Hello readers. :Waves:

It occurred to me recently that this fandom is seriously lacking in slash. I've never quite understood that since we do have one confirmed homosexual male actually in the show, plus quite a few males who are quite possibly bisexual. This concern, followed by watching Requiem For A Dream spawned very interesting day dreams.

And thus, this fic was born. :Grins:

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well… I might partially own Tino… but not his name… It's confusing really. But whatever… non-profit… blah blah blah… don't sue…

P.S. Jordan's smarter than we give him credit for.

Chapter One

I once told Ricky that my dad used to slap me around when I was younger, until I threw a chair at him. What I didn't tell him was that he stopped slapping after that, but he started hitting me with whatever he could find and he hits me a helluva lot harder now.

And now I'm driving as well as I can to Tino's with just my right hand and I'm terrified I won't be able to make the turns.

He came at me with a rolling pin tonight. I don't know what he did to my wrist but it really hurts and I can barely move my fingers. Tino will be pissed.

And he's furious.

"Jesus Catalano!" He grumbles, going about getting me an ice pack. "What the hell set him off this time?"

I mumbled something about the rain knocking the cable out, wincing when he dropped the ice on my wrist.

"You can move your fingers, right?"

I wiggled them in demonstration, grimacing as I did so.

"Probably just a really nasty bruise or sprain then… I think Rider left a brace here," He's talking to himself. "If not I know I have some tensor bandages."

And sure enough he returns triumphantly with both items in his hands.

"I am the best," Tino proclaims, sitting next to me and trying to be gentle while he wraps my wrist.

I murmur some sort of agreement and just kinda zone out on him while he works, trying to find something positive to focus on and getting depressed when I don't think of anything.

"Ta da!" He laughs, adjusting the brace snugly around my arm.

"Thanks T," I yawn, drifting over to his couch and collapsing on it with exhaustion.

He comes over and props me up so he can drop down next to me. When I flop back into place my head is in his lap. It's cool though.

"Tired?" He teases, tangling his fingers in my hair and leering at me.

I just look at him blankly because we both know the answer; I'm always tired.

He runs his hand up under my shirt and traces the outline of my ribs. He won't say anything out loud right now but he's made his point: He's saying I'd have more energy if I'd actually eat properly. I can't bring myself to do it though and it bugs him, but we don't really talk about it unless it gets really bad. It's just one of those things.

He moves his hand and (as much as I hate to admit it) I squirm.

I'm still squirming with his hand under my shirt when his mom walks in. She shoots us a grin and Tino grins right back. God only know she's caught us up to far worse things.

That's cool too though because she gets a real kick out of it. She really whoops it up when she walks in on us making out. It's really amusing because she'll wolf-whistle at us. It's great.

She's talking to us right now but I'm far too exhausted to understand. I let Tino do the talking for us so I can rest my eyes.

The next thing I know I'm being spread out on a bed and Tino is slipping in beside me. He's trying not to wake me and that's nice (I'm a guy not an unfeeling statue), but I don't want him to hurt himself in the process… which he will. He may rule the school and be my best friend, but he's still a klutz.

So I roll over and kiss him lightly. He grumbles in annoyance at himself and flops the rest of the way in, pulling me close. His chest is bare and warm so I use him as a pillow.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Only a few hours," He shrugs. "My mom was afraid you'd stopped breathing for a while."

"I'm still here."

"Mmhmm," he agrees. "Go back to sleep."

"What was your mom saying?"

"She wanted to know if it was your father again. I told her it was."

I nod and drift off. His arms tighten around me and I can't help but smile a little as I drift off because I know he cares.

Now, I've never been a morning person, but I can definitely get used to the idea of waking up early… if it means that I'm waking up to Tino kissing me. And that scares me shitless.

Me and Tino… we've been friends for years. Met in fifth grade when he was just starting the first of his growth spurts and I was just trying my first cigarettes. We weren't really tight until seventh though; when he found me shaking in the bathroom and trying and not quite succeeding in my attempt not to cry. I think there has to be a sign somewhere telling people that I'm easy to take advantage of… because so many have.

So Tino is like the only person I really trust and now my mind is trying to screw that up by telling me I want to wake up next to him every morning. I mean its true that we kiss and we touch and we fool around but that's all it is. We're not lovers and we're not dating. We're just friends… with benefits.

But now my mind wants to mess me up more than I already am by giving me notions of wanting to wake up next to Tino every morning. That definitely implies more than friendship… even with benefits.

"Stop dreaming Catalano," He's looking at me strangely and for a second I'm afraid I said something out loud. "My mom's making eggos."

I groan.

I haven't eaten breakfast since I was nine. I'm never hungry in the morning, not even if I haven't eaten for the past week…which is actually true right now.

"I'm not hungry," I complain, noticing that my mouth is only a centimetre from his.

He groans as well, looking at me carefully.

"When's the last time you ate?"

"Yesterday at lunch," I lie easily.

"What did you have?"

He wants to believe me, but he knows better. I hate lying to him but I'll just throw up if I eat now anyway. This will keep us both satisfied.

"Grilled cheese."

He sighs in defeat and kisses me hard, rolling me onto my back and running his tongue along my bottom lip. I open my mouth to him but he pulls back just enough to break the contact between our mouths.

"How's your wrist? Still hurt?"

"Yeah…"

Tino sighs and helps me to my feet, nudging me towards the bathroom. "Go have a shower, I'll help you wrap your wrist after breakfast, 'kay?"

I'm about to reply when he starts again.

"I'll find you something to wear."

"Thanks T."

Push the purple button. You know you want to. More soon.