[[AN: WARNING. Explicit M/M this chapter! ]]
When Jimmy awoke, he felt a disoriented sensation encompassing his senses. It reminded him of a time when he was quite young, and his mother would take him by the hand and spin him. The world would begin to swirl about, and he was in the very center, twirling faster and faster until he finally lay sprawled on the floor, succumbing to his dizziness and giggling peals of delight as he caught his breath.
Now, as shafts of light filtered through the bedroom's window to glare into his eyes, Jimmy found himself struggling to remember what had happened. He lifted his head, gasping in alarm before dropping back down upon his pillow. Sharp pains rushed across his temples, throbbing unrelentingly.
"Wait it out for a moment; the pain should fade."
Could it be? Such a lovely voice could only belong to one person.
"Thomas." Jimmy gargled. It came out as "Thu...musssss..." with a pillow muffling his mouth.
"The one and only, I hope." Jimmy could practically envision the amused smile.
Forcing himself now, the blond managed to prop up on an elbow as the waves of pain ebbed back and forth.
He failed to conceal his shock.
Parallel to his bunk, Thomas lay in another, one hand clutching a book. His other injured hand was attached to a very broken arm encased in a sling. Jimmy's widened eyes slid to the under-butler's face. Aside from a few minor cuts and new bruises, a large bandage adorned Thomas's nose.
His nose and arm were broken.
All because of Jimmy. It was his fault, really. Because of his stupid past mistakes that came back to haunt them both.
"...s'not as bad as you make it out to be. I've sustained far worse." Thomas's smile was tight. He glanced back down to his book, struggling briefly to flip a page.
"Thomas." Jimmy breathed. He felt wetness spiking at the corners of his eyes.
Thomas turned to face him, closing his book. "You were brave, Mr. Kent..." He smiled affectionately.
Jimmy returned the smile despite the incessant ache in his jaw. "Very brave..." He recalled the words with a certain fondness, trying hard not to sniffle. The blond managed to angle his head toward the other. "How bad do I look?"
Thomas smirked, shaking his head. "You couldn't look bad if you so desired to." Yet Jimmy noticed as his eyes lingered over certain areas. He brought a hand to his face, tracing tracks of stitches stamped along his temple.
"I'm ruined..." he moaned.
"Nonsense. Dr. Clarkson estimates you'll heal up as good as new within weeks." Thomas assured him.
Weeks? As in possibly a month?
Jimmy sighed, feeling his ribs creak in protest as he exhaled. Even twitching his fingers proved to be a staggering task. He noted how raw his knuckles were.
He paused. "What about work?"
"Carson's given us an ample amount of time in order to recover." Thomas answered, mollifying him.
"You should see those other blokes." He added, a faint trace of jest ghosting his tone.
Jimmy shifted up, gasping in harsh breaths of air. "They better be immobile...!" he wheezed. He leant forward, head suddenly dizzy as the blood rushed down, a torrent pounding harshly past his ears.
"You best rest up, Jimmy." Thomas warned him. The usual authoritative tone he implemented was overridden with concern.
"Worry about me later," the footman managed, voice breathy from exertion. He swung his legs over the bed, staggering to his feet. When he reached Thomas' bunk, Jimmy had to catch his breath. He haphazardly hoisted himself up, sighing in relief when the older male pulled him in flush with his good arm. "Good god! What a trip..." He muttered, nestling into the ebony-haired man's warm chest. He relished in feeling Thomas' laugh vibrate against his cheek.
Before his brain could register his movements and convert them into an excruciating equation of pain, Jimmy shifted to press a soft kiss to Thomas's lips.
The other man responded tenderly, running a thumb delicately along Jimmy's cheek.
"And you were just beginning to look decent..." Jimmy murmured, nuzzling under Thomas's chin and tracing a finger along the contours of Thomas's bandaged nose.
Thomas smiled, tilting his head so his mouth pressed against Jimmy's palm. "I'd rather bear a few bruises for an eternity than see you ache for more than a passing second." His lips molded the words against Jimmy's palm, delicately branding him. Good lord, the man could be lyrical when he felt like it!
The blond splayed a hand across Thomas chest, the pads of his fingers catching in the thin cotton. "I love you, Thomas Barrow. More than the stars themselves." Ever the poet.
The under-butler smiled. "And I you."
They leaned in to one another, lips meeting in slow movements. Jimmy trailed his fingers along the side of Thomas's cheek, catching and gently tugging his dark locks of hair, pressing his mouth closer. He gave a soft appreciative moan as the older man ran a tongue across his lips, tracing them.
Thomas pulled back, devilish smile in place.
Jimmy sighed. "Quit being such a bloody tease..." he scowled, sliding his hand down, wanting to feel around between Thomas's legs.
Thomas caught his wandering fingers. "Don't fool around. You're to rest and recover."
Jimmy merely smirked in response, glancing at Thomas's other, casted arm. "If you can get both your hands about me, I'll quit."
The taller sighed, exasperation creasing his brow. "You know very well I'm physically unable to do that."
Jimmy's smirk grew. "As for other physical maneuvers, however..." he freed his hand from the other's grasp, using it to shift their positions, his hips now aligned with Thomas's.
Drawing himself up, the blond gave an experimental nudge of his lower torso. "Come now, I hear it's the best way to cure pain."
Thomas smiled in response, placing a finger against the swell Jimmy's lips. "That's an outright fib, it is."
He slid his good arm around the younger's lower back, decidedly pressing him closer. "But I suppose I can let it slide just this once." He debated, fingers skimming just above the waistband of Jimmy's trousers, lingering before deciding to trail upward instead, beneath the footman's undershirt.
The blond lay there, enjoying the soft caresses along his spine. Each fleeting touch left his skin aflame. He reached his hands down, pulling his shirt over his head, revealing lavender bruises smattered against his torso. Thomas gingerly grazed his fingertips along the discolorations, his soft touches evoking shivers from Jimmy. He bore his thumb down upon a few, eyes never leaving Jimmy's as he tested their tenderness.
Jimmy started to raise Thomas's shirt, but the older male's sling complicated the task. Thomas merely raised his brows, amused. "Don't worry about it. Just be glad me legs aren't broken," he teased, a finger swirling against Jimmy's hipbone. The blond laughed quietly, rolling his hips forward. They both inhaled sharply, welcoming the friction, though Thomas had started to roll Jimmy off. Concern was etched over his usual canvas of devoid emotion. "We probably shouldn't..."
"No." Jimmy said, stilling momentarily. "I want to be with you. Properly."
Thomas gave him a pointed look. "What if someone were to come in? The door isn't bolted."
Jimmy started to turn his head toward the door but Thomas caught his jaw with his free hand. He forced Jimmy to look at him. "What then?" he demanded.
To his credit, the blond stared at him impassively. "But it won't happen." He moved to kiss Thomas, but the other kept him in at bay, grip tightening.
"Jimmy, really."
Jimmy emitted a frustrated moan. "To hell with the lot of 'em! I don't care, I can't find the time to care when I want to be w'you!" His cheeks grew red in colour as he glowered down at the man beneath him.
"You'll care when you're behind bars! Certainly then!"
"Why have you suddenly decided to be such an arse?"
"When did you become so indiscreet?"
"When you became a stupid twit who cares too much of what others won't see!"
Jimmy seethed out his last words as he scowled at Thomas. The man had no right to lay there, all smug about being paranoid.
He wrenched his chin from the other's grasp, about to give him a good reason or two why he was right and Thomas was wrong.
Yet...perhaps he was right, though... If someone were to walk in, what then? The blond slumped his shoulders in defeat, moving to slink back to his bunk. Thomas gripped him by the arm. He was grinning madly.
"The door was bolted the whole time, James," he laughed in a singsong tone. "Silly boy."
"Ohhh you big oaf!" Jimmy made out to smack him, instead opting to crash their lips together in a mad haste of angered lust. Said anger dissolved when he felt Thomas's tongue press against and into his mouth, the warmth of his lips, the pleased sigh he so often exhaled.
Jimmy tilted his head, bumping his nose against Thomas's bandaged one, not caring in the least as he deepened their kiss. He rocked his hips against Thomas slowly, heat flowing between his legs.
This prompted Thomas to return to his earlier ministrations, long fingers nimbly unbuttoning Jimmy's trousers, despite using only one hand. Jimmy brushed it away, hands gripping both his slacks and underwear, pushing the presently unnecessary garments off. He basked in Thomas's appreciative glances before working his fingers around the other's pants, fumbling in his eagerness to get rid of them.
He pushed himself forward, teetering on Thomas's chest as he gave him an open-mouth kiss, hands pawing at his underwear, finally peeling it away, pushing them to pool at his ankles where Thomas kicked them off.
He could feel the swell of the older man's length, warm and large and firm against his thigh. His own erection throbbed in response. Breaking their kiss, Jimmy pressed his lips to Thomas's ear, his hand inching up the other's shirt a bit. "You best keep quiet."
Before the under-butler could question him, Jimmy shifted down, trailing a route of kisses along Thomas's abdomen, his navel and hip, up the inside of his thigh.
"Ah...!" The older man murmured breathily, knowing enough restraint to keep from bucking up immediately.
The blond's eyes, sky blue, met Thomas's slitting ones, composed of crisp frost. He held eye contact as he pressed his tongue to the base of Thomas's cock, slowly licking up to flick it against the tip. He continued, closing his mouth around the other's member, taking in as much as he could accommodate.
Thomas's light panting quickly escalated into desirable moans, encouraging Jimmy as he gave shallow thrusts upward.
The footman tentatively slid his head back and forth, working up a steady rhythm. He still felt quite inexperienced, never dreaming of performing such an act before. Before Thomas. Who was currently carding his good hand through Jimmy's hair, a soft string of 'ah's' leaving his mouth.
Jimmy spent another moment lavishing Thomas's length with his mouth before he pulled away slowly, a faint blush
encompassing his cheeks. He moved back to a position where he lay ontop of Thomas, rocking against him once more.
Thomas grasped his waist with his one hand, arching up to meet Jimmy's hips, sighing out in pleasure each time their erections brushed against one another. The slow pace was maddening, but Jimmy wanted it to last.
He dropped his head, slowly rutting up against Thomas's slickened cock. "Ah...hah... Yes, yes... wait no, Thomas, stop...nnnm, stopstopstop...!" he gasped aloud, feeling much too close already as his stomach began to knot in coils.
Thomas tilted his head up, skillfully slowing his bucks up to a stop. "Jimmy." His voice was hoarse, raw.
Jimmy nodded, body feverish and aching in the best of ways now. "Just...prepare me quick, yeah?"
"No."
The blond quickly met Thomas' piercing stare. He had never turned down Jimmy's submission before.
Thomas stroked the footman's arm complacently. "Don't want to hurt you any more than you are," he explained apologetically. "If you let me have you now, you'd be limpin' for days. I'd rather you heal up a bit, so..." He coloured, averting his gaze.
Jimmy swallowed, shaking his head and pressing close to Thomas's chest. "Please..." he begged. "Please, I don't care, I need you, Thomas." Jimmy pulled back, staring at Thomas and breathing hard. "Inside me. I want it to be you and only you. Right now. I want you to mark me, brand me as your own." He was panting lightly now, punctuating each end of a sentence with a desperate buck of his hips.
The older man let out a ragged breath, eyes taking on a slightly glazed look as he considered. Finally, he relented, reaching over the nightside table for a bottle of hand creme. Jimmy held out a hand for it, but Thomas shook his head. He uncapped it, dipped two fingers in, and let it drop to the ground.
"I need to do it. It'll have to be done properly, not some half-arsed job," Thomas looked meaningfully at Jimmy. "I only want you to be comfortable, ahem, during it, is all."
The blond coloured, nodding feverishly. He licked his lips, suddenly dry, and pressed forward into Thomas's chest in order to allow the other easier access.
Thomas coated his first three fingers thoroughly, hesitating before bringing them around the small of Jimmy's back. As he pressed one to the smaller's entrance, he felt Jimmy tremble as he always did before this. It caused Thomas much discomfort, it was as if the blond were bracing himself from a terrible onslaught of invasion. He ignored his overly-worried premonitions, and pushed his index finger into the tight warmth, feeling the other's sharp exhale against his neck.
He waited until Jimmy's breathing adjusted to add another. The blond filled any gaps that previously separated them, squirming on top of Thomas's chest, moaning wantonly. "Yes, right there," he breathed. "Like that, nmh..."
"Deep breaths, Jimmy." Thomas reminded him, and closed his eyes, focusing on the footman pressing into him(he happily ignored the painful pressure on his broken arm), on moving and spreading his fingers out, on the regularity of Jimmy's breathing. As he added a third finger, he relished in the way the younger man shivered against him.
The dark-haired man bit his lower lip, crooking his fingers, pressing up just so before repeating the motion, over and over. Jimmy's breath caught in his throat and he released a net of soft groans.
"Thomas, please, nnnnyes, yes...!"
The blond sighed as Thomas retracted his fingers, more out of disappointment than anything. He ached to be filled once more, by Thomas. His face burned; a vermillion stripe from ear to ear.
Unable to stand it any longer, Jimmy lifted his hips, moving to a straddling position. He reached a shaky hand behind himself, grasping the warm flesh of Thomas's member, guiding it inside him, inch by inch.
Oh, it was painful. Searing pain scorched his insides. But the sounds of Thomas's groans diminished any thought of pain. As soon as Thomas was fully seated inside him, Jimmy took a moment to press his forehead against the other's shoulder, taking in deep gulps of air.
His eyes slid to Thomas, who was trembling slightly from pent-up arousal.
Jimmy licked his lips. "Does it feel alright?" There was a husky edge to his voice. He felt Thomas twitch inside of him.
Thomas released a breath he had been holding. "More than alright...hnn...divine." He forced himself to keep from thrusting up in fear of harming the footman.
Jimmy nodded, feeling a sufficient amount of time had passed. He lifted himself up experimentally, feeling Thomas's length brushing against his inner walls. Thomas lay a steadying hand upon his hip, helping guide the blond back down, drawing a pleasured gasp from him. "Yesssss," Jimmy hissed. "Again, yes oh God, again..." He shifted up, dropping himself back down upon Thomas to immerse himself in the electric splendor that ran straight to his own erection. "Ah-hn, hn..."
Thomas kept gripping Jimmy's hip with his uninjured hand, guiding and eliciting mewls of ecstasy. He pushed up into the other, shallow at first, but it was becoming unbearable. He needed more.
Jimmy was close to lifting up again when he felt Thomas's hand move from his hip, curling around his waist and pushing him down until he lay pliant underneath the other. He watched Thomas struggle with his sling, finally moving one hand down by Jimmy's head, gripping the bedsheets as he reentered the younger man with a choked moan.
Jimmy arched up, awkwardly scrambling about until he found he needed to slide his thighs up around Thomas's hips. The new angle proved quite beneficial when Thomas delivered a sharp thrust, making Jimmy cry out.
The under-butler quickly set a slow pace, thrusts carefully calculated. He dropped his head, lips touching the shell of Jimmy's ear. Between their soft grunts, he let out a minty gasp of warm breath and whispered, "Touch yourself."
"Hnn, hnn, nmm..." Jimmy answered, trailing a hand to ghost over his own cock. He watched as Thomas gazed at him through hooded eyes, and wrapped his fingers around his length, settling into a familiar motion as he rubbed his palm up and down over himself, breath catching in soft hitches.
The sight drove Thomas delirious with desire, driving his hips into Jimmy's harder now, each thrust deeper than the last, leaving him aching with delicious exertion. He craved hearing Jimmy cry out as he pounded into him, the blond's little breathy groans now louder than the mingling sounds of their skin meeting and parting; hard, precise little smacks.
"Jimmy," he begged, moving to press wet, open-mouthed kisses along the soft skin of the footman's shoulder. "Ah, ah...please, yes..."
Jimmy had started to push back against Thomas's thrusts, meeting him, each time hitting up against something deep within that left his body shaking. Heat recoiled around in his middle. "Nnm, uhn, Thomas..!" he cried, winding his arms around the other's neck, pulling him closer, wanting to be with him and absorbed by him and joined to him.
Thomas felt his arm start to shake from holding them up. He lifted it, dropping Jimmy to lie flat. Hastily, he covered Jimmy's mouth with his hand and started to ram into him with animalistic lust, feeling the other's muffled cries vibrate within his fingertips. He kept his own breathing steady, eyes squeezed shut tight, each thrust causing the flimsy bed to squeak in protest as he worked diligently to undo Jimmy.
One, two, three more thrusts before Jimmy arched upward and came, his frame trembling in exhaustion. Thomas released a sigh, working himself over Jimmy, and when the feeling of the blond's inner muscles tightening around his cock became too much, he gave one last twitchy jerk of his hips, coming harder than he could ever remember.
"Ah..." He let the waves of afterglow work their way through his body, lapping against him in subtle tides of pleasure. The under-butler removed his hand from Jimmy's mouth.
"Oh God, Thomas, mnngh." Jimmy was saying. Thomas couldn't help but take in the ravishing sight of a very spent Jimmy; body flushed, hair mussed, half-lidded eyes clouded. He pressed a kiss to the younger male's lips. Jimmy grabbed his neck, biting his lower lip roughly before sliding his tongue in. They gradually decreased to a series of chaste kisses before Thomas could pull out and roll over, inhaling deeply.
Later, when he had lit his post-coital cigarette, he threw Jimmy a smiling glance. "Think you may be onto something, m'boy."
Jimmy pressed his cheek to Thomas's chest, humming sleepily. "Oh?"
Thomas nodded. "I feel quite cured."
They both broke into laughter.
[[AN: Well, the end, I guess! Haha, thank you to everyone who read this and reviewed, and it's just been quite the pleasure to write for these two! In fact, I have much planned. Just have to perform a bit of research, but something is definitely in the works. :) ]]