Title: I Wanna See You Strut
Rating: R? It doesn't get smutty, though.
Pairing: Ryan/Esposito
Warnings: Cross-dressing (kind of)
Word Count: 1950
Summary: Esposito finds out that maybe he doesn't know his best friend as well as he thought he did.
A/N: Written for the lovely coffeebuddha - I hope you like this, darling! Title from "Strut" perf. by Adam Lambert. Beta'd by my amazing roommate who puts up with my fangirling. This is my first time writing this pairing or this fandom, so concrit would be appreciated.
When Javier let himself into Ryan's apartment for their usual Friday night Madden, he was expecting to find Ryan on the couch, the TV already on, and a pizza and two beers on the coffee table. Instead he was met with an empty couch, an equally empty coffee table (at least of important things like pizza and beer; yesterday's newspaper wasn't worth notice), and some pop-sounding beat coming from the bedroom. He shrugged out of his coat and tossed it onto the couch before turning down the hallway to investigate.
As Javier walked down the hallway to the master bedroom, the music got louder, seeping out of the open doorway, following the light spilling out onto the hall floor. It was something that belonged in a club, not in Kevin's bedroom. The woman singing over a beat seemed completely out of place in an apartment with a vintage Godzilla movie poster prominently displayed in the living room. But even this incongruity didn't prepare him for what he saw when he rounded the corner.
There was his partner, a hardened though still cheerful NYPD homicide detective, dancing shirtless around his bedroom as he clasped the buckles that ran up the side of his… skirt. Javier had seen Kevin in a kilt before – the man was boldly Irish, for god's sake – but this was nothing like his modest family tartan. This was actually a lot like one he'd seen on his niece's little emo-goth teenage babysitter.
It was a black, pleated little thing with the two silver closures that rested on Kevin's left hip at the waistband. It was way too short (or not short enough, a small voice in his head commented unhelpfully) and when Kevin pranced his writhing hips in between Javier and the full-length mirror on his wall that his partner loved to tease him about, Javier could see that it also rested way too low. He could see the trail of soft hairs leading down from his navel and the low waistband only accentuated the V-shape formed by Kevin's hips and trim muscle.
It was also at this juncture that Kevin noticed Javier through his reflection, still standing in the doorway, and either didn't notice or chose to ignore the remarkable impression of a big-mouth bass that Javier was currently working. He looked confused for a second, but his expression smoothed into an easy smile as he turned to face his guest.
"Javi, what are you doing here?" he asked.
His question was met with complete silence as Javier tried and failed to grasp onto one of the many questions flying through his head. He did however succeed in not blurting out his question about why the fuck his partner was in a skirt. He also succeeded in bitch-slapping the little voice in his head that suggested he ask what Kevin had on underneath.
Ryan's smile turned from "welcome" to "amused" at the lack of a response and turned to rummage in his closet, digging out a flimsy bundle of fabric. When he put it on, it turned out to be a two-layer mesh shirt, black over vibrant blue and instantly drawing Javier's eyes to the way that it hugged and showed off the definition of the pectorals and abs of the man he sparred with on a regular basis.
"I promised Danny I'd go with him to the Gender Bender Ball tonight, remember? I know I told you about that."
Javier had seen his partner in various stages of undress over the years, and they'd drunkenly fucked a time or three, but somehow he'd never seen Kevin look quite so like he was on display as he did at this moment. And hundreds of people were apparently about to see it. When he felt his fists clench without permission at his sides, he wasn't sure if it was from the jealousy and possessiveness that clenched in his chest or the lust that curled low in his gut as Kevin bent over to pull out a pair of three-inch, stiletto-heeled, lace-up, knee-high boots.
Thousands more questions flew through Javier's head, ranging from Where did you get those clothes to When did you tell me about this 'ball' and why do I not remember to How the FUCK did I not know you owned stuff like this? Instead of any of those, or any more reasonable responses he may have had to Kevin sitting down on the foot of his bed to lace up those ridiculously sexy boots, what came out was:
"Did you shave your legs?" His partner and best friend, whom he apparently didn't know at all, just huffed out a laugh, a knowing light in his eyes at the slight roughness in Javier's voice.
He stood and walked with the confidence of a man who'd worn high heels on more than a few occasions and casually tossed a "Silky smooth" over his shoulder as he passed Javier to walk into the bathroom.
Javier was struck dumb again for a few more moments, but apparently certain other parts of his anatomy had taken enough of an interest for his legs to instinctively follow Kevin into the tiny bathroom. Once inside the doorway, he was paralyzed once more at the sight of that damn skirt hiked up again as Kevin leaned over the sink to expertly apply liquid eyeliner that just made his Irish eyes seem that much brighter. It wasn't fair really, and from the smirk on Kevin's face he knew exactly what it was doing to Javier. Hell, all he'd have to do to know for sure was look at the crotch of his (now much too tight) jeans.
When Kevin moved onto styling his hair – with gel that apparently had glitter in it – Javi made a valiant effort to focus on what the gorgeous man in front of him was saying. It sounded kind of important; his voice was full of pride as he said something about how happy he was to be able to support his cousin, how he was so glad Danny was getting a bit more social, and then his tone turned annoyed when he mentioned something about the reactions of some members of his family.
But honestly? Javier only got the barest understanding of what he was saying. He just couldn't tear his attention away from between the bottom of that thing masquerading as a shirt and the thicker fabric of the skirt – the delicious looking strip of skin that showed when Kevin had lifted his hands above his head. It was pale and looked so smooth and he could feel his fingers itching to touch; his focus slipping further from the very one-sided conversation as he desperately tried to refrain from groping his partner.
He really wasn't sure what reaction that would get. After all, drunken groping was different than sober groping. Drunken groping had the veil of inebriation to hide behind. Somehow the veil of lust seemed a little more flimsy as an excuse to use with his very male best friend – even if said male was also very scantily clad.
But Javier's determined decency was royally screwed when the music changed as Kevin was putting the final touches on his hairstyle. This song had a slower, deeper, more sensual beat accompanying a smoky baritone and his partner was apparently unable to keep his hips in place any longer. As they started to rock back and forth in rhythm with the music, Javier was drawn in. The hips stopped moving when his fingers found that warm, smooth skin, familiar but somehow entirely new as his fingers curled around pale hips and his palms came to rest on firm flesh. His gaze moved upward and met Kevin's in the mirror.
Kevin's eyes were even more startling when outlined in black, and while his partner quickly hides his surprise at the familiar feel of Javier's calloused palms, he can't hide the fact that his pupils aren't as small as they should be in the bright light shining from above the mirror.
When Kevin turns around to face him, Javier has to repress a shudder as his hands slid along that soft skin stretched over hard muscle and sharp bone. He was pressed so close that Javier could barely see more than the handsome face and tantalizing neck in front of him. Kevin's head was tilted up slightly to look into his eyes – just right so that a few centimeters closer and their lips would fit together perfectly.
Blue eyes search his own brown ones and they must find whatever it is they're looking for. Kevin's eyes flit between Javier's mouth and eyes a few times, but the heavy-lidded gaze stays almost defiantly locked with his own as one pale hand is lifted to rest on his chest, causing the muscle to unconsciously tense underneath the touch. Kev's other hand gently but firmly grasps one of Javier's and Javier can see the smaller man swallow nervously as he moves the hand from his hips down to the bare skin of his thigh.
Kevin's breathing hitches and speeds up as he moves Javier's hand up against (silky smooth) pale skin, up under the skirt, his eyes almost challenging as he licks his lips, until tan fingers brush against lace and with a deep groan, Javier loses his control.
The slighter man lets out a grunt as he's pushed against the edge of the sink, his lips crushed in a bruising kiss. Hands grip Kevin's thighs, pulling both of his legs up to wrap around strong hips and his arms instinctively wrap around muscular shoulders, levering himself up to place all of his weight on the broad frame of his partner. Javier moves his hands back under the skirt, pulling Kevin tighter to him and drawing out a groan from both of them as he palms the firm, lace-covered skin he finds underneath.
The music shifts again as Javier carries his partner to the bedroom. A strong, sultry tenor sings out over an even stronger beat and Javier dumps Kevin onto the bed, landing heavily on top of him and running his hands along the thighs wrapping around his waist. He breaks away from the kiss to let Kevin rip his t-shirt off over his head and dives back in for more from the kiss-swollen mouth grinning up at him. He breaks away again with a groan at the feeling of the leather from Kevin's boots pressing into the skin of his lower back, the strong legs pushing their groins together with the most delicious friction.
When Kevin reaches to unclasp his skirt, Javier bats his hands out of the way, rasping out an order, "Keep the skirt on," that has Kevin biting his lower lip, still smiling as he tries to stifle a groan at the heated look Javier is giving the tented black fabric.
God, he looked beautiful, splayed out on the bed, hair a mess, glitter on his face and spreading to the comforter as he writhed under Javier's touch, tan hands pushing up the mesh shirt and drawing out another moan as a hot mouth joined them on the flushed planes of his abdomen. Fuck, they should have done this sober a long time ago.
Hands were roaming over skin on his broad shoulders as Kevin murmured between gasping breathes and soft noises, "I need to – ah – let Danny know I'll be late. Fuck, Javi."
Not stopping his kisses to Kev's skin, Javier removed his hands to dig through his pockets and slipped his own cell phone into Kevin's grasp. Pulling out a breathless laugh from Kevin, Javier practically growls a word into the smooth skin beneath his lips:
"Multi-task."