Ambiguous

"Come on. You've been working on that article nonstop all week. And without your glasses at that. You're gonna develop bad posture if you keep it up," Gabriel said. "Come and eat at least."

"No time," Jack said as he sat at his desk in his 'office', which was really just the little basement of their house. His body was terribly arched into a position that Gabriel was sure wasn't comfortable and his face was so close to the computer screen that Gabriel wondered how Jack could even see.

"I have to get this article done by the end of this weekend or it's lights out for me. I can't afford to miss anymore deadlines," Jack told him with his nose practically pressed against the computer screen.

Jack wrote articles and reviews in a pretty popular magazine and Gabriel was in juvenile justice, both having previously served in the military. They were housemates and had been dating off and on for the past 10 years. Unfortunately, both of them had bouts of burying themselves in their work, so their relationship as lovers never worked out. Yet for some reason, they couldn't seem to stay away from each other, so they remained living together and they remained best friends. Currently their relationship as lovers, however, is in "off" position.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "You know, if you'd buckle down early and do a little planning, you wouldn't get down to the wire like this. It's the same every deadline. You goof off once you get an assignment, then for the last week you're working your butt off."

"Yeah, well, I'm more creative when I'm under pressure," Jack said. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"Couldn't you just consider the other people you work with for once? They'll be rushed too. They can't finish their work until you send in your work," Gabriel reminded him.

Jack waved Gabriel away. "I'm working here. Could you give me a little space to concentrate?"

Gabriel looked at him angrily, but Jack didn't see it. The blond's face was still glued to his work. "You should at least take the time to find your glasses."

"Gabe, please," Jack murmured.

So Gabriel just groaned and stomped out of the room.

And once again he had to eat alone. Since this was his weekend off, he was kind enough to cook for them, something he rarely ever did. Usually Jack did all the cooking.

As he shoved Brussel sprouts into his mouth, he thought about Jack's behavior earlier. He wasn't his usual self. The blond had been much too serious and he'd put his hand to his head. Maybe Jack was stressed out. Of course he's stressed. He's waited himself into a corner. This is what he gets for procrastinating, Gabriel thought.

He looked toward the basement door and frowned. He skipped breakfast. This isn't a healthy lifestyle at all, Gabriel thought. But what can I do about it? It's not like he'll listen to me anyway.

And so he gave up on thinking about Jack. The only way he could do that was to bury himself in his own work. And since he didn't have to work this weekend, the only answer was house work. Their garage needed to be organized anyway.

-later...

Jack slowly emerged from his workroom with his hand to his head. This was strange. His head was killing him. Maybe he should have listened to Gabriel and taken a break. His neck and body felt stiff, tense. He couldn't seem to relax at all.

He walked over to the stove and looked in the pots that had been left there. Yuck. Brussel sprouts. Nonetheless, he prepared his plate and sat alone at the dining room table, simply staring at his plate for a moment.

Just then Gabriel came back into the house, sweaty and looking tired. "You finally made it out of the basement, huh?" Gabriel asked breathlessly. "Did you get finished?"

Jack closed his eyes and rested his head on his hands. "Nah. I couldn't concentrate. I've got this headache that just won't go away. And it's only getting worse."

Gabriel looked concerned. "Headache?" He made his way over to Jack and put his hand on the blond's forehead to feel for his temperature. "Well, you don't have a fever. Maybe you're just hungry. Eat your food."

Jack obeyed, surprisingly enough, and Gabriel just folded his arms and patiently watched him.

"You know, you don't have to do this. We're not dating anymore," Jack mumbled between forkfuls.

"Just because we're not dating doesn't mean that I don't care about your well-being," Gabriel said. "We're friends first and foremost. Remember that." He looked Jack over. "Is it getting any better?"

Jack shook his head.

"Well, I'll get you a couple of aspirin," Gabriel told him. He left the room for a moment, then returned with the pills, taking a seat at the table next to Jack. "But I want you to relax. Stop staring at that computer for a while. Stop bending your body into positions it wasn't meant for," Gabriel told him.

That last statement almost made Jack choke on his food. "Now that was something you never said while we were dating."

Gabriel's dark skin turned a deep shade of red.

"Now that I think about it, I never felt like this when we were dating. It's only when we're not dating that my body starts to ache like this," Jack went on, simply looking at the aspirin Gabriel brought him.

Gabriel looked confused. "This has happened before?"

"That's not my point."

"But it's relevant."

Jack ignored his statement. "Maybe I just need to get laid. It couldn't hurt to get back into the dating world."

Gabriel froze. He hadn't thought about Jack actually wanting to start dating again. Especially when it didn't involve him. "That...might help," was all he could say.

The blond frowned. "But I've still gotta get my work done this weekend, so I won't have time to date and get to know someone before I can get them into bed." He thought for a moment, then looked at Gabriel slyly.

Gabriel sighed. "Real romantic, Jack." He wasn't even paying attention to the fact that Jack was looking at him.

"I kinda wish there were a more convenient way to go about it," Jack continued. "Maybe if there were someone around who I already knew and who I've already slept with."

Gabriel glanced at Jack out of the corner of his eye and saw the look on his face. "I hope you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

"Oh, come on. Neither of us has dated anyone for a few months," Jack said. "Which means neither of us has had sex in a few months. Now I don't know about you, but 'solo missions' just aren't doing the trick."

" 'Solo missions'? I guess that's what you'd call it," Gabriel commented, his face reddening again. "So you've been doing that?"

"Of course. Haven't you?" Jack asked.

"Well, no. I only get every other weekend off and...and I'm not comfortable doing it while you're around," Gabriel explained. "You have a tendency to just show up at inopportune moments."

"So, you're saying you really haven't masturbated for the last few months? Not even when you're in bed?" Jack asked.

Gabriel looked away. "I already said I haven't, so stop asking."

"Then you're waaaaaaaaay overdue for some action," Jack said. He stood and moved closer to Gabriel. "Come on. It's just a one time thing. We don't have to make anything out of it. We can go back to being just friends. What do ya say?"

"I don't think so," Gabriel said plainly.

"Oh, come on. Don't say no to me. I mean, didn't you just say that you care about my well-being? Shouldn't you do something about it? You have the only cure I can think of." He wriggled his eyebrows. "So let's hop into bed and take care of this."

"I said no. Don't bring up my own statements against me either. You're just twisting them to mean what you want them to mean, as usual. Just because I care about your well-being doesn't mean I'll do ANYTHING to make you feel better. Finish eating your food and get some rest. That's probably all you need anyway."

"I know what I need and it's got nothing to do with rest," Jack said. He ran his fingers through Gabriel's hair. "I mean, I don't understand why not. It's not like something bad will happen. It's sex with no strings attached. Besides, the minute the thought came to mind, I got all worked up."

"Too bad," Gabriel said, swatting Jack's hand away. But of course he was curious, so his eyes wandered to the tell-tale tenting of Jack's pants and he rolled his eyes.

Jack, however, smirked. "What are you looking at?"

"Jack, we're not dating anymore," Gabriel said. The blond had placed his hands on his chest and he just looked at them.

"Okay, that's fair enough," Jack said, gently stroking Gabriel's pecks. "How about this? If you tell me that you really don't want to, then I'll leave you alone."

"I really don't want to," Gabriel said slowly.

"You're lying. It's been months and you haven't even touched yourself. You must be about ready to pop," Jack whispered in Gabriel's ear. "Maybe I should stop while I'm ahead. I doubt you'd be able to hold out until the end anyway."

And of course, that was the final straw for Gabriel. Jack may as well have issued a formal declaration of war. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means this," Jack said. He unbuttoned and unzipped Gabriel's jeans, sending one hand inside to fiddle about. Gabriel was immediately panting and Jack couldn't help grinning. "See? You need this just as much as I do."

Gabriel continued to let out short little gasps, but looked Jack in the eyes. "You...caught me by...surprise..., that's all," he said between pants. As soon as he began thrusting his hips up to guide Jack's strokes, the blond took his hand away, leaving Gabriel looking completely astounded.

"Now tell me you don't want to," Jack said, his smirk becoming more playful.

"Jack," Gabriel all but whined.

Had Jack not been so needy himself, he would have laughed out loud at his friend. "Come on. We can continue this in my bedroom," he whispered, taking Gabriel by the hand and leading the way.

There was no argument that Gabriel could have possibly made that would have convinced Jack that he wasn't looking forward to this. His body had so enthusiastically answered to Jack's touch and now his mind was filling with a lusty haze.

Gabriel allowed Jack to pull him onto the bed and his blond friend kissed him relentlessly as they both sat on their knees.

Jack sighed contently until Gabriel pulled away. "What? What's wrong?"

"Should we...really kiss like this?" Gabriel asked. "I mean, you said that we're not making anything of this. Kissing is more for couples, don't you think?"

"Come on. Don't get so technical on me. Besides, I'm just doing what feels good. And kissing you has always felt good," Jack said as he pulled Gabriel close for another mind-numbing kiss. His tongue slowly explored Gabriel's mouth, extracting a quiet moan from his dark-skinned companion. And as he expected, the ever-reluctant Gabriel presented no further objections.

And while Jack was very much looking forward to sex, his lips seemed to want to stay in contact with Gabriel's. So much so, in fact, that the blond couldn't seem to concentrate on anything else.

Gabriel's hands, however, wandered underneath Jack's shirt to finger his warming skin as he slowly lowered the blond onto the bed. For someone who supposedly 'didn't want to', Gabriel sure seemed ready for the next step. Unfortunately, Jack wouldn't stop kissing him and Gabriel could barely breathe because of it. Yet the blond's enthusiasm was turning him on so much that he couldn't stand it.

He fumbled to relieve Jack of his pants, all the while the blond's arms around him. And all the while Jack stroked Gabriel's tongue with his own.

Gabriel was so distracted that he didn't even realize that they were both panting and moaning desperately. Nor did he realize that he was rubbing his hardness against Jack's thigh. He broke away from the blond's kisses long enough to murmur, "Jack. Now."

"Hey, you haven't even prepped me yet," Jack said. "It's been a while, you know."

The little disappointed sound Gabriel made caused Jack to chuckle a little. His friend was desperate now and with the way his body was trembling, Jack was almost positive that Gabriel wouldn't last much longer. "Would you like to cum once before we get started?" Jack whispered.

Gabriel lay his head on Jack's shoulder and sighed. "Yeah. Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I'm glad you're this excited. But we might want to take your clothes off first," Jack told him. He helped remove all of Gabriel's clothes, then quickly finished removing his own. The blond could only stare at the dark-skinned man's twitching need, swollen and with a clear droplet residing at the tip.

Gabriel lowered himself onto Jack so that their lengths pressed against one another's, both moaning quietly from the contact.

It wasn't until Gabriel started moving his hips that Jack realized what was happening. "Hold on. We were just letting YOU cum," Jack reminded him

"You should too," Gabriel said breathlessly.

Jack was completely turned on by the wanton expression on Gabriel's face. It had been so long since Gabriel lost control like this that he wasn't sure whether he wanted to tease him or be entirely devoured by him. He put his arms around the dark-skinned man and moved his own hips to his slightly arrhythmic motion. And when he heard Gabriel moan his name, his body went into a heated overdrive.

It only took a few more thrusts before they each climaxed, spraying their milky excitement all over each other's abs.

Gabriel didn't bother to finish catching his breath. He soaked his index and middle fingers in their combined fluids.

Jack already knew what he was preparing for, so he moved into a position that would give Gabriel better access to his goal. The blond was on all fours with his top half lying across one of their pillows.

Thankfully their self-made lubricant hadn't gone cold yet as Gabriel let a little of the liquid drip from his fingertips between Jack's spread cheeks. He teased the blond's opening a bit before slowly sliding his two fingers inside.

"Mm, Gabe," Jack moaned, doing his best to look back at him. "I keep lube in the drawer. The nightstand."

"I remember," Gabriel murmured. He gently began fondling Jack's opening with his semen-covered fingers while his free hand groped around in the drawer to find the lube. Once found, he drizzled a generous amount onto his fingers as he carefully prodded the blond's entrance.

Jack's moaning was increasing in volume with each slow thrust of Gabriel's fingers. The dark-skinned man could feel himself stiffening yet again. He added a third finger and his length twitched when he heard Jack gasp. Nevertheless, he had the common courtesy to stop and ask, "You okay?"

The blond chuckled a bit. "It hasn't been THAT long. Now take those fingers out. I'm ready."

Gabriel didn't like being told what to do, especially by a man he was no longer dating. But he was far too needy to complain. The dark-skinned man quickly coated his cock with lube and gently pushed himself inside Jack's entrance. It had been so long since he'd felt the warmth of Jack's tightness around him that he almost lost control. He wanted to ram himself deep inside the blond right away, but he kept himself together for the time being.

"It's been so long," Jack murmured, pushing his hips back against Gabriel. "Feels good."

The older man hadn't realized that he'd been holding back moans until one escaped his throat. He began a slow, yet familiar rhythm, thrusting in and out of Jack. Gabriel was reminded of how Jack moved against him, how Jack smelled, how Jack's pelvis felt as Gabriel gripped him, how Jack made those delicious sounds when Gabriel delved inside him.

He leaned down and kissed the back of the blond's neck out of habit—a habit he thought he'd broken the last time they broke up.

"More, Gabe," Jack moaned beneath him.

Gabriel obeyed yet again, thrusting his length in to the hilt. He was beginning to feel that his body was no longer his to control. He'd lost command of his muscles to this man who'd practically tricked him into sex. Yet Gabriel's only audible complaint came out as a series of soft moans and grunts.

"Kiss me more, Gabe," the blond ordered, moving harder and faster against his dark-skinned friend.

Just as if he were some voice-activated toy, Gabriel leaned down and kissed the back of Jack's neck again. And Jack felt so good around him that he couldn't help probing into him harder and faster as well. As he approached climax he grasped Jack's hips and his own hips moved in rapid, yet shallow thrusts.

Without thinking Gabriel reached around to fondle Jack's testicles for a bit before he lost all control and spilled his seed. And even though he hadn't touched Jack's cock, he could feel the blond's body spasming as he climaxed.

The two lay beside each other wordlessly until their breathing slowed. As soon as Jack began moving closer to Gabriel, the dark-skinned man stopped him. "What are you doing?" Gabriel asked.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm kissing you," Jack told him.

"I already told you that's for couples," Gabriel said.

"Well, you shoulda thought of that before you decided not to pull out. You just blew your load inside me and I can't even get a little afterglow kiss?" Jack complained.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Fine." He gave Jack a brief kiss on the lips.

Unfortunately for Gabriel, that brief kiss brought about a second, slightly longer kiss. Then Jack's tongue danced around Gabriel's lips until the older man opened up to him, allowing Jack to deepen the kiss as much as he wanted. And of course Gabriel couldn't help reciprocating.

"I'm exhausted," Jack whispered against Gabriel's lips. "Will you take a nap with me?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes yet again. "Fine. But you have to finish working on your article as soon as we wake up."

Jack gave Gabriel another smoldering kiss. "What do I get if I get it done?"