I loved it all, it was a wonderful story! The only addition I'd make would be the inclusion of a sex scene after Mason is made human again, wherein Danny is submissive and attentive to Mason's needs, to better set him up as the opposite of Melinda, giving him pleasure rather than simply taking it from him. It's already clear that they love each other, but I'd have liked to see the difference in how Danny engages with a human Mason.
That’s a nice idea. I would want it placed before the trip to Europe, though.
*****
A moment we missed… right after the convo with Dan Sr.
*****
It had been an exhausting day, physically — I had two back to back clients who were really keen to push their limits right near the end of the day. Then I had to unload my car to change a tire before I could get home. I was grumpy and dirty and tired and hungry.
“You okay, son? You look like death warmed over,” Dan Sr said, lifting his beer and gesturing to see if I wanted one.
“I’ll pass on the beer for now, thanks,” I said. “I just want to shower, eat something, and sleep.”
He winced, and I had no idea what that meant, but was in no mood to inquire further. I shrugged off my jacket, kicked off my sneakers, and trudged upstairs to the room I shared with Danny, where the door was uncharacteristically shut.
I didn’t even think, just opened it, probably a little harder than I meant to. The wind caused the candles to sputter and a elicited a surprised gasp from Danny.
Candles?
Wait.
The room was lit by candles in what was clearly meant to be a romantic gesture, and there in bed, clad in nothing but a pair of briefs, was Danny.
Realization found its way through the brain fog.
“Uhhh….” I said, unhelpfully. “Shit. Sorry, Danny.”
“Bad timing, huh?”
“I’m sorry. It was a shit day, and now I fucked up yours.”
“Don’t be silly. Sit down,” he said. “You’re lucky my friend talked me out of rose petals. Can’t imagine the mess.”
I sat down, guilty for having upset his plans, and he just leaned into me.
“We can take a rain check on the romance, it’s fine. But you clearly had a rough day, and I had a great day, so go ahead and vent. You can’t possibly shake my good mood, so there!”
I opened my mouth intending to just apologize and go shower, but he took my hand and I found myself letting loose. Most of my complaint was with Shaun, a former football player who was rude and vain and pushy, and who seemed determined to eat all my time and energy. But he tipped well and I couldn’t afford to cut him loose. Then it was Dylan, who I suspected was doing some kind of steroid, and who needed rescue three times when over exerting himself. Then the stupid tire thing and how I got grease and tire crud all over myself.
Ten minutes later, I was done venting, and all Danny had really done was listen and hold my hand at the start. But damn if I didn’t feel a little better.
“Go scrub down, and I’ll heat up some food for you,” he said.
It was actually my third shower of the day, but this was in our shower and I had fond memories of it. I had the water on lava setting and some of the tension in my neck melted a little, so I was already feeling better by the time I got out. We were pretty casual, so I just threw on a pair of cotton sleep shorts and plodded down to the kitchen.
“Hey,” Danny said. “Eat. It’s that Moroccan chicken stew you liked. I guilted Dad into giving up his lunch tomorrow.”
“No he didn’t, I sacrificed it willingly,” Dan Sr said genially from the other room.
Danny sat with me, munching on an apple so I wouldn’t feel lonely as I ate.
“Better?” He asked.
I nodded. Then I grabbed my bowl and started toward the sink.
“Leave the dishes,” Danny said. Just go wait in the room for a bit and I will be right up.”
Upstairs, I could see the effort he’d put in, now my head was clearer. Everything had been tidied up nicely and he’d set the scene for a little romance. I felt like shit for taking the wind out of his sails.
“Hey,” he said, interrupting my pity party, “lay down, shorts off.”
“Danny, I’m —“
“Hush. You need to relax and I know just how to do that.”
“I don’t think I’m really in the mood for —“
Yeah, that train of thought got derailed pretty quickly. First, he teased me into a raging hard-on, and then he proceeded to give the sort of blow job that they ought to give awards for. Danny was incredibly good at it, objectively speaking, and given that, I could not fathom how his prior partners were willing to take their pleasure elsewhere. The specifics lay in his dexterous tongue and his attention to how I responded to even the tiniest stimulation. It wasn’t about dominance or submission. Danny simply gave pleasing me his entire focus, and boy did it work.
“Mwah,” he said, once he’d swallowed my load and wiped a bit of errant spend from his cheek.
I was about to thank him when he shushed me and turned me over. He poured a little oil on his hands and began to work on my neck and shoulders, and I melted under his touch. So much so that I dozed off.
I woke up a little later, unsure how much time had passed. He was awake and by that point he was working on my calves, smiling quietly as he did so. I felt like jelly.
“Mmmm,” I said. “When did you get so good at this?”
“Been taking a class for the last month,” he said. “I was goin to surprise you.”
“Pro classes? I thought you liked your job,” I mumbled.
“I do! This is for funsies,” he said. “I figured you were working your butt off and could use a nice massage every so often.”
“You’re crazy,” I said. “A lot of effort to learn that.” I’d had to take classes in sports massage myself.
“Crazy like a fox,” he grinned. “I like touching your sexy muscles, and I especially like the way you moan when I hit the right spot. And this isn’t that bullshit sensual massage stuff either, this is proper deep tissue stuff.”
On cue, he hit a knot and I moaned like a cheap whore. Then he finished up, working the rest of that ankle and foot.
“Fuuuuuuck,” I said, since I couldn’t summon any better words.
“….and now, I think you should drink some water. Roll over and scoot over a bit so I fit.”
I obliged, of course. He nestled comfortably next to me.
“You want me to return the favor?”
He leaned over and kissed my neck. “Nah. Tonight you needed this, and some rest. But check with me in the morning,” he teased, snuggling into me.
I thought back to other lovers I’d had. Melinda was game for the occasional blowjob but didn’t particularly love them. It was just prep and foreplay until she got the desired result. And I was expected to eat her out on demand. Truthfully I didn’t mind, and at the beginning it had been very much a case of taking turns. And that wasn’t a very uncommon attitude among the others, either.
The difference was that Danny, I realized, was doing this just to make me happy and relaxed, and didn’t need anything in return. He knew I liked it. He was happy to receive, of course, just as he was anything I offered, but he wasn’t making it transactional, and he never would. He just didn’t think of things in those terms. He was simply kind and he loved people honestly and simply. I found myself angry on his behalf, for the stupid boys who’d broken his heart over and over. How could they?
I vowed to never disappoint him on that front. It took so little to make him happy, and one of the things that made him happy was making me happy.
I realized that what I looked forward to most these days was going to sleep cuddled with him, and waking up entangled with him. And as I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t believe my luck.
