Title: Contents Under Pressure
Rating: M
Pairing: Face/Murdock (Movie Verse)
Word Count: 6,831
Notes: For hoodoo123 for the Secret Santa 2012. :D
o-o-o-o-o
"Murdock, you crazy. Everybody know."
B.A. couldn't have put it better if he tried. Everyone that had ever met the pilot knew right off the bat that he wasn't quite right in the head. You could tell that just by looking at him. There was just something about the way his teal eyes glinted that almost served as a warning.
Caution: Contents Under Pressure.
Face was good at reading people, so honestly he was a little disappointed in himself when he didn't spot the strangeness that surrounded the pilot the first time he laid eyes on him. In hindsight, he guessed he deserved to have his arm lit on fire for that. Also in hindsight, Face was glad Murdock wasn't a completely sane normal person. Otherwise they never would have gotten over the border away from Tuco. Sure, the flight was scary as hell, and Face was ready to return to his Catholic roots and start crossing himself, and it was the whole reason that they had to start drugging B.A. to get him in a plane, but it was worth gaining the pilot.
Oh yes. It was definitely worth gaining the pilot.
o-o-o-o-o
Face sat quietly at the dinner table in their latest hideout, smiling as Murdock whistled and flipped pancakes. B.A. was out working on the van and Hannibal well. Hannibal was being Hannibal, so it was just Face and Murdock for breakfast. It didn't irk Face as much as the others would like to think when they didn't eat together as a team. He wasn't really into that whole 'family meal' thing. Hell, he was happy just to eat by himself but the pilot wouldn't have it.
"Gotta keep your strength up, Faceman, and you ain't gonna do that with bran flakes. Them things are USELESS, let me tell you about this one time…"
He then launched into a story about something that had happened in the VA involving bran flakes, a jar of expensive Chinese shampoo, and one of those remote control hospital beds. Face really didn't want to know so he quickly interrupted.
"Hey Murdock, did you ever find those playing cards you were looking for?"
Murdock paused, flipping the golden pancakes onto a plate and carrying it to the table, setting it down in front of Face.
"Nope. But I know who took 'em."
Face poured syrup over his share of the pancakes, politely shaking his head when Murdock offered him a bottle labeled 'secret sauce' (everybody knew better than to try that junk. It was something different every time, and it was never anything good). The pilot shrugged and gave the bottle a generous squeeze. The gel that came out was blue. It looked very familiar.
"Please tell me that isn't my hair gel." Face said. Murdock did nothing but smile and a take huge bite. Face winced and tried not to think too much about what the pilot had just put into his digestive system.
"Anyway, uhh. Who took your cards?"
Murdock shrugged again, shoving another blue bite into his mouth.
"Goblins of course."
Face raised an eyebrow.
"… Goblins."
Murdock nodded earnestly. With his cheeks all puffed out full of food and his eyes shining bright, he looked like a 5 year old. Face almost laughed. The pilot swallowed with a gulp and began speaking rapidly.
"Yea. The thing about goblins is once they latch onto you, there ain't no getting rid of 'em. They follow you to every new house when you move, they follow you to hotels, they even follow you when you get into a car or some other mode of transportation."
Face smiled at the way he said transportation, pronouncing every syllable individually. Murdock sat back in his chair with a huff.
"That explains why my cards are missin'. The last place I had 'em was in the van."
Face got up to get himself some coffee. He wasn't awake enough to be talking about playing-card-stealing-goblins yet. He poured himself a very large mug.
"Maybe you just dropped them down on the floor somewhere. Have you even bothered to check the van?" He asked without thinking. That got him a snort in return as a fork scraped across a plate, picking up the few leftover crumbs.
"Duh. Of course I have. How do you think I know they weren't there."
Something clicked in Face's head and he turned slowly, eyebrow arched just so.
"How did you check the van when B.A. won't let you within 100 feet of it without his supervision?"
Immediately, Murdock's eyes lit up, the fires in the teal irises smoldering under the shadow of his eyebrows, the slow curve of his mouth as he smiled until his eyes crinkled and his lips pulled back to reveal his white teeth, the light catching the sharp angle of his cheek bones.
That right there. That was why Face asked the stupid obvious questions. Murdock's smile when he knew he did something he shouldn't have done made the conman's stomach flip and roll, and his toes curl in his socks.
Being in love with the pilot was hard sometimes, mostly because Face didn't dare tell him. The team's dynamic depended too much on how they all worked together, and Face didn't need to be a relationship counselor to know that him admitting his feelings about Murdock would screw everything up.
So he did the easiest thing; he kept it to himself. Sometimes he worried about what would happen if Hannibal knew, or if B.A. knew, or God help him, if Murdock himself knew, but he always shrugged it off. If he didn't panic, he was less likely to give himself away.
Despite being known as a lady's man and a natural-born charmer, Face would be the LAST person to admit his feelings for anyone, let alone his long-time teammate and best friend.
"You alright there, Faceman?"
Murdock's voice asked softly. The conman found the pilot staring at him and he realized that he was just leaning against the counter with his untouched coffee cup in his hands. He blinked a couple times before easily slipping into an easy smile.
"Yea I'm fine. Just spaced for a second."
Murdock didn't look convinced but he didn't press further, instead shrugging and starting to hum again as he cleaned up the table.
o-o-o-o-o
Face was pulled from his sleep late one night by muffled screaming. He was on his feet and across the room without a second's hesitation.
The conman was the one who bunked with Murdock for a reason. Murdock had frequent nightmares and night terrors, a result of the PTSD that he still suffered from on top of his other problems.
The pilot was twisted in his sheets with his face smashed into his pillow, his grip so tight that his knuckles were white, the veins and tendons in his neck standing out.
Most people would tell you not to wake a person who was having an episode as bad as this, but Face knew from experience what happened when you tried to let Murdock work through it himself.
He still wouldn't allow the storage of any form of weapon in his and Murdock's room, specifically knives.
"Murdock. Hey buddy, come on." Face said soothingly, putting a hand on the pilot's shoulder. He had to immediately block the arm that swung towards his face. The force of the blow made his hand hurt and his whole arm tingle.
"Murdock!" He tried again. The pilot was on his back now, gasping with his eyes wide open, but Face knew he wasn't awake. He was staring at the ceiling and clawing at the sheets, trying to get away from some unknown attacker, his face going red from the lack of oxygen. The conman held Murdock's face in both hands, trying to catch his attention.
"Murdock, buddy you gotta wake up. It's not real. Listen to me. It's not real." He said, continuing to speak to Murdock in a gentle tone, keeping his voice pitched down. He had figured out earlier on that the pilot responded better when Face's voice was deeper.
Finally, finally, Murdock gave one more heaving gasp and blinked, coughing violently, hands going to his neck. Face shushed him softly, waiting until Murdock realized he was there before he smiled.
"You're safe, okay? You're alright."
Normally Murdock would stare at him for a moment before sighing and falling back asleep. He hardly remembered the episode the next day and Face never mentioned it. This time however, Murdock did something unexpected. He burst into tears and launched himself into Face's arms, burying his face in the conman's neck and shaking. Face was stunned for a moment before his arms wrapped around the pilot's ribs, holding him tight.
"Shhh it's okay. It was just a dream." He said, running his fingers through Murdock's soft hair, rocking him like the nuns at the orphanage used to rock him when he had bad dreams. Eventually Murdock calmed down, only sniffling every now again and taking deep breaths. The door to the bedroom cracked open, revealing Hannibal's concerned expression. Face gave him a tight smile and received a nod in return before the door shut once more.
"You alright, Murdock?" Face said, moving back to try and look at the pilot. For a moment, Murdock resisted the movement, his arms tightening around Face's neck before he eventually relented. His face was frighteningly blank as he wiped his nose on his long sleeve, sniffling. Face moved into his line of vision and was concerned when Murdock avoided his eyes.
"Murdock?"
"Yea I'm alright, Face."
The pilot's response was so quiet that Face wasn't sure he heard him. He waited as Murdock heaved a heavy sigh and sniffled again.
"Sorry for waking ya." Murdock mumbled. Face grabbed the pilot gently by the chin and made him look at him.
"You don't need to apologize." He said lowly, his expression open. Murdock's eyes widened.
"You have no reason to apologize. It's not your fault okay."
He felt Murdock's throat bob against his fingers when he swallowed, continuing to stare at Face with something akin to shock in his eyes. Face waited until the pilot nodded hesitantly to let go of his chin. With one last pat on Murdock's shoulder, the conman went back to his bed, waiting until the other man had hunkered down again and his breath had evened out before closing his own eyes.
What he didn't see was Murdock's eyes continuing to burn a hole in the wall, like something had snapped inside him.
o-o-o-o-o
When Face woke up the next day, Murdock wasn't in his bed. That wasn't really surprising. The pilot didn't like to sleep in too late. As he put it, he hated wasting daylight. What was perplexing however was the fact that his jacket was still at the end of his bed along with his battered old hat. Leaving one or the other in his room was normal if he were planning on staying inside for the day, but to leave both of them while his shoes were missing? That set Face's senses on high alert.
The conman threw his covers off and dressed in a hurry, groaning at the sight of snow outside the window. He grabbed an extra jacket to wear over his pullover before rushing out the door.
He found Hannibal in the armchair in the living room, smoking a cigar and reading the paper.
"Boss you seen Murdock this morning?" He said, feeling irritated when Hannibal waited until he had finished reading the paragraph he was on to answer him. The colonel looked up, brow furrowed.
"No I have not, Lieutenant."
Face growled.
"Where's B.A.?"
Hannibal thrust him thumb towards the garage and watched as Face turned on his heel and practically ran from the room.
B.A. was under the van in the garage with the heat on when Face came crashing into the area.
"B.A. you seen Murdock?"
The man with the Mohawk reappeared from under the van to give Face a skeptical look.
"If that crazy fool been around here, I ain't seen him."
The conman felt the color drain from his face.
"Hey you alright Faceman?" B.A. said uneasily. Face didn't answer as he shot back up the stairs, flying past Hannibal who yelled after him, skidding around the corner and almost breaking down the front door. He continued running down the snow-covered street, his lungs starting to burn after less than 30 seconds.
He stopped people on the street, asking them if they'd seen Murdock, feeling more and more disheartened when they said they hadn't. After an hour of searching, he resorted to yelling Murdock's name and ignoring the strange looks some people gave him.
He stopped into a few stores, asking if Murdock had been inside. Again, everyone said they hadn't seen him. Face was ready to give up when he finally got the answer he was looking for. The cashier at the 7-11 had seen him.
"When?" Face almost snarled. The man held up his hands.
"Early this morning. Really early. I start work at 3 am. He came around not soon after that. He stayed for a few minutes, and then he left. He didn't buy anything, just kinda wandered around before going out the door."
"Did you see which way he went?" Face asked, doing his best not to lean across the counter and grab the man by his collar. The cashier swallowed nervously.
"When he left, he was headed in the direction of the park."
Face ran back outside and made his way to the park, shouting for Murdock. A man sitting with his friend snickered under his breath.
"Look, the early morning crazies are out." He whispered.
Face skidded to a halt and stomped back over to him, getting in his face with his teeth bared, fist bunching the front of the man's jacket.
"What the fuck did you just say?" He hissed. The man shifted away from him and shook his head, unable to speak. Face left him alone, getting more upset the further he went into the giant park. He ventured so far into the park that soon, he was the only person visible in every direction.
Putting his hands on his head, vapor poured from Face's mouth as he panted, spinning in a circle, feeling his throat close up. Murdock had gone off the rails before but he had never actually left the house in the middle of the night. When he went off on his own, he always came back, and he was never so careless as to forget his jacket when it was cold outside.
Face stopped mid-turn, staring. There was a dark spot in all the white, slumped against a tree about 100 feet from where he was standing. It was the longest 100 feet Face had ever run.
"Murdock! MURDOCK!" He slid to his knees in front of the snow-covered body, horrified at what he saw. Murdock's skin was almost as white as the snow that was covering him and his lips and ears were tinted blue. Face immediately stripped off his heavy jacket and wrapped the other man in it, rubbing him vigorously.
"Jesus Christ. Come on buddy don't do this to me. Come ON!" He hugged Murdock close, feeling the ice in Murdock's hair crackle against his cheek, continuing to rub his arms and his chest. A weak wheeze left the body in his arms and he pulled back, seeing a pair of blurry eyes staring at him.
"Face…" Murdock whispered. Face shushed him.
"Don't talk. It's alright bud, I've got you. Hold on okay? Can you stay awake?" He asked, already gathering the smaller man into his arms. Murdock's head lolled against his chest and he weakly wrapped an arm around Face's neck.
Jogging back into the more populated area of the park, Face spotted the two men that had mocked him earlier.
"Hey!" He shouted. Any other time, he would have been amused when the guy actually looked frightened to see him, but he was too fucking panicked right now to care.
"Call 911! Now!"
The man almost looked like he was going to argue but he spotted Murdock's limp form in Face's arms and grabbed his cell phone, punching in the numbers. His friend got up and gave Face his jacket, helping him sit Murdock down on the bench and wrap him up in it. Face kept an arm locked around the pilot's shoulders, still rubbing him to try and warm him up.
"Stay with me, Murdock." He whispered as he heard the approaching sirens.
The paramedics arrived and loaded Murdock into the back of the vehicle. They allowed Face to ride with them and soon the Ambulance was speeding away to the hospital.
Face vaguely heard the medics say 'hypothermia' and 'severe' but his full attention was focused on the pilot who, despite his weakened state, had a death grip on his hand. Murdock's fingers were so cold that they started to make Face's hand hurt, but he didn't dare let go. As long as Murdock had his hand, he knew he was alive and awake.
The arrival at the hospital and everything that followed after was a blur. He remembered calling Hannibal and B.A. on the phone, and he remembered signing papers, having enough sense to use the false information he had generated when they arrived in the city, and next thing he knew, he was sitting in a waiting room, holding a cup of coffee that had seemed to appear out of nowhere.
He jumped when Hannibal's hand touched his shoulder, almost spilling his coffee. The older man sat down next to him silently with B.A. taking the chair adjacent to them. No one spoke until the doctor came out and asked for Michael Sullivan. Face stood up and followed the doctor into the back.
"He's not awake but I thought you might want to see him." The doctor said not unkindly. Face nodded and waited until the door shut to approach the bedside. He felt his throat getting tight again when he saw the state of his beloved pilot. He wasn't as pale as he was when Face first found him, but he still wasn't back to his natural golden Texas color. His lips weren't blue anymore; neither were his ears.
He was so still.
Face put his head in his hands and let himself finally cry, feeling personally responsible. He knew better, he fucking knew better. The way that the pilot had been looking at him should have been warning enough that the bottle inside of him was about to pop. A sharp breath from Murdock startled him. His head shot up and he watched as Murdock's eyes slowly opened, rolling around in his head before focusing on the ceiling and then on Face.
"… Face…" Murdock said softly, putting a thousand words into that one. Face forced a smile.
"Hey." Face said, a bit frustrated that his voice sounded weaker than Murdock's own voice.
"How ya feeling?" He said, sounding a little stronger. Murdock had enough strength to quirk a sarcastic eyebrow at the other man.
"Peaches and cream, Faceman." He slurred. Face chuckled.
"I should be chewing your ass out for pulling a stunt like that." He joked. "You son of a bitch." He added lightly. Murdock's eyes danced with amusement for a moment before his mouth pulled into a frown.
"Mind telling the others to quit yelling? They hurtin' m'head…"
Face's smile slipped. Murdock's mouth twitched into a smile but it quickly faded as the pilot slipped back into oblivion. Face felt fresh tears trailing down his cheeks as he reached out to brush some of the hair from Murdock's forehead. The pilot's request made Face fear for what the pilot would be like when he finally regained his coherence.
Murdock embraced his illnesses in a way that most people like him didn't. He hardly minded that sometimes his mind played tricks on him, and he sure as hell didn't mind when sometimes he just zoned out and woke up in a whole other place, and honestly being a walking talking encyclopedia because his brain was unable to forget ANYTHING was incredibly useful, but the one thing that damn near scared him to death was the voices.
Face had only gotten him to talk about the voices once before.
"You ever had someone talk into your ear with a megaphone?" Murdock had said quietly. Face nodded. Murdock took a shaky breath.
"Well that's what it's like. All the time. 'Cept it ain't just one, there's hundreds of 'em. They sit there and yell at me through their damn megaphones, right into my eardrums, saying horrible things, telling me to do stuff. They never stop. They never fucking stop."
The pilot put his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. Face gently pulled them down.
"Do you hear them right now?" He asked. Murdock opened his eyes hesitantly, his eyes flickering around the room before stopping on Face.
"… No I don't hear 'em very much anymore. They're scared of you I think." He said lightly. Face chuckled.
"Good. They should be."
Murdock smiled and Face looked at him seriously.
"Because I will fuck them up if they mess with you."
Murdock cocked his head and gave Face a lopsided smile.
"Faceman, you're crazier than me. You can't beat up a voice. Not 'less you punch someone in the throat, and I'd rather you didn't punch me in the throat. You'll mess up my singin' voice and then they'll kick me outta the Opera."
Face laughed long and hard, promising he wouldn't punch Murdock without a good reason.
Face sat despairingly at Murdock's bedside, fearing the return of the voices. Truth be told, he was probably more afraid of the voices than Murdock was because of what they did to the pilot. It was years ago but the first time Murdock's voices had bothered him while he was with the team, Face had found him curled up in a ball in the bathtub in the bathroom, hands clapped over his ears and rocking back and forth, repeating the words 'go away go away go away'.
Even Face hadn't been able to bring Murdock back to reality that time. In the end, he had been able to do nothing else but sit diligently on the edge of the tub until Murdock realized he was there, looking at Face like he had never seen another human being in his entire life. Face could tell he was embarrassed as he rushed to wipe the tears from his eyes and smiled warily.
"Hey Faceman. Whatcha up to?"
Face didn't answer, instead reaching over and wiping away a renegade tear that had found its way down Murdock's cheek.
"Nothing much. You?" He said, ignoring the fluttering in his chest when Murdock smiled, sighing with relief.
"Nothin'. Just thought I'd have some time to myself. Bathtub's real comfy."
Face had let it go that time, but after the second and third time, the third time being Murdock had actually put a gun to his head and threatened to blow the 'others' out in front of the whole team, freaking out so badly that they had ended up sticking him with the sedation needle they usually reserved for B.A., he had sat Murdock down and demanded to learn about the voices.
The pilot refused to take meds to get rid of the auditory hallucinations, saying they 'messed with his brains, made him feel all funny'. Any time Face even mentioned seeking medical help, Murdock either shut down on him or went completely wacky and skipped off, claiming that he had things to take care of, so Face had stopped suggesting it.
After the incident with the gun, the voices had seemed to just fade away and everyone forgot about it. Face sighed. Forgetting about the fragile state of their pilot's mind was always a mistake. He acted indestructible but they all knew he wasn't really.
The doctor came into the room and told Face that visiting hours were almost over and that they planned to keep Murdock for the night, just to be safe. Face nodded silently and after giving the unconscious pilot one last glance, slipped out of the room and found Hannibal and B.A., explaining the situation.
He tossed and turned all night.
The next day, they picked up Murdock from the hospital. The nurse wheeled him to the door in a wheelchair, not taking him outside until Face and B.A. had opened the van's side doors and helped him inside. After all, it was still snowing so it was better not to take any chances.
For the next three days, Murdock rested in his room with Face watching over him like a hawk. He sleep mostly but while he was awake, he chattered away about nothing in particular. Face was only half listening, watching for warning signs that would tell him if Murdock was fighting off the voices.
He saw none until the fourth day.
He had gone to the kitchen to get them both some lunch and when he returned to the room, the sight that greeted him was nothing less than bad.
Murdock was once again curled in on himself, hands over his ears, rocking. This time however, he was just saying 'it's not true', shaking his head. Face put the tray down and hurried over to the bed, grabbing Murdock's shoulders.
"Hey. Murdock. Hey, look at me."
To his surprise, the pilot actually opened his eyes to look at him, fear coming off of him in waves.
"They're not real okay? The voices are not real. I'm real. Listen to my voice."
Fat tears of frustration leaked out of Murdock's bright eyes and he sucked in a breath before speaking, his voice trembling.
"They're saying… they're saying…" He couldn't seem to get the words out. Face shook his head and took Murdock's face in his hands.
"I don't care what they're saying."
"But—"
"Shh." Face tried again, not expecting Murdock to actually tear away from Face's hands.
"No Face you don't understand! They say you hate me!"
Face jerked back like he had been slapped.
"They say you'll kill me one day." The pilot continued. Face stared, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. Murdock closed his eyes and raked his hands through his hair.
"They say you're just waiting for the right moment, and then you'll get rid of me. I'm a burden on Hannibal, and on B.A., but most of all on you. I'm nothing but a nuisance to you."
"Stop it." Face growled out. Murdock's eyes snapped open and he gawked at Face's expression. He couldn't tell if he was angry or hurt or a mix of the two.
"You stop that. You are not a burden, you hear me."
Murdock opened his mouth to argue and squeaked in surprise when Face sealed his mouth over his, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and holding him tight. He floundered for a moment before Face pulled back, looking anxious.
"That right there is the truth. That's how I feel about you. Hate is the complete opposite of what I feel about you."
Murdock looked pained.
"Make them stop… Please, Face… Please make them stop. They're screaming at me." He said, digging his fingers into Face's shoulder. Face pulled him closer and kissed him again, threading his fingers through the pilot's hair. Murdock's arms came up and circled around his neck, holding on for dear life. Face shifted the pilot into his lap, putting the smaller man's legs on either side of his thighs. Murdock only clung to him tighter, gasping against his mouth, his hot tears landing on Face's cheeks.
"They're lying, Murdock. I don't hate you. I could never hate you. Never."
Murdock sobbed and pressed closer, holding Face so tight that it almost hurt to breathe.
"Look at me." Face said softly and when the pilot didn't seem to hear him, he stroked a hand down his side.
"H.M… Adrian. Look at me."
Murdock jerked in Face's arms, sitting back to stare at him, equal parts shocked and terrified to hear his real name coming from Face's mouth. He didn't think anyone even knew his real name, but of course if someone were to know it, it would be Face.
"I could never ever hurt you. I'd sooner kill myself before I even thought of putting you in danger. You don't put people you love in danger."
Murdock's entire expression softened and Face was relieved to see that he was on the edge of a smile.
"You love me, Temp?" He said almost skeptically. Face shrugged and kept smiling.
"I'd say I'm pretty partial to you, yea."
Murdock wheezed out a laugh, his smile spreading and Face felt like the sun itself had crawled out from behind the clouds, bathing him in warmth.
"I was afraid to tell you because I thought it would fuck everything up." Face admitted, pleasantly surprised when still-too-cool lips pressed against his, making his eyes slide closed. A tongue swept across his bottom lip shyly and he opened up, pulling the exploring muscle into his mouth, sucking gently. The noise Murdock made was divine, a mix between a sigh and a moan. Face curled one arm tighter around Murdock while the other grabbed the man's thigh, pulling him closer, pressing their bodies tighter together.
Murdock jerked back again, scaring Face before pressing a hand to his ear.
"Shut up." He hissed, the scared look coming back to his eyes. Face gently took his hand away from his ear and kissed the palm.
"Don't listen to them. Focus on me. Listen to my voice." He said, letting his voice drop into its lower octave, loving the way Murdock's eyes darkened when he honed in on Face's voice.
"Feel how my hands touch you." He continued, releasing the pilot's hand in favor of running his hands over his sides and thighs, teasing his fingers under the hem of Murdock's worn t-shirt, enjoying how the man shivered slightly.
"Feel my lips on your skin." He murmured, pressing a kiss to the column of Murdock's throat, not expecting the moan that tore its way out of the pilot's mouth as he arched his neck, giving Face more skin to kiss and lick.
"It's just you and me, man. Nobody else." Face said softly, sucking on the spot behind Murdock's ear, stifling a groan of his own when Murdock pressed closer with a whine, his rapidly growing erection trapped between their bodies.
"Just me… and you…" Murdock echoed breathlessly, his eyes closed with a smile on his lips.
"That's right." Face said, cupping the pilot's face and pulling him into another heated kiss. Murdock rocked forward into him, grinding against Face's lap, making him inhale sharply.
"Do you trust me?" Face asked against the pilot's lips. Murdock pulled back and gave him another smile.
"I told you before, Temp. I trust you no matter what."
That was all the answer the conman needed. Carefully, he pulled Murdock's shirt up and over his head, kissing his collarbone as he ran his hands over the newly exposed skin of Murdock's stomach and sides. Murdock's fingers made fast work of the buttons on Face's shirt and he shoved it off of the other man's shoulders, helping Face pull his arms from the sleeves, their mouths connecting once more. Murdock almost considered taking their dog tags off (didn't want to strangle each other), but was quickly distracted by hands undoing his belt.
Face moved so that he was seated on the edge of the bed with Murdock still straddling his lap. He almost protested when the pilot stood up but instead watched with interest as Murdock kicked off his pants and boxers, leaving him standing in front of Face completely naked. For a moment, Face honestly didn't know what to say. There was a time where he wondered if he'd never get to see the Captain's gorgeous body, so he was a little gob smacked now that it was happening.
"How's it fair that I'm naked and you ain't?" Murdock's cranky voice snapped him back to reality. He smiled and undid his own belt, sliding his clothes off and sitting right back down on the bed.
"Happy now?" He asked, not missing the way Murdock's eyes roamed hungrily over his body, studying everything like Face had done only seconds before. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow cockily. He knew he had a great body so he felt a little pride creeping to the surface.
"You gonna stare at me or are you going to come over here?" He asked. He was a little perplexed when Murdock walked around to the front of his bed, digging through his bag. He chuckled when the pilot came back with a small tube, which was promptly tossed onto the bed next to Face.
Murdock slid back onto Face's lap with all the grace of a cat and Face moaned at the skin-on-skin contact, his hands fitting against the small of Murdock's back. The pilot drummed his fingers on Face's shoulders, grinning Face's favorite grin.
"Hold on tight cowboy, cuz I'm about to save a horse by riding you instead."
As cheesy as the line was, it was so like Murdock that Face couldn't help but laugh, accepting the smiling kiss that was pressed to his mouth. He groped around on the bed next to him, finding the tube easily. He deftly popped the top with one hand and reached around Murdock's back with the other, squeezing the gel onto his fingers.
"Sit up a bit." He said. Murdock smiled saucily at him and rolled his hips as he went up on his knees, dragging his leaking erection over Face's abs, leaving a wet trail. The conman spread the gel on his fingers before circling Murdock's entrance and pushing in. The pilot's eyes rolled back in his head and the grip he had on Face's shoulders tightened.
Face worked the finger in and out before adding another finger, and eventually a third finger. By the time he actually pressed down on Murdock's prostate, the man was already shaking and begging for him.
"Oh God, Temp. Please." Murdock moaned, rocking back on the fingers inside him. Face sucked a dark mark into the dip of Murdock's shoulder as he removed his fingers and squeezed out more gel, slicking himself up quickly.
"Hurry up Face." Murdock whined. Face huffed out a laugh, looking up at the flushed face of his pilot.
"Jesus you are impatient."
Murdock's eyes opened and Face was lucky he currently had his hand clamped around the base of his dick, because otherwise he would have come right then and there. Murdock's eyes were nothing but black with a ring of bright teal around them, staring right into Face's very soul it seemed.
"Yea so?" Murdock said, leaning closer to whisper in Face's ear. "What're you gonna do about it?"
Face released his grip on himself in favor of grabbing the pilot's hips and easing him down inch by inch until he was fully seated in Face's lap, both of them panting and staring each other down with eyes on fire.
Murdock was the first to move, lifting and dropping himself experimentally, hissing against the friction. After a few more tiny movements, something happened. Murdock grinned and began rolling his hips like an expert, managing to keep Face inside him without him slipping out by accident. Face's mouth fell open. Even for professionals, that was some difficult shit, and Murdock was doing it like it was as easy as breathing.
Speaking of breathing, Face almost forgot to as he felt his cock sliding against the silky heat inside Murdock, finding he could do little else but press his face to the other man's chest and gasp in time with each roll, hands in a death grip on the Captain's hips, not so much guiding as holding on and feeling each movement.
Murdock was the tide and Face was getting lost in it in every single way possible. The way he smelled like mint, syrup, and hospital antiseptic, the way his voice took on a huskier edge when he moaned, the heavier drawl he got when he cursed and spoke Face's name, the clenching and unclenching of every muscle on his body, the insistent rod of heat that pressed against Face's stomach with each rock of Murdock's body.
Managing to tear his face away from Murdock's skin, the conman wrapped a calloused hand around the pilot's cock, enjoying the choked gasping noise Murdock made as he stared down between them, almost like he was surprised to feel the hand on him. As soon as Face started stroking him however, Murdock's eyes slid closed again and he was leaning back from Face, nails making little red crescents on the conman's shoulders. When he leaned back, he took a little weight off of Face's lap, giving the other man room to lift his hips and meet Murdock's rocking with a thrust of his own.
After a little shifting and readjusting, Face found the right angle and started hitting Murdock's prostate almost every time. The pilot's moans were starting to take on a desperate edge and Face could feel himself nearing the end as well, so with each glide of his hand over Murdock's cock, he brushed his thumb over the head, hearing the high pitched uplift of Murdock's voice every time.
Murdock gasped and Face felt his skin break as the Captain's grip tightened again. The pilot came hard with what was almost a scream, spilling himself onto their stomachs and Face's hand. Murdock clenched down hard around Face, pulling Face into his own shattering orgasm. His free hand scrambled for purchase on Murdock's back, dragging lines down the sweaty skin. His ears rang as he rode out his orgasm by thrusting unevenly into Murdock, hearing the other man moaning softly into his ear.
When the stars finally cleared from his vision, the first thing he noticed was Murdock's head resting on his shoulder. Panting, Face ran his hands over the pilot's quivering thighs, feeling the muscles uncoiling slowly. When Murdock finally lifted his head and smiled at him, his long sweaty hair sticking to his forehead, his eyes half-lidded, Face leaned forward and kissed him softly.
"Wanna know something, Face?" Murdock murmured against his mouth. The conman hummed.
"The others are quiet. See, I told you that they were afraid of you."
Face hummed again as Murdock wiped them off with what he could only assume was the pilot's t-shirt. He felt a little guilty about getting his shirt all dirty, but Murdock didn't seem to mind, taking extra care to clean the cum from Face's abs.
"Why do you have to be so ripped?" The pilot said softly, making Face chuckle. Once they were both clean, including the little droplets of blood on Face's shoulders, Murdock slumped forward onto Face once more, nuzzling against his neck with a sigh. Carefully, Face maneuvered the man off of his lap and onto the bed, moving the shirts out of the way. Murdock gave him a sleepy smile and Face got up, locking the door and grabbing the tray of food that he had left on the table.
"We'll eat after a nap, because you need to eat." He said, smiling when the pilot's hand pawed at his thigh as he passed by, putting the tray down on the desk at the foot of Murdock's bed.
"Come on, Face. I'm tired." Murdock said, his nails leaving tingling trails on Face's skin. The conman grabbed the heavy blanket from his own bed and pulled it over them both, settling down behind Murdock and pulling him back to rest against his chest, wrapping an arm around his middle. Murdock sighed happily through his nose as Face pressed a gentle kiss to his temple.
"I do love you, H.M., and I will never let the voices torture you again." Face said softly, propping himself up on his elbow to look down at the pilot. Murdock's eyes opened slowly and he smiled lazily, dragging Face into a kiss.
"I know. I love you too, Temp." Murdock said before yawning and snuggling closer. Face lay back down and brushed some of the hair from Murdock's forehead before yawning and tucking his face against Murdock's neck, falling asleep to the sound of the pilot's steady pulse in his ear.
The voices never did make another appearance after that.