Rating: NC-17
Fandom: The War At Home
Pairing: Larry/Kenny
Summary: Sequel to ‘Hedonism’. The morning after.
Larry’s shoulder is, quite possibly, the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen. Kenny thinks he could study it for hours, slowly tracing its soft curve with the pad of one finger. He bites his lip, tempted to lean in and taste the pink, pink skin; it’s only because Larry’s sleeping that he holds back.
He knows it’s late - he slept deeply, and even though he’d intended to get up and sneak back to his own room, he’s so deliciously warm and comfortable in Larry’s bed that even lifting his head up from the pillow would take more effort than he can muster. Besides, even if he wanted to move, his left arm is trapped under Larry’s back and their legs are tangled together and why would he ever want to move when he can stay like this?
Larry’s hair has been squashed by the pillow into the most ridiculous bed-head Kenny’s ever seen, and his mouth is open. There’s a tiny little drool-spot on the pillow. Kenny smiles fondly and brushes some of the hair from Larry’s forehead.
After a moment, Larry wrinkles his nose. Kenny pulls his hand back immediately, but Larry’s already waking up, eyes just barely open, snuffling into the pillow. Without even realising it, Kenny’s holding his breath, waiting for Larry to realise what they did and tell Kenny it was all a mistake and can they just pretend it didn’t happen?
But somehow, Larry’s smiling at him. A little embarrassed, yeah, but definitely smiling; his left hand sweeps up Kenny’s back, making him shiver. Larry holds him tight and he can’t believe just how much warm, bare skin there is pressed against his own. To think, he almost said no to this last night.
Grinning like a lunatic now, Larry moves in to kiss him, chaste and so utterly sweet Kenny thinks his heart could break right there. When they’re done, Larry gets this goofy smile that he hides by pulling Kenny into a tight hug, and Kenny wishes he could pull the covers right up over them and stay there forever. His left hand, entirely of its own accord, has wound its way into Larry’s hair, while his right is gently stroking over Larry’s back.
It’s exactly how he’s always pictured it; slow and kinda shy and just sexy enough that his cock is beginning to stir. Forget everything Mr Gold told him about guys being like animals. Kenny’s seen the websites (and Mr Gold really needs to learn how to clear out his temporary Internet files), and bondage and orgies and nine-inch monster cocks just don’t do anything for him. This is what he wants - Larry’s soft, warm body pressed against his, rocking against him until his half-hard dick nudges against Larry’s, and he kisses Larry’s neck and cheek and chin and finally his lips, slow open-mouthed kisses even though his mouth tastes like stale beer. When that isn’t enough, he tugs on Larry’s arms and they shift until Larry’s on top of him, rubbing the way Kenny did last night and still kissing, and for the first time Kenny comes before he does, breathless and giddy, every muscle in his body warm and loose and it feels incredible. Larry sits back, heavy on Kenny’s thighs, half-smiling at the mess on Kenny’s own belly, before he remembers his own erection and strokes himself to completion. He manages to keep upright, panting, shoulders heaving.
Kenny looks down between them, nose wrinkling, a disbelieving smile on his face, until Larry reaches over the side of the bed and retrieves his own underwear, discarded in the early hours of the morning, and wipes at Kenny’s stomach. He holds up the rumpled briefs and pulls a face.
“Okay, maybe that was a little gross,” he says, dropping them by the side of the bed again. His voice is cracked and sleep-thick. Still kneeling, he reaches down and takes hold of Kenny’s hands, locking their fingers together. “The underwear, I mean. Not the sex.” And he giggles at that. “I should get tissues or something.”
Kenny nods, and then pulls Larry’s hands so that Larry overbalances and ends up face-to-face with him. They kiss, and Kenny thinks he might never get enough of this, Larry pressing heavy against him and his hands in Larry’s hair.
When Larry’s weight starts to feel just a little oppressive, Kenny nudges for him to move, and they settle themselves again, on their sides with their legs tangled together.
“I like this,” Larry whispers, and he might mean the way Kenny’s tracing patterns over his chest with a fingertip, or the sex they just had, or the fact that this feels more wonderful than anything they’ve ever done before, or even all three. Kenny nods and gazes at him - it’s definitely a gaze, and he doesn’t even care that Larry can probably see every dream and hope and fantasy Kenny’s ever had written right there on his face.
“Me too,” he answers. Unbelievable.
“Really? Unbelievable?” Larry’s blushing. Kenny realises he actually said it out loud and feels his own cheeks flush. He nods, and Larry just smiles even wider. “’Cause it’s not like I have tons of experience or anything. I mean, you’re obviously gonna be better at this than me.”
Suddenly uncomfortable, Kenny closes his eyes.
“Well, I’m not exactly Mr Experienced either,” he mutters. When he dares to look again, Kenny’s frowning, confused.
“But what about… I mean, I figured, the guys at the club…”
Kenny shakes his head.
“I never did anything with anyone at the club.”
He wonders if this lie is any worse than the others he’s told Larry before now. It’s less than twelve hours since he sucked a guy off in the men’s room at Club Hedonism. Maybe he can get off on a technicality on this one; technically, he did that to the other guy, not with him, since City Boy wasn’t exactly an active participant.
Larry’s eyes widen. “I was your first?” he asks, voice quiet and full of awe. Kenny nods again. That one’s definitely true, and it’s not his fault that Larry thinks this is the first time they’ve actually had sex. If Larry thinks everything they’ve done before doesn’t count, that’s his problem.
He scolds himself for feeling angry. He’s in Larry’s bed, for crying out loud, having just had his second orgasm in a matter of hours. After kissing Larry until his jaw ached. Hardly the time to complain. He musters a smile, and Larry reciprocates.
From downstairs, he can hear the sounds of the Gold house starting the day. The front door, the phone, footsteps on the stairs.
“I wonder if my parents know I’m not there,” he wonders aloud. As if on cue, there’s a knock on Larry’s door.
“Larry?” Mrs Gold calls. “Kenny’s mom’s on the phone. She wants to know if he’s here.” Before Larry can answer, the door opens.
It’s tough to describe the look on Mrs Gold’s face. She doesn’t stay in the room long enough for Kenny to look properly at her. He’s willing to bet that ‘shocked’ doesn’t do it justice.
In seconds, they’re scrambling out of the bed, pulling on the clothes and pyjamas they dropped the night before until they’re decent enough to dash downstairs.
In the kitchen, Mrs Gold is just hanging up the phone. Mike’s at the table eating breakfast, until he realises something interesting’s about to happen, whereupon he puts down his spoon and leans back in his seat, grinning.
“Mom?” Larry’s all squirmy, and it takes all Kenny’s willpower to stay as far away from him as he is.
“Kenny, I told your mother that you’re here. She’s expecting you home in five minutes.” Mrs Gold’s voice is carefully calm, her eyes not quite meeting his. Kenny wonders if he could possibly hate himself any more than he does right now.
“Mom? Did you tell her anything else?” Larry’s quiet, kinda squeaky. Mrs Gold shakes her head.
“Why? What’s going on?” Mike looks at each of them in turn. He looks far too excited for Kenny’s liking.
“Mike, go upstairs.” Mrs Gold is still clutching the phone, one hand fidgeting absently with the chain around her neck. For a moment, Mike looks like he’s about to protest, until his mother shoots him a ‘don’t argue’ look. He stomps out of the room, muttering about never being involved in anything exciting in this house.
Everyone waits until they hear his bedroom door close.
“Okay, who wants to go first?” Mrs Gold looks between the two of them. Two numb to even think of anything to say, Kenny can only look to Larry.
“I guess…” Larry glances at him, and it’s obvious he’s going to tell the truth. Surprisingly, Kenny finds this doesn’t worry him. Whatever he says can’t possibly be any worse than what Mrs Gold must be imagining. He looks at her, sees the disappointment on her face, and feels his throat tighten. “I guess it’d be pointless lying. Kenny and I…” He trails off, makes some gesture that’s supposed to signify ‘had sex, possibly more than once’. His face is getting redder by the second.
After a moment, his mother takes pity on him and cuts him off with a hand up and a quiet “Okay.” She looks between the two of them, and Kenny watches the conflict of anger and love on her face. He knows that if she asks him to speak, he won’t be able to find his own voice.
“Larry, go upstairs. Get dressed.” Mrs Gold puts the phone down on the counter and folds her arms, waiting until Larry moves. Before he heads for the stairs, he offers Kenny a small smile, a look of ‘it’ll be okay’. Kenny does his best to return it, but he knows it’s a pathetic effort.
Once he’s gone, Mrs Gold turns to Kenny. There’s that conflict again, that confusion. He feels like he ought to apologise for something.
Finally, her lips tighten and she draws a deep breath before she speaks.
“What happened, Kenny? I mean, what happened to dating other boys?” She sounds hurt. Betrayed, even. All he can manage is a shrug. “You don’t get over someone by getting them to…” She makes the same vague gesture Larry did. “I know Larry’s your best friend, and he went along with it this time - ”
“No!” He startles himself with his forcefulness, and has to say it again, quieter.
“There was more than one time?” Her eyes go wide.
“No.” Kenny shakes his head, frantically. “It was just tonight. I mean, he didn’t go along with it. He - it was Larry’s idea.” He knows he’s not making sense, wishes he didn’t have to say any of this out loud. He wonders if this could be any worse, and for one brief moment imagines having to say this to Larry’s father. That’s scary enough that he starts to feel nauseous, and he has to fight to keep control of his voice. “I said no. Honest. I’ve tried. I went out, I met other guys, but Larry…” He’s losing it, and has to stop for a few seconds before he can continue. “I came home last night and he was waiting for me.” He dares himself to look at her. She doesn’t believe him, that much is clear, and he feels the tiniest spark of anger deep in his gut. That’s good, and he holds on to it. He hasn’t done anything wrong, and he really did try to talk Larry out of it.
She sighs, like he’s let her down. He clings to his anger, feels it grow.
“Kenny, this is a bad idea. You know it’s not going to last.” She comes closer, puts an arm around his shoulders, and that pity makes him feel sick.
What’s even worse is knowing she’s right.
But he doesn’t need anyone to tell him that, and doesn’t want anyone to ruin the fantasy he got to play out this morning, the one where Larry really genuinely wants him. He opens his mouth to protest, but nothing comes out.
Before she can go on, Larry comes hurtling down the stairs, barefoot in jeans and a T-shirt that don’t match. His hair is still a mess.
Mrs Gold steps away from Kenny, and he sees the disappointment as she looks at her son. For the first time, he feels sorry for Larry. It’s one thing for her to be happy for Kenny coming out - he’s not her son - but with Larry there’s a whole other level of pain, especially after all the times Larry’s had to prove his heterosexuality.
“Kenny, you should go on home,” she says without looking at him.
“Mom,” Larry interrupts, moving to Kenny’s side, “you can’t kick him out.”
“Your mother’s worried about you,” she tells Kenny, watching him expectantly. Kenny turns to Larry who, with a defiant look at his own mother, takes hold of Kenny’s hand and squeezes it.
“I’ll come over later,” he says, giving Kenny his best determined smile. Kenny squeezes back and hopes Mrs Gold will actually let him out of the house when she’s done.
Back home, he gets through his mother’s questions and complaints with deflection and excuses, wondering when it became so easy to lie to his parents. His father just scowls at him over the top of his newspaper, eating his breakfast in stony silence.
Afterwards, he escapes to his room, and it’s a real test of strength to keep from sitting by the window watching for Larry. He tries to read, attempts his Science homework, spends an hour with his journal open trying to write. The morning drags on forever. By noon, the only productive thing he’s managed is to write, ‘When did it get so complicated?’
Eventually the late night seems to catch up with him and he crawls back into bed, still in last night’s clothes. For maybe an hour, he dozes and dreams of his and Larry’s parents catching them in any number of embarrassing situations. When the banging on his door doesn’t stop, he looks up from the kitchen table where dream-Larry is about to go down on him and realises he’s actually not dreaming that.
He sits up in bed, wiping at his eyes, before calling “Come in.” He’s actually surprised to see Larry, was almost certain that Mrs Gold would ground him. Larry sits on the bed, up close, and smiles at him. He looks tired even though it’s the middle of the day.
“I thought my mom was never gonna stop talking,” Larry confides.
“Was it…bad?”
Larry winces and rolls his eyes.
“Once she stopped freaking out about me having sex in the house, it wasn’t so terrible. Mostly embarrassing. Lots of ‘you’re young’ and ‘you always said you were straight’ and euphemisms for sex.”
“Did she tell your father?” Kenny realises he’s holding tight to the edge of the blanket and lets go, smoothing out where he wrinkled it.
“No. She says I gotta tell him myself.”
Kenny’s stomach tightens painfully as he pictures that conversation, and he wonders who Mr Gold will kill first; Larry for having sex with a guy, or Kenny for being that guy.
He bites his lip, thinking back to his talk with Mrs Gold that morning.
“You know, maybe she’s got a point.” Larry’s brow crinkles in confusion, so Kenny keeps going. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”
“No!” Larry looks hurt. Rejected. “I just spent an hour convincing my mother that I want this. I mean, I had to endure a conversation with my mother about sex. Don’t tell me all that was for nothing.”
He laughs, and wants nothing more than to be able to agree with Larry.
“I know that must’ve been tough,” he agrees. “But isn’t it just gonna get even tougher? I mean, telling your dad, and then what about at school? Would you tell everyone at school?” He doesn’t mean for it to sound like a challenge, but that’s the way it comes out, and he realises it could be the best way to dissuade Larry.
Except that Larry only puts on his brave face and says, “Sure I would.”
And Larry would. Larry’s just the kind of guy to stand up and say, ‘Look at me and my gay boyfriend’. Larry who went on TV last year to protest about Kenny being banned from the Sadie Hawkins dance, who pressured his own father into standing up to the woman from Child Services to keep Kenny from going into a foster home.
“Please, Kenny,” Larry says, his voice suddenly quiet and uncertain. “I know you said once you weren’t into me, and I’m not the cutest guy in school, but I really liked…” That vague gesture again. Larry, sitting on his bed, insecure, practically begging Kenny to want him, and only an idiot could say no to that, right?
Kenny’s no idiot. He reaches out and pulls Larry into a hug, so he doesn’t have to look Larry in the eye when he speaks.
“Whatever you want,” he whispers, and Larry laughs and holds him tight.