used to be stretched so fast. When Johnny finally bottomed out in his ass, he moaned in pleasure.

Johnny started to ride him, slow, but hard, and Ruslan closed his eyes. No matter how rough Johnny wanted to be, there was nothing more comforting than this. Tears were welling up behind his eyelashes, but this time, he was okay with letting them fall. Because his lover wanted him, and also wanted a commitment of sorts. Ruslan would make that happen. He would give Johnny all he wanted, and even more. Yes, he would draw that leash out and collar his lover.

He bit his bottom lip and then cried out as Johnny began hammering him fast. Oh, fuck, he was big in all respects, and Ruslan should have felt like breaking in two. That wasn’t possible, though. He was kept so tightly, so close, that he couldn’t break. No, it was impossible to do so.

Johnny increased his rhythm and Ruslan knew he would not take long. Coming hands-free was common since he had gotten together with Johnny. So he knew, by the building pleasure in his loins that he would come without touching himself.

He cried out, throwing his head back, and Johnny cursed under his breath. The rhythm didn’t give in. Ruslan could still feel the last spasms of his pleasure when Johnny began shooting inside him. It made the orgasm last beyond what was humanly possible.

They crushed on the floor. Ruslan started laughing. “You know, when people ask their lovers to go steady, they tend to use other methods.”

Johnny snickered. “Well, I don’t think other methods work with you.”

“You can’t know until you try them,” Ruslan said, and half turned to look at his lover. “Is this what you want, Johnny?” he asked, this time serious.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Ruslan said with a smile. “You could’ve just said so.”

“I’m not good with words.”

“Maybe you should practice.”

Johnny turned to look at him, his gaze intense. “You belong to me. Is that good enough, pretty?”

“Hmm, for now.”

“And it’s for good. Not all that wishy-washy crap.”

“Like what wishy-washy crap?” Ruslan asked, pushing himself on his elbows, and wincing at the pain in his back.

“Doors left open and whatnot,” Johnny replied.

“All right, since you’re the owner,” Ruslan joked. “Wait. You are the one who wants a nice shiny collar. So you belong to me.”

Johnny laughed. “I guess it goes both ways.”

“Okay. Then that’s how it is.” Ruslan sighed in contentment. “Still, my knees hurt.”

“Do you want me to kiss them and make it all better?” Johnny mimicked the way mothers spoke to their children.

Ruslan rolled his eyes. “Joke more. I might just have you do that.”

“I don’t mind.”

Johnny straightened up and moved to drag Ruslan’s pants down and place two loud kisses on his knees. Ruslan giggled.

“What?” Johnny looked up.

“Nothing. It looks like you can be house trained, after all. I had no idea snakes make such good pets. They are clearly underrated.”

Johnny played along. “Well, it’s a secret. Don’t let others know, or my kind would get hunted down for crazy people’s entertainment.”

“What do you know?” Ruslan laughed. “You know how to tell a joke.”

“Of course. I’m a fun-loving snake,” Johnny replied. “Isn’t that what all people on matrimonial  ads say or something?”

“That they’re fun-loving snakes?” Ruslan guffawed. “And how did you end up reading such stuff?”

“Just something I read to my mom once in a while. She seems really interested in what people who put themselves out there have to say. Don’t laugh. I don’t get it either. But it seems to make her calm.”

Ruslan sighed. “You take me by surprise sometimes.”

“Really?” Johnny quirked an eyebrow and watched him closely.

“I took your words at face value. No one collars a snake and all that.”

“I guess I’m no good with words.”

“I think you’re better than you think.” Ruslan leaned over and kissed Johnny slowly.

He could feel the other moving, a steady hand back in his hair. Johnny was just the right combination of rough and gentle, as he had come to learn for weeks now. So it didn’t hurt when he kept him like this. Johnny knew what he wanted, and his hands touching and grabbing told everything he wished to say.

Ruslan pulled up his pants and moved to straddle his lover. “Would it be too much to ask for a second round?” He hovered over his lover and Johnny touched him tentatively at first.

“No. But let’s get in bed. I don’t want your knees to hurt or something.”

Ruslan snickered. “So thoughtful of you.”

He stood up and offered Johnny a hand. Without hesitation, he took it and straightened up. Ruslan shook his head and smiled.

“Hey, you want it, too, right?” Johnny asked, looking at him with serious eyes.

“Yeah. Like a lot. I just didn’t want to chase you away by being too clingy.”

“You? Clingy?”

“C’mon. If I could, I’d wrap myself around you and never let you leave for training each morning.”

“Shut up, pretty. You sleep so soundly that you never wake up when I leave.”

“I guess I’m sleeping well lately,” Ruslan said with a small smile. “It must be because I found myself the perfect bed companion.”

“Bed companion? Is that what I’m to you?” Johnny smirked.

“What can I say? You’re the perfect plushy toy. I doubt they sell plushy snake toys anywhere, but you’re mine.”

“I can live with that.”

“I’m glad. So, together and all?” Ruslan asked, but his eyes darted sideways.

“And Anya thought gay guys have it easy,” Johnny said, shaking his head. He tipped Ruslan’s chin and looked him in the eyes. “I suck at saying big words and all. Maybe you should find a poem for me, too.”

“A poem?” Ruslan grinned. “What should it say?”

“Dunno,” Johnny shrugged, “something like ‘I love you’?”

Ruslan swallowed hard and looked at Johnny. “You’re serious,” he whispered.

“Like a heart attack,” Johnny said solemnly. “So, what do you say, pretty? Will you take this half-assed confession from a guy who’s taken way too many hits to the head?”

“I’ll take it,” Ruslan replied. Closing the distance between them even more, he brushed his lips against his lover’s. “I love you, too, Johnny Bryne.”

Johnny hoisted him up into his arms. “I guess that’s settled, then.”

“So no more worries about people gossiping?” Ruslan asked.

“Nah. What for? They’d only tell the truth.”

“Hmm,” Ruslan purred. “Aren’t we confident now? What if they say you eat like a pig or something next time we go to a wedding?”

“So what?” Johnny snickered. “I have to eat and keep my energy up. My partner is too damn sexy, and I must fuck him good.”

“You’d say something like that? For real?” Ruslan felt the need to pull Johnny’s leg a little.

“Try me,” Johnny replied.

Ruslan laughed all the way to the bedroom. When Johnny dropped him a bit unceremoniously on the bed, he felt the need to protest. But Johnny got instantly busy with pulling his pants and planting kisses on his naked ankles.

He tried to pull his legs free, laughing. Johnny grabbed him hard and pulled him to the edge of the bed, his ass almost hanging over. Ruslan knew he was limber, but he yelped as Johnny pushed his legs so hard that little was needed to start wrapping them around his neck.

The look on his lover’s face was intense as Johnny stared down on him. He could feel those dark eyes burning trails in their wake, and he shivered.

“What?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

“I’m looking at you, pretty.” Johnny moved one arm to caress Ruslan’s lower belly in slow circular moves. “I see it with my own two eyes, and still find it so hard to believe.” His hand moved lower, brushing by Ruslan’s cock and then further. “My cum in you, dripping. It’s so hot, you know?” Johnny’s fingers were now probing him again.

Ruslan grabbed the sheets with both hands. He was a bit raw from earlier, but he found himself helplessly wanting to push himself into those rough fingers. “I don’t need anything more. There’s plenty of you in me, so just fuck me, Johnny,” he asked.

“Easy,” Johnny cooed. “Sometimes I just want to look at you like this.”

Ruslan could feel his arousal growing steadily.

“Look at me, pretty,” Johnny whispered. “Just at me.”

While speaking, Johnny moved his other hand to grab Ruslan’s cock.

“What --”

Ruslan’s words were cut short. “Hush, just let me.”

“I can see you’re hard. Your dick’s practically hanging out.”

“No.” Johnny shook his head. “This time, I only want to look at you. To see you when you come.”

“You can do all that by putting that gorgeous cock of yours inside me. C’mon, don’t make me beg.”

“Beg all you want,” Johnny replied. “Cuss at me if you feel like it. But this is mine.”

Ruslan did want to cuss at Johnny. “C’mon,” he complained, “you know fingers can’t be enough for me.”

“You sure?”

Johnny’s fingers changed their angle, and Ruslan cursed, throwing his head back. The hand on his cock was firm and increasing the rhythm slowly.

“Eyes on me, baby, eyes on me,” Johnny insisted, his fingers still busy torturing Ruslan in the most delicious way possible. “This is mine,” he repeated the same words from earlier.

Ruslan wanted to ask, to demand imperatively what he wanted, but all he could do was moan and curse. Johnny knew his ass well. So well that his fingers curled and moved, making him thrash on the bed. They just hit the right spot, over and over again, a bit too much, and more intense than a cock.

He missed the sensation of being full, but he had to live with what Johnny needed to do to him.

“Talk to me, pretty. Even if it’s just to call me a fucking asshole,” Johnny encouraged him.

Ruslan had his feet placed against Johnny’s shoulders. He looked at his lover. “I miss your cock. In me. Already. Why the fuck do you want to drive me crazy?”

Johnny chuckled, sending eddies of warmth right up his spine. Ruslan knew he was lost that very moment. Everything Johnny said or did touched him. And it did it so profoundly that he almost found it impossible to breathe.

“I’m not punishing you. I’m giving you more. Let me give you more.”

“Then give me your cock,” Ruslan begged shamelessly.

“You sure?” Johnny laughed. “Look at how you’re leaking.” He pulled at Ruslan’s cock, brushing the head with the thumb. “Suck it,” he whispered as he pushed his thumb briefly into Ruslan’s mouth.

He did so, greedily. Not that he had never tasted his precum ever in his life, but right now everything felt sharper, more intense and his own taste hitting his flavor buds made him go a bit insane with soaring arousal.

“Ready for me?” Johnny asked, and his fingers left Ruslan’s ass.

Ruslan moaned. “Put them back,” he asked.

“I think this is better, indeed,” Johnny replied and pushed his length inside Ruslan all the way. “Don’t forget, pretty. Your eyes on me.”

Ruslan couldn’t do otherwise if he wanted. His eyes locked with Johnny’s, and his lover hurried to support the back of his head with one hand so they could look like that while their bodies moved in the most ancient of rhythms to ever rock the earth.

He mouthed the words as he came, fast and hard, and Johnny smiled in turn.

“I love you, too, pretty,” Johnny replied, and only then he closed his eyes and pulled Ruslan into an intense kiss, the kind that had to leave them breathless or otherwise, could not count.

Johnny moved inside him for minutes after, and Ruslan did nothing else but hang on to him, his entire body spent, his heart full, and the restlessness in his soul finally gone.

***

Johnny lay awake in bed for some time after they were showered and good to go to sleep. It wasn’t that he felt like he could not sleep or anything. He caressed the blond head resting on his chest.

“Can’t sleep?” Ruslan murmured.

“Don’t worry your pretty head. You go to sleep.”

“I think I’m a little too excited to do that.”

“Too excited? Ready to go back in the saddle?”

Ruslan met his chuckle with a small slap on his chest. “Weirdly enough, I’m spent. And my ass is a little sore.”

“See? You should sleep,” Johnny pointed out.

“Yeah, sure. While you stare at the ceiling or something. I don’t think I can. So what’s keeping you awake?”

“Just what’s keeping you. I guess I’m too excited, too.”

He laughed and pushed Ruslan’s hand away from his sleeping cock.

“At least some parts of you are human,” Ruslan commented. “And here I was, thinking that I could never meet a man with an appetite for sex bigger than mine.”

“Well, it’s not bigger,” Johnny replied. “But the same, I guess. How come we met, pretty?”

Ruslan moved to lie on his back. Since neither of them was sleeping, he could handle some conversation. “It just happened, I supposed.”

“What if we never met?” Johnny asked.

“What if,” Ruslan sighed. “I don’t know. I would have been unhappy from one point onward, I believe. There’s only this much dick hopping a guy could do. What about you?”

“I don’t know. But I like where I am now. It’s better than anything else that happened to me in years.”

“Same here. I’m glad that you’re serious about me, Johnny. ‘Cause I have no idea what I would have done if you had said one day that you were bored and wanted to leave.”

Johnny remained silent for a little while, taking in Ruslan’s words.

“Tell me I didn’t just scare you off,” Ruslan interrupted the silence.

He could read the tiniest sign of distress in his lover’s voice by now. “You didn’t. I told you. I got plenty of hits to the head. So I need time to ... Ah, time to ... What’s that word?”

“To process?”

“Yeah, to process. I want to understand. How come a shmuck like me got lucky.”

“You put too little value on yourself, Johnny.” Ruslan moved again to lie against him. “I’m not making that mistake so that you know. You’re the best guy I’ve met in years. And I don’t think anyone else would ever compare to you, all my life.”

“All your life? For like the next fifty or sixty years or so?”

Ruslan punched him playfully in the shoulder. “Yeah, if you must know.”

“And I’m the best, huh? Better than Yanis?”

“Of course you’re better than Yanis. He’s my best friend. But as much as I enjoyed his fucking, he was never mine. And I was never his. Just to make this clear once and for all. Is Anya’s insecurity contagious or something? I might have to cure you with plenty of blowjobs then.”

“Blowjobs? Why?”

“I don’t know.” Ruslan shrugged. “I just thought they might work as a treatment for insecure lovers.”

“They might,” Johnny said, amused. “But you know what should work?”

“What?” Ruslan asked, drawing small circles with his fingers on Johnny’s chest.

“That leash,” Johnny joked. “Then I’ll know for sure you’re serious about me.”

“Hmm.” Ruslan seemed to ponder. “I’ll think of something.”

“Good. Just make sure it won’t chafe my neck.”

“No worries,” Ruslan nuzzled his neck slowly, “I wouldn’t dream of that.”

“Good. Now go to sleep. I knew too much conversation would make me tired.”

“Hey, you wanted to talk,” Ruslan pointed out. “I’ll get that leash. Until then, you’ll have to do with this.”

Ruslan wrapped around his body, throwing one arm and leg over. Johnny chuckled. “I thought I was the snake. And here you are, slowly choking me.”

“Oh, is it too much?” Ruslan eased his hold.

Johnny was quick to pull his lover back. “No, pretty. I don’t think it’d ever be too much.”

That was a nice thought to go to sleep with. Ruslan’s weight in his arms made it all real. He heard Ruslan wishing him ‘good night’ and murmured the same thing back as his eyelids grew heavy.

TBC

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