Title: Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes
Pairing: Chandler/Kent
Rating: R
Summary: McCormack's funeral is a hard day for Kent
Disclaimer: Do not own, never will!
"Unto Almighty God we commend the soul of our brother John, and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection unto eternal life..."
The priest continued the prayer, his soft voice washing over the congregation gathered around the open grave and coffin. The group wasn't big, only about twenty five people, but every single one of them was dressed almost exclusively in black.
The day was cold and gray, as if the weather had decided to mourn their loss too. The wind whipped around their faces, stinging their cheeks and turning their ears and noses pink.
Kent looked around sadly at the people surrounding the coffin. His eyes settling on McCormack's Wife and Girls, all of whom had tears pouring down their faces. The youngest girl, Livie, had her face pressed to her mothers' neck to hide her grief. The young man's gaze continued around the group, looking in turn at the friends and family members of his deceased co-worker, his heart sinking lower and lower with each passing second.
Miles and his wife were standing to Joe's left, both looking sombre, while Mansell and his misses stood to Kent's right. The other DC's eyes were red and puffy; many tears having already fell from them for his friend.
He couldn't stand the sight anymore. Closing his eyes and folding his arms he tried to hold back the tears that blurred his sight, letting the priests' words and smooth voice soothe him.
Kent sighed in relief and gratitude as Joe wrapped his arm around the younger man and pulled him close. He sniffed and tilted his head to the side until he could rest it lightly on the taller man's coat covered shoulder. After a few moments he felt a gentle pressure on the top of his head as Joe placed a small kiss on his dark hair.
Eventually the priest finished the prayer and the coffin was lowered into the ground. As Kent watched this he couldn't stop a tear from escaping, it trickled down his cheek, and was almost immediately wiped away, the young man's finger tips quickly swiping at his face.
Once the funeral was officially finished some of the mourners wandered away immediately, but most stayed in order to give some words of comfort to McCormack's wife and kids. Joe and Kent were among them, but when they were standing in front of the three women, Kent couldn't bring himself to speak at all and just allowed Joe to do all of the talking, however he managed a sympathetic, kind smile as they were walking away.
The two men slowly walked back to the rented car, Joe's arm still wrapped comfortingly around him, for which he was grateful. Once they were moving in the car and had driven out of the cemetery, Kent relaxed completely and slid down slightly in the passenger seat, took a deep breath and closed his eyes again.
"Tired?" Came Joe's sombre voice from the drivers' seat.
"Worn out." the young man agreed, sliding even lower in his seat.
"It's okay, we're going home now."
Kent couldn't help but smile when he heard this, even in the face of this emotional and sad day. The two of them had only been together a few weeks since that night at Buchan's house, but already both men referred to Joe's flat as home, as Kent now spent more time there than he did at his own house.
The rest of the drive passed in silence, one that still held a strong charge of grief in it.
It wasn't long until they were parked outside Joe's building. They quickly went upstairs and entered the flat, both men taking their shoes and coats off and leaving them by the door (each shoe aligned with the wall and its partner).
Kent sighed and walked into the living room and sat down before turning to Chandler who was standing in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of scotch, blended of course. Joe then came back into the living room and sat down next to the young man.
Kent looked at Chandler, observing the strangely blank, expressionless look on his face. After a few seconds Kent gave a small twitch of his lips and shrugged, as if to say 'what can we do?'
Joe frowned and reached out for Kent, pulling him close and wrapping his arms around the smaller frame. Slender arms slipped around Joe's middle, while he buried his face tightly in the older man's chest.
"We all knew this would be a hard day."
"Those poor little girls." Kent whispered, his voice muffled by Joe's shirt. "This sounds horrible. But, I think I hate McCormack a little for doing this to his family..."
"I know, I know." Joe sighed quietly taking a sip of scotch while the fingers of his other hand threaded through Kent's dark curls.
They sat there in silence for a while, Joe occasionally taking a sip of his drink while Kent stared at the floor his eyes dropping almost closed as he shifted slightly against the solid form next to him.
"It's raining." Came Joe's voice a few minutes later, pulling Kent out of his almost slumber. He groaned and sat up.
"Rather appropriate don't you think?" He replied dryly. Kent hated the rain, mainly because he'd never been able to afford a car and always seemed to get caught in it when riding his bike or scooter.
"I'm gonna go and lie down, I'm tired." He sighed, quickly pulling away from Chandler, standing up and leaving the room before the other man had a chance to reply.
He hated seeing the young man like this, sad and lifeless. He hadn't been the same since he'd been attacked; he rarely smiled and when he did he always looked slightly nervous, as if he wasn't sure he should smile. Joe was sure that the attack affected Kent more than he had let on, and whenever he tried to talk about it with him, Kent had always changed the subject. Joe was actually quite worried; it couldn't be healthy for the kid to bundle all of his emotions inside, Joe knew from experience that it never worked and you always felt better once you've talked to someone.
Though Joe was certain that Kent would talk to him when he was ready. So he would wait patiently until that moment came.
The DI sat there for a good half an hour, just contemplating the day's events. McCormack's funeral, his family, his friends, co-workers all gathered to pay their respects. Joe felt slightly like an intruder in a personal moment, he'd never really got to know McCormack, in fact he hadn't even known the names of his kids until the day he died. There was a definite guilt there, knowing that he'd never made the effort.
Joe downed the remaining alcohol and quickly washed the glass up; placing it upside down in the cupboard in the exact place it had been before he's taken it out. He then made his way to the bedroom, slipping off his jacket and tie, once again putting them back in their original places before turning to look at the figure curled under the covers.
Kent had pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged the pillow close, making him look like a little child in the large double bed. Joe briefly noted that Kent had laid his jacket, shirt, trousers and tie neatly on the chair in the corner of the room. The older man quickly removed the rest of his clothing, leaving him in just his underwear.
He silently lifted the covers and climbed in behind the smaller man, immediately spooning up against him, Joe's arms sliding over the t-shirt covered waist.
He'd been laying there for a few seconds when he heard a sniff come from the young man in front of him, followed by a deep exhale and another sniff.
"Kent?" Joe breathed, propping himself up on one elbow and turning the young man over with his other hand.
Kent's brown eyes were watery and tearful, averted from Joe's, his cheeks damp and flushed from being pressed to the pillow so tightly. Kent gave a shaky smile at Joe, his eyes still not meeting the blue ones above him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to see." he apologised, sniffing again and wiping his eyes.
"It's okay. You don't have to hide." the older man murmured.
Kent whimpered as the emotional day got the better of him. Another tear made it's way down the porcelain cheek, following the same path of the previous droplets.
"Joe..." Kent's voice broke halfway through the name, causing Joe's heart to clench in pity for the DC. He had really taken the day's events hard; after all, he'd known McCormack much better than Joe had.
The blond man didn't resist when he felt Kent's fingers slip around the back of his neck and pull him into a damp kiss. He could taste the salty tears on Kent's lips and could feel the dampness transferring to his own face. He didn't care though, and instead gently kissed the DC back, one hand slipping underneath the white t-shirt he was wearing, stroking comfortingly over the warm skin of his stomach.
After a few minutes of gentle exploration their touches quickly became more desperate. Kent pushed his entire body upwards into Joe's, small sounds escaping his lips in between their now frantic, emotion fuelled kisses, while his hands gripped the other man's back hard, pulling him closer, his short nails digging into the flesh.
"Joe..." The way Kent said his name now couldn't have been more different than the previous. Now it was clouded with want instead of misery. "Please..."
The older man smiled down gently at Kent before he latched onto the pale throat beneath him, gently sucking the soft skin. At the same time one hand grasped the bottom of the white t-shirt the smaller man was wearing, and with some effort Joe managed to pull it over Kent's head, detaching his lips from the exposed neck for only a mere second and leaving both men in just their underwear.
"Please..." Came another breathless plea from above Joe, who was busying himself placing kisses along the prominent collarbone now on show.
A few seconds passed before Joe felt Kent's hands leave his back, sliding lower until they came to his last item of clothing. His fingers slipped beneath the material easily and quickly pushed it down, leaving the older man in all of his glory. Joe didn't hesitate in reciprocating, hurriedly pulling down the black boxers and throwing them to the side (he planned to pick them up later!).
Both men could now feel their arousal pressing against one another, their breath coming out in loud pants and sweat starting to appear on their foreheads and chests. Kent unconsciously raised his knees on either side of Joe's waist, allowing them to be closer and the friction to increase.
Joe's hand travelled down the slender body and ran along the underside of the thigh that curled around his waist, feeling the young man shiver from the gentle touch. His fingers explored further and under, brushing over the just healed wounds on Kent's backside.
The dark haired man had at first had been very hesitant to let Joe see the results of his encounter with the Krays, and Joe would admit that he had been shocked at the size of the slashes and just how sore they had looked, but he had tried not to show it. Pity and sadness had fought with a surge of anger inside the DI at what had been done to Kent. He wanted to cry at the sight, curse the Krays and rip them apart with his bare hands for touching and hurting the young man so. But instead he had just been there and hugged the DC to him every time he woke from a nightmare and every time he had to go for embarrassing checkups; just being there to help.
Now Kent was much more comfortable with Joe seeing and touching the scars. It still hurt though sometimes, as they were still relatively new wounds.
He was brought back to the moment when Joe suddenly pushed his hips forward into his, causing them both to moan loudly at the shock of pleasure this caused. The younger man breathlessly reunited his lips with their partners, the two of them continuing to move against each other, the pressure building.
Fingers were suddenly running through Joe's hair, messing up the style, and short fingernails digging into his scalp, but he didn't really care, and just continued to move, panting harshly into Kent's mouth, determined not to break the kiss.
Soon the younger man arched up against Joe, letting out a sharp cry as he came, with the other man following mere seconds later with a low moan. He sank against the smaller body underneath him, resting his forehead against Kent's, feeling the dampness and chill of the sweat that started to cool against their skin.
Eventually their breathing slowed, but they could still feel each other's hearts thumping strongly against their chests.
The younger man leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Joe's. The kiss didn't last long, just a brush of lips, before Chandler sighed contently and moved off of the small form and rolled to the side. He could feel the stickiness on his stomach from their activities and was about to get up to clean it off when Kent silently shuffled towards him and laid his head on the still damp chest, arms wrapping around his waist and dark curly hair tickling his skin.
Joe smiled, all thoughts of cleaning himself completely gone from his head once he looked down at the younger man's face. Now tear-free, gently flushed from exertion and relaxed in a near-sleep state.
He looked beautiful.
The blonde man allowed the fingers of one hand to run through the dark tresses, the simple action lulling him into sleep as well, all of the tension from today flowing out of both of them.
Just as he was about to succumb to slumber he heard a quiet whisper that could barely be heard over the lashing of the rain on the windows.
"Thank you..."
Joe smiled again, not opening his eyes as he pulled Kent closer to him under the warm covers, their own little cocoon where no one could hurt them; not the Ripper, not the Krays, nor any other person.
Knowing this and hugging the young man to him tightly, Joe lay there contently and silently, listening to the sound of the rain outside.