Authors: Mika Fox
"They're
not bad," he says. "I'll give you that."
Dominic
frowns, pleasantly surprised.
"Yeah?"
he says, and Killian nods. "I know. Why do you think I want to use them?
Every other photo I've taken these past few weeks looks like shit, in
comparison."
Killian
glances up at him. If Dominic didn't know any better, he'd say he looks
self-conscious, but the expression disappears almost immediately, so quickly
that Dominic wonders if he just imagined it.
"Say
I'm in," Killian says thoughtfully. "Hypothetically speaking. What's
in it for me?"
Dominic
gives him a look.
"You
serious?" he says, and Killian shrugs, meeting his gaze.
"Yeah,"
he says, tone shifting into more flippant, relaxed territory―territory
that they are both much more familiar and comfortable with. "I mean, what
do I get? Cash, fame? Blowjobs?"
Dominic
gives him a bored, but amused look, as he catches on to the shift in mood.
"I
can really only guarantee one of those things," he says, taking a step
closer. Killian doesn't pull back, but given the almost-fight they just had,
Dominic feels a bit like he's approaching a wounded animal. He must do it
gingerly, on Killian's terms, lest he scare him off.
"Oh,
really?" Killian says, now sounding a little scandalized. "Just one?
I thought I was your muse, or some shit. Don't I deserve more than that?"
"Depends,"
Dominic says, adding a slightly playful edge to his tone now. "You might
like it."
"Well,
which one is it?"
Dominic
moves in closer, confident again now that Killian's reaction to this revelation
was much softer than he expected. He decides to momentarily ignore the sudden
burst of warm happiness it causes in his chest, immediately blocking out any
anxiety he just had; he tucks it away for later, instead.
"If
you want," he says suggestively, "I could give you a sample. You
know, just so you know what you're getting."
Killian
raises his eyebrows.
"I'm
listening," he says, and when Dominic doesn't move, just bites his lip
with a smile, he tilts his head. "Well, what are you waiting for? Show
me."
Dominic
doesn't need telling twice. He takes the tablet out of Killian's hand and
slowly puts it down on the coffee table, before pushing Killian back so that he
bumps against the couch and sits down. All the while, his eyes are on Dominic,
who leisurely gets down on the floor between his legs and starts undoing the
fly of his jeans.
"I'm
a professional, I'll have you know," he says conversationally. "I
wouldn't do this for just anyone."
"Guess
that makes me special, then," Killian says, moving one hand to smooth up
along Dominic's bare forearm. "I mean, from what I can tell, I'm kind of
indispensable."
Clearly,
he has quickly warmed up to the idea of being the star of Dominic's photo
series, in complete opposite to the reaction that Dominic was expecting.
"That's
one way of putting it." Dominic unzips Killian's fly, tugging at the hem
of his jeans, Killian arching up from the cushions a bit to help him along.
"That's
how I see it," Killian says, his breath hitching a little as Dominic palms
against the rapidly growing bulge between his legs, underneath the stretched
cotton of his underwear.
"How
about you shut up, then," Dominic says, pulling down the hem of his boxers
as well, "and get paid?"
If
Killian intends to give some smart-assed reply to that too, he doesn't get the
chance. Within moments, Dominic has gotten him to full hardness and is
dismantling his defenses with his mouth, making Killian moan and keen at his
touch, threading his fingers through his hair. It honestly shouldn't turn
Dominic on as much as it does, but he can't help it, one hand trailing up
underneath Killian's tank top while the other works over what his mouth can't
take. He can feel himself getting hard, can feel the way he starts to fall
apart the same way he always does when Killian is involved, the artist arching
off the couch and moaning deeply, muttering a string of nonsensical praise and
encouragement. Dominic knows he's getting close, anticipates it, wants
it―which is why he's taken by surprise when Killian grabs his hair
tightly and pushes him away, instead pulling his face up to his own and
proceeding to shove his tongue down his throat.
Dominic
is surprised, but doesn't object. This is better, so much better, and he
straddles Killian's lap as he kisses him, cupping his face in both hands while
Killian quickly undoes his fly and slips his hand underneath his jeans. Dominic
groans as the sweet pressure, grinding against Killian's touch and moving his
own hand down to stroke him in unison, making them both pant and moan into each
other's mouths.
It
builds up quickly, sweeping Dominic along in a matter of seconds, and before
long, he can feel Killian coming over his fingers, himself following not far
behind. His heart is pounding against his ribs, breathing jagged and sharp as
he leans his forehead against Killian's, trying to ground himself. Killian's
free hand comes up to cup his face, smoothing slender fingers along his
hairline, his jaw, making Dominic's entire body go soft with contentment. His
eyes are closed, but he can somehow tell that Killian's are too. It makes him
happy, for some reason.
As
soon as either of them is able to move again, Dominic gets up and retrieves a
towel, wiping them both down before slumping against the cushions of the couch,
Killian by his side. Neither of them speaks, the air still as they come back
down and just bask in the afterglow. Dominic wants so badly to just stare at
Killian for about an hour as he does, but he refrains, reigning himself in.
"Can
I admit something?" he says instead after a while, his breathing finally
slowing down. Killian glances at him.
"Sure,"
he says. "As long as it doesn't involve you confessing to keeping a bag of
your own hair in your closet, or something."
Dominic's
face morphs into an expression that's somewhere between
what the fuck?
and disgusted, but Killian is unfazed.
"No,"
he eventually says, settling back down against the couch. "I was gonna say
that... you didn't exactly react the way I thought you would, with the whole
photo-project thing."
He
says it as nonchalantly as he can, waving his hand noncommittally, but Killian
isn't fooled.
"Yeah?"
he says, meeting his eye. He looks borderline amused. "How'd you think I'd
react, then?"
Dominic
shrugs.
"Well,"
he says. "I guess I was expecting there to be a lot more cursing involved,
maybe you forcibly throwing me out the door. Wasn't expecting you to let me get
away with it."
Killian
smiles―Dominic forces his heart to beat steady as he sees it―and huffs
a small laugh.
"What
can I say, I'm flattered," he says, looking straight ahead, probably to
hide the softening look on his face. His voice drops to almost a murmur.
"And you've kind of grown on me."
Dominic
just watches him, his mouth shaping into a no doubt dopey smile, and Killian
seems to notice. He turns to him, an uncharacteristically awkward look on his
face.
"What?"
he says, sounding flustered, rather than confused.
"Nothing,"
Dominic says. "It's just... That was kind of nice, what you said just
now."
Granted,
it reaches the bare minimum of
nice,
but
Dominic knows that coming from Killian, it weighs so much more.
Killian's
eyebrows shoot up.
"
Nice
?" he says. "Well, shit.
Now I gotta go kick a puppy, or something." Dominic just keeps smiling,
and Killian's gaze flicks away uncomfortably as his sarcasm is deflected.
"Alright, seriously, stop. I don't―"
He
stops talking when Dominic kisses him, shutting right up in favor of shaping
their lips to each other and sighing softly against his mouth. It's like a warm
wave washing over Dominic's skin, making him melt into the kiss and close his
eyes at the way it makes him feel so perfectly, completely content.
When
they pull apart, Dominic keeps his eyes locked on Killian's, silence filling
the air for a few, suspended moments.
"What
was that?" Killian asks, trying to sound flippant and gruff, but Dominic
still has to keep himself from grinning.
"You've
grown on me, too," he says. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that
Killian actually looks pleased.
Chapter 11
Soft
Things soon
start to change. To say that Killian loosens up would be an understatement; his
hand will lingers whenever he touches Dominic, even in the most casual way, his
gaze softening just a little bit when their eyes meet. It's more than enough to
be confusing, and Dominic isn't even sure Killian is aware of doing any of it,
but he isn't about to complain. On the contrary, he's thoroughly enjoying this
shift in their dynamic, often finds himself smiling for no reason, even when
Killian isn't around. He can't remember the last time he felt this warm and
happy inside, if ever, and he doesn't want it to end.
He
might even go so far as to say that it feels kind of like being in an actual
relationship.
Killian's
new penchant for touching and casual affection is confusing on its own, but
even more than that, he also does it when their friends are around. When the
gang, as Jemma so affectionately calls their little group, hangs out at Bobcat
one afternoon, there is no real subtlety to be found. Not that most of them
aren't aware by now that Dominic and Killian are hooking up, but
still―when Killian goes to get a refill for his coffee, the lingering
touch of his fingers against Dominic's arm as he gets up is enough to make
Jemma narrow her eyes in benign suspicion. She glances after her friend, before
giving Dominic a questioning look, only to get an innocent eyebrow-raise in
response. He maybe should say something witty, but he's too busy savoring the
pleasant burn where Killian's fingers just touched his skin.
When
Alina coaxes an update out of him at work, she triumphantly declares that
Dominic has a crush, and that he is currently in a semi-relationship. When
challenged―because honestly, the mere thought of it sends Dominic's heart
into an embarrassing somersault of emotion and excitement, and he's not quite
ready to face the truth of that―she insists, telling her brother that
he's one of the lucky ones. The guy he likes actually likes him back, and he
should just enjoy it. At least for the summer, she assures him, there's nothing
heavy or serious to freak out about.
Dominic
tries to take her word for it. So he has a crush, big deal. He has had them
before. Granted, none of them made him smile to himself like an idiot at the
most random points in a day, and none of them made his breath stutter a little
when the object of those affections so much as looked at him, at least not like
this.
They
definitely never made him feel completely and utterly content just being in the
same room with that particular person, like on this particular afternoon.
He's
lying on Killian's bed, tablet in his lap as he flips through his most recent
photos and evaluates them. Since Killian's agreement to Dominic using him as a
subject, he has been able to take pictures of him without the element of casual
deception, taking them whenever Killian isn't looking, but not having to hide
it or explain it away. Just thinking about how he used to do that before makes
him feel honestly a little ashamed.
Killian
is half-lying on the couch, in full view of Dominic, with a large sketch pad
propped against his knees. Dominic has a few photos of that particular pose,
having taken them earlier, before settling down over here to look through them.
He keeps glancing over at Killian though, at the way he frowns a little as he
concentrates. It's only after twenty minutes or so of complete silence that
Dominic notices him glancing back, a bit too deliberately now for it to be
completely casual. He frowns from his awkward position on the bed.
"What?"
he practically grunts, and Killian lifts his shoulder in a half-shrug.
"Nothing,"
he says. "Hold still."
Dominic's
frown deepens.
"Killian,"
he says, an edge of suspicion to his tone. "What are you doing?"
The
artist looks up properly this time.
"It's
a good angle," he says plainly, gesturing with a coal pencil in Dominic's
direction, and Dominic gets the strangest tingle in his stomach as he realizes
what Killian is doing.
"Are
you drawing me?" he asks, trying to sound bored, rather than disbelieving.
"Don't
get too excited," Killian says, looking back down at his sketchpad.
"It's rough, at best. But yeah, you got a good face."
Dominic's
eyebrows go up.
"'A
good face'?" he asks. "Is that you giving a compliment?"
Killian
meets his eye.
"It's
me stating a fact," he says. "Take it however you want."
Dominic
would be lying if he said he didn't want to take it as a compliment, but he
hesitates, pursing his lips in thought as Killian looks back down. He relaxes
his grip on his tablet, laying it down flat on his lap.
"Well,
thanks, I guess," he says. He's pretty sure he's not coming off as nearly
as casual as he'd like to. "Nice to know it's appreciated, flaws and
all."
He
doesn't say it in a self-deprecating way; he knows he looks pretty decent, and
he mostly says it to lighten the weird sensation he gets at Killian outright
telling him he likes the way he looks. Killian catches it though, and he looks
up.
"What
do you mean?" he asks. Dominic shrugs where he lies, putting one arm under
his head to prop himself up, making his awkward position a bit more
comfortable.
"Nothing,"
he says. "Just, nobody's perfect, right? I mean, my nose has a bump on it,
and everything."
He
adds a small chuckle, but Killian's expression doesn't change. He looks almost
annoyed, bored, like he so often does, and damn it if Dominic doesn't kind of
hate the way he can't read that expression half the time. Instead of lightening
the mood, he suddenly feels a little awkward, and he rushes to fix it.
"I'm
not fishing for compliments, or anything," he says hurriedly, as Killian
looks down at his pad. "I just―"
"Your
nose does have a bump on it," Killian interrupts him, his tone flat, and
it makes Dominic stop his rambling right there. Instead, he just blinks in
surprise―that was blunt, even by Killian's standards, especially with his
unusual softness over the past few days. As a result, Dominic doesn't really
know what to say. So he just scoffs, looking up at the ceiling as he runs his
tongue over the inside of his teeth.
"Right,"
he mutters, not sure what he was expecting. Killian hears it, and he sighs.
"It's
a good thing," he says tiredly, and Dominic looks back at him. Those green
eyes meet his, and they look just as oddly exasperated as ever, despite the
warmth in them. "Not an insult."
Dominic
just stares at him, until Killian actually rolls his eyes with a heavy exhale
and gets up from the couch, putting his sketchpad and coal pencil down on the
coffee table. Dominic stays put as he makes his way over to the bed, and
without preamble, Killian grabs his tablet and puts it aside, before straddling
his hips and making himself comfortable where he now sits.
"Your
nose has a bump on it," he says matter-of-factly, while Dominic just
stares up at him. "Your left eyebrow is just a little bit different from
your right, and you've got a reasonably even jaw, a few freckles. They're not
always there though, which is just weird."
Dominic's
stunned expression shapes into a frown, his mind racing to process Killian's
words in an accurate way.
"What
am I, some kind of specimen?" he says, and Killian tilts his head, gives
him a slightly bored look.
"I'm
saying you got a nice face," he says, leaning down and placing his hands
against Dominic's chest. "It has idiosyncrasies, sure, but that's a good
thing. No artist wants to draw a perfectly symmetrical face, not in the long
run. It gets boring. A face with character is better, more intriguing. A challenge."
Dominic
frowns, mouth slightly open. He blinks.
"Okay,"
he says, shaking his head. "I don't even know if you're complimenting me
or not."
Killian
sighs in light annoyance as he leans in closer, resting his hands on either
side of Dominic's head.
"Who
gives a shit if I'm complimenting you?" he says. "I like your face.
That sound better?"
Dominic
thinks about it.
"A
bit," he says, and he swears he sees a small hint of a smirk at the corner
of Killian's mouth as he leans down further. He rests his elbows against the
mattress now, his face only inches away from Dominic's.
"Well,
I do like your face," he says, some traces of sincerity beneath the
dryness. "You've got a nice smile, a little uneven, kind of crooked. Brown
eyes. I like it."
Dominic
is taken completely by surprise, both by Killian's description and the sudden
onslaught of butterflies it causes in his stomach. He pushes it all down as
quickly and efficiently as he can.
"Damn,"
he says instead. "You've really paid attention to my face."
Any
other person would probably look self-conscious at a comment like that, but not
Killian. Of course not Killian. He just shrugs a little, with a slight tilt of
his head.
"Occupational
habit," he says, and Dominic knows exactly what he means. He remembers
their first proper conversation, by the pond, and how he felt such an urge to
photograph Killian's profile simply because the lighting was so flattering for
his features.
"I
like your face, too," he says after a few moments, trying his best to
sound flippant, but probably failing. Killian looks a little surprised, but
doesn't respond. He just scoffs.
"Quite
the pair then, aren't we?" he says, and those damn butterflies stir up
again.
"Yes,
we are," Dominic says, pushing them right back down.
♦
Dominic has
become very acquainted with the buzzing of a vibrating phone, over the past
week or so. Since he and Killian started spending more time together, he swears
it has begun happening more often, Killian's cell phone breaking through any
kind of pleasant atmosphere with its incessant buzzing, and Dominic is slightly
curious as to why. He wonders who it is that keeps calling, but most of all, he
wonders why Killian never picks up. He never asked either, until now.
"Do
you ever answer your phone?" he says, as he lies on Killian's couch, the
weight of the other boy pressed down on top of him as their pleasant
makeout
session is interrupted by yet another phone call.
Killian hums in consideration as he ignores the call and puts his phone down on
the coffee table, settling against Dominic’s body.
"On
occasion," he says.
"Who
keeps calling you?"
Killian
narrows his eyes a little at the interrogation.
"No
one important," he says, and Dominic's eyebrows go up.
"No?"
he says playfully, and Killian shakes his head. "Then you won't mind if I
take a look―"
He
lunges for the phone on the coffee table, but Killian beats him to it, smacking
it away and making it slide to the other end of the wooden surface.
"It's
nothing important," he says, a little strained from the awkward position.
He grabs Dominic's outstretched arm and moves it up over his head to pin it
against the armrest of the couch. "Don't make me use my pelvic sorcery to
distract you."
Dominic
purrs, smiling.
"Well,
we can't have that, now can we?" he says teasingly, as Killian leans down
to kiss him. Dominic can feel a smile on his lips too, and as it melts against
his own his heart actually stutters in his chest. Killian just smells so good,
so familiar, his weight a warm, comfortable presence against his body, and
Dominic resolves then and there that he could keep kissing him like this
forever.
Forever
is cut short when there's a buzzing sound heard again, but this time from
Dominic's pocket. He groans.
"Let
me get that," he mutters against Killian's mouth, as he awkwardly reaches
down to dig his phone out of his jeans. Killian lets out a groan of his own,
moving down to kiss Dominic's neck instead.
"Why?"
he says, and Dominic sighs as he gets his phone and brings it up to check the
screen next to Killian's shoulder.
"Because,"
he says, opening up the text message alert. "Some of us actually make an
effort to
not
ignore everyone who
tries to contact us."
Killian
makes a defensive noise.
"It's
not
everyone
, it's just―"
he cuts himself off with a huff. "Who is it?"
"It's
Annie," Dominic says, eyes skimming the text message as he chooses to
ignore Killian's odd reply. "She wants to hang out."
"Okay,"
Killian just says, putting his lips to Dominic's throat again, and causing a
very pleasant shiver in the process.
"That
means you, too," Dominic says.
"Why?"
Killian asks flatly, still kissing him, and Dominic makes a half-assed gesture
with his hands―his movement is rather limited in his current position.