In This Shirt

In This Shirt

Part 5 of Only In Dreams

After spooning around Greg, Alex did something that was rather rare - he fell back to sleep. It was glorious.

He slowly resurfaced after a time feeling mildly confused. Watched? He opened his eyes and saw Greg, glasses on, smiling the softest smile imaginable. Alex felt his being glow with it.

Not a dream, he marveled.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Greg placed a shushing finger over his lips.

Greg then traced the fingers of one hand along Alex's forehead, down a cheek, up and behind an ear. His thumb softly stroked the ear, stayed there a moment.

The warmth in Greg's grey eyes as he just stared at the stroking thumb made Alex deeply uncomfortable. He found he couldn't handle the love and attention. He reached up to Greg's hand, pulled it to his lips, and tried to redirect Greg's attention by kissing his fingers delicately.

A keen look came into Greg's eyes. He pulled his hand out of Alex's, causing Alex to open his mouth to argue. But Greg placed the shushing finger over Alex's lips again.

Alex bit back his words, but felt anxiety wash over his body like ice water.

Greg reached up again and rubbed the same ear, and Alex hated it. Stupid wonky ears. But Greg wouldn't leave them alone. He leaned over, and ran his lips around the curve of the ear, planting a light kiss.

He gently rolled Alex onto his back, and Alex swallowed back a small amount of panic as he realized that Greg intended to repeat the process with the other ear.

And he did. Fingers traced, thumb stroked, and lips glided and kissed.

Greg straddled over his belly, bent over, and cupped Alex's face. Greg kissed his forehead, then ran his fingers through Alex's hair. Thumbs began firmly massaging Alex's scalp. Greg's eyes slipped closed like a sleepy cat as he worked.

It was too much. Alex tensed, his hands reached around Greg's wrists, trying to pull his arms aside. Despite those hands showing so much tenderness, Greg's arms were stone.

While Alex gripped and pulled, Greg's head moved. He brushed Alex's lips with the tease of a kiss, then brushed his ear as he murmured low...

"Easy, my love. You deserve at least as much worship as you gave me yesterday."

And Greg returned to stroking Alex's scalp as Alex shivered and loosened his grip on Greg's wrists.

Alex's eyes grew wide with horror at the love and attention, and he tried to pinpoint why.

Greg kissed him again, tongue gently pushing inward to run past the gap in his teeth. It made Alex self-conscious all over again, but Greg again followed it with a soft kiss on his lips. It seemed to say "And this, too, is beautiful."

Greg then began moving downward. First, his fingers brushed across the sides of Alex's neck, raising gooseflesh. Then his lips brushed and kissed.

Downward. Greg's went to remove his own shirt from Alex, but Alex wouldn't relinquish what had become a comforting token. Finally, Greg pushed it up to continue: Fingers explored the fuzz on Alex's chest, brushed his nipples. And then his lips followed their path, brushing and kissing.

By the time this gentle pattern was repeated on Alex's belly, he found himself in some sort of fog. He had no choice but to relax.

Or, perhaps, float.

He seemed to watch, detached, as Greg lavished gentle love on his belly, massaged even the lengths of his arms, kissed each finger and palm. Greg then moved to his legs, running for fingers down both thighs together, both calves, and then applied themselves to foot massages that were copies of those Alex had given him the day before.

It almost felt like revenge for Alex's ministrations. See, it's wrong when you are undeserving of such love.

Wait. There it was. It was uncomfortable because in his heart he considered Little Alex Horne undeserving.

What a hurtful thing to internalize... And here was Greg, giving that love. That couldn't be right...

Alex found a new panic gripping him, his mind twisting yesterday's beautiful memories, racing around and trying to figure out when he'd been needy and manipulative. But... he couldn't find anything. The only thing he thought about, from waking to sleep, was Greg. Greg, Greg, Greg.

He felt a tear slip out of the corner of one eye. Maybe... he did deserve.

Greg, carefully working Alex's feet, could feel the anxious change in Alex's breathing and muscles. "Hey," he said softly. "I see that. I remember, yesterday, feeling just like that. Let me love you, baby boy. Let me love you back. You were so selfless yesterday, and I was horrible-"

"Not horrible!" Alex interrupted, "Hurt!"

"-Please let me do this. Think of it as a favour, if you must."

Greg continued his loving touches, then laid beside Alex, and curled him in until Alex was being held exactly as he'd held Greg the night before as they had fallen asleep. The whole time, perfectly silent tears rolled out of his eyes.

After a time, Alex cleared his throat and gently spoke. "I could almost apologize for yesterday. I'm melting into, and crawling out of, my own body. Please tell me it wasn't like this!"

Greg chuckled quietly. "Eventually you worked the message into my skin. Or maybe it was more into my cock..." He lifted an eyebrow suggestively. Did he know about Alex's weakness to that simple expression? How Greg's face seemed to be built for it?

"Right now, if it's alright, I think I want to be just like this..." And Alex burrowed his head into Greg's chest. "In a little bit, though, I could make you breakfast?"

"Oh god no. I'll do the cooking, dear."